It's the same exact logic the raiders in fallout use Lol, like hey you see that guy who disintegrated a bunch of NCR rangers with his plasma rifle and is wearing a full suit of X-01, yeah let's go beat him up with a pool cue.
I feel like the logic is that someone who just killed a dragon would be both tired and injured, and also very well equipped. Unfortunately for them, the dragonborn only needs about ten seconds before they can go again.
@@gabemissouri WIth raiders I Can see it though. They're typically high as kites and think themselves gods because of the use of drugs like psycho and jet. Bandits not so much. Unless they're doing skooma. But we also don't loot skooma from them so.
With Fjola I always wondered if the real Fjola was in fact the dead woman in the cell, and the bandit leader just took her ring because it was valuable, and came up with a lie to get rid of you.
@@fresshell3411Unless they studied the couple before the abduction. Kidnappers are known to do such things. However the dead woman appear to be a redguard so any attempt given would not fit.
@@michaelpettersson4919I personally don't see it like that but none the less that is a fascinating take. She says she "returned to Skyrim" i think, implying they married in another province. Then she realises it's not the life for her, and returns to her homeland. And she's surprised the husband "followed her so far." If he just hiked a few km through Skyrim it wouldn't be worth mentioning but she is genuinely surprised he had the fortitude to come what sounds like a long way. The bandits probably aren't travelling too far from their base and I don't see them going beyond the borders of Skyrim and risking Imperial entanglenents, making it a "federal crime" as it were by crossing provincial borders. So it's possible they had an extremely skilled tracker in the gang who was able to quickly cross large distances, to scout for marks while not drawing a bunch of attention. I really like your idea here and definitely am not saying you're wrong. It's just interesting enough I think it bears more discussion. Cheers
@@infebris If she's the Redguard kid in Whiterun always abusing that poor boy, she's in love and doesn't know how to show it. Her parents aren't exactly beacons of domestic tranquility, and seem to pawn her off on the other spouse. If she could just learn how to express her feelings, she could be worthy of being the main character in ES7.
I think there is a mod that gives every unnamed NPC a name. Nothing super deep, but just the random "Bandit", "Traveller" , "Fisher", "Hunter", "Guard", etc.
@@HappyBeezerStudiosIf we're talking about the same mod, it has addons that add unique names for factions Reachmen will get reachmen names Dragons and dragon priests will get their own names Lesser Deadra And some ashlander names for random Dark Elves, it adds some cool immersion
About Ra'jirr: You don't necessarily find him dead, only if you are too slow. Otherwise, you can find him getting attacked by the Pale Lady, and if you're very fast, you can either kill her (one-shot her with bow and arrow, but that requires dragonbone bow and arrow and archer skill at 100 with all necessary perks to have the maximum possible damage output, a good enchantment won't hurt either) or at least draw her attention to you instead of Ra'jirr. If you manage to save him, tho, he'll have the sword, so if you want it, you'd need to pickpocket it from him. He'll just remain standing in front of the altar, as Bethesda obviously never considered someone would actually save him (I managed only once in Idk how many playthroughs).
Fun fact about Mistwatch, if you don't kill all the bandits before reaching Fjola, all bandits there that are still alive will become friendly afterward (And till their AI resets).
Happened to me in the last tower during an actual gameplay. Two remaining bandits were too much for me so I escaped to meet Fjola, hoping they won't follow me. On my way back I expected them to attack on sight but were just chilling, like nothing happened.
@@boreanknight Do you have a video about the Forsworn? They seem to be the most savage of the bandits in Skyrim! I describe The Forsworn as, evil deer people!
@@duncanshaw1256 The Forsworn aren't bandits, they're their own strange, daedra worshipping culture of bretons, worshipping the "old gods" which are mostly Hircine, a few other daedric princes, and kynareth.
Skyrim is a land reeling from the great war the Empire fought with the Aldmeri Dominion, the local war with the Reachmen and the current civil war. There is little work for lots of returning soldiers, naturally a large part of them turns to crime and brigandry. Add to that the Forsworn melting away into the hills, deserters from all sides hiding out in the wilderness and a large influx of refugees from Morrowind.
See, if I would become high king of Skyrim... I would see to create work opportunities for those bandits. So, you can fight and have previous experience of military order? How about you become a bodyguard. Or a town guard. You can continue looking menacing, but instead of forcing your share, you get paid. And one interesting thing vaguely related to the civil war and the Forsworn: Ulfric took back the Reach from the Forsworn in the name of the Empire. Part of the reason for his current influence: He has proven to be a good leader.
@HappyBeezerStudios its easy to say you would just hire everyone but there are only so many relevant jobs and bodyguards etc don't produce any goods. You'd be better off handing out small bits of land but ultimately skyrim doesn't have much good land and just lost a war
I imagine Whiterun's ability to deal with local bandits is hampered by the war. Balgruuf is no doubt losing soldiers to desertion to the two factions and needs enough standing soldiers to prevent either side from seeing him as a weak target.
@@kiennguyentrong1897 And then they lost an entire military outpost to a dragon attack. We know that at least 4 men were there, and there were likely more.
@@metalmadness5851 I always wonder the scale of the army lore wise. Like in games there are a couple guys walking around, but in the story, it’s obvious a lot more.
@@kiennguyentrong1897 Based on the landscape of Skyrim, and Ulfric's hold of less than half... I'd give him 15,000 soldiers? Much of Skyrim's fighting men probably died in the Aldmeri war, so Ulfric is mustering what's left. As for the Imperial army... I'd give Tullius about 40,000 at the start. The Empire likely moved a significant force to Skyrim in hopes of overwhelming the Stormcloaks quickly. The attrition and cold has probably reduced their numbers, but they likely still hold a numerical majority. I base that idea on the deadlock the war has become. The Stormcloaks are likely using guerilla methods (they have multiple camps well behind enemy lines) and have left Tullius lacking confidence in advancing without a clear advantage. Skyrim probably only has 1-3 million in population, scattered between the various holds and minor settlements. Whereas Cyrodiil likely has around 10 million, based on the central location and the fantastic land they own. While the Aldmeri war definitely dropped those numbers, Cyrodiil still probably has more to spare than Skyrim.
@@metalmadness5851The aldmeri war happened 20-30 years ago, that would be more then enough for the generation born during the war and too young to fight in the war male population to recover. As for the imperial numbers, we must take note that the pale pass leading to skyrim from cyrodiil is blocked due to avalanche. I don't know which video discusses this but, it was said that the imperial army in skyrim is mostly made out of raw recruits. While most of the professional imperial armies are stationed near the boarders of Aldmeri controled Valenwood and Elsewhere. Tulius was just recently sent due to failures of the previous command. I'd say 15,000 estimate for the stormcloaks is just for the Elite and Veteran Corps of the Nordic Army that once served in the Great War, While for the imperials 40,000 would be a great initial count of the recent raw recruits and auxiliary to the main force. As for me, i'd think at most 75,000 to 25,000 would be enough for each of the sides. Taking into acount the setting of the games being in a renaissance like era medieval europe, it should be lower, but due to the martial culture and levy system of skyrim it would be easy for the numbers to swell abit more then what we could expect.
The Benkongerike Beater 100%, dude has like 20 copies of the Lusty Argonian Maid total, an absolute crapton of clearly soiled rags, and a book of telekinesis, which either means that the spell tome in question has some saucy contents or this one riekling in the middle of literal nowhere was not only literate enough to read Curio's finest but was also intelligent enough to learn telekinesis from a tome, and used that magical proficiency to advance his gooning experience to new levels.
The most unbelievable thing about Skyrim isn't that it's teeming with bandits and Forsworn, but that, given their nature of dress, the land isn't overrun by bandit and Forsworn children.
And with their constant mantra being, "The Reach will be ours again," one would think the Forsworn would attempt to be as productive as possible. Their replacement rate would certainly have to outpace their mortality rate to see that goal become a reality in the future, but it doesn't seem like any of them are having any children ar all.
@@YDV669 Or maybe... The Hagravens use their magics to channel pocket-realms of Oblivion to use as secret daycares for the Forsworn children! But probably not, I'm kinda sleep deprived right now and I think it's showing.
One of the most ironic things about Skyrim (and other TES games) is that if you follow the main roads its likely *more* dangerous because of all the set-up encounters on them. Makes me think when you choose fast travel your character must decide to walk through the woods instead in order to arrive without interruption.
I like the theory that they're descendents of traditionalist Nords that refused to worship the Cyrodiilic pantheon when it became the more popular belief system in Skyrim after the Oblivion Crisis, so they were banished from the cities.
There's actually a little more lore for Eisa. If you go to Cidnha Mine, there are actually two people that vaguely remember her and mention her. One wonders what happened to Eisa, and the other mistakenly calls her "the Blackblood girl." It's mentioned in their dialogue that she gutted a cutpurse that was thrown in there as well, with one of them commenting that if they didn't know better, they'd have sworn she was Forsworn. Personally, I don't think there is a single explanation for all of the bandits in Skyrim. They are, naturally, a mix of things. But one of the reasons for them is almost certainly the war. There's definitely a lot of them that turned to crime because the war left them without any money and feeling they had no other choice. While war can be very profitable for some people, it isn't going to be for everyone. There are definitely going to be those screwed over. Farmers being forced to give up all of their yields to the war effort, being left barely able to feed themselves, or worse, impacted more directly by raids and attacks by one side trying to cut into the rations of the other side. This is even more likely with the civil war so closely following the great war, with there likely being those who were still recovering from the war with the Thalmor only for this civil war to start and keep them from recovering properly. Some might be pushed to join one side or the other, sure, but not all of them would want to, perhaps agreeing that Talos worship should be allowed but feeling Ulfric is fighting the wrong people for example. So, caught in the middle and feeling they have no way to survive, they turn to an assortment of crime. Keep in mind that the bandits in Skyrim don't all do the same things. Yeah, many rob travelers and merchants, as one would expect of a bandit. But a lot of them do things you wouldn't typically associate with bandits. Excavating ancient Nord tombs, delving through Dwemer ruins, hunting mammoths. In fact, even ones in great positions to attack travelers don't attack you unless you approach them, standing there and guarding a fort or cave they made their base and just ignoring you unless you walk up to their base, suggesting they were not robbing random travelers and merchants, but doing something else entirely and you just got too close for their comfort or even attacked first. Of course, as I stated initially, this isn't the reason for all of them. It's a variety of reasons. But that's one of the more common reasons we see in character backstories. The war would also impact the number of bandits in another way. Because of the war, there are fewer people dealing with crime. Jarls are placing their guards to protect their cities from potential attacks from whatever side they don't support. They're more worried about the very stuff we do during the civil war questline. Yeah, they still do some work stopping crime, but they mostly care about the city itself. It would be dangerous to send a group of guards to stop some nearby bandits when there could be an army at their gates at any moment. Obviously the dragon sightings make this "defend the city" mentality even more important and prevalent. So you have the war giving more people a reason to become a bandit, while simultaneously making it so jarls and thus guards won't bother them as long as they don't directly attack a village or city. More people become bandits, fewer bandits get caught or killed.
Diving through caves and hunting mammoths really sound like they just try to get by. Finding treasures to sell, going after animals to feed themselves. And another thing with "sending a group of guards to stop some nearby bandits": Usually there is more than one group of bandits, so while the guard is out hunting one gang, another might see the opportunity to raid the city.
For real. And one of my dragonborns is a werewolf and can just take a short jaunt through the woods and find a whole fort full of snacks. He doesn't ever have to worry abt turning and hurting innocent people because there's so many tasty badguys around.
Honestly that's how I'd play a heroic Vampire character. He feeds on the bad guys only, and Skyrim's so chock full of bandits it's basically an all you can eat buffet. "Dragonborn where are you going?" DB "I'm just going to take a walk, to that nearby bandit infested fort and say hello" Munutes later you hear a bunch of bandits screaming. "Oh Gods dammit."
@@muhammadnursyahmi9440 And considering they and Raiders just attack innocent people, no one's goign to care what we do with these worthless sentient parasites.
One of the funnest things I’ve done was an entire play through where every single bandit I killed (and yes, I waited until I could fulfill the requirements) was soul trapped and I just made a huge pile of filled black soul stones in my home, right next to the bed, so when I woke up I was greeted by the warmth of, literally, hundreds of tormented souls. ☺️
@@candideoptimism8775nah man every playthrough ive ever done of oblivion theres way more goblins than bandits. Tbh in my experience bandits areuch more rare in oblivion, mostly just wild life and monsters i run into
One thing I find interesting about Arondil's journals and Vekel the Man is that even though you bring the journals, Vekel does not actually take them. He just gives you money and doesn't take them. I think he got a quick look and decided that was too weird for him to mess with. Could be just a glitch or a hole in the story for you to fill in. I really like the whole story with Wilhelm in Ivarstead. From invisible ghost dudes in the barrow to smuggling mead to dead missing sisters to hiding Sibi Blackbriar's ex Lynly. Might be worth covering if you haven't yet.
I'd like to cover Wilhelm actually, I mentioned him briefly in the second part and story about Wyndelius. He's either one of the secretly best written characters in Skyrim, due to so many weird little details, or it's a pure coincidence.
Theres a guy that has done employment surveys for all the towns in skyrim. Hes also done restaurant reviews and furniture/.carpentry reviews too. Good videos
My Dragonborn is similar to Rigel, with the hoarding part, he grew up as a parentless thug in Cyrodiil, so he clings to every Septim he can get his hands on, meaning my inventory has an over abundance of gems/ trinkets, as well as a whole treasure room’s worth of money.
I always remembered Arondil vividly despite it being years since I completed that quest. Such a disgusting creature. Most likely the worst life-form in Skyrim. Great vid🍻
There is only one NPC I think is more evil than Arondil. In Morvunskar, there is a warlock named Naris the Wicked. Dialogue among the other Warlocks suggests that he is fond of elaborate forms of torture and SA. This also shines a light on the darker side of the Daedric Prince Sanguine, who you follow to Morvunskar during A Night To Remember, as the fort's occupants (including Naris) are quite obviously implied to be his worshippers.
@@Anton2046gfkn You're so quick to chastise some random internet person to feel superior to them that you didn't even notice that person is the OP. Talk about unnecessary and rude.
I recently replayed the thieves guild questline and you can find someone living there during the end of the thieves guild questline when you have to go to pinewatch for the silversmith in markarth
I wish there was bandit community that you could pacify and interact with like in morrowind , it would have been fun to roleplay as Bjorn sons of Oleg of MoutainReach , raider from father to son and raid some imperial or khajit caravan. It would also have been cool as a vampire with Vampire coven...
Something Bethesda seems to shy away nowadays. It's the same with nameless raiders in Fallout. They are just there to be cannonfodder to be fought and looted by the player. No real interaction. Even when a gang has a named leader, all they do is attack on sight. No way to interact with them. And yes, even Nuka World for Fallout 4 doesn't do much better. Those raiders are in the DLC area, you meet them as the people living there, you don't pacify them. Sure, the DLC allows to take over settlements, but that is just the normal settlement system with slightly different aesthetics.
My favorite type of encounter with bandits is when I'm kitted in fully enchanted armor, and I have full dragon aspect up. Like, bro, how are you going to try jumping a character whose VOICE is a WMD? If they try to extort me, I always pay what they want and then immediately kill him and run his pockets.
I have a soft spot for the White River Gang since was the first bandit group I faced. They showed me how good this game is in sprinkling little details everywhere. And yes, Hajvarr feels like a boss battle lol
White river bandits always stick with me for like 3 reasons honestly. 1 the blind man in the front is always fun to see (and I always just leave him be) 2 I love that the bandits there seem to be trying to tame wild wolves which you can turn on them by opening the gate with a lever(at least I think that’s the correct dungeon) and 3 hajvarr ironhand’s fight and name. I always tend to beat him quickly in my game but he also shares the ironhand name with someone from solitude surprisingly
I hate how everything is just so Hyper Aggressive. Like every Bandit Attacks you, unless scripted in a few Rare Instances, but none try to just rob you, it's always kill, kill, kill. A damn Skeever attacks a Fucking Horse, like what the fuck?
@@joekaz5198yeah, that seems to be the case. I would have figured that with the Anniversary Edition of Skyrim, they'd update the AI to be less Aggressive. Not every Wolf is going to kill everything that gets within its Range. I mean I see Wolves attack, kill, and just stand in place after, not even eating the Creature or Person, just stand there waiting for something else to cross their path. A Horse goes to attack a Bandit, even though in Reality the Horse would Run away, but also they Underpowered the Horse. The Horse would have realistically Won because it it Bigger and more Powerful than a Human.
Yeah I was really disappointed with the constant agro'd bandits. I was also disappointed you couldn't join or create your own bandit clan. Everytime I play Skyrim, I have the "I Yield" mod to mix it up and add a break to the mindless slaugher all the time.
It's hard to believe I have save files on skyrim that are older than my kids...and they're in middle school! The fact that I still click on recent skyrim content goes to show how great this game is, for me at least.
The Bandit crisis makes kinda sense. Skyrim is weakend first the war with the Thamlmor then the Civil war later dragons no wonder these people stop their normal lives and abnandon society.
I mean, Skyrim is a land in the middle of a civil war and it has no centralised criminal justice system. It would be PRIME place to be to make money as an outlaw. Never noticed the abnormally large number of them, it just made sense to me.
Sometimes the medieval texts say during the reign of this or that king, the land was overtaken by bandits and roads werent safe anymore etc. so it was a thing at some countries esp during harder times, when rulers often changed and stuff
Yeah it's one of those things people bring up to try and sound smart but if you think about it for like half a second with the 2 civil wars, vampire invasion, dragon invasion ECT. People don't have many jobs and don't trust the government. So they go off on their own.
During one of my Playthroughs i stumbled across a bandit camp of sorts near the reach, when i went inside there was a battle going on between bandits and falmers. The placed looked like some type of fort/mine where the brigands had set up camp and their own tavern. Further inside a broken section of wall with a dead chaurus that revealed a cave with some dwemer pipes and architecture. From what i understood the bandits set up in this place unaware there was a falmer den just beyond their walls, i assume the noise and general racking they were making while drinking at their tavern attracted the falmer who broke through the wall and attacked the camp. Just as i was about to leave another group that was out on a raid had returned only to find the place trashed upside down. This dungeon really stuck with me for some reason, maybe it's the way it's set up. But i genuinely liked this place but i can't remember the name, only that it's somewhere in-between southwest between the reach and whiterun.
