I'll admit, I never found much continuity to follow in The Elder Scrolls. They all take place in different lands, often hundreds of years apart from each other. Yet, some eagle-eyed fans noticed the common threads, and constructed a massive list of the NPCs that carry over from game to game. Spoiler alert: not all of them end well.
For example, remember that alchemist in Oblivion who had you collect Nirnroot to study? He eventually journeys to Skyrim in search of Crimson Nirnroot, where you can still find his arrow-studded corpse. There's also the dark elf who first greets you on the boat in Morrowind. In Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC, we learn that he died at Kvatch during the Oblivion Crisis, and his soul was captured by a Dremora.
Not everyone suffered horribly. There's Volanaro, who we first meet as a simple guard in Morrowind. A few years later, he shows up as a prominent member of the Mages Guild in Bruma during Oblivion.
Perhaps the most interesting finding is that Sheogorath, the Prince of Madness encountered in Skyrim, is actually the player character from the Shivering Isles, marking the only time a player character has ever returned.
Aside from reading the in-game books, I never noticed how the worlds tied together. This list really makes me want to load up Morrowind and play those expansions I never got into.
It's worth noting that in the mean time Jiuub somehow managed to drive the cliff Racers from Vvardenffell island and became a hero to all Dunmer in the process. Given his importance in that respect perhaps it's not a coincidence that an Oblivion Gate opened near him, maybe Hermaeus Mora was looking for an important soul to preserve and sent some followers specifically to make sure his memory wasn't lost to the void.
fix-the-spade: It's worth noting that in the mean time Jiuub somehow managed to drive the cliff Racers from Vvardenffell island and became a hero to all Dunmer in the process. Given his importance in that respect perhaps it's not a coincidence that an Oblivion Gate opened near him, maybe Hermaeus Mora was looking for an important soul to preserve and sent some followers specifically to make sure his memory wasn't lost to the void.
Or perhaps I am over thinking things...
It would've been nice if he had driven the cliff racers off a new decades earlier. It would've saved me a load of grief in Morrowind.
Not everyone suffered horribly. There's Volanaro, who we first meet as a simple guard in Morrowind. A few years later, he shows up as a prominent member of the Mages Guild in Bruma during Oblivion.
Doesn't the Bruma Mages guild get attacked and everyone killed during the Mages Guild questline?
Not everyone suffered horribly. There's Volanaro, who we first meet as a simple guard in Morrowind. A few years later, he shows up as a prominent member of the Mages Guild in Bruma during Oblivion.
Doesn't the Bruma Mages guild get attacked and everyone killed during the Mages Guild questline?
As a newcomer to The Elder Scrolls (sort of), the only one I knew about was Sheogorath, and only because that's the more obvious one. Hell, in Skyrim, he even makes a reference or two to the events in Oblivion.
IanDavis: They all take place in different lands, often hundreds of years apart from each other.
Actually, Skyrim is the only major timeskip in the series. Online is a prequel. The rest takes place in a very short timeframe. Elder Scrolls: online: 2nd era: 258. Elder Scrolls: Arena: 3rd era: 399. Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall: 3rd era: 405. Elder Scrolls: Morrowind: 3rd era: 427. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion: 3rd era: 433. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim: 4th Era: 201. The bulk of the series takes place within 34 years.
I'd like the list if half the entries weren't "And he's in ESO and OMERGERD THEY FUXED TEH LOREZ!" Beyond that, very informative although I had known about most of these just from playing the series myself.
"Perhaps the most interesting finding is that Sheogorath, the Prince of Madness encountered in Skyrim, is actually the player character from the Shivering Isles, marking the only time a player character has ever returned."
Well, that's still up for debate, isn't it? Would be a little hard to explain if you're player character wasn't human. But maybe they turned into the mad god anyway, losing all of their original personality? I think Sheogorath simply emerged and took over his plane again and you were just a substitute to enjoy yourself for a limited time.
hazydawn: I think Sheogorath simply emerged and took over his plane again and you were just a substitute to enjoy yourself for a limited time.
Negative. The original Sheogorath reverted to his actual Jyggalag persona during that (turned out to be final) Greymarch, and the player character was, due to the actions he undertook to save the Shivering Isles, invested with the power of Sheogorath. This is all pretty well spelled out in dialogue in the expansion's gameplay. Now, What'shisname, Sheogorath's major domo, does admit that since the PC isn't a Daedric Lord (nevermind not even a Daedra), he has no idea what this means or what will happen.
So, is the Sheogorath seen in Skyrim actually the PC from Oblivion? Probably. I'd really like to have seen a Jyggalag shrine somewhere, though.
