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madamefluffnstuff · 6 months

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A New Mother Figure

Fandom: Elder Scrolls Online

Pairing: None; Maternal-figure Caska and Aeliah Renmus.

Rating: K-T

Warning(s): Mentions of past pit fighting, consuming alcohol in a tavern, past loss of a parent, light hurt/comfort themes, etc.

Words: 1102

AN: I'm sorry but the millisecond I heard Caska refer to Aeliah as "little cub" I said "That's her baby. Aeliah is her baby now." And so I made this.

Slight spoilers for the Elsweyr DLC.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a relatively quiet afternoon at the Dragonguard Sanctum. There were no immediate dragon threats to deal with at the moment. This gave the crew of the Perfect Pounce a well deserved rest. Gods knew they needed it.

Za'ji, unsurprisingly, was spending his day off in the tavern area. He was loudly sharing tales of the crew's exploits and adventures (with varying degrees of exaggeration and inebriation). The raucous laughter could be heard from the docks, much to the irritance of Dirge Truptor.

Caska, on the other hand, was spending her day off in one of the lounge areas overlooking the cove, resting her body. As much as she didn't want to admit it yet, all those years in the fighting ring were starting to catch up to her. Despite being a Khajiit in her late thirties she definitely felt like a learned elder some days. Her joints would certainly beg to differ on rainy nights.

She let out a soft but heavy sigh as she rested her chin on a worn ottoman, tufted ears twitching as the disctinct sound of a grog bottle shattering rang throughout the abode. The Senche-raht simply shook her head- that was a problem for tomorrow's Caska. Not today. This was her day off, she reminded herself.

It was at that moment Caska confirmed her suspicions that she had heard the same footstep pattern about three times now in the last hour. A very familiar set of footsteps. And quite worried.

"If you keep pacing like that, Aeliah, you'll wear a hole in the boards."

The young lady in question nearly jumped out of her skin, staring wide-eyed at the massive Khajiit. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no words came out.

Caska raised an eyebrow, "How long have you been wandering like that, little cub?"

Aeliah looked confused a moment and started counting on her fingers. Then she shook her head, backtracked, and counted again. Caska was no stranger to this scene- Za'ji would do something similar when he didn't have a good excuse or lie to get himself out of a situation. We're going to be here a while, she thought to herself.

"What has got you bothered, Aeliah?" Caska questioned with genuine concern.

Aeliah was quiet a moment, then shrugged. "I'm not sure, truth be told. I guess a lot of things..." Her voice was heavy with exhaustion.

Caska raised her eyebrow again, ear tufts and tail twitching with curiosity.

"I guess..." Aeliah sighed. "I guess I'm just too tired to think straight right now..."

"Then you need to rest."

"I've tried, I can't. I feel like I have to be doing something to help, that-"

"Even though you are doing so much already?"

Aeliah sighed again. "I know, I know, my dad tells me the same thing all the time..."

Caska thought for a moment. "Perhaps it would help if you had someone keeping watch? Why don't you sit down for a bit?"

Aeliah stood there, still as a statue. After a few seconds, she quietly took off her extra gear and set it in the corner by the entrance to the balcony. As she made her way over, Caska could see the color in her face was not totally there; she looked more pale than usual. Seems there wasn't any exaggerating when she said she hadn't been sleeping well.

But then the young lady caught the Khajiit completely off guard: rather than pull up a chair or a cushion, Aeliah sat right next to Caska. Leaning directly against her. Using her furry friend as a giant pillow.

Caska's head jerked to look at Aeliah and she froze. That was not at all what she expected when she offered to keep watch. But, it seemed to be helping, as the exhausted young woman was physically relaxing against the big cat's shoulder. The tightness in her back was slowly releasing as she evened her breathing.

There was some surprised blinking on Caska's end. Physical affection was by no means her strong suit, so she felt rather awkward.

"Y'know, Caska..." Aeliah drawled, slightly slurring from sleepiness. "...you've, kind of become, like a mom to me... Ever since my mom died, it's like you've been a better mother than she was..." she yawned at the end.

The Senche-raht gave her a confused look. Her, Caska? A mother figure? To a human?

But something twinged in her heart. It felt like how someone would describe a "maternal instinct". But it felt so strange to her.

The last time Caska had feelings even remotely like this was nearly a decade ago, when she was still a gladiator in the pit fighting. She wasn't quite the champion rank yet, but very close. A spry young Imperial who looked just shy of his twenty-first winter approached her as she was training, and asked- no, insisted- he become her apprentice.

She had almost laughed at the suggestion, until she saw the look on his face. He was completely serious about his request. The Senche-raht was hesitant, no one had asked to be mentored by her before. Not to mention she simply preferred to be alone. But she looked into his eyes and saw a determined spirit.

Unfortunately it didn't take long before Caska discovered his weakness: he was overconfident to the point of cockiness. No opponent was too big or too tough. When the championship matches came around, that cockiness proved to be his downfall.

He didn't make it past the second round.

Caska shook her head to clear the painful memory, and instead tried to focus on Aeliah's current sleep-deprived rambling. She awkwardly interrupted, "Bright Moons, Aeliah, you really must be exhausted if you're saying that stuff!"

"Noooo, it's the truth!" Aeliah protested. "You've done so much f'r me... you've taught me so much, 'n you 'n Za'ji helped me when I was in trouble, back at the temple..."

"I remember, yes. But enough of that, you really should get some rest now, little cub. This one will-"

She was interrupted by soft snoring; the sweet embrace of sleep had finally gotten a hold on Aeliah. Mid sentence, no less. A very faint smile creased Caska's face. As carefully as she could, she adjusted her body so it was more wrapped around the sleeping young woman.

Caska rested her chin back on the ottoman from earlier, getting herself comfortable. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the waves hitting the coastline, as well as Aeliah's breathing.

