Races in Skyrim

There are ten playable races in TESV: Skyrim, the same ten races used in TESIII: Morrowind. There are a few changes between the races of the last three Elder Scrolls games, mostly on their powers and abilities. In Skyrim though, dragon-related abilities in addition to dragon shouts are present highlighting the game's theme about the dragons.

Races in Skyrim affect the gameplay in some way. Your character's race determines your initial skills, racial powers and abilities and starting spells. The NPCs also react differently to your character depending on his race. In the long run though, it is up to you to decide which path you would want to take and how you would build your character. Choose the race that appeals to you the most.

Unlike the previous Elder Scrolls games, your character's race is the only customizable trait you will decide on at character creation aside from gender and appearance. Gone are the attributes and the major skills. Each race comes with predefined bonuses to skills: +10 to one skill and +5 to five other skills.

Argonians

Favored Skills: +10 lockpicking, +5 Pickpocket, Sneak, Light Armor, Alteration, Restoration
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
Racial Power: Histskin: You regenerate health 10x faster for 60 seconds
Racial Abilities: 50% Disease Resistance, Underwater Breathing

Little is known, and less is understood, about the reptilian denizens of Black Marsh. Years of defending their borders have made the Argonians experts in guerilla warfare, and their natural abilities make them equally at home in water and on land. They are well suited for the treacherous swamps of their homeland, and have developed natural immunity to the diseases that hove doomed many would-be explorers into the region.

Breton

Favored Skills: +10 Conjuration, +5 Illusion, Restoration, Speech, Alchemy, Alteration
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing, Conjure Familiar
Racial Power: Dragonskin: You absorb 50% of the Magicka from incoming spells for 60 seconds
Racial Abilities: 25% Magic Resistance

Bretons feel an inborn, instinctive bond with the mercurial forces of magic and the supernatural. Many great sorcerers have come from the home province of High Rock, and in addition to their quick and perceptive grasp of spellcraft, enchantment, and alchemy, even the humblest of Bretons can boost a resistance to spells.

Dark Elf (Dunmer)

Favored Skills: +l0 Destruction, +5 Alteration, Illusion, Sneak, Light Armor, Alchemy
Starting Spells: Flames, Sparks, Healing
Racial Power: Ancestor's Wrath: Creates a Flame Cloak that does l0 damage to nearby foes for 60 seconds.
Racial Abilities: 50% Fire Resistance

In the Empire, "Dark Elves" is the common usage, but in their Morrowind homeland, they call themselves the "Dunmer". The dark-skinned, red-eyed Dunmer combine powerful intellect with strong and agile physiques, producing superior warriors and sorcerers. On the battlefield, Dark Elves are noted for their skilled and balanced integration of swordsmen, marksmen, and war wizards.

High Elf (Altmer)

Favored Skills: +l0 Illusion, +5 Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Restoration, Enchanting
Starting Spells: Flames, Fury, Healing
Racial Power: Highborn: For 60 seconds, you regenerate 25% of your maximum Magicka each second
Racial Abilities: Highborn Magicka (+5O Magicka)

The High Elves, or Altmer, are the proud, tall, golden-skinned peoples of Summerset Isle. The common tongue of the Empire, Tamrielic, is based on their speech and writing, and most of the Empire's arts, crafts, and sciences are derived from High Elven traditions. High Elves are the driving force behind the rising Aldmeri Dominion, and their agents, the Thalmor, are bitterly resented by the Nords of Skyrim.

Imperial

Favored Skills: + l0 Restoration, +5 Destruction, Enchanting, One-Handed, Block, Heavy Armor
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
Racial Power: Voice of the Emperor: Calms nearby people for 60 seconds
Racial Abilities: Imperial Luck (Adds a small amount of gold to most containers)

Natives of the civilized, cosmopolitan province of Cyrodiil, Imperials are well-educated and well-spoken. Though physically less imposing than the other races, Imperials have proven to be shrewd diplomats and traders, and these trails, along with their remarkable skill and training as light infantry, have allowed them to rule an empire spanning the continent for centuries.

Khajiit

Favored Skills: +10 Sneak, +5 Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Alchemy, One-Handed, Archery
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
Racial Power: Night Eye: Improved night vision for 60 seconds
Racial Abilities: Claws ( 4x Unarmed Damage)

Khajiit hail from the province of Elsweyr, and can vary in appearance from nearly Elven to the cathay-raht "jaguar men" to the great Senche-Tiger. The most common breed, the suthay-raht, is intelligent, quick, and agile. Many Khajiit disdain weapons in favor of their natural claws. They make excellent thieves due to their natural agility and deft hands.

Nord

Favored Skills: +10 Two-Handed, +5 One-Handed, Block, Smithing, Speech, Light Armor
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
Racial Power: Battle Cry: All nearby foes flee for 30 seconds
Racial Abilities: 50% Frost Resistance

The natives of Skyrim are a tall and fair-haired people, aggressive and fearless in war, industrious and enterprising in trade and exploration. Strong, willful, and hardy, Nards are famous for their resistance to cold, even magical frost. Violence is an accepted and time-honored part of Nordic culture; Nards face battle with an ecstatic ferocity that shocks and appalls their enemies.

Ore (Orsimer)

Favored Skills: +10 Heavy Armor, +5 Smithing, One-Handed, Two-Handed, Block, Enchanting
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
Racial Power: Berserk: For 60 seconds, you take half damage, and inflict double damage in melee combat.
Racial Abilities: None

These sophisticated barbarians of the Wrothgarion and Dragontail Mountains are noted for their unshakeable courage in war and their unflinching endurance of hardships. In the past, Orcs have been widely feared and hated by the other nations and races of Tamriel, but they have slowly won acceptance in the Empire. Orcish armorers ore prized for their craftsmanship, and Orc warriors in heavy armor are among the finest front-line troops in the Empire.

Redguard

Favored Skills: +10 One-Handed, +5 Archery, Block, Smithing, Destruction, Alteration
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
Racial Power: Adrenaline Rush: You regenerate Stamina 10x faster for 60 seconds
Racial Abilities: 50% Poison Resistance

The most naturally talented warriors in Tamriel, the dark-skinned, wiry-haired Redguards of Hammerfell seem born to battle, though their pride and fierce independence of spirit makes them more suitable as scouts, skirmishers, or free-ranging heroes and adventurers than as rank-and-file soldiers. Redguards are uniquely versatile combatants, capable of switching between bow, sword, spell, or shield at will and adopting their tactics to the battle at hand.

Wood Elf (Bosmer)

Favored Skills: +10 Archery, +5 Sneak, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Light Armor, Alchemy
Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
Racial Power: Command Animal: Target animal becomes your ally for 60 seconds.
Racial Abilities: 50% Disease and Poison Resistance

The clanfolk of the Western Valenwood forests. In the Empire, they ore called "Wood Elves," but call themselves the Bosmer, or the 'Tree-Sap' people. Wood Elves are nimble and quick in body and wit. Their curious natures and natural agility make them good scouts, agents, and thieves, and there are no finer archers in all of Tamriel.