Prisoner Start

TheRageKage

We all know that a staple of the elder scrolls series is starting off the game as a nameless prisoner. This helps the player craft their own backstory as their character gets a completely fresh start. I doubt I have to tell any of you the scenarios from the earlier games, but I was wondering if you guys had any cool ideas about how this could be done in The Elder Scrolls VI?

Cozy

Assuming the setting is what I'm anticipating (a guerrilla resistance effort in a Dominion-occupied Valenwood), I'd guess you start as a prisoner of the Thalmor, about to be executed, maybe in some sort of death camp where they kill people of 'inferior' races, but are saved by resistance fighters and end up joining up with them.

This would allow you to see the atrocities committed by the Dominion right away and make the quest to fight them more compelling imo.

War

Do you think the player should have the option to fight with the Thalmor?

Cozy

War I'm usually all for player choice in terms of factions but, ehhhhh... Players usually represent legendary, powerful figures in TES lore, so in a lopsided conflict like this one, having the player join the Thalmor, who already have the upper hand, would just turn the whole thing into a pointless curb stomp imo. Besides that, you could only legitimately join them if you're a high elf. They straight up believe they are superior to all other races and want to kill/dominate everyone else, so if you were another race they'd probably just use you then betray you, if even that.

So... maybe there's like a little hidden 'ending', Far Cry 4 style, where you join the 'bad guys' and it's just immediately over... but I think it would make for a better story in this case if they just portray the Thalmor as the evil people they are and have players fight against them, instead of trying to 'grey zone' them and justify their actions.