I want to make an pen and paper rpg set in Tamriel, but to create a good rpg you must first ask yourself what is the main motive. The main motive is usually some conflict, an enemy or something that just gives you an idea about what the adventures of the players will be. For example in Warhammer we have Chaos, in Call of Ctulhu we have the ancient gods and in SW we have the jedi, the force and it's constant disbalance. Is there anything like that in The Elder Scrolls?

There are various quite "evil" Daedric Gods, there are humans (the usual, greed and such), there are the Dagonites (who want to destroy the towers and let Mehrunes Dagon into Nirn), there are the Mer (Atleast the Altmer want to kill the humans and erase their memory from earth)...

A lot of things long with the above statement, like Daedric Princes aren't evil, nor are Mer.

The mer are totally evil! Especially those altmer.

rofl

to the question ... best way is play the games and read the books in-game - then look for more stuff outside that because it is a lot more structured and diverse than any of the games you have mentioned

Call of Chthullu is really quite simple - avoid getting eaten for a while ... then get eaten
Warhammer has a diversity of races but the detail of their histories is subservient to the matter of each race smakkin every alien down ... etc
Star Wars appears to have a rich background but all the Lore is up-front and clearly scenario-oriented - there is more diversity in vehicles and weapons than most anything else. Even the Force is comparatively focussed

Elder Scrolls? Well, you can do the MQ in Morrowind in about 8 minutes if you really want to - but there is a massive amount of fascinating stuff not only outside the MQ, but even outside the minor quests ... and that is just in-game. It is so complicated that everyone without exception gets lost at some point or another and gets contradicted by someone here on the forums, with the possible exception of the Devs who are Titans and therefore implicitly not to be contradicted but do get contradicted by those foolhardy enough to do so. Actually, I believe many people play the game because they enjoy getting lost in it - can you imagine that?

I'm not sure one thread can give you enough detail to give you enough of an idea to base an RPG on

More than in any other game I have come accross you are presented with each race's ideas and history from their point of view straight on as believable and believed in fact with (edit:) often subtle philosophical variations even within each race. and there does not seem to be any reason to believe that any one race's view of things is any truer than any other race's because their magic works and their gods have power as well as their having a wealth of detail in their cultures that are thrown at you from various diferent directions and through various media and different authors

It does appear that the devs role-play stuff that they put in-game to decide outcomes but how they ever come to agreement as to what is what or even if they do I have no idea ... though like many others I do speculate.

To see what I mean start by playing one of the games ... and as I mentioned read all the books you can find as you go

have fun ^^

Actually, I think I've corrected a writer or two in my time. (Yes I know that was tongue-in-cheek).

That guy right there. Good ol' mehrunes Dagon has been either the man behind the man or the main antagonist for a good chunk of the series.

A main, overbearing motivation doesn't seem like the type of thing that would really mesh well with an ES tabletop game - sure, the universe's loaded with all sorts of history and lore and all that neat stuff, but one of the great assets of the core games is that while it presents you with said lore in order to solidify the context of the core in-game events, it also tries to keep the slate as blank as possible for the player (or rather, the GM and what he can observe and infer from his players) to create their own motivations and backgrounds and contexts and whatnot. You can certainely take examples from the games as what sort of things they might run into, like the political maneuverings of various factions as they vye for power or the cultural and theological conflicts from two different civilizations butting heads or full-on hellfire-and-brimstone armageddon and whatever else, or you can go in a completily different direction; sometimes the events and motivations can be grand and deep in scale, and sometimes they're as petty and shallow as people are. What's most important is what the GM thinks would make for interesting events and motivations, and sometimes a heavy, overbearing motive cramps down on that.

This or Necromancers.

Hell, get an Altmeric Necromancer, you got yourself a supervillain. Make him ride a Cliffracer, you have evil incarnate.

How about Pelinal?

Pelinal [blanks] the [blank], and this time it's personal.


