Skyrim - An Illusionist in Skyrim, Part 1 @ PC Gamer

PC Gamer's Tom Francis writes a humorous After Action Report titled An Illusionist in Skyrim, based on some strict rules:

In Skyrim, a mage is an unstoppable storm of destruction. In real life, a mage is just an illusionist: they can’t do much except trick you. If one of them turned out to be the world’s only hope of salvation, hijinks and sudden death would inevitably ensue. Since these are my two favourite things, I’ve decided to try playing this way.
Skyrim does have a school of magic comprised entirely of illusions, so I’m sticking strictly to this. I can’t wear any armour, hold any weapons, cast any non-Illusion spells, or ever attack anyone directly – not even with a punch. Yes. This is an excellent idea.

Sent in by Thrasher.
More information.

People who unyieldingly adhere to a certain role make for entertaining reads.

But you know, in real life, you may be "born" and say to yourself, "I want to be a fireman!" But to become a fireman, you might have to do a few things first. Like complete high school. Get some sort of EMT certification or other kind of applicable education. You'll probably have to go through a great deal of testing and so on and so forth. In short, it's going to take time.

In the meantime, you may have to live life as a waiter, construction worker, or do any number of other kinds of work to make ends meat.

I do bring this kind of logic into role playing games. My first (and current) playthrough of Skyrim is as a Destruction mage. But at the start, it never occurred to me to snub a readily available sword to save myself from things trying to kill me.

"Sure," I'd think to myself, "someday I'll be killing things trying to kill me with a fireball or electricity, but for now, a sword will have to do."

Originally Posted by TheMadGamer
People who unyieldingly adhere to a certain role make for entertaining reads.

But you know, in real life, you may be "born" and say to yourself, "I want to be a fireman!" But to become a fireman, you might have to do a few things first. Like complete high school. Get some sort of EMT certification or other kind of applicable education. You'll probably have to go through a great deal of testing and so on and so forth. In short, it's going to take time.

In the meantime, you may have to live life as a waiter, construction worker, or do any number of other kinds of work to make ends meat.

I do bring this kind of logic into role playing games. My first (and current) playthrough of Skyrim is as a Destruction mage. But at the start, it never occurred to me to snub a readily available sword to save myself from things trying to kill me.

"Sure," I'd think to myself, "someday I'll be killing things trying to kill me with a fireball or electricity, but for now, a sword will have to do."

I like how you've framed the concept of starting as a beginning mage like anyone else who must gradually learn their trade and perhaps use other skills in the meantime. However, I've also played a scholarly sort of mage character and had fun using only magic starting from Helgen. I suppose it depends on the concept of your character and if you feel this is someone who would never touch weapons and armor.

Bleak Falls Barrow on Master difficulty was actually easier with that character compared to a barbarian character that didn't use any magic or ranged weapons. I was able to make great use of Conjure Familiar to tank the tougher enemies soon as I earned the first perk to reduce the cost of novice conjuration spells. Also, the Live Another Life mod has a very fun optional Necromancer origin where you begin the game in Blackreach with a couple of very useful spell tomes.

Originally Posted by CountChocula
However, I've also played a scholarly sort of mage character and had fun using only magic starting from Helgen. I suppose it depends on the concept of your character and if you feel this is someone who would never touch weapons and armor.

The only wrong way to play Skyrim is to play in a way that is not fun and/or challenging. I don't see anything wrong with being a purist inasmuch as I don't see anything wrong with being an opportunist.

Like the article, I've read a lot of 'purist' player experiences and they are usually entertaining because of all the crazy things you have to do in order to survive at early levels - particularly with magic.

My concept was a high-shield, heavy-aromor-wearing summoning mage. Turns out the unexpected part of that build is high restoration.

"The Warrior uses what is at hand," line from a cheesy kung-fu movie.