Roleplaying » Discussions


Your Incarnation in Tamriel?

  • Member
    October 25, 2017

    This is a special thread. Many of us often RP the hero of the stories we find ourselves in; we usually tend to see ourselves in the Dragonborn, or the Nerevarine, or the Soulless One, or the Hero of Kvatch. But, wide-ranging as those concepts can be, this thread goes even deeper. Casting aside the limitations of gameplay and purely focusing on the lore of Elder Scrolls, who would you choose to actually be in Tamriel?

     

    The possibilities are as endless as the world. Your "incarnation", as I call them, can be literally anything that fits in the world, and does not necessarily have to reflect anything about you in real life. Would you wish to experience the world from the view of a ruthless, amoral Khajiit bandit? A kindly, wise Nord shoemaker? A curious, carefree Bosmer healer? A god? A Daedra? A thief? A noble? A baker? You decide. I repeat: This incarnation does not have to represent anything about you personally. You can be a Navy SEAL and want to live the life of an Argonian shaman. You can be a secretary that wants to be a Redguard freedom fighter. You can be a good person that would be curious about seeing things from an evil view.

     

    Finally, this is not restricted to one incarnation. Sure, you may like to see things as a Glenmoril Witch does, but what if one day you were curious about the life of a Thalmor agent? Or an Orcish teenager? So, immerse yourself in the Arena, the Starry Heart that is Tamriel, and see who you may be in this world...

  • Member
    October 26, 2017

    To get this started, I thought of a character that I could live as, at least for a while. In the very first ES game, Arena, the capital of Valenwood is the former Walking City, Falinesti, which by that time had stopped migrating. Now, in Arena, which takes place during the Simulacrum, Falinesti is ruled by King Elisgorn, who like most characters in the game is woefully nondescript. But I began to wonder what Elisgorn would be like. It's noted throughout the lore of ESO (which is in the Second Era rather than the Third) that Falinesti has vanished entirely, and it has it's own little cult, which try to discern what happened to it. These Falinesti Faithful are an intriguing bunch; almost religious in their devotion to the city. This lead me to wonder if they were still around by the late Third Era, and how they'd respond to the city rooting itself, an event that stressed even ordinary Bosmer. I came to the conclusion that there would be quite a bit of civil unrest in Falinesti. So, how would King Elisgorn and his court respond?

     

    This led me to my first incarnation, someone I thought would be different enough from me to be interesting, but still familiar. I call her Gaathwil. Gaathwil is the daughter of the King, but renounced the world of Wood Elven politics to become a devout Spinner of Y'ffre. Though she did not know the cause of Falinesti's rooting, she trusted in the God of the Now, and worked to soothe the panic of the Falinesti Faithful and the ordinary folk. She became famous for this; acting as an intermediary between her father's court and the common mer, it was said she could soothe any temper, calm any nerves. And for a while, there was peace in Falinesti. Gaathwil was also quite open to other races, and it was thanks to her that the Imga in particular gained more rights under Bosmeri rule. She survived the Simulacrum, and lived to the age of 54, where she died at the hands of a disgruntled assassin.

     

    Now, Gaathwil is actually similar in a lot of ways to me: she's nice, wise beyond her years (though she does die tragically young by Elf standards), openly accepting of other cultures, and dislikes politics. However, she is a devoutly religious woman; though I myself have nothing against religion, I cannot say I truly understand it. Living life through the skin of an Elf priestess, therefore, would be a unique experience, and one that could help me better understand the world around me.

     

    That's my first incarnation; what about yours?

  • Member
    October 26, 2017

    I like the discussion Tene, but there's too many options for me to make one choice!

    Going with an obvious one, it'd be interesting to see what it's like from a Daedra's point of view. I'm thinking Hermy, as knowing bloody everything has gotta be cool and it'd be interesting to see how he (or should I say 'I') manipulates stuff. Or maybe I'd go with someone more gung-ho, like Dagon. Smashing stuff and  causing mayhem is fun, what can I say? Plus the idea of people worshipping me is oddly appealing...

