Welcome to the most fulfilling playthrough of Skyrim I've ever had! But I like to get right down to business, so here we go...
The Knights Mentor are those bound to follow the call of Julianos, the God of Wisdom and Learning. While the School of Julianos is responsible for the scholarly work, the Knights Mentor protect the sages of the school and fight the ubiquitous forces of ignorance.
As Julianos is the God of learning, I thought it fitting that the Knights Mentor would be forever learning. Something along the lines of "life is just one big lesson".
My theory for it's name is that they are an order of Knights who are always learning, and teaching others; setting an example for the rest of Tamriel. Thus, the Mentors.
Race: Breton. What with the school of Julianos being based in Daggerfall, it makes the most sense roleplay-wise. The +10 boost to Conjuration is also immensely useful (as is the +5 to Restoration). Other noteworthy candidates are the Altmer (for their Magicka boost and skill boosts, the Imperials (boost to One-handed and restoration) and the Redguards (adrenaline rush power, boost to One-handed and Destruction).
Skills: Enchanting, Destruction, Restoration, Conjuration, Starting skill
Starting path skill (choose one): One-handed, Two-handed, Archery, Block, none or sneak.
Elemental specialization (choose one): Fire, Frost or Shock. You may put augment perks into this element and no other. However, if your starting skill is none (ie, you specialize in destruction), you may master all three elements.
Stone: Steed and Lord (in Aetherial Crown). The steed enables us to carry multiple copies of armor with the same armor rating, enabling us to carry multiple sets of armor that can be swapped out for different forms. The Lord grants us a nice bonus to magic resistance and armor rating. This stacks with the Breton 25%, granting us a total of 50% passive Magic resistance. Nifty, eh?
Followers: Up until you become a Knight-captain, use a follower to represent your Master. Their fighting style is irrelevant as long as they are of the human races. I recommend Belrand.
As a Knight-captain onwards, take a follower of your choice and give them the gear of an Initiate. When you rise in rank, they also rise. So when you become the Grand Chevalier, they become a Knight-captain. You may also choose to promote them for other reasons.
Good companions are Celann, Mjoll, Uthgerd, and All of the companions.
Conjuration: Conjuration is the backbone of this build. It acts both as a defensive skill and an offensive skill. Defensive in that you can allow your atronachs to keep the enemy's attention whilst you pelt your foes with spells or arrows from afar. Offensive in that we will solely be using Bound Weapons. So naturally, this skill is rather important (And will level quickly too).
Destruction: Destruction allows us access to the Spellblade and Scholar forms. Not only that, but the Cloak spells we gain access to are also extremely useful. We will be perking all the way up to Master destruction, but only one element will have the honor of being augmented (unless you choose no starting skill).
Restoration:. The ability to heal is always a nice one to have. Restoration also provides us with the Necromage perk and Sun spells, to allow us to absolutely screw undead over. Not only that, but with the Respite perk, there's almost no end to the power attacks!
Enchanting: Enchanting allows us to create multiple sets of the same armor, each enchanted differently, allowing us to have multiple forms which we switch between. Enchanting keeps our unperked skills viable.
One/Two-Handed/Archery/Block/Sneak/None: Whichever skill you choose will affect how you play the rest of the game. It will dictate your starting path; thus, the difficulty of your playthrough revolves around your chosen starting skill. You could be a master of the elements, a battle-hardened warrior, a master marksman, or an assassin.
This build involves an optional ranking system to further immerse yourself in the roleplay and to lend a sense of progression to your hopeful playthrough. It also adds some restrictions based on rank, making it a much more fun playthrough.
There are five ranks, each with their requirements listed here:
Questlines:
Your rank also has a slight effect on gameplay:
As a Squire, you may only follow one path.
However, once you become a Knight, you may follow another path.
When you become a Knight-Captain may follow three paths altogether.
When you become a Knight-Lord, you may follow four paths.
When you become the Grand Chevalier, you may follow all paths.
Note that your master must die for you to become the Grand Chevalier. This means you may not become the Grand Chevalier at all...or you may become corrupted and power-hungry, and slay your master for your own purposes.
