Bethesda hasn't said anything about the future of the Elder Scrolls series, but one of the most common topics of speculation is where the next game should be set. Rather than trying to keep this in the official suggestion/discussion thread we've decided to give this an official home.

This discussion doesn't need to be tied entirely to geography, other setting details are also appropriate. However let's please keep this focused on the game world and leave other matters, like gameplay mechanics or NPCs, in the other thread.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1502486-tes-vi-location-and-setting-speculation-7/

*Shakes fist at Rohugh*

To recap:

Hello! I'd like to fly the flag for Hammerfell and High Rock.

This is rather a wishlist, but here goes:-

- I want both provinces, preferably with any outlying islands.

- I want the main quest to involve, at least in part, either opposing or aiding the Thalmor. As Peace Walker put forward the idea that the Cold War could be won by controlling Latin America, I put forth the theory that the key to the destruction of the Aldmeri Dominion lies in the control of two rather strategic provinces guarding the northern flank of the Mede Empire (even if Skyrim were anti-Imperial, the only land supply routes to it from the Dominion rest in these provinces).

- I want a city (preferably Breton, though a desert or near-desert climate could prove very interesting) to have been taken by "dark" magickal, undead, vampiric and necromantic forces, à la that quest in Morthal. Terrorize the cattle-peasantry! Quests culminating in the maintenance of the status quo, or the liberation of said city are also greatly desired.

- High Rock! Peasant armies and militia of the High Middle Ages! Longbows, Crossbows, Spear-and-Shield carrying yokels in dirty, rusty chainmail and kettle helmets! Powerful Knightly Orders! Byzantine-esque lamellar-clad Legionaries! No preference for the Thalmor warriors, should they be present.

- Hammerfell! Nomadic cavalry type Redguards in the Alik'r! Scale-mail! More lamellar! Greco-Roman Legionaries carrying spears, composite bows, lances and so forth. ! I don't know very much else about Hammerfell, in all honesty - what does the place look like in ESO?

Thoughts?

And I imagine that Hammerfell isn't just desert and coastline. More variety!

Looking at the Elder Scrolls Online map and what it touches, I see at least three options, Blackmarsh, Elsweyr and Hammerfell. I'd like to see Blackmarsh. Since I've read The Argonian Account, I'd like to travel inside hist tree roots

I rather hope that Black March has a tropical coastline. Jungle warfare could become rather depressing, eventually.

I remember that I used to present Hammerfell and High Rock as the next setting for TES VI. I've changed my mind since then, cultures wouldn't be well presented and because of the workload, many cool things would be cut out of the finished product, among other things. Hammerfell by itself could work, as it would also have Orsinium for diversity in culture. High Rock is diverse enough by its own, having not just Bretons, but Horse-Folk (Nedic-Yokudan nomads) and the Reachmen.

i'm presonally going for Valenwood as the next setting, since it has so much to offer, if done properly. While I haven't been focusing much on the Summerset Isles, that would also make a great setting, as would Hammerfell, though I think that should be either TES VII. Too many human provinces in a row. An elven province seemis fitting, and Valenwood could still maintain the whole gritty feeling of Skyrim, while being beautiful to look at. Imagine running through the trees, massive brances, jumping from one to another, barely catching it and having to pull yourself up. While I like deserts, I would rather having a lush and alienting rainforest instead of just another kind of wasteland. I do support a High Rock game made by another studio though, like Fallout: New Vegas was done by another studio.

What I think would be cool in Valenwood would be if the canopies blocked out the sky for at least 40% of the map and climbing to the top would give way to a great view of an ocean of leaves above the surface.

One question though; how would alchemists obtain their ingredients if the Green Pact prevents them from harming the vegetation? I'm assuming the Green Pact also applies for foreigners in Valenwood.

Quietly.

Only the Bosmer are bound by the Green Pact, and even then it doesn't seem to be universal... If one Bosmer eats a salad, he's not going to dissolve into goop. Some fantatical Bosmer clans will attack anyone that tries to harvest anything, but for the most part they leave others to do their own thing.

THIS.

Your thoughts mirror my own, Zan.

One modification:
Most folks seem to have concluded that Valenwood would be flat, dense forest with a tendency towards tropical growth, especially to the south. I think that's too simple.

First: for there to be a forest of any kind requires reasonably substantial rainfall. Since the province is in a southern region, said rainfall will have to be 'squeezed' out of the atmosphere. This means that somewhere in the north or north-central region of the province there will have to be some highland areas - more than rolling hills, but actual mountains at least the height of the Western Ghats in India.

Second: there are two 'sources' for this rainfall - the ocean to the south and the rather bracketed sea to the northwest. Prevailing winds will likely be from the west and southeast (assuming Tamriel and its islands are in the northern hemisphere of Nirn/Mundus, which seems essentially guaranteed because of the ice in the Sea of Ghosts.) This suggests Valenwood's western coast is not only wet, but also stormy. The south and southeast trade winds will bring weather more like seasonal monsoons, in addition to a regular train of thunderstorms.

For all of this to work weather-wise, there needs to be a set of highlands along the northwest coast, wrapping around and swinging to the east around the center of the province. This leaves other climate zones already identified in the lore with a logical justification - the plains to the north that allow farming, as well as the drier plains turning into desert in the northeast over into Elsweyr, created by the rainshadow of the highlands.

River drainage will be mostly to the south, including the fabled 'mineral' river from which the Bosmer apparently create a nutritional tonic to make up for the vitamin and mineral deficiencies in their all-meat diet. Some streams will cascade off the highlands and move north and east, sustaining agriculture in the plains, but likely drying out or coalescing into a lake of some sorts on the western edge of Elsweyr's northern desert.

Without some set of highlands, the terrain won't make sense in Valenwood. Also, I suspect it will be very dreary - running thru a forest or jungle all the time will get repetitive and monotone.

I added the "assume" part to play it safe. It'd be funny picking a flower from the bush and suddenly being surrounded by arrows pointed at your head.

I would bet most of the Bosmer alchemy is based on fallen leaves, fruits, trees and vegetables - discards of the forest, in other words. Combined with elements from prey, this could make for an interesting alchemy. It's lack of fresh floral ingredients will make for some interesting twists, of course.

The only place we can truly get our revenge on the Thalmor and stop the plot from dragging across two inter - game gaps in to take the next game to Alinor.