Guide to Chaotic Pursuits

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This guide could be considered our reference to roguely pursuits or life outside the law. Lockpicking, trespassing, pickpocketing, theft, killing livestock, aiding & abetting a criminal (i.e. healing), assault, murder... any of these actions count as criminal activity and will earn you a bounty if they are seen by a NPC witness or a guard. This guide covers the Legerdemain, Thieves Guild, & Dark Brotherhood skill lines as well as some tips on the bounty system and helpful gear.

Higher skill ranks in Legerdemain (criminal activity) will provide a better chance to find higher quality items.

Heat, the red portion of your bounty, decays rather rapidly, but any remaining bounty which is white on your reputation marker decays slowly. Your bounty is tied to your reputation which has four basic states: Upstanding, Disreputable, Notorious, and Fugitive.

Upstanding: you have no bounty and the guards react to you as someone who has never committed a crime
Disreputable: you have been caught in a criminal activity and if you get too close the guards will accost you to demand you either turn over all stolen items and pay a bounty or become a Fugitive
Notorious: you have been caught stealing a few times or were seen attacking an innocent (even if they attack first); the guards will seek you out if they see you, even from a distance
Fugitive: you have been caught stealing several times (or just once if pickpocketing a guard) or attacking an innocent more than once; the guards will not give you a chance to pay your bounty and turn in stolen goods, but will simply attempt to kill you; your only options are to flee or to die

Note that combat will lock the doors to any building with you inside and guards cannot be killed. If a guard kills you while you have a bounty, they remove all stolen items from your inventory and take enough of your gold to cover your bounty. Don't get a bounty if you can't pay it; you will still have a bounty on your head after resurrecting if the guard didn't recover sufficient gold off your body. Should you need to flee, your best bets are to run to a nearby Outlaws Refuge or to dive into a large body of water and swim away from shore — just not so far the slaughterfish get you!

If you don't want to wait for your reputation to slowly recover, you can pay your bounty to a fence in any Outlaw's Refuge. The fence has connections which can instantly restore your reputation to Upstanding without losing any stolen goods. Fences can also launder your goods, removing the stolen flag from items by paying the fence their listed value so that you may safely keep them. If you don't wish to keep an item, sell it directly to the fence (without laundering it).

Appropriate Gear

Wearing medium armor with the Improved Sneak skill in the medium armor skill line provides significant benefit in these activities. Some utility sets are also quite helpful while practicing chaotic pursuits:

Set Name	Bonus for Wearing Multiple Pieces	Traits Known	Acquisition Zone
4x Vesture of Darloc Brae	2 items: Add 124-129 Magicka Recovery 3 items: Add 124-129 Stamina Recovery 4 items: Reduces the radius you can be detected while Sneaking by 2 meters and reduces the cost of Sneak by 10%. 5 items: While crouching and not blocking, restore 670 Magicka & 670 Stamina and heal for 670 Health every second.	overland	Stormhaven Dark Anchor: jewelry Delve Boss: Belt, Boots Group Boss: Jack, Guards, Helmet, weapon Public Dungeon Boss: Bracers, Arm Cops, weapon Treasure Chest: any
3x Night Terror	2 items: Add 1058-1096 Max Stamina 3 items: Reduces the radius you can be detected while Sneaking by 2 meters and reduces the cost of Sneak by 26%. 4 items: Add 1164-1206 Max Health 5 items: When you take melee damage, deal 2296 Poison Damage to the attacker (up to once every 1 second).	overland	Stormhaven Dark Anchor: jewelry Delve Boss: Belt, Boots Group Boss: Jack, Guards, Helmet, weapon Public Dungeon Boss: Bracers, Arm Cops, weapon Treasure Chest: any
5x Night Mother's Embrace	2 items: Add 1058-1096 Max Stamina 3 items: Add 124-129 Weapon Damage 4 items: Add 124-129 Stamina Recovery 5 items: Reduces the radius you can be detected while Sneaking by 2 meters and reduces the cost of Sneak by 25%. and Adds 124-129 Weapon Damage.	overland	Deshaan Dark Anchor: jewelry Delve Boss: Belt, Boots Group Boss: Jack, Guards, Helmet, weapon Public Dungeon Boss: Bracers, Arm Cops, weapon Treasure Chest: any
5x Night's Silence	2 items: Add 1058-1096 Max Stamina 3 items: Add 124-129 Stamina Recovery 4 items: Add 804-823 Weapon Critical 5 items: Moving in Stealth ignores the associated Movement Speed penalty	crafted, requires knowledge of 2 traits	Auridon: Hightide Keep Glenumbra: Mesanthano's Tower Stonefalls: Steamfont Cavern @AttunedGarden (all stations available)

Legerdemain

Legerdemain rank advances as follows:

8 points: Lockpicking a Master chest or safebox
4 points: Lockpicking an Advanced chest, safebox, or door
4 points: Pickpocketing a citizen with a difficulty rating of Hard
2 points: Lockpicking an Intermediate chest, safebox, or door
2 points: Pickpocketing a citizen with a difficulty rating of Medium
1 point: Lockpicking a Simple chest, safebox, or door
1 point: Pickpocketing a citizen with a difficulty rating of Easy
1 point: Fencing an item
1 point: Laundering an item
1 point: Gain an Achievement under the Justice System

