Heartwarming / The Elder Scrolls Online

Base Game

Ebonheart Pact

• In your last encounter with Naryu Virian in the base game, you can imply to her that you will be there for her if she ever needs it. Her response is to tease you about always being the hero, blow you a kiss, then say that she would like that and will find you if she needs your help.
• The good ending of the Kyne's Grove quest in Eastmarch. To elaborate, the female mages in charge of tending to the Grove succumbed to despair after their children all died in the Alliance War, and that despair turned them into Hagravens that now threaten the entire region. After exhausting every option, the quest giver tells you that you have no choice but to kill the matriarch of the mages to end the curse, but you then learn that the matriarch's son in fact survived the war. However, if you go find him and ask for his help, he's too crippled from PTSD to help you, seemingly forcing you to kill his mother. However, after mortally wounding the matriarch, her son reappears, having had a change of heart. He prays to Kyne herself, begging her to forgive his mother, and she does, restoring the matriarch to life free of the curse.

Daggerfall Covenant

• If you sided with Lambur in Beknith, then reconciling with Kaleen and Nicolene after completing "The Sons of Yokuda". Kaleen will admit that while she is still sore about losing the relic, she will try to move past it (which she does by the time you reach Sentinel), and Nicolene says that while she still grieves her brothers (whose deaths you indirectly helped cause), she is not so blinded by grief and anger that she does not recognize your heroism or how grateful she is that you saved her captain's life.
• If you return to the Daggerfall Castle a while after doing its quest-line, you can find Giblet, the dog that lead you to the quest in the first place. Someone in the castle, maybe even the King, took care of it after his owner died. And he recognizes you when he sees you!
  Giblet: <The dog barks and wags his tail in recognition.>
• Lieutenant Fairfax and Heloise, encountered in Rivenspire, are plainly in love with each other but are too shy to say so. As the quest "Under Siege" unfolds, they seem like Star-Crossed Lovers given that Heloise is unwillingly turned into a vampire. However, if you spare Heloise's life, it's possible to encounter them again at the end of Rivenspire's questline in Shornhelm castle. Heloise has learned to control her urges, and Fairfax is thrilled to have her back, implying that they've gotten together against the odds.
• In Baelborne Rock, if you choose to side with Athel and kill the Dremora Lord responsible for the curse on the titular ruin, then the bastard son of Athel's father, whose mother made a deal with the Dremora to both protect him and take revenge on Lord Baelborne for letting her die, suddenly reappears, completely amnesiac to what has happened over the past several years. Athel vows to take the man under his care, determined to make up for everything his father did.

Aldmeri Dominion

• In contrast to their portrayal in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, where they go out of their own way to make themselves hated, the base game’s version of the Aldmeri Dominion really want to make sure that each race of their alliance have just as much say to each other. Notably, this is the only faction that does not really have either an Enemy Mine situation like the Ebonheart Pact or try to ally so they gain something from the other provinces like the Daggerfall Covenant in their backstory, just three races who, although they distrust a human-centric empire, rely on mutual respect for each other.
• The College of Aldmeri Propriety is initially an Academy of Evil, having been infiltrated by the Veiled Heritance, who are abusive, racist and even murderous to the Bosmer and Khajiit students. However, if you return to the College after completing the quest in which you drive out the Veiled Heritance, you will overhear the new teachers praising the strengths the Bosmer and Khajiit bring to the Dominion.

Downloadable Content

Standalone Content

Dungeons

Due to how contained the stories in dungeons can be, all dungeons from downloadable content-packs are gathered in this folder. Please note that dungeons related to year-long arcs like Season of the Dragon are in the arc folders.

• In Falkreath Hold, one of the bosses is Deathlord Bjarfrud Skjoralmor, the forcibly resurrected founder of Falkreath. Upon his resurrection, he mistakes the group of players for usurpers and fights them. If one listens to his voicelines during the battle, one can hear how protective he is to his people, and his boss mechanic is to avenge any of his adds you kill without blessing them.
  "No injury is left unanswered in my hold."
  "Despoilers! Keep your filthy paws off my honored dead!"
  "I'll avenge my own—a hundred fold!"
  • Then, when you kill Deathlord Bjarfrud Skjoralmor, he realizes what happened to him, and shouts at his misfortune. After the battle, you can choose to use the dungeon's mechanic on him, freeing him from his curse.
  Bjarfrud Skjoralmor: You honour me. Sovengarde calls…
• In Moon Hunter Keep, the quest-giver is Adonatus Varian, a commander of the lycanthropy-hunting group Silver Dawn. You are later joined by one of the freed prisoners, Narazda. Adonatus and Narazda bicker frequently throughout the dungeon, but as Adonatus' wounds take their toll on him, it is obvious Narazda is concerned.
  • When the dungeon quest is completed, Adonatus reveals he knows about Narazda being a werewolf. She wonders if he will kill her despite her assistance, but Adonatus goes against his beliefs and lets her go.

