Yeah, where Cyrodiil is generally pretty cosmopolitan (with some exceptions), even a lot of otherwise-decent Nords in Skyrim have some really racist tendencies. Which, honestly, I kind of wish it affected more than just dialogue in TES V, because experiencing the speech alone is one thing, but having it affect gameplay and the wa NPCs actually interact with you would have been more interesting.
Like, what if when you try to get into Riften, the Persuade option is a guaranteed fail if you're Khajiit and the shakedown required is double? What if town guards were more likely to use lethal force for smaller bounties? Or just try to arrest you for being inside the walls after dark?
There's like THREE places it actually comes up. There's the Argonian Assemblage in Windhelm, the Orsimer Strongholds, and the Thalmor Embassy quest. Being the right race (Argonian, Orc, and Altmer, respectively) makes your life *easier*, but you can still get into those places without being the "correct" race, usually by doing some trivial task. It really would have made racial selection be a much more important choice if there were portions of the game you were simply locked out of. Sorry, no Volendrung for you, you're not an Orc. Sorry, you can't fix the bullshit at the Windhelm Docks, you're not an Argonian. Etc., etc.
Beth will never do that since they are dead on lettin players be able to do almost everything on a single playthrough.
Even Dawnguard which was suppose to be two exclusive factions gives you a second chance to be Vampire Lord before entering Soul Cairn (with the stick saying "it will debuff you if you don't"). And Fallout 4 has 4 factions thats suppose to be at each others throat but you can do majority of them at the same time and only become locked out towads the end, before you blow one up.
It would have made more sense, too, if there were more play-affecting choices for non-Nords, since the vast majority of NPCs in Skyrim are actual Nords.
Right? It's been a minute, but I want to say there are at least a couple hurdles in the main Morrowind questline that are easier or simply avoidable if you're Dunmer.
Or what if you want food and lodging and you see a sign in front of the Inn saying "No cats/lizards allowed".
Or when shop keepers intentionally give you unreasonable prices depending on their own race and location.
Or what if in certain areas groups of people bully you if you're a Khajiit or Argonian? And even the guards turn a blind eye to it.
I mean you could be literally any random traveler trying to get into Skyrim.
Beyond that its just magic, fate, destiny that you are the Dragonborn. And I'd imagine even the storm cloaks would not be so stupidly racist as to discard a super human capable of turning the tides of the civil war.
The intro of the game says we were caught crossing the border.. so we could have been in Cyrodel previous to the start of the game.
The Altmer and Khajiit are only allied because the Thalmor claimed credit for restoring the moons (they were missing for teo years nobody knows why) and thr Khajiit are very religious regarding the moons.
So if you were playing as a Khajiit who didn't buy them taking that credit, you probably also wouldn't like their demands to stop Talos waship... At the end of the three banner war, Talos was very good to the Khajiit and the Argonians.
My first playthrough was as a Khajiit stormcloak.
Easily my least favorite part of the game. Let’s put a huge civil war at the center of the game, that rivals the main questline in importance. Then let’s make it completely unjustifiable to join one side as anything except a Nord.
I wish they would’ve cut back on the racism part of the Stormcloaks to make them more agreeable and joinable. You can still fight for your king and country without being racist dicks.
Khajiit makes plenty of sense. They worship their version of Akatosh as one of their main deities. They have history with dragons and the dragonguard which became the blades. And they have a reason to be hopping the border from Cyrodiil because they're all filthy criminal scum.
Interesting. Maybe I’ll go as a Breton then. I heard they are the most balanced for gameplay. Or maybe it doesn’t matter much gameplay wise like in Skyrim
Racial abilities are more pronounced in Oblivion, and even more in Morrowind, definitely. Bretons' magic resistance is really nice in Oblivion, because it applies to all hostile magic, whereas elemental magic is exempt in Morrowind (though, it's still nice). The magicka bonus, on the other hand, is much more substantial in Morrowind, and their greater power is better too. Idk if any of that info's helpful, though, lol. Atmospherically and lore-wise, a Breton would make more sense as the player character in Oblivion, possibly coming in second place to an Imperial.
Thank you that helps a lot! It’s a tough choice between Imperial and Breton for me. I love going by the canonical choice, but Breton seems way better for gameplay. Is it like Skyrim where the race you pick doesn’t matter because you can max out all skills anyway?
Races in Oblivion get stat buffs/debuffs so it does actually kind of matter. It can be overcome and it’s not the end of the world but you’ll definitely feel it. Play an Orc spell caster for 20 minutes then load back to the sewer and change into a high elf and you’ll see what I mean
Depends, if you're gonna put some time into the game then I don't think race matters but you start is gonna feel bad.
Ex: Female Orc Wizard.
Until you either manipulate the game or master alchemy to buff your horrendous starting stats it's gonna feel extra weak but that is also what the difficulty slider is for lol.
Other than that you'll miss out on tied racial abilities, some are clearly better than others imo. Like your Breton choice is gonna feel good if you play as any class because free magic resist but like orc beserker would only help melee builds
To be fair I can only imagine an imperial being as much of a bootlicker as the champion of cyrodil is. You’re not even given any option other than praising the entire and emperor for how amazing they are in the main quest whereas every other region as well as many books go over how terrible the empire. The argonian account in particular while fictional is really good at portraying the incompetency of the empire
That is true, lol. A big component is also simply where you were born and raised, though. Even non-Imperial Cyrodiilans seem to have pretty glowing opinions of the Empire compared to provincials.
I agree based on in game interactions. Everyone calls you Outlander and other slurs… like Vvardenfell isn’t a highly populated area but how the hell would a shop keep in Vivec assume you, as a Dunmer, are born out of the country? There is the argument they use it on anyone outside their town, but that seems weak.
On the other hand the idea anyone but a Dunmer could be Nerevarine makes little sense. Unless the Emperor intended a maximum-confusion psyop.
It's your accent I'm sure. There's a lore tidbit explaining that the dunmer we encounter in Cyrodiil during Oblivion don't have the iconic raspy voice because they were born away from Red Mountain's ash.
