Preface
This is a build based on a personal concept of a Dark Elf House. One thing I always try to do with character concepts is to break the mold of what is considered atypical of them in regard to their culture and or race. At the same time, this Dark Elf House is also pursuing the Achievment of Chim, and striving to be recognized as a great house of Morrowind. The saga will revolve around the 3 oldest children of House Nalshar. Their mother and father count themselves from a simple start, yet with their minds toward the future. The 1st having become The Nerevarine. The 2nd becoming the Champion of Cyrodiil, then winding up mantling Sheogorath. The 3rd coming up as The Dragonborn. The sucky thing is the only thing this family is trying to do is achieve a seat on the Council. To become one of the Great Houses of Morrowind. As well as to achieve Chim. The unfortunate luck of the Nalshar family. For each time one of the up and coming heads of the household attempt to go out to generate their wealth, prestige, and influence, Destiny seems to have other plans.
Lead Up
While the 1st son brought Prestige to their House by winding up as the Nerevarine, it didn't help that he wasn't around to take up becoming the Head of House. Uncertain if whether or not they would achieve Chim, they wanted to groom their boys to continue the pursuit of Chim, Prestige, Wealth, Strength, and Wisdom. The Nalshar have made leaps and bounds to thoroughly educate themselves. They revere both the Aedra and the Daedra, as well have versed themselves on the Gods of the other cultures of relevance on Tamriel. When in Skyrim they appropriately pay homage to the Nordic Pantheon out of respect to their hosts, referring to Kynareth as Kyne, Talos as Ysmir, and even have no issue referring to Shor. Without Shor's machinations then they wouldn't be able to enjoy the challenge of life and all its diversity. That being said, Azura is their chief Daedra, and Akatosh is their Chief Aedra. Yet also recognize Sithis.
Being so versed and tied to the spirits that hold sway, they shouldn't find themselves so surprised by Destiny seeming to constantly step in. The 2nd son had also brought prestige, yet seemingly before their very eyes he disappeared after The Oblivion Crisis. Also, worth to note that the Nalshar family remains firmly planted in Morrowind, survived Red Mountain, and resettled in Blacklight. With their dream of at least becoming one of the great houses seeming to constantly slip away, as well as the disappearance of the second oldest child, the Nalshar house was losing hope and began to feel both blessed and cursed at the same time. Sure, their house had become known, yet were beginning to be avoided. Too many strange things were happening to the progeny of this house.
Backstory
The 3rd son decided to make his attempt to fulfill the dreams of his family after the great war. As well made attempts to discover what happened to his 2nd oldest brother for the sake of closure for his family. This lead him to Cyrodiil where he ventured to the various properties that his brother had purchased. Hoping to find journals that would bring clarity. Up until after the Oblivion Crises and the Knights of the Nine incident, there were accounts that detailed the 2nds journeys in Cyordiil. Yet it was after the passage describing the rumors of a Strange Door near Bravil that things took a turn.
The journal entries that followed, found within Rosethorn Hall, were unstable in their expressions. There was no mention of the mantling, as any memory of the information divulged to the 2nd of the happening slipped away in his new sense of self. It was only after a couple volumes that the entries stopped, and all that had once looked upon the Champion of Cyrodiil could only say that he had just disappeared one day. In a desperate attempt for further answers, the 3rd child of house Nalshar set out for Cloud Ruler Temple where there had been the last sighting of his brother. Upon arrival he gawked at the ruined, once great structure before venturing within to investigate. It was after a few hours of scouring that his search was interrupted by Thalmor Agents... Immediately they set upon him, believing him to be a Blades agent/conspirator against the Thalmor. Blood thirsty Altmer of the Dominion, in truth, cared little for facts. And house Nalshar was well aware of Dominion's cruelty and prejudice. The 3rd son of house Nalshar didn't wait for them to capture him. Getting tortured wasn't on his bucket list... He fled in the only direction that there wasn't opposition. North.
A panicked Dunmer scrambled across the Border into Skyrim, doing what he could to lose the Thalmor Agents on his tail. A dive into a few bushes, a scrambling slip behind an over crop of land onto a lowered area of the ground, and some quick sneaking to distance himself while attempting to avoid hungry wildlife. He succeeded by the skin of his teeth. The Agents giving up their chase as they were stationed in Cyrodiil and not Skyrim. Ah, yes, the beauty of Jurisdiction and the fact that they were also sticklers for paperwork. Yet this luck was short lived. For as the 3rd Son began to creep his way just a bit more before standing upright, he was swept up by the hurried movements of men in armor bearing a blue shroud, a terrified man in rags, and a man in dark grey and black garbs which looked of vague importance. Least to him. Enter Imperial Soldiers and a carriage ride that would change his simple journey for answers into yet another touch of Destiny upon his House.
