"I fear the night. Because the werewolves and vampires don't"
Halloween is upon us o'children of the night. And what better way is there to celebrate than a Skyrim Character Building Contest. So welcome one and all to our 2nd ever Skyrim Build Contest. I give you....
The Elder Scrolls: Bloodlines - A Skyrim Character Building Contest.
For this contest we wanted to try our hand at a vampire/werewolf theme while granting contestants as much freedom as possible, and 'Bloodlines', even more so than 'Pirates of Tamriel', will definitely be a treat for the most creative among us. In this contest we'll be taking the bountiful blessings of our Daedric lords and turning them into Skyrim Character Builds. But not all see lycanthropy and vampirism as blessings. To some they are a curse, or worse, a disease to be purged....
There are no limits or restrictions on the skills, mods or equipment you may use. Use whatever you want. BUT your entry must revolve around the theme of vampirism and/or lycanthropy. The Elder Scrolls series is rich with vampire clans and lycanthropic strains for you to work with. If you'd like feel free to take inspiration from vampires and werewolves from outside the TES Universe, or invent your own original werewolf or vampire. You can even go so far as making characters dedicated to eradicating these creatures from the face of Nirn. Be it a creature of the night or a champion of the light your only real limitation is your imagination. You may work in teams of no more than 3 people total. Once the competition closes, a panel of judges (see below) will judge each submitted build based on the criteria below and announce the winners! Here are the prizes…
First Place - Gold
- $60 Dollars in game credits for the system of your choice (Steam, PSN, Xbox)
- Build video by PCOutcast for your build.
- Screenshots done for the submitted build or build of the winner’s choice
- Your build prominently featured on the front page
- Exclusive access to the judging panel of the next contest (only if not participating in said contest)
- Input into the theme of our second Skyrim character build contest
- "Contest Gold" tag for the submitted build
- The priviledge of walking as a lion among sheep and witness men tremble at your approach...
Second Place - Silver
- $30 Dollars in game credits for the system of your choice (Steam, PSN, Xbox)
- Your build prominently featured on the front page
- Screenshots done for either the submitted build or another build of the winners' choice
- "Contest Silver" tag for the submitted build!
Third Place - Bronze
- $15 Dollars in game credits for the system of your choice (Steam, PSN, Xbox)
- Your build prominently featured on the front page
- "Contest Bronze" tag for the submitted build!
- Rules & guidelines -
- You may work on your own or in a team of up to 3. (Note however the prize will be split among the team) You can come up with a team name if you like!
- Only 1 build may be entered per contestant/team.
- Teams may register on this thread and submit a build at any time prior to the cut off date of October 31st 2019 November 7th 2019. After this date Registrations will then close and the panel will judge the entries.
- Because this is a contest we cannot offer contestants any feedback on their builds. This is in the interest of fairness. However, you’re free to get feedback from anyone who isn’t judging the builds.
- Submitted builds must include a "Contest2" tag so we can find them
- Winners will be announced on the 8th of November 16th of November!
- The Panel -
- John (Teccam)
- Elysium
- The Long Chapper
- The Criteria (Please click for expanded view) -
- The Contestants -
- NomadDash - The Lord of Shadows
- PaladinGelebor - The Unleashed
- Chris Diokno - The Lord Impaler
- EJT2018
- Lord Cheesewheel
- Jarlivar
- TheThirdCrusader
- Dewalt - The Nightlord
- JustJam - The Sanguine Protector
- Maezell
- darksabrz
- Blackblood
- Kaiser
- Bane
- Warlocksg
- Jiru44 - The Vigil of Molag Bal
- Erinoth - The Chimera
- Furrion17
- MarintheFox - The Moonlit King
- KendrixTrixie - The Blood and Moonlight
- Shadon - The Fanged Prince
- Johnnyawe14 - The Cursebearer
- Praxedes - The Blood Knight
- Resources -
Below are a few helpful suggestions to get you started should you decide to enter. Here you'll find everything from informative TES wiki pages and lore articles to community input on what makes a good character build. We've even included information on various factions of vampire/werewolf hunters but what we've listed below are nowhere close to all of them. Regardless of what you do it would benefit you immensely to do some additional research.
- Character Building Tips & Tricks
- Lore & Wiki Sources
- Mods
- Roleplay Guides
Good luck and may the best character build win!
Replies
Ok so the 7th has passed which means the contest has officially drawn to a close. If you have yet to submit a build by now I am afraid it cannot be counted for the contest. We'll be back in a weeks time to reveal the winners.
Thank you to everyone who participated. This has been a very successful event so far with an even better turnout than the last contest. If you couldt get your build posted in time theres no need to let all that hard work go to waste. We highly encourage you to post your build even if it cant be counted towards the contest.
I feel very terrible not commenting on builds and supporting them like I normally do. Rest assured, when I finish the judging process, I will definitly give builds the attention they deserve. Also, after the results are posted, all the builders are totally welcome to discuss any comments I have with me. Good luck to all.
The results are just hours away.
And they're here!
