Life expectancy of Tamriel's differing races.

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Hargood

Defender of Helpless Kittens
Hey everyone, this has been bugging me for a while. I've done some research into this and not really found a great deal of proof either way, so I'll ask the boffins and lore experts here.

What are the various life expectancies of the races of Tamriel?

So, I would assume Altmer would live the longest, followed probably by Dunmer and then Bosmer. The elves would be followed by 'manmer' Bretons, then Redguards, Imperials and Nords as a three of similar life expectancy. For Orcs I've heard mixed theories, the beast races I would guess live shorter lives.

Here's my (not well sourced or expert) guesses on their probable average life expectancies;

Altmer - 300 years (considering that Sinderion was well over 150 years old when he was in Blackreach)
Dunmer - 200 years (considering Daynas Valen guessed he'd heard the Gauldur legend maybe 100 years ago, and doesn't look particularly old when you find him)
Bosmer - 150 years
Breton - 100 years
Nord/Imperial/Redguard - 75 years
Orsimer - 70 years (I read somewhere they were cursed with short/violent lives, but don't know if this actually gives them shorter lifespans?)
Khajiit/Argonian - 60 years


Like I said, this is mostly guesswork so please don't rage if I'm wrong. I posted the question because I don't know the answer, and would help me along with my RP journal!

That's pretty Awesome Question.

I can't remember lol. I read it once somewhere about how Elves were imortal until some god did some thing to some body, yada yada... something about the Parthenon.

But yeah, Men and Mer... Men were never Mortal and Mer still have alittle bit of that thru long life spans. (Mer being Altmer, Bosmer, Osmer, etc)

Khajiit?.. Im not sure, but My child hood cat lived over 21 years!!!!! .....I still miss her :sadface:
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Found another piece of information which supports the length of Altmer life.

In Light Armour Forging, Revus Sarvani speaks of an elf named Nuulion, who was;

"master smith of the Isle from the fifth through the seventh century of the second era."

:)
 

Neriad13

Premium Member
If I was in charge of the Elder Scrolls I'd make the Dunmer die first.

Aw, what, man. The Dunmer are my favorite. :sadface:

However, in answer to the original question posed, if you read through the volumes of "The Real Barenziah," you'll see that it directly states, twice I believe, that Dunmer are capable of living for a thousand years, though very few actually make it that far due to illness or injury. Altmer are supposed to live even longer than that. About the Bosmer, I have very little info. Humans most probably have regular real-world human lifespans. Though I did read a myth about Nords having very short lives, but exactly how short is up for debate. And the jury's still out, so far as I've seen, concerning Khajiit, Orsimer and Argonians. But truth be told, I don't read as much into their lore as that of the other races.
 

The Nonchalant Thief

Bunny shall die!
I don't know about giving Argonians only 60 years because of the fact you could cut off their tail and it will grow back. (Not proven or written about in Skyrim, of course.)

Since we cannot tell the age of Khajiit and Argonians, their lifespan may take us by surprise. They would be sure to have a strong immune system and since they are with beastly abilities, they are survivors. So perhaps they both can make it to 120-150 years old.

Also, what about the lifespan of the Dragonborn? Wouldn't the Dragonborn, regardless of species, live as long as the Greybeards?
 

stagnant94

Active Member
argonians i think should live for a long time. like a tortoise.
 

Chowder138

Proud member of PAHAAA.
Aw, what, man. The Dunmer are my favorite. :sadface:

However, in answer to the original question posed, if you read through the volumes of "The Real Barenziah," you'll see that it directly states, twice I believe, that Dunmer are capable of living for a thousand years, though very few actually make it that far due to illness or injury. Altmer are supposed to live even longer than that. About the Bosmer, I have very little info. Humans most probably have regular real-world human lifespans. Though I did read a myth about Nords having very short lives, but exactly how short is up for debate. And the jury's still out, so far as I've seen, concerning Khajiit, Orsimer and Argonians. But truth be told, I don't read as much into their lore as that of the other races.

It can be expected that humans in Tamriel don't exactly live very long. I'd say that most of the elderly characters are 60 at the maximum.
 

