


Unlike Oblivion, it is not possible to tell whether an NPC is essential without attempting to kill them or by using the level 100 Pickpocket perk Perfect Touch, which allows the player to remove equipped items in the case of essential NPCs, however, the player will not be able to use this perk on them. In effect, this means they cannot be killed under any condition (unlike protected NPCs, who can be killed normally by the player, but not by others), and when their health bar fully depletes, they will merely fall into a state of recovery for a short time before standing back up with full health.

There are several NPCs in Skyrim who at some point during gameplay are essential.