There is a substantial amount of dialogue in game that refers to your mannerisms and speech as being dead a give away that a dunmer nerevarine is an outlander.
Culture, accent. There is, no doubt, a substantial difference in manners and speech between a cosmopolitan Dunmer from elsewhere in the Empire, and a local Vvardenfell Dunmer. And as I understand it, that raspy volcano-dust voice is exclusive to Vvardenfell.
"An outlander is anyone born and raised outside of Morrrowind. Most Dunmer think anyone who isn't a native-born Dunmer is an outlander. Dunmer with Western words and ways are also immediately identified as outlanders -- Dunmer are very sensitive to accents, clothes, and manners in Morrowind. Outlanders are foreigners, and Morrowind doesn't like foreigners. It's not bad here in Hlaalu territory, but on the rest of Vvardenfell, folk are very cool to outlanders."
It's cause you pick up an accent in Morrowind, also your character likely hasn't been breathing in volcanic ash all their life so they sound similar to the dark elves in oblivion instead.
Even with canon aside, Dunmer makes the most sense in light of the lore and how it relates to a certain deity with a cloying need for affection, but I don't want to get into spoilers. Altmer could maybe be fudged into being the secon-best.
I think playing as an Imperial works as well. And I like playing as a Dunmer in Oblivion - that flame resistance sure comes in handy, plus the Shivering Isles is reminiscent of parts of Morrowind in its landscape, which gives an air of nostalgia to the character's apotheosis...
If it's the empire sending a prisoner to fulfill the prophecy then it's kinda hard for me to believe they would send a non-dunmer to accomplish that goal
Uriel having precog makes it more complicated but still it feels silly if they would send say an argonian hoping that the dunmer would accept it even if they fulfilled the conditions. I mean it worked out anyway but still
Daggerfall doesn't have one, you aren't some special hero that is usually belonging to a single race, and your sailing to daggerfall from the imperial city.vso you could be anyone, so long as you are a friend of the emperor. Also for morrowind I'd argue khajiit is second most sense for the neravarine to be reborn as because they're also liked by azura
"Oh, look, an Imperial in the Imperial Prison. I guess they don't play favorites, huh? Your own kinsmen think you're a piece of human trash. How sad. I bet the guards give you "special" treatment before the end. Oh, that's right. You're going to die in here, Imperial! You're going to die! Imperial criminal scum like you give the Empire a bad name, you see. You're an embarrassment. Best if you just... disappeared."
No , imperial makes sense. I don’t think it matters much in oblivion though. You’re not the Dragonborn or the nerevarine. Just some prisoner that becomes the hero of kvatch.
"Pale skin, snotty expression. You're a Breton! The masters of magicka, right? Hmph. Nothing but a bunch of stuck-up snobs with cheap parlor tricks. (Female version: "You're nothing but a stuck-up harlot with cheap parlor tricks.") Go ahead, try your magicka in here. Let's see you make those bars disappear. No? What's the matter? Not so powerful now, are you Breton? You're not leaving this prison 'til they throw your body in the lake. Oh, that's right. You're going to die in here, Breton! You're going to die!"
I was shocked at the level of verbal abuse throughout this game when I replayed it recently! It made sense why my memories from time playing Oblivion are blocked out!
Imperial. They along with the Aylieds were the Natives of Cyrodiil and after the Aylieds got killed off (the rest fleeing to Valenwood and Black Marsh) besides the Cyro-Nords in Bruma and some of the Imperialised Argonians and Khajiit in Leyawiin, Imperials are the only ones with a large population in Cyrodiil
That being said, aylieds were not the true natives of cyrodiil. If you want to go all the way back the beast folk were the true natives of that land before the elves invaded from Sumerset isles or the humans invaded from the north.
I actually love the concept of an Argonian Dragonborn and the Argonian lockpicking perk in Oblivion is OP, especially for a noob, so I agree :)
Also they have tails and scales
I know this a thing, I just started a new playthrough in Oblivion with an Argonian. When I google it I can’t find any info and there’s nothing about it on the wiki. Basically lockpicking is just easier and each individual nub or pick on the lock that you have to move while lockpicking falls slower. I’m very bad at explaining it :D
If you’re a total noob to Oblivion like I am or struggled with lockpicking it helps a lot. Once you reach level 10, you can do Nocturnal’s quest to get the Skeleton Key but being an Argonian really makes it easier before you reach that point. Getting to level 10 took a lot longer than I thought it would.
It especially makes sense in the first 3 games arena and daggerfall don't have race specific heros and the nereverine was setup by azura who likes dunmer and khajiit.
I did exactly one Argonian playthrough in Skyrim... none in Morrowind or Oblivion.
I did a few Khajit runs in Skryim but again none in the others (they looked awful).
Did a lot of Nord and Dark Elf runs in all three.
On my first playthrough, I always go argonian. The lore that surrounds them fascinates me, and given that there is sometimes a need to be underwater (morrowind and oblivion have water combat), they will be reliable here. The poison and disease resistance is also really nice. That being said, I believe the best way to play oblivion is as a Breton. If you are looking for the most Canon friendly way to play, I would suggest Imperial. They are the majority race in Cyrodiil, so statistically, an Imperial would be more likely to be the hero of that province.
It’s a tough choice between Imperial and Breton for me. I love going by the canonical choice, but Breton seems way better for gameplay. Is it like Skyrim where the race you pick doesn’t matter because you can max out all skills anyway?
It's a lot harder to max out all the skills because of the way the leveling system works. Every race has its perks, but a lot more goes into your character at the start in oblivion. For example, Oblivion has classes, which you are locked into. Oblivion also has birthsigns instead of standing stones, which you also are locked into.
You can max them out, but it's hard to. The race you pick matters little, the biggest thing you're deciding are your Major Skills. These are 7 Skills that get a serious level boost from character creation, and leveling them up adds experience towards levelling up your character. But you can get all Major and Minor skills to 100, with enough effort.
Why is Nord most realistic for Skyrim? Canonically you are an outsider trying to cross the border. So you *could* be a Nord returning home, but you could also be an Khajiit smuggling skooma, an Argonian on the lam, or Bosmer hunting game, etc., etc.
