Dunmer worshipping other daedra/Doing single daedric quests?

Hello everyone! I'm new here, so I hope I posted this in the right place. The RP forum seemed to mostly consist of short stories and character profiles.

So, to elaborate a bit on my question: How do you think the dunmer see the daedra that are outside their orthodox pantheon, and how likely are they to incorporate some of them into their worship?

The reason I ask is this: I am currently doing this sort of conceptual playthrough, where I divide the content of the game between a series of dunmer characters. They are all refugees working to further both their own goals, and the influence and living conditions of their kin. Most of them belong to one of the great houses (well, Hlaalu lost their status), one was an ashlander, and one is sort of atypical, as she has "reverted" to worshipping the 8.

There are several daedra, where I could absolutely see a typical dunmer incorporating them into their worship, under the right circumstances. Others still, where I think it's very plausible that a dunmer especially, would consider it ok or even a good thing, to do one or more of the daedric quests in Skyrim.


The arguments and considerations for the specific daedra and their quests are as follows:

- My Telvanni doing Sheoggorath's quest: Now before you yell "HOUSE OF TROUBLES" and leave it at that, consider the following: The Telvanni very often are more open to doing taboo things if it interests them/increases their power, the Telvanni are mages and Sheo IS considered a tester of the dunmers mental strength so she might consider doing that 1 quest as a test rather than serving him per se, and finally, it's mentioned in the lore that Sheo is a bit off as far as being a corner of the House of Troubles is concerned, as he's only a menace half the time. So is it that far-fetched that a young Telvanni would, maybe in a fit of their trademark arrogance, think she could pass whatever task Sheo threw at her, and come out the other side mentally stronger and 1 powerful staff richer?

- My Telvanni doing Vaermina's bidding during Waking Nightmare: Okay so some of the same arguments apply here, she'd be interested in the staff and the power, and she IS a Telvanni. Plus, she's faced with the choice of serving a daedric prince, or defying her to help a priest of Mara. A BIG part of dunmer religion, is that they generally consider the daedra stronger and more worthwhile.

- One of my Redoran serving Meridia: The dunmer are generally not fans of necromancy. There's some debate in the community whether they care as long as it's not done on dunmer. However, the Redoran revere strength and honor, and so I could easily see them gaining some respect for the nords. Plus a Redoran is, in my opinion, more likely to find the practice of necromancy wrong as a whole. At least in some forms. Plus there's the practical aspect of wielding a powerful sword with an anti-UD enchantment when a lot of his tasks will involve delving into crypts.
I'm actually surprised Meridia doesn't have more of a following in dunmeri culture as a whole. They see the Reclamations as good, and have drastically different views on them, than most humans for example. I could absolutely see some event leading them to accept Meridia as a sort of protector of their ancestors. Yes, Meridia can be hateful and has done some...iffy things...but Azura is spiteful as heck and Mephala is, well...Mephala.

- A Redoran warrior doing Malacath's quest: This would also be as a test, as he as well is a corner of the House of Troubles. But his task in Skyrim is a good test of strength, and he generally takes on this role in dunmeri religion. Plus the character I am considering doing it on is very focused on becoming a great swordsman, and reveres strength and honor above all else. So I could actually see him respecting Malacath and the Orcs.

- Peryite: This is more in general. Seeing as the dunmer are more inclined to worshipping daedra, I could see some of them appreciating his sphere of natural order and role as a taskmaster. Plus, the Lord of Pestilence can just as well protect against plague as he can inflict you with it. I could see the dunmer taking an interest to him and interpreting his natural order as a way to preserve and uphold their strict and ancient traditions. It could start with a Redoran warrior worshipping Peryite to gain the power to uphold order, and protect him from poisons and disease, so that he can always protect himself with his martial prowess. Plus with the several disasters that have hit the dunmer through the ages, protection from plagues might not seem such a bad idea to them.

- The Telvanni and Hermaeus Mora: Ok so it is honestly beyond me why this is not already a thing. The Telvanni are in no way shy when it comes to drastic measures to further their knowledge and power. Hermaeus seems to basically be everything they desire. So as members of a people who already revere a set of daedra, why haven't more Telvanni taken an interest in Hermaeus? If an event is needed to trigger it, maybe the desperate state of the house during the 4th era causes the first Telvanni to start worshipping him, in search of power and knowledge to breathe new life and power into her house. If that ends up working out for her, then yea, I could absolutely see him become popular with the wizard-lords of Morrowind.

- The Ashlanders and Hircine: So it's established that the ashlanders are a nomadic people who rely strongly on hunting. They retained their daedra-worship throughout the 3rd era, so they're even more daedra-friendly than other dunmer. The dunmer already have some history with Hircine, as he tested the Nerevarine during the 3rd era, and is generally a part of the lore of the now fully dunmer-owned Solstheim. Yes, you could say he was an enemy of the Nerevarine, but the whole thing was a test, a sport. He even says during the final encounter that he will battle the Nerevarine in the skillset he is most profocient in, as simply squashing him with all his might is utterly pointless.

- The Hlaalu and Clavicus Vile: So in these desperate times of having lost their status, most of their holdings, and having their homeland devastated, I could so absolutely see several Hlaalu turn to Clavicus and making deals with him. Besides, if anyone has the right combination of ruthlessness, cunning, diplomatic and negotiating skills, and knowledge of the daedra, to make a deal with Clavicus and come out on top or at least not cheated hard, it'd be the Hlaalu for sure.

- Patreon Concept: Based on the above post, I think one cool and not too far-fetched concept, would be if some houses of Morrowind accepted 1 additional daedra as their "House Patron". Meridia for Redoran, Hermaeus Mora for Telvanni, Clavicus Vile for Hlaalu, and Hircine for Ashlanders (not a house I know, but still).

