Why are there ghosts?

Azalin76

If soul gems exist, resurrection, and way points, then how can anyone possibly die and become a ghost?

SirAndy

When in doubt, magick ...

Enemy-of-Coldharbour

Maybe they could not afford them or had no friends for a resurrection?

GreySix

A better question might be

... why can our characters kill ghosts with blades, or other non-magical weapons?

21jws10

Who you gonna call?

Moonscythe

GreySix wrote: »

A better question might be

... why can our characters kill ghosts with blades, or other non-magical weapons?

In Oblivion one required magical or silver weapons to slay undead but not in Skyrim. Of course in Oblivion one could kill a slaughterfish under water with a dagger so realism is tenuous at best.

AFrostWolf

Need to Bring back the Silver/Magical properties Req!

Forestd16b14_ESO

It's magic..... Magic don't gotta explain shite

Acrolas

Realism would be 15 mile long lines at Wayshrines while the Tamriel Security Administration makes sure nobody's carrying a Daedric bot or exploit.

Saucy_Jack

The other thing: the three factions are locked in a war. It's been demonstrated that once you know a wayshrine's location, you can port to any other known wayshrine. So a) why aren't the factions pouring their armies through the wayshrines into opposing factions' capital cities, and b) why is Molag Bal going through the bother of sending his daedra through the anchors, when he's got like 7 or 8 wayshrines scattered throughout Coldharbour? Use those, ya big dummy!

GreySix

Saucy_Jack wrote: »

The other thing: the three factions are locked in a war. It's been demonstrated that once you know a wayshrine's location, you can port to any other known wayshrine. So a) why aren't the factions pouring their armies through the wayshrines into opposing factions' capital cities, and b) why is Molag Bal going through the bother of sending his daedra through the anchors, when he's got like 7 or 8 wayshrines scattered throughout Coldharbour? Use those, ya big dummy!

Except that all those players are just carbon-copies of you, the soul shriven Vestige ... who will (all of us together) single-handedly down Molag Ball in his own realm.

You know what? Never mind - my head hurts.

OzJohnD

Ghosts are simply a projection of your own internal psychoses .... they are not real

OzJohnD

OzJohnD wrote: »

Ghosts are simply a projection of your own internal psychoses .... they are not real

psychosis is the inevitable end point of immortality

GreySix

OzJohnD wrote: »

Ghosts are simply a projection of your own internal psychoses .... they are not real

... which works, so long as others aren't fighting them with you.

Have never been a believer in mass-hysteria.

OzJohnD

GreySix wrote: »

OzJohnD wrote: »

Ghosts are simply a projection of your own internal psychoses .... they are not real

... which works, so long as others aren't fighting them with you.

Have never been a believer in mass-hysteria.

the "others" aren't real either ... damn convincing psychotic break isn't it !

theroyalestpythonnub18_ESO

Soul gems/Wayshrines only work for vestiges. Joe regular can't use them like that.

CaptainObvious

For the player, they are soul shriven and effectively like daedra. Read the books in the game on soul shriven.

So the regular people at least were regular, until the justice system started. Ground Hog 15 minutes is the only explanation for the regular people. I.E. take the story setup and explanations, then throw them out the window.

Azalin76

Are we still soul shriven at the end of the story line? Not trying to throw out spoilers, I would feel we are no longer soul shriven after the defeat of molag bal.

GreySix

Azalin76 wrote: »

Are we still soul shriven at the end of the story line? Not trying to throw out spoilers, I would feel we are no longer soul shriven after the defeat of molag bal.

Well, in Cadwell's silver, NPCs still refers to my character as being without a soul.

UrQuan

theroyalestpythonnub18_ESO wrote: »

Soul gems/Wayshrines only work for vestiges. Joe regular can't use them like that.

This. There are books in the game that explain this, but to anyone who isn't a vestige the only thing you can do with a soul gem is use it to power something (like an enchantment, the way we recharge weapon enchantments), and the only thing you can do with a wayshrine is pray to whichever divines/daedra you worship.

The only reason these things work for us, the players, is because we're already dead, and our bodies are just vestiges formed from chaotic creatia. Even as such, a regular soul shriven (who is also already dead and has a body formed from chaotic creatia) couldn't make use of soul gems or wayshrines the way we do, because unlike normal soul shriven we're "paragon" soul shriven (the theory is that Mundus would spontaneously form such paragon soul shriven in times at which Mundus itself is threatened with destruction - such as the threat caused by the plane meld) whose bodies aren't flawed by the lack of a soul (unlike normal soul shriven, whose lack of a soul causes them to be imperfect copies of what they once were).

OzJohnD

Molag Bal is never defeated, ever ...

UrQuan

Azalin76 wrote: »

Are we still soul shriven at the end of the story line? Not trying to throw out spoilers, I would feel we are no longer soul shriven after the defeat of molag bal.

We actually are still vestiges, because our original bodies are long gone.

Rydik

Nice lore

TheShadowScout

UrQuan wrote: »

theroyalestpythonnub18_ESO wrote: »

Soul gems/Wayshrines only work for vestiges. Joe regular can't use them like that.

This. There are books in the game that explain this, but to anyone who isn't a vestige the only thing you can do with a soul gem is use it to power something (like an enchantment, the way we recharge weapon enchantments), and the only thing you can do with a wayshrine is pray to whichever divines/daedra you worship.

The only reason these things work for us, the players, is because we're already dead, and our bodies are just vestiges formed from chaotic creatia. Even as such, a regular soul shriven (who is also already dead and has a body formed from chaotic creatia) couldn't make use of soul gems or wayshrines the way we do, because unlike normal soul shriven we're "paragon" soul shriven (the theory is that Mundus would spontaneously form such paragon soul shriven in times at which Mundus itself is threatened with destruction - such as the threat caused by the plane meld) whose bodies aren't flawed by the lack of a soul (unlike normal soul shriven, whose lack of a soul causes them to be imperfect copies of what they once were).

^This!^

All the NPCs who get murdered and then mysteriously reappear ever since the justice system... uhm... well... fugeddaboudid! (though I do wish they would not respawn while their "corpse" was still lyring around, then at least I could think they were not dead, just in a near-death coma, and some wandering healer took care of it...)

But technically any non vestige (or soul shriven, or daedra for that matter) who bites the dust may either move on to the afterlife, or hang around to haunt the s#!+ out of Tamriel...

GeekReaper

Acrolas wrote: »

Realism would be 15 mile long lines at Wayshrines while the Tamriel Security Administration makes sure nobody's carrying a Daedric bot or exploit.

Very clever!

starkerealm

theroyalestpythonnub18_ESO wrote: »

Soul gems/Wayshrines only work for vestiges. Joe regular can't use them like that.

Well, soul gem resurrections. Soul gems can be used to charge enchantments by anyone.

That said, there are a lot of ways to end up with restless spirits in Tamriel. Some of them magical, others, not so much.