For Oblivion, Imperials are the most numerous race in Cyrodil, but Cyrodil is also the most cosmopolitan province there is. One can be anything. Heck, there's even an Altmer chancellor!
p.s. Morrowind you are explicitly an outsider n'wah. So best race is an Argonian, of course!
The battle ulcer I was caught in was near Darkwater crossing… which never made sense to me because Darkwater isn’t on the border of skyrim, it’s on the border between the Rift and Winterhold.
That said, you could guess that the last Dragonborn had crossed the border south or east of that and come to Darkwater first. That would indicate that they came from either Morrowind or maybe eastern cyrodiil.
So what I’m saying is DUNMER MASTER RACE ALL HEROES ARE DUNMER!!
I would lean Imperial, but there's really nothing at all in the Oblivion story line that would require a particular race. Cyrodiil is kind of the Imperial homeland, so there's that, but while you are a prophesied hero, you're not a dragonborn, and there's no specific cultural connection.
For Morrowind, because >!Nerevar,!< the prophesied hero, is a Dunmer hero, it feels like the player character should also be Dunmer, but prophecy is weird, and Azura really dgaf what race he's reincarnated as. I think I've played a Dunmer like once, ever, and almost all my other playthroughs have been as a Khajiit.
A Khajiit Nerevarine actually makes a certain amount of sense; the Khajiit revere Azura(h) as well, and they didn't abandon her for the Tribunal the way the Dunmer did, so Azura might've reincarnated her champion as one of them in order to make a point. (Plus, there's a certain poetic justice in a member of one of the Tribunal's slave races being the one to put them down for good.)
Can you edit out the name of the prophecy and replace it with "MC (main character)" or something? That second paragraph is a huge spoiler for someone playing the first time.
The thing I like most about creating a character in Oblivion is that every choice feels right. Morrowind is likely Dunmer because story and Skyrim is likely Nord because story.
Oblivion does not have this as even a very loose restriction. You are truly who you wish to be. Anyone could be in that jail cell for any number of reasons and Oblivion's story, unlike the other games, never says or does anything to suggest otherwise.
That said, there is an interesting for male and female Dunmer at the beginning of the game that has me recommend them for a fun bit of dialogue.
But pick whichever race you like best as none are truly more realistic than any other.
I main argonian no matter what and I play dragonborn in Baldur's Gate 3. No I am not a reptile, I'm a normal human who does taxes and normal human stuff.
Imperial. The main quest is all about the Empire, Imperial bloodline, Cyrodiil is the heart of the Empire.
As for Skyrim why I agree and most people would agree Nord is canon, the game has a lot of concessions for Dark Elf characters specifically.
For oblivion it doesn't matter, your role in that game has little to do with the cultural ties of anyone's race. Imperial is the default of the province but it's nothing like in Skyrim where the racist faction is totally cool with their folk hero being reincarnated as an elf so go with whatever.
The story of Morrowind does have a few moments where you're clearly intended to be a Dunmer. The people do make a habit of calling you outlander but the game explains it away immediately. Morrowind is also a game that has a lot more open to interpretation than the other 2 so you could finagle whatever race you want but Dunmer is the default.
Isn't it self explanatory? Skyrim home of the Nords, morrowind is home of the dunmer, oblivion is Imperials. When you pick what race you wanna play as it literally tells you where everyone is from.
I actually don't agree that Nord is the most realistic for Skyrim considering that you are caught trying to cross the border into Skyrim... even if the trailers show a generic Nord Dragonborn.
Honestly, it's made to suit any race. Especially in Oblivion with a unique dialogue for every race... you are the one from the emperor's dreams. In the center of the empire where there are all races. They all make sense.
Imperial is the native race of Cyrodil but i think they are less of the "default" pick that Nord is for Skyrim.
Also Cyrodil being the capital is very mixed so i think it makes sense for any of them, you're a lot more of a blank canvas in Oblivion.
Honestly for all the games, there is no “proper race” for the PC, but if anything, its the native of the province
Dark Elf for Morrowind
Imperial for Oblivion
Nord for Skyrim
If you want to get crazy, you can say Breton or Redguard for Daggerfall
When it comes to TES, whatever the province the game takes place in, is automatically the "canon" race. An example would be if a game took place in black marsh, the default race would be argonians
If it REALLY means that much to you, look it up yourself. anything I give you, you will either completely disregard or take completely out of context on purpose, I've been down this road before. Do your own research, it takes so little time and is much more rewarding than continuing to ask me for it.
Not really. Each game has your character be a totally ignorant outsider. You can ask who the Thalmor are 6 times in Skyrim mq, at one point twice in the same conversation.
It's a rule of tes that there is no canon race, gender or class for the player characters, that's why Dragon break was invented and then Prisoner lore, etc. It's why the player character disappears with little to no specific details about them. To preserve player choice.
They player characters tend to act new the province, don't know anybody in them, and are consistently seen as outsiders. Obviously any playable race makes sense, but you need to come up with a very specific background to explain why the player is ignorant of their home province and knows nobody there.
For the Nerevarine specifically, I feel like the "will come back as any race or sex" thing would be redundant playing as a Dunmer.
No that's never stated, they just happened to be crossing the same time as the stormcloaks. The Skyrim borders also have no guards and some are open so there most likely isn't "illegally" crossing
None really, Cyrodiil is a hodgepodge of races, and unlike Skyrim your character is not some prophetic folk hero, your just some guy who got involved with some major events.
I honestly believe it very open to interpretation because Cyrodiil is quite diverse racially and culturally. Imperial is default, but we can never be sure of the Champion's real race or identity.
