Some Lore Questions for my Mod

[mightymuffin007]

I have been working on my first mod recently, and I was wanting to add a bit of immersion to the additions I've made in the mod. However, I do not want to just create lore that goes against everything in the game, so I've been trying to read the UESP and other websites that discuss the lore. However, I've run into a couple of issues and needed some answers. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated!

 

1.) In Skyrim, we have the Companions, the College of Winterhold, the Thieves' Guild, and the Dark Brotherhood. There are also guilds such as the Fighter's Guild and the Mage's Guild. I was wondering if there are examples of guilds that focused solely on the crafting schools (Alchemy, Enchanting, Blacksmithing) already in TES universe. If not, would it be plausible and lore-friendly to add guilds that focused solely on these skills? Or would it shatter lore by simply creating guilds that never existed before?

2.) I always thought the East Empire Company HQ was in Solitude, but apparently (according to UESP), the HQ is in Windhelm. This strikes me as odd, considering Windhelm is the Stormcloak city...and the East Empire Company is not paying money to Ulfric to win the war against the Empire. Would it not make more sense to have the HQ in Solitude?

3.) A follow-up to the last question: Would it be possible to create a new company for the Stormcloaks...say defectors from the East Empire Company working to get shareholders and investors to help build the company up and support the Stormcloaks?

 

I think that's all the questions I have for now - thank you in advance for any help you can give!

[Lachdonin]

A; Craftsman guilds are likely, given the economy of Tamriel, and in many ways that is what the Mages Guild at least was formed as. Alchemy and Enchanting would be things institutionalised in the Mages Guild, and probably passed on to either the Collage of Whispers and the Synod (maybe one to each) after the fact. Smithing, Leather Working, Masonry, Carpentry, etc. probably opperate on a guild system, though given the more action oriented nature of TES games, we've never expressly been exposed to them.

 

B; The East Empire Company may have initially been based in Windhelm, but most of their opperations in Skyrim seem localised in Solitude now, probably because of the civil war. Given that Solitude and Windhelm are the largest ports in Skyrim, it makes sense that it would, during peace time, have a presence in both. Since the Civil War is actually a new phenomenon (starting, really, only after Ulfric killed Torygg) so the move could be very recent. Also, remember that the East Empire Company is a large corporate entity, and during the 3rd era it was largely responsible for mining and resources in Blackmarsh, Morrowind, Solsthiem and Skyrim.

 

C; The issue with a splinter group forming a similar Stormcloak institution is, well... The Stormcloaks don't have any friends. By that, i mean, they have little to no connection with territories outside of Skyrim. In order to attract the nessessary contacts and trade for such an institution to fluroush, you can't be insular, which isn't really in the Stormcloak MO. By and large, the Stormcloak Holds are self suficcient, and while they trade with eachother, it wouldn't be on the scale nessessary for such a buisness enterprise.

[Lanceor]

I don't have all the answers but I'll contribute what I can.

 

2) The East Empire Trading Company was first seen in Morrowind, hundreds of years before any of this Stormcloak business. Presumably its main area of operation is the Eastern parts of the Empire. Being the oldest city and being closest to Morrowind, Windhelm makes sense as a HQ. The company probably doesn't care about the political situation as long as they keep making profits. BTW, The East Empire Trading Company it is clearly modelled after the East India Company so check out that Wikipedia article if you want more information/inspiration.

 

3) A small or medium company would be very plausible. Mega-companies like East Empire Trading Company/East India Company take decades, even centuries to grow to that size unless they manage to dominate some sort of new technology.

[mightymuffin007]

Thanks for the replies thus far!

 

@ Lachdonin

 

With Crafting - could there be lesser organizations that focused on the skill, like a Chapter or Society? They could either be subservient or just simply co-exist with the bigger guilds. Or would this not be allowed ever within the guilds? I'll have to look up the College of Whispers and the Synod, as I hadn't thought about them (nor did I know about the College of Whispers). They may answer the question I just asked...

 

You're right about the recent phenomena about the Civil War, and another reason for the lack of success for the Windhelm branch is due to pirates (Quest discussing this is Rise in the East). However, I guess the thought of east empire soldiers dressed in imperial armor wouldn't be able to get near the city to complete this quest, thus my confusion as to how this place is surviving - I would understand if they were empty offices, but there is still someone there "working."

