Character Background Passives

TheShadowScout · October 2018

Now, we all have characters, characters that are unique and different (unless we were stupid enough to just copy some flavor of the month design).

But... wouldn’t we want them to be -more- unique?

I mean, sure, they are of different races, and that makes a bit of a difference in their abilities. But... doesn’t it seem that some characters are way too common a sight? The Altmer Sorceror? The Redguard Swordsman? The Dunmer Pyromancer? The Khajiiti Rogue?

Sometimes, you feel a little like in a "clone wars", right?

We all know the problem, of course, the whole "must be THIS race to play as THAT class" which is vexing a great many of us on the forums and in the game; Many people have spoken up against it, tho sadly usually their alternative suggestions boil down to "let us cherry-pick our passives contrary to elder scrolls lore about what races are good at which things"... I mean, the fact that some races have some advantage in some fields is and has always been an established part of the elder scrolls lore. Like where the racial descriptions always mention stuff like "The Altmer are the most strongly gifted in the arcane arts of all the races" or telling us "Redguards are also physically blessed with hardy constitutions"... that has -always- been part of TES games (though of course, the mechanics depicting those differences have varied widely over the various games)

So, I am thinking...
...perhaps a better solution would be one that -does- keep to the lore about what this or that race is good at, but instead changes and expands the way those racial differences are depicted in the game to sidestep the mentioned "pigeonholing" problem?

...

For starters, fiddling with the attribute-related racial passives so they don't have an percentage bonus on top of everything in the endgame, but instead more of an leg up at the start... perhaps in the form of pre-assigned attribute points, and making attribute ceilings through diminishing returns from some point onward a thing again; so that the racial perks will just let people get there a bit faster instead of adding 10% or so to the final score? That would greatly lessen the "must have for endgame" impact (and also make hybrid builds more viable again as such softcaps would mean the "put everything into your damage stat for the win" character building method suddenly is way less effective... and the "a bit of this and a bit of that" builds actually get within spitting distance of those overspecialized characters once more...)

And then...
...wouldn’t there be other things then a characters race that might also make a difference in what special advantages they might have in this or that field? Like, for example... the whole life they have had before they became adventurer vestige player characters in ESO? Their upbringing for example? I mean, it should make quite a difference if our characters were raised a nobles son, with private tutors and libraries, or grew up on some farm in the country, sweating in the fields to help their parents each day, yes? Or if they grew up sweating under the Alik’r sun or plodding through the deepest swamps of Black Marsh?

In that spirit...
...what if we had another couple sets of passives in -addition- to our racial ones to further diversify our characters? Something to portray the differences in upbringing depending on where and how our characters grew up... what environment they grew up in, how they spent their childhood, and perhaps what life they had before they started adventuring... passives that -would- be freely selectable, and thus -could- inherit the "percentage bonus on top" mechanic that I would like to see removed from the current racial passives...

Like...

• Birthplace might give a resistance bonus to some danger associated with the region on question, like ice and snow in Skyrim, or fertile breeding grounds for diseases in Black marsh, or possibly some other perk where applicable, like picking up some understanding of magic just from observing the numerous mages on the Summerset isles, or weaponcraft by watching the warriors of Hammerfell train... or simply growing up trying to keep your possessions on your person among the sticky pawed Khajiit of Elsweyr...

Childhood: Black Marsh • + Disease Resistance
Childhood: Cyrodil • + Critical Resistance
Childhood: Elsweyr • + Stealth Detection
Childhood: Hammerfell • + Weapon Critical
Childhood: High Rock • + Spell Resistance
Childhood: High Seas / Islands • + Shock Resistance
Childhood: Morrowind • + Fire Resistance
Childhood: Sumerset Isles • + Spell Critical
Childhood: Skyrim • + Frost Resistance
Childhood: Valenwood • + Poison Resistance
Childhood: Wanderer • + Elemental Resistance

• Upbringing might give attribute boni relevant to the household and surroundings someone grew up in, for example, those who were raised in a scholar household amidst libraries and tutors might get an advantage in magica from all that honing of their minds; those who were in a commoner household helping the family business might have an advantage in stamina from all the muscle-building hard work they did, and those who grew up with outcasts in the wilds gain some heatlh advantage from "roughing it" all the time... and there could also be hybrid options, like a noble household that gave equal training in fields of knowledge (aka magica bonus) and physical practice (aka health bonus), while those growing up among warriors might have training both in weaponcraft (stamina bonus) and toughness (health bonus)... (and here we could have the mentioned "percentage boni on top of everything", since people could freely select their background, yes?)