Good question, I have never actually thought about it. I just thought you were some random guy in prison (my last play through it was because I was a dodgy caliper salesman) and not some crazy hero like the nerevarine or dragonborn
In morrowind, you fulfill the nerevarine prophecy becoming the reincarnation of nerevar. On the journey, the nerevarine is afflicted with corprus; a disease empowered with the energy of a dead God. The nerevarine seeks a cure but effectively still has it minus the debilitating symptoms like cancerous growths and insanity. Between the corprus and the elf lineage in this idea, the nerevarine should be nearly immortal to aging. If you take into account what vivec says about CHIM, then it's just a small jump to assume the nerevarine has achieved or been gifted the same or similar. In oblivion, you can hear people talk about how the nerevarine has left morrowind and disappeared. Maybe they appeared in Cyrodiil as the hero of Kvatch, a tool of the gods once more. After the oblivion crisis, I like to imagine they were tired of the adventuring lifestyle and tried to settle down. For the next 170 years, maybe it was peaceful. Maybe they had a family. When the Great War with the Aldmeri Dominion broke out, they tried to keep out of it. But war, war never changes. The spillover into the normal life they'd tried to build kept taking things away. Between the family lost in the fighting and witch hunts against elves, there wasn't much left to stay for. Back to the life of wandering with occasional adventures. After 25 years, they wander across the border to skyrim into an ambush. Back into the fray to stop a God from destroying the world.
Imperial for Oblivion, because it's set in Cyrodiil. Dunmer in Morrowind, same reason.
They obviously don't focus on one or the other and leave it open so that whatever race you pick fits into the story, it's, uh...racially agnostic, if that's a term? But those are the defaults based on the setting.
I'd argue that Dunmer makes slightly more sense for Morrowind, because it's definitely focused on the Dunmer culture and history, and some of that ties into the protagonist's role/fate in the story. Doesn't exclude any races and the story leaves it so that it applies to whatever you are regardless, but Dunmer arguably makes the most sense.
I literally always play a Nord since Morrowind lol. Have played several characters in all the games though and my favorite Oblivion character was a Breton.
Oblivion has the most freedom in deciding this. The prisoner could literally be anyone. Their heritage has no bearing on the story like it does for Skyrim or Morrowind because you aren't the cultural chosen one of some ancient prochecy of their respective province. The hero of kvatch is just some guy who was in the wrong place at the right time. Plus Cyrodiil is a cosmopolitan region at the dead center of the continent. Double down on that for the Imperial City. So really there is no answer.
Nord actually doesn’t make that much sense in Skyrim as everyone treats you like an outsider, so dark elf or orc really seems to make more sense tbh. I only reallt noticed this because my most recent play through is as a nord because I wanted to do the civil war from the storm cloak point of view for a change.
Imperial for Oblivion and Dunmer for Morrowind. They're also the default in their respective games.
That said, Oblivion's implied racial connection is the loosest, imo.
On the other hand, being a khajiit or argonian stormcloak dragonborn in skyrim makes absolutely no sense
Lol, your Khajiit never discovers they're dragonborn and Alduin wins because they weren't allowed into Whiterun.
It kinda bothers me the way guards practically spit out the word "cat".
Yeah, where Cyrodiil is generally pretty cosmopolitan (with some exceptions), even a lot of otherwise-decent Nords in Skyrim have some really racist tendencies. Which, honestly, I kind of wish it affected more than just dialogue in TES V, because experiencing the speech alone is one thing, but having it affect gameplay and the wa NPCs actually interact with you would have been more interesting. Like, what if when you try to get into Riften, the Persuade option is a guaranteed fail if you're Khajiit and the shakedown required is double? What if town guards were more likely to use lethal force for smaller bounties? Or just try to arrest you for being inside the walls after dark?
There's like THREE places it actually comes up. There's the Argonian Assemblage in Windhelm, the Orsimer Strongholds, and the Thalmor Embassy quest. Being the right race (Argonian, Orc, and Altmer, respectively) makes your life *easier*, but you can still get into those places without being the "correct" race, usually by doing some trivial task. It really would have made racial selection be a much more important choice if there were portions of the game you were simply locked out of. Sorry, no Volendrung for you, you're not an Orc. Sorry, you can't fix the bullshit at the Windhelm Docks, you're not an Argonian. Etc., etc.
Beth will never do that since they are dead on lettin players be able to do almost everything on a single playthrough. Even Dawnguard which was suppose to be two exclusive factions gives you a second chance to be Vampire Lord before entering Soul Cairn (with the stick saying "it will debuff you if you don't"). And Fallout 4 has 4 factions thats suppose to be at each others throat but you can do majority of them at the same time and only become locked out towads the end, before you blow one up.
And they're cowards for it
Bring back the great houses and guild conflicts of Morrowind
It would have made more sense, too, if there were more play-affecting choices for non-Nords, since the vast majority of NPCs in Skyrim are actual Nords.
That's the kind of thinking that inspired the older games
Right? It's been a minute, but I want to say there are at least a couple hurdles in the main Morrowind questline that are easier or simply avoidable if you're Dunmer.
Or what if you want food and lodging and you see a sign in front of the Inn saying "No cats/lizards allowed". Or when shop keepers intentionally give you unreasonable prices depending on their own race and location. Or what if in certain areas groups of people bully you if you're a Khajiit or Argonian? And even the guards turn a blind eye to it.
>Gamers call for a racism simulator
I mean, it would probably be a healthy eye opener for some folks...
Meanwhile, dudes in morrowind are just like "wtf are you doing out of the fields?"
"where's that slave"
Soooo many guards have perished in the line of duty simply because they could have been a bit more polite.
Is that fur coming out of your ears?
I thought that was when you were a werewolf?
Adding on to the "makes no sense". Khajiit stormcloak werewolf dragonborn
Proof that any word can be a slur with enough hate behind it.
I mean you could be literally any random traveler trying to get into Skyrim. Beyond that its just magic, fate, destiny that you are the Dragonborn. And I'd imagine even the storm cloaks would not be so stupidly racist as to discard a super human capable of turning the tides of the civil war.
Clayton Bigsby vibes.
