Come on. Look at all the races in oblivion. Everyone gets along fine and dandy puppies and sunshine. I mean, really? Sure, some people SAY some not-so-nice things "The argonians SWIM in it!" but it's all superficial. There's no real racism. There's no racial ghettos. There's no racist guards. Are we really suppose to believe everyone gets along that well? Just look at The Witcher & The Witcher 2. Dwarves and elves live in ghettos and get walked over by humans constantly, to the point of race riots and militant groups. Racial tones was yet another thing Bethesda sanitized out of TES lore in Oblivion to make the game simpler and less controversial. This also makes it a hell of a lot more bland and generic. Morrowind had a lot of things that made its setting better. For good or bad racial tension was one of those things. Orcs are "pig people" and the imperials/ dunmer shun them. And what about the Dunmer? Xenophobic pricks. And when the nereverine turns out to be an orc, imperial, redguard, altmer, etc the Ashlanders can't believe it. Beth have sanitized The Elder Scrolls for the masses to the point that all the racial tension in the series has been reduced to comments from Imperials like "Orcs smell funny!" while Orcs meander around the rich parts of The Imperial City.

tl;dr: Put the racial tensions from Morrowind back in. They made the world richer and more believable. While we're here can we please have some of the other fairly subtle, mature themes back that were either blown out of proportion (blood & gore) or sanitized out entirely in Oblivion (slavery)?

I love the idea, but in practicality I can imagine a lot of people having problems with it. But yeah, ideally I'd love more 'serious' racism between them. I mean, if we somehow manage it in our world (with people all being practically identical) you'd imagine it being far worse in Nirn.

Isn't the world so much better when everyone can accuse someone else of racism to get their way?

Yeah, great idea. Bring real world problems into a video game. :facepalm:

^what's wrong with that?

Really? I thought Skyrim need more Cowbell. lol jk

I expect Skyrim to have more racism just because of the setting it is in, Oblivion was a bit of wildcard as it is in Cyrodiil where all the races mix together so I guess everyone had to get along, but the cool thing is that racism is still present; especially in Leyawiin.lol

Altmer supremecists that you can beat up would be awesome



I know hey? the third Khajitt/Argonian race riot in three weeks in my street

I would welcome racism in Skyrim. It would be even more impressive if your racial choice actually had a real effect (not just dialogue). Like an NPC Nord telling you something like: "I don't trust some filthy feline with the location of my ring" and actually not getting the quest.

Racism is something that you need to walk a fine line with. I know this is a video game and I have no problem with tension between races in Skyrim, like in Morrowind. However, you need to be careful about expanding it.

In my opinion in real life, I look at everyone as a human being and I despise racism. I look at it the same way in a video game.

I just think you have to be careful when dealing with that in a video game.

I agree it's a great idea and it should be in.
I mean if everyone is always happy with more realism, say for example you can steal and get caught, they why not have something like this.

As explained it adds to the story and makes it feel more real. Of course that would be a lot of effort for the developers and from what they've said, they're very careful in that everyone should be able to access the full game content, so you shouldn't have quests that start and end like: "Oh, you're a Khajiit, I have nothing to say to you, bye".

I believe we should have it in a way that it brings depth to the game, like areas where your race might not be welcome, where merchants will show you higher prices, where NPCs friendliness will be affected by it and so on.

They aren't real races, it isn't going to offend anyone. Except for that old lizard dude who lives across the street to me.

Even so, no-one is going to call Todd a racist and anyone who gets worked up about it won't have played the game.

Think about it : You're playing with a dark elf character and the Nord don't like them. Why the hell would a dark elf then save skyrim from dragons? I wouldn't

I agree wholeheartedly. Why don't you try The Witcher 2 to see a very mature and responsible way of portraying our darker nature?

Agreed. It's just something to make the world more believable and lived in. When your character is a race that an NPC or something is supposed to despise, and they just say, "I don't care for you" or something absurdly tame that has no effect on the game whatsoever it just feels pointless and neutered. I don't know much about the lore, but I imagine there's some pretty heavy racism considering the differences.

There is no fine line that needs to be walked

All men are equal
Mer and beast races on the other hand ...

Agreed, just because some stupid people get offended over a fictional game dosent meen bethesda has to censor everything, its just ridiculous, what happened to free speech??? :facepalm:

Yes for racism in the game. It's needed to make the world more believable, and making things more personal and interesting for your character.


Because he is unselfish, someone needs to do it to save the world, and he knows he is the only one who is able to do it? Because he knows that he is going to be liked once everyone knows he is a Dragonborn? Because the Nords are likely going to like the Dark Elves (and him) after that?

Well, the dragons are out to destroy tamriel, and all races. So, that would include all dunmer as well...

im pretty sure todds allready confirmed that there will be racial tension more similar to morrowind. plus i think orcs need to be kicked in the dirt a little more >:D

Nevermind that the highest quality, most memorable game settings have tons of real world problems (The Witcher's setting) or none/almost none. Game worlds that have some real world issues (stealing, murder) but conspicuously lack others (rainbow shades of skin and crazy body types but zero serious racism) are generic and forgettable. Either you make the game world believable or you make it profoundly unbelievable. Anything in-between is a poor quality setting.

Seen any Elves? Ha ha ha ha!

I agree with the OP. I'd like to see some major bad feeling, and an atmosphere of racial tension between the Nords and Dark Elves in particular. If Beth have an excuse for Oblivion's blandness in this respect, and if they need one, it could be said that Cyrodiil was meant to be a sort of cultural melting pot - and everyone co-existed to such an extent that racism was more impractical than anything, even if it remained in the hearts of many citizens.

Skyrim and civil war? That's a recipe for much less comfortable relations.

I'm honestly not sure Beth could tow it to be honest. They did in Morrowind, but something ... happened after Morrowind. Their writing lacks any hint of subtlety in Oblivion / Fallout 3.

What I hope for in a Khajit PC getting a quest from a xenophobic shopkeep:

I am racist against x race, which you are. This is woven into greeting dialogue / other dialogue, not explicitly stated.
*player asks for quest, NPC answers in condescending tone* You want to make some money huh? You can start by asking elsewhere. I don't need any help.

What Bethesda will be capable of writing:

BUY SOMETHING OR GET OUT OF MY STORE KITTY!
*player asks for quest* HERE'S MY LIFE STORY. I AM USING THE SAME DIALOGUE AND TONE AS I USE WITH OTHER NORDS. PLEASE GUARD MY SHOP TONIGHT. HERE'S THE KEY. DONT STEAL ANYTHING PLZ.
COOL YOU DID IT, HERE IS STANDARD QUEST REWARD. MY HERO!

In the ideal situation, while the player misses out on that quest (which can only be done by Imperials, Nords, Bretons, and Redguard), they will be able to do quests for a group of Khajit tribals in the mountains (think MW Ashlanders), which other races can't do.

Your welcome. but you'll end up with battleaxe between your eyes quite fast
And when Legion will kick those dirty lizards out from the Morrowind we will need cannon fodders orsimer diplomatic abilities

Heh, you are completely right. Fully playing the game messes up the roleplay and fills your journal with quests you don't want to do because of roleplay. Give us racism to complete the game. It's realistic, deal with it.
And I'm not a real life racist, mind you.

Well..Let's see how long this thread lasts. As long as people can be civil and advlts about it, and not get all 'Love and Peace' over a game...For crying out loud...
I'm with you OP. I'd like a bit more "UP YOURS, BLUEBERRY" to come from said NPC to Dark Elf.