Elder Scrolls Disappointment

[ArcieAdam]

Contrary to the post's title, I'm not disappointed in the Elder Scrolls Series. I'm disappointed in the scrolls themselves.

 

In the Dawnguard questline, there comes a point where, in order to find the location of Auriel's bow, you need to read the Elder Scrolls in your possession by travelling to the Ancestor Glade, enticing the Ancestor Moths to swarm you, so that you can attune yourself to the Scrolls and read them. Interestingly, in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, reading an Elder Scroll was just like reading a normal scroll. You just saw a star map with weird symbols. Only in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim do you go momentarily blind. This isn't some cool effect that was available in Skyrim, and not Oblivion, for engine limitations. There's text in game called "The Effects of the Elder Scrolls" that specifically explains the difference between those reactions. The Champion of Cyrodiil was at level one, or, completely unattuned to the scroll. No bad side effects, cannot read the scroll at all. The Dovahkiin, being Dragonborn and more attuned to the scrolls, is level two, and has the potential to read the scrolls, hence, the momentary blindness you get when you open up a scroll.

 

To me, when Dexion told me I had to do this, I just nearly flipped my s***. Me? The Player Character? Reading an Elder Scroll on my very own? These have always been, to me, artifacts containing knowledge no mortal was truly meant to know. This was eldritch information that surpassed anything Hermaeus Mora could possibly dream up, and I was supposed to take a look at it myself? Dexion even reveals why the Ancestor Moths earned their namesake. The quest to get the moths to swarm you was beautiful, and as I walked into the light in the Ancestor Glade, I was prepared to read something which should drive me insane.

 

And what do I get? A few glowing cracks in my screen and I somehow know the knowledge offhand? That's all? No blindness, no images on screen of say, a dead Serana, just to screw with my head? (She doesn't die, just, that would freak me out if I saw that in the scroll). Couldn't the scroll foretell the early death of the Dovahkiin? (Again, doesn't happen, but, it would be cool if that was foretold).

 

I was so hyped up and then so let down. Did anyone else feel the same way?

[sajuukkhar9000]

It's part of the most fundamental basics of Elder Scrolls lore that heroes are above destiny, and that they write the Elder Scrolls with their feats.

 

The Elder Scroll cannot show you your fate, or your future, because you have no fate, that's the point of being a hero.

 

Martin Septim himself says this at the end of Oblivion "when the next Elder Scroll is written, you shall be its scribe".

Edited January 21, 2013 by sajuukkhar9000

[AnimeOtaku102]

I wasn't particularly disappointed because there actually is a bit of an engine limitation: visions can only be represented as ghostly NPCs being spawned in to do something (sometimes with a camera filter for effect) or you're temporarily transported to a new world map to watch an entire scene. There doesn't seem to be a way for the engine to load rapid flashes of abstract information (like the beacon in Mass Effect) to really express an abstract way the Scrolls convey information. At best we just got the "cracked" camera filter which, incidentally, is actually a map.

 

What I did find rather amusing is that we know of a dwemer facility in Blackreach designed to read and transcribe Elder Scrolls, all we were missing are two blank lexicons (one has already been transcribed and is still on Septimus' body) to transcribe the others. Even if we couldn't have used it, it would have been nice to tell the nice (hopefully temporary) blind man that there's something underground that his fellow monks might be interested in that can help prevent further blinding of eyes.

 

Also must admit I did kind of snort when I was told about the connection between the name of "Moth Priests" and "Ancestor Moths", I always assumed they were called moth priests because of their habit of burning themselves on the flames of knowledge. "Ooohh, an Elder ScroHDIVINESMYEYES... let's try that agAUGHEYES!"