acrobat - THE SKY FORGE2024-03-29T05:00:23Zhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/feed/tag/acrobatCharacter Build: The Stormcloak Spymasterhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-stormcloak-spymaster2022-01-29T03:35:17.000Z2022-01-29T03:35:17.000ZM.Knight.Jhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/MKnightJ<div><p> </p><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10054274654,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10054274654?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>FOREWORD: </strong>As based on the build’s title itself, this character is inspired by the Dragon Age’s heroine, Leliana, which in the Dragon Age Inquisition’s version where she becomes a full-time spymaster. But their main similarity lies in their skills, personality and job class. The Spymaster build is a femme fatale type of character that I am a big fan of mainly because of the air of mystery around them that makes you want to know more about them.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">The <strong>Spymaster </strong>is a skilled tactician and a very intellectual warrior. She took the responsibility of being the “blade in the dark” of the Stormcloaks as he serves Ulfric behind the shadows whether its assassination, sabotage, infiltration or other that requires a subtle yet very deadly approach. Because of her role, she tends to keep her emotions in check and rather be the cold-blooded person just to execute any operation without any fail for the sake of rebellion and her “king”, Ulfric.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Backstory</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">She is originally from Riften, an orphan of the Great War and one of the few Nords who were saved in the war in Cyrodiil. Not much known about her past but she has an Imperial lineage but unknown if it’s her mother or father.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">After being sent to Skyrim she was sent to the orphanage called the “Honorhall” where she stayed most during of her childhood, but not long after, she fled the orphanage as she became fully aware of the orphanage mistress’ “true personality” and left Riften for good. She then smuggled herself into a travelling merchant carriage that was heading north and got kicked out after being discovered by the owner in snowy fields of Eastmarch.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Injured, and starved she proceeded towards a great city filled with stone walls and being blanketed by white snow, the oldest city of Skyrim, Windhelm. At first, she was pushed away by the town guards and stayed outside the city’s great bridge for roughly two nights after that some of the Argonians who were working at the docks of Windhelm was kind enough to be able to aid her and thus she began her life as an urchin in the streets of Windhelm.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">As she was in her teenage years, she began to do petty thievery just to make do for her everyday life. She is considered to be a very head-strong young lady and made a name for herself as a troublemaker in the streets but suddenly her luck runs out as the town guards was able to capture her, she fought back and was able to get away from them. She became wary now that she become a wanted criminal in Windhelm but that didn’t stop her as she saw another mark in the street. Little did she know that her victim is the young Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak after his return from the training in the mountains of High Hrothgar. She snucked into Ulfric’s back and was able snatch his weapon but Ulfric effortlessly dispatched her and finally captured her. She was then sent in the Jarl’s Throne room to be judge for her crimes but an unexpected turn of events happened as the Jarl took a liking this young lady and applaud the young woman’s skills on going toe-to-toe against him. Ulfric then declared that she would be working under his wing as a Stormcloak believing that it would be waste to kill or imprison someone with skills and tenacity. Many in Ulfric’s court loathe the idea of taking someone like her into his ranks but nonetheless the Jarl’s decision is final. She then was trained rigorously to become a full-pledged soldier and was given proper education as well as she displayed remarkable talent not only in martial training but also in strategy and academics. She then rose up to become one of Ulfric’s greatest asset in his ranks became the “shadow” of the Jarl.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10054275475,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}10054275475,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="577" alt="10054275475?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Character Info</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Name: </strong>Cathriss Ice-Veins</span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Class: </strong>Rouge Infiltrator</span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Race: </strong>Nord, Female</span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Level: </strong>66</span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Powers: </strong>Shadowcloak of Nocturnal</span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>Shouts: </strong>Marked for Death, Slow Time, Aura Whisper, Ice Form (<em>Optional: Whirlwind Sprint, Become Ethereal and Elemental Fury</em>)</span></p><p><strong> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10054275878,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10054275878,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="320" alt="10054275878?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Specialty/Personality</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Having a very dark childhood, Cathriss tends to keep to herself be efficient as possible and never lets her emotions sway her. In her time as a street urchin, she was an idealist and headstrong, for her it’s always survival to the fittest and she strives to be at the top no matter what. She always relied on herself alone and tends to get the job done alone, but after being under Ulfric’s command she was trained as a soldier and taught how to coordinate as well with others but obviously she’s more effective on being a one-woman army and thus she became Ulfric’s greatest infiltrator. She’s not the sociable sort but she is great in putting up a “facade” as her role as a Spymaster, especially when going undercover or infiltrating an enemy. In terms of her combat prowess, she is unrivaled when it comes to a one-on-one confrontation and very smart when fighting in disadvantage. She tends to go for the first strike that either immediately kill her foe or badly injure them to deal a finishing blow with her twin daggers or a shot from her bow. She’s also good at brewing poison that can either paralyze her victim or inflict a deadly lingering venom. Due to the fact the she was a petty thief in her teenage years, she’s very good at hiding her presence which tends to even scared her fellow Stormcloaks and known her for being “the blade in the dark.” Overall, she is a very gifted child and can do anything on her own.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10054276276,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10054276276,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="599" alt="10054276276?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a> </strong></span><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Stat Distribution (0-1-2) = (Magicka-Health-Stamina)</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">As an infiltrator and agile rouge, she makes use of her stamina on moving quickly as possible. When confronting an enemy with her melee weapons, she overwhelms them with a flurry of blows and a dual-wield power attack to render their guard. She makes use of her Steady aiming to dispatch her targets with her bow very accurately from a very long and safe distance. Her stamina is her key stat and followed only by health and as for being under Ulfric’s and Galmar’s influence she tends to distrust magic and for the “true” Nords of Skyrim don’t depend on much to it that’s why she doesn’t have a priority over the magicka stat.</span><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Skills and Perks</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Due to being a rouge, most of her major skills are under the benefit of the <strong>Thief Stone </strong>making it her early standing stone and to quickly master her Sneak and Alchemy skills as for her minor skills, it is also good to grind it early since its not much high compared to some of her major skills.</span><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Standing Stone:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">The early standing stone is the Thief Stone but as she further developed some of her thief skills, a good replacement is the <strong>Lover Stone </strong>for early-mid game to help grind the other non-thief skills she has. While for her late-game stone, the <strong>Lady Stone </strong>is going to be her backbone for a quicker health regen and more importantly the stamina regen in which this will be the key for a more threshold of stamina.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>MAJOR</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>One-handed – </strong>Armsman 5 / Fighting Stance / Dual Flurry 2 / Bladesman 3 / Savage Strike / Dual Savagery</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Sneak – </strong>Stealth 5 / Muffled Movement / Backstab / Light Foot / Deadly Aim / Silent Roll / Assassin’s Blade / Silence</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Archery – </strong>Overdraw 5 / Critical Shot 3 / Eagle Eye / Steady Hand 2</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Alchemy – </strong>Alchemist 5 / Physician / Poisoner / Concentrated Poison / Snakeblood / Purity</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Light Armor – </strong>Agile Defender 5 / Custom Fit / Unhindered / Windwalker</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>MINOR</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Smithing – </strong>Steel Smithing / Elven Smithing / Advanced Armors / Arcane Blacksmith / Glass Smithing</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Enchanting – </strong>Enchanter 3 / Soul Squeezer / Insightful Enchanter / Corpus Enchanter</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10054276675,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10054276675,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="302" alt="10054276675?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Equipment: </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Early</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Stormcloak Cuirass</strong> – To be more efficient as possible, just stick with Stormcloak armor until reaching a decent level of smithing.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood Armor</strong> – It’s also good get either of these of two faction armor since both of them have a good stat especially for rouge characters</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Late-game</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Grand Master Armor</strong> – It is a <strong>must </strong>to complete the Thieves Guild questline since the greater version of the Thieves Guild armor is only obtainable after restoring the Thieves Guild’s former glory in Skyrim.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><em>(optional)</em></strong><strong> Hentai’s Karliah Armor (Light)</strong> – This is an armor mod that I took a liking since the vanilla thieves’ armor is too bumpy for a female character and the stats of this armor is also very good.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> -If going for this armor mod, I recommend crafting the (Light) version of this and enchant it with the following: (renamed it as “Spymaster”)</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10054277083,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10054277083,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="302" alt="10054277083?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>The Spymaster Set</em></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Spymaster Armor</strong> – Fortify Health by 30+</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Spymaster Gloves </strong>– Fortify One-Hand</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Spymaster Boots</strong> – Fortify Stamina by 30+ or Sneaking</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> -The armor mod doesn’t have a headpiece so the Grand Master Hood is the only choice or you can substitute it with Linwe’s Hood or if you have the Dragonborn DLC installed, the Black Guard’s set is a good choice too.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Accessories:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Necklace – </strong>Fortify Stamina by 30+ or Health if using Grandmaster Armor set</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Ring – </strong>Fortify Archery</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><em>(Optional)</em></strong><strong> Amulet of Articulation – </strong>This is also a best piece for a more roleplay-friendly build since a spy or rouges tend to have a silver tongue and thanks to its unique enchantments, it boosts the success rate of some persuasion or intimidation checks. This unique jewelry also counts as a Light Armor so it can benefit to the perk as well.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10054277287,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10054277287,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="403" alt="10054277287?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Weaponry:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Chillrend – </strong>The blade forged in ice that can freeze someone who are cut by this very sword. An artifact that was stolen from the former Thieves Guild Master, Mercer Frey.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Mehrunes’ Razor – </strong>The Daedric artifact of Lord Mehrunes Dagon himself. With the help of a surviving descendant of the Mythic Dawn cult, the dagger is restored to its former glory and now it is your arsenal in putting an end to your victims’ life in an instant.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Firiniel’s End – </strong>The very bow that killed the emperor’s cousin. A great tale for a bloody bride as the Spymaster used this as her main bow.</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Factions:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Stormcloaks – </strong>The Spymaster’s primary faction is the Stormcloak rebels. She is one of the driving forces of the revolution that will free Skyrim on the hands of the falling Empire and soon drive the Thalmor threat for real once and for all.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Thieves Guild – </strong>This is one of the guilds that the Spymaster will manage as she rose to become its new Grand Master and become one of her sources of information network all across Skyrim.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Dark Brotherhood – </strong>The Spymaster will become the new Listener of the Night Mother and thanks to the contract for the emperor’s life, she will be able to cripple the Empire’s power as she takes the life of Emperor Titus Mede II causing a power struggle that will put the Imperials at a disadvantage.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Optional: Technically all other factions are optional but for DLC <strong>Dawnguard</strong>, you can either side with Dawnguard to get a cool crossbow or with the <strong>Volkihar Clan</strong> for an edgier and evil-oriented Spymaster. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Roleplay: Cold-blooded Heroine</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">As for the roleplay, the Spymaster is a woman of action. She prefers getting the job done as efficient and effective as possible and she never hesitates to kill if she has to. She is also great at reading people’s intention and behaviors as these what makes her a very intimidating woman and yet she also has a way with words but prefers the subtle and a stealthier approach.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> For example: in the quest “In My Time of Need” the Spymaster can read through “Saadia’s” deceit and she will straight up inform the Alik’r mercenaries about her.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">When doing miscellaneous quests, the Spymaster always consider her own benefit when it comes to helping certain people as she always makes sure that she will receive something in return that either gold or something worth of value.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Despite of her cold persona, she appreciates helping the helpless and poor at some times due to the fact that she also started like them before being taken by Ulfric. All an all, her alignment can be considered “Chaotic Neutral.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Gameplay</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">The Spymaster’s main strength lies on her agility and quick wits. She wields Chillrend on her right-hand and Mehrunes’ Razor on the left, where Chillrend can have a chance of freezing her victims, the Razor can put them into their misery. She also coats her blade with a very deadly poison that can either deal massive damage or severely paralyzing her enemies. Having a very fast attack speed, the Spymaster overwhelms any adversary with a barrage of blows but she only does this when her position is compromised or in a duel.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Most of the Spymaster’s enemies never see her coming due to her accurate bow and arrow shot which also coats with a deadly poison and paralysis effect and when she’s infiltrating a fort or dungeon, she can easily sneak upon her victims’ back with her deadly backstabs. Since this is mostly a stealth build, companions or followers are not required.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Dance Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">When dual-wielding, the Spymaster does not only swing her blades randomly but she demonstrates a very graceful footwork and side-stepping because while attacking she also evades and read her foes movements to effectively deliver accurate and killing blows. Zigzagging or strafing is her most effective way of countering her enemies and really took me awhile to do a no damage or no-hit run but being able to master such combat movement can really make her OP.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Second Wind</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">The Spymaster’s another amazing trait is that she has a very high stamina which allows her to maneuver endlessly and quickly deliver a power attack rush. She makes use of her lengthy stamina to execute many power attacks and she sprint at a very long distance as a benefit for the Lady Stone’s blessing and Stamina enchantments.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Signature Moves</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">The Spymaster doesn’t have any specific move set or signature attack but as stated on her gameplay, she is keen on doing <strong>ambush or preemptive strikes</strong> rather than frontal assaults. She also <strong>coats her weapons with poisons</strong> before battle to gain immense damage output or to deal killing attacks while preferable shouts that she uses are the <strong>Marked for Death </strong>to fully render and enemy’s defenses, <strong>Slow Time </strong>for crowd control if she’s surrounded by many enemies and the <strong>Ice Form </strong>shout to disable groups of enemies ahead.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Recommended Mods:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Karliah Armor 2 by Hentai – CBBE3 By NAUSICAA</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/13581">https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/13581</a></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Oblivion Chillrend by Araanim</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/72268">https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/72268</a></strong></span></p></div>Character Build: The Vedyminhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-vedymin2021-10-20T00:49:30.000Z2021-10-20T00:49:30.000ZOmega144phttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Omega144p<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716086875,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716086875,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716086875?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716081071,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716086278,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716086278?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:12pt;">Disclaimer: </span></strong><span style="font-size:12pt;">This build is my take on the build guide from <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/members/Furrion17" target="_blank">Furrion17</a>, <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/event-build-the-hex-weaver" target="_blank">The Hex Weaver</a>. By all means, go check it out and, if you are like me and end up thinking "<em>having to switch constantly between spells and swapping them out is a pain in the bum"... </em>Maybe this is the build for you.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><em>How long has it been since I last saw the sunlight? Or even another person... Mara help m-<br /> ...<br /> No. They don't deserve any more prayers. I'm on my own... Time to get out of this hole.</em></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>As the Third Empire was being cornered on multiple sides by the Thalmor, the Stormcloaks and even the local "fauna" that ravaged their troops even before managing to reach the battlegrounds; General Tullius started a secret proyect to create super-soldiers by any means possible.<br /> </em></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>And so, a watchtower in Eastmarch was constructed with the alibi of it being a regular prison for dangerous criminals. While at the beginning they only experimented on actual criminals, the alchemists and mages soon discovered that the younger the subjects were, the faster their bodies adapted to the chemicals.<br /> Normally Tullius wouldn't approve such actions but he didn't have a choice, now even the Forsworn were rebelling and man-power was scarce... But the more the war went on, the more orphans were lying around.<br /> Alyn Vinte was one of those orphans, and the only one that survived the catastrophe inside the watchtower.</em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">THIS IS A MODDED BUILD</span></strong>, granted, can be played without any mods but you'll be missing a lot.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Mods recommended:</strong></span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1137" target="_blank">Ordinator</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1315" target="_blank">Imperious</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/14910" target="_blank">Andromeda</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1368" target="_blank">Wildcat</a></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/19924" target="_blank">Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/272" target="_blank">Alternate Start</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/33767" target="_blank">Combat Gameplay Overhaul</a></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Want to turn it up a notch?:</strong></span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/671" target="_blank">Frostfall</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/667" target="_blank">Campfire</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/645" target="_blank">INeed</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/9519" target="_blank">Convenient Horses</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3218" target="_blank">The Notice Board</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/51847" target="_blank">Headhunter</a></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/22374" target="_blank">Skyrim Reputation</a></span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><em><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716297253,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716297253,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716297253?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716297854,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716297854,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716297854?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="564" /></a></strong></em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>I've slain countless dremora, giants... Even a couple of dragons... So why men keep throwing their lives away attacking me when I'm clearly armed? Am I that pretty?<br /> </strong>Alyn talking with a shocked bartender after butchering 3 bounty hunters inside a tavern.</em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;">Race:</span> </strong>Pretty much anything goes; but for roleplaying purposes I chose an <strong>Imperial</strong>, thanks to Imperious this race starts with:</span></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><span style="font-size:12pt;">Discipline:</span></strong> <span style="font-size:12pt;">The less useful, grants near allies 150 points of armor and 15% attack damage; as this build is a "solo" one, it seems pointless, but remember that in some quests you are forced to take a companion, and this makes it so they are (at least) a good punching bag.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Imperial Virtues:</strong> Whenever Alyn enter combat, she regenerates either Health Magicka or Stamina a 100% faster. This regeneration is chosen randomly.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The Human Spirit:</strong> At level 10/20/30 you can change permanently attributes, resistances and skills. Go with (<strong>Stats</strong>) <em>+100 Health -50 Magicka; </em>(<strong>Resistances</strong>) <em>+50% Poison -25% Shock; (</em><strong>Skills) </strong><em>Two Handed +20, Heavy Armour -20/Light Armour +20, Pickpocket -20/Speech +20, Lockpicking -20.</em></span></li></ul><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong>Standing Stone:</strong></span> <span style="font-size:12pt;">The Warrior is a go-to, but later when she starts getting some perks and you unlock the stones powers, she might want to swap it to The Lord. </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"> <span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong>The Warrior</strong></span></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Fierce Spirit: </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;">Power attacks do <strong>15% </strong>more damage, and ranged weapons do <span style="text-decoration:underline;">up to</span> <strong>15%</strong> more damage based on distance. Useful both when beheading enemies at melee, or do a bit extra with a crossbow against the vermin that likes to fly around for long.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Warrior's Path:</strong> Learn all the "Warrior" Skills <strong>10%</strong> faster. Useful for leveling up Two Handed, but that's it.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Star of the West:</strong> Unlockable power that let's Alyn refill Health and Stamina, and fortify them for 30 seconds. A great combo with <strong>Colovian Star</strong>.</span></li></ul><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong>The Lord</strong></span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Crown of Autumn:</strong> Alyn can't regenerate Stamina in combat, but her power attacks deal <strong>20%</strong> more damage and stagger.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Old Stone:</strong> With this, Alyn can power attack even when out of Stamina, dealing <strong>30%</strong> less damage and stagger.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Kneel or Be Knelt: </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;">Unlockable power that throws targets to the ground, and deals <strong>15</strong> magic damage per 10 seconds, absorbing it as Stamina.</span></li></ul><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716578666,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716578666,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716578666?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Name: </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;">Alyn Vinte</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Gender:</strong> Female</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Age:</strong> Unknown; Her physical appearance is that of a woman around her 30s.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Religion:</strong> Prior to her kidnapping, she was taught to praise the Eight Divines. After living such hell while imprisoned Alyn doesn't care anymore, seeing the Aedra and Daedra the same: a means to an end.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Alliances:</strong> Imperial Citizen (Prior). Currently she doesn't want any ties.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Alignment:</strong> <a href="http://easydamus.com/chaoticneutral.html" target="_blank">Chaotic Neutral</a>. Being used and controlled almost all her life, Alyn values her own freedom over anything else. She won't take any sides unless there is good coin in it for her; be it killing monsters, saving people in need or aiding a organization, if the job is worth her time, she'll do it no matter who's the client.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Personality:</strong> Alyn is a quiet and distrustful woman. She doesn't want (or need) friends only to hold her down. As such she'll try to travel and work as a mercenary alone as much as possible. and when forced to cooperate with others will disregard their safety, focusing on completing the job... That is unless the job itself is to protect someone or something.</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716578692,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716578692,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716578692?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Weapons:</strong> As we are going for a Two Handed build, we'll need Greatswords, two of them of course.</span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Steel for humans.</strong> Any would work for this but for RP purposes we shouldn't upgrade it beyond steel. This one will be used against any humanoid enemy we find, from regular humans to giants and even "normal" animals should be dealt with this sword.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Silver for monsters. </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;">The silver Greatsword is a perfect fit, doing extra damage to undead as it is. We'll be using silver against any "magic" creature: dragons, undead, vampires, dremora, cursed (Werewolves/Werebears), etc.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Armor:</strong> Any light armor would do the job, but if you don't have any mods regarding this and want something along the lines of "Witcher Gear", the Dawnguard light version is a perfect fit.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Jewelry:</strong> This is your own choice, but for the sake of this build...</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Amulet of Talos:</strong> Alyn doesn't care about the so-called Divines, but their boons are still useful for a monster hunter. This will help her use the Signs more often. (Read the "Signs" section down below)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Ring of Peerless Sure Grip: </strong>Tricky to get, can find it as loot or in some stores, but the <strong>40% </strong>added damage is worth the trouble.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716752466,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716752466,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716752466?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716581498,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716581498,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716581498?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a>Stats:</strong></span><strong> <span style="font-size:12pt;">0 magick, 10/15 health </span></strong><span style="font-size:12pt;">(<em>I'd recommend 15 if you are using Wildcat with <strong>Burst Injuries</strong>)</em><strong>, everything else into Stamina.</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong>Major Skills:</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Two-Handed: </strong>Her body is not that of a regular human anymore. Wouldn't make sense for her to use regular swords when she can brandish something heavier. </span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><em>Pff-... Seen kids playing with bigger swords than yours!</em></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Recommended Perks:</span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(20) Trained Fighter-</strong> With this, she can hit more times before tiring herself.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(40) Ferocious Strength- </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;">Hit harder, hit faster, and aim for their heads. Those creepy necromancers can't raise the beheaded.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(60) Subjugate-</strong> Rare is the chance she gets to fight against one lone enemy. Efficiently hit them all at the same time.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Alchemy:</strong> Alyn learned a lot about concoctions and poisons while being subjected to them. </span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><em>Never thought I would be grateful to those bastards...</em></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Recommended Perks:<br /> </span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(50) Lab Skeever-</strong> For 20 seconds after using any alchemy lab, beneficial potions she drinks last 15 times more and are 25% stronger. This is even stronger using <a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/19924" target="_blank">Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul</a> (I'll be calling it "CACO" for now on) as the mod adds some portable Mortar and Pestle, letting you create (weaker) pots and poisons on the go, and of course, benefit of this perk.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(90) Chymical Wedding- </strong>Coupled with the pre-requisite perk of Witchmaster, gives you temporary buffs after drinking beneficial potions.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(90) World Serpent- </strong>When she shouts, her blood boils, transforming itself in a dangerous poison to others. After a shout if she gets hit, can retaliate with +50 poison damage per second for 10 seconds.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(100) That Which Does Not Kill You... </strong>(Optional)<strong>- </strong>After finding some texts about the experiments she went through, Alyn found out about a potent toxin, if she manages to survive long enough after consuming it, she'll get even stronger and maybe learn a bit more about potion-brewing.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Light Armor:</strong> She might not be a regular human but a strike in the heart is still mortal. Still, mobility can't be sacrificed. </span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><em>Want me to tank a Giant? Drop the Skooma.</em></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Recommended Perks:</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(40) </strong><strong>Keen Senses- </strong>Wearing a helmet can prove useful to avoid damage to the head but also hinders her ability to scan the surroundings. This will let her use her body armor to deflect some dangerous hits.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(60) Into the Maelstrom-</strong> Either be a group of Forsworn or a Giant and his Mammoths, the chances that she'll be fighting against more than one enemy at a time aren't small. Luckily her inhuman reflexes let her shrug off some of the damage.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(70)</strong> <strong>Wardancer- </strong>When in combat she enters a trance, spotting weak points and exploting mistakes of the enemies. She needs to be fully focused so once she gets hit, she'll need a few seconds to re-focus again.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Speech:</strong> Alyn doesn't really talk a lot... But that makes it even more frightening whenever she does.</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>Nazeem, was it? I'm wondering if you could fit both my swords on that big mouth of yours.</strong></em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong> </strong></em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Recommended Perks:</span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(40) Windborne-</strong> Whenever she shouts, wind seems to aid her in battle, making her faster and deadlier.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(50) Force Redoubled-</strong> Not even the Greybeards know how, but sometimes Alyn is able to shout almost non-stop without any drawbacks.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(60) Hurricane Force-</strong> The more she gets used to shout the powerful these are. Jurgen Windcaller is in awe watching from Sovngarde.</span></li></ul><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong>Minor Skills:</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Block: </strong>Sometimes is not even worth trying to dodge a strike. Why would she roll away of a meager thief when she can easily bash his little dagger away?</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>Did you really expect me to take that obvious blow?</strong></em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Recommended Perks:</span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(20) Timed Block-</strong> It's easy for Alyn to parry a weapon with some force, making the enemy stagger for a few moments.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(30) Poke the Dragon- </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;">Parrying not only lets her avoid damage, but also open her enemies defenses, allowing her to hit their weak spots.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Smithing:</strong> Bought and found equipment is fine... But why stop there when she could craft some or upgrade them?</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>Adrianne we all already know you aren't the best smith, now could you shh for a bit?</strong></em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Recommended Perks:</span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>(0) Smithing Mastery-</strong> She doesn't care about elven or dwarven metal, no need to be picky when steel and silver cuts all the same.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9717025293,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9717025293,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9717025293?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Usually here I would write down some "RP locked" potions and poisons to follow the Witcher lore, but adding a mod as CACO, you would be missing on a lot if I limited the number of effects Alyn is allowed to use.</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">This doesn't make her overpowered by any means, thanks to the combat mods, you still need to plan and prepare for the fights.</span></p><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716770065,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716770065,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716770065?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">The Signs are weak and basic spells that Witchers use in combat to balance their skills with the blade. Now some may be thinking <em>"But so far you seem to disregard any sort of magic in this build!"</em> and congrats! You are right, using magic would mean needing to use One Handed and swapping spells (and even unequipping them to block). And while it can be viable it's a mess unless you use some mods to fix that.<br /> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;">So instead we'll be using the next best thing: Shouts.</span></p><p style="text-align:right;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">(Side note: We'll only be using the first word of each shout, except with "Axii" as you need to use 2 for it to work)</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716777885,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716777885,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716777885?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="64" /></a><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>-Aard: </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>Unrelenting Force (FUS)</em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Aard throws foes off-balance, letting Alyn catch some breath or hit without danger.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716828499,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716828499,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716828499?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="64" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>-Axii:</strong> <em>Bend Will (GOL-HAH)</em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">With Axii she can turn the tides of a battle, making people and animals temporal allies.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716775289,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716775289,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716775289?