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azures-grace · 1 year

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✨Spoilers for TES IV and V if you're reading this.✨

I saw a thing a little while ago that said that Skyrim was darker than Oblivion.

As someone's who's played more Skyrim than Oblivion, here are a few reasons why I think that's false.

Gonna start with some of the dark stuff from Skyrim

So Skyrim has it's fair share of pretty dark moments: Mercer Frey trying to murder the LDB, Astrid trying to murder the LDB but it backfires, everything with Cicero, the Namira and Boethiah quests, the entire concept of Alduin, that one Barrow in the northeast with the necrophiliac, the whole deal with the Falmer and how their souls are no longer black souls, and more I'm sure I haven't found yet.

However, most of those fit with the general aesthetic of the game. Skyrim is a cross between harsh frozen wasteland, dangerous forest, and dragon raids. Also Mercer and Astrid are part of the groups that are well outside of the law. Also also Astrid broke all the tenets already. I don't really like Astrid.

On the other hand, you've got Oblivion, and I think I'll start with the Blackwood Company.

So in the fighters guild questline, the HOK joins the Blackwood Company to infiltrate it and like, see what's going on. They get sent on this mission and have to drink this hist sap that makes them think that they're killing goblins when they're actually killing the townsfolk.

You want darker? It gets darker.

I'm not entirely sure where this next one comes from, but some random dark elf dies in front of you after trying to be crowned king or something. He just straight up gets electrocuted by the Ayleid chair.

additionally, Oblivion has it's main call to fame: the literal realm of Oblivion. If you've played the game, there's really not much need to explain. If not, there's just random corpses hanging around, there's these things called something along the lines of "the punished". It's quite literally just flesh bags filled with loot.

The main quest itself is filled with dark themes, which makes sense-- you're stopping a cult trying to bring about the end of the world. The cave thing under Mankar Camoren's Paradise is full of people being tortured by being submerged in lava but they don't die. It seems that even those who were loyal to the Mythic Dawn are not safe from the Savage Garden.

This one's a random detail, but there's a alchemist in Leyawiin who wants to know the fine for necrophilia. Apparently it's less than Morrowind.

Corvus Umbranox was kept from his home and family because of the cowl of the Grey Fox and his wife almost arrested him when he tried to return to her. Their reunion was very sweet aside from that.

To close this out, I'd like to turn to the Dark Brotherhood from Oblivion. Throw out Astrid and her failed betrayal, let's talk about how Mathieu Bellamont almost succeeded in wiping the entire Brotherhood out. This gets its own group of sections. I really like the Dark Brotherhood and I'll probably go into that rabbit hole later.

To kick it off, let's start with the Purification. I think it's implied that Bellamont was the reason the Purification in the Cheydinhal sanctuary happened. So that's killing off everyone who trusted you.

Secondly, you have the dead drops. After the first two of those, you're just killing off members of the Black Hand.

After that is the murder of Lucien Lachance. I don't think I'll ever forget walking into Applewatch the first time. And then Bellamont kills two more people before getting killed himself.

Random side note, but Ungolim put up a heck of a fight when I tried to kill him. I think he knew he was next.

I've skipped over the Daedric quests, maybe I'll do something comparing the ones in Oblivion to those in Skyrim later, but Namira's was pretty gnarly.

Anywho, if you read all of this, thank you!

#elder scrolls #tes v skyrim #tes oblivion

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azures-grace · 7 months

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BIG FREAKING TES 4: OBLIVION SPOILERS BELOW

(Hello mutuals, I wrote it out)

Okay so basically

I FREAKING love Oblivion so much. Yes, the character design is a... Bit odd to say the least, but the story is SO good.

Skyrim could never have TWO quests with incredibly complex plots involving lots of murder, and yet, here this 2006 game does. Oblivion literally gave us one plot about a cult that was in a negative light (main quest) and one about a cult in a positive light (dark brotherhood) and I love that. Nuance. I think it really shows how being IN the cult can change your perspective. And I think it's important to remember that everybody in the Mythic Dawn was a person. Also Mankar Camoren was half Altmer and half Bosmer and that is so cool and Skyrim could probably never fathom a mixed character with that much importance (even if he is the villain).

SPEAKING of Mankar Camoren (probably one of my favorite antagonists, up there with like, Dagoth Ur in terms of complexity ((you can fight me on this, I don't care, I think Camoren is neat even if I hate him for being responsible for killing babygrill Martin))) he had such an interesting narrative and like, the fact that he roped his kids into his cult? And how Paradise/the savage garden is actually just hell and all of the Mythic Dawn people were duped? OOH! I love it. I also dig how there's that one guy in the forbidden grotto that clearly had a high enough ranking in the cult to not be tortured by the Daedra and, in fact, be trusted with the torture of his fellow (dead) members, and yet he TURNED BACK and decided to help the Hero of Kvatch??? OOOOOH COMPLEXITY

Also Camoren did Oblivion realms in books before Hermaus Mora made it cool

Changing topics, I really love how the factions ACTUALLY required progression! You aren't just the arch mage without having any magical abilities aside from like, casting one minor spell. I legitimately, during my first playthrough, thought the Arcane University was the end of the Mages' Guild quest line IT'S NOT(????) You can apparently become arch mage and little me's brain would have an aneurysm. Fighter's guild? Starts off as just being paid to fight, gets a plot later (and a sick one at that)??