For her newly appointed daughter, the big cat could tolerate being used as an oversized pillow.

#the elder scrolls #the elder scolls online #elder scrolls online #eso #caska #eso caska #eso Aeliah #Aeliah Renmus #writing #fluff #maternal figure #mother figure #mom friend

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falmerbrook · 1 year

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Pinned post!

TES themed blog. Just call me Harvest or Brooke.

Some introduction things:

I'm 23 years old, and may post or reblog NSFW here (but it will be tagged properly)

My main "thing" is art and animation, but recently I've been getting more invovled in fanfic writing and sewing

(mildly) Autistic, and TES is currently my special interest.

I'm very shy and nervous about social interaction, but I'm trying to be more active in fandom as sort of a exposure therapy. I will be very awkward and I'm sorry if I'm weird.

I answer all asks publicly by default, so if you want them answered privately please say so in the ask!

I've played Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, Redguard, and a little bit of ESO. I post mostly about Morrowind and Skyrim right now though!

Some relevant links if you want to find me Elsweyr elsewhere:

YouTube

AO3

Pillowfort

ToyHouse (for OCs)

ArtFight (for OCs)

I'm excited to get more involved in the community!

Tags I use (under the cut):

I tag each tes game if it's relevant to the post (Skyrim, Oblivion, Morrowind, Redguard, Daggerfall, Arena, ESO)

not tes: for stuff that isn't elder scrolls related

mine: any of my own original posts

my art

my writing

my animation

my ocs

others ocs: posts featuring other user's original characters

headcanon: headcanons, worldbuilding, and/or theories that I like

reference: creative references images/tutorials

vent: my caterwauling about stuff that doesn't matter

#mine

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whosyourvladi · 4 years

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Most of my houses are themed and furnished to match each of Tamriel’s races. This one is a mix of everything and serves as my guildhall and a place to show off random stuff I’ve collected.

#i do some slight changes to theme it for updates or events #currently has an Elsweyr spin to it #but ive done other themes before like Summerset - Haloween - Midyear Mayhem/Alliance War........ etc #SavHouse #SavESO #eso #tes #teso #tamriel #elder scrolls #the elder scrolls #the elder scrolls online #elder scrolls online

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qah-naarin · 2 years

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name: arpina sun-stealer, qahnaarin

race: breton-bosmer sex: female height: 5′3″ fighting class: mage archer armor preference: light armor weapon preference: bows, one-handed swords, daggers alignment: chaotic neutral magic preference: destruction, conjuration

spouse: miraak child(ren): sissel, runa, lucia, sofie, blaise, hroar horse: shadowmere, arvak dog: none pet: rescued sabre cat house: heljarchen, honeyside faction: thieves’ guild, dark brotherhood, dawnguard title: listener, guild master, nightingale, ysmir, dovahkiin favorite light armor: guild master armor favorite heavy armor: none thaneship: markarth, whiterun, riften, dawnstar housecarl: argis the bulwark, lydia, iona. gregor steward: marcurio follower: erik the slayer, serana volkihar, lucien flavius, inigo, miraak

view of races: - argonian: indifferent - high elf: thalmor are a kill on SIGHT - wood elf: besties, they are her people - dark elf: indifferent - orc: indifferent - khajiit: likes the khajiit specifically, very interested in their physiology and once worked for a healer in elsweyr. - breton: besties, they are her people - nord: indifferent, actively avoids stormcloaks - redguard: indifferent - imperial: indifferent - vampire: indifferent unless they are causing Problems (they usually are) - werewolf: indifferent unless they are causing Problems (they usually are) - dremora: indifferent - draugr: kill on SIGHT - giants: doesn’t like them, won’t go near them.

outlook on divines: - akatosh: doesn't mind akatosh, will pray sometimes - arkay: not her thing - dibella: prays to dibella regularly - julianos: not her thing - kynareth: prays to kynareth occasionally - mara: prays to mara occasionally - stendarr: not her thing - talos: not her thing, can and will deny and affirm her belief to annoy the right people - zenithar: prays to zenithar regularly

outlook on daedra: - azura: is not particularly swayed by azura's words - boethia: likes boethia's energy, not so much the killing - clavicus vile: practically her patron, but has no trust in him - hermaeus mora: no. 100% would tear him into shreds if she could - hircine: not her thing - malacath: likes the concept, not her thing - mehrunes dagon: absolutely not - mephala: doesn't like the betrayal concept after what happened w/ mercer and astrid - meridia: thinks she's amusing, likes her enough - molag bal: no. 100% would tear him into shreds if she could - namira: not her thing - peryite: not her thing - sanguine: thinks he's amusing, likes him enough - sheogorath: likes him, does not like the fucking crazy bits - vaermina: absolutely not - nocturnal: technically her patron, likes her enough

artifact owned: too many to count! her favorites, though, are the elder scrolls. keepsake: a bee in a jar, her ruby paragon. homestead: heljarchen hall

art:

bonus! theme song: sinners by barns courtney

pls ask her anything 🙏 literally anything and she will answer <33 if fitting i may even add a drawing 🙏

#oc: arpina sun-stealer #tes5 #tes 5 #tes 5 skyrim #tes v skyrim #skyrim #last dragonborn #ldb #skyrim oc #please ask her stuff hihi #she is my favorite <33 my love #if you send an ask w/ ur oc's name and their personality i'll tell u what their relationship will be like #oc art #hehe #skyrim fanart

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leftenant-sinani · 3 years

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My thoughts about each main The Elder Scrolls game

Disclaimer : This is going to be a long post.

I am not counting Battlespire, Redguard, the phone-exclusive Travels, Blades nor Legends as main games. This post will only include Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim and Elder Scrolls Online (As add-on) and a final verdict at the end.

