Sven

Sven is a Nord bard who lives in Riverwood with his mother, Hilde. He can generally be found inside the Sleeping Giant Inn playing his lute, and is a potential follower if the quest Love Triangle is completed in his favor.

Love Triangle
Sven is competing with Falendal for Camilla Valerius's heart and asks the Dragonborn to sway things in his favor.

Follower
It is possible to recruit Sven as a follower if Love Triangle is finished in his favor. Sven and Faendal are available as followers, depending on which side you choose in the quest.

Inheritance
If Sven dies after siding with him during Love Triangle, a Letter of Inheritance will be received.

Songs
As a Bard, Sven will sing the following songs on request for no fee:
 * Ragnar the Red
 * The Age of Aggression (Imperial Faction)
 * The Age of Oppression (Stormcloaks Faction)
 * Tale of the Tongues (upon completion of the main questline)

Steward
With the add-on installed, Sven can become a steward in one of the Dragonborn's houses.

Combat
Sven's primary skills are Alchemy, Enchanting, and Smithing. His secondary skills are Archery, One-Handed, and Two-Handed. His tertiary skills are Light Armor, Sneak, and Speechcraft.

He benefits from Light Armor slightly more than Heavy Armor, but the difference is not too significant as his skills with both are relatively low. Likewise, his skill in one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, and archery are all roughly on par with each other, and all relatively low.

Sven's level cap is 20, tying him with Roggi Knot-Beard for the lowest follower level cap in the game. Additionally, along with Roggi Knot-Beard and Adelaisa Vendicci, Sven is one of only three followers who has a civilian job class instead of a professional combat-oriented one. As a result, his health is somewhat lower than that of other followers, and his primary skills are non-combat related ones. Low level characters or those that rely on their followers in combat may find it difficult to use Sven, as he won't be as efficient in battle as other followers would.

Trivia

 * Sven can no longer be recruited if the Dragonborn attacks Riverwood. He will not object if he is currently a follower, but will refuse to re-join after he is dismissed. While attacking Riverwood, he will help fight the town's residents, but will refuse to attack his mother Hilde.
 * If the Dragonborn helps Faendal in Love Triangle, a Dark Brotherhood Assassin may attack him/her, possibly sent by Sven.
 * If Faendal is killed after the quest Love Triangle is finished in Sven's favor, the Dragonborn will receive a letter from Sven saying that he knows who did it and that he won't tell, showing his gladness at Faendal's death.
 * Sven was supposed to have another dialogue option, "Do you know any old ballads about dragons? " The option never shows up, however, so Sven’s response will never be heard in-game: "There's the one about Tiber Septim and the dragon Nafaalilargus. I never bothered to learn it. The Blades killed them all centuries ago. Nobody asks to hear that lay anymore."
 * Even if the Dragonborn completes Love Triangle in Faendal's favor, upon returning to Riverwood after some time has passed, if Sven is passed as he leaves his house to go to the Sleeping Giant Inn, he will gift the Dragonborn with a random item. When spoken to after this interaction, however, he will continue to show his dislike for the Dragonborn saying things like "you're nothing but trouble".

Bugs

 * Equipping a Stormcloak Helmet on Sven may make it part of his starting gear.
 * After installing the plug-in, when recruiting Sven as a follower, he will speak Talvas Fathryon's lines, saying "I suppose Master Neloth won't mind. He was often telling me to get out of his way," though the subtitles will say "Lead the way." This is also true for other followers who share his voicetype.
 * As a follower, Sven may start playing the flute at random, standing in place as he does so and doing nothing else. Fast traveling somewhere or talking to him will cause him to stop. He will also stop playing when he finishes the song, and resume following.
 * Occasionally, the flute-playing animation will never occur, and Sven will simply stand in place with the sound of flute music around him. This can be stopped in the same way as his normal flute playing.
 * Occasionally Sven might stop following, for example after killing Mirmulnir at the Western Watchtower. This can be fixed by using Unrelenting Force.
 * As a follower, very rarely Sven will disappear for a while, then turn up later in the Honningbrew Meadery.
 * Sven will sometimes stop moving at the cabin in Blackreach. The best way to stop this is to use Unrelenting Force.

Appearances


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