I played mage character several times, if you dont want to mess "basic" game so much a i recommend "balanced magic" mod, almost all spells scale, perks are changed, expert destruction spells do lingering damage (which is pretty strong). + you can actually use some of those bad-ass dragon priest masks since mod changes alteration (its like power and duration of shield spells is increased by every unarmored part of body), but whith this mod you can lower casting cost only by some 50% which is fine because mana regen is boosted a bit also i recommend "left hand rings" mod along with "cloaks of skyrim", two additional pieces to enchant My strategy is this: 1st 50 points to health, then magic health magic etc and u wont have problems with low HP. As pure mage you wont do anything without distraction (conjuration is a must - lvling via soul trap on horse is easy) and once u get dragonhide spell archers wont trouble u anymore. Spell absorbing standing stone near darkwater crossing is also a must (and dont forget quests from temple of Mara, thats like 15% magic resist for free). I usually choose a path of a vampire in dawnguard just for that awesome mana ring.