There are many strange races and creatures in the world of the Elder Scrolls series, such as the chaurus, daedra, and the many bizarre creatures that are native to Morrowind. Of the playable races in the series, none are quite as unique as the Argonians, which are quite unlike any other intelligent race on Tamriel.
While the Elder Scrolls series does a lot to ensure players are able to find out all they can on the lives of the other people in the world, usually through random dialogue or books that can be read, there are still things about this reptilian race that don't make sense on a second pass and bring into question just how believable their race is, to begin with.
10 They Need The Hist Present To Be Born
In the Elder Scrolls lore, an Argonian child needs to be around the Hist, a network of sentient plants that dominate their home region of Black Marsh, in order for a child to be born and grow to full adulthood. This would mean that there is no way an Argonian can be born outside of Black Marsh, even though there are multiple Argonians who say they were born and raised in Skyrim and other regions of Tamriel, as there are few reported instances of the Hist being present outside of Black Marsh.
9 The Females Have Useless Anatomy
Although the Elder Scrolls series is set in a fantasy reality, several creatures are still based on real-world animals and their biology, including the functionality of mammaries. Unlike in humans, elves, and Khajiit, where they would serve a biological purpose to breastfeed, in Argonians, there is no requirement for them to breastfeed and they only seem to serve to differentiate between the males and females, meaning they don't really have a reason to have them in the first place.
8 Genetic Memories Passed Down Through The Hist Would Traumatise The Young
One aspect of Argonians that isn't touched on a deeply as it could is how the Hist interacts with an Argonian's soul. According to their religion, an Argonian obtains their soul by drinking the sap of a Hist tree, with this soul returning to the Hist once they die and taking their memories along with it to be passed down to future generations.
While this idea of genetic memories is an interesting take in a fantasy genre, it also opens up the possibility that Argonian children are being subjected to the memories of enslavement and death at the hands of men and elves before they were born, something that no child should have to endure.
7 The Naga Usually Appearing Only In Name
The races of men and elves have several variants that are slightly different in design and culture, but one that is barely referenced, and shown even less, are the Argonian variants. It is mentioned several times in the Elder Scrolls series that there is a variant of the Argonians known as the Naga, who resembles a mix of fish and snake and are blamed for much of the crime in Black Marsh, but few are actually shown to the player and only appear in The Elder Scrolls Online.
6 They May Not Have Been Created By The Divines
For the most part, despite each race having its own view of the creation myth, it is accepted that the Divines and Daedric Princes that are worshiped in the Imperial Pantheon are responsible for the creation of Nirn and Oblivion as well as most races of men and elves. However, it is thought that the Hist created the Argonians so that they could see the world, which would make the Hist incredibly powerful compared to the Divines and Daedric Princes, potentially even more so.
5 Argonians Have No Concept Of Time
It's not uncommon for some cultures to find certain concepts difficult to understand, but one that is puzzling for several reasons is the Argonian's and their lack of concept of time. In their native language and culture, Argonians have no concept of time, most likely as a result of the genetic memories passed down through the Hist, but this doesn't take into account every other facet of life that involves the passage of time and brings into question how they reached the conclusion that everything happens at once in the first place.
4 Argonians Becoming Werewolves
Even though Argonians are inherently resistant to disease and poison, they are still, like all other races, susceptible to being infected with lycanthropy or vampirism. Although the same could be argued for every other race, it makes even less sense for an Argonian to turn into a wolf than any other race in Tamriel due to their reptilian biology.
There are stories in The Elder Scrolls that tell of Argonians being turned into werecrocodiles rather than werewolves, though this isn't a feature that carries over to the instances where the player can be both an Argonian and a werewolf and seems to only affect a select few individuals.
3 Most Of Their Identity Has Been Renamed, Even Though They Are Independent From The Empire
For much of Argonian's history, they have either been wholly independent from the Imperial Empire or preceding banner or have been enslaved by men or elves. Because of this enslavement, Argonia was renamed to Black Marsh and the Argonians themselves were renamed from their native name, Saxhleel, though they have made no attempt to reclaim these names now that they are free from the Empire and independent as of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which takes place hundreds of years after the events of Oblivion.
2 The Argonians And Khajiit Never Found Common Ground
As both the Khajiit and Argonians are bestial races that are generally looked down upon by men and elves, it is made clear that neither race particularly likes the other. Even though both races were subjugated and enslaved by the races of men and elves in their history, both the Khajiit and Argonians can't stand one another, even in the Fourth Era, being largely due to the belief that an Argonian was responsible for unleashing a plague upon the Khajiit in the past.
1 Their Rebellion Against Mehrunes Dagon
Unless you have read the Oblivion follow up novels or played The Elder Scrolls: Legends, it's unlikely that fans of the series will know just what happened in Black Marsh following the Oblivion Crisis, where the natives were given powers to repel the forces of Oblivion back to their realm with the help of the Hist. While is this does paint the Argonians in a new, more powerful light, it also draws into question why the Hist never helped them before this moment, as if they had this power all along, there is no reason that they couldn't have used this to prevent being invaded by the Empire.