Helgen
Map
Hold	Falkreath Hold
Location	Northeast of Falkreath
Type	Town
Sublocations	Helgen Keep
Quests	Unbound
Characters	Hadvar General Tullius Ralof Haming Ulfric Stormcloak
Enemies	Bandits Thalmor
Location ID	HelgenExterior

Helgen is a moderately-sized community in Falkreath Hold. It was one of the only friendly settlements located in Falkreath Hold, apart from the city of Falkreath itself and Half-Moon Mill. Other settlements can be added as the Dragonborn progresses through the story line, such as Stormcloak and Imperial camps.

Helgen is the first location the Dragonborn will experience at the start of the game.

BackgroundEdit

Helgen was a thriving town and keep on the southern border of Skyrim with Cyrodiil. Before its destruction by Alduin, the keep was controlled by the Imperial Legion.

On the 17th of Last Seed, 4E 201, Helgen was attacked and destroyed by Alduin, which allowed the Dragonborn to escape their execution. The named residents of Helgen, besides Haming, are not seen again after the escape, and it is assumed that they either perished during the attack or otherwise managed to flee to safety. A few in-game days following the events, a small group of bandits will occupy the ruins of the town, (the lock on either gate must be picked, or one of the bandits can open it). The damage caused by Alduin's attack will remain, with most of the town razed to the ground and burnt corpses lying amongst the ruins. The bandits are led by a chief, whose gear is randomized. Bottles of mead with juniper berry may be found on the second floor of the ruined inn (accessed by jumping down from the gap in the tower's wall), if the Dragonborn returns.

It has a few distinguishing features: a wall, which is unusual for smaller towns, when some Hold capitals do not have a wall. It also has a large keep, which is unusual for anywhere but forts and walled hold capitals. It is possible for Helgen to have been second in the Imperial chain of power in Skyrim, behind Castle Dour, considering the strategic location not far from the southern border with Cyrodiil and mid-point for the north-easterly trade routes to Whiterun.

Related questsEdit

• Unbound

CharactersEdit

• Gunnar
• Gunjar
• Ulfric Stormcloak
• Hadvar
• Haming
• Headsman
• Priestess of Arkay
• Ralof
• Vilod
• Matlara
• Torolf
• General Tullius
• Dragonborn
• Ingrid
• Imperial Captain
• Imperial soldier
• Stormcloak soldier
• Elenwen
• Thalmor soldier
• Alduin

Known SurvivorsEdit

• Ulfric Stormcloak
• Hadvar
• Haming
• Ralof
• General Tullius
• Dragonborn
• Imperial Soldier
• Imperial Deserter
• Stormcloak Soldier
• Elenwen
• Thalmor Soldier

GalleryEdit

Helgen before it is destroyed

Helgen destroyed

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

TriviaEdit

• The Mead with Juniper Berry is most likely a reference to the comment which Ralof makes during the cart ride into Helgen at the start of the game; "I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with Juniper berries mixed in."
• If the Dragonborn stands in front of General Tullius too long while Alduin is attacking he will shout "Run, you idiot."
• South of Helgen is the boundaries to Cyrodiil, which is an impenetrable gate which can only be passed via console commands.
• Helgen appears to be Skyrim's counterpart to Oblivion's Kvatch. Both were destroyed at or near the beginning of the game by the main antagonists of their respective games.
• In Swedish and Norwegian the word "Helgen" means "the weekend/the holiday", it can also be translated as "Saint". This could therefore be another demonstration of Bethesda's dark humor, since the village is violently burnt to the ground.

BugsEdit

•  PC   Sometimes in the opening cinematic the gates of Helgen will shut causing the cart in front of the Dragonborn's cart to halt, causing the player's cart to collide with it. The carts will then shake and possibly be flung in random directions.
  • Solution: restart the game.
• Occasionally, the horse pulling the cart the Dragonborn is riding in may start swaying around in the air, still attached to the cart, causing it to stop moving, stopping the first quest from progressing.
• Alduin may sometimes attack, yet the people carry on as normal, standing around talking. No known fix apart from restarting the game.
•  PC   360   Sometimes during the execution cinematic, Alduin may behave like a normal dragon and fly in the skies around Helgen but doesn't attack, causing the game to stop.
  •  PC   Solution: deselect both the Dawnguard and Hearthfire plug-ins in the Data Files section.
•  PS3  Sometimes when returning to Helgen via the back gates, the textures may glitch and appear to be made of lava. Possible cause may be fast traveling while using "J'zargo's Flame Cloak Scroll".

AppearancesEdit

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (First appearance)