Mannimarco's arrived, and, with God's-blood in his veins, has come for the Seat of Sundered Kings.

A good villain?

Sir Byron Mortalin. Sir Byron had a natural aura of confidence about him. His soldiers reported feeling safer when led by Sir Byron. Byron protected the Dunmer in Vvardenfell during the Oblivion Crisis. The locals knew he was an outlander, but they treated him as a friend. Sir Mortalin fought not for the legion or the Empire, but for the people. The soldiers under him revered him. The officers above him respected him.

One day when an Oblivion Gate opened near Vivec, he led a company of soldiers in. None came out, but hundreds of the infernal daedra exited. The rest of his men were slain by the dremora army that waited for them, because they knew that Sir Mortalin would be coming. However, he was taken prisoner by the Dremora Valkynaz, Proditor. For years the knight was tortured.

Eventually, his body finally gave out. However, the Valkynaz had two of his finest wizards twist and warp the spirit of the hero. The Imperial was forced into the Waters of Oblivion. When he came out, he wasn't human any longer. The six-foot tall beast that climbed out of the waters was his new form. His eyes were crimson like flame and his blood was almost black.

He claimed the title of Valkynaz from Dagon, Sir Byron Mortalin was dead. Valkynaz Mortalin was just beginning. Valkynaz Mortalin exited the Oblivion Gate and many soldiers dropped their weapons when they saw him in a suit of Daedric Armor with a Longsword and Shield to match. One soldier cried out, "Sir Mortalin, you live!"

Those were his final words as Mortalin unleashed a ball of flame towards him. Hundreds of daedra burst out, ready to kill anyone that Valkynaz Mortalin ordered them to. Valkynaz Mortalin had to be stopped...

Not the greatest, but he's better than generic altmer necromancer on a cliff racer.

A challenge, I sense! My generic Altmer Necromancer riding a Cliff Racer needs some fleshing out:

Growing up among the Skaal, Bjorn Full-Elf had always felt different. Why do I have pointy ears? Why am I three feet taller than the other Nords? Why do I speak different? Why is my skin golden? All of these questions remained unanswered, and thankfully so, because Bjorn had always felt a sort of vile rage dwelling withing him. One day, however, Bjorn Full-Elf's "father," Tymvaul, approached Bjorn on his fiftieth birthday.

"Bjorn," Tymvaul croaked, for he was in his late seventies, "I have something important to tell you..."

"What is it, father?" Bjorn Full-Elf asked.

"You are not my son!" Tymvaul shrieked, "You are an Altmer, damn it!" He then proceeded to rant and rave about how Bjorn had been found lying outside his lodge, how Bjorn had always been a burden, and how he never loved Bjorn, even when Bjorn had made him a spicy Mead for his thirtieth birthday.

"I always knew that I was different," Bjorn said, "but I never knew that by admitting so, I would gain such an intense hatred for humans like you!"

Feeling the heat of anger in his veins, Bjorn raised a hand towards his "father," who began trembling in fear. With an unearthly shout, Bjorn closed his hand, and Tymvaul exploded in a shower of organs, blood, and meat.

Rushing outside, Bjorn proceeded to raze the village, first killing the men, then the women, and finally the wolves, all while bathing in their blood as it drenched the pearly snow in its unearthly shade of crimson. Dancing in delight, covered in blood and guts, Bjorn recalled a tale that his "father" had once told him, and formulated a plan most devious. Bjorn pranced back into his father's lodge, with only one thing upon his mind: The Mantle of Woe.

Using his now unrestrained magicks, Bjorn blasted open the lock on Tymvaul's "secret" chest. Reaching inside, Bjorn's hand lightly grazed The Mantle of Woe. "Yessss," Bjorn hissed, feeling The Mantle's power, and its desire to be utilized to its maximum potential. Grasping The Mantle, Bjorn quickly slid into it, admiring the silky fabric that it was made of. The dark power of The Mantle coursed through Bjorn. "Now none shall stand in my way!" Bjorn declared. Looking inside of Tymvaul's chest, Bjorn noticed a journal, amonst the woodcuttings of busty Nordic women doing unspeakable things to each other. Disgusted with Tymvaul's base animal desires, Bjorn quickly snatched the journal, then pranced outside.

