I've never been one to play mage or wizard type characters, but after playing three different magic-averse characters, I'm finally starting to wonder what's going up at the college in Winterhold. Study groups? Keggers? Ultimate Frisbee?

I was thinking of going with a pure psionics build, writing a compelling personal essay and application, and seeing if the college would admit me as some sort of sideshow freak (or possibly a guest lecturer). I have some ideas on how to do this, but before I get too set in my ways, I thought I'd ask how other people might set it up.

So...?

The main thing would be to grind up Illusion and Alteration to 100 quickly, and also take every perk in both skills (though there is no point getting Stability before 100). I would also take Sneak, and Enchanting, heavily perked. You could explain various Sneak perks as "Jedi mind tricks" or "hyper awareness". On top of that, probably one-handed for stealth attacks.

I don't know how much success people have had with telekinesis. I think if you have dual-cast you can affect a few things at once. Some items like bear traps apparently do half-decent damage. It would be worth playing around with I guess. Would be a challenge at least. The best thing would be to mod it for much higher damage for everything thrown.

Well, since there are no Psionic powers, you have a Golden Opportunity. Compound this with your ability to really role-play this out (judging from your post) I think it would be a great idea. Are you looking for build advice or more for RP mechanics to fit the square peg of magic into the round hole of Psionics? It is really quite easy to say that your “magic” is “psionics”; but no one will recognize it as psionics. Which isn’t really a problem anyway, most people that aren’t psi sensitive couldn’t tell the difference anyway.

I'd go heavy illusion and alteration, those schools fit the mold.

I'm looking for any advice... particularly build advice from people who are more comfortable with the magic system.

I am perfectly willing to say that my magic is psionics, even down to using my hands (as the interface dictates I must) as well as shouts (which are fertile ground for "freak" psionics role playing). My character may use his hands unconsciously because, when his gift "manifested" itself, he just found it easier to direct it with his hands... or perhaps he's Italian.

More specifically... I'm wondering what people think about the use of armor and weapons. I'd rather not use them at all. But I am willing to use bound weapons inasmuch as I can justify that they represent my force of will in physical interactions with the world. That said, why couldn't I just wear the heaviest darn plate armor I can find? I don't see why not, other than the fact that it would reduce my badass quotient by several factors... What about Restoration spells. It seems like spells that gradually raise health would be acceptable while those that give you an immediate boost would not. But that's just my initial reaction.

Bottom line... I'm just curious to get some opinions and ideas that might send me in a direction I haven't considered and make the play through more interesting.

Also... I'm not married to any difficulty level. If a cool concept makes more sense on an easier setting, that's fine with me.

Cool idea!

I know little about psionics, but I would think Conjuration might be a good choice - for bound weapons specifically. Isn't there a sort of psionic D&D class called a "soulknife" that I can't be bothered to look up right now? Anyway, you'd think of your bound sword as a pointy extension of your mind that you stab people with. No summoning or anything else, though... maybe soul trap, but that's up to you.

I'm not sure about enchanting, actually... doesn't seem very "mental" to me. Could be wrong, though. You might want it so you can wear enchanted clothes instead of armor or robes.

If you wanted to be a "Firestarter" sort of character, destruction could be thematic as well.

But as for skills, I'd go:

Illusion (your main "distance" skill)
Alteration (defense and utility)
Conjuration
One-handed (or Archery, if you prefer Bound Bow)
Restoration (you'll need some healing, and turn undead is Restoration's Illusion-ish trick... plus the Ward spells are awesome looking and can be quite effective)

I guess it would be nice if you didn't have the "casting hands" (might break the psionic immersion).

With those skills, it's easy to see how you would get through fights. Open up with Fury, then get your shield spells up, summon a sword (or two), and kill whoever is left. I myself would find it almost impossible to avoid using Sneak, but I can see how you might not need it if your Illusion is staying competitive.

...More I think about it actually, the more I like the idea of Enchanting. Stealing enemies' souls and using them to recharge your staff or gear.

Overall though, I'd think this character would be pretty light in terms of equipment. Maybe carry an enchanted weapon in case your bound weapons time out, but other than that, not a real need for gear.

This, naturally, is a major concern for me, since telekinesis screams psionic ability. I'd love to hear more from people who have used it a good bit. What kinds of opportunities does the game's interface give you in terms of actual utility? Is it just pick something up from across the room, or can I throw them about. Also, can I use it to open unlocked doors and chests (particularly those that are trapped) from a safe distance? Etc.

Check out the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deryni if you are unfamiliar with them.

It is basically just picking stuff up from a distance, bringing it to you, and then throwing it (or alternatively taking it into inventory for most items).