Fire Wyrm

The Fire Wyrm is a fiery spectral serpent that rises from enemies killed by Fire Breath once the Dragonborn has chosen the Dragonborn Flame power.

The Fire Wyrm is not a creature you hunt but one you create. In the Dragonborn expansion, reading the Black Book Epistolary Acumen lets you pick one of several powers, and one of them is Dragonborn Flame. With it, foes who die while burning from your Fire Breath shout rise again as a blazing, serpent-like spirit that fights on your side.

Think of it as the hot-tempered cousin of the Ice Wraith: it moves and fights the same way, only with flames instead of frost. Its head is modelled on a spectral Frost Dragon, which gives it a suitably draconic look for a summon born from a Thu’um.

How to get it

  • Find and read Black Book: Epistolary Acumen and choose the Dragonborn Flame power when offered.
  • Shout Fire Breath at enemies. Any target that dies while still taking burn damage from the shout produces a wyrm, even if the killing blow came from something else.
  • Several wyrms can be raised and fight in the same battle.

Behaviour and lifespan

A Fire Wyrm lasts 60 seconds. When its time runs out, or when it is killed, it explodes, and the blast hurts everything nearby, including the Dragonborn. It can also cross water thanks to a built-in waterwalking effect. When no enemies are left, a wyrm may simply hover where it is or drift into a wall until it expires.

Notes

  • The wyrm is not boosted by the Atromancy or Necromancy perks in Conjuration, since it comes from a shout and not a conjuration spell.
  • With level 11 and 316 health it is a modest helper on its own; its strength lies in numbers and in the parting explosion.

Abilities & attacks

  • Fire Breath – a stream of flame at close range
  • Fireball
  • Waterwalking
  • Explodes on death or after 60 seconds, damaging everything nearby

How to beat it

Open fights with Fire Breath on groups so that several enemies die burning and leave several wyrms behind. Step back when a wyrm is about to expire or is close to death, because its explosion also hurts you and your followers. Frost-using enemies will burn through a wyrm quickly, so use it against foes that rely on fire or plain weapons.

Loot & harvestables

Ingredients and items it drops

Where to find it

Also encountered in

Quests featuring this creature

Characters connected to it

More creatures like this

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Undead
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Dragon
Soul: None
Elder Dragons are bronze, black-spotted dragons that breathe either fire or frost and hit far harder than the common dragon types.
Spirit
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Sources checked: Elder Scrolls Fandom wiki (creature article) + Skyrim/DLC game files (NPC records)