Favorite TES race?

Just for kicks: What race do you generally prefer to play in your TES games?

I always go for a stealthy/archer type character - and though I'm very much a gamer who needs to be able to relate to the character I'm playing, I tend to combine that need with the needs of the "class" I'm going for. So, I often go for a Wood Elf - as that has traditionally meant the best combination of a race I can relate to and the statistics that seem most vital to a stealth archer.

Runners up: Human and Dark Elf.

So, how about you? How and why do you choose your race?

Dark Elf

And I generally prefer in your face sword and board action, but I do enjoy carrying a bow for picking off or pulling mobs from a distance to try and separate large groups if need be. Other times I just jump into the fray and hope for the best!

In Morrowind I usually play an Altmer because of the magic bonus. Having to cover up for numerous elemental weaknesses make the game more fun to play. There's something enchanting about playing a spellcaster with little to no proficiency in physical combat.

P.S. There is no "human" race in TES, unless of course Bethesda decides to lump Nords, Imperials, Redguards and Bretons into a single race in the fifth installment, so as not to "confuse" new arrivals to the series.

Originally Posted by Glyphwright
In Morrowind I usually play an Altmer because of the magic bonus. Having to cover up for numerous elemental weaknesses make the game more fun to play. There's something enchanting about playing a spellcaster with little to no proficiency in physical combat.

P.S. There is no "human" race in TES, unless of course Bethesda decides to lump Nords, Imperials, Redguards and Bretons into a single race in the fifth installment, so as not to "confuse" new arrivals to the series.

You're right, of course. I meant one of those, though almost never Breton - as they tend to be magic-oriented, and I never am

I play Bretons-generally an alchemist-mage type of class. I generally take Atronach birthsign because it limits the Breton from being too powerful. If not a Breton, I'll play an Altmer because I'm almost always a mage. I'll use a bow when targets are out of spell range and then switch as soon as they're within reach.

I've always liked Argonians. They are alien enough to be interesting, yet human enough to be relateable. I really wish the games would offer more insight into Argonian culture though.

Khajiit as long as there were Ohmes-Raht - decent thieves, and they looked good. But my Khajiit battlemage was good, too . After they catified the Khajiit player characters, I went Imperial - smoothtalking is another one of my favorite pastimes in cRPGs.

Originally Posted by Jaz
Khajiit as long as there were Ohmes-Raht - decent thieves, and they looked good. But my Khajiit battlemage was good, too . After they catified the Khajiit player characters, I went Imperial - smoothtalking is another one of my favorite pastimes in cRPGs.

Yeah, the Imperial race is probably my first choice when going "Human" in TES games.

I remember I played a very noble Paladin-type character in Morrowind - and I did seem to have the upper hand in certain quests with the "Voice of the Emperor" power of the Imperials.

They also look more like myself than the other races - and I tend to roleplay characters that resemble myself, physically. I never play women, for that reason.

Even worse, I tend to play a more "extreme/idealistic" version of myself when I'm not playing my favorite stealth/archer type thing.

Pretty boring, huh?

Not boring … interesting. I hardly play 'me', not even in a glorified version. In TES I would probably have to play a Breton, and I just don't like their looks.

My animus can be pretty strong at times, so I play guys often . And I really wish I could thieve and talk (and look) like most of my RPG chars.

IIRC, I mostly worked with Nords while I was slogging thru Morrowind, although I did tinker with numerous builds/races. Nords were suited for melee with a little healing and a dabble in alchemy, which was the build I generally ended up with.

Don't remember what I played in Arena, just been too long.

Originally Posted by Jaz
Not boring … interesting. I hardly play 'me', not even in a glorified version. In TES I would probably have to play a Breton, and I just don't like their looks.

My animus can be pretty strong at times, so I play guys often . And I really wish I could thieve and talk (and look) like most of my RPG chars.

Yeah, well it IS interesting how we all differ in our approach to this whole roleplaying way of passing the time.

Am I mistaken if I guess that you're very focused on the "aesthetics" of your characters? I mean, the whole visual side to them - along with how they dress and carry themselves?

In my PnP group - I'm kinda known as the "Pragmatist" - and I'm known for making DMs desperate because I end scenarios/campaigns way before it's their time to end - as I "get down to business" in a pretty obscenely focused way. But that's pretty boring when I think about it.

I have a friend who's amazing in terms of "being" his character. It doesn't really take much for him to set aside himself and then "become" another character. He does it with such conviction, that I'm very quick to forget that it's a fantasy and make-believe.

I wish I had that ability sometimes, and even moreso in my computer games - where I spend more time than PnP.

But I can't seem to do anything but what I already do in real-life - only with the added benefit of not facing the real consequence of saying or doing the things I most feel like saying or doing.

Originally Posted by dteowner
IIRC, I mostly worked with Nords while I was slogging thru Morrowind, although I did tinker with numerous builds/races. Nords were suited for melee with a little healing and a dabble in alchemy, which was the build I generally ended up with.

Don't remember what I played in Arena, just been too long.

You would still play a Nord if you were to play Oblivion/Skyrim?

Let me guess: a two-handed axe type-of-character?

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Am I mistaken if I guess that you're very focused on the "aesthetics" of your characters? I mean, the whole visual side to them - along with how they dress and carry themselves?

