Hey guys, this is my first post here on the blog! After lurking for a long time I finally made an account so I could post my "first build," but I wasn't really pleased with it so I tried again. After 4-5 planned "first builds" I finally created one that I was proud of enough to call my very first skyrimblog character build! And so, I present....
The Warden
Two-Handed Taskmaster: A major thing I aimed to do with this character was synergy with two-handed weapons. Every skill helps out two-handed in some way, and is meant to keep combat flowing and natural. You will never have to worry about switching mid-combat and taking large amounts of damage!
Lore
Who are they?
Wardens are a group of vigilante Altmer lycanthropes based in the Summerset Isles, although they generally travel to other provinces and countries to make a living. They have been exiled from their hometowns for their lycanthropy. Wardens are looked down upon by their Altmer peers, often seen as dirty, disgusting, and inferior. They are often recognized by other cultures and races to be as snobbish and arrogant as the rest of the Altmer. The Wardens themselves are proud of their lycanthropic "blessing" and believe that those that look down on them are simply jealous of their superior strength and speed.
The Forming
The Wardens came to be after a secret purge of lycanthropes in the Summerset Isles. To avoid their persecutors, hundreds of Altmer moved to the isolated ruins in the mountains near Cloudrest. After the campaign to purge the Isles of lycanthropes, many Altmer tried to move back to their hometowns but were still discriminated against by the "pure-blooded" Altmer. They were beat, tormented, and treated as animals. Many soon found themselves back in the ruins. This led to long lines of lycanthropic Altmer. The children of these people soon became known as Wardens, children born with the strength of all types of lycanthropes found throughout Tamriel. However, vengeance runs deep within their blood, and they would not soon forget the acts committed against their people. They raided towns at night and stole and murdered those who had killed their friends and family. They lived as barbarians high in the mountainous ruins of the Summerset Isles. Eventually, the blood-soaked people grew weary of fighting those who had sinned generations before. A vast majority of the Wardens moved across Tamriel in search of new lives, in search of justice. Many have become mercenaries, bounty hunters, guards, and even assassins. They do anything they deem necessary in order to achieve their own ideas of justice.
* Non-canon Lore *
The Build
Race: Altmer (High Elf)
Altmer is the obvious choice due to the lore. They also get a 50 magicka bonus as well as the Highborn ability that is beneficial towards any character planning to use magic.
Stat Distribution: 0:3:2 (Magicka:Health:Stamina)
With the Altmer's magicka bonus, no magicka investment is required meaning we can focus purely on our health and stamina. Stamina is extremely important to two-handed characters, this one in particular.
Standing Stone: Atronach
This character's biggest struggle was enemy mages. Since I didn't see any Standing Stone being particularly obvious in terms of roleplay, I made a decision based on gameplay and effectiveness. The extra 50 magicka goes great with the Altmer's boost and the minor inconvenience of reduced magicka regeneration can easily be offset by the use of Highborn.
Shouts: Become Ethereal, Dragon Aspect
These two shouts are critical! Become Ethereal makes it easy to close in on enemies as well as maintain stamina. It'll also find exceptional synergy with The Warden's weapon of choice!
Dragon Aspect's damage bonus to power attacks also synergises fantastically with The Warden's favorite weapon as well as provide even more AR, fire/frost resistance, and a chance for a sidekick!
Powers & Abilities: Secret of Strength, Bones of the Earth, Bardic Knowledge, Seeker of Might
Powers are optional bonuses that can be obtained to improve gameplay. They are by no means necessary and the listed powers are only obtainable with the Dragonborn DLC.
Major Skills
Two-Handed: Wardens needed a way to retaliate against their former comrades as well as something to hunt and protect themselves with. Most found that two-handed weapons were ideal for their strength and ease of use compared to the more elegant one-handed weaponry.
Alchemy: Decades isolated in the ruins gave the Wardens plenty of time to learn about Alchemy. They needed a way to remain healthy in the mountains, as well as something to give them a 'competitive edge.'
Block: The Warden's strength and barbaric nature naturally led them to the use of two-handed weapons. However, their understanding of war is often unseen. They've spent generations locked in combat and survival, which is more than enough time to understand that some sort of defense is always helpful.
Minor Skills
Light Armor: When the original lycanthropes fled form their homes they had to grab what they could carry. Traveling light was ideal and is much better for traversing the rugged mountains of the Summerset Isles.
Destruction: Although 'tainted,' the Wardens still carry the blood of the Altmer and are naturally talented in the arcane arts. However, they do not have the masters to learn from and usually become adept casters at best.
Sneak: Hiding from enemies, sneaking up on foes, as well as hunting all led to the Warden's reliance on sneak. Although they are no master, they are capable of remaining hidden as much as they need.
Perks
For me, this character was all about making two-handed a fun experience! Two-handed is obvious because it's what this character is all about! Alchemy adds to this beautifully because it seems as if it was made for people who didn't have enough hands! It can be used to heal without switching out of your weapon as well as apply poisons which leads me to another point...Concentrated Poison and Sweep are perfect together. Block was taken because in the past, I had never had any real defensive success with two-handers and I figured block might help in that regard as well as add some variety to offense.
Even though I had defensive troubles in the past I decided Light Armor was the way to go because of the long reach of two-handed weapons. Using lighter armor meant I was more mobile so I could keep foes just at the edge of my reach which is extremely important! Next we have Destruction. Destruction really is what made this character fun and enjoyable! With the help of our friend Whirlwind Cloak, you can keep your foes outside of their range, but just inside yours. Sneak is icing on the cake! Using sneak along with a two-hander might seem a little contradictory, but it is extremely useful. By combining silent roll and great critical charge you are able to get off a 4x damage sneak attacks while still being completely capable in open combat. Silent Roll also helps add some more variety to mid-combat if you can get the timing down.
Equipment
Head: Elven Helmet of Eminent Destruction
Neck: Necklace of Revival
Chest: Elven Armor of Eminent Health
Feet: Elven Boots of Eminent Stamina
Hand: Elven Bracers of Eminent Sure Grip
Finger: Ring of Peerless Sure Grip, Ring of Bloodlust
Weapon: Bloodskal Blade
Armor set of choice here was Elven. I decided Elven was the perfect fit because of the Altmer heritage as well as Elven being the lightest 'base' armor set allowing for minimal stamina drain and maximum speed!
The Bloodskal Blade is the perfect fit for this character as it adds a bit of range. It will help you level two-handed extremely fast because the ribbon counts as a hit, thus leveling the skill faster. It also has a very light weight to damage ratio!
Since we didn't take enchanting, we rely nearly 100% on found armor - either looted from chests or purchased from vendors. This makes dungeon diving a lot more enjoyable and important as you're constantly searching for new equipment to finish your set! The Enchantments listed are all of the highest quality possible for that item.
Synergy & Gameplay
At last, we've reached the best part! First of all I'd like to thank anyone who has been able to read all the way here and I promise, it's only about to get better. While creating this character, synergy was the name of the game! I needed to find a way to make two-handed combat feel right. Before, it had always felt slow, clunky, and repetitive. This character solved all those problems for me!
First of all, my main problem was keeping the enemies just at the edge of my swords range - as that really is one of the biggest advantages two-handers provide. In order to solve this I used two things from the Dragonborn DLC.
With the Bloodskal Blade I could power attack without fear of me being too far away because I could always count on the trusty energy ribbon. Keep in mind though, the ribbon should be treated as an added bonus NOT a long range attack. It only deals 30 damage so it's not sufficient as a long range weapon, especially with the amount of stamina it consumes. However, by utilizing weakness to magic poisons and the Become Ethereal shout, it can become formidable enough for short periods of time. The poisons will increase the damage while Become Ethereal eliminates the stamina cost if and only if you do not make physical contact with the blade.
2.) Whirlwind Cloak
Whirlwind Cloak was a spell I added to this character on my second playthrough. The character felt just like my other attempts at a two-hander - boring and unoriginal. Though with the help of this one spell, I was able to truly enjoy a two-handed experience! Whirlwind Cloak has a 50% chance to knock-back any foes when they enter it's range which is just shorter than the range of a greatsword! This means that half of the time when you mess up or when an opponent gets a little too close, they will be launched away, leaving themselves vulnerable to uncontested slaughter!
This spell also goes great with the perks from the block tree. When enemies broke through my cloak I often blocked to absorb the damage. This worked greatly in my favor as lots of the time they would be power attacking which would activate Quick Reflexes and allow for me to get them out of my cloaks range until they swung down, when they would get caught halfway and be instantly flung backwards! Disarming Bash was also insanely powerful! Since weapons bash harder than shields, a Deadly Bash + Disarming Bash left my foes staggered, without a weapon, and in massive pain. If you add the whirlwind cloak's effect on top of that then you can add paralyzed to that list! Finally, we have Shield Charge. With the correct timing you can shield charge using a two-handed weapon. With Whirlwind Cloak, your foes are rarely even standing up!