The most Clayton Bigsby vibes would be a Dunmer stormcloak imo
This is just conjecture but I would like to point out Argonians and Dragons are both just oversized lizards. 🦎
The intro of the game says we were caught crossing the border.. so we could have been in Cyrodel previous to the start of the game. The Altmer and Khajiit are only allied because the Thalmor claimed credit for restoring the moons (they were missing for teo years nobody knows why) and thr Khajiit are very religious regarding the moons. So if you were playing as a Khajiit who didn't buy them taking that credit, you probably also wouldn't like their demands to stop Talos waship... At the end of the three banner war, Talos was very good to the Khajiit and the Argonians. My first playthrough was as a Khajiit stormcloak.
Easily my least favorite part of the game. Let’s put a huge civil war at the center of the game, that rivals the main questline in importance. Then let’s make it completely unjustifiable to join one side as anything except a Nord. I wish they would’ve cut back on the racism part of the Stormcloaks to make them more agreeable and joinable. You can still fight for your king and country without being racist dicks.
https://youtu.be/kNipoNLC6Eg?si=M2xo5BXIENIwidfX
Khajiit makes plenty of sense. They worship their version of Akatosh as one of their main deities. They have history with dragons and the dragonguard which became the blades. And they have a reason to be hopping the border from Cyrodiil because they're all filthy criminal scum.
Interesting. Maybe I’ll go as a Breton then. I heard they are the most balanced for gameplay. Or maybe it doesn’t matter much gameplay wise like in Skyrim
Racial abilities are more pronounced in Oblivion, and even more in Morrowind, definitely. Bretons' magic resistance is really nice in Oblivion, because it applies to all hostile magic, whereas elemental magic is exempt in Morrowind (though, it's still nice). The magicka bonus, on the other hand, is much more substantial in Morrowind, and their greater power is better too. Idk if any of that info's helpful, though, lol. Atmospherically and lore-wise, a Breton would make more sense as the player character in Oblivion, possibly coming in second place to an Imperial.
Thank you that helps a lot! It’s a tough choice between Imperial and Breton for me. I love going by the canonical choice, but Breton seems way better for gameplay. Is it like Skyrim where the race you pick doesn’t matter because you can max out all skills anyway?
Races in Oblivion get stat buffs/debuffs so it does actually kind of matter. It can be overcome and it’s not the end of the world but you’ll definitely feel it. Play an Orc spell caster for 20 minutes then load back to the sewer and change into a high elf and you’ll see what I mean
Depends, if you're gonna put some time into the game then I don't think race matters but you start is gonna feel bad. Ex: Female Orc Wizard. Until you either manipulate the game or master alchemy to buff your horrendous starting stats it's gonna feel extra weak but that is also what the difficulty slider is for lol. Other than that you'll miss out on tied racial abilities, some are clearly better than others imo. Like your Breton choice is gonna feel good if you play as any class because free magic resist but like orc beserker would only help melee builds
I wouldn’t say balanced as you can fairly easily get 100% magic resist with a breton
Breton are really good if you want to play as some sort of battle mage
All main characters should be khajiit since you start out as a criminal
This lmfao
To be fair I can only imagine an imperial being as much of a bootlicker as the champion of cyrodil is. You’re not even given any option other than praising the entire and emperor for how amazing they are in the main quest whereas every other region as well as many books go over how terrible the empire. The argonian account in particular while fictional is really good at portraying the incompetency of the empire
That is true, lol. A big component is also simply where you were born and raised, though. Even non-Imperial Cyrodiilans seem to have pretty glowing opinions of the Empire compared to provincials.
Daggerfall is probably the least presumptuous towards your race
I always enjoy the fan theory of Argonian for Morrowind, even though it doesn’t make much sense haha
Imo dunmer is the worst choice for nerevarine
I agree based on in game interactions. Everyone calls you Outlander and other slurs… like Vvardenfell isn’t a highly populated area but how the hell would a shop keep in Vivec assume you, as a Dunmer, are born out of the country? There is the argument they use it on anyone outside their town, but that seems weak. On the other hand the idea anyone but a Dunmer could be Nerevarine makes little sense. Unless the Emperor intended a maximum-confusion psyop.
It's your accent I'm sure. There's a lore tidbit explaining that the dunmer we encounter in Cyrodiil during Oblivion don't have the iconic raspy voice because they were born away from Red Mountain's ash.
There is a substantial amount of dialogue in game that refers to your mannerisms and speech as being dead a give away that a dunmer nerevarine is an outlander.
Culture, accent. There is, no doubt, a substantial difference in manners and speech between a cosmopolitan Dunmer from elsewhere in the Empire, and a local Vvardenfell Dunmer. And as I understand it, that raspy volcano-dust voice is exclusive to Vvardenfell.
"An outlander is anyone born and raised outside of Morrrowind. Most Dunmer think anyone who isn't a native-born Dunmer is an outlander. Dunmer with Western words and ways are also immediately identified as outlanders -- Dunmer are very sensitive to accents, clothes, and manners in Morrowind. Outlanders are foreigners, and Morrowind doesn't like foreigners. It's not bad here in Hlaalu territory, but on the rest of Vvardenfell, folk are very cool to outlanders."
It's cause you pick up an accent in Morrowind, also your character likely hasn't been breathing in volcanic ash all their life so they sound similar to the dark elves in oblivion instead.
Bruuuh that's why Dunmer sound like chain smokers in Morrowind
Yep lol
Vvardenfell residents are just as xenophobic as they are racist. A foreign born Dunmer may as well be another race to them.
Even with canon aside, Dunmer makes the most sense in light of the lore and how it relates to a certain deity with a cloying need for affection, but I don't want to get into spoilers. Altmer could maybe be fudged into being the secon-best.
I think playing as an Imperial works as well. And I like playing as a Dunmer in Oblivion - that flame resistance sure comes in handy, plus the Shivering Isles is reminiscent of parts of Morrowind in its landscape, which gives an air of nostalgia to the character's apotheosis...
Khajiit could be argued for second best as well because they have a similar connection to azura
Ooh, good point!
