have done it a few times during my playthrough.i never start fighting them (they always attack first),but once i have fought them and see all the dead people (who's home i inadvertently trespassed unintentionally i do feel remorse about what i just did i will repent by walking the 7000 steps to the throat of the world monastery.

I really wish there was a way to identify friend from foe at a distance (i play a ranger). I hate accidentally killing hunters because i thought they were bandits.

Why did you bother making an entire thread about this?

This is what they invented Diaries for.

longhornzrock96 check your compass.an enemy is a red dot in your compass (like fallout 3 by all accounts).

Lol. Well, if you're going to shoot people at a distance without knowing their intentions you're not much better than the bandits anyway

haha it was my first fail in skyrim - killing a hunter xD someone saw it and then the whole village attacked me xD


but yes i can comprehend that... i sometimes feel guilty if i kill the legion patrouls that go around...

Need to usually be at a certain range for that to work and it won't always if they aren't immediately aware of you. He's also probably rather far away with a ranger class.

This and you usually have to be pulling aggro for the red dots to appear.

Cast Dead Thrall on them so they come back in the world of the living.

I only encountered a home of an old woman in the beginning of the game, not a village just yet (Still in Riverwood, chopping woods to make some money for improvements for my armor. Preparing for the journey ahead) but what you say can happen to anyone.

But - when you see they are attacking you, and obviously these are townsfolk - couldn't you just run away from them in order not to hurt them, and then come back like a day after with your weapons sheathed?
I didn't do it, just trying to think about creative ways to not hurt innocent people for no reason.

i should have added that they are actual enemies that i have attacked (they are always red dots) i still feel the guilt after though.have never attacked an innocent person (as far as i can tell).

The only guilt i have so far exp in game was due to being set up in a certain quest that left a lot of people dead, when i was told it would be fine and dandy ... those lying lowlifes (literally)

See there's always the guilt of accidentally killing people than don't need to die..
I was attacked by an Ancient Dragon in Dawnstar, at the time I was prepared to fight it.. so I called upon a Dragon to help me..

Bad
Bad
Bad
Bad

NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN..

there are no Khajiits left in Dawnstar.

I only kill what attacks me...if you make the mistake its your own fault...I feel no remorse for taking the lives of those who wish to harm me or innocents...

although a guard once hit my wife and I took his head off...felt slightly bad about it...but he put his hands on my wife

i do this for fun?

A good proportion of human enemies will start waving their weapons at you when you get closer (actually they do it from fairly far away), in the same way the giants do.