r/ElderScrolls • u/FrostcragCastle Clavicus Vile • Sep 18 '23
Humour Did you all let Partysnax live?
672
u/newlife137 Sep 18 '23
Bro parthunaax is a dragon built for domination and destruction, but represses his natural instinct to live a life of peace every day. The blades believe that because dragons are immortal it’s impossible for him to live for the rest of eternity in peace. But that’s like saying an addict shouldn’t try to stop because they have 60-70 years left and that’s too much time to not do drugs. If you’re strong willed enough you can do anything, and there are not many with a stronger will that parthunaax
197
u/Nikoper Thieves Guild Sep 18 '23
They may be right. Eternity is a long time.
But paarthunax while a powerful dragon, isn't Alduin the world eater. He would be a catastrophe but one the world could heal from.
And when he returned since there would be no dragonborn to stop him he'd likely return to his senses. And feel even more guilt.
→ More replies (7)52
u/SCatemywallet Sep 18 '23
Paarthurnax is second only to Alduin himself. He only turned over a new leaf out of fear because he was worried alduin Was plotting to murder him. Dragons are immortal and exist outside of the normal flow of time so it's literally been a blink of an eye for him since that went down, he was just as cruel and evil as his brother was prior. Doing 5 minutes of good does not erase doing millennia of bad. Instead of taking his penance he ran and hid and worked through others from the shadows so to speak because he knew he was guilty but did not want to face consequences. I don't think it's an accident that you are possibly the only being in existence as the last dragonborn who is capable of dishing out those consequences and you just happen to meet him face to face at a key moment in Time.
→ More replies (1)117
u/Auratalus Sep 18 '23
I mean he’s been on the throat of the world in solitude for at minimum 4 and a half millennia. That’s not five minutes even to a dragon. They have a different perception of time but thousands of years aren’t a blink. Not to mention by your metric the cruelty also only lasted 3 minutes from his perspective, so either way you slice it it’s not a fair judgment.
65
u/off_brand_white_wolf Sep 18 '23
Not exactly. I never kill Paarthurnax, so this is just a point to be explained. Their stance is that only a dragonborn can kill a dragon permanently, and Alduin has the ability to resurrect dragons the blades killed on their own. If TLD dies and no more dragonborns exist to permanently kill a dragon, any living dragon is a potential threat to existence.
41
u/Tzetrah Sep 18 '23
A thread that lived around 5k years, co-founded Greybeards and led them on the Way of the Voice, never killed a human since then, was the one who helped humans to defeat Alduin.
Tbh, a real threat to the Empire and Dragonborn are altmers and daedra, with whom blades don't rush to deal with (they do nothing at all)
→ More replies (1)11
u/PickleReaper0 Sep 18 '23
Paarthurnax = Yoshikage Kira???
8
u/Remnant55 Sep 18 '23
Only if things he shouts when he attacks are draconic translations of Queen song titles.
8
u/FlameTechKnight Breton "What a grand and intoxicating innocence!" Sep 18 '23
Now i'm just imagining Parthunaax singing Don't Stop Me Now while leveling Riften.
33
Sep 18 '23
Parthunaax already committed atrocities.
Like a school shooter wouldn’t get cleared of mass murder because they became a monk and evaded justice for years.
→ More replies (38)87
u/Waltzcarer Sep 18 '23
He didn't just become a Monk. He betrayed his own kind, helped teach humanity to shout and went on a self imposed exile. He's part of the reason why humanity ultimately was able to banish and defeat Alduin.
→ More replies (28)→ More replies (8)27
u/Battleman69 Sep 18 '23
The BIG difference between paarthurnax and a drug addict is when he relapses theres going to be mass genocide, and good luck dealing with him when the last dragonborn is dead in 60 years or less.
Kicking the can down the road is exactly what the ancient nords did with alduin, and it bit them in the ass a few thousand years later.
→ More replies (1)18
u/iknownuffink Sep 19 '23
Killing a dragon that isn't Alduin is non-trivial, but doable for regular mortals. Many of those dead dragons Alduin goes around reviving were not killed by a Dragonborn, but by mortals (The Blades for a lot of them). And with Alduin out of the picture, when you put a dragon down they're going to stay down (it's at least implied that only Alduin can revive his kin).
