The Elder Scrolls Series General Discussion: Prison Escapes 101

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Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Whizbang posted:

Each Elder Scrolls game is about deactivating one of the towers. If they set a game in Hammerfell, that means the player would need to deactive Direnni Tower, which means we would get to somehow undo Convention. Which would be really weird.

I really wish I understood what any of that meant.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2015 16:56

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:01

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Thank you for that.

From what I've read in the linked pages, when Felldir read the Elder Scroll at Alduin (along with using the Dragonrend Shout), he created the Time-Wound where Alduin was thrown forward in time (destroying Helgen and making it possible for Ulfric Stormcloak to escape).

Felldir's actions created a timey-wimey vortex, so that the Summit of Snow-Throat didn't really exist in the same time-line as the rest of Mundus. This might have been what broke the Snow-Throat Tower to begin with.

Wow, this lore is simultaneously awesome and kind of stupid.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2015 17:28

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Sky Shadowing posted:

A significant amount of Kirkbridian lore is in-universe retcons. The Red King Once Jungled was a retcon for why Cyrodiil was explained as jungles and presented as generic Europe. The Talos/Wulfharth/Arctus Oversoul explained that once the Dragon Broke in Daggerfall they were able to merge and ascend to Godhood, thus, the Eight Divines of Daggerfall becoming the Nine Divines in Morrowind.

I think the thing I liked most about Skyrim was that, as far as pre-standing lore, it was actually extremely accurate. Apart from things like Nocturnal giving you the Skeleton Key in Oblivion and you not being hunted down by Nightingales, or something. Then again, the Thieves Guild in Skyrim is probably the worst faction storyline Bethesda has ever written, in contrast to the Thieves Guild in Oblivion which is probably the best.

And, of course, the replacement of the Nordic pantheon by the Imperial pantheon, but we had that discussion and there is at least an in-universe logic for it.

Ah, yes, the Skyrim Thieves Guild questline, where the final act is returning something which was stolen.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2015 18:49

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Scyantific posted:

Because it was causing bad luck to everyone in the guild.

God, gently caress that quest-line. Even more so because without mods, it's p much the one questline you have to actively avoid.

And it's the only questline (sorta) that gets in your face. The first time you walk into Riften Market, Brynjolf grabs your camera and goes "Hey! Do you think you're a bad enough dude to join the Thieves Guild?"

# ¿ Feb 14, 2015 19:01

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

In Skyrim, it kind of made sense that Brynjolf would be able to approach you on an open street, since the Jarl of Riften was in Maven Blackbriar's pocket. You even have to pay a "toll" when entering town, and Brynjolf insinuates later that that was his doing. It strikes home that Riften is corrupted, all the way to the top.

E: So what I'm saying is that not every part of the Thieves Guild questline was bullshit.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2015 08:15

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

They can't even install mods. What's even the point of playing a TES game, then?

I know, the answer is "a sense of place and being able to play house/pretty dress-up".

# ¿ Feb 27, 2015 12:50

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

512 megabytes of RAM, baby.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2015 21:21

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

It really comes to a head when you chat to Jarl Billygoat Gruff about the civil war. You ask him what it'd take to stop the fighting, and he says: "Ulfric Stormcloak's head on a pike". So you go to Windhelm, home of stone corridors, and enter the Palace of the Kings, as a stalwart Imperial dude. You approach Jarl Ulfric, sitting on his throne, and draw your sword.

Guess what you can't do.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 14:16

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Spoiler warning: What happens when you attack Sheogorath?

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 14:53

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

I have a really stupid question.

What's an Elder Scroll?

# ¿ Mar 19, 2015 10:15

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

At the same time, science fiction concepts described by wizards and elves is a really cool idea.

Is having a medieval society with elves and orcs generic? That's just the framework for the stories, the canvas for the Kirkbridean nonsense. The other planets are the rotting corpses of gods. The protagonist's ability to use console commands is described in-universe. There are magical artifacts that will blind you if you don't read them properly, and they might be cheat codes for reality.

# ¿ Mar 30, 2015 14:55

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Yeah, about that.

What are the major theories about the Dwemer? Why did they disappear? Where did they go?

# ¿ Mar 31, 2015 14:59

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

What about Blackreach? The scale of that place seems to suggest that the site was important to the Dwemer somehow; maybe it was their capital in Skyrim, or maybe simply a large mine. The giant fungi seems to be a feature of Falmer infestation, not Dwemer architecture.

Markarth (or Nchuand-Zel, if you like) is strange as well, since it's weirdly above-ground for a Dwemer city.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2015 09:30

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

It's not gonna take place in Elsweyr. Why? Because it's called "Elsewhere".

# ¿ Apr 4, 2015 21:19

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

K8.0 posted:

Most people thought they looked bad then. To me it was probably the second biggest notably bad thing about the game visually, the first being how distant ruins are invisible which just looks really stupid.

Procedural faces as they exist are a fundamentally poo poo concept that need to die in a fire. There isn't a single game with an acceptable one. The only good thing about them is being able to make yourself a horrendous looking demon, they absolutely blow at making attractive or even notably different characters.

Bring back the concept of hand crafted faces, throw in some modular options for variety, and RPGs could have much better looking characters.

The Saints Row one isn't trash garbage.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2015 19:33

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

axolotl farmer posted:

Convenient horses is pretty good for stopping your horse from comitting suicide by combat all the time.

