Power Fantasy isn’t bad, Skyrim just couldn’t commit to it. Being the Dovahkiin vs Normie

Mass Market Appeal: • Skyrim, Oblivion, & Mo...
A constant response to my Power Fantasy: Mass Market Appeal video was "What's Wrong with Power Fantasy?" to answer the question simply: Nothing: If it's done well. Let'd discuss how Skyrim handled it's Power Fantasy aka Dovahkiin. Let's discuss how Skyrim could have gone if they had committed to the Power Fantasy of the Dovahkiin.
At this time I'm still waiting for the Skyrim Special Edition to come out with more mods to build some mod loadouts and eventually a Mod Codex. Right now, most avid modders are better off with the original.
Main Quest vs Open World: • Fallout/Elder Scrolls:...
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Music:
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0, creativecommon...)
Site: bausic.my1.cc/

[@hamsteronii1571]

Becomes Harbinger of Companions, Kills Harkon, Kills Miraak, Kills Alduin, Saves world from being devoured, basically a demigod. Gets called a milk drinker and mugged by bandits although I'm wearing armor literally hand crafted from the bones of the dead dragon's I've viciously murdered. IMMERSION! FUCK YEAH!

[@fyfef]

"I thought you adventurers were supposed to look tough"

[@nerd0Chija]

Der Giftgnom I really hate those child, who always say that.

[@eazyamo]

*Insert killable children mod*

[@Articwoem]

eazyamo lol

[@John-Stark]

F you Samual

[@janisir4529]

"every freaking tavern has a wench that singing about how the dragonborn comes as if they had some kind of personal experience with you or something" This sound like a great loverslab mod!

[@deus8032]

I always felt that shouts should have a small chance to fear low level enemies. I mean if I approach a random bandit and shout his friend off a cliff, he's not gonna stick around for his turn.

[@samlancaster3130]

Deus depends, if you shouted my friend off the cliff I'd have a bone to pick you, even if it means the end of me

[@gamerguy6990]

Sam Lancaster you say that but most people would tremble at the sight of someone killing someone else with their voice

[@samlancaster3130]

Gamer Guy thats True, true power can demoralize people, I for one so have a strong sense of honor, but then again we wont ever know cause we all rarely face a problem anywhere near this

[@jamesmccloud7535]

@THE VOID Actually true, saying something is easier than doing it.

[@DieEineMieze]

@@samlancaster3130 i habe a tru sense of honor uwu

[@speedygun198]

Should have brought back some kind of fame or infamy system. Tell too many people you're dragonborn or shout in front of too many guards and you get hired thugs after you sent by people who are afraid you'll do what Ulfric did to Torygg. But at the same time more people being aware of you means speech/persuasion is increased.

[@briansanders8122]

Why stop there? If you get too much fame, the Thieves Guild don't let you progress their questline farther than getting Brynjolf to let you find Esbern, and the Dark Brotherhood doesn't let you join at all, because you're too well known for guilds who kind of depend on subtlety.

[@BigVorst]

Honestly, I just like how the alternate start mod lets you ignore the Dragonborn tat. For the most part, anyway. I'm personally tired of being 'the chosen one' in RPGs.

[@memnarch129]

Vorst Only exception is RPGs with predetermined characters, Borderlands for example.

[@BigVorst]

memnarch129 Yeah, in games where the character isn't customisable and is completely predetermined, I don't mind the whole chosen one plot. Otherwise? Very tired of it.

[@pant8081]

Recurring theme though, the Nerevarine and the Hero of Kvatch. Felt quite different in Oblivion though, you aren't a reincarnated Nerevar or Dragon, just some pleb in jail who the Emporor dreamt about

[@BigVorst]

Keza Red That and you can actually almost completely ignore the main quest in Oblivion.

[@pant8081]

+Zaric Zhakaron I've watched them now. Love your content and TES games, got the anthology for PC but haven't played Daggerfall or Arena

[@James--Parker]

I think Ulfric is the only person outside of the main story line to ever mention you being Dragonborn.

[@raziel6304]

Miraak (I know, dickmove)

[@jackschwartz9419]

a couple guards say something like "Dragonborn, it's an honor" every now and then. Come to think of it, the fact that they know that and still try to arrest you when you steal a cabbage shows that they have some serious balls

[@kevinpissoff5272]

Not true. The guards do.

[@John-Stark]

Another reason to Join him

[@noahthiel1448]

Clavicus Vile mentions it in his quest

[@miy1925hassun]

100% what I have bern thinking for 2 years since I started the game. I wanted more points like the peace treaty where people not only listen to what I have to say, they HAVE TO listen to what I have to say because I'm Batm- I mean Dragonborn!

[@somenitrogenconsumer8859]

Another man of my kin. Naber? Gerçi biraz aşırı geç bir cevap oldu ama olsun.

[@Araedi]

when you adopt a child from honorhall you can say that youre the dragonborn and she thinks youre joking until she "sees" that youre serious

[@mrcopycat2355]

Shouting them off a cliff is a very efficient method with deadly results.

[@DieEineMieze]

Das cute

[@REMsleepVids]

I always found it kind of annoying how you save whiterun from a dragon at the beginning, and you're made thane and then at every other hold, you can kill a ten dragons in front of the guards and EAT THEIR SOULS, no one gives a shit.

[@React2Quick]

MonsterKat And you have to run around figuring out which people you're meant to help in order become thane of that hold which is really annoying in and of itself. And it's usually they have do some kind of stupid fetch quest where you have to go through kind ruin or dungeon that eventually all look the same. traps, enemies etc.

