Glitch: Markarth Bounty post Cidna Mine

[toastysquirrel]

** UPDATE: Apparently after a random number of re-attempts, typing "paycrimegold" into the console after selecting a Reach guard did in fact do the trick. Not sure why it didn't work before.

 

I've seen posts all over the internet about people running into this glitch and I just experienced it today. So Markarth is effectively off limits to my character unless I can get this fixed.

 

If you're not familiar with it, if you decided to "flee" Cidna Mine and in the process killed a bunch of guards, then later on when you enter the Reach, Markarth guards will approach you and complain about your crimes. There is no apparent way to pay off your bounty so basically you end up with the entire Reach military trying to kill you, constantly. Even if you select the option to go to jail, because Cidan Mine isn't as secure as it once was, you can NOT go to jail, so you end up in a loop of "take me to jail" followed by "What's the problem". Rinse and repeat.

 

I've tried console

player.setcrimegold xxx 0002816c

to clear the bounty, but that doesn't work. The gold value doesn't decrease (mine is current at 4040). I tried the suggested fix found here, but when I'm warped to a new location all the guards attack me anyway.

 

This can be fixed on PC by waiting for a guard to confront you, then opening the console and selecting the guard by clicking on them. With the guard selected type paycrimegold into the console. You will be transported to a random location in Markarth with your bounty erased. Simply yield the guards by unsheathing and sheathing your weapon and the guards will return to normal patrol. This may be only a temporary fix; the bug can resurface if you commit a (or another) crime in the Reach hold.

 

I even tried the suggestion

for the Xbox/PS3 (I'm on the PC of course), but to no avail.

 

Anyone have any other thoughts? Casual strolls through Markarth are effectively impossible. The only quasi-solution is to console "kill" every armed guard that approaches you. But that kind of breaks the immersion a tad, don't you think? :)

 

** UPDATE: Apparently after a random number of re-attempts, typing "paycrimegold" into the console after selecting a Reach guard did in fact do the trick. Not sure why it didn't work before.

Edited January 15, 2012 by toastysquirrel