I wanted to pronounce Hajvarr with "y" but they pronounce his name in game with "j". I even pronounce Rigel as "ree-ghel", but in the video I used the official "rai-jl".
I wish mixed into the bandit rotation was imperial and stormcloak deserters, it’d make it all feel so much more immersive, especially after a big civil war battle, and if they were mixed together in some as well
Nvm, I've done that Rigel quest and it was a highlight for me also. As an ASOIAF fan, I am reminded of a darker timeline version of Duncan the Tall. The 'giant' imagery around his character is so nicely done. Also can be viewed as a more 'accepted' version of Brienne. The nord culture is much more enlightened in this regard and accepting of warriors like her. I don't remember reading anything about the relationship she has with her family but I can imagine them not being particularly accepting, or maybe Brienne just has the need to help people and will fight for it. One of the most intriguing characters in the books so I tend to overthink comparisons at times. This is an excellent quest and had a great ratio of reading notes to exploring places
My favorite interpretation is that the Bandits are the actual true nord population of Skyrim, where as all the civilization we see is just the result of Cyrodiil imperialism. Its a funny way of rationalizing there being way more bandits than normal citizens in the game, even though I know that's just due to game limitations on city sizes.
coming away from this video ive kind of realised how prominent religion is as a subtext in skyrim, especially how religion has gradually changed over time and what the gods mean to different people. its so interesting to have the 8 and 1 praised so fervently in the middle of a metropolitan hold capital (so much so theyre even willing to have a war about it) meanwhile some random woodcutter in a remote area of skyrim will still exclaim "shor's bones!" and even the whole auri-el/akatosh thing in dawnguard was so interesting when i first found out about it. the idea that the thalmor want to desperately control the worship of one single god seems kind of pointless when you realise the majority of nords still praise kyne and stuhn, and the reachmen are still out there doing their own shit.
@@moor236 They're just the original Nordic variants of them (while most city nords usually worship the Imperial pantheon, i.e. Kynareth, Stendar and Lorkhan instead of Kyne, Stuhn and Shor)
I doubt i'm educated enough to make a statement like this but personally, i like to think the whole "Nords going back to their roots" sort of thing is both right and wrong. I think they're going back to their roots not really in a "Man from Berlin decides to live in a house in the woods and sacrifices animals to Wotan" but more in line with organizations like the Mafia, Yakuza, etc. I remember Highschool political science class taught me something about a guy who said "The Government is like the mafia" and i'm here thinking isn't it the other way around? Yeah the monpoly on violence thing is more what he was talking about, but in terms on organization i think it's more like they base the way they're organized on what sort of government they already know, as well as traditions like deep familial connections and stuff while adding a criminal element to it. Take a look at the Yakuza and their origins from Ronin gangs and how it ties into their traditions (superficially wise i guess), i imagine Bandits in Skyrim are like that. I suppose they base the way they're organized on what i imagine is "classic" Nord organization or something, that's why you have chiefs because you'd be taught that Nords being the stereotypical barbarian warrior race they are would have a village chief or headman in charge (same reason there are bandit "Ringleaders" instead in other places) , then you'd have your raiders raiding shit, you have your workers doing other stuff, etc. This all seems to be loose because criminals like these are also businessmen, they all have their different organizations and schemes and this structure is just meant as a foundation for how they are lead. I dunnow, i don't think i know enough about criminals and old (3e and below) Nord lore for this.
They also operate as "mini" guilds, or tongs as Dunmer would say. Members get in and out, change groups, rise in ranks etc. But according to some old lore, Skyrim was always fragmented into petty kingdoms and jarldoms, it was rarely a unified power, even if there' a High kng, it's more of a symbolic title. It reflects Nordic tribal, individualistic mentality, and their bandit groups are for the most part, tribes or clans.
40:15 If you're quick the first time you enter the Pale Lady's crypt, you can see Ra'jirr running to the alter before he suddenly dies. I believe he shouts something like; "I need to return the sword."
@boreanknight not named for the most part but above bards leap redoubt you can see 2 hagraven creating a briarheart, atop the main forsworn encampment across from karthspire there is a briarheart that sits upon a throne and he owns a copy of the book the legend of red eagle with rebels cairn being nearby, there is the massive forsworn camp at Deepwood redoubt with a teleporting hagraven (I think it's that one), there is the one hagraven that owns a piece of mehrunes razor, there is a hagraven that talks during the quest: the affairs of hagravens, and of course there is the Glenmoril witches, the talking hagraven during the quest a night to remember, the hagraven in the lone tower past the top of bards leap redoubt. I know that I didn't list too many forsworn but that's because I couldn't remember the names of the named forsworn during the quest in markarth. I, of course, would be fine with another video on bandits or anything you make because I adore your content.
I mean, Skyrim is a post apocalypse going through another apocalypse. If it was 500 years in the future they might be making their Holds out of scrap metal and Plane wreckage with large bombs in the middle of town. But they have trees so they build like they should. Every large hold is fortified to keep people out, and you have ruins from 3 different times all over the map. Drauger, Dwemer, and the Imperial war (4 If you get the mod that adds the ruins of the Oblivion crises, which also happened in Skyrim, and there are even mods that add anchors from ESO, which was ANOTHER apocalypse that Skyrim lived through)
The bandits of Skyrim would have been an interesting oppurtunity to tell a story about the Nords disagreeing with the adaptation of the imperial Pantheon, The Nords disagreeing with times of peace, as they are Vikings or Disagreeing with Authority in general. If the Bandits had Names, NPCs, Nuance, virtually anything that would differentiate them mechanically from Draugr and Falmer, There would have been immense oppurtunity for storytelling. But no, they are just Fodder to pad out the empty world of Skyrim. The only Two Times Bandits try anything beyond "Kill on Sight" are coincidentally suspiciously early in the main Quest, stealing the Golden Claw and Shakedown on the road to Ivarstead. The Thieves that can randomly demand 100 Gold from you are more Bandits than the Bandit faction. Great Work Bethesda. You may not have any dedicated Writers but did you have to make it so obvious?
This is the first Video of you that I‘ve seen and I really enjoyed it! Would love to see more content in the style of this video surrounding Skyrim! I really like the way the visuals complemented your analysis of the storytelling on each bandit. And how you analysed the topics themselves. Great job, keen to see more!
A fantastic and interesting video. Well done. I quite enjoyed your storytelling and the plot threads to reason why there are so many bandits in Skyrim. I do have a theory that can coincide with other theories and canon explanations; that the Aldmeri Dominion could be importing convicts into Skyrim. They gather lawbreakers from their provinces, and instead of locking them or executing them in their own prisons, they simply ship them off to the borders of Skyrim and send them over to sow discorse and drag the civil war further.
Fort Greenwall was always the most surreal part of this "bandits are everywhere" problem. Its quite seriously just a few steps, less than 2 minutes away from Riften ingame, is a massive border fort active in the middle of a war, and is necessary to cross in order to even reach Riften, but everyone sits on their haunches and only seems to reclaim it once the war is in full swing and there have been some conquered forts and a fallen Whiterun. What makes this even stranger is the fact that in ESO fort Greenwall is STILL occupied by a completely different group of bandits. Its probably one of the most important fortresses in Skyrim for protecting Riften and the trade road going up towards Windhelm, yet even in the 2nd Era when Riften wasn't even a corrupt shithole taken over by a low-tier Thieves guild that doesn't even seem well earned on their no one seemed to have been able to lift a finger to keep this fort secure so that Riften doesn't fucking starve, and this was during a time when Riften had not only the goddamn fighters guild in presence doing absolutely nothing about it but the Mages guild as well when its easily clear that they could go through such an easy effort to take Greenwall, let alone the Riften guard, if just one single person (not to mention other players) can handle Greenwall's infestation time and time again. So much for Nordic ferocity and bravery. Fun fact: Considering its state in ESO, it seems to be that fort Greenwall has been occupied by bandits for about 948 years since we don't hear anything about its state in the 3rd era. This fort is so important that you'd choke the only road leading into Riften that would matter for the sake of a trade lifeblood, but its been basically this tiny bandit free state for almost a thousand years with nothing clearly having been done about it save for some random bloke coming in and performing a massacre occasionally in the 2nd and 4th era. The world is so gamified in Elder scrolls that its a shock that these states can function without going bankrupt because there just are no efforts done to protect the roads at all even back to Oblivion. Do you remember seeing an actual functioning fort in the HEART OF THE EMPIRE at one of its zeniths? Its like Bethesda can't make an open world without it seeming apocalyptic out of fear of you running out of things to do. Correction: There is at least implications that greenwall was an actual reclaimed settlement in the 3rd era, since it appears as a regular town in Arena. Though the timeframe on how long this lasted doesn't really exist save that it was reclaimed before 3E 389 minimum.
One hundred and thirty something words in that third paragraph. Not one full stop. Good points, and I'm wasting my time counting, but damn if I didn't almost have an aneurysm trying to parse that.
I always imagined in my head that the reason there are so many bandits is because when you first start the game they are literally living in their version of the apocalypse. Word travels fast and a giant dragon flying across the sky is hard to miss espacially when its going around resurrecting a dragon army. So the people of Skyrim who believe the return of the world eater is the sign of the end times would react in a way that is realistic for a good portion of people irl and panic even if others just go on about their business running their shops like nothing is happening bc they dont believe the rumors are true.
