Cliffracer=Dragon snack food.

wolfar15 wrote:

Cliffracer=Dragon snack food.

Actually most of the dragons were driven out of Morrowind because of Cliff Racers.

^This is true. Funny how those things work out.

I'm finishing up my research now. I'll compile it, organize it and begin working on it later. In the meantime, have a look at a most satisfying sight.

Remember, when you would be running down a path in the wild or in the badlands and the music would go from Heavenly lullaby to wardrums? You would pull out your weapon and look around, saying to yourself "Dammnit! Where is he?!" Sometimes, after long travels, they would be as pesky as zubats.

Zubats...horrible Pokemon

I had no idea that the dreugh were so complicated! I always just thought of them as big ugly crab monsters!

We work hard on this forum Phaethon. Lets bring in more members and get this ball rolling

I don't see how you have the time

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you offline even once. Don't you sleep? lol

Heres a little something on Goblins.
When goblin caves are examined closely, insights into the level of
intelligence and power of the eight goblin tribes can be found. Often,
prison cells can be found within the lairs holding captives that the
goblins may have been using as some sort of hostage, though they are
most often dead upon arrival. Goblins display a basic recognition of
currency and its use (evidence of this would be the level of care
goblins go to to make sure their gold is safe and secure) The caves of
goblins also appear to have rooms with individual functions and
purposes, such as dining halls, religious centers, storage areas, points
of social gathering, and sometimes rooms as definite as throne rooms,
armories, and kitchens. It seems that the culture of goblins is advanced
enough to be deemed somewhat "civilized."
Sources:Uesp

Ironically, I worked in the mornings this weekend so I had to sleep at night and not be faithful to my name and stay awake. Ever since signing up for these forums I have pretty much had lots of time this weekend. I got many things out of the way and have been hard studying lore and on the side studying school. When BF3 comes out, I'll be on less often.
We have cliffracers coming up next, after that, I'll see what to do. Probably a very big project for us to tackle is daedra in all its forms!

Goblins are barbaric and not civilized. They may have a society and clans. You can argue a culture maybe, but not a civilization.

Caelas wrote:

Heres a little something on Goblins.
When goblin caves are examined closely, insights into the level of
intelligence and power of the eight goblin tribes can be found. Often,
prison cells can be found within the lairs holding captives that the
goblins may have been using as some sort of hostage, though they are
most often dead upon arrival. Goblins display a basic recognition of
currency and its use (evidence of this would be the level of care
goblins go to to make sure their gold is safe and secure) The caves of
goblins also appear to have rooms with individual functions and
purposes, such as dining halls, religious centers, storage areas, points
of social gathering, and sometimes rooms as definite as throne rooms,
armories, and kitchens. It seems that the culture of goblins is advanced
enough to be deemed somewhat "civilized."
Sources:Uesp

Funnily enough, I was planning on doing Goblins, the differences between clans and their relationships with Durzogs eventually. I still will, but it's nice to see people doing their own research too=)

I've decided to volunteer to research much of the biological, anatomical and ecological aspects of the fauna in Tamriel.
When a topic comes up that I can contribute too, I'll do the hard research on it. The facts won't come quickly, but it'll be packed with information.

Nightblade wrote:

I've decided to volunteer to research much of the biological, anatomical and ecological aspects of the fauna in Tamriel.
When a topic comes up that I can contribute too, I'll do the hard research on it. The facts won't come quickly, but it'll be packed with information.

I'm glad we have someone like you around. Whereas I more enjoy theoretical lines of thought and debates over what is or isn't culture and intelligence, you can research the more hard science facts of these creatures. And now without further ado...

Cliff racers
Cliff racers are half-avian, half-reptile monsters of Vvardenfell in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind -The Elder Scrolls wiki(http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Cliff_racers)

What We Know
Cliff Racers are long serpentine, aerial creatures once found in Vvardenfell. They possess two large wings and two smaller "fins" on the top and bottom of their body. Their long tail ends in a spike. It can carry the disease "Helljoint." Sometime after the events of Morrwind, Saint Jiub drove them from Vvardenfell. The cliff racers are also the reason that no dragons are found in Morrowind.


What we can Speculate
The first question I believe we need to answer is how the Cliff-racers were able to drive an enitire species of creatures as mighty as dragons out of Morrowind. I believe the answer to this is two-fold. The first is that the Cliff-Racers and dragons shared similar habitats and thus had to compete for resources. Although we can't say for sure, it seems likely that Cliff-racers would breed much faster then dragons and easily outnumber the dragons. With so many cliff-racers all eating the food that dragons once had full access to, the dragons would begin to starve or be pushed to newer, cliff-racer free lands.
Cliff Racers are weak though. What's to stop a mighty dragon from simply flying in and roasting every cliff racer? Well... The answer is this:


The second factor to the dragons exile from Morrowind was the sheer number of cliff-racers. One cliff racer wasn't a threat, but when you have dozens or even hundreds of them all screeching and jabbing you with their beaks and barbed tails, then eventually the damage will add up.

