Good Afternoon!

I'd like to hear feedback of starting/ playing a non-armor, clothing only spellsword. I'm thinking one-handed weapon and destruction magic duel-wield (weapon/ magic).

I was planning on using an Altmer since I have never used one of them before.

Should I use a shield instead? How can I beef up protection without armor?

Love any and all feedback and experiences!

If you're going with clothing, invest in Alteration and use the Stoneflesh, Ironflesh etc. spells to give yourself a decent armour rating.

I play several non-armored characters in all the Elder Scrolls games. Once I get a good feel for playing a game (I don't try this on a first character), it's one of my favorite things to do. I've played no-armor thieves, mages and even warriors who use no magic.

First and most essential, in my opinion: play smart. Your first order of business should be avoiding getting hit. Be cautious. Think ahead. Sneak or use Invisibility (if these are appropriate to the character). Use terrain to your advantage. Pick off your enemies one at a time if you can. The one thing you do not want to do is run head-first into danger.

You can do this with any combination of magic or any combination of physical weapons. You don't need a shield. I've never used a shield in any of these games. Use one if it feels right for your character. I've done this with characters who wielded claymores, or bows, or pure mages who used only spells.

The hardest of these characters was a claymore-wielding Barbarian character who feared magic and refused to use it. That meant not only no spells but also no potions. I played that character for about 150 hours and it was great fun. But it kept me on my toes.

I would think a Spellsword would be fairly easy since you have a great many tools at your disposal to stay alive. Good luck!

Other races I recommend for their resistance are Breton, Dunmer, Nord and Orsimer (taking half as much damage might come useful if you chance upon a difficult opponent)

Apart from that, here is a list of things that could work:

-investing several perks in the alteration perk tree

-investing in alchemy and enchanting (use alchemy to boost the enchanting skill)

-investing in restoration and using wards

-enchanting items that offer protection to magic

-making rings and amulets that minimize the cost of certain spells (for example, fortify restoration will let you keep a ward for an extended period of time)

-enchanting items that boost your health or the healing rate

Pserson Wyrd has the same thoughts I do and its worked for me also. Play cagey . Play cautious. Be prepared. Try to isolate your opponents. Use misdirection and distraction. If confronted by multiple enemies at once retreat and try to string them out and pick them off one at a time. As he said use terrain to your advantage. It can challenging and very different than a Gnorts the barbarian playthorough.

Remember that by not putting points in the armor skill trees, you have them for other places. Smith up your weapon to awesome, learn enchanting and add more damage that way. Kill before you can be touched!

My current character could easily go without armor, as he has more than enough health points for most encounters, so if dump enough/too many points into health as you level up, that will also help make an unarmored character more feasible.