Not really sure if this is in the right place, but the job I'm speaking of is the lore, and how I rather enjoy TES. I'm hoping also that since this is the lore section you all must do a lot of reading, and won't give me a bunch of TL;DR's.

I'm more of a sci-fi type fellow, throw some Star Wars or Mass Effect books/nerdstuffs at me and we're cool, but when it comes to fantasy, dragons, swords, and magic, I normally stay at arms length. Never quite caught my fancy, and really most of them seemed incredibly lame to me. I didn't get into the TES games until a while after Oblivion came out, because I kept seeing the ads and thinking how stupid it looked. At face value, it was another lolwut fantastical adventure game with more weird crap in it than Fable, which I played and enjoyed, because at the time I didn't really care about the story or setting, it was just fun to play. By the time Oblivion came out, I needed story and substance to the fun, because I am a geek.

A family member convinced me to get Oblivion though, and I ended up loving the game, the setting, the whole universe, and lore. So really, years later I still love it, and sometimes I'm tempted to even write my own little stories even. All that got me thinking, what made it so interesting to me? It's still got dragons, swords, and magic. It's still fantasy. I can look at something very similar to TES, and scoff at how lame it all seems to me. But why?

I think it's because Bethesda did a wonderful job over the years making this universe of theirs authentic. Now don't get me wrong, they've also got A LOT to it, I mean thousands of pages of books in one game alone speaks for itself, which no doubt helps, but a very well thought out, deep, and thorough lore can't stand on it's own, at least not with me. "Well, that's when the kingdoms of Hobablog and Mo'Nekid'Hos went to war with the Durkamomads ..." Yeah that's fantastic, but I don't know what the hell any of that is, why I should care, and how I as a person should give that even a slight shadow of a doubt.

So authenticity. No, I'm not saying realism - there is nothing realistic about shooting fire from your hands. But they have presented it in such a way, that I CAN suspend my belief far enough to allow that. The reactions, beliefs, mannerisms of every individual making up every race making up Tamriel make it believable to me that this, "... World exists, while you're playing the game." and beyond. Argonians are my favorite race, and their lore is interesting to me. Why? I've been eased into all this lore while playing the games, and reading the books in said games, which instead of telling the audience what has happened in a 30 minute cutscene, they instead leave it in books, which the character can pick up and read. It's amazing to me.

It's hard to explain it all really, but TES lore is just really cool to me for those reasons and more. When so many others have failed to draw me in, TES beckons and I jump in full throttle.

Therefore, I salute Bethesda, for doing a great job at making a wonderful world that I enjoy learning more about, and I hope they continue for many years to develop everything (Argonians bro!) with that believable and authentic touch that pulls this non-fantasy guy into it.

Glad you got to liking the lore! When I got into the lore, it was a handful but well worth it, especially when devs/ex devs post thier work on here.

TL;DR

Seriously though, I think we all feel the same way here. TES has a way of drawing you in, and if it sticks then it sticks. Nice to hear you enjoy it

I like ES lore also because the lot variations in legends, contradictory theories about gods, daedra, creation, history... makes the universe much more credible. It's like Greek mythology, every one has its version and interpretation of it. Besides, there is also some exotism with the various kind of deities, the elves can prove to be imperialist and hateful, there is no dwarf and no common fantasy stereotype.

I agree. I once made a post about this, but it didn't come out right. I love TES lore because it seems like I am reading about a real world. In other games such as Dragon Age the lore, while sometimes interesting, feels so much like I am reading game lore (it's even a chore at times). I never get that impression when I read TES lore. Even though the races and their countries are fantasy, they never come off that way to me. These seem like real people in real places that have real conflicts with each other. TES is the only game I've played where the lore is as interesting to me as the lore of my favorite book series.

Agreed and well said. I've been coming to this forum since Morrowind and, lo' these many years, find TES lore to be as

compelling and unique (if not more so) as any in the fantasy/rpg milieu.

The Lore In tes Is very good, Better then Most lore from rpgs these days...I have One problem however, I im A big fan Of the cthlhu mythos, and I was really exicited with the quest from Oblivion "The Shadow over Hackdirt" And i was excited about the "Deep ones", however Bethesda hasant really explained what these "Deep ones" are. I think Bethesda missed a chance to do something really good

I remember that quest! I always thought there was going to be more to it, but on the other hand, it's nice to have that little mystery...

I don't think there is any other game series that has as rich a mythology as The Elder Scrolls. It's why I love these games and spend so much time reading the books in the game.

Gotta hand it to Bethesda Gaming Studios. I have never 'studied' the ingame lore of any series to even a sliver of the degree I have studied TES Lore. It truly is an amazing creation.

Personal Favorite? Dunmer Lore introduced in Morrowind. So much great stuff.

Anyone else get a Zeus/Rama/ vibe from Vivec? With a dash of....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermaphroditus during the 36 Lessons of Vivec? The Story itself seemed very similar in presentation to the Ramayana. Now I am not saying they are a like just asking if anyone else got a small vibe from Vivec that reminded them of these three figures. Understanding of Hindi and Greek Mythology is necessary lol.

Wait till you get to the ships-that-are-roots that fire math at their enemies the laws of nature

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinmune

The TES-verse is amazing because it is believable. It's very well-written.

Kinmune. Hah, I don't get that robot girl. I wish I understood that story.

Vive is more like Buddha combined with Loki, Lord Byron and Vlad The Impaler. In other word, Vivec is just Vivec

Pretty much what they said. I like the Dragon Age game but imho their lore doesn't even come close to TES.

Wow. Never read that before. I don't understand a bloody word of it but...cool. (I might understand a couple words...

TES lore is, in essence, mindblowing, and the main reason why I love the series. Sure, Toddikins can keep dishing out butterfly-catching and dual-wielding, but while the majority of the newblets gush over the gameplay and graphics and whatnot as their primary reason for liking TES (or mostly Skyrim/Oblivion), the lore will always be my love. Especially all the lore introduced in Morrowind.

I remember this idiot on YouTube who said that TES lore was vague and boring and that World of Warcraft lore was more interesting. Don't worry, they won't find his body.

The lore really is amazing. I can't think of another series that presents so much information about a fantasy universe, and I place the credit completely on the books. While new players really love the scenery and the combat and scale of the quests, once you really dig into the Elder Scrolls you start reading the books and piecing together the amazing universe you've been playing in.

Thanks Bethesda!

...9th Era? Every time I think I'm starting to understand something. D:

Yep, 9E all right! Have you read the Loveletter from the 5E by chance?