Have you ever refused to do a quest because you had scruples?

Moonshadow66

I'm just curious how others feel about this: are you doing it ALL just for completition or because you don't care what you're doing, or do you rather refuse to do certain quests (or other things) although this means less XP and no 100% completition?


I for one refuse to kill the Guar worldboss named Bittergreen the Wild at Caravan Crest in Deshaan because.. Guars. I did it once and felt like an ass, so I've never done it again.

Also, after doing the quest "Pact Advocate" in Grahtwood once or twice, I refuse to do this ever again. Same reason: I felt like an ass.
I put the quest description link in a spoiler, just in case:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Pact_Advocate

Ourorboros

Scruples? Over a game? It's not real, no moral judgement attaches.

Vlor

I do every quest no matter what my personal opinion is on it, lol. It would bother me if I left one incomplete.

reften

I pve so I can pvp...

FelixTheCatt

Nope. I can't imagine being concerned over a quest or anything like it in a video game.

Zorrashi

There are few quests that I feel hesitant about completing due to moral issues. But I remembering doing Pact Advocate too and being somewhat divided on who I should condemn. I always end up choosing the spinner's wife though--the khajiit is removed from their cultural rituals and the spinner himself should stay alive for the sake of their community. So I guess you could say I chose from a practical standpoint.

There was also this one time where I tied the soul of a dead boy to a flesh attronoch by accident (I didn't mean to point the bone at the attronoch! I just wanted to investigate it! )...

But for the grand majority of my characters, I always refused to join the fighter's/mage's guild purely for RP reasons. None of my characters are truly dedicated to their cause.

Moonscythe

I have often not done something because of scruples. I didn't complete half of Skyrim because of scruples. I also really hate the excuse that it is only a game. I am who I am in game or not and I don't give that up to destroy or slaughter anything that dares to get in my way. It bugged me greatly when I had to start killing mudcrabs because my preferred source of rawhide i.e. Alits, started giving meat instead. I kill anything that is trying to kill me but I leave the monkeys and butterflies alone and will skip any quest that is wrongheaded or mean-spirited.

Shader_Shibes

Not quest related, but i don't kill Senche Tigers that are roaming around the wild. Even if i spook them i run away and leave them be ^^

BBSooner

Moonshadow66 wrote: »

I'm just curious how others feel about this: are you doing it ALL just for completition or because you don't care what you're doing, or do you rather refuse to do certain quests (or other things) although this means less XP and no 100% completition?


I for one refuse to kill the Guar worldboss named Bittergreen the Wild at Caravan Crest in Deshaan because.. Guars. I did it once and felt like an ass, so I've never done it again.

Also, after doing the quest "Pact Advocate" in Grahtwood once or twice, I refuse to do this ever again. Same reason: I felt like an ass.
I put the quest description link in a spoiler, just in case:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Pact_Advocate

Pact Advocate was really easy for me.

Blame and execute the Khajiit.

It's the only correct response for all situations involving Khajiit and Argonians.

mrskinskull

Moonshadow66 wrote: »

I'm just curious how others feel about this: are you doing it ALL just for completition or because you don't care what you're doing, or do you rather refuse to do certain quests (or other things) although this means less XP and no 100% completition?


I for one refuse to kill the Guar worldboss named Bittergreen the Wild at Caravan Crest in Deshaan because.. Guars. I did it once and felt like an ass, so I've never done it again.

Also, after doing the quest "Pact Advocate" in Grahtwood once or twice, I refuse to do this ever again. Same reason: I felt like an ass.
I put the quest description link in a spoiler, just in case:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Pact_Advocate

I have to say I agree with the op sentiment. For those of us actually following the story and not spam skipping, this at least makes sense even if you don't agree. Themes such as love, loss, revenge and subjects like slavery and poverty.

I know exactly what you mean.

mrskinskull

FelixTheCatt wrote: »

Nope. I can't imagine being concerned over a quest or anything like it in a video game.

If not for the engrossing story, you are just punching numbers into a calculator, over and over.

phairdon

One quest always bothered me. An npc has wasting disease. Ingredients used to try & cure the npc were prohibited. Task is to obtain evidence, then decide which of three is going to be sentenced to death.

Zorrashi

I think one of my earliest dilemmas when I first started playing this game involved a burning plantation at Khenarthi's roost.

The brother burned the plantation , and in so doing ruined their livelihood (tax collectors were a problem before, apparently). But he only did so because his sister was brewing skooma (to help pay off the tax collectors). His father (who the brother thought went to Mistral) actually stayed and died of the skooma-infused smoke. The decision? Obey the law and turn in the skooma to the thalmor or give the skooma to the brother so he can destroy it.