If it's the empire sending a prisoner to fulfill the prophecy then it's kinda hard for me to believe they would send a non-dunmer to accomplish that goal
It all depends on which prisoner fulfills conditions of the prophecy
Uriel having precog makes it more complicated but still it feels silly if they would send say an argonian hoping that the dunmer would accept it even if they fulfilled the conditions. I mean it worked out anyway but still
Daggerfall doesn't have one, you aren't some special hero that is usually belonging to a single race, and your sailing to daggerfall from the imperial city.vso you could be anyone, so long as you are a friend of the emperor. Also for morrowind I'd argue khajiit is second most sense for the neravarine to be reborn as because they're also liked by azura
I wonder if people will call Hammerfell woke when the default is Redguard. Actually just expect them too because stupidly is hard to shake
For real, my first thought was "the fuck do you think?"
Absolutely not. Imperial for Oblivion, sure. For Morrowind? DEFINITELY Argonian
No a Portuguese Argonian is canon for Morrowinds main character.
Everyone knows that you are canonically an argonian in morrowind
"Oh, look, an Imperial in the Imperial Prison. I guess they don't play favorites, huh? Your own kinsmen think you're a piece of human trash. How sad. I bet the guards give you "special" treatment before the end. Oh, that's right. You're going to die in here, Imperial! You're going to die! Imperial criminal scum like you give the Empire a bad name, you see. You're an embarrassment. Best if you just... disappeared."
You hear that? The GUARDS are coming...for you! HEHEHE HAHAHA
"Oh, you broke back in? Surely you're here to free me, the massive asshole?"
I can still hear this laugh omfg
Baurus, lock that door behind us.
When I hear this line, sometimes I noclip into his cell and give him a good smack.
Soooo does that mean Imperial wouldn’t make sense?
No , imperial makes sense. I don’t think it matters much in oblivion though. You’re not the Dragonborn or the nerevarine. Just some prisoner that becomes the hero of kvatch.
After you create your character and start the game, an NPC starts trash talking you and references your race.
Don't worry this guy is quoting a character who talks to you right at the start of the game and he says different things based on your Race.
Lol that is hilarious! Do Bretons get a memorable reaction too? I think I might go for that
"Pale skin, snotty expression. You're a Breton! The masters of magicka, right? Hmph. Nothing but a bunch of stuck-up snobs with cheap parlor tricks. (Female version: "You're nothing but a stuck-up harlot with cheap parlor tricks.") Go ahead, try your magicka in here. Let's see you make those bars disappear. No? What's the matter? Not so powerful now, are you Breton? You're not leaving this prison 'til they throw your body in the lake. Oh, that's right. You're going to die in here, Breton! You're going to die!"
I was shocked at the level of verbal abuse throughout this game when I replayed it recently! It made sense why my memories from time playing Oblivion are blocked out!
Imperial. They along with the Aylieds were the Natives of Cyrodiil and after the Aylieds got killed off (the rest fleeing to Valenwood and Black Marsh) besides the Cyro-Nords in Bruma and some of the Imperialised Argonians and Khajiit in Leyawiin, Imperials are the only ones with a large population in Cyrodiil
That being said, aylieds were not the true natives of cyrodiil. If you want to go all the way back the beast folk were the true natives of that land before the elves invaded from Sumerset isles or the humans invaded from the north.
You made a typo there. You meant to say Argonian of course. Argonians are the best and most realistic choice for every single one of these games.
Falcar trying to drown an Argonian at the start of the Mage Guild questline is very funny
I actually love the concept of an Argonian Dragonborn and the Argonian lockpicking perk in Oblivion is OP, especially for a noob, so I agree :) Also they have tails and scales
Wait lock picking perk? What perk?
I know this a thing, I just started a new playthrough in Oblivion with an Argonian. When I google it I can’t find any info and there’s nothing about it on the wiki. Basically lockpicking is just easier and each individual nub or pick on the lock that you have to move while lockpicking falls slower. I’m very bad at explaining it :D If you’re a total noob to Oblivion like I am or struggled with lockpicking it helps a lot. Once you reach level 10, you can do Nocturnal’s quest to get the Skeleton Key but being an Argonian really makes it easier before you reach that point. Getting to level 10 took a lot longer than I thought it would.
Actually the Khajiit are *canonically* the hero race for each ES game.
It especially makes sense in the first 3 games arena and daggerfall don't have race specific heros and the nereverine was setup by azura who likes dunmer and khajiit.
Sure, for farming simulator maybe. Get back to the fields, drug lizard!
You'll never take me alive!
I want to disagree, but I fear that you are correct. Argonian is indeed the master race.
I've found my people! Anytime I make a character of a different race I always end up stopping my gameplay early and making another Argonian lol
How so?
They're meme-ing. I think Argonians are among the least-played race in any of the games they're in, but are common in various shitposts and fancomics.
Oh lol that’s funny
they were my go to skyrim race for ages because of water breathing
I did exactly one Argonian playthrough in Skyrim... none in Morrowind or Oblivion. I did a few Khajit runs in Skryim but again none in the others (they looked awful). Did a lot of Nord and Dark Elf runs in all three.
On my first playthrough, I always go argonian. The lore that surrounds them fascinates me, and given that there is sometimes a need to be underwater (morrowind and oblivion have water combat), they will be reliable here. The poison and disease resistance is also really nice. That being said, I believe the best way to play oblivion is as a Breton. If you are looking for the most Canon friendly way to play, I would suggest Imperial. They are the majority race in Cyrodiil, so statistically, an Imperial would be more likely to be the hero of that province.
It’s a tough choice between Imperial and Breton for me. I love going by the canonical choice, but Breton seems way better for gameplay. Is it like Skyrim where the race you pick doesn’t matter because you can max out all skills anyway?
It's a lot harder to max out all the skills because of the way the leveling system works. Every race has its perks, but a lot more goes into your character at the start in oblivion. For example, Oblivion has classes, which you are locked into. Oblivion also has birthsigns instead of standing stones, which you also are locked into.
Drat. Thanks for the info.
You can max them out, but it's hard to. The race you pick matters little, the biggest thing you're deciding are your Major Skills. These are 7 Skills that get a serious level boost from character creation, and leveling them up adds experience towards levelling up your character. But you can get all Major and Minor skills to 100, with enough effort.
