In the new Todd Howard IGN interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztopdt6fY-U&feature=feedu here, Todd says there are "Different types of jails." And that "They're not all the same."

Any ideas on what they could be?

That statement he made is about as ambiguous as saying there will be different kinds of Cows

I mean what, will one jail hold you upside down? is another waist deep in water? does one make you work and another lets you rot? will it be a auto kill moment like the many out of your hands moments in Fo3 and NV? (gassed, head exploded, Irradiated, asphyxiated, probed, etc etc)

Well I made this thread because I can't think of a single idea myself. It'd be cool if one was super violent and you had to fight your way out, unarmed.

It is a speculation thread, Think away I gave my thoughts, still mulling it over

Be reasonable with your ambiguity.

I can see jails divided depending on the crimes. Minor crimes like trespassing and petty theft in area, possibly smaller jails.

Major things like murder and grand theft in a larger more secure prison.

I'm sure they'll work the hard labor aspect in too.

i would like towns to have little 1-2 cell jails and cities to lock you up in the palace dungeon.

I'm think he means that their will be more variety, so to say, between the jails and that each will have it's own 'personality'. I'm hoping that their will be more to do; like watching guards interacting with other prisoners, always meeting a certain drunken rowdy, being able to talk to other convicts (ect...). I'm also hoping he means that each jailer will be unique to each city, like a particularly stern jailer in one city, a jailer who has lost all passion for his work or a jailer who cannot stand thieves (insert back story to add player immersion here...).
Hopefully Todd didn't mean that we'd be suffering a rather unpleasant ordeal when we drop the soap...

I'm hoping for one maximum security (guard dogs, traps, wards, diverse guard types) full of serious offenders and incurably insane inmates. A few smaller city jails. and each town with a general holding lockup. Hopefully with ways to bribe guards, sneak small weapons, pick locks, fight/join gangs, deal skooma, or time off sentence for good behavior,ratting to guards etc.

I want more info, dammit, Todd is too good at keeping things sercet. I bet they could hide a giant in a skyrim city without anyone finding it in 4 years. :wacko:

Crime against a local lord -> dungeon under his keep.
Crime against the citizens of Windhelm (for example) -> Municipal jail
Crime against folks in a village -> Stocks/pillory in the town square so people can spit on you as they walk by
Or if you offend some local and they defeat you you could just end up in a pit (ravenous wolves optional).

Or it could be by severity of crime (minor=stocks, moderate=local jailhouse/prison, severe=dungeon), or some mix of the two.

Now that I think about it tho, they did say there would be different communities with subtle cultural differences, so it could just as easily be based around that.

Would be interesting if a community near a ruin populated with lethal creatures could just stick you in there and if you come out the other side they figure you must be innocent or something.

The way I see it, it gives two possibilities...

The prison you're sent to varies depending on where you committed your crimes,
OR
The prison you're sent to varies depending on the severity of your crime.

Maybe both.
It'd be cool to see petty crimes being sorted out in the place you committed them, while more serious offenses might earn you time in a larger jail in the nearest major city. What would also be nice would be having things to do in jail. Guards and other inmates to talk to, maybe the odd fight.

Or at least too dangerous to accuse, anyway.

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/114/1149185/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-20110211094909008_640w.jpg the hole in the large courtyard area looks like a medieval Oubliette, which means 'Forgotten Place'. Basically, prisoners were either thrown in or lowered in by rope and left to rot.

Some other ideas of imprisonment are high towers, easily guarded and very hard to escape from, or suspended cages, possibly hanging on a high gibbet or over a cliff edge.

I can't wait to see what the developers ave in store for us.

STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!

Different "Kinds" Of prisons leads me to believe there's Minimal and Maximum security type prisons. Maybe a ramshackle hut with some bars in a hamlet for pilfering a loaf of bread. Easy to break out of obviously.

For the Wholesale slaughter of an entire village, the Viking Equivalent of the U.S. Marshals might haul you off to an impenetrable fortress with a one-way trip to the gallows.

Since we will no longer be forced to actually "Stop right there criminal scum" given the dialog system changes. It makes sense that Prisons are going to be a fairly common haunt for some of the people who prefer to steal those shiny baubles displayed on the countertop (If those are even in, the practically weren't in Oblivion).

They might take it in the direction of Red Dead Redemption, where in order to actually "Pay your fine" you have to find something like the Census and Excise building, or the seat of power for the Hold, in order to lose the bounty.

I know what you mean dude. I'm craving for info here as well. :sadvaultboy: They keep teasing us with these useless interviews!

Well I think we can assume that the jails will have guards that react differently to you depending where you are; or maybe even based on the crime. For instance, I can't see riverwood having the same jail and the same security as one of the big cities.

I'd like different calibres of prisons, with their severity depending on the crimes of the prisoners they house.

1. There could be the smalltime little jail, which would consist of little more than two or three little cells in the town guard barracks in which unruly drunks, bar brawlers and petty pickpockets are stored overnight to teach them a lesson in tough love. A player could be sent here and kept from between a few hours to 3 days for largely unimportant offences.

2. Then would come a more serious prison, which would store career criminals such as thieves, conmen merchants, saboteurs, extortionists, loansharks, thugs, etc. A player could be sent here for menacing some NPCs, being caught robbing or sabotaging.

3. This 3rd stage would consist of a high-security camp meant to hold 'hardcoe' criminals - I would think rapists, murderers, assassins, necromancers (if necromancy is still banned), necrophiliacs ( :whistling: ) A player could be sent here for the murder of an NPC, or the practice of necromancy (possibly) or for assaulting important NPCs with the intent to kill.

4. Perhaps the most interesting type of prison would be a POW (prisoner of war) camp - basically, Solitude and Windhelm would have one each within which they detain captured enemy soldiers (i.e. rebels/secessionists in Solitude or loyalists/pro-Imperials in Windhelm), with extremely harsh treatment of prisoners, who presumably are made to live in squalid conditions and surrounded by filth and violence. A player could be sent here if they are captured by one faction while under orders/questing for the other faction.

So, whaddaya think? :thumbsup:

My theory is that the player or NPCs will go to different jails both based on location and on what crime the player committed. County jail for petty crimes, heavy fortified prison for serious crimes.

And you can bet those filthy, forgotten places house NPC prisoners, who are just itching to tell you about an important quest in exchange for a lockpick

Now that would be interesting; if we actually had some incentives to actually do some things in jail besides just use the bedroll and sleep instantly through our sentence. I'd like to see jail be more interactive than that.

Maybe there will be faction specific prisons. Possibly some sort of nightmare detainment for the Dark Brotherhood for a crime which does not warrant your execution.