Smoking Traditions of Tamriel: High Rock

The smoking habits of High Rock very much reflect its people: classic, refined, and enduring. Home to some of the finest tobacconists and pipemakers in all of Tamriel, High Rock may very well be considered the center of the smoking world.

If the Dunmeri Narghile is the queen of smoking implements, then the Breton Pipe is the king. It comes in multiple styles which I will attempt to describe below.

The peasants, farmers, and lower-class laborers typically smoke pipes that are little more than hollowed out dry corncobs with wooden stems. These pipes are cheap and disposable, and not marked by a long lifespan. All the same, they lend a unique mild sweetness to the smoke that cannot be captured by any other means, allowing them to gain a certain popularity beyond their humble roots. These pipes are also known for being popular in western Colovia.

The more affluent merchants and artisans of the Bretony often smoke out of small briarwood pipes of simple form, which are known for their cool smoking and resilient properties. Briar is made from the rootstock of the white heath tree, which grows along the coastline of the Iliac bay. This wood is hard as rock and as such, does not lend itself to easy carving. The more Elaborate the shape, the more wealthy the owner.

Meerschaum is a unique white stone, mined off the northern coast of Hammerfell and shipped north to the master carver’s guilds in Daggerfall. The mineral is as soft as hard cheese when first extracted from the sea, and lends itself to being carved into dazzling figural or geometric forms. After carving, the meerschaum is left to bake in hot afternoon sun, at which point it hardens. These pipes fetch a high price and are typically seen in the possession of upper-crust merchants and nobility. As meerschaum ages, it absorbs oils from the tobacco and patinas to a rich golden-brown, adding another layer of prestige to these unique pipes, which are sought the world over by smokers of class and distinction.

Finally, we come to the king of pipes, the Breton Regimental Pipe, issued to Breton soldiers since long ago as part of their kit, these pipes have expanded from their military roots and gained popularity among the richest and classiest of Bretons. Often several feet in length with large briar or meerschaum bowls and tall stems of cherrywood, staghorn, and silver, these pipes have grown past their simple military heritage and are frequently decked out in decadent embellishments of carved wood, silver filigree, chains, and tassels. The sight of a Regimental is a sure sign of a person with vast amounts of disposable wealth.

All but the southern coast of High Rock is far too cold a climate to foster good tobacco production, but that doesn’t stop the Tobacconist’s guild from producing some of the finest smokables in all Tamriel. Importing the finest leaf from Argonia, Morrowind, Nibenay, and the Summerset, the master blenders of the Tobacconist’s guild mix and cure the fine leaf from these myriad sources into all manner of delightful blends.

Cavendish is the premier Breton tobacco, blended of many styles of leaf imported at great cost from Argonia and the Topal Bay, and often impregnated with molasses or honey, the tobacco is pressure-fermented at high heat which breaks down the natural (and added) sugars, giving the tobacco a mildly sweet and aromatic flair reminiscent of chocolate, coffee, caramel, or plums.

Aride, named for its desert origins, is the other most well-known Breton style, popular in the north and exported in great quantity to Skyrim and Colovia. This tobacco is made from blends of smoke-cured leaf from Elsweyr, cut with Hammerfell brightleaf. This tobacco is marked by an intense campfire-like smokey-spicy flavor that belies its mild, cool-smoking nature.

Cigars are a very popular item as well, usually rolled from leaf of Argonian origin, and are known for being among the very best in the world. Breton cigars are a high-class item and often given as a gift of distinction throughout the Empire.