this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2026
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Are they able to make their own decisions or are they a slave to your conjuration magic?

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[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 21 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I don't play Elder Scrolls so I had to dig this up.

Flame atronachs are apparently elemental daedra (divine beings who are not ancestors of human beings, unlike the aedra), summoned through Atromancy. Apparently they are able to make their own decisions, so they have agency, so consent applies to them.

But I couldn't find how much the conjuration process removes their agency; if they're forced to obey the conjurer's orders to the letter, if they can creatively interpret those orders, or if it's a single order.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

There is also Atronachy whereby you are not summoning an atronach, but making your own like a golem.

But I am skeptical about the agency they have being bound to a sunmoner. The basic ritual that all conjuration derives from is also the basis for paralyzation spells.

Also also, the lore has a fascination with some dude who was obsessed with getting himself a cold-flame atronach, though he was never able to. But it was achieved by another hundreds of years later.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Are the atronachs from atronachy and atromancy identical?

If yes, I think consent applies to both. It would be like humans reproducing; a child still has their own agency, even if they were "created" by the parents.

If not... it depends, really. Hypothetically speaking, if you create one through atronachy, and release [it? them?] free, would [it? they?] be able to take autonomous decisions?

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Atronachy can create golems from any inanimate material, and it also requires using the soul of a mortal, so it's probably more like slavery.

In a quest in one of the first two games, you are tasked with destroying one such golem that escaped from the mage's guild and was rampaging through the countryside. It was created using the soul of one of the local ruling family members and it seemed to have been taking revenge.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

Got it — then they have agency, much like anyone else. So they should be able to consent, and to get that consent violated by the spell.

Thanks for the info!

[–] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

What if they consented being my magical slave because they were into it

[–] shani66@ani.social 3 points 2 months ago

Gotta get that in writing first

[–] Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 months ago

Just because they can be summoned, doesn't mean every one you run into has been. They exist outside of being conjured. That said, I think if it has been conjured, no it cannot give consent until the spell wears off. If I recall correctly, even if you hit them, they won't attack you while summoned. I'd say that is a pretty clear indication that they cannot decide for themselves while under the effects of the spell.

But that doesn't mean you can't find one out in the wilds and "befriend" it the old fashioned way, without magic, in which case yes, it likely has the intelligence and autonomy to consent. Which really makes the spell to conjure them pretty fucked up in itself...

[–] Fleur_@aussie.zone 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Is a conjured magic elemental even a person? Does it have free will? Can it comprehend and give consent in any more meaningful way than a sex toy can?

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 points 2 months ago

Yes, therefore yes, yes.

TES elementals are a form of Daedra that have varying levels of notable intelligence.

Or maybe the ones that seem mindless simply think differently than mortals, it's hard to say, but they are a form of spirit being and there definitely are versions that can consent.

[–] femtek@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 months ago

I would say no, at best they are an employee.

[–] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 3 points 2 months ago

I would like to take up an otherwise unrepresented position in this debate and request to be an atronach.

[–] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Does consent even matter if it's not alive? It's made of fire. Do you ask a campfire before you roast a marshmallow?

[–] ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip 16 points 2 months ago

Depends, Is your campfire a sapient demonic entity from another plane of existence?

[–] RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Very problematic, cancelled

[–] RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Ricky, half of Skyrim eats people. All of the Bosmer eat people.

[–] RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Nords and Bosmer also aren't human and we should eat them back.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 points 2 months ago

This is why Skyrim needs the firm hand of the Empire