History VideoGame / TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind

''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'' is [[NeverTrustATitle the fifth videogame]] in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series by Bethesda Softworks, released in 2002. Like the other games in the "core" series (i.e. the ones with numbers in their names), it is a massive, [[WideOpenSandbox free-form]] {{RPG}}.

This was the first ''Elder Scrolls'' game to be released on a console (specifically, the {{Xbox}})--in fact, it was the first major WesternRPG to get a MultiPlatform release in a long while. As such, it also marked a major shift in gameplay and design philosophy. Gone were ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'''s nigh-infinite, [[RandomlyGeneratedLevels procedurally generated worlds]], replaced with carefully hand-crafted environments that, while smaller than their predecessors, were designed to invoke [[SceneryPorn awe]] and still be far larger than most video games. The combat system is radically different from the rest of the series: while it is still real-time, character stats play a far larger role than player skill compared to the rest of the series. Like the other games, however, ''Morrowind'' puts a huge emphasis on the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfSidequests numerous side quests]], to the degree where they are pretty much the most important aspect of the game, and are neatly tied into the main story.

The story is set 10 years after the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', on the far eastern frontier of the Tamrielic Empire. The player character is a convict and an [[ParentalAbandonment orphan]] in the Imperial City dungeons. For unknown reasons, TheEmperor Uriel Septim VII personally orders that you be released early on the condition that you be shipped to the backwater province of Morrowind (more specifically, the even more backwater district of Vvardenfell, until very recently closed off to all foreigners on religious grounds) and meet with an agent of his named [[TheSpymaster Caius Cosades]]. However, upon being released, you are perfectly free to say "screw that" and explore Vvardenfell at your own pace. If you choose to accept the mission given to you, however, you are launched into a labyrinthine plot involving an AncientConspiracy, prophecies, lost prophecies, false prophecies, reincarnation, [[PhysicalGod gods]], backroom politics, gang wars, TheCorruption, and lots and lots of walking. Seriously, you spend a good half of the game just walking around. Not that it isn't [[SceneryPorn a pleasant and interesting walk]].

Two expansion packs were later released for PC: ''Tribunal'' has you visit Morrowind Province's capital city of Mournhold to investigate an assassination plot against you. It's noticeably more challenging than the original game, and intended for mid-to-high level characters. Unlike the rest of the game, you are restricted to only one part of the stated-to-be massive city and the sewers/ruins [[UndergroundLevel beneath it]].

The second expansion, ''Bloodmoon'', is set in a [[GrimUpNorth frozen tundra]] with a different atmosphere than the main game, it returns to the WideOpenSandbox formula. There are effectively two main quests to follow in ''Bloodmoon''. The first begins when the player signs on to help an [[BadassArmy Imperial Legion]] captain with some odd jobs around his fort, which expands into a simple-but-dramatic plot about rescuing him from the [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame Most Dangerous Game]]--by taking part in it yourself. Also, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves are involved]]. The second involves helping the new Imperial mining colony of Raven Rock grow from absolutely nothing into a flourishing frontier settlement, with plenty of moral dilemmas along the way.

In 2003, the GameOfTheYearEdition was released. It includes all of the patches, DLC, and both expansions.

Despite its venerable age, ''Morrowind'' remains a classic and boasts a large player base to this day. It marked the point where [[TheVerse Tamriel]] ceased to be a standard MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting and became a truly unique ConstructedWorld with highly memorable cultures, history, creatures, landscapes, mythopoeia, and characters. As its [[Gush/VideoGamesAToF gushing]] fans will tell you, ''Morrowind'' does imitate the works of Creator/JRRTolkien, but in a much different way than most fantasy worlds do--by putting the same amount of thought and detail into its universe, rather than just borrowing ideas from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings.'' And even less-enthused observers have to admit that ''Morrowind'' has probably had the greatest overall influence on the direction of WesternRPG output since ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'' - near-as-dammit every WRPG since has been influenced by ''Morrowind'' in some way, and it in turn took a lot from ''[=U4=]'' (and not just in game mechanics, either).

Despite its venerable age, ''Morrowind'' remains a classic and boasts a large player base to this day. It marked the point where [[TheVerse Tamriel]] ceased to be a standard MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting and became a truly unique ConstructedWorld with highly memorable cultures, history, creatures, landscapes, mythopoeia, and characters. As its {{gushing|AboutShowsYouLike}} fans will tell you, ''Morrowind'' does imitate the works of Creator/JRRTolkien, but in a much different way than most fantasy worlds do--by putting the same amount of thought and detail into its universe, rather than just borrowing ideas from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings.'' And even less-enthused observers have to admit that ''Morrowind'' has probably had the greatest overall influence on the direction of WesternRPG output since ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'' - near-as-dammit every WRPG since has been influenced by ''Morrowind'' in some way, and it in turn took a lot from ''[=U4=]'' (and not just in game mechanics, either).

The story is set 10 years after the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', on the far eastern frontier of the Tamrielic Empire. The player character is a convict and an [[ParentalAbandonment orphan]] in the Imperial City dungeons. For unknown reasons, TheEmperor Uriel Septim VII personally orders that you be released early on the condition that you be shipped to the backwater province of Morrowind (more specifically, the even more backwater district of Vvardenfell) and meet with an agent of his named [[TheSpymaster Caius Cosades]]. However, upon being released, you are perfectly free to say "screw that" and explore Vvardenfell at your own pace. If you choose to accept the mission given to you, however, you are launched into a labyrinthine plot involving an AncientConspiracy, prophecies, lost prophecies, false prophecies, reincarnation, [[PhysicalGod gods]], backroom politics, gang wars, TheCorruption, and lots and lots of walking. Seriously, you spend a good half of the game just walking around. Not that it isn't [[SceneryPorn a pleasant and interesting walk]].

[[quoteright:277:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Elder_Scrolls_-_Morrowind_001_535.png]]

Despite its venerable age, ''Morrowind'' remains a classic and boasts a large player base to this day. It marked the point where [[TheVerse Tamriel]] ceased to be a standard MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting and became a truly unique ConstructedWorld with highly memorable cultures, history, creatures, landscapes, mythopoea, and characters. As its {{gushing|AboutShowsYouLike}} fans will tell you, ''Morrowind'' does imitate the works of Creator/JRRTolkien, but in a much different way than most fantasy worlds do--by putting the same amount of thought and detail into its universe, rather than just borrowing ideas from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings.'' And even less-enthused observers have to admit that ''Morrowind'' has probably had the greatest overall influence on the direction of WesternRPG output since ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'' - near-as-dammit every WRPG since has been influenced by ''Morrowind'' in some way, and it in turn took a lot from ''[=U4=]'' (and not just in game mechanics, either).

Two expansion packs were later released for PC: ''Tribunal'' has you visit Morrowind Province's capital city of Mournhold to investigate an assassination plot against you. It's noticeably more challenging than the original game, and intended for mid-to-high level characters. Unfortunately, it is not a WideOpenSandbox like the rest of the game, as you are restricted to only one part of the stated-to-be massive city and the sewers/ruins [[UndergroundLevel beneath it]]. The new antagonist also turns out to have a very petty excuse for their EvilPlan, while the protagonist [[IdiotPlot has to suffer some strange lapses in judgement]] [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption in order for the plot to proceed]].

