History Characters / TheElderScrollsFactions

* EvilCounterpart: To the Morag Tong, whom they used to be part of.

* EvilCounterpart: The Blackwood Company for a time in the 3rd Era in Cyrodiil. The Blackwood Company was much more ruthless and unethical in how they completed their contracts, including at least one instance where they ''faked'' a contract being completed by collaborating with its target.[[spoiler: They also get their members high on [[PsychoSerum Hist sap]] before missions, which causes them to have the occasional psychotic break- such as, in one instance, mistaking the population of a small village for the goblins they were hired to wipe out.]]

* DragonInChief: Because the Night Mother is the "official" leader of the Dark Brotherhood, the Listener (the one she communicates with from the Void) is in charge of the organization but is technically subordinate to the Night Mother.

* EvilCounterpart: The Blackwood Company for a time in the 3rd Era in Cyrodiil. The Blackwood Company was much more ruthless.

* DoubleSpeak: They insist that they do not perform "assassinations", rather, they perform "honorable executions". Given that they are the high-class, honorable, and ''legal'' assassins in contrast to the gangly, thuggish Cammona Tong and the PsychoForHire Dark Brotherhood, they do manage to keep a higher moral ground.

* TheHorseshoeEffect: The Tong sees the Dark Brotherhood as its ArchEnemy, but they are both MurderInc[=/=]ProfessionalKiller organizations and several sources theorize that the Night Mother, who the Brotherhood venerates, is actually an aspect of the Daedric Prince Mephala, the patron deity for the Morag Tong. Despite their differences, they may still be dedicated to the same deity.

* OvertOperative: By the Second Era, the Morag Tong became far too brazen for their own good. When the Tong assassinated Versidue-Shaie, the Akaviri Potentiate who took over after they assassinated Reman Cyrodiil III (and [[{{Irony}} who had hired the Tong in the first place to kill the Emperor]]), the Morag Tong wrote their name in his blood on the walls of the Imperial Palace. The ''rest'' of the nobility of Tamriel promptly made it their top priority to wipe the cult out for fear that they would fall victim to the same fate, and destroyed all but a small presence in Morrowind itself.

* FantasticRacism: They frown upon Dunmer and Orsimer for their open worship of certain Daedric Princes, though they won't outright ''attack'' them as long as they stick to their relatively-benign cultural forms of daedra worship. That said, it is possible to encounter [[CulturalRebel Dunmer]] Vigilants.

** High Rock alone has the Anthotis, Garlythi, Haarvenu, Khulari, Lyrezi, Montalion, Selenu, Thrafey, and Vraseth bloodlines at the time of ''Daggerfall''. There was also the Ravenspire and Montclaire vampire clans back in the 2nd age. Broadly-speaking, the High Rock vampire lines had the same appearances and general abilities associated with classic vampires, with minor differences such as magical resistance.

* FantasticRacism: They frown upon Dunmer and Orsimer, for their worship of and connection to Daedric Princes, although they never attack them outright. That said, it is possible to encounter [[CulturalRebel Dunmer]] Vigilants.

* KnightTemplar: Whether or not they are viewed as one depends on the individual; to the average man or mer they're genuinely benevolent, as they fight monsters and cultists and heal diseases, but for Dunmer and Orsimer they come off as rude, threatening jerks, and of course for anyone who is actually a vampire, lycanthrope, or Daedra worshipper, they're a straight example of this trope. Additionally, they may attempt to confiscate any Daedric artifacts the player is carrying under the threat of violence, even if they are artifacts from the more benevolent Princes such as Azura and Meridia. Borders on TautologicalTemplar, since the Vigil believe that what they doing is for the greater good. To resist them is to be against them.

* IHateYouVampireDad: Though some individual vampires may hate their progenitors, many vampire lines despise Molag Bal for various reasons, with Lamae Beolfag's bloodline being particularly strong in their hatred for the Daedric Prince.

* TheMasquerade: Most vampire clans try to maintain one; those who live among mortals work carefully to keep their true nature hidden, only feeding in secret and if possible on a willing victim or imprisoned "cattle". Those vampires that don't or cannot hide themselves well tend to be killed in short order, or retreat to hidden fortresses and lair in the wilderness in between attacks. One of the reasons why Valerica opposed Lord Harkon's plot in ''Dawnguard'' was because he risked a BrokenMasquerade in which all of Tamriel would unite on a crusade to stamp out the vampire clans.

** High Rock alone has the Anthotis, Garlythi, Haarvenu, Khulari, Lyrezi, Montalion, Selenu, Thrafey, and Vraseth bloodlines at the tme of ''Daggerfall''. There was also the Ravenspire and Montclaire vampire clans. Broadly-speaking, the High Rock vampire lines had the same appearances and general abilities associated with classic vampires, with minor differences such as magical resistance.