[@REMsleepVids]

Totally agree. It'd be cool if you could do it differently in different playthroughs. Sidenote - Just killed a dragon in Falkreath, and the Guard reacted by telling me to put my weapon away. lol

[@React2Quick]

MonsterKat Lol its like I just saved your hold from from a dragon attack don't tell me to put my weapon away

[@whiterunguard3456]

MonsterKat well actually if you kill a Dragon in a city/village. the People do react. they all gather around and say stuff like "in all my years I've never seen such a thing"

[@KiraSlith]

@@REMsleepVids 10 years and 3 re-releases later, the guards still do that. I think the closest to a "You're the Dovahkiin" reaction they have is "It's dead now, but where'd it come from?" often spouted by 3-8 guards, sometimes simultaneously. "It just works!"

[@spartanq7781]

The more I dissect Skyrim the more it disappoints. This game draws you in with it's ambition. Skyrim squandered it's potential on all sides. As Zaric states in this video one of the examples is how shallow the dragon born is. There is a lot more than just that as an issue. The college of winterhold is a hodgepodge of Skyrim and it's wasted potential. Don't get me started on the bards college, sigh what a waste.

[@joshuastrickland5264]

Everytime I go to winterhold I think of how cool it could be but isn't and then I immediately lose interest in skyrim and play something else. Everything in skyrim could have been so cool...it is like they made a template for modders to use as a base and finish the game out for them. :(

[@eclipseslayer98]

I was always angry about how: I'm the listener of the Dark Brotherhood I am a Nightingale, and the leader of the Thieves Guild I am the Harbinger of the Companions I am the Dragonborn I am the Arch Mage of the College of Winterhold I have a full set of awesome enchanted armor I have torn souls from dragons and devoured them I can shout in the ancient dragon tongue to unleash awesome powers I have killed Alduin the WORLD EATER I have gone to Sovengarde and returned I single handedly destroy entire armies of bandits and monsters in dungeons I am pretty much the wealthiest person in Skyrim I am a thane of all nine holds I know every spell and have mastery over all of them I have slain such powerful foes like the The Ebony Warrior, Miraak, and Lord Harkon I have tamed dragons and made some my friends And I am the single most powerful force in ALL of Skyrim, yet Nezeem still thinks I can't get to the cloud district, Maven still looks down on me, and that one kid in Dragonsreach thinks I lick his father's fucking boots. Bitch! I could fucking murder your entire fucking family and nobody would be able to stop me, so shut the fuck up and learn some respect before I rip your head off with my pet dragon and burn your city with a rain of fire and lightning from the sky.

[@hakusuna]

Eclipseslayer98 Gonna be pretty frucking Honest.... If you did all that. I’d just delete Skyrim at that point. You tried too hard at a game even I spent too much of my life playing. Now If I ever do play it. I keep it as a nostalgia curiosity... Bethesda doesn’t deserve your ferver... And to be completely honest. Yes everyone would agree with you. But Dumb asses like Todd Howard are rubbing it off to angry rantings like this. Skyrim made its money, admittedly the base game was “meh” but the community modded version of the game is dramatically better because low and behold when a bunch of good hard working people devote “time” and Working hours. The people in Bethesda should be ashamed they half assed it. But at the time it was released everyone was shitting their pants over the Hype. Hell even I was. It changes nothing. It “was” a good game. When the world was stupider. And people ham over fisted this Gaming industry. Cue Phillip J. Fry “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY” Now we had jackasses like that running our Gaming industry. They haven’t won anything more than a Giant golden Dildo of laziest game Dev’s and showponies.

[@alduintheworldeater1594]

MarkusChannel if it wasn’t for Todd Howard or Bethesda, there would be no Elder Scrolls, There would be no hundreds of hours worth of lore. The fact you say lazy is very false. You try making a whole new language, make hours and hours worth of soundtracks, make names for thousands and thousands of characters (not to mention give the majority of those characters a purpose), A simple graphics mod or adding a new island that has terrible voice acting and no good content is absolutely nothing compared to what Bethesda has done. I will admit they have milked the game way to much and need to stop. But you calling Bethesda lazy game developers just shows me the level of ignorance. 🤦‍♂️

[@asdergold1]

"I am everything and yet, I am nothing."

[@mstrikerwildrift]

@@alduintheworldeater1594 The Elder Scrolls would've been better without Todd. He and Emil are the reason why the series is where it is at. Only thing they have done was make the games appeal to the masses. Instead of developing new systems they just stuck with what they have and even removed gameplay elements like the reputation system because they think it would be "superfluous". I guess to some people that is not lazy. Also it is quite interesting that you are dissing the modders, who in fact have been picking up the slack for Bethesda since day one. Do you really think Skyrim would still be played today at a large scale without mods? Bethesda didn't even bother to fix most of the bugs in their game and it was the modders that did. Hell they didn't even fix the game that they "remastered" it, even though the fix is already available. And yet Bethesda isn't lazy.

[@CaptmagiKono]

Buh... buh... That would take effort Zhakaron!

[@spartanq7781]

Toad Howard doesn't like hard work but rather over hyping his games.

[@Cyrus_II]

There's already alot of effort going into these games. It can't be about effort

[@josesaldana2437]

Zaric I completely agree, Bethesda was lazy and cheap about dialogue/voice acting.

[@NetPathfinder]

All money went for Marx von Sudow)

[@paladinheadquarters7776]

Agreed.

[@asdergold1]

You mean in general. Have you seen the way their engine molded the ground for them? Absolute garbage.

[@lul6124]

You killed: Miraak, Alduin, Ancano, Harkon, Karstaag, Reaper Lord, Ulfric. And the companions? "You should still make it WHELP. YOU DO WHAT WE TELL YOU".

[@Walht]

LUL You killed the companions? >;(

[@lul6124]

I meant the companions still treat you like a whelp lol. I was also level 200 when that happened which was really funny.

[@Walht]

LUL Ohhh I didn't see the fullstop. How did you level up your character so high?

[@lul6124]

Walht uncapper bruh

[@Geneius2509]

Yeah man the companions quest line definitely didn't integrate into the level you were when you started it because its definitely designed to be done as soon as you get to whiterun for the first time or your on a low level

[@RJLbwb]

"They wouldn't send apprentices to fight draugr"; Ah, yes "It looks dangerous in that tomb, we better get the interns as meat shields"

[@spartanq7781]

I don't understand how they managed to survive. I also don't know why people think they destroyed Winterhold. No one there has their shit together to be able to do that. Even if a mistake. The biggest example of this is they enlist you as the archmage with no qualifications for the position.

