Elder Scrolls + Pokemon Crossover RP Redux

So I saw the original thread for this concept a couple days ago, and I saw that the user who had posted the original thread had been banned. I also saw that it had been 30 days since the last post, so I couldn't post there within PC rules. So with all these things, and without knowing if there's any "behind-the-scenes" work on this already or how many people are interested, I thought it was a really cool idea and would've completely signed up.

Anyway. One thing I didn't like about the original was the plot idea, that the Daedric Princes (I guess "demigods" is as good a comparison as any to with typical fantasy) are at war. With what I've read about the Elder Scrolls lore, this doesn't seem realistic. More often, the Daedric Princes are attacking Tamriel, the continent where 99% of the Elder Scrolls universe action takes place. So my idea was that instead, the opposing continent across the ocean called Akavir attacks Tamriel (specifically, the Tsaeci snake-people), but with a giant plot twist about the reasons behind the attack...

But first, I'd like to gauge interest and hope I'm not violating RPT's rules >.> If there is interest in this, I'd also definitely want more experienced RPers to help me.

Edit: Okay, I probably should've actually outlined some my idea - like the mechanics and such - more specifically if I really expected a response, so here goes:

I would want it to be open-world, ideally with all of Tamriel as explorable area. The player should be able to collect, buy, and sell a myriad of items, as well as (obviously) catch Pokemon in the wilds between the towns and villages. With a foreign invasion happening, the players could choose to help, or they could choose to ignore. The players don't even have to work together, although I would object to them trying to kill each other.

Combat-wise, there would preferably be a myriad of options of weaponry and spells, along with the three stats of Health, Magicka (determines how long you can cast spells), and Stamina (governing how long your character can run, perform power attacks, or maybe even stay conscious), but narrating it would be tricky. But I was thinking that for writing combat, it could be a back-and-forth between the player and a/the GM, with each taking great care to RP the other character(s) faithfully.

And that's all I got for now, without seeing any replies.

Hmm, I think there is a bit more here than the last one which was basically "here are the races". The idea needs to be fleshed out a lot more before I think anyone would be willing to commit to it, since right now we have the barebones of a plot but no real information about who the players are, or anything else of that nature. Some concerns I have may repeat what was previously said (I only read through the thread once and ignored it after that), the biggest one I think is the fact the Elder Scrolls is such a large franchise with a lot of lore, and I think it would have to be thinned down in order to help people who are unfamiliar, but interested follow. Another one I think more relevant to this particular post would be the scope of it all. Tamriel is a big place, and not all of it has been explored in the series yet, with a lot of nations just having little more than passing mention.

I think it is an interesting idea, but I see a lot of issues that would have to be addressed before this is a viable RP. Hopefully you can make it work.

[FONT=&quot] [FONT=&quot]I understand your concerns about the difficulty in trying to accurately depict provinces which got scant mention in some games.

As for plot, that I can provide.

Map of Tamriel (obviously not greatly detailed, but you get the idea):
[/FONT][FONT=&quot] http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Map_of_Tamriel

The plot (so far):

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]10 years ago, in the Fourth Era (4E) 201, the frozen northern province of Skyrim[FONT=&quot] s[FONT=&quot]aw the emergence of a mythical figure: the Dragon[FONT=&quot]born[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]. [FONT=&quot]Following the return of [FONT=&quot]dragons to Skyrim with their effort being to destroy or enslave mankind, [FONT=&quot]the Dragonborn wa[FONT=&quot]s ab[FONT=&quot]le to use his power to destroy these otherwise [FONT=&quot]immortal creatures by devouring their [FONT=&quot]ve[FONT=&quot]ry souls[FONT=&quot], saving the [FONT=&quot]Nords of Skyrim [FONT=&quot]from the[FONT=&quot]m and reducing their number to leaderless i[FONT=&quot]ndividuals [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]occasionally[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]seen a[FONT=&quot]round the land. Th[FONT=&quot]at same year, however, Skyrim was [FONT=&quot]embroiled in a civ[FONT=&quot]i[FONT=&quot]l war between those lo[FONT=&quot]yal to [FONT=&quot]the [FONT=&quot]Em[FONT=&quot]pire in Cyro[FONT=&quot]diil, home of the Imperial race, and those who believed the Empire had betrayed the N[FONT=&quot]ords by outlawing Talos [FONT=&quot]worship - [FONT=&quot]making him the only o[FONT=&quot]f the Nine Divines [FONT=&quot]whose worship is outlawed -[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] in the [FONT=&quot]Whi[FONT=&quot]te-Gold Concordat[FONT=&quot], which [FONT=&quot]ended the Great War with the Altmer of the Summerset Isles. Some say the trea[FONT=&quot]ty was a necessary evil; others disagree[FONT=&quot]. In any event[FONT=&quot], [FONT=&quot]Jarl Ulfric Storm[FONT=&quot]cloak of Windhelm led a rebellion to take down the [FONT=&quot]Imperial seat out of Sol[FONT=&quot]itude[FONT=&quot] and succe[FONT=&quot]eded, possibly with help from the Dragon[FONT=&quot]born himself. [FONT=&quot]The Sto[FONT=&quot]rm[FONT=&quot]cloak government then mar[FONT=&quot]shalled its force, preparing for the worst from the Em[FONT=&quot]pire o[FONT=&quot]r the Al[FONT=&quot]dmeri Dominion of the Altmer.
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [FONT=&quot]However[/FONT], the Empire was and remains in no position to attempt any such feat; Emperor Titus Mede II was assassinated by the Dark Brotherhood, the infamous assassin's guild, in the same year Skyrim broke away, and his son Titus Mede III has since been trying simply to rebuild the Empire to some level of respectability as his title of Emperor gains more of a hollow ring: Black Marsh, the swampy home of the reptilian Argonians and Hammerfell, native land of Redguards are both independent states following the events of the Oblivion Crisis and the Great War, both years before Titus III's reign. In his effort to rebuild the Empire, Titus III ordered the Imperial Legion in 4E 208 to occupy the arid and rocky Bangkorai region to provide a route to High Rock, home of the Bretons, one of only two remaining provinces owned by the Empire besides Cyrodiil itself, the other being Morrowind, fallen home of the Dark Elves, or Dunmer. The Emperor still seeks one day to regain Skyrim and bring the Dark Brotherhood to an end, avenging his father. However, most scholars agree that with the sorry state of the Empire as it stand[FONT=&quot]s now, [FONT=&quot]it will [FONT=&quot]be many years before tha[FONT=&quot]t ever happens, and that the Aldmeri Dominion invading again is a much more immediate threat.

