Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch

There is definitely something going on in reference to what you are talking about, because I've had sabre cats (and sometimes bears) kill citizens of Dawnstar inside the city (normally by the mine or inn) more than once. It's incredibly frustrating and random.

Placement certainly isn't the issue here, but I couldn't tell you off hand what is.

I've been meaning to say I just saw this again last week when I was playing. There were wolves attacking right outside the Jarl's Longhouse.

I recently noticed that this often happens when you fast travel to Dawnstar, but I have had it happen without fast traveling before too on a number of occasions.

Okay, this happened again on a brand new game last night - latest Unofficial Patch - with no fast travel.

Wolves came down from somewhere near the Jarl's Longhouse and attacked during the scripted scene you see there when you first arrive in Dawnstar between Skald the Elder and Brina Merilis.

I don't know exactly where they came from, because it happened so fast - Skald, et al. killed them immediately and went back to arguing.

http://i1374.photobucket.com/albums/ag403/akparkison/Skyrim/AFK%20Mods/dawnstar_wolves_jarl_zpscex0pp75.jpg

This is odd since the spawns are located such a long ways away, but I have a "possible" idea as to why it could be happening. No guarantees it is the cause, but it may be worth a try.

There seems to be a similar issue in Morthal with several [[http://postimg.org/image/c8a457r8p/|creatures]] (000844A3, 000844A4, 000844A5). From looking in the Creation Kit it appears that their spawn points are placed slightly below the ground.

This also seems to be the case with the three in the area near Dawnstar, so I'm going to try moving those upwards and see if it makes any difference, since often times when corpses or spawn points are placed below the ground (even slightly) they can end up in strange places.

I've seen the same in Morthal as well, but not as often as I have in Dawnstar. That said - it explains why I've seen a dead chaurus both in the middle of Morthal and then again on the bridge heading out of town.

I lost Idgrod the Younger once to a frostbite spider in Morthal a long time ago...and it never occurred to me before now that her death could be connected to the same kind of thing happening in Dawnstar. Fortunately, in her case, I had a save from just moments before, reloaded, and the event didn't fire again.

It's a miracle no one died in Morthal from the times I've seen those dead chaurus though considering how lethal they are.

Fortunately, no one has died in Dawnstar from these random attacks, but I'm one of those people who saves pretty often in the event of an emergency - like what happened with Idgrod the Younger.

I think you're on to something with your idea and hopefully what you've mentioned will fix the problem.

Hmm... well, that didn't solve the problem. I had the same thing happen with the wolves in Dawnstar on a new save today. This doesn't make any sense because those predators are placed far away from Dawnstar and shouldn't be getting anywhere close to the town.

Well that stinks. I haven't played Skyrim this week, but I had it happen again in that same place when I went back to Dawnstar last week. It's odd, because it's consistently at that point now.

For awhile, it was closer to the edge of town, where you first arrive - which makes more sense, if it's going to happen. I can't for the life of me figure out where they are coming from. It happens too fast - except I think I saw one (somehow) come from behind the Jarl's building.

I don't think any solution to this will ever be found since the placements are where they belong and their AI ranges don't assign them anything anywhere near Dawnstar.