Skyrim Special Edition

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TechAngel85

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About this mod

Changes the heights of the various races according to lore.

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Lore-Corrected Races


After some patching I found myself looking into the lore of the races. From that research spawned Lore-Corrected Races (LCR). It currently only alters race heights with USSEP forwarded, but it will likely be expanded in the future. Both adults and children are included in the mod.

Users should understand how I came to the height values for LCR. Knowing this will allow a more informed decision on whether or not to use this mod. My decision process was focused on lore first and the game's traditional theme for these values second. I gathered as much lore as I could find and paraphrased it on the description for each race below. This lore is only gathered from available text. From that information, the heights of each race were logically deduced. Only after that were the games' traditional themes for these heights taken into account; adjusting the heights up or down from my initial values.

Since not all users are going to agree with my logically deduced heights, Lore-Friendly Race Heights can be used to get the Oblivion heights instead.

From tallest to shortest, LCR race heights are as followed:
  • Altmer
  • Dark Elf
  • Nord
  • Orc
  • Redguard
  • Khajiit
  • Argonian & Wood Elf (same height)
  • Breton & Imperials (same height)



Compatibility

Lore-Corrected Races alters the "Race" records to change the heights of the various races. It will not be compatible with any other mod that also alters these same records, which is typically only race overhaul mods but can be other types of mods too.

Known Issue for player: Regardless of the chosen race at character creation, the camera height will remain the same in first person, which defaults to 1.00. This is the same behavior as vanilla so it's nothing new. Users should simply be aware of it, and know that it's not something this mod addresses. There are mods that adjust camera height so users can seek them out if this bothers them.

Patches
I will not be providing any patches for this mod. I'm a firm believer that patching a mod list is a user-side task, unless such patching is sufficiently difficult enough that the author should handle it. Authors and users are free to upload any patches for Lore-Corrected Races without permission. Simply provide a small credit back to the mod.



Human Races

The Human races all have similar heights, but with slightly different characteristics. It's also common knowledge the females are statically smaller vs males in the Human race, therefore, this has been taken into account for the race heights.

Nords
Oblivion: M=1.06 / F=1.06     Skyrim: M=1.03 / F=1.03      LCR: M=1.05 / F=1.03
At the peak of the Human race spectrum sits the Nords. Skyrim now being their homeland, the Nords are described as "tall and fair skinned people who are strong, willful, and hardy...famous for their resistance to cold and their talent as warriors." The Nords are fierce, strong and enthusiastic warriors who excel in all manner of warfare. Their history has them taking on and defeating the Mer and all other races they encountered when landing on the shores of Tamriel.

From this I deduced that they are likely the tallest of the of the Human races, and at least as study in their stature as Redguards. Since both Oblivion and Skyrim have them set as the tallest Human race, I decided to keep that theme by making them taller than the Redguards and reaching the shorter of the Mer races. LCR Nord males are slightly taller than vanilla, but the females remained vanilla.

Redguards
Oblivion: M=1.03 / F=1.0     Skyrim: M=1.005 / F=1.0     LCR: M=1.03 / F=1.01
Redguards hold the second spot because they are described with "stocky, tall, gaunt frames and finely toned physiques" and are "known to be extremely hardy and quick". They, like the Nords, are a naturally talented warrior race and are physically blessed with hardy constitutions, resistance to poison, and built larger than other Human races; though still not as large as Nords. From reading all of their descriptions and history, I believe Oblivion values are just right for this race as they should sit just below the Nords. However, keeping with with my pattern, LCR Redguard females are slightly larger vs vanilla.

Bretons
Oblivion: M=1.0 / F=0.95     Skyrim: M=1.0 / F=0.95     LCR: M=1.0 / F=0.98
Next up are the Bretons. Though Bretons are a hybrid race of Human and Mer, they are considered among the Human races. They make up the peasantry, soldiery, and magical elite of Tamriel. All-in-all, they are the "average human" in stature. The lore states, "Bretons appear, by and large, much like other pale-skinned humans. They are usually slight of build and not as muscular as Nords or Redguards." Sorry Bretons, you're just our "average joes" of Tamriel. I have adjusted the female height to be a bit larger vs vanilla, to keep with my pattern.

Imperials
Oblivion: M=1.0 / F=1.0     Skyrim: M=1.0 / F=1.0     LCR: M=1.0 / F=0.98
The Imperials seem to be on the lower end of the spectrum of human races in terms of height as well. In lore, they are described as, "physically less imposing than the other races", however possess "remarkable skill and training as light infantry". Due to this, they've been about to "subdue all the other nations and races". From this I deduced Imperials are likely the same size as Bretons, just with different physiques. As such, only the females are smaller vs vanilla.



Mer Races

One of the common pieces of knowledge about the Mer is that they are taller than any of the other races. The Mer, like the Human races, have similar heights but with different characteristics. Unlike the Human races, though, the Mer races don't have any difference in their heights between male and females. This is mainly observed from the heights from both games.