 

@Lanceor

I knew that the East Empire Company was modeled after the East India Company, but the thought of comparing them hadn't crossed my mind. I'll look at the wiki to see if I can find some example of competition possibly starting - or how they handled things during local wars. Thank you for the advice. If only I remembered my history better when I was a declared history major, then this would be easier... D:

 

I did plan for it to be small, possibly trying to solidy resources in the area and try to grow out - in no small part due to the player (if I ever did get into quest design...I fantasize way too much about what could be in Skyrim).

 

@Both or anyone in general

 

In relation to Lanceor saying it may just focus on the eastern provinces - is there any mention of a company that focuses on the western provinces? It may be that the East Empire Company started out only focused on the eastern provinces, but grew to be the mega-corporation that controlled trade no matter the compass direction.

 

Would there be any parties who would not wish to trade with the Empire at all? I remember something about Redguards rebelling against the Aldmeri in some way - I would think they might agree to trading with the Stormcloaks, knowing of the Empire and Thalmor White Concodant. Maybe not though, since they may take supplies no matter who the ally is.

[Lachdonin]

The Redguard have never had cordial relations with Skyrim, mostly because of Shor. The Redguards hate Lorkhan almost as much as the Mer, and the Nords worship a facet of said god, and have been ruled, led or given rise to several of Lorkhan's avatars over the last few thousand years. As such, trade with an independant Hammerfell is unlikely because of the religious conflict.

 

As for the guilds, there does tend to be circles within large guild organizations which specialise in particular crafts, so i see no reason why there wouldn't be a particular body responsible for alchemy within either the Collage or the Synod.

 

And finally, the East Empire Company can't really be considered an Imperial institution anymore, but is more like our modern corporations. Sure, it has lots of contracts with the Empire, but it's not about to kill for it... Well, so long as there is a way to milk both sides.

[mightymuffin007]

TL;DR: Thanks again Lachdonin. If I could give double kudos, I would.

 

For the Redguards, I actually did not realize it was independent. For some reason, I missed that memo every time I read the 4th Era timeline. From the quest "In My Time of Need," I thought the Alik'r explained things as they were fighting the Thalmor as resistance fighters, which sounded more like the Thalmor were still in Hammerfell fighting. But according the 4th Era timeline, the Thalmor signed a treaty and left about 20 years ago. Maybe fighting has started again, and there isn't a specific entry in the timeline discussing it.

 

For the Crafting, I actually found something called the Guild Act, which was done by the Empire in the 2nd Era. It actually has a list of all the guilds, some that I never knew existed. Interestingly, Thieves' Guild is considered illicit, when there are some other illicit (in my opinion) guilds on there. But, I understand why it would be listed...I think. Still funny to think about.

 

Anyway, I think what I might do is have the Empire re-issue the Guild Act, partly in response to the Mage's Guild collapse. Essentially, it wouldn't change any guild structure, but may rename or fuse some of them (had actually though of fusing the Brewers and Barrister Guilds into one...until I realized Barrister did not mean bar owner. /facepalm at me). It would also have a provision for how new guilds could be formed and recognized, without the need to re-issue the Guild Act. I would probably have it legislated around the time of the Mage's Guild collapse (so near the beginning of the 4th era).

 

For the East Empire Company, you're right. I guess I over-analyzed Vittoria Vici's statement about "More money for the company is more money for the Empire." That statement probably is true, but the company is still more autonomous rather than run by the Empire.

 

Again, thanks for all the help!

[Lachdonin]

For the Crafting, I actually found something called the Guild Act, which was done by the Empire in the 2nd Era. It actually has a list of all the guilds, some that I never knew existed. Interestingly, Thieves' Guild is considered illicit, when there are some other illicit (in my opinion) guilds on there. But, I understand why it would be listed...I think. Still funny to think about.

 

In regards to this, we know that the 'Imperial Theives Guild' competed with the local theives guild (called the Comma Tong) in Morrowind, so it is regarded as an Imperial institution. We are also told in Daggerfall that the Theives Guild, while viewed as illicit, is permited to function for 2 reason. As a powerful entity, it regulates crime and actually serves to minimalise the chaos associated with criminal activities (you're going to have crime regardless, Organized crime is favorable to dissorganized). Second, the ringleaders were known, so if anything particularly big happened, the Legion knew who to go to, making their jobs easier.