The Skeletal Dragon is a necromantic oddity among Skyrim’s dragons: nothing but bone, without a scrap of skin, muscle or flesh. You meet it once, deep inside Labyrinthian, as the final guard on the road to the Staff of Magnus. Having lost everything else, it has also lost the ability to fly.
Where to find it
It appears during the College of Winterhold quest The Staff of Magnus, in a huge chamber of Labyrinthian in Hjaalmarch. It does not fight alone: four to eight skeletons stand with it. There is no other regular encounter with this creature.
What makes it different
- No flight – a script in the game files keeps it on the ground, since its wings are of no real use.
- No soul – unlike other dragons it has no dragon soul for you to absorb.
- No scales – it drops neither dragon scales nor heartscales.
- Lots of bone – it can leave up to six dragon bones; apart from Paarthurnax, no other dragon gives that many at once.
- Lower health – its Health pool is smaller than that of the other dragon types.
Notes
The Bend Will shout from Dragonborn cannot be used to ride it. Its infobox lists Fire Breath, Frost Breath and Unrelenting Force, while the encounter description says it uses Frost Breath in Labyrinthian – so expect cold. Compare it with the Blood Dragon or Frost Dragon you meet in the open world: those take to the air, this one has to come to you on foot.
