Her mother died, they killed her yesterday…. This place had never been welcoming, but this night, it was worse. Above the usual bodily odors, the putrid smell of rotten flesh was floating around the girl. Instead of the disturbing yet familiar voices of the beggars, she could hear the buzzing of the flies, the scattering of the spiders and even the slithering of the snakes as they were closing around her.
That’s when the Voice found her. Crawling out of the pages, It asked her a simple question: would she be Its priestess. With a whispered “Yes”, Her tale began. That night, the girl died and She was born.
Introduction
Hello everyone. This is my first (and, hopefully, not last) build on The Forge. As a huge fan of the Cthulhu Mythos, I chose to adapt one of the most disturbing creatures of the lore for the Ghouls & Ghosts event: Y’Golonac (along with a few Easter eggs here and there). Enjoy!
Disclaimer
The inspiration for this build means it contains reference to very dark materials. I tried to make this published version a lot more public friendly than how it was when I played the game so everyone can enjoy the read, and maybe, give the build a try. Also, English isn't my first language, so might have made some mistakes here and there.
Concept
As I was thinking about the event, I happened to listen to an audiobook version of Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell. This is when it occurred to me that Y’Golonac and Namira had a lot in common, especially because of their affiliation with depravities and their taste for human flesh. A few interpretations later and this creature was born, borrowing elements from Namira to simulate an incarnation of the elder god in Skyrim.
The build is mostly a tanky mage one, but, it’s fighting style evolves along the chapters of her journey. As her magic and connection to Namira increase, Ymira gains new moves and improves her existing ones.
Necrophages from the Wintersun mod is the heart of this build. It's unlocked upon becoming a Namira Devotee and is trigerred by poisoning a target or putting a human flesh/heart in their inventory. While reverse pickpocketing is the obvious intent, it actually works from other means as well. Here, I made use of the barter perk in illusion, but a command spell to tell them to pick up the heart works too.
Objectives for this build:
- Be an unkillable, unarmored horror
- Make use of Namira Devotee’s Necrophages ability
- The moves and RP must fit those ideas of evil and disgust
Essential mods:
- Andromeda
- CACO
- Dealing with Daedra suite
- Live Another Life
- Live anywhere + Interact + Home Construction and Decoration + Jaxonz Positioner
- Racemenu and CBBE
- Reliquary of Myth
- Triumvirate + Lost Grimoire + Arcanum
- Vokriinator
- Wintersun
Character Creation
In the Mythos, Y’Golonac’s avatar is described as a grotesque obese, naked headless man, with a mouth in the palm of each hand. For this build, I went more with the feel than the fidelity: thin arms and legs, an abnormally blotted stomach under a pair of saggy breasts, a sad face and pale hair hiding a black eye.
Race: Breton
For RP purposes, the fact that Breton and Forsworn might be the same race works well. Other than that, there is no real reason. Imperious Bretons have nice racials though.
Standing Stone: The Steed
Both the boost to the carry weight and the Bag of Holding power are perfect for carrying food and a bunch of other material around.
Deity: Namira
The bread and butter of the build! Creeping Decay gives a way to fight undeads among other things and Necrophages is both powerful and flavorful, more on that later.
Stats: 0 Magicka / 1 Health / 0 Stamina, this build only needs to be tanky. Despite using magic, Magicka is not needed and neither is Stamina.
Major Skills:
- Alteration has some key usages for making the build viable. Mage armor spells and Intuitive Magic are the most important ones, but alter self can be good too to boost health even further.
- Alchemy boosts the power of foods and poisons.
- Illusion is the second most important school for the playstyle and slightly perked for a special move.
Minor Skills: Restoration and conjuration are both used for a spell each. Despite their importance, they don’t need to be perked. Sneak can be handy too early on.
Roleplay & Quests
Background
Ymira was a Breton girl born in the city of Markarth. Her mother didn’t have much and she never knew anything about her father, words are that he was a member of the Forsworns. Despite the lack of any proof of the possibility, that suspected tie with the natives of the Reach really played against the little orphan and her only family.
As a child, she was often bullied by the others because of it. Some children went as far as throwing stones at her or calling her a savage. But she put up with it, her imagination and her mother were her refuge, thus she spent her days playing pretend and playing house in the Warrens.
