Hi!

So I literally spent days on choosing a race for my new character. First I wanted to play an argonian because they look so cool. Then I lost myself in a beautiful female breton, but couldn't get immersed into a female char. Then I was excited to play a dunmer because of their culture. Then I wanted a Nord because it fits best to Skyrim but I couldn't get one not looking kind of like a simple-minded warrior.

And then I found a race that I never paid attention to: Wood Elf. I just thought they look weird and never considered them, but I kinda like them. They aren't humans, so its something special, but they aren't that different-looking like Dunmer. Plus they aren't as arrogant.
And I read the lore on them and found out they are quite crazy, its forbidden to harm plants but they eat their own people. However I thought it could be interesting when the character turns into a (possible spoiler)



Now to the point of the thread: Why does a Bosmer, especially one that sticks to the Green Pact, go to Skyrim? How could it be explained that he is the Dovahkiin chosen to free the land of the Nords? And which side would he choose, Stormcloaks or the Empire? I mean, he is a Bosmer so why should he give a [censored] about the land of the Nords, but I want to play this civil war questline. Then again, the Stormcloaks are racist and he would fight for something he doesn't want himself (Talos worshipping), also I know that a victory of the Stormcloaks would lead to an invasion by the Thalmor. But Valenwood also broke away from the Empire so why should he fight for that?
I mean he would love to fight for the Stormcloaks if they really fought for freedom (social and religious), but they don't do that, they just want the land of the Nords to be ruled by them, the Nords. And if they suceed, Elves like me would likely be banned from Skyrim. So what do I want there?

Thanks in advance for suggestions.

Maybe he didn't like his country being invaded and taken over and purged by the Thalmor, and wandered the Empire. Bosmer can be patriots for the Empire you know. They used to be part of it.

I couldn't see any Elf siding with the Stormcloaks though, but I'm biased. I can't see ANYBODY siding with the Stormcloaks for any reason.

Also:

You're a diplomat sent to parlay with the Stormcloak leader on behalf of troubling reports of prejudice within the province of Winterhold. Or a refugee, caught making a break for it over the south-eastern border of Skyrim and Morrowind.

I think this is an excellent topic!

Skyrim is clearly written around the Nords (nothing wrong with that) and when I created my first character, a Bosmer, I found myself wondering . . . uh, what? A Bosmer as Dorvahkiin?

There are number of possible roleplays that I came up with, some more satisfying than others:

- a family member was in Solitude and was taken during the night by the Talmor. She was heading into Skryim when she was caught.

- she was serving in the Imperial Legion (they do have other races) and was forced to go to Skyrim. She deserted the legion and was trying to leave when they got caught.

- she was a pirate and her boat was wrecked. She was on her way back to Morrowind when she was caught.

- A longtime friend wrote her a letter and asked for to come aid the Stormcloacks. (Meh, not so good.)

- She was a prisoner. She escaped from prison and was headed out of Skyrim when she was caught.

Okay, those are just ideas. For more depth, keep in mind that the Thalmor have purged the Bosmer - so hating the Thalmor is definitely in character and could force a Bosmer to aid the Stormcloaks - and come to terms with bigotry. It's a fairly in-depth roleplay, if you think about it.

The real question is how would Nords react when a non-Nord ends up as Dovahkiin.

Another option is to not loot the required for a quest in Whiterun (or just don't take the Golden Claw quest), in which you will never really get started on the main quest, and will never become Dovahkiin. I did this on my second character, a Nord warrior that looks like Arnold (found a L1 pre-made on Skyrim Nexus). He just runs around crushing skulls. If you aren't Dovahkiin, then you can RP whatever background you want.

How to play a Bosmer:

Ask someone for a 100000 gold loan.

Attack them if they refuse.

Attack them anyways if they agree, because nobody has that much money, right?

sorry didnt want to post

I'm curious . . . if you don't start the main quest, do you still get to fight dragons? I've always started the main quest because I thought that was required . . .

Actually on my Bosmer I didn't start the main quest (I still have to talk to the blacksmith in Riverwood), but I want to play it. Maybe Ill do that on a different character but normally I tend to do everything with one character once I have one that I like.



Actually not a bad idea, maybe my character wants the Empire to grow strong again because he thinks it was a mistake to leave the Empire, since they were invaded by the Thalmor quickly after that and now their culture is being destroyed?

But why of all races a wood elf would be the Dovahkiin? I mean they never played a big part in history and naturally don't intervene that much into things happening outside of Valenwood.



Not sure about that one actually, I mean Valenwood did the same (splitting from the Empire) and look where it led.

You answered your own question, I think. Being that the bosmer never really play an important part in lore is a perfectly good reason for the gods (namely Akatosh) to make the dovahkiin a bosmer. No one would expect it--certainly not Alduin...



