So I've now tried several times to create a Dark Elf character I could stick with. I've not managed it so far. Not one I've been satisfied with.

The longest playthrough to date was a female Dunmer Spellsword type, alternating between one-handed blades and destruction magic. But I'd kind of already done that before, as a Nord. That, and without the option of mods, you cannot make a Dark Elf female who doesn't look like a hag.

Ideally, I suppose, Dark Elves are best suited to stealth and fire?

Can anybody recommend a Dark Elf build? What role would I be best to try and push them into? What factions? What fighting styles?

any role. ANYTHING

How about:

1-H
Sneak
Light Armor
Pickpocket
Lockpicking
Illusion
Conjuration (zombie branch)
Enchanting

Become a vampire as soon as possible

That could work. As a Vampire the Dark Elf fire resistance sets off against the Vampire fire weakness.

I could forge my weapons from the Lunar Forge, only fight at at night...

Plausible.

They make perfect Nightblades (mage+thief)

• light armor
  
• sneak
  
• destruction (fire)
  
• illusion
  
• one handed

I haven't played more than a few characters, but 7 or 8 skills seems like a lot of skills to work up.

Given their skill bonuses, it seems that Dunmer in Skyrim are best suited as stealthy mages. I was kind of surprised to see no bonus in One-handed, but that's no reason not to add it in. But you've already been there, done that, OP.

I was looking at the Dunmer skills the other day and thought it might be fun to play as a scion of House Telvanni. Primarily a mage, but with some stealth capability as well. I'd do as many Daedric quests as possible, and perhaps the Dark Brotherhood for a major questline. Ignore the MQ, the civil war, & especially ignore the College of Winterhold.

As for skills, that +10 in Destruction makes it a natural choice for your main attack skill, with Illusion working in tandem with it. Illusion allows you to ruthlessly play with your foes' minds; Destruction lets you blast fools.

I'd next focus on Alteration as your utility skill; a way to manipulate the world around you, especially once you get to the Detect Life and Telekinesis effects. For a fourth "major" skill, I'd choose Alchemy to provide you with the magicka potions and other defensive potions you'll need. It would also provide you with poisons if you wanted to go that route, either picking up Archery or One-Handed. You could wear Light Armor - but if you're bored of spellswords, you may as well avoid it and depend upon Alteration and Alchemy for defense.

A solid fifth skill is Sneak, though this is likely to outpace other skills like Alteration unless you limit its use. Up to you.

Stealthy mage playstyle would depend upon Illusion heavily, I'd think - Muffle, Invisibility, and especially the Silent Casting perk. I would really try to keep myself to leveling only those 5 skills; more than that and you've become a basic mage or spellsword. You might further narrow your focus by dedicating yourself strongly to the fire line of Destruction - or alternatively, shock, as you begin play with Sparks. The latter might be a good call if you think of yourself as a mage killer.

Otherwise, just try to cultivate an attitude of mysterious superiority. Seems like a fun playstyle.

Spellsword or vampire builds? They're pretty nice for archery too.

How about going completely against stereotype? A Dunmer warrior: 1H or 2H, block, armor (whichever you prefer), smithing, light sneaking and archery. NO magic, NO alchemy, NO pickpocketing. You can use your Ancestor's Wrath if you want to (I find it activates too slowly). Do any quest lines you want except the College, but Thieves and DB might not be the best choices. Pick locks but don't put perks into it. Only steal stuff you can use, or be a lawful-good type. This character won't start out with any combat advantages. Use the Warrior Stone if you like, but I found my spellsword leveled up her combat skills so fast I had to be careful that they wouldn't outpace her magic skills, even without using a Guardian Stone.

You could roleplay it as a Dunmer who wants to be a Nord. Or an Orc. Why? That's where the rp comes in. Any race can be anything, since they don't actually have any racial skill advantages, just starting bonuses.

Thanks for the replies, folks.

I'm ebbing towards something more stealthy, and to do the Dark Brotherhood and Daedric Quests with, I think.

Illusion magic might be good for that, I suppose. Stealth, one-handed, Illusion. If I go down that route though I don't think I'll want to do destruction magic. Maybe dual wielded swords, swapping for daggers later.

Decisions...

A Mage build could be fun. But I've already had a High Elf Mage build on the go, for a bit. I don't want to overlap too much.

It's an interesting concept. I've never tried building a Dunmer out and out warrior before. Could be interesting.

Their racial is a resist, the skill modifiers don't really matter, so pretty much anything. Race matters very little, the only major game changers are Orc, Breton, and Altmer, but even their racials can be powerful for any build. Altmer is probably the best starting mage race but that's it really.

Add restoration up to Necromage if going vampire (only 3 perks needed). It will allow those dual casted zombie resurrections to last 6 minutes 40 seconds. (as well as other benefits.)

Yes. I have an Orc Mercenary, Altmer Mage and Breton Necromancer in my character bank already.

Just trying to produce soething unique with a Dark Elf.

Dark Elf would be the natural choice for Daedric Quests, no?

You can create an Ilusion assasin expert on sneak. I used this on mine Dark Elf to create that and works very well if you want to escape a battle.

It seems the most natural choice for a Dark Elf build, I have to admit.

I'm tempted to try and tailor a Dark Elf to do the Daedric Quests - making the most of the items on offer. But that way I think I'm going to be creating a Warrior in Heavy Armour, alternating between one-handed and two-handed weapons...

The way I see it: Destruction, Illusion, Light Armor, Sneak, Lockpicking and Alchemy for a Deadra-worshipping Assassin/Thief/Mage. Or, in one word, a Nightblade.