SidRon, you just hit on something I didn't think of before. I think I'm on expert and should probably drop it back down to adept.

Not sure why I didn't think of that before.

I go with 5 magicka to 1 health and always play on expert, only because it suits my play style. I agree that a large magic pool is essential and a pure mage shouldn't really get hit if played correctly.

Yeah, I generall play mages on Adept because I like to use destruction magic and it is still challenging since I run with 100 health. You can still make a successful mage on Master with 100 health since either way Master or Adept you get one shotted. The difference is that destruction won't work well on Master. Illussion and Conjuration still work great on master though and are completely doable since only the damage you do is scaled down the damage frenzied enemies do to each other or that your conjurations do to enemies is jsut as great on Master as it is on Adept so those two skills scale beautifully.

Yeah, 5 to 1 is fine. You are still building a pretty massive magicka pool. I have level 41 mage with 100 health (even lower during the day) and have only died about 5 or 6 times so far by playing smart. As long as you keep somethign between you and the enemy you are pretty safe. The AI is usually pretty dumb and will target your summons as long as they are closer even though a smart AI would target you since that would destroy the summons at the same time.

Mages start out very weak, with weak spells. They can become very powerful, though.

I'd suggest lowering the difficulty at first. You're just learning the game, so until you get through that period where you're learning the gameplay, I'd suggest leaving it at Adept (or below).

I'd also suggest getting a companion. You can befriend either Faendal or Sven in Riverwood and they'll travel with you for free, or hire a mercenary in several of the larger towns. A meat shield is very useful!

Lastly, I'd echo Daedric_Dovah's advice to use all the available schools of magic. When I first started playing, I just figured "magic" equaled "Destruction." But it can be just as powerful to conjure up a powerful daedric helper to fight an enemy, or to use Illusion to turn enemies into temporary allies, as it is to cast a fireball at them. So, at least until you learn more about how magic works in this game, go for a well-rounded build.

Armor would be helpful, especially until you get used to the gameplay and know how to avoid getting hit. It's perfectly possible to play a clothing-only mage, though--on any difficulty, as long as you play smart.

JosieJ I thought the same thing about magic when I tried my first mage as well, as far as using Destruction. The funny thing is you can be a successful mage using Conjuration and Illusion and never have to use any kind of offensive magic or weapon. Thats whats great about playing as a mage, so many ways to dispose of your enemies.

To the OP, the thing is once you have a good understanding of how each magic school works, you'd be wise to invest in each one.

Unless you are going to invest in smithing, enchanting, etc.. armor really doesn't provide that much protection. Unsmithed steel armor may negate like 10% of incoming damage if that. And unless you invest heavily in smithing/enchanting/heavy armor you are exchanging that minimal protection for +100 magicka, +100% magic regen, -15% off in all magic schools, better sneak success, quicker movement, ability to carry more, etc.. Not worth it in my opinion. If you want to do that just make a warrior that wears enchanted heavy armor and casts flames until his 100 magicka runs out and then one shots the enemy with a highly smithed/enchanted sword and fortify one arm equipment. You can dot that but the character isn't really a mage. The use of magic is just an unecessary triviality at that point.

Yes, I've since come around on this view, and my Conjurer/Illusionist--with no Destruction at all--was my favorite, and probably most powerful, Skyrim character by far.

I still use Destruction, but only as a secondary skill, just in case that bandit chief gets through the mayhem and is closing in on me. Simply just a last resort.

I'd created that character specifically as a challenge to see if I could go through the game (including the MQ) without using any Destruction. I think she ended up with a Destruction score in the 20s, and that was mostly through skill tomes and points awarded as quest rewards. She just plain didn't need it: when she was low-level, she had a follower, and once she'd leveled up, there was nothing she couldn't deal with through either Illusion, Conjuration, or both. She never had to physically fight an enemy--not even with bound weapons (she never even got those spells). Due to not having planned ahead adequately, she did actually use a couple of Destruction spells as she was going through the College of Winterhold quests, but that was about the extent of it (and if I had to do it again, I'd know how to get around that now).

^^^^This. As a sorceress, I never wear armor, only robes.

No disrespect, but I never put points into health, and I do not die a lot. I do not wear armor, only robes, and I do not die a lot. I do not use the alteration tree and I do not die a lot. I also do not have a follower, but use conjuration instead. I also play on adept, and on the xbox. I do not suggest that one should put everything into magicka, for each is person plays different, but it is hard when one has never played before. And to me, no, it is not stupid to put everything into magicka, and robes do have an advantage, until you can enchant your own. Hope that made sense.

I have a feeling your idea of dying "a lot" and mine are quite different. Conjuration is very effective in keeping enemies off of you, as well as illusion. It's easy enough to use these abilities to the fullest without settling for low health and armor. Sure, it's possible to do so, but it will result in more deaths than if you add protection. It's just common sense