Can't pay my bounty, so guards keep killing me?

LordSkyKnight · March 2015

They should put you in jail if you can't pay the bounty.

Sandmanninja · March 2015

cgipervert wrote: »

It seams like being killed by the guards is a rather extreme punishment if your only crime is petty theft and B&E.

You've obviously never been to Texas...

Zavus · March 2015

I love this. I just run around with all my gold in the bank and just murder without having anything to fear!

sandalz · March 2015

LordSkyKnight wrote: »

They should put you in jail if you can't pay the bounty.

Well, in previous Elder Scrolls games, if you went to jail, you would lose lvls and skill/attribute points. In this edition, too many people will get upset about losing the skill points that they've been grinding for for weeks on end. Same with lvls, and the lvl grind is pretty bad for some people. So, what penalty would we get?

NadiusMaximus · March 2015

Hmm.... Better call Saul.

Epona222 · March 2015

A. Try not to get into too much trouble in the first place - if you rob and murder indiscriminately and get caught, you will end up with a large bounty

B. If you do end up a fugitive, run... run like the wind. And don't go back into town until you have either paid off your bounty with the fence, or stayed away from town whilst the bounty decays.

C. Just to re-iterate, you cannot commit a vast amount of crime and always get away with it, if you have run up a bounty that you can't afford to pay off then that is no-one's fault but your own.

idk · March 2015

firstdecan wrote: »

It seemed easier to escape the guards when I tried this on PTS, maybe I just don't have my groove back.

I found it easier to escape the guards on live. Kept getting petrified and pulled back on PTS. On live I just sprinted away.

I do get a laugh when I see someone fighting a guard.

newtinmpls · March 2015

It's all in the timing. And the setup. I was watching folks attempt idiot robberies and stuff and finding it highly amusing ... then I literally hit the wrong button (oh well, respec always has some wrinkes) accidentally attacked someone when I meant to shadow cloak & run away, got attacked, and killed.

Note: newer low level character fresh out of cold harbor - so I only had 9 gold, and the bounty was higher than that (I think it was 19 originally).

So I came back at a wayshrine ... figuring that I would run to the bank (crouching, hiding) and get some money. Didn't work, the guards saw me and killed me.

So I had another account send my character mail, figuring I could open my mail right away, have some gold, pay the fine....

No, the guards were too fast, killed me again (and meanwhile my bounty is going UP because apparently I'm an incorrigible fugitive from justice)

All told I think I got killed about 5 times or so until I finally paid the fine.

Which was about 27 gold.

RDMyers65b14_ESO · March 2015

Bounties scale to level.

Either learn how to sneak or learn how to play smart. Bounties decay over time. Stay away from the guards and you should be fine.

You can always make an alt to play while the bounty is decaying. Or if you don't want to do that or want to stay out of the city, and you bounty is more than you can afford, you can always delete and start over. J/k.

Divinius · March 2015

Is anyone else as amused as I am about the number of people that decided to go on a huge crime spree, stealing and killing willy-nilly, just for poops and giggles, and then come on the forums to complain about how they have been inconvenienced by the functionality of the justice system?

Enodoc · March 2015

Divinius wrote: »

Is anyone else as amused as I am about the number of people that decided to go on a huge crime spree, stealing and killing willy-nilly, just for poops and giggles, and then come on the forums to complain about how they have been inconvenienced by the functionality of the justice system?

Best example of "working as intended" ever

Jaxsun · March 2015

Epona222 wrote: »

A. Try not to get into too much trouble in the first place - if you rob and murder indiscriminately and get caught, you will end up with a large bounty

B. If you do end up a fugitive, run... run like the wind. And don't go back into town until you have either paid off your bounty with the fence, or stayed away from town whilst the bounty decays.

C. Just to re-iterate, you cannot commit a vast amount of crime and always get away with it, if you have run up a bounty that you can't afford to pay off then that is no-one's fault but your own.

"If you rob and murder indiscriminately and get caught, you will end up with a large bounty" -this made me laugh cuz its the objective of the justice system and people knowingly participate and then wonder why they are a fugitive.

