I had a random quest to do in Riverwood so I stopped in the shop to sell some loot. On my way out a Blood Dragon attacked. Sadly during the attack the town lost Alvor (whom I was just going over to sell some armor loot to) and Sven.

Oddly enough Sven had just started a song outside when the dragon attacked. After it was dead, along with Alvor and Sven, everyone looked at Sven's body and started clapping as if he had just finished his song. I couldn't stop laughing at that, but still ticked that Alvor died before I could sell him stuff.

ps - Really wouldn't mind Alvor dying that much if it made Sigrid available for marriage. I wouldn't mind adopting the child either, kinda like a instant family.

Well what really surprised me was when I got back to Whiterun (I was on a Companion quest) a courier gave me a 100 gold inheritence for Alvor's death. I mean really? I have over 50K gold now and would rather his wife and child have it. And what about Sven? Who's going to take care of his mother now? And poor Camilla, I kind of set her and Sven up. It's like the town is a total wreck.

I debated reloading and seeing if I could kill the dragon before it killed anyone else, but I decided to let it go. I know the town needs a blacksmith but wasn't his daughter Dorthe studying to be one? It would be kind of cool to see her starting to work the forge.

Anyway, what does it do to leave a town like this? I can image that with a couple more attacks that every person who isn't indoors all the time (the shop and Inn) would all be dead. The town would have nothing but a few random guards walking around outside.

Has this happened to anyones game? How does it affect quests and such?

Thanks (sorry for the long read).

Happens to me a lot, but I hate to lose NPC's so I reload if anyone but guards dies.

Alvor is a pain to keep alive. He must be the weakest Nord in all of Skyrim.

Alvor has died in the exact same spot by the fence in front of the Sleeping Giant Inn on two of my characters, now. I shrug it off since I hardly ever visit Riverwood anyway.

I lost Alvor and his wife once but I reloaded.

Dawnstar is my problem town. Until I got Dragonrend, without ranged attacks I had to let the dragon perch on rooftops and blast people until he got bored with it. And there are quest givers in Dawnstar who are not essential.

NPCs should run inside the moment a dragon is spotted.

^ This ^ x 10000000. Every one of them in real life would run inside their houses and hide so why not in the game? I don't need 5 iron dagger-wielding important npcs helping me kill a dragon, no thanks. I think I've got this.

Houses = wood. Dragons = fire. Wood + fire = bad.

Half the dragons are ice.

Maybe they just really didn't like Sven

Everyone (and that $%#^$*& chicken) still live in Riverwood, but Falkreath however...

Dawnstar is always a problem town for me. Seems everytime I visit that town they are under attack. It wasn't so bad until I had a character in the DB and he would go to the hideout near there. Every visit meant killing a dragon.

It is almost like the Dragonborne brings the dragons with him. I can see the townfolks now running in fear when they seem me headed towards town.

In my case it was Rorikstead that was whipêd out. Nobody left aliive on the streets.

The blacksmith in Shor's Stone is a bit gung-ho. I was trying to get a quest off him when mid-conversation he runs off to fight and die against some Frostbite Spiders that wandered into town. None of the guards did anything until one of them was attacked by a spider. I reloaded and cleared the area before talking to him. I know the guards were refusing to clear the mine for him but they seem pretty lackadaisical about even defending the town.

In my case it was this little out of place skeeverhole called, "Solitude" the capital of Skyrim. Wiped out the entire town pretty much, if it weren't for essential npcs, it would be a ghost town

I travelled by carraige to Whiterun to drop off some stuff at Breezehome, then walked to Riverwood to meet Delphine for the Diplomatic Immunity quest. I leave the inn, and a dragon swoops in to attack the town, but I managed to lure it away from the people and kill it. Then, everybody wanted their picture taken by the skeleton.


http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198056584953/screenshot/595835400138004438?tab=public

EDIT: Wrong link

I had exactly the same end. When I heard the dragon, I quickly cross the river to drive him away from the town. After the dragonrend he fell exactly at this spot where I could kill him. Then I saw exactly what is on your screenshot.

Houses=Invunerable

Exactly where mine died, except Alvor was laying face down in the river and Sven was laying in the middle of the bridge with everyone clapping around him.

@ OP During my playthrough where Riverwood was hit by a blood dragon, Alvor and two of the guards died. Alvor's death hit me harder than the deaths of any of my followers throughout the game. It didn't help that his corpse stayed in the street forever. It was like a constant reminder.

Oh, just dump 'em in the river. That's what I do.

If it isn't thieves it's dragons. I fast travelled to Riverwood and this thief killed both Alvor and the merchant. So it was a reload since at the time I hadn't been to some of the other towns yet. Then it was dragons. Alvor bought the farm again. Alvor? Next time hide like a little *****. You've got a family. They're hiding. The guards? Useless.

Markarth got it bad, too, was leaving Calcemo's tower when the dragon attacked but I thought that was a diversion. No. "You cannot fast travel while enemies are present." Reload since I was in the watering hole. Run down the stairs and hope not to be seen leaving the city. Made it. Thank you Mr. Elder Dragon.

Dawnstar. Same thing.

Riften. Got attacked and the nice Dunmer woman that sells fresh meats got eaten since the dragon landed in the merchant's area. I think I saw Balimund using one of his glass blades. People still try to buy meat from her too. And none dare take what's been there for months now. It probably stinks to well....

Now that skeeverhole of a city, Solitude? Never has been hit. The Thalmor Embassy however, was hit during my pre-escape rampage. The Elder Dragon killed all remaining Thalmor on the side of the wall I could not reach. It attacked me first, but then when it started attacking the Thalmor, I was shouting Mark of Death on them, so the Dragon never attacked me again. We, or shall I say I (poor Malborn) escaped with all the dossiers, hopped on Shadowmere and rode back to Whiterun to sell all those sets of armor and robes. Meanwhile the relative of the Khajiit cook tried to kill me.

He's the only NPC I lost. I didn't realize if you die, that anybody lost prior to dying was perm death. I thought when you died, the game reloaded to last save. So the lesson: If you die and a NPC died with you... RELOAD. If you respawn after death, that's not a reload.

On one of my characters a Dragon will spawn everytime I fast travel to Dawnstar. I literally mean %100 of the time. If I travel to somewhere near by then walk in to town its ok, until I go inside a house. As soon as I leave a Dragon attacks. Must by something in that saved game that just keeps triggering it. Dawnstar is a ghost town for that character now.

Riverwood's a favorite target of thieves and dragons, I have no idea why. Between random NPC deaths by dragon fire, and then by standing in the way of guards' attacks on level ZERO thieves with ZERO pickpocket, all I can say is... good luck.

Haha this ^