Salutations and greetings valued viewers. This will be my entry in my first ever contest on The Sky Forge for Bloodlines. This will also be my second build as well and I intend to make use of the theme for this one. Something I see occasionally on The Sky Forge is builds that have phases or diverging paths, and that is something I want to use too considering there isn't much else to use aside from roleplay when you make a vanilla build. This build, or should I say builds utilizes those diverin paths to interesting effect. Enough babbling though, let me present the build
The Spurned Vigilant
You are a Vigilant of Stendarr, a man dedicated to protecting all life from the evil creatures of Nirn. You are a 3rd generation Vigilant and have served along side your father and your father's father as well as your sister Myskia, who has seen ten less winters than yourself. You and your sister have learned much over the time you had spent at the Hall of the Vigilant in your homeland of Skyrim including proper mace ettiquete and the validity of the school of restoration. Your name is Gunnolf, a Nord lad who has seen thirty frigid winters in your snowcapped province. The Vigilants have assinged you your twentieth mission, a fairly simple one at that. Cross the border into Cyrodiil and track down a daedra worshiper who has escaped the Vigilants custody. As you embark on your journey with your sister and your father towards the border you are caught between the Imperials and Stormcloaks. (This is where things get a little...different.) When you are caught in the ambush your father dies and Myskia is knocked off of her horse by an arrow to the shoulder. You attempt to flee, but are carted off to Helgen to get a good look at the executioners axe.
Now depending on which path you wish to take (Myskia or Gunnolf) depends on how you want to play. If you have the Alternate Start mod installed and wish to play Myskia then choose the "I was attacked and left for dead" option. If you don't have access to the mod, then change the place of the names in the story above, having Myskia being carted to helgen instead. "But Thiiiiiiird, can't I just choose the "Start as a Vigilant" option instead?" I hear you saying. To that I say....of course you can. It just might things more complicated and the story would change to one of the brothers staying behind at the Hall, but venturing off on other business before the Hall could be destroyed. I know the lot of you like stories and continuity is important for me to make something cohesive.
As I've said before, I enjoy builds that take branching paths. I want to do that here too. Now I am going to tell you right of the bat which path is the "good" guy and which is the "bady". If you want to take the, relatively speaking, "good" side then you will be Gunnolf. Myskia will be the "bad" guy or gal. That't enough Word Wall for now. Lets get to the stats
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character: Gunnolf
Race: Nord
Stats Placement: 1M/2H/2S
Major Skills: Two Handed, Archery, Restoration
Minor Skills: Light Armor, Sneak, Alchemy
Standing Stone: Lover Stone >>> Steed Stone (No movement speed penalty when wearing armor, and +100 carry wieght) or Lady Stone (Increased health and stamina regen by 25%)
Armor: Lvl 1-10: Novice Hood and Robes, Iron Guantlets and Boots. Lvl 15+: Forsworn Headdress, Saviors Hide, Forsworn Guantlets and Boots.
-------------------------
Character: Myskia
Race: Nord
Stats Placement: 2M/1H/0S
Major Skills: One Handed, Illusion, Restoration
Minor Skills: Light Armor, Sneak, Enchanting
Standing Stone: Lover Stone>>> Lady Stone or Ritual Stone (Raises all dead in the vicinity of the blast up to level 75, increased further with Necromage)
Armor: Lvl 1-10: Novice Hood and Robes, Iron Gauntlets and Boots. Lvl 15+: Dark Brotherhood Shrouded Masked Cowl, Shrouded Boots and Gauntlets, Vampire Royal Armor or Master Robes of Restoration/Illusion/Conjuration (The robes can be bought from their respective college teachers around level 32)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah I know its Tolan, I can't do screenshots because I have a PS3 and limited internet use.
