So I'm thinking that the first character I've played basically since 2006 will be a Mage. A pure Mage, one who studies books and can cast any spell. I'm thinking of using the Atronach stone. But the stunted magicka scares the hell out of me. I've never tried it before, and I was wondering if any of you had some tips? Especially since this will probably be a pure Mage.

The alternative of course would be to go for the Apprentice stone. But I don't know.. I'll probably be playing as a Nord or a Bosmer. Just cos. I want my character to have a huge magicka pool.

So what do you think? Let's assume I'll be playing a Nord. Which stone would be the best for my character and why? Also, I would love some advice regarding the Atronach stone. Thanks.

...you mean "birthsign" right? (Not like it matters, but..)

I say take Alchemy as a skill, if only for dirt-cheap magicka potions. Scrounge up as many Welkynd Stones as you can and make good use of Ayleid Wells.

Telekinesis can eventually be used to recover lost magicka. The magicka you get from Spell Absorption is greater than the cost of casting the spell.

Dump all your Attribute increases to IQ and ignore WILL, for obvious reasons. I'd get into the Arcane University as soon as possible (or the Magetallow Candles if you have the Wizard's Tower DLC) to make custom low-magicka "Research" spells, one for Mysticism and one for Conjuration to grind for that +5 bonus for IQ-based magic. It doesn't matter how weak or powerful the spell is, you'll get the same amount of experience per casting regardless. May as well make it Magicka efficient.

My main character is a pure mage Atronach, and that worked pretty well for her. She is also a Breton, mind you, and the extra 50MP does make a difference sometimes so I dunno.

So in order to have a large magicka pool, I'll need to raise the right skills at the right time? That's a shame, but that's some good advice.

And yes, I meant Birthsign lol! I haven't played Oblivion since 2006, can you tell?

Do you have to refill your magicka often? Or do you have so much that you rarely have to think about it? What about the Apprentice stone Birthsign?

If you're going to roll a Nord, it's important to get your IQ in decent shape as quickly as possible, given how Nords have the worst base Intelligence. I only did it to get my "leveling" out of the way.

Whether you need to refill often or not depends on your playstyle, but you do need to keep an eye on it at least. If you're slinging spells constantly, then you need to make sure you top off your Magicka regularly and make sure you have enough stuff to restore it. 0.1 Weight custom potions are your best friends.

Also, keeping a backup weapon is handy in case you can't recover magicka or if you plain don't want to use spells. I kept a staff handy.

As for the Apprentice, I actually never used it until recently. I think having a Nord benefits you more than a Bosmer in this case, since you at least have only a 50% weakness to frost. It's...something at least.

The only advice I have is watch out for spells. Send a summon to fight for you if you can. I'm playing an Altmer Apprentice Spellsword and he basically explodes from getting hit by even the most basic spell. Let's just say I love a challenge.

Okay. I don't know if I'm brave enough to go for the Atronach. But we'll see. I can't sleep, so I'm firing up a Oblivion right now. I'll let you know what I come up with as soon as I'm out of the sewers.

Heck, go for it. I am currently a Nord Atronach Adventurer in OOO.

Good luck! Those two play very differently. Alchemy levels quickly enough that you can take it as a major or a minor and play an Atronach just fine. The ingredients for restore magicka are cheap and plentiful. Once you are master of alchemy you can make powerful restore magicka potions from a single flax seed. Flax seeds are very plentiful.

In the long run, Atronach can be a lot easier to play, once you overcome the stunted magicka. Apprentice remains a challenge until you overcome the weakness to magic, which can be done with either absorb or reflect enchantments/spells.

I decided to go with Altmer/Atronach. Got to do it properly right?

I'll be sure to take Alchemy as a major skill, probably with all six of the magic skills.