I wondering if Bandits even gets to enter Sovngarde as they are kinda evil people but maybe some bandits got reason to be bandits. Like the imperial being unfair and the civil war is just stupid and nuts and Bandits like "We will not involve by their stupid war". Bandits mostly enjoy the world of skyrim and fight like a true son and daughter of skyrim like a true Nord. And no matter what race they are they live and fry in the land of Skyrim.
Neat! Looks like I found another insomnia channel. IDK what it is, but a chill voice going on about something they care about that's interesting yet unimportant helps me wind down. Subscribed 👍
So, I'm playing a Khajit character right now and somehow every other playthrough I've missed Rigel Strong-Arm dungeon until yesterday. I murdered them all mostly because I found the dead Khajit
I dont think Rigel's relationship with her father sounds abusive, it sounds more playful than anything. Families insult eachother all the time, and she keeps sending him money to support him in his old age.
amazing video. time flew by as i listened to you tell their stories. its a shame that so much lore is hidden behind notes rather than explained through interactive gameplay and voice lines.
your videos make me remember how much I enjoy this game. I feel lucky to have discovered it in EBGames at just 8 years old, convincing my mum to buy it for my brother for Christmas so I could play it when he'd had his fun. It's truly the most satisfying fantasy experience in gaming.
I absolut love this video! I didnt play skyrim for a while (6 months, lol), cuz i was a litte bored and you just started with one of my most favoit dungeons ever! I remember the first time i enter pinewhatch very well cuz i was so unprepared and i loose four times to a banditchef after killing Alduin (such a noob i was hahaha)...this is 12 years ago. This game is still simply amazing! Thanks for this jourany man :)
It annoyed me in Skyrim that the backdrop was the war but neither side were trying to claim ground or take any of the old forts back from the bandits. There could have been a whole system of reclaiming and rebuilding and staffing castles and forts.
@@Loreweavver All of the quests were about "Retake Fort X so that we can take control of the X Hold." Then they would be re-staffed by your faction afterwards. It just wasn't fleshed out.
I think I went to the creepy Rigel note house when wandering aimlessly. I think it was assumed to be a neat hidden detail, thinking to myself, "this is classic Skyrim," while opening the hidden passageway
I havent played Skyrim in a long while, and wow, there ARE so many bandits! Its a shame Skyrim was sized down (like everything else essentially in Skyrim). Your views on this series is amazing, would love to hear your thoughts on Oblivion.
love the vid man, if you could talk just a tiny bit faster it would be great you draw your words out just a tiny bit. other than that super good vid to fall asleep. your voice is very calming and the video is something i’ve never thought about.
There actually is a mod for that with regards to Eisa and its called BUVARP (Barely Used Vanilla Actors Recycling Project) basically it takes a good number of interesting npcs that Bethesda added and fleshes them out a lot more even making a number of them full-fledged Followers. I have it permanently in my load order for that exact reason. There is also Denizens of Morthal Character and dialogue expander which does the same with Eisa but also expands vanilla followers Benor, Erandor and Valdimer along with everyones favorite pup Meeko and makes them even more interesting; though you will have to do some replacer patching if you use any. Great mod.
I play with the mod ''Peaceful living'' which turns pacifies bandits. I also use OBIS mod. So, now most bandits are downtrodden with some still being bandits, but they won't attack you. However, they will attack other people and a lot of the times its in self defense. Honestly makes clearing out and doing some missions a lot more morally gray. You can also hear the less common dialogue from them too. And it makes sense. These downtrodden usually don't pack much in gear. A lot of them mention they're just skooma addicts or people who couldn't find work or some who fell on hard times, etc. Honestly feels like this is what skyrim's bandits should've been from the start. Of course, the bandits possessing CC gear will be much harder fights. And other enemies like necromancers, falmer, etc. will still attack you.
Fjola and Crister worshipping the same God from the perspective of different religions being the cause of their failed relationship is weirdly relatable for me.
I really like the video format, it’s chill, it has long moments of silence, and not too loud or anything packed full of jokes and high energy themes. I appreciate this a lot.
Pine watch was one of my favourite moments in Skyrim. I found it by accident, because on the floor there are a couple of gold coins leading in a trail to the book case.
The old meme of: "See that guy who just killed a dragon and ate its soul? Let's rob him" still perplexes me to this day.
lets mug em
It's the same exact logic the raiders in fallout use Lol, like hey you see that guy who disintegrated a bunch of NCR rangers with his plasma rifle and is wearing a full suit of X-01, yeah let's go beat him up with a pool cue.
I feel like the logic is that someone who just killed a dragon would be both tired and injured, and also very well equipped. Unfortunately for them, the dragonborn only needs about ten seconds before they can go again.
@@drachnagreat point
@@gabemissouri WIth raiders I Can see it though. They're typically high as kites and think themselves gods because of the use of drugs like psycho and jet.
Bandits not so much. Unless they're doing skooma. But we also don't loot skooma from them so.
With Fjola I always wondered if the real Fjola was in fact the dead woman in the cell, and the bandit leader just took her ring because it was valuable, and came up with a lie to get rid of you.
she wouldnt know Christer
@@fresshell3411Unless they studied the couple before the abduction. Kidnappers are known to do such things. However the dead woman appear to be a redguard so any attempt given would not fit.
@@michaelpettersson4919I personally don't see it like that but none the less that is a fascinating take. She says she "returned to Skyrim" i think, implying they married in another province. Then she realises it's not the life for her, and returns to her homeland. And she's surprised the husband "followed her so far." If he just hiked a few km through Skyrim it wouldn't be worth mentioning but she is genuinely surprised he had the fortitude to come what sounds like a long way. The bandits probably aren't travelling too far from their base and I don't see them going beyond the borders of Skyrim and risking Imperial entanglenents, making it a "federal crime" as it were by crossing provincial borders. So it's possible they had an extremely skilled tracker in the gang who was able to quickly cross large distances, to scout for marks while not drawing a bunch of attention. I really like your idea here and definitely am not saying you're wrong. It's just interesting enough I think it bears more discussion. Cheers
46:40 here is the line i was thinking of, apologise I had it wrong. She says "came home to Skyrim,"
That's a bit far-fetched. The kidnappings are about ransom, not some edgy psychotic obsessions
Ever since I played this game for the first time I assumed that Braith would grow up to be a bandit
Either that, or a Jarl. She clearly has the attitude to lead a group.
Perhaps the companions would take her ?
ES6 spoiler!
@@HappyBeezerStudiosshe certainly would be a terrible and unjust leader for sure.
@@infebris If she's the Redguard kid in Whiterun always abusing that poor boy, she's in love and doesn't know how to show it. Her parents aren't exactly beacons of domestic tranquility, and seem to pawn her off on the other spouse. If she could just learn how to express her feelings, she could be worthy of being the main character in ES7.
I loved that in Morrowind every bandit has a name. You can never guess if there is a related quest or not.
Skyrim unfortunately lost that.
I think there is a mod that gives every unnamed NPC a name. Nothing super deep, but just the random "Bandit", "Traveller" , "Fisher", "Hunter", "Guard", etc.
@@HappyBeezerStudiosIf we're talking about the same mod, it has addons that add unique names for factions
Reachmen will get reachmen names
Dragons and dragon priests will get their own names
Lesser Deadra
And some ashlander names for random Dark Elves, it adds some cool immersion
About Ra'jirr: You don't necessarily find him dead, only if you are too slow. Otherwise, you can find him getting attacked by the Pale Lady, and if you're very fast, you can either kill her (one-shot her with bow and arrow, but that requires dragonbone bow and arrow and archer skill at 100 with all necessary perks to have the maximum possible damage output, a good enchantment won't hurt either) or at least draw her attention to you instead of Ra'jirr. If you manage to save him, tho, he'll have the sword, so if you want it, you'd need to pickpocket it from him. He'll just remain standing in front of the altar, as Bethesda obviously never considered someone would actually save him (I managed only once in Idk how many playthroughs).
Fun fact about Mistwatch, if you don't kill all the bandits before reaching Fjola, all bandits there that are still alive will become friendly afterward (And till their AI resets).
Happened to me in the last tower during an actual gameplay. Two remaining bandits were too much for me so I escaped to meet Fjola, hoping they won't follow me. On my way back I expected them to attack on sight but were just chilling, like nothing happened.
...I learned something today. I don't tend to leave bandits alive.
@@LibraritheWizardOfficial "Achievement unlocked: Cleanup Crew"
@@boreanknight Do you have a video about the Forsworn? They seem to be the most savage of the bandits in Skyrim! I describe The Forsworn as, evil deer people!
@@duncanshaw1256 The Forsworn aren't bandits, they're their own strange, daedra worshipping culture of bretons, worshipping the "old gods" which are mostly Hircine, a few other daedric princes, and kynareth.
Skyrim is a land reeling from the great war the Empire fought with the Aldmeri Dominion, the local war with the Reachmen and the current civil war. There is little work for lots of returning soldiers, naturally a large part of them turns to crime and brigandry. Add to that the Forsworn melting away into the hills, deserters from all sides hiding out in the wilderness and a large influx of refugees from Morrowind.
At this point, everyone is being manipulated by ANY god just to open the Oblivion Gates again. Nirn truly is a dead world.
See, if I would become high king of Skyrim...
