I know there was a 5-year-old Oblivion thread...and I know Skyrim just came out, but I'd talk to talk Elder Scrolls #4.

Trying to wrap my brain around the skill/level system. Anyone know any good summaries of the system? I'm going to try a Scout/Ranger type for my 1st playthrough.

IIRC...

If you want to "game" the game, make sure whichever skills you use the most are NOT your major skills.  How often you level up is determined by how often you raise your major skills, and how often you raise skills is determined by how often you use them.  

Now you may think that leveling up=good thing, but in default (i.e. no mods) Oblivion, what level you are determines the level of bad guys you will fight.  Go to a dungeon at level 1 and you fight bandits armed with iron weapons and leather armor.  Go to the same dungeon at level 15 and those bandits now have daedric armor and ebony weapons.  Plus their fighting ability is a lot better.

This might not be a problem if some or all of your major skills are combat-related, as you should be able to keep up with the bad guys.  But if your major skills are things like Security and Sneak, your fighting ability will not increase while that of your enemies will, putting you at a disadvantage.

So the lower your level, the easier time you'll have in most of the fights.  And since how fast you level depends on how often you raise your skills, you might want to pick skills you will never use for your major skills.  For example, if you plan to be a scout/ranger and not use much magic, take all magic skills as major skills.

Key to that game is not leveling. The number 2 key is 'efficient leveling', carefully seeing to it you maximize your stat bonuses as you level. Google it to get an idea of how seriously hardcore you can be about leveling up your guy.

That is hilariously complex. More reactions once I build a better character.