The Ratway Inhabitants (very minor spoilers)

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jaq

New Member
Hey all. I'm new here. Sorry if this has been asked before - I searched, but could not find any relevant discussion.

As you enter the Ratway, there's a couple of fella's standing near the entrance, a guy called Gian the Fist or something like that further in, and an unnamed "Lowlife" near the Ragged Flagon.

My question is, do these guys always aggro on sight? They're not too tough or anything, but I just would prefer not to kill them.

The guys by the entrance at least seem to be trying to join the Thieves Guild, so as fellow Thieves Guild noobs, I don't want to kill them. Gian the Fist seems like a crazy bum, so I don't see why I should kill him. And the Lowlife I unfortunately had to take out, I sneaked past him successfully, but as I left the Ragged Flagon after talking to Brynjolf, he was two feet from the door, staring at it, and attacked me immediately. I led him back inside and the Thieves Guild killed him.

Tl;dr - Is there any way to have the two guys by the entrance of the ratway and the other inhabitants not aggro on sight?

I wouldn't be above using the console either I guess. Is there a command for un-aggro NPC?

Thanks.
 

Kyzie

Keeper of the peace
The Ratway inhabitants will always attack on sight, and Welcome to the forums by the way you can call me Kyzie, feel free to join us in the Shoutbox! :D
 

Ted_The_Soap

Disciple of Arkay
I haven't played much ES for PC, but you can probably set their disposition with a command or some sort of thing.
 
Hey all. I'm new here. Sorry if this has been asked before - I searched, but could not find any relevant discussion.

As you enter the Ratway, there's a couple of fella's standing near the entrance, a guy called Gian the Fist or something like that further in, and an unnamed "Lowlife" near the Ragged Flagon.

My question is, do these guys always aggro on sight? They're not too tough or anything, but I just would prefer not to kill them.

The guys by the entrance at least seem to be trying to join the Thieves Guild, so as fellow Thieves Guild noobs, I don't want to kill them. Gian the Fist seems like a crazy bum, so I don't see why I should kill him. And the Lowlife I unfortunately had to take out, I sneaked past him successfully, but as I left the Ragged Flagon after talking to Brynjolf, he was two feet from the door, staring at it, and attacked me immediately. I led him back inside and the Thieves Guild killed him.

Tl;dr - Is there any way to have the two guys by the entrance of the ratway and the other inhabitants not aggro on sight?

I wouldn't be above using the console either I guess. Is there a command for un-aggro NPC?

Thanks.

For RP purposes, I'd highly recommend doing your best to avoid killing them. After all, if you're in the Ratway, it'd be safe to assume you're trying to contact the Thieve's Guild... and they're not that big when it comes to killing. :) Just a suggestion.

Welcome to the forums!
 

Lucid

Well-Known Member
Tl;dr - Is there any way to have the two guys by the entrance of the ratway and the other inhabitants not aggro on sight?

You should be able to use a Calm or Pacify spell to prevent them from fighting you, or use a Fear spell (or your battle cry if you're playing a Nord) to run them off without killing them.

ETA: Or the Voice of the Emperor if you are an Imperial
 
The first two people you meet in The Ratway (Hewnon and Drahff) are supposed to be aggressive, they're not prospective members of the Thieves Guild, in fact their dialogue suggests that Hewnon Black-Skeever and Drahff are planning on doing something to the Thieves Guild. According to the wiki page, they were supposed to act like toll bandits, and would say something about Brynjolf/the Thieves Guild being stupid for not realizing what they (Hewnon and Drahff) were doing to the actual prospective members of the Thieves Guild.
 

Daelon DuLac

How do you backstab a Dragon?
The first two people you meet in The Ratway (Hewnon and Drahff) are supposed to be aggressive, they're not prospective members of the Thieves Guild, in fact their dialogue suggests that Hewnon Black-Skeever and Drahff are planning on doing something to the Thieves Guild. According to the wiki page, they were supposed to act like toll bandits, and would say something about Brynjolf/the Thieves Guild being stupid for not realizing what they (Hewnon and Drahff) were doing to the actual prospective members of the Thieves Guild.
I've found that, if you meet them in the ratway they are in no way affiliated with the Thieves Guild. Sure, some of them are thieves, but not affiliated. Besides, most of 'em are nuts, cannabilistic or just pathetic. It's easier just to clean up the mess.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
The first two people you meet in The Ratway (Hewnon and Drahff) are supposed to be aggressive, they're not prospective members of the Thieves Guild, in fact their dialogue suggests that Hewnon Black-Skeever and Drahff are planning on doing something to the Thieves Guild. According to the wiki page, they were supposed to act like toll bandits, and would say something about Brynjolf/the Thieves Guild being stupid for not realizing what they (Hewnon and Drahff) were doing to the actual prospective members of the Thieves Guild.
I've found that, if you meet them in the ratway they are in no way affiliated with the Thieves Guild. Sure, some of them are thieves, but not affiliated. Besides, most of 'em are nuts, cannabilistic or just pathetic. It's easier just to clean up the mess.

Hewnon: "I dunno, Drahff. They'd skin us alive if they knew we were doin' this."
Drahff: "Why are you always acting like such a big baby? I've gotten us this far."
Hewnon: "This far? We're livin' in a sewer. You said we'd have a house as big as the Black-Briars' by now."
Drahff: "You worry about bashing people's heads in, I'll worry about the Guild. Okay?"
Hewnon: "Okay, okay."
Drahff: "I'm going to check the entrance to the Ratway. Be right back."

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Drahff

You're doing the Guild a favour by getting rid of them. They're pretty dumb for trying to fleece the Thieves Guild anyway.
 

