Iksar bad for a new player?
 

I currently have a high-elf mage at level 7. I really want to try an Iksar Shaman, but I hear they arent allowed in most cities. Would this lessen my experience as a new player? Not being able to enter those cities?

iksars dont need to venture too far from their home city

in some ways it would lessen your experience, but in other ways it would deepen it. depends on what you're looking for out of the game. :)

lots of people have never even played an iksar, so it will be a different experience than many.

You can always work on faction if you want to enter the cities; banking with them is even harder though, but you could get an illusion with decent enough faction to bank. I usually wait 'til I'm a higher level though to work on factions.

Adventuring out, and leveling in other areas isn't an issue; all you need is a Bind really, or wait until you get that spell (14), which is what I usually do, then I hit up places like Crushbone, Unrest, etc (or whatever zones you have interest in).

Iksars are a great choice as Shamans (regen), so that is also something to factor in as well.

you end up with extra time to learn everything ~

does shaman bear form work like druid wolf form for faction? now that velious is out iksar shamans might have an innate way to bank in other cities.

also, keep in mind that being an iksar doesn't matter in velious -- almost everyone starts out on the same foot faction wise in velious

From what I recall, no, being in Bear Form as a Shaman does not change faction stance in regards to NPCs. It's been a good 10 years since I last played a Shaman, but I'm almost positive there is no change. I even recall having to ask druids for Wolf Form to bank in Kelethin due to that issue.

Iksars are great. FoB>Kurn's is probably the fastest legit way to lvl 1-20. One of the guards in FoB also has a bonechip quest which gives decent xp 1-10.

Occasionally being Iksar is quite annoying. It is hard to bank without going to Cabilis. In addition, there are often certain spell that there are no easy way to get without someone's help. Sometimes this even impacts your epic quest. While Velious has improved their gear situation a lot, it still is frustrating to not be able to use items like golden efreeti boots.
Other than these annoyances, its a pretty cool race that is basically the strongest in the game when fully geared. There are plenty of kunark alternatives for leveling around Cabilis. For example, a duo with an enchanter or even a necro in the giant camp is great exp from 22 till about 30.

One question I always have... After about level 8 in FoB, where the heck do iksars group. Let's say from 8-12 before Kurns? You never see groups with people higher than 8 in FoB.