Where in Skyrim do we wake up? That would make a big difference, I'm just going to assume we wake up in the middle of Skyrim, somewhere near Whiterun.
Well, I'm no stranger to fights and I'm bloody fast when all else fails, but if I would encounter a sabre cat I'd likely be done for, hell, without weapons we'd be hard pressed to kill a (large) mudcrab.
I would head to the cities and try the guilds, I'm also going with the easy route and assume the language is English-like. Maybe the Companions would take me in, or any other guild. If it's one thing I'm good at it's making money, I could see myself ending up being a merchant, I'd travel ofcourse, I want to see as much of Tamriel, and maybe even beyond as I could. So in the beginning I'd wager my best way of surviving would be the art of speech, I've always been able to get everyone to do things they normally wouldn't. (In real-life at least)
Maybe I could use some of the things we know in this world that they have no clue about to invent something.
Oh definitely. With a geothermally active region like Skyrim, making indoor plumbing is all a matter of steam and pressure. The Dwemer already seem to have the concept down pat, so we'd need to examine some of their ruins to see how they laid the pipes. But I'm certain we could bring toilets and hot water to the citizens of Skyrim given time and manpower.
The biggest thing would be the creation of the steam-driven pump. With that, we could finally push Skyrim into the Age of Steam!
Ooh, that raises a good question right there and one that I don't know how to answer: How are people born with varying degrees of magical talent?
I suppose there must be some kind of genetic predisposition towards being "receptive" towards magic in general, then something of your own personality would incline you to prefer one school of magic over another. Question is, what quality is it that gives you "access" to magic in the first place? Is it a chromosome that all humans have? Is it a "switch" in the DNA similar to the "switches" that determine your skin tone or hair color?
I don't think it has anything to do with religion or spiritual perspectives as many scholars are mages and double as Tamriel's scientists. In fact, it almost seems like all of Tamriel's scientists are magically inclined. Does that mean that one has to have an interest and talent for examining the universe's intricacies? Is it all a matter of being able to look "behind the curtain" so to speak?
Yeah it seems like it's directly linked to intelligence, the smarter a person is the more proficient that person seems to be with magic, besides just training and practicing.
So if we were to somehow get into that world, we'd be the only ones of our species wouldn't we? The other Human races are different, certainly because most have some Elven blood, while Elves don't even exist here.
Speaking of wich, Elven blood seems to make a person more receptive to magic regardless of intelligence.
Also, how would our bodies react to this force that doesn't exist in our own world? Will we be weaker to it? Maybe of more like Bretons for a different reason?
Yes, we'd be the only homo sapiens as far as I know. Because of that, I don't think we'd really be able to do magic. Which is okay, I suppose.
I have no idea how our bodies would react. It would be fascinating to see us have an allergic reaction to magic--we might get sick and die from it like other people have died of foreign, but otherwise benign, diseases because our systems wouldn't know how to address the foreign presence. It might overreact and lead to a weakened immune system.
Our only hope might be some method of infusing our bodies with the correct response. A magical vaccination, if you will.
I think to use magic, you'd have to do something to drastically change your DNA to match that of the local races. Such a thing has only been known to happen with the power of a Daedric Prince or Aedra.
Considering I have no physical abilities whatsoever, I'd head over to the College of Winterhold and see if I can't learn a spot of magic. I'd have to bundle up really warm though, I absolutely hate the cold. If I succeeded in learning magic, I'd probably join the civil war, then work as a mercenary of sorts afterwards.
This is an interesting concept. Well here it goes. I am a United States Navy Seal. I have been on the teams for 3 years. So i know how to adapt to survive. The twist of waking up in a Skyrim world would be a mental shock but also an overload of excitment. I rarely get to play as much as i would like due to work. So to live it would be a hidden nerds mental orgasm that could possibly cause a heart attack and then coma. I would live the life of a Ranger. knife fighting and sword fighting a skills i've aquired over the last few years. And archery was a childhood thing of building my own bows and (attempting) to kill something with them. Realistically if we woke up in skyrim we would be ourselves in my opinion which means no other races but if we did wake up as another race i would hopefully be a bosomer.