Overview
The Grandmaster of the North-Wind is a holy/divine crusader/paladin type build with a few important differences to the generic paladin/crusader. I came up with this build through role-playing, and I owe much of it to the fine heads of the Imperial Library and the UESP; without them, I would neither have the understanding of TES Lore nor the understanding of the games to successfully make this build. I devised a faction, the North-Winds, who were similar to the Blades in that they protected the emperor, but were exclusively Nords who worshipped Lady Kyne (Kynareth in the Imperial Pantheon), also called the Breath of Life and Mother of Men. I wrote them a backstory, very similar in nature to the Blades - in 4E 171, months before the start of the Great War, the Thalmor Embassy sent agents to North-Wind Estate, high in the mountains of Winterhold, and burned it to the ground - to give them life and emotion. I created them a purpose - protect the Emperor of Cyrodiil with the skills of Nords, warfare and the Thu'um. Finally, I gave them a champion - Bronmir North-Wind, the last surviving North-Wind, escaped the fires of the Thalmor, swearing to seek out vengeance for his fallen clan - to give them a sense of propriety and posterity. Bronmir goes on to reforge the North-Winds, but paints them in a slightly different light. He teaches them the Thu'um and the Way of the Voice, gifts from Lady Kyne, and has them swear to protect and serve all those cannot protect themselves, and become very similar to what the Vigilants of Stendarr could have been - I, personally, found their attitudes towards everyone else a bit pretentious and more than a bit rude; in my eyes, they should have been staunch defenders of mortals, but they had a disregard for the lives of those corrupted by Daedra, rather than trying to be tender and offer guidance and healing, which is how I came up with both the North-Winds Paladins and this build, the Grandmaster of the North-Winds. Also, though I use the name "Bronmir North-Wind" you are more than welcome to come up with your own name. This is a guideline, not set in stone. Enough about that, though, let's get on with the actual build, shall we?
Bronmir North-Wind using Stendarr's Aura
Bronmir in Steel Plate
Race: Nord
This should be obvious, but to play this build, you MUST be a Nord. I know, I know, ew, Nord, how basic. Skyrim was clearly your first and only TES game, right? But, see, the North-Winds are Nords who worship Kyne, which is where their name comes from. Kyne is the Goddess of the Wind and Storms. Zephyr in Greek Mythology is the chief God of the Wind, also called the North-Wind, and he controls the winds and the storms - contradicting Zeus, chief of the Gods, who is the lord of the skies, not the god of the skies; it's a bit of a grey area, to be honest. Furthermore, Kyne, in the Nordic Pantheon, is both their life and death. Kyne is credited with creating man - believed to have literally breathed through the Throat of the World to create life, hence her name as Breath of Life - and is also attributed to leading Nordic dead to Sovngarde - hence her name as Kiss at the End. In order to accurately represent the North-Winds, you must be a Nord who worships Kyne above all others, even Talos - however, it is important to remember Talos is still worshipped, as he is the God-Hero of Man, particularly Nords.
Stats:
This build focuses heavily on being a support-tank, which means it requires aptitude with all three attributes, with special attention to Health. As such, the spread should be: 1 Magicka/2 Health/1 Stamina so, for every four levels, one point goes into both Magicka and Stamina while two points go into Health
However, there is an alternative playing style, which is actually the one I personally use: 2 Magicka/3 Health, 1 Stamina so, for every six levels, two points go into Magicka, three points go into Health, and one point goes into Stamina. This is the spread I prefer because it gives you more availability for Restoration spells.
Skills:
Being a Crusader/Paladin build, there are obviously going to be some obvious stats that are required for the build, with one or two optional skills.
Main Skills - the skills this build needs
Heavy Armor - obviously, no Paladin/Crusader would be complete without his full body plate and matching armor, or the full helm
Blocking - whether you choose to use a Shield or not is irrelevant; the Block skill must be invested in, at least on the right path of the tree, to get the bash and block bonuses
One-Handed or Two-Handed - if you choose to use a shield, obviously investing in the Two-Handed skill is a waste of time; however, I personally get more enjoyment with my Paladin running around with a War-Hammer, but it's ultimately up to you as long as you pick one of them
Restoration - if you're going to be healing other people, destroying Undead, and banishing Daedra, you need to invest in this skill
Minor Skills - the skills this build should have in addition to main skills
Alteration - the ability to increase your armor or paralyze the enemy is invaluable to this build, but is by no means required; it's merely helpful and recommended
Speechcraft - investing in Speechcraft is useful to this build for the persuasion benefit only; I use it for immersion. I imagine a completely honest and level-headed Paladin would be a king of public speaking, but that's just me
Optional Skills - skills you can use but do not need
Alchemy - in my humble opinion, Alchemy is one of the most underrated skills in the game. The ability to become resistant to poisons and make your own healing and fortification potions is sorely undervalued in Skyrim. I am also of the belief that a Paladin who devotes his life to hunting down evil creatures should be carrying healing potions and cure disease potions.