I would see to create work opportunities for those bandits.
So, you can fight and have previous experience of military order? How about you become a bodyguard. Or a town guard. You can continue looking menacing, but instead of forcing your share, you get paid.
And one interesting thing vaguely related to the civil war and the Forsworn: Ulfric took back the Reach from the Forsworn in the name of the Empire. Part of the reason for his current influence: He has proven to be a good leader.
@HappyBeezerStudios its easy to say you would just hire everyone but there are only so many relevant jobs and bodyguards etc don't produce any goods. You'd be better off handing out small bits of land but ultimately skyrim doesn't have much good land and just lost a war
tbh the Great War never reached Skyrim. It was always far from the battlegrounds and it was never even touched by the Dominion's armies.
@@mygetawayart True, but Nords have always made up the largest part of the Imperial Legion.
I imagine Whiterun's ability to deal with local bandits is hampered by the war. Balgruuf is no doubt losing soldiers to desertion to the two factions and needs enough standing soldiers to prevent either side from seeing him as a weak target.
And the Dragon crisis. Didn’t he have to send a bunch of men to Riverwood?
@@kiennguyentrong1897 And then they lost an entire military outpost to a dragon attack. We know that at least 4 men were there, and there were likely more.
@@metalmadness5851 I always wonder the scale of the army lore wise. Like in games there are a couple guys walking around, but in the story, it’s obvious a lot more.
@@kiennguyentrong1897 Based on the landscape of Skyrim, and Ulfric's hold of less than half... I'd give him 15,000 soldiers?
Much of Skyrim's fighting men probably died in the Aldmeri war, so Ulfric is mustering what's left. As for the Imperial army...
I'd give Tullius about 40,000 at the start. The Empire likely moved a significant force to Skyrim in hopes of overwhelming the Stormcloaks quickly. The attrition and cold has probably reduced their numbers, but they likely still hold a numerical majority.
I base that idea on the deadlock the war has become. The Stormcloaks are likely using guerilla methods (they have multiple camps well behind enemy lines) and have left Tullius lacking confidence in advancing without a clear advantage.
Skyrim probably only has 1-3 million in population, scattered between the various holds and minor settlements. Whereas Cyrodiil likely has around 10 million, based on the central location and the fantastic land they own.
While the Aldmeri war definitely dropped those numbers, Cyrodiil still probably has more to spare than Skyrim.
@@metalmadness5851The aldmeri war happened 20-30 years ago, that would be more then enough for the generation born during the war and too young to fight in the war male population to recover.
As for the imperial numbers, we must take note that the pale pass leading to skyrim from cyrodiil is blocked due to avalanche. I don't know which video discusses this but, it was said that the imperial army in skyrim is mostly made out of raw recruits. While most of the professional imperial armies are stationed near the boarders of Aldmeri controled Valenwood and Elsewhere. Tulius was just recently sent due to failures of the previous command.
I'd say 15,000 estimate for the stormcloaks is just for the Elite and Veteran Corps of the Nordic Army that once served in the Great War, While for the imperials 40,000 would be a great initial count of the recent raw recruits and auxiliary to the main force. As for me, i'd think at most 75,000 to 25,000 would be enough for each of the sides. Taking into acount the setting of the games being in a renaissance like era medieval europe, it should be lower, but due to the martial culture and levy system of skyrim it would be easy for the numbers to swell abit more then what we could expect.
Who has the greatest goon cave: Arondil, Haelga, or that one riekling in Benkongerike?
Definitely the riekling.
Halvarr's porch overlooking the roads, with his blind uncle vibing at the entrance, it's also very early for eating hearts
The Benkongerike Beater 100%, dude has like 20 copies of the Lusty Argonian Maid total, an absolute crapton of clearly soiled rags, and a book of telekinesis, which either means that the spell tome in question has some saucy contents or this one riekling in the middle of literal nowhere was not only literate enough to read Curio's finest but was also intelligent enough to learn telekinesis from a tome, and used that magical proficiency to advance his gooning experience to new levels.
@@LibraritheWizardOfficialwhat the heck is that emote and how did you do that?
@@WretchedRedoran I was in that cave just a couple days ago. The riekling has both volumes of fine literature.
"They're called chiefs, not CEOs"
>First word of 'CEO' is 'Chief'
I would expect that House Hlaalu, before they were demoted, had CEOs. Redoran as well.
English isn’t his first language
@@kingdragonthefirst4686As a non English speaker natively, these short hands are obscure, CEO CCO and such
@@kingdragonthefirst4686 It's not mine either. But google exists.
and the second and third are "executive officer".
Kind of makes you wish they had kept bandit raids in the game instead of scrapping it.
Wait, WHAT?!
It’s been too long since we had a good one.
The most unbelievable thing about Skyrim isn't that it's teeming with bandits and Forsworn, but that, given their nature of dress, the land isn't overrun by bandit and Forsworn children.
And with their constant mantra being, "The Reach will be ours again," one would think the Forsworn would attempt to be as productive as possible. Their replacement rate would certainly have to outpace their mortality rate to see that goal become a reality in the future, but it doesn't seem like any of them are having any children ar all.
@@HickoryDickory86 True. Maybe they've been feeding them to the Hagravens. Briarhearts don't come cheap, after all.
@@YDV669 Or maybe... The Hagravens use their magics to channel pocket-realms of Oblivion to use as secret daycares for the Forsworn children! But probably not, I'm kinda sleep deprived right now and I think it's showing.
@@WretchedRedoran That's the best explanation yet.
The shortage of children is a bit baffling all around.
One of the most ironic things about Skyrim (and other TES games) is that if you follow the main roads its likely *more* dangerous because of all the set-up encounters on them. Makes me think when you choose fast travel your character must decide to walk through the woods instead in order to arrive without interruption.
Your character tunnels underground
I literally avoided the roads out of fear as i child playing the game
When you approach Arondil as a woman he'll start talking about how he's gonna turn you into one of his "playthings" 💀.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
😰
Eww
What else can an honest necromancer do to be considered truly evil in a Bethesda game
A dude who fucks around with the dead is a bad guy?!? Color me shocked@@wiatrownica
I vaguely remember that if you wipe out certain bandit leaders other's in the group will have entries in their journals about it, too.
That's in Fallout 4 as well!
I only recall it in 4, not Skyrim.,
Some bandits would make commentaries about just recently wiped out bandit clans, if you're stealthy enough.
I like the theory that they're descendents of traditionalist Nords that refused to worship the Cyrodiilic pantheon when it became the more popular belief system in Skyrim after the Oblivion Crisis, so they were banished from the cities.
There's actually a little more lore for Eisa. If you go to Cidnha Mine, there are actually two people that vaguely remember her and mention her. One wonders what happened to Eisa, and the other mistakenly calls her "the Blackblood girl." It's mentioned in their dialogue that she gutted a cutpurse that was thrown in there as well, with one of them commenting that if they didn't know better, they'd have sworn she was Forsworn.
Personally, I don't think there is a single explanation for all of the bandits in Skyrim. They are, naturally, a mix of things. But one of the reasons for them is almost certainly the war. There's definitely a lot of them that turned to crime because the war left them without any money and feeling they had no other choice. While war can be very profitable for some people, it isn't going to be for everyone. There are definitely going to be those screwed over. Farmers being forced to give up all of their yields to the war effort, being left barely able to feed themselves, or worse, impacted more directly by raids and attacks by one side trying to cut into the rations of the other side. This is even more likely with the civil war so closely following the great war, with there likely being those who were still recovering from the war with the Thalmor only for this civil war to start and keep them from recovering properly. Some might be pushed to join one side or the other, sure, but not all of them would want to, perhaps agreeing that Talos worship should be allowed but feeling Ulfric is fighting the wrong people for example. So, caught in the middle and feeling they have no way to survive, they turn to an assortment of crime.
Keep in mind that the bandits in Skyrim don't all do the same things. Yeah, many rob travelers and merchants, as one would expect of a bandit. But a lot of them do things you wouldn't typically associate with bandits. Excavating ancient Nord tombs, delving through Dwemer ruins, hunting mammoths. In fact, even ones in great positions to attack travelers don't attack you unless you approach them, standing there and guarding a fort or cave they made their base and just ignoring you unless you walk up to their base, suggesting they were not robbing random travelers and merchants, but doing something else entirely and you just got too close for their comfort or even attacked first.
Of course, as I stated initially, this isn't the reason for all of them. It's a variety of reasons. But that's one of the more common reasons we see in character backstories.
The war would also impact the number of bandits in another way. Because of the war, there are fewer people dealing with crime. Jarls are placing their guards to protect their cities from potential attacks from whatever side they don't support. They're more worried about the very stuff we do during the civil war questline. Yeah, they still do some work stopping crime, but they mostly care about the city itself. It would be dangerous to send a group of guards to stop some nearby bandits when there could be an army at their gates at any moment. Obviously the dragon sightings make this "defend the city" mentality even more important and prevalent. So you have the war giving more people a reason to become a bandit, while simultaneously making it so jarls and thus guards won't bother them as long as they don't directly attack a village or city. More people become bandits, fewer bandits get caught or killed.
Diving through caves and hunting mammoths really sound like they just try to get by. Finding treasures to sell, going after animals to feed themselves.
And another thing with "sending a group of guards to stop some nearby bandits": Usually there is more than one group of bandits, so while the guard is out hunting one gang, another might see the opportunity to raid the city.