An alternative ranking idea is to be promoted as you become thane of more holds in Skyrim. Eg, you rank up from Squire to Knight upon becoming thane of one hold, and become a Knight-Lord once you are Thane of all holds. (The same conditions must be met to become the Grand Chevalier).
To add a further sense of immersion and progression, each rank has a different armor set. As the Grand Chevalier, the Aetherial Crown serves as your symbol of status. Wear it proudly.
The hoods (and eventually the Mage's Circlet) grant us an increasingly useful boost to magicka! (30, 40, 50, 70). Note that the Mage's Circlet gives the highest magicka boost only after level 25.
You ought to have 7 copies of your chestpiece, gloves and boots. It's also good to have 7 of the exact same rings/necklaces (the choice is yours). Having 7 of the same armor set will not hinder our carrying capacity due to the amazing Steed Stone. I recommend naming each piece for the Path for which it is used. Eg, Marauder's Grips. When you unlock the extra effect perk, the second enchantment is written in brackets. The enchantments are as follows for each different form (explained later):
Armor
Necklace Cuirass Ring Gauntlets Boots
Spellblade 1H/Magicka Destro/Resto 1H/Destro 1H/Magicka 1H/Stamina
Marauder 1H/Stamina Health/Stamina 1H/Stamina 1H/Heavy Armor 1H/Stamina
Guardian 1H/Block Health/Stamina 1H/Block 1H/Block 1H/Stamina
Barbarian 2H/Stamina Health/Stamina 2H/Stamina 2H/Stamina 2H/Stamina
Marksman Archery/Stamina Health/Stamina Archery/Stamina Archery/Heavy Armor Stamina/Carry Weight
Shadow Sneak/Archery Health/Stamina Sneak/1H Sneak/Archery Sneak/1H
Scholar Resto/Magicka Destro/Resto Destro/Magicka Magicka/Carry Weight Resist Fire/Resist Frost
Ring
Archery (Stamina)
Sneak (One-handed)
Destruction (Magicka)
Gauntlets
Archery (Heavy Armor)
Sneak (Archery)
Magicka (Carry Weight)
Boots
Stamina (Carry Weight)
Sneak (One-handed)
Resist Fire (Resist Frost)
In Helgen, the Novice Hood and Robes can be acquired. As soon as you're out of Helgen, you can pick up the Bound Sword and Conjure Flame Atronach spells from Farengar, and you can begin to level your conjuration. If, however, you did not pick One-handed as your starting skill, use any normal weapon of the correct type until you can cast your chosen Bound Weapon comfortably.
Progress through each set of questlines to unlock each form. Save the Lost to the Ages quest until last, to roleplay it as a "trial" of sorts, whence you prove your ability to be the Grand Chevalier. The Forgemaster is definitely a challenge on harder difficulties! Do not wear the Aetherial Crown unless you are the Grand Chevalier, for it is blasphemous to do so! My master, Belrand, disappeared from the game somehow (he probably died) after I became a Knight-Lord.
For each skill, perks differ: Archery, Block, Two-handed, Sneak, Destruction
When I finished enchanting all of my armor, I used the respec ability from Black Book:Waking Dreams to remove my enchanting perks, which I then used to perk Block (Read: Choose a second skill to specialize in). This explains the lack of enchanting perks. There are 8 perks assigned to each skill you may specialize in. Links to each calculator (differing with the skill) follow (the perk assignment for One-handed is above): Block, Archery, Two-handed, Sneak, Destruction
You'll notice that the enchanting perks are still mentioned in the above perk spread, but this is merely to show which enchanting perks should be taken. To find out which perks to take in your second specialized skill, I refer you to the perk calculators above for each skill. (or the perk spread for One-handed).
There are 7 forms for a member of the Knights Mentor to master. Each, bar one, revolves around a bound weapon, giving all of these forms a unique combat style. The 7 forms are listed here, each with their pros and cons for combat. You will switch between these frequently during combat (or infrequently, it's your call) - these have no effect on anything apart from combat (and roleplay, to an extent).
