So just now i saw an random encounter that i've yet to see in skyrim, a farmer on his way to offer a cow to some giants as a sort of "service payiment", to make the giants stay away from the farmer's live stock. So i got a few questions about it:

1- Is there any point in this event other than to know the purpose of the paintings on the cows ( wich is a symbol that they are offering it willingly).

2- So that basicaly means that giants are not the peaceful creatures that we tought of then, as in, if you don't do this you have the risk of having a giant run your farm down and kill your livestock?

giants are peaceful creatures. The farmer believes that they are not, and will attack his farm if he does not offer a sacrifice. I bet if he stopped, nothing would happen. But because nothing is happening, and he's doing an event... well he got confuzzled.

Yeah, these giants confuse me. It's stated over and over how they're such peacefull tranquil creatures. But they'll still terrorize a farmer into sacrificing some of his cattle, and they'll quite happily rip you limb from limb and then fight each other for the juiciest parts of your newly mangled body.

They aren't very peaceful. A group of giants is attacking an orc stronghold somewhere in the Rift, because the orcs are too weakened to effectively fight back.

Oh no! Do you know the name of the stronghold? I'd like to intervene. I dont like Orcs but I like giants even less.

Largashbur, if I remember correct. There is one giant wrecking up the place when you go there first time.

Largashbur.

That situation involves a curse placed by an annoyed higher power though, so the giants' actions may not be entirely normal.

I certainly haven't seen giants going after towns or strongholds anywhere else (not that they usually get close to such).

Same here. I've only seen one giant corpse around a city, and that's Whiterun. They had killed it when I was off around the city and the giant had happened to wander close to the city and got struck with a large amount of arrows for his curiosity.

I actually watched one happen at Whiterun. I was on my way back from helping Cicero, and as I approached the city, I watched a Giant charge in from well outside of Guard-reaction Range (meaning unprovoked). It was quickly cut down by a steel rain, but it still attacked.

However, I do have to admit that when compared to the demeanor of all of the other Giants I have witnessed, the Giants that I've seen attacking Largashbur and Whiterun are the aberrations... most Giants don't react this way.

There's the giant outside of Whiterun too, when you first encounter the companions. It's in a farmstead, and the companions deal with violent problems, not diplomatic ones, as far as I know. It would also make very little sense for them to lure it there, so that might be one event where a giant was terrorizing the farmers who in turn went to the companions for help.

Apparently if you follow the farmer, he and his cow get killed by the giant. Thats what i read anyway.

Most giants are peaceful but some aren't. Can you blame a giant for wanting a farmer to offer him free food instead of hunting for it?

There is another random encounter though where a giant is taking a cow back towards a camp. The giant in that case is peaceful and can be approached without aggression.

another random encounter with a horseman and a bear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93W6mB0ZqCM&feature=related

That's not an random encounter, that guy is actually part of a quest in riften.

I came across a giant camp again, but this time there was one of those painted cows above a fire!

I followed him for a while, until he got jumped by a saber cat. it killed his cow, but I got it before he was killed. His response?

"My wife's going to kill me when i tell her we need another cow..."

Hah, I saw that same encounter.

The farmer brought the cow to the giant, the giant ran over to the farmer and club smashed him 100 feet into the air.

I laughed.

"a farmer on his way to offer a cow to some giants as a sort of "service payment"

Isn't that they chap with the painted cow? As was said on here the other day, people who paint cows are a bit weird. Therefore I don't think one assume anything about the mindset of giants on the basis of some loony who spends his time with a paintbrush, tins of various coloured emulsions and a bovine.

If you follow the guy and his cow he takes the cow into the giant's camp, and the giant takes the farmer as the sacrifice and spares the cow xD

Has anyone tried/managed to save him from the attack/ - curious what he says

I met one of these farmers once while messing around with the rotating rock puzzle somewhere west of Whiterun. I just let him go about his business and kept fiddling with the puzzle. When I was done and had looted the chest, the farmer returned, without his cow.

I then followed him, because he told me that he was going for a pub now, and I hadn't been to Whiterun on this character yet. So, I was curious where he would go. He went towards Whtierun, and there more farmers were heading into town. I must admit that I then became distracted and lost the cow farmer, so I don't really know if he went into Whiterun or not.


Also, just yesterday, I saw a peacefully wandering giant and a painted cow. They were walking around in the yucky area south of Windhelm. I didn't hang around to watch what they were doing because there was a dragon roaming around at the horizon and I wanted to take that one down instead of chasing giants and cows.

Yep. I found that farmer one day and decided to follow him. As soon as he got close enough the Giant killed him.

Only in my case the giant left the cow alone.

I think the Farmer was just unlucky though, because he did try to run away and hide. Likely he was supposed to hide and not get smashed by the giant, but since I was observing his waveform collapsed.

IIRC, the cow sacrifice encounter is a shout-out to a similar such event in one of the lore books.

I forget which. Someone better versed in lore may know.