Changes: Followers (Skyrim)

Revision as of 00:06, 14 March 2013

Followers are various characters found throughout Skyrim. They can travel with, battle for, and carry items for the Dragonborn.

A subclass of followers is non-humanoid followers such as dogs. These followers can neither carry nor equip items. The interaction with these followers is limited to the wait/follow commands and dismissal.

It is only possible to have one humanoid follower at a time unless additional followers are gained via a quest. In most cases there is no penalty for dismissing a follower and then re-recruiting the follower later.

Followers specialize in a variety of Skills ranging from Combat, Magic, Stealth, Smithing, Speech, Alchemy, and Enchanting. However, skills outside of Combat, Magic, and Stealth cannot be directly benefited from.

Certain followers can also serve as Skill Trainers. Many followers can Marry and a select few can join the Blades after being relocated to Sky Haven Temple.

Leveling

Followers will match the current level of your Character, up to a certain level cap that varies from follower to follower. The vast majority of followers cap at level 30. Be sure to take care of your Followers. For example, giving them better equipment may save them or you in the long run.

Roggi Knot-Beard and Sven notably cap at level 20.

All recruitable members of The Companions who are not part of The Circle, as well as Adelaisa Vendicci, cap at level 25. Mjoll the Lioness, Illia, and all hireable Mercenaries (including Erik the Slayer) cap at level 40. Also, in the Dawnguard add-on, Beleval and Agmaer cap at 25.

Erandur, Cicero, the members of The Circle (Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas), and all Housecarls cap at level 50. In Dawnguard, Serana caps at 50. J'zargo and Dark Brotherhood Initiates cap at level 81, the same level as the Dragonborn, and so do Durak, Celann, and Ingjard in Dawnguard.

If patch 1.6 or later is not installed, followers (along with all other levelable characters) are locked at the level at which they first encounter the Dragonborn, and will not continue to level up with you. The only way to fix this leveling error is to use console commands on the PC ("disable" then "enable" the character while they are not active followers) or use the Wabbajack to turn them into an animal, then rehire them when they change back. This resets their stats to the Dragonborn's current level and also does not appear to reset their inventory or quest scripting (although one must take an item from their inventory and put it back to get them to re-equip any non-default equipment they have). However, it has no effect if they are currently following. Essential characters cannot be transformed; therefore, essential followers cannot reset their stats unless using console commands.

There are a couple very specific occasions in which certain Followers will level up due to scripted events in quests. For example, Farkas will level up to the Dragonborn's current level in the quest Proving Honor after his scripted transformation. Likewise, Aela will level up after her transformation in The Silver Hand (this is because the game de-spawns Farkas/Aela and replaces them with a transformed version, then re-spawns them later; the same process that occurs when manually using the console to "disable" then "enable" a character). Similarly, Erik the Slayer and Cicero "level up" after the first encounter with them, as the version met during the first encounter is actually a different character version than the version that can become a follower.

Combat

Morale varies from Follower to Follower. Some, like the Housecarls, will always fight to the death, while others, like Roggi Knot-Beard, will often flee from combat if seriously injured.

All Followers favor two-handed weapons over one-handed weapons, even if they are unskilled in two-handed weapon usage. Therefore, avoid letting followers whose primary combat skill is one-handed weapons have two-handed weapons in their inventory. Additionally, Followers appear to favor magic staffs over melee weapons, and will default to using a magic staff if given one, only switching to a melee weapon after spending several seconds in close combat.

Most non-magic using Followers have a bow as part of their default, non-removable equipment. This bow does not use up inventory arrows and will fire the strongest arrow available in the Follower's inventory. For example, a Follower with 1 Daedric Arrow in their inventory effectively has an infinite number of Daedric Arrows.

Followers can dual-wield, but only if a Forsworn Sword, Forsworn Axe, or a Pickaxe (the Housecarl of Falkreath can dual wield scimitars) is wielded along with another melee weapon, and only if they do not have a shield or other weapon in their inventory. They will also dual-wield magic staffs, regardless of whatever else is in their inventory.

If the Dragonborn enters sneak mode, humanoid Followers will follow suit. While in sneak mode, they will not attack unless attacked first. Non-humanoid followers (dogs such as Meeko, Vigilance, or the Stray Dogs), however, do not understand the concept of "stealth" and will charge straight at an enemy as soon as they see one, even if the Dragonborn is in sneak mode.

