Yes, but those errands are to an end. Killing Paarthurnax is completely pointless. One of the main reasons Delphine argues for you to do it is so that Paarthurnax doesn't sell us out to Alduin and rejoin him. This ignores the fact that Alduin is unlikely to forgive his brother for betraying him, and moreover, if you defeat Alduin, Paarthurnax cannot possibly rejoin him.

He doesn't have to. But he could be the next line of threat. If you keep him alive and hear what he says at the end of the MQ, you might sort of regret that you didn't kill him.

I get happy when I hear him talk about his new mission in life. If he's successful that means there will be less dragons I have to slay for attacking mortals. If I could, I'd tell Odahviing to do a similar recruitment process, finding dragons that will submit to me and become part of my expanded military.

If Alduin can't kill the Dragonborn, how will Paarthurnax achieve it!, he is no threat whatsoever!, , Im sure Paarthurnax has noticed all the Dragons being slain by the Dragonborn!,

Killing the very reason you defeat Alduin is just plain daft!, and the attitude the Blades have got makes even less sense to me, if i was a member of an outlawed organization, with less than 10 members, i doubt i'd be giving orders and throwing ultimatums around!!

I have to wonder. What threat is Paarth going to pose by himself after the Dragonborn has eliminated all the other dragons?

I really liked the Blades in Morrowind and Oblivion, so I agree with the OP in that regard. Blades used to be cool. From Caius Cosades in Morrowind to Jauffre in Oblivion - there was a sense of being part of something important.

But what I really didn't like in Skyrim was their ultimatum about Paarthurnax. I liked the idea of keeping him alive. I get their concerns - and even the big P himself validates their rationale, but I don't like it. It's like, your organization's a mess, you have no members, and I gave y'all a second chance, so do as I say, don't tell me what to do. I didn't like the greybeards much either, though. Bunch of old fogies, 3/4 of whom don't even talk to you because they're so frickin' powerful - yeah, right. I'll bet my guy could slay the lot of 'em without breaking a sweat. I'm the Dragonborn, master of all thu'ums, slayer of Alduin, but I've gotta watch out for the guys in ZZ Top? Puh-lease.

Unfortunately, a pair of pretty stiff factions, IMO.

The Blades have always been a background faction. You hear about them, maybe even join them, but overall they are never really a big player in anything, officially.

The blades have basically been disbanded for about 200 years, so Delphine and Esburn have no actual experience of what the Blades were truly like. They basically read some books and assumed the role. I would more consider them a rogue splinter much like the Dark Brotherhood. Both groups have fallen from their original path that they have lost sight on how they used to be.

oops - double post - mods please feel free to delete this - sorry, gang!

Well, an ancient dragon could be a threat period. But I tend to agree with you. And.... I actually never felt that Paarthurnax was duplicitous (and that's an entirely personal feeling/opinion. No. I have NO "facts" to back it up.)

I found the Blades annoying in Oblivion, always trying to arrest me just because I "accidentally" put someones property under my mage's robe!

Who is it that tried to arrest me all the time in Skyrim.? I forget, it's ages since I played the game!

Ahh, but he knew something Dragonborn didn't know. And he may even know things that you'd never wish he knew. He is older than the empire itself.

As a matter of fact I didn't. I avoided the main quest in Oblivion for several years too. Skyrim was the only one where the main quest interested me enough to finish it with my first character.

I agree, but I guess that way of thinking may appeal to others, but as I said earlier it's their attitude that make me dislike them.

I like everything about them in skyrim EXCEPT delphine. The armor is better than ever, the base is classic, the recruitment thing is useful, the dragon-hunting radiant quests are enjoyable, they have an awesome unique weapon, but that b!tch is a b!tch

So was Alduin!!, That didn't do him much good did it!!!

theyve undergone quite a few changes

in morrowind they were spies and a secret service

in oblivion theyre the emperors bodyguards

in skyrim theyre just 2 idiots


i liked them best in morrowind, nice, quiet and actually doing a good job for a change

Wrong.

They were officially disbanded. The few that survived operated secretly until only few survived. Delphine knows everything from her Master ( or someone like that ) who was probably hunted down by the Thalmor.

Also I belive there are more Blades out there, just hiding.

i cannot remember where but i think i killed a random dude who wielded a blades sword

You're as bad as the Thalmor .

Eh, I only started to like them from Oblivion (I didn't really care for them in Morrowind, since I was pretty anti-Imperials, lol). And only as a helping faction, because both my character and them had the same goals. It was just a temporary partnership there.

It isn't any different here. We work together as long as we both have a use for each other, we leave each other alone when our goals don't overlap, and we become enemies when we actively work against each other. On the personal level, I still like Esbern and want to punch Delphine, but that's separated from business. Although I still won't kill P'nax, I hop in every now and then to go say hi (and be greeted by Delphine's insults But I gotta be honest, I'm getting so used to her bossiness that I'm starting to like her for it).

So in short, I don't really care for the change. It's character development, but now applied to a whole faction. Actually, I'm quite glad to see things change over time in the The Elder Scrolls universe. Who knows, they might become super badass spies in a future dlc. After a lot of self-reflection (and more recruitment) of course.

You're just reversing the roles, aren't you? The dragons first wanted to rule the humans, but now you want to rule the dragons.

You cant control the reapers..err i mean dragons

The Blades of OB. A very skilled warrior faction that served to protect the emperor at all cost and they would hang out at Cloud Ruler Temple.

The Blades of Skyrim. An old man and a middle-aged woman. They for some reason think their purpose is now slaying dragons. Emperor abandoned them. The people abandoned them. History seems to forgotten them. They want to force the PC to help re-establish their faction by adding a few members and getting their name known again as Dragon Slayers.

I thought the Blades of MW were just kinda like a Empire backed spy ring. In OB they were a very cool spy and warrior faction. In Skyrim, ... well they were just pathetic. Honestly if the MQ could be done without ever saying a word to them I would. I think Bethesda failed at giving the PC a real reason to choose them or to remember them as what they used to be. In fact I just wanted to tell the Thalmor where they were hiding out so they could go in and clean them out once and for all. Better for everyone IMO.

Kinda heartless...

Well I am currently playing a Bosmer ... so ...

That explains everything!