I know that, as unpopular as it was, Talos is responsable for Cyrodiil as it shows up in Oblivion. At least thtas how they covered it.

I'm just noticing that from Morrowind (Roman style armor) we have Oblivion (Full Plate or Chain) back to the Morrowind Style in Skyrim if the inventory 'item' version is anything to go by. It's in the leaked manual.

Is there an official handwave yet?

I have a few ideas, such as the Legion being spread so thin that on home-soil they started to use heavier gear, since many patrolled alone. It obviously isn't anything to do with the climate, if they are going back to the Morowind style in Skyrim. Also, I suppose the Septim Empire could just a have decided to change to heavier gear, and the 'new' Empire could ahve just adopted the same Legionary outfit.

In hindsight though, isn't the plate actual more traditional? Thinking back, the Imperial Guard in Arena and Daggerfall wore plate also.

Gah. Guess t's not important, but still. Any thoughts? I mean plainly and out of game it just means that they are trying to recapture a bit of the love Morrowind gather and have it directed at Skyrim, but I like in-story explinations too. I'm sticking with my frst thought, since things are in such a bad state in Cyrodiil in Oblivion.

Helseth's guards also wore a red version of the Oblivion armor.

I've always liked the idea that the Empire "dresses to impress" in the provinces, but wears more practical armor when defending the home-turf.

This...probably. It may be similar to how Cyrodiilic religion is portrayed in either game. In MW, you have the Imperial Cult actively proselytizing all over Vvardenfell, but in OB's Cyrodiil, the homeland, there's only the faint skeleton of an organized religion. The reasoning for the split is clear: The Cult is aimed at subduing the Dunmer via cultural indoctrination rather than by force (the Imperial's preferred method ).

The armor may be a similar case. Perhaps the less encompassing and more palpably Roman MW armor is more traditional and is an attempt to dazzle the Dunmer with the splendor of Cyrodiil's rich martial past.

Then again, maybe the legionnaires we saw in OB weren't really proper legionnaires at all, just guard corps answering directly to the crown or elder council?

Redguard's legion's weren't really that Roman either.

Given the Legion's had to be 'recalled' to Cyrodiil for its protection, I would say this is very likely. I also figured the leigons were pretty much different per region, depending on the climate and landscape.

I think the armor design is a combination of pragmatism based on the region's terrain and legion tradition. We see that all armor types vary by game/region (elven, glass, ebony, orc, etc).

We read about armor design in the book Armorer's Challenge. The Empire let an Argonian design the legion's armor because he knew how to craft armor suited to Black Marsh's terrain.

Locally made armor is going to look different than foreign armor, even if you consider them both Imperial armor.

Not to mention that a couple centuries have gone by. Fads/Styles come and go and repeat (retro armor!)

The Mor->Obli->Mor style could be explained by the Morrowind refugees having a big influence on Skyrim's culture. I'm sure some Dunmer blacksmiths would have spread around some ideas or styles to the locals.