First off, and slightly off-topic, I'd like to say I absolutely adore Skyrim. It's a game to rival Morrowind, for sure, in my opinion. I don't know how anyone can be disappointed, as it exceeded my expectations and improved upon so much. The amount of detail is astonishing.

With that out of the way, I'd like to bring to attention that Skyrim is a tragic place. There are a lot of little things here and there that demonstrate this. I remember, for example, finding a small camp where I found two dead bodies near a Cave Bear. I searched the bodies and found a journal nearby, stating how the two had overcome a lot of troubles in order to be together and pursue their relationships, and yet, after all of that, their fates were sealed when a single bear wandered into their camp.

There was also http://i39.tinypic.com/2m6pibo.jpg, where I stumbled upon a Giant looking down at his fallen Mammoth companion. It was sad. The Giant made no attempt to attack me or raise his weapon, he merely stood there, quietly regarding the Mammoth in mourning.

I also remember reading a note, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:For_Shelly, at a small tent in the snowy Northern area of Skyrim, with a statue of Talos overlooking the area, and a skeleton laying in a bed nearby. Shelly never made it. There were also a few wrecked ships nearby. Sad.

What other things have you found throughout Skyrim that remind you of what a harsh and tragic environment the Nordic homeland is?

Yeah, some scenarios/scenes that I've traveled upon are quite sad.
Where is the Note for Shelly exactly? Your description was a bit vague.
I heard the ship is actually underneath the water or something if I'm thinking of the right scenario.

I found the corpse of your typical village woman lying dead in the middle of the forest. Curious and sad to find an obviously defenseless woman dead I walked over to her body and checked her belongings. There was an item titled "corpse note." It went on to say that if somebody was reading the note that the writer (the woman) was most likely dead. It then read that bandits had ransacked her house and taken everything but most importantly they had taken a pendant. This pendant had been with her family for generations. The pendant being her only connection to her predominantly dead family she decided to chase after it "even if it is the death of me."

Most of her family is dead, her home is ransacked, and she ends up dead trying to get back a priceless family pendant. Wow.

It is http://i41.tinypic.com/2dlvs5e.jpg, at http://i43.tinypic.com/fdgaxt.jpg. Yes, the boat has completely sunk, and is dangerous to explore if you are not an Argonian or do not have a potion/spell of waterbreathing. Not much to find there anyway though, but it is an interesting sight itself.

SPOILERS!! Dear God, the nerve around here...

Overall I would say Skyrim is a sad world indeed. It's the snowy northern province in the world, and has civil war, as well as dragons murdering all their people. Not much reason to be happy.

There are certainly some distinct sad moments though. (Very very minor random event spoiler)

[censored] this game can be powerful. BGS really did a fantastic job.

Are you kidding me? You had ample opportunity to look away as you realized what this thread was about. I also hardly consider talking about small little things around Skyrim counting as spoilers.

It is kind of dark and dreary isn't it?

Well, one of my own scary, dark areas is when I was walking through a forest(Don't know which)and I see a house with an old women sitting outside(some of you probably saw me post this before on another thread). I go up to her and I see her whispering "No one will know my secret." I freak out and run away. I've loved traveling past that house since.

Thank you so much!
I actually was wandering around that section but I attracted a few dragons, some ice wolves, and other freaky things so I high-tailed out of there.
I suppose I will have to face whatever is out there now if I want to explore this :toughninja:

I've found a few moments, but this is the main one to come to mind.

It is a sad place but other than the dragons, wizards, and magic lol it seems realistic if thats possible lol

:D

Guess it would be far north of Winterhold where there was a wrecked ship filled with long dead Dark Elves (who were of particular... lineage) Found a journal there and it detailed a bit the eruption of the Red Mountain and the Argonian attacks. Went through so much just to fall victim of the harsh waters of Skyrim. Sad tale really, but atleast there was some closure when I travelled to Riften to talk to the remaining survivor of the his family. Quest really struck a few chords

I did exactly that. It was a really powerful moment.

I actually miss Oblivion in all its colorfulness in Skyrim. It is indeed a very sad place.

I seem to recall an almost identical quest in Morrowind,

Now I'm considering modding in a neverending party somewhere, just to relieve the gloom a bit.

I found a wagon on the side of the road with a pair of dead bodies, a man and a woman. The woman had a note on her talking about how her husband was risking his life too much making trips to Whiterun to sell their goods, and this time she was demanding to go with him on his journey. She hoped the increased bandit activity wouldn't come back to haunt them..... looks like it did.

Just as in real life, this game with it's ups & downs,

plays with our emotions . . .

That's what makes a Great Game !!

:intergalactic:

I was escorting a man to Eldergleam Sanctuary when we were attacked by a Dragon. I fled to the cover of the trees, but couldn't see the guy anywhere. I spent ten minutes looking for him and found his body where we had been attacked: he had probably tried to punch the dragon when it swooped down, and was killed on the spot. I was so impressed by his bravado (and guilty of letting him die) that I laid him out on http://steamcommunity.com/id/pelagius/screenshot/632982493479305487, and whenever I'm in the area I pick Dragon's Tongue flowers and scatter them around him.

Was high up in the mountains searching for Shouts, when I came across bodies and a carriage buried in snow, refugees . I moved all their bodies and froze them in a make shift burial with my spells.

come on guys, there's a section for spoilers.

I find skyrim indeed a much darker game. You see piles of bodies of travelers inside bandit forts, There is one place where mages were burning people alive. Pretty grim stuff

^I met the same guy. It was a tough decision, but I decided that I'd rather kill him than have it be some random monster or bandit. The death was rather quick and painless, but I'm not sure if that was what he wanted...at the very least, I wasn't cruel about it.

When I did it, I wounded him with my bow enough so that he was crawling away grunting "Mercy! Mercy!". I then shot him in the head. It was not an honorable death for him, and it made me feel like a [censored].

Markarth.

Nuff Said...

agreed, the whole city is depressing...