Legerdemain Skill Line
Required Skill Level	Skill Name	Benefit	Cost
1	Improved Hiding	reduces the Stamina cost of Sneaking by 10%	Passive
2	Light Fingers	increases the chance of successfully Pickpocketing by 10%	Passive
3	Trafficker	increases fence interactions each day by 120% (to 110 items)	Passive
5	Locksmith	improves your chances of forcing locks by 10%	Passive
6	Kickback	reduces the bounty willingly paid to guards & fences by 10%	Passive
6	Improved Hiding II	reduces the Stamina cost of Sneaking by 20%	Passive
7	Light Fingers II	increases the chance of successfully Pickpocketing by 20%	Passive
8	Trafficker II	increases fence interactions each day by 140% (to 120 items)	Passive
9	Locksmith II	improves your chances of forcing locks by 25%	Passive
10	Kickback II	reduces the bounty willingly paid to guards & fences by 20%	Passive
11	Improved Hiding III	reduces the Stamina cost of Sneaking by 30%	Passive
12	Light Fingers III	increases the chance of successfully Pickpocketing by 35%	Passive
13	Trafficker III	increases fence interactions each day by 160% (to 130 items)	Passive
14	Locksmith III	improves your chances of forcing locks by 45%	Passive
15	Kickback III	reduces the bounty willingly paid to guards & fences by 30%	Passive
16	Improved Hiding IV	reduces the Stamina cost of Sneaking by 40%	Passive
17	Light Fingers IV	increases the chance of successfully Pickpocketing by 50%	Passive
18	Trafficker IV	increases fence interactions each day by 180% (to 140 items)	Passive
19	Locksmith IV	improves your chances of forcing locks by 70%	Passive
20	Kickback IV	reduces the bounty willingly paid to guards & fences by 40%	Passive

Thieves Guild

The Thieves Guild skill line is unlocked after purchasing the Thieves Guild DLC (or subscribing to ESO+) and talking with Quen in an Outlaw Refuge to embark on its story arc. Beyond that storyline, the Thieves Guild also includes three types of repeatable quests: Rye's Reacquisitions, guild assignments, and heists. The Thieves Guild Refuge is located in Hew's Bane.

In order to do these, you must first complete at least part of the Thieves Guild story arc however. After completing Partners in Crime, you can speak with Spencer Rye, who is originally found within the cistern (later he's at a table with a bulletin board just outside). His tasks are daily quests under the quest title Rye's Reacquisitions.

At that time also be sure to begin The Cutpurse's Craft, which can be acquired from the bulletin board near Kari in the cistern. This quest requires you to pickpocket 3 personal items or 10 items in total from folks in Hew's Bane. Completing this quest unlocks the other jobs/quests which can be done for the guild. You may complete as many jobs in a day as you wish, but may only have one assignment at a time. These quests involve a series of safebox robberies (Crime Spree), reminding laborers to pay their protection dues (Idle Hands), remind entertainers that they only work with the guild's permission (Plucking Fingers), encouraging law-abiding citizens to mind their own business (Under Our Thumb), and pilfering and laundering a specific type of item for a client (Covetous Countess).

After completing "The Long Game" in the main storyline, talking with Velsa will enable you to do the quest "Master of Heists" which introduces you to Fa'ren-dar. Afterwards, you may take a heist from the tip board near Fa'ren-dar once per day. The key to success in these heists has been claimed to be using the right gear, although having certain skills such as Legerdemain's Locksmith to reliably force locks might quicken completions as well. Use gear with a set bonus which reduces the radius of detection (i.e. Night Mother's Embrace x5 and/or Night Terror x3) and consider a set bonus which allows you to move in stealth as quickly as out of it (i.e. Night's Silence x5 or Shadow Dancer x5). If you're happy with your detection radius from class passives or playstyle skill, you might consider the Bahara's Curse set x4 which reduces trap damage by 40%. Potions of Invisibility wouldn't hurt either.

The overall value of items from Thieves Troves will be based on your rank in the Thieves Guild skill line, with a higher rank providing an increased chance for more and higher quality items.

