Im new to Morrowind and was wondering if i should play through the vanilla game first or go straight to mods?

If so, what mods are a must need and can i get a link to them?

In my personal opinion it's worth playing through the vanilla game to see what's there before changing it. Some things, like graphics replaces, are fairly noninvasive but anything tweaking the gameplay is probably worth holding off on.

I would install the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19510 and http://btb2.free.fr/morrowind.html, both of which are really unofficial bugfixes rather than 'mods' as such, and then play through the vanilla game to see what it's like before changing it. If you really can't stand the ugly faces and bodies, you might want to try http://www.psychodogstudios.com/betterbodies/ and a simple head replacer like http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=5883.

just get MGE, the unofficial patch, the code patch and texture replacers. These won't alter the game in any way other than make it more beautiful and up to date, and fix bugs that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

As for links these will help http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/106063-morrowind-mods-faq/, http://btb2.free.fr/morrowind.html, and http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1110304-povuholos-morrowind-2010/ and http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1120092-povuholos-morrowind-2010-graphics-and-sounds/. These last two threads were what helped me most when i was starting out and i use almost all the mods from btb's recommended list too.

But maybe it is better to just play the game for a while using only the patches, the mge and some texture replacers. Because after all mods are there to modify/change the game, and if you haven't played the original game how would you know what you want to change in it?

Some people are of the belief that you need to play the vanilla game first so that you can see what your mods will be doing... sort of like a "you can't know pleasure until you've known pain" thing.

My mod list is for people who want to cut straight past the crap and get into playing the damn game.

For a solid guide to mods it's worth checking out http://www.mwmythicmods.com/Gluby/Gluby_Main.htm

Welcome to the most time consuming experience of your life - oh and the puzzle cube can be found at

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1060141-mod-recommendations-for-new-players/page__view__findpost__p__15392814
Includes links to patches and tools you'll need, and many guides to happy modding.

Thanks guys, appreciate the help.. Im looking forward to play some Morrowind tonight and start my character.

Its gonna be a blast.