So, there I was in Riverwood minding my own business and improving my armor when I suddenly hear shouts of "Dragon!" and "Kill the dragon!" or something to that effect. I look up from the workbench and sure enough there's a dragon flying around torching things.

I pull out my bow and start firing. I use a couple flame shouts. The dragon really seems to like perching on Sven's house for some reason. A few rounds of this and the dragon comes down by the lumber mill and I start advancing on it, arrows leading the way. The dragon's almost dead at this point and I switch to my sword for the killing blow... then a guard runs up and sticks his sword in my back. The villagers cheer as I fall to the ground...

Seriously!? Did I graze the chicken or something? WTF man!?

I ain't going back to Riverwood.

Damn chickens. These people praise them rather than daedra

Thats so annoying when that happens! I got arrested in Falkreath by guards who ran in front of me just as i let loose a fire breath at the pesky Dragon..grrrrr.

It's [censored] [censored].

The collateral damage from spells in this game is insane. I've accidentally killed Lydia about 20 times now. Sure magic is dangerous, but it becomes unuseable when there are too many folks about.

Got a bounty in Falkreath because a stray arrow found its way to a guard's bottom. Didn't even kill him, but he was apparently more concerned about his lost dignity than paying heed to a jet of searing flames directed at his tiny self. After the dragon falls, they all gather around to applaud my mightiness. "Could it be that you are...dragonborn!"

Then followed by "I got my eyes on you sneaky thief."

There's no pleasing these people.

lol! love it! can just imagine you going up towards the dragon for the killing blow, makes me think of some old inbred town!

Maybe they were playing with town's pet dragon when you apeared. "Nooo! He killed fluffy!"

I wish the game was smarter about accepting surrenders.

The game tells you if you upset the locals, to put away your weapons...how come it NEVER works?

Yeah i`ve had this problem, specially with the guards a few times. Backpedaling and sheathing weapon while they wail on me, oh look i died while trying to surrender and thats not even for heinous crimes either.

Yeah, same thing. Shot some arrows, used some shouts, killed the dragon and then immediately had to start fighting villagers in Kynesgrove who were apparently offended at how I killed the dragon that was about to annihilate their village.

So I killed them. Luckily, there weren't any guards around.

The AI has some major problems when it comes to dealing with dragons.

They are forgiving for a single tiny bit of collateral damage and a bandit while his friends are being ripped apart by a dragon will decide that you are the one he should be attacking if a dragon and you are nearby.

Go go usermods.

I'm a heavy magic user and whenever I see a dragon near a town I try to kill it and the second I see any other NPC near it whatsoever (child, guard, etc.) I stop casting and wait for the dragon to kill them so I don't upset the rest of the town doing what the dragon's doing... either that or try to kill the dragon and have to reload a save point like 5 times until I get lucky and don't accidently draw aggro from civilians.

there needs to be a certain amount of grace given when attacking a dragon. they should forgive you for all friendly fire but something like splash damage shouldn't get you in trouble or you allowed 3 arrows or something before people start flipping out, mean a freaking dragon is in your city!

Or giants, a dragon is attacking some giants, you want the soul so you kill the dragon. meanwhile, the giants all break aggro and beat you down with their clubs. Even if you didnt fire on them.

I got wrecked for killing a chicken

Cheers

I no longer battle dragons in towns just for this reason. In fact, if I am not in the town, it seems that all the townspeople make it through the attack.

Now, I just run from the city until the dragon attacks me. I tried just leaving the city but it does not seem to follow. However, when I just run, it eventually comes after me.

Not just dragons. Honestly, if I help out some bandits fighting undead in a dungeon, they really shouldn't start attacking me as soon as the undead are actually dead. They ought to at least give me a chance to leave.

I've battled a dragon many, many times in dawnstar, riverwood and a one time in whiterun and markarth. Not a single time has anyone else but the dragon been hostile. Might be because I never use shouts that can harm anything but the dragon, Dragonrend.

In Riverwood I was charged 40 gold for assault because two townsfolk got between me and the dragon, they were not fighting mind ya, just passing through the middle of the battle. They still lie dead in the middle of the street.

Just to play devil's advocate here a little bit, just because a dragon is attacking you think it would be okay to smack the inhabitants with swords or fry them with fireballs? From their perspective you're a psychopath with no regard for their lives either. Don't get me wrong, I know the NPC AI does a great job of running right in front of swings but in the end, realistically (as far as realism goes in the argument of dragons and such) if your making it just as likely that the townspeople will die by your hand as by the dragon's you'd have to expect them to get a bit PO'd.

Incidentally, and refreshingly, the guards do it to themselves too. I was in Falkreath, fighting a dragon in town, and after it died four guards chased a fifth all over the place and hacked him to bits. It was somewhat gratifying.

The trouble here is that Beth games are extremely heavily scripted and those scripts are not using very complex formulas. Any collateral damage to anyone or anything will trigger hostility and retribution no matter if there is none or a thousand dragons around.
Not saying this is ok, just how it is. Even with scripts using one or two variables at most there are plenty of bugs.

I had the same problem with that guy you have to escort to the tree of Kynareth. Just some two idiot bandits fighting along the way, I took care of them and after that the idiot comes after me like I was the main criminal or something. Actually had to kill then resurrect him to stop his frenzy.

I love how the people of Skyrim are ever ready to lay down their lives in defense of their chickens. I mean, they can't just let the Dragonborn do whatever he wants! It starts with a chicken, and the next thing you know he's created an empire and become a god!

People talking about killing chickens as if it's something minor, as if animals aren't extremely important to medieval style settlements, and provide them with many resources.

I killed a chicken and the entire town converged on me... 45 gold bounty too

They must be like Cows to Hindus