Lore-wise, is there any reason for the lack of Dwemer Ruins on Solstheim? It seems... unusual... to me. The Dwemer were everywhere else. And could a nomadic tribe (i.e. Rourken, I think) not have settled there? Or am I missing something major like an allergy to snow. :shrug:

-JKS

They didn't settle there. simple as that.

Why? It's not so simple to me. I was considering adding some Dwemer Ruins to Solstheim, but I wanted to make sure. Theoretically, anyway, could the Dwemer have survived there?

-JKS

Dude...they just weren't.

The dwemer only really settled in two places, with the majority of their settlements in Morrowind. Why is it not simple to understand that they just didn't settle there?

Why are there no pyramids in Somalia? Do I detect a conspiracy?!

They could have, but I doubt they would have bothered.
Reasons:

1). Mythically speaking, the Lost Race niche is already taken by the Falmer.

2). Considering that the http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasticRacism Nords were supposed to have eradicated the Falmer in Solstheim, and given that the Dwemer were supposed to be smart, is it likely that they would have settled there?
(Yes, I know the Nords were also in Morrowind).

3). Dwemer technology seems to go together with volcanism (Redguard, Morrowind). Do you see a lot of that in Solstheim?

Very true. Lots of steam which requires heat. And whats to gain from settling a rock in the sea. They didn't seem to use much ebony.

That is a good point, but it's not the same as pyramids in other continents. Yes, the Nords could have driven them away just like they did the snow elves, and their steam technology requiring the magma of red mountain, making a frozen waste land like Solstheim a very unlikely choice. But don't forget that while they do originate from the Vvardenfall area, they were nomadic and did have cities all over Tamriel before the "disappearance". I think I remember something about a ruin in northern Cyrodiil on the boarder between Skyrim. If they went there why not Solstheim? It is a curious question. But I think the lack of resources, energy source, and flat out nothing to gain, may have been why Bethesda decided there was no Dwarves in Solstheim.

The Dwemer were nomadic?

Only the Rourken clan was nomadic.

Now here's the question: If I could come up with a good enough reason for the Dwemer to be on Solstheim, and solve the whole steam-tech problem, would anyone cry foul?

-JKS

They weren't nomadic, they were a sedentary people that moved, no?

There is no particular reason the Dwemer couldn't be on Solstheim. The major reason they are not there is that Bethesda seems to have went, "Hey, let's go and stick a great big arctic island right on top of where the Blacklight Peninsula should be!" and made the settings and atmosphere completely separate from the rest of the game, because they had cravings for Norwegian cod. So unless it feels anachronistic to you, go for it.

In other words, dude...they just weren't.

Bethesda already had gone out on a limb in all things Dwemer in Tribunal. It simply wouldn't have made artistic sense to repeat it yet again. It would having been a bit boring.

Also, weren't Dwemer machines supposed to stop when you left Vvardenfell?

After a certain distance from their location of origin.

What about the Dwemer Airship the Mages Guild guy in Ald'ruhn owened? Is that why it crashed over in Solstheim? And if so that doesn't seem to make much sense.

They were looking for an Amulet there. Yes, they were looking for a buried artifact in a blimp. What were you saying about sense?

The "Dwemer Airship" crashed because rather then building an http://www.imperial-library.info/tsorg/part12.shtml airship, he made one out of a ships hull, with a big levitation spell and a Dwemer steam engine stuffed inside for propulsion.http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/bm_airship_captn_journal.shtml.

The actual source for the shutdown of Dwemer Animuculi is http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/seniliasreport.shtml. Now I imagine that the Dwemer either used some sort of remote control or broadcast power to the Animuculi.

oh, cool, thankyou for the clarification. Learn something new everyday. Actually I have already read both articles and beat the quest. It was just so long ago I didn't really pay attention back then. Either that or I'm just tired.

Actually. I'm a bit brain dead right now. I should probably take a nap. . .

:snoring:

The impression I get is that the only place they really lived was Vvardenfell; or rather, that was their power center. The ruins in Mournhold proves they had extended beyond Vvardenfell into mainland Resdayn.

In my opinion, finding Dwemer in Solstheim is a bit like finding Scotsmen in Greenland. On the other hand, finding Dwemer in Stros Makai is a bit like finding Scotsmen in China. (And I'd link to the article (I can't find it), but apparently there WERE Scottish tartans found in some old Chinese burial chamber.)

Additionally, climate differences between Vvardenfell and Solstheim are vast, meaning that, even if they did have an outpost where Fort Frostmoth stands today, they likely wouldn't have penetrated too deeply into the interior. Peoples tend not to set up shop where their crops won't grow.

Some things are just better not known.... -_-

B.

They didn't have to extend beyond Vvardenfell to establish themselves on the mainland. As there was no island called Vvardenfell while the dwemer still existed. The island formation didn't happen until the eruption of red mountain. The dwemer in Morrowind where not island dwellers, they lived on the mainland.