The Elder Scrolls' world of Tamriel has massive potential for magic, but it only features a limited number of magic schools, particularly inSkyrim. Since Tamriel and the world ofThe Elder Scrollsin general have a great deal of magical potential, including a new school of magic shouldn’t be too far outside the scope of potential forThe Elder Scrolls 6,especially after much ofSkyrim’s magic was limitedcompared to previous entries inThe Elder Scrolls.
WhileSkyrimalready featured a number of spells that were neatly classed into schools of magic,The Elder Scrolls 6has the chance to take the magicka that is baked into the foundations of every plane of Tamriel and define entirely new forms and schools of magic from it. This could allow players to reach new heights when interacting with the world on a magical level, in mundane or powerful ways. Alternatively,The Elder Scrolls 6could instead focus on expanding its schools of magic that are already established, such as the School of Conjuration, which has a wealth of potential, but didn’t quite reach inSkyrim.
Reasons for Creating a New School of Magic in The Elder Scrolls 6
The Elder Scrolls 6will likely take place in a new part of Tamrielcompared to past games. Each province of the Empire has its own culture and history, and including unique magic education and traditions would be consistent withThe Elder Scrollslore. AsThe Elder Scrolls 6will take place in a new part of Tamriel, it would be a great opportunity to introduce a new school of magic that could possibly be unique to the province and culture.
AsSkyrim’s magic system was streamlined,The Elder Scrolls 6need only look to its previous games for inspiration for new magic schools.The Elder Scrolls: DaggerfallandThe Elder Scrolls: Battlespireincluded a School of Thaumaturgy, which would be absorbed into the School of Alteration in later games. Other spell systems, such asSkyrim’s Shouts, racial Powers, alchemy, enchanting, soul gems, and Standing Stones all have the potential to buildnew systems of magic inThe Elder Scrolls 6.
Reasons Against Creating a New School of Magic in The Elder Scrolls 6
The existing schools of magic inSkyrimwere also greatly limited compared to previous games inThe Elder Scrolls. Rather than creating an entirely new school of magic inThe Elder Scrolls 6, the existing schools of magic could just be expanded upon like in previous games in the series, with new spells and the return of past favorites.
Established schools of magic also include spells that haven’t necessarily always been available to player characters. The School of Conjuration, for example, encompasses necromancy in terms of raising undead. However, necromancymagic as a whole could be greatly expanded upon inThe Elder Scrollsin general, and is an entirely separate school of magic in other IPs.
As necromancy uses soul gems, has an entire plane dedicated to souls affected by necromancy in the Soul Cairn, and has differing cultural attitudes towards the practice, an expansion of the practice could have massivepotential inThe Elder Scrolls 6in both the lore and for role-playing. This wouldn’t require creating an entirely new school of magic, and would just need a restructuring of the existing School of Conjuration.