The second expansion, ''Bloodmoon'', is generally considered far better. Set in a [[GrimUpNorth frozen tundra]] with a refreshingly different atmosphere than the main game, it returns to the WideOpenSandbox formula. There are effectively two main quests to follow in ''Bloodmoon''. The first begins when the player signs on to help an [[BadassArmy Imperial Legion]] captain with some odd jobs around his fort, which expands into a simple-but-dramatic plot about rescuing him from the [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame Most Dangerous Game]]--by taking part in it yourself. Also, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves are involved]]. The second involves helping the new Imperial mining colony of Raven Rock grow from absolutely nothing into a flourishing frontier settlement, with plenty of somewhat interesting moral dilemmas along the way.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: S-Z]]
* SanitySlippage:
** The Sleepers start out babbling about Dagoth Ur's return and the rise of the Sixth House. After a certain point in the main quest, they turn hostile and start attacking the player.
** Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal all suffer from sanity slippage to varying degrees as a side-effect of becoming Gods through the power of the Heart of Lorkhan. Dagoth Ur has it the worst, since he was far less restrained in his consumption of the heart's power. Of the Tribunal, only Almalexia exhibits any obvious signs of insanity, though it is implied that Vivec and Sotha Sil would have eventually suffered the same fate.
* {{Satan}}: The Tribunal Temple and the Ashlanders treat Dagoth Ur as this. The truth is a bit [[HiddenDepths more complex]].
* SavageSetpiece: Netch are a species of [[LivingGasbag Flying Jellyfish]] native to Morrowind and are farmed for their leathery skin by the natives. Whether wild or farmed, they won't attack you unless provoked. However, both the large, poisonous male and the smaller, more physical female can easily dispatch a low level player.
* ScareChord: The ambient background music will change from "exploration" themes to a random "battle" theme once the wandering player is attacked. The exploration themes are typically quite and soothing while various battle themes will start with a loud drumbeat or trumpet blast. This can be quite surprising and startling when the player is already fairly tense, or concentrated on something else.
* ScaryImpracticalArmor: Played with. Mostly only the native styles (Glass, Bonemold, Dreugh, Indoril) play it straight, as each possess [[SpikesOfVillainy spikes]] and [[ShouldersOfDoom oversized shoulders]]. Trollbone armour also counts, while it is Nordic style – essentially, it’s just a pile of troll bones sewed to cloth underarmour and a troll skull atop. Local Chitin and Netch leather armour, on the other hand, may look somewhat menacing, but fairly practical, given the materials they made and that they are suited to harsh island environment. Western (i. e. Imperial) armours looks very much like real life plate armour examples; same to local Ebony armour. Even Daedric armour, while featuring extremely scary facemasks, don’t have common “impractical” features like in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion subsequent]] [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim games]] exaggerated.
* SceneryPorn: For it's time, the landscape scenery was amongst the best ever seen in game of this scale.
* SchmuckBait: I'm sure nothing bad will happen if you take those precious gemstones or stacks of gold sitting on at the foot of that Daedric statue...
* SchrodingersQuestion: During character creation, you will be asked to select your race. Once you've chosen, the camera angle will immediately jump "average" height to match the height of your new race.
* ScrewDestiny: You can claim this when speaking to Dagoth Ur at the end of the game. It's actually quite possibly the reality of the situation too, with you not truly being the ChosenOne, but instead a convenient pawn of Azura and the Emperor. No definitive answer is ever given, meaning we'll probably never know for sure.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: You can go on a murderous rampage, then just walk away by paying a fine. Then go on another murderous rampage, pay the fine, then take a nap in the streets, pay the fine.... You just have to be careful to keep your bounty from exceeding 5000 gold. At that point, you'll be marked as "kill on sight" by all guards in the game. The only way out of it at that point is to pay the Thieves Guild to have your bounty erased.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers: This is the outlook of the [[EvilSorcerer Telvanni]]. They strongly believe in MightMakesRight and KlingonPromotion is a legitimate means of advancement within the house (which is your "in" to rise to the top of the as an otherwise hated outlander.) The Telvanni tend strongly toward magical might, and only care about the various Temple and Imperial laws and bans on certain kinds of magic insofar as those laws and bans can be enforced.
* ScrewYourself: Divayth Fyr enjoys the company of his [[OppositeSexClone "wives"]] very much.
** He actually refers to them as his [[IncestIsRelative "daughters"]].
* SealedEvilInACan: Several examples.
** [[BigBad Dagoth]] [[PhysicalGod Ur]] and his minions have been sealed within Red Mountain by the Tribunal-powered Ghostfence. However, as the power of the Tribunal has waned [[spoiler: due to being unable to replenish their divinity since Dagoth Ur's reemergence]], Dagoth Ur's influence has begun to spread outside of the Ghostfence, making this into a LeakingCanOfEvil.
** The Dremora Lord Dregas Volar, wielder of the last Daedric Crescent Blade, has been sealed inside of Magas Volar, a Daedric shrine [[SealedRoomInTheMiddleOfNowhere not physically connected to the outside world]] and only accessible with a magic amulet.
* SeeWater: Seeing for any distance while underwater is actually quite difficult. However, there is a bug where if you swim at ''just'' the right level slightly below the surface, you can see through the water as easily as you can through air.
* SelectiveEnforcement: If you break any law, the guards will be on you in no time flat. However, they won't lift a finger to help you with that assassin trying to kill you.
* SelectiveGravity: It is possible to make a stack of items, then remove the items on the bottom of the stack to leave the top items floating in midair.
* SelfMadeMan: [[spoiler: At the end of the main quest, Dagoth Ur asks if you think you are actually the reincarnation of Nerevar. If you reply that you are not, but you will still destroy him, he will mildly praise you for your boldness. His responses to your other reply options are more neutral or negative.]]
** As Vivec would say of gods and heroes of legends: "walk like them until they walk like you". Meaning it doesn't matter whether you really are the ChosenOne. If you manage to do what the ChosenOne was supposed to do, then you ''are'' the ChosenOne for all practical purposes. This is actually an action called Mantling, and is one of the few (if only) times the main character is expected to do it.
* SemiDivine: Those inflicted with the Corprus Disease. They have a touch of the divine (channeled from Lorkhan's Heart by Dagoth Ur), given as... not exactly a ''[[BodyHorror boon]]'', but is seen as such by the gifter and his cultists. [[spoiler: The Nerevarine gets infected in the course of the main quest, but then gets cured of the downsides]].
* SequenceBreaking: Given the wide-open nature of the game, it is possible to acquire items meant to be acquired very late in the main quest whenever you want. For example, one can acquire the late-game artifacts [[MacGuffin Keening and Sunder]] before even finishing the first few missions of the game. (Actually ''using'' them that early is another story without exploits.)
* ShiningCity: Mournhold. Expressly called "city of light" by its denizens. Doubles as capital city of the province of Morrowind.
* ShootTheBullet: It is possible to use projectile weapons (Arrows, Crossbow Bolts, etc.) to hit magical projectiles (like fireballs and lightning bolts) in midair.
* ShopliftAndDie: Being seen while picking up any item in a shop, even near-worthless VendorTrash, will lead to the shopkeeper (and any guards present) attacking you. It doesn't help that items will often be on the counter just in front of or on shelves just behind the shopkeeper, meaning an accidental bump of the mouse or analog stick will have you stealing something when all you were trying to do was talk to the shopkeeper. Ramped UpToEleven in the ''Tribunal'' expansion, which was designed for high-level players in mind, where shopkeepers can be level 30 or higher and easily capable of killing a low-level player.
* ShoutOut: A multitude, from blatant EasterEgg ones to GeniusBonus ones tucked away in a book somewhere.
** At least one of the developers seems to have '''really''' liked {{Pokemon}}. Weepingbell Hall, Marowak's Spine, Peke Utchoo, et cetera.
** One of the developers went to Duke, so he being a big fan of Duke basketball, there is an easter egg sword [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_Brand Eltonbrand]] that you get by retrieving [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Krzyzewski Shashev's Key]] (among other requirements). Elsewhere in the game, you come across a (likely dead) enchanter who [[Film/SpaceJam believed he could fly]] named "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Tar_Heels Tarhiel]]".
** The very name "Morrowind" could be a reference to ''[[Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara The Elf Queen of Shannara]]'', which featured the island of Morrowindl, which also had an active volcano being held in check by magic.
** In Omalen Ancestral tomb, the corpse of an adventurer can be found crushed under a rock due to a cave in. There's a scroll that records his last thoughts, [[Franchise/IndianaJones signed "Indie"]]. It also mentions that his father made jokes about his childhood pet.
** The Bjorn ice cave on Solstheim has a skeletal corpse with his feet stuck to the ceiling and a sword just out of his reach down below. He apparently didn't [[TheEmpireStrikesBack use the force.]]
** Two sections of the Temple canton in Vivec City are called the [[WesterAnimation/SuperFriends Hall of Justice]] and the [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse Hall of Wisdom]].
* SideQuest: Tons and tons of them, as per ''Elder Scrolls'' series tradition.
* SideQuestSideStory: The quest lines for each guild and faction have their own stories, some nearly as expansive as the main quest itself.
* SickeningCrunch: When you take fall damage.
* SignificantBirthDate: The player character's birth date makes them eligible for the Nerevarine Prophecy, however, it's Subverted as the actual date is never revealed.
--> "...born on a certain day, to uncertain parents..."
* SimultaneousWarningAndAction: Averted by guards if you have a bounty. Even ''killing a guard'' won't get you immediately murdered by his fellow officers: you still had the choice of jail, a fine, or resisting arrest.
* TheSingularity - The GameBreaker described under YMMV, in which you use the boosts from the intelligence-enhancing potions you make in order to create better and better intelligence-enhancing potions, until you become intelligent enough to craft items that will make you invulnerable and let you kill anything in the game in one hit, essentially turns the player character into a one-man Singularity.
* SkeletonGovernment: Largely averted, as glimpses into the inner workings of the Imperial governance and Dunmer Great Houses are frequent. For example, you fill in your class and race information at a tax office, you need a "passport" scroll to enter Sadrith Mora, and number of quests revolve around such mundane acts of government as tax collection and diplomatic banquets.
* SkeletonKey: A lockpick with a 100% success rate. You get it for completing the Thieves Guild quest line, however, by that time, you're likely a skilled enough lockpicker to not even need it.
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: Bonemold and Trollbone armors both fit.
* SketchySuccessor: King Hlaalu Helseth. To begin with, the Dunmer people see the role as "King of Morrowind" as an Imperial convention they have no need for, as they see their true rulers as the Tribunal Temple and the Great Houses. Helseth himself is rumored to be a MasterPoisoner who isn't above using the Dark Brotherhood to eliminate perceived threats. His predecessor as King and that King's chosen heir both died under mysterious circumstances, with Helseth believed to have been involved. [[spoiler: He also ends up being the last King of Morrowind, though not due to any political blunders. (Helseth appears to have been rather competent, and well on his way to transforming the role of King of Morrowind into a position with actual power at his last mention), but because of the Red Year; the post-Red Year Morrowind appears to be an aristocratic republic ruled by a council of the Great Houses (much like the situation prior to the Imperial takeover, although with the theocratic elements toned down)]].
* SkirtOverSlacks: An option for dressing yourself. Some [=NPCs=] can also be seen dressed this way. It can be advantageous if the pants and skirt are enchanted, allowing you to have access to both enchantments at once. (And then a robe can be worn over top of both, taking it even further.)
* SlaveCollar: Comes in the form of a locked, heavy bracer with a drain Magicka enchantment.
* SlaveLiberation: If you can find the key to their bracers, you can liberate any slaves you come across. (Some do not have a key for their bracers, but if they are taken to a location for which you do have the key by using a Command spell, you can still free them.) The Twin Lamps is an organization (led by the daughter of the Duke of Vvardenfell) dedicated to freeing slaves and returning them to their homelands.
* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Played with, as slavery is a part of everyday life in Morrowind. When they became a VoluntaryVassal to the Empire, they were granted an exemption to the Imperial ban on slavery, however, Imperial influence has been reducing its popularity over time. The Twin Lamps formed as an organization to free slaves and return them to their homelands.
* SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship: Averted, as the game gives different values to weapons for Slashing, Hacking, and Thrusting damage. For example, a spear has high Thrust damage but low Slash and Hack damage but a claymore has high Slash damage, mediocre Hack damage, and low Thrust damage, while an axe has high Hack damage, mediocre Slash damage, and low Thrust damage. The method of attack you use depends on how you are moving when you strike, although you can turn this off in the Settings in order to always use the weapon's most damaging style of attack.
* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: Comes down farthest on the "Seriousness" side of the scale out of the main series games to date.
* SmugSnake: Orvas Dren, the leader of the Cammona Tong.
* SnipeHunt: Once you've joined the Mages Guild, Archmage Tribonius will give you a quest to discover what caused the disappearance of the Dwemer. This is a mystery roughly 4000 years in the making and no one, not even the local ''deities'', have any idea what happened to them. [[spoiler: By finding the right items and talking to the right people, you can come up with a very plausible theory. He seems surprised when you tell him about it, and you get a Reputation point for figuring it out.]]
* SoftWater: You can survive falling from a great height into a body of water without injury, as long as the water is deep enough. Interestingly, if you have a spell of Water Walking enabled, the water will behave just like land...
* SoleEntertainmentOption: No wonder everybody in the world has time to stand around and talk to you! Aside from a (usually unoccupied) gladiatorial arena in Vivec, an 'exotic dancing' club in Suran, and an outdoor theater in Mournhold, there's nothing to do!
* SongsInTheKeyOfLock: One quest in ''Bloodmoon'' requires you to listen to a set of geysers from some stalactites and then activate the stalactites in the same order.
* SortingAlgorithmOfThreateningGeography: You start on an ordinary-looking seashore, and travel to your first city through unthreatening countryside. During the course of your adventure, you visit deserts of volcanic ash, jagged rocky shores, labyrinthine lava scathes and reach the climax of the story in a sprawling ruin built over an open volcanic crater. The Bloodmoon expansion works similarly, starting you off in a chilly-looking but generally green pine forest, passing through harsher and harsher arctic-looking climes, and culminating in and under a giant snowstorm-lashed castle atop a massive glacier.
* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness: Generally averted. Items outside of containers are hand placed, and never change regardless of your level. Because of this, it is possible to acquire some of the best equipment in the game through simple theft. Items within containers play it straight to a degree, as the items they may contain come from random "leveled lists". Certain items only appear once you reach a certain level, with your Luck attribute also coming into play. (Higher Luck will result in you potentially finding higher leveled items than you normally would.)
* SoulJar: The Heart of Lorkhan acts as one to Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal, as it is the source from which they draw their divine powers. Unbinding it outright destroys Dagoth Ur, while the Tribunal are able to persist with a trace of their divinity in-tact due, according to Vivec, to the faith of their followers.
* SoundOfNoDamage: The sound of a "woosh" of air represents a missed melee attack. A higher-pitched "whurr" sound is used when a spell fails.
* SpaceCompression: It is the smallest game in the main series to date, so this is in full effect. Stated-to-be-massive cities contain only a few dozen [=NPCs=] at most, while many of the smaller settlements have populations in the low teens. However, it traded away the massive size of ''Arena'' and ''Daggerfall'' for a far greater content density, with the entire world being hand-build as opposed to relying on random generation like the previous games. There is also an in-universe justification: you only visit a ''region'' of Morrowind called Vvardenfell, which was only recently settled by the rest of Tamriel, and most of the population was sparse and consisted of the native Ashlanders and the worshippers of the Tribunal and Great Houses.
* SpannerInTheWorks: The player acts as one in most Guilds and factions, most notably in the struggle between the Cammona Tong and the Thieves Guild.
* SpearCarrier: The prisoner Jiub only managed to deliver ten short lines of dialog before you were separated from him at the beginning of the game. Still, he proved popular enough with the fan base that numerous mods were created centering around him. Come ''Oblivion'', Bethesda even got in on the act by making him a Saint who drove the Cliff Racers to extinction.
* SpectralWeaponCopy[=/=]SpontaneousWeaponCreation: The various "Bound Weapon" spells under the school of Conjuration allow copies of Daedric weapons, the best non-artifact class of weapons in the game, to be summoned and used for a set duration.
* SpellCrafting: Custom spell creation is an option at a number of magical merchants. The player chooses a spell's range (self, touch, or ranged), area of effect (single-target or Splash Damage), duration, and effects, then the game automatically assigns a Magicka cost depending on how powerful the spell is, theoretically maintaining game balance. In practice, it is hilariously easy to design game-breakingly powerful spells by combining synergistic effects such as Weakness to Fire + Fire Damage, or assigning a one-second duration to spells that increase the Persuasion skill (which only works in dialogue, which pauses the game clock).
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: ''The'' Nerevarine.
* SpiderLimbs: Yagrum Bagarn, [[spoiler: the last living Dwemer]], has become so bloated and deformed due to the Corprus Disease that he gets around on a machine that combines this trope with SuperWheelchair.
* SpiderTank: Dwemer Spider Centurions are a FunSize version found in Dwemer ruins.
* SprintMeter: The Fatigue meter functions partly as this. Running and jumping cause it to drain rapidly, though it will replenish over time if you stand still. A low fatigue makes melee attacks more likely to miss and makes casting spells more likely to fail.
* TheSpymaster: Caius Cosades. It's even his official title within the Blades organization.
* SquishyWizard: Played straight for Mage-type classes, especially early in the game. Most guides advise you to make Endurance one of your favored attributes during character creation, even if you're planning to be a magic user, to help avert this.
* StandardStatusEffects:
** Poison/Plague - Poison is a standard variety of magic spell, which slowly drains your health for the duration of the spell. Notably, it does not affect most undead or mechanical enemies. Diseases (Common and Blight) both fall under the "Plague" category, and reduce your Attributes until they are cured.
** Paralysis - A standard magic spell which freezes you in place for the spell's duration. This is helpful early in the game, particularly as a weapon enchantment, because very few low-level enemies have resistance to it. [[UselessUsefulSpell Most high-level enemies resist it, however]].
** Silence - Takes the form of the "Sound" spell. Instead of silencing the target, it instead "distracts" the target, making spell casting more likely to fail.
** Blindness - A standard spell which darkens the screen by a percentage, based on the spell's strength. [[UselessUsefulSpell Notably, it has no effect on NPC targets]].
** Charm - Takes the form of various non-combat spells which increase the Disposition of NPC characters toward you.
** Slow - There are various spells which temporarily drop your Speed and Agility attributes, making you slower and less able to dodge attacks.
** Fear - Takes the form of spells which cause enemies to flee rather than fight. The strength of the spell increases the level of enemies who you can make flee.
* StarterEquipment: ''Morrowind'' is pretty stingy in this regard, giving you only the common clothes on your back and allowing you to pick up an iron dagger and apprentice lockpick during character generation. This is all you'll get for free to start out. Anything else will need to be bought or found out in the world.
* StatGrinding: Skill increases only occur after a ''successful'' use of that skill. This can make grinding a long process without the use of in-game training (which is unlimited as long as you can afford it) or exploits (Alchemy, Drain Skill and train, etc.)
* SteamPunk: The Dwemer were a steam punk society, mixed with some {{Magitek}} as they were master enchanters. Their creations can still be seen all over Vvardenfell, but it is mostly LostTechnology now as they've been gone for thousands of years.
* StillWearingTheOldColors: An Imperial Legion quest has you hunting down a deserter who is now in the employ of a witch. Said deserter is still wearing his Legion armor when you find him.
* StoneWall: The in-game book "The Death Blow of Abernanit" is a Block skill book and tells the story of a warrior so skilled with a shield that no attack could reach him.
* StoryBreadcrumbs: The story drops you smack dab in the middle of the final chapter of the four millenia-old drama revolving around the Heart of Lorkhan and the [[PhysicalGod Living Gods]] of the Tribunal. While it is not necessary to do so in order to complete the main quest, you'll need to do your own research using in-game books and exhausting every conversation option with numerous characters in order to learn about the previous chapters.
* StrawFan: M'aiq the Liar [[LegacyCharacter debuts here]], dispensing various [[TakeThat Take Thats]] at other games, the fans who complain about elements which were not included in the game, and even the Developers themselves.
* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: Pretty much the entire main quest of ''Tribunal'', particularly the part where you must [[spoiler: create ashstorms in Mournhold for Almalexia]].
* SuicidalOverconfidence: ''ALL'' followers and escorts. That withered old pilgrim who begged you to escort her to a shrine won't hesitate to charge a ''giant atronach made of fire'' with fists swinging.
* SummonMagic: Falls under the "Conjuration" school of magic and has two forms. One is to summon a create from elsewhere (like a plane of Oblivion) and have it appear in front of you, under your control, for a fixed duration of time. The second is to summon an object, like a weapon or piece of armor, that you can then use and equip for a fixed duration of time.
* SuperheroTrophyShelf: Inevitably, you'll pile up more artifacts, legendary weapons, and general questing treasures than you can actually use. Whether you build a stronghold or just take over a place to call home, you can easily display them there. Several mods exist specifically to aid in this process, such as being able to hang items on walls or rotate them stand up/lay in different directions.
* SuperPersistentPredator: It is possible to lose most enemies in the game after they've been aggro'd, typically by using the terrain to your advantage. However, Cliff Racers, with their ability to fly, are very difficult to lose.
* SureLetsGoWithThat: Any dealings you have with Mistress Therana. The other Telvanni councilors note that "she hasn't aged well," and getting anything out of her requires you to play along with whatever insane story she is telling at the moment.
* SurpassedTheTeacher: Once you've surpassed the skill level of a NPC offering training services in that skill, they will tell you that there is nothing more they can teach you in that skill.
* SwampsAreEvil: The Bitter Coast is a swampy quagmire dotted with smuggler dens and bandit caves.
* SwordAlmighty: There are two options clearly designed to be the game's top weapons, both swords: the one-handed EasterEgg upgrade for Goldbrand called Eltonbrand, and the two-handed "Paladin's Blade" Chrysamere. In practice, however, there are other weapons which can surpass those two (such as Sunder or the Black Hands Dagger) due to their enchantments, faster attacking speed, etc.
* SwordOfDamocles: Vivec invokes this. In the distant past, [[MadGod Sheogorath]] hurled a rogue moon at Vivec's newly build {{Egopolis}}. Vivec froze it in place above the city, saving the city, but now uses the moon as one of these. He told his followers that the moon is held in place by their love for him, and if they should ever stop loving him, it would fall. [[spoiler: Due in no small part to the player's actions in this game, Vivec disappears early in the 4th era. After some futile attempts to keep the moon in place fail, it falls, with [[EarthShatteringKaboom province-wrecking results]].]]
* SwordOfPlotAdvancement:
** The main quest tasks you with acquiring the Tools of Kagrenac, which are in actuality the blunt-weapon hammer Sunder and the dagger Keening. [[spoiler: In a twist, you don't need to use them on Dagoth Ur himself to win. You must strike the Heart of Lorkhand, source of his (and the Tribunal's) power with the tools]].
** Towards the end of the Imperial Legion questline, you'll be tasked with finding the "Paladin's Blade" Chrysamere. It's the most powerful two-handed sword in the game.
** ''Tribunal'' has you reforge True Flame, the FlamingSword of the original Nerevar, as part of the main quest. It's actually a high quality weapon, and is even more useful in ''Bloodmoon'' thanks to it's fire enchantment taking down the many fire-weak enemies there.
* TheSyndicate: The Camonna Tong.
* TacticalDoorUse: Enemies cannot travel through doors between cells, so it is a perfectly reasonable strategy to flee through doors to regroup and recover. Enemies can, however, travel through standard doors which do not lead to new cells. This can still be solved with the use of a Lock spell.
* TakeAThirdOption: The [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Yagrum_Bagarn_and_Wraithguard "Backpath" method]] to beating the main quest allows you to get around many time consuming quests and allows you to take out both sides of the BlackAndGrayMorality main quest. [[BraggingRightsReward (It is very, very difficult to pull off.)]]
** If the player feels bold enough, it is possible to beat the game without using either the 'Backpath' or the main method, provided that their character has accumulated enough health and/or regeneration to ignore the large amounts of health they'll be haemorrhaging from [[spoiler: using Sunder and Keening without first equipping the Wraithguard.]] Needless to say, [[SelfImposedChallenge this way is even more difficult]], but cements the player character as pretty much the biggest BadassNormal ever.
* TakeThatAudience / TakeThatUs: [[EasterEgg M'aiq the Liar]] can be found on a remote island and his conversation options include several examples of each trope.
* TalkativeLoon: Mistress Therena, a councilor of House Telvanni, has "not aged well" according to her associates. She's prone to long, rambling, incoherent rants about random stuff from her early years. This can be entertaining, unless you need to get something out of her. (Such as her quest reward of Daedric equipment or [[spoiler: her vote to make you Telvanni Hortator during the main quest]].
* TalkToEveryone: Even recommended within the game itself by numerous [=NPCs=]. It's the best way to uncover quests, get helpful advice, and get information to fill in the deep {{Backstory}}.
* TeaserEquipment: Many shops have a piece or two of late-game level equipment no matter how early you visit them, but you'll almost certainly be unable to afford it at that point. Two good examples in Balmora, likely the second town you'll visit if following the main quest, are Ra'Virr's Demon/Devil weapons (steel weapons enchanted to allow you to temporarily summon much better Daedric weapons) and Meldor's Dreugh Cuirass and Shield (extremely good medium armor.)
* TechnicallyLivingZombie: Corprus victims are still living and, in-fact, are TheAgeless and have IdealIllnessImmunity. As the disease progresses, their [[BodyHorror bodies mutate]] and their mental faculties devolve to animalistic levels, driven to attack those who are not afflicted with the disease. [[spoiler: The Nerevarine is technically one of these, as they still have the disease but get the negative effects cured]].
* TentativeLight: Many of the game's dungeons are dark enough that a light source is required. The torches and lanterns you can use have a finite duration. Spells such as Light and Night Eye are available, but are also temporary unless you enchant them onto an item as a constant effect.
* TeleportInterdiction: [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] uses teleport jamming to stop you from teleporting away from his hall.[[spoiler: Azura]] will also prevent you from teleporting out after [[spoiler: destroying the heart]] until you have a conversation with her. She will use it again after [[spoiler: defeating Almalexia]], forcing you back to Mournhold if you try to use [[spoiler: the Mazed Band]] to go anywhere else.
* TimedMission: The "Race Against the Clock" quest for the East Empire Company in ''Bloodmoon.''
* TimmyInAWell: In ''Bloodmoon'', Lassnr will give you a quest to rescue Tymvaul, who fell down a well.
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: The Bosmer. Males are the shortest people in the game, while females are close to the average height of all races.
* TooAwesomeToUse:
** The Ebony Arrows of Slaying. You can find exactly 5 in a tree stump on Solstheim. They hit for about 5000 damage a pop, enough to kill any opponent in the game (not protected by a reflect spell) many times over.
** The SkeletonKey is a lockpick that will never fail, but only has 50 "uses" before it will be gone. And by the time you get it, your security skill is likely high enough that you don't really need it anyway.
** The scrolls of Icarian Flight can be incredibly useful if used properly, but there are only three of them and no way to get more.
* TrailOfBreadCrumbs: A priest named Jocien Ancois, who was kidnapped by Ashlanders, tore out the pages of his history book, and left a trail for any potential rescuer to follow. Naturally, the PlayerCharacter has to be that rescuer.
* TreasureChestCavity: "Rabinna's Inner Beauty", with Rabinna carrying Moon Sugar inside of her.
* TrespassingHero: You're free to enter just about any house or building you can get into. The only way to get in trouble for it is if you are seen by a guard picking the lock. There are also a few "forbidden" areas which, if you enter before you are supposed to as part of a quest, you will be told to leave. (Vivec's palace is one such example.)
* {{Tuckerization}}: You can find the ashes of two members of the official forums who died before the game shipped. Also, one of the very first characters you meet in the game - the one that helps you choose your class and birthsign and gives you the papers to deliver - is named Socucius Ergalla, which is a screen name that the Lead Designer of the game used online, and the [[http://uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Socucius_Ergalla character]] also looks considerably like [[http://uesp.net/wiki/General:Ken_Rolston him]].
* UndergroundCity: The Dwemer were fond of building these, and their ruins are still standing thousands of years after their disappearance. Some of the larger Daedric ruins with underground portions may also qualify.
* UniqueEnemy: Several. Old Blue Fin (a unique, named Slaughterfish,) [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnThetin a Giant Bull Netch]], The White Guar (and several named pack guars,) The Dreugh Warlord, several named Daedra, several named skeletons and ghosts. Some are important to a plot, but not all.
* TheUnreveal: What happened to the Dwemer? Who killed Nerevar? Despite speaking with three of the people who were there for the actual events and one who understood a great deal about the first, it's still unclear.
* UnusualEuphemism: "Filthy s'wit!" "Die, fetcher!" "You n'wah!"
* UnwinnableByDesign: Since all [=NPCs=] are mortal, it is entirely possible to kill someone critical to the main plot and thereby prevent you from completing it. The game is decent enough to tell you when you do this so that you can reload a saved game. There is also a "back door" method of defeating the BigBad that requires only one living NPC, but it skips the entire story and is [[GuideDangIt pretty well hidden]]. However, this NPC can die as well. This is also true for other major plotlines, such as those for the Guilds and Factions you can join. (However, you will get no such message there.)
* UnwinnableByMistake: There are technically three ways to beat the main quest of the game. In addition to the two mentioned above, there is a third using the Alchemy exploit to make your character god like and capable of [[spoiler: using the Tools of Kagrenac on the Heart of Lorkhan without the Wraithguard, which will instantly kill any player who doesn't have thousands of constantly regeneration health points]]. However, in all three methods, the tools Keening and Sunder are required to beat the game. If you misplace them, say but placing them on a corpse that then disappears, you can make the game truly unwinnable.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Dagoth Ur. You too, depending on your interpretation of Azura's intentions. You again in Tribunal, but the king is asking for you to go along with it.]]
* UrbanSegregation: Most of the game's larger cities have this going on. It's subtle in places like Balmora and Ald-Ruhn, but more clear in Vivec's cantons. (Plaza > Waistworks > Canalworks > Sewers) In fact, in Vivec, outlanders are typically restricted to the Foreign Quarter only.
* UselessUsefulSpell:
** Spells that cure paralysis on self. Sounds like it might come in handy, right? Too bad you can't cast spells when you're paralyzed. (However, buying any spell allows you to use it as an enchant effect, thus allowing you to create clothing that cures paralysis on equip.)
** The Blind spell, when used against the player, darkens the screen by a percentage based on the strength of the spell for the spell's duration. The spell does nothing when used against [=NPCs=], however.
* UtilityMagic: Many of the Alteration class of spells. Levitation, opening locks, increasing the amount of weight you can carry, etc. The teleportation spells offered by the school of Mysticism also have some extremely utilitarian uses. (Zapping out of danger, allowing you to move while over-encumbered, etc.)
* ViolationOfCommonSense: One Tribunal Temple quest requires that you ''drown yourself.'' (You'll be just fine, however, as it was a test of faith.)
* TheVirus: Corprus Disease (which will either turn you into an EldritchAbomination or a zombie depending on your personality), the Blight (which kills plants, drives animals insane, causes health problems in humanoids, and can carry corprus), as well as some more mundane illnesses ("Swamp Fever," "Jitters," et cetera).
* VoluntaryVassal: A plot important part of the backstory occurred when Vivec (having recently lost two of the tools Kagrenac to Dagoth Ur and thus, the ability for the Tribunal to recharge their divinity,) negotiated this status with Tiber Septim when Septim's forces threatened to invade. Vivec also offered the Numidium in trade, allowing Morrowind to keep many of its pre-Imperial privileges (including slavery, which was illegal elsewhere in the Empire).
* WakeUpCallBoss: Snowy Granius is a [[MagicKnight battlemage]] who hangs out on the bridge to [[NoobCave Arkngthand]]. He's wearing a heavy armor cuirass, wielding an axe, will likely summon a skeleton when he sees you, and knows several other damaging spells as well. For a player who has stuck to the main quest, this will likely be his or her first real challenge, and may even be the first non-critter the player has fought.
* WalletOfHolding: With all of that MoneyForNothing, most players will quickly amass hundreds of thousands of gold and there is no penalty for carrying it all around with you.
* WarmupBoss: Boss Crito in Arkngthand. He is found at the end of the dungeon for the first quest given as part of the main quest line and is a bit stronger than his Mooks throughout the rest of the dungeon. He even has "Boss" in his name.
* WarpWhistle: The spells "Divine Intervention" and "Almsivi Intervention" will teleport you to the nearest Imperial shrine/Tribunal temple, respectively. The Mark and Recall spells are similar, allowing you to set a "Mark" and then "Recall" to that spot. Useful for traveling long distances when no fast travel is available, getting out of a sticky situation in a hurry, or for transporting more loot than you could carry on foot.
* WasOnceAMan: The Dagoth/Ash creatures.
* WeBuyAnything: Mostly averted, as the majority of shops only buy and sell in one type of product. There are a few general traders and pawnbrokers who will buy and sell in nearly anything, but they often have significantly less gold to barter with.
* WeirdMoon: The twin moons Masser and Secunda, as per series tradition (see AlienSky above for more details.) Also, Baar Dau, a rogue moon hurled by Sheogorath at Vivec city. It was stopped by Vivec above the city, and is kept suspended there by his people's love for him. Eventually, it was hollowed out and converted into the Ministry of Truth.
* WeirdWeather: The island of Vvardenfell is regularly covered in ashstorms, when the wind picks up the soot and dust from the Red Mountain volcano in the middle of the island. However, until the main quest of the game is resolved, the normal ashstorms are replaced with "blightstorms"--ashstorms that additionally infect everyone caught out in the open when they are hit with ThePlague.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Dagoth Ur just wants to make Morrowind independent from the Empire. The fact that his method of achieving that independence involves spreading a disease that either drives the victim to homicidal madness or [[BodyHorror horrifically mutates them]] throughout the ''entire world'' is acceptable in his mind.
** Although if he had succeeded with his ''ultimate'' goal, [[spoiler: he would have turned the entirety of the universe/multiverse into nothing more than an extension of his own mind]]. The collective inhabitants of reality dodged a bullet there.
* WhenItAllBegan: [[TheRashomon Nerevar's death]] following the Battle of Red Mountain some 4000 years prior to the events of the game. All of the events of the game's main quest (and the Tribunal main quest) can be traced back to that time.
* WhisperingGhosts: These can be heard around the ash pits in Tribunal temples and ancestral tombs.
* WideOpenSandbox: As per ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' tradition. It's actually the smallest game in the series in terms of square footage. Makes up for it by being entirely hand built, unlike the other games in the series which rely on many randomly generated portions to fill out the larger area.
* WithThisHerring: Sheogarath's Quest. If you manage to find the shrine of the slightly-mad demigod, he gives you a quest to kill a giant bull-netch (a stingless flying jellyfish the natives use for livestock) with "The Fork Of Horripilation." Okay, you might think to yourself, there's tridents and pitchforks in the game, no big deal. But no, after schlepping all the way to the other side of the island, you find that the Fork is really... a serving fork that does 1-2 damage. So you end up chasing a big, harmless, living zeppelin. With a fork.
* WizardsLiveLonger: All of the Telvanni councilors are implied to be extremely old by way of magic. Special mention Divayth Fyr, who at around age 4000, is said to be one of the oldest non-divine beings in Tamriel.
* WorldDomination: Dagoth Ur seeks it. [[spoiler:Almalexia seeks merely Nation Domination, at least for the moment.]]
* [[spoiler: YouAreTheTranslatedForeignWord: You're the Nerevarine!]]
* YourMom: One of the NPC reactions to a failed taunt is, "No, I believe that was your mother."
* ZipMode: in the form of large insects, boats, and Mage Guild teleporters, to replace fast travel that's been around since ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: M-R]]
* MacGuffinDeliveryService: A rare {{Justified}} example. The Nerevarine brings the Wraithguard, a magical gauntlet required to handle the tools of Kagrenac, to Dagoth Ur's lair in order to sever his (and the Tribunal's) ties the Heart of Lorkhan which is housed there. If the player were to be slain, Dagoth Ur would then have all the tools necessary to tap into the heart once again, allowing him to activate Akhulakhan and possibly take over the world. [[spoiler: It's justified, however, because the tools are required to unbind the heart and actually kill Dagoth Ur]].
* {{Machinima}}: There are a couple out there, most notably ReynaldoTheAssassin.
* MadGod:
** Dagoth Ur is explicitly stated to be one by Vivec. However, you won't see that side in your interactions with him until [[spoiler: you attack the Heart of Lorkhan, the source of his powers]].
** Series staple Sheogorath offers a quest where you need to slay a giant bull netch with a cursed dinner fork.
* MadScientist: Many wizards fill this role. Kagrenac in the {{Backstory}} who figures out how to tap into the Heart of Lorkhan originally. Dagoth Ur and Sotha Sil then figure out how to do it as well. Pretty much all of the Telvanni, even the faction's lone ReasonableAuthorityFigure, conduct experiments which extend their lifespans and enjoy summoning Daedra as guards and test subjects. Even Divayth Fyr's [[spoiler: cure for corprus]] fails on every test subject [[spoiler: other than the player.]]
* MageTower: The Telvanni wizards usually live in giant magically grown mushroom towers. These towers generally lack stairs to the upper levels where the wizards themselves live, as they simply use levitation magic to get where they want to go. (And anyone who can't use magic probably isn't worth talking to.)
* MagicIsMental: All of the magical skills are tied to either the Intelligence or Willpower attributes. (Illusion is tied to Personality instead, but that can still qualify as a "mental" attribute.) The Mages Guild also essentially doubles as the guild for scholars.
* MagicMisfire: At lower skill levels, it is possible to fail when casting spells. The result is the magical "whoosh" of the spell being cast, but no effect taking place. A pop-up message will then appear alerting you that you've failed to cast the spell.
* MagicStaff: Staves considered a variety of two-handed Blunt Weapon. Actually striking opponents with them should be a last resort, as they are not particularly strong weapons, but they are ''highly'' enchantable, with the Ebony Staff having the highest potential for enchantment out of any weapon in the game.
* MagicTool: Repair hammers of various quality can be found in the game and can be used to fix any type of weapon or armor. (With the success rate and condition improvement based on your Armorer skill.)
* {{Magitek}}: Dwemer technology seems to be about half SteamPunk and half magical enchantments.
* TheMagocracy: The lands ruled by House Telvanni. The Councilors tend to be [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld millennia old]] [[EvilSorcerer Evil Sorcerers]] who've risen to the top via MightMakesRight and KlingonPromotion.
* MalevolentArchitecture:
** Largely averted in the main game. You can explore dozens of caves, ruins, and the like with the only threats being any inhabitants themselves.
** Played straight with Sotha Sil's Clockwork City in ''Tribunal''. There are numerous deathtraps which can kill you quickly. This is at least party justified by the Clockwork City only having one real inhabitant, who is both a recluse and (being both a [[PhysicalGod god]] and the creator of the City) in control of its functions, including the traps.
* {{Mana}}: "Magicka" in the Elder Scrolls series.
* MarkedChange:
** After the Tribunal went against the will of Azura and used the Tools of Kagrenac on the Heart of Lorkhan, she either cursed the formerly gold-skinned Chimer people with the dark skin and red eyes of the modern Dunmer, or pointed out that the Tribunal had done it while using the tools. (The details are rather [[TheRashomon sketchy]] at best.)
** The physical forms of the Tribunal all changed as well after using the tools to achieve godhood. Almalexia kept her Chimer form, becoming even more beautiful and adding all sorts of adornments to her form. Vivec became half-Chimer/half-Dunmer, split right down the middle, which went along well with his mythic status as a hermaphrodite "trickster," and added a "flame" to his bald head. Sotha Sil meanwhile adopted the basic form of a Dunmer.
** When Almalexia [[spoiler: finally snaps and reveals her FaceHeelTurn to the Nerevarine, she appears with her terrifying battle mask]].
* MasterConsole: One is present, with a long list of codes ranging from the game-breaking ones like god mode to minor ones which can help fix broken quests and the like.