The only reference I found conflicting information this was on Fandom, where their various heights are described. However, there were no provided references for this information and from the sounds of it, they pulled it directly from the game's race height values, which aren't necessarily lore-accurate.

Altmers (High Elves)
Oblivion: M=1.08 / F=1.07     Skyrim: M=1.08 / F=1.08     LCR: M=1.08 / F=1.08
Of the Mer races, the Altmer are at the top. The Altmer are a "tall, golden-skinned people with almond shaped eyes", and are said to be "extremely intelligent, agile, and willful." That's right! They're the tall snooty snobs of Tamriel who love to look down upon everyone! I actually didn't change their heights, but included the record for prosperity sake.

Dunmers (Dark Elves)
Oblivion: M=1.0 / F=1.0     Skyrim: M=1.0 / F=1.0     LCR: M=1.06 / F=1.06
There is nothing I could find in lore to suggest the Dunmer are any shorter than their Altmer cousins. In fact, both are simply referred to as "tall" and the Dunmer, at the start of their lineage, were as golden-skinned as their Altmer cousins. They took on their current appearance through a curse from Azura. Specifically, the Dunmer are described as tall but with strong and agile physiques, dusky dark-skin, and red fire-like eyes. The Dark Elves are "strong, intelligent, and quick-footed". Again, nothing in the text suggest a shorter stature from the Altmer, but one could theorize Azura's curse shorten their heights...though none of the text states this. Both games made them the same size as Human races, however, I wanted to returned them to some of their Mer-heritage heights. Thus, I've set them taller than Human races (and taller vs vanilla), but aren't as tall as Altmers.

Orcs
Oblivion: M=1.06 / F=1.06     Skyrim: M=1.045 / F=1.045     LCR: M=1.04 / F=1.04
Next are your friendly neighborhood Orcs. There is a bit of a debate on how the Orc originated. In either case, the Orcs are of Mer heritage, but twisted due to unfortunate circumstances. In lore they are described as such, "from a distance, an orc may resemble a large, squat, muscular man - before the tusks become evident, and the green skin and the piggish eyes are seen." From this, I deduced that, though they are Mer, their height is not quite that of their Altmer and Dunmer cousins. I decided to make the Orc slightly shorter than the Nord, making their size that of a "large, squat, muscular man". LCR males are very slightly smaller than vanilla (probably not noticeable).

Bosmers (Wood Elves)
Oblivion: M=0.9 / F=1.0     Skyrim: M=0.975 / F=0.98     LCR: M=0.99/ F1.01
There is also a bit of an debate whether the Bosmer are descended from the same lineage as the Altmer and Dunmer, or if they were created when the Khajiit were created. From my own research, there is more to suggest the latter. This lore suggest they are shorter than the Altmer and Dunmer...closer to the heights of Human races. Lore describes them as "nimble and quick in body and wit..and natural agility". This suggests they are leaner and short in stature and at least one reference states they are the smallest of the mer. Taking all this into account, the Bosmer are just slightly taller than the Brenton race, with males being smaller than females. This make them taller vs vanilla, however, the males have the issue of being a bit too short in vanilla (especially when seen leaning on things); making them taller corrects this.



Beast Races

Beast races are largely varied within their own races. Khajiits, for example... The word "Khajiit" is an umbrella that includes a wide range of cat-like beings determined by the moon phases during their births; all being call "Khajiit"...all with various heights. Since the game doesn't allow for varied heights within a single race, the main type of Khajiit the game portrays was the only information taken into account. Likewise for Argonians. 

Argonians
Oblivion: M=1.03 / F=1.0     Skyrim: M=1.01 / F=1.0     LCR: M=1.01 / F=0.99
Argonians are reptilian natives of Black Marsh, though hardly anything is said about their stature, what is said is that they are known for their intelligence, agility, quick-footedness, and speed. Combined with the defaults from both games, I deduced they are likely Human-like in height. Gleaming from real-life nature, one would expect the males to normally be larger than the females, as with the Human races. Therefore, I ended up making them slightly taller than your average Breton. LCR males are vanilla, and females are slightly smaller than vanilla.

Khajiits
Oblivion: M=1.0 / F=0.95     Skyrim: M=1.0 / F=0.95     LCR: M=1.02 / F=0.99
Khajiit are cat-like people who come from Elsweyr, known for high intelligence and agility. Like with the Argonians, hardly anything is mentioned about the Khajiit stature, but lore does tell us they are varied by their birth. Lore does describe them as a fair skinned people who are extremely hardy, intelligent, quick and agile. Since Bethesda gave us a Khajiit that resembles tigers, this idea was taken into account. Tigers are the largest of the "cat" breeds; thus, it's logical to conclude from our real-life expectations that the Khajiit Bethesda has given use is among the largest of their race. In tigers, the males are just slightly larger than the females, and this aligns nicely with the vanilla "theme". Therefore, the males are of a "mid-sized" human height making them slightly bigger than the average Breton or Imperial, but not as big as Redguards. LCR Khajiits are larger than vanilla.



Credits

If anyone has additional information around the lore of the races heights and stature, please post it so that I may review it. Credit for my references have come from the following resources: