The Skyrim modder community hasn’t made things any easier for dedicated players. Hundreds of mods are designed to create further immersion for a player’s Dragonborn, allowing for advanced customization, deeper connections with NPCs, and extensive quality-of-life improvements to the role-playing game. While The Elder Scrolls 6 is unlikely to be the staple “decade game” that its predecessor has become, there is a good chance that the title will do away with the Dragonborn completely, allowing a new player character to take the stage.
RELATED: How The Elder Scrolls 6 Can Innovate on the Franchise’s Combat System
Why The Dragonborn Won’t Be In Elder Scrolls 6
While it may be a surprise to some players that Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda might retire the Dragonborn, there are clues hidden in Skyrim that allude to this being the case. In fact, the Book of the Dragonborn states that the Dragonborn who will face off with Alduin and his army of resurrected dragons is prophesied to be the last Dragonborn in existence. Whether this is true remains to be seen, but it does lay the groundwork for no new Dragonborn in future games. To add, the player character in Skyrim is even called “the last Dragonborn,” leaving no room for misinterpretation.
The Book of the Dragonborn states that while Akatosh is rumored to bestow the Dragonborn’s blessing, there is no clear logic around who is picked and why. When looking at the Elder Scrolls franchise, it would be thematically consistent to build the new title around a new player character. Each game has a character with a clean slate, allowing players to create and customize to their heart’s content. Skyrim is one of the most comprehensive games ever made, allowing for significant character development - enough that there might not be enough left to mine in a future game slated to be more involved.
The Elder Scrolls’ Next Player Character
While very little is known about The Elder Scrolls 6, there are quite a few rumors about where the game might take place and the events involved. Some players surmise that the game will take place in High Rock or Valenwood. While some believe that the next player character will be tied to the history of the game’s location, it would be thematically consistent with having the player character take on a role that allows for the most player choice. With this in mind, it would be awesome to see players experience multiple locations across the game.
Given the rapid evolution of gaming technology, the game could allow players to explore multiple locations on a full scale. Fortunately, almost all the areas mentioned in Elder Scrolls lore are connected by land, allowing easy travel across provinces. The upcoming game could have players traveling across the continent to solve the disappearance of the Dwemer, whose empire stretched from Morrowind to the western coast of Hammerfell at the height of their power. The player character could even explore the world beyond Tamriel or originate as one of the Akaviri peoples under-explored in the franchise.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently in development.
MORE: The Lore Behind The Elder Scrolls Explained
