Are novice robes the uniform for college of winterhold?


Skyrim gives me a lot of mixed messages on this

Was marcurio an x college mage?

Was the mage body in the helgen cage a college mage?

The guards in holds refer to me as a mage when wearing novice+robes but vigilants also wear them and yet many others wear black or blue hooded


I dont want to assume laziness . Just trying to figure out

If these robes are/were supposed to be a uniform

I don't think they fleshed out the "robe system" tbh. There's also unused robes unattainable except through console (or unofficial patch). Like more colors for those court mages and monks, as well as some extra college robes.

As for Marcurio, I like to think he's a graduate.. but that's just my headcanon.

edit: Just to add, I definitely don't think the Vigilants were thought out either. I wouldn't think too much about their robe choice.

I mean, in the vanilla game, they had potential, but they did practically nothing with them... and by the time Dawnguard came out, they just decided to basically kill them off.

And now, if you play a fresh game with DG installed, the Vigilants get wiped out before you even get to do much of anything. At level 8, the Orc already wants to recruit you to the Dawnguard and talks about the Vigilants getting attacked. Your only reply option is "Vigilants? What are you talking about?" lol. This just tells me that they wanted us to forget about them.

Mage robes are just that- robes designed for the use of mages or magic-users. If someone's walking around in 'em, are you going to assume that they're a mage or that they're really a burly warrior who eats thunder and craps lightning?

I really don't think there's anything to it beyond that. It's not a "uniform" so much as "things that mages wear because it's useful".

-Edit-

As for the robe system, it makes sense as-is. You have the "(rank) Robes", which provides bonuses to a skill and magic regen, which are useful for mages on the go (note the satchel). Since members of the college are on the go, it makes sense for them to use 'em. Then you have the blue robes, typically favored by court wizards (which seem to be made out of a finer material ill-suited for anything outside the castle walls), the Orange/Yellow robes to denote priests, and the black robes used by outcasts (likely black to help remain unseen, intimidation purposes, and the fact that they don't show stains).

Depends on a game, in Morrowind a man in a robe might very well have a set of full plate beneath.


Probably just lazyness. Or maybe a lot of mages get killed or ditch the college, and that way many robes remain in the "wilderness".

I never viewed the robes as college uniforms really. Considering that random general store vendors and court mages sell them also.


I just figure that most pure wizards wear them because they have pro wizard enchantments and making casting spells easier. So then a guard sees you in them will assume you're a wizard.


I wouldn't take too much stock in the random guard and people's responses. Most of them make no sense (how does a guard know I'm good at sneaking or bartering with merchants?) And I think they were put in to show the world recognize your character, but done terribly.


Plus we know guards arent versed in magic and most people in skyrim (especially nords) distrust magic. So they probably assume every wizard is from the college because that's all they know affiliated with magic and just assume every wizard has a connection to the college (which is kind of accurate as why else would sophisticated mages be in skyrim where nobody likes wizards and magic isn't that abundant).


A guard probably sees a vampire with obvious vampire eyes in robes and just assumed they're a college wizard lol.

The college would expect you to take being a mage seriously and wear something that enhances those skills, so naturally they would supply them to novices. Beyond that, the association is just with mages, whether they go to the College or not. It's also reasonable to assume that anyone with an interest in magic would go to the College at least to see what they had to offer. Joining, taking training, doing quests would be optional.

The Vigilants of Stendarr also need the enchantments on their robes, and chose something readily available. The itinerant/resident distinction between styles of robes has already been made, and clearly the Vigilants need the satchel style.

I'm surprised not to see plain unenchanted robes as houserobes, for characters who stay in interior cells.

The style is associated with the College but not unique to it. Like how greasers wear leather jackets but if you're wearing a leather jacket you're not necessarily a greaser.

The college style robes including novice have more powerful enchantments than blue robes including court wizards. Of note i believe the guards only reply to college robes

The guy in the helgen cell made me question it and then i thought of the morthal mage and the imperial mages you encounter in the eye of magnus quest.

In previous games was blue the standard color? Oblivion as its closest timeperiod?

To be fair, I don't think most people can see vampire eyes. Seeing them might be unique to supernaturally powered individuals- werewolves, other vampires, dovahkiin, very knowledgable mages, etc.

Otherwise, people wouldn't wait until stage 4 vampirism to attack you in non-Dawnguard Skyrim.

Point would be backed up by solitude court mage


The fact all blue hooded mage robes the same enchantment? Probably an oversight?