Lydia (Skyrim)

"I am your sword and your shield."

- Lydia

 is a follower obtained in Dragonsreach upon completion of the quest Dragon Rising in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She receives the title of Housecarl from Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, after the Dragonborn is promoted to the title of Thane. As Housecarl, she is sworn to protect the Dragonborn with her life, and to carry his or her burdens.

Follower
Lydia can die if she does not get the opportunity to heal herself when knocked down. This can happen if she gets caught in a Dragon attack or if she is mobbed by enemies who attack simultaneously. Also, any damage caused to her by the Dragonborn will harm her and can kill her as any other enemy could. Do not perform an attack shout facing her while she is healing, this will almost always kill her.

If the Dragonborn and Lydia part ways, she returns to Dragonsreach, or if you have purchased Breezehome in Whiterun, she will go there instead. If enough time was spent with her, she gifts the Dragonborn with an item upon reuniting with her.

Lydia, like most followers, has the option of being recruited into The Blades by bringing her to Delphine at Sky Haven Temple after the quest Alduin's Wall is completed. She can still be recruited as a follower, but her default Steel apparel will be replaced with a full set of Blades Armor and a Blades sword. This change is permanent.

Combat Behavior and Skills
Lydia is primarily a melee-type character and knows no spells. As with some other melee-oriented followers, she has tendency to simply rush into combat, which, unless monitored accordingly, may lead to her death (and sometimes the player's as well).

She can use spell scrolls and staves, but other forms of magic are beyond her ability. She can use potions and food if given to her. She favors Heavy Armor and One-Handed weapons, but will use any equipment, so long as it beats the current base armor or damage rating of what she wears by default (though, as with all followers, if you possess the Perfect Touch Pickpocket perk, you can, after dismissing her, pickpocket and remove her default gear, forcing her to wear whatever is the next best thing, if anything).

She also has very low Sneak skill, alerting enemies to her presence nearly immediately. Stealth-oriented players will want to have her wait somewhere out of sight before entering a room where you are attempting sneak attacks, although with a high enough sneak skill/stealth-oriented abilities and some skilled play, the player can use Lydia's behavior to conduct sneak attacks and backstabs regardless.

Armor and Jewelry
Lydia's default armor is steel armor, boots, gauntlets, and shield. She does not wear a helmet by default, but can equip any if given one. She can also wear any ring or necklace given to her by the Dragonborn, which can be useful due to the added effects these items may have. She can equip armor given to her, if its armor rating surpasses that of her default equipment. She can and will wear light armor, but her high Heavy Armor skill makes it difficult without a high Smithing skill or high-end armor, or the "equipitem" console command.   The steel armor appears in her loot if she is killed.

Weapons
She only uses a shield if the best melee weapon in her inventory is One-Handed, otherwise she uses a Two-Handed weapon that the player gives her. Lydia's default weapon is a steel sword. If her sword is removed or if opponents are out of melee range, she uses a Hunting Bow, with an infinite supply of what appear to be iron arrows (the arrows cannot be collected by the player). Similar to her melee weapon and armor, she can be given stronger arrows and a stronger bow, which she will always use instead.

Her initial steel sword is a regular item and can be taken away from her. Her boots, gauntlets and shield are not shown in the inventory swap, but can be stolen away with Pickpocket, so that she is not burdened by their weight. Her bow is more problematic, as it does not show up in the pickpocket menu. However, this is a minor issue, as it is light and she defaults to a better one easily.

Quotes

 * "I am sworn to carry your burdens." - When asked to trade items.
 * "A healing spell? Are you a priest?" - When healed by Healing Hands or Heal Other.
 * "I am your sword and shield." - When approached or passed by.
 * "Long life to you, Thane." - When approached or passed by.
 * "Honor to you, my Thane." -When approached or passed by.
 * "I am sworn to protect you" - When approached or passed by.
 * "As you wish my thane" - When asked to do something

Bugs

 * It is not possible to marry Lydia in-game without the use of console commands. She is, however, intended to be a marriage candidate, which is confirmed by looking at the data file (Skyrim.esm). Meaning she is most likely bugged.
 * If given a stronger bow, she will not equip it. All followers are currently bugged to revert to their default bow over time. in some cases, she will equip non-enchanted bows given her by the player.
 * Workaround:  will remove her hunting bow temporarily, it will return eventually as with all followers who have a default bow.
 * Sometimes, if seriously injured in combat, she will crawl and continue to crawl even after combat has concluded, despite full health. To fix this, fast-travel to another location or restart the game. Removing and replacing an item in her inventory will also correct this issue. Using a shout on her will likely kill her.
 * If given better equipment, when you dismiss her she will not have it equipped. When you tell her to follow you she will re-equip any better gear she may have when you enter/exit an area.
 * If dismissed to Breezehome, It is possible to have her stuck in a chair upstairs eating. If you ask to travel together, she will get up out of the chair and then sit back in the chair. This can be stopped if the player sits in the chair.
 * When carrying more weight than her capacity limit allows (i.e. ordering her to "pick up" items rather than trading through inventory) she may not equip certain weapons and armor despite their improved stats.
 * If given the Whiterun's Shield, it may give an error message saying you can not take her starting equipment adding 3 lbs to her overall weight. (Reload before you had given the item to her.)
 * Sometimes Lydia will run in place, even when you stop to talk to her, she will continue running.
 * If you give Lydia the Blades Armor that you receive in Sky Haven Temple, Before you ask Delphine to make Lydia an official Blade, Her starter armor will not be replaced, and she will not receive another set of Blades armor.

Lydia