History TheElderScrolls / TropesS

* SpecialAbilityShield: the player can enchant shields themselves, but there are also a lot of pre-generated examples:

** Auriel's Shield is an artifact appearing in Arena, Daggerfall and Skyrim. It usually works as an AttackReflector.

* SlidingScaleOfContentDensityVsWidth: The series started out on the far, far "Width" end of the scale. ''Arena'' and ''Daggerfall'' have absolutely massive game worlds, on the scale of real life countries. However, to fill out these worlds, any areas not related to the main quests (or a few prominent side quests, in the case of ''Daggerfall'') are [[RandomlyGeneratedLevels Randomly Generated]], with ProceduralGeneration used for dungeons. This allows for huge game worlds with nigh-infinite content...but at the cost of that content getting very repetitive, very quickly. Come the third game in the series, ''Morrowind'', Bethesda took a drastically different philosophical approach, swinging to the "Density" side of the scale. The game world was significantly scaled down (to a "mere" nine square miles compared to thousands) but was entirely hand-built. It helps that, through the use of SpaceCompression, it is nowhere near the size of it's predecessors, but is still far larger than most game worlds. Another reason for this philosophical change was ''Morrowind''[='s=] MultiPlatform availability on console (specifically, {{UsefulNotes/Xbox}}) as well as PC, a first for the series (and first for a prominent WesternRPG in many, many years at the time). This changed helped ''Morrowind'' to get into the hands of a wider audience, being the BreakthroughHit for both the series and the development company. Follow-up games (''Oblivion'' and ''Skyrim'') swung the series back toward the middle of the scale. Both increased the size of the game world compared to ''Morrowind'', but also brought back elements of random and procedural generation to fill out those larger game worlds. Coupled with [[LevelScaling enemy and loot spawns]] being spread sheet generated, much of the "Density" uniqueness seen in ''Morrowind'' was lost.

* StickyFingers: This is a cultural trait of the [[CatFolk Khajiit]]. As their language has [[LanguageEqualsThought no word for "rules"]] and they take a rather ''loose'' view of what constitutes personal property, this is unusually {{Justified}}. In their culture, taking things that belong to others simply isn't [[BlueAndOrangeMorality seen as wrong]]. Unsurprisingly, this leads to significant CultureClash with the other races who consider the Khajiit taking things to be "theft", and the [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racists]] of those races use it against the Khajiit to bar them from their cities and even to justify [[SlaveRace slavery]]. Additionally, Khajiit who've lived among other cultures have shown the ability to grasp the concept.

* SuperWeight: The scale applies to the figures in the series, ranging from non-hostile wildlife at the bottom to truly unknowable deities at the top. A full break down is available on the trope page.

** ''Skyrim'' overhauls the series' system, doing away with classes and attributes entirely while moving into the territory of this trope. It loosely borrows the Perk system of its Bethesda ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' sister series, expanding the available perks to an entire tree (one per skill score); perks now have prerequisite perks and corresponding skill score levels and can be bought and upgraded with perk points (gained with every CharacterLevel up) once unlocked.

** ''Skyrim'' overhauls the series' system, doing away with classes and attributes entirely while moving into the territory of this trope. It loosely borrows the Perk system of its Bethesda ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' sister series, expanding the available perks to an entire tree (one per skill score); perks now have prerequisite perks and corresponding skill score levels and can be bought and upgraded with perk points (gained with every CharacterLevel up) once unlocked.

** The series has the distinction of being a "Spiritual Sister Series" to the later ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' titles. Starting with ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', both series are produced by Bethesda. The two series' games run on the same engines and are constantly swapping and borrowing elements from one another.

** The Redguards of Hammerfell hold [[MasterSwordsmen swords and swordsmanship]] as having great cultural value. Naturally, their most sacred text is a treatise on ''sword techniques''. It is The Book of Circles, written by Frandar Hunding, a great ancient hero and spiritual leader of the Redguards. It is said to include "thirty-eight grips, seven hundred and fifty offensive and eighteen hundred defensive positions, and nearly nine thousand moves essential to sword mastery". Every household in Hammerfell contains an alcove above their hearth to store and display the book.

* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: The [[OldMaster Greybeards]] of High Hrothgar, a monestary atop the Throat of the World, Tamriel's tallest mountain. The Greybeards are masters of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]], the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent draconic]] LanguageOfMagic. The Greybeards have trained their voices to such an incredible extent that even a ''misplaced whisper'' could kill a person, thus they have to live in seclusion and rarely speak (with Arngeir, their human leader, being an exception). They play a major part in ''Skyrim'', where they summon the [[PlayerCharacter Dragonborn]] to High Hrothgar for training in the Thu'um. When they speak in full voice to summon the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar, ''all of Skyrim hears it''. Even when they greet the Dragonborn with a politely whispered "Dovahkiin", ''the whole mountain shakes'' from the force of it. It should be noted that this [[GamePlayAndStoryIntegration isn't just lore fluff]], the four Greybeards are some of the highest level-[=NPCs=] in the game, with Arngeir sitting pretty at level 150.