Lycanthropy
A pretty big part of this character is Lycanthropy. Not only is it for roleplay but also for gameplay. Whirlwind Cloak only adds to the pure destructiveness that is Beast Form. Although Whirlwind Cloak only lasts 60 seconds, that's more than enough time to transform and eat a few people! Whirlwind Cloak is so great with werewolves because of their insane speed and reach, it's essentially using a two-handed weapon in both hands when you transform! Once you add in the extra damage of the Ring of Bloodlust, you realize just how powerful your character really is - be careful though as you will also take 50% more damage. I also highly suggest obtaining the Totem of Brotherhood, with Dawnguard and the proper perks you will be able to summon two werewolves to aid you!
While in Werewolf form you will:
- Get boosts to both Health and Stamina (Amount depends on perks and DLC)
- Regenerate 20% of your stamina per second
- Have +20 base unarmed damag
- Have -100% Health regeneration
Suggested Quests
Companion's Questline: You should do the Companion's quests right away until you become a werewolf. After that the questline is optional although it is a good way to make early money as well as a good fit for roleplay. You may want to consider seeing this questline all the way through in order to get the totems of hircine.
The Throat of the World (Main Questline): I did the main questline just up to The Throat of the World so that I could meditate on the words of power. I highly recommend meditating of Feim, although Fus is a good option as well.
Civil War Questline: Purely optional questline and very dependent on your character. I joined the Stormcloaks because my character could relate to them and he also wanted to bash in the skulls of some Thalmor scum!
No One Escapes Cidhna Mine: A great roleplay quest that seems almost as if it was created for this character. I didn't even realize how great of a fit this was until I actually got into the mine!
Destroy the Dark Brotherhood: Finally, I could roleplay this quest without feeling guilty! None of my characters before this could kill Grelod and the Dark Brotherhood while staying 100% within the roleplay.
Dark Brotherhood: Woah woah woah, you just said destroying the Dark Brotherhood fit the roleplay, what the heck!? This quest is totally up to your character's vision of justice. Remember, everybody sees justice differently - seek yours (or your characters).
Too Many to Name: There are so many fitting quests for a justice-seeker that I couldn't even begin to list them all, so I just listed some of the major ones. In all honesty, other quests are really dependent on your character because every character may have their own idea of justice and how it should be ascertained!
Tactics
At first I had planned some "special moves" but I realized that if I posted them, 1/2 - 3/4 of combat would be special moves! Instead I decided to make it a tactics section because of the sheer amount of possibilites and combinations this build provides for a constant feel of freshness!
Bound: Often used to initiate combat. By combining Silent Roll and Great Critical Charge you are able to get off a 4x damage attack! You also don't have to worry about becoming an "assassin" because the Bloodskal Blade will shoot a laser that is sure to give away your position so you can let the enemy know who killed them.
Assault: Best used against ranged opponent or lone enemies. By utilizing Become Ethereal you can assure that you will take no damage and maintain stamina as your sprint at your foes and eventually leap at them with Great Critical Charge dealing massive critical damage - almost always results in a staggered foe.
Tempest: A magical combination best used against groups of enemies bottle-necked in a small area. After casting Whirlwind Cloak you launch your entire body with Whirlwind Sprint causing most if not all enemies to go flying!
Discharge: Another magical combo best used when overwhelmed. Using Become Ethereal to let every enemy crowd you or protect you from the foes already there, you drink a fortify destruction potion and/or Dual Cast Whirlwind Cloak. This combination assures without fail that all enemies are flung away because when Whirlwind Cloak is cast in flings all foes within it's radius. Dual Casting/Fortify Destruction potions boost it's range making enemies further away fly too.
Thanks!
Huge thanks to anyone who's read this build and also everyone who has written their own build as this site was extremely inspirational in the development of this character. Big thanks to Zach whose writing presentation and style was nearly adopted in this build! I hope anybody who tries this build has as much as fun as I did! Thanks again,
- Kaiser
Replies
A classic! Glad to see you posting your excellent work here, Kaiser.
I fully believed I was reading actual canon TES lore there.
Appreciate my goodman. I really want to revamp this but my revamp idea totally messes up the lore I came up and a lot of people tend to enjoy that part of the build so it will likely just be another entry at some point in my life. Time will tell. Glad I was convincing (;
God damn Kaiser - how in Oblivion did I miss this? It's beautiful and definetly deserving of it's new rank, Expert!