Elder Scrolls 6’s Protagonist Should Follow DA: The Veilguard’s Rook’s Lead

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 1, 2024 38 Views 6 Min Read
Elder Scrolls 6's Protagonist Should Follow DA: The Veilguard's Rook's Lead



The Elder Scrolls 6 is still likely some years away, and there is still nothing known about its protagonist. The protagonist of The Elder Scrolls games is, by tradition, usually a prisoner, who either escapes or is released during the prologue of the game. However, rather than remaining an anonymous figure and attaining fame purely from their exploits, the main storyline of The Elder Scrolls games usually involves the player character at the center of a prophecy, as was the case in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim.




While this works well as a storytelling device, The Elder Scrolls 6 has the chance to break this cycle and really lean into the narrative of a character overcoming adversity and creating a name for themselves through their actions alone, rather than because of their role in a prophecy. Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s protagonist, Rook, took the mantle of leadership because they had to step up, and forged a path on their own merits. The strength of this kind of storytelling is that it can lead to unpredictable places while building an empowering narrative.

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One of the draws of Dragon Age: The Veilguard was that the player character, Rook, would be antithetical to the protagonist of Dragon Age: Inquisition, who was considered by many in-game to be the Herald of Andraste and a holy figure. Instead of being magically marked for greatness, it was a force of personality and skill that set Rook apart and made them the leader and protagonist of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

The protagonists of The Elder Scrolls all start out as blank-slate characters, but all of them are destined for greatness. The protagonist of Morrowind is the Nerevarine, the protagonist of Oblivion was seen in a prophetic dream by the Emperor shortly before his death, and the protagonist of Skyrim is the Last Dragonborn of legend. The Elder Scrolls 6 has the chance to break this pattern and introduce a protagonist who starts out as a prisoner and becomes great because of their skills, courage, and actions, rather than being led along the main quest because it was their destiny.


Approaching the protagonist of The Elder Scrolls 6 as a prisoner without giving the player hints of a larger destiny encourages the writing to be more creative, as it needs the story to give the player reasons to pursue the main storyline besides the need to fulfill a prophecy that supersedes player agency. Creating a compelling reason for the player to pursue the main storyline is important in any RPG, but is especially important in a sandbox game series like The Elder Scrolls, where players are free to ignore the main storyline for as long as they want.

Rather than being a predestined character, building a name from nothing and for no reason other than hard work, grit, and strength of character would be a change of pace from previous games in The Elder Scrolls, and potentially be more rewarding than having “hero” status handed to the player character. Their role as a figure in Tamriel’s history could be defined by their actions and choices, rather than the prophecies made about them.

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