Summary
As each new entry takes longer to come out than the last,The Elder Scrolls 6feels like a once-in-a-generation opportunity to represent more ofTES’ fascinating lore. With each new game, Bethesda has more development resources to allocate, letting the studio add details that expand upon the richness of its worlds and create more roleplaying opportunities.
In the time sinceSkyrim, fans have been able to keep up with the series throughThe Elder Scrolls: Online’s regular updates. One such update that piqued the curiosity of many was theElsweyrexpansion, which added a huge number of Khajiit furstocks, ranging from the familiar bipedal Cathay to the mighty four-legged Senche-raht. Building on this,The Elder Scrolls 6has a golden opportunity to expand upon not just how the many in-game Khajiit look, but also how they can play.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Should Give Better Representation to the Khajiit
Among the beast races of Tamriel, the Khajiit are arguably the most popular, yet when it comes to their appearances in the mainline games, only four out ofseventeen different Khajiit furstockshave been depicted. The cat-folk’s forms are determined by the moons at birth, so it is a little disappointing that only the Cathay furstock can be encountered inSkyrimandOblivion.
This lack of variety has been a common criticism of both these games in some corners of the community who fear Bethesda is not leaning into the stranger aspects ofTES’ wilder background. In pursuit of making the different races of Tamriel more balanced, a certain magic may have been lost. This is part of the reason forESO Elsweyr’s great reception- the Khajiit represent a fascinating, but often overlooked part of the setting, and seeing them rendered in so many different varieties makes the world feel richer.
Better graphical rendering available today means it’s easier to make each furstock look more different. Not necessarily through higher poly models, but by emphasizing the features that make them distinct - maybe the Cathay could be a more “standard” furstock as shown in prior titles, alongside theTojay-raht Khajiit’s more lithe, feline appearance, for example.
More Khajiit Variety Could Make for More Immersive Gameplay
InMorrowind, Khajiit were depicted as Suthay-raht. Their physique resembled cats more closely, and so they could not wear certain items of clothing. It may seem strange to say that limiting options is a good thing, but it can work both ways. Giving different races different options enhances the capacity forgreat roleplaying inTES, with specialized builds only available to specific races.
PerhapsTES6could allow players to select a couple of different furstocks in character creation, each with their own drawbacks. There doesn’t need to be every type of Khajiit, just enough to show the breadth of the race - this would also let players meet different varieties of Khajiit NPCs.
InSkyrim, theKhajiit’s reputation as thievesand are not allowed in cities over fears that they will steal everything not nailed down, so what kind of stories could be told about a wider variety of cat-folk? Maybe the more feline aspects are viewed as thieves, while the more elvish Ohmes are suspected to be Thalmor spies. The Ohmes and Ohme-raht, the more man-like furstocks, have only been playable in much older entries, and with the current storyline ofTESfocusing on the encroaching Aldmeri Dominion, there could be opportunities for dialogue of NPCs mistaking these elvish Khajiit for Mer.
Speculation in the community points towardsHammerfell being the setting forTES6, so it is probably unreasonable to expect all varieties of Khajiit to be present. Still, it is an opportunity for Bethesda to explore what makes the cat-folk unique, bringing back the weirdness of the setting that some players miss fromMorrowind.