1. The Spellblade - For me, this was my go-to fighting style (as it was my starting form). You can use any spell in your left hand, and the Bound Sword (or Dagger if you want to be weird) in your right.
Pros: Well balanced
Cons: Lacks the specialization (off/defense) of other paths
2. The Marauder - The next logical form to mention is that of the Marauder! In this form, you're a wrecking ball. But prepare to be the wrecked ball, for you have almost no survivability! Use a Bound Sword and a Bound Dagger in your off-hand for speed, or just use two Bound Swords if you want more power (but less speed).
Pros: High damage
Cons: Fragile, No spells
3. The Guardian - Well, we've had the wrecking ball and the all-rounder. So of course, next up we have the tank. In this form, you're using a Bound Sword coupled with your Shield. No fool is getting past your impenetrable defense!
Pros: Durable, Can Block and Bash
Cons: Lower damage than other paths, No Spells
4. The Barbarian - There's more than one way of being a Wrecking Ball, you know. If you happen to feel the need to use an axe (swords are so mainstream), then become the Barbarian! Here, we use a Bound Battleaxe.
Pros: High Damage, Long range, Can Block and Bash
Cons: Slow, Vulnerable to Attack
5. The Marksman - Pelt your foes with a barrage of arrows from afar! Because Archers rule. We use a Bound Bow here.
Pros: High Damage, Good at long range
Cons: Not as strong in melee, No Spells
6.The Shadow - There's nothing more exhilarating than sneaking around a bunch of heavily armored foes, after which you slit their throats with one well-placed Bound Dagger (or you pierce their eye with a bulls-eye from your Bound Bow). Note that to remain undetected, you will need skill, enchantments, and Vampire Dust.
Pros: Good for starting fights, Strong
Cons: Can be OP and boring, No Defence
7. The Scholar - When you get bored of hitting people with physical manifestations of pure power, burn them to dust, freeze their blood, or electrocute them! Sounds fun, right? No bound weapon is used here.
Pros: High Damage, Long Range, Can heal, Can use Spells
Cons: Prone to running out of magicka, Lack of Defence, Costly
Combat is as simple as casting a cloak spell and your summon(s), after which you enter a chosen form and kill your enemies. However, if starting combat in Shadow form, do not cast a cloak spell or your summons, as these will compromise your sneakiness.
Good forms to initiate combat with are Shadow form, Marksman form and Scholar form. When your enemies enter melee range, it's recommended that you switch to a melee form. Marauder form is best for quickly destroying powerful enemies; if you're in Marauder form, allow your Atronachs to tank the enemy before you attack, or risk dying. Guardian form is best for wearing down your enemies or for fighting multiple enemies at a time. While in Guardian form, you're the tank! Not your follower, or your Atronachs. Barbarian form is best for the same purposes as Marauder form, but is better for staying out of the reach of your enemy's weapon. Spellblade form is good whatever the situation - you've got a combination of ranged and melee attacks!
In terms of Atronachs/Thralls, I recommend a combination of a Frost Thrall with a Storm Thrall - Both are good for taking hits and blocking chokepoints, and both are good at dishing out damage. However, it can be quite annoying. Other options are to go with dual Thralls of your chosen element, so that you won't harm them with your spells.
Whirlwind Sprint + (Great) Critical Charge
Use to initiate combat in a melee form. As you sprint, start running and activate Critical Charge to perform a strike!
Cloak spell + Become Ethereal + Master Spell
Use to gain some breathing room to cast a master level spell. Even while ethereal, your enemies will take damage from your cloak, allowing for some enemies to be crowd controlled or killed easily.
Arcane Brilliance: Bedazzle foes with Julianos' Glory!
Dragon Aspect + Slow Time + Secret of Arcana + Volley of Spells
Your "ultimate move", per se. Use against the strongest enemies, such as Miraak. When Secret of Arcana expires, let loose with a flurry of melee strikes!