** The vampires of Morrowind come in several types: The Quarra, which are aggressive and brutal, the Berne, who are quieter and more stealthy, and the Aundae, who are mages who use their magic to trap their prey. There are also "ash vampires" but [[InNameOnly these are bound to House Dagoth and have nothing to do with Molag Bal's creations.]]
** Cyrodiil has the secretive Order vampires, who amass wealth and power but do not operate openly.

* EnslavedElves: While it may not be full blown slavery, the Bosmer of Valenwood are treated as second-class citizens to the Altmer under the Thalmor-led 4th Era Aldmeri Dominion. Even other Altmer are seen as beneath them if those Altmer do not subscribe to the beliefs of the Thalmor. Though it is not quite as at the forefront, the Thalmor also harbor a similar dim view of the Dunmer.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted as a fictional equivalent, ''not'' all Altmer (nor all who serve the Aldmeri Dominion) are Thalmor. Non-Thalmor Altmer are usually quick to point this out, and the famous line "the first country the Thalmor took over was their own" (or a variation) appears in-universe.

* HatedByAll: The Thalmor are despised by a large majority of Tamriel, including [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch other Altmer]]. The only possible exception are the Argonians, who are instead their political puppets. In most parts of Skyrim, murdering a member of the Thalmor is only considered "assault", and at least one jarl will ''pay you under the table'' for each one you kill.

* HourglassPlot: The original Thalmor fought to protect Mundus from Molag Bal during the Planemeld, while the 4th Era Thalmor instead plot to destroy Mundus and make themselves gods.

* InNameOnly: The Thalmor encountered in the 4th Era bear very little resemblance to the original Thalmor who were part of the earlier Dominions and can be met in ''Online''. The original Thalmor were created to protect the culture, heritage, and history of the Altmer people and only became a militant force when Molag Bal threatened Mundus during the Planemeld. By contrast, the 4th Era Thalmor are racist, totalitarian fascists who are out to dominate the world and, eventually, end it altogether. To add a further level, the Thalmor of Tiber War-era Dominion wasn't similar to ''either'', being a council of Altmer diplomats and Bosmer chieftains that served as the government of ''Valenwood''.

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Replace "Thalmor" with "Nazi" in the entries on this list and you have most of an entry for Nazi Germany. Religiously and racially intolerant? Check. Social Darwinist and Übermensch type beliefs? Check. Annexing more peaceful neighbors and then breaking up opposing nations by force? Check. Wandering "Justiciars" given free reign to murder undesirables? Check. Even their military record in the Great War echoes the Nazis, in particular their campaigns on the Eastern Front. Initially they launched a series of extremely successful surprise attacks on the unprepared and disorganized Empire, seizing a ton of territory and inflicting terrible casualties on their Legions in a very short span of time. However, they quickly began to overextend themselves due to conquering too much too quickly, and were drawn into an unwinnable war of attrition against a numerically superior foe. They were unable to stop the Legion from regrouping, defeated in a decisive battle at the Imperial City, and forced to retreat from Cyrodiil in a rout. All of this closely mirrors the Nazis' own failure in Operation Barbarossa, with the important caveat that the Thalmor were still able to achieve a favorable outcome in the war after this. (Unlike Nazi Germany, they didn't have a "second front" to deal with.)

* OmnicidalManiac: The long term plan of the Thalmor is to destroy the mortal world by "killing" Talos, the last thing they believe is keeping Mundus extant. In doing so, they believe that it will return their spirits to a state of pre-creation divinity (and there is evidence that there is some truth to this belief).

* ScrewYouElves: Frequent recipients. They also dispense this to any other elves who do not support their cause, including other Altmer. Other Altmer also tend to say this right back to them.

* SuperiorSpecies: They genuinely believe Mer and especially Altmer to be superior to Men, and consider the fact that it is not explicitly so to be a problem in need of solving.
* TookALevelInJerkass: The Altmer were always haughty, but under the Thalmor, they've taken this to the extreme.

* ReligiousBruiser: Houses Redoran and Indoril were closely tied to the old Tribunal Temple and were quite powerful as a result.

* TeamSwitzerland: House Telvanni, being the extreme xenophobes and isolationists they're infamously known to be, have sat out of basically every major conflict concerning the Dunmer as a whole in history. With the exception of the Dwemeri crisis during the (pre-Nerevar) First Era, they've abstained from every other scuffle since, having refused to take part against the Akaviri invasion of the Second Era, and decided against joining the Ebonheart Pact during the Three Banners war just a short while later. Additionally, when Tiber Septim marched his army onto Morrowind in the Third Era, whereas Houses Indoril, Dres, and Redoran opted to fight, and the Hlallu opted to cooperate with the Empire, the Telvanni were said to have been rather indifferent about it.

