I'm a big Elder Scrolls fan (I have Morrowind and it's expansions and Oblivion with it's expansions) and when I saw the spiders in Skyrim I became saddened as it means I won't be able to play it. I may be 6'4" and 185lbs but spiders scare the crap out of me. I won't be able to play the game if I have to see spiders. I hope someone will find a way to remove the spiders and replace them with equally powerful monsters. I was gonna buy this game the instant it came out but I can't do it till the spiders are gone.

and i hope that you can find some time to visit a psychologist to help you with your fear, good luck.

Can't wait for Alois Hammer to show up here lol. But if you are on PC someone will make a mod for it. Otherwise (this thread has been seen like 4-5 times already) it has been said that you either have to deal with it or don't buy it.

If you hate spiders...shouldn't beating them over the head with swords and magic make you feel better? I know thats how it is for me. Hate spiders, and whenever I kill a nice big one in a game I always feel a little better about myself. Small ones are creepy, but the big ones are just ugly, and a bigger target.

Well then. you have my condolences for you not getting Skyrim right when it comes.

No. No. No. That would be a complete joke. How about we add no water options? Or no tree options? Or no rock options? Just because you're scared doesn't mean you get a little special option for millions to see. Deal with it.

We've had a lot of arachnophobia threads here haha. It seems people are more afraid of spiders than anything else. I'd personally love it because it adds a sense of dread and fear when you enter a cobwebbed dungeon. Plus, new info tells us that player characters can get caught up in spider webs, so I could imagine how panicky that could make you when there's an oversized tarantula on your six haha.

To be honest, you're lucky, this skyrockets RP value for you beyond reasoning, you actually have something to fear and it translates into your character. if its to the extent that you have real fear for a pixilated model that never appears from that source when the power button is off, then seriously kudos to you :celebration:. Im not sure why its difficult to contrast a spider in a game compared to a real spider and the fact that your character can grow to rofl stomp every spider in existence, if anything wait a bit before you play the game, get some guides to where they appear and avoid them if you can or prepare for them.,


if anything get it for PC and wait for/mod them out.

I've never understood this. A lot of people with arachnophobia claim encountering them in video games scares them. I don't get why. It seems like one of the only phobias that still applies in things like video games. Even in Oblivion people modded out Spider Daedra, despite them being hardly recognizable as spiders at all.

Regardless, I voted yes. I highly doubt there will be, but it's a nice gesture. Either way, I'm sure there will be a mod out for it.


Harsh. Especially considering arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias in the entire world and we've already seen a ton of threads asking the same thing. Basically, this is a deal breaker for a lot of people. It's not as silly as "no water" or "no trees" and it's not like it's just this one person. No need to be so insensitive.

Have you ever heard of "exposure"? In a planned and purposeful way you expose yourself to your fear (in the game of course). You then stay with that fear until you calm down and see that you're still ok. Of course, these spiders are trying to kill you, so you might want to fight back as well... Hopefully you'll still be ok. Well, YOU will be, your character maybe not so much. By the way, I actually learned of this technique (it's name anyway) from Batman unmasked, as Bruce Wayne exposed himself to bats in Batman Begins.

Its a game...

Still doesn't matter. It's a game, i.e. not real. People will either live with it or not buy it. Simple as that. It's the truth and if you don't like it then that's pretty much your problem.

To put it simply if that ever happened to me then bye bye bowels. I still remember my trouble in the game Unreal 2 (because as my name suggests I tend to be a fan of the Unreal series) and in one level your enemies are spiders. I actually beat the level by using excessive firepower. Little spiders that could die with one hit from a pistol I was blasting with explosive shotgun shells. Sadly though I don't think in caves I'll be able to keep enough distance between me and what's going to ruin several pairs of my pants.

one way to conquer your fear is to eat it, i heard they taste like fried chicken, when you frie them.

Well, if you're arachnaphobic, wouldn't having some nasty spiders add to the sense of immersion in the game?

In all honesty, though... There are people who can't enjoy many types of food or experience due to allergies. They've learned to live with it: their alternative was to, of course, die from anaphylactic shock. So for someone who's arachnaphobic, you get the pleasant option of having THREE options that aren't lethal to you:

• Play the game as-is, and deal with the phobia. It makes the game more intense, doesn't it?
  
