What would telling them NO acomplish?

They already told you that they wont deal with you until you kill PArth, you telling them no just means the same situation you aree already in would continue............... just like not killing parth in the game does already.

You might consider just ignoring them for the rest of the game as a 'meaningful choice' (if you won't kill Paarthurnax) - I don't

the option to trell them "No" would be nice if only to clear that quest from your log.



but maybe there could have been another option all together. here you are, the Legendary dragonborn! slayer of Alduin.. and who knows what else. the greatest dragonslayer in all of history.. and one of your biggest allies (no pun intenteded) was infact a dragon itself. Maybe in your Glory, under your might and with great wisdom, you could bring together teh GreyBeards and the Blades. to join forces, not jsut to be great teachers of peace or protectors of the crown.. but of all Tamriel! just think of the force they could be.. men and mer from all over, sworn and dedicated to protecting their world from all threats.. both with blade and voice!

But you're missing the beauty of Delphine, and I've said this elsewhere...
She is what I call...A Cowboy without an enemy. When she fled and the Blades fell, she lost her life's purpose and became a barmaid, perhaps about as low a woman can go before reaching prosttute in a setting like this. She used to be a warrior that guarded emperors...but now this scenario crops up, and she has a purpose again...but she doesn't care about the Dragonborn...the Dragonborn is just an accessory to this new life she craves. You're second to her ambition.

Once I completed the main quest (without killing Paarthurnax), I went to Sky Haven Temple to tell the Blades that Alduin was defeated. I owed them that much at least, I couldn't have done it without them. From the conversation with them I got the impression that they knew I wasn't going to kill Paarth, and it gave me some closure about the situation. I walked away from it feeling that I'd lost a couple of friends, and I wasn't so angry about it, more sad than anything. I'm glad I went.

Sometimes.. people just need to be smacked. whats her purpose going to be once they are all dead again? what will she do once all of the dragons lay dead at her feet? does she return to the Inn and the humdrum life of a barmaid?

see atleast in my option, it can take her purpose and give it new meaning. remember, in time all things change.. even that [censored] must at some point.... or we can just kill her.. that works too.

Look, it seems certain that the Blades will die with Delphine. There should have been more here. Am I just spoiled since I've been playing FNV lately? There are four primary ways to beat the MQ with about a dozen tangled permutations thrown in to complicate things.

You are not Required to kill Paarthurnax. Appearing in your quest journal is not railroading. Being obsessive compulsive about clearing everything from the quest journal does not make it railroading.

She explains that. "The Greybeards are nothing if not predictable." The moment the Greybeards shouted dragonborn she knew that whomever they were summoning would eventually be sent after the horn. Thats why she always beats the DB she has a huge headstart.

She wants proof your dragonborn and wants to see WHAT is resurrecting the dragons. She never once mentions wanting to see if dragons are really appearing. I'm all for bashing Delphine but lets keep it to actual things.

NV will do that to you. After playing it for a while, you begin to expect other games to have hundreds of possibilities, all tying together perfectly into one of the most excellently written stories of the decade.... Sorry I got carried away. New Vegas has spoiled me as well.

My point is if she was interested in stopping dragons why not help kill some? You didn't explain how she finds out about this tablet but would rather sit by waiting for the Grey Beards to summon the dragonborn so she can steal their horn? How did she know you killing the dragon at the tower would show you were dragonborn? Why didn't she go to the Barrow and get the tablet herself so she could find out who was waking up the dragons? She didn't know you. She shouldn't have needed you. Up to that point you were simply a suvivor of Helgen...

She could have gotten the tablet herself and headed off on her own. Why wait for you? Like I said she didn't even know who you are or if you were even capable of killing a dragon? Her whole story is full of holes.

