Skyrim is a game filled with potential, from being an absolute pure hero to the people of Tamriel to be a menace that’s constantly finding new ways to get into trouble with the law. It is easy to find plenty of ways to get into trouble as the Dragonborn.
With all of these options, players that have been adventuring around Skyrim for a decade now on multiple playthroughs of the game will surely be struggling to pin down exactly what the worst of the worst is in terms of Dragonborn actions. From turning on friends to the horrific actions of the Daedric missions, there are a ton of terrible deeds the Dragonborn can choose to perform.
6 Killing Paarthurnax
There are a few ways to avoid murdering people and creatures in Skyrim as the Dragonborn. However, some options will be given about killing some particular beings across the lands of Skyrim. From choices during the Dark Brotherhood to the Civil War itself, murder is optional on many occasions during the game. One of the most infamous choices that players have to make is whether to kill Paarthurnax, the great dragon who leads the Greybeards.
When the Dragonborn first meet Paarthurnax, they are hesitant to trust the dragon, but he proves himself trustworthy, and it is a hard moment when the Blades demand that the Dragonborn kill the old dragon to continue working with them. The Dragonborn can refuse this order, but if the player chooses to kill Paarthurnax, they will find themselves shunned by the Greybeards and feeling pretty bummed out at their actions. Killing dragons isn’t always the right thing to do as it turns out.
5 Eating People
Of course, some things seem far worse to the common observer than mere murder, which is pretty common in video games today. The Dragonborn has a variety of potential run-ins throughout Skyrim with Daedric Princes, but some are generally a bit more innocent than others. All Daedric Princes are pretty questionable when it comes to morality, but Namira’s quest feels a lot grosser than most others.
After investigating the Hall of the Dead in Markarth and finding a woman there who is part of a cannibalistic cult, the Dragonborn has the opportunity to join the cult and gain the Ring of Namira, which gives perks to the Dragonborn for eating people. This does feel a bit of a strange direction for a supposedly heroic character such as the Dragonborn to take, but there are plenty of other odd choices that can be made throughout the game.
4 Killing The Emperor
Cannibalism may be a true sin, but the Dragonborn interfering with politics is arguably worse. Players won’t be tasked with the heroic act of killing Alduin, but instead, will be given a delicious amount of coin to forever change the tides of Tamriel by assassinating the Emperor.
The Dark Brotherhood is a cult of assassins who keep the corpse of their dark mother Goddess in their cave hideout. Once the Dragonborn is involved with the Dark Brotherhood, they have the option of going all the way through the storyline and killing the actual Emperor of Tamriel, likely throwing much of the continent into chaos for who knows how long.
3 Becoming A Vampire
There is a choice in the base game for Skyrim to transform into a werewolf through the Companions quest line, and it is debatable whether the werewolves have the best intentions of other people at heart. However, in the Dawnguard DLC, the Dragonborn gains the option to side with the Vampiric clan of Lord Harkon.
This ragtag crew of ancient beings doesn’t seem to have the best interests of the people of Skyrim at heart since they’re okay with once again eating people. Of course, the missions the Dragonborn can undertake for the vampires include various other dark deeds, like controlling thralls and murdering the Dawnguard vampire hunters, but the choice to become a Vampiric Lord and turn into a literal dark creature of the night feels like one of the evilest choices any Dragonborn can make during their gameplay.
2 Sacrificing Friends
Another Daedric mission is Boethiah’s Calling, a mission where the Dragonborn finds the cult which worships this dark God and is once again given the choice to join them. However, what has to be done to become a part of the followers of Boethiah is even stranger than Namira’s cannibalistic ritual.
The Dragonborn will instead have to bring a follower with them to the top of the mountain where the cultists are and sacrifice them in a ritual celebrating the Daedric Prince. This means that the Dragonborn has to bring a friend (or potentially somebody they just hired to watch their back) along for the ride on their adventures only to kill them off as an offering to Boethiah. Worse still, Boethiah simply has the Dragonborn, as her new champion, kill off all the other cultists after this sacrifice.
1 Betray Saadia
There are some missions in a world like that of Skyrim where players have to make a choice that seems fairly gray in nature. For example, the Civil War is a choice between various ideologies as opposed to there being a completely black-and-white choice. However, one of the shorter missions available in Whiterun that can be completed early in the game involves a pretty black-and-white choice.
Saadia, a bartender at the Bannered Mare, asks for help when the Dragonborn finds some men searching for her. It turns out Saadia is a Redguard Princess looking to make her own destiny after escaping her tightly controlled life, and the Dragonborn can betray her or let her be by getting rid of the men searching for her. Helping Saadia is a no-brainer unless the Dragonborn is pure evil and seeking only monetary gains.