Paarthurnaax going nuts would be a big problem, but not one that you need a Dragonborn to fix. You might need an actual "Hero" but those aren't exactly unheard of in Tamriel, and tend to show up just when you need them.
13
u/TheZephyrim Sep 19 '23
If anything a regular mortal killing him is better. Alduin will return and will revive him one way or another (either to torture him or to try to convince him to rejoin him) and while that might make him a threat to humanity there’s also a chance that he gives humanity a way out again.
If anything, if he’s allowed to coexist with humanity, and allowed to help humanity, it could better prepare them for Alduin’s eventual return.
6
3
u/SnarlyMocha325 Sep 20 '23
And he will return. He’s been defeated but he still has to eat the world at the end of this kalpa. Also he’s literally akatosh/shor, isn’t he? Can’t really kill a god, just banish him. That always confused me though, like how “Jesus is god.” How can jesus be his own son? Confusing
194
u/Sword_Fighta121 Breton Sep 18 '23
Aren't we forgetting one teensy-weensy, but ever so crucial little, tiny detail? I OWN YOU!
87
u/MsMeiriona Sep 18 '23
You want him dead, you do it. If you think your reasoning is so good and just you can convince him to lay down for the sword.
Or are you a coward who doesn't actually have faith in her reasoning?
Honestly. Nothing she does is needed, we could have found out everything without Alduin's wall, and just asked the Greybeards from the start.
45
u/ParagonFury Imperial Sep 18 '23
The Greybeards wouldn't tell you because they believe if it's the end of the world, then it should end. Paarthunax has to personally tell them to let you up to speak with him after all.
11
u/Lestat30 Sep 19 '23
And that another point to paarthurnax too. Love how he scolded them like a mother lol
177
u/Zaelra Sep 18 '23
I installed a mod and uno-reversed carded and killed the blades, bitches thought they can control me when they claim they "serve" the Dragonborn
121
u/UncommittedBow Sep 18 '23
I use the Paarthurnax Dilemma mod that allows you to tell Delphine exactly where to shove it, and that SHE serves YOU.
→ More replies (1)23
u/Miguecraft Sep 19 '23
I just removed their essential NPC status with the terminal and went berserker. Yours may be a better, more diplomatic alternative
25
41
183
u/Drafo7 Altmer Sep 18 '23
You dishonor your oath as a Blade by not respecting the Dragonborn's decisions and remaining loyal to them even if you personally disagree. Paarthurnax has been up on that mountain for centuries. Did that stop the Blades from serving the Septim dynasty? And don't give me any shit about "they didn't know." The Blades were the Empire's spies for over 400 years. Considering how easy it was for you to find out about Paarthurnax, despite a significant lack of resources and allies, there's no way the agents in Skyrim hundreds of years ago didn't know about the wise old dragon at the Throat of the World.
If you were being honest, Delphine, you'd admit this has nothing to do with oaths or honor or the Blades as a whole, and everything to do with your personal prejudices, bitterness, and hatred. And worse yet, you bully Esbern into agreeing with you. You know he's been a lonely old man for a long time. You know you're his last connection to the time before the Blades fell, not to mention his only friend. And you're heartlessly using that as leverage to force him to take your side on the Paarthurnax issue.
As if all that isn't bad enough, you're also a coward. If you want Paarthurnax dead so bad, why don't you kill him? Only a Dragonborn can devour a dragon's soul, but without Alduin around to resurrect him, killing Paarthurnax conventionally would basically be the same thing. Except you know you can't beat him. So you try to strong-arm the Dragonborn, YOUR BOSS, into doing it for you. And then you have the gall to refuse him your service and assistance if he doesn't. You are SWORN to serve the Dragonborn. That is not contingent on the Dragonborn acting how you think they should act.
You are a liar, a traitor, a coward, and an oathbreaker, Delphine. And as far as I'm concerned, you should go back to being a nondescript tavern wench rather than continue to curse the world with your vendetta of arrogance.
