I think I accidentally discovered a way to “win” the Forsworn Conspiracy quest line. /u/Strange_Bonus9044 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I’m playing Skyrim for the first time, and I just finished the Forsworn conspiracy quest line. It was a chaotic experience full of moral grey area, and after doing some research, I realized that I ended the quest in an atypical manner.

After investigating the murder, I confronted the three guards at the shrine of talos. By this point, I was pissed at both the Silver-bloods/bent guards and the Forsworn. I decided to go quietly to prison because I figures this was the easiest way of getting to Madanach.

While in the mines, I made friends with most of the inmates and followed Madanach’s orders. However, I didn’t directly kill grisvar, I instead told him that Madanach said hello, waited for him to attack, and let the other prisoners take care of him. I still felt bad about it though.

While I was escaping the mines with the Forsworn, I realized that I probably had to take their side at this point even though I wasn’t particularly fond of them. After getting my gear back, I exited the mine to the confrontation between Thonar and the forsworn.

When I was arrested at the shrine of talos, I had Lydia with me. While I was in the mines, I wasn’t sure what had happened to her. When I exited the mines with the Forsworn, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find her waiting for me.

I aided the Forsworn in the ensuing conflict and even landed the killing blow on Thonar myself. After killing several guards, however, I realized that Lydia was fighting the forsworn! That was the last straw for me. I had planned to let the Forsworn escape, but no one attacks my housecarl and survives. I proceeded to turn on the forsworn and, after letting them take care of a few guards, killed all of them except one who escaped (I actually think it might have been Madenach, which I find somewhat poetic).

After we eliminated the forsworn, however, the whole city guard started flooding in, and I had this moment where I said “fuck it, I guess we’re just gonna burn this whole Gods-forsaken city to the ground.” Lydia and I killed guard after guard and eventually found ourselves on the steps of understone keep. I decided I would go all the way to the Jarl if necessary in order to rid Markarth of corruption.

Upon entering the keep, Lydia and I were swarmed by guards. It was a close battle, but with the help of a couple atronachs, we prevailed. The Jarl and his courtiers entered the room right after I killed the last guard (it was early morning). I expected them to rush at us, but instead the Jarl acted like nothing was amiss. He simply made a passing comment about being upset that the Forsworn had infiltrated his city.

With Markarth purged of both Forsworn and Guards, I decided to end my conquest there and hoped the Jarl would still let me become a Thane.

When I was reading about the quest online afterward, it seemed that the internet consensus was that there was no “winning” this quest and that you had to choose the side that you felt was the lesser of two evils. However after eradicating the corrupt city guard and nearly all of the forsworn, I couldn’t help but feel like I came out on top….

I’m playing Skyrim for the first time, and I just finished the Forsworn conspiracy quest line. It was a chaotic experience full of moral grey area, and after doing some research, I realized that I ended the quest in an atypical manner.

After investigating the murder, I confronted the three guards at the shrine of talos. By this point, I was pissed at both the Silver-bloods/bent guards and the Forsworn. I decided to go quietly to prison because I figures this was the easiest way of getting to Madanach.

While in the mines, I made friends with most of the inmates and followed Madanach’s orders. However, I didn’t directly kill grisvar, I instead told him that Madanach said hello, waited for him to attack, and let the other prisoners take care of him. I still felt bad about it though.

While I was escaping the mines with the Forsworn, I realized that I probably had to take their side at this point even though I wasn’t particularly fond of them. After getting my gear back, I exited the mine to the confrontation between Thonar and the forsworn.

When I was arrested at the shrine of talos, I had Lydia with me. While I was in the mines, I wasn’t sure what had happened to her. When I exited the mines with the Forsworn, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find her waiting for me.

I aided the Forsworn in the ensuing conflict and even landed the killing blow on Thonar myself. After killing several guards, however, I realized that Lydia was fighting the forsworn! That was the last straw for me. I had planned to let the Forsworn escape, but no one attacks my housecarl and survives. I proceeded to turn on the forsworn and, after letting them take care of a few guards, killed all of them except one who escaped (I actually think it might have been Madenach, which I find somewhat poetic).

After we eliminated the forsworn, however, the whole city guard started flooding in, and I had this moment where I said “fuck it, I guess we’re just gonna burn this whole Gods-forsaken city to the ground.” Lydia and I killed guard after guard and eventually found ourselves on the steps of understone keep. I decided I would go all the way to the Jarl if necessary in order to rid Markarth of corruption.

Upon entering the keep, Lydia and I were swarmed by guards. It was a close battle, but with the help of a couple atronachs, we prevailed. The Jarl and his courtiers entered the room right after I killed the last guard (it was early morning). I expected them to rush at us, but instead the Jarl acted like nothing was amiss. He simply made a passing comment about being upset that the Forsworn had infiltrated his city.

With Markarth purged of both Forsworn and Guards, I decided to end my conquest there and hoped the Jarl would still let me become a Thane.

When I was reading about the quest online afterward, it seemed that the internet consensus was that there was no “winning” this quest and that you had to choose the side that you felt was the lesser of two evils. However after eradicating the corrupt city guard and nearly all of the forsworn, I couldn’t help but feel like I came out on top….