There will be a bit of ranting, some unpopular opinions and most importantly spoilers.

If you are (insert either of the TES games name) elitist, I advise you to not read it because I will be honest about everything, meaning that I will be including flaws of each TES game, even though it’s basically just my own opinion.

I am not saying that all my opinions are valid or that my opinions are facts, but those are still my opinions, and I am entitled to them. You are in full right to disagree with me, just don’t start an argue, please... I don’t have the nerves for that.

The Elder Scrolls I : Arena - For first Elder Scrolls game, it’s certainly not bad, but it is a tad mediocre. It has tons of mazes, the fights are quite tough and the game overall feels wonky. About the soundtrack, I feel it is a bit unmemorable... It’s not particulary bad either though, some of the tracks were really good, like the Main Theme, Foggy Afternoon or Wandering Inn. The travelling all over the Tamriel feels great though. Now, for those who have never played Arena, I will mention that there is a lot of stuff that was rewritten / reimagined and extended in later games. Some of the areas do not look like in the newer games. For example, Morrowind doesn’t look like Morrowind at all, Dagoth-Ur (The Red Mountain) is literally just a volcano without any Dwemer areas at all (even though it is mentioned in the game that it used to be a ‘Dwarven’ mine, no idea if the supposed Dwarves were imagined as Dwemers back then, but I highly doubt about it) and there is NO Dagoth Ur despite the fact the mountain was named after him (Once again though, the writers were most probably not thinking about it like this back then). Cities do not look like from the newer games either (Because; 1. Limitations and 2. Lore again), and even some of the races look different; Argonians look like human-like reptilians, Khajiits look like humans (less) / elves (more) with only difference of having feline-like tattoos on their faces (Those are actually called Ohmes and are part of the lore to this day, although they are seen far, FAR less after the end of 4th century of 3rd Era outside Elsweyr) and Imperials & Orcs are not included at all as playable races, despite the fact that Orcs are in the game but only as enemies. Also Elves were not called ‘Mer’ yet. Not much more to say about this game... Overall though, while it is not the best start of the series, it’s not bad either, and as an RPG game, it is above decent. Needless to say though, it’s still a bit lacking compared to the other main TES games that came after.

The Elder Scrolls II : Daggerfall - This one is pretty much Arena, but far better. The fighting is less clunky here than in Arena, I would honestly compare it to Morrowind combat, but in my opinion, I think it’s easier than in Morrowind, because the AI is slow as snail. The mazes are still present, which can be annoying sometimes, not to mention they are randomly generated... And while it is easy to get lost in them, the world on its own is no exception, because you can get lost pretty much everywhere if you are like me, and forget to check the map. The soundtrack here is even less memorable than in Arena for me besides the Main Theme, that one is very awesome and should be used in TESVI (Assuming the rumors about it taking place in Hammerfell are true). However, the RPG mechanics are the best part about this game, even though there can be way too much of it for new players. The Orcs & Imperials are still not present as a race, at least the Argonians were changed to look like in the future games. There is so many interesting aspects here as well. You can talk to NPCs with three different tones, you can buy your own boat as you will need to travel between High Rock and Hammerfell, there are an actual linguistics in the skills which allow you to talk with Imps, Orcs, Nymphs, Daedra, Spriggans, etc., not to mention the persuasion is divided into three different skills (Streetwise, Etiquette and Mercantile) or while creating your character, you can choose special advantages and disadvantages. One has to wonder though if some of these aspects are not a bit unnecessary. Still interesting nevertheless. Anyway, the end of the story is curious, to say at least. Basically, according to the explanation in one of the books in Morrowind, all of the six endings of Daggerfall occurred simultaneously, which is something that is refered to as ‘Warp of the West’. Clever move, writers. Very clever move to make all the endings canon. I was playing the Unity version, which I strongly recommend to those who wants to try it, because the old version is broken as fuck, especially on newer machines. It is also moddable, so you can make it even better. Who knows, maybe there is a mod for the cut sex scenes, since I’ve heard that there is a lot of unused stuff from it in the files. Anyway, I would say that Daggerfall is good as both TES game and RPG Game. Although it’s a tad longer than one would expect, it’s still worth the try.

The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind - Oh boy, where to start with this one. I will probably begin with the fact, which will everybody bury me alive for; I’ve never finished Morrowind without mods, because for me, some of the mechanics of the game are so bad that it renders the game very frustrating... Especially the combat. It’s really horrible. Call me casual, newb or whatever you want, but I stand behind the opinion, that games are supposed to be fun, not frustrating, and I have the problem of not having the patience for stuff that is made frustrating on purpose, so if anyone wants to improve their experience with a mod, why not just let them do their thing without any bitching? Yes, I know that Daggerfall’s combat is pretty much the same... the thing is though, the AI is slow and clunky there, so you can take your time. In here? Not a chance, the AI is aggressive and often far more powerful than you, not to mention they barely miss while you are missing so often, that it makes you imagine the character how they are missing on purpose. Anyway, despite the combat, the game is actually very good. Writing, which had to be done by a genius, because in here, you can basically form your own headcanon of both past and present (I tend to believe that Nerevar & Voryn had something going on between them, I am so sure of that, and if all that stuff that was left behind from 1st Era to figure this on our own was writer’s subtle way of saying that it’s actually true... Well done, writers, you have my respect) . RPG mechanics (Which are basically from Daggerfall, but simpler... And it will only get more simpler from here in newer games), atmosphere, astonishing sountrack (Gotta love the Nerevar Rising & Peaceful Waters especially), the map itself, a good portion of memorable characters and also the shit that the fandom makes from it (memes, videos, pics and so on)... Everything is so good. Needless to say that the lore also took some very good turn from here. (Who would imagine that a person who was high on shrooms or some shit would write such a good lore? Man, I would surely need that stuff as well while writing lore for my own universe) The expansions were wonderful as well; Bloodmoon, which took place on Solstheim (I will talk about that again once I get to Skyrim), felt honestly mysterious and at times even creepy, but honestly the whole Morrowind on it’s own was sometimes creepy as well, so... At least Hircine got his ass kicked, never really was fan of his. And the Tribunal, oh the Tribunal, killing Ayem never felt more good (Don’t sue me, please... I am not hater of Almalexia in anyway, it’s just she was a tough opponent in general, so taking her down was an achievement for sure)... Poor Sotha Sil though, I feel sad because of what happened to him. Although some people say that the graphics are horrendous, but what would you expect when it’s from 2002? Besides, graphics are secondary here, the experience overall is primary... And I am sure that some people will use the graphics mods, there is nothing wrong with that, just don’t do it only because ‘dem grefiks’, but to enhance your experience as a whole. Still, the experience of any game is always better with mods, what can I tell you. I’ve had a mod which made the combat to be like in Oblivion / Skyrim, Morrowind Rebirth, Sotha Sil Expanded and some other stuff which made my experience even more amazing. Still, the game is some experience for sure. For the new players, I would recommend trying it without mods first, and if you will not like some aspects, just download some mod to improve it, there is plenty of mods out there which can make your experience better. Morrowind is very good in terms of being TES & RPG game, it surely has flaws and can be frustrating sometimes (looking at you two, ‘Become Hortaror & Nerevarine quest’ & ‘Overpowered Tribunal enemies’), but overall my rating is very positive on this one, and definitely a must-play for all the TES fans. (And I have to wonder how the Skywind is going to look once it’s out... even though I think that my children will have their own children before it will get released, pretty much like TESVI)

The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion - Oh, Oblivion... My favourite TES game. I know how it sounds, after I basically praised the Morrowind to almost the heavens themselves, how could I say that Oblivion is better? The truth is, my dear friends, that despite the fact that Oblivion is objectivelly a bit worse than Morrowind, I would personally choose Oblivion as my most favourite game out of them all. Wanna know why? Well, despite the weird, cartoony-looking characters and the wonky AI, a lot of things here are on their peak. RPG mechanics were dumbed down once again, but I would say that here, it is just perfect balance between simplicity and complexity, it’s not too simple nor too complex. Combat is like 1000x times better than in unmodded Morrowind, and even somewhat better than Skyrim’s, as you can cast spell whenever you want. (Does not mean it’s some sort of miracle of a combat though) Writing, while it is not on the level of Morrowind, it’s superb here, which mainly echoes in the quests and story expansions. Soundtrack has some really nice tones to it. (Harvest Dawn will remain legendary to this day. I have mixed feelings about the Main Theme here though, because it starts very good, but after a while, it becomes a tad mediocre) Another thing I really adore here, even though it gets a bit repetitive at times, is how you travel between Tamriel and Dagon’s Oblivion plane, I just love the atmosphere of it and makes you really feel like a true hero, when you are probably one of the very few who survived such ‘journey into Hell and back’. Expansions are interesting as well, Knights of the Nine felt like a noble quest, while Shivering Isles was more of a colorful madness. (Of course it is, when you are in land of Sheogorath himself) Of course though, the game is not perfect, and has some flaws. The first flaw, which really will follow you through whole game, is the already mentioned wonky AI; The AI is stupid, and sometimes it is so stupid that it renders the AI as clever, for example, the aimbot and their dodging skill can surely come on nerves... Not to mention the follower AI, especially when you have some escort quest. Another thing is how the characters look. They look like characters from some creepy-ass kid’s show. (Not to mention the Dunmers look really, REALLY weird. Like, they looked cool in Morrowind and Skyrim... but here? I think I even saw a funny comparison of Dunmers look between Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, I am sure you all know what I am talking about, had to download mod which would make the characters look at least somewhat bearable despite the fact I barely mod Oblivion) And last but certainly not least is the odd difficulty... It sometimes gets either too easy or too hard when you do not mess with the slider at all, so for new players, I recommend turning the slider a bit lower, because the difficulty is really unpredictable at times... And we certainly do not have to talk about that broken system of interactions between the NPCs (Have you heard of the High Elves?). Overall, Oblivion is the best in the series for me and I recommend it with every single molecule of my body. (I am very excited for Skyblivion. Hopefully it will get released in next few years)

