Yeah public executions would be nice.They need to be gory too.Heads must fall,blood must splatter.The crowd must cheer when execution is done.Brutal.Makes me feel truly sorry for them.That can not be done if the executions are lame like one sword slash to the back and lame death animation.No.Just no.

They probably don't want alot of flaming on here or something.

But Beth has a somewhat mature audience. Besides quests from FO 3 and NV have things like cannabalism. While we have daedra princes who try to corrupt the souls of mortals or trap their souls in gems. Don't see why they wouldn't hold back on such things.

I guess some people don't want it in their faces but don't mind references or second hand knowledge of such attrocities.

I honestly thought this thread was going to be about people publicly burning their copies of Skyrim as some sort of protest.

I wouldn't mind public executions at all. Beheading, stoning, all that listed in the opening post, I think it would add to the realism. What realism is there to "You just slaughtered a whole village, you criminal scum! Pay X amout of gold or go to jail!" I think it would be a great add to the gameworld, we could be executed, other criminals could and so on. I just don't think ONLY burnings would do it, it would get too boring in the end. Random executions could work, though.
I'm all for it. We did see crucifixions in FO:NV, we did hear about that lottery, where people got killed, burned, crucified, got enslaved and some got their legs beaten to hell and back again. Ceasar's Legion slaughtered a whole village, only ONE escaped from there with no scratch on his body. I don't see why we can't have public executions in Skyrim.

Public executions? Fine. But excessive amounts of violence does not automatically make a game more mature or intelligent.

It would probably look dumb (animating a burning humanoid,anyone?).

Only if they can animate it properly.

I really don't think putting this in the game is necessary to make the game realistic and fun. If this was a Simulation of real life in mid-Evil times, sure, but it's not.

Video games don't need to put "everything" in to make them fun an believable, and burning at the stake could cause problems for the company in the public eye (especially if its realistic).

I would vote to keep it out.

Hanging would sound more... nordish...

But Joy Fires could happen in some cities...

I would rather see them burn people the way they burnt witches in medieval Europe.

Fist glance, I have no problem with burning-at-stake. However, why? Traditionally, it was not used as a criminal punishment, but as a "cleansing." (With cases of it being used for High Treason in English and Wales, etc.) Of course, that depends on which culture you're references, but generally speaking, it is a symbol meaning "to cleanse." Some would use it as sacrifice, too, but it still falls near the same line I mentioned.

And should you really want to discuss the prevalence of it, we need to discuss events such as the witch trials, and etc. These were ran by the Church. Yes, it often involved government officials and etc, and I actually cannot speak on behalf of any official laws made, but seeing as how laws are influenced and affected by the people, I can take a stab (lol) at it and guess there would've been some.

Any not to mention, as some have stated, watching someone die in a fire is A LOT worse and more gruesome than a beheading, hanging, being eaten/mauled, or any other. The person will scream, the smell of burning flesh will fill the air. Those screams are NOT something someone wants to have in their memory. And not to mention that it will be slower than a beheading, it connects more to the individual watching. It's one of the reasons why the Tibetan monks who set themselves on fire made such an impact. Burning alive is simply... horrid.

And I am willing to guess that the majority of those who watched "witches" burning at stake probably were affected negatively, despite the reason the victim was burning. It may have made it easier on them, saying, "This woman/man is a witch, they're devil worshipers." etc. But humans are humans and empathy/sympathy is natural.

So while I'd have no actual problem with seeing it in a game, that's my personal choice, I Do Not want it in the game. It has no place and the actual experience of witnessing it will be too graphic. It'd be like watching someone get [censored] in the game. Though some people may like that and get turned on by it. There are some things you just don't do because they are too horrific and inhuman.

OK, enough, I am closing this topic.

Despite an earlier advice post from Talaran this is going beyond acceptable on these forums.