forgetting my other topic on here, I've been sketching out character builds for a playthrough. Normally I play Warrior types, but I want to go as a Dunmer through Morrowind. As such, I'm venturing into new territory.

I've got two builds I'm torn between, and I'm looking to see which one is better, or at least needs the least tweaks.

First, Dunmer Spy

Technique: Stealth
Attributes: Agility, Willpower
Sign: The Lady

Major Skills
Alteration (for Open and all those other useful spell effects like Sanctuary and Levitate)
Block (duh)
Light Armor (best for Dunmer and Rogue-ish playstyle)
Short Sword (only because this is a Rogue/Agility build)
Sneak (for Stealth)

Minor Skills
Athletics (for running speed and racial skill bonus)
Alchemy (for potions and money making)
Destruction (for range)
Mysticism (for Soul Trap and Mark/Recall)
Speechcraft (for those quests when its useful)

Playstyle, backstabbing and melee with magical support for range and lockpicking

Next: Dunmer Shadowmage

Technique: Magic
Attributes: Intelligence, Willpower
Sign: The Atronach

Major Skills
Block (duh)
Enchant Item (to make the magic items that'll help smooth out play)
Illusion (Chameleon for Stealth, Charm for Social)
Light Armor (best for Dunmer and Rogue-ish playstyle)
Long Sword (yes Short is better, skillwise, but the best weapons are all Long)

Minor Skills
Athletics (for running speed and racial skill bonus)
Alchemy (for potions and money making, and to help offset Atronach)
Alteration (supplemental lockpicking and shield spells)
Destruction (for range)
Mysticism (for Soul Trap and Mark/Recall)

Same as above, but using Magic in place of Rogue skills.

Finally, to fall back on my old ways: Dunmer Adventurer

Technique: Combat
Attributes: Strength, Luck
Sign: The Lady

Major Skills
Block (duh)
Heavy Armor (to take a beating)
Long Blade (yes Short is better, skillwise, but the best weapons are all Long)
Marksman (for mana-free Ranged)
Security (lockpicking for great justice!)

Minor Skills
Armorer (got to keep the weapons and armor in top condition)
Athletics (for running speed and racial skill bonus)
Mysticism (Soul Trap/Mark/Recall)
Mercantile (buy low, sell high)
Speechcraft (for those quests when its useful)

Thoughts, opinions, and input welcome.

If you are going to favour longblade, then make it a miscellaneous skill to build strength without leveling up too quick.

That's what Acrobatics is for. Which is just weird. Why isn't Acrobatics linked to Agility, and Athetics to Endurance? I dont' get it.

But with Acrobatics, you'll will have to pay a trainer, or be constantly leaping off things or jumping up and down on the spot.
With a longsword you'll do it by merely playing the game.

I like your shadowmage build as is.

On your Dunmer Adventurer, I highly recommend not taking Mercantile as a major or minor skill. If you try to maximize your income, you're going to level way too fast because Mercantile can go up very fast. Mercantile can go up really fast as a miscellaneous skill so it's rather redundant to have it as a minor or major IMHO. If you want to level fast, by all means keep it but if you do, your combat/magic skills may lag behind. Just a thought.

Good luck. I hope you find a build that works for you.

Personally, I would never take Acrobatics or Athletics as a class skill. Even at miscellaneous, they are very easy to increase.

To Denina and Nitron

Thank you both for your input. I'm still tweaking my build design.

Don't sweat the details too much. Morrowind gives you plenty of leeway to compensate for a bad character build. If you find a skill lacking, buy some training to bring it up to where you can self-train it more easily (you don't gain skill for failing). If a skill starts "getting ahead of you" later in the game, especially a weapon skill, switch to a "backup" weapon type that isn't a major or minor for those "lesser" tasks, and reserve the "main" weapon for cases where it's "life or death".

None of those builds are "bad", and I've played good games with far worse. The only "tweak" I'd consider would be to swap out Athletics in the "Spy" build for "Armorer" in your minors, since Athletics is too easy to increase without trying, and Armorer can save a lot of cost and hassle in the long run, especially on extended missions (or to get more money for something when you sell it, if it's damaged). Note that carrying those heavy Repair Hammers can cut drastically into your Encumbrance and slow you down, so either buy them and use them on the spot, or carry one or two "Repair Prongs", which are lighter and have more uses per unit, but do less repair per success. With enough skill to use them effectively (which starts at about 30-ish), they're adequate for most "light duty" purposes that your "Spy" will likely need, at a fraction of the price and with less weight. As a "tank" character, you'll need more extensive weapon and armor servicing on a constant basis, but should be strong enough to lug some extra dead weight, so the hammers may be more practical.