I think Bosmer should have an almost beastly look. Now, I'm not talking about full-on beast like a Khajiit, but subtle features here and there.

Give them full, dark eyes similar to a deer's as other posters have mentioned in other threads. Maybe give them a bit of extra hair in certain spots like the ends of their ears and on the backs of their hands.

Now don't freak out and start accusing me of wanting to turn the Bosmer into a beast race; I don't. I just think they should have features that show their closeness and history with "The Wild".

I dont hink Bosmer are a joke race. I think since they are so sneaky, abroad from their homeland they may tend to be a bit sleazy.

Haha, what?

Bosmer are definitely not jokes, they are just hyperactive and therefore are subject to paranoia, eccentric behavior, bouncing off the walls like Robin Williams on speed etc.

Seen any elves? hahahahahahahahahaha

Well this clearly got out of hand. Good lord, I used Tolkien as AN EXAMPLE to describe how I see TES "Elves"(I'll use that term loosely) based on TES's own LORE. I have read several pieces on TES history, in game, articles, books etc. I should not have said how TES "SHOULD" take from Tolkien, I simply used Tolkien's elves to compare to how I think TES elves could be better portrayed in game. Note, my biggest issue on Altmer were their looks, I felt they have been portrayed decently in game, I just want them to have a more majestic, pompous air about them how they carry themselves, much like the Loth'Lorien Elves, which is not much to ask for given their lore. My chief issue with bosmer are they look like and act like a joke, nothing what their core concept was meant to be. They have lost their roots. Let them be Elves as they are described, having a "simple existence in harmony with the land, its wild beauty and wild creatures." Where at all is that represented in Oblivion? My suggestion was to make them more akin to a Legolas-esque character in looks and behavior, which again is not too much to ask for based on TES lore. I never once said TES needs to change the core concepts of their creations to better mirror Tolkien, I said they need to go back to their core and used Tolkienesque ideas on how to do so.

"And behavior" is the problem. Legolas is only like the bosmer if Legolas was not allowed to eat or use plants from his homeland, and was required to eat every enemy he killed in battle.

Yes, bring back the scruffy voice!



Exactly.



I like the idea. That's kind of how they look in the Morrowind concept art.



They are not a joke race because there are no joke races, but they are portrayed as jokes. The rest of your post I did not understand.



You described a child with paranoia loaded up on high fructose corn syrup. Is that how the Bosmer should be in the games? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKss2uYpih8&feature=related!

Fair enough. I'm not suggesting any changes to their history or rituals to become an exact replica of Legolas or elves of the Woodland Realm. I just used Legolas as a quiet serious type character. Speaks when necessary, knowledgeable about the world and its inhabitants things along that line. Another example I think would be Tristan from the awful King Arthur movie with Clive Owen. The strong dependable silent type. In terms of cannibalism, I doubt were going to be eating every enemy we kill in game. :biggrin:

Does Umbra count?

Actually, name one character of any race in Oblivion not related to questlines that has a well-developed character.

I'm hoping cannibalism is a Bosmer only perk in Skyrim.

Still won't be playing one, though.

Except that you are saying that TES elves should be more like Tolkein anytime you compare anything to Tolkein (or, more accurately, to Peter Jackson's version of Lord of the Rings). "much like the Loth'Lorien Elves" "more akin to a Legolas-esque character in looks and behavior" "How Skyrim should take a little more from Tolkien" - thats all saying that TES should borrow things from Tolkein.

Bosmer aren't hippies, they are rather primitive cannibals who dress in bone and leather, love to make war, and enjoy playing cruel tricks on people. The Altmer aren't the Galadhrim, they are genocidal, infanticidal, racist, slavers who want to destroy the world because they think it is below them. Neither fits with the Art Nouveau depiction of elves in in works derived from Tolkein. More importantly, depicting either as typical elves (which is really what you are describing) would be expected and boring, and therefore wrong.

Furthermore, you can't expect Oblivion (or Skyrim) to be good indicators of elven culture because the elves living there are either exiles or descendants of exiles. They are naturally going to be more imperialized and further from their roots.

Yes, the elves should be more unique both visually and racially this time (getting back to what they had going in Morrowind) - which Bethesda claims to be doing. But this uniqueness should come solely from their own lore, and not from them in relationship to any other fictional work.

You changed your question, good thing, since I was about to refute it big time.

To your new statement. Yes pretty much, that how they are. Hyperactive. they've been eating basically just meat since the Green Pact and haven't grown or got fat, they obviously have a fast metabolism. They are naturally fast and acrobatic. That's how they are. There's plenty of non humorous Bosmer in all of the ES games from Dagger up.

