Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Contest Build: The Deceiver

Tags: #Golden Fool  #Character Build Barbarian  #Character Build Illusionist  #Character Build Supporter  #Rank:Exemplar  #Contest5 
  • Member
    June 6, 2016

    Hey all I'm back for my first solo build in a while. The idea for this build came to me when I was thinking about Mephala for reasons... and I realised all the builds I've seen based around her and the Ebony Blade are more focused on murder as opposed to her other big thing manipulation. And considering that she is one of if not the biggest manipulator in TES I felt this wasn't right, so this is my attempt to correct that.


    It has been almost two centuries since my Master, Mephala, sent me to Nirn. I have been her champion, her Deceiver if you will. These past two centuries I have manipulated and taken part in the affairs of Skyrim, as I was instructed by my Master so long ago.

    Now for the reason I'm writing this journal. For the first time in years I have received instructions from Mephala. I am to die for her plans to proceed. And so now that I finally go to rejoin her in Oblivion, I write this to pass on the knowledge of what we have done.

    When I was first chosen I believed that I was special, that I would learn more of her plans then any other. Reality and Mephala had other plans. I was but another pawn, to be used and then thrown back into the void of Oblivion. You may think this would have made me bitter, but we Spiderkith have long served Mephala and have grown used to being pawns in her schemes.

    Race: Spiderkith. It was easy enough to pass myself off as one of Mephala's playthings, the Dunmer. Their naturally blue skin, meaning there was little I had to do to pass for one.

    Gender: Female

    Stat Spread: Magicka 3/ Health 1/ Stamina 0. I was primarily a spell caster so my pool of Magicka was deep. Yet I was no stranger to facing my foes with a sword, so while my fortitude was not something to write songs about it was still great enough to see me through many a battle.

    Standing Stone: The Serpent, as a servant of the Spider, isn't it fitting that I would have fangs as well? Granted to me by my Master, the poison that I could inject into my victims was powerful enough to leave them paralyzed.

    Powers: Agent of Dibella. My time on Nirn has taught me many things. One of which is that men are so easy to fool. A single smile or smallest hint of attraction and they let their guard down.

    Major Skill: 

    Illusion - As Mephala's champion and one of her Spiderkith, I specialised in the manipulation of others. At my peak I was able to turn my enemies against each other, send them fleeing in terror or even stop them from fighting all together. All with a few whispers here and there. And this was not limited to my foes, with but a word my pawns would continue to fight until they were near death or would find a new strength.

    Minor Skills: 

    Two Handed - What started out as simply a way to defend myself, has become invaluable in wielding Mephala's Ebony Blade.
    Light Armor - While I often left combat to my pawns, I am no fool. As such I spent some time learning how to move and fight in light armor.
    Speech - I have always been skilled at getting my way. It took little effort to apply this to trading or gaining someones trust.
    Restoration - Early on in my life as Mephala's champion I realised that people are quick to trust those that have saved their life. Once I did, I dedicated myself to learning to do so.

    Equipment: 

    • Pre-level 20 - Ancient Nord Greatsword, Diadem of the Savant, Novice/Apprentice Robes, Imperial Light Bracers & Boots
    • Level 20+ - Ebony Blade, Diadem of the Savant, Temple Priest Robes, Scaled Bracers & Boots

    I have always taken great joy in introducing myself as a wandering priestess. While this is partly true, none have ever realised the complete truth until they were caught within my web. Aside from the joy I felt, it also served the purpose of getting others to let their guard down. For who would deny the assistance of a priestess trained in the art of restoration?


    In combat I have always prioritized strengthening my pawns with the help of my Illusion spells. Once this was done I then turned my attention to my foes. My next step has always depended on the size of the force before me. When it was a larger group I always enjoyed spreading disarray among their ranks with the use of fear and fury spells. The survivors to be dealt with by the blades of my pawn and I.

    Smaller groups would face the brunt of my fury spells and my pawn's blade or magics. Solitary opponents I spared the meddling of my magic and instead faced them with my blade alongside my pawn.

