Plot and gameplay segregation

[davv]

Quite some time ago, I showed Oblivion being weird. Here's an example of Skyrim being weird!

Hey, look, some guards want me to go to jail for purposes of plot. I don't feel the need to oblige. Pyrotechnics ensue, but I'm better. After the dust has settled, the game tells me my bounty is gone because I killed all the witnesses. Phew, that's good to know. Now I need some fresh air...

What's this? More guards wanting to haul me to jail? Of course I didn't do it. I even got rid of all the witnesses, the game told me... oh.

Comments

[baphijmm]

I have no idea how, but I managed to circumvent that entire piece of "mandatory" jail time and now cannot complete the game 100%.

[davv]

It can glitch in several situations because gameplay and plot is contending to override the other. If you're a Thane, for instance, you can tell them that you are and they'll leave you alone. Or you can fast travel out of there and return, and so on... It can also trap your follower inside the shrine if you've got one. After being made aware of this, I just told Illia to wait outside.

If you've got a PC, you can force the next quest to happen. Just type "setstage ms01 100", exit console and reenter, then type "setstage ms02 0". Waiting 24 hours inside the shrine may also work, and you can do that even if it's not the PC version. More details here.

I probably won't complete it 100% either. There are a few quests I don't want to do - some of the Daedra quests are pretty vile, and there was one about a cannibal (I just killed the cannibal, making the quest fail).

[baphijmm]

Yeah, I think I killed all the guards in the temple then fast-traveled out of Markarth. Mine is the PS3 version, but I'm not sure I'll try for it. Like you, I probably wouldn't complete it 100% anyway, though unlike you, I've actually done all of the Daedric quests, and have even completed the Dark Brotherhood story; my beef is presently with the Thieve's Guild storyline.

[lhexa]

I laughed. :)