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=&quot] The Dominion itself has its own problems. It is possible the Summerset Isle will become embroiled in a civil war as many young, disillusioned Altmer fight back against the rule of the Thalmor, the p[FONT=&quot]olit[FONT=&quot]ical [/FONT][/FONT]faction that began the Dominion. The Dominion includes the Summerset Isles, which lie to the southwest of mainland Tamriel, the forested province of Valenwood where the Wood Elves, or Bosmer, live, and the fractured nation of Elsewyr, home of the feline Khajit.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot] As for Skyrim itself, home of the Nords, in the intervening time between the present and its secession, they chose to invade the island of Solstheim, both to symbolically take what they felt their Nordic heritage gave them a right to and capture the supply of raw ebony ore on the island to help fortify their army against any potential attacks by the Empire or the Dominion. However, Morrowind, the owner of Solstheim, fought back, and when the two sides reached a stalemate in the middle of winter, they, on the 14th of Morning Star of the 4E 211, the present year, signed a treaty. Morrowind agreed to cede part of northern Solstheim to the Nords and give some rights to the ore on the island, and Skyrim agreed to arrest and ship all the criminals that had fled from Morrowind to Windhelm, Skyrim's capital, off to the Blacklight, the capital of Morrowind. Due to its secession from the Empire, Skyrim had become a popular destination for criminals from other provinces, Windhelm being most popular for Morrowind outlaws. They rounded up the criminals that same month; however, due to the freezing conditions, they were unable to send them off until 26th of Sun's Dawn, roughly a month after the treaty was signed.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot] You are one of the prisoners on the ship headed for Blacklight. On the way there however, and only a few miles from Blacklight, a storm blows the ship eastward off-course, toward Vvardenfell. The next morning, 1st of First Seed, on the start of a new month, the ship, headed back west to its proper destination, is overtaken by a massive fleet of red-scaled warships. Your ship is quickly sunk as it tries to run, but you and several other members aboard the ship (among them the other RPers) swim to shore. After you wait for the fleet to disappear to the southwest, a troop of Redoran guards from the nearby Blacklight show up and rescue you, taking you to the city.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot] Once there, and after the guards are told of what happened to the ship, you are rushed to the Redoran Council Chambers, a castle in the center of the city where the Great House Redoran rules its various holdings throughout the province from. After giving Archmaster Nelyn Othremos some basic information (hint: character creation sequence) and he receives an account of what happened at sea, you will be set loose in the city of Blacklight, granted a reprieve from the charges that got you put on the prison ship.[/FONT]
After Archmaster Othremos of House Redoran hears your account, he, after some thought, says to the prisoners, including you, "Since you have been of great help to us, I think we can, perhaps, under the circumstances, overlook whatever charges brought you here on the prison ship [maybe give this prison ship a name?] But first, I'll need a bit of information about each of you…"[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]His steward sits at a nearby table, feverishly writing each prisoners' answers to Othremos' inquiries:
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Please read [FONT=&quot]my next post before opening this [FONT=&quot]sp[FONT=&quot]oiler.

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]


[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]I've thought about the[FONT=&quot] combat system, and I've decided that the RPers and GMs should just do a traditional back-and-forth [FONT=&quot](I'm assuming that's [FONT=&quot]traditional[/FONT] anyway) regarding only the[FONT=&quot]ir [FONT=&quot]res[FONT=&quot]pective characters. Of course, I'm open to suggestions.

[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Anyone re[FONT=&quot]ading this who's familiar with [FONT=&quot]Elder S[FONT=&quot]crolls can t[FONT=&quot]ell I stole a lot [FONT=&quot]of stuff from previous El[FONT=&quot]der Scrolls games, [FONT=&quot]from prior to Skyrim. I understand that all this is a lot [FONT=&quot]to keep track of, [FONT=&quot]and there's more to come[FONT=&quot], but again, I'm ope[FONT=&quot]n to suggestions, and will [FONT=&quot]be [FONT=&quot]awaiting reply.

