I need some scales for the Alteration Mastery Ritual but I really don't want to activate dragons yet. At what point do random dragon encounters actually activate? I was hoping I could get to the point where I kill the first dragon at the watchtower, skin it, but not return to the Jarl afterwards and therefore perhaps not activate random dragons but I'm not sure when they actually do activate.

They activate after you kill first main plot dragon.

So not when I return to the Jarl afterwards?

It seems unlikely.

If you want to kill a dragon you're going to have to put up with them appearing randomly.

Right...well not in my game and i have explored quite a bit already! Only dragons i come accross are the ones "guarding" lairs/walls!

It's somewhere between returning the map and the attack on the west tower, and seeing one being resurrected.
I think it may be that going to High hothgar after being called, triggers set dragons near walls, but they can fly quite far from the starting point.
But the resurrection triggers the "random" attacks.

Pretty much what they said, but really they don't come often enough to really matter even after killing the first dragon.

Not really since i have not yet visited the beards!

And the dragons near these walls seem to stay very close to them...

All I have done is slay the first dragon; talk to the Jarl and I get random dragons (they seem to like the college of winterhold).

Get the No Random Dragons mod. Then kill the first dragon. You'll still advance the main quest, but won't get jumped every half hour by a random dragon.

y would u want to remove random dragons...

are you afraid of them or something?

If you go to Markath (the city built out of Dwemer ruins), your first job for the Jarl will be to kill a dragon nearby.

I never got that quest. Granted the dragons don't appear all that often but...

*I am thane of Markarth too*

Interesting. Perhaps it has something to do with how I answered his questions...
Right now I'm having trouble getting him to give me more jobs.

Randomly.

You have to be level 20. All I received was a contract from the steward then 2 quests from the Jarl (about the forsworn threat) and then I was able to purchase a house.

Anyways to the OP:
I would save the game; defeat the first dragon and not go to the Jarl, fast travel around Dawnstar and Winterhold/College of Winterhold and see if dragons appear as that is where I see them most. If they do then you have your answer because I defeated the first dragon AND I went to the jarl and turned in the quest and I have "randomly" spawning dragons. I haven't done anything in the story beyond that.

Console.


Because I don't want them harassing me while I try to do other things, it gets old.