Dead Thralls can come back to life !

[Adam Warlock]

I thought I might test just how much is too much and started stuffing the San house with as many thrall bodies as I could. Got to about 18 total when I noticed bodies(including 2 dremora) were missing from my prior visit even though the house had not respawned.
As I deactivated the 2 thralls I had brought with me , I started to count the rest of them and a dead pyromancer vanished before my eyes!
So some kind of "housekeeping" is going on , but I have no proof it`s the number of bodies there that does it. My earlier surmise was that the disappearances were related to the original home site of the particular thrall respawning and the character getting returned to that location(again no proof). I`m going back to Fort Amol where I first found the pyro to see if it`s as empty as I left it.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Fort Amol was empty. Returned to San house after 15 days and the Battle Royale was on ! I had stacked all the bodies in the back of the house to encourage the infighting and it worked !
At the beginning , all the Silver Hand , bandits , forsworn , and vampires I had stocked started attacking each other while I watched with my back to the door . In this instance the bandits won out as 2 surviving bandit marauders and a bandit chief from the downstairs group finally noticed me and got a taste of my flaming daedric greatsword! After dispatching them , I heard a voice in the bedroom loft and found another bandit marauder there. For her reward in defeating the 5 opponents with her, I released her from this endless cycle of violence by slicing off her head. The loot was great and 15 bodies remain.
Of note is that no mages out of 4 from Amol were present , an ancient vampire had upgraded herself to volkihar , and the adventurer`s ash pile had respawned 107 gold and 2 potions

 

[Adam Warlock]

Very disappointing at the San house this last time. Aside from the ever-present ash piles , only 2 baddies were alive and all the rest(12) had disappeared except for the khajiit I had found dead(still dead). Time to restock with fresh combatants !

 

[Adam Warlock]

Very disappointing at the San house this last time. Aside from the ever-present ash piles , only 2 baddies were alive and all the rest(12) had disappeared except for the khajiit I had found dead(still dead). Time to restock with fresh combatants !

Death reigns in Solitude ! Just outside the San`s door I discovered the bodies of a guard , Jawana the fletcher, and Odar the cook! Further toward the market I found the bodies of Illdi the bard(knife in hand) and Addvar the fish vendor! Then under the market archway , I found the body of a bandit marauder ! I wonder how he got in the city ?

 

[Adam Warlock]

I`ve already delivered Odar back to his beloved kitchen and will take the others back to their homes and the barracks. Except Jawana who I`m going to outfit as an archer thrall and take dragon hunting as I think he would like a little adventuring before finally hanging up his bow. If Addvar`s house is one that won`t respawn for me , I may start using it for thrall storage. Such are the dangers of necromancy !

 

[Adam Warlock]

I`ve already delivered Odar back to his beloved kitchen and will take the others back to their homes and the barracks. Except Jawana who I`m going to outfit as an archer thrall and take dragon hunting as I think he would like a little adventuring before finally hanging up his bow. If Addvar`s house is one that won`t respawn for me , I may start using it for thrall storage. Such are the dangers of necromancy !

Guard was too powerful to thrall so his buddies will have to take care of him.
Jawana has already disappeared from where I left him in Proudspire.
Left Addvar in his house with his wife and kid although they didn`t seem to notice him but were more concerned about the spell I had on me.
Tucked a naked Illdi into bed with the sleeping Headmaster Viarmo ! Let him explain that to the Board of Regents !

 

[Adam Warlock]

please note that the San house respawns for me because I did them favors and could freely take stuff like food which would then return after a while. I haven`t been playing a thief but I see a difference already with the miner`s house in dawnstar. there i`m considered a trespassor and all items are marked "steal". I`m guessing that stolen goods do not respawn ? at any rate , the 15 day period has passed and no respawn there. Hopefully such a location can provide permanent storage for the thralls I want to keep along with their equipment.

