I'm thinking of starting to make a character that is prettu much like Gandalf in Lord of the rings. I think his race should be breton but can you all help me with this?

Prepare for a very easy game.

I already am.

I did this, sort of. He wasn't Gandalf, but based on him somewhat. I imagined him as an Abjurer specialist; he focused on defensive magic. Here's what I went with:

Imperial race - Yes, Bretons get a nice power in Dragonskin, but Imperials get Voice of the Emperor, which is better if you want to play a commanding old wizard. Imperials also get a boost in skills which are more important to a Gandalf-style wizard.

Major skills:

Restoration - for the Turn Undead, Wards, and Healing. Wards especially are great (everything but Lesser Ward), and the other spells fit the concept of a White Wizard too.

One-handed - Gandalf carried a sword, so this character does too. It's also a good option when you're holding a Ward in the other hand; swords don't drain your Magicka.

Minor skills:

Destruction - This is reserved mostly for runes, cloaks... "defensive" Destruction magic. Though the occasional Fireball would not be a bad idea, either. Of course, fire is the preferred element here.

Speech - mostly for RP purposes; Gandalf was pretty persuasive.

Alteration - for light spells, as well as armor.

Enchanting - mostly used to refill staves.

The gameplay is straightforward: You want to get a staff, and try to do most of your damage with that or your sword. Remember, Gandalf didn't tend to blast everything to smithereens. He was, however, known for being able to whip up a big burst of magic when it was needed. Scrolls of Fire Storm are perfect for this - I once was surrounded by 5 necromancers, and a well-timed casting of one of those scrolls took out 3 or 4.

Set Runes defensively, and eventually get Wall spells too.

Stay away from Conjuration. No need to trap souls; you'll get plenty of gems for restocking your staves. Illusion also isn't very Gandalf-y, with the exception of Fear spells. But I never found a big need for those.

Really, though, you'll be spending most of your time with a Ward or heal in your left hand, and a fire spell, destruction staff, or sword in your right. Works surprisingly well, even with no armor.

For stuff to do in game, I kicked off the MQ and got dragons out into the world. Didn't visit High Hrothgar, though. From there, I went straight for the College of Winterhold. I imagined that my guy was an old professor, perhaps from a related institution, who had some connections at the College. I made a point of doing side quests for them - especially the ones from the Orc librarian.

Gandalf was all about helping people and getting his hands dirty, so don't be afraid to talk to good, honest folks and help them with their problems, even if that means journeying into some awful places.

It's a really fun character style.

Breton, Destruction, Alteration, Restoration, One-Handed, you must wield a staff. Sounds like a good start.

This was my third character. I used dawnbreaker as his sword, I carried a coue of staffs and I never stole or looted from urns or the already dead drauger.

Breton: human but with a sketchy magicy elfy background back in the blood somewhere. Seems perfect to me.

Did Gandalf even use magic in the movies lol

And, depending on how LotR you want to get, you could give him a unique ring like Narya. It could be enchanted with a Fortify Attribute effect or something. And maybe even try to avoid wearing all other magic rings. Like how Gandalf wouldn't touch the One Ring.

And apparently, Gandalf had at least some training in the Way of the Voice. (YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS! Okay, yeah....that was pretty bad. But seriously? Nobody referenced this yet? )

Pretty good. Thanks.