History NightmareFuel / TheElderScrollsOnline

[[caption-width-right:350:"I AM MOLAG BAL, LORD OF DOMINATION!"]]

!!Basegame

* During one of the Deshaan quests, the alchemist Merdyndril will turn a few of your allies into what are essentially plague zombies. If the transformations were not disturbing enough on their own, Captain Diriil’s screams of terror as he turns are absolutely ''chilling''. Overlaps with TearJerker due to the unfortunate captain having been an overall nice guy who had been around for a handful of quests, but it’s still undiluted NightmareFuel—in no small part due to the quality of the voice acting. Add to that the fact that Merdyndril is extremely challenging at low levels, which means you stand a good chance of hearing that anguished scream over and over again.

* The mini stories your Hirelings tell you through your daily letters are mostly funny and/or heartwarming little anecdotes into the daily lives of your various Hirelings...with the sole exception of the final Enchanter Hireling, whose story is downright ''terrifying''. After innocuously exploring a seemingly abandoned Aylied ruin, she suddenly finds herself embroiled in an AncientConspiracy revolving around ''something'' called "Abavarlor". What Abavarlor is is never explained, but whatever it is, it has the power to graphically kill anyone who speaks its name too much, which is a problem because anyone who knows it is compelled to [[MadnessMantra say it over and over until they die]]. One of the final letters describes how the Hireling watched as a member of the conspiracy who had been stalking her for much of the storyline dying from the curse due to saying the word so much ''her face dissolves''.
** Seeing how "Abavarlor" means "Forbidden Symbol" in the Ayleid language, the fact that there is no explanation given [[CosmicHorrorStory might be]] [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow a blessing]].

!!Downloadable Content

* In Moon Hunter Keep, you meet a Khajiit named Narazda. She was a prisoner, but insists on following your group to assist you. You must later fight [[MadScientist Archivist Ernarde]], and Narazda will explain how he would experiment on the prisoners to make the pack stronger. [[spoiler: After defeating Vykosa, the dungeon's boss, Narazda admits to being a werewolf who was tricked into Vykosa's pack, and was being experimented on by Archivist Ernarde. When she instead turned immune to Vykosa's [[MindRape compulsions]], which only incresed the experimentation. She heavily implies that it was a horrible, horrible experience, and she is obviously relieved when you kill Vykosa.]]

* Rada al-Saran in general can be intense due to him being difficult to read, and always carrying himself with dignity and calm even when furious. During a conversation between the player and Rada al-Saran in ''Markarth'', he suggests he answer any question the player has truthfully, as long as he gets a truthful answer from the player for each question. The way the conversation is made, the first question and answer are obligatory, but after that, the player must choose how much they wish to know, as every question asked gives Rada al-Saran an opportunity to find out who the player's ally is. [[spoilers:Not that he needs it; he heavily implies that he already knows who the ally is, but either wants to make sure, or is taunting the player character.]]
** In ''Markarth'' he truly shows what a MagnificentBastard he is, as he has made sure that all possible outcomes in his plan will in some way benefit him.
-->'''Rada al-Saran:''' A threat implies only the ''possibility'' of punishment. I do not threaten.
* The random lines that the "purified" mobs say throughout Depths of Malatar can be quite uncomfortable, like "Your will will be crushed!" and "Conform to her will!".
** Tharayya later theorizes that the Imperials found the temple, and the guardians were angered and locked them there, and made them into slaves and servants for their master.

* The end of the ''Necrom'' main quest drops a massive bombshell that completely shakes the lore of the series: ''There's a 18th Daedric Prince''. And this Prince's powers over fate and chaos were so apocalyptically dangerous that Hermaeous Mora was forced to completely erase all memory and knowledge of her from the cosmos, even from himself, just to keep her from destroying reality. And by the end of the main quest, one of the lost Prince's surviving followers is still on the loose, and determined to set her free...

!!The Trailers

* The end of the ''Necrom'' main quest drops a massive bombshell that completely shakes the lore of the series: ''There's a 13th Daedric Prince''. And this Prince's powers over fate and chaos were so apocalyptically dangerous that Hermaeous Mora was forced to completely erase all memory and knowledge of her from the cosmos, even from himself, just to keep her from destroying reality. And by the end of the main quest, one of the lost Prince's surviving followers is still on the loose, and determined to set her free...

