Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

The actual choice of race only has two real influences on the rest of the game, the first being how you will look (which is down the personal preference) and the second being how strong you will be at the start.
The skill bonuses don't really determine much but how good you are at the start and this can be changed quite easily as the character develops. Still, you may want to decide carefully on this factor as this preliminary boost could hold you in good stead for quite some time.
The second consideration goes to special skills. I won't outline each of them here because it would take too long, just bare in mind that a resistance to something is good and a weakness to something is bad. The rest of the special skills (Redguard's Adrenaline Rush, for example) are to be considered disposable skills as you will soon find something better in a potion and/or spell and should be considered as nothing more than starting bonuses.
Thus far, the best combatants are the Redguard, Orc, Nord and Imperial races, where as the best magic users are High Elves and Bretons. The best thieves and sneakers are the Khajiit and the rest sit right in the middle as strong all rounders.
Argonians remain a strong favourite for me, as they are minimal maintenance, being that they have good resistances to the most common afflictions and they get a strong water breathing spell as standard. Argonians can stay out in the wilderness for days at a time without needing to return to civilisation and are more than capable of developing in any particular direction.
If you're just playing for the first time though, you may want to consider a strong combatant. I would choose the Imperial over the others because they can easily influence the N.P.C.s (Non Player Characters) of Morrowind, leading to more quests, a higher likely hood of succeeding in side quests and cheaper prices in the shops.

Next you'll have to choose a class. There are three ways you can do this. The first is to answer a series of strange questions with multiple-choice answers. This will choose a class for you based on your playing style. This is a good choice for beginners.
The second way is to pick from a class list. This is slightly more complex and only really recommended for experienced players. In a similar fashion to choosing a race, you are given a list of class types and asked to select one (Barbarian, Witch Hunter and Scout, for example). At the bottom of the screen is a list of "Major" and "Minor" skills. These are integral to how your character will develop throughout the game, making this one of the most important of the many choices you'll make. I'll go into a little more detail on Major and Minor skills in a moment.
The third and final way to choose your class is to create a class for yourself. This is by far the most enjoyable way of doing it, but also the most difficult. I'll run you through how it works now:

2: Class Creation

At the top of the screen you're asked to create a name for your class, just like creating a name for yourself. Remember to pick something you won't regret (such as Brick Smuggler or Trouser-Burp Champion), as people will often refer to you by your class name.
On the left side of the list, at the top is your specialisation. This will give you a skills boost to your selected field. The choices are Combat, Magic and Stealth. Needless to say, if you're looking to become the world's greatest thief you wont want to choose combat as your specialisation... unless you want to pull of a daring armed robbery or two, of course. It might be a good idea to go with your selected race here to receive an uber, mega boost to your skills in your selected field (Khajiit + Stealth = uber-thief), but that's not entirely necessary.
Below that are your Favourite Attributes. You have two fields to fill out here and multiple options with which to fill them. These attributes represent your "natural" attributes and will influence your playing style heavily throughout the game. Strength is obviously a good choice for a warrior, where as Luck is the favoured attribute of a thief. Press the Y button to get more information on what you're looking at and how it will affect your character.
The sheer list of all the possible outcomes for your character here are vast as each attribute can affect you in multiple ways, add to that a second attribute which can also affect the first (and vice versa) and you have a whole host of options available to you. I wont spoil the fun by going into all the little details. Just try to keep it simple. You can cross breed a magic user with a warrior (forming a Battle Mage, apparently) but on your first attempt it may be a good idea to stick with what you know and assign the correct attributes to your favoured play style.
Lastly, you'll have to choose your Major and Minor skills. This is the most influential choice on how your character will develop because you will be required to advance your Major and Minor skills in order to level up your character as a whole. Again, the sheer scope of this is too great to go into here, just read the booklet.
However, I do have some tips for you here, regarding Major and Minor Skills.
Firstly, try to remember that your Major skills will advance faster than your Minor skills. For example, if you put Athletics in your Minor skills and Spear in your major skills your Spear skill will level up quicker than athletics, even if you are running more that you're hitting stuff. To this effect, you may want to put the skills you use more often in your Minor skills list and the skills you use less often (but still like to use) in your Major skills list. This will ensure that you wont become frustrated waiting for your less used skills to level up while your most used skills will level up of their own accord as and when you use them.
Also bear in mind that you may want to look at the class as a whole and not just a random collection of skills. So far everything you have done (barring name choices) has affected the outcome of your character in some way.
Lastly remember that putting all the combat specialisations in your Major list will not make you the toughest Ork in Vvardenfell. In fact, it will probably make the character unworkable. Stick with the weapons that you know that you are going to use and, if you're not sure, pick a couple of likely suspects (Axe and Long Blade, for example). If you have all of the weapon types in there then you'll have to level them all up in order to advance your character, ergo you'll have to periodically switch from Axe to Long Sword to Dagger to Long Bow to Mace etc. For the starter I'd recommend Long Blade or Axe, with possible Mace. Also have a couple of Armour types in there, unless you have a distinct armour type in mind. The same goes for spell schools. Don't throw them all in there if you're only going to use one or two. Lastly, I might be a good idea to have Security as either a Major or Minor skill as you'll come across a lot of locked doors and chests and you wont always have a spell or scroll handy to pop the lock.

