Skyrim: Being an Orc WORTH IT? - Elder Scrolls Lore

[Music] so let's just imagine for a moment that your soul has been transported into the Orbis the Elder Scrolls universe you are a soul destined to be fitted into a mortal body but which body do you pick which of the mortal races would you deem ideal for the life that you would want to live welcome ladies and gentlemen back to fudge Muppet my name is Scott and today we have the second video in this series back in the day we've made videos discussing whether or not being a vampire or werewolf is worth it so we decided to expand this discussion to the races of the Elder Scrolls if I could be a soul transported into the autoscrolls world and born as one of the major ten playable races of Tamriel which race would I want to be now of course this was a loaded question with many variables many potential outcomes and also various preferences so let's first begin discussing the benefits and detriments to living a life as a certain race in the Elder Scrolls whether it be Argonian dark elf high elf or Nord stay tuned to this series because we are going to discuss each and every one in a dedicated videos we did Argonian is it worth it last weekend today we are doing is being an awkward so before we dive into the topic itself let's get all the rules and conditions straight we all know by now after seven plus years of Skyrim which races are the best and least beneficial in terms of gameplay statistics and stuff like that but these videos are going to be discussing whether or not being a certain race is worth it within a law context what challenges does this race face what benefits what is their upbringing like so in addition to make this easier we are going to make some assumptions first of which is considering that each of the races are going to be from their homeland the dunmer from morrowind Bosma from Valen wood and so on and the second assumption we are making is that it's going to be taking place in a contemporary context meaning we are talking about the most recent Elder Scrolls dates in the timeline which means the two hundred and first year of the fourth era which is the same time that the elderscrolls v Skyrim is set but yes that is all we need to know time to get down to the good stuff so for this video if we were a soul in the Elder Scrolls universe that could choose to be any of the playable races would being an orc be worth it let's begin the orcs or as they are also referred to as the awesomer are the pariah folk the outcasts the strong green and hawkish tusks people of Tamriel at first glance it's hard to categorize this race they're certainly not men so are they beasts or are they elves I can tell what you're thinking if you don't know the answer to this question you would assume they're beasts folk or some intelligent subset of goblin kin if you ask the High Elves they'd reassure such assumptions but whether the High Elves like it or not there is no denying that orcs have elven blood yes the orcs are technically a race of elves and we learn a lot about their treatment on Tamriel by delving into the origins of their race so let's start there just like the Kaymer the eyelids the Ultima of the Bosma the orcs are derivative of the early Ultima who migrated to the summerset isles from the distant continent of Alta Maris during these early years the elves who would go on to become the orcs were highly regarded among the old ma for they were the loyal followers of one of the old more races greatest heroes and this hero was Trini Mac the champion of Oriel his popularity was palpable in Somerset until everything changed whether metaphorically or literally is up for debate but the Daedric Lord boethiah the patron of deceit and murder consumed Trini Mac digesting him before excreting him into the ash pit according to legends Malekith was born from this excrement entry no max followers rubbed the residue of the excrement on their skin transforming them into the awesome ax if you'd like to have more information on his tale and more on Malekith as a whole we have a dedicated video on him which you can find in the description but this story whether true or not is very important when deciding whether being an orc is worth it Malekith argues that people take this story far too literally but sometimes rumors are harder to dispel than even the most powerful magicks Malekith is a laughingstock among the Daedra Lords and subsequently the orcs are regarded as dirty a degenerate form of elf and this complicates things should you choose to be a city or quill delve more into so what are the realistic lifestyle options should you be born into Tamriel as an orc well you may be born and live your life in the awesomer homeland or sin IAM but be warned or sin 'i'm literally translates to orc town and that should give you a pretty good idea for the size of your homeland unlike the other races of Tamriel the orcs don't have their own province I talked in the last were that video about the argonians and while there are a great many negatives associated with being one they at least have their own vast and homogeneous province to live free from prejudice or cinimon the other hand is this city nestled in the Roth garyun mountains surrounded on all sides by the Breton province of High Rock but even then this location is subject to constant change as the city has been sacked and rebuilt countless times over the centuries and the orcs are constantly warring with their Breton and Red Guard neighbors or cineon was first founded in western Hrothgar but then it was rebuilt in eastern Hrothgar it has then been relocated between way rest mineva ends the mountains before finally ending up farther to the south closer to Hammerfell and Skyrim's borders or sinem has been described as a magnificent stone city and it is no doubt a place for orcs to live free from discrimination but at what cost war is ever on your doorstep and there are more pleasant locations to live than high up in the desolate mountain ranges most orcs not residing within austin IAM live in orc strongholds these well defended settlements are far smaller than any town or city and tend to be rather remote they are tight-knit communities and are concentrated examples of orcish society if you are born into a stronghold you best be prepared to live by Malekith code too many this is a harsh existence but it can also be rewarding for those who prosper in the words of Forge mother older trinamic the warrior the paragon once he was our patron our God he encompasses the true ideals of the awesome our strength honor and unity even after his betrayal and humiliation Malekith embodies the awesomer ideals his code consists of the following 10 respect for forging and blacksmithing the traditional roles of a clans chief and