As Bjorn opened the door, he felt a strange heat upon him. The sensation, Bjorn decided, was not unlike a similar feeling he had had when he burned himself with candle. As he wandered further into the sunlight, the feeling intensified. "What could be doing this?" Bjorn was pondering, as he started to smell an odd odor that permeated throughout the air. Looking down, Bjorn noticed The Mantle glowing brightly. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!" Bjorn screamed, as The Mantle lit aflame. Reacting without thought, Bjorn rushed into the nearest building, the Chieftan's Lodge. Slamming the door shut, Bjorn quickly started to pat himself down, making sure that none of his body parts had been too seriously injured in the spontaneous combustion.

"The Mantle," Bjorn thought, "perhaps Tymvaul's journal will have further insight into this matter..."

Cracking open the journal, Bjorn leafed through the pages, all of which detailed Tymvaul's venture into Rimhull, and his research into The Mantle of Woe and its abilities concerning the undead. "Necromancy..." Bjorn let the word slide over his tongue. "Yesss," Bjorn muttered, "this is what I was meant to do..."

As he approached the Chieftan's Throne, Bjorn noticed the deceased Cliff Racer, hanging slightly askew from the ceiling. As he sat upon the throne, Bjorn wondered whether or not he could raise the dead, with his newfound magicka and The Mantle of Woe. "Perhap," Bjorn thought aloud, "perhaps it is time for me to acquire a mount."

Rising from the throne, Bjorn pranced over to the Cliff Racer. Larger than any normal Cliff Racer, this Cliff Racer's wingspan was easily three times Bjorn's eight foot tall frame, with a jaw of razor sharp teeth. "A fine mount, indeed."

Raising his hands, Bjorn fell into a deep trance of unspeakable magicks and evils, all derived from Tymvaul's book. Four sweaty hours later, as nightfall set upon Solstheim, Bjorn and his newly revived mount exited the Chieftan's Lodge. "Where to, boss?" The Cliff Racer squawked.

"Lets go raise some Oblivion, Cliff Racer." Bjorn laughed crazily, "for one day, I, Bjorn Cliff-Raiser, shall rule all of Tamriel!"

"Sure, boss, whatever you say," Cliff Racer squawked, "As long as I get to kill that Jiub bastard!"

There, how is that for an original bad guy?

heh - there was a brilliant short story in the Chorrol writing competition about a (possibly mad) Telvanni who rode cliff racers

getting back to Lore - nicely put sorenson - it's that freedom in so many sense that makes ES so rich and playable. Whatever you do give folks plenty of mind and heart room

Ok, thanks for all the replies, but I have another question. Is there there any source that tells us more about the culture of the Altmers and the geography of the Summerset Isles. My base for the rpg is PGE, but there is very little about the High elves in it.

http://www.imperial-library.info/search/node/Altmer.

I'd go with the First Edition Pocket Guide's interpretation.

They seem to have a caste system. Also, it's very weird. As weird as Vvardenfell, except on the opposite, Abnegaurbic pole.


Here's their ship:
Made of crystal and solidified sunlight, with wings though they do not fly, and prows that elongate into swirling Sun-Birds, and gem-encrusted mini-trebuchets fit for sailing which fire pure aetheric fire, and banners, banners, banners, listing their ancestors all the way back to the Dawn.

This is Old Mary at Water.

Aah! Not the Face! Not the...

Um, I mean, Raaaggh! Urrrghhh. Grrrrr. :flame:

Anyways, you can also use http://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-and-its-environs-third-edition and http://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-father-niben as resources. Hmmm. There's also http://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-firsthold-revolt. That's all the Summerset Isle stuff I remember.

You sir, win the internet!