Bosmer Mage

Alchemy

The Green Pact has no sway here, not that you ever cared for it. Consume nature all you’d like.

• Herbalist 1 (10): Potions and poisons you make are 25% stronger.
• Experimenter (20): Eating an ingredient reveals all of its effects.
• Concentration 1 (30): Potions last 50% longer.  

Alteration

Magic will be your only defense and unfortunately you can spare little towards that end right now.

• Philosopher (10): Alteration spells cost 25% less Magicka.  

Destruction

The school of destruction is your weapon of choice. Make sure you’re adept in all of its applications.

• Elementalist 1 (10): Destruction spells cost 25% less Magicka.
• Augmented Flames 1 (30): Fire spells deal 25% more damage.
• Augmented Frost 1 (30): Frost spells deal 25% more damage.
• Augmented Shock 1 (30): Shock spells deal 25% more damage.  

Enchanting

Practice where you’re able to. You’ll have proper enchanting supplies soon enough.

• Artificer 1 (10): New enchantments are 25% stronger.  

Sneak

Striking from the shadows will get you the most from your spells.

• Agent 1 (10): You are 25% harder to detect while sneaking.
• Silent Casting (20): Your spells are silent to others.

Alchemy

Your potions are your secret weapon. Experiment and find the most advantageous brews.

• Green Thumb 1 (40): You gather one extra ingredient from plants.
• Herbalist 2 (50): Potions and poisons you make are 50% stronger.
• Potency 1 (60): Potions you mix are 25% stronger.
• Concentration 2 (70): Potions last 100% longer.  

Alteration

You’ll need to use your Magicka to cast armor spells until you’ve amassed scrolls for the job.

• Mage Robes 1 (20): You have 50% extra Magicka Regeneration while wearing robes.
• Balance 1 (30): Alteration spells last 50% longer.
• Mage Armor 1 (30): Armor spells are 50% stronger while wearing robes.
• Stability (40): You resist 50% of incoming stagger while under the effects of an armor spell.  

Destruction

You can consider yourself adept with all three elements but your ambition will demand even more mastery.

• Firebrand 1 (60): Fire spells brand enemies for 10 seconds. Branded targets take 25% extra damage from fire spells.
• North Wind 1 (60): When you have a frost spell equipped, you reduce the Frost Resistance of all nearby enemies by up to 50%.
• Unstable Current 1 (60): Shock spells have a 25% chance to deal double damage.
• Augmented Flames 2 (70): Fire spells deal 50% more damage.
• Augmented Frost 2 (70): Frost spells deal 50% more damage.
• Augmented Shock 2 (70): Shock spells deal 50% more damage.

Enchanting

With this you should be able to switch to enchanted spellcasting, giving your Magicka a well deserved break.

• Seeker 1 (20): Scrolls last three times as long.
• Jewelry Enchanter (30): New enchantments on jewelry are 25% stronger.
• Conduit (40): Staff enchantments consume 50% less charge.
• Armor Enchanter (40): New enchantments on armor are 25% stronger.
• Artificer 2 (50): New enchantments are 50% stronger.  

Sneak

Play further into your innate Bosmeri agility and slip through the shadows with ease.

• Trespasser (30): You no longer trigger traps, and you can execute a silent roll while sneaking.
• Shadow Casting 1 (40): Damage-dealing spells are 50% stronger while sneaking and undetected.
• Agent 2 (50): You are 50% harder to detect while sneaking.

Alchemy

Potion perfection. You create the best concoctions with tremendous efficiency.

• Potency 2 (90): Potions you mix are 50% stronger.
• Chemist (100): Create twice as many potions and poisons from the same number of ingredients.

Alteration

With simple robes and Alteration scrolls you’ll be able to provide yourself with a solid defense.

• Balance 2 (60): Alteration spells last 100% longer.
• Spell Shield (70): You have 25% Magic Resistance while under the effect of an armor spell.
• Mage Armor 2 (70): Armor spells are 100% stronger while wearing robes.
• Meditation (80): Spells and enchantments cost 10% less while wearing robes.
• Spell Sip (90): You have a 25% chance to absorb the Magicka from incoming spells while under the effect of an armor spell.  

Destruction

Your Destruction spells will eliminate all that stand before you.

• Combustion (80): Fire spells ignite enemies, dealing extra damage over 10 seconds.
• Permafrost (80): Frost spells reduce enemy attack damage by 25% for 10 seconds.
• Static Field (80): Shock spells prevent their targets from regenerating Magicka for 10 seconds.
• Firebrand 2 (90): Fire spells brand enemies for 10 seconds. Branded targets take 50% extra damage from fire spells.
• Unstable Current 2 (90): Shock spells have a 50% chance to deal double damage.
• Wildfire (100): Fire spells have a chance to incinerate targets when they fall below half Health.
• Deep Freeze (100): Frost spells have a chance to freeze targets who fall below half Health.
• Power Surge (100): Shock spells have a chance to overload targets who fall below half Health.  

Enchanting

Your enchanted equipment is unrivaled, whether it be scroll, staff, jewelry, or clothing.

