Are there any other playable races they can add in the future?

Gothlander

I'd like to see more non human and non elf races.

117Dios

Eh, I don't think they'll hit on Akavir before completing Tamriel

idk

Maybe.

No one that is permitted to answer this question would actually know. Guesses that have no basis are all that one will get here.

Dapper Dinosaur

I could see them doing Maomer and maybe even daedra at a stretch.

red_emu

I want a playable crawler race. No abilities, no weapons... just a little crawler, crawling about his crawlish business.

Cadbury

Dwemer. Or Sload

Edit: Before you balk at the suggestion of Dwemer... Well...maybe he/she is a time traveler or a robot

Also dragon break

TheShadowScout

This again? Well, here we go once more...

Let's take a look atht eusual suspects, shall we?

Akaviri
...are not one race but four. There is little lore if all of them were part of the akaviri invasion ten years before ESO - but lore does say there were survivors from that one, which eventually would make their way to Rimmen where they join up with some human akaviri descendants from earlier visits... and make a push into cyrodil somewhen between this time and the rise of Talos in three of so centuries... so all of them may be technically viable lore-wise... though since they ought to be somewhat rare, it is a little questionable if they would be done (or at what price - adding a surcharge for extra-rarity would seem likely)

Tsaesci

These golden-skinned snakepeople may be possible, depending on how the powers that be choose to depict them in ESO... they -are- supposedly somewhere between argonians and lamias in body structure, so they -could- be done in a humanoid enough way to be viable for all equipment... (and thus as viable player race - the question if they have legs or not has yet to be entirely cleared by the lore) or there could be two kinds of them, like with the D&D Yuan-ti where one breed/caste might have a more snake-body lamia-ish body structure, the other a more humanoid one, thus keeping both options open, with the humanoid caste available as player character race (since I doubt anyone would play a race that could not use leg and foot armor slots, yes?)

Tang Mo



The monkey people of the thousand islands would seem entirely possible as palyer race. But they better also come with polearms to use staves in battle, hear!

Ka Po'Tun

The tiger people may be a little close to Khajiit, but would seem entirely possible as well. Perhaps some slight differences on body proportions or whatnot, but there is little enough intormation that the poeple at ZOS could do as they wish with them...

Kamal


Little is known about the "Snow Demons", except that they may have been the bulk of the recent invasion that spawned the ebonheart pact, and that they are rumored to freeze solid during winters - something that would make them a bit iffy when it comes to player characters and questing in eastmarch... however, noone can really say if that is not a mere rumor anyhow, it -might- just be indicating a cold-blooded reptilian race that are sluggish in winter and thus prefer to hide in warm caverns during that time. Up to the developers.

Goblins


Despite what some people might say, they are technically possible. They are around, they are (barely) intelligent enough to talk, cast spells and craft stuff, so... they could theoretically be player characters. Thay are also a bit... unwanted... all across tamriel, due to generally being too primitive to follow the laws civilized people live by, and thus usually end up killed on sight or enslaved for "their own good", so it may be a little iffy... but then, we also can make bretons and wander through stonefalls during the DC invasion attempt without getting murdered by our pact allies, so an exceptional gobbo becoming a hero may perhaps not be too far-fetched.

Imga

...would be somewhat possible; they are technically around in this era, though they seem for some reason absent from valenwood in ESO, likely hiding somewhere in a pocket dimension like that vanishing village in greenshade (possibly in Falinesti) from Molag Bal and the soulburst troubles no doubt. But that would not preclude some being caught up in the issues and sacrificed by Mannimarco for vestige status before the rest of them got away...

Maormer

The sea elves would be entirely possible, they are around in this era, they are in the game, they have their own crafting style... all it needs is cobbling together some passives (maybe altmer/dunmer-istic but with storm damage bonus?), and there we go. Yes, the race in general is isolationistic, and an antagonist race - and playing as maormer through the AD storyline would be a little iffy. But no more so then playing as imperial in the bangkorai or reapers march questlines, or as DC race in bleakrock to stonefalls, or as AD race through shadowfen...

