Hehe, well I've had an idea on the backburner for a couple of years now.  But I'm starting to realize it'll take me a *llooooong* time to actually *make* half the build ideas I have.  So I figure if someone goes ahead of me, it'll just be a load off.  

But my build idea was essentially that - a 'pure mage' who blends together all schools to control the battlefield.  Not focusing on any particular school, concept, or whatever - but a superb generalist, like is capable of wizards in D&D.  It's strange, but we haven't really seen that done here, I think - at least not in a way that aims for super efficiency and across-the-board magical skill (and bonus points for not needing 60+ levels!). 

In the meantime, this'll at least offer some discussion & maybe some ideas for those who are tackling a mage character/build of their own.  

I heartily admit my Nord bias. 

Still, though, I'm not so concerned here with the canonical attitudes.  And even there, there are exceptions (Tolfdir, Ogmund) that do indeed go against the grain of their culture.  As for the skills, they're just not that crucial IMO.  But I can see where you're coming from.  

Battle Cry affects lots more than Fear does, at least until perks are invested.  And it works without costing Magicka, and no wind-up needed.  In fact, I have a hard time justifying Fear spells usually, unless you have a build made around them.  With that Magicka, you could cast Calm or Paralyze, both of which also act as a "oh, crap!" button but with arguably more utility since you don't need to hunt down the enemy when you're ready to fight them.  So for me, Battle Cry is nice in that it's something you've got in your back pocket for those rare moments when you need it, and you don't have to devote a lot of perks or planning into making it work for you.  

The thing that had me put Nords a bit above Imperials, though, was that 50% frost resist.  Still, I can see that the difference isn't that huge, and they could go on the same tier.  

Great points!  There are lots of ways of accomplishing the same goals in this game, which makes it very interesting when you start thinking about how to put it all together. 

Yeah, I can definitely see Altmer making great spellswords because of that boost.  I've got sort of an arcane archer type of build that uses Altmer partly for this very purpose.  

True

One of my character development ideas is that if you never increase magicka beyond 100 points, then the regeneration only lets you cast low level spells more often. No high-level spells.

Huh, I wasn't aware of that VL-reset thing!  Great stuff, I'll see about putting it up top.  

Never had the urge to try an Orc pure mage before, but now I'm really interested!  Great magic & physical damage resist could be beastly!  I'd feel a little bad about not using the damage bonus from Berserker Rage, however, so I'd be strongly tempted to go with a weapon of some sort... or fists? 

True - I've never done the "Advanced X" method with standing stones, so I didn't think of that option.  

Great points here.  I may need to make a mention about the prospects of vampirism in the build... 

I've wanted to do a Nord vampire for a while, but I'm just not a fan of vampirism in general.  But that's one easy way to get 100% frost resist (overkill, granted).  

The amount of unarmed fist damage that can be gained as an Orc with the both the Gloves of the Pugilist, and the Ring of the Beast combined with Berserker Rage and Necromage are almost ridiculous... I actually have a build idea that will focus on this synergy - my Anthotis Bloodletter will probably make use of it in the future.

Even without fists, imagine a mage who can run into the midst of battle casting spells while shrugging off damage, both physical and magical...

One of the reasons that I still love Skyrim!