Was anyone else just a touch put off at the fact that plenty of the races were just thrown away in Skyrim and it was all just 'Nord! Nord! Nord!'
In Oblivion, in any city you could see plenty of each race, it was a great mixing pot of cultures. I know Cyrodiil is the capital of the Empire and in the centre, but still.
In Skyrim, I see plenty of Imperials pissed off that Nords give them a hard time.
Argonians are pretty much exlcusive to Riften. And there's like five of them.
There is only a hand full of Bretons.
The Khajiit cannot even enter the damn cities. They're stuck on the roads and outside the gates.
The Altmer are hated universally, and are not present pretty much except for in Windhelm and Winterhold.
The Dark Elves are actually racially abused and are in one corner of Windhelm. One or two live in other cities. And these (my favourite race of Elves) are picked on the most.
The Orcs simply know better and life in forts in the middle of nowhere.
I miss the days of Oblivion when everyone just got along and I could have a conversation between myself (Nord/Breton) and my Khajiit and Dunmer friend.
It's a Nord ES - it's to be expected.
There are Argonians in Windhelm, BTW. Go to the port. Also an Argonian in Solitude. However, the farther northern reaches of Tamriel are not a place you would expect to see ANY Argonians. They do deserve better treatment, though from what I understand, Argonians are extremely xenophobic in Black Marsh, and non-Argonians enter only at their peril. If they're treated unfairly, it's a shame, but they seem to be treated better by the Nords in Skyrim than those same Nords would be treated in Black Marsh.
Nords don't like Elves - they've been at the receiving end of an attempted Genocide, and a very treacherous one at that. Hence the hostility to Dunmer and especially Altmer, and VERY especially the Thalmor.
Dunmer have an unsavory reputation all around - they're daedra worshippers, and you have to admit Morrowind had some unsavory cultural characteristics. The Nords showed great virtue against a former enemy by granting them asylum in Solstheim - a Nord Homeland of sorts - after the Red Mountain had its very big case of indigestion. I'd say the Dunmer should count their blessings, and the smart move for them would be to return the favor and help the Nords break free of the Empire - they'd form an alliance to last centuries that way.
The Imperials deserve to be slapped around for a while - their empire is rotted, and the Nords of Skyrim have given generations of their bravest and best at the neglect of their own home, in return for which the Empire took them for granted and signed away the internal sovereignty and cultural integrity of Skyrim in order to conclude a convenient and rather nerveless ceasefire.
Yes, the Khajiit are getting somewhat of the short end of the stick. But they should hardly expect better - their criminal ways are part of their culture (something about which they are quite open, expressive and unapologetic), and the Nords have a right to be suspicious.
Bretons are few, though there are more than comfort allows in and around Markarth - remember, the Forsworn are primarily of Breton blood (though mixed with elves, as far as I understand it.)
Finally: the Orcs have it VERY good in Skyrim. There are no restrictions of movement, and they have their own towns and SOVEREIGNTY - a stunning concession that suggests great respect for them on the part of the Nords. They've served alongside each other in the Legion, and they actually have quite a few cultural traits in common. If anything, I'd say Orcs command wide and genuine respect in Skyrim.
You have to look at the big picture.
All the races of Tamriel have had blood hatred for each other for millenia, and the Dwemer and Altmer have committed acts of genocide in the past that are bloodcurdling. The Argonians seem to LOVE enslaving others, as it seems do the Bretons. Though the Imperials in the past have been very open-minded, their society/nation is weakening and almost certainly dying, and they seem to be more concerned with retaining and re-expanding their power than being the good-ol' Imperials that we knew in Oblivion. With that in mind, the Nords really seem to be the fairest and best tribe in Skyrim - they respect ANYONE who shows VIRTUE. That's why they hold the Orcs in esteem. If the Dunmer show it in Solstheim, they'll find faithful and solid friends in the Nords.
» Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:00 am 
.) Nevertheless, the Karankawa, Anazasi, Pueblo, Shoshone, Pawnee and other tribes had their share of extreme difficulties at the hand of other native tribes.