Is it me or do dragons show up at the worst time? I have had them show up as soon as I enter/exit a town. I have had them show up while fighting 2 trolls. I had them show up when I was fighting giants, I can go on and on about all the worst times I had a dragon show up. Now my question is do you think they are scripted to show up at random? Or does something trigger them off?

Greg

Fast Traveling is almost a sure way to get them to appear.

Solution: ODAHVIN
then you run

Yeah, I had a Blood Dragon show up at the same time Delphine wanted me to kill the dragon near that Inn. Needless to say, it was an Epic battle.

I've had a random dragon show up at the same time i'm approaching one thats defending a word of power wall. One starts fighting me which alerts the other so im suddently fighting 2 at the same time! Storm call it is then..

I had three in the air once, thankfully only two attacked and they seemed just as bent on attacking each other as my character, blasted mudcrabs got in on the act. Killed all of them with a lvl 10 char, turned around to go back to Markarth and had to deal with 3 forsworn on the bridge. Went in and out of the little house that was there, every time my health got to low ( as I had run out of potions and magic was low ) and finally got rid of all of them. Probably the one and only time that character fast traveled, all she needed to do was run into a bear or sabrecat and she'd have been a gonner.

edit: my current battlemage seem's to run into alot of dragon's, saturday 3 in a 1/2 hr. he doesn't FT.

The dragons in my game seem to have ADD since if I'm fighting something and see a dragon, I flee but they stop and start attacking the thing that was killing me.

Only really bothersome encounter I can recall aside from the amazing backwards flying dragon was when a dragon was assaulting this dude in White River Watch or something like that, and he was on this nitch in the side of the mountain that you can only access after going through the dungeon. I just used Marked for Death on the dragon and waited for him or the bandit to die first.

I didnt start the main story for this reason on my second char. no dragons over here:)

Once you've completed the main quest line, and you've slaughtered Alduin, dragons will spawn within a time interval.
-often triggered by fast travel

I like battling dragons, especially when you get to higher levels and every dragon is Ancient. But yes, they do seem to show up at inopportune times. When I'm in a hurry and just want to get some things done and my time is limited, it's almost a sure bet one will arrive. Last night all I wanted to do was buy some fire salts to complete a quest in Riften so I could buy Honeyside. My last game had left off at the Mage's college. The screen appears and I'm ready to FT to the alchemy shop in Whiterun to see if I can buy my 10th Firesalt. But I can't FT because "You cannot Fast Travel when enemies are nearby".

So I got killed a couple of times before finally slaying the thing. It took an extra 20+ minutes.

That's the reason I decided that my mage needed a horse! My 1st mage FT Out of Winterhold alot, but took the carriage there. At one time their was 8 Frost Dragon skeletons and 2 Elder skeletons in the College courtyard.

Lol the first time I tried to help out Shadr in Riften, an Elder Dragon came by, did a few frost blasts on nearby things, then landed right infront of him, and chomped him to death then flung his corpse yards away.

Worst for me was in Riften, I was running from 4 bears and 2 trolls, just to run in to a Sprigan magic infested Dragon, 2 sprigans, and another bear.

That's why I avoid the main quest at all costs.

same here, i tend to save it for last because once you beat big-A the game feels very done.

I completed Dragon Rising solely to unleash dragons in my game. To be honest, I don't see enough of them..;p

I've completed the main quest through the visit to Kynesgrove and the returning of the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. I hardly ever see dragons. I never use fast travel either, not even the carriage type. Pretty much the only time I see a dragon is when I discover an external Word Wall. On rare occasion I will encounter one when approaching a settlement (never a walled city). And there's been a couple of them in the wilderness, though one of those died without me lifting a finger. I'm 70 hours in and didn't do anything but the main quest until I killed Mirmulnir.

In other words, I've not seen enough for my liking either.

I fast travel to their lairs/word walls whenever the cells reset.