My avatar helped the fine folk camped near Cropsford some time ago. Ever since then, when traveling along the Yellow Road he'll gaze in the direction of Cropsford to see what progress has been made toward its restoration. To his disappointment, there is none. Curious, he decided to investigate. It seems only one settler, female, survived the trip from camp to village. We were at first perplexed by this. The distance isn't all that great, and the path relatively safe.

Then I got to thinking. During my initial play-through I did not start adding mods until most vanilla quests, Cropsford included, were finished. This play-through the bulk of my mod collection was installed from the get-go. One of those mods, Villages1.1, adds a group of tough ogres in the general area those settlers would have needed to pass through. That would have posed no problem had I remembered it and cleared the ogres out before starting Cropsford. But I did not remember, and did the Villages quests only later. It is my contention that those ogres did in the settlers.

Being a quest junkie, my initial thought was to resurrect the NPCs in question. I went so far as to look up and write down reference IDs, intending to load the game and return 'em to life. Then I had second thoughts. Why not let them remain dead this play-through? Excrement happens, after all. Resurrection in this case (though certainly not in ALL cases) just didn't feel right. In the end I let them be. My current thought is that they shall remain thus unless proved essential for a mod-added quest. That said, every time we pass near Cropsford my avatar stares at the building shells and pauses a few seconds to reevaluate the situation.

Thinking on all this made me curious as to how others treat such situations, knowing that there is of course no one correct answer other than what seems best for the individual user.

-Decrepit-

Resing them wouldn't help, the game would still think they're dead and not build the village.

I feel for you. When I did that quest, I made them all essential before they made the trip to Cropsford, and I don't use any mods that would really threaten them. Buffy stops there to visit and stay for a day or so every time she passes by. She may not be a hero in Cyrodiil, but she is a hero to that tiny hamlet.

If Kris is right and they would not be able to build up Cropsford even if you res'd them, perhaps you are best to leave them be. Sigh.

Even if it doesn't help them start rebuilding Cropsford, I would personally resurrect them anyway. I'd feel bad that they died, it would just svck! Poor people. :shakehead:

Agree, I want as many freindly living things as possible in Cyrodiil.^^ Dont know why... I dont wisit many settlements but knowing that they are there and people are living there feels good somehow.