Funny, whenever I leave comments this big but it's political, it automatically disappears. Even when not a single "bad" word is said.
@@stowlicters8362 YT is really ramping up their filter...
@@IamOutOfNames sucks, yeah. It's more fun and effective longterm to share my opinions in real life anyways.
A lot of these bandits would have been counted as smugglers or poachers in Morrowind, but there's not much of a distinction drawn in Skyrim.
Ah, bandit holds, or, as my vampire character prefers to think of them, all-you-can-drink buffets.
For real. And one of my dragonborns is a werewolf and can just take a short jaunt through the woods and find a whole fort full of snacks. He doesn't ever have to worry abt turning and hurting innocent people because there's so many tasty badguys around.
As a mage, bandits are an excellent source of souls to fill up black soul gems.
Honestly that's how I'd play a heroic Vampire character. He feeds on the bad guys only, and Skyrim's so chock full of bandits it's basically an all you can eat buffet. "Dragonborn where are you going?"
DB "I'm just going to take a walk, to that nearby bandit infested fort and say hello"
Munutes later you hear a bunch of bandits screaming.
"Oh Gods dammit."
@@muhammadnursyahmi9440 And considering they and Raiders just attack innocent people, no one's goign to care what we do with these worthless sentient parasites.
One of the funnest things I’ve done was an entire play through where every single bandit I killed (and yes, I waited until I could fulfill the requirements) was soul trapped and I just made a huge pile of filled black soul stones in my home, right next to the bed, so when I woke up I was greeted by the warmth of, literally, hundreds of tormented souls. ☺️
90% of the game population are bandits.
98% of Oblivion’s population as well
@@Hypnotically_Caucasianmore like 95% bandits and 3% goblins
Imagine quadrupling the gdp because you bought the house to store all of your sentimental garbage.
@@candideoptimism8775nah man every playthrough ive ever done of oblivion theres way more goblins than bandits. Tbh in my experience bandits areuch more rare in oblivion, mostly just wild life and monsters i run into
Wolves have everyone beat
One thing I find interesting about Arondil's journals and Vekel the Man is that even though you bring the journals, Vekel does not actually take them. He just gives you money and doesn't take them. I think he got a quick look and decided that was too weird for him to mess with. Could be just a glitch or a hole in the story for you to fill in.
I really like the whole story with Wilhelm in Ivarstead. From invisible ghost dudes in the barrow to smuggling mead to dead missing sisters to hiding Sibi Blackbriar's ex Lynly. Might be worth covering if you haven't yet.
I'd like to cover Wilhelm actually, I mentioned him briefly in the second part and story about Wyndelius. He's either one of the secretly best written characters in Skyrim, due to so many weird little details, or it's a pure coincidence.
@@boreanknight looking forward to your future videos. Your voice really lends itself to the landscape of Skyrim. Subscribed.
a *necro* necromancer is such a combination that im surprised ive not seen it before
A nec-romancer. A necromantic, even 😂
Dead people need love too!
Omg, I ran into Eisa once and thought it was a modded encounter! Thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction to explore that dungeon!
YT algorithm: "oh, you like weirdly obscure, hyperspecific videos about TES? Have this."
Me: "F#CK YEAH!"
Hashtag ck
#ck mention!
Theres a guy that has done employment surveys for all the towns in skyrim. Hes also done restaurant reviews and furniture/.carpentry reviews too. Good videos
@@captinbuntanyaustin! he just posted a video about the sources of rivers in skyrim, it was very entertaining
sometimes the yt algorithm is good 😂
Mood
My Dragonborn is similar to Rigel, with the hoarding part, he grew up as a parentless thug in Cyrodiil, so he clings to every Septim he can get his hands on, meaning my inventory has an over abundance of gems/ trinkets, as well as a whole treasure room’s worth of money.
Eisa Blackthorn is my favorite bandit in Skyrim, they did a great job with her little side story. I would love a part 2 in the future!
Always thought she'd make a good companion
I always remembered Arondil vividly despite it being years since I completed that quest. Such a disgusting creature. Most likely the worst life-form in Skyrim.
Great vid🍻
Necromancy?
Arondil: allow me to introduce you to Necro-fancy!💀
@@ianjames1754 😂
I think Fjola saying that we'll meet again just meets that we might come upon her bandits and assumedly they'd know to leave us alone
There is only one NPC I think is more evil than Arondil.
In Morvunskar, there is a warlock named Naris the Wicked.
Dialogue among the other Warlocks suggests that he is fond of elaborate forms of torture and SA.
This also shines a light on the darker side of the Daedric Prince Sanguine, who you follow to Morvunskar during A Night To Remember, as the fort's occupants (including Naris) are quite obviously implied to be his worshippers.
Correction, Dialogue and physical evidence of his victims exist, he spawns in front of a cell where he burned them alive.
@@jewel1007saying correction is unnecessary and rude
@@Anton2046gfkn i corrected myself, I just didnt want to edit the post
@@Anton2046gfkn You're so quick to chastise some random internet person to feel superior to them that you didn't even notice that person is the OP.
Talk about unnecessary and rude.
@@ForeverLaxx "to feel superior" is the WASPiest assumption i have ever been told.
I recently replayed the thieves guild questline and you can find someone living there during the end of the thieves guild questline when you have to go to pinewatch for the silversmith in markarth
You're easily one of my favorite channels. I hope your health is still looking up and thank you for another video.
Thanks so much!
He has rockjoint
I followed him just because of this comment without even watching the vid lol
I wish there was bandit community that you could pacify and interact with like in morrowind , it would have been fun to roleplay as Bjorn sons of Oleg of MoutainReach , raider from father to son and raid some imperial or khajit caravan.
It would also have been cool as a vampire with Vampire coven...
Something Bethesda seems to shy away nowadays. It's the same with nameless raiders in Fallout. They are just there to be cannonfodder to be fought and looted by the player. No real interaction. Even when a gang has a named leader, all they do is attack on sight. No way to interact with them.
And yes, even Nuka World for Fallout 4 doesn't do much better. Those raiders are in the DLC area, you meet them as the people living there, you don't pacify them. Sure, the DLC allows to take over settlements, but that is just the normal settlement system with slightly different aesthetics.
One of the reasons I became a member of the crimson fleet in starfield. Wanted to be the outlaw for once
@@ogrimzyz8643 what did it cost ?
My favorite type of encounter with bandits is when I'm kitted in fully enchanted armor, and I have full dragon aspect up. Like, bro, how are you going to try jumping a character whose VOICE is a WMD? If they try to extort me, I always pay what they want and then immediately kill him and run his pockets.
I have a soft spot for the White River Gang since was the first bandit group I faced. They showed me how good this game is in sprinkling little details everywhere. And yes, Hajvarr feels like a boss battle lol
LMAO
@wiwysova you really only know how to complain huh
White river bandits always stick with me for like 3 reasons honestly. 1 the blind man in the front is always fun to see (and I always just leave him be) 2 I love that the bandits there seem to be trying to tame wild wolves which you can turn on them by opening the gate with a lever(at least I think that’s the correct dungeon) and 3 hajvarr ironhand’s fight and name. I always tend to beat him quickly in my game but he also shares the ironhand name with someone from solitude surprisingly
I hate how everything is just so Hyper Aggressive. Like every Bandit Attacks you, unless scripted in a few Rare Instances, but none try to just rob you, it's always kill, kill, kill.
A damn Skeever attacks a Fucking Horse, like what the fuck?
Skyrim is pretty brainless as an rpg. Kill kill kill is the only option you're presented for most of the game.
@@joekaz5198yeah, that seems to be the case. I would have figured that with the Anniversary Edition of Skyrim, they'd update the AI to be less Aggressive. Not every Wolf is going to kill everything that gets within its Range. I mean I see Wolves attack, kill, and just stand in place after, not even eating the Creature or Person, just stand there waiting for something else to cross their path.
A Horse goes to attack a Bandit, even though in Reality the Horse would Run away, but also they Underpowered the Horse. The Horse would have realistically Won because it it Bigger and more Powerful than a Human.
First time I came across an orc stronghold I merked them all since I didn't realize they weren't auto agro lol
@@vamp_bat_chomp based ngl
Yeah I was really disappointed with the constant agro'd bandits. I was also disappointed you couldn't join or create your own bandit clan. Everytime I play Skyrim, I have the "I Yield" mod to mix it up and add a break to the mindless slaugher all the time.
It's hard to believe I have save files on skyrim that are older than my kids...and they're in middle school! The fact that I still click on recent skyrim content goes to show how great this game is, for me at least.
The Bandit crisis makes kinda sense. Skyrim is weakend first the war with the Thamlmor then the Civil war later dragons no wonder these people stop their normal lives and abnandon society.
This made me wana play Skyrim again
Here as well. My annual 'pilgrimage' to Skyrim is one of the few constants in life I can depend on.
I mean, Skyrim is a land in the middle of a civil war and it has no centralised criminal justice system. It would be PRIME place to be to make money as an outlaw. Never noticed the abnormally large number of them, it just made sense to me.
Sometimes the medieval texts say during the reign of this or that king, the land was overtaken by bandits and roads werent safe anymore etc. so it was a thing at some countries esp during harder times, when rulers often changed and stuff
@@olgagaming5544 interesting
Yeah it's one of those things people bring up to try and sound smart but if you think about it for like half a second with the 2 civil wars, vampire invasion, dragon invasion ECT. People don't have many jobs and don't trust the government. So they go off on their own.
