From Software Elden Ring - From Software's new game with writing by GRRM

[Barbarian]

What's up with the fingers?

Frankly, they feel nonsensical.

I think that's kind of the point. Elden Ring leans fairly hard into the lovecraftian 'the gods are aliens' trope. I think it's one of the better aspects of the setting, honestly.

That was my impression as well. Creepy otherworldly entities beyond our ability to comprehend. Its "believers" driven into insanity and self-flagellation(i.e: Goldmask, Hyetta, etc). The "outer gods" are basically the great old ones as far as I'm concerned, with the "empyreans" and Marika being mortals trying and failing to be actual deities.

Made for an interesting aesthetic mixed with the arthurian and holy order themes.

 

[Silva]

What's up with the fingers?

Frankly, they feel nonsensical.

I think that's kind of the point. Elden Ring leans fairly hard into the lovecraftian 'the gods are aliens' trope. I think it's one of the better aspects of the setting, honestly.

Made for an interesting aesthetic mixed with the arthurian and holy order themes.

I couldn't disagree more. Lovecraftian elements feel completely disjointed here, meshing very little with the "Arthurian"/ European mythic elements IMO. The end result not making for a compelling classic fantasy setting, nor a compelling "exotic" fantasy setting, occupying instead this awkward space where it's just feels weird, and not in a good way.

Or so I think after seein the game up to Leindel. Maybe it surprises me from then on?

 

[Skinwalker]

GRRM's medieval Europe stuff clashes with Miyazaki's Bloodbornian take on Lovecraft. It's a weird mix, and I don't hate it, but it doesn't really work either.

Should have just focused on the immortal royal family and their interpersonal drama.

 

[Late Bloomer]

That was my impression as well. Creepy otherworldly entities beyond our ability to comprehend. Its "believers" driven into insanity and self-flagellation(

I thought you were still talking about the "nips" as you put it...gave me a chuckle.

 

[Silva]

GRRM's medieval Europe stuff clashes with Miyazaki's Bloodbornian take on Lovecraft. It's a weird mix, and I don't hate it, but it doesn't really work either.

Should have just focused on the immortal royal family and their interpersonal drama.

Earthdawn has a similar premise (it's even post-apocalyptic) but manages to coalesce those elements better IMO. Don't know precisely why though, it's just a feeling. Maybe cause it ties it's Lovecraftian entities (the "Horrors") to classic fantasy cliches like, the Horrors coming from far reaches of the astral dimension, and only accessing our reality in certain ages where the levels of mana are high enough, etc. In other words, it's primarily a fantasy setting with it's single alien element thrown as the main, unnegotiable threat and to explain it's post-apocalyptic state (current era is seeing civlization come out of the "Kears", the vaults that protected them from the Horrors' scourge in the previous era). Oh and the setting location is real world Ukraine, which also makes for some exoticness.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/Earthdawn

 

[9ted6]

What's up with the fingers?

Frankly, they feel nonsensical.

I think that's kind of the point. Elden Ring leans fairly hard into the lovecraftian 'the gods are aliens' trope. I think it's one of the better aspects of the setting, honestly.

Made for an interesting aesthetic mixed with the arthurian and holy order themes.

I couldn't disagree more. Lovecraftian elements feel completely disjointed here, meshing very little with the "Arthurian"/ European mythic elements IMO. The end result not making for a compelling classic fantasy setting, nor a compelling "exotic" fantasy setting, occupying instead this awkward space where it's just feels weird, and not in a good way.

Or so I think after seein the game up to Leindel. Maybe it surprises me from then on?

Lovecraftianism in fiction's tiresome to me.

What do You Cannot Comprehend aliens add to a setting like this? How does getting orders from two giant spasming fingers improve the game?

 

[Skinwalker]

When I first came to the Roundtable Hold and spoke with Fafnir, and he said something about an audience with the Two Fingers, I had assumed it was a nickname for some special guy who's lost most of his fingers on one hand.

I still think it would be less silly than two giant hairy fingers wiggling at an eyeless crone with four arms.

Also, why are there all these dead Two Fingers on top of every Great Rune Tower? And why did their remains all land in the exact same position?

 

[Silverfish]

How does getting orders from two giant spasming fingers improve the game?

Because time spent talking to them is time not spent with the rest of the cast.