* MasterOfNone: The Medium Armor skill. It is severely lacking in high end complete sets compared to Light and Heavy armors, and only has one piece of "artifact" equipment in its class (the Ebony Mail) compared to the multiple pieces for Light and Heavy. Additionally, wearing one of the best Medium armor sets (Indoril) will make Ordinators (to whom that armor is sacred) try to kill on sight for the rest of the game. An attempt is made in ''Tribunal'' to avert this with Adamantium armor, but the ore is so rare and armor so expensive to have made that few players bother.
* MasterOfUnlocking: The player can use lockpicks to open locked doors and containers. The player's Security skill combined with the quality of lockpick is used to determine the success rate. If your skill level is too low, it will be impossible to pick locks with much higher levels. Also available is the "Open" spell, which will automatically unlock any door or container at or below the level of the spell. (It does not, however, disarm trapped locks.)
* MasterPoisoner: King Hlaalu Helseth is reputed to be one of the greatest and most subtle poisoners in the world.
* MasterSwordsman: Ulms Drathen,the master trainer of the Long Blade skill, is a Dunmer crusader decked out in Glass armor weilding a Daedric Claymore in Molag Mar.
* MatchMakerQuest:
** One side quest involves a woman who has fallen for the bandit who robbed her, and wants help tracking him down. Surprisingly, it turns out well.
** A ''Tribunal'' side quest, actually called "The Match Maker," has you playing one of these for a young Dunmer woman who is too busy with work to find a husband. You can find 3 men to set her up on a date with. Whether the date is successful or not is up to a random chance; you can give each of the men advice which increases the odds of success, but never above 67%. If successful, one man gives you nothing as a reward, the other gives you an enchanted belt, and the third gives you the artifact weapon "the Bi-Polar Blade."
* MaximumHPReduction: If you are using the "[[TakeAThirdOption backpath]]" method to beat the main quest, this will happen to you when [[spoiler: you equip the jury-rigged Wraithguard for the first time to the effect of about 200 maximum health, permanently]]. If it doesn't kill you outright, it can leave you with the equivalent maximum health of a low-leveled character at a stage in the game where you should rightfully have hundreds.
* MeaningfulName: As the main quest progresses, several [=NPCs=], mainly Dunmer, become {{Brainwashed}} by Dagoth Ur and his boys. The term used for these people? Sleepers.
* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: Averted. ''Morrowind'' in easily the most abstract game in terms of setting in the series to date. While some of the Imperial settlements still invoke this trope, the native settlements (such as the Telvanni mushroom cities and Redoran hollowed-out giant crab shell cities) and the landscape itself (ranging from mucky marshlands to LethalLavaLand) are incredibly alien. It is also interesting as it's the only game in the series (besides ''Arena'', in which every province is visited) that takes place in an Elven homeland. Particularly the Dunmer, who have more basis in the ancient Near East with some Biblical Hebrew/Israelite influences. (Led to Morrowind by the Moses/Abraham hybrid prophet Veloth, who are struggling for independence during occupation by a powerful foreign empire and who practice a comparatively unusual religion for the setting.)
* MegaCorp:
** House Hlaalu is the fantasy equivalent, being focused on mercantilism and trade (along with all of the corporate espionage and backstabbing that usually entails.)
** The East Empire Company resembles an early modern version. They dominate inter-provincial trade in the Empire and have become quite wealthy (and sometimes unscrupulous) as a result. You can join them in ''Bloodmoon''.
* MenuTimeLockout: Bringing up the menu essentially freezes the game world. It is useful in a fight, allowing you to change armor, change clothing items, ready spells or enchantments, and drink/eat any potions or food you want. The only thing you can't do is change your weapon mid-swing.
* MergingTheBranches: ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall'' had seven mutually exclusive endings, but ''Morrowind'' revealed that all of them (except for one) took place at the same time [[JustifiedTrope due to a rare cosmic event called]] [[TimeCrash the Dragon Break]]. (No relation to [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim the Dragonborn]].)
* MetaphoricallyTrue: Vivec is a huge fan of statements like this, and uses them liberally in his speech and throughout his writings.
* MethuselahSyndrome: As is standard for ''Elder Scrolls'' series elves, the Mer races have natural lifespans measured in the centuries. (And this is without counting divine beings like the Tribunal or those who have used magic to prolong their lives, like the Telvanni wizards.)
* MightMakesRight: The [[EvilSorcerer Telvanni]] believe it to the point where it's actually part of their doctrine.
--> "If you steal from another Telvanni, but still live, then clearly you deserve whatever you stole. Murdering your opponents by magic or treachery is the traditional way of settling disputes. If you win, then clearly your argument has more merit."
* MightyWhitey: While the races and cultures involved are fictionalized, getting recognized as the Nerevarine of the Ashlander tribes (and, to a lesser extent, the Hortator of the three Great Houses) amounts to this trope, since your character is a hated outlander and an agent of the imperial government that has conquered Morrowind -- especially if your character is not a Dunmer. Even if you are a Dunmer, as an outlander you're seen as a 'cultural' outsider and are treated as such by the people you're trying to get to recognize you.
* MilesGloriosus: There is literally a character called this in Maar Gan. [[SubvertedTrope He doesn't seem to fit the trope, though]].
* MiniBoss: The final area in the main quest and each of the main quests of the expansions features one of these.
** About halfway through Dagoth Ur's Red Mountain citadel, you'll face Dagoth Gilvoth, one of Dagoth Ur's Ash Vampire minions. (The six other Ash Vampires in the game are each the boss of their own stronghold.)
** In ''Tribunal'', near the end of [[spoiler: Sotha Sil's Clockwork City]], you'll have to battle the Imperfect, a giant fabricant which hits hard and comes with [[ShockAndAwe lightning]] attacks.
** In ''Bloodmoon'', you'll face several of these [[spoiler: as your fellow competitors inside Hircine's glacial hunting grounds]].
* MinimalisticCoverArt: Simply the "Imperial Dragon" symbol inside a triangle surrounded by the Daedric letters for A, S, and V representing the members of the Tribunal behind the title of the game.
* MobWar: There is an ongoing conflict between the ruthless, murderous native gangsters in the Camonna Tong and the imperial import Thieves' Guild. While all-out war is not something either side can afford, the conflict is still nasty enough that even the usually violence-averse Guild orders Tong operatives killed.
* TheMole:
** [[spoiler:Sjoring Hard-Heart, leader of the Fighters Guild, is actually a Camonna Tong agent, and two of the sub-leaders are his assistants.]]
** One Mages Guild quest requires you to root out a potential Telvanni spy: [[spoiler:It's Tiram Gadar, Archmage Trebonius's personal assistant]]. A quest for House Hlaalu has you delivering new orders to their spy watching the Redoran: [[spoiler:Bivale Teneran, the high-class tailor in Ald'ruhn]]. And even though one doesn't formally come up in the Thieves Guild questline, you can find a few Thieves Guild members deep undercover at the Camonna Tong HQ, the Dren Plantation.
** ''You'' can temporarily be this -- the Tribunal Temple is a joinable faction, and there is a period in the Main Quest where you work with the Nerevarine Cult (which is persecuted by the Temple) and the Dissident Priests (a dissident faction of the Temple) without that being known to the Temple mainstream (once it becomes known, you can't join or use the Temple's services, but you're not actually expelled). You can't actually ''do'' any Mole-ish things... unless you get to the highest Temple rank (Patriarch -- you're still outranked by the Archcanon and Vivec himself, which is why you can be suspended later on) in time for a specific quest, where you can use that rank to simply walk right into the Temple's high-security prison.
* MoneyForNothing: It really isn't all that difficult to obtain more gold than you could ever reasonably need. A few prime examples:
** Even before leaving the ''character generation area,'' it is possible to steal several valuable items with no repercussions. You can also acquire a key to another area with stuff to steal with this method. It's entirely possible that the only merchant in the starting village won't have enough gold to buy it all from you. (Especially if you return Fargoth's ring in order to get a disposition boost before selling.)
** If you report to Caius Cosades before you reach level 4, he will give 200 free gold.
** Most outdoor crates and urns in cities can be looted without issue. Most contain low end vendor trash, but considering many towns have dozens of these containers (including the 2nd town you are likely to visit, Balmora,) it can really add up for a new player.
** Even with no practice at it at all, you can easily brew potions from the cheaper unlimited-supply ingredients purchased from alchemist vendors, and sell them for more than the ingredients are worth, repeatedly, making arbitrary high amounts of money bounded only by having to occasionally wait for their gold on hand to reset.
** See KleptomaniacHero and DiscOneNuke above for more examples.
* MoneySpider: The OrganDrops / VendorTrash version is in full effect. Hunting creatures and then selling their parts (which are technically alchemical ingredients) is a decent way of making money.
* MonsterLord: Dremora Lords. They have almost twice as much health as a regular Dremora, do a bit more damage, have a stronger magical barrier, and almost always come with a Deadric or Ebony weapon (compared to regular Dremoras, who are more likely to have Dwemer or Dreugh weapons.) And from a distance, they [[BossInMooksClothing look exactly the same.]]
* MookMaker: You'll run into one in [[spoiler: Sotha Sil's Clockwork City]] which continually produces fabricants. Interestingly, you'll need to activate a series of valves on the machine itself in order to escape ''through'' it.
* {{Mooks}}:
** The main games uses Dagoth Ur's various minions in this way (Dreamers, Ash Beasts, Corprus Beasts, lesser Dagoths, etc.)
** ''Tribunal'' uses [[spoiler: Sotha Sil's fabricant creatures, though he's not the one controlling them...]]
** ''Bloodmoon'' has Hircine's werewolves.
* {{Mordor}}: Central Vvardenfell Island. First there's the Ashlands and Molag Amur, which are covered in cursed infertile ash all the time and populated by killer dinosaurs and [[GodDamnBats cliff racers]]. Even there, though, the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Ashlanders]] manage to get by thanks to their sheer badassitude. Then there's the Great Scathes within Molag Amur, which are full of cliff racers and nearly impassable thanks to the jagged terrain and [[LethalLavaLand open rivers of lava.]] But at the center of it all is the {{Mordor}} to end all Mordors, Red Mountain. It is covered in treacherous ruins populated by psychopathic mutants, cliff racers, and demons. The air is constantly thickened by the Blight, a cloud of red dust that causes horrific diseases and impedes movement. Oh, and [[LethalLavaLand it is an active volcano.]] Naturally, this is where the BigBad lives. It's such a nasty place that the Dark Elves had to put up a giant magical fence around it ([[SoylentGreen powered by burning the souls of their own dead]]) to keep all the evil from spilling out and ruining the whole world.
* MorePredatorsThanPrey: The vast majority of wildlife you encounter on Vvardenfell or Solstheim are hostile predators.
* MortalityEnsues: After severing their ties to the heart of Lorkhan, this happens to [[spoiler: the Tribunal and Dagoth Ur. The Tribunal are able to persist with a trace of their divinity in tact, Dagoth Ur [[NoImmortalInertia does not]].]]
* MortonsFork: Gaenor's side quest in ''Tribunal''. If you give him gold, he'll demand more and more until he finally declares you're lying about having that much gold and are trying to mock him with your kindness. If you turn him down at any point, he declares you to be a heartless bastard. (Regardless of if you gave him gold or not, he'll show up a few days later having taken quite a few [[TookALevelInBadass levels in badass]] and wanting to fight you.)
* MrExposition: Subverted in the main quest, as the game gives you several Mr. Exposition type characters (Caius, Azura, Vivec, Dagoth Ur, the Temple giving a different account than Vivec...plus you can do your own research with some in-game texts) all of whom [[TheRashomon contradict eachother]]. There are strong hints that Azura, Vivec, and Dagoth Ur have their own motives for lying (or at least not being entirely truthful) and you're [[TheUnreveal never told outright which one was right]]. A lot is left to personal interpretation.
* MultiplePersuasionModes: While interacting with an NPC, you have several options; Admire (a straight attempt to make someone like the PC more); Intimidate (threaten them, which might or might not work); Taunt (lower disposition and goad them into attacking you first); and Bribe (give them enough money to make them like you). Successful use of any of these (except for Taunt) would raise their disposition score and make them act friendlier.
* MurderInc:
** The Morag Tong, an ancient government-sanctioned assassin's guild, operates in Morrowind. Their traditional role in Dunmer culture is to settle disputes between the Great Houses, before those disputes reach the level of outright war, through the use of legal executions against the offending party. The player can join them, if the player can find their hidden headquarters...
** The Dark Brotherhood is an illegal offshoot of the Morag Tong, who have primarily taken up operations in the rest of Tamriel. They are at open war with the Morag Tong. The ''Tribunal'' expansion kicks off when they come after the player.
* MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual:
** Mournhold features the Museum of Artifacts, which will purchase and display any artifacts [[GottaCatchEmAll collected by the player]].
** Even if one is selling their artifact items to the museum, the player's stronghold will inevitably end up looking like this as it fills with questing treasures. Numerous mods exist which make displaying your questing treasures even easier.
* MusicalSpoiler: The battle music will initiate as soon as you've aggro'd an enemy, even if you haven't actually seen that enemy.
* MysticalPlague: Dagoth Ur's Blight, which spreads via Blight Storms and his minions. It can inflict crippling blight diseases and, most importantly, the Corprus Disease. The Corprus Disease is actually a curse of Dagoth Ur's (essentially divinity channeled from the Heart of Lorkhan) which brings those inflicted under his influence.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: There are several side quests in the game where you can chance upon a Nord wearing no clothing in the wilderness. All of them claim a witch was at fault. Lampshaded in ''Tribunal'', where a naked Nord denies any involvement with a witch and that he was "just hot". The ''player'' can strip, with varying reactions by [=NPCs=] (Dunmer are "not amused", Imperials will laugh and note how you are a first). The "PC is naked" dialogue doesn't differentiate between genders, however, and appears to have been recorded with males in mind. To wit, walking around naked as a female will eventually elicit the phrase "put that away!" from a disgusted NPC. The player will be fine though, as long as they wear at least one piece of clothing. That means if you wear nothing but a belt people will treat you just normally. (Even more hilarious if you just wear a ''ring'' and run around naked.)
* NamedWeapons: Countless examples. Every artifact class weapon has a name, as do numerous "unique" weapons which are generally named and enchanted versions of more common weapons. When enchanting a weapon, the player has the option of renaming it as well.
* NameOrderConfusion: Indoril Nerevar and Dagoth Ur of House Indoril and House Dagoth respectively, also the Ash Vampires are introduced with their last name first. Modern [=NPCs=] are generally presented in a Western style Firstname Lastname format.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Dagoth Ur, and generally anyone else from the Sixth House. Specifically ones with "Dagoth" in the name.
* NarrativeFiligree: Standard for the series. There are exorbitant amounts of items, books, NPC conversations, and just general world details that have nothing to do with any quest or plot, but are simply there to flesh out the rich world of the game.
* NastyParty: One such party can be read about in the in-game book "A Game at Dinner".
* NayTheist: The entire Dwarven/Dwemer race. The aknowledged the existence of Aedra and Daedra but didn't worship them.
* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: One House Redoran quest tasks you with finding a Dwemer artifacts smuggler. In order to complete the quest, you'll need to find a smuggled Dwemer object which is well-hidden on a table with numerous other mundane items.
* NerfArm:
** The Fork of Horripilation, which is a cursed dinner fork and easily the least-damaging weapon in the game.
** The Miner's Pick is a weak and heavy weapon classified as an axe.
* NeverTrustATitle: The Elder Scrolls themselves are never seen in the game, and only mentioned once, as the impetus for the Emperor ordering your release to Morrowind. You also do not get to see the entire province of Morrowind, only one district: the island of Vvardenfell. Finally, it's the 5th game with "Elder Scrolls" in the name, following ''Arena, Daggerfall, Battlespire, and Redguard''.
* NewsTravelsFast: Played with in different instances.
** When you defeat Dagoth Ur, ''everyone'' will immediately know and praise you for your deeds. Of course, the fact that you essentially had to announce your intention of doing so to every major power figure on the island, and that the eternal dust storm over Red Mountain has vanished, make this universal knowledge pretty plausible.
** Subverted in ''Tribunal'' after [[spoiler:you kill Almalexia.]] Virtually no one will believe you, and trying to tell them about it will be met with confusion from non-Dunmer and a big disposition drop from Tribunal Temple faithful.
** Played entirely straight with crimes. You could commit a crime, then teleport instantly to the opposite side of the island, and every guard there will be aware of your bounty.
* [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking It Player]]: Since AnyoneCanDie if you kill them, should you decide to slay an NPC that would in the future become important to the main quest, the game will give you a message telling you that you essentially fucked up the strings of destiny and now must either return to a previous savegame or carry out the remainder of your shameful existence in a doomed universe. A nice aversion of ButThouMust there.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: In ''Tribunal'', Almalexia tasks you with reforging True Flame, the FlamingSword of the original Nerevar, to use against a deranged Sotha Sil. [[spoiler: However, it turns out that ''she'' is the villain, having already killed Sotha Sil, and basically handed the Nerevarine one of the best swords in the game to use against ''her'']].
* NoArcInArchery: Played straight with full powered shots. However, if one fires an arrow without fully drawing the bow back, the arrow will noticeably drop in the air.
* NobleSavage:
** Played with significantly between the various Ashlander tribes. The Ashlanders chose to live nomadic, traditional lives in the barren Ashlands thousands of years ago when the "more civilized" Dunmer chose to adopt the Tribunal as their gods. The Ashlanders proudly keep the oldest Dunmer traditions alive, including their belief in the return of The Nerevarine. [[spoiler: And it turns out they are totally right about that]]. To note:
*** Played straight for the most part by the more peaceful tribes like the Urshilaku, Ahemmusa, and Zainab. During the time of the game, the Ahemmusa don't even have an Ashkhan, instead, giving war powers to their Wise Woman. (They are also, however, considered the weakest of the tribes as a result.) The Urshilaku are generally peaceful, and are the tribe most responsible for keeping the prophesies of the Nerevarine alive. The Zainab are the least 'savage', having developed a Settled Dunmer-like understanding of trade (and the fact that it can have political implications) and even going so far as to run an ebony mine of their own, for sale of the mined ebony to others. Each of these tribes, however, can still be prone to xenophobia against non-Ashlander Dunmer and especially toward any outlanders.
*** The Erabenimsun avert it with their current leadership, which consists of mostly war-like and highly aggressive elders. They're known to raid nearby settlements and kidnap or kill most outlanders on sight. To complete the main quest, you'll need to get them to name you Nerevarine, but the current leadership won't do it. [[spoiler:The Wise Woman concocts a plan to have you kill the warlike leaders and convince the peace-loving son of the former Ashkhan to take up the title]].
*** Rogue Ashlanders absolutely avert it. They attack travelers on sight and generally behave no better than standard bandits.
** Played straight again with the Skaal in ''Bloodmoon''. They are Solstheim's nature-worshiping Nord tribe. They generally prefer to be left alone, but if a respectful outsider comes along, they are willing to communicate and barter.
* NoBulkDiscounts: Played with. While it is played straight for individual transactions, constantly buying from and selling to the same merchant will increase that merchant's disposition towards the player, while also increasing the player's Mercantile skill. Over time, this leads to lower buying prices and higher selling prices.
* NoCampaignForTheWicked:
** While there are a couple of ways to go about completing the main quest, joining [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] is not one of them. It was originally supposed to be, but time limitations during development forced it to be dropped as an option. (A number of [[GameMod Game Mods]] have been created that will allow you to join House Dagoth, however.)
** In every other sense, however, the game doesn't judge. You can be a slave-owning, cannibalistic vampire who murders for the sheer joy of finding out what's in peoples' pockets. It's just that if Dagoth Ur wins, you won't be able to continue that carefree lifestyle.
* NoFourthWall: A few glitches and technical issues from previous ''Elder Scrolls'' games were incorporated into canon this way. For example, there is the "jagged water" glitch which occurs in ''Redguard'' showing up here as a reference in one of Vivec's books.
* NoHeroDiscount: Downplayed in that while you'll still need to pay for items even if you're a world-saving hero, you can use that fact to increase the disposition of shopkeepers, getting you cheaper prices.
* NoImmortalInertia: Played straight with Dagoth Ur, whose physical body vanishes [[spoiler: after you've severed his ties to the Heart of Lorkhan]]. The Tribunal are able to survive this, as Vivec says, thanks to the faith of their followers.
* NoisyRobots: All of the various Dwemer Animunculi make "clanky" metal-on-stone or metal-on-metal sounds as they move. Even when still, they'll make noise by releasing steam.
* NoManOfWomanBorn: The in-game book ''The Hope of the Redoran'' follows this. It tells the story of a Dunmeri noble named Andas, of whom it was prophesied that "his blood shall never be spilled", and that he cannot be killed by magic, illness, or poison. Indeed, the prophecy seems to come true, leading people to call Andas "The Hope Of The Redoran," in accordance with the wording of the prophecy. When he grows up, he lords this over his friends and peers as a sign of his superiority in combat, and it gives him the arrogance to challenge his cousin Athyn to a duel for an important political position. It ends with Athyn beating Andas to death with a quarterstaff, after Athyn's combat instructor gave him the idea. (Up until then, Athyn had been despairing.)
* NominalImportance: Utterly averted. The vast majority of unique {{NPC}}s are all named. What few exceptions exist are the generic guards, vampire cattle, and a few Sixth House enemies like the Dreamers.
* NonindicativeName:
** As per series tradition, the most notable examples are Glass (a very strong mineral as opposed to a brittle substance made by melting quartz; it's a bit like obsidian but harder to shatter) and Ebony (another very strong mineral, as opposed to a tropical tree with black wood). That said, glass does ''look'' a fair bit glass-y, translucence and all (and ebony is rather dark in colour).
** The "Ministry of Truth" is where the Temple suppresses dissent of any kind. Its resemblance to the Ministry of Truth in Literature/NineteenEightyFour probably isn't a coincidence, though its actual function resembles the Ministry of Love more closely. Orwell's Ministry of Truth was devoted to spreading lies and propaganda, not supressing dissent.
** "Ash vampires" are not vampires. In fact, they are not even undead.
* NoobCave:
** Addamasartus, though it doesn't include a tutorial, is found right across a bridge from the starting village. (One NPC even points you towards it if you ask for a "Little Secret.") It has some low level bandits, some slaves to free, and some low end loot. If you're especially thorough in searching the place, you can come away with a decent quality sword for that point in the game and an enchanted ring that is helpful to sneaky characters.
** Arkngthand also fits the bill, as it is the first "dungeon" the player is required to visit as part of the main quest, and isn't particularly difficult - at least, not in the parts you ''have'' to visit; it has "bonus levels".
* NoOneSeesTheBoss: The Tribunal were forced into this after Dagoth Ur cut them off from their source of power. Previously, Vivec and Almalexia walked and worked among their people, offering guidance and performing miracles. Now, they remain almost exclusively in their temples, communicating with only a few high ranking Temple officials and personal guards. (Sotha Sil was always reclusive to begin with.)
* NoSneakAttacks: The ''Tribunal'' expansion kicks off when you are attacked by Dark Brotherhood assassins in your sleep. However, for whatever reason, they wake you up before attacking, giving you a chance to fight back.
* NoStatAtrophy: The only way to permanently lower a statistic is by going to jail, and even then, it is only very slight decreases. Temporary ways exist in the game by means of spells, diseases, and enchantments but are restored after the effect wears off or is cured.
* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: Applies to breaking the rules of the various Guilds and Factions in the game. One of the consistent rules is usually that you're not allowed to steal from or kill other guild members. However, you can do both of these things safely and if you do it without getting caught, you won't be kicked out of the guild. House Telvanni has an interesting twist on theft among members: their philosophy is that, if you steal something from another member of the Telvanni and live to tell about it, you clearly deserve whatever it is you stole.
* NotCompletelyUseless: The scrolls of Icarian Flight (scrolls that allow the player to jump incredible distances, but will kill the player on impact unless they land in deep water, use a 2nd scroll before landing, or cast a slowfall/levitate spell) can actually get you out of an annoying death trap in Sotha Sil. The player has to climb up a spiral staircase in a room while outrunning a spinning blade that moves faster than the player. The usual high-level character approach to this puzzle would be to levitate to the exit; but levitation is not allowed in Sotha Sil, and no practical jump spell that the player would have is capable of getting them all the way to the door. However the scroll of Icarian Flight will allow you to leap all the way to the top of the chamber, crash into the ceiling, and land on the platform right in front of the exit. Another good use for the scrolls is when fast travel is unavailable for whatever reason, such as a Tribunal Temple quest where the player is forced to take an oath of silence before traveling to the complete opposite side of the island. (A trip of several in-game days on foot.) Instead of that hassle, the player can simply use one of the scrolls to leap across the island, crash down in the ocean beyond the shrine (or cast levitate when just above it,) and complete the quest in a fraction of the time.
* NotQuiteFlight: The Levitation spell allows for the "walking through the air" form of flying.
* NotTheIntendedUse: A few examples:
** Abusing the alchemy system to create the game-breaking Intelligence potions described in the [[YMMV/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind YMMV]] section.
** Creating a custom Levitate "on other" spell. The AI for characters and creatures isn't programmed to handle levitation, so it leaves them completely motionless and vulnerable to attack for the duration. Works especially well on flying creatures, as it causes them to fall to the ground and take fall damage in addition.
* NowWhereWasIGoingAgain: The game lacks quest markers and the Journal in the vanilla game can be cumbersome and confusing. The expansions added new features to the Journal, like the ability to sort entries into active and finished quests. This is an incredible boon for keeping track of your goals, and makes level-appropriate progression through multiple factions at once infinitely more practical. This, unfortunately, doesn't help the instances where the directions given are incorrect or when the directions ''are'' correct, but were recorded incorrectly in the Journal.
* NumericalHard: The game has a difficultly slider. Set at easiest, all your attacks do 6 times their normal damage and enemies do 1/6th their normal amount. Set at its hardest, those numbers are reversed. Nothing else is changed.
* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Kicking the Empire out of Morrowind is an open part of Dagoth Ur's plan. This sentiment is actually shared by quite a few other groups, ranging from the ruthless gangster Camonna Tong to even honorable groups like House Redoran. It's just that those groups lack the resources to actually drive the Empire out, while Dagoth Ur certainly would if he gets his hands on all of the Tools of Kagrenac.
* OffTheRails: You can easily break the main quest by killing one of dozens of essential [=NPCs=]. The game does warn you if you've done this and encourages you to restore a saved file from before. There is also the "[[TakeAThirdOption backpath]]" method to beating the main quest, where only one NPC is truly essential ([[spoiler: Yagrum Bagarn]],) but is much more difficult to complete. Even if that is rendered impossible, one can use the Alchemy exploit to give yourself god-like levels of power and [[spoiler: use the Tools of Kagrenac without Wraithguard to unbind the Heart of Lorkhan, which is normally instant death for the player]].
* OhMyGods: Aside from ''Elder Scrolls'' standard expressions like "By the Nine," there is the Dunmeri "B'Vehk," which is a contraction of "By Vivec!"
* OlderIsBetter: Ancient Dwemer gear is better than most modern armors. Justified throughout the series, as you find out the Dwemer were fanatics about building stuff to last for a VERY long time, up to and including ''bending the laws of nature'' to preserve their creations.
* OmnicidalNeutral:
** The [[TakeAThirdOption "Backpath"]] method to beating the main quest allows the player to become one. Instead of becoming the [[BecauseDestinySaysSo becoming the hero you are supposed to be]], you can say ScrewDestiny and [[spoiler: kill [[PhysicalGod Vivec]], steal the Wraithguard, have [[TheLastOfHisKind Yagrum Bagarn]] "jury rig" it so you can wear it, acquire Keening and Sunder, and destroy the Heart of Lorkhan yourself.]] The only "side" still standing at that point is Azura.
** Even if you "properly" beat the main quest, nothing stops you from [[spoiler: killing Vivec]]. You still get the usual message about tampering with destiny, but there are no real consequences - his part in 'destiny' has already been played. [[spoiler: And you acquire the second, backpath version of Wraithguard]]. Not to mention some satisfaction.
* OnceIsNotEnough: Spriggans in ''Bloodmoon'' need to be killed three times before they'll stay dead. (This holds true even if you soul trap their first form.)
* OncePerEpisode: Like most of the other games in the series, you start off here as a prisoner.
* OneRiotOneRanger:
** The PlayerCharacter, in order to fulfill the Nerevarine Prophesy, needs to be named the "Hortator" of the three Dunmeri Great Houses with holdings on Vvardenfell. A Hortator is a traditional Dunmer war-leader, implied to typically lead entire armies into battle. However, circumstances are such here that the Nerevarine will need to go by his/herself into Red Mountain to face Dagoth Ur. [[spoiler: Primarily, because he/she has been rendered immune to all disease (another requirement to meet the prophecy) while anyone he/she could bring along would risk catching a Blight disease, or worse, the Corprus Disease.]]
** The Buoyant Armigers are the Tribunal Temple's elite special forces, generally hand-picked by Vivec himself. In the few instances we get to see or hear about them in action in the game, they almost exclusively work alone. One exception is a Fighter's Guild quest which has you aid a new Buoyant Armiger in clearing out a necromancer's den.
* OneGenderRace: For the lesser Daedra, Dremora are always male while Golden Saints and Winged Twilights are always female.
* OneStatToRuleThemAll: Endurance. Considering that it determines your starting health, as well as your health gain per level, it is a critically important attribute for all character builds. Making Endurance one of your favored attributes during character creation is highly encouraged.
* OneSizeFitsAll:
** Played straight for the non-beast races. You can loot a piece of armor off an Orc or Nord, then equip it to your Bosmer and it will fit perfectly.
** Beast races avert it for closed helmets and boots. Because of their elongated faces and unusual feet, [[LizardFolk Argonians]] and [[CatFolk Khajiit]] cannot wear them.
* OneTrueFaith: Averted and Subverted in different instances. To elaborate:
** Averted in general. The game features both the Imperial Cult, the religion of the majority of Tamriel, and the Tribunal Temple, the religion of the Dunmer people who worship the [[PhysicalGod Tribunal]]. The friction between these factions (as part of the armistice to end their war, the Dunmer had to allow worship of the Nine Divines but could keep their own Tribunal worship as well,) is a plot point.
** Also Averted when the Ashlanders are considered. They practice ancestor worship (which is still part of Tribunal Temple doctrine, though to a lesser extent,) and also, to a degree, worship (or at least respect) the Daedra. (Particularly Azura, Boethia, Mephala, Sheogorath, Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, and Malacath.) Again, the Daedra are acknowledged by the Tribunal Temple, but are considered subservient to the Tribunal.
** Then Subverted ''within'' the Tribunal Temple. While they present themselves in this fashion and attempt to suppress all dissent, the Dissident Priests and Nerevarine Cult have split off from the mainstream Tribunal worship. When talking to Vivec, he'll reveal that the Temple isn't entirely right, and that the others aren't completely wrong.
** Finally, in ''Bloodmoon'', it's revealed that the Skaal worship the "All Maker," with their own set of beliefs and rituals which include significant nature worship.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Like the protagonists of the other games in the series, the PlayerCharacter will only ever be referred to as "the Nerevarine" in future games.
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: The Moon-And-Star ring is said to be blessed by Azura to kill anyone trying to wear it other than Nerevar. [[spoiler: Whether this is for real or a story made up to scare off pretenders is never discovered.]]
* OpeningTheSandbox: You're free to do what you and go where you want immediately after character generation.
* OppositeSexClone: Divayth Fyr has created four of them, who are interchangeably referred to as his wives and daughters.
* OracularHead: One side quest in ''Bloodmoon'' has a man sending you to rescue his friend, who is an oracle. [[spoiler: It turns out his "friend" is really a skull]].
* OrbitalShot: Happens when you allow the game to go idle, with the camera slowly circling your character.
* OrganDrops: Plenty. Beyond the standard critter parts (rat meat, hound meat, various hides, racer plumes slaugherfish scales) we have parts from more humanoid creatures (Daedra hearts, dreugh wax, scamp skin, corprus meat...)
* OrganicTechnology:
** The Telvanni magically grow wizard towers which are combination MageTower and FungusHumongous.
** Players can employ Silt Striders: gigantic, domesticated arthropods that are used to rapidly travel from city to city in the game world. The striders essentially appear akin to enormous fleas. The striders have portions of their shell removed from their back so that the driver, or 'caravaner', can poke at the sensitive flesh underneath to goad the strider in the desired direction. Their shells are further carved or modified to hold cargo or passengers, based on need.
* OurGodsAreDifferent: The Dunmer worship the Tribunal, a trio of [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]] who obtained their divinity by using Dwemer tools on the heart of a dead god.
* OurMonstersAreWeird:
** Fitting nicely with the game's alien setting, Vvardenfell's wildlife is mostly unique with very few real-life analogues.
** In addition to the series standards like the various forms of undead and lesser Daedra, the Sixth House enemies have a very weird and "other" feel.
* OurOrcsAreDifferent: While ''Daggerfall'' began the transition from Tolkein-style Orcs, ''Morrowind'' is the first game where Orcs are are a playable race, having moved firmly to Blizzard-style Orcs.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Lycanthropy in ''Bloodmoon'' is an infection disease which causes the victim to transform every night. While transformed, the victim must kill a NPC or else they will be severely weakened upon returning to a humanoid form.
* OurWightsAreDifferent: Another in-universe name for Dagoth Ur's Ash Vampires are "Heartwights." This is doubly more fitting since they, like Dagoth Ur, are bound to the Heart of Lorkhan and are not vampire-like in the least.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent:
** TheUndead - What the rest of Tamriel refers to as zombies, the Dunmer traditionally refer to as "Bonewalkers." They come in Lesser, Standard, and Greater varieties. They are summoned by Temple faithful to protect their Ancestral Tombs, which is considered to be different than blasphemous necromancy.
** PlagueZombie - Those inflicted with the Corprus Disease fit under this category. They have nasty cases of BodyHorror and their mental faculties degrade over time.
** Draugr are another [[TheUndead undead]] variant which appear in ''Bloodmoon'' as preserved, re-animated corpses of ancient Nords who have been in some way cursed.
* OxygenMeter: One appears whenever you go underwater. Once it runs out, your health will drain at a steady rate until you surface.
* PainfullySlowProjectile: Projectile weapons travel slowly enough that dodging them is a real possibility. Projectile spells travel even slower, to the point where battling an enemy mage is best done by dodging his attacks until he runs out of Magicka before closing in to kill him.
* PamphletShelf: Averted. Every book shown is readable, and books often just contain backstory and lore sometimes not even related to the particular games' storyline. Other times, they contain [[InGameNovel full-fledged short stories]]. Even the [[RareCandy skill books]] include stories relevant to that skill, rather than just increasing the skill. (They do cheat a bit by frequently padding the shelves with multiple copies of the same book, as is the case in almost every bookseller shop and library in the game.)
* PardonMyKlingon: Dunmer are fond of this, typically using the examples seen under FantasticSlur above.
* PauseScumming: You can enter the game menu, which pauses the game, at any time. In this menu, you can drink an unlimited number of potions or change armor in the nick of time, even in the middle of combat.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: You are free to kill bandits, smugglers, cultists, and the like to your heart's content. The shopkeeper in the starting village even recommends it as a way to improve your skills. He does note, however, that if you try it on innocent townsfolk, it will be considered murder. It can be taken even further since you can taunt [=NPCs=] into attacking you, which makes killing them legal since they technically struck the first blow.
* PenultimateWeapon: While the weapons listed under InfinityPlusOneSword and InfinityMinusOneSword are all among the best in the game, they can be beaten using a Daedric weapon you've custom enchanted yourself with a powerful soul. (The single most damaging weapon in the game would be a Daedric Battle Axe custom enchanted with a Damage Health spell, using [[spoiler:Almalexia's]] soul trapped in Azura's Star for the maximum number of blows before being drained.)
* PettingZooPeople: The series standard LizardFolk Argonians and CatFolk Khajiit.
* PhlebotinumHandlingEquipment: You must be wearing Wraithguard in order to handle Keening and Sunder without dying instantly. And in order to even ''wear'' Wraithguard, you must [[spoiler: sacrifice a large portion of your health, ''permanently.'' If acquired the "standard" way, through Vivec, he will take you "outside of time and space" so that it doesn't harm you.]]
* PhysicalGod: Loads of them. Special props to the Tribunal and [[spoiler:Dagoth Ur]], who used to be mortal.
* PixelHunt:
** The first mission of the main quest sends you to a bandit-infested Dwemer ruin to search for a particular Dwemer Cube. The cube is small, dull in color, and sits on the corner of a bottom shelf in a dimly lit room, which makes missing it very easy.
** One side quest asks you to retrieve a ring that has been dropped into a small body of water. It can be tricky to spot even under good light conditions, so good luck if you happen upon this quest at night or during a rain storm.
** On the Odai Plateau, there is an Ebony Shortsword available which has clipped through some boulders and is only barely visible.
** The only Daedric Right Pauldron available in the game (without killing Divayth Fyr) is found in the Castle Karstaag tower, barely visible in an ice crevice.
* {{Plaguemaster}}: Dagoth Ur uses his magically-achieved godhood to spread Corprus Disease across the island of Vvardenfell via blight storms and infected wildlife. If the disease is left unchecked, it horribly disfigures and kills its victims, but if he uses his power to direct the disease, the disfigurations make the infected into powerful, mindless servants to help him.
* PlayableEpilogue: The game never really ends until you get tired of exploring.
* PlayerCharacterCalculus: The "Lone Gunman" variety. At times, you may be tasked with escorting an NPC character, but their ArtificialStupidity rarely makes it worth having them around.
* PlayerHeadquarters: Several become available as you advance through the game.
** One early side quest in [[FirstTown Seyda Neen]] has you track down the murderer of a local tax collector. When you find the murderer, you may choose to execute him for his crimes. If you do, you can use his shack as your home while in the area. It contains a hammock for sleeping and a few containers for storage.
** After a certain point in the main quest, [[spoiler: Caius Cosades]] is recalled to the Imperial City. He lets you have his small Balmora house to use as you see fit. It contains a bed for sleeping and several storage containers.
** In order to complete the quest lines for the three Great Houses, you'll need to build yourself a stronghold. After getting the construction contract, paying for the construction, and taking on a few quests to eliminate obstacles to construction, you are free to move into your new manor. Additional quests build up the area around your house, turning it into a small town complete with at least one trader.
** Upon completing the East Empire Company questline in ''Bloodmoon'', you are rewarded with the Factor's Estate. It is a massive mansion in Raven Rock, the mining town you personally helped to grow from nothing.
* PlayerPersonalityQuiz: An optional one appears during character generation. You can choose a different class that the one that is recommended for you based on the quiz , or just skip it altogether and manually select/create a class.
* PlayerTic: Jumping everywhere as you run seems to be common among players. At low levels, it takes so long by this method that it is much more of a tic than a real practice. However, doing so increases your Acrobatics skill, and once that is sufficiently high, it becomes the fastest way to travel on foot.
* PlayingDrunk: Caius Cosades claims to be addicted to Moon Sugar (and its refined variant, Skooma). Given that he is: a) the Imperial Spymaster, b) said to hold his "liquor" fairly well, and c) implied to have killed people who have underestimated him, it can be assumed it is an act.
* PlayingWithFire: Fire spells are one of the three main varieties of Destruction magic. However, it is the least useful of them as 75% of the [=NPCs=] in the game are the fire-resistant Dunmer.
* PlotArmor: Averted with [=NPCs=]. You can kill anyone in the game if you so choose and are strong enough to do so. For most plot-important characters, you will get pop-up text stating that you've doomed the world and recommending that you load a saved game after you've killed them, but that is all. (And some plot-important [=NPCs=] do not give this message.)
* PlotCouponThatDoesSomething:
