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


This discussion doesn't need to be tied entirely to geography; other setting details are also appropriate. However, let's keep this focused on the game world and leave other matters (such as gameplay mechanics or NPCs) in the http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1587804-official-beyond-skyrim-tes-vi-71/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1576010-tes-vi-location-and-setting-speculation-28/

Well, one thing I'd like to discuss is ESO's newest addition to the lore and how it could affect a game set in Hammerfell. Namely, the Thieves Guild DLC, Hew's Bane and Abah's Landing. A lot of new lore has been put in Abah's Landing, and it seems to be a major city of Hammerfell, so, I doubt it could be just written off as no longer existing as of the events of TESVI. From the city's origins and its founder, to the origin of the name Hew's Bane, it seems very thought out. I think one could argue that Abah's Landing was renamed to Gilane at some point, though, with characters like Doctor Nabeth al-Gilane, Gilane could also be retconned into being the name of a region. Like Hew's Bane is located in southern Khefrem, Gilane could be located in northern Khefrem and be home to Oulnim Gate and the Khefrem Academy of Yokudan Heritage.

Secondly, new information points to the Celestials from Craglorn, at least at some point, being considered to be the obscure deities from Daggerfall. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/554f9eb0e4b051fccebe7fcb/555022cbe4b01d087a8db4cf/5552dbc9e4b051de24bd19ef/1431556236083/char_6.jpg?format=1000w and http://static1.squarespace.com/static/554f9eb0e4b051fccebe7fcb/555022cbe4b01d087a8db4cf/5552dbcae4b01424fe40d501/1431556242948/char_7.jpg?format=2500w, according to this early concept art. This has many implications for these obscure deities, and would explain why Ebonarm was removed from "From the Memory Stone of Makela Leki". The idea was clearly rejected, at least to a degree, prompting for a somewhat less interesting questline. But the correlation seems so obvious now. Hel Ra Citadel is where the Warrior is faced. The name "Hel Ra" translates to "Communion" and "Great" or "Warrior" as in "Great Wave" or "Warrior Wave". But the name takes on a whole other meaning when we consider that the Warrior was once planned to be Ebonarm, Hel Ra being the Citadel of Ebonarm.

Sai, the God of Luck, could be the Thief. That way, the Celestials of ancient Nedic tradition could be explained as being adopted by the Redguards, now the obscure deities of Ebonarm, Ius and Sai, with the Serpent remaining as Sep, the Oldest Ghost. Also, how about a conspiracy in which the Forebear merchant lords of Taneth are financing the Nordic reavers of the Bend'r-Mahk to conquer Dragonstar and their chief rival of Elinhir? Could be very interesting, especially for the Kogo-Hi of Elinhir. While the Forebears are more accepting of mages, the Crowns are far less accepting of the Nudri-Hi, or "foreign magic" and Elinhir has had a bad history with renegade mages guilds. While they may have an understanding with the High Prophet of Elinhir, similar to that of the Blackcasters, the Nords are far more accepting of the "Clever Craft".

Then if ES6 was in Hammerfell, the Dragontails would be a major region of activity, what with the Nords threatening war.

But why would the Nords do something so stupid? Why not ally with the Ra Gada against the hated Thalmor?

Have you met the Stormcloaks? Bout as bright as those Nords who keep losing their pants.


Frankly though, I think having Skyrim succeed in the intervening period would be a bad decision on Bethesda's part. Roughly half (a bit more, by most polls I've seen) of players side with the Empire on the issue, so having the Stormcloaks win would cause unnecessary friction. Particularly if we arent going straight for the Dominion in the next game, but addressing a peripheral province (Hammerfell or Blackmarsh) it would be better to have the Civil War ongoing, to maintain the validity of player allegiances in Skyrim. Then, in the following game, you can resolve it however you want without ruffling as many feathers.

This would not be "all" the Nords, but a fringe group. The Dragonstar East enclave in north-eastern Hammerfell, bolstered by the flow of Nordic refugees from Skyrim due to the devastation and mass famine caused by the Stormcloak Rebellion. The idea is that the ending of the Civil War questline would be left ambiguous. If the HoonDing were to ask, a refugee would give an answer akin to "My brother was hanged for being a Stormcloak supporter, our homestead was burned because my father served in the Imperial Legion. Who won the war? No one." The enclave would have been at peace with the Redguards for decades prior, but the Stormcloak Rebellion brought back the "bad old days" when a bandit can kill a Jarl and take his place, should he have the bigger army. The conflict in the Dragontail Mountains would be the result of this, dispossessed Nords filtering into the Bend'r-Mahk, allowing for wouldbe warlords to rally them behind a cause - to claim Dragonstar and the Bend'r-Mahk and make a better life for themselves and their families.

