I always wondered why members of the Jarl's court in Riften seemed to spend so much time standing around the dining tables there, often blocking my path through the main hall. The only people who ever sat down to eat were the Jarl and the two other NPCs who sit in the chairs at the head of the table but nobody uses the benches on either side of the two side tables.

Well, I just took a follower in there and for reasons that are irrelevant told him to sit down at the table on one of the benches, which he did briefly - then I got the dialogue that indicated what I had asked wasn't possible and he got right back up again. Repeated this several times on both sides of the room, both benches, with the same results.

Then I tried to sit down at the table myself and was able to but as soon as I was seated the camera went all wonky, I don't even know how to explain it, like every movement of the mouse got the exact opposite response than you would normally get, or the cam was positioned in some weird spot/angle as soon as I sat down. This was in third person view, I can't remember if I tried first person as it was so disorienting I spent several seconds just trying to figure out how to find the view I expected and then got up.

I looked at it in the CK thinking maybe the benches were just turned the wrong way with the activation markers in the wrong place, but the tables and benches are all of a piece and the entry markers for NPC use are in what should be the right spots and appear to be accessible from the existing navmesh. The three chairs at the main table are separate objects and obviously NPCs don't have trouble using them as the Jarl and her primary courtiers often do just that when their AI tells them it's time to eat.

But everybody else - the court mage, the Jarl's sons - they are apparently supposed to be sitting down on those benches for meals but can't for whatever reason and so they just stand around the table until their AI tells them dinner's over and it's time to be somewhere else.

My experience with these issues is limited and as I've said the things that would be obvious problems to me don't seem to be there. Anybody got any idea what is or might be causing this? I'd like to fix it if possible so the NPCs in the Keep can go about their scripted business as scheduled and not be standing in my way for several hours every day.

Thanks, all help is greatly appreciated!