Birthsigns

Apprentice

Benefit: +100 Magicka, 100% Weakness to Magicka Double your pleasure, double your risk. Taking double damage from spellcasters and magical monsters will make this a painful birthsign to be born under, but the extra Magicka will definitely come in handy throughout the game.

Lady

Benefit: Willpower +10, Endurance +10 A curious mix of attribute bonuses, albeit perhaps decent for a Battlemage character. Willpower affects Destruction, Alteration, and Restoration, while Endurance affects Heavy Armor, Block, and Armorer. Generally characters like this will be taking one of the magicka-boosting birthsigns instead of something like this, however.

Mage

Benefit: +50 Magicka This is going to be useful across the board, with spellcasting-focused characters obviously getting the primary benefit. Almost anyone can take advantage of extra Magicka, though, especially since it can be difficult to raise your Magicka if you intend to focus on weapon or thief skills.

Thief

Benefit: +10 Agility, +10 Speed, +10 Luck You'll be more proficient at sneaking, picking locks, and wearing light armor when using this skill, making you a master thief. The bonus to Luck will have a large impact on all of your actions, making this a no-brainer for stealthy characters.

Atronach

Benefit: +150 Magicka, 50% Spell Absorption, no magicka regeneration The Atronach ability is one of the most risky, but rewarding, of all of them. With it, you'll gain a huge, hyoooge boost to your starting magicka, and will be able to absorb incoming spells and convert their damage into more magicka for yourself. The drawback? You don't actually regenerate any magicka on your own, forcing you to actually rely on getting hit by spells in the hopes that you'll absorb them.

Oddly enough, the lack of magicka regeneration will probably make you more hesitant to let loose with spells; you'll never know if the cave you're in is going to be populated with nothing but trolls, making it impossible for you to get your magicka back. Needless to say, you're probably going to be sucking down plenty of Restore Magicka potions when you choose this birthsign.

That said, with a little effort, this can be quite a powerful sign to choose. Even melee-oriented characters can take advantage of the extra magicka abilities, using their higher magic reserves to cast situational spells that would otherwise be too expensive for them, like Cure Disease, while taking advantage of the spell absorption to help mitigate incoming damage.

Lord

Benefit: Can heal for 90 points of health over time, permanent 25% weakness to fire. The heal spell here is always going to be worthwhile, since it is in fact a spell and not a once-per-day ability. It's a very efficient spell, as well, in terms of magicka cost (50) versus health gained (90). (Compare to something like Heal Minor Wounds, which will usually cost 14 magicka for an eight-point heal.) Still, though, mage characters are likely going to be able to just cast something they buy in a store, while fighters and thieves will likely be able to make or buy plenty of Healing or Restore Health potions.

Lover

Benefit: Paralyze once a day for 10 seconds at a cost of 120 Fatigue Paralyzation is one of the strongest combat abilities you can gain in Oblivion, since it'll completely eliminate your target from the fight for the duration of the effect. Most humanoid enemies will fall to the ground when paralyzed, allowing you to deal extra damage to them with melee weapons, or just take advantage of their incapacitation to book a hasty retreat. The large fatigue penalty will make it easier for your enemies to knock you down, however, so this is best used when you and your target are going one-on-one. This is probably best for fighter characters, who can capitalize on the paralyzation with a flurry of blows

Ritual

Benefit: Restore 200 Health once per day; Turn Undead spell An instant 200 health restoration is going to eliminate the need for many characters to actually rest during lengthy sojourns into Oblivion, or will give them an out during fights with boss-level enemies. The Turn Undead ability is more specific, and will probably be of most use to thief and spellcasting characters that can't handle the Skeleton Heroes when they start popping up. It works all the way up to level 25 undead, which means that it'll be handy through most of the game, but then again, it won't actually kill any enemies for you, just make them run away.

Serpent

Benefit: Poisons your target for 20 seconds while casting Dispel and Cure Poison on yourself; costs 100 Fatigue Blah. All of these effects can be replicated with potions and poisons, and the poison on your enemy won't be putting a dent in their health by the time you reach the upper teen levels. We've gotten through most of the game without ever casting Dispel or Cure Poison on ourselves, so you should probably steer clear of this birthsign.

Shadow

Benefit: Can turn invisible for 60 seconds once per day. Plainly useful for all character types, but mostly intended for use in the Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood quests. If you're willing to forego those questlines until you're level 10, then the Ring of Khajiiti will make this birthsign mostly redundant, since it will offer up a permanent Chameleon ability. If at any point you need true invisibility, that can be supplied through potions or spells. Still, a decent choice for any character that prefers bypassing their problems instead of hitting them in the face.

Steed

Benefit: Speed +20 Um...next? Speed makes you go faster; it has a marginal (at best) effect on how you play the game, besides letting you get around more quickly. It affects the skills of Acrobatics, Athletics, and Light Armor, of which only Light Armor will really be worth taking the time to upgrade, and then only for stealthy characters. There are much better birthsigns available to you.

Tower

Benefit: Open Average Lock once per day; Reflect Damage 5% for two minutes, once per day Not an incredibly useful birthsign, unless you're role-playing a character that refuses to learn how to pick locks. This might let you get into the boss-level chests that you spot in your travels, but eventually you'll start running into Hard or Very Hard locks, and there's nothing that's going to help you get past them outside of Alteration spells or a high Security skill. The Skeleton Key will also make the lock-opening skill pretty much obsolete. The Reflect Damage ability is a bit too passive for our tastes; not only is it a fairly meager effect, but you'll eventually start finding rings and amulets that offer more powerful Reflect Damage effects on a permanent basis.

Warrior

Benefit: +10 Strength, +10 Endurance More carrying capacity, more damage, more health, more fatigue. All the things a growing warrior needs. This is a safe choice for battle-oriented characters, or anyone who wants more health and the ability to carry a bit more loot.