The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim - ... Hey, you. You’re finally awake. (lol never gets old) Skyrim. This is where it all began for me when it comes to TES series. Back when Skyrim was real popular in my country, t’was like 2012, and I decided to try it because why not. And oh boy... It for real hooked me, I could drown tons of hours into it despite the fact I had no DLCs nor mods. Nostalgia glasses off though, it is rather plain today without any mods. Still, it was the shit back in the day, and I am so proud that I got into TES series thanks to it, because I consider TES to be one of the best and most interesting RPG & Fantasy series I’ve ever played. So what can be said about Skyrim? Well, first things first, the characters And graphics overall got hell of a upgrade from Oblivion, the characters finally don't look like some freaks from kids show and look way more like realistic beings. The RPG mechanics got dumbed down once more and in here, while it has its own charm, it's honestly a bit too simple for my taste compared to the Oblivion where it's just right, although, the perks system has something to it though, I have to admit that. The combat feels great though And even when you cannot cast whenever you want anymore, it still has weight, if you catch my meaning. Soundtrack here is phenomenal in my opinion, Jeremy Soule surely did put his heart into it, from majestic main theme through calming peace 'symphony' through aggressive & pumping fighting tracks to eerie atmospheric music, the soundtrack here is top notch. The writing is above decent in vanilla game, most of the characters are likable (some are loveable even), the quests are okay but some may become a bit repetitive, especially the side jobs for Thieves Guild or the Civil War overall, however, the writing in the story DLCs Is where it shines the most, but we'll get to that. The most welcome change though, Is the world on its own, by that, I mean that the world feels very alive compared to the previous games, the interactions between NPCs and how the towns work in general, the 'realistically' placed animals & creatures and locations overall, the little details and touches like the stories behind certain places or how the Skyrim changes as you do all the possible quests even though the changes Are mostly just subtle, still, the overall feeling from the world is very amazing and the devs did a good job on this aspect. And what about the DLCs? Well, first we have Dawnguard, which used to be my most favourite out of them all, because the story was generally interesting and Serana was my best friend back then. Not gonna lie, I sided with the Vampires ONCE and I didn’t side with them ever since because I never really found vampires to be THAT interesting. (Yes, I am Dawnguard trash)... However, that changed as the time flew. Now I am more invested in Dragonborn than Dawnguard because you get to visit the Solstheim again like all those ages ago as Nerevarine, and it’s purely because of how it reminds me of Morrowind (+ the soundtrack from it) and the chase after Miraak is really engaging for me... And Teldryn Sero’s perfect husband fight me. But Dawnguard still has its place in my heart. And last DLC was Hearthfire. Not much can be said about that besides the nice feature that you can build your own mansion... It’s still kinda underwhelming because you can just build the same house three times and that’s about that... Not to mention the grind for it. Either way, Hearthfire is not bad but it certainly could be something WAY more. But all in all, Skyrim is very special game for me as an entrance into Elder Scrolls universe and a great Action RPG game. Shame that it has to be modded after your second / third playthrough though... Alas, the huge fan projects that are slowly but surely coming into it will be fokin great. Be sure to check them; Skywind (Basically Morrowind in Skyrim), Skyblivion (Oblivion in Skyrim), Beyond Skyrim (A project that plans on expanding the map of the game with other provinces including Morrowind, Cyrodil, Elsweyr and others) & Apotheosis (Mod which will bring you into all 17 Planes of Oblivion and Dreamsleeve)... And while you at it, make sure to also check Enderal as well; It’s an actual game on its own made on the Skyrim engine, I didn’t really got into it but I am sure there will be plenty of people who will.

The Elder Scrolls Online - Not sure where to start with this one, but I could just say that it’s MMO with skin of TES and you can think of the rest. However, since I am at the end of this post, I might as well tell you everything I got from it during all those hours of playing it. Alright so I will start with this; Elder Scrolls Online has been both good and bad for me, so beware of some shitting at the end. I will start with the good part and mix it with the bad one. First thing I really have to appreciate about this game, is the writing... Like this is something I’ve always found so interesting and entertaining in this game. Sure, it’s not on the level of the Morrowind but what is really? Most of the characters are likable (some even straight lovable), plots are interesting and in general, the writing is just wonderful. My most favourite storyline is the Dark Heart of Skyrim, I really loved that one when I add the Rivenspire main story into it. (Gotta love Ravenwatch the most in it) Vvardenfell main story was also pretty good along with Deshaan main story... However, a good portion of the stories are locked behind paywall but I’ll get into that later. The only thing I would probably change about the writing though, is how the player responses. Like why do I ALWAYS have to be so nice and eager towards everyone even when the person I am currently talking to clearly hates me and is about to fuck me in the arse? It almost renders the character dumb at times. Why I cannot be a dick for a change? Or maybe a neutral one? (Honestly this is the point where I miss Daggerfall and it’s tone system) Anyway, though. Another thing I really appreciate is the customization system. That one is quite well done. Like the way you can paint your outfit, how you can use the motifs, the personalities, skins and not to mention the character creation, you can basically make your own unique-looking character. The downside is the fact that at some point, you will realise that some of the characters are kinda samey-looking when you compare it and it’s really shame. For me, a good portion of Dunmers look quite the same but I guess that’s just me. What’s next I really liked about it? Well, since it’s MMO and you sometimes get to interact with other players, I have to point out that there are really nice people there (even though I barely interact with them but I’ll get into that), like the guild I am in helped me with outfits and I cannot thank them enough for it. (Especially the guild leader, love you very much if you are reading this) As I’ve said though, I barely interact with them most of the time, because I honestly don’t like people, especially randoms and that’s why I am evading most of this MMO stuff which actually has something to do with the players, especially PvP (I already have enough of that in FPS games, so why would I have one more reason to rip all my body hair off), which also applies to other MMO stuff. Let me clear with you, this is the ONLY MMO I am playing and it’s because it’s Elder Scrolls (Tried to get into WoW millions of times, but I simply couldn’t), not gonna lie, if this wasn’t TES, I wouldn’t most probably even touch it in first place. I admit though, playing it with your friends can be quite fun sometimes. The combat is really repetitive at times, but it’s not THAT bad because sometimes it’s enjoyable but sometimes I REALLY want it to be over already. However, this is the point where I get really negative about this game. As much as I don’t want to shit on it, there is this one thing I utterly hate about it. And that’s the monetisation system. Like, you can say that this is because it’s MMO and all but for the love of all the possible Aedra, Daedra and Lorkhan, this is like the worst monetisation system I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Like come on, Zenimax... Are you REALLY that fokin’ greedy? Do you seriously have me to pay like 2500 Crowns (Which is like 17-18 Bucks) for a bloody change of race / alliance / look? Not to mention this blazed little token is more pricier than like one of the DLCs (Most of the are about 1500-2000 Crowns, and even that is a lot in some cases). Another stuff is housing.. Like bloody hell, I saw a house which is over 10k Crowns... Is that bloody normal??? And then there’s ESO+ which is premium subscription... Now, that one wouldn’t be much of a problem but the bad side is that it’s like a fucking drug. You get it once, you cannot stop paying for it because it’s basically uncomfortable to play without it (for example the limited inventory if you do not have ESO+, now that’s a fucking bullshit). Another thing is that I’ve bought the ESO Collector’s Edition TWICE. Bought the Elsweyr Collector’s Edition like a month before Greymoor came out and then I’ve purchased Greymoor Collector’s Edition which overall costed me 80 bucks (It would’ve been over 100 if I didn’t proceed to buy it from grey market), and you would expect to at least get the continuation of the Elsweyr story, right? (As there is the major DLC and minor DLC, the minor one, which comes towards the end of the year, is meant as the continuation of the major DLC story) But Zenimax will hold you RIGHT there. You’ve bought the Collector’s Edition which costs more? Fine, here’s some completely useless things for ya. Oh you want continuation of the story that came like over half of the year ago? Absolutely not. So you either have to pay for ESO+ or buy the DLC separately. Hell, they didn’t even give me Crowns to it, I had to buy some on my own as I thought that they will be useful (Had 1250, which could only buy me some visual stuff) but those greedy bastards didn’t give me anything besides some pets and mounts which I don’t use at all. Like really, guys? Not cool, man. Not cool. And the worst part is, that some people are actually defending it. Sure, mate, if you have the money for it, it’s all nice, but that doesn’t make the system anymore right. sigh Anyway, the rant is over now. I hope I didn’t trigger anyone (Oh, who am I kidding, of course I most probably did). When I think about it overall, ESO isn’t bad and surely has its qualities. I would actually say that it’s very much above decent, but it ain’t some miracle either, what can I tell you. Then again though, it’s basically MMO with TES skin over it, and that’s where it ends.

