Hello,

I've played through Skyrim twice now, still enjoying it very much and for my final playthrough I'm trying to construct a pure mage. All I want to use is Illusion, Conjurgation, Alteration, and Restoration. However, upon arriving to Riverwood, I'm level 2 and came across a small bandit crew that demanded I pay them a fee to let me pass. I refused and fought them. I ended up dying even with my best efforts and quickly ran out of mana and health.

I'm not really sure how to go about it really, I'm only at Riverwood and already having problems. I'm trying to stick with the mage outfits that I come across every now and then as they have mage type benefits to them and don't weigh me down as much as light armour would.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

Some of those random encounters can be pretty tough that early, so don't panic too much. Bleakfall Barrows should be easy enough

I would focus on Illusion for Frenzy spells and Conjuration for atronachs, zombies or bound weapons.

If your going to wear those horrible mage robes you will be forced to use the armor spells and the perk mage armor. Otherwise the only way you will survive is if you sneak.

In making a mage character the two most important spells IMO are the impact and quiet casting perks. They really help.

Yep early on a Mage can be tricky. It doesn't hurt to have a companion for a bit but take another caster like Marcurio from Riften because warrior types just get in the way. Later, as you get better spells and gear, it becomes much easier. If you focus mostly on Illusion and Conjuration it is also really helpful to develop your sneak skill.

I found that leveling conjuration first helps, then with help of a summoned attronach, level the other skills. Makes things a lot smoother starting out and then you can start soloing regular enemies with the other schools.