Lets go over Gunnolf first. When you play Gunnolf and you escape Helgen (make sure to get the robes before leaving) with whoever you wanted to you can go about you Vigilant business. Knowing in your heart that Myskia and your father are dead you venture on, knowing that they would want you to continue onward in the fight against evil. After the encounter with Alduin you forget all about your assignment with the daedra worshiper, that's the least of your worries with a giant black dragon roaming the province. You set out to the town of Riverwood and sell off anything you have at the local smith and trader. While in the trader you take up Lucans offer to retrieve his claw, but not before talking to Gerdur about saving Riverwood. This character will play as your typical crusader or Vigilant, wielding a mace and using restoration to heal himself while clearing out draugr infested dungeons or the occasional bandit. Your main focus might be deadra, but you are not blind to other danges such as bandits and reachmen and will take up arms against them if they threaten innocents.
Most immportantly though you should join the Companions. Joining them will allow you to get some coin in your pocket and some combat experience. They seem honorable enough and they do pick up the slack where the Vigilants fall short by taking on giants, bandits, etc. Do their quest up until you're offered the Beast Blood, then leave them. By doing this you should reach level 10 fairly quickly, by that time Durak will find you and tell you about vampire attacks and the Hall of the Vigilants being burned to the ground. Not believing the Orc you rush back to Dawnstar to see the new for yourself. When you get there you see the Skyrim Chapter Hall burned to cinders with Keeper Carcette dead. Devastated, you collapse to your knees in shock and disbelief. You soon pick yourself up and swear vengence on vampire kind.
You track the Dawnguard down and join their fight. You're relieved to find another Vigilant still alive when you get there, but dismayed at the sight of the decrepit castle and lack of recruits. After taking up the quest from Isran you head directly for Dimhollow. You clear the entire cave, bent on pure rage (take on Dimhollow as you are comfortable though). After clearing Dimhollow and freeing Serana, you take her back home. After all of that you return again to Isran to tell him the bad news. He'll tell you to seek out Sorine and Gunmar, but you know it will take much more than two extra pairs of hands to defeat a vampire clan in possession of an Elder Scroll. You become something you always despised, always arrested, always spurned. You begin to commune with a Daedric Prince, the Daedric Prince of The Hunt. You commune with Hircine.
Hircine's Vigilant
Lvl 10-15+
As Hircines Vigilant you will take up worshipping Hircine (If you have access to WintersSun then go for it). You will go back to the companions to accept their gift and seek out Hircine's favor. Venture to Falkreath and take the cursed ring and hunt the White Stag. Do as Hircine commands and kill Sinding (You can do the glitch where you get both artifacts if you want for limitless transforamtions if you wish).
Now let's go over those skills and how they mesh together. Two-Handed will be used to crack skulls like eggs. Your weapin of choice can be any Warhammer you so choose. Good options include the Longhammer, Volendrung, or a Nordic Warhammer for aesthetic and practical reasons.
Archery is a skill that many Vigilants are not seen possessing. It will make you a deadly hunter, especially coupled with poisons in Alchemy as well as damage enhancing potions. Good bows include Forsworn (early game), and Nordic or Glass Bow of the Stag Prince.
Light Armor and Restoration are self-explanatory, they'll keep you alive. Sneak allows your bow shots to be excruciatingly deadly and allow you to stalk your prey with the prowess of Hircine himself.
Beast form is also a crucial part of Gunnolf. With the gift of Lycanthopy you can rip and tear until it's done, shredding the battlefield with the ferocity only a Werewolf can muster. Use any of the rings from the Dragonborn DLC. Those are:
Ring of Bloodlust:
Your attacks do 50% more damage, but you also take %50 more damage in Beast Form.
Ring of Instinct:
When you enter Beast Form, the world around you slows down for 20 seconds.
Ring of the Hunt:
While in Beast Form, your health regenerates.
Ring of the Moon:
Increases the duration of your howls by 25%.
Try using the Ring of Instinct, not many use it and it can be quite fun.
