Taking up magic later in life

[ElricOfGrans]

I have a bad habit with Oblivion: I start a new character, get them to level 8-10, then scrap them for a new concept. I have *finally* taken a character past level 20 and am able to start looking at mods like The Lost Spires, but I have a burning desire for a change. This character was originally a thief, so has high Sneak, Security, Marksman, etc. This was the first character I have made in Oblivion who did not have any magic at all. I now feel like playing a serious mage-type character, but do not really feel like starting a new character (I have already got houses, finished a whole lot of quests, etc). Building up the skills from 5 to something meaningful is `easy' enough (if a little tedious), but I would see my magicka being a bit of a problem. I use Race Balancing Project and Realistic Levelling, so my Ohmes-raht/The Lover character has 100 magicka at the moment; out of interest, I made a quick level 1 Breton/The Mage and saw they start with over 200 magicka!

 

Here is where I am stuck. Clearly, I lack the magical reserves to cast more than a single spell before I run out. Would using Alchemy (already high-level) to make Fortify Magicka/Restore Magicka Potions, with some support from Ayleid Wells, be enough to make a very-low magicka character work as a mage, or would I really need to just bite the bullet and start a new character? If I should start anew, is it better to take all colleges of magic as Major Skills to get the largest pool of spells (like a D&D Mage used to), or to focus on two or three colleges and have a more dedicated role (like many other RPGs)?

[antonkr]

I am playing as a Battlemage. I would suggest playing as two of your favorite types. I would really suggest you start over. And having magic while playing as a thief or assassin can help out A LOT. If you don't want to restart just level up your intelligence and willpower. Eventually you will be able to use spells that are not that bad. Until you master it just use it as much as you can and then take out a sword or a bow when you run out of magic.

[David Brasher]

Oblivion is so flexible that all characters seem to end up being mage/warrior/thieves. If you are patient and skillful, your thief could have a good time playing as a mage. My favorite character is a Khajiit pure mage. After he had already become pretty buff and closed 30 Oblivion gates, he went to the Shivering Isles and became Sheogorath. On his days off, he commuted to the Priory of the Nine and pretended to be a knight instead of a pure mage. He did okay and eventually became the Divine Crusader (A Daedric Prince serving the Nine faithfully.) But when a battle was too tough for him, he would stop swinging his sword and summon a daedroth and cast some powerful fireballs. It was great fun!