To kill or not to kill (MQ spoilers!!)

[JJKG]

All ye who have not ventured into the main quest, turn back now!


Okay, so I've just had a little tussle with Alduin, and Esbern has told me that I need to go and talk to the Jarl of Whiterun. My issue is that He also said that I should kill Paarthurnax. What does everyone think? Does he deserve to be slain? He seems like a reformed character to me, but I'm wondering if he should pay for his sins.

[Biggsydaboss]

Spoiler:

I killed him because of my affiliation with the Blades

[niels1313]

Paarthurnax was a badass, he was the right hand of alduin, but is the authour of 'the way of the voice'. so he was bad and is now different.
it is up to you if you think, he desurves to die by acient crimes. or be a example for other dragons

[Puggles]

Yeah, they keep banging on about it even after you defeat Alduin. I like Paarthurnax and his big spikey grin so I didn't kill him. Esbern and Delphine are stuck up and I'm not braining old man Paarthurnax when they won't even elaborate on what crimes he committed.

[Snoweater]

i didn't kill him, becouse Graybeards reasonably explained why i shouldn't kill him.

And becouse of the Esbern... 'Stop bein so glitchy, and perhaps you'll be able to oder a dragonkill.'

[ANDREWS85]

I've been to the Throat of the World several time to kill him, but just couldn't do it. I've only completed the MQ with my Male Nord Warrior who is "the good guy" and I can't bring myself to kill him even if he committed crimes in the past. I recruited 3 new Blades and now I can't do anything with them further until I end Paarthurnax's life. I really don't know if I am going to do it or not.

[Wolfie]

I've done bothe, put it this way, if your guy is a deeds can erase past deeds for deeds he did now, the he should live, if not he should die.

Would you forgive hilter if he thruned in to a regual saint?

thats asicly what he did, mass murder of a peprol for not being dragons.

[Grove-of-Hares]

I'd have to agree with Wolfie to a degree. Although I wouldn't quite equate him with Hitler himself.

I see Paarthurnax as the parallel to, say, a high ranking Nazi official who helped to massacre thousands of humans during World War II. Many of those Third Reich officials went to grow old in places like Argentina, and were subsequently hunted down over the years following the war. Even those who weren't knee-deep in innocent blood were taunted by reporters in the 70s and 80s.

It all boils down to whether you, with no direct, personal relationship to these men, care to sentence them as they live a simple life far from the miseries of the past.

[Squiver]

I honestly saw no moral dilemma when it was presented to me. Before I had done the quest, I had accidentally partially spoiled it for myself by finding out, via these forums, that there is the moral dilemma as to whether or not to kill Paarthurnax at the end. I had assumed he would do something like take up Alduin's mantle and go rogue himself, or crave power, or something of the like.

When I got to that part of the quest, I could scarcely believe that was the moral dilemma. I couldn't think of one good reason to kill him. He, in his time, did what every other dragon that had ever existed prior did, which was follow Alduin and wreck things. Then he saved the world. Esbern and Delphine could hardly give me a reason to kill him other than "He's a dragon and we kill dragons."

I didn't kill him, and I never will.

[RedDeadFred]

I look at it this way, without Paarthunax's help, I would not have been able to save the world. He may have been evil in the past but he saw the error of his ways sought to correct the mistakes he's made. I think he succeeded in that.
I couldn't even bring myself to kill him with my evil character who slaughters everyone.

[Grove-of-Hares]

My current Redguard is fairly neutral, and I still agree about the futility of killing him over such a distant issue.

Even if you believe in hunting down those who committed atrocities in the past, you have to think about the fact that what Paarthurnax did occurred so many years ago. The only way Esbern can even gripe about it is because he caught up on some history. How can you feel animosity towards him if you can't even experience the hatred those humans during that time did?

[SirMonz]

I didn't kill him, and I never will.

Me either, I'm not a fan of Delphine and Esbern anyways.

[Mucro]

Why would I kill Brothuurnax? To be honest, I stick a blade in Delphine's back. The blades have no honour.

[SAMIAM]

Brothuurnax redeemed his soul by helping humans, therefore why kill him? Delphine and Esbern are implying Alduins logic of killing him just because he's a dragon. Plus Max Sadow annoys me (Voice actor for Esbern) the voice actor for Argenir aka General Chang from star trek is more bad ass anyway I dont want to [&@%!] him off by killing his master.

[Puggles]

Let's be honest, there are quite few [&@%!] in Skyrim and probably always have been. So what if Paarthurnax may have killed a few thousand Foresworn here and there once upon a time? - that's absolutely totally cool with me.

