Part of what makes Skyrim so beloved is that it’s a game that lets players become the Dragonborn and take on a variety of missions to live the life they’ve always wanted. You can become the hero the people need and deserve, or indulge in the darker side of life. Sadly, many players decided to indulge in the latter option or at least they accidentally stumble into it, since Dovakhiin can easily kill someone by accident.
This has led many fans to believe that the Dragonborn is actually pure evil disguised as a hero. There are tons of choices and actions that help to back this theory up, and the supportive “hero” never seems to have any moral issue with doing some of the evil actions listed below.
10 Using Necromancy
To begin with, the Dragonborn has the ability to learn necromancy. This dark magic allows them to bring back anyone or anything they have killed and force them to fight.
Dovahkiin has even been known to kill roaming humans when they run out of bodies to use on the road. It’s even been shown that an army of the dead can be used if the player equips the right buffs and items.
9 Joining The Dark Brotherhood
In order to join the Dark Brotherhood, you first have to kill someone. Afterwards, you will get a letter and then be whisked away in your sleep to a cabin where you are tasked with picking from one of three more people to murder.
It’s clear that the Dovahkiin has no trouble killing all three hostages to join the club. In fact, it even seems that it is their destiny to join the Brotherhood due to the relationship with the Night Mother!
8 Robbing Those They Saved
Once you have taken your reward for saving someone, you can then choose to rob their home or pickpocket them. In fact, this is one of the ways that many players make most of their money.
You can even walk right into a shop, pick up a bucket, and place it over the owner’s head to rob them. This sometimes even nets you more money than trying to live an honest life.
7 Killing For Pleasure
Dovahkiin doesn’t need to join an organization in order to murder. Many players will kill people that talk to them wrong, or who they think are being unfair to those around them.
It’s almost guaranteed that you will kill someone during your playthrough and the game makes it easy to get over it. There is a variety of ways you can murder a whole town and then pay your way out of trouble or not even worry about consequences.
6 Destroying Their Own Family
Like in real life, the Dragonborn can get married and then realize that they don’t quite like the lifestyle. That’s fairly normal but instead of going for divorce, you can just slaughter your wife in front of your kids.
While it’s true that divorce isn’t really a thing in the game, there has to be a better way than killing your family following a disagreement or two. Dovahkiin doesn’t seem to be that bothered after the fact, though.
5 Looting Anything & Everything
It doesn’t matter what type of abandoned area you entered; you can loot literally everything. No matter how sacred or unethical, you can loot it.
This is a bit strange since you would think that an adventurer would have some sort of moral compass to guide them when exploring. The Dovahkiin has no problem exploring a sacred temple right before taking everything that isn’t bolted down to the floor.
4 Killing Livestock
Not only can you attack people, but you can go the extra mile by destroying their livestock. It’s hard to get food in a snowy area, so killing someone’s whole flock of chickens is a pretty evil thing to do since it’s basically a death sentence for the farmer.
This could guarantee that a family will end up starving to death, but once again, Dovahkiin doesn’t seem to mind. On top of that, you don’t even have to eat the chicken you slaughtered!
3 Working With Daedra
On top of everything else, you can work with the Daedra, which are widely considered to be evil. Most Daedra worshippers are fully aware of the acts of violence their chosen Daedra constantly indulges in and the accompanying negative reception and yet, they still choose to follow them.
In fact, the Dragonborn can choose to help out every Daedra. They are even rewarded with Daedric tools that can wreak havoc on the land.
2 Using Others in Battle
You can enlist the help of companions on your quest, which isn’t inherently bad. What is, though, is sending said companion to a mission while you sit back and relax in some obscure hideaway.
Using others to do your bidding is the sign of any evil leader, and Dovahkiin is shown to do this several times without issue. You can even choose to send your spouse into battle if they are willing to follow you!
1 Lying With No Remorse
Dovahkiin has no problems lying to those around them. This is seen several times throughout the game’s many moral choices that range from petty arguments to important discussions about the realm, and many don’t even bother to question your motives. They’re so trusting that any lie is gospel to them - and you can choose to take advantage of their need for a hero.
This may seem small compared to outright murder but it’s still pretty disturbing, as you can lie right from the very beginning of the game if you so choose to. Lying is one of the telltale signs of a sociopath, which fits and explains the rest of the Dragonborn’s actions perfectly.
NEXT: 5 Reasons Why Daggerfall Is The Best Elder Scrolls Game (& 5 Why It’s Skyrim)