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="64" /></a></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"> <strong>-Igni: </strong><em>Fire Breath (YOL)</em></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">A burst of flame that engulfs her enemies for a few seconds. Deadly against undead.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716834097,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716834097,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716834097?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="64" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>-Quen:</strong> <em>Become Ethereal (FEIM)</em></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Alyn uses Quen to defend herself, allowing her to avoid dangerous blows or traps completely for a few seconds.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716836059,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716836059,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716836059?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="67" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>-Yrden:</strong> <em>Slow Time (TIID)</em></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Yrden lets Alyn slow down foes, making it easier to fight a big group or dodge ranged attacks.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716839065,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716839065,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716839065?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Using <a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/272" target="_blank">Alternate Start</a> Alyn will begin her journy in that same cell inside the "Abandoned Prison". Be careful, not only she'll have limited lockpicks... But it seems she isn't the only one roaming it's halls. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716913686,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716913686,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716913686?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:14pt;"><strong>Summary:</strong></span></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">CACO:</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"> As I said before, this mod adds mortars and pestles that let you do alchemy virtually anywhere, but the good stuff doesn't stop there.</span></span></span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Rebalance of Alchemy:</strong> If you've been playing Skyrim for a while you probably already know how broken this skill can be, from getting you dozens of thousands of gold to a loop for overpowered enchantements. CACO tweaks a lot of things to make it fair yet strong, and adds some new ingredients and effects.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Alchemist's Retort: </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;">A tool to make wax coatings for your weapons. These are similar to regular poisons but are a bit weaker and in exchange they last way longer. Think of them as Witcher Oils.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Altars:</strong> They no longer cure diseases. Being able to create the cure yourself on the go, stopping by an Altar to heal them would be a waste of time... And RP-wise Alyn would avoid using them as much as possible.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Potion</strong> <strong>Consumption: </strong>You can't spam the potions to heal to full mid-battle. Now they work on a timer, that is, they heal you over time (you can choose between 1s/5s/10s). If you drink another before the other finishes, they'll override, healing you only the amount of the new potion.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">CACO adds a lot of other things like food and cooking, but lets move on.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Roleplay:</strong></span> If you are familiar with the Witcher universe you probably won't need any advice here but for those that don't...</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Alyn is no hero nor villain.</strong> Doesn't matter if a boy ask Alyn to kill a very bad granma or if a pack of wolves are attacking town; either they pay her in gold or they help themselves. (No, a family relic won't do ffs)</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The tools of the trade. </strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Never, ever take a fight unprepared. She has a lot of options to strengthen herself, and taking a fight against two dragons head on is a shortcut to Sovngarde.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Not everything is white or black.</strong> Even those that aid others have dark secrets. As an example, if she joins the Companions she'll do so only until she finds their "secret". And will refuse the offer.</span></li></ul><p><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:12pt;"><strong>Synergies:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">It's true that this build use "low tier" weapons and armor, steel and silver weapons can only get you so far... But here is where the perks and skills come in. Speech buffes your "Signs" to the point that they hit harder and makes Alyn able of (almost) spamming them non-stop. Two-Handed, Block and Light Armor synergizes well, letting you counter attack faster and harder. And Alchemy is the big cherry on top, keeping it all together and giving her the edge against the harder foes.</span></p><p><span style="text-decoration:underline;font-size:12pt;"><strong>Fighting:</strong></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Against melee: </strong>Thanks to <a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/33767" target="_blank">Combat Gameplay Overhaul</a> (CGO) Alyn have actual choices, she can block the enemy attacks, allowing for a parry and the consequent counter... But if the enemy is power attacking and she is low on stamina or health, roll-dodging away is the better choice. When fighting powerful foes, waxing the swords and drinking some potions is heavily recommended.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Against Ranged (Archers): </strong>Yrden, Quen and Axii are useful here, never underestimate archers while playing with "Burst Injuries" from </span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1368" target="_blank">Wildcat,</a> Alyn can end up disarmed, falling in the ground or even dead. Aard can also help her close the gap while stopping them to shoot.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Against Ranged (Magic, Dragons): </strong>These ones are undoubtedly the hardest to fight. Against mages, if they are in a group try to finish them off before anyone else, and if there are more than one, focus the necromancers. With <strong>Ferocious Strenght</strong> she can minimize the number of undead they can raise, but Alyn should still focus them down. If they managed to raise some, cast Igni and rush in for the kill.<br /> Against dragons, she can poke them using a crossbow until they land. Waxes, potions, signs and avoiding their bites are crucial to survive a fight with one. If near a Giant camp, cast Axii on some Mammoths and let the big boys do the lifting.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9716958058,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9716958058,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9716958058?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">First of all, none of the art and drawings are my own, and all the credit goes to them.</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Secondly... I said it already but this build is my take on the one made by <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/members/Furrion17" target="_blank">Furrion17:</a> <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/event-build-the-hex-weaver" target="_blank">The Hex Weaver</a> so go check his builds out!</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">And lastly, this is my first ever build (I'm saying it like you can't already tell by the lack of decent presentation...) maybe I'll do some more in the future but who knows. Anyway hope you managed to reach this far and if so please go ahead and drop any thoughts or criticism you have, either about the build, the character... Anything is welcomed!</span></p></div>Character Build: The Slayerhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-slayer2020-10-05T05:01:08.000Z2020-10-05T05:01:08.000ZShadonhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Shadon<div><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>The nightmares plaguing this land--the undead, the vampires, the Daedra--they are rage. Brutal, without mercy. But he... he is worse. He alone can stand before the horde. His rage is their terror, and his might... their DOOM...</em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:18pt;"><em>***</em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">The concept for this build arose with the release of DOOM Eternal, which really got me itching to see how I could incorporate the DOOM Slayer's signature speed, ferocity, and weapon mastery into Skyrim. The resulting build is my little twist on the combat archer archetype, providing a fast-paced and brutal combat experience at all ranges. Get ready to rip and tear as you become...</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000318069,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000318069,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000318069?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="809" height="455" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000321054,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000676491,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000676491?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="105" /></a></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">This build makes use of a couple of common mods to enhance the gameplay experience to truly demonic proportions.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>-Required Mods-</strong></span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Ordinator:</strong> This perk overhaul brings the Slayer's skillset to life, offering fantastic synergies between the Light Armor and Archery skill trees and contributing to the Slayer's signature lightning-fast playstyle.</span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Andromeda - Unique Standing Stones of Skyrim:</strong> This mod gives the various standing stones within Skyrim more unique passive and active effects. For this build, the Shadow Stone will synergize beautifully with the relevant Ordinator Perks to give a helpful speed boost.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>-Recommended Mods-</strong></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>VioLens or other killmove mods: </strong>It wasn't until about halfway through my playthrough that I realized how helpful VioLens was in creating that DOOM Slayer feeling. Being able to set killmoves to happen just about every time basically added the Glory Kill mechanic to the game when paired with my fists, which was <em>glorious. </em>I highly recommend adding this capability to your game.<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Some kind of inventory management mod:</strong> You'll be juggling quite a few weapons in this build, so it may be helpful to have a mod that facilitates organization and rapid switching for the most seamless experience. I use SkyUI and haven't had any hangups about switching weapons in the middle of combat.</span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000333470,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000714495,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000714495?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="105" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:right;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000747099,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000747099,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000747099?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="350" height="428" /></a>Difficulty: <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">Ultraviolence </span></strong>Er, this build should be played at higher difficulties, to encourage tactical thinking and non-stop movement. Being cornered or taking just a few good hits should be a death sentence, so adjust the difficulty accordingly.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Race: </strong>In staying as faithful as possible to the DOOM games, the Slayer will be one of the human races. I personally chose a <strong>Nord</strong> because of their disposition towards warrior classes, but feel free to choose a different race if you want. Turn the weight slider all the way to the right for some big ol' biceps. It just won't be the same otherwise, trust me.<br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Stat Spread: 0 M / 2 H / 3 S. </strong>The Slayer will need a decent Health pool to stand a chance in the heat of combat, and a huge Stamina reserve is necessary to stay mobile.<br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Standing Stone: Warrior </strong>-> <strong>Shadow. </strong>The Warrior Stone will aid in leveling up combat skills early-game, and will later be changed out for the Shadow Stone for a 20% increase in movement speed during combat.<br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Major Skills: </strong>Archery, Enchanting, Light Armor<br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Minor Skills: </strong>Speech*, Two-Handed<br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">*May or may not be perked<br /> </span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000416656,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000739285,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000739285?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="105" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>-~The Praetor Suit~-</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>The Slayer wears ancient armor, imbued with powerful magic that will enhance his already-formidable abilities.</em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">In my opinion, the Ancient Falmer Armor set best suits the aesthetic of the Slayer. It looks almost alien, and gives the Slayer an other-worldly appearance befitting of the demon-killing beast that he is. During early game, I recommend using the Chitin Armor set paired with a Dawnguard Helmet to achieve a similar aesthetic.<br /> </span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Praetor Helmet - <strong>Dawnguard Helmet</strong> w/ <strong>Fortify Archery</strong></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Praetor Chestpiece - <strong>Ancient Falmer Cuirass</strong> w/ <strong>Fortify Health</strong> & <strong>Fortify Stamina</strong></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Praetor Gauntlets - <strong>Ancient Falmer Gauntlets</strong> w/ <strong>Fortify Unarmed</strong> & <strong>Fortify Two-Handed</strong></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Praetor Boots - <strong>Ancient Falmer Boots</strong> w/ <strong>Fortify Stamina</strong> & <strong>Fortify Two-Handed</strong></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">The Slayer's Ring - <strong>Silver Ring</strong> w/ <strong>Fortify Unarmed</strong> & <strong>Fortify Archery</strong></span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Amulet of Talos</span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>-~Weapons~-</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>The Slayer is unmatched in his speed, strength, and precision, employing a variety of weapons to dispatch his foes with brutal efficiency.</em></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>-Melee-</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Fists</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>When in close quarters, the Slayer will not hesitate to resort to his bare hands, ripping and tearing until it is done.</em></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;">Ordinator's Light Armor tree offers a massive expansion on unarmed combat, which we will take full advantage of. The Slayer's fists will be more than enough to pummel all but the strongest of enemies into dust.<br /> </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">The Crucible Blade - <strong>Greatsword of Choice</strong> w/ <strong>Absorb Health</strong> & <strong>Chaos Damage</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>In times of darkest darkness, unsheathe this blade, and its light will burn away the corruption.</em></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;">Sometimes your fists just won't cut it, or you <em>really </em>need to take one particularly strong enemy down quickly. For the baddest of bosses, the most powerful enemies, use this sword to take 'em out.<br /> </span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Note:</strong> When enchanting the Crucible Blade, be sure to use a Petty Soul Gem to power it. This will limit the number of hits you have before needing to recharge it, which will help encourage you to use it sparingly, just like in the real game. If you so choose, you can also use one of the many mods that literally add DOOM Eternal's Crucible Blade into the game (like <a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/93808" target="_blank">this one</a>) instead of an enchanted greatsword.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8004362456,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8004362456,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8004362456?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="455" /></a></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>-Ranged-</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">The DOOM games are readily recognizable for their vast array of unique guns for you to use. However, Skyrim's options for projectile weapons are significantly more limited in that regard. To circumvent this issue, the Slayer will utilize and cycle through various bows with various enchantments, each with a specific use and rhythm. If you ever played Skyrim and thought to yourself "how can I make this more like an FPS?" this is how you do it.<br /> </span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"> Assault Bow - <strong>Zephyr</strong></span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">This bow has an innate +30% to draw speed when compared to other bows, making it an ideal candidate for your typical rapid-fire, high-DPS weapon. When combined with the <em>Quick Draw</em> and <em>Hailstorm</em> perks, it becomes pretty difficult to distinguish it from an actual machine gun.<br /> </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Plasma Bow - <strong>Glass Bow</strong> w/ <strong>Shock Damage</strong> & <strong>Paralyze</strong></span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Using this bow, you trade some speed for one heck of a whallop. The paralyzing effect is perfect for stunning particularly dangerous enemies for a brief time, and the Shock damage will help neutralize magic users. Comparable to--you guessed it--the plasma gun.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">The Super Crossbow - <strong>Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow</strong> w/ <strong>Chaos Damage</strong> & <strong>Fire Damage</strong></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-size:12pt;">This weapon is an interesting one in that it will fill two of the traditional FPS weapon roles. Because of the fast-paced nature of combat, you run a high risk of missing, so you'll usually want to use this in close quarters for a heavy, albeit slow shot. In this context, it fills the role of a shotgun.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:12pt;">On the other hand, by pairing it with <strong>Exploding Bolts</strong>, you can deal large amounts of damage to clumps of enemies (which are easier to hit), making the weapon similar to a rocket launcher in this context.</span></li></ul><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Note:</strong> In order to make managing these weapons easier, you may want to use hotkeys. Not only does it make switching weapons more seamless, but it also helps add to that DOOM feeling just a bit.<br /> </span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Of course, this wouldn't be a proper DOOM build without its perhaps most recognizable weapon. I present to you the BFG of Skyrim...</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000682254,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000716252,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000716252?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="105" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em> This ancient artifact of Auri-El himself draws its power from Aetherius, channeling it through the sun.<br /> </em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8003612477,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8003612477,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8003612477?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="455" /></a> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">If there ever was a Big Freakin' Bow in a game, this is it. With normal arrows Auriel's Bow is fine and all, but it really shines when paired with the Sunhallowed Arrows. By firing Sunhallowed Arrows directly at an enemy, you can concentrate a fairly impressive explosion of sun damage onto them. But for the true BFG experience, fire a Sunhallowed Arrow directly into the sun. The effect is a series of devastating and awe-inspiring explosions targeting all the enemies in your vicinity.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:18pt;"><strong>-~Abilities~-</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">DOOM Eternal introduced a few new abilities for the player, which surprisingly have a fairly straightforward counterpart in Skyrim: Shouts. For this build I only found it necessary to acquire one Word of Power for each Shout, but there's no reason you can't go above and beyond.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8003641485,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8003641485,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8003641485?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="182" height="158" /></a></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Flame Belch - <strong>Fire Breath</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>The Slayer fires a short burst of flames, setting the enemies in his path ablaze for a brief time.<br /> </em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8003647676,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8003647676,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8003647676?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="182" height="158" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Dash - <strong>Whirlwind Sprint</strong></span></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>The Slayer quickly propels himself forward for a short distance, out of reach of his enemies' claws.</em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000682466,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000741484,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000741484?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="105" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000747854,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000747854,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000747854?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="455" /></a> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Archery: </strong>This skill is the Slayer's primary damage dealer at medium to long ranges. The majority of perks will focus on staying fast and mobile with the bow, as opposed to taking slow shots from afar. Especially important will be the <em>Ranger </em>and <em>Focus on the Prey </em>perks, which will allow the Slayer to move quickly and not be staggered with a drawn bow.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Enchanting: </strong>The Slayer will use magic to enhance his weapons and armor, allowing him to expand his arsenal to include all of his different bows. Because this build has the potential to get extremely strong, we will avoid perking too heavily in Enchanting. The key player here will be <em>Twin Enchantment, </em>which will help with weapon and armor specialization.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Light Armor: </strong>Protection isn't much of a priority, because the Slayer isn't meant to tank damage beyond a few hits. Instead, Light Armor will provide a massive increase in speed during combat, giving the Slayer enhanced evasive capabilities. Light Armor will also open up Ordinator's unarmed branch, making the Slayer's fists a formidable weapon on their own. <em>Hissing Dragon </em>will let you choose an elemental effect to apply with each blow; I personally recommend Fire.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Two-Handed: </strong>Of the Slayer's set of skills, this one will see the least amount of use. Only in the most pressing situations will the Slayer resort to his fearsome greatsword, so the perks we will focus on for this tree are simply the increases in raw damage output. Deficiencies in damage will be more than compensated by Enchanting.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>-~Combat~-</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8004360684,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8004360684,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8004360684?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="455" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">The main takeaway here is that while you are capable of pumping out tons of damage and decimating your enemies very quickly, you are just as capable of being destroyed yourself if you make a mistake. Because your Health and armor aren't very substantial, movement and good decision-making is critical.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">The combination of Light Armor perks and the Shadow Stone will give you the movement speed you need to effectively maneuver the battlefield and avoid damage. Try to keep your enemies at medium range, where you can safely pelt them with arrows from your various bows. If they get too close, you can either Dash to a safer position or resort to your fists. If you time your attacks properly, you can get in some hits after moving in right after a missed attack.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Combat will have a certain rhythm to it as you cycle through your bows. Your assault bow will probably be your most used, perfect for taking out the weaker and more plentiful enemies on the field. For magic users or the heavies, your plasma bow can either neutralize them with shock or paralysis, which will let you focus on other enemies. Your super crossbow can either be used to take out clumps of enemies with Exploding Bolts or to deliver a devastating punch to the stronger ones. I recommend pairing your Flame Belch with the Exploding Bolts to deal the maximum amount of damage to groups.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">And finally, when there are just too many enemies, or you really want to watch them burn, use your Big Freakin' Bow to fire a Sunhallowed Arrow into the sun, and enjoy the show.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000683264,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000741500,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000741500?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="105" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8004306255,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8004306255,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8004306255?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="455" /></a></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>-~Recommended Quests~-</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The Dawnguard Questline: </strong>The Slayer will join the Dawnguard after hearing of their presence in Skyrim, and will quickly establish himself as a ruthless and efficient vampire killer. He will uncover the vampires' plot to control the sun, and put a stop to it by killing Lord Harkon.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The Taste of Death: </strong>The Slayer will investigate the Hall of the Dead after hearing of the bodies being eaten, only to encounter a worshipper of Namira--a cannibal--within. He will kill Eola without hesitation, putting a stop to her foul activites for good. Spiting Namira is a bonus.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The Break of Dawn: </strong>Cooperating with one of the Daedric Princes may be unsavory, but the Slayer recognizes it as an effective means to rid Skyrim of more evil. He can deal with Meridia in due time.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Waking Nightmare: </strong>During a visit to Dawnstar, the Slayer hears about the town's nightmares, and immediately suspects dark forces at work. He follows the trail to the Skull of Corruption, which he destroys without hesitation. Vaermina certainly won't be pleased, but the Slayer couldn't care less.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The Man Who Cried Wolf / The Wolf Queen Awakened: </strong>Mere rumors of strange lights in a cave are reason enough for the Slayer to investigate. He will arrive just in time to disrupt a vile ritual attempting to summon the dreaded Wolf Queen Potema, who he will later put down for good.<strong><br /> <br /> </strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>-~Roleplay~-</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>One can only wonder at why he feels such rage, why he is so hell-bent on driving all evil from this world.</em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">The Slayer is a man of action rather than words... very <em>angry </em>action, but action nonetheless. Try to avoid dialogue whenever possible, and when it is unavoidable, choose either the shortest or most hostile options. The Slayer isn't interested in making friends.<br /> </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">When given the option, always choose to Intimidate rather than Persuade or Bribe. This is where you may want to put a couple of skill points into Speech Mastery, to greatly increase your chances of success at Intimidation. Nothing kills the "I am an unstoppable monster-slaying machine" vibe faster than some farmer scoffing at your mean face.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8000751881,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8000751881,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8000751881?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="810" height="105" /></a></strong></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>The Slayer has faced the Daedric Princes, put down the resurrected Wolf Queen, and killed Lord Harkon himself. But his work is far from done.</em></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">The rest of your playthrough is fairly open-ended; evil lurks in every corner of Skyrim and it's up to you to fight it however you want. Some possible starting points include:<br /> </span></p><ul><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Tracking down the Dragon Priests: </strong><em>These powerful remnants of an ancient cult pose a great threat to Skyrim, and the Slayer will keep their artifacts from falling into the wrong hands. </em>Some of the Dragon Priests are locked behind quests (stupid Morokei), but there should be plenty to pummel just the same.<br /> </span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Clearing Nordic ruins: </strong><em>The Slayer will ensure that the resting dead will stay in their catacombs for eternity. </em>Up until this build, I never really entered any barrows or ruins unless I had a specific quest for them. But I had quite a bit of fun roaming the land and clearing any ruins I happened upon. It really helped sell the Slayer's vendetta against the undead.<br /> </span></li><li style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Dawnguard Radiant Quests: </strong><em>Harkon may be dead, but the vampire menace has yet to be cleaned up. The Slayer is more than willing to lend a helping hand. </em>These can get a bit repetitive, but I think they are a nice way to level skills and acquire funds.<br /> </span></li></ul><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:18pt;">***</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">And there you have it, my attempt at turning Skyrim into an FPS. I have truly sinned now. In all seriousness, I hope you enjoyed my version of the combat archer, and hopefully you got the DOOM vibes I tried to weave into this build. Until next time, happy building!</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Be sure to check out this absolutely fantastic gameplay video by Kruger! </span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QasT4B_XgtU" width="683" height="384" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p></div>Contest Build: The Wayfaring Wandererhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/contest-build-the-wayfaring-wanderer2020-01-26T19:50:34.000Z2020-01-26T19:50:34.000ZHistcarphttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Histcarp<div><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The Wayfaring Warrior</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3834752538,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}3834752538,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="3834752538?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;"> </span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><em><span style="font-weight:400;">In the aftermath of the fires of the Great War, one former soldier leaves his homeland content to leave war and politics behind him forever. Drifting aimlessly across Tamriel as a wandering sellsword in search of adversity, his travels bring him to Skyrim, where fate confronts him with purpose once again. Not for war, but something far greater.</span></em></span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:10pt;">The Wayfaring Warrior is an agile and ferocious combatant, a fighter relying not on flashy equipment but his own mettle and skill with a sword and shield, augmented by protective magic. He travels the lands in search of worthy foes and coin. </span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The Build</strong></span></p><p><strong>Race: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">I chose a </span><strong>Redguard</strong><span style="font-weight:400;">. They fit perfectly into everything I wanted to create with this build - the aesthetic, racial bonuses, roleplay and skill boosts, but the concept of a lost warrior isn’t unique to any specific race. </span></p><p><strong>Stone: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">The </span><strong>Warrior Stone</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> was the most beneficial for this build towards the beginning of the playthrough, later transitioning towards the</span><strong> Lord Stone</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> for it’s defensive bonuses. </span></p><p><strong>Stats: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">0M | 2H | 1S - This build only uses one magic school, and doesn’t involve casting many spells with it. However, some minor investment into magicka is needed to meet the minimum requirements for the spells this build uses, but this is only a minor deviation that only needs attention towards the middle of the playthrough, and no more than 6 points need be spent on Magicka. Apart from this, the aforementioned spread is ideal. </span></p><p><strong>Skills: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">One Handed, Block, Light Armour, Alteration, Smithing</span></p><p><strong>One Handed</strong><span style="font-weight:400;">, </span><strong>Block </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">and</span><strong> Light Armour</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> are your key gameplay skills - allowing fast attacks and quick movement while retaining solid defensive capabilities. </span><strong>Alteration </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">provides a boost to our armour and magic resistance to maintain viability into the late game and on higher difficulties. </span><strong>Smithing </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">follows a similar purpose, ensuring our weapons and equipment remain lethal and sturdy respectfully. </span></p><p><strong>Apparel: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">Diadem of the Savant, Solitude Guard Armour, Scaled Bracers, Scaled Boots</span></p><p><strong>Weaponry: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">Nordic Sword, Targe of the Blooded</span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">The armour and weapons chosen for this build are focused largely around an aesthetic. I wanted to create the look of a fast, fierce, bloodstained and lonely warrior travelling the lands in search of adversity, captured perfectly by the </span><strong>Solitude Guard Armour</strong><span style="font-weight:400;">. I think the lack of a helmet afforded by the </span><strong>Diadem of the Savant</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> synergises well with this too, acting as a sort of ‘warrior crown’ or headband, as well as having a small, but useful bonus. The </span><strong>Targe of the Blooded</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> is on the lower end of defensive capability among shields, but the brutal yet minimalist design secured it a place. The </span><strong>Nordic Sword</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> is a long time favourite of mine. Sleek and visually pleasing with solid stats that allow it to remain viable throughout an entire playthrough. The </span><strong>Scaled Bracers</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> and </span><strong>Boots </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">suited the established aesthetic and also benefit from the same smithing perks as the Nordic Sword. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">However, this build isn’t tied to any specific faction, meaning you’re free to mix, match and potentially choose your own armour combination if you find it more suited to your taste. </span></p><p><strong>Shouts: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">Become Ethereal, Unrelenting Force, Marked For Death, Elemental Fury, Dragonrend</span></p><p><strong>Spells: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">Ebonyflesh, Paralyse </span></p><p><strong>Passives: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">Eternal Spirit, Agent of Mara</span></p><p><strong>Quests: </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">Main Quest, Dawnguard, Radiant Quests</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><span style="font-weight:400;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3834757359,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3834757359,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="3834757359?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></span></em></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Gameplay </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">The gameplay aspect of the build is simple and satisfying. Trusty sword-and-board style combat, but just enough vulnerability in the armour to make combat engaging without feeling underpowered. Open every fight with a flesh spell, switch to the shield and then dive into the fray. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">The </span><strong>Quick Reflexes</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> perk is a core component to gameplay, allowing you to sidestep incoming power attacks and land a flurry of blows before the opponent has a chance to recover. It’s my favourite perk in the game, purely because it allows you to turn combat from trading hits and button mashing into something more dynamic and engaging. It also goes a long way in allowing builds with comparatively lower AR to combat even the toughest nasties Skyrim has to offer. Any incoming power attack should be bashed or dodged, both leaving you in an advantageous position. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">Archers and mages can be quickly closed in upon thanks to </span><strong>Become Ethereal</strong><span style="font-weight:400;">. One word is all you need to run in and deliver a </span><strong>Critical Charge</strong><span style="font-weight:400;">. After that you’re able to overwhelm them quickly with bashes and attacks of your own. The same can be applied to dragons in some respect, </span><strong>Become Ethereal</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> is a vital asset in combating dragons given the lack of ranged offense. </span><strong>Dragonrend </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">is also extremely useful in fighting dragons for the same reason. When in melee combat with a dragon, you can always interrupt the startup of their breath attacks on reaction with a bash - the animation is fairly telegraphed - leaving only their melee damage to contend with, which is fairly manageable so long as you block appropriately. </span></p><p><strong>Marked For Death</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> is of great assistance when fighting tough foes. You can sick it on Deathlords and Dragon Priests during their ‘rising’ animation safely. The debuffs it applies to enemies should not be understated, ending the fight quickly. </span><strong>Unrelenting Force</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> is very useful when managing groups of opponents, and </span><strong>Elemental Fury</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> allows you to take even the strongest opponent from 100-0 in no time, or cut down a swathe of weaker enemies in the blink of an eye. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">I didn’t put any points into Magicka past 160, giving me just enough for a cast of </span><strong>Paralyse </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">when I was near full. I wanted melee combat to be the core focus of the build, but Paralyse can be a useful ‘trick card’ to pull out in tense situations towards the late game, allowing you some breathing room in a group fight. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">For healing, I simply used bought or found potions. I assigned them to a keybind and found that combat flowed seamlessly. Cast the flesh spell, switch to the shield on another keybind and anytime I was low on health I had it at the press of a button. It was surprisingly viable given the abundance of potions from vendors and loot - I had 3 dozen plentiful healing potions at Level 35 without any need to grind alchemists for healing items. </span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3834758392,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}3834758392,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="3834758392?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Quests and Roleplay</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">I played this character with the mantra of ‘</span><strong>A sellsword with a conscience</strong><span style="font-weight:400;">’, meaning I worked for what was right, what earned me gold or what gave me an adventure, but drew the line at mixing with criminal organisations or consorting with Daedra. Essentially, </span><strong>Neutral Good. </strong></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">I didn’t join the Civil War because I wanted this character to be an ex-soldier who was done with war, but didn’t know what to do with themselves besides fighting, and subsequently became a sellsword. I also didn’t join the Companions because I thought Lycanthropy would be a bit intense for this kind of build. However, both factions make sense to a degree if you wanted to pursue them. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">‘</span><strong>Radiant Quests</strong><span style="font-weight:400;">’ might have raised some eyebrows earlier during the build outline. While every build does radiant quests, we usually only do them when we need something out of them. I decided to prioritise them, going after every bandit camp, forsworn conclave and warlock lair I could find. Not only did I come away with a hefty sum of gold, I also came away stronger every time and by the end of my playthrough, the world map was full of discovered locations. It’s the sort of build where you can choose a starting point, point yourself in a direction, get into all kinds of trouble and it sort of makes sense given the wandering concept of the character. </span></p><p><strong>Becoming the Dragonborn</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> gave him a sense of purpose, not felt since his time serving on the battlefield, but this time for reasons greater than politics and petty conflict. Likewise, the decision to join the </span><strong>Dawnguard </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">was based on morality rather than seeking a fortune. Besides, what greater foes to test your blade against than dragons and terrifying ancient vampires? Whenever I got to a city or town, I spoke to anyone and everyone looking for quests and things to do. There’s all kinds of trouble to be getting into without pursuing factions, which is exactly what I wanted. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">I joined the College as a convenience and as part of the Main Quest, simply to gain access to Tolfdir. I didn’t do any of the quests for it. By the end of my playthrough, I had completed the Main Quest, Dawnguard and most of the other quests I had intended to pursue, leaving the character as complete as he needed to be. The College questline doesn’t yield that much in terms of roleplay or gameplay, so I left it. It didn’t seem fitting for an ex-soldier and wanderer to become an Archmage for me, but who knows, maybe your version finds meaning in mastery of Alteration and wants to run his own magical institution? </span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Acquiring </span><strong>Solitude Guard Armour</strong><span style="font-weight:400;"> is something of a roleplay-roadblock. You can either wait for a dragon or vampires to attack and for a guard to die, or… Suffer a </span><em><span style="font-weight:400;">grave misunderstanding </span></em><span style="font-weight:400;">at your hands… I’ll admit, this aspect of the build sucked for me. As a character intended to be created through entirely vanilla means, you may have to momentarily compromise your roleplay experience for the sake of the build. If you have mods or play on PC, you could of course utilise, </span><em><span style="font-weight:400;">alternate methods </span></em><span style="font-weight:400;">to get it. As I said in the equipment section, the gear for this build isn’t rigid - you can afford to be flexible, so you could replace it with something similar like the </span><strong>Dawnguard Light Armour </strong><span style="font-weight:400;">red variant.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">I really wanted to hold on to the concept of a character who couldn’t settle down and was always in search of something </span><em><span style="font-weight:400;">more</span></em><span style="font-weight:400;">. As such, I didn’t marry or buy a house. You can store anything you want to keep in the various</span><a href="https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Category:Skyrim-Places-Safe"><span style="font-weight:400;"> safe storage</span></a><span style="font-weight:400;"> containers throughout Skyrim. </span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-weight:400;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3834760435,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3834760435,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="3834760435?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Closing Notes</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">Thank you for reading if you’ve got this far. This build is fairly simple and isn’t exactly revolutionising Skyrim melee combat, but I enjoyed it for what it is. The gameplay loop was fun and the aesthetic worked well, with just enough roleplay freedom to pursue a good amount of quests and a reasonably lengthy playthrough before completion. Everything sort of comes together quite naturally - there’s not much in the way of grinding or minmaxing that pulls you out of the adventure. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">I have something of a soft spot for taking simple gameplay concepts and turning them into a build with a signature aesthetic and roleplay flair, because I think they’re easy to get into and provide enough content for a satisfying experience. Perhaps it’s unambitious, but I made this build fairly recently having not played Skyrim much, if at all, for the past 2 years since I debuted on the site with my Morag Tong Assassin, and it was more than enough to reinvigorate my interest in the game. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">Sometimes going ‘</span><em><span style="font-weight:400;">Back to Basics</span></em><span style="font-weight:400;">’ is all you need for a fun build. I know all too well the struggles of getting caught up in trying too hard to find some hidden or overlooked mechanic or lore facet in the search of being the most original or impressive. If this build has taken your interest, give it a try and tell me how you like it, or what you did differently. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">I know the aesthetic and some parts of the build resemble Teccam’s Sword Singer. This wasn’t purposeful, but I hope the similarities don’t detract from the two build’s being different. I just felt I should acknowledge this. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">As a final note, while I do play with some mods installed, every aspect of this build can be created in vanilla Skyrim and was play tested to ensure this. That being said, I’m sure it’ll work perfectly well with perk overhauls like Ordinator and other mods if you’re so inclined, based on what I understand about them.</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">Many thanks,</span></p><p><span style="font-weight:400;">Histcarp</span></p></div>Event Build: Santa Clawshttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/event-build-santa-claws2018-12-24T00:05:22.000Z2018-12-24T00:05:22.000ZPercivalhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/SQUIP<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. Welcome to my entry to the Secret Santa Event. I was assigned FordFalcon’s Santa Claws build. The idea recommended an Unarmed Khajiit. Without further adieu, here’s my holiday event build.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484617069,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}484617069,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="484617069?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">--------------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484617069,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"> </a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">Race: Khajiit</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">This race was set by FordFalcon in the build suggestion and is the best race for unarmed builds. They also get a significant boost to Sneak which is a main skill in this build.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484617069,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"> </a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">Standing Stone: The Shadow Stone</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">The Shadow Stone provides invisibility for 60 seconds, providing a good way to escape or to sneak up on or past enemies. Other good options are The Steed Stone or The Thief Stone.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484617069,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"> </a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">Att. Spread: 0/1/1</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">This spread gives you equal parts health and stamina which are both useful within the build. The build doesn’t use magicka.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;">------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484632458,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}484632458,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="484632458?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Light Armor:</span> <span style="font-weight:400;">This build utilizes Light Armor as the main armor choice. The build wears</span> <strong>Shrouded Gloves, Worn Shrouded Boots</strong> <span style="font-weight:400;">and</span> <strong>Solitude Guard’s Armor.</strong> <span style="font-weight:400;">Recommended enchants include</span> <strong>Fortify Sneak, Fortify Unarmed Damage</strong> <span style="font-weight:400;">and</span> <strong>Fortify Pickpocket.</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:14pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484632458,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"> </a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Sneak:</span> <span style="font-weight:400;">The build utilizes Stealth as the main factor in combat. This couples with pickpocket to place poisons in their inventories, to weaken or kill the enemies. None of the right branch perks were chosen as they don’t affect unarmed attacks.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:14pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484632458,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"> </a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Alchemy:</span> <span style="font-weight:400;">This skill is used, of course, to make the poisons to place in enemies inventories. I recommend poisons of</span> <strong>Paralysis, Damage Health and Frenzy.</strong> <span style="font-weight:400;">You’ll also want to make lots of beneficial potions for yourself.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:14pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484632458,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"> </a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span style="font-weight:400;">Pickpocket:</span> <span style="font-weight:400;">Pickpocket is used with Sneak and Alchemy to reverse pickpocket poisons into the inventories of enemies. All perks were chosen as you may want to take items as well, such as the enemy’s weapons or armor.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;">---------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484644518,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}484644518,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="484644518?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">The builds play style is unique in that, instead of killing your enemies outright, you’ll be sneaking around them, placing poisons into their inventory to kill them, or make them turn on their allies. You’ll want to stay in the shadows while letting your “presents” take out the targets. Perhaps they’ll enjoy your gift of death than their other gifts. You’ll want to do the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves’ Guild Questlines. The DB will get you the armor pieces and the Thieves’ Guild will help level your sneaky skills.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}484632458,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"> </a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">---------------------------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:400;font-size:12pt;">Well, there you have it. That was my build entry for the Christmas Build Event. Shoutout to FordFalcon for his awesome submission and again to Pixel for the Perk Spread. I hope you all enjoyed it. Feel free to drop questions or feedback in the thread.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p></div>Character Build: The Skystriderhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-skystrider2018-08-14T22:26:15.000Z2018-08-14T22:26:15.000ZPontyhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Ponty<div><p> </p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830843336?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}71602493,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="71602493?profile=original" width="300" /></a></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-5"><strong>The Skystrider</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2">The Skystrider is a very nimble spellsword, using both her natural dexterity, as well as a plethora of spells, shouts and enchantments to outmaneuovre her foes and ensure she always has the upper hand. While her foes attack with futility, unable to get into melee range and watching as she deftly evades every missile, the Skystrider is able to dish out alot of pain. Her weapons of choice are two swords, as well as Destruction magic, enchantments, and a mastery of the Thu'um. She is also adept in the use of Light Armor, infiltration, acrobatics (I'll come to this later), and more defensive magics such as Alteration and Restoration.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Race:</strong> No single race is critical for roleplay, and I chose an Altmer. The magicka boost is hugely helpful on a hybrid character, although almost all races will get some benefit from their skillset and racial abilities.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Stone:</strong> Fairly unimportant. I went with the leveling ones until I got some important perks and then rolled with the Lord Stone for the extra protection.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Stat Distribution:</strong> 1/1/1 in Health/Magicka/Stamina. If you're playing an Altmer, you can afford to put a few extra points into Health and Stamina.</span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2"><strong><span class="font-size-5">Major Skills:</span></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>One-handed:</strong>Your main offensive skill. It isn't too important what weapon you use, but I prefer swords for their balance between speed, reach and damage. You'll often be switching between 1-hand and dual-wielding. A Skystrider is a master duelist, and key perks include Armsman, Fighting Stance, Dual Flurry, and Dual Savagery.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Destruction:</strong>Your secondary offensive skill. A Skystrider commands the powers of, well, the sky, and thus uses both Frost and Shock magic. However, Frost magic is primarily used to slow enemies, which makes Frostbite a very good spell. All Frost magic slows enemies by 50% for a few seconds, regardless of the damage dealt. This also makes Frost Cloak very useful at higher levels. However, many enemies in Skyrim are highly resistant to Frost, but hardly anything is resistant to Shock. You only really need up to Adept Destruction in here.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Restoration:</strong>The Skystrider can use the powers of Restoration to heal her wounds and protect herself from spellcasters. She can also use it to keep herself strong during battle, so that she's never unable to perform a power attack. Wards, in my opinion, are highly underrated. I can use the novice-level ward to block the breath attack of a level 30 dragon, and with the Ward Absorb perk, I can do this almost indefinetely. Key perks are up to Apprentice Restoration, Ward Absorb, Respite, and Regeneration.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830843619?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}71602499,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="71602499?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a><em>The Skystrider can command the elements of the Sky to destroy her foes</em></p><p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2"><strong><span class="font-size-5">Minor Skills:</span></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Smithing:</strong>The Skystrider prefers to forge her own equipment. While she is no master smith, she knows the ins and outs of both Steel and Elven materials. These two materials can get you through pretty much the entire game - a full set of Elven with a Gilded Elven cuirass is just as strong as a full set of Scaled, and Elven and Steel weapons are very light (relatively speaking), meaning they drain less Stamina per hit, while still doing decent damage.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Enchanting:</strong>The Skystrider also enchants her own equipment, to improve upon her natural abilites. Important perks at lower levels are just ranks in Enchanter, although around level 40 you will want to work your way up the Armor side into Extra Effect.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Sneak:</strong>While not a true assassin, the Skystrider's light foot and natural dexterity make her a proficient infiltrator. The main reason for perks in Sneak is for the Silent Roll perk. It is actually very useful for dodging heavy attacks of many enemies, such as dual-wield and two-handed power attacks, giants, and some missile attacks like spells and arrows. Key perks are just up the left to Silent Roll.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Light Armor:</strong> Basic protection. While the focus is on not getting hit, Elven Armor is almost weightless and provides a moderate amount of protection. Key perks are around the left side of the tree all the way to the top, and you really only need 1 rank in Agile Defender.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><strong>Alteration:</strong>The Skystrider can use Alteration for a myriad of purposes - from basic protection, to waterbreathing, detection and light. Flesh spells don't have to be 'always on' if you're able to evade their strikes in the first place. Key perks are up to Adept and Magic Resistance, and further on to Atronach at high levels.</p><p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830844812?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}71602596,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="71602596?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a><em>The Skystrider takes on a tough Bandit Chief</em></p><p><strong><span class="font-size-5">Equipment Notes:</span></strong></p><p><strong>Weapons/Armor:</strong>Elven armor (with Gilded cuirass) and either Steel or Elven weapons. I know alot of people hate the look of the Elven Sword (I was using the Weapon Variant Expansion mod that adds a version that looks like the greatsword), so Skyforge Steel weapons, Scimitars and Blades Swords work well too, as they have the same damage value.</p><p><strong>Enchantments:</strong>A very important note is to note enchant the weapon you're going to use in your offhand. I enchanted my main hand weapon with 2 points of Frost Damage, exclusively for the slow. With enchanting at about 50 and 3 points in the Enchanter perk, it has over 2000 uses. Ring - Resist Magic, Amulet of Talos (shouts are very important, will discuss later), Armor - Health, Helmet - Magicka, Gauntlets - One-handed damage, Boots - Stamina.</p><p><strong><span class="font-size-5">Roleplay Notes:</span></strong></p><p>There isn't really any roleplay set out for you, it would really depend on your race. I think the skillset gravitates towards the 'good' side of things though, and the emphasis on Shouts could mean you craft your RP experience around the main quest. My character was an Altmer woman who learned about her natural proficiency in the Thu'um at an early age, but kept it a secret. She was trained in the arts of the sword and spell, and escaped to Skyrim to seek her destiny and learn more about the mysterious power of the Voice.</p><p><strong><span class="font-size-5">Special Abilities:</span></strong></p><p><strong>Novice - Air Rush:<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830845901?profile=original"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}71602599,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="71602599?profile=original" width="170" /></a></strong></p><p>Requires: Become Ethereal</p><p>With a Shout the Skystrider enters her Air Form, able to pass through attacks without harm, and glide effortlessly across the battlefield. This can be used to charge a vastly superior enemy (such as a powerful mage for instance) without harm, and strike on your terms.</p><p><strong>Novice - Serenity:</strong></p><p>Requires: Altmer, Slow Time</p><p>The Slow Time shout doesn't affect your rate of Magicka regeneration. Using this with the Altmer's Highborn ability is incredibly useful in tight combat situations, to regain magicka very quickly in real time.</p><p><strong>Apprentice - Skyblade:<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830847031?profile=original"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}71602605,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="71602605?profile=original" width="200" /></a></strong></p><p>Requires: Elemental Fury</p><p>A shout commands the air around the Skystrider, allowing her to attack much more quickly. Equipping an unenchanted weapon in her offhand, the air enhances the weapon, and she flies into a whirlwind of blows. When performing a dual-wield power attack, the game only checks the attack speed of your left-hand weapon. This means you can have an enchanted weapon in your right hand and still get the attack speed boost with dual power attacks. After running out of Stamina, attack normally with your offhand weapon for the rest of the duration.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Adept - Blizzard Sprint:<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830848110?profile=original"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}71602654,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="71602654?profile=original" width="370" /></a></strong></p><p>Requires: Whirlwind Sprint, Ice Storm</p><p>The Skystrider creates a whirlwind of freezing air, and launches it at her foes. At the same time, she uses a Shout to launch herself alongside it, striking simultaneously for a massive burst of damage. To do this, walk backwards while casting Ice Storm in your left hand and a sword equipped in your right. Walking backwards causes the storm to travel slower. Then use Whirlwind Sprint and you should hit your foe at the same time the Ice Storm arrives.</p><p><strong>Expert - Wind Whisper:</strong></p><p>Requires: Detect Life, Ice Storm</p><p>The winds whisper to the Skystrider, revealing the locations of others in the area. She can then send a chilling response, gaining the attention of an enemy from out of sight. While testing I discovered you can shoot Ice Storm through walls! While the storm itself doesn't do any damage, the trails it leaves on the ground do! This means you can 'pull' enemies from the other side of walls that wouldn't be able to see or hear you normally. You can use Detect Life to line up your shot.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830849369?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}71602656,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="71602656?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></p><p><strong><span class="font-size-5">Combat Notes (Video):</span></strong></p><p>Combat for the Skystrider varies greatly between different types of opponents. Ranged or mage enemies you'll want to close on right away with Become Ethereal or Whirlwind Sprint, while with melee enemies you might want to use a Flesh spell followed by Frost Breath. Frost Breath, in my opinion, is a highly underrated shout. It staggers, deals a little damage over time, and slows down the enemies it affects. This is ideal for when you need to heal or want to use ranged magic. In melee combat, you should remember to use Frostbite lots. It's very magicka-friendly, and slows the enemy just as much as a bigger spell. This allows you to move in when you want to, not when the enemy comes to you. At higher levels you can use Ice Spike for the same effect, now that your magicka pool is larger. You should also use Silent Roll to dodge alot, as it is ideal for evading missile attacks and heavy melee attacks. A quick roll away from an enemy can save you a whole lot of pain. It's very easy to do on PC but I'm not sure how the buttons are positioned on console. Also, wards. Don't forget to use them! You can completely block a dragon's breath attack with the most basic of wards. The Skyblade special move is also very useful when dealing with tougher enemies.</p><p>You might be a little confused by the use of both the spellsword style and dual wielding. Since changing your offhand takes a negligible amount of time, don't underestimate the power a few dual power attacks can give you if used at the opportune time. You should stay as a mobile spellsword until a perfect opportunity arises (enemy misses power attack, gets staggered, etc), and then go in with a storm of strikes.</p><p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3fsQ1H_LAHg?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><p>You should be able to see most of that in practice in my demonstration video.</p><p> </p><p><strong><span class="font-size-5">Sample 30 Perk Build:</span></strong></p><p><span class="font-size-2">180 (+50) Magicka | 200 Health | 210 Stamina (264 | 234 | 243 Modified)</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>One-Handed (78):</strong><br />Armsman 3, Dual Flurry 1, Dual Savagery, Fighting Stance</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Destruction (52):</strong><br />Novice - Adept Destruction</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Restoration (61):</strong><br />Novice - Apprentice Restoration, Respite, Regeneration, Ward Absorb</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Smithing (45):</strong><br />Steel, Elven Smithing</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Enchanting(57):</strong><br />Enchanter 3</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Alteration(55):</strong><br />Novice - Adept Alteration, Magic Resistance 1</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Sneak(64):</strong><br />Stealth 1, Muffled Movement, Light Foot, Silent Roll</span></p><p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Light Armor(57):</strong><br />Agile Defender 1, Custom Fit, Unhindered</span></p></div>Character Build: The Keerilthhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-keerilth2018-07-07T21:43:44.000Z2018-07-07T21:43:44.000ZMatt Feeneyhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/MattFeeney<div><p>Revamp for my favorite vamp playthrough! I posted this build awhile ago and I'm happy to say it reached decent success, but I want to see if I could push it to the next level. As some of you may know, this build was inspired by (obviously) the Keerilth vampires of Valenwood, first mentioned in the book, Immortal Blood. Set apart from the usual vampire with the unique ability of control over mist. The Keerilth is a vampire barbarian found in the misty forests of Valenwood. They are noted for their amazing ability to transform into a cloud of mist and manifesting the mist into weapons and armor. The Keerilth is an extremely predatory creature of instinct, stalking its prey before striking from the shadows.</p><p><img class="align-center" src="https://www.tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/e9/2a/02/226c1_d926.jpg?c=c611" alt="" /> </p><p><em><strong>Race:</strong></em> Bosmer Vampire</p><p><strong><em>Skills:</em></strong> Conjuration, One-Handed, Illusion, Sneak, Enchanting, and Alteration.</p><p><strong><em>Stone:</em></strong> Shadow Stone- Great for ambushes, combined with the Muffle spell, you become a non-existant shadow, unseeable and completely silent.</p><p><strong><em>Shouts:</em></strong> Become Ethereal fits this perfectly. From representing the Keerilth's mist form to allow sudden dual wield power attacks to escaping by jumping off cliffs. My new favorite shout!</p><p><strong><em>Equipment:</em></strong> The Mourner's Clothes, Miraak's Boots (they have an armor rating but don't interfere with Mage Armor), Ulfric's Bracers, Ring of Namira, any circlet and necklace.</p><p><strong><em>Suggested Enchantments:</em></strong> Fortify Conjuration, Illusion, or Alteration. Muffle. Fortify One-Handed.</p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>The Build</strong></span></p><p> Conjuration is an important part of this build, it gives us a very important tool, Bound Swords! They're completely weightless which allows for a ton of power attacks, are only novice level spells, give you a huge amount of XP, and, of course, are of Daedric quality! This is incredibly important as I didn't take Smithing, nor did I ever touch a forge or a workbench, which was very satisfying. It's also good to note that even though I didn't put any perks into Atromancy or Necromancy, the Frost Atronach is still very powerful, especially due to it's ground pound attack that will stagger anything in the game!</p><p> Illusion will allow us to get off sneak attacks and ambush our enemies at very early levels. You could make an argument that I wasted 2 perks in this tree by later levels, but I think 'wasting' 2 measly perks is worth being able to get off sneak attacks by level 1. Very unperked and very straightforward use of this tree, but this skill is critical nonetheless.</p><p><strong> </strong> One-Handed is used to increase our damage done with the Bound Swords as well as increase our attack speed by 35%. It gives us access to Fighting Stance which reduces our power attack cost to only around 30 stamina points. The Critical Charge is mainly used in combination with the Silent Roll perk in the Sneak tree, this combo will give us huge power behind our first strike! The Dual Savagery perk (dual wielding power attacks do 50% more damage) is a very important perk, especially since we aren't taking Smithing or using self-enchanted weapons. This perk (and build itself!) is increased even further with the Dragon Aspect shout (Explained in the Combat Section).</p><p><strong> </strong> I debated on putting perks into Sneak as my detectability was already covered by the Muffle spell, but the call of 6x damage, Silent Roll, and Shadow Warrior was too strong to refuse. I already covered the use of Silent Roll and 6x damage is self-explanatory, so let's talk about Shadow Warrior. Turn invisible for 1 second while shrouded in something that resembles mist? Yes, please, thank you very much. This allows to perform sneak attacks in mid combat, it also gives us time to pop either our Shadow Stone power or the Embrace of Shadows to slink back into the darkness once more.</p><p><strong> </strong> I debated on Enchanting, I was pretty powerful without. You might call this a late game add-on, and you'd be right. But that doesn't mean it isn't a very powerful add-on that allows us to focus on magicka less. Enchanting is very easy to level up late game due to my hoarding soul gems and the auto-soul trap ability the Bound Swords get. I just took ranks in Enchanter and up to Corpus Enchanter, Extra Effect would've been massive overkill! With fortifying my magical schools, muffling my footsteps (thus removing the need to use Muffle), and increasing my already massive damage output; this really took some weight off my shoulders.</p><p><strong> </strong> Alteration, possibly my favorite magical skill. Alteration will act as our 'mist skin' so to speak. It gives us a pretty decent armor rating while letting us be completely weightless. You may have noticed I didn't take Restoration or Alchemy, Alteration's weightless armor allowed me to duck, dodge, and, if the situation called for it, bailing the hell out of there! It also gives us some fun little utility spells, I had a lot of fun with Detect Life and using it as my advanced vampire senses.<strong> </strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}50391839,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}50391839,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="50391839?profile=original" width="675" height="421" /></a></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><span style="font-size:12pt;">Combat:</span></strong></p><p><strong> </strong><em>Open Combat</em> is largely spent dodging around and getting in fast swipes before backing out of reach. My main strategy was striking fast, staggering opponents with my weightless weapons, dodging attacks with my weightless armor, and slinking back into the shadows. Become Ethereal is used for a plethora of uses. In combat it is used to dodge attacks, escape off cliffs, and emergency power attacks. I'll explain the last bit, low health, no invisibility powers left, no corpses of which to feed, and one powerful enemy left, like a Bandit Chief. Just Become Ethereal, wait for an opening (right after they try to attack) and perform (a free of cost) dual wield power attack, staggering them just in case you need to perform another one. Perhaps my favorite addition from Dragonborn is the amazing Dragon Aspect shout. It increases your armor by 100 (this brings it up to 400 AR), it reduces shout cooldown by 20% (which lets us use our key shout, Become Ethereal, more often), it adds 25% frost and fire resistance (very helpful for a vampire), the ancient Dragonborn (he can serve as another distraction and he doesn't care how many Conjuration perks you don't have), and lastly, 25% more damage from power attacks, sounds meager at first, but when combined with a dual wield power attack and the Dual Savagery perk, it's a total of 75% more damage!</p><p> <em>In Stealth, </em>your main priority is to measure out the distance for your Critical Roll Charge. This will either one shot them or at the very least damage them heavily and stagger them (thus allowing you to hit them again, so a free kill either way). Infiltration is done easily by using Muffle+Invisibilty, I typically use this to get right behind the strongest enemy in the area, and do several dual wielding power attacks (normally the first three strikes will be stealth strikes thus doing 6x times damage). Shadow Warrior is typically used to lose enemies or get sneak attacks mid combat, but my favorite use is using it to go straight into the Shadow Stone, which provides an easy way to sneak attack any powerful enemies or take breather and let your health regeneration a bit.</p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Level 45 Perk Spread:</strong></span></p><p>Conjuration: Novice, Mystic Binding, Soul Stealer, Oblivion Binding</p><p>One-Handed: 5/5 Armsman, Fighting Stance, Critical Charge, 2/2 Dual Flurry, Dual Savagery</p><p>Illusion: Novice, Apprentice, Animage, Kindred Mage, Quiet Casting</p><p>Alteration: Novice-Expert, 3/3 Mage Armor, 3/3 Magic Resistance, Stability</p><p>Sneak: 1/5 Stealth, Backstab, Muffled Movement, Light Foot, Silent Roll, Silence, Shadow Warrior</p><p>Enchanting: 5/5 Enchanter, Insightful Enchanter, Corpus Enchanter</p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Closing Statements:</strong></span></p><p>This was my first build posted back in 2012 on the Skyrim Blog (later renamed the Tamriel Vault). It was updated once a month or two later. Needless to say the presentation doesn't stand up to current builds and the writing is far more amateur than what I'm capable of now (Thanks, college!). I may clean up the writing later. We'll see.</p><p>Either way, this is still an incredibly fun and simple build. It allows for a very 'clean' playthrough. Not a lot of menu-switching, no worrying about armors or weapons, and minimal crafting. In fact, I later played with this build and ignored crafting entirely; it was still perfectly viable on Master difficulty, if you play a bit more tactically (stealth attacks, better Become Ethereal uses, etc.). Low stress, combat-focused playthrough. It's a good time.</p></div>Character Build: The Dancer of the Two Moonshttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-dancer-of-the-two-moons2018-03-13T22:36:10.000Z2018-03-13T22:36:10.000ZTeccamhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Teccam<div><p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">This build is intended to be played with a small suite of essential gameplay enhancing mods.</span> <em><span style="font-weight:500;">Most</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">of these are available on PC (both LE and SE) as well as XBox 1 - sorry, PS4 and legacy console players. These mods allow for vastly more interesting character builds and more exciting, rewarding combat. Please see <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/modding/forum/simple-baseline-gameplay-mod-suite-for-skyrim-le" target="_blank">the list / guide here</a></span><span style="font-weight:500;"> for full details. Additionally, this build should be played with <a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/21120/" target="_blank">Heavy Armory</a></span><span style="font-weight:500;">, a mod which adds the quarterstaves this character ideally employs in combat to complement his flaws.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">This was a truly fun character to play and write. We sincerely hope anyone who is able to download the necessary mods is willing to give it a shot -- we are confident you will not be disappointed! Thank you for reading, and enjoy.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/13966731?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/13966731?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="13966731?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">A collaboration between Mr. C. N. Dying & Teccam</span></em></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158935626,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158935626,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158935626?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="764" height="436" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">For centuries, the greatest martial artists of Tamriel have hailed from the temples of Elsweyr, where Khajiit monks train for decades to hone their bodies, minds, and spirits. The greatest among them are capable of sensing blows before they even begin, and facing hordes of foes single-handed. Their grace and poise are unparalleled, turning combat into a lethal, beautiful art.</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">When word of the Dragon Threat reached them, the temples dispatched their greatest prodigy to serve the moon gods and help end the danger. This is his story...</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">-</span></em></p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Khajiit - Imperious Races is a race overhaul mod that seeks to breathe new life into Skyrim’s playable races by adding new and unique abilities to each. The natural athletic agility of the Khajiit race is emphasized, and they receive a substantial boost to movement speed which synergizes well with unarmed damage perks found in Ordinator.</span></p>
<ul><li style="font-weight:500;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">Feline Agility:</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">Move faster and also sprint faster at the cost of more stamina</span></li>
<li style="font-weight:500;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">Prowl:</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">Sneak silently and perform a power leap whenever you jump while sneaking</span></li>
<li style="font-weight:500;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">Rawlith Khaj:</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">Claw attacks deal bonus damage based on total stamina</span></li>
</ul><p><strong>Stone:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">The Shadow - Aurora does for standing stones what the Imperious mod does for the playable races. Each standing stone has been dramatically overhauled with unique and powerful active and passive effects. We won't be using the active ability Shadow Step with this build, but the passive movement speed synergizes perfectly with the unarmed damage perks within Ordinator.</span></p>
