Unbound

Before you start

• Start a new game. No other prerequisite exists, and the quest giver is automatic.
• The quest opens with almost no player control. Character creation is triggered when Hadvar asks you to identify yourself.
• On PC only, console commands are mentioned for emergency fixes. Avoid them unless you are truly stuck.

1. Ride into Helgen and reach the execution block

You start bound at the wrists in a carriage with Ralof, Lokir and Ulfric Stormcloak. Hadvar asks who you are, and that is where you create your character. You then watch the caravan pass General Tullius talking with the Thalmor emissary Elenwen. An Imperial Captain orders the prisoners off the carts and calls names, starting with Ulfric and then Ralof. Lokir runs, and archers shoot him every time. You are called next and made to lie at the block. There is nothing to control here beyond the character creation prompts, so wait for the scene to play out.

Checkpoint: Alduin, the dragon, attacks mid-execution. The quest proper begins, and the journal gives you the objective to make your way to the keep (stage 160).

2. Escape the burning village toward the keep

When control returns, follow Ralof into the nearby tower to get away from the fire. He leads you upstairs. Alduin smashes the wall, and you jump through the hole onto the roof of the inn. Cross to the far side of the inn and jump out of the window. Hadvar sees you running for shelter and calls you to follow him to Helgen Keep, so follow him through the burning village. You meet Ralof along the way. Keep close to your guide and do not sprint far ahead, because that can break the dialogue triggers described under troubleshooting.

Checkpoint: You reach the area where Hadvar and Ralof both call you to follow them toward two nearby entrances to the keep.

3. Choose Hadvar or Ralof

The journal marks the make-your-way objective complete and offers Enter the Keep with Hadvar or Ralof. Ralof takes the right-hand door and Hadvar the left. Your hands stay bound until you actually enter the keep with one of them. Pick based on the loot you want and the enemy type: Hadvar sends you against Stormcloaks, and Ralof sends you against Imperials. The physical path through the keep is the same either way. The choice does not stop you from completing either Civil War questline later.

Checkpoint: You enter the keep with your chosen companion and your bonds come off.

4. Get equipped (Hadvar route)

If you went with Hadvar, he cuts your bonds. The objective reads Find some equipment (stage 255). Take everything from the marked chest, not the one he walks to. The warden's chest holds an iron sword, Imperial light armor, Imperial light boots and a Helgen Keep key. Equip them. The next room has a few Stormcloaks to fight, so fight them with Hadvar.

Checkpoint: You are armed and armored, and the Stormcloaks in the next room are dead.

5. Get equipped (Ralof route)

If you went with Ralof, you enter a circular room containing Gunjar's body. The objective reads Loot Gunjar's body. You are freed and told to take his gear, which is an iron war axe, a Stormcloak cuirass and fur boots. Imperials approach from the left after a short wait, so kill them and take the key. Use it to unlock the door ahead. The sources are not fully consistent on the door mechanics. One says Ralof finds one door locked and one that only opens from the other side, and another says the key comes from one of the Imperials. No single source gives the full sequence, so check which doors are locked and which Imperial drops the key.

Checkpoint: You are armed and armored, the Imperials are dead, and the door ahead is open.

6. Loot as you go

This step is optional, but the quest summary points you to containers and bodies for weapons, armor and basic equipment. A furnished room has two opponents and a barrel with a few potions worth taking. Search containers and bodies before you move on, because the bridge later in the keep cuts off backtracking.

Checkpoint: Your inventory has some basic gear and potions, and the room's enemies are dead.

7. Torture chamber and the lockpick cage

You find the Torturer, an Imperial mage, fighting two Stormcloaks. What happens next depends on who you chose. Hadvar convinces the assistant to come with you. If you followed Ralof, the two Stormcloaks go with you. UESP says surviving allied soldiers or the assistant stay in the room, which conflicts with that. Do not count on a companion past this room. Search the knapsack in the middle of the room for lockpicks and a minor healing potion. One UESP-derived page counts four lockpicks, but StrategyWiki says the companion gives 12 lockpicks. That could be confused with the bow's 12 arrows, so treat the 12 as unverified. Pick the novice lock on the central cage. Inside are Spell Tome: Sparks, gold, and the dead mage's robe and hood. The armory at the back holds an iron shield and an iron mace.

Checkpoint: The cage is open and its contents are taken (optional lockpick objective, stage 390).

8. Lower the bridge (point of no return)

Before you use the lever, finish all looting and lockpicking in the keep. The torture room is the last place to do that. Pull the nearby lever to lower the bridge and cross it. Rubble destroys the bridge shortly afterward, so you cannot go back. This is the only hard lockout in the quest.

Checkpoint: You are across the bridge and it has collapsed behind you.

9. Frostbite spider cave

Five frostbite spiders wait in the gloom or drop from the ceiling. Three are around the room and two larger ones descend from holes as you enter. Keep moving during the fight to avoid their poison, and attack one spider at a time. Their venom damages you over time. If you struggle, shoot from sneak. Loot the corpses for frostbite venom, which you can apply to weapons.

