Summary
TheElder Scrollsis a venerable franchise of RPGs known primarily for their open worlds rich with dungeons, caves, and side quests. Like many other open-world games,Elder Scrollstitles tend to be remembered more for their maps than for their characters, but there are still some very memorable figures. Mehrunes Dagon, Alduin, and the evil Molag Bal are all very distinctive andiconic villains from the franchise.
That said, however, theElder Scrollsfranchise has been around for a long time. With so many entries, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that sometimes major antagonists can completely fall through the cracks. Here are someElder Scrollsvillains who’ve been forgotten over the years.
Agarmir is the main antagonist of one of the first side quests a player is likely to get involved with inOblivion. This sinister Nord thief supplies a merchantin the Imperial Citywho’s able to offer much lower prices than his competition, thus putting the local merchant’s guild at risk. By eavesdropping on his conversations and sneaking into his house, the player is able to learn that he offers such low prices by stealing his goods from mausoleums in town. A confrontation in the graveyard leads to his demise.
Agarmir’s side quest is an engaging way to introduce new players to the game’s social elements. It also rewards the protagonist with a valuable enchanted sword which should be invaluable to them in the early game. Unfortunately, the character suffers from being one of the first antagonists the player is likely to ever face. By the time the credits roll, Agarmir will likely have been forgotten completely.
The lore of Olaf One-Eye is pretty remarkable in its own right. This sinister ancient tyrant rose to power as High King after slaying a powerful dragon, but his tyrannical rule was questioned when a bard wrote an epic poem accusing him of lies and treachery. Now he haunts his ancient tomb, sealed away with the sole surviving copy of the inflammatory text.
Unfortunately, this interesting story is locked behindparticipation in the bard’s college questline, a minorSkyrimfaction that most players are likely to overlook or dismiss. While bards are a fantasy staple, the college’s quests simply don’t offer as many tangible gameplay rewards as groups like the Companions or the College of Winterhold. Because of this, the entire questline, and the climactic showdown with Olaf One-Eye, go unseen by manySkyrimplayers.
8Umaril
A Forgotten Piece of the Past
Oblivionwas one of the earliest games to bring downloadable content to the mainstream. While the game’s infamous horse armor DLC earned it considerable scorn from fans,expansions likeThe Shivering IslesandKnights of the Ninedid add substantial new story content to the experience.Knights of the Ninein particular introduced Umaril, an Ayleid sorcerer-king who rises from the dead to seek vengeance on Pelinal Whitestrake and his chivalrous legacy.
Unfortunately, given the small scope ofKnights of the Nine, many players would end up overlooking the questline and its main antagonist. The fact that Umaril never makes a direct appearance until the final showdown at the end of the DLC makes it much harder for this ancient warrior to stand out so many years afterOblivion’s release.
7Krev the Skinner & The Silver Hand
The Companions' Underwhelming Foe
The legendaryCompanions are one of the most prominent factionsinSkyrim. This legendary band of mercenaries hides a secret curse of lycanthropy which it spreads to all of its members. Joining the Companions is in fact the only way to become a werewolf in-game. The Silver Hand, led by Krev the Skinner, vigorously opposed the Companions, seeking to eradicate lycanthropy in its entirety.
Unfortunately, in practice, the Silver Hand are rather forgettable. Despite their unique mission statement, most of its members appear with randomized gear that makes them almost completely indistinguishable from normal bandits, with the exception of their trademark silver weapons. Krev in particular has a completely randomized design, including race and gender, meaning they don’t have any sort of distinct visual design for the player to remember them by. Despite how they’re initially presented, Krev and the Silver Hand end up feeling like a minor footnote in the Companions' questline.
6Mankar Camoran
The Leader of the Mythic Dawn
TheMythic Dawn is the primary antagonistic forceinOblivion, and they are a constant thorn in the player’s side for the entire length of the game. From the moment one of their red-robed agents cuts down the Emperor in front of the protagonist, these sinister cultists and their apocalyptic mission are the main focus of the game.
