Riverwood

The small logging village built along the banks of the White River and part of Whiterun Hold is the first settlement the Dragonborn is directed to after escaping from Helgen. According to one of the books in Oblivion, Riverwood is a small outpost for the Alchemyrial Army.

The player can participate in the local economy by working on various jobs for some of the residents such as chopping wood. The player can also damage the economy by sabotaging a logging building during a quest.

Most of the jobs the player sees NPCs doing in Riverwood, the player can do as well, which can be helpful for earning money. For example the player can mill logs at the mill, chop wood, and smith armor and weapons at Alvor's forge.

There are several "tutorial" quests available to the player, in which Alvor teaches you how to craft and improve weapons and armor. Orgnar at the Sleeping Giant Inn can also tutor the player in Alchemy.

It is possible for the village to be supplied with a trio of Whiterun Guards as well as a bed and campfire at the southwest entrance if the player completes the related quest. The village is defenseless otherwise, lacking any major defensive fortifications or man power. However, crimes do not go without punishment and the citizens will attack you should there be no guards available. The villagers will accept a yield but a bounty will be added to Whiterun and they will refuse to yield if more crimes are committed.

Inns
(1) Sleeping Giant Inn. Run by Orgnar and Delphine.

Shops
(2) Riverwood Trader. Owned by Lucan Valerius.

(3) Blacksmith - Run by Alvor.

Houses
(3) Alvor and Sigrid's House

(4) Faendal's House

(5) Hod and Gerdur's House

(6) Sven and Hilde's House

Other
Lumber Mill - Gerdur, Faendal, and Hod operate the mill.

Guard Camp - Guards' sleeping place

The river next to Riverwood also has lots of Salmon and also leads down to Whiterun. You can make food items out of salmon and make a pretty septim.

Characters

 * There are a total of 16 people in Riverwood.
 * Alvor - Blacksmith who works and lives at the local Smithy. Buys/Sells weapons and armour.
 * Camilla Valerius- The sister of Lucan Valerius. Both Sven and Faendal are in love with her.
 * Delphine - She and her friend Orgnar run the Sleeping Giant Inn. She is also secretly a Blade.
 * Dorthe - The daughter of Alvor the blacksmith.
 * Embry - A local drunk who resides in Riverwood. He is mostly seen around Riverwood or at the Sleeping Giant Inn.
 * Faendal - A local Wood Elf archer who works at the mill and also has a crush on Camilla Valerius with Sven.
 * Frodnar - A young boy who hangs around with his dog called Stump. Son of Hod and Gerdur. He is a prankster.
 * Gerdur - Runs the mill along with Hod. Descendant of the Founders of Riverwood. She is Ralof's sister.
 * Hadvar - An imperial soldier and nephew of Alvor.
 * Hilde - The mother of Sven. She claims that she has seen a dragon, but nobody believes her.
 * Hod - Runs the mill along with Gerdur, and will buy firewood.
 * Lucan Valerius - Lucan owns the Riverwood Trader. He is also the brother of Camilla Valerius.
 * Orgnar - He and his friend Delphine own the Sleeping Giant Inn.
 * Ralof - Is a member of the Stormcloaks, who resides at the home of his sister Gerdur and her husband Hod.
 * Sigrid - The wife of Alvor the blacksmith.
 * Sven - The son of Hilde and the local Bard of Riverwood. He and Faendal have a crush on Camilla Valerius.
 * Whiterun Guard - 3 Whiterun Guards will be assigned to Riverwood if the player completes the Before the Storm quest. One will patrol the north gate, one will patrol the south gate, while the third patrols the town itself (although generally hanging around the vicinity of the south gate). If the Dragonborn sides with the Stormcloaks and has completed Battle For Whiterun, these Guards will still remain but will be replaced with Stormcloak Soldiers over time.

Nearby Points of Interest

 * Anise's Cabin
 * Embershard Mine
 * Guardian Stones
 * A hunter's camp nearby may prove useful for low-level characters, as the hunter can be killed or pickpocketed. His camp holds some useful items, like a Novice-Locked Chest with randomly generated loot.
 * Bleak Falls Barrow
 * Nearby Dragon location

Trivia

 * On some nights, it is possible to see a thief trying to lockpick the Riverwood Trader's Shop, though they are often found and attacked by the guards.
 * If the Golden Claw is given back to Lucan, there is a chance that two thieves will appear and attempt to steal it back. If the thieves are killed, Lucan will thank the player.
 * Dragons can enter Riverwood and may kill citizens and guards.

Bugs

 * There is a bug when Delphine, Alvor, Sigrid, Gerdur and Faendal attack you for no reason. There is no current bug fix. Additionally, Alvor has roughly 3/4 health.
 * Upon entering the Riverwood Trader's Shop, there can be a thief walking around inside it with Lucan still awake.
 * The dog Stump will run into Alvor's house if a dragon attacks and will not come out. Consequently, this causes his owner Frodnar, Gerdur and Hod's child, to wait in the middle of the street for Stump to follow but there's no Stump. The only way to fix this is to reload a previous save.
 * One instance has it to where all of the dead people never disappear. If someone is while level 2 and returns to Riverwood at level 50,the NPC who was killed will remain where he/she was killed.
 * Hod never leaves his house, regardless of time of day. This is apparently triggered on the player's first visit to the town, and lasts for the rest of the game.
 * A possible solution for this is to open the console, clicking Hod, then typing  then   directly after. In many cases, this resets the character's AI.


 * It is possible that with the latest patch, everyone in Riverwood will act as if Frenzy was cast upon them.