Ironically, the default equipment of many Followers does not correspond to their actual combat skills. For example, Aela's default armor is Heavy Armor, despite her being skilled in Light Armor, and Erik the Slayer's default equipment is Iron Armor and a one-handed sword, despite the fact he's actually skilled in two-handed weapons and light armor.

Death

Fortunately for followers, enemy combatants will tend to ignore them once their health is depleted and turn their attention to the Dragonborn or any other allied characters. This condition is easily spotted, as the follower will drop to one knee and stay in that position for a short period of time.

Once they have regenerated a sufficient amount of health, they will stand and rejoin the fight. This does not mean that they cannot die by physical attacks from characters. In some cases, especially when left no other target, enemies will continue to attack a follower until death. Additionally, in that near-death state, a follower is not in danger of being killed outright unless hit by an attack from the Dragonborn or another Follower. Extremely powerful attacks (especially area-of-effect attacks), such as those from a Dragon, can also kill a Follower.

Some followers are marked essential, such as Mjoll the Lioness, Derkeethus, and Dark Brotherhood Initiates. They cannot be killed by any means. This makes them especially valuable as distractions for difficult battles.

It is important to remember that enemies using poison can kill followers, since the poison continues its effect even after the follower drops to its knee. So caution is advised if encountering high level Falmer, Chaurus, poisoned traps, etc.

To avoid follower death in this scenario, the best course of action is to lead attackers away from the area where the follower is trying to recover. Followers may also be given several healing potions to carry in their inventory, which they may use if the need arises.

Other ways followers can die include:

Falling from a great height.
Being hit by an enemy while the Dragonborn is speaking with them.

Followers can be revived using the console command resurrect.

If a follower dies you can't have a wedding. Their dead body turns up and everybody says,"How could you?" The simplest solution is to drag the body downstairs and you can proceed with the wedding. If more than one follower has died you cannot have a marriage at all because the bodies will respawn every time you try to get married.

Commands

Permanent followers can be given several commands.

Initiate conversation (outside of combat), and tell them I have something I want you to do OR the Dragonborn may also hold down the "select/activate" button while pointing at the follower. This method can be done at a distance and is great way to call the follower to The Dragonborn's position while they're in their "wait" mode.

They can:

Attack another individual or creature (disposition allowing).
Wait at a given location (or just simply wait).
Use an object.
Open a locked door or container.
Pick up individual items or take everything from containers.
Sleep in a bed.
Sit on chairs and benches.
Activate a Shrine to receive its blessing.
Perform jobs such as wood chopping (but not mining ore).
Leave the Dragonborn's service.
Pickpocketing (Dragonborn must remain undetected).

There are some additional benefits from using certain commands. These are:

Followers can pick up skill books that the Dragonborn may not want to read just yet. These can be safely taken from their inventory and read at a later date.
Followers can fill soul gems on the Dragonborn's behalf - provided they have soul gems in their inventory and a weapon with the Soul Trap enchantment.
Followers will illuminate dark areas with a torch, provided there is one in their inventory.
Followers do not require lockpicks to pick locks.
As a vampire, ordering a follower to sleep will allow the Dragonborn to feed off them.

If told to wait, a follower will wait for about 3 days before they get tired and leave the Dragonborn. They will then return to their home or the location where they were originally found.

Morality

Every follower has their own level of morality. Certain followers, such as Farkas, are lawful citizens and will report the Dragonborn to the guards if they witness a crime. Other followers, such as Jenassa, will readily commit any crime they are ordered to do and will ignore any criminal behavior by the Dragonborn. Some will report the Dragonborn for a serious crime, such as murder, but not for a petty crime. J'zargo, Aela and Benor will not have any possible interactions while tresspassing, only saying, "You shouldn't be here," when spoken to. They will still fight for the Dragonborn, however.

If not hidden, the Dragonborn will be held responsible if a follower is asked to perform an illegal activity.

Equipment and inventory

Mjoll the Lioness, in Ebony Armor with a Steel Plate Helmet, a Dwarven Shield and Grimsever.

Followers always equip the best possible weapons or armor given to them. More specifically, the weapon with the highest damage value and the pieces of apparel with the highest armor value are equipped.

Followers will not use equipment that is the same in armor or damage value as their starting equipment, unless it has been improved using smithing or enchantments.

