The Legendary Survivor. ( Orc Werewolf Shamanic Warrior Craftsman )
An outcasted orc bound to do what he thinks is right for the greater good. He is illiterate and knows nothing about magic but his skills in crafting are unmatched. He walks the harsh landscape of Skyrim living off the land and helping whoever he can but he is always first. And prefers to be a lone wolf. If he wants something he will take it. A true apex predator. Wielding a great mace made from the bones of a dragon and wearing equipment crafted by his own hands. A berserker’s strength with the mind of an artist. He will find what had called him away from home in the orcish strongholds of the mountains. Nothing can stop him
Notes
This build was all made to play at the legendary difficulty and with survival mode enabled.
But it will be a fun build for all settings!
There are some rules I developed that made the game a lot more fun that I highly recommend you try.
1 Do not read any books. Why? At least for the early game. this will save a lot of carrying weight. Skill books won’t give you any unwanted skills and you will get double from skill books after going to Apocrypha. So, you may as well wait till then.
2 Do not abuse followers. It is a normal routine to fall into where your follower becomes your backpack and meat shield it seems convenient, but I also realize it is a lot more challenging and fun without followers. UNLESS YOU REALLY NEED ONE. Then dismiss them fast.
3 Don’t use exploits. Things that break the game and help you skip hard missions or make getting money faster will ruin your game. There is no satisfaction in cheating. (I use some mild exploits, but they enhance gameplay you will read about them later.
4 No magic. Trust me it makes the game seem a lot more mysterious. I mean don’t use spells. If you want to use magic, then find/buy scrolls and staves. It gives them a purpose and lets you focus completely on other skills. And makes money more important if there are a few spells you like to use often $$$
Race
Orc
Abilities +10 Warmth – 15% fatigue and hunger
Power Berserker Rage; Take half damage and deal double damage for 60 seconds per day
Bonus Stats +10 Heavy Armor + 5 block +5 One-Handed +5 Smithing +5 Enchanting +5 Two-Handed
Werewolf.
Berserker Rage makes werewolf form super strong for early game bosses and you can improve it even further by casting a flesh spell on yourself this can be slightly op but you can only use it for 60 seconds a day and then you revert to a normal werewolf, so I think it is balanced especially if playing on legendary.
Being a werewolf fits well with an outcasted survivor in the wilds and if playing survival having werewolf will let you ignore carry weight to take your stuff back home after finishing a dungeon and mitigate the freezing temperatures of Skyrim. With no fast travel, it can also be handy if you don’t have a horse to turn into a beast.
Stats
0/1/1
Magika 0 – The orc you are playing was not brought up around magic and also you don't want to spread your skills to thin.
Health 1. Put points in here early until you feel like you aren’t going to die after a few hits. But it is unessecary to add more. By midgame, your resistances will start to make your hp obsolete and you will be using fortify potions and gear when needed.
Stamina 1< put all extra points into stamina. This will increase your sprint distance, power attacks and carry weight. Generally being more maneuverable. I recommend soups and potions when if fights but your carry weight cannot be changed and is crucial on survival mode.
Skills
Major
One handed,
Max arms man extra damage, Fighting stance for cheaper power strikes. Savage Strike to decapitate and stop zombies and Critical Charge for a cool and fun new way to attack.
Mace>Sword>Dagger>Axe
I go for the Mace and Bone Breaker perk to smash through shields and highly armored enemies.
And a sword is good. Perk gives 10% chance to do critical damage. But the constant extra damage from ignoring armor on a mace is more noticeable also the mace feels much more brutish and fits the character well. ( up to you )
Daggers are fast but really built for stealth so it’s a lot more clicking for you.
Axe looks great but 3 bleed damage on perk is nil so don’t go with them unless you just love the look of an axe they are the middle ground of sword and mace but without a perk.
Block,
Deflect arrows, elemental protection, all very good perks here for defense. I say get everything here at the end of the day this build is the survivor and a good shield will help that.
Heavy armor,
Orcs start with 25 heavy armor so it makes more sense than light. I'm still on the seat about perks here. I personally got them all. Fists of steel is great fun with gloves of the puglist and berserker rage but otherwise, make sure to put 1 or 2 into juggernaut you will be reaching the armor cap with crafting at one point so this is all up to you how much you want to craft. DON’T GET TOWER OF STRENGTH it does nothing and reflects blows is a chance to reflect the already decreased damage back so it is very small but adds to DPS a little.
Minor
Archery,
bows are really fun so I use one but remember it is your secondary weapon so when they get close switch back to your heavy weaponry. The Dawngaurd can be a good faction to join and get the best crossbow in the game with exploding bolts to help make up four your missing firebolts and frost spikes.
Sneak,
A little bit of snooping around is ok if the situation calls for it but you are not a sneaky character. Again try not to spread your levels to thin
Crafting
Get all the perks but not to fast or early because you don’t want to fall behind in combat.
