Barenziah, which book to beleive?

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 4:26 pm

Which book about Barenziah is true? The Biography or the Real Barenziah? I've read them both, and I think the Real Barenziah goes all the way back to Daggerfall.
User avatar
bimsy
 
Posts: 3541
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:04 pm

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 10:53 pm

I voted that they are both fake since she (Barenziah) cut things out and such in the Morrowind and Oblivion versions of Real Barenziah. (Daggerfall has an uncensored version) By "fake" I mean that they don't document some things that should have been in them. Real Barenziah probably is more trustworthy and in-depth though.
User avatar
ShOrty
 
Posts: 3392
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 8:15 pm

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 5:52 pm

the real barenziah sounds more plausible (and entertaining) than her official biography. i also dont think that daggerfall's version really added much (besides spiny khajiit pencses :liplick: )
User avatar
katie TWAVA
 
Posts: 3452
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2006 3:32 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 11:11 am

The first paragraph of her official biography makes it rather obvious that it's biased. Her unofficial biography just tries to hard to portray her as how she wants to be seen, but that's far more accurate than the Imperial perception of her...
User avatar
Penny Flame
 
Posts: 3336
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 1:53 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 10:23 pm

The first paragraph of her official biography makes it rather obvious that it's biased. Her unofficial biography just tries to hard to portray her as how she wants to be seen, but that's far more accurate than the Imperial perception of her...


"The Real Barenziah" is considered accurate as far as I know. The biographer is more than a little in love with Barenziah, who protects him by keeping him at the court in Mournhold (during "Tribunal"). The book must have been accurate, for her to keep him around.
User avatar
Janette Segura
 
Posts: 3512
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 12:36 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 4:04 pm

"The Real Barenziah" is considered accurate as far as I know. The biographer is more than a little in love with Barenziah, who protects him by keeping him at the court in Mournhold (during "Tribunal"). The book must have been accurate, for her to keep him around.


Or the book was written specifically to make Barenziah seem better then she is. I think it's a little of both, cutting things that Barenziah wants cut and maybe adding things to make her seem better or the added things are truthful while making a mostly accurate biography. I really don't know what to believe since all the books are written from a specific view point and almost all of the books authors are biased in one way or another, especially Alessia Otis (Oh gosh, her books are horrible).
User avatar
Ally Chimienti
 
Posts: 3409
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:53 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 9:59 pm

Or the book was written specifically to make Barenziah seem better then she is. I think it's a little of both, cutting things that Barenziah wants cut and maybe adding things to make her seem better or the added things are truthful while making a mostly accurate biography. I really don't know what to believe since all the books are written from a specific view point and almost all of the books authors are biased in one way or another, especially Alessia Otis (Oh gosh, her books are horrible).


Yes, her guidebooks are almost unreadable. It could be she's meant to be comic relief among the books.

By the way, wasn't the writer of "The Real Barenziah" the same Ramara who's on the Bethesda forums, especially the modding ones? I think they got the name of the goddess Mara from her too, though my memory is probably faulty.
User avatar
Claire Mclaughlin
 
Posts: 3361
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:55 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 9:28 pm

Yes, her guidebooks are almost unreadable. It could be she's meant to be comic relief among the books.

By the way, wasn't the writer of "The Real Barenziah" the same Ramara who's on the Bethesda forums, especially the modding ones? I think they got the name of the goddess Mara from her too, though my memory is probably faulty.


I hear that they might have got the name Mara from one of the beta-testers, her name was Marilyn Wassermann. But yes, Alessia Otis's guide books are borderline unreadable but I doubt they were there for comic relief, just to show that even Cyrodil had people that are heavily biased. I just wish we had more people in Cyrodil like that.
User avatar
Stephani Silva
 
Posts: 3372
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:11 pm

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 10:43 pm

By the way, wasn't the writer of "The Real Barenziah" the same Ramara who's on the Bethesda forums, especially the modding ones? I think they got the name of the goddess Mara from her too, though my memory is probably faulty.

not sure if that was her name, but i believe that someone like that did write them.
User avatar
leigh stewart
 
Posts: 3415
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:59 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 11:16 pm

The Real Barenziah is probably more accurate, to the point of being banned at the time of publishing. Still it probably had some inaccuracies, given it was Barenziah recalling centuries-old memories to her scribe.
User avatar
sexy zara
 
Posts: 3268
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:53 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 3:32 pm

The real barenza is what she really did when she was young and a little more acurate. Later the publisher brefriended her and then wrote a new book. The problem with the new book is he wrote it to set a good example of baranza and i think he was making stuff up :)
User avatar
Nienna garcia
 
Posts: 3407
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:23 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 4:52 pm

The real barenza is what she really did when she was young and a little more acurate. Later the publisher brefriended her and then wrote a new book. The problem with the new book is he wrote it to set a good example of baranza and i think he was making stuff up :)


