User blog comment:Madman97/You know what really grinds my Wabbajack's? S3E8: All this extra bulls*** with ESO/@comment-3524435-20140214204042

Okay, I've seen a lot of people complaining about the ability to play any race in any faction. Not long ago I wished people would stop complaining about each race being stuck with one faction. Careful what you wish for, right?

So while I wasn't thrilled with this either, I've come to accept it and I see the potential roleplaying possibilities. First of all, there will still be plenty of people who lack the option of any race in any faction. I believe that's unique to the Explorer's Pack, and we don't know how accessible it will be after launch. And how many people are going to take advantage of this option? Just because a player has the option doesn't necessarily mean they'll take it.

Secondly, there are plenty of ways to explain how a member of any race could be in any faction. Many people are born and live their entire lives outside of their home province. They are just as likely to support the province they live in as they are their people's native homeland. And why would the military turn away help? They need every willing combatant they can get. This includes members of other races. Even Ulfric Stormcloak took in non-nords. Remember the Imperial on the road (in a random encounter) that's heading to Windhelm to join up? Racial ties aren't as important to some people as they are others.

For example, an Argonian could support the Daggerfall Covenant for a plethora of reasons. He could be a defector. Maybe he hates the Dunmer and refuses to help them, even if most of his people are foolish enough to do so. After all, each of the alliances are fragile at best. There's no way that all Argonians accept the Pact. He might be a criminal that fled the law in Skyrim and ended up in Hammerfell, thirsty for revenge. Or perhaps he was born in Daggerfall and has more ties to High Rock than Black Marsh. He may just be an opportunist who sees the potential for (personal) economic prosperity under Emeric's rule. There are far too many possibilities to ignore. And any of the above stories (plus many others) would be perfectly acceptable from a lore perspective.

My third point is that having a more diverse mix of player characters running around Morrowind will in no way detract from the Ebonheart Pact's uniqueness. Having a bunch of Altmer serving in the Pact wonn't change the inherently unique qualities of the alliance. You're still going to have the same story, characters, and setting, not to mention three very distinct cultures. I'm sure the questline for the Ebonheart Pact won't slowly morph into a clone of the Aldemeri Dominion's questline, no matter how many High Elves join it.

Now, I will say that I dislike the idea of seeing the city of Firsthold swarming with races from other factions. While I wouldn't go so far as to call it lore-breaking, I would say it stretches the lore a bit. Hopefully it won't be THAT bad, but it's the price you pay for freedom. Freedom of speech has drawbacks as well, but most people seem to prefer it to the alternative. But this leads to my final point: this is still an Elder Scrolls game. Even if a lot of the gameplay is different, freedom is still an integral component to the game's structure. Especially when it comes to character creation.

P.S. - I'd also like to remind people not to make assumptions about the game. Just because the Dominion in the fourth era is obsessed with racial purity doesn't mean that the Dominion in the second era feels the same way. To use the Nazi comparison: If the Dominion we met in Skyrim is equivalent to the Third Reich, the Dominion in ESO would be like the First Reich. Maybe the leaders of both governments are racist, but it's silly to assume that this is the case. So would the Dominion under Queen Ayrenn let a nord join their ranks? Perhaps. Would it make sense for this nord to become Emperor? Why not? As long as he still answers to Ayrenn, I think she'd be ''thrilled. ''