Smithing,
This is mainly for your aesthetic because when you get very high smithing the tier of gear won't matter so much. I use Daedric so I have unlocked everything to here. But otherwise I would recommend steel arcane and anything you like the look of. ( Heavy Armor )
Enchanting,
Disenchant everything you find to get your level up and collect enchantments. Don’t sell them. Get all the perks but not early because you don’t want to fall behind in combat.
Alchemy,
use alchemy to fortify your enchantments and create potions to heal as you won't be using healing magic. Just collect things as you find them and store them in your alchemy station ready for a cook up. Maybe make note of places with ingredients you usually need for reference.
No magic.
Make use of scrolls and staves! if you think you need a spell for a quest. Trust me it makes magic a lot more magical when you must savor your staves and scrolls.
It was tempting to add alteration conjuration and healing. But rules are rules. You have no magika anyway. from stats.
Factions/Questlines
Recommend to side with the Imperials as they are more accepting to orcs and side with the imperial at the beginning at Helgen you get slightly better rewards.
I also recommend siding with the Dawngaurd because they give a great crossbow and you can secretly still be a werewolf with them. Vampires are better for a mage build. With Dawngaurd you also get three unleveled followers who will be great guards to houses or blades even in the super late game.
An order to do the questlines
More of what to prioritize you are free to be doing different questlines at the same time this order just gets the most out of the game.
Minor quests, Do as many minor quests as you can whenever you can. House of Arkay is great to do early ( don’t finish it and keep the amulet +10 hp )
Hearthfire ( Get a house as early as you can having a retreat in the wilds is perfect for the survivor. It is a fun side project to do throughout the game and you get a wife you can get some nice bonuses ( Aela the huntress good werewolf wife, Mjoll the lioness is invincible but still talks of Riften and has a stalker. Camilla is a cool merchant. Just some good wives I have chosen in the past. They are good to have. )
The Companions. This questline is good for a beginner and you will get lots of trainers for the rest of the game. And become a werewolf.
Dawngaurd. Do this after
Thieves guild you are an outlaw so there is nothing stopping you doing this. I would recommend only doing first missions as there is some leveled gear at around level 46 so just do other things until then if you want to max rewards.
Main. Finish the main questline
Dragonborn. A lot of fun here you should visit it sometimes but don’t finish it until you finish the main questline and kill Alduin. There is leveled gear etc.
Civil War try and wrap up the civil war at the end of the main questline ( optional you can just leave the world in constant war )
Dark Brotherhood do this last to stay away from bugs. You kill important characters. But also, the Dark brotherhood seems like something the legendary survivor wouldn’t be doing right away. His killing skills will need to be put to use somewhere though.
Special Moves/Abilities
The Apex Predator
Cast a flesh spell for protection. Activate berserkers rage. Transform into a werewolf.
Your screen will be red, and you will have one minute to wreak havoc on anything dealing double damage and take half damage + what flesh spell you cast.
You can do this once a day and it doesn’t last long
After the minute is up you will revert to a normal werewolf.
Prologue,
The Legendary Survivor was raised in an orc stronghold. After a few years of mining and smithing, the orc grew strong but grew a stronger sense of needing more. He is very limited to reading and knows little about magic from his secluded life. One day in the mines another orc he had been working with had packed up and was gloating, telling everyone he would be leaving to the big imperial cities. But no one knew where he managed to get the money. The survivor took time off his break to check his papers. He had been cheating him. Claiming some of the ores that the survivor had been collecting for himself. Enraged, the big blue-eyed orc attacked the other orc. They fought hard, but something clicked in the survivor as he had been wanting to leave for years. Now wickedly strong from mining he managed to reach a state of berserk anything the other orc did had no effect and within seconds the other orcs head was pulled up quickly followed by his spine detached from the body. He passed out and woke up on trial. Across from him disorientated he hears the verdict. the elders decide this was acceptable in orc culture and they decided not to punish him but sent him out of the stronghold on exile to rethink and find what he wanted out of the mines.
He spent years alone in the harsh lands of Skyrim. Learning how to live of the land and knew how to craft anything needed. One quiet cold morning was broken by sharp twangs and screeches in the distance. The survivor curiously walked to a higher ridge to get an outlook. As the view cleared and the sound got louder it became obvious there was a battle happening. A large imperial ambush on a storm cloak patrol. The survivor’s veins fired up and he was charging towards the battle before having the time to blink. As he runs an arrow flies hard straight into his knee. The survivor is enraged screaming out at the coward that shot it. His blood boiling, he reached the same super berserker state he had back in the mines. Fighting any soldier in his way. Taking blows but pushing through to kill as many as he could. Unfortunately, this state of rage doesn’t last forever, and he passes out. To be woken on a small cart heading to Helgen.
Replies
Hey this is pretty good for your first build.
I really enjoyed reading, good job on your first build!