History Characters / TheElderScrollsDaedra

* AmbiguousGender: While technically true of all of the Daedric Princes, Boethiah has the most GenderBender tendencies. Boethiah appears as male in ''Daggerfall'', ''Morrowind'', and ''Oblivion'', while appearing female in ''Skyrim'' and ''Online''. The worshipers and cultists refer to Boethiah as both "he" and "she", [[PronounTrouble sometimes in the same sentence]]

* BlackKnight: Boethiah's usual appearance, whether male or female, is of a caped warrior wearing all black. It is theorized that this may be the corrupted appearance of Trinimac (now Malacath) who Boethiah swallowed and temporarily assumed his form.

* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: Summoning Boethiah in ''Skyrim'' requires you to prove that you're treacherous enough to work for them. To do that, you need to find someone who trusts you enough to follow you, take them to Boethiah's altar, and sacrifice them.
* IHaveManyNames: Prince of Plots, Deceiver of Nations, Queen of Shadows, and Goddess of Destruction among them.
* InTheHood: Boethiah's gargantuan statue in the Dragonstar Arena appears as a woman wearing a hood, and wielding a katana of sorts.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: Their quests usually involve fighting (and killing) someone, often a former champion of Boethiah.
* ManipulativeBastard: Deceit, betrayal, conspiracy, assassination, treason, unlawful overthrow of authority...all are within his sphere.

* TricksterGod: A very nasty version. One one case, Boethiah "ate" the Aldmeri god Trinimac and took on his form in order to convince Veloth to lead the Chimer people to Morrowind.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Having read all of the above, this trope comes into effect when one learns that the Dunmer consider them one of the ''good'' Daedric Princes and the anticipation of Almalexia.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: In ''Online'', [[spoiler:they decide that their current Champion must fight ''you'' ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation and your party]]) in the Dragonstar Arena in order to keep his title as Boethiah's Champion. Naturally, you win.]]

Boethiah is the Daedric Prince of Plots, whose sphere includes seemingly all manner of high crimes. Snakes are a common symbol of Boethiah, who has an intense love for competition and battle. Boethiah also has the greatest tendency out of the Daedric Princes to change gender with each manifestation, appearing variously as male or female. In either case, Boethiah takes a form a caped warrior wearing all black. Given all that is contained within Boethiah's sphere, Boethiah is naturally considered a "bad" Daedra near universally throughout Tamriel, with the Dunmer being one major exception.

* AmbiguousGender: While a few of the Daedric Princes get this, it occurs to Boethiah the most to their GenderBender tendencies. In ''Oblivion'', he has a male voice and is referred to as 'he', while in ''Skyrim'', she has a female voice and her statue is feminine but is referred to as both he and she by her cultists. [[PronounTrouble Sometimes in the same sentence]].

* BadBoss: If you worship them, be prepared to have to murder other people if you want to live. They demand their followers independently follow their own desires... just as long as those desires are completely in line with their own. The minute a follower fails that balancing act, things turn ''ugly''.
* BlackKnight: Their usual appearance, though this may be the original appearance of Trinimac (now Malacath) that they swallowed/corrupted and took.
* BloodKnight: Their quest in ''Oblivion'' is basically a tournament on their Oblivion Plane. What's the tournament's purpose? None. They're just bored.
* CardCarryingVillain: Is very open about the fact that they represent a number of typically evil attributes including assassination, betrayal, deceit, and specifically the ''unlawful'' overthrow of authority.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: They exist to cause and exacerbate the condition in mortals. In a way, they embody it.
* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: If you want Boethiah's attention or support, you are very likely going to have to commit some form of cruelty in order to gain it.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Most in Tamriel view Boethiah as an evil Daedric Prince, promoting violence and treachery, but the Dumner view them as a brutal but positive force. The Dunmer see Boethiah as driving them to be tougher and stronger, to be guarded against treachery and betrayal. In effect, Boethiah's harsh trials and ruthless betrayals push the the Dunmer to [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre become greater than they think they are.]]
* DemonicPossession: By way of HumanSacrifice in ''Skyrim''. Boethiah apparently finds mortal flesh distasteful.
* ForTheEvulz: Delights in making mortals kill each other simply because they can.
* GodNeedsPrayerBadly: In ''Morrowind'' they're not getting so much worship anymore since their shrine collapsed and their statue fell into the sea. Their quest to you is to build a new shrine.

