Why are the tails on Bipedal Khajiit so long?

ArchMikem · October 2018

Any introductory course on Evolution will tell you that overtime components that become redundant are phased out. For example Humanity no longer has exposed tails due to our upright posture, making a tail's purpose for balance obsolete. However since Khajiit are a legitimate humanoid feline hybrid, their tails wouldn't be completely absent, however with them not being crucial to everyday life, at least for the bipedal subraces, id figure the tail would be a lot shorter, perhaps ending around knee level, or at most mid calf. In-game depiction though has the tail nearly dragging along the ground two feet behind us. It always looks so out of place being so thin and long, like its one of those fake tails you clip onto your belt for cosplay.

Is there a reason the tail is so long, besides the usual creative license? Would it look better if they were shorter and or had more girth toward the base?

SantieClaws · October 2018

How else would we reach all that way up to put the starfish on top of the Fishmas tree yes?

Our tails are long and elegant and beautiful. A prize among the appendages of Tamriel yes. Why would we change this?

Yours with paws
Santie Claws

Luigi_Vampa · October 2018

None of the races in TES have "evolved" in the scientific sense.

StamWhipCultist · October 2018

myskyrim26 · October 2018

ArchMikem wrote: »

However since Khajiit are a legitimate humanoid feline hybrid...

The are not a hybrid. They are not a result of mer messing with cats. They are mer with this given appearance and ability to come in different furstock - Ohmes, Cathay, etc. No evolution, no becoming bipedal, no rudimentary tails.

StamWhipCultist · October 2018

myskyrim26 wrote: »

ArchMikem wrote: »

However since Khajiit are a legitimate humanoid feline hybrid...

The are not a hybrid. They are not a result of mer messing with cats. They are mer with this given appearance and ability to come in different furstock - Ohmes, Cathay, etc. No evolution, no becoming bipedal, no rudimentary tails.

Not mer.
http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Khajiit

myskyrim26 · October 2018

@StamWhipCultist
They share same origin with Bosmer. Bosmer and Khajiit were one people shifting between animal and humanoid form. Y'ffre locked the appearance of Bosmer. Azura gave Khajiit the ability to come in different forms. Bosmer are mer, and Khajiit are mer in origin. And sload are also... mer....

Here's a quick link: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Captain_Tendil
What's a Sload?
"You know how the Khajiit are like mer, but cats? Imagine that, only with slug-toad things. They're a Betmer race, beast mer, and their empire once ruled the seas of southern Tamriel."
Betmer, a mer with a beast appearance. And Argonians are not betmer, they have no mer origin
Also, the description of Ohmes form of a Khajiit: one can hardly tell Ohmes from a Bosmer, they are elven-like, but with a tail. For that reason Pelinal killed a lot of them until was stopped by Alkosh

ArchMikem · October 2018

myskyrim26 wrote: »

ArchMikem wrote: »

However since Khajiit are a legitimate humanoid feline hybrid...

The are not a hybrid. They are not a result of mer messing with cats. They are mer with this given appearance and ability to come in different furstock - Ohmes, Cathay, etc. No evolution, no becoming bipedal, no rudimentary tails.

A hybrid of the two physical traits, not a biological hybrid caused by breeding.

And yes Evolution does still exist in the world as is evidenced by the Falmer changing due to their subterranean dwelling. The Races may have been "created" but their forms still change overtime due to other influences.

Bruccius · October 2018

The Khajiit are able to communicate in body language using their tails, and they're a feline species, often still walking on all four limbs (even if you don't see it ingame), in which case, a tail for balance is useful.

ghastley · October 2018

The place where a long tail for balance really comes in, is up in the trees. In real-life cats, the ones with the longest tails climb trees. Khajiit share that habit with the Bosmer, and so need them.

Plus, there are other reasons for a long tail. Consider the peacock, for example. Not practical, but it has its uses. Who knows what the Khajiit get up to when we're not watching?