** House Indoril. They were so aligned with the Tribunal Temple that it was hard to tell where one stopped and the other started, and were considered the strongest of the Great Houses as a result until Morrowind was forced to join the Empire and they were surpassed by the Imperial-aligned House Hlaalu. Following the Red Year and fall of the old Tribunal Temple, they were left rather toothless (though still better off than the Hlaalu).
** House Redoran as well, were very aligned with the Tribunal Temple during its heyday, though their approach was slightly different than House Indoril, approximating the real-world differences between Catholics and Protestants. However, House Redoran was willing to ultimately embrace the Nerevarine Prophecy, and had their ProudWarriorRace and code of honor that existed aside from their devotion to the Temple, allowing them to preserve their identity after the fall of the Temple.

** The Bosmer are revered for their skills as marksmen, and the Legion has used them as skirmishers.

** The [[ArcherArchetype Bosmer]] are revered for their skills as marksmen, and the Legion has used them as skirmishers.

* ReligionOfEvil: Most vampire clans revere Molag Bal as the source of their blessings. Others despise him, particularly Lamae Bal's bloodline. Those who do not worship Molag Bal often instead follow Clavicus Vile.

NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: What the 4th Era of the Thalmor are regardless, even if what they say or believe is true (as explained under WellIntentionedExtremist below), they still essentially use it as a platform advocating for Altmor supremacy, enable acts that are sadistic in nature toward their enemies, victimize fellow Altmor for not being onboard with them, and are trying to commit genocide against the races of Man, not for any major past or continuous crime against them, but for the exoteric crime of simply existing.

* HeroesPreferSwords: An order of bodyguards for the emperors of Tamriel who are almost always found using swords, particularly katanas.

* CatchPhrase: "Hail Sithis" and "Kill well. Kill often".

* MakeMeWannaShout: Some of the higher ranking members of the Cult were able to use the Thu'um, and they retain this ability as Draugr.

* ChurchMilitant: House Redoran had strong ties to the Tribunal Temple, and as such shared much of its intolerance and bigotry, though not ''nearly'' to the extent of the House Indoril Ordinators. With the fall of the Tribunal and the rise of the "New" Temple in the 4th Era, this seems to have subsided.

* FantasticRacism: The Thalmor are Altmer supremacists. And even then, [[NoTrueScotsman only Altmer who support their cause]]. Other Mer are beneath them, and the races of Men are even worse.

* GodhoodSeeker: Their traditional religion teaches that they are divine spirits [[GodInHumanForm trapped in mortal forms]] by Lorkhan. In order to escape this "prison", they need to bring about the end of the world.

* JustLikeRobinHood: All incarnations are this, especially the ones based in Morrowind and Cyrodiil. The Skyrim guild however has fallen on hard times and so been forced to resort to more unsavory tactics such as extortion and racketeering, simply to stay afloat. They've even relaxed their rules so that murder is a ''last resort'' option, only avoided because it costs money to bribe guards, which is money they ''don't'' have to spare.

* VampireRefugee: Many who become Vampires did not do so by choice, leading to this. Accidental Vampires are often shunned by Vampire clans and in many cultures, the infected is no longer welcome at best (or outright killed on sight at worst). Many spend their time seeking a cure.

* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: They pull this off in the 4th Era, exploiting the destabilzation of the Septim Empire following the Oblivion Crisis. In short order they have [[TheGoodChancellor Potentate Ocato]] assassinated, secede from the Empire, reform the Dominion, annex Valenwood, convince Elsweyr to join with BlatantLies, and use subversive tactics to convince Black Marsh to secede while also waging war on Morrowind, costing the Empire two more provinces. Though they fail to crush the more-resilient-than-expected VestigialEmpire, they at least manage to force highly favorable treaty terms onto them while costing them another province (Hammerfell who secedes due to those terms) while causing Skyrim to erupt into Civil War.

* HatedByAll: The Thalmor are despised by a large majority of Tamriel, including [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch other Altmer]]. The only possible exception are the Argonians, who are instead their political puppets.

* InNameOnly: The Thalmor encountered in the 4th Era bear very little resemblance to the original Thalmor who were part of the earlier Dominions and can be met in ''Online''. The original Thalmor were created to protect the culture, heritage, and history of the Altmer people and only became a militant force when Molag Bal threatened Mundus during the Planemeld. By contrast, the 4th Era Thalmor are racist, totalitarian fascists who are out to dominate the world and, eventually, end it altogether.

* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: For obvious reasons, the Thieves Guild doesn't have open guild halls like the Fighters or Mages guilds. Instead, they tend to operate out of various taverns and clubs in major cities. These are something of an OpenSecret to create plausible deniability, since their guild halls ''actually'' being secrets would be bad for business.

* WeakenedByTheLight: Most vampire clans suffer painful burns under the light of Magnus, due to a combination of the powers of Aetherius and Meridia's association with light and color. Clan Volkihar is one of the few exceptions; while the light weakens them, it won't burn and kill them like it does other vampires. Those who can ignore the effects of daylight often enjoy attacking in daytime, [[DaylightHorror just to drive home the point of how powerful they are]].