The Elder Scrolls: 6 Most Badass Women in the Series

Skyrim

By Mark Smith

Published May 10, 2024

Thread 2

Skyrim

Highlights

Some women of TES demonstrate impossible skills, such as Karliah, a Nightingale, who is a skilled archer, thief, and poison expert.
Others demonstrate strength, such as Aela the Huntress, a Companion werewolf from Skyrim, a powerful bow and dagger wielder.
Many women of Tamriel have been potent magic users, such as Sosia Caristiana, who can stop enemies in their tracks with a single spell

Dawn's Beauty, known to most mortals who call it home as Mundus, is home to heroes and villains of great strength, skill, and mastery of magicka. Throughout the provinces of the continent of Tamriel, the stages for each game in The Elder Scrolls series, a tapestry of heroic deeds are shared with heroics enacted by its sons and daughters alike.

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Just as with the real world, heroines can be known for their insightful leadership, enlightenment, charity, or bravery during pivotal moments in history. However, Tamriel's legendary daughters are probably much better known for their bad-to-the-bone attitude and, of course, their willingness to back up their words with swift action should the need arise.

Aela the Huntress

Running Circles Around Her Foes

Most Skyrim players will recognize Aela as one of the hunters facing off against a rampaging giant outside Whiterun
As a veteran member of the Companion, Aela is a formidable dagger and bow wielder, but after transforming into a werewolf, she is unstoppable

Most, if not all, Skyrim players will have met this fearsome warrior, although she prefers to go by the name "Aela the Huntress." Players will first meet her on their way to Whiterun during an encounter with a rampaging giant. She will either scold the player for their cowardice (or inability to land a hit before she and the other Companions take down the giant) or congratulate them and recommend them for tryouts at Jorrvaskr.

Aela is not only a member of the battle-hardy Companions, whose daily work involves taking on dangerous, life-threatening work, but also a member of The Circle. The members of this group not only represent the very best of the Companions but also honor an advantageous pact with Hircine and have the ability to transform into werewolves. Aela could snipe down a foe with a well-aimed arrow from one hold to the next, but should they make her angry enough, she could literally chase them down and eat them alive as well.

Sosia Caristiana

The Untouchable Master Of Curses

Sosia doesn't take kindly to unwanted attention from overbearing barbarians, cursing at least one into a humiliating situation
Even in a one-on-one fight, Sosia can best "mighty warriors" with magicka alone

Hlormar Wine-Sot, a Nord from Skyrim, can be encountered near Caldera, looking for the "witch" who cursed him and took his clothes and weapon. The land of Morrowind can be a strange and unsettling place, but even so, it isn't every day that a wanderer of the mushroomed landscape sees a barbarian wandering about in the buff. After agreeing to help and finding Sosia, she explains that the sleep spell was in a lesson in response to some "inappropriate" behavior on the road.

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Sosia offers Hlormar three days to cool off before granting him access to his beloved axe, but Hlormar always refuses and attacks without warning. Without the player's help, Hlormar has little chance to find and defeat Sosia, who offers her healing or potion services, should the player side with her. Few would be bold enough to take on a gigantic barbarian, but it is implied that Sosia put two in their place during her travels, as another naked Nord, Hisin Deep Raed, can be found in a similar predicament, grumbling about "a witch" a few hills away.

Ocheeva

The Deadly Shadowborne Assassin

Being born under the sign of the Shadow, Ocheeva and her twin brother were trained in the art of stealth and murder by the Argonian Royal Court
Thanks to her proven skillset, Ocheeva serves as the second in command in Cyrodiil's Dark Brotherhood sanctuary

Argonians are often overlooked for their badassery, but as history demonstrates, they should not be underestimated, as their unquenchable bloodlust for Daedra during the Oblivion Crisis demonstrates. This Argonian especially should be considered especially dangerous. Along with her twin brother, Teinaava, Ocheeva is an Argonian born under the Shadow sign. This quirk of birth made her ideal to serve in the Shadowscales, an elite group of Argonian assassins in Blackmarsh.

Ocheeva served Black Marsh and the Argonian Royal Court by knife and night, spilling the blood of one to spare the blood of armies. By the time of Oblivion, she and her brother were high-ranking members of the Dark Brotherhood, with Ocheeva serving as an Executioner, second only to Lucian Lachance. Proud of her work but professional in her demeanor, Ocheeva makes quick work of any target, no matter how big or seemingly protected.

Mistress Dratha

Playing By Her Own Rules

In Morrowind's overtly patriarchal society, Drath uses her accumulated power and influence to make her own way in the world for herself and her sisters
Dratha commands both charisma and potent magic and can even prompt male player characters to beg on their knees

Mistress Dratha is a rather difficult NPC to meet in Morrowind, especially for players with male characters. She has a (rather understandable) dislike for males, having risen to power in the harshly patriarchal society of Morrowind. For carrying out her requests, female player characters will receive rewards and her favor, whereas men will merely be shown out, preferably as far as the city limits, as Dratha's domain, Tel Mora, permits only women within its boundaries.

Dratha may have become bitter toward men because of her culture, but she has also leveraged her power to help her sisters by giving them sanctuary and opportunity where they would otherwise be expected to demonstrate subservience (or worse). Despite being incredibly old, Mistress Dratha will even flex on the player character (as long as they hold no station with the Temple) either by wrecking them emotionally with an insult right to the CHIM or physically breaking them down with a withering destruction spell should they seriously misplace their words.

Alessia

Freer Of Slaves, Founder Of The First Human Empire

A legendary figure in human history, Alessia was instrumental in breaking the supremacy of the Ayleids and taking the White Gold Tower
Her legacy can be felt in the Amulet of Kings, a magical jewel forged from her soul that protects the world from the Daedra

Alessia was active during the First Era, and as such, she doesn't physically appear in any of the Elder Scrolls games. However, her impact and importance in the series are second to none, not even to Tiber Septim, AKA mighty Talos. Alessia formed the first Empire of humanity, freeing proto-Imperials from their Mer masters with the help of the Nords, a bull-man, and a mad demigod from the future. Through battle and alliance-forging parlay, she defeated a seemingly invincible enemy: the now-extinct heartland elves known as the Ayleids.

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Alessia is not her true name, but it actually means "High Highness" in a long-forgotten tongue. Alessia's deeds are countless, but her greatest achievement was capturing the White Gold Tower from the cruel Mer slavemasters and founding a new culture and religion, the Eight Divines, which would hold appeal for every branch of humanity. Upon her death, Akatosh is said to have transformed her soul into the red diamond at the center of the Amulet of Kings, an artifact that protects Mundus from the realm of Oblivion.

Karliah

Violet Eyes Watching From The Dark

Karliah is a highly-trained thief mentored by Skyrim's former guild master and a member of the Nightingales
Master of stealth, archery, and poisons, Karliah can be a formidable opponent when she steps out of the shadows

Rumored to be the descendant of Queen Baranziah and the legendary Indoril Nerevar, Karliah is a member of the Nightingales, an elite splinter faction of the Thieves Guild. Her mother taught her the art of thievery and stealth, and her former Thieves Guild master sharpened those skills to a razor's edge. Before the events of Skyrim, Karliah had spent 25 years of her life in exile after being falsely accused of murdering her former master and lover.

It isn't just her heritage and uniquely violet eyes that make her stand out as a badass. She is an expert alchemist with a specialty in poisons and tipped arrows, is impossible to catch, and has highly perceptive senses, especially when it comes to her surroundings and targets. Even fighting her without her midnight-tempered Nightingale armor, Karliah's arrows are hard to dodge, and one nick by her poisoned arrowhead means it's all over.