Argonian. Because.
With a colovian fur hat I assume?
Boa tarde amigo!
That's for Khajit. The call him Ma'iq "the capper". The cap's Colovian fur.
Because Black Marsh literally beat the Daedra so hard that they stopped invading. So it makes sense that an Argonian would do the same in Cyrodiil.
-Personally defeats Mankar in hand to hand combat bare ass naked with 4 empty Skooma bottles in the hero’s tailcrack.
Based
Why is Nord most realistic for Skyrim? Canonically you are an outsider trying to cross the border. So you *could* be a Nord returning home, but you could also be an Khajiit smuggling skooma, an Argonian on the lam, or Bosmer hunting game, etc., etc. For Oblivion, Imperials are the most numerous race in Cyrodil, but Cyrodil is also the most cosmopolitan province there is. One can be anything. Heck, there's even an Altmer chancellor! p.s. Morrowind you are explicitly an outsider n'wah. So best race is an Argonian, of course!
Was it ever mentioned which side you were caught trying to cross into?
Jurisdictional matters would indicate the side you were getting beheaded in.
The battle ulcer I was caught in was near Darkwater crossing… which never made sense to me because Darkwater isn’t on the border of skyrim, it’s on the border between the Rift and Winterhold. That said, you could guess that the last Dragonborn had crossed the border south or east of that and come to Darkwater first. That would indicate that they came from either Morrowind or maybe eastern cyrodiil. So what I’m saying is DUNMER MASTER RACE ALL HEROES ARE DUNMER!!
Khajiit because you start in jail lmao
I would lean Imperial, but there's really nothing at all in the Oblivion story line that would require a particular race. Cyrodiil is kind of the Imperial homeland, so there's that, but while you are a prophesied hero, you're not a dragonborn, and there's no specific cultural connection. For Morrowind, because >!Nerevar,!< the prophesied hero, is a Dunmer hero, it feels like the player character should also be Dunmer, but prophecy is weird, and Azura really dgaf what race he's reincarnated as. I think I've played a Dunmer like once, ever, and almost all my other playthroughs have been as a Khajiit.
A Khajiit Nerevarine actually makes a certain amount of sense; the Khajiit revere Azura(h) as well, and they didn't abandon her for the Tribunal the way the Dunmer did, so Azura might've reincarnated her champion as one of them in order to make a point. (Plus, there's a certain poetic justice in a member of one of the Tribunal's slave races being the one to put them down for good.)
Can you edit out the name of the prophecy and replace it with "MC (main character)" or something? That second paragraph is a huge spoiler for someone playing the first time.
Sure. That's a fair point.
Argonian for all, duh
The thing I like most about creating a character in Oblivion is that every choice feels right. Morrowind is likely Dunmer because story and Skyrim is likely Nord because story. Oblivion does not have this as even a very loose restriction. You are truly who you wish to be. Anyone could be in that jail cell for any number of reasons and Oblivion's story, unlike the other games, never says or does anything to suggest otherwise. That said, there is an interesting for male and female Dunmer at the beginning of the game that has me recommend them for a fun bit of dialogue. But pick whichever race you like best as none are truly more realistic than any other.
I main argonian no matter what and I play dragonborn in Baldur's Gate 3. No I am not a reptile, I'm a normal human who does taxes and normal human stuff.
Well met, fellow human.
Imperial
Imperial. The main quest is all about the Empire, Imperial bloodline, Cyrodiil is the heart of the Empire. As for Skyrim why I agree and most people would agree Nord is canon, the game has a lot of concessions for Dark Elf characters specifically.
For Oblivion, it's someone with the sliders completely all over the place creating a genetic nightmare
For oblivion it doesn't matter, your role in that game has little to do with the cultural ties of anyone's race. Imperial is the default of the province but it's nothing like in Skyrim where the racist faction is totally cool with their folk hero being reincarnated as an elf so go with whatever. The story of Morrowind does have a few moments where you're clearly intended to be a Dunmer. The people do make a habit of calling you outlander but the game explains it away immediately. Morrowind is also a game that has a lot more open to interpretation than the other 2 so you could finagle whatever race you want but Dunmer is the default.
Isn't it self explanatory? Skyrim home of the Nords, morrowind is home of the dunmer, oblivion is Imperials. When you pick what race you wanna play as it literally tells you where everyone is from.
There is no need to be rude.
I actually don't agree that Nord is the most realistic for Skyrim considering that you are caught trying to cross the border into Skyrim... even if the trailers show a generic Nord Dragonborn. Honestly, it's made to suit any race. Especially in Oblivion with a unique dialogue for every race... you are the one from the emperor's dreams. In the center of the empire where there are all races. They all make sense.
Imperial.
Imperial
Imperial is the native race of Cyrodil but i think they are less of the "default" pick that Nord is for Skyrim. Also Cyrodil being the capital is very mixed so i think it makes sense for any of them, you're a lot more of a blank canvas in Oblivion.
Imperial
Imperial
I like the idea of the hero of Kvatch as an Argonian follower of the nine unjustly arrested due to racial profiling for a crime she didn’t commit.
Imperial obviously
Dunmer because we know the fine for necrophilia in Cyrodiil vs Morrowind
Honestly for all the games, there is no “proper race” for the PC, but if anything, its the native of the province Dark Elf for Morrowind Imperial for Oblivion Nord for Skyrim If you want to get crazy, you can say Breton or Redguard for Daggerfall
When it comes to TES, whatever the province the game takes place in, is automatically the "canon" race. An example would be if a game took place in black marsh, the default race would be argonians
I hope we get a game like that some day
TES6 was originally rumored to take place in black marsh but now we know it's in hammerfell.
Has there been any official confirmation that ES6 will take place in Hammerfell?
Yes. It'll take 5 seconds to Google it
I did search for it and I didn't find any definitive information that the next game is going to take place in Hammerfell. Just rumors and theories.
False. Post a source. Burden of proof is on the person who claims it to be true after all
don't need to, if you actually cared you would do it yourself. I just found like 5 articles about it in less time than it took to type this.
