/tgesg/ - Weekend Elder Scrolls General

Pic very much related

Lore wise, I’d have to go with Sixteen Accords of Madness, Book VI

Shit gets me every time

...

How did the Chimer ever possibly war with the Dwemer.

Chimer kept losing until they remembered to ask Mephala for advice and defeated the Dwemer through trickery and subterfuge.

>Nerevar said: 'I have traveled out of my way to warn you of the deceit of our enemies, the Dwemer, but I have learned much on the journey and have changed my mind. This netchiman's wife you see at my side is a sword and a symbol and there is prophecy inside. It tells me that, like it, we must for a while be like he is and, as a people, cloaked in our former enemies, and to use their machines without shame.'

What kind of coming-of-age rituals might settled humans have in Tamriel? Nords should/do clearly have various hunts, but what are the Imperials or Bretons up to?

I like the Imperial setup quite a lot, though I must profess that I'd like to see some games set in ancient Yokuda or Akavir.

As for players unfamiliar with the lore out of game.

Familiarity with in-game lore can be exploited by canny players and, if allowed to do so, become a rift between a new player and anyone willing to exploit it beyond a reasonable threshold. Especially if anyone is ever allowed to argue lore for days at the table for or against something. It can make even the coolest lore most... tedious.

Conversely, guiding someone new to the game can be both difficult and easy. I got lured in by the concept of the dream as an example and then the rest of the cool concepts got their hooks in me. Killer robots from the future. Eldritch architecture in Daedric realms. Being in a Daedric realm literally being inside that demon-god. The buddhistic overtones in the deep lore. The underground elf doombot of pure "NOPE". It's all good, fun shit.

In that regard I'd suggest to ply the waters to gauge enthusiasm for certain things and then strike with what'll hook 'em.

And don't be afraid to bend the lore for the sake of fun, although you might as well find whatever suits you whenever. There's enough precedent lore to set enough examples that you can do almost anything without it being stale.

Nords seem like they’d hunt bears with sword and shield, red guard probably begin smithing their own scimitar and join their military for training, Imperials would probably encourage studying and training in the Imperial military academies, Bretons probably focus on the beginning of more arcane learning, like enchanting and the like. More or less, they hit puberty and begin learning more advanced topics besides reading and writing. After these customary (or mandatory, as I’d assume basic imperial military training is for the males) years of maturity are completed from their 18-21 birthday, they return to society to begin working and learning other trades, or continue their career in the military. Training the general male population that is healthy enough for it ensures having citizens trained to fight in the event of war.

But this is all speculation on my part and infusion of real world cultures and societies to fictional ones

...

Speaking of Nords, I found this nice map just now.

Nords actually hunt ice wraiths, this is mentioned in the first pocket guide

Vernaccus and Bourlor always makes me giggle

Shit, I forgot about that. It’s even the storm cloak recruitment

>Nords hunt icewraiths as a coming of age ceremony

Huh didn't know that, never played stormcloak, glad to hear that kept that neat little bit of lore.

I played stormcloak my first play through, and was too far along when I noticed the rampant racism to become an imperial soldier

Yooo, if you guys play ES:O on the PS4 and have yet to get Morrowind, Amazon is having one fucking hell of a sale for the collector edition

Dear /tgesg/, answer this if you please:

What is one thing about the Elder Scrolls that makes it stand out from other fantasy games, basically what makes you love the series?

The books, just that little extra bit of love and care that shows there is more to the world than what you see nails it for me.

The layers of history, myth and legend that has been built up over the course of several large open world games and several centuries of in-game time passing.

I go back and play Morrowind many times and something about the lore and people stick out in different ways. When I was 13 I thought most of the people were serious and stuff, but going back today and reading into their queues of speech most of the intense characters are so bored as though they are just standing around.

Morrowind's funky to go back and play again.

I do like using it for RPGs, though. It's fun to have dust storms hit your players.

