Skyrimplayers are more than familiar with the Giants that roam its lands. These hulking creatures are likely to slam unwelcome visitors in their path or near their makeshift camps, but they are as intriguing as they are menacing, which is why it’s so disappointing thatSkyrimnever quite explores them in a meaningful way. WithThe Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda could hone in on these enigmatic beings, making them an enriching part of its narrative and world-building.
First introduced inThe Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall,Giants didn’t begin to get truly fleshed-out untilSkyrim. InDaggerfall, Giants are fairly uninteresting enemies that will appear in dungeons, their deeper culture and history only gestured at through the Giantish skill, which establishes that they do indeed have their own language. From this narrative seed sprouted the Giants ofSkyrim, which, in addition to being more visually interesting, are also a bit more alluring from a lore perspective. Some light is shed on their background, with records suggesting that they share a common origin with the Nords, and their intelligent nature is communicated through their in-game behavior. They clearly have some sort of community, culture, and sentience, and these facets warrant additional exploration.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Could Benefit from a Greater Focus On Giants
The Elder Scrolls' Giants Are Hiding a Deeper Culture and History
A cursory glance at the Giants roaming the frozen lands of Skyrim may lead a player to think of them as no different from many of the other mindless hostile beasts that may cross their path, but this is simply untrue. Even withoutdeeper knowledge ofSkyrim’s lore, a number of inferences can be made by simply observing the appearance and behavior of Giant NPCs:
And this is all without taking into consideration the history ofGiants, as it is communicated inSkyrim. As previously mentioned, some in-universe scholars believe that Giants descended from Atmorans, a proto-Nordic race that also spawned many playable races, including Nords and Imperials. In-game texts likeGiants: A DiscourseandSongs of the Returnoffer greater insight into the Giants, shedding light on their mating and burial rituals and referencing half-Giants, suggesting that they are able to breed with the races of men (a detail that may be best left to the realm of imagination in future games).
How Giants Could Show Up in The Elder Scrolls 6
A big part of whyGiants are so intriguing inSkyrimis because of their loosely defined history. Competing sociological beliefs, coupled with the prejudice expressed by many figures of state toward Giants, make for a complex cultural dynamic that’s ripe for dissection and interpretation. Thus,The Elder Scrolls 6shouldn’t strive to necessarily clarify the history and lifestyles of Giants, but rather to add new dimensions to it.
The easiest way to do this would be to embed one or more Giant-centric quest chains in the game. SinceDaggerfallestablishes a precedent for non-Giants learning Giantish, perhaps the protagonist ofTES 6could do the same, allowing them to communicate with Giant NPCs, learning about their culture from their perspective rather than from historical accounts. This wouldn’t introduce objectivity, as these would still be subjective accounts from thoughtful beings with their own personalities, prejudices, and the like, but it would allow for greater exploration of thedynamics hinted at inSkyrim. Such an approach would supplementElder Scrollslore, making it messier in the best way.
