Official Discussion Thread for "ESO Live: May 22 @4PM—Greymoor Art/Lore Chat & CE Unboxing"

ZOS_GinaBruno · May 21

This is the official discussion thread for the blog article ESO Live: May 22 @4PM—Greymoor Art/Lore Chat & Physical CE Unboxing. Join us tomorrow at 4PM EDT on Twitch as we invite Loremaster Leamon Tuttle and Art Director CJ Grebb on the show to unbox the amazing Greymoor Physical Collector’s Edition and chat about Greymoor’s art and lore.

If you have a question you'd like Leamon or CJ to answer regarding Western Skyrim’s world building and history, its people and politics, or the design and lore behind ESO’s monstrous Vampires, you can post your questions here for consideration to have them answer live on the show!

Aliyavana · May 21

For loremaster Leamon Tuttle, I offer you a picture of a Snowray from the forgotten Shadowkey as a sacrifice to summon thee.

1. In the revamped vampire quest, Lamae Bal explains that she has created her own type of vampire lords to explain why we can now turn into one. She calls us the term Blood Scion, is a Blood Scion a term exclusively used to describe the type of vampire lords Lamae Bal created?

2. In one of the Previous ESO Lives streams, it was revealed that Greymoor Keep is underneath and connects to Solitude. Is there any connection between this Greymoor Keep and the Greymoor located far away in the center of Skyrim as seen within TES V https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Fort_Greymoor

3. Will there be a loremaster questions archive made for this chapter as well?

ZunaRoath · May 21

Here's some questions:

For Leamon:
There are many traditions Nords have, like hunting Ice Wraiths on their teens to prove themselves. Could you explain other examples of traditions the Nords have? Thank you!

For CJ:
I'm a 3D character artist and I love to see the designs of the characters and creatures in ESO, they heavily inspire me for my work. I was wondering how the teams work together, the artists and the writters, to design and make the characters and creatures, even clothes and armours, lore appropiate.

Another question for CJ, which was the hardest creature or character to work on, ever since you began working in ZOS, and why?

Thanks guys!

Gaius_Marius · May 21

A Lore Question.
Before Greymoor as far as we knew Falkreath and Whiterun were apart of Western Skyrim per a Meet the Character and an outfit description however in Greymoor Whiterun and Falkreath are confirmed to not be apart of Western Skyrims Kingdom.
What changed that caused Whiterun and Falkreath to leave?

Did the Colovian Estates help Falkreath against the Reachmen invading their Hold and then did Falkreath join the Colovian Estates after West Skyrim abandoned it to the Reachmen? (Given Falkreath has been known to be apart of the Colovian estates in TES' past and future)

Has Whiterun and Falkreath leaving West Skyrim made Svargrim more paranoid?

Sources

http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Costumes_W#West_Skyrim_Scout_Outfit
"This costume replicates the armor worn by the scouts of Western Skyrim, in the holds of Haafingar, Whiterun, and Falkreath."

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Meet_the_Character_-_Eerika_Skjoralmor
"When an escort was needed for the Jarl's wife and young child to join him in Solitude for the crowning of High King Svargrim, I leapt at the chance to leave the hold."

Edit:
When you do city layouts are you restricted by their layouts in previous games? or do you have freedom to do things like base Leyawiin off the TES4 concept art instead of TES4 ingame. Since TES4s ingame Leyawiin blocks off the sea when it shouldn't do per the quest "An Unexpected Voyage" and the Great War book (which talks of Naval engagements on the Niben and the Unexpected Voyage quest has a ship sail from the Imperial City to open sea).

ListerJMC · May 21

I have a couple of questions about the design of vampires - why does it turn everyone white? Are there any plans to give players other appearance options which are more mindful of darker skin tones and markings? I'm still upset about what it did to my Redguard in particular and I'm curious if it'll ever be addressed.

For a less serious question - who are your favourite vampires in the lore?

JMadFour · May 21

For the Loremaster and Devs:

The only thing I really want to know is this:

In an update that is thematically built around Vampires, with a Vampire Skill Line rework as a central feature, with Vampires as the primary antagonists...will the game story and/or dialogue acknowledge, in any way, whether the player is a Vampire or not?