Negative. The original Sheogorath reverted to his actual Jyggalag persona during that (turned out to be final) Greymarch, and the player character was, due to the actions he undertook to save the Shivering Isles, invested with the power of Sheogorath. This is all pretty well spelled out in dialogue in the expansion's gameplay. Now, What'shisname, Sheogorath's major domo, does admit that since the PC isn't a Daedric Lord (nevermind not even a Daedra), he has no idea what this means or what will happen.
So, is the Sheogorath seen in Skyrim actually the PC from Oblivion? Probably. I'd really like to have seen a Jyggalag shrine somewhere, though.
Well, maybe the deadric princes banished Jyggalag once again and turned him into Sheogorath? I mean if they did it once, what's to stop them from doing it twice :0 What's to say that Sheogorath and Jyggalag can't exist at the same time somehow? Would make more sense to me than a mortal turning into a deadric lord (although not impossible). Maybe the Sheogorath we meet in Skyrim is the actual one returning to the Shivering Isles for the first time since the actions of Oblivion.
Negative. The original Sheogorath reverted to his actual Jyggalag persona during that (turned out to be final) Greymarch, and the player character was, due to the actions he undertook to save the Shivering Isles, invested with the power of Sheogorath. This is all pretty well spelled out in dialogue in the expansion's gameplay. Now, What'shisname, Sheogorath's major domo, does admit that since the PC isn't a Daedric Lord (nevermind not even a Daedra), he has no idea what this means or what will happen.
So, is the Sheogorath seen in Skyrim actually the PC from Oblivion? Probably. I'd really like to have seen a Jyggalag shrine somewhere, though.
Well, maybe the deadric princes banished Jyggalag once again and turned him into Sheogorath? I mean if they did it once, what's to stop them from doing it twice :0 What's to say that Sheogorath and Jyggalag can't exist at the same time somehow? Would make more sense to me than a mortal turning into a deadric lord (although not impossible). Maybe the Sheogorath we meet in Skyrim is the actual one returning to the Shivering Isles for the first time since the actions of Oblivion.
Hardcore fans of the lore actually explained it to me once what happened, but to those who are not as into it as them it was a bit confusing. Suffice to say though that ascension is possible, but the way I understood it, it's probably one of the worst fates you can have in the entire setting if you're the type who likes their individuality. Like I said it was confusing to someone unfamiliar with the rules and concepts though so your best bet is asking them directly.
Negative. The original Sheogorath reverted to his actual Jyggalag persona during that (turned out to be final) Greymarch, and the player character was, due to the actions he undertook to save the Shivering Isles, invested with the power of Sheogorath. This is all pretty well spelled out in dialogue in the expansion's gameplay. Now, What'shisname, Sheogorath's major domo, does admit that since the PC isn't a Daedric Lord (nevermind not even a Daedra), he has no idea what this means or what will happen.
So, is the Sheogorath seen in Skyrim actually the PC from Oblivion? Probably. I'd really like to have seen a Jyggalag shrine somewhere, though.
Well, maybe the deadric princes banished Jyggalag once again and turned him into Sheogorath? I mean if they did it once, what's to stop them from doing it twice :0 What's to say that Sheogorath and Jyggalag can't exist at the same time somehow? Would make more sense to me than a mortal turning into a deadric lord (although not impossible). Maybe the Sheogorath we meet in Skyrim is the actual one returning to the Shivering Isles for the first time since the actions of Oblivion.
it's called mantling, talos did it with lorkhan, so it's not without precedent.
essentially, you act so much like the other person for so long that reality forgets that you are two different people, and you take over the role. "walk like them until they walk like you" is how it's described in-universe
in the PC's case, by becoming sheogorath (as in "the physical incarnation of the soul of the shivering isles"), and there not being another sheogorath to compare against (because he's jyggalag now), reality pretty much shrugged and said "fine, guess you're the madgod by default now" and made it so
Halyah: it's probably one of the worst fates you can have in the entire setting if you're the type who likes their individuality.
death is just as bad, if youre not lucky enough to go to one of the aedric or daedric planes, you get your soul and consciousness shoved into a big cosmic blender called the dreamsleeve. in that respect, the soul carin may even be a preferable fate, it certainly explains why mortals throw their lots in with the daedra so often, an eternity as a sapient shadow in evergloam or a werewolf in the hunting grounds is better than being turned into nonsapient cosmic backgrond radiation
TimeLord75: Negative. The original Sheogorath reverted to his actual Jyggalag persona during that (turned out to be final) Greymarch, and the player character was, due to the actions he undertook to save the Shivering Isles, invested with the power of Sheogorath. This is all pretty well spelled out in dialogue in the expansion's gameplay. Now, What'shisname, Sheogorath's major domo, does admit that since the PC isn't a Daedric Lord (nevermind not even a Daedra), he has no idea what this means or what will happen.
