History Characters / TheElderScrollsTheRacesOfMen

* SelfImposedChallenge: The Redguards who arrived in Tamriel made a conscious decision to settle Hammerfell in the Alik'r Desert, one of the most inhospitable environments Tamriel had to offer, because in Redguard culture, anything that can be obtained without effort is not worth obtaining in the first place.

* AnAxeToGrind: Seems to be their cultural weapon, as evident by the numerous statues and works of art depicting Atmoran warriors with these in hand, and one of their cultural icons, the mighty Wuuthrad that belonged to Ysgramor, is a great axe. Their modern-day descendants, the Nords, also have a particular fondness for axes, especially the two-handed kind.

* AnAxeToGrind: A very popular weapon among the Nords. Axes also have a great cultural significance -- if you send a Nord your axe, [[WithUsOrAgainstUs how he responds]] will determine if you have business to address.

* LightningBruiser: Nords are the ''physical'' Lightning Bruiser race of Tamriel. Throughout the series, they get some of the best skill bonuses for two-handed weaponry (including [[{{BFS}} Claymores]], [[AnAxeToGrind Battle Axes]], and [[DropTheHammer Warhammers]]), which allows them to hit very hard. They also get skill bonuses toward Light Armor (fur, leather, light chainmail, etc.) which offers them protection while allowing them to move quickly around the battlefield. Finally, their natural physical endurance is among the best of any of the races. The only thing keeping them from being overpowered (and preserving a semblance of balance among the playable races) is that they are least ''magically'' inclined race in Tamriel and even have a [[DoesNotLikeMagic cultural aversion]] to it.

* AnAxeToGrind: Seems to be their cultural WeaponOfChoice, as evident by the numerous statues and works of art depicting Atmoran warriors with these in hand, and one of their cultural icons, the mighty Wuuthrad that belonged to Ysgramor, is a great axe. Their modern-day descendants, the Nords, also have a particular fondness for axes, especially the two-handed kind.

* AdventureFriendlyWorld: High Rock in general. Rising in class by performing quests and services to curry favor with various rulers is considered the best way, which has created a cultural "quest obsession" among young Bretons.

* UnevenHybrid: The result of an ancient Aldmeri eugenics program which mated Nedes with the Direnni Altmer of High Rock. They are occasionally referred to as the "Manmer", a name which acknowledges their elf/human ancestry. The word "Breton" itself is derived from the Ehlnofex word "beratu", or "half". Despite this, modern Bretons are still ''far'' more Man than Mer.

* AntiMagic: Though they do not consider themselves culturally Breton, they still benefit from the anti-magic properties of their (mostly) Breton blood.

* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: No matter what foreign occupier attempts to claim the Reach and no matter how powerful they are, the Reachmen will resist.

Also known as "Witchmen", Reachmen inhabit the area along the border of High Rock and Skyrim known as "the Reach". Though primarily Breton in in terms of race, they do not consider themselves culturally Breton and their bloodlines are intermixed with Nord and Nedic[=/=]Imperial peoples. They are a primitive and tribal people, led by shamans, who practice elements of nature and Daedra worship, primarily Hircine. They also revere Hagravens as "matrons". From the time of the Alessian Empire to the 4th Era, they've maintained an insurgency, warring against any outside conquerors attempting to claim the Reach for themselves. Their greatest success came during the 2nd Era Interregnum, when the Reachmen were actually able to capture the Ruby Throne of Cyrodiil. These rulers became known as the "Longhouse Emperors" and ruled the remnants of the Second Cyrodiilic Empire for several decades until they were overthrown. In the 4th Era, following the decline of the Third Empire, the Reachmen successfully captured the Nord city of Markarth in the Reach and held it for two years until a Nord militia forced them out. The survivors of this group fled into the wilds of the Reach and have become known as the "Forsworn", continuing to wage their war.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Their first names are typically pulled from medieval Norse while they have badass sounding clan names or sobriquets, leading to this -- Ulfric Stormcloak, Arkming the Flayer, Ulfgar the Unending, Else God-Hater, Falk Firebeard, Frofnir Trollsbane, Aldi Winterblade, Ulfberth War-Bear, Galmar Stone-Fist, Torbjorn Shatter-Shield, Idolaf Battle-Born, Mjoll the Lioness, Aela the Huntress, Oengul War-Anvil, Hermir Strong-Heart, Bolgeir Bearclaw... The list goes on and on and on... they are also known to subvert it with some rather lame sounding names mixed in, still in this fashion, such as [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude Vekel the Man]], Nils the Bland, Horstar Home-Wrecker, Geilir the Mumbling...

** Their racial profile in ''Arena'' describes Bretons as being the descendants of "the ancient Druids of Galen", rather than the man-mer hybrids that they were retconned into later in the series, and many individuals in that game would frequently exclaim "By the [=ArchDruid=]", implying that druids are an important and respected part of the Bretonian magical society. From ''Daggerfall'' on upwards, the race began to shift more towards a knightly culture than a mage society, and their druidic heritage was seemingly ignored entirely. It took until 2022 for actual Breton druids to make an appearance in the series proper, being introduced in the ''High Isle'' expansion of ''Online'', though they don't seem to be related to the "Druids of Galen" in any capacity.

The only place on Tamriel where Nedic culture were really allowed to florish uninterrupted, was in the dry, mountainous region of Craglorn, to the southeast of what is modern day Hammerfell. A place of little interest to the Elves, the local Nedes managed to carve out a niché for themselves, establishing a robust civilization consisting of nine petty kingdoms that would experience varying degrees of unification as they endured throughout the ages, and they did, at their height, also lay claim to parts of southwestern Skyrim, most prominently Falkreath. These Kingdoms were also considered be the last home of any true independent Nedic people, and when they finally fell to the invading Redguards in the First Era, it was also considered the end of any "pure" Nedic influrence on Tamriel.

** Their racial profile in ''Arena'' describes Bretons as being the descendants of "the ancient Druids of Galen", rather than the man-mer hybrids that they were retconned into later in the series, and many individuals in that game would frequently exclaim "By the [=ArchDruid=]", implying that druids are an important and respected part of the Bretonian magical society. From ''Daggerfall'' on upwards, the race began to shift more towards a knightly culture more than a mage society, and their druidic heritage was seemingly ignored entirely. It took until 2022 for actual Breton druids to make an appearance in the series proper, being introduced in the ''High Isle'' expansion of ''Online'', though they don't seem to be related to the "Druids of Galen" in any capacity.

* {{Druid}}: An example of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. Their racial profile in ''Arena'' describes Bretons as being the descendants of "the ancient Druids of Galen", and many individuals in that game would frequently exclaim "By the [=ArchDruid=]", implying that druids are an important and respected part of the Bretonian magical society. This seems to have been partially retconned when ''Daggerfall'' was released, as although there have been no further mentions of the "Druids of Galen", the Wyrd covens that were introduced later in the series do fit this trope rather well, and a sizable portion of their population are composed of Breton witches.

* BadassBeard: Depictions and descriptions of Atmorans almost always included massive, glorious beards, a trait which their Nord descendants have adopted with gusto.

* BadassBeard: Nords are serious about their beards, and make for one of the most badass warrior races on Tamriel. Some of their greatest ancient heroes are always depicted with beards, including Talos, Ysgramor, and old Shor himself.

* BadassBeard: Redguard men often have beards, are part of a warrior culture, and according to Sai Sahan a common saying in Redguard culture is "A man is only as great as the beard that wears him".

* WitchSpecies: The most naturally magically inclined race of Men, and not far behind the Altmer for all races.

* BrainsAndBrawn: The brawniest race of Men in Tamriel, in contrast to the Imperial [[HumansAreDiplomats diplomatic "brains"]] and the Breton [[WitchSpecies magical "brains"]].

* 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 analogous to Black and East Asian people 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 unambiguously white. It's at least justified for these specific races, as Nords and Bretons represent the fair skinned real-life Scandanavians and Anglo-Britons, respectively, and [[BlackVikings it's kinda obvious]]. Imperials are more Roman-based and thus more mediterranean in asthetic, while the Redguards are obviously based on Arabia. [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation It's anyone's guess what the Kothringi are metallic]].

* 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 analogous to Black and East Asian people 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 unambiguously white. It's at least justified for these specific races, as Nords and Bretons represent

* 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 analogous to Black and East Asian people 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 unambiguously white.

* HumansAreAverage: They fit this trope moreso than the other races of men, being neither prodigious mages like the Bretons, or warriors on the level of the Nords and Redguards, but being fairly competent at whatever role they're given.

* BanOnMagic: While the Redguards have a cultural dislike of magic in general, it generally stops short of an outright ban. One exception is for necromancy, as Redguard religion forbids their warriors from raising arms against the honored dead. They do have a specialized order known as Ash'abah dedicated to fighting the undead, but they are shunned despite the necessity of their role and mostly wander the Alik'r desert as exiles until needed.

* GodInHumanForm: The Hoon Ding, the Yokudan "Make Way God", is said to manifest as a great leader whenever the Redguards need to "make way" for their people. There are believed to be three confirmed instances of this happening.

* OddJobGods: They have a few. One particularly interesting one is Hoon Ding, the "Make Way" god. He is said to manifest himself as a great leader whenever the Redguards need to "make way" for their people. Cyrus the Restless, hero of ''The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard'', is said to be one such manifestation.

** Swords have a significant value in Redguard culture, and as such, they have many "cool" swords to choose from. Come the 4th Era, they are most famous for their curved scimitars.

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 themselves 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.

'''Note:''' ''Franchise/Elder Scrolls'' lore is generally not clear-cut. Reasons for this range from [[UnreliableNarrator biased]] in-universe sources intentionally giving you only one side of a story, to sources [[CriticalResearchFailure lacking critical information]] or working from [[BlatantLies false information]], to the implication that AllMythsAreTrue, despite the contradictions, or that at least all myths are MetaphoricallyTrue. [[WordOfGod Out-of-game developer supplemental texts]] (frequently referred to as "Obscure Texts" by the lore community) are more trustworthy, but are frequently left [[LooseCanon unofficial]] and sometimes later contradicted. Because of this, it is entirely possible for two contradictory statements in the below examples to ''both'' be true. (And due to frequent events in-universe that [[TimeCrash alter the timeline]], both may ''literally'' be true in-universe.)

'''Note:''' ''Elder Scrolls'' lore is generally not clear-cut. Reasons for this range from [[UnreliableNarrator biased]] in-universe sources intentionally giving you only one side of a story, to sources [[CriticalResearchFailure lacking critical information]] or working from [[BlatantLies false information]], to the implication that AllMythsAreTrue, despite the contradictions, or that at least all myths are MetaphoricallyTrue. [[WordOfGod Out-of-game developer supplemental texts]] (frequently referred to as "Obscure Texts" by the lore community) are more trustworthy, but are frequently left [[LooseCanon unofficial]] and sometimes later contradicted. Because of this, it is entirely possible for two contradictory statements in the below examples to ''both'' be true. (And due to frequent events in-universe that [[TimeCrash alter the timeline]], both may ''literally'' be true in-universe.)

* NotSoDifferentRemark: 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.