* Sombren's FaceHeelTurn from a kind, noble knight to a raving, fanatical lunatic in the ''Gates of Oblivion'' epilogue. Even before he turns on you, its clear that his time with the Mysterium Xarxes has changed him for the worse, with him acting more erratic, aggressive and paranoid than he was in Blackwood, and Calia later confides in you that she overheard him muttering to the book at some point. His fall is both unsettling and [[TearJerker tragic]] given what the two of you went through together in Blackwood.

** Given that "Abavarlor" means "Forbidden Symbol" in the Ayleid language, the fact that there is no explanation given [[CosmicHorrorStory might be]] [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow a blessing]].

** Given that "Abavarlor" means "Forbidden Symbol" in the Ayleid language, the fact that there is no explanation given [[CosmicHorrorStory might be a blessing]].

* * The Rubble Butte Delve has a rather disturbing justification for its respawning enemies. The witch coven that took over the ruins recently stole a tome discussing the Alessian Order's Dragon Break in the hopes of creating a miniature Dragon Break of their own. After you have fought your way through the dungeon and defeated the coven's leader, her notes reveal that their research into the tome did indeed create a small Dragon Break, but they have no control over it. Every time you or another player clears the dungeon, time rewinds to the point before the dungeon was breached, the witches are restored, only to die again in battle against you. Over and over and ''over'' again. And they are aware of every single loop, but are powerless to escape it.

* "The Lady of Blood" quest in ''Greymoor''. Lady Essenia, one of Rad al-Saran's lieutenants, has been abducting Vampires and performing twisted experiments on them in order to turn them into Bloodknights for the Grey Host. The results of these experiments are [[BodyHorror not pretty]], with the captives covered in black, growth-like scars and blinded by the alchemical concoctions they've been pumped with. At once point, you come across a captive Vampire ingrained in a wall by the growths, and she practically ''begs'' you to just leave her and let her die so the torment will end.

* The Rubble Boutte Delve has a rather disturbing justification for its respawning enemies. The witch coven that took over the ruins recently stole a tome discussing the Alessian Order's Dragon Break in the hopes of creating a miniature Dragon Break of their own. After you have fought your way through the dungeon and defeated the coven's leader, her notes reveal that their research into the tome did indeed create a small Dragon Break, but they have no control over it. Every time you or another player clears the dungeon, time rewinds to the point before the dungeon was breached, the witches are restored, only to die again in battle against you. Over and over and ''over'' again. And they are aware of every single loop, but are powerless to escape it.

!!The Trailers
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jNT5cMwxw0 The Alliance Trailer]]: The undead werewolves at the beginning.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVMNQozxqos The Arrival Trailer]]: The [[spoiler:corrupted Breton]] and an army of undead approaching the Imperial City, with Molag Bal's face smiling diabolically in storming clouds in the background.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnpTgepe1tA The Summerset Trailer]]: You can spot animals and creatures of important Daedric Princes in the background in the trailer, which gives this uneasy feeling that you are being watched and used as a pawn by these powerful beings.
** The high elf character falls into the ocean, and one can see a giant EldritchAbomination coming from the deep to consume her whole.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo50aybqlak The Elsweyr E3 Trailer]]: Imagine being a regular Khajiit in Rimmen, and suddenly, a giant dragon, the beasts of legends, appears and burns it all down. How terrified they must have been.

!!The Game
* When you die in the world and choose to resurrect by a wayshrine rather than with a soul gem, you will hear your character gasp for air. There might be an in-story reason for your [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist constant revival upon death]], but that does not make the death itself less painful, not to mention traumatic.

* During one of the Deshaan quests, the alchemist Merdyndril will turn a few of your allies into what are essentially plague zombies. If the transformations weren’t disturbing enough on their own, Captain Diriil’s screams of terror as he turns are absolutely ''chilling''. Overlaps with TearJerker due to the unfortunate captain having been an overall nice guy who had been around for a handful of quests, but it’s still undiluted NightmareFuel—in no small part due to the quality of the voice acting. Add to that the fact that Merdyndril is extremely challenging at low levels, which means you stand a good chance of hearing that anguished scream over and over again.

