Learn how to pick the perfect race and sex for your character in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Explore starting stats and skill bonuses for each race.
Before beginning a game you should read your Oblivion game manual to understand key parts to playing Oblivion. Pay close attention to pages 16-27. Now you are ready to start the game. Start thinking about what kind of character you want to be as you play through Oblivion. The key to successfully playing Oblivion is choosing the right 7 major skills for your character and their race. The major skills will start off at 25 points instead of 5, like the rest of the skills. Also the only way to level up your character is with the major skills only and not the minor skills.
Once you start the game you will see a short cut scene and then be brought through a castle doorway to meet your character in the Character Creation Screen. You must now name the character, then pick which gender and race you would like to be by picking the Race option.
Depending on whether you choose Male or Female along with which race you choose, your character will have different default stats to go along with them but the Specials and Skill bonuses will remain the same. The following is a list of what each type gives you:
| Race | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 50 | |
| Khajiit | 40 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 50 | |
| Nord | 50 | 50 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 40 | 50 | 50 | |
| Orc | 45 | 45 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 45 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | |
| Redguard | 50 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | |
| Wood Elf | 30 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 40 | 30 | 50 | 50 | |
| Argonian | 40 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 40 | 50 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 50 | 50 | |
| Breton | 40 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 50 | 50 | |
| Dark Elf | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 40 | 30 | 50 | 50 | |
| High Elf | 30 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 40 | 40 | 30 | 50 | 50 | |
| Specials | Skill Bonuses | |
|---|---|---|
| Imperial - Absorb Fatigue (magnitude 100, once a day) | Blade +5, Blunt +5 | |
| Charm (magnitude 30, once a day) | Hand-to-Hand +5, Mercantile +10, Speechcraft +10 | |
| Khajiit - Demoralize (magnitude 100, once a day) | Acrobatics +10, Athletics +5, Blade +5, Sneak +5, Security +5, Hand-to-Hand +10, Light Armor +5 | |
| Night-Eye (duration 30, once a day) | ||
| Nord - Frost Damage (touch, magnitude 50, once a day) | Armorer +5, Blade +5, Block +5, Blunt +10, Heavy Armor +10, Restoration +5 | |
| Shield (magnitude 30, duration 60, once a day) | ||
| Resist Frost (magnitude 50, once a day) | ||
| Orc - Berserk (Fortify Health 20, Fortify Fatigue 200, Fortify Strength 50, Drain Agility 100; duration 60, once a day) | Armorer +10, Block +10, Blunt +10, Hand-to-Hand +5, Heavy Armor +10 | |
| Resist Magicka (magnitude 25) | ||
| Redguard - Adrenaline Rush (Fortify Agility 50, Fortify Speed 50, Fortify Strength 50, Fortify Endurance 50, Fortify Health 25; duration 60) | Athletics +10, Blade +10, Blunt +10, Light Armor +5, Heavy Armor +5, Mercantile +5 | |
| Resist Poison (magnitude 75) | ||
| Resist Disease (magnitude 75) | ||
| Wood Elf - Command Creature (magnitude 20, duration 60, once a day) | Acrobatics +5, Alchemy +10, Alteration +5, Light Armor +5, Marksman +10, Sneak +10 | |
| Resist Disease (magnitude 75) | ||
| Argonian - Resist Disease (magnitude 75) | ||
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