Race and Racial Bonus Mods for Oblivion Remastered

Per Aspera Ad Astra — A Race System Overhaul

The standard racial system hands you starting bonuses, then forgets you exist. Per Aspera Ad Astra completely rewrites that mechanic: race becomes a decision for the entire playthrough rather than a box to tick in character creation.

• A unique constitution for each race determines health, magicka and fatigue gains per level, up to level 20
• Racial abilities scale through five stages at levels 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20
• Abilities become magicka-costing lesser powers instead of having a daily cooldown
• Two unique stances per race, switched through a free spell
• Every ability has drawbacks, such as slower magicka regeneration, health or fatigue loss, or temporary weaknesses

✅ How it changes gameplay: Race shapes your playstyle throughout the game, rather than giving you a starting +5 to a skill and leaving it there. Scaling keeps racial powers relevant even at level 50+. Stances add tactical depth, letting you adapt to different situations without respeccing.

Racial Stats and Powers Balance Overhaul

Original racial powers suffer from two problems at once: they’re either useless or hopelessly unbalanced. This fixes both.

• Reworked attributes tied to origin choice: the left option gives +10 to base attributes, the right +30
• Unique powers for every race instead of forgettable standard abilities
• New passive effects that actually influence gameplay
• Compatible with birthsign mods for a broader rebalance
• The Feather ability is implemented through a permanent disease to bypass technical limitations

✅ How it changes gameplay: Origin choice now affects the difficulty of your playthrough, without needing separate balance mods. Racial abilities become memorable and useful rather than a line in a description.

H.E.R.D. — Homelands Ethnicities Racials and Dispositions

The standard system makes races too alike. What’s the real difference between an Altmer and a Dunmer? A couple of numbers, and little else. H.E.R.D. creates substantial differences between each people’s strengths and weaknesses, restoring their individuality.

• Bigger differences between each race’s strong and weak attributes
• Greater powers become lesser powers with attribute damage as their cost
• Reworked racial relations, discrimination and favoritism included
• Nibenese Imperials serve as the average baseline for comparing other races
• A special Get Racials power applies changes to existing saves, affecting abilities only, not attributes

✅ How it changes gameplay: You feel the difference when choosing a race. An Orc isn’t just slightly stronger than a Breton: they’re far stronger physically but considerably weaker at magic. You can cast lesser powers that damage attributes a couple of times in a row, but frequent use requires an altar visit or restoration potions. Racial relations make diplomacy part of the choice: Dunmer and Orcs attract more hostility, Altmer look down on everyone, and Imperials and Bretons remain neutral.

Races Reloaded

A straightforward overhaul for anyone who doesn’t want radical changes. Races Reloaded balances what the game already has instead of rebuilding it from scratch.

• Cuts extreme passive resistances: no more Bretons with 50% magic resistance
• Adjusts starting magicka bonuses
• Some races gain starting fatigue bonuses
• Weak greater powers are strengthened or replaced with useful ones
• Races without an active greater power now have one
• Low-impact utility abilities become lesser powers

✅ How it changes gameplay: For players who like the original concept but want its obvious imbalances removed. There’s no longer one optimal race everyone picks for an overpowered passive. Every race gets something useful rather than an attractive description for an ability you’ll never use.

R.A.C.I.S.M. — Racial Adjustments, Changes, and Immersive Species Mod

The name says it all. In the original game, being an Argonian, Khajiit or elf barely matters. R.A.C.I.S.M. changes that.

• Adjusted racial heights aligned with Racial Body Morphs
• A spell to adjust player height by race, sex and preference: short, average or tall
• Reworked starting racial skills and attributes, without +/- 10 differences between origins
• Rebalanced passive abilities for the player and NPCs
• Powerful new racial lesser powers with independent cooldowns or fatigue/magicka costs
• Tiered spells that grow with the player up to level 20: five tiers covering 1–4, 5–9, 10–14, 15–19 and 20+

✅ How it changes gameplay: Your character’s height now fits the lore. You can customize it without restarting, though the spell must be reapplied after class creation and restarting. Racial powers become a proper part of your arsenal instead of useless extras. The tier system keeps them growing with you and relevant throughout the game.

SloBlivion — Races

This reimagines races as complete playstyles instead of cosmetic choices. Each has clearly defined strengths and real weaknesses you can no longer ignore.

• Strong attribute specialization: Altmer get 50–55 Intelligence and Willpower, but only 15–25 in physical attributes
• A clear skill identity without vague or unnecessary bonuses
• A new Altmer racial ability, Sublime Constitution: +30 magicka, 25% disease resistance, 5% spell reflection and 5% physical damage reflection
• Meaningful penalties: 20% weakness to normal weapons and 20% weakness to magic
• Reworked Mana Conduit lesser power: restores 10 magicka over 10 seconds while damaging fatigue and Willpower

✅ How it changes gameplay: Altmer become classic glass cannons, with monstrous damage but fatal consequences for positioning mistakes. Frequent Mana Conduit use undermines combat resilience, perfectly fitting a mage constantly working at the limit. This is a deliberate playstyle choice for the whole game rather than a gentle starting bonus.