On occasion, a follower may equip a weapon that they are not skilled in over one they are. For example, Mjoll the Lioness is better skilled in Two-Handed weapons over One-Handed, but if given a sword with a higher damage rating than a battleaxe, she will equip the sword.

The only way to prevent the use of an undesirable piece of equipment is to remove it from their inventory.

Inventory

Followers can be used to carry almost any item, either via the inventory menu or picking up world items. However, they also have a weight limit which restricts how much they can carry. In the inventory menu, items that would overencumber them appear greyed out.

An exploit is possible to make them carry over their limit. First place the items in any container and then order the follower to take everything in the container. After this, every single item will be in the follower's inventory; however, these items will be marked as stolen. If these items are dropped and picked up again in plain sight, it will be considered a crime. Alternately, entering a new area will remove the "stolen" label.

Followers will retain their inventories even after the Dragonborn dismisses them. In this way, it is possible to use them for limited storage. If they are killed, the stored items can be looted off the body.

Effect dismissing has on equipment

If the Dragonborn sends their follower away (dismiss), and later decides to recruit him/her again, the Dragonborn might find the follower wearing the original equipment. The Dragonborn can fix this by either leaving the area or by simply taking away any piece of equipment from them, which will in turn "reset" them, causing them to equip their best available equipment. If the Dragonborn chooses to “reset” their follower, he/she will use new/better equipment again.

Placing just a single arrow in a follower's inventory will give them an infinite supply of that type of arrow (assuming the follower has a bow), so it is a good idea to keep them equipped with one of the best arrows the Dragonborn has. It can backfire against stronger enemies that use bows, as this can immediately cause the enemy to equip the one high-end arrow that landed on their body and shoot it back with an infinite supply.

Multiple followers

Followers are said to be limited to one at a time, but there are several ways to exploit this limit. Quest characters triggered to follow the Dragonborn, the Dark Brotherhood Initiates, Serana, summoning more than one Atronach, and mods on the PC make it possible to build a small army.

It is also possible to use the spell/power gained through the Dark Brotherhood questline for an additional follower. The Spectral Assassin will stay by the Dragonborn's side until it is defeated in battle or another familiar/atronach is summoned. It will travel with the Dragonborn across Skyrim.

Followers

Housecarls

Housecarls are essentially bodyguards who protect nobility and important people from threats. Becoming the Thane of a Hold will grant a personal housecarl. In the base game all available housecarls are Nord warriors, however The Elder Scrolls V: Hearthfire adds additional housecarls for The Pale, Falkreath and Hjaalmarch.

Name	Location	Prerequisite	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Argis the Bulwark	Vlindrel Hall, Markarth	Become Thane of Markarth	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Calder	Hjerim, Windhelm	Become Thane of Eastmarch	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gregor ^HF	The White Hall, Dawnstar	Become Thane of The Pale	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Iona	Honeyside, Riften	Become Thane of The Rift	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Jordis the Sword-Maiden	Proudspire Manor, Solitude	Become Thane of Haafingar	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lydia	Breezehome, Whiterun	Become Thane of Whiterun	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rayya ^HF	Jarl's Longhouse, Falkreath	Become Thane of Falkreath	Redguard	Yes	Yes	Yes
Valdimar ^HF	Highmoon Hall, Morthal	Become Thane of Hjaalmarch	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes

Faction followers

Completing certain quests for a faction will grant access to some followers from that faction.

The College of Winterhold

Name	Class	Location	Quest	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Brelyna Maryon	Mage	Hall of Attainment	Brelyna's Practice	Dunmer	Yes	Yes	Yes
J'zargo	Mage	Hall of Attainment	J'zargo's Experiment	Khajiit	No	Yes	No
Onmund	Mage	Hall of Attainment	Onmund's Request	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes

The Companions

Name	Class	Location	Quest	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Aela the Huntress	Warrior	Jorrvaskr	Glory of the Dead	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Athis	Warrior	Jorrvaskr	Glory of the Dead	Dunmer	Yes	Yes	No
Farkas	Warrior	Jorrvaskr	Glory of the Dead	Nord	Yes	Yes	No
Njada Stonearm	Warrior	Jorrvaskr	Glory of the Dead	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ria	Warrior	Jorrvaskr	Glory of the Dead	Imperial	Yes	Yes	Yes
Torvar	Warrior	Jorrvaskr	Glory of the Dead	Nord	Yes	Yes	No
Vilkas	Warrior	Jorrvaskr	Glory of the Dead	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes

Dark Brotherhood

Name	Class	Location	Quest	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Cicero	Assassin	Dawnstar Sanctuary	Hail Sithis!	Imperial	No	No	No
Dark Brotherhood Initiate	Assassin	Dawnstar Sanctuary	Hail Sithis!	Nord	No	No	No

Dawnguard

Having The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard installed adds several more followers, both humanoid and non-humanoid, to the game. Most are dependant on which faction the Dragonborn decides to side with during the Bloodline quest.

