In previous games, a Bosmer would for instance start out with 30 strength, where an Orc or Nord would have 50.

I've been assuming the same for Skyrim, but a bit confused as to why those particular stats can not be touched.

So If I create a Bosmer female and an Orc female, are they equally strong? Or is the Bosmer weaker, as I would expect? And if she is weaker, how then do I raise this stat to make her less fragile?


Thanks )

I'm not aware of any strength stat in Skyrim. Other than lesser powers the only other difference with racial benefits I think is starting skill points. i.e. Argonians start with the highest lockpicking skill. So, essentially I would think the Bosmer and Orc are pretty much equally strong. Just the Bosmer might start out with a higher marksman skill and the Orc might start out with higher smithing or something like that

I will have to fire up the Skyrim CS on my pc and have a look.



Each race should have beginning stats like these:

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


Oblivion was the same:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Races

The only attributes in Skyrim are health, magicka, and stamina, and all races start with the same values in those stats*.

Rather than increasing attributes as a means to an end in Morrowind and Oblivion, you can directly alter the end result through increasing stats and through perks (so you don't raise Strength to increase weapon damage, you take a perk to do so; you don't raise Intelligence to raise magicka, you just raise magicka directly).


*Altmer have a 50-point bonus to magicka, but that's considered a racial ability.

So no Strength, intelligence, willpower, ect?


The bosmer does seem weaker to me than the Orc. Hmmm.

Bosmer get
+10 Archery
+5 Alchemy, Light Armor, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Sneak
Orcs get
+10 Heavy Armor
+5 Block, Enchanting, One-handed, Smithing, Two-handed

So those +5's in an Orc's one- and two-handed will make them hit harder with swords or axes, which you'll notice early on, as one of those is the first weapon you lay hands on. Once the Bosmer gets a bow (and uses it), they'll level out.
The first armor you get may be light or heavy, so the extras there could go either way. However, it's not long before the character develops the way you want, and starts to increase what you decide.

I've got her up above level 30 and wearin Nordic armor from Dragonborn, modded gives her about 345 armor rating. Still some things are killing her fast. I have to scramble and avoid. Ebony longsword , two glass bows and staff of shock atronauch(sp) --Neloth's staff enchanter.

You'd want to make good use of sneak and smithing for a Bosmer archer. Maximize the bow damage with smithing, the x3 Sneak Perk, and the best arrows you can make (requires Dawnguard).


Sniping at range with very high bow power can kill most enemies before they get near you. Just don't take the final Marksman perk, which lets them escape death by merely being paralyzed.


My most recent Bosmer archer wore very little, and that may have been clothing only. She was a strict "no wood" character and refused to use a bow until she could get a metal/glass/bone one. I made http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/77861 for her.

Confirmation bias. Statistically skill levels and equipment quality are all that matter. There are no "hidden" attributes that influence damage given or received.

Some enemies are strong. Skyrim's leveled lists with DLC will keep producing different, stronger enemies until past level 50. Level 30 isn't "high level" like it was in Morrowind and Oblivion.

Thank you. I do have her smithing up to 60, and got lucky with some good drops.





I did have a peek. No there are no attributes. Still hard to believe the stronger races are equal to the weaker ones. Like Bosmer, and Altmer.

I will carry on with her then. Level 38 now. Thank you. )

The only hidden attribute is character height. Each race have a set height for male/female, Altmer being the tallest (1.08) and Breton female shortest (0.95). There were rumors that the character height have an impact on movement speed and melee damage, but i couldn't see any difference between a High Elf and a female Breton (it should be 13% difference).

I did create an Orc female today. Have her wielding an axe. She definitely feels stronger to me. Enemies are dying faster, even with difficulty turned up two notches.


Not sure if this is a hidden attribute or what , but she is much stronger, than my wood elf .

Well, some races are stronger versus elements, toxins or disease. The dunmer for example are more resistant against fire then say... the nords. The bretons are more resistant against magic, including dragon attacks. So I guess this counts as a strength. But as for physical abilities like strength, the only thing the orc has over the others is their berserker power. All the races are for the most part, equal physically in combat effectiveness.

Actually, there is also calculation of the size in the math, iirc damage scales a little bit with the size of the character, so at the same skill orc should deal more physical damage than a bosmer.