i started a new gm on 1.4, ive been to windhelm a few times & i see the body in the graveyard & the ppl standing around it but no guard standing there to stop me & talk... anyway to start the quest?

try going there at night. thats how it triggered for me

You started a new game from 0? You didn't go there after the patch in your current save/level?

I went to Windhelm In every possible way, after the patch but could't get it to trigger. No crowd, no guard only rumors of a butcher.

yes i started a new gm from scratch for 1.4, 1st i had to rescue kjar for a companion quest & take him to windhelm, this was b4 i discovered it... so i took him there, went in windhelm & discovered it so i can fast travel there, i left without exploring the city... i come back to windhelm later on & i hear the rumors & so on.... i go to the graveyard & the ppl r standing around the body but there is no guard standing there to stop me...i think i read on UESP that u have have to go to windhelm 4 times from other cities for the quest to start...but im pretty sure ive done that & still no guard just a crimescene.... i think UESP said there was another way to start the quest....this is annoying...

You may need to at a certain level to trigger it. I am at Level 40 and I haven't gone into Windhell unless absolutely necessary (meaning quests from other places take me there) I have an order I am doing this and I don't want to mess it up. I made that mistake in Markarth and I can't become a Thane now... But I am Thane of Dawnstar, Morthal, Solitude, Whiterun, Winterhold and Riften. I need somethings before I can become thane of Falkreath and there is Windhell which I haven't done.

The quest triggers on the 4th visit to windhelm.

Here's the game-breaker as mentioned on the UESP:

• If you capture Windhelm for the Imperials before you start the quest, the witnesses will be around the corpse but the guard may not be (since the Windhelm guards have been replaced by Imperial Legion soldiers), making it impossible to start the quest. If this happens, it can be completed using the console command completequest MS11 and completequest MS11B.

There are other instances that cause this quest to break, as this appears to be the most fragile quest in Skyrim.

Triggered on my first visit last night so i can confirm that is false information.

the Blood on the Ice quest is a conundrum in Skyrim no-one has really been able to pin down a or the reasons for it not triggering / working, if it helps i was there in the morning around 7-10am so he may of just struck.

After the 1.4 patch I started a new toon and at level 3 I was able to complete this quest with no problem. I'm on a PS3. I find sometimes if you do a save and then reload the save, some problems get corrected.

I just hate how easy it is to miss things during the quest itself. I never found the amulet, so I never talked to Calixto, thus never getting the Necromancer Amulet for my mage who could have used it.

You can also kick start the quest by buying the property and looking for evidence, this starts the quest in the middle, skipping the begining part. I really don't know how Betheseda managed to mess this quest up so badly.

Multiple ways to start a quest is not messing things up its actually improving things imo, however ofcourse if it gets bugged because of starting it at place X then there is a problem, however there are multiple quests in Skyrim which have multiple ways to start them so i would say its an intended addition which i personally welcome.

Well that would be nice if I could actually buy the property!
Can't buy Hjerim, can't trigger the quest.
sigh.

The quest doesn't just jump out at you, or at least it didn't for me. Go in to the tavern (day and night) and talk to everyone. Try talking to the NPC's who wander the city (day and night). For me, the quest triggered through dialog. (first visit to Windhelm, level 12)

Buying the house requires you to have progressed the Civil War questline to a certain point. Before the 1.4 patch it was advised that you not enter the house before Blood on the Ice and not before buying it. This issue may have been fixed in 1.4. If nothing else, picking the lock to Hjerem and exploring inside should start the quest.

I remember getting some bit of dialog from someone in Windhelm on one quick trip to the enchanting table. I didn't follow up since I really dislike that city, and wouldn't have the house if it was free. Now there's a mod to put an enchanting table in the inn in Riverwood, I don't really need to go to Windhelm again. Ever.

I was just wondering a day or two ago who would ever want to use such an amulet. Now I know


>.> Isn't there...already one...inside the inn in Riverwood? <.<


Anyway, here are a few easy ways to break Blood on Ice prior to starting it (the few I can think of, not guaranteed breaks, but can potentially break):
-Breaking into Calixto's house
-Talking to Calixto
-Not listening to the conversation about the Dunmer that triggers upon first entering
-Completing the Civil War quest for either side
-Dark Brotherhood questine complete
-Death of Tova
-Death of Viola
-Having a bounty when the quest starts
-Using shouts in the vicinity of the quest to cause the guard to scold you for shouting
-Talking to anyone related to the quest prior to the quest starting.
-Frequently fast travelling through the area and not checking the graveyard
-Reporting that Dunmer salesman to Viola for stealing her ring

Those are just a few reasons I've run into with this quest breaking from reading the forums and personal experience, but I'm sure there are more. Basically, just chill out in Windhelm on your first visit and make sure the quest is the first damn thing you do when there.

I've done those 2 things, BUT I had been checking the graveyard religiously on every visit even before the Civil War.
In fact I didn't start the Civil War until 1.4 came out just in case that would help me start the quest.
Granted I'm not a developer but it just seems crazy that these "normal" gameplay things would break an important quest.
Oh well, I've moved on.... (sort of)

It worked for me perfectly after patch 1.4. It actually activated on my second visit to the city, not fourth. Also for those of you having trouble, try this:
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1307490-how-to-blood-on-the-ice/
It worked for me pre 1.4 & still does on my other pre 1.4 saves.

My problem is as follows. I have
1) Started but not completed Dark Brotherhood questline
2) Started but not completed Civil War questline for Stormcloaks
3) Been entering the city from every possible hold several times, different times of day
4) Got to the point in the Stormcloak questline that should allow me to buy Hjerim, but the reply to my request to buy the house ends with unable to buy the house at the time because of "inconveniences"
5) Talked to the "Captain" and asked about the murders. Susanna the Wicked is still alive.
6) Checked Tova in her apartment. She was dead, I grabbed the key for Hjerim and went inside. The quest won't trigger. I get weird texts saying "Investigate InvestigationObject" when checking through the house. Reading those butcher notes or diaries won't trigger the quest.

What should I do? This is extremely frustrating. I started my character during the previous patch and I'm level 36. Starting over is not an option. I'm playing on PC. Is there any console commands that can force the quest to start?

I may be wrong, but I'm at least 95% sure that if you try to purchase the house and are getting the message that there was a mess in the house, and this happens before the quest starts, it's permanently broken from every whichever direction. Happened on my first character, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get ANYTHING to trigger.

Don't give up yet. I've gotten the quest to work on both of my starts (pre-1.4) with completely different paths. In fact, I had even done on my 2nd character and it worked fine. I realize that I'm lucky as hell so I just say: keep playing through the game it might eventually trigger.

No, just an alchemy table - unless you mean the one in Delphine's secret room, but I no longer do the MQ, and I'm not going to break into her basemant. So the mod is great. But even better, I found a player-house mod I just love, with "one of everything" and a really nice location....

Well thanks, you give me a wisp wrapping of hope, but I doubt this will happen.
Just today I literally bumped into Free-Winter inside the door to the palace bedrooms, while looking for a book for the Markarth woman, and he said I could be thane and gave me permission to buy a house. Alas, it's still and forever "not quite ready yet."

OT, I love Free-Winter, yes he's bald but I'd marry him in a heartbeat. On this my 2nd playthrough he's one reason I stuck with the Imperials.

Yeah...try rubbing a wisp wrapping on it that might work.

Seriously though: it will probably just pop up on one day when you run by the graveyard.