>>115845307>died because he refused to compromise what he considered moralRorschach is more complex then that. The in between chapter material about his early education is vital to understanding him. In it, he defends and agrees with Truman's decision to drop the bombs on Japan, based on the idea that there would be more dead from a prolonged war and an invasion then there would be from the two nukes. This is exactly Vedit's reasoning for the squidening and completely against what Rorschach claims to be for.
Rorschach is an alternate identity/personality for Kovacs. It acts as a shield between him and the cruelty of the world, which is why it first appears at the (probable) scene of a horrific crime. It's also why, in his last moments, he takes off the mask and his eyes are filled with tears. Rorschach might have tried to be morally uncompromising, but Rorschach is a persona for Kovacs, and Kovacs is nothing more than human. He knew that the knowledge he had was far too large for a broken man like him to deal with, and he knew what the cost of disclosing that knowledge would mean. When faced with information that directly contradicts one's world view, they either adapt their world view, they deny the information, or they break down. Rorschach was the latter.
Here's a question. How exactly did Rorschach plan to fix and then pilot Archie? Whether by Manhattan or by exposure, he knew he was going to die if he left Karnak.