There we are, in a world where technology is no longer prevalent and magic is relied upon- as well as a strong back, farming and hunting. So what does the archer store say about hunting- in a land where meat is provided in large part by hunting?
"What are you hunting? Nevermind, I don't want to know." He sounds like he just found out you dealt Skooma or sold your sister to the Thalmor.

How much business do you think an archer would get talking like that to people who walked into his place? But it gets worse, in Whiterun , a main city and home for many of us, we have the Drunken Huntsman bar and archer supply store. If this is A- OK and helps with "Imersion", let's have a few more!

The fashion place in Solitude should call itself the, "Well Heeled [censored]", the general store; "Slack Jaw Supply", and who could forget, "Drooling Nord's Spit-shined Potions"?

I imagine many of you playing Skyrim have never hunted in your life. That's fine with me- I wouldn't think of insulting you because of it. Where I live in Montana people do hunt- and they need to eat, and coincidentally, it looks an awful lot like Skyrim around here. Some of my neighbors don't have an inside outhouse, if you know what I mean. But they're decent people, and they don't drive down to a store in town which insults them.

The writers feel this is humorous- that's the saddest part. It was funny- they couldn't restrain they're own feelings about such things and had to inject them into the game. One archer in one town and they could have their laugh- but they put this line on both archers I've found so far in the game with stores. It's the default line.

If the NPC's had more to say, as they often did in earlier Elder Scrolls games, it wouldn't stand out, but in Skyrim the blacksmiths say the same thing and the archers say the same thing and the hunters say the same thing. 'Hunted and fished this land all my life'

Then we have the "The jarl can't eat every deer,can he?"

Please keep the animal rightist PC insanity out of the Elder Scrolls

I know by writing about this I've elevated a very minor issue into a thread and this will invite sarcasm- the drunken huntsman kind of sarcasm I imagine. There are far more important things going on with Skyrim. This humor should have been reserved by the writers when they were sitting around the table getting paid and having fun. If you dismiss everything I've said about it, it still breaks form and makes no sense in Skyrim, a land of hunting Nords for God's sakes!

The Stupid Nord Store

Methinks you're putting a bit too much thought into shoddy and rushed dialogue.

I'm sorry but I seem to be missing your point, are they insulting hunters? Cause no store really seems to care about what I do. They don't want to know whether I'll get an axe to skin deer or to smash some heads in. They don't care if I use armor to protect myself against angry Trolls, dragons or bandits or just the Jarl in the stronghold who with his immortality can beat the living crap out of me, no matter how much stronger I am...

That right- the NPC's don't react much to what you do- but they say the same lines over and over- and there are fewer of them. I don't think a weapons supplier in a primitive culture would call himself the "Drunken Huntsman", or say, "What are you hunting? Never mind; I don't want to know." (disgusted.) If he said it lightly- but he didn't .

byw- Fishy87 -that's the second greatest avatar I've seen here.

As far as I know, you don't hunt deer in Skyrim as part of any quest. Bears, yes, but chances are you are stocking up to attack an armed camp, or are going to assassinate someone. He doesn't want to know. I thought you were going to complain about the preamble we get from every merchant. I can't seem to get the A button to respond fast enough, lol.


Um, what? In this feudal society, nobody owns property unless they are nobles. Everything in the hold belongs to the Jarl, including the game. The hunters, who eke out a meager living, are poachers. What the blazes does this have to do with animal rights?

I've done bow hunting for pheasents a few times, and let me tell you. It wouldn't be fun in a computer game.

Okay probably not, but NPC's are idiots. Just imagine that he thinks your going to hunt down innocent people for fun, and he doesn't want to know that.


Second greatest? Second greatest? Really? Just the second greatest? No seriously thx, but I have to ask what's the greatest?

I think OP is fine is long as they don't feature magical remote control hunting in the game

But really, you walk into a hunting store all decked out in full armor and weapons; what are they going to think?

I always thought that he was joking about me hunting people. Or the ironic fact that the majority or my kills are nord if you include the undead.
Nice guy, you should talk to him as an Bosmer, he actually has greetings and do small talk, compared to the lady at warmaiden who get annoying talking about his father.

