Lore friendly Nord Thief

[Foreststar]

So something came across my mind while playing Skyrim today and I've only just thought of this but can Nords be thieves/Assassins, I mean I know they can in sense of game wise but lore wise.

Basically I have always made a Nord warrior and a Nord Thief from Morrowind to Oblivion to Skyrim so basically my questions are...

 

1): Can a Nord be a Thief/Assassin lore wise as they are basically berserker brutish people.

2): Does it make sense to have the Dragonborn a thief/assassin as he/she is suppose to be a great warrior ofc there is Mirak who is a mage but I think he was the only non warrior Dragonborn.

3): Nords tend to fight in honor and be strong people who like face to face combat so agin can a Nord be a thief/assassin sinse they see this best fight.

4): Nords in these factions Oki so there is Brynjolf Sapphire In thieves and Astrid and her Husband in Dark brotherhood does this make sense?

5): Nords despise magic and alchemy/posions more or less so would any nord be a spellsword or mage etc.

6):Last thing Nords usally go to sovngarde when they die so if I made a deal with sithis Nocturnal hercine Hermas'mora and other deadra where would I go?

 

Ive always loved nords and always tried to be as lord friendly as possible like in Oblivion and morrowind I was just the hero/heroine a Nord but you know I could of lived a bad life...How ever in Skyrim I'm the dragonborn a mighty Nordic Warrior from legend doesn't make sense for this great legend to assassinateing emperors stealing from rich houses and making deals with every deadra you meet. Anyway any explantion on a lorefriendly way to think of a Nord thief assassin would be helpful thank you =).

[Deleted2993601User]

Most nords are big brutish barbarians (2h + light armor) and not the typical 1h, shield and heavy armor guy. They also have starting bonuses to both two-handed and light armor because they're supposed to be swift and hit hard (kill before you're killed) but there are always exceptions. Arch-mage Shalidor was, as his title insinuates, a mage.

 

Regarding where nords go. The nords who believe in sovngarde go there upon death. Those who have the beast blood (werewolf), go to hircine's hunting grounds and those affiliated with molag bal (the prince who created vampirism), I'd bet would go to his plane of oblivion (coldharbor, IIRC)

[Foreststar]

For your first part I've never really checked the bonuses but always assumed that they i'ver 2x 1h bersekers or shield and sword also I've also never really thought of the light armor thing I've always thought of them with heavy armor, also to your swiftness thing could that mean sinse they use light armor and and suppose to be swift could they be thives/assassins? been how they have to be swift etc.

 

Also as for the death thing I was kinda trying to ask since your the dragonborn a supposed Nordic legend if your going for lore wouldn't that mean that you would go to sovngarde no matter who you became affiliated with such as Nocturnal or molag bal or sithis?

 

also any answers to questions I put 1-6 would also help =) I'm a huge lore fan like deep down elder scrolls fan but I've never found a answer to this question about nords been thieves or assassins etc I know there is nords in them like Brynjolf and Astrid and obviously mages collage has nords in it I'm more asking if there is anyway it can be made visible for a Barbarian vikingish race to be these things agin any answer to it would help.

 

Also thank you above post its answerd afew of my questions but also made more =)

[Deleted2993601User]

For your first part I've never really checked the bonuses but always assumed that they i'ver 2x 1h bersekers or shield and sword also I've also never really thought of the light armor thing I've always thought of them with heavy armor, also to your swiftness thing could that mean sinse they use light armor and and suppose to be swift could they be thives/assassins? been how they have to be swift etc.

 

A barbarian pretty much has to have light armor to remain swift while swinging their big weapons (preferably battleaxes or warhammers). There can be nord warriors, yes, but the default average Joe nord is a 2h wielding lightly armored barbarian. Just look at the stormcloaks. How often do you see a 1h + shield soldier? Very rarely.

 

Also as for the death thing I was kinda trying to ask since your the dragonborn a supposed Nordic legend if your going for lore wouldn't that mean that you would go to sovngarde no matter who you became affiliated with such as Nocturnal or molag bal or sithis?

 

I couldn't ever imagine anything but a Nord for a dragonborn. Call me weird but that's what I think.

 

also any answers to questions I put 1-6 would also help =) I'm a huge lore fan like deep down elder scrolls fan but I've never found a answer to this question about nords been thieves or assassins etc I know there is nords in them like Brynjolf and Astrid and obviously mages collage has nords in it I'm more asking if there is anyway it can be made visible for a Barbarian vikingish race to be these things agin any answer to it would help.

 

Have you talked to the Nord mage at the College of Winterhold? Onmund. He gives a fair explanation as to why Nords in general despise magic. It's what elves do and weaklings, basically (not my opinion!), and that if it can't be swung over your head and used to crack skulls, Nords don't want anything to do with it.

 

1): Can a Nord be a Thief/Assassin lore wise as they are basically berserker brutish people.