Name	Class	Location	Prerequisite	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Ingjard	Warrior	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order	Nord	No	Yes	Yes
Durak	Warrior	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order	Orsimer	No	Yes	Yes
Agmaer	Warrior	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order	Nord	No	Yes	Yes
Beleval	Warrior	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order	Bosmer	No	Yes	Yes
Celann	Warrior	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order	Breton	No	Yes	Yes

Mercenaries

Mercenaries are typically found in taverns across Skyrim. They cost 500 to hire for any length of time. Dismissing a mercenary will send them back to the tavern they were found.

Name	Class	Location	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Belrand	Spellsword	Winking Skeever, Solitude	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Jenassa	Assassin	The Drunken Huntsman, Whiterun	Dunmer	Yes	Yes	No
Marcurio	Mage	Bee and Barb, Riften	Imperial	Yes	Yes	Yes
Stenvar	Warrior	Candlehearth Hall, Windhelm	Nord	Yes	Yes	No
Teldryn Sero ^DB	Spellsword	The Retching Netch, Raven Rock	Dunmer	No	Yes	No
Vorstag	Warrior	Silver Blood Inn, Markarth	Nord	Yes	Yes	No

Quest reward followers

These followers typically have a quest attached to them and it must be completed in order to gain them as a follower.

Name	Class	Location	Prerequisite	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Adelaisa Vendicci	Warrior	East Empire Company	Rise in the East	Imperial	No	Yes	Yes
Ahtar	Warrior	Castle Dour	Complete Kill the Bandit Leader.	Redguard	No	Yes	No
Annekke Crag-Jumper	Archer	Darkwater Crossing	Complete Kill the Bandit Leader.	Nord	No	Yes	Yes
Aranea Ienith	Mage	Shrine of Azura	Side with her during The Black Star.	Dunmer	No	Yes	No
Eola	Nightblade	Hall of the Dead, Markarth	Help her in The Taste of Death	Breton	No	Yes	Yes
Erandur	Mage	Windpeak Inn, Dawnstar	Help him in Waking Nightmare	Dunmer	No	Yes	No
Erik the Slayer	Barbarian	Frostfruit Inn, Rorikstead	Complete his favor	Nord	No	Yes	Yes
Faendal	Archer	Riverwood	Help him in Love Triangle	Bosmer	No	Yes	Yes
Frea ^DB	Warrior	Skaal Village	Complete The Fate of the Skaal	Nord	?	Yes	No
Golldir	Warrior	Hillgrund's Tomb	Help him in Ancestral Worship	Nord	No	Yes	Yes
Illia	Mage	Darklight Tower	Help her in Repentance	Imperial	No	Yes	Yes
Kharjo	Warrior	Ahkari's Khajiit Caravan	Retrieve his Moon Amulet	Khajiit	No	Yes	No
Lob	Warrior	Largashbur	Complete The Cursed Tribe	Orc	No	Yes	Yes
Mjoll the Lioness	Knight	Riften	Complete Retrieve Grimsever	Nord	Yes	Yes	No
Ogol	Warrior	Largashbur	Complete The Cursed Tribe	Orc	No	Yes	Yes
Ralis Sedarys ^DB	Rogue	Kolbjorn Barrow	Spare him at the end of Unearthed	Dunmer	?	Yes	Yes
Roggi Knot-Beard	Warrior	Kynesgrove	Find his family's ancestral shield	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Serana ^DG	Vampire	Fort Dawnguard Castle Volkihar	Complete Kindred Judgment	Nord	No	No	No
Sven	Bard	Riverwood	Help him in Love Triangle	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes
Talvas Fathryon ^DB	Conjurer	Tel Mithryn	Complete From the Ashes	Dunmer	?	Yes	Yes
Ugor	Archer	Largashbur	Complete The Cursed Tribe	Orc	No	Yes	No

Miscellaneous followers

These followers have no specific quest attached to them. Gaining them as a follower may sometimes be a trivial affair, such as Brawling against them and winning the match.