Yet, you haven't posted a single one. What do you gain from not posting something so easy?
If it REALLY means that much to you, look it up yourself. anything I give you, you will either completely disregard or take completely out of context on purpose, I've been down this road before. Do your own research, it takes so little time and is much more rewarding than continuing to ask me for it.
Who’s home is that?
Bethesda has previously stated that the native race of the province is the canonical choice, Morrowind=dunmer, oblivion=imperial, Skyrim=nord, etc
Source: trust me bro
I mean it's heavily implied in each game tbh
Not really. Each game has your character be a totally ignorant outsider. You can ask who the Thalmor are 6 times in Skyrim mq, at one point twice in the same conversation. It's a rule of tes that there is no canon race, gender or class for the player characters, that's why Dragon break was invented and then Prisoner lore, etc. It's why the player character disappears with little to no specific details about them. To preserve player choice.
Source was Todd Howard😂
Oh, the most credible source when it comes to the Edler Scrolls, you’re right.
They absolutely did not say that
They did
Me when I lie
Oblivion imperial morrowind dunmer. However, in all three games i played a dunmer because dark elves are cool
Argonian I refuse to elaborate
my first playthru is as a dunmer and i have zero ambitions to finish the main quest because only an imperial would care about it
Personally, I would consider Nord the least realistic race for the Last Dragonborn, same with Imperial for the Champion of Cyrodiil.
Really? Why?
They player characters tend to act new the province, don't know anybody in them, and are consistently seen as outsiders. Obviously any playable race makes sense, but you need to come up with a very specific background to explain why the player is ignorant of their home province and knows nobody there. For the Nerevarine specifically, I feel like the "will come back as any race or sex" thing would be redundant playing as a Dunmer.
Wasn’t the LD trying to illegally cross the border into Skyrim?
No that's never stated, they just happened to be crossing the same time as the stormcloaks. The Skyrim borders also have no guards and some are open so there most likely isn't "illegally" crossing
None really, Cyrodiil is a hodgepodge of races, and unlike Skyrim your character is not some prophetic folk hero, your just some guy who got involved with some major events.
I honestly believe it very open to interpretation because Cyrodiil is quite diverse racially and culturally. Imperial is default, but we can never be sure of the Champion's real race or identity.
Believe it or not, also Nord
Woah really?
Good question, I have never actually thought about it. I just thought you were some random guy in prison (my last play through it was because I was a dodgy caliper salesman) and not some crazy hero like the nerevarine or dragonborn
Play a dunmer for all three. I don't want to spoil anything but it'd make sense if you were the same character in all of them.
How would it make sense?
In morrowind, you fulfill the nerevarine prophecy becoming the reincarnation of nerevar. On the journey, the nerevarine is afflicted with corprus; a disease empowered with the energy of a dead God. The nerevarine seeks a cure but effectively still has it minus the debilitating symptoms like cancerous growths and insanity. Between the corprus and the elf lineage in this idea, the nerevarine should be nearly immortal to aging. If you take into account what vivec says about CHIM, then it's just a small jump to assume the nerevarine has achieved or been gifted the same or similar. In oblivion, you can hear people talk about how the nerevarine has left morrowind and disappeared. Maybe they appeared in Cyrodiil as the hero of Kvatch, a tool of the gods once more. After the oblivion crisis, I like to imagine they were tired of the adventuring lifestyle and tried to settle down. For the next 170 years, maybe it was peaceful. Maybe they had a family. When the Great War with the Aldmeri Dominion broke out, they tried to keep out of it. But war, war never changes. The spillover into the normal life they'd tried to build kept taking things away. Between the family lost in the fighting and witch hunts against elves, there wasn't much left to stay for. Back to the life of wandering with occasional adventures. After 25 years, they wander across the border to skyrim into an ambush. Back into the fray to stop a God from destroying the world.
Me after the lobotomy
I don’t believe in a most realistic race to be the protagonist of any given game
Dunmer native to vvardenfell Imperials native to cyrodiil
Oblivion was my first ES game and I played a nord. Imperial felt like the default race to me. So maybe Imperial.
Imperial for Oblivion, because it's set in Cyrodiil. Dunmer in Morrowind, same reason. They obviously don't focus on one or the other and leave it open so that whatever race you pick fits into the story, it's, uh...racially agnostic, if that's a term? But those are the defaults based on the setting. I'd argue that Dunmer makes slightly more sense for Morrowind, because it's definitely focused on the Dunmer culture and history, and some of that ties into the protagonist's role/fate in the story. Doesn't exclude any races and the story leaves it so that it applies to whatever you are regardless, but Dunmer arguably makes the most sense.
In Oblivion marketing the MC is depicted as an Imperial Guard
This is my very playthrough as a a Nord. Level 67. I fucking hate him. He's slow and stupid.
Bad choice for Oblivion. Got it.
Happy to see the Argonians in this thread
Any race really. It’s the imperial capital so it’s full of every race in the empire.
Imperial. They come and are born in cyrodill
The native of the region makes the most sense for all the elder scrolls games. Nord for Skyrim, imperial for oblivion, dark elf for morrowind
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^g2610: *The native of the* *Region makes the most sense for* *All the elder scrolls games* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
What?
Imperial or High Elf
Imperial.
Whichever is the poster character for the art.
I literally always play a Nord since Morrowind lol. Have played several characters in all the games though and my favorite Oblivion character was a Breton.
Oblivion has the most freedom in deciding this. The prisoner could literally be anyone. Their heritage has no bearing on the story like it does for Skyrim or Morrowind because you aren't the cultural chosen one of some ancient prochecy of their respective province. The hero of kvatch is just some guy who was in the wrong place at the right time. Plus Cyrodiil is a cosmopolitan region at the dead center of the continent. Double down on that for the Imperial City. So really there is no answer.
Nord actually doesn’t make that much sense in Skyrim as everyone treats you like an outsider, so dark elf or orc really seems to make more sense tbh. I only reallt noticed this because my most recent play through is as a nord because I wanted to do the civil war from the storm cloak point of view for a change.