Skyrim horses are always spoiling for a fight, much like real horses.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2015 18:33

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

I'm usually a Breton lady with a major in Alteration and a minor in Conjuration.

I might install that spear mod and do an Argonian pearl-diver (well, clam meat-diver) run.

# ¿ May 4, 2015 16:44

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Yeah, I got worse bugs in pristine, unmodded Skyrim than in my modded playthroughs.

A newbie question: A Dragon Break is when the timeline splits apart, right? Like when Alduin was/wasn't sent forward in time, and when Red Mountain... happened. I guess what I'm asking is: why is it significant that ESO happens (or doesn't happen) during a Dragon Break?

# ¿ May 21, 2015 08:51

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Alright, I get it now. "Even though we killed the boss he's still around loving things up" and "We can experience everyone's starting missions after one another, although they take place at the same time" point to time being broken.

But aren't these things just MMORPG conventions? Like how in Skyrim dragons kept spawning, even after Alduin had been defeated? Or was that a Dragon Break too?

I guess what I'm asking is: What's the deal with story and gameplay segregation/integration?

# ¿ May 21, 2015 09:03

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

It's at this part of the discussion that my brain starts to hurt.

Thanks for clarifying, dudes!

# ¿ May 21, 2015 09:48

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Do you count the later books that paper over the cracks in the setting (like why Cyrodiil turned into an English countryside) as decent in-universe justification for why stuff changes in TES? Do you even care?

# ¿ May 27, 2015 18:04

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

When someone steals your sweetroll, there needs to be someone to replace it.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2015 21:20

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

As long as they don't start talking about how patrolling the Mojave makes them wish for a nuclear winter, all is well.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2015 17:51

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

That's why the Apocalypse Magic mod is drat near mandatory for a mage playthrough.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2015 06:16

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

The Apocalypse spell pack includes Longstride (Alteration): Channel to increase running speed by a huge amount; and Mystic Wind (Restoration): Boost magicka regeneration when sprinting. These two spells mean you'll never have to buy a horse or carriage ride anywhere.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2015 18:56

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

But that'd be unrealistic and make no sense at all.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2015 19:08

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Looking at Yagrum Bagarn makes him realize how much he needs to lose weight.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2015 19:37

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Nothing wrong with that.

I'd rather they take their time than rush out a hack job in two years.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2015 11:34

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

I don't think I can stop playing Skyrim anymore.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2015 19:28

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Nasgate posted:

For those of you still playing. What keeps you coming back?

I've done every quest and explored every dungeon, and most good mod expansions/new places. And I'm still sitting at less Skyrim time than Oblivion (which I only played on console)

I'm just wondering if I'm missing something or if Skyrim just doesn't click for me.

I personally like the sense of place that Skyrim gives off sometimes. The towns are tiny, but somehow cozy. The wilderness varies just enough to be interesting, and there's usually some cool bit of scenery to look at. As a Nord, hanging out in Skyrim feels really familiar.

I don't really do that many quests anymore; I mostly run around the overworld killing elks, trolls and bandits. Frostfall, Hunterborn and iNeed turns the game into a winter survival and furrier simulator, which I really dig.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2015 08:24

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

The problem is that it's a really cool moment... the first time. When the claw+door mechanic is used in dungeon after dungeon after dungeon, it starts to drag. Same with the fox-dragon-snake puzzle. Maybe the Dragon Cult didn't care that anyone with functioning eyes and arms could waltz into their resting places and fiddle with their pillars.

Puzzle-wise, Skyrim kind of blew its load early. Discuss.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2015 17:46

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

I feel that the main point of the claw puzzles is to make rad displays in your house.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2015 19:09

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

1 800 J JAMES posted:

Every year since binging it at release I reload Skyrim with 50gb of painstakingly selected mods and shaders and play up to the end of Bleak Falls Barrow before getting bored at Whiterun and deleting it from the pc. It's probably one of the best tutorial dungeons ever and the dragon claw is part of that.

Bleak Falls Barrow is one of the only times the Draugr dungeon design makes sense. The door is locked, so outside there's just spiders and bandits, while all the Draugr are locked inside behind the claw door.

Just don't think about the fact that all dungeons apparently have a convenient backdoor to the beginning.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2015 13:10

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

It's one of those games, is it?

# ¿ Aug 22, 2015 06:56

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

I think I understood most of those words.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2015 18:55

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Pelinal Whitestrake posted:

CHIM is the right of all sentient beings.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 16:17

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

M'aiq the Liar for new Sheogorath!

I have a question for the loremasters about bound weapons. What's their deal?

Are they another form of Daedra that skilled conjurers can summon, or are they unformed matter from Oblivion that conjurers can shape according to their will?

# ¿ Aug 31, 2015 15:44

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

That's kind of the new Elder Scrolls experience, though. At the start, you kill a Draugr with a couple of swings with your iron sword. At the end, you kill a Draugr Death Overlord with a couple of swings with your ebony sword.

It's still fun, but there's less sense of character growth.

# ¿ Sep 8, 2015 08:39

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

His name is Mike.

Oh my god, I just got that.

# ¿ Sep 8, 2015 09:58

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:01

Philippe: Aug 9, 2013; (she/her)

Is Caius Cosades another self-insert? Was there someone on the Morrowind team who hated wearing shirts?

# ¿ Sep 8, 2015 13:58

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