** The Battle of Red Mountain in the 1st Era was a rare victory for the elves. After centuries of domination and expansion out of Skyrim, the Nord army, led by the Tongues (masters of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]]), was annihilated at Red Mountain in Morrowind by [[EnemyMine a coalition]] of [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] and Chimer forces.[[note]]This is the Nord account of the battle. Other accounts contradict some aspects of this, with most relegating the Nords to a minor part in the battle, if they were present at all.[[/note]] This marked the farthest expanse of the Nordic Empire and led to a drop-off in the use of the Thu'um as a weapon after Jurgen Windcaller, one of the defeated Tongues, [[HeelFaithTurn created the Way of the Voice to use the Thu'um only to honor the gods]]. The victory would only be a temporary one however, as the Dwemer and Chimer would split apart due to significant religious conflicts, with the entire Dwemer race [[RiddleForTheAges disappearing without a trace]] and the Chimer becoming cursed into the modern Dunmer.

** In the backstory, for all of their many victories, it was a [[ProudWarriorRace Nord]] defeat that had perhaps the most profound impact on Tamriellic history. After centuries of domination and expansion out of Skyrim, [[BadassArmy their army]], led by the Tongues ([[MakeMeWannaShout masters of the Thu'um]]), was annihilated at Red Mountain in Morrowind by a coalition of [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] and Chimer forces. This marked the farthest expanse of the Nordic empire and led to a drop-off in the use of the Thu'um as a weapon after [[HeelFaithTurn Jurgen Windcaller]], one of the defeated Tongues, created the Way of the Voice to use the Thu'um only to honor the gods. The after-effects of the loss at Red Mountain could still be felt in the storylines to several games in the series.

'''Note:''' ''Elder Scrolls'' lore is generally not clear-cut. Reasons for this range from [[UnreliableNarrator biased]] in-universe sources intentionally only giving you only one side of a story, to sources [[CriticalResearchFailure lacking critical information]] or working from [[BlatantLies false information]], to the implication that AllMythsAreTrue, despite the contradictions, or that at least all myths are MetaphoricallyTrue. [[WordOfGod Out-of-game developer supplemental texts]] (frequently referred to as "Obscure Texts" by the lore community) are more trustworthy, but are frequently left [[LooseCanon unofficial]] and sometimes later contradicted. Because of this, it is entirely possible for two contradictory statements in the below examples to ''both'' be true. (And due to frequent events in-universe that [[TimeCrash alter the timeline]], both may ''literally'' be true in-universe.)

** The Battle of Red Mountain in the 1st Era was a rare victory for the elves. After centuries of domination and expansion out of Skyrim, the Nord army, led by the Tongues (masters of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]]), was annihilated at Red Mountain in Morrowind by [[EnemyMine a coalition]] of [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] and Chimer forces. This marked the farthest expanse of the Nordic Empire and led to a drop-off in the use of the Thu'um as a weapon after Jurgen Windcaller, one of the defeated Tongues, [[HeelFaithTurn created the Way of the Voice to use the Thu'um only to honor the gods]]. The victory would only be a temporary one however, as the Dwemer and Chimer would split apart due to significant religious conflicts, with the entire Dwemer race [[RiddleForTheAges disappearing without a trace]] and the Chimer becoming cursed into the modern Dunmer.[[note]]This is the Nord account of the battle. Other accounts contradict some or all aspects of this, with most relegating the Nords to a minor part in the battle, if they were present at all.[[/note]]

** The Battle of Red Mountain in the 1st Era was a rare victory for the elves. After centuries of domination and expansion out of Skyrim, the Nord army, led by the Tongues (masters of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]]), was annihilated at Red Mountain in Morrowind by [[EnemyMine a coalition]] of [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] and Chimer forces. This marked the farthest expanse of the Nordic Empire and led to a drop-off in the use of the Thu'um as a weapon after Jurgen Windcaller, one of the defeated Tongues, [[HeelFaithTurn created the Way of the Voice to use the Thu'um only to honor the gods]]. The victory would only be a temporary one however, as the Dwemer and Chimer would split apart due to significant religious conflicts, with the entire Dwemer race [[RiddleForTheAges disappearing without a trace]] and the Chimer becoming cursed into the modern Dunmer.

* StockDinosaurs:
** Throughout the series are Clannfear, a form of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]] with animalistic intelligence and the general appearance of raptors with ceratopsid frills and beaks. As Daedra, they are technically immortal beings who can manifest in any form they choose, and [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs no reason is ever given for their appearance]]. As far as can be told, Nirn ''never had'' dinosaurs.
** Nirn does have plenty of plenty of Pleistocene fauna, especially in the colder northern regions. You can encounter woolly mammoths, sabretoothed cats (called just sabrecats, for brevity) and cave bears.

* ShowSomeLeg: Throughout the series, most depictions of Nocturnal, the Daedric Prince of [[TheSacredDarkness Darkness and the Night]], has her cloak/robe opens up at the side of the thighs, fully exposing her legs. (Her avatar in ''Skyrim'' then adds AbsoluteCleavage.) It's rather fitting for a being who is essentially the patron deity of thieves, who can always use a handy distraction to get what they want.

