You've probably seen the memes. A guy wakes up in a horse-drawn cart, hands bound, while a blonde man across from him says, "Hey, you. You're finally awake." Even if you have never touched a controller in your life, you know Skyrim. But what is Elder Scrolls beyond a mountain of internet jokes and Todd Howard’s persistent quest to port the same game to your "smart" refrigerator?
It’s actually one of the most complex, weird, and dense fantasy universes ever conceived.
People think it’s just "Lord of the Rings but you’re the hero." Honestly, that’s selling it short. While it started in 1994 as a somewhat clunky dungeon crawler, it evolved into a massive cultural pillar that changed how we think about "open worlds." It’s a series about freedom. Total, sometimes overwhelming, freedom. You want to save the world? Sure. You want to ignore the literal apocalypse to go pick flowers and brew potions in a basement? You can do that for 300 hours. The game won't stop you.
The Weird History of Tamriel
The series takes place on the continent of Tamriel. Most fantasy worlds have a very clear "good vs. evil" vibe, but Elder Scrolls is messy. It’s political. It’s strange.
The first game, Arena, wasn't even supposed to be an RPG. Bethesda Softworks originally envisioned it as a gladiator combat game. But they kept adding side quests. Then they added towns. Eventually, they realized the world was more interesting than the arena, and a legend was born. Since then, we've had five main entries and a massive multiplayer expansion. Each one moves the timeline forward, or sideways, or into the literal dreams of dead gods.
Daggerfall followed Arena, and it was terrifyingly big. We're talking the size of Great Britain in digital miles. Most of it was procedurally generated—empty, but vast. It set the tone for the "go anywhere" ethos that defines the franchise today.
Then came Morrowind. This is where the series got weird.
If you ask a hardcore fan what is Elder Scrolls, they will point to Morrowind. It traded the standard European forest look for giant mushrooms, flying jellyfish, and a "Living God" who lives in a palace and might be a murderer. It was alien. It proved that Bethesda didn't just want to copy Tolkien; they wanted to create something fundamentally unique.
The Big Three: Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim
You can't talk about this franchise without looking at the jump from the early 2000s to the 2010s.
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- Morrowind (2002): The cult classic. It didn't hold your hand. There were no quest markers. If an NPC told you to find a cave "south of the old windmill near the fork in the river," you actually had to go look for it. It was frustrating. It was brilliant.
- Oblivion (2006): This was the "mainstream" breakthrough. It was a launch window title for the Xbox 360 and it looked incredible for the time. It went back to a more traditional "knights and castles" aesthetic, but the "Radiant AI" meant NPCs had daily schedules. They ate, they slept, and they occasionally got into fights with guards over a stolen loaf of bread.
- Skyrim (2011): The behemoth. It has sold over 60 million copies. It simplified the RPG mechanics—some say too much—but it perfected the feeling of "see that mountain? You can climb it."
Why the Lore is Actually Kind of Insane
Most people play these games as a power fantasy. You're the "Dragonborn" or the "Nerevarine." You kill dragons. You shout people off cliffs. But if you actually sit down and read the in-game books—and there are hundreds of them—you find a world that is deeply bizarre.
The lore isn't written by a reliable narrator.
Bethesda uses a technique called "the unreliable narrator." Two books in the game might describe the same historical event in completely different ways. One says the King was a hero; the other says he was a tyrant who made a deal with a Daedra (basically a space demon).
It forces the player to decide what they believe.
There are concepts like "CHIM," which is basically a character realizing they are in a video game and gaining the power to rewrite reality. There are space-traveling elves and a giant brass robot that can erase people from existence. It’s high-concept sci-fi disguised as a medieval fantasy.
The Elder Scrolls Online: A Different Beast
For a long time, the answer to what is Elder Scrolls was strictly "a single-player experience." That changed in 2014 with The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO).