If not, then why not? What keeps the game from being able to provide appropriate dialogue/quest options for things like Vampires, and Werewolves, and Necromancers? is it a technical issue, an issue with writing, voice acting, or something else?

omnimuffin · May 21

For his esteemed majesty, Leamon Tuttle:

While some sources say that the Nords view Akatosh as a foreign god, others say that they recognize Akatosh in addition to Alduin. Additionally, a couple of sources identify Akatosh (or at least, his non-Alduin Nordic equivalent) as the Dragon Totem of ancient Nord History, which would make sense, since the Dragon masters of the ancient Dragon Cult don't seem shy about mentioning their 'father' Akatosh.

Does a non-Alduin Nordic form of Akatosh exist, or did he in the past? If he did or does exist, does he have a unique nordic name, or was it simply 'Akatosh'?

Lorkhatosh · May 21

This is amazing opportunity, here are some of my questions.

For loremaster Leamon:

How relevant is Alduin and past tied to the Dragon Cult to Nords in the second era. Do they still remember the danger that World-Eater posed to them and possibly entirety of Nirn? Would you say there is a sort of post-Alduin PTSD in their culture with them maybe trying to not even mention his name out of fear?

For CJ Grebb:

Does Zenimax Online studio have a sort of internal design library for various races and cultures? Maybe a sort of moodboard and design/lore inspirations to draw upon when making new assets? Or would you say that each design challenge is handled separately based on the task itself?

Thanks a lot, can't wait for Greymoor!

colossalvoids · May 21

I wonder will there be a combat team eso live again soon(ish) so we can ask our questions and not feel ignored? There are a LOT of questions regarding itemisation, classes etc. that people are concerned about right now coming from recent patches and upcoming chapter release.

Tommy_The_Gun · May 21

I have a question for lore master Leamon Tuttle.

Is there a connection between Greymoor Keep that we can see in Blackreach in Elder Scrolls Online, and a very similarly named location in TES V Skyrim - Fort Greymoor ?

TES V Skyrim - Fort Greymoor:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Fort_Greymoor

Elder Scrolls Online - Greymoor Keep:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Blackreach
https://esomap.uesp.net/?centeron=Greymoor+Keep

Or is it just a weird coincidence ?

Vevvev · May 21

Why was the lore for Lamae's bloodline changed so drastically and will we see the lore book "Noxiphilic Sanguivoria" getting rewritten? Reason I ask is the new vampires and the lore book don't tell the same story.

Axmalexia · May 21

For Leamon!

Two questions!

In the vein of Clever Men and Clever Women, Old Mjolen is stated to be a Clever Woman. So what does it mean for a Nord to be a Clever Man or Woman and how would one go about becoming one?

As Jhunal is the Nordic God of Runes, Magic, etc. do the Clever Men and Women have ties to him as wizards would have to Julianos?

Legoless · May 21

What are the main differences with Morthal in the Second Era compared to its appearance in Skyrim? Will players recognise any names? Was inspiration taken from the city's legendary founding by Morihaus?

opaj · May 21

Is there any chance that this will be uploaded to YouTube afterwards? I won't be able to listen live this time (it's my daughter's birthday!) and the last few ESO Lives haven't made it over to the 'Tube.

XomRhoK · May 21

I have one question for Art Director CJ Grebb:

Lorkhatosh · May 21

An additional question if I may.

In 4th era Solitude is very imperialized, was this a trend throughout the history? Are we going to see traditional Nordic totemic cultists in these areas or were they one of the first to abandon old faith?

Olauron · May 21

1. Are there plans for Elsweyr Art-book and Greymoor Art-book (similar to Naryu's Journal or The Alinor Codex)?

2. Is there an exit from Blackreach to Forgotten Vale? Why are we seeing Vale Deers in Blackreach and who has eaten them to extinction (in Blackreach) in the following eras?

The_Lex · May 21

I have a lore question:

Given the Nordic desire for combat ("Victory or Sovngard!"), how did the 2E Nords of Solitude and Morthal handle it when skills wouldn't fire, bar swaps would fail, when lag plagued the battlefield, and when their armies were hit with an excessive number of load screens in combat?

Are these the result of a dragon break?

MinuitPro · May 21

Leamon,

Will there be any lore trending toward the Bloodspring of Lengeir's Feast and/or The Bloodstone Chalice
or the collapse of the Redwater Den area which apparently covers the ruins that collapses in the current (Second) Era? There's nothing in its location presently (West of Autumnshade Clearing, Rift) in ESO but with all the vampire references, one could hope for something.

ElenaVolkihar · May 21

1. In the trailer, Lamae Bal said she gave vampires some "improved" vampire lord form. So does it mean she can create her own vampire lord forms? How and why she can do it?
2. Why vampire lords have horns?
3. In TES Travels Dawnstar we can see some "Ice Tribes". Are they the same tribes we will meet in the new trial soon?
4. Will you replace Nerevar projection with new model?