As Lachdonin said, perhaps the Civil War could be still ongoing? We could even hear some details and first-hand accounts. Something like "Did you know I saw the Dragonborn once? Wasn't what I expected." or "I was there, when Windhelm fell. Ulfric may be gone, but his rebellion lives on!". The war would still be ongoing, but, mostly in the Old Holds, the Stormcloaks holding back Imperial reinforcement while both sides deal with the Falmer and the Forsworn, which could appear in small quantities in Hammerfell. Reachmen raiders are certainly a possibility, and Falmer Ice Tribes were present in Glacier Crawl, just over the border in High Rock. Dragonstar would be a major city with a strong Nordic influence, one that would be even stronger in the village of Snowline, while Azra's Crossing would remain Yokudan. Elinhir would of course have a strong Colovian influence, reflected in its style of architecture, while Belkarth would remain Yokudan. For the Nords of Dragonstar, the only real enemy would be the Redguards who control Dragonstar West.

I was playing orcinium in ESO,so i would go with High-rock,adamantine tower,dwemer ruins-ayleyd ruins-ancient nordic toombs-mines-caves.And all regions of it so different,notrh of High-rock is harsh or dead,west(daggerfall-wayrest)is more like a Cyrodiil but just a bit darker)and east is more like Skyrim(snow,nordic toombs)also a lot of orcs strongholds.So yeah,in my opinion this province have a lot of lore to tell.But if you want something new then Hammerfell,i also had and idea to make both High-rock and Hammerfell,if you want something allien like Morrowind then Summer-set if perfect choise,and this province looks gorgeous .

They didn't lose them, they know exactly where they are: with those dastardly witches.

Going back to basics, I think the Devotees of Satakal, being an obscure but severe religious faction, could be the conduit by which the player character - the HoonDing, could face a potentially world-ending threat specific to Yokudan culture. Aided by Blades in hiding and later on the Ansei, which I believe have survived into the Fourth Era only through the thuggish cult that is the Order of Diagna, the player character would face off against the Devotees of Satakal, eventually becoming known as "the HoonDing" due to their deeds and mastery of Sword-Singing. In this case, Sword-Singing would manifest not only through the Shehai or "Spirit-Sword" but through various offensive and defensive abilities. Sword-Singers are essentially Yokudan battlemages and spellswords, utilising tonal magic and "sand and wind magic" to give them a certain edge and shape the flow of battle.

As for the Devotees, I think they could control vast portions of Hammerfell's wasteland. It is the Deathland after all, a graveyard of past civilisations. Those unaligned tribes that would become the deep desert nomads would live in isolated cliffside settlements and the ruins of past civilisations. The Devotees, which were exiled centuries ago in the Late-Second Era, found shelter with these nomads, and now that Hammerfell is free from the yoke of the Empire, they are making their return. From the underground halls and mountaintop monasteries of Ska'vyn, to the northern Strident Coast and the bustling harbors of Rihad, the Devotees can be found, preaching of the coming Time of Ending. According to the rumors, their true numbers are unknowable, but supposedly beyond imagining and that they've bound the aspects of the gods Ebonarm, Ius and Sai to do their bidding.

I'd like to visit Alinor. We've had two consecutive mannish provinces, and I'd like to see something both alien and possessing a high fantasy aesthetic. In addition, it'd allow me to turn those smug Thalmor into purple glitter progress and resolve existing plots and plausibly tackle an already known world-ending threat. Not to mention it'd allow for quite a few interesting places to visit, like Artaeum or the ruins of Crystal Tower, and it'd be great to expand on the lore of Aldmeri myth and deities.

Going by information introduced by ESO, we can divide Hammerfell into a few distinct regions. The north is dominated by the Dragontail Mountains, transitioning from the hollow wastes of the Alik'r into the sun-forged badlands of Dak'fron, the highlands of Craglorn and the diaputed valleys of the Bend'r-Mahk, also known as Upper Craglorn. The Alik'r on the other hand dominates the west, running from thr isolated oases and cliffs of Dragongrove and along the sandy beaches of Myrkwasa to the fertile coastal plains and marshy forests of Tigonus. Finally, the south is dominated by Khefrem, a large coastal region, encompassing the Strident, Hew's Bane and Stonemoor.