Reachmen

They can or can not be their own race, that is up to the developers, the lore would support both them being just primitive bretons, or them being a slightly different race thanks to lots of interbreeding with other people in the distant past... but they are in the game, have their own crafting style and so... easy to do if the powers that be decide they want to.

...then there are some "maaaaaybe" races like:

Kothringi

The silver-skinned tribes of black marsh all died out in the Knarhaten flu. How-ever... that only happened twenty years before ESO, so its not entirely implausible that one or two "lone survivirs" managed to hold on, doomed to extinction, and got caught up in the troubles landing them in a coldharbour prison. They -could- be done as PC race, but if so, I would expect them to be as rare as apex mounts... either by hiding their racial unlock in crown crates at the same rarity, ot by charging an insanely inflated price.

Lilmothiit

Are in the same boat as the Kothringi. (not literally, since they for one were not taken aboard the crimson ship). Very unlikely as PC race, but not entirely impossible.

...and on the "nope" side we have:

Dremora (and other humanoid daedra)

Playing as daedra is way more iffy, lore-wise, then anything else. I mean, come on... why would any quest giver trust a frikkin -demon- to actually help them??? Because that's what daedra are in TES lore! Thus any daedra who shows their face without some sorceror to hold their leash would be seen as mortal enemy, not potential ally. Remember how your stories all start with some sort of rescue? Well, forget that if you were a daedra! You'd get your throat slit before you even woke up after the coldharbour escape... you'd be a dead-ra at best! ;p
Now, yes, it -would- be cool to play a dremora, dark seducer, skaafin or whatever... but it would not fit into ESO. If they ever make a TES game for it though... starting in oblivion, serving your dark masters, going to mundus for questing to avert some dire threat to oblivion itself, facing the usual mobs plus enraged mortals, with adventurer groups as "bossfights"... it could be fun! But it definitely is -not- ESO!

Dwemer

The deep elves are long gone in this era (with one exception), and they won't be coming back for as far as anyone knows - even in games set a thousand years later, noone has ever recorded seeing another living dwemer (and they would have, seeing how its one of the great mysteries of tamriel, and anyone who found out could have gotten free drinks from the fame along for life).
Only way we will see them is in some "flashback" quest, like the nedes or chimer - which is entirely possible. But never as player characters without some serious lore breakage.

Sload

...are for one not present on Tamriel at this era, since they live on isles to the southwest of the continent; for another may be structurally unsuitable as player characters - they are supposed to be sluggish fat slug people, barely able to support themselves on land, which may not be all that great for player characters (I always kinda think of jabba the hutt when I read about them...)

Snow Elves


...are long gone by the time of ESO. And the only remaining ones are in hiding until met in TESV:Skyrim-Dawnguard. Ther blind mutated descendants the Falmer may show up in some dwemer ruin beneath some skyrim reguin though...

Atmorans have become Nords... Youkudans have become Redguards... Nedes have become Imperials... Chimer have become Dunmer... Aldmer have become Altmer... making all those races part of history, and no longer around in their ancient incarnation.

As for all giants, lamia, ogres, minotaurs, or other races that have non-humanoid or oversized bodies - obviously those are all unsuitable for PC races (can't have a player race that would clip through half the scenery after all!)

Cadbury

@TheShadowScout

Awesome write-up!

But you forgot about mudcrabs and guars

TheShadowScout

Cadbury wrote: »

But you forgot about mudcrabs and guars

Did not!

TheShadowScout wrote: »

...or other races that have non-humanoid or oversized bodies...

Turelus

There are plenty they could add, however if they're trying to keep to the staple TES mould then they probably won't add any.

Cadbury

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

But you forgot about mudcrabs and guars

Did not!

TheShadowScout wrote: »

...or other races that have non-humanoid or oversized bodies...

I just want my mudcrab Warden. Is that so wrong?

TheShadowScout

Turelus wrote: »

There are plenty they could add, however if they're trying to keep to the staple TES mould then they probably won't add any.