• Corpus Enchanter (60): Health, Magicka, and Stamina enchantments are 25% stronger.
• Channeler (70): Staves now regenerate some of their lost charge over time.
• Seeker 2 (70): Scrolls last five times as long.
• Insightful Enchanter (80): Skill enchantments are 25% stronger.
• Twin Secrets (100): You can place two enchantments on a single item.  

Sneak

Hit even harder from the shadows and slip away more gracefully when they come looking for the source.

• Infiltrator (60): You move 25% faster while sneaking.
• Shadow Casting 2 (70): Damage-dealing spells are 100% stronger while sneaking and undetected.

Gaining perk points here means spending more time in your Vampire Lord form. Your initial focus will depend on whether you just want to dabble or continue spending time as a Vampire Lord.

Vampire Perks: Blood Mage

Ignore your transformation and bolster your ability to sustain Health off of others.

• Nightwalker 1: You deal 25% extra damage as a Vampire Lord.
• Ancient Thirst 1: Spells that absorb Health are 25% stronger.
• False Life 1: Spells that absorb Health work on the undead.
• False Life 2: Spells that absorb Health work on the undead, Daedra, and automatons.
• Ancient Thirst 2: Spells that absorb Health are 50% stronger.
• Dread Harvest 2: Spells that absorb Health are 100% stronger against targets who fall below half Health.

Vampire Perks: Vampire Lord of Chaos

Embrace the transformation to gain access to special Destruction spells and the extra Magicka resources to utilize them.

• Nightwalker 1: You deal 25% extra damage as a Vampire Lord.
• Underworld Lineage 1: As a Vampire Lord, you can cast the spells Frozen Wind and Lightning Flood.
• Nightwalker 2: You deal 50% extra damage as a Vampire Lord.
• Unearthly Will: As a Vampire Lord, your Health and Magicka are increased by 100.
• Potent Blood: As a Vampire Lord, your Magicka Regeneration is increased by 100%.
• Power of the Grave: As a Vampire Lord, your spells cost 25% less Magicka.
• And continue through the rest of the tree…

The Mage (Guardian)

Path of Wisdom: Your Magicka is increased by 50, and your spells and enchantments cost 10% less.

You won’t have much to your name starting out so you’ll have to do things the old fashioned way. This will give you enough Magicka to get going without having to invest in it.

The Atronach

Sorcerer’s Oath: Your Magicka is increased by 100, and you have a 25% chance to absorb the Magicka from incoming spells. However, you cannot regenerate Magicka in combat.

Another 100 Magicka won’t mean too much to you but 25% Spell Absorption is a fantastic defensive boon. When stacked with high Magic Resistance and Spell Sip, enemy casters will be nothing more than flies.

The Serpent

Serpent’s Kiss: Your Poison Resistance is increased by 50%, your potions last 50% longer, and your poisons last for 50% more hits.

Extra Poison Resistance isn’t nothing but it’s not what you’re here for. A 50% duration boost on your already potent potions will save you plenty of vials in the long run.

Clavicus Vile

Buying and selling prices are 10% better.

Clavicus Vile sings promises of wealth and status and can help you navigate the markets of Skyrim better than what your upbringing prepared you for. If you’re on the hunt to purchase powerful staves, let this Daedric Prince help with the negotiations.

Hermaeus Mora

You have a 5% chance to absorb the Magicka from incoming spells.

Herma-Mora gives little for your half-hearted devotion but the Spell Absorption can add up nicely with other sources. If you’re looking to manipulate your luck on the battlefield, you’ll need the Lord of Fate and Knowledge on your side.

Mehrunes Dagon

Destruction spells cost 10% less.

The Sovereign of Destruction sees promise in you, an ambitious destruction mage who’s open to revolution. For that, he’s willing to make your spells just a little bit easier to cast. This benefit extends to your staves as well.

Alteration

Enchanted staves have limited support for this school of magic but scrolls are around to save the day. You’ll want to carry a handful of useful buffs in scroll form as their durations will be supercharged by your perks. In the early game, use your Magicka to cast Novice and Apprentice level spells.

• Scroll of Oakflesh (Novice+): Your Armor Rating is increased by 40 for 120 seconds.
  Armor spell staves aren’t available so you’ll need to rely on scrolls for your protection needs. With all of your perks these should last quite a long time and are definitely worth the trouble.

• Scroll of Feather (Apprentice+): Your Carry Weight is increased by 50 for 120 seconds.
  Keep a few of these handy just in case you find yourself overburdened on the road. The stamina drain from carrying too much is simply not something you can tolerate.

• Scroll of Weight of the World (Master): Reduces enemy Movement Speed and Attack Speed in a large area by 50% for 60 seconds. With an unfurling of this scroll you can bring a room of enemies to a crawl, and that’s before your frost magic has had its way with them. It’s one worth carrying around in your back pocket, so to speak.

