Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

NIck: Yep, it's alluded to in the Elder Scrolls duology by Greg Keyes (The Infernal City and Lord of Souls). They're good novels- Keyes is a good writer, and has a good grasp on the ES universe. The High King handing over Solstheim is a great event, and shows how far both cultures have come.

 

It popped up in some in-game text and dialogue in the main game - IIRC, where they discuss how Winterhold once was populated by a large number of Dunmer after the destruction of Red Mountain, and that they left once Solstheim was granted.

 

Saw the Hobbit. Awesome. Can't give proper review, it would be just "that part was also great, and that as well". There might have been some points where I wasn't completely awed, but they went over very quickly.

So many unexpected lore moments for fans, like the mention of other wizards, whose names conveniently escape me just now since they were only mentioned in the Books We Have No Rights In. A couple of years back I played Pallando the Blue in a forum role-playing game. The idea of the game was that Sauron was destroyed, but pretty much every other baddie was alive after the War of the Ring (because why wouldn't you have Ringwraiths in your game?). Very cool, and I was a god-like leader of a tribe of Easterlings, coming back to the western lands after learning that Sauron had fallen. I traveled around, made myself an ally to every force in north-western Middle-Earth from Saruman and Witch-King to Elrond and Gandalf, until they realized that me building a fortress over the ruins of Dol Guldur was playing too much in their sandbox and Elrond and Thranduil sacked it. Fun times.

 

We don't know exactly what happened to Solstheim (or I don't, being a PC owner) during the Oblivion Crisis. I assumed the gifting of Solstheim was a compromise between the Nords that wanted to help the Dunmer, and the Nords who wanted the Dunmer out of Skyrim proper.
In any case, the monument on the borders of Morrowind and Skyrim indicated that there was some sort of friendliness in the past.

 

WAS THE SEVENTH DOCTOR AN AWESOME WIZARD?

 

I'm gonna be dead honest here because I went into the film hearing some stuff that had me concerned he was too over-the-top:

Spoiler

He was bloody brilliant and stole the show. Seriously, the theater I was in was crammed with people, and no character got more laughs than this guy (except maybe Gollum). Also...

Spoiler: inception spoiler

THE DOCTOR VS THE NECROMANCER!!!

 

Jello: Lord of Souls indicates that the Dunmer refugees likely would have swarmed Solstheim anyway, so handing it over to them would look much better than being unable to hold it. I see it more as an earlier period of tolerance, before the Great Collapse and the Great War.

And stop being so contrary

 

If only the provinces of Tamriel would reunite under a more benevolent Empire. Then the evil Aldmeri Dominion wouldn't stand a chance. The Empire already has it's crack Imperial legions from Cyrodiil, as well as the Nord legions and whatever forces the Breton's contribute. And I think that the Orcs are still part of the Empire as well, and we know that the Orcish Imperial legions were famed for being shock troops. If they could bring the Dunmer into the fold again, they would have the added might of the Redoran Guard. The Empire, to its shame, abandoned the Redguard after the two fought valiantly together against the Dominion. If they were willing to show that they would take the fight back to the Aldmeri, I am sure that the Redguard would rejoin the Empire as well.

I just despise the Aldmeri. We should be rebuilding our strength, retake Valenwood, and invade the Dominion homelands with the full might of the Empire!

--Adm. Nick

 

As long as the Empire stays out of Black Marsh, they can fight the Aldmeri Dominion however they wish.

 

Nick supporting the Empire? The end times must truly be upon us.

 

The Mayans were right?

My ideal version of the Empire includes a Tamriel Senate that is elected, but I disgress...

--Adm. Nick

 

Well, the Tamrielic Empire is interesting in that, while it is indeed based somewhat upon the Roman Empire (I'm thinking more the Dominate than the Principate, based on the Emperor's stature) and the Byzantine Empire, it is a strange mix of monarchy, imperial splendor, and surprising equality. The Empire (and in particular, the Legion) does its best not to discriminate based upon species or gender- we see at least one Altmer legion officer during Skyrim, a female Nord serving as second-in-command in the province, multiple Orc soldiers during Morrowind, Tiber Septim employing a Dunmer (Symmachus, consort to Barenziah) as his top general... sure, specieism and sexism exist within Tamriel, but it's more culturally inclined than legally codified. Nobility and merit seem to be equal methods of attaining high status within the Empire, which is quite remarkable. While it has its flaws, the Empire of Tamriel is undoubtedly a force for good- and at the time of Skyrim, the last bastion standing between the non-Altmer races and annihilation.

 

So, I can confrim that Morrowind and Vvardenfell will appear in the next add on!

How do I know this you ask? Surely, you say, the old admiral is losing his mind! But no. I have traveled to distant lands...

Literally.

So, I was on the very edge of eastern Skyrim, nearly a straight line from Windhelm. I make it up to the very top of the mountain and I get a full view, in the distance, of Morrowind and Vvardenfell. I assume that the map will eventually end, so I decide to walk. Eventually, the terrain turns into a single shade of dirt (low res). I keep walking and walking and suddenly I am in a featureless (ie, not yet completed) but topographically complete Morrowind. I walk for miles in each direction and eventually hit the coast. I jump in the water, and swim to Vvardenfall. I swim all the way to the island and try to walk on it, but I go "through" it. Unlike Morrowind, which I can walk on, Vvardenfall is not yet complete.

God strike me down if I am lying. I encourage all of you with a XBOX 360 to download Dragonborn and check it out for yourselves. They obviously started doing some of the work and incorporated it into the download. It is a boring and featureless terrain, but it is cool to see the topography and stare across the waters at Vvardenfall.

--Adm. Nick

 

Oh, that's been there since the vanilla release of Skyrim. Most of the landmass of Tamriel is in the game, though in off-scale and LOD form. Using console commands to disable the borders (and all collision, for that matter) I was able to travel all the way to the outline of Vvardenfell (which cuts off halfway through Red Mountain), as far west as where Taneth would be in Hammerfell, and as far Southwest as the rough location of Anvil. I suspect that it's only there for show/modders, but I can always hope. I'll try to dig up the screenshots later.

 

Well, then apparently my news isn't so exciting.

--Adm. Nick

 

A view of the Morrowind landmass. I'm standing near where Blacklight would probably be, looking at the Gnisis peninsula.


High Rock- you can see roughly where Northpoint would be, in the distance.


Looking into Nibenay Valley via a pass in the Jerall Mountains- you might be able to make out White Gold Tower.


The Alik'r Desert in Hammerfell.


Coastline of Hammerfell.

 

Location of Anvil, based on proximity of Brena River Valley.


Cyrodiil, looking East from Anvil.


Brena River Valley (border between Cyrodiil and Hammerfell).


View west from atop Red Mountain. Weird lack of Solstheim.


View South from Red Mountain, looking towards Black Marsh.


Bonus pic of me slaying a Dragon as a Werewolf

 

That would be full-on expansion level- in the same way that Fall of the Samurai is technically an expansion for Shogun 2, though it can be played on its own.

Which, for the record, would be awesome, especially if they could be Mike Kirkbride and Ken Rolston to come back full-time.

 

As much as I would love it, I doubt they'll be doing a full rest-of-the-continent expansion. I'm guessing it has to do with early work on the MMO, which is going to be set Tamriel-wide.

 

It's going to do to the ES franchise and lore what Molag Bal likes to do to mortals.

 

Was your last icon of the old Imperial Palace on the Palatine? I recall that view from when I was standing down near Circus Maximus.

--Adm. Nick