Races that ought to be playable (plus suggested abilities)

[Bauglir100]

Have there been any races besides the ten Tamrielic races we're all familiar with that you always wanted to play as, but have never been officially playable, aside from mods?

For me, I'd like to play as one of the Daedric (Dremora, Golden Saint, Dark Seducer) or Akaviri (Tsaesci, Ka Po Tun, Kamal, Tang Mo) races.

For the Daedric races, I imagine that they could have more or less the same stats they have in Oblivion's Construction Set, but have Greater/Lesser Powers added to make them more unique.

For example, what if Dark Seducers could temporarily sprout bat-like wings like the ones they had in Battlespire, so that they could multi-jump in mid-air or flutter/glide from one area to the other, like a combination between Kirby/Jigglypuff in Super Smash Bros and the para-glider in the Sly Cooper series. This could be balanced by bringing back the Levitation spell from Morrowind, and the difference for Dark Seducers is that the wings would be aethetic and don't take up Magicka when used (just tap the Jump button a couple of times to bring them out).

For the Golden Saints, they could have a strong Reflect spell, but not as a constant ability like in earlier games, or they could have a constant Reflect ability but not as powerful as before, and also give them a Racial Bonus to Fortify Speed.

Dremora could have a spell that temporarily gives them a Resistance to Normal Weapons (like how Dremora in Morrowind are resistant to such attacks), which a Racial Bonus that gives them a Resistance to Magicka.

As for a reason why the heck Daedra would be playable, they could make it a perk of a Summon spell for advanced Conjurers, where you could temporarily take control of Daedra to have them do stuff that one of the mortal races couldn't do (like how certain games have you switch for one character to another mid-gameplay). Or they could use it to incorporate a Co-Op feature into the game by giving the option for a second player to take control of the summoned Dremora/Aureal/Mazken while it's summoned (like how a second player can make Floyd the Robot fire his laser cannons in the N64 game Jet Force Gemini, if a second controller is plugged in)

Now for the Akaviri races, I imagine that the Ka Po Tun and Kamal would be very large and hulking possibly even taller than Altmer and Dremora, while the Tang Mo and Tsaesci would be comparatively small, around the height of Bosmer or Imperials. Kamal would be strong warriors/spellcasters, but terrible at stealth and a Weakness to Frost, Tang Mo would be good thieves/acrobats with moderate combat skill, a natural Climb ability (since they're monkey-folk), and an ability to swim faster than other races (sicne they're an island nation and all), but little skill with magic, and Tsaesci would be a blend between the three.

Ka Po Tun, on the other hand, I imagine would actually work like humans do in the Fallout series: gain XP through killing enemies instead of only through increasing skills, though unlike Fallout, they could still increase skills without leveling up. But to make up for it, they could only increase two stats per Attribute each time they level up.

Also, I'd think the Ka Po Tun should have an ability that allows them to use a "V.A.T.S." style combat system that feeds on Fatigue/Stamina instead of casting normal spells (but still be able to use staves/scrolls/potions/enchanted items/Powers/etc) to emphasize their skills as warriors and martial artists. That, or allow them to use the Thu'Um or the equivalent of it, given their own association with Dragons (Tosh Raka, anybody?).

What do you all think? Do any of these make sense, or are there any other races you had in mind? Feel free to share if you do.

[Imbalance]

I want to play a reikling. I would ride a tusked bristleback, wield a hammer, and yell HOG-RIIIIDAAAAA!!!

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Sload.

Imagine the roleplaying fun of being obscenely fat, ugly grubs who teleport around and steal people's souls for Clavicus Vile and Mannimarco.

Failing that, Imga, with the special ability to throw your own poop and form religious sects.

[spin]

Druegh. Who doesn't want to be a crab guy and have the special powers of being greedy and bossing Spongebob around.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Hey, they ruled the world before Alduin ate it last time, and Molag Bal used to be one of them. Dreugh are awesome.

[mondz_tes]

I feel compelled to post this:

Hidden:

YouTube Link

In all seriousness, the above suggestions are pretty solid to me, especially the Sload. I'd also like to possibly play as the Maormer, Snow Elves, Dremora (Kyn) and the different sub-types of Khajiit.

[spin]

I'd at least like to see the other khajiit variants as npcs if not playable. They come from the same place as the ones in the games, so it would be reasonable to think they could move to these various areas of the world like the playable variant ones do.

I know I made a joke about the Dreugh, but I think it would be cool to play as one. or at least have some interactions with them. In Oblivion there was one quest where the quest giver talked about how someone had gone to the Dreugh kings and gotten their help in stopping an invasion, so they should be able to communicate with the other races.

[BetaB17]

I for one would enjoy to see more of the lesser known races be playable, but a even greater variety for npc's<_< The races of choice though may vary due to region, such is the case for playable Maomer, Naga, and Imga. The maomer could have a greater power relating to a strong chameleon or a passive trait relating to water much like the argonians. The Naga could share much with the argonians, but a far more aggressive, like a greater power that boosts damage x3 or more and nothing more. The Imga seem to be a wild card, so how they play out I cannot expect.. though poop throwing is doubtful despite the delight As for Daedra as playable.. if done right.. and still seems fitting for the plot and quests, then so be it. But as the typical TES games are, I must object, because it just seems misplaced and forced..

The variety of Khajiit could easily be featured as npc's, with the standard default being the only we can play as(without aid of mods). The sload would make a wonderful addition, though in any form other than foe or npc makes me question how it would be done The dreugh need a much needed spotlight, and given more justice than the reiklings had. Cast as both foe in the wilds but friend to few, much like the common fodder of bandits or such. Some of the less devolved could still hold pockets of civilizations, be it in water or land. Imagine walking into an outpost for some much needed rest and wine.. to find a land dreugh doing the very same, and yet nobody inside finds the oddity I for one would feel shameful for talking to one while wearing the hide of it's lesser kin.

