I've been using the Moonshadow Elves custom race mod, which looks fantastic and allows for a lot greater customization of my character's appearance.

However, in terms of role-playing, I was thinking of my character as a Dunmer, and adjusted the stats in the CS to make her identical to Dunmer.

Just wondering how others approach role-playing custom races that aren't necessarily reflected in TES lore.

Here are some pics of my character:
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560915367878778220/D8CEAC40A38CFAF294ECC868D922BE5218DC599B/

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560915367877009674/8D56B6DF6BE33FB64909C17A1D31E05FC1CD0157/

I used a custom race, yes, and much to my dismay it hasn't really affected my role-play. I did try, I just kinda failed at it

But it does allow me to try things that shouldn't fit in Tamriel lol

Which race did you use, or was it your own creation?

Do half breeds count? Lol. I didn't do a custom race; rather, I made a half breed. Buffy's mother was a Valenwood-born Bosmer of the Strid River Valley Tribe, so per TES lore, that is what Buffy is in appearance and in most ways. Her father was a Breton vampire hunter. Although shorter than a Bosmer, Buffy appears to be one. Her attributes are those of a Bosmeri woman. Her skill bonuses are those of a Bosmer. She has no Bosmer special abilities, and only two of a Breton's three special abilities. All our half breed work was done via command console. It is not surprising that she follows the path of a mystic archer. I completely reject and ignore the Green Pact in my games, but aside from that, Buffy is quite lore friendly regarding TES half-breeding.

Interesting approach and I love the backstory.

How about her appearance did you use the vanilla face-gen? Does she resemble more a Breton or Bosmer?

Thanks. I enjoyed hearing about your Moonshadow Elf! Per TES of course, a half breed is the race of their mother. The father's influence only shows in some of the child's aptitudes or abilities. So Buffy considers herself a wood elf for sure. We created her using the Bosmer vanilla face generator (in April 2009) and this is how she came out originally as pure vanilla with no mods at all:
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Acadian6/Buffy%20I/ScreenShot78.jpg

A little over a year ago, we had her visit LA (Lower Anvil) for a touch of a cosmetic makeover (hair, eyes and a small pair of skin texture type mods) and this has been her look since:
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Acadian6/ScreenShot831.jpg

Another screenshot is in our signature (and of course, our avatar).

Buffy is Cyrodiil-born. The Green Pact is mostly practiced by the Valenwood Bosmeri tribes and is rarely seen outside of the province.

In case you want a lore explanation :wave:

Mixed. The custom race itself is... now forgive my memory here I haven't touched Oblivion for ages, Talamer v3, or something like that. I like the race's face contour but not the elven ears, so I took the human ears set from another custom race (which I don't remember) and out comes my Haruka, whose face you can see to the left

As you can imagine, she's supposed to be from East-Asian-like land. The first time I created her, she's supposed to be a kind healer that is knowledgeable in Alchemy, good at Archery, and all around ranged warrior. It worked for quite some time but with Hentai's awesome armor and weapon set little by little I kinda forget the whole "ranged healer" stuff and now she's a true elegant melee killer with a very longsword (see what I did thar?) and exquisite collection of wardrobes :/

I plan to start anew with another attempt at role-playing. Playing with her was so much fun so the first time I attempted to do everything. Next time I'll try to evade DB and TG, and perhaps try to convince an Imperial Guard to do something with Hackdirt instead of doing it myself lol

Thanks, but it goes beyond that. I have always rejected the Green Pact (as does SubRosa) considering it to be an epic failure, unworkable concept and severe lost oportunity to delve into forest dwellers. When Buffy visits Valenwood (and she will), she will find no evidence of such a pact. I cheerfully and fully part ways with lore on this aspect - even in Valenwood. The Green Pact simply doesn't exist in my game or fiction and we have developed our own Valenwood / Bosmer lore regarding the forests.

Thanks much for the thoughtful help in trying to make it fit though!

That's basically what I do, although I have no idea how you imagine a Moonshadow Elf to be a Dunmer, as they look nothing alike.

I typically just find a race mod that looks like a more detailed version of one of the existing races in TES, then I change their stats in the construction set to be identical to whatever race I want them to be. Sometimes, a simple change of ears can be the difference between what race they represent.

http://i52.tinypic.com/x6nf6a.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/2nibfoi.jpg

I use a custom race mod, but it doesn't effect my RP since I don't really do any.