While most Nords tend to distrust magic, not all do.

The best example in Skyrim may be Tolfdir -- your Professor at the College of Winterhold, who is almost certainly a Nord based on name and appearance. He one of the leading mages in Skyrim and the preeminent expert on Alteration.

In Oblivion, Vigge the Cautious (a Nord) of the Skingrad Mages Guild sold very high level magic spells and was the only mage in Cyrodiil that sold a Summon Storm Atronach master level conjuration spell.

You can roleplay in several ways. Maybe just a straightforward roleplay of a Nord that feels a strong affinity for magic. Or a Nord that wants to break through the anti-magic bias of most Nords. Maybe a Nord that had a supernatural calling (from a good "devine" or evil daedra) to take up magic for whatever purpose.

That's the great thing about roleplaying... you can make just about anything work.


As a child you found you had a natural talent for magic, and became a priest schooled in restoration, and when the Great War arose you traveled with your kinsmen to aid them in battle... but your unit was ambushed by a Thalmor detachment, and slaughtered to almost a man while your restoration powers could do nothing to save them. The following week the White-Gold Concordant ended the war, but you vowed never again to be helpless in the face of the enemy, and returned to Skyrim to learn the ways of destruction & conjuration.

Or...

Your father was a sea-captain, a merchant trader who took you along on his voyages as a child... until a massive storm capsized the vessel, and you washed up on the shores of Highrock. A Breton noblewoman riding along the beach found you and took pity on this orphan child, and took you in, giving you the traditional Breton education in magic. At the age of manhood, you decided to leave your adopted home to return to your ancestral home, hearing about the Civil War erupting in Skyrim... until you were captured by Imperials crossing the border...

Or...

As the nephew of a former court mage of Whiterun, you were trained in the arcane arts to one day take his place... but his sympathies for the Stormcloaks eventually led to him being cast out of the Jarl's house, and replaced with a more "Imperial-friendly" mage. You set upon a journey with your uncle- not knowing where he was going- until he arrived at a Stormcloak camp. Not wanting to take a side yet, you turned to head back to Whiterun... and ran smack into an Imperial patrol that was encircling the rebel camp...


...Whatever you can think of. Have fun with it. And if it doesn't fit the lore exactly... who cares?

I always imagined that those with a talent for magic might almost feel a calling to persue it. Like an itch in the back of their mind that doesn't quite let them forget it's there, which they can either supress their entire life, or decide to persue.

I don't see the problem here. Are the races of TES really so one dimensional? Or to put it another way:

"Hey guys, can you help me justify listening to rock music while being a black man"?

I thought I recall that Tolfdir is a Breton, hence why he's smaller than most Nords?

But as far as being a Nord and magical? There are plenty of ways to build it into an RP element. You're the Dragonborne, right? Well maybe you were raised only knowing you had some sort of connection to Akatosh (a dragon). Not knowing what it was, you began your pursuits of magic leading you to where you are today. You became obsessed with this dragon lore, and now you're pursuing all the dragon masks to someday become a Dragon Preist yourself. Also note, all the Dragon Preists were Nords themselves.

My Nord likes danger so he messes with the magic but he does like to put it on the side for long periods of time to just go flesh to flesh metal to metal.

The most powerful mages in the game are Nords. Well, ex-Nords. Dragon priests.

Another powerful one is Esbern. Conjurer.

Also, you're dragonborn. I wouldn't worry about being different from other Nords. You already are.