Why Were the Dwarves So Different?

[Fkemman11]

I have been playing this game a long time- like most of us- and I still don't know squat about the Dwarves. They are supposed to be related to the Elves aren't they? It was nice for Beth to put them in Sky so everything usually lore-breaking can just be attributed to the Dwarves. :tongue: Flying mechanical airship- built by the dwarves. Guns and gunpowder- invented by the Dwarves. Honestly, I cant count how many people credit the Dwarves when looking for a way for ideas to fit into the lore of the land. According to lore their race was far advanced in comparison to the rest of Tamriel. They were building massive underground complexes and machinery while those on the surface were barely scratching a living off the land. But then they started screwing around with Elder Scroll until *poof*- they just up and vanished. For a race that recorded every detail of their existence there is a serious shortage of books that survived to the modern era apparently. And the way they utilized soul gems in their machinery and automatons could have revolutionized the surface of the world had those secrets not been lost.

 

Anyway, just wanted to write a little about something in the game that always both fascinated and puzzled me. Anyone want to comment on their lore-savviness?

[Jeir]

Morrowind is probably the best game to play to get more info on the Dwarves/Dwemer, as Vvardenfell is full of the ruins and has several quests based around them.

- Oh, and about them being elves; they were. The elven races featured in the games are the Aldmer ('Elder folk', the original/pre-elves, now split into the current 5-6 or so), Altmer (high elves), Ayleids (wild elves), Bosmer (wood elves), Chimer ('Changed Folk', pre-Dunmer), Dunmer (dark elves), Dwemer (deep elves), Falmer (snow elves), Maomer (sea elves), and Orsimer (orcs).

 

You can read up on them on the UESP Dwemer page, if you don't feel like exploring through hundreds of gaming content. =)

[TeofaTsavo]

Dwarves are a breath of fresh air in Skyrim, somewhat. After years of games where Dwarves were short, drunken scots miscreants who invariably dug up some catastrophic nastyness it is a nice change.

Edited June 20, 2017 by TeofaTsavo

[morogoth35]

The dwarves did not use the Elder Scroll when they vanished. They tried to tap into the heart of lorkhan and then they dissapeared.

[Fkemman11]

Imagine if some of those engineering secrets had survived and say been discovered some time in the second era. Tapping soul gems to power any mechanical construct would be awesome! Of course their would be a lot less animals and stuff running around. Tamriel would have become sort of an industrial powerhouse. Flying machines and the like would have been common. What I wonder about is how they were able to "program" simple instructions into their automatons and if this could have led to some kind of research into a transference of knowledge or consciousness into say.... a centurion?

[Skagens]

Excerpt from uesp.net:

"The Dwemer purportedly possessed an ability that was known as "The Calling", which seems to have been similar to telepathy. It allowed the Dwemer to communicate with each other over great distances. It has been suggested that, in the last moments before they disappeared, Lord Kagrenac used The Calling to summon all of the Dwemer people and rally them to carry out his plans to transcend the Mortal Plane. Whether this was related to their demise or not is uncertain."

 

One theory as to why there are no records or documentation of the technology of the dwemer could be that they only shared the knowledge among themselves. I'm not sure how strong the dwemer were psychologically, but perhaps they had greater memory and a greater ability to store information than the other races. The dwemer were known to be distrustful of the other races, so it would make sense for them not wanting to share their technology. Just a thought.

[Riprock]

I have been playing this game a long time- like most of us- and I still don't know squat about the Dwarves. They are supposed to be related to the Elves aren't they? It was nice for Beth to put them in Sky so everything usually lore-breaking can just be attributed to the Dwarves. :tongue: Flying mechanical airship- built by the dwarves. Guns and gunpowder- invented by the Dwarves. Honestly, I cant count how many people credit the Dwarves when looking for a way for ideas to fit into the lore of the land. According to lore their race was far advanced in comparison to the rest of Tamriel. They were building massive underground complexes and machinery while those on the surface were barely scratching a living off the land. But then they started screwing around with Elder Scroll until *poof*- they just up and vanished. For a race that recorded every detail of their existence there is a serious shortage of books that survived to the modern era apparently. And the way they utilized soul gems in their machinery and automatons could have revolutionized the surface of the world had those secrets not been lost.

 

Anyway, just wanted to write a little about something in the game that always both fascinated and puzzled me. Anyone want to comment on their lore-savviness?

First thing first.

 

All elves have names ending in -mer. Example: Dunmer.

 

The 'dwarves' are not "like elves". They are elves. They are the Dwemer.