 

[Damned Registrations]

an eyeless crone with four arms.

Those are her feet.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

The reason my it doesn't mesh well is because there is no effort at all to mesh them in

Form writing is vague enough that "giant space flea out of space" like a Final Fantasy final boss only makes shit more vague

To begin with without the Lovecraftian shit the setting is already unclear enough that adding them is just "another random bullshit"

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

The giant towers were supposed to be major locations and they pivoted away from the original idea. You were supposed to be able to change maps in drastic ways when you reached them but lol From as usual. Huge, deeply involving idea is dropped and replaced with a skybox instead. Same with Dark souls 3 bonfires.

 

[Barbarian]

The "two fingers" are implied to be several entities and apparently so terrible that Ranni chose to kill herself and have her soul incarnated into a doll, just to escape the power of one such entity.

Then the fingers send "baleful shadows" after her, and during the game you witness her allies being killed one by one by these invisible entities.

 

[Barbarian]

Here, I found the quote of when she expounds on this during her quest:

Let us speak of the past, a while.
I was once an Empyrean.
Of the demigods, only I, Miquella, and Malenia could claim that title.
Each of us was chosen by our own Two Fingers, as a candidate to succeed Queen Marika, to become the new god of the coming age. Which is when I received Blaidd. In the form of a vassal tailored for an Empyrean.
But I would not acquiesce to the Two Fingers.
I stole the Rune of Death, slew mine own Empyrean flesh, casting it away.
I would not be controlled by that thing.
The Two Fingers and I have been cursing each other ever since... And the Baleful Shadows... are their assassins.

 

[Caim]

The "two fingers" are implied to be several entities and apparently so terrible that Ranni chose to kill herself and have her soul incarnated into a doll, just to escape the power of one such entity.

I think it had more to do with Ranni not wanting to be the slave of someone else and choose her own fate, which is why she became the servant of an eldritch space entity in order to avoid being the servant of an eldritch space entity.

 

[Barbarian]

The "two fingers" are implied to be several entities and apparently so terrible that Ranni chose to kill herself and have her soul incarnated into a doll, just to escape the power of one such entity.

I think it had more to do with Ranni not wanting to be the slave of someone else and choose her own fate, which is why she became the servant of an eldritch space entity in order to avoid being the servant of an eldritch space entity.

Pretty much.

At least "serving the dark and cold moon" is more aesthetic than some creepy fingers sprouting from the ground and sending invisible shadows around to kill people.

 

[Barbarian]

I also like how "magic" and "sorcery" in this game is basically "colour out of space but with crystals".

The most ancient sorcerers you meet have basically become strange antropomorphic creatures made out of space rock from studying said crystals, inhuman and uncapable of speech.

Some of them have been merged into weird globes, "graven masses":

The shitty Nicky Cage movie adaptation even used similar colors to the sorceries we use in the game:

 

[Puukko]

If you're not allergic to loloretubers, I found this to be a pretty good explanation on the fingers:



It's a pretty on-the-nose reference to a real religious schism.

 

[Nathir]

I can't figure out what is the point of Those-Who-Live-In-Death. Is it just a needlessly long and elaborate term/origin story for this world's undead? Or is it a particular form of undead that's different from other types (which ones)? Does Fia's ending legalize necrophilia? Why does Rogier decide to go along with this... whatever it is?

Yes, they are the "undead" of the setting. While tarnished and all people with grace also can't die, they seem to be respawning due to the power of the erdtree. The crimson flask also uses erdtree sap/magic to close your wounds. And that's why you upgrade it via seeds. Iirc on a few items like the hp regen talisman and a few other talismans there is a story explaining how in the past there used to be an age of plenty where people would collect drops of dew from the erdtree with rejuvenating powers etc.

But the undead don't respawn via the erdtree, that is why they are seen as unnatural and hunted down by the Golden order. The reason for the undead appearing is Godwyn's corpse. Ranni stole a fragment of the rune of death to kill him. And over time his corpse started to corrupt everything around him and gave rise to the undead. By turning people undead I think Godwynn is "stealing" souls or life power or whatever from the erdtree. And also the Golden order probably dislikes dead people living in a world with no death for aestethic/religious reasons.