<ul><li style="font-weight:500;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">Blur:</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">Increases movement speed while in combat</span></li>
<li style="font-weight:500;"><em><span style="font-weight:500;">Shadow Step:</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">At will, use the power of shadow stones to teleport behind a target a short distance away</span></li>
</ul><p><strong>Attributes:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">1</span> <span style="font-weight:500;"><span style="color:#000080;">M</span></span> <span style="font-weight:500;">/ 2</span> <span style="font-weight:500;"><span style="color:#800000;">H</span></span> <span style="font-weight:500;">/ 1 <span style="color:#008000;">S</span>. Cap Stamina at 200 and Magicka at 150 points and invest all points afterward into Health. (You may choose to instead prioritize stamina over health if you instead value lethality over survivability. In this case cap Magicka at 150, Health at 250, and invest everything into Stamina/, or find a middle ground that works for you!)</span></p>
<p><strong>Skills:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Light Armor, Alteration, Two-handed, Block, Alchemy</span></p>
<p><strong>Equipment:</strong></p>
<ul><li style="font-weight:500;"><span style="font-weight:500;">Your choice of quarterstaff (consider keeping a silver one for use against undead foes)</span></li>
<li style="font-weight:500;"><span style="font-weight:500;">Your claws</span></li>
<li style="font-weight:500;"><span style="font-weight:500;">Light armor of choice -- see our recommended mods below</span></li>
<li style="font-weight:500;"><span style="font-weight:500;">Jewelry: Ring and Pendant of Fortify Health and/or Stamina (Optional: Amulet of Talos)</span></li>
</ul><p><strong>Shouts:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Slow Time, Dragonrend</span></p>
<p><strong>Spells:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Flesh spells</span></p>
<p><strong>Alignment:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Neutral Good</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">-</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>- Lore -</strong></span></p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158756013,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158756013?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="764" height="299" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> <em><span style="font-weight:500;">Throughout recorded history nearly all races have adopted one form of martial arts or another, however martial arts hold an especially prominent place within khajiit culture. The relatively foreign appearance and behavior of the khajiit people have oft made them the targets of fear, discrimination and far worse. Kidnappings, enslavement, persecution, and numerous invasions upon their homeland have inspired the khajiit to take a deadly serious interest in self defense.</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Many unique forms of martial arts have emerged from the great temples of Elsweyr: The Goutfang Style, the Whispering Fang, and the Rawlith Khaj are some of the most renowned disciplines, although precious little is known of these styles outside of Elsweyr. Whatever the discipline, their practitioners are trained to move like water and strike like the wind, with razor sharp claws honed through years of training into lethal weapons.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">A Khajiit’s chosen discipline and status are often reflected in the prefixes adopted in their names. These prefixes act as formal titles as well as badges of honor. It is common for esteemed warriors to adopt the prefix ‘Do’, meaning “warrior”. Such a prestigious title is reserved exclusively for the likes of master martial artists and the Mane’s personal guard. The Dancer of the Two Moons, however, is a unique title once granted to a great prodigy skilled in the ways of Rawlith Khaj and the Bo Jutsu style. The monk wielded both his staff and claws in perfect harmonious dance the elders liken to the moons themselves dancing among the stars.</span></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>- Gameplay -</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}416419094,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}416419094,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="416419094?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em> <span style="font-weight:500;">Well versed was the monk in the history and ways of his people, as were all khajiit who lived and trained within the temples. His kind had endured centuries of derision, distrust and slavery at the hands of the other races of man and mer. Reasonable it was then for the monk to question the task passed down to him by the temple elders. Foolish it was in his mind to aid those who did not see fit to allow khajiit within their walls. Nevertheless the monk journeyed to Skyrim, remembering the words of wisdom of his elders: “Foolish is Khajiit who does nothing as his neighbor suffers, for trouble can walk and will surely find Khajiit next.”</span></em></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-weight:500;">At the core of this build is Ordinator, an ambitious perk overhaul mod that scraps boring vanilla perks entirely and replaces them with over 400 unique perks. Overall the Dancer of the Two Moons levels at a fairly decent pace. Block as well as your primary attack skills, Two-handed and Light Armor, by way of unarmed damage perks, comprise the bulk of your skills and are in constant use. Alchemy may lag behind depending on your taste for crafting skills. Consider using an alchemy trainer to keep pace with your combat skills.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">-</p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158793380,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158793380,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158793380?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="138" /></a>Light Armor</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- For those new to Ordinator, you may be surprised to find that our main offensive skill tree is Light Armor. With Ordinator, light armor offers other benefits such as increased movement speed, evasion, and unarmed damage. Within the light armor tree are all the unarmed perks that enable the Dancer of the Two Moons to deal some</span> <em><span style="font-weight:500;">very</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">heavy unarmed critical damage.</span></p>
<p><strong>Key Perks:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Sweeping Wind, Rushing Tide, War Dancer, Breaking Waves, Tempting Fate</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Among the key perks, the most critical is Sweeping Wind, which causes unarmed attacks to deal 2% more damage for every 1% movement speed gained. Thanks to the Imperious Races and Aurora Standing Stones mods, this character comes with a significant movement speed bonus right from the start. Wind Runner grants an additional 10% movement speed on top of that just for wearing all light armor. Rushing Tide causes every unarmed attack to further increase movement speed by 5%.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Tempting Fate takes things further and adds an additional 20% movement speed whenever you successfully dodge a power attack without attempting to block. Lastly we have War Dancer and Breaking Waves. The former will cause unarmed strikes to deal 20% more critical damage provided you do not sustain damage from any unblocked source in battle. Breaking Waves will make ALL attacks automatic critical hits so long as War Dancer is active.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:500;">-</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158791390,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158791390,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158791390?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="138" /></a>Two-handed</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- The Two-handed tree acts as the secondary offensive skill tree and also works in tandem with the Block skill tree to provide the bulk of the Dancer’s defensive needs. The weapon of choice will be quarterstaves, which are much like warhammers but significantly faster (and weaker, for balance).</span></p>
<p><strong>Key Perks:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Avalanche, The Pendulum</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">The Two-handed tree is not being perked predominantly for offensive damage potential, but rather for two key perks, Avalanche and Pendulum, which offer unique means of disrupting enemies. What makes this skill tree so dangerous in the hands of the Dancer is how quickly one can chain together power attacks with a quarterstaff.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Avalanche activates whenever a forward power attack is executed. If it connects, it will cause an enemy to stagger almost to the point of falling over completely whenever they take unblocked damage from any source. This even includes unarmed attacks. The Pendulum will cause all but the most massive creatures hit by two opposite sideways power attacks within ten seconds to be completely knocked off their feet and scattered. The perfect way to thin the herd when fighting a large group, as getting knocked over by the pendulum will take enemies out of the fight for several seconds.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:500;">-</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158789253,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158789253,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158789253?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="138" /></a>Block</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- The defensive half of the Dancer's quarterstaff use, this tree is used primarily for the timed blocking perks which reward the Dancer for his reflexes and awareness of enemies."</span></p>
<p><strong>Key Perks:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Timed Block (2/2), Timing Streak, Deliverance, Break Their Teeth, Dragon Scales, Quick Reflexes</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Between Two-handed and Block, your staff is essentially more of a shield than a weapon. Block takes the disruptive options offered by the key two handed perks even further with massive bonuses to be gained from skillful timed blocking. </span><span style="font-weight:500;">With that being said, the most essential perk of all the key block perks is Timed Blocking. The way it works is whenever an enemy attacks you while blocking within one second of raising your defenses, that triggers a timed block. Doing this will mitigate more damage than a standard block, and stagger your attacker. Three successful timed blocks in a row trigger bonus effects</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Timing Streak will restore 75 stamina. Deliverance grants you 10% attack damage for 90 seconds which will stack if you can continuously perform trios of timed blocks within 90 seconds. Break Their Teeth will stagger everybody within an 8 foot radius and violently disarm your last attacker. Last but not least, Dragon Scales will completely negate all damage taken during a timed block so long as you have stamina remaining.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Quick Reflexes works just the same as it does in vanilla Skyrim and is invaluable for dodging those heavy power attacks. Just as in vanilla Skyrim you can trigger Extended Slow Time if you use the Slow Time shout while Quick Reflexes is active. If you find yourself having difficulty engaging enemies unarmed, this will help tremendously.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:500;">-</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158784664,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158784664,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158784664?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="138" height="138" /></a>Alteration</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- Ordinator’s rendition of Alteration does not deviate much from the overall purpose of its vanilla counterpart (particularly for the Dancer’s purposes) - to provide utility and augmentations. While lightly perked in this build, Alteration provides some well needed bonuses to the build’s resistances and defense.</span></p>
<p><strong>Key Perks:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Alter Self: Fire & Frost Resistance, Alter Attributes: Health, Home Mythal</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">One thing that makes Alteration unique in Ordinator is that certain perks offer branching choices when selected. For the perk Alter Self we chose fire and frost resistance since those are the two most common elements you’ll likely run into when fighting enemy mages.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">For Alter Attributes the recommended choice is Health. As a lightly armored melee combatant Health will be key to your survival. Ample Health and the added boost from flesh spells will prevent stronger enemies from turning your first mistake into your last. But as stated before, if you prefer lethality over survivability, then choose Stamina instead.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Last but certainly not least is Home Mythal, a perk which grants up to 20-times Alteration spell durations whenever they are cast within the vicinity of the Mythal. You should hold off on taking that perk until you’ve settled on a suitable player home. The exact spot you’re standing on when you activate the perk becomes the permanent spot of your Home Mythal. So plan accordingly.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:500;">-</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158796308,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158796308,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158796308?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="138" /></a>Alchemy</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- Alchemy receives a considerable boost in Ordinator over its vanilla counterpart. With key perks unlocked, you gain not only the benefits of your concoctions but other additional stat boosts simply for imbibing a potion, many of which synergize well with potions within your repertoire</span></p>
<p><strong>Key Perks:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Stimulants, Advanced Lab, Crimson Haze, Physician: Stamina</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Stimulants will increase your Stamina Regen by 2% of your maximum Stamina per second for 30 seconds whenever you consume a potion. It's worth noting that this will stack with Stamina Regen effects from potions. Crimson Haze causes Stimulants to also increase your movement speed by 10% for 30 seconds. Since movement speed also determines your unarmed attack power, you're basically getting a free attack boost with every potion you drink.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Advanced Lab will boost the potency of your potions further, but only at the alchemy station you choose to turn into an ‘advanced lab’. For this reason you’ll want to be careful what location you choose. Our recommendation is to turn the alchemy lab within your player home of choice into an advanced lab. It makes sense to have your Home Mythal and Advanced Lab situated in the same home.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Last up is the Physician perk which offers three branching choices. We picked Stamina. Your attack power is largely predicated on how much current stamina you have. So it’s to your advantage to get the most out of your stamina replenishing potions regardless of whether you prioritized Health or Stamina in your stat distribution.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>The following potions will best aid you in your travels:<br /><br /></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>Inner Balance</strong></em></span></p>
<p><strong>Ingredients:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Torchbug Thorax, Histcarp, Lavender</span></p>
<p><strong>Effects:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Fortify Stamina, Restore Stamina, Lingering Damage Magicka</span></p>
<p><strong>Argument:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Maximizing Stamina is crucial to ensuring your attacks continue to operate effectively, and that your blocks properly mitigate inbound damage. This is a fairly cheap and simple recipe that you can use often to ensure your Stamina is always charged. The Lingering Damage Magicka effect can be bypassed with other recipes, but as Magicka is really only needed when casting Ebonyflesh from your Home Mythal origin, we can spare the Magicka in normal combat.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> <span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>Grace of Khenarthi</strong></em></span></p>
<p><strong>Ingredients: <span style="font-weight:500;">Blue Mountain Flower, Wheat</span></strong></p>
<p>Effects: <span style="font-weight:500;">Fortify Health, Restore Health</span></p>
<p>Argument: <span style="font-weight:500;">A simple and classic potion that is pretty much universally helpful on any alchemist, and no exception here. Also an easy option to trigger the Stimulants perk from Alchemy on command, as the ingredients are cheap and sustainable, and the Fortify effect is useful even at the start of a skirmish..</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> <span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>S'rendarr's Might</strong></em></span></p>
<p><strong>Ingredients: <span style="font-weight:500;">Bleeding Crown, Tundra Cotton</span></strong></p>
<p>Effects: <span style="font-weight:500;">Resist Magic, Fortify Block</span></p>
<p>Argument: <span style="font-weight:500;">The Dancer’s primary defensive tonic. Critical against mages, and also gives a nice buff to blocking physical attacks. Consider keeping a small stock of secondary elemental resistance potions as well, using Snowberries as a base to further provide Resist Frost and Resist Fire. Good for particularly powerful mages and dragons.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> <span style="font-size:12pt;"><em><strong>Lunar Essence</strong></em></span></p>
<p><strong>Ingredients: <span style="font-weight:500;">Grass Pod, River Betty</span></strong></p>
<p>Effects: <span style="font-weight:500;">Fortify Alteration</span></p>
<p><strong>Argument:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">A simple potion, mainly for use when casting Ebonyflesh at your Home Mythal origin to significantly augment its duration.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">-</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong> - Fighting Styles -</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158803423,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158803423,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158803423?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="762" height="298" /></a></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> S<em><span style="font-weight:500;">kyrim was a land under siege, desperate for aid. Dragons were very much real and posed a grave threat to more than just Skyrim. Little did the monk know, his destiny laid at the center stage of this turmoil...</span></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">As there are two moons in the sky, the Dancer of the Two Moons is a master of two distinct fighting styles.</span> <em><span style="font-weight:500;">Rawlith Khaj</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">is an aggressive hand to hand fighting style with tremendous damage potential in the hand of a master.</span> <em><span style="font-weight:500;">Bojutsu</span></em> <span style="font-weight:500;">is a stalwart defensive style utilizing a quarterstaff that favors a strong defense with the ability to keep enemies off balance.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">-</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:12pt;">Rawlith Khaj</span></strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- Fast, powerful strikes delivered with deadly precision, Rawlith Khaj is a deadly hand-to-hand fighting style that favors swift dodging and deadly counter attacks. As you dodge attacks and deliver blows of your own, your movement becomes even faster and your power attacks become more lethal, chaining together to make you exponentially quicker and stronger as your enemies tire.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Dodging is imperative. If you take unblocked damage of any kind, you lose your War Dancer buff for several seconds, severely reducing your unarmed damage. Conserve your Stamina and avoid attacking head-on. Let your opponents make the first move and leave themselves open. Each unarmed attack will increase your movement speed slightly, and dodging a power attack will increase your movement speed by 20% for the duration of combat. With heightened movement speed and high remaining Stamina, your power attacks will do much more damage, turning power attacks into devastating critical blows.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158976983,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158976983,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158976983?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="91" /></a></p>
<p><strong>One-Thousand Fold Fury</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- <em>Strike your opponent repeatedly, building momentum for a single devastating power attack. If you remain undamaged while building momentum, this power attack will be a lethal critical hit striking with the fury of a thousand claws.</em></span></p>
<p><strong>Requirements:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Slow Time, War Dancer, Breaking Waves, Sweeping Wind, Rushing Tide, Tempting Fate</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">This is the ultimate end result of all unarmed perks working in tandem. A single power attack easily capable of exceeding 600+ critical damage, but only if you build enough movement speed and stamina while keeping that war dancer buff active.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">-</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Bojutsu</strong></span> <span style="font-weight:500;">- The shield to the sword that is the Rawlith Khaj style. Quarterstaves, although weak, have a long reach and are quite fast, perfect for keeping enemies at a distance, creating openings, and disrupting and scattering the enemy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Masters of the Bojutsu style believe the path to victory lies in a strong and tactical defense. They prefer to time their blocks or use their quick reflexes to avoid attacks rather than simply stand ground and absorb damage. A timed block will deflect all of an enemy’s power and cause them to stagger while also replenishing your Stamina. A timed block streak will violently disarm an attacker as well as stun everyone around him, creating a massive opening.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Power attacks are invaluable with this style and each one can disrupt enemies in a unique way. Forward power attacks will daze their target, so much so that all unblocked attacks that follow for the next few seconds will cause heavy staggering, even with unarmed attacks. A sweep done twice in quick succession will sweep all enemies clear off their feet and toss them aside. An invaluable tactic for thinning the herd when faced against a group.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158945197,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158945197,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158945197?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="91" /></a>Harsh Lesson</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- <em>Teach your opponent the error of their ways with a hard knock over the head. This skull rattling blow will leave your opponent dazed for several seconds, causing them to stagger from any unblocked attack.</em></span></p>
<p><strong>Requirements:</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">Avalanche, Forward Power Attack, Basic Attacks</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">A simple yet powerful combination. A forward power attack with your quarterstaff will cause any unblocked follow up attacks for the next 8 seconds, including unarmed attacks, to send your enemy reeling. This is especially helpful because unarmed attacks aren't normally able to stagger enemies. Or you could continue to batter your opponents with light and fast strikes from your quarter staff, essentially stun locking your dazed opponent for several seconds. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}14526959,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}14526959,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="14526959?profile=original" width="91" /></a></strong><span style="font-weight:500;"><strong>Lunar Balance </strong></span><span style="font-weight:500;">- <em>In the heat of battle you achieve an extended state of perfect mental clarity and perception whereby enemy attacks are much easier to anticipate and evade. </em></span></p>
<p><strong>Requirements:</strong> Quick Reflexes + Slow Time, Lunar Essence (optional)</p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">Trigger Quick Reflexes by dodging a power attack and immediately activate Slow Time. If succesful Slow Time will last far past its normal duration. Your combos become easier to perform and enemy attacks become much easier to evade. A vital technique against large enemy groups, exceptionally strong foes and other overwhelming odds. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:500;">-</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O1SrXpNsfKs" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>- Mods - </strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}158811069,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}158811069,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="158811069?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="762" height="298" /></a></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> <em><span style="font-weight:500;">Skyrim is at last at peace, and so the time has come for the monk to leave this land he has slowly come to cherish as dearly as his native sand...</span></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight:500;">As mentioned in the introduction, this build relies on</span> <span style="font-weight:500;">a core suite of gameplay expansions and overhauls</span><span style="font-weight:500;">. It is highly recommended that you use the entire suite in the link, however, the following are absolutely <strong>essential</strong> to unlock the full synergies the build relies upon:</span></p>
<ul><li><span style="font-weight:500;">Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight:500;">Aurora - Standing Stones of Skyrim -OR- Andromeda Standing Stones of Skyrim</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight:500;">Imperious - Races of Skyrim</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight:500;">Heavy Armory</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight:500;">Mortal Enemies - De-aimbot your foes</span></li>
</ul><p> </p>
<p><strong>Additionally, we recommend the following mods to further enhance your playthrough:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Animated Armory - </strong>A neat mod suggested by SirrocTheSentinel which adds a number of new weapons types to the game with their own unique third person animations. Most notable of these additions are the new quarter staves. They share the same speed and damage as the staves added by Heavy Armory, but have unique animations befitting a skilled monk. </p>
<p><strong>Warmonger Armory</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- This mod adds a handful of excellently crafted armor sets to the game, available in leveled lists (i.e., worn by enemies, sold by vendors, etc.). They use entirely vanilla assets, meaning they all look and feel at home in Skyrim, and even pick up the textures from any armor/clothing texture mods you may have installed. For this character, the Sand Assassin Armor works very nicely.</span></p>
<p><strong>Ultimate Combat</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">(LE) -OR-</span> <strong>Smilodon Combat</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">(SE) - These mods take a similar approach to combat. Rather than bogging you down with micromanagement of wounds, or worrying about being vulnerable if your Stamina depletes, they focus more on keeping combat frenetic and on natural advantages caused by player/enemy movement.</span> <em><span style="font-weight:500;">Note: Ultimate Combat users should disable its Timed Block system and use Ordinator’s instead. Smilodon users should additionally install Combat Behavior Improved to get block canceling and better hitframes for attacks.</span></em></p>
<p><strong>Enhanced Skyrim Factions: The Companions Guild</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">(LE only) - As a warrior at heart, your character may feel very much at home within the halls of Jorrvaskr. Enhanced Skyrim Factions greatly expands the length and depth of the Companion quest and adds a plethora of new features such as the ability to spar with your fellow companions in challenging one-on-one duels, and allowing your character much more autonomy as they progress. ESF also allows you to progress through the Conpanion questline without having to become a werewolf.</span></p>
<p><strong>Khajiit Speak</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- Since this character is a Khajiit, he ought to talk like one! This mod overhauls all dialogue to be more fitting for a Khajiit, including taking into account the formality of each conversation and the relationship of the player character with each NPC. Highly recommended for any Khajiit playthrough.</span></p>
<p><strong>Jaxonz Renamer</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- A very nifty utility that allows you to rename just about any item in the game. Normally, this does not work for custom potions, but thanks to a clever workaround discovered by Avispon, it can in fact be done. Perfect for your stock of hotkeyed potions as listed previously in the build.</span></p>
<p><strong>Moonpaths of Elsweyr</strong> <span style="font-weight:500;">- Trouble has reared its ugly head back home in Elsweyr where the Thalmor are up to no good. This is a medium sized quest mod wherein you join forces with a ragtag group of khajiit resistance fighters on their mission to undermine the Thalmor.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /><em>Thank you for reading!</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p></div>Character Build: The Acrobathttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/the-acrobat2018-02-04T07:00:34.000Z2018-02-04T07:00:34.000ZTheChampionOfCyrodilhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/TheChampionOfCyrodil<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906925?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906925?profile=original" width="164"></a></p>
<p>Race: Khajit</p>
<p>Standing Stone: Thief</p>
<p>Stats: Make a good mix between health and stamina.</p>
<p>Backstory: Optional,if you like roleplaying.</p>
<p>Roleplaying: The acrobat is selfish but you can change him to your liking.</p>
<p>Factions: Thieves Guild,Dark Brotherhood(Optional), I don't know about the war factions so choose them to your liking.</p>
<p>Skills:Mostly focus on the thief and warrior part of the skill trees.<br> Perk Trees\Perks:</p>
<p>Light Armor:Agile Defender,Custom FIt,Unhindered,Wind Walker,Deft Movement.</p>
<p>Sneak:Stealth,Muffled Movement,Backstab,Light Foot,Deadly Aim,Silent Roll,Assassin's Blade(Optional if you are gonna use daggers.),Silence,Shadow Warrior.</p>
<p>Archery:Overdraw,Eagle Eye,Critical Shot,Steady Hand,Power Shot,Hunter's Discipline,Quick Shot,Ranger(Optional),Bullseye.</p>
<p>Block(Optional if you like using daggers\dagger for backup.):Shield Wall,Quick Reflexes,Block Runner.</p>
<p>One-Handed(Optional because daggers.):Armsman,Fighting Stance,Bladesman,Dual Furry(Optional for dual daggers.),Critical Charge,Dual Savagery(Again if you like dual wielding daggers.),Paralyzing Strike.</p>
<p>Lockpicking:Novice Locks,Apprentice Locks, Quick Hands, Wax Key,Adept Locks,Golden Touch,Treasure Hunter(If you like to be a thief-like character.),Expert Locks,Locksmith,Unbreakable,Master Locks.</p>
<p>Speech:Haggling(For selling stuff.),Allure,Bribery,Merchant,Persuasion,Investor(Optional)Intimidation(If you want a more intimidating acrobat.),Fence,Master Trader.</p>
<p>Mods:Athletics Training.</p>
<p>Gear:Choose any light armor, Use Nephyr or a Elven bow, Choose any kind of daggers.</p>
<p>Companions: Faendal,Cicero,Eola.</p>
<p>Enchantments: Fortify Wielding(Optional), Fortify Sneak, Fortify One-Handed(Optional),Fortify Block(Optional),Fortify Speech,Fortify Lockpicking,Fortify Archery.</p></div>Character Build: The Vraseth Vampirehttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-vraseth-vampire2018-01-05T00:41:35.000Z2018-01-05T00:41:35.000ZAlbinohttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Albino<div><p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347776075,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347776075?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>The Vraseth Vampire</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" align="center">The Vraseth are a vampire bloodline gifted with nimbleness. This can be reflected ingame by what is perhaps my favorite glitch in the game, the Quick Reflexes + Slow Time combo, or what I like to call Extended Slow Time. By using one word of Slow Time immediately after the slowdown effect of Quick Reflexes ends, Slow Time’s duration is extended significantly. The exact duration varies, but it’s possible to get close to a minute. The best part, however, is that both Stability and Necromage Vampirism still extend this glitched version of Slow Time by 50% each! Seriously, Slow Time will last so long that you’ll most likely have to wait an hour (via the wait function of course, not real time) after combat in order for it to wear off. This opens up the possibility of using other shouts while Slow Time is running, namely, Elemental Fury. Needless to say, this is an overpowered build, but it's overpowered fun, like a 100% fortify shouts build. So what are we waiting for; let’s get on with the build!</p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> The Vraseth are located in the High Rock portion of the Iliac Bay region, which would point towards Breton as the race of choice, but I recommend Redguard for their Adrenaline Rush power. They also get some nice skill boosts (+10 One-Handed, +5 Block and Alteration) for the build. The 50% poison resistance is unfortunately wasted though since vampires have poison immunity.</p>
<p><strong>Stone:</strong> Since this is a Mage Armor build, AR will be on the low side, making the Lord the ideal choice. The extra magic resistance is nice as well.</p>
<p><strong>Stats: <span style="color:#3366ff;">1</span>/<span style="color:#ff0000;">2</span>/<span style="color:#339966;">1</span></strong>. A balanced stat spread should suffice.</p>
<p><strong>Equipment:</strong> Twin Blades of Sacrifice, Nazir’s Outfit, Amulet of Talos, Ring of Magic Resistance. If you have the Unofficial Skyrim Patch, then go with a Ring of Wielding instead.</p>
<p><strong>Shouts:</strong> You’ll want to pick up the word for Slow Time found in Hag’s End for use with Extended Slow Time, and Elemental Fury is also an important shout to the build. Aside from that, Become Ethereal is an easy way to avoid ranged attacks, Whirlwind Sprint enables you to close in on your enemies quickly, and Unrelenting Force is a great crowd control tool.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347776279,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347776279?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Skills</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>One-Handed:</strong> The Vraseth relies on a pair of daggers for offense due to their lightning fast speed. Grab all the perks in this tree except for Paralyzing Strike (since it’s difficult to hit an enemy with a backwards power attack using daggers) and the weapon specific ones.</p>
<p><strong>Block:</strong> Used for Quick Reflexes and nothing else. Whether you level this skill to 30 through trainers or the old fashioned way is up to you.</p>
<p><strong>Alteration:</strong> In the early going, you’ll definitely need flesh spells to survive. Ultimately, however, you can dodge attacks via Extended Slow Time instead of using flesh spells. By lategame, you can also use the Paralyze spell to incapacitate troublesome enemies while you deal with the other ones. Grab all the perks in this tree except for Master Alteration and Alteration Dual Casting.</p>
<p><strong>Restoration:</strong> Aside from Necromage, you’ll also want to use this skill for healing. Grab all the perks in this tree except for Restoration Dual Casting, Ward Absorb, and Expert/Master Restoration. Given that Necromage is one of the higher level perks and Restoration is one of the more difficult magic schools to level, I recommend investing any extra gold you have into training this skill.</p>
<p align="center">You should be at <a href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/build/408641/the-vraseth-vampire/perks" target="_blank">level 35</a> once the build is completed.</p>
<p align="center"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347776301,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347776301?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Combat</strong></span></p>
<p>The basic battle plan of the Vraseth Vampire is as follows: cast a flesh spell, equip one dagger, dodge an opponent’s power attack via Quick Reflexes, use Slow Time, equip the other dagger, and go to town, using healing spells as necessary. Note that since power attacks from daggers don’t stagger enemies, you’ll still have to sidestep and dodge incoming attacks.</p>
<p>So, that’s a fairly basic strategy, but there’s more to it than that, namely, shouts. A Blessing and Amulet of Talos augmented by Necromage Vampirism will result in 50% Fortify Shouts. Combine that with Extended Slow Time’s ridiculous duration and it becomes entirely possible to use other shouts while Slow Time’s effect is still going. Enter Elemental Fury, the peanut butter to Slow Time’s jelly. By using all three words with Necromage Vampirism, swing speed is increased by 112% for 22 seconds! Keep in mind that this is in addition to the Dual Flurry bonus (69% if you take both ranks after Necromage) and the fact that daggers are the fastest weapon type in the game. Considering that your swing speed is already faster relative to your enemies due to Slow Time, from their perspective your daggers must look like a blur! However, dual-wielding dagger power attacks don’t receive the attack speed boost from Elemental Fury, so keep that in mind when the shout is active.</p>
<p>Of course, the problem with relying on Quick Reflexes to activate Extended Slow Time is that it’s reliant on enemy power attacks in order to work, and some enemies (namely, archers and mages) don’t use power attacks. However, being deprived of Extended Slow Time does not make the Vraseth Vampire helpless. Elemental Fury is still as fast as ever, and with Necromage Vampirism the duration is almost as long as the cooldown. The Lord Stone along with the Magic Resistance and Atronach perks as well as your Ring of Magic Resistance will make you well protected against magic attacks, while Ebonyflesh, Mage Armor, Necromage Vampirism, and the Lord Stone will give you over 400 AR for protection against physical attacks, and if you do take significant damage, you can always recover via healing spells.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347776473,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347776473?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></p>
<p>So, that's everything! The Vraseth Vampire is certainly a simple build, but it's a fun one as well. If you liked this, then <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/list/tag/albino+skyrim+build" target="_blank">check out my other builds</a> to see more!</p></div>Character Build: The Alik'r Warriorhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-alik-r-warrior2018-01-01T22:17:29.000Z2018-01-01T22:17:29.000ZAlbinohttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Albino<div><p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347796699,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347796699?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>The Alik'r Warrior</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" align="center">I've seen a few different Alik'r builds on the internet, but most of them, my own <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-desert-spellsword" target="_blank">Desert Spellsword</a> included, seem to rely a good bit on magic. Conversely, the Alik’r seen ingame don’t use magic at all in combat (though you get to see Kematu use a Paralyze spell if you side with him during the related quest). Inspired by this, I decided to make an Alik’r build that stayed away from magic, using only combat and stealth skills. This build actually has a lot in common with my <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-rurouni" target="_blank">Rurouni</a> (mostly due to the fact that both are 0 AR, single sword combatants) but I feel it differentiates itself enough to warrant being posted. Now then, let's get on with the build!</p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> Redguard, of course. This build is based off of the Alik’r seen ingame, after all. Aside from that, it provides the best skill boosts for the build (+10 to One-Handed, +5 to Smithing and Block), Adrenaline Rush is a useful power for this character, and the 50% Poison Resistance stacks with Snakeblood to provide complete Poison Immunity.</p>
