Elder Scrolls Races

[Dragondog]

No love for the Dunmer?

[Verjigorm]

Originally Posted by Dragondog

No love for the Dunmer?

No, you and your treacherous people deserve your ash infested waste.

[Kesendeja]

I'm taking a more inspired by approach, and trying to keep most of the flat out supernatural advantages out. So no shock resistance or the like.

As for use in Dungeon Fantasy, I don't use the templates. It's more like I use some of the resources, but prefer more free form character building.

And I completely forgot the Dunmer, I'll see about building them later today.

[cbower]

Originally Posted by Verjigorm

No, you and your treacherous people deserve your ash infested waste.

Die n'wah!

(I always play a dark elf first in any elder scrolls game. They're my go-to since Arena.)

[Verjigorm]

Originally Posted by cbower

Die n'wah!

(I always play a dark elf first in any elder scrolls game. They're my go-to since Arena.)

I started in dagger fall, but Morrowind really made me love the Dunmer. But Orisemer are still my go-to guys.

[Verjigorm]

Now, for actual critique:

Why do the Orcs have perfect balance? Or +1 DX? Since Morrowind, Orcs have had certain traits: They arn't particularly smart or agile, but they are physically and mentally hardy(I think the best for endurance), tied for second strongest/largest(Nords are the physically most power of Mer and Men, though some of the Khajit* breeds could rival them), capable of a martial anger that is extremely powerful**, and adept with weapons as well as making them(and armor).

I think Combat Reflexes makes far more sense than perfect balance(Khajit and Bosmer should probably be the only races with Perfect Balance as a racial, rather than individual, advantage. Hard to Kill/Subdue, high Will and HT and fit sound like very good fits for Orcs.

Also, I don't know if magery 0 is the correct fit for all the races, as it seems like the elder scrolls world is High Mana in most places, which allows anyone to learn and cast magic, while true masters of magic do exist. The Altmer probably DO have magery 0 and magery 1 as endemic racial traits, with many exceptional examples having higher magery. The Dunmer and Bretons seem to be about on equal footing for magery after that, with other races having to really work at it to approach the magical aptitude of those three(and nobody is really holding a candle to the Altmer).



*In the literature, the Khajit range in size from dimunitive(bosmer size) and extremely cat like to massive tiger-apes.
**In Morrowind, if you didn't build your agility up, triggering berserk would often turn you into an inept clown who trips over his own feet in battle. Tough as hell, but inept.
*

[Kesendeja]

Originally Posted by Verjigorm

*In the literature, the Khajit range in size from dimunitive(bosmer size) and extremely cat like to massive tiger-apes.*

I know but for ease I just went with the one's that you play in the game, I might go back and build the others eventually.

[Verjigorm]

Originally Posted by Kesendeja

I know but for ease I just went with the one's that you play in the game, I might go back and build the others eventually.

I think that's fine, the Khajit arn't really popular anywhere, and I imagien a Khajit the size of an ape would be feathered quickly. No one needs a giant cat who has poorly developed concepts of ownership("You put it down, and I picked it up, now it belongs to me") in the neighborhood.

I do object to giving all the Mer perfect balance: while the Aldmer and Dunmer are both credited with being pretty agile in comparison to humans, the Bosmer are credited as being the most lithe, comparing to the Khajit(again, some Khajit are apparently small cat size, and the smaller ones are describe as being more agile, with the very smallest ones being renowned magic users), and the Orisemer are downright ungainly.

Altmer should be considerably weaker than other Mer and Men, but also the most intelligent and magically advanced race. A "dumb" Altmer should be on the level with the average human, while a regular altmer would be extremely intelligent. Not very big, not tough, not particularly quick or fit, but above average in agility.

The Dunmer are fast, as agile as a Altmer, stronger and hardier, not as intelligent(but still very intelligent). On the otherhand, they lack willpower and are somewhat bad at social interaction. Oh, and they are very resistent to fire, because, ya know, the live on a frikken volcano. Very capable

The Bosmer are TINY(shortest size, it's not uncommon for a bosmer to stand waist high), weak and not less resilent than baseline, but they are extremely agile, with exceptional balance and great reactions. Bosmer travel through the trees almost like squirrels and are extremely stealthy , as well as being quite smart. But, again, tiny. OH, and they have a natural affinity with animals.

The Orismer are physically massive, being slightly weaker than Nords and Redguards, but capable of greater feats of endurance than any other race. Orcs don't give in to pain, hunger or anger readily, and they are a pain to kill. When aroused to appropriate levels of anger, Orcs are terrifying, able to shrug off seemingly mortal wounds, while relentlessly attacking their foes.

So that's the Mer.

Altmer are therefore -2 ST, +1 DX, +3 IQ, -1 HT, -2 will, -2 Per(35pts there), while Dunmer are +1 DX, +1 IQ, +1 HT, +.5 basic speed, -2 Will(50pts). Bosmer are SM -1, -3 ST, +3 DX, +1 IQ, -1 HT, +1 per(45pts). Orismer are +2 ST, -1 IQ, +3 HT, +4 Will, +1 Per, -.75 basic speed(40pts). Altmer have a natural talent for all magic, Bosmer have a natural talent at sneaking, naturalism, archery and alteration, Dunmer favor swords, sneaking, and destruction magic. Orismer favor impact weapons(two handed if possible) and working with metals.

Unaging is inappropriate for the Mer, as it seems they DO age, albeit slowly and to the point that their natural lifespan is measure in the hundreds of years, and not low hundreds either. But there are plenty of grayheaded and frail(for their kind, a frail Orismer is still likely to be hardier than most other races) mer of all kinds. Altmer and Dunmer appear to live the longest, though we've never really had a game based in Bosmer society, so maybe they have some incredibly old members who we just don't see. Orismer appear to live fairly long, but it seems they die of unnatural(or natural, and desired for them) causes pretty quickly.

Magery 1+ seems mandatory for Altmer: even Altmer who don't practice magic have an intuitive grasp of it when compared to other races. However, their intuitive knowledge of magic also makes them much more susceptible to it, as they are intrinsically magical beings. Dunmer are also very skilled in magic, though less adept racially. The Orismer are definitely not inate mages.

I again repeat that I think Magery 0 is not an endemic trait, but that High Mana ares are endemic: Anyone can learn magic through training, but some rare few have a talent that allows them to effortlessly master magic. Magery 0 still implies the ability to sense auras and understand magical items by touching them. I don't think that is a common feature, as it sounds quite like Mysticism.

[The Benj]

It does seem to be a high mana setting in the sense that everyone can learn magic (or at least all PCs, the games are rather more vague on if it's really universal), but whether it's High Mana in the GURPS sense is a different question, since there are other effects to that.
It's really a judgement call whether everyone has Magery 0, it's literally a High Mana setting or there just isn't such as thing as Magery 0 but anyone can cast spells.

[Kesendeja]

Dunmer are done.