The Nightlord
Gameplay -
Teccam: 4/10. I feel like you’re quite inconsistent with your assessment of how powerful vampire lord form is, despite the relatively brief length of the writeup. You suggest that is is powerful enough to be used as a fallback / final stand sort of tactic, yet you also talk about capping your game difficulty, and taking two crafting skills. This is a pretty common pet peeve of builders in the community; generally speaking taking two crafting skills is considered to be overkill (exceptions would be to unlock very specific mechanics, or if paired with reasonable limitations/weaknesses). There’s not really anything too special or unique here, it just reads like a generic vampire playthrough with a follower.
Liss: 3/10, This plays like a traditional vampire supporter who relies on a follower. And at the same time, you perk two crafting skills, which isn’t really necessary on the difficulty you are playing at. This build is pretty over-powered.
Ponty: 3. Nothing here we haven’t seen before. While you might have some great ideas about how this guy should play in your head it hasn’t really translated onto paper so to speak. It would be good to hear some more about how the vampire lord and humanoid forms are used. I’m wondering whether this was properly playtested as I would imagine that a vampire illusionist with a follower, conjuration and multiple crafting skills would be quite powerful. Vampire Lord is very strong as well in my experience.
Avg = 3.33
Presentation -
Teccam: 3/10. Generally I think there needs to be more detail, with some section breaks to differentiate each aspect of the build. Then you can pepper in more art/screenshots. A big part of a successful build is taking the time to coordinate the presentation around the build’s aesthetic, theme, and mechanical elements to culminate into a unified product. You didn’t really give yourself enough room to get started on that. I encourage you to revisit the previous contest top 3 builds for some references on how you can use presentation to tie up the build and elevate the concept to another level. I believe you received similar feedback in the previous contest, so it’s a bit disappointing that you don’t appear to have put in much effort to improving in this area this time around. You have a passion for building to be sure, and I’d love to see you channel that into a bit more of a fleshed out product next time.
Liss: 2/10. A nice initial image that got me believing that you paid attention to some of the feedback you received in the last competition and then I was disappointed with the rest. First in a build is a good gameplay concept or a really good lore or roleplay concept. Then, think of your presentation as how you are going to “sell” the build to everyone else. Presentation needs to create the desire to play what you clearly had enough fun with to warrant making a build out of.
Ponty: 2. While you have all the stats in here I think this needs to be fleshed out a lot more before it is something that others will be inspired to play. I recommend checking out the character building guide on the Character Building group homepage as well as some of the higher ranked builds. You’ll notice many of these builds are quite detailed and include a lot of formatting and artwork to help it flow better. Furthermore it feels like you’ve almost got part of a second build in here with a few mentions of these Vampire Nightblades that sound like they have a different playstyle altogether, making it a very confusing read.
Avg = 2.33
Lore -
Teccam: 4/10. There is some degree of a lore framework, but it doesn’t really feel wholly consistent with the roleplay (see my comments there). The use of an official TES class, and the fusion of the Vampire Lord form and Lord stone, give at least a semblance of a cohesive lore framework. But there is little depth or justification to these decisions in the character itself.
Liss: 2/10. I do not feel like this is a character that could be translated into the world of Elder Scrolls. It’s just a vampire.
Ponty: 3. There’s the beginnings of something interesting here with how your character differs from typical vampires but these needs much more fleshing out. Some more depth and grounding in Skyrim itself would be something to seriously consider in a future build.
Avg = 3
Roleplay -
Teccam: 3/10. There aren’t really any roleplay notes in the build. A bit is somewhat implied in the combat section and description (stay in caves, don’t fight aggressively unless cornered), but not enough to really drive the character or give clear motivations/goals. Furthermore, it seems a bit inconsistent for roleplaying purposes for this character to even be in Skyrim at all, given that you describe vampires of this sort to stay close to the home towns in the Empire (of which Skyrim is not a part).
Liss: 2/10. There is very little to go on here and I don’t have anything to add to what my colleagues have already said.
Ponty: 3. Similar to my comments regarding your lore there’s the beginnings of something here with your whole slavery and deception motif but it’s very shallow. Again this is further confused by the mention of these Vampire Nightblades.
Avg = 2.67
Score = 11.33
Likes = 5
Total Score: 16.33
Oof. I thought I would have placed better than last this time around. Perhaps maybe 5th or 6th place at least. While I understand the judges sentiment on lore and roleplay (I’m not one for long flowery screeds to describe a build), I’m confused as to how my character doesn’t translate into Skyrim, when vampires already exist in Skyrim.
I think mainly due to the Build not really having that SPARK that sets it apart from usual Vampire Nightblades, which aren't. Thing in lore
Let’s not get too fixated on where everyone placed. Now as far as why the judges felt your character doesn’t quite translate into Skyrim, it’s because there’s no connection to the lore in your write up.
Yes he’s a vampire and yes vampires do exist in TES, but there’s nothing in the build that really ties him to the world he occupies. Is he a member of a known vampire clan? What is his purpose in Skyrim? These are just a few of the questions which, if answered, would have given your build much more depth.
