Okay, first off, I have pretty much no experience with such a large forum, so I apologize for any fatal blunders I may make. And I hope I picked the right spot for this.

Anyway, I've recently taken up "designing" an Elder Scrolls RTS. No so much to actually see it through as a game or mod or anything, but for more of a mental, creative, and artistic challenge. Basically, I've been looking at TES lore and trying to figure out how a hypothetical RTS might be built. I'm looking mostly at what units, buildings and weapons each of the main races might have and how they would be unique from the other races. Then, once I get a decent outline, I'm going to throw together some conceptual art. This whole experiment is actually more about designing the cultures than designing a game; the RTS platform just made a nice starting point and an easy way to break things down into units.

With all that nonsense aside, here's the part that hopefully makes this the appropriate thread to post this. (Again, sorry if I'm in the wrong place.) Has anyone else thought about this kind of stuff? For instance, Imperials show a very heavy Roman influence and Imperial Legionnaires have already appeared in actual TES games, so I made the basic Imperial melee unit Legionnaires with swords and shields. Nords have a Viking/Norse influence, so I've thought of their melee units as being warriors armed with a mix of axes, hammers, and swords. Bosmer are arboreal, but rarely use wood unless it's imported, so I thought perhaps their infantry would be more inclined to wear leathers and chitins and fight with bone clubs and composite bows. Altmer seem more "regal" and might be seen in more elaborate armor, like the "Elven armor" sets from the games. (None of these units are set in stone, of course; it's just a starting point.) Then you add in elements like cavalry, navy, and siege engines and you have entirely new sets of challenges. I already have a partial list of units that I think might fit each race, but it's still very much a blank list, and I'd love to hear ideas from other people as well.


I hope what I'm trying to say makes sense. I'm sure it all probably sounds dumb, but if anyone else finds this as interesting as I do, it might make for an interesting discussion. I have all kinds of ideas and maybe even some designs to share should this topic gain interest. Keep in mind that I'm not trying to start a debate about how imaginitive or inspired the official lore is, or how an Elder Scrolls RTS would be a bad idea. I'm just looking for some casual, friendly discussion about what Tamriel's armed forces might be like in such a setting. Any thoughts from other lore enthusiasts?

Try to keep in mind that no one uses calvary, which I've always found to be a little silly. The Khajiit on their khajiiti mounts are probably the closest thing to calvary lore-wise.

Historically in our world, your generic units types were:

1. Heavy Infantry (your standard frontline soldier)
2. Heavy Calvary (armored horseman)
3. Light Infantry (archers)
4. Light Calvary (mounted archers)

Elder Scrolls has a different model. There seem to be no real calvary in general and on top of that we have magic users.

Though there was......horse armor.

Skyrim was originally supposed to have horseback combat.

And there's concept art from Morrowind of Dunmer cavalrymen on guarback.

It would probably depend on the race. Khajiit have been mentioned riding their Senche-raht siblings into battle. Horses are ridden in other parts of Tamriel and there are mounted Imperial guards roaming around Cyrodiil, so it might not be entirely unreasonable for them to have some kind of mounted units.

Bosmer, on the other hand probably wouldn't have much use for mounted soldiers. Though, if they did, I could see them riding some kind of native predator over a horse. But that's purely hypothetical, of course.

From a more game-play perspective: Altmer would play like the Protoss, and the Argonians would play a lot like the scourge from warcraft 3. Imperials would rely on large armies and fortified bases. Dunmer in the 4th Era would most likely rely on elite lone agents and only have very primitive standing armies. Nords would have very generalist units, with their "workers" having some fighting capability. Khajiit would be the opposite, and have heavy specialization. Bosmer would be the stealthy ones, and have a special cannibalism mechanic.

The Altmer footsoldier unit should be a goblin, which will only fight if there's an Altmer Goblinkeeper present and alive. They also have some crazy elite units - sunbirds and Psijiics and whatnot.

The most powerful Khajiit mages look just like kittens to the eyes of the unfamiliar.

Ooh, I like the idea of Altmer Goblinkeepers. Fits with the lore and adds a bit of diversity. I can see them operating something like the Angmar Thralls in Battle for Middle-earth II. And maybe if the keeper is killed, the goblins go berserk and attack whatever happens to be nearby. Or they flee for their lives. Or both.

Hmm...I'm starting to get the feeling that this topic would have been more appropriate for the Elder Scrolls Series Discussion thread. My bad.

The Psijics would probably be neutral.

This is a topic I can discuss for 7 pages.

First question I need to ask. When would it take place? That's a very important detail.

He he...I was afraid that question would come up.

I'm thinking....somewhere around the mid Second Era to Third Era, perhaps? That seems to be the time period when the races would be more or less at their height and Tamriel is pretty much as we see it in the games. You'd have events like the founding or Orsinium and the Warp in the West to figure out, but it seems like that when the civilizations and military would be strongest. Anything after the Oblivion Crisis would see a lot of war, but also some decline in major factions like the Dunmer. Anything before the Second Era and you'd be dealing with a lot of major racial changes, extinctions, and foundings.

But I'm in no way an expert of lore. If you think there would be a better time period, go for it!

Later-half of First Era, just after the 'Viri kneel to Reman at Pale Pass.

That way, everyone is basically independent but Cyrodiil isn't a mess o' petty kings.

I think if it were to be a game, a time when the Dragon Cult is still up and running. Then we would see Dragons, Tongues, and tons of war.

I'm thinking about caster units and heroes.

There would also definitely be cavalry. We don't see cavalry in the games, but if should definitely be there.

Bretons and Imperial would have Battlemages.

Imperials would have large, cheap armies like Zerg.

Altmer would have highter standard units, like Protoss.

Nords would be medium like Terran. Give them Tongues, and higher ranking warriors who have a weaker Thu'um. Possibly Giants. Can't remember if the Giants had been driven out at that point.

The Dwemer would have heavy infantry and Automatons, possibly siege engines.

The Argonians wouldn't have a large standing army. They just mind their own business.

Khajiit wouldnt be underpowered too. They would play defense. They never really try to conquer much.

Altmer would have weaker melee units than the humans, weaker archers than the Bosmer, but stronger mages.

Mages and Casters could be separate. Mage and battlemages would auto-cast weak destruction spells/shouts in combat, but casters would have a bar that would be used for powerful large scale abilites. Like a Tongue calling a lightning storm, compared to those higher ranking nord warriors who can autocast Unrelenting Force every 45 seconds.

It could always be like a Civilization or Empire Earth kind of deal and cover a few different major time periods. That would probably just get confusing, though.

I have a generic outline that I've been using to plan units.

• Melee infantry (basic foot soldiers)
  
• Ranged infantry (archers)
  
• Light Mounted (scouts, mounted archers)
  
• Heavy Mounted (knights, lancers)
  
• Anti-cavalry (pikemen)
  
• Artillery (catapults, trebuchets)
  
• Other Siege units (rams, siege towers, etc.)
  
• Naval units
  
• Elite/Specialty units (Standard Bearers, Officers, etc.)
  
• Race-specific specialty units (Tribunal Ordinators, Orc berserkers, etc)
  
• Healer (generally magic-based)
  
• Other Magical units (conjurors, battlemages, spellcasters, etc.)

This is just a base outline. Some races probably wouldn't have a unit to fit certain roles. Bosmer don't seem like the sea-faring type to me. And other roles are still a little iffy for me. Like how widely would siege towers be used? Artillery-type siege units seem like they'd be legit. There are catapults in Skyrim, and I think I've seen a ballista or two somewhere before.
And my magical unit system needs worked out more. I'm liking the mechanics of separate Casters and Mages.
Perhaps a Breton soldier could make up for its lack of melee combat skills by having the ability to cast weak spells, whereas an average Redguard warrior wouldn't have any magical abilities, but have a higher constitution and more finesse in battle. Then you'd have Breton Battlemages who specialize in powerful spells.
Nords and Orcs would be more brute strength while Imperials, like Trillid said, would be strength in numbers to make up for their mass-produced weapons and armor.
Bosmer would practice more guerilla warfare and dominate in ranged combat. Altmer would have the best mages. So many possibilities....

Have you played Halo Wars? Each units has a special "Y" ability. Now, the Y ability would be autocast, and have a cooldown. Battlemages would initiate combat with Destruction, and periodically throughout the battle they would use their ability automatically when the cooldown was complete. Same with certain Nordic units. They would use weak shouts periodically. The Tongues would do the same, but they would have a separate "mana" bar for using high-power shouts. So a Tongue would be a Nord Deathlord with highpower casting shouts. Like Stormcall, knocking in gates, fear, Aura Shout, etc. Tongues could also be heroes I suppose.

I haven't, but I think I know what you're talking about. There was a kind of similar mechanic with the hero units in Battle for Middle-earth.

So, for instance, a Battlemage would charge into battle with something like a Flames or Fireball spell. Then, periodically, they would use their ability, which could either be a stronger version of their base spell (i.e. "Enemies Explode") or something completely different. I can see that.

Well, the grunts and marines in Halo Wars have grenade abilities. It regenerates every 15 seconds, and then they can throw more grenades.

YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL CRYSTAL-TOWERS

I can just see special unit bonuses now.

Nord: Recruit a Tongue who can Shout down the walls of enemy fortifications.
Imperial: Call Reman so he can cannon-[censored].
Altmer: Halt time over a section of the battlefield.
Argonian: Hist-link means you can control all units simultaneously despite distances.
Dunmer: Almsivi combine and start goomba-stomping the enemy.

Stuff like that.

Orcs would prolly play like nords, minus thrum(sic), slightly faster, magery (albeit weaker, in the form of shamans).

I wonder how Deadra summonings would play a role in RTS?

Orcs would be the most defensive warriors. They'd be slow because of this. I think non-Skaal Nords are described as having shamans in one text.

Hmmm...rain of burning dogs, anyone?

I thought it might be interesting if maybe Orcs, instead of having archers for ranged units, threw javelins or something like that instead. Kind of impractical from a real-world perspective, but it would add some diversity. Plus, if any race would do that, it would be the Orcs simply because of their brute strength.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilum

Well, when compared to a bow and arrow, I mean. Javelins, pilum, and some spears were designed to be thrown, so it's not like they'd be impractical as a ranged weapon. They were ranged weapons. You'd probably just be a lot more limited in terms of ammo capacity, unless you had some kind of supply train.
Or carried a little wagon behind you. I could see a group of Orcish javelin hurlers having bringing along an ammo cart.

I thought about the Daedra summoning. Mages and Dragon Priests and casters would have a spell for Atronachs. If it was before Oblivion the Daedra could also be kinda like mercenaries. Map specific buildings that Daedra can be summoned from.

Creating your own Hero would be a cool feature too. Like in Battle for Middle Earth 2.