The Knights Mentor is in Skyrim to "fight the ubiquitous forces of ignorance". This translates to enlightening the people of Skyrim and eradicating evil (they are ignorant, as they know not of their foolishness).
Learning Paths as you go along also makes sense, as Julianos is the God of learning, thus his followers would strive to always be learning - to understand their mistakes and never make the same mistake again.
This translates into three Roleplay Objectives:
Decapitating a foolish bandit...
Roleplay Objective One: Eradicate all ignorance from Skyrim. In a sense, Bandits are the most ignorant of all, for their lack of ability to earn a proper living. You could say that the Knights Mentor and the School of Julianos are to usher in a new, utopian world through the eradication of ignorance.
Roleplay Objective Two: Collect knowledge from all around Skyrim and Solstheim. Solve puzzles, find all the black books, delve into tombs, learn all words of power. These are some of the things that you will be doing - this includes repeating Shalidor's Insights. Pick up every book you find.
Roleplay Objective Three: Create a School of Julianos in Skyrim - build a Hearthfire house and equip it with bedrooms and a library* (and a third wing of your choice). Start a book collection with the books you find in your travels. Bring the Knights Mentor to Skyrim by marrying, having kids, obtaining a steward and follower, and inducting them all into the order.
*Or, if you have problems (like me) and need your house to be symmetrical(-ish), build an armory instead.
Thanks to Golden Fool for the killer equipment spread and his input on ranks.
Thanks to the Character Building Hosts for hosting this event.
Thanks to Borommakot for discussing the concept with me.
But most of all, thanks to you, the reader!
Welcome to the most fulfilling playthrough of Skyrim I've ever had! But I like to get right down to business, so here we go...
The Knights Mentor are those bound to follow the call of Julianos, the God of Wisdom and Learning. While the School of Julianos is responsible for the scholarly work, the Knights Mentor protect the sages of the school and fight the ubiquitous forces of ignorance.
As Julianos is the God of learning, I thought it fitting that the Knights Mentor would be forever learning. Something along the lines of "life is just one big lesson".
My theory for it's name is that they are an order of Knights who are always learning, and teaching others; setting an example for the rest of Tamriel. Thus, the Mentors.
Race: Breton. What with the school of Julianos being based in Daggerfall, it makes the most sense roleplay-wise. The +10 boost to Conjuration is also immensely useful (as is the +5 to Restoration). Other noteworthy candidates are the Altmer (for their Magicka boost and skill boosts, the Imperials (boost to One-handed and restoration) and the Redguards (adrenaline rush power, boost to One-handed and Destruction).
Skills: Enchanting, Destruction, Restoration, Conjuration, Starting skill
Starting path skill (choose one): One-handed, Two-handed, Archery, Block, none or sneak.
Elemental specialization (choose one): Fire, Frost or Shock. You may put augment perks into this element and no other. However, if your starting skill is none (ie, you specialize in destruction), you may master all three elements.
Stone: Steed and Lord (in Aetherial Crown). The steed enables us to carry multiple copies of armor with the same armor rating, enabling us to carry multiple sets of armor that can be swapped out for different forms. The Lord grants us a nice bonus to magic resistance and armor rating. This stacks with the Breton 25%, granting us a total of 50% passive Magic resistance. Nifty, eh?
Followers: Up until you become a Knight-captain, use a follower to represent your Master. Their fighting style is irrelevant as long as they are of the human races. I recommend Belrand.
As a Knight-captain onwards, take a follower of your choice and give them the gear of an Initiate. When you rise in rank, they also rise. So when you become the Grand Chevalier, they become a Knight-captain. You may also choose to promote them for other reasons.
Good companions are Celann, Mjoll, Uthgerd, and All of the companions.
Conjuration: Conjuration is the backbone of this build. It acts both as a defensive skill and an offensive skill. Defensive in that you can allow your atronachs to keep the enemy's attention whilst you pelt your foes with spells or arrows from afar. Offensive in that we will solely be using Bound Weapons. So naturally, this skill is rather important (And will level quickly too).
