how many different types of elves are there?

[Breton Thief Oriana]

before i read your post(i think it was at 2:30 last night), Cmac, i looked it up in that book and they exist. so, yes. there are now nine elves. but why couldnt they have a good name with the suffix -mer in it? seems like they are shunned or something.

[Eliah]

Tamriel is much like the Eurasia and Africa continents. Highelves being from Asia(specially Japan's islands.), Imperials being from the Greek-Roman area, Nords and Bretons are fairly obvious, being Scandinavians and Celtics, respectively. Khajiit and Argonians are very difficult to place, but they seem sort of South America-ish.

 

Anyway. My point is that Tamriel isn't the whole world. There are most likely races out there that are not even known to the inhabitants of Tamriel.

 

Altho that has nothing to do with this thread's subject directly, so I will post something ontopic and clearify.

 

In many books it talks about the 'man' and 'mer' races. Thus, in fact, there are three elven 'species.' The Dunmer came from imigrated chimer. They adapted and were no longer the Chimer, but now the Dunmer. Same thing with the Orcs, as far as I can figure - altho I thought that Molag had something to do with twisting elves into Orcs?

 

So, over all, disregarding timelines, any name that begins with 'mer' can be called an elven 'type' and counted. Otherwise it's time biased. Currently there are, to my knowledge, only the Aeylids(Wild Elves), Dunmer, Bosmer, and Altmer.

 

In the practical game(active races that you find) there are only three elven types. In game theory(meaning the entire Elder Scrolls universe concept), there could be more then simply what is available knowledge on Morrowind and in this game.

[Breton Thief Oriana]

well, this being the lore section, it has to do with game theory. hope that clears your misconception.

[Adrian Laguna]

1.aldmer

2.chimer

3.altmer

4.dunmer

5.bosmer

6.dwemmer

7.falmer

8.aeylids

9.Orsimer(Which are Orcs, read more books like "The true nature of orcs" and "The pig children" etc.)

 

and that pretty much sums it up.

You missed one, I forget their name but there are Tropical Elves that live south of Tamriel. They ride sea serpents and tried to invade Tamriel once.

[cmac]

I've done some digging, and I found a few more things:

 

Ayleid (Wild Elves)s – these reclusive mer are reputed to inhabit the wild areas of every region of Tamriel. They isolate themselves from all other races, even Altmer, preferring to maintain an exclusively Ayleidic, traditional culture that is removed from and alien to the mainstream of Tamriel.

 

Imga – the Ape Men of Valenwood. Aspiring to be more like mer, they often shave their fur, wear Altmeri clothing and even adopt superior attitudes towards men and other beast races.

 

Falmer (Snow or Ice Elves) – these legendary mer are reputed to have once inhabited the cold wastes of northern Tamriel. They feature in Nord folklore, but there are no modern accounts of them and they are widely believed to be now extinct. One myth holds that they were exterminated by the Nords of Skyrim, during the reign of King Vrage the Gifted (ca.1E230), while another suggests that the last of the Falmer were killed by the Nords of Solstheim.

 

Tsaesci – the Akaviri Serpent Folk credited with having eaten all of the Akaviri men and attempting to eat all of the Akaviri Dragons. During the First and Second Eras, Tsaesci were quite accepted in Tamriel and, for a substantial part of the Second Era, they controlled the Empire.

 

Ehlnofey – believed by many to be one of the earliest mortal races upon Nirn and ancestors of both men and mer. However, Ehlnofey can be translated as ‘Earth Bones’ and, as such, the term is often used to describe the mythic foundations of the mortal plane itself, created by a sacrificial transition which certain immortals reputedly undertook during the Dawn Era. Altmer specifically revere these immortals as Aedra, that is, ‘our ancestors’.

 

Kamal – the Snow Demons of Akavir that thaw out each year and attempt to overrun the Tang Mo. In the past, they have also attempted to invade Tamriel.

 

Ka Po’ Tun – the Tiger Folk of Akavir. The last of the Akaviri Dragons were destroyed long ago, during a war between the now Ka Po’ Tun and the Tsaesci. Now the Tiger Folk seek to become Dragons; their leader, Tosh Raka, has reputedly succeeded and is now the largest Dragon on Nirn.

 

Sload – a slug-like race despised by all of Tamriel for unleashing the Thrassian Plague which wiped out most of the inhabitants of Tamriel (ca.1E2200). Their homeland of Thras was subsequently sunk by a united Tamrielic armada and it was believed all had been killed, but some remain. They are slow and deliberate creatures with a very high aptitude for magic and a particular interest in necromancy.