** The Moon-And-Star ring [[spoiler: given to you by Azura in recognition of your status as the Nerevarine]] also mildly boosts your Personality attribute and Speechcraft skill. It's a good item to wear when you need to persuade a NPC.
** The tools of Kagrenac (Wraithguard, Keening, and Sunder) are a gauntlet, dagger, and hammer respectively needed to [[spoiler: tap into and/or sever the enchantments on the Heart of Lorkhan]]. However, each is also one of the best pieces of equipment in it's class available in the game.
** In the Morag Tong questline, you'll be tasked with recovering all of the "Threads of the Webspinner," special enchanted items of clothing and jewelry which increase one skill in particular. It's recommended that if you find one you like, save it and turn it in at the end.
* PlotDetour: At several points in the early main quest, Caius will recommend that the player go off and do side quests in order to keep up his/her public identity as a freelance adventurer, and also to gain money and experience.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: The main quest is kicked off some 4000 years prior to the time the game takes place with the death of Lord Indoril Nerevar. His death, the subsequent events of Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal using the Heart of Lorkhan to obtain divinity, and his prophesied {{Reincarnation}} are the driving force behind the game's plot.
* PointOfNoReturn:
** Averted with the main quest. In fact, it is even recommended that you make several forays into Red Mountain, clearing out and looting the Ash Vampire citadels first, then returning to heal. It isn't until you [[spoiler: are in the Heart Chamber with Dagoth Ur himself that you must defeat him to leave]].
** ''Tribunal'' has the "Polite" version. [[spoiler: Almalexia tells you that she is sending you to Sotha Sil's Clockwork City, and that there is no way to return until he is defeated]]. She recommends that you prepare yourself accordingly.
** ''Bloodmoon'' has the "Nasty" version. [[spoiler: After completing a certain quest, you'll be kidnapped by werewolves the next time you sleep and taken into the glacier for Hircine's "wild hunt."]] If you don't have the supplies necessary to survive on you, it is strongly recommended that you reload a save from before, if you have one.
* PoisonIsCorrosive: The spell "Acid Splash" and the like count as a variety of Poison when it comes to calculating resistances.
* PortalNetwork:
** The Mages Guild runs a "Guild Guide" service, where you can be teleported instantly from any Mages Guild base to any of the other Mages Guild bases.
** The ring of ancient Chimeri fortresses around Vvardenfell has "Propylon Chambers," which can teleport you to either of the neighboring fortresses if you have the proper Propylon Index. The remoteness of the fortresses makes this method of travel rather inefficient. (Still, they have their uses, such as the Tribunal Temple quest which requires you to travel across the island after taking a vow of silence, or to quickly travel as a Vampire where the other fast travel options are unavailable.)
* {{Portmanteau}}: "Almsivi" is one of the names for the Tribunal, which is made up of '''Alm'''alexia, Sotha '''Si'''l, and '''Vi'''vec.
* PortTown: Vvardenfell being an island turns almost every coastal city into one of these. However, due to the Blight quarantine, only [[FirstTown Seyda Neen]] remains in operation with traffic from the mainland.
* PostEndGameContent: The Morag Tong has a series of quests which are only available if you are the Grandmaster of the faction and have completed the main quest. Namely, they are a series of high-level assassinations where the targets are primarily characters whose death prior to beating the game would have made it unwinnable by the standard means. Many other quests also become significantly easier once you've completed the main quest, particularly those which involve increasing the disposition of a NPC because you can use your status as Nerevarine to butter them up even if you have a low Speechcraft skill.
* PosthumousCharacter: Lord Indoril Nerevar. His death, and the subsequent events, are the main catalyst for the plot of the game some 4000 years later. The events of his life and death are discovered through in-game books and conversations with several prominent characters. They, of course, [[TheRashomon conflict greatly]]. [[spoiler: The Player Character is his reincarnation. [[TheUnchosenOne Maybe]].]]
* PotionBrewingMechanic: One exists and is controlled by the Intelligence attribute and Alchemy skill. Basically, you harvest plants and [[OrganDrops animal parts]], figure out which four harmful or beneficial magical effects each of them has, and mix two or more ingredients with a certain effect to produce a potion of that effect. You also need alchemical tools (such as pestles, mortars, retorts, etc.) and their quality has impact upon different aspects of the resulting potions (e.g. effects duration and magnitude). It is also one of the most notorious game breakers in the ''Elder Scrolls'' series, as it is possible to create potions which increase Intelligence, which then allows you to create stronger potions with stacking effects. The end result are potions which massively increase attributes and health with a duration of hundreds of real-world hours.
* PowerCreep: The natural enemies you encounter in ''Bloodmoon'' (such as wolves and bears) are as powerful as enemies you find inside the Ghost Fence in Vvardenfell. The expansion also contains some of the few weapons in the entire series which are stronger than Daedric.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Using soul gems, one can trap the souls of creatures or Daedra and then use them to enchant items.
* PowerfulPick: Miner's Picks can be equipped as a weapon, classified as a type of Axe. They are pitifully slow to swing and deal such little damage that they're essentially useless.
* PowerGlows: Partly. Enchanted items have a magical luminous sheen, but it's not bright enough to provide useful illumination.
* PowerNullifier: Slave bracers are a remarkably simple way to keep slaves from casting spells. They are locked bracers enchanted with a small but constant magicka-drain effect. It takes a while to fully work, but once the magicka hits zero it's not coming back up barring magicka potions or removal of the bracers followed by sleep. No magicka, no spells.
* PracticalTaunt: A necessity if you need to kill someone, but do not want to commit murder. Murder is against the law, but if you can provoke the target into attacking you, you can fight back and kill them completely legally under self-defence. Amusingly, just taunting them is often not enough - you have a relationship measure that, if it sinks too low, simply leads the target to believe that you are NotWorthKilling, and they will ignore you no matter how much you taunt them. If however, you compliment and/or bribe them into liking you better, you gain enough of their respect that your taunts are effective. Then they'll pull out their weapon and go to town.
* PraetorianGuard: Almalexia has "Her Hands" elite High Ordinators while King Helseth has his Royal Guards in this role. Naturally, the two groups conflict, as can be seen in ''Tribunal''.
* PragmaticVillainy: Master Aryon ''seems'' to be the ReasonableAuthorityFigure of House Telvanni. However, he's actually being 'flexible' because the stubbornness of the other Telvanni councilors leaves the House at a disadvantage to its numerous powerful enemies; his motives are entirely self-interested.
* {{Precursors}}:
** The Dwemer, as is standard for the series. Here, their disappearance and creations directly played a part in the central conflict of the main quest.
** The Chimer were the gold-skinned precursors to the modern Dunmer. [[UnreliableNarrator Possibly]], as a result of the Tribunal going against the orders of Azura when using the tools on the Heart to ascend to godhood, Azura cursed the Chimer with ashen skin and blood red eyes.
* PressureSensitiveInterface: On the X-Box controller, when using the white/black buttons to raise/lower price offers with vendors, how hard you push them determines how fast the figure changes.
* PrestigiousPlayerTitle: The PlayerCharacter is the Nerevarine, the reincarnation of one of Morrowind's greatest warriors, Indoril Nerevar, and the focus of an ancient prophecy. In addition are the dozen-plus other titles one can acquire by advancing through the ranks of all the various guilds and factions within the game.
* PrisonShip: The game starts on one, as you are delivered to Vvardenfell.
* ProceduralGeneration: Averted for the first (and to date, only) time in the series. ''Morrowind'' is entirely hand-build in terms of landscape, dungeon designs, etc.
* ProjectileSpell: One of the three variants of spell in the game. The others are "On Touch" spells and "On Self" spells. These also apply to "Cast When Used" enchantments.
* PropagandaMachine: The Ministry of Truth, as its Orwellian name might suggest. It is notable for being headquartered in a floating rock which is also known as "Lie Rock."
* ProphecyPileup:
** You are the Nerevarine, a man/woman who has been [[TheChosenOne chosen]] as the one who might bring the evil [[AGodAmI Dagoth]] [[MeaningfulName Ur]]. Or at least, [[WideOpenSandbox that's what the prophecy tells you to do]]. More to the point, you can screw the prophecy and do it in ways the prophecy didn't mean/didn't foresee. Also, there is another prophecy going on when you play the second expansion. And there and loads and loads of mods to add more complexity.
** Though the second expansion's prophecy doesn't actually have you be TheChosenOne -- or for that matter ''have'' a chosen one. Ultimately, it is all about finding the most badass people on the island which you for entirely non-prophecy related reasons are visiting, and then [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame having a hunt]]. You just happen to be one of the most badass people around this time (it is stated to be a recurring event), and so get dragged into the end-game.
* ProtagonistWithoutAPast: All that is known about your character prior to the start of the game is that your parents were unknown, and that you were prisoner in the Imperial City.
* PuppetKing: What the position "King of Morrowind" had been for centuries. The Tribunal Temple, Great Houses, and the Empire held any and all real power. [[TheChessmaster King]] [[MagnificentBastard Helseth]] is attempting to change all that.
* PurposelyOverpowered:
** King Helseth's ring. It grants 100% Reflect, 100% Resist Magicka, 100% Resist Paralysis, AND health and fatigue restoration, ALL on constant effect. In order to even get the ring, you must kill him while he is wearing it, in addition to his room full of tough bodyguards.
** For a player specializing in the long blade and heavy armor skills, Chryasmere and the Lord's Mail are the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity+1 Equipment]], allowing you to dish out and take a serious amount of damage. The kicker? You get them towards the end of the Imperial Legion questline and must turn them into the faction leader to complete their respective quests. The way to get them back? You have to defeat him in a duel while he uses them against you. If you're able to beat him, you probably don't need the equipment...
* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Dagoth Ur can manipulate and corrupt people in their dreams; the exact degree varies, resulting in Ascended Sleepers, Sleepers, Dreamers, etc.
* PushedInFrontOfTheAudience: A side quest in ''Tribunal'' gives you the option of replacing a sick actor in a politically charged play, and if you try it, someone tries to assassinate you part way through. Turns out that the assassin's presence was known, and you were deliberately put in that position in order to protect the actor.
* PuzzleBoss: There are two stages to the fight with Dagoth Ur. The first is pretty simple, in that you just need to kill him like any other enemy. [[spoiler: However, with him being a legitimate PhysicalGod, he respawns in the next room and is truly invincible without breaking the game. In order to beat him, you need to strike the Heart of Lorkhan, the source of his power, with the Tools of Kagrenac in the specific order Vivec told you]].
* QuicksandBox: Vvardenfell is huge, and it takes almost 45 minutes to walk from one end to the other (and that's without stopping to explore along the way.) In the tutorial, you learn in five minutes how to use the controls before the game kicks you out of the door, hands you a couple of coins and basically says: "Here, this is the world. Have fun". You only get some vague directions on where to go for the next story mission. The game also doesn't do much hand-holding in your quest log, forcing you to remember people and places from quests you might have received weeks ago in real time.
* RainbowPimpGear: Can reach ridiculous levels. Each piece of equipment is separate (with the exception of boots, which are always worn as a pair) so it's possible to wear mismatched gloves and pauldrons over a different style of cuirass with yet another different style of greaves over pants, under a skirt, under a robe...
* RageHelm:
** Played straight with the game's various Daedric helms.
** Averted with the Indoril helms of the Ordinators. They instead have an emotionless FrozenFace.
** Played straight with Almalexia's "War Mask," [[spoiler: which you get to see up close and personal when she tries to kill you.]]
* RagnarokProofing: Justified for the Dwemer creations, as is standard for the series. The abandoned Dwemer settlements, despite being deserted for thousands of years, are filled with running machinery and weapons and armour in perfect condition, however the Dwemer bent/changed the laws of physics to make their materials impervious to wear, tear and corrosion.
* RainbowSpeak: The game uses hyperlinks within dialogue text to introduce new topics of conversation.
* RandomlyGeneratedLevels: Averted, as the entire world is hand-built and does not change.
* RandomlyGeneratedLoot: Averted with loot outside of containers, which is hand placed and never changes. Containers are filled from "leveled lists" of items, giving players a better chance of finding good loot at higher levels, with the Luck attribute also playing a role in what appears.
* RareCandy: Skill books serve this function, increasing a specific skill by one when read.
* TheRashomon: There are multiple accounts of Lord Nerevar's life and death, as well as ''why'', exactly, [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] turned evil. The truth on both counts is deliberately left vague; for example, potential reasons for the latter range from [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity corruption from the tools of Kagrenac]] to [[NecessarilyEvil a noble desire to drive the foreign devils from Morrowind]].
* {{Ratstomp}}: The first Balmora Fighter's Guild quest plays this 100% straight.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: As usual with fantasy world elves, the Mer races have natually longer lifespans than the races of Men or the beast races. Special mention for the Tribunal and Dagoth Ur, who are somewhere in the ballpark of 4000 years old, having used the Heart of Lorkhan to ascend to godhood. The Telvanni councilors are also said to be quite old, having prolonged their lives through sorcery. Divayth Fyr in particular is said to be one of the oldest non-divine beings in Tamriel, according to one of his [[OppositeSexClone daughters]].
** Baladas Demnevanni, one such Telvanni wizard who you'll meet during the Imperial Legion questline, refuses to pay taxes on the grounds that he was living there ''before there was an empire.'' (The first empire out of Cyrodiil, the Alessian, was founded over 3000 years prior. If the Merethic Era empire of the Nords qualifies, he's even older still.)
** Barenziah, the mother of King Helseth and whom you can meet in Tribunal, is old enough to have had an affair with Tiber Septim.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Most of the guilds and Great Houses have at least one such leader. In factions where the majority of the leaders are corrupt (such as the Fighters' Guild and House Telvanni), they are that much more important. Subverted by the ultimate leader of any faction that requires or even allows ChallengingTheChief; the Chief in question is never reasonable.
** For House Hlaalu, we have Crassius Curio. Duke Vedam Dren and Dram Bero also count as the only other high ranking members above the general corruption of the Camonna Tong.
** For House Redoran, it would be Athyn Sarethi. Most everyone except for Archmaster Bolvyn Venim is actually fairly reasonable, at least by the standards of the other guilds and factions in the game.
** For House Telvanni, it's Master Aryon. His reason for being reasonable is still [[PragmaticVillainy pretty selfish.]] Still, for a faction of [[EvilSorcerer powerful sorcerers]], it's a much lighter shade of gray.
** Divayth Fyr qualifies more directly; he spends his time researching how to cure the most serious disease on the continent, provides a hospice for people suffering from it, and offers his experimental treatments to anyone who is determined to be cured (after warning them that it has killed every previous subject.) He even allows people to try and steal from him (as a sort of entertainment), provided they're willing to risk their lives and don't hurt anyone else under his care in the process.
** The Fighter's Guild has Percius Mercius and his former lieutenant, Hrundi.
** The Mages Guild leadership is a pretty reasonable group for the most part, with the glaring exception of incompetent Archmage Trebonius.
** The Thieves Guild is another with mostly reasonable leadership, especially considering their main occupation. Special props go to Master Thief "Gentleman" Jim Stacy, who a Robinhood-like figure.
* ReassignedToAntarctica:
** Trebonius, the incompetent Archmage of the Mages Guild in Vvardenfell, is believed to have gotten that title as a combination of this trope and KickedUpstairs. He is indeed a powerful battlemage, but his mainland superiors got tired of his incompetence, so they made him the Archmage in the most backwater province in the empire.
** In ''Bloodmoon'', most or all of the soldiers stationed at Fort Frostmoth are there because of punishment. It's a freezing island filled with werewolves, naked barbarians, tree-women, and undead warriors.
* RecurringRiff: The main theme by Music/JeremySoule ended up being used as the theme for all the later games.
* RedSkyTakeWarning: The skies over Red Mountain have been a swirling red blight storm ever since Dagoth Ur reemerged.
* ReforgedBlade:
** Mehrune's Razor has laid in the tomb of a thief for so long that it has become rusted and unusable. Mehrune's Dagon will send you on a quest to retrieve it and will then re-imbue it with the power it one had.
** In ''Tribunal'', you get the opportunity to do this with True-Flame, the shattered FlamingSword of St. Nerevar.
* RegeneratingMana: Averted. Magicka, like Health, does not regenerate on its own. It requires sleep or a restorative item.
* RelationshipValues: Every NPC has a Disposition toward the player, ranging on a scale from 0 to 100. It is determined by factors including the player's race, Personality attribute, Speechcraft skill, Reputation stat, and allegiance to any guilds or factions. Disposition can be raised permanently by bribing or admiring the NPC, raised temporarily by intimidating the NPC (which is easier to do than admiring,) or lowered to the point where the NPC may attack you by taunting them.
* ReligionOfEvil:
** Dagoth Ur's Sixth House Cult is seen as this by outsiders. In particular, the Tribunal Temple sees them as deranged and mutated heretics who will be killed on sight.
** While Daedra worship is permitted in the rest of the Empire, it is considered evil by the Tribunal Temple in Morrowind. Worshipers, particularly those of the "bad" Daedra (Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Sheogorath, and Malacath) are typically hunted down and killed by Temple enforcers.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The Argonians in the eyes of the Dunmer. It's a big reason for the FantasticRacism that exists between them.
* RevenantZombie: From ''Bloodmoon'', there is Aesliip, a mage who turned himself into a Draugr in order to keep an ancient evil sealed beneath his lair. He retains all of his past memories and abilities.
* ReversePolarity: A reference to this can be found in the notes of Itermerel, a mage.
--> "By reconfiguring the polarity of the daedron fields, it is possible to manipulate and trace the streams in the following cases..."
* RiddleMeThis: An Imperial Legion quest tasks you with defending the honor of the Legion by participating in a riddle contest with a Buoyant Armiger. [[spoiler: The correct answers will only appear if your Intelligence is above 50, or if you've picked up a copy of ''The Red Book of Riddles''.]]
* RodentsOfUnusualSize: Giant rats, as is the series standard. In one particular case, a bug causes creatures at a certain spawn point in the Grazelands to be twice as large. There is a chance of a rat being one of the creatures spawned.
* RomanceSidequest: there is an exclusive quest chain available for male characters where you can enter a romance with a Khajiit thief named Ahnassi, doing favours for her and receiving gifts in return. At the end of the chain, she will give you the key to her house and ask you to move in with her. There is no corresponding quest for female characters, the closest equivalent to one for them is the Dunmer gentleman bandit Nels Llendo encountered on the road. Rather than try to rob you as he would a male character, he will instead be quite smitten by a female PC and will let you pass without a fight, and will also politely ask for a kiss which you can choose to accept or not.
* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Thousands of the years prior to the start of the game, this was present in the conflict between the ritualistic, Daedra-worshipping Chimer and the rigid, scientific, aetheistic Dwemer. The Dwemer are certainly aware of the existence of the Daedra the Chimer worship, but are steadfast in their belief that the Daedra are not gods; so much so that Vivec facetiously commented that the Dwemer instead worshiped "their Gods of Reason and Logic." Not that this did the Dwemer any good; screwing with the base fabric of the Universe caused them all to disappear... somewhere. Not a single person in existence knows what happened to them, and if anyone does, they're not telling.
* {{Roofhopping}}: At higher levels of the Acrobatics skill, or using a Jump spell, it is perfectly reasonable to get around towns in this fashion.
* RoomFullOfCrazy: Many Sixth House bases fit. The House's insignia, a beetle, is drawn on several of the floors and walls — usually in chalk, but once in blood and once in ''coins''. There's also one room with "the dreamer is awake" scrawled on the floor, and pieces of paper filled with nonsensical pseudo-poetic scribbles lying around.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething:
** Though they generally don't refer to themselves as "royalty," the Tribunal embodied this trope in past ages. They led the defense of Morrowind from multiple takeover attempts by the Reman and Septim empires over the course of several millenia, thwarted at least two takeover attempts by Akiviri races, and banished Mehrunes Dagon at least once. They also established and maintained the Ghostfence, which is the only thing keeping Dagoth Ur and the Blight at bay. By the time the game takes place, they've gone several centuries without being able to recharge their divinity, so they've been forced to withdraw from the day to day affairs of mortals in order to conserve energy.
** King Helseth is another example. He's actively working to turn his position as "King of Morrowind" from a PuppetKing/figurehead position into one with some real power, first by having his predecessor killed and then by trying to weaken the power of the Tribunal Temple.
* RoyalWe: King Hlaalu Helseth speaks like this in the Tribunal expansion.
* RuinsForRuinsSake: Averted. Vvardenfell has lots and lots of ruins, but they are all justified by the lore. The old Dunmer strongholds were actual outposts during the ancient wars with the Dwemer and Nords. The Dwemer ruins were formerly Dwemer cities before the Dwemer disappeared, and their propensity towards building things to last has kept them in relatively good shape in the ages since. The Daedric ruins were built by the ancient Daedra worshiping Chimer before the Tribunal came into existence. The ruins that haven't become cultist or bandit strongholds still hold their various treasures because Vvardenfell was a Tribunal Temple preserve open only to Temple pilgrims until about 20 years before the events of the game.
* RuleOfThree:
** Sets of three exist in numerous places within the game, all following the FighterMageThief breakdown. The three members of the Tribunal, the three "Good" Daedra, the three Imperial Guilds, the three (playable) Great Houses, the three Vampire Clans...
** In ''Bloodmoon'', Spriggans must be killed three times before they'll stay dead.
* RunningBothSides: If you join the Great House of Hlaalu, one of their last assignments will be to wrestle control of Camonna Tong from Orvas Dren. If you then complete the ThievesGuild storyline, you become their top dog, as well. Congratulations, you are now running both sides in a decades-long MobWar between two organized crime networks!
* RunningGag: The various naked Nords scattered around the countryside.
* RuthlessForeignGangsters: Inverted in the conflict between the native Camonna Tong and the foreign Thieves' Guild; the Camonna Tong is far more ruthless. Played straight with the Dark Brotherhood.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: D-L]]
* DarkSkinnedRedhead: Almalexia has the gold skin of a Chimer with red hair. [=NPCs=] of races with darker skin tones can also have red hair. This is a character creation option for the PC as well.
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: The quest to cure Vampirism plays out like this. Molag Bal will only remove the affliction if you kill his daughter, Molag Grunda, who is on Mundus "dating" a lowly Frost Atronach. (Since you can't actually "kill" a daedra, this will merely send her back to Oblivion to await Bal's punishment.)
* DaylightHorror: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Dhaunayne Aundae (the Ancient of the Aundae clan of vampires.) She sends you to kill a vampire hunter in the city of Ald'ruhn... in broad daylight, as a message that not even the light of the sun will protect enemies of the vampires.
* DaywalkingVampire: Averted by the Vvardenfell strand of vampires, as they'll actually burn when exposed to the light of the sun. The above mentioned quest is one of the rare exceptions.
* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Sotha Sil]].
* DeadCharacterWalking: A particular glitch (substituting a torch or lockpick for a weapon in mid-swing) has the unusual effect of reducing the target to 1 hp but making them immune to all further damage.
* DeadlyDustStorm: There are dust storms in the areas set close to the island's volcano, and they were originally planned to give the player the Blight disease if he wandered into them without a proper protection, but this feature is not present in the final release. They do limit your range of view and walking speed, however.
* DeadpanSnarker: In ''The Horror of Castle Xyr'', which you actually have a chance to perform in the Tribunal expansion:
-->'''Anara:''' ''Please, serjo, go wherever you want. We got nothing to hide. We're loyal Imperial subjects.''
-->'''Clavides:''' ''As, I hear, are all [[EvilSorcerer Telvanni]].''
-->''(Note from the playwright: this line should be delivered without sarcasm. Trust the audience to laugh -- it never fails, regardless of the politics of the locals.)''
* DeathMountain - Red Mountain is this mixed with {{Mordor}}.
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: The reason that Morrowind did not historically have the presence of Dragons? They were driven out by ''Cliff Racers''... Yes, those weak but hideously annoying creatures that are the bane of players everywhere were able to drive out powerful Aedric (angelic) beings who could command elements into existence with a few words simply through numbers and persistence.
* DeathSeeker - Umbra, who doubles as a BloodKnight. To say nothing of how BadAss he proves himself to be in a close-up fight.
* DebugRoom: Several.
** "Clutter Warehouse - Everything Must Go!" It's an area only accessible via console commands. It was used by the developers to speed up world creation. Since certain arrangements of furniture and items (such as plates on tables and bottles on shelves) are very common in the world, but take a long time to put together, they have been assembled in this area where they can be copied and pasted to where they are needed.
** "Character Stuff Wonderland" A secret room used by the developers for testing which is accessible only through the console. It contains almost all of the armor and weapons in the game and is guarded by some high level monsters.
** "Todd Test" A debug room used by the developers and accssible only through the console. When the player enters the room, a large light brown bowl is seen. This bowl, when activated, will make the player super strong and give him/her necessary items and spells to test various parts of the game. It will also infect the player with Porphyric Hemophilia (Berne variety). There are five leveled beasts, a Steam Centurion and six [=NPCs=], three of whom are Ordinators. There are also multiple treasure chests containing one piece of nearly every item found in the game (Artifacts not included). The room is a copy of the Puzzle Canal underneath Vivec's palace, without the water. Installing Bloodmoon will also add three chests for items only found in that expansion. Several quest items may be found here- there is a chest containing all the books in the game, which can be used to complete quests such as the Telvanni Stronghold quest where you are ordered to find the 'unique' book Secrets of Dwemer Animunculi. You can also find the Bittercup and Azura's Star containing the soul of an Ogrim on a table near the back of the room.
** "Mark's Vampire Test Cell" Another room used by the developers and only accessible via console. It contains two vampires and a bed, presumably for testing the Vampire process and dreams.
* DegradedBoss: Ascended Sleepers. Various named Dagoths encountered in the latter half of the main quest are modified Ascended Sleepers, but they're actually ''downgraded'' from the normal enemy (which only shows up at extremely high levels - it is in fact the highest leveled non-unique monster in the game).
* DemBones: Unsurprisingly, skeletons of varying strengths are favored creations of necromancers, and can be found patrolling many ruins and caves. Bonewalkers are another, but are still rather fleshy.
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Normally, if you kill a leader of a Great House, you will offend all of them, making it impossible to be named Hortator of that house and breaking the most straightforward way to finish the main plot. However, House Telvanni practices KlingonPromotion, which means that if you are a member of the house, then kill ''all the other leaders'', you will not be expelled; instead, the game gives you a journal entry in which you dryly note that as the last surviving chancellor of House Telvanni, you have appointed yourself Telvanni Hortator.
* DialogueTree: You can choose what to talk about with [=NPCs=] in a dialogue tree, including "Lore", "Background", and "Race". NPC responses on one topic can contain the names of topics new to the player, allowing the player to select those new topics in dialogue with any NPC having a response to that topic. Certain classes (and individuals) have more responses available: priests will talk about the gods, and savants will talk about pretty much everything in the game, leading to their FanNickname of "Walking Encyclopedias". Additionally, some topics are region-based, and will appear in a given NPC's dialogue tree because they had spawned in that region of the game world.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu - Counting the expansions, the player ends up killing three or four gods.
* DifficultySpike: A big one from the end of the main game into the expansions. ''Bloodmoon'' especially, because even the local wildlife on Solstheim rivals the strength of enemies inside of the Ghostfence on Vvardenfell. Also beware if you start a new game after installing ''Tribunal,'' as a Dark Brotherhood assassin may spawn at any time when you sleep. The assassins do [[LevelScaling level scale]], but even the lowest leveled ones will be a major challenge for a brand new character.
* DimensionalTraveler: Divayth Fyr, ancient Telvanni wizard extraordinaire, is one according to the in game book [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Doors_of_Oblivion The Doors of Oblivion]]. Fyr is one of the few "mortals" who can freely travel between the realms of the [[PhysicalGod Daedra]].
* DiscOneFinalDungeon - Ilunibi has shades of this. It's a vast, sprawling underground dungeon where you will likely face the strongest enemies you have encountered to that point (if you've stuck to the main quest.) It even has its own DiscOneFinalBoss who [[spoiler: gives you the corprus disease and sets the next part of the main quest in motion.]]
** DiscOneFinalBoss - [[spoiler: Dagoth Gares]] takes up residence here.
* DiscOneNuke - The combination of WideOpenSandbox and AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair means that a thorough and/or experienced player can, in many cases, equip themselves with upper-end gear at little or no risk. In a few cases a (cheap) Levitate potion, a nearby key, or a decent Security skill are needed, but little else.
** In a few cases an upper-end item is owned by a relatively weak and non-hostile NPC - if you know [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential who to murder]], you can get unique and powerful items. The Amulet of Shadows makes you nearly invisible for a decent amount of time and is found on a lone archer in the wilderness. The Masque of Clavicus Vile makes everybody like you (in addition to being fine head protection) and can be found on a relatively low-level wizard if you can slip past his guards.
** A character straight off the boat can acquire a Daedric (the best non-artifact grade of equipment) weapon of whatever type he or she favors by setting foot, however briefly, in the Vassir-Didanat Mine (see AbandonedMine) and then tracking down Hlaalu councilor Dram Bero to report the mine's location. He will reward you with your choice in Daedric weaponry. The only true obstacle is the locked door that must be picked (or opened by a spell) to get to Bero.
** Due to a design decision to let buyers of the expansion set start the new content immediately, Dark Brotherhood assassins added by the ''Tribunal'' expansion may show up at any time to kill you in your sleep. This can even happen to brand new starting character. If you manage to defeat one (tricky, but possible for a starting character, because they scale according to your level) you can loot the corpse for an excellent set of light armor and a useful short blade. If you aren't using light armor, the gear is also worth several hundred gold (more useful, in some ways, than the best stuff because it's easier to find a merchant who can afford it.)
* DispelMagic: Exists as a spell and effect. When used, it will immediately end all magical effects on the target.
* DisposingOfABody: An option whenever you are looting a non-permanent corpse. Doing so will move all items in the corpse's inventory to yours and the body will vanish. (Exactly how you dispose of it is left up to your imagination.)
* DisproportionateRetribution - Unlike regular crimes (see EasilyForgiven), there are ways to get all the Ordinators howling for your blood forever. The first is to mention the Nerevarine Prophecy to them - that makes you a heretic. The other is to be wearing the armor of their Order, which is sacrilege to them.
* DoesNotLikeMen: Telvanni Councilor Mistress Dratha. Exactly ''why'' she hates men is never explained, but it is her defining trait nonetheless. Her town of Tel Mora is staffed entirely by female retainers and merchants and completing the main quest as a male Nerevarine requires you to either beg at her feet for her support or kill her. (She'll support a female Nerevarine with no questions asked and even gives her several powerful summoning scrolls.)
* DomesticatedDinosaurs: Guars are vaguely therapod-like dinosaurids, about the size of a cow, which the native Dunmer farm for their hides and use as beasts of burden.
* {{Doorstopper}}
** All of the [[InGameNovel readable books]] in the game all add up to about 1500 pages of material.
** The strategy guide for the Game of the Year addition is roughly the size of a Bible. It contains incredible amounts of details about character creation, game mechanics, locations, quests, items, factions, backstory, and just about everything else there is to do in the game.
* DoorToBefore: Averted for most dungeons and other such locations in the game. You'll need to trek back the long way if you want to get out, or use a teleportation spell.
* DoubleSpeak: The Morag Tong operatives insist that they do not perform "assassinations," rather, they perform "honorable executions." Given that they are the high-class, honorable assassins in contrast to the gangly, thuggish Cammona Tong and the treacherous Dark Brotherhood, they do manage to keep a higher moral ground.
* DownerEnding: For Morrowind itself, caused by HappyEndingOverride. [[spoiler:As ''Oblivion'' and tie-in novels reveal, as a result of the player's actions the Tribunal are missing, the Ministry of Truth lost its power source and resumed its interrupted crash onto Vivec City, and that impact caused Red Mountain to erupt, destroying most of Vvardenfell. Then the Argonians came in and what few Dunmer couldn't flee were slain.]] [[BittersweetEnding But on the bright side]], for the rest of Tamriel, thanks to the Nerevarine, the world isn't a Blighted landscape ruled by an insane PhysicalGod riding a HumongousMecha. You may not have saved [[spoiler:Morrowind]] but you did save the rest of the world.
* DownloadableContent: In addition to the two expansion packs, there are several small pieces of DLC which are offered for free on the official site. This includes several rare armor pieces and weapons (Area Effect Arrows, Helm of Tohan, [=LeFemme Armor=] and Adamantium Armor), two mini-quests (Master Index and Siege at Firemoth) and an ambient sounds pack.
* DownTheDrain: You'll spend quite a bit of time questing in the sewers beneath Vivec and Mournhold. Though they're both justified cases of AbsurdlySpaciousSewer, they still contain the usual hazards of diseased creatures, being dark, and watery areas that can be hard to get back out of.
* DoYouWantToHaggle: Haggling is a gameplay mechanic when dealing with merchants. The item's intrinsic value, condition, the disposition of the merchant, and the player's Mercantile skill all play parts when buying/selling items. Making an offer that gets rejected by the merchant will actually lower that merchant's disposition, forcing the player to make a slightly more generous offer next time or break off the negotiation and try to sweet-talk them again. The Mercantile skill is also bugged. After the skill gets to 50, any further increases will actually make haggling ''more'' difficult.
* TheDragon: Dagoth Gares to Dagoth Ur.
* DreamIntro / DreamingOfThingsToCome
** The opening cutscene is a dream the PlayerCharacter is having before being awakened on the prison ship. In it, you see various landscapes of Vvardenfell and receive some cryptic guidance from a mysterious woman, who eventually turns out to be the Daedric Prince Azura.
** When vampirism is first contracted, it will be a trivial common disease for 3 days until it becomes full-blown and incurable. If you rest at any point during this time, you'll have dreams about becoming a vampire (which is a clue that you are infected, in case you missed it when you acquired the infection.)
* DryCrusader: Played with by Antonius Nuncius, the priest at Fort Frostmoth in ''Bloodmoon''. [[spoiler: It turns out he doesn't actually have a moral issue with alcohol, but he's hiding the shipments to the fort in the hopes of sparking a rebellion among the troops so that he can be reassigned to somewhere more hospitable than Solstheim.]]
* DudeWheresMyReward: Master Neloth of House Telvanni gives a quest to retrieve the Robe of Drake's Pride from the servant of another House Telvanni councilor. Killing the servant is the only way to get the robe, and you'll need to taunt her into attacking you first to prevent being expelled from House Telvanni. She turns out to be a moderately powerful spell caster, and the robe gives her several advantages when fighting magic users, which your character likely is if you've advanced in House Telvanni. After you take the robe back to Neloth, he'll reward you with...ten septims. The robe itself is worth 205, and has several enchantments a magic using character would enjoy.
* DuelToTheDeath: Several occur throughout the various questlines in the game. See GladiatorSubquest below for examples which take place in Vivec's arena.
* DugTooDeep: The Dwemer in the backstory. They dug deep beneath Red Mountain, uncovering the Heart of Lorkhan which would eventually be the downfall of their race.
* DummiedOut: Naturally, there are a few things that had to be left out with a game this large.
** The Blight was originally going to be an expanding threat over time, but had to be left out due to technological limitations
** Dagoth Ur and the Sixth House were originally joinable by the player. This had to be left out due to time restrictions.
** Exploration of the Construction Set files reveals several quests that were cut from the game with no real explanation.
*** Hrundi of the Fighter's Guild had a quest for the player to eliminate a lesser Dagoth that didn't make it into the final game.
*** An early Imperial Legion quest has the player rescuing an Orc tax collector from a reclusive Telvanni mage. Another quest was going to have the player actually collect the taxes.
*** Another Legion quest has you searching for a specific set of Dwemer blueprints, but was removed.
*** Two quests, one for House Telvanni and one for the Morag Tong, sent the player to "forcefully retire" Master Neloth. [[spoiler: Perhaps they already knew that Neloth would be appearing in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim a later game in the series]]?]]
*** One Thieves Guild quest had the player stealing a mission report from the Ordinators, but was removed.
*** In true Bethesda fashion, there is a quest which was only ''partly'' removed, potentially causing issues: There was going to be a Legion quest to acquire the plans to Anumidium. The dialogue to acquire the quest is properly blocked off, and the journal entries can't trigger... but the ''completion'' of the quest is only partly removed, so if you bring the plans to the general who would have given you the mission and speak to him about Anumidium you block off the rest of his quests.
** There are several items and objects in the game that seem like they should have a purpose, but do not. Many were likely intended for use in a quest that never made it into the game. For example:
*** There is an alchemy ingredient called "bloat," which can be purchased from merchants or found in random crates. Where bloat comes from is never explained in-game—-but the level editor reveals an unused "bloat spore" plant that was supposed to produce them, but was never placed in-game. Several mods out there deal with this, ranging from placing them in several swampy areas to working them into a House Telvanni quest line as being in a bloat mine.
*** You can find a fountain called the "Pool of Forgetfulness." Players have frustratedly tried to get it to do something, but it apparently does nothing. Perhaps the developers simply forgot about it?
*** To defeat the [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]], players need two special weapons called Sunder and Keening, which are being guarded by the Dagoth Ur's higher-ranked minions. The data files of the game reveal a phony look-alike of Sunder, and a voice file for the Dagoth Ur taunting you when you try to kill him with it. These were never included in-game.
*** "The Wings of the Queen of Bats", Morrowind's Infinity Plus One Axe, isn't actually in the game, but can be obtained through cheat codes or modding the game.
*** Morrowind also has a version of Azura's Star that can be used as a shuriken, but the final game replaces it with a Soul Gem.
** There is a faction in the game files called "Imperial Knights", complete with full rank progression (this isn't actually necessary for a faction to have) and relations to other factions. What it doesn't have is ''any'' members or ways of joining it.
* EarlyBirdCameo:
** There are no Trolls in ''Morrowind'', but there is Trollbone Armor. The helmets (which are hollowed out Troll skulls,) have three eye-sockets, just as trolls had from ''Oblivion'' onward.
** Each of the expansions gives a taste of what is coming up in the next two games in the series.
*** The ''Tribunal'' expansion could be seen as a sneak peek of what ''Oblivion'' would be like, since the city of Mournhold bears many similarities to the Imperial City: Multiple districts in closed-off cells as opposed to being in the same cell as the surrounding wilderness, an AbsurdlySpaciousSewer down below, the presence of Goblins, Liches, and the Dark Brotherhood in full-force, no Levitation, and even Royal Guards in plate armor, which was how the Imperial Legion would be portrayed throughout the next game. There's even {{Foreshadowing}} of the Oblivion Crisis at one point in the questline.
*** Solstheim in the ''Bloodmoon'' expansion is essentially a cameo for ''Skyrim'' two games in the future. It's snowy, full of Nords, werewolves, spriggans and mead, all things that show up in ''Skyrim'' prominently. (Solstheim itself then shows up again as the setting for the ''Dragonborn'' expansion to ''Skyrim''.)
* EarlyGameHell: Things are very hellish for a while after leaving the [[EasingIntoTheAdventure easy-going]] [[FirstTown starting town]] of Seyda Neen. Even the standard local wildlife will be a challenge until you increase your skills and acquire better equipment, and anything stronger will serve as a BeefGate. It's encouraged to complete first few assignments in the main quest, as well as the first few missions for the local guilds, as these are largely easier quests and are rewarding enough to purchase training and the aforementioned better equipment. Progression is largely lopsided, however, and once you start increasing in levels, you'll go from schmuck to god-slayer very quickly.
* EarthDrift: For the series, ''Morrowind'' has by far the most alien setting.
* EasingIntoTheAdventure: Probably the best example out of the series, since it is the only one without a true starter/tutorial dungeon you must escape. You simply get off a boat, pick your name, race, class, and birthsign, then get released into a very easy-going starting village. Even the quests you can pick up there and the nearby enemies are extremely easy. [[EarlyGameHell Once you leave that town, however...]]