I really hope TES VI is set in Hammerfell.

I love Morrowind but if Hammerfell would have the world building of Skyrim, the world could be at least as diverse as Oblivion's regions.

The way I see it, Hammerfell is mostly desert, transitioning into mountains and rocky wastes to the north-east, then into highlands and even snowy pine forests. The south would be much more fertile, similar to the Gold Coast in many ways, while the regions surrounding Sentinel would be host to fertile plains vast coastal marshes. All this, with lush oases spread about. As for subregions similar to that of an island or a large cavern such as Blackreach, Stros M'Kai and the Chain offer an isolated but still teeming with life setting, and large caverns and isolated valleys can surely be found in the Dragontail Mountains, being host to long-abandoned Nedic cities and Dwarven freeholds, perhaps even some hidden Elven citadels, belonging to the Direnni, the Ayleids, or even the Falmer.

As for dungeons, Hammerfell's core dungeons would likely be Nedic ruined cities, Dwarven factories and freeholds and Yokudan necropoli, temples and citadels, the latter sometimes being occupied, similar to Imperial Forts or Dunmeri Strongholds. Some Elven ruins, as mentioned previously, could definitely make an appearance as well, such as those featured in ESO and perhaps a secret "Ald Hegathe" district located under the city of Hegathe, now long since flooded. Volenfell would likely constitute a very large dungeon as well. I picture it as a massive domed city, located in the crater created by Volendrung, now long since buried. Finally, there is the issue of "Nchu Dubathar", a mysterious ruin the Dragontail Mountains, inaccessible as of the events of ESO, which is suspect to be Fang Lair.

Hey all. 6 being set in Hammerfell makes a lot of sense, IMO. Obviously I'd rather it be set in Elsweyr, but continuing with the current storyline, its logical the focus would shift to the West of Tamriel. In any case, I'd love to roam around the Alikr or linger in the coastal towns!

I dunno, I think Hammerfell is too similar to Skyrim to be an ideal setting for TES VI. Largely inhospitable land dotted with mannish and dwemer ruins, warrior culture that hates the Thalmor, has a disdain for magic, and possesses their own rare, unique sort-of-magical art, whose mythology features a reptilian world-eating god linked to the cosmic cycle of destruction and rebirth, and the lack of a truly satisfying opportunity to stick it to the Thalmor. It'd basically be Skyrim 2.

Not necessarily. It all depends on how they portray everything. They could make Rourken ruins similar, they could make them totally unique from anything we've seen. As for the other parte, Hammerfell is the most geographically diverse region left, and it also is arguably the most exotic human region in terms of its beastiary. The main antagonist might not be Satakal, either, and if the devotees are present, it could feel more like we're up against a death cult that had infiltrated society. If they were creative enough, it could be something totally unique. I also think that the potential for political conflicts renders is an interesting setting as well (potential for crowns, forebears, lhotunics, orsiniumites, dragonstar rebel factions, thalmor, imperial/penitus, and the blades to all be vying for political control).

These are good points. I think a game set in Elsweyr could be good. With a variety of environment types from tropical forests to dusty badlands, an interesting culture, and a variety of potential factions (including anti-Thalmor ones), I believe Elsweyr would make for a fun game. Still, I'd be fine with Hammerfell.

Perhaps, but I'd much prefer something that's a greater departure from Skyrim, and would provide the opportunity to progress current plots, answer unanswered questions, and tackle threats to Tamriel that have already been alluded to. To me, Hammerfell feels like a distraction and sideshow in the current scheme of things in Tamriel, and Bethesda doesn't release TES titles regularly enough to make that appealing to me.

I see it as a good transition into the final decline of man, which seems to be the focus of this arc. After this, I think we will transition into mer regions, as to symbolize the reign of man coming to an end.


I do understand the sentiment about wanting something stranger, but yeah. Personally, the setting is among the least of my concerns, considering the studio's biggest strength being worldbuilding.


I see Hammerfell more through the roleplay/political/factional/cultural opportunities it could provide an emphasis to, beyond some other regions.


Also, I'd prefer to face the Thalmor through more espionage situations, rather than a head-on collision with them, which I think is too soon. I'd like that creepy subterfuge vibe to be expanded on.

