Welcome to my first build on this website - The Corrupted Vigilant - a Creation Club based build
Backstory
Born and raised in Rihad, Hammerfell in the year 3E403, Athor grew up as the youngest of 6 brothers working his entire childhood helping his father who was a local merchant making mostly small deliveries for him and training how to fight with Kadir, his second oldest brother who, by this time, was a blade for hire. When his father passed away in the year 3E416 he stuck to said brother working as a blade for hire to fulfill his dream of becoming a warrior, though never really got into a fight during the small jobs they took, thanks to his muscular appearance despite his age, until the year 420 of the third era while guarding a caravan together with other mercenaries in the dragontail mountains between Hammerfell and Skyrim.
A year prior to this event he could effort solid steel armor and silver longsword with an ebony core. Fighting like bears the brothers and their fellow mercenary colleagues were able to defeat the bandits and escort the caravan without losses to Markarth.
Impressed by the fighting skill of the two, the mercenaries offered them to join the mercenary army in a bastion north of Taneth where they came from.
The army itself consisted of about 2000 men and women though they never spent too much time there as they were constantly on the road, like most of the others.
In 3E433 during the Oblivion crisis Kadir was already promoted to the rank of general of his own castle with around 800 soldiers under his command in a fort two days East of Elinhir with Athor as is second in command.
When the first Oblivion gate opened the city of Elinhir requested aid, without hesitation they mobilized 600 soldiers to Elinhir.
The battle of Elinhir
During the Battle of Elinhir Athor saw his brother being defeated by a dremora. In pure rage he charged towards the two - but too late as he realized after he tackled down the Dremora and disfigured his face with the hilt of his long sword. Looking right, towards the gate he rallied the soldiers, now under his command, into a shield wall. There was no time to cry after his brother with another wave of Daedra walking through. Defeating the invaders he wanted revenge and charged towards the Oblivion gate, first hesitating, his men and women followed him inside defeating the Daedra inside in a bloody battle and closing it.
4 years afterwards he heard of a new order being formed, the Vigilants of Stendarr. He was already specialized in hunting down Daedra and their worshippers so he signed up and moved to Cyrodiil giving up his command and passing it forward.
Few time has passed and he was granted a holy vigilant armor, a full set of heavy steel plates blessed with the mercy of Stendarr himself.
Though he didn’t stay long as the vigilants considered his methods too cruel, especially towards vampires that he started to hate almost as much as the Dremora since he discovered an entire family being killed by vampires, including a young girl.
Fighting for himself he didn’t have much success in hunting down Vampires. So he came to the conclusion to become one himself in order to learn how to think like one. Pretending to be easy prey he managed to force a vampire to turn him which led to his holy armor changing from the devine steel into a red schemed armor. He knew the god of mercy abandoned him but it was a necessity in his eyes.
The great war
Living a double life since 4E161 he was at once and again the commander of a larger army in an old castle with a large cavern below which has been expanded even more to give shelter to the troops and to lock away dangerous artifacts they took from the evil forces, in the Colovian highlands and leader of 22 vampires, all of them powerful mages and cavalrymen in an old ruin just half a day South. Meanwhile Athor was also in a romantic relationship with one of the vampires, Eliana, a beautiful Breton vampire he found in the middle of the Alik'r Desert desperately seeking her horse that carried all her supplies two years prior. While all his fellow bloodsuckers knew about his double life, only his second in command, an Orc named “Minotaur”, named after the horns of his helmet he extensively used in battle to take down foes, was informed.
Once the Great war broke out the Empire seeked for his assistance due do the short distance to Cyrodiil. He agreed, giving Minotaur the order to get the troops ready while he simply walked into the ruin telling his underlings to take their equipment and get ready for war with the dominion.
Causing havoc among the Dominion troops during devastating nights attacks in Eastern Cyrodiil his army got more and more used to the vampires, though their undead horses caused the horses of the living cavalry to panic. So they formed a skirmish unit attacking the flanks and raising the dead dominion troops to fight against their former allies. Once word spread that the Altmer were attacking his homeland he recalled back to Hammerfell. A region he knew very well, continuing the fight.
In 4E179 the battle hardened army, that never lost a battle, suffered a devastating loss halfway between Rihad and Taneth, being forced with merely 400 soldiers and 6 of the Undead horsemen back to their headquarters in the Colovian highlands. Laid under siege they were able to perform small raids at night gathering supplies though not causing enough damage in the ranks of the besieging forces. Once the Dominion troops broke through the gates an embettered fight broke out within the walls. Eliana, Minotaur and Athor, had to flee into the caverns below the castle, once they realized there was no hope, to collapse the part with the unholy artifacts. Being caught by the chasing Thalmor, Minotaur caused on his own heavy casualties in the ranks of the elves giving the two some time - and himself a good death, but not enough time. Being chased again Eliana removed the red sash she had attached to her pitch black armor as a token of luck, and threw it over to Athor, then opened a portal telling him that at least one of them needs to survive while she held back the attackers with a blizzard she had to keep up. Refusing, she pushed him with a spell through the portal. Finding himself on the cliff in eyesight of his bastion, the two used to spend so many nights, watching his very love destroying the cave with everyone inside including the castle above and the portal disappearing, he cried, for the first time in many decades. He lost everything. Stripping the very armor he wore since his time with the vigilants, the armor that was the last many Daedra, Daedra worshippers and other creatures have seen, he build a memorial for all the fallen, engraving a flat stone plate to remember of this horrible time, and Minotaur & Eliana who sacrificed themselves, placing his helmet on top of it, only keeping a dagger he took from an unbound Dremora that cornered him decades ago.