Enodoc · March 2015

Jaxsun wrote: »

Epona222 wrote: »

A. Try not to get into too much trouble in the first place - if you rob and murder indiscriminately and get caught, you will end up with a large bounty

B. If you do end up a fugitive, run... run like the wind. And don't go back into town until you have either paid off your bounty with the fence, or stayed away from town whilst the bounty decays.

C. Just to re-iterate, you cannot commit a vast amount of crime and always get away with it, if you have run up a bounty that you can't afford to pay off then that is no-one's fault but your own.

"If you rob and murder indiscriminately and get caught, you will end up with a large bounty" -this made me laugh cuz its the objective of the justice system and people knowingly participate and then wonder why they are a fugitive.

One of the main objectives of the Justice System though is to not be indiscriminate, so that you reap the rewards of the system and don't get a bounty at all.

technohic · March 2015

They really need to add a way to track how much theft you've done without getting caught to encourage being a good thief rather than just a pillager. Bunch of bad criminals running around who have been caught countless times and still cannot even pay for their bounty.

wOOOOt_of_SD · March 2015

That will teach you not to steal?!?

Shlankwald · March 2015

They really should add an alternative (like jail time). I'd be willing to sacrifice some exp, or even locking up my character for an hour or whatever.

wOOOOt_of_SD · March 2015

Shlankwald wrote: »

They really should add an alternative (like jail time). I'd be willing to sacrifice some exp, or even locking up my character for an hour or whatever.

Paying the fine in XP would be a good solution to me.

Messy1 · March 2015

Valn wrote: »

Is this intended? I have 0 coins in my inventory so I can't pay my bounty

A lot of people are trying this. I had to bail someone out and send them 1000g and then they paid me back when they got gold out of their bank. The idea of the justice system is that if you get in treouble there are repercussions. You sir shall be consigned to the wilderness!!!

Messy1 · March 2015

GreySix wrote: »

cgipervert wrote: »

It seams like being killed by the guards is a rather extreme punishment if your only crime is petty theft and B&E.

Oblivion was like that.

Was in a store and picked up an item that was on a counter, wanting to then purchase it. The store proprietor shouted that I was a thief, and two guards charge in to hack me to pieces before I could even drop the item.

It's tru they were merciless . . . "STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM"

Takhistis · March 2015

Still love that no one escapes the law. Helped keep our alliance from falling apart, saved the world by stopping a daedric lord, but no, we can't take a man's carrot from him without being stalked by guards

CombatBeard · March 2015

Jump into Cyrodill and get yourself shot in the knee, problem solved.

Dreizopf · March 2015

Takhistis wrote: »

Still love that no one escapes the law. Helped keep our alliance from falling apart, saved the world by stopping a daedric lord, but no, we can't take a man's carrot from him without being stalked by guards

This!

The most irritating thing: I am supposed to become the Hero of Tamriel, to kill worst and strongest worm kings, daedra lords and whatever more. But some invincible and unkillable guards are walking around in every village or hamlet. And what do they do? Instead of saving the world, they took the bounty off my corps. Sigh!

Elsonso · March 2015

sandalz wrote: »

LordSkyKnight wrote: »

They should put you in jail if you can't pay the bounty.

Well, in previous Elder Scrolls games, if you went to jail, you would lose lvls and skill/attribute points. In this edition, too many people will get upset about losing the skill points that they've been grinding for for weeks on end. Same with lvls, and the lvl grind is pretty bad for some people. So, what penalty would we get?

Ohh. Have the guards take Champion Points if people cannot pay gold. That should solve part of the "too many Champion Points ruins the game" problem!

But, related to being tossed in jail for any length of time, that is a concept that really does not play well in a more real-time MMO. Sure, in TES you can just fade the camera and pretend that days or weeks went by, but in an MMO, that does not work. No one wants to have one of their characters in jail for days, or even hours, of real time. It's like being banned. That seems a bit harsh for just playing a game.

Then, on top of that, any character progression punishment is just adding insult. Well, except for removing Champion Points, which I think most players will welcome the opportunity to re-acquire those.

I am not a fan of the progression punishments.

newtinmpls · March 2015

RDMyers65b14_ESO wrote: »

Bounties scale to level.

Either learn how to sneak or learn how to play smart. Bounties decay over time. Stay away from the guards and you should be fine.

