Well, I think it's safe to rule out "men". That was just for the sake of having a title.


But, for the most part, I've heard Orcs called both beast races and mer. Given that they are Orisimer, and have been referred to as Corrupted Elves, I believe them to be mer. However, I have not found any primary sources to back this up, and I keep hearing the common idea that they are actually beast folk.

Anyone care to tip the scales?

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-orcs

They're mer, and always have been. End of story.

They are the turds of the mer world.

So those "Orcs" Topal the Pilot saw in Highrock in his voyage searching for Aldmeris before the Chimer Exodus are the Orsimers we see now, or were they a different kind of beast that had been extinct?

I remember collecting Elven blood for a certain mission in Skyrim, orcs were among the blood needed to be harvested.

Mer > Man

Smart money is on Goblins.

Mer