The AI in the games, especially oblivion. Every citizen has their own life. In fact you can follow one guy from his house to his mistress’s on the one day a week he visits

Yeah I never played Stormcloaks either.
Semi-related: I played Morrowind for the first time last year and after hearing about House Telvanni being the best I thought they sounded just like me.
But I was shocked and disgusted by all the racism and even slavery in that faction. The values dissonance that goes on here can be pretty weird.

>Telvanni
>racist

Then again
>complaining about "muh racism" in Tamriel of all places

So what exactly IS snake magic, /tgesg?

Morrowind's lore is just too fucking good, people need to read hindu while high as fuck more often.

Combination of really loving the lore and the sheer amount of player options there are.

9 times out of 10, anytime someone is bringing up racism or values, it's pathetic bait.
The other times it's quoting texts.

When i first played Morrowind on the Xbox years ago, i was expecting something like fable, i got an incredibly detailed world and really in-depth experience where they game didn't hold my hand the whole time. Getting a PC a bit later i came right back to morrowind and discovered modding, and people discussing the game. The excited community, modding, lore, depth, and fun set it I'm a new category for me.

Or it just makes some fans uncomfortable.
I understand why it exists in a medieval fantasy world, doesn’t mean it still isn’t vile

And this post isn’t supposed to be bait, though I’m sure it’ll be taken that way if it’s 9/10 in your eyes

>Or it just makes some fans uncomfortable.

the dact that it takes so much of its inspiration from non european religion and mythology makes it far more interesting than the average western fantasy setting.
also using metaphysics for more creative storytelling. i fucking hate people who think dragon breaks are cop outs.

The entire province is supposed to make you uncomfortable. That's the selling point. It's an alien land populated with xenophobic grey skinned, red eyed elves who worship the reincarnations of Sex, Deceitful Murder, and Prophecy. They read and write in demonic runes. They have no problems with you stabbing someone in the street as long as you have a piece of paper with their name written on it. If you don't want to feel uncomfortable, don't play Morrowind.

I never played morrowind, just oblivion and Skyrim

...

man, /tgesg/ has really fallen on hard times

all the lore buffs are gone so now we're just left with tumblr

Even if you are a humanist fag in real life you have to admit that some races are superior to others in game.

conflict = interesting
Literally rule fucking 1 to writing anything.

Maybe we should just hang up the coat for a while. If we keep these threads going like this it will just attract more newbies and trolls and with no corrective influence from older fans they'll just become your typical shitposting general.

>dragon breaks are cop outs.
They are

>become

>some races in game are superior to others
I think you mean “each in game race has basic skill bonuses and abilities not necessarily available to others”

>humanist fag
Or I just recognize that from a scientific standpoint “race” as we see it is fucking retarded, since skin color, hair and facial features are determined from where our ancestors lived in the world and are superficial traits that may have helped us when we were still hunter gatherers, but ultimately just help determine what diseases we’re likely to get

And with this, I'm out. See you all next Kalpa.

>scientific standpoint
>fantasy setting where race is a legit thing and genetics don't work exactly like RL

>scientific standpoint
Let's not go there. I called you a "humanist fag" for your obsessive "good guy" mentality.

Never said it applied in game, just irl
Sorry I don’t judge someone based on skin color like /pol/. Doesn’t make me an “obsessive ‘good guy’” though

How about you fuck off with irl discussion, nigger? This is a thread about videogame lore.

Good for you I guess.

So I get that Elder Scrolls has great potential for TTRPG, but it’s mostly video games and books that explore the lore.

Why host the thread on Veeky Forums?

Same reasons why Star Wars has a thread here instead of /tv/ I suppose.
Because there are multiple tabletop games that people play, and it's better to discuss the lore and setting here, where people can usually relate them to a game they'll run, rather than try and stuff us into the same thread as the mouthbreathers drooling over shitty OC waifus.

>ashlander scouting mask
Is this what was used as inspiration for the masks of dragon priests? To be able to see through the flames and ash of dragons?

Now that you mention it, I do see some similarities. I'm sure the eye slits would serve the same purpose on both.