If I don't want to kill Parthy... Why can't I kill Delphine instead? See? There's no real choice, just do it or don't. And yes, I want crap out of my journal if I'm not going to do it that way. If nothing else, there should be a dialog choice where I refuse and Delphi throws me out or attacks me. But that's not how Skyrim works, is it? Nothing you do matters in the long run. Kill Parthy or don't. You can always do it later.
So many possibilities that I have been avoiding the MQ for weeks now because I can't decide (from an RP perspective) what I should do.

What reason is there for going back if you are roleplaying someone who is disinterested in the Blades?

Dragonsbane? It's available the instant you enter the temnple the first time. So are six(6) unenchanted Blades Swords, if you like katanas. At first entry during Alduin's Wall, they aren't even marked as stolen if you take them.

Blades Armor? THey are in a chest in the same toom as the Swords.

Once Alduin's Wall is complete, and you are not interested in the Blades, then what reason to return?

Re: Mods.... THe one that sets the room to shaking from your Shouting sounds interesting. Which one?

Sorry but you're inventing these holes.

There is no reason for her to get the stone tablet so long as someone gets it. The Blades haven't been dragon slayers for over a thousand years. They've been primarily spies up until that point. And spies(realistic spies) get other people to do the work for them whenever possible rather then risk themselves. (on that point she could have hired the mages you find inside to retrieve the horn and place the letter.). Plus she lives in the shadow of the burrow she'd risk her cover if one of the townsfolk saw her heading up there and coming back. More importantly she can't translate the stone on her own so she needs Farengar for that and he's the one who sends you after the stone.
And dozens of people even powerful people send you on errands they are perfectly capable of doing themselves why should Delphine be any different.

While she's waiting for Farengar to translate the tablet and transcribe the map of the burial sites your killing a dragon.

She didn't this is something you're inventing. She had absolutely nothing to do with you going to fight that dragon. We have no way of knowing what she was planning before the Greybeards summoned you. But everyone in Skyrim heard the Greybeards summon you so that would change her course of action. Instead of investigating the burrial sites she decides it best to try and recruit the guy who may or may not possess the power to eat dragon souls. As Delphine said "The Greybeards are nothing if not predictable." so she headed off to steal the horn. Either personally or hiring the mage you find fighting inside.

Possibly http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/18465

Not necessarily better. Easier maybe. Two choices give you something to think about without giving you an easy way out.

Man up its only a game, did you shed tears the last time you killed a dragon?

I honestly wonder why Delphine didnt demand the Dragonborn kill himself. Or wait, does she do that if you kill paarthurnax? "Im sorry, but we can't work with you until you stab yourself to death. Your soul mightve once belong to a dragon that stole a girl's sweetroll!"

> [Speech] Perhaps if there was a skill that was dedicated to resolving problems through talking it could work.
> [Intimidate] If Beth doesn't utilize the speech system for issues like this in the future, I am going to write a strongly worded letter to their mother!
> [Bribe] What the hell are you going to do with 273 digital coins? Here, take em.

A real dragon or a video game dragon?

Delphine's only interest is to give her some purpose in life, to humor herself that she's still capable of doing something.

The Akaviri Dragonguard is merely an excuse on her part so you'll believe that she's doing things that she should be doing. In every sense of the word, Delphine is not a descendant of Dragonguard.

The Blades haven't killed any dragon for hundreds of years. Their purpose, both Blades' and Dragonguard's, is not to kill dragon, but rather to protect those who can. Notice how Reman Cyrodiil never killed any dragon.

In short, Delphine manipulates you into her tool, to satisfy her curiosity, her thirst of adventure.

She even admitted as much: when you go to Kynesgrove, if you follow her, she'll say "Perhaps we both will die, but at least it gets me out of Riverwood".

Notice how she didn't say anything about "making sure we don't end up dead". No, her primary interest was to get out of Riverwood. At that point, the best course of action is to beat her to near-death and force her to submit to you. It's incredible how someone can trust a person that specifically uses you and is ready to sacrifice your life as an escape tool from her boring life.