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Hi there folks! I'm fairly new to Morrowind (and to Elder Scrolls games in general), and after a couple of hours on a test character just to get a feel for the gameplay, I now think I'm ready to build my first "proper" character that I can do a bit of roleplaying with. I'm hoping you folks might be able to offer suggestions as to how I should build him.

Without giving much away about myself, I love the sea and have experience on boats, so I was thinking of creating a nautical-themed character. When Morrowind begins, it seems like the player is supposed to be a convicted felon who was pardoned and deported to the region... so I'm thinking a nautical character with a criminal past would either be a pirate or a smuggler.

What sorts of starting skills, equipment, etc. would you recommend for roleplaying such a character? And what sorts of activities or quests would you recommend which might fit this character?

I have ideas of my own, but I don't want to make this OP too lengthy so I'll hold off posting them for now until I see what other, more experienced players might suggest. In summary at least, I'd think that a smuggler would be more trade and stealth oriented, while a pirate would be more combat oriented (perhaps with a few theft-related stealth skills). Races I'm not sure of either, and would welcome your suggestions for what you think would best suit a maritime smuggler or a pirate from an in-game lore perspective.

If you want to play a nautical character, Morrowind has a number of shipwrecks that you can explore, and most if not all of them require you to swim underwater in order to fully explore them, so you'll probably want to have a good Swimming skill, plus the ability to cast Waterbreathing spells or mix Waterbreathing potions.

An Argonian character might be good for that, but if you don't feel like playing an Argonian then I suppose any race would do.

You could create your own Pirate or Smuggler class, but if you prefer to start with a premade class then maybe Ranger would fit the idea of roaming around on the seas?

Yes, I think Argonians can cast a Water-breathing spell by default, but I'm not sure if they can breathe underwater all the time. I know what you mean about non-human races; I typically play a human or elf race. Swimming might be even more important than water-breathing, though-- or at least more normal or standard for a nautical character. Water-breathing would be more like "icing on the cake," and you can use Alchemy to mix potions for that.