* StopBeingStereotypical: Many non-Thalmor Altmer (including the [[MagicalSociety the Psijic Order]]) are like this to [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the Thalmor]]. The Altmer in general are stereotyped (with some justification) as a [[CulturalPosturing haughty and snobbish]] race who [[FantasticRacism looks down on the other races of Mer (Elves)]] while absolutely [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence despising the races of Men]]. The Thalmor play these stereotypes UpToEleven while considering any Altmer who do not support them to [[NoTrueScotsman not be "true" Altmer]].

** Each race of Mer in Tamriel believes this about themselves, but the Altmer (High Elves) really play it up. They see themselves as the closest in blood and culture to the Aldmer, {{Precursors}} to all of the races of Mer and supposed direct descendants of the Aedra/Ehlnofey, the divine "original spirits" who created and first populated the mortal world. The Altmer believe that the other races of Mer are a result of "degeneration" over the ages (and don't even get them ''started'' on [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence the races of Men...]]), while the Altmer actively try to breed themselves back to their ancestral ideal (which includes killing off any undesirable offspring). Come the 4th Era reformation of the [[AntiHumanAlliance Aldmeri Dominion]] under the leadership of the [[UpToEleven extremist]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]], the Altmer have kicked this belief into overdrive, subjugating the Bosmer (Wood Elves) and [[CatFolk Khajiit]] while waging war against the remnants of the Septim Empire.

* StoryBreakerPower: Though, to date, they have only been hinted-at in-game or have been mentioned dripping in heavy metaphor, there exist several "[[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended]]" metaphysical states in the ''ES'' universe. (Each has been further fleshed out by [[AllThereInTheManual developer]] [[LooseCanon supplemental texts]].) The first of these states is [[CapitalLettersAreMagic CHIM]], where one becomes aware of the nature of [[GodOfGods Anu's]] Dream but exists as one with it and maintains a sense of individuality. (Dunmeri PhysicalGod Vivec claims to have achieved this level, while [[BigBad Mankar Camoran]] in ''Oblivion'' claims that the DeityOfHumanOrigin Talos has also achieved it.) Even these works don't make it clear ''exactly'' what CHIM is, though the ''ES'' lore community posits that it is the [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall realization of being a fictional character in a fictional world]], followed by breaking loose from the laws of said world using "powers" and abilities normally reserved for a PlayerCharacter (ex. SaveScumming, PauseScumming, use of the MasterConsole, use of the Construction Set LevelEditor, etc.) Naturally, these abilities make the user appear divine and otherworldly to the mortals of the settings. Included are Vivec flooding the island of Vvardenfell to kill Akaviri invaders, Talos performing a CosmicRetcon to turn Cyrodiil from a tropical jungle to a temperate forest, as well as both [[MultipleChoicePast rewriting their own pasts]]. Take, for example, Vivec's explanation of what happens when he "dies", which sounds suspiciously like reloading a saved game:
--> '''Vivec''': ''"When I die in the world of time, then I'm completely asleep. I'm very much aware that all I have to do is choose to wake. And I'm alive again. Many times I have very deliberately tried to wait patiently, a very long, long time before choosing to wake up. And no matter how long it feels like I wait, it always appears, when I wake up, that no time has passed at all."''

* ShopliftAndDie: Played straight in general throughout the series. It is possible to steal from a store without getting caught, though if you do get caught, the shopkeeper will immediately attack you and any nearby guards will move in to arrest you. It doesn't help that in most of the games in the series, the same button used for picking up items is also used to engage {{Non Player Character}}s in dialogue. This makes accidentally shoplifting one of the [[BetterOffSold near-worthless clutter items]] that happen to be lying around while attempting to speak with the shopkeeper a frequent issue.

* ShopliftAndDie: Played straight in general throughout the series. It is possible to steal from a store without getting caught, though if you do get caught, the shopkeeper will immediately attack you and any nearby guards will move in to arrest you. It doesn't help that in most of the games in the series, the same button used for picking up items is also used to engage {{Non Player Character}}s in dialogue. This makes accidentally shoplifting one of the [[VendorTrash near-worthless clutter items]] that happen to be lying around while attempting to speak with the shopkeeper a frequent issue.

* SmugSnake: Series' recurring villain Mannimarco, a [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]][=/=]{{Necromancer}}, has acted this way in every appearance to date. He tends to see himself as more of a MagnificentBastard, but his schemes have repeatedly failed (or have been generally less successful than hoped) due to his {{Fatal Flaw}}s of {{Pride}} and arrogance.

* SmugSnake: Series' [[OverarchingVillain recurring villain]] Mannimarco, a [[TheDreaded dreaded]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]][=/=]{{Necromancer}}, has acted this way in every appearance to date. He tends to see himself as more of a MagnificentBastard, but his schemes have repeatedly failed (or have been generally less successful than hoped) due to his {{Fatal Flaw}}s of {{Pride}} and arrogance.