The first time I was sent to jail in Skyrim, as with Oblivion, I was so disappointed. Teleport in, activate bed, teleport out for negligible loss.

I'm currently in the process of making a mod which makes a more immersive jail sequence. You are walked into jail by the guard that caught you, he locks the gate behind you and you have to actually wait (you can still sleep/use T) while your time is served. The guard will then come and unlock the cell and you are free to go.

I plan on more content later but I'm just getting the basics working now, so my question is this: How long should jail sentences be if you can't skip the whole thing?

They need to be long enough so it actually feels like spending time in jail, but not too long as to make the game really really boring. My first thought was maximum 7-10 days, but that seems really unrealistic for mass murderers.

What do you guys think?


Also anyone know the vanilla jail times?

I would suggest a hybrid version. A bed that activates, but random events can happen during it.

Like you wake up when a cellmate tries to use a shiv on you.
Or some guards wake you up and beat the ever loving stuffing out of you.
Or a cellmate asks if you want a dose of skooma.

Guard asks for a bribe, and he will let you out early. (Some scripting probably required to check whatever gold was taken from you at start)