Whew, so that was quite a journey, wasn’t it? I know that some people won’t agree with me on some things I’ve said, but it’s still my opinion and I won’t blame you for not agreeing with me on it... Just don��t start an argue, will ya? Overall, The Elder Scrolls universe is one of my most favourite universes right now and I must say that while each game had it’s flaws and problems, they all are special in their own way. What else do I need to say here? Really though, it did really has hell of a way behind it since the ‘94 and it still has a long way before it. Now just wait till TESVI will come out, we’ll see how much it will improve upon Skyrim. What do you expect from TESVI? I honestly want it to be more like a careful mix between Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, but that probably won’t happen... Hell, I will most probably already have children once this bloody game will come out, but I digress. Anyway, thank you for your attention and I hope you enjoyed this long rambling of mine. Have a nice rest of the day and remember to watch the skies, traveler.

#elder scrolls #the elder scrolls #arena #daggerfall #morrowind #oblivion #skyrim #elder scrolls online #eso #long post #rant

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dat-soldier · 4 years

Note

Chief i hate to break this to you, but there is a game set in elsweyr and its an Elder Scrolls Online expansion. There's only like 3 or 4 khajiit variants in the expansion tho :/

then its not a full entirely cat themed game innit

#snooprrifle

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thefrostfallathenaeum · 4 years

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Apparitions by Daniel Ran

Probably my favourite track from the mod Beyond Skyrim: Bruma. Also, if you pay attention, you can see parts which sound eerily similar to the Nazgûl theme. I really liked the reference, even if it wasn't intentional, as I am quite fond of both the Elder Scrolls series and the Tolkien legendarium. But I think it probably was, because the Ringwraiths are sort of apparitions, neither living nor dead. Make of that what you will.

Also, I'd like to talk about Beyond Skyrim ( @beyondskyrim ). This and TESRenewal are probably the most ambitious mods out there. Beyond Skyrim is basically constructing the entire continent of Tamriel piece by piece, land by land. They're already done with Bruma, which is a part of Northern Cyrodiil, and now they're working on Elsweyr, The New North (Morrowind) and the entire Cyrodiil, among others. This mod is truly amazing, the graphics, music and everything. Especially the music, much of it is on par with Jeremy Soule's soundtrack in my opinion. I recommend checking it out.

I've posted a link to their instagram page below

As always, Watch the Skies, Traveller!

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tes-trash-blog · 4 years

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The Dark Heart of Skyrim: A More Articulate Overview

Now that I’m safely back in my hovel, I can write up what we can expect for the next chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online.

Needless to say, Spoilers Ahead.

Dungeons and Trials

Harrowstorm is the first of the four installments. This one will feature 2 dungeons:

First, located on a small island in the Sea of Ghosts, is Icereach. This one will be going live in PTS sometime next week. There, you’ll meet with Lyris Titanborn as you uncover what’s really going on in this small island. There will be references to Direfrost Keep, and to the witch Droda; she wasn’t acting alone, it seemed. Normal playthroughs will unlock titles and usual loot; veteran hard mode runs will unlock Lyris Titanborn’s axe motif.

Expect spooky looking Giants and Daedra.

The second dungeon will be located in Bangkorai: Unhallowed Grave. There wasn’t much in the way of detail on this dungeon, but something was buried and guarded for so long, the current keepers don’t even know what’s in there. Needless to say, someone broke through, and it’ll be up to you to put a stop to it. This won’t be a dungeon to speedrun through; you’ll need to look over everything to unlock the mystery. There will be a red body marking collectible unlocked with this dungeon.

There will be a Sunspire-size trial, and loot that can only be unlocked on VHM. The quest will be you and your comrades trying to repel an invasion “from the North”. There also won’t be as much Stack-And-Attack, so be prepared. It will take place on an island in Skyrim “before it became barren”.

There will be crafting motifs for both.

Vampires

Yes, vampires are getting a reboot. The skill line will be reworked, and will be far more active.

The Vampire Lord will be an Ultimate, a bit like the Werewolf if I had to guess.

There will be new feeding animations.

The more you feed, the stronger you become. Your appearance will also change depending on how much you’ve fed.

