Beginner's Guide to Lore Hunting

[WhoGuru]

Elder Scrolls Lore can be a daunting beast. The history of Tamriel spans centuries and thanks to the Warp in the West, there are some gray areas where events often contradict one another. We'll endeavor to help you find the best places to begin your searches and give you directions and tips on how and what to hunt for.

To begin with, there are some basic references that should always be your first stop on any Lore search.

The Imperial Library is really your one stop shopping site for Lore. Most of the writings out there are compiled in the Library for not only Oblivion, but the Elder Scrolls universe in general.

The Imperial Library

Oblivion-Wiki is also a good resource and can be easier to navigate than the Library, though some of the resources are not as extensive nor detailed. A visit to the UESP can often help narrow your search in the Library.

Oblivion Wiki-UESP

Now, Oblivi-o-Wiki can sometimes provide you with good information but should always be compared with other resources as it's entries are somewhat outdated. It can be a good source of obscure and now lost information that was once canon but has since fallen by the wayside.

Oblivi-O-Wiki

"Canon" describes any fact, story, myth and/or lore that is accepted as genuine and official in a fictional universe. If you want to avoid having the Lore Hounds out for your blood, keeping your storyline Canon or Lore-Friendly is going to be your most important goal.

Having said that, this does not mean you can't be original and create original material. You must be creative and very aware of Tamriel's history and not afraid to spend considerable time on research to make your vision work. It can be done so long as you're research is diligent and your vision flexible.

Tip:The "Find" function can be an invaluable tool to save you from reading extensive entries. Hit Control + F to bring up the search box and type in your keyword. Make sure your spelling is correct or it wont find much at all.

The first stop for anyone beginning research should, in my opinion, always be the Imperial Library and the History of Tamriel in particular.

The History of Tamriel

The history is written in time line format as a Cliff's notes style with each era clearly marked and events orderly laid out. Each entry contains links to source materials making it very easy to find what you're looking for and get your search started. The history is especially helpful if you aren't sure where to begin in the first place. You should read through the entire history at least once to acquaint yourself in passing with the whole of the history.

Knowledge of existing Lore is the most powerful tool you have in creating a storyline. Lore can take a bland 'Fetch this-kill that' quest and transform it into a rich, involving story your players will love.

Edited July 28, 2009 by WhoGuru

[WhoGuru]

= Reserved for future entries =

Edited July 28, 2009 by WhoGuru

[WhoGuru]

= Reserved for future entries =

[Relic]

If I may add an additional note to the Lore Hunters out there!:

Take it easy.

Remember, that you are doing it for your own entertainment and unlike school or occupational work, there are no essays, musts, or deadlines. Always keep in mind that "this is boring" means, you should put it down and explore something else! There are many, many fascinating topics out there, and if one of them doesn't quite tickle your fancy, just go and look at another option. If you are finding a certain book, or series of books difficult to understand, don't feel dishearted. Generally speaking, many of these books are intended to seem difficult. One such example are the 36 Lessons of Vivec which personally drive me up the wall!

Going back to deadlines and such, unless you are working on a very lore-heavy team-mod (In which case you probably already know a fair bit about whatever topic is included,) then you have no need to worry about learning so much in a timespace. By all means, setting yourself goals and targets help keep you on the right direction, but putting too much pressure on yourself is more likely to put you in a grumpy and sluggish state than is to make you enjoy the lore. So enjoy yourself and just learn what comes to you.

Finding Lore Online: Well, start of by finding the topic under the Lore section of the UESP is always a great start, and if you have a bit more time then a lengthy search of the Imperial-Library can lead to some fantastic discoveries. Also, don't be afraid of reading the online articles. They more often than not, turn out to be useful in some shape or form.

Finding Lore In-Game: EXPLORE. That's the definative #1 thing to learn in life, which also includes the Elder Scrolls! Do take visits to book stores and buy something that sounds interesting. Ya never know, it may also be a skill book! Which is never bad news. There are plenty of Lore Mods, to make the world of Oblivion more lore-heavy, more immersive and more interesting! Vvardenfell, has a lot more Lore in my opinion and by just reading about the quests and topics that NPCs have to offer you can improve your knowledge tremendously. Just take that extra time to read or listen to what people and books say and you'll be a quick learner!

If you have an questions regarding this, or anything else in the House of Lore, do not hesitate to PM about it, or drop a post at the thread here!

[Lady_Nerevar]

Hey, thought I'd contribute some of my own experience in the area. Hope you don't mind

1) Start off with the general summary texts about the topic in question. If you are researching a province, the Pocket Guide to the Empire 1st and 3rd editions are your best resource. UESP can also be used at this stage, though you should always be weary of unsupported, outdated, or false information. Even if your topic is something specific, like the city of Sarthaal, it always helps to have a general overview of the geography, politics, and history of the greater area.

2) Narrow down your topic using terms from the general reading. This could mean using specific terms (like “Sarthaal†or “Shadow Scalesâ€) as search terms. The How to Become a Lore Buff FAQ is good for locating books on specific topics, as are the reference lists of TIL guides or UESP articles. By starting broad and then delving into depth on specific topics you should be able to learn quickly and efficiently.

3) After you think you have read all there is to read (or are bored of reading), figure out what you don’t yet know or understand. This could be something as simple as “what year was Sarthaal founded?†to something more complex like “what is the symbolic collage?†The best place to seek answers to these questions is at the official lore forum. Do a search for terms in your query - since you’re confused, others probably have been too! If you can’t find a satisfactory answer you can start a thread there or right here at TESA asking the question.

Additionally:

The Imperial Library’s new software allows all items posted to the site to be ‘tagged,’ which means each book, article, interview, etc. is labeled with a series of topics it covers. This not only allows you to organize all items by topic (such as “Dwemer†or “fighter’s guildâ€) but it also allows you to further narrow down your search (for instance, only find references to Nerevar in “Dwemer†tagged items). As we tag more of the items (there are thousands of pages on TIL, so its a daunting task) this system will become even more useful.

Hope this helps, and hope I'm not out of line.