Name	Class	Location	Prerequisite	Race	Marriage	Blades	Steward
Benor	Warrior	Morthal	Beat him in a brawl	Nord	Yes	Yes	No
Borgakh the Steel Heart	Warrior	Mor Khazgur	Pay her dowry or persuade her	Orc	Yes	Yes	No
Cosnach	Warrior	Silver Blood Inn, Markarth	Beat him in a brawl or give him a drink	Breton	Yes	Yes	No
Derkeethus	Ranger	Darkwater Pass	Free him from captivity	Argonian	Yes	Yes	No
Ghorbash the Iron Hand	Warrior	Dushnikh Yal	Convince him to travel with the Dragonborn	Orc	Yes	Yes	Yes
Uthgerd the Unbroken	Warrior	The Bannered Mare, Whiterun	Beat her in a brawl	Nord	Yes	Yes	Yes

Non-humanoid

Non-humanoid followers can be used alongside any humanoid follower, which means that the Dragonborn can have one human and one non-human follower simultaneously. Most non-humanoid followers cannot be given items and thus cannot use equipment, the exception being Riekling.

Name	Type	Location	Prerequisite
Armored Troll ^DG	Troll	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order, 500
Barbas †	Dog	Outside Falkreath	Begin Speak to Lod
Bran ^DG	Armored War Dog	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order
CuSith ^DG	Death Hound	Castle Volkihar	Complete The Bloodstone Chalice
Garmr ^DG	Death Hound	Castle Volkihar	Complete The Bloodstone Chalice
Meeko	Dog	Wandering near Meeko's Shack	None
Riekling ^DB	Riekling	Thirsk Mead Hall	Complete The Chief of Thirsk Hall
Sceolang ^DG	Armored War Dog	Fort Dawnguard	Complete A New Order
Steadfast Dwarven Sphere ^DB	Dwarven Sphere	Kagrumez	During The Kagrumez Trials
Steadfast Dwarven Spider ^DB	Dwarven Spider	Kagrumez	During The Kagrumez Trials
Stray Dog	Dog	Random location	None
Shadowmere	Horse	Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary	Begin The Cure for Madness
Vigilance	Dog	Markarth Stables	500

† Barbas does not count as a true follower since he is tied to his quest, but unlike other quest forced companions, (e.g., Farkas), the Dragonborn's current animal follower will not be dismissed.

Follower trainers

Some potential followers are also Trainers who can train the Dragonborn in particular combat skills, allowing him or her to increase the skill level for those skills. The training is not free, but once these trainers become the Dragonborn's followers, he or she may may receive training without any permanent cost; If the Dragonborn asks a follower to train him or her in a particular skill, after receiving the training, he or she may access the trainer's inventory and recover the spent gold. The following followers are also trainers: (Note: All but Faendal and Talvas Fathryon are Companions who require the Dragonborn to complete the Companions quest line before they become recruitable as followers.)

Aela the Huntress, Archery expert trainer (trains to level 75)
Athis, One-Handed expert trainer (trains to level 75)
Faendal, Archery adept trainer (trains to level 50)
Farkas, Heavy Armor master trainer (trains to level 90)
Njada Stonearm, Block expert trainer (trains to level 75)
Vilkas, Two-Handed master trainer (trains to level 90)
Talvas Fathryon, Conjuration master trainer (trains to level 90)