2): Does it make sense to have the Dragonborn a thief/assassin as he/she is suppose to be a great warrior ofc there is Mirak who is a mage but I think he was the only non warrior Dragonborn.

3): Nords tend to fight in honor and be strong people who like face to face combat so agin can a Nord be a thief/assassin sinse they see this best fight.

4): Nords in these factions Oki so there is Brynjolf Sapphire In thieves and Astrid and her Husband in Dark brotherhood does this make sense?

5): Nords despise magic and alchemy/posions more or less so would any nord be a spellsword or mage etc.

6):Last thing Nords usally go to sovngarde when they die so if I made a deal with sithis Nocturnal hercine Hermas'mora and other deadra where would I go?

I was on my phone before but now am at my PC, so I'll try to answer better.

1. Lore-wise, they can be whatever they feel like, honestly. As I said before, there's a guy called Onmund at the College of Winterhold, a Nord mage. If you want to be a Nord assassin, go ahead. It is not lore-unfriendly.

2. Well, Miraak was a mage and the very first dragonborn, but it seems to be a "trend" for dragonborns to be warriors. I don't particularly like assassins. I have played a few but never really got a liking for it. Lurking in the shadows? It's not for me. I tend to be warrior-ish in my playthroughs and that has been my downfall for so many mage builds... I never learn.

3. Nords are proud people and honor and traditions are two extremely important things to a Nord. Ulfric Stormcloak might be a megalomaniac xenophobic bigot, but honor and traditions mean much to him as well.

4. Well, it does. They didn't want to be warriors so they chose a different path in life. IIRC, Arnbjorn (Astrid's husband) used to roll with the companions, but he was a little too... violent for them.

5. Yes, Nords strongly despise magic. If it can't be swung over your head and used to crack skulls, the general Nord doesn't want to touch it. There have been many exceptions, though. Tolfdir, court mages, Shalidor, etc. Wasn't Jyrik Gauldursson sort of a spellsword?

6. A Nord goes to Sovngarde, yes, but only if he has proven his mettle in battle. A Nord isn't judged by how he has lived, but by the way he died. Also, to actually get into the Hall of Valor, you need to prove you're worth entering, by a warrior's test with Tsun, the large human guarding the crudely built bone bridge.

Have you talked to Kodlak? A Nord who has aligned themselves with Hircine does not go to Sovngarde upon death, they go to Hircine's hunting grounds. A Nord vampire, I bet, would go to Coldharbour, which is Molag Bal's realm of Oblivion.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Guest

[TehKaoZ]

Without delving too much into lore specifics, any race can technically be any class and still work lore wise. A race of people cannot be defined by one set of rigid guidelines otherwise you would have no diversity, even within said culture. This is almost akin to saying IRL "All people from blah blah nationality know kung fu", its ridiculous to think so. Nords may in-general follow a certain trend, and may gear toward "barbarian" class or "fighter" class more frequently within the ties of their cultural values but to the individual that doesn't really mean much. It's up to the creator to define the story of their character and "why" he is a rogue, thief or even a mage (I mean the guy in the carriage in the opening sequence is a horse thief, and its stated hes a nord as well).

 

The Dragonborn issue is understandably more of a conflict however, as it relates to faith and blessings/destiny. I found it difficult to role-play a Dragonborn assassin who "shouts". it seems almost counter to what an assassin should be. Their are shouts I believe to throw your voice which is likely meant for a thief but even so, it doesn't seem to sync well with that theme overall. That being said, I suppose it's reasonable that a Nord Assassin or Thief simply act the role of honorable warrior in public while conducting his business in secret. It takes a bad Assassin to enter a city and announce "Here be entering Karn Backstab! Master Assassin and Thief!"

 

Overall, just think of your character in human terms, why is he a thief, or assassin, how did he grow up? parents? mentors? A good "bad" character always believes that how he lives is the correct way, that they are doing what they do because from their own perspective it is the best possible thing to do for one reason or another. Just make sure that your character is not how he is just because "I'm evil for evil's sake" idea.

[Foreststar]

sorry been awhile to respond problems but anyway thank you very much for the information both of you its helped a lot =) also put the whole thing to ease, so yes thank you A lot of the points you both made are exactly what basically I needed to hear lol (I forgot about the guy in the card the Horse Thief) and well basically all points have helped with my RP play through of a Nord Thief/assassin so agin ty =).

[Skateboards]

This is a bit off topic, but I love roleplaying as a Breton sneaky sneaky thief. :P
It's good because Bretons are typically magical beings, so it makes a good race for an assassin who uses magic.

[chanchan05]

Uh, just look at Brynolf. He's second of the Thieve's Guild and he's a Nord. There are also Nord members of the DB. Heck Conan the Barbarian is a thief (read the books! even the movies mention this).

 

The DB was caught sneaking across the border from Cyrodiil. Maybe to escape those after him for being a thief? Who knows. You can be anyone.