History TheElderScrolls / TropesVToZ

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The individual games themselves aren't very far out there, ''Morrowind'' at most aside, but the setting and the lore that goes with it gets pretty bonkers at times. From all of existence being the dream of an utterly unknowable deity, to the AlienSky (the sun and stars being tears in reality while the moon and planets are the decaying remains of dead gods) taking the form it does simply because that's the only way mortal races can perceive it, to [[RealityIsOutToLunch Dragon Breaks]] where anything can happen, from the "minor" like the sky being a different color for everyone who views it to the physically impossible such as people giving birth to their ''parents'' somehow. The setting and lore is pretty trippy all things considered. It is surprising then that the games themselves tend to have comparatively mundane plots.

* WaifFu: Throughout the series, any melee light armor female build effectively becomes this. It's particularly noticeable in ''Skyrim'', where you can choose the physical build of the PlayerCharacter for the first time in the series. Thus, you can make a female PlayerCharacter of an already waify race (Breton, Khajiit, Bosmer, etc.) even more wispy, though still quite deadly. Conversely, a melee heavy armor female build heads into GlacierWaif territory, and that same slider can allow you to make her a large ([[BoobsOfSteel and busty]]) AmazonianBeauty or BeastMan} (depending on race).

* WorldOfMuscleMen: Through ''Oblivion'', the series gives all the members of a given race and sex have the same model below their head, and the models used for males have well-defined muscles. ''Skyrim'' adds a body mass slider, though it's decided by a single slider, which changes muscle mass only. You can choose to be lean and muscular, average and muscular, or bulky and muscular. The same applies to females, but the slider also affects [[BoobsOfSteel Bustiness]].

* TheWikiRule: [[http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages]] (aka UESP) is one of the most popular and detailed for the series. Numerous others exist as well.

** Vaermina, the Daedric Prince of [[YourWorstNightmare Nightmares]], is sometimes depicted with white hair. She is perhaps second only to [[GodOfEvil Molag Bal]] himself in terms of her malevolence toward mortals.

** Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of [[MadGod Madness]], made a wager with Vaermina, the Daedric Prince of [[YourWorstNightmare Nightmares]], in which they would both torment an artist who served Vaermina to see who could most influence him. While the artist was accustomed to Vaermina's nightmares and used them for inspiration, she pulled away what protections she was giving him and inflicted horrific night terrors on him. This resulted in him being inspired to create terrifying and grotesque art, which drew fame and acclaim due to its [[NightmareFuel pure nightmarishness]]. When Sheogorath's turn came to torment the artist, he did nothing at all. Confused and feeling betrayed by Vaermina for the sudden lack of nightmarish inspiration, the artist was driven to rage and began to lose his mind. He started turning that anger into insults to kings and blasphemies against the gods in an attempt to get some response out of Vaermina. Eventually, his insanity grew to full on madness, and his blasphemies and insults became too much to be ignored, and he was put to death, with [[YourSoulIsMine his soul]] traveling to Sheogorath's realm, the [[EldritchLocation Shivering Isles]], proving who had won without a doubt. And it all happened without Sheogorath doing a thing.

* YourWorstNightmare: Vaermina is the Daedric Prince of Nightmares. Given [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the nature]] of the series' divine beings, she is the very ''embodiment'' of nightmares. She exists to give mortals nightmares and [[DreamStealer steal their dreams]], which she may in some way draw power from. Vaermina's [[EldritchLocation Daedric realm]] is Quagmire, a realm of horrors, where reality shifts upon itself in seemingly impossible ways. Every few minutes, lightning flashes and the realm morphs into a terrifying scene, each one more frightening than the last. It is the realm most commonly visited by mortals, who often slip into it unintentionally while they sleep.

* WordOfSaintPaul: The series has this in the form of "Obscure Texts", [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary items]] written by the series' [[WordOfGod developers]] and former developers. They're essentially [[LooseCanon treated as canonical]] by most of the fanbase (or at least the equivalent of the series' famous in-universe UnreliableCanon), but Bethesda has no official stance either way. Most prolific is former developer Michael Kirkbride, who still does some freelance work for the series. Most of what he writes about are the more obscure aspects of universe's cosmology which don't get expanded on in the games, as well as lore figures the games never touch upon or that Bethesda is simply finished with (like Vivec). However, since some of them either might be subsequently quoted or used as a [[{{Mythopoeia}} mythopoeic]] basis for the games, the line between WordOfGod, Word Of Saint Paul, and Word Of Dante is blurred concerning his writings. As of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', some of the concepts in his works have been officially referenced in game (the idea of "[[ViciousCycle kalpas]]," [[LongDeadBadass Ysgramor]] and his [[BadassArmy 500 companions]], and some of the motivations of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]]), moving them to CanonImmigrant status. A collection of the works can be [[http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/ found here]].

* WordOfDante: The series has this in the form of "Obscure Texts", [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary items]] written by the series' [[WordOfGod developers]] and former developers. They're essentially [[LooseCanon treated as canonical]] by most of the fanbase (or at least the equivalent of the series' famous in-universe UnreliableCanon), but Bethesda has no official stance either way. Most prolific is former developer Michael Kirkbride, who still does some freelance work for the series. Most of what he writes about are the more obscure aspects of universe's cosmology which don't get expanded on in the games, as well as lore figures the games never touch upon or that Bethesda is simply finished with (like Vivec). However, since some of them either might be subsequently quoted or used as a [[{{Mythopoeia}} mythopoeic]] basis for the games, the line between WordOfGod, Word Of Saint Paul, and Word Of Dante is blurred concerning his writings. As of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', some of the concepts in his works have been officially referenced in game (the idea of "[[ViciousCycle kalpas]]," [[LongDeadBadass Ysgramor]] and his [[BadassArmy 500 companions]], and some of the motivations of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]]), moving them to CanonImmigrant status. A collection of the works can be [[http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/ found here]].