* EasilyForgiven: Comes up a lot.
** Minor crimes result in the guards demanding that you pay on the spot. More serious stuff may have you living on the run until you can find somebody (often Thieves' Guild) who can, for a substantial fee, make your wanted status 'go away'. But once it does, it never crosses anybody's mind that you might go out and commit more crimes. This is discussed in certain dialogue trees: the money from the fines the guards charge criminals go to the victim of the crime/their surviving family, and if the crime was enough they'll often hire the Morag Tong (a legal assassins' guild) to kill the criminal. However, no one ever sends them against you...
** In the rare event that you are expelled from House Telvanni, rejoining is as simple as talking to a [[QuestGiver Mouth]] and asking to be reinstated. Given that the Telvanni have practically no rules to break, even getting expelled in the first place is a challenge.
** House Redoran will also forgive your expulsion with a simple apology, but only once. Break the rules again and you're out for good.
* {{Egopolis}}: Played straight for the Tribunal deities Vivec and Sotha Sil, who each created their own namesake cities. Averted for Almalexia, who instead chose to settle in the pre-existing capital of Morrowind, Mournhold.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: Dozens of caves and grottos exist in the game, some of which get quite elaborate, and are usually home to smugglers, bandits, or worse. Dunmer Ancestral Tombs and Dwemer ruins are also typically build into the ground.
* ElvesVersusDwarves: Prominent in the backstory, though with the "dwarves" in this case being a sub-race of elves known as the Dwemer, in the ''Elder Scrolls'' tradition. Nerevar rose to prominence when he managed to unite the two races in an EnemyMine to drive out the invading Nords who threatened both races.
* EmpathicEnvironment: Since his return to a physical form, Red Mountain has been encased in a permanent Blight storm, which spreads the blight and corprus diseases. [[spoiler: After his defeat, clear skies will be seen over Red Mountain for the first time in centuries.]]
* EmpathicWeapon: The in-universe explanation for why so many legendary artifacts keep finding new masters. The blade Umbra, in particular, is said to have a mind of it's own which takes over the mind of it's wielder until s/he is slain, and it finds a new wielder. Several Daedric artifacts are also said to have natures like this, leaving their bearers when that person begins to abuse the artifact, or becomes too reliant on the artifact.
* TheEmperor: A benevolent one is described but [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen not shown,]] since the game takes place far from the Imperial City.
* EmptyLevels: The leveling system is based on a few of your major/minor skills increasing, but the stat increases are tied to all skills that use that attribute. The result is that if you didn't remember to train your miscellaneous skills in between leveling from using major skills, you could end up with a character with a high level but pitiful attributes. The most effective builds end up tagging many of the least used (or at least hardest to level) skills as primary ones, so that you wont "accidentally" level and cheat yourself out of attribute bonuses.
* EndOfAnAge: After ruling over for Dunmer people for some 4000 years, the main quest ends with the Tribunal losing their divinity. ''Tribunal'' then ends with [[spoiler: two members of the Tribunal dead]].
* EnemyChatter: Through use of stealth, it is possible to initiate conversation with normally hostile-on-sight enemies. Most, like the corprus monsters, just babble incoherently, but some of the stronger ones, such as the ash vampires, have some amusing chatter - among other things, inviting the player for a drink before the fight (from which you actually gain a bottle of the rare and valuable Dagoth brandy.)
* EnemyDetectingRadar: Various "Detect" spells exist and, when used, have the effect of causing enemies to show up on the mini-map.
* AnEntrepreneurIsYou:
** Beyond the standard treasure hunting business of a freelance adventurer, you can put your item crafting skills into great use by making items to sell. Potions and enchantments are two highly profitable ventures. Additionally, many merchants sell damaged weapons and pieces of armor for for less than the items are worth in pristine condition. Buying them, fixing them up via the Armorer skill, and re-selling them can be very profitable.
** ''Bloodmoon'' brings the East Empire Company questline of building up the ebony mining colony of Raven Rock. You get to choose the types of services available and get to pick where to build your own "Factor's Estate" mansion.
** After completing a few side quests, you get the opportunity to run the Thirsk mead hall. You can return every few days to collect your share of the profits.
* EpicFail: The sorcerer Inwold was hired by some smugglers operating out of Palansour to summon Daedra to use as muscle. However, his Ogrim and Scamps got out of control, killed all of the smugglers, and left Inwold imprisoned in nothing but a skirt and a hat ([[AndYourRewardIsClothes which he offers you for freeing him.]])
* EscapeRope: The Divine and Almsivi Intervention spells. When used, they teleport the player to the nearest Imperial or Tribunal Temple shrine, respectively. They're good for making a quick escape in a sticky situation or, perhaps more commonly, transporting more loot that you could otherwise carry.
* EscortMission: Quite a few. The combined ArtificialStupidity and SuicidalOverconfidence of your followers will drive you crazy. You'll be thankful when you have the ability to tell the follower to "wait here" while you run ahead and clear out the path ahead, but that isn't always an option...
* EternalEngine: The {{Steampunk}} machinery in Dwemer ruins is still running some 4000 years after their disappearance. (Justified, as they were known to tinker with the laws of time in order to preserve their creations for a long, long time.)
* EternalEnglish: In the Cavern of the Incarnate, the player will encounter the ghosts of the "failed incarnates," who thought that they were the Nerevarine but were killed before they could fulfill the prophecy. They are each Dunmer from different time periods, yet the player is able to communicate with them all without issue.
* EveryoneIsBi: When using the Admire option in conversation, your part of the dialogue is never seen, but the NPC's responses are, and more often than not they seem to be a response to a pick-up line or a suggestion.
* EverythingFades: Corpses are set to disappear after 3 in-game days have passed. They can also be disposed of immediately by the player while looting them.
* EverythingIsTryingToKillYou: The main game isn't too bad with this, as there are at least some enemies that are non-hostile unless you attack them and deadly terrain features (steep falls, lava pits, etc.) are generally easy to avoid. However, ''Bloodmoon'' cranks this way up. You can't travel one map square without facing a pack of 8 wolves, 2 plague bears, a snow bear, 2 Fryse Hags, a Berserker... And due to the nature of the East Empire Company quests only becoming available every couple of days, the local wildlife ''WILL'' respawn as you wait.
* EvilCounterpart: The Camonna Tong to the Thieves Guild. The Dark Brotherhood to the Morag Tong. House Telvanni is regarded as this in comparison to the Mages Guild by most Imperial factions.
* EvilPlan: [[spoiler:Almalexia's]] plot.
* EvilSorcerer: You don't have to be one to join House Telvanni, but Evil Sorcerers thrive there due to its [[MightMakesRight lenient code]] [[KlingonPromotion of conduct.]]
* EvilWeapon: Umbra, a massively powerful soul-stealing blade crafted by an evil witch. It has the nasty habit of driving it's owners into becoming insane [[BloodKnight Blood Knights]].
* EvilerThanThou: The Dark Brotherhood versus the Morag Tong. Both are MurderInc, but the Morag Tong is government contracted and has a strict code of ethics, while the Dark Brotherhood is comprised of AxCrazy criminals who practice a ReligionOfEvil. Ditto, to a lesser degree, for the Thieves Guild and the Camonna Tong: the former has a strict code of ethics as well and favors clean, stealthy burglary and smooth talking, while the latter is made of xenophobic thugs who just kill and plunder.
* EvolvingMusic: ''Morrowind's'' main theme, "Nerevar Rising," has been remixed and used for every main series game since.
* ExcaliburInTheRust: A thorough player may stumble upon a unique "Rusty Dagger" with pitiful stats and that will break after a single hit. However, return it to a specific shrine to Mehrunes Dagon, and the [[GodOfEvil Daedric Prince of Destruction]] will restore it to it's true, ''powerful'' glory.
* ExpansionPackWorld: ''Bloodmoon'' adds the island of Solstheim to Tamriel.
* ExponentialPotential: There are over 100 obtainable spells in the game which use or combine over 100 spell effects all broken down into 6 schools of magic. Get into customized spells, Alchemy, and Enchantment and number of magical possibilities becomes near-infinite.
* ExpospeakGag: "Council of Mages without Digits within Bowels".
* ExtremeOmnivore: The player can eat things such as leprous meat, diamonds, poisonous mushrooms, raw hearts, human flesh, ashes of burned vampires, and animal hides, with varying effects. If you aren't going to carry it with you, you might as well, since partaking makes you better at alchemy on the premise that experiencing their alchemical properties will increase your knowledge on their effects. Particularly jarring with Dwemer scrap metal and ebony ore, since we're talking about wolfing down ten pounds of metal or twenty pounds of rock.
* EyelessFace: Ash Zombies and Ash Ghouls, both lesser minions of the Sixth House. Ash Zombies have had the entire upper section of their faced gouged out. Ash Ghouls have some sort of proboscis sticking out.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: A House Redoran quest has you convincing another member of the house to do this via a duel to the death in the arena. He will almost certainly die (unless you aid him from a distance.)
* FaceDesignShield: The Orcish shield and both varieties of Daedric shield sport nasty looking face designs.
* FallenHero: Depending on [[TheRashomon which version of Nerevar's life]] you believe, Dagoth Ur. Also, [[spoiler:Almalexia]].
* FameGate: More like a [[DungeonBypass Fame Bypass/Backdoor]]: Normally, you need to visit all Great House nobles and Ashlander chiefs to convince them that you are TheMessiah, and only then will the CorruptChurch listen to your claims. But if you are already famous enough (at least level 20, with at least 50 Reputation,) the archcanon will grant you a meeting immediately, allowing you to skip what would otherwise be a very long quest.
* FanRemake: Multiple comprehensive efforts have been made to modernize the game. The Morrowind Overhaul is a complete collection of texture, mesh and gameplay updates for the existing game. Morroblivion is a mostly complete mod that imports Morrowind into the Oblivion engine while Skywind is an ongoing effort to import Morrowind into the Skyrim engine. [=OpenMW=] is an ongoing project to recreate Morrowind's engine.
* FantasticDrug: A few.
** Moon Sugar, which is similar in appearance and effect to real world cocaine. And Skooma, a drink made from refined Moon Sugar. Both are illegal in the Empire and if you have any in your possession, most merchants will outright refuse to do business with you. ([[FailedASpotCheck You can easily just set the drug on the counter in front of them, transact your business, and then pick the drug right back up with no repercussions.]])
** Hackle-Lo Leaf shares some similarities with tobacco and Coca leaves. It is chewed by the natives for a boost of energy, and can be chewed by the player (or brewed into a potion) to restore Fatigue.
* FantasticHonorifics: A slight variation on the gender-neutral "ser" version: The Dunmer use "sera", "muthsera" and "serjo", in increasing order of politeness.
* FantasticRacism: Being an Outlander in Morrowind is a bad thing, there are multiple words for it, N'wah and Swit are just two slurs used. You will also occasionally be insulted for your race in a fashion befitting what form of human, lizard, cat, elf you are. Even if you're a Dark Elf you won't be liked because you're not a native.
** That last one has a bit of GameplayAndStorySegregation to it. While you are told that this is the case, playing as a Dunmer will still get you the standard +10 disposition increase with members of the same race even if they are native Dunmer.
* FantasticRankSystem: Every guild and faction in the game has their own set. Details of each are available on the trope page.
* FantasticSlurs: The Dunmer have a few. "Swit" seems to be the least offensive, and is used similarly to calling someone "a shit" or "bitch." "Fetcher" is the next step up, being a derogatory term for a slave seemingly mixed with the "f-word." "N'wah" is at the top of the list, being an incredibly offensive term for a foreigner, along the lines of the "n-word."
* FantasyCounterpartCulture - Imperials are the Romans, Nords are Vikings, and the Dark Elves bear an extremely strong resemblance to the biblical Israelites/Jews, starting with the Abraham/Moses hybrid Veloth and all the way down to the Nerevarine/Messiah prophecies producing lots of wannabes during an occupation by a powerful foreign empire.
* FantasyMetals: Two types are prominently mined in Vvardenfell.
** Ebony is a dark grayish/brownish/purplish mineral with some characteristics of volcanic glass. It's extremely dense, worth more than gold when used as bullion, and forges into some of the most powerful weapons and heavy armor available in Tamriel. Trade of ebony is strictly regulated by the Empire, meaning that a permit to mine Ebony is extremely valuable to any organization in Morrowind that can get one. (Several faction quests involve sabotaging the ebony mines of political rivals via, for instance, igniting a slave uprising.) Lore scholars have long theorized that ebony may in fact be the petrified blood of the dead creator god Lorkhan, as it's greatest deposits are near Red Mountain where Lorkhan's heart fell from the sky.
** Glass is a lightweight greenish mineral which, like ebony, sees its trade also tightly controlled by the Empire. It can also be forged into some fantastic weapons and one of the best light armors available in Tamriel.
* FashionableAsymmetry: As each piece of armor (with the exception of boots) can be equipped individually, some [=NPCs=] wear mismatched sets of pauldrons and gauntlets, leading to this effect. The player is also free to engage in this.
* FastForwardMechanic: The wait and rest features. Waiting can be done anywhere that enemies are not present, but does not restore your health or magicka, nor allow you to level up. Resting must be done in a bed or in the wilderness, but will restore your health/magicka and must be done in order to level up.
* FateWorseThanDeath: What the Tribunal Temple considers Vampirism, regardless of what the Vampire him/herself may think. It's why they consider death as the only "cure" for the disease.
** The non-Sixth House victims of the Corprus disease. In essence, it combines the effects of leprosy, cancer, and dementia. The two "positive" effects of the disease are that you stop aging and become immune to all other diseases. Combine these, and your only hope for relief once the disease has advanced is to be killed mercifully.
* FauxSymbolism: {invoked} [[http://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-one The 36 Lessons of Vivec]]. They are a series of 36 books, supposedly penned by the man-god himself. (Game writer Michael Kirkbride is the real life author.) In them, he uses oodles of biblical imagery to make sure that, if you take it seriously, there is NO WAY a person could see Vivec as anything less than the absolute god of The Elder Scrolls universe (which, of course, isn't necessarily true). Doubles with BreakingTheFourthWall, {{Anvilicious}}, TropesAreNotBad, and GettingCrapPastTheRadar with a sprinkling of InJoke.
* FetchQuest: About half the quests in the game it would seem. Some are easy ("Go down the street and purchase a ceramic bowl") while others are a bit more challenging ("Acquire the InfinityMinusOneSword from a hostile, high-level mage.") The game will even invert this on occasion by having you ''deliver'' an item or supplies to a remote location instead.
* FictionalDocument: [[http://www.imperial-library.info/books/morrowind/by-category Loads and loads of them]] that you can simply pick up and read. Some advance the plot, some fill in the {{Backstory}}, and some are just entertaining short stories.
* FighterMageThief:
** The Fighters' Guild, Mages' Guild, and Thieves' Guild are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly What They Say On The Tin]]; the three Great Houses each represent a different archetype: Redoran (Fighter), Telvanni (Mage) and Hlaalu (Thief), and even the three vampire clans represent a different archetype: Quarra (Fighter), Aundae (Mage) and Berne (Thief). This can cause a degree of GameplayAndStorySegregation, especially for magic-oriented characters: from a gameplay perspective, it makes sense to join the Guild/House/Clan that match your character's skills, but in-story many of the factions are opposed to each other (House Telvanni and the Mages' Guild have something of a cold war situation going on, even though you can become head of both at the same time).
** Present in the three members of the Tribunal. Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec fit the Fighter, Mage, and Thief archetypes, respectively.
* FirstTown: Seyda Neen is the town where the player starts, gets initial quests, and acquires his/her first set of equipment. However, Balmora (the second town visited if following the main quest) fits the "central location" part of the trope as there is far more to do there and many reasons to keep coming back to it.
* FiveFingerDiscount: Possible and even encouraged for players in the Thieves Guild. See KleptomaniacHero below for more.
* FiveManBand - During the war between the Chimer and the Dwemer, we had this on the Chimer side:
** TheHero: Nerevar
** TheLancer: Vivec
** TheSmartGuy: Sotha Sil
** TheChick: Almalexia
** TheBigGuy: Voryn Dagoth
* FlatCharacter: Most of the hundreds of {{NPC}}s don't do much but walk back-and-forth (and some not even that) all day and dispense already-known exposition and rumors when spoken to. Fans call them "walking information kiosks."
* FlavorEquipment: There is some extremely low-end gear available which most players will pass over without a second thought. In particular, there are the Chitin weapons. The Chitin dagger, for instance, is even worse than the Iron dagger which you can pick up for free during character generation. It exists mostly to give the Ashlanders a unique form of weaponry. Chitin armor on the other hand is actually fairly decent early-game light armor, putting Netch Leather and Nordic Fur armor into this category. You can buy a (relatively inexpensive) almost-full set of the armor from Arielle in [[FirstTown Seyda Neen]]. Even worse are the ''[[JokeItem cloth]]'' bracers. (Think "shirt-sleeve" level of protection and durability...)
* FloatingContinent: The Ministry of Truth, actually a [[WeirdMoon floating]] ''[[WeirdMoon moon]]'', is this same concept. In the backstory, [[MadGod Sheogorath]] hurled it at Vivec city. Vivec, [[PhysicalGod the Tribunal deity]], froze it in time suspended over the city. [[spoiler: In part due to the player's actions during the game, Vivec disappears early in the 4th era, causing the moon to continue its uninterrupted fall with its original momentum, destroying the city and causing Red Mountain to erupt, destroying most of Vvardenfell.]]
* FlowerFromTheMountaintop:
** One side quest has the player looking for 5 unique flowers known as "Rolands Tears." The good news is, it's not exactly inaccessible — it's actually fairly close. The bad news is that it is a Daedric ruin, and Daedric ruins have a reputation as some of the most dangerous places in all Morrowind.
** One quest in ''Bloodmoon'' has the player seeking a Wolfsbane flower. Only one grows in all of Solstheim, on top of large mountain.
* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: Netch are a LivingGasbag species native to Morrowind. They look like giant, floating jellyfish.
* FollowTheWhiteRabbit: There's a sidequest with that, with a white guar.
* ForcedLevelGrinding: There are a few points in the main quest with sudden jumps in difficulty. Luckily, your quest giver generally tells you that you're about to head into a particularly dangerous situation and recommends training and/or buying new equipment to compensate, so these are easy to see coming.
* ForcedTutorial: A very short and subtle one at the beginning of the game where you learn the various controls and menus during character creation. It can actually be taken advantage of in order to steal multiple valuable items with no repercussions. (See KleptomaniacHero for more.)
* ForeheadOfDoom: A lot of Nord women in this game have it, particularly Heddvild in Balmora.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "In the waning years of the Third Era of Tamriel, a prisoner born on a certain day to uncertain parents was sent under guard, without explanation, to Morrowind, ignorant of the role he was to play in that nation's history." [[spoiler: By the end of the game, you are ''still'' ignorant of the role you were to play, i.e. that you've indirectly caused Morrowind's destruction.]]
** The very first sound you will hear when loading the game, even before the main menu appears, is the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWuNf4gxwuM rumble of a beating heart.]]
** The local Nords of Solstheim are a bit peeved that the Raven Rock mine was built on an ancient burial mound. When Raven Rock is revisited two games later, guess what the player finds in the mine?
** One quest in ''Bloodmoon'' has you rescuing the "friend" of a seer, Geilir the Mumbling. He will reward you for completing the quest by telling you your future. If you complete this quest after completing the ''Bloodmoon'' main quest, he will give you this cryptic fortune:
---> [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion When the dragon dies, the Empire dies. Where is the lost dragon's blood, the Empire's sire? And from the womb of the void, who shall stem the blood tide? So long as the Blood of the Dragon Prince runs strong in her rulers, the glory of the Empire shall extend in unbroken years. His heart's blood bleeds in darkness. For once the portals are opened, who shall shut them upon the rising tide? For Lord Dagon forever reborn in blood and fire from the waters of Oblivion. Find him... and close shut the marble jaws of Oblivion.]] ]]
* ForkFencing: One weapon in the game is the Fork of Horripilation. It's a [[JokeItem pitifully weak weapon]] that drains ''your own magicka'' as you wield it. Of course, it is an artifact of [[MadGod Sheogorath]] and you can trade it in for a much, much better weapon upon completing his quest.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: Lord Indoril Nerevar is treated as this by the Dunmer people as the great unificator of Morrowind. The Tribunal rule in his name ([[TheRashomon even though they very likely may be responsible for his death]]) and he is revered as a saint in the Tribunal Temple.
* FreudianTrio: The members of the tribunal with Almalexia as the id, Vivec the ego, and Sotha Sil the superego.
* FullFrontalAssault: Sixth House Dreamers fight in this fashion, most often using a club or simply their bare fists. If encountered during the day, Solstheim's unaffiliated werewolves will be completely naked [=NPCs=] (who are obviously much easier to kill than when in their night-time forms.) This is also an option for the player should it be chosen.
* FungusHumongous: Tree-sized mushrooms are a common sight in Vvardenfell. Telvanni settlements consist almost exclusively of mushroom houses, and many homes (there and elsewhere) have potted mushrooms as decoration.
* GameBreakingBug: the "Sunder/Keening Bug" which if you have an item that adds attributes to you while wielding and rapidly switch it with another item and back to that item, at enough switching speed the attributes are not removed when unwielding it but instead stacked. You could get insane amounts of attributes. That's how speed runs of less than 5 minutes are possible. The bug was removed in later version though.
** In addition to a number of bugs that could break certain quests, installing ''Bloodmoon'' after ''Tribunal'' would cause a bug with a certain character's dialogue, causing it to loop endlessly and cutting off the rest of the ''Tribunal'' main quest. This bug was thankfully patched.
* GameFavoredGender: Massively [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] overall. A female player character will have a slightly easier time finishing one part of the main quest, as well as when completing another miscellaneous quest not far from the starting village. Conversely, a male player character has access to another miscellaneous quest line that a female player character will not.
* GameMod: Thanks to a strong cult {{fandom}}, a simple but extraordinarily flexible level editor, and over a decade in which they could be developed, there are tens of thousands of ''Morrowind'' mods available on the internet.
* GameplayAllyImmortality: Notably averted, leading to some of the most challenging and frustrating [[EscortMission Escort Missions]] in gaming.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration:
** Ordinators hold their Indorial armor sacred, and consider it blasphemous and punishable by death if someone not of their order wears it. Don't speak to them while wearing it unless you want to have them attack you.
** If you join the Imperial Legion, your superior officers will refuse to speak with you if you are not in uniform.
** Dagoth Ur's growing power works as a form of AntiGrinding. The more you level up, the stronger versions of Ash Creatures you'll have to face in his various strongholds.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
** Moon Sugar and Skooma are highly addictive drugs, but the player can consume them will no negative long term consequences.
** It is possible to become the leader of two Guilds or Factions which hate each other. For example, take the Mages Guild and House Telvanni. One quest for the Mages Guild requires you to root out a Telvanni spy within Guild leadership. You can be the Archmagister of House Telvanni, root out the spy who now technically works for you, and be rewarded by the Mages Guild for your good work. Another example, the player may be the Mages Guild Archmage, but if he or she joins House Telvanni, they will have to do a quest to get the Mages Guild's monopoly on magical training dropped.
** Several characters will comment that outlanders are not well liked by the native Dunmer. This supposedly includes foreign-born Dunmer. However, a Dunmer PlayerCharacter will still get the standard +10 "same race" disposition boost when interacting with native Dunmer [=NPCs=].
** The Umbra Sword is described as an evil EmpathicWeapon that slowly corrupts and drives mad the person who wields it. The player can use it for the entire game after earning it and suffer no ill effects.
** One mission during the main quest requires the player to rescue an Argonian being bullied and threatened by racist Dunmer. The Argonian says they refuse to listen to anything he says because of his race. Despite this, the player character can talk to the Dunmer and convince them to leave the Argonian alone, even if the player character is an Argonian him/herself. The racists don't even mention this.
* GargleBlaster: One of Dagoth Ur's top henchmen will offer you a bottle of vintage brandy before you two duke it out. And by "vintage" we mean "brewed so long ago it'll completely sap your Intelligence and Willpower attributes".
* GatelessGhetto: ''Tribunal'' takes place in the city of Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind, which is stated to be massive. However, you're only able to access five sections and the sewers beneath them, [[HandWave supposedly]] because the city is under quarantine from the Blight. Levitation magic is also forbidden by orders of Almalexia in-game (but really, it's because the city is in an [[SkyBox enclosed cell]].) The only way in and out is via teleportation.
* GenderIsNoObject: Gender is purely aesthetic for 99.9% of the game. The only times it matters are some slight differences in starting attributes (small enough to be made up within the first few levels if you choose to do so), for one set of quests in Pelagiad that is only available to male characters, and for one portion of a late-game quest where female characters have easier requirements to finish it and get a slightly bigger bonus for it.
* GenderedOutfit: Initially averted by the game, as the clothing and armor would remain the same in appearance for both genders. After installing ''Tribunal,'' the cuirass for certain armor types (netch leather and steel, amongst others) would change in appearance when equipped to female characters, becoming more form fitting.
* GetOnTheBoat: Inverted at the start of the game, where the player character starts on a boat being transported to the island setting. Other boats are available in the game which provide local transit around the island island
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The 36 sermons of Vivec include, among other things, multiple barely-concealed allegorical descriptions of gay sex between Vivec and the Daedric prince of rape.
* GhostlyChill: In the Sandas Ancestral Tomb you'll find the skeletons of 2 noble guards, you'll find a key on one of the skeletons and a key on a pillar next to the other skeleton which lead to a room and a cursed chest respectively, if you open this chest you'll receive a message saying "You suddenly feel quite cold...". The skeletons become alive and will attack you.
* GiantEnemyCrab: Mudcrabs are a species of crab native to Morrowind, about the size of a large tortoise, and serve as low level enemies along the game's coastal regions.
* GiantMook:
** Dwemer Steam Centurions are large golems made of metal which stand a full head taller than the player character and pack quite a punch when fought.
** Near the end of the ''Tribunal'' main quest, deep inside [[spoiler: Sotha Sil's Clockwork City]], the player will battle the Imperfect, a gigantic machine enemy twice the height of the player character.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: [[spoiler: Karstaag]] feels like this. Unlike the other participants in [[spoiler: Hircine's]] hunt, you don't get to meet him until you have to fight him in in the glacier. [[spoiler: He has a unique model: a giant, four-eyed yeti monster with horns, which is unlike anything else in the game.]] Where he came from or what he actually is never gets discussed in-game. (A popular fan theory from the time stated that he may be a Kamal, one of the Akiviri "snow demons" who staged a failed invasion of Morrowind in the distant past.) [[spoiler: ''Skyrim'' later reveals that Karstaag was a Frost Giant, an offshoot of Giants that are native to a place called The Forgotten Vale. How he got himself to Solstheim? Still a mystery.]]
* GiveMeASword: A Tribunal Temple quest has you visit the shrines of Vivec's virtues. One requires you to reenact a moment when Vivec displayed his courtesy by giving a silver longsword to a Daedra Lord. The other actor in this is a dremora who views the entire thing as demeaning and tedious. He has a chest full of the swords next to him, showing that he has to do this often. He doesn't mind if you take one from the chest and give it to him instead of one brought from the outside.
* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: The ''Tribunal'' expansion has Gaenor, a Bosmer pauper who asks you for increasingly large sums of money (and/or rare items) until he refuses to believe that you'd actually have the cash/item and storms off even if you have the cash. [[spoiler: He then shows up a few days later wearing a full set of one of the most powerful and rare armor sets in the game and tries to kill you - and is nearly invincible due to the armor and his cosmically high Luck score.]]
* GladiatorSubquest: You will need to fight several battles in the Vivec Arena in order to advance through several factions. [[spoiler: In particular, you'll need to do this to achieve guild leader status in the Imperial Legion, House Redoran, and the Mages' Guild. You'll need to battle Dram Bero's champion in order to gain his support in House Hlaalu as well.]]
* GlobalCurrency: The ubiquitous Septim, a simple gold coin. Lampshaded by the Ashlanders, who consider the "settled" people to be fools for trading them useful items in exchange for small chunks of metal with no practical use. Of course, they still accept gold as a form of payment.
* AGodAmI: All three of the Almsivi in the backstory, plus [[spoiler: Dagoth Ur]] to some extent. [[spoiler: Almalexia has this attitude in the expansion.]]
---> [[spoiler: Dagoth Ur]]: "I'm a god! How can you kill a god?"
* AGodIsYou: Notably averted. [[spoiler: Despite coming into the possession of the three tools necessary to become a god in the presence of the Heart of Lorkhan, a godly power source, you are not given the instructions on how to do so. Your only option is to destroy the Heart.]] Not to worry though, as becoming TheAgeless and immune to disease aren't bad consolation prizes.
* GodEmperor:
** While they don't legally count themselves as the emperors, the Dunmer worship the Tribunal, a trio of living, flesh and blood gods. They exert great influence, and each has a royal title, but they aren't officially the government - there's a separate King of Morrowind, who reports to the Emperor. Additionally, the Great Houses retain much of their autonomy as a result of favorable terms in the armistice signed between Morrowind and the Empire.
** Tiber Septim, founder of the current empire, is a more literal example. [[spoiler:A minor character, 'Wulf', can be met late in the game who is actually Tiber Septim - or his avatar - incognito.]]
* GodIsDead: The creator god anyway. There are other gods who are still alive and kicking, some of which die in this game.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: [[spoiler: Almalexia in ''Tribunal.'']] AxeCrazy and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation completely out of her mind]] after [[spoiler: losing her divinity.]]
* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Azura and Sheogorath have made a bet about whether or not this is the case using one of Azura's loyal followers as a test subject. Azura's quest given at her shrine sends the player to ensure that Sheogorath doesn't skew the results.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: [[spoiler:Almalexia does ''not'' take the loss of her godhood well.]]
* GoneHorriblyRight: The mage who tried to create a flight spell (and falls from the sky right in front of you) comes to mind. He made tremendously powerful scrolls that boost your jumping ability so that you can leap ''miles...'' but they wear off after three seconds, which means that by the time you're approaching the ground again, you no longer have the power to land safely.
* GoneSwimmingClothesStolen: This happens to a miner in Gnisis when a rival steals his pants. He'll reward you if you get them back for him.
* [[TheGoodKing The Good Duke]]: Duke Vedam Dren seems genuinely interested in protecting the people of Vvardenfell, he even says as much when asking him for a construction contract for your stronghold. If the player is in House Hlaalu, the two quests he gives involve getting some overzealous Ordinators to back down and getting his crime boss brother, Orvas, to grant the player control over the Camonna Tong.
* GoodMorningCrono: The game begins with the player being woken up on a ship to Morrowind by another prisoner.
* GoWaitOutside: During Boethiah's quest, it does actually take about two in-game weeks for the sculptor you've hired to complete the statue. You can just Rest/Wait until you get the journal message that the statue is complete, however, you must first leave the building the sculptor is located in, otherwise, the event flag won't trigger and he won't move to the construction site.
* GravityBarrier: Downplayed, as the game attempts this by bracketing many paths with tall hills you can't climb. However, a simple Levitation or Jump spell can still get you over with ease, making them rather trivial barriers at worst.
* GreatOffscreenWar: The "War of the First Council" and "Battle of Red Mountain" thousands of years ago set the stage for the plot of the game. The devout, Daedra-worshipping Chimer and atheistic, scientific Dwemer came into conflict in the land now known as Morrowind. After years of fighting, they were [[EnemyMine forced to team up]] to drive out the invading [[ConflictKiller Nords]]. Their alliance remained under the leadership of Chimeri Lord Indoril Nerevar and Dwemer Dumac Dwarfking, known as the "first council." It was a time of great peace and prosperity for both races. However, the Dwemer DugTooDeep beneath Red Mountain and unearthed the Heart of Lorkhan, the [[GodIsDead creator god.]] Chief Tonal Architect, Lord Kagrenec, crafted tools to tap into the power of the heart, hoping to allow the Dwemer to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence transcend mortality]]. The Chimer, seeing this as a blasphemy against ''their'' gods, attempted to stop the Dwemer, reigniting their war. Forces led by Nerevar and Lord Voryn Dagoth infiltrated the Dwemer Red Mountain stronghold. [[TheRashomon Exactly what happened next is described differently by all the surviving participants]], but the Dwemer disappeared from existence, Nerevar was slain, Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal used the tools on the heart to [[AGodAmI achieve godhood]], and Azura cursed the Chimer with dark skin and red eyes, transforming them into the modern Dunmer.
* GreenHillZone: The area directly around the starting town of Seyda Neen. It's relatively peaceful, one of the "greener" areas in Vvardenfell in terms of vegetation, and the toughest enemies you will face at that point are likely mudcrabs and kwama foragers. Subverted with the Grasslands region, which ''appears'' green and peaceful, but is full of rogue ashlanders, blighted critters, and the occasional wandering Daedra.
* GreyAndGreyMorality: The only truly evil people in the game are vampires, the Dark Brotherhood, and [[spoiler:Almalexia]]. The Camonna Tong are pretty close with their ultra-nationalist bigotry. On the other side, very few factions are 'pure good', although House Redoran and the Imperial Cult are generally decent.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: In ''Bloodmoon'', after defeating the Uderfrykte monster, you can loot a "Severed Nord Leg" from it's body. The leg can be wielded as a mediocre blunt weapon.
* GrimUpNorth:
** The Sheogorad region is the northernmost part of Vvardenfell, and short of Red Mountain itself, is one of the most untamed and lawless regions in the land. It has only one major settlement (Dagon Fel, a small Imperial settlement populated mostly by Nords,) but has many bandit caves, ancestral tombs, and necromancer lairs dotting its scattered islands.
** ''Bloodmoon'' adds Solstheim, a mostly frozen and barren hunk of rock inhabited only by the Skaal, treacherous Reiklings, and lots of dangerous wildlife. Only after ebony deposits were discovered there did the Empire start caring about it. The soldiers stationed at Fort Frostmoth and the miners at Raven Rock frequently point out just how miserable it is there.
* GuideDangIt: The main quest is relatively straightforward throughout, but certain side quests qualify. This trope is common in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', but for some this game marks the point at which it stopped becoming a matter of 'replay value' and achieved ridiculous proportions. The game provides an in-world, automatic (not player-entered) journal; unfortunately, many quests and other goals are not recorded in that journal.
** The ''Threads of the Webspinner'' quest requires you to track down 26 items (each boosting one of the games skills). 17 of them are either on [=NPCs=] you are assigned to kill / their guards (or in 1 case, given to you) by the same quest giver, but a few require you to kill random peaceful [=NPCs=] that have no indication that they have them or [=NPCs=] in out-of-the-way dungeons that have no quest at all related to them.
** Another (unmarked) quest involves acquiring [[InfinityPlusOneSword Eltonbrand]]. Let's just say you have better odds of being struck by lightning and winning the lottery on the same day than you do of acquiring this blade [[GuideDangIt without help.]]
** The propylon chambers, an ancient LostTechnology teleportation network. Using them requires collecting propylon indices, tiny grey cylinders about the size of your thumb; in the vanilla game, the indices are scattered over the entire world with no rationale for where they are, generally just lying in some obscure place with no hints whatsoever, and no indication of what they're for or how to use them if you happen to stumble across one of them. An official add-on adds a collection sidequest that gives you general hints of where to go, but without that finding even ''one'' of them (out of ten) without a guide would be a matter of astronomical luck. (As an example, one of them is [[spoiler:hidden between two crates, in a dark, locked room, in the basement of a temple you have no reason to enter, let alone explore.]] And, to reiterate, the vanilla game barely even gives you any hint that the indices ''exist'', let alone where they are or what they are for.) Presumably, the chambers and indices were originally put into the game as an EasterEgg, not something players were normally expected to figure out.
** The master-level Enchanter trainer, while not something the players need to find, falls under this trope, too. You find him in a dungeon filled with evil enemy wizards who attack you on sight; there's no hint that he's there or anything like that. Oh, and he ''is'' one of the many enemy wizards who attacks you on sight; the only way to get him to train you is to use Calm Humanoid or similar magic to approach him without violence. There is absolutely no indication that he is anyone important or any reason why the player would calm him down and try to talk to him, and if you kill him in self-defense, he is LostForever and you will have to grind to 100 Enchantment skill manually.
* GunsInChurch: The player can carry weapons, and even draw them, anywhere he or she pleases.
* GutturalGrowler: The voice for all male Dunmer.
* {{Hammerspace}}: The game version is present in full force. You're only limited in the amount of things you can carry by their weight, not their size or shape. Weapons that are not drawn are invisible, and none of the character models are wearing packs or any other indication that they're carrying around (say) a whole spare suit of armor and thirty potions.
* HammerspacePoliceForce: Averted for the first time in the series. The settled areas each have a set amount of guards present, ranging from just one in rural villages like Hla Oad to dozens for a big city like Vivec. Any guards killed will respawn after three in-game days, but the amount of guards will never exceed the set amount for that settlement.
* HandBehindHead: A common NPC idle animation.
* HardCodedHostility:
** Despite offers to do so, there is no way to actually join the Sixth House, turning them into this.
** The Camonna Tong hate all outlanders, including the player. While they stop short of attacking the player on sight, their disposition is so low that most dialogue options are cut off outright, making interactions with them nearly impossible. Their disposition drops even lower if the player is associated with any of the Imperial Guilds (especially the hated Thieves Guild) or any non-Hlaalu Great House.
* HeartbeatSoundtrack: The game's main theme, "Nerevar Rising," has a deep drum throughout which [[{{Foreshadowing}} sounds just like a heart beat]].
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:You can convince one of Hard-Heart's minions to defect by giving her a certain artifact. However, this minion will try to [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder kill]] you]] when you become master of the guild.
* HelloInsertNameHere: You have the option to name your player character. That name will appear in text form in NPC conversations and even some in-game documents, but never in any of the spoken dialogue.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Jiub, your otherwise unremarkable fellow prisoner aboard the Imperial Prison Ship at the start of the game, goes on to drive Morrowind's much-reviled Cliff Racers to extinction by the time of ''Oblivion'' and is made into a Saint as a result.
* HideYourChildren: No children appear in the game for the [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality standard]] [[WideOpenSandbox Sandbox]] game reason.
* HiredToHuntYourself: One sidequest features a runaway Argonian slave who poses as a local guide to the slave hunter who has been hired to bring him in. The guide uses a direct translation of the name under which he is wanted, as only other members of the race (who obviously aren't going to help), the odd slave trader, and a high Intelligence player character bother to learn the Argonian language. You can choose to rat him out or promise to keep his secret.
* HitboxDissonance: One of the many reasons for the hatred towards Cliff Racers. When alive, their hit box is an inexplicably small portion of their body. Then when they die, this is reversed. You'll need to dispose of their corpse in order to access any items or other corpses nearby because their dead body "container" selection box is inexplicably massive.
* HitPoints: The fairly straightforward "Health."
** CallAHitPointASmeerp: The less straightforward "Magicka" for Mana and "Fatigue" for Stamina.
* HollywoodDarkness: Averted. Most places which don't have living humanoid inhabitants have very little lighting, making them difficult to navigate. The game offers torches and laterns to help light the way, but they are used in the off-hand, so you cannot use them with a shield or two-handed weapon. Additionally, there are Night Eye and Light spells to brighten them up.
* HollywoodDensity:
