DunmerEnthusiast
New Member
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)?
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)?