Serebro Moniker

He who moves it moves it
Considering the violence and lack of hygiene throughout Tamriel, i doubt many people live their whole lives anyway :p
 

Neriad13

Premium Member
Considering the violence and lack of hygiene throughout Tamriel, i doubt many people live their whole lives anyway :p

...but it's also a world that has all-purpose disease-curing medicine and potions that can heal any wound. Who the heck knows? :rolleyes:
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Aw, what, man. The Dunmer are my favorite. :sadface:

However, in answer to the original question posed, if you read through the volumes of "The Real Barenziah," you'll see that it directly states, twice I believe, that Dunmer are capable of living for a thousand years, though very few actually make it that far due to illness or injury. Altmer are supposed to live even longer than that. About the Bosmer, I have very little info. Humans most probably have regular real-world human lifespans. Though I did read a myth about Nords having very short lives, but exactly how short is up for debate. And the jury's still out, so far as I've seen, concerning Khajiit, Orsimer and Argonians. But truth be told, I don't read as much into their lore as that of the other races.


So, I read all the volumes and it seems you've got a point :p Thanks for the input, any idea on the other races? Presumably the elves will all be fairly similar.

As mentioned above, I'm also beginning to think that the beast races will live long lives, in particular Argonians, for their connection to the Hist. Thoughts?
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
So, let's try again.

Altmer, Dunmer, Bosmer = upto 1000 years
Bretons = 110 years
Nords/Imperials/Redguards = 75 years
Khajiits/Argonians = ???

Seems I've found more questions than answers :p
 

Neriad13

Premium Member
So, let's try again.

Altmer, Dunmer, Bosmer = upto 1000 years
Bretons = 110 years
Nords/Imperials/Redguards = 75 years
Khajiits/Argonians = ???

Seems I've found more questions than answers :p

Sounds about all right. :D

Man, there needs to be a game all about Black Marsh or Elseweyr. Then we'd probably find out for certain.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Ok I've seen something else.

BBC Two - Vikings, Episode 1

So, I watched the first two of this 3-part documentary on BBC (I'm English :) ), and it seems that the vikings were lucky to live to 60 years, due to the filth, disease, etc.

We see little of the dirt and grime in Skyrim, but I imagine places like Windhelm and Riften would struggle with sanitation. Maybe 60-70 is a more reasonable figure for humans, particularly Nords?

I'm also still puzzling over the Khajiit and Argonian mystery. Please offer anything you know, and maybe we'll figure this out :)
 

Neriad13

Premium Member
I found a new and entirely puzzling piece of evidence that points to the life expectancy of Bretons. It's in volume two of "A Brief History of the Empire" and concerns an emperor named Cassynder, the son of the Dunmer empress Katariah I and Pelagius III (an Imperial/Altmer cross-breed himself).

A Brief History of the Empire v II said:
When Cassynder assumed the throne upon the death of his mother, he was already middle-aged. Only half Elven, he aged like a Breton. In fact, he had left the rule of Wayrest to his half-brother Uriel due to poor health. Nevertheless, as the only true blood relation of Pelagius and thus Tiber, he was pressed into accepting the throne. To no one's surprise, the Emperor Cassynder's reign did not last long. In two years he joined his predecessors in eternal slumber.

Does this mean that instead of inheriting the life expectancy of their Elven forebears as we'd thought, the mingled bloodlines of Human and Elf do, in fact, refuse to play nice with one another and thus give their owners shorter lives? Who knew! :eek:
 

Anonymuss

Indoril Nerevar
According to research I've done, tamrielic lore, and people I have met in the games (Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim) the most accurate prediction seems to be as follows:

MEN:
Breton: 150
Imperial: 100
Nord: 80 (often die in combat before reaching this age)
Redguard: 80

MER:
Altmer: 800
Dunmer: 600
Bosmer: 500
Orc: 200 (usually die in combat before reaching this age)

BEAST:
Argonian: 100
Khajiit: 60

Those who are magically inclined (ex. wizards, mages, etc.) tend to live longer thanks to the school of restoration. There is a 4000 year old Dunmer wizard named Divayth Fyr that you meet in Morrowind. Also, those with the blood of a vampire or werebeast tend to live longer, due to feeding on fresh blood, though vampires have the longer lifespan. Babette is a 300 year old Nord vampire you will meet in Skyrim who still looks about 10. Hope this clears things up.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I've finally found some reliable answers! Neriad13, I think you'll be interested in this.

