Should I Let Straw Kill The Bandit?

When It Makes Sense

• Good fit: You are allied with Straw and want to strengthen that relationship. In many role-playing games, allowing a companion to act on a personal grievance can increase companion approval, unlock unique dialogue, or advance a loyalty storyline. If the bandit wronged Straw or innocent people, the kill can feel narratively consistent and rewarding.
• Good fit: The bandit remains a practical threat. If there is no secure way to imprison the captive, no nearby authority to hand them over, or keeping them alive creates a risk of escape or future ambush, letting Straw finish the job may be the safest pragmatic choice.

When You Should Avoid It

• Warning sign: You are playing a lawful, merciful, or honor-bound character. Executing a surrendered or helpless opponent is often treated differently from combat kills and may lower your morality score, trigger guilt-based dialogue, or cause law-aligned companions to turn against you.
• Warning sign: The scene appears during a branching quest. Killing the bandit may permanently close off alternative resolutions, side quests, vendor access, recruitment opportunities, or storylines connected to that character. Save beforehand and investigate the options if you can.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Companion alignment: Letting Straw kill the bandit may deepen Straw’s loyalty, advance a personal quest, or improve your standing with a faction that values revenge or decisive action.
• Threat removal: A dead bandit cannot escape, regroup, or return later as an enemy. This can simplify travel, camp security, or the immediate quest flow.

Cons

• Relationship costs: Merciful companions, lawful factions, or non-violent NPCs may disapprove of an execution. This can lower approval ratings, create tension in the party, or damage your reputation in lawful areas.
• Missable content: The bandit may have offered information, a side quest, a reward, a recruitment option, or future story relevance. Killing them can remove those possibilities permanently.

Decision Checklist

• Have you saved the game in a separate slot so you can reload and compare outcomes?
• Does this choice fit your character’s values and the faction or companion relationships you are trying to build?
• Could the bandit still provide value through dialogue, a quest, loot, or future encounters?

Alternatives to Consider

If you are not sure, you can usually choose to spare the bandit, turn them over to local authorities, negotiate for information or a bribe, intimidate or persuade Straw to stop, or attempt to recruit the bandit. These alternatives often preserve more quest branches and may satisfy companions who prefer mercy or lawfulness. In some games, refusing Straw can also lead to a different emotional beat or reveal more about Straw’s character.

Final Recommendation

Let Straw kill the bandit if your playstyle favors loyalty, revenge, or pragmatic problem-solving, and you are willing to accept any lost quest branches or companion disapproval. Refuse or intervene if you are playing a merciful, lawful, or completionist character, or if companions you care about would view the killing as unjust. Because the consequences can be significant and permanent, save before the choice and consider reloading to explore both paths.