Thugs Not Assassins
skyrimspecialedition — Mods & Enhancements
Thugs Not Assassins is a small quest mod for Skyrim that changes hired thugs so they no longer kill the player, reserving lethal intent for the Dark Brotherhood. With 3,820 endorsements and 2.9 million downloads, it's a popular tweak for players who find random thug attacks too punishing.
📦 Full mod page on discovermods
Downloads, ratings, compatibility info, installation guides, and user reviews.
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Quests and AdventuresExample
Downloads: 2,944,885💡 Notes
By Parapets
🎯 Tips & Tricks
Place this mod early in your load order to avoid conflicts with other quest or encounter mods.
If you use a mod manager, enable it after installing to ensure the script changes take effect.
Test by getting a bounty and waiting for thugs — if they still kill you, check for mod conflicts.
🔧 Troubleshooting
Mod conflicts
Check load order. Disable conflicting mods one by one.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- Installing without checking requirements
👍 Pros
- Huge community trust (3,820 endorsements, 2.9M downloads) — this is a proven fix
- Solves a common annoyance without overhauling combat or AI
- Simple concept, clean execution — no bloat, just the tweak you wanted
👎 Cons
- Last updated in 2020 — may need compatibility checks with newer Skyrim versions or mods
- Only affects hired thugs, so other random encounters remain unchanged
- No detailed documentation provided, so you're on your own for load order placement