Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-24208078-20150213220924/@comment-1470368-20150213222456

Bacongamer117 wrote: So, I recently made a wood elf character in Skyrim, and was wondering, have bosmer not used or avoided magic in lore? I'm trying to base at least part of it off of lore, so I wondered this. It is most evident that there have been many Bosmer who've used Magic in the past. Not to mention the fact that Bosmer have a consistent bonus to Alchemy in every game (which counts as a Magic skill in every game before Skyrim), and Bosmer in TESIV: Oblivion have a +5 Bonus to Alteration (probably specific to the average Bosmer in Cyrodiil).

To answer your question more correctly:  Yes, Bosmer have made use of Magic as described in Lore.

Two major examples are as follows:  Spinners, who make use of Illusion to capture listeners into the story that they "spin" with magic. Then you have the *Silvenar* and *Green Lady*, who both represent aspects of the Bosmer people (the present and the past, specifically)...so much so that their personalities may reflect such. The Green Lady can become a monster upon a Silvenar's tragic death.

A minor example is the magical manipulation of vegetation (specifically tree-roots) when a Bosmer wishes to enter the moving tree-city of Falinesti.

The Bosmer's natural ability to Command Animals may also count, and there's something else in Lore about Bosmer being able to camouflage themselves in the forests.

So, in short, you could say that Bosmer ideally have a natural affinity for Illusion, Alteration, and Alchemy (back when Alchemy counted as a Magic skill, anyway).