 

Tang Mo – the hugely diverse Monkey Folk of the Akaviri archipelago. They have always managed to resist becoming enslaved by the other dominant races of Akavir. They do not appear to be related to the Imga.

 

Adrian, the Tropical Elves are called Maormer. The Maormer, or Tropical Elves are a rare breed of Elf that live on the secluded island of Pyandonea. Far to the south of the Summerset Isles is the island kingdom of Pyandonea, home to the Maormer, a rare breed of tropical elf. It is covered mostly in dense rain forest, and is a playground for the southern water spirits. The Maormer almost never travel to Tamriel or visit their cousins at Summerset, for they were exiled from the latter kingdom in ancient times. They are known to possess a strange, chameleon-like skin, an involuntary process that is similar to the forest-coupling skills of the Bosmer. They also practice a powerful form of snake magic. With this, they have tamed the sea serpents of their island for use as steeds and warbeasts. The Maormer ruler is King Orgnum, a deathless wizard who is said to be the Serpent God of the Satakal.

[Eliah]

I had no misconception, Breton Thief Oriana, I was merely covering all possible aspects of the question at hand.

 

Having discovered new information that pertains to this, I shall also make it of note.

 

All man and mer races are interchangably breedable, altho the child normally takes after the mother for thier racial 'traits'. Thus you would be left with a huge range of race possibilites.

 

 

Therefore I conclude it is impractical and impossible to determine the actual number of 'types' of elves there are.

 

Perhaps there is still Dwemer blood out there in a few Dunmer and they're actually half Dunmer and half Dwemer. What about that guy looking for the Falmer? Maybe he's not actually an Altmer. Game theory allows for alot of speculation.

[cmac]

All man and mer races are interchangably breedable, altho the child normally takes after the mother for thier racial 'traits'. Thus you would be left with a huge range of race possibilites.

 

 

Therefore I conclude it is impractical and impossible to determine the actual number of 'types' of elves there are.

 

Perhaps there is still Dwemer blood out there in a few Dunmer and they're actually half Dunmer and half Dwemer. What about that guy looking for the Falmer? Maybe he's not actually an Altmer. Game theory allows for alot of speculation.

All "races" of elves and humans may mate with each other and bear fertile offspring. Generally the offspring bear the racial traits of the mother, though some traces of the father's race may also be present. It is less clear whether the Argonians and Khajiit are interfertile with both humans and elves. Though there have been many reports throughout the Eras of children from these unions, as well as stories of unions with daedra, there have been no well documented offspring. Khajiit differ from humans and elves not only their skeletal and dermal physiology -- the “fur” that covers their bodies -- but their metabolism and digestion as well. Argonians, like the dreugh, appear to be a semi-aquatic troglophile form of humans, though it is by no means clear whether the Argonians should be classified with dreugh, men, mer, or (in this author's opinion), certain tree-dwelling lizards in Black Marsh.

 

The reproductive biology of orcs is at present not well understood, and the same is true of goblins, trolls, harpies, dreugh, tsaesci, imga, various daedra and many others. Certainly, there have been cases of intercourse between these "races," generally in the nature of rape or magickal seduction, but there have been no documented cases of pregnancy. Still the interfertility of these creatures and the civilized hominids has yet to be empirically established or refuted, likely due to the deep cultural differences. Surely any normal Bosmer or Breton impregnated by an orc would keep that shame to herself, and there's no reason to suppose that an orc maiden impregnated by a human would not be likewise ostracized by her society. Regrettably, healer's oaths keep them from forcing a coupling to satisfy their scientific knowledge. It is known, however, that the sload of Thras are hermaphrodites in their youth and later reabsorb their reproductive organs once they are old enough to move about on land. It can be safely assumed that they are not interfertile with men or mer.

 

One might further wonder whether the proper classification of these same “races,” to use the imprecise but useful term, should be made from the assumption of a common heritage and the differences between them have arisen from magickal experimentation, the manipulations of the so-called "Earth Bones," or from gradual changes from one generation to the next.

[Stampede]

Been doing your reading eh Cmac?

 

Was the speculation that Ricklings are related to Falmer just delusional?

[SilvuruAgnost]

:) acualy its quite simple. Dunmer Bosmer and altmer. Becouse they are the only one who is called elves. :)

[cmac]

Was the speculation that Ricklings are related to Falmer just delusional?

To the best of my knowledge, yes.

 

acualy its quite simple. Dunmer Bosmer and altmer. Becouse they are the only one who is called elves. 

 

Read the rest of the thread! There are Aldmer, Falmer, Dwemer (yes, they are elves, too), Maormer, and Ayleids. Even orcs are part elf. They are called Orsimer, after all.