When Morrowind released fans were quick to note just how alien Vvardenfell felt compared to the more traditional fantasy setting of Daggerfall. From its bizarre architecture and strange armor to its unfamiliar religion and creepy creatures The Elder Scrolls 3 truly made players feel like the “Outlander” they were constantly identified as by the island’s inhabitants.
Nothing has been revealed about the setting of The Elder Scrolls 6, though fans have speculated that it could be set in Hammerfell, High Rock, and even the lost continent of Yokuda. Morrowind, however, shows why The Elder Scrolls 6 should take players to Black Marsh, the strange homeland of the reptilian Argonians.
Skyrim may have been an exciting province to explore, but it was also very easy for the player to quickly ground themselves in real-world reference points. From the moment Ralof of Riverwood notices that the player is finally awake, it’s clear that the northern province is a mish-mash of Scandinavian and other northern European cultures. The Imperials, as always, clearly stand in as a rough counterpart to the Roman Empire. Similarly the Empire’s difficulty managing the area reflects the historical difficulty the Romans had managing places like modern-day Germany during the decline of their empire in the west.
It’s pretty easy to grasp the cultural reference points for all of the main groups in Skyrim even without historical grounding. The Nords draw on popular depictions of Vikings and works like Braveheart and Conan the Barbarian, with some unmistakably speaking in a voice based on Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even the Thalmor, who represent a more alien political presence in the province, unambiguously draw on popular depictions of groups like the Spanish Inquisition and the secret police in Nazi Germany.
Skyrim made the series more accessible across the board, removing potentially confusing features like the class system from previous games and simplifying the spellcasting system significantly. Skyrim‘s setting and how easy it is for the player to get their cultural bearings also reflects this aim of accessibility. This is not a bad thing – the immense accessibility of Skyrim undoubtedly played a huge role in its success even when compared to previous Elder Scrolls games.
Skyrim had sold over 30 million copies by 2016 alone, introducing more people to the world of The Elder Scrolls than ever before. As such, Bethesda can afford to take the risk and send players to a place far more alien than Skyrim, with far less accessible cultural reference points. Black Marsh would be the perfect setting for The Elder Scrolls 6, taking players to a place where they’d need to explore the culture almost as much as the physical landscape.
Black Marsh is one of the strangest locations in The Elder Scrolls. It is populated by two main races, the Argonians and a race of sentient trees known as the Hist. Argonians are very closely connected to the Hist, and during the Oblivion Crisis the Hist was able to warn the Argonians of the impending danger. This allowed them to mount a defense so impressive that the forces of Black Marsh entered into Oblivion itself, leading the Daedra to close their own Oblivion Gates to prevent themselves from getting overwhelmed.
After the end of the Third Era the newly organized Argonians – led by a faction known as the An-Xileel – invaded much of southern Morrowind. After centuries of enslavement by the Dark Elves the shoe was suddenly on the other foot, and even by the time Skyrim is set the Argonians were able to retain much of the land they had conquered despite struggling to push further north.
While elements of Argonian armor design take influence from real-world groups like the Aztecs and Incas, unlike the Nords very little of their culture is as easily identified with the popular conception of a real-world group. Like the Tribunal when players are first released into Morriwnd, the Hist are an extremely enigmatic and powerful spiritual force in the province.
The Beastfolk of Tamriel have always gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the main games in the series. Rarely are their cultures explored in much depth, they tend to be the least populous in terms of NPCs, and despite their diverse descriptions in the lore that is rarely reflected in their character customization options.
Black Marsh is rumored to be home to many twists on classic elements of The Elder Scrolls. While elsewhere in Tamriel players can find themselves contracting Lycanthropy and turning into a werewolf, it is said that those who get the disease in Black Marsh often turn into a beast known as a werecrocodile. Like the many breeds of Khajiit, there are also Argonian sub-races that are said to rarely leave Black Marsh, most notably the puff adder-like Naga who appear in The Elder Scrolls Online.
While the stories of Skyrim and Oblivion were criticized for their simplicity, the story of Morrowind dealt with more interesting themes. While the player in Skyrim is the last Dragonborn, the player in Morrowind is just one in a long line of reincarnations of Nerevar, all of whom previously failed to fulfill their prophecy. Morrowind tackled philosophical themes that the games have not touched since – it is never even confirmed that the player is the Nerevarine at all, raising questions about the nature of prophecy itself.
The Hist and their strange relationship with the Argonians, sometimes compared to a hive mind, could be a great launching pad for some of the most interesting philosophical and theological themes in an Elder Scrolls game so far. A game set in Black Marsh would also likely deal with the legacy of slavery, guerilla warfare, and the intense prejudice the Argonians face beyond their homeland.
Morrowind showed that the alien does not have to be alienating. In fact, a landscape which originally seems baffling can also be the most enticing for explorers in an open-world Bethesda game. Instead of taking players to another province dominated by humans or Elves, The Elder Scrolls 6 should learn from the third game and dive right in to the murky swamplands of Black Marsh.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development.
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