Thieves Guild Skill Line
Required Skill Level	Skill Name	Benefit	Cost
1	Finders Keepers	Welcome to the Thieves Guild! You can now open the Thieves Troves which are scattered across Tamriel.	Passive
2	Swiftly Forgotten	Bounty decreases by 46 after 3 minutes and Heat decreases by 36 after 3 seconds	Passive
3	Haggling	Increases the value of stolen goods sold at a fence by 2%	Passive
4	Clemency	When accosted by a guard may use Clemency once per day. When used the guard will not arrest you or take your money or stolen goods for at least 1 minute unless you commit other crimes.	Passive
5	Swiftly Forgotten II	Bounty decreases by 69 after 3 minutes and Heat decreases by 46 after 3 seconds	Passive
6	Haggling II	Increases the value of stolen goods sold at a fence by 4%	Passive
7	Timely Escape	When you have a bounty and are in combat, can spot a "Footpad" waving a torch who will transport you safely to the nearest Outlaw Refuge.(warning! appears broken)	Passive
8	Swiftly Forgotten III	Bounty decreases by 92 after 3 minutes and Heat decreases by 55 after 3 seconds	Passive
9	Haggling III	Increases the value of stolen goods sold at a fence by 7%	Passive
10	Veil of Shadows	Decreases the Detection Range of witnesses and guards by 10%; witnesses are less likely to notice crimes while guards won't challenge until they get closer.	Passive
11	Swiftly Forgotten IV	Bounty decreases by 115 after 3 minutes and Heat decreases by 64 after 3 seconds	Passive
12	Haggling IV	Increases the value of stolen goods sold at a fence by 10%	Passive

Dark Brotherhood

Dark Brotherhood's skill line is unlocked after purchasing the Dark Brotherhood DLC (or subscribing to ESO+) and completing the first quest, gained by talking to Amelie Crowe at any Outlaw Refuge. Repeatable quests included with the DLC are Bounty Quests (conquer delves, battle in the Kvatch Arena, or vanquish a monstrous minotaur), Contract Kills (under the guidance of Elam Drals, a Dark Elf assassin), and Sacraments (through the Black Hand's agent Speaker Terenus). Dark Brotherhood's Sanctuary is located in the Gold Coast region.

The Dragonstar Caravan Company offers daily quests at Bounty Boards found in the cities of Anvil and Kvatch. The Bounty Board in Anvil offers delve-inspired quests: avenging fallen warriors in Hrota Cave (Buried Evil) & recovering ancient relics from the ruins of Fort Faleria (Looming Shadows). The Bounty Board in Kvatch sends you to fight bosses: defeating a Kvatch Arena champion (The Roar of the Crowds) or killing a dangerous minotaur smuggled in from Craglorn (The Common Good).

Before speaking with Elam Drals about Dark Brotherhood Contracts you must complete Welcome Home, the 3rd quest in the DLC's story line. Much like Thieves Guild assignments, there is no limit in how many contracts you complete in one day, but you may only be on one contract at a time.

The Dark Brotherhood quest A Lesson in Silence must be completed before unlocking Sacraments. Sacraments are daily quests completed under the guidance of Speaker Terenus, who will have you travel to various locations to stalk and kill, with optional bonus objectives to gain greater rewards.

Dark Brotherhood Skill Line
Required Skill Level	Skill Name	Benefit	Cost
1	Blade of Woe	Call the weapon of the Dark Brotherhood to your hand and deliver a killing blow to an unsuspecting target. Experience from this target is reduced by 75%. This ability does not work on players or difficult targets.	Passive
2	Scales of Pitiless Justice	Bounty and Heat resulting from a witnessed Murder or Assault is reduced by 20%.	Passive
3	Padomaic Sprint	Grants Major Expedition for 6 seconds after killing a Citizen.	Passive
4	Shadowy Supplier	A contract from the Brotherhood provides beneficial items once per day. (located in the Outlaw Refuges, the Gold Coast Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, and the Hew's Bane Thieves Den)	Passive
5	Scales of Pitiless Justice II	Bounty and Heat resulting from a witnessed Murder or Assault is reduced by 30%.	Passive
6	Padomaic Sprint II	Grants Major Expedition for 8 seconds after killing a Citizen.	Passive
7	Shadow Rider	Aggression radius from hostile monsters is decreased by 50% while mounted.	Passive
8	Scales of Pitiless Justice III	Bounty and Heat resulting from a witnessed Murder or Assault is reduced by 40%.	Passive
9	Padomaic Sprint III	Grants Major Expedition for 10 seconds after killing a Citizen.	Passive
10	Spectral Assassin	15% chance to shroud you when using the Blade of Woe, shielding you from being witnessed and receiving a Bounty.	Passive
11	Scales of Pitiless Justice IV	Bounty and Heat resulting from a witnessed Murder or Assault is reduced by 50%.	Passive
12	Padomaic Sprint IV	Grants Major Expedition for 12 seconds after killing a Citizen.	Passive

Necromancy

A lot remains unknown about Tamriel’s dark arts, and no shortage of debate and controversy surrounds its practice... “The practice is frowned upon in most cultures, but some people such as the Redguards and Dark Elves see it as the ultimate blasphemy,” explains Tuttle. “To them, messing with their ancestors is a huge no-no, and organizations like the Mages Guild reject it on ethical grounds, since it involves messing with mortal souls.”... When designing the Necromancer class, the team wanted the choice to be meaningful for reasons other than its three new Skill Lines, and this meant tying the class into the game’s Justice system, bringing consequences for Tamriel’s would-be liches... What does this mean for you if you want to play a Necromancer? In short: If you use some (note, not all) of the Necromancer’s abilities in view of the game’s NPCs, there might be repercussions. (Don't Get Caught! Necromancy in the Elder Scrolls Online)

The skills in this class which will earn you a bounty are marked with a |Warning| on our Guide to Necromancy.

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