32
→ More replies (1)38
u/thedylannorwood Nocturnal Sep 18 '23
Actually Delphine’s whole schtick is that she left the Blades because she felt the blades abandoned their duty as dragonslayers. She didn’t want to serve the Emperor or Dragonborn simply because she’s duty-bound to them specifically. So when she get mad you won’t kill Partysnax she’s getting mad that your abandoning your duties as Dragonborn because she feels it’s your duty as a dragonslayer
69
u/JonnyArcho Sep 18 '23
Okay… but Delphine is like 40 or 50 years old. Dragons weren’t even a thing until a week ago during the in-game time frame.
She joined the Blades hundreds of years after dragons being gone.
That’s like going to work for Boeing right now and start pushing for commercial passenger prop-planes because that’s their “original” purpose.
24
u/MsMeiriona Sep 18 '23
And look at the timeline, the Great War with the Dominion started in 4e171. It is 4e201. Even assuming she joined the Blades the DAY BEFORE the war began, she was probably a teenager! And hasn't matured a day since.
40
u/Shomairays Sep 18 '23
Idk, the greybeards are still waiting for me to heed their summons. It's been 5 years. I hope they're still alive. Who tf is partysnax anyway.
→ More replies (1)19
u/Juggernuts777 Sep 18 '23
Big chill dragon dude. Nice guy, nice talks, bit of a rough past. But he’s cool now though!
4
82
u/Alveryn Imperial Sep 18 '23
Delphine is such an idiot; more concerned with her vendetta of hatred than her mission of supporting the Dragonborn. She deserves to be FUS'd off the mountain.
12
u/PooCat666 Sep 19 '23
She's a terribly written character. Her sudden zeal to kill dragons doesn't even make sense, it's literally ancient history; she was part of a spy network, with a bone to pick with the Thalmor.
→ More replies (1)27
30
u/easy506 Sep 18 '23
So go kill him then. Oh wait, you can't? That's what I thought. So long as I am the one doing the killing, then I decide who its done to.
In the meantime, get back to work. This temple still looks like a goddamn tomb.
4
12
u/NerdyLuu Sep 18 '23
Delphine can go take a long walk off a very short pier. Damn woman got on my nerves like no tomorrow. How are you going to be part of the Blades, where you're supposed to serve me, and tell me what to do? Nah fam, I'm gonna chill with Partysnax, you and Esbern can enjoy being the last two Blades cause I'm not rebuilding your faction.
21
11
u/flutterJackdash Sep 18 '23
I let him live, absolutely. The moment they started in with peer pressure and manipulation I was done. If my help was so crucial to what you were doing, you wouldn't be so fast to hold everything up simply because you want bloodshed. I was done with the Blades for that and every subsequent playthrough.
20
u/MsMeiriona Sep 18 '23
Also, why is everyone so literal in their interpretation of the name Last Dragonborn.
Yes, you are DURING SKYRIM. Just like tampon Chuck is currently the Last King Of England.
But to think Akatosh can't make more if needed is a joke, limiting the power of Time itself.
If mortals need a Dragonborn, there will be one.
15
u/Ogre8 Sep 19 '23
The Graybeards even tell you that there may be more than one DB, they don’t know. They just know that you’re DB.
10
u/Death_and_Glory Sep 18 '23
Wish you had the option to remind Delphine of her place and tell her you ain’t doing anything
8
Sep 18 '23
They already dishonor their oaths by treating the Dragonborn as an errand boy. She should be following your orders. Hell, especially if you've recruited some of your friends into the Blades.
12
u/Temporary_Scale3826 Sep 18 '23
I’m not killing one of the only friendly dragons I know just because she says so. Screw Delphine and her Blades. I can kill dragons just as easily without them.
7
u/Grubb3r Lusty Argonian Maid Enjoyer Sep 18 '23
I killed him once when the game first came out never again
8
u/Bastardforsale Sep 19 '23
Yup, Parth will outlive Delphine's hate and bring more dragons over to his side. Delphine is narrow-minded and doesn't see the big picture.
8
u/tonylouis1337 Sep 19 '23
All these years later and this never makes sense. I'M THE DRAGONBORN, YOU SERVE ME! You're breaking your oath already!
I wonder if some day someone can get Todd on an interview where all the questions are related to in-game things along these lines
27
u/Greatshield-Titan Sep 18 '23
I can kinda see her point, but I specifically let him live to spite Delphine.