But even gameplay can give readers valuable information on the nature of your character. You mentioned the use of a thrall in the form of a follower. Already there’s this master and thrall relationship that could have been fleshed out a lot more.
In any case, as with your last contest entry, this build had a lot of potential. I hope in time you revisit your old builds and realize that potential.
I think the biggest thing holding you back is actually something that a lot of other builds struggled with in the opposite way: Striking a balance between enough length to properly justify and explain the different character elements, without going overboard with extraneous details. Your build is probably the only one that really could have used another 500-1,000 words to help flesh out the elements. You planted some seeds, but didn't give them enough attention to let them grow into full plants.
Some other builds had the opposite problem, with several thousand more words than were really necessary to convey the complete concept in sufficient detail. Striking that balance is one of the most difficult parts of building. It's something even a lot of us veteran builders with 5+ years and 10+ builds struggle with.
The Vigil of Molag Bal
Gameplay -
Teccam: 4/10. There is a shell here with a lot of potential, but you didn’t really go into much depth to give it the life or vibrance it is begging for. It basically says to play like a standard vigilant until you are turned, then to play like a standard death knight. Those are both fine play styles, but there’s nothing here to really sell them or separate the gameplay from the generic classes.
Liss: 4/10. Spellsword; interesting that the style changes when vampirism comes to the picture, but not enough elaboration on mechanics. I like that this is a Vanilla build, but you offer nothing really knew to the mechanics table and it’s not that Vanilla has run out of ideas. There are still novel skill combinations or underused equipment to explore. Why would your circlet fortify destruction if you don’t list Destruction as a skill? Also, you really need to sell me hard on a build that maxes enchanting, especially when a vampire actually has access to some really good gear in the game.
Ponty: 4. While you have all the pieces here for someone to recreate your character, your gameplay details are lacking depth. You could start with some reasoning for why certain perks were selected. What do they add to the character, and how do they synergise to form the greater whole? Some details on how you approached combat would be welcome as well, especially once you’ve got all the versatility of the Vampire Lord form available to you. You mention in the closing notes how much fun you were having with the vampire stage of the build - tell us all about it!
Avg = 4
Presentation -
Teccam: 3/10. The prose is a bit rough, and I think you could have presented the perks and equipment in a much more appealing way with either images or at least some more robust formatting. The images were decent, but there wasn’t really enough text to allow the images to be suitably integrated into the writeup.
Liss: 3/10. Very succinct presentation. No perkspread, though you list the skills. Part of what really makes a build stand out, however, is a catchy writing style. You obviously had fun playing this build, however, because you are so succinct with your presentation, the writing doesn’t really grab my attention and make me want to play this. Especially crucial in Vanilla builds where most of us understand the mechanics and have played this game every way possible. Sell, sell, sell!
Ponty: 3. You’ve selected some good images but the formatting of your text could use improvement. Consider some more prominent headings for each section and utilising some dot point lists for your equipment. Some more thorough proofreading by yourself or even another member could go a long way to polishing your build as well.
Avg = 3
Lore -
Teccam: 6/10. I think the overall premise is reasonable lore-friendly, albeit somewhat simple. The backstory adds a touch and is appropriate in the lore, but also could use a fair bit of work to be a more compelling and lore-oriented narrative. I think a corrupted vigilant is a very valid lore concept.
Liss: 4/10. The build being both a Vigilant of Stendarr and a Volkihar vampire puts the character solidly within the confines of Skyrim lore. However, that’s all the reader is given. It could have been developed much more.
Ponty: 5. The backstory is grounded well enough in lore to justify the character but there is room for improvement here. I quite enjoyed the ideas in your backstory and would have liked to see it expanded. Perhaps it could be broken up into sections throughout the build, starting with the fall of the Vigil, leading to loss of hope and faith in Stendarr and finally her corruption by the vampires. Heaps of potential here, this was definitely one of the stronger points of the build.
Avg = 5
Roleplay -
Teccam: 6/10. The concept of a holy warrior turned into an undead abomination is always a good archetype to explore. I’m surprised there weren’t more of them in the contest, honestly. But while it’s a fun and interesting concept, I think you need to go a fair bit deeper into the implications. What was the character about before the change? How did the change corrupt or destroy that old character and what did they become? Again, it’s a promising shell, but it needs to be fleshed out.
Liss: 5/10. Other than playing vengeful good as a Vigilant and then evil as a Vampire, this build doesn’t offer much in that respect. There is a seed of a good rp idea, but it isn’t developed. I would have restricted skills once vampirism took hold, meaning I probably would’ve barred restoration as a skill.
Ponty: 5. As I touched on in the lore your backstory was one of the stronger aspects of the build and it would’ve been great to see that spark throughout the rest of the roleplay. The turn to vampirism is a great idea but it seems very sudden. I would have also liked to see some roleplay-driven reasons for taking on certain quests.
Avg = 5.33
Score = 17.33
Likes = 6
Total Score: 23.33
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