Released on this day in 2002, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was at the time one of the most expansive RPG’s ever created.
Full of quests to complete, dungeons to explore, and people to meet, the characters that exist on the island of Vvardenfell made the game feel alive and lived in. But with so many NPCs needing your help throughout the game, some of Morrowind‘s best side characters got undoubtedly lost in translation.
Here are a few of the best characters you’ll still encounter when exploring the island of Vvardenfell —19 years later.
Tarhiel
Tarhiel
A character who randomly falls out of the sky to his death, Tariel isn’t a character that players will get to meet but will instead happen upon his corpse after he plummets out of the sky. When you inspect his corpse, you learn through his journals that he was working on a spell to help him fly, so he wouldn’t have to pay for travel expenses.
Creeper
Creeper
A strange, feral scamp living among Orcs, Creeper is surprisingly one of the richest merchants in the game, harboring around 5,000 gold when you first meet him. It’s strange that he lives with Orcs. It’s stranger that he doesn’t attack you and even stranger how wealthy he is. Needless to say, no clarifying answers are given as to who the hell Creeper is, but that’s what makes him all the more endearing.
Forstaag the Sweltering
Forstaag The Sweltering
The nearly-nude Nord NPC, found somewhere in the Mournhold plaza, is truly an oddball. The rumor around the plaza is that a witch has stolen his clothes, but the truth of the matter is that Forstaag often just gets hot, so he sheds his garments in order to cool himself.
He’s also very insecure about it. “What’re you looking at?” he says when you first meet him. “No, I’m not paralyzed, and I’ve never even met a witch, much less been asked to escort one anywhere. Why am I naked? Because it’s too damn hot here!”
Basks-In-The-Sun
Basks-In-The-Sun
The lone Argonian shipmaster waits at the cold docks of Fort Frostmouth in order to help players journey back to Vvardenfell. That’s all he does, but if you speak to him, you’ll learn that his toes are cold and that he yearns for one thing: a warm set of boots. But upon further reflection, you realize he is an Argonian and that it isn’t physically possible for him to wear boots. Bask-In-The-Sun is forever doomed to have cold toesies.
Divayth Fyr
Divayth Fyr
A fan-favorite NPC in the world of Morrowind, this 4,000-year-old Dunmer sorcerer is technically a member of the House Telvanni but usually prefers to stay out of House politics. He lives alongside four women named Alfe, Beyte, Delta, and Uupse, whom he refers to as his “daughters.”
We soon find out that they think of themselves more as his wives, which is weird. Then we find out that they’re clones, created by Fyr to do his bidding. He also has some of the best equipment at his disposal, and he doesn’t even give a sh*t about it. You’re free to take his Scourge and Saviour’s hide, and he feels indifferent about the full set of Daedric armor that clads his body, which is the best armor set in the game.
Jiub
Jirub
The very first character to come into your orbit, Jirub is a hardened Dunmer who wakes you up from your fevered slumber at the beginning of the game. While your encounter with him is brief, his kindness is memorable, as he slowly helps you awaken and figure out who exactly you are. Jiub became an avid obsession for Elder Scroll players. Buff and gruff, but with an apparent soft side, whatever happened to that weird Dunmer?
While you only spend a few moments with Jiub, you come to learn later in Oblivion that he drove all the Cliff-Racers from Vvardenfell, a heroic act that forever canonized him in Elder Scrolls lore, but that he also died in Kvatch after an Oblivion Gate opened there. You also can perform a side quest for his ghost later in Skyrim, but that’s another story.
Crassius Curio
Crassius Curio
An Imperial Nobleman who dabbles in adult novels, Crassius Curio has an almost nightmarishly unsettling persona. He refers to you as his “dumpling” or his “pudding” and is uncomfortably flirtatious at every interaction. He immediately asks you to strip upon meeting him and demands you call him “Uncle Crassius.” “Show Uncle Crassius what you have to offer,” he mutters. “Don’t be shy.” If you do decide to strip down, he will “inspect” you, and then agree to sponsor you so you can join House Hlaalu. It’s all a bit disturbing, but whatever gets you the sponsorship, I guess.