What Happens in Suran (stays in Suran) || Morrowind Lore
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2024
- #elderscrolls #morrowind #bethesda #videogames #gaming
A closer look at Suran and its secret (or not so secret) role in Vvardenfell's greater picture. It's just a fun little analysis. And excuse my voice, I had a terrible flu throughout january and my voice is still barely functioning, considering all the health issues.
Few additional notes: under Suran's "liminality" I also briefly mentioned Vvarfdenfell's sacred geography. I still have some old notes around and may do a video on that topic in future; it's just some musing on Vvardenfell being a "living" land with its heart, blood etc. Ultimately that video would be a compilation of psychological, symbolic and esoteric analysis of Vvardenfell.
Anyways, the concept of liminality here is more related to cultural, social and even esoteric aspects than simple architectural, spacial liminality, as its today mostly understood. Suran is a port, a transit zone, contains word "dusk" in the name AND is a major gateway to both Temple and Daedric pilgrimages. Suran is in dialogues directly called Gateway to Bal Ur, "birthplace of Molag Bal".
When discussing Suran's true scale I talked about catacombs, black markets operated by thieves guild, red district etc. I wrote this script literally few days prior to Tamriel Rebuilt announcing the "Grasping Fortune" update focused on the Hlaalu capital Narsis. And there they mentioned catacombs and black markets ran by criminal gangs, it's a pure coincidence but I'm glad we get to experience some of that Hlaalu "dark side" as it was intented by Bethesda.
Also in my videos I often compare Morrowind with Skyrim, and today I again compared some differences between how those two games present its towns to the player. Again, I'm not discussing who did it better, simply stating the differences in worldbuilding.
Credits:
"Night Suran" by AlexeyRudikov
Image found on artist's DeviantArt: www.deviantart.com/alexeyrudi...
Music:
Kevin MacLeon - Evening Fall
Kevin MacLeod - Fluidscape - เกม
![[MIRRORED] LISA - ROCKSTAR 🎸 MV version #LISA #BLACKPINK #ROCKSTAR](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-U58DuCCtZk/mqdefault.jpg)
What do you think of Suran, outlander?
Cool city
This one wants just sugar, bottle of Skooma, perhaps? You a Pelagiad guard?
Always a stop in my playthroughs. Some good equipment to be had, a cheep place to stay when adventuring in the area, good entertainment, and the city is pretty loose with its drugs and booze. What's not to like?
Definitely one of the best places for a holiday
2nd favorite settlement after Balmora
Suran is basically Vvardenfell's New Orleans with plantations surrounding it, all they need is jazz.
I love the side quest in Suran where you offer to help a drunken slave-hunter, only to find out that the Argonian helping him is his target trying to fleece the miserable prick. Good times.
One of my favorite quests!
The dunmer have always been my favorite race in the elder scrolls. They’re always more like real people than anyone else. Some will be be slavers then complain that the nords are racist, raise the dead in their tombs but prohibit necromancy. They’re hypocrites like real people. I also like the Drizzt books so yknow
And they will outright tell you, in their mindset, how they are actually right about it too.
Yeah sure they have slavery BUT technically Dunmer can be enslaved too, they just don’t see a reason to do so when they can have „smart animals“ like Khajit or Argonians to work the mines and fields, you see?
Sure they summon their ancestors ghosts BUT protecting their descendants is obviously what they would want. Toootally different, right?
It’s like the middle aged housewife who would complaint about people day drinking while she has a wine at brunch and i love it
Suran and Molag Mar are two of my favorite settlements in Morrowind simply because they are so important to the country, or at least their respective factions, but the game rarely directs you to them, lending to the world's mystique and grandeur.
