The elder scrolls: A complete guide to Daedra


SOURCE: THEGAMER.COM
SEP 19, 2021

Daedra are among the most fascinating facets of The Elder Scrolls lore — this guide will explain everything you need to know about them.

Creating an immersive environment is one of the challenges that developers face when creating video games, and RPGs set in vast fictional worlds are faced with a specific challenge. When it comes to the fantasy genre, the Elder Scrolls franchise is one stellar example of world-building.

The continent of Tamriel is home to most of your adventures when you're playing an Elder Scrolls game (including Elder Scrolls Online). And it has a rich history, lore, and mythology. This extends into the ethereal planes and beyond Mundus (another name for the planet of Nirn) and includes a dazzling array of gods and monsters — as well as other compelling, oftentimes dangerous entities.

The Daedra are a special class of monsters that are unique to the lore of the Elder Scrolls. They don't really have an exact real-world equivalent, but throughout Tamriel, they take on an eclectic mix of god, angel, demon, fairy, or anthropomorphic monster.

What Is a Daedric Prince?

The Daedric Princes are an eccentric, mysterious, and often dangerous lot. With few notable exceptions, their intentions and plans are often malevolent. They figure prominently in the history of Nirn, and should never be confused with their benevolent counterparts, the Aedra.

The name "Daedra" comes from a word the Elves gave them, and it means, "not our ancestors." The use of the term "prince" is universal regardless of what gender the Daedra takes, if any. The form of the word Daedra is plural, with the singular form as "Daedroth." But this is easy to confuse with an identical term used for a specific type of lesser Daedra.

The Daedric Princes and the History of Mundus

If they aren't "our ancestors" then what are the Daedric princes?

The Daedra existed before the creation of Mundus, and some tales and legends trace their ancestry back to the blood of Padomay, a chaotic energy that existed in pre-history. Some of them are connected to the Manga Ge, a group of beings that followed Magnus to Nirn from the plane of Aetherius. Magnus was the being who built the world of Nirn, and lucky for us he had a wildly creative mind. But he didn't work alone.

Magnus needed the help of his fellow higher beings to create Mundus, and the ones who gave of their own power so that his plan could come to fruition either made a choice based on their own compassionate and generous nature or were simply tricked. It really depends on who you ask. The beings that gave of their own power and dwindled into mortality (where they would eventually evolve into the races of humans and elves in Tamriel) came to be known as the Aedra.

The others, who refused Magnus' request and kept their divine powers intact, are the Daedra. Every one of the Elder Scrolls games features a storyline in which a Deadric prince (or sometimes several) and their minions are heavily involved in some kind of nefarious plot. It can be a small scheme that creates little more than mischief, or a plot that threatens the existence of all life on Nirn. Even if you've played through all of the games, the role of the Daedra in the game can't be denied.

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