Think about it. They're both cities with horse emblems, in the middle of plains, with castles on hills, ruled by blonde, just kings. The buildings are similar and the structures have deep carvings and knotwork designs.

I don't think it's a stretch to say they heavily based the design on Rohan.

People were saying this when we saw the very first screenshot of it.

Let just say they were definitely 'inspired' by Rohan when building Whiterun.

It's a shameless copy.. but I like it.

I feel like this thread has been posted once before.

Deja vu?

Reflects my feelings pretty much.

True, it is a rip-off of Rohan, but who doesn't want to live in Rohan?

I'll say it as "inspired".
Even the symbol of the hold is same (horse). The only less of it is the Horse Riders.

On the other hand, Elder Scrolls borrows surprisingly little from Tolkien. It's good to see that not all high fantasy is a carbon copy of the LOTR.

The http://i.neoseeker.com/ca/the_elder_scrolls_v_skyrim_conceptart_1PpbM.jpg reminds me even more of Rohan/Edoras.

I thought so too, but on a much smaller scale. Shame.

Skyrim has plenty of Easter Eggs in it. That's just one of the obvious ones.

Here's more: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Easter_Eggs and http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Easter_Eggs_(Skyrim)

Ugh noobs....

Rohan is the country, Edoras is the city.

And yeah Beth were inspired by Edoras when making whiterun, as they were inspired by Mordor when making the plains of oblivion.

I think Whiterun is more of a design decision than an easter egg.


trolololol you nerd!

Yeah, I am posting this on a TES board.

you came a bit late to the party we talked about this, well some of us, when we first saw the screenshots of whiterun and that was in early 2011 when skyrim wasnt yet released
By the Divines Relax not everybody here knows the Lotr Lore! By Oblivion some people here sadly dont even know TES Lore

It's not. There's no doubt it's inspired by Edoras, it was obvious from the first screenshot they released of Whiterun but shameless? Not really. Edoras is mostly wooden architecture, where as Whiterun is prominently stone. That's a pretty significant difference... for me ().

Elderscrolls as a series may borrow little from Tolkien -Directly- not counting what Tolkien borrows from... but the Devs are shameless in this regard since Oblivion

Is the city of Edoras featured in The Two Towers?

Dude.. it's a shameless copy. The horse is even the symbol of the hold. Also, since when is Whiterun prominently stone, besides the wall?

Whiterun is also a hold, therefor it is still a valid claim

Just because it's a city on a hill that has horses (like every city I might add) does not make it a copy. When constructing a city in hostile territory (as the Nedes were) you would chose high ground every time, especially in the middle of plains. Rohan lacks said nedes' boat hall, known as Yorvaskyr. Also, I don't think Rohan had a werewolf altar or a timeless forge like the Skyforge. Furthermore Rohan also lacked anything resembling the Gildergreen or a temple of Kynareth, or of any sort. Rohan also didn't have water running through it, had walls of wood not stone, and wasn't built to capture a dragon in its keep. When you look beyond the general similarities, hill city in a flat area with a horse emblem, to the specifics, everything else, you find that they are nothing near copies.

Haha! Was just thinking this!
But...
Everyone still knew what everyone else meant

-HK

Both are copies of ancient Norse holds. Tolkien didn't make up Edoras all by himself, he got it from history. Skyrim din't rip off Tolkien any more than Tolkien did the Elder Eddas.

Plus Edoras didn't have the most annoying black dude ever living within it. Obviously not a copy.

Dude, it's a primarily wooden city built on a hill surrounding plains with the symbol of a horse.

Or just about anywhere in Europe..............because there are similarities it doesnt mean the game is based on it