Destruction: Destruction allows us access to the Spellblade and Scholar forms. Not only that, but the Cloak spells we gain access to are also extremely useful. We will be perking all the way up to Master destruction, but only one element will have the honor of being augmented (unless you choose no starting skill).
Restoration:. The ability to heal is always a nice one to have. Restoration also provides us with the Necromage perk and Sun spells, to allow us to absolutely screw undead over. Not only that, but with the Respite perk, there's almost no end to the power attacks!
Enchanting: Enchanting allows us to create multiple sets of the same armor, each enchanted differently, allowing us to have multiple forms which we switch between. Enchanting keeps our unperked skills viable.
One/Two-Handed/Archery/Block/Sneak/None: Whichever skill you choose will affect how you play the rest of the game. It will dictate your starting path; thus, the difficulty of your playthrough revolves around your chosen starting skill. You could be a master of the elements, a battle-hardened warrior, a master marksman, or an assassin.
This build involves an optional ranking system to further immerse yourself in the roleplay and to lend a sense of progression to your hopeful playthrough. It also adds some restrictions based on rank, making it a much more fun playthrough.
There are five ranks, each with their requirements listed here:
Questlines:
Your rank also has a slight effect on gameplay:
As a Squire, you may only follow one path.
However, once you become a Knight, you may follow another path.
When you become a Knight-Captain may follow three paths altogether.
When you become a Knight-Lord, you may follow four paths.
When you become the Grand Chevalier, you may follow all paths.
Note that your master must die for you to become the Grand Chevalier. This means you may not become the Grand Chevalier at all...or you may become corrupted and power-hungry, and slay your master for your own purposes.
An alternative ranking idea is to be promoted as you become thane of more holds in Skyrim. Eg, you rank up from Squire to Knight upon becoming thane of one hold, and become a Knight-Lord once you are Thane of all holds. (The same conditions must be met to become the Grand Chevalier).
To add a further sense of immersion and progression, each rank has a different armor set. As the Grand Chevalier, the Aetherial Crown serves as your symbol of status. Wear it proudly.
The hoods (and eventually the Mage's Circlet) grant us an increasingly useful boost to magicka! (30, 40, 50, 70). Note that the Mage's Circlet gives the highest magicka boost only after level 25.
You ought to have 7 copies of your chestpiece, gloves and boots. It's also good to have 7 of the exact same rings/necklaces (the choice is yours). Having 7 of the same armor set will not hinder our carrying capacity due to the amazing Steed Stone. I recommend naming each piece for the Path for which it is used. Eg, Marauder's Grips. When you unlock the extra effect perk, the second enchantment is written in brackets. The enchantments are as follows for each different form (explained later):
Armor
Necklace Cuirass Ring Gauntlets Boots
Spellblade 1H/Magicka Destro/Resto 1H/Destro 1H/Magicka 1H/Stamina
Marauder 1H/Stamina Health/Stamina 1H/Stamina 1H/Heavy Armor 1H/Stamina
Guardian 1H/Block Health/Stamina 1H/Block 1H/Block 1H/Stamina
Barbarian 2H/Stamina Health/Stamina 2H/Stamina 2H/Stamina 2H/Stamina
Marksman Archery/Stamina Health/Stamina Archery/Stamina Archery/Heavy Armor Stamina/Carry Weight
Shadow Sneak/Archery Health/Stamina Sneak/1H Sneak/Archery Sneak/1H
Scholar Resto/Magicka Destro/Resto Destro/Magicka Magicka/Carry Weight Resist Fire/Resist Frost
Ring
Archery (Stamina)
Sneak (One-handed)
Destruction (Magicka)
Gauntlets
Archery (Heavy Armor)
Sneak (Archery)
Magicka (Carry Weight)
Boots
Stamina (Carry Weight)
Sneak (One-handed)
Resist Fire (Resist Frost)
In Helgen, the Novice Hood and Robes can be acquired. As soon as you're out of Helgen, you can pick up the Bound Sword and Conjure Flame Atronach spells from Farengar, and you can begin to level your conjuration. If, however, you did not pick One-handed as your starting skill, use any normal weapon of the correct type until you can cast your chosen Bound Weapon comfortably.
