Line #4 Fridge/TheElderScrollsOnline


1	[[AC:FridgeBrilliance]]
2	* They've managed, intentionally or unintentionally, to pull some damn good fridge brilliance before the game has even come out. Out of all the guilds announced, there is information on both the Fighter's Guild, and the Mage's Guild. But the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild strangely have no information available at this time. Let me repeat that, the '''Thieves Guild''' and the '''Dark Brotherhood''' have no information at this time. The two most secret guilds in the Elder Scrolls universe.
3	** The two most secret guilds ''that we have been able to join''. Beyond organizations so secret we aren't aware of them, the Dark Brotherhood honestly isn't that much more secret than the Necromancers.
4	* In the Maormer Ambassador, Ulondil's quarters in Mistral there's a copy of the book Wardens of the Green. While it seems innocent at first, you later find out that [[spoiler:he was planning to murder them both and assumed because of how the text was written that killing one of them would kill them both at the same time.]] He panics when he finds out that wasn't the case.
5	* The Ebonheart Pact is the only one of the three alliances that does not give you a quest line to convince a neutral territory to join your alliance. This is because the Pact is the longest standing of the three alliances, and has had 11 years to recruit territories, unlike the newer Daggerfall Covenant and Aldmeri Dominion.
6	* There's a small example in the [[https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/Kigd8mGSpLcp-V-xxMQqo7-qAsy0qyavbyk_ZGJMtr0XkvhMSE-dxV5_WQqlxkfrFMzaY878rMKxHdawvTuQ6ih62MCLcd2EAjTbx2HdmOijpvk8wt0uNvtEfzR1oEbeRg=w250-h250-nc symbol on the game's box art,]] regarding the placement of the animals of each faction's insignia. The eagle of the Aldmderi Dominion is located at the bottom. The Dominion consists of the Summerset Isles, Valenwood, and Elseweyr, the southernmost regions of Tamriel. Similarly, the Daggerfall Covenant's lion appears on the upper-left of the insignia. As anyone who has played ''Daggerfall'' knows, the Covenant extends across Hammerfell, Orsinium, and High Rock, which extend up the west coat of the continent to the north. And lastly, the Ebonheart pact, whose dragon is seen on the top-right, covers Skyrim, Morrowind, and Argonia/Black Marsh, which cover Tamriel's Northwest borders. Additionally, in regards to the symbol's O-shape (Which obviously also means '''O'''nline), all three factions are fighting for control of Cyrodil, which is currently ruled by pawns of Molag Bal, one of the Deadric Princes of '''O'''blivion.
7	** It also resembles [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/0/0c/Dark_Anchor_Full.png/revision/latest?cb=20160207012609 Molag Bal's Dark Anchors.]]
8	* One thing that might be confusing to players is how [[spoiler: at the end of the main quest you get your soul back, and yet when you die you can still revive like normal, even though you aren't soul shriven anymore.]] Players of [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]] with the Knights of the Nine DLC might remember that [[spoiler: Umaril the Unfeathered made a deal with Meridia and could reform and revive himself an unlimited number of times, yet could only be killed permanently while he was reforming. Meridia]] is basically doing the same thing here with you.
9	** This doesn't explain why [=NPCs=] continue to refer to you as if [[spoiler: you still don't have a soul]], however, even though the ability to play through the questlines of the other two factions is granted you, canonically, after the main questline is complete.
10	*** As far as this troper remembers, it was because Meridia explained you would become a sort of pawn in the Daedra's politics and thus needed to know the factions from all sides of the board so to speak. Hence why you were able to experience other faction's questlines as if you started up in that faction instead.
11	** Also not explained is [[spoiler: why you even want your soul back to begin with, since its absence doesn't seem to be having any negative impact on your ability to function and is granting you all sorts of superpowers and resistances.]]
12	*** Look at all the Soul Shriven in Coldharbor. There's only an endless lifetime of insanity, enslavement and torment to look forwards to. Being one is essentially being marked as Molag Bal, the [[RedBaron King of Rape]]'s property! And even if they didn't want their soul back, there is the fact that Molag Bal is trying to claim Tamriel for his own and he's holding millions of souls hostage that were less fortunate than the player. Even if the player didn't want their soul back, the fact remains that if they stood by and did nothing, ''Molag Bal would have won''.