[@leahmacdonald5122]

Not just The Dragonborn but The LAST Dragonborn, with that much supposed weight you would think it would be more of a big thing. Also there's evidence all over the place that there are people obssessed with the whole dragon thing (best example is Dawnguard, Harkon is a whole bunch of dragon stuff in his room. It makes it seem like he'd been watching and then does nothing with it.) Hell, take the Thieve's Guild questline. You don't do what Brynjolf says right away he will say to you "Come back when you grow a spine." Grow a spine? Fuck off Brynjolf, while you were in the square selling snake oil I was punching dragons in the face.

[@Kos4Evr]

I like how you point out that you have the "option" of bypassing the entrance exam to the College by proving that you are the Dragonborn, but you are forced to join the thieves guild rather than given an alternative for players that don't want to join the thieves guild. Similarly about how you are forced to do quests for the Thieves guild to even join the Nightingales. 2 times when you are forced to join the thieves guild to get access to something else and you can't just say "I'm the Dragonborn, get the F@CK out of my way" You really nailed it when you said that they made you this badass and then forgot to tell the rest of the people around you... I mean no one in the Dark Brotherhood acknowledge your Dragonborn status. The Companions don't either. Hell, shout at a jarl and see what happens. These fuckers should be on their hands and knees begging for mercy but they will call the guards instead. If you shout at some one other than a guard they should step back and take notice rather than pull out their weapons and attack. Here is a big Skyrim question, if everyone knows the legend of the Dragonborn, and everyone knows that shouts are a big deal, then why do people attack you if you shout at them? At the very least they should know that you are more than capable of killing them.Imagine using Unrelenting Force to Intimidate a shop keeper but it acts like a fear spell with the Master of the mind perk active, thus allowing it to work on nearly all types of npcs. Another example is using Bend Will to "persuade" a merchant or "calm" a hostile NPC. Imagine the possibilities this opens up for dialogue and player character interaction with npcs. I do like the potential for the the Speech skill tree to directly relate to the Thuum as it is a form of speech and most speech perks are pretty redundant. At the very least have a "perk tree" based solely on enhancing them shouts and getting enhanced effects like you can get from Paarthunax and yet you can only get 1 such boost from him at a time. So much wasted potential...

[@spartanq7781]

Preech on. I wish Bethesda fully committed to the premise.

[@KiraSlith]

You could waltz right into the warrens. I know it's not the intended way, but thieves' guild is so long, and the door out to Esbern is right there. There's a similar skip to getting the Elder Scroll (Dragon) too. Just go out to the camp and ask crazy for an Elder Scroll. Yeah, you're skipping the game's few "STFU, am Dovahkiin" moments, but it's faster than doing Saarthal again. Which reminds me, there should've been a "STFU, am Dovahkiin" option regarding Paarthurnax. You're literally the only living Dovahkiin. Without you, calling themselves "The Blades" is meaningless, they're just a pair of overqualified bandits in the middle of nowhere.

[@Wepospalient]

as much as I enjoy skyrim, it really does half measures all throughout in terms of story content, the main story is all half measures, the guild stories are all half measures, even the dlc content is a lot of half measures. they never really committed to any of these ideas, they're all just left very loose. oh i'm the dovakiin? what difference does it make to the overall game? very little. oh i'm the master of the thieves guild or companions or whatever else, does it really impact the game in any way? no.

[@asdergold1]

Not only did they cut content from previous games, but also from Skyrim. lol only Bethesda, man.

[@DahvPlays]

"Dirtbag McShit Apprentice" Hahahahahahaha I'm crying right now

[@whiterunguard3456]

you know what I want to see. a sort of intimidation system. you have a perk (not unlockable but instead it's always there) where depending on what your wearing and what weapons your using, has a chance to intimidate who your fighting. for example, Iron Armour would have a very low chance, While Dragon armour has a really high chance. and the Intimidation, if it works, would make them run away for 20 seconds, but they come back and man up. but they do 20% less damage. I haven't thought it all through, but an intimidation system outside of Speech Checks would be cool.

[@whiterunguard3456]

also, while being evil is reasonably easy in the game. Here's one way they could've upped the Evilness. After your first fight with Alduin (on High Hrothgar) he says you have great power and says that together they could rule this world. if the Dragonborn agrees, then he ends up slaughtering alot of villages, killing wanderers. complete mass murder. Then it's revealed that Alduin didn't want to rule Tamriel, he wanted to destroy it. So the Dragonborn has a choice to either let that happen, and the game ends. or kill Alduin after Feeling bad for all the wrong they have done. or kill Alduin so you can have him out of the way and rule yourself. if you go with option 2 then the world will be saved, but everyone will resent you until you redeem yourself. if you go with option 3 then you rule Skyrim and everytime you walk into a village/city everyone is afraid of you and runs. even guards.

[@abdullahsaur]

That sounds fun.

[@aetherus1390]

I have a question. In the game, how do you collect dragon scales? When you absorb their soul, their flesh and scales burn away.

[@bigbluered2654]

Aetherus You clearly use your special snowflake Mary Sue status to achieve a minor form of C.H.I.M. that allows you to bend time into a pretzel and make it so that you have always had them. Clearly, this is what happens.

[@starwars4427]

Aetherus you go up to the dragon and press activation key then take the dragon scales, duh!

[@aetherus1390]

BigBlueRed 26 it's so clear now

[@freekillerwhale]

That would make sense if dragons would not burn away, but rather rapidly decay and/or their scales were, like shark's scales, made from bone (or harder magick material)

[@andruloni]

+BigBlueRed 26 You're blessed by Akatosh, the God of Time, after all.