There's also the recent Great War, preceded by the Thalmor effectively folding Valenwood back into their empire. I would say the bosmer have just as much stake in current events as anyone else--even the imperials. After all, the bosmer wouldn't be fighting to protect their home. They'd be fighting to get it back. Assuming they cared, of course...

My third toon (of four) is a bosmer archer. I haven't really started immersing him into the game yet as I'm trying to get him to a point where it makes sense to "start" his story. At any rate, I don't think it's a stretch to imagine a bosmer dovahkiin--assuming the OP wants to do the main quest anyway.

Best advice, OP: Go with the Thalmor idea. They took Valenwood and have set their eyes on Skyrim. Any self-respecting bosmer would see that as an opportunity to not only slow the Thalmor advance, but to maybe set them back enough to make way for a bosmeri rebellion.

There's plenty of Bosmer in Skyrim (considering the ratio of other races) so it's pretty easy to roleplay. These people can up with some very good ideas.

By joining the Empire or the Stormcloaks? Stormcloaks winning would mean that probably the Thalmor would concentrate on Skyrim because they would immediately start fighting them, and thus be vulnerable to a rebellion in Valenwood. The Empire winning would lead to peace for the moment, and by that remaining oppression in Valenwood but maybe later an even bigger threat for the Thalmor.

Wow, I just started a bosmer character too! What a neat coincidence.

Mine is a Hircine-worshiping hunter who strictly adheres to the Green Pact. As one of Hircine's favored, she received a vision from her Lord that told her to travel to Skyrim in order to hunt the most dangerous beast on Nirn. She had no idea what she'd be dealing with until getting accidentally caught with the Stormcloaks. The moment she saw the dragon appear, she knew her destiny would be to slay it's ilk in the name of Hircine.

As for the Green Pact, she'll only eat meat, and any potions or poisons she mixes have to be made from animal or insect parts. Should be quite tricky yet interesting, especially on lower levels. And as for the part of the Pact that orders her to eat anyone she kills,
I haven't decided yet if she'll become a werewolf as well.

Hope this provided some inspiration for you. Good luck and have fun! :thumbsup:

Good question. The answer is difficult because either would help the bosmer.

If the Stormcloaks win, the provice continues to be in turmoil (most likely) and the Thalmor have to extend their plans for the province to include a long, protracted engagement with the rebels. We have to assume that the Thalmor approve of the rebellion because it causes strife for the Empire, but at the same time loathe it because they want Skyrim too, and a successful nord rebellion would ultimately turn on the Thalmor as well. Good for the bosmer.

If the Empire wins, the rebellion is over in Skyrim and imperial influence in the region is solidified. This puts the Thalmor back significantly and ultimately gives the upper hand to the Empire. Remember that the White-Gold Concordat is a temporary peace and both the Empire and Thalmor fully expect war to erupt again once either side is ready. If the Empire comes out of the rebellion in Skyrim as the victor, they stand ready to preempt any Thalmor advance. Good for the bosmer.

It really just depends on your character's predispositions. A bosmer with more loyalty to the mer might go with the Stormcloaks (ignoring the obvious racism in the rebellion), while a more human-friendly bosmer might side with the Empire.

This is great! I love how you wove the Green Pact into the setting. Really, really useful for my own bosmer. Thank you!

I myself thought I was never going to play a werewolf, but now that I play a Bosmer I read about this "http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Wild_Hunt" thing and this seems pretty much the same as werewolf. So I thought it would be quite fitting. Im not gonna be shapeshifting all the time, it is for really desperate situations, as written in the article I linked.

And this Hircine-thing is a great idea, I might consider that aswell. Although it seems a bit ironic because the Dragonborn is - as far as I think - considered to be blessed by Akatosh, an Aedra. But maybe Aedra and Daedra unite to fight against Alduin and this would be quite an interesting twist aswell.

Hmm interesting. I think the first option is the one more risky though. If the Thalmor are attacked by all borders, they could get trouble. But I think my bosmer understands the Stormcloaks, considering his own culture that is really odd to humans and he would probably want to preserve it aswell. So the racism is not that a big deal for him.
The second option, however, would only be a bit of a compromise, since for Valenwood, the Empire winning would also not be that great because they would try to get influence in Valenwood again and since cannibalism is one of the core elements, along with some other odd ones, this would lead to problems again.

No problem, glad to have helped!



Well, actually my bosmer isn't the Dovahkiin at all, someone else is. I'll just play the main quest for as long as it takes for dragons to start appearing. The way I explain it is that Hircine foresaw how Alduin's arrival would also bring dragons and thus ordered one of his favored worshippers to slay the beasts as tribute to himself. That way she won't even have to be interested in Skyrim's politics, since she's a solitary hunter first and foremost.

