Doing things against the lore or what we shouldn't be doing lore wise but do it game wise.

Davor

I was trying to role play a bit but found out after wards I have been doing it "wrong" lore wise. I started playing an Orc recently. I do what I always do, kill, steal etc. Thing is I just read that Orcs don't steal. Dang, hard to play an Orc if I can't steal. Do I still have honour? Another one that I am shocked to read was Bosmer don't eat plants or harm them. Well so much for me being a The Elder Scrolls fan for over 20 years (when ever Arena came out) and I don't even know all the great lore that we have. How do we make potions and food then?

So I thought I would make a new thread on all the lore stuff in the game we "shouldn't be doing" and why we do it or rationalize how we can do it.

:Orcs don't steal. They have to much honour. How would they be viewed by their clans? Other clans? When would it be acceptable if at all?
:Bosmer. Don't eat or harm plants. If we can't collect plants to make potions, what do we do then? How would they be viewed?

I don't know about the other races or classes. So what is lore wise for Altmer, Dunmer, Khajit, Breton, Nords, Argonians, Redguard, Imperials, Bosmers, Orcs, sorcerers, dragon knight, warden, nightblade and templar would never do lore wise but we do them in the game anyways and "we shouldn't". I put we shouldn't in quotes because the game is to have fun, that is why we kill and steal when we would never do it in real life. But lore wise I would like to see what "we are doing wrong" in the game when we play.

Sylvermynx

Hmmm. I wonder if there's a lore forum here? I know there was a great one for Skyrim before the debacle that is the bethsoft forum today.

I belong to a guild, Society of Scholars, that's all about lore and making the game fun for the members (eh.... I'm kind of "quiet" - I can only do one thing at a time, and if I'm playing I can't be chatting....) You might look up Robo_Hobo in game and ask for an invite? Hmmm.... but you're not on PC NA are you? In which case, you could see if there's a similar guild on your platform. I've got various questions answered since I joined....

max_only

Bosmer don’t eat or harm plants >>> There is a quest that deals with just that in Grahtwood. If the plant has already “fallen from the tree” so to speak we are allowed to use it. Deliberately harming the plants will upset the Valenwood but utilizing a part of the plant that has already naturally been “shed” or discarded happens all the time. Forest debris, deadwood, and other natural cycles of dead or near dead plant life don’t count against us. Also Bosmer are famous for trading for wood and and other plants. Some Bosmer in the game are specifically in trouble for feeling like it’s silly they should pay others for wood when they are surrounded by free wood.

Orcs don’t steal from their Clan. They steal resources all the time from the Bosmer. (ง'̀-'́)ง

What’s more interesting are all the Templars out there who are in a culture that don’t believe in Aedra specifically. Or all the daedra summoners (Sorcerers) from anti daedra cultures.

Sylvermynx

max_only wrote: »

Bosmer don’t eat or harm plants >>> There is a quest that deals with just that in Grahtwood. If the plant has already “fallen from the tree” so to speak we are allowed to use it. Deliberately harming the plants will upset the Valenwood but utilizing a part of the plant that has already naturally been “shed” or discarded happens all the time. Forest debris, deadwood, and other natural cycles of dead or near dead plant life don’t count against us. Also Bosmer are famous for trading for wood and and other plants. Some Bosmer in the game are specifically in trouble for feeling like it’s silly they should pay others for wood when they are surrounded by free wood.

Orcs don’t steal from their Clan. They steal resources all the time from the Bosmer. (ง'̀-'́)ง

What’s more interesting are all the Templars out there who are in a culture that don’t believe in Aedra specifically. Or all the daedra summoners (Sorcerers) from anti daedra cultures.

Eh - all the stuff I forget when I'm outside the game! I shouldn't really try to answer.... Your post is far more informative and complete!

Judas Helviaryn

With lore.. you have to remember that race isn't what strictly defines one's behavior. It's more on culture, background, and upbringing than ethnicity. There are honorless orcs in the eyes of the stereotypical orc stronghold and hierarchy, and there are bosmer who eschew the green pact in favor of their own lifestyle.

It's the same as when people ask why there are certain races, races which are predominantly represented in certain factions, can belong to other factions. The world's a big, complex place. This is a fantasy world, but it's not some poorly written one where racial lines are strictly lain to the detriment of the story's credibility.

Play who you want, how you want, don't godmode, and you'll be fine.

(That means that if you ARE a green pact adherent, you'd better prepare to roleplay your imminent demise if you so much as lick a head of lettuce.)

max_only

Sylvermynx wrote: »

Hmmm. I wonder if there's a lore forum here? I know there was a great one for Skyrim before the debacle that is the bethsoft forum today.

I belong to a guild, Society of Scholars, that's all about lore and making the game fun for the members (eh.... I'm kind of "quiet" - I can only do one thing at a time, and if I'm playing I can't be chatting....) You might look up Robo_Hobo in game and ask for an invite? Hmmm.... but you're not on PC NA are you? In which case, you could see if there's a similar guild on your platform. I've got various questions answered since I joined....

