Greetings and salutations! First a quick intro, I have played way too many hours in Morrowind and Oblivion but have NOT, until now, started Skyrim. The real world can be an annoying place at times. I have read a lot of threads on Skyrim character creation before posting this and have seen advice on creating “pure” classes (e.g. mage), to WoW and AD&D classes, to unique classes, etc. I have read about “glass canons” (even in Oblivion J - that was fun to follow) to fully armored battle tanks. A common thread is that any race can be anything and often all races seem alike in the end and hence it gets boring. So here is my question before you get too bored and skip the thread: Has anyone played as a “pure race” character? By “pure race” I mean playing ANY race but only using that particular races special abilities and none other? I know even a Bosmer can wear heavy armor, wield 2-handed weapons and actually “train” heavy armor (Oblivion) but has anyone restricted their character to only using those +5, +10, etc. abilities native to that race? Is that even possible with some races? I would appreciate any insights or especially experiences.

Welcome to the forum. Have a http://images.uesp.net/c/c4/Fishystick.jpg

To answer your question, my first character was close to this concept. She was a Bosmer, the racial skills are archery, light armor, alchemy, sneak, pickpocket and lockpicking. I kept a sword as a backup weapon at first and I guess it's hard to go through the intro without equipping the first weapon you find (which isn't a bow, unfortunately), but very soon I started using a bow exclusively. I also did some smithing, but I could've survived without it. So yes, I guess it's possible.

I think races with no armor skills would have a problem. Khajiit stand out here, they have no magic and no armor, so no real defenses except staying in the shadows (which doesn't work at all in some situations).

On the other side of the spectrum, Argonians don't have any offensive skills except a few Restoration spells. They have some crowd control and could survive against undead, but other than that, I think Poison Rune is all they've got. So it would be a very peaceful playthrough with added difficulty because of lack of Illusion spells.

I've done this a few times, generally referring to it as playing the "quintessential" Breton/Nord/Altmer/etc. I find this pretty easy for every race except for Argonians, which don't have a solid offensive skill. While it is fun to do this from time-to-time, especially with certain character backstories, I feel it offers too little nuance to be really engaging for me. I like my characters to have quirks, habits, and abilities that fly in the face of racial or class stereotypes.

My first Mage was an Altmer. I suppose that's a pretty "pure" race/class combo. Generally speaking, though, I find it more interesting to go "against type."

An orc would be boss at this with smithing, enchanting, heavy armor, block, one handed and two handed.

When I first started Morrowind I used to do this a lot! Now? Not really, however occasionally some of my guys will fit in the mold! I don't pay attention if the character is a "pure race" guy.

My nord is 100% warrior, I have never used any magic with him. Heavy armour with axe and sheild only.

I should add that sometimes I find I have done this by pure accident. As an example, roleplaying a Bosmer or Khajiit Thief means I am almost invariably going to stay true to the race, though not by design. In the same way, if you design a backstory for a Paladin, then choose the Imperial race, you have almost certainly done the same thing, though it is with far less intent than say planning a pure mage or warrior build. Some races are diversified enough to allow you to play two or three different builds, all of which could be classified as "pure race". The Imperial is one such race, allowing you to play a pure mage focused on Destruction, Enchanting, and Restoration, or a pure warrior focused on One Handed, Block, and Heavy Armor, or a hybrid of some sort (knight/paladin/spellsword/battlemage) utilizing any of these six skills.

That's my inclination, too. I think I'd be more tempted to create a character who never used any of the bonus skills.