Yeah, also thought the Summersets thing in Fallout 4 wasn't accidental. Made me wonder.

Before or after the Thalmor took over?

Well, humans could be something like a lower caste/slaves that can walk around but are treated everywhere with scorn, suspicion and disdain. Like, some merchants refuse to deal with humans until you prove your worth. There can be black markets you need access to. It can be pretty cool if done right.

I don't see why not- I've heard nothing suggesting that they're barred or anything like that. More relevantly, according to his http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Venarus_Vulpin%27s_Journal, Venarus Vulpin, an Imperial vampire, resided in Alinor prior to heading to Skyrim. He did apparently to run afoul of the local authorities, but that was more likely due to the fact that he was a murdering bloodsvcker.

I suspect the answer to that would be NO.

Consider:

In the port cities, non-Altmer will likely have to register with the authorities and carry papers. If they tried to leave the port city and travel in the interior, I would bet that they would require special permissions and the traveler would have to present documents on demand to authority figures.

The Thalmor are uber-fascist in outlook. They'll be control freaks in Alinor, showing hostility to anyone not Altmer.

Of course, this assumes that the Thalmor have firm control over all of Summerset. That might not necessarily be the case in an ES game, where the province is typically in deep crisis and order - political, social and legal - is breaking down.

Agreed.

Towards the end of the 3rd Era, Summerset was starting to open up and accept foreigners and other cultures onto the Isles. As recently as 3E300, non-Altmer were strictly forbidden from occupying certain social ranks in the Isles, and if the PGE 1st Edition remained true, were greatly restricted in their travel (though, that was written before Tiber Septim unleashed the Numidium on Alinor...).

Based on what we know of the aftermath of the Thalmor take over, things probably got a hell of a lot worse for non-Altmer, and probably not any better for Altmer either... We know that the Thalmor were engaged in purges of bloodlines in Valenwood and Balfiera, and brutally hunted dissidents within their own borders and beyond. Everything we have on them points to an iron fisted choakhold on resources, travel and civil privileges, with a heavy predisposition towards more archaic Altmeri social stratification and a sense of purity.

Even members of their client races, the Khajiit and Bosmer, are probably heavily restricted on the Isles. I would be surprised if Humans are aloud there in anything but irons.

Typically, Summerset has mad extensive use of slaves, particularly goblins, for that. Orcs were a common slave-race as well, up until they gained official status as 'People' following the Warp in the West.

Summerset has almost always been a hostile place for non-Altmer. And it's not likely to be a more welcoming land now that people like the Thalmor are in charge.

Of course it would be hostile. I think no one is disputing that. But there's a Sadrith Mora-level of hostility and then there's something impossible for gameplay reasons. Keep in mind that it's a game. If TES 6 is set in Alinor, Bethesda can and will add to the lore to explain why humans can walk around. It can be done without much difficulty.

Looking at the potential dungeons in Hammerfell, it is plain to see that Yokudan dungeons, coming in the varieties of tombs, citadels and possibly shrines, as well as the Dwarven ruins of the Rourken will be the majority, with abandoned Imperial forts, Nedic holdfasts and ruined Elven cities being strawn about the province, Elven ruins appears along the coasts, Nedic ruins in the north and east and so forth. Furthermore, aside from Nedic Wights and Liches, Yokudan ruin have "Guardians", animated status of stone and sand, similar to animated Terracotta warriors, as well as Mournful Aegises, Gargoyles and Mummies. The last one in particular - Mummies, could be the Ra-Netu, otherwise known as consecrated dead risen as zombies through necromancy, thus preventing honorable Redguards from slaying them, out of respect for the dead.

On a related note, I think that sword-singing should not simply be a gimmick that replaces spells like the Thu'um. It should be a series of special techniques, either adopted as stances or simply moves one can perform while using a melee weapon, if not specifically a sword of some kind. And of course, the Shehai itself would be a powerful conjured sword, one that can break the guard of any other weapon as well as perry any strike, provided that weapon is not a Shehai as well. A powerful ranged attack, similar to that of the Bloodskaal Blade, could also be inflicted through a power attack. We already have some interesting techniques listed, such as the Ephemeral Feint, the Threat of Mirrors and of course, the Pankratosword. In the end, I think sword-singing should sacrifice choice for immersion. For only an Ansei can truly best an Ansei.

We already have this passage.

I really should spend more time around the docks, these Altmer are too thin blooded for my taste.