Perks:
- Two-Handed - 5/5 Barbarian, Champions Stance, Great Critical Charge, Devastating Blow, Sweep
- Archery - 5/5 Overdraw, Eagle Eye, 2/2 Steady Hand, Power Shot, Quick Shot, Critical Shot 1/3, Hunters Discipline, Ranger
- Restoration - Novice-Expert Restoration, Regeneration, Respite, 2/2 Recovery, Avoid Death
- Light Armor - 5/5 Agile Defender, Custom Fit, Unhindered, Wind Walker, Deft Movement
- Sneak - 1/5 Stealth, Backstab, Deadly Aim, Muffled Movement, Light Foot, Silent Roll, Silence
- Alchemy - 5/5 Alchemist, Physician, Benefactor, 1/3 Experimenter, Snakeblood, Purity
You should be about level 58-60 to obtain all perks here, but you don't need all of them to enjoy the build
Playstyle: You will sneak around for a good vantage point before letting loose with an arrow tipped with poison, or buffing yourself with potions, or both. If you are spotted stand up and get ready to crack skulls with your hammer. If you're injured fall back on healing spells that you can sustain such as Fast Healing with appropriate perks or other healing spells. Light armor keeps you quick on your feet so running around the battlefield with a Warhammer won't be a problem for you. It may seem somewhat dull, but changing from silent sniper to raging barbarian might just be a good refresher from just being one all the time.
Recommended Quests:
Dawnguard: To kill the vampires for the glory of Hircine a d to avenge your fallen comrades.
Companions: To be embraced into a band of honorable warriors as you once were and to become a Lycanthrope.
Dragonborn: Hunt Miraak and slay him for your attempted murder. Explore Solstheim and see what other creatures there are to hunt, what secrets to be uncovered.
Main Quest: Hunt the Black Dragon Alduin and claim victory over him in Sovengarde. Hunt the rest of the Named Dragons down for they are the Ultimate Prey.
Any quest which involves hunting vampires or other malevolent beings and slaying them for Hircine, and of course coin too.
You are a hunter now, but you are also a good man, never forget that.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"They left me...to die. They have made a grave mistake."
Meet Myskia, the other character in this build. She has a mean streak, and feels quite betrayed by her brother and former comrades for simply leaving her to die in the snow. Myskia, like her brother Gunnolf, was a Vigilant, but upon being deserted and left to die she has sworn vengance upon the Vigilants and her brother. Myskia managed to restore her arrow wounds with her restoration abilities, but just couldn't get over that her own flesh and blood left her behind to die alone in the cold, unforgiving snow.
Early game you will just want to get your barrings. You aren't a stone cold killer, well not yet anyways. Your tumble from your horse landed you quite the blow to your head as well so it might take a while for you to recollect your skills. You should probably just do the quest for Lucan Valerious at his shop in Riverwood first off to get some coin and perhaps pick up a spell or two if you're interested in using conjuration. One of your first priorites, just before you meet Durak, should be for you to go to the Hall of the Vigilant to see if you can confront your brother. When you get there you notice they are nowhere in sight, they must have went on another mission. When you do meet Durak, or hear of Fort Dawnguard, venture their and see what the fuss is about. Go to dimhollow and clear it out to the best of your ability and when you go to Castle Volkihar accept Harkons gift. This is where the fun begins.
Once you accept your gift you come to understand why the Vigilants where so easily wiped out in their hall, they were weak and pathetic. You no longer come to serve Stendaar, but Molag Bal. Venture Skyrim to seek out his artifact and wield it as a true child of darkness. Destroy the Dawnguard as they are direct enemies to you and your new family. Blot out the sun and see its tryanny come to an end. You are a child of darkness and have an incredibly blood lust, the only way to sate it is to kill, so why not kill for pleasure and money? Join the brotherhood by helping the Aretino boy and become one with the darkness by becoming the Listener.
Myskia is a nord woman who has a similiar skill set to Gunnolf early game, but later on when she embraces Molag Bal and the Volkihars, she becomes a different killing machine all together. While she retains restoration from her days as a Vigilant, she uses it for more....necrotmantic purposes such as healing our undead followes or deploying poison runes for your bumbling or unaware prey. However, Conjuration is not a part of her skill set (You can change this of course, this is only a guidline, I can't force you to follow this build to a T). Instead we use the Ritual Stone to conjure our undead allies, and quite a few of them too.