** Most things have fairly realistic weights, however, your character can still lift an insane amount without being slowed down. Humorously, this means often times it's more practical to steal/loot cheaper stuff (like clothes) than heavy weapons and armor because its value:weight ratio is higher and thus you can walk away with more of it.
** Played straight with gold coins, which are weightless. You can carry around hundreds of thousands of gold coins without issue.
* HolyCity: Each of the three Tribunal deities has a city devoted to them. Vivec has the city named after him where he resides in his palace, and is where the mortal leadership of the Tribunal Temple is housed. Almalexia resides in her temple in the mainland Morrowind capital city of Mournhold. Both are Vatican-style examples. Sotha Sil's Clockwork City is more complicated. Though he does reside there, the city doesn't seem to exist in a place accessible by mortals and, as such, does not have any mortal inhabitants.
* AHomeOwnerIsYou: You get the opportunity to build your own stronghold as you advance through any of the Great House factions. You can also just take over one of the game's many abandoned homes or ruins.
** AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: And you will then fill that place with all of your questing treasures.
* HomosexualReproduction: According to the [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:36_Lessons_of_Vivec,_Sermon_12 Lessons of Vivec]], Vivec and Molag Bal ''somehow'' had sons and daughters, though the Lessons of Vivec are generally allegorical even at their most reliable.
* HonorAmongThieves : All of the main joinable factions had an associated book which outlined their basic ideals and made the case for why you should join them. The Thieves' Guild's book is actually called ''Honor Among Thieves'', and indeed part of the author's argumentation is that the Thieves' Guild is this trope made official (the major other part is that they aren't the murderous, drug-dealing xenophobic slaver scum the Camonna Tong are).
* HotSkittyOnWailordAction: The in-game book ''Interspecies Phylogeny'' discusses this topic from a scholarly standpoint as it pertains to the various races of Tamriel. Each species except for the egg-laying Argonians appears to be compatible to breed with one another.
* HubCity: Vivec is the largest and most populous city in the main game, as well as the center of Dunmer politics and culture. (Ebonheart would be the center of Imperial culture and influence on the island.)
* HufflepuffHouse: There are five great houses in Morrowind, though you only get to directly interact with the leadership of three: - Hlaalu, Redoran, and Telvanni - since those are the only three with holdings in Vvardenfell, where the game takes place. You can interact indirectly with House Indorial as they are heavily associated with the Tribunal Temple, and then more in ''Tribunal''. House Dres is never interacted with though, as their holdings are entirely in southern mainland Morrowind. Background references indicate that they are one of the most politically conservative houses of the Dunmer and are heavily involved in the slave trade.
* HumongousMecha:
** Dagoth Ur is constructing one, called Akhulakhan, from the blueprints of the [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Numidium]] and intends to power it with the Heart of Lorkhan. [[spoiler: When the player breaks the enchantment on the Heart, Akhulakhan falls into the lave below]].
** Sotha Sil protects his main chambers with two of these, called the Imperfect. [[spoiler: The player gets to fight one of them at the end of the ''Tribunal'' main quest line]].
* HundredPercentHeroismRating:
** After you complete the main quest, many people will stammer and ask you to forgive them because they don't know how to speak to such an important person. Others will thank you for your heroic deeds. Additionally, when selecting the "Nerevarine" topic with most [=NPCs=], their disposition will raise each time, maxing out in the 60s. This is very helpful when dealing with [=NPCs=] who would otherwise hate you, such as members of rival Great Houses or Guilds.
** Present in a subtle form with the Reputation stat. As you perform quests and rise in the ranks of the various Guilds and Factions, your Reputation stat will grow. The stat is taken into account when calculating an NPC's disposition, so your status as a famous adventurer will make them like you more.
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: The end game of the ''Bloodmoon'' main quest.
* HyperactiveMetabolism: Consumables take effect instantly, and the player can chow down hundreds of pounds of edibles or gallons liquid at once.
* HyperspaceArsenal: The player is only limited by the weight of the items he/she is carrying, and will no longer be able to move once the encumbrance limit (set based on the Strength attribute) is reached. So one can carry multiple suits of armor or several giant weapons without issue as long as that weight limit is not reached.
* IAmWho: [[spoiler:Lord Nerevar reborn, that's who.]]
* ICannotSelfTerminate: A sidequest in ''Bloodmoon'' has Ulfgar the Unending looking for a way into Sovngarde, the Nordic paradise afterlife. He recruits the player to help him find the way in. [[spoiler: As it turns out, you must die in battle. And seeing as how the player is the only person around badass enough to defeat Ulfgar in combat, he asks him/her to do this.]]
* IcarusAllusion: Not far from the starting village, the player can encounter a Bosmer named Tarhiel as he falls from the sky to his death. On his body are three scrolls which allow the user to jump vast distances, but they wear off before the user can safely land. They are appropriately called the "Scrolls of Icarian Flight."
* IcePalace: Castle Karstaag, home to a frost giant of the same name, is a massive glacial ice palace.
* IdealIllnessImmunity: A side effect of the Corprus Disease is immunity to all other diseases.
* IdiosyncraticCoverArt: ''Morrowind'' starts the trend for the series of having MinimalisticCoverArt showing an emblem of some sort from the Elder Scrolls universe (in this case, the "Imperial Dragon" symbol in a triangle surrounded by the Daedric letters A, S, and V for the members of the Tribunal) as though it were printed on the cover of a leather-bound book. ''Oblivion'' and ''Skyrim'' would each follow suit.
* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: While the Sixth House bases themselves generally have fairly innocuous names, the rooms within have names like "Black Heart" and "Soul's Rattle."
* ImAHumanitarian: Several pieces of human flesh can be found in the game. You can eat it or mix it into a potion just like any other ingredient. Corprus meat may also count, [[WasOnceAMan since it is the diseased flesh of those afflicted.]]
* ImperfectRitual: At the very end of the main quest, [[spoiler: you bring the tools necessary to tap into the Heart of Lorkhan in order to achieve godhood to the Heart chamber, where Dagoth Ur resides. He believes that you will try to use the tools to achieve godhood yourself, so he toys with you and taunts you. However, you aren't going to strike the Heart in the fashion necessary to achieve godhood. Instead, you perform a different ritual, and use the tools to unbind the Heart, cutting off anyone drawing divine power from it, including Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal.]]
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: M'aiq the Liar's Colovian Fur Helm. "[[MemeticMutation Practical, yet stylish!]]"
* ImprobableAimingSkills: One in-game book tells the story a Bosmer (a race renowned for their marksmanship) slave who coaches his owner's son on how to hit his target by firing ridiculous wild shots, on the basis that one should get a feel for how arrows fly before bothering to try to hit anything in particular. The father is furious that the slave is not training his son the way he asked, so begins beating the slave. The slave, while being beaten, continues to coach the pupil on taking wild shots straight into the air. The son ultimately scores a perfect hit on the slave's intended target... which, to the pupil's dismay, is the father. In other words, this archer is so good he can line up a perfect shot, ''with someone else's bow'', while being beaten with a stick. "Bullseye!" Naturally, the book increases the player's Marskman skill +1 when read.
* ImprobablePowerDiscrepancy: The expansions, which were geared towards higher level players, tend to lead to this. You'll find common enemies like Spriggans and werewolves in ''Bloodmoon'' putting up a tougher fight than 4000 year old main game PhysicalGod BigBad Dagoth Ur, even though you've likely gained many levels since then.
* InASingleBound: A maxed out Acrobatics skill allows the player to leap about 2 stories straight into the air. This can be augmented further with a "Jump" spell, further increasing jumping ability. The Scrolls of Icarian Flight take UpToEleven though. They allow the player to jump for ''miles'', however, landing can be tricky without proper preparation...
* IneptAptitudeTest: There is an optional one at the beginning of the game during character creation which can be used to determine your class. Since a number of the questions are rather unintuitive, it ends up being fairly inaccurate.
* InexplicablyPreservedDungeonMeat: Found frequently, even in places explicitly sealed for centuries.
* InfallibleBabble:
** Averted in the main quest when you are figuring out the Nerevarine Prophecies. The most commonly available interpretation is actually incorrect, and several of the prophecies are missing, so you need piece the correct version of the prophecy together.
** Averted with M'aiq the Liar, who has a number of conversation topics available, but nearly all are BlatantLies (Dragons, Multiplayer, Climbing, etc.) Only two actually have truth to them, but the details he gives are vague and inexact, so good luck figuring them out.
* InfinityPlusOneSword: The extremely [[GuideDangIt hard to get]] katana, Eltonbrand. It is basically an upgraded form of the legendary blade Goldbrand, keeping Goldbrand's fire damage while increasing it's base damage, adding an additional "Fortify Attack" enchantment, and restoring the user's fatigue with every successful strike. (It's also an EasterEgg, named after former Duke Blue Devils basketball star Elton Brand, of whom one of the game developers was a big fan.)
* InfinityMinusOneSword: Several options:
** Goldbrand, a golden katana which deals fire damage, is given at the completion of Boethiah's [[GuideDangIt hard-to-find]] Daedric quest.
** Chrysamere, "the Paladin's Blade," is the best two-handed blade in the game. It deals massive damage and is also enchanted to cast several protective spells on the user.
** ''Tribunal'' adds the twin blades [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement True Flame]] and Hopes Fire. They were given by the Dwemer as wedding gifts to Nerevar and Almalexia thousands of years ago. True Flame is a FlamingSword while Hopes Fire is the lightning equivalent.
** Auriel's Bow is the most powerful bow in the game, and curiously, comes unenchanted, allowing the player to enchant it how he/she sees fit.
** "Skull Crusher" is the best two-handed blunt weapon in the game, dealing out massive amounts of damage, and is enchanted with a Feather spell which reduces its carry-weight to nothing.
** The "Wings of the Queen of Bats" is the game's best Axe, but is curiously not available in the game itself and requires console commands to acquire. It deals massive damage and is also enchanted to drain the health of enemies it strikes. Several mods have been created adding the Axe to the game proper.
** The Black Hands Dagger is simply an enchanted Daedric dagger acquired through the Morag Tong questline, but is enchanted with a powerful Absorb Health spell on strike. This combination means it can deal the most damage in a single blow of any weapon in the game while transferring part of the damage back to the user as restored health.
* InfoDump: The series has an incredibly rich and complex backstory, so much of the information needed to understand the story of the game is thrown at you in one of these.
* InformedEquipment: Generally averted, as all armor and clothing appear on your character. Played straight, however, with accessories such as rings, amulets and belts which do not appear. Also, arrow quivers and your sheathed weapon do not appear either.
* InGameNovel: Many. Most are short stories which fill maybe a dozen or so pages of an in-game book, but two in particular deserve special mention: [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:2920,_The_Last_Year_of_the_First_Era 2920, the Last Year of the First Era]] and [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:The_36_Lessons_of_Vivec The 36 Lessons of Vivec]]. Each fills in some of the {{Backstory}}, though the "Lessons" [[UnreliableNarrator should be taken with a grain of salt]].
* InnSecurity:
** Once you've reached a certain point in the main quest, you may start getting attacked by Ash Zombie assassins when you sleep in civilized areas. Your only options are to sleep away from civilized areas (and risk getting attacked in your sleep by wildlife) or locate the area's Sixth House base and kill the leader. (The latter has the added benefit of waking any "Sleepers" in the area as well. Speaking with them will net you a valuable Reputation point.)
** Once ''Tribunal'' is installed, you may be attacked in your sleep at any time by a Dark Brotherhood assassin. The only place you are safe is in the [[GuideDangIt tutorial area bedroll]]. (While inconvenient, it may be wise to sleep there until you've acquired the equipment necessary to fend off an assassin.)
* InstantArmor: The Bound Armor spells allow you to temporarily summon pieces of Daedric Armor. If enchanted as a "Cast when Used" enchantment on a item, it is possible to summon the entire set of armor at once.
* InstantExpert:
** Downplayed in that you can equip any type of weapon or armor as soon as you find it, however, if you don't have the skills to use it properly, you'll find it difficult to actually hit enemies with said weapons and you'll receive far less protection from said armor.
** Played straight with unlimited Training per level. As long as you have the gold to pay for the training, it is possible to be trained from a complete novice to matching your trainer's level of expertise in only a few in-game days. (Each training session takes two in-game hours. If you find a Master trainer who can train your skill to the max, you can go from the minimum skill level of 5 to 100 in 190 in-game hours.)
* InstrumentalThemeTune: The game's main theme, "Nerevar Rising."
* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Averted. Only the steepest mountains cannot be traversed on foot, and for those, you can still get over with a Levitation or Jump spell.
* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys:
** Averted in general, as keys will only open specific doors or containers.
** A quirk occurs when it comes to slave bracers. Normally, you need to find the key in the location with the slaves in order to unlock their bracers. (So, for example, the Addamasartus Slave Key will open the bracers of slaves within Addamasartus.) However, if you bring a slave from another location to a place for which you already have the key (using a Command spell, for example,) you can then unlock that slave's bracers with the key you already have. This is useful for freeing slaves whose bracers do not have a key and normally would not be able to be freed.
* InterfaceScrew: The "Blind" spell darkens the screen by a percentage based on the strength of the spell used. [[UselessUsefulSpell This spell does not, however, affect [=NPCs=]]].
* InterfaceSpoiler: If you find an NPC with unusual dialogue options, even if they don't cause anything to happen at that time, odds are they will be involved with a quest at some point in the future. The same is also true if the NPC simply lacks the usual dialogue options (latest rumors, little advice, little secret, etc.)
* InterserviceRivalry:
** The Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers, both militant wings of the Tribunal Temple, don't really get along.
** In ''Tribunal'', there is a rivalry and general sense of distrust between Almalexia's High Ordinators and King Helseth's Royal Guards. [[spoiler: When the city is attacked by fabricants, each faction will ask you to report the attack to their side's leadership]].
* InvitedAsDinner: One in-game book features a thief mistaken for a "Lady Tressed" at a masquerade dinner party where everyone has weird names. Her partner is already there (asleep at the end of the table), being called "Esruoc Tsrif" by the guests. She eventually realizes that everyone is pronouncing their names backwards, but she waits until the vampires jump her to figure out who "Lady Tressed" is.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifter: If you become a werewolf, you will transform every night.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:If the lost prophecies are to be believed, the Nerevarine is an outlander, one of the same group of people the Ashlanders are trying to remove from Morrowind.]]
* IrrelevantImportance: [=NPCs=] essential to completing the main quest are marked with an "Essential" tag, meaning that if you kill them, you will get a message that you've made the game unwinnable by the standard means. This tag remains present permanently, however, so if you kill someone important to the main quest after they've already played their part, you'll still get the message.
* IrrelevantSidequest: Standard for the series, but in a positive way since it's up to the player to decide which quests they want to complete. ''Morrowind'' even takes it a step further than usual by having it explicitly recommended to you to go do things outside the main quest in order to keep up your cover story as a freelance adventurer and as a way to gain money and experience.
* IShallTauntYou:
** This is a game mechanic in conversations. The player can choose to Taunt an NPC, which lowers their disposition and may cause them to attack. If they do, you are within your legal right to kill them with no penalty to you.
** [[spoiler: Dagoth Ur spends much of the final battle doing this to you. He's a god and knows you can't kill him...he doesn't know that you intend to remove his godhood.]]
* ItemCrafting: The Alchemy skill allows you to make your own [[PotionBrewingMechanic potions]] and the Enchant skill allows you to create magic equipment. Mage services also allow the player to [[SpellCrafting make custom spells]]. All three mechanics can easily [[GameBreaker break the game]], even at low or middling levels.
* ItsAlwaysSpring: While in-game months do go by, Morrowind always seems to have a late-spring/early summer feel.
* ItsAWonderfulFailure: If you kill an NPC essential to completing the main quest, you get the following message: "With this character's death, the thread of prophecy is severed. Restore a saved game to restore the weave of fate, or persist in the doomed world you have created."
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: Even for an ''Elder Scrolls'' player character, the Nerevarine has to endure a number of significant hardships while trying to save the world. They are an outlander in a place notorious for hating outlanders, get afflicted with a terrible disease (though are at least cured of the negative affects,) declared a heretic and persecuted by the Tribunal Temple, and all of this while being manipulated by the Empire, the local Tribunal deities, Azura, and Dagoth Ur. [[spoiler: And while he/she does manage to save the world at least twice, his/her actions indirectly lead to the destruction of most of Morrowind when Baar Dau resumes it's fall and causes Red Mountain to errupt.]]
* JackOfAllStats: Out of the playable races, it's the Dunmer. They get bonuses to assorted skills spread out between the Combat, Magic, and Stealth specializations. In terms of attributes, they are well balanced with limited deficiencies. With efficient leveling, they can approach MasterOfAll territory.
* {{Jerkass}}: Most of both House Telvanni and the Tribunal Church.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Most of the reasonable Dunmer you meet, [[RousseauWasRight really]]. While the Dunmer in general can be rather secretive, abrassive and xenophobic at face value, many of them will mellow and show a friendly and honourable side to the player. Some of the individual Dunmer [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] will even befriend you and become your trusted allies if you achieve a high enough reputation level with them. All the more impressive when you manage this as an Argonian or a Khajiit, as those two races [[FantasticRacism are usually not taken very seriously by the Dunmer]]. A lot of this applies to many non-Dunmer [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] too, of course.
* JoinTheArmyTheySaid: Troops at Fort Frostmoth in ''Bloodmoon'' will sometimes say a variation of the trope name as idle banter.
--> "Join the Legion! See the world!" Freeze your arse..."
* JokeItem: A smuggler's cave not far from the starting town contains the unique "Fat Lute." It's a slightly bigger and heavier version of the standard lute item found elsewhere in the game, and isn't valuable in the least.
* JumpPhysics: At higher levels of the Acrobatics skill, the player can jump about two stories straight into the air.
* JustBeforeTheEnd: Of the reign of the Tribunal and really, the Dunmer way of life for the past 4000 years.
* JustBetweenYouAndMe:
** Dagoth Ur at the end of the main quest gives you an opportunity to question his plans and motives before the final one-on-one duel.
** [[spoiler: Almalexia]] at the end of ''Tribunal'' as well.
* JustifiedTutorial: A very short one in the beginning of the game as you exit the Imperial Prison Ship and enter the Census and Excise Office where you create your character.
* JustLikeRobinHood: Gentleman Jim Stacy, Grandmaster of the Thieves Guild, offers a set of quests in this vein known as the "Bal Malagmer" quests after an ancient order of thieves who operated in Morrowind.
* KarlMarxHatesYourGuts:
** Goods have the same base price no matter where you go, and that price is only affected by the shopkeeper's disposition toward the player and the player's Mercantile skill. Even when both are maxed out, it is impossible to sell an item to that shopkeeper for the same or greater price than you could buy it for.
** There is one notable aversion: Alchemy. It is possible to buy cheap, infinitely restocking ingredients from an alchemist/apothecary, turn those ingredients into a potion, and then sell the potion back for more gold than the ingredients themselves were worth. The only thing keeping this from being an infinite source of income is having to wait for the merchant's stock of gold to regenerate after 24 in-game hours.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: In terms of one-handed long blades, katanas play the trope straight. Even the game's InfinityPlusOneSword, Goldbrand (as well as its [[GuideDangIt hard-to-get]] upgraded version, Eltonbrand,) is a powerful enchanted katana.
* KeywordsConversation: New keywords are highlighted as hyperlinks in the dialogue window and known keywords are listed to the right (slightly filtered by the NPC's affiliations and story purpose).
* KickedUpstairs: It's implied that this is how Trebonius came to be the head of the Vvardenfell branch of the Mages Guild. His mainland superiors were tired of his incompetence, so they put him in charge of the most backwater province in the empire to keep him from mucking things up elsewhere.
* KillTheGod: The goal of the main quest is to find a way to defeat PhysicalGod BigBad Dagoth Ur. [[spoiler: He is really a god, and you cannot kill him directly...but you can cut him off from the source of his godhood, which has the same basic effect.]] You'll do it again in ''Tribunal'' with [[spoiler: Almalexia]].
* KingArthur: Even if it is not an explicit intention of the writers, numerous parallels exist between Arthur and Nerevar: both were charismatic war-leaders who united their peoples against foreign invasion to great effect, both have numerous conflicting accounts of their passing, both have close groups of followers who's tales and exploits eventually begin to eclipse their own legacies, both became folk heroes to groups who have been marginalised by invasion and progress, and [[spoiler:both have prophesies of their return which may or may not have already occurred if valid]].
* KingIncognito: Toward the very end of the main quest, you may meet an old man named Wulf in Imperial armor hanging out inside of Ghostgate. If you talk to him, he'll ask that you take his "lucky coin" with you to Red Mountain. If you accept, you'll gain a new power which dramatically increases your Luck attribute for a time. Later, you can speak to the Imperial Cult Oracle about your encounter with the old man. She'll tell you that the old man was really an avatar of Tiber Septim, the first emperor of the Septim dynasty who ascended to godhood after his death.
* KingInTheMountain: Dagoth Ur is a villainous version. He was thought to have been vanquished, but having already attained godhood, his defeat was only temporary and he regained his power over several millennia leading up to the events of the game.
* KleptomaniacHero: Pretty much encouraged by the game itself. Especially true for those in the actual Thieves Guild. A few of the prime examples:
** The Census and Excise office where you start the game. There is a built-in area out of sight where the player will acquire their first weapon, lockpicks, food, beverages, light source, and book. Even better, until you are officially released by the Captain and given your orders, you will not get a bounty for anything you steal in plain sight of the guards. Simply pick up anything you wish to steal and then set it on the ground before the guard gets to you. He'll reprimand you for stealing it, but there are no other consequences. Simply pick the stolen item back up when you're done and it's yours! You can acquire a key to the Seyda Neen warehouse with this method. The warehouse contains even more stuff to steal.
** An early Balmora Mages Guild quest will have Ajira call the resident enchanter Galbedeir down to the bottom floor so you can switch out one of her soul gems with a fake. This leaves every other soul gem (including one filled grand soul gem worth 60,000 gold) completely unguarded. The only draw back to stealing them is that Galbedeir will recognize ALL soul gems as stolen after that point, so you will no longer be able to use her enchanting service.
** The ''very first'' Ald-Ruhn Thieves Guild quest will have you stealing an item from the neighboring Mages Guild. All of the mages inside will clear out, leaving only one inept guard who is easily killed by even the lowest leveled players. The mages will stay gone until you complete the quest, so feel free to loot the entire place from top to bottom, making several trips if you have to.
** Unlike later games in the series, all merchants will buy stolen goods (unless you stole it from THEM, in which case they will recognize it as theirs.) The items will be marked as stolen, so they will be confiscated by guards if you are caught. However, [[FailedASpotCheck dropping the stolen items on the ground before the guard gets to you will prevent them from being confiscated.]] Simply pick them back up after you've paid your bounty and you're good to go.
** Unfortunately, a quirk of the game engine discourages stealing stuff that isn't unique or gold (which doesn't count for this): instead of marking a specific incarnation of an item as stolen, it marks the base item as stolen -- in other words, steal a Grand Soul Gem, and ''all Grand Soul Gems you acquire are regarded as stolen''. Luckily, if you avoid run-ins with the law (or, as mentioned above, drop your stolen items before talking to the guards,) this is largely a non-issue unless you attempt to sell the stolen items back to the person you stole them from.
* KlingonPromotion: Morrowind is rather tolerant of this. House Telvanni practice this as a rule, but many factions indulge in it. For bonus points, Tamrielic law even allows for it (within sanctioned limits), citing such matters as ''duels of honorable combat.''
* KnightTemplar: ''The Ordinators'' are shining example of the trope. They are the militant wing of the Tribunal Temple and do not tolerate outsiders. Walking past them will usually net you the "We're watching you...SCUM," response. Even if you become the new head of the Temple, the indirect boss of the Ordinators, they don't become much more tolerant. And may the gods help you if you mention the Nerevarine prophecy around them. Or wear their armor.
* LadyLand: The town of Tel Mora is ruled by Telvanni councilor Mistress Dratha, who despises all men. The town is entirely populated by female staff and residents.
* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler:There's only one Dwemer left, deep in the bowels of the Corprusarium.]] And he's not all there anyway (physically or mentally).
* LavaIsBoilingKoolAid: Lava is actually treated fairly realistically. You don't sink in it, can't stand on it, and it doesn't really flow. However, [[ConvectionSchmonvection you can stand next to it for as long as you want]] as long as you aren't actually touching it.
* LavaPit: Plenty around Red Mountain and the Molag Amur region. If you join House Telvanni and raise in rank until you get your own stronghold, you'll have your own personal lava pit, which is very fitting for the EvilSorcerer Great House.
* LawOfCartographicalElegance: Canonically, Vvardenfell is an island separated from the mainland by a strip of water far less than what separates it from Solstheim. However, in-game, the water stretches on indefinitely.
* LegendaryWeapon: Plenty, particularly any weapons of Daedric origin.
* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: The Thieves' Guild and the Camonna Tong both own various taverns and clubs in the major cities that are used as guild halls, and talking to anyone on the street makes it obvious that their function is an OpenSecret. Averted by the Morag Tong, since despite being assassins, their existence is perfectly legal and they have no need to hide their presence (except for their headquarters in Vivec, which is extremely well hidden).
* LethalJokeItem:
** The Boots of Blinding Speed. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin They're boots that let you run really fast, but blind you.]] However, a bit of magicka resistance will negate the blinding effect, leaving you with only the positive effect.
** The scrolls of Icarian Flight, which let you jump all the way across the continent in a single bound, zig-zag this trope; while at first glance they appear straightforwardly awesome, if you use one you find out that they are indeed lethal... to ''you'', since they wear off before you hit the ground and lead to a generally-fatal impact. When combined with a Slow Fall or Levitation spell near the end of your jump, they become amazingly valuable... but there's only three in the entire game, so they also become TooAwesomeToUse.
** ''Tribunal'' adds the Bi-Polar Blade as a reward for completing "the Match Maker" side quest. The two enchantments on the blade cancel each other out, which is fitting given the name of the weapon, but it still a powerful blade in it's own right - dealing damage on the level of the game's other artifact two-handed blades. (It can also be sold to the Mournhold Museum for a cool 20,000 gold if you prefer.)
* LethalJokeCharacter: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mudcrab Merchant.]] He is identical in appearance to other Mudcrabs, he's hidden on a specific island in the Azura's Coast region and is difficult to find, he speaks with a drunken dialect... and he has more available gold for bartering then any other merchant in the game.
* LethalLavaLand: The Molag Amur region southeast of Red Mountain, characterized by the presence of lava pools and rivers on the surface. The land is predominantly dark volcanic rock covered with an overlay of ash and cinder.
* LevelEditor: The PC version of the game comes with the "Construction Set." It is simple to learn and very flexible, allowing you to manipulate the game in a wide variety of ways.
* LevelGrinding: Expect to do it if you want to be come proficient in any skill, particularly the weapon skills. Made easier with unlimited training per level (unlike the later games in the series,) but only if you can afford it.
* LevelScaling: Limited to creatures outside of caves. The items in many containers are also pulled from "leveled lists," give you a better chance at finding good items at higher levels. All of the loot outside of containers is hand placed and never changes, however.
* LighthousePoint: The starting town of Seyda Neen has a lighthouse, and due to the island's quarantine because of the Blight, is the only (legal) port for boats coming from the mainland.
* LightningGun: Shock spells have this appearance, firing a "ball" of electricity at opponents.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Generally played straight with a few quirks. Any character build is going to have some difficulty in the [[EarlyGameHell very early going]], but warrior types are going to have it a bit easier than magic users. Once magic users gain access to (and have the funds to pay for) custom spells, they become much more powerful. However, late in the game (and especially in the expansions,) most high level foes resist magic to some degree or outright reflect it, suddenly making things very challenging for magic users once again. And there there is the [[GoodBadBugs Alchemy abuse bug]] which, with Alchemy classed as a magic based skill, can turn the "wizard" types into walking [[TheSingularity singularities]].
* LivingGasbag: The Netch are basically giant, flying, gas-filled jellyfish.
* LoadBearingBoss: Dagoth Ur, though indirectly. [[spoiler: He is a god, and you cannot actually kill him, because he'll just immediately resurrect again. However, when you sever his ties to the Heart of Lorkhan, he will die and, due to the bindings on the Heart being removed, the room you are in will collapse into the lava below.]]
* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: When the game first came out, loading times were absolutely ''abysmal'' on both the XBox and PC versions. The overworld would take as long as three minutes to load and doing something as simple as ''running too fast'' could cause the game to grind to a halt. Thankfully, as technology has advanced in the decade plus since the game was released, this is now significantly less of an issue. Even a modern "off the shelf" PC can now play the game with loading times of less than a second. At times, the "Loading..." box at the bottom of the screen appears and disappears so quickly you barely notice it.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfSidequests: Dozens of them spread out through the game. The game actually justifies taking the time to do them as well, as it is recommended to you to keep up your cover identity as a freelance adventurer to hide that you are working for the Blades. [[spoiler: And later, after you've been named the Nerevarine/Hortator, you can complete them to fulfill your duty to protect the people of Morrowind.]]
* LockAndKeyPuzzle: In the dungeons of Tel Fyr, there is a series of chests each with a key and some minor treasure in them. Each key unlocks the next chest in the series. Near the end, you can walk away with a few legendary ancient weapons.
* LockedInAFreezer: The in-game book ''The Locked Room'' features this.
* LongLived: Not counting divine beings like the Tribunal or those who have enhanced their lifespans through magic like the Telvanni, there are several instances of particularly long-lived people in Morrowind.
** Nevevar, in the backstory, was in his 200s when he was killed and was still acting as a FrontlineGeneral. Dagoth Ur and Sotha Sil were said to be of "Nerevar's generation," so they were likely of similar age and still quite active before acquiring godhood.
** Barenziah, the Queen Mother, is in her 400s (old enough to have had an affair with Tiber Septim) and is as crafty as ever.
* LostForever:
** The InfinityPlusOneSword Eltonbrand and the legendary shield Spellbreaker can only be acquired if the player is a vampire. If the player gets cured without completing the quests to get these items, they will be impossible to acquire as you cannot contract vampirism a second time.
** The master trainer for enchantment, Qorwynn, is lost if you kill him. Of course, this is true for anyone else, so why is it a problem here? Qorwynn is a hostile Altmer spellcaster in a dungeon filled with nearly-identical hostile Altmer spellcasters, with no indication, anywhere in the game, that there is anything special about him. The only way to get training from him is to use magic to calm him down first, and there is absolutely no reason anyone would do this without a guide. Kill him, and you'll have to grind to 100 enchantment yourself if you want it.
* LostInTranslation:
** A special case occurs in the German version of the ''Bloodmoon'' expansion - in one dialogue, the translator forgot to add the text link leading to a quest start, which results in a (small, but quite helpful) side quest being completely lost.
** In the Polish translation, it's pretty hard to rest in some taverns due to the option, when available, being listed last in the dialogue sidebar, due to Morrowind's topic ordering system not recognizing letters of the Polish alphabet.
* LostTechnology: Nearly anything created by the Dwemer, as per series tradition.
* LostSuperweapon: [[spoiler:Akhulakhan is being built from [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Numidium's]] blueprint, replacing the Mantella with the Heart of Lorkhan as a power source.]]
* LovableSexManiac: Oooh, Crassius Curio is an example, dumpling, but it is soo nice to hear you say it. It is lovely when you list tropes like that, honey. Now give Uncle Curio a kiss. It should be noted that, in our world, much of what Curio does would be sexual harassment punishable by law. Requiring you to strip for him so he will promote you, anyone? Also, [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar how did ESRB not notice?]] Also note that Uncle Crassius does not [[DepravedBisexual discriminate between genders]]. Or [[InterspeciesRomance species.]] He has also written a play called ''The Lusty Argonian Maid''. "Polish my spear!" indeed.
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: The in-game two-part novel "Palla" is an example. The story's narrator falls in love with Pal La after seeing a statue of her fighting the monster that ultimately killed her; being a necromancer, he sets about the monumental task of bringing Pal La back to life, so they can live happily and in love ever after. [[spoiler: He finally succeeds, but before he can join his beloved, he finds out that Pal La was the monster. Who is happy to meet him]].
* LowLevelAdvantage: Generally averted in the game, but there is one Imperial Cult quest where you will get a better reward if a certain skill is below level 40. (Specifically, your blunt weapon skill.)
* LowLevelRun: Possible by abusing the game-breaking Alchemy exploit. Because the game is paused when the player stopped to brew potions, the player can brew an INT boosting potion that lasts a short time, drink it, and then immediately brew another potion that provides an even greater bonus (as alchemy stat bonuses are affected by your INT stat), and it would stack to absurd levels until you can create a potion that restored your entire health pool many times over each second for a real-life hour. This then allows the player to wield the Tools of Kagrenac, Keening and Sunder, without Wraithguard, the protective gauntlet needed to use them. (Otherwise, the tools quickly drain the health of the wielder.) By doing this, it's possible to complete the game's main quest in under 10 minutes.
* LuckStat: The Luck attribute. It affects the success rate of everything you do, from hitting attacks, to lockpicking, to creating potions, and a lot else.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: A-C]]
* AbandonedMine: There are a number of them throughout Vvardenfell. Many kwama egg mines had to be abandoned when the resident kwama colony became blighted and turned hostile. There are also some ebony and glass mines that had to be abandoned for various reasons. One in particular, the Vassir-Didanat ebony mine, was abandoned so long ago that its location is lost. You can find it and report its location to one of three Hlaalu councilors, each of whom will give you a different reward... [[GuideDangIt although you'll probably find this out entirely by chance.]]
* AbilityRequiredToProceed: A downplayed example in the form of Telvanni towers. They typically require you to use Levitation in order to reach the important [=NPCs=] at the top. If you haven't bothered to train your Alteration skill, this can be a hindrance to advancing in many quests. Luckily, potions of levitation are found in abundance and several items enchanted with levitation spells are given to you through quests. (You can also brew your own potions or make your own enchanted items.)
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Vivec and Mournhold each have them. Justified in both cases, as Vivec is a CityOfCanals, the sewers act as flood controls for the cantons and the extra space is needed. Mournhold's sewers are actually parts of Old Mournhold, which was destroyed long ago and the new city built on top of it.
* AffablyEvil:
** Dagoth Gares, one of [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]]'s highest-ranking goons, will exchange a pleasant conversation with you and offer you some fine vintage brandy before offering to let you strike first.
** Dagoth Ur himself is rather polite right up until you try to kill him, answering any questions you may have while referring you as his dear friend.
** [[EvilSorcerer Gavis Velas]] in ''Tribunal'' is perfectly cordial with you when you confront him during a quest, even claiming he would have liked to have a [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine nice meal and a drink with you]] before your duel.
* AdjectiveAnimalAlehouse: The Black Shalk Cornerclub and the Six Fishes Inn. ''Tribunal'' adds the Winged Guar.
* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: Some of the more massive Dwemer ruins qualify, with various steam/enchantment powered machinery still running and MechaMooks still on patrol despite the Dwemer having vanished thousands of years ago.
* TheAgeless: Those suffering from the corprus disease effectively stop aging and are immune to all other diseases. They do slowly turn into a deformed humanoid monstrosity, however. [[spoiler: Thanks to Divayth Fyr's "cure" for the disease, the Nerevarine retains these positive effects while only the negative effects are removed, leaving him/her as this.]]
* AIBreaker: Using the Levitate spell offensively. Casting it on another will cause that character to remain perfectly still for the duration of the spell, allowing you to kill them easily. This works because the AI isn't programmed to handle levitating, so it is treated like a high-powered Burden spell instead. This works especially well on flying enemies, such as [[SarcasmMode everyone's favorite]] [[GodDamnBats Cliff Racers]], as they will fall to the ground and take fall damage.
* AirborneMook: Cliff Racers. Their ability to fly is one of the many qualities which makes them infamous as enemies.
* AlienGeometries: Some Daedric shrines are designed in impossible ways. For example, look at the map of [[http://images.uesp.net/c/ce/MW-map-Bal_Fell.jpg Bal Fell]].
* AlienSky: Two moons with (technically) impossible phases that are actually the [[GodIsDead rotting remains of the creator god]]? Check. "Stars" that are actually holes punctured in reality by escaping spirits of the creation era through which magic flows? Check.
* AllianceMeter: A loose example with the game's factions. Joining one faction may cause the disposition of members of a rival faction to drop. The higher you rose in that faction, the greater the drop. However, this doesn't prevent you from joining multiple rival factions (with the exception of the Great Houses, where you can only join one.)
* AllMythsAreTrue: Sort of. There's ''some'' truth to every myth, but it's heavily implied that the official story of the Tribunal Temple is only MetaphoricallyTrue at best and may be an outright lie on certain key points. In general, there are many different variations of the myths, so good luck figuring out exactly ''what parts'' are true.
* AllNaturalGemPolish: Diamond veins look like elongated, beautiful bluish-white crystals poking out of a boulder. You can take cut diamonds from them.
* AllSwordsAreTheSame: Averted. One-handed and two-handed swords are governed by the Long Blade skill, while daggers and shortswords are governed by the Short Blade skill. Additionally, there are three different types of swords (katanas, longswords, sabres etc.) with different stats for hacking, slashing or thrusting. So, one type of sword might by a better option for a player who uses the hacking as opposed to thrusting motion than another. This extends to all melee weapon types as well.
* AltItis: Unsurprisingly common with all of the character creation options available. Creating one character capable of completing everything in the game is quite challenging, so expect to see players with multiple save files. This trend is usually called "Restartitus" on the official forums.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil - Played with In-Universe when it comes to Vampires. The Tribunal Temple's stance is that because it is easy to tell when you are becoming one and the condition is very easily cured within the first three days of the transformation, the only people who ''allow'' themselves to become night-stalking parasites are people who are ''already'' ChaoticEvil. Therefore, the policy of killing all vampires on sight is [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] to them. As Galur Rithari's Papers (not to speak of a few incidents in later games) indicate, it's not always ''that'' simple...
* AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair - There are a ''lot'' of items tucked in nooks and crannies all over the game. In the starting village you can find a (minor) enchanted axe hidden in a hollow tree stump, and it goes on from there. In addition to treestump and hollow log stashes all over the island, you can pick up a Sword of White Woe tucked under a bunkbed, the legendary ''Fists of Randagulf'' (the best gauntlets in the game) shoved behind a sarcophagus, an enchanted tanto that the last guest at a particular inn tucked behind the bed, coins that have rolled into the cracks of a shack floor, a magic ring underneath a mushroom in a cave, skill-boosting books hidden on a shelf lined with regular books, five OneHitKill arrows tucked in ''another'' treestump in the Bloodmoon expansion - not to mention various 'teleport gate' keys that can be found dotted around the world as paperweights. ''And'' people tend to misplace their keys a lot, too.
* AmazonBrigade: All of the guards, retainers, shopkeepers, and other service providers in Tel Mora, home of the [[DoesNotLikeMen man-hating]] Telvanni councilor Mistress Dratha, are female. There is one lone male Telvanni guard patrolling the grounds, but this is likely a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation, as there needed to be at least one guard in the town capable of arresting the player if he/she commits a crime there. (The female guards are named and thus, not standard town guards.)