So, is the Sheogorath seen in Skyrim actually the PC from Oblivion? Probably. I'd really like to have seen a Jyggalag shrine somewhere, though.
hazydawn: Well, maybe the deadric princes banished Jyggalag once again and turned him into Sheogorath? I mean if they did it once, what's to stop them from doing it twice :0 What's to say that Sheogorath and Jyggalag can't exist at the same time somehow? Would make more sense to me than a mortal turning into a deadric lord (although not impossible). Maybe the Sheogorath we meet in Skyrim is the actual one returning to the Shivering Isles for the first time since the actions of Oblivion.
I can actually solve this argument.
Sheogorath and Jyggylag are not two separate entities, they are the same one with multiple personality disorder to an extreme extent. They literally are the SAME person. When the champion of cyordiil took on the role of the mad god, he also took on the role of his other side, Jyggylag. Jyggy is not present in Skyrim because he was reabsorbed into sheogorath when the CoC became him.
This is hinted at in several books in the Shivering Isles which describe a cycle of greymarches, and avatar of adren-Sul, the person they worship as thier god in the SI, coming to save the realm.
The Champion of Cyrodiil was not the first to stop the greymarch, or become Sheo, nor is he the first to beat Jyggy, it is an endless cycle, even in Skyrim, Sheogorath's servant, who sets you on his quest in the first place, says the flame of arden-sul has gone out, which Sheo in SI says is always the first sign of the greymarch, hinting it is beginning again.
Stasis and Change, Anu and Padomay, Anueil and Sithis, Akatosh and Lorkhan, Jyggylyg and Sheogorath are all each themselves and their opposite, constantly usurping each other, which is to say themselves, in a endless cycle.
You cannot separate them any more then you can remove one side of a coin, even if you cut a coin in half, there is just a new other side.
skyrim is the first game in the series to be set "hundreds of years" apart from the rest. all of the others take place during the reign of patrick stewart-- uriel septim vii.
TimeLord75: Negative. The original Sheogorath reverted to his actual Jyggalag persona during that (turned out to be final) Greymarch, and the player character was, due to the actions he undertook to save the Shivering Isles, invested with the power of Sheogorath. This is all pretty well spelled out in dialogue in the expansion's gameplay. Now, What'shisname, Sheogorath's major domo, does admit that since the PC isn't a Daedric Lord (nevermind not even a Daedra), he has no idea what this means or what will happen.
So, is the Sheogorath seen in Skyrim actually the PC from Oblivion? Probably. I'd really like to have seen a Jyggalag shrine somewhere, though.
hazydawn: Well, maybe the deadric princes banished Jyggalag once again and turned him into Sheogorath? I mean if they did it once, what's to stop them from doing it twice :0 What's to say that Sheogorath and Jyggalag can't exist at the same time somehow? Would make more sense to me than a mortal turning into a deadric lord (although not impossible). Maybe the Sheogorath we meet in Skyrim is the actual one returning to the Shivering Isles for the first time since the actions of Oblivion.
I can actually solve this argument.
Sheogorath and Jyggylag are not two separate entities, they are the same one with multiple personality disorder to an extreme extent. They literally are the SAME person. When the champion of cyordiil took on the role of the mad god, he also took on the role of his other side, Jyggylag. Jyggy is not present in Skyrim because he was reabsorbed into sheogorath when the CoC became him.
This is hinted at in several books in the Shivering Isles which describe a cycle of greymarches, and avatar of adren-Sul, the person they worship as thier god in the SI, coming to save the realm.
The Champion of Cyrodiil was not the first to stop the greymarch, or become Sheo, nor is he the first to beat Jyggy, it is an endless cycle, even in Skyrim, Sheogorath's servant, who sets you on his quest in the first place, says the flame of arden-sul has gone out, which Sheo in SI says is always the first sign of the greymarch, hinting it is beginning again.
Stasis and Change, Anu and Padomay, Anueil and Sithis, Akatosh and Lorkhan, Jyggylyg and Sheogorath are all each themselves and their opposite, constantly usurping each other, which is to say themselves, in a endless cycle.
You cannot separate them any more then you can remove one side of a coin, even if you cut a coin in half, there is just a new other side.
no. the champion of cyrodiil breaks the cycle. jyggalag was cursed to madness, and permitted to retake his true form (prince of order) once an era. he couldn't resist his own nature, to bring order to chaos, and when he inevitably won, he'd descend back into madness. stopping the greymarch in shivering isles puts an end to the process. jyggalag is free to float the voids of oblivion and do what he likes, perhaps retaking the role of prince of order. the player character assumes the portfolio of madgod. jyggalag basically says all of this in his endgame monologue.