Can horses act as witnesses?

Question

I recently murdered a guard outside Riften because he mentioned my furry ears. As a Khajit assassin, I only have a certain amount of tolerance to racist riff raff.

I slit his throat, drank his mead, then proceded to do the T-bag.

I was especially careful to make sure no one saw me, but alas, a bounty appeared on my head. I looked around and saw nothing but a horse standing there, all innocent like. I proceded to make dog food out of it, but at this point it was too late and the bounty remained.

Now this begs the question, did the horse act as a witness and somehow manage to alert Riften about my acts of justice, or did someone else see me?

It is actually not to do with my race, more so a decision you made as a Companion. — theorise, Dec 15 '11 at 10:28
Yes... Its because of your "wolf-like" features... hint hint — Coomie, Dec 15 '11 at 11:26
And some NPCs still continue to mention it even after you've reversed that decision. — agf, Dec 15 '11 at 12:40
You're not the first person to have this theory, so maybe there is something to it. http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/38779/how-can-i-get-shadowmere-to-stop-following-me — bwarner, Dec 15 '11 at 14:28
+1 for an excellent question title, but I suspect only Mister Ed can be a reliable witness. — Alex, Dec 15 '11 at 16:58
I remember this funny quote from an interview with Todd Howard before the game released where he talked about this bug in which the chickens were reporting crimes to the guards. That was fixed, but it would be funny if this was another similar bug left over... — OrioN, Dec 15 '11 at 17:59
In the yogscast playthrough, in one of the early videos they get a bounty for killing a chicken that was immediately removed as it was the only witness to its own death. (brain bender I know) — Ken, Dec 15 '11 at 20:06
@KortPleco I wish the game was realistic enough that the witness had to make it to a guard or within earshot of one before a crime could be reported. That would make this a lot more interesting, could also add in the possibility of corrupt citizens accepting a bribe and you not losing all your stolen gear. — MaskedPlant, Dec 15 '11 at 20:37
@theorise It's because you're a werewolf! My werewolf Dunmer character gets that a lot too. That guard wasn't racist at all, he just noticed your wolf-like traits! "And you, you are a cold-blooded killer, capable of taking life without mercy or remorse. The Night Mother has been watching, and she is most pleased. And so, here I am. I come to you with an offering. An opportunity... to join our rather unique family." — galacticninja, Dec 16 '11 at 03:16
@galacticninja aye I know, I just couldn't use a spoiler tag, so I gave a hint instead of giving it away ;) — theorise, Dec 16 '11 at 09:37

MaskedPlant · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-02T13:54:00.607

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This has happened to me on more than a couple of occasions.

For this answer I decided to test this. I rode up to Riften, hopped off my horse, crouched down saved and shot a guard. And I got a bounty. So I loaded, shot my horse and then shot the guard and did not get a bounty.

edited May 02 '13 at 13:54

answered Dec 15 '11 at 19:33

MaskedPlant

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And then you accidently saved. Right? – GmNoob Dec 15 '11 at 19:37
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@GmNoob Of Course... accidentally... – MaskedPlant Dec 15 '11 at 19:43
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If only I could upvote that last sentence more times. – Ben Jackson Dec 16 '11 at 08:41

Can horses act as witnesses?

1 Answers1