What Happens When Lydia Dies in Skyrim

If Lydia tragically falls in battle while accompanying you as a follower, there is unfortunately no way to permanently revive your faithful housecarl in Skyrim. Necromantic magic can temporarily reanimate her corpse to fight at your side again, but the effect lasts mere minutes before she returns to lifeless ashes.

Locating Lydia‘s Body in Whiterun

If Lydia is slain while following you, her body will be transported back to Whiterun where she will rest in one of the stone crypts lining the underground Hall of the Dead beneath the Temple of Arkay. Specifically, you can find her on the south wall in either crypt #3 or #4, on the left side of the hall.

Temporarily Resurrecting Your Fallen Housecarl

While no magic can breathe true life back into Lydia‘s body if she‘s killed, the dark art of necromancy does offer a temporary solution for adventurers missing their favorite pack mule.

The Raise Zombie spell, classified in Skyrim‘s spell tome system as a master-level conjuration, will supernaturally animate Lydia‘s dead body to fight alongside you once more. However, the unholy effect only persists for a handful of minutes before the reanimated corpse collapses lifelessly back into ash.

The spell can be purchased from conjuration skill trainers once you meet the requirements. But be warned – repeatedly exploiting your housecarl‘s corpse for temporary battle thralls may draw unwanted attention from Whiterun‘s guards and outraged citizens.

Getting Lydia Back as Your Companion

If you wish to adventure with your loyal Lydia again after her untimely death, a bit of manipulation may be necessary depending on your progress in Skyrim.

Your first step will be finding a new companion by completing their side quest. Popular choices include warriors like Aela, magic-users like Illia, or more exotic picks like guild recruits or DLC characters. Spend some time building rapport and traveling with your replacement follower.

Then when you wish Lydia to accompany you again, return to Dragonsreach in Whiterun and speak with her. If done correctly she should agree to rejoin you on your travels throughout Skyrim despite her recent (albeit temporary) demise.

Note that some players report needing to sleep or fast travel elsewhere before Lydia appears at their side after requesting her company again. Console command tricks may also be required in rare stubborn cases following her death and replacement by another follower.

Why Choose Lydia Again

Despite Lydia‘s decidedly fatal flaw – her expendable mortality – many Dragonborn heroes still prefer the stalwart Whiterun native over other Skyrim companions for adventure. Why bring Lydia back from beyond when so many options exist?

Reasons include her easy availability early in the main quest line, extensive carry weight capacity, straightforward melee fighting style, and dry sarcastic quips contrasting the Dragonborn‘s likely theatrics.

Not to mention the intrinsic loyalty Lydia demonstrates when following you unto death itself…however short-lived that demise may be thanks to magic.

Making Lydia Essential for True Immortality

Hardcore Lydia devotees unsatisfied with her easily-ended life may be pleased to learn of a legitimate way to bestow true immortality upon our favorite Housecarl: essential status.

By classifying Lydia as an essential NPC rather than a standard killable citizen, she effectively becomes invincible – no form of damage internal or external can reduce her health enough to die.

PC players can achieve this via the resurrect console command while targeting Lydia:

setessential 000A2C8E 1

This will flag her essential status to "on", locking her health at 1HP even after taking fatal blows. However, exercise caution when considering this drastic measure.

So think carefully before asking the divines to grant your housecarl undying supernatural life. The citizenry of Skyrim may not take kindly to an invincible Whiterun guard rampaging through town or causing disruptions that break the mystical Dragonborn adventure.