Bad-mouthing npc's

[Daemos Avetorii]

I like to emulate liberty prime from fallout 3.

Bandit taunt: (booming voice) DARE TO DEFY ME?! (-edit- that was not liberty prime but a king oni from red alert 3)
Or.. I am hesitant to kill you, bandit. For the dead do not learn. But neither it would seem would do much of the living. Alas. *mace hit*
Bandit taunts. Me: You again? I could have sworn I iced you twice over by now. Who keeps resurrecting you?!
Bandit taunts. Me: amusing, you feel insecure, but rather than resolve your psychological issues, you taunt others to feel better about yourself. How pathetic.

Sometimes I go robotic like.. Hostile device terminated, or.. Terminate all hostile elements. too bad they cannot hear me. The looks on their faces would be priceless.

[ZeRoc]

I will say that I do take part in the responding aloud to what they say, or give back the insults of the past by telling people that they "move like a drunken cow" or inform them that "this is the part where you lie down and BLEED TO DEATH!" (At full volume, my brother gets annoyed."

[rcbecker123]

yes I also respond to or taunt the NPCs my wife thinks Im nuts.

[Raynil dralas]

I did once shout "im the dragonborn [&@%!]" ala xmen 3s terrible representation of juggernaut

[Finn Wolfshorn]

Sometimes I go robotic like.. Hostile device terminated, or.. Terminate all hostile elements. too bad they cannot hear me. The looks on their faces would be priceless.

EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!

Some of the race-specific taunts are also fun to respond to, like:
"Nobody bests an Orc!" - "I am Nobody!"
"Nerevar guide me!" - "Oops, he didn't!"
etc.

[Dark Spark]

There's something about hearing a taunting Nord/Orc/Redguard crying "No more! I yield! I yield!" all while you're ramming a blade down behind their collarbone and into their heart.

And what is that something? Ah, yes: Satisfaction.

[CreeperX]

I don't mind about the NPCs but what does start to get aggravating at times is the repetition. Nazeem, for example, never really bothered me but when you have several characters and have to listen to the "Do you get to the cloud district very often?..." every time you walk past him... ughh. It's not really the dialogue itself but the repetition that can get irritating. Same thing with characters who don't react to things happening around them and just keep repeating the same dialogue. Like some Companions members who don't recognize that you are a guild master and still treat you like you were a wet-eared novice. I don't like having my immersion broken.

Still, I never actually get offended by their comments and my response highly depends of the character I'm currently playing. Yakov for example thinks it's a sign of weakness to get riled up by petty insults, while Asul is just as likely to laugh as he's to punch them in the face (or both).

[Daemos Avetorii]

Just had a thought. So a milkdrinker is a person that another person (the insulter) thinks to be weak.

.... And? So what if they are weak? We cannot all be uberpowerful. Why is being weak a problem? And why do those idiots calling you mildrinker feel the profound need to do so. Are they afraid of the weak?

We can be weak and strong for different reasons and conditions. A starving man who has not eaten in days obviously will not fight very well etc.
=_= mind of mine... does not compute nordic thinking. I could say there are friendly nords and angry nords. But that has less to do with race and more with persons. Most folks in whiterun are perfectly amiable for example.

Incidentally. Do many nords fear magic, or just hate it for association with mer?

[Evil-i]

Just had a thought. So a milkdrinker is a person that another person (the insulter) thinks to be weak.

.... And? So what if they are weak? We cannot all be uberpowerful. Why is being weak a problem? And why do those idiots calling you mildrinker feel the profound need to do so. Are they afraid of the weak?

Actually, they don't know if you're weak or strong. Their vanity (or insecurity) has made them arrive at certain assumptions about you, and they most likely overestimate their own capabilities too.

And then there's the bully mindset. They need to let you know who's boss, and they need to do it in front of an audience.

The AI is pretty feeble. You'd think an NPC with nothing more than a rusty iron paperweight and a few stinking greasy animal skins for protection would know enough to STFU when a stranger in unimaginable enchanted armor and wielding a battery of glowing weapons walks into the room.

[Daemos Avetorii]

The AI is pretty feeble. You'd think an NPC with nothing more than a rusty iron paperweight and a few stinking greasy animal skins for protection would know enough to STFU when a stranger in unimaginable enchanted armor and wielding a battery of glowing weapons walks into the room.

