Oblivion:Races

There are ten playable races in Oblivion, each with its own unique abilities, skills, and powers. Each race has a home province from which it originated (with the exception of Orcs, who currently live in Orsinium, but did not originate from there). An analysis of racial demographics by city in Cyrodiil can be found here.

Man	Mer (Elven)	Beast
Breton Imperial (Cyrodiils) Nord Redguard (Yokudans)	Dark Elf (Dunmer) High Elf (Altmer) Orc (Orsimer or Pariah Folk) Wood Elf (Bosmer)	Argonian (Saxhleel) Khajiit

Race Statistics

Your choice of race determines your character's initial Attribute values and also provides bonuses to various Skills, as detailed in the following table. All races and genders have 320 total base Attribute points. Each race also has special abilities (and in some cases weaknesses) as detailed on the individual race pages.

Attribute		Argonian			Breton			Dark Elf			High Elf			Imperial			Khajiit			Nord			Orc			Redguard			Wood Elf
		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F
Strength		40	40		40	30		40	40		30	30		40	40		40	30		50	50		45	45		50	40		30	30
Intelligence		40	50		50	50		40	40		50	50		40	40		40	40		30	30		30	40		30	30		40	40
Willpower		30	40		50	50		30	30		40	40		30	40		30	30		30	40		50	45		30	30		30	30
Agility		50	40		30	30		40	40		40	40		30	30		50	50		40	40		35	35		40	40		50	50
Speed		50	40		30	40		50	50		30	40		40	30		40	40		40	40		30	30		40	40		50	50
Endurance		30	30		30	30		40	30		40	30		40	40		30	40		50	40		50	50		50	50		40	30
Personality		30	30		40	40		30	40		40	40		50	50		40	40		30	30		30	25		30	40		30	40
Luck		50	50		50	50		50	50		50	50		50	50		50	50		50	50		50	50		50	50		50	50
Magicka Bonus					50	50					100	100
Skills		+5 +10 +5 +5 +5 +5 +10			+5 +5 +10 +5 +10 +10			+5 +10 +5 +10 +5 +5 +5			+5 +10 +5 +10 +5 +10			+5 +5 +5 +10 +10 +10			+10 +5 +5 +10 +5 +5 +5			+5 +10 +5 +10 +10 +5			+10 +10 +10 +5 +10			+10 +10 +10 +5 +5 +5			+5 +10 +5 +5 +10 +10
Resists								75			-25
											-25									50
											-25
					50																		25
		100																								75
		75									75															75			75
Height*		1.03	1.0		1.0	0.95		1.0	1.0		1.1	1.1		1.0	1.0		1.0	0.95		1.06	1.06		1.06	1.06		1.03	1.0		0.9	1.0
Weight		1.05	1.0		1.0	0.9		0.95	0.9		1.0	1.0		1.0	1.0		1.0	0.95		1.1	1.06		1.1	1.0		1.03	1.0		0.95	0.9

*Each race's movement speed is multiplied by its Height attribute (under Body Data in the Construction Set). With the same Speed, Athletics, encumbrance, etc., a High Elf will move 10% faster than an Imperial because of the extra Height. Similarly, any race that is smaller than normal, such as a male Wood Elf or female Breton, will move slower than normal.

Oblivion Remastered

In Oblivion Remastered, the stat changes dependent on gender in the original game are now handled by choosing your character's background. Additionally, females are referred to as Body Type 1, and males are referred to as Body Type 2, but in-game dialogue will still refer to you by the previous gender labeling.

Listed below are the possible backgrounds for each race and how they compare to the gender-based stats above. The left option in the character creation menu corresponds to male, while the right option corresponds to female.

Race	Male Stats	Female Stats
Argonian	Arnesia You hail from Arnesia, where the slavers of Morrowind are still active. The hide and seek everytime [sic] there was a raid made you extremely quick and nimble.	Thornmarsh Thornmarsh, your birth region, is called the Jewel of the East. But behind the nickname lies a darker reality. You dabbled in magic just to survive, and your quick wits allowed you to live until this day.
Breton	Systres As a child you were always spending time on the docks of one of the islands, gaining some money by helping merchants carrying their goods and learning from their adventures.	High Rock Being from High Rock, you were raised in the homeland of the Bretons. Going through all the great cities of the province made you quick on your feet.
Dark Elf	Vvardenfell You are a true child of Vvardenfell. Amongst the volcanic wasteland you were taught that resilience is the greatest of all Dunmer quality [sic].	Mainland As a Dunmer on the mainland you grew amongst all kind of traders, you learned all there was to know about negotiations and how to can [sic] make people react the way you need them to.
High Elf	Auridon Born on the island of Auridon, you were proud to live on the first island of the Summersets. There, you spent countless hours swimming in the pristine waters.	Summerset You grew up among the great towers of Alinor that nearly touch the sky. You spent countless hours climbing and navigating the sunlit streets of the Summerset capital.
Imperial	Nibenay You are a true Imperial, born into the heart of the Empire. The number of cities and their size led you to travel hastily.	Colovia Colovia inhabitants, such as yourself, are known for their autonomy, including toward the rest of the Empire. Your [sic] inherited the wilfulness of your forebearers.
Khajiit	Anequina The harsh region where you lived and trained hardened your body and taught you how to defend yourself, with your bare fists or any weapon you could find.	Pellitine Your parents lived in Pellitine and your childhood memories are filled playing and running around in the jungles or on the pristine beaches.
Nord	Western You lived in the west of Skyrim, a rugged environment filled with rough terrain and dangerous beasts. You are prepared to survive in even the most challenging climates.	Eastern Either due to extreme snowstorms, the College of Mages or simply stubbornness, the people of Eastern Skyrim, such as you, are known for their tenacity and resourcefulness.
Orc	Stronghold Your fate was decided when you were born. As a member of a Stronghold, you would serve your chieftain with honor and would make the orcs proud. Your Charisma and resilience were honed for when you'd serve.	Orsinium You are proud to have been raised in Orsinium where you trained to be as versatile a warrior as possible. As such, you are better with magic than most other Orcs.
Redguard	Dragontail Mountains Your uprising [sic] under the shadow of the mountain peaks was a happy one. Immersed in Redguard customs, you developed charm, wit and the ability to turn a conversation around.	Alik'r Desert As a child in the sands of the Alik'r Desert, your education revolved around martial might. You are a prime example of why Redguards are the best warriors.
Wood Elf	Grahtwood You spent your childhood in Grahtwood, near the region devastated by Molag Bal. The foul energies still linger there, and your resilience grew amidst the danger.	Reaper's March The border region that saw you grow is plagued by anger and resentment after centuries of war. You quickly learned how to soothe people and avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Non-Playable Races

These races exist in the game or the Shivering Isles expansion, but are not selectable as a race you can play.

Attribute		Dark Seducer*			Dremora			Golden Saint*			Sheogorath*			VampireRace**
		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F		M	F
Strength		30	40		50	50		40	50		50	50		50	50
Intelligence		30	40		60	60		30	40		50	50		50	50
Willpower		30	40		35	45		30	40		50	50		50	50
Agility		40	50		30	30		30	40		50	50		50	50
Speed		40	50		50	50		30	40		50	50		50	50
Endurance		30	40		45	35		40	50		50	50		50	50
Personality		10	10		10	10		10	10		50	50		50	50
Luck		25	50		40	40		25	50		50	50		50	50
Skills		+5 +5 +5 +5 +10 +10 +5			+5 +5 +5 +10 +10 +5 +5			+5 +5 +10 +5 +5 +5 +10
Resists					33
		-50
					-20
								-50
Height		1.0	1.1		1.1	1.1		1.0	1.1		1.0	1.0		1.0	1.0
Weight		1.0	1.1		1.1	1.1		1.0	1.1		1.0	1.0		1.0	1.0

* These appear only in the Shivering Isles expansion. Sheogorath is of course unique. By appearance, he is an Imperial. The separate race exists to give him a beard, and to have eyes like those of the Golden Saints.
** This race exists in the Construction Set but is not used for anything. Actual vampires can be any race, as it is a disease applied to the character, rather than an actual race.

Many other races are known to exist in the Elder Scrolls universe, but are not present in Oblivion. They may be rare or extinct, live in remote areas, dwell on other planes of existence, or in some cases, are even thought to be pure myth.

Reactions

Different races also have different reactions towards each other. These affect the base disposition that members of different races have on each other.

NPC Race	Argonian	Breton	Dark Elf	High Elf	Imperial	Khajiit	Nord	Orc	Redguard	Wood Elf
Player's Race
Argonian	+5
Breton		+5
Dark Elf	-10	-5		-10	-5	-5	-5		-5	-5
High Elf	-10	-5	-10	+5	-5	-10			-5	-5
Imperial
Khajiit						+5
Nord							+5
Orc	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5		-5	-5
Redguard		-5			-5				+5
Wood Elf										+5

Your character's race is on the left and the race you are interacting with is shown at the top.

See Also

• Character Creation