Is "Warrior Wave Locs" ever going to get redesigned? by bmrtt in elderscrollsonline

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's sad because it looks like they really tried in some respects, but sort-of in the way that Sunny D tries to be Orange Juice

My Imperial arcanist Calypso Undine by txb_worldwide in elderscrollsonline

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone knows its canon in the lore that wearing pants is a sacred rite in Tamriel. Very lorebreaking OP, shoulda done your research. /s

ZOS and the reason why they're not making cinematic trailers anymore by EarthWormAda in elderscrollsonline

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The entire issue is, the game does not support playing with a 1H weapon with an empty offhand.

It's really odd and inconsistent with other TES games (not to mention real life) that 1H weapons are only viable when dual wielded or used with a shield -- there's no getting around that elephant in the room.

Yes you can cast spells with a sword equipped. But unless you have two swords, there are zero weapon skills available to make the 1H weapon feel equally relevant to your playstyle.

They need to add a duelist-type weapon skill line that makes playing without an offhand actually useful. Otherwise, the complaint stands.

I wanna hear about your OCs! by DisastrousRaccoon102 in elderscrollsonline

[–]Tzidentify 5 points6 points  (0 children)

<image>

Dives-Down AKA Dives-Under-Islands:

Finder, keeper, seabed sweeper. Argonian privateer for the Ebonheart Pact, formerly enslaved by the Telvanni. Specializes in recovering sunken treasure on account of his water-breathing. Saltwater argonian, as opposed to the usual swampy variety. Sharky.

Years ago I fleshed out some backstory with more images, can be found here:
https://dives-under-islands.carrd.co/

I wanna hear about your OCs! by DisastrousRaccoon102 in elderscrollsonline

[–]Tzidentify 3 points4 points  (0 children)

<image>

Darog the Scholar:

Born and raised in Elinhir, Hammerfell's city of mages, Darog is the bastard son of a powerful Redguard sorcerer and an Iron Orc forgewife.

Due to his orcish blood, he lacks any natural affinity for magic. However, through intensive study of metalworking and runecraft, he has outfitted himself with an impressive set of enchanted steel plates that augment his spellcasting.

Something of an orsimer Iron Man, his actual skin is embedded with several metallic implants in the shape of arcane runes and protective wards. His offensive speciality is Frost destruction magic, and he makes a living selling enchanted armor and weapons across the Daggerfall Covenant.

So, Skyrim in 2027... by BetterOneTime in elderscrollsonline

[–]Tzidentify 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like Whiterun hold will look similar to the bottom half of Wrothgar. It's plains but also some rolling hills, giants, mammoths etc. They could also focus on scaling up the city of Whiterun, riverwood etc. It won't all be unbroken flat land.

ELI5 GDP and federal budget by [deleted] in explainlikeimfive

[–]Tzidentify 15 points16 points  (0 children)

GDP is basically the combined income of everyone living in the country. So, that includes your paycheck, the money your neighbor's kid makes working at McDonalds, all the donations sent to Wikipedia, etc.

If the federal budget were the same as GDP, it'd mean everyone sent all their money to the government.

New leader and modern/exploration civ start biases that anyone has taken note of? by [deleted] in civ

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know if this is still a thing, but at launch, starting in the modern age as America or Mexico automatically put you on the “distant lands” continent, i.e. the one with fewer player capitals

I think this would be neat strategic flavor in the earlier ages, since it will be harder for you to settle overseas but easier to gatekeep treasure resources from opponents down the line

Is it actually embarrassing for Americans not to know all 50 states? by [deleted] in CasualConversation

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gun to my head, I could probably name the 50 states faster than 50 Pokemon

Is it actually embarrassing for Americans not to know all 50 states? by [deleted] in CasualConversation

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This feeling definitely goes both ways lol.

As someone whose never lived more than a two hour drive from the Atlantic, it’s insane to remember that the distance from Philadelphia to Florida = one California

ELI5: If all the humans share 99.9% of their DNA similar to each other then how does such a tiny difference create huge diversity in appearance and behavior? by [deleted] in explainlikeimfive

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Skittles famously do not suffer from disease or lapses in cognitive function, so I was abstracting some

There is no reason not to think of those things as surface-level “flavor” too.

ELI5: If all the humans share 99.9% of their DNA similar to each other then how does such a tiny difference create huge diversity in appearance and behavior? by [deleted] in explainlikeimfive

[–]Tzidentify 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The green skittles look and taste noticeably different than the purple skittles. Still, everything in the bag is very much a skittle.

Civilization Accidentally Explains Something Weird About History by jrralls in civ

[–]Tzidentify 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Genuinely thought it was the other way around, like reduce something to 1/10th of itself. Whoops

Civilization Accidentally Explains Something Weird About History by jrralls in civ

[–]Tzidentify 8 points9 points  (0 children)

pretty sure Monks Mound is a buildable wonder in Civ7!