Destruction

As an elementalist you have the option of choosing fire, frost, or shock magic in any situation. You’ll also have Vampiric options should you want to drain Health from your victims instead. Instead of listing 3 recommended spells, here are three go-to spell types:

• Missile (Apprentice+): Firebolt / Ice Spike / Lightning Bolt
  These are single target bursts of respectable damage at range. You’ll be using these often to pick off targets from afar while undetected. Carry one staff of every element for these as it’s your bread and butter.

• Area Missile (Adept+): Fireball / Ice Storm / Chain Lightning The area spells behave a little differently from each other but they’re useful for clearing out a mob should you be fortunate enough to find one clumped together. Fireball is a solid go-to in this category as successive casts will benefit from Firebrand.

• Wall (Expert): Wall of Flames / Wall of Frost / Wall of Storms
  A late addition to your toolkit but a good one. Wall of Frost is especially useful as it will also slow anyone who walks through the wall approaching you, giving you an opportunity to widen the distance.

Animal Ally

Cooldown: 60/90/120 seconds

• Raan: Summons a wolf for 60 seconds.
• Mir: Summons a sabre cat for 60 seconds.
• Tah: Summons a bear for 60 seconds.
• Meditation: Your Animal Ally’s Armor Rating is increased by 150, and their Magic Resistance is increased by 25%.

A facsimile of the vanilla Command Animal power Bosmer had that’s useful for keeping some distance between you and your enemies in a fight.

Dismay

Cooldown: 60/90/120 seconds

• Faas: Living targets up to level 20 flee combat for 30 seconds.
• Ru: Living targets up to level 30 flee combat for 30 seconds.
• Maar: Living targets up to level 40 flee combat for 30 seconds.
• Meditation: Dismay works on the undead, Daedra, and Dwarven automatons.

Sometimes raining down chaos alone doesn’t instill the panic you were hoping for. Use this to encourage your victims into the right mindset.

Soul Tear^DG

Cooldown: 120/150/180 seconds

• Rii: Deals 5 Magic damage per second for 10 seconds.
• Vaaz: Deals 7.5 Magic damage per second for 10 seconds. If the target dies, fills a soul gem.
• Zol: Deals 10 Magic damage per second for 10 seconds. If the target dies, fills a soul gem and reanimates their corpse.
• Meditation: Soul Tear deals extra damage over 10 seconds.

This fills a void left by your perk selection. Damage combined with a Soul Trap effect allows you to fill your gems without swapping staves. With the final word you can turn your victims into allies which is also thematic for a vampire.

Weapon

• None: This build does not use physical weaponry.

Head

• Fortify Potion Duration: Your potions last 50% longer.
• Fortify Stamina Regeneration: Your Stamina Regeneration is increased by 50%.
• Fortify Destruction Cost: Your Destruction spells cost 25% less.

You can make your potions last even longer with this slot, which is always beneficial. Stamina Regeneration is vital for sneaking around at length. Cheaper spells are more useful to a mage who uses their own Magicka, but if you’re finding that your staves are running out of juice too quickly you should consider the third option here.

Chest

• Resist Magic: Your Magic Resistance is increased by 25%.
• Fortify Destruction Cost: Your Destruction spells cost 25% less.
• Fortify Shout Duration: Your Shouts last 50% longer.

If you aren’t at 75% Magic Resistance this is a great slot for getting caught up. Otherwise you can make your damage staves last even longer or give a rare boost to your shouts (as the three recommended would all benefit).

Gloves

• Fortify Sneak Attacks: You deal 25% more damage with sneak attacks and spells.
• Fortify Potion Duration: Your potions last 50% longer.
• Resist [Element]: Your [Element] Resistance is increased by 50%.

Sneak Spell Attacks make up the bulk of your damage when things go well so make sure to boost it here while you can. More Potion Duration is also great too. If you don’t have access to those you can round off your elemental Resistance.

Boots

• Fortify Sneak: You are 25% better at sneaking.
• Muffle: You make 50% less noise while moving.
• Fortify Carry Weight: Your Carry Weight is increased by 50.

Sneaking is something you do often so it’s only natural for your footwear choices to revolve around it. The sneakier you are, the more havok you can wreak without anyone counterattacking. It’s a win/win. Carry Weight is another decent option as it allows you to carry more staves and scrolls into the field.

Necklace

• Fortify Destruction Power: Your Destruction spells are 25% stronger.
• Resist Magic: Your Magic Resistance is increased by 25%.
• Fortify Alteration Duration: Your Alteration spells last 50% longer.

Necklace has plenty for you to enjoy. As mostly all of your damage is from Destruction magic, boosting that is your #1 priority. After that you have the luxury to experiment with other choices, though Alteration Duration will make your scrolls last even longer.

Ring

• Fortify Destruction Power: Your Destruction spells are 25% stronger.
• Fortify Sneak Attacks: You deal 25% more damage with sneak attacks and spells.
• Fortify Sneak: You are 25% better at sneaking.

This slot is even more competitive than the necklace. Again, a boost to your bread and butter can not be ignored, but there’s another damage boost to be had. If you can’t take advantage of those two, remaining hidden is a high priority.