So the city docks have plenty of non-Altmer, although whether they're stuck living there by decree (like the case with Windhelm's Argonians) or by economic state of being disliked outsiders is unknown. It also implies that Venarus, an Imperial, can venture into the city. It's still ambiguous though, since Venarus clearly has no regard for laws.

I think we can safely make the following conclusions about an ES game in Summerset:

1. If the Thalmor are strong, non-Altmer will be allowed in-province only under certain conditions, with those conditions becoming more severe as the non-Altmer PC distances himself/herself from a port city.

2. If the Thalmor are weak or the province is otherwise in disarray (as is typical for ES games), non-Altmer PC will have much greater freedom of movement, though that may be restricted in areas still firmly controlled by the Thalmor.

To put it more plainly: since I'll be playing mostly Nord characters, I think I'll be able to play a Summerset-based game, but might run into some difficulties or challenges regarding movement thru the province.

Is the general consensus that the next game will be Summerset-based? Could someone list the say top 3 most likely provinces for the next game to me? I'm coming very very late to this discussion (party).

When Skyrim first came out I thought I heard most people betting on Elswer?(sp) or Valenwood? However I remember hearing the latter would be hard to do because of walking forests and weird [censored]. I remember reading the Infernal City when that book first came out, does that book have an relevance to a future TES game?

In Oblivion there were in game references to Skyrim and what was happening there, is there a lot of that in Skyrim that leads people to believe Summerset? Or is it simply because the Thalmor are the main villainous faction who is clearly far from being in its last game?

Thanks in advance.

Why could those conclusions be safely made? With the Bosmer and Khajiit provinces also part of the Aldmeri Dominion, can they shut out all non-Altmer without causing a rift with their own allies? And where do they draw the line? Do they allow members of a "filthy beast race" in but bar "foreign but still superior-blooded elves", or the inverse, showing more respect to pointy-eared foreigners over loyal vassals? And would the Thalmor really be that insistent on keeping non-Altmer out? It's not like they have to worry about Blades infiltrators anymore, what with the few survivors being only concerned with killing dragons.

We've been discussing and debating for probably 2 years now.

Hammerfell is considered highly likely because it's considered 'safe' (a human province) and provides many advantages: a desert terrain for those tired of the snows of skyrim, with lots of northern and eastern mountainous geography for those who actually aren't tired of it. Also, 'sword singing' might be the acquirable power in Hammerfell to 'match' the Thu'um of Skyrim. There are other reasons as well, not the least being it looks like a wildly fun and interesting province.

Valenwood has been discussed. Without question it would be interesting, and it was mentioned more than once as a troubled region in ES5.

The beast provinces are both possible, but there is concern that Bethesda might chicken out and not have the confidence in their storytelling skills to make those provinces appealing enough to an audience that at this point is truly huge.

Think about it:

If the province is in disorder, a PC of any race should be able to move around more or less freely (with the exceptions noted.)

If the province is under tight Thalmor control, only an Altmer PC should be able to move about unrestricted or with very light restrictions. Everyone else will have some degree of problems. One would guess the Bosmer and Khajiit would have less than the others, but probably still some - after all, they aren't Altmer, and I would bet the Thalmor look down on them as 'vassals.' Everyone else, and especially Imperials, Nords and Ra Gada, would probably be treated very impolitely and would be subject to heavy security scrutiny.

Granted, the Thalmor probably don't have to worry about Blades agents. But what about the Penitus Oculatus? What of Ra Gada intelligence agents? The Thalmor are authoritarian and security would undoubtedly be a continuing concern for them.

Since when has TES ever taken place in a time of stability and control? With things as they are, any number of things could happen to make the Thalmor either make concessions, or be unable to enforce such a doctrine. Maormer incursions (they've had more than enough time to rebuild, and the Thalmor can't ask the Psijics to bail them out this time), a second war with the Empire going south (literally and figuratively), civil unrest for any number of reasons, or heck, economic troubles.

I don't know what the "consensus" is exactly (although Hammerfell seems to be the single most popular one around here), but it's ultimately meaningless because we have very little beyond wild speculation and wishful thinking to go on.

I bet you're right. If we go to Summerset, it will very likely be during a period of profound crisis for the province, with Maormer and Sload projecting menace while the cities internal to the province break into factions, some of them even warring with each other. The Psijics could play a mighty interesting role in such chaotic conditions.

This means little. Cyrodiil (and the Imperial City in particular) was a highly unusual place in the lore. But Oblivion stripped all of the weirdness out of the province and turned it into something pretty banol. The same thing could happen to any of the other provinces in Tamriel.