Progress through each set of questlines to unlock each form. Save the Lost to the Ages quest until last, to roleplay it as a "trial" of sorts, whence you prove your ability to be the Grand Chevalier. The Forgemaster is definitely a challenge on harder difficulties! Do not wear the Aetherial Crown unless you are the Grand Chevalier, for it is blasphemous to do so! My master, Belrand, disappeared from the game somehow (he probably died) after I became a Knight-Lord.
For each skill, perks differ: Archery, Block, Two-handed, Sneak, Destruction
When I finished enchanting all of my armor, I used the respec ability from Black Book:Waking Dreams to remove my enchanting perks, which I then used to perk Block (Read: Choose a second skill to specialize in). This explains the lack of enchanting perks. There are 8 perks assigned to each skill you may specialize in. Links to each calculator (differing with the skill) follow (the perk assignment for One-handed is above): Block, Archery, Two-handed, Sneak, Destruction
You'll notice that the enchanting perks are still mentioned in the above perk spread, but this is merely to show which enchanting perks should be taken. To find out which perks to take in your second specialized skill, I refer you to the perk calculators above for each skill. (or the perk spread for One-handed).
There are 7 forms for a member of the Knights Mentor to master. Each, bar one, revolves around a bound weapon, giving all of these forms a unique combat style. The 7 forms are listed here, each with their pros and cons for combat. You will switch between these frequently during combat (or infrequently, it's your call) - these have no effect on anything apart from combat (and roleplay, to an extent).
1. The Spellblade - For me, this was my go-to fighting style (as it was my starting form). You can use any spell in your left hand, and the Bound Sword (or Dagger if you want to be weird) in your right.
Pros: Well balanced
Cons: Lacks the specialization (off/defense) of other paths
2. The Marauder - The next logical form to mention is that of the Marauder! In this form, you're a wrecking ball. But prepare to be the wrecked ball, for you have almost no survivability! Use a Bound Sword and a Bound Dagger in your off-hand for speed, or just use two Bound Swords if you want more power (but less speed).
Pros: High damage
Cons: Fragile, No spells
3. The Guardian - Well, we've had the wrecking ball and the all-rounder. So of course, next up we have the tank. In this form, you're using a Bound Sword coupled with your Shield. No fool is getting past your impenetrable defense!
Pros: Durable, Can Block and Bash
Cons: Lower damage than other paths, No Spells
4. The Barbarian - There's more than one way of being a Wrecking Ball, you know. If you happen to feel the need to use an axe (swords are so mainstream), then become the Barbarian! Here, we use a Bound Battleaxe.
Pros: High Damage, Long range, Can Block and Bash
Cons: Slow, Vulnerable to Attack
5. The Marksman - Pelt your foes with a barrage of arrows from afar! Because Archers rule. We use a Bound Bow here.
Pros: High Damage, Good at long range
Cons: Not as strong in melee, No Spells
6.The Shadow - There's nothing more exhilarating than sneaking around a bunch of heavily armored foes, after which you slit their throats with one well-placed Bound Dagger (or you pierce their eye with a bulls-eye from your Bound Bow). Note that to remain undetected, you will need skill, enchantments, and Vampire Dust.
Pros: Good for starting fights, Strong
Cons: Can be OP and boring, No Defence
7. The Scholar - When you get bored of hitting people with physical manifestations of pure power, burn them to dust, freeze their blood, or electrocute them! Sounds fun, right? No bound weapon is used here.
Pros: High Damage, Long Range, Can heal, Can use Spells
Cons: Prone to running out of magicka, Lack of Defence, Costly
Combat is as simple as casting a cloak spell and your summon(s), after which you enter a chosen form and kill your enemies. However, if starting combat in Shadow form, do not cast a cloak spell or your summons, as these will compromise your sneakiness.
