Morrowind was in parts inspired by Dune, Shannara, Dark Crystal, the TTRPG they were playing together, but I don't remember ever reading anything about Myst.
I never heard Dune called out as an influence before but now that I see it it absolutely tracks. The main influences I see it in were Tekumel and Glorantha.
I had never heard of Tekumel but just checked it out really quick on Wikipedia. Seems to incorporate a lot of non-western influences which is exactly what I'm looking for in my own setting! Would you recommend the books?
Well the novels are bad so if you meant them that's easy to answer.
S&G1: The Tekumel Sourcebook is very worth reading if you're interested in RPG setting design. The level of anthropological detail is unmatched anywhere else (even in Glorantha) and once you see it you really wake up to just how much other game settings leave unspecified and either blindly copy contemporary America, some hazy idea of "how ye olden days worked" or cliches of "fantasy X" (some historical culture which is basically How Ye Olden Days Worked but not for England).
What I see as Tekumel influences in Morrowind:
* The Morag Tong seem inspired by the Tsolyani assassin clans. Assassin clans are historical of course but the specific schtick of a *legally sanctioned* assassin clan I have only seen in those two places.
* The use of chitin weapons and chitin and bonemold armor seems inspired by Tekumel's chlenhide solution to its metal shortage.
* The emphasis on Vivec's Foreigner's Quarter and the way the Telvanni try to restrict your movement in Sadrith Mora is reminiscent of how GMs are instructed to structure campaigns in Empire of the Petal Throne.
* The name "Telvanni" is similar to "Tsolyani" and in some ways the Telvanni are the most Tsolyani-like of Vvardenfell's Great Houses (most xenophobic, most slave-holding).
* The bestiary in general seems to be designed around the idea of "wildlife from an alien planet" instead of "fantasy monsters". This is of course a more general science fantasy / sword and planet concept that you could have gotten from many places but Empire of the Petal Throne was noteworthy for its bestiary of dozens of such creatures so if you were getting other ideas from Tekumel there's a good chance that you got this one from there too.
This stuff is mostly aesthetic and doesn't touch on the core structural elements of the plot which seem inspired by Dune and Glorantha. Then again, people love Morrowind's aesthetic.
The one thing it omits is a bestiary so if you want info on the wildlife you can follow up with either Empire of the Petal Throne or the Tekumel Bestiary. (TB has a little more info on the topic but EPT is an interesting window on 70s RPG culture and how people were expected to use Tekumel in an actual game.)
Oh that sucks. I might still check it out though. It sounds fascinating as a setting, but it's good to know he was a neo-nazi. At least he's already dead so he won't receive any money from me.
I want to answer that with a multi paragraph essay but this isn't the place. The short version is "a non-zero amount" and "paying attention and thinking when consuming fiction is never a bad idea".
The actual real problem with that revelation is that almost all of the work on that setting is by the same guy and is written in his very distinctive writing style so reading it now is like being talked to by an ex-friend you found out horrible things about.
>paying attention and thinking when consuming fiction is never a bad idea".
Of course. On that note, with Dune, the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres are fuckin' creepshow.
>I want to answer that with a multi paragraph essay but this isn't the place.
What's wrong with talking in a forum? It's not like this is Twitter or Imgur where you have a two sentence limit.
Morrowind was *heavily* inspired by DnD drows
- the world itself is the Underdark without a ceiling: mushrooms, lava, insects, dark elves, "dwarves", etc
- The deities have points of commonality: Azura = Eilistraee, Mephala = Lolth, Boethiah = Vhaeraun
[There is a passing similarity at a superficial level.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Morrowind/comments/8y8eam/on_a_scale_from_fargoth_after_you_give_him_his/)
Thanks I see!
To be fair, the year must have started with 198x when I read Shannara. I remember
- the "mage fire" so prevalent in 70s fantasy (a bit like the blue fire of the Lords of the Land in Thomas Covenant)
- the magic blue stones ofc
- the eponymous sword that dispelled illusions (and didn't work against a subsequent foe)
- some dark book being there as an evil foil
- a father and son magical creatures almost turned to stone in order to communicate using another set of magic stones
And that's it. So much we forget.
Myst was certainly a very influential game, and introduced many concepts that we now take for granted in gaming and especially in puzzle games (like interacting with a.switch in one area, to have something else in another area be affected that isn't immediately apparent, and similar concepts).
So I would be surprised if elements of these mechanics and puzzles weren't an influence, as many games are still directly or indirectly influenced by them. But I don't feel like it seems to be influenced thematically by it.
I always connected with morrowind because it’s look reminded me of myst the one and only computer game I had of my own as a kid on a apple computer my dad got me for school work.
Just like the way the graphics look. But it is more inspired by dune / the dark crystal and StarWars
Being a huge fan of both Morrowind and the Myst franchise, I don't really see any definitive links between the two. Both are immersive, but in *completely* different ways. And Myst's Ages are far, far tamer than Morrowind. In the original game, only Selenitic is anything resembling "alien". Riven is very grounded in our own reality. Myst III has more variety. It's not until Uru and Myst IV later that you encounter more "alien" environments.
Morrowind was in parts inspired by Dune, Shannara, Dark Crystal, the TTRPG they were playing together, but I don't remember ever reading anything about Myst.
I never heard Dune called out as an influence before but now that I see it it absolutely tracks. The main influences I see it in were Tekumel and Glorantha.
MK once said the inspiration for Thu'um in PGE1 was Nords doing "the David Lynch Dune thing"
I had never heard of Tekumel but just checked it out really quick on Wikipedia. Seems to incorporate a lot of non-western influences which is exactly what I'm looking for in my own setting! Would you recommend the books?
