One Skyrim player found out that sometimes when an NPC gets stabbed in the back they'll have a rather odd reaction. Even a decade after Skyrim was released, players are still discovering weird and interesting interactions. Sometimes these will come in the form of odd glitches in Skyrim but in this case, it seems to just be a quirk of odd timing.
Although Skyrim was lauded when it launched for its performance and incredible detail. Players can travel the world of Tamriel, pursuing countless diverse storylines and exploring many unique continents and cities. Skyrim also offers players the chance to create unique characters with different proficiencies and skills. Some characters can be beefy, bruisers who specialize in one-handed weapons, while others learn to harness magic. Players can also create a character who has the ability to sneakily attack their foes, dispatching enemies silently and remaining out of sight. Apparently, one player made a Skyrim character sneaky enough to take their enemy entirely by surprise.
Shared on Reddit by user BeenEatinBeans, the player character moves upon a bandit highwayman who is idling about, keeping watch. Undetected, BeenEatinBeans moves quickly into position to land a killing blow with their sword. As the killing animation begins, though, the started NPC says "now ain't this a surprise" as BeenEatinBeans stabs him straight through with a sword. This moment was likely only possible because the bandit's voice line when he registers an enemy nearby overlapped with the killing animation. Apparently, BeenEatinBeans moved so swiftly and stealthily that the bandit didn't register them until it was far too late. The end result was that this bandit had a quite ironic and on-the-nose response to his own imminent demise.
Of course, small funny moments like these are quite common in games like Skyrim. Silly glitches like this, which don't effect gameplay but can set up odd and innocuous funny moments like this. For instance, one recent Skyrim video showed a single bee carrying a bucket all by its lonesome. Of course, this was simply a trick of graphics and not an intended interaction, but it still gave other players quite a sight to see.
While this death may have snuck up on that bandit, death certainly doesn't appear to be coming any time soon for Skyrim. Thanks to mods and the new anniversary edition, the game's popularity seems to be at an all-time high. The idea that the next installment in the Elder Scrolls series wouldn't be just as popular would be as surprising as getting stabbed with a sword.
Source: BeenEatinBeans/Reddit