I'm looking to role-play an Altmer (High Elf) mage who is actually planning to help the Stormcloaks reclaim their home while driving back the Aldmeri Dominion and Imperials. He's going to study at the College for a while before beginning his quest to rid Skyrim of the dragon threat, after that he will be helping the Stormcloaks keep their independence.

I've been trying to find a list of Altmer factions, hoping to find one that would suit my character, but I'm really not finding anything besides the Aldmeri Dominion, which he's going to be against.

Is it completely crazy to role-play a High Elf who has no prejudice against the "lesser" races? One who just sees himself as "part of it all" and wants to do things the way he sees fit? Also, would it be strange that he practices conjuration as a Good type character?

If you guys know of High Elf factions, please let me know. Thanks for reading.

How about the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Direnni family? They're a powerful dynasty of Altmer from High Rock, and I'm pretty sure the Thalmor don't like them very much.

Actually, the Thalmor were a very minor and very unpopular faction in Summerset Isles that only gained power through the chaos of the Oblivion Crisis, mostly through the act of murdering everyone opposed to them. You just have to be in the category of "people who aren't Thalmor" and "not dead" to be in a faction of Altmer who hate the Thalmor and their Aldmeri Dominion.

There's also "the Beautiful", but they're more along the lines of a terrorist organization. The Direnni family is your best bet, but there is also the Psijics, although I couldn't see any reason why they'd want to involve themselves in Skyrim's civil war.

Jara : Thanks for that, I don't suppose you have a page that lists all factions involved with High elves, do you? I dug around on the UESPWiki some, but didn't find anything like that, what I did find is a page that had a Skyrim spoiler right in the middle of what I was reading though. >_>

Wraith: Hmm I did not realize that. I just assumed that most High Elves were fine with the Thalmor since the general consensus is that High elves are proud, arrogant people. I am a lore noob though, but I'm learning more day by day.

Thanks guys.

edit: Fiore: That is an interesting group, but it doesn't sound like my character would fit in with their goals. They also don't seem to have much lore written about them, all I was able to find was:

A violent group of militants that has appeared recently in Summerset Isle. These radicals seek to destroy significant monuments and assassinate traditional leaders in an attempt to further modernity and reject their Altmer heritage. They are mentioned in the Pocket Guide to the Empire.

He could be an Altmer born in the provinces, or one who aspired to be Psijiic, or a washed up war veteran (there are several of these in the game).

Where do you get this bolded word?

Would the Psijiic look down upon conjuration?

Nothing official on current events relating to this, of course; but using some imagination it wouldn't be impossible to suppose that Lillandril separated from the rest of the Summurset isles again, when it had the chance to rebel after the Oblivion crisis as an act of protest against the Thalmor going rampant. If so, they'd probably side with anyone opposing the Thalmor

I doubt any of The Beautiful are still kicking, and furthermore, I doubt anyone even remembers who they were. They were an organization that rode in on the disillusionment of the breaking of the Altmer 'psych' by the Imperials when they defiled the isles with their unholy presence. There is no reason for them to exist anymore, considering that strain of thought is firmly rooted out of the Altmer. Don't know where Beth were going with them.

He could be the ~ 200 year old last surviving member who was out getting milk while everyone else was getting massacred.

The Yagrum Bagarn of angsty teens?

Yep. Not all Altmer are cocks. Suprising, I know :biggrin:

Anyway, I feel that your best bet is to frame yer Mage as just a run-of-the-mill seditious element trying to put many, many paces between himself and the Dominion after his merry band of discontents got black-bagged by those Justiciar-thugs. Possibly a Psjiic-reject or just a lowborn who's had quite enough of being marginalized because he doesn't have the right ancestors.

Hmm... looking back, this may actually be something I inferred without concrete evidence from reading up on the Thalmor.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Great_War
"The Thalmor had always been a powerful faction within Summerset Isle, but had also always been a minority voice. During the crisis, the Crystal Tower was forced to give the Thalmor greater power and authority. Their efforts almost certainly saved Summerset Isle from being overrun. They capitalized on their success to seize total control in 4E 22."

For the record, "the Crystal Tower was forced to give the Thalmor greater power and authority," refers not to a reluctant sharing of power, but to the fact that the crystal tower was at least partially destroyed during the Oblivion Crisis, meaning they were desperate for anyone with military power.

