Nah, who wouldn't want to be a dragon!



But really yes, he stuffed up.

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Yes. That's why I sacrificed him; he needed to pay for his actions.

You do realize "dragonborn" isn't being a dragon?

Technically he didn't even have to be of Alessia's bloodline to be a dragonborn.

Yes, he wanted to be a legitimate emperor badly enough to fall for Mannimarco's line. Partly out of hubris, partly I think out of wanting stability of a "real" emperor for the land.

There is no character I hate more than Varen, and I only wish the game's dialog gave me the option to express my hatred and disappointment more vehemently. I sacrifice him every single time. I blame him for everything, including the loss of my own soul.

Yes. In Tamriel you earn your way to power, you don't rely on some magic elf to make you cool.

Yep, he wasn't born dragonborn, so it's his fault for trying to "cheat."

Hell, the Majority of EP players fall into that trap as well... since they all want to be Dragonborn....... thats why there are so many reds in PvP

I don't blame him for wanting to be a dovahkiin. I however do blame him for causing the events of ESO including my death.

I don't blame him. As I understand it he was the legitimate emperor in every other way and if he had conquered anywhere except Tamriel (or had done it before Alessia formed the pact with Akatosh or after Martin permanently ended it) that would have been the end of things. It was just this one relatively obscure tradition (we're told in Oblivion that very few people know the significance of the Amulet of Kings and the Dragonfires) that stood in his way. So it's understandable he wanted to fix it.

And at the time Mannimarco was one of his closest friends and advisors, someone he had already trusted with his life and thought he could trust with anything. He was also supposed to be the resident expert on all things magical, far more knowledgeable about this stuff than Varen. So it's understandable he was willing to trust the guy with this too.

How many times have you, in the course of playing an Elder Scrolls Game used some artifact you've only just heard of to complete a ritual you don't fully understand because some mage said you should? How many times have you done something you didn't really understand in real life because an expert or a friend (or both) told you that you should and you trusted them to give you good advice?

I can't honestly say I'd do any different if I was in his situation. I just hope I'd have the guts to put it right afterwards. (And more importantly that I never screw anything up so badly that it could destroy the world.)

MythicEmperor wrote: »

Yes. That's why I sacrificed him; he needed to pay for his actions.

This^

His arrogance clouded his judgement and nearly destroyed Nirn. Plus he mislead the Vestige.

Payback, baby. Don't mess with the Vestige.

Just to clarify I don't blame him, but that doesn't mean I don't think he should pay for his mistake. He screwed things up and he should be the one to put it right.

Mannimarco's betrayal was not Varen's fault. Sai Sahan, Lyris Titanborn and Abnur Tharn were led into the same trap as well and they didn't notice it until it was too late. The blame should be shared between them.

Danikat wrote: »

I don't blame him. As I understand it he was the legitimate emperor in every other way and if he had conquered anywhere except Tamriel (or had done it before Alessia formed the pact with Akatosh or after Martin permanently ended it) that would have been the end of things. It was just this one relatively obscure tradition (we're told in Oblivion that very few people know the significance of the Amulet of Kings and the Dragonfires) that stood in his way. So it's understandable he wanted to fix it.

And at the time Mannimarco was one of his closest friends and advisors, someone he had already trusted with his life and thought he could trust with anything. He was also supposed to be the resident expert on all things magical, far more knowledgeable about this stuff than Varen. So it's understandable he was willing to trust the guy with this too.

How many times have you, in the course of playing an Elder Scrolls Game used some artifact you've only just heard of to complete a ritual you don't fully understand because some mage said you should? How many times have you done something you didn't really understand in real life because an expert or a friend (or both) told you that you should and you trusted them to give you good advice?

I can't honestly say I'd do any different if I was in his situation. I just hope I'd have the guts to put it right afterwards. (And more importantly that I never screw anything up so badly that it could destroy the world.)

This.

To paraphrase Tywin Lannister, "a good king know what he knows, and what he doesn't." For the things a king or emperor doesn't fully understand they have advisers to fill those rolls. This is why you will see nearly every Jarl in Skyrim had a court wizard. They acted as an adviser on all things magic and provided council on arcane objects.

For a bit of Background, Varen was just a duke of Chorrol, when the then-emperor Leovic (a reachman) allowed open deadra worship. People were angry at the decision, and thus revolted. He wins the revolt and by all rights, should be the right and true emperor. It's not like he seized an opportunity, or saw the outrage as a catalyst to further his own position. In the end it was he himself who was most worried about being a legitimate ruler, and thus wanted to seek out the Amulet of Kings so there could be no doubt about his rule. Being emperor I would assume he knows he couldn't wear it if he wasnt dragonborn, so in walks a powerful sorcerer who claims he can use the amulet to make him dragonborn. His Imperial Battlemage didnt catch that Mannimarco was lying either, so it's not as if it was JUST varen who was fooled. It's the idea of Player Knowledge versus Character Knowledge. WE know he's tricking them, but Varen has no such foresight or knowledge of the future. Like Danikat mentions, how often do we in-game use artifacts or perform rituals we have no knowledge of, and can't imagine the outcome? We just know someone said "take this, and do what i told you to" and you do it... Then suddenly everyone's a zombie or something.

SO as a whole his intentions were good, and he had no reason not to believe those who were closest to him. Me personally; I cant blame him for not seeing thru the deception. Many emperors and kings before and after Varen's time will make the exact same mistake he does. So if the question is, do I fault him for falling for Mannimarco's Plan? No, that's the nature of fooling someone. But if the question is, "Is it his fault Tamriel is faced with the invasion of Molag Bal?" Yes, he should (and does) accept responsibility for his actions. But really, It's Mannimarco, he probably would have done all this regardless, and just used the Emperor as a means to an end. Had Varen not even cared about the amulet, Mannimarco would have still searched for it, evantually found it and did his ritual anyways.

If we want to play the blame game tho... We could blame the Psijics for seeing how dark Mannimarco was, and doing nothing but banishing him from their island. We could blame the necromancers who started to follow Mannimarco and make him stronger. We could blame Molag Bal for tasking him with tricking the five companions.