Roleplaying » Discussions


How can morally "good" characters justify enchanting?

  • August 25, 2015

    Before I get into this, I'd like to establish the definition of "good" in the context of Skyrim by using the definitions provided by the Nine Alignments System.  That way there's an objective jumping off point that most people are already familiar with.

    Good characters and creatures protect innocent life. Evil characters and creatures debase or destroy innocent life, whether for fun or profit.

    Then there are the three types of good alignments: 

    Lawful good: A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.


    Neutral good: A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them.


    Chaotic good: A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he's kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society.

      

    From the UESP on the Soul Cairn:

    When a soul is captured by a Soul Gem, it is transported to the Soul Cairn to roam for eternity.

    This is true for humans and non-human animals.  Without turning this into an animals rights debate, I'd like to put forward that it is still morally wrong to submit an animal to the Soul Cairn to roam for eternity.  How much worse it is, is another discussion.  

    Now that that's established, I ask, how can any character that claims to be good justify practicing, or supporting, Enchanting?  By "supporting", I mean buying soul gems and enchanted gear & weapons.  It's supporting the market for soul gems by providing the demand that keeps up the supply.

     

  • Member
    August 25, 2015

    Most people don't know about the Soul Cairn, to be fair.

  • August 25, 2015

    But most people know what entails enchanting, right?  That is, the fact that is uses the souls of the once-living.  Is it willful ignorance on their part to just look past this? 

  • Member
    August 25, 2015
    They need to find alternative enchanting methods. Last i checked sigil stones dont use souls you just need a master conjurer or a oblivion gate.
  • Member
    August 25, 2015

    why was Jib in the Soul Cairn? did someone soul trap him?

  • Member
    August 25, 2015

    Well, most people don't see a problem with using animals. Next thing you know, people in Skyrim won;t be eating meat or domesticating animals.

  • August 26, 2015

    Yes, he was soul trapped by a dremora during the siege of Kvatch.

  • Member
    August 26, 2015

    Using Black Soul gems is downright nasty but in defense of other soul gems I think we need to examine what a soul is. Without waffling on and boring people, try and visualise this:

    We know where souls go after death, right? = to Aetherius.

    We know what the sun and stars are, right? = Holes in the wall of Oblivion leading to Aetherius.

    We know what light is, right? = Magicka radiating down through the holes onto Nirn.

    We know what happens when we use a soul gem, right? = It infuses a weapon with magicka.

    So therefore souls and light are the same thing. A soul gem just simply captures light.

  • August 26, 2015

    I think that's a bit of a slippery slope.  

  • Member
    August 26, 2015

    ok, thanks. I didn't know.