Elder Scrolls: Skyrim—What your character choice says about you

For those of you who may not be gamers, The Elder Scrolls games have been redefining the narrative concept of videogames since the early ‘90s. This fantasy game series completely reverses the standard story structure that has been the primary template for entertainment by focusing on side quests and small missions, rather than one major questline with a few side quests here and there. 

The most recent installment, not including the Elder Scrolls Online games, is Skyrim, taking place in a nation of the same name, where a civil war is breaking out and dragons have returned to the land with destruction behind them. 

At the beginning of every Elder Scrolls game, the player completely customizes their character down to the finest of details, picking from over ten fictional races that live in the Elder Scrolls universe. These races have a wide range of native lands, special abilities, and stereotypes associated with them. Today I will be discussing what your character choice says about you personally.

We will start with the “Mer” people, or people who are any race that is not regular people.

First up we have the Elves: High Elves, Wood Elves, and Dark Elves. Elves have a reputation for being exceptionally skilled at magic, particularly the High Elves. Elves tend to come from whimsical nations and are often treated poorly by the citizens of Skyrim, as many blame them for the recent wars. 

If you chose an Elf for your character, you probably have high expectations for yourself. You have a flair for the fantastical and are out for more adventure than your average Skyrim player. You might be a LARPer, or you play Dungeons and Dragons, and you passionately believe that Elves are the best characters to play in any fantasy game, not just Elder Scrolls. However, your ambition must be paired with humility, or you might become pretentious like High Elves have a reputation for or find yourself in trouble like Wood Elves and Dark Elves. 

Secondly, we have Kajiits (cat people), Argonians (lizard people), and Orcs (really tall, buff green people with fangs). Kajiits, Argonians and Orcs are some of the most marginalized groups in Skyrim, many times they are not even allowed into the cities to trade.

If you chose a Kajiit, an Argonian, or an Orc, you tend to be a little quirky, but in a fun way. You may have simply chosen Argonian because they can breathe under water or Kajiit because they have night vision, which is totally understandable, but if they have become your favorite race to play, you definitely show a deep connection to the odd balls. You have a deep-seeded respect for tradition and connection to spirituality and nature, and you spend a lot of time outdoors. You are resourceful and don’t tend to rely on others for help, which can be both a strength and a weakness. Make sure that the way others treat you doesn’t push you into a life of crime, or at least grumpiness. Besides, they just wish they could breathe underwater and see in the dark too. 

Lastly, under the umbrella term “Man,” we have Bretons, Redguards, Imperials, and Skyrim’s natives, Nords. These are a group of races that look like regular people. They come from all over Tamriel (that’s the world) and have a wide range of cultures, values, and histories. They tend to be fierce warriors, and versatile in all skills, which is why you find them everywhere.

If you choose any of these races for your character, you are a very simple, straightforward person. You probably didn’t spend very much time designing your character in the first place because you wanted to jump right into gameplay. You probably chose to fight for the Stormcloaks, and you definitely killed Cicero. You probably wear heavy armor (which is the wrong choice, but we can forgive you), and your favorite flavor of ice cream is probably vanilla. That being said, you are one of the fiercest warriors in Skyrim, because you spend all your time fighting dragons, Falmer, random bandits, and the occasional boss. You relish the opportunity to walk into a Dwarven Ruin, so you’re a bit of a glutton for punishment, but your trusty companion probably has some heath potions for you. 

I hope that you found this article as enjoyable to read as it was to write. In the meantime, go play some Skyrim. Lydia is waiting in Whiterun for you.