Paarthurnax (Skyrim)

Paarthurnax, called the Old One by other dragons, is the leader of the Greybeards. The player's first meeting with him comes after the Greybeards teach you the Clear Skies shout, which you then use to ascend the mountain up to the Throat of the World. He is not surprised when the Dragonborn is confused over his form as a dragon. When asked why he is a dragon, he replies with "Akatosh wished me to be this way". He teaches the Dragonborn the shout to breath fire and can help the Dragonborn to meditate on his shouts, giving the player an active effect depending on the word chosen.

In the quest Paarthurnax, the Blades want you to kill him because they found out that he was one of Alduin's allies a long time ago. This quest is not essential however and you can still beat the game without completing it.

If he is not killed, Paarthurnax appears to leave the Throat of the World in the Epilogue, intent on bringing the "Way of the Voice" to all Dovah. However, he can still be found perched on the mountain's Word Wall at any given time, and will still aid the player in meditating on Shouts.

Trivia

 * His name means "Ambition Overlord Cruelty".
 * The invincible Exploit has been patched. He now flies away.

Bugs

 * (Xbox, PC, PS3) When Dragonborn is told by the Blades that Paarthurnax should be slain, the player is somtimes unable to kill Paarthunax. When attempting to kill him, the player will merely see Paarthurnax's health bar gradually decrease to zero at which point it disappears, although during this entire process Paarthurnax seems oblivious. This glitch can be used to the players advantage to level virtually any combat skill by repeatedly attacking Paarthurnax. (You can kill it with a cinematic-like melee attacks. )