The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an action role-playing game, playable from either a first or third-person perspective. The player may freely roam over the land of Skyrim—an open world environment consisting of wilderness expanses, dungeons, caves, cities, towns, fortresses, and villages.[1] Players may navigate the game world more quickly by riding horses, paying for a ride from a city's stable or by utilizing a fast-travel system which allows them to warp to previously discovered locations.[2]
Non-player characters (NPCs) populate the world and can be interacted with in a number of ways: the player may engage them in conversation, marry predetermined ones, or engage them in lethal or nonlethal combat. As in previous games in the series, killing certain NPCs can make some quests or items unobtainable. Some NPCs cannot be killed because of their significance to the narrative. If witnessed, crimes like murder and theft accrue the player a bounty which is tracked independently in each of Skyrim's nine holds. If the player is detained by a guard, they may eliminate their bounty with gold, serve jail time or resist arrest, triggering combat. It is also possible to bribe or persuade guards if the crime is a minor offense. NPCs frequently offer the player additional side-quests; some have parameters adjusted based on nearby unexplored areas.[3][4] Some NPCs who are befriended or hired by the player may act as companions who will accompany the player and aid them in combat.[5] The player may choose to join factions, organized groups of NPCs—for example, the Dark Brotherhood, a band of assassins.[6] Each of the factions has an associated quest path to progress through. Each city and town in the game world has jobs that the player can engage in, such as farming