* The Harrowstorms. Blood-red storms that are capable of literally sucking the souls out of anyone who gets caught in them, causing them to slowly turn into feral super-vampires. And the endgame of ''Greymoor'' involves a truly massive one being summoned ''within Solitude itself''.

* The Rubble Boutte Delve has a rather disturbing justification for its respawning enemies. The witch coven that took over the ruins recently stole a tome discussing the Alessian Order's Dragon Break in the hopes of creating a miniature Dragon Break of their own. After you've fought your way through the dungeon and defeat the coven's leader, her notes reveal that their research into the tome did indeed create a small Dragon Break, but they have no control over it. Every time you or another player clears the dungeon, time rewinds to the point before the dungeon was breached, the witches are restored, only to die again in battle against you. Over and over and ''over'' again. And they are aware of every single loop, but are powerless to escape it.
* A quest in Greenshade involves you rescuing several Falinesti Faithful pilgrims from a tribe of Wood Orcs. Things take a dark turn, however, when one of the captives declares that she's not leaving until the Wood Orcs pay in blood for what they did to her and her tribe, and she ''means'' it. Half-mad with fury, she demands that you help her butcher the Wood Orc warchief's entire family, ''mount their heads before him'', then essentially torture him to death while he's consumed with grief. And then, just as the icing on the cake, the pilgrim condemns the family's souls to eternal torment and agony in the deepest depths of Oblivion. Her vengeance is so brutal and cruel that you actually have the option to refuse to go through with it, and the initial quest giver says outright that was the right call as he reacts in horror to his fellow pilgrim's plan.

* The Rubble Boutte Delve has a rather disturbing justification for its respawning enemies. The witch coven that took over the ruins recently stole a tome discussing the Alessian Order's Dragon Break in the hopes of creating a miniature Dragon Break of their own. After you've fought your way through the dungeon and defeat the coven's leader, her notes reveal that their research into the tome did indeed create a small Dragon Break, but they have no control over it. Every time you or another player clears the dungeon, time rewinds to the point before the dungeon was breached, the witches are restored, only to die again in battle against you. Over and over and ''over'' again. And they are aware of every single loop, but are powerless to escape it.

* The fact that Svargrim willingly chose to ally with Rada purely so out of hatred for Jorunn and a desire to prove he was better than him. While very few people in Western Skyrim are fond of Jorunn, they are ''all'' horrified that Svargrim would sell them all out to a genocidal Vampire Lord for such a petty reason.

-->'''Mulaamnir:''' "Then you will die. But not before we slaughter your friends and set fire to Elsweyr. Once we reduce this land to so much ash, only then will I tear you apart. So promises Mulaamnir, whose claws have dealt a thousand deaths.

* The undead werewolves at the beginning of the first cinematic trailer.
* The end of the Arrival Trailer has the [[spoiler:corrupted Breton]] and an army of undead take the capital of Cyrodiil by surprise, with Molag Bal's face smiling diabolically in storming clouds in the background.
* The E3 2019 Elsweyr trailer. Imagine being a regular Khajiit in Rimmen, and suddenly, a giant dragon appears and burns it all down. How terrified they must have been.

* In the animated cinematic for ''Summerset'', the high elf character falls into the ocean, and one can see a giant EldritchAbomination coming from the deep to consume her whole.

* At some point ''Elsweyr'''s storyline, you meet the dragon Mulaamnir. For different reasons - depending on whether you did the prologue quests or not - he says the dragons offer the player and Abnur Tharn a deal: Leave Elsweyr, and the dragons will never hunt them down. If the player refuses?
-->'''Mulaamnir:''' "Then you will die. But not before we slaughter your friends and set fire to Elsweyr. Once we reduce this land to so much ash, only then will I tear you apart. So promises Mulaamnir, whose claws have dealt a thousand deaths.

* In the animated cinematic for ''Summerset'', the high elf character falls into the ocean, and one can see a giant EldritchAbomination coming from the deep to consume her whole.