[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]O[FONT=&quot]h,[FONT=&quot] and regarding the determination of provinces not explored in detail: a GM convention[FONT=&quot] might need to happen[FONT=&quot] to determine how thing[FONT=&quot]s should be.

[FONT=&quot]That is all for now.[/FONT]
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

Honestly, it seems to much like you're trying to transcribe the game itself and its combat system into this forum-style RP, which I don't think will work very well (it overcomplicates things).

If you take a look around to the other RPs, you'll notice that for the most part, GMs won't bother with stats in this site, heck, I think every RP I've seen goes as far as to ignore levels, because they are complicated and at the same time they are restrictive to the RP itself. I think you'd be better served if you vastly simplified (or got rid of) the stat system.

That being said, I posted in the original thread you're talking about to show interest, and I'm doing the same here because Skyrim was awesome and I think an RP based on it could be great as well. Also, I'll admit to skimming your second post before I add: where is the Pokémon crossover aspect of this RP?

Djobi Djoba said:

Honestly, it seems to much like you're trying to transcribe the game itself and its combat system into this forum-style RP, which I don't think will work very well (it overcomplicates things).

If you take a look around to the other RPs, you'll notice that for the most part, GMs won't bother with stats in this site, heck, I think every RP I've seen goes as far as to ignore levels, because they are complicated and at the same time they are restrictive to the RP itself. I think you'd be better served if you vastly simplified (or got rid of) the stat system.

That being said, I posted in the original thread you're talking about to show interest, and I'm doing the same here because Skyrim was awesome and I think an RP based on it could be great as well. Also, I'll admit to skimming your second post before I add: where is the Pokémon crossover aspect of this RP?

Click to expand...

I'm going to be answering this post in reverse order.

I held off on the Pokemon aspect because I found it to be the easy part. I'll post what I've put down:

Pokemon

-Caught by Apricorn Berries after you or an Apricorn Craftsman fashions them into Poké Balls.
-Know moves, evolve, all the things Pokémon do.
-Pokémon are encountered in the wilds of Tamriel. Catch them, kill them, or flee from them as needed.
-Pokémon replace animals, but not necessarily undead.
-Maybe they have levels?




[FONT=&quot]Apricorns would just be either found out in the wild or purchasable from orchards/shops, or available to steal from shops/barrels or wherever.[/FONT]




[FONT=&quot]About the stat system: Yeah, it's probably way too complicated and restrictive. I don't know if I can get rid of levels, though, since I need some way to track how proficient characters are at the ten million things you can do in the Elder Scrolls universe. (Feel free to give a suggestion.) Otherwise, for how proficient characters are at the start, I was thinking I could go with a class-based system for determining skill i.e. Mage-archetypes are good at magic but Warrior-archetypes are bad (maybe they can't even cast spells on their own?) I feel that would be a good metric.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]And yeah, I was trying to be too much of a purist with the whole game. Hopefully this post will help with simplification.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]I don't know what you or anyone else thinks of the Birthsign mechanic though. And I'm hoping that you at least thought the plot/premise/background info was okay?[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]I'll edit my last post to un-complicate things.

[/FONT]
EDIT: Noticed that you didn't like the combat either. I had that changed to be the (hopefully) traditional RPer/GM back-and-forth, but I'm not sure how combat is usually run on this forum. As always, I'm open to suggestions, and I'll be looking into combat systems...

Hmm. Just noticed this, since I haven't been on PC much as of late. I myself have an old Pokémon x The Elder Scrolls story/roleplay sitting on the back burner, which I'll likely never get around to, but it does leave me with some suggestions I can give.

First off, if you're making it a crossover, nix Elder Scrolls canon entirely. If you went with canon, you'd first have to explain why pokémon suddenly exist in this world. I'm sure there are many ways you could do this, however. As for catching pokémon, my story would have involved . . . well, not catching them, and more treating them as magical creatures that people may befriend. As such, my concept did not refer to them as pokémon at all, as that name is derived from the idea of catching and carrying pokémon around in the first place. I also wouldn't suggest replacing animals with pokémon, especially since it's sometimes implied that real animals do exist in pokémon anyways. Regardless, I would leave them as separate entities.

If you do solve that, I'd suggest delving deep into the lore of The Elder Scrolls before trying to add anything to it. For what you've suggested, the Tsaesci have already invaded and briefly talen control of Tamriel in the past. I also don't see why Skyrim would invade Solstheim, considering it was given to Morrowind by Skyrim in the past. There is nothing beyond ebony ore that makes the island desirable as a political destination, and Nords likely wouldn't value it as highly as the Dark Elves. Also, for your civil war in the Summerset Isles, you should take into account the culture and lifespan of elves. Many of them are hundreds of years old, some even older than Tiber Septim and the Empire itself. That's why many of them look down on the other races, and reject Talos; for them, Talos was a child, and the races of man are young, with each generation lasting only a fraction of an elven generation.