That brought a smile to my face.

Lol if nords are so tough, why are they insecure? haha

[Evil-i]

The AI is pretty feeble. You'd think an NPC with nothing more than a rusty iron paperweight and a few stinking greasy animal skins for protection would know enough to STFU when a stranger in unimaginable enchanted armor and wielding a battery of glowing weapons walks into the room.

That brought a smile to my face.

Lol if nords are so tough, why are they insecure? haha

Well, I think the real answer is that this another facet of the game that Bethesda didn't put a lot of thought into. It wouldn't have required too much imagination to engineer things so that NPCs' interactions with you would adapt according to your character. For instance, the Brawlers and other taunters might say something like "You wouldn't be so tough without that fancy armor...", and if the encounter results in a brawl, your armor is force-removed for the brawl's duration. Or, instead of the usual "milk drinker" taunt, something like "You seem to be a cut above the typical milk drinker, but I still don't like you..." Potential brawls of this nature should be fought for higher amounts than the standard 100 Gold wager.

Of course, all of this would require much more recorded NPC dialogue, and extensive dialogue and varied NPC voice acting has never been a strong feature in ES games, which curiously gets back to the original point you made.

[Ursula R. M.]

Oh Oblivion, I gotta respond to this.
A "Milk-Drinker" is uh...A baby.
I posted a similar thread ages ago about what I do to those taunters.
(It is designed to get a reaction, no?)
Revenge. One of the reasons I love to play Skyrim.
(working through this personality flaw)
I have to save/attack/re load. Especially all the real sassy people:
H. Iron-Fist
Nazeem
Cicero
any Battle-Born
Drunks with a smart mouth.
(I ignore all of them now,BTW) Once you get "fame" you get a fair amount of compliment too.

[SM-Dreamer]

I don't really notice it, and the rare times I do I do as Ursula says - save/kill/load. It actually depends on who the character is that I'm playing.

If it's in town or some such, just an NPC walking by, then Ayla will grin and steal something from the offender; Blade has more of an inclination to lash out and get thrown in jail after beating them to the ground, but that depends on the insult.

as for the bandits and whatnot, I rarely notice even then because I'm too focused on fighting. Ayla notices the cat rug comments, and will put a nice fear spell on the offender; Blade is too focused in battle to care what's being said, so long as she's the victor.

I do wish, though, as has been mentioned, that there was some recognition. A group of three bandits should not think they can overwhelm Ayla and her two companions (Kharjo and Jenassa) when all three are decked out in much better armor/weapons; that same group might think the same of Blade, since she wears lesser quality armors and travels alone, but once the fighting starts, there should be some sort of "oh [&@%!] we're in over our head!" moment.

I mean, if the guards can notice my character's qualities while walking through town, why can't the other NPC's?

[Red Guardian]

I only hate the kids that act like they're tough. Like that little brat, Braith. I hate her.

[Dark Spark]

"I bet my poppa could beat you up."
"I bet your unborn baby sister could beat you up, lil' boy."

[Ursula R. M.]

@Dreamer, good question about Guards vs. NPC recognition. (some of them do though, I think)
Sometimes the Bandits do realize they are in over their heads and scream "We're routed fall back" but then they don't really stop do they?
Has anyone heard this? A guard says "Is that Dragon Scale Armor? What I wouldn't give for a set of those"

[Dark Spark]

"Iron sword, eh? What are you fighting— butterflies?"

[Evil-i]

"You can sell that junk at Bits and Pieces."

I'll sell your junk instead.

[Daemos Avetorii]

Ever since I started using the unofficial patch, I notice that merchants etc go like: "are you a member of the college or did you steal those robes" etc..... wtf.. The audacity. Odious wretches.
That "goldenrod" in Windhelm lost me as a customer. >_<

[Dark Spark]

I've noticed that roving bandits usually spawn in groups of three or four. The individuals in the groups of three all become hostile and fight to the death. In the groups of four, though, there always seems to be one bandit who becomes submissive. In spite of him showing up as a hostile red dot in the compass bar, he will spend the rest of his miserable existence cowering and warbling "We're routed!" or "I submit!".

