Are there any instances in either the games, or past lore that suggests either of these guilds take on full mages? Obviously their focus is on sword and shield type warriors but given the character I'm role playing at the moment I'd be keen to find out if they ever use spellcasters as front line guild members.

Thanks!

I guess they both have variants of each. This is just me, but I think Fighters Guild/Companions except Spellswords while the Mages Guild/ College except Battlemages.

Just because I summon my swords doesn't mean I don't know how to use them.

Unfortunately my character is mainly using destruction.

I've started putting my 5 training sessions each level into single handed and am going to turn her into a battlemage. Am already at 70 for destruction so can afford to neglect it for a while.

It does pose an interesting question though. Why would a pure mage join the Fighters Guild/Companions when they go channel their energy into Mages Guild etc.

The Companions aren't "just" a Fighters Guild, though. Before making it into the College, your character will be asked what he/she expects to gain from the College... it can work the same with the Companions. There's millennia of history, racial and cultural identity, not to mention family tradition (probably) behind the Companions.

If you wanted a reason, the hardest part is narrowing it down, not deciding whether or not there's one in the first place.




Also, game-play wise, I did Bound Sword/Summon X + Firebolt (switching the left hand to Fire between summons), and my Conjuration leveled like nobody's business, my One-Handed was close behind (with Destro actually eventually falling behind for a while), and perking Bound Weapons in the Conjuration tree gave me enough souls that I've long since hit 100, and still trying to find people to buy the results. Bound Sword's probably one of the best ways for a Caster/Enchanter character to level everything at once.

While I haven't actually done the Companions or College questlines yet, I did have an answer though out as to why a mage character would join the Fighters Guild in Oblivion. FG was mainly a group of mercenaries, so why couldn't my mage become a merc as well. He didn't mind clearing out a few caves or protecting certain clients as long as the pay was good.

Companions take mages, nothing says they are warrior-only.

The College on the otherhand..being a pure warrior would be downright stupid to play through with.

[quote name='TwistedBlack' timestamp='1322179219' post='19450372']
Companions take mages, nothing says they are warrior-only.
[/quote]
Near the end of the Companion questline, you can actually run across a journal where the "leader" pretty much states a bias against magic use. You using magic is never touched on, which really makes me think you were expected to not be using it.

I pretty much went into it thinking the same thing. That they were less fighter/warrior-centric, and more simply a group of people that did jobs for pay that happen to usually be warriors. I figured they'd give a fair shake to a mage as long as he could get things done (after all, "companions" doesn't really imply a warrior-exclusive group, but a group with a common bond/goal). As you go through the quests, though, it does increasingly feel like you were expected to use warrior-type skills. That they never comment on your non-warrior style, along with the comments about the dislike of magic and stealth, ultimately makes it feel out of place.

[quote]Which kinda stinks because my mage doesn't have a problem with doing mercenary work as a way to learn and explore the world, and pick up some extra coin, as long as his magic/archery skills are enough to do the job. He also has an interest in studying supernatural creatures like werewolves, and is the type to consider becoming one if it leads to learning more about them. Of course, this was all tied to my personal like of werewolves and wanting to play one while also playing a mage, but being that the Companions are so heavily tied into warrior-type skills, it took an uncomfortable amount of weaseling to justify a mage being with them.[/spoiler]