Morrowind:Character Creation

Your adventure starts here

"They have taken you from the Imperial City's prison, first by carriage and now by boat, to the east, to Morrowind. Fear not, for I am watchful. You have been chosen."
— Azura

The character creation process starts immediately after the introduction scene, which plays at the start of every game.

Your Name

Jiub wakes you up from a dream

"Stand up... there you go. You were dreaming. What's your name?"
— Jiub

As you awaken, you will find yourself a prisoner in the brig of a ship. Your fellow inmate wakes you up and asks for your name.

A guard will come to fetch you and you will be advised to follow his orders. Should you wander, the three guards in the ship will point you in the right direction: get yourself on deck and head down to the docks.

This part includes a brief tutorial on how to look around, how to move and how to interact with objects, specifically, the hatch of the ship that leads you outside.

Your Race and Gender

Where do you hail from?

"You finally arrived, but our records don't show from where."
— Guard

Another guard will meet you by the docks and comment on your unknown origins. This is where you'll select your race and your gender, both of which determine the following:

• Your initial attributes; for example, Nords and male Redguards have a lot more strength than Wood Elves and female Bretons.
• Your racial bonuses comprised of the following:
  • abilities, which include both strengths and weaknesses. High Elves start with a lot more Magicka but also suffer from various elemental weaknesses.
  • powers: zero-cost zero-failure spells that you can use only once per day, like how Dark Elves can evade attacks more efficiently for a limited time each day.
  • skill bonuses that can make you more effective with a specific playstyle. Orcs, for example, are the only race that receive bonuses to the Armorer and Block skills.
  • spells, which may be either low-cost or even completely free. Argonians start with a very cheap Water Breathing spell while Khajiit have a free Night Eye spell.
• Your appearance, that is, the face and hair options available to you.

The selection menu shows three panels.

• Start by choosing your race from the middle panel. Selecting one will show you its "specials", that is, any abilities, powers or spells. If you hover over any of these, a tooltip will show up detailing the spell effects of that special.
• The panel on the right shows the skill bonuses of the selected race. Like "specials", you can hover on a skill to see an informative tooltip.
• Finally, the large panel on the left allows you to choose your gender and customize your appearance. The face and hair options available to you are based on the selected race and gender. You can view any combination of these options from various angles by rotating the preview using the topmost scrollbar.

After confirming your choices, the guard will prompt you to follow him up to the Census and Excise Office where they'll finish your release. Head on in.

Your Class

What do you do for a living?

"Ahh yes, we've been expecting you. You'll have to be recorded before you're officially released. There are a few ways we can do this, and the choice is yours."
— Socucius Ergalla

You will enter a room with an old man and a guard. All the doors are locked and the guard says you'll go no further. Step up to the old man, he's been expecting you.

This is arguably the most involved part of character creation: choosing your class. You have three options on how you want to proceed.

Answer his questions (Generates Class)

You will be presented with ten scenarios, each with three possible responses. Each of the answers correspond to one of three specializations: combat, magic or stealth. After the ten questions have been answered, the game will generate your class depending on how many responses you have picked per specialization.

For more information on how your class is generated, see the main article on the Class Quiz.

Give him the info (Pick from Class List)

If you already know what you want, you can pick your class from a list of 21 predefined classes. Selecting a class will show you its specialization and favorite attributes as well as its major and minor skills. Hovering over any of these will show an informative tooltip.

For more information on what constitutes a class as well as a list of the predefined classes, see the main article on Classes.

Fill out the forms yourself (Create Custom Class)

This option gives you the greatest freedom in personalizing your character, assuming you know what you're doing. If this is your first time playing Morrowind, better pick either of the two options above.

Otherwise, this is where you'll define your own class. Aside from choosing its specialization and favorite attributes as well as its major and minor skills, you will also be required to provide a class name and, optionally, a class description. By default, the initial class name is "Adventurer" but this can be replaced with something more befitting of your character, if you wish.

Your Birthsign

When were you born?

"Very good. The letter that preceded you mentioned you were born under a certain sign. And what would that be?"
— Socucius Ergalla

This is the final aspect of your character that needs your decision: your birthsign. Similar to your race, your birthsign grants you abilities, powers and spells. It will not give you any skill bonuses but can still provide attribute bonuses in the form of abilities that boost your attributes.

Note that some birthsign-related abilities and powers may still include weaknesses to offset an otherwise overwhelming advantage. For example, those born under the sign of The Atronach are known to have deep reserves of magicka but cannot generate magicka of their own.

