Why are there so many Draugr in Skyrim?

[Maloy20]

Skyrim lore mentions that the Draugr were all men and women buried with their respective dragon priests to serve them, but why are there so many when there are so few dragon priests? Also why do we have some cases where certain tombs are actually placed lore-wise AFTER the dragon priests are gone yet are full of Draugr? Also why do the nords permit this, as they seem to hate necromancy at least as much if not more then Dark Elves.

I've thought about that and thrown around a couple ideas:

A. Skyrim is so tainted with magical energy(you can see it on some occasions) that it ressurects almost all dead buried within it

B.Their is some kind of power beneath Skyrim that ressurects all dead(that'd make for a fun dlc)

anyways thoughts? Do you know the answer?

[Oberon]

No one actually knows what's bringing all the Draugr back, and I think one of the loading screens mentions this. It could be related to Alduin's return.

[Big Boom Boom]

Simple, anyone who couldn't get into Sovngarde when they died, return as Draugr. Sovngarde is the only afterlife for the Nords.

[Maloy20]

In the Bards College Quest you actually kill a Draugr boss and you can find him in Sovengarde later so I don't think that works.

[Big Boom Boom]

Originally posted by Maloy20:

In the Bards College Quest you actually kill a Draugr boss and you can find him in Sovengarde later so I don't think that works.

However the Sovengarde Olaf and the Draugr Olaf are drastically different, heck the Draugr Olaf is not even One-Eyed. It could totally be his fake.

[Maloy20]

He is presented around the idea that these two are the same being, if you do not kill the Draugr Olaf the Man Olaf will not be there. He also talks about the ghost bard that helps you kill him(I forget his name) If we were given a basis under which we could assume that he was not the real Olaf I would consider that but it is presented to us that he is the one and true Olaf in both cases

[Big Boom Boom]

Originally posted by Maloy20:

He is presented around the idea that these two are the same being, if you do not kill the Draugr Olaf the Man Olaf will not be there. He also talks about the ghost bard that helps you kill him(I forget his name) If we were given a basis under which we could assume that he was not the real Olaf I would consider that but it is presented to us that he is the one and true Olaf in both cases

No, the Sovengarde Olaf will ALWAYS present. The Sovengarde Olaf also mentioned that he viewed the Bard as a honorable rival, unlike the Draugr Olaf's "Insolent Bard! Die". Their disposition toward the same bard is also different.

For all we know, the events of Olaf the One-Eyed and Numinex are all left to our imagination for how it happened. The book you found during the bard quest was largely unreadable, so it could be totally true that there is a Olaf-Numinex impostor, like Jagar Tharn and Uriel Septim VII.

[Maloy20]

That is quite a leap to make, and does not really provide a satisfactory answer. The point of this thread is to not just provide any answer but to provide one that fits smoothly into the Tamriel universe and Lore. An impostor is certainly possible, but still does not seem to provide a good answer for the problem at hand. Namely the number of Draugr and why they exist when the Game and even ElderScrollsWiki claims that they are simply Dragon worshippers who were buried with their respective priests.

[DarkAssault]

Could be a that they are cursed for serving the dragon priests and they area that they inhabit are tainted by the curse. If you are buried in these tombs it could spread to you. Or when you kill one the blue glowing eyes go away. They not may not die but fade and take over another body. Just a thought. Probably wrong but it could be an explanation.

[Rominvictus]

I just thought they were the Nord dead who didn't get into Sovengarde. Being Skyrim, home of the Nords, so a lot of dead Nords. They did stop spawning for me after the Main Quest, or was it the Dragon Priest Masks quest? I always wondered why they sometimes say a dragon priest name, not always connected to the tomb they are in. You guys seem to know more of the lore. A good question, would make interesting future content.

[Big Boom Boom]

Originally posted by Maloy20:

That is quite a leap to make, and does not really provide a satisfactory answer. The point of this thread is to not just provide any answer but to provide one that fits smoothly into the Tamriel universe and Lore. An impostor is certainly possible, but still does not seem to provide a good answer for the problem at hand. Namely the number of Draugr and why they exist when the Game and even ElderScrollsWiki claims that they are simply Dragon worshippers who were buried with their respective priests.

No, that is wrong. One thing you keep forgetting, the Lore we get are from books, and the books do not always tell the truth. It was SPECULATED that Draugr are undead Dragon worshipper who were burried along with Dragon Priest, it is NOT a matter of fact. Even Harkon who lived for millenia got a totally wrong prophecy, much less one simple mortal researcher who wrote a book about Draugr. Also the Tribunal were made of three SOB traitorous "gods" and they misled the Dunmer for millenia as well. Even Dagoth Ur motive is entirely open to different intepretation, he could have been a traitor or he is a loyal guy simply trying to take revenge for his friend Nevarar. There are too many things in TES lore that we DO NOT have a definitive answer, for instance:
Akaviri: Are they human, or the human Akaviri were simply slaves? Did the Dragon Vampire whatchamacallit eat all the human, or what?
Are the Eights (minus Talos) really Daedra Lords as suggested in Oblivion, or are they really "Gods"? If so is Mundus really Mundus, or just another Oblivion Plane?
The disappearance of the Dwemer? It was SPECULATED that it has something to do with Lorkhan Heart, but that is NOT guaranteed as fact. It could be anything.
The Snow Elves? It was theorised that they devolved through enslavement, poisoning, selective breeding by Dwemer etc. and even the last Snow Elf believe so, but we never got a concrete fact.
Are Tang Mo really flying kung fu monkey or is that entirely made up after a night of Norse mead?

[Big Boom Boom]

Also Olaf and Numinex: Olaf is not a Dragonborn, you would think the popular HIGH KING of Skyrim would be celebrated with the fact that he's a Dragonborn, but there were NEVER any mention of him being Dragonborn. If so, he could not really kill Numinex, as only the Dragonborn could kill a Dragon by absorbing its soul, thus preventing its resurrection. Incidentally, Numinex has never resurrected after the event in Dragonreach (its imprisonment). It does make sense if the Draugr Olaf could be Numinex possessing his or a fake's corpse.

[Oberon]

Originally posted by Big Boom Boom:

Are the Eights (minus Talos) really Daedra Lords as suggested in Oblivion, or are they really "Gods"? If so is Mundus really Mundus, or just another Oblivion Plane?

Actually there is a very, very thin line between Aedra and Daedric Prince; the Aedra gave up bits of themselves to make Mundus, and thus are incapable of manifesting within it. Even if they were just glorified Daedric Princes, that wouldn't mean they aren't Gods, especially since we've seen the kinds of things the Daedric Princes are capable of.

Originally posted by Big Boom Boom:

The disappearance of the Dwemer? It was SPECULATED that it has something to do with Lorkhan Heart, but that is NOT guaranteed as fact. It could be anything.

A quest for the College involves one Mage trying to recreate it, even using Keening, but with a heavily modified Soul Gem. A big flash of light later, and he is unmade. Also you can summon his messed-up ghost.

Originally posted by Big Boom Boom:

The Snow Elves? It was theorised that they devolved through enslavement, poisoning, selective breeding by Dwemer etc. and even the last Snow Elf believe so, but we never got a concrete fact.

There's no reason to not believe it was the Dwemer who mutated the Falmer, they've never actually posed that as an "Or was it?!" sort of situation.

Originally posted by Big Boom Boom:

Also Olaf and Numinex: Olaf is not a Dragonborn, you would think the popular HIGH KING of Skyrim would be celebrated with the fact that he's a Dragonborn, but there were NEVER any mention of him being Dragonborn. If so, he could not really kill Numinex, as only the Dragonborn could kill a Dragon by absorbing its soul, thus preventing its resurrection. Incidentally, Numinex has never resurrected after the event in Dragonreach (its imprisonment). It does make sense if the Draugr Olaf could be Numinex possessing his or a fake's corpse.

The story was that he defeated Numinex in battle and gained Numinex's loyalty, just like the player and Odahviing. As for killing a Dragon, well, anyone can do that with sufficient badassery, the Dragonborn is the only one who can permanently destroy a dragon and prevent them from being resurrected by, say, Alduin, or anyone who knows the Resurrection Shout like, say, Alduin.

[Master Machiavel]

Why do I keep finding sapphires and baskets on the corpses of various wildlife in the Rift? It is just one of the many mysteries that has confounded the scholars of Tamriel for many eras.