Azura is the Daedric Prince of Dawn and Dusk, and is heavily associated with prophecy. Her most common symbols are a moon and star. She is one of the more benevolent Daedric Princes as well as one of the few to be almost universally considered "good" by mortals, and has typically shown greater concern for the well-being of her mortal followers than do most Princes. Azura has a particular association with the Dunmer people dating back to the earliest eras of Tamriellic history, and she is considered one of the three "Good Daedra" in their religion.

!!Boethiah

--> Sphere: Deceit, Conspiracy, Betrayal
--> Artifacts: Goldbrand, Eltonbrand, Ebony Mail, Fearstruck

The Daedric Prince of Plots. Has an intense love of trickery and combat. [[CaptainObvious Not a nice prince]], [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation although Dunmer tradition disagrees on that]]. Boethiah is one of two Daedric Princes who has not chosen a definitive gender (gender being a mortal construct). Boethiah appears as a man in ''Daggerfall'', ''Morrowind'', and ''Oblivion'', and appears as a woman in ''Skyrim'' and ''Online''.

In ''Daggerfall'', they ask you to kill a spellsword. In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', they ask you to build a statue of them. In ''Oblivion'', they ask you to participate in his Tournament of Ten Bloods. In ''Skyrim'', they ask you to kill all of their followers, and later kill their previous champion. In ''Online,'' she is the patron of the Dragonstar Arena.

* UnwittingPawn: Given her reputations as a "chess master" of sorts, just about any mortal in her service falls into this. While Azura may give that mortal a straightforward task and that mortal may accomplish it, it is almost certainly one move that is part of a bigger game. Her use of the Nerevarine is an prominent example.

** While listed as one of the "good" Daedra (both in Morrowind lore and by series fans), Azura is also closely tied to and allied with Molag Bal, [[NamesToRunAwayFrom the King of Rape]]. If the name didn't make it obvious, just about everyone both in and out-of-universe considers him to be a "bad" Daedra. This is possibly a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as Azura's alliance with Molag Bal was only mentioned in ''Daggerfall''.[[note]]In ''Morrowind'', there is Molag Grunda, daughter of Molag Bal, who looks like a Winged Twilight, a type of Daedra serving Azura]], suggesting there may indeed be still a connection between Azura and Molag Bal. ''Online'', however, introduces a group of Winged Twilight that serve Molag Bal; one quest in particular introduces one that ''betrayed'' Azura to do so, and Azura is none-too-pleased about it.[[/note]] As mentioned above, Azura, like many other Daedric Princes, was a subject to CharacterizationMarchesOn since then.

* DarkIsNotEvil: While none of the Daedric Princes are truly evil, Azura is one of the more benevolent Princes, despite her association with twilight and darkness.

* GreaterScopeVillain: One interpretation of her behavior in ''Morrowind''. While Azura takes on a highly benevolent image in helping to free the Dunmer from the threat of Dagoth Ur, the primary reason why the Nerevarine is actually sent to Vvardenfell is to undermine and destroy the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Tribunal]] (who defied her, stole her worshipers, and [[TheRashomon may have]] killed her previous champion, Nerevar). Actually defeating Dagoth Ur is just the good PR "icing on the cake" while she actually gets what she wants when the 4000-year reign of the Dunmeri {{Physical God}}s is brought to an end. In addition, Azura herself played a highly active role in bringing about the destruction of Morrowind in the years that followed, and she only warned a handful of her followers to leave (allowing for the rest to die horribly as punishment for turning on her). [[TheBadGuyWins She is also the only party in all of Morrowind to end up with ''everything'' she wanted]] (Dead or otherwise indisposed Tribunal, her former worshipers are firmly hers again, those who didn't worship her are enslaved and destroyed, amazing PR...)

