Lore:Bristleback

A Bristleback

Bristlebacks or Tusked Bristlebacks are large tusked boars that can be found on Solstheim,^[1] and are known for their amazing ability to reflect magical effects used against them. The fur along their spines is barbed and stiff, lending to their name.^[2] They are often used by Rieklings, who have bred the creatures to be even more warlike and dangerous, as mounts.^[3] Their prefered climate is snowy mountaintops and temperatures well below freezing.^[2]

Mountain Bristlebacks are a large species of bristleback found in Southern Elsweyr. During the Second Era, many bristlebacks found on Solstheim and mainland Skyrim were of a similar size.

Culture and UsesEdit

The leather and tusks harvested from them are known to have alchemical properties, while their meat is used for food by both men and rieklings.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Some Nords believe that slaying a bristleback boar when both moons are full leads to bad luck for the rest of the year.^[7] One of the many caves on Solstheim is named Bristleback Cave, after the beasts.^[8]

The meat of bristlebacks is an ingredient of certain Reachfolk dishes.^[9] Cured layers of bristleback hide are also sometimes used by Reachmen to create shields.^[10]

In Markarth, the Bristleback hunters were famed for their prowess and distinguished for recounting lengthy tales in local inns during the night. Those stories were often filled with near-death experiences. Bringing down Bristlebacks was known to require both skill and a touch of luck.^[11]