The stand-out part to me was the idea of treating “the focus of a people on past glory versus future greatness” as an axis of analysis that can be applied to any group or person
The in-universe stuff is interesting in its own right, the idea of “the monomyth reflected differently in vastly different cultures” is quite intriguing, and reminiscent of the real world notions of the monomyth and Jungian/Campbellian Archetypal Hero. The Warp in the West and other dragonbreaks making multiple truths true is another interesting idea which ties into it.
I know it’s a bit of a weird ask to present the community with an hour long video about obscure lore from a series most here probably don’t have much hope for in the future, but I think there are a bunch of interesting nuggets in there that even people who don’t really know much about TES can get out of it. I’ve never even played the first three but admittedly I’m the kind of person to enjoy reading some wiki articles from a game even if I’ll never play it.
Man, you're missing out. It's rough in parts and takes a little to get used to, but once you realize that the game is basically begging you to break it in half, it becomes quite the trip.
Plus, you have the added hilarity of so many Elder Scrolls tourists trying to play up the poor, poor downtrodden Dunmer in Skyrim makes it very fucking clear they know nothing about the series.
To be fair, the Dunmer are as much an enemy of the gold rods as all the races of Men. The Argonian invasion of Morrowind was in large part another scheme hatched by the Aldmeri Dominion to further splinter the Empire.
Not to mention I don't buy the idea that the Dunmer regularly conducted raids on Black Marsh to capture slaves. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to move an army through disease-ridden, bug-infested swampland inhabited by lizard people that know the terrain better, have better immunities, AND can breathe under the water without magical assistance? No, Morrowind wasn't the only country practicing slavery on Tamriel. Those lizards were selling their own people willingly while playing victim to the rest of the continent.
Anyone who has any sympathy for pretty much any of the mer is in on the conspiracy. What do you call it when you drop napalm on a hundred acres of Bosmer villages?
That's because they're too damn weak to cause any problems for anyone else. They're small, they're scrawny, they refuse to eat plant matter which severely limits any civilizational development, and makes them more inclined to dine on their neighbors once fresh game can't be found.
Well, I’ve got maybe 5-10 hours played across the last 2 decades but I’ve never dived in and played it the same way I played Oblivion and Skyrim. I kept waiting for the Morroblivion then Skywind/MorrowRim (lol idek which of those are real) mods which never seemed to materialize, just because I was always put off by the early game clunkiness of playing a game where I swung my sword through an enemy but miss because of a near-zero chance to hit. TES has never had great combat but as you go back to the older games it becomes more and more annoying to me. I’ve even got Daggerfall somewhere on my computer from a giveaway, I don’t think I’ve run the program once lol.
Is Lorkhan not actually “missing”, but incarnating as each game’s player character? Interesting thoughts from the video’s comments
I have a theory... You, the player are Lorkhan. Much like in Morrowind, the player is written to have the ability to reincarnate (save/recall). Every game there after, you have this ability. This video mentions the belief Lorkhan is forced to live countless mortal lives. It would make sense if the player is Lorkhan, but doesn't know it. I would love to see something like this in an Elder Scrolls game being fleshed out.
The idea that the player is Lorkhan also becomes meta when you consider the "one was made to satisfy the other" text. Mundus, the world of the Elder Scrolls, was made to satisfy the Heart of Lorkhan, the beating desire of players to experience a new world.
I thought the save/load thing was canonically considered having CHIM? That is the whole reason Vivec refuses to fight you in Morrowind because he knows the Nerevarine has CHIM and will eventually win no matter what because he has theoretically infinite retries.
These are practically the same idea just from a slightly different perspective. In both cases you, the player, are an aspect of the godhead made manifest in Mundus
The stand-out part to me was the idea of treating “the focus of a people on past glory versus future greatness” as an axis of analysis that can be applied to any group or person
The in-universe stuff is interesting in its own right, the idea of “the monomyth reflected differently in vastly different cultures” is quite intriguing, and reminiscent of the real world notions of the monomyth and Jungian/Campbellian Archetypal Hero. The Warp in the West and other dragonbreaks making multiple truths true is another interesting idea which ties into it.
I know it’s a bit of a weird ask to present the community with an hour long video about obscure lore from a series most here probably don’t have much hope for in the future, but I think there are a bunch of interesting nuggets in there that even people who don’t really know much about TES can get out of it. I’ve never even played the first three but admittedly I’m the kind of person to enjoy reading some wiki articles from a game even if I’ll never play it.
You haven't even played Morrowind?
Man, you're missing out. It's rough in parts and takes a little to get used to, but once you realize that the game is basically begging you to break it in half, it becomes quite the trip.
Plus, you have the added hilarity of so many Elder Scrolls tourists trying to play up the poor, poor downtrodden Dunmer in Skyrim makes it very fucking clear they know nothing about the series.
To be fair, the Dunmer are as much an enemy of the gold rods as all the races of Men. The Argonian invasion of Morrowind was in large part another scheme hatched by the Aldmeri Dominion to further splinter the Empire.
Not to mention I don't buy the idea that the Dunmer regularly conducted raids on Black Marsh to capture slaves. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to move an army through disease-ridden, bug-infested swampland inhabited by lizard people that know the terrain better, have better immunities, AND can breathe under the water without magical assistance? No, Morrowind wasn't the only country practicing slavery on Tamriel. Those lizards were selling their own people willingly while playing victim to the rest of the continent.
wait a second...
I feel like i've heard that one before....
...you know, that is a very good point.
Anyone who has any sympathy for pretty much any of the mer is in on the conspiracy. What do you call it when you drop napalm on a hundred acres of Bosmer villages?
A good start.
Bosmer are probably one of the only types of Mer that aren't preoccupied with fucking with other races, generally.
They do sometimes have a tendency of going along with the "high elf" program though, to some varying degree.
That's because they're too damn weak to cause any problems for anyone else. They're small, they're scrawny, they refuse to eat plant matter which severely limits any civilizational development, and makes them more inclined to dine on their neighbors once fresh game can't be found.
Well, I’ve got maybe 5-10 hours played across the last 2 decades but I’ve never dived in and played it the same way I played Oblivion and Skyrim. I kept waiting for the Morroblivion then Skywind/MorrowRim (lol idek which of those are real) mods which never seemed to materialize, just because I was always put off by the early game clunkiness of playing a game where I swung my sword through an enemy but miss because of a near-zero chance to hit. TES has never had great combat but as you go back to the older games it becomes more and more annoying to me. I’ve even got Daggerfall somewhere on my computer from a giveaway, I don’t think I’ve run the program once lol.
Great stories though
Sidenote - Fudge muppet is phenomenal for Elder Scrolls lore.
Thanks! I know who I’ll be watching
Conversation prompt:
Is Lorkhan not actually “missing”, but incarnating as each game’s player character? Interesting thoughts from the video’s comments
I thought the save/load thing was canonically considered having CHIM? That is the whole reason Vivec refuses to fight you in Morrowind because he knows the Nerevarine has CHIM and will eventually win no matter what because he has theoretically infinite retries.
These are practically the same idea just from a slightly different perspective. In both cases you, the player, are an aspect of the godhead made manifest in Mundus