Elves live two to three times as long as humans and the “beast-races” (Orcs, Khajiiti, Argonians). A 200-year-old Elf is old; a 300-year-old Elf is very, very old indeed. Anyone older than that has prolonged his or her lifespan through powerful magic.

From this link
http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2013/05/06/ask-us-anything-variety-pack-4

So, humans are expected to live a similar time to IRL, which is mimicked by the beast races and Orcs. Elves expected to live 200-300 years.

Hurrahhhh!

35he55i.jpg
 

Cheese

New Member
From various info that I've gathered, I've come up with some fairly solid information on most races and their individual lifespans.

Altmer, Dunmer, Orsimer, and Falmer:

It is well known that these Mer races are more than capable of living for over a thousand years. I've read accounts and reports of various Altmer on Summerset Isles who are, quite literally, over 4,000 years old. Despite being cursed, the Dunmer are also blessed with a very long lifespan, as are the Falmer. The Orsimer librarian at the College of Winterhold has been confirmed to be over 600 years old as well.

It is also known that Nurelion, an Altmer alchemist located at the White Phial in Windhelm, was known to have died naturally from old age, indicating that, being a Mer, he was well over 1,000 years old. Knight-Paladin Gelebor is a Falmer who has been confirmed to be over 4,000 years old, suggesting that the Falmer were one of the longer-living races of Mer. A Dunmer wizard named Divayth Fyr is also known to be over 4,000 years old, likely using magic to extend it. The Psijic Rite Master Lachesis, an Aldmer from the First Era, was known to be at least 2,900 years old prior to his disappearance. Another reason for Mer having such long lives is Phynaster, the Hero-god of Summerset Isles, taught the Altmer how to naturally extend their life by 100 years.

Redguards, Nords, Imperials, Atmorans, and Nedes:

It has been known and confirmed by multiple sources that the races of men generally do not live for more than 100 years. It is, however, possible for a human to naturally live another 5-15 years through the use of unnatural such as magic or, likewise, natural methods to improve overall health like food and exercise. However, there are also many who have even been know to die at the age of 80 or even 60, likely due to poor health or other damaging factors.

Bretons:

Breton lifespan is arguably the most confusing in Skyrim, alongside the Argonians and Khajiit. After reading various articles, and gathering clues from in-game lore, I can safely say the Breton race has a similar life expectancy to that of an ordinary Human. There are two quotes that suggest this:

"They burn bright but quickly" Indicating the Bretons have great magical power but "burn" (die) quickly, similar to humans.

"When Cassynder assumed the throne upon the death of his mother, he was already middle-aged. Half Elven, he aged like a Breton." Referencing Cassynder, fourteenth Emperor of Tamriel, who died at the age of 55. He was not a Breton, but he was half Elven. His mother was a full-blood Dunmer, yet his father was half-Imperial and half-Altmer. Cassynder was also known to have poor health, and by the time he was middle-aged, which is generally considered 40-65 for humans, he had "Aged like a Breton."

As a final note, however, I had also read once that there was a male Breton with Vampirism who was over 300 years old, although I cannot recall the exact details. This evidence also suggests that, given the Breton's Mer blood, they are capable of extending their life beyond a normal human's, though likely not to the extent of any full-blood Mer. On the contrary, however, this long lifespan could also be caused by Vampirism, though I was unable to find any solid proof that Vampirism did indeed cause extended lifespans.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any solid evidence for the lifespan of Argonians and Khajiit. However, I was also unable to find any solid proof that a certain factor may be damaging or extending their life, so based on that fact, it's plausible that Argonians and Khajiit, as of now, have an average lifespan similar to humans, since they lack Mer blood which is well known across Tamriel for gifting the Elves with a long life.
 
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