Do you think you should be able to murder children?

[Satorus]

In Elder scrolls Morrowind I remember I decided to go on a killing spree and one of the NPC's I attacked had a crap ton of health but as soon as I attacked him I got a warning that this NPC was vital to a main quest line. It gave me an option to ignore it, or to sheathe my weapon. I wish Skyrim was the same way. I would love it for my "evil" characters to be able to get rid of any one I see fit.

As far as children go? Absolutely they should be killable. Its a single player game that no one else can see what you are doing. Who would it hurt to have that option? Make it in the main menu or something, or hell make a "evil" meter like in KOTOR and if you reach a certain level of evil you can have the option to kill children.

I hate how I can blast away four guards in Whiterun, but lil Braithe stands firm in the face of my Dragonborn powers.

 

[Gigapact]

I

In Elder scrolls Morrowind I remember I decided to go on a killing spree and one of the NPC's I attacked had a crap ton of health but as soon as I attacked him I got a warning that this NPC was vital to a main quest line. It gave me an option to ignore it, or to sheathe my weapon. I wish Skyrim was the same way. I would love it for my "evil" characters to be able to get rid of any one I see fit.

As far as children go? Absolutely they should be killable. Its a single player game that no one else can see what you are doing. Who would it hurt to have that option? Make it in the main menu or something, or hell make a "evil" meter like in KOTOR and if you reach a certain level of evil you can have the option to kill children.

I hate how I can blast away four guards in Whiterun, but lil Braithe stands firm in the face of my Dragonborn powers.

I mean really, it's almost the same as killing the regular adults, except, yes, the kids can't fight back. But technically any kind of murder is considered wrong and illegal, so what's the difference? How does you slaughtering a whole town more acceptable than killing one child that aren't even really real anyways. I see murder as murder in technical terms, and if Skyrim were aiming to be more realistic, then kids should be like real life kids and able to die.

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Don't forget chickens! For goodness sake! Don't kill the chickens! I can guarantee that you'd get more of a hassle, fine and/or jail time for killing a chicken than for killing a child anyway.

 

[Hildolfr]

I mean really, it's almost the same as killing the regular adults, except, yes, the kids can't fight back.

Thhis is Skyrim! Of course the kids can fight back! Or, at the very least, they'll try... in my fantasy world where kids are like normal NPCs, at least.

 

[Gigapact]

I meant that they can't do too much. Sure they can fight back with plopsty wooden swords and small weapons, but they don't stand a chance against the Dragonborn. That would be funny though if they couldn't fight back and just stood there. After I reread by post I realize how that sounded and that's what I pictured.

 

[Perkless in Skyrim]

I mean really, it's almost the same as killing the regular adults, except, yes, the kids can't fight back. But technically any kind of murder is considered wrong and illegal, so what's the difference? How does you slaughtering a whole town more acceptable than killing one child that aren't even really real anyways. I see murder as murder in technical terms, and if Skyrim were aiming to be more realistic, then kids should be like real life kids and able to die.

Because they're children. By definition they're innocent and pure. Even when they're insulting you and calling you a boot licker. To kill a child is just too heinous an act to be permitted so let's just ruin the immersion and make them able to completely ignore any and all attacks against them. AND give you a bounty for trying.

It's worse than killing someone in the middle of nowhere and being ratted out by an animal.

 

[Bexy]

And Balgruuf's kids

Whiny, entitled little punks, ain't they! They're the one thing that makes me dislike Balgruff. He must simply be an awful parent. BTW, where is their mother?

She's the smart one

Literally, i agree with every last word said in these posts!
(oh and yeah, you should be allowed to bump kids off in Skyrim)

 

[Neveraine]

I would like it if all characters were killable, and they went back to making so they just gave you a warning if someone is important to the main quest line. Then again, I think if they made children killable, its one of those things that could actually bump up Skyrim's rating to become rated A for adult, or at least I heard that might be part of the reason why Bethesda doesn't let you do it (I could be completely wrong about this though). Also, making children killable may have just seemed wrong to Bethesda, who knows?

