General:The Elder Scrolls

The Elder Scrolls (commonly abbreviated to TES) is a franchise created by Bethesda Softworks. Set on the vast continent of Tamriel, the award-winning Elder Scrolls video games are renowned for the level of unprecedented control given to the player over his or her character's destiny, establishing themselves as benchmarks in immersive, independently-living worlds for the RPG genre.

Games

The main series consists of five games and their respective add-ons:

• The Elder Scrolls: Arena (1994)
• The Elder Scrolls Chapter II: Daggerfall (1996)
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002)
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (2002 / Morrowind expansion pack)
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon (2003 / Morrowind expansion pack)
  • Official Plugins (2002-2003 / Morrowind plugins)
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine (2006 / Oblivion download)
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (2007 / Oblivion expansion pack)
  • Official Downloads (2006-2007 / Oblivion downloads)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard (2012 / Skyrim add-on)
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn (2013 / Skyrim add-on)
  • Official Add-ons (2012-2013 / Skyrim add-ons)
  • Creation Club (2017-present / Skyrim Special Edition add-ons)

Apart from the central storyline, a wide range of spin-off games have been set within the world of The Elder Scrolls, including:

• An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire (1997)
• The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard (1998)
• The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold (2003)
• The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar (2004)
• The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey (2004)
• The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion (2006)
• The Elder Scrolls Online (2014)
  • The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind (2017 / ESO Chapter)
  • The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset (2018 / ESO Chapter)
  • DLC Game Packs (2015-present / ESO DLC)
• The Elder Scrolls: Legends (2015)
• The Elder Scrolls: Blades (2018)

There have also been a few games that were in development but have since been canceled:

• The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Eye of Argonia
• The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Paradise Sugar
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PSP)

Gameplay Universe

The world of The Elder Scrolls is well-known for its attention to detail and realism, replete with an interconnected structure of various societies, cultures, and religions, each backed by a thorough historical basis, revealed to Elder Scrolls aficionados (who often assume the title of "loremaster") through in-game literature and deep, multi-tiered conversations.

Set within the mortal realm of Mundus, the Elder Scrolls games are invariably placed within one or more of the nine provinces of the continent of Tamriel, these being:

• Black Marsh - homeland of the Argonians
• Cyrodiil - homeland of the Imperials and the extinct Ayleids
• Elsweyr - homeland of the Khajiit
• Hammerfell - homeland of the Redguards
• High Rock - homeland of the Bretons and Orcs
• Morrowind - homeland of the Dunmer and the presumed extinct Dwemer
• Skyrim - homeland of the Nords and Falmer
• Summerset Isles - homeland of the Altmer
• Valenwood - homeland of the Bosmer

Furthermore, many titles—especially An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and The Elder Scrolls Online—take place partially within the alternate, Daedra-ruled, Planes of Oblivion.

While it is known that continents other than Tamriel exist, players have yet to visit them in any official game.

The Elder Scrolls Themselves

The Elder Scrolls (Kelle in the Dragon Language), also called the Aedric Prophecies (though the accuracy of that term is often disputed), are scrolls of unknown origin and number which simultaneously archive both past and future events. The number of the Scrolls is unknown not because of their immense quantity, but because the number itself is unknowable, as the Scrolls "do not exist in countable form". They are fragments of creation from outside time itself, and their use in divining prophecies is but a small part of their power. They simultaneously do not exist, yet always have existed.

External Links

• The Elder Scrolls official homepage
• Bethesda Softworks homepage