* {{Ambadassador}} - House Telvanni is a strongly feudal Magocracy, and its mage-lords do not bother to gather themselves when they need to negotiate with each other (like the other Houses do). Instead, they send ambassadors called Mouths. If you join this house and advance to the rank of Master, you get yourself an Ambadassador who undertakes dangerous missions for you in addition to his usual work.
* AncientTomb: Tombs for Vvardenfell's wealthier Dunmer families dot the island, typically guarded by by summoned spirits and the reanimated dead. (The Dunmer consider this a holy act and very different from blasphemous [according to the Tribunal Temple] necromancy.) And of course, some of the tombs have been taken over by even worse creatures...
* AnEconomyIsYou: Averted. Vendors come stocked with everything from VendorTrash to food and drink to powerfully enchanted weapons and armor.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Happens quite frequently. A few prime examples:
** Each time you raise a rank in the Imperial Legion, you will be rewarded with a new piece of Imperial armor. Pieces of armor are given to you for a variety of other quests as well.
** As you are named Nerevarine and Hortator of the Ashlander tribes and Great Houses, you will be given an article of clothing or jewelry as proof of your recognition.
** After Caius is [[spoiler: recalled to the Imperial City,]] he will give you a set of enchanted clothing.
** During a couple particular Imperial Cult quests, presenting specific prisoners with Divine Intervention scrolls to aid in their escape will lead to them offering you enchanted clothing in return.
** Rescuing Inwold in Palansour, who was imprisoned by his summoned Daedra when he lost control of them, will provide you with the skirt and hat they left him as a reward. (Allowing him to preserve his modesty by telling him to keep the clothing will result in a much more valuable Reputation point.)
* AntiHero - Larrius Varro of the Imperial Legion used to be a straight up law abiding legionnaire. Unfortunately, since the long arm of the law doesn't seem to reach certain criminals, he spends his days praying for a little [[VigilanteMan bloodbath]] to wash away the [[AssholeVictim bad people]].
** In a more general sense, many missions given the player by certain guilds or extensions of joinable organization (like the Office of the Watch in Vivec) will hire the player to do a little vigilante justice, and in almost all cases they admit they'd like to have the actual authorities do the job, but since that isn't working (usually because the target has friends in high places), you'll be serving as their [[PlausibleDeniability indirect extension of authority.]]
* AntiMagic
** Bretons naturally have a 50% resistance to magic, making them very effective anti-mages. Dunmer have a similar natural resistance, but only to fire-based magic.
** Magic resistance in various forms is a high-level (read: expensive) spell and enchantment option. Items which have this as a constant effect are some of the most treasured in the game. (Keep in mind though, wearing them will also decrease the effectiveness of beneficial spells you use on yourself, such as healing spells.)
* AnyoneCanDie - Because you can kill them if you want to and are strong/clever enough. Okay, so [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Daedra]] can't die, but they can get the crap beaten out of them and be sent back to their plane of Oblivion.
* AProtagonistShallLeadThem: The Nerevarine, along with fitting the MessianicArchetype. His background and predicted traits fit right in with the Jewish messiah. [[spoiler: And the way s/he turns out to be is more like the Christian notion (i.e., didn't come to wipe out all the occupying foreigners and restore ethnic purity after all).]]
* ArmlessBiped: Alit and Kagouti, two of Morrowind's natural predators, both fit.
* ArmorAndMagicDontMix
** Highly downplayed in general. There is no penalty to your spellcasting abilities if you choose to equip armor. One downside is that a pure mage character will be less skilled with armor, and thus will be less protected by it, but that can be overcome with training. Another is that mage characters typically have a lower Strength attribute, and will thus be able to carry less, while a full suit of armor is rather heavy. (This can be overcome with spells and enchantments if one is so inclined.)
** With a few exceptions, very few magically inclined [=NPCs=] wear armor. However, if it is added to their inventory, they will immediately equip it.
** Averted when it comes to enchantments. Heavy armor allows for strong enchantments.
* ArmorIsUseless
** Played with in general. Better quality armor will afford better protection, but skill with that armor also plays a part. For example, a warrior highly skilled with heavy armor will be better protected in cheap iron armor than one without that level of skill in expensive ebony armor.
** Played straight when it comes to magic. Unless the armor is specifically enchanted with some sort of magic resistance or spell reflection, it will do nothing to protect against magic damage.
* ArtifactOfDoom
** [[spoiler:Akhulakhan, an ancient HumongousMecha, and the still-throbbing heart of the dead god [[TricksterGod Lorkhan]]]]..
** A number of the special weapons you can garner though temple, imperial cult, imperial legion and daedric prince quests also count considering we're often talking weapons created by the hands of gods.
* ArtifactTitle - The Elder Scrolls are only mentioned ''once'' (not counting lore), as the impetus for the Emperor sending you to serve as [[spoiler:the Nerevarine.]]
* ArtificialAtmosphericActions: People appear to be programmed to say certain things depending on a couple conditions. If you're sick, they'll say "eeeew get away from me" or tell you to go to a healer. This sometimes is funny when the ''healer'' tells you this. But if you talk to them, they'll ignore that you happen to have some kind of ailment. Civilians don't stand in one place, thankfully, but instead they just aimlessly wander around the towns 24/7, sometimes getting stuck trying to walk through each other. They also sometimes don't react to monsters - which can be quite funny when they just stand there as an Ash Zombie had crawled into your house.
** And sometimes, the "greetings" will cause them to break character. Such as the stuck-up-holier-than-thou Mage's Guild leader not talking down to you. Or Caius saying "Pleasure to meet you" after he's given you at least four quests.
*** This can even be ''useful'': there are a couple of situations where you want to kill someone, but their standard greeting drops you out of the conversation with a goodbye, keeping you from taunting them to attack you first. The thing is, the 'why are you naked' subroutine usually supersedes that greeting...
** The scripting errors can be hilarious. Especially when guards get stuck trying to walk over unconscious bodies. Or tell you to move along when a dark elf is trying to punch your lights out, but then shout "'''You n'wah!'''" if you fight back. Or '''fail''' to react at all and stand there staring while you duke it out.
* ArtificialStupidity:
** Non-player characters sometimes have an extremely annoying habit of literally walking into the middle of your battles, and you can end up receiving a bounty if you hit them by accident, even if it was ''their'' fault for getting in your way to begin with. Also, certain [=NPCs=] will refuse to talk to you if you have a high bounty, even when you're trying to rescue them from captivity [[UngratefulBastard and the bounty was accumulated from fighting the men]] ''[[FacePalm that locked them up to begin with]]'' just because you didn't let ''them'' [[TheDogShotFirst attack you first]]!
** The AI for followers is absolutely ''horrendous'', especially when their Speed attribute is raised through enchantments of spells. They can end up either getting stuck behind a tree, running in circles, or rushing off in the ''complete opposite'' direction of where you're trying to lead them so you have to go and look for them all over again. This can make the various [[EscortMission Escort Missions]] in the game all the more frustrating.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: This is apparently what most of the dwarven race tried to do. It's never revealed if they were successful, because if they were, they are all on said higher plane of existence, and if not, they're all dead. Whatever happened, it even affected Dwemer colonies on the other side of Tamriel with absolutely no connection to the project [[spoiler: though it did leave ''one'' dwarf alive and in a position to return to Nirn]].
** Careful reading of the various in-game sources on the matter, and conversing with the experts in the field (including [[spoiler:Vivec, one of the three deities of the Tribunal]]), will likely lead to the hypothesis that they tried to unmake themselves down to basic elements and then become reforged into new, ascended beings. Unfortunately, they didn't get the reforging process right, and so they were instead deleted from existence. Of course, whether even this theory is true or not is entirely unknown...
** Later in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', one mage tries to reproduce the Dwarven experiment in a smaller scale, substituting a modified soul gem for the Heart of Lorkhan and using the original, but severely depowered Keening. He vanishes, but can be summoned from ''somewhere'' as a ghost. Can this count as ascension to a higher plane? Your mileage may vary, but many people would think it's a pretty rotten existence.
** It should be noted that some of the high-level Mooks that you might find in Dwemer ruins are "Dwarven Spectres." Whatever they did and wherever they went, some of them were able to come back as ghosts, suggesting that they went to the same place as the aforementioned mage from ''Skyrim''.
* AssassinOutclassin
** Once you've advanced far enough in the main quest, Dagoth Ur will send Ash Zombie assassins to attack you if you sleep in cities.
** The ''Tribunal'' expansion begins with you doing this to Dark Brotherhood assassins. Naturally, if you fail to do the trope, it's game over.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: House Telvanni allows you to kill your way to the top if you desire, due to their near-total lack of rules. In particular, during your quest to become Telvanni Hortator, you can kill all the councilors (except one, whom you must keep around to officially name you Hortator and progress the quest) in lieu of winning their support. The one you must keep alive, wisely, [[GenreSavvy gives you his vote with no strings attached]]. It helps that one of their guiding principles is MightMakesRight (every House in the game has an 'in' that explains how you can rise so high despite being an outlander. The Telvanni's is the fact that they think might makes right, and you are very mighty indeed).
* AsYouKnow: Justified since, as an outlander, the PlayerCharacter isn't going to be any more aware of the local Dunmer politics and religion than the player in the real world. Even the non-natives living in Morrowind can be ignorant of such things, since a common response to asking a non-Dunmer about the Nerevarine Prophecy is "some Dark Elf superstition." So as the character learns more about these things, so does the player. (This applies to a Dunmer player character as well, since they were born and raised outside of Morrowind).
* AudibleSharpness: Any bladed weapon makes this sound when drawn. Blunt weapons make an appropriate Audible Bluntness sound instead.
* {{Autocannibalism}}: Those inflicted with Corprus engage in this. The pieces they rip/bite off grow back quickly thanks to the disease's regenerative properties.
* {{Autosave}}: The game has this, but you can turn it off.
* AwesomeButImpractical
** The Hammer of Stendarr in the Tribunal expansion is a MASSIVE war hammer that does insanely high damage, but breaks on the first swing and weighs half a ton, rendering it nigh-unusable.
** Vampirism. It gives you some extra powers and some massive stat boosts that can break the stat caps... but sunlight will kill you, you can no longer use any shops or services in Vvardenfell, and you can only complete quests for House Telvanni, the Mages' Guild, and one of three [[GuideDangIt well-hidden]] vampire clans.
** Lycanthropy. You turn into a werewolf and get massive boosts to your killing power, and can murder anyone without acquiring a bounty. Unfortunately, you can't use any equipment, cast any spells, or pick up any items while you're a beast. And if an NPC sees you transform, then you're marked as "kill on sight" by ''everyone''.
* AxeCrazy
** [[spoiler:Almalexia]]. Holy ''shit'', [[spoiler:Almalexia]].
** [[EvilSorcerer Mistress Therana]], too. House Telvanni in general seems to encourage Axe Craziness.
* BackStab: Possible when sneaking with a Critical Hit.
* {{Backstory}} - Lots. And lots. Of backstory. (See WhenItAllBegan below for more details.)
* BadassArmy - The Imperial Legion is legitimately tough, having brought the entire continent of Tamriel under their rule. However, even they collectively admit their respect for Great House Redoran in this regard for the Redoran's emphasis on being able to fight and defend Morrowind. Redoran isn't called the "Warrior House" for nothing. In the backstory, when Tiber Septim was threatening to invade Morrowind, House Redoran was preparing to defend Morrowind ''on their own'' while the other Great Houses chose to remain neutral or to accommodate the empire before the armistice was signed.
** [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Later]], House Redoran is destroyed during the Oblivion crisis, but not before reanimating the dead Emperor Crab known as "Skar" and fighting the hordes of Oblivion to a standstill. (By the time of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Dragonborn]]'', they've managed to make a comeback.)
** Buoyant Armigers: Elite stealth fighters dedicated to serving Vivec himself, half of them decked in the ludicrously expensive glass armor, operating inside [[{{Mordor}} the Ghostfence]] and [[LethalLavaLand Molag Amur]].
* BadassBeard: An option for male player characters. Many badass [=NPCs=] also have beards, most notably Divayth Fyr.
* BadassLongRobe: Many are available as clothing options. The more expensive the robe, the more elaborate its design tends to be. The [[EvilSorcerer Telvanni]] wizards seem to wear only these.
* BadMoonRising: The titular moon from ''Bloodmoon''.
* BanOnMagic
** Necromancy is banned and punishable by death by the Tribunal Temple as it is considered blasphemous.
** In ''Tribunal'', Almalexia has placed a ban on levitation magic within the city limits of Mournhold. (The out-of-universe reason for this is, of course, to prevent you from flying over the surrounding city walls and discovering that the city basically floats in the middle of generic ocean, instead of being surrounded by an even larger city and miles and miles of mainland, as the lore says it should. )
* BarbieDollAnatomy: The statues of Azura at her various shrines are topless but lacking nipples.
* BareFistedMonk: The Unarmed fighting skill makes this an option for the player. Unarmed strikes damage an enemies fatigue instead of health until their fatigue reaches zero.
* BarefootCartoonAnimal: The beast races (Argonians and Khajiit,) are unable to wear shoes or boots due to the different size and shape of their feet.
* BarrierMaiden: The Tribunal constructed the Ghost Fence to contain Dagoth Ur and the blight within Red Mountain. [[spoiler: Due to being unable to replenish their divinity, only Vivec is maintaining the fence by the time of the game.]] Vivec qualifies twice, as his power keeps the rogue moon Baar Dau suspended above Vivec city.
* BattleBallgown: Wearing a robe or skirt over armor will give this effect.
* BattleThemeMusic: Present whenever an enemy turns aggressive.
* BeamSpam: Enchant an item with a damaging spell "On Target." Set the item to "Cast on Use." Equip the newly enchanted item and select it from the magic menu. Congrats! You now have what some fans refer to as a "magic machine gun." Unlike casting a regular spell which costs magicka and requires time for a casting animation, you can launch your enchanted attack as fast as you can click the mouse/button. Just be careful of using it on enemies with reflect...
* BeatStillMyHeart: The heart of the dead creator god, Lorkhan, is still beating away deep beneath Red Mountain. [[spoiler: In order to defeat Dagoth Ur, you will need to destroy it.]]
* BeautifulSlaveGirl: The quest to become Zainab Nerevarine involves passing one off as a high-born Telvanni noble. (She ends up liking her new life as the bride of an Ashlander Chieftain better than life as a slave.)
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Played with. There is a Nerevarine prophesy, and you do fit that prophesy, but as detailed by the game's "TheChosenOne vs. TheUnchosenOne" debate details below, you may not necessarily be the true hero of destiny.
* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler:Initially, your mission is to take advantage of the fact that you happen to fit certain local superstitions to ''pretend'' to be the Nerevarine so you can advance imperial interests. Ultimately, of course, you fulfill the prophecies in their entirety, though it's still uncertain how true they really were.]]
* BeefGate:
** Due to the almost complete lack of level scaling in the game (which is unique for the series, and for Bethesda games in general,) the local fauna will serve as this to any underleveled players who veer too far off the main quest path early on. Certain areas, such as [[{{Mordor}} inside the Ghostfence]], are full of end-game level creatures right off the bat and will continue to serve as beef gates until late into the game. It is possible to avert by min-maxing your character at the start and knowing where to look in order to acquire high quality gear (which, like enemies, also does not level scale.) A few specific examples:
** The Samarys Ancestral Tomb lies just a few steps off the road between Seyda Neen and Balmora. It contains the Mentor's Ring, a legendary artifact that boosts Intelligence and Willpower with a constant effect. However, the tomb is guarded by an Ancestral Ghost, who cannot be harmed by unenchanted, non-silver weapons (which is likely all the player will have access to if accessed early on in the game.) Using spells, sneaking by, or making a side-trip to acquire a weapon which can harm the ghost are recommended.
* BeingWatched: One of the standard voice files for the Dunmer [=NPCs=], if they nearly detect the player, is: "Someone's watching me. I can tell."
* BeneficialDisease: The Corprus disease grants the victims immunity to all other diseases and even prevents them from aging. Too bad it also comes with a big serving of BodyHorror and a bad case of crazy, and is completely incurable. However,[[spoiler: as the Nerevarine, you undertake an experimental treatment that suppresses the ''negative'' symptoms of Corprus only, leaving you as TheAgeless and immune to all other diseases.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Divayth Fyr. Yes, the kindly old wizard who cures you (sort of) of Corprus. Once you can get his attention, he is generous and kind (Which, considering that he's [[MightMakesRight House Telvanni]], should probably be a warning flag all by itself.) He lived to see his 4000th birthday in a House where {{Klingon Promotion}} is pretty much a standard. Think twice before you anger him.
** Some animals are like this, too. Scribs may seem like weaklings because of their passive nature and small stature, but be careful when attacking one, since they can completely Paralyze you for a few seconds. Also, the Horkers in the ''Bloodmoon'' expansion may not attack you on sight, but they'll go completely ballistic and even pursue you on both land and sea if you stand close to them for too long.
* {{BFS}} - While most weapons have fairly realistic sizes (making them look tiny compared to other games) the atypically huge Chrysamere ("The Paladin's Blade") looks like someone took a good length of railroad track and attached a handle. It fells most opponents with a single blow.
* BigBad - Dagoth Ur in the main game. [[spoiler:Almalexia]] in ''Tribunal''. Hircine in ''Bloodmoon''.
* BigBoosHaunt: Dunmer Ancestral Tombs tend to be populated by all manner of undead enemies, and sometimes even Daedra. Ancestral Ghosts in particular cannot be harmed by non-enchanted weapons lower than silver quality. Bonewalkers, a zombie-like type of undead, can cast spells which damage your Attributes. (Likely forcing you to retreat to civilization to recover, as "damaged" attributes will not return to normal like a "drained" attribute, meaning you'll need a potion or blessing to restore it.)
* BiggerOnTheInside: Many locations have interior cells larger than what could fit inside the exterior.
* BigGood: Vivec serves as this once he stops trying to kill you. (It is a test to prove that you are the real deal, because if you are the prophesied hero, all of his attempts would be doomed to fail.) Afterward, he serves as a SupportingLeader while you slay the BigBad.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Dren family. Vedam is the Duke of Vvardenfell, and a [[TheGoodKing good one]] at that. He has a CainAndAbel situation going on with his crime boss brother, Orvas, who leads the Camonna Tong, a native Dunmer mafia-style gang of slavers, drug peddlers, and thugs who are extremely xenophobic. [[spoiler:A late game quest (which also features into several faction quests) has you uncover evidence that Orvas is planning to assassinate Vedam.]] The Camonna Tong has bribed and extorted their way into the highest levels of leadership within House Hlaalu and the Fighters Guild, giving them massive influence and resources. Finally, there is Ilmeni, the daughter of Vedam who lives as a pauper in a lower-class area of Vivec. She's active in the Twin Lamps, an illegal slave ''freeing'' operation, which is directly opposed to her uncle Orvas on ideological grounds, and cannot be officially supported by her father because slavery is technically legal and protected in Morrowind.
* BikiniBar: Desele's House of Earthly Delights in Suran has three stripped-down dancers, and Desele herself (who works the bar,) is topless.
* BioluminescenceIsCool: Violet Coprus and Luminous Russola, two types of fungus, both glow.
* BishonenLine: Dagoth Ur spreads his influence via the corprus disease, which drives its victims insane and causes horrible tumorous growths. For most this means becoming a grotesquely deformed zombie, but the higher echelons of the hierarchy are able to control these transformations, to the point where Dagoth Ur and his immediate underlings look completely humanoid except for the occasional extra eye (or pair of nipples).
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: Several examples.
** Daedric shrines are designed in some downright [[AlienGeometry impossible ways]].
** The House Redoran seat in Ald'Ruhn is situated in Under-Skar, the hollowed-out exoskeleton of a humongous sentient crab known as Skar.
** The wizards of House Telvanni don't care much for actually building structures. Instead, they grow them out of giant mushrooms whose growth is facilitated by the trapped souls of powerful Daedra.
** The Ministry of Truth, which is literally a hollowed-out giant rock that a Daedric prince threw down from Oblivion onto the city of Vivec, stopped in its tracks several hundred feet over the largest and holiest temple in Vvardenfell.
* BlackAndGreyMorality - ''Tribunal''. Helseth's the (dark) grey, and [[spoiler:Almalexia's]] the black.
* BlackComedyRape: Used to a degree when you taunt a Dremora into attacking you during one quest.
-->'''Dremora''': After I kill you I'm going to rape your corpse. Don't worry, I'll be gentle.
* BlackMagic: Necromancy is seen as this by the Tribunal Temple, and thus, outlawed. One Mage's Guild member, who is a closet Necromancer, will rant about the hypocrisy of the natives, who ban philosophical necromancy, yet summon their own ancestors' ghosts and various undead to guard tombs. The natives do judge necromancy by subject: working with your ancestors is fine, disturbing unrelated dead is a crime.
* BladeOnAStick: Spears are a weapon option. Spears are most effective with a thrust attack, averting the 'spear slash' notion. Some polearms, like Naginitas and Halberts, are different in that they are most effective with a slash effect.
* BlingOfWar: As you advance through the ranks of the Imperial Legion, the higher level armors get more and more gaudy.
* BlockingStopsAllDamage: A successful block with a shield will stop all physical damage. It is instead absorbed the shield, shown in the worsening condition of the shield.
* BloodKnight - Hircine.
* BodyHorror - Corprus disease turns most people into mindless zombies and Sixth House descendants into "Sleepers", which evolve through several stages to eventually become Ascended Sleepers. Neither path is pretty.
* BonsaiForest - Trees are sparse, limited only to the greener areas of the island, and generally remain small across Vvardenfell. Justified since it is mostly an ashy, volcanic island which doesn't support much in the way of vegetation.
* BonusBoss - The AnyoneCanDie nature of the games means you could naturally fight and kill anyone you wish. But a special mention goes out to [[spoiler: Vivec]]. You are by no means required to fight him, and doing so before completing the main quest will make the normal method of beating the game impossible, but if you choose to do so, you'll have quite the fight on your hands. Bonus irony points if you [[spoiler: soul trap him in Azura's Star.]]
** The Ash Vampires as well. You are only required to fight one in order to get an item [[spoiler: (Sunder)]] off of him, but there are 6 others you can hunt down and kill. Killing them is supposed to weaken Dagoth Ur in the final confrontation, but due to a scripting glitch, this does not happen. Still, they each possess unique enchanted items that are LostForever if you don't fight them, and you should kill them if you're going for HundredPercentCompletion.
* BootstrappedTheme: The game's theme (titled ''Nerevar Rising'') has essentially become the de facto main theme of the series itself, being reused in various permutations for each sequel.
* BoozeBasedBuff: Most of the game's liquors boost at least one of your attributes with the cheaper ones also draining another. Special shout out to Sujamma, the most useful of them. Sujamma massively boosts strength while draining Intelligence, and the effects stack. It's really helpful if you need titanic strength for a short time and don't mind the penalty to your spell casting abilities.
* BoringButPractical:
** The Dwemer Jinkblade sold by Wayn in Balmora. He will have it for sale the moment you arrive in Balmora, regardless of your level, and it only costs a few hundred gold. While there are harder hitting weapons with flashier enchantments around, the Jinkblade's practicality comes from its Paralyze enchantment. Simply strike an enemy with it once to paralyze them and then switch to your stronger weapon to kill them while they're unable to fight back. To a character specializing in the Short Blade skill, it even borders on DiscOneNuke.
** The game does have elements of LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards to it, but the frequency of Reflect spells amongst higher leveled enemies (especially in the expansions) means that the ability to defeat enemies by simply striking them with your weapons remains practical throughout.
** Absorb Health weapons (especially ones with a small area effect, so you regenerate health faster when facing more enemies.) Swing your weapon repeatedly. Ignore everything the enemy tries to do to you, because you'll just regenerate it back. (However, be careful if the spell's effects are combined with any other spell which is susceptible to an enemy using Reflect. A reflected Absorb Health spell has been known to cause an instant-death glitch.)
* BornLucky: Gaenor in the ''Tribunal'' expansion. His absurdly high Luck attribute makes him a very difficult opponent.
* BossArenaIdiocy: The final battle with Dagoth Ur takes place in a room which also contains the source of his power, which, if destroyed, will render him mortal (or worse.) Justified however, as Dagoth Ur wouldn't have reason to expect you to be willing (or even know ''how'') to destroy that source.
* BossBanter: Dagoth Ur will talk throughout the battle with him about how you can't kill him, because he is a god. [[spoiler: And he's right. You really ''can't'' kill him. However, you can destroy the source of his power...]]
* BossRoom:
** The final battle with Dagoth Ur takes place deep in his volcano lair, over a deep lava-filled chasm.
** The final battle of the ''Tribunal'' expansion [[spoiler: against Almalexia takes place in a large room of Sotha Sil's Clockwork City]].
** The final battle of ''Bloodmoon'' [[spoiler: is against one of Hircine's aspects is in a Daedric shrine inside a massive glacier]].
* BossInMookClothing:
** Many Dagoths appear identical to Ascended Sleepers, despite being much more powerful.
** Dremora Lords appear identical to standard Dremoras, at least until they whip out a powerful Daedric or Ebony weapon. (Standard Dremoras typically carry Dwemer or Dreugh weapons.)
** Diseased and Blighted creatures appear identical to their standard counterparts, despite packing a bigger punch and having the ability to spread crippling diseases to you.
* BoxedCrook: Subverted. You start off as a prisoner transferred to the eponymous remote province and are pardoned by TheEmperor's own decree on condition that you will cooperate with his Blades on a top secret mission. The subversion happens once you are released, as you can decide not to follow your orders and explore Vvardenfell however you see fit. It is even possible (though it's unlikely that you'll find it [[GuideDangIt without help]],) to complete the main quest using a backpath method that gets you around having to cooperate with the Blades at all.
* BreakableWeapons: Per series tradition.
* ButThouMust: Rarely can you actually say "no" to a quest offer. At best, you can say you'll do it later.
* CainAndAbel
** Orvas and Vedam Dren. One is the crime boss leader of the Camonna Tong and the other is the Duke of Vvardenfell.
** Sjoring Hard-Heart and Radd Hard-Heart. One is the leader of the Fighter's Guild [[spoiler: and very much in the pocket of the Camonna Tong]] while the other is an honorable officer of the Imperial Legion.
* CallARabbitASmeerp
** Averted for what few Earth-analogous animals there are. (Rats in the main game, Wolves and Bears in ''Bloodmoon''.)
** Played straight with the in-universe example of Bonewalkers. "Bonewalker" is the Dunmer name for what the rest of Tamriel calls zombies.
* {{Cap}}: All Attributes and Skills have a natural cap of 100. (This cap can, however, be broken via fortification spells and effects.)
* CareBearStare - The Charm and Fortify Personality spells can make nearly every NPC in the game smitten with you.
* CatScare: It's a common occurrence in the game for wild animals to randomly spawn and interrupt your sleep in the wilderness to attack you, but there's also a chance that it will just be a harmless scrib (kwama larva) that instead starts wandering around the area where it spawned. This has been known to make players either sigh in relief that it wasn't something more dangerous, or scoff in annoyance that it interrupted their sleep at all.
* CentralTheme: The game's overarching plot and lore explores the concept of divinity, particularly the questions of what makes a god, what comes with being one (religion, in particular), and how far mortals would go to achieve godhood. The entire island of Vvardenfell is so steeped in the Tribunal lore that you will find riffs on this theme pretty much everywhere you go.
* ChainmailBikini: Initially averted. Upon installing ''Tribunal'', several common armor types (Netch Leader, Steel, etc.) change into a more feminine design when equipped by a female character. Additionally, there is the DLC ''[=LeFemme=] Armor'' which adds a golden armor that keeps a female mold even when equipped on male characters.
* ChallengingTheChief - Several factions require you to defeat the current leader in order to take their place, including the Fighters' Guild, the Mages' Guild, and Houses Redoran and Telvanni. (In the case of the Telvanni, it's more of a KlingonPromotion.) (There is a peaceful way to become head of the Mages' Guild, but it is both harder to find out and leaves you co-head of the Guild along with an idiot, rather than sole head.)
** Interestingly, the [[MurderInc Morag Tong]] ''inverts'' this trope. "Challenging the chief" is, per their rules, the standard way to become the leader. However, the current leader is perfectly fine stepping aside when it's time for you to take the reigns.
* ChekhovsVolcano: Averted with Red Mountain which, while plot relevant for a number of reasons, never actually erupts [[spoiler: in game. Come the novels [[WorldWreckingWave however]]...]]
* CherryTapping - Actually encouraged due to the game's skill increase system in order to level up your weapon skills. Every successful hit, regardless of how much damage it does, counts the same towards increasing that skill. Stabbing something 100 times with the [[JokeItem Fork of Horripilation]] will lead to a greater increase of your short blade skill than [[OneHitKO one-shotting]] that same foe with a Daedric dagger. Inversely, this works on you to level up your armor skills. Simply deck yourself out in a full suit of armor, find a rat, and allow said rat to cherry tap YOU. Each hit will count towards increasing the armor skill for the type of armor you are wearing.
* TheChessmaster - Azura might be this. If she is, the fact that we are not sure of it is surely testament to her skill.
* ChivalrousPervert: Despite his [[CampGay behavior]] and apparent [[AnythingThatMoves sexual preferences]], House Hlaalu councilor Crassius Curio is the least corrupt member of the House (being one of the few above the influence of the Cammona Tong) and clearly cares about the PlayerCharacter.
* ChoiceOfTwoWeapons: There is a wide variety of weapon types available, and, assuming you have the requisite skills in those weapon types to be effective, you can make numerous combinations. Bladed weapons, blunt weapons, spears, bows, crossbows, and throwing weapons are all options.
* TheChosenOne - The Nerevarine (you) is the chosen one by nature of being the reincarnation of Nerevar. [[spoiler:There is strong evidence that the player is not Lord Nerevar reborn, but merely a convenient pawn Azura is using in her revenge plot; even Vivec admits such is possible. When Dagoth Ur asks whether you're the Nerevarine, you have the options, among others, of saying "Yes" or "I don't know". He accepts either and praises you for saying "[[SelfMadeMan no, but I'm still going to kick your ass]]".]]
* TheChosenWannabe: During part of the main quest, the [[PlayerCharacter Nerevarine]] visits the Cave of the Incarnate and speaks to the shades of several Dunmer who tried to be the Nerevarine in the past. They all died before they could fulfill the prophecy.
* ChokepointGeography: Justified with Ghostgate, which was intentionally constructed as the only way through the Ghostfence into Red Mountain. It is populated with the Temple's elite soldiers tasked with keeping the Blight from spreading out into the rest of Vvardenfell.
* ChubbyChaser: During the quest to be named Nerevarine, the Zainab Ashkhan will ask you to find him a wife. According to him, she should be "pretty and plump, with big hips."
* ChurchMilitant:
** Ordinators and High Ordinators are the main militant force for the Tribunal Temple. Buoyant Armigers are the Temple's elite special forces who operate primarily within the Ghostfence.
** The Imperial Cult has the "Shrine Sergeants," volunteers who take on some of the Cult's more action-oriented missions such as tracking down thieves who steal from the Cult or putting spirits responsible for hauntings to rest.
* ChurchPolice: Ordinators, again. They serve as inquisitors, Vivec City guards, guard temples and sacred sites, ensure the safety of pilgrims in Molag Amur by maintaining the Molag Mar outpost, hunt Daedra-worshippers and vampires, and will kill you if you wear their sacred armor.
* CityGuards: Naturally. Hlaalu, Redoran, and Telvanni guards each patrol the towns and villages under their faction's authority. Ordinators patrol Tribunal Temple holdings. Imperial Guards patrol the Imperial settlements. Mournhold is patrolled by High Ordinators and King Helseth's Royal Guards. The Skaal village has Skaal Honor Guards.
* CityOfAdventure - Mournhold, city of light, city of magic! Vivec applies as well, to a lesser extent.
* CityOfCanals - Vivec. Even comes complete with gondoliers to ferry you around.
* ClairvoyantSecurityForce: Played perfectly straight with Guards. You could commit a crime, teleport to the opposite side of the island, and the guards there will already be ready to arrest you.
* CluelessBoss: Trebonius Artorius, the archmage of the mage's guild, is pretty clearly this. Most of the mages treat him as a joke, he gives random and pointless tasks to people, it's implied that he was KickedUpstairs after other mages got tired of his incompetence, and he doesn't notice that his advisor is actually a Telvanni spy, despite obvious errors in said advisor's credentials.
* ColonyDrop: In the backstory, Sheogorath "hurled" the rogue moon Baar Dau at Vivec City. Vivec, the Tribunal diety, used his power to freeze it in place above the city. It would later be hollowed out for use by the Tribunal Temple as the Ministry of Truth. Vivec tells his followers that it is [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly held in place by his people's love for him]], and that should they stop loving him, it would fall. [[spoiler: As a result of the Nerevarine's actions, Vivec disappears following the events of the game. The stop-gap measure implemented by the Temple to keep it in orbit is destroyed, so the moon resumes its fall as though it had never stopped. Vivec (the city) is destroyed, Red Mountain erupts, the mainland of Morrowind is devastated by tsunamis, and, even some 200 years later, the crater/bay that lies where Vivec used to be still has its waters boiling.]]
* CollectionSidequest: The Threads of the Webspinner quest for the Morag Tong. Finding all of the propylon indexes is an unofficial one, though you can turn them in for a "master index" in an official add-on.
* CommonPlaceRare: Only one muffin exists in Vvardenfell, and it already belongs to someone. If you want it, you'll need to steal it, and if you eat it, it gives you the same minor fatigue boost as eating a piece of bread.
* CompellingVoice: A high enough Speechcraft skill essentially gives the player one of these. (Which is fitting since, in the backstory, the original Nerevar also had one of these which was further enhanced by his Moon-And-Star ring.)
* CompilationRerelease: ''Morrowind'' and both expansions are part of the ''Elder Scrolls Anthology'' along with every other game in the main series (and most of their expansions) to date.
* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: There are a few cases where the directions given by NPC quest givers are flat out wrong, or are given correctly, but recorded in the journal incorrectly.
* ConcealedCustomization: All helmets cover the hair and most helmets cover the face as well. This can be problematic because your armor bonus depends on wearing armor over all parts of your body, so skipping the helmet because you want to show show your character's face means you're going to take a hit on your entire defense.
* ConcealingCanvas: There is a secret door hidden behind a tapestry in Venim Manor. [[spoiler: You'll need to rescue someone from this hidden room to advance in the House Redoran and Redoran Hortator questlines.]]
* ConvectionSchmonvection: Played straight with lava. As long as you aren't actually touching it, you're perfectly safe being near it.
* ConvenientQuesting: There are examples of this being both played straight and averted depending on the quest. For instance, the very first mission of the main quest sends the you two towns over on a journey that can take upwards of twenty minutes, and that is if you don't stop along the way to explore the locations in between. Early faction quests tend to play it straight, however. For example, most of the low ranking quests for the Fighters, Mages, and Thieves guilds will keep you in the same town as the quest giver or the nearby countryside. As you increase in rank, the quests typically send you farther and farther away.
* CoolCrown: Almalexia's crown is made of some sort of greenish-bronze metal. [[spoiler: When she finally snaps and attacks the Nerevarine in the Clockwork City, she dawns a scary mask made of this same metal.]]
* CoolSword - Plenty. Most notable are some of the artifact swords, including True-Flame (Nerevar's FlamingSword), Goldbrand (a golden enchanted [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]],) Umbra (a soul-stealing greatsword,) and Chryasmere (a massive greatsword known as "the Paladin's Blade.")
* CorruptChurch - The Tribunal Temple, despite its dubious origins, used to be an undeniable force for good. These days? Not so much.
** Curiously, in the early days when the Tribunal gods consistently lived and worked among their people, it was much better. Since they retreated into their own seclusion [[spoiler:thanks to no longer being able to replenish their divine power with the Heart of Lorkhan and instead having to conserve their power (by the time of the player's arrival, Vivec has been maintaining the entire Ghostfence on his own for centuries) to protect Tamriel from Dagoth Ur]]. It was only after mortals took over the running of things that everything started to go to hell.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Several members of House Hlaalu in the main game, and Carnius Magius of the East Empire Company in Bloodmoon.
* TheCorruption - The Blight and Corprus Disease.
* CosmicKeystone: The still beating heart of the [[GodIsDead dead creator god]] Lorkhan, deep within Red Mountain. It is the divine source from which the Tribunal and Dagoth Ur draw their power. [[spoiler: Later games and supplementary materials reveal that it is one of many such keystones that keep the mortal plane, known as Mundus, extant. When each of these various keystones is removed or destroyed, it is theorized that Mundus will no longer be able to exist.]]
* CrateExpectations: Crates, barrels, urns and all sorts of other containers are found throughout the game. They can contain anything from low-end VendorTrash to consumables to items of real value and weapons and armor.
* CrazyPrepared - You had better be if you hope to survive for long. Keep a few "Cure Disease" potions on hand [[spoiler:(at least until a certain point in the main quest)]] because you never know when you might stumble into a den of vampires. And if you're going somewhere that might have Greater Bonewalkers, something to restore your Strength attribute will help. (They have a nasty tendency to damage your attributes with a spell. This is a mere annoyance for most of your attributes, but having your Strength damaged could leave you an overencumbered sitting duck in the middle of a fight.) A few scrolls of Almsivi or Divine Intervention are also a must in order to get out of a sticky situation or for transporting more loot than you could otherwise carry.
* {{Creepypasta}}: The "[[http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Jvk1166z.esp jvk1166z.esp]]" mod. A supposedly legit copy of "jvk1166z.esp" turned up on the Bethesda mod forums and was uploaded to a modding site, but was quickly debunked.
* CriticalExistenceFailure - In full force.
* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption
** One mission during the main quest requires that the player buys a slave to give as a bride to an Ashlander chieftain. She makes it clear she doesn't mind, and later says that being the wife of a chief is better than being a slave, but even after numerous plot-related killings, buying a slave can make some players twitch.
** Many of the things you have to do for Almalexia during the plot of ''Tribunal''. [[spoiler: Granted, King Helseth has asked you to go along with them until you can figure out what she is planning, but using Dwemer tech to create permanent ash storms in Mournhold still feels like crossing a line.]]
* CrystalDragonJesus - The Tribunal Temple. It bears more than a passing resemblance to the Catholic Church - hagiography, apocrypha, an Inquisition, sainthood, and the idea of a "new covenant" supplanting the older Daedric cults of the Dunmer.
* {{Cthulhumanoid}} - High ranking Sixth House members who are able to control their transformations after being afflicted with the Corprus disease will sprout tentacles from their faces. Ascended Sleepers are a prime example.
* CulturalPosturing - Both High Elves and Dark Elves ''love'' this trope. Imperials and Nords can get in on the action too in ''Bloodmoon''.
* CunningLinguist: The ancient Telvanni wizard Baladas Demnevanni proves to be one. During the Mages Guild questline, you'll come upon several books which contain clues about the disappearance of the Dwemer, including one that is written in both Aldmeris (the extinct ancestor language to many modern languages) and Dwemeri (which, to date, has not been able to be translated.) Baladas can read Aldmeris and will be able to use it to translate the Dwemeri it for you. (Alternatively, if you've made it far enough in the main quest, you can take it to Yagrum Bagarn, [[spoiler: the last living Dwemer]], who logically translates it easily.)
* CursedWithAwesome: As noted under BeneficialDisease, [[spoiler: the Nerevarine gets to keep the positive aspects of the disease (agelessness and immunity to other diseases) while the negative effects are removed by Divayth Fyr's "cure" for the disease]].
* CurseThatCures: The Corprus disease renders those afflicted by it immune to all other disease, as well as aging.
* CustomUniform: If you join the Imperial Legion, you will be required to be in uniform (read: wear a cuirass identified as Legion armor) for any other members of the Legion to speak with you. However, in the final quests for the Legion, you acquire the artifact Lord's Mail, which is basically the best heavy armor in the game and also a Legion uniform cuirass, thus being a truly unique custom uniform for a legionnaire. (At this point, you'll be the highest ranking member of the Legion in Vvardenfell, and thus, outrank anyone who would care about your uniform anyway.)
* CycleOfHurting: An enemy using unarmed attacks can cause this. Once your fatigue hits zero, you'll be knocked down. As you recover fatigue, you'll stand back up, only to be knocked down again by your opponent's next punch. And because unarmed attacks do very little damage, it takes a long time to be killed this way.
[[/folder]]

