I'm not the only person on earth having this problem. After a while of playing the game villages start to "die", because the people living inside them get killed by dragons, vampires and what not. I've been looking into quite some topics about this but none seem to have the right answer.

Taking Riverwood as an example, the only ones that are still alive there are some guards, the 2 kids with their dog and the guy who always sits in the inn (innkeeper is dead thou). It's been told that the crucial npc's such as shopkeepers, innkeepers, etc respawn after a specific amount of time but after a couple of in-game days the villagers don't seem to return. Resurrect in the console is a good idea, but I can't seem to find each body :/.

So is there a way to re-populate my villages? Because I'd like to have fully functional villages still .

Thanks in advance.

If you're on Xbox or PS3, you can't.

Unless you got Dead Thrall

I'm on PC.

So I guess resurrect is the only solution and tear the whole village apart to find the bodies?

NPC's and shopkeepers do NOT respawn. Don't know where you saw that or who told you. Once dead they are gone, fini, ended.

You must carry the body up to the troat of the world and talk to the necromancer who lives in the caves up there!

And people still question the design choice to make Essential NPCs? Granted, a better way of handling it would not have the Mighty Level 4 Villager charge into glorious battle with the level 78 Legendary Dragon, but these are nords we're talking about. Bonus points for Guard tactical ingenuity in letting the fair citizens of Riverwood tank the dragon while they pelt the creature with arrows. Or more Accurately, pelt the side of Alvor's House.

To answer the OP's specific question:

1. Open your console (~)

2. Right click on the dead NPC (so you can get the RefID)

3. Type: resurrect 1

4. Rinse / repeat if needed

Note: all resurrected NPC's revived in this way are still flagged as being dead in the game and may not be targeted in quest aliases.

Hehehe the first time i did the escort quest for the guy to Eldergleam a dragon came at us. Dude i was escorting put up his dukes and got into a fist fight with the dragon. I was kinda going 'uhh what is this guy doing?' then next thing i know dragon chomped on him. Luckily there's a mod that makes non combatant NPCs run for cover or into buildings. Ever since i've downloaded the DLCs with the vampires and stuff i've wanted to get that mod too hehe.

And yet people still complain about essential NPC's. I bet people wouldn't complain as much if cliff racers could attack cities at random and kill everyone there.

You really shouldn't resurrect NPCs with the console; you can't reset their DeadCount, you can't reset failed quests or other variables set when they die, and in many cases the WIDeadBodyCleanupScript will whisk the NPC away anyway.

Since your on pc if you haven't already I would get these mods. It won't revive them but it will make NPCs go inside during attacks.

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/28235/?

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/23906//?

These are Miracles and are one of the few instances I'll endorse a mod. Generally I feel mods are too taste-specific to recommend, especially because I always prefer Vanilla, but having dealt with ridiculous mass-casualties because of Vampire and Dragon Attacks, I can't say in any objective terms that someone should not use these if they have the ability to (Play on PC) especially with Dawnguard. (Dragons are a little less irritating than the Vampires in my opinion)

Screwed if there are essential NPC's, screwed if there are no essential NPC's.

Poor Bethesda.

^this is the best answer to this question.

I always thought a good "Middle Ground" would function like "Protected" NPCs in Skyrim, Except when an NPC is killed by a non-player source, they are revived (Re-spawned essentially) at the local Temple-Healer a few days later. Kind of like a "Critically wounded but not killed" Deal or some such. Of course, there would have to be a way to make sure someone stays dead if you want them to. Like a mercy stroke while they're down, not entirely unlike killing your companion in Skyrim. Except a less easily-abused mechanic.

I could get behind that.