Sorry for the long post. I considered splitting them into 1 post per daedra or 1 per character, but that would flood the forum a bit. I really hope some of you with knowledge of the lore will engage in this discussion with me, as it's very important for my playthrough.

Here's a TL;DR:
Since the dunmer already worship some daedra, I strongly believe some daedric quests even outside their typical pantheon would make a lot of sense, as they're not as afraid to deal with the daedra. I could even see some daedra being accepted into the dunmeri pantheon, such as Meridia (especially for Redoran), Hermaeus Mora (especially for Telvanni), Clavicus (especially for Hlaalu), and Hircine for Ashlanders. What do you think? Is it wrong to do daedric quests other than Azura, Boethia and Mephala on a traditional dunmer character, or do you think it's ok if there's a good reason (details in the long post)?

This looks like a job for @DrunkenMage

DunmerEnthusiast said:

What do you think? Is it wrong to do daedric quests other than Azura, Boethia and Mephala on a traditional dunmer character, or do you think it's ok if there's a good reason (details in the long post)?

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Nothing wrong with it, you have Daedric worshippers of all races. Dunmer are generally seen to have more interaction with Daedric Princes than most. Telvanni for example have absolutely no problems with dealing with Daedra.

It would depend on, as with anything on your own character's mind set, a Dunmer in the TES novels had dealings with Malacath and Clavicus. If it serves a purpose, and advances your story or character then roll with it.

Thanks a lot for the answer Drunken Mage! I'm glad to see you agree it's okay under the right circumstances.

If you can find the time, I would absolutely love some comments on the specific "cases", as well as my arguments about more widespread inclusion of certain daedra into the Dunmeri pantheon, given the right events.

Also, what is your take on the dunmer's view of the Aedra? Some sources state that they view them as weak and not worthy of their time, other state they believe they should be honoured and revered, almost to the point where a mixed pantheon doesn't seem that far-fetched.

DunmerEnthusiast said:

Thanks a lot for the answer Drunken Mage! I'm glad to see you agree it's okay under the right circumstances.

If you can find the time, I would absolutely love some comments on the specific "cases", as well as my arguments about more widespread inclusion of certain daedra into the Dunmeri pantheon, given the right events.

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Wipespread I wouldn't see it occuring, while the Dunmer may have dealings with Daedra they are quite zealous in their views. Extremely zealous. You might deal with a Daedra to get something you need, or are desperate for their help, but worshipping outside the norm makes you an outcast. Dunmer society spent a very long time brutally executing and torturing those who practiced outside the acceptable views. Telvanni being the exception, but they're still outcasts and considered weird.

DunmerEnthusiast said:

Also, what is your take on the dunmer's view of the Aedra? Some sources state that they view them as weak and not worthy of their time, other state they believe they should be honoured and revered, almost to the point where a mixed pantheon doesn't seem that far-fetched.

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There are various Dunmer who have taken to the Divines, I would say they are more Imperial in nature than traditional Dunmer. Outside of Morrowind you'll come across many Imperialized races, but the traditional folks are set in their ways.

Religion is always an odd thing, people have so many different views about it and it could be possible a change could occur. You can deal with other Daedra, nothing wrong with it if you had that kind of power to interact with a Prince. House Telvanni will deal with the Daedra, but they're powerful wizards who care about knowledge and hoarding power. They aren't the worshipping type of people, they find it nonsense.

There is often a price when worshipping Daedra. Meridia wouldn't really work out, because she hates Necromancy and the Dunmer practice Necromancy, even if they call it "spirit worship", I doubt Meridia would see the difference.

Well, I find myself kind of going back and forth on the Meridia thing. On the one hand, yes, you are absolutely right. On the other hand, other daedra have acted somewhat against their spheres when it comes to their relationship with the dunmer. I find that Boethia especially seems to act differently when she's dealing with her dunmer worshippers, than when dealing with something like for example her Skyrim cult. I mean, the dunmers hatred of what they consider necromancy, and especially of vampires, is extremely strong. At least that's what I got from my playthrough of Morrowind.
Either way, do you think it likely Meridia would make a traditional Redoran dunmer her champion to help him combat the vampire menace of the Dawnguard expansion, and have him do her quest in return? That same character has been reluctant to deal with Vals Veran on account of him being a dunmer, and him having sworn an oath to be the guardian of the dunmer community in Skyrim. Maybe Meridia demands he kill Vals as well, in return for Dawnbreaker and her favor?

About the Aedra, the thing that made me have doubts was especially the following passage from The True Noble's Code:
"A Redoran must show piety to the Aedra and Daedra, our creators and ancestors. For without the divine, we would not have the chance to serve. And without divine law, we would not know right from wrong. And without giving thanks for these things, we would forget our place and our purpose."

So, would it be normal for a Redoran to worship or at least respect the Aedra and their followers? Including doing quests for the Temple of the Eight in-game? Or would it be heretical? I'm also not sure what a dunmer would think of Talos. Would he agree with the altmer, and especially after the whole ALMSIVI mistake, see him as a false god?

Also, what about the House of Troubles in the 4th era? Their status as such had a lot to do with their bad relationship with the ALMSIVI, who have since been exposed as liars and traitors. So are they still just as bad, or just in the batch of the-ones-we-don't-worship? I am considering if my Telvanni should go for Mehrunes Razor, and maybe generally associate with him. It seems logical for an ambitious destruction master to seek his alliance, if they are strong enough to deal with him, and care as little about the opinions of others, as the Telvanni typically do.