The Journey
From Riverwood, after dealing with Helgen, a sense of urgency washes over our Hero. The Civil War which is creating Strife, and the Dragon Crisis. As for the Civil War, he sides with the Empire. The Empire that despite working with the Thalmor, hates them just as much as the Stormcloaks. Seeing things for what they really are, our Hero does what he thinks will be in the best interest of Skyrim and the Empire by aiding in quelling the Stormcloak rebellion, while simultaneously dealing with the Dragon Crisis. The only other Faction joined at the start will be the College of Winterhold. Why? For the sake of having the means for finding answers about his missing brother. Post Civil War, Dragon Crisis, and College are as follows. He sides with Parthurnaax, because he's Dragon Bro. No reason to kill Dragon Bro. Helps the Blades only to the point to obtaining the Dragon Infusion. After learning each and every spell at the college and uncovering its secrets, he finds little that aid in discovering further answers. As he spends more time in Skyrim, he falls in love with the land, especially for its contrast to Morrowind, as well as how close it is to home. Inadvertently creating prestige for himself and his house, he decides not to simply stop at being Archmage.
From Winterhold he sets his trail back to Whiterun to join the Companions to bring further honor to his name. However, upon discovery, ingestion of, and experiencing their curse he only found himself pitying the clan and the tragedies that followed. For just as in the College, the leadership here was weak. The circle was divided which created weak spots in their "armor". Just as in the College it happened here, where he set things on the path of progress. Some fortune at least that balanced the lack of information that he desired. From the Companions to the Thieves Guild, then from the Thieves Guild to The Dark Brotherhood, this trend seemed to continue. Alduin had indeed brought End Times to Tamriel. These powerful organizations suffering such weakness from their leaders and in turn from their associates. Right now seems a good spot to address House Nalshar's Moral Compass. Firstly, they do NOT approve of Slavery. They've seen Karma in effect too often to condone it. Plus the History of the Aleyeids is a good reference point for that. Second, don't take more than you need from Nirn. Again, Karma in effect witnessed too often to deny it. Third, Existence is Chaos and demands balance. They've tuned into that underlying flow that surrounds them, hence their deep spirituality to those that are beyond Mortality. While they've found themselves frustrated with Destiny's hand upon their family, they don't hate it or deny it. Fourth, Meet fury upon those that have sewn it. No mercy for the Forsworn though. Wherein their reverence to Molag Bal comes into play. The Forsworn are weak and quite honestly don't deserve rule over The Reach. Their savagery equals the Nord's, yet could simply relocate and cease their fruitless endeavor, having only gotten a hold of the Reach due to the events of The Great War, rather than having earned it.
Rising at Dusk
With a desire to control his own destiny for the sake of his family, the 3rd son sets his sight upon Vampirism. A tool to be used in order to insure the success of his house, and the continued success of the Organizations he now spearheads. A couple of which his Elder Brothers had also once Spearheaded. Yet, due to their disappearances, left them without solid leadership consecutively. Upon encountering the Volkihar after the initial foray into the Dawnguard missions, he realizes how detrimental the Dawnguard would be to Skyrim. He also sees how foolish Harkon is. If the Dawnguard were to succeed in destroying Castle Volkihar and its residents, then all the other Vampires in Skyrim would run rampant. Those disorganized vampires who aren't thinking about the long game... Who would wind up wiping out their food sources and starving themselves to death. So, the 3rd decides better to be the Devil that people'd want to know, rather than let them suffer the Devil that would destroy the Balance. It's also important to note that he would journey to Morthal to learn of and Document the Vampire cure from Falion for those that desire to be mortal again. From here he spends his days securing the future of his House, as well as researching ways to achieve Chim for the sake of his Parents' dream.
It's important to note that at Solitude after encountering Sheogorath in the Pelagius wing that he'd get his answers about his brother. Considering the conversation that would follow with the Mad Daedric Prince would be corroborated with the Journals left behind by the 2nd Son of House Nalshar. Also, revering all Aedra and Daedra means he'd acquire each Daedric Artifact and Aedra Blessing. Reverence of Dragons and his discovered Dragon Blood, as well as how the presence of Dragons rebalances Tamriel's web of life. Exterminating the Dragons is out of the question because they are the Children of Akatosh. Exterminating the Dragons would be counted as Blasphemy to the Dragonborn. But he would be agreement that they need to be regulated. How better to ensure that then by being The Immortal Dragonborn? Plus, being a Vampire Lord is just fun.
As for the build itself?
Light Armor, One Handed, Sneak, all crafting skills, Speech, Illusion, Conjuration, Alteration, then go nuts from there. Use exploits and creep up to 251, and enjoy.
