In the old days of The Elder Scrolls, back in Morrowind, players were permitted to kill any NPC that they could reach. While many enjoyed this freedom, it did come with a consequence that players could potentially lock themselves out of certain questlines, including main story missions. In an effort to protect the player from themselves, Bethesda introduced Essential NPCs, characters in the game that cannot die under any circumstances. Though first appearing in Oblivion to mixed reception, the feature was carried over into Skyrim where it continues to save careless players and frustrate players that just couldn't care less. Redditor menschletzt figured out a way to get around this though.

It should be said that this kind of thing has always been possible through the use of mods. PC and Xbox players could load mods into their game that removed essential status from all NPCs or just specific ones. This player has discovered how to vaporize Essential NPCs in Skyrim, effectively killing them on the spot.

RELATED: Skyrim Player Uses Character Creator to Make Wood Elf from the Loading Screens

This method involves the use of the Reanimate Corpse spell. Players can cast this spell on an Essential NPC and, if done correctly, they will disintegrate into a pile of ash. As these NPCs aren't meant to die, the animation for this looks bizarre, with the NPC's head often being the last thing to stop walking around. Unfortunately, killing an Essential NPC in this way makes it impossible for the player to loot the pile of ash and get any items or interact with them for quests, so players will still want to be careful when they use this method.

Although this is a bit macabre, this exploit also works on children. One common complaint from Skyrim players is that the children in the game are incredibly annoying, and it is impossible in the vanilla version of the game to actually kill them. If players can live with the guilt, this is a surefire vanilla way to make the streets of Whiterun or any other town child free. Those looking for a more suitable target should turn their heads to Maven Black Briar, as this allows the player to kill the hated character without any mods or cheats.

Another character that players seem excited to use this exploit on is Delphine. Although she serves as an ally for most of the game, many start to dislike her when she insists that the Dragonborn kills Paarthurnax. This still won't complete the quest, per se, but it will shut her up at least.

Skyrim is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

MORE: Skyrim Player Notices Interesting Detail in Sovngarde's Sky