It's easy to overlook Khajiit when playing Skyrim, as there are so few found in-game unless players choose one to play. Any option for a race in Skyrim is good, but the Khajiit afford unique roleplaying opportunities due to their being outcast. Khajiit are mostly seen in caravans outside of city walls, as many Nords do not trust or like the Khajiit, but that's only one aspect to their in-depth lore.
Khajiit biology and lore is unique, even among the many men, mer, and beastfolk of The Elder Scrolls. In fact, this is exactly what helps them differ in-between each game, as many may not have noticed that the Khajiit of Skyrim look vastly different from those found in Morrowind and Oblivion.
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The defining feature of Khajiit are, of course, their feline traits. Some will look like mountain cats, lynxes, bobcats, tigers, leopards, or even domesticated cats, and typically, Khajiit will share a plethora of facial features with these species. Notably, however, some Khajiit could pass for any human or elven race in Tamriel, sometimes creating issues of mistrust both with men and with Khajiit. They typically have some sort of markings of real-world cats on their faces, but can go from relatively hard-to-see to near-impossible. They also tend to accessorize much like any other Elder Scrolls race, but these also come in the form of fur extensions, beads in hair, and more.
When playing as a Khajiit, players will notice some of the above but also some general characteristics that differ. For example, Khajiit are the only playable race in Skyrim without customizable eyebrows, and unlike other races (except the Argonians), they do not use fists in combats—they use claws. Appearance-wise, the Khajiit seen in Skyrim are considered Cathay, if just a small sampling of appearances for this particular breed. They tend to look like lynxes, with pointed ears, angled faces, and patches of thick fur around their cheeks.
In Oblivion, the Khajiit tend to have smaller, blunted ears and rounder features than their Skyrim counterparts. Most often, they tend to look like jaguars or leopards instead of lynxes. Meanwhile, in Morrowind, only the Suthay-raht could be found. These Khajiit tend to be larger than the Suthay breed of Khajiit, but smaller than other races seen in Morrowind, as well as in comparison to Khajiit seen in Oblivion and Skyrim. Interestingly, for whatever reason, most games tend to focus on one style of fur presentation and breed.
The Khajiit in The Elder Scrolls: Arena, for example, were the Ohmes. Perhaps due to technical difficulties (and justified via lore), the Ohmes Khajiit resembles elves and men more than other Khajiit. They have no fur, no tail, and few, if any, feline features, thus Ohmes would typically paint their face with feline paint. In Daggerfall, the Khajiit were of the Ohmes-raht breed, which means still resemble men more than more feline versions of Khajiit, but these do have fur and a tail unlike the Ohmes. Meanwhile, the Khajiit breed found in Oblivion and Skyrim are various versions of the Cathay.
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As aforementioned, the Khajiit seen in Skyrim and other areas are Cathay, but the possible forms range from the bipedal to quadrupedal, from house cat to feral beast. Many Khajiit forms and characters are seen in The Elder Scrolls Online (although the Suthay-raht are the only playable breed). The above image from The Elder Scrolls Online, for example, shows how vastly the Khajiit can vary. Some have the size and appearance of house cats, while others are ginormous beasts. Their appearances and patterns vary just as much as their height, with 17 known breeds of Khajiit existing but the Empire believing there to be more than 20 (for one reason or another).
But all of this begs a question about how Khajiit appearances relate to their breed and their location of birth, and interestingly, it ties back to moons and their phases. There are two known moons on Tamriel that impact Khajiit: Masser and Secunda. Masser is the biggest moon and will determine the overall body shape of a Khajiit:
- Masser Full – Large Quadruped
- Masser Waxing – Large Biped
- Masser New – Small Biped
- Masser Waning – Small Qadruped
However, it only gets complicated from there as the alignment of the two moons and their phases further divide them into the following breeds:
- Masser Full/Secunda Full – Senche, Tiger-like steeds used by other Khajiit.
- Masser Full/Secunda Waxing – Senche-raht, giant battle cats (bottom right of the above image).
- Masser Full/Secunda New – Pahmar, very similar to the Senche.
- Masser Full/Secunda Waning – Pahmar-raht, not unlike the Pahmar or Senche, but bigger.
- Masser Waxing/Secunda Full – Cathay, as seen in Skyrim, and Oblivion.
- Masser Waxing/Secunda Waxing – Cathay-raht, larger Cathay and also known as Jaguar Men.
- Masser Waxing/Secunda New – Tojay, known to live in Southern Elsweyr.
- Masser Waxing/Secunda Waning – Tojay-raht, bigger Tojay who live in the same area.
- Masser New/Secunda Full – Ohmes, as seen in The Elder Scrolls: Arena.
- Masser New/Secunda Waxing – Ohmes-raht, as seen in Daggerfall.
- Masser New/Secunda New – Suthay, similar to the Ohmes but with more feline features.
- Masser New/Secunda Waning – Suthay-raht, as playable in The Elder Scrolls Online and most common seen in Morrowind.
- Masser Waning/Secunda Full – Alfiq, which look like house cats (seen on the left in the above image).
- Masser Waning/Secunda Waning – Alfiq-raht, larger house cat appearance.
- Masser Waning/Secunda New – Dagi, small and slender felines that tend to live in trees.
- Masser Waning/Secunda Waning – Dagi-raht, bigger but still slender Dagi.
- The Third Moon – The Mane. There is a rarely occurring third moon which, when aligned with the other two, result in the birth of the Mane. They are known for their long, beautiful manes, so much so that other Khajits cut theirs out of respect for the Mane to wear as fur attachments.
Of course, while some breeds like the Cathay are more likely to have varied fur patterns and appearances, it's a curiosity why only certain designs for the above Khajit breeds tend to appear in certain countries outside Elsweyr. The games do not give any real explanation, but the most likely answer is proximity. Just as high schoolers are likely to date or marry someone from their own school, the Ohmes-raht likely bred with Ohmes-raht in Daggerfall, the Cathay in Skyrim with other Cathay, and the Suthay-raht in Morrowind with other Suthay-raht. And with a more limited gene pool as a result, it's likely one fur expression was the dominant gene. Either way, understanding Khajiit appearances and breeds is by no means a simple task, but it is an interesting one.
Skyrim is available on all major platforms.
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