[RELz] The Paarthurnax Dilemma

[Arthmoor]

Disappointed with how ruthless and unforgiving the Blades were at the end of the main quest? Felt like you should have been able to put your foot down and make them see reason? Well now you can!

This mod is a simple, yet badly needed modification to the post-MQ quest the Blades give you to kill Paarthurnax.

Approach the quest as usual. Listen to the Greybeards and Paarthurnax.

Should you decide to spare his life, return to Delphine or Esbern and explain it to them. You may have to be a bit forceful in the process. They may not like what you're telling them, but they're supposed to be there to serve the Dragonborn, right?

Should you choose to go through with slaying him, he will not be alone. Paarthurnax told you he was going to try and teach others the Way of the Voice, and he'll have his first group of students listening intently. Or, well, whatever dragons do when they're perched on rocks looking at each other.

Are you a ruthless savage like your Blade companions, or will you show compassion and forgiveness the Blades don't appear to be capable of anymore? Make your choice, Dragonborn!

Downloads

AFK Mods

Installation Requirements

Official Skyrim patch 1.9.32.0.8 or greater.

Installation - Wrye Bash BAIN

Drop the archive into your Skyrim Mods\Bash Installers folder, then install as usual.
Make sure the mod is active in the Wrye Bash mods tab.

Installation - Manual

Drop the The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp and The Paarthurnax Dilemma.bsa files into your Data folder.
Activate the mod using whatever management tool suits you.

Uninstall

Don't do that. Uninstalling the mod will break things beyond repair. If you insist on ignoring this, you will get no help with trying to undo the damage that will be done.

Known Issues

None, thank God.

Compatibility

Mods which alter the following quests will not be compatible without a patch:

MQPaarthurnax - Paarthurnax
FreeformHighHrothgarA - The Words of Power
DialogueHighHrothgar
MQ306
MQ301 - The Fallen

Mods which edit the following scripts will not be compatible unless patched:

QF_MQPaarthurnax_0003FA16.psc
QF_MQ301_00044C56.psc
QF_MQ305_00046EF2.psc

Credits

Madcat221 - For coming up with some good lore based solutions for dialogue, dragon names, and other helpful suggestions.

Disclaimer

This mod is not made, guaranteed, or supported by Microsoft, Zenimax, Bethesda Game Studios, or any of their affiliates.

[Ysne58]

I'll compare this with the one I have downloaded. I suspect I will like this one better. It seems to have more detail in it based on your description.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.1

* Arngeir will no longer keep the topic about the Blades wanting to kill Paarthurnax if you've spared him.
* Arngeir will once again properly offer word wall quests so long as Paarthurnax isn't actually dead.
* Odahviing will no longer be controlled by this mod due to unresolvable AI conflicts with the Call Dragon shout. His spot has been given to a new dragon.
* A missing script for the assault check system has been included.

Since this update was generated using CK 1.6.89, Skyrim 1.6.89 is now required to run the mod.

[Ysne58]

I'll update again. Thanks for the info.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2

Paarthurnax's 3 dragon students will now have names that translate to actual words in the dragon tongue and not the made up gibberish I used before.

The 3 new dragons will now enable some distance away from and below the site of the initial battle with Alduin.

Dovahkiin's exchange with the Blades gets a lot more testy... on both sides!

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.1

The text used by the player to to put the Blades in their place now uses dragon words to cause the rumble.
Paarthurnax's students will join the orbit pattern while the other dragons are running the scene after Alduin's defeat.
Part of the scene with Delphine and Esbern after Alduin's defeat will block reminding you to kill Paarthurnax if that decision has already been made.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.2

Cleaned with TES5Edit.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.3

Minor typo correction in dialogue.
Slight tweak to clarify one of the quest objectives.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.4

Minor script optimizations.
Updated cleaning with TES5Edit 3.0.30.

[Ysne58]

I'll grab this the next time I'm ready to go throught the main quest again. Thanks for keep up you mods.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.5

Paarthurnax's "students" will now enable once you have left Throat of the World after the first encounter with Alduin so they don't just show up unexpectedly.

[BlackPete]

I think from what I'm reading that this mod doesn't actually have voice acting, however it does have subtitles. Is this correct?

 

I would also assume that it is completely compatible with the USKP.

[Arthmoor]

Correct, no voiced lines but has subtitles. Also correct that it works 100% ok with the USKP.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.6

At the end of Dragonslayer (MQ305) the objective for the Paarthurnax quest was being disabled. This will no longer happen.
Esbern has been marked as an optional alias during The Fallen (MQ301) so that the remainder of the quest will not fail.
Esbern and Delphine have been marked as optional aliases for MQ306 so the scenes associated with it will not fail.
If MQ306 was DOA due to Esbern or Delphine being dead, it will be forced to restart. If you left Throat of the World, go back to get the events to play out properly.
Paarthurnax's "students" will now be enabled after his scene when you return from Sovngarde. Return to Throat of the World again later and they will be there.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.8

Script synchronization with USKP 2.0.4 fixes to The Fallen (MQ301).

[Leonardo]

Version 1.2.6

At the end of Dragonslayer (MQ305) the objective for the Paarthurnax quest was being disabled. This will no longer happen.

Esbern has been marked as an optional alias during The Fallen (MQ301) so that the remainder of the quest will not fail.

Esbern and Delphine have been marked as optional aliases for MQ306 so the scenes associated with it will not fail.

If MQ306 was DOA due to Esbern or Delphine being dead, it will be forced to restart. If you left Throat of the World, go back to get the events to play out properly.

Paarthurnax's "students" will now be enabled after his scene when you return from Sovngarde. Return to Throat of the World again later and they will be there.

Version 1.2.8

Script synchronization with USKP 2.0.4 fixes to The Fallen (MQ301).

What happen to the 1.2.7 version?  Just curious.

[Elgar]

According to AxonBitshift who just released his expert AxonBitshift's Modding Guide on Nexus, The Paarthurnax Dilemma is "broken and old", Arthmoor. 

[Arthmoor]

So let me guess.... "it hasn't been updated in two weeks, therefore it's old and broken"

 

I'll wager the guy has no concept of "if it's not broke, don't fix it".

 

Only thing I'd really like is voiced lines for Delphine and Esbern's parts. I don't see that ever happening though because they're both unique actors and it would be nigh on impossible to pay them to do real work for a mod.

[garthand]

Not sure if this is going into mission creep territory but it would be nice if Esbern would drop a recipe for his potion if you decide to off him.

[Arthmoor]

Version 1.2.9

The event that enables Paarthurnax's students could get swallowed by other events in the same node. The trigger has been moved to its own node to ensure it will activate when the time comes.

[Leonardo]

Have you ever consider to expand the Paarthurnax Dilemma mod a bit and that's to include a chance for the player to establish a new purpose for the Blades since their ties to the Empire no longer exist?

 

It could be something like this.

 

The Blades will now protect Skyrim and its citizen, but will not rebel against the Greybeards and Paarthurnax or other dragon(s) that still lives.  The Blades will only kill a dragon, if the actual dragon have started to attack civilians.