Years went by, and the child grew up. To help her mother, she started taking odd jobs by cleaning, doing laundry and cooking for the people of Markarth. Among them, Bothela the alchemist and Gunnar the general good merchant in particular took the most pity on the young girl. Slowly, they taught her to read and to improve her cooking. From time to time, until he suddenly died, Gunnar also showed her the fine clothes he received in his shipment. Those were the little rays of joy in her otherwise dark days.
Not long after Ymira’s coming of age however, disaster stroke. The food her mother had prepared made a few guards sick; she was accused of treason and of working for the Forsworns. Despite her pleas, she was executed. Left alone, the young Breton fell into despair and isolation like never before. She tried to find solace in her favorite book, The Beggar Prince, unknowingly catching the eyes of the Daedric Lord Namira who made her the proposition to become the new champion. This is where her journey began.
Chapter 1: The first taste of flesh
Waking up in the Warrens, Ymira felt the call of Namira inside her. However, before leaving the city, she decided to take a last look at her mother’s body. It’s here that she met Eola, the envoy of the Daedra, and that she reminded her of a truth she had forgotten. Ymira had eaten her weaker twin sister when they were only small childs. It was not her doings of course; her mother had prepared the food.
Asking Bothela for help, the old alchemist sold her two spells to protect herself, Infestation and Call Rattlesnakes. Thanks to those powers, Ymira and Eola defeated the draugrs and the coven of cannibals could retake their headquarters.
Now officially crowned the Champion of Namira, she was ready for the next step. According to Eola, there should be another coven near Winterhold and f the Lady of Decay had left something for her champion, maybe it was there. The next day, the two companions set out on the road.
Equipment: a shiv, ragged robes, a tattered cloak of Namira, Ring of Namira, a necklace of hunger, the heart of brother Verulus
Special moves:
Lady of vermin (Call Rattlesnakes + Infestation + Creeping Decay): by casting Infestation on the snakes, Ymira creates an unending wave of minions to overwhelm her opponents. Namira’s powers weaken any enemy against the snakes and spiders’ poison. This move is especially effective in tight corridors.
Merely a host (Geomancer + Flesh spell + Namira’s Ring + Cannibal foods): Despite her lack of armor, her enemies’ attacks barely hurt Ymira. She sometimes take the time to eat from her food reserve in defiance of their assault.
Tip: Her low Magicka means that she can’t spam the spells so keep the timing in mind before dropping the focus on the conjuration spell. Thankfully, doing so counts as killing the snakes and trigger Infestation, spawning the spiders.
Chapter 2: The roads to Winterhold
Ymira and Eola walk all the way from Markarth to Winterhold, following the roads and the coast along the North of the region. These travels were the first occasions for her to develop her skills thanks to the many beasts and bandits thinking about robbing two travelling ladies. Needless to say, most of them ended in their stomachs.
As time went on, between the meals and the occasional Septim to a beggar, Ymira’s connection to Namira was growing stronger, same for her friendship with Eola. She even took a few pages from her books and tried herself at illusion magic. A calmed isolated bandit made for an easy meal. The ingredient she found at the cave also came in handy to make a special brew with which to coat her trusty shiv. After a few weeks, they had made it to their destination.
While fending off against a group of bandits, the ladies stepped into a ruin where they were jumped by two other assailants. But those ones were different, almost feral. Once every opposition was dealt with, they discovered that those two were part of the rumored Winterhold coven and that they went beyond cannibalizing the flesh to devour the marrow from the bones.
After one bite, Ymira felt a change inside of her and realized what the Daedra was waiting for her. Like the Beggar Prince, she was to accept what seemed to be a curse, but was in fact a blessing in disguise. Fearing the possibility of going feral, however, she chose to go alone from now on. Promising Eola to meet her again at Namira’s temple, Ymira went the opposite way.
Poison: Perverse Revelation (Namira’s rot + Gravetar) a powerful poison which shows vision of the worst depravities to the victim.
Equipment: bottles of Perverse Revelation
Special moves:
- Queen of vermin (Call Rattlesnakes + Infestation + Creeping Decay + Intuitive Magic 2/2): The upgraded form of Lady of Vermin. At this point in time, Ymira’s gotten used to the move and can cast it effortlessly.