<p><strong>Stone:</strong> Since this build lacks any sort of defense against magic, and certain magic attacks (such as shock spells or midrange dragon breath attacks) are hard to avoid, I went with the Atronach. Be sure to drink any Fortify Restoration potions you have before selecting the stone to increase its magnitude.</p>
<p><strong>Stats: <span style="color:#3366ff;">0</span>/<span style="color:#ff0000;">2</span>/<span style="color:#339966;">1</span></strong>. Like I said, no magic, so focus on health and stamina.</p>
<p><strong>Shouts:</strong> Slow Time is used for a particularly important combo, so pick up the word for it in Hag’s End (you don’t need to get the other two). Aside from that, Elemental Fury provides a quick and easy way to take down tough targets, Aura Whisper and Throw Voice are great for stealth, Become Ethereal is an easy way to avoid ranged attacks, Whirlwind Sprint enables you to close in on your enemies quickly and finally, Unrelenting Force is a great crowd control tool.</p>
<p><strong>Equipment:</strong> Scimitar (look at the image below for an easy place to find one), Alik’r Hood, Hammerfell Garb, Redguard Boots (all three articles of clothing can be bought at Radiant Raiment), and a necklace/ring with whatever useful enchantments that you can find. The Dark Brotherhood opens up some alternative equipment options for you, more on this later.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347796869,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="12347796869?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p align="center"><em>At the red dot, you’ll find an overturned boat with a Scimitar underneath.</em></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Skills</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>One-Handed:</strong> Any Alik’r worth his salt is skilled in the use of one-handed blades, particularly scimitars. You’ll want to grab Armsman and the power attack perks. Later on, you can grab Bladesman as well.</p>
<p><strong>Block:</strong> Without any armor rating, being able to block and dodge incoming blows is absolutely essential. Grab all the perks in this tree. Block Runner and Shield Charge are used for certain tactics this build uses, hence the reason for perking the left side of the tree.</p>
<p><strong>Sneak:</strong> While the Alik’r are skilled duelists, that doesn’t mean they fight all their battles as if they were honorable duels. Rather, they value the ability to get the jump on their opponents. You’ll want to max out Stealth and grab Backstab as well. Later on, you can perk your way up the left side of the tree to Silence.</p>
<p><strong>Lockpicking:</strong> Remember the Alik’r Prisoner you encounter during In My Time of Need (assuming you took Saadia’s side)? The one stuck in a jail cell and is forced to bargain with you so you’ll pay the guard his fine, only for the guard to conveniently misplace the key? Yeah, don’t be like him; always have a way out. Besides, there’s lots of treasure to be found for those good at lockpicking. Personally, I think Locksmith and Unbreakable take all the challenge out of it, so I avoided perking them, getting Novice – Master Locks along with Golden Touch and Treasure Hunter instead.</p>
<p><strong>Smithing:</strong> All you need here is a single perk in Steel Smithing for keeping your Scimitar honed to a razor’s edge.</p>
<p><strong>Alchemy:</strong> Some Alik’r choose to brew different potions and poisons in order to gain an edge in battle. Grab everything in this tree except for Experimenter and Purity.</p>
<p align="center">You should be at <a href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/build/396462/the-alikr-warrior/perks" target="_blank">level 55</a> once the build is completed.</p>
<p align="center"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347797267,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="12347797267?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Alchemical Concoctions</strong></span></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Canis_Root" target="_blank">Potion of Canis Root,</a> <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Fortify_One-handed#Alchemy" target="_blank">One-Handed Ingredient,</a> <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Fortify_Archery#Alchemy" target="_blank">and Marksman Ingredient:</a></strong> With the Alik’r, I mostly stuck to simple, single-effect concoctions, but this was the exception. Due to a glitch, fortify marksman potions boost <em>all</em> forms of physical damage, not just archery damage. With the addition of fortify one-handed, your sword damage will be boosted twice as much.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Restore_Health#Alchemy" target="_blank">Restore Health:</a></strong> As your primary means of healing, you'll want to have a bunch of potions with this effect on you at all times.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Restore_Stamina#Alchemy" target="_blank">Restore Stamina:</a></strong> Given the importance of Stamina to a warrior build, the usefulness of this effect should be obvious.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Invisibility_(effect)#Alchemy">Invisibility:</a></strong> Having trouble sneaking up on an enemy? This effect will make it much easier.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Paralyze_(effect)#Alchemy" target="_blank">Paralysis:</a></strong> A great poison for tight situations; just hit a strong enemy with this to give yourself some breathing room.</p>
<p align="center"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347797454,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="12347797454?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Roleplay</strong></span></p>
<p>The Alik’r seen in Skyrim are mercenaries, making it the choice occupation of the Alik’r Warrior. Since you’re only staying in Skyrim for a little while, don’t bother buying a house; though feel free to use a <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Category:Skyrim-Places-Safe" target="_blank">non-respawning container</a> to store your things. As far as quests go, there are plenty of bounty quests and the like that are a good fit for a mercenary, but as a mercenary, you generally shouldn’t bother with doing any quests out of the goodness of your heart, only the ones that promise payment. With regards to specific quests to do, they are as follows:</p>
<p><strong>Main Quest:</strong> While there are no roleplaying reasons to do this questline, it’s worthwhile playing up to the completion of The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller for access to some nice shouts.</p>
<p><strong>In My Time of Need:</strong> Considering that it’s the only quest in the game where the Alik’r play a significant role, this is a natural choice for the Alik'r Warrior. It’s up to you how you want to complete it; you don’t have any need to kill the Alik’r for their equipment and the game doesn’t really indicate which side is telling the truth. You could even ignore this quest if you so choose.</p>
<p><strong>Companions:</strong> Their radiant quests are ideal for a mercenary-type character, and if you choose to take on Lycanthropy, you’ll have total disease immunity to compliment your poison immunity.</p>
<p><strong>Thieves Guild:</strong> A great place to get in touch with your greedier side, and practice some of your stealth skills while you’re at it.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Brotherhood:</strong> You can easily tack on the Shrouded Hand Wraps to the existing equipment loadout for doubled backstab damage, and near the end of the questline you can get Windshear, a unique Scimitar that paralyzes enemies for a tenth of a second when you bash them with it. If you decide to use it, you’ll also want to grab the Arcane Blacksmith perk so you can temper it. However, it’s bugged in that it staggers on every strike, making it too overpowered for my liking. So, instead of joining the Dark Brotherhood, I opted to…</p>
<p><strong>Destroy the Dark Brotherhood:</strong> With this option, you can still get the Shrouded Hand Wraps if you so choose, but you can also loot Nazir’s unique version of the Alik’r outfit, giving you an alternative look if you ever desire it.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347797670,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="12347797670?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Techniques</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>Extended Slow Time:</strong> By using one word of Slow Time immediately after the slowdown effect of Quick Reflexes ends, Slow Time’s duration is extended significantly. This is absurdly useful for the Alik’r and by far the most effective of all his techniques, allowing him to effortlessly dodge his opponents and defeat them before the Slow Time effect even ends.</p>
<p><strong>Quick Dodge</strong><strong>:</strong> The slowdown effect from quick reflexes lingers a little after disengaging block. Thus, with good timing, you can disengage the block and use the lingering slowdown effect to dodge the power attack instead by sidestepping it, or better yet, circling around to the enemy’s back. This is particularly easy to do against opponents performing a charging power attack. Once you’ve dodged the attack, you can either follow up with an attack of your own or use Extended Slow Time.</p>
<p><strong>Advanced Quick Dodge:</strong> Quick Reflexes works wonderfully when paired with Block Runner. With the two of them combined, you can use the slow time effect to avoid enemy attacks <em>without disengaging block,</em> enabling you to reap the benefits of quick reflexes while moving at full speed. You can basically run circles around your opponent while he’s forced to complete the power attack animation in slow motion. This becomes particular pronounced against groups of opponents, where any one of them might be power attacking at a given time, giving quick reflexes more opportunities to activate. In the off chance that an attack does connect, however, it’ll be hitting your sword rather than your soft flesh, as a result of staying in block.</p>
<p><strong>Shadowstrike:</strong> This is a fairly well-known trick by now, but if you have Critical Charge, use Silent Roll and then use a power attack at the end of the roll, the resulting sneak attack will also deal the double critical damage of Critical Charge. Be sure to judge your distance with this one; too far and you’ll alert enemies to your presence, too close and you’ll bump into your enemy, thereby becoming detected and foiling the sneak attack.</p>
<p><strong>Sword Charge</strong><strong>:</strong> By sprinting into an enemy and pressing the block button the moment you make contact, you can activate Shield Charge without actually using a shield. Needless to say, it’s a useful tactic for the Alik’r.</p>
<p><strong>Ethereal Strike:</strong> The problem I have with Paralyzing Strike is that performing a backwards power attack usually puts you out of range of your opponent. An easy way to get around this is by waiting until your enemy starts advancing on you before using it, but doing so usually results in you getting hit as well. This isn’t too big a deal for armored builds but it can be disastrous for a 0 AR one. Thus, by using Become Ethereal first, you can use Paralyzing Strike without fear (or stamina, for that matter).</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347797862,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="12347797862?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Combat</strong></span></p>
<p>The basic battle plan with the Alik’r is as follows. Start off battles by sneaking if you can, moving into the ideal position to hit an enemy with a Shadowstrike. Once detected, one of your opponents will likely charge at you with a power attack, so use Quick Dodge to avoid it, and then launch into Extended Slow Time, using your other techniques as well as your shouts and alchemical concoctions as necessary to defeat your attackers. However, there are other strategies to keep in mind when in battle.</p>
<p>One of the most important things to do when fighting as the Alik’r is to keep moving. The nice thing about one-handed weapons is that you can stay in motion while swinging your weapon, unlike two-handers, where you slow down to a crawl during swings. Thus, you should always try to keep moving in order to avoid enemy attacks, stopping only when absolutely necessary (such as to perform a power attack). If you’re unable to avoid an attack, stop it with a well-timed block, or better yet, preempt it with a bash if you can.</p>
<p>Another useful strategy is to move in close enough to your opponent to bait them into attacking, but far enough away that you can dodge it. When you do, you can follow up with a couple swings of your own. In some cases, and with practice, you can even do an “in and out” type thing, moving in to hit your enemy, moving out before their attack hits you, then moving back in to hit them again, and so on.</p>
<p>Archers are perhaps the most difficult enemy to fight as the Alik’r, since it can be difficult to dodge arrows while in the midst of melee combat with other opponents. To counter this, all you have to do get close to the archer, which will prompt them to draw their melee weapon (usually a simple dagger). Unless you put a good deal of distance between you and the archer, they will stick with using their melee weapon instead, making them much more manageable.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347798056,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="12347798056?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p>Well, that’s it for this build. While it may have some obvious similarities to the Rurouni, it was still a fun build to play, and one that was (in my opinion, at least), worthwhile posting. If you liked this, then <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/list/tag/albino+skyrim+build" target="_blank">check out my other builds</a> to see more!</p></div>Character Build: The Dagger Duelisthttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-dagger-duelist2017-12-31T21:02:04.000Z2017-12-31T21:02:04.000ZAlbinohttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Albino<div><p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12347811878,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347811878,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347811878?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>The Dagger Duelist</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" align="center">Plenty of builds utilize daggers, but almost all the ones that do either use them for sneak attacks with Assassin’s Blade or dual-wield them. The Dagger Duelist does neither, opting for skillful usage of a single dagger in melee combat to take down his foes. While his weapon may be small and his defenses light, his superior reflexes and agility enable him to defeat any opponent.</p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> Redguard gives some nice skill boosts (+10 One-Handed, +5 Block and Smithing) as well as Adrenaline Rush and 50% poison resistance, which, combined with the Snakeblood perk, gives us complete poison immunity. With Lycanthropy, we have disease immunity as well.</p>
<p><strong>Stone:</strong> The Lord Stone is nice for shoring up the Duelist’s defenses.</p>
<p><strong>Stats: <span style="color:#3366ff;">0</span>/<span style="color:#ff0000;">3</span>/<span style="color:#339966;">1</span></strong>. The low weight of daggers reduces the need for stamina, while no magic is used at all with the build, leaving the focus on health.</p>
<p><strong>Shouts:</strong> Elemental Fury is the primary shout of this build, and should be either running or on cooldown most of the time during combat. In addition, Become Ethereal is nice for advancing on ranged attackers unharmed, as is Unrelenting Force for crowd control. I also recommend picking up Aura Whisper and Throw Voice for situations that call for a stealthier approach.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-size:24pt;">Equipment</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" align="center"><strong>Valdr’s Lucky Dagger:</strong> Received from the eponymous Valdr for clearing out Moss Mother Cavern, this is the Duelist’s weapon of choice. Its ability increases the chance of critical hits by 25%. Since it’s not an enchantment, the dagger doesn’t need recharging and more importantly, is compatible with Elemental Fury. The Skyforge Steel Dagger was my first choice but due to a glitch, it can’t be tempered. PC players that have the glitch fixed however should use it instead.</p>
<p><strong>Bandanna:</strong> Not an actual item ingame, but rather a Mourner’s Hat renamed via enchanting. For the actual enchantment itself, go with either waterbreathing or fortify lockpicking, using a fortify enchanting potion to increase its magnitude.</p>
<p><strong>Thieves Guild Armor/Gloves/Boots:</strong> This provides both a nice enchantment and aesthetic for the Dagger Duelist. Be sure to have the chestpiece upgraded when Tonilia gives you the chance.</p>
<p><strong>Jewelry:</strong> All you need here is an Amulet of Talos and a ring of magic resistance.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347811895,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347811895?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-size:24pt;">Skills</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" align="center"><strong>One-Handed:</strong> Obvious skill choice for a dagger build. Key perks are Armsman, Fighting Stance, Savage Strike, and Critical Charge. Skip Paralyzing Strike; hitting enemies with a backwards power attack while wielding a dagger is more effort than it’s worth.</p>
<p><strong>Block:</strong> This skill works great with daggers, as the quick swing speed enables you to get in easy strikes in between blocking enemy attacks. Key perks are Shield Wall, the bash perks, and most importantly, Quick Reflexes. Its effect actually lasts for a brief moment after you disengage block, so if you do that and then move to the side, you can easily avoid power attacks.</p>
<p><strong>Light Armor:</strong> As you might've noticed in the equipment section, I didn't use the Thieves Guild Hood. Aesthetically speaking, I prefer to go without it and more importantly, it keeps your overall armor rating down, forcing you to dodge attacks instead. Perkwise, you’ll want to max out Agile Defender. Later on, you can spend two perks to get Unhindered to stay light on your feet.</p>
<p><strong>Sneak:</strong> I didn’t want this build to turn into yet another dagger-assassin, but on the other hand, I wanted to incorporate a little stealth. My solution was to perk Backstab but not Assassin’s Blade. That way, sneak attacking enemies would be a good tactic, but not as lethal as Assassin’s Blade. Aside from Backstab, you’ll want to perk your way up the left side of the tree to Silence, only getting the first rank of Stealth.</p>
<p><strong>Smithing:</strong> While the Duelist’s AR will be low, you don’t want it to be too low, and sharpening Valdr’s Lucky Dagger will keep its damage competitive throughout the entire playthrough. All you need is Steel Smithing for doubling the dagger’s improvement and Arcane Blacksmith for improving the armor.</p>
<p><strong>Alchemy:</strong> Primarily used for Restore Health potions, with some poisons and other potions on the side. Grab all the perks in this tree except for Experimenter and Purity.</p>
<p><strong>Lockpicking:</strong> The Dagger Duelist likes to do a little treasure hunting on the side, so the ability to open up tightly locked chests and doors is appreciated. I perked up to Master Locks and Treasure Hunter, avoiding Locksmith and Unbreakable to keep the lockpicking minigame a little more interesting.</p>
<p align="center">You should have <a href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/build/400564/the-dagger-duelist/perks" target="_blank">50 perks</a> once the build is completed.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347812465,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347812465?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Alchemical Concoctions</strong></span></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Restore_Health#Alchemy" target="_blank">Restore Health:</a></strong> As your primary means of healing, you'll want to have a bunch of potions with this effect on you at all times.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Restore_Stamina#Alchemy" target="_blank">Restore Stamina:</a></strong> I didn't find myself running out of stamina too much, and when I did, it usually wasn't too big an issue, but it's still nice to have a backup option.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Fortify_Archery#Alchemy" target="_blank">Fortify Marksman:</a></strong> Due to a couple of glitches, fortify one-handed potions don’t increase dagger damage, but fortify marksman potions do, making them a solid option for boosting damage.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Resist_Magic#Alchemy" target="_blank">Resist Magic:</a></strong> While your inherent magic resistance from your ring and the Lord Stone should be enough for most encounters, you may want a little extra for tougher battles (e.g. dragons).</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Invisibility_(effect)#Alchemy">Invisibility:</a></strong> Having trouble sneaking up on an enemy? This effect will make it much easier.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Paralyze_(effect)#Alchemy" target="_blank">Paralysis:</a></strong> A great poison for tight situations; just hit a strong enemy with this to give yourself some breathing room.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347812088,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347812088?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-size:24pt;">Gameplay</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align:left;" align="center">Ideally, you’ll start off fights with a quick sneak attack to take a good chunk off an opponent’s health. If you’re good with the Silent Roll + Critical Charge Combo, use it, though the short reach of the dagger makes it a difficult prospect. From there, use Elemental Fury and start slicing away. I mostly stuck to basic attacks while circling around my opponents to make it more difficult for them to hit me, with the occasional power attack thrown in there for good measure. Daggers don’t stagger on power attacks though, making heavy usage of power attacks less feasible. Bashing, however, does stagger, making it a key component in avoiding enemy attacks. Also be sure to use your array of potions and poisons as well as your blocking/dodging abilities to mitigate/avoid damage. Finally, your armor can always soak up a few hits.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;" align="center">As for roleplay, I played my Dagger Duelist as a mercenary who did some treasure hunting on the side. He took whatever odd jobs he could for cash. As such, most of my time was spent doing random bounty quests from Jarls and the like, but I also did the following questlines:</p>
<p><strong>Main Quest:</strong> The Dagger Duelist isn’t really the type to be saving the world, but you’ll still want to do this questline up to completing the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller in order to get Unrelenting Force.</p>
<p><strong>Companions:</strong> Being fellow mercenaries, the Companions are a nice group for the Duelist to run with. The radiant quests are particularly nice for earning cash. While I didn’t want to become Harbinger with this character, I did play the questline up to the Silver Hand so I could contract Lycanthropy for disease immunity.</p>
<p><strong>Thieves Guild:</strong> And here we have the dishonorable side of the Dagger Duelist’s activities. Like with the Companions, I didn’t advance too far into the primary questline (only up to Scoundrel’s Folly) since the Duelist isn’t exactly a master thief, but I did spend a lot of time doing the radiant quests.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Brotherhood:</strong> I felt this was a little too dark for the Duelist, but it’s definitely an option. Finishing the questline gives you the option of repeating Dark Brotherhood Forever as much as you want.</p>
<p>Overall, this was one of my most enjoyable Skyrim playthroughs to date. Playing a single dagger build without Enchanting or Sneak is a quite the unique experience in Skyrim and a playstyle everyone should try at least once. If you liked this, then be sure to <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/list/tag/albino+skyrim+build" target="_blank">check out my other builds</a> to see more!</p></div>Character Build: The Tang Mohttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-tang-mo2017-12-09T22:48:02.000Z2017-12-09T22:48:02.000ZHensonhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Henson919<div><p>I have been waiting to complete this build for a long time and I wanted to make sure I did it right and did not rush it. The result was probably one of the most rewarding and unique roleplaying/gaming experience I have had playing this game. Having done 2 other Akaviri race builds, I thought I would go for the hat trick and finish out the races. I wanted to explore a gameplay mechanic that I have not solely focused on in any character, however I have dabbled in it with multiple builds here and there. Time! With this in mind, I knew I could create a high power, extra fast, warrior monk of a monkey. I present...</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Tang Mo</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906419?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906419?profile=original" width="477" class="align-center"></a></p>
<p>The Tang Mo (translates to "The Thousand Monkey Isles") are the generous and kind monkey people of Akavir. There are various breeds of the Tang Mo, ranging from blue-skinned and white haired apes to monkeys with brown hair and peach colored skin. Some are described as "simian" like. The Tang Mo are known to be a simple race but extremely brave. Most are also known to be quite insane!</p>
<p>The Tang Mo are able to raise armies when they must to defend their home. Every other race of Akavir has time and time again invaded their lands. They are annually attacked by the Kamal or "Snow Hell" demons when the Kamal thaw out. The Tsaesci have invaded as well, pushing back the vampire serpents every single time. The Ka Po' Tun have recently became allies with the Tang Mo, but even they have tried to conquer the brave Tang Mo. This got me to thinking: this has got to be the most badass race on that crazy continent. I wanted to present this race as being an expert in combat from both a distance and in close quarters combat by using <em>speed and agility</em>. We achieve this through the usage of the <strong>slow time </strong>effect.</p>
<p>1. The perk <strong>Quick Reflexes</strong> can be applied to using only a sword and nothing in the off hand, giving the player a HUGE advantage when in melee combat. Most to all enemies will power attack when in close quarters combat, meaning dodging attacks and retaliating with quick strikes will be a regular tactic and will save your fur.</p>
<p>2. The <strong>Steady Hand 2/2 </strong>perks are invaluable to a build that wants to achieve precise shots on the player's own time and take down enemies in a much more efficient way. I do not usually take both perks in this perk, as 50% slow down effect is significant, but for this build it is extremely satisfying to decimate opponents from afar with a big advantage on their speed.</p>
<p>3. The <strong>Slow Time shout. </strong>Boy was I missing out on a cool aspect of this shout that may be general knowledge, but was new to me. The perk <strong>Stability </strong>improves the duration of this shout as if it were an Alteration spell, turning even the first word of Slow Time from 8s to 12s. That extra time is incredible when fully realized at 3 word Slow Time turning from 16s to 24s, achieving almost <em>50%</em> of your combat will be in the awesomeness that is Slow Time due to the fact that 3 word's cool down is 60 seconds ... and that is not even counting the Blessing of Talos or an Amulet of Talos, two things that turn this build into a speedy powerhouse of monkey rage insanity!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Build</strong></p>
<p><strong>Race: </strong>This is where one of the biggest challenges of this build comes into play. I finally got it down to two choices when I first started this build and honestly, I hate saying it, but either one could have worked just as well as the other.</p>
<p><em>Bosmer -</em> The race I ultimately decided to go with for a couple of reasons. First of all, size. Since they are the smallest race, it was fitting to play as one to mimic a monkey race such as the Tang Mo. Second, the racial power is amazing. AoE on any animal, INCLUDING MAMMOTHS? Who does not love that? Giants die at level 1. This fit because of their new found alliance with the Ka Po Tun, meaning they have a way to communicate with even the most savage of beasts. With the right facial adjustments and hair/facial hair choices, it looks great!</p>
<p><em>Imperial -</em> This was the other choice. The Voice of the Emperor power is incredibly powerful. It would fit so perfectly due to the fact that the Tang Mo are a simple, kind, and generous race. Calming enemies in a large AoE effect would be a nice touch with RP, but the size difference made me choose Bosmer overall.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906439?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906439?profile=original" width="300" class="align-left"></a>Stone:</strong> The Lady.</p>
<p><strong>Major Skills: </strong>One Handed, Archery, Restoration, Alteration, Enchanting</p>
<p><strong>Minor Skills: </strong>Sneak, Light Armor, Block, Smithing</p>
<p><strong>Gear:</strong> </p>
<p><em>Head -</em> None. Enchanted circlet earlier on for skill boosts.</p>
<p><em>Chest -</em> Red sleeveless Dawnguard armor. Very oriental inspired with lamellar armor style.</p>
<p><em>Feet -</em> Scaled Boots</p>
<p><em>Hands -</em> Scales Bracers</p>
<p><em>Amulet/Ring -</em> Amulet of Talos OR Fortify Enchantments</p>
<p><em>Enchantments to focus on (changed around when needed):</em></p>
<p>Fortify Health, Stamina, Health Regen, Stamina Regen, One Handed, Block, Alteration, Restoration.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Weapons -</em> Blades Sword (occasional torch) and Forsworn Bow (great damage to speed ratio)</p>
<p><strong>Dragon Shouts: </strong>Slow Time (most important), Whirlwind Sprint, Elemental Fury - SPEED</p>
<p> </p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Roleplay</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906464?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906464?profile=original" width="350" class="align-right"></a>Roleplaying as a Tang Mo is a lot of fun if you want to be a good aligned character but have a crazy side to you. You are open to help in any way you can due to your generous and kind nature and will take on any challenge with your intense bravery and courage. Being a Tang Mo means being an agile warrior monk in all aspects of your playing. Sneaking and attacking enemies from the shadows is warranted when engaging evil creatures and foul hearted foes. The "insane" side to the Tang Mo is not clear at all so I began to take liberties with what that meant.</p>
<p>Here are some general guidelines to keep you true to a warrior monk's path:</p>
<ul>
<li>Always help anyone in need. Give to beggars when you can, take on quests that will provide aid.</li>
<li>Do not steal or commit crimes. A Tang Mo is generous and kind, not evil.</li>
<li>Display bravery in combat. This cannot be confused with using sneak when in combat. Agility and the ability to maneuver quietly is a skill set that the Tang Mo thrive on, so do not confuse it with being dishonorable when fighting purely evil enemies.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Skills and Perks</strong></p>
<p><strong>One Handed:</strong> Brandishing your blade with quick strikes is one of your trademarks. Relying on only a sword and open off-hand, you can deliver blows while block/evade at the same time.</p>
<p><strong>Archery:</strong> Taking down enemies from afar is essential for a Tang Mo. Hunting and tracking foes from a safe distance can keep you out of harm's way.</p>
<p><strong>Restoration: </strong>The first magic school a warrior monk needs to harness. Utilizing Respite, you can power attack more often, sprint longer, silent roll more often, and zoom in with your bow, effectively slowing time for longer.</p>
<p><strong>Alteration: </strong>A key skill for both roleplaying and for mechanics. Your resistance to magical attacks has been imbued into your blood after relentless attacks from magic foes from your homeland. The perk Stability also plays a major role as it extends the shout duration of Slow Time, turning you into a speed hungry warlord. The additional armor helps early on as well from flesh spells.</p>
<p><strong>Enchanting:</strong> Meditating for extended periods of time have granted you the ability to imbue your apparel with magical effects, increasing your battle readiness and combat effectiveness.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906490?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906490?profile=original" width="720" class="align-center"></a></p>
<p><strong>Sneak: </strong>A Tang Mo is light on his feet at all times. Remaining undetected and springing from an undisclosed location is a valuable tactic for the Tang Mo, providing extra damage and protection against tougher enemies.</p>
<p><strong>Light Armor: </strong>The lighter, the better! Keeping light on foot is key, but the Tang Mo are also in the thick of battle when needed. Light Armor provides great protection with the remaining speed associated with it.</p>
<p><strong>Block: </strong>Two perks, but one is invaluable. Quick Reflexes make you a close quarters combat machine, dodging power attacks to counter left and right. Slowing your enemies down and keeping you fast means you stay alive, and they hit the ground.</p>
<p><strong>Smithing: </strong>Upkeep of quality armor protection and bow strength as well as sharpness of blade keep the Tang Mo a powerful force to reckon with.</p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/#266151" target="_blank">Level 60 Perk Spread</a></p>
<p><strong>Gameplay</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906511?profile=original" width="350" class="align-left"></p>
<p>Leaping from enemy to enemy with reckless abandon is one way to express your insanity. Critical Charge allows you to pinball your way from enemy to enemy, stunning them with a power attack using speed. Under the influence of Slow Time, this can achieve a lot of damage in a small amount of time (from the enemy's perspective!). Combining your Sneak Roll and Critical Charge allows for unseen power attacks, much like the Ka Po Tun. This can give you the edge in combat with heavily RPed armor choices.</p>
<p>The concept behind this build is all about gameplay and how to survive. Sneaking is great for hiding and staying alive, but you need to unleash the crazy side! Slow Time and the effects of slowing perks are what make this build so much fun!</p>
<p><em><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906511?profile=original" target="_self"></a></strong>Utilizing your sword,</em> you can block your way out of any power attack, increasing survival rates through the roof. An extremely underrated perk, Quick Reflexes creates a sense that you are an incredibly agile monkey humanoid capable of devastating blade maneuvers. Combined with sneak, your one handed attacks gain a 6x multiplier, more than enough to take most enemies down with a sharpened blade. Silent Roll and Critical Charge (Ka Po Tun specialty) is also extremely effective with large crowds.</p>
<p><em>Utilizing your bow,</em> you can slow down your aiming process to a complete CRAWL. 50% slow down is ridiculous and allows you to always hit your mark, making enemies fall down much more often and have them unable to reach you. Your bow combined with silent roll is an extremely effective combo as well. Rolling from position to position, you can then aim down your bow to inflict maximum damage, rolling away when needed in a quick fashion.</p>
<p><em>Utilizing your shouts,</em> you transform into a true Akaviri warrior. Slow Time increases with the perk Stability, allowing your inner monkey rage to be extended to punish your enemies as you see fit. Dodging arrows and even catching them mid-air is very satisfying. It is GREAT to note, even without taking a single perk in Alchemy, Fortify Alteration potions seem to increase the duration of Slow Time shout. Definitely my new favorite perk. Whirlwind Sprint and Elemental Fury are also key ingredients for a speed freak of massive proportions.</p>
<p><strong>Combat Tactics</strong></p>
<p><strong><br> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906537?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/906537?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"></a>Counter: </strong><em>Quick Reflexes + Elemental Fury + Standing Power Attack (Decapitation) - </em>Dodge your enemies attack and swiftly remove their head with one clean slice.</p>
<p><strong>Pierce: </strong><em>Steady Hand 2/2 + Eagle Eye + Power Shot - </em>Aim with extreme precision, staggering your opponents for 50% of the time when delivering an arrow to vital organs.</p>
<p><strong>Ambush:</strong> <em>Stealth + Silent Roll + Critical Charge -</em> A rolling charge from the shadows, coming down on an opponent with a powerful strike to start battle, severely weakening and stunning the target.</p>
<p><strong>Marksman:</strong> <em>Stealth + Silent Roll + Steady Hand 2/2 + Eagle Eye -</em> Rolling to reposition after every shot, stay far from your enemies when you slow time down to aim your bow.</p>
<p><strong>Decimation:</strong> <em><strong>Ambush </strong>+ Shadow Warrior - </em>Re-engaging sneak and activating Shadow Warrior allows you to stay hidden from enemies, effectively rolling and springing with your sword from one foe to the next, leveling a room without a chance or being hit.</p>
<p><strong>Annihilation</strong><strong>: <em>Marksman</em></strong><em> + Shadow Warrior - </em>Same as Decimation, but with your bow. Staying far away or close to your enemies, it does not matter. You disappear and reappear to pelt them with arrows until they are all on the ground.</p>
<p><strong>Tang Mo Insanity: </strong><em>Slow Time Shout + Stability + Blessing/Amulet of Talos - </em>Extended periods of slow time make you a speed warlord of immense capability, firing arrows or engaging with your sword, your enemies won't stand a chance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well there you have it. Probably one of my absolute favorite character builds I have ever done. Discovering one little game mechanic can change the whole game! I hope you try this build and check out my other Akaviri race builds as well as Emer Dareloth's Tsaesci. Let me know what you think!</p>
<p> </p></div>Character Build: The Knife Fighter of Stros M'Kaihttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-knife-fighter-of-stros-m-kai2017-12-09T22:35:40.000Z2017-12-09T22:35:40.000ZHensonhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Henson919<div><p>This build is my last roleplaying take on the Redguard race, which is probably my favorite race in the series. I got some of the inspiration from the movie The Count of Monte Cristo. Edmond spares Jacopo's life, who the captain of the ship says is "the best knife-fighter he has ever seen". As soon as I heard that line, I had to make a build around daggers and knife-fighting. This is another heavy roleplaying intensive build, so I hope you enjoy. Yet again, I have come to a wall regarding finding art for the build, so any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Knife Fighter from Stros M'Kai</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/3f/1e/02/21a23_21e8.png?c=b867" target="_blank"><img src="http://tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/3f/1e/02/21a23_21e8.png?c=b867" class="align-center" /></a></p>
<p>Pirate. Corsair. Privateer. Buccaneer. You go by many titles. You are the most skilled knife fighter in all of Tamriel and have proven it by being a ruthless cut throat. Serving under multiple ship captains as their right hand man and first mate, you are skilled in the art of dagger fighting, a style that relies on speed and agility rather than brute force. You have come accustomed to being loyal to who pays you the most gold by doing what you do best: murdering and marauding. Mercenary work is your craft and you have made a name for yourself which has attracted the attention of the Thieve's Guild and Dark Brotherhood. You have recently run into trouble and pissed off the wrong people and are on the run. You try to make your escape, but Imperial Legions have captured you at the border where you are mistaken for a Stormcloack rebel. If only they knew...</p>
<p>This character build has a few facets and skills not normally utilized. For one, open combat with dual daggers is not a common sight, only with thieves or assassin's throughout the game. The build uses sneak, yes, but it is also extremely proficient in bringing down even the strongest of enemies in face-to-face battle. Quick strikes thanks to Dual Fury and power from Dual Savagery make this a very deadly character. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Build<br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Race: </strong>Redguard</p>
<p><strong>Guardian Stones: </strong>Thief, Lady</p>
<p><strong>Dragon Shouts</strong></p>
<p><strong>Disarm: </strong>Removing the enemy's weapon is a unique skill to have.</p>
<p><strong>Elemental Fury: </strong>Speed is our priority #1. This shout makes you LIGHTNING quick with daggers!</p>
<p><strong>Marked for Death: </strong>Great for weakening enemies in open combat.</p>
<p><strong>Slow Time: </strong>Just makes you that much faster.</p>
<p><strong>Throw Voice: </strong>Very useful in cut-throat situations where you don't want to be seen.</p>
<p><strong>Whirlwind Sprint: </strong>It's good to be fast on our feet.</p>
<p><a href="http://tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/37/1e/02/21a1b_1172.jpg?c=760f" target="_blank"><img src="http://tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/37/1e/02/21a1b_1172.jpg?c=760f" class="align-center" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Skills</strong></p>
<p><strong>One Handed:</strong> Our offensive skill. Dual Fury and Dual Savagery make this build a non-stop cutting machine.<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Smithing: </strong>To sharpen daggers and improve armors. Important to take Arcane smithing for guild armors.</p>
<p><strong>Light Armor: </strong>Speed and mobility with good protection from enemy strikes.</p>
<p><strong>Sneak: </strong>Not always utilized, but the Knife Fighter is a ruthless cut-throat and plunderer.</p>
<p>Back up skills...</p>
<p><strong>Lockpicking: </strong>Not seen in a lot of builds. The two key perks here are Golden Touch and Treasure Hunter. Main idea here is roleplay to gather as much gold as we can.</p>
<p><strong>Pickpocket: </strong>Cheat and steal all the way to the top!</p>
<p><strong>Speech: </strong>Extremely important to sell your stolen goods. Intimidation, bribery, and persuasion are your forte!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Level 25 Perk Placement: </strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/#166779">http://skyrimcalculator.com/#166779</a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Level 51: </strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/#166781">http://skyrimcalculator.com/#166781</a></p>
<p><a href="http://tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/3b/1e/02/21a1f_bb9e.jpg?c=149d" target="_blank"><img src="http://tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/3b/1e/02/21a1f_bb9e.jpg?c=149d" class="align-center" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Equipment</strong></p>
<p><strong>Head:</strong> Thieve's Guild Hood. Mourner's Hat is a cool bandana, but I like the added armor.<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong>Chest: </strong>Thieve's Guild Armor. A proper knife fighting/gold stealing aesthetic. Light and durable.</p>
<p><strong>Hands: </strong>Shrouded Hand Wraps. The fingerless gloves lend for quicker and deadlier strikes.</p>
<p><strong>Boots: </strong>Imperial Light Boots enchanted with Muffle. Thieve's Guild Boots or Shrouded Boots fit the part too, but I prefer these for the aesthetic.</p>
<p><strong>Ring: </strong>Fortify Pickpocket*</p>
<p><strong>Amulet: </strong>Fortify Lockpicking*</p>
<p>*Any enchantment works really, these help with roleplay. I chose these two to aid with the thieving side of things. It is also interesting to note that fortify one handed enchantments do not aid with dagger damage.</p>
<p><strong>Weapons: </strong>Dual Skyforge Steel Daggers - I am continuing to put perks into smithing. I may go to Dragonbone daggers for added power and they look pretty sweet!</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Gameplay</strong></p>
<p>This build is extremely satisfying to take down strong bad guys with a flurry of dagger attacks. The stealth aspect is fun on any character really, so that part is also satisfying. But the best part is marrying these two together with a solid roleplaying character. The beginning in which Hadvar asks "You a sell-sword? A sailor from Stros M'Kai?" is quite true. You are a pirate roaming the lands of Skyrim in search for treasure and gold and doing anything to get it. I should also note that any healing comes from sleeping, eating food, and using potions only found or bought, and you will have PLENTY of money to buy them.<strong><br /></strong></p>
<p>Thieve's Guild and Dark Brotherhood fit perfect for the build. Both stealing and killing are in your resume of being a buccaneer, and so the two story lines lend themselves to each. I suggest upgrading armor choices to Guild Master's armor when completed the TG quests for better enchantments.</p>
<p>The Companion's quest lines also provide a rather good setting for this character. While not being a proper, stand-up warrior, your outstanding dagger skills make you a deadly fighter and can go toe-to-toe with the best of them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I hope you will give this one a try as it is a bit different and a fun one because ... well ... you're a pirate! You could alter this build and use a scimitar in the right hand, but daggers are the true nature and original inspiration of the build, so stick with quick strikes!</p>
<p>  </p>
</div>Character Build: The Nightingale Archerhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-nightingale-archer2017-11-22T02:48:38.000Z2017-11-22T02:48:38.000ZAlbinohttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Albino<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347837073,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347837073?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-size:24pt;">The Nightingale Archer</span></strong></p>
<p>This build came from a couple of ideas. First, a lot of people really don't like sneak archery as its considered to be a rather one-dimensional and overpowered playstyle. I wanted to make a sneak archery build that avoids the boredom most people associate with it. Secondly, I wanted to do a Nightingale build; the armor is simply too cool to pass up.</p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> Ultimately, I chose to play an Altmer for several reasons. Their additional 50 magicka, +10 boost to Illusion, Highborn, and starting fury spell helped to shore up the Nightingale’s skill with Illusion spells, particularly during the earlygame. Another nice perk is that they move faster than any other race, which is important for backpedaling and avoiding blows. I also recommend becoming a vampire for bonuses to Sneak and Illusion as well as a couple of useful powers.</p>
<p><strong>Stone:</strong> In the early going, I went with the Thief for some fast leveling, important since most of the Nightingale’s equipment is leveled. After that, I recommend going with either the Atronach. The Spell Absorption will be your primary defense against magic attacks, and the extra magicka is nice too. Since you'll be using most of your magicka at the beginning of battle, the hit to magicka regeneration isn't that big a deal.</p>
<p><strong>Stats: <span style="color:#3366ff;">1</span>/<span style="color:#ff0000;">2</span>/<span style="color:#008000;">1</span></strong>. Pretty balanced spread, the Nightingale’s abilities don’t really favor any one of the attributes much more than the others.</p>
<p><strong>Shouts:</strong> Aura Whisper and Throw Voice for stealth, Become Ethereal for safely casting master-level Illusion spells, and Slow Time for use with certain tactics (more on this later).</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347837287,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347837287?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:24pt;"><strong>Skills</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>Archery:</strong> The mainstay of the Nightingale’s offense, he can rain down a hail of arrows upon his enemies before they even know he’s there. Grab all the perks in this tree.</p>
<p><strong>Sneak:</strong> The other obvious skill of the build, essential for conducting the Nightingale’s operations. That being said, it’s not very heavy on perks; all you need is Deadly Aim since the Nightingale Boots and the Muffle spell negate the need for most of the perks on the left side of the tree. You can pick up additional ranks in Stealth if you’d like, but personally, I don’t like being too stealthy because otherwise you end up spending the entire game in sneak mode.</p>
<p><strong>Lockpicking:</strong> When it comes to thievery, the Nightingale Archer prefers to use his dexterity to unlock doors and chests to pilfer their contents. Personally, I think Locksmith and Unbreakable take all the fun out of lockpicking, so I only went for Novice – Master Locks and Treasure Hunter.</p>
<p><strong>Speech:</strong> So you’ve stolen from half of Skyrim and now you're looking at your ill-gotten gains. What next? Why, you sell them to fences, of course! Grabbing all ranks of Haggling plus all the perks on the left side of the tree will make it easier for you to sell off your loot, which in turn makes it easier to buy filled soul gems (for recharging your weapons) from College of Winterhold members and court wizards for cheap. Investing the extra money into training will enable you to level up even faster, making it easier to unlock the higher level versions of the Nightingale equipment too. As for the right side of the tree, I recommend grabbing Bribery for getting the guards off your back when you get caught stealing.</p>
<p><strong>Illusion:</strong> A few of you might look at this and Sneak and then roll your eyes. No, this is not your typical illusionist assassin; rather, Illusion is primarily used outside of stealth. Grab all the perks in this tree.</p>
<p><strong>Light Armor:</strong> As one might expect, the Nightingale Archer is skilled in using his signature armor. Grab all the perks in this tree.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">You should have <a href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/build/407426/the-nightingale-archer/perks" target="_blank">60 perks</a> once the build is completed.</p>
<p align="center"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347837861,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347837861?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-size:24pt;">Equipment</span></strong></p>
<p>The downside of playing a Nightingale is that their entire inventory (armor, bow, and blade) is leveled, but heavy usage of trainers will make it significantly easier to get to the requisite levels. Nevertheless, I’ll provide links to their respective UESP articles so you can figure out the best level for you to pick it up at.</p>
<p>As one might expect, the Archer is decked out in a set of Nightingale <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Boots" target="_blank">boots</a>, <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Gloves" target="_blank">gloves</a>, <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Hood" target="_blank">hood</a>, and <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Armor" target="_blank">armor</a>. Upon completing Trinity Restored, your Armor Rating is boosted by 25 points when wearing the full set, and as a vampire, you can hit the Frost Resistance cap and beyond with the enchantment on the chest piece. Also, picking up the armor set at level 32 or above means that the enchantment on the boots will completely silence your movement regardless of armor weight or perks taken, though in the meantime you can use the Muffle spell. Until you’re at a high enough level to pick up the set, the (Ancient) Shrouded Armor set makes for an effective substitute.</p>
<p>The primary weapon of the Nightingale Archer is, of course, the <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Bow" target="_blank">Nightingale Bow</a>. It’s a rather powerful weapon, for in addition to its physical damage, it also deals a leveled amount of frost and shock damage. Important to note is that regardless of what level you pick it up at, it’ll always reduce the target’s speed by half for three seconds, so if you manage to keep your opponents under constant fire, their movements will be sluggish while you dance around them. Until you get the it, Firiniel’s End makes an effective substitute.</p>
<p>For situations where you don’t want to expend bow charges, such as against weaker enemies, I recommend an Ebony Bow. While it lacks the power of the Nightingale Bow, you can improve it a little bit with some smithing skill and any potions or equipment of fortify smithing you come across. It also looks good with the Nightingale Armor. Once you're at level 36 Ebony Bows start showing up in leveled lists, at which point you can usually find one at blacksmiths or on the corpses of Draugr Deathlords.</p>
<p>The other weapon at the Nightingale Archer’s disposal is the <a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Blade" target="_blank">Nightingale Blade</a>. While one-handed is entirely unperked, it can actually manage some damage between its enchantment and the fortify one-handed effect on the Nightingale Gloves. More importantly, the absorb health effect on the blade is the only means the Nightingale Archer has of healing outside of bought or found potions. Consider training Destruction to increase the number of charges on both it and the Nightingale Bow.</p>
<p>For jewelry, I recommend using whatever you find that has a useful and relevant enchantment. Alternatively, you can shop at Radiant Raiment until you find something you like.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347837888,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347837888?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:32px;"><strong>Tactics</strong></span></p>
<p>Slow Time is by far the most important shout to this build, as it’s necessary for the following tactics used by the Nightingale Archer. Note that you don't have to do the Civil War and College of Winterhold questlines to get the words locked in Korvanjund and Labyrinthian, as you can use the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYymrPz1AfI&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">dungeon backdoor glitch</a> to get them instead.</p>
<p><strong>Arrow Barrage:</strong> Using Slow Time with a bow enables the Nightingale Archer to rain down a storm of arrows; dropping enemies before they can even so much as touch him. This is also where several of the higher-tier archery perks pay off. Power Shot and Bullseye stagger and paralyze enemies, slowing them down even further, while Ranger lets you backpedal faster and Quick Shot enables you to fire more arrows. If you have any slow or paralysis poisons sitting in your inventory, using them with this move would be a good idea.</p>
<p><strong>Leech:</strong> The most powerful version of the Nightingale Blade has a 25 point absorb health enchantment. That’s pretty powerful. Two strikes with this weapon is equivalent to a Fast Healing spell, and four to Close Wounds, not to mention that you’re also absorbing stamina and hurting the enemy. Throw Slow Time into the mix and suddenly you can regain a ton of health by simply dancing around your opponents while hitting them with the Nightingale Blade. Until you can obtain it, you can use other absorb health weapons such as the Gauldur Blackblade or the Blade of Woe to the same (albeit weaker) effect.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12347839676,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="12347839676?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><span style="font-size:24pt;">Gameplay</span></strong></p>
<p>Combat with the Nightingale Archer rewards a very calculating, methodical style of play. Always approach groups of enemies from stealth whenever you can, and choose your plan of attack carefully. You’ll usually want to cast some frenzy spells first in order to throw them into disarray. When the time is right, target one of them with a sneak attack. I recommend going after mages first; they’re the squishiest (particularly before they use their flesh spells) and their spells, shock ones in particular, are difficult to dodge. In any event, you’ll most likely end up getting detected, and that’s where the real fun begins.</p>
<p>In a straight up fight, the Nightingale Archer aims to keep himself agile and his enemies unable to attack. The easiest way to achieve the latter is with Fear spells; enemies can’t attack you if they’re running away. My favorite tactic was to throw out a dual casted Rout spell as soon as I was detected; then pull out my bow and go to town on everything that wasn’t running away. As for keeping yourself agile, that’s where Slow Time comes into play, as well as the aforementioned higher-tier archery perks and the slow effect of the Nightingale Bow.</p>
<p>I roleplayed my Nightingale Archer as a thief for hire. He’s willing to do any sort of dirty work, up to and including assassinations. Naturally, this lends itself quite nicely to the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood. When not on the job, he steals any valuables he can to earn a little extra cash. While he respects the terms of the Nightingale Oath as laid out by Nocturnal, he holds no particular reverence for her, opting instead to use his powers as he sees fit. Speaking of which, for my Nightingale power of choice, I went with Nightingale Strife for another health absorb option.</p>
<p>Overall, I had quite a bit of fun with this build. I haven't messed around with Archery-focused builds much, but alternating between methodical sneaking and fast-paced open combat made for an enjoyable playstyle. If you liked this, then <a href="https://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/list/tag/albino+skyrim+build" target="_blank">check out my other builds</a> to see more!</p></div>Character Build: The Nightingale Swordsmanhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-nightingale-swordsman2017-10-01T22:34:01.000Z2017-10-01T22:34:01.000ZPontyhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Ponty<div><p>This build came from several converging ideas - the lack of quality Nightingale builds in the group, few assassin-type builds with a truly thrilling playstyle, wanting to explore further in a few concepts touched upon in other builds, and the fact that I have not seen a single build using a one-handed weapon and nothing in the offhand! This guy's potential only grew throughout my playthrough as I discovered new combos, and even though I didn't think using a single one-handed weapon would be viable on Master without healing or Alchemy, it very much is! <strong>Note that Thieves Guild spoilers will follow; read at your own risk.</strong> With that out of the way, I present:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/FE5minZ.jpg" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>The Nightingale Swordsman<br /></strong></span></p>
<p>The Nightingales. A secretive order selected from the elite of the Thieves Guild bound to the Mistress of Shadows, Nocturnal, the Nightingales are charged with defending the Twilight Sepulcher, the Temple of Nocturnal, against any threats. In exchange for their services, Nightingales are granted an impressive array of powers and equipment from Nocturnal to use as they see fit - and the Swordsman utilizes many Nocturnal's gifts to their full potential. While many other rogues around Tamriel count the bow and dagger amongst their closest friends, the Swordsman uses a single one-handed blade with unmatched skill. He is also a expert sneak and illusionist, often causing misdirection and landing a devastating surprise attack before entering the fray. Like many close combat fighters he knows how to parry with a blade and can use lighter armors to protect himself from blows. Smithing helps the Swordsman improve his weapons and armor, increasing their effectiveness.</p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> I chose to play as an <strong>Altmer</strong>, as their +50 magicka boost and +10 Illusion boost, along with the starting Fury spell, meant it was easier to get my Swordsman started. <strong>Redguards'</strong> skill boosts and daily power synergise well with the build. <strong>Orcs</strong>, with their Berserker Rage ability, are an excellent race for any melee build. <strong>Khajiit, Dunmer</strong> and <strong>Argonians</strong> can also make serviceable Swordsmen with their skill boosts.</p>
<p><strong>Stats:</strong> I recommend leveling <span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>1</strong></span>/<strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">2</span></strong>/<strong><span style="color: #339966;">2</span></strong> <span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;">until you reach 180 base Magicka, then level <span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>0</strong></span>/<strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">3</span></strong>/<strong><span style="color: #339966;">2</span></strong> <span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;">from then onwards.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;">Stone:</span></span></span></span></strong> <span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;">I suggest the <strong>Lord Stone</strong>. As a close-quarters fighter in light armor, any armor bonus is welcome.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;">Perks:</span></span></span></span></strong> <span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/#249459" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Level 20</a> | <a href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/#249461" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Level 40</a> | <a href="http://skyrimcalculator.com/#249464" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Level 50</a></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: #339966;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>1. Major Skills</strong></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>One-Handed:</strong> As the name suggests, the Nightingale Swordsman is a master of one-handed blades. These weapons allow him to strike with an excellent balance between speed, reach, and damage. Key perks here are pretty much everything except the axe, mace and dual wielding perks - with Critical Charge being very important!<br /></span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2">Sneak:</span></strong> <span class="font-size-2">As a Nightingale, the Swordsman is a master of stealth. Sneaking through an ancient ruin, stealing valuables from a wealthy citizen's home, or delivering sudden strikes from the shadows on interlopers into the Twilight Sepulcher - all of these are within the Swordsman's area of expertise. Key perks are Backstab and up to Silent Roll.</span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2">Illusion:</span></strong> <span class="font-size-2">The Illusion school of magic is a great asset to any rogue - it can cause distractions, turn enemies against each other, and improve stealth capabilities. I prefer to avoid above Adept rank - a dual-cast spell from a lower tier increases its magnitude by 220%, including bonuses from effect and enemy specific perks, meaning that even a lowly Fury spell, when dual cast, can affect many enemies in Skyrim. Muffle combined with the Nightingale gear and Muffled Movement in Sneak allows for completely silent movement. Another major benefit of the Illusion school is that Quiet Casting affects Shouts, which is included in a few Special Moves later on. Key perks are up to Apprentice Illusion, dual casting, and up to Quiet Casting.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>2. <span class="font-size-4"><strong>M</strong></span>inor Skills</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Smithing:</strong> The Swordsman can improve his weapons and armor. Due to the Swordsman's endgame equipment not being affected by smithing perks, only Steel and Arcane smithing are key.<br /></span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2">Block:</span></strong> <span class="font-size-2">As a close-quarters fighter, the Swordsman needs to be able to effectively block and avoid attacks. With the Quick Reflexes perk, this is easier than ever, with time slowing to a crawl when you block during a power attack. Within this time the Swordsman can either perform a quick bash, or with practice, a dodge and counter. The slowing effect stays active for a short time after lowering the block, and as the defender still retains their full speed, they can use this time to sidestep and deliver an attack of their own! Key perks are just up to Quick Reflexes. Later on the Bash perks can be taken also.</span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2">Light Armor:</span></strong> <span class="font-size-2">Lightly armored means light on your feet - but also easier to hack in two. The Swordsman should take full advantage of the mobility granted by his light armor - while the armor can and will save the Swordsman's life, it won't stop heavy-hitting attacks from two-handed weapons and bows. Key perks are pretty much everything - due to the emphasis of not getting hit, this skill tends to level quite slowly!</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/KyAtEmQ.jpg" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><em>The Nightingale Swordsman strikes from the shadows with deadly results</em></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>3. <span class="font-size-4">Demonstration Video</span></strong></span></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-4"><strong><span class="font-size-4"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zywA1oII-NM?wmode=opaque" width="480" height="360" frameborder="0"></iframe></span></strong></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>4. <span class="font-size-4">Equipment</span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">The Nightingale Swordsman has a relatively small but deadly array of equipment. A quick note before we get into specifics - the Nightingale equipment is leveled, so select a version based on what level you plan on playing to! I've included UESP links in the text below.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">The Swordsman has two blades which he uses i</span></span><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">n different situations. The <strong>Blades Sword</strong> (right) is used for general combat. As Steel Smithing affects it, it will always have a higher base damage than the Nightingale Blade, making it more effective for sneak attacks, and removes the hassle of having to recharge. One can be acquired without starting the Main Quest from Fultheim in the Nightgate Inn. The <strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Blade" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nightingale Blade</a></strong> (left) has a powerful Absorb Health and Absorb Stamina enchantment, making it ideal for longer, tougher battles. The quick attack speed lets t</span></span><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">he Nightingale make the most out of the Absorb Health portion, an</span></span><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">d the Absorb Stamina makes for almost infinite power attacks and bashes</span></span><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">For Armor, the <strong><a href="http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Nightingale_Armor" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nightingale set</a></strong> is obviously our armor of choice, offering well rounded boosts to the Swordsman's skills. <strong>Linwe's Armor</strong>, which can be acquired through a Thieves Guild sidequest, is a fitting substitute until the Nightingale set is acquired.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">As for other equipment, I recommend a Destruction ring for increased charges on the Nightingale Blade, and the Gauldur Amulet for a well-rounded stat boost.<br /></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/OhUs7BX.jpg" /></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><em>The Nightingale Swordsman uses the Nightingale Blade to land a killing blow on this Bandit Chief</em></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>5. <span class="font-size-4">Special Moves<br /></span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><strong><a href="http://i.imgur.com/A5sgn41.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-full" src="http://i.imgur.com/A5sgn41.png" /></a>Blink</strong></span></span></span></span><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><br /></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Requires: Quiet Casting, Whirlwind Sprint</strong></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><em>Jumping from shadow to shadow, the Nightingale moves unseen and unheard.</em></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">With Quiet Casting, Whirlwind Sprint doesn't make any noise. Good for moving around quickly during stealth, avoiding enemies, or quickly closing the gap for a sneak attack.<br /></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/4zn43CV.png" /></span></span></span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">Sudden Strike</span></span></span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">Requires: Critical Charge, Silent</span></span></span></span></strong> <strong><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">Roll</span></span></span></span></strong></p>
<p><em><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">Leaping from the shadows, the Nightingale closes the gap on their target and delivers a devastating blow.</span></span></span></span></em></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">The core move of this build. Once</span></span></span></span> <span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">the Silent Roll perk is unlocked, you can trigger Critical Charges off it, leaping swiftly and silently over a long distance to deliver a sneak attack. The Critical damage increases your damage up to about 7x, with Bladesman perks further increasing that (as they increase the damage done by criticals). The Swordsman needs to estimate distance carefully so that he doesn't run into his foe before striking, as this alerts them!<br /></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Abc72on.png" /></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">Dance of Darkness</span></span></span></span></strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">Requires: Critical Charge, Silent Roll, Muffle, Agent of Shadow</span></span></span></span></strong></p>
<p><em><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">The Nightingale picks off foes one by one, disappearing completely between each strike.</span></span></span></span></em></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-2">By far the most ridiculous stealth combo I've found, this allows you to quickly decimate large groups of enemies with nearly no threat of retribution. Cast Muffle, activate Shadowcloak of Nocturnal (the Agent of Shadow ability), crouch, and decide on your first target. Hit him with a sudden strike, most likely slaying him instantly (worked for me on most enemies, and I was playing on Master), and immediately crouch again. You're now completely silent and invisible - as far as your foes are concerned, you've simply winked out of existence. Select your next target and continue until you run out of foes!<br /></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>5. <span class="font-size-4">Playing the Nightingale Swordsman<br /></span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2">The way you roleplay your Swordsman is really up to you. I played mine as a cold and calculating type, carefully planning before he acted. Having a look through a house during the day before breaking in at night and stealing, surveying the surrounding area before pouncing on a seemingly lone foe, and using spells to move enemies into position. If there was an opportunity for combat (outside a town of course) he took it, eager to further improve his swordwork.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2">In combat, I opened with some Fury spells to soften up foes, and then moved in closer by sneaking around or Blinking over. When I saw my chance, I dived in with a Sudden Strike, taking down one target, and then battling it out with the rest. The best way to stay alive is to not get hit, so remember to have your enemies fighting each other as well as you, and avoid attacks by dodging, blocking, and staggering your target through power attacks and bashes. If you do need to heal just down a potion or two, or consider getting out the Nightingale Blade for its absorb effects.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/MI0PioY.jpg" /></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2"><em>These Bandits are no match for the Nightingale Swordsman's bladework<br /></em></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-2">Overall this is a build I had loads of fun with, a powerful assassin that's still awesome when not in stealth. As many of you know I detest the sneak-archer playstyle, and dual daggers aren't so good when enemies get onto you. With a sword, you're still proficient in melee combat, and aren't overpowered in stealth! I really enjoyed the fast paced feel of sneaking around - since swords make noise when you swing them, it was a race to take down as many guys as possible before being spotted, and the Sudden Strike really helped with that. I was surprised myself how viable this was on master - if you do play it, I hope you have as much fun as I did!</span></p>
</div>Character Build: Flurry Fury - Dual Wield Buildhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/flurry-fury-dual-wield-build2017-05-25T19:12:27.000Z2017-05-25T19:12:27.000ZMadman Glarthirhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/MadmanGlarthir<div><p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904863?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" target="_self" width="750"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904863?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="700" class="align-center"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Do you like dual wielding? Do you like Elemental Fury? Do you like orcs? If you said yes to all that, you´ll probably like this Build.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><br> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904863?profile=original" target="_self"></a> This build and most of the ones I'm gonna make in the future won't feature any or minimal Roleplay and Backstory as I find it unnecessary with builds that aren't dependent on it mechanically or playstyle-wise. If you do like Roleplay and such in a build, that's fine, but it will rarely be of significance for me.<br> <br> <br> <strong>Race</strong>: Orc, but you already knew that</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Stats Distribution</strong>: Magicka:1 Health: 2 Stamina:2 [Level 40: 180 Magicka, 260 Health, 260 Stamina]</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Standing </strong><strong>Stone</strong>: Steed Stone and Lord Stone, with the Aethereal Crown</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Shouts</strong>: Become Ethereal, Elemental Fury, Slow Time</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Spells</strong>: Healing -> Close Wounds</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Powers</strong>: Berserker Rage, Secret of Protection</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Blessing</strong>: Blessing of Talos</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br> <br> <strong>Equipment</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><br> <strong>Early game</strong>:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<ul>
<li>Any set of light armor</li>
<li>Rhagot</li>
<li>Amulet of Arkay/Amulet of Talos</li>
<li>Ring, Gauntlets, and Boots enchanted with <em>Fortify One-handed</em></li>
<li>(Ancient Shrouded Boots and Gloves while in stealth)</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><br> <strong>Late game</strong>:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<ul>
<li>Aethereal Crown</li>
<li>Ancient Falmer Cuirass enchanted with <em>Fortify Health</em> [<em>Fortify Light Armor]</em></li>
<li>Ancient Falmer Gauntlets enchanted with <em>Fortify One-handed</em></li>
<li>Ancient Falmer Boots enchanted with <em>Fortify One-handed</em> [<em>Fortify Stamina]</em></li>
<li>Ring enchanted with <em>Fortify One-handed</em> [<em>Fortify Restoration]</em></li>
<li>Amulet of Talos/Gauldr Amulet</li>
<li>(Ancient Shrouded Boots and Gloves while in stealth)</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><br> <strong>Weapons</strong>:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">There is a choice for the main weapon here: Axe, Mace or Sword. To keep it "simple" only use one of the three, I personally chose Mace.</p>
<ul>
<li>Two main weapons enchanted with <em>Chaos Damage</em> [<em>Fire Damage</em>]</li>
<li>One unenchanted Dagger and one enchanted with <em>Chaos Damage</em></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left;"><br> There are some unique weapons, which are useful for this build:</p>
<ul>
<li><em>Mace of Molag Bal</em> for refilling your enchanted weapons</li>
<li><em>Windshear</em> for the instant Stagger effect</li>
<li><em>Chillrend</em> for its high base damage and unparalleled enchantment (keep in mind though that you´ll only get the best version once you're level 46+)</li>
<li><em>Mehrunes Razor</em> for the small chance instantly kill</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Skills & Perks</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://skyrimcalculator.com/build/471218/flurry-fury-dual-wield/perks" target="_blank">Level 40 Perks</a></p>
<p><strong>One-Handed</strong>: Armsman 5/5, Dual Flurry 2/2, Dual Savagery, Fighting Stance, Savage Strike<br> <br> <strong>Light Armor</strong>: Agile Defender 5/5<br> <br> <strong>Enchanting</strong>: Enchanter 5/5, Fire Enchanter, Frost Enchanter, Storm Enchanter, Extra Effect, Insightful Enchanter<br> <br> <strong>Restoration</strong>: Novice Restoration, Recovery 1/2, Respite, Avoid Death<br> <br> <strong>Illusion</strong>: Novice Illusion, Animage, Kindred Mage, Quiet Casting<br> <br> <strong>Sneak:</strong> 2/5 Stealth, Muffled Movement, Backstab, Deadly Aim, Assassins Blade<br> <br> <br> <br> As with any ranked perk, the ranks not listed above are of course good to have, but not required to play this Build properly</p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>GAMEPLAY</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Use your main hand weapon of choice alongside an enchanted Dagger. When wounded, <em>Become Ethereal</em> is used to give time for the swap to your healing spell and bring distance between you and the enemies. When you need to put out more damage, switch to <em>Elemental Fury</em> and an unenchanted dagger.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br> <br> <strong>SPECIAL MOVES</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904890?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904890?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"></a></p>
<p><br> <strong>Blunt Anger</strong>: Berserker Rage, Elemental Fury, Secret of Protection</p>
<p>Activate Berserker Rage, Elemental Fury, Secret of Protection and then dual-wield power attack your opponents. Use an unenchanted left-hand Dagger and enchanted main hand weapon. When using a dual-wield power attacking with Elemental Fury, the game only checks the left hand for enchantments, thus, the main hand can be enchanted.<br> <br> Uses: When you're facing powerful enemies and useful when fighting in confined spaces with no room to dodge. This can only be done once a day, however, it, is strong enough to kill even the toughest enemies, don't waste it on small fry.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904905?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904905?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"></a></p>
<p></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Wraith Strike</strong>: Elemental Fury, Shrouded Gloves & Boots, Quiet Casting</p>
<p>Activate Elemental Fury and then dual-wield power attack your enemy while in stealth.<br> <br> </p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><br> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904938?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904938?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"></a></p>
<p><strong>Army Slayer</strong>: Berserker Rage, Slow Time</p>
<p>Activate Slow Time, Berserker Rage and then quickly dispose of all enemies in sight.<br> <br> Uses: When multiple enemies are in close vicinity. With this setup, up to 6 strong enemies or any number of weak ones can be taken care of very quickly. Keep in mind that it Berserker Rage can only be used once a day and without it, this move simply isn't as powerful.</p></div>Character Build: The Wind of Khenarthihttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-wind-of-khenarthi2017-05-10T00:06:41.000Z2017-05-10T00:06:41.000ZElysiumhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Elysium336<div><p>This build is long overdue for me. I've wanted to create a Wind-themed build because it's possibly the best "false" magic school that can be created, but my discovery of the Wind Destruction Magic Mod only increased that. This was meant to be an entry into the Evolutions Event, but I ended up running out of time.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830845683?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830845683?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830846872?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830846872?profile=original" width="466" height="661"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7651862?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830852998?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7651893?profile=original" width="284"></a>The Khajiit seem determined to defy explanation and elude any attempt at definition. Having a profoundly deep connection to the moons and the heavens, they are renown for being poor at the magic of <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830853086?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7651933?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="303"></a>man and mer while maintaining their own special brand of magic.</p>