his wives the tradition of selection of a new chief through challenge in combat the custom that one who commits a crime must pay blood price to the victim or victims relatives the requirement that insults to honor must be avenged recognition that to die in combat pleases Moloch these fundamental principles combines with their isolation creates a strict hierarchy in each stronghold with strength a paramount ideal of trinamic the warrior orcs breed with the strongest genetics in mind each stronghold has a chieftain a proven alpha male and he is the only male in the stronghold permitted to take wives and father children denied the right to mate and reproduce other males must contribute to the well-being of the tribe by other means a chieftain can only be replaced by whichever of his sons grow strong enough to challenge and kill him much responsibility is placed upon the chieftain as he has the lion's share of the power and it is he who receives Malekith favor as an orc in a stronghold he'll never need to fear imprisonment for committed crimes but the alternative is arguably much worse if you commit a crime you pay with material compensation or more likely you pay the blood price the victim or the victim's family are entitled to spill as much of your blood as they see fit until they are satisfied that the debt is paid stronghold society is strict and patriarchal but females are not simply used for child rearing and as bargaining chips with other chieftains no female orcs play a key role maintaining the strength and prosperity of the tribe they are warriors hunters and herbalists and the art of smithing which is a huge source of pride amongst the orcs is predominantly carried out by women this is why the chieftains second wife is traditionally referred to as the forge wife there is also a wise woman in every tribe who is in charge of spiritual matters and healing wise women tend to be a chieftains mother while all other females are either wives or daughters of the chieftain so with all of that said would you consider it worth it to be born as ork in an orc stronghold if you are female you don't have any choice as to whom you marry and if you're artistically driven well there's not much time for that at the forge and if you're a male you could have a glorious life as achieved in or if you aren't the strongest in the tribe you will die without a lover or a legacy of course you could abandon your tribe and this is where the pejorative city ork comes from as an ork you will almost certainly experience prejudice you do not have a provincial homeland to return to and you can't expect much love from stronghold orcs either as they consider city orcs to be outsiders just like any other race Hawks are physiologically is so different to the other races that interbreeding with others is seldom seen and some even claim that it's impossible don't despair though as there is a plus side while prejudice is tangible for city orcs there is no denying just how useful an ork can be they make brilliant Smith's and craftsmen and they are the perfect candidates for private protection and they are highly sought-after for military service discrimination in some ways can be overcome by skill and strength many people who usually look down on them would buy their arms and armor from orcs instead of any other Smith Khajiit caravans are well known for keeping awesomer guards and the Empire of Cyrodiil benefits greatly from encouraging orcs to join their ranks so prejudice is guaranteed in almost every corner of Tamriel and even amongst your own kin life is challenging but what about the afterlife well if you follow Malik hats code and you display virtues of strength and honor you're welcome at the ashen Forge Malekith realm of ash pit is not a very hospitable place it is a realm of ash and dust palaces built of smoke and vaporous creatures is a place where anguish betrayal and broken promises are so thick that they're almost tangible in the soot filled air but with Malakoff guidance there are safe havens from these foul conditions they are known as the verdant gardens populated by slender trees and vines for stuned with Lily like flowers at the heart of the realm lies the ashen Forge Malekith personal stronghold for orcs loyal to malacath the ashen forge holds an endless abundance of food and drink constant battle and to top it all off immortality meaning every day it comes with the potential for retribution also every orc is a chief and has a thousand wives so would you consider being an orc worth it it's pretty much a given that you won't be winning any beauty contests in Tamriel as a member of this race and breeding options are limited unless you are a chieftain or lucky enough to find someone willing but what you lack in these areas you make up for in strength and skill you have the potential to be the strongest warrior and the greatest hunter and you have the potential to be the most revered craftsman or Smith in the land but there is no escaping the reality that you will be feared and hated by most even quite often by your own kin and due to the fact that your homeland is so small and constantly at odds with its neighbors you really don't have many options for finding a safe place free from persecution can your physical advantages and your patron Deidre's approve will really make up for these glaring negatives for me the answer would ultimately be no unless perhaps I was the chieftain of a stronghold but even then I could one day be killed by my own son so my answer would probably still be no as I argued when talking about argonians I would want to have more interaction with the world around me yes travel opportunities are available maybe by becoming a caravan guard a mercenary or a soldier of the Empire but some of the saver of adventuring in Tamriel is taken away by the fact that people I encounter will inherently disdain me a lot of the time but what do you guys think is being an orc worth it for you would you enjoy being a big green warrior a chieftain a forge wife a city orc let me know what you guys think in the comments below but also let me know what race you would like to see discussed next thank you so much for watching this video head down into the description below for social media links of which you can follow as well as the previous installment of this worth it series my name is Scott from fudge Muppet thanks so much again for watching and I'll be back to nerd out with you again next time [Music]

Channel: FudgeMuppet

Views: 220,546

Keywords: skyrim, skyrim lore, elder scrolls, elder scrolls lore, skyrim worth it, is it worth it, orsimer lore, orc lore, orc worth it, orc elder scrolls, fudgemuppet, best race elder scrolls

Id: xn7OcHeERfM

Length: 13min 11sec (791 seconds)

Published: Fri May 31 2019