Also, I suggest getting rid of levels and all of the intricacies of the rpg elements. On paper, they may seem an interesting way to control the flow of a roleplay, but in the long run they will simply confuse and restrict many roleplayers. The point of an rpg, anyways, is customizability, which is why video games introduce such diverse skills and class systems and whatnot. In writing, all of this is completely arbitrary and unneeded, as it's inherently fully customizable. A good writer can show their character progressing in their skills without "levels" to control them, and a gm should learn to be able to manage their roleplayers without all of the numbers. In some cases, the stat elements can provide an interesting take, but most of the time they prove excessive, especially when they act as measurements of what should be a character's inherent abilities that will grow through the writing anyways.

And on the topic of inherent abilities, I'll address the birthsigns: no. While they're a fun bonus in the games, I wouldn't consider them perfectly canon, as normal people don't tend to have access to their abilities. Furthermore, I wouldn't have a "character creation" section so similar to the games. Just make a regular sign up sheet.

In general, I think you're taking too much of a videogame approach to this. While the roleplay you're creating is based off of a videogame franchise, the roleplay itself is simply a piece of collaborative writing, not a videogame.

All right! Somebody posted!

Nakuzami said:

First off, if you're making it a crossover, nix Elder Scrolls canon entirely. If you went with canon, you'd first have to explain why pokémon suddenly exist in this world. I'm sure there are many ways you could do this, however.

Click to expand...

Honestly, I'd probably just say that they're the replacement of the animals/creatures/undead (well, some of them, anyway) of the Elder Scrolls Crossover universe. For example, Ursaring or Beartic replaces the bears, etc. The obvious difference being, of course, that they're a lot more dangerous.

Nakuzami said:

As for catching pokémon, my story would have involved . . . well, not catching them, and more treating them as magical creatures that people may befriend. As such, my concept did not refer to them as pokémon at all, as that name is derived from the idea of catching and carrying pokémon around in the first place.

Click to expand...

Ehhhhh people used Apricorns in "times gone by" as the Bulbapedia page puts it, plus I'm not sure how our intrepid RPers are befriending creatures that are going to be trying to kill them/running away every second they're near each other. Maybe the timid ones, but that'd be it.

Nakuzami said:

I also wouldn't suggest replacing animals with pokémon, especially since it's sometimes implied that real animals do exist in pokémon anyways. Regardless, I would leave them as separate entities.

Click to expand...

DANG IT NINTENDO >:( Well, that would produce a bit of a conflict with what I just said, wouldn't it... >.> Maybe some of the canonical animals/creatures could stay... sort of. Spriggans, Dreugh, Land Dreugh, all manner of Daedra, Lurkers, Seekers...

Man, there's a ton of creatures in the Elder Scrolls Universe :/ I'll have to decide if I should keep them all, keep some and replace others with Pokemon, or replace them all with Pokemon (well, I won't do that). Off to coming up with a semi-sorta-canonical explanation for Pokemon that may involve Arceus somehow...

Nakuzami said:

If you do solve that, I'd suggest delving deep into the lore of The Elder Scrolls before trying to add anything to it. For what you've suggested, the Tsaesci have already invaded and briefly talen control of Tamriel in the past.

Click to expand...

Okay. I don't know if that second sentence is meant to be a criticism or a statement of fact, but I did already know that, and in fact the reason I'd come up with for why they were back was
(massive spoiler below [if anyone cares])

Nakuzami said:

I also don't see why Skyrim would invade Solstheim, considering it was given to Morrowind by Skyrim in the past. There is nothing beyond ebony ore that makes the island desirable as a political destination, and Nords likely wouldn't value it as highly as the Dark Elves.

Click to expand...

What, you mean they wouldn't do it just so I could finagle a plot device into my RP? :d Yeah, you're right, so now I have come with something else... *grumbles*

Nakuzami said:

Also, for your civil war in the Summerset Isles, you should take into account the culture and lifespan of elves. Many of them are hundreds of years old, some even older than Tiber Septim and the Empire itself.

Click to expand...

I would just like to point out that those Altmer that are several hundred years old are going to a vast minority. Although you do certainly have a point.

Nakuzami said:

That's why many of them look down on the other races, and reject Talos; for them, Talos was a child, and the races of man are young, with each generation lasting only a fraction of an elven generation.

Click to expand...

This is one thing I can't agree with you on (the Talos part, not the looking down on other races). Although you do have a valid point, there has been, as best as I can tell, no canonical reason provided that I have been able to find for why the Thalmor hate Talos. It could be your theory, it could be they don't think a mortal could ever become a god - heck, there's a theory that the Thalmor are actually plotting to destroy the mortal plane and that the abolition of Talos has something to do with that.

Also, the Altmer civil war concept would have/has less to do with the banning of Talos worship than with the Thalmor being a bunch of lying pricks who abuse power to shut down anyone who criticizes after saying that they were the saviors of the race.

Nakuzami said:

Also, I suggest getting rid of levels and all of the intricacies of the rpg elements. On paper, they may seem an interesting way to control the flow of a roleplay, but in the long run they will simply confuse and restrict many roleplayers. The point of an rpg, anyways, is customizability, which is why video games introduce such diverse skills and class systems and whatnot. In writing, all of this is completely arbitrary and unneeded, as it's inherently fully customizable. A good writer can show their character progressing in their skills without "levels" to control them, and a gm should learn to be able to manage their roleplayers without all of the numbers. In some cases, the stat elements can provide an interesting take, but most of the time they prove excessive, especially when they act as measurements of what should be a character's inherent abilities that will grow through the writing anyways.