Maybe... maybe not.
ESO is not exactly one of the "staple TES" games anyhow, so it -would- make the best place for anything like that. And they are adding mounts and crafting styles never before known in TES, so... they just might add new races as well.
Time will tell...
They could quite easily add some of the options I mentioned, for extra profit. Several of them would be doable with very little effort (races that are already in the game together with their own crafting style), I reckon if they want to "test the waters" and see how good new races might sell, they could throw out one or two of those and see how it goes. (especially since everyone could refit a race to their characters thanks to tokens, thus maybe making the whole idea more viable for a wider range of customers)

Dapper Dinosaur

I can only imagine how much hate anyone playing a fox-person would be the victim of on a daily basis. Us argonians already constantly hear people talking about making our characters into pelts/purses/whatever whenever they're not calling us filthy, and I routinely witness the khajiit getting called furries. Foxes are the posterchildren of furries and I imagine the slander against anyone playing them would be kicked into another dimension.

Kajuratus

Not a different race, but they could always add different furstocks of the Khajiit, like Suthay, Cathay-Raht, Ohmes and Ohmes-Raht. Simply make the skeleons bigger or smaller, and add digitigrade feet. Obviously the four legged breeds like Alfiq, Pahmar and Senche wouldn't really be a playable option, since as of right now theres no clothing/armour for animals. Different types of Argonians could also be added, like the Naga, which are supposedly coming along as NPC's in Murkmire, whenever that gets released.

Shadowasrial

Wasn’t there a half elf in oblivion?

QuebraRegra

GOBLINS and RIEKLINGS!

When we encounter them in game, they fulfil all of the various class lines, they have assassins, tanks, witches, etc. We communicate with them and interact, sometimes positively.

They are enslaved by the Aldmeri, so it makes sense that escaped slaves could be found in DC or EP, or even going about AD business (treat them like Imperial race in terms of faction).

The models and animations are already present in game (mostly), and while I don't envision their racials being particularly beneficial in terms of max builds, maybe give them a balance of racial passives which benefit both STAM and MAG to some degree, allowing for the race to be used somewhat effectively for either build type? Beyond RP purposes as a reason to select the GOLBLINS race (since they would not likely be OP by any means), perhaps give them their own racial questline as part of the chapter: "a goblin's freedom", which could provide a backstory on how your goblin character either escaped bondage, or was promoted within AD.

baltic1284

Shadowasrial wrote: »

Wasn’t there a half elf in oblivion?

No you are thinking of Agronak gro-Malog which was half Orc and Half Vampire and Vampires themselves are not a race in Elder Scrolls but an affliction.

idk

All the playable races from previous games have been added. It’s extremly unlikely Zos would add another race. Really not a need to as it would merely duplicate what we already have passive wise.

baltic1284

TheShadowScout wrote: »

This again? Well, here we go once more...

Let's take a look atht eusual suspects, shall we?

Akaviri
...are not one race but four. There is little lore if all of them were part of the akaviri invasion ten years before ESO - but lore does say there were survivors from that one, which eventually would make their way to Rimmen where they join up with some human akaviri descendants from earlier visits... and make a push into cyrodil somewhen between this time and the rise of Talos in three of so centuries... so all of them may be technically viable lore-wise... though since they ought to be somewhat rare, it is a little questionable if they would be done (or at what price - adding a surcharge for extra-rarity would seem likely)

Tsaesci

These golden-skinned snakepeople may be possible, depending on how the powers that be choose to depict them in ESO... they -are- supposedly somewhere between argonians and lamias in body structure, so they -could- be done in a humanoid enough way to be viable for all equipment... (and thus as viable player race - the question if they have legs or not has yet to be entirely cleared by the lore) or there could be two kinds of them, like with the D&D Yuan-ti where one breed/caste might have a more snake-body lamia-ish body structure, the other a more humanoid one, thus keeping both options open, with the humanoid caste available as player character race (since I doubt anyone would play a race that could not use leg and foot armor slots, yes?)

