Psychics and Telepaths : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:51 pm

I was replaying Morrowind today and I asked Sellas Gravius (however you spell the bugger's name) to pitch me the class-generating questions. I couldn't help but be interested in the one about the Emperor employing telepaths. Was that just a rumor or are there any documentations of telepathic or psionically-inclined individuals in Tamriel's history?

EDIT: Ach! Gravius was the guy you give your papers to. I meant Socucius Ergalla. Thanks Dominic.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:54 pm

I don't recall anything about telepaths. Think you're thinking of the Moth Priests, who divine the Elder Scrolls to reveal pieces of the future.

That's the condensed version of that info, of course

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:21 pm

I don't recall anything about telepaths. Think you're thinking of the Moth Priests, who divine the Elder Scrolls to reveal pieces of the future.

That's the condensed version of that info, of course

No, he means telepaths.

Other than Socucius Ergalla mentioning it, I haven't heard anything about them telepaths. Other than having the ability to read minds, they're not really special people in a setting where telekinesis and detect life are spells for sale in a Mages Guild hall.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:36 pm

How else could you explain how the guards everywhere know of any bounty on your head?

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:42 pm

It's a hypothetical question, so I reckon the telepaths are also hypothetical. Even a fantasy world can have it's fiction.

» Thu Sep 02, 2010 12:23 am

It's a wonderfully interesting idea though.

But I was under the impression that it was purely hypothetical.

» Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:04 am

No, he means telepaths.

Other than Socucius Ergalla mentioning it, I haven't heard anything about them telepaths. Other than having the ability to read minds, they're not really special people in a setting where telekinesis and detect life are spells for sale in a Mages Guild hall.

Sure they are. Telepathy is the ability to communicate with others via thoughts and feelings. Telekinesis affects the physical, and is in no way related to telepathy.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:07 pm

Perhaps it was in reference to Dreamsleeve communication?

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 1:56 pm

Perhaps it was in reference to Dreamsleeve communication?

That was my first immediate thought, was a symbolic term for Dreamsleeves. Which I still need to read up on.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:56 pm

this gives me a good idea rp a telepath of course there probly have the same skills as a psijiic back on topic i agree with 946000

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:30 am

That was my first immediate thought, was a symbolic term for Dreamsleeves. Which I still need to read up on.

Dreamsleeves? What exactly is that?

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:22 am

Dreamsleeves? What exactly is that?

As far as I remember, it is (basically) the recycling bin of souls, where a soul is stripped of all memories and stuffed into a new body to be put back onto Tamriel.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:35 am

As far as I remember, it is (basically) the recycling bin of souls, where a soul is stripped of all memories and stuffed into a new body to be put back onto Tamriel.

ok.. So everyone is basically everyone is just thrown back into a new body after death? Doesn't that negate, the whole souls going to Mancar Cameron's Paradise after death in OB?

» Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:13 am

ok.. So everyone is basically everyone is just thrown back into a new body after death? Doesn't that negate, the whole souls going to Mancar Cameron's Paradise after death in OB?

Not every soul goes to the Dreamsleeve, has something to do with worship or something. I'm not an expert on this particular area of study, so it'd be best to ask someone more experienced.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:00 am

Lunar currency. After death, some individuals are reapportioned to their aligned AE, which I interpret as going to the realms of the god they worshipped.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:20 pm

Personally, I believe in proweller's theory: people experience the afterlife based on how they thought it would be when they were still in life. Off course, once they are recycled, they have forgotten all about it and are a brand new, blank page to write new expectations upon.

As for the thing with Camorans Paradise, there seems to be ways to "intercept" souls on their way to the dreamsleave, and take them somewhere else. Another example that comes to mind would be N'Gasta's "soul snare" from Redguard, that captured souls of people who died in the area.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, necromancers can reach into the dreamsleeve and grab souls from it.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:17 pm

They bound themselves too Paradise. There is a line about how all are born unmanteled except for the divinity of their mother (nirn) and how they have to destroy her to enter the demense of Mehrunes Dagon.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 5:34 pm

They bound themselves too Paradise. There is a line about how all are born unmanteled except for the divinity of their mother (nirn) and how they have to destroy her to enter the demense of Mehrunes Dagon.

In other words you are always connected divinely to Mundus and the dreamsleeve, and in order to truly become a servant of Dagon they have to destroy that connection?

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:34 pm

Disaster at Ionith presents two-way telepathic communication as standard practice for imperial battlemages. Doors of Oblivion presents an example where someone receives telepathic communication against their will, but I don't know any canon situations where a mind is read against someone's will.

Psychic powers aren't a separate phenomenon from magic. They fall under the school of mysticism, which is based on understanding that all beings and matter are still part of a primordial overmind.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:03 pm

In other words you are always connected divinely to Mundus and the dreamsleeve, and in order to truly become a servant of Dagon they have to destroy that connection?

Or sell your soul, or other equivalent transaction.

The Battlespire conversation files hold a similair idea where the player can pledge loyalty to one of Mehrunes Sargents. It makes you immortal but you're also tortured for eternity by said Sargent for insolence.

In Battlespire the dreamsleeve also was a means for communication between battlemages.

Makes sense sorta because if you're all connected to the same thing by your soul, might as well use it to talk to people who aren't near by. Sorta like the internet really.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:43 pm

The Chimvarium or whatever mentions telepathy among the dwemer, as well. Telepathy seems like, for some mages, a fairly "standard" thing. I am sure some Mages are better at it than others, just as some can summon more potent fireballs, but it does seem to fit into Mysticism.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:38 pm

The Chimvarium or whatever mentions telepathy among the dwemer, as well. Telepathy seems like, for some mages, a fairly "standard" thing. I am sure some Mages are better at it than others, just as some can summon more potent fireballs, but it does seem to fit into Mysticism.

From http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/marobar06.shtml:

Another aspect of this legend that scholars like myself find interesting is the mention of "the Calling." In this legend and in others, there is a suggestion that the Dwemer race as a whole had some sort of silent and magickal communication. There are records of the Psijic Order which suggest they, too, share this secret. Whatever the case, there are no documented spells of "calling." The Cyrodiil historian Borgusilus Malier first proposed this as a solution to the disappearance of the Dwemer. He theorized that in 1E 668, the Dwemer enclaves were called together by one of their powerful philosopher-sorcerers ("Kagrnak" in some documents) to embark on a great journey, one of such sublime profundity that they abandoned all their cities and lands to join the quest to foreign climes as an entire culture.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 5:52 pm

Well, the Psijic Order is all about Mysticism, which spells like Telekinesis tend to fall under. Plus, I doubt it's a coincidence "psijic" sounds like "psychic".

It's my understanding that magic and psychic phenomena are largely indistinguishable. If telepathy could be interesting in-game (aka talking to an NPC from a distance- probably a little broken too, unless it was confined to getting hints about your current quest, which admittedly is actually more interesting than getting quest markers), it'd probably be a Mysticism spell.

EDIT: Didn't see the calling mentioned, although i'm glad I didn't just dream it.

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:49 pm

As an extension to this, what about psionics in general? I'm talking about more than telekinesis -- a "psi-blade" so to speak, or psionic "shields" (to block e.g. telepathy, but not physical things) or empathic abilities (transmitting physical/emotional feelings), or hive-minds as a few examples. Would these all be considered spells of some variety?

» Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:12 pm

As an extension to this, what about psionics in general? I'm talking about more than telekinesis -- a "psi-blade" so to speak, or psionic "shields" (to block e.g. telepathy, but not physical things) or empathic abilities (transmitting physical/emotional feelings), or hive-minds as a few examples. Would these all be considered spells of some variety?

Yes.