Saturday, 20 February 2021 00:00

10 Awful Things You Can Do In Skyrim (That NPCs Mostly Ignore)

Written by Christine Mendoza
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Skyrim includes fairly intelligent NPCs who even react to things. However, there are a few awful things they just don't seem to care about at all.

Everyone in Skyrim, all the way from The Rift to Haafingar, knows who the mighty Dovahkiin is and what they're capable of. They understand how important they are to their survival and how it's in their best interest to stay on the Dovahkiin's good side. But the question is: how much are they all really willing to let slide?

RELATED: Skyrim: 10 Things That Can Ruin Your Playthough

The Dovahkiin may be a bigshot, but it's interesting to see what acts NPCs around Skyrim won't mind versus what they'll reprimand one for. The line between "unforgivable and grounds for punishment" and "awful, but possible to ignore" is an interesting one to play with within the world of Elder Scrolls.

10 Looting Corpses

Life is short in Skyrim; among the bandits, frost trolls, and the return of the dragons, there are many ways for one to meet their untimely death throughout these lands. When coming across a dead body, NPCs do have the tendency to show a bit of mourning with a dialogue line or two; they really don't do much past this.

If the Dragonborn decides that the armor that poor soul dropped after being slain is worth taking, no one really bats an eye. No one seems to be opposed to premature-graverobbing and pocketing some nice coin off dead bodies. It would just go to waste otherwise, right?

9 Littering In The Streets

Being over-encumbered is one of the most frustrating things in Skyrim. Sometimes there's just too much amazing loot to give up. Often, if the player doesn't want to waste the time of running off to the closest merchant to sell some junk, they'll simply resort to dropping it on the ground. In real life, littering is a terrible problem. However, in the province of Skyrim, it seems like it's not a faux-pas.

The Dovahkiin is free to drop their garbage anywhere they please, and NPCs don't seem to mind at all. In fact, at times, NPCs will ask the player if they can have the item they dropped. But be wary, it's possible that more than one NPC will want the Dovahkiin's leftover loot and will break out into a fight to the death just to keep it!

8 Ditching Your Friends

What fun would there be in going on adventures by your lonesome? Hiring a follower or making a friend to take them along for a quest or two makes even the most tedious tasks much more enjoyable. The company is great to have but sometimes, it's best for them to wait outside while the player takes care of some business on their own.

However, there's nothing stopping the Dragonborn from leaving their faithful follower out in the middle of nowhere just to leave them with no intention of coming back. The follower won't scold the player for this (unlike real life), they'll simply return to their post, that is, if they didn't somehow die during their wait for the cruel-hearted Dovahkiin.

7 Killing Your Child's Pet

One of the more heartless things the Dovahkiin can do with little to no consequences is to kill the pet of their beloved child(ren). If the player chose to adopt a child, there is a chance they'll return home one day and be greeted with their child asking if they can keep a random small animal as a pet. It's the player's choice to say yes or no, but there aren't any real dire consequences if they decide to kill it instead.

The child will detest the cruel Dragonborn but within a few days, they'll return to their old dialogue as if nothing ever happened. So in the end, although this particular act does get a reaction from the adopted child of the Dovahkiin, they seem to forgive and forget rather quickly.

6 Not Waiting Your Turn

As the Dragonborn, there's no time to fool around. Every second in-game needs to be used wisely when fighting bandits, taking down dragons, rescuing the innocent, and much more. A task this large needs the best equipment there is.

When visiting the local blacksmith, they'll be using the equipment, as it is their property after all. However, if the Dragonborn feels a bit impatient, they can kick the NPC off whatever equipment they need without waiting their turn. There's surprisingly no real dialogue that triggers when the player takes the NPC out of their animation on the smelter, forge, etc. So, go ahead and take advantage of every blacksmith's kindness across Skyrim and indulge in being impatient with no real consequences.

5 Sacrifice Your Friends

In a particularly cruel Daedric quest, the Dragonborn is presented with the opportunity to handpick a human sacrifice to the Daedric Prince of deceit, Boethiah. This can be any NPC that can become a follower for the Dovahkiin, such as a mercenary for hire, a faithful friend that trusts the Dovahkiin, or even the player's spouse.

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Most people would maybe back away after the first sight of a cult and perhaps even make a run for it after seeing the sacrificial totem pole. However strange enough, the chosen follower seems to happily do as their told, no questions asked, and march off to their own death.

4 Be A Cannibal

Putting aside the Daedric "Taste of Death" quest where the Dragonborn gets the literal opportunity to formally become a cannibal and be welcomed into a cult, the player can still indulge in a bit of "light" cannibalism if they please (without joining the cult).

As strange as it sounds, the Dragonborn has the option to eat many different ingredients found on their journey, some less palatable than others. Pulling out a flower and eating it to see its effects is one thing, but taking out a chunk of human flesh or a human heart to take a bite out of in the middle of the marketplace seems a little overboard. However, no one seems to really care or ask any questions if the player decides to take a snack break and munch on some human meat.

3 Skinning Animals Anytime, Any Place

After slaying an enemy, it's best to loot them for any valuables and not let them go to waste. Searching animals or beasts is possible as well, and although they might not have any useful armor or weapons on them (minus the random wolf carrying a few gold for some reason), they do have a valuable hide that can be used for crafting.

It's something that most players do in passing, but no one really stops to think that no other NPCs mind the idea of the Dragonborn casually skinning a dead animal for its hide or pelt wherever they are. Sure, collecting fur is rather common for Nords, but to do such a bloody and disturbing thing wherever one pleases is a bit over the top, even for the Dragonborn.

2 Playing With Corpses

Skyrim allows the player to move things around as they please. Perhaps they want to rearrange some plates in their house or pick up some valuables they accidentally knocked over in a shop. This ability to pick items up to move around in the world isn't just limited to objects. The player can freely move dead bodies around as well.

Although some NPCs will scold the Dovahkiin at times to stop fooling around or that they're making a mess of sorts, they don't really ever ask the player to stop or state that they're clearly being disrespectful to the dead. The player can go as far as tossing a corpse off a cliff or into a nearby river with minimal complaints from surrounding NPCs.

1 Ignoring Your Duty As The Dovahkiin

Everyone across Skyrim knows about the return of the dragons and how this could potentially end in their doom. The situation is clearly a dire one, but it seems as if NPCs don't really mind if the Dovahkiin takes a nice long break at an inn or tavern for some drink.

In fact, taking a break is encouraged. NPCs often ask the Dovahkiin for help even with the ever-looming danger of the end of Tamriel upon them. Sure, dragons have returned, but no NPC is willing to scold the Dragonborn for a few brawls or playing tag with some children.

NEXT: The Elder Scrolls: 10 Named Dragons & Why They're Famous

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