<p>Rangers of the open desert and less-open forests, the Acolytes are often exiles. Some have found themselves on the wrong end of the law one time too many and seek redemption before Khenarthi (known in the Imperial Cult as Kynareth) flies them away to the Sands Beyond the Stars. Others are pilgrims, seeking to grow closer to the Lady of the Winds, to hone their natural Khajiiti agility and swiftness. Ultimately, the motley crew devote themselves to the protection of Khenarthi’s domain, the sea and skies, the sacred life of all creatures with mind and voice.</p>
<p>Although no scholar has managed to travel with them for any length of time, all agree that the Acolytes live a life unparalleled among the traditional monks of Imperial cloisters. Carefree and mischievous, the Acolytes guide the very air around them, manipulating the currents to guide their arrows, even tripping up their foes, but more often than not, they are inclined to knock a hot mug from a man’s hand and smile a toothy, feline smile, saying…</p>
<p align="center"><span class="font-size-3"><em>“It is all the luck of the Lady.”</em></span></p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7651970?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a></p>
<p><strong>Race</strong>:<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830854261?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7651993?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="169"></a> Khajiit</p>
<p><strong>Standing Stone</strong>: The Steed is always nice with the abundance of Alchemical reagents</p>
<p><strong>Stats</strong>: <strong>2</strong> <strong>/</strong> <strong>1</strong> <strong>/</strong> <strong>2</strong></p>
<p><strong>Major Skills</strong>: Destruction, Archery, Alchemy</p>
<p><strong>Minor</strong> <strong>Skills</strong>: Light Armor, Sneak</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652022?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830855455?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652051?profile=original" width="525"></a></strong>What character better to take advantage of Wind magic than an archer? Enemies won’t be able to stay on their feet between the staggering, the barrage of arrows, wind-themed shouts, and the actual Wind Destruction magic.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><em><strong><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/48315/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">>>>Wind Destruction Magic Mod.</a></strong></em></span> A very “complete” mod, it gives a spell for each tier that corresponds to the other types (spray, single-target, AOE, cloak, big single-target, wall, storm), three perks (2 ranks of Augmented Wind, 1 rank of Gale Force), and a unique enchantment that inflicts Wind Damage. The unique effect to Wind Magic (like how Fire has fear, Frost has paralyze, Shock has disintegrate) is the ability to send someone flying away (ie, activate ragdolling). All spells have a variable chance to send someone flying; from spray and cloak 5% per second, all the way to the master-level Cyclone having a 50% chance; the chance is also multiplied by 2.2 when dual-casting.</p>
<p>The perk Gale Force makes everyone fly away at low health and Augmented Wind does not alter the chance, only the damage done from the wind spells. The enchantment always has a 10% chance to trigger the effect, regardless of Enchanting skill, but the elemental power <strong><em>does</em></strong> change with Enchanting level and perks, as well as the Augmented Wind perks.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong><em>>>>Shouts.</em></strong></span> The traditional way of bringing in Wind themed magic, since the Voice has so many connections to breath and sky, while having a few choice options to mimic Khenarthi’s blessings and sight. Become Ethereal, Disarm, Storm Call, Unrelenting Force, Whirlwind Sprint and Cyclone are all good choices. Disarm can be seen as urging the Winds to rip enemies’ weapons away.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong><em>>>>Vanilla Destruction Magic.</em></strong></span> Whirlwind Cloak is the bleeding obvious one, now, isn’t it? If playing without access to the Wind Destruction mod above, then lightning magic is a good way to go to be able to match Storm Call, but the odd Freeze spell will save you a poison of Slow sometimes.</p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652066?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a></strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830855567?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652082?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="227"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830855752?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652119?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="169"></a><span class="font-size-3"><em>Dawnguard Boots & Gauntlets, Sca</em></span><span class="font-size-3"><em>led Armor of Destruction, Adept Hood.</em></span> A sleek woodsy armor combo that combines effectiveness with aesthetic. A custom enchantment of Muffle (no matter the Enchanting skill), will be of a 1.0 magnitude, the equivalent of the left-side Sneak perks.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><em>Nord Hero Bow.</em></span> A natural-looking bow with some flair and style, not to mention being Steel smithable with a speed comparable to the infamous Hunting Bow. Even without Enchanting skill (or with a potion of Fortify Enchanting) there are a few enchantments that are always useful with high charges: 1sec paralysis, chaos damage, or the mod-added Wind damage. When applied to weapons, the Wind damage has a 10% to fling enemies into a ragdoll, a percent which isn’t enhanced with higher Enchanting skill, making this perfect for our character. I’d recommend paralysis or Wind, since both are chance-based and affected by this character’s high rate of fire.</p>
<p>I didn’t feel that Auriel’s Bow really fit this character, but the heavy damage it does to undead can’t be ignored in some choice circumstances. This is also a character who picks up his kit from various quests and reflects his duty in Skyrim.</p>
<p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652136?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830856940?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652148?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="448"></a>Scouting ahead is always a great way to start off in combat, planning your defensive area. On<strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830848059?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830848059?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="529" height="417"></a></strong>ce I found a target, it was easy enough to get a stagger sneak attack and use the opportunity to set down a rune and shoot again, allowing my magicka to regenerate while they charged to set off the rune. While archers can become particularly vulnerable against large groups, using something like Wind magic allows us to have great crowd control, whether it’s from the mod-added spells or Whirlwind Cloak and Unrelenting Force. Long- and short-ranged poison delivery can also add some extra oomph, slowing or ravaging health while we can focus on another threat.</p>
<p>Slipping into the shadows for sanctuary is always another option and more often than not the preferable one, as our light armor combo and low health pool/high stamina allow us to run away to let a few shots off at further distances. Our maneuverability is enhanced further with Ranger and Quick Shot, which the high rate of fire allows us more chances to trigger the bow’s enchantment.</p>
<p>Shouts are easily used a fair bit in combat, being the easiest and most accessible magic while wielding a bow. Become Ethereal and Whirlwind Sprint make for perfect getaways or dodging, while things like Unrelenting Force, Disarm, and Cyclone disturb the enemy enough to allow you to kill it before they get too close. Animal Allegiance is a very undervalued shout but comes in terrific use, especially for a ranger who does battle in the wilderness a lot.</p>
<p> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652158?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a><span class="font-size-4"><strong><em>Alchemy</em></strong></span></p>
<p><strong><em>Rising Winds</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830849464?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830849464?profile=original" width="64"></a></em></strong>Fortify Magicka, Fortify Destruction, Restore Magicka, Damage Health<br> <em>Ectoplasm + Glowing Mushroom + Red Mountain Flower</em></p>
<p>Able to amplify magickal powers to an extreme amount, the small sacrifice of health is well worth the extra reserves and power.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><em>Gust</em></strong></p>
<p>Invisi<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830850590?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830850590?profile=original" width="64"></a>bility, Restore Magicka, Regenerate Health<br> <em>Luna Moth Wing + Vampire Dust + Red Mountain Flower/Mora Tapinella/White Cap</em></p>
<p>A complete shield to recuperate in the shadows or allow an escape attempt to regain health and attributes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><em>Asphyxiate</em></strong></p>
<p>D<strong><em><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830850723?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830850723?profile=original" width="64"></a></em></strong>amage Health, Ravage Health, Lingering Damage Health<br> <em> Imp Stool + Scathecraw + Skeever Tail</em></p>
<p>A bleeding drain of life and health as the target feels the breath torn from their bodies.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652169?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a><span class="font-size-4"><strong><em>Tactics</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><em><strong>Breeze<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851598?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851598?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="94"></a></strong></em></span><br> Clear Skies</p>
<p>Could there be a more appropriate build for this glitch? The shout causes a stagger in combat, but can only be activated outside. With its short cooldown, it can be used a reasonable amount of times, similar to bow-punching for staggers but more elegant.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><em><strong>Cur<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851808?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851808?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="94"></a>rents<br></strong></em></span> Unrelenting Force/Cyclone <u>or</u> Dual-cast Wind spell + Wind enchanted bow</p>
<p>A signature move of the Acolyte, allowing the him to keep his distance while prickling the enemy full of arrows. A reliable gust of wind throws back enemies to a manageable distance, allowing enchanted arrows to pin or ragdoll enemies to stagger them even further back.</p>
<p><strong> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652181?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a></strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830858100?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652193?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="615"></a>Always a cat out of touch with his spiritual brethren, the Acolyte, like many of his people, had fallen prey to the rampant poverty and drug trade in the south. Leaving prison after some years, he found himself in the House of the Winds, learning their trade, feeling the Winds in his fingers, and healing his soul after his long years as a criminal. One day, he got a station, a permanent land where the Lady’s Breath blew high, a land in need of a protector. And so he was sent to Skyrim.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851787?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851787?profile=original" width="392" height="550"></a></p>
<p>Seeking redemption in the light of the Lady of the Winds is difficult and more often than not, it becomes easier to slip into the indulgences of the previous life and all it had offered before (<strong>Thieves Guild, Lights Out!, Promises to Keep</strong>) but the Acolyte still manages to do good by the Lady and the Mother Cat in his travels and tenures (<strong>Blessings of Nature, Book of Love</strong>), helping both the furred and the fur-less in need (<strong>Missing in Action, Blood on the Ice, Forsworn Conspiracy, Wolf Queen Awakened</strong>) as he struggles to represent the Lady’s goodwill. In this service to his patrons in Skyrim and following their ways, the Acolyte begins to understand his place and what it means to become a good cat.</p>
<p>Finally, Khenarthi’s Voice touches him softly and guides him to where the overlarge, winged cats breathe their fire and threaten the safety of Mundas (<strong>Main Quest</strong>). She sees through his imperfections and grants her servant the Voice to call upon the most primal of Winds, that with form the Breath of the Lady. In this service, he finds in himself a hero and he abandons the guild he had become so well known in, escaping with their precious Skeleton Key and spiting Azurah’s dark twin.</p>
<p>In joining a band of mercenaries who hunt the un-living (<strong>Dawnguard</strong>), he guides them along the endless paths and trails of his land as they destroy the ancients. Finding another group of mercenaries that remind him so of the Winds in Elsweyr, as they struggle for their personal honour and glory (<strong>Companions</strong>). He tries to show them the Sands Beyond the Stars and to not be led astray from the afterlife they truly deserve, curing themselves of the Hungry Cat’s greedy affliction. But, without a word, the Acolyte leaves to find his fortunes elsewhere, on the roads of his land.</p>
<p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.tylergebhard.com/img/symbols/symbol-air-color.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652200?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="70"></a><em><strong><span class="font-size-5">Credits</span></strong></em></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Thanks to the artists whose work I've borrowed, edited, and used, including our very own<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://theskyrimblog.ning.com/profile/Sotek" target="_self">Sotek</a> who drew the original image on the stat section. [ <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=14&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEIQFjANahUKEwjB3dSsoYfGAhVFB5IKHYW-AAY&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffetsch.deviantart.com%2Fart%2FWind-Die-Chroniken-von-Hara-274882940&ei=2Et5VcGRMsWOyASF_YIw&usg=AFQjCNG2QWLtY7SwAx-iFOC9x1OuCpxs0g&sig2=lzAeqZd_76O1i-5Zm-CPFQ" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">X</a> , <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150616165510/http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAAahUKEwj4vKLGoYfGAhWKTJIKHX5kAd4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fky0ushu703.deviantart.com%2Fgallery%2F&ei=Dkx5Vfj9H4qZyQT-yIXwDQ&usg=AFQjCNGMhmlTVyOCA8eem6oxY7rpOe5c1A&sig2=Z21-J4fwx9cMOhsNgInrUw" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">X</a> , X ], not to mention the creators of the Wind Magic mod for inspiring this character.<br></span></p>
<p><a href="http://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/list/tag/elysium" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7652213?profile=original" width="706"></a></p></div>Character Build: The Night Usherhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/skyrim-build-the-night-usher2017-05-05T07:58:11.000Z2017-05-05T07:58:11.000ZDocPGBhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/DocPGB<div><p>Long, long ago, on a website ever so far away, there was one character build which used a mere two skills, a single shout, and a paragraph-length role-play guideline. As minimal as that might seem, it was a fully playable build complete by level 25, and I personally enjoyed the build greatly, being the minimalism fetishist I am. As a firm believer of being able to do more with less, I wish to build a character who perks a mere 2 skills, a single shout, and yet is a blast to play. Fear not, those who need a skill-packed build, for this build offers easy methods to expand our skill expertise. I present...</p><p align="center"><strong><u><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904296?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="426" alt="904296?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></u></strong></p><p align="center"><strong><u><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904374?profile=RESIZE_930x" width="750" alt="904374?profile=RESIZE_930x" /></u></strong></p><p><strong>Race:</strong> Altmer Vampire. Starting with an extra 50 Magicka is a godsend, as are the racial ability and faster running speed. It also fits a self-indulging megalomaniac quite well. Breton or Bosmer can work too.</p><p><strong>Archetype:</strong> Acrobat, Necromancer</p><p><strong>Perked Skills :</strong> Conjuration, Archery. As a wise man in Central Asia once said, two is enough.<strong><br /> </strong></p><p><strong>Shout</strong>(yes, singular)<strong>:</strong> <em>Tiid Klo Ul,</em> Slow time</p><p><strong>Arsenal:</strong> Bound Bow, Fists and Raise Spells</p><p><strong>Apparel: </strong>Bloody Trousers*, Jester's Boots, Ulfric’s Bracers, Amulet of Talos, Rings of Blood Magic, Circlet of Eminent Archery/Conjuration or Aetherial Crown (Ritual/Shadow/Serpent)<br /> *These trousers are found on the Volkihar Undercroft Feral Vampire, and turn into snazzy blue pants when worn by male characters. The color also complements the Bound Bow. </p><p><strong><u>Backstory:</u></strong></p><p>Having lost his dear mother to illness and his father to booze, the young Altmer who would be known as The Night Usher had a childhood of poverty, suffering and abuse. Working himself to sleep every day, he tried his honest best to earn his meals, only to lose them to his drunkard father and his habits. However, his greatest frustration was not physical abuse or fatigue, but the looks of pity, disgust and disdain he got all the time. All was looking grim for him, until his father kicked the bucket and he was adopted by a noble who once knew his father. Grabbing the opportunity by the throat, the Night Usher swore never to be looked down on again. He used every resource given to him to their full extent: he learnt magic from the noble's vast library, learnt martial arts from the guards, earned the favor of the townsfolk and had the hooligans secretly by his side. His reputation skyrocketed, and his foster family considered him one of them. All was looking up for the young Altmer.</p><p>But all that changed when he discovered the Noble's family heirloom: an unholy artifact which granted profane powers at the cost of the user's humanity. Under the cover of night, unbeknownst to his foster family, the Night Usher summoned the artifact's powers, but so great was its power that it turned him berserk. When he finally regained his conciousness, all that remained were the burning ruins of the mansion, and the corpses of its tenants strewn all around. Drunk with power, he left to test his newfound powers and to exert his self-ordained kingship.</p><p>However, unknown to him, the sole survivor of his powers, his adoptive brother, gathered powerful allies to slay him. With great vengeance, he stormed the Night Usher's base and dispelled the artifact's magics. He would have successfully enacted his revenge, if not for the Night Usher's guile and tact. With countless traps and his own band of hooligans, the Night Usher barely managed to flee with his life. To avoid the attention the slaughter would reel in, he decided to escape north. Stripped of his unholy artifact, armed with nothing but wit, luck, relentless resolve and his thirst for power, the Night Usher knew could start his legacy anew in the frigid land of Skyrim, a land ripe for him to plunder. New lives to take, new minds to bend, new magics to control, and so much authority to offend.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-4"><strong><u>Gameplay</u></strong></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><u><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904453?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="904453?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" /></u></strong></p><p>The Night Usher is a nimble acrobat who (ab)uses the Slow Time shout and Steady Hand perk for an extended Slow Time duration, allowing him to weave among enemies while simultaneously making pin cushions out of them. However, even after relevant perks, there is a brief period of vulnerability between shout cooldowns, which the Night Usher compensates with necromantic minions.</p><p>This build relies greatly on the <strong>Extended Slow Time glitch</strong>. To do this, you require rank 2 of Steady Hand, a bow and the first word of Slow Time.</p><ul><li>Optional: consume any potion of Alteration to extend the duration further</li><li>Nock an arrow and zoom in, slowing time temporarily</li><li>Press the ‘sheath’ key, cancelling the shot</li><li>As the arrow is withdrawn and the slowed time begins to fade, hit the shout button to activate the first word of Slow Time</li></ul><p><strong>Combat</strong> usually starts off with some Bound Bow potshots. Once foes close the distance, activate the extended Slow Time shout and continue assault and evasion. Once the duration is over, if opposition remains, raise a zombie (either dispel the bow and raise as per normal, or use the Ritual/Vampire Servant power for hands-free casting) and allow it to divert attention from you. By the time the zombie is dead, either your foes are also dead, or you have Slow Time off cooldown. Of course, for simpler battles or ranged duels, regular archery might suffice. However, on the rare occasion that you're out of Magicka and any means of replenishing it, don't hesitate to swap rings to the Ring of the Beast and pummel foes to their demise. In fact, it's perfectly viable to enter Slow Time and use Advanced Unarmed combat (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3dISRRf3G0">Here</a>'s an example for how it works) as a means of offense. Don't hesitate to use the Serpent Stone for fights where only one enemy poses great threat, or the Shadow stone to disengage from an overwhelming situation. </p><p><strong>Vampirism</strong> provides an interesting aspect to roleplay around while keeping gameplay in mind. With the latest version of Dawnguard installed, Stage 3 Vampirism only experiences 75% stunted stat regeneration under sunlight. I used this as a constant motivation to feed when I had the opportunity to let me regenerate the much-needed magicka for casting Bound Bow. I found myself frequently stopping by small settlements to feed and restock, thus staying in touch with society (I avoided using Vampire Seduction on just any lowlife bandit). On the other hand, avoiding cities for too long would grant Embrace of Shadows, which represents the Night Usher’s feral hunting instincts coming into effect.</p><p>If you want to <strong>get into the</strong><strong> thick of things quickly</strong>, this is the build for that. I found it to be quite a pleasant coincidence that the 2 main skills have free trainers (Faendal for Archery, Talvas Fathryon for Conjuration) and the main weapon is available at level 1 (free Bound Bow in Fort Amol Prison). The first word of Slow Time in Korvanjund is incredibly easy to get thanks to military backup, and luring the dragon from Bonestrewn Crest (North of the Atronach Stone, far south of Windhelm) into the nearby giant camps nets a free dragon soul to unlock the shout word. Half an hour into the playthough, the Night Usher becomes essentially complete. Anything after that is icing on the cake. </p><p><strong>Stat Spread</strong> is of minimal importance, but I suggest pouring the first 5 levels into Magika, and the next 5 into Health. Then onward, develop your stats depending on what you need. Do you run out of Magicka after resurrecting foes or accidentally dispelling the Bound Bow (I've been there)? Boost your Magicka. Do you tend to sprint or use the bow's zooming/time slow feature a lot? Stamina supports that playstyle while giving more carry capacity. Are you taking too many hits? (Shouldn't be the case) Invest in Health.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><u>Perkspread</u></strong><br /> <img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904513?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="904513?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500" />Build Complete at Level 25</p><p>Archery is our offensive skill, allowing us to shoot faster and harder, while Conjuration grants us access to and upgrades for the Bound Bow, along with defensive zombie meatshields.<br /> Perks are spent on bound weaponry, necromancy and the entire archery tree. Not all perks are created equal, however. Steady Hand 2/2 is the perk that makes or breaks this build, so rush that Level 60 in Archery. Pick up the typical archer power spikes from Power Shot and Quick Shot. Mystic Binding and Adept Conjuration ensure that our Bound Bow is effective and accessible.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Roleplay</strong></span></span></p><p>The Background of this character provides a good bit of detail to roleplay about, but here are some specific pointers:</p><ul><li>Feed on noble townsfolk, but not on bandits or thugs. The blood of lowborn scum is not worthy of your palate.</li><li>If anyone tries to undermine you or denounce you, make them regret it. This includes Thalmor patrols, travelers, townsfolk and even the guards.</li><li>Make connections across Skyrim, and exploit them to their full extent.</li><li>While you do use the Amulet of Talos and Molag Bal's rings, show no religious dedication to any deity.</li><li>Use stealth sparingly. Terror is best savored up close.</li></ul><p>Speaking of quests, the Night Usher would join the Volkihar vampires since he's a vampire (and to obtain the Rings of Blood Magic), and join the Imperial Legion to crush the Stormcloaks (and for Ulfric's stylish bracers). He would, however, kill any imperial patrols he comes across, for payback from Helgen. He aims to destroy both factions, neither of which he feels deserve their authority or military strength, but he would avoid crushing the Legion entirely, for he might be able to usurp all of the Empire's strength after they've taken over Skyrim. Apart from that, take up any quest which lets the Night Usher meet new people, make connections, collect artifacts of power, unlock new magic or gain knowledge. This certainly includes Lost in the Ages, a long but fulfilling quest which grants access to the Aetherial Crown, a piece of jewellery we will use on important occasions. The Dark Brotherhood questline also sates the Night Usher's thirst for blood quite well, and nets the spiffy-looking Jester Boots. </p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Expansion</strong></span></span></p><p>As much as I hate to admit it, gameplay can get repetitive with the limited (but highly effective) arsenal of only 2 skills. So when you max out at level 25, feel free to pick up whatever skills you want. I’ll share my attempts at expanding it in my own playthroughs.</p><p><u><img class="align-left" style="padding:10px;" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904542?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="64" alt="904542?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></u><span style="text-decoration:underline;">The Shadowmancer Setup: Sneak and Illusion<br /> </span> Stealth-heavy twist with powerful control and maneuverability. Sneak is already used in the build to some extent, so it isn’t too unusual to drop a few perks into it. Since I played on Legendary difficulty, x3 sneak shots didn’t feel broken, though perpetual invisibility did. Illusion combos perfectly with Sneak and allows you to silently sow discord among enemies or to raise fallen foes. It also feels like something the Night Usher would do, and the high-cost spells balance the build out. Key perks would include Deadly Aim, Shadow Warrior, Quiet Casting and Master of the Mind. </p><p> </p><p><u><img class="align-left" style="padding:10px;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8254332095,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="64" alt="8254332095?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></u><span style="text-decoration:underline;">The Impure King Setup: Alchemy and Restoration<br /> </span> A slightly support-ish twist to the build. With proper preparation, any (non-undead) foe can be crippled with the proper poisons, and against foes resistant to poison, self-buffing potions are very handy. In addition, using poisons with positive effects on zombie minions buffs them. This can be upgraded to the next level by Restoration, allowing you to directly heal zombies and yourself, keep enemy spells at bay, counter undead enemies and use Necromage to turn our party of undead into super-steroided beasts. Key Perks would include Physician, Benefactor, Poisoner, Concentrated Poison, Respite, Recovery, Avoid Death Ward Absorb and Necromage.</p><p> </p><p><u><img class="align-left" style="padding:10px;" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904589?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="904589?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="64" /></u><span style="text-decoration:underline;">The Soulguzzler Setup: Enchanting and Alteration<br /> </span> A twist which emphasizes versatility and customization, and roleplays as a soul-searching (detect spells), soul-severing (paralysis) and soul-stealing baddie. Enchanting has perfect synergy with the Bound Bow’s soul trap effect, meaning that you’ll be harvesting souls by the dozens. Cost reduction can allow you to dispel and recast your bow multiple times in a fight, letting you raise zombies and cast Alteration spells more often. Alternatively, you could opt for increased Bow damage or stats. Alteration provides much-needed utility to a one-trick pony like the Night Usher. Detect spells keep you from getting caught off guard, while defensive perks, Flesh spells and Paralysis protect you from harm. Stability extends Slow Time as well, making your margin of vulnerability even shorter. Key perks would include Insightful Enchanter, Corpus Enchanter, Extra Effect, Magic Resistance, Stability and Atronach.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></span></p><p>This build has been a concept I’ve been playing for a long time, but I’ve never bothered to put into organized writing. This is, after all, a build, which means you should be free to change things up as you want. Unfortunately I couldn't fit any Jojo memes in here. Hope you try the Night Usher out, and hopefully come up with your own ways to do more with less. </p></div>Character Build: The Infiltratorhttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-infiltrator2017-04-25T00:43:45.000Z2017-04-25T00:43:45.000ZCursehttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Hantz<div><p>This build has given me the pleasure of doing two things - combining some of my favorite builds into one awesome package, and exploring rogue skills previously left untouched. Keep reading and you might even recognize some of the builds that inspired the tactics I use here. I proudly present my latest project...</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}34007094,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}34007094,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="561" /></a></p>
<div class="size_fullsize"><a href="https://www.nuka-scrolls.com/filedata/fetch?id=65&d=1472871743&type=full" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7651889?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" /></a></div>
<div align="center"><em>Just imagine Batman minus the emotional baggage or the hesitation to kill you.</em></div>
<p><br />
<em>There's getting the job done, and then there's getting the job done right. And when you're dead serious about the latter, and coin is no object, you hire the best; You hire an infiltrator. These elite rogues bring a level of professionalism seldom seen in unruly underworld of cutthroats, thieves, and hired thugs. Far more precise than any fighter or mercenary, and more resourceful than just any assassin, the infiltrator is the go-to blade for hire when it absolutely has to be killed today, and failure is not an option....</em></p>
<p>Infiltrators are deadly tactical fighters and the embodiment of surgical precision, combining stealth and fighter tactics to form a fluid, versatile, and highly agile guerrilla fighter, capable of seamlessly shifting back and forth between the shadows and the fray.<br />
<br />
The infiltrator achieves so much in one awesome package. It perfectly captures the look and feel of a ninja, and I ask you, who doesn't like ninjas!? The wide range of tactics at your disposal make the infiltrator so much more fun to play than your typical sneaky assassin. The build also takes full advantage of alchemy, turning out deadly concoctions that only add to the lethality of already respectable physical damage potential. By stealth, sabotage or skirmish, the Infiltrator has many tools of elimination at his disposal.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Race: </strong><em>Bosmer</em> - Before you ask, no. The infiltrator is not just another sneak archer. In fact archery takes a distant backseat in this build in favor of far more enjoyable close quarters combat. I have chosen the wood elf due to their massive starting boost to alchemy as well as their starting boost in sneak. Their resistance to poison is very fitting for a character well versed in the use of poisons.<br />
<br />
<strong>Stone: </strong>The <strong>Warrior</strong> followed by <strong>Lady </strong><br />
<br />
Stone: You will take the warrior stone initially to raise block, and one-handed. Once you've mastered block, take the Lady stone. The 25% boost to stamina regeneration stacks with that of the 50% granted by Wind Walker for total stamina recovery speed of +75%. As an agile fighter who will be dodging, running, blocking, and parrying, this is quite valuable.</p>
<p><br />
<strong>Stat Distribution:</strong><strong> 0 Magicka 1 Heath 2</strong> <strong>Stamina</strong></p>
<p>The infiltrator is able to stand toe to toe with his enemies, but his agility is what allows him to survive these encounters. As such your stat distribution focuses on granting you a large pool of stamina for all of your agile maneuvers, and just enough health to survive a strike or two. But don't get carried away. You aren't built to take a beating. </p>
<p><strong>Gear:</strong> Nightingale Hood, Gauntlets, and Boots. GuildMasters Armor</p>
<p>While somewhat time consuming to obtain, the time is very well spent. Completing the thieves guild quest line in its entirety not only nets you a considerable some of money, but a bad ass armor combination. This combination comes with an assortment of enchantment effects such as carry weight and one handed damage that you will find quite helpful with this build. </p>
<p><strong>Weapons:</strong> Blades Sword, Imperial Bow</p>
<p>The blade's sword is very easy to obtain. Simply kill the man at Nightgate Inn who is in possession of one. The Imperial Bow can be obtained pretty much from the start of the game. As with all low tier bows, the Imperial Bow has a fast firing rate, making it an effective long range poison delivery system.</p>
<p><strong>Shouts:</strong> Slow Time</p>
<p>Slow time is an essential for giving the infiltrator time to stack poisons onto a target without retaliation. Combined with Quick Reflexes, Slow Time will last substantially longer allowing the Infiltrator to easily outmanuever enemies. </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Gameplay & Perks:</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}399152754,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}399152754,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" /></a></strong></span></p>
<p>For the most part the Infiltrator is quite easy to manage level wise. Most every skill are in near constant use, but you may find light armor and block trailing behind due to how infrequently you will be sustaining damage. </p>
<p>One Handed is the main damage dealer alongside alchemy. The most important perk to pick up here is critical charge. Combined with Silent roll, the infiltrator is able to execute a devastating running slash that deals lethal damage in excess of 700-1100 points of damage. You wouldn't be a good infiltrator without Sneak. Everything in this skill tree is taken here, minus assassin's blade & deadly aim as we will not be using a dagger nor silently sniping our targets. Shadow warrior is a true game changer. With this, the infiltrator becomes very difficult for enemies to keep track of in battle as he weaves in and out of view by merely crouching.<br />
<br />
Block introduces another major game changer in the form of Quick Reflexes. Using Slow Time while Quick Reflexes is active will cause Slow Time to last much longer, granting you a means outmanuevering your enemies in open combat. While Sneak, One-handed, and Light armor will take care of themselves, Block takes special attention to level. The easiest way to level block for more frail types is to lower the difficulty rate down to novice, and block blows from giants. Up until about lvl 50 you'll gain roughly 1 level per attack, so block can be leveled at an amazing rate. Those stolen potions from apothecary shops will come in handy for this.<br />
<br />
Alchemy is arguably the most important skill tree of this build, and what would an infiltrator be without a large array of poisons? Poisons takes a build capable of quite respectable damage as is, and turns the dial to 11. Crafted invisibility potions are not only an essential piece of this builds kit but quite possibly the easiest way to level up alchemy. The cost of your concoction is used to determine how much alchemy experience you get for making it, and invisibility potions sell for quite a lot. <br />
<br />
In this build Archery serves merely as a long range delivery mechanism for poisons. Its useful to have when faced with something it would be unwise to hand deliver poisons to (ie: dragons, mages). Archery is fairly easy to get out of the way. As soon as you arrive at Riverwood, perform the necessary quest to enlist Faendel as a follower. As both an archer trainer and a potential follower, you'll be able to buy your way to level 50 archery without actually spending a single septim. Just trade back the money you spend on his lessons. </p>
<p>-</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Toxic Concoctions</strong></span><br />
<br />
<strong>Blood Thinning Agent</strong> - Lingering Health Damage<br />
<br />
Imp Stool, Mora Tapinella, Slaughter Fish Scales/Eggs, Scathecrow (DB)<br />
<br />
Description: Introduces a toxin into victims blood system that stops the blood from clotting and prevents wounds healing. Victim will bleed profusely from even the most minor cuts. Causes X amount of health damage a second for 10 seconds. Can be stacked numerous times for lethal effect. </p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Argument: Exceptionally powerful supplement to your damage. Stacking multiple instances of this poison will leave victims suffering damage over time that can easily exceed 40 points per second. Best saved for particularly strong foes.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">-<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Flesh Eating Toxin</strong> - Damage Health<br />
<br />
Death Bell, Falmer Ear, NightShade, Red Mountain Flower. Skeever Tail<br />
<br />
Description: Destroys the victim's tissue in and around the freshly made wound, causing extra damage in addition to that of the cut itself. The poison itself causes a brief but intense burning sensation. Flesh Eating Toxin provides a quick and dirty means of supplementing your basic attack damage.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Argument: A quick and dirty way to further increase your damage. The Ingredients are very cheap and easy to come by so use liberally as this poison is meant to be used in place of Blood Thinning Agent against weaker enemies. </p>
<p>-<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Paralytic Agent</strong><span data-mce-mark="1"> - Paralysis</span><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">Imp Stool, Briar Heart, Canis Root, Swamp Fungal Pod</span><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">Description: Attacks the victim's nervous system, causing the body's motor functions to shut down. Victim will remain conscious but unable to move. An excellent way to temporarily move a high level threat from battle, allowing you to focus on eliminating weaker enemies.</span></p>
<p><span data-mce-mark="1">Argument: Very helpful for thinning out herds of enemies, or taking particularly strong or troublesome enemies out of the fight long enough to mop up their less formidable allies. Useful for removing a threat that stands between you and your objective that you do not wish to fight. </span></p>
<p>-<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Smoke Screen</strong> - Invisibility<br />
<br />
Ice Wraith Teeth, Vampire Dust, Chaurus Egg, Nirnroot, Luna Moth Wing<br />
<br />
Description: Causes a plume of smoke to emerge which cloaks and conceals the user. Useful anytime a quick get away is needed.</p>
<p>Argument: Self Explanatory</p>
<p>-</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Special Tactics</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>-</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830850809?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830850809?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="134" /></a></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-3" data-mce-mark="1">Tactical Cloak - </span></strong><em>Deploys a smoke bomb allowing the Infiltrator to instantly conceal his whereabouts from enemies.</em></p>
