While I'm always in favor of the Ancient Nordic culture, I'm not that upset over the change. It's been 200 years since Oblivion and Morrowind. We saw a missionary for Talos trying to convert the Nords in Bruma back then. 200 years later, the conversion has been complete and the Nordic views of the Nine aren't copy paste of the Imperials. Akatosh is barely present, and the only deities with proper temples are the three goddesses, whom were the most important in daily worship to the Ancient Nords and Talos who is Ysmir and practically Shor's stand in. The Nords invoke Shor constantly as well, and they never built temples for him anyway. The only god with more presence is Arkay, and considering the practical purpose he plays in preventing the dead from rising, I'm not shocked every city has a priest to him.

My selection of character races are based solely on role playing criteria.   1-2. Dunmer, Nord. They're basically tied. Freaking love them both and everything about 'em. 3-8. Altmer, Bosmer, Breton, Cyrodiil, Orsimer, Redguard. All tied for, "meh, when I'm in the mood." 9. Khajiit. I don't like playing beast-folk in any setting, but their mannerisms are endearing. 10. Argonian. If I'm going to play a furry, I'd prefer a mammal. They're also too alien for me to be able to really role play.   Werewolves also suck because furries are degenerates and I've had werewolves ruin TES D&D games. Vampirism ftw. This post was edited by Tom at February 25, 2017 5:19 AM EST

Gollum said: The real gods are the Daedra; the Aedra are basically Jungian archetypes, with little to no power on Nirn. Talos was real, but as an Aedra, he is basically dead. The Nords have followed this conquerer so deeply that they forgot their own religion, culture, and history. In my eyes, Talos is the same as Trinimac; he should be respected as a deity, but not the center of worship (excluding, maybe, the Orcs). That said, it would be better if Talos worship just ceased to happen. At least Trinimac is considered an ancestor; Talos is just 1-3 people who probably have no blood relation with anybody and is therefore: nobody's god. Everything's a bloody Jungian Archetype in the Elder Scrolls. One subset is just all too happy to wave their literal and metaphorical dicks in your face, another subset just doesn't give a shit to bother, and we're walking on the rest. Talos hasn't caused the Nords to lose their traditional religion. The damn Imperial missionaries have done that. Talos is literally the most Nordic deity there is. He's the most important one in fact. Talos is Shor's heir. 1/3 of Talos is Ysmir and 1/3 of him is Shezarrine which is Shor's spirit. Talos is the combination of Akatosh, Lorkhan, and Man. That's what pisses the elves off. Trinimac is some elven punk who went emo after he got some learning from Boethiah on what Lorkhan was really about. You'd have to be daft to think Trinimac was the literal ancestor of elvendom. Elves have been caught in a circle jerk of their own superiority since Convention, and entirely leave out the fact that they come from the same stock as man. Talos is about man taking the heavens by the nuts and telling the elves to get wrecked. Elves have committed the worst crimes imaginable on mankind since the beginning as part of their existential temper tantrum. This upstart named Talos kicked their asses physically and metaphysically, showing mankind that Shor isn't forgotten and the plight of humanity isn't going away that easily.

Vix was a known Thalmor-appologist, but no one is perfect.   Phil also covered everything I would have said on the topic, and he called the Altmer "little golden pussies" while he did it, and now I want to have his babies.

What do you think defines an RPG? At its broadest; a game wherein a player assumes the role of a character within a narrative. I'd expand that to require a sandbox or multiple-choice narrative. Games that just plop you onto a railroad and you're there to experience the story as it's told to you, aren't role playing games, they're elaborate movies. Pokemon isn't an RPG, except for the their tabletop RPG. And even though KotOR and Mass Effect have an overarching storyline you can't escape from and the gameplay is rather railroading, there are (slightly) different outcomes caused by decision making on your end. Lost Odyssey is a great example of what I mean. It's basically an incredibly elaborate visual novel. I don't play the role of any character. I just manipulate an avatar to explore this railroad narrative that's regulated by turn based combat. It's an interesting game, but not an RPG. What is the 'best' RPG series? Elder Scrolls has a pretty rich lore, number of games, notoriety for gameplay and character options. I think it's the best because it fulfills all my desires in RPGs better than the rest. What is the 'best' RPG? That's a difficult question to answer. Some games I adore for their storyline, like KotOR and KotOR2, but their gameplay isn't enjoyable. There are some games that have enjoyable mechanics and storytelling that aren't bad, but aren't the best like Dragon Age. Are there games you consider an RPG that might not be defined that way? I noticed you forgot MMORPGs. I've spent more time roleplaying in World of Warcraft than any other video game. SWtOR is a really shitty MMORPG, but an okay single-player RPG.   My biggest gripe is why you only include videogames. Tabletop RPGs beat any video game RPG I've ever played. D&D is more enjoyable and fulfilling than any computer or xbox game I own. Heck, I've taken video game settings, played in them with tabletop games, and enjoyed the experience more than the video game. Your polls will also be pretty biased towards Elder Scrolls and Fallout considering this website and its audience.