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Okay, so if the Chimer are just Altmer, and if the Chimer became the Dunmer after the War of First Council, how are the Dunmer not master-wizards like the Altmer? They are, according to lore, the same race.

I don't know the history of this, but just because the origin from the same race doesn't mean they are the same?

Orsimer aren't master wizards neither.

Stoner wrote:Orsimer aren't master wizards neither.

True, but they aren't linked to the Altmer like the Dunmer are.

The Dunmer are, in fact, quite capable wizards. For example, Divath Fyr. Fyr is a 3 or 4 thousand year old Dunmer, and perhaps the single most powerful Dunmer in the entirety of Vvardenfell, maybe even Morrowind.

masser wrote:The Dunmer are, in fact, quite capable wizards. For example, Divath Fyr. Fyr is a 3 or 4 thousand year old Dunmer, and perhaps the single most powerful Dunmer in the entirety of Vvardenfell, maybe even Morrowind.

I don't think he's that old
But he is well-trained in the Arts of Magic. Most Dunmer aren't as amazing as Fyr, or most Altmer mages.

Actually, (even though she's obviously biased) one of Fyrs daughters says that he's probably the most powerful wizard alive (not counting divine or liches). Also the oldest, except MAYBE for someone in Summerset Isles.

He teh man!

And I think House Telvanni is a lot closer to the Altmer way of practicing magic than the mages guild is.

The difference could possibly be attributed to a couple of different things; The Chimer may have chosen to forsake their powerful magic as it would be yet another connection between them and the Altmer of Summerset, a relationship that they obviously wanted to bury. This would explain why some Dunmer are extremely proficient mages, but others seem to have lost the knack. It's also possible that Azura's curse did more than simply change their skin tone.

Its also quite feesible that while struggling to survive in their new harsh environment, they had to develop new skills (such as marksmanship for hunting), and practice with blade and armour in order to combat the Nord invaders. As such their would be less time, and less practical to focus soley on magic, and so their magical skills have have declined somewhat. The Dunmer are still more proficient spellcasters than most races though.

Altmer came from the Aldmer, and the Chimer came from the Aldmer. Chimer became the Dunmer.

Me thinks this should be in lore, considering how the races carry over through all the ES games.

They separated aeons ago. A lot of things change. That's like wondering why American and Aussies don't go around wearing tweed jackets, eating scones and roast beef, drinking brown beer and doing other British things, whilst the British in turn aren't a bunch of hairy Vikings in berets with strings of garlic around their necks.

Vivec's Tears wrote:Me thinks this should be in lore, considering how the races carry over through all the ES games.

I concur.

Yeah, this should be in Lore. I still forget that we have a Lore section

Well the Chimer became the Dunmer when Azura inflicted a punishment on them because she was cross with the Tribunal for tapping into the Heart of Lorkhan's power. Of course she made them different!

Also, the Aldmer split into the Altmer and Chimer, not the Altmer into Altmer and Chimer.

Dogmantra wrote:Also, the Aldmer split into the Altmer and Chimer, not the Altmer into Altmer and Chimer.

Wha? You're confusing me!

Well, the Aldmer were the predecessors of the Altmer and the Chimer. The Aldmer split into Altmer and Chimer, then the Chimer were changed into the Dunmer.

Your title and original post implies that some Altmer split off and became Chimer, which isn't the case.

As quoted from the wiki:

"The Chimer (changed folk or Changed Ones) were a sect of Altmeri dissidents who abandoned the ways of Summerset Isle and embarked on a great exodus to Morrowind."

This suggests that they were, in fact, Altmer, rather than Aldmer.

Contradiction, it seems. The article for Aldmer makes it pretty clear that the Chimer left back when the Altmer still had their D. Same with the Dunmer article:

previously known as the Chimer (changed folk) due to their worship of the Daedra, rather than the Aedra worshipped by the other Aldmer in Summerset Isle

The mention of Dunmer in the Aldmer article could actually be considered a qualifier:

"The individuals who broke off from tradition and explored the rest of Tamriel variously became the Falmer, Bosmer, Dwemer and Ayleids. The Chimer were a religous group who exiled themselves from Summerset and later became the Dunmer,... "

Which would suggest to me that, unlike the others, the Dunmer split from the Altmer branch since it refers to them as exiling themselves from Summerset (the Altmer), rather than the Aldmeri culture, but I could be misreading the article...

The Dunmer article does seem to support your side though. In defense of my argument, Aldmer could have been used to represent all mer folk that came of the Aldmeri, though that argument loses some validity whith the Summerset Isles.

It's somewhat a petty difference anyway, considering the only difference (as far as I can tell) between the Altmer and the Aldmer is the name.

Dogmantra wrote:It's somewhat a petty difference anyway, considering the only difference (as far as I can tell) between the Altmer and the Aldmer is the name.

True, but it's a fun and interesting debate nonetheless

It's impossible for the Chimer to descend from the Altmer due to location restrictions. The Alder inhabited the Coastal regions, and the Altmer when they came to be, inhabited the Summurset Isles. The Chimer inhabited Morrowind. The Ayleids, the Bosmer, and the Orismer, are a pretty huge divider.

I don't quite follow you there. The Chimer either split from the Aldmer or the Altmer, both of which were/are located primarily on Summerset Isle (since the Altmer basically just stayed put, while every other Mer race spread out). Due to a religious rift, the Chimer abandoned their people and went into exile, eventually ending in Morrowind. Whether they split from the Altmer or the Aldmer is, as Dogmantra said, a moot point, but neither is impossible.

Also remember that the Chimer/Dunmer probably had to hone their conventional combat abilities because they spent most of their formative years at war with the Nords and the Dwemer.