Morrowind:Breton

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Illustration of a typical Breton male.

Bretons are part-elvish and part-human beings (more human than elvish) that populate the province of High Rock, where the second game of the series, Daggerfall, takes place. They are capable mages with high magicka resistance. Other than that, they have few distinctive features. They are considered an intelligent human race in Tamriel, known for a proficiency in abstract thinking, a possible reason for their adeptness in the magical arts.

The Bretons' origin can be traced to the First Era of Tamriel's history, when the Aldmer attacked and destroyed the Nedic holdings in Skyrim. Many of the female Nords captured in the raids were subsequently enslaved as concubines, and gave birth to mixed Aldmer-Nord offspring, termed Manmer by the pure-blooded Nords. While the Aldmer maintained control of Tamriel, the Manmer lived as lower-class citizens, supporting their meric brethren. After the Aldmer lost their foothold, the remaining Manmer interbred with the controlling human races. The Bretons of modern-day Tamriel have a much-diluted meric ancestry, seen in their higher magical affinity.

It is assumed that Bretons are based on the Breton people of France (or Celtic people in general), just as it is assumed that Imperials are based on the Romans.

[edit] Base Attributes

Attribute	M	F
Strength	40	30
Intelligence	50	50
Willpower	50	50
Agility	30	30
Speed	30	40
Endurance	30	30
Personality	40	40
Luck	40	40

[edit] Skill Bonuses

Skill	Bonus
Conjuration	+10
Mysticism	+10
Restoration	+10
Alchemy	+5
Alteration	+5
Illusion	+5

[edit] In-Game Description

Passionate and eccentric, poetic and flamboyant, intelligent and willful, the Bretons feel an inborn, instinctive bond with the mercurial forces of magic and the supernatural. Many great sorcerers have come out of their home province of High Rock, and in addition to their quick and perceptive grasp of spellcraft, enchantment, and alchemy, even the humblest of Bretons can boast a high resistance to destructive and dominating magical energies.

[edit] Specials

Power: Dragon Skin - Shield 50pts for 60sec on Self
Ability: Resist Magicka 50%
Ability: Fortify Maximum Magicka 5pts
(0.5x) Intelligence (50% more Magicka)

[edit] Ideal Character

Bretons are good magical characters, more interested in using magic for their own personal use than hurting others. Their bonuses are entirely in the school of magic, so it makes sense that you'd get some extra magicka to work with. You might also consider backing your Breton up with a magicka enhancing sign for a further Magicka boost, particularly if you plan of focussing mostly or entirely on magic for dealing with enemies. Another nice bonus is the magic resistance. Quite the opposite from the almost-berserker mindset the Altmer have toward magic, a 50% magic resistance can make many negative effects seem much more manageable. It is worth knowing that there are relatively few enemies using genuinely dangerous Magicka spells, Vampires being a notable exception, so an innate Resist Magicka Ability is not as exciting as it may initially seem as it does not protect at all against all those powerful elemental spells. However, it is a significant boost towards getting a 100% Resistance to Magicka which can be helpful in a variety of ways, from wearing the Boots of Blinding Speed without penalty right up to shrugging off annoying Bonewalker attacks.

Unfortunately, the Bretons have no offensive skill bonuses to speak of. It should be borne in mind however that racial Skill bonuses are usually only slight, being a matter of 5 or 10 points, and they make no significant difference in the long run. So even though, for example, a Breton may not have a Destruction bonus, it would not take long to make up that difference even through natural skill-raising. Possibly in the early stages of the game you may want to support your magic with some non-magical method of damage, perhaps using your magic to enhance yourself or hinder your enemy rather than damaging them directly. Using Conjuration to have your summoned creatures fight for you is another way to get around the non-offensive magic.