Tsaesci-fication anyone?

[Shiver-Tail]

I remember reading that the Tsaesci "ate" the humans on the island...
okay so i also remember reading here that that (probably) isn't eating in the meaning of "devouring" or "consuming" but eating in the sense of "making it look like they never existed" or "consuming their culture"
... ?(
So how can they make it look like they didn't exist?
Maybe they were TURNED INTO Tsaesci.... dum dum dum duuuuum!(well if you can turn into a dragon... why not into a not-quite-a-snake ?)
That would be interesting for a main quest. Then they player has to chose a side. And when he/she decides to turn over and join the Tsaesci he/she slightly begins to transform... growing venomous teeth and sharp talons, snake eyes, their noses disappear and they get holes under their eyes instead,... ( a bit like in "Fable"/ "KotOR" when the player turns bad). And then eventually, the Tsaesci offer him the opportunity to become one of them (Vincente Valtieri anyone?). And if the player doesnt like it anymore there's a cure quest ( and plz, no stuipid argonian blood, what have they got to do with vampires anyway?).
Good idea or rubbish?

[Deeza]

I think it actually says in the book "mysterious Akavir" that the Tsaesci are "vampiric". So either they drink blood (which isn't very original) or they can bite other races and transform them into copies of themselves.

I think its a very good idea. Maybe this could be the only way to play as a Tsaesci (there aren't any in the Empire, so starting in the jail cell as one makes no sense).

Perhaps this explains the difference I noticed a thread talking about here between the more "humanoid" Tsaesci and the ones that look more like snakes... The snake-people are the "real" ones, the humanoids are other species that were "converted".

It makes the Tsaesci a lot scarier... people who fight them and win will probably be wounded - and then a few days later they transform and become servants of the people they just defeated!

[Ysne]

I'm not sure how to answer this suggestion. I haven't spent the hours pouring over lore that others have. I'd appreciate it if someone who has studied it more could comment on the possibilities being raised here.

[Shiver-Tail]

@ Deeza
I would make becoming Tsaesci a disease, that's just not.. realistic.

I'm thinking of this for a main quest:
First the player get an "intro-quest" wich introduces him to the factions (Ka Po, Tang Mo, Tsaesci, Knifeblossom,...) then the player has to make a choice wich faction to join (Empire, Knifeblossom, Tsaesci,...)
Now, let's say the player decides to join the Tsaesci (yay ) then the borders of their Empire open and the player can visit their lands and their capital ( at the volcano, where "The Serpent" (a Tsaesci-lord) lives)
The player comletes all kinds of quest and in the meantime, transforms into a Tsaesci more and more. Then the "faction pre-quest" is complete and the player is a humanoid Tsaesci. At this point war breaks out in Akavir and all factions go to war with eachother (based on wether they're "defensive" ( Tang Mo), "neutral" (Knifeblossom), or "conquering"(Ka Po, Tsaesci, Empire).Then player gets the opportunity (if he/she choses so) to recieve a tail (and some bonuses (skills, spells, feats, armor, weapons,a special mount (because Tsaesci can't ride horses))) And in the end the player will end as a Tsaesci Lord (like shivering isles) en has to chose his "name" (like in the arena. "The corruptor", "the dragon-eater", "the asassin",...)

[Ysne]

We need to leave any option to become Tsaesci up to Bethesda. Bethesda has already introduced vampirism and werewolfs. I think we would be tackling too much to introduce something like that when there is no lore to support it.

I will post further in the quest thread in the Island mod folder.

[Shiver-Tail]

That's it, vampirism! instead when a Tseasci bites you, you become a Tsaesci!That's it! That's what's vampiric about them! And acoording to Bethesda they ARE a vampiric race You just found the solution, Ysne!

[Ysne]

Sorry Shiver-Tail but that is not going to work. As I said, any option to change from one race to another has to be left up to Bethesda. Changing to a vampire is not changing one's race, at least not with the way vampirism is set up in Tamriel. There is nothing in the lore that allows for that either.

