Contract [ANSWERED & CLOSED]

[TTRM]

So I recently started playing Skyrim (been postponing it for way too long) and immediately fell into old Oblivion-habits, looting and stealing in order to raise funds for a house to store my loot in.
No detection, no bounty.
Eventually, I made my way to the Swindler's Den, only to have 3 Hired Thugs approach me upon my egress. I assumed they were related to the dungeon, but started wondering a bit when one of them had a "Contract" in their inventory. Naturally, I checked the wikia (uesp) for info on this contract and found that it's caused by theft, regardless of whether one has been detected or not.

My questions:
1) Will NPCs hire thugs against me for pickpocketing only the gold? (i.e. leaving any and all items untouched)
2) Are guards able to hire thugs against me?



Also.... A slightly amusing note on the wiki, noted under bugs, fixed in a later (unofficial) patch:

Originally posted by uesp:

If you steal an item from someone and kill them straight afterwards, they can still hire thugs to come after you (e.g., a dead Forsworn Briarheart may take out a contract on you for pickpocketing his heart).

Got me a bit of a laugh there...



Additional info:

Originally posted by uesp:

The item in question can either be stolen from a location, or pickpocketed, and you do not have to be seen; a hidden theft can still activate the contract.

While it does say a contract may be placed for stealing both from an NPC's pockets and their private surroundings, it specifies items, but says nothing about gold. Granted, gold is more of an item here in Skyrim than what it was back in Oblivion (in Oblivion, the gold could not be interacted with, but in Skyrim, one can both deposit and drop it), but the question of whether or not the contract-related strings of code apply to them is still up for question.


edit: fixed a minor, flawed piece of info.

[killercatdude88]

I've heard of situations where Paarthurnax has sent hired thugs after people for stealing stuff from the Greybeards, so I sort of assume it's possible for most NPCs to send them after the player.

[SpeedFreak1972]

yea you stole something .... in that case they sent hired thugs. I had it several times the funny thing is they even can sent thugs after you if the npc in question is dead.

[Hyen《A》 ♧]

Originally posted by Bob:

I've heard of situations where Paarthurnax has sent hired thugs after people for stealing stuff from the Greybeards, so I sort of assume it's possible for most NPCs to send them after the player.

This is by far the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Thanks mate.

[mpd1958]

It's not just stealing something and killing the person and then have thugs after you. I've killed someone before I stole from them and they still sent thugs after me.

[Hyen《A》 ♧]

Originally posted by mpd1958:

It's not just stealing something and killing the person and then have thugs after you. I've killed someone before I stole from them and they still sent thugs after me.

I've recently killed Calixto and looted his home. Let's see if this rings true.

[SpeedFreak1972]

Originally posted by mpd1958:

It's not just stealing something and killing the person and then have thugs after you. I've killed someone before I stole from them and they still sent thugs after me.

well that's you they just didn't like you j/k also there's a chance it's not certain.

[TTRM]

Thanks for the replies, folks, but I think you might've misunderstood my questions a bit.

Originally posted by Bob:

...so I sort of assume it's possible for most NPCs to send them after the player.

That I already know, as the uesp states that...

Originally posted by uesp:

Almost every NPC in the game can send thugs after you.

...but it doesn't say if this applies to the guards or not. Has anyone received a contract signed by a guard?

Originally posted by SpeedFreak1972:

yea you stole something .... in that case they sent hired thugs.

That much is obvious, but does this apply to gold (coins/septims), or does it only apply to all other items?

Originally posted by mpd1958:

It's not just stealing something and killing the person and then have thugs after you. I've killed someone before I stole from them and they still sent thugs after me.

As stated in the "slightly amusing note" I quoted from the uesp. It is indeed rather funny.


So to reiterate:
1) Can a contract be caused by stealing coins and nothing but coins?
2) Can stealing from guards cause a contract?


Again, thanks for the replies so far
(disclaimer: No annoyance/irritation/etc is intended in my post, but I know some might interpret it as such due to the lack of inflection in written text. I am truly gratefull for all replies I get that intend to assist.)

[Hyen《A》 ♧]

Considering a forsworn briarheart can give put contracts against you, I'd say yeah. Anyone can put a contract on you, even little Lucia the orphan.

[smr1957]

The game generates a contract note when you steal from a named/unique NPC. If you steal from a generic NPC, only a bounty is applied. And gold is an item in the game, so the rules regarding stealing are the same for gold as for anything else.

[MysticMalevolence]

I've never personally seen a guard sending thugs, though I have seen certain generic road NPCs doing so.
I assume that this wasn't intended and that one of my mods caused this to happen. So give or take.

They can be sent for stealing gold, though, definitely. But remember that the thugs are a chance occurence, you aren't guarenteed to have them every time you steal.

[TTRM]

Originally posted by smr1957:

The game generates a contract note when you steal from a named/unique NPC. If you steal from a generic NPC, only a bounty is applied. And gold is an item in the game, so the rules regarding stealing are the same for gold as for anything else.

Originally posted by Dylan the Cartographer:

They can be sent for stealing gold, though, definitely.

Thanks for the answer ^^

Originally posted by Dylan the Cartographer:

But remember that the thugs are a chance occurence, you aren't guarenteed to have them every time you steal.

Yeah, I know. Just wanted to eliminate (at least for now) any potential chance of having them sent after me. Later on, I'll be taking advantage of them every time they occur. There's a decent amount of coinage to be gained from looting them. ^^

[NecroMaster]

Hired thugs will only come after you when you steal and getting caught has absolutely no effect on it.

The thalmor will always put a hit on you.

And dark brotherhood assassins will only come after you when an npc is given motive to want you dead although you’ll never find out who placed the hit on you.

[TTRM]

Thanks for the info, but I already got the answer I was looking for.