Good forms to initiate combat with are Shadow form, Marksman form and Scholar form. When your enemies enter melee range, it's recommended that you switch to a melee form. Marauder form is best for quickly destroying powerful enemies; if you're in Marauder form, allow your Atronachs to tank the enemy before you attack, or risk dying. Guardian form is best for wearing down your enemies or for fighting multiple enemies at a time. While in Guardian form, you're the tank! Not your follower, or your Atronachs. Barbarian form is best for the same purposes as Marauder form, but is better for staying out of the reach of your enemy's weapon. Spellblade form is good whatever the situation - you've got a combination of ranged and melee attacks!
In terms of Atronachs/Thralls, I recommend a combination of a Frost Thrall with a Storm Thrall - Both are good for taking hits and blocking chokepoints, and both are good at dishing out damage. However, it can be quite annoying. Other options are to go with dual Thralls of your chosen element, so that you won't harm them with your spells.
Whirlwind Sprint + (Great) Critical Charge
Use to initiate combat in a melee form. As you sprint, start running and activate Critical Charge to perform a strike!
Cloak spell + Become Ethereal + Master Spell
Use to gain some breathing room to cast a master level spell. Even while ethereal, your enemies will take damage from your cloak, allowing for some enemies to be crowd controlled or killed easily.
Arcane Brilliance: Bedazzle foes with Julianos' Glory!
Dragon Aspect + Slow Time + Secret of Arcana + Volley of Spells
Your "ultimate move", per se. Use against the strongest enemies, such as Miraak. When Secret of Arcana expires, let loose with a flurry of melee strikes!
The Knights Mentor is in Skyrim to "fight the ubiquitous forces of ignorance". This translates to enlightening the people of Skyrim and eradicating evil (they are ignorant, as they know not of their foolishness).
Learning Paths as you go along also makes sense, as Julianos is the God of learning, thus his followers would strive to always be learning - to understand their mistakes and never make the same mistake again.
This translates into three Roleplay Objectives:
Decapitating a foolish bandit...
Roleplay Objective One: Eradicate all ignorance from Skyrim. In a sense, Bandits are the most ignorant of all, for their lack of ability to earn a proper living. You could say that the Knights Mentor and the School of Julianos are to usher in a new, utopian world through the eradication of ignorance.
Roleplay Objective Two: Collect knowledge from all around Skyrim and Solstheim. Solve puzzles, find all the black books, delve into tombs, learn all words of power. These are some of the things that you will be doing - this includes repeating Shalidor's Insights. Pick up every book you find.
Roleplay Objective Three: Create a School of Julianos in Skyrim - build a Hearthfire house and equip it with bedrooms and a library* (and a third wing of your choice). Start a book collection with the books you find in your travels. Bring the Knights Mentor to Skyrim by marrying, having kids, obtaining a steward and follower, and inducting them all into the order.
*Or, if you have problems (like me) and need your house to be symmetrical(-ish), build an armory instead.
Thanks to Golden Fool for the killer equipment spread and his input on ranks.
Thanks to the Character Building Hosts for hosting this event.
Thanks to Borommakot for discussing the concept with me.
But most of all, thanks to you, the reader!
Oh I like it!
Me and Teccam were producing a VERY similar build to this a year or so ago! I love the equipment ranks, that's a really nice RP/Progression touch...(dammit Teccam! Wish we'd pulled our fingers out our asses and just posted....procrastination is a bitch! May-Tec is dead!)
With the ranking system you've currently got it based on what quests the character takes, what if you could change that into a specific perk order instead? This move would dramatically change it from RP to CB and create one hell of a character build!
I'll admit, once I started getting to the Gameplay/Paths of Knowledge sections I just started feeling really confused and couldn't take much of it in...
...but your concept here is amazing and really unique! I really hope you add more clarity to this idea and make it work!
+1
Oh I like it!
Me and Teccam were producing a VERY similar build to this a year or so ago! I love the equipment ranks, that's a really nice RP/Progression touch...(dammit Teccam! Wish we'd pulled our fingers out our asses and just posted....procrastination is a bitch! May-Tec is dead!)
With the ranking system you've currently got it based on what quests the character takes, what if you could change that into a specific perk order instead? This move would dramatically change it from RP to CB and create one hell of a character build!
