I feel like playing as one race or another should really have a heavier affect on dialog. But in the days of voice acting I think it's a lost opportunity.

It would have been perfect in Morrowind, where dialog was (relatively) easy to implement. Especially considering the environment. A recently dominated country. Racial lines drawn heavily. Slaves. Resistance movements. The constant loom of potential battles between factions. Sure, if you play as a Dunmer it felt about right, as the native dunmer like any outlanders, including dark elves. However, if you played as a Nord or orc I would expect other Nords/Orcs would greet you welcomingly. I should expect altmer and especially bosmer to by very tight with their own, and imperials and bretons to show some comradery. While playing as a khajiit or argonian could be a difficult journey, but among their own they would show some level of intrinsic trust that they couldn't afford with many others.

I think the biggest differences should have been in the cities. The settlements were clearly designed as either native dunmer or foreign imperial settlements, and visually they looked very different. Among people residing there, there were great disparities in terms of racial proportions. However, when talking to those citizens the cities didn't feel different. I feel the people in Pelagiad reacted the same to an Argonian PC as the people in Sadrith Mora did, which I think doesn't represent the individual feelings of the very different cultures that existed in those two cities.

i thought that was based on which birthsign you picked. i dont remember any big differences in magicka pools when i tried a breton mage in oblivion. though that was along time ago and im almost always using nords, orcs, and imperials. also if they keep the same ridiculous magicka regen having a little a slightly bigger pool doesnt matter much. i had to use mods to reduce my casting abilites for my nords,imperials, orc characters.

i was thinking along the lines of bretons and atlmer only using 50% magicka to cast a spell compared to other races. so a nord casting a fireball would use 100 points and the altmer/breton would only use 50 points. or maybe increase their effect by 1.5 times. something that really makes a difference. those might be a bit extreme but their just numbers im throwing out. nords and orcs could use less fatigue when swinging weapons or maybe they would get a damage boost to melee weapons similar to a magick boost for the altmer/bretons.

its not only about the orcs, every race should feel like they have a "significant difference" between them

Altmers had 100 bonus magicka. Considering the other races could only have 200 maximum magikca without birthsigns, the bonus is quite significant IMO. Bretons had less bonus (although 50 is still significant), but they more than made up for it with their resistance (at least IMO). A Breton with the mage sign basically has the same bonus as an altmer (100) with the added 50 resistance to magic, or if they take Apprentice they have 150 bonus magicka with 50% weakness to magic.. An altmer with the Atronach mas mana no other race can dream of. My opinion is that those two races could convey the feeling that.. yea.. this race is comfortable with magic.

Ofcourse enough magic items could probably make these differences look small, but that's not a bad thing IMO. Races may be better suited for one thing or another, but every race should be able to be eg a mage. And lets not forget that, unlike items, the bonus is all right there from the beginning. Your way would probably be felt more all the way through I guess... it's just that for me, those two had already much better potential than the other races in their roles. If anything one should want the other races to have equivalent features for their best roles.

Times they are a changing.

Yup it's a good idea to make races feel unique by different attributes.
But different dialogue is also something that can be made.
Like at the beggining of Oblivion where this dark elf has unique dialogue per race per gender.
Before a weak I created a Dark Elf female for the first time and I was surprized when instead of telling me that I'll die he said he will speak the guards to put me at the same cell with him to have "fun" !!!!
:shocking:

look at the skills in MW and OB.

Redguards: You will notice that the redguards know how to handle the largest scale of weaponry than any other race, feel most comfortable in medium to heavy armor, and in MW, they're the best at handing long blades than anyone else around. Not to mention their adrenal glands are the most fine tune and explosive in all the land, and have an immune system equaling the argonians, bosmer, and altmer, and rivaling the argonians when it comes to toxins. Just do not expect them to form shield walls or fixing anything; they're fighters, not defenders or craftsmen.

Nords: A race that is highly skilled in top heavy weapons, like axes, maces, and hammers, with decent blocking abilities, and some skill in regeneration. They feel at home in medium and heavy armor, due to their large frame, and decently know how to craft weapons and armor. They are able to handle cold with extreme ease and sometimes lightening. And due to the harsh land they live in, they know how to toughen up their skin and give a taste of the bitter cold of Skyrim to their foes.

Orsimer: A race that had to survive on its own for nearly 4000 years, and often slaughtered by the magically in-tune Bretons and the battle ready Redguards. Through this, it taught the orsimer the practicality of being able to use the axes that are used to fell trees as a practical weapon, and learn how to craft and maintain armor like nobody's business, due to the high scarcity of materials. In addition, out of all the other races, they know how to use a shield and wear medium to heavy armor like no one's business, as a full set of armor may be a luxury, and they needed to know how to make the most of what they craft and scavenge during their 4000 years as nomads, hated by every race. Lastly, due to their brutal living and the anger due to the loss of Trinimac, they fight brutally and their skin became resistant to many different elements, making them resistant to all forms of magic. These are the warriors you want on the front lines, holding shield walls. Also, they're not "Corrupted Elves", they're "pariah folk." It's dunmer that's close to "corrupted elves" as their name means "dark-skinned," "gloomy," and "ill-favored by fate" folk.

Imperials are very smooth talking warriors and merchants, bretons are the defensive side of magic, and the altmer are the offensive side, along with having the most intelligence and being the most magically infused race (though it causes them to be the most sensitive).

just scribbling down.........these seem like they would make a difference in game but not be so overwhelming that if you wanted to make a nord thief he wouldnt be at a huge disadvantage when compared to a bosmer thief..........but the bosmer will always have a small advantage. on top of there normal bonuses i think that they should give.....

altmer/breton..........use 15% to 25% less magicka to cast spells.

nords/redguards get damage bonuses of 10% to melee weapons and use less fatigue with melee weapons

orcs get 10% damage boost and get 5% to 10% armor boost as well but they use 25% more magicka to cast spells than the other races.

bosmer would be able to draw their bows faster and because of their small frames have less penalties against them when sneaking including when they are using heavy armor or any other modifiers that work against stealth.

khajit can run faster than the other races and jump significantly higher as well. 10% bonus to unarmed fighting. my cat chloe hates static shocks during the winter so im thinking giving khajits a lower resistance to magic attacks.

argonians swim much faster than other races and have a bonus to their armor of 5% or 10% because of their scales and think hides. also 10% bonus to unarmed fighting like khajits. they run slower than the other races or they run the same speed but their sprint is shorter.

im not sure what to do with imperials..........they had speechcraft bonuses but who gives a crap about those. maybe the same as teh redguards and nords :shrug: