Morrowind:Speed

Speed is the governing Attribute for Athletics, Hand-to-hand, Short Blade and Unarmored. It affects:

• How fast you move in the game world, which includes swimming.

Character Creation

The starting values for Speed vary by race and gender:

Race	M	F		Race	M	F
Argonian	50	40		Khajiit	40	40
Breton	30	40		Nord	40	40
Dark Elf	50	50		Orc	30	30
High Elf	30	40		Redguard	40	40
Imperial	40	30		Wood Elf	50	50

The following classes have Speed as a favored attribute and receive a +10 bonus:

• Assassin, Barbarian, Nightblade, Rogue, Scout, Thief

The Steed birthsign also grants a +25 bonus to Speed.

Spell Effects

These spell effects affect Speed:

• Absorb Speed
• Damage Speed
• Drain Speed
• Fortify Speed
• Restore Speed

Artifacts

These artifacts have a constant Fortify Speed effect:

• Keening

Notes

• With higher Speed, you can travel around the game world more quickly. Since Morrowind has fewer fast-travel options than other games in the series, Speed is especially relevant.
• Speed increases the distance covered when jumping forward, allowing someone with a high Speed value to jump over wide gaps without the need for magic effects such as Levitate or Jump.
• Movement speed is heavily affected by a character's weight. Heavier races like Orcs and Nords can move surprisingly fast despite their low starting speed. Since weight remains fixed, these races have the highest maximum movement speeds at 100 Speed and Athletics.
• The unique Boots of Blinding Speed are a popular means of significantly increasing your Speed for an extended duration. See the related quest for details on obtaining the boots and dealing with their peculiar flaw. Note that Khajiit and Argonians cannot wear boots.
• The Speed attribute does not affect the movement speed of most aquatic creatures due to a coding oversight, so trying to absorb, damage, or drain the Speed of these creatures is futile.
  • OpenMW does not fix this glitch, as it would cause noticeable gameplay changes for magical combat.