So I love the lore of Morrowind and have already beaten it but decided I'm going to play it once more. I'm thinking of a race to play as though and I do like the skill set of dark elf but the morrowind lore doesn't make too much sense in my opinion. One of the requirements as a nerevarine is your an outlander, but if your a dunmer how is that so?

If you're not born in Vvardenfell then you're an outlander. But you'd likely be a Dunmer because your parents were. Least that is how I'd gather it.

You're considered an outlander even as a dunmer. As I recall, if your accent isn't just right they all know...

Well Vvardenfell is the land of the Dunmer, right? But that doesn't mean that a Dunmer really has to come from there because Tamriel is HUGE, lol. Anyways they way I see it is always that actually being the dark elf makes even more sense because you can still be an out lander but your origins are in this land and you come back to save your people from this huge mess. Also I played Oblivion, while I didn't like it at all, it helps learn about Morrowind lore from a slightly more "futuristic" perspective. If you play Oblivion and bother listening to all the random pvssyr or reading the books you will find that they retell the story of the Nerevarine, even though its slightly dumbed down.... anyways they say that the Nerevarine was a powerful male Dunmer.

I played Morrowind the first time through as an imperial, and every other character I've made has been a Dunmer.

I feel it fits the game well being a dunmer, even if it is silly that you must be an outlander dunmer and that EVERYONE is somehow aware you are an outlander. I could understand it if all the other dark elves could recognize that I was an outlander, but how would an imperial tell the difference?

What always gets me is when an outlander calls me outlander... the breton females I think have a voice greeting that calls you outlander.

I agree, its kinda funny how in such a huge place you are the only outlander. Like even the ambassadors, representatives, travelers and the blades call you outlander.

It's lore-friendly in the sense that you have a different accent and features than everyone else, like someone from japan going to great britain, rather than a japanese-heritage based person being born in great britain.

Just because imperials and bretons call you an outlander doesn't mean they aren't outlanders theirselves, who's to say they weren't born in Vvardenfell?

Thanks for all the replies and the good arguements. I have played Oblivion but never read the books so didn't know the game sees the nerevarine as a male dunmer and its an interesting perspective thinking of the different accent and such. I guess I will have no problem being the nerevarine as a dunmer now

Still, it's just plain funner to make the Nerevarine an extremely racist-towards-elves Nord.

Nerevar was actually a Chimer, so the Nerevarine could really be any race. I think Dunmer is just more likely since they're descendant from Chimer, despite Chimer sharing more features with Altmer.

Although I doubt Great House Redoran would make a Khajiit their hortator :bonk:

The main quest covers this a few times. Play anything you like, everything can be justified.

Even if you choose to play as a Dunmer in Morrowind you're considered an Outlander because you were born and raised in Cyrodill.

The best example I can think of is that I grew up in the U.S.A. but my family were originally from Ireland over a century ago. I would not be considered Irish by the other Irish if I visited despite my genetic heritage. I'd be a foreigner.

The prologue to the game doesn't really make it clear that you are from Cyrodiil originally, just that you were brought from the Imperial Jail in Cyrodiil. Technically you could be from anywhere in Tamriel.
The voice & accent of the male Dunmer in Oblivion is certainly nothing like the one in Morrowind, so I always imagine that to be the Outlander Dunmer accent.

could be worse, the people in Morrowind could call you stupid like they call me.

:D
ST

They might, if he was wearing Nerevar's ring.

Dammit, so when the really awesome Dark Elves tell me "Under sun and star outlander" in their epic gruff voices, I'm talking like the fricken oblivion elf voice actor.

There goes my RP experience

Of course not. Say you're from Elsewyr. That way, their lungs are full of ash, yours are full of sand, and you sound the same