Riften Jail

The Riften Jail is a location in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim located in Riften. It can be found near the Jailhouse inside the city of Riften.

Prisoners

Brand-Shei (If A Chance Arrangement is completed)
Sibbi Black-Briar
Threki the Innocent
Molgrom Twice-Killed

Entrance

Upon entering, a Riften Guard sitting near the front will tell the Dragonborn that only those with official business may enter the jail. The player will have three dialogue options: persuasion, bribery, or simply apologizing and leaving. Once the Dragonborn has succeeded in persuasion or bribery, the door will unlock, and the guard will allow the player to enter. Picking the lock will add 5 gold to the Dragonborn's bounty, and the guard will attempt an arrest.

Escape

Shadowmarks

In the cell the Dragonborn gets locked into, there is a symbol that is a circle with a line going down the middle and a triangle at the bottom, the Shadowmark for Escape. To the left of this is an interaction that says "Activate, Broken Shackle," and when activated the guards in the prison will start to attack them.

Backtracking through the drainage sluice near the docks reveals the shackle was intended to break the wall leading to the escape tunnel, but this is non-functional and will only aggro the guards. It is not possible to physically or magically break the wall either.

Related quests

Gallery

Trivia

If you have the 'Quick Hands' perk for lockpicking, you can open almost every cell without the guards attacking you. You are then allowed to sleep in the cells, as well as take any items from the cells. It is impossible to open the cells of Sibbi Black-Briar or Threki the Innocent, even with a key.
If you have been jailed in Riften, you may duplicate stackable items (arrows, etc.). Some of these must be stolen, though. After serving time in jail, go back to Riften Jail then look in the Evidence chest. There should be your items that were stolen.

Bugs

PC 360 PS3 For an unknown reason (possibly from killing the guards who patrol the jail), the Riften Jail will bug and entering it will cause the game to freeze, every time. A known cure for this bug is to be arrested in Riften, which respawns the guards and allows the player to enter Riften Jail in the future without the game bugging.
The guards will arrest you even if you unlock an empty cell.
For an unknown reason, using a damaging shout or Unrelenting Force on the jailor will cause a red dot to appear on the compass as if there was an enemy in the southwest.
360 If player goes to jail with the Ebony Blade equipped, then it will remain equipped, even when in jail cell.
PC 360 PS3 The Shadowmark escape route wont work.
If the player escapes the cell, guards begin to use the player's own weapons against them.
If the player escapes using the wooden plate against the wall, they will be unable to retrieve their equipment through the escape route. You will be by the chest holding your belongings, but be unable to interact with it.
If a guard is killed inside of your cell, the guard may be revived and standing in the cell with you the next time you are imprisoned. This becomes a problem, because the guard will attempt to leave the cell, but become aggressive after opening to door.
Template:PcIf you enter through sewers, you can go inside jail through a invisible wall, but you can't go back because the wall appears where it belongs.
UPDATE: As of the newest patch on May 1, the escape route is now functional on PC only. (Dec 24th, escape route non-functional on PC)

Appearances

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Template:1st