>find myself reading about Italian theater
>end up on Wikipedia's page on Zanni

>Six types of walks
>In commedia, Zanni has a variety of at least six different types of walks. These walks include The Little Zanni, The Big Zanni, Zanni Running, Zanni Jubilant, Vain Zanni, and Soldier Zanni.

Can we lore this?

Alright so something interesting about TES is how some of the characters have a sort of specific designation as the personal RPs of one of the developers, and so kind of developed an addition to their personality outside of the games they were in. Things like how Hasphat Antabolis is known to be Kurt's personal character, Jobasha is Douglas Goodall, and Divayth Fyr is Gary Noonan (so on and so forth).

So my question for you guys is if you could choose one npc from any of the TES titles to roleplay as, who would you choose and why? This should go without saying but no picking characters that already are a developer personality, and no picking PCs or VIP npcs like Dagoth Ur.

I'll start;
I'd pick Plitinius Mero.
Why? Because he's an interesting dude. A jovial Imperial scholar and prolific writer who has been all across Tamriel and been the acquaintance and personal friend to very important people like Barenziah. Guy seems like he's got a shitload of stories to tell and knowledge to share but had somewhat limited dialogue in Tribunal, and so seems to me the obvious choice for someone I'd love to get in the head of and expand upon.

The whole phenomenon on theatrical stock characters ends up being very close to what you see in both TES and IRL mythologies, with general roles like Trickster, Sky Father, Death-and-Rebirth Deity. At the end of the day it all has to do with the Monomyth.
Comparative mythology is a pretty clear inspiration for TES lore.

As for the Walking Ways, that might just be a coincidence. But who knows.

Grorza gra-Bagol, personally. She's everything I'd want to be as a medieval-ish woman. Sure I'd have an unskilled apprentice, but I'd still give it a try.

Otherwise I'd want to be Borgakh the Steel Heart

Arniel Gane, cause I'd defenetly like to study the dwemer, until it eventualy destroys me and I become part of the dragonborn's skin.

Ulfric Stormcloak, he's an inspiration for every Nord, and is fighting for a true and noble cause

Caius Cosades
>drink skooma erryday

>drink
You n’wah

You... you double n'wah

I have a deficit of ambition.

I've tried to play morrowind a few times. I have it on my computer. But I haven't been able to get into it.

No new game, no new lore.

So, do we ever stray into lore presented into Mods? Many people played Falskaar, but for me it was empty and bland. Would we ever talk about lore in ES related things, like Arktwend or those made by Sureai?

I don't visit these threads often, so sorry if these questions are asked a lot, but can someone explain...

>why do people think pelinial whitestrake is a time traveling robot? what was future tamriel like and what does this mean for the altered future of tamriel?
>how the fuck did the khajit colonize the moon?
>what is dagon's realm of oblivion called? i've heard the other princes' realm called "the realm of oblivion known as apocrypha" so is dagon's the realm of oblivion known as oblivion?
and the one i'm currently most curious about
>are there hist trees for every realm? the floating island from clavicus' realm that escaped to nirn (that feeds on souls) dropped a seed in skyrim and it grew into a purple hist tree. do the other hists like it? what does it want? does it share the genocidal beliefs of the other hist trees?

Sometimes we discuss Trainwiz's shit when he's here. But his shit is on the verge of canonicity so that's nearly moot.
why do people think pelinial whitestrake is a time traveling robot?
Kirkbride wrote stuff about it.
>what was future tamriel like and what does this mean for the altered future of tamriel?
Well if a gay genocidal robot was the last hope of the future it seems bleak.
>how the fuck did the khajit colonize the moon?
They did copious amounts of narcotics, then climbed on each other's backs until one touched the moon, then that one pulled the rest up.
>what is dagon's realm of oblivion called?
The Deadlands.

>are there hist trees for every realm? the floating island from clavicus' realm that escaped to nirn (that feeds on souls) dropped a seed in skyrim and it grew into a purple hist tree. do the other hists like it? what does it want? does it share the genocidal beliefs of the other hist trees?
Haven't read the books yet because I'm a lazy cunt, but the Hist trees were from a previous Kalpa. I don't think every realm has a Hist tree.

