Sven is a Nord bard in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim who lives in Riverwood with his mother, Hilde.
Interactions[]
Sven can generally be found inside the Sleeping Giant Inn playing his lute, since he is a graduate from the Bards College.
A Lovely Letter[]
Sven is competing with Faendal for the heart of Camilla Valerius and asks the Dragonborn to sway things in his favor.
Follower[]
It is possible to recruit Sven as a follower if the quest "A Lovely Letter" is finished in his favor. He can also be recruited into the Blades when the Dragonborn needs to recruit followers for Delphine, provided the Dragonborn is already Sven's friend and if they have killed Paarthurnax during the quest "Paarthurnax."
Inheritance[]
If Sven dies after siding with him during "A Lovely Letter," 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 (Imperials)
- The Age of Oppression (Stormcloaks)
- Tale of the Tongues (upon completion of the main questline)
Steward[]
With the Hearthfire add-on installed, Sven can become a steward in one of the Dragonborn's homesteads.
Combat[]
| Sven's Stats | |
|---|---|
| Level | 6 → 20 (Player Level x 0.75) |
| Health | 91 → 208 |
| Magicka | 67 → 113 |
| Stamina | 67 → 114 |
| Default Armor Rating | 0 |
| Light Armor | ? → 28 |
| Heavy Armor | 15 |
| Sneak | ? → 24 |
| One-Handed | ? → 37 |
| Two-Handed | ? → 42 |
| Archery | ? → 32 |
| Block | 20 |
| Alteration | 15 |
| Conjuration | 15 |
| Destruction | 15 |
| Restoration | 15 |
| Illusion | 15 |
| Enchanting | ? → 40 |
| Speech | ? → 29 |
| Lockpicking | 15 |
| Alchemy | ? → 40 |
| Smithing | ? → 45 |
| Pickpocket | 15 |
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.
Conversations[]
I saw a dragon![]
Hilde "A dragon! I saw a dragon!" Sven "What? What is it now, mother?" Hilde "It was as big as the mountain and as black as night. It flew right over the Barrow!" Sven "Dragons, now, is it? You keep on like this and everyone in town will think you're crazy. And I've got better things to do than listen to your fantasies." Hilde "You'll see! It was a dragon! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!"
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.
- 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."
- He was voiced by Jason Marsden, who also voices Onmund, Brother Verulus, and some other characters.
- There is a rare chance that Sven might say, "I got this for you. It's nothing big, but I hope you like it. I want you to know I appreciate your friendship." to the player, upon which he gifts a random item, such as Ragged Robes.
- If Faendal is killed during the quest "A Lovely Letter," Sven will send a letter of thanks to the Dragonborn via Courier.
- Despite his occupation being a bard, Sven's class is actually a lumberjack.
Bugs[]
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This section contains bugs related to Sven. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:
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- Equipping a Stormcloak Helmet on Sven may make it part of his starting gear.
- After installing the plug-in Dragonborn, when recruiting Sven as a follower, he will speak Talvas Fathryon's lines, saying, "I suppose Master Neloth won't mind. He's always 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.
- PS3 If Hearthfire is installed, Sven may vanish if he is appointed steward at Windstad Manor. The option to hire a new steward will not be available.
- This has also been observed at Lakeview Manor.
- Sven will occasionally disappear when following and will then reappear at the bannered mare in whiterun next to the other bard. Note this will only happen after you have liberated whiterun on the stormcloak quest line.