 

[shadowkitty]

Maybe not kill, but to be able to put a beat down on that Braith brat without the entire city wanting my neck, would be highly satisfying.

 

[Wildroses]

I might be the unpopular minority here and say killing children is a line that should not be crossed ever. There is a reason child murderers and child abusers are considered the lowest scum in prisons and are constantly beaten up by other prisoners whenever they can get away with it. It's because children are smaller and weaker than adults, and have had less chance to do anything good or evil than adults. This makes the loss of potential more distressing and the likelihood of them doing anything terrible enough to deserve murder more heartbreakingly unlikely.

Child murder is considered so terrible than people get upset when other people want to kill children who don't even exist. That is why it should not be allowed in video games.

I'm unconvinced threads like this help doubters feel that video games don't cause violence. People tend to think anyone who actually says the statement: "I think you should be able to murder children..." are so terrible they are nearly always far too disgusted with the speaker to care that they go on to add: "... in video games, and I would never murder real children."

 

[Gigapact]

Since Plus, they may be kids now, but sooner or later they might become mercenaries or soldiers. Killers. Won't think they're so cute then.

Sorry I must have missed your post earlier. But you made a good point, one that i forgot to state. Actually the Dark Brotherhood's black door even said that life's greatest illusion is innocence, and I agree. Eventually, those kids are going to be adults. So what age exactly does it become okay to kill them in a video game? 12, 15, or the legal age of 18? Because plenty of teens do some horrible plops before being 18, like murder. But technically they're not adults yet. I was wondering at what age it becomes "acceptable" to be killed at.

 

[JoeReese]

I wish that anyone and everyone could be killed, kids and jarls included. Like, in Fable, you could kill every single person in the game (pretty much) and still play it. If you wanted to be super evil and wipe out Skyrim's people, I wish that was an option. Bethesda should have made it so that anyone can be killed... but then, that presents the issue of accidental deaths. What if a quest-giver dies from a dragon attack or vampire attack? They'd have to program them to be vulnerable to YOUR attacks, but invincible in situations like dragon attacks and such.

I'd just like to see the system assign an alternate quest giver. If Mjoll dies, Aerin asks for Grimsever so he can bury it with her. If Brynjolf dies, then one of the other TG members recruits you, even if it just created new, random NPCs to fill the slot.

 

[Snake Tortoise]

I'd walk into the orphanage at night wearing a full set of daedric armour with daedric battleaxe

'Sovngarde awaits you, milk drinkers'

 

[Anouck]

If you say: "you can murder people, there can be torture rooms, but you can't murder kids" you basically say that everything is bad, but not as bad as murdering a child. You are making gradations in a crime I consider bad whoever you commit it to. I understand that a child is defenseless and innocent, but to me murder is murder. According to Bethesda's logic, if you murder a toddler that is worse than when you murder me. It is a way of denigrating the value of life. Better be a minor in Skyrim. Screw you for getting older, now you can get killed.

 

[Rimfaxe96]

Sorry I must have missed your post earlier. But you made a good point, one that i forgot to state. Actually the Dark Brotherhood's black door even said that life's greatest illusion is innocence, and I agree. Eventually, those kids are going to be adults. So what age exactly does it become okay to kill them in a video game? 12, 15, or the legal age of 18? Because plenty of teens do some horrible pl*** before being 18, like murder. But technically they're not adults yet. I was wondering at what age it becomes "acceptable" to be killed at.

It's because children are smaller and weaker than adults, and have had less chance to do anything good or evil than adults.

