Bounty (Skyrim)



Bounty is a game mechanic in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bounty tracks the number and severity of crimes committed and converts it to a amount.

Separated by hold
Unlike The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, where bounty was tracked and upheld across the cities of Cyrodiil, bounty in Skyrim is kept separate by Hold. For instance, when a crime is committed in Falkreath Hold, guards in Winterhold will not arrest criminals based on their Falkreath Bounty.

Evading bounty
Traditionally, three options for resolving a bounty exist across games: paying the bounty off in gold, resisting arrest, or sitting in prison. Skyrim introduces a fourth option: evading bounty by flaunting a title. Jarls of Skyrim can grant the title of Thane to citizens, which allows the individual's menial crimes to be overlooked. Crimes such as murder or assault may not be overlooked, however.

Stolen items
As with other releases, all stolen items are removed when bounties are resolved.

Dealing with a bounty
When any bounty is accumulated, guards in Holds or cities stop the offender, forcing them to halt and engage in dialogue. Four options exist for resolving the bounty.

Paying the fine
If is paid, the guards leave and  is automatically subtracted from the inventory. If arrest is resisted, all guards in the immediate area, including some bystanders and citizens, draw weapons and attempt to slay the criminal -- only upon the criminal's escape or the criminals death do they relent. During combat, the criminal can choose to make the guard "yield" their attacks by initiating dialogue. This brings the criminal back to choice menu, in which they can choose to pay off the bounty or serve jail time. If the criminal's bounty is high enough, Jarl's employ Bounty Collectors to chase down criminals and attack them. They can appear in any hold or location, randomly.

Serving jail time
Criminals can choose to spend time in jail for accumulated bounty. When selecting this option, the criminal is stripped of all items, weapons, and armor and placed in a cell. To wait the duration of the sentence, sleep in the bed. Upon release, all items are returned. If the criminal chooses to escape, bounty is removed, but their items must be manually obtained from an evidence locker somewhere in the prison. If caught, they will receive a new bounty.

Thane
Upon becoming Thane of a Hold, small bounties can be overlooked simply by stating one's title as Thane. Bounties exceeding 1,000 can be forgiven using this method.

Markarth
In Markarth, citizens are sent to Cidhna Mine to pay off bounties. The sentence is served by mining ore or escaping. Being imprisoned mine is part of a quest involving the Forsworn.

Thieves guild
After completing Special jobs for the Thieves Guild in Riften, criminals gain the option of bribing guards to allow them to keep stolen items.

Bribery
The "Bribery" Perk in the Speech skill tree allows criminals to persuade guards out of arresting or fining them. This method does not remove bounty, simply the guard who attempted to collect on the bounty ignores it. Other guards may still respond to the bounty.

Pacify
In the Illusion school of Magicka, a spell called Pacify calms hostile targets. Coupled with the "Kindred Mage" perk from the same skill tree, the spell has the potential of calming guards, when a criminal acquires a bounty, causing them to forget the bounty temporarily and walk away. This option allows criminals to run or Fast Travel to a safer location.

Killing witnesses
If in a remote or enclosed location, murdering witnesses to a theft, murder, or another crime annuls the bounty one acquires automatically for committing the crime. Alternatively, if no one witnesses the crime and the criminal is proper stealthed while committing it, a bounty may not even be acquired.

Taking a Hold
During the Skyrim Civil War, whenever a hold a taken by the Imperial Legion or Stormcloaks, a criminal's bounty is reset.

Stolen items
Storing stolen items in Chests and containers or simply dropping may remove the bounty altogether. This is especially useful when items are accidentally picked up in shops or guild headquarters.

Bugs

 * As you progress through the game you may notice that committing crimes in certain ways keeps you from getting a bounty. One such method is when committing murder, if you use the Dragon Shout shout to launch an opponent off a cliff, they will die from the impact and, you will receive no bounty.
 * Friendly fire on an ally such as Imperial Soldier or Guard will raise your bounty. They will stop fighting the enemy and turn on you.
 * Certain locations also attract random dragon attacks. If a dragon attacks a group of bandits and kills the leader you will be unable to collect the bounty for the particular quest. (unsure on vice versa bandits killing dragon)(Fixed Ps3)
 * Sometimes you will get bounty when killing someone without any witness.
 * Sometimes Chickens, dogs, and other wild animals can be witnesses to a crime as they are considered entities.
 * In Whiterun sometimes, when you have a bounty, either the guards will attack you with out any other option or they will talk with you as if you have no bounty ( ignoring any bounty ) at all and giving no option to pay your bounty. In this case, it will be impossible to go into the castle because the Jarl and his allies will attack you. The only solution I found to fix this is : When the guard is in the "ignore all bounty" state, hit him with anything but not to kill, he will immediately ask you to pay the fine.
 * If the player has progressed far enough along the Dark Brotherhood questline, the power Summon Spectral Assassin can be used to call upon the phantom of Lucien Lachance to fight alongside you. If Lucien is summoned while fighting guards, the player may flee the town and escape them. This may leave Lucien behind to die. After revisiting the town and paying the bounty for whatever crimes the player has performed, it may be impossible to wait or fast travel. A message will appear saying,"It is impossible to wait or fast travel while guards are pursuing you", even though you have payed off your bounty. This can be fixed by searching around the prison entrance for a guard with his or her weapon drawn; the only guard 'pursuing' you. The guard may be found near the ghostly remains of Lucien. By approaching the guard, he will sheathe his weapon, allowing you to continue to wait and fast travel.