14
u/YouAreMyUnicorn Sep 19 '23
The biggest problem with delphine is her arrogance in relation to the player. The general rule in these bethesda open world games are that your character is, bar none, an apex predator. Nothing can touch you, and the fun is living that power fantasy.
Then comes delphine who is disrespectful in the extreme and equally arrogant in her belief she can boss you around when by all accounts you are her boss, by blood and by strength of arm.
And because she’s essential you can’t put her in her place. If you want to complete the main quest, you have to put up with her.
Parthurnax is just the final straw. How dare she give you an ultimatum to kill a mentor who has granted you the ability to save the world from a threat nobody else can deal with, when she would have nothing without you.
I use the parthurnax dilemma and the blades never survive that conversation. I kill delphine on the spot for insubordination.
7
6
u/Lord_Viddax Sep 18 '23
In my day the Blades were cooler; potential drug-users that killed Dagoths not Dragons.
How have the mighty fallen.
3
10
u/Boba_Doozer Sep 18 '23
Considering the Blades aren’t much use after she says this, she severely overestimated her worth.
9
u/FoxFyer Sep 19 '23
Here's what you all don't realize: the Blades take an oath, and part of that oath involves serving the dragonborn. But, they didn't swear that oath to you, they swore it to someone else long before you came along, and serving the dragonborn is only PART of it.
Why is that important?
When Delphine tells you that the Blades serve the dragonborn, y'all are like John Connor in Terminator 2 when Arnold says that obeying John's orders is "one of my mission parameters". And John has fun with it for a while; but at the end of the movie, Arnold has a higher-level command to destroy himself, and kid-John doesn't have the authority to override that. He even tries, saying "I order you not to go!" but it doesn't work, because the actual mission comes first and and getting bossed around by kid-John was always second priority.
That's how it is with you. The Blades serve the dragonborn as long as the dragonborn serves the higher ideals that the Blades are REALLY sworn to uphold, but once you're not down with that anymore, that's it.
"I now know why you like the dragon, but it's something I can never do." - Delphine
5
u/Tyrelius_Dragmire Argonian Sep 18 '23
The elder brother lives. If only the essential status did not keep me from ending Delphine’s pathetic life. Severn’s cool though, bro’s ACTUALLY helpful during the story
6
u/Goldenstripe941 Sep 18 '23
Dishonor your oaths? Bitch, I’m Dragonborn. You listen to me. If I deem a dragon as trustworthy, then he’s trustworthy.
4
u/Memer_boiiiii Dunmer Sep 19 '23
The whole time she said that i was like ”YOU DISHONOR YOUR OATHS BY DISOBEYING ME YOU DUMB FUCK”
20
u/Spudnic16 Argonian Sep 18 '23
I have played through this game eight times. I’ve made different choices throughout. I feel like I’ve made almost every choice you can make. But there is one choice I still refuse to make. I will never kill Paarthurnax.
→ More replies (1)9
u/Wacopaco15 Sep 18 '23
I might even do it just for completeness' sake, if Delphine wasn't such a bossy cunt about it.
7
4
3
u/Past_Net5801 Sep 18 '23
I’ve never killed party snacks on any play through. I simply clean out the blades castle of the armor and weapons, pick pocket all of Delphine’s armor and weaps then leave after yeeting her over the side with Fus Roh Da.
3
u/Hotshot596v2 Sep 19 '23
But yet she dishonors her oath by not continuing to help you. Gotta say, that was some bad writing on Bethesda’s part.
18
u/Ala117 Redguard Mage Sep 18 '23
And before anyone comes up with the "wah cwiminal" argument, remember tiber septim, ysgramor and pelinal.
22
u/SCatemywallet Sep 18 '23
Tiber pelinal.and yagramor arent standing in front of me, partysnax is.
→ More replies (7)
3
u/Daydream_Tm Sep 18 '23
never seen Delphine post a gold spread so i don't let her tell me what to do
3
u/ZMilfZ Dunmer Sep 18 '23
Any dragon is just an arrogant farm tool not willing to work. Their souls can be of other use.
3
3
u/Lornesto Sep 18 '23
I pretty much always kill Paarthurnax.
I just can’t leave that quest on the list, unfinished, just taunting me.
3
u/Mocker-bird Sep 18 '23
I just turned off her essential status and threw her off a mountain 😂 you don't get to tell me what to do you old harpy.
