Elder Scrolls VI: Akavir

[morguen87]

Making the game focus on the war as the main quest line presents problems. These games have always been doing what you want when you want. Forcing one side to be the winner alienates half the gamers. The civil war works in Skyrim because it's going on in the background and adds some depth to the story line, but it's not the real main quest so the canon ending won't change anything too drastically (I know, I know implications and all that and what it means to the empire and ad and yada yada yada....but the next game will probably take place like 300 years later and the only thing you'll hear about the civil war in Skyrim are small references in dialogue and random books).

If the entire main quest was only about the civil war and not dragons and what not, where would it go from there? They'd be forced into providing an ending half the people didn't work towards.

My guess is the war will continue in the background, but the main quests will always be about stopping some sort of ultimate evil because it's something that has only 1 outcome.

 

[Kalin of High Rock]

Naturally Valenwood would have its own "Dragons"/"Oblivion Crisis"/"Red Mountain" as the heart of its story line. It's such a wild, active, alien region that anything can happen there. But the Dominion/Empire hostilities should be a prominent backdrop.

 

[morguen87]

Haha, it just feels like all the drama in the Elder Scrolls universe happens in the lore between games so they can say "this is how it happened and no you can't change anything." I agree the war makes for a nice backdrop and adds to the environment (Skyrim feeling war-torn is a great effect), but it wouldn't surprise me if something big happens between games and now there's something else.

 

[The_Madgod]

Mixed, if "mixed" is a nice way of saying forcefully assimilated. After the "war of the blue divide" (which was more of an overnight coup than an actual war) It's reasonable to expect a good number of Bosmer do not care for the Altmeri Dominion, who have essentially made slaves of many of them.

The Dominion has cracked down hard on Bosmer rights and culture, they have come in the night and collected any who voice dissent. They have allegedly started to "purge" the bosmer population of undesirable individuals and their kin. Ironically, these sorts of draconian measures breed the very insurrections they are implemented to quell. While the Dominion may appear to be in total control of every major city, you can be fairly sure that the jungles and wild reaches of Valenwood teem with native resistance to their altmer overlords.

The Bosmer had a culture, and cities. They are not what most men or other mer would consider civilized. They view themselves as the children of Hercine, and their customs and traditions reflected that. Theirs is a culture of hunters, they do not raise livestock, they will eat no plant and fell no wood ( though they will import timber from other provinces). Their cities are organic, amber-crystalline structures. Ancient groves that have grown massive and turned to crystal over thousands of years. The city of Falinest is founded in a grove of gigantic ambulatory trees that migrate seasonally through the jungles of Valenwood. It's pretty remarkable stuff.

And as I said earlier, they are ritually cannibalistic. Cannibalism is not something you find in most polite societies. I would say that before the Altmeri occupation, the Bosmer were about as civilized as The Foresworn. Many people would consider their nature-worship and pagan rituals to be twisted and barbaric.

It's a very interesting region of the world with huge potential for story driven conflict. I really do hope it is the next region they explore.

They are still civilized. They built cities and traded with other nations before the Aldmeri Dominion took over. They could live in other provinces and keep their home provinces customs to themselves. They were civilized people with ideals that many would consider barbaric. Same as the Dunmer, Nords, Argonians, Khajiits and Orsimer.

 

[The_Madgod]

One problem I could see with the game taking place in Black Marsh or Elswyer, is that having to put up with conversations with 90% of NPCs that are Argonian or Khajiit would get annoying very quickly. Haha, I think their accents and dialect would get very grating after a few hours.

Valenwood too, though to a lesser extent because wood elves don't speak as annoyingly as Argonians and Khajiit, but I could see how you'd feel like you were in land of the Ewoks or something after a while.

Every game has come up with a new voice for every race. They would probably make female Argonian voices less raspy, though I see no problem with male Argonians and Khajiit, except maybe dialect, accent and their second-person way of speaking, but you shouldn't believe that they speak exactly like all the other races. Did the dragons get on your nerves too?

