I like to role play a law-abiding, good PC, but that's not always easy in Skyrim. One source of guilt has been killing giants for their toes and mammoths for their souls; they are utterly peaceful around their camps unless provoked (so don't provoke them). Of course, marauding giants are a different issue; I consider them fair game. So here's the workaround - maybe it'll help you RP.

Buy giant toes from vendors and pretend they acquired the toes honorably by way of permission to participate in some sort of secret burial ceremony to which only select outsiders are invited by the giants.

Leave peaceful mammoths alone, don't provoke them into fighting. Get grand souls by fighting Draugr and Falmer uber baddies. Personally, I don't buy filled soul gems but that's also an option.

Anyone else have workarounds for some of the ... evil... parts of the game? (I generally avoid the Daedric quests and the Dark Brotherhood. The Thieve's Guild is acceptable, though barely).

Hmmm, I don't really like killing mammoths and giants. They've been there since the Dwemers time so I feel bad destroying something so old and legendary.

How about getting a contract from the jarl to kill a giant, with the mammoths being collateral damage, I mean, no one forced them to intervene did they?

Right, the bounty system does sanction it. Honestly, I'm more likely to revert to an earlier game and get a different bounty. Too bad there isn't a way to reject bounties. With regard to the mammoths, you can take out the giants without involving the mammoths.

In this case, the giant has apparently been attacking innocent citizens. If we attack the giants and some mammoths happen to start defending, you gotta do what you gotta do to survive. Or (if your character can cast some Calm spells) you can just calm the mammoth(s) down, but sometimes this takes a lot of work)

Personally I and my characters hate attacking giants or mammoths. Sometimes if they get a contract to kill a giant, they'll simply never follow through with it. I hate when this happens; I'd much rather fight bandits.

I don't understand: why did you kill them if you didn't agree to? Quests? Don't do them if you disagree, simple, isn't it?

Meh kill them we need more land and you will be giving homes to people and mammoths cheese sandwiches.

Better alternative to Giant's Toes: Salmon Roe. Seriously. Check out my thread on it. (Sorry, can't link from phone)

Grand Souls: Collect as many black soul gems as possible. They may be viewed as evil in the eyes if the more common folk, but when used against bandits who [censored] kill and pillage, I'm sure your PC can find a way to justify capturing their tainted souls.

At least they respawn eventually. Nothing felt more guilty then hunting down all the buffalo in Red Dead and never seeing them again...I felt like such a scumbag afterwards but it was realistic and true to the American way back then

I was kind of disappointed to see how everything (including the ore mines) respawn. I know the game isn't suppose to delve into the management of natural resources but the mindless consumption of everything from plants to animals without any consequence was hard for me to overlook. I now understand the audience of the game as well as Bethesda's imperative to serve its customers but what a lost opportunity to educate gamers (however subtly) about conservation. I have no expectation to see anything along these lines in future games which is fine.

But... But... Valenwood needs the ivory!

Screw the giants. I once shot some bandits who were attacking some mammoths, and the next thing I knew, I had 2 giants and 2 mammoths trying to turn me into paste.

You were the next victim person to get involved in the space program.

While this is a good idea for someone that's playing a more peaceful character. I just have to much fun hunting them down to stop, and it's a good test of power in the early levels.

Nah, if I need something's soul, I'm going to take it. I've taken pretty much everything's soul that I've though. I am very much like the Grim Reaper, only I have a several chests full of thousands of filled soul gems.

2 characters and 900+ hours...and I have avoided killing either (one exception: self-defense). Toes are found in various quests. Ignore the bounties.

I prefer to spare the giants because they're so useful for spamming Heavy Armor and Block. And also, they didn't attack me. I only kill one non-aggressive character in the game.

I typically spare giants. They're sentient beings and as such, the same rules apply to every other race. Attack me, I kill you, otherwise you're fine.

I call these mobs "proximity mobs".. They will attack if you stay within their range for too long. Therefore, I keep going my marry way. I prefer to not attack anything(enemies included) that have this "provocation by range" if you will.. Exceptions being when I'm in werewolf mode, where everything except foxes, bunnies, moose, deer, and goats are fair game.

One could argue that using soul gems AT ALL is evil.

Regardless of the target...

Pfft, forget morality.

Kill those useless gaints and mammoths.

Much better as raw materials.

The evil Demeter cannot bear to kill wildlife (unless she has to in order to defend herself). Why, the other day she slaughtered a hunter just for killing a fox! She also hesitates to harvest ingredients for alchemy because the world looks so beautiful, then once those plants and flowers are gone, it looks more dull...

I like hunting them for their souls.

Morality, in Skyrim?

True, I encountered the old Orc twice on 1 character already and I thought "hey didn't I give you a good death already"?