Hi, I just created my new account in oblivion, and from the sewers i walked all the way around to the talos bridge just outside of the imperial city, i accepted the quest to go kill some slaughterfish for a guy, but when i went under the bridge, i found Winson and Dralora Athrem dead. I looked them up online but found nothing about either of them ever dieing under the bridge. I would greatly appreciate if someone could tell me what has happened. Thanks.

There are many random events that can occur in the game. Ulen and Dralora Athram are a Dunmer couple that live in the Talos Plaza District. Monthly, they do travel outside the city. Any NPCs that take to the roads are just as subject to attacks as you are. It happens sometimes. They are not 'scripted' to live or die, simply carry out their monthly schedules - which can place them in danger.

As you travel throughout Cyrodiil, you will occasionally find dead NPCs along the road (those that are not marked as 'essential' anyway).

I usually resurrect them, make them essential and send them on their way with a warning to be more careful.

Haha, alright thanks, im on the ps3 so i cant resurrect them, but if they arent essential then it really doesnt matter

I once found Alessia Ottus floating near the pirate ship on the Waterfront. I guess one of the Pirates must have read her books.

You're welcome!

There is a substantial number of non-essential NPCs that can eventually get themselves killed if you play the same character long enough. At almost 600 hours of playtime on my current character, we get concerned about Cyrodiil starting to become a lonely place if we don't help things along a little bit. After all, there is no immigration to Cyrodiil or births that happen in the game to help replace named NPCs. Fortunately, unnamed NPCs (guards, soldiers, couriers, foresters all respawn). At this stage for me, the game is not about questing anymore, but roleplay.

haha, every time i get to that point i wind up starting over, i always seem to enjoy the early noob levels

Fun fact: If you do not walk into the area that the NPC's are traveling through, the game does not calculate any encounters with bandits and monsters for them, so they will not die.

"If you've got to travel, by the Nine Divines, stay OFF the roads! The wilderness just isn't safe FOR POOR UNLEVELED NPCS anymore."

I've come across several random dead NPC's in my time too. Since Im on 360 and a heavy roleplayer, I usually give them burials of sorts. I drag them off the road, out into the wilderness, and cover them up with whatever I may have at hand. I also place their weapon on them (if they have one) as a sign of honor.

Unless I find a bandit or highwayman ofcourse, then I throw their weapons far away, signifying a dishonorable death. (Which they most likely had, I can't be sure, as it is quiet possible a woman was running down the road being chased by a wolf, and the bandit died trying to fight the wolf as the woman escaped.)

Gah! So many scenarios! :brokencomputer:

But a bandit or highwayman could have just been killed by a wild creature (no theatrics, just a random death), would you still dishonor them just for fighting to the death? Or what if they were so new to the world (just spawned...) that they never even had a chance to rob anybody?

:rolleyes:

Or maybe i snuck up and shot the bandit in the head

Wait... this is going to sound stupid... but can you pick up objects and corpses in Oblivion? On the 360?

You can using LB (not sure what that means since I don't have a 360). For the PC, you use "Z" for the grab function. To move corpses, I've found grabbing the thigh for some reason works best.

Good morning sunshine.

Yes, you can. Hold LB (Left Bumper) while your cursor is over the desired object/person, you can then move it around. It works like the telekinesis spell, except up close. You can't completely lift heavy things up into the air, though, but all regular items can be picked up.

You can't lift corpses either, only drag them on the ground, or arrange them into silly positions. One of my pass-times is killing a man and woman, stripping them naked, and positioning them in such a way that a passer-by may assume them to be copulating. It's very funny when you see an NPC walk by and stare.

I know, Im a sick minded individual.

:blink:

:rofl:

My 13 y-o brother does that with Grummites whenever I let him play...

Remember, Oblivion is or can be, a very realistic game. People get travel, fight and get killed even when you're not there to witness it.
Most likely, they got killed by a mud crab... Or perhaps fell?
Once, I was in the Shivering Isles and as soon as I arrived at Bliss, the first thing I saw was 3 or 4 Golden Saints chasing around Big Head and eventually they killed him. I created a post on him asking what happen, just like how you did here, and it turns out that Big Head's NPC will pickpocket other NPCs or even you if you have a fork on you... He probably got caught, resisted, and was killed.
Same concept applies to you.
RIP Winson and Dralora Athrem

Shameer is also known to be found dead right outside the Skingrad main gate. He is scripted to eat at a certain time, but unfortunately the devs forgot to put food in his inventory. If that time comes while you're around, he pickpockets someone nearby. The guards are usually standing right there, so he gets caught and killed.

For the life of me, I cannot comprehend why he couldn't have simply turned around and eaten the dozens of graqes growing on vines right behind him...

And despite all her 'sly sliding unseen' bravado, poor City Swimmer, in Bravil, is a rather lousy thief. She invarialbly gets caught and killed by a guard at some point.