So, I asked Christopher Plummer (the graybeard) where to find words of power, and the second place he gave me was up in the north west, I couldn't quite make out the name of it because my TV is so small, but it looks like it says Dragonsmouth Crater. The word wall is outside, and a dragon guards it. I ran down, took the word, and fled from the dragon. Now I'm stronger, and need the souls, so I came back to fight the dragon. It barely notices me and only breathes ice in one direction. It won't move, and won't bite. Nor will it use it's tail to attack me. I killed it about five times, and what happens is the health bar drops to zero and then disappears. The dragon doesn't die, though, and even summoned companions treat it like it's dead and won't attack. At that point, the dragon will rarely attack, mostly just staring at me, regardless the freakishly unrealistic position it has to put it's head in to see me. It will even put it's head in the ground to look behind itself. A psychical barrier is huge around it; I can't attack it's sides at all. I desperately need the souls and have killed all the other dragons I've found... I'm wondering if this glitch happens when you take the word before killing it? Is there any way around this glitch, at all? I've tried several things, killing it with magic, shouts, swords, bows, being sneaky or unsneaky, using summons to kill it, or even using werewolf form to kill it. I've tried to lure it out, but it won't take off. The first time I came by it gladly gave chase, but now it won't even move.

To help you place it, it's near The Lady standing stone. A little south east of it. Has anyone else had this problem, and is a patch needed to fix it? Does this happen with every dragon guarding a word wall?

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I checked to see how many souls I had after 'killing' it, and it said 3, and this was my fourth dragon. So... it's UNdead? I tried reanimating it's corpse too, but that had no effect, the game is treating it as both dead and alive at the same time. The dragon has also been phasing through the environment... I just don't know what's going on. I'll try installing the game later, and see if that fixes it, I hadn't installed it because I heard that caused a texture glitch. But I'll see.

To help you place it, it's near The Lady standing stone. A little south east of it. Has anyone else had this problem, and is a patch needed to fix it? Does this happen with every dragon guarding a word wall?

I haven't had that exact same problem, but fighting a dragon near an exterior word-wall did cause a glitch of my own. My dragon wasn't undead or freaking out, but after he was slain I was unable to absorb his soul. His un-absorbed body just sat there after I killed him like the world's ugliest doorstop. This happened in the hot springs, at the boneyard on top of the small mountain where you learn the frost breath shout. Like you, I grabbed the word before fighting the dragon; and before him I killed several other dragons without having any issues. I reloaded several times and fought him at other places, and always the same result: useless dead pile of meat that won't give me his soul. So I'm wondering, since most of the word walls are inside dungeons, is there some glitch associated with dragons near exterior word walls? Yours decides he doesn't want to die, mine decides to act like some petulant kid and refuse to give me his soul even when I killed him fair and square.

I hope the resolution is not having to go to a later save.

@ San Cidolfus and Fractal Knight

I fixed it! Okay, what I did was took his health bar down to zero, then fast traveled else where (Whiterun) and fast traveled back. He had half his health, and was glad to take off and fight me! He gave me his souls when I killed him. Maybe this will work for you, too?

Although later a second dragon showed up there, and I couldn't get his attention. It was nighttime, though. And very foggy. I guess he couldn't see me. He refused to land. I hope that isn't a glitch, too.

Yeah, the boneyard dragon did that to me as well, maybe that one is glitched?

@ darksteelblonde

I'm wondering if ALL the dragons guarding a word wall outside are glitched.

That dragon won't die for me either, Ive tried leaving after taking its health down like others did and it wont move, its head will follow me wherever I move lol. On 1 attempt to try something different, another dragon attacked me while I was trying to kill the dragontooth crater dragon, so I killed it and once I did that, the objective dragon lifted off the ground for 2 seconds and dove right back into the dirt, with his head buried hahaha. This glitch is funny right now but I can't finish that quest like this. I told my friend to go try it and sure enough, the same thing happens with him, before and after he gets the word its guarding. It doesnt matter, it just sits there and will not allow you to absorb its soul even though its health bar vanishes.

Hope this gets fixed!!!!!

UPDATE!! I got desperate and tried it once more and at 37 yrs old, I just witnessed one of the oddest bugs I've ever seen. But whatever happened, the quest is finished and it is DEAD!! I walked to Hamugstahl(sp?) and what comes crashing down infront of me on the path but the dragon! he had no health so on impact he died LOL. Absorbed the soul and IIm very happy.

But....Bethesda....I had no idea it was headed toward me, there was NO sound from the dragon, no growl, no wing flapping and no sound of crackling fire when I got his soul. So one bug worked itself and some sound issues showed up, but whatever, it's done.

Well, not for me at least..A majority of the other ones I've killed outside by the word walls have all come quite fairly...that's the only one I've had issues with

This was the ONLY dragon I had a problem with in regards to guarding word walls. Hopefully this is the last time I come across this, but with a game this vast, there will be oddities. I took pics of the dragon with his head buried in the dirt, I'll post tomorrow. It was pretty funny, health was gone but it's head is in the ground and it's breathing and grunting. But when it finally moves and attacks me a mile away it makes no sound at all

@ Spoonman

Yeah, I've fought a few more since then, they haven't had problems. But what brings me back here now is that I found a dragon that I can kill, can't take it's soul. There's a second dragon around there, too.