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I feel that as of the release of Skyrim, Nords are up there for a contender of being number one.

My vote would probably be for one of the Elven races, or possibly either the Khajiit or Argonian race, since they're the non-human races and hence the most fantasy-oriented.

Note that I'm discounting Orcs simply because they weren't a playable race at first, so it doesn't seem right to say that they're the "most iconic" race of the series.

Of the human races, I think I would opt for the Bretons, because they're supposed to be strongly affiliated with magic.

The Nords don't seem particularly fanciful or fantasy-oriented to me. And while I might have voted for the Imperials simply because of their connection to the emperor, who was an iconic figure from the very first game, the Imperials weren't a playable race at first-- so again, that sort of disqualifies them.

I might second Nords for the same reason, but honestly they're all pretty generic and contrived from the existing well of fantasy. An orc is an orc is an orc. But then getting into the depths of the lore is where true fans find those endearing distinctions, and can see that a Dunmer is not Drow, nor are the Saxhleel mere lizards, and the dwarves here are far more mysterious than in any contemporary realm. What is a human in Tamriel? Atmoran? Alessian? Or are they mostly something else, when they aren't half-elf? And why are there so many cats?

I wouldn't say that TES has one iconic race, rather that what is iconic is how the series has twisted common tropes into something far more meaningful to its own world, and keeps and enriches that uniqueness so that you have to play it to know it.

I concur. And with so many games in the series that uniquely reflect how those tropes were turned into something unique, it'd be hard to say who's the most iconic as opposed to just who's in at the moment.

I will say though that Morrowind's release was absolutely amazing in their portrayal of Dunmeri culture, and I think that's hard to reproduce on a level of just pure wowzers! Vvardenfell was just so alien and awesome, and the culture was really unique, interesting, and full of ups and downs and tangles and knots - it's really easy to see why the Dunmer have such a huge following to this day.