History Characters / TheElderScrollsTheRacesOfMen

* HumansAreWarriors: They are most famous for their skills as diplomats and leaders, but have a great "warrior" history all the same. While they lack the individual strength of the Nords and Redguards, they make up for it by having a more regimented and collective martial prowess, essentially the "soldier" to the Nord/Redguard "warrior" in the SoldierVersusWarrior debate. There is a good reason that the Imperial Legions have been so successful throughout history. It also makes their 4th Era clash with the Nords rather ironic, as they are NotSoDifferent. They (or at least their ancestors) are both, for example, responsible for the destruction of an entire race of elves (Falmer for Nords; Ayleids for Imperials).

* NotSoDifferent: The Nords and the Altmer have some shocking similarities despite their rivalries, especially by the time of ''Skyrim''. Both races follow the mainstream Nine Divines but there is a huge minority of their original religion present as well, both of them have a very haughty attitude towards any professions they frown upon (magic in the Nord's case) as well as any other races (Mer for the Nords although ''Skyrim'' has shown that they are starting to look down upon their fellow Men as well) to the point of showing overt racism, and finally, both believe that they are the rightful heirs to Tamriel.

* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: In ''Skyrim'', the Nord accent seems to draw from anywhere that can be considered GrimUpNorth. Most Nords speak with an approximation of a Scandinavian accent of varying quality, but several others (especially the women) sound Russian, some sound Scottish ([[LovableRogue Brynjolf]] in particular), and the guards speak with a ''very'' thick German/Austrian accent.

According to early propaganda of the Septim Empire, the Nedes (or "Nedic People") are the human ancestors of the Bretons, Imperials, and Nords (and, it is speculated, possibly also the Kothringi). According to Septim's scholars, they hail from Atmora, though other accounts suggest that they were among Tamriel's many indigenous human tribes (or may have been the collective name for these tribes). The Nedes are considered to have been around for centuries in Tamriel before the Atmorans arrived, mostly living on the periphery of Elven society.

* MiseryBuildsCharacter: The in-game book ''Great Spirits of the Reach'' found in ESO describes this as a core part of their theology. They worship the daedra as cruel teachers, and believe that Lorkh created Mundus as a place to learn through suffering.

The Atmorans were the human inhabitants of Atmora ("Elder Wood" in Old Ehlnofex), the northernmost continent of Nirn. According to old Nord myths, they were themsleves descendants of the mythical first Men born at the Throat of the World back in times long forgotten to history. Early in the 1st Era, they began migrating to the northern shores of Tamriel, settling in what would become modern day Skyrim. They came into conflict with the Falmer (Snow Elves), who the Atmorans nearly drove to extinction. They are said to be the ancestors of the Nords, and possibly all races of Men in Tamriel (save the Redguards). Following a period of gradual freezing known as the "Frost Fall", Atmora became too cold to support life and it is believed that those who did not migrate to Tamriel have died off.

* FantasticNamingConvention: Have mostly Anglo-Franc first and last names, fitting in with their various counterpart cultures.

%%* MagicStaff: Staffs are favored weapons of the Bretons.%%ZCE -- magic how?

* SquishyWizard: They fit this trope to a T. By their nature, Bretons are the most physically frail of the races of Men, but are also the most naturally gifted with magic, making them very adept mages, but not very great warriors. In the games, Bretons tend to have the highest resistance to magical attacks of any race -- Man, Mer or Beast, but subpar physical stats by comparison, allowing them to easily laugh off enemy spells, but a solid hit from an axe will cause them a lot of pain.

* DoomedHometown: Atmora itself succumbed to the "Frost Fall", a period of gradual freezing through the Merethic and 1st Eras. Since the 2nd Era, it has completely frozen over and can no longer support life.

* HumansAreWhite: Played With. While the Atmorans are generally thought of as white, like their Nord descendants, the ''Songs of the Return'' text collection suggests that Atmorans were divided into etnically distinct subgroups, and directly mentions the existence of a population of [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation Men with bright red skin]] who lived in eastern Atmora.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Their political intrigue is more cutthroat than is typical elsewhere in Tamriel. This has been mitigated somewhat after the Warp in The West, but still prevalent.

* SquishyWizard: They fit this trope to a T. By their nature, Bretons are the most physically frail of the races of Men, but are also the most naturally gifted with magic, making them very adept mages, but not very great warriors. In the games, Bretons tend to have the highest resistance to magical attacks of any race -- Man, Mer or Beast, but subpar physical stats by comparison, [[CripplingOverspecialization making them great at spellcasting playstyles, but struggle with physical builds]].

* SquishyWizard: They fit this trope to a T. By their nature, Bretons are the most physically frail of the races of Men, but are also the most naturally gifted with magic, making them very adept mages, but not very great warriors. In the games, Bretons tend to have the highest resistance to magical attacks of any race -- Man, Mer or Beast.

* HumansAreWhite: Played straight by the Nords and Bretons, while Imperials are very slightly tanned, but still undeniably white. Averted by the Redguards and Men of Akavir, who are Black and Asian respectively. By ''Skyrim'', there are finally a few AmbiguouslyBrown [=NPCs=] of the other races of Men, but the vast majority of Imperials, Nords, and Bretons are all white.