My thoughts too. You never know who or what to trust till you learn more about it/them. Alessia Otis seems nice when talking to her but her books show more of who she really is while Barenziah's new biographies aren't as good when determining more about her since they could easily be fake.
User avatar
Latisha Fry
 
Posts: 3399
Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2006 6:42 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 1:46 pm

Yah basically if the author is a freind about who hes writing about i wouldnt believe him :)
User avatar
joseluis perez
 
Posts: 3507
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 7:51 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 5:56 pm

If we consider that "The Real Barenziah" shows a lot of unpleasant events on her life (things that most nobles would like to hide, including Khajiit pencses :D) and that it sounds realistic in the context of the game world, I believe it is the real deal.
User avatar
james kite
 
Posts: 3460
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:52 am

Post » Sun May 29, 2011 12:01 am

That was when barenziah was youger keep in mind i think she changed a bit when you meet her :)
User avatar
roxxii lenaghan
 
Posts: 3388
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:53 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 4:40 pm

That was when barenziah was youger keep in mind i think she changed a bit when you meet her :)


Yup, now she seems completely oblivious to what was happening between Helseth and Elysana at Wayrest as well as what Morgiah was up too. Seriously though, she may have changed but I still don't trust her biographies.

Anyways, who voted Biography of Barenziah?! There is no way that's accurate!

After only a short time in Rifton, Straw fell in with a bold, villainous Khajiit thief named Therris, who proposed that they rob the Imperial Commandant's house in the central part of the city. Therris said that he had a client, a traitor to the Empire, who would pay well for any information they could gather there. Barenziah happened to overhear this plan and was appalled. She stole away from their rooms and walked the streets of Rifton in desperation, torn between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for her friends.

In the end, loyalty to the Empire prevailed over personal friendship, and she approached the Commandant's house, revealed her true identity, and warned him of her friends' plan.
The Commandant listened to her tale, praised her courage, and assured her that no harm would come to her. He was none other than General Symmachus, who had been scouring the countryside in search of her since her disappearance, and had just arrived in Rifton, hot in pursuit. He took her into his custody, and informed her that, far from being sent away to be sold, she was to be reinstated as the Queen of Mournhold as soon as she turned eighteen. Until that time, she was to live with the Septim family in the newly built Imperial City, where she would learn something of government and be presented at the Imperial Court.


The bold statement hardly shows what happened! Both versions of the real Barenziah show more detail on what happened! There is no way that Biography of Barenziah is an accurate biography at all. Both versions of The Real Barenziah mention that Barenziah planned to join the Thieve's Guild actually so, no, there is no way Biography of Barenziah is accurate.
User avatar
Tyler F
 
Posts: 3420
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:07 pm

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 4:54 pm

Sorry, double post.
User avatar
Milagros Osorio
 
Posts: 3426
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:33 pm

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 3:11 pm

The biography of barenziah is too PC,while the real barenziah is too dramatic.
IN BETWEEN!
User avatar
cutiecute
 
Posts: 3432
Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:51 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 2:37 pm

Both of the books probably contain some of the truth. So, in between.
User avatar
ezra
 
Posts: 3510
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:40 pm

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 3:08 pm

the real barenziah sounds more plausible (and entertaining) than her official biography. i also dont think that daggerfall's version really added much (besides spiny khajiit pencses :liplick: )


As far as I know, that is indeed the only part that was censored.

But anyway, I'd take the Real Barenziah to be a more accurate representation of her real story, it's not called "Real" for no reason. Maybe it's not completely accurate, and her official biography is also not completely fictional (in the context of the universe.) but I'm sure the former is closer to reality.
User avatar
Hope Greenhaw
 
Posts: 3368
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:44 pm

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 11:47 am

As far as I know, that is indeed the only part that was censored.

But anyway, I'd take the Real Barenziah to be a more accurate representation of her real story, it's not called "Real" for no reason. Maybe it's not completely accurate, and her official biography is also not completely fictional (in the context of the universe.) but I'm sure the former is closer to reality.


I'm pretty sure the official biography is fake or at least heavily cut. Not so sure with The Real Barenziah I do think that some things were fake in the Oblivion/Morrowind copy to make people like Barenziah more since she became friends with the author but at the same time a lot of it could be real. Who knows?
User avatar
Hazel Sian ogden
 
Posts: 3425
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2006 7:10 am

Post » Sat May 28, 2011 9:46 pm

I don't know. In some regards you can consider both relatively accurate, with Biography of Barenziah emphasizing her professional career and nobility, whilst The Real Barenziah is more about her earlier years. If I had to trust one more than the other, it'd be the latter, just because those Temple loons and their censorship aren't to be trusted.

Besides, The Real Barenziah is one of very few official in-game sources we have detailing Khajiit anatomy! :evil:
User avatar
Josh Trembly
 
Posts: 3381
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:25 am


Return to The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion