Doesn't it annoy anyone else that out of the 10 races available, 4 of them (Imperial, Redguard, Nord and Breton) are essentially 'Human'; in my opinion these guys should either be consolidated into one race, or differentiated more (e.g make bretons actually look like half-elves).

It also doesn't help that 2 of those humans cover the same thing from a game-play perspective (Nords and Redguards are both strong warriors...and not much good at anything else)

Also some people may consider the fact that the black people of the setting being considered a completely different race (The fantasy version of race - which is more like a different species) than the 'normal' humans of the setting (Imperials) to be offensive. I know Imperials can have very dark skin themselves but it can still be construed in a bad way.

The races themselves are fine. Their abilities, however, could be tweaked to improve the game. As for the offensive content you're referring to, I recommend just not dwelling on it. I find that just taking it in results in a more immersive gaming experience, as this issue is something we are all confronted with in real life on a dialy basis. The dark elves living in the ghetto of Winterhold, the passionate preacher near the tree in Whiterun, it just adds to the game.

They essentially are different races though. The Redguards and Imperials aren't from the same place. Imperials are basically Nords that became more civilized following the initial formation of the Empire. Redguards however are from a completely different location, not from Tamriel nor the home of the Nords.

From a gameplay perspective, sure, they provide similar game experiences, especially in Skyrim verses some of the earlier titles in my opinion. By lore however it makes sense all the same. With Skyrim though the stats are no longer in the forefront compared to Morrowind and Oblivion which had different stat levels for each race.

There is also absolutely no offensive material in terms of the Imperials versus Redguards either... They are both from separate home locations, different cultures, and obviously different appearances. It's not like they made Imperials and decided they did't want a "black" colored race to be melded with them. That just isn't there so no reason to even think that way.

Yea I'd like to see the racial abilities and starting skills reworked so that choosing a race is more than just about the appearance.
But the anology you used with the dark elves in the ghetto doesn't make sense; the racism against them is in game, I'm talking from a meta perspective that red guards (Black People) are considered a different species to white people in this game. Although I should probably add that I personally am not offended by it, but this just seems like the kind of thing that so called 'journalists' like to pick up on.

Think of it like this. On earth we are all human (most of us) and thus are broken into ethnic groups not races. In a fantasy world, often times not everyone is human. The best example being the Imperials versus Argonians or Kahjiits. As I stated in my previous comment though, the Imperials are not from the same place as the Redguards, so you could assume they were created seperately by, say, the gods, from the Imperials who are, honestly, just Nords who advanced and evolved away from their rougher counterparts.

We are looking at separate races in this world, created separately, not a single species.

all races in the game are just that, infact only the beast races are different species. All elvish and mannish races can breed and have kids that can breed, so for all intents it is just races

Fair enough about the redguards thing, I think I'll drop that since it's not what I wanted this thread to be about.

However I would still like to point out that the Fluff behind the gameworld is ultimately there to make the game better. From a gameplay perspective does it really make any sense to have 3 different races (Nords, Redguard and Orcs) that cover the same basic archetype (Fighter)

No. They each have their own cultural distinctiveness.

Those people would be silly birds and should be ignored.

not to different from real life while still human we call black people African American , Asian, Indian an so on just cause they are a different racial group does not make them any less human or that because of it we are offending them. I would also like to say to consolidate those races would break the lore that The Elder Scrolls series has build over the course of Arena,Battlespire,Redguard, Daggerfell, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. lore that has been build up over the course of atleast 7 games and well over 10 years and the races have been always been like what they are now. If someone had a problem with it well it is kind of late 7 games latter to start complaining.

Choice I think is the key. Having the choice to play as these established races. They also don't really cover the same archtypes as they all fall into many sub groups. Also from a roleplaying perspective is the choice of culture.

Nords are strong hardy warriors who excel in two-handed weapons and are also good with sword and shield. You imagine Nords in ragged armor, maybe even light furs, and still fighting with the strength of someone in heavy plate.