There will be a mix of the Vampire perks you saw in Skyrim (Mesmerize, Life Drain), and the vampire tutorial quest will be reworked.

It will be easier to become a Vampire, but only in the sense that it’s going to be less random. No more hunting for a certain Bloodfiend.

Chapters

The first two chapters are Harrowstorm and Greymoor

The dungeons mentioned earlier are part of Harrowstorm, and lay the groundwork for what to expect.

Whereas Harrowstorm will deal a bit more in the supernatural, Greymoor will have that plus a brewing war between East and West.

Solitude, Morthal, and Blackreach are confirmed. We may see Dragon Bridge, but I couldn’t hear a solid “yes” or “no”.

If you’ve played Skyrim, this will all be recognizable, but only just.

Shadowgreen will be a delve.

Blackreach

Will make up around 40% of the game. There are different biomes, different creatures, and new threats.

It’s going to expand on the city you visit in TESV. It’s not just below the Pale; it’s everywhere.

There are new inhabitants (vampires)

Greymoor will play a part into reaching Blackreach.

New Skill Line(s)

It’s based on Antiquities; if Indiana Jones went to Tamriel

It’s non-combat, exploration-based.

The mechanic will be a little like Battleship and Minesweeper

ESO hears the concerns about colorblind players and is taking that into account

There will be special collectibles you can only get by excavating. One of them is the Ruby Dragon Skull.

There will be different themed pieces in the different areas, including Base Game; Yokudan remains in Alik’r, Atmoran and Dwemer pieces in Skyrim, etc

(I bugged Tuttle about Snow Elf ruins. He’s keeping mum.)

The pieces are account/character bound.

There will be special equipment that give special buffs; you can only have one equipped at a time

There is a new mount when you excavate all its fragments: The Dwemer Wolf Mount

Everything Else

Snow Elves were not confirmed. Falmer are.. potentially confirmed.

The grapple hook will be an asset in combat, especially in trials and dungeons.

There will be a new siege weapon to uncover with the new skill line.

The prologue quest for Dark Heart will play much like Wraithstone did in Elsweyr.

There will be a massive performance update that will require you to reinstall the game. It will take up 30GB less space, and patches will be much smaller. As an incentive, if you reinstall around the time the update is rolled out you will get a Crimson Torchbug. Watch out for that announcement.

Q3 and Q4 are Reach and Reachfolk-related.

There was kickass swag. I won none of it. Twice the winning ticket was 2 numbers away from mine.

But I did get a cool pin and a sweetroll.

Las Vegas scares the shit out of me.

#Dark Heart of Skyrim spoilers #eso spoilers

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mathieubellamont · 5 years

Audio

that bit at the end of the elsweyr menu theme

#this took so fucking long istg. just to find an application on my computer that will actually WORK #so if tumblr decides it doesnt want to play this for people...........................#traitor's ramblings

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gamerszone2019-blog · 5 years

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An MMO Recruit vs. a High-Level Elder Scrolls Online Scalebreaker Dungeon

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/an-mmo-recruit-vs-a-high-level-elder-scrolls-online-scalebreaker-dungeon/

An MMO Recruit vs. a High-Level Elder Scrolls Online Scalebreaker Dungeon

It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense why I never got into the MMORPG thing. Though my twisted gaming heart belongs to the shooter genre, I’ve loved many an RPG over the years. Deus Ex. Skyrim. Fallout: New Vegas. Even some buggier-than-Klendathu entries like the Gothic games.The truth is, I temporarily lost a friend to World of Warcraft. By that I mean I saw an incredibly social guy – the kind of friend who was, ironically, on my case to be more social – become a next-level hermit. During the height of his WoW addiction, he once reluctantly sprinted downstairs in his undies to let me in because he was in the middle of some uninterruptable WoW thing and had to get back upstairs. This was very odd to the shooter guy whose multiplayer rounds lasted no more than half an hour and are very quittable.

What made the irony all the sweeter was it was me, the still-to-this-day gaming recluse, telling my friend that he was gaming too much.

It became less an intervention and more an unintended ghost in my mind that MMO equals addiction. Since then, I’ve developed a bias wherein my brain goes seeking that kind of negative MMO reinforcement. A girlfriend who got upset with me because I apparently should have told her I wanted to go to bed before she started her WoW raid. Anecdotal stories about how MMO X is way too grindy or MMO Y is on its death legs because it went free-to-play.

What I’m getting at is though I’ve known for years that the problem is my attitude, it’s still hard to shake. So when the opportunity came along to play a dungeon from the upcoming Scalebreaker expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online

(ESO), this lowly MMO scrub – or whatever the MMO equivalent term is; I’m sure it’s nicer than the shooter nomenclature – took a punt. Far be it for me to try to sprint in full elven armour before I’d properly learnt to walk in my character-creation undies.

In fairness, I have dabbled in ESO before. As someone who sunk hundreds of hours into Skyrim before switching from Xbox 360 (the platform I reviewed it on) to PC just for faster loading times, ESO has long been on my radar as the MMO that might help change my mind. But the beta left me underwhelmed, the launch was less-than-sparkling, and despite a dragon-themed recent Elsweyr expansion, I’ve only managed to put in a meagre handful of hours across the life of the property. Embarrassingly, that’s on top of multiple forgotten-password, forgotten-security-answer accounts that are lost to the ether.

To make matters easier, the fellowship of my dungeon run featured the Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli of legendary support to my short-skilled Frodo self. Creative Director Rich Lambert. Lead Content Designer Jeremy Sera. Dungeon Lead Mike Finnigan. In the same frosty dragon breath, that’s incredibly intimidating company to keep when you’re a supremely confident action gamer, but embarrassingly underequipped MMO player.