Smithing - while this is easily worked around, Smithing is helpful in that you can fortify your armor rating without needing Alteration or potions, simply by tempering them at a workbench. However, since, as I said above, it's easily worked around, Smithing is not necessary, merely helpful
Enchanting - obviously, you're going to invest in enchanting to give yourself an advantage while fighting Daedra or healing the townsfolk or whatever you decide to do, but it isn't a required skill for this build.
Equipment
There are more than a few pieces of required gear for this build and several more optional pieces.
Steel Plate - I always start this build by brawling with Uthgerd the Unbroken in the Bannered Mare so I can steal her Steel Plate Armor. I then usually upgrade to Dragonbone. The enchantments, if you choose to use them, you should be looking for are these (keep in mind you are certainly welcome to use any combination of them):
- Fortify Health
- Fortify Magicka
- Fortify Health Regeneration
- Fortify Magicka Regeneration
- Fortify Restoration
- Fortify Heavy Armor
- Fortify Blocking (optional)
- Resist Magic (optional)
- Resist Disease (optional)
- Resist Poison (optional)
You may notice a lack of stamina fortification in that list, but that's because we leave the stamina to the weapon:
Regardless of which weapon skill you choose to use, you should be aiming for Steel or better as far as weapons go. (Remember: Dragonbone weapons are superior to Daedric weapons, even though Daedric armor is superior to Dragonbone armor.) The enchantments you must run on your weapon:
- Absorb Stamina
- Turn Undead
Now, while I highly recommend using Turn Undead - it's useful since the majority of non-human creatures you fight will be skeletons and Draugr, both of whom are undead - you may alternate it with Banish Daedra. Banish Daedra is a powerful and high-level enchantment - it's actually considered an Expert level enchantment, versus the Adept level, Turn Undead. No matter which you choose to use, however, Absorb Stamina MUST be one of them. This enables you to perform almost unlimited power attacks, which let you stagger and deal crippling damage. One-Handed power attacks obviously cost less stamina, so you may only need to absorb around 15-25 points of Stamina to get the benefit required, but Two-Handed, you may need 30 or more, which is hard to do without Fortify Enchantment potions, which means you may need to invest in Alchemy to get the desired results.
Other various equipment are optional, such as potions of restoration/regeneration or fortification.
Gameplay
Perhaps the most important part of this build is going to be the gameplay. This build has a very specific gameplay. Starting off as a heavy armored one or two-handed warrior Nord, you will play as a holy champion type of player. This means certain quests are required while others are off limits. These quests are the ones I will list out specifically.
Required Quests
Main Quest - you absolutely MUST complete the main questline. While it doesn't matter when, so long as you do complete it, the quest Horn of Jurgen Windcaller must be completed before anything else is done in the game. This allows Dragons to randomly spawn in the overworld - which your character will be adept at killing, due to being Dragonborn - but the main thing is that you will be able to use the Thu'um. Frost Breath and Ice Form are the most important shouts to this build. Why? Excellent question. Aside from being associated with Zephyr - the North-Wind, notorious for cold gusts and freezing temperatures - these shouts prove to be irreplaceable useful to this build for their ability to deal damage, slow enemies down, drain their stamina, and even completely freeze them in place, giving you the necessary time to deal damage unhindered, or heal yourself. Other shouts you want to use will be Unrelenting Force, Storm Call (again, fits in with the roleplay, since Lady Kyne is the Goddess of Storms), and Aura Whisper (it is exceedingly useful to see where your enemies and allies are).
Companions - while we will be curing the Lycanthropy in the Tomb of Ysgramor, you will need to complete this line of quests specifically for the followers and being Harbinger to immerse yourself in the roleplay of a well-known, feared, and respected warrior.
College of Winterhold - you do not need to finish this questline by any means, but you must begin it. Since you will need Restoration spells, and possibly Alteration spells, having access to the College will be beneficial. Not only can you get training, but you can also purchase spells you may need, and, when your skill is high enough, you can do the Master Level Quests associated with Restoration, from Colette Morence - it requires you to travel to the Midden Dark, where the Augur of Dunlain is found, and remove all equipment to fight hordes of undead for a few minutes using nothing but your restoration spells to survive - and Alteration, from Tolfdir - which requires harvesting the heart scales of Dragons with Kahvozein's Fang.
Dawnguard - you absolutely MUST complete this questline on the side of the Dawnguard. As a sworn protector of the innocent and a crusader who fights evil, killing Vampires who are inherently dark creatures and prey on the innocent are your sworn enemies. When entering the Soul Cairn, you MUST ask Serana to Soul Trap you. Becoming a Vampire is against your ethics. You also MUST persuade Serana to cure her Vampirism.
Kyne's Sacred Trials - this quest is required for this role play. As a worshipper of Kyne, how could you accurately portray that if you didn't complete her sacred trials? For those that have never done this quest: speak to Froki Whetted-Blade at Froki's Shack North of Pinewatch and West of Gjukar's Monument.
