Of all the races in Tamriel, the reptilian Argonians, also known as the Saxhleel in their native language, are among the more unusual species that players can choose to roleplay in Skyrim. Aside from an inherent resistance to poisons and the ability to breathe underwater, their appearance often draws scorn from the human and elven races, who see them as nothing more than beasts.
While the action side of Skyrim may be fun and can often distract the player from roleplaying how a certain race would actually act among the Nords of Skyrim, keeping the chosen race in mind can open up all sorts of new ways of playing and new approaches to gameplay, some of which the player may never have thought to take otherwise.
After the failed execution and Alduin’s assault on Helgen, the player has a choice of following Ralof or Hadvar through the first main dungeon area. This choice normally amounts to nothing more than a slight difference on the gear the player can obtain from enemies, as siding with Ralof will pit the player against the Imperials wielding one-handed weapons and heavy armor, while siding with Hadvar will see the Stormcloaks as the enemy, which grants the player access to two-handed weapons earlier, but not heavy armor.
From the Argonian’s perspective, there is justification for both sides in this scenario, so it all comes down to player choice as Argonian’s generally have a neutral stance when it comes to the affairs of other races. On the one hand, this particular Argonian was captured and slated for execution by the Imperial Legion, so siding with them seems like a bit of a stretch considering the Stormcloaks were nothing but helpful during Alduin’s assault. On the other hand, the Argonians are treated exceptionally poorly in Windhelm, a city that is crawling with Stormcloaks and lead by Ulfric Stormcloak himself, so they may find that alone as a reason to not trust the Stormcloaks in the opening minutes of the game.
Thankfully, there aren’t many instances during the main story where the main character is forced to choose sides with any one faction, as it largely involves simply saving the world for their own gain. If the fact that the player is required to work for many different Nords and human factions in pursuit of the end goal of defeating Alduin, particularly when it comes to the Greybeards and the Blades, you can simply ignore the main story with little impact on how the game is played. The only thing players will miss out on is one of the Dragon Priest masks, Nahkriin, and the chance to obtain the complete Unrelenting Force, Whirlwind Sprint, Storm Call, and Clear Skies shouts.
If doing the main story works into the narrative of role-playing as an Argonian, however, the only major choice will come down to the Civil War aspect, where the player is forced to either take a side and finish the Civil War questline or bring the two sides together for a meeting that will determine who gets which Hold going forward. Seeing how Argonians generally like to keep their noses out of other people’s business, the cease-fire option would probably suit players who are trying their best to roleplay as an Argonian the best. However, due to how the Argonians are treated by the Nords, specifically those that live in Windhelm under Jarl Ulfric’s watch, siding with the Imperial Legion and quelling the rebellion also fits.
Like the Khajiit, Argonians are more suited to thievery and assassination than any other class, though, in Skyrim, there is no class system, and the choice of which skills to invest in falls solely on the player. At the beginning of the game, Argonians start with 10 extra points in Lockpicking, as well as 5 extra points in Light Armor, Alteration, Pickpocket, Restoration, and Sneak. The Thief skills would indicate that an Argonian would be best suited to a stealthy role, either as a thief or assassin, but the Alteration and Restoration skills mean that it isn’t a stretch to also play as a spellsword instead.
The Argonian racial power, Histskin, also suits this playstyle, as it allows the player to regenerate health much faster for 60 seconds and helps keep the player healthy in harder battles. While Argonians don’t have any starting points in melee skills, both Alteration, and Restoration suit a spellsword playstyle for their ability to Paralyse enemies and quickly restore health in the middle of battle. If players want to take the mage route instead, Illusion spells such as Invisibility and Muffle also pair very nicely with Sneak and Lockpicking skills for keeping the player hidden from view.
As previously stated, Argonians tend to keep to themselves and don’t involve themselves in other people’s matters. However, this doesn’t mean that the player can’t join any guilds as they can always come up with a justification for joining any of the factions in Skyrim, such as a backstory of the player character wanting to be a warrior or mage and so join the Companions or College of Winterhold.
Considering the skills that Argonians excel in at the beginning of the game, the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood are the two most likely to be joined by an Argonian. The Thieves Guild, in particular, is a good fit for an Argonian, as the bulk of the quests involve stealing items over killing enemies, with the exception of the last few quests involving the Nightingales and Mercer Fray. The Dark Brotherhood is also a decent choice, as the Argonians have their own version of assassins known as Shadowscales, though their function is more politically motivated than the modern Dark Brotherhood, who only really care about money and power.
It’s very easy to finish playing Skyrim without ever starting the Civil War questline, with the exception of the mandatory involvement that comes with the main quest in gaining Jarl Balgruff’s help to capture a dragon. Since the Stormcloaks don’t have a problem with any particular race joining their cause, as they are more about the liberation of Skryim from the Aldmeri Dominion and the Imperials, there is no reason why the player can’t choose the Stormcloak’s side in the Civil War, as one of the dialogue options when joining is to remind Ulfric that Skyrim isn’t just home to the Nords.
In the end, it all comes down to player choice and how they want to roleplay their Argonian character. Both sides are justified in their cause and neither one has a particular edge over the other, which is readily apparent in the fact that whichever side the player chooses will decimate the other just for being a part of the battle.
Not much is known about the Argonian’s religious beliefs, other than the fact that they worship the Hist, sentient tree-like beings, to some degree and even rely on them for certain cultural practices. That being said, there appear to be very few Hist trees in Skyrim with the possible exception of the tree in the Sleeping Tree Camp, though this is only speculation on Ysolda’s part.
While little is known about the Argoninan religious systems, it is known that the Hist ordered the invasion of the Oblivion Gates in Blackmarsh and the subsequent re-taking of Argonian land from Morrowind, so it is unlikely that the Argonians worship Daedra in any significant capacity. The only other deity that is known to be acknowledged by the Argonians is Sithis, the patron deity of the Dark Brotherhood.
With this in mind, it would seem that taking part in any Daedric Artifact quest or Divine quest, such as Kyne’s Sacred Trials or Book of Love would go against an Argonian’s core belief system. However, there are some Argonians in Skyrim that worship at least one of the Divines, so it isn’t without merit that the player could choose to undertake these quests.
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