We have a few Stormcloak/Imperial Guards escorting a Stormcloak/Imperial Prisoner across the land...

We have a few Stormcloak/Imperial Campsites, not to mention the random Bandit or Hunter ones...

Why do we not ever stumble upon a group of Bandits on their way to or from a raid?

Or a group of Trolls, or other type of monster, roaming the mountains?

After having created a Ranger, I would have loved to be able to track down a small band of Trolls after they had waylaid a caravan (not that there are any actual roaming caravans either...) to dispense justice.

The most I have seen is two Frostbite Spiders walking the road.

Please, do this one thing for us:

Make the world feel alive.

I recall running into a group of Imperials that were looking for a Stormcloak group that I was supposed to meet up with. But that may have been part of the quest script. Not positive.

You do get random groups of bandits. You can get bandits fighting sabrecats. Giants fighting wolves. Skeevers or wolves attacking a dog.

I remember riding all the way from Whiterun to Dawnstar via the roads.

I encountered two people on foot, one group of guards with a prisoner, and some wolves.

I was sorely disappointed with how dead the world felt and just started using fast travel.


Haven't seen any of that.

I've seen a group of bandits fighting bears outside their own fort.

I've seen three or four hagravens attack a group of spriggans before, so I do think there is some cases of roaming monster packs.

There are random events like that.

one is
In certain fixed spawn points along the roads you will find Forsworn bandits or regular bandits attacking you as well.

Then I must be incredibly unlucky.

Pretty much. It's all random.

^ True this. Much of what people describe above as random events forseen by the player, I haven't even experienced yet (and I've explored a LOT of Skyrim).

So to come across a particular event you want to see is extremely rare, I'd wager. It's just like Fallout 3 in this fashion.

Wander more...i came across a group of bandits posing as imperials, a group of frost trolls in a small cave surrounded by corpses and bones (the cave was not a typical enter type but rather a small hole in the side of a rock) and also a group of wandering witches. Also if you steal things you'll come across groups of bounty hunters wandering around looking for you.
Skyrim is alive you just have to live it

Outside of Winterhold or Dawnstar I came across a group of 3 Frost Trolls. They proceeded to kick my ass so I ran, remembering they were Vigilants of Stendarr nearby. After slaughtering the Vigilants I finally took them out. Took a bunch of reloads.