Do custom race mods affect your role-playing experience?

[BootySweat]

Have you tried any of the custom races?

I've been using the Moonshadow Elves custom race mod, which looks fantastic and allows for a lot greater customization of my character's appearance.

However, in terms of role-playing, I've been thinking of my character as a Dunmer, and adjusted the stats in the CS to make her identical to Dunmer.

Just wondering how others approach role-playing custom races that aren't necessarily reflected in TES lore.

For reference, here are some pics of my character (doesn't look very Dunmerish):

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/56091 ... 218DC599B/

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/56091 ... FC1CD0157/

[Ryka]

That tat looks like it may have smarted a bit

[BootySweat]

LOL yeah there is some artifacting on the hands, but not too big of a deal.

[urthdigger]

If you're using a custom race, it damn well better alter the RP experience... otherwise, what's the point?

[BootySweat]

If you're using a custom race, it damn well better alter the RP experience... otherwise, what's the point?

I guess my question is, how do you work the history of that race into your understanding of the TES world?

In my case, I downloaded and adapted a custom race simply because the default character models in Oblivion were too ugly. I made the stats equivalent to Dunmer, and I had been roleplaying the character as a Dunmer.

However, now as I'm getting deeper into the playthrough, I'm thinking perhaps I need to come up with a better explanation for why she looks so different from all the other Dunmer.

[urthdigger]

I generally treat it more or less non-canonically. I pretend they've just always existed, using whatever lore came with the mod. It kinda bugs me to do the whole "Oh, yeah, there's this whole race of intelligent humanoids on an island somewhere that have just now met the rest of the races and managed to assimilate into our culture astonishingly fast" or other such explanations for why this race has suddenly appeared. In my opinion, it's best to just no longer consider it in the Elder Scrolls world, instead just in a world that's very similar.

[AeraDunmerMoon]

Not so much "on an island somewhere". I see it more as my character was in another plane of Oblivion, considering there are thousands of them.

[urthdigger]

Still, it always comes across as a little shoehorned in there when people try to justify this race just showing up out of nowhere. One also has to realize that the NPCs in most cases don't treat you any differently, which means they must be used to seeing your kind. Even after decades, civilization would be suspicious and racist toward a new people.

[Shady Sam]

Honestly I love the races that come I really never needed to download them but being a pc user I think it is nice I always have the option. I used to play on xbox ugh... so many bugs but its STILL OBLIVION

[Eltee]

She looks like a Bosmer.

[Ryka]

She looks Ainu

[MARS]

Custom races are usually down right awful for me. Too much high fantasy and daft backgrounds. I was browsing mods last year and came across something called "Cute Elf". I literally WTF'ed.

[zzfallens]

Yeah custom race mods are just not really worth it for me. If the races look ugly for you try getting better faces or whatever. I think it is kind of lore ruining to get a custom race mod.

[Shady Sam]

I really dont download mods so much I have only 2. One is a house and the second is Kvatch Rebuilt because who doesn't want them to rebuild.