- Fly, fools (Perverse Revelation/Grisly Spectacle + Black Swarm): After sending the enemies in a state of panic, Ymira sends swarms of flies to devour some of the fleeing victims.
- Feast for the flies (Black Swarm + Calm + Ring of Namira): the lesson she took from Eola. After releasing the flies on her enemy, Ymira soothes them as they are slowly eaten by the insects. She then proceeds to eat them.
Chapter 3: The gifted curse
This period was more of a pilgrimage for Ymira. With no objectives other than gaining the true power of the Daedric Lord, she starts wandering the land in search of odd jobs. Bounty hunting in particular was very profitable for her and from time to time; she would try her luck on unsuspecting innocents thanks to Feast for the flies. After a close call near some farms in the Rift however, she decided to stop, at least, for now.
As she was savoring the marrow of the bones of a recently slain imperial soldier, she realized that her magic prowess had severely diminished while her body had become stronger than ever. This was the nature of Namira’s gift to her in the fom of a test. She had to make the best of this boon and one day, she’d get an even better one.
It came around the time that she made it back to the city of Markarth. Having been an exceptional bounty hunter, she got a new target: the infamous Forsworn camps located all around the hold. To her, they were responsible for the death of her mother and every single one of them would pay for it.
Special moves:
- Lord of the Flies (Agility + Perverse Revelation + Necrophages): Ymira calls upon the daedric powers of her patron to summon darkness and distort time. Moving swiftly, she touches her enemies to show them the most depraved visions; the flies she summons devour their flesh as they are fleeing helplessly.
- The Defiler (Rapturous Trance + Entice Barter + the Heart of brother Verulus + Necrophages): Having gone beyond Eola’s lessons, Ymira asks the victim if they are willing to become her servant. At which point, she offers them the Heart leading to their inevitable demise. She eats the corpse afterward.
Final chapter: the rattle of bones
At last, Ymira returns to Eola. Having ditched her ragged outfits, she was now wearing a more respectable outfit, similar to those Gunnar showed her when she was a kid. She brought her to their new home, a small stone cottage near a bridge, on the road between Ivarstead and Riften.
This was to be their coven and a trap laid for the unwary travelers. Calling them to come in at night, they would gracefully feed the victims the best soup they’d ever eat before asking the decisive question. Those who refused would not have the time to react after hearing these last words: “Do you want to see what is left of my food?”
Note: this last chapter is all about using the combined functionality of Live anywhere, Interact, Home Construction and Decoration and Jaxonz Positioner to create this evil place. This almost Sims-like step has become one of my favorite ways to end a playthrough. The location is not random by the way, while walking around Skyrim, I noticed that that bridge was near a spawn point of random encounters, thus giving a real feeling of luring random travelers.
Epilogue
“WHAT?!” Galmar thought that Ulfric was about to shout the Palace of Kings to rubbles. The Jarl was more shocked than furious by the story the woman was telling him. Her name was Muiri, as far as he knew, she had run to Windhelm where she used to be welcomed by the Shatter-Shields before a dispute about the Clan’s heirloom disappearing. She could no longer stay in Markarth after an event than would only be known as The Devouring.
A week prior, death came to Markarth under the traits of grotesque caricature of a human being. That Thing, as the survivors told, stepped into the city and started killing people almost indiscriminately. The inhabitants of the Warren along with Lisbet, Banning, Rogni and Bothela did not seem to be targets. Muiri was inside the shop with the latter when it happened.
Wherever the Thing went, a swarm of flies, a brood of spiders and a pit of snakes appeared. The victims were first killed, and then devoured. After hours of struggle, silence came back and the lucky ones stepped outside before all running away as far as they could from the grisly spectacle.
To this day, nobody ever dared to return to the previous Capital of the Reach. The rotten flesh and broken bones are still dispersed along the bloody streets.
Closing words
And that’s it! It was a really fun journey, especially since it allowed me to take interest in the random events spawning point. What’s next, I’m not sure, I have a lot of these builds on papers and hopefully I‘ll always have one for the next event.
Replies