Killer Khajiit

Vanilla Khajiit get Eye of Fear and night vision. Agility and acrobatics? Forget them. Killer Khajiit makes them genuinely dangerous.

• Passive fall-damage immunity, technically resetting fallDamageTimer to 0 every tick
• An adrenaline burst for quickly crossing short distances at a huge fatigue cost
• Use the dash as often as needed: it costs 1 magicka to bypass bugs
• Keeps the standard night vision
• Removes the demoralize ability, which makes no sense in either lore or mechanics

✅ How it changes gameplay: A Khajiit becomes an agile predator able to jump from any height without consequences. The dash works perfectly with the new fatigue system, which knocks you down when exhausted. It resembles a house cat racing around, occasionally tripping or crashing into things. 😊 Except now it’s a deadly assassin instead of a fluffy ball of fur.

Playable Daedra — Dremora Saints and Seducers

A slightly makeshift way to play three Daedric races: Dremora, Golden Saints and Dark Seducers. Includes ready-made saves that work out of the box, plus a more involved method for creating your own character.

• Ready-made presets for all three Daedric races, requiring no ESP
• Inventories prefilled with themed equipment for each preset
• Optional RaceMenu Utilities presets and an ESP for customization
• Console commands for proper voices and recognition by other Saints and Seducers
• Seven available presets: Saint, Seducer, SaintMale, SeducerMale, DremoraMale, DremoraLord and DremoraFemale

✅ How it changes gameplay: You play a creature that technically shouldn’t be a playable race. Kvatch chapel’s scripted door won’t admit non-playable races, so use coc KvatchChapelofAkatosh to teleport inside. Saint and Seducer voices only work in Shivering Isles because of sound-file conditions. SetPlayerInSEWorld 1 is a workaround, but it can break dialogue.

Reworked Race Relations Remastered

The original racial modifiers don’t make sense in the lore. Why don’t Dunmer hate Khajiit and Argonians on sight? Why do Khajiit, once enslaved by Dunmer, treat Dark Elves like everyone else? This fixes those inconsistencies.

• Argonians are disliked by most peoples as a beast race, with Dunmer particularly hostile.
• Bretons are disliked by Redguards because of past wars, while Orcs are especially hostile after conflicts over Orsinium.
• Dunmer are disliked by Nords and Altmer, and particularly hated by beast races; Dunmer return that hostility.
• Altmer are at odds with Nords and have a particularly deep, mutual hatred of Dunmer.
• Imperials are disliked by Dunmer and Altmer for past conquests by what those elves see as “lesser men.”
• Khajiit are disliked by almost everyone as a beast race: Dunmer hate them because of the history of slavery, while Bosmer resent them over old conflicts.
• Nords are disliked by Orcs and particularly hated by Dunmer as centuries-old enemies.
• Orcs are disliked by practically everyone, reflecting their place in the world; Redguards and Bretons hate them most after centuries of war.
• Redguards have tense relations with Bretons, while Orcs particularly hate them.
• Bosmer are disliked by Nords simply for being elves, and especially resented by Khajiit.

✅ How it changes gameplay: Race affects social interaction according to Elder Scrolls lore. Imperials and Bretons now like each other. Orcs value their own people more because of their insular communities. Nords and Dunmer moderately dislike each other: this is before the Red Year and the arrival of Dunmer refugees that provoked Nord hostility. Positive racial disposition modifiers remain unchanged.

Mod Installation Recommendations

Most race mods require an ESP entry in plugins.txt or a mod manager. Some, such as H.E.R.D., provide powers to apply changes to existing saves. A complete attribute overhaul still requires a new game, though.

If this is your first time using Oblivion Remastered mods, read my detailed installation guide for every way to add them. Watch your load order: racial overhauls usually belong as low as possible to prevent conflicts.

Which Race Mod Should You Choose for Oblivion Remastered?

Per Aspera Ad Astra suits anyone wanting maximum depth and a development system. H.E.R.D. and SloBlivion create clear archetypes with obvious strengths and weaknesses. Races Reloaded offers gentler balancing without radical changes. R.A.C.I.S.M. focuses on tiered abilities and physical characteristics. Killer Khajiit and Playable Daedra address specific needs for particular races.

If I’ve missed any Oblivion Remastered race mods, contact me. I’ll test them and may add them here. If you’re looking for other ways to improve Cyrodiil, my mod setup will help.