I love how different factions and cities are so interconnected in Morrowind. Even if you never join the Temple or Mages Guild or any other faction, you can still come into contact with it and you can see how those factions play a role in the society. The same goes for cities, and there's loads of quests sending you to different settlements around MW. Meanwhile in Skyrim every faction and every town is its own seperate world, not interacting between each other a lot. Quests sending you to different cities or making you interact with different factions are extremely rare
Oblivion had this feeling too, ofc not sooo prevalent but the MQ sent you to the Arcane unuversity, the Tg also had a small connection there... but ngl maybe the whole failing economy and dark ages vibe that eminate from post morrowind games is a bit weird. Yeah, skyrim won't have large commerce but whuterun and towns sending food and pelts to solitude for transport ships would loom a lot better.
2:40 We all know why Suran is so magnetic 😈
You perfectly depicted and explained Suran and it's so true what you say about mw cities not being built around the player and how this contributes to the outsider and realistic feelings. Suran was a great choice for the first in this series given how peculiar it is and generally not important it is to the main quests of Morrowind while still easily being one of the most memorable cities.
Suran has that great combination of feeling like a seedy den of vice but being in plain sight in a comfy pastoral landscape. The contrasts of pleasure and pain make it interesting, having a strip club next to a slave market. It fits so well in the Vvardenfell vibe of this backwater province where anything goes.
Now that you mentioned pleasure and pain, there's a strange Altmer slave in Suran, naked with only a mask on face, it looks rather related to what you just said.
I'd substitute the Cammona Tong for your proposed Thieves Guilf presence! Fantastic video
You're right and it makes more sense, I was probably influenced by Riften's thieves guild underground.
These videos are so cozy and well put together. They capture the granular depth of the setting in such a beautifully mundane way. I know this is a very niche corner of the internet, but I will deeply enjoy every one of these, because your passion and love for the game is palpable and I can't get enough of that. Keep it coming! It's awesome!
Thanks so much!
the way you described morrowind towns at the beginning felt almost like the same way i feel going into new towns in real life.
I don't use any town mods, but gave a chance to last year modathon winner Temple Master. Whole questline is gloryfied chain of timers, but first quests add bunch of great interactions with townfolk. You get to know every single enterpriser there and Hlaalu governor, trying to squish some money out of their pockets. Only adding almsivi marker there backfires a bit as it's closer to Vivec landing then Vivec temple, so you can't skip walking through cantons at least to gondolier by magick.
Thanks, I'll check it out!
Just finished Morrowind's main quest for the first time, really enjoying your takes on 3rd era Tamriel/Morrowind with these videos!
Interesting series, can't wait for other places. This was too short for my tastes (when you start to talk, I could hear from you for hours!) but you described the town perfectly
Thanks! I'd love to cover Seyda Neen next, I have some ideas.
Suran looks nice with the waterside and has tons of good traders. Wish there would be a legal player house there.
Another great “tourist “ guide video. You should do these type of spotlights on towns/cities as a Tamriel Rebuilt series.
Great video man just got home from MMA "work" and happy to see this looking forward to playing all the content once I get the time too.
You know, I'd never paid Suran much mind. There wasn't anything there useful to me and it was rather out of the way. But your video made the whole place feel far more alive. Suran absolutely does fit into the setting as a tourist resort/port/vice den. And like so many things in Morrowind, you can't take anything there at face value.
I also liked the way you described why the towns in Morrowind manage to feel so vivid. They clearly have existences of their own, outside the player. Thus, we can imagine ourselves living there as regular people, which is a little harder to do (for me, anyway) in the towns of Oblivion or Skyrim.
Yeah exactly.
A comparison to Riften seems natural
Awesome vid
My headcanon for those place names are only due to dunmer superiority complex that their testing gods and such were from there and named those places after them like Molag Amur region and Sheogorath Isles, the real reason maybe being just bethesda dumping those names on vvardenfell geography. I recommend testing the new Ports of Suran mod, showcased in recent Morrowind Mod Showcases by That Dark Elf Guy, the legend of vertical proportions.
EDIT: I haven't tested Ports of Suran yet myself, but next week imma test openMW for the first time in multiplayer, hope we can get it to work, whole weekend for tamriel rebuilt for an og morro lover first time, I know he will love it. I played TR few years ago but then came some bugs and didn't get the mods right and left it to wait until more tr comes out and now two versions later I just must. When you made that "most terrible enemies" vid, I had done that lich couple encounter at some point, and that was goddamn horrible, toughest fight in the game, I was almost shellshocked after that.
