Faendal

Template:SkyrimNPCs

"I don't like to brag, but I once took down a bear at three hundred yards. In a blizzard."

―Faendal

Faendal is a Bosmer archer found in Riverwood. He and Sven have a rivalry for the love of a local girl, Camilla Valerius. He offers Archery lessons at the Adept level.

Interactions

Faendal is an Adept-level Archery trainer, able to train the Dragonborn until level 50. He will offer this service even if the Dragonborn favors Sven of him in the quest Love Triangle.

He is also a potential follower after completing Love Triangle if the Dragonborn sides with him by exposing Sven's letter to Camilla, or by giving Camilla Faendal's own fake letter. This gains the gratitude of Camilla as well as Faendal. After completing this quest, Faendal can be asked to follow the Dragonborn, and he will readily oblige.

In the Hearthfire DLC, Faendal is one of the followers that can become a steward for one of the Dragonborn's homes.

Faendal's House

Faendal's House is located in Riverwood. Sometimes Faendal will not leave his house, leaving the door in an unlocked state. To fix this, reenter and try again. It is possible to pickpocket Faendals' key.

Exploits

Faendal at Whiterun Stables

Archery

After taking Faendal on as a companion, it is possible to receive free Archery training. Purchase the next training level up from Faendal, then speak with him to open the trade option. Take back the money paid for training. This can be repeated up to five times per level, up to level 50 in Archery.

Pickpocket

As with any trainer, money given to him can be pickpocketed back. The total value of gold affects the success rate, as does the Cutpurse perk. This is another way to train both Archery and Pickpocket, but can only be used when he is not a follower, as the Pickpocket option is not available for followers.

Another way to steal from him safely is to reverse-pickpocket a paralyze poison into his inventory (which requires the Pickpocket perk, "Poisoned"). Wait in sneak mode while he is paralyzed, then once the effect runs out and he starts standing up, and he will not notice anything taken from him.

Lockpicking

Faendal's house has an Apprentice level lock. To raise lockpicking, the key to his house will need to be returned, if it was taken. With Faendal following, pick the lock to his house, then go back outside. He will lock it again - resetting it so it may be picked again.

Follower

Faendal's Stats
Level	6 to 30
Health	92 to 292
Magicka	50
Stamina	83 to 243
Light Armor	28 to 66
Heavy Armor
Sneak	50
One-Handed
Two-Handed
Archery	35 to 87
Block
Alteration
Conjuration
Destruction
Restoration
Illusion
Enchanting
Speech
Lockpicking
Alchemy
Smithing
Pickpocket

Faendal seems to have a lawful disposition; when trespassing in residences, he will occasionally say, "You should not be in here" and refuse to enter dialog and take orders until leaving the area. Also, if the Dragonborn enters combat with Hold Guards or Imperial Soldiers, he will join them in attacking the Dragonborn. This does not occur if he is hit by the Imperial Soldiers, turning him hostile to them.

Faendal is competent with bows but often prefers to use daggers and swords if he has them. He will use the most damaging bow in his inventory at long range, the most damaging blade available at close range, while at mid range (provided no obstacles) he tends to use any weapon with the highest damage.

Trivia

• Faendal is able to join the Blades.
• If the Dragonborn owns Breezehome and has purchased the alchemy lab, Faendal can occasionally be found using it, even if he is not a follower, or is fairly aggressive toward the Dragonborn.
• Upon entering Riverwood as an elf, Faendal says "Greetings Brother/Sister Elf, nice to see a familiar face far from home."
• Faendal will occasionally visit Camilla Valerius no matter where she is. This means the even if the Dragonborn is married to her and they live in a home other than her own, Faendal may be found leaving the home as soon as the Dragonborn arrives, or traversing Skyrim on the way to or from it.
  • A similar situation may occur if the Dragonborn marries Hilde.
  • In the Dawnguard official add-on, if the Dragonborn has sided with the Dawnguard, they may get a quest from Florentius to rescue his/her spouse from a random location. If the player has married Camilla, Faendal may be found dead upon arrival of the rescue location, having attempted to visit her.
  • If the Dragonborn helps Sven in the love triangle, then marries Camilla and moves to Proudspire Manor, Faendal may appear in Solitude and attack the Dragonborn and any guards on sight.
• If Faendal is killed as a follower, the Dragonborn may receive a Letter of Inheritance from the courier.
• If the player helped Sven with the Miscellaneous Quest to give Camilla Valerius the fake letter, Faendal will send Hired Thugs, who will appear the next time the player leaves a city hold and attack on sight.
• Faendal may be found wandering Skyrim randomly, and/or slain by one of the many creatures he might encounter.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Template:1st

Bugs

Click to show

If the Dragonborn has committed a witnessed crime in Riverwood, payed the fine, and returns to the Riverwood area, Faendal may permanently follow the player with his weapon drawn. He shouts things he would say while in battle, but he does not attack. This only happens if Faendal is not the Dragonborn's follower at the time. When the Dragonborn enters Riverwood for the first time, Faendal may suddenly attack them.  PC   360   PS3   Also when visiting for the first time, Faendal may very rarely be found dead in the center of town. If Sven and Hilde are killed before finding out about the love triangle between Faendal, Camilla and Sven, Faendal will never offer the quest. Faendal may occasionally use his Hunting Bow instead of better weapons he has. This occurs with many followers who have their own hunting bow. To get him to re-equip the more powerful item, take it from him and then give it back, at which point he will equip it instead of his hunting bow. Unfortunately, this is not a permanent fix, as he will still randomly re-equip his hunting bow. Giving him a Forsworn Bow seems to fix the problem.  360   Faendal may still come out of the Dragonborn's house as they arrive even if Camilla has been killed. If he is given Forsworn Armor, the game may think it is part of his starting gear. After being killed in battle, he may be found alive and well after many game days back in Riverwood. Sometimes Faendal's face may become permanently stuck in a glitched position where his eyes are covered by his cheeks and his teeth will no longer be attached to his face. Occasionally when entering Faendal's house for the first time, half of the floor on the left side of his home won't be there and the Dragonborn can fall through for a few seconds, only to respawn at the door. To fix this, leave the house and come back in.  360   Faendal may randomly stop following the Dragonborn, and sometimes even walks in the opposite direction, though he is still considered to be following.  Fast-traveling seems to fix this. He can appear behind the cage in Rescue Mission. If the Dragonborn enters a brawl, he will start chanting. If the brawl is not finished, he might continue to chant and back away when the Dragonborn approaches, even after the Dragonborn has walked away.  360  Faendal may become afflicted with a carry weight glitch (which is outlined here), where whenever he is dismissed the amount he is capable of carrying drops significantly. The only way to fix this on console versions (without commands) is to exploit the wabbajack glitch. If Faendal is in the middle of chopping wood and the Dragonborn asks him to follow, he may start walking around with the wood in his hands. Taking it out of his inventory will leave him stuck holding the wood. To fix this, tell him to part ways, let him finish whatever he was doing, and ask him to follow again. Taking the keys to his house might cause him to disappear and never return, and the game will consider him dead. Sometimes, when travelling to Riverwood, with a clean bounty, he along with Gerdur, Alvor, and the guards posted there will begin to attack you. They can be killed with no bounty.