There is a lore forum on this site. It’s under Lore.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/categories/lore

Saucy_Jack

I worship the totally canon Snugglorr the Magnificent, daedric king of the RNG. He is the daedric lord over all of the other so-called "princes", but his shrine (the psijic manor) was sucked into another plane when the Psijics moved Artaeum. As such his rightful influence as the superior daedric entity in Tamriel waned, allowing the rest of the usurpers to propagate their own lesser, pitiful cults.

VaranisArano

The Green Pact specifically refers to not harming the vegetation of Valenwood. Still, you see a lot of meat based food/drink, like. Dubious Camoran Throne.

static_recharge

Just as in real life, there are always outliers and people with different views in every race / culture / group. I'm sure there are orcs that steal. Also the Bosmer don't harm plants from Valenwood. They import firewood when they can't find enough that are already dead. Their Green Pact only forces them to protect Valenwood, not all plants.

Kel

You know what Bosmer eat after a battle?

It's gross

Sylvermynx

jabrone77 wrote: »

You know what Bosmer eat after a battle?

It's gross

Yeah. Why I said I roleplay around it with backstory.

Really, that should have been left with WoW and the Forsaken. I suppose it was in TES prior, but it's just unnecessary.

Korah_Eaglecry

Plenty of Orcs steal. Sure they have their own code of honor as a society but it doesnt mean individuals cant find their own moral compass and follow it. Theyre just not known for stealing because the idea of a thief is deeply seated in the citizens of Tamriels minds as someone small, agile and sometimes furry.

Bosmer outside of Valenwood often shrug off their religious practices and consume and harm plants. Says more about the social and cultural pressures of Valenwood than that of Y'ffre. When you cant walk down a path without worrying about some extremist demanding you lose a hand for accidentally snapping a branch that had become overgrown and blocked the road. You tend to adhere to that expectation out of fear. Finally breaking free of the influence of those dictators. You tend to loosen up and start eating leafy greens.

kadochka

jabrone77 wrote: »

You know what Bosmer eat after a battle?

It's gross

The bodies, right?
Or is that just Namira followers...?

Watchdog

Just a note on roleplaying from my perspective - ESO classes and their ingame mechanics should be treated as OOC only and they should not be used IC as such.

This approach may save both you and the people you roleplay with some headaches.

Davor

Watchdog wrote: »

Just a note on roleplaying from my perspective - ESO classes and their ingame mechanics should be treated as OOC only and they should not be used IC as such.

This approach may save both you and the people you roleplay with some headaches.

What is OOC? I don't understand what you are trying to say.

max_only

OOC = out of character
IC = in character

A bit confusing for this game because depending on context “IC” also stands for Imperial City.

Pheefs

Its interesting!
How many Orcs do we see working in the Outlaw Hideouts though? Lots!
That one guy in Sentinel does hide his face... I wonder if he still has a 'name' with his Clan
I think the Orsimer code of honor only applies to other Orcs and those they recognize as friends of the clan.

& The Bosmer is a question of your individual belief, you could go to Auridon & be a Bosmer farmer so long as you truly believed you were keeping the Green Pact in your way...
or there's all the obviously imported vegetables around the Valenwood, so long as it wasn't grown there its technically fine and in keeping with the imperial rules of hospitality.
What creeps me out is... if you knew in your heart you were breaking the Green Pact and didn't atone for it properly, you are going to get sucked into The Ouze when you die... in that case being the Vestige might have been a lucky break!

Ratzkifal

Apparently in the time of ESO, summoning Daedra is a crime for Altmer and potentially punishable by death, yet Pet Sorcs do it all the time.
There is one quest on Auridon that says so and the guy saying it can probably not be taken literally. He does say it even applies to Atronarchs but from the context it seems like he just claimed that to make himself seem less suspicious. Dremora seem to be too much though.

Pheefs

Oh! another good one
My thief considers killing those townspeople who catch me in the act and attack as "knocking them out"
...I'm sure they'll be fine in a couple minutes

Strychnos

One thing I've done a lot of that is apparently not quite lore friendly is playing Argonians that stick to one gender.

There's some text in Morrowind that refers to Argonians as having "life phases" tied to their gender, which I always kind of ignored as a fluke. But with Murkmire coming up, it looks like I was wrong! There's a book that references Argonians being open to gender changes, and I've heard that there is some in game dialogue from an Argonian talking about having switched gender during their life (though I can't find the link).

I've pretty consistently played my older Argonian characters as being either male or female (which I guess is reasonable given that they were raised outside of Black Marsh), so I'm going to take Murkmire as an opportunity to play an Argonian character that's a little more fluid.