Optional Quests
Destroying the Dark Brotherhood - this is an optional quest, though you are not allowed to join the Dark Brotherhood. What good would a self-righteous crusader and protector be if he was an assassin? That's the purest form of hypocrisy. Instead, should you choose to begin this set of quests - which I advise against, because it requires killing the "innocent" Grelod the Kind; though, at the same time, she's a horrible person, and you'd be protecting the children if you did, but murder is still murder, regardless of how just it may be - you MUST kill Astrid in the Abandoned House.
The Blessings of Nature - this is an optional quest. Restoring the Gildergreen for Whiterun, though a quest for Kyne by nature, it is NOT a divine quest and thus is NOT required.
The Book of Love - while serving the Divines is "holy", it is not something you need to do, particularly if it's for Mara. Spreading love is great, but not truly necessary to this role play.
The Heart of Dibella - see above; replace Mara with Dibella
The Break of Dawn - though it is against this build's ethics to help a Daedra, because Meridia was once the Aedra, Merid-Nunda, and she despises undead as you do, this quest is allowed, but only optional. I know, I know, Meridia's Beacon sucks. Boo hoo, get over it.
The Black Star - because Azura is similar in her personality to Meridia - being considered one of the "good" princes - this quest is allowed but you MUST reform the Star; taking the Black Star is not allowed.
Civil War - this is entirely optional. You can pick either side. Though you're playing as a character loyal to the Empire, you're also playing a character who is a true Nord and has judgment. You may choose to help reforge the Empire, or break off and become something new, or you can ignore it completely. Both sides suck. Entirely up to you.
Bard's College - I never do it, you don't have to either.
Becoming Thane - though they help set in stone that you're a respected warrior, you don't have to become Thane.
Unlisted Quests - if there is a quest you encounter in the game that is not listed as required or restricted, it is optional, such as "Aetherium Wars" or "Forbidden Legends". I simply do not want to list out every single quest and tell you it's optional; you're smart, you should figure out the basic rundown on this build by now.
Restricted Quests
Daedric Quests - No Daedric quests are to be completed EXCEPT the possibility of Meridia's and Azura's. Becoming a werewolf temporarily for the Companion's Quest does not count since it is not a Daedric Quest.
The Thieves' Guild - this should be self-explanatory. You are an honest and righteous person. Being a thief is against your entire character. Plus, it turns into a quest for Nocturnal who is a Daedra. Enough said.
Use Your Judgement - if you encounter a quest not listed as restricted but you feel goes against the morals of this build, don't do it.
Special Powers/Abilities
I personally like to rush the enemy with Stendarr's Aura active (assuming I'm fighting undead) and then cast Bane of the Undead and chase the undead around with my warhammer, which has "Turn Undead" as an enchantment. It makes it really simple to pick off Draugr and the like since they never attack me. (In one playthrough, while doing the Soul Cairn, I actually had the Keepers fleeing from me; it was great). Beyond that, I don't have any "specials" for you to try. I wholly believe in discovering your own unique playstyles for yourself, to make it more immersive for you.
Replies
Hey Viz3r nice to see your first build up and I am impressed with the level of thought into this. I'm busy with work right now but I'll be sure to give this build a thorough look when I get done.
For now my only input is that the prefix "character build@ should be included in your build title. So basically
Character Build: Grand Master of the North Wind
understood
will remedy for the future
This is a solid first build, Viz. Curse already pointed this out, but to reinforce what he said, all build titles should be formatted as “Character Build: Build Name”. For this build, it’d be “Character Build: Grandmaster of the North-Wind”, without the quotations. As for the build itself, it’s very detailed and thorough. You explained exactly what to do so it should be easy for anyone to jump right the build without getting lost. The only thing I’d recommend is creating a perkspread or adding a link to the Skyrim Calculator with your chosen perks. If you want to see what perkspreads are like, check out our resident Perkspread expert, Curse. While perkspreads are good and all, I understand that some people, myself included, just aren’t skilled at photoshop and the like. In that case, I’d highly recommend just hopping over to the Skyrim Calculator, selecting the perks you picked for this character, and adding it into this build. Also, I really like the small amount of lore you created for the North-Winds. They seem like a pretty cool faction and I would love to see them expanded upon outside of this build, perhaps in a story or profile.
not a bad idea. I, personally, would want to leave that to the whim of the player, but it might not be bad to at least provide them with the perks I use.
Cool a new character builder. Good to have you here! Your roleplay in this build is pretty neat. It might be a good idea for you to space out some of these larger paragraphs, else some of what you say might get lost in a sea of text.
probably, but the important lines have formatted text, so they stand out more.
ayyyy my build hit 5 likes YEET
FIVMUL - I can not believe I forgot this. Beautiful Build - drop that Novice tag as you've hit Rank:Apprentice!