[Gandoril Spellbinder]

Definitely more Elves, if only because I love Elves.

The Dremora would work if Bethesda finally decided to let us have an evil path through the main quest (somewhat like in Fable, but much more involved). I would love to play as one. Besides, who wouldn't like to start their game with a free, full suit of Daedric Armour? Plus immediate access to powerful Summon [Daedra] and fire-elemental spells? Like I said, who wouldn't?

It would be fun to have a Dreugh as an NPC, much like the Mudcrab merchant from Morrowind (never met him, but did read his conversation files in the Construction Set; he's hilarious!). Playable? Interesting concept, but only as like a free mod from the devs. Same goes for the Sloads and Imga, though it would be nice to have an infinite, personal supply of Sload Soap. And throwing dung at my enemies would just be outright hilarious!

EDIT: Since some breeds of Khajiit are less Thief-y than others (ever read the in-game book Mixed Unit Tactics?), it would be good to have more true-to-race role-playing ability for those who just simply love cats (like me; I think the Khajiit are cute! Yes, even the males. They're also my mom's favourite race in TES).

[Dark Spark]

Giants.
Special Ability: Blast Off.

[IcarusBen]

Dwemer:
Bonuses to Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Archery, Alchemy and Smithing.
Resistance to fire and frost.
Ability - "Dwarven Might" - Heavy Armor gains 50% Armor Rating and Infinite Stamina for 60 seconds.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Eh, personally I'd hate to see any more Dwemer besides Yagrum appear, or for the Akaviri races to ever be depicted. Some things should remain mysterious.

[Gandoril Spellbinder]

Unless they find a way back home, they're pretty much stuck wherever they are (remember that the guy who can cure you of Vampirism in Skyrim says that he did find the Dwemer, but doesn't say where; quite possibly a pocket-dimension of Oblivion).

[The Dread Lord]

Giant spiders.
Poison and disease immunity.
Devour greater power. "Can instantly kill an enemy once a day regardless of it's amount of health." (By sucking out their bodily fluids)

[snapple]

Eh, personally I'd hate to see any more Dwemer besides Yagrum appear, or for the Akaviri races to ever be depicted. Some things should remain mysterious.

Same.

[Vilhelm Valhalla]

[Deleted]

[Pilaf The Defiler]

I'm pretty sure that comes down to resource management, which is a huge hurdle in game development. That's why a lot of monster types in the games are just reskinned slightly, and all the races use the same basic body with cosmetic variations. Modeling new things is expensive and time consuming, and is generally not a priority. That's one of the reasons we haven't seen a modern game set in Black Marsh or the Khajiit kingdoms yet, I think. They'd be forced to devote a huge amount of resources to showing these racial varieties, or otherwise anger the lore community by excluding them. Either way it's a lose/lose situation.

[Vilhelm Valhalla]

[Deleted]

[House of the Wolf]

Ayleid.
Racial Power: to enslave.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Ayleid.
Racial Power: to die horribly at the hands of a genocidal cyborg.

Fixed it for historical accuracy.

[AKB]

All of them besides the main races
Racial Power: To be mostly irrelevant or too nonsensical/contradictory to the established lore to ever be used.

[House of the Wolf]

Ayleid.
Racial Power: to die horribly at the hands of a genocidal cyborg.

Fixed it for historical accuracy.

Lulz... Whatever floats your boat, mate.

[Bauglir100]

I'm pretty sure that comes down to resource management, which is a huge hurdle in game development. That's why a lot of monster types in the games are just reskinned slightly, and all the races use the same basic body with cosmetic variations. Modeling new things is expensive and time consuming, and is generally not a priority. That's one of the reasons we haven't seen a modern game set in Black Marsh or the Khajiit kingdoms yet, I think. They'd be forced to devote a huge amount of resources to showing these racial varieties, or otherwise anger the lore community by excluding them. Either way it's a lose/lose situation.

And here's another potential reason why there isn't a main title set in Black Marsh(...yet): who would want to play a game that's mostly set in a swamp, even if you did like Argonians a lot? A dark, murky disease-ridden environment that you'd spend most of the time swimming in doesn't exactly seem like the most pleasant place to visit. The only way they could ever balance that out is if you either went back to Morrowind's rule about the Argonian's ability to breathe underwater being a spell, or incorporated mainland Morrowind into the game, if only for the sake of having a bigger variety in terrain.

[legoless]

Shadowfen in ESO is actually a pleasant enough zone for a swamp. There's also plenty of room for terrain variation.

[Bauglir100]

Shadowfen in ESO is actually a pleasant enough zone for a swamp. There's also plenty of room for terrain variation.

Yeah, but would you want your ENTIRE game to be set in an area like Shadowfen? It's not that I have anything against swamps, since they do have potential for dark and mysterious stuff, but Shadowfen isn't the kind of place where I'd expect a history-changing event to occur. At least not on its own. Which is why I think Black Marsh combined with mainland Morrowind would be more reasonable for an overworld than just Black Marsh. We'd get the mountainous terrain and urban environments of Morrowind and the swamplands and untamed wilderness of Black Marsh.

TES II: Daggerfall was set in two provinces, so I'm sure they could do it again with mainland Morrowind+Black Marsh (especially since TES III: Morrowind was mostly set in Vvardenfell and only briefly featured the mainland in the Tribunal expansion).

Though I'd definitely like to see how the humanoid "Gray Argonians" from Arena would look with modern HD graphics. And maybe see them alongside the other variations we've seen in the series. I know it's because some types take more Hist sap than others, but still.