[stuff about birthsigns I completely agree with]

In general, I think you're taking too much of a videogame approach to this. While the roleplay you're creating is based off of a videogame franchise, the roleplay itself is simply a piece of collaborative writing, not a videogame.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've kinda realized this... all in all, I guess it really wouldn't be that hard to just do that sort of thing. My worry had been "hey I'm just gonna be great at everything" but I've realized the time consumption that would take (since this isn't a video game as you eloquently pointed out) would make that an nonviable strategy, so RPers would naturally have to focus on a few things (1-2 archetypes) to be pretty good or great at.

Thank you for your advice. I might edit this post later, and I'll probably post a "second OP" fleshing out the whole thing a little more with the revamped ideas.

I came back!

I like a lot of what Nakuzami said, especially the part about not taking too much of a video game approach to this stuff, but I did have an idea that I think you might find interesting to consider for a Elder Scrolls x Pokémon crossover: dragons have been thought to be dead/gone for centuries, and now they're coming back!

Is that the plot of Skyrim? Yes. What dragons? Dragon-type Pokémon, and Charizard and stuff, they're coming back, and they're stronger than any other wild Pokémon living in the wilds with few exceptions.

Leave Akavir and set this up in a custom Pokémon World setting, medieval technology, the works, and let us be Dragonborn.

For anyone still interested, my "second OP" is about done and should be posted sometime tomorrow.

Djobi Djoba said:

I came back!

I like a lot of what Nakuzami said, especially the part about not taking too much of a video game approach to this stuff, but I did have an idea that I think you might find interesting to consider for a Elder Scrolls x Pokémon crossover: dragons have been thought to be dead/gone for centuries, and now they're coming back!

Is that the plot of Skyrim? Yes. What dragons? Dragon-type Pokémon, and Charizard and stuff, they're coming back, and they're stronger than any other wild Pokémon living in the wilds with few exceptions.

Leave Akavir and set this up in a custom Pokémon World setting, medieval technology, the works, and let us be Dragonborn.

Click to expand...

Sorry to disappoint you but that's not happening. Nakuzami offered two suggestions about introducing Pokemon into Elder Scrolls: 1) Blow up TES canon, or 2) find some way for how Pokemon suddenly exist in TES universe. With my work on my "second OP", I *think* I've found a way to introduce Pokemon (and Apricorns) in a way that isn't completely lore-breaking (of course, they aren't called Pokemon or Apricorns, and both are inherently lore-breaking to some degree). There probably won't be any Dragon-types, but as a consolation prize, there WILL be dragons (gasp!) and shouts (double gasp!), but this won't be Skyrim redux. Heck, my plan is to have regular animals wandering Tamriel. Which is where this RP will actually be primarily set. Akavir would open up later.

Anyway, more details sometime tomorrow.

Okay, finally got this up. I know it's late, but I wasn't able to post yesterday. I would've formatted it, but seeing as I'm twelve hours late to post anyway, I didn't bother. Might edit it in later.

But without further ado, here is the "second OP"! (Please excuse the wall-of-textiness)

The Setting

Welcome to Tamriel!



Unfortunately, the continent isn't in great shape right now. Ten years ago, in the Fourth Era (4E) 201, Emperor Titus Mede II was assassinated in Skyrim by the infamous assassin's guild the Dark Brotherhood. That same year, with the help of the mythical Dragonborn – the only individual who could permanently kill dragons and saved Skyrim from their destruction – Skyrim broke away from the rest of the Empire under the leadership of Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm and now High King of Skyrim. Many Nords, the natives of Skyrim, felt that they had been betrayed by the Empire, seated in Cyrodiil, when, at the end of the Great War with the Aldmeri Dominion, worship of Talos was outlawed, making Talos the only one of the Nine Divines to have his worship banned by law.

Now it's 4E 211, and things aren't much better; in fact, they're worse. With the secession of Skyrim, the Empire now holds only Cyrodiil, Morrowind, and High Rock, but it has no direct access to the province of High Rock, which is stuck in the northwestern corner of Tamriel between the independent states of Skyrim and Hammerfell. Breton nationalists of High Rock insist that the province should secede from the weak Empire as well and form the Third Daggerfall Covenant with the Redguards of Hammerfell and the Orcs of Orsinium. Currently, there is deep political division in the province; some the Kings of High Rock have declared their domains independent of the Empire.

Skyrim, despite its independence, has also had a rough go at it. Imperial forces were forced to either renounce their loyalty to the Emperor, be exiled from Skyrim, or be killed. And while High King Ulfric permitted Jarl Elisif the Fair, his chief rival during his rebellion and the wife of Torygg, the previous High King whom Stormcloak murdered, to live, she has not shown any kind of loyalty to him and seems intent to undermine every plan he makes for Skyrim. There's also a rumor that Elisif's court wizard Sybille Stentor has been missing for the last year or so, although why is unknown... Skyrim has mostly been building up its military since it achieved independence, preparing for what Ulfric views as the inevitable retaliation by the Aldmeri Dominion or possibly the Empire for defying it.

Morrowind, home of the Dunmer or Dark Elves, is worse off than its neighbor to the west. It still has not fully recovered from the eruption of Red Mountain more than 200 years ago, but has certainly made progress toward trying to regain its former glory, by both rebuilding its military and its economy by endeavoring to become a major economic power. House Redoran, the ruling Great House of the province, hopes to one day regain the lands in the south conquered by Black Marsh. However, it is possible more pressing concerns will soon occupy the House: within the last few days, rumors have sparked that armies of snake-men sailing in red-scaled ships have landed in eastern Morrowind and Vvardenfell and have encamped in the mountains and crags of the region. It is possible that these are the marks of a second Tsaesci invasion of Tamriel, the Tsaesci being one of the four leading races of Akavir, a continent lying to the distant east of Tamriel. It has been well over 1,000 years since the Tsaesci were last seen in Tamriel; why they would return for an invasion after so long is unknown.

Black Marsh, the swampy home of the reptilian Argonians, lies to the south of Morrowind. It is an extremely hostile place for any non-Argonian to visit; extremely careful preparations must be taken to ensure that one does not die shortly after arriving in the province. Due its hostile terrain, little is known of the place to outsiders. Shortly after the Oblivion Crisis more than 200 years ago, Black Marsh declared independence from the Empire, and it seems content to ignore the affairs of the rest of Tamriel.

Elsweyr, home of the feline Khajiit, sits across the Nibenbay from Black Marsh and south of Cyrodiil. The region is desert in the north and jungle in the south, and has been taken over by the Aldmeri Dominion. The Thalmor, the leading political faction of the Dominion, staged a coup and broke the province into two separate kingdoms, both ruled by the Thalmor via Khajiit puppet kings. Obviously, many of the Khajiit did not appreciate this, and some have taken up fighting against the Thalmor using guerrilla tactics and claiming the leadership of the Mane, who many Khajiit view as the spiritual leader of their people. There is also a rumor that the Aldmeri Dominion has recently begun smuggling skooma, the infamous and highly addictive Khajiit drug, into Cyrodiil and Black Marsh in an effort to weaken the Imperials and Argonians for the possibly coming Dominion invasion.

Valenwood lies west of Elsweyr and southwest of Cyrodiil, and it is home of the Wood Elves, or Bosmer. It is densely forested, and a significant portion of its residents practice cannibalism (note that Bosmer in other provinces do not practice cannibalism). Not much is known of this province to outsiders either. They form a second piece of the Aldmeri Dominion, however; a coup was staged by the Thalmor and now they rule the province. Some Bosmer have joined the Dominion's ranks, and others have taken up arms against their rulers. Most Bosmer live in relative peace in the forest, however.

Now we come to the Summerset Isles, the home of the Altmer or High Elves, and the heart of the Aldmeri Dominion. As the name suggests, it is a chain of islands, sitting southwest of mainland Tamriel; however, it's incomplete at the moment as the Isle of Artaenum, where the Psijic Order resides, disappeared roughly 160 years ago. Where it is at the moment is completely unknown, although a Psijic monk was purportedly seen at the College of Winterhold in Skyrim ten years ago, so presumably the Order has somehow survived. Back to the majority of Altmer: the Thalmor, as previously stated, are the ruling faction; however, they are extremely unpopular among the Altmer people, especially the younger Altmer (although keep in mind a "young" Altmer can be several decades to 100-200 years old). It is generally recognized in the Isles that the Thalmor achieved their present status through lies, and the rebellious younger generation has taken to demanding political change or exacting violence to try to remove the Thalmor from power. This brewing civil war is the result of Summerset Isles, in recent centuries, becoming more open to outsiders; of course, the Thalmor despise outsiders – it was at their demand Talos worship be banned, in fact – looking down on them as lesser races, and wish to conquer Tamriel. Although exactly why they want to conquer the continent is unknown: theories range from simple High Elf superiority, to wanting to remove Talos from the Aedric Pantheon for (in their minds) not truly being a god, to a full-blown conspiracy by the Thalmor to the destroy Mundus, the mortal plane.

Hammerfell, a place full of crags and desert, lies south of High Rock and northwest of Cyrodiil. The Redguards there are a brave and valiant group of warriors, but, like so many in Tamriel right now, they are divided: some, the Crowns, want to remove outside influence from their nation, and some, the Forebears, want to keep it. In any event, the whole race is bitter at their nation's abandonment by the Empire during the Great War. The Empire's weak grasp on its two other provinces lends much sway to the Crowns' position, however.

Orsinium is a city-state in southern High Rock. This city-state is the Orcs', or Orsimers', very own kingdom. However, it is extremely small relative to all other provinces and not very friendly to outsiders.

