The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim/Shout-Out


 * Sweetrolls are almost impossible to not encounter in Skyrim. Of all things, why would a Bethesda Softworks title, particularly an Elder Scrolls title have Sweetrolls as a food that heals 5 HP? Also, some guards when met with eye contact ask "Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll?" which is what your first antagonist tries to do in Fallout 3.
 * Sweet rolls have been a Running Gag ever since Arena, where the scene acted out in Fallout 3's Char Gen dungeon is only merely postulated in Char Gen (as it is in Daggerfall and Morrowind too).
 * Star Trek:
 * In Ivarstead, an irate nordic woman is named Temba Wide-Arms, making for a gag name alluding to the Tamarian phrase "Temba, his arms wide".
 * At one point during the Stormcloak campaign, Galmar Stone-Fist calls the Thalmor "pointy-eared bastards".
 * One of the Companions, when asked why he became one, says "Fortune and glory, friend. Fortune and glory."
 * In some dungeons, there are treasures resting on pressure plates that trigger a trap when you pick them up. Even better, you can even switch the treasure for something else of similar weight if you're fast enough and avoid springing the trap.
 * The writers of the official strategy guide clearly had a lot of fun thinking up quest sub-headers. "Hadvar's Heroes", "The Windhelm Scream", "This Means War", "A Shaggy Dog Story", and more.
 * The fact that one of the dragon powers is to control mist.
 * There's a perk that adds more health to your reanimated undead minions called Dark Souls. Quite possibly doubles as a Take That due to how easy it is to die in Dark Souls.
 * One of the hold capitals is called "Windhelm." The strategy guide refers to part of a quest as "The Windhelm Scream."
 * In the Abandoned House in Markarth, after it becomes apparent there is a daedric influence in the house, items start flying around the room and the get stacked up in a pile on the dining table.
 * After killing Mirmulnir, one of the guards with you will say that he's proud to be your Battle Brother.
 * Wuuthrad's reforging is a shout out to the reforging of the sword Gram from Norse Mythology.
 * One of the loading screens has a Nord wearing blue war paint and hefting a claymore.
 * There's even a preset for male Nords that looks like Mel Gibson as William Wallace.
 * Delvin Mallory, a thieves guild contact in Riften, is suspiciously similar to Vinnie Jones in accent, appearance and mannerism.
 * His voice and manner of speaking can also be seen as an homage to London Gangster films.
 * Star Wars:
 * The Bleakcoast Cave north of Winterhold is filled with frost trolls and a hallway has a skeleton frozen upside-down in the ceiling over other bones and a sword.
 * channels Obi-Wan Kenobi -- he's a ghostly robed figure who guides the player and at one point makes reference to a great disturbance in something.
 * In one mission for the Dark Brotherhood, he will sometimes say: "There is a disturbance in the Void."
 * "I find your wolfish grin...disturbing."
 * If you talk to Imperial soldiers while wearing a Stormcloak uniform, they'll question you about it. One of your dialogue options is to state that you are, in fact, a Stormcloak -- to which they call you "Rebel scum".
 * One of Delvin's lines when you ask him for a new Thieves' Guild job is "Good. My clients are getting impatient."
 * Let's see... a hooded Master Thief with the distinct cool tone of Stephen Russell. Sounds distantly familiar...
 * The quest A Night To Remember is basically The Hangover in Skyrim. In fact this video makes a silly comparison between the quest and the film.
 * A 10 year old looking vampire named Babette? That sounds familiar somehow...
 * In the highest point in the game world, one can find a one of a kind Notched Pickaxe. It's well-known that Todd Howard and Notch are close friends and fans of each other's work.
 * When asking Farkas, he'll say, "Not everyone. But all the Circle are. It's a secret to everybody".
 * The remains of a high elf clad in a familiar green tunic and hat can be found at the bottom of a mammoth trap. Possibly doubles as a nod to the original Final Fantasy's Link tombstone.
 * It can't be a coincidence that all native male Nords try their best to mimic Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 * Urag gro-Shub on the Elder Scrolls: "But at the same time, all of it is true. Even the falsehoods. Especially the falsehoods."
 * The above is also a reference to Malcalypse's statement from the Principia Discordia.
 * Along the trade road in Whiterun you can find an overturned wagon of cabbages.
 * One of the loading screens has an orc covered in blood, wielding two war axes, who looks a lot like Kratos. The provided gameplay tip is about the orcs' berserker power.
 * The giants having mammoths may seem a bit familiar
 * In Dawnstar you can meet an old soldier of the Legion named Horik Half-Hand
 * In the Twilight Sepulcher, you can find the remains of a couple of thieves named Nystrom and Anders, and the former's journal references "night is the new day" and "the ghost of the sun".
 * "I understand you're an elf who knows how to get things."
 * Nobody else noticed that bears a surprising resemblance to the cover of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook?
 * Perhaps unintentional but Finn's Lute is sought for in the Bard's College.
 * The troll slaying guide also authored by the adventurer Finn may be a nod to the Finnish metal band, Finntroll.
 * This could also be a reference to the "Saga of Finn" a poem sung by a bard in Beowulf.
 * In Winterhold, one of the magicians not affiliated with the College was doing a magical experiment. It ended with the creature turning inside out and then exploding.
 * Also at the College J'zargo asks you to test a spell for him. It makes the targets explode violent. When you return you can mention this by saying "Were they supposed to explode? Because they exploded."
 * The Master-level Destruction spell Lightning Storm casting animation mimics the Kamehameha wave.
 * So do all dual-cast Destruction spells.
 * An achievement for gaining access to the College of Winterhold is "Gatekeeper". The perk for stealing keys is "Keymaster".
 * Let's get the obvious out of the way: High Hrothgar.
 * After completing "In the Mind of Madness" Sheogorath takes his leave by saying "A good day to you, sir! I SAID GOOD DAY!"
 * Daedric armor looks quite like Sauron's armor this time around. Add in the fact you can equip gold rings (which apppear on the right index finger) and wield a mace..
 * Perhaps a happy coincidence, but a being whom Dragons fear, respect, whose badassery means they are sworn to obey and who are last of their kind? The Dragonborn, our protagonist, certainly begins to sound awfully like the Dragonlords of Merlin.
 * One of the quest rewards is a book of ancient forbidden knowledge called the Oghma Infinium. The book's cover also appears to be made out of patches of skin from various races of Mer.
 * Towards the south of Markarth, there's a shout out to the fairy tale Three Billy Goats Gruff here.
 * While it might be a coincidence, the story of Olaf One-Eye and Dragonsreach is reminescent of a Polish folk tale about the founding of Krakow, which states that the first king of Poland took the throne when he slew a dragon and built his castle around its lair, from which the city of Krakow was built out from.
 * In the quest in which the player (has the option to) obtain the horse Frost, you will also recieve Frost's lineage papers. Upon reading said papers, the player will discover- among other things- that Frost's father was Sleinir. Sleipnir was Odin's horse in Norse mythology.
 * Look at the Elven class of Light Armor in Skyrim. Then, look at the armor worn by the elf armies in the Lord of the Rings films.
 * For one of the quests in the College of Winterhold, you need to make contact with a former student. Said student was the brightest mage of his age, but after a horrible accident he took to hiding in the tunnels beneath the college.
 * After fighting Frostbite Spiders under Helgen, Hadvar will sometimes comment "What next, Giant Snakes?
 * Remember Ulfgar the Unending from Bloodmoon? Looks like he made it to Sovngarde after all.
 * One of the Dragon Priests is named Volsung.