The Elder Scrolls

[Schizo Carmen Sandiego]

That doesn't explain why in 200 years Dunmer are still in shit.

A true Dunmer would rather be homeless than work a beast-race job.

 

[Microplastics In My Blood]

The Nordic culture being gutted is a crime that I will never forgive Bethesda for. They turned a really interesting and unique people into tall, pale, racist imperials who talk funny.

The way I always viewed Nords was that they had strong beliefs in honour, bravery, loyalty and respect for their traditions. They weren't racist in the way of "ew fucking greyskins breathing the same air as me" (funnily enough that was more how Dunmer acted) it was "these are the things I view as really important for living a good life and most non-Nords don't live up to it."

I always got the sense that if a Nord came across a Dunmer who was honourable, brave and loyal and didn't shit all over the Nord way of life then they would embrace that Dunmer like a brother. Sort of how the Imperial Legion was most opposed by Redoran, yet the Legion respected Redoran over the other houses. I imagine Nords would have a similar dynamic. iirc they (or at least their Atmoran ancestors) gave a Lavish burial to the Snow Prince even though he was the representative of a race that tried to genocide them, because they respected him as a leader and warrior.

Also fuck Bethesda for removing the Nord Pantheon from Skyrim. It makes the world less interesting, doesn't make sense from a lore perspective and seemingly was done to appeal to the lowest denominator of Oblivion players.

 

[Meat Target]

The Nordic culture being gutted is a crime that I will never forgive Bethesda for. They turned a really interesting and unique people into tall, pale, racist imperials who talk funny.

The way I always viewed Nords was that they had strong beliefs in honour, bravery, loyalty and respect for their traditions. They weren't racist in the way of "ew fucking greyskins breathing the same air as me" (funnily enough that was more how Dunmer acted) it was "these are the things I view as really important for living a good life and most non-Nords don't live up to it."

I always got the sense that if a Nord came across a Dunmer who was honourable, brave and loyal and didn't shit all over the Nord way of life then they would embrace that Dunmer like a brother. Sort of how the Imperial Legion was most opposed by Redoran, yet the Legion respected Redoran over the other houses. I imagine Nords would have a similar dynamic. iirc they (or at least their Atmoran ancestors) gave a Lavish burial to the Snow Prince even though he was the representative of a race that tried to genocide them, because they respected him as a leader and warrior.

I didn't get the impression that Nords were ever racist just to be dicks. They only hold it against other races if they infringe on their way of life.

In "Scourge of the Gray Quarter", which I mentioned above, the writer contrasts how the Dunmer in Riften have become contributing members of society unlike the layabouts in the Gray Quarter.

Also fuck Bethesda for removing the Nord Pantheon from Skyrim.

Aside from more niche deities that predate the Imperial Cult, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Those would take the form of folk religions (such as the Skaal and their "All-Maker"), rather than institutionalized churches.

Race-specific pantheons in TES are combinations of Aedra and Daedra using local names. Akatosh and Lorkhan are common to basically all of them, though each race has a different version of the myths.

The Nords call their favorite gods by their Nordic names: Ysmir (Talos), Shor (Lorkhan), Kyne (Kynareth), etc. Alduin calls himself the "Firstborn of Akatosh", and there are some who believe Akatosh and Alduin are one in the same.

It makes the world less interesting, doesn't make sense from a lore perspective and seemingly was done to appeal to the lowest denominator of Oblivion players.

The OG Nords that came from Atmora were the first humans in Tamriel. Imperials are their descendants and cousins. Tiber Septim was a Nord.

The Civil War is a symptom of Skyrim's postwar religious and cultural identity crisis. The Stormcloaks' position is "we didn't leave the Empire, the Empire left us".

 

[LovisXVI]

The OG Nords that came from Atmora were the first humans in Tamriel.

Allegedly, the origin of the Nedes is unclear and kind of murky.

Tiber Septim was a Nord.

Very allegedly. Certainly not a Breton by the name of Hjalti Early-Beard.

 

[Meat Target]

Allegedly, the origin of the Nedes is unclear and kind of murky.

Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions were the first. No single current human race is strictly Nedic; it's an umbrella term, sorta like "Germanic" or "Indo-European" IRL.

Very allegedly. Certainly not a Breton by the name of Hjalti Early-Beard.