And at last, we come to Cyrodiil, home of the Imperials, and allegedly the ruling seat of an Empire. Titus III rules the Empire since his father's death at the hands of the Dark Brotherhood, but has not exactly proven himself to be the next Tiber Septim. His principle efforts have been to rebuild the Imperial Legion to defend against a potential (and likely) second attack by the Aldmeri Dominion. However, leading scholars say that the Emperor has proven himself too susceptible to the influence of the Synod and the College of Whispers, the province's two leading entities for magical learning, when it is unlikely either would be able to match the power of the Altmer mages that would attack. Furthermore, the Emperor holds an obsessive grudge against the Dark Brotherhood for assassinating his father (and leaving him with this mess as a result, no doubt). But since the only Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary is in Skyrim, and Titus III holds no leverage against Ulfric Stormcloak, there is no chance he will manage to eradicate them any time soon. He can't even threaten to invade, as a large portion of the Imperial Legion is tied up in Hammerfell, with the troops working to maintain communications, trade, and most importantly influence with High Rock, as well as present a show of strength to the rest of Tamriel and especially the Aldmeri Dominion. Unfortunately, the effort has cost many lives of Legionnaires and Redguards, the latter of which has shown no signs of backing down to let the Empire maintain a presence in Hammerfell. Titus III doesn't feel he can back out now, though; it would make him and the Empire appear weak, which is already problem enough.

So that's the scene of Tamriel as of 1st of First Seed, 4E 211. A picture of political unrest, division, and a possible foreign invasion on the horizon. "Welcome to Tamriel" indeed.

Didn't you say Pokemon were in this RP?

I did, didn't I? Well, I'll let renowned Breton scholar Rodyval Ashcroft explain the Pokemon of Tamriel:

"Errr… Pokemon? Never heard of those, but if you're referring to the animalistic creatures with magical capabilities, I've been one of the few to study the Daedrimals. Since you've apparently been misinformed, the Daedrimals – that very name being a combination of the words 'Daedra' and 'animal', which we believe are their origins – they appeared on Tamriel roughly 900 years ago in the Second Era, right after a figure we know only as the Soulless One ended Molag Bal's Planemeld. Molag Bal – the Daedric Prince of Corruption – sought to merge our world, Nirn, with his Plane of Oblivion, Coldharbor. He actually initially succeeded partially; his machines managed to pull some parts of Nirn into Coldharbor. However, when the Soulless One closed the portal, all those parts came back down to Nirn. As it turns out, a good number of those parts contained perfectly normal animals and creatures native to Tamriel. But when they returned to Nirn, the animals had been… changed in some way, and were now far more dangerous, with nearly all of them now capable of magical attack in some way, and in general, bigger, stronger, faster. They've generally been very low in number, and encounters with them have nearly always ended in violence.

"It's unknown how they originated. It is almost certain it was a result of their time in Coldharbor, although whether this was the result of purposeful experimentation by Molag Bal or merely his passive corrupting influence, or a combination of the two, is unknown. Some of the Daedrimals seem to, rather oddly, have beneficial effects for man and mer, although even those that have them have destructive powers as well. It is unknown whether this is the result of Meridia's, or even Aedric, influence, or whether Molag Bal intended these to simply benefit his own armies, or, again, some combination of those.

"Of course, less important than the origin of these creatures is the fact that they're here, and they are definitely not going anywhere anytime soon. Evidence suggests quite the opposite: the Daedrimals have been increasing in number over the centuries. Of course, this is hardly surprising given how deadly they are, and they are still not particularly common throughout Tamriel, but even so, they are certainly a threat to watch out for. Very few have been able or have even tried to tame them. Another interesting item of note is that despite how deadly they can be, they seem to generally follow the habits of the animals they once were. For example, Diggersby, which is a corrupted rabbit, and Delphox, a corrupted fox, both tend to run away from man and mer when spotted. Additionally, the Mamoswine retained the passive nature of the mammoth in their native habitat of Skyrim. Those are just some examples. And of course, the animals and creatures that were predatory before are now even more dangerous. So, the careful traveler is generally advised to avoid Daedrimals in their travels, as even the more timid can prove dangerous when cornered, as more than one headstrong explorer has discovered.

"But if you are unlucky – or foolish – enough to be forced to engage in battle with one of these creatures, here is some advice I can give:

Try to fight them from range. While the more dangerous among the Daedrimals have powerful ranged abilities, that range tends to be somewhat poor, generally shorter than even a modest bow.
If fighting them using a bow, it is helpful you have arrows that are poisoned with juices from bitter plants, as these seem to repel the Daedrimals quite well.
While many of the Daedrimals gained the power Fire, Frost, and/or Shock, and other powers to manipulate the elements and perform other feats generally exclusive to the schools of magic, that very strength is their greatest weakness: for example, while the Houndoom is capable of lethal Fire attacks, it is still susceptible to Frost magic.
If you are so inclined to accept the challenge of taming one of these creatures, be sure you are using properly modified Prison Fruit. These Prison Fruit appeared shortly after the introduction of Daedrimals into Nirn; I feel very strongly that this almost certainly the result of either Aedric or benevolent Daedric influence, for these fruit have the ability to imprison these beasts and even turn them to have a favorable disposition to the capturer. However, be forewarned: only after a Daedrimal has been beaten down to near death will one of the Prison Fruit have any chance of capturing it. It is possible to capture one with a wild Prison Fruit, but since certain craftsmen have become skilled in the processes of improving the Fruit to have higher chances of ensnaring a Daedrimal, it is advised you only use improved Fruit.