As a test on the Dawnstar house, i stole and ate a sweetroll there, left and came back after 30 days. It did respawn the baddies therein ! Also stocked bodies in Ysolda`s little Whiterun shack she had before we got married and it respawned in 15 days. Like fighting in a crowded elevator that was !

 

[Skullrattla]

I love the progress on this.... you, sir, are a true Necro-scientist.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Returned to the Dawnstar house and only one hostile combatant remained so there definitely appears to be a limit on how many respawns you get from each thrall. Confirmed at the San house where less than half of the last batch were present. Also discovered that if you get one of those non-hostile respawns that they will go aggro and attack you if you cast the Dead Thrall spell on a body in their vicinity. Make sure the thrall you`re casting at is naked unless you want help in the fight. Even so , they will try to punch out your opponent if they can get close enough.

 

[Perkless in Skyrim]

I`m guessing that stolen goods do not respawn ?

I have stolen the Imperial bow from The Drunken Huntsman and another spawned. Likewise with stolen potions and ingredients from Arcadia's Cauldron. I don't know the exact reset time but I'm fairly confident that they will respawn if enough time has passed though I haven't made a serious effort to check back after robbing a house. A notable exception has been the Dwemer Museum in Markarth. I stole several Dwarven weapons and armor in the display cases and not only have they not respawned, they remain flagged as "stolen" even if I sell and buy them back.

 

[Adam Warlock]

I have stolen the Imperial bow from The Drunken Huntsman and another spawned. Likewise with stolen potions and ingredients from Arcadia's Cauldron. I don't know the exact reset time but I'm fairly confident that they will respawn if enough time has passed though I haven't made a serious effort to check back after robbing a house. A notable exception has been the Dwemer Museum in Markarth. I stole several Dwarven weapons and armor in the display cases and not only have they not respawned, they remain flagged as "stolen" even if I sell and buy them back.

Thanks . I am increasingly convinced that most locations do respawn in some ways , even owned houses where the containers are stable. Proudspire Manor has respawned baddies several times now but barrels and sacks in the same room still have my loot.

 

[Shade]

I wonder what would happen if you took Astrid there? She is able to be Dead Thrall'd so after 15 days would she respawn?

 

[Halkin]

a thrall is for life, not just for christmas

 

[Adam Warlock]

I wonder what would happen if you took Astrid there? She is able to be Dead Thrall'd so after 15 days would she respawn?

Hard to say on that one but since I plan to destroy the Dark Brotherhood , I`m certainly going to try to thrall her.
All of the named NPC I have dealt with will disappear rather than respawn with the notable exception of mini-boss Vals Varen. The difference may be that the NPC who do revive are drawn from some sort of group template for in-game location restocking and they will respawn because that spot is intended to be revived eventually anyway.(I`ve killed Morvath at least 5 times but can`t thrall him). The distinctly individual NPC has no intended future use in the game once they`re dead. Otherwise they are flagged as essential and can`t be killed.
They all seem to eventually disappear if you leave them alone. The only permanent bodies that require no resetting to keep so far are the ones i have found already dead . They will respawn continuously , but only as a lootable corpse.
You wouldn`t want to respawn Astrid anyway since she is one of the rare characters who does not moan as a thrall and has excellent sneaking skills.
I think the respawn event is what explains many PC complaints about their thralls disappearing. So if you want to keep one , make certain you`ve visited/activated them at least once a fortnight.

 

[DragonBoneBow]

I have had my conjuration at level 100, since early in the game and i didnt know that!

 

[Adam Warlock]

Much has changed since this thread began with official patches greatly reducing the amount of time a body remains around after death and also reducing the % of bodies that respawn alive in the location you`ve moved them to.
You can still get respawn events however and I regularly "seed" the interiors of Fort Dawnguard and the Thieves Guild Cistern in order to watch the occasional battles that these factions will have with respawned baddies.
On average , I get maybe one or two out of five to come back this way.