This build is my and Dwemerdude5059's first co-operation. After 3 playthroughs it evolved from a dunmer mobster into this. It was really fun to finally make a contest build and I hope to see more events.
Backstory
Sevan Ra'athim was born into a family of traveling merchants, part of House Hlaalu, in the city of Mournhold. However, he has no memories of the city itself. His first memories are of shifting landscapes and the gentle rocking of a cart. His mother would often sit beside him, reading stories as they traveled. She spoke of their family’s connection to Queen Barenziah, told tales of mysterious Nightingales, and shared teachings of the Reclamations.House Hlaalu’s once-great influence and fortune had long been in decline. As Sevan grew older, he witnessed the struggles of his family firsthand. Towns imposed ever-higher tariffs, and some villages would outright deny them entry. Despite this, Sevan's father never despaired. Instead, he always offered a lesson to his son: "Son, when the world closes its doors, it’s not a sign to give up. It’s a sign to pack up and find a place where the doors are open."
With their prospects dwindling in Morrowind, the family decided to journey to Skyrim, hoping to leverage their East Empire Company connections to open a shop in Windhelm. However, their hopes were quickly dashed. Windhelm proved to be just as hostile as the rest of Skyrim. For a change, the locals hated them not because they were Hlaalu, but just because they're dunmer. Despite the challenges, Sevan’s father refused to give up, and soon they were back on the road, this time heading toward Riften.
But the journey was fraught with misfortune. A relentless downpour turned the roads to mud, and their cart crept slowly forward. As dusk fell, they neared the small town of Shor's Stone, its torchlights flickering in the distance. It was then that the blood-curdling screeches of feral vampires filled the air, and everything turned to chaos.
Two vampires, their fangs bared and hunger in their eyes, leaped from the roadside and began tearing into the only mercenary the family could afford. Sevan’s father, never without his crossbow, fired a silver bolt into the head of one of the monsters, killing it immediately. The other vampire, a female, rushed at Sevan’s father, sinking her fangs into his neck before he could reload. Blood sprayed across Sevan and his mother, coating them in a crimson mist.
His mother shoved him behind her, her eyes filled with both love and fear. Equipped with nothing but a dagger and the courage of a mother protecting her child, she stood firm, shouting, "Run, Sevan, don’t look back!"
Sevan, too young to fully understand the horror, bolted for the gates, his heart racing and tears blurring his vision. But the vampire’s claws were closing in on him, and he knew he wouldn’t make it. Just as the creature lunged, three arrows found their mark in its chest, and the town’s guards rushed to his rescue. Sevan was pulled to safety, but when he looked back, his family was gone. His parents were dead.
Sevan found himself alone in the Honorhall Orphanage. Life in the orphanage was harsh, and it was made worse by the fact that he was a Dunmer. Grelod the Kind, the cruel headmistress, had a particular dislike for him, but Sevan soon learned to keep to the shadows and slip away unnoticed. He found solace in the stories his mother had told him—especially those of the Nightingales and the Thieves Guild. The more he learned, the more fascinated he became with the art of stealth and deception.
Though most of the people in Riften turned a blind eye to the orphan, there was one who took pity on him. Dinya Balu, the kind priestess of Mara, would often speak to him about the teachings of Mara, offering guidance and comfort where others gave none. But Sevan’s heart was hardening, and as he grew older, he found himself drawn to the shadows.
By the time he was a young teenager, Sevan had become thick with the thieves of Riften. He started out as a lookout, providing distractions, and running small errands. Over time, his skills in stealth and lockpicking grew, and he became a trusted asset to the guild. But one day, after another brutal beating from Grelod the Kind, Sevan decided he’d had enough. With a heart full of rage and a burning desire to escape the torment, he fled the orphanage and made his way to the Ragged Flagon, joining the Thieves Guild.
While Sevan’s life took a darker turn as he grew older, he continued to return to the temple, finding refuge in Dinya's words and the teachings of Mara. Even after joining the Thieves Guild, Dinya never judged him. Instead, she encouraged him to look for moments of kindness and to remember the love and compassion he had been shown. “Mara sees all hearts, Sevan,” she would often remind him. “Even those who stumble in the dark can find their way back to the light.”
