When do dragons spawn?

[embe]

i was thinking of replaying skyrim again but i forgot if dragons only spawn after having fought one in the main quest or if they just spawn since the beggining.
or maybe do they spawn when you reach a certain level?

[Maxim_Carnage]

For me it's when I accept the mission to go the the Thalmor embassy after you kill the dragon that is brought back to life by Alduin

[embe]

Originally posted by MR_BLITZ:

For me it's when I accept the mission to go the the Thalmor embassy after you kill the dragon that is brought back to life by Alduin

on one of my playthroughs dragons started appearing after you kill the first one with the black elf Iltreth or whatever. however, it might be because i was extremely unlucky for the beggining of the game, so maybe they do spawn from the beggining?

[Ankou]

Random dragon spawns start (and specific burial dragons start waking sight unseen) when you defeat the first dragon at the watch tower outside Whiterun after returning the Dragonstone to Faringar.

There is at least one mod that I'm aware of that lets you change it so they start after a certain level or after a set (even random) number of days if it is something you are looking to change. (Skyrim Unbound.)

[Maxim_Carnage]

I only use the unofficial skyrim patch...On a rerun of the game it happens after I get back to riverwood and except the embassy mission...I don't do the mission I go in another direction and keep the story for when I do most the stuff with Dragonborn as I don't want the game main story to end as such.