[@jedyzichterman358]

Petition for a mod that gives you a dialogue option in every situation going "No, I am the FUCKING dragonborn!" And skip questlines lmao

[@Damienx247]

Another way Bethesda could have improved upon the Dragon Born concept is by delaying knowledge of being the Dovahkin until they became someone of importance. Whether becoming Thane of a hold, or an officer of a guild. Once you reached a level of acclaim, the Jarl or Guildmaster could send you to one of the Nord Dungeons conntaining a Dragon Priest, which you defeat and wrest a Dragon Stone from them. From there, a convenient dragon will either attack the city or guild building that sent you out, you battle the dragon, slay it, and from there you learn you are the dovahkhin.

[@shadowzealot3708]

Damienx247 cool idea

[@mmirlas2820]

When you say "Dovahkiin Card" I imagine Olfina Gray-Mane getting up in the Dragonborn's face screeching "Check your privilege!"

[@nihalad_3854]

Nice video mate, and yea they could have done skyrim a lot better, I think they just hurried the game out to get the 11 11 11 out of it. Real shame.

[@zerozeroone4424]

everytime i die in a game, i bite the hell out of my tongue. it trains me to be a better gamer

[@GenericUsername-qp1ww]

*aims bow towards your knee*

[@kokichiouma297]

you might think this is bad but i cant resist when close too dying to type a certain command in the console

[@jedyzichterman358]

+enclave commander i feel you. I feel you so bad lmao. I can't stay my hand

[@house6052]

ramuh's beard lrn2play

[@raburto8984]

wtf was that at d end lmao

[@Blue__Oni]

raburto singh d

[@richardlindquistjr]

Exosquad !

[@Zicconnuts]

Centurions.

[@ArmsOfAhriman]

We now need a mod for "Press X to rip soul-from-body".

[@CritLoren]

there is a mod that lets you rip the hearts out of enemies, bit late for the party tho huh

[@HQ_Default]

So, make killing dragons a bit like glory kills in Doom 2016? Ok, I'm down for that!

[@MarcelGomesPan]

I remember just having killed a dragon…with a two hand hammer, devouring its soul….dressed in full plate…….and this guy step up to me with a knife: ”Hand me your money, or else!”. Not the most attentive dude in Tamriel. 🤣

[@LearnTrainPlay]

Ok I had to stop the vid mid way cause I got your point and a good point it is, I always get annoyed the Proventius tells Jarl Boulgruf that he sees no proof that you're dragonborn when you could just shout to prove it. That is just one example.

[@goldenelfgaming4327]

@Zaric: I disagree with the idea of a timed kill move. As an alternative I think it would be better if while searching Bleakfalls Barrow, during the previous quest to fighting the dragon at the watch tower, the player's first shout would be the ability to steal souls from low health dragons (eg 5% remaining health). Kind of like the opposite of Alduin's ability to restore their souls. The guards could also kill the dragon on their own but the player doesn't get the soul unless he/she uses the shout to steal it. Also, souls wouldn't work like perk points but give the player an exp boost or something like that, working along with the idea that there should be a Thu'um skill tree.

[@raziel6304]

After Fallout 4 people just shouldn't trust bethesda to deliver a well-written RPG, they ruined the Fallout series by making it a generic open world shooter with very retarded logic and retcons. Same with Elder Scrolls, if anything we should expect a voiced player character with a preset background telling us everything we need to know to finish the game right before starting to actually play it. Trusting bethesda is like playing the Knife game.

[@Nelo_Angelo_Nero]

I give you right in all what you say about that stuff. In Morrowind I did most of the sidequests first before I get into the mainquest and I really had no idea all the time that I will become the Nerervarine then later in the mainquest. That was really awesome because you hear about this old legend from the people but I´ve never expected that my character is this person. For me that was a big surprise and it felt really really awesome to me!

[@nukinonmalawn1]

I agree with the idea of making shouts and dragon killing more interesting, but I personally can't stand QTE in games.

[@Nukestarmaster]

Honestly, fuck QTEs.

[@IvanSoregashi]

It doesn't have to be Quick Time, just like looting.

[@outdatedTV]

I am totally rediscovering the game now on SSE with Frostfall + Campfires + iNeed + Legendary difficulty. Now, although I am the Dragonborn etc, I am a nobody, because every beast is a challenge and the enviroment itself is a challenge. This gives a totally new feeling and the world seems so much bigger! I could even disable fast travel. But this combination of survival mods and Legendary difficulty gives like 300% more RPG feeling and immersion. I am switching my LONGPLAY series to English from the next episode, which will be published today.

[@JohnVmc2]

Even Fable did it right.

[@StrifeRixa]

Wouldnt it be awesome to have to keep your dragon blood under wraps, just so people arent too scared to talk to you or so you dont get biased answers to questions? You could have a real Man of Steel moment where you weigh using your thuum to save lives or refraining from it so the few survivors, if any, from a battle don't fuck up your identity.

[@arcticdragon3565]

TES VI needs to be like the better beginnings mods, or DA:O and DA:I. I want to select my origin. I want to choose weather I am a prisoner, peasant, or noble (or other). Also, Fun Fact, TES 1 and 5 are the only games you cannot join the Blades. In 1 there is only passing mention of the blades. In 2 and 3 they was required to join for the plot. In 4 they are optional to join, but you fight along side them redardless. In 5 you fight along side them, not as them, as Dragonborn, basicaly their religious figure, as long as you denounce Paarthunax and the Greybeards.

[@jprec5174]

what? in skyrim you help restore the blades. If you kill Paarthunax esbern essentially tells you you're a full fledged blade and gives you side quests.

[@arcticdragon3565]

jp, You aren't a blade, you are worshiped by the blades because you are dragonborn, like Reman Cyrodiil and the Septims. The factions aren't that great in Skyrim is all I was saying. But indeed, I forgot the significance of the Blades in Skyrim, you got me on that one. So "technically" you don't join the Blades in TES V, but you can fight along side them as Dragonborn. Essentially, you fit the same roll as the Emperors of the Third era. Your basically the pope to them (as long as you denounce Paarthunax).