Years passed, and Sevan honed his skills. He became a master thief, pulling off heists with incredible precision. His crowning achievement came when he stole his father’s silver crossbow from the corrupt guards who had pocketed his inheritance. For a long time, Sevan cared only for gold and fleeting pleasures, stealing for the thrill of it, indulging in carnal desires.
However, things changed when a newcomer named Durak arrived in Riften. Durak, a seasoned vampire hunter, spoke of a growing vampire threat sweeping across Skyrim. As the words fell from his lips, something deep inside Sevan stirred—a long-buried anger, a thirst for vengeance that he had kept hidden for years. The very creatures that had destroyed his family, the monsters that had torn his life apart, were once again becoming a plague on the land.
For years, Sevan had buried his grief beneath the thrill of thievery and fleeting pleasures of riches. But hearing Durak speak of the vampire menace was like a call to arms—one Sevan could not ignore. With his skills in stealth, archery, and crossbowmanship honed over years of thieving, Sevan knew he was more than capable of hunting the vampires down. But this time, it wasn’t for gold or glory—it was personal.
Embracing his role as a thief-turned-vampire hunter, Sevan now uses his silver crossbow, the very weapon his father had carried, and an arsenal of specialized bolts, including explosive ones, to hunt down the creatures of the night. His skill with daggers allows him to silently slip behind enemies and end their lives before they even realize he's there. As he explores Skyrim's hidden tombs, caves, and bandit lairs, Sevan Ra'athim searches not only for treasure but for the vengeance he has long sought.Race: A young dunmer male.
Stats at max lvl 47: 330 Health, 280 Stamina, 150 Magicka.
With end-game Equipment: 380 Health, 330 Stamina, 200 Magicka.
Shouts: Not a dragonborn.
Standing Stones: Thief at the start, Atronach for late game. Most of our spells are cast at the beginning of a battle and 50% magic absorption combined with 30% from Alteration Atronach perk makes us nearly immune to magic.
Worship: Mara (shrine blessing) and Nocturnal if using Wintersun. This build is purely vanilla, but I used Wintersun mod and would recommend it to gain Nocturnals blessings.
Crafting: The build caps at lvl 47 if you play it as no-crafting like I did. However adding smithing would raise it to lvl 50 and would add the ability to improve your weapons, armor and most importantly craft explosive bolts. In order to craft an insane amount of explosive bolts, you'll need to collect all stones of Barenziah in "No Stone Unturned" and get "Prowler's Profit" ability. Then you'll be able to find a huge amount of all gems, specifically: Ruby, Sapphire and Amethyst. You can use these gems with salt pile and soul gem at Atronach Forge to summon fire, frost and void salts needed to make explosive bolts. Skills
Archery: We use crossbows exclusively. With deadly aim and eagle eye perks i played a sniper and often killed unsuspecting enemies from far. After getting Power Shot and Quick Shot I didn't always bother to sneak in tight interiors and played as a breacher with a shotgun. Enhanced crossbow has a great chance to stagger and I also often bashed with it. Remember to purchase a variety of bolts from Solitude fletcher, Drunken Huntsman in Whiterun and Sorine Jurard in Dawnguard and use these bolts in accordance with their utility.
Light Armor: Even at the endgame I only had around 200 AR and another 100 from the ebonyflesh spell. So it's a good idea to avoid getting hit. Unhindered is an essential perk to help avoid detection when sneaking.
Sneak: We take every perk in this skill. We're not exclusively sneak-archer, but that's our core combat mechanic. Also you'll notice that we took Assassin's blade. I carried a dagger around for throat slitting. It's more thrilling, you can avoid detection better and sneak attacks with dagger raise sneaking skill faster than sneak attacks with crossbow. With backstab and assassin's blade perks and if needed shrouded gloves, your sneak attacks with dagger will deal x30 damage, thus investing in one-handed armsman perks is not necessary.