And the leaders of the guild don't just... Die and then you get promoted. The Fighters' Guild leader "retires" and then comes back to help you. The leader of the Mages' Guild sacrifices himself so you don't get Mannimarco'd. Heck, for the Dark Brotherhood, Lucien, who I'm pretty sure most of us see as the head of the Brotherhood, WASNT EVEN THE HEAD. he was a SPEAKER, the HoK killed Ungolim, man. (Also the fact that you can kill Lucien when you meet him [which younger me did I had to roll back so much] is wacky.)

For all the issues of the random NPCs, a lot of them have distinct personalities. I might struggle telling you the difference between the Companions aside from like... Aela and Vilkas and Farkas, but I can totally tell you the personality of most of the Imperial City merchants?

ALSO THE HAGGLE AND DISPOSITION FEATURES

I don't really like the disposition mini game, but it's really interesting from a straight up rollplay standpoint because good people probably aren't trying to manipulate people into liking them. And it makes leveling up Personality or whatever so much easier.

I also love the way the landscape looks. The different regions have different flora and it's so interesting. Also there's just random minotaurs and land dreughs too (I prolly spelled that wrong)

Also, I am so so so madly in love with Martin and his whole character and I LOVE how he has growth from this timid lil priest guy to he's LEADING THE CHARGE at the Great Gate, but he doesn't ever let his power get to him. He's a very humble guy, but he's in no way penalized for that. He's not a super macho man, but he's not shown as like, weak or effeminate for liking to read and hide away. Heck, he's respected and well loved because he's not full of himself and he's treating all the Blades with respect himself. He has conversations with them where he's actively trying to just level with them and interact. I honestly think if he'd not sacrificed himself at the end to defeat Dagon, he'd have been the Numa equivalent for the Empire (get Roman Empire'd lmao) and would have probably focused on the scholarly and/or religious.

Also all the badass women, guys. That's so cool to see. Milona Umbranox is ruling Anvil ALL by herself, through her incredible grief at the loss of her husband, and even when you bring Count Umbranox back, she's STILL in charge, guys. It's so cool so cool. I'll get back to the Umbranoxes in a sec. This might just be me, but I really really liked Caroline. I'd talk to her every time I was at Cloud Ruler Temple and I still do. And like, Telaendril is so dope, bro. She literally outran her killer long enough to kill her father.

Ok, the Umbranoxes and the Thieves' Guild now. I freaking love the Thieves' Guild. It's such a cool questline. You have to start it by talking to beggars, because the guild really cares about the beggars, bro. The Thieves' Guild is almost certainly the people who help the beggars, change my mind. But like the fact that the Grey Fox is literally stealing an Elder Scroll just because he can is epic. The reunion of Corvus and Milona Umbranox was so sweet.

Additionally, I love how you can't just speed run the quests. Especially the main quest, it's an actual threat because you're constantly bombarded by Oblivion Gates and that makes fast travel really difficult. You have to take at LEAST 10 days to do the main quest. Actual progression, yippee!

And there's so many good side quests, too, like, I love the one where you go into a painting to get this painter out, and if I remember correctly, his dad was a really good painter but then lost his ability to use his hands or something so Dibella made him a paintbrush so he could keep painting. Disability rep?? In a 2006 game?? Hello????

I ain't even got to the Shivering Isles yet, holy crap. The amount of love I have for that DLC.

I don't think there is ever going to be a DLC like the Shivering Isles ever again, as sad as it is to think about that. That DLC was probably the most fleshed out think I've played in a long time that isn't fanmade. There was a whole new area to explore, where you choices actually affected the world. Also, the complexity of all the characters and their different flavors of problems from a hypochondriac to paranoia, to obsessive collecting, to depression... It was really interesting to see all these different characters with their issues.

And Sheogorath himself was super cool too! Wes Johnson had such a dope performance (and looks like the prince too, lmao) and honestly brought so much life to the character and his insanity. The Greymarch was almost like the Shivering Isles' personal Oblivion Crisis, with Beacons of Order poppin up like Oblivion Gates all over the Isles.

And the difference between Haskill and Dyus is so funny to me because they both seem so done with their respective Daedric Princes.

Anyway, I love this game so much and I really hope TES 6 is closer to Oblivion than Skyrim.

#elder scrolls #tes oblivion #very long post

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