I'll admit, once I started getting to the Gameplay/Paths of Knowledge sections I just started feeling really confused and couldn't take much of it in...
...but your concept here is amazing and really unique! I really hope you add more clarity to this idea and make it work!
+1
Wow, thanks Mason!
I was worried that the whole idea of the paths and such might be a little hard to understand. I'll need to try and re-write those sections. Maybe changing it from "paths of knowledge" to "forms" might make it a clearer? Also, what exactly was it that you found confusing?
I know how annoying procrastination can be, I've got an unfinished build from 2 years ago now that I really need to get round to playtesting. Though, if you ask me, you should totally finish that build. Was that your Shadow Legion?
That idea of the perk order is great. I'll think about what I can do with that, it could be really interesting.
Wow, thanks Mason!
I was worried that the whole idea of the paths and such might be a little hard to understand. I'll need to try and re-write those sections. Maybe changing it from "paths of knowledge" to "forms" might make it a clearer? Also, what exactly was it that you found confusing?
I know how annoying procrastination can be, I've got an unfinished build from 2 years ago now that I really need to get round to playtesting. Though, if you ask me, you should totally finish that build. Was that your Shadow Legion?
That idea of the perk order is great. I'll think about what I can do with that, it could be really interesting.
Yeah it was the Shadow Legion! That's the one that ended my skyrim building career, I put so many hours into that build and eventually seeing it go nowhere made me have a good think about how I was spending my time here....lol.
Well, path builds usually suggest that you have a choice of making several different builds under the same roof, and they have always been a risky thing.
Me and Teccam were doing it a little differently. We wanted to make a character that would always eventually end up exactly the same no matter which path you chose to take. So we basically split the build into (I think) three or four different paths/grades.
So we decided that because the Shadow Legion was an offshoot of the Imperial Legion the character would need basic martial training first (One Handed/Block/Heavy Armor) then (at around level 25) select a career path from:
Conjurer - Conjuration
War Mage - Destruction
Healer - Restoration
...and focus specifically on the perks related to each field for the next 10 levels or so.
Your concept here has basically the same wrappings of what we were trying to do but Teccam kept masturbating so we never got to get it done!
Yeah it was the Shadow Legion! That's the one that ended my skyrim building career, I put so many hours into that build and eventually seeing it go nowhere made me have a good think about how I was spending my time here....lol.
Well, path builds usually suggest that you have a choice of making several different builds under the same roof, and they have always been a risky thing.
Me and Teccam were doing it a little differently. We wanted to make a character that would always eventually end up exactly the same no matter which path you chose to take. So we basically split the build into (I think) three or four different paths/grades.
So we decided that because the Shadow Legion was an offshoot of the Imperial Legion the character would need basic martial training first (One Handed/Block/Heavy Armor) then (at around level 25) select a career path from:
Conjurer - Conjuration
War Mage - Destruction
Healer - Restoration
...and focus specifically on the perks related to each field for the next 10 levels or so.
Your concept here has basically the same wrappings of what we were trying to do but Teccam kept masturbating so we never got to get it done!
Your concept here has basically the same wrappings of what we were trying to do but Teccam kept masturbating so we never got to get it done!
Can confirm.
Your concept here has basically the same wrappings of what we were trying to do but Teccam kept masturbating so we never got to get it done!
Can confirm.
Your concept here has basically the same wrappings of what we were trying to do but Teccam kept masturbating so we never got to get it done!
More than you know; I'm still nagging him to do that Stormchaser update that he's been talking about but he's too "busy" to get around to doing it.
EDIT: I forgot to mention this earlier but Elysium made a really cool Shadow Legion build; you should check it out.
Your concept here has basically the same wrappings of what we were trying to do but Teccam kept masturbating so we never got to get it done!
More than you know; I'm still nagging him to do that Stormchaser update that he's been talking about but he's too "busy" to get around to doing it.
EDIT: I forgot to mention this earlier but Elysium made a really cool Shadow Legion build; you should check it out.