    From a more mortal standpoint, being the head honcho of the Bosmer (the one that feels the thoughts and feelings of the people, lore scholars help me out with the name pretty please) would be awesome. Trippy as hell sure, but going through your life, and simultaneously thousands of others, is an interesting experience that can't really be achieved any other way.

    Or perhaps I'd choose a Thalmor agent. Seeing their side of the story, from a personal and cultural aspect, might shed some new light on the whole mess Tamriel is in right now.

  • Member
    October 26, 2017

    I think we've established that if I actually were in Skyrim I would've died at Helgen :D But if I could be any incarnation other than myself? This requires serious thought.

     

  • Member
    October 26, 2017
    @Zonnonn I specifically say in the intro you can have as many "yous" as you want, so no worries! The idea of being the Silvenar is pretty nifty, actually.
  • Member
    October 26, 2017
    @Paws Hah, were I to just pop into Tamriel directly as myself, I wouldn't live past the age of 10! But yeah, the point of this is to mentally explore what another life in the Elder Scrolls world could be like.
  • October 26, 2017

    Question: can my incarnation be from my own C0DA, or nah?

  • Member
    October 26, 2017

    Gwen, the Last Blade said:

    Question: can my incarnation be from my own C0DA, or nah?

     

    TBH, I know almost nothing of what I call the "iffy-canon" (or, in other words, the unofficial [?] canon that is nonetheless really damn cool and important, plus written by people who have worked on the firmly official canon), including C0DA. However, I say go for it; bonus points if you explain what C0DA actually is/was/will be. :P

  • October 26, 2017

    Yeah...nevermind as me explaining the C0DA David and I worked one would take too long to explain because it is a retelling of the Creation story and there are numerous characters and such to explain so sorry.

  • Member
    October 26, 2017

    In the meantime, while you all think up other versions of yourselves, I thought up another possible life to live. In ESO, there's numerous lore tidbits only found in the description of collectible items like pets, mounts and costumes. One of the collectible costumes is the Night-Raid Ordinator armor, a jet-black version of the classic Ordinator armor seen throughout ESO and Morrowind. The description states merely that it's used as camoflauge in dark conditions; beyond that, it remains vague. This led me to headcanon that there is actually a select subset of Ordinators that function as a form of religious "special ops" within Dunmeri society. The Ordinators and the Hands of Almalexia function as guards of the law (both Tribunal and later Imperial), as scholars, and as a form of inquisition (though not nearly as nasty as the real Spanish one). The "Shadowed Ordinators", however, are the hidden dagger of the Tribunal; they are spies, holy assassins (contrasting with the Morag Tong's worship of Mephala and more "accessible" nature), and rarely, even outright butchers.

     

    And so we get to my second incarnation, Nalinos Avimo. A former highwayman and bandit, he was far from the amoral stereotype; he killed and skirted the law because that was how he was raised, all he knew how to do. Indeed, he regretted the path his life had taken, and after a particularly lucrative ambush, he took the gold he'd amassed and turned himself in to the law, paying off his bounty. This was during the start of the Alliance War, when the Morag Tong were all but outlaws, and so the Ordinator official that handled Nalinos' case saw an opportunity. After much lobbying with his order, and with his Living Gods, Nalinos would turn his mastery of the spear and stealth to serving the Tribunal, as the first Shadowed Ordinator. Nalinos, though he yet lamented his life of killing, now found purpose in serving the Tribunal, and his Dunmeri people. He was the first master of the order, and his wit and skill allowed him to survive to an old age, earning the right to finally retire and live a peaceful life.

     

    Nalinos is, in all honesty, a very sad mer most of his life. Just when he thought he'd be able to live a normal life, the Tribunal makes him return to killing; granted, the motive is different now, and arguably better. All he wants is the chance to live happily and peacefully; but even after he retires, I envision he never can fully escape the trauma of his life. He dies without a lover or heir. And yet, he finds something of solace as a Shadowed Ordinator; no longer killing just for his own survival, but for the fate of his people. I think, if I could live in his shoes, it would be a unique experience.