I've heard the "arrow in the knee" joke pop up in a few discussions around here and elsewhere, mostly related to Skyrim. I'm aware that this is probably in reference to a generic quote said by many NPCs (mostly guards) in the game.
However, I'm wondering if there's an older reference I might be missing by not having played any of the previous Elder Scrolls games - like the sweet rolls?
For that kind of Meme, you can find every information you need on knowyourmeme.com:
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the town guard non-player characters (NPCs) have several stock lines they will repeat when the player walks near them, including a bewildered statement about “curved swords”, a patronizing statement about “sweetroll” theft, and the melancholy confession “I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee.” The restating of such a specific story over and over again by so many different guards caused it to be noticed by players, who then proceeded to post about it in gaming forums and image boards. Along with the game itself, the video below helps give the idea that almost every guard in Skyrim became a guard due to the life altering results of receiving an arrow to the knee.
Source: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-took-an-arrow-in-the-knee
So you were right: that's a NPC quote (and it doesn't come from older versions).
The joke itself is from Skyrim, not a previous game. According to Know Your Meme:
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the town guard non-player characters (NPCs) have several stock lines they will repeat when the player walks near them, including a bewildered statement about “curved swords”, a patronizing statement about “sweetroll” theft, and the melancholy confession “I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee.”
The joke itself was spread on Reddit:
On November 18th, 2011, a thread reached the frontpage of the r/skyrim subreddit, titled “‘I was an adventurer too, until I took an arrow to the knee.’
One reason I read about is that in former Elder Scrolls games, one of the armor pieces were greaves, which protected the knee. In Skryim, there are no greaves.
I would like to say the actual reference maybe came from a book that came out in 2007. It's called "The Name Of The Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. On page twenty-nine it says:
In spite of his grin it was obvious he'd hurt himself. His face was tight with pain, and he leaned heavily on a chair for support. "Took an arrow in the knee on my way through the Eld three summers ago. It gives out every now and then." He grimaced and said wistfully, "It's what made me give up the good life on the road." He reached down to touch his oddly bent leg tenderly."
The person who said it is Kote, who wasn't a guard but is a "infamous assassin".
Skyrim "The Name of the Wind". It seems several people have the same theory, but I haven't found any official statements from Bethesda that links them.
This was probably a reference to something in real life. Take a look at this video.
