Almy

Thanks very much. My wife got it for me for Christmas and won't let me open it early so I've had plenty of time to plan :).

I'm thinking I'll wait for a bit with my first character before messing with dragons. I've searched a bit and it looks like I can just avoid talking to Jarl and not have to worry with dragons until I'm ready. Does that mean I would still be safe to explore Whiterun and do other quests there without triggering dragons?

What a shame. This is an area I really hoped they would fix in Skyrim. Not a deal breaker, but still an annoyance for me when I enjoy exploring.

Haha, excellent!