History

The east coast of Tamriel is home to the Ebonheart Pact, from mountainous

Skyrim in the north to the swamps of the Black Marsh in the south. By most

accountings, the constituent members of the Ebonheart Pact shouldn't get

along - the Argonians from the Black Marsh have

historically been enslaved by the Dark Elves of

Morrowind, and the Nords of Skyrim have traditionally

bullied the Dark Elves (and basically everybody else). The only things

these people hate more than each other is a) everyone else, and b) the

idea that whoever takes control of Cyrodiil will attempt to strip them of

their independence.

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The Ebonheart Pact was formed out of necessity, when the foreign armies

of Akavir invaded Tamriel from the north. Working together, the Nords,

Dark Elves and Argonians crushed a major force of the invading Akaviri

army. The Nords drove the Akaviri from their march on Riften, driving them

down into Morrowind, where the Dark Elves and Argonians converged on them.

This great victory forged a deep respect for one another in the three

races - despite their historical acrimony, they saw each others' strength

and recognized the power of their combined might. They formed the Great

Moot, the governing body of the Ebonheart Pact consisting of

representatives of all the races and headed by the Nord, Jorunn the

Skald-King.

Goals

The people of the Ebonheart Pact are united in their desire to remain

independent. They have no desire to labor under the yoke of a racist,

totalitarian Altmer-run regime, and they feel that the Daggerfall Covenant

is too dangerous to rule as a central government. The Ebonheart Pact is

arguably the most balanced faction in the Elder Scrolls Online, but that

balance is fragile and based on the ability of the three races to keep one

another in-line.

Races

Nords

History & Lore

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251839">The great hero

Ysgramor gathered a great group of followers from the far-northern nation

of Atmora, sailed south and landed on the shores of Skyrim. The new

continent was already settled by elves, the native human Nedic people and

some previous Atmoran immigrant groups, but the people who would become

the Nords carved their new civilization into the cold, unforgiving rock.

The earliest years were more or less peaceful and harmonious, but

eventually the native Snow Elves staged a brutal attack on a Nord city in

order to halt the humans' expansion, or possibly to capture a source of

great power buried beneath the city. The reaction to this attack was

swift, furious and terrible - Ysgramor and his army, the Five Hundred

Companions, who had fled back to Atmora after the attack, returned to

Skyrim and exterminated the Snow Elves, driving the few survivors into

underground exile where they transformed into the feral Falmer. The Five

Hundred Companions went on to settle across Tamriel, and most modern

humans in Tamriel are descended from these people. The Nords ruled most of

Tamriel for the first few hundred years of the First Era.

The current Nords of the late Second Era have a long history of savage

conflict with all of their neighbors, though they have also proven to be

staunch allies during times of strife - such as during invasions from

Akavir. They are infamous among their enemies - as well as their allies -

for their savage battle-lust and terrifying strength, and for their

hardiness against the elements.

Characteristics

Nords are usually pale-skinned and light-haired, and are the tallest

humans. They are sometimes depicted with their faces painted in woad, like

ancient Celts, but most Nord culture is lifted from northern Germanic

cultures - Vikings, Danes, Franks, Saxons and others.

They usually have bonuses to physical stats like Strength and Endurance,

with penalties to mental stats. This is usually paired with bonuses to big

weapons and some kinds of armor. They don't get a "Berserker Rage" ability

like the Orcs, but they still make natural berserkers and "barbarian" type

characters because of their proficiency with big axes and (usually) light

or medium armor. They also have resistance to cold and frost, which is

situationally handy. And contrary to popular belief, they do not all

suffer from a weakness to arrows in the knee area - that's specific to

town guards.

Appearances in Previous Games

alt="Elder Scrolls Online Races - Nord - Arena" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251843">



Arena

alt="Elder Scrolls Online Races - Nord - Daggerfall" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251844">



Daggerfall

alt="Elder Scrolls Online Races - Nord - Morrowind" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251845">



Morrowind

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Oblivion

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Skyrim















Dark Elves (Dunmer)

History & Lore

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251840">The Dark Elves, also

known as Dunmer, are the ashen-skinned, red-eyed natives of the harsh,

volcanic province of Morrowind. They are tough, resilient and intelligent,

skilled at both physical combat and magic, but they are also sort of

isolationists. They don't get on well with any other races... or the gods.

Originally, they were called the Chimer, and were physically the same as

the Altmer but no longer wished to follow High Elf laws and customs. The

Chimer left the Summerset Isles and headed to Morrowind, following the

lead of a prophet called the Veloth who was working for the Daedric Prince

Boethiah. This exodus had a profound impact on elf-kind - the followers of

the Veloth eventually became the Dunmer, and the elves who opposed the

exodus became the Orsimer (the Orcs). The Chimer took on their current

ashen-skinned, red-eyed appearance as the result of a curse from the

Daedric Princess Azura for the murder-sacrifice of their leader in order

to summon the god to the Red Mountain. Azura decreed that, forever after,

their eyes would be as red as volcanic ash, and their skin as black as

their hearts.