[@lazerbeam134]

They make you the leader, like all the other factions

[@eligostheexalted]

You mentioned how Valerica dismisses the idea to just kill harkon. Here's an anecdote. On one of my playthroughs of skyrim, I was playing a battlemage. I had this super decked out enchanted dragonbone sword that I'd made. I hit Harkon ONE TIME with a power attack. Killed him instantly.

[@HamanKarn567]

I agree that it can be good if done right. Centurions are epic.

[@thnkng]

Skjor and aela being like 'Dude it's just some werewolf blood just drink it man' but I don't give into pressure, I say *no* to drugs 🙏🙏😎

[@gilgameshthetreasurehunter2750]

this is why I liked the Shivering isles. It actually recognizes you as the Madgod. at least in the isles.

[@buffaloaf8205]

as long as they don't give you're character a voice like in fallout 4

[@memnarch129]

Dont make it just hit x, make it a back and forth minigame to pull the dragons soul from its body. Do it however you like, rapid tapping buttons or maybe some other kind of minigame, but make it require effort to gain the dragons soul.

[@Darkslayer289]

I'd make it a tug-of-war minigame.

[@Linkman247]

I had a discussion with someone about the Witcher 3 and the Skyrim. He contended that Skyrim was a better roleplaying experience. It is a matter of opinion of course but his biggest criticism of the Witcher 3 is that you will always be Geralt and you will always be a Witcher. That is true, though you are playing that role. Just like you are playing the role of the Dovakiin in Skyrim. I agree with a lot of the points you make in this video that Bethesda didn't really commit to the idea of power fantasy. Even if you look at a game like World of Warcraft Legion. They returned to the idea of class fantasy. You end up becoming an Archdruid or any number of other major titles. Of course with legendary weapons it creates a kind of disconnect where in an MMO you have countless 'chosen ones' running about wielding the same artifact weapon. I kind of preferred when you were one of a group of heroes/champions trying to fight a major threat.

[@vynonyoutube1418]

Skyrim has more freedom, because in The Witcher, you always have to roleplay as Geralt, who is always a Witcher. You can't roleplay as just some ordinary dude, or a powerful mage. What The Witcher does better, however, are characters, story and presentation.

[@masternest]

Those wenches love it when the Dragonborn comes hahaha XD

[@dadagan8815]

in Morrowind the first mages guild quests you do is, picking mushrooms & flowers pretty normal i'd say

[@billywingrove27]

When i started Skyrim for the first time , the idea of being amazing and op from the start was good but after 10 playthroughs i wanted to be a nobody and just join some guild and be only in that guild and not the all master of skyrim

[@ethan520427]

just found your channel about a week ago.... love it! going to binge watch some let's plays. sorry I didn't know if you sooner!

[@spartanq7781]

I'm still waiting for the list of your favorite power fantasy games.

[@VLADPowder]

I love this content man. You articulate yourself in a very sensible way, there's never a moment where I feel like I clash with what you're saying. Your observations are mint 👌🏼

[@deoxysdominator]

Actually, I can recall that you can mention your "Dovahkiiness" when you adopt a child at the orphanage in Riften after killing Gremlod

[@MoonlightGreatsword]

8:55 That should've been a dialogue option for every bit of dialogue.

[@SnorlaxMarkish]

Very well articulated and I love these videos saying everything that me and my friends felt playing this game.

[@jaeg.3806]

I enjoy how Dragon Age Inquisition handeled their power fantasy. No matter what, the player was looked at as the Herald of Andraste. What exactly that entailed would depend on how the player acted. The player could deny the existence of The Maker at every turn and begrudgingly help people due to being forced, which could cause some members of the inquistion to leave and opportunities to be lost. The player could also be all "I AM THE HERALD OF ANDRASTE, I AM A GOD" (Kanye West style) and the same ideas apply. The player could be an asshole, a saint and everything in between but regardless, people would acknowledge what went on. Everything was dependent on the player's actions, and said actioms were acknowledged by everyone and everything in the game, whether the player knew of it or not. This is how I believe Skyrim should have handeled things. Granted, DA:I was years after ES V but the point stands nonetheless.

[@thesoupmn6664]

I'm glad I found your channel, it's good to have your views challenged so as to grow as a human being. like not thinking your favorite game is infallible. I can honestly say I owe my life where it is now to friends challenging my beliefs. Love the content, keep it up.

[@bombchus]

I aways though it was silly that your presence as the dragon born was more prominent. So I used the alternate start mod, and did everything else first as if I was a normal Breton spell blade. After I become a "hero" I wonder near helgen and see Mrs end times flying ova and proceed to Riverwood, whiterun, West watchtower where I then and only then at like lvl 60 discover I'm dovakin.

[@BennysGamingAttic]

"Do you know any ward spells?" "BITCH! I CAN RIP DRAGONS OUT OF NORD HEAVEN!" ~Orc Dragonborn

[@templarkiller2926]

I think it is funny how you can have yourself (the legendary dragonborn everyone supposedly knows about) and many companions (if you use follower mods) and a thief will try to rob you, it makes for a funny time

[@DarkOmegaMK2]

If it was me i guess i would rather have the whole "You are the Dragonborn" revealed right AFTER the Time Wound event, when Alduin comes and he would be like "Dragonborn! bla bla bla world domination bla bla bla SURRENDER OR DIE!". I guess i would have liked it better if my "Mortal Enemy", this "World Eater" would have been the one to acknowledge me as "The Dragonborn" for the intents of coming personally to kill me. But, i am not the one that makes youtube videos, so, pfff... what do i know...

[@DarkOmegaMK2]

I'm not really implying that my idea is worth "more" or "less" compared to anybody else's opinion and I'm sorry if it sounded like it. I was talking more of the idea that a "youtube video gives you a bit more power." as a whole when compared to a written commentary because anyone can write a comment on a video. I feel like i opened a can of worms with that last line on my comment, which i regret now. Again, sorry for bringing out something that now that i read it again, sounds out of place.