What else can we figure out? Notice when you are attacked by a cliff racer that it makes a distinctive cry. This cry could be a signal for any other cliff racer nearby to come and aid it in taking down it's prey. This would ensure that even the most deadly prey will be swamped with numbers.
Cliff racers most likely lay eggs(Based on their bizarre avian/reptilian traits) and make their lairs and nests high in the cliffs and peaks, hence their name. At such high, nearly unreachable points, the cliff racer eggs would be safe from scavengers and other predators.
One other thing you may have noticed... Cliff racers lack legs! Cliff Racers would need to have to eat nearly constantly to fuel a metabolism that can cause it to fly for nearly their entire lives. This easily explains why they are so eager to attack anything they see. Cliff Racers would most likely also need to rely on thermal updrafts to stay afloat as well. If a cliff racer did have to land, then it would probably move very slowly on the ground, like a snake.
When killed Cliff Racers drop an item called Racer Plumes. However, no such thing appears on a Cliff racer. But I believe that these Plumes lie in between a Cliff racers scales, keeping it warm at high altitudes.

Cliff Racers in Skyrim?
Cliff Racers are not extinct, they have simply been driven from Morrowind. This means that they had to find new places to settle. A few may have flown to the swamps of the Black Marsh or Solstheim. Others way have flown west... To the rugged cliffs of Skyrim. Although we don't know if the temperature would be too cold for them(We never do see Cliff Racers in Solstheim). However, if your travels along a lonely mountain trail are interrupted by the high pitched screech, I believe we will have found our answer.

Elytra and Gnarl

The Elytra are large mantis-like creatures indigenous to much of
the Shivering Isles. Although there is a marked color difference between the
Northern (Mania) Variety and the Southern (Dementia) Variety, their
stats are the same. They are found in high concentrations in root tunnel
systems and near caves, but inhabit almost the entire Isles. They can
block weapon attacks and walk on water. Their spells can be potentially damaging if you meet one unexpectedly. Their name, Elytra, may refer to the elytron, chitinous wings that protect the flight wings of certain insects.

The Gnarl, or "Walking Tree" as it's sometimes called, is one of the strangest creatures. Like the Elytra,this animated plant can be found roaming almost anywhere on the Isles.
One of Sheogorath's truly unique creations, the Gnarl has the most
unusual trait of being able to use magic cast upon it, and harness that
power to bolster its own defense. Once struck with fire, frost or
lightning, the Gnarl grows physically larger and becomes resistant to
just that element for short time. Interestingly, this is where the
Gnarl's vulnerability comes into play. At the same time the Gnarl is
resisting that element it was struck with, it becomes vulnerable to all
of the other elements. This is easily exploited by throwing a simple
spell of one element at the Gnarl, then following up with a more
powerful spell of a different element.

Source: Uesp

I love this thread, I'm constantly watching it for new posts

^I'm glad you enjoy it. As far as I can tell, It's the largest thread on the forums so far=D

It is, and the one with the most work put into it. Tonight, I will just work on my bio some more. I am a terrible fantasy writer. :/

Algerin wrote:

^I'm glad you enjoy it. As far as I can tell, It's the largest thread on the forums so far=D

It is! And it's very informative and fun to read. Don't stop!

Alright guys, what should I do next?
Some stipulations:
-No real world animals please.
-Enemies that have been in multiple games work best, and I would like to get these done first
-I have not played the Shivering Isles, and while I'll still write something up on SI creatures, everything in those would be pure research.

Spriggans! Or will-o-the-wisp

Some of the monsters of the Shivering Isles would be awesome.

Giant spiders would be nice.....

Algerin wrote:

Alright guys, what should I do next?
Some stipulations:
-No real world animals please.
-Enemies that have been in multiple games work best, and I would like to get these done first
-I have not played the Shivering Isles, and while I'll still write something up on SI creatures, everything in those would be pure research.

How about Clannfear?

wolfar15 wrote:

Giant spiders would be nice.....

As much as I would love to do giant spiders, it'd be really difficult for me to do. For one, I can't observe any behavior from the games since they only appear in Skyrim. Second, as far as I know there's no books detailing them, so I can't even use that as a reference point to jump off from. Finally, Giant Spiders are just real world spiders, but bigger.

But if you like, I'll do some searches and post some pictures of spiders, just for you. =)

I think tonight will be a double-hitter. Clannfear and Spriggans. I need to be up until midnight to get BF3 anyways. =D

Also, don't forget that you guys can post your own research and theories on the creatures in this thread. I'm not running the show here, just participating in it=)

Algerin wrote:

wolfar15 wrote:

Giant spiders would be nice.....

As much as I would love to do giant spiders, it'd be really difficult for me to do. For one, I can't observe any behavior from the games since they only appear in Skyrim........

Actually they appeared in arena, Daggerfall, and i think battlespire.