Also from Montana, also a hunter. You're reading too much into this. I see this as one hunter saying to another "hey, what are you hunting?" then realizing the guy he's talking to might be hunting people and backing out of the conversation. The guy in question is a hunter: his brother is out there in the market with slabs of venison for sale. He's not disgusted by the idea that you're a hunter, he doesn't want to hear that you're an assassin or something.

I've gone pheasant, deer, quail and duck hunting with my dad. I lived in the Sierra Nevada for years (which looks a lot like forested parts of Skyrim). I'm still trying to grasp the issue here. I have seen businesses with goofy names - especially in old Gold Rush mining towns here. The worst thing I can think of is the dialog of most NPCs is quite repetitious, but the content of what little is there doesn't bother me much.

Hi,

viking society(Nords in this game) was not feudal. Jarls and kings were not above the law, in theory at least. And they owned only their private family lands, nothing else. There was state property from which they drew income as long they were in power, but they did not own it. Had right of use only.

Rgds, Haldir

Look- you walk into a sportingoods store that sells balls bats and hoops- OK? The guy is selling the mitt and the other stuff you've heaped on the counter, and then starts to ask you what team you're on. Then he looks at you and says, "Nevermind, I don't want to know"

Do you think you're going back to that store? And if the archers were just crazy like Belithor (sic) that would be OK- but these are default lines- not individual lines.

The only explanation I've heard here that makes any sense is the 'heavily armored' guy comes into the shop and the storekeeper suddenly stops because he really doesn't want to know which bandit or whatever is going to be killed.

I don't know if that's the right answer or a stretch. I thought that at first- but eventually got irritated with hearing this all the time. That's disgust in his voice- if he didn't want to know because of killing bandits, he wouldn't sound quite like that.

Heck, maybe the Actor's put the inflection in.

Lol sounds like the pretentious people the op hated are more like him than he thinks. Your taking a large offense at a small part of s video game..... Be a man and don't talk about your feelings. Harda$$

Nothing like a little net psychoanolysis. Katabasis. And bad advice.

Pretty sure I said this was a very minor point-

I think it is more the fact there are only four or five stores in any given city, so they have a large guaranteed consumer base and can afford to be rude to customers.

Such a long opening message just because the OP didn't understand that Skyrim was filled with humoristic one-liners.
Revelation : it's not serious. It's a bit of fun, a bit of 4th wall breaking, in order to make you smile! Chill out!

I'm almost positive he gets the disgusted tone because he realizes you're probably going to kill a person. That's all. The only issue is repetition is annoying, but there's zero anti-hunting agendas in game.

I definitely took that line as him realizing that, in all likelihood, you won't be using the equipment you buy from him for regular hunting but for killing humanoids, like bandits, or even murdering people possibly.

The devs likely assumed that because they didn't make game hunting all that profitable or worth it beyond an RP perspective. Cooking venison and other meats still doesn't create food that restores much health, it's normally better to just pick up things in barrels instead, like potatoes and other vegetables. And hides are easier obtained from all the hostile animals like wolves, bears, and sabercats than elk, rabbits and other non-hostiles that you might need to actually chase around.

There are only two possibilities for the fletcher if you ask me: (1) He guesses you are going to kill a person or (2) he thinks you are going to kill some kind of scary monster that gives him the shivers.

As for the poacher, that is a reference to old British law where game belonged by default to the local lord. The character is justifying taking the game because there is so much that the Jarl won't miss it, even if it's against the law.

You are hunting for offense that simply isn't there. Not a good habit.

Seriously dude, let's go back on topic here... What's the best avatar you've ever seen?

What is clear is some people over anolyze things waaaaaaaaaaaay too much.

Fishy87 One of the moderators has a cow head tilted to one side.

All the cloak and dagger, the mysticism, the knights- all fine. But your goat or llama or whatever it is- and his cow, and just the right touch of crazy humor- and a little anti-serious. People want cool, or powerful looking, maybe just a little six appeal- but these great avatars are the Anti Avatars. I love 'em.

I knew people wouldn't get the thread. What's the line about a word of power- you become the thing- to know a thing- well, I knew once this was put into words it was doomed. There's probably was a right way to do it in this context on this forum- possibly with a goat head, but I didn't find it.

But there is no way an archer would say that- all the archers say that- it's ridiculous and breaks form.

Might as well have a jetliner fly overhead.

He might think you are hunting humans. As an assassin. So ofcourse he doesn't want to know, but he is completely fine with you doing that.