The Elder Scrolls 6has an enormous legacy to live up to. The series was popular beforeSkyrim, but the last game’s sales and critical success eclipsed evenOblivionandMorrowind.
All fantasy video game RPGs inherit a huge legacy from TTRPG’s likeDungeons and Dragons. It’s been nearly thirty years since firstElder Scrollsgame, and first editionDungeons and Dragonslaunched nearly half a century ago. However, there are some recent changes made to the famous tabletop fantasy game thatThe Elder Scrolls 6could learn from.
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Race In Dungeons And Dragons
Back in 2020 Wizards of the Coast announced thatD&Dwould be removing race-based statsfrom the game. It also announced that certain races – particularly the Drow and Orcs – would no longer be described as if they were inherently evil, or at least prone to villainy.
The decision was largely motivated by theBlack Lives Matterprotests that summer. There is certainly an argument to be made thatThe Elder Scrolls’ race-based buffs and debuffs don’t stand the test of time, but there’s also a positive argument to be made for their removal fromThe Elder Scrolls 6.
WhenThe Elder Scrollslaunched, race wasn’t the only factor that modified some of the player character’s stats. As well as the now dropped class system, gender factored in as well all the way up untilOblivion. WhenThe Elder Scrolls 5released, gender-based stats were removed. Negative race-based stats were also removed. Instead, each race had a +10 boost to skill, and a +5 boost to five other skills.
The High Elves, for example, had +10 in illusion magic, and a +5 to conjuration, destruction, restoration, alteration, and enchanting. The Orcs has a +10 to heavy armor, and a +5 to block, two-handed weapons, one-handed weapons, smithing, and enchanting. In general, the removal of stat debuffs diffused any criticism aimed at the race-based stat system of earlierElder Scrollsgames. However, there is a gameplay and roleplaying argument to be made for removing race-based stats fromThe Elder Scrolls 6entirely.
Removing And Replacing Race Stats
From a gameplay perspective, having some races be significantly better at certain skills removes a degree player choice – the focus ofopen-world Bethesda RPGs. If players want to be the best possible mage at the start of the game, they’re incentivized to be an Altmer. If they want to be the best possible archer, a Bosmer, and so on. This removes a degree of player freedom, but ultimately it’s one that most fans aren’t likely to be too worried about. It’s not too hard for other races to catch up, and ifThe Elder Scrollsgames were multiplayer likeD&Dit could be a different story, but they aren’t.
From a roleplaying perspective, however, there’s a stronger case to be made for the removal of race-based stats, even positive ones, fromThe Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda’s other flagship franchise,Fallout, doesn’t factor in race at all. Instead, itFalloutuses a trait and perk system, which adds a lot of individual character flare. The Four Eyes trait, for example, gives the player a +1 to their perception when they are wearing glasses, and a -1 to the same stat when they aren’t. TheBlack Widowperk allows female characters to do more damage against male opponents, but also unlocks unique dialogue options.
Allowing players to choose from a series of traits during character creation is far more compelling from a roleplaying perspective. Not only does allowing players to pick their own minor stat buffs and debuffs add an additional degree of character customization, but it also helps find a compromise between the completely classless system inSkyrimand the more restrictive class-based system found in earlierElder Scrollsgames.
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Traits, Perks, And Roleplay
The kind of system found ingames likeFallout: New Vegascan make so many roleplaying opportunities more tangible in a way thatSkyrim’s race-based system does not. If aSkyrimplayer decides to be a Wood Elf archer, their skill in archery says nothing about their character specifically, only their race. It’s a missed roleplaying opportunity.
If theFallout: New Vegasplayer finds themselves able to appeal to the cannibals at theWhite Glove Societybecause they took the Cannibal perk several levels earlier, it’s far, far more satisfying from a roleplaying perspective. The player accepts a limitation to their character – if they’re caught eating a dead body, non-hostile NPCs will go hostile. The fact that accepting that limitation also rewards them with unique roleplaying opportunities makes it far more satisfying than the race-based stat buffsSkyrim’s races have.
Skyrim’s race-based systemcan’t even allow for the player to accept disadvantages anymore – the idea of taking a debuff based on a character’s race has become more controversial than it once was, and rightly so. A system that, likeFallout’s, allows players to pick their own traits and perks that include disadvantages avoids this problem, while adding a level of sacrifice that makes the perks or traits satisfying.
AnElder Scrolls 6player could add a debuff to their sneak, for example, for a buff to their unarmed attacks. They could take a debuff to their destruction magic at the cost of their restoration magic, and more. There could even be fun ones like manyFalloutperks, like one that gives characters an increase to their speech and unarmed attacks when drinking alcohol at the cost of their block and archery skills.
This kind of system has so much more replay value and adds so much more individual personality to the player character. Like the system found inNew Vegas, it could even occasionally add unique dialogue options for players who took certain perks, allowing players to craft a unique roleplaying persona that isn’t just entirely in their head, but is reflected in some of the game’s mechanics.Dungeons and Dragonsmay be pushing fifty, but the removal of race-based stats is something that would makeThe Elder Scrolls 6a better roleplaying game, not just one that kept up with the times.
The Elder Scrolls 6is in development.
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