Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-15888551-20130819093722/@comment-13199219-20130820132234

We already have crossbows, and why do we need guns when we have staves that shoot fire and lighting and such?

And for all you people who want guns in TES, just remember: It will be centuries before they get to anything close to rapid fire weapons.

Finally, from a lore point of view, the reason Tamriel is not as advanced as you want it to be, after the events of Oblivion and the Great War everyone is focusing on rebuilding. Morrowind was sacked by Argonians, Cyrodiil was sacked by the Dominion, the only cultures left that would actually focus on research are the High Elves (Who are already magically oriented) and the Bretons, and they're also magically oriented.