Mankar Camoran (read the lore, people, read the lore; he's descended from the Camoran dynasty of Valenwood, his mother was stated to be a Bosmer, and his father was implied to be the Camoran Usurper; his height was what it was probably so players actually took him seriously or perhaps an Ayleid connection was being drawn)
Syl
Thadon
Cutter

Regardless, I do think they have been more of a joke race in the past two games and I would like to see them become a fully-realized race of their own... or bring back jokes about every race, such as those from Daggerfall's book of jokes.

I agree very much with the OP. Especialy the bit about High Elves.

Ya, I took that out shortly after posting. Bad example.

These are my thoughts on how the Altmer, Bosmer, and Dunmer should change from what we saw in Oblivion...

It baffles me that people want WOW orcs, Tolkien elves, etc etc Elder scrolls is Elder scrolls.... leave it that way please... i love LOTR, I love the legend of Drizzt (Forgotten realms), i dont like WOW but oh well... if every thing was the same why would we care... it would all be the same....

I have said three time that the use of the word should was wrong in the title. Drop that.

When did I ever say they had to stop being those things? Okay, I never said they have to become Tolkien's elves. I was suggesting they LOOK that way. The Altmer's pompous behavior IS similar to the Galadhrim's god-like persona, I didn't say the Altmer needed to change in game either, I just suggested a new look for them, using the Galadhrim as a reference.

Bosmer on the other hand, I suggested they still maintain some of their cultural roots. Bosmer are primitive cannibals clad in leather in bone, okay great, THEN WHY IS THIS CLOWN FOLLOWING ME WITH A TORCH AND A YELLOW HERSHEY KISS ON HIS HEAD? Again my overhaul to the Bosmer suggests a strong silent type character, not necessarily from Tolkien's work.

For appearances, even just directly copied, in-game versions of Oblivion's concept art would be far better then the in-game Oblivion models, in my opinion.

http://images.uesp.net//4/41/Dunmer_official.jpg

http://images.uesp.net//4/4f/Altmer_official.jpg

http://images.uesp.net//8/87/Bosmer_official.jpg

By what description? The books, the letters, the lore, the movies? There's more than one type of Elf in both mediums. Not to mention none are really alike anyway. The grand majority of Elves in Tolkien land are 6 foot tall and fair skinned. there are no fair skinned Elves in ES.

They aren't supposed to be. At least to humans, I'm sure they think that they are very beautiful.

Here are some official images of http://www.imperial-library.info/sites/default/files/pge01_aldmeri_art_01.jpg from the first PGE. Or look at some of the http://images.uesp.net//7/77/MW-npc-Big_Helende.jpg in http://images.uesp.net//1/17/MW-npc-Nelacar.jpg, which was not restricted by the limits of facegen. That is what Altmer are supposed to look like, not pretty humans with pointy ears.



For the purposes of the game, looking is as good as becoming. If the Altmer suddenly look like Galadhrim, whats to separate them from effectively being Galadhrim in the eyes of most players?


Because some dev thought it would be funny? The Bosmer aren't strong silent types. They aren't all annoying comic relief, either, but they do have a dark humor tone in their lore.

If Altmer are going to be pompous about their superior, pure, race give them something to be proud about. Let them look a little bit better than they have. I think it's fair to said that in game these races are progressively becoming further and further away from their core design.

"For the purposes of the game, looking is as good as becoming. If the Altmer suddenly look like Galadhrim, whats to separate them from effectively being Galadhrim in the eyes of most players?"
What's to separate this from looking like Edoras in the eyes of most players?
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lisyuv0HT01qgb1o5o1_500.jpg

"Because some dev thought it would be funny? The Bosmer aren't strong silent types. They aren't all annoying comic relief, either, but they do have a dark humor tone in their lore."
It was a suggestion on how I believe they can be taken more serious than how they have been presented in the recent games.

They do, again, do you know the lore? You've played the games right? And what does their core design have to do with Tolkien Elves? Tolkien Elves weren't pompous asses. All of the elves are described as being so in sync with their world that they are naturally superior. Elves are more than just a race in LOTR, they are immortal. Any misconstrued arrogance is because of the fact they cant naturally die. While the Altmer have a superiority complex by choice and culture.

I got a lot of negative feedback the first time I posted that too. It's just my opinion. If they can get them to be any less ugly than in Oblivion, I will be happy.

And not the http://www.gamemunition.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Skyrim-Screenshot-01.jpg, the http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/85natrapS/Oblivion%2520Blog/Oblivion2008-05-0315-44-25-53.jpg...