Hey guys! So for my current Skyrim character, I'm playing a paladin that only does good and I was thinking about becoming a werewolf. The question is, what would be an explanation as to why a paladin, a holy warrior, would become a werewolf? I was thinking something along the lines of using it to stop evil but I feel like its just unholy to become a werewolf. Any help would be appreciated.

Oh ya, I'm also very new to roleplaying so no judging.

Paladins are like holy warriors right? Wouldn't they also hate anything associated with Daedra?

I done this once. My character became a werewolf to become stronger to kill vampires and other evil things. he then cured himself after finnishing Dawnguard and the companions. he didnt like becoming a werewolf.

To be a werewolf is to be a lesser of two evils. Maybe your paladin is a bit on the zealot side and does not care by which methods he/she must take to destroy the greater evils. Plus wolf senses.

A Paladin to whom? The Divines? A specific divine?

Regardless, werewolves exist because of Hircine, a Daedric Prince, so pretty much anyone who follows one of the Divines (or even the traditional versions) would not, under normal circumstances, want anything to do with the Daedra Lords. It would be seen as unholy. That's not to say being a werewolf makes you evil or anything like that, but it's not the type of thing a Paladin would normally strive for.

My advice is don't be afraid to make your character more dynamic. Just sticking with "a Paladin that only does good" is far less interesting than "a Paladin who vowed to do good by the Divines but is now struggling with his own morality and is willing to resort to becoming a werewolf to enforce his own idea of justice."

Well yes they do, but I believe they would also do anything they could to stop evil except do evil things.

Stendarr and Talos

Perhaps become the very thing you vow to destroy? What better way to understand them then to become one?

You can use the " for the better good " story, you can choose that becoming moon born is the best way to defend from the vampire threat. Hunt the dust bunnies down.

OR

If you are a Pcer then I'm sure there is a mod out there that will allow you to gain the gift without having to do the Companions quest line. This way you could Rp that you contracted the gift while hunting werewolves.

Just an idea all the same

Don't you need to eat peoples heart in order to level it up? At least if you have the expansion.

Either way, as someone who is supposed to be pure "good" and crusades against "evil"... yet does NOT have a problem with killing things, seems like an oxymoron to me.

In my book, if you are pure good then you don't bring harm to other things, no matter what your intentions are. This is why the (man-made) concepts of what "good" and "evil" are, is so flawed. Essentially, because these are just human concepts, you have to decide for yourself what YOU see as "good" and "evil". But, take into consideration that you are already willing to do "evil" (killing), in order to stop "evil", then what is the limit of the "evil" that you are willing to utilise??

I can't think of any group in the Elder Scrolls universe that views harming other beings as evil. Just look at the celebrated histories and beliefs of the various races. The Elves celebrate Lorkhan's heart being ripped out, the Nords are all about fighting and killing to get into Sovngarde, Alessia lead the Imperials to war to overthrow their Ayleid masters and is considered a saint, even Vivec taught us to reach heaven by violence.

Intentionally becoming a werewolf would be viewed as an evil thing by those in the temple. Just look at the Vigilant of Stendarr and their hate for Daedra and all Daedra-associated things. Werewolves are quite clearly aligned with Hircine, so if you want your Paladin to become a werewolf, then you have to compromise the morals set by the temples.

So these people are rewarded for bringing pain and suffering to other people, and it's a-OK because the "good" gods say so. Isn't that then a selfish act - purposely seeking a reward for harming others?!

And aren't those kinds of promises usually made by trickster gods, or by people who use it as a means to justify their actions??

Well I'm not too great with lore but weren't the Ayleids controlling the Imperials as slaves? If so, I think that justifies Alessia's actions in causing the rebellion no?

There are " noble " werewolves, there's a couple in my pack. They feed on the wicked until they reach the Savage feeding perk, then they feed on the wicked and animal. Anyway, just because you are a werewolf doesn't mean you need to act the part, you can choose to go your own path.

