Creative cursing in the Elder Scrolls doesn’t break immersion.
Earlier in March, I wrote about the M rating given to The Elder Scrolls Online by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ERSB). ESO isn’t alone in its mature designation. In fact, most of the games in the Elder Scrolls franchise are rated M:
[table]
Game, Rating
Arena,T (teen)
Daggerfall, M (mature)
Morrowind, T (teen)
Oblivion, M (mature)
Skyrim, M (mature)
Elder Scrolls Online, M (mature)
[/table]
Unlike most mature rated games however, there is remarkably little swearing or cursing in the Elder Scrolls series (the mature ratings are mostly due to “blood and gore” and “intense violence” — something incredibly hard to avoid in a fantasy realm such as Tamriel’s). This lack of cursing in the Elder Scrolls is not only refreshing, but it allows devs the freedom to create new expletives true to the games’ unique cultures and places.
Consider the following creative curse words, taunts and insults found in the Elder Scrolls mythos:
s’wit
a foolish or brainless person.
Thief 1: We need to break into this chest. Did you bring the lockpicks?
Thief 2: Dude, I left the lockpicks back at the Sleeping Giant Inn.”
Thief 1: You s’wit! How are we supposed to open this chest without the lockpicks!
fetcher
1) a contemptible or stupid person
2) someone of doubtful honesty
My brother is such a fetcher. He keeps insisting that The Elder Scrolls Online is the sequel to Skyrim.
He calls himself the Dragonborn, but he’s just a fetcher. I’ve seen him get monkey stomped by a gang of mudcrabs over near Whiterun.
milk drinker
1) one who is physically weak and frail
2) a person who is indecisive and lacks courage
You see the arms on the new Imperial recruit? My 80 year old grandmother has bigger biceps than that milk drinker.
That milk drinker is afraid of his own shadow. Ain’t no way he’ll clear out Bleak Falls Barrows all by himself.
tough honker
a strong, uncompromising, or intimidating person.
Adventurer 1: Man, that dude just took out a Draugr Deathlord with nothing but a dull old blade that can barely cut butter.
Adventurer 2: Yeah, he’s one tough honker.
Adventurer 1: Who? The dude or the Draugr?
Adventurer 2: The dude, you s’wit.
Adventurer 1: Word.
n’wah
a person not belonging to a particular place or group; a foreigner or outsider.
Dunmer 1: Did you know Camilla Valerius came all the way from the Imperial City to help her brother Lucan run the Riverwood Trader?
Dunmer 2: Yeah, that’s too far to travel. I just don’t trust that n’wah.
pile of scrib jelly
1) an object of poor quality
2) a despicable person
Cicero’s ride keeps throwing wagon wheels. It’s about time he got rid of that pile of scrib jelly.
Sven tried to one up Faendal by writing a false letter to Camilla. That pile of scrib jelly shouldn’t be telling tales. Just sayin’.
by the Nine!
an exclamation of shock or surprise.
By the Nine! I didn’t think the beta testing for The Elder Scrolls Online would ever end.
Final Thoughts
The use of creative cursing in the Elder Scrolls franchise doesn’t break immersion, and in fact adds a certain richness and depth to the fantasy series. The words I’ve given above are a few examples, and are by no means an exhaustive list of the games’ made up insults and taunts.
Have you found other examples of creative cursing in the Elder Scrolls? If so, what are your favorites? Please share your opinions in the Speak Your Mind Section below or over in the forums. Until next time fellow travelers!
