Jail Ideas : V - Skyrim

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 6:49 pm

They need to do it like Daggerfall, where if you murdered someone, you'd spend possibly a year in jail. But the counter would go through 365 days in about 2 seconds. One day in jail is just stupid. You murder someone and you only go to jail for a day or two? c'mon

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 5:23 pm

Hey, maybe being in prison could open up a whole faction questline! LOL! You could join a prison gang, "forge" weapons out of silverware, get tattooed, smuggle stuff, break out, etc...

Also there should be a difference in prison and regular jail. Jail is for minor infractions and only lasts a few weeks and has a minor effect on your attributes if you chose to wait things out, and there would be a jail in each city. Prison, however, is for murderers and repeat offenders. It would last much longer, years even if you fail to break out... the effects on your attributes could be pretty severe. The prison itself would be on and island like Alcatraz, or maybe on a huge ship, or inside an underground complex.

Ideas:
- If you're bounty is high enough, you'd have to escape before you get executed.
- If you're loyal to an outside faction they might help break you out.
- Characters would be put in wrist shackles with a 100% drain Magicka . You need a key to get them off... or pay a blacksmith to remove them once you bust out.

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 1:06 pm

(I never ever went to jail in Oblivion. I always just reloaded my game because I didn't see any point to going there, and thus never had that experience.... so I had some thoughts about what might make me change my mind about jail in future games....)

What about a few semi-tedious jobs with some real "potential" benefits?

Like chopping wood for the city you wronged? You have to peform a certain amount of labor for the prison (oh, not too much but maybe 10-20 real minutes of labor playing a mini-game) and yet if you do it well, you can work on your Strength stat. The harder you work, the more likely you can get a strength point gain. So while being in prison would be tedious (as it should be) it wouldn't be without purpose, or a promise of gain. I mean if you were actually chopping wood in prison, you would get strong after all. So it would make being in prison another way to advance your character, maybe not as fun a way as being free is, chasing down monsters and loot, but a way to advance yourself nonetheless.

Other jobs (for various other character classes) would be:

1) making potions for the "state" ... using alchemy skills from a variety of state-owned herbs you could work with but not own. Your alchemy skill goes up while you're creating these spells. You may even get 1-2 new recipies to add to your book. So when you're arrested in town and have to think about either reloading your game so you don't get arrested, or actually going to prison, you may decide to take the risk (of boredom) for the hope of 1-2 new recipies, and thus you'll actually go to jail and experience that part of the game because there is a chance of some gain in it. Not that it will happen every time, but it COULD...

2) writing letters for stupid convicts ... the more you write letters, the better your chance of improving your Intelligence stat.... and Radiant Story could remember those that you've helped and they could become your allies when they got "out" and throw a few random stories your way to further help that player. And if you DIDN'T help someone, they might remember that too... when they got out (queue the scary music)....

3) blacksmithing ... build swords, work the forge, learn smelting, and various skills, and a chance to improve your strength..... maybe later after you kill an enemy in a nearby dungeon, you pick up the sword they used against you only to find your own signature on it! Ahahahaha!

4) teach young or stupid convicts new skills for survival after release.... like Archery, Sword Fighting, or other such things. No immediate rewards perhaps, but you do create some life-long friends that Radiant Story will later use to offer you some jobs (via your friend) which can help you to make some good money (as a reward for your kindness to them in jail.)
Would make going to prison a risk that just might pan out in the long run, even if its a bit tedious to go there.

Umm just a couple thoughts. you're in Jail do you think they will let you work with potentially exploding chemicals, make swords, or use bows and swords?
still cool ideas, maybe just a little refining?

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 5:52 pm

What really bugged me was the fact that I was pretty much the only person in the dungeons, if they're going to be empty again then I'm just going to have to say screw it and leave the jails the way they are. If they filled the dungeons up with malnourished, sickly-looking prisoners begging for food and water with their arms stretching through the bars trying to grab at the guards or new-coming prisoners then yes, I’d like to spend a bit more time in the dungeons. Maybe I could scheme with some of the other prisoners in my cell to try and break out or something along those lines.

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 6:42 pm

Hang the criminal scum ! :thumbsup: :turned:

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 10:54 am

I'd like there to be things to actually do while in jail. Certain prisons in certain areas could have interesting cellmates to talk to, maybe a quest in one of them, then talking to a guard as he comes and brings you food, things like that.