Lockpicking: Sevan is a thief and an adventurer. He loves taking riches and gold, be they in a dungeon or merchants home. Rushing treasure hunter perk will guarantee us a horde of treasures, often of higher quality than we would otherwise find at our current lvl.
Alteration: Flesh spells and paralysis rune. Atronach perk combined with atronach stone give 80% magic absorption.
Restoration: Quick healing and Close wounds with Respite and regeneration perks. Enough said.
Equipment
Hands: Gauntlets of the Old Gods/Chitin Bracers of Eminent Archery + Shrouded Gloves/Handwraps for dagger assassinations
Feet: Studded Dragonscale Boots/Chitin boots (both self-enchanted with muffle)
Body: Studded Dragonscale Armor/Chitin Light Armor of Eminent Health
Head: Blackguard's Hood/Linwe's Hood + best circlet of archery (Peerless available at lvl 40)
Neck: Locket of Saint Jiub
Finger: best ring of archery (Peerless available at lvl 40)
Backpack: Hunter Backpack
Weapons: Enhanced Silver Crossbow Enchanted with Fiery Soul Trap (set soultrap for 1 second), Staff of the Frost Atronach, 2 best daggers you find (I used Fang of Haynekhtnamet and Blade of Sacrifice) and obviously a variety of bolts.
Quests and factions
Thieves guild and Dawnguard (Dawnguard side) questlines are obvious and I suggest completing them as well as doing side quest at your leisure.
Tilted Scales - pick a note in Windhelm Candlelight Hall for early and easy access to armor with highest AR unenchanted light armor - Studded Dragonscale.
No One Escapes Cidhna Mine - to get Gauntlets of the Old Gods early.
Dark Brotherhood Destroy or join -up to you. I destroyed them.
Overall Sevan Ra'athim is a street-smart,rough on the edges, but ultimately compassionate thief who likes easy, fast cash and shiny things. He wouldn't do truly evil things to get rich, but he's not a good samaritan either. One can't put "Thanks" into a pocket. His vampire hunting campaign is for personal revenge and not some altruistic goal. Keep these guidelines in mind when picking quests.
Combat tactics
Throat slitter: When doing Thief's guild or other quests requiring stealth, I often opted to stay in the shadows and avoid battle all together. However, when the opportunity was too great, I'd put on my Shrouded Gloves or Handwraps and the best dagger to cut some throats.
Sniper: With Deadly Aim skill and crossbows increased basic power most targets would fall to a single shot. Mostly used in the open spaces.
Breacher: When in dungeons or other closed spaces I had to rely on the natural staggering effect of crossbow as well as power shot, quickshot and bull's eye perks. Enemies would stagger or be paralysed more than half of the time. I also bashed with a crossbow liberally and if needed backed up to quickheal myself. I'd also use paralysis rune if the situation looked dire.
Gunner: If i had to clear a particularly inhabited forsworn camp or venture into soul cairn, I'd grab an Janessa, Teldryn Sero or other ranged follower and a Staff of the Frost Atronach. I'd summon Frost Atronach in the midst of opponents and we'd barrage them with bolts and arrows or spells.
Optional Mods
This build is meant for vanilla game, but I can suggest a few mods mainly for RP and aethetics of this build. Wintersun – faiths of Skyrim was a great addition for roleplaying a follower of Mara and Nocturnal. Xavbio's profile on Nexus has great retextures for armor and weapons that I used in my screenshots, Cloaks of Skyrim Retextured SE and Bandolier - Bags and Pouches Classic mods are permanent on my modlist and Urshilaku Ashlander's Tribal Wrap looks cool with chitin armor. I used Face masks from OBIS SE mod, looks nice with hood Imho. And my new favorite is Dynamic Lowered Hoods.
Check out my other builds:
Gormlaith – Champion of Three Mothers
Dark Legionary
Replies
Hey, this is really cool! The story and aesthetics are great & it seems fun to play!
Thank you, glad you like it. I'm happy that we chose dunmer for this build, gonna try to do 1 build per race. Only 7 left now.
Indeed, only 7 + lore races ;)