* XanatosGambit: As the "Lady of Prophecy" who actively works (mostly) behind the scenes to ensure that her prophecies come to pass. Even if things don't go exactly according to her plans, they still tend to work out in ways that ultimately benefit her.

** While listed as one of the "good" Daedra (both in Morrowind lore and by series fans), Azura is also closely tied to and allied with Molag Bal, [[NamesToRunAwayFrom the King of Rape]]. If the name didn't make it obvious, just about everyone both in and out-of-universe considers him to be a "bad" Daedra. This is possibly a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as Azura's alliance with Molag Bal was only mentioned in ''Daggerfall''. As mentioned above, Azura, like many other Daedric Princes, was a subject to CharacterizationMarchesOn since then. In ''Morrowind'', there is [[spoiler:Molag Grunda, daughter of Molag Bal, who looks like a Winged Twilight, a type of Daedra serving Azura]], suggesting there may indeed be still a connection between Azura and Molag Bal. ''Online'', however, introduces a group of Winged Twilight that serve Molag Bal; one quest in particular introduces one that ''betrayed'' Azura to do so, and Azura is none-too-pleased about it.

Azura is the Daedric Prince of Dawn and Dusk, and is heavily associated with prophecy. She is one of the more benevolent Daedric Princes as well as one of the few to be almost universally considered "good" by mortals, and has typically shown greater concern for the well-being of her mortal followers than do most Princes. Azura has a particular association with the Dunmer people dating back to the earliest eras of Tamriellic history, and she is considered one of the three "Good Daedra" in their religion.

* BerserkButton: Mortals criticizing her or refusing her requests. From ''Daggerfall'', if you summon her but do not accept her (rather petty) request:

* TheChessmaster: She is the "Lady of Prophecy", and she actively works (mostly) behind the scenes to ensure that those prophecies come to pass, at least "in spirit" if not exactly as they are written.
* DarkIsNotEvil: While none of the Daedric Princes are truly evil, Azura is one of the nicer Princes (for a given definition of "nice"), despite her association with darkness.
* DidYouJustScamCthulhu: In ''Skyrim'', [[spoiler:if you choose to purify Azura's Star on your own, it becomes a re-usable ''black'' soul gem called the Black Star.]]

* EvilPaysBetter: The ([[BlueAndOrangeMorality mostly]]) good end of her ''Skyrim'' questline is to [[spoiler:purify Azura's Star, receiving it as a reusable white Soul Gem and gaining Aranea Ienith as a potential follower. On the other hand, you can complete the corruption and transform it into the Black Star which can hold all types of soul including human -- keep in mind Black Soul Gems are rather rare and humanoid souls are the best for enchanting]]. [[spoiler:Though this is apparently a glitch. Originally the Black Star was supposed to hold ''only'' black souls and not white souls.]]
* {{Expy}}: Azura shares much of her temperament and nature, if not her domain, with [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Athena.]] Like Athena, she is seen as one of the "good" Daedra, but shows a very cruel and petty side when slighted. The in-universe text, 'Azura and the Box' shares much with some [[UnreliableNarrator versions]] of tale of Arachne, with a mortal outdoing a god, and bringing down a curse upon themselves due to the gods in question being sore losers.
* GoodIsNotNice: Generally considered of the "good" Daedra, and usually one of the more benevolent Princes toward mortals. However, has no compunction against expressing her displeasure in very nasty ways. Additionally, there is some evidence that she may be more of a TrueNeutral, concerned with maintaining a sort of metaphysical balance, and doing so just happens to benefit the mortal races more often than not.

--> Sphere: Dawn and Dusk, Twilight, Prophecy, Vanity, Egotism
--> Realm: Moonshadow
--> Artifacts: Azura's Star, Moon and Star Ring of Nerevar

That said, Azura has no compunction against expressing her displeasure in very nasty ways, having a cruel and often petty streak toward those who defy her in any way. There are also some hints that she may be a sort of 'cosmic force' primarily concerned with maintaining a sort of metaphysical balance in the universe, and her perceived "benevolence" is merely the result of her actions benefiting mortals more often than not.