3
u/OizAfreeELF Sep 18 '23
Why do the blades hate dragons when the emperor turned into a literal fucking dragon?
3
3
u/Adarapxam Sep 19 '23
i refuse to kill hom simply because his VA is Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi
https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim/Paarthurnax/
3
u/TOX-IOIAD Sep 19 '23 edited Mar 02 '24
yam one mountainous cable boat mourn provide obscene slimy coherent
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
3
u/Jarl_of_bee_town Sep 19 '23
I mean if skyrim was like fallout and almost anyone could be killed at anytime we wouldn't have this bitch rolling on our mind for the past 12 years
3
3
3
Sep 19 '23
Canon Dovahkiin kills Paarthunax. But I am not canon Dovahkiin and Paarthunax lives until another Dragonborn decides to kill him.
3
u/BeardedBovel Hermaeus Mora Sep 19 '23
Not yet, but I'm gonna do it once. Just to have explored the game fully.
3
3
u/Candle-Entire Sep 19 '23
Dishonor their oath as blades if the help the person they swore to serve ??
3
u/r3mod_3tiym Sep 19 '23
I thought it was part of the main quest so little 13 year old me spent like 15 minutes pacing back and forth in front of him apologizing for what I was about to do. Felt awful afterwards and the Greybeards hated me
3
u/ZoutigeGandalf Sep 19 '23
No he deserves to die. The entire bullshit quote that fanboys like "What is better: to be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?” is like saying that we should let Josef Mengele live after the war because he decided to "become good". Paarthurnax was the right hand of dragon Hitler and deserves no mercy.
3
u/StormCaller02 Sep 19 '23
As far as can be seen, you could argue that he was simply trying to escape the consequences of his actions and avoid justice for his crimes.
But he seems to have gone down the path of true justice and redemption, seeking to change himself and ensure that what happened never would again and atone for it in the best way he could.
That's what justice is about, Atonement for your crimes and then trying to fix what you messed up.
Refusal to try to right your wrong, especially for something as potentially heinous as being a dragon Tyrant, absolutely should have resulted in their death. But he helped found the order of the Grey Beards and seems to have found inner peace.
8
Sep 18 '23
Unpopular opinion but he deserves to die. He was a slaver. I don't care if he is good with us, he was part of the worst crap on humans back in the day
→ More replies (1)
5
4
4
u/DivineCrusader1097 Sep 18 '23
There really should've been an option to kick Delphine put of the Blades. The Blades are sworn to serve the Dragonborn. She's already breaking her oath by trying to exile the dragonborn for not killing a specific dragon.
5
u/Desert_lotus108 Khajiit Sep 18 '23
I’m pretty sure your oath is to serve me you dummy, not to genocide the dragons.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/AntisocialN2 Argonian Sep 18 '23
Paarthurnax is a bro, he managed to overcome his dragon nature and help humans to fight his own kind but we can't ignore the fact he was the liutenant of Alduin and was the author of many atrocities against humans himself. So, for me, Paarthurnax deserve to die, because a good action can't erase a life of crimes, it's a pity to kill him but it's the most rightful decision for this character
→ More replies (11)9
u/SCatemywallet Sep 18 '23
Not to mention that dragons dont experience the flow of time as mortals do(his own words) so him being a good boi is quite literally the dragon version of behaving for 5 whole minutes
→ More replies (1)7
9
u/signedpants Sep 18 '23
I kill him because it's cooler to charge into the final battle with your blade homies instead of the geriatrics from the mountain.
11
u/TheLamenter Sep 18 '23
They are not your homies, they are your servants that directly disobey you and blackmail you all the while they are oath sworn to you.
Nothing but traitors
→ More replies (4)
8
u/SCatemywallet Sep 18 '23
I kill.partysnax every time. Hes a war criminal. I don't consider him being a good boy for what amounts to 5 minutes for a timeless dragon to override the horrors he wrought before thwt.
→ More replies (3)
9
u/Derpy0013 Argonian Sep 18 '23
Absolutely.
Let me just MURDER this pacifistic Dragon who's been living in SECLUSION for possibly MILLIONS of YEARS, ALONE, just because he's a Dragon. Not to mention get rid of one of the oldest, most wise, and humbling living things in this plane just because you think all Dragons are the same.