ArchMikem · October 2018

Bruccius wrote: »

The Khajiit are able to communicate in body language using their tails, and they're a feline species, often still walking on all four limbs (even if you don't see it ingame), in which case, a tail for balance is useful.

Reminds me of Katia in Prequel, where she's a Cathay-Raht but can transition from an upright run onto a four legged sprint shown in that one chase scene. I wonder if that could be the case for Canon Khajiit where they have the ability to run on all fours even if they walk upright.

Oh that would look so awesome if that was the sprint animation for Khajiit in-game.

@ZOS_GinaBruno PLEASE relay that to your Animation department and see what they think.

Konstant_Tel_Necris · October 2018

ArchMikem wrote: »

Bruccius wrote: »

The Khajiit are able to communicate in body language using their tails, and they're a feline species, often still walking on all four limbs (even if you don't see it ingame), in which case, a tail for balance is useful.

Reminds me of Katia in Prequel, where she's a Cathay-Raht but can transition from an upright run onto a four legged sprint shown in that one chase scene. I wonder if that could be the case for Canon Khajiit where they have the ability to run on all fours even if they walk upright.

Oh that would look so awesome if that was the sprint animation for Khajiit in-game.

@ZOS_GinaBruno PLEASE relay that to your Animation department and see what they think.

Well as seen in The Origin of Cyrus comic, Khajiit can run on all four
https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-15-0#node-708

You also should check Beast Personality its allow berief transition to all four on run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLSflcgit3Q

Danikat · October 2018

It's difficult to say how evolution would affect the khajiit given, amongst other things, their form is determined by the phase of the moons when they're born. It's possible (assuming any level of real-world biology exists in Tamriel) that they all have the genes for a tail because some furstocks will need it.

Also as humans shifted to being (almost) exclusively bipedal we also shifted to being almost exclusively ground dwellers. But a lot of bipedal khajiit are primarily arboreal, at least in southern Eslweyr which is jungle rather than desert. So they probably use the tail for balance when moving through the trees, and probably move on all fours (or at least use their hands) too.

Alternatively, if their own account of their origin is to believed, they have tails because Azurah gave them tails when she gave them their final forms (before this apparently both the khajiit and the bosmer had no constant form), presumably as part of her instruction to make them "the most beautiful creatures" and also the best climbers.

emilyhyoyeon · October 2018

ArchMikem wrote: »

Bruccius wrote: »

The Khajiit are able to communicate in body language using their tails, and they're a feline species, often still walking on all four limbs (even if you don't see it ingame), in which case, a tail for balance is useful.

Reminds me of Katia in Prequel, where she's a Cathay-Raht but can transition from an upright run onto a four legged sprint shown in that one chase scene. I wonder if that could be the case for Canon Khajiit where they have the ability to run on all fours even if they walk upright.

Oh that would look so awesome if that was the sprint animation for Khajiit in-game.

@ZOS_GinaBruno PLEASE relay that to your Animation department and see what they think.

If this went through without a toggle option I'd request free race change tokens for my khajiit characters

notimetocare · October 2018

ArchMikem wrote: »

Any introductory course on Evolution will tell you that overtime components that become redundant are phased out. For example Humanity no longer has exposed tails due to our upright posture, making a tail's purpose for balance obsolete. However since Khajiit are a legitimate humanoid feline hybrid, their tails wouldn't be completely absent, however with them not being crucial to everyday life, at least for the bipedal subraces, id figure the tail would be a lot shorter, perhaps ending around knee level, or at most mid calf. In-game depiction though has the tail nearly dragging along the ground two feet behind us. It always looks so out of place being so thin and long, like its one of those fake tails you clip onto your belt for cosplay.

Is there a reason the tail is so long, besides the usual creative license? Would it look better if they were shorter and or had more girth toward the base?

More to evolution than just 'usefulness'.
Any trait that does not hinder reproduction is not very likely to fade.
Combine that with mate selection amd a trait that is 'useless' can remain perfectly fine.