The Tsaesci are blood drinkers and iin that sense are a vampiric race. We are not going to read anything more into if for the purposes of this mod.

[Deeza]

With all due respect, whilst I understand and respect your position on this, I think I should make a point which applies generally to all the projects of Beyond Cyrodiil. In a couple of years time, maybe longer, there is almost certainly going to be an Elder Scrolls 5, which will most likely be set in one of the provinces represented by a Beyond Cyrodiil project. Furthermore, it is likely that some or many aspects of this game will contradict and invalidate features of the mods produced by this site. Because none of us know exactly what they have in mind, this could happen even if we try very carefully to be entirely lore-consistent. Equally, some of the provinces may never be developed as future games, meaning that lore issues never arise even if the project has invented a lot of its own lore. My point is that none of us is likely to get it exactly "right". I have every hope that the Akavir team will see this project through to the finish one day. But especially in your case, because there is so little lore on Akavir, the finished product will ultimately be your version and interpretation of Akavir, rather than Bethesda's Akavir.

I understand completely if you think that the concept of the Tsaesci spreading themselves as a disease as a form of reproduction is a bad idea and should not be included. That's a lore-consistent decision and perfectly fine by me. I'm just saying that as a project the Akavir team shouldn't hold back from putting their own unique interpretations of lore in their mod. Just because something may be controversial with some fans doesn't mean it should automatically be excluded.

You never know - perhaps if Bethesda one day releases an Akavir game that's substantially different from yours, the fans might prefer your version if you do it well!!!

I personally think that Shiver-tail's idea is a very good one because it is original and different, and would add something new and interesting to the game, which as far as I know, nobody has tried before in any mods that I'm aware of. As far as I am aware (please correct me if I am wrong) nothing in lore explicitly contradicts it - we only know that the Tsaesci are "vampiric", which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. I think that reproducing as a disease like the vampires in the other games is, in my opinion, a perfectly valid original interpretation of that lore.

But of course it's ultimately a management decision and I leave it entirely up to you.

[Richard]

I am inclined to agree with Ysne on this; vampirism in no way means that a bite spreads the condition. That is an unrelated additional feature of some depictions of vampires (Elder Scrolls vampires being the obvious example here). Shiver-Tail is misunderstanding the word 'vampiric'; even if used as a metaphor, it means to suck or absorb.

From the official lore forums on ESF, the most generally accepted interpretation of the Tsaesci and their 'eating' of men is that they culturally absorbed the humans, and presumably maintained rule; being society's upper caste. There is *some* contention over this though, as MK, the guy who wrote much of the lore of the Elder Scrolls, claims that the Akaviri represented at Pale Pass were meant to be snake-men, and we should pretend they were snake-men, and it was Bethseda's fault as they didn't bother creating all those new assets for just one side-quest.

[Shiver-Tail]

I agree with both of you.
@ Deeza: It's right we're not making Bethesda's Akavir bur OUR INTERPRETATION of Akavir. We're not saying this is Akavir as it IS or as it SHOULD be.

@Richard: Initially i wan't thinking that the vampiric aspect of the Tsaesci would be the reason for the transformation. I was just coming up with an idea (spell, power,curse,...) why we can't start the game as a Tsaesci/walk around with them in Cyrodiiil (c'mon emperor, let me help you.. *bites his neck*/ leyt's walk through the imperial city! apparently the guards don't have a clue to what i am.. yummy, fresh blood!)
I don't know if it can be done but maybe we could let the player start in a room with portals: 1 portal if you start as a Tsaesci (then it takes you to the Tsaesci part of akavir). 1 portal for Ka Po (same case as Tsaesci),1 for Knifeblossom and Tang Mo ( and alliance between them? a HQ for the alliance?) and 1 for the "vanilla" and other custom races (takes you to Prison) That would be an option. but personally i prefer turning into a Tsaesci (no, not by any means vampiric, but rather through a spell or curse of some kind)