• Wait for someone to produce a mod to remove said offending spiders, or try to make it yourself.
  
• Simply don't play Skyrim.

i'm afraid of the number 14. like, whenever i see it i lock up and cannot function at all. i made a mod for Morrowind and Oblivion that changed every instance of the number 14 to a picture of a rabbit, but it wasn't good enough - i knew 14 was still there, hiding behind the rabbit, waiting for me to turn my eyes from the screen so it could reveal itself to me in a most horrendous fashion.

eventually i just stopped playing videogames all together.

I was gonna say no cause i dont see the point, but hey if its optional and doesnt really take much time, which is shouldnt, then why not? as long as they dont force everyone to have a spider free game theres no reason there couldnt be a no spiders button. only reason to say no to this is if your a selfish bastard who doesnt take into consideration other peoples problems.

I'm sorry but I really see no reason for Bethesda to cater to the 9 people in the entire world that wont play Skyrim simply because there is an enemy that looks like a spider, that's silly.
Not saying it's silly that you don't like spiders, but I really don't think they care. :shrug:
That's like saying, "I don't like the color yellow! I have Xanthophobia! You should not put any yellow in Skyrim! Ahhhh!"
It just wont happen.

The issue with modding spiders out is if a spider lair or a spider boss is tied to a quest. The modder would need to take the time to rework that quest, replacing the spiders with another critter. But if the quest was to get spider eggs carried only by the spider queen, that's another issue.
It's feasible, but the modder doing it will need to take the time to carefully check how spiders are involved in game quests.
And there's the ingredients. Spider silk/eggs, if they're in as ingredients or items, can be useful in the game. The only way to get those would be to buy them off alchemists. That could prove expensive if they have useful poison/potion properties.

I voted "No" on the poll. If there would be an option to remove spiders for those who have a phobia of them (And I understand some would want the option), game designers couldn't make quests based on spiders.

I figure there's a ton of mods for Oblivion that add creatures, it shouldn't be a big deal to do something to remove them from Skyrim.
The option I'm looking at is watching Moddb closely till a no spiders mod comes out so then I can get the game as I don't feel like shooting my heartrate through the roof over creatures in a game.

It is a game, where people shouldn't have to worry about their phobias and should have fun. Just because it's "not real" clearly doesn't make a difference because tons of people with arachnophobia say that it still applies to video game spiders. It's a phobia. It takes some people months to overcome it and it's never easy. It's not always as simple as just "live with it." How would you feel if you had a phobia that prevented you from playing a bunch of video games, especially ones in a series that you love? I know for me, it would be a huge bummer.

I'm not saying Bethesda HAS to add it, but it wouldn't be the first video game to include a "no spiders" option, and since we've seen 4-5 or more spider threads in just a couple of months, I'd say that represents a big demographic where that's a make-or-break issue.

While I am sympathetic to the fact that this is a serious and prevalent phobia, in fact I have arachnaphobia to a degree, I don't think we should get rid of the spiders because of that. Example: If someone has hemophobia, should we remove all traces of blood from the game? No, of course not. It's not fair to ask that the devs adjust the game to fit with what you do and don't like even if it is a major phobia. If it is really going to stop you from playing Skyrim, then that svcks.

Edit: Actually, I suppose if the devs found time to make a toggle for it, I wouldn't mind. I wouldn't use it, but I wouldn't care if it was there. Then again... toggles can't solve all our problems.

Actually don't a ton of games have a no blood option? That's been in games since at least the original unreal tournament from 1999.

Tell you what. I have the game preordered and if the Gamestop by my house is doing a midnight release I promise to have a mod up on TESNexus by the morning, a few days at the latest. I'm not the kind of person who feels like the experience of a game or movie is ruined by knowing things so I'll probably dive into the CK the moment it is available.

Edit: Way before 1999 on the no blood thing. Think Mortal Kombat when it went from arcades to consoles. I love how the parents were fine with you ripping off Kano's head as long as it wasn't bloody lol.

Personally a spider lives in the top corner of my room....Im weirded out by them alot, but fine if they dont come near me.

The trouble is with some arachnaphobics is that just seeing a spider....or even a cobweb, will set off them thinking about spiders...then the imagination takes over and they get freaked out. Its called an irrational fear for a reason, people cant control it...so they arent just going ot 'get over it'.


There will be a mod to fix it.