It's a common misconception that all werewolves are monsters, when there not. Me on the other hand.....

If you've played " The Witcher", in Chapter Two Geralt meets (and either kills or cures) Vincent, a captain of the city guard who is a werewolf.

Vincent says at first that he does not want to be "cured" because his wolf form makes him much stronger and better at fighting crime.

I think that is a believable example of a "Good" Werewolf .

I don't have a problem believing in a "good" werewolf, but as a Paladin I'd have a hard time justifying becomming a werewolf, since its basically a bargain with Hircine, a daedric prince and a Paladin is a holy knight that presumably follows one of the nine divines. Why don't you roleplay that your Palidin was not always a Paladin and became a werewolf before he set himself on the path of righteousness. Then you can roleplay your Paladin is seeking redemption for his past life and for making the bargain with Hircine with the ultimate goal of curing himself and devoting himself fully to one of the nine divines.

In a sense yes seeing how it was Lord Hircine who created us moon born, or rather created the " disease ". But that doesn't mean that you are aligned with him, you could have been attacked by a feral were and now you are afflicted by the disease against your will. Does that mean you are aligned with him? I would think not, if anything you would make it your mission to piss Hircine off as best you could in that situation.

Then you have others that use the gift for the greater good, such as the Companions. Which stride to use it for good and honor, who really would rather go to Sovngarde then the hunting grounds. You can tell which wolves follow Lord Hircine and which don't. The one that doesn't will hunt deer and other animals over humans, the ones that embrace the way of the hunt will be the one feasting on your flesh as you watch.

Speaking of which, it's been a while since my last meal.....

Oh, for sure. And that brings me back to my original point: These man-made concepts of "good" and "evil" are very flawed. The biggest flaw is that one can't even exist without the other. For "good" to destroy "evil", it must commit evil, and thus "evil" is not destroyed. For "evil" to destroy "good", it must destroy everything, and thus there would be no more "good" or "evil". There wouldn't be anything.

The universe works in a state of hamony. Everything has an equal and an opposite.

Also, nothing is perfect - therefore nothing is perfectly "good", or perfectly "evil".

In the end, it comes down to the individual as to how much good/evil they are willing to be in order to achieve their goals - no matter how contradictory those goals are.

Couldn't have come up with something better myself

Tamriel is the Arena. Combat is in its very nature. If you look at the metaphysics, you don't really get a whole lot for not harming others, but you could potentially get rewarded for harming others. Morality is different in the Aurbis.

As far as trickster gods go, Lorkhan is considered a trickster god by the elves for having created Mundus. Even so, Lorkhan is the one the Nords call Shor, and clearly Sovngarde exists as a place of fighting and drinking and being merry for those who die with honor and valor and a weapon in their hand.

That said, only the Daedra reward harming innocents and causing suffering, and the rewards mortals reap are usually bittersweet at best.

I agree with all of that, but the temples of Divines would still see intentionally becoming a werewolf as evil.

Oh ya, as any priest / priestess would

But you would have the rebel of the temple role to play

Oooohhhh that's a good idea. Fight Sinding then roleplay that he gave me the Lycanthropy and I become a werewolf through it, but I use it for good.

I'm not saying there aren't any "good" werewolves. I'm asking the OP to decide for themself what their concepts of "good" and "evil" are. If they don't considering killing to be evil, then what's so "evil" about becoming a werewolf!?

Would receiving such a powerful gift from a Daedric Prince (while still having the choice not to kill things), be worse than killing in the name of a Divine??

Edit: receiving an ability from an "evil" god, does not make the ability itself evil. What defines it is the actions of the person wielding the ability.

A reason for Holy Knight to become werewolf?

Only sensible reason is he was on hunt after those beasts when he got bitten by them.

I don't believe killing criminals and evil people such as necromancers and bandits and such is "evil". I think if they're not stopped, then what is going to prevent them from committing even more crimes.