Thing is the Green Pact only applies to Valenwood vegetation and plant life. Bosmer have no problem at all using timber and crops from outside of Valenwood's forests. Hell where do you think they got the wood for bows from if they can't harm native trees? Infact one of the province's biggest imports is wood from other parts of the empire.

So feel free to eat all the Skyrim vegetation you want.

My Bosmer's reasoning: His parent's were evicted from their home in Valenwood, and were forced to move to Cyrodiil, in the forests around Chorrol. By the time he became an advlt, he was ready to join the Fighters' Guild, and did so. After five years of completing contracts, one brought him to the mountains near Bruma, to hunt down an assassin. The assassin, however, had successfully framed the murders on him, and the Bruma Fighters' Guild and the Bruma Guard chased him through the mountains for two weeks, until he managed to reach the border of Skyrim, where he was caught in an Imperial ambush.

You just need to think of a possible situation were your character could have a healthy amount of experience in combat/magic, and still be a fairly mundane character, that could easily have a reason to go to Skyrim.

As for joining the civil war factions, just don't do it on your Bosmer. I've yet to join either side, and I'm completely happy with waiting. It fits my character better to not bother with helping either side in their stupid war, and instead focus on the Thalmor and dragons.

The Wild Hunt is actually something from real mythology - fairies and elves in the ancient fairy tales were actually closely associated with the world of the dead, and the wild hunt was actually something like the Grim Reaper getting all his pals together to steal the souls of every mortal they could find in a contest to see who could kill the most humans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_hunt.

It's not something that bosmer do on a regular basis, as it's basically the TES equivalent of using chemical or biological warfare agents.

Anyway, you don't have to be a Bosmer who sticks to the Thalmor or Aldmeri Dominion. In fact, in-game it's pretty heavily implied that you cannot possibly be siding with the Thalmor, no matter your race. The Thalmor pretty much murdered all the people in power in the Summerset Isles who weren't Thalmor, so even an Altmer is likely a refugee running from a Thalmor executioner's blade. The Bosmer were pretty much coerced into joining the Thalmor, as well, so it's actually easiest to roleplay as either someone who fled their homeland when the Thalmor took over, or else just as a Cyrodiilic Bosmer who fled the ravages of The Great War, without ever being a part of the Dominion to begin with.

There is a role-playable reason for every race to have actually been a citizen of the Imperial City who had to flee when the Thalmor invaded, had everyone else in their family murdered by the Thalmor butchery of the people of the city while only you escaped, and has been moving around, city to city, looking for a place to rebuild your life when you happened to get caught up in a trap set for Ulfric while crossing the border to Skyrim.

Alternately, your bosmer might just be a free citizen of the empire with no particular political affiliations who lived as a hunter/poacher on the border of Skyrim and Cyrodiil, hunting stag or fishing until accidentally getting caught up in some greater political thing you never heard of because you had been living off the wilds for so long. Your character in-game will ask questions as though he/she knows nothing about the conflict and the politics behind it, after all. Your bosmer heritage also makes you a natural outdoorsman, as well, with the ability to tame and charm wild animals.

Speaking of which, the bosmer culture's religious practice of protecting trees comes from Y'ffre, one of their major gods, which gave them the ability to keep their humanoid form (instead of constantly shifting into animal form) in exchange for being protectors of the vegetation. (So no wood cutting.) They eat the dead, however, as a way of "returning the flesh to nature", in the same way the natives in Dune would keep all the water of the dead, as it was a precious resource to them. They eat the dead while also practicing sacred rites to ensure the safe passage of the spirits of the dead (the important part) out of the mortal plane, and are fierce opponents of necromancy (which traps spirits that have not had those rituals performed in this world), like many of the races. Most bosmer outside of Valenwood, however, likely do not practice the cannibalistic rituals, as it is simply too controversial and usually illegal for obvious reasons.

In general, the role-playing of a bosmer would make more sense if you wanted to support the Empire, because a re-established Empire would give you back your native homeland out from under Thalmor subjugation (which is only slightly more tolerable for a non-altmer elf than it is for a human) when the Empire is finally capable of rebuilding enough to counter-attack the Dominion and liberate your people. A nationalistic and isolationist Skyrim is worse for all the other races in Tamriel who are not Thalmor Altmer.

If you could somehow side with the Thalmor, (which you can't, even if you are an altmer) and wanted to be one of those Thalmor agents, then not picking a side would make the most sense, as that keeps humanity divided and easier for the Thalmor to conquer and enslave the rest of humanity.

Hmm, well I always thought that they weren't allowed to harm or craft plantstuff, but they could use items that were made by other races. As you said, their biggest imports are wood and wooden items, since they can't harvest or craft them themselves. And besides, even if it does only apply to Valenwood, she's lived there all her life and thus their religion continues to influence her actions. For instance she views eating bread as morally wrong, though doesn't mind if others do it.