WarriorMage

Hey! Someone stole my sweet roll!
I kind of have the same problem. A lot of times when I go into a dungeon I hold off on killing the first humans I see on the chance that they'll turn out to be friendly. (My Nord is a good girl and would rather not just leap in and start killing on site.) They never are and they always attack me. Then all bets are off.

Personally, I'd like to see Bethesda throw in a few "Hey, you really shouldn't have just ran in there and blasted everyone because they were good guys" scenarios.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I kind of have the same problem. A lot of times when I go into a dungeon I hold off on killing the first humans I see on the chance that they'll turn out to be friendly. (My Nord is a good girl and would rather not just leap in and start killing on site.) They never are and they always attack me. Then all bets are off.

Personally, I'd like to see Bethesda throw in a few "Hey, you really shouldn't have just ran in there and blasted everyone because they were good guys" scenarios.

That's something I do as a roleplayer. My characters often start their adventures a little naive; some keep the faith and allow people a chance, some become more ruthless more quickly.

The character in A Scroll for Anska looks like a bandit, and one of my characters decided to take a potshot at her, before being to subject of an emptied can of whoopass. :p
 

jaq

New Member
Thank you all so much for the replies!

After understanding more about these no good Ratway parasites, I've relinquished my qualms about killing them and pierced both their skulls with arrows. Fools, trying to undermine the Thieves Guild...

Hewnon: "I dunno, Drahff. They'd skin us alive if they knew we were doin' this."
Drahff: "Why are you always acting like such a big baby? I've gotten us this far."
Hewnon: "This far? We're livin' in a sewer. You said we'd have a house as big as the Black-Briars' by now."
Drahff: "You worry about bashing people's heads in, I'll worry about the Guild. Okay?"
Hewnon: "Okay, okay."
Drahff: "I'm going to check the entrance to the Ratway. Be right back."

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Drahff

You're doing the Guild a favour by getting rid of them. They're pretty dumb for trying to fleece the Thieves Guild anyway.

As AS88 said, and if you read the wiki entry linked in the quote, you can see that these two are just brigands trying to plot against the Thieves Guild and prospective members. I misinterpreted their dialogue and thought they meant they were having trouble making it as new recruits in the TG.

Gian the Fist seems to be more mysterious. I wish they had included more info on him, like a journal or something. He seems like a cool character, with an interesting name, and a unique set of gloves too! Where did this guy come from? Where'd he get the gloves? What's he doing in the Ratway? The wiki doesn't give me much: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Gian_the_Fist

My theory is that Gian is in exile for cheating during boxing matches. He was widely know across Tamriel for his apparent skill in boxing and brawls. No one could understand why his blows were so devastatingly effective! He was seen as an expert in the field. His equipment was checked, and nothing odd was found about it. Until one day, a recently defeated opponent of his decided to get even. The opponent knew something was up, because those punches should not have hurt as much as they did. So he paid off Gian's water boy to spy on him, day and night. Well, after about a month, the water boy had enough dirt on Gian for a conclusion to be made.

Gian was seen using his winnings to purchase charged soul gems from wizards... Now what would a boxer need with soul gems...?
The water boy also caught Gian in his prep room, using the soul gems to recharge... his gloves!

That was the missing link, and Gian was swiftly and unforgivably uncovered as a fraud. In an effort to save his hide, Gian managed to escape by punching through a stone wall and running off to a remote and inhospitable area of Tamriel... Skyrim.

In an unfamiliar, cold, and lonely place, without his fans and fortune, Gian quickly spiraled down into misery and depression. He turned to drink and women, and when he burned through what little gold he had, he found himself making a home in the Ratway. It was damp, smelly, and dirty, but at least it wasn't too cold.
 

utael

Member
Foam the fist has the same dialog as bandits if you wait around long enough
 

Lucid

Well-Known Member
I sometimes kill Gian the Fist to get his gloves, which improve your hand to hand combat.

Yeah, the Pugilist gloves from Gian the Fist are nice to have before heading to Markarth, where it seems like everybody wants to start a brawl.
 

Neriad13

Premium Member
I kind of have the same problem. A lot of times when I go into a dungeon I hold off on killing the first humans I see on the chance that they'll turn out to be friendly. (My Nord is a good girl and would rather not just leap in and start killing on site.) They never are and they always attack me. Then all bets are off.

Personally, I'd like to see Bethesda throw in a few "Hey, you really shouldn't have just ran in there and blasted everyone because they were good guys" scenarios.

Oh, I try so hard to do the same thing sometimes - to give everyone a chance to speak up before running them through or filling them with arrows. I like to think of myself as a good person who wouldn't kill a person on sight merely for looking slightly off.

But I've noticed recently that this type of behavior is something I can only do when I'm playing as a character in a position of power. For instance, In Oblivion my first and main character was a stalwart Nord Warrior with a hide as thick as a mammoth's flesh. And what did she do before charging into almost every single battle? If possible, tried to speak to the enemy first. My reasoning was that if negotiations went south, she would have minimal difficulty with turning them around again.

But if, say, my character were a thin-skinned assassin or a half-starved man with a small handful of bullets on him at any time, I respond to things entirely differently. While I was playing Dishonored, I sometimes ran into fairly non-threatening NPCs labeled "survivors." Nevertheless, being of the squishy persuasion, I treated them as threats, carefully sneaking past them or if that failed, knocking them out violently. It was only after I finished the game that I found out that you could actually hold conversations with them. I might have gained a slightly bigger window into the world of the game, had I chosen to place a grain of trust in them. But this was a world in which a tiny bit of misplaced trust could very probably mean your life. I found it to be a much more beneficial to my health to choke now and ask questions later.

It kind of scares me, how easily morality can change in response to perceived powerlessness. I do have to wonder if it happens outside of games as well.
 

Ted_The_Soap

Disciple of Arkay

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