But you should also be able to just sleep through it and rush things along. With a high enough bounty, you could be looking at weeks in jail. If I'm forced to actually sit there and wait, then no thank you.

This is interesting, I like your idea of a quest while inside maybe from a guard who would give you privaleges for information or for the promise of completing a task on your release also gambling with other inmates on cockroach racing or something.

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 2:46 pm

I would like some more creative ways to break out of jail, hell it would be kind of cool if you found a weak section of a wall and could break it down with something in the cell into a tunnel, bribe another prisoner to make a riot, fake your death, start a fight with a cellmate... Although it should only work 1-3 at the most =/

Also ya, a jail related quest would be cool (Hopefully some prisons in this game have courtyards with a few dozen NPCs so it would be possible...) kinda like in Mafia 2...

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 1:41 am

Oblivion's jailing system: murder whole city, spend a week in jail, forgiven.
Fix this.

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 1:53 pm

I would like some more creative ways to break out of jail, hell it would be kind of cool if you found a weak section of a wall and could break it down with something in the cell into a tunnel, bribe another prisoner to make a riot, fake your death, start a fight with a cellmate... Although it should only work 1-3 at the most =/

Also ya, a jail related quest would be cool (Hopefully some prisons in this game have courtyards with a few dozen NPCs so it would be possible...) kinda like in Mafia 2...

I agree, there should be some system for potentially weaking your cell, then doing a "Prison Break" where the prison assigns a Bounty Hunter quest to local hunters and adventurers to come and bring you to justice. You could escape but like 2 years later, someone could recognize you when you're doing some major plotline involving discretion, and you suddenly get arrested, which totally busts your current mission. Pay a large fine and be off on your way, or finish your prison term (which was only about one week anyway) ...

By the way, while in prison, time should move a lot faster, so that while you're spending a few days in there, the time per day is much smaller and faster. You do the work assigned, you get an hour of free time to meet people, and then you're put to bed and get up in the morning to do it all over again (in the compressed timeline so it doesn't take very long actually, maybe 30 minutes per in-game day total) ...

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 12:43 am

:thumbsdown: Bor-iiing!

Talking is boring. A few quests to do the first time you go to jail would be cool, or a few repeatable quests. For starters there could be a simple "Smuggle this skooma in" and later on if you're a darker character there could be a "kill this guy" quest. Just like Oz :celebration:

Do the quests in prison, then wait out your sentence or escape.

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 11:46 am

-Other Prisoners. Fill the place up a bit. I cant be the only one who have ever committed a crime.
-More ways of escaping other then Picking the lock or Open lock spells or Stealing the key when the guard walks by.
Some examples: Convincing the prisoner across from you to distract the guard while you steal the key, or convincing the guard to let you out for some air.

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 8:33 pm

Why would anyone want to throw the dragon born in jail?

"[censored]! Who will save us now!" "Stop there dragon scum, you have violated the law."? :mage:

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 9:09 pm

Why cant we just super heat the bars to get out? Or super heat a guards armor and make him a slushie!

» Mon Aug 23, 2010 1:42 am

I'd like there to be things to actually do while in jail. Certain prisons in certain areas could have interesting cellmates to talk to, maybe a quest in one of them, then talking to a guard as he comes and brings you food, things like that.

But you should also be able to just sleep through it and rush things along. With a high enough bounty, you could be looking at weeks in jail. If I'm forced to actually sit there and wait, then no thank you.

+1 I had an idea, but this post sums it all up.

» Sun Aug 22, 2010 9:13 pm

A few ideas...

1. You don't "spawn" in prison. You are lead into prison by guards. If you are a good thief, you can manage to bring something with you in the prison that you can use later...
2. It should severely damage your reputation.
3. Some random encounters in the prison; i.e. a rat crawling nearby, a prison guard drops his keys, a prison guard goes to sleep, another prisoner plans an escape and wants to include you, a few other prisoners... are not nice to you (eh.. they gang-hit you?

)
4. There should be a way to escape out of prison from random these random encounters... one way or another.
5. Guards might treat you as [censored] so it's possible you won't get back all of your items. If so, you should be able to steal your items back from some kind of chest in a guard's office.