The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Racial Abilities and Perks Listed

I’m not sure where the information technically originated from (a press event build?), but TheElderScrollsSkyrim.com claims to have a list of all the racial abilities and many of the perks we’ll have access to in Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Overall, they look pretty well-rounded, and it’s great to see non-combat perks given some attention:

Racial Abilities

– ORCS: Beserker
– REDGUARDS: Adrenaline Rush
– WOOD ELF: Resist poison, resisit disease, command animals
– NORD: Battlecry
– KHAJIIT: Night-eye, claw attacks
– IMPERIAL: Voice of the Emperor, find more coins when looting
– HIGH ELF: Regenerate Magicka more quickly
– DARK ELF: Ancestor’s Wrath (surround self in fire), resist fire
– BRETON: Dragonskin (absorb spells), resist shock
– ARGONIANS: Histskin (regenerate health quickly), resist disease, breathe underwater

Note on racial stats: Each race starts off with different stats.

-Argonians start with 25 in Lockpicking, 20 in Pickpocketing, Sneak, etc.
-Orcs start with 25 in Heavy Armour, 20 in Enchanting, Smithing etc.

Perk Trees

Speech
– Buying and selling price 10% better (5 ranks)
– 10% price buying from opposite sex
– Invest in shops and increase available gold permanently in invested stores
– Master Trader every merchant in world gains 1000 gold for bartering
– Buy and sell from any merchant regardless of what they normally buy and sell
– Intimidation attempts twice as successful
– Persuasion attempts more likely successful

Alchemy
– Potions 20% stronger (5 ranks)
– Potions for restore health, magicka or stamina are 25% more powerful (maybe ranked)
– Poisons 25% more effective (maybe ranked)
– Poisons last for twice as many hits
– Two ingredients are gathered from plants
– 50% resistance to all poisons
– All negative effects removed from potions and all positive removed from poisons
– 2 effects of an ingredient are revealed when testing it for the first time (instead of just one)

Illusion
– Dual casting overcharges effect for more powerful spell
– Cast Novice spells for 50% less magicka
– Cast Apprentice spells for 50% less magicka
– Cast Adept, Expert, Master etc spells for 50% less magicka (more levels this time around)
– Spells work on higher level animals
– Spells work on higher level people
– All spellcasting (from ANY school) is done silently
– Spells work on undead, daedra and automatons
– Fear spells work on higher level enemies

Conjuration
– Novice for 50% magicka etc (up to Master)
– Dual casting overcharges > greater spell effect
– Bound weapons do more damage
– Bound weapons cast Soul Trap on target
– Bound weapons banish certain creatures
– Reanimate undead with 100 more health
– Summon 2 Atronachs or reanimated zombies
– Summon Atronachs at twice the distance
– Summoned Atronachs twice as strong

Destruction
– More damage for each school (fire, frost and shock) ranked
– Novice for 50% magicka etc.
– Shock damage chance to disintegrate targets if their health is under 10%
– Frost damage chance to paralyse targets if health low
– Fire damage chance to make low health enemies flee
– Place runes 5x farther away

Restoration
– Healing spells also restore stamina
– Novice for 50% less magicka etc
– Healing spells do 50% more healing
– Recharging healing spells
– More is recharged with each hit with healing spells (unclear)
– Spells more effective against undead
– Once a day chance to autocast 250HP restoration when health drops low
– Magicka regenerates 25% faster

Alteration
– Novice for 50% less etc
– Alteration spells have greater duration (ranked)
– Absorb 30% magicka that hits you

Enchanting
– Enchants are 20% stronger (ranked)
– Enchanted armour 25% stronger
– (Soul gems provide extra magicka for recharging) again, dodgy recording but that’s what I heard, even if it doesn’t make much sense
– Death blows to creatures but not people trap souls for weapon recharge
– Health, magicka and stamina enchants stronger
– Extra effect on already-enchanted weapon can be applied
– Shock, Frost and Fire enchants 25% stronger (individual perks for each element)

Heavy Armour
– Increase armour rating 20% (5 ranks)
– Unarmed attacks with heavy armour gauntlets damage increased by gauntlets’ armour rating
– Half fall damage if all in heavy armour
– Heavy armour weighs nothing and doesn’t slow you at all
– Additional 25% armour if in matching set
– 25% armour bonus if all in heavy armour (not necessarily matching)
– 50% less stagger if all in heavy armour
– 10% damage reflected back to enemy if all in heavy armour

2-handed weapons
– 2h weapons do 20% more damage (5 ranks)
– Attacks with warhammers ignore 25% armour (ranked)
– Attacks with battleaxes do extra bleeding damage (ranked)
– Attacks with greatswords do extra critical damage (ranked)
– Power attacks cost 25% less stamina
– Standing power attacks do 25% bonus damage, chance to decapitate
– Sprinting power attacks do double (critical) damage
– Sideways power attacks hit all targets
– Backwards power attacks have 25% chance of paralysis

Archery
– Bows do 25% more damage
– Zoom in
– Zooming slows time
– 10% crit chance
– Move faster with drawn bow
– Recover twice as many arrows from dead bodies
– 50% chance of paralysing for few seconds
– Draw bow 30% faster

Sneak
– 20% harder to detect (ranked)
– Sneak attacks do 6x damage with 1h weapons
– Sneak attacks with bows do 3x damage
– Sneak attacks with daggers do 15x damage (end perk on skill tree)
– Noise from armour reduced 50%
– No longer activate pressure plates
– Sprinting while sneaking performs silent forward roll
– Running does not affect detection chance
– Crouching can make hostile enemies lose sight of you and search for a target