IIRC that's a claim made by a certain group of heretics who attribute Tiber Septim's deeds to three different people.

 

[An Ordinary Ordinator]

“ah wood haff’ join’ tha’ shtormcloawksh bu’ they awl a bunsh a rayshishts”

Literally every fucking Skyrim analysis video

 

[Breadbassket]

Someone made a video that attempts to seriously analyze what Heimskr is yelling about in Whiterun:

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

Someone made a video that attempts to seriously analyze what Heimskr is yelling about in Whiterun:

Why? Is just an extract from one of that Ted Peterson's posts.

 

[LovisXVI]

Why? Is just an extract from one of that Ted Peterson's posts.

Michael Kirkbride and it's the "The Many-Headed Talos"

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

Michael Kirkbride and it's the "The Many-Headed Talos"

Oh my fucking god. It was Kirkbride?
Always confusing those textbooks and posts.

 

[LovisXVI]

Oh my fucking god. It was Kirkbride?
Always confusing those textbooks and posts.

Well it was a post framed as an excerpt from the in-world text of that name.

 

[Microplastics In My Blood]

I didn't get the impression that Nords were ever racist just to be dicks. They only hold it against other races if they infringe on their way of life.

Nords came off in Morrowind and Oblivion as a bit ignorant but well meaning. What I am saying is that Nord's value things like martial honour. If someone started casting illusions spells at them, then to a Nord that is deeply dishonourable rather than facing them in direct combat. It doesn't matter the person being dishonourable is a Nord or not. This means that cultures where magic and/or subterfuge are more normalised (Dunmer, Kahjiit, Bosmer, Altmer and to a lesser extent Bretons, Argonians and Imperials) they will tend to be more disapproving of members of that race, based on their actions and values compared to Nord racism in Skyrim basically being "I 'ate foreigners"

The Nords call their favorite gods by their Nordic names: Ysmir (Talos), Shor (Lorkhan), Kyne (Kynareth), etc. Alduin calls himself the "Firstborn of Akatosh", and there are some who believe Akatosh and Alduin are one in the same.

Then why do we only ever hear the Imperial versions of their names in proper dialogue? Sure a guard might say "by Shor!" or there might be a place name here or there but there are no shrines, no priests nothing outside of very, very minor fluff about the Nordic gods. The Greybeards which are meant to be monks practicing the the old ways of Nords but use the Imperial names? Why does someone like Ulfric, hardcore Nord traditionalist use the Imperial names and never mention Shor, the God killed by the Altmer's chief deity?

While the Imperial Cult did borrow some Nord gods intially, they aren't the same. Kynareath and Kyne are both gods of nature but Kyne is also the god of Man, of life and death and is kind of a personification of Skyrim. Arkay is the Imperial God of life and death, Orkey is an evil testing god that stole the Atmoran's long lifespan. Akatosh is the chief deity that is a kind protector of Nirn, Alduin is an evil god that if he wakes up, will eat the world. For Nords the good dragon god is Ysmir who is as you say Talos, but with elements of Shezzar and Akatosh. Each of of the Nord gods are diffrent beyond just a name change. It is more akin to God in Christianity and Islam. Same origin, very similar traits in many regards, not worshipped the same, have fundamental differences that make them incompatible.

In Oblivion, the Nords and Imperials in Bruma see each others Gods as different enough that they don't consider them the same gods. The Imperials of Bruma call the Nordic gods "heathen gods" not "heretic gods"

The OG Nords that came from Atmora were the first humans in Tamriel. Imperials are their descendants and cousins. Tiber Septim was a Nord.

There is a lot of evidence that races of Men were in Tamriel before the Atmorans arrived in Skyrim. The Nords themselves believe that they were created on top of the Throat of the World and that Ysgramor's settlement and conquest were the Atmorans returning to their homeland. The Atmorans being the progenitor of all Men is an Imperial belief, not hard fact or universally accepted

We have no solid proof of Tiber Septim's race. Could have been a Nord, a Breton, an Imperial, a Misc. Nede or even a Reachman

Edit: Grammar and finishing an unfinished sentence

 

[Problematic User Forever]

Then why do when only ever hear the Imperial versions of their names in proper dialogue?

The most realistic explanation I've seen is that the Imperial Pantheon became the dominant religion over the 4th era due to

A. The Oblivion Crisis and Martins Sacrifice having a huge impact on the races of Men, as an Avatar of Akatosh literally manifested.

B. The Empire specifically pushed the 9 Divines within Skyim/Hammerfell/High Rock as a means of maintaining control as they were losing provinces.

It's a bit of headcanon as the only time the game ever seems to address it is with Froki, but he specifically complains about the "city folk" and "foreigners" being the ones who brought the divines to Skyrim.

But 200 years is plenty of time for a religion to take over a region.

Why does some one like Ulfric, hardcore Nord traditionalist use the Imperial names and never mention Shor, the God killed by the Altmer's chief deity?

Ulfric is a strange case. He trained with the Greybards, but he also abandoned them to fight for the Empire.

It's fully possible that Ulfric would be a person with a foot in both worlds. He's living in an age where he's probably being raised around the Imperial Pantheon while also living in a town that is heavy in Old Nord history. He's traditionalist enough to go train with the Greybeards, but also felt enough Imperial pride/loyalty to abandon them to fight in the great war.

I feel like Ulfric is defaulting to Nord Traditionalism after feeling betrayed by the Empire, but you can't just shake 30+ years of religious upbringing either. You could also argue that following "the old ways" doesn't necessarily mean following "the old gods". And one could even make the argument that Skyrim was more traditionalist UNDER the Septim Dynasty so he could still revere Talos the God and *his* Empire while actively fighting the Mede Empire.

 

[Snekposter]

I'm doing a High Elf mage/spellsword run right now, and fully intend on siding with the Stormcloaks because the Thalmor are insufferable cunts and the Empire are spineless cuckold faggots.

Maybe my character's backstory is that he's some kind of Altmer Solzhenitsyn, or an Alec Trevelyan-like figure whose parents didn't survive the Thalmor's purges after the Oblivion Crisis.

Whatever happens to the greyskins and the scaly farm equipment with Ulfric's consent is not my problem.

Pretty sure your elven contact at the Thalmor embassy for that one main quest where you sneak in had his family purged by them as his reason for helping you out.

GET OUT OF MY HEAD. I'm playing through with almost this exact race and playstyle right now, except a full mage. I used Alternate Start and took a boat into Windhelm. My headcanon is he grew up in Morrowind, after the Red Year and therefore didn't have much exposure to magical institutions. He came to Skyrim to see their famed College of Winderhold. Once arriving, he was disappointed by the immense faggotry within its walls and therefore took about 0.6 quectoseconds to start robbing his fellow students blind.

My fav start is as a Dark Elf in Windhelm who just goes "Fuck this shit, imma start adventuring". Some basic foods I "acquired" from around that shitty rag you wake up on, some firewood chopping and some leather armor crafting later, and I'm good to head out.

 

[Microplastics In My Blood]

A. The Oblivion Crisis and Martins Sacrifice having a huge impact on the races of Men, as an Avatar of Akatosh literally manifested.

B. The Empire specifically pushed the 9 Divines within Skyim/Hammerfell/High Rock as a means of maintaining control as they were losing provinces.

But 200 years is plenty of time for a religion to take over a region.

while I agree that the oblivion crisis could cause a societal shake-up like the black death or the Lisbon earthquake and as you mentioned the literal divine intervention of Akatosh could impact the religious landscape I dont think the Empire would have the power to influence Skyrim to the point where 99% of population is now part of the Imperial Cult. We see the power of empire failing across the board in every area. While 200 years is plenty of time, the Nordic faith has remained strong for over 2000 years of dragon tyranny, wars, civil wars, socital collapses, conversion attempts, and all sorts of crazy shit for it to fall away at the hands of an Empire that can barely hold it's core territories together seems unlikely. Also add in that Skyrim has always been treated as backwater, converting the entire population doesn't seem likely.

What would make more sense and be more interesting lore and gameplay wise would be if we saw a more pronounced cultural divide where loyalist imperialised Nords in the west are Imperial Cult and in the East we see traditionalist Nordic god worship. It would make a more interesting setting and would fit right in and support the growing divide in Skyrim culture that lead to the civil war. The Loyalists think that the trad Nords are holding onto backwards superstitions that have been disproven and the trad Nords dell like their time honoured culture is being attacked and erased.

in this version Ulfric worships the old gods and the old ways, fights for the empire because it's the honourable thing to do since he is a subject of the empire, only for the empire to sign the white-gold concordat. Not only have half the holds converted, now the empire is trying to ban Ysmir, one of his people's gods. He feels like if he doesn't take drastic action the old faith will be lost like what has happened in the West of Skyrim. He tries to settle it in the old Nord ways by a trail by combat with the High King, but the Western Jarls dismiss it as old way, uncivilised nonsense and brand him a murder.