Dunmer culture in Morrowind is dominated by the Great Houses and

the Ashlanders. The Great Houses are the ruling class of Morrowind, and

the six of them jointly run the province. The Ashlanders are nomadic

primitives who live in small tent-camps and wander the volcanic wastes.

Slavery is a big industry in Morrowind, especially Argonian and Khajiit

slaves, and Dunmer religion is markedly different from the Divine-worship

religions of the other people. The Dark Elves worship their ancestors, and

believe that the three ancestor-gods known as the Tribunal walk the earth

and take part in Morrowind politics. Ashlander Dunmer worship the Tribunal

plus some Daedra.

Not all Dunmer are on-board for the alliance with the Nords and

Argonians. House Telvanni still raids the Black Marsh for Argonian slaves

- an action which threatens to unravel the already shaky alliance of the

Ebonheart Pact.



Characteristics

Dark Elves are average height, with typically thin builds. Their skin

ranges in tone from dark, dusky grey to deep shades of ashy-green, and

their eyes are red. Hair is often dark or red, and males occasionally wear

beards.

Dunmer can do well in any class role. They usually have bonuses to bladed

weapons, Destruction magic (and a couple of other schools), and some

thieving abilities. They are jacks-of-all-trades, the middle-ground that

can excel at whatever they put their minds to. Their volcanic homeland

gives them a natural resistance to fire, and their ancestor worship gives

them special ties to the spirit world - since Morrowind, Dunmer have had

an ability to summon an ancestor's spirit to protect them or damage their

enemies.

Appearances in Previous Games

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Arena

alt="Elder Scrolls Online Races - Dunmer - Daggerfall" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251850">



Daggerfall

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Morrowind

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Oblivion

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Skyrim















Argonians

History & Lore

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251841">The Black Marsh,

also known as Argonia, is home to some really strange stuff, not least of

which are the Argonians themselves. The intelligent lizard-people live

mysterious lives in their ancient, impenetrable swamps, worshiping

sentient trees and training as secret assassins. Most other peoples of

Tamriel consider them "Beastfolk," regarding them as inferior beings and

often keeping them as slaves.

Argonians are shaped by the extremes of their native environment. The

abundance of great inland waterways, still pools and ponds and other

bodies of water means the Argonians need to be able to do a lot of

swimming. Coupled with their gills, which enable them to breathe

underwater, and their powerful tails, this affinity with the water makes

Argonians nearly as speedy in the water as they are on the land. Some

parts of the Black Marsh are inaccessible to any but Argonians, and

Argonian armies are known to bivouac deep underwater. They are natural

guerilla fighters, assassins and skirmishers, able to make swift, brutal

attacks followed by quick, untrackable escapes underwater. Furthermore,

their constant exposure to swamp-born pathogens has strengthened their

immune systems considerably, making them resistant to even virulent

infections like the Knahaten Flu, which they may or may not have created

to infect the invaders that enter the swamps to enslave them. They are

not, however, immune to lycanthropy... but they have a special kind of

lycanthropy. No other race turns into were-crocodiles.

Very little is known of their culture or lifestyle outside of the Black

Marsh. It is known that they hold a close, quasi-religious relationship

with the bizarre Hist tree, which grows abundantly there and may possess

an intelligent and psychic hive-mind. Argonians drink the sap of the Hist

at birth and infancy, and believe that this is how an Argonian earns his

soul. It also enables them to speak telepathically to the Hist from which

they drank. They are also known to revere Sithis, believing this god to be

the creator of all, and any Argonian born under the sign of the Shadow is

given to the Dark Brotherhood to be trained in the arts of stealth and

contract murder. These Argonians are known as Shadowscales, and their

order serves the government of the Black Marsh as royal assassins and

problem-solvers.

Characteristics

Argonians have appeared in every Elder Scrolls game so far. They are

usually of average height and thin build, with scaly skin in a wide range

of colors. Their appearance has changed significantly from game to game -

in Morrowind, for example, they had long, bestial feet and walked funky,

but in Oblivion they had normal, human-style feet and walked like everyone

else. They have had long tails since Daggerfall, and a broad assortment of

fins and horns and scale patterns since Morrowind.

In all games with swimming, Argonians have had the ability to breathe

underwater, and strong resistance to disease. In Morrowind and Oblivion,

they were immune to poison, but in Skyrim, this ability was replaced with

the Histskin ability, which recovered health at 10 times the normal rate

for 60 seconds. They have also been historically blessed with assassin,

thieving or skirmisher type skills. They also come bundled with a handful

of magic skills and can excel as wizards.



Appearances in Previous Games