Just started questing in Markarth...

[justwannaddl]

I've hit four nasty quests there so far. There was a Thalmor collaboration quest, a cannibal quest, a Molag Baal quest and the last is a genocidal slavery quest. This was what I imagined Solitude was supposed to be like after all the Potema atrocities. I half considered joining the forsworn just to put the city out of its misery. Has there been any place as nasty and evil as this city in the previous titles?

[Schattenu]

Yeah, as scenic as it is, Markarth isn't a particularly upbeat place. Riften isn't a whole lot better, either. I don't recall any previous city games being quite this grim, though. I know Bravil in Oblivion wasn't real ideal, but that's mostly just because it was a shanty town. Morrowind had a few crappy cities too, but again, probably not to the level of Markath's problems. Skyrim overall just seems to be considerably more hostile than most places we've seen.

[RandomMan1973]

Same as the OP, ive just come across Markath after being guided along there on the 3 broken amulet quest.

 

Place is just a bed of seething violence about to break out any minute, i dont think ive found a resident that gets on with another race or their neighbour yet.

The abandoned house is just evil, and epic... so thumbs up \o/

 

A few places ive left as im overpowered and some of the quests have the definite feel that your best left leaving them in the middle. For now ive run off with Orgmunds Talos Amulet just to take a break from the oppresive feel of Markuth. Decided to stay in the nice pub down the road that claims Tiber Septim slept in a bed there ...

 

Well i know its spoilers and your forewarned but ill stop there.

 

This game broadsides you with Quests. Rock On!

[SilusCrow]

My only two complaints about Markath are as follows:

 

1. You can't kill that Thalmor guy in the keep without aggroing the guards.

 

2. It's a pain to get around.

[Patronus]

I half considered joining the forsworn just to put the city out of its misery

If you meant putting them out of the misery by slaughtering the entire city - sure, it's the way, but if you really want to help the city out - it's not the way. After all, forsworn are some sort of maniacs. I found that they make some creepy experiments (I met several their Briarhearts - the guys with cut-out heart replaced with briar and brought to life with some sort of necromancy).

1. You can't kill that Thalmor guy in the keep without aggroing the guards.

Maybe you can. After becoming a thane there's an option to tell guards "I'm a Thane" and they reply "ok, I'll look the other way". Not sure if this will work when i try to murder 3 thalmor ambassadors.

---

Updated - Yes, you definately can! I went into the understone keep at night, found the thalmor in the back room and slayed them right there. The guards tried to arrest me. When I said I'm the Jarls Thane, they let me go, though warned that next time even being a Thane might not save me (in other words, but they ment so).

Edited December 11, 2011 by Patronus

[justwannaddl]

When I read up on that guide to the forsworn, I couldn't help but think back to the old Call of Cthulhu RPG's cultists and how the best way to deal with them involved fire and lots of it. The only benefit to helping the forsworn in my eyes would have been that I wouldn't have to worry about spells with a lot of splash damage since I care for neither side.

 

I'll have to test out that the "I'm a Thane" method. Normally, I dislike committing a murder when using a character I designated as good but I do dislike the way Thalmor brazenly walk around as if they own Skyrim.