13	* The game answers a minor plothole from Oblivion, where a big deal is made out of having no Emperor, Amulet of Kings or lit Dragonfires and how this is a terrible thing... despite it having happened before. Why didn't the world get invaded by the Daedric Princes back then too? As this game shows, it did!
14	* High Kinlady Estre's position as [[spoiler:the Veiled Queen]] takes on a new meaning when you explore the delve named Mehrunes' Spite, which contains a couple of notes that make it clear she has had dealings with [[spoiler:Mehrunes Dagon...the Daedric Prince of Change and Revolution]].
15	* The Psijic Order's skills (ignoring passives) all revolve around buffing or debuffing; appropriate for a group that isolated itself from the world, but still tries to guide Nirn as benevolently as possible.
16	* Sheogorath comes across as ''much'' more malicious in the Mages Guild questline, as opposed to his "still crazy but in a funny way" appearance in Shivering Isles, and his [[TookALevelInKindness even more likable portrayal]] in Skyrim. There's actually a plausible reason - during ESO, ''there's no Greymarch''. Sheogorath isn't currently on a time limit, he doesn't have to convince a mortal that he's not that bad and that mantling him is a good idea, and thus can focus on driving mortals insane. As a side note, Shalidor is obsessed with regaining his island, to the point that he ignores the effects his drive is having on other people. And isn't obsession ''another'' form of madness?
17	* On the BigBad of ''Summerset'': [[spoiler:Ritemaster Iachesis forgetting ''everything'' about where he'd hidden the Heart of Transparent Law is eerily reminiscent of how Nocturnal's artifact the Gray Cowl works in ''Oblivion''. And while Nocturnal herself majorly TookALevelInJerkass compared to her appearance in ''Skyrim'', her desire to unlock all planes of reality is conceptually similar to how the Skeleton Key works, as it does not only work on literal locks but is said to unlock potential and hidden possibilities as well.]]
18	* The story behind the Mages Guild dailies (relics from the Shivering Isles falling into Nirn due to the Planemeld) also provides a possible explanation for the in-universe AnachronismStew regarding the lorebooks that can be found; as [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Dragonborn]] revealed, Apocrypha, the realm of Hermaeus Mora, contains books from all times, even the future. Who's to say the books written in the future didn't also slip through the cracks into the Mundus?
19	* Regarding the fragments of the Mythic items gathered from Antiquities...
20	** The Thrassian Stranglers fragments, a Sload relic, are sourced primarily in zones based in Summerset, which is geographically closest to Thras and the menace of the Sload. The sole exception is sourced from Stros M'Kai, near which a powerful Sload necromancer would base his lair [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsAdventuresRedguard a few centuries later]].
21	** The Bloodlord's Embrace, the invention of a vampiric blacksmith;
22	*** The Goblet Gorget's lead is found in Spindleclutch, home of the ancient vampire Vorenor Winterbourne (from the Whisperer in Spindleclutch I, granted).
23	*** The Hecatomb Tassets lead can be found in the Imperial City Sewers, currently under occupation by the forces of the Daedric Prince responsible for vampirism. That being said, its retrieval spot of Khenarthi's Roost is an odd choice.
24	*** The Sanguine Doublet is found in Coldharbour, domain of said Prince.
25	*** The Thirsting Girdle is in Rivenspire, possibly under the watchful eyes of FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire group House Ravenwatch.
26	*** The Fanged Cuirass's location, Shadowfen, seems somewhat random, given how few vampires there are in the zone. However, the lead is obtained in Sanguine's Demesne... and sanguine is a word used in relation to ''blood''.
27	** Malacath's Band of Brutality...
28	*** The Brutal Rune Core is sourced from Patrolling Horrors in the Imperial City, but obtained in Bal Foyen. Seems random, but may well be a nod to Malacath and Molag Bal sharing a role in the Dunmer religion as two corners of The House of Troubles.
29	*** The Brutal Ritual Oil's lead is from Bonesnap Ruins, inhabited by goblins and ogres, the latter of which is a species that Malacath cares for, as his quest in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]] reveals.
30	** The Ring of the Wild Hunt, associated with Y'ffre...