[@DarkOmegaMK2]

Zaric Zhakaron Thanks, i'm glad you are one of the few with this kind of mentality. It can be rough to speak your mind out loud in some channels.

[@thnkng]

'Be careful with it. My sword is probably worth more than you.' 'Vilkas, *my* sword is worth more than the life of every person in Jorvaskr. You 70 gold good value Steel Sword doesn't even show up in a bandit's fucking end table for me.'

[@joeshmoe6908]

Bruh I was so annoyed that barely anyone recognized me as dovakhiin in Skyrim, when someone talked smack to me I'm like bitch I'm the FUCKING DRAGONBORN your nothing to me but nah I'm just a nobody right. I literally killed a god "Alduin" (pretty sure alduin was worshipped in the nordic pantheon in previous games as god of time or something).

[@jamesroper4952]

This is something that kinda got on my nerves. For example, when you join the Companions. Everybody there treats you like a nobody, and no matter what you've done. You could've killed Alduin, Harkon, and Mirak, completed the civil war questline. Then go join the Companions, and Vilkas will still give that, I have never heard of this outsider line. Yet the guards will occasionally mention something you've done. I guess the Companions have their heads stuck up their asses, so far that they don't know what's going outside their little hall.

[@DemonixGamer]

"Every single tavern has a wench singing about how the Dragonborn comes - As if they had some sort of personal experience with you or something." That covert sex pun though. LMFAO

[@Ecliptor.]

totally agree, the whole fucking world should be kneeling before me for being the motherfucking dragonborn, i should be able to commit whatever crime i want because the guards should fear me, EVERY dialogue should have a dragonborn/alduin defeat option

[@mythixthedragon6903]

"GUARDS HELP, THIS MAN KILLED MY WIFE" "I'm the Dragonborn" "Sorry sir, nothing we can do."

[@Cyrus_II]

I agree with everything you said in this video but I should say that you being the dragonborn is brought up when you tell clavicus vile you want power. He says something like you're the dragonborn you already have power. I think the telvani wizard makes some references as well. I couldn't give 10 more examples but it still wouldn't be enough to undermine your point of course. Those examples happen to be my favorite moments in the game.

[@Boomdawg96]

It's even worse when you think of the major continuity issue between the games because the small handful of things that are affected by your Dovahkiin status, for example the Civil War and its resolution, could very well be afterthoughts. I've personally wondered how your choices during the Civil War would be handled during ES6 and it doesn't seem like much of it would make sense.

[@Spacefrisian]

The only one time i was amazed when a Daedric lord said he couldnt grand my wish cause i was already to powerfull, so i went ahead and got his Axe instead so he could take his dog back.

[@RaisedFlipper6]

Drakan: The Ancients' Gates did power fantasy well. As for fixing Skyrim, I like Unbound Alternate Start (Normie) or Guard Dialogue Overhaul (Power Fantasy). Personally, I find the Unbound Alt. Start fixes more than the second listed mod. It also plays nicely with survival mods (Frostfall, Hunterborn, iNeed).

[@Eshray]

You know what's a great mod that would have worked so well in the whole idea of the Dovahkiin? Thunderchild. Maybe it's just me, someone who likes to RP as an Intelligent Character (If that is even relevant), but I love the idea of Meditating and Pondering on the meanings of Words, the Dragon Language, et cetera. Perhaps instead of just spending Dragon Souls like a currency, once a new word is learned, one option is to meditate on these words and unlock shouts that way, AND if Attributes were brought into Skyrim, characters with High Intelligence will find it easier to ponder on such things, figuring things out on their own instead of having to steal knowledge from the soul of a Dragon. Perhaps, just like in Thunderchild, Words could have multiple contexts, multiple meanings, thus creating new shouts using the same words. While I personally do enjoy being A Dragonborn from a roleplay standpoint, I'm not exactly fond of being THE Dragonborn, A Warrior-Monk honing his gifts to take on the Ultimate Challenge, Not the legendary hero destined to save the world. And, since I recently finished the main quest on Special Edition, I kinda wish the Fight with Alduin was more akin to a Brutal no-holds-barred mano-a-mano slugfest, where everything you have learned and acquired gets put to the Ultimate test against the World-Eater himself. Something akin to Monster Hunter, perhaps.

[@Mazetism]

Great stuff man. I should make a page on tesgeneral site dedicated to what Skyrim should have been, lore etc and add your videos.

[@KarosuMaker]

Skyrim is one of my favorite games of all time, but I can absolutely understand your points, I've never been a role player myself, but I suppose what Bethesda did with the Elder Scrolls makes you feel the same way I felt when Capcom transformed Resident Evil from Survivar horror to action, and now still disguising action as survival horror. They get a new fandom but alienates the old one.

[@sidazhou]

this clip needs heavy metal background music to do its justice

[@ericwood3709]

Good thing Skyrim can be fixed with mods. Requiem, Skyrim Undbound, Frostfall and other such overhauls and tweeks can really make it immersive and take away the feeling of being "awesome," at least from the start. But yeah, by default, this game is crazy. It's dumb fun and a Medieval fantasy theme park out of the box. It's also a departure from what Elder Scrolls was, yes. Most definitely.

[@NoForksGiven]

They really should've improved the shouts. Most of them are so generic that I forget I'm even using them, even when I'm doing the shout glitch to get unlimited shouts. Shouts were a major selling point of the game and while it is true you can yell a tornado or scream a lightning storm, you can also...move slightly faster...or shoot a fireball, because that totally is not an everyday spell even apprentice mages can learn... I guess it's kinda hard to beat calling it lightning storms, tornadoes, 2 freaking dragons, the souls of powerful Soverngarde warriors and the ability to swing your weapon at physics defying speeds.