** Emperor Uriel Septim VII has the dubious honor of looking completely different in every game he's in. In ''Arena'', he looks like a stereotypical "playing card" king, with short hair and a full beard. In ''Daggerfall'', he's bald and clean-shaven, and in ''Oblivion'', he's hairy again, but he now has shoulder-length hair and no beard. His chancellor, Ocato, experiences a similar phenomenon - in ''Daggerfall'', he's bald human and has a goatee, while in ''Oblivion'', he's a clean-shaven Altmer with a full head of hair.

* YearInsideHourOutside: Time tends to apply strangely and inconsistently in the planes of Oblivion. For example, during the Imperial Simulacrum, [[TheGoodKing Emperor Uriel Septim VII]] was imprisoned in Oblivion by his EvilChancellor CourtMage Jagar Tharn, who then assumed Septim's throne. Septim was imprisoned for 10 years before being rescued, however, when he emergesd he did not appear to have aged a day. Likewise, within the [[SpiritWorld Soul Cairn]], a plane of Oblivion created and ruled by the Ideal Masters, time is said that the passage of time is "strange". In ''Skyrim''[='s=] ''Dawnguard'' DLC, Valerica, a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]], was able to live within the Soul Cairn for thousands of years without succumbing to the feral insanity that afflicts most vampires who go [[HorrorHunger too long without feeding]].

* WordOfDante[=/=]WordOfSaintPaul: The series has this in the form of "Obscure Texts", [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary items]] written by the series' [[WordOfGod developers]] and former developers. They're essentially [[LooseCanon treated as canonical]] by most of the fanbase (or at least the equivalent of the series' famous in-universe UnreliableCanon), but Bethesda has no official stance either way. Most prolific is former developer Michael Kirkbride, who still does some freelance work for the series. Most of what he writes about are the more obscure aspects of universe's cosmology which don't get expanded on in the games, as well as lore figures the games never touch upon or that Bethesda is simply finished with (like Vivec). However, since some of them either might be subsequently quoted or used as a [[{{Mythopoeia}} mythopoeic]] basis for the games, the line between WordOfGod, Word Of Saint Paul, and Word Of Dante is blurred concerning his writings. As of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', some of the concepts in his works have been officially referenced in game (the idea of "[[ViciousCycle kalpas]]," [[LongDeadBadass Ysgramor]] and his [[BadassArmy 500 companions]], and some of the motivations of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]]), moving them to CanonImmigrant status. A collection of the works can be [[http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/ found here]].

** Every Altmer is naturally gifted with magic and practically have it flowing through their veins. They also live two to three times as long as humans; anything you can do, [[OurElvesAreDifferent there is probably an Altmer out there who has done it longer than you, has more knowledge and experience than you and is better than you]]. As a result, they are some of the most powerful wizards out there

** Redguards. Tall, strong, dark-skinned and wiry-haired people from the land of Yokuda from across the sea. Fiercly independent and born under the sail, they are renowned across the continent as natural mercenaries and adventurers. They onc had the most advanced society of their time until it sank below the sea from abuse of a forbidden sword technique that involves splitting atoms.

* WordOfDante[=/=]WordOfSaintPaul: The series has this in the form of "Obscure Texts", [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary items]] written by the series' [[WordOfGod developers]] and former developers. They're essentially [[LooseCanon treated as canonical]] by most of the fanbase (or at least the equivalent of the series' famous in-universe UnreliableCanon), but Bethesda has no official stance either way. Most prolific is former developer Michael Kirkbride, who still does some freelance work for the series. Most of what he writes about are the more obscure aspects of universe's cosmology which don't get expanded on in the games, as well as lore figures the games never touch upon or that Bethesda is simply finished with (like Vivec). However, since some of them either might be subsequently quoted or used as a [[{{Mythopoeia}} mythopoeic]] basis for the games, the line between WordOfGod, Word Of Saint Paul, and Word Of Dante is blurred concerning his writings. As of ''[[Franchise/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', some of the concepts in his works have been officially referenced in game (the idea of "[[ViciousCycle kalpas]]," [[LongDeadBadass Ysgramor]] and his [[BadassArmy 500 companions]], and some of the motivations of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]]), moving them to CanonImmigrant status. A collection of the works can be [[http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/ found here]].

* WinIsClassy: The symbol of Stendarr, the Aedric Divine God of Justice, Mercy, and Compassion, is wine flowing from a goblet. Within Skyrim, homeland of the [[HornyVikings Nords]], it is instead flowing from a drinking horn.

** The series is generally pretty good about letting you know the fate of prominent characters from past games, though not always. A prominent example is Barenziah, who, in addition to her appearances in ''Daggerfall'' and ''Tribunal'', isa major backstory character. She was known to still be alive at the end of the 3rd Era, but what happened to her after that is unknown. ''Skyrim'', set in 4E 201, has some references to her made in the past tense, implying that she died. A list of other examples by game is available on the trope page.

* WeHaveReserves: This is stated to be one of the strengths of the (generally) non-villainous [[BadassArmy Imperial Legion]]. While hardly made up of CanonFodder, the sheer number of BoringButPractical soldiers the Legion can put into battle gives it a tremendous advantage, even over enemies with superior-but-fewer soldiers. It should not come as a surprise that the Imperials have a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture heavy basis]] in UsefulNotes/AncientRome, who also had this as a major military strength.