Your very last choice in character creation is to pick a Sign. These are basically star signs and they give you a little bonus here and there. Nothing major but can be useful. Most of them give you certain spells, which can be cast at certain points for the sake of making your life easier while some are nothing more than background bonuses that work all the time. Choose whichever you like the look of but chances are you wont use them all that often after you've levelled up a bit.
Now you're all done creating your character. Have fun :)

3: Beginners Tips

This isn't exactly a comprehensive guide, but I'll walk you through the first section of "Seyda Neen" and give you a little idea of how to get real successful real fast.

1.

Before you leave the Census and Excise office and enter Seyda Neen proper look for a key on the shelf behind "Sellus Gravius" (the dude in gold armour). Amongst the other crap you'll find a key to the warehouse opposite the exit to "Census and Excise" in Seyda Neen. Note that if you're caught thieving the key you'll earn yourself a criminal record and will probably be carted off to prison, so I only recommend this for thief classes with a flare for sneaking. Once you enter the warehouse you'll find a load of stuff in crates just waiting to be pinched. Try not to get caught stealing though as there is a guard in here (although oddly enough he wont question your presence in the warehouse).

2.

Up the wooden stairs opposite Census and Excise you'll find "Arrlle's Tradehouse". This is the only trading post in Seyda Neen so chances are you'll be coming back here often in the opening stages. You can trade anything here, including your ill-gotten gains. Head up the stairs in the tradehouse to find Hrisskar Flat-Foot, a guard with loose morels. Talk to him and he'll give you a little quest. It's worth a couple of quid to you, but don't expect anyone to like you more should you take him up on the offer. Also in the tradehouse are some scouts, talk to them and they'll reveal the location of several other towns across the map.

3.

Head West from Seyda Neen, across the water to the other peninsular. Here, under a couple of mouldy trees, you'll find the body of one "Processus Vitellius", Seyda Neen's resident taxman. He's been murdered in cold blood. Search the corpse, nick his wonga and remember to pick up the Tax Record. Do not spend the money! Instead, head back to Census and Excise and talk to "Socucius Ergalla" and talk to him about the murder of Processus Vitellius. Give him the money when he asks for it and he'll give you another quest to find the murderer of Processus. Being honest is often a good thing in Vvardenfell as it can lead to greater rewards, as displayed here. Just in case you're having difficulties finding him, the murderer is as follows, spelt backwards so that it doesn't ruin it for any whom want to find out of their own accord - htinliG nyroF

4.

Talk to "Vodunius Nuccius" in Seyda Neen and ask him for a little advice. Go to the "Stilt Rider" post on the Northern edge of town and talk to "Darvame Hleran". Tell her Vodunius Nuccius sent you then head back to Vodunius. He'll try to sell you a ring. Buy it if you must but it's not all that useful.

5.

Talk to Fargoth (in town). He'll ask you if you've seen his ring. You should have it on you because it was in the barrel that the help guide directed you to at the start of the game. Give him the ring (if you haven't already sold it) for absolutely nothing but his good will (he'll like you more for it... but that's about it).

4: General Tips:

1: Talk to everyone about everything.

The more you talk, the more likely you are to happen upon a quest.

2: Money is hard to come by at the start.

So grab what you can while you can.

3: Thieving is best left to thief classes.

It may do you more harm than good if you get caught.

4: Watch your fatigue.

At the start you'll be about as mean as a poodle in a mini-skirt and combat will be extremely difficult. Make things easier for yourself and only charge into battle when your fatigue bar is full (which means you're not tired, oddly).

5: STAY OUT OF THE WATER!

I cannot stress this enough. "Slaughterfish" are hard as nails if you're just starting out and it is easy to get carried away and swim miles out, only to realise that you're surrounded and technically screwed. Wait till you've levelled up a bit before taking to the sea.

6: GET INTO THE WATER!

Yes, I know what I just said about Slaughterfish, but if you're careful a life on the ocean wave can be extremely good for you. Firstly your Athletics skill will level up quicker if you're swimming instead of running and secondly you may come across Kollops, small shellfish-like creatures that contain pearls. Pearls are worth a fat wad of cash to the discerning merchant so grab em while you can.

7: Stay out of caves.

If you enter a cave you may run into Smugglers... or worse... either way you're likely to get dead real fast that way so hunt on the open plains instead.

8: Don't pay for training unless you need to level up something quickly.

It is more profitable to just work it out for yourself.

9: Theft is good.

Yes, I know what I said about being honest, but in certain cases, should you be in a position to do so, there is nothing more satisfying than a five fingered discount. Just make sure that you don't end up selling the shopkeeper his own goods... he may be stupid, but he's not "that" stupid :)

10: Explore slowly.

Don't just suddenly bounce across the wilderness like you don't have a care in the world. The hills are not alive with the sound of music, but they will be alive with the sound of you screaming if you get bum-rushed by a pack of angry Nix Hounds.

11: Eat stuff.

When you pick up an ingredient for Alchemical formulas and you're not going to use it, eat it instead. Each time you do you'll get a small boost to your Alchemy experience.

12: Save often.

Unfortunately Morrowind is riddled with bugs and all too often you'll find yourself stuck behind a rock or in a kelp bed on the ocean floor with no means of escape. If you've saved then this "getting stuck" issue will be nothing more than an irritation.

13: As soon as you can afford them, invest in some levitation potions.

Use them to explore high places, especially in "Daedratic Temples" (those are the purple spiky places that have the horrible nasty men in them), or, better yet, learn the spell of levitation.

14: Once you've saved up enough money, get yourself to an enchanter

and get your primary weapon enchanted (unless you learn the spell and do it yourself, which is risky at best). You wont be disappointed with the results.

15: When selecting a beast race (e.g. Khajiit or Argonian)

make sure you have Un-Armoured in either your Major or Minor skills list. Beast races cannot wear boots, thus their grubby little paws are exposed to the elements and you'll need to level up this skill pretty fast to keep your character from having his arse kicked by anything smaller than a foot stool.

16: Secondly, beast races cannot wear full helmets cus their noses are too damn big.

Bare this in mind when selecting your character and his/her skills because this factor can limit your armour options. However, they can still wear some headgear, as long as it doesn't cover their muzzle.

17: Keep using enchanted items.

Each time you use an enchanted item your Enchant skill will gain a little experience. Unfortunately this is limited to "cast when used" items, meaning that hitting stuff with an enchanted sword will not up your Enchant experience, whereas flying using enchanted armour will.

18: When starting out it can be all too tempting to

simply jump on a Stilt Rider or take a boat to your destination. Don't! Walk EVERYWHERE. You'll learn the lay of the land that way and are more likely to come across useful encounters, such as escorting pilgrims for cash and rescuing damsels in distress. Don't worry about getting lost or killed, stick to the roads and you'll be fine.

19: Always (and I mean ALWAYS) carry

scrolls of Devine Intervention or Almsivi Intervention on your person. These things transport you to the nearest temple or shrine instantly (Devine transports you to Imperial shrines whereas Almsivi transports you to Tribunal temples). I'd just like to point out that I NEVER carry them and am always kicking myself during the long walk home, so you can trust me when I say that you really do want to carry a Devine Intervention scroll or two.

20: Lastly, the most fun part of playing the Elder Scrolls series is

that you can do what you want, when you want. Explore, have fun, there's no pressure. Don't think that you have to stick to the main plot like glue. In fact, the more rewarding parts of the game are well away from the main plot, in my humble opinion.

5: Advanced Tips

You might want to consider investing in Endurance early as each time you level up.

You will gain a boost to your health that is one tenth of your endurance (ergo if you have ten points invested in Endurance then you will gain one extra health point per level). This is cumulative per level, so the more points you invest the more health you will gain each time you level up.

Still on the subject of attributes:

All characters should consider heavily investing in Willpower at some stage. Not only does it affect your ability to resist magic (very handy at later stages) but also your maximum fatigue, meaning you can run and fight for longer.

