Allright so i noticed a simple exploit in oblivion. if you steal something and get caught by guards then they will confiscate your stolen goods right? so what if you don't have your stolen goods on you.

The exploit is that if you just drop your stolen goods, or put them in a chest someplace safe then you will only pay your fine/get arrested. there will be no additional fine or anything.

We already know that if you drop it someone else will steal it or return it to its rightful owner. but if you put it in a chest will you get a longer time in jail? or a higher fine? or something else? or will it just be ignored?

This isnt an exploit. Its a logical thing to do. Stash the goods!

yes that wasn't the point. the point was that they wont do anything about it. so you stacked your goods they'll just be yours.

They could always make you have to tell the guards where the loot is if you want to get out of jail.

I like the idea of a higher fine. Something like if you have the stolen items in your inventory, the fine is only equal to the items cost, plus you lose the item. But if the item is stashed, you will have to pay double the price of the item. Also I hope guards will be able to recognize when you drop stolen items on the ground before they catch up to you.

So is robbing the chest with your stolen loot in it after you get arrested an exploit too? It will obviously be ignored since there will be no way of the guard logically knowing you put your goods in a chest. Besides, spending time in jail usually decreases the level of certain skills. That's your punishment right there.

That would be nice. I would like to see some way of arguing your case though. If you manage to stash the goods you should be able to try and lie your way out of it, allow them to search nearby (provided you hid the items somewhere else), that kind of stuff.

Yeah I was about to say that. Make it where you can stash it and if you get arrested you get the choice to either return the items or get a longer jail time and fine.

Should ?I mention that if you enchanted the item you stole it's not longer "stolen"?

Heh.

Anyway, I just hope they figure out a good system that isn't overly easy to exploit while at the same time not having telepathic guards who warp in from the eneterprise.

Well if you actually hide the stolen things, how can the guards prove you stole them in the first place?

That's interesting. Is this confirmed? I thought if I dropped a stolen item on the ground the npcs will try to steal it or give it back to me, not to the original owner.
If every random npc knows who is the rightful owner for every item in the game, that would be like every item has an invisible label of its owner. That would totally kill the stealing/selling fun. I hope they get rid of the stolen label from Oblivion and nobody knows whose apple is the one I'm trying to sell. For some rare pieces of armor, weapons, or jewelry, it makes sense to be recognizable if they are unique in looks, people would know hey, that's the guildmaster's staff you're trying to sell! But for common items not even the one you stole them from should be able to identify, because objects like apples usually look the same :shrug:

Yeah it's one of the things about radiant AI that is confirmed.

The guards will probably have their own script and maybe this will somehow include recognizing the items dropped on the ground just before the arrest. The stash however is more difficult.. Maybe you could either get a lower sentence if you told the guards of the loot, or they would go search for themselves and depending on how well hidden your stash is (I don't know how to quantize this) they will either find it or not, and if they do, you pay double.

It is neither confirmed nor hinted at. If you drop an item, then there is a chance that Radiant Story may cause an NPC return it to you or may cause NPCs fight over it. It is not something that is guaranteed to happen without fail.

The guards were already omniscient in Oblivion. They better not be able to see EVERY CHEST I'VE EVER PUT SOMETHING IN this time around. Seriously, you'd think every guard was Morgan Freeman with their freaking narrator-like abilities to see every damn thing you do wrong.

Wouldn't that just really defeat the purpose of stashing the goods? I mean... if you hide 'em in a barely visible chest high up in the mountains and then get arrested, why would those items disappear? I say, just remove what's in your inventory and get a fine based on the value of the items, or the amount, or whatever. If you loot an entire city and get caught, the fine shouldn't be the same as when you accidentally click on an owned piece of bread.

It's no exploit. Real guards aren't psychic.

LOL guys are you serious? All this debate for no reason.

Don't tell me you haven't hit the reload button to avoid the jail thing and loose stats. hypocrites

The real problem is that they fine you anyway, when the result should be you smirking at the guards going "What stolen goods? Show me some evidence of a crime, please. If you can't do so, then I want that lying shopkeeper arrested for besmirching my good name!"

(Or as Reynald Jemane said..."I am quite capable of besmirching it on my own- he should cease and desist immediately!")

The only "exploit" here is the guards exploiting their position to charge people without evidence, thank you very much.

Agreed. Unless it is the case of the Corrupt Imperial Watchman where the victims turned out their pockets anyways and still got fined. They're all corrupt I say! Damn them!

They catch you with it, you give it back and serve your time.
You successfully hide it from them you have to pay double.
You hide it and they See you hiding it, you pay double And they take it.

Fixed that for ya.

Does anyone fine you extra in real life in a situation like that?

You also don't get the option between a fine and jail in real life for murder either, do you?

... if you successfully hide it, how would they know you hid it?

This thread is pointless... what the OP describes is not an exploit.

One of the largest problems with the guard system is what you just mentioned. This is also in Morrowind. Just drop the stolen goods before speaking to the guard, pay your fines, then pick them back up and go on your way. Hopefully Radiant AI is better now and will pick up your goods off the ground if they're stolen.

Edit for Clarity: Not dropping them at a safe point, I mean LITERALLY DROPPING THEM right in FRONT of the guard. Right in his face. On top of it if you want. The guards can only take the items you have in your inventory. They should be able to confiscate stolen items that you have dropped on the ground as well. That way, you would HAVE to find a hiding spot before paying your fines.