Few games have stood the test of time quite as well as Bethesda’s Skyrim. As is typically the case with Elder Scrolls games, it is crammed full of engaging quests, interesting NPCs and stunning visuals. What’s more, thanks to the efforts of the modding community, it is arguably still just as enthralling today as it was when it first released back in late 2011.
Surprisingly though, the game’s narrative is perhaps its weakest point, although it does do an excellent job of allowing players to make their own judgement when it comes to which of the game’s many factions are in the right. For as subjective as the morality of these warring sides is though, there can be no disputing that the last Dragonborn has plenty of blood on his hands.
10 He Enabled An Alcoholic
Alcoholism is a disease for which many believe abstinence is the only cure. It’s something that Brenuin is clearly having issues with and yet when the drunken beggar approaches him on the streets of Whiterun, the Dragonborn has no issues whatsoever with helping him to indulge his debilitating urges.
Not only does he give the man money with which he can buy more booze, but he also agrees to steal a somewhat expensive bottle of Argonian Ale from the Bannered Mare. While the Dragonborn arguably has no responsibility to help Brenuin salvage something from the wreckage of his miserable life, he does have a moral duty not to make matters worse.
9 He Sent An Innocent Man To Prison
Enabling an addict is bad enough, but framing an innocent man and condemning him to a life in jail in order to shutdown his business is on a whole other level. Not only does the Dragonborn do this without giving it a second thought, but he’s also the one responsible for coming up with the plan in the first place.
Sabjorn may not be the nicest of people, but, even in Tamriel, unpleasantness is not a crime. Poisoning the mead also puts the life of the Captain of the Guard at risk and condemns the people of Whiterun to a substandard mead. Honningbrew is objectively better than Black-Briar, after all; refilling the same amount of stamina whilst costing less and causing fewer side effects.
8 He Looted Graves
The Dragonborn shows a complete lack of respect for the living on countless occasions throughout Skyrim, but he’s also pretty disrespectful toward the dead as well. This can be seen in his willingness to rob graves and the lack of compassion that he shows when doing so.
While some of the people whose graves are looted have already gone on to become draugr, many are simply trying to enjoy their eternal slumber in peace. Instead, their final resting places are unceremoniously disturbed and their possessions – which they had wanted to take with them into the afterlife – are stolen by a no good thief.
7 He Melted Down Priceless Artifacts
Scattered throughout the world of Skyrim are a number of Dwemer artifacts; some of which are thousands of years old. Rather than put these ancient relics into a museum or even sell them to a collector in order to ensure their preservation, however, the Dragonborn instead opts to destroy them.
Many will point to the Dwemer race’s questionable past and may even argue that their legacy is one that doesn’t deserve to be preserved. Melting these trinkets down to obtain crafting materials is incredibly selfish though and prevents future generations from learning about the past; potentially increasing the chances of the past repeating itself once more.
6 He Helped A Child To Perform A Satanic Ritual
Aventus Aretino is but a child who has unfortunately been led astray by the allure of the Dark Brotherhood. During the aptly named “Innocence Lost” quest, the young orphan can be found chanting the Black Sacrament in an ill-advised attempt to contact them. Rather than a brotherhood assassin, however, it is the Dragonborn who ends up answering his prayers.
Aventus asks the Dragonborn to kill Grelod the Kind, who, as it turns out, is not actually that kind. With her out of the way, the orphans who once suffered under her care are spared from any future torment thanks to Constance Michel taking over at Honorhall. Aventus, on the other hand, vows to become an assassin; a life which brings with it only pain and death.
5 He Laid Siege To A City
The Stormcloaks are just one of many competing factions with whom the Dragonborn can side, although they are arguably one of the more sinister ones. Several of their quests – like the assault on Helgen – involve murdering innocent people, but none more so than the siege on Whiterun.
Despite his friendship with Balgruuf, the Dragonborn has very few qualms about invading the city and is ultimately the one responsible for forcing the Jarl to surrender. During the siege, the people of Whiterun are surrounded by death and destruction and their lives are forever changed even after the fighting comes to an end.
4 He Murdered An Emperor
The idea of an empire is one that often brings with it negative connotations, but there have been plenty of just and worthy Emperors throughout history. The Third Empire falls somewhere in the middle; far from perfect, but nowhere near as nefarious as it could be. What’s more, Titus Mede II really doesn’t seem like too bad a guy.
The Dragonborn learns this for himself after infiltrating Castle Dour and attempting to poison Titus’ food. Rather than fight back, the Emperor simply accepts his fate and allows the Dragonborn to end his life. In doing so, the latter plunges the realm into uncertainty and makes way for a more oppressive ruler to take power.
3 He Ate A Priest’s Flesh
Killing a man of the cloth is one thing, but to then feast on his flesh is really quite another. Only the most twisted of beings would even think about doing it and yet the Dragonborn does so simply to obtain a magical ring. Worse still, one of the main draws of this rings is that it allows him to regenerate health by devouring yet more of his unfortunate victims.
The Ring of Namira is obtained during the quest “The Taste of Death” after the Dragonborn kills and eats Brother Verulus. It is possible to kill the cannibalistic Eola instead and this is undoubtedly the better moral choice, but that the Dragonborn would even entertain the idea of eating a priest in the first place is perhaps bad enough.
2 He Murdered His Friends To Power Up A Sword
The idea of a blade that feeds off of the blood of its victims is nothing new. Such weapons crop up fairly regularly in Japanese mythology, although not even the legendary Demon Blade is as sinister as Skyrim‘s Ebony Blade. See, unlike other bloodthirsty blades, the Ebony Blade’s thirst can only be truly quenched by drinking the blood of its wielder’s allies.
In order to fully power up the blade, the Dragonborn needs to kill not one, but ten of his companions. There are plenty of potential victims to choose from, but, generally speaking, they are all good people. As such, the Dragonborn chooses to sacrifice not only the innocent, but also his own morality all to acquire a more powerful weapon.
1 He Nearly Eradicated An Entire Species
Although killing dragons is kind of his whole thing, there’s very little evidence to suggest that the winged beasts truly deserve to be slain. Granted, they often bring death and destruction wherever they go, but this pales into insignificance when compared with the damage caused by another of the game’s many species. Humanity.
Far more lives have been lost as a result of the ongoing conflict between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion than have to dragons; not to mention the environmental footprint of mankind’s existence. Ultimately, the dragons have every bit as much of a claim to Tamriel as anybody else and yet the Dragonborn strikes them down and eats their souls anyway; seemingly, just because he can.
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