31	*** The Band of Water is found in Glenumbra, part of High Rock. Seems out of place... but, the Bretons do have some reverence for Y'ffre (or, as they call him/her, Jephre), even if not to the extent the Bosmer do.
32	*** The Charm of the Shapeless is found in Murkmire. Mistaken for a relic of Sithis, perhaps?
33	** The pieces of the Snow Elven relic boots, the Snow Treaders, are found in Skyrim. The one exception is found in Coldharbour... but, with the Vault of Haman Forgefire and the Everfull Flagon, it's fair to say that a bit of Skyrim exists there.
34	* The influence of both Namira and Molag Bal play a role in the endgame of Markarth's story. And, where did their quests in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]] start?
35	* Daedric Titans might at first seem like just an excuse to have dragons in the game after their prominence in Skyrim, until you remember that dragons are creatures with an innate desire to conquer and rule over all other beings, so of course the Lord of Domination would want some of his own.
36	* Azandar's [[spoiler: MeaningfulRename]] tells a lot about his character, as [[spoiler: "Al-Cybiades" is pronounced the same as "Alcibiades," an Athenian general and statesman, known for being exceedingly handsome, intelligent, and more than a little amoral.]]
37	* While companions not reacting to criminal act skills can be chalked up to being a simple AntiFrustrationFeature, they do also have their reasons so that it doesn't seem forced;
38	** Bastian holds the view that magic can't be evil, only practitioners. As long as you're not throwing Blastbones at civilians, you're all right in his book.
39	** Mirri seems to have a dim view of Dunmer tradition, as can be seen with her disdain towards her grandfather, so she probably doesn't have the same views towards necromancy and vampirism as most mainstream Dunmer do. And given that vampirism and lycanthropy come from Daedric curses, the Vestige showing off those powers (away from innocents, of course) could serve her Daedrology research.
40	** Ember already has a rather loose relationship with the law, which can be one reason, but another is that the presence of a Soulrazer Knight in the basement of her longtime mentor Magister Irin's tower carries the possible implication that Irin is a necromancer (or at least capable of manipulating a Soulrazer) himself. As for werewolves, given that she usually dislikes them, she may be willing to overlook the Vestige transforming with the knowledge that it's a friend (or at least ally) underneath.
41	** Isobel's tolerance towards the Vestige using dark powers is a bit harder to swallow, given that she's an upstanding knight who holds Stendarr, enemy to Daedric influence, close to her heart. With werewolves and vampires, she might recognize the Vestige as a victim of a curse. As for a Necromancer Vestige, she could rationalize their raised minions as being those who rejected or don't deserve Stendarr's mercy... or maybe a twisted chance at redemption? This one could just be pure GameplayAndStorySegregation, though.
42	** Sharp-As-Night is no stranger to... let's say, unconventional, means of getting a job done.
43	** Azandar makes it known that he's left behind many Redguard conventions on his path as an arcanist, what's a few more? Besides that, his tampering with Daedric powers and forbidden knowledge would make him chiding you for using dark magic a tad hypocritical.
44
45	[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
46	* In the course of five games, Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination, has shown himself to be quite possibly the most evil ''thing'' in the franchise. And do you want to know something else? ''He's only ever appeared in sidequests!'' That right, folks, he's been a distraction before, but with ''Online'', the King of Rape now has his undivided malevolence set upon ''you''. If you thought the atrocities he has committed as a footnote were bad, just how bad do you think he'll be when you have his ''full attention''?
47	** On the other hand, as FridgeBrilliance, this justifies the MMO itself. What do you do when you're facing the local embodiment of evil? You send in TheChosenMany.
48	* The good ending of the Grey Mire quest is mostly uplifting and hopeful...but then you realize that the Dominion is eventually going to want an explanation for Uta-Tei and Slim-Jah's disappearances.
49	* The Dark Heart is a piece of the Void that corrupts souls into hateful shades. That's bad, undoubtably, but what might make it worse is that both Khajiit and Reachman mythos tie it to the Heart of Lorkhan. In a world where AllMythsAreTrue, to some extent, how much worse might the situation in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Vvardenfell 800 years later]] have been if Dagoth Ur discovered this? What sort of Void-twisted Corprus monsters might he have created?

Context Fridge / TheElderScrollsOnline