Skyrim’s Companions guild has what many players consider one of the most enjoyable questlines in the game. Not only does it allow the player to become a werewolf, but it’s also one of the few factions in the game with a questline that doesn’t end with the death of the previous leader and the instatement of the Dragonborn as their replacement.
Despite this, there are a few glaring oversights when it comes to the Companions that make little sense. The version of the Companions related to the player through Skyrim’s story is very different to the way the characters act mechanically in the game, though there may be a twist to explain this discrepancy.
The Companions’ Contradictions
The Companions claim to be honorable, as Farkas says that they “are my family. We fight so that other people don’t have to. We bring honor and glory to ourselves and each other.” It’s a nice sentiment, but if Farkas’ words are compared to his in-game mechanics, then the Companion is a massive hypocrite.
The Companions will not fight so that other people don’t have to. In fact, if a follower is recruited from the Companions and then gets into a brawl, the Companion character will just stand back and watch. This could be dismissed as a representation of their revelry and love for fighting, as well and their confidence that the Dragonborn could handle a fight on their own. However, the dissonance doesn’t end there.
If the Dragonborn commits a crime, the Companions are among the followers who fight the guards alongside the player character, even if the player had committed a murder. When it comes to their honor, the Companions don’t exactly stick to their word at all times either. Romantic relationships are discouraged between Companions though not outright forbidden. Despite this, if the Dragonborn wears an Amulet of Mara, the Companions will react in the same way as any other potential partner in the game.
A Story Explanation?
However, it is also possible that all of these decisions hint at the fact that there is more to the Companions than meets the eye. Their lycanthropy is a secret until the player has already joined the organization, and it’s possible that the mechanics of the Companions point to the fact that they aren’t exactly as honorable as they like to think and have strayed from their original purpose.
When first entering their mead hall in Whiterun, the Companions are cheering as two junior members of the group fight unnecessarily. Perhaps some of the choices made with the Companions’ mechanics were put in the game for eagle-eyed players to notice that something was off about their new-found friends in advance.
This could make sense considering the amount of detail and attention put towards some of the other ways the Companions interact with the world. If the player turns into a werewolf in Skyrim in front of them, not only will the Companions not attack, but they will sometimes use the same dialog other NPCs use for the Dragonborn if they’re naked.
Skyrim’s modding community has always been quick to fix immersion grievances like the Companions’ mechanical and story differences. However, it is ultimately down to the player whether or not they interpret the differences between what the Companions say and how they act as a plot hole or a hint at their more feral if still genuinely good-intentioned nature.
Skyrim is out now on all major platforms.
