Note that combat will lock the doors to any building with you inside and guards cannot be killed.
Upstanding you have no bounty and the guards react to you as someone who has never committed a crime Disreputable you have been caught in a criminal activity and if you get too close the guards will accost you to demand you either turn over all stolen items and pay a bounty or become a Fugitive Notorious you have been caught stealing a few times or were seen attacking an innocent (even if they attack first) the guards will seek you out if they see you, even from a distance Fugitive you have been caught stealing several times (or just once if pickpocketing a guard) or attacking an innocent more than once the guards will not give you a chance to pay your bounty and turn in stolen goods, but will simply attempt to kill you your only options are to flee or to die
Your bounty is tied to your reputation which has four basic states: Upstanding, Disreputable, Notorious, and Fugitive. Heat, the red portion of your bounty, decays rather rapidly, but any remaining bounty which is white on your reputation marker decays slowly. Higher skill ranks in Legerdemain (criminal activity) will provide a better chance to find higher quality items, replacing the previous approach of higher level zones having a higher chance to obtain higher quality items. This guide covers the Legerdemain, Thieves Guild, & Dark Brotherhood skill lines as well as some tips on the bounty system and helpful gear. any of these actions count as criminal activity and will earn you a bounty if they are seen by a NPC witness or a guard. Lockpicking, trespassing, pickpocketing, theft, killing livestock, aiding & abetting a criminal (i.e. This guide could be considered our reference to roguely pursuits or life outside the law.