Nords live all throughout the empire and could be born elsewhere, too.

I think it is in how one interpret the game, heavily based on personal experience and opinons.

You want convincing evidence? Restart the game and climb off the wagon. Now choose a race. Do you have more choices than Nord? That is because the creators of the lore of the TES games said you could be dragonborn and still be that race. There ya go!

OP, I feel similarly but also because I like the Nords best anyway, and there's a great feeling of "coming home" and saving Skyrim to it. However I'm now playing an Altmer who is anti-Thalmor resistance and to her it is moving to realize she's been chosen for this power, because she feels some responsibility toward the people the Thalmor are harming. I've also read others say they like being a race the Nords look down upon who ends up saving the world. It's just a matter of finding a character story that works for you, to make the other races fun to play.

I find Nords very boring, so I almost never play them.

It is a very nord centric story so a nord fits best (even without the dragonborn business the civil war plotline has more impact if it’s meant to be your peoples homeland) but I thought being dragonborn was a blessing from Akatosh? It goes down Septim line but I don’t think it was ever stated that it’s actually genetic so other races could be dragonborn if Akatosh wills it. Sure it’s traditionally a nord art but doesn’t mean other races can't learn it. Playing as a khajitt seems random tho being that you should not even be allowed into towns and I felt weirdly discounted when I tried to play as a bosmer (my current character is dunmer which isn't as bad)
edit: I can't spell

Yes, the Dragonblood comes from Akatosh. The first Dragonborn is supposed to be saint Alessia from Cyrodiil who likely were nedic or imperial.

Where does it actually say that shouts are only a nord ability? The nord culture may keep the practice active throughout the eons but where does it say they are the only ones to ever do so?

And lets also not forget geneology. It can be enough for any human or mer to have a nord ancestor in the bloodline at some point that was dragonborn for it to be passed on without that bloodline ever knowing of it, since dragons have been extinct for eon's its not a power that would manifest itself. The only quandry in this regard is the beast races. However my previous posts makes note of the fact that the gift of dragonborn is a divine gift. Since the culture of skyrim and its people tells you that they have not seen a dragonborn in over one hundred years, it can easily be said that the divine gifted them (the player) at birth with the soul of a dragon.

Dragonborn is, according to lore, one with soul of a Dragon. Or blood. It varies.

There's nothing saying that only ones who can have soul/blood of the Dragon are Nords.

Even more so, the lore says Kyne bestowed the gift of the Voice to the mortalkind, not "the Nords". Perhaps only Nords were using it back during the Dragon War, but that's because there were no Dragons anywhere else in Tamriel.

The shouts are Dragon language and Dragons aren't Nords, they're Dragons.

From a roleplay perspective, it was fun for me to play as an Argonian, my favorite race. Being dragonborn and having the soul of a dragon felt right to me, as I was a lizard.

Am I the only one that doesn't really see the difference in Nords and Imperials? :/

No, I have also noticed that there is little difference, except the culture.

I'm fairly certain they come from the same people anyway (as do bretons but they are part elf) tho I could be wrong.

Nord = Atmorans
Imperial = Nedic/Nordic
Breton = Nedic/Aldmer
So, yes they have somewhat shared ancestry.

All I know is that for the first time in the history of Nirn, a Dunmer is Dragon Born.

Then a Bosmer...
Then a Redguard...
Then a Khajiit...
Then a Argonian...

See a pattern here? Any race can be the Dragon born or else the developers would've made the Nord Race a mandatory choice..

Has anyone else noticed how Nords really are not taller than Bretons in Skyrim? Whereas in Oblivion, they towered over every other race, aside from high elves.

Nord and Dunmer are two best races in Skyrim due to their resistance to Cold and Fire. As Imperial you will get pwned by all dragons, as Nord at least Ice Dragons wont hurt you that much...

This, especially the Septim line, with the exception of the Dark Elf Empress they were all Imperial.

Tiber Septim was a Nord, and the Septim line likely became Imperials over time through marriage etc.

Mankar Camoran wore the Chim El-Abadal. Not definite proof, the subject of debate, but at least evidence suggesting he was Dragonborn.

The gods must be crazy

If anything, maybe Oblivion did it wrong. It didn't seem like the Prisoner had to be a Cyrodil.

Wait. So was the Agent a Breton? And was Cyrus necessarily a Redguard?

Dragonborn do not wield an ancient Nord power of the voice. There is no such power. Nords have had a special fascination for the language of dragons, and some made an art of speaking it. The art brings power, but that power comes from the language itself, which does not come from Nords, but from dragons. The Voice is called a Nord art only because the practice originated with Nords, thanks to their cultural fascination with dragons and the dragon tongue. Being Nord doesn't give a person any special aptitude in the Voice.

Dragonborn have the souls of dragons, not the souls of Nords. They don't practice the Nord art of the Voice, but speak the dragon tongue naturally.

It's like the Highlander. He fought with everyone BUT a Scot. [You don't] have to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie to be Immortal.

Then again, there was Then there was especially
Nvm. To be a cool and plot-relevant immortal, you gotta eat haggis.



typo

it's what also happened in Morrowind, if you really wanted to play a serious character then you are supposed to play as a Dunmer, Oblivion gave you a little more freedom in the choice...only to discover in Skyrim that the CoC was either Imperial or Breton (Breton due to having the same voice actor?).
So it doesn't really matter if you roleplay an Argonion, Redguard or Breton as the Dragonborn, CANON wise I bet it will be your Nord warrior.