I think Deathroot is heavily implied to be spawned by the power of the rune of death. Ranni stole a fragment from maliketh with which she killed Godwynn. When he started spreading deathroot and turning people undead I think this is because of the fragment with which he got killed. Deathroot are little fragments of the rune of death. This is why Maliketh is searching and eating deathroot, because he thinks he will make the rune he has hidden whole again in this way and stop the spread. I think undead are people who should die because of the power of the rune of death, but can't because death was removed from the world. So they become like this. Side note, you can find deathroot even all the way up in Farum Azula, which is supposed to be in its own time pocket.

Fia's ending "legalizes" the presence of the undead in the rules of the golden order. What exactly this means I don't know. The erdtree will start respawning people as undead? The undead will finally be able to die and pass on? They will be able to exist with nobody hunting them? Idk. Considering she gets the rune from sleeping with Godwynn I think the most likely explanation is that the erdtree will start respawning people as undead. As for Rogier the thing I got from him is that he was just fascinated with Godwynn and a simp for Fia, that's all. I don't think he had any greater personal agenda.

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

This is why Maliketh is searching and eating deathroot, because he thinks he will make the rune he has hidden whole again in this way and stop the spread.

Isn't that a different beastman? I don't think he disappears when you kill Maliketh and vice versa. Not that that means a lot in Elden ring..

Ranni's ending is mistranslated. It says the complete opposite of what it's supposed to. I don't remember the details now but the Japanese subs are nothing like the voice over.

Demon of Song would have been a great Elden Ring boss. Having to jump over waves as he body slammed and speeding him up makes him so much better. It's a shame From refuse to make interesting bosses any more.

 

[Silverfish]

It's a shame From refuse to make interesting bosses any more.

You didn't think it was interesting when every boss in the game delayed his swings for five seconds to punish the roll-heavy playstyle From themselves encouraged?

 

[Barbarian]

This is why Maliketh is searching and eating deathroot, because he thinks he will make the rune he has hidden whole again in this way and stop the spread.

Isn't that a different beastman? I don't think he disappears when you kill Maliketh and vice versa. Not that that means a lot in Elden ring..

It is heavily implied that they are both the same. Beast clergyman even has different dialogue if you completed Gurranq's quest.

Farum Azula exists "outside of time and space" and is also implied to be the reason why he doesn't disappear and the two figures you interact with seem to exist independently.

 

[9ted6]

If you're not allergic to loloretubers, I found this to be a pretty good explanation on the fingers:



It's a pretty on-the-nose reference to a real religious schism.

The problem with lolorevideos about Soulsborne games is that they can't convince me that much of it was actually intended and isn't just Youtubers drawing conclusions and extrapolating while the actual writers barely know or care about what's going on. If FNAF has proven anything it's that allowing your fans to write lore for you is very profitable and From's obscurant style of worldbuilding makes it even easier.

Between the fingers being an allegory for Eastern Orthodox church politics in the middle ages or them being weird and From liking pointless weird shit I'm going with the latter. I'd sooner believe GRRM wrote it specifically to allow finger but hole jokes than it having any deeper meaning.

Same thing with the hourlong lore videos about how Radaghan or whoever riding a tiny horse is a deeply tragic metaphor instead of the simpler idea of it looking weird and funny so GRRM specified he's a giant who rides a tiny horse.

 

[Child of Malkav]

I'd sooner believe GRRM wrote it specifically to allow finger but hole jokes than it having any deeper meaning.

George during a trance: the finger is dark and full of terrors.

 

[Silva]

I also like how "magic" and "sorcery" in this game is basically "colour out of space but with crystals".

The most ancient sorcerers you meet have basically become strange antropomorphic creatures made out of space rock from studying said crystals, inhuman and uncapable of speech.

Some of them have been merged into weird globes, "graven masses":

The shitty Nicky Cage movie adaptation even used similar colors to the sorceries we use in the game:

Meanwhile..

 

[Caim]

I also like how "magic" and "sorcery" in this game is basically "colour out of space but with crystals".

The most ancient sorcerers you meet have basically become strange antropomorphic creatures made out of space rock from studying said crystals, inhuman and uncapable of speech.

Some of them have been merged into weird globes, "graven masses":

The shitty Nicky Cage movie adaptation even used similar colors to the sorceries we use in the game:

Meanwhile..

>the Greater Will's mightiest servants are white women
>it gives them dogs

What did the Greater Will mean by this?