During one of my Playthroughs i stumbled across a bandit camp of sorts near the reach, when i went inside there was a battle going on between bandits and falmers. The placed looked like some type of fort/mine where the brigands had set up camp and their own tavern. Further inside a broken section of wall with a dead chaurus that revealed a cave with some dwemer pipes and architecture.
From what i understood the bandits set up in this place unaware there was a falmer den just beyond their walls, i assume the noise and general racking they were making while drinking at their tavern attracted the falmer who broke through the wall and attacked the camp.
Just as i was about to leave another group that was out on a raid had returned only to find the place trashed upside down.
This dungeon really stuck with me for some reason, maybe it's the way it's set up. But i genuinely liked this place but i can't remember the name, only that it's somewhere in-between southwest between the reach and whiterun.
@sarahmcilnay that's it ! Thank you.
The J in many Nordic name in Skyrim is spelled as "y", it copies traditional scandinavian & German spelliing
I wanted to pronounce Hajvarr with "y" but they pronounce his name in game with "j". I even pronounce Rigel as "ree-ghel", but in the video I used the official "rai-jl".
I wish mixed into the bandit rotation was imperial and stormcloak deserters, it’d make it all feel so much more immersive, especially after a big civil war battle, and if they were mixed together in some as well
Nvm, I've done that Rigel quest and it was a highlight for me also. As an ASOIAF fan, I am reminded of a darker timeline version of Duncan the Tall. The 'giant' imagery around his character is so nicely done. Also can be viewed as a more 'accepted' version of Brienne. The nord culture is much more enlightened in this regard and accepting of warriors like her. I don't remember reading anything about the relationship she has with her family but I can imagine them not being particularly accepting, or maybe Brienne just has the need to help people and will fight for it. One of the most intriguing characters in the books so I tend to overthink comparisons at times. This is an excellent quest and had a great ratio of reading notes to exploring places
My favorite interpretation is that the Bandits are the actual true nord population of Skyrim, where as all the civilization we see is just the result of Cyrodiil imperialism. Its a funny way of rationalizing there being way more bandits than normal citizens in the game, even though I know that's just due to game limitations on city sizes.
coming away from this video ive kind of realised how prominent religion is as a subtext in skyrim, especially how religion has gradually changed over time and what the gods mean to different people. its so interesting to have the 8 and 1 praised so fervently in the middle of a metropolitan hold capital (so much so theyre even willing to have a war about it) meanwhile some random woodcutter in a remote area of skyrim will still exclaim "shor's bones!" and even the whole auri-el/akatosh thing in dawnguard was so interesting when i first found out about it.
the idea that the thalmor want to desperately control the worship of one single god seems kind of pointless when you realise the majority of nords still praise kyne and stuhn, and the reachmen are still out there doing their own shit.
I don’t get what you mean because Kyne, Stuhn, and Shor are aspects of Kynareth, Stendarr, and Lorkhan, they’re not apotheosized men.
@@moor236 They're just the original Nordic variants of them (while most city nords usually worship the Imperial pantheon, i.e. Kynareth, Stendar and Lorkhan instead of Kyne, Stuhn and Shor)
I doubt i'm educated enough to make a statement like this but personally, i like to think the whole "Nords going back to their roots" sort of thing is both right and wrong.
I think they're going back to their roots not really in a "Man from Berlin decides to live in a house in the woods and sacrifices animals to Wotan" but more in line with organizations like the Mafia, Yakuza, etc.
I remember Highschool political science class taught me something about a guy who said "The Government is like the mafia" and i'm here thinking isn't it the other way around? Yeah the monpoly on violence thing is more what he was talking about, but in terms on organization i think it's more like they base the way they're organized on what sort of government they already know, as well as traditions like deep familial connections and stuff while adding a criminal element to it. Take a look at the Yakuza and their origins from Ronin gangs and how it ties into their traditions (superficially wise i guess), i imagine Bandits in Skyrim are like that.
I suppose they base the way they're organized on what i imagine is "classic" Nord organization or something, that's why you have chiefs because you'd be taught that Nords being the stereotypical barbarian warrior race they are would have a village chief or headman in charge (same reason there are bandit "Ringleaders" instead in other places) , then you'd have your raiders raiding shit, you have your workers doing other stuff, etc. This all seems to be loose because criminals like these are also businessmen, they all have their different organizations and schemes and this structure is just meant as a foundation for how they are lead.
I dunnow, i don't think i know enough about criminals and old (3e and below) Nord lore for this.
They also operate as "mini" guilds, or tongs as Dunmer would say. Members get in and out, change groups, rise in ranks etc. But according to some old lore, Skyrim was always fragmented into petty kingdoms and jarldoms, it was rarely a unified power, even if there' a High kng, it's more of a symbolic title. It reflects Nordic tribal, individualistic mentality, and their bandit groups are for the most part, tribes or clans.
@@boreanknight ye
40:15 If you're quick the first time you enter the Pale Lady's crypt, you can see Ra'jirr running to the alter before he suddenly dies. I believe he shouts something like; "I need to return the sword."
Yes! My favorite bandits Rigel and Fjola! I hope you cover some of the unique Forsworn/maybe more bandits
There are more fun bandits and I might look into Forsworn too. Are there unique ones?
@boreanknight not named for the most part but above bards leap redoubt you can see 2 hagraven creating a briarheart, atop the main forsworn encampment across from karthspire there is a briarheart that sits upon a throne and he owns a copy of the book the legend of red eagle with rebels cairn being nearby, there is the massive forsworn camp at Deepwood redoubt with a teleporting hagraven (I think it's that one), there is the one hagraven that owns a piece of mehrunes razor, there is a hagraven that talks during the quest: the affairs of hagravens, and of course there is the Glenmoril witches, the talking hagraven during the quest a night to remember, the hagraven in the lone tower past the top of bards leap redoubt. I know that I didn't list too many forsworn but that's because I couldn't remember the names of the named forsworn during the quest in markarth. I, of course, would be fine with another video on bandits or anything you make because I adore your content.
I mean, Skyrim is a post apocalypse going through another apocalypse. If it was 500 years in the future they might be making their Holds out of scrap metal and Plane wreckage with large bombs in the middle of town. But they have trees so they build like they should. Every large hold is fortified to keep people out, and you have ruins from 3 different times all over the map. Drauger, Dwemer, and the Imperial war (4 If you get the mod that adds the ruins of the Oblivion crises, which also happened in Skyrim, and there are even mods that add anchors from ESO, which was ANOTHER apocalypse that Skyrim lived through)
1 hour video about a 13 year old game and random npcs in it. Im so in
The bandits of Skyrim would have been an interesting oppurtunity to tell a story about the Nords disagreeing with the adaptation of the imperial Pantheon, The Nords disagreeing with times of peace, as they are Vikings or Disagreeing with Authority in general. If the Bandits had Names, NPCs, Nuance, virtually anything that would differentiate them mechanically from Draugr and Falmer, There would have been immense oppurtunity for storytelling.
But no, they are just Fodder to pad out the empty world of Skyrim. The only Two Times Bandits try anything beyond "Kill on Sight" are coincidentally suspiciously early in the main Quest, stealing the Golden Claw and Shakedown on the road to Ivarstead. The Thieves that can randomly demand 100 Gold from you are more Bandits than the Bandit faction.
Great Work Bethesda. You may not have any dedicated Writers but did you have to make it so obvious?
This is the first Video of you that I‘ve seen and I really enjoyed it! Would love to see more content in the style of this video surrounding Skyrim! I really like the way the visuals complemented your analysis of the storytelling on each bandit. And how you analysed the topics themselves. Great job, keen to see more!
Thanks! I'll be making more Skyrim content in this style for sure.
A fantastic and interesting video. Well done. I quite enjoyed your storytelling and the plot threads to reason why there are so many bandits in Skyrim. I do have a theory that can coincide with other theories and canon explanations; that the Aldmeri Dominion could be importing convicts into Skyrim. They gather lawbreakers from their provinces, and instead of locking them or executing them in their own prisons, they simply ship them off to the borders of Skyrim and send them over to sow discorse and drag the civil war further.
Thanks! That's a good theory and I could totally see Thalmor doing that!
Fort Greenwall was always the most surreal part of this "bandits are everywhere" problem. Its quite seriously just a few steps, less than 2 minutes away from Riften ingame, is a massive border fort active in the middle of a war, and is necessary to cross in order to even reach Riften, but everyone sits on their haunches and only seems to reclaim it once the war is in full swing and there have been some conquered forts and a fallen Whiterun.
What makes this even stranger is the fact that in ESO fort Greenwall is STILL occupied by a completely different group of bandits.
Its probably one of the most important fortresses in Skyrim for protecting Riften and the trade road going up towards Windhelm, yet even in the 2nd Era when Riften wasn't even a corrupt shithole taken over by a low-tier Thieves guild that doesn't even seem well earned on their no one seemed to have been able to lift a finger to keep this fort secure so that Riften doesn't fucking starve, and this was during a time when Riften had not only the goddamn fighters guild in presence doing absolutely nothing about it but the Mages guild as well when its easily clear that they could go through such an easy effort to take Greenwall, let alone the Riften guard, if just one single person (not to mention other players) can handle Greenwall's infestation time and time again.
So much for Nordic ferocity and bravery.
Fun fact: Considering its state in ESO, it seems to be that fort Greenwall has been occupied by bandits for about 948 years since we don't hear anything about its state in the 3rd era. This fort is so important that you'd choke the only road leading into Riften that would matter for the sake of a trade lifeblood, but its been basically this tiny bandit free state for almost a thousand years with nothing clearly having been done about it save for some random bloke coming in and performing a massacre occasionally in the 2nd and 4th era.
The world is so gamified in Elder scrolls that its a shock that these states can function without going bankrupt because there just are no efforts done to protect the roads at all even back to Oblivion. Do you remember seeing an actual functioning fort in the HEART OF THE EMPIRE at one of its zeniths? Its like Bethesda can't make an open world without it seeming apocalyptic out of fear of you running out of things to do.
Correction: There is at least implications that greenwall was an actual reclaimed settlement in the 3rd era, since it appears as a regular town in Arena. Though the timeframe on how long this lasted doesn't really exist save that it was reclaimed before 3E 389 minimum.
One hundred and thirty something words in that third paragraph. Not one full stop.
Good points, and I'm wasting my time counting, but damn if I didn't almost have an aneurysm trying to parse that.
I always imagined in my head that the reason there are so many bandits is because when you first start the game they are literally living in their version of the apocalypse. Word travels fast and a giant dragon flying across the sky is hard to miss espacially when its going around resurrecting a dragon army. So the people of Skyrim who believe the return of the world eater is the sign of the end times would react in a way that is realistic for a good portion of people irl and panic even if others just go on about their business running their shops like nothing is happening bc they dont believe the rumors are true.
I wondering if Bandits even gets to enter Sovngarde as they are kinda evil people but maybe some bandits got reason to be bandits. Like the imperial being unfair and the civil war is just stupid and nuts and Bandits like "We will not involve by their stupid war". Bandits mostly enjoy the world of skyrim and fight like a true son and daughter of skyrim like a true Nord. And no matter what race they are they live and fry in the land of Skyrim.
I think it's all individual, some may go if they died the right way i.e. in battle.
Neat! Looks like I found another insomnia channel.
IDK what it is, but a chill voice going on about something they care about that's interesting yet unimportant helps me wind down.
Subscribed 👍
This was so pleasurable. Thanks for making it; & yes that necro eats effed up!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
So, I'm playing a Khajit character right now and somehow every other playthrough I've missed Rigel Strong-Arm dungeon until yesterday. I murdered them all mostly because I found the dead Khajit
I dont think Rigel's relationship with her father sounds abusive, it sounds more playful than anything. Families insult eachother all the time, and she keeps sending him money to support him in his old age.
It seems like Nords do this now that I think of it. They'll call each other "frosty old snow bear" or "prickly snow cat" etc. It's kinda banter
I'm glad someone said it. That is exactly what I was thinking.
Skyrim is full of characters poking light hearted fun at eachother.
I have to say this thumbnail is amazing.
I love shooting the soul gem controlling the necro bastards ghosts and letting them exact revenge. Loved this video by the way, keep up the good work
amazing video. time flew by as i listened to you tell their stories. its a shame that so much lore is hidden behind notes rather than explained through interactive gameplay and voice lines.
Thanks! Yeah, that's a standard Bethesda way of storytelling. Hopefully TES6 improves that aspect.
I don't know how you don't have more followers! This production quality is so good! Good job.
your videos make me remember how much I enjoy this game. I feel lucky to have discovered it in EBGames at just 8 years old, convincing my mum to buy it for my brother for Christmas so I could play it when he'd had his fun. It's truly the most satisfying fantasy experience in gaming.
I absolut love this video! I didnt play skyrim for a while (6 months, lol), cuz i was a litte bored and you just started with one of my most favoit dungeons ever! I remember the first time i enter pinewhatch very well cuz i was so unprepared and i loose four times to a banditchef after killing Alduin (such a noob i was hahaha)...this is 12 years ago. This game is still simply amazing!
Thanks for this jourany man :)
When i saw Hajvarr's face in the thumbnail i lefit thought that someone had photoshopped Marlon Brando from Apocalypse Now
It annoyed me in Skyrim that the backdrop was the war but neither side were trying to claim ground or take any of the old forts back from the bandits.
There could have been a whole system of reclaiming and rebuilding and staffing castles and forts.
Isnt that what the whole Civil War questline was?
@@lester1016 No. No it was not.
@@Loreweavver All of the quests were about "Retake Fort X so that we can take control of the X Hold."
Then they would be re-staffed by your faction afterwards. It just wasn't fleshed out.
@@lester1016 Wrong. Thanks for playing.
Just got suggested this video and holy. This is the exact content i needed during exam season
I really enjoyed this. Just seeing the life of bandits in Skyrim is so interesting. I noticed you made a part 2, 100% will be watching!
Man thank you for putting those black bars in the video now I can freely zoom in whitout being afraid to miss something in the video
I think I went to the creepy Rigel note house when wandering aimlessly. I think it was assumed to be a neat hidden detail, thinking to myself, "this is classic Skyrim," while opening the hidden passageway
I havent played Skyrim in a long while, and wow, there ARE so many bandits! Its a shame Skyrim was sized down (like everything else essentially in Skyrim).
Your views on this series is amazing, would love to hear your thoughts on Oblivion.
Always enjoy these great videos. Nice topics.
"security in white River watch is terrible, shameful is what it is"
Always thought "Rigel" was pronounced like "Regal" with a longer "e" sound in the second syllable, like "ree-ghel".
Great vid, great channel!
I guess Arondil is worshipping in his own way, just with Molag Bal instead
This is a question I didn't even know I had until I saw this video in my recommended. Looking forward to more like it.
Interaction set to spacebar ^^ You definitely played a lot of Morrowind.
Wow, good catch!
love the vid man, if you could talk just a tiny bit faster it would be great you draw your words out just a tiny bit. other than that super good vid to fall asleep. your voice is very calming and the video is something i’ve never thought about.
The algorithm did good with this one
Seemed odd no questline to become bandit chief.
The bar in the Pinewatch reminds me of the one in Evergreen Mills in Fallout 3.
There actually is a mod for that with regards to Eisa and its called BUVARP (Barely Used Vanilla Actors Recycling Project) basically it takes a good number of interesting npcs that Bethesda added and fleshes them out a lot more even making a number of them full-fledged Followers. I have it permanently in my load order for that exact reason. There is also Denizens of Morthal Character and dialogue expander which does the same with Eisa but also expands vanilla followers Benor, Erandor and Valdimer along with everyones favorite pup Meeko and makes them even more interesting; though you will have to do some replacer patching if you use any. Great mod.
Sounds like a great mod thanks for recommending it!
Truly Top 10 Favorite Elder Scrolls Channel!!!!
There are so many great and better Elder Scrolls channels so I really appreciate it!
the reverb on your voice is off the charts. it sounds like you recorded this on the inside of a hyperbaric chamber
Ridgel strong might be my favorite bandit leader because of the notes and also the uniqueness of location
Truly fantastic job with this video.
Thanks!
great videos mate!
Hello friend. Another well done video. One of my favorite content creators. Hope your feeling better
There must be some kind of benefits programme going on to be more bandits than actual citizens in skyrim.
High King Biden and Jarl Harris be importing a useful new demographic for their anarcho-tyrannistic reign of Skyrim.
I cannot imagine the ungodly amount of hour this video took! Praise Talos for you patience! hope your channel blows up man!
I play with the mod ''Peaceful living'' which turns pacifies bandits. I also use OBIS mod. So, now most bandits are downtrodden with some still being bandits, but they won't attack you. However, they will attack other people and a lot of the times its in self defense. Honestly makes clearing out and doing some missions a lot more morally gray. You can also hear the less common dialogue from them too.
And it makes sense. These downtrodden usually don't pack much in gear. A lot of them mention they're just skooma addicts or people who couldn't find work or some who fell on hard times, etc. Honestly feels like this is what skyrim's bandits should've been from the start. Of course, the bandits possessing CC gear will be much harder fights. And other enemies like necromancers, falmer, etc. will still attack you.
*headshot*
Guard: Tis but a flesh wound.
LIKE THE BITE OF A FLEA
Fjola and Crister worshipping the same God from the perspective of different religions being the cause of their failed relationship is weirdly relatable for me.
Catholic & Jew?🤔
Skyrim Is one of my Faverite Games, I Played Fallout new Vegas Fallout 3 Fallout 4, These are games i Love but Skyrim is my Faverite
I thought about that too lol. Lots of carrying heavy stuff around.
@@boreanknight Love your content Some of the best Morrowind Content out their
FINALLY MORE SKYRIM CONTENT FOR ME TO SNORT
I love your videos and play them when I'm cleaning/studying for fun lore distraction lol. Thank you and plz make more!
I really like the video format, it’s chill, it has long moments of silence, and not too loud or anything packed full of jokes and high energy themes. I appreciate this a lot.
Excellent video. I never read the notes or journals, perhaps I should do that more often. Anyway, time to go pay Arondil a visit.
Pine watch was one of my favourite moments in Skyrim. I found it by accident, because on the floor there are a couple of gold coins leading in a trail to the book case.