* HumansAreWhite: Played straight by the Nords and Bretons, while Imperials are very slightly tanned, but still undeniably white. Averted by the Redguards and Men of Akavir. By ''Skyrim'', there are finally a few AmbiguouslyBrown [=NPCs=] of the other races of Men, but the vast majority of Imperials, Nords, and Bretons are all white.

* {{Wutai}}: Like the Tsaesci they're Japanese-based, and the few descriptions of their physical appearance match that of East Asians.

* HumansAreWhite: Played straight for all but the Redguards and Men of Akavir. By ''Skyrim'', there are finally a few AmbiguouslyBrown [=NPCs=] of the other races of Men, but the vast majority of Imperials, Nords, and Bretons are all white.

* BadassBeard: Depictions and descriptions almost always include massive, glorious beards. (A trait which their Nord descendants have adopted with gusto.)

* BrainsAndBrawn: They are physically the weakest of the races of Men, but are the most skilled with magic.

* SquishyWizard: They are the most physically frail of the races of Men and are also the most naturally gifted with magic. Notice that says "physically frail", as the Bretons have the highest resistance to magical attacks of any race -- Man, Mer or Beast.

* HumansAreSurvivors: Whenever Men and Mer have at each other's troats throught Tamriel's history, there is a clear trend for the former to come out on top. The lifetime of an Elf might be several times that of an average Man, and the Elves also vastly outclass Men in terms of raw magical power, but because of Men's greater numbers, combined with their tendency towards being both stubborn and tenacious, they have always managed to gain the upper hand whenever it comes down to a war of attrition, which it often does.

* ResistantToMagic: Magic runs so much in their bloodline that they have an innate resistance to it in all forms. Combined with racial powers and certain birthsigns, this can be enhanced to outright (but temporary) ''immunity'' to magic.

* AntiMagic: Magic runs so much in their bloodline that they have an innate resistance to it in all forms. Combined with racial powers and certain birthsigns, this can be enhanced to outright (but temporary) ''immunity'' to magic.

The human inhabitants of Cyrodiil, sometimes referred to as "Cyrodiils" or "Cyrodilics". The Imperials are split into two distinct sub-groups, the Colovians and the Nibenese. The Colovians (aka "Cyro-Nords") mainly occupy western and northern Cyrodiil and are a hearty highland folk who may have more in common culturally with Nords than with the Nibenese. The Nibenese are cosmopolitan heartlanders who live mainly in central and southern Cyrodiil, including the Imperial City, around the Niben River system, and are the closest living race to the ancient Nedes. Imperials are renowned across the continent as diplomats, statesmen, and traders. While they don't have the same raw physical strength or pure prowess in combat as their Nord or Redguard relatives, they still make for highly disciplined and reliable soldiers. Indeed, their legions have forged no fewer than three empires spanning most or all of Tamriel at different points in history.

* ProudWarriorRace: Though not to the extent of the Nords, Redguards, or Orcs, the Imperials fit (though the might be closer to a "[[SoldierVersusWarrior Proud Soldier Race]]"). Their focus is on collective martial prowess, ala the legions of the Roman Empire, and it has allowed them to conquer most or all of Tamriel thrice. In particular are the Colovians, who make up the bulk of the Legions, and who highly respect martial values and discipline. Within the Imperial subgroups, the Colovians fits this hat the most, their culture being closer to that of the Nords, and therefore slanting towards a martial and practical expression, than the more intellectual and cosmopolitan Nibenese.

* DeathOfTheOldGods: The Nordic pantheon of gods and goddesses is ancient and was half the basis for the Eight Divines (merged with the Aldmeri pantheon). Their gods included Shor (a Nordic WarGod version of Lorkhan), Kyne (Shor's warrior-widow and goddess of storms), Tsun (a shield-brother of Shor who died defending him from the elven gods, possibly the precursor of Zenithar) and Stuhn (a precursor god to Stendarr who taught the early Nords about taking prisoners in war), as well as Mara, Dibella, Jhunar (a precursor of Julianos), Orkey (Arkay) and Alduin (a grim and frightening version of Akatosh). It is mentioned in ''Oblivion'' that the Nords of Bruma have little interest in the sermons of the Nine and worship the old pantheon at home. By ''Skyrim'' [[LastOfHisKind there is only one person who still worships the old Nord gods, the elderly hunter Froki Whetted-Blade]], who vehemently rejects the Eight, dismissing them as imposter gods.
** However [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation it is possible]] that the Stormcloaks worship Shor in a roundabout way - [[MindScrew one of Talos' constituent personalities]] is Wulfharth, who in life was Shor's mortal champion and Mantle (and thus effectively Shor reincarnated). The Stormcloaks also often invoke Shor's name (like the battle cry "SHOR HAVE MERCY ON YOU!")

** However [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation it is possible]] that the Stormcloaks worship Shor in a roundabout way - [[MindScrew one of Talos' constituent personalities]] is Wulfharth, who in life was Shor's mortal champion and Mantle (and thus effectively Shor reincarnated).