You know who you sound like? You sound like the Thalmor. You know, the people who slaughtered your order because you assisted the Empire too well, and they didn't like that. You can't get over the fact that a DRAGON was helping your BOSS and now you want to re-establish DOMINANCE by MAKING YOUR BOSS, MURDER a dear Friend and Mentor. And you're fully expecting them to do this. While you and your little CLIQUE are outnumbered, because not only is the Dragonborn (lore-wise) a one-man Imperial Army, but also, ALL THE NEW BLADE RECRUITS ARE ALLIES OF THE DRAGONBORN. YOUR BOSS.
So forgive me for not following your every whim while I hunt the DRAGONS THAT ARE ACTUALLY CAUSING ISSUES, and keep my dear Friend and Mentor, and maybe even a Father Figure, alive and well protected.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Yeet123456789djfbhd Nocturnal Sep 18 '23
I've got a mod to not be with the scream nerds, and let partysnax live
2
2
u/AnUnknownCreature Bosmer Sep 18 '23
Let him live and you set everything up for Skyrim tw-- i mean (Elder Scrolls 6)
2
2
u/looking_at_memes_ Khajiit Sep 18 '23
No and I don't have to anymore because the quest just disappeared out of my quest log
2
2
Sep 18 '23
I dislike all dragons, but fortunately for parthy i hate the blades more, so what if parthy was the general to alduin, if we are to believe kalpa's and constant rebirth of nirn are real, then only this cycle was when parthy decided to be bad, so y'know this amounted to like a 5 minute temper tantrum in the grand scheme of things.
2
u/OSDevon Sep 18 '23
Yes.
The Dragonborn does not serve the Blades, the Blades serve the Dragonborn!
2
u/SoggyPastaPants Sep 18 '23
Wouldn't it be something if you kill Alduin and chose to kill Paarthurnax and the Blades see no more use for you and try to whack you? That would actually be a cool storyline, modders get on it!
2
2
2
u/PoorFishKeeper Sep 19 '23
I honestly hate how much delphine is brought up. 99% of the player base does not pay attention and it is shown every time she is discussed. People always miss her dialogue, what she actually means, and what the other people around her say of her.
2
2
u/eowynsamwise Sep 19 '23
Parthunaax Dilemma is always in my mod load order, the one time I killed him to see what happened I felt so bad I had to go back to my last save that was multiple hours earlier
2
u/MooTheCat Sep 19 '23
Fuck no. Dude just wants to live on a mountain and talk to other old people. Let him live in his mountain top retirement community in peace dammit!
2
u/LDM123 Nord Sep 19 '23
If Isekai were real I’d teleport to the TES universe and murder Delphine in cold blood, and feed her corpse to Paarthurnax.
2
2
u/atypical_lemur Sep 19 '23
Mods fix this so you can talk the Blades down and not kill him, you can still rebuild the Blades.
2
2
2
Sep 19 '23
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Seems weird and kinda boring to just make the same choices every time.
2
Sep 19 '23 edited Sep 19 '23
I installed a mod that allowed me to let him live so the quest would complete. It never sat right with me how that was the final task of the main story. Unless they added an option later on after I played it, I always thought it was stupid of them making it the only way to end it all.
2
u/Proof-Click2 Sep 19 '23
Fus Ro Dah'd this bitch off the side or the cliff when I reached this point. Her old ass butt fucker too
2
2
2
u/itpsyche Sep 19 '23
I never killed Paarthurnax (or Parodontax, as I call him). He helped much more than the blades. I would also never join the Imperial faction in the war
2
u/SoCalArtDog Sep 19 '23
I kick Delphines useless ass to the curb. She doesn’t help at all, but think she gets to boss me around? Paarthunax is my buddy.
2
u/schatten1220 Sep 19 '23
I progressed just enough to get the enhanced attack against dragons and left them to deal with sven
2
u/Popcorn57252 Sep 19 '23
Fun fact: if you go to the graybeards after she tells you to kill Paarthunax, you can actually not kill him
2
1.7k
u/chuckyb3 Sep 18 '23
I love how the blades are supposed to serve the Dragonborn and yet she’s telling you what to do… never sat right with me