Nope, TES is just really convoluted and confusing in that regard, possibly due to the many writers. Tolkien on the other hand, explains metaphysics of his universe very clearly (even though I think it's a Christianity-rip-off).

OP: Overall Tolkien's lore could force TES lore to do inappropriate things, but it isn't really fair because one's just a game series whereas the other are a series of books devoted to their own lore.

The chim [censored] alone has me voting for Tolkien.

You call it confusing and convoluted, I call it interesting and deep, and a nuanced commentary on various real-world religions. The "metaphysics" of Tolkien, at least as presented in Silmarillion, are confined to a creation story, after which the gods just interact with men on regular grounds (with a few exceptions). He does myth (and does it very well), not philosophy and the nature of being.

ha well said

I feel like they add too many brain farts like this to lore or when they make something too difficult to logically explain then they leave it open to intepretation or simply say it's magic and move on

To me, that is one of the best things about the lore of TES, you get to look at it your way, and you make your own conclusions based on what is given. Not given a black and white sheet that can be summed up with, "This is what i means 100%."

I respect your opinion, but you're wrong and I hate you.

At least the daedra worshippers have a god of cheese, which makes up for any other omissions.

Hmm, if we're dead set on comparing Greco-Roman and Tamriellic religion, I'd equate the Daedra with the foreign cults that found their way into Rome, like Isis or Kybele. Not accepted by everyone, often outlawed and persecuted at times (wasn't Daedra worship banned in Oblivion?), but with their own strong following as well for them to never be fully eradicated. And if we broaden this approach, worship of the Nine is really nothing like Greco-Roman worship. TES temples are more similar to Christian places of worship, whereas Greco-Roman temples were basically to store treasure and cult statues not to practice worship itself. In fact, I'd daresay the Daedra are more akin to Greco-Roman religion than worship of the Nine, with the prevalence of outdoor based cult-sites, sacrificing objects/animals/food to get the attention/favour of the deity in question whereas Nine worship seems mainly done through prayer in chapels.

This seems appropriate for you . http://www.finecheese.co.uk/

And I would be waving my credit card in their general direction... if only I weren't on a much-needed diet.

What happened to your avatar? I didn't even notice it was your post, but cheese raised my suspicions.

I have to agree with you. Barring the hate part. I don't think people realize the significance of Tolkien.

to each their own, to me it feels like a grand mad libs book where they tell part of the story and we have to fill in the blanks with farts and boogies

I think I should probably change it back. I don't like different: it disturbs me.

Although I generally prefer Tolkien's lore in that it feels more "alive" compared to the rather static feel of TES, there's only one mention of cheese that I recall, when they dropped in on Tom Bombadil's gaff. It was probably mentioned in passing elsewhere, but not really with enough prominence. Whereas TES had cheese wheels in abundance, indicating that the noble and injury-prone sport of cheese-rolling probably has a significant following in Tamriel.

Hmmm, you raise a point, I think perhaps they maybe an amalgam of the two (Christian and Roman), I mean the Ne, in themselves, seem based on a mulch-faceted pantheon, but the worship ceremonies itself for the Divines seems very akin to Catholicism. As for the Daedra, that's also a good point. But the Daedra aren't a separate group, they're of the same divinity as the Aedra, the difference being the Aedra escaped in time to keep their divinity. Or so I've read. As for outlaw, I don't believe it was OUTLAWED during Oblivion, but I do believe it was socially frowned upon, not that most citizens seem to give a hoot.

Well the foreign cults and deities weren't "lesser", in the sense that say, Kybele, was quite "powerful". I thought they were banned, my mistake I haven't played in a while. However, a general taboo on their worship works just as well, such as the worship of Dionysus in the early 2nd century BC, where many people would have joined in even with a generally negative opinion and false rumors abound. With that then I'd still sooner equate the Daedra to the Greco-Roman religion than the Nine/Aedra.

Westeros.

If one looks to TES for insight into "philosophy and the nature of being" well... As for Tolkien's own philosophy; he was deeply religious and his writings constantly reflect this, so he didn't give himself much space to roam in that regard.

As for the commentary on real-world religions and affairs in general, TES to me always seemed like a half-hearted attempt at subtle racism. This is just my observation however.

Even Game of Thrones does morality and philosophy much better than TES.

What do you mean by racism? (Not being obtuse, I'm genuinely curious, as I feel I've missed this)

Perhaps not so much racism per se as blatant stereotypical references to real world cultures as a means to beef up their lore. Then again many insist it's all fantasy and these things are mere coincidence so I could be wrong.

Never heard that turn of phrase. The idea of filling the blanks and mistakes of Mass Effect 3's end with farts and boogies makes me oddly smile.

A lot of the problems at least for me when it comes to TES are the audience that it markets for as opposed to the audience that it could make for. There is a good variety of situations, political motivations and cultures. There is a framework for potentially brilliant characters and we get glimpses of some of them in the ingame books. Skyrim did show the start of what I hope is an increasing trend towards giving characters at least a smidgen of a backstory, relationships with other characters and more to them than simply being vendors for tasks to give the player. Tes shys away from advlt representations out of either fear or marketing necessity. Unfortunate but that seems to be the case. It's built to appeal to the US market so violence is ok. six, language or racism though... nononononononooo.

Tes has this weight around its neck now where it is practically demanded that it is a "go anywhere, do anything" experience which in reality loosely translates to "go anywhere, do the exact same damn thing anyway" regardless of having the depth of a puddle - I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they shrugged their shoulders and didn't even bother to implement a main story for the next entry in the series. If they were to just state - "We're going to make character and story a focus. Yes you can still spend five-hundred plus hours doing the exact same crap throughout the game but we're going to have a crack at making meaningful characters and situations, motivations and emotional impact. We've written all this fluff so we might as well make use of it. P.S. sorry for the tie in book which essentially destroyed Morrowind. We were just fed up of people whaling on Oblivion and saying Morrowind was better so rather foolishly tried to eliminate it. You lot wouldn't shut up though so we made an addon for Skyrim featuring Solstheim. We'll destroy Argonia next to even it out... it's not like it has any fans... err... does it?"

If they said that I'd probably cheer and cautiously look forward to what they make. No doubt they'll still find a way to screw up somehow with either drm (Skyrim I'm looking at you ) or further dumbing down mechanics though.

Am I the only one that thinks Todd and Pete's lore is better?

I see this excuse made a lot about TES and while I don't mind it being said, it is a cop out. Its an excuse to explain away the disorganized and retconned lore of TES and it is not something that a good writer should strive for in their story.

And then you bring those theories and personal conclusions to the Lore forum, where you get shot down in flames and are told its all because of CHIM and some random non-official-canon thing MK may or may not have posted under a different name 8 years ago.

Yes. Now go sit in the corner of shame and think about what you've done.