As distinct and memorable as the Mythic Dawn are, their leader, Mankar Camoran, often goes unremembered. The player fights him in his secret lair, a false paradise where his followers are tortured for eternity. While this makes for a memorable setup, Camoran ultimately spoils it by not being a particularly remarkable boss. He generally fights like a normal mage and goes down relatively easily. The cataclysmic attack of Mehrunes Dagon which follows ends up being a much more iconic part of the game and a moment that most players are likely to remember much more vividly than their fight with Mankar Camoran.
While the first few games in theElder Scrollsseries are certainly not without fans, the franchise’s later games are generally much more well-known thanearly entries likeDaggerfall. This means that major antagonists from these earlier games are much more likely to be forgotten than characters from games likeSkyrim.
This is especially true of Lord Woodborne. One of the player’s main goals inDaggerfallis to lay the ghost of the late king Lysandus to rest. The king was assassinated by Lord Woodborne, a Breton nobleman, so the king’s son Gothryd could take the crown in his stead. Ultimately, Lord Woodborne’s schemes come to nothing, and he remains an easily forgotten part of a game that was itself overshadowed by titles likeMorrowind.
The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguardis a strange and oft-forgotten piece ofElder Scrollshistory. This action-adventure spinoff takes inspiration fromPrince of Persiaand follows a redguard rebel named Cyrus as he attempts to overthrow Imperial rule in Stros M’kai.
The game’s obscurity means that its main antagonist, Lord Amiel Richton, is a similarly forgotten figure. This pompous figure was sent by the emperor to maintain peace in the region, and he constantly opposes protagonist Cyrus’s efforts to find his sister. His reign ends when Cyrus cuts him down in his own palace.
3Umbra' Keth
A Long-Forgotten Foe
TheElder Scrolls Travelsgames are a series of forgottenElder Scrollsgames released for smartphones in the early 2000s.Shadowkeyis the third game in the franchise, and while it concerns the events of the very firstElder Scrollsgame and its antagonist Jagar Tharn, it also introduces a new antagonist in the form of Umbra’Keth.
Umbra' Keth is a unique and deadly monster, also known as the Shadow of Conflict due to its creation in the turmoil of the War of Bend’r-Mahk. It can only be wounded by the Star Teeth, unique celestial crystals with the power to destroy its shadow. Umbra' Keth represents some of the strangest parts ofElder Scrollslore, but its presence in such an obscure title means it will likely go forgotten by many fans looking to dig deeper into the world.
2Quintus Varus
TheElder Scrollsfranchise’s first attempt to enter mobile gaming was all the way back in 2003, withElder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold. This obscure phone game saw the protagonist tossed into Stormhold Prison, run by the mad warden Quintus Varus. Varus' obsessive quest for the Stormhold Crystal has driven him and his underlings hopelessly insane, and the player must defeat him if they want any hope of escaping.
Varus' storyline has potential, but unfortunately, the enduring obscurity of theElder Scrolls Travelsgames means that he’s bound to go unrecognized by most fans. Even in the modern era, mobile spinoffs likeElder Scrolls Bladeshave struggled to find a foothold with fans, so forgotten titles like this one have little hope of establishing a fanbase.
1The Gehenoth
A Strange and Forgotten Beast
The secondElder Scrolls Travelsgame tasks the player with saving a camp of refugees from the Ice Tribe besieging it, while at the same time figuring out which of its four champions has turned against the populace. Along the way, the player will regularly encounter the Gehenoth, a mysterious and vicious creature who also serves as the final boss.
One of the strangest things about the Gehenoth is that there’s virtually no information about what it actually is. The creature is monstrous in appearance and vicious in battle, but none of the NPCs encountered in the game have much valuable info to offer on what it actually is. This, combined with the general obscurity of theElder Scrolls Travelsgames, has prevented the Gehenoth from becoming a villain of any real renown in theElder Scrollscommunity.
