I certainly agree with Watatsumi.
Otherwise, to be helpful, I would suggest that you concentrate on 'strengths' and 'synergies', according to the playstyle associated with the character design. Myself, being a rather cheap fellow, I'd also keep a keen eye on cost-to-benefit ratios.
So, I might as well just say it, "roll-up a pure dexxer": particularly since you're just starting to learn, it's an economical and painless (to train-up) template and yet will still serve as a perfectly-adequate 'learning platform'. As a beginner, you are bound to make a number of mistakes, and die a lot; dying a lot with a noob mage (of any template) will cost you a lot of gold in lost reagents, while dying a lot with a pure dexxer will cost you (if they are looted) bandages and, maybe, some cheap armor (although I can't see an opponent, even a PKer, "deigning" to loot your garbage armor). Additionally, the mage demands a lot of 'front-loaded' investment in character-development, time-wise and gold-wise; a pure dexxer will be cheap and easy and fast to skill/stat-train.
Of course, you have to understand what it is you will want to achieve: a dexxer defeats a hally-mage with raw-sustained-dps and the infliction of spell-interrupts; the dexxer forces the hally-mage to run out of healing potions and mana (because constant interrupts force the mage to red-line his mana-pool because he can only reliably heal himself with 1st-Circle Heal); a pure mace-dexxer will also be attempting to undermine the opponent's hally-cycling, by dummying the opponent's stamina and (hopefully) throwing off that player's ability to properly time his cycling; a fencer/swordsman might add the additional fun of a poisoned weapon.
It is important to understand that how a dexxer kills a hally-mage is also how the dexxer stays alive: don't heal-with-bandage
after the EBolt; instead, interrupt the EBolt. Cheap armor will help the dexxer absorb weapon damage, and Healing potions should be enough to keep you from dying (that is, once the player has become skilled enough).
I make it sound simple and, so far a principles are concerned, it is. Haha, however, I never said it would be 'easy': this playstyle demands that the dexxer remains, always, entirely on top of and 'all over' the opponent; the hally-mage is a front-loaded (OHKO-style) killer, while the dexxer can only kill by first exhausting his opponent of mana, while still 'staying ahead' in terms of damage suffered, and then forcing the point home. If the dexxer permits himself to be hit by an EBolt that should have been interrupted, or permits the hally-mage to cast an uninterrupted Greater Heal, or even to Meditate for 10 seconds, that failure might be fatal.
Regarding "learning how to PvP", I think that a pure dexxer would be the best build, if also, perhaps, the most-frustrating: any dexxer player who can competently 'go toe-to-toe' with a competent hally-mage
must be considered a capable duelist; if you have the patience to embrace the learning curve, go for it!
Now, as to template design, I'd suggest a "PvP-variant" of a template I've devised, and posted on one of my Guild pages (you have to be logged-in to the Forums to view): from
Other Professions,
Master-at-Arms.
Remove Hiding & Tracking and 10 points from either Magery or Resist (the dexxer wants to achieve constantly-sustained interrupts; yes?; so, how much Resist do you need?), in order to GM Healing.
This template is not, at all, a 'beginner' template but can still serve as one: the beginner will fight defensively with (poisoned; from a vendor?) katana and shield, and offensively with quarterstaff, and simply do his best to stay alive.
From the keyboard of a skilled player, the Master-at-Arms will run with 1 halberd (dexxers can hally-cycle, also), 1 or 2 DP'd katanas, 1 "clean" katana (or broadsword; PM and I'll explain), 1 quarterstaff, 1 or 2 charged gnarled staves, 1 or 2 charged wands, a shield, and an array of GExplosion, GHealing, GCure, & GRefresh potions; 1 or 2, each, scrolls of Recall, Greater Heal, and Magic Reflection would be prudent additions. Um, and
a lot of Razor dress macros …
I hope to have stimulated your imagination. If you have questions, post here or PM me.
However you proceed, good luck!
SS