Ratzkifal

@Strychnos If I remember correctly then Argonians change sex depending on the hist tree. It seems like a population control thing that's going on there and the ingestion of histsap causes the change.

OrdoHermetica

kadochka wrote: »

jabrone77 wrote: »

You know what Bosmer eat after a battle?

It's gross

The bodies, right?
Or is that just Namira followers...?

They must eat enemies they kill in battle, regardless of who or what that enemy is. They also have a limited time to do so, though they can solicit the help of family members. That's part of the Green Pact, so not related to Namira.

mague

I think as exiled imperial i have an easy life regarding lore.

OrdoHermetica

Vampire Templars are a ridiculous violation of lore, and I say that as someone who plays one. Templars draw power from Stendarr (or related deity, depending on pantheon, given that the Second Era was still pretty fluid in that regard), who is very specifically opposed to vampires. Also, they channel the powers of light, life, and the sun. So, polar opposites of vampires. The only way it'd be worse is if they drew power from Arkay.

Related: Vampires who use the Dawnbreaker ability. The Dawnbreaker ability channels the power of Meridia... Meridia, who is specifically noted for her deep and abiding hatred for all things undead. So, really, if vampire toons use Dawnbreaker, by the standards of lore they should really be doing that damage to themselves.

mague

Any race and class using Silver leash to pull Players from outposts to feed them to their Werewolves. Contradiction pure.

Danikat

One way to look at it is this: stealing is disallowed by most societies in real life: its not just illegal but also considered morally wrong and you'll meet with a lot of disapproval if you do it. Does that mean no one ever steals anything? Or only in special circumstances where they think it's morally justified?

People don't always follow the rules, even if they were born and raised in the culture that created those rules. There's all kinds of reasons they don't - they might think the rules are wrong, they might not care, they might find themselves in a situation where they feel they have no choice...

Also in TES a lot of the 'rules' about each race's culture and behaviour are a lot more nuanced, they're very rarely absolutes. For example all Redguard are absolutely opposed to any and all forms of necromancy. Except the ones who practice it, who form cults every few decades and try to take over or cause havoc. Their culture is very strongly against it - to the point were all of Hammerfell is protected by magical wards that stop the dead from being risen - but you tell enough people they must never do something and there will always be some who want to do it because it's forbidden.

There's even more variation when things aren't so strictly enforced. For example as a general rule dunmer don't worship the Eight Divines, they follow the Tribunal Temple and their 3 living 'gods'. But then some dunmer do worship the Eight, and others worship daedra (sometimes justifying it by calling some of them the good daedra) and others worship some mix of deities or nothing at all.

If you want to role-play it certainly helps to know the lore and culture of the race you're playing as, but there's numerous ways to adapt it if you want to do things that aren't normally allowed. Which can be as simple as having them grow up in a different area, so they weren't raised in that culture.

max_only wrote: »

What’s more interesting are all the Templars out there who are in a culture that don’t believe in Aedra specifically. Or all the daedra summoners (Sorcerers) from anti daedra cultures.

My templar isn't a follower of the Eight Divines (she's a khahiit and her principal deities are Khenarthi and Azurah) but she's also not a conventional templar. She's more of a stealthy battlemage, focusing on what the younger scholars are starting to call destruction and restoration magic.

She's the latest incarnation of the character I play in all TES games and she's only a templar because this game forces you to pick a class instead of individual skill lines and that was the nearest I could get to the two magic schools I normally use.

Varana

Also, like in a real-world religion, there are various interpretations and different opinions about how strict those rules are to be followed. During the Second Era (i.e. TESO), the commandment to eat the dead after a battle is rarely practiced outside the remote communities deep in the Valenwood. (Not to speak of Bosmer outside their homeland, even if they otherwise tend to honour the Green Pact, or at least certain elements of it.)

Watchdog

max_only wrote: »

OOC = out of character
IC = in character

A bit confusing for this game because depending on context “IC” also stands for Imperial City.

Thank you for explaining it.

@Davor - I do apologize for using the terms OOC and IC automatically, without considering that not everyone was familiar with them.

My point was that roleplayers often ignore most game mechanics while roleplaying in MMORPG's, because it would make no sense to have thousands of mighty Archmages each leading the Mages Guild and such. The Daedric pets roaming the cities freely without the city guards as much as raising an eyebrow is another example.

Starlock

I think one of the hardest lore-breaking moments I had was creating an ashlander character and running him through the Ebonheart Pact quest lines, and then Morrowind. There are points in the quests where you are forced to help the Tribunal, and that would totally not be his thing. I had to re-write a lot of dialogue in my head. Champion of Vivec? Urgh. No, nope, and never.

Yargu

When I am a Redguard from Hammerfell and I have no choice but to kill the undead in my homeland. Or when the people on the docks tell me I am not from there or raised with their beliefs, when my character was.

Katahdin

My bosmer lives in the Rift and eats veggies