questions about cultist ..? (dragonborn dlc)

[June Panteez]

i completed the first greybeards quest and returned to whiterun
cultist showed up and started attacking .. i killed them and read the letter ..

1. i deactivated dawnguard because i heard the vampires can kill important npcs .. but dragonborn is safe activated .. this is true right ?

2. im planning to start dragonborn questline after i finish the main quest.. how often will the cultist attack me ? npcs will be safe right ?

3. is there anyway to stop the cultist attacks somehow ? not picking up the letter or not reading it .. will this work ? or you cant stop the attacks ?

please dont suggest mods as i dont want to use mods in my first playthrough
thanx :)

[Vain]

I think they only attack you once.

[Valden21]

1. Sometimes, NPC's that are important for specific quests can get killed in a vampire attack on a town or village, but it can also happen in dragon attacks (which are in the base game). If it does happen, reload and try again. However, really important NPC's are always safe unless specific quests are completed, and these quests are usually part of a faction's storyline.

2. AFAIK, after that first cultist attack, other dragonborn cultists won't show up unless you're character's level is in the 20's, and you're going through the Dragonborn DLC.

3. Once the attacks start, the only way to prevent them is by completing the DLC's main quest. At least, I think that's how it works.

[conatushawk]

The attacks will contiue until you complete the main Dragonborn quest. Eventually the bad guy will join in the attacks on you in Skyrim, though if iirc, he just steals the soul of a dragon you killed.

[June Panteez]

Originally posted by Valden21:

1. Sometimes, NPC's that are important for specific quests can get killed in a vampire attack on a town or village, but it can also happen in dragon attacks (which are in the base game). If it does happen, reload and try again. However, really important NPC's are always safe unless specific quests are completed, and these quests are usually part of a faction's storyline.

2. AFAIK, after that first cultist attack, other dragonborn cultists won't show up unless you're character's level is in the 20's, and you're going through the Dragonborn DLC.

3. Once the attacks start, the only way to prevent them is by completing the DLC's main quest. At least, I think that's how it works.

2.I think ill reach level 20s soon
But the npcs are safe from them and I shouldnt be worried about the cultist attacks right ?

[June Panteez]

Originally posted by conatushawk:

The attacks will contiue until you complete the main Dragonborn quest. Eventually the bad guy will join in the attacks on you in Skyrim, though if iirc, he just steals the soul of a dragon you killed.

But this wont happen untill i start the quest i.e taking the boat to that place .. right ?

[DrSuperEvil]

1. vampire attacks only become a threat after going to the soul cairn and end when you complete the main plot of dawnguard.

2. Cultists only attack 3 times and then stop. At least in my experience.

3. Kill the sods, read the letter then kill the next two waves.

[Vain]

Originally posted by DrSuperEvil:

1. vampire attacks only become a threat after going to the soul cairn and end when you complete the main plot of dawnguard.

2. Cultists only attack 3 times and then stop. At least in my experience.

3. Kill the sods, read the letter then kill the next two waves.

I had tough vampire masters attack way before the soul cairn.

[Docsprock]

I really wouldnt worry about it. Sometimes an npc might die. Its really pretty rare. Although I did have some vampires wipe out the entire Riften marketplace once.:D

Its just a part of the game. There are back-up actors to take the place of slain merchants.

There are also a couple mods that force npcs indoors or away from any action.

[DrSuperEvil]

I was refering to the even tougher cloaked figure vampires. If I have an attack I alwayas do a body count afterwards and load from the last autosave if someone coughed it.

[Valden21]

The tougher vampires also tend to go down pretty easy, as they tend to get swarmed by NPC's and the vamps seem to focus their attacks on the first NPC to damage them, which is usually a guard.

[DrSuperEvil]

Or the local shopkeeper or quest giver.

[jreese46]

Vamp attacks can begin as early as lvl 6, if I'm not mistaken, which is also when Durak comes calling. Generally, if they're going to attack, they attack when you arrive. It's not 100%, but you can help by arriving at or near the spawn point, so you're ready to handle them. Fast travel to Dragons Reach, for example, and there may be a vampire chewing up your blacksmiths, down at the main gate.

There are a few mods, like Dawnguard Sentries, that will add some blade power to the spawn points, and one called Run For Your Lives, that makes the NPCs seek cover indoors.

[Rez Elwin]

Cultists have attacked me twice, the first time it was two at lvl 15? then Just recently while lvl 50 I got attacked by 3 in the middle of nowhere, in the icy north, west of winterhold. In all my Hours of gamplay I have never had a cultist attack me inside a town.

As for vampires well you should be able to take them down fairly quickly before to much damage happens. If you are unwilling to add mods right now how do you feel about console commands? If sombody dies from and attack the ressurrect command can bring them back. I had to do this for the entire town of riverwood after being attacked by 3 suped up dragons.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

The Dragonborn quest will start from the moment you read the cultists note. I suggest loading an older save and after you kill the cultists don't read the note.

Reading the note will start the random appearance of Miraak and he will start stealing Dragon Souls from you, so it is best not to read the note until you are ready to start the main quest for Dragonborn.

You can go to Solstheim at anytime reguardless of the Cultists, just remember not to sleep and not to approach any of the elemental stones there.

You can use the mod Timing is Everything to delay Vampire attacks until the level you specify and can reduce the time between their attacks.

You can also specify when the Cultists will initially attack you. I set mine to happen after A Blade in the Dark, which allows you to get all 3 words for unrelenting force before they attack you.

The mod is a very useful tool to help prevent quests from being triggered too soon.

[June Panteez]

Thank you all for sharing the experience.. !
For my first playthrough i dont wanna use any mods or console commands

For vampire attacks
If npc dies i can simply reload the previous save .. but sometimes they'll die and you wont even know as jreese46 said ..and by the time you find out maybe it'll be late..
so i simply deactivated dawnguard from start of the game .. ill activate it after iam done with main and side quests ..

So there's no threat to npcs from cultists thats all i wanted to know thanks !

Originally posted by Omgwtfbbqkitten:

The Dragonborn quest will start from the moment you read the cultists note. I suggest loading an older save and after you kill the cultists don't read the note.

Reading the note will start the random appearance of Miraak and he will start stealing Dragon Souls from you, so it is best not to read the note until you are ready to start the main quest for Dragonborn.

I read somewhere that you'r not supposed to read the cultists letter untill you wanna start the dlc .. thanks for making it more clear