In ''Daggerfall'', she asks you to kill a priest. In ''Morrowind'', she acts as a BigGood guide to the PlayerCharacter through the main quest. She also has a side quest where she asks you to destroy the Daedra sent by Sheogorath to disturb her priestess. In ''Oblivion'', she asks you to MercyKill five of her followers who were infected with Porphyric Hemophilia (vampirism). In ''Skyrim'', she asks you to find and purge one of her artifacts, Azura's Star.

* AbsoluteCleavage: Crossing over with BarbieDollAnatomy and NippleAndDimed, depending on the game. Her appearance in ''Daggerfall'' is actually topless. In ''Morrowind'' and ''Oblivion'', her statues are topless but lacking in details. Her avatar which appears in ''Morrowind'' and ''Tribunal'' is much more modestly dressed (see the entry image). Her statue in ''Skyrim'' is this trope specifically.
* BenevolentBoss: If you worship her and stay loyal, she'll watch out for you. A book in ''Skyrim'' written by one of her followers notes that Azura wants the love of her followers. Regardless of the interpretation of her actions, she is this toward the Nerevarine in ''Morrowind'', being nothing but pleasant towards and protective of the Nerevarine, just as she was to the original Nerevar.
* BerserkButton: Don't shirk her in ''any'' way if you have worshiped her. You ''will'' be destroyed. She also doesn't like it when people criticize her or in any way outperform her. She also takes it very, very badly when mortals refuse her requests, as ''Daggerfall'' shows.

* BigBad: Azura seems to be a unique hybrid of Big Bad, BigGood, and GreaterScopeVillain for ''Morrowind'', [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation with exactly where she falls depending on one's interpretation of her role]] in the events of ''Morrowind'' and its aftermath.
* TheChessmaster: She is the "Lady of Prophesy", and she actively works (mostly) behind the scenes to ensure that those prophesies come to pass, at least "in spirit" if not exactly as they are written.

!!Azura

--> Sphere: Dawn and Dusk, Twilight

The Daedric Prince of Dusk and Dawn, Lady of Prophecy. (The fact that she actively strives to bring those prophecies to fruition is something she would rather you ignore.) While often considered one of the most benevolent of the Daedric Princes, she has shown a very cruel and petty side on numerous occasions, from cursing an entire race (the Dunmer) to the betrayal of one Ezhmaar Sul. Her most common symbols are a moon and a star.

* RedBaron: Queen of the Night Sky, Mother of the Rose.
* XanatosGambit: As the "Lady of Prophesy" who actively works (mostly) behind the scenes to ensure that her prophesies come to pass. Even if things don't go exactly according to her plans, they still tend to work out in ways that ultimately benefit her.

* WorfHadTheFlu: In the rare cases where a mortal directly contends with a Daedric Prince, said Prince is either weakened (such as manifesting on Nirn where the Aedra will weaken their power), is WillfullyWeak, or said mortal has been empowered by one of the Divines or another Prince.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Further complicating the BlueAndOrangeMorality issue is that many of the Princes are seen differently through different cultural lenses. Boethiah is considered a "good" Daedra by the Dunmer. Meanwhile, Malacath is considered a "bad" Daedra by the Dunmer, but the Orsimer consider him their patron deity and divine ancestor.

* BigBadEnsemble: Most of the {{Big Bad}}s for the games have come from the ranks of the Daedric Princes. Mehrunes Dagon for ''Battlespire'' and ''Oblivion'' (and being TheManBehindTheMan for ''Arena''); Hircine for ''Bloodmoon''; Meridia as the GreaterScopeVillain for ''Knights of the Nine''; Jyggalag for ''Shivering Isles''; Molag Bal for ''Online'' (and GreaterScopeVillain for ''Dawnguard''); and [[spoiler:Hermaeus Mora as the GreaterScopeVillain for ''Dragonborn'']].