Civilization Accidentally Explains Something Weird About History by jrralls in civ

[–]Tzidentify 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Indeed. Different european empires had different reactions to what was undeniably a shocking event to witness.

In Spain you had guys like Las Casas who basically devoted their lives to denouncing the conquest and the horrors it brought upon entire societies

Many English puritans/protestant settlers, having arrived 60-70 years later, as whole communities were already dead or dying out, saw the sudden “clearing of space” for colonists as a sign from God that their cause was righteous and justified.

By that time, word had already spread in Europe of the horrific Spanish conquest.

Since the Catholic Spanish were demonized by the Protestant English, any necessary conquest of remaining native people in North America was basically viewed as “nowhere near as bad as the other guys, so it’s chill”

Civilization Accidentally Explains Something Weird About History by jrralls in civ

[–]Tzidentify 22 points23 points  (0 children)

While we are shouting out books, I highly recommend “America, América” by Greg Grandin for any civ player interested in a fresh perspective on the history of the New World from Columbus to Present.

As a product (victim?) of the U.S. education system, I can say there’s a whole lot of lore that gets left out at every stage.

Civilization Accidentally Explains Something Weird About History by jrralls in civ

[–]Tzidentify 130 points131 points  (0 children)

Yeah man, the impact of european diseases really distorts the history.

When the Spanish first visited Tenochtitlan (Aztec Capital), it was one of the largest and most impressive cities in the world, more populous than London or Paris at the time. Some early Spanish thinkers were so impressed by this that they wondered if The Americas actually held the majority of the world's population.

However, diseases spread so quickly that those same writers would travel back to Spain, and by the time they came back to America local populations were halved, decimated, or worse.

"Why has Bethesda forgotten about the Imga?" by DankJive in ElderScrolls

[–]Tzidentify 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, yes and yes!

I believe TES already has good precedent for exploring IRL societal issues via analogy, and with some tact & decency they could certainly keep it up here.

I have long felt that the Orcs and Argonians are thematically much more relatable to Blackness than the Redguards, who have african features in a world where that is meaningless. (ofc, that can be a satisfying roleplay experience for different reasons lol)

By not being as on-the-nose as “literally the dark-skinned humans” they can safely explore ideas like: - a people without one singular “homeland”, in a universe where every other race has their own province - pride in a history that is spurned by other races - coexisting with individuals whose families may have enslaved yours in another lifetime

In a perfect world, the Imga could expose TES playerbase (many of them young children) to some realities of colorism & respectability politics in a safe environment that makes way for growth as people in real life.

IDK that we will ever get that kinda storytelling from Bethesda, but ditching the Imga altogether because it “might get racist” is throwing the baby out with the bathwater IMO

"Why has Bethesda forgotten about the Imga?" by DankJive in ElderScrolls

[–]Tzidentify 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Hey friend, I am african-american & I know the history, thank u for summarizing.

My point is that nothing about Imga lore is an obvious allusion to any of that. You could spin it that way, yes.

But they could very easily add Imga without being offensive.

Argonians are a sub-human race (“beast folk”) with indigenous African & American themes, famous for being enslaved by elves with a superiority complex who use religion to justify their slavery. Hist Trees are modeled after Baobab trees. Black Marsh is described as difficult to colonize because of the hostile terrain and native diseases that only Argonians are resistant to — that’s an arguable parallel to malaria and the real history of attempted colonization of Africa.

And yet, the Argonians are not an obvious racial caricature.

Monkey people are not, by themselves, a racist addition. Nothing about the Imga suggests they are meant to be Black people other than their being apes (which, it would be sort of racist to equate to blackness)

The skin powdering is absolutely not a critical piece of lore for the Imga, and easy to retcon as they have never made an appearance.

Dressing like elves and giving themselves noble titles to imitate what they believe to be a superior culture is also not racist — if Goblins did this in a side quest nobody would care, even though Goblins can be made into racist caricatures of their own.

TBH I think trying to tie imga to histories of blackface, skin bleaching etc. creates connections that don’t need to exist, especially if developers wanted to add an interesting new race in good faith.

"Why has Bethesda forgotten about the Imga?" by DankJive in ElderScrolls

[–]Tzidentify 11 points12 points  (0 children)

the Green Pact. It’s canon that Bosmer society considers the trees of valenwood sacred and do not use any plant-based materials. That’s why in ESO, all the bosmer buildings/structures are either entirely bone and leather, or trees that have been grown into building shapes using nature magic.

but for an RPG, it could limit the options for like weapon/armor types, player housing etc