Tang Mo



The monkey people of the thousand islands would seem entirely possible as palyer race. But they better also come with polearms to use staves in battle, hear!

Ka Po'Tun

The tiger people may be a little close to Khajiit, but would seem entirely possible as well. Perhaps some slight differences on body proportions or whatnot, but there is little enough intormation that the poeple at ZOS could do as they wish with them...

Kamal


Little is known about the "Snow Demons", except that they may have been the bulk of the recent invasion that spawned the ebonheart pact, and that they are rumored to freeze solid during winters - something that would make them a bit iffy when it comes to player characters and questing in eastmarch... however, noone can really say if that is not a mere rumor anyhow, it -might- just be indicating a cold-blooded reptilian race that are sluggish in winter and thus prefer to hide in warm caverns during that time. Up to the developers.

Goblins


Despite what some people might say, they are technically possible. They are around, they are (barely) intelligent enough to talk, cast spells and craft stuff, so... they could theoretically be player characters. Thay are also a bit... unwanted... all across tamriel, due to generally being too primitive to follow the laws civilized people live by, and thus usually end up killed on sight or enslaved for "their own good", so it may be a little iffy... but then, we also can make bretons and wander through stonefalls during the DC invasion attempt without getting murdered by our pact allies, so an exceptional gobbo becoming a hero may perhaps not be too far-fetched.

Imga

...would be somewhat possible; they are technically around in this era, though they seem for some reason absent from valenwood in ESO, likely hiding somewhere in a pocket dimension like that vanishing village in greenshade (possibly in Falinesti) from Molag Bal and the soulburst troubles no doubt. But that would not preclude some being caught up in the issues and sacrificed by Mannimarco for vestige status before the rest of them got away...

Maormer

The sea elves would be entirely possible, they are around in this era, they are in the game, they have their own crafting style... all it needs is cobbling together some passives (maybe altmer/dunmer-istic but with storm damage bonus?), and there we go. Yes, the race in general is isolationistic, and an antagonist race - and playing as maormer through the AD storyline would be a little iffy. But no more so then playing as imperial in the bangkorai or reapers march questlines, or as DC race in bleakrock to stonefalls, or as AD race through shadowfen...

Reachmen

They can or can not be their own race, that is up to the developers, the lore would support both them being just primitive bretons, or them being a slightly different race thanks to lots of interbreeding with other people in the distant past... but they are in the game, have their own crafting style and so... easy to do if the powers that be decide they want to.

...then there are some "maaaaaybe" races like:

Kothringi

The silver-skinned tribes of black marsh all died out in the Knarhaten flu. How-ever... that only happened twenty years before ESO, so its not entirely implausible that one or two "lone survivirs" managed to hold on, doomed to extinction, and got caught up in the troubles landing them in a coldharbour prison. They -could- be done as PC race, but if so, I would expect them to be as rare as apex mounts... either by hiding their racial unlock in crown crates at the same rarity, ot by charging an insanely inflated price.

Lilmothiit

Are in the same boat as the Kothringi. (not literally, since they for one were not taken aboard the crimson ship). Very unlikely as PC race, but not entirely impossible.

...and on the "nope" side we have:

Dremora (and other humanoid daedra)

Playing as daedra is way more iffy, lore-wise, then anything else. I mean, come on... why would any quest giver trust a frikkin -demon- to actually help them??? Because that's what daedra are in TES lore! Thus any daedra who shows their face without some sorceror to hold their leash would be seen as mortal enemy, not potential ally. Remember how your stories all start with some sort of rescue? Well, forget that if you were a daedra! You'd get your throat slit before you even woke up after the coldharbour escape... you'd be a dead-ra at best! ;p
Now, yes, it -would- be cool to play a dremora, dark seducer, skaafin or whatever... but it would not fit into ESO. If they ever make a TES game for it though... starting in oblivion, serving your dark masters, going to mundus for questing to avert some dire threat to oblivion itself, facing the usual mobs plus enraged mortals, with adventurer groups as "bossfights"... it could be fun! But it definitely is -not- ESO!

