[rantmode]It seems to me that unless you want to be highly proficient with spell casting, the entire process of skill, race and attribute selection matters not one iota. Yes, in the initial stages of the game, having a major in a particular armor or weapon helps greatly, as do resistances to various magic effects. However, if you decide you want a radical career change, once you gather together some coin (and we all know by now that becoming wealthy is hardly an onerous problem) this is extremely simple to achieve. As far as inbuilt resistances go... there are plenty of items you find or make that do the same thing.
So what if some races start with certain armor or weapon bonuses? Sure, they may seem like obvious fighter or thief types, but there is *nothing* stopping a Redguard or Nord from becoming a thief if you have the gold to train them up to high levels in Stealth and Security. Equally, while Bretons may seem obvious candidates for spell casters, or Wood Elves for thieves, both can be just as strong and capable in melee as any one of the 'warrior races.'
High elves are perhaps the only exception because of their inherent weaknesses (though these can be countered without that much difficulty). Even with the beast races.. sure you can't wear closed helms or boots, but is it really that much of an issue? The majority of your protection comes from your cuirass and greaves anyway, and quite a few people opt to go without a helmet as it is.
IMO, the only "class," permantly affected by character creation is the Spell Caster. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that magic-based classes have an unfair advantage where character creation goes. Select a Breton or High Elf along with the Atronach sign and you have a wopping intelligence/magicka bonus. There is nothing equivalent for fighters and thieves; unless you exploit
a certain point of the main quest there is nothing similar that will provide as much of an inflated boost to your main stats. And that is only for fighters really.. thieves will never be able to increase (without enchanted items) their primary skill/attribute set over 100.
Yet, paradoxically, it is nigh on impossible to get by on magic alone. It is far more efficient to slash something to little bits than it is to employ magic. The only way Destruction really makes much sense is as an alternative to ranged weapons. I mean, I am currently playing a Breton with an 80 in Destruction. My Short Sword is around 45, yet it is still much more efficient than trying to use Destructive Magic. Even custom spells that combine elemental effects are most useful when used from afar. You know, those low point cost, long acting spells which significicantly damage your foes before they even reach you. Not only that, there are many enemies that resist and reflect magic, making it even more difficult to use as an alternative to swords and the like.
And then there are the Birth Signs... The only two worth selecting are the Atronach and the Lady (and the Lady eventually becomes pointless as well). Now why did Besthesda give such a large selection of birth signs when only two of them are even worth considering?
[/rantmode]Thoughts?