Orcs are a brutish nearly beast race who rely on onslaughts of attacks and deep resilience to damage. They have a blood rage, most likely a trait earned through genes within the race, that allows them to fight with a sudden burst of strength.

Redguards fight often with sword and shield but also duel wield. They fight with finesse and quick planned strikes rather than their brutish counterparts.

You could simply think of Imperials as a "basic" fighter. Think of them as a Roman soldier obviously. They fight in a very taught fashion.

Culture =/= Race

Do you honestly think all imperials live there lives in the city practising how well they can speak? Or that all Nords are fierce warriors?
If the only thing that separated them was culture than an imperial raised in skyrim would be no different than a Nord.

The imperials intermarried with Nords, but are Nedic- an entirely different family branch. They had their own native cultures (Nibenese and Colovian) that were first blended due to their enslavement by the Ayleids.

The Atmorans, Nedes and Yokudans (redguard) are entirely different strains of human ancestry, though they all probably go back to the Ehlnofey along with the elven races as well. Sometimes you see references to Atmorans and Nedes as being equal, but this was PGE propaganda that wanted to make the imperials out to be from humanity's supposedly original mythic home of Atmora.


No? I play a Nord battlemage and a Nord thief. I don't see what your problem is. Play your character the way you want to play her. The racials are general traits, but they really are only tendencies.

I like Nords and I don't care for imperial or redguard lore. So you see, someone saying "just blend them" sounds to me like nonsense. And heresy.

Nope. Races are fine. To change anything would severely disrupt the lore, and it's too set to do anything about it now.

I like the races the way they are.

My point is: is there any point in having Nords as a completely separate race instead of just saying 'humans who have grown up harsh landscape'...since that's essentially what they are. Like I said it just annoys me that Humans have been arbitrarily split up into 4 different races.

I agree. Let's burn down Black Marsh.

poor shiro, hope she does not end up killed by ganta

but, on-topic, the human races are more like ethnic back-grounds, their apperance/abilities/ect are not really different, it is their history and culture that is different. the name "race" makes them seem like totally different beings but they are not, they are basically different ethnic back-grounds for the same race. he races are fine, although i would like to get every living race as a race to play as

of, and

theres that

Its not arbitrary. It's the fantasy world, if you read fantasy novels with any amount of world building its not uncommon. They won't join the races together because they are separate. They have been separate and they always will be. If you don't like it or don't understand it then that's for you to wonder about honestly.

It would be no different than thinking of all the elves as 'just elves' and they should be combined together as well.

people like choices, plus each race has established lore about them. it would be different if they were all just bland groups, but they aren't.

Poor Shiro Indeed

Let me try to make my position a little more clear though, I find it weird that slightly different varitions of 'human' like Nord and Redguard, are put on the same level as Khajit, Argonian or Dark Elf things that are very differant from humans in terms of races, when in all honesty the only difference between impirials, nords, redguards, and breton seems to be cultural rather than racial.

The only difference between the elven races is their slight appearance differences. The only truly unique humanoid races are the Kahjiits and Argonians. The TES universe is different from our own. You don't seem to understand the separation from four distinctly different groups so and I'm not entirely sure how to put in any plainer than everyone has in this forum thus far.

Imperials are generally tan skinned, mid height.
Nords are generally fair skinned, fair haired, and tall.
Redguards are dark skinned, thick haired, and mid height.
Breton are generally fair skinned and short-mid height.

They're all the same species, yes, but different races. That's something we often confuse; species and race. I'm the same species as someone from China, human, but I'm not the same race.

It wasn't arbitrary- they each have their own lineage and history. Anyway why are you picking on the humans? There are at least three elven races, more if you include the orcs and the Falmer and Ayleids skulking about.

They have different appearance, different cultures, different gods, and different physical characteristics. Some of this has been homogenized because of the empire, but that is true also of the other races who to one degree or another adapted to imperial culture.

I don't see the problem. This isn't LOTR.