» Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:46 pm
It is it's own definite style of play. Whether it's fun depends entirely on the kind of things you look to get from the game. For a person that gets bored easily without a good deal of action, this type of character may not deliver. It is more of a chess players/strategy game player minded approach. It can be executed with a sort of swift efficiency, especially after you've done it often, but its very nature rewards patience and persistence. This is not to say you won't fight and/or run, just that if you are pulling off the tricks of the trade effectively, you may discover your combat skill lagging as you don't wind up using it.
There are variations on the theme. A shadow archer, primarily conjuring, destruction, or even dual wielding killer (or varied combination thereof), all are valid builds. Illusion may be argued to be of use to any variety of stealth mage. It depends on your tastes, but they are definitely fun to play. People have complained that they are too powerful, but that complaint seems to be more general than one playstyle. It's just a simple fact of what you are creating that you wind up tapping the power of magic while negating the weakness of the classic pure mage (weakness to melee) with the avoidance of stealth.
Personally, I think it's merely a side effect of this character type's play forcing more careful, deliberate strategic thinking. Some do this anyway even with their warrior characters, but for those that just think of such as "dash and smash" and no deeper than that, playing this kind of character may be the first time they wind up slowing down and thinking a few steps ahead. In other words, I believe the power is in strategic play, not the tools used. Consider your adversaries and use tactics like divide and conquer, terrain advantage, etc. and warriors can seem just as overpowered without super enchanting or smithing.
I definitely recommend it. Just don't let it frustrate at lower levels of sneak that it may not seem to work. It doesn't take long before the skill raises way fast. Early on, not wearing any armor and moving as slowly as possible helps get the most out of what skill you do have. A very useful tactic, shooting arrows from behind cover or in deep shadow against a wall or down a hall to send enemies looking one way while you go another (or step up behind them to backstab). Have fun with it.