Oblivion races

[Eiries]

I've read all the comments thus far, but my response remains the same: lore and continuity.

 

These races have been the same lineup since the first game, with a slight differentiation in Battlespire (no imperials, argonians or khajiit. It all took place in a single dungeon anyway.)

 

If they were to drop races that have been available since the beginning, they would be damaging the feeling of realism, as it would bring upon the inevitable question: where did all these people go?

 

It is true that many of them have similar mechanics (heck, the whole game does,) but the race choices wasn't based on mechanics, it was about fleshing out the world, and giving you more choices as far a customization is concerned.

 

And as for locations... one needs to remember that it's an Imperial province. The races have some profound customs in their homeland (such as the Bosmer's strange knack for cannibalism, or the fact that many Argonians pay homage to Hist trees in the Marsh) that wouldn't slide in Cyrodiil. So the people that are there, for the most part, have assimilated themselves with Imperial laws and customs.

 

Nice thread. This is a good conversation, methinks.

[Ferryt]

But how does having only one of the verified sixteen forms of Khajiit in Cyrodiil fit in with "lore and continuity"? It's not lore-friendly, and the Khajiit in Oblivion are significantly different in appearance from Khajiit in Morrowind, even though they're of the same type -- no continuity, either. Same can be said for Argonians. As I've said, before, "lore" (and continuity, for that matter) has virtually no meaning in Oblivion because the devs have butchered what lore they totally ignored in their attempts to rush through a completely dumbed down game for the benefit of their low to mid-teen target audience. Using lore as a premise in talking about Oblivion is a little oxymoronic since Lore+Oblivion is an oxymoron. Add to this the fact that most mods aren't lore or continuity supportive, either. I think it's clear that most players couldn't care less about the lore or continuity with previous ES games, and I think the reason for that is because Bethesda didn't care about it when they created Oblivion. That, perhaps, set a bad precedent, which the modding community picked up on and went from there.

 

Would it have been nice to have a nice continuum from ES1 to ES4? Sure. In fact, I would have loved to have seen the official lore strictly enforced in each game. It would have made Cyrodiil at least seem to fit into a bigger "universe" than being an island unto itself, which it really is. Yes, Imperial law would suppress some cultural aspects of other societies, as you mentioned, and that makes sense. My favorite character in the game, so far, is my Bosmer. I'm not at all happy that Bosmer are said to be cannibals. I choose to ignore that in role-playing my character. Still, Cyrodiil is in pretty much of a lore vacuum, with just little bits and twisted pieces showing up now and then. The game isn't about anything that went before it. It really does feel like a totally stand-alone creation to me.

[Eiries]

But how does having only one of the verified sixteen forms of Khajiit in Cyrodiil fit in with "lore and continuity"? It's not lore-friendly, and the Khajiit in Oblivion are significantly different in appearance from Khajiit in Morrowind, even though they're of the same type -- no continuity, either. Same can be said for Argonians.

God, I would love to see more than one type of Khajiit in a vanilla game. There's so many that few have been really fleshed out. Big giant rideable intelligent tiger-things? Sign me up!

 

Of course, it wold have been quite a pain for the devs to do this, so they stick to one type. A lot of people whined about not being able to wear boots or helmets in Morrowind so... I guess that's why they would have made that change. Certainly a kink in continuity, but one they felt was for the better.

 

As I've said, before, "lore" (and continuity, for that matter) has virtually no meaning in Oblivion because the devs have butchered what lore they totally ignored in their attempts to rush through a completely dumbed down game for the benefit of their low to mid-teen target audience.

Hehe, true but, wouldn't it be just that much more worst if they decided to cut out these races altogether?

 

My favorite character in the game, so far, is my Bosmer.

Me too! :)

 

I'm not at all happy that Bosmer are said to be cannibals. I choose to ignore that in role-playing my character.

Here here. I generally assumed the "eat your fallen foe" bit is a more of a ritualistic thing. If you had to eat every foe you defeated, Valenwood would consist entirely of morbidly obese, gurgling, mouth-foaming elves. An amusing thought, but not too practical. XD

 

Also, there are some mods that are purposely lore-friendly, but of course, not all. I am not particularly lore friendly myself. :) But third party content doesn't hold much leverage in this discussion, I would think.

[Amoramor]

And as for locations... one needs to remember that it's an Imperial province. The races have some profound customs in their homeland (such as the Bosmer's strange knack for cannibalism, or the fact that many Argonians pay homage to Hist trees in the Marsh) that wouldn't slide in Cyrodiil. So the people that are there, for the most part, have assimilated themselves with Imperial laws and customs.

 

Well, that's true. I thought about that too when I made this thread, but it to me it sounds like a Bethesda's cheap excuse to leave all the race related stuff undone. If entire Tamriel would be playable, all the races could live in their own provinces.

 

Anyways, there's not much for me to do about it than complain, so I guess I'm done now. This conversation is getting a bit confusing for me anyways.