 

[Battlefield2142EU]

Has anyone recently watched a live stream of a game where the player's performance was so poor that it almost became amusing? Morrowind is one of the few video games I believe that criticism often stems from a lack of proficiency or experience with the game. After years of lulzcow Goomerfist mocking Morrowind as the "Final Fantasy VII baby," a first RPG for CPRGs, he has demonstrated difficulty in playing the game and frequently becomes lost. This is the individual who believed that all the games in the Elder Scrolls series were subpar, except for Daggerfall, because it features a larger game

 

[TrainWreckWatcher]

. After years of lulzcow Goomerfist mocking Morrowind as the "Final Fantasy VII baby,"

The only video content I want to watch of him is him hanging himself or a shotgun to the mouth.

 

[Battlefield2142EU]

The only video content I want to watch of him is him hanging himself or a shotgun to the mouth.

He is best friends with Styxhexenhammer666 and The Quartering. It is highly possible that he is into stuff like that. Razorfist has already made gay porn himself and posted it online. He is an anti-Goon MAGA Christian e-celeb, by the way. Aside from his questionable political opinions, his perspective on the Elder Scrolls games is also limited. He seems to favor Elder Scrolls 6 becoming a fantasy-themed version resembling Red Dead Redemption 2. This would result in a gameplay experience that closely resembles a walking simulator, with superficial RPG elements that do not significantly impact everyday gameplay outside of adding more busy work between exploring and doing missions. If had his way he would deliberately aims to make inventory the most restricted resource, encouraging players to revisit a campsite rather than purchase land and construct a home in Skyrim.

 

[CryptoHermit]

https://www.nexusmods.com/news/15500 / https://forums.nexusmods.com/topic/...thon-month-celebrating-24-years-of-morrowind/
May Modathon is back on!

Dust off your Construction Set, it’s that time of year again! We are officially kicking off the Morrowind May Modathon 2026. From now until Monday 1st June, the community is coming together for the signature open-format modding sprint.

Morrowind May Modathon 2026

For the newcomers, the May Modathon is an annual celebration hosted by the Morrowind modding community. It’s a dedicated time to showcase the enduring creativity and collaborative spirit surrounding this legendary game.

Last year was a monumental success, with over 170 mods uploaded to the site during the event. We are incredibly excited to see how the community pushes the boundaries of Vvardenfell even further this year.

A massive shoutout to our hosts, darkelfguy and Danae123. They have organised and championed this community tradition for 12 years now. Their dedication, along with the passion of every modder who participates, is what keeps this scene thriving after more than two decades.

You can find all the information you need, in a lot more detail, on the Modathon forum post here.

---

It's that time of year again, on May 1st, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind will turn 24 years old, inching ever closer to that quarter-of-a-century milestone, and to celebrate this historic occasion, the Morrowind Modding Community is proud to present the 12th consecutive annual Morrowind May Modathon Month Modding Competition!

Over the past 24 years, Morrowind modders have greatly expanded the capabilities of this 2002 era game, from telling new stories, crafting new adventures, to utterly transforming Morrowind's very gameplay mechanics, adding all new features and abilities that once were thought impossible to achieve on a game as old as Morrowind.

And though nearly a quarter of a century has passed, the Morrowind Modding Community has shown no signs of slowing down - indeed, 2025 was actually the biggest year ever on record for Morrowind, both in terms of total new mod releases, and in terms of raw downloads. From massive expansions, courtesy of Tamriel Rebuilt, to major OpenMW updates, adding all sorts of new engine improvements to modernize the Morrowind experience, the last year has been one of the most exciting on record for the Morrowind Modding Community, and 2026 shows no signs of slowing down!

Since 2015, the Morrowind Modathons have celebrated the modding community's creativity and industrious spirit with a month-long modding extravaganza, where any and all modders are welcome to participate!

Starting May 1st and running through June 2nd, modders can submit Morrowind mods, win random drawing prizes, participate in weekly themed challenges, and earn any number of over 90+ new achievement badges that they can pin to their Nexus profiles or to their mod pages.