Baraber · May 21

A question for CJ:

"Why don't the player's version of vampire lord (blood scion transformation) have Wings?"

this question have been asked repeatedly and dozens of times on the PTS forums.

ElenaVolkihar · May 21

And also why vampires grow stronger when they feed if in other TES games they grow stronger when they starve?

olsborg · May 21

Please give a statement about the current performance (fails) in cyrodiil.

kensan62_ESO · May 21

Would like to know regarding the physical collector's edition of Greymoor, why was there a decision to not include an art book/journal/Lore book to the set. This is definately something I for one had looked forward to. The previous collector's editions had incredible books included. Is there any plans to release one separately so we could get our hands on it?

kind_hero · May 21

For CJ:

Why do we get so many armor styles with hip and crotch flaps? Can we get some outfits or styles without such flaps from now and then?

Thevampirenight · May 21

When choosing the main bad for the chapter what made you guys pick-R otherwise known as ( Don't click if you don't want to be spoiled by the name of the Vampire Lord.)

Rada al-Saran

.
Any reason why he was picked for the Role, he does after all have a very unique history in the lore. Lore which was introduced in the base game. What made you come to that decision to have him be the Big Bad and also will we learn more about his history throughout the Year? We do get some of it in a certain Daggerfall Covenant Area however we don't know much about him besides his unique role in that area. Also will we find out how he got involved with the Gray Host and his connection to King Styriche of Verkarth?

Another Question If King Svargrim had to be forced to pick a Side in the Alliance War who would he side with? The Ebonheart Pact or would he Side with the Daggerfall Covenant. Would he suck it up and work with the Dunmer and Argonians or would he choose to side with the Bretons, Orcs and Redguards who border his territory out of his hatred of Eastern Skyrim and the Ebonheart Pact?

Also why don't the Vampire Models have fangs is this a technical limitation and have to pretend they do or is it to work work to develop? I would also like to know the answer to this.

Hollyniss · May 21

Will the vampire appearance get a rework (not the scion, the base form)? With the release of the new vampire skills and gameplay it'd be really appreciated if you'd change the overall appearance of the vampire. Or at the very least FANGS. Also fix it to where markings/tattoos don't fade. Khajiit also shouldn't change color since it's fur, not skin. These changes would be amazing!

Thanks Devs looking forward to Greymoor next week!

CoolBlast3 · May 22

I'm in the same camp as Hollyniss. Will our vamp skins get a rework?
As they said, fix the markings and tattoos. If not possible, why not?
Will a hide vampirism skin ever be available?
Also, at the very least, I'd love for this following suggestion to be pondered.
At stage one, make it so eye color remains. Stage two eyes get an orange overlay, then at stage three and four the current monster looks can stay. That way at least stage 1-2 vamps look less monster than they currently do.

xclassgaming · May 22

A question for the lore master:

In the PTS We have seen the "Snowhawk mage" outfit style, ooes this mean Snowhawk existed before or is it somewhere else, perhaps the reach? Is Snowhawk not a city like we once thought? Has it been retconned?

Cameron991 · May 22

A question for CJ

Why was the decision made to get rid of the wings with the blood scion? I know vampire lords and blood scions are not the same but that doesn’t mean they too can’t have wings! Can we at least have them for the bat swarm morph like the pre pts had?

You all did a great job making western Skyrim beautiful and I’m so excited about this vampire storyline I have been waiting a long time for this!!!

VerboseQuips · May 22

Some lore questions for Leamon :

1. What does the -kreath in Kilkreath and Falkreath mean, and is it the same kreath as in the "men-of-'kreath" mentioned by the Adabal-a and the song of Pelinal? Does it mean the Ayleid ruin of Heldon lies in nowadays-Skyrim? Were there contacts between Ayleids and Falmer?

2. In "Opusculus Lamae Bal ta Mezzamortie", the Shrieking Winds are capitalized, suggesting they are more than mere winds. What are these, and are they endowed with a will of their own?

3. Who and what was Aumriel? Any chance we'd learn more on her this year?

And a more practical question for Gina :

I have preordered the French physical collector edition in a local store, but due to the ongoing covid pandemic, it will likely arrive a few days late. Will I still get the prepurchase bonuses when the edition arrive, or is there a risk the delay would make me lose them? :-s