Upbringing: Scholar • + 3%/6%/9% Magica
Upbringing: Commoner • + 3%/6%/9% Stamina
Upbringing: Outcast • + 3%/6%/9% Health
Upbringing: Noble • + 2%/4%/6% Magica and 1%/2%/3% Health
Upbringing: Warrior • + 2%/4%/6% Stamina and 1%/2%/3% Health
Upbringing: Hermit • + 1%/2%/3% Magica and 2%/4%/6% Health
Upbringing: Raider • + 1%/2%/3% Stamina and 2%/4%/6% Health

• Profession they might have had before the events of ESO started the adventuring career might give some extra bonus for related skill usage here or there - former blacksmiths might gain increased temper improvement chances, former cutpurses improved pickpocket chances, former librarians could gain a chance to learn something from a motiv/recipe/pattern scroll without consuming it, etc. This might also come with drawbacks - like the former blacksmith might have strong but forgework-callused hands that fumble small stuff like lockpicking more then nimble thieves, while the former thief might still be vaguely remembered by the city guard and thus gain more bounty if caught, or the former librarian might be bookish and socially inept, and thus get worse deals with every vendor... that sort of thing...

...some ideas:

Professsion: Noble
• + bonus advancement for all armors
• + bonus for buying from vendors
• - penalty to all crafting

Professsion: Mage
• + bonus advancement for mages guild
• + bonus spell damage
• - penalty to all crafting

Professsion: Scholar
• + bonus advancement for mages guild (or scholars guild if implemented)
• + chance to learn recipe/motiv/blueprint without consuming
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Healer
• + bonus advancement for restoration
• + bonus healing
• - penalty to spell damage

Professsion: Knight
• + bonus advancement for heavy armor
• + decreased bounty gain
• - penalty all criminal skills (both use and advancement)

Professsion: Archer
• + bonus advancement for bow
• + bonus stamina recovery on heavy bow attack
• - reduced advancement in other weapon lines

Professsion: Legionaire
• + bonus advancement for one handed & shield
• + bonus critical resistance when in group
• - penalty critical resistance when alone

Professsion: Soldier
• + bonus advancement for fighters guild
• + bonus alliance point gain
• - penalty quest reward money

Professsion: Mercenary
• + bonus advancement for fighters guild
• + bonus quest reward money
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Bandit
• + bonus advancement for medium armor
• + bonus looting
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Burglar
• + bonus advancement for legerdemain
• + bonus chance for better stuff in lockboxes
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Thief
• + bonus advancement for thieves guild
• + bonus pickpocket chance
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Sailor
• + bonus advancement for dual wield
• + bonus swimming speed
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Artisan
• + bonus advancement for all crafting skills
• + bonus crafting research time
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Blacksmith
• + bonus advancement for blacksmith
• + bonus to blacksmithing temper improvement chance
• - penalty to lockpicking (break chance)

Professsion: Tailor
• + bonus advancement for clothier
• + bonus to clothier lining improvement chance
• - penalty to resource gathering

Professsion: Carpenter
• + bonus advancement for woodworking
• + bonus to woodworking raisin improvement chance
• - penalty to pickpocketing chance

Professsion: Goldsmith
• + bonus advancement for Jeweler
• + bonus to jeweler plating improvement chance
• - penalty quest reward money

Professsion: Alchemist
• + bonus advancement for alchemy
• + chance for extra potion made
• - penalty stealth range (smells!)

Professsion: Cook
• + bonus advancement for provisioning
• + chance for extra meal/drink made
• - penalty stealth range (smells!)

Professsion: Runecaster
• + bonus advancement for enchanting
• + bonus rune recovery chance
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Merchant
• + reduced bag space upgrade cost (or bonus merchant guild advancement if implemented)
• + bonus vendor transactions (buy cheaper, sell better)
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Farmer
• + bonus advancement for light armor
• + bonus resource gathering
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Hunter
• + bonus advancement for bow (or hunters guild if implemented)
• + bonus damage against beasts
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Fisherman
• + bonus advancement for provisioning
• + bonus chance to catch rare fish
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Thoughts? (please be nice, 'kay?

)

tinythinker · October 2018

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Thoughts? (please be nice, 'kay? )

Two come to mind at first glance:

Similar ideas have been offered before long ago (I think? Gidorick, maybe?). Doesn't invalidate or trivialize your own take, but it affirms that...
ZOS doesn't seem interested in such ideas - their focus and budget isn't very RP-focused beyond houses, outfits, and emotes.

Nice write-up, though. Sounds fun.

Sylvermynx · October 2018

@TheShadowScout:

I love it. It's what I have always wanted TES to actually be (and it came close in some earlier SPMR games). If ESO could adopt this direction, I'd be here forever (heh - well, I'm likely here for whatever remains of my personal forever regardless....)

Such a wonderful idea. A very cogent presentation; a sterling write up - logically organized and easily understandable. I hope someone with authority reads it, and loves it, and implements it.

I hope so.

idk · October 2018

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Sometimes, you feel a little like in a "clone wars", right?

No, not at all.

More importantly, any change requires Zos to determine if they feel the change is good for the game and if the change is worth the work put into it.

What is suggested offers more complication to a game Zos already struggles to manage. That alone probably is the biggest issue.

During the past couple years Zos has worked to simplify aspects of the game by moving different aspects into this buff/debuff system so they have less to do. Even with that we still find them making huge change most updates like we say this week.

Not suggesting the idea is a bad idea. I just do not think Zos wants to add another degree of complication.

TheShadowScout · October 2018

tinythinker wrote: »

...Similar ideas have been offered before long ago...

)

tinythinker wrote: »

...ZOS doesn't seem interested in such ideas...

Yeah, I knooooow! Maybe if they could monetize it somehow... like give every race two "birthplace" options, one that is giving extra non-combat benefits and can only be taken if you own the right DLC/Expansion... or sell "advanced professions" in the crown store...
It'd be borderline (as long as it was just added non-combat benefits, not too bad I reckon, yes?) PtW, kinda, but I'd still jump for it!

idk wrote: »

What is suggested offers more complication to a game Zos already struggles to manage...

...but it also would solve a problem they have been struggling with, that of racial balance issues. Giving people more customization options by in a way leeching some mechanics from the racial templates into freely selectable cultural templates, while adding some more of the latter for more customization...

But yeah, the "How can we charge extra for this" issue might be a stumbling block. Still... the concept would be a great addition to make ESO more fun for everyone I think!

Glurin · October 2018

From a RP standpoint, I like the general idea.

But from a practical standpoint this would only add "you must also have this birthplace and this upbringing" to the metasheep's list of requirements for being considered not a bad player. As a result, you'd still see a whole lot of clones, but now they were all born in the same place and went to the same school. People would also be demanding birthplace tokens be sold in the crown store every time a patch made even the slightest changes to character skills.

The problem is people don't even comprehend the concept of immersion anymore and some of them go out of their way to mock it. For them, the game is all about the numbers. Personally I think that started when "feel the music" fully morphed into "crank the volume up until the vibrations kill off those pesky brain cells that the drugs and alcohol missed", but that's beside the point.

TheShadowScout · October 2018

Glurin wrote: »

For them, the game is all about the numbers...

...and would I not wish they had never let the players see the numbers, ever?

But yeah, agreed, far too many people are just like that, sadly.

Nilarynpaw · July 2019

I like these ideas, it would make the game more immersive especially for those who care a lot with roleplaying elements. However I'm not sure if ZOS could implement changes like these correctly and keep the game balanced at the same time.

The keyword here is "balanced" - it's always difficult when we're talking about an MMO.

worrallj · July 2019

This thread was created before the racial passives- overhaul so I'd say the main concern no longer applies. Percentage based passives really punished you for not pushing that particular stat as high as it could go. Flat bonuses give the same bonus regardless of the build. I think it's in a pretty good spot now.

TheShadowScout · July 2019

worrallj wrote: »

This thread was created before the racial passives- overhaul so I'd say the main concern no longer applies. Percentage based passives really punished you for not pushing that particular stat as high as it could go. Flat bonuses give the same bonus regardless of the build. I think it's in a pretty good spot now.

Yeah, the main "percentage as racial" thing is obsolete.

The rest is still interesting tho I would think! Any time the question of racial passives comes up... as it -still- does... -points to the first post-

Deathlord92 · December 2019

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Now, we all have characters, characters that are unique and different (unless we were stupid enough to just copy some flavor of the month design).

But... wouldn’t we want them to be -more- unique?

I mean, sure, they are of different races, and that makes a bit of a difference in their abilities. But... doesn’t it seem that some characters are way too common a sight? The Altmer Sorceror? The Redguard Swordsman? The Dunmer Pyromancer? The Khajiiti Rogue?

Sometimes, you feel a little like in a "clone wars", right?

We all know the problem, of course, the whole "must be THIS race to play as THAT class" which is vexing a great many of us on the forums and in the game; Many people have spoken up against it, tho sadly usually their alternative suggestions boil down to "let us cherry-pick our passives contrary to elder scrolls lore about what races are good at which things"... I mean, the fact that some races have some advantage in some fields is and has always been an established part of the elder scrolls lore. Like where the racial descriptions always mention stuff like "The Altmer are the most strongly gifted in the arcane arts of all the races" or telling us "Redguards are also physically blessed with hardy constitutions"... that has -always- been part of TES games (though of course, the mechanics depicting those differences have varied widely over the various games)

So, I am thinking...
...perhaps a better solution would be one that -does- keep to the lore about what this or that race is good at, but instead changes and expands the way those racial differences are depicted in the game to sidestep the mentioned "pigeonholing" problem?

...

For starters, fiddling with the attribute-related racial passives so they don't have an percentage bonus on top of everything in the endgame, but instead more of an leg up at the start... perhaps in the form of pre-assigned attribute points, and making attribute ceilings through diminishing returns from some point onward a thing again; so that the racial perks will just let people get there a bit faster instead of adding 10% or so to the final score? That would greatly lessen the "must have for endgame" impact (and also make hybrid builds more viable again as such softcaps would mean the "put everything into your damage stat for the win" character building method suddenly is way less effective... and the "a bit of this and a bit of that" builds actually get within spitting distance of those overspecialized characters once more...)

And then...
...wouldn’t there be other things then a characters race that might also make a difference in what special advantages they might have in this or that field? Like, for example... the whole life they have had before they became adventurer vestige player characters in ESO? Their upbringing for example? I mean, it should make quite a difference if our characters were raised a nobles son, with private tutors and libraries, or grew up on some farm in the country, sweating in the fields to help their parents each day, yes? Or if they grew up sweating under the Alik’r sun or plodding through the deepest swamps of Black Marsh?

In that spirit...
...what if we had another couple sets of passives in -addition- to our racial ones to further diversify our characters? Something to portray the differences in upbringing depending on where and how our characters grew up... what environment they grew up in, how they spent their childhood, and perhaps what life they had before they started adventuring... passives that -would- be freely selectable, and thus -could- inherit the "percentage bonus on top" mechanic that I would like to see removed from the current racial passives...

Like...

• Birthplace might give a resistance bonus to some danger associated with the region on question, like ice and snow in Skyrim, or fertile breeding grounds for diseases in Black marsh, or possibly some other perk where applicable, like picking up some understanding of magic just from observing the numerous mages on the Summerset isles, or weaponcraft by watching the warriors of Hammerfell train... or simply growing up trying to keep your possessions on your person among the sticky pawed Khajiit of Elsweyr...
Childhood: Black Marsh • + Disease Resistance

Childhood: Cyrodil • + Critical Resistance

Childhood: Elsweyr • + Stealth Detection

Childhood: Hammerfell • + Weapon Critical

Childhood: High Rock • + Spell Resistance

Childhood: High Seas / Islands • + Shock Resistance

Childhood: Morrowind • + Fire Resistance

Childhood: Sumerset Isles • + Spell Critical

Childhood: Skyrim • + Frost Resistance

Childhood: Valenwood • + Poison Resistance

Childhood: Wanderer • + Elemental Resistance

• Upbringing might give attribute boni relevant to the household and surroundings someone grew up in, for example, those who were raised in a scholar household amidst libraries and tutors might get an advantage in magica from all that honing of their minds; those who were in a commoner household helping the family business might have an advantage in stamina from all the muscle-building hard work they did, and those who grew up with outcasts in the wilds gain some heatlh advantage from "roughing it" all the time... and there could also be hybrid options, like a noble household that gave equal training in fields of knowledge (aka magica bonus) and physical practice (aka health bonus), while those growing up among warriors might have training both in weaponcraft (stamina bonus) and toughness (health bonus)... (and here we could have the mentioned "percentage boni on top of everything", since people could freely select their background, yes?)
Upbringing: Scholar • + 3%/6%/9% Magica

Upbringing: Commoner • + 3%/6%/9% Stamina

Upbringing: Outcast • + 3%/6%/9% Health

Upbringing: Noble • + 2%/4%/6% Magica and 1%/2%/3% Health

Upbringing: Warrior • + 2%/4%/6% Stamina and 1%/2%/3% Health

Upbringing: Hermit • + 1%/2%/3% Magica and 2%/4%/6% Health

Upbringing: Raider • + 1%/2%/3% Stamina and 2%/4%/6% Health

• Profession they might have had before the events of ESO started the adventuring career might give some extra bonus for related skill usage here or there - former blacksmiths might gain increased temper improvement chances, former cutpurses improved pickpocket chances, former librarians could gain a chance to learn something from a motiv/recipe/pattern scroll without consuming it, etc. This might also come with drawbacks - like the former blacksmith might have strong but forgework-callused hands that fumble small stuff like lockpicking more then nimble thieves, while the former thief might still be vaguely remembered by the city guard and thus gain more bounty if caught, or the former librarian might be bookish and socially inept, and thus get worse deals with every vendor... that sort of thing...

...some ideas:
Professsion: Noble
• + bonus advancement for all armors
• + bonus for buying from vendors
• - penalty to all crafting

Professsion: Mage
• + bonus advancement for mages guild
• + bonus spell damage
• - penalty to all crafting

Professsion: Scholar
• + bonus advancement for mages guild (or scholars guild if implemented)
• + chance to learn recipe/motiv/blueprint without consuming
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Healer
• + bonus advancement for restoration
• + bonus healing
• - penalty to spell damage

Professsion: Knight
• + bonus advancement for heavy armor
• + decreased bounty gain
• - penalty all criminal skills (both use and advancement)

Professsion: Archer
• + bonus advancement for bow
• + bonus stamina recovery on heavy bow attack
• - reduced advancement in other weapon lines

Professsion: Legionaire
• + bonus advancement for one handed & shield
• + bonus critical resistance when in group
• - penalty critical resistance when alone

Professsion: Soldier
• + bonus advancement for fighters guild
• + bonus alliance point gain
• - penalty quest reward money

Professsion: Mercenary
• + bonus advancement for fighters guild
• + bonus quest reward money
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Bandit
• + bonus advancement for medium armor
• + bonus looting
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Burglar
• + bonus advancement for legerdemain
• + bonus chance for better stuff in lockboxes
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Thief
• + bonus advancement for thieves guild
• + bonus pickpocket chance
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Sailor
• + bonus advancement for dual wield
• + bonus swimming speed
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Artisan
• + bonus advancement for all crafting skills
• + bonus crafting research time
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Blacksmith
• + bonus advancement for blacksmith
• + bonus to blacksmithing temper improvement chance
• - penalty to lockpicking (break chance)

Professsion: Tailor
• + bonus advancement for clothier
• + bonus to clothier lining improvement chance
• - penalty to resource gathering

Professsion: Carpenter
• + bonus advancement for woodworking
• + bonus to woodworking raisin improvement chance
• - penalty to pickpocketing chance

Professsion: Goldsmith
• + bonus advancement for Jeweler
• + bonus to jeweler plating improvement chance
• - penalty quest reward money

Professsion: Alchemist
• + bonus advancement for alchemy
• + chance for extra potion made
• - penalty stealth range (smells!)

Professsion: Cook
• + bonus advancement for provisioning
• + chance for extra meal/drink made
• - penalty stealth range (smells!)

Professsion: Runecaster
• + bonus advancement for enchanting
• + bonus rune recovery chance
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Merchant
• + reduced bag space upgrade cost (or bonus merchant guild advancement if implemented)
• + bonus vendor transactions (buy cheaper, sell better)
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Farmer
• + bonus advancement for light armor
• + bonus resource gathering
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Hunter
• + bonus advancement for bow (or hunters guild if implemented)
• + bonus damage against beasts
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Fisherman
• + bonus advancement for provisioning
• + bonus chance to catch rare fish
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Thoughts? (please be nice, 'kay? )

I like this idea and I’m really happy that I’m not alone with wanting something done with the racial passives I love playing my Breton stamblade.

Huyen · December 2019

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Now, we all have characters, characters that are unique and different (unless we were stupid enough to just copy some flavor of the month design).

But... wouldn’t we want them to be -more- unique?

I mean, sure, they are of different races, and that makes a bit of a difference in their abilities. But... doesn’t it seem that some characters are way too common a sight? The Altmer Sorceror? The Redguard Swordsman? The Dunmer Pyromancer? The Khajiiti Rogue?

Sometimes, you feel a little like in a "clone wars", right?

We all know the problem, of course, the whole "must be THIS race to play as THAT class" which is vexing a great many of us on the forums and in the game; Many people have spoken up against it, tho sadly usually their alternative suggestions boil down to "let us cherry-pick our passives contrary to elder scrolls lore about what races are good at which things"... I mean, the fact that some races have some advantage in some fields is and has always been an established part of the elder scrolls lore. Like where the racial descriptions always mention stuff like "The Altmer are the most strongly gifted in the arcane arts of all the races" or telling us "Redguards are also physically blessed with hardy constitutions"... that has -always- been part of TES games (though of course, the mechanics depicting those differences have varied widely over the various games)

So, I am thinking...
...perhaps a better solution would be one that -does- keep to the lore about what this or that race is good at, but instead changes and expands the way those racial differences are depicted in the game to sidestep the mentioned "pigeonholing" problem?

...

For starters, fiddling with the attribute-related racial passives so they don't have an percentage bonus on top of everything in the endgame, but instead more of an leg up at the start... perhaps in the form of pre-assigned attribute points, and making attribute ceilings through diminishing returns from some point onward a thing again; so that the racial perks will just let people get there a bit faster instead of adding 10% or so to the final score? That would greatly lessen the "must have for endgame" impact (and also make hybrid builds more viable again as such softcaps would mean the "put everything into your damage stat for the win" character building method suddenly is way less effective... and the "a bit of this and a bit of that" builds actually get within spitting distance of those overspecialized characters once more...)

And then...
...wouldn’t there be other things then a characters race that might also make a difference in what special advantages they might have in this or that field? Like, for example... the whole life they have had before they became adventurer vestige player characters in ESO? Their upbringing for example? I mean, it should make quite a difference if our characters were raised a nobles son, with private tutors and libraries, or grew up on some farm in the country, sweating in the fields to help their parents each day, yes? Or if they grew up sweating under the Alik’r sun or plodding through the deepest swamps of Black Marsh?

In that spirit...
...what if we had another couple sets of passives in -addition- to our racial ones to further diversify our characters? Something to portray the differences in upbringing depending on where and how our characters grew up... what environment they grew up in, how they spent their childhood, and perhaps what life they had before they started adventuring... passives that -would- be freely selectable, and thus -could- inherit the "percentage bonus on top" mechanic that I would like to see removed from the current racial passives...

Like...

• Birthplace might give a resistance bonus to some danger associated with the region on question, like ice and snow in Skyrim, or fertile breeding grounds for diseases in Black marsh, or possibly some other perk where applicable, like picking up some understanding of magic just from observing the numerous mages on the Summerset isles, or weaponcraft by watching the warriors of Hammerfell train... or simply growing up trying to keep your possessions on your person among the sticky pawed Khajiit of Elsweyr...
Childhood: Black Marsh • + Disease Resistance

Childhood: Cyrodil • + Critical Resistance

Childhood: Elsweyr • + Stealth Detection

Childhood: Hammerfell • + Weapon Critical

Childhood: High Rock • + Spell Resistance

Childhood: High Seas / Islands • + Shock Resistance

Childhood: Morrowind • + Fire Resistance

Childhood: Sumerset Isles • + Spell Critical

Childhood: Skyrim • + Frost Resistance

Childhood: Valenwood • + Poison Resistance

Childhood: Wanderer • + Elemental Resistance

• Upbringing might give attribute boni relevant to the household and surroundings someone grew up in, for example, those who were raised in a scholar household amidst libraries and tutors might get an advantage in magica from all that honing of their minds; those who were in a commoner household helping the family business might have an advantage in stamina from all the muscle-building hard work they did, and those who grew up with outcasts in the wilds gain some heatlh advantage from "roughing it" all the time... and there could also be hybrid options, like a noble household that gave equal training in fields of knowledge (aka magica bonus) and physical practice (aka health bonus), while those growing up among warriors might have training both in weaponcraft (stamina bonus) and toughness (health bonus)... (and here we could have the mentioned "percentage boni on top of everything", since people could freely select their background, yes?)
Upbringing: Scholar • + 3%/6%/9% Magica

Upbringing: Commoner • + 3%/6%/9% Stamina

Upbringing: Outcast • + 3%/6%/9% Health

Upbringing: Noble • + 2%/4%/6% Magica and 1%/2%/3% Health

Upbringing: Warrior • + 2%/4%/6% Stamina and 1%/2%/3% Health

Upbringing: Hermit • + 1%/2%/3% Magica and 2%/4%/6% Health

Upbringing: Raider • + 1%/2%/3% Stamina and 2%/4%/6% Health

• Profession they might have had before the events of ESO started the adventuring career might give some extra bonus for related skill usage here or there - former blacksmiths might gain increased temper improvement chances, former cutpurses improved pickpocket chances, former librarians could gain a chance to learn something from a motiv/recipe/pattern scroll without consuming it, etc. This might also come with drawbacks - like the former blacksmith might have strong but forgework-callused hands that fumble small stuff like lockpicking more then nimble thieves, while the former thief might still be vaguely remembered by the city guard and thus gain more bounty if caught, or the former librarian might be bookish and socially inept, and thus get worse deals with every vendor... that sort of thing...

...some ideas:
Professsion: Noble
• + bonus advancement for all armors
• + bonus for buying from vendors
• - penalty to all crafting

Professsion: Mage
• + bonus advancement for mages guild
• + bonus spell damage
• - penalty to all crafting

Professsion: Scholar
• + bonus advancement for mages guild (or scholars guild if implemented)
• + chance to learn recipe/motiv/blueprint without consuming
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Healer
• + bonus advancement for restoration
• + bonus healing
• - penalty to spell damage

Professsion: Knight
• + bonus advancement for heavy armor
• + decreased bounty gain
• - penalty all criminal skills (both use and advancement)

Professsion: Archer
• + bonus advancement for bow
• + bonus stamina recovery on heavy bow attack
• - reduced advancement in other weapon lines

Professsion: Legionaire
• + bonus advancement for one handed & shield
• + bonus critical resistance when in group
• - penalty critical resistance when alone

Professsion: Soldier
• + bonus advancement for fighters guild
• + bonus alliance point gain
• - penalty quest reward money

Professsion: Mercenary
• + bonus advancement for fighters guild
• + bonus quest reward money
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Bandit
• + bonus advancement for medium armor
• + bonus looting
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Burglar
• + bonus advancement for legerdemain
• + bonus chance for better stuff in lockboxes
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Thief
• + bonus advancement for thieves guild
• + bonus pickpocket chance
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Sailor
• + bonus advancement for dual wield
• + bonus swimming speed
• - increased bounty gain

Professsion: Artisan
• + bonus advancement for all crafting skills
• + bonus crafting research time
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Blacksmith
• + bonus advancement for blacksmith
• + bonus to blacksmithing temper improvement chance
• - penalty to lockpicking (break chance)

Professsion: Tailor
• + bonus advancement for clothier
• + bonus to clothier lining improvement chance
• - penalty to resource gathering

Professsion: Carpenter
• + bonus advancement for woodworking
• + bonus to woodworking raisin improvement chance
• - penalty to pickpocketing chance

Professsion: Goldsmith
• + bonus advancement for Jeweler
• + bonus to jeweler plating improvement chance
• - penalty quest reward money

Professsion: Alchemist
• + bonus advancement for alchemy
• + chance for extra potion made
• - penalty stealth range (smells!)

Professsion: Cook
• + bonus advancement for provisioning
• + chance for extra meal/drink made
• - penalty stealth range (smells!)

Professsion: Runecaster
• + bonus advancement for enchanting
• + bonus rune recovery chance
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Merchant
• + reduced bag space upgrade cost (or bonus merchant guild advancement if implemented)
• + bonus vendor transactions (buy cheaper, sell better)
• - penalty to legerdemain

Professsion: Farmer
• + bonus advancement for light armor
• + bonus resource gathering
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Hunter
• + bonus advancement for bow (or hunters guild if implemented)
• + bonus damage against beasts
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Professsion: Fisherman
• + bonus advancement for provisioning
• + bonus chance to catch rare fish
• - penalty to buying from vendors

Thoughts? (please be nice, 'kay? )

The same thing will happen as with you need this race for that class. All it adds is you need this race with those passives for that class. Nothing will change in the end.