I have a total of 190 hours played Skyrim, 4 characters, into my 5th now. And I've still not triggered Blood on the Ice Quest, please, for the sake of God, HOW can I start this [censored] quest? And yes, I want to play the quest, not console command skip through it.

I'm guessing you've been to the graveyard at night.

Also, is Susanna the Wicked alive in Candlehearth Hall?

Edited for capitalization.

I have a save where I have not visited Windhelm yet, I've tried entering windhelm, running up to the graveyard, running out, wait until 02.00 AM, run inside, run to the graveyard again, all manners of trickery I've tried, yet I haven't been able to trigger this quest ONCE. And no, I don't believe I've killed someone called Susanna the Wicked.

She's a hot chick - you'd remember. See if you can find her.

This quest is so f-ed. I've been lucky as hell - it worked on both of mine.

Just in case you weren't aware... based on the fact that you're reverting to a save where you are about to make your first visit to Windhelm... this quest will not trigger at all the first time you go there.


Also:


The only time I could not start the quest with the graveyard scene just by making the required number of visits to Windhelm was after completing the CW for the Legion. I never made enough visits before the Legion took the city to trigger the body in the graveyard. After the battle when the city changed hands, I would go to the graveyard and the "bystanders" would all be there but would have no dialogue related to the quest and there would be no body and no guards. However I was still offered the house by Brunwulf and bought it from the steward and the quest triggered the first time I entered it.

I got tired of the quest the minute I knew I could not RP it. I had to be out of character just to do the stupid thing. When a quest is so bugged that you have to forget even trying to RP while doing it, that is a problem. Gutslit would never be selling something to a guy he doubts he can trust, he'd never think to go straight to the court mage when he is being told to go straight to the steward.

The worst part of this quest? I love mystery solving quests in TES games. If this quest wasn't so bugged, I would love it, because it really is a great quest if you look behind the bugs. The problem is, this quest doesn't allow for not worrying if you're doing it wrong. I avoided Windhelm because of this quest, but the Thieve's Guild had me go there.

I always get the quest pretty easily. And ever since knowing the only way to avoid messing anything up when doing it is with a "correct" way that doesn't make sense for every character's personality, I feel like I've been given a middle finger. Had this quest not been so bugged, it would have been the best role playing in terms of mystery solving, like any mystery should be.

I've been very fortunate - especially on my 2nd character. She actually and I still got the quest and completed it.

Alright so, take a couple of strolls between the farm and the stables, enter Windhelm a few times, and then try to enter it at 07.00 AM, see if it works then, thanks.

I don't really have a problem RPing why I go straight to the wizard, since my characters are always going to see him for buying/selling stuff and sometimes training as well, from my first visit to Windhelm on. It makes it even easier if I'm playing Stormcloak in the CW. I just RP that Wuunferth and I have become friends and that's enough reason for me not to trust any obviously creepy fingers pointed in his direction. Since he's my friend and I trust him I go to him when I'm told he's connected to some of the evidence I've found.

Even if he's not my friend, I just RP that I'm confronting him directly as the potential killer in order to get a confession and then he can either come along quietly or feel the wrath of justice at my hands.

And I've done this quest four times at least, and never NOT been able to trigger it. Once it triggers I have no issues with it. It's never bugged out on me, even before they patched some stuff that was supposed to help with all the problems.

Don't enter at 7 AM, that's too late. You must enter between 7 PM and 7 AM, that is, during the nighttime, before 7AM. That's when the murder will take place and the body will be found.

Liar! You're just going there to see Ulfric.

I've only been successful once and I had to do some pretty shady stuff to get everything to trigger correctly. Of course on that play though wujeeta didn't spawn and I couldn't get honeyside

After all this time, I finally understand what everyone's been talking about. Since November, the quest title "Blood on the Ice" has been burned into my brain (along with "the Forsworn Conspiracy" and "Escape from Cidhna Mine") because of seeing those words so often on this forum, lol.

Last night, I was in Windhelm for Pickpocket training and stumbled across a murder scene. When the words "Quest started: Blood on the Ice" appeared on-screen, my heart sank.

I decided to try the quest, and I must say it was one of the most confusing and counter-intuitive quests I've ever done. At one point my character told a woman that "the evidence points to the court mage" - I swear, that was totally news to me!

Also, when I reported to the steward, he thanked me for showing him an amulet which would be used as evidence against the court mage. Uh...what amulet?

I was shocked when the words "Quest Completed" popped up, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.


(I've since looked up some of this stuff and found out about the other journals, what the amulet was, and how the quest can skip whole stages...ugh.)

Anyway, anyone who is dealing with this crazy quest has nothing but the utmost sympathy from me.

...

Well it *is* possible that I occasionally take the long way around the dinner table so I can say "hey" as I walk past the throne. Any rumors that I stop and stare longingly at him for hours on end are just that, rumors, and completely false.



Because that's what I take screenshots for.

Heavens above, I finally got the quest started. Now I need keys to enter the house the blood trail is leading me to, and I've still got to receive assistance from Jorleif (I hope this isn't a bug?).

Btw can I just lockpick my way into the house?

Honestly... I had a HUGE number of issues with this quest as well.. and I'll usually save it until I can devote the time to fire off the [censored] thing. Like you.. I was exceptionally frustrated. While you are on this quest, do NOTHING else but getting it to fire off. A pain, yes.. but..

So.. my tips are below.. in nice easy to read steps..

1) Do not.. under any circumstances... enter Windhelm, or even START the DB questline until you are ready. As Yoda tells Luke, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it consume your destiny." Well.. not fully.. but.. yeah.. you get the point.
2) Enter WIndhelm (This makes your first entry into the city)
3) Run to one of the "quest givers" that WILL NOT send you to another city. (Blacksmith is a good one, or head into the Palace of the Kings and take a bounty quest from the Steward, etc.
4) Exit Windhelm (Avoid major hold cities like the plague)
5) Complete said quest, return to Windhelm (This makes your second entry)
6) Repeat step 3. For some reason the Steward won't give you another bounty quest immediately, so have a backup plan.
7) Exit Windhelm (Avoid major hold cities like the plague)
8) Complete said quest ******** IMPORTANT ********* Return to the Windhelm STABLES!!!
9) Wait until 12am
10) Enter the city and bee line to the graveyard. This SHOULD... (at least for me) Kick off the quest.. You'll see a bunch of people standing around and a guard. Talk to the guard.

Hope it works.

YAY!! I would recommend following the quest to it's completion without skipping any steps! Remember Yoda!!!

Three characters and over 300 hours. The quest has spawned and completed each and every time.

There we go, quest finished.