 

[morguen87]

I'm not expecting they speak like the other races. I'm just saying having 90% of conversations with Khajiit would get annoying. Pull the stick out of your ass.

 

[Osiris]

If Valenwood is next, remember that it has three dominant races currently. The Mer of the Aldmeri Dominion, Bosmer and Altmer, as well as another beast race, the snooty, Altmer-worshipping Imga. They could be a gateway to new playable races, since if the next game is Valenwood, you're going to want to be able to play as all of the civilized races living there.

If I remember correctly, there is a stable Orc population residing in Valenwood too. I would love Valenwood, it seems kind Lotr to me..classic Bow shooting Forest Elves.

 

[Demoraj]

Someday... Maybe over ten years from now, it'll be possible to travel all across Nirn or Tamriel(non-mmo).
Be patient, I have faith that Bethesda will not disappoint with their next installment.

 

[Lady Redpool the Unlifer]

Well, we are talking several hundred years down the road in tamriel, and though it's falling apart now, I doubt bethesda will throw out the empire that has been in place for the entirety of the main games(This may not be totally true, and I'm writing this in a hurry so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Most likely the next game will be in the southern provinces. I highly doubt that we'll see black marsh, however valenwood or elsywer are more likely. The Dominion may even still be in place and fighting(side storyline?). Most likely though, our character will be thrown into a crisis that's threatening the barely stable reestablished empire in elsywer(or valenwood).

 

[nolandman]

Mixed, if "mixed" is a nice way of saying forcefully assimilated. After the "war of the blue divide" (which was more of an overnight coup than an actual war) It's reasonable to expect a good number of Bosmer do not care for the Altmeri Dominion, who have essentially made slaves of many of them.

The Dominion has cracked down hard on Bosmer rights and culture, they have come in the night and collected any who voice dissent. They have allegedly started to "purge" the bosmer population of undesirable individuals and their kin. Ironically, these sorts of draconian measures breed the very insurrections they are implemented to quell. While the Dominion may appear to be in total control of every major city, you can be fairly sure that the jungles and wild reaches of Valenwood teem with native resistance to their altmer overlords.

The Bosmer had a culture, and cities. They are not what most men or other mer would consider civilized. They view themselves as the children of Hercine, and their customs and traditions reflected that. Theirs is a culture of hunters, they do not raise livestock, they will eat no plant and fell no wood ( though they will import timber from other provinces). Their cities are organic, amber-crystalline structures. Ancient groves that have grown massive and turned to crystal over thousands of years. The city of Falinest is founded in a grove of gigantic ambulatory trees that migrate seasonally through the jungles of Valenwood. It's pretty remarkable stuff.

And as I said earlier, they are ritually cannibalistic. Cannibalism is not something you find in most polite societies. I would say that before the Altmeri occupation, the Bosmer were about as civilized as The Foresworn. Many people would consider their nature-worship and pagan rituals to be twisted and barbaric.

It's a very interesting region of the world with huge potential for story driven conflict. I really do hope it is the next region they explore.

I knew some of what you wrote here but the amber-crystalline structures is what grabbed me/was news. Knowing that now makes me want Valenwood to be featured next even more. Visually I'd have to say that'd be one of most interesting things to see in the Elder Scrolls, especially with some modern (to possibly future, what with the talk of the new gen of platforms on the distant horizon) graphics on it. Also I agree that there is substantial lore here for there to be quite a story. I know that this is a tangent, but I am curious to know what you know/think of the Dwemer? Beside Bosmer and Dunmer lore/culture I find the lore and ways of the Dwemer to be one of my favorites.

 

[Xarnac]

Can't do Valenwood without bringing back acrobatics.

 

[nordicowboy]

I'd love to see Akavir, just not in TES6. A game containing both Black Marsh and Elswyr would be awesome next. Plus, with the next-gen consoles not too far off it would give the team at Bethesda more time to really build Akavir into something insane.