greenwarden

There's some lovely stuff being made here, Porscha.

I definitely see that point as well. However, it has been my experience that shop merchants (at least in my game) typically sell one or two at a time, if at all. Could just be my character's luck at work, dunno. In any case, I prefer to buy my picks from the caravans. I think the rest of the changes you are considering sound like they would add real regional character to the game, and I'm all for that. Keep going!

I shouldn't have to join the thieves guild just so I can have reliable access to a required tool for dungeon exploration, but as long as I can still buy my lockpicks from the Khajiit caravans, it's all good.

I've heard that the perk "Shadow Warrior" (100 Sneak) can make your eyes look like that- do you have that perk? If not, then the only other thing I can think of is it might be shout-related, as apparently the "Aura Whisper" shout can make your eyes go wonky, but I am unsure if it's the same kind of wonky that's seen in your example above. Regarding Windhelm, I've read that if you've begun the Civil War quests (for either side)or the Dark Bro questline, those can disrupt "Blood on the Ice". I've completed that quest successfully, but only with characters that were ignoring those two questlines. That's all I have, sadly. Hopefully some of the other fine folks here can pitch in and help get you sorted.

I'll add here that I avoided the Thieves Guild quest just last night by feigning outrage at Brynjolf's proposal- I believe the dialog option was "But that would mean breaking the law", to which he replied "Oh, sorry miss, I'm usually so good at sensing these things." Something like that, anyway. Still, I'm all for more roleplaying options- ratting him out (like it would do any good, given Riften's level of corruption, but still...), simply telling him a flat "No", so you don't have to choose the default sanctimonious prig response, or hell, even giving Brynjolf a good kick in the shin would be fun.