Not sure if this is scripted or is one of Skyrims many bugs. I like to entertain the idea that Bethesda was tinkering with a gameplay mechanic where surviving bandits would spread the word about you, and bandit AI would adapt and change towards you. It would have been an interesting feature.

I think I just found out. Today I was on the road north of Rorikstead, on my way from Solitude to Markarth. At the point in the road where Markarth lays due west, I was just about to turn off the road and go cross-country when I heard a male Nord's voice: "Where'd you stash it?" Followed by another male's voice trying to whimper out a reply. I turned to look further up the road, and who do I see?

It was the bandit gang of four. The bandit who usually flees in the fight was the one doing the whimpering. I think there's a scripted event where the three other members of the party turn against this guy because he hid some of the loot.

[Sirocco]

There's a rare feature in certain other RPG's where, as your character develops, most lesser enemies recognize when they are outmatched and rightly flee in terror at the mere sight of you (or in certain turn-based examples the encounter results in an instant win). I wouldn't mind something similar in TES.

Those features are not necessarily accurate. Said bandits can hardly be considered human being, and even less rational.
I have to point out that lowlifes especially those that live most of their lives in prison wont learn from the experience and still comit some sstupid easy to solve crime that puts them back into jail.
The fact is, being born from a human couple does not make anyone a human being, thus sapient.

[Dark Spark]

There's a rare feature in certain other RPG's where, as your character develops, most lesser enemies recognize when they are outmatched and rightly flee in terror at the mere sight of you (or in certain turn-based examples the encounter results in an instant win). I wouldn't mind something similar in TES.

Those features are not necessarily accurate. Said bandits can hardly be considered human being, and even less rational.
I have to point out that lowlifes especially those that live most of their lives in prison wont learn from the experience and still comit some sstupid easy to solve crime that puts them back into jail.
The fact is, being born from a human couple does not make anyone a human being, thus sapient.

Life as a hedge robber isn't a feeding frenzy of armed robbery. It is very much a predatory experience where you only strike when you have some confidence in success. For the uncouth ruffian of your imaginings, this would be the tendency to attack the soft-looking wayfarers with little coin, but even less protection.

[The Chad]

I take it we're talking about Nazeem, aka Skyrim-Fargoth?

The solution is simple.

Bide your time. Wait. Improve.

Years (days/hours) later, return. Make sure the last thing he sees is the bolt from your crossbow launching into his face. Then leave without a trace.

[Dark Spark]

I take it we're talking about Nazeem, aka Skyrim-Fargoth?

The solution is simple.

Bide your time. Wait. Improve.

Years (days/hours) later, return. Make sure the last thing he sees is the bolt from your crossbow launching into his face. Then leave without a trace.

Why wait?

[Sirocco]

There's a rare feature in certain other RPG's where, as your character develops, most lesser enemies recognize when they are outmatched and rightly flee in terror at the mere sight of you (or in certain turn-based examples the encounter results in an instant win). I wouldn't mind something similar in TES.

Those features are not necessarily accurate. Said bandits can hardly be considered human being, and even less rational.
I have to point out that lowlifes especially those that live most of their lives in prison wont learn from the experience and still comit some sstupid easy to solve crime that puts them back into jail.
The fact is, being born from a human couple does not make anyone a human being, thus sapient.

Life as a hedge robber isn't a feeding frenzy of armed robbery. It is very much a predatory experience where you only strike when you have some confidence in success. For the uncouth ruffian of your imaginings, this would be the tendency to attack the soft-looking wayfarers with little coin, but even less protection.

I dont know. As I remember most robbers were all put down hard, which means they werent smart enough to quit while they can, or see the armed mob of "lawmen" coming for them.
Those few thieves, robbers and pirates who ended up kind of rich and powerfull, all had some ruler supporting them.
I think you assume too much of these characters. Camping in the wilderness with bears, wolves, sabercats, giant spiders, and the occasional werewolves in hope that a rich merchant may walk by without guards protecting him from bears, wolves, sabrecats, giant spiders werewolves and the surviving bandits, does not seem to be a smart idea.

About the feature. I doubt people would like bandits dying in visual range or running in fear through the country.
For example in Mount and Blade the most annoying thing is that bandits and raiders can run from you all day long, from the southest corner of the desert, to the northest part of the world. While you need to feed your troops every day, and may run out of food, they can kite you forever.