Playstyle
Overall playstyle I've built to cycle through each skill to reach the Vanilla Cap of 81, ending at where the build is fully intended to wind up. He will start from being a Spell Slinging Mage, then carry over to Heavy Armored Two Handed Warrior, then transition from Bow Wielding Thief to One Handed Duel Wielding Assassin. After which I see my boy going into using a sword in one hand and spell in the other. Stealth is a must with the intention on getting the drop on as many enemies as possible before deciding to go loud and start a slaughterfest. With the complex belief system it's fair to say that this character operates on a Lawful Chaotic Neutral spectrum, with Good and Evil perceived as situational concepts save for a few areas of life. Hence the willingness to use Vampirism as a tool. If Molag Bal ever threatened the Balance then House Nalshar would have no qualms putting him in check. Same for any other of the deities. Magic focus will primarily be Illusion, Conjuration, and Alteration. All the Crafting Skills are significant, along with Speech, for the sake of roleplaying. Having trades to pass on so that House Nalshar will continue to flourish. As well, it wouldn't surprise me if he decided to groom adventurers and outfit them. It's also fair to say that this is a very gray morality that they operate on.
Perks
Smithing, Enchanting, and Speech will all be maxed out.
In One Handed you'll take the entire middle path as well as Duel Wielding. Bladesman will also be maxed out. I've heard the arguments about Crit damage before, but I really don't care considering when you break down the Sword, Axe, and Mace specialization Perks they're practically the same. I go with Swords for Dunmer because its in their previous specializations anyway so it fits the Roleplay perspective. Plus Harkon's Sword is going to be the Endgame weapon for this build.
Light Armor will be maxed out.
Sneak will be maxed out.
Illusion will be maxed out.
Which will put you at about level 84. This isn't unreachable. It's my own personal character and the play style I've applied to it. Legendary lets one experience everything the game has to offer including most if not all Play Styles. Beyond level 84, if you want to keep going, grab everything in Conjuration and Alchemy. Would also go for Magic Resistence in Alteration and Necromage in Resto.
Standing Stones
Early Game: At the start you'll take The Mage Stone. Magic skills are the most tedious to level so I feel like it's best to tackle that section first as this arduous journey begins.
Midgame: Cycle from Mage, to Warrior, to Thief, or just take on The Lover Stone. Downside of Lover Stone if you're using the Console Version like I am is that you lose Rest Bonus.
Endgame: As you near the vanilla peak, and go just a little further beyond it to finalize this long game build, we're gonna make sure we went with The Aetherium Crown. For reasons. Grab the Ritual Stone to apply to the Crown, and The Atronach Stone as the primary.
Replies
Hey m8! Welcome to the Skyforge! I'm Pixel, host of the Character Building group! Thanks for posting a build so quickly; it's great to see new members getting into build creation.
As to the build itself, you've got a solid backstory and concept here. It's very unique and an interesting read. Super cool idea to not only make your own Dunmer House, but also to weave it into the past few Elder Scrolls storylines. Well done indeed!
On top, I have a few suggestions. The first thing I'd say would be to play around a bit more with formatting. The more you read builds here on the Forge, you'll get a feel for how formatting plays into a build. Presentation is key, and sometimes a solid block of text can be a bit intimidating for readers. Another thing that can help with this is putting some cool images in there to break up the text.
My final suggestion would be to talk about what specific class/role your character fills, and focus a bit more on the perks and how the contribute to the overall playstyle of your character.
Awesome job on this first entry. Thanks for posting!
What you have here could make for a very interesting story/fan fiction. I personally found it interesting to read. You ought to post this long story to the Story Corner group and stick with a very shortened summary of the backstory for the build.
But here isn’t much build here, and by that I mean detailed instructions on how to recreate this character. There’s got to be more detail you can give us, such as what perks did you prioritize and why. Even with exploits level 250+ just isn’t a practical goal. I’d suggest a level no higher than 50-60.
Lastly I think some pictures of your character would help presentation considerably.
But enough rambling from me. Welcome to the skyforge and congrats on posting your first build here.
Images will be lacking till further notice. Apologies.
Are you havin' a problem uploading them too? I'm experiencing that issue, if that is what you are talking about. Otherwise, it's fine just get 'em up whenver you can.
No... I'm still playing on PS3. And I don't have a capture card. Plus I'm using my Copy that I got on the initial release back in 2011.
Ah ok. I didn't realize that PS3 didn't have a screenshot option. Alternatively, some people put pictures of landscapes, or artwork from elsewhere on the internet that resembles the character they have in mind, and it works just as well. Maybe try that in the meantime.
Additionally, something I found helpful is to just sample another builder's format. That way you can look at the headings and sorta say to yourself "Alright, now I need to get this information" and you'll have a more complete picture of how the character plays. The more you do that, the more comfortable you will get with what information needs to be included in a build, and that'll allow you to develop your own style.
Hey mate, you forgot your Rank:Novice tag