It didn’t help that I erroneously loaded one of my still-in-the-training-area ESO Public Test Server (PTS) characters. There’d be no dungeoning with that lad. Mercifully, the PTO lets you load a high-level character to partake in high-level fantasy shenanigans, like the Lair of Maarselok dungeon, one of two dungeons set to launch with Scalebreaker. As if my initial faux pas wasn’t red-cheeked enough, the lovely lads had to talk me through digging into the menus to open sacks that held sets of weapons and armour to at least get my into the foursome fight half-cocked.

The start was, as I had feared, incredibly intimidating to the newcomer, despite the fact I was keenly aware this was high-level content where all of these basics would likely be straightforward for those who’ve played long enough to tackle the content. After the fact, I feel slightly better perusing what appears to be a friendly community of forums wherein advice is both positive and helpful, and failing at dungeons – at least initially – is apparently the norm.

Walk in the park!

Despite my lack of experience, it quickly became clear I was playing on easy mode given my expert guides. Some of the later steps in the dungeon – which I won’t ruin for those looking to experience it for the first time – were reminiscent of my raid time in Destiny. I realise that’s ironic, given Destiny has borrowed heavily from the MMORPG space, but the idea is that this ESO dungeon doesn’t spoonfeed you the solutions to every little combat-room puzzle and, instead, gives you enough logical pieces of a puzzle to empower you to figure out the rest.

In fact, Lair of Maarselok is kinder in that regard, with an NPC guide who occasionally offers helpful advice to make certain solutions a whole lot more obvious. (What Lambert teased of the dungeon’s hard mode sounded suitably challenging for those ESO players so inclined.) This helpful theme carries over into how ESO teaches you, whether you’re a lapsed fan or as green as me. I decided to take a dual-wielding melee slasher into the fight and took Lambert’s advice to pour all of my XP points into health to help keep me alive for longer.

ESO keeps combat controls straightforward – light attack, heavy attack, block and a blocking push – but it keeps gameplay active in managing the cooldowns on various powers (Diablo style) and avoiding the red-circle indicators of enemy area-of-effect attacks. Sometimes you have to take hits to learn the wisdom (or lack thereof) in certain attack strategies, while other times death acts as a teacher.

This ESO dungeon doesn’t spoonfeed you the solutions to every little combat-room puzzle and, instead, gives you enough logical pieces of a puzzle to empower you to figure out the rest.

“

In the handful of times that I died, sometimes confused about what’d put me on the ground, I was able to receive a posthumous education from the death recap pop-up. It detailed the total damage I’d taken from which enemy attacks and offered basic hints for how to better avoid death next time, as well as the gear consequences of death. There was time enough to take it in while I waited to be revived.

After watching my recording of the dungeon, it was clear that Sera, whose avatar had the incredibly apt moniker ‘Jeremy Heals’, was adept at making me avoid that death recap screen more often than I’d care to admit. At one part of an earlier encounter, this particular point was proven when the group took massive damage as Sera had a swig of coffee. While the dungeon did have combat peaks as well as narrative troughs and navigation lulls that let you take in the fantasy backdrop of this inside-a-mountain dungeon, there really isn’t much breathing space in any of the battles.

The deeper we got into the mountain, the more Maarselok’s blue corruption took over. It was something that Lambert talked about with the art team to ensure this ethereal blue stuff was immediately at ends with the otherwise natural design of the location and “to sell it’s definitely wrong”. The deeper you get, the more blue stuff you find. More blue stuff equals more corrupted critters, which means the combat difficulty ramps up.

No need to be intimidated, right guys?

The peon ads that were previously not worthy of combat respect in small numbers start to swarm and take down the player foolhardy enough to Leeroy Jenkins their way into the middle of them. They swarmed around the presence of different ‘Azureblight’ mini-bosses who are convinced to see the truth in your pursuit via videogame diplomacy: by knocking the digital snot out of them. “Convince them by beating them up,” says Lambert. “Once they’re sufficiently beaten up, they can live their lives in peace now.”

This kind of tongue-in-cheek banter continues throughout the dungeon and is reflective of why games can be a lot more fun than the sum of their gameplay parts when played with the right people. At a later point, when fighting nature-inspired foes, Lambert revved up his sarcasm. “We’re mowing through them. Because it’s nature. Mowing. You don’t have to laugh at that.” But, as a sucker for puns, I did.

More importantly, as we progressed, it was clear the earlier seemingly easier encounters were intended as a learning tool, which is appreciated when you’re swimming in the deep end of ESO content. “Some of the things that we try to do as you’re progressing through a dungeon is we try to teach you mechanics, so when you get to a boss fight you don’t get hit by so many mechanics that you haven’t seen before,” explains Lambert.

Normally, a larger group is required to take on a single dragon. Given that ESO dungeons are restricted to four players and Lambert “didn’t want to cheapen the dragon experience”, it was decided to split the fight in trine. Again, no spoilers here, but it feels “very much [like] a dragon hunt”, as Lambert describes it, and each encounter with Maarselok highlights a different aspect of a deadly dragon dance.

Here boy.

Though the initial setup and inventory management had me feeling like I’d made a huge, intimidating mistake, there was plenty of fun to be found once we started tackling the dungeon. Obviously, the company you keep is closely equated to success, but I really liked how organically we split off into different combat tasks and got things done, more so considering how little the Australia-to-U.S. latency impacted the experience.

And while I didn’t finish the play session with an unshakeable MMO addiction, as I’d illogically feared would be the case all those years ago, I am keen to improve upon my own recruit status and see what other non-dungeon enjoyment ESO has to offer.

Nathan Lawrence is a freelance writer based in Sydney who writes about games and film, and is a shooter specialist. He recently wrote about Google Stadia’s prospects in Australia. Say hey on Twitter.

Source : IGN

#Game News #Game Reviews

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