[Fkemman11]

 

I have been playing this game a long time- like most of us- and I still don't know squat about the Dwarves. They are supposed to be related to the Elves aren't they? It was nice for Beth to put them in Sky so everything usually lore-breaking can just be attributed to the Dwarves. :tongue: Flying mechanical airship- built by the dwarves. Guns and gunpowder- invented by the Dwarves. Honestly, I cant count how many people credit the Dwarves when looking for a way for ideas to fit into the lore of the land. According to lore their race was far advanced in comparison to the rest of Tamriel. They were building massive underground complexes and machinery while those on the surface were barely scratching a living off the land. But then they started screwing around with Elder Scroll until *poof*- they just up and vanished. For a race that recorded every detail of their existence there is a serious shortage of books that survived to the modern era apparently. And the way they utilized soul gems in their machinery and automatons could have revolutionized the surface of the world had those secrets not been lost.

 

Anyway, just wanted to write a little about something in the game that always both fascinated and puzzled me. Anyone want to comment on their lore-savviness?

First thing first.

 

All elves have names ending in -mer. Example: Dunmer.

 

The 'dwarves' are not "like elves". They are elves. They are the Dwemer.

 

Yeah. I just felt like acting stupid. I know the Dwemer were Elves. But thanks for pointing that out. Did you have a comment on anything else?

[LeddBate]

Imagine if some of those engineering secrets had survived and say been discovered some time in the second era. Tapping soul gems to power any mechanical construct would be awesome! Of course their would be a lot less animals and stuff running around. Tamriel would have become sort of an industrial powerhouse. Flying machines and the like would have been common. What I wonder about is how they were able to "program" simple instructions into their automatons and if this could have led to some kind of research into a transference of knowledge or consciousness into say.... a centurion?

 

I think you're on to something with those speculations. Some of the clues you pick up while investigating Dwemer cities and facilities do indicate that they were moving further forward with their version of technology. Maybe it would have been more accurate to refer to it as "technomancy"? Tonal engineering being just one aspect of the tech they were developing.

 

So, why didn't the Dwemer conquer Tamriel with all the advantages that their knowledge would seem to beget them? Well, they fought a lot. I mean a LOT. With other Mer, Men and themselves.

 

 

The Atherium Wars being one of the main examples of such.

 

 

So that would've pretty much kept them from conquering the world despite their advantages.

 

 

After which they blew it (and themselves) to some sort of afterlife after a less-than-wise decision involving a really big shiny robot-like thingy.

EDIT: Wait, was it the tools WITH the robot-like thingy, or just the tools? I keep forgetting...

 

 

 

 

Excerpt from uesp.net:

"The Dwemer purportedly possessed an ability that was known as "The Calling", which seems to have been similar to telepathy. It allowed the Dwemer to communicate with each other over great distances. It has been suggested that, in the last moments before they disappeared, Lord Kagrenac used The Calling to summon all of the Dwemer people and rally them to carry out his plans to transcend the Mortal Plane. Whether this was related to their demise or not is uncertain."

 

One theory as to why there are no records or documentation of the technology of the dwemer could be that they only shared the knowledge among themselves. I'm not sure how strong the dwemer were psychologically, but perhaps they had greater memory and a greater ability to store information than the other races. The dwemer were known to be distrustful of the other races, so it would make sense for them not wanting to share their technology. Just a thought.

 

Something in-game that supports your theory is that Dwemer ruins (unlike Nordic ones) have little in the way of writing or even much symbols on their walls. Lots of decorations, yes. Not as much writing.

 

On a different note, I can't help wondering if Bethesda was influenced/inspired by the Byzantines when they started working on what the Dwemer looked like and how their constructions appeared.

Edited June 22, 2017 by LeddBate

[Riprock]

 

 

I have been playing this game a long time- like most of us- and I still don't know squat about the Dwarves. They are supposed to be related to the Elves aren't they? It was nice for Beth to put them in Sky so everything usually lore-breaking can just be attributed to the Dwarves. :tongue: Flying mechanical airship- built by the dwarves. Guns and gunpowder- invented by the Dwarves. Honestly, I cant count how many people credit the Dwarves when looking for a way for ideas to fit into the lore of the land. According to lore their race was far advanced in comparison to the rest of Tamriel. They were building massive underground complexes and machinery while those on the surface were barely scratching a living off the land. But then they started screwing around with Elder Scroll until *poof*- they just up and vanished. For a race that recorded every detail of their existence there is a serious shortage of books that survived to the modern era apparently. And the way they utilized soul gems in their machinery and automatons could have revolutionized the surface of the world had those secrets not been lost.

 

Anyway, just wanted to write a little about something in the game that always both fascinated and puzzled me. Anyone want to comment on their lore-savviness?

First thing first.

 

All elves have names ending in -mer. Example: Dunmer.

 

The 'dwarves' are not "like elves". They are elves. They are the Dwemer.

 

Yeah. I just felt like acting stupid. I know the Dwemer were Elves. But thanks for pointing that out. Did you have a comment on anything else?

 

 

Yeah, I sure do.

 

When you choose to take it upon yourself to act stupid, expect to be treated as if you're stupid. I'll think of you that way until I see proof of something else, and your tough guy routine doesn't do it.

Edited June 22, 2017 by Riprock