OK, a slightly deliberately provocative topic title ...
But I can't help notice there is a LOT of love for Argonians on this site. And, I must admit, I don't get it!
So, all you Argonian lovers, I'm all ears. Convince me why Argonians are worth my time, and why they don't suck.
My 'In your face answer' is this. you've never played as an Argonian have you? Don't bother answering because if you had then you wouldn't be starting this discussion...
Now for my more typical polite response...
I've played the ES games from Morrowind and have always played as an Argonian except my very first character which was a Nord. Tae, and the rest of you I apologise but it's true I once played a Nerd... Nord.
You're in this fantasy world full of wonders and various races so what do you do. You make a human? Why for crying out loud. You have an opportunity to experience a whole new life so why dabble with the restraints of ordinary life. Break out of the egg and explore Skyrim the way it's supposed to be played, with scales and a tail.
People go on about the racial benefits of their preferred race but at the end game does it make a difference? I don't think it does. You set out to make a hero from the start. The first time I've ever entered Balmora ( Morrowind) as an Argonian, everyone was anti with me. Through hard work and effort my character grew and with him the popularity.
The first time I walked into Whiterun I could feel the eyes burning in my back. "Whats that slimy reptile want? Go home lizard". The trouble is people see Arogonians as a beast race, well their not.
Argonians aren't a race to play, their a way of life.
Elves...Poncy (Just look at their ears.. Whats that all about?"
Imperials are too 'Look at me, I'm mighty'
Thalmar/Thalmore I'm not sure on the spelling but they are so up themselves that I can't be bothered to check on them.
Nerds/ Sorry Nords I played as one, I hate them. Way too human I want more than that. (Aela the Huntress is an exception she's a werewolf.
Khajiit's Ok another beast race but they just don't fit my personality. Argonians 'Hssss' cool as hell. Khajiits Meow? Really?
Orcs are one evolutional change from a troll. No one loves trolls on this site do they?.
Argonians, Scales. A great tail. Bone Spikes, Hissing. What's not to love.
Bear in mind I'm Bias.
To me there's only three races in Skyrim. Argonians, Werewolves and everyone else.
One of the reasons why I love Argonians so much is because there is so little information about them. They're a mystery, and likely will be until we can get a proper look inside Black Marsh.
Aside from that, they are really unique for a fantasy race. Their lizard-like appearance varies depending on the amount of Hist Sap they ingest, some of them can fly, and others are toad-like creatures. The variety between the different types of Argonians is unmatched by any other TES race (in my opinion).
If we look at them from a physical/biological standpoint, they are f***ing weird! They have the scales of a lizard, they have gills like a fish, they have feathers (and in some cases wings) like a bird, and the warm blood of a mammal. We can't quite pinpoint what it is that they are aside from just...well...Argonian!
Overall, I find that Argonians are a very versatile race, and they're extremely fun to play.
I'll be perfectly honest... I ignored the beast races in Oblivion and in Skyrim up until last year. There just wasn't that much of a draw for me. Then Lozhar decided we should make the Healer we were working on Argonian. I rolled mythought to myself, "Fine, I'll humor the man." SO glad I did!
While the 10x health regen is crazy useful, I'll admit that I almost never think to use any racial powers unless I'm in a rock and a hard place. Not having to worry about water-quests is... nice. But there was something more to it than racial abilities. As I started to dig into the lore a bit and look really closely at Argonian NPC's, I came to enjoy this race immensely. I've played a few Argonians since then, and am currently working on one for the upcoming event build. For me they've become a really, really fun race to play. It probably won't make me the most popular person on the blog, but I would like to see TES VI in Blackmarsh (or Argonia, or whatever the heck the kids are calling it these days).
Now if I could just get myself to enjoy playing as a Khajiit... (sorry Ely ;D).
Emer's reply are the reasons I find them so hard to play - they're almost utterly alien to us. In most examples we've seen they have been Imperialised so they are quite human-like but an Argonian fresh out of Blackmarsh would be extremely hard to understand.
I think it comes down to the lack of a racial stereotype which can be very helpful in creating a baseline character. Or is there a stereotype but that stereotype is basically human who looks like lizard? How can one portray a character who's very outlook on life is a mystery?
All that said and in response to Paul, check out the book Kyne's Challenge and the character Footfalls-in-Snow. All of his dialogue is written as nature metaphors like this:
“Do not tremble, tiny leaf,” Footfalls-in-Snow replied, “for you have finally stopped soiling yourself; the Afraid Wind lessens to a mere draft. Your illness vanishes on the breeze.”
“This is a place where even the rocks have sorrows.”
“You shed your leaves in First Seed, Master Grundvik,” he remarked. “Are you rattled?”
I'm interested in this, too. As a hardcore Khajiit fan from day one, you'd think I like Argonians, but I really don't and it sort of creeped me out when I first saw the extreme lizard love kicking around over here.
I understand that, mechanically, they're very good, but I don't get their lore. There's not a hell of a lot of it and their culture (even unlike the Khajiit culture) is extremely alien, when most of the series is told from an Imperial perspective and there's nothing to relate them to the rest of the Empire. It just feels to me that they stick out like a sore thumb and don't exactly belong on Tamriel, like they were part of another fantasy world. On the other hand, it might be that TES6 will be set on Black Marsh and I'll grow to love the Argonians through understanding them and their culture, like I did with the Dunmer in Morrowind, but I severely doubt it.
I'm not going to lie. As Skyrim being my first Elder Scrolls game, The way they portrayed the Argonians was mostly dude looking to make money and screw you over. Due to playing The Dark Brotherhood quest line, I kinda grew on the Argonians.
Veezara was the first and one of the few to Welcome me nicely to any Faction/ Beside some of the Thieves Guild. Also I like them because of their Shadowscales. From the moment they hatched, they were trained to kill for their King. Thats awesome. I wish I was like that.
I've made maybe 2 Argonian characters in Skyrim. The only one I stuck with was the character I used to get through the Dark Brotherhood. While it was neat, meh, there's just not a big draw for me. The alienness is a thing, I guess, but there's not a lot of exploration of their history, customs, literature, etc - or maybe I just haven't found a lot of it.
I think for some people, there's an attraction to playing a race that 'doesn't belong' in the game world. Argonians are pretty much portrayed as the ultimate outsiders. That is rather neat.
As soon as I got Skyrim, I wanted to be an Argonian. Why? Not only are their in-game stats awesome (health regen, water breathing AND boost to sneak? Yes please!) but they look BADASS. I always play the more unusual races first because that is not what I am. Why would I want to be a human when I can be a mofo lizard man with a warhammer? Also, they look like mini dragons. DRAGONS.
TL;DR Argonians are awesime
For one they are lizards, and they have a lot of neat options when making an Argonian characters race. They look kind of like dragons to some, which adds the appeal.
Secondly, their racials are very versatile and useful to nearly any type of character. Almost everyone can benefit from the disease and poison resistance, and the waterbreathing. Histskin is powerful against tough bosses and useful for saving potions when you don't have many or need to conserve.
Also their racial skills and attributes make them good candidates for hybrid characters, in Morrowind and Oblivion the only stat they really didn't have much of was Endurance but there were Birthsigns to help make up for it should you choose. Throughout Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, Argonians have had weapon, armor, magic and stealth skills in their starting skill boosts. They're very versatile.
Lots of people like their mysterious lore and want to learn more about Black Marsh.
Plus, I don't know any other RPG that lets you play as a humanoid reptilian race. That I can remember off the top of my head, at least.
I can't help but notice how no one here hasn't mentioned how BADASS Argonians are in the lore. The are the spawn of immortal tree-people that fought off the Daedra single-handedly during the Oblivion crisis. The Daedra got beat so bad the had to close the Oblivion Gates to make sure they weren't invaded by the Argonians. That sounds like a race I want to play.