my first character was on novice, second adept, third expert and now my fourth, a bosmer assassin, is on master
i was inspired to start a new game and turn it up to master after reading various fanfics, which all set some pretty extreme rules. and i used to think 'all these people who say they play on master must be lying, its way too hard' but it seriously isn't once you get used to it! infact, playing on anything less than master feels like no challenge at all.
playing on master adds a sense of realism (
if someone hit you twice with that axe or warhammer, you WOULD die), and gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride when you win. it also forces you to consider tactics, stealth, the amour and weapons of your opponent (to strike the heavy armoured, two handed orc first? or the light armoured archer, or mage?), the location from which you strike, which poison to use on certain enemies.. i love it. fights with dragons are also 10x more realistic
it becomes a game of logic and talent on master, rather than button mashing and knowing you will always win on novice. you will find yourself running away a lot more than you used to, especially on lower levels, but sometimes this can be used to your advantage
the only really difficult thing about playing on master is the brawls (bar fights). they become seriously difficult to win without the help of a potion or healing spell! but yeah.
i would reccommend everyone to turn their game to master, for at least a week, and try it out! definitely made the game loads more enjoyable for me