<p><em><span data-mce-mark="1">Requires: Shadow Warrior + Smokescreen</span></em></p>
<p> Useful for avoiding detection as enemies conduct their search, and equally as useful as a means of escaping a fight to regroup. The combo will work even without shadow warrior, but shadow warrior will dramatically improve the effectiveness of this combo</p>
<p> <span data-mce-mark="1">-</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851764?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851764?profile=original" width="134" /></a><strong><span class="font-size-3" data-mce-mark="1">Predator Strike - </span></strong><em>The Infiltrator leaps from the shadows, quickly closing distance and striking at his opponent's vitals with a lethal critical strike.</em></p>
<p><em>Requires: Critical Charge + Backstab + Silent Roll </em></p>
<p>Silent rolling counts as running as far as the game's logic is concerned. Executing Critical Charge while rolling lets you combine the 2x critical damage bonus gained from critical charge but also the 6x critical damage bonus from Backstab all in one swift leaping attack. The beauty of this skill is that not only will it cause massive critical damage, but that it closes a huge gap between you and your intended target. Far more effective and proactive than slowly skulking up to an enemy to deliver the lethal blow. </p>
<p>-</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851764?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}34280741,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="134" /></a><strong><span class="font-size-3" data-mce-mark="1">Diversion Tactic - </span></strong><em>The Infiltrator fires well placed shots against a hard surface creating sounds just loud enough to distract surrounding enemies.</em></p>
<p><em>Requirements: Steath, Bow & Arrows</em></p>
<p>While hiding, firing an arrow at any object will cause sound which will immediately cause every enemy in the vicinity to leave their post and investigate. You can effectively lead your enemies whereever you wish by shooting specific at specific points. In many ways this acts as a cheap and dirty alternative to Throw Voice. You can force enemies guarding an objective to walk away from their post, trick enemies into walking right into traps, or get them to turn their back just long enough to ambush them. </p>
<p>-</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830854040?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}14196290,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="134" /></a></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-3" data-mce-mark="1">Surgical Counter Strike - </span></strong><em>Upon dodging an enemy attack the infiltrator initiates a swift and deadly counter attack with each strike coated in a deadly poison agent.   </em></p>
<p><em><span data-mce-mark="1">Requirements:  Slow Time + Quick Reflexes + Blood Thinning Agent</span></em></p>
<p>Slow time cast during quick reflexes will cause time to slow for a dramatically longer period than normal.  In the mean time you have plenty of time to stack as much poison as you can into the bodies of your enemies. For best results use lingering damage health. Each lingering damage health poison acts on its own, dealing its respective damage over the course of its individual 10 second counter. The slowed down time lets you stack on multiple poisons onto multiple enemies, making this combination highly effective in situations where you're forced into open combat. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830852878?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830852878?profile=original" width="134" /></a></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3" data-mce-mark="1"><strong>Concentrated Fire - </strong></span><em>The infiltrator fires a concentrated volley of poison tipped arrows at a single enemy. </em></p>
<p><em><span data-mce-mark="1">Requires: Slow time + quick shot + Blood Thinning Agent</span></em></p>
<p>Works much the same way Venom Strike does except this is ideal for enemies you ought never get close to, such as dragons. This combo grants you ample time to land 4-5 good shots on a target. The high damage dealt by stacking poisons more than makes up for the negligible damage dealt with archery.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Tactics</strong></span><br />
<br />
<strong>Stealth & Diversion</strong><span data-mce-mark="1"> - </span><strong>Stick close to the shadows...</strong><br />
<br />
Although capable of going head to head against enemies stealth remains your strongest weapon. Survey every situation before jumping into combat. The advanage of studying your enemy and devising a plan to crush them utterly cannot be understated. Neither can the advantage of being able to choose your battles. You need not fight every single enemy that stands in the way of your objective. Diversion Tactic can be used to lure enemies away from where you need to go or get them looking off in the wrong direction long enough to take them by surprise with Predator Strike. </p>
<p>Diversion Tactic also forces alerted enemies to draw their weapons as they search for you. You can use that time to scout for enemies with troublesome weapons and magic and plan accordingly with this newly gained intel. </p>
<div class="size_fullsize"> <br />
<strong>Open Combat</strong> <span data-mce-mark="1"> – </span> <strong>Cant kill what you can't catch...</strong><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">A predator strike is a great way to open up the fight given it’s crazy high damage potential. Use it to swoop in and eliminate the toughest enemy in the room. Your advantage with this move lies in its speed and your likelihood of remaining undetected even when used in the vicinity of multiple enemies. Use it to dart in an out of the shadows taking out enemies one swift move at a time. </span><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">Shadow warrior will make it much easier to surprise your enemy in open combat and thus should be used liberally. Crouching underneath the shade of a cliff, I've seen bandits in the middle of trying to lob my head off lose track of me in broad day light. Shadow warrior will open up brief windows of opportunity to get in a quick power attack.</span></div>
<div class="size_fullsize"> </div>
<div class="size_fullsize"><span data-mce-mark="1">Arguably your biggest advantage in open combat is being able to dictate the pace of battle by slipping in and out of hiding. Battle going poorly? Hide, regroup, perhaps eliminate a hapless target or two unseen, then resume the battle. This is where tactical cloak and shadow warrior come in handy.</span></div>
<div class="size_fullsize"> </div>
<div class="size_fullsize"><span data-mce-mark="1">Do not hesitate to use your paralysis poisons to force troublesome enemies out of the fight. Sometimes it’s best to identify potential problem enemies and tag them with a paralysis poison from afar with your bow. </span><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">Sometimes whether various quest scenarious leave you no choice, or you've messed up, you will be forced into open combat. Against large groups of enemies or a few very powerful ones Surgical Counter Strike will quickly even the odds. During the window of extended slow time lingering poison damage can be stacked over and over again onto multiple enemies. Along side power attacks enemies will suffer massive damage in a short time frame while struggling to catch you. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>The Hit-list</strong> <span data-mce-mark="1"> – </span> <strong>The infiltrator is always prepared no matter the target.</strong><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">Living humanoids are your easiest target since they are susceptible to sabotage measures. When you see mages, make them your first target. If you cant get in close enough to ambush them you ought to at the very least take them out of the fight with a Paralytic Agent. </span><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">There are numerous enemies immune to poisons. Draugr, and Automatons are the most notable ones. Even against such enemies you still have agility and stealth to work with. Surgical Strike is still a lethal combo even without poisons. These enemies are no better at keeping up with you than the living, so use your speed and the shadows to your advantage.</span></div>
<div class="size_fullsize"><br />
<span data-mce-mark="1">Concentrated Fire becomes you best friend when pitted against a dragon. Ensure you are in an area that offers some cover. If not, run to such an area. The dragon will likely follow. They're pretty persistent. When you have a clear shot use concentrated fire. If you don't the tools and perks that combo requires, the strategy still remains the same: Duck, Dodge, Hide, and shoot poison into the beast when you have a clear shot. A fight against a dragon is more or less a hide and seek game.</span></div>
<div class="size_fullsize"> </div>
<div class="size_fullsize" style="text-align: center;"><span data-mce-mark="1"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BGgfJTm5WpY" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></span></div>
<p> </p>
<p><span data-mce-mark="1"><strong><em>Recommended Mods</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span data-mce-mark="1">This mod was tested on the vanilla version of Skyrim. But if you want to take your experience with this character even further below are some mods you just simply can't go without. Given the nature of stealth builds there's actually quite a lot to choose from to enhance your gameplay. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span data-mce-mark="1"><a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19447/?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sneak Tools</a> - Hands down the most essential mod in this list. Sneak Tools gives you access to every tool and tactic you need to be an elite infiltrator. You can knock unsuspecting enemies out with your bare fist, shroud your face to throw off pursuing guards and bounty hunters, and even rig and climb ropes. And there's so much more than that. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/38386/?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contractor Armor</a>/<a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/5696/?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arise Ch1 Black Sacrament</a>- The Contractor armor mod adds a high quality set of black leather armor to the game. It comes in several varients, so pick which ever one you prefer. The Black Sacrament mod adds a large collection of Dark Brotherhood themed armors to include some awesome looking ninja face masks which will look amazing when paired with the contractor armor. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/27644/?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Immersive Weapons</a> - The most popular weapon mod on the Nexus comes with an impressive array of katana style weapons that perfectly compliment the above armor mods.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/70108/?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oriental Swordsmanship</a> - Replaces the clunky 1-handed vanilla sword animations with awesome stylish sword style. I highly recommend using this alongside FNIS PCEA 2 which will make these animations exclusive to you.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/27153/?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Field Alchemy</a> - It's such a pain in the ass to have to wait til you make it to an Apothecary before you can mix your ingredients. Field Alchemy allows you to craft your potions and poisons anytime and anywhere. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/61255/?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Immersive Detection of NPCs</a> - I personally think this should be a requirement for any stealth focused build. This mod changes how NPC detection works to make sneaking more challenging, but more importantly more realistic. This mod goes perfectly along side any mod that darkens interior cells and dungeons. Each type of enemy npc is affected differently by this mod. For example Falmer are now 100% unable to "see" you, but are far more keen to even the slightest noise. Animals such as wolves have very keen senses and are thus very difficult to sneak around. </p>
<p>-</p>
<p><strong>Closing Remarks</strong><br />
<br />
And there you have it. I hope you all enjoy playing this build as much as I have. This is easily the most fun I've had playing Skyrim so far. Be sure to check out my previous builds on my page and stick around, there's still plenty more builds to come.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Credits:</strong><br />
<br />
-Raidriar for the armor combo "shadow thief" that inspired this build.<br />
<br />
- Ben C and Vazgen for helping me name some of these deadly poisons<br />
<br />
- Zimbu for his awesome screen shot.</p>
<p><a href="http://theskyforge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/list/tag/curse+never+dying" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}399185199,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="550" /></a></p>
</div>Character Build: The Samuraihttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/groups/tes-character-building/forum/character-build-the-samurai2017-04-20T03:50:59.000Z2017-04-20T03:50:59.000ZCursehttps://TheSkyForge.ning.com/members/Hantz<div><p>After what seems like forever and a day ago since I last contributed to this fine community, I am back with yet another character build. This build is my take on the ever popular master swordsman concept, and it has been many months in the making. It is my pleasure to share with you all my own take on the master swordsman, easily my favorite class type. Without further delay I present...</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/903546?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/903546?profile=original" alt="903546?profile=original" width="441" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/903700?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/903700?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="903700?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" /></a><em>"No common warrior can match the fierce discipline, the tactical brilliance, nor the peerless swordsmanship of a samurai warrior. Samurai are disciples of the ancient Akaviri art of warfare and combat, who dedicate their lives to seeking out honorable warriors to test their mettle against. Always seeking to obtain greater strength and skill, Samurai are martial perfectionists who wield their weapons with deadly purpose."</em></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#c0c0c0;"><em>.</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">The Samurai is a heavily armored close quarter combat specialist; A cross between a defender and a duelist. Like any tanky character, the samurai is fairly durable. However, the samurai lacks the sheer staying power of a full fledged defender, and instead relies on deft movements to gain the advantage. To that end, samurai are just as capable as any tank at engaging multiple foes directly - albeit with much more finesse and style.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851202?profile=original"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830851202?profile=RESIZE_320x320" alt="830851202?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" height="231" /></a>As masters of both single and dual wield sword stances, the samurai are able to seamlessly switch stances in combat to suit both offensive and defensive needs. The stances compliment each other quite well, in an almost perfect yin & yang relationship. A single blade allows for blocking, countering, and positioning, but lacks the offensive capacity to inflict enough damage. Two blades working in tandem are able to deal impressive damage but leave the wielder vulnerable. The Extended Slow Time glitch further increases the potential of these stances while granting the samurai an impressive speed advantage. </p>
<p>But you'd hardly be playing this build anywhere close to its full potential using this trick for mere speed. Extended Slow Time grants you the ability to pull off some pretty sweet combos. Knocking an enemy sky high and slicing him to ribbons before he even lands is just one of many awesome things the samurai is capable of. The samurai has much to offer, both to players looking for a fun balanced warrior to enjoy the game with, as well as advanced players looking to show off the many ways you can chop a milkdrinker into pieces.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong style="text-align:center;font-size:16pt;">* The Build *</strong></p>
<p><strong>Race:</strong> Redguard. You wont find a race better suited. Redguard start with an impressive 10 bonus levels to One-handed, as well as a bonus 5 levels to most warrior skill trees. Their racial ability, Adrenaline Rush, is a life saver in critical moments when a strong offense is crucial. </p>
<p><strong>Stone:</strong> Lord. Lacking in magical talent, the samurai is somewhat vulnerable to enemy mages. The lord stone is crucial for mitigating magic damage.</p>
<p><strong>Stat Distribution:</strong> <span style="color:#0000ff;">0 Magicka</span>/ <span style="color:#ff0000;">2 Health</span>/ <span style="color:#339966;">1 Stamina <span style="color:#000000;"> The Samurai possesses various means of conserving stamina while on the offensive, meaning a large stamina pool unnecessary. A large health pool will be needed to effectively engage multiple enemies head on.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Major Skills:</strong> Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Block</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Minor Skills:</strong> Alteration, Smithing</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Shouts:</strong> Slow Time, Become Ethereal, Unrelenting Force, Dragon Aspect, Elemental Fury</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Powers:</strong> Secret of Protection, Dragonborn Force, Force Without Effort</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Blessing:</strong> Blessing of Talos</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;"><strong>* Equipment *</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;"><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904173?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904173?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="904173?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" /></a></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">The Orcish Helmet combined with the Blades Armor set makes for a very aesthetically pleasing combination. This awesome looking armor combo is what inspired this build in the first place. Your first blades sword can be obtained at Nightingate Inn. Just "politely" challenge its owner to a duel (to the death) for it. A second blades sword can be obtained in Delphine's secret room.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Bolar's Oath Blade can be used as your second blade until you get the second blade's sword. Dragonsbane is also gained at the temple and possesses a powerful enchantment that deals up to 40 extra damage against dragons as well as 10 points of shock damage against non dragons. Its enchantment is level based so try to pick it up around lvl 30 or 40 to get the most out of it. Lastly, the Talos Amulet, in conjunction with the Blessing of Talos provides you a constant 40% shout cool down reduction. Combined with Extended Slow Time glitch, Slow time's effect will easily outlast its cool down, allowing you to combine slow time with other shouts for devastating effect. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904232?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/904232?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="904232?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" /></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>One Handed:</strong> The sole source of damage for the samurai. The dual weapon perks are especially important as the samurai is highly reliant on dual wield power strikes for damage. Easily leveled by taking advantage of the Hadvar/Ralof exploit. This skill will level fairly fast naturally if you'd rather not abuse that exploit.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Block:</strong> Grants quite a bit of utility to the build. Blocking, parrying, dodging, and knocking opponents off balance are all taken care of within the block tree. You can level this quite easily by using giants for training. Just drop the difficulty to Novice (No cheating. Put that shit back on Master when you're done), grab your best sheild and blocking their blows gets you fast levels. Remember the more damage you mitigate the faster block levels.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Heavy Armor:</strong> As a tanky fighter, you're going to need a fair bit of physical protection. Blocking does no good if chip damage still takes a sizeable chunk of your health. Conditioning is a key perk in this tree. Once you get it, you'll expend stamina much more efficiently. Completing the Companion's</span><br /> <span style="color:#000000;">quest line grants you access to Farkas as a follower. Simply trade back the money you pay him for training.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Alteration:</strong> In the early game, flesh spells will help supplement your defenses. The key perks within this tree are stability and magic defense. Being able to defend against magic is equally as important as defending against physical attacks. Stability allows the slow time + quick reflexes combo to last 50% longer. The easiest way to level alteration is to cast detect life in a crowded city.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Smithing:</strong> Necessary to bolster the damage of your swords and improve armor. Dwarven smithing is taken to take advantage of the fast levels granted by the crafting of dwarven bows. You'll need the arcane blacksmith perk in order to improve the damage of dragonsbane. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830861757?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-center" style="width:741px;height:494px;" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830852469?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="830852469?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="630" height="427" /></span></a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;"><strong>* Special Techniques *</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Basic - </strong></span><span style="font-size:10pt;">These techniques are relatively simple to perform and chain into each other quite nicely</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong style="font-size:16pt;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830853753?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830853753?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="830853753?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></span></a></strong><span class="font-size-5"><span class="font-size-2"><strong>Fearless Charge -</strong> </span></span><em>The samurai charges towards an enemy, deflecting all in coming attacks for a brief duration. Fearless charge does not expend stamina while running and the next power attack used while under its effect also costs no stamina.</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Requires: Become Ethereal, Great Critical Charge, Force Without Effort, Single Blade Stance</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">The Samurai has no means of dealing damage at long range. Fearless charge allows you to rush at a long range opponent, who'd normally be free to pelt you with impunity, without the mess of wasting stamina and taking damage along the way. The heavy stagger induced from this technique gives you ample time to abuse your opponent. Fearless charge combos well into both 'Breach the Line' and 'Unlabored Flawlessness' </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong style="font-size:16pt;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830854830?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830854830?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="830854830?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></span></a></strong><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Breach the Line - </span></strong><em>The Samurai executes a forward lunging strike leading with the hilt of the blade, throwing enemies in range off balance and scattering them into the air.</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Requires: Shield Charge, Single Blade Stance</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">As you may or may not know, shield charge can be performed with a sword. Simply tap the block button repeatedly as you run. 'Breach the Line' is useful for a multitude of reasons. Its great if you need to break away from a mob of enemies. Its also very useful for taking troublesome enemies out of the fight for a short duration. Most importantly it leaves an enemy off their feet and defenseless; a perfect target for the technique 'No Mercy'. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830856130?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830856130?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="830856130?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></span></a><strong>Flawless Strike -</strong> <em>The Samurai focuses on the accuracy and efficiency of his swings rather than raw power and speed. The effect is a 4 hit combo that costs no stamina whatsoever but deals damage at a slower rate than a standard dual power attack</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Requirement: With dual blades equipped, initiate a dual power attack and immediately tap both left and right triggers as the attack begins. </em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Dual wield attacks deal hefty damage, but have very high stamina costs. 'Unlabored Flawlessness' allows you to maintain your offensive momentum and conserve stamina. Fearless Charge combos transitions smoothly into this technique resulting in 5 devastating power attacks in a row without spending an ounce of stamina. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830856303?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830856303?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="830856303?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></span></a><strong>Iron Focus -</strong> <em>Upon successfully parrying or dodging an incoming power attack, the samurai achieves a state of perfect focus and clarity. In this state the samurai gains a substantial speed advantage over enemies and the ability to chain techniques together more easily. </em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Requires: Quick Reflexes, Slow Time, Stability, Talos Amulet/Blessing Single Sword Stance</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Activating slow time while under the effect of quick reflexes triggers the extended slow time effect. This is what enables you to effectively engage multiple enemies. It allows you to easily anticipate, dodge, and counter enemy attacks. More importantly it makes any recovery time an enemy suffers from being knocked on their ass substantially longer. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Advanced - </strong></span>Master Iron Focus and master it well. To get the most out of the techniques listed below, Iron Focus must be active. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830857366?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830857366?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="830857366?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></span></a><strong>No Mercy -</strong> <em>The Samurai capitalizes on the opportunity to deal heavy continuous damage against any opponent launched into the air or knocked to the ground</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Requirements: (Against airborne or downed opponent) Iron Focus, Dual Blade Stance, Unlabored Flawlessness (optional)</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Anything knocked into the air or on its ass while Iron Focus is active will take forever to get back on their feet. 'No Mercy' allows you to deal massive amounts of damage against a defenseless enemy. If you're skilled enough, this move can be used to strike an opponent as they flail through the air too. This technique is faster when used without 'Unlabored Flawlessness', but runs through stamina quite quickly as well.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830857386?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830857386?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="830857386?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></span></a><strong>Dragon Pulse -</strong> <em>The samurai channels ki energy into a powerful blast knocking multiple enemies in a massive frontal area off their feet, leaving them highly vulnerable. Enemies with below 50 health are outright killed.</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Requires: Iron Focus, Unrelenting Force lvl 3, Force Without Effort</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Slow time will far outlast its cool down. Once that happens, using Unrelenting Force while still under the effect of slow time will knock multiple enemies off their feet leaving them all vulnerable for a long period of time. This gives you ample time to kill a few of them off while they're knocked down. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><em><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830858900?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830858900?profile=RESIZE_180x180" alt="830858900?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="100" /></span></a><strong>Dragon Slayer -</strong> </em>The Samurai gathers ki energy, taking on the aspect of a raging dragon. In this state the samurai is whirlwind of death, gaining massive bonus to attack speed and damage, armor, elemental resistance, and stamina regeneration.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;"><em>Requires: Iron Focus (optional), Adrenaline Rush, Secret of Protection, Dragon Aspect, Elemental Fury, Dual Blade Stance.</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">This technique combines multiple once a day powers for devastating effect. Its best to save this technique for bosses. While it is possible to use this without Iron Focus active, it is far more lethal to use it with Iron focus active. Equip dragonsbane in your right hand, when using this on dragons. Elemental Fury will only check your left handed weapon for enchantments when dual wielding. </span></p>
<p>-</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;"><strong>* Tactics *</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Know Yourself - You must master yourself in order to master the enemy</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;">You can take a few hits, but at only 300-350 Armor and 40% magic resist by end game on Master, enemies will still tear through you if you get cocky. Activating 'Iron Focus' goes a long way to ensuring your survival. You also lack the stamina of most duelists, so take advantage of 'Fearless Charge' and 'Unlabored Flawlessness' to conserve stamina whenever possible.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;">It is important to note a flaw within the extended slow time glitch. Triggering Quick Reflexes while already under the affects of slow time will cancel the effect. You'll notice the tell tale blue hue of slow time remaining while the world moves at its regular pace. In a sense <strong>'Iron Focus'</strong> penalizes you for blocking rather than exercising some finesse and dodging attacks. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;">Know the advantages and disadvantages of both single and dual blade stances. With one blade you are able to block, dodge, and counter, but you deal minimal damage. With two blades its all too easy to shred your opponent, but you have nothing to block with other than your face. Use the single blade stance to knock opponents off balance and dual blades to finish them off. In case you were not aware, your left hand weapon can be swapped in and out without delay. You can switch seamlessly between single and dual wield stances at any time.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;">Outside of <strong>'Dragon Pulse'</strong> you lack any means of attacking multiple enemies. So be aware of where enemies are so you dont get surprised when focused on one of them. 'Iron Focus' makes it easier to keep track of enemy positions, but still keep an eye on your back and flank.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong><span class="font-size-2"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830859020?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830859020?profile=RESIZE_320x320" alt="830859020?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" /></span></a>Know Your Enemy - Knowledge is your greatest weapon</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Its important to prioritize certain enemy types over others. The biggest threat in any given fight are going to be mages and archers. Failing to prioritize them first gives them ample opportunity to pelt you from afar while you're busy fighting melee enemies. <strong>'Fearless Charge'</strong> is your best friend in these situations. Once you're in their face, let em have it! If you can, try to trigger 'Iron Focus' prior to engaging ranged enemies.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Melee enemies are your best friends. Take advantage of their power attacks to trigger <strong>'Iron Focus'</strong>. This is especially important when up against multiple enemies as your armor will only hold up so long against that many attackers. Once <strong>'Iron Focus</strong> is triggered it will be much easier to dodge and counter attack.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Against a single melee opponent you need not bother with 'Iron Focus' unless they are that damn strong. Its usually easier to follow up <strong>'Breach the Line'</strong> with slow time. This is a quick and dirty way to chain into <strong>'No Mercy'</strong>. Against a single ranged opponent its best to start with <strong>'Fearless Charge'</strong> and go from there. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Dragons are somewhat of a pain in the ass in the early game. Become Ethereal has a short cool down time so it should be available everytime the dragon decides to use a breath attack. Once you've at least gotten Secret of Protection, dragons become easier. They become even easier once you're able to utilize <strong>'Dragon Slayer'</strong>. Don't be afraid to take a follower along, preferably a mage, to take on dragons early on. Don't forget to equip dragonsbane for that extra damage. Additional enemies interfering in a dragon battle is a blessing. Use them to trigger <strong>'Iron Focus'</strong>. It will make the dragon's attacks easier to dodge, and make <strong>'Dragon Slayer'</strong> far deadlier.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Know Your Surroundings - There lay the keys to turning the tide</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Another way of dealing with ranged enemies is to use cover to your advantage. Use terrain and walls to block their attacks while you deal with melee enemies. Ranged enemies rarely follow so doubles as a good way of separating the enemy, making them easier to take down. Steering a battle into a narrow passage is a good way of preventing enemies from being able to flank you. It also forces them to fight you one at a time. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Cliffs and other high ledges are your best friend. Using <strong>'Breach the Line'</strong> or Unrelenting Force to knock enemies off high ledges is a quick and easy way to instantly take an enemy or two out of the fight permanently. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;"><strong> * Recommended Quests *</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Samurai tend to be Lawfully Good. They are staunch supporters of law and order and hold their honor in the highest regard. You may adopt a different moral alignment if you wish. A samurai can be roleplayed as any alignment, but regardless of how your morals lean, maintaining a veneer of honor and civility is a must. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Most of the recommended quests below center around testing your mettle against powerful adversaries, and gaining notoriety as a powerful warrior. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>The Companions -</strong> If you're looking to prove yourself as a warrior, there is no better place to start than in the halls of Jorrvaskr. The Companions quest line offers you some challenging fights, and a the conclusion of the quest line a whole host of warrior skill trainers. You will gain great notoriety as the Harbinger of the companion which is very fitting. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>The Main Quest -</strong> Like the Akaviri warriors of old, the Samurai is a slayer of dragons. The main story offers you the chance to cement your place in history as the brave warrior who slew the World Eater, Alduin, and saved Tamriel. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>The Civil War -</strong> Being the lawful sort, few samurai would suffer the existence of the rebel Stormcloaks. Join the Imperial Legion, destroy these rebel upstarts, and restore law and order to the province. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Dragonborne -</strong> An ancient dragon priest, hearing word of your exploits, seeks to destroy you and add your power to his own. Your motive for pursuing Miraak may be to do the reverse and add his power to your own, or for the safety for Solsthiem. In either case the mead halls of Solsthiem will sing songs of your endeavors for years to come. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>The Old Orc -</strong> While not exactly a quest, one of the most enjoyable moments I had playing the samurai was challenging the Old Orc in a battle to the death. I met him very early in my play through and despite knowing how strong he was at early levels, I challenged him to uphold my honor. He proved to be a challenge but ultimately I prevailed. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#000000;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830860512?profile=original"><span style="color:#000000;"><img style="width:699px;height:421px;" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/830860512?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" alt="830860512?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" height="374" /></span></a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2" style="color:#000000;"><strong>* Role-Play *</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">To help you get into character here are some additional roleplay suggestions:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#000000;">Never back down from a challenge. Nothing would be more dishonorable than shying away when another warrior challenges you.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#000000;">Become thane of at least one hold. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#000000;">Take on bounty missions and regularly complete radiant quests offered by the Companions</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#000000;">You are above dishonorable methods of fighting. This means no sneak attacking. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#000000;">You must never steal from anyone, but the spoils of a fallen adversary are fair game with exception of their armor. It is dishonorable to disrobe a fallen opponent, leaving their naked carcass exposed to the elements. </span></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align:right;"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EzEFMUtNbHE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-6" style="color:#000000;"><strong><span style="font-size:small;">* Recommended Mods *</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#000000;">Looking to take your experience with this character even further? Here a</span>re some suggestions:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/22650/?" target="_blank">ESF: Companions</a>- This is a massive overhaul of the Companions quest line. With this mod the Companions questline feels like an entirely new and expansive experience. Countless lines of additional dialogue has been added to further flesh out the characters. You now have the option to duel your fellow companions and through the MCM menu you can set entry requirements to join the Companions and determine what must be done to advance within their ranks.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/70108/?" target="_blank">Oriental Swordsmanship</a> - This is an animation overhaul for one handed sword animations, and a vast improvement over the uncoordinated, clunky animations of the vanilla game. I highly recommend using this alongside FNIS PCEA 2 to make these animations exclusive to your character.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/34155/?" target="_blank">Dual Sheath Redux</a> - This mod can be somewhat of a technical challenge for some to set up but its well worth the effort. As the name implies you'll be able to see both your swords at all times when sheathed.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/39748/?" target="_blank">New Slow Time Visuals</a> - You'll be making frequent use of the Slow Time shout, so you might as well</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-2"><strong>* Closing Remarks *</strong></span></p>
<p>I would like to thank this fine community for all their support over these many months. I'm glad to be back on the saddle making character builds. Stay tuned for more character builds coming soon. </p></div>