Orsinium

• At the end of the storyline, Eveli Sharp-Arrow has nothing but words of praise for you, thanking you for everything and for being the one person she never lost faith in.

Thieves Guild

• In one of the Thieves Guild DLC quests the bitter and abrasive Dark Elf Velsa tells you to investigate an anonymous letter she was sent that was somehow connected to her past. She suspects it is a trap by her slave-trading family that she fled from long ago. Instead it turns out to be from one of the Khajit slaves she freed...her former lover Nahrani, now an old woman. Their reunion in Velsa's hidden villa is both heartwarming and the good kind of Tearjerker.

Dark Brotherhood

• A delve quest has you reunite with Mel Adrys, a Dunmer vampire hunter who you assisted in Greenshade. The two of you hunt down more vampires together and if you are a vampire yourself, he comments on it. According to him, he considered killing you as well, but having heard tales of your exploits, he believes that you will do more good than ill and allows you to depart in peace.
  • He was also nearly killed in the time between his quest in Greenshade and up until you meet him again, but was saved by Aranias, now the Wilderqueen. When he asked why she saved him, her response was, "Thank the Vestige." Even now, it seems she considers the Vestige a friend and a profound influence.

Daedric War arc

Morrowind

• In the delve Ashalmawia, you might meet Galur Rithari, a former Buoyant Armiger who was turned into a vampire. He hates his condition and wants to be cured, though he does not know how to be free from Molag Bal. If the player has completed the base game's main story, they can offer Galur some words of encouragement. "Believe me when I say there's hope for any soul in his thrall." Thanks to the player's encouragement, Galur remembers what hope feels like.

Summerset

• "Storming the Wall": You help a pair of lovers. Nothing unusual there, except that the couple consists of a high elf and a sea elf, two races who are constantly at war with each other. That these two could look past their peoples' feuds and find love is sweet to see.
  • Throughout the quest, you and the couple see the damage and blood their secret love have caused, and consider ending it. You can convince them not to, and they decide to leave their respective homelands and explore the rest of the world together.
• "The Hulkynd's Heart": You help Tableau, an artist from the House of Reveries, to find a model for her portrait. You convince a hulkynd, someone cast out of Altmer society due to a perceived flaw, named Malacar, who agrees to meet Tableau if you do a favour. When you meet them later, they are chatting while Tableau sketches. Malacar is obviously not used to being in the presence of people who treat him like an equal, which he responds with awkward politeness. Though they act casual about the meeting, you later find out they kept meeting and became close friends.
• If you played through the main quest before playing Summerset, when you encounter Darien Gautier again, who mysteriously disappeared after the confrontation with Molag Bal, you can get a dialogue option to tell him that you've been searching for him for a long time.

Season of the Dragon arc

Elsweyr

• "A Rage of Dragons": If you did the prologue quest for Elsweyr beforehand, you meet one of the freed dragons, who thanks you and Abnur Tharn for freeing them, and offers you the chance to flee Elsweyr and never be their target as their show of gratitude. Dragons have let humans survive in the past, but they have often been devout followers like the Dragon Priests, while Abnur Tharn and you, most likely, are not. Considering how dragons usually view humans, that is quite merciful of them.
• During the Ashen Scar questline, two sworn brothers of the ancient past are on opposite sides all the way to the present. Despite all that time, Shando-ri, who was chosen by Azurah, never gave up hope that his brother could find redemption, and he hesitates destroying him because of this. In the end, after Arum-Khal is defeated for good and Shando-ri is given the chance to finally join Azurah in the afterlife, he finds his sworn brother's soul in the darkness and brings him with him. The quest-giver, Vastarie, sums up their relationship quite well:
  Vastarie: Wherever they go, they go together. And that is an encouraging thought.
  • If you met Vastarie in Grahtwood and you point it out here, she says she recognizes you that she would still be bumbling around Coldharbour if not for you and Azura.
• "Preserving the Prowl": You meet Numaia, a ranch-owner who is friends to all animals. She has rescued animals from shoddy hunters and cared for them since, given them cute names like Marmelade and Lavender. Even the leader of a group of poachers write in his logs that all the animals are taken care of and well-fed.
  • Numaia is not just loving of animals, her ranch has also some Bosmer workers. Bosmer and Khajiit have rarely gotten along due to constant border-wars, and it is hard to find Bosmer in this zone. Numaia must be very open-minded and trustworthy to have hired Bosmer in her ranch, and have the Bosmer be loyal to her in return.
• "The Jewel of Baan Dar": Jakarn manages to snap out of a cursed gemstone's spell when you mention Larisa and the crew from Stros M'Kai.
• "Sweet Rotmeth Brew": The wood elf Melleron wishes to make rotmeth that Khajiit might like. Though he claims it is for business, his husband is revealed to be a Khajiit, and Melleron seems extra happy to present the brew to him. He might have wanted to make something of his culture that he could share with his husband.
  • His husband, Tarazur, is heavily hinted to have thrown the keg of brew on purpose and is dismayed when you return the keg, but nonetheless tests the brew for his husband.
• "Home Sweet Home": We meet Razum-dar's mother and younger brother, Kideya and Rakhzargo. It is shown that Kideya constantly bickers with Razum-dar, and Razum-dar has his own hideout to be left in peace. When the quest is completed, however, Kideya sounds distraught over Razum-dar having to leave for work again, and asks him to stay for dinner, at least, which Razum-dar accepts. Though she complains about her elder son, she did miss him while he was gone.
• "Descendant of the Potentate": The Magnate of the village of Hakoshae believes she is a descendant of the Akaviri Potentate. However, the end of the quest reveals that this is a lie; her ancestor turns out to have been the bodyguard of the real Potentate, who betrayed his lord and left him to die to the Morag Tong before stealing his name and title and founding the town. When the Magnate discovers the truth, she is horrified and resolves to tell the truth to the rest of the town, prepared for whatever punishment they demand of her...but the townsfolk immediately forgive her, because she has been such a good leader to them that they are willing to support her regardless of her ancestry.

