When reading through these forums, I always see people eager to see M'aiq in this game.

I've only seen him once or twice, and he didn't really do much in Oblivion.

So what's so special about him?

He is kinda like the ultimate TES easter egg....he says some funny things, and is just a reminder of times before...as far as functionality...well that is something beyond him...

I guess people think he's funny. And he was in Morrowind and Oblivion, so he's kind of a running gag in ES games. Personally I wouldn't mind if he's in Skyrim, but I wouldn't be disappointed if he was not in either. I think he was fun in Morrowind because he was special, but if you tell the same joke twice (or even thrice) it gets a bit old.

He's basically the developers doorway into the fantasy world of TES.

He generally talks about forum memes, game bugs, future TES-lore or things that weren't included in the game.

In Morrowind, M'aiq was a liar, and everything he said couldn't be trusted. In Oblivion, his comments are all a matter of sly meta-humor, often referring either to comments in the forums, or to the previous game. He's fun to have around.

He was the only interesting or entertaining character in Oblivion.

As for game-play absolutely nothing. As for humor priceless.

But M'aiq isn't necessarily a joke told over and over...its more like an accumulating joke. In MW he was new and fresh...in OB he was more of a connection to the real world and told joke references to himself in MW...

M'aiq knows many things others do not.

Almost everything...his comments on the Shrine of Boethiah being the exception.

That, and the meta-humor was there all along. From Morrowind: Multiplayer: "M'Aiq does not know this word. You wish others to help you in your quest? Coward! If you must, search for the Argonian Im-Leet, or perhaps the big Nord, Rolf the Uber. They will certainly wish to join you."

Blasphemous OP...

Hes the ultimate easter egg. He makes quotes from these forums and explains (in his own way) why some things are left from game

He is the embodiment of the Dev's smart-ass responses to things people continually ask them to add into the game but they don't . Just look'em up on UESP.

He's essentially there to break the game's immersion by saying random things as a clever, semi-immersive response to the forum community's requests, like jokes about werewolves, spears, throwing weapons, dragons, horses, multiplayer, children, and on and on and on....

He's there purely for the lulz, nothing more.

It is the devs communication with the community (us), so of course he means a lot to us.

Exactly. I like to think of M'aiq as an avatar of the developers, with the intent to convey their opinions back to the members of this forum.

"What's so special about M'aiq?"

Gasp... Oh no you didn't! He is just an awesome, reoccurring easter egg, who should be dead after 200 years.

I hope M'aiq will have some nice secrets to tell as well, that we have to judge ourselves if it's a lie or not. Like in Morrowind.

M'aiq there told us of a sunken ruin on the west coast of Vvardenfell. It finally lead you to a sunken daedric ruin and after that to something very powerful and secret...
It was really fun. And cool.

I hope something like that will be in Skyrim.

He is like Cid in the Final Fantasy games assuming they keep using him.

In MW, didn't he also tell us about the mudcrab merchant?

Yes, he did. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:M%27Aiq_the_Liar

In Oblivion, he was a way for the developer's to be joke about features they didn't think were needed. I found his inclusion rather pretentious.

I could say the same about spelling Celtic with a K. In all seriousness though it's just a bit of fun so his inclusion needn't be anolysed.

Yeah, like other people here have said, he's the developers way of slyly hinting at the things they thought of adding to the game, or originally had but took out. Maiq can also refer to things that people here on the forums have said or asked for. He is just an easter egg in the form of a speaking character. He was also in Morrowind and served the same purpose. It would be nice to see him again, as all the players who encountered him in MW and OB have become sentimentally attached to him.

If you go to the Elder Scrolls UESP Wiki, you can see some of the quotes that Maiq says in both games. See if you can work out what he is talking about. ^^

I suppose it is pretentious, as I automatically assume that a large percentage of people pronounce it in a way which is incongruous to it's origins, although until recently, academically mainstream. (Unless you speak french, it's a hard C, not "seltic" like the poorly named basketball team) Comes from the Greek "Κελτο?," or "Keltoi." *from wikipedia: it is also spelled Keltic when referring to a subset of the Nordic race in the work of a "scientific racist," Carleton Coon. Huh. Learn something new every day.

Anyways. I feel like the Oblivion version of M'aiq was more annoying, while the original mentions liches, multiplayer, horses, and climbing...things that were either never planned for the series (multiplayer) or had been removed from Daggerfall. Now, while I can't agree that they should have been removed, the difference in scope and scale between Daggerfall and Morrowind necessitated that something be cut. However, we expected some of those complex features returned with Oblivion. And yet, more was cut and less was added to replace it.

There are, of course, differing opinions on the subject.