[@spartanq7781]

What should have been done is you gaining power and renown. That would require the fame and notoriety system to return. This is crucial to gaining trust or mistrust. This would make things easier or harder. For one claiming yourself to being dragon born would become more and more plausible. This should not be told to the player until you defeat Aldiun for the first time. If you had gained a reputation then people would believe you as the true dragon born. Once Aldiun is defeated then Mirak should hear of this from his sources as he attemps his return. Then murmur of another dragon boen would crept up and confuse the people and the player. When you find out you go about killing him. With or without summiting yourself the Hemaus Mora. When you do you should be even more beloved,hated or outright feared. The shout system needed it's own skill tree. As it is it's far too barren. There is little to no reason to even use them. This would had made the dragon born fun to play as. Of course there should be plenty of opportunities to downplay your power. In order to better fit in and not upstage or frighten others. On the other hand you could tell people and if you proven yourself people would more easier believe you. This can be done to speed up your progress in a guild. Or to tell someone that your the dragon born and doesn't need the beast blood etc. A lot could have been done to improve the dragon born. As is it ultimately is meaningless. Aside from shouts that could have easily been powers and being the hero to defeat Aldiun.

[@HQ_Default]

Don't you need to enter the college of winterhold to finish the mainquest anyway? If so, then they HAD to put that option in there in case you hadn't been leveling up magic!

[@raziel6304]

The problem is you dont actually have to level up magic to get inside the college. Every single race starts with the basic spells of every school, which means you're naturally attuned to magic, and if for some reason you dont happen to know the spell she's asking you to cast she offers you a convenient copy of that very spell right on the spot. So the question still stands: If you can enter the college regardless if you're dragonborn or not, why not make your entrance as Dragonborn more UNIQUE!? It's just pure lazyness from Bethesda's side.

[@Daniel-oz5dm]

Peppermint Butler the elder scrolls you need are the septimus sigmus quest line ones, the one serana has and the one her mother has , you don't need to be dragon born for those quests

[@kevinpissoff5272]

Um, no... At most, you get a basic heal spell, flames, and conjure familier... There are far more than 3 schools of magic.

[@HQ_Default]

Kevin pissoff It is necessary if you don't have the conjure thing.

[@whiterunguard3456]

Indoril Nerevar Moon-and-Star there are 3 ways to find information on the Elder Scroll. 1: just go to Septimus's outpost without talking to the college. 2: Tell her you are the Dragonborn and then demonstrate a shout. 3: cast the spell she wants you to cast. also if you do either 2 or 3. you don't HAVE to join them. you can just ignore them completely right afterwards.

[@mr.anonymous5856]

I agree the main story is like a tacked on side quest. That's why when ever someone had told me, "oh yeah, I beat that game", I always say, "no you didn't because I have over 600 hours invested into it & I still haven't beat it", so telling me you did in a weekend is bull shit LOL! Doing that one thing in the game and claiming you beat it is so wrong. Now I'm probably getting close to actually beating it though for real, to try 100%ing the game all the skills, the armour sets, all the quests that can be found, until only those jobs that never end are the only thing left, find and collect all the books, unique items, weapons, armour, or decoration & so on exc.. I'm surprised I'm actually still finding things I haven't found before or things I haven't done yet, but I'll be the only person I know that actually beat it for real haha

[@philsniper2000]

I didn't finish the video but I just thought about a system where the citizens recognize you or not and it totally depends on what guilds or organizations you can get into. Like let's say its 1 to 10, 1 being like "who the fuck are you" to 10 being like "HAVE MY CHILDRENS OH AWESOME LORD". But like if you are level 6 or higher you no longer can join the dark brotherhood cause "everyone knows you and you would pretty much give us away" but can't join something like the companions till you reach level 5 because they don't just want some random schmo in their origination. And maybe you have like a couple routes in dialogue which one is a boisterous route like "well I can handle this as I am the dragon born", another is like "yeah, no problem", and another is "(slowly nods head)". Of course each side would have it's pros and cons like if your boisterous you do get money quicker, you save alot of time, and people react to you, but if you are low key about everything you might not get those advantages but you are able to get more rewards as you have to do more, so maybe like different weapons or spell books. Also the AI would react differently, for example after defeating aldiun and going into a city or town with high notability "ALL HAIL THE DRAGONBORN," but if you have low notablility people will kinda just end up saying like "I wonder why there isn't so many dragon attacks anymore,". I think Oblivion and some fallout game had a system kinda like this

[@projectpems8304]

To be fair, the Dragonborn doesn't seem that well known at all. Irileth doesn't give a shit even after you eat Mirmulnir's soul. There's also the fact that the various factions in Skyrim might not hold Dragonborns in high esteem. The Companions and the College are actually very nonreligious. You're freely allowed to believe whatever the hell you want. You might be a legend, but not their legend. To them, you're just really badass, you can use Shouts and you eat Dragon souls. You can also decide your own destiny, but it's not like anyone is even aware of that Dawnguard's religious beliefs do not acknowledge a Dragonborn. They just hate vampires. The Thieves' Guild and the DB also don't give a single shit about you being Dragonborn. The Guild is almost atheistic (and the only God they worship makes business deals with them) and the Brotherhood acknowledges you as Listener. That's it.

[@fox__fire]

I always thought the reasons why the people in skyrim don't acknowledge you as dragonborn is due to limitations in the creation process, as well as it hindering the role-play aspect of the game, as well as all the changes that would have had to be made. First off, you can play nearly the entire game without doing the main quest. You can be the thieves guild master, the listener of the dark brotherhood, ect. without being acknowledged as the dragonborn because you didn't do anything. Second, it would take alot of time and effort to create all new lines of dialogue and reactions for nearly every character in the game to you being the dragonborn. Nazeem would stop being an asshole, Tullius would see you as worthy, ect. but it would take a lot more time and memory in the game to add all of these new dialogue options and reactions. Third, people in skyrim would act differently to you being dragonborn. Maybe you wouldn't be allowed into the dark brother hood due to being dragonborn for some reason, you could tell everyone to fuck off at the big council meeting with both sides of the war, ect. and it would have very large gameplay changes to the game. Just telling everyone you're dragonborn would create HUGE consequences, which could hinder your roleplay ability. Guards might let you steal something and not get punished for it, but it hinders the gameplay, and doesn't create any consequences for your actions. Thats why I think alot of your points don't seem to hold up if Skyrim were to be re-made with the "corrections" you suggest. "Fixing" these things would have your character becoming more and more of a Mary Sue then the Dragonborn already is.