* GeniusLoci: One interpretation of the Princes is that their home realm or realms ''are'' the Prince, with the forms you see in the games being the personification of that realm of Oblivion. This is backe dup by the events of ''Online's'' main quest, where the Vestige and their allies can invade Coldharbour, and [[spoiler: Meridia]] spends a lot of time working to keep Molag Bal from becoming aware of them the same way a disease would incubate inside a living body.
* GodWasMyCopilot: They are known to take seemingly inconspicuous mortal forms from time to time, to personally guide mortals to ends they desire.
** In ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the player can meet a man named Sam Guivenne. Later on, he reveals his true form as that of [[LouisCypher Sanguine]], the Daedric Prince of revelry and debauchery.
** In ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsOnline'', the player is ushered into The Hollow City in Coldharbour by a seemingly normal but mysterious woman known only as [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The Groundskeeper]]. In the final act of the story, The Groundskeeper reveals herself as Meridia, the Daedric Prince of Light and Life, the BigGood against Molag Bal.

* IncrediblyInconvenientDeity: Given their frequent meddling in the mortal world and the generally unsavory effects it has, they can very easily come off this way. The quests they give to their mortal follows are frequently either incredibly arduous or incredibly silly, with the Princes giving flimsy or no justification as to why they want the task accomplished.
* JerkassGods: Most of them spend their time screwing over mortals for flimsy reasons.
* KickTheDog: Due to their BlueAndOrangeMorality, they can do either this or PetTheDog, and probably don't see much difference between the two. For example, Sheogorath's quest in ''Oblivion'' has you convincing a village that the world is about to end, driving them to mass hysteria. But in ''Skyrim'', you need to treat an insane emperor of his (many) psychological issues in order to convince Sheogorath to end his "vacation" and return to repair the Shivering Isles. Meanwhile, Clavicus Vile's ''Skyrim'' quest has you barge into his shrine and fight past scores of vampires. When you eventually talk to him, he mentions that the vampires were trying to rid themselves of their affliction and had made a bargain with him to do so. Clavicus gleefully points out that he considers having you slaughter them all count as upholding his side of the deal.

* NotSoDifferent: In most tellings of the story of the creation of Mundus, there was originally no difference between the et'Ada who would go on to become the Aedra and those who would become the Daedra. (Other versions of the story instead state that the the et'Ada who would become the Aedra rose from the intermingled blood of Anu and Padomay while the et'Ada who would become the Daedra specifically came from the blood of Padomay. There is still generally no difference made between them in terms of power or ability until after the creation of Mundus.)

* OrderVsChaos: Are generally the "Chaos" to the Aedra's "Order." They are Padomaic aligned as opposed to Anuic aligned, though Jyggalag and Peryite may be exceptions since they represent forms of Order.
* OurGodsAreDifferent: Pre-creation spirits who refused to take part in the creation of Mundus and are manifestations of the primal forces of reality. They are truly immortal, and if their physical form is killed on Mundus, their spirit simply returns to their plane of Oblivion to reform.

* ReligionOfEvil: Daedric worship is often hit with this in-universe, though given that most of the Daedric Princes are JerkassGods, this is understandable. Boethiah, Mehrunes Dagon, and Molag Bal, being the most malevolent of the Princes, invoke this more than most, as their worship frequently involves a HumanSacrifice. Taken to a new extreme in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', where after [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion the Oblivion Crisis]], worship of certain Princes such as Mehunres Dagon and Molag Bal was outright banned, and groups like the Vigilants of Stendarr were formed to wipe out Daedric worshipers before they could cause another Oblivion Crisis like the Mythic Dawn.
* ScaryAmoralReligion: The various Daedric Cults are seen as this to the worshipers of the Nine Divines. This is likely because so many of the Daedra represent rather disturbing concepts, like Destruction, Madness, and Corruption.
* SheIsTheKing: Even the female-identifying Daedra are still referred to as "Princes", though historically [[ShownTheirWork the term "prince" could be applied to rulers, regardless of sex]][[note]]It comes from ''princeps'', a Latin word meaning "first," which fits since the Daedric Princes are the most powerful of the Daedra[[/note]]. Also, see OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous above.
* TimeAbyss: Like the Aedra above, they were pre-creation spirits who have existed since before time itself.
* WorfHadTheFlu: In the rare cases where a mortal directly contends with a Daedric Prince, said Prince is either weakened (such as manifesting on Nirn where the Aedra will weaken their power), they're WillfullyWeak, or that mortal has substantial assistance from one of the Divines or another Prince.

