Thief (Character)

Thief
Riften's thief.
Basic Info
Race	Argonian Dunmer Elder Imperial Khajiit Nord
Gender	Female Male
Class	Thief
Faction	Thieves Guild
Respawn	No
Base ID	In Riften: 00023EE8 In the Wilderness: 00103512 00103513 00103514 00103515

For other uses, see Thief.

Thieves are characters in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that are encountered during several random encounters.

Encounters

Riften's thief (Stop, Thief!)

After starting the quest "A Chance Arrangement" and one is above level 5, while the Dragonborn is walking around Riften during night (between 10pm and 4am), an unnamed Nord thief may attempt to steal items from one of the stalls or try to pick the lock of a shop, leading to a fight with the guards. This usually ends in the demise of the thief. The Dragonborn may help the guards defeat the thief without incurring a bounty. It is also possible to loot the corpse of the thief, which carries assorted gems and a small amount of .

They usually wear an unobtainable set of Thieves Guild Armor.

They may also be encountered in Riverwood or inside a random house.

Skyrim's thief (Stick 'em up)

Another type of thief can be encountered anywhere along a road, at any time while exploring Skyrim. They will stop the Dragonborn and ask to hand over their valuables, while threatening them with a leveled dagger. One can choose to surrender their belongings, try to persuade or intimidate them, or enter combat. If the Dragonborn has become a member of the Thieves Guild, they also have the option of notifying the thief of this, who will then walk away.

If combat is avoided, the thief may run to the Brandy-Mug Farm near Windhelm.

These usually wear leveled light armor and a Mage Hood or an unobtainable variant of the Thieves Guild Hood. They will also have a small amount of and two daggers, as well as a few lockpicks.

This thief will appear as a male Argonian, a male or female Dunmer, or a male Khajiit.

Privileges

Thieves Guild privileges

If the Dragonborn has joined the Thieves Guild, thieves encountered on the road will recognize them as 'their brother' and give a few coins or lock picks.

Note: This encounter only happens if a minimum of one piece of Thieves Guild armor is worn.

Nightingale's privileges

A Nightingale

"Hail Nightingale! Luck has shined down on me and made me a rich man. Here is your cut, as promised. Good luck out there!"

―A thief

Once the Dragonborn has become a Nightingale member, these thieves will not attempt to rob the Dragonborn. Instead, they will give them a sum of gold, recognizing the Dragonborn as a Nightingale and will greet them.

Note: This encounter only happens if a minimum of one piece of Nightingale Armor is worn.

Quotes

When encountered:

• "All right, hand over your valuables, or I'll gut you like a fish!"

When the Dragonborn says they'll hand over the gold:

• "Ha, what a coward. Didn't even put up a proper fight." (200 gold will be taken from the Dragonborn)

When the Dragonborn says that they'd rather die:

• "Then I guess that's your last request, fool!" (The thief will then engage the Dragonborn in combat)

When the Dragonborn says they are also part of the Guild:

• "Of course! I've seen you at the Flagon. My mistake. Good luck out there!"

When the Dragonborn says they are a Nightingale:

• "A Nightingale? Oh, I had no idea. My mistake. Good luck out there!"

If persuasion succeeds:

• "No, I guess not. Well, get out of here before I change my mind."

If persuasion fails:

• "Yes, actually. You look like you're lousy with gold. I'm not going to ask again."

If intimidation succeeds:

• "Well. I, uh, can see you're not one to be trifled with. Let this be a warning to you!"

If intimidation fails:

• "Nice try, but you don't scare me. I'm not going to ask again."

When the Dragonborn says "I don't have time for this," or if they exit dialogue:

• "Don't you walk away from me!" (The thief will then engage the Dragonborn in combat)

Trivia

• Sometimes, if the Dragonborn walks into someone's house in Riften, a thief will be inside. If the thief sees the Dragonborn, he will start running around the house silently. If in a business, this will prevent the purchase/selling of goods. Killing this thief will not result in a bounty.
• Items in a thief's inventory are never marked as stolen.
• If the Dragonborn is a Nightingale and a female thief engages conversation with them, she will say "This job has made me a very rich woman." However, the subtitles will still refer to the thief as a male: "This job has made me a very rich man."
• If a thief is chased into The Bee and Barb and attacked, everyone will assist in the thief's demise, even including Sapphire, if she is present within the tavern.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Thief (Character). Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

•  360   PS3   Multiple thieves may spawn in one location.
•  360   PS3   If one takes everything a thief has by selecting "take all," then the thief's clothes may be taken, but no clothes go into the Dragonborn's inventory.
•  PC   After failing to persuade or intimidate the thief, cancelling dialogue with him before he finishes speaking will cause the thief to become friendly, giving only generic dialogue after this and not becoming hostile like normal.