The taverns in Morrowind and Oblivion was never really that exciting. I think this is something Bethesda should do something about. When I walk into a tavern, I want it to be alive, not just a few random boring NPC's sitting att a table talking about the weather. I want taverns to be a place where you can find all kinds of interesting peoples. Where you can talk to Mercenaries about battles and job offers. Where you can listen to drunken conversations, and sometimes pick up unique info. I want it to be music, drunken nords hitting on the waitress and getting denied and being kicked out by the owner. I want to see scary looking npc's sitting in dark corners and talk about criminal activities. If you walk into the wrong tavern(owned by evil factions or something) you have to be on guard to avoid trouble, or make trouble. Off couse this is not the case if you are a professional bar brawler ^^ But offcourse there should be nice and cozy taverns too, just make the place alive Bethesda

Adding npcs playing music would be a treat!

I'd love to walk into a tavern in the middle of nowhere and overhear a conversation between two drunken nordic adventurers, "I hearsh theirsh an old daedric artifact south of Winterhold in the Riekling Cavernsh..."

I imagine Nords would enjoy drunken singalongs.

tavern brawls

That'd be awesome, love the idea!

I always thought this was one area Fable out did The Elder Scrolls. The atmosphere in places like taverns was soooo much better in Fable. I want it to feel alive when I want into a tavern, not like I walked into a funeral home.

Yes, I loved the Morrowind mod of South Wall adding the conversations as well as dancers and a band.

Nothing beats the entertainment of seeing two nords beating
each other yellow and blue, and then one miss and hits the scary looking guy sitting on the other table. ITS ON!

I agree, they could use more atmosphere.

I think The Witcher did a pretty good job at this, you had people brawling, sometimes a very lively feel and sometimes only a few people at the tables drinking.

Put a couple of NPCs with decent knowledge (and biased opinions on) lore in different taverns. Bethesda go through the trouble of writing loads of books with lore-stuff in the games, no reason they can't make some stories into conversations you can have with barflies. That way, players interested in lore could travel between different taverns to get different bits of info on lore. (Obviously some of the stories will contradict eachother, so the player has to make up his own mind) Bringing them certain books or artifacts might give more info - sort of like Yagarn Bagrum, I guess.

To make for more decent gameplay, bits of lore-info could be "released" to these NPCs at intervals, so there is an incentive to visit the taverns regularly, not just exhaust all the topics at the first visit.

Doesn't do much for replayability, though...

The taverns definitely have to be overhauled. There can still be some quiet, reserved lodges here and there, but Skyrim is a dark, ancient and mysterious place - the local populace should reflect that. I'd love to walk into a tavern and see a shady group of characters in the corner discussing an assassination plot, while a garrulous old Nord in the center of the place is telling stories to the others, things like that.

EDIT: Skyrim should begin with your character being thrown out of a bar and face-first into the snow after a brawl. :hubbahubba:


Read that in Sean Connery's voice. Well done.

Great idea! Buy a drink to the oldest local, and he talks about he's travels in in his youth, you can get map markers to old sites and carverns and explore. Talk to the local historian, who has a break from his studies, and you can learn lore. Like the idea very much

Yes!

Bards who sing and tell stories and lore.

Soothsayers who ward the others about upcoming events and the like.

Sages who you could show some of your findings, like unknown items to identify and get general information and so on...

Drunk adventurers who might be coerced into giving up some directions to hidden treasures and the like.

Drunk citizens who came to forget their sorrows and would give you another quest.

Sailors who might know about interesting far-off places and might be convinced to take you in their next trip.

...

Wouldn't it be cool to also have some piss-drunk nord come up to you and start a fight once in a while?

hehe, that would sure bring some funny moments into the game! another cool thing would be robbers lurking around the tavern, following really drunk peoples on their way home, and rob them blind!

Oh, yes. I'd love that - in Arena and Daggerfall, the taverns were basically the first place you'd head to for rumors and quest opportunities. I'd love to see such a degree of importance brought back to them in Skyrim.

Something tells me though that Bethesda will just do the usual "maximum 2 genuinely useful NPCs per tavern" thing, though...

Deinatly better atmosphere, have people dancing, singing, and some slurred speech.In speech I want everything from "I.hic.saw a mudcrab the other day" to "I slav a mudcrak,thez other day, flimsey craters.hic"Also, non-lethal barfights, I start somthing and suddenly im a phycopath who wants to murder everyone :sadvaultboy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUa-71Mp7ko

A good old bar fight might make the hand-to-hand skill useful. If you draw a weapon in a bar then everyone turns on you, you'd be screwed. But start a hand-to-hand fight and everyone chants fight fight fight. Good way to win money or get back at someone.

I want to walk into a pub and see Nords and Imperials singing Merry Hymns about battles and good times. When they toast their tankards mead should splash out, stains should bd only there clothing. Stains should exist on the flood and furniture. The tavern should have an age to it that tells a story of a merry time and bar room brawls.

yeah, a drunken nord girl dances on the table

what?

that would be amazing! I would love that. Instead of riding my horse to a tavern in between major cities in Oblivion and seeing only a guard and the owner, it would be nice to actually have a bunch of people coming and going so you could have some awesome interactions.

My favorite morrowind mod video