The undead in the ruins... : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:38 am

I have played through all the quests of Oblivion a dozen times over and have seen many Ayleid ruins, but I still don't know how all the undead got there. Most of them are probably would be adventurers like you and me, but how were they raised to undeath? Do necromancers just run in, raise them, and just run? What is the explanation?

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:48 am

Good question.

I've no idea how they become undead.

I'll ask that this is moved to the lore forums though, as they'd probably know.

» Fri May 27, 2011 6:45 pm

though there are some places where i have had encounters with undead without necromancers, such as the dark brotherhood quest where you fake a dudes death, but that i interpreted that there was a curse to raise the dead.

to kinda answer your question: zombies can walk and have arms, maybe they walk around and go where ever they want?

» Fri May 27, 2011 8:23 pm

I have played through all the quests of Oblivion a dozen times over and have seen many Ayleid ruins, but I still don't know how all the undead got there. Most of them are probably would be adventurers like you and me, but how were they raised to undeath? Do necromancers just run in, raise them, and just run? What is the explanation?

Honestly, I was in some Ayleid Ruins yesterday and wandering the same thing.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:56 am

hey, it seems like i head somewhere that ayleid ruins were kinda magical, if thats the case maybe the ruin itsself made them undead?

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:17 am

though there are some places where i have had encounters with undead without necromancers, such as the dark brotherhood quest where you fake a dudes death, but that i interpreted that there was a curse to raise the dead.

to kinda answer your question: zombies can walk and have arms, maybe they walk around and go where ever they want?

So a large concentration of them just happen to enter an Ayleid ruin that could possibly be hermetically shut for a couple thousand years? Are ruins even air locked?

» Fri May 27, 2011 8:40 pm

Oblivion just does whatever it wants.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:59 am

I have played through all the quests of Oblivion a dozen times over and have seen many Ayleid ruins, but I still don't know how all the undead got there. Most of them are probably would be adventurers like you and me, but how were they raised to undeath? Do necromancers just run in, raise them, and just run? What is the explanation?

The bodies and souls of the dead can be bound to the mortal plane; and once they have been bound, they remain. This may be done to provide guards for a tomb or treasure trove; before the Sixth House crisis and the Ghostfence, Dunmer would do this to the more worthless of their ancestors, in the hope that they may serve after death when they served not in life. Since they surely did not invent the custom out of thin air but more likely got it from their ancestors, it's not unreasonable that the Ayleids would have done the same.

» Fri May 27, 2011 8:07 pm

The bodies and souls of the dead can be bound to the mortal plane; and once they have been bound, they remain. This may be done to provide guards for a tomb or treasure trove; before the Sixth House crisis and the Ghostfence, Dunmer would do this to the more worthless of their ancestors, in the hope that they may serve after death when they served not in life. Since they surely did not invent the custom out of thin air but more likely got it from their ancestors, it's not unreasonable that the Ayleids would have done the same.

That would make sense if the the point in time was much earlier, but these are random adventurers going dungeon diving, and once dead, turn into zombies or spirits shortly afterwards. I want to know why they do so particularly in Ayleid ruins or old, abandoned forts. If there are curses put there, how did they know people are going to plunder the place, or even if it would exist shortly after the Elves' dissappearance?

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:59 am

That would make sense if the the point in time was much earlier, but these are random adventurers going dungeon diving, and once dead, turn into zombies or spirits shortly afterwards. I want to know why they do so particularly in Ayleid ruins or old, abandoned forts. If there are curses put there, how did they know people are going to plunder the place, or even if it would exist shortly after the Elves' dissappearance?

Firstly, there is no thelling whether they are adventurers or not.
Secondly, it's game mechanics. I doubt there are more we could squeeze out of it than Dogsbody just said.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:08 am

I imagine there are undead in Ayleid ruins the same reason that there are undead in Dwemer ruins. However, because the Ayleids DID leave corpses behind, their ruins have a lot more undead.

Although some ruins are haunted because of the necromancers staying there.

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:48 am

Why are there caves with random carnivorous animals inside? Especially, since that cave has a door. It's game mechanics.

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:33 am

Think about it. These are undead. And What do undead like, besides human flesh? The dark. Ayleid ruins are dark. The population of the undead in Tamriel is so large that they have to concentrate in these few dark areas. It's as simple as that.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:36 am

Two answers sound the most feasible.

The fact that there is an unimaginable amount of magicka, glistening around in those ruins, could be the cause of the reanimation of the flesh.

OR

The Ayleid left ancestors to guard the treasures of their tomb/temples.

However, these ruins are over...3000 years old I believe, so how on earth all of these ruins still have guardians is beyond me.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:11 am

I thought zombies were there because of the liches that inhabit some of the ruins. Or perhaps some of the ayleids souls were left behind in the ruins and after such a long time the lost souls went insane and started inhabiting the corpses of people who happened to wander into traps among the ruins....

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:51 am

However, these ruins are over...3000 years old I believe, so how on earth all of these ruins still have guardians is beyond me.

Its possible that the Ayleids had some sort of advanced preservation technique, and were able to presrve their dead for quite some time. Or there may very well be a zombo-skelomatic feild that spawns undead.

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:52 pm

Think about it. These are undead. And What do undead like, besides human flesh? The dark. Ayleid ruins are dark. The population of the undead in Tamriel is so large that they have to concentrate in these few dark areas. It's as simple as that.

Why is it that I have seen liches, skeletons, and zombies out in the daylight in certain places? Why in or around old forts? And since when do undead like the dark? The necromancers that raise the dead hide in the dark, but the undead themselves are too stupid and bloodthirsty to actually mind where they are at times, maybe excepting liches.

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:26 am

The alyied used undead guardians when they existed. Like 3000 years ago it mentions this in a book, i think it was called the last alyieds or something and it says that during their reign they used undead to guard their cities, and tombs.....

» Fri May 27, 2011 7:07 pm

Firstly, there is no thelling whether they are adventurers or not.
Secondly, it's game mechanics. I doubt there are more we could squeeze out of it than Dogsbody just said.

What else could they be besides adventurers, criminals, ect.?

» Fri May 27, 2011 6:08 pm

What else could they be besides adventurers, criminals, ect.?

the ancient undead of the ayleids, and their slaves, still maintained by the magics which caused them to rise.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:25 am

the ancient undead of the ayleids, and their slaves, still maintained by the magics which caused them to rise.

Where did they get the new weapons and such? I don't see how the ruins prevented them from crumbling into dust if they allowed bodies to decompose.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:09 am

Where did they get the new weapons and such? I don't see how the ruins prevented them from crumbling into dust if they allowed bodies to decompose.

Gameplay Gameplay Gameplay.

That's why.

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:16 am

Well if you don't like how undead are the mod MMM for oblivon fixes that problem quite nicely.....it addes realisticly rusted and broken weapons, and it gives undead a new flavor, like some undead are recently killed adventures, some thousands of years old and they're half torsoed...ect.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:59 am

It's always possible that the Ayleids either magically or chemically preserved their dead.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:51 am

It's game mechanics.

That has to be the only right answer otherwise you would have to explain why the world was linked to your character and everything became stronger along with your character.