Category: Articles

A Day in the Life of Testy

Write down report: someone should really tell Zaurac not to bang his head on chairs.

You need to be a little punch-drunk to test quest coding, I think. This story was inspired by my attempts–and failures–to get chairs to magically float in a tavern for a Tamriel Rebuilt quest. Some of the jokes are references to the world or to the quirks of the Morrowind Construction Set. Can you decipher them all? Continue reading “A Day in the Life of Testy”

What’s Up with the Hlaalu-Dres Alliance?

Cross-posted from my Tamriel Rebuilt blog. The original post was put up on August 25th, 2018.

Author’s Note

I write this as an answer to a startling twist that the story of Morrowind’s Great Houses took in the canon writings after Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (TES3). Continue reading “What’s Up with the Hlaalu-Dres Alliance?”

If You Don’t Know About It, It’s Easy to Overlook

Cross-posted from my Tamriel Rebuilt blog, which originally hosted this article on June 26th, 2018.

Author’s Note

This will probably turn more into a ramble than a blog post. This is in answer to criticisms of why Tamriel Rebuilt (TR) has chosen to ignore most of the lore from Elder Scrolls: Online (ESO)and an explanation to why some folks still vehemently dislike ESO, from my personal point of view. Continue reading “If You Don’t Know About It, It’s Easy to Overlook”

Cross-Posts from Tamriel Rebuilt

Whew! Today I worked long and hard transferring all of my past lore posts for Tamriel Rebuilt onto this blog. There are still a few missing that I will get back to in due time, but in the meantime, enjoy!

If you would like to discuss the lore, please, leave a comment! You can also follow me on Reddit, where I post my favorite Elder Scrolls shorts as I make them. And, of course, if you wish to know why I write so many of these, please check out the longstanding province mod Tamriel Rebuilt, which is available on Nexus for download and play.

A Crook-Tailed Khajiit, On the Lunar Lattice

Now this one is here, with these strange bent-lovers in their tall heavy buildings, saying words of devotions to still figures all painted in glass who do not hear. This is not Khajiit’s way, so this one understands your confusion, and your question.

Khajiit never say what they mean. It may be because their religion emphasizes secrecy, or because their religion is kept a secret. Still, if you were to ask a Khajiit about their worship of the Divines, this might be what one of them would say. Continue reading “A Crook-Tailed Khajiit, On the Lunar Lattice”

Conflicting Accounts: Davon’s Watch

I saw his form limned in ash and torment
Abreast two beasts of war / The township quaked
They sang to him / Women in fiery form
Darvon [sic] was no more / And the Beast was sealed

Back when Tamriel Rebuilt was still trying to play nice with The Elder Scrolls: Online lore, I wrote up this post to help bridge the gap between our differing canons. Continue reading “Conflicting Accounts: Davon’s Watch”

The Unarmed Traditions of Morrowind

Morrowind is home to three recognized unarmed and unarmored fighting traditions. Although perhaps not as famous as their counterparts in Elsweyr or Akavir, the Golden Reed, Marshmerrow, and Salt Rice styles have their own equally fascinating histories and theories of practice.

A simple informational post. The names of the traditions and Taren Omathan’s story are found in canon sources, while I followed the convention of the Mage, Warrior, and Thief archetypes to characterize them. Continue reading “The Unarmed Traditions of Morrowind”

The Origin of the Ash Yam

The origin of the name “ash yam” seems deceptively simple: it is a species of yam domesticated and cultivated in the ashy steppes of Morrowind. I have made a study into the taxonamy of the ash yam however, and come upon surprising results. Ash yam is not a geographical or botanical term.

While I was reading “1493” by Charles C. Mann, I came upon the fact that there are apparently hundreds of species of potatoes cultivated for human consumption in the Andes. Some of these are poisonous unless also eaten with a bit of clay. As I reflected on the ash yams being grown in Morrowind, this post almost wrote itself. Continue reading “The Origin of the Ash Yam”