"That's nearly all I have to say on the subject, other than a warning on how Daedrimals are treated by most people of Tamriel. Many people hate and fear the Daedrimals, understandably so, I might add. Certain scholars like myself have endeavored to understand the full nature of these creatures, and personally I think some of them could ultimately have a beneficent effect on the peoples of our land. But I am in the vast minority; some people, in fact, have taken to hunting down and killing in Daedrimals they find. Finally, any opposing warrior who has captured a Daedrimal in a Prison Fruit is not someone to be taken lightly, as it extremely difficult and dangerous to do so. That is all my research on the Daedrimals of Tamriel, although do have to say that if these rumors of a third Akaviri invasion are true, it will be interesting to see if the Tsaesci armies have any Daedrimals, and if so, of what nature they are. It may give insight into what sort of animals live on Akavir besides the four sentient races. Thank you for hearing my research, and I hope it helps you in your travels. Julianos guide and protect you."

And that was renowned Breton scholar Rodyval Ashcroft out of High Rock.

So where do I come in?

Oh yeah, you the player. Here's where you come in:

You booked passage on a ship headed from Windhelm, the capital of Skyrim, to Blacklight, the capital of Morrowind. Upon docking at your destination late at night on 29th of Sun's Dawn, the Redoran Guards at the dock inform you that all naval traffic in and around Morrowind has been suspended due to reports that a large number of hostile red-scaled ships may be roving the seas of Morrowind, and being crewed by snake-people that may be the Tsaesci of Akavir. You are inclined to dismiss this report as nonsense, and spend the night in Blacklight. You wake up at around 8 A.M. of 1st of First Seed, the start of spring, free to do pretty much whatever you wish… within the bounds of the law, that is.

Sign-Up Sheet
Name:
Gender:
Race: [don't fill this out until you've read the below Races guide]
Age: [~20s for a human or beast race, up to several decades for an elven race]
Why did you want to leave Skyrim to go to Morrowind?
Where did you sleep last night in Blacklight? [please don't say that you slept in a house you broke into]
What was your childhood like?
RP Sample

Rules
1. GM word is law.
2. Don't kill the other RPers, unless me or another GM specifically gives you the "OK" via PM to do so for story purposes.
3. If two GMs say conflicting things, the GMs MUST discuss the disagreement via PM until it is resolved, at which point on GM will post the "new" thing.
4. In combat or Daedrimal battles, do NOT RP as the opponent at all. A GM will form a joint post to help the story flow better and determine if the Daedrimal was caught if necessary.
5. This is not a stat-based RP. Everything will be decided based on estimations of your character's proficiency in various activities, which will be skewed based on your race.

Race Guide

Altmer



Argonian



Bosmer



Bretons



Dunmer



Imperials



Khajiit



Nords



Orcs



Redguards



General Mechanics and Helpful Terms

Since there are about 2837538 things you can do in Tamriel, I'm not going to go into the specifics of how all of them work right here; rather, I'll cross a bridge once an RPer comes to it. I'll include a note if you're supposed to RP your character as if he or she has that knowledge.

Alchemy: the mixing of multiple organic ingredients together to make a potion or a poison. A poison must be applied in advance to a weapon, and a potion can be somewhat cumbersome to pull out and drink.

Enchanting: Placing a spell on an otherwise normal piece of equipment, including armor, weapons, clothes, jewelry, paper, and staves.

Daedra: Creatures that inhabit the Planes of Oblivion.

Oblivion: A series of other worlds that surround Mundus.

Mundus: The mortal plane, where the planet, Nirn, and its moons, Masser and Secunda, are situated.

-All weapons and armor, and even jewelry and clothes, can and most likely will wear down and break eventually after enough abuse. Enemy weapons and spells aren't the only antagonists to your equipment, though; rain, snow, and excessive swimming will add additional wear and tear. It's possible to repair your equipment with sufficient time and materials, but eventually it will likely have to be replaced.

-Your characters will have to eat, drink, and sleep at regular intervals, or else they'll die.

-Animals and Daedrimals will not always attack you right away. They may just give a warning, such as rising up on their hind legs. If you can avoid them, they may leave you alone. Other animals or Daedrimals will simply run away, and others will attack you on sight.

-By the Nine Div – er, Eight Divines, do not engage the guards in combat when starting out. If you are caught committing a crime, give yourself up; otherwise, the guards will engage you in combat, and trust me, when you're just starting out, you are not in any way equipped to handle them, and I'd really rather not see my RPers getting hewed down right off the bat. This is not an advisory against crime, just resisting arrest.

-Speaking of crime, here's the breakdown on how crime is tracked throughout Tamriel:And that's all I got for mechanics right now.

Final Notes

If you have zero interest in helping me GM this monstrosity, you've finished reading this post. If you have more than zero interest, here are some ideas I've been floating around:
- For the sake of simplicity, I was thinking that, whenever something is bought or sold, it be done based on a formula that uses guesstimates of the character and merchant's haggling skills. I'm not sure how else to do it.
- I was thinking that, should this ever get to an IC thread, I would reserve the second post for character profiles, just to keep track of character inventory and money.
- I'm definitely going to need help to figure out the unexplored pieces of Tamriel with enough creativity.
Possible fellow GMs, please leave your posts on these ideas and feedback on this monstrosity of a post, any lore-breaking errors on my part (besides the Pokemon Daedrimals :p) Of course, non-possible fellow GMs should post what they think of this after my revisions as well.

So what do you think?