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1[[quoteright:277:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c3c8f91a_22df_4987_9f14_a086de4f283a_13160_00000a32497bf572_tmp.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:277: ''...not even's last night's storm could wake you. I heard them say we reached Morrowind.'']]
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4-> ''"They have taken you from the Imperial City's prison, first by carriage and now by boat, to the east; to Morrowind. Fear not, for I am watchful. You have been chosen."''
5-->-- '''Azura''', from the introduction
6
7''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' is [[NeverTrustATitle the fifth videogame]] in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series by [[{{Creator/Bethesda}} Bethesda Softworks]], released in 2002. Like the other games in the "core" series (i.e. the ones with numbers in their names), it is a WesternRPG set in a massive WideOpenSandbox game world.
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9''Morrowind'' was the first ''Elder Scrolls'' game to be released on a console (specifically, the Platform/{{Xbox}}) -- in fact, it was the first major WesternRPG to get a MultiPlatform release in a long while. As such, it also marked a significant shift in game play and design philosophy. Gone were the [[RandomlyGeneratedLevels nigh-infinite]], [[ProceduralGeneration procedurally generated worlds]] of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]''. Instead, ''Morrowind'' is significantly smaller in scope than its predecessors (a "mere" 9 square miles as opposed to thousands, and a non-infinite number of side-quests), but comes off just as epic anyway thanks to the quality of the writing and the hand-crafted, [[SceneryPorn diverse, exotic landscapes]] while still being larger than most other game worlds. Thanks to its greater availability and these philosophy changes, ''Morrowind'' was a critical and commercial hit, being Bethesda's BreakthroughHit, winning tons of awards, and introducing a massive NewbieBoom to the series.
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11The combat system is radically different from the rest of the series: while it is still real-time, character stats play a far larger role than player skill compared to the rest of the series. Like the other games, however, ''Morrowind'' offers LoadsAndLoadsOfSidequests, of which some of the [[SidequestSidestory faction questlines]] are nearly as expansive as the main quest itself, and are neatly tied into the main story.
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13Set 10 years after the events of ''Daggerfall'', a [[YouAllMeetInACell convict]] from the Imperial City Prison (the PlayerCharacter) is released on the Emperor's direct orders on the condition that you be shipped to the backwater province of Morrowind (more specifically, the even more backwater district of Vvardenfell which, until very recently, was closed off to all foreigners on religious grounds). Guided by [[SecretPolice the Blades]], the PC investigates the local prophesies of TheChosenOne, known as the Nerevarine, who will save the land from the dreaded "Blight". Tracing the source of the Blight to the [[BigBad evil]] PhysicalGod, Dagoth Ur, the PC is launched into a labyrinthine plot involving an AncientConspiracy, prophecies, lost prophecies, ''false'' prophecies, {{reincarnation}}, gods, backroom politics, gang wars, and TheCorruption.
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15''Morrowind'' is also notable for being much, much ''[[NewWeird weirder]]'' than the rest of the franchise, being set in an alien landscape populated by Dunmer (Dark Elves), {{Bizarchitecture}}, dinosaur-like fauna, [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant arthropods]], {{Living Gasbag}}s, {{Cthulhumanoid}}s, and more.
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17Two expansion packs were later released for PC:
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19* ''Tribunal'': Following an assassination attempt against the PlayerCharacter, you are directed to Morrowind's capital city of Mournhold to investigate. From there, you become embroiled in the power struggle between the Tribunal deity Almalexia and the King of Morrowind, Hlaalu Helseth. It's noticeably more challenging than the original game, and intended for mid-to-high level characters. Unlike the rest of the game, you are restricted to only one part of the stated-to-be massive city and the sewers/ruins [[UndergroundLevel beneath it]].
20* ''Bloodmoon'': The expansion adds the island of Solstheim, a grim [[GrimUpNorth frozen tundra]] with a very different atmosphere than the main game. Upon arriving, you find effectively two main quests to complete. The first begins when you sign on to help an [[BadassArmy Imperial Legion]] captain with some odd jobs around his fort and quickly escalates into a simple-but-dramatic plot about rescuing him from the [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame Most Dangerous Game]] -- by taking part in it yourself. The second involves helping the new Imperial mining colony of Raven Rock grow from absolutely nothing into a flourishing frontier settlement, with plenty of moral dilemmas along the way.
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22In 2003, the GameOfTheYearEdition was released for both Platform/{{Xbox}} and PC. It includes all of the patches, DLC, and both expansions.
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24On April 10, 2018, ''Morrowind'' was released on the Xbox Games Store as an Platform/XboxOne backwards compatible title. This version can also be played on the Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS.
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26Despite its venerable age, ''Morrowind'' remains a classic and boasts a large player base to this day. It marked the point where [[TheVerse Tamriel]] ceased to be a [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy Medieval Europe]]-inspired StandardFantasySetting and became a truly unique ConstructedWorld with highly memorable cultures, history, creatures, landscapes, mythopoeia, and characters. As its [[Gush/VideoGamesAToF gushing]] fans will tell you, ''Morrowind'' does imitate the works of Creator/JRRTolkien, but in a much different way than most fantasy worlds do -- by putting the same amount of thought and detail into its universe, rather than just borrowing ideas from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. And even less-enthused observers have to admit that ''Morrowind'' has probably had the greatest overall influence on the direction of WesternRPG output since ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'' -- near-as-dammit every WRPG since has been influenced by ''Morrowind''.
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28''Morrowind'' also features a large modding community which continues to churn out {{Game Mod}}s to this day. One of the most prominent is ''VideoGame/TamrielRebuilt'', which seeks to add a lore-accurate representation of the rest of mainland Morrowind to the game's world. (Tropes specific to ''Tamriel Rebuilt'' should go there.)
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31!!This video game provides examples of:
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33* Morrowind/TropesAToC
34* Morrowind/TropesDToL
35* Morrowind/TropesMToR
36* Morrowind/TropesSToZ
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