I remember racking my brain for which one to choose and that made me happy because this is exactly what I wanted when I bought the game. Sadly, I have since found that few quests actually engage me in the same way that quest did. Or if they did engage me at one point, they failed to engage me the second time around.

BBSooner

Zorrashi wrote: »

I think one of my earliest dilemmas when I first started playing this game involved a burning plantation at Khenarthi's roost.

The brother burned the plantation , and in so doing ruined their livelihood (tax collectors were a problem before, apparently). But he only did so because his sister was brewing skooma (to help pay off the tax collectors). His father (who the brother thought went to Mistral) actually stayed and died of the skooma-infused smoke. The decision? Obey the law and turn in the skooma to the thalmor or give the skooma to the brother so he can destroy it.

I remember racking my brain for which one to choose and that made me happy because this is exactly what I wanted when I bought the game. Sadly, I have since found that few quests actually engage me in the same way that quest did. Or if they did engage me at one point, they failed to engage me the second time around.

That one was easy too. Turn 'em in the authorities. They're only Khajiit.

danno8

phairdon wrote: »

One quest always bothered me. An npc has wasting disease. Ingredients used to try & cure the npc were prohibited. Task is to obtain evidence, then decide which of three is going to be sentenced to death.

Same quest as others are talking about in the thread.

It always bugs me at first, then my better senses take over and I just complete it. It's like a switch I can juts shut off when necessary in order to get the XP. I am content with the fact that I would never do something like it in real life. An important distinction I am happy to exercise.

Bioshock is a game in that I could never bring myself to harvest the little sisters. I did it once to see what the programmers had in store for you from a gameplay/graphics standpoint, but all my play-throughs where free of killing them.

traigusb14_ESO2

There is only 1 quest that I feel is written unfairly... I think it is in Alkir Desert.

There is a spider daedra that makes to make a choice between releasing 1 of 2 people , or you can give both to her. There is no option to fight her "because she is too strong and in her realm..." Err.

I'm from EP and this is a silver zone for me... so not only have I killed a lot of spider daedra (including multiples at the same time in an area of Cold Harbor)... but I smacked Molag Bal in his own realm (with help).

Just an instant bad guy "I win" button in the talk tree for the quest.

You really can't even technically walk away because both people are in her lair.. so if you just walk out, you might as well have picked that she can have them both.

It is the only time I think the hard choices were pushed beyond believable in the quests I have seen.

TheShadowScout

Some quests have no real "good" outcome. In the "Pact Advocate" all the involved are a little guilty, and you just choose the one who gets the axe for it, not to fulfull the law, but to restore the pact so the rest of the people can resume living...

...better then a quest in Cyrodsil where you poison someones pet goblin just because, and don't get a choice to end the quest any other way (say, by turning in the one who hires you to do the deed) Not that the characters of mine who gone there yet had any scruples... but when I get to that point with my "decent" characters, I may think twice, and skip that one altogether for fluff reasons...

Some other quests, I find it vexing that there is no opption to take out someone who deserves it. For example, a mercenary band uses a harpy scare to extort money, and kill a few villagers to frame the haripes so they can extort more protection money, and in the end... they merely get asked to leave town. No arrest, no lynching, just off you go... that really vexed my stendarr-following characters sense of justice...

But hey, we play in an imperfect game...

AlnilamE

I know that quest in Alik'r. I've done it on two toons and chose a different option each time.

Also there is a quest in Stonefalls where Bala asks you to find the tomb of her lover. It has three choices and they are all bad IMO. So I did them on my first two toons and now I just leave her.

NDwarf

The only one I hesitated on was one DC quest where a woman became infected with vampirism.

She begged for her life and I almost spared her but then I decided to go the Ash from Evil Dead way, "Oh hell no get my chainsaw I've seen this before" and picked "kill her."

She drank poison and died. I'm like ???? Poison kills vampires? Not falling for that *emote burn with torch*

ADarklore

I don't have a problem with the Pact Advocate quest because you have to remember that you are living/playing in a world where 'nature' is just as sentient as the people are; trees talk to us, Spriggins talk to us, etc. So how would you feel if a person living in your house (nature) decided to cut up one of your family members (the flower) simply because their 'essence' could save a person? Naturally, you'd be po'd and want revenge or at least justice... and that is exactly what the nature realm wants.

People who have an issue with this quest are thinking in terms of "nature doesn't have feelings", but in Tamriel they do... and on your AD quests in particular you get to see how real it actually is. So no, I don't have a problem sending the Spinner's wife to the chamber and allow nature to have the justice it rightfully deserves.

So perhaps while you're getting your RP game on, you also RP within the world of Tamriel, not Earth... what exists here, the morals, values, life, religions... are similar, but also in many cases, such as this instance, quite different.

PBpsy

Convincing myself to save Lyris always takes me some time. That is the most obnoxious quest in the game for many many reasons.Doing that quest is a crime against myself.

Although I do really think Jennifer Hale is absolutely awesome and she did add a lot to some games I think some companies should maybe find somebody else for some of the major female roles from time to time. Too much of a good thing can become a bit annoying at times.


Other than that the game simply lacks enough opportunities to be a total snip snipity sniphead for my tastes.

Vizier

Yes-

Removed cuz I don't want people getting the wrong idea or be "offended."

Let's just say ya there are some I don't do.

newtinmpls

TheShadowScout wrote: »

...better then a quest in Cyrodsil where you poison someones pet goblin just because, and don't get a choice to end the quest any other way

Yes you do have another choice. You can abandon the quest and walk away. Which is what I did.

What I really wanted was to offer the Goblin an apprenticeship somewhere.

Unfortunately not all the ... immoral quests make clear that all the choices are immoral BEFORE you finally commit. I'm grateful that at least this one was pretty obvious.

Dradhok

No qualms for me, it is a game so I experience the whole thing.

Moonscythe

Back in the days of Morrowind, quests often had options where you could kill someone/thing or not, run them out of town or pay their fine and still complete the quest. I felt sorry for the bees in Skyrim and only did thieves once because it just made me feel dirty. I'm not after preaching at other players but I would really like to see more humane options.

newtinmpls

For that matter in Toothmaul Gully, I do collect the weapons, but I don't sell them to the smuggler - he's got no right to them. I negotiate with Byz and set up some trade.

Clearly these goblins are skilled metalworkers, and could use some guidance ... not just more exploitation.

JKorr

The quest to shakedown merchants. I never do that one. Personal choice.

Bittergreen doesn't bother me; too many wild guar attacks in Morrowind. The spinner's wife could have traveled outside Valenwood where the Green Pact doesn't apply.

Robert_E_Pee

No I really don't care lol, I just finish my quests.

Amiculi

I might if the game gave me any sense of anything approaching an Elder Scrolls world, but it doesn't.

As a result I happily sacrificed a certain someone for skillpoints and generally base my choices on reward (which occurs what, the once ever?) or whichever I think would be the most amusing.

What's notable is that nothing you ever do makes any difference ever. So why does it matter?

Morality gives expectations of a difference of outcome but half the time the outcome is identical except one line of dialog. Same reward and the NPC's all disappear or just keep standing in the same spot forever. A good example would be that one rich lady and her manservant (you can see how much they impacted me, I can't remember their names at all), where if you take one choice they go on their merry way as is, and the other her manservant is possessed by an angry spirit, and he takes the spirit's place as the guardian of the tomb or whatever... anyway, no matter what you do, the dialog at the end is the same "I'm going to catch some more fish for the stew", and upon encountering them again later in Coldharbor he doesn't acknowledge that he's actually an ancient spirit inhabiting a stranger's body. Every single character in the game is completely interchangeable.

So at what point does morality come into it? The monsters I kill are just as interesting as the people I save and everyone seems ambiguous anyway so there's really no sense of guilt in screwing over one NPC or another.

I thought I might feel bad for sacrificing that one major NPC for skillpoints but I didn't. I had over 30 skillpoints in reserve at the time so I didn't actually even need them but it was the first time the game had ever given me an opportunity to make anything even approaching an actual choice and I actually ignored half of the dialog as I went around ransacking the room for provisioning ingredients and alchemy bottles... When it was described to me my choices were "get nothing" or "get two skill points" I didn't even hesitate.

I suppose I'm lucky I don't play games for the story...

nordsavage

This is an MMO version of a TES game, your decisions have no long term or even short term repercussions just play it all and go ahead and get your mass murderer achievement.

Moonscythe

Morality is only one place and that is inside each of us. How we view it and act on it is individual. You are right in that a game has no real world consequence and I am not one of those who think that violence in entertainment begets violence in real life all by itself so I condemn no one. I would be sad to lose the world of fantasy gaming just because they all went to the dark side. Elder Scrolls had been above or maybe beside that before Skyrim but Skyrim had more mean-spirited and unpleasant quests than TES had previously and I would have given up on it entirely had I been required to kill Parthurnax to complete the main quest. I am one person but I am not hardened to violence make-believe or real.

I do play games for the story and the world and don't even mind fetch quests if they take me somewhere interesting.