The Cowardly Bandit

[Uncle Bertrum]

So I was playing Skyrim: Special Edition and I encountered some bandits. I killed all of them but one, which I noticed was quite far away and I wouldn't have even known if he was there if it weren't for the red dot. I walk for a bit and eventually find him crouched so I walk up to him because he's not attacking me. As I get close, he starts running around and saying things like, "Please don't kill me!" and ,"I can't best you!" He even said, "Death is overrated!" He just keeps running away from me and doesn't attack. I've never encountered this in the two runs of the game I did on the xbox 360. I looked it up and also found nothing about it. Has anyone else found this, and if so, can they explain why this is in here?

[Ashardalon]

are you using fire spells?
that causes behavior like that, there are also a few enchantments i think
or sometimes they do it when damaged a lot in the fight
is pretty common in my experience, maybe you just killed them too fast on xbox
dont forget to kill him, no matter the distance he will still be in combat with you and prevent things like fast travel, sleeping and mod added things like chopping down a tree

[Tommy Reslin]

Originally posted by Ashardalon:

are you using fire spells?
that causes behavior like that, there are also a few enchantments i think
or sometimes they do it when damaged a lot in the fight
is pretty common in my experience, maybe you just killed them too fast on xbox
dont forget to kill him, no matter the distance he will still be in combat with you and prevent things like fast travel, sleeping and mod added things like chopping down a tree

This. I've also had it happen when draining enemies to death with the vampire lord's life drain spell. Had a few instances where the guy clipped with it decides to cower rather than fight and won't defend themselves.

[Uncle Bertrum]

I was actually just using a sword and shield. I didn't have any companions with me to attack him and he was super far away, so I know I never hurt him. It's so strange

[Ashardalon]

how many of his friends did you slaughter?
there are a lot of things that cause it, including slaughtering his friends and family infront of his eyes

[Uncle Bertrum]

I probably killed about 5 so I guess if that really is a way to make that happen then it explains it. Well thanks everyone for the explanation.

[Kalgert]

I often encounter these kind of bandit groups while on the road, and I actually found this cowardly bandit to be cowering from you before you draw first blood.

It's interesting really. Among the bandits who are fairly beefy, there is that one bandit who hides from you as soon as combat starts. Because if his cowardice were triggered during the fight, there is a good chance he'd be killed during the scuffle.

And of course, since bestowing mercy upon a foe is overrated, you end up killijg him, because nothing else can be done avout him.

[lanlyn]

I always feel like a murderous bully when I kill these poor chumps, but it has to be done. In the beginning, I tried to be merciful a couple of times. Then when the cowards regained some health (or nerve) they just attacked me again. I think their cries for mercy are just sneaky tricks!

The other day two bandits ran off from me screaming in terror. I chased them for a while, then let them go. Next thing I knew, they were back attacking me from behind, so I finished them off.

I still remember playing Knights of the Old Republic and seeing some poor creature hunched down and quivering in front of me. I think that was the first game I'd had enemies do that ... not just run away.

[Uncle Bertrum]

Yeah, Kalgert, that's exactly what I encountered. It's really weird cause I've never seen or heard of anything like that in the game before.