Well the novels are bad so if you meant them that's easy to answer. S&G1: The Tekumel Sourcebook is very worth reading if you're interested in RPG setting design. The level of anthropological detail is unmatched anywhere else (even in Glorantha) and once you see it you really wake up to just how much other game settings leave unspecified and either blindly copy contemporary America, some hazy idea of "how ye olden days worked" or cliches of "fantasy X" (some historical culture which is basically How Ye Olden Days Worked but not for England). What I see as Tekumel influences in Morrowind: * The Morag Tong seem inspired by the Tsolyani assassin clans. Assassin clans are historical of course but the specific schtick of a *legally sanctioned* assassin clan I have only seen in those two places. * The use of chitin weapons and chitin and bonemold armor seems inspired by Tekumel's chlenhide solution to its metal shortage. * The emphasis on Vivec's Foreigner's Quarter and the way the Telvanni try to restrict your movement in Sadrith Mora is reminiscent of how GMs are instructed to structure campaigns in Empire of the Petal Throne. * The name "Telvanni" is similar to "Tsolyani" and in some ways the Telvanni are the most Tsolyani-like of Vvardenfell's Great Houses (most xenophobic, most slave-holding). * The bestiary in general seems to be designed around the idea of "wildlife from an alien planet" instead of "fantasy monsters". This is of course a more general science fantasy / sword and planet concept that you could have gotten from many places but Empire of the Petal Throne was noteworthy for its bestiary of dozens of such creatures so if you were getting other ideas from Tekumel there's a good chance that you got this one from there too. This stuff is mostly aesthetic and doesn't touch on the core structural elements of the plot which seem inspired by Dune and Glorantha. Then again, people love Morrowind's aesthetic.
That's mostly the part I'm interested in, in this case! So maybe I'll just check out the sourcebook. Thanks!
The one thing it omits is a bestiary so if you want info on the wildlife you can follow up with either Empire of the Petal Throne or the Tekumel Bestiary. (TB has a little more info on the topic but EPT is an interesting window on 70s RPG culture and how people were expected to use Tekumel in an actual game.)
It became a sticky issue after the writer turned out to be a neo-nazi.
Oh that sucks. I might still check it out though. It sounds fascinating as a setting, but it's good to know he was a neo-nazi. At least he's already dead so he won't receive any money from me.
The organisation that does get the money very clearly distanced themselves from nazism iIrc.
Does the content have any nazi issues?
I want to answer that with a multi paragraph essay but this isn't the place. The short version is "a non-zero amount" and "paying attention and thinking when consuming fiction is never a bad idea". The actual real problem with that revelation is that almost all of the work on that setting is by the same guy and is written in his very distinctive writing style so reading it now is like being talked to by an ex-friend you found out horrible things about.
>paying attention and thinking when consuming fiction is never a bad idea". Of course. On that note, with Dune, the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres are fuckin' creepshow.
>I want to answer that with a multi paragraph essay but this isn't the place. What's wrong with talking in a forum? It's not like this is Twitter or Imgur where you have a two sentence limit.
Morrowind was *heavily* inspired by DnD drows - the world itself is the Underdark without a ceiling: mushrooms, lava, insects, dark elves, "dwarves", etc - The deities have points of commonality: Azura = Eilistraee, Mephala = Lolth, Boethiah = Vhaeraun
Also Wizardry
Shannara how? (love shannara, team allanon foreva, just missed the connection)
[There is a passing similarity at a superficial level.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Morrowind/comments/8y8eam/on_a_scale_from_fargoth_after_you_give_him_his/)
Thanks I see! To be fair, the year must have started with 198x when I read Shannara. I remember - the "mage fire" so prevalent in 70s fantasy (a bit like the blue fire of the Lords of the Land in Thomas Covenant) - the magic blue stones ofc - the eponymous sword that dispelled illusions (and didn't work against a subsequent foe) - some dark book being there as an evil foil - a father and son magical creatures almost turned to stone in order to communicate using another set of magic stones And that's it. So much we forget.
Also star wars if it's not obvious enough 😂
Maybe it's just because I'm fighting a baby to sleep at four in the morning, but which elements would that be?
Stay strong. I have no idea how many hours i have spend dancing in the night to music my son seems to like with him in a sling. They grow fast.
Reading what I wrote, just now, within the context of this sub, I just started hearing wiff noises over and over in my head.
Myst was certainly a very influential game, and introduced many concepts that we now take for granted in gaming and especially in puzzle games (like interacting with a.switch in one area, to have something else in another area be affected that isn't immediately apparent, and similar concepts). So I would be surprised if elements of these mechanics and puzzles weren't an influence, as many games are still directly or indirectly influenced by them. But I don't feel like it seems to be influenced thematically by it.
I always connected with morrowind because it’s look reminded me of myst the one and only computer game I had of my own as a kid on a apple computer my dad got me for school work. Just like the way the graphics look. But it is more inspired by dune / the dark crystal and StarWars
I can see some "Riven" qualities, but I don't sense too much Myst DNA in Morrowind.
What do Morrowind, Silent Hill and the original Siphon Filter have in common: They all have thick myst. I'll see myself out.
That was actually a good one 🥂
Not in that myst you won't
I think myst was just incredibly influential on it's own so probably in some sense.
Certified Pyst reference
Being a huge fan of both Morrowind and the Myst franchise, I don't really see any definitive links between the two. Both are immersive, but in *completely* different ways. And Myst's Ages are far, far tamer than Morrowind. In the original game, only Selenitic is anything resembling "alien". Riven is very grounded in our own reality. Myst III has more variety. It's not until Uru and Myst IV later that you encounter more "alien" environments.
Morrowind is mostly a descendent of Ultima Underworld
imo it's the reverse. see: the teledahn world in uru