Beyond that, I simply connected it with the earlier game rumors of "Growing discontent from the youth", and figured that manifested itself in the Thalmor.

The Thalmor ruled the last Dominion, since when did they become a minority voice?

Exactly. Notice the contradiction here:

"The Thalmor had always been a powerful faction within Summerset Isle, but had also always been a minority voice. "

Sounds like Imperial propaganda trying to justify the Empire's support for Altmeri dissidents. Wah, wah, they don't have a right to power because they're a minority group, wah, wah, *spends money supporting revolts in Valenwood.*.

The Thalmor would never have gotten power without a wave of mass, popular support, which they did get, and they got for a reason. The Altmer people finally overcoming the numidium and the damage the Empire did to their pride.

You mean the part where the Thalmor committed genocide against any and every bosmer that was within reach and wouldn't submit to their omnicidal blow-up-creation plan? I don't think the Empire needed to do any convincing to make the bosmer opposed to that plan. If they spent money on the bosmeri resistance, it was simply to give them more weapons to try to defend themselves, their continued existence was all the motivation they needed.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Back this up.

I know that the Empire was main supplier and funder of Valenwood rebels because Attrebus brought it up in the Infernal City. The Penitus guy also later mentioned that imperial shipments had stopped getting through to the Valenwood rebels, and their position had be severely damaged as a result.

Maybe the Thalmor garnered support, and gained many victories, becuase they identified the true nature of the Mer, and fought for it?

No! Surely not. Of course. GO SHOR!

What an outlandish idea.

The bosmer were directionless and fairly weak from the start because of the Oblivion Crisis. The Thalmor started with a http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Great_War, which is to say, they started the "war" with assassinations of all the bosmeri leadership who weren't Thalmor sleeper agents. They then killed everyone who wouldn't submit or who couldn't flee before all contact with the "Aldmeri Dominion".

See also:
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Rising_Threat,_Vol._IV

The rest of that series is also a good indication of what the Thalmor represent, as well - they are a terrorist organization that took over by claiming credit for the deeds of Martin Septim after the existing leadership of Summerset Isle was destroyed in the destruction of the Crystal Tower.

That's not genocide. That's suppression of political dissidents. Two completely different things. I hate the way the word 'genocide' is just thrown around now without any consideration of it's meaning.

"Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group"

And they killed every person who was not willing to be a part of their religious/national group. What's the problem?

The Thalmor participate in political and social killings, which is not classed as genocide.



"The first draft of the Convention included political killings, but the USSR[20] along with some other nations would not accept that actions against groups identified as holding similar political opinions or social status would constitute genocide,[21] so these stipulations were subsequently removed in a political and diplomatic compromise." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

So that's the "lie" that was mentioned earlier. I'm fairly certain this is a simple misunderstanding. They (rightly) take credit for defending the Altmer during the crisis, which is different from ending the crisis. And anyway, it was Akatosh / Auri-El who really ended the Oblivion Crisis. Seeing as how there was no "emergency amulet smash" clause in the original covenant, what happened with Martin was pure willing divine intervention.

Even if you don't want to count it as genocide against the bosmer, what they did in the Summerset Isles is irrefutably genocide:

"With the Empire submerged in this mayhem, the Thalmor were quick to act. They overthrew the rightful Kings and Queens of the Altmer. I remember the revulsion and horror that took hold when word reached me - that this dementia had gripped my homeland. Once so proud and majestic, many of our great race actually embraced this insanity!

Then the first of many pogroms descended on Summerset Isle. They slaughtered any who were not "of the blood of the Aldmer". A fine excuse to purge the dissidents, as well - the Thalmor have never been ones to waste such an opportunity."

From http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Rising_Threat,_Vol._IV.

Note the argument with the Thalmor version made here is not even that genocide occured, but rather that it was used to legitimate the slaughter of political dissidents. The genocide part, the Thalmor didn't even try to argue.

To say that they simply moved this tactic over to the Valenwood may not have much lore backing, but there is absolutely nothing refuting it, and they have a track record of using genocide as their primary tool in suppressing dissent.

EDIT:
I would further point out that their ultimate goal is "Omnicide", the death of all living beings and the entire world. To get to this point, the complete annihilation of humanity and its gods is just another stepping stone on the path to their goal. To say that one should not apply the term "genocide" to what the Thalmor are doing is sheer denial of the facts.