Hadvar

""Dragonborn", huh? Was it your ma or your pa that was the dragon?"

- Hadvar

Hadvar is a Nord soldier serving in the Imperial Legion. He was one of the soldiers on duty when the Dragonborn arrived in Helgen.

Background
It is likely that Hadvar and Ralof knew each other as children. Both of them are from Riverwood, and their interactions during Unbound seem to imply they are at least familiar with each other. Hadvar's uncle, Alvor, gives the Dragonborn some free materials if the Dragonborn chooses to go with Hadvar when escaping Helgen.

Personality
Hadvar thoroughly supports the Empire in regards to the civil war. Hadvar thus holds a strong resentment for the Stormcloaks, and often engages in combat with them.

Hadvar is shown to be a generally kindhearted person, and shows sympathy for the Dragonborn, even before they officially meet. Hadvar is one of the many Nords in Skyrim who have voluntarily joined the Imperial Legion, which even further proclaims his loyalty and fealty towards the Empire. It is shown that Hadvar is fighting for what he believes is the good of Skyrim, and he firmly believes that Skyrim is part of the Empire.

Unbound
A group of prisoners made up of the player, a thief named Lokir, and Ulfric Stormcloak as well as some other rebels, including Ralof, are being taken to Helgen. Upon arrival, he and the captain begin calling the names of the captives, lining them up to be beheaded. In the confusion ensuing from Alduin's attack on Helgen, Hadvar spots the Dragonborn trying to find cover. He tells the Dragonborn to follow him to survive, but there is also an option to regroup with Ralof, a fellow prisoner, to escape. If Hadvar is chosen, follow him through the keep to freedom and afterwards he will give directions to his uncle, Alvor. However, if the player follows Ralof into the keep, then Hadvar is never seen again.

Once the quest is completed, Hadvar suggests traveling to Solitude to join the Imperial Legion and serve under General Tullius. After talking to his uncle Alvor, Hadvar will be living in his uncle's house.

Skill training exploits

 * Hadvar is invincible in the beginning of the game. After obtaining the first weapon, keep attacking Hadvar and level up quickly. Also, in the Whiterun follow glitch, attack him in the middle of town. No guards will attempt an arrest. Also, his "Quest NPC" downed recovery time is almost instant.

Quotes

 * "'Dragonborn huh? Was it your ma or your pa that was the dragon?"
 * "I don't think Rikke even knows my name. Probably because I'm not the Dragonborn.'"
 * "Ever get the impression Rikke's not always sure what side she's on? I'm not doubting her loyalty. Just, she seems rather sympathetic to the rebels."
 * "Better down here than out there."
 * "Ever wonder if maybe we should call a truce with the Stormcloaks, join forces for just a little while, and take care of some of these dragons?"
 * "Ha! You're still alive?"
 * "This way. Come on!"
 * "Ralof, you damned traitor! Out of my way!"
 * "Who do you think killed more Rebels? You or me?"
 * "What next, giant snakes?"
 * "Huh. I had heard you died."
 * "Still alive prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way."
 * "Do colors seem brighter to you? Everything seems bigger, too... strange."
 * "Haming! You have to get over here, now!"
 * "I'm pretty sure I killed more than you, I was counting." (After the battle of Whiterun)
 * "There's more of them somewhere around here.
 * "Closest town from here is Riverwood. My uncle's a blacksmith there. I'm sure he'd help you out."
 * "It's probably best if we split up. Good luck, I wouldn't of made it without your help today."
 * "Fine! I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"

Unique interpersonal dialogue
If Hadvar and Ralof are near each other, they will engage in some dialogue. However, this dialogue is glitched, as it is random dialogue that occurs between two Stormcloak soldiers, followed by dialogue between two Imperial Soldiers.
 * Hadvar: How'd you end up here?
 * Ralof: My cousin disappeared one night. Some say the Thalmor grabbed him. It wasn't long before I found myself under Ulfric's banner.
 * Hadvar: So why did you join the Stormcloaks?
 * Ralof: I'm a true Nord. Simple as that.


 * Ralof: So why'd you join the Legion?
 * Hadvar: My father was a Legionnaire, and his before him. I guess I never considered doing anything else.

If the Dragonborn followed Hadvar during the mission Unbound and did not start the Imperial Legion quests, he will say the same dialogues as other Imperials, like:
 * "Damn Stormcloak rebels."
 * "Keep an eye out for trouble, it's only a matter of time."