Trivia

Followers can be ordered to take all the contents of a container, even if they would not be able to hold the equivalent weight; however, the items taken will be marked as stolen. This means follower can hold an infinite number of items.
Almost every humanoid follower with the exception of Cicero, Serana and the Dark Brotherhood Initiates can be recruited into the Blades and will be given a free set of Blades Armor and a Blades Sword. Up to 3 followers can be recruited by speaking to Delphine at Sky Haven Temple. After followers have been initiated as Blades, they will no longer return to their home or starting location, instead taking up residence at Sky Haven Temple (with the exception of Derkeethus, as he is bugged to stay at his home). The free set of Blades Armor will replace the follower's current armor, even armor given to the follower. This makes it impossible to get the items back. Higher level weapons, however, will still be chosen by the Follower over their new Blades weapon.
If the Dragonborn starts the quest Alduin's Wall and lets Esbern and Delphine follow him/her to the objective, he or she effectively gains two extra human followers who cannot die permanently, as long as the quest is not actually completed.
If this is combined with the conjuration perk Twin Souls, a traditional follower and an animal follower, the total number of creatures following and fighting for the Dragonborn can be brought up to six. This can, however, make it difficult at times to backtrack through doors and passages.
With 90 skill in Conjuration, reanimation of two conjurers/summoners who then summon an additional two minions, the unique mount Shadowmere, Delphine, Esbern, a minion that can be summoned by Esbern, a regular Follower, a Dark Brotherhood Initiate and an animal Follower brings the number of followers up to a total of 10, and even 11 if one regular follower is a mage who can conjure a familiar, or if a follower is given a staff of summoning, for example, the Sanguine Rose. If the Dragonborn chooses not to complete A Daedra's Best Friend and keep Barbas and Mercer Frey, he or she could potentially have 15 followers.
If the quest Arniel's Endeavor is completed, the Dragonborn will be able to summon Arniel's Shade along with their regular conjured familiar(s), and increase the total number of followers by one.
Some followers will give the Dragonborn the key to their house, which will allow the looting of the entire place without stealing or killing the follower.
Certain quests may require the follower to leave the Dragonborn's service. The follower will then leave with any items he received. To regain the follower, meet them where they were originally found. If they are a hireling, they will most likely ask for another 500 gold depending on how much time has passed or whether they're particularly fond of the Dragonborn.
If the follower gets any kind of arrow, it can be duplicated if the follower attacks someone. (Followers will pick up arrows.)

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Followers (Skyrim). Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.
If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template 360 / XB1 , PS3 / PS4 , PC / MAC , NX / PS5 , XS , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on.
Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

