I've always wonder, what truly differentiates Humans and Mer, in terms of their physical qualities. Let me explain.

Excluding the Orsimer, Altmer, Bosmer, and Dunmer don't seem to be that physically imposing as Nords or Redguards for example. Does this have to do with the way each other's cultures view physical traits such as strength, stamina, athleticism, and speed? Or is it more biological, in terms of musculature, bone structure, tendon/ligament placement for leverage?

I would love to get some of your guys insight on this matter, for this has been plaguing me for a while.

Discuss away.

Ears. Had to get the obvious out of the way.

Well, despite Altmer appearing as lanky and thin I would bet the average Altmer is just as strong as the average Nord. I like to think that the layout of Mer muscles is different than Man.

A Bosmer and a Redguard are arguably matched in stamina, but despite being much smaller the Bosmer's musculature allows them to match a larger Redguard in speed and jump height

Again.... Just my thoughts

I also tend to think that Altmer may have ways of increasing their strength with magic. Would this be a legit claim?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Fortify_Strength

Apparently so... But I dont think every single Altmer is magically minded, they just have an edge compared to other races.

Again, their height would give them more leverage on an opponent. Im a average height, heavy male... but someone who is 1/2 foot taller and 40lbs less could still offer a challenge.

I'm not sure, since the non-gameplay sources for anything like this seems to be rather scarce and vague. However, both Morrowind and Oblivion had very measurable differences between the races that couldn't be altered, which seemed to conform to the general image of said race. I'd say these are at least something to consider on this subject. Since most things in Elder Scrolls seems to have a mythological aspect, I think this might as well.

Doesn't magical aptitude have more to do with one's perception of reality than anything physical? Altmer as a whole long for the time before dawn and that's why they have it easier than other races when it comes to spellcasting.

True, but shorter people can lift more than taller people, becuase their lower arms don't have to travel as far when their lifting a weight, and shorter people also have better balance due to lower center of gravity. You could say it goes both ways.

I could see Bosmer being very agile and quick, though those two physical traits would have to go to Khajiit.

i think its culture personally. Nothing stopped any race from maxing an attribute in previous games. Although i'd say that it would be hard for an elf to become a ripped [censored] brickhouse, you know, genetically hard to put on muscle.

Not really going by anything besides starting attributes really, that and old games had static body sizes for each race, with elves tending to be thinner and mannish races tending to be slightly wider.

True, I'm just glad TES didn't go in the way of Alagaesian elves, who are skinny, yet have in inhuman strength. That would make no sense. Though I tend to see elves more agile and quick than humans.

ya i liked how tes elves are basically just people who live longer than average and have really high brows. I see bosmer , and maybe dunmer, as being more agile and quick then the mannish races, but i don't see altmer being quicker or really that agile. Granted i always assumed that their resist paralyze from older games was from a culture of yoga practice. Although it seems any individual in tes can become anything they want just like irl...ya know if there naturally gifted like a player character

I've always wondered how the giants fit into the man-mer continuum.

I love the idea of an Altmer and a Nord being physically matched in strength, but the Altmer have an edge with magicka. What does the Nords have?

He can hold his liquor