When selecting Major and Minor skills for your character:

I would advise investing in two separate weapon types that have different governing attributes. A good example of this would be "Marksman" and "Spear". Marksman's governing attribute is Agility and Spear's is Endurance. This means that not only will you steadily gain lots of health, but also that you can avoid getting hit up close. The more you use them, the stronger the governing attribute will become.

Trading is a pain in the arse.

If you find an item worth more than 10,000 Septims it can be difficult to offload. Know where the good traders are and use them often. Ebonheart has a good trader who always carries lots of cold hard cash but chances are he still wont have enough. In this case trade for more, cheaper goods (one Ebony Mace in exchange for five Bone-mould Cuirasses and a fat wad of cash, for example). Don't worry if you become encumbered, just drop the offending items on the floor, leave the building and wait (rest) for eight hours. Then return and pick up the stuff. The Merchant's money will have returned and you can then trade away all the cheaper stuff for gold. Note that if you're playing Morrowind GOTY then you can travel to either "Raven Rock" on the island of "Solstheim" or "Mournhold" and use those traders instead. They carry LOADS of cash. Also note that you'll have to get some way into one of the Bloodmoon side quests to use the Raven Rock trading post.

On the far Northwestern tip of Vvardenfell,

just north and east of the "Daedratic" shrine, far East of "Ald Velothi", there is a hidden shipwreck pressed up against the coast. It won't be marked on your map. On board are armours of the glass variety, which are worth a fortune on the black market. Secondly they offer great protection for players using the light armour skill. One of the few other places to find glass armour is "Ghost Gate", but it costs a fortune. Make things easier on yourself and pick it up at the hidden shipwreck instead.

There is another shipwreck on the West coast,

just North of "Gnaar Mok" and South of "Andasreth". Again it won't be marked on your map. There is also a sunken dingy just a little further out from this point, on the seabed. Underneath the upturned dingy is a small wooden chest with stuff in it.

Somewhere in the valleys between:

"Gnisis" and Ald Velothi is a "damsel in distress". She'll whinge about loosing her ring in a muddy bog and asks you to retrieve it for her. As soon as you find the ring you'll get ambushed by her and her previously invisible friend. Kill both the robbers and search the body of the invisible friend for an amulet. This amulet will allow you to turn invisible. Coupled with your sneak skill this can come in VERY handy.
Have fun :)

Just south of Seyda Neen:

in the Bitter Coast Region there is a small collection of islands. On the West side there is a shipwreck, on the East a small smuggler dingy docked at an abandoned jetty. On the North side of the jetty, in the water, there is a small collection of Kollops and next to those, under the surface of the water, an enterance to a hidden cave called "Akimaes Grotto". There are loads of kollops in here but I recommend entering only if you have at least five or six water breathing potions as most of the cave is submerged.

Did you know that you could converse with:

The Daedra Lord "Boethiah"? Go to his submerged shrine off the West cost of Vvardenfell and look for his statue. It will be in pieces. Look for the head of the statue and "use" it.

While we're on the subject of conversing with gods:

Did you also know that you could also speak with Azura - Queen of the Night Sky? Go to her shrine on the South-eastern peninsular of "Azura's Coast".

There is a magic fork

(yes, you read that correctly, a fork that is magic) somewhere in Vvardenfell. See if you can find it. I'll give you a clue: It's somewhere in the "Sheogorad" region :)

The most powerful weapon that I have found

thus far in the game is a Mace. You can only earn this Mace in the main quest of the Bloodmoon expansion pack for Morrowind GOTY. Bare this in mind if you want to create the world's hardest warrior.

Bow users: do not despair for I hath not forsaken thee.

There is a "Daedric Shrine" to the North, in the "West Gash" region, just west of "Maar Gan", over the mountain range. This Daedric shrine has two entrances, one upper and one lower. The upper entrance leads to a place called "The Forgotten Galleries". In here there is a "Daedric Longbow" that is the most powerful of its non-magic kind. It is well hidden, but worth the effort. Clue: you'll need a levitation spell to reach it. Clue II: remember to look around the body for some uber rare "Daedric Arrows".

When enchanting items:

Make sure you use "Grand Soul Gems" which contain the souls of "Ascended Sleepers" (or greater). This will allow you to create "Constant Effect" items, meaning that the spell cast will always be in effect and you won't have to cast it manually. Combine this with "Fortify Attribute" spells to create an uber-hard warrior. Hint: "Exquisite Jewellery" provides space for the largest boosts to player stats, don't waste your trapped souls on anything else.