The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a very big game, and with so much to do, it's easy to accidentally do something you may regret later on.

Rather than falling into pitfalls or finding out crucial information after the fact, we've compiled a few things you may want to avoid doing in Skyrim.

• See Also: Things to Do First in Skyrim,
• Things Skyrim Doesn't Tell You

Don't Spread Your Skills Too Thin

While it's understandable that you want your character to be a god at everything: a master fighter mage thief alchemist who excels at all kinds of weaponry - remember that the game evolves with you. While not scaled to the extent that Oblivion was, expect enemies to keep up with you as you level. That doesn't mean they will always be as strong as you, but they will increase as long as you keep leveling up and gaining Skills.

This means if you spend 10 levels only building up non-combat skills, you may find that enemies will be tougher then when you last encountered them, especially if you aren't learning new combat skills as well. Spreading your points too thin can have the same effect, so perhaps its best to hold off leveling up some magic skills if you've already committed to being a heavy armor warrior wielding two-handed weapons.

Never Steal From a Chicken

This may sound absurd, but every thief should know you can't have any witnesses when you attempt to commit a crime - and that includes animals. Oddly enough, the animals of Skyrim are as aware of theft as any human, and should you steal from someone while a horse, chicken, or other domestic animal is watching - expect them to alert the proper authorities. This goes double for trying to kill said animals, as the people of the town will become very unhappy with you murdering their livestock.

Don't Try to Murder Essential NPCs

You cannot. This also includes any children - no matter how annoying they may be. Unless you have a mod that disables Essential NPCs, attacking an Essential NPC until their health runs out will only put them in a state of recovery for a short while until they get back up and their health returns to full.

This can make "Town Murder Sprees" problematic when you encounter several NPCs that cannot be killed, effectively making it impossible to completely wipe out a town. It's best to save before you consider murdering someone - just in case they can't die.

Note that some Essential NPCs will lose their essential status after certain quests that involve them are complete - but this only applies to certain characters.

Resist the Urge to Pick Up Literally Everything

It can be tempting - especially early in the game when you are short on gold - to pick up and loot everything that is not nailed down. But you'll soon find that your inventory is limited to your stamina and carry weight. Suddenly, taking that heavy kettle doesn't hold the same appeal when you could use the same weight to pick up half a dozen jeweled circlets.

Always be mindful of the weight:cost ratio. You want to hoard things that weigh very little but are worth a lot - like gems, as opposed to things that weight a ton and are worth very little - like steel armor.

Don't Sell Enchanted Items

While enchanted items are often very valuable - and sell for quite a lot, those who want to enchant their own Weapons and Armor should refrain from selling enchanted items when they can be disenchanted instead.

Disenchanting an item at the enchanting table will allow you to learn how to enchant other items with whatever properties were held in the item that you disenchanted. Obviously if you already know that particular enchantment, feel free to sell the item, but if you're a warrior and find an enchanted staff with fire damage - it may make sense to disenchant the staff you were never going to use anyway in order to enchant your own weapons with fire damage.

Don't Fight With the Guards

For most of the game, the guards of the various Holds of Skyrim are fairly tough to tangle with - mostly due to the fact that they constantly scale with your level until you are a very high level character - and they will usually summon guards from every corner of the city to come help, and will often swarm you along with townsfolk.

Because of this, it's better to run or simply turn yourself in if you get caught doing something you shouldn't. If you are past the point of talking - remember you can sheathe your weapon and guards may be more inclined to stop attacking and simply arrest you. Otherwise, beat a hasty retreat, and remember that bounties are only applicable to the hold in which the crime occurred - and other holds won't arrest you on sight.

Don't Store Items in Places You Don't Own

It goes without saying, but you shouldn't stash your items in someone's home. After a few in-game days, any items you've put into containers you do not own will disappear. This is why buying a house of your own is very important, as you can stash all sorts of things in your house and it will always be waiting for you on your return.

Make sure to help the Jarls of each Hold in order to earn their trust and become a potential homeowner - or build your own homes with the Hearthfire expansion.