* AngstWhatAngst: Emperor Uriel Septim (as well as General Warhaft, if you're playing the floppy disk version), despite being imprisoned in another dimension for several years, seems relatively at ease and none the worse for wear when you eventually save him from Jagar Tharn's clutches, and immediately launches into a big congratulatory speech upon liberation without even questioning what happened in his absence. Eventually subverted in the ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' book "A Short Life of Uriel Septim VII", where it is revealed that his time in his dimensional prison actually ''did'' take a toll on his physical and mental health, and was the reason why he decided to go for more subtle and clandestine methods of solving problems in the next two games.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The entire soundtrack, composed by Eric Heberling. While not as iconic as Jeremy Soule's compositions from the later installments, Heberling's music still captures the essence and atmosphere of the series and much of it was even carried over into [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall the next game]]. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOFjco_jurE character creation theme]] in particular really makes you feel like you are creating a hero destined to save the world.
* DemonicSpiders: Stone Golems don't ''seem'' that bad when you first encounter them. Sure, they fire shock spells that deal a lot of damage, but they're still easier to take out in hand-to-hand combat than their cousins, the Iron Golems. Then you find in the last several dungeons they love to stand on top of tiny ledges and islands and pelt you with shock spells from a distance while you try in vain to get to them. If you didn't see the value of potions, spells, and items that give you the Levitation ability, you will now.
%%* GoddamnBats - Goblins and rats.
* GameBreaker: See [[GameBreaker/TheElderScrolls here]].
* GoodBadBugs: See [[GoodBadBugs/TheElderScrolls here]].
* HilariousInHindsight: The first dungeon you visit as part of the Main Quest after escaping from the Imperial City is called VideoGame/{{Stonekeep}}.
* JustHereForGodzilla: In this day and age, pretty much the only reason people go back to this game is either to hang out in cities or provinces that haven't appeared yet on a mainline Elder Scrolls title, or to see how cities that were present on a mainline Elder Scrolls title looked like.
* MagnificentBastard: [[EvilChancellor Jagar Tharn]] was once the closest advisor to Emperor Uriel Septim yet secretly had his own grand designs for Tamriel. Becoming the Imperial Battlemage, Tharn [[TreacherousAdvisor fed into the Emperor's ambitions]] to cause aggressive expansion throughout the Empire and satisfied his ego by appearing as a weak councilor when Septim became suspicious. Stealing the powerful Staff of Chaos, Tharn trapped the Emperor in Oblivion and used illusions [[TheUsurper to take his place]] on the throne to intentionally weaken the Empire for Mehrunes Dagon. Tharn then drained the staff and broke it into pieces he hid throughout Tamriel to ensure [[CrazyPrepared it couldn't be used against him]], yet the Eternal Champion escaped from Tharn's prison and did just that. Coming to see the Champion as a worthy foe, Tharn fought valiantly to the very end and managed to leave a legacy of distrust in the Septim Dynasty.
* RealityIsUnrealistic: The Ohmes Khajiit in this game are considered by many fans to barely be considered catfolk due to their almost entirely human appearance and the fact that they don't even have tails. However, there is actually a cat breed called the Manx, native to the Isle of Man that don't have tails.
* ScrappyMechanic: Not being able to save inside certain areas, such as stores, temples, and taverns. The latter is perhaps the most absurd, since taverns are literally the only place in the entire game where you can rest without worrying about monsters showing up to attack you, which really makes not being able to save there to be very inconvenient and anti-immersive. Meanwhile, you're free to break into people's houses to save ''and'' rest all you want ''[[FridgeLogic on private property]]''. Obviously, someone at Bethesda realized how unfair this rule was, since all TES games after this one allow you to save wherever and whenever you wish.
* ThatOneLevel:
** The Fortress of Ice, the fourth dungeon in the main quest (counting the Imperial Dungeons). It's swarming with Snow Wolves who fire devastating ice spells at you from the darkness, strong knights who will attack in pairs or even trios, Ice Golems who are actually impossible to damage unless your weapon is strong enough and they too will attack two at a time occasionally, and, oh yes, there's virtually no spots where you can safely camp to recover your health. It's a sharp learning curve, especially for players who have stuck closely to the main quest and haven't yet really tried picking up any artifacts or at least finding or buying enchanted equipment and raising their levels through side quests, and is actually considerably ''more'' difficult than the next dungeon where the PlotCoupon actually lies, the Labyrinthian.
** The Mines of Khuras. Naturally it's crawling with Hellhounds who will swarm you while shooting fireballs plus lava pits that you ''have'' to swim through and will cause considerable damage without Resist Fire, with a heaping side of Zombies who cause the Disease status effect and Humunculi who use shock spells. Worst of all, it's the first truly massive dungeon you come across. While with most previous dungeons you could reason out where you needed to go (i.e., the stairway to the second floor was often in the southern end of the dungeon), unless you're really lucky without a map you will spend lots of time fighting your way through sections that loop back or lead to dead ends without getting close to your actual goal.
** The Vaults of Gemin. Like the Mines of Khuras, it's two massive floors that are filled with dead ends and no intuitive way to figure out on your own which way you need to go, especially on the first floor which is mostly a complex of interlocked identical rooms. However, while the Mines of Khuras were pretty generous when it comes to treasure, the Vaults of Gemin are much more skimpy, and anyway at the point you arrive at the dungeon treasure is likely much less of a priority. Plus both floors are full of Stone Golems and Humunculi, who just love to attack in pairs or groups, with one keeping you busy while the other one safely shoots you to death from the very dark areas of the dungeon with shock spells. And if all that isn't enough, you may end up destroying your computer once you find that on the second floor, which is a large underground lake covered with plenty of buildings empty except for enemies and tiny islands on which Stone Golems are perched and ready to shoot you down, your objective is [[spoiler:just a little ways south of the entrance.]]
** The Temple of Agamanus, which is visited right before the Halls of Colossus, is a fairly standard--if somewhat challenging--dungeon, but has the gall to spawn a group of very powerful knights right smack-dab at the entrance. A poorly-equipped or low-level player entering this dungeon may as well be walking into a meat-grinder.