Race is a classification used to categorize beings with similar phenotypical traits. Some races are more similar than others, while some are vastly different. Each race falls into three different subcategories: beastfolk, human, and mer. Of all the races in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, there are ten playable races open to the Hero of Kvatch, the game's protagonist. Most characters fall into one of these races. Dremora are abundant in Oblivion, although almost entirely hostile. Several extinct races are mentioned in Oblivion's lore.
Upon selecting a race, certain bonuses and impediments are immediately counted toward the Hero's attributes and skills. For example, Mer, or elves, excel at magic while Nords, Redguards, and Orsimer excel at combat-oriented abilities. Each race is better suited for a different class, although Oblivion allows for enough customization to make any race work with any class, depending on player preference. In the Imperial City Sewers, Baurus offers his opinion of the player's class depending on their race and the skills used during the tutorial. Each race has one or more resistances and unique powers as well. All members of all races have a +5 disposition bonus to members of their own race.
Playable races[]
Tamriel is the home of all the ten main races, each occupying a different portion of the continent. The races are:
For conciseness, weaknesses are listed as a negative number, e.g., a -25 under Fire represents 25 points of Weakness to Fire. Imperials and Khajiit have no special resistances or weaknesses.
Race
Disease
Fire
Frost
Magic
Poison
Shock
Altmer
75
-25
-25
-25
Argonian
75
100
Bosmer
75
Breton
50
Dunmer
75
Nord
50
Orsimer
50
Redguard
75
75
Recognizing races[]
The race of most characters in Cyrodiil can be recognized by physical appearance. However, some characters, especially those of Breton or Imperial ancestry, are more difficult to distinguish. A character's race can be identified using console commands: Enter the console by pressing tilde (~), click on the target character, and type: GetIsRace {RaceID}
using one of the following RaceIDs.