Hmm... Interesting... A sub race discussion. An Altmer vampire... How cliché :) Still, this discussion does warrant information that cannot be overlooked. The others before me in the thread have praised the merits of the ring of erudite, which I believe is the only factor that would influence the decision of even exploring a sub race, vampire obviously for a Pure Mage centric character. The necromage perk is something you're aware off, but Aside from it's obvious boost to enchants & other qualities, there doesn't seem to be much discussion on how it affect the "aspect of terror" perk & bug in the illusion tree. The aspect of terror perk is bugged to add +10 (or was it 15?) to fire damage, be it spells or enchant damage. Now the necromage / vampirism perk takes this further by topping it off with another +25% to this damage. Combined with the taper effects, this allows one to beat almost any enemy npc with the following fire spells, in terms of cost vs magicka: Flames Ignite Flame cloak Fireball Fire rune If this is not enough, the draw backs of vampirism are easily managed via: Constant feeding to maintain -15 attribute. Recovery perk in restoration tree to cut -100% regeneration to magicka by half. Pre-enchanted apprentice robes onwards from college to level the deficit of the remaining - 50% magicks regeneration, in addition to adding whatever remaining magicked regeneration to current pool in the morning. Further enchants to magicka, health & stamina regeneration on apparel (except upper torso garment) Usage of the lady stone to boost regeneration to all attributes by 25% Usage of become ethereal shout to heal Usage of mid to high level healing spells. Usage of equilibrium spell. If the path of vampirism is chosen as a pure Mage, health and stamina regent would naturally take a back seat. Magicka regeneration takes center focus with the spells and methods mentioned above. There are more pros than cons in taking vampirism, and I haven't even begun to talk about what you can do in your vampire Lord form and how it can be augmented.

No argument here - Necromage vampire is definitely effective.  (Though I haven't seen its effectiveness firsthand, as I've never used it myself.)

I believe Aspect of Terror adds 10 fire damage, but 15 if you've already taken both Augmented Flames perks before taking AoT. 

In my own case, I prefer to avoid vampirism, though.  In part this is due to roleplay considerations.  I don't enjoy playing "evil" characters, and I don't have much interest in playing a vampire in any game (I do indeed find them to be something of a cliché - well, so is *everything* I suppose, but vampirism happens to be a cliché I don't particularly enjoy.)  But there's also the mechanics, which I just find "annoying" to deal with. 

Also, I recently started using the Unofficial Patch, which considers Necromage vampirism to be a bug and thus "fixes" it.  (The patch also "fixes" the Aspect of Terror issue, so it no longer adds to your fire damage.)  It's no great loss for me since, as I said, I never used it anyway. 

Ultimately, my own preference leads me away from vampirism for those reasons, but I can't deny its utility for those wishing to head down that road. 

Wait, are you saying Necromage Vampirism affects the Aspect of Terror bug?  I.E.  AoT adds 10 damage to a fire spell and NV boosts that by 25% for a total of 12.5 added damage?   And does that 25% boost also apply to the taper damage?

Is this damage boost only vs. the undead or does it apply to every enemy?

I actually greatly enjoy playing a were-mage in Skyrim, but it tends to come with a cost due to the necessary investiture in health to make the wolf decently sturdy. Alteration and Destruction seem to do the most good with cloak and flesh spells, and the immunity to Sanguine Vampiris (sp?) makes having Lycanthropy useful during Dawnguard as much as the alternate form itself. It's different enough to a "Pure Mage" that I would almost place it into a different category due to the planning involved, but I enjoy it greatly.

Vampire Lord seems to be more beneficial to hybrid builds than pure mage builds. The extra effects can give a few added powers that would otherwise be difficult to acquired via perks, and it also comes with a useful, decently powerful, versatile, and reusable transformation for an alternate form of play that can easily be a "Pure Mage" form with a little melee in case things get hairy.

Both are extremely fun, but if you're going for a 'Pure" mage, then I'd stick with the magic.

Agreed - and good point about VL being a good fit for hybrid types.  

I remember Vazgen threw down a challenge a year or so back (where's me banner, Vaz? ) to get Vampiric Drain with that chalice power which makes it effect magicka too but whose name escapes me and a Greater Ward to balance each other out. I.e. to cast a ward and vamp drain at the same time with no magicka loss. It took an age to achieve and I am not convinced it wasn't a late game glitch, but great fun was had when I got it to work. 

Not sure why I am saying this, vaguely relevant perhaps?