[@owenw.1643]

the more skyrim criticism i hear the sadder i get about it's wasted potential. this could be a game where you slog across arduous frozen landscapes with breathtaking auroras filling the night sky and get lost in mind-bogglingly huge snowy forests. a game where you can build up a reputation, when someone tries to undermine you you can rip their head off and people will be accordingly horrified and shit their pants whenever they see you. a game where YOU CAN WEAR THIEVES GUILD ARMOR AND GUARDS WILL DO MORE ABOUT IT THAN A PASSING COMMENT. instead of being all... strange and wishy washy. it needs to live up to what it claims to be, not just... half-ass literally every category possible besides action. i'd rather have MINIMAL story & development if they're gonna be that terrible... at least then it would be known as the empty, scarce, bandit-killing simulator that it really is.

[@stephengrant4841]

i hate existence well, i understand thieves guild armor. I mean, officially the guild doesnt exist right? Besides, most people wouldnt know that guild members wear that, for all everyone knows its just leather armor.

[@juliuscaesar5397]

I don't mind being the chosen one in RPGs, but at the same time, the character should have to earn this. This whole status as the "Dragonborn" shouldn't come to you immediately; it should ONLY come when you seek out the Greybeards and do several tests for them. Following this proof, you should THEN be able to learn your first shout, slay a dragon in front of a crowd, and have the whole "dragonborn" card to play. That way, you'd have to "earn" this power fantasy.

[@stewartsaurus5796]

When elder scrolls 6 comes out people are going to hate it the same way they hate skyrim, people generally like to hate new things, and then as something new comes out they immediately start liking the old thing again.

[@Graknorke]

Stewartsaurus You're acting like people dislike it just because it's new though. That's obvious bollocks. People dislike it because it's worse than something that already exists when really it ought to be an improvement. The old thing only becomes "good" in comparison to the new one. For a good example look at fallout 3 and NV. People immediately (correctly) identified new Vegas as being better than 3. It's not just people being salty about new things it's Bethesda keeps making worse RPGs.

[@teppest11]

A centurions reference at the end pretty cool cartoon/ toy-line

[@Elias___]

This is my new fav channel.

[@prophismusic]

Also, no. There should NEVER be quick time events added.

[@cyberzombie038]

6 years late but Civvie said it best "the fantasy only works when you overcome something, not if it feel like you're operating the machine properly."

[@TBDF12]

at 5:34 thats a great sword model looks cool and functional

[@alduintheanti-dragonborn]

You know now I wonder, is there a mod that adds the power fantasy vibe to skyrim? Other than the guard dialog overhaul mod.

[@CuppaLLX]

AAAAAAAACTUALLY you have another instance of playing the dragonborn card, go to Clavicas vile shrine and ask for power before doing the western watch tower, and then after, different dialog.

[@starwars4427]

Ulfric will mention your dragonborn and so will the orphanage when you adopt a person. And if we include dlc questlines you have to be dragonborn for the dragonborn dlc MQ

[@Thunterise]

That's really, really not enough though.

[@starwars4427]

oh i agree 100% just had to let anyone who watched the video not have the idea that the ONLY time it mentioned it was during the college of winterhold quest

[@madmachinex]

LOl yanno it is funny you brought up Harkon because yah, When he goes on that huge spew about how if your not a predator your pray. My immediate response was..."Im a fucking Dragon, i will withstand time, you will not!" too bad something like that wasn't an option.

[@Araedi]

oh and the civil war ending where you either help or kill ulfric he also a knowledges that you are the dragonborn

[@hocinemesrouk6823]

we need a mod to fix this it is doable just like that romance mod

[@SuperCasino77]

Literally agree with just about every point in this video. But I feel like if Bethesda every added a forced quicktime event like you suggested you would definitely be unhappy about it lol.

[@pant8081]

If power fantasy is a problem for you in Vanilla try Requiem overhaul. It's not for everyone and it doesn't remove the element of power fantasy, you just have to build up to it in an unleveled world. If Requiem gets a successful port to Skyrim SE on PC it will be gucci

[@AndresCarballosa]

(I'll comment on both videos here, if it isn't a problem) With Dragonborn it got even worse, as they could have implemented some way of making you be a great or a loser dragonborn. You are the chosen, dragonborn, the mighty one that was supposed to bring balance to the fo... etc. It could have been a great difference from the other games, as you, Zaric, say: now it is your choosing to decide if you are going to live up to the legend you are supposed to become, or let the world end buy just being the mean guy who gives some septims to poor farmers who have lost everything just to then kill them and get his septims back because he can. So, if the last dragonborn is a jack***, who can people count on to save the day? All hail Miraak, the first one! Regarding acknowledgment, maybe you could start as dragonborn but have to train as hard as you can to save the world, get all the words, be really fluent in dragon language in order to stand in front of Alduin to have the mother of all conversations , not just the man who can swing really fast swords or cast spells (as yoyu have the Companions or Savos Aren to do that), and then people react like the guards do if you shout inside the city. That is the biggest mistake as you point out: to stand in a some kind of mid-way point of both worlds in the concept of the game and in how it handles almost everything. You could have been the Rocky of Tamriel, with all those steps, but became an all-powered unrecognisable "Mary Sue", except for crime (it doesn't matter if you change your clothes and you had a helmet that covered all your face, THEY KNOW YOU).