Checkpoint: All five spiders are dead and you have collected any venom you want.

10. The bear and the exit

In the next chamber, by an underground stream, a bear is resting. UESP describes it as a uniquely weak bear. Your companion gives you a long bow and 12 arrows. You can sneak past it, which is what your companion advises. You can also kill it from sneak with the bow. If you fight, open with a sneak-attack arrow. The fight is not too hard with Hadvar or Ralof helping. Then follow your companion out through a crevice. Outside you see Alduin flying north.

Checkpoint: Seeing Alduin fly north completes the quest (stage 900). The journal says you have escaped your execution and the attack and are free to do as you see fit in Skyrim.

11. Head to Riverwood

After the quest ends, you are pointed toward Riverwood. Ralof names his sister Gerdur there, and Hadvar names his uncle Alvor. If you follow Ralof, a bandit and three wolves attack on the way. No matching note was found for Hadvar's route, so do not assume it is clear.

Checkpoint: You arrive in Riverwood and the next main quest, Before the Storm, becomes available.

Choices and things you can miss

• Hadvar versus Ralof: the path through the keep is the same. Hadvar means Stormcloak enemies and Imperial gear from the warden's chest. Ralof means Imperial enemies and Stormcloak gear from Gunjar's body.
• Faction impact: it does not stop you finishing either Civil War questline. The difference lies in the keep loot and the gift items in Riverwood.
• Riverwood gifts conflict between sources. One wiki says Alvor or Hod, and another says Alvor or Gerdur. After you become friendly with Alvor, you can use the replenishing iron and steel ingots at the Riverwood forge. StrategyWiki says Ralof gives earlier access to heavy armor.
• Unconfirmed: an old UESP talk-page post says leaving with one companion disables the other for the rest of the game. It is a 2012-era user note, and the main wiki pages do not state it. Another source says you can meet the other later in the Civil War. Treat it as unconfirmed.
• Bear: sneak past it, or open the fight with a sneak-attack arrow.
• Shortcut: one guide says you can leave Helgen very early. The first chance is when Alduin breaks open the tower. Jump onto the wing on your left, then the ledge around the tower, then the walkways that lead to the keep. You would miss the starting gear and keep loot this way.
• After you escape you can re-enter Helgen immediately. Entering the keep from the exit side means the bridge is already destroyed.

Rewards

• Access to Skyrim and various low-level items.
• Spell Tome: Sparks from the torture-room cage.
• Starting gear depends on your choice: the Hadvar warden's chest or Gunjar's gear for Ralof.
• The Unbound achievement is 10 points (Bronze) on the console scale.

Troubleshooting

• Alduin does not blast the tower wall: after following Ralof up the stairs the wall may stay intact. UESP's fix is the PC console command tcl, then moving through the wall to the destroyed house.
• Companion stuck or missing: running into Ralof before the keep can stop him appearing inside, which makes continuing impossible. Sprinting straight to the keep after meeting Hadvar can make Ralof argue without Hadvar there. On PS3, running far ahead past the skirmishes may skip later dialogue. Stay close and let fights finish.
• Frozen controls entering with Ralof: you may seem to jog in place with only menu and console keys working. No fix was found beyond reloading an earlier save, which is a suggestion rather than a confirmed fix.
• Cart or horse problems: the horse can sway in the air and stall the opening. On PC the carts may turn left too early, so you cannot leave the cart. The fan wiki gives no fix other than restarting the game.
• Hadvar missing from the opening scene: the quest still proceeds, and Hadvar reappears after you leave the inn. On PC, the console fix after getting off the cart is prid 0002bfa2 followed by moveto player.
• Companion goes to Embershard Mine after you escape: they may head there instead of the Guardian Stones and not move. Talking to them at the fork can prompt them to redirect. That comes from Grokipedia, a weaker source.
• Alduin does not fly over you after the cave: this is a listed bug, and the quest still finishes because stage 900 is the escape itself.
• Journal skips on PC only: you can advance with setstage MQ101 followed by the stage number. Avoid this unless you are truly stuck.

Release and platform notes

The cited wikis treat the original and Special Edition as one quest, and no evidence was found that the objectives or rewards differ between versions. In the Special Edition, leaving Helgen could trigger a flood of Creation Club quests. Official Special Edition patch 1.6 fixes this. UESP says the Anniversary update makes these quests start more naturally through gameplay. A Bethesda staffer's statement, quoted on a UESP talk page, says Creation Club content no longer pops up a quest on leaving Helgen. Some bugs are tagged to specific platforms on the Fandom page, such as the fast-travel-to-Helgen bug on PC, 360 and PS3. Fandom says it does not affect the quest. The console commands are PC only. The Unofficial Skyrim Patch fixes Tullius's cut-off line in v2.0.9 and another bug in v1.2.7.