Dark Heart of Skyrim arc

Greymoor

• Fate of the Frozen quest: The player learns about Nelfthea, a raider who tried to be kind when possible, like leaving some resources for the survivors, and wanted to stay with their raider comrades even though her lover Magreta wanted to leave. In a letter she explains how she cannot leave the others when they are facing difficult times, after everything they had done for them. She died fighting giants when they attacked their hideout, even though she usually avoids fighting.
• At one of the world boss locations, there is a woman Ingjard, her son and her son-in-law, out on a hunting trip. She does not approve of her son-in-law, who not interested in hunting like she and her family. When the bosses appear, though, Ingjard immediately protects her son-in-law as the players defeat the bosses. Afterward, the son-in-law is in awe that she did that, as he assumed she did not like him. Ingjard herself reflects on her mistakes and accepts her son's choice for a husband.
• Breaking Friewen's curse and reuniting her with her family and people in Morthal. If you complete this quest before the "Danger in the Holds" main quest, Jarl Reddharn is immediately willing to hear you out in gratitude for saving his daughter's life.

Epilogue

• To see Namira, usually seen as a morbid Daedric Prince of death and decay, be helpful and supportive of the heroes. As the characters say, as a representation of death and decay, she also represents the natural order; to have someone steal souls in order to gain immortality is an insult to her. Thus, she gives Arana life enough to help the player, even though she needs to return to death at some point.
• The fact that everyone in Markarth returns from death after being murdered by a sneak attack. The player character arrives back to the city and just hears joyous cheers from outside, and people feasting for the victory and for seeing their loved ones again.
• During the celebration of Skyrim being one again, the player can find Maugh at the kitchen side of the hall, in colourful silk compared to his shabby look in Greymoor. It turns out, even though he was worried that he did not belong in Svana's new life, she kept him by her side and made her into a royal food taster! Now he can stay close by his friend, while living a comfortable life eating and drinking whatever he wants.

Flames of Oblivion arc

Blackwood

• If you're a member of the Dark Brotherhood, Eveli will naturally feel conflicted. If you previously completed Orsinium, you can remind her of how the two of you worked together to stop Kurog and Alga, and this is all it takes to make her willing to trust you again.
• Choosing to let Mathen stay with Yisara in Gideon. Both of them are absolutely ecstatic by the arrangement, and Mathen will say outright that being at Yisara's side, even if she eventually finds love with a living man, is worth the price of being barred from Aetherius.

Shadow Over Morrowind arc

Necrom

• At the end of the Ancre Mine quest, where you clear the mine of Peryite cultists and the kwama they infected, the mine overseer is just about ready to call it quits and leave with the other survivors, especially since the Telvanni didn't lift a finger to help them like you did. If you convince him to stay, he agrees to, but only if the Telvanni agree to his demands as to how the mine will be run from now on. Given how notoriously corrupt and Jerkass the Telvanni have been shown to be throughout the series, you'd expect this attempt to blow up in his face. Instead, you can later find the overseer in Necrom's Fighter's Guild, who happily reveals that that the Telvanni agreed to all his demands, and he's currently working with them to help clear out the remaining cultists from the mine before its officially reopened.
• In Apocrypha, you can come across Hezekh, Madame Whim's errand boy from Deadlands, who needs your help recovering a secret that Whim entrusted him to trade to Hermaeus Mora in exchange for a boon. After finally recovering the secret and delivering it to Mora's depository, the secret turns out to be Madame Whim admitting that for all of Hezehk's incompetence and buffoonery, she genuinely cherishes him and sees him as not only an excellent employee, but a dear friend as well. Heshelk, who had spent much of the quest griping about his debt to Whim, is left speechless by how much his mistress actually cares for him.