[Wolfie]

Let's be honest, there are quite few [&@%!] in Skyrim and probably always have been. So what if Paarthurnax may have killed a few thousand Foresworn here and there once upon a time? - that's absolutely totally cool with me.

its not forsworn, its all types of humanoids,

beast, mre, man.
and we are talking bilions

[Grove-of-Hares]

The Dovahkiin killing Paathurnax would be like a 20 year old Jew in 2012 taking revenge on the modern day lineage of an Egyptian pharaoh who enslaved his ancestors. It was so far in the past, I doubt anyone would realistically feel the urge to "punish" him.

BUT, it is a game, so you can feel any way you deem the character to feel.

[Wolfie]

The Dovahkiin killing Paathurnax would be like a 20 year old Jew in 2012 taking revenge on the modern day lineage of an Egyptian pharaoh who enslaved his ancestors. It was so far in the past, I doubt anyone would realistically feel the urge to "punish" him.

BUT, it is a game, so you can feel any way you deem the character to feel.

No, it would be like if a thing that had comminted mass gencide on 10 races turned good ad was still alive.

since there is no blood line at work.

[Puggles]

beast, mre, man.
and we are talking bilions

bit like the Dovahkiin then

[Grove-of-Hares]

No, it would be like if a thing that had comminted mass gencide on 10 races turned good ad was still alive.

since there is no blood line at work.

Yes, you're right, but what I meant was Esbern's or the Dovahkiin's feelings toward that entity. For them to feel the urge to kill something even though they haven't felt the horrors which happened during that period of time in which they occurred. Hence why I brought up the Jewish youth, because he hadn't felt any true rage that would have been experienced by the Jews who lived during said Pharaoh's time.

I suppose the player could arguably feel that urge, having his special soul and whatnot, but Esbern...no.

[Wolfie]

Yes, you're right, but what I meant was Esbern's or the Dovahkiin's feelings toward that entity. For them to feel the urge to kill something even though they haven't felt the horrors which happened during that period of time in which they occurred. Hence why I brought up the Jewish youth, because he hadn't felt any true rage that would have been experienced by the Jews who lived during said Pharaoh's time.

I suppose the player could arguably feel that urge, having his special soul and whatnot, but Esbern...no.

So if Hitler magicly came alive today its okay for him to be aroud? most had nothing to do with him at all, they can still resent him
if the -enter infmaous killar- came back just becuse we where not alive then means we cant feel for those pepole?
more so whe the blades have a sense of family in their ranks?

Small crimes are one thing, I dont think you relize what tyep of thigs he did

[Mucro]

Billions? I seriously doubt there were billions.

[Wolfie]

Billions? I seriously doubt there were billions.

You do relizse all of tamreal was under dragons contorl and almost all humaniods rebeled right?

[Grove-of-Hares]

Hitler wouldn't be okay, because what he did happened less than one hundred years ago. We can't really compare a modern day figure to an ancient one (which made my earlier example so coarse, sorry). What Hitler did is still incredibly relevant to those who lived during World War II and are still alive today. His actions will never be justified, but they wouldn't always be remember by everyone hundreds or thousands of years later to the point where people hate him as strongly as the Jews who died by his political power.

Other than beings which are very old or immortal, I'm not sure how many people even know who Paarthurnax is. I'm not justifying his actions, but how many of those in Skyrim would truly rage at him?

If you want to role-play some sense of Blade honor, like the raging Esbern, to the point where you feel you were apart of those days long past, then you can.

[Wolfie]

Hitler wouldn't be okay, because what he did happened less than one hundred years ago. We can't really compare a modern day figure to an ancient one (which made my earlier example so coarse, sorry). What Hitler did is still incredibly relevant to those who lived during World War II and are still alive today. His actions will never be justified, but they wouldn't always be remember by everyone hundreds or thousands of years later to the point where people hate him as strongly as the Jews who died by his political power.

Other than beings which are very old or immortal, I'm not sure how many people even know who Paarthurnax is. I'm not justifying his actions, but how many of those in Skyrim would truly rage at him?

If you want to role-play some sense of Blade honor, like the raging Esbern, to the point where you feel you were apart of those days long past, then you can.

So in other words if no one around feels the pain of what he did simply cause he lives so long he can go on killing spress as ling as he wants as long as it was logn enough for no one to remember?

I'm not saying killing him is right, but those saying no reasson to kill him...