Regarding Argonian and Birth and their connection to the Hist

andrewalexanderkingb14_ESO · March 2021

So, my question is this - Is the Argonian race entirely dependant on the Hist in order to procreate? We see in a Dominion questions that a group of Argonians in Valenwood seem to be unable to reproduce. Is this due to the lack of Hist tree? If so, what about Argonian slaves taken by the Dunmer. While going forth and capturing slaves from Blackmarsh is one way of obtaining slaves, I would assume a much easier method would be to simply breed the slaves you need at home...which, if Argonians cannot procreate without the Hist, leaves them a difficult race to keep as slaves long term. I doubt the Dunmer would care for having Hist trees growing on their land for slaves....and I doubt the Hist themselves would enjoy the situation either!

Kandrecar · April 2021

As far as I know, Argonians can reproduce without the Hist but the Hist gives them their intelligence and human like form via the sap Argonians drink while growing up. However there is one Argonian NPC in Morrowind that was born in slavery and never tastad Hist sap and still has the average intelligence, but personally I think that is a small oversight on ZOS part.

cynicalbutterfly · April 2021

Kandrecar wrote: »

As far as I know, Argonians can reproduce without the Hist but the Hist gives them their intelligence and human like form via the sap Argonians drink while growing up. However there is one Argonian NPC in Morrowind that was born in slavery and never tastad Hist sap and still has the average intelligence, but personally I think that is a small oversight on ZOS part.

I'm no lore master but from what I've gathered after playing and reading info, it is possible for Argonians to reproduce without the Hist. The drawback is that it makes it much more difficult for the mating pair to produce an offspring. In general, the Hist seems to give them a 90% chance of producing while non-Hist seems to give them about a 50% or less chance (these percents are just for example). And then there's the possiblities of birth defects. Higher chance of defects in non-Hist vs Hist. The Hist acts kind of like a drug really. You're fine as long as you take it but you suffer if you don't take it. But once you're completely off of it, it seems like you can live a normal happy life. Like addicts getting clean.

As for Argonian slaves, it's hard to tell how this works out for them. Not really that much info on how well they reproduce or even if they're allowed to do so. I assume that would depend on their masters but they certainly wouldn't have a Hist tree. I don't remember any examples but I'm pretty sure we get to meet a few non-Hist born Argonians out there.

As for getting their soul or personality from the Hist, this is partly true. Only works that way if you follow the Hist. For those outside of the Hist, certainly not. Hist followers are tied to their tree in a way that non-Hist aren't. I assume it works kind of like a Deadric contract. I give you something and in return you give me something. Only the Hist is probably actually fooling them in order to stay alive. No one is deprived of their soul or personality in all of ESO unless something intercedes. In this case, the Hist. In Murkmire, we learned that the Hist can actually recycle Argonian souls. But in Murkmire, those Argonians are tied to the Hist and have been for centuries. Without it, their clan might die off permanently. Those outside of Murkmire seem to be a different case.

LettuceBrain · April 2021

cynicalbutterfly wrote: »

Kandrecar wrote: »

As far as I know, Argonians can reproduce without the Hist but the Hist gives them their intelligence and human like form via the sap Argonians drink while growing up. However there is one Argonian NPC in Morrowind that was born in slavery and never tastad Hist sap and still has the average intelligence, but personally I think that is a small oversight on ZOS part.

I'm no lore master but from what I've gathered after playing and reading info, it is possible for Argonians to reproduce without the Hist. The drawback is that it makes it much more difficult for the mating pair to produce an offspring. In general, the Hist seems to give them a 90% chance of producing while non-Hist seems to give them about a 50% or less chance (these percents are just for example). And then there's the possiblities of birth defects. Higher chance of defects in non-Hist vs Hist. The Hist acts kind of like a drug really. You're fine as long as you take it but you suffer if you don't take it. But once you're completely off of it, it seems like you can live a normal happy life. Like addicts getting clean.

As for Argonian slaves, it's hard to tell how this works out for them. Not really that much info on how well they reproduce or even if they're allowed to do so. I assume that would depend on their masters but they certainly wouldn't have a Hist tree. I don't remember any examples but I'm pretty sure we get to meet a few non-Hist born Argonians out there.

As for getting their soul or personality from the Hist, this is partly true. Only works that way if you follow the Hist. For those outside of the Hist, certainly not. Hist followers are tied to their tree in a way that non-Hist aren't. I assume it works kind of like a Deadric contract. I give you something and in return you give me something. Only the Hist is probably actually fooling them in order to stay alive. No one is deprived of their soul or personality in all of ESO unless something intercedes. In this case, the Hist. In Murkmire, we learned that the Hist can actually recycle Argonian souls. But in Murkmire, those Argonians are tied to the Hist and have been for centuries. Without it, their clan might die off permanently. Those outside of Murkmire seem to be a different case.

Well this clears up some questions I had. Thanks.