Post by {Ž}äñrô on Aug 26, 2007 1:10:53 GMT -5
Little is known and less is understood about the reptilian denizens of Black Marsh. Years of defending their borders have made the Argonians experts in guerrilla warfare, and their natural abilities make them equally at home in water and on land. They are well-suited for the treacherous swamps of their homeland, and have developed natural immunities to the diseases and poisons that have doomed many would-be explorers into the region. Their seemingly expressionless faces bely a calm intelligence, and many Argonians are well-versed in the magical arts. Others rely on stealth or steel to survive, and their natural agility makes them adept at either. They are, in general, a reserved people, slow to trust and hard to know. Yet they are fiercely loyal, and will fight to the death for those they have named as friends.
While Argonians appear reptilian in nature at first glance, they also exhibit fish- and amphibian-like qualities, such as being able to breathe underwater, having small gills behind their ears, and, swim using the same body mechanism as that of a tadpole or eel, waving its tail side-to-side to propel itself through the water. Unfortunately for the Argonians, the very traits that enabled them to survive so well in the swamps of their homelands also made them ideal slaves for hard labour in regions of Morrowind that would prove uninhabitable to the other races. They are commonly enslaved along with the Khajiit in Morrowind. Though slavery is illegal in the rest of the Empire, the Dunmer of Morrowind were allowed to own slaves for quite some time. This was due to the conditions of the treaty under which Morrowind joined the Empire, which allowed the Dunmer to follow their ancient traditions concerning the ownership of slaves. King Helseth has recently abolished slavery from Morrowind due to political and moral reasons.
Personality:
Argonians possess the most alien personalities in all of Tamriel in a human or meric perspective and therefore, it is assumed that Argonians possess neither personality nor emotions. Of course, this is not true, as Argonians do not express their emotions by shifting their face as man and mer do. The only emotion they can express facially is anger and the only sign for that is bared teeth. Despite this, Argonians possess the same emotions as any other denizen to Tamriel, though they have a somewhat cynical view on life.
Religion:
The Argonian pantheon is widely unknown but seems to contain references to Sithis. The Argonians worship the Hist, as well; it is unclear as to what the Hist actually are, however. The first edition of the Pocket Guide to the Empire points towards the Hist being a different breed of Argonians that are ugly and frail, yet intelligent (although Bethesda staff have hinted that this description of Hist as a breed of Argonians was a mistake). Other more reliable sources imply that the Hist is a type of ancient, sentient tree considered sacred by the Argonians, and that the tree secretes a type of sap-like resin that hardens and, when molded, can make ideal armor.
History:
Indeed, it appears that there are many different breeds of Argonians; when compared, the Argonians from the various games seem drastically different. The Arena Argonians were merely gray humans with small, black eyes and hair ranging from blue-green to bright red. The Daggerfall Argonians, while more closely resemblant to the Morrowind breed, were still of human body structure, but had serpentine tails, lizard-like faces, dull green skin and lime-colored ventral scales. The Redguard Argonians were basically stocky-looking Morrowind Argonians, and the Oblivion Argonians can be best described as a cross between the Daggerfall Argonians and possibly the Arena Argonians, standing completely upright, rather blunt-faced, and reddish in color. It is likely that the different types of Argonians are simply different strains of the same Argonian race.
Attributes:
Male
+10 Agility and Speed
-10 Willpower, Endurance, and Personality
Female
+10 Intelligence
-10 Endurance and Personality
Skills:
+10 Athletics and Security
+5 Alchemy, Blade, Hand to Hand, Illusion, and Mysticism
Traits:
Resist Disease (constant: 75%)
Resist Poison (constant: 100%)
Water Breathing (constant)
While Argonians appear reptilian in nature at first glance, they also exhibit fish- and amphibian-like qualities, such as being able to breathe underwater, having small gills behind their ears, and, swim using the same body mechanism as that of a tadpole or eel, waving its tail side-to-side to propel itself through the water. Unfortunately for the Argonians, the very traits that enabled them to survive so well in the swamps of their homelands also made them ideal slaves for hard labour in regions of Morrowind that would prove uninhabitable to the other races. They are commonly enslaved along with the Khajiit in Morrowind. Though slavery is illegal in the rest of the Empire, the Dunmer of Morrowind were allowed to own slaves for quite some time. This was due to the conditions of the treaty under which Morrowind joined the Empire, which allowed the Dunmer to follow their ancient traditions concerning the ownership of slaves. King Helseth has recently abolished slavery from Morrowind due to political and moral reasons.
Personality:
Argonians possess the most alien personalities in all of Tamriel in a human or meric perspective and therefore, it is assumed that Argonians possess neither personality nor emotions. Of course, this is not true, as Argonians do not express their emotions by shifting their face as man and mer do. The only emotion they can express facially is anger and the only sign for that is bared teeth. Despite this, Argonians possess the same emotions as any other denizen to Tamriel, though they have a somewhat cynical view on life.
Religion:
The Argonian pantheon is widely unknown but seems to contain references to Sithis. The Argonians worship the Hist, as well; it is unclear as to what the Hist actually are, however. The first edition of the Pocket Guide to the Empire points towards the Hist being a different breed of Argonians that are ugly and frail, yet intelligent (although Bethesda staff have hinted that this description of Hist as a breed of Argonians was a mistake). Other more reliable sources imply that the Hist is a type of ancient, sentient tree considered sacred by the Argonians, and that the tree secretes a type of sap-like resin that hardens and, when molded, can make ideal armor.
History:
Indeed, it appears that there are many different breeds of Argonians; when compared, the Argonians from the various games seem drastically different. The Arena Argonians were merely gray humans with small, black eyes and hair ranging from blue-green to bright red. The Daggerfall Argonians, while more closely resemblant to the Morrowind breed, were still of human body structure, but had serpentine tails, lizard-like faces, dull green skin and lime-colored ventral scales. The Redguard Argonians were basically stocky-looking Morrowind Argonians, and the Oblivion Argonians can be best described as a cross between the Daggerfall Argonians and possibly the Arena Argonians, standing completely upright, rather blunt-faced, and reddish in color. It is likely that the different types of Argonians are simply different strains of the same Argonian race.
Attributes:
Male
+10 Agility and Speed
-10 Willpower, Endurance, and Personality
Female
+10 Intelligence
-10 Endurance and Personality
Skills:
+10 Athletics and Security
+5 Alchemy, Blade, Hand to Hand, Illusion, and Mysticism
Traits:
Resist Disease (constant: 75%)
Resist Poison (constant: 100%)
Water Breathing (constant)