* TentativeLight: Many of the game's dungeons are dark enough that a light source is required. The torches and lanterns you can use have a finite use. Spells such as Light and Night Eye are available, but are also temporary unless you enchant them onto an item as a constant effect.

** Paralysis - A standard magic spell which freezes you in place for the spell's duration. This is helpful early in the game, particularly as a weapon enchantment, because very few low-level enemies have resistance to it. [[UselessUsefulSpellMost high-level enemies resist it, however]].

* SpaceCompression: It is the smallest game in the main series to date, so this is in full effect. Stated-to-be-massive cities contain only a few dozen [=NPCs=] at most, while many of the smaller settlements have populations in the low teens. It traded away the massive size of ''Arena'' and ''Daggerfall'' for a far greater content density, with the entire world being hand-build as opposed to relying on random generation like the previous games. There is also an in-universe justification: you only visit a ''region'' of Morrowind called Vvardenfell, which was only recently settled by the rest of Tamriel, and most of the population was sparse and consisted of the native Ashlanders and the worshippers of the Tribunal and Great Houses.

* SoftWater: You can survive falling from a great height into a body of water without injury, as long as the water is deep enough. Interesting, if you have a spell of Water Walking enabled, the water will be having just like land...

* SmugSnake: Orvas Dren.

* * ScrewDestiny: You can claim this when speaking to Dagoth Ur at the end of the game. It's actually quite possibly the reality of the situation too, with you not truly being the ChosenOne, but instead a convenient pawn of Azura and the Emperor. No definitive answer is ever given, meaning we'll probably never know for sure.

* SemiDivine: Those inflicted with the Corprus Disease. They have a touch of the divine (channeled from Lorkhan's Heart by Dagoth Ur), given as... not exactly a ''[[BodyHorrow boon]]'', but is seen as such by the gifter and his cultists. [[spoiler: The Nerevarine gets infected in the course of the main quest, but then gets cured of the downsides]].

* ShootTheBullet: It is possible to just projectile weapons to hit magical projectiles (like fireballs and lightning bolts) in midair.

** The Dremora Lord Dregas Volar, wielder of the last Daedric Crescent Blade, has been sealed inside of Magas Volar, a Daedric shrine not physically connected to the outside world and only accessible with a magic amulet.

** [[BigBad Dagoth]] [[PhysicalGod Ur]] and his minions have been sealed within Red Mountain by the Tribunal-powered Ghostfence. However, as the power of the Tribunal has waned [[spoiler: due to being unable to replenish their divinity since Dagoth Ur's reemergence]], Dagoth Ur's influence has begun to spread outside of the Ghostfence.

* ScaryImpracticalArmor: Played with. Mostly only the native styles (Glass, Bonemold, Dreugh, Indoril) play it straight, as all are full of [[SpikesOfVillainy spikes]] and [[ShouldersOfDoom oversized shoulders]]. Trollbone armour also counts, while it is Nordic style – essentially, it’s just a pile of troll bones sewed to cloth underarmour and a troll scull atop. Local Chitin and Netch leather armour, on the other hand, may look somewhat menacing, but fairly practical, given the materials they made and that they are suited to harsh island environment. Western (i. e. Imperial) armours looks very much like real life plate armour examples; same to local Ebony armour. Even Daedric armour, while featuring extremely scary facemasks, don’t have common “impractical” features like in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion subsequent]] [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim games]] exaggerated.