Getting Started

Introduction

Tamriel is a world filled with exciting stories. Many tales have been experienced and shared, but there are many more waiting to be told.

The Elder Scrolls series was initially influenced by pen-and-paper role playing games. Arena's success came from its innovative RPG elements, and Daggerfall's character creation was completely reminiscent of popular pen-and-paper games. It is surprising that this immersive world was never officially released as a table top game.

While this conversion project maintains many elements from D&D Fifth Edition, there are some differences. Each of the classes, races, and backgrounds have been customized, but so have some of the attributes, and birthsigns have been added.

Birthsigns and Races include special features that a character can use, which makes them much more powerful at 1st level than in D&D, and this should be considered when creating appropriate challenges for the player characters.

Each of the areas of character creation should be reviewed before playing, but many of these can be can easily be converted back to D&D. Take as many changes as you feel comfortable with into your game. Remember, the only right way to play is by having fun.

Playing the Game

In the game, each player creates an adventurer (also called a character) and teams up with other adventurers (played by friends). Working together, the group might explore a dark dungeon, a ruined city, a haunted castle, a lost temple deep in a jungle, or a lava-filled cavern beneath a mysterious mountain. The adventurers can solve puzzles, talk with other characters, battle fantastic monsters, and discover fabulous magic items and other treasure.

One player, however, takes on the role of the Game Master (GM), the game’s lead storyteller and referee. The GM creates adventures for the characters, who navigate its hazards and decide which paths to explore. The GM might describe the entrance to Castle Volkihar, and the players decide what they want their adventurers to do. Will they walk across the dangerously weathered bridge? Tie themselves together with rope to minimize the chance that someone will fall if the bridge gives way? Or cast a spell to carry them over the chasm?

Then the GM determines the results of the adventurers’ actions and narrates what they experience. Because the GM can improvise to react to anything the players attempt, UESTRPG is infinitely flexible, and each adventure can be exciting and unexpected.

The game has no real end; when one story or quest wraps up, another one can begin, creating an ongoing story called a campaign. Many people who play the game keep their campaigns going for months or years, meeting with their friends every week or so to pick up the story where they left off. The adventurers grow in might as the campaign continues. Each monster defeated, each adventure completed, and each treasure recovered not only adds to the continuing story, but also earns the adventurers new capabilities. This increase in power is reflected by an adventurer’s level.

There’s no winning and losing in the game—at least, not the way those terms are usually understood. Together, the GM and the players create an exciting story of bold adventurers who confront deadly perils. Sometimes an adventurer might come to a grisly end, torn apart by ferocious monsters or done in by a nefarious villain. Even so, the other adventurers can search for powerful magic to revive their fallen comrade, or the player might choose to create a new character to carry on. The group might fail to complete an adventure successfully, but if everyone had a good time and created a memorable story, they all win.

Places for Adventure

Nirn is a world filled with magic and monsters, brave warriors and spectacular adventures. The universe is built upon medieval fantasy with unique creatures, places, and magic that truly sets this world apart.

Tamriel exists within a vast cosmos called the Aurbis. This universe encompasses the Void and all the Planes of Existence, such as Coldharbour, the realm of Molag Bal, and the plane of Akatosh. Within this universe are many planes that have yet to be explored, and of course, Nirn, the world where each of the Elder Scrolls stories have taken place.

On Nirn itself, Tamriel has been the only continent ever explored in the main series, with several provinces still to be seen, along with many other continents to create new epic stories. Each of these provinces and continents share characteristics, but each is set apart by its own histories and cultures, distinctive monsters and races, fantastic geography, ancient dungeons, and scheming villains. Each of the races have unusual traits in their different settings. The ancient tribal Bosmer of Valenwood, for example, are jungle dwelling cannibals, while many Redguards of Hammerfell are desert nomads. Some of the worlds feature more obscure races, such as the golden-clad Auroran's of Meridia's realm, or the Tsaesci, vampiric serpent-folk of Akavir.

Your GM might set the campaign on one or more of these provinces, continents, and worlds. Because there is so much diversity among these places, you should check with your GM about any house rules that will affect your play of the game. Ultimately, the Game Master is the authority on the campaign and its setting, no matter where or when they choose.

Creating a Character

Creating a character remains generally the same with a few differences to suit the lore of the Elder Scrolls.

1. Choose A Race

Each character has a race that it belongs to. Some races, such as Khajiit, also have subraces. You can read more on the Races page. You can also read more about the races on many Elder Scrolls fan sites, in game books, and collections of these books that can be purchased from Bethesda or your favorite book supplier.

2. Choose a Class

Every adventurer is a member of a class that broadly describes the character's vocation and special talents. The character classes are described on the Classes page.

Many of the classes take inspiration from the traditional classes of the early Elder Scrolls games, such as Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion.

3. Determine Attribute Scores

Use the rules as described in the Basic Rules to determine your attribute scores.

For consistency while testing, use the following scores instead: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.

4. Choose a Background

Every character has a background with ideals, bonds and flaws. The backgrounds can be found in the Basic Rules. You can view the changes to backgrounds on the Backgrounds page.

Along with a background, each character is born under a certain birthsign. You can read more on the Birthsigns page.

5. Choose Equipment

Classes and Backgrounds determine your equipment, or you can work with your GM and the adventure story line to determine what, if any, items you will start with.