Well continuously crouching (and the display claiming I was 'hidden") did not actually work for me. But when I finally paid the bounty - all was well.

driosketch · March 2015

lordrichter wrote: »

sandalz wrote: »

LordSkyKnight wrote: »

They should put you in jail if you can't pay the bounty.

Well, in previous Elder Scrolls games, if you went to jail, you would lose lvls and skill/attribute points. In this edition, too many people will get upset about losing the skill points that they've been grinding for for weeks on end. Same with lvls, and the lvl grind is pretty bad for some people. So, what penalty would we get?

Ohh. Have the guards take Champion Points if people cannot pay gold. That should solve part of the "too many Champion Points ruins the game" problem!

But, related to being tossed in jail for any length of time, that is a concept that really does not play well in a more real-time MMO. Sure, in TES you can just fade the camera and pretend that days or weeks went by, but in an MMO, that does not work. No one wants to have one of their characters in jail for days, or even hours, of real time. It's like being banned. That seems a bit harsh for just playing a game.

Then, on top of that, any character progression punishment is just adding insult. Well, except for removing Champion Points, which I think most players will welcome the opportunity to re-acquire those. I am not a fan of the progression punishments.

Rather than jail, the system sends you into a sort of exile. For an MMO, a bounty you either have to pay off or wait out works a lot better than spending time out in a cell.

Jaxsun · March 2015

Enodoc wrote: »

Jaxsun wrote: »

Epona222 wrote: »

A. Try not to get into too much trouble in the first place - if you rob and murder indiscriminately and get caught, you will end up with a large bounty

B. If you do end up a fugitive, run... run like the wind. And don't go back into town until you have either paid off your bounty with the fence, or stayed away from town whilst the bounty decays.

C. Just to re-iterate, you cannot commit a vast amount of crime and always get away with it, if you have run up a bounty that you can't afford to pay off then that is no-one's fault but your own.

"If you rob and murder indiscriminately and get caught, you will end up with a large bounty" -this made me laugh cuz its the objective of the justice system and people knowingly participate and then wonder why they are a fugitive.

One of the main objectives of the Justice System though is to not be indiscriminate, so that you reap the rewards of the system and don't get a bounty at all.

That's why I run like hell when I'm attacked by my mark. I don't want to kill them.

SickDuck · March 2015

Valn wrote: »

Is this intended? I have 0 coins in my inventory so I can't pay my bounty

So basicaly you're so poor you can't even afford to steal? Shoul have thought about it before you started doing it!

SickDuck · March 2015

Another option is to leave your dirty deeds right before bedtime. The guards are polite enough to leave you alone while you "sleep". And they forget all but the most hideous crimes by the next day.

nerevarine1138 · March 2015

SickDuck wrote: »

Valn wrote: »

Is this intended? I have 0 coins in my inventory so I can't pay my bounty

So basicaly you're so poor you can't even afford to steal? Shoul have thought about it before you started doing it!

It's actually a trick people are using: rack up a huge bounty but keep all your gold in the bank. You'll still get destroyed by any guard who sees you, but you won't lose the bounty gold. I'm hoping they change that.

Enodoc · March 2015

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

SickDuck wrote: »

Valn wrote: »

Is this intended? I have 0 coins in my inventory so I can't pay my bounty

So basicaly you're so poor you can't even afford to steal? Shoul have thought about it before you started doing it!

It's actually a trick people are using: rack up a huge bounty but keep all your gold in the bank. You'll still get destroyed by any guard who sees you, but you won't lose the bounty gold. I'm hoping they change that.

That's an interesting point actually. I agree with ZOS that the guards shouldn't take gold from the bank, but what could happen instead? Should it be that the bounty does not decay over time at all (or decays much more slowly) so it's not so easy to get rid of? Maybe set it so that it can only decay while logged in on that character, and cannot decay while you're not playing? It would be good if there were also some "free" ways to clear your bounty, like Community Service. Community Service would send you off to defeat some NPC criminal (like in Fable II). Jail could also be an option, but as others have said, I'm not sure how jail would work in a persistent world. Exile could also be an actual option on the guard's dialogue (rather than self-imposed by running away); you get ported to the middle of nowhere, and by the time you get back, your bounty will have decayed some. (If it hasn't decayed enough, you get immediately arrested again.)