Dunmer (Skyrim)



The Dunmer, more commonly referred to as Dark Elves, are the dark skinned elven natives of the province of Morrowind. They have red, glowing eyes and their skin tones vary from green to grey, and even light blue. They are known to be extremely strong, intelligent, and very quick, but are said to be ill favored by fate.

History
After the eruption of Red Mountain, many Dunmer fled to Skyrim. Several took up residence at The College of Winterhold, to bolster their innate magical talents. Many more fled to Windhelm, seat of the Stormcloaks resistance against the Empire of Tamriel. Strongly nationalistic, the Nords of Windhelm ridiculed the Dunmer, forcing them to live sequestered from the other citizens, in what came to be known as the Gray District. Worse treatment, however, was given to the Argonians, who are not allowed past the city docks. Before the destruction that lead to the mass exodus of Dunmer, several of the faithful of Azura received visions of the eruption of Red Mountain. Setting out for Winterhold, these Dunmer built the Shrine of Azura and remained there as priests and priestesses, until only one remained, Aranea Ienith.

Skill Bonuses

 * +10 Destruction
 * +5 Alchemy
 * +5 Alteration
 * +5 Illusion
 * +5 Light Armor
 * +5 Sneak

Starting Spells

 * Sparks (Destruction)
 * Flames (Destruction)
 * Healing (Restoration)

Special Abilities

 * Ancestor’s Wrath: Once per day for 60 seconds, opponents that get too close take 8 points per second of fire damage. **Ancestor's Wrath can harm neutral NPCs such as town guards.
 * Resist Fire: Your Dunmer blood gives you 50% resistance to fire.

Popular Usage & Unique Game Play
The Dunmer is a preferred race for Thieves, as they offer a good balance of stealth and magical talent. This hints even more at the connection between the Mer species, as the Bosmer are good at stealth and the Altmer good with magic.

The Dunmer also fits perfectly the offensive mage playstyle. With an improved resistance against fire, one could rely upon the Dunmer's Destruction ability to deal damage and develop a strong Alteration for the purpose of protection. Restoration spells might also be useful, while Lockpicking and Sneak would remain as supporting skills. If you wish to use direct combat to kill your foes, then the Dunmer would be a viable race as an assassin.

Playing on this resistance against fire, Dunmer could also, theoretically, be used if you want to become a Vampire. As Vampires at Stage IV have 100% weakness to fire, their resistance could counteract the effects to about half that.

Also, this allows them to be pretty effective against any fire attacks of dragons. Therefore, a Dunmer archer would pretty much tank dragon attacks and attacking back. Additionally, they can easily level up their destruction as they offer a wider variety of spells at the beginning of the game-as well as the highest starting Destruction values of any race.

Related Pages

 * Skills - Skills in Skyrim
 * Spells - Spells in The Elder Scrolls Universe
 * Race - Races in The Elder Scrolls Universe
 * Perks - Perks in Skyrim