I noticed once i saw a courrier getting attacked by wolfs, since my PC is not the best to run skyrim it tends to lag and i miss alot of shots, one wich landed on the courrier, and i noticed that i didn't get a bounty for it, it acted like he was a common bandit, i went to check on his body and i saw a letter wich talked about a group trying to explore an certain area looking for treasure, trying to force the people on a certain area to surrender it, aside from that nothing else is really shady in relation to the courrier, so why is it not a crime to kill him?

Also since we're on the topic, did anyone else notice that NOBODY semms to care whenever you blast a poor courrier to his kness when he delivers you a letter in the middle of the city? I guess skyrim has some kind of problem with courriers, so much that it's not even a crime to attack one right in front of a guard.

It's only a crime if there are witnesses.

It was outside a city, I assume? Outside of the cities just about everybody seems to be treated as a bandit, unless there are town guards around as witnesses. Or so it seems.

If there's nobody that's not aggressive (not including deer), the crime isn't witnessed.

Couriers may not be marked as a peaceful NPC, or they may be an enemy NPC that has no aggression.

Interesting letter as I have never gotten a letter like that from a Courier. It almost sounds like what a Mercenary would be carrying, except they don't carry letters, but it sounds like something the game would have them doing.

The reason for this is an obscure stipulation in the White-Gold Concordant that removed Couriers from the protected species list in exchange for Talos worship being outlawed. The Empire figured that when the Nords learned of this, they would likely be upset and opted for a "Shoot the messenger" policy to help the locals come to terms with the treaty.

*snort* ROFL!!! Imagination FTW!

That courier was obviously wanted for streaking in Solitude earlier that morning.

This^

This reminds me of a happening just before 1.4 dropped. I killed a nobleman and his guard but my bounty hadn't dropped. I didn't have a follower and this was in the middle of The Pale. I think for a second and realize I left the horse alive. So I had to slaughter the horse to get out of a 2040 gold bounty. I still felt like a horrible person.

Wilbur help!!

I found this letter on the body of a Courier last night. This was the first time I have encountered it in many hours of playing the game so it must be kind of rare. Maybe since they intended for the letter to be found on his body, they don't flag it as a crime to kill that particular courier. The letter is to an "investor" not "Dragonborn", I suppose one could check in the construction kit to be sure.

thats usually true but i encountered some guy out in the middle of nowhere looking for a famous food critic...i killed him and got a bounty even though he was the only "witness" for miles around

The letter acts the same as the book Explorer's Guide to Skyrim or mercenary. It just updates your map to a random location for the hold you're in, although I think the mercenaries and the book can update anywhere, not just where you currently are.

I talked to a Mercenary a while back. He said he would update my map for me and it added a map marker. Well, I open up my map expecting to see Quest Marker or something. Nope, just another location added to the 200 plus I have already found which means I never found it on my map......

Yeah, they really should actually mention where it's supposed to be, because after a while it's hard to find which location you're supposed to go. Not that it's an actual quest or anything. It's like when the guards mention an area that's populated by Falmer or something.

I still get the "Map Updated" notification even when somebody tells me about a location I already know about.

Even when I attack people out in the wilds, I still get a "Bounty Added" message, even if there are no other witnesses. If I kill them, the bounty goes up, but then gets removed a second later. I've had it happen with Skooma dealers, and Thalmor amongst others. Heck, I even got a bounty for killing a chicken once, only to have it go away, since I eliminated the last "witness."

The only way you get a bounty for killing someone is if they are witnesses.

Have you checked if the 'murder' counter goes up? if not, the game is set to ignore act of violence against them!

Okay I am confused. I have to kill 'everything' in sight if I kill someone like those Evil Thalmor Patrols (something my Thalmor hating Nord would like to do). I do not understand how we can get a bounty if a deer sees us kill a human. I guess it is better that I just not kill unless I am attacked. I cannot understand how a deer could report me to the authorities, do any of you? What is it going to do, drag the body to town and then point a hoof at me?

Is there any method to check that you don't get bugged bounties from some kills without running to proper town guards? At least that gourmet NPC gives and removes bounty messages, but still Whiterun guards ran towards me.

Couriers aren't the only ones on the road you can kill with impunity.
When I told the wedding guests to hand over their cash, they went hostile and fled. I killed two and ran after the third, when he ran into a patrol of stormcloaks who killed him for me

New vegas has taught me that you don't wanna mess with couriers.