Greetings from Joensuu, eastern Finland! Love your videos, the shot angles are awesome and your storytelling is amazing *cheff's kiss*
Thanks so much, I gonna check the mod. There's also a White Suran mod, I used it before, makes it more unique. Glad you enjoyed the lich boss fight!
I always liked the merchants here. They seemed to have a bit more variety. Like a few of them hold different Ebony and Glass pieces for example. And the NPCS in the streets were interesting. Like the one orc wearing a mix match of armor. I love seeing characters like that. And being at the gate to the Molag Amur region sort of with some cool areas surrounding it.
Do you think that Orc is somehow related to Umbra? I always wondered what's her background.
@boreanknight It's possible for sure. I know this Umbra has been doing it for a while, so she might have tracked him there looking for info on him. As someone one who knows his real identity or possibly someone looking to fight. I'd like to think she knows who he used to be and is there to try to get through to him that way in my own head Canon at least.
Love the full scale Suran art. Sad we’ll never see real scale like that in a TES game 🥲
Now imagine if the Cyrodiilian culture with the Nibanesi and the Colovians, or Skyrim's Holds, was as detailed as a single small city of Morrowind's
Amazing video! Can't wait to see more about other settlements and places
Thanks!
I love this game and your videos really capture the magic of it. It's just so immersive.
Someone needs to make a mod that turns Suran into a sort of riverside resort town. Thats how I view it it my mind, place for outlanders or maybe more the wealthy plantation owners that are all over the Ascadian Isles. I know there are a few that attempt this but none quite what I envision
I always liked Suran, usually visit it at one point or another each playthrough.
The settlement I visit the least by far is Molag Mar. It just kind of gets lost IMO.
Molag Mar for me too, I usually forget it even exists lol.
Binge watching your videos back to back- and adding comments for the algorithm~! 🌻👍 Keep up the great content!
Great shots. Your cinematography is excellent
For some reason I always used building across House of Earthly Delights as my base for storing the loot and stuff.
This video has been well researched and articulated! Time to watch some more. Thank you for the effort man, your voice easily draws in and lulls your niche audience with interest and intrigue. Fantastic work!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Damn this is soothing. Interesting discussion too. Over all very well made video
You always put out good videos. You've convinced me to give Morrowind an earnest try. What character build would you recommend for that first playthrough?
I always go with a well rounded Nord warrior with slight magical support, mostly restoration and perhaps alteration. Just make sure to have at leeast one weapon skill at 40+ from start, and stick to it at first. Game may seem bit slow and hard at beginning but as your character levels up, it's very satisfying.
Another great video, you just keep getting better :)
Thanks!
Morrowind is such a living game , i'm always fascinated by small thing like that , or Daedric Ruin with a powerful ennemies of a questline that i will never do , wondering the story and the interconectivity
Your channel is fantastic, content is superb, and modlist second to none
As a child surans “club” was very fascinating to me
Your footage is absolutely gorgeous! Would you mind sharing your shader setup so we can replicate it?
Check out my previous video "My Morrowind modlist", at around 22:30 I have a list of shaders displayed.
Thank you for the video about one of most underrated towns. Molag Mar is another one, I think. I do not remember any quests or stories there... Unfortunately.
Very cool!
would love a similar reflection on Ald Velothi
I want a video on balmora or Ald'Ruhn
piano is too busy for background music
You keep mentioning that suran is between balmora and vivek. Am i missing somethings? Its not inbetween the two at all. That would be palegiad
I probably wasn't clear enough, I meant in regards to two major cities, as both of them are connected to Suran via silt strider's fast travel.
Ahh that is kinda what i thought you might mean, but i wasnt sure. Thank you for the response. I love your lore and just explorative videos btw keep it up man.
I commented because I love your content and figured it was me not getting something not you being an idiot lol.
❤