Post Great War
Living in Cyrodiil he followed his father's footsteps, selling goods. Though as a blacksmith. Still living as a vampire he managed to get cured in 4E200. Being known as a depressed war veteran who hated the dominion he lived isolated, despite his reputation as an excellent blacksmith. Once word reached him that a civil war broke out in Skyrim he immediately sold all his belongings, forged a black sword and a new set of heavy armor and moved to Skyrim where he was recognized by a Thalmor patrol and bought to Helgen….
Equipment
Early: Any set of heavy armor and a silver longsword from the companions questline, any sword, any heavy shield, any bow
Once Werewolf: Vigil Corrupted Armor (Quest “Unholy Vigil” from the creation club), with sashed armorpiece that needs to be crafted, any sword, any heavy shield, any bow
Mid: Said armor with increased Stamina regeneration and magica resistence, Ebony Blade, any crossbow, Nordic Sword (Soul Trap/Burning Soul Trap enchantment), Shield of Solitude
Late: Vigil Corrupted Armor with magica resistence and increased Stamina regeneration, Ebony Blade, any crossbow, Nordic Sword (Chaos enchantment, Burning Soult Trap), Shield of Solitude
Shouts
His most used shouts will be Dragon Aspect, Unrelenting Force, Summon Durnehviir, Call Dragon and Fire Breath.
Skills
Race: Redguard
Stamina and Health equally, no use of magica.
Major Skills
- Heavy Armor (all perks)
- Smithing (all perks)
- Two-Handed (barbarian 5/5 and the middle up)
Minor skills
- One-Handed (Armsman (5/5), Fighting Stance, Savage Strike)
- Blocking (Shield Wall 5/5, Deflect Arrows, Elemental Protection, Block Runner, Power Bash)
- Archery (Overdraw 5/5)
- Enchanting (enchanter 5/5 and then the middle upwards)
Standing Stones
At the begin use the warrior stone, after that pick either the the Atronach stone for magica resistance or the Lord stone, for both, physical and magica resistance. In early to mid game I’d recommend the last one. Later it is up to your preference.
Quests
As a former commander he will make alliances with many people he considers as trustworthy, e.g. people that do something good for other people like the Dawnguard, Mjoll or Illia who refused to find a sacrifice for her mother. He will perform daedric quests to get their artifacts and hoard them for himself to prevent evil beings from taking theme, especially the Ebony Blade as his main weapon to endure combat even longer.
In general he will not get involved in any quests that require to steal from others which Athor considers as a deed without honor and furthermore avoid quests given by daedra worshippers with bad intentions such as the Forsworn. He will not turn himself in right away but avenge Eltry’s death and kill the corrupted guards of Markath.
Factions
First and foremost he’ll side with the Stormcloaks during the civil war questline, giving the Thalmor something to chew on. He will join the Blades as well since they have reason to hate the Thalmor almost as much as he does, and considering sacrificing one good dragon to get support in slaying many dragons that seek to destroy the world this is a small price.
While joining the honorable companions and finding out that, despite having werewolves in their ranks, they’re the good guys, he will also become a werewolf, though he will stay away from the college of Winterhold.
He can join the Dark Brotherhood as well, someone with a contract on his head must’ve done something bad, but he can also destroy them.
In the Dawnguard DLC he will side with the Dawnguard. During the questline he will start being more suspicious about Serana but open up more in dialogue the farther the questline proceeds.
Gameplay
With his long lifetime the corrupted vigilant knows that not everything is black and white, but also that sometimes extreme measures are required, so there is a lot of freedom.
He will complete bounty contracts, earn money from chopping and selling wood and never steals anything. During the Dawnguard questline he eventually becomes a vampire once again to enter the soul cairn, despite the beast blood.
Still hating the Thalmor he will attack them on sight as well as any bandits and thieves he comes across in Skyrim. Overall he’ll utilize his skills as best as he can, he refuses to use magic and sticks to combat skills. One-Handed and shield to close the gap with ranged enemies, Archery to damage dragons and/or open a fight and his longsword for everything else, even putting honey on his bread. He’ll craft his equipment for himself and his companions. He will avoid marriage as he still misses Eliana after all these years but if the corrupted sticks with a follower for a long time he can marry her, adoption is something he’ll consider more likely. If married, ut your love in some self crafted Vigil Veteran Armor. For increased magica resistance and stamina regeneration enchanting is recommended. Disenchant everything that is looted to get it leveled up fast. For smithing you should create an extra set of dwemer armor with a smithing enchantment once the quest "Unfathomable Depths" has been completed to maximize the bonus without the alchemy/enchanting exploit. If using soul trap on the nordic sword you should only capture the souls of Thalmor for black soul gems. They deserve the worst.
I'd love to know what you think. I hope the backstory isn't too long. Let's see what my brain comes up with next ^^
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