Some 1,800 mods have been submitted for the Morrowind Modathons over the past 12 years, and I sincerely hope you'll all join us for another exciting round of this proud annual modding tradition!

For those looking to join in this year, participation is simple - any Morrowind mod released in May can be entered into the competition! Just remember to include the tagline "Part of the May Modathon Month" (or the 2026 Morrowind Modathon header) near the top of your mod's description, or use the Morrowind Modathon 2026 tag to enter your mod as part of the competition. Submitted mods will automatically be entered to potentially win our weekly random-drawing prizes, and of course, unlock achievements!

For more information, including rules, links to tutorials for first-time modders, and a complete list of achievements, check out our official announcement thread here on the Nexus forums or stop by our Discord channel! Also, keep an eye on the announcement thread, we'll be posting the random-drawing winners on there each week, as well as revealing any hidden achievements that modders might unlock!

As I always say, the best games never die! Happy modding, have fun, and long live the Morrowind Modding Community! As always, a big thank you to both Danae123 and darkelfguy for all the work they put into running this event each year. Are you getting involved this time around? Let us know! We'd love to hear what you're planning on creating.

---
https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/58469 - Already starting strong with Death And Taxes making the Census and Excise Office a full blown faction with it's own questline and 100 quests tied to it (with it's own bounty system tied into it). Tamriel Rebuilt and OAAB is needed for this as the questline takes place across Vvardenfell and the Mainland.

Death and Taxes allows you to join the Imperial Offices of Census and Excise, only said faction has been overhauled beyond belief, with greatly-expanded lore and a much larger presence in the province of Morrowind. Every Census and Excise Office present in Morrowind & Tamriel Rebuilt has had its staff fleshed out and has been given its own questline in addition to having coworker-sourced "odd jobs" available to be picked up as faction quests. Not only that, but an Office of Imperial Bounties has been opened inside the Helnim Office, providing a new form of work even to non-Census personnel with any Imperial guild affiliation.


This mod has a focus on fun and rewarding questing with alternative choices and outcomes. Even with this (hopefully) quality-yielding approach, it does not lack for quantity: counting optional sidequests and the newly-added Imperial Bounties, Death and Taxes contains over 100 new quests.​

 

[Meat Target]

Nords came off in Morrowind and Oblivion as a bit ignorant but well meaning. What I am saying is that Nord's value things like martial honour. If someone started casting illusions spells at them, then to a Nord that is deeply dishonourable rather than facing them in direct combat. It doesn't matter the person being dishonourable is a Nord or not. This means that cultures where magic and/or subterfuge are more normalised (Dunmer, Kahjiit, Bosmer, Altmer and to a lesser extent Bretons, Argonians and Imperials) they will tend to be more disapproving of members of that race, based on their actions and values compared to Nord racism in Skyrim basically being "I 'ate foreigners"

The lore was less fleshed out back in 2002, and Dunmer are the focal point of Morrowind. It's not about the Nords, so we don't see as much.

Plus, a Nord that's outside of Skyrim is probably more tolerant of other races. Sven the Sailor in Morrowind has learned to trade and interact with non-Nords; Bjorg the Bumpkin of 4E Skyrim has only experienced the foreigners barging in and demanding he change his way of life.

Then why do we only ever hear the Imperial versions of their names in proper dialogue? Sure a guard might say "by Shor!" or there might be a place name here or there but there are no shrines, no priests nothing outside of very, very minor fluff about the Nordic gods.

I already mentioned that. Those old folk beliefs would be expressed in more animistic ways, without shrines or priests or temples.

The Greybeards which are meant to be monks practicing the the old ways of Nords but use the Imperial names?

They explicitly invoke Ysmir, Shor, and Kyne when giving the Dragonborn the formal greeting.

Why does someone like Ulfric, hardcore Nord traditionalist use the Imperial names and never mention Shor, the God killed by the Altmer's chief deity?

The Monomyth generally agrees that Lorkhan is dead, and the world/the moons are the remains of his body. Why worship a deceased god that no longer has power?

As for Ulfric, he's a politician as well as a warlord. He's more pragmatic than the memes and his reputation would have you believe. He wants Skyrim to be free to worship Talos and/or follow the "old ways", not impose it upon all of Skyrim. He only opposes foreigners insofar as they cause problems for the Nord majority.