Illusion is a usefull tool, especially one for a vampire given their bonuses to it so even lower level spells will work on higher level enemies given the right perks. Light armor lets you look like an absolute badass while maintaining functionality. Sneak of course lets you manuever the battlefield to let loose some frenzy spells which are best paired with Silent Casting, and while your enemies are busy killing eachother sneak behind the unaware ones and slit their throat with a dagger or sword of you choice. Enchanting is used to any effect you so choose, I would recommend regeneration enchantments for health or stamina, or casting cost reduction for your spells. You only have a limited number of open slots for enchanting so choose what you need the most. One handed is used for offense, you will be dual wielding, with Harknon's Sword in your left hand, and the Mace of Molag Bal in the right. Since weapon weight affects swing speed always use the ligher weapon in you left hand. These two weapons are incredibly fitting for a vampire to wield. Until you get your undead mitts on Harkon's Sword use any one handed blade you wish, perhaps Bolar's Oathblade will suffice until then.
Perks:
- One-Handed - 5/5 Armsman, Fighting Stance, Dual Flurry 2/2, Dual Savagery, Critical Charge, Savage Strike
- Illusion - Novice-Expert Illusion, Dual-casting, Hypnotic Gaze, Aspect of Terror, Rage, Animage, Kindred Mage, Quiet Casting, Master of the Mind
- Restoration - Novice-Adept Restoration, Regeneration, Necromage, Respite
- Light Armor - 5/5 Agile Defender, Custom Fit, Unhindered, Wind Walker
- Sneak - 1/5 Stealth, Backstab, Deadly Aim, Assassins Blade, Muffled Movement, Light Foot, Silent Roll, Silence, Shadow Warrior
- Enchanting - 5/5 Enchanter, Insightful Enchanter, Corpus Enchanter, Extra Effect
You should be about level 54-55 to get all perks, but you don't need all of them to enjoy the playstyle.
Playstyle: The playstyle is similar to that of Gunnolf, but instead of shooting arrows and cracking skulls, you will be firing off silent illusion spells and slitting throats. You are a deadly silent assassin who can change the tide of battle in an instant. You can start by sneaking around for a good vantage point to fire a frenzy spell off (hopefully into a crowd), or you can take out your targets one by one with a quick dagger cut across the throat. If you get caught you can use invisibly to slink back into the shadows, or you can engage head on with Harkons Swprd in your left hand and the Mace of Molag Bal in your right.
Recommended Quests:
Dawnguard: For the gift of Vampirism and to kill the Dawnguard for trying to kill your kind
House of Horrors: To honor Molag Bal and wield his mace
Dark Brotherhood: Serving Sithis would do you well as he is the embodiment of death and the DB make for a good excuse to kill people, especially when money is involved.
Main Quest: To prove just how powerful you are you hunt Alduin down and waltz right into Sovengarde as a Vampire Lord and the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood.
In closing: This is my 2nd attempt at a build, and I know I'm late for submission, but I'd like to release it anyways. Let me know what I can do to improve in the future, and thank you for taking the time to look at this humble build.
Replies
This has got me fairly curious. I haven’t seen a two-in-one Build recently. One thing I’m a tad worried about is deciding to worship Hircine of all Daedric Lords. I thought Gunnolf would perhaps side with Meridia? Or at least use her instruments (committing a small sin/heresy) against the Undead/Vampires - perhaps cast it into the Sea it Ghosts after the end???
As for Mystia, I’m curious on how you do her. I await eagerly to find out
College has kept me busy so I haven't had the chance to actually play the builds, but I felt this was a good starting point. The whole reason I went with Hircine is he is the father of manbeasts,a nd a Werewolf is a good contrast to Myskia who will worship Molag Bal and become a vampire.
Aye, that’s fair - happens with everyone so try not to stress over it too much. Aye, I can see your reasoning there
Took a break for a bit, I was burnt out on TES for a while. I thought I would come back and try to finish up my build before the deadline.
Need to work on it some more.
No worries. You still have plenty of time.
Curse, I am ready for the build to be moved. Thanks in advance.
ill be happy to do so. Just be advised that the contest deadline passed a few days ago so we won’t be able to count this build for the contest
Oh, I know. However, I also knew there were more qualified people anyways. Just felt like making a build.