Dwemer

The deep elves are long gone in this era (with one exception), and they won't be coming back for as far as anyone knows - even in games set a thousand years later, noone has ever recorded seeing another living dwemer (and they would have, seeing how its one of the great mysteries of tamriel, and anyone who found out could have gotten free drinks from the fame along for life).
Only way we will see them is in some "flashback" quest, like the nedes or chimer - which is entirely possible. But never as player characters without some serious lore breakage.

Sload

...are for one not present on Tamriel at this era, since they live on isles to the southwest of the continent; for another may be structurally unsuitable as player characters - they are supposed to be sluggish fat slug people, barely able to support themselves on land, which may not be all that great for player characters (I always kinda think of jabba the hutt when I read about them...)

Snow Elves


...are long gone by the time of ESO. And the only remaining ones are in hiding until met in TESV:Skyrim-Dawnguard. Ther blind mutated descendants the Falmer may show up in some dwemer ruin beneath some skyrim reguin though...

Atmorans have become Nords... Youkudans have become Redguards... Nedes have become Imperials... Chimer have become Dunmer... Aldmer have become Altmer... making all those races part of history, and no longer around in their ancient incarnation.

As for all giants, lamia, ogres, minotaurs, or other races that have non-humanoid or oversized bodies - obviously those are all unsuitable for PC races (can't have a player race that would clip through half the scenery after all!)

I can see many of your races except the Imga and the Loads not enough to even base what they look like in the game most images are just speculation. Also they only played some major roles of some kind in history while the others played major history many times.

Aebaradath

Just add a playable Guar race and I'm happy.

TelvanniWizard

baltic1284 wrote: »

TheShadowScout wrote: »

This again? Well, here we go once more...

Let's take a look atht eusual suspects, shall we?

Akaviri
...are not one race but four. There is little lore if all of them were part of the akaviri invasion ten years before ESO - but lore does say there were survivors from that one, which eventually would make their way to Rimmen where they join up with some human akaviri descendants from earlier visits... and make a push into cyrodil somewhen between this time and the rise of Talos in three of so centuries... so all of them may be technically viable lore-wise... though since they ought to be somewhat rare, it is a little questionable if they would be done (or at what price - adding a surcharge for extra-rarity would seem likely)

Tsaesci

These golden-skinned snakepeople may be possible, depending on how the powers that be choose to depict them in ESO... they -are- supposedly somewhere between argonians and lamias in body structure, so they -could- be done in a humanoid enough way to be viable for all equipment... (and thus as viable player race - the question if they have legs or not has yet to be entirely cleared by the lore) or there could be two kinds of them, like with the D&D Yuan-ti where one breed/caste might have a more snake-body lamia-ish body structure, the other a more humanoid one, thus keeping both options open, with the humanoid caste available as player character race (since I doubt anyone would play a race that could not use leg and foot armor slots, yes?)

Tang Mo



The monkey people of the thousand islands would seem entirely possible as palyer race. But they better also come with polearms to use staves in battle, hear!

Ka Po'Tun

The tiger people may be a little close to Khajiit, but would seem entirely possible as well. Perhaps some slight differences on body proportions or whatnot, but there is little enough intormation that the poeple at ZOS could do as they wish with them...

Kamal


Little is known about the "Snow Demons", except that they may have been the bulk of the recent invasion that spawned the ebonheart pact, and that they are rumored to freeze solid during winters - something that would make them a bit iffy when it comes to player characters and questing in eastmarch... however, noone can really say if that is not a mere rumor anyhow, it -might- just be indicating a cold-blooded reptilian race that are sluggish in winter and thus prefer to hide in warm caverns during that time. Up to the developers.

Goblins


Despite what some people might say, they are technically possible. They are around, they are (barely) intelligent enough to talk, cast spells and craft stuff, so... they could theoretically be player characters. Thay are also a bit... unwanted... all across tamriel, due to generally being too primitive to follow the laws civilized people live by, and thus usually end up killed on sight or enslaved for "their own good", so it may be a little iffy... but then, we also can make bretons and wander through stonefalls during the DC invasion attempt without getting murdered by our pact allies, so an exceptional gobbo becoming a hero may perhaps not be too far-fetched.

Imga

...would be somewhat possible; they are technically around in this era, though they seem for some reason absent from valenwood in ESO, likely hiding somewhere in a pocket dimension like that vanishing village in greenshade (possibly in Falinesti) from Molag Bal and the soulburst troubles no doubt. But that would not preclude some being caught up in the issues and sacrificed by Mannimarco for vestige status before the rest of them got away...

Maormer

The sea elves would be entirely possible, they are around in this era, they are in the game, they have their own crafting style... all it needs is cobbling together some passives (maybe altmer/dunmer-istic but with storm damage bonus?), and there we go. Yes, the race in general is isolationistic, and an antagonist race - and playing as maormer through the AD storyline would be a little iffy. But no more so then playing as imperial in the bangkorai or reapers march questlines, or as DC race in bleakrock to stonefalls, or as AD race through shadowfen...

Reachmen

They can or can not be their own race, that is up to the developers, the lore would support both them being just primitive bretons, or them being a slightly different race thanks to lots of interbreeding with other people in the distant past... but they are in the game, have their own crafting style and so... easy to do if the powers that be decide they want to.

...then there are some "maaaaaybe" races like:

Kothringi

The silver-skinned tribes of black marsh all died out in the Knarhaten flu. How-ever... that only happened twenty years before ESO, so its not entirely implausible that one or two "lone survivirs" managed to hold on, doomed to extinction, and got caught up in the troubles landing them in a coldharbour prison. They -could- be done as PC race, but if so, I would expect them to be as rare as apex mounts... either by hiding their racial unlock in crown crates at the same rarity, ot by charging an insanely inflated price.

Lilmothiit

Are in the same boat as the Kothringi. (not literally, since they for one were not taken aboard the crimson ship). Very unlikely as PC race, but not entirely impossible.

...and on the "nope" side we have:

Dremora (and other humanoid daedra)

Playing as daedra is way more iffy, lore-wise, then anything else. I mean, come on... why would any quest giver trust a frikkin -demon- to actually help them??? Because that's what daedra are in TES lore! Thus any daedra who shows their face without some sorceror to hold their leash would be seen as mortal enemy, not potential ally. Remember how your stories all start with some sort of rescue? Well, forget that if you were a daedra! You'd get your throat slit before you even woke up after the coldharbour escape... you'd be a dead-ra at best! ;p
Now, yes, it -would- be cool to play a dremora, dark seducer, skaafin or whatever... but it would not fit into ESO. If they ever make a TES game for it though... starting in oblivion, serving your dark masters, going to mundus for questing to avert some dire threat to oblivion itself, facing the usual mobs plus enraged mortals, with adventurer groups as "bossfights"... it could be fun! But it definitely is -not- ESO!

Dwemer

The deep elves are long gone in this era (with one exception), and they won't be coming back for as far as anyone knows - even in games set a thousand years later, noone has ever recorded seeing another living dwemer (and they would have, seeing how its one of the great mysteries of tamriel, and anyone who found out could have gotten free drinks from the fame along for life).
Only way we will see them is in some "flashback" quest, like the nedes or chimer - which is entirely possible. But never as player characters without some serious lore breakage.

Sload

...are for one not present on Tamriel at this era, since they live on isles to the southwest of the continent; for another may be structurally unsuitable as player characters - they are supposed to be sluggish fat slug people, barely able to support themselves on land, which may not be all that great for player characters (I always kinda think of jabba the hutt when I read about them...)

Snow Elves


...are long gone by the time of ESO. And the only remaining ones are in hiding until met in TESV:Skyrim-Dawnguard. Ther blind mutated descendants the Falmer may show up in some dwemer ruin beneath some skyrim reguin though...

Atmorans have become Nords... Youkudans have become Redguards... Nedes have become Imperials... Chimer have become Dunmer... Aldmer have become Altmer... making all those races part of history, and no longer around in their ancient incarnation.

As for all giants, lamia, ogres, minotaurs, or other races that have non-humanoid or oversized bodies - obviously those are all unsuitable for PC races (can't have a player race that would clip through half the scenery after all!)

I can see many of your races except the Imga and the Loads not enough to even base what they look like in the game most images are just speculation. Also they only played some major roles of some kind in history while the others played major history many times.

Halve those races would do excellent slaves!

More seriously, I´d love to see maormer race added in the same fashion imperial is.

starkerealm

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Atmorans have become Nords... Youkudans have become Redguards... Nedes have become Imperials... Chimer have become Dunmer... Aldmer have become Altmer... making all those races part of history, and no longer around in their ancient incarnation.

Some minor nitpicks here. The distinction between Yokudan and Redguard is non-existent. It's actually the same race. Yokudan referred to their continent of origin. At one time, that was synonymous with their race, but they're now known as the Redguard as Yokuda has been lost and no living Redguard has ever seen it.

Atmoran and the Nedic people are a similar story. Atmora is (or was) a continent to the north of Tamriel. The Nedes were tribal cultures that once lived there. So, for example, Ysgramor was both a Nede and an Atmoran. Lamae was a Nede, but not an Atmoran, as she was native to Tamriel. When the Nedes colonized northern Tamriel they displaced the Falmer, and gradually expanded. The Imperials, Nords, and Bretons are all of Atmoran (and probably Nedic) descent.

In the specific case of the Bretons, they descended from Nedic tribes that settled in the High Rock region and interbred with the Aldmer there.

It's not entirely clear what caused the Cyrods (Imperials) and the Nords to split off from one another. There's a lot of myth, but not a lot of information on the subject.

The Aldmer/Altmer thing isn't quite accurate either. The Aldmer were a race of elves, and the Altmer are their decedents, but it's a bit reductive to say, "they became the Altmer." Also worth noting that there are several Aldmer races that are physiologically indistinguishable from each other. This includes the Chimer, and the Aylieds. In some ways, it might be more helpful to think of these groups as politically distinct factions of a single race, rather than races in their own right. Incidentally, it's also possible the Dwemer should be included in that, "politically distinct, but physiologically indistinguishable," header. These were all individual cultures, but they weren't separate races.

With that in mind, the Bosmer, Maomer, and Falmer do exhibit some severe physiological distinctions, and we've been told that Elves are, genetically, very adaptable.

The Dunmer are not an example of this, however. The Chimer were a political/religious sect that split off in the First Era, and traveled east, in order to find somewhere to practice their religion (worshiping Daedra). Their modern appearance is derived directly from the Tribunal pissing off Azura in final years of the First Era. So, advice for the day, don't irk a Daedric Prince. Certainly don't kill one of their chosen without permission, and then lick the heart of a dead god to gain magical powers.

Also, you skipped over the Aylieds. This is another hard no, but for different reasons. The Aylieds are extinct, but unlike other elves, their decline was tracked, and the last one died a few centuries before ESO takes place. After the fall of the Aylied Empire in Cyrodiil, they retreated to the woods, and became known as the Wild Elves. Their numbers declined over time, and they were effectively extinct by the start of the Second Era with a few surviving individuals. The last example was a Mage who lived into the second century of the second era. Technically, Llorian Dynar is also an Aylied, though, by the time you meet him he is, literally, the last of his kind.

Marabornwingrion

I'd love to have dremora race.

Defilted

Daedra. Lore peeps would revolt but I don't care.

Saucy_Jack

I just want to play as an Ayleid.

TheShadowScout

starkerealm wrote: »

Some minor nitpicks here. The distinction between Yokudan and Redguard is non-existent...

Yeah, I know. When the yokudans left yokuda and swept over hammerfell as the Ra'Gada, they conquered that land and settled there, becoming known as redguards to the rest of tamriel. But many people who don't know this see the Yokudan crafting style, and think they might be a seperate race...

starkerealm wrote: »

Atmoran and the Nedic people are a similar story...

Maybe.
The lore does not make it certain where the nedes came from, that they were a prior wave of settlers from atmore may be the main theory, but its not the only one. Though I kinda happen to think its most likely on the mark anyhow. Still, the latter atmoran settlers (which may or may not have been considering themselves "nedes") became the nords of skyrim, and the nedic tribes that were around in earlier times lived as nedic culture mostly in the heartlands and hammerfell... in former, they found themselves enslaved by the ayleids until the alessian rebellions, and their descendants becoming the imperials, while in the latter region they were swept away by the Ra'Gada... thus while my "nedes became imperials" is a bit simplicistic, it is technically correct...

starkerealm wrote: »

The Aldmer/Altmer thing isn't quite accurate either. The Aldmer were a race of elves, and the Altmer are their decedents, but it's a bit reductive to say, "they became the Altmer."

True. The aldmer were basically the ancestors of ALL elven races in TES (with the possible exception of the dwemer, who -might- have been around tamriel before the aldmer came to colonize its southern part, and then spread from there... that part is unclear from the lore). The altmer trace their lineage to them most directly, as do the maormer (one of the things the two keep quarreling over, who is more "true heir to aldmeris" or something like that). The chimer left them to practice their daedra worship elsewhere, as did the ayleids. The snmow elves also were a part of that aldmer colonization of tamriel. The orsimer split off from them after deadric influence cursed them into theit green-skinned forms. The bosmer also somehow split off from them, though how exactly is not entirely clear (but one could surmise they might have been changed by their relation to nature spiriuts same as the chimer later were into dunmer through daedric intervention). Even the khajiit are rumored to have elven ancestry, and their kitty forms were due to a "gift" from Azura...

Also, the ayleids had a more ruddy skin tone, while the chimer were not quite as tall of stature as the altmer...

But yeah, technically the aldmer are the ancestory of half of tamriel, more or less. Still not around for eras, and still not viable as player characters.

starkerealm wrote: »

Also, you skipped over the Aylieds. This is another hard no, but for different reasons. The Aylieds are extinct, but unlike other elves, their decline was tracked, and the last one died a few centuries before ESO takes place. After the fall of the Aylied Empire in Cyrodiil, they retreated to the woods, and became known as the Wild Elves. Their numbers declined over time, and they were effectively extinct by the start of the Second Era with a few surviving individuals. The last example was a Mage who lived into the second century of the second era. Technically, Llorian Dynar is also an Aylied, though, by the time you meet him he is, literally, the last of his kind.

Yeah, guess I did. Always something that slips ones mind, huh? But as you pointed out, they too are extinct, and have been for a long time. Which every player should know if they at least follow the quest dialouge... not like we don't see the last ayleids fate at the end of the coldharbour questline!

ZOS_Holden

Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback, guys! Lore concerns aside, these are all really great and fun ideas. While we obviously can't promise anything, we love these ideas and hope you guys decide to keep sharing.

We would also like to take a moment to say wow, @TheShadowScout, your post is an absolute treasure trove of knowledge and great ideas for possible future playable races. Thanks for taking the time to put that together!

lucky_Sage

Lilmothiit & Kothringi could still be alive just in small numbers in hiding. the snow elves still had a few in skyrim even though they where thought to be wiped out

lucky_Sage

Maormer if become a race passives would something like

10% mac magicka
7% shock dmg
last one could be anything really mag regen cost reduction.

if they went akivir the Tsaesci would need some type of healing passive like
heals evertime you attack enemy with a melee ability for x hp
max stam 10%
max magicka 10%

stewhead2ub17_ESO

@TheShadowScout great roundup, thx for the post!

milesrodneymcneely2_ESO

lucky_Sage wrote: »

Maormer if become a race passives would something like

10% mac magicka
7% shock dmg
last one could be anything really mag regen cost reduction.

All we need for Maormer is a skin specifically for Altmer toons.