Your Release Papers

Socucius Ergalla will give you your release papers

"Interesting. Now before I stamp these papers, make sure this information is correct."
— Socucius Ergalla

You will be presented a summary of the choices you have made and the resulting bonuses and penalties applied to your stats. To recap, here's what you've been working on, so far.

Your Choice	What it Affects						Notes
	Abilities	Appearance	Attributes	Skills	Spells	Powers
Name
Race & Gender	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Class			Yes	Yes	Yes		You may get free starter spells, if your magic-related skills are high enough.
Birthsign	Yes		Yes		Yes	Yes	Attributes can be boosted by abilities with the Fortify Attribute effect.

This is your last chance to change your mind or to fix any mistakes. Once you confirm, your character will be finalized. The release identification document will be placed on the table; it contains your stats, which can no longer be changed. Take it; you'll go no further until you have your papers.

This part includes a brief tutorial on toggling menus. You get a stats menu when you finalize your character and an inventory menu when you pick up your release papers.

More Tutorials

Ganciele Douar guards this door... but not the room behind it.

"Continue through to the next building, and talk to Sellus Gravius."
— Ganciele Douar

Once you have your release papers, the door next to the guard will unlock, giving you access to the rest of the building. The first room on your right has a lot of stuff; take as much as you want. Indeed, when you enter, you'll get a message telling you to pick up the iron dagger on the table. You don't have to but if you do, you'll get a quick tutorial on equipping, readying and using a weapon. As a matter of fact, there are many items in the room that, when taken, will provide information regarding their use.

• If you pick up either the crab meat on the table or one of the loaves of bread, you'll get a quick overview on ingredients.
• Likewise, if you take the bottle of flin on the table, you'll be informed on how to consume potions.
• Picking up the silver candlestick will show you how to equip lights and torches as well as warn you of their limited time.
• On the other hand, taking the apprentice's lockpick will tell you how to use it as well as where you can use it. Go on, try it.
• If you pick up the note under the dagger, you will be educated on reading letters, books and scrolls.
• Further down the hall, activating the bedroll in the basement will instruct you on the mechanics of resting.

You can also activate the various containers in the room to view (and even loot) their contents.

When you've taken all that you want, exit through the door. You'll find yourself in a courtyard with another door leading to a different part of the building. Approach it to unlock the ability to jump. You will also be notified that you now have a map menu; it shows you the name of the place you are in. Welcome to Seyda Neen!

Before you can enter this door, you will be prompted to take the ring from the nearby barrel. It doesn't matter whether you want it or not; you have to take the ring. Once you have it, you'll receive a brief tutorial on magic: selecting an active magic from your magic menu, readying it and casting it.

Your early-game training is now complete; you may enter the next building.

Your First Quest

Sellus Gravius has orders for you.

"Your papers, please."
— Sellus Gravius

As you enter, you are warned to avoid using persuasion on the captain. You cannot exit the other door yet so might as well talk to him; he will take your release papers. As you talk, you'll open more topics for conversation; click on them to see what he has to say on the subject.

Ask him about your duties, once the topic is available; he will give you a package and order you to report to Caius Cosades. You will also receive 87 gold, for your troubles. You have now started the main quest.

You may now exit the final door. As you go, you will be given one last tutorial regarding the use of your journal as well as directions to the nearest trader. It is not mentioned but you are now also able to save your game.

You're on your own now. Good luck.

Notes

• As long as you have not yet turned in your release papers, guards (like Ganciele Douar in the first room or Sellus Gravius in the second) will be more forgiving when you commit a crime. They will still accost you and confiscate your stolen goods but you will only receive a warning; you will not be fined or taken to jail. The only exception is when your bounty reaches 5,000 gold or more, in which case you have earned yourself a death warrant and guards will no longer be as lenient.
  • There is a well-known exploit where new players just starting out grab the expensive limeware platter in the first room and immediately drop it before it can be confiscated by the guard. It can then be safely picked up afterwards with no further repercussions.
  • The same exploit is also often used to steal the warehouse key behind Sellus Gravius.

Bugs

• It is possible to escape the walls of the Census and Excise Office before even entering the first building. On your left after crossing the gangplank of the ship you start on, there is a tree. If you run between the wall and the roots of the tree, you can escape over the wall. You won't be able jump, pick items up or sleep. Although you have no health indicator, you are by no means invulnerable. You can still be killed, albeit even faster since you won't be able to defend yourself either.
• After exiting the tutorial room, there is a corner to the left of the barrel where the courtyard wall meets the building. If you jump repeatedly into that corner, you will be able to escape through the wall. However, because you are still, technically, not yet released from prison, the guards will be less strict with you (see Notes). Note that you still cannot save your game until you have turned in your release papers.