No, you're not mistaken there. If we continue to talk TES, I'm known for ditching very effective +n weapons for something that's not contrasting so starkly with my character's outfit. And I'm usually staying in character, which is easy enough as long as they're sticky-fingered . When creating characters, it takes me hours (and probably several failed attempts) to create the 'perfect' look and background when it comes to visuals … while I'm through in mere seconds when it comes to stats.
I still find it very easy to slip into the role of a preset character, looks- and background-wise. But if I have a choice…
When I had a horse and cart in Daggerfall, it was laden with … clothes. Right, I even ditched weapons to cram more clothes into the cart. And even though there was nothing to gain by it, I spent a lot of time with getting dressed for special occasions. I mean, would you go visit a king in rags or a set of rusty armor?

But I can't seem to do anything but what I already do in real-life - only with the added benefit of not facing the real consequence of saying or doing the things I most feel like saying or doing.

It's not as if I could play any character and any style I wanted, either. There's definitely a border I cannot cross … there's behavior that feels so wrong that I just cannot do it. If I discover that I started a 'nerfed' (not stat-wise, mind you, but character-wise, or playing-style-wise) character, it might very well be that I stop playing and start over even if I'm hours into the game.

I played a Breton that looked almost exactly like me, at least face-wise, in Oblivion. It took hours and hours of playing with the character generator to get it right, but it was eerie when I got done. There is something about the eyes in Oblivion that make your character look souless.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
You would still play a Nord if you were to play Oblivion/Skyrim?

Let me guess: a two-handed axe type-of-character?

I was so tremendously disappointed with Morrowind that I didn't even consider buying Oblivion (particularly after all the complaints I heard about level scaling) and I haven't paid the slightest attention to Skyrim.

*hiding two handed axe behind back*
Who, me? Oh no, daggers and shortbows for me, good sir. I'm just holding this glorious bloody axe for a friend.

Originally Posted by Jaz
No, you're not mistaken there. If we continue to talk TES, I'm known for ditching very effective +n weapons for something that's not contrasting so starkly with my character's outfit. And I'm usually staying in character, which is easy enough as long as they're sticky-fingered . When creating characters, it takes me hours (and probably several failed attempts) to create the 'perfect' look and background when it comes to visuals … while I'm through in mere seconds when it comes to stats.
I still find it very easy to slip into the role of a preset character, looks- and background-wise. But if I have a choice…
When I had a horse and cart in Daggerfall, it was laden with … clothes. Right, I even ditched weapons to cram more clothes into the cart. And even though there was nothing to gain by it, I spent a lot of time with getting dressed for special occasions. I mean, would you go visit a king in rags or a set of rusty armor?

Hehe, yeah, that would seem to confirm my immediate empathic impression of your playstyle

But it's very interesting to me, because beyond my interest in the human psyche - it does tell me something about my other passionate interest, which is game design.

It tells me how important it is to consider the ability of the player to personally customize his/her character - and to provide as much wealth of variety in terms of the visual appearance and style as is possible given the means.

It's not as if I could play any character and any style I wanted, either. There's definitely a border I cannot cross … there's behavior that feels so wrong that I just cannot do it. If I discover that I started a 'nerfed' (not stat-wise, mind you, but character-wise, or playing-style-wise) character, it might very well be that I stop playing and start over even if I'm hours into the game.

Yeah, I know what you mean - though for me it's very much stat-wise AS WELL as the aesthetics.

A character that's not "optimised" stat-wise - being quite the powergamer - that's probably the numero uno reason for me to start over. Beyond that, though, I simply CAN'T play an "evil" character. I've never, ever, played an RPG with an evil character. I've tried doing evil things, but I invariably reload.

Interestingly, I've played evil characters in PnP - but it doesn't work. Most of all, I feel stunted - and I can't do what an evil character would do - because not only doesn't it match my perception of realistic behavior - it would also upset the other players too much

Originally Posted by dteowner
I was so tremendously disappointed with Morrowind that I didn't even consider buying Oblivion (particularly after all the complaints I heard about level scaling) and I haven't paid the slightest attention to Skyrim.

*hiding two handed axe behind back*
Who, me?

Hehe, how did I guess

The "blunt" approach.

But, you know, do yourself a favor and try out Skyrim.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
I played a Breton that looked almost exactly like me, at least face-wise, in Oblivion. It took hours and hours of playing with the character generator to get it right, but it was eerie when I got done. There is something about the eyes in Oblivion that make your character look souless.

Indeed.

I remember being quite impressed with Oblivion at the initial stages. But the more I've replayed it, the more I think of the facegen as incredibly poor and, well, yeah - precisely "soulless".

I always tend to play through my first game as a Breton, since they fit my default magicy playstyle. I like to have a bit of combat skill to fall back on, which I suppose other races would be better at, but the sword and spells Breton combo always seems to feel right to me.

Argonians are also fun, but I have a harder time developing a connection to them for some reason. I suppose dunmer round out my list, again making a good spellsword type character. Characters of the other races never really seem to hold my attention for very long.

I tend to mix it up a lot and try out different combos. My very first ever TES character was an Argonian in Daggerfall. I think I tend to gravitate to the more alien characters although I will sometimes play ones similar to myself. In fact, in my modding days I even made a custom character that had a face texture based on an image of myself.

I play female some of the time (maybe 25%?) for variety and also because they always have way more armor mods, even if it most of it looks like something out of Xena or Red Sonja.

Sometimes I will try to do more challenging characters like an orc mage. I think I just like variety. The one type of character I usually never mess with I would say would be an archer.