* AboveGoodAndEvil: Though most are considered "evil," scholars in-universe and out among the fandom argue that their actions are above what mortal minds can understand, with none wholly good or evil. The "Good" ones only seem that way because what they seek to accomplish is generally beneficial or benevolent toward mortals, while the "Evil" ones are more likely to harm mortals with their actions. For instance, Mehrunes Dagon is the Daedric Prince of Destruction, but can be considered no more "evil" than a tidal wave or an earthquake.
* AngelsDevilsAndSquid: They are a diverse group, ranging from the angel-like, generally "good" ([[GoodIsNotNice if not always nice]]) ones like Azura and Meridia to the very devil-like ones like Mehrunes Dagon and Molag Bal. And then there's Hermaeus Mora, who doesn't even bother to appear in a [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm form mortals can understand]] and goes with the whole [[EldritchAbomination mishmash of tentacles and eyes]] look.

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Because of the structure of the Aurbis, there are only sixteen Princes. Any other powerful Daedra are considered "lords" but not a true Prince. Of course, thanks to Sheogorath, as of ''Shivering Isles'' there's now [[spoiler:seventeen Princes, since he [[LoopholeAbuse transferred the mantle of Sheogorath to the Champion of Cyrodiil, allowing him to reassert his place as Jyygalag]]. ]]
* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: Most are treated as "evil" and they are almost impossible to truly destroy. Since they are manifestations of the primal forces of reality, even if their avatar is somehow destroyed, a new avatar would form to take their place. The best anyone can do is shatter their link to the mortal realm and banish them back into Oblivion.
* BigBadEnsemble:
** Most of the {{Big Bad}}s for the games have come from the ranks of the Daedric Princes. Mehrunes Dagon for ''Battlespire'' and ''Oblivion'' (and being TheManBehindTheMan for ''Arena''); Hircine for ''Bloodmoon''; Meridia as the GreaterScopeVillain for ''Knights of the Nine''; Jyggalag for ''Shivering Isles''; Molag Bal for ''Online'' (and GreaterScopeVillain for ''Dawnguard''); and [[spoiler:Hermaeus Mora as the GreaterScopeVillain for ''Dragonborn'']].
** In addition, Azura seems to be a unique hybrid of BigBad, BigGood, and GreaterScopeVillain for ''Morrowind'', [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation with exactly where she falls depending on one's interpretation of her role]] in the events of ''Morrowind'' and its aftermath.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Mortals tend to see them as evil or good (mostly evil), but scholars and the Princes themselves insist they are far beyond these limits. Even the "good" Daedra would point out that applying human morality to beings like the Daedra operates on certain flawed assumptions.
** Also - in case of Sheogorath - blue can be clue can be true can be glue can be sue can be hue can be you can be me. And orange... [[LeastRhymableWord well, let's leave it at that]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: The personalities of many of the Princes are ''very'' different in ''Daggerfall'' than they would go on to be depicted in later games.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Further complicating the BlueAndOrangeMorality issue is that many of the princes are seen differently through different cultural lenses. Boethiah is considered a "good" daedra by the Dunmer. Meanwhile, Malacath is considered a "bad" daedra by the Dunmer, but most of the Orsimer consider him their hero and divine ancestor.
* DevilButNoGod: How some in Tamriel view the situation. Most of the Princes are near-universally reviled as "evil", and their worshipers are considered misguided at best, and dangerous lunatics at worst. They are, however, very much present in the world. They speak directly to their worshipers, sometimes even appearing in a physical form, and are perfectly willing to offer immediate, tangible rewards for those that choose to do their work.
* DimensionLord: Each rules over one or more realms in Oblivion.
* EldritchAbomination: The Daedric Princes are alien beyond human understanding, though they can take any form they like, and so will often take a humanoid form to deal with mortals. They operate on BlueAndOrangeMorality above mortal understanding. How they feel about the mortal races varies from prince to prince; many enjoy being worshiped, some just enjoy toying with mortals' lives for their own amusement, but all of them have demonstrated a willingness to reward mortals they find particularly helpful, loyal, or amusing.

* EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily: Completely averted. Most of the Princes mortals would call "evil" can't stand each other. Molag Bal and Boethiah have a particularly heated rivalry, and the former doesn't get along with Mehrunes Dagon either. That said, they don't often act directly against one another; but then again, they don't often mention each other, except for Sheogorath, and only when he's trolling the rest of them.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: All of them to some extent, except perhaps for Hermaeus Mora. Because of this, it is speculated that YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm.

* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler: The main questline for the Dragonborn DLC is essentially this for him. He allowed Miraak to think he could plot against him in Apocrypha, using the opportunity to secretly groom the Last Dragonborn as his replacement, and thusly allowed Miraak to become a threat the Last Dragonborn and the Skaal couldn't ignore. Simultaneously, Miraak can't be reached by normal means, and doing so requires knowing the full Bend Will shout, the words of which only Hermaus Mora himself knows. The last of which, Mora refuses to give until the Skaal give up the knowledge he is pursuing. One way or another, Mora wins.]]

* FirstPersonPerson: He speaks this way in ''Daggerfall'', with an added bit of BuffySpeak.

* WasOnceAMan: He used to be an Aldmeri god, Trinimac, until Boethiah ate him. The remains became Malacath. [[FisherKing As a result]], his followers became the Orcs. Of course Malacath himself makes claim that this tale is far too "literal minded" in several in-game books.

-->'''Alduin''': "You I curse right here and right now! I take away your ability to jump and jump and jump and doom you to [the void] where you will not be able to leave except for auspicious days long between one and another and even so only through hard, hard work. And it will be this way, my little corner cutter, until you have destroyed all that in the world which you have stolen from earlier kalpas, which is to say probably never at all!"

* GeniusLoci: One interpretation of the Princes is that their home realm or realms ''are'' the Prince, with the forms you see in the games being the personification of that realm of Oblivion.

[[folder:Lesser Daedra]]

Daedra are vaguely demonic extra-dimensional beings that reside in a plane called "Oblivion". The strongest Daedra are called the Daedric Princes, who have their own folder on [[Characters/TheElderScrollsDivineBeings the Divine Beings character page]]. The vast majority of Daedra are not Princes, but lesser races of varying levels of sapience and intelligence. Like the Princes, they can't truly die but only be "banished". Their bodies are significantly easier to ruin than a Prince's, however. Typically, lesser Daedra on a racial basis swear fealty to one particular prince, but there are exceptions.

!! Demiprince

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Daedric Princes]]

The "original spirit" divine beings that did not take part in the creation of the world. As such, they did not sacrifice any of their power during creation and remain truly immortal. Most tend to be seen as evil, often drawing comparisons to demons, though this varies between cultures.

The most powerful and important of the Daedra are the Daedric Princes. Each has a particular sphere, which the are said to govern from their planes of Oblivion which they inhabit and rule. Though most tend to appear consistently in a particular masculine or feminine form, they can change that form however they please and thus, have no inherent gender. They are always referred to as "Princes" regardless of the form the take. Mortals who gain their favor are often gifted with abilities and artifacts of great power, though may be required to pledge their soul to serve their Daedric patron after death.

There are 17 known Daedric Princes following the events of ''Shivering Isles''. 16 appear in ''Daggerfall''; 7 appear in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', and all 17 appear again in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', but only 16 of them appear in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''.

!!Tropes applicable to all Daedric Princes: