Argonian character and build

Araneae6537 · February 2023

Alliance: Does AD or DC make more sense for an Argonian who isn’t a part of EP because they refuse to ally with the Dunmer or other reasons? Maybe no alliance really fits in such case, but one has to choose one. I know there is an Argonian community in Grahtwood, but am less familiar with DC or with other reasons an Argonian might be more inclined to join one over the other.

Class: I want to pick this both for character/RP and class-race synergy, if possible. Nightblade seems an obvious choice if one is a Shadowscale. Might it make sense to focus on getting the most out of potions with the Argonian passive, NB passive, and maybe sets like Clever Alchemist and Arkasis? The other option I’m considering is Dragonknight, since some of the skills just look best on an Argonian, IMO, and while I don’t know that there are synergies between the two, I think it would be decent sustain for both PvP and PvE tanking.

Name: Some Argonian Hist names have known Jel meanings but there are others in common use whose meaning or use remains, as far as I can find, unknown. Such as does “-lan” seem to indicate any particular meaning, mundus, or Hist of origin?

I am intrigued by the idea of creating an Argonian from Haj Uxith. Would being from a Hist outside the main collective (probably not the right word) preclude one from being a Shadowscale? Is that specific to the (current?) embrace of Sithis?

Necrotech_Master · February 2023

i have no idea on the RP side of things, i tend to make AD because its just a habit from back in 2014 when alliance mattered in PVE lol

for class, i think your reasoning on NB would make sense, both from a build perspective and from RP perspective if you wanted to be shadowscale, but argonian passives do help with tanking (resistance to disease dmg and potions restoring all 3 stats is very good for sustain) if you wanted to go more of the tanking route with a DK

i have no idea on the name aspect as well lol

SilverIce58 · February 2023

For alliance you could go for AD as they have a quest to help an Argonian tribe settle in Grahtwood so it's like you're helping them out/giving your time and energy to the forests of the Valenwood, or DC as they have a strong maritime presence being situated in the Iliac Bay, so argonian pirates and such.

For class, Warden is good for being a tree-minder + connected to nature. NB for shadowscales (obvious). Templars use spears and Argonians are known to be good spearfighters (Deadwater tribe practicing with them/Morrowind game giving a +5 to spear). Sorcs could just be an argonian who is interested in dark/shock magicks and tangling with daedric realms. For DK you could do a backstory that your argonian was interested in learning the Akaviri martial arts tradition of battle-spirit as a way to learn more about the culture. As far as class spec tho, I see them mostly as tanks and healers, but DK's known as great tanks. My Argonian DK is a healer (or becoming one).

For names, These are a couple resources I use for the Jel naming conventions: https://banescalefellows.enjin.com/mobile/forum/viewthread/m/15126711/id/25684409-jel-word-index
https://an-xileel.shivtr.com/forum_threads/2136808?post=11403049#forum_post_11403049
Otherwise you'd have to think up a Tamrielic name like "Hidden-eyes" or "Burns-the-Earth" or something like that.

Hope that helps

Clyde_BlueSnake · February 2023

SilverIce58 wrote: »

For names, These are a couple resources I use for the Jel naming conventions: https://banescalefellows.enjin.com/mobile/forum/viewthread/m/15126711/id/25684409-jel-word-index
https://an-xileel.shivtr.com/forum_threads/2136808?post=11403049#forum_post_11403049

To chime in, a more proper resource (I use personally) is UESP page for Jel: https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Jel

Also to add from checking that banescalefellows website it has a few wrong compare to UESP, like I notice it's translation for snake is wrong. "Thuxis", or the compound "thux" are the proper translation in Jel, not "thix". (though it probably a typo)

Codeman1976 · February 2023

I would think if one wanted to be a Shadowscale you would have to choose Nightblade as the class. Then again, since we have the ability for any class to get the blade of woe and invisibility potions you could justify any class. It is said those that are born during the “Second Seed” (our month of May) are Shadowscales. So I’m sure there is plenty of room to justify a class choice if relying on lore specific roles.

Araneae6537 · February 2023

Thank you all for the insights! Regarding alliance, I can’t imagine an Argonian joining the Dominion after what they tried to do in Shadowfen… Of course it’s not all of the Dominion but then neither are Dunmeri slavers all of the Pact. Yet if I could, I would make an Argonian character that was part of the Shadowscales or otherwise for the Saxheel alone…

Can Argonians come into existence without the Hist or would they fail to develop or not be fully sentient or something? I have read conflicting information on this point.

PrinceShroob · February 2023

Araneae6537 wrote: »

Can Argonians come into existence without the Hist or would they fail to develop or not be fully sentient or something? I have read conflicting information on this point.

Yes. We have Huleeya from Morrowind and Ja-Reet from Online who were explicitly not hatched in Black Marsh. They are physically identical to other Argonians, but per the Percolating Mire quests in Online, they do not understand Argonian social cues.

With regard to becoming a Shadowscale: dialogue in Oblivion, which introduced Shadowscales to the lore, stated that any Argonian born under the sign of the Shadow was given to the Dark Brotherhood at birth to be trained as an assassin. If the hatchling survives into adulthood, they are inducted into the Dark Brotherhood as a full-fledged member.

Online's lore, particularly "Interview with Three Argonians in Shadowfen," fleshes out this lore and also makes it more sensible:

The Argonian's tribe has to choose to give the hatchling to the Shadowscales. While some tribes like the Black-Tongues use alchemical contraceptives to produce as many Shadowscales as possible, other tribes may only send a few hatchlings, or none at all (the Oblivion dialogue is nonsensical--if literally every single Argonian born under the Shadow were given to the Shadowscales, the organization would be absolutely massive).
While Shadowscale training can be hazardous, it's not as lethal as the Oblivion dialogue implies--you can "flunk out" of being a Shadowscale and simply return to your tribe (which would no doubt be very embarrassing).

As long as your tribe has some way of contacting the Shadowscales, presumably any Argonian born anywhere can join if their tribe allows it, as long as they were born under the Shadow.

While Shadowscales are trained in stealth and assassination, at least one (No-Fingers) is a guar wrangler; technically, any player character is good at killing, meaning a Shadowscale could be any class as long as knowledge of assassination is part of their background.

SerasWhip · February 2023

As far as I remember AD burns Argonian eggs in one quest, attacks the Hist. If you don't want EP, I would say DC would be the best choice for an Argonian.

ArchMikem · February 2023

Never forget, the Dominion slaughtered an Argonian nursery in Shadowfen. The Bosmer Commander even ate some of them.

For RP I'd still say choose the EP, just ignore the Dunmer, that's what my Khajiit do.

bruta · February 2023

ArchMikem wrote: »

Never forget, the Dominion slaughtered an Argonian nursery in Shadowfen. The Bosmer Commander even ate some of them.

argonian omelette is pretty good

Araneae6537 · February 2023

ArchMikem wrote: »

Never forget, the Dominion slaughtered an Argonian nursery in Shadowfen. The Bosmer Commander even ate some of them.

For RP I'd still say choose the EP, just ignore the Dunmer, that's what my Khajiit do.

It is truly horrible. AD is my usual alliance, except for my Dunmer, andI normally try to avoid fighting my own alliance in other zones and just do quests to fight daedra and help civilians, but I make an exception here.

After considering all options, I think I will make my Argonain EP after all. I will just have to make sense of being called an outsider in Shadowfen (as I assume that all of the base game is blind to a character’s race, alas), probably born outside the Hist but will join at some point in their story.