Not wanting to thumb-down your opinion Wildroses, but if you google for kids who murdered (I remember a case in which a boy killed both of his parents for example, not going to link anything though) you will find plenty.
And from a psychological point of view; look at school bullies for example, especially those who practice cyber bullying. They have no regards for the being they're targetting at all and are even pleasured and amused by the thought of his or her suffering. They may not be able to comprehend the damage they cause, but they know it's wrong and still delibaretely do it. And as a matter of fact, they don't face any severe charges unless they're older than 13, somewhere in the US where a 12-year-old bullied a girl to death she even stated that she "doesn't give a f!ck" and is back home now living her life. Probably trying to avoid the confrontation with her deed or trying to black it out, just like my personal ex-bully tried; if she does harbour regret somewhere within her, it'd be what psychologists call 'cognitive dissonance'.

Children have the best chance to grow up to become proper members of our society rather than adults or teens with a criminal past, can't teach an old dog new tricks after all, but if anything goes wrong in their environment they can become killers just like anyone else. While today's generations don't know war, the ability to murder another human being is in everyone. And if parents never notice how their "oh so innocent baby girl" picks on another girl which runs past them crying or anything, then they've failed as parents, and quite badly to be honest.

 

[sticky runes]

Um, no. I don't find the child NPCs that annoying, they even make me laugh sometimes. And if they were killable, then there's a chance they'd all be dying in dragon attacks and getting killed in the crossfire when enemies attack me in town, and that would be a bit upsetting.

It's odd, though, that pregnant women can still be killed.

 

[Naginata]

Um, no. I don't find the child NPCs that annoying, they even make me laugh sometimes. And if they were killable, then there's a chance they'd all be dying in dragon attacks and getting killed in the crossfire when enemies attack me in town, and that would be a bit upsetting.

It's odd, though, that pregnant women can still be killed.

Instead of having the ability to kill kids, I'd rather see:
-actually pregnant women, like women with baby bellies, for realistic reasons
-babies and toddlers being carried by their mothers
-teenagers. It seems like there is only one age for all kids, and that's really unrealistic.
-different faces for children, as well as the option for slightly overweight children

All of those things would add some serious realism to the game. It's great that they added kids into the game, which none of the previous ones had, but it's such an afterthought in my opinion.

 

[Daelon DuLac]

I mean really, it's almost the same as killing the regular adults, except, yes, the kids can't fight back. But technically any kind of murder is considered wrong and illegal, so what's the difference? How does you slaughtering a whole town more acceptable than killing one child that aren't even really real anyways. I see murder as murder in technical terms, and if Skyrim were aiming to be more realistic, then kids should be like real life kids and able to die.

Because they're children. By definition they're innocent and pure. Even when they're insulting you and calling you a boot licker. To kill a child is just too heinous an act to be permitted so let's just ruin the immersion and make them able to completely ignore any and all attacks against them. AND give you a bounty for trying.

It's worse than killing someone in the middle of nowhere and being ratted out by an animal.

Regardless of the moral conundrum, we have all played characters that would have no issues with killing children.

While I agree in theory that killing children is just plain wrong, I currently have a character that would have no issue with killing a child, particularly if it served a purpose (i.e. kill Balguff's children just to weaken his position and leave him vulnerable, etc...).

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Um, no. I don't find the child NPCs that annoying, they even make me laugh sometimes. And if they were killable, then there's a chance they'd all be dying in dragon attacks and getting killed in the crossfire when enemies attack me in town, and that would be a bit upsetting.

It's odd, though, that pregnant women can still be killed.

You can't tell me that Braith is amusing. She is a reprehensible, evil child. While I wouldn't necessarily want to kill her, her parents should certainly be taught a lesson. The Amren's should go through retraining. If that dude thinks holding Braith makes his life worthwhile, I hope he's wearing a flackjacket and gloves 'cause that little rat probably bites.

 

[Atz]

For me it's across the line , same as eating human flesh . I know , I know , it's just a game , so why would we be discussing this at all ? I feel Bethesda got this right , we are all challenged to chose right or wrong . But Killing the Children no not for me .