The problem is that Bethesda takes its sweet time making TES titles, especially now that they're also working on Fallout. I don't want the current story arc to take 20 years to even remotely resolve. I certainly don't want to have to wait decades before we get to actually strike at the Thalmor rather than just impotently thwarting their more remote operations.

I on the other hand, don't want them to bullrush to a conclusion when they have such an awesome enemy in hand, and so many potential stories to build up the conflict. I don't mind if it takes 20 years to get to the main fight, if it means the story and the buildup has suspense and pacing.

The absolute worst thing they could do is Skyrim-Quest all over probably the most interesting story they've had since the series began.

Frankly I don't think the Thalmor need that much building up. They've already been alluded to in TES IV (possibly), on the forums, in the novels, and finally came into the role as a potentially world-ending threat in TES V. They've had plenty of buildup, and the threat to the world they pose seems as the logical progression from TES V. To take multiple games beyond what we already have to get anywhere isn't buildup, that's milking, and frankly, I'd much rather resolve it sooner rather than later, lest TES become yet another grimdark fantasy- a tiresome trend among fantasy CRPGs that is getting under my skin. The Oblivion Crisis, which was foreshadowed twice in TES III, didn't need several games to resolve. Thwarting some side plot in Hammerfell doesn't sound fulfilling to me, and if it revolves around Alduin 2.0 Satakal, that's even worse.

Sorry if I get heated over this, it's just that I really want to tackle the threat of the Thalmor directly, I feel they've been built up enough, and I really want to explore a setting with a more high fantasy aesthetic and a strong emphasis on magic, as a contrast to Skyrim's boisterous, low fantasy, martially inclined feel.

You could have an invasion by the Thalmor of Hammerfell, that would cripple the Thalmor if they lost. Maybe the main leader(s) of the Thalmor turn up halfway through the main quest and the final boss battle sees us defeating them.

Then TES7 can take place in dominion lands, where we see the crumbling of Thalmor control as we face against .

Isn't Hammerfell too warrior - oriented?

Thieves and especially mages were aggrieved about Skyrim's warrior 'centricity.' Going to Hammerfell re-opens that wound.

I think it goes far beyond the warrior "centricity" of Skyrim, at least in some regards. Though, I suppose that would continue with a theme sort of established in Skyrim. Due to the Oblivion Crisis, magic has become distrusted by the humans of the Empire. This of course led to the disbanding of the Mages Guild and the subsequent rise of the bureaucracy-obsessed Synod and College of Whispers. Only smaller factions, such as the College of Winterhold or any number of wizardly fraternities and small academies in High Rock, could endure in a world, where magic was more distrusted than ever before. This distrust would also likely worsen the divide between the orthodox, Nord-influenced Colovians and the Nibenese, which at a time were ruled by a battlemage aristocracy and continue to turn a blind eye to the many cults of Nibenay, some Daedric in nature.

In such a word, how would a mages guild in Hammerfell ever prosper? The only real independent mages guild we know of was the Blackcaster Mages Guild, a renegade guild that extorted Elinhir for protection and ultimately were corrupted by Sep, the Snake, leading to their destruction. In the time since the Interregnum, a new mages guild or "Kogo-Hi" could have taken up residence in Elinhir, though, they would likely be hated and feared, at least to some degree. I'd imagine mages would make their headquarters in the Apex Towers of Elinhir, serving as Elinhir's protectors, in exchange for being allowed residence. However, shadows from the past would threaten the Kogo-Hi, for the shadow of the Blackcasters still lingers over Elinhir, and there would be some seeking the Kogo-Hi's destruction and some who would seek the Blackcaster Guild's restoration.

Although the location is probably already determined, I really hope they set the next single player game in the Aldmeri Dominion. We have already had single player games that focus on Daggerfall and Ebonheart areas such as Skyrim, Morrowind, Hammerfell, Highrock. But we haven't had a single player game focus on Valenwood and Elsweyr. The Altmer and their influence have only been hinted at in previous games. They take kind of take a back seat role in the games. Also, the Khajiit and Bosmer lore needs to be explored more. Ebonheart and Daggerfall have had their day in the sun, the Dominion needs its day.

As a side note, I think it would be great to bring back and updated version of Cyrodiil and especially the Imperial City. It would be interesting to see what has happened there since the previous installment.