At first, it was a bit of a disaster. It tried to be World of Warcraft with an Elder Scrolls skin, and fans hated it. But Zenimax Online Studios did something rare: they listened. They retooled the entire game to allow players to go anywhere at any level. Now, it's one of the most successful MMOs on the market. It fills in the gaps of the map we haven't seen in the main games, like the deserts of Elsweyr or the high spires of Summerset Isles.
The Modding Community: The Real Reason it Lives Forever
Skyrim is nearly 15 years old. In "video game years," that’s ancient. Yet, it consistently stays in the top most-played games on Steam. Why?
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Mods.
The developer, Bethesda, gives players the "Creation Kit"—the same tools they use to build the game. Because of this, fans have created everything from simple graphic updates to entire new games built inside the Skyrim engine.
- Enderal is a total conversion mod that is arguably better written than the base game.
- Skywind and Skyblivion are massive volunteer projects aiming to recreate the older games (Morrowind and Oblivion) inside the modern Skyrim engine.
- There are mods that add survival mechanics, mods that turn dragons into Thomas the Tank Engine, and mods that add complex followers with thousands of lines of custom dialogue.
This community is the lifeblood of the series. Without them, the long wait for The Elder Scrolls VI would be unbearable.
Common Misconceptions About the Series
A lot of people think you have to play them in order. You don't.
Each game is a self-contained story set hundreds of years apart. While there are recurring themes and "Easter eggs," you can start with Skyrim and not feel lost. In fact, most people do.
Another misconception is that it’s all about combat. Truthfully, the combat in Elder Scrolls has always been a bit "floaty." You swing a sword and it doesn't always feel like it has weight. The draw isn't the fight; it's the atmosphere. It’s the music by Jeremy Soule playing while the sun sets over a snowy tundra. It's the "emergent gameplay"—the weird stuff that happens when the game's systems collide. Like a giant launched a mammoth into the stratosphere because of a physics glitch.
The Future: What We Know About Elder Scrolls VI
In 2018, Bethesda showed a 30-second teaser of a mountain range. That’s basically all we’ve had for years.
We know it's in development. We know it will likely be set in Hammerfell or High Rock (based on the geography in the teaser). But the gaming landscape has changed. With the acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft, it will be an Xbox and PC exclusive. The pressure is immense. How do you follow up on a game like Skyrim that has defined a decade of gaming?
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The developers have hinted that they want it to be a "decade-long game." This means even more focus on systems that allow for endless play.
How to Get Started Today
If you’re new, don't overthink it.
Pick up Skyrim Special Edition. It’s available on literally everything. Don’t look up a guide. Don’t try to "min-max" your character. Just walk in a direction. If you see a cave, go inside. If a shady guy in a tavern asks you to participate in a drinking contest, do it.
The magic of this series isn't in "beating" it. It’s in getting lost.
Actionable Steps for New Players:
- Ignore the Main Quest: Once you leave the first tutorial area, feel free to just walk away from the primary objective. The world scales with you.
- Join a Guild: The "Dark Brotherhood" (assassins) and the "Thieves Guild" usually have better writing than the main storyline.
- Save Often: These games are famous for bugs. "Bethesda jank" is a real thing. Keep multiple save files.
- Look at the Stars: The leveling system is based on what you actually do. If you want to be better at jumping, jump. If you want to be better at magic, use magic. You aren't locked into a "class."
The Elder Scrolls is more than a game series; it's a digital home for millions of people. It’s a place where you can be a legendary hero or a humble librarian. As we wait for the next chapter, there is still plenty to discover in the thousands of years of history already written in the sands of Tamriel.
Next Steps for Your Journey:
If you want to dive deeper into the lore without playing the games, check out the Imperial Library website. It’s a massive archive of every in-game book and piece of dialogue ever written. For a more visual history, the "Elder Scrolls Lore" series by YouTubers like ShoddyCast or Fudgemuppet offers hours of deep dives into the gods, the wars, and the strange metaphysics of the universe.
If you are ready to play, grab the Anniversary Edition of Skyrim; it includes a decade of "Creation Club" content that adds new quests and gear directly into the world.