I am playing Oblivion now for probably the 10th time through. I am almost done with the Thieves Guild quests now. As I was infiltrating the castle in Bravil, I really thought about how the guards in the castle dont give a crap where you go in the castle as long as they dont catch you in a restricted part. Sure it's simple to get out of their sight somehow just to hop in sneak mode and pick the lock on a door and go on in. I was thinking though...what if, in Skyrim, you are able to throw something...say a pebble...to make a noise that the guards will go check out so it seems more like you're actually sneaking in. Any thoughts on this?

I hope so. There was a thread a while back about extinguishing lights to distract people. http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1177813-puttin-out-torches-for-stealth-reasons/page__p__17417352__hl__torch__fromsearch__1

They are already changing stealth to be more than just hidden or not hidden, maybe this will be a part of it.

Like in Splinter Cell. Sure, I think that would fit well with the already existing grab system.

I'd like to extinguish a torch, and then the guard would walk around to relight it.
Maybe you could drop a some gold and the greedy guard might go after it.

I want Thief 2, but that is to much to ask for. We must remember that Skyrim is a game with stealth, not a stealth game.

I don't want it to be money. I've earnt/stolen my money...i don't want to give it to some guard. I'd rather kill him or use something less expensive like a fork/random object. Drop the fork, he's like "WTF is a fork doing up here?" and takes it back down to the dining room/kitchen.

Idk, I think you can spare a measly Septim. Besides, throw it on the edge of a bridge and when he goes to get it kick his ass off. Then you can get your gold back.

There's also a new state in stealth, called "Alert". I'm kinda excited by that, because it can open up for a lot of different scenarios and design decisions by the devs. Alert state causes opponents to be aware without specifically having detected you.

Yeah this will be great! Everything you guys have said so far would be awesome and definitely help with immersion!

I haven't really thought about this, but yeah. I like. As Datashocker said, it should be possible with the current grab system. I'm no expert but it wouldn't be too difficult with the new stealth system and some Ai tweaks, right?

I don't know about you guys, but if I were a guard, I wouldn't fall for that ridiculous pebble-toss trick. I know this for a fact because someone has actually tried to distract me with that same trick. The whole idea behind it is that the guard is going to investigate the noise for a potential intruder or threat. But if I'm thinking there might be a threat, why in God's name would I check it out by myself? That's an utterly stupid decision that anyone with half a brain would never make. If you must check it out, tell someone about it first, preferably several someones. That way you can have some backup or, if you're overpowered by the unscrupulous footpad in the shadows, your fellows will know that something fishy is going on when you fail to return.

In addition, why would I be interested enough in a falling pebble to investigate it even if I'm sure there is no danger? "Gee, that sounded an awful lot like a rock rolling across the floor. I wonder what it could possibly be?" The most exciting thing I might find is a mouse shoving something out of its way.

So please, no throwing pebbles or any other cliched distraction tactic. They don't work as the movies portray them unless the enemy guard has an IQ of 12. One of the few exceptions would be money on the ground; I'd certainly stop to pick up a stray $20 bill, especially if my usual pay is low.

It may not be a stealth game but stealth is a main aspect. I look at it like this. You can play elder scrolls games in three basic ways, Theif, Mage, Warrior. Thats what it all comes down to lol.

Fox makes some good points.....however this is a video game rather than real life. Some dumber, lower level guards should be easily tricked while other, smarter and higher level guards will easily see through your ruse. Perhaps a higher level guard may even go into 'alert' if he sees suspicious activity like throwing rocks.

It reminds me of Hitman Blood Money, where you could throw a coin to distract people. Or Splinter Cell where you could whistle or throw a bottle to get someones attention. I like the idea, but like I said I dont want every guard in Skyrim to fall for the old throw a nickel trick.

At least older Splinter Cell. T.T In Conviction you just shoot and/or punch everyone in the face to get through a level. No longer is it neccessary to shoot out lights and sneak past.

True, if I throw something it will be a brick or a bottle, not a coin. And it will be at the guard, preferably from behind. I would say the main thing I want to see (from this and the extinguishing lights thread) is to see lights you can light or put out by activating them or hitting them (with a weapon, don't burn your hands ). Anything else from those threads to add on would just be gravy.

Money worked wonders in Assassins Creed. Money makes sense.

thats a great idea imo but it might make sneaking a little to easy if we could just pick up a pebble or something and throw it maybe it could be more effective based on level

I don't necessarily mean throw a pebble. I just used that as a base example. Maybe you could shoot an arrow at a painting to make it crash to the floor and startle the guards (although if they find the arrow they would probably know someone was there and would begin scouring the place and maybe put a castle lockdown in effect) or anything of the sort. Maybe shove a vase over then quickly duck into the shadows and work your way around whilst the guards are checking it out and looking for someone (or something) around the are of the broken vase. Are you kind of picking up what I'm laying down now?

Not to hijack the thread but have you ever noticed how the beggars know everything for thieves guild quests, but if you want to get info on another guild's quest, they know nothing? I'd think you'd be able to leverage your thieves guild connection for info on, say, a fighters guild quest. I hope they fix that in Skyrim. Your idea is good too, so long as the AI behaves well.

Yes! I remember in Metal Gear Solid 2 (idk if it was in any of the others) you could knock on the wall and run around a corner. A guard nearby would investigate, in turn leading him away from his comrades, and you could pop out of corner and take him down.

People are asking for too much, Asking for too much means we will get lots of glitches and people keep asking for small stuff...

I'm not so much asking as I am thinking it would be awesome. This game will be the sh!t regardless. Bethesda knows what they are doing and I have faith in them. Hell, if they remade Oblivion only with a new map and new quests and stuff, I'd be playing that for the next 5 years, too! lol

You do realise that they're not going to do 98% of the things we suggest.

Mages getting dragon shouts, fighters getting actual combat. What thieves are getting, a throat slit? Come on, Thief is an ancient game and it is still unmatched to this day. It was really amazing when the guards on top level heard me and came searching for me. Sounds! The thrill of a guard one meter away: "Who's there? Show yourself!!!" is a spine tingling experience. Shadows. There are tons of stuff to develop in that category.

http://aigamedev.com/open/highlights/thief-ai/