Summary
- Elder Scrolls 6 should represent more Khajiit furstocks to enhance lore and roleplaying opportunities.
- More Khajiit varieties can lead to immersive gameplay with specialized builds for races.
- Different furstocks can add depth to NPC interactions and storyline possibilities despite limitations.
As each new entry takes longer to come out than the last, The Elder Scrolls 6 feels like a once-in-a-generation opportunity to represent more of TES’ 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 since Skyrim, fans have been able to keep up with the series through The Elder Scrolls: Online’s regular updates. One such update that piqued the curiosity of many was the Elsweyr expansion, 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 6 has a golden opportunity to expand upon not just how the many in-game Khajiit look, but also how they can play.
Every Major Hammerfell Location That Should Be in The Elder Scrolls 6
Most theories suggest that Hammerfell will be the main setting of The Elder Scrolls 6, and there are some locations that would need to appear.
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 of seventeen different Khajiit furstocks have 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 in Skyrim and Oblivion.
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 of TES’ 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 for ESO 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 the Tojay-raht Khajiit's more lithe, feline appearance, for example.
More Khajiit Variety Could Make for More Immersive Gameplay
In Morrowind, 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 for great roleplaying in TES, with specialized builds only available to specific races.
Perhaps TES6 could 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.
In Skyrim, the Khajiit's reputation as thieves and 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 of TES focusing on the encroaching Aldmeri Dominion, there could be opportunities for dialogue of NPCs mistaking these elvish Khajiit for Mer.
Speculation in the community points towards Hammerfell being the setting for TES6, 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 from Morrowind.
The Argument For The Elder Scrolls 6 to Be 'Multiplayer’
The Elder Scrolls 6 needs to stand apart from the strong competition it will face on launch, which can be done by including some multiplayer features.