>gay genocidal robot
why do you say gay?
>then climbed each other's backs
is this canon? seems so stupid that it would have been retconned at some point

and thanks for the answers. Can you also explain what the black tower is in high rock?

how many other sapient races are there on tamriel (not nirn)? I know there's also the sload, the aylied, the sinistral elves, and the marimer.- are there any else?

>When Huna, whom Pelinal raised from grain-slave to hoplite and loved well, took death from an arrowhead made from the beak of Celethelel the Singer, the Whitestrake went on his first Madness.
Because he's a prancing la la homo murder bot, except without the prancing la la and more murder

>I don't think every realm has a Hist tree.
Hist trees existed all over Tamriel, but most were destroyed during the war between Elhnofey

So is destruction just really week early on?
Tried a pure mage and even like ten levels in firebite is still the best option and doesn't do much, meanwhile I try out a battleaxe build for shits and can oneshot everyone in the first bandit cave, which on a pure mage was absolute hell since it tool like four shots to kill anyone and the mage killed me in two hits.
Sorry I'm posting this here, /tesg/ on Veeky Forums is a mess

On a more thread related note, what are some good in game books to keep an eye out for, particularly to learn more about the lore itself?

Back when I played Morrowind in 4th grade or so, The Real Barenziah made my young self realize I had a hard-on for Dunmer and it's only gotten worse from there.

>Conjuration
>Summon Spear
>Spear skill lvl100
>Everything else 30 at most
>Drink tears
>All day
>Everyday

Mages make better fighters than fighters desu.

How does magic stack up in the UESRPG, much of a difference between editions?

>how many other sapient races are there on tamriel

The minotaur were sapient once, one even became the first emperor of Cyrodil. how they turned into mindless beasts, i dunno

>Bound claymore doesn't exist
Why must you hurt me in this way?

The lore is very deep (imo) with a lot of mysterious and interesting topics. All the different unseen races and continents and islands and their secrets such as Dwemer and Akavir and stuff, Kalpa cycles, CHIM and Amaranth, Dragon breaks, Mantling. The extensive history on the races, gods, flora, fauna, weapons, armor, realms, planes of oblivion, nations, continents, holds, cities, tiny settlements, and their interactions with one another. The people of Nirn are each their own, with their own lives and personalities and likes and dislikes. The elder scrolls feels less like just a game at this point, and more like a separate world, and playing an elder scrolls game feels like you're able to live in and experience that world. I like that feeling.

Also i get to be big tiddy girl :^)

the absolute insanity of what's going on generally gets me.
probably Gentleman Jim Stacey, honestly.
he's kind of like black robin hood and that'd be fun to play
Have you tried making your own destruction spells?

tes lore to me seems like somebody suggesting something crazy, everyone else in the room agreeing that it's cool, and then finding a way to fit in the canon.

yes we know

lel

Because TES lore, the way I see it, is just something that feels real. There is nothing formulaic about it. You can postulate about seemingly insignificant details simply because they make a lot of sense, and view the world from all these different angles that completely changes how you look at or understand the setting, just through lines you read in a book, or something an npc says.
'Sure, ostensibly that villain is just another BBEG but what if he's really all about 'this'? That makes a lot of sense, and could that mean 'this'? Let's see what this guy has to say. Does that agree with this book?'
You end up with all sorts of theories and possibilities, conspiracy, and ideas in your head which actually MEAN something to the setting, and allow you to build your own understanding like a puzzle, which you otherwise don't even have to do if you don't want to, but you do out of pure interest and desire to learn more about the world. Things like pic related, for example, taking all these puzzles and mysteries and maybes and putting the pieces together to make something that might just make sense.

This is how I Gentleman Jim Stacey

Slaves and their freedom fighters fleeing from morrowind.

Most mods don't introduce new lore. Arktwend and its sequels are their own thing.

SureAI's stuff doesn't necessarily have too much lore to begin with. They're more focused on the game side of things.

This is not the daddy dom roleplay I signed up for.

there's the imga, the apepeople of valenwood

It's the one you deserve.

The Alessian Order campaigned against them