What Skyrim Got Wrong - The Nordic Pantheon

In our latest Elder Scrolls: Skyrim video, we look at what it got wrong! or at least what could have been cooler!

In Elder Scrolls Lore, the nords worship their own nordic pantheon featuring gods such as Shor and Kyne, however in Skyrim they just worship the Imperial Pantheon. In this video we explore the possibilities of what could have been.

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[FatrickAteman]

there is an old man in the wilderness with his grandson and he reveres the old nordic pantheon, as opposed to the imperial pantheon he sends you on a quest for kyne, to hunt spectral ghosts of animals and if you kill him afterward and go to sovngarde,  he's there wandering the mists which brings some questions are there more old nords who prefer the old pantheon? maybe a few younger stormcloacks wanting to completely reject everything and all imperial, and even if the old nord gods are unworshipped nowaday's you'd be hard pressed to find a nord who doesn't know who shor is.

[highdefinitionapollo]

Huh, I thought the only thing Skyrim got wrong was the lack of 100 more issues of the lusty Argonian maid.

[TheZodiac]

I can only guess that Bethesda switched out the gods for the sake of simplicity. it's a shame though because a whole full-blown religious war between the nord rebellion and the Imperial empire would have had more weight behind it if there was more than just Talos at stake.

[lts_Jake]

Based off the title I can tell y'all have been talking to zaric some more

[ArchieSins]

2:52 "And all they do is worship the 8 divines..." Looks like we have a thalmor in our midst. 9 divines or nothing, ya dirty elf

[GreatSmithanon]

I think it does make sense that the Nords would have the imperial pantheon in many of the larger cities. After all, for a long time they were the Empire's strongest and most loyal warriors. However, I do find it very strange that you'll even find references in the everyday speech of nords in skyrim to the old pantheon ("By Ysmir!")without shrines existing to them. It would have to me made sense to see Nordic Pantheon shrines scattered all over the place, and in rural towns and anti-imperial holds.

[GermanKinsmen]

@ Everyone who comes here to rationalize this.

1. Yes, it's reasonable and plausible to assume this could happen.
2. Doesn't change the fact that it's the lamer of the two options.

[pineappledude]

Why did Bethesda get so lazy? It really bums me out.

[chloec]

I think it was probably on the cutting room floor where Bethesda thought "Let's have a war where the Stormcloaks are trying to preserve the Nordic pantheon and the Imperials are ok with replacing it." But ultimately, probably decided this would be far too complicated for casuals to follow along with for one of their main questlines so the conflict was reduced to just Talos worship (far easier to understand).

[Hartsele]

And I didn't think role-playing as a Skaal born, Stormcloak sympathizer could get any funner. Death to the heretical Imperials!

[Arborem]

Keeping true to diverse lore > simplifying lore for casuals.

[hugmonger]

Man now I want to play as an Imperial Inquisitor or Nordic Zealot who goes around smashing those who do not follow their gods.

[ethanschenck]

I think that the old gods are still worshiped in Skyrim by the majority of Nords, just by Imperial names. Think about it, most Nords you meet only bring up gods who have well liked equivalents in the Nordic pantheon, and whenever they speak of them they sound entirely different from any Imperial interpretations. For instance, Talos is never regarded as a god of governance and rarely regarded as a great unifier, but rather is worshiped as a war god and a paragon of what every Nord should be. In the Temple of Mara, they explicitly call Mara the "Handmaiden of Kyne", and it clearly has no connection to the imperial Cult or the Temple of the Divines in Solitude. Sure there are still priests of Arkay in the Halls of the Dead, but those could have easily been commissioned by the Imperial authorities. As for the Temple of Kynareth, it was definitely originally a temple to Kyne, but the priestess there now probably believes in a more Imperial interpretation, although she may simply be trying to be inclusive.

[Im-Not-a-Dog]

“After death, his spirit ascended to the heavens to become the ninth and youngest divine, under the name given to him by the Nords—Talos.” - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages.
Talos is his Nordic name, Tiber Septim is his Imperial name. The name Ysmir is used for living Dragonborn and doesn’t apply to him once he ascended.

[alexmarsh]

If the main quest remained relatively unchanged, having the Dragonborn slay Alduin also adds a lot of depth to the quest. You’re not just slaying the chief dragon, you’re slaying a god. And in same degree becoming a “Christ figure” (going to the afterlife, defeating a god, and returning).

[dakotapiercy]

it actually does bring up the whole "Talos is Ysmir" in a quest where you sleep in an inn and a ghost appears mistaking you for Ysmir when you ask the innkeeper who that is she says that it could be one of the many names of Tiber Septim

[bleach-kun]

This is one of the reasons the nords are my favorite race in the elder scrolls, their pantheon.

[amlam]

Well the real nords got christian in 200 years

[Kelis]

I don’t think it’s a big issue how Skyrim showed it personally.

[dilananonymouslastname]

in oblivion Burma is more like Skyrim than actual Skyrim