After character creation dialogue
During the character creation sequence, Hadvar is the one filling out the ledger for the prisoners to be executed. For each race, he has a specific line of dialogue, along with mentioning that, once executed, the player characters' remains will be sent to their native province.
 * Altmer - "You're not with the Thalmor Embassy, are you High Elf? No, that can't be right... I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to The Summerset Isle."
 * Argonian - "Are you a relative of one of the Riften dock workers, Argonian? I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Black Marsh."
 * Bosmer - "Not many Wood Elves would choose to come alone to Skyrim. I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Valenwood."
 * Breton - "You from Daggerfall, Breton? Fleeing from some court intrigue? I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to High Rock."
 * Dunmer - "Another refugee? Gods really have abandoned your people, Dark Elf. I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Morrowind."
 * Imperial - "You're a long way from the Imperial City. What're you doing in Skyrim? I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Cyrodiil."
 * Khajiit - "You with one of the trade caravans, Khajiit? Your kind always seems to find trouble. I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Elsweyr."
 * Orsimer - "You from one of the strongholds, Orc? How did you end up here? I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Orsinium."
 * Redguard - "What're you doing here, Redguard? You a sellsword? A sailor from Stros M'Kai? I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Hammerfell."
 * Nord - "You picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim, kinsman. I'm sorry. At least you'll die here, in your homeland."

Civil War
If Hadvar survives Helgen and the Dragonborn later joins the Imperial Legion, then Hadvar can be encountered multiple times in the civil war questline. He first appears in the quest The Jagged Crown, where he, along with Legate Rikke and other Legion soldiers, meet the Dragonborn outside Korvanjund where they then initiate an attack; eventually, they get past the Stormcloaks inside and retrieve the The Jagged Crown.

He then appears again at the Battle for Whiterun, where he is among those who fight out the rebels and save Whiterun. After the battle, Hadvar is nominated to the rank of Captain. In the quest Compelling Tribute, the player must meet Hadvar, along with two other imperials, and they then must attack a small wagon of gold and weapons which is heavily guarded by Stormcloaks, after defeating the men Hadvar and the other two legionaries stay with the wagon while the player reports back to Legate Rikke.

Later, in Rescue from Fort Kastav, Hadvar sends the player into Fort Kastav through a drain leading into the prison where the player rescues the imperial prisoners before coming out into the courtyard and attacking the Stormcloaks within. After the battle Hadvar sets up camp there while the player reports back to General Tullius, although Hadvar is upset since none of the prisoner legionaries survived the battle.

Although Hadvar is not present at the Battle for Windhelm, he can be found back in Riverwood with the rest of his family. If the player decides to betray the empire during The Jagged Crown, then Hadvar will not appear again during the quest line and can be found back at Riverwood with his family living the rest of his life peacefully.

Bugs

 * Some players may experience a bug after taking Windhelm for the Legion, where Hadvar follows them around in Whiterun, seemingly for no reason at all, with his sword drawn. He will occasionally say things, such as, "Ha! You're still alive?" or, "Who do you think killed more rebels? You or me?" Fast traveling to Riverwood can fix this. Another method to fix this problem: Walk up to him, press right up against him, and save. Close the game. Load it back up. Hadvar will wander off to the main gate and disappear after a few moments.
 * If afterwards you get an error trying to get a Follower to follow you, simply typing in console "set playerfollowercount to 0" will solve this issue.
 * After you leave the caves just as you complete Unbound, once you come close to the Guardian Stones he may wander off the path and never initialize the conversation regarding the stones.
 * A possible solution for this is to run into him so that he stops at the road corner, he will then take the correct path (to the left) and initialize with the Stones.
 * Very rarely in indoor combat, Hadvar can be seen using the Staff of Magnus. It is unknown why.

Trivia

 * Hadvar will be wearing different armor than the armor he was wearing in Helgen when the Imperial side of the Civil War questline is advanced in. It's possible that he may have been promoted to a higher rank, as higher ranked Imperials wear that type of armor.
 * Hadvar was voiced by Jonas Fisch, and is the only character in the game with that voice.
 * After killing the first frostbite spider in Helgen Keep, Hadvar says "What's next, giant snakes?", which, coincidentally, appear in.
 * Hadvar admits he has had nightmares about Bleak Falls Barrow when he was a child, saying that he was afraid of the Draugr coming down the mountain and climbing through his window while he was sleeping.

Appearances


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