Click to show a list of bugs.
Some Companions are glitched in such a way that they will not use any bow other than their default bow, regardless of the quality of any bow the Dragonborn might provide them with. Some Companions will only use a "Heavy" bow i.e. Dwarven, ebony, Daedric. Others will only use a "Light" bow i.e. glass, or elven. Armor type seems to dictate bow type. This bug is LESS frequent in the Dragonborn add-on With the Dawnguard DLC installed, a follower will equip a Dragonbone Bow MOST of the time Followers can be commanded to pick up items off the ground or from unlocked container that would otherwise exceed their carry capacity and continue to move normally. In this way, followers can carry an "infinite" amount of loot. All items picked up this way will be marked as stolen item, however. When a suitably equipped follower is soul-trapping, all the empty soul gems of the same size may be filled from a single kill. This does not happen every time. Followers can get stuck on terrain. In some cases it is possible to free them by using any knockback effect. It may be impossible to get to where the Follower is stuck. In this case the console command TCL can be used to turn off collision and position the Dragonborn. Press the tilde (~) key to open the console, type TCL, press the tilde key to close the console. Reverse the process to turn collision back on. PC PS3 In some areas, when the Dragonborn goes through a door, his follower will spawn from a different door in the same area. Meaning, if there is more than one door to enter somewhere, the follower may enter from a different door than the Dragonborn. This can cause serious problems, especially due to the fact they can get into a fight. PS3 If most followers are given Blades armor before Delphine makes the follower (if applicable) a member of the Blades, they will not receive any of the free Blades armor that usually replace their natural armors. PS3 When trespassing in an area, followers will act like the owners of the trespassed area, meaning that no dialog can be opened with them (they instead use a generic "You're not supposed to be in here" line for their gender and race), rendering the Dragonborn unable to perform any actions with them. If selecting the follower from a distance so the dialogue menu won't show up, the Dragonborn will be able to command them to take, steal, etc., but still will not be able to trade with them since this requires bringing up the dialogue menu. PC PS3 At some random point ,potential followers will say the Dragonborn having someone with him if asked to follow him, despite having no followers, no matter where he goes or how often a recent save is reloaded. Dismissing and rehiring Followers can result in their default starting equipment being added again every time they are rehired. Much of this equipment may not be displayed in their inventory. As a result, followers' carry capacity will diminish every time they are rehired since this default equipment has weight. The speed at which Followers will ultimately reach an effective zero carry capacity is effected by the weight of their starting equipment and the number of times they've been rehired. There seems to be a couple of ways to mitigate this bug if you do not have access to the in game console commands (i.e. PS3, 360). If you dismiss a follower you can pickpocket and thus remove all the duplicate forms of equipment that have spawned in their inventory as a result of the dismissal bug. In some cases, however, even this will not display the cloned items. Therefore, it may be necessary to dismiss a follower then subsequently paralyze them with any method at your disposal. Once this has been done you must pickpocket them while hidden which should have the desired effect of displaying the aforementioned items. Furthermore you can effectively remove anything they have equipped if you have the Misdirection and Perfect touch perks in pickpocketing. [ Confirmed on 360 ] 360 It is possible to have a wolf as a follower, but this is a very rare occurrence. When faced with a wolf it will most likely attack the Dragonborn, but it would sometimes run up to the Dragonborn without attacking. One reason this glitch is hard to find is because most people attack the wolf not knowing it is friendly. Even though the wolf is friendly guards and allies will attack it as if it were hostile. If a bounty is placed on the Dragonborn's head in every region of Skyrim, followers will keep coming up and talking to him over and over and over as if they were guards pulling him over. During this time, if they are asked to follow just before killing them, the Dragonborn will never be able to have another follower as the game thinks the dead follower is still following the Dragonborn. There are no known fixes. Followers of any kind can be often killed by Falmer power attacks and magic, so it might be a good idea to order them to wait before an intense fight. (Sure this isn't an accidental kill? Never had a follower die when that was not the case, even letting a large mob Draugr beat on them while Dovakhiin is hidden.) 360 If the "activate" key has been remapped to a button other than A, followers will not listen to the Dragonborn's commands, they will just stand there. The way to fix this is by changing the "activate" key back to default. Sometimes, items given to the follower cannot be removed, displaying the message "you cannot take your follower's starting armour." The only known ways to recover the item(s) are to dismiss the follower then pickpocket them or kill the follower and loot their body. Most followers have infinite arrows. If the Dragonborn gives them an stack of arrows, they will use all of them but the last. The last arrow always seems to be in their inventory. It does NOT work on all followers, however. Housecarls like Lydia seem to have an infinite supply, but companions like the Dark Brotherhood Initiate need to be re-supplied. PS3 In Hearthfire, if an animal follower (like Vigilance) is made into a house pet, your family and others within your home may only respond to your pet as "Stupid Dog", and very frequently. Sometimes this becomes one of the only interactions of dialogue heard throughout your time in your home. Normally after each time the dog barks, which is quite often. Sometimes when the Dragonborn wants a follower to follow them they will say that they already got someone with them even though the Dragonborn doesn't have a follower with them. This bug is often triggered by the death of a follower or by fast traveling. To fix this bug the Dragonborn can: -load a save when their follower is with them. -open the console and type in "set playerfollowercount to 0". (open the console with ~ or §) 360 PC When dismissing a follower they travel back to their place of "hire" either via shortest route or the nearest road. HOWEVER: 1) A Follower can be killed in the same 'cell' as the player FIX: PC A NPC may be resurrected or a new copy made via Character Console Commands. (A list of which can be found: here) 2) Sometimes they will become stuck in or even (rarely) clip through the terrain of the map, thusly never making it back to their town. FIX: PC See above Console Command fix Template:360 PS3 Use the Aura Whisper Shout or Detect Life to find the follower 3) On occasion the Follower may stop at a random dungeon and simply stand there. See above FIX(es) To avoid these (last three) bugs entirely: only dismiss your follower in his/her town or origin

External links

Follower Google Doc - For a full list of followers, their stats, advantages, and perks.

Appearances

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Template:1st

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 Once they have regenerated a sufficient amount of health, they will stand and rejoin the fight. This does not mean that they cannot die by physical attacks from characters. In some cases, especially when left no other target, enemies will continue to attack a follower until death. Additionally, in that near-death state, a follower is not in danger of being killed outright unless hit by an attack from the Dragonborn or another Follower. Extremely powerful attacks (especially area-of-effect attacks), such as those from a [[Dragons (Skyrim)|Dragon]], can also kill a Follower.
+Some followers are marked essential, such as Mjoll the Lioness, Derkeethus, and Dark Brotherhood Initiates. They cannot be killed by any means. This makes them especially valuable as distractions for difficult battles.
 It is important to remember that enemies using poison can kill followers, since the poison continues its effect even after the follower drops to its knee. So caution is advised if encountering high level Falmer, Chaurus, poisoned traps, etc.