Explain what you mean by "Pure Mage".

I have a character named Christophe. He is a Breton and got picked while urinating on a tree in close proximity to the camp where Ralof and Ulfric were captured. Poor guy didn't even get to put it away. Urine found its way onto the legs and steel boots of the Imperial soldiers dragging him to the wagon. It just wasn't his day.

Anyway, I'm attempting to use more magic than melee. Melee appears to be unavoidable. At some point, you have to smack someone over the head with a mace or drive an axe into some poor soul's chest. So, when individuals discuss playing a pure mage are they only referring to where they place their "Perk" points?

You might use your bow but never put points into the Archery perk tree.

You might use Conjuration to summon bound weapons buy never put points into the One-Handed perk tree.

You might even attain 100 in sneak without ever putting a point into that perk tree.

So, what am I missing? It seems like mages turn out becoming Warlocks or Battle Mages as a course of necessity (melee/mage). This seems to occur even without hunting for shouts.

In Oblivion the Mage class was: Alchemy, Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion, Mysticism, Restoration.

In Morrowind it was the same but with Enchanting and Unarmored.

Arena and Daggerfall included shortblades/daggers and blunt weapons. So...

A "pure mage" has no real definition in Skyrim, but I believe it to be a character that really only uses skills that fall under magic (Enchanting, Alteration, Destruction, Restoration, Illusion, Conjuration). And maybe Alchemy too. Now it's a stealth skill, but it wasn't in previous games.

Using a dagger/bound weapon for emergencies would fit, but you wouldn't rely on it as your major source of damage dealing.

I know it's not impossible to play a pure mage. I just don't believe Bethesda had that in mind this time. Hybrid play seems to be forced upon you when you look at starting stats. Redguards start with Destruction at 20 and are the most skilled warriors in all Tamriel. Bretons start with Conjuration at 25 (which includes bound weapons and indirectly makes one-handed (15) and archery (15) necessary) with the following skills at 20: Alchemy, Alteration, Illusion, Restoration, and Speech.

The trained skills of Bretons suggest a play style where one casts mage armor spells, summons for assistance, calls upon bound weapons, bends others to their will, uses healing magic, and where possible talks their way out of trouble. Destruction seems to be an after thought since it starts at 15. That doesn't mean you can't use it or shouldn't make it part of your approach. I'm just suggesting that Bethesda implies pure mages are not advised or magic should not be a players' only focus. If the late game dictates a need for real armor ( ie: light armor or heavy armor use to compensate for the lack of usefulness of mage armor), then pure mages are not truly supported.

It suggests a strong disconnect when Redguards ( the ultimate warrior race ) starts with destruction at 20 and Bretons ( the second best magic race with High Elves being superior ) starting at 15.

So, I guess my true question is playing a pure mage more about how perk points are spent rather than the actual skills used? Because if you use bound weapons, it makes no sense to not put some points into one-handed and archery -- even if you train destruction.