    Naturally while I was still learning, and rarely even now, there are those too powerful of mind for me to influence. They have always posed a threat. On the occasion that I encountered one of these foes my preferred strategy was to hold back and let my pawn hold their attention, while I did my best to keep my pawn alive. If I was feeling especially confident then I would forgo my healing spells and join my pawn in fighting our foe with the use of my sword. At times I was able to get close enough to place a single bite upon them, which would leave these powerful foes lying helpless on the ground. Allowing them to be dealt with without risk to us.

    Now don't think I overly valued the lives of my pawns. I may have tried to keep them alive, but that was entirely so they could continue to be of use to me. If it ever looked as though we would not be able to win, I had no qualms with abandoning my pawn to make my own escape. Invisibility and muffle have always been my last resort.

         

    Hopefully you know enough about Mephala to be aware of her Spider Daedra. I've never gotten along with them to be honest. They're too smart to be easily controlled. I have no idea how Mephala puts up with them.

    I must however admit that having beings you can summon to serve you is useful. As such "I" developed a species of spider that can be carried around and used like one would use a scroll. My favourites of which are those which are cloaked in poison and those which corrupt the minds of others.

    Below are detailed the recipes for these Spider Scrolls, while the ingredients are hard to come by the results are worth it.

    1 Mind Control Spider = Soul Gem + Albino Spider Pod

    3 Poison Cloaked Spiders = Emerald + Salt Pile + Albino Spider Pod

    3 Exploding Poison Spiders = Emerald + Damaged Albino Spider Pod

    While many of the creatures throughout Skyrim have proven immune to poisons, these spiders can still serve a purpose as distractions.


    Mephala originally placed me on Nirn to retrieve her Ebony Blade, which was being held somewhere within Skyrim. To one who had spent her days simply wandering the Spiral Skein, these orders were a blessing. To this day I'm not sure whether she knew the Blade's location when she sent me or if she learned of it afterwards. All I can say is that she did not tell me. Much of my first year in Skyrim was spent hunting down rumors and travelling from hold to hold.

    While many of the rumors I heard were devoid of any hint of the Blade, they did hold some benefit. Many of them pointed me towards those in need of help and I took any chance I could get to weave myself a web of connections across the province. My most prized connections were those that were willing to travel with me or granted me an exclusive service. There was this one rather useful Dunmer in Windhelm who agreed to teach me the finer points of persuasion.

    The day I finally located the Ebony Blade's location was the same day that my instructions and purpose changed. Mephala instructed me to restore the Blade to its former glory by bathing it in the blood of my allies. She also bid me stay on Nirn and immerse myself in the events that were unfolding at the time, as her plans required them to be resolved.

    One of those events was the civil war which lead to Skyrim abandoning the Empire. You may have heard of Ulfric Stormcloak, the man that started it all. Well I got to know him quite well. He was a man with an ego large enough for three and he was in direct control of an army as well. Getting him to listen to my suggestions took a little stroking of his ego and other things if you catch my meaning.


    As I've written above my first goal after retrieving the Blade was to restore it to its former glory. This required me to feed it a number of those who had foolishly placed their trust in me. Now while this didn't require anything more then for me to kill them with the Blade, I have always been fond of ceremony.

    As such I set myself a couple of rules in regards to who and how I would go about feeding the Blade.

    The first step was selecting the pawn, this was both a requirement of the Blade and one I set for myself. Only those that I had built a bond of trust with could be given to the Blade. To build this bond I would spend a while traveling with them either as simple adventurers or as those lending help to others.

    The second step was preparing the pawn for the Blade, once they had come to trust me fully, I would pick a moment and strike with my fangs paralyzing them. At times this moment was right after a difficult battle, when they were too weak to resist. Other times it was simply when we were walking through the wilderness of Skyrim.

    The third and final step was to feed the Blade, as my pawn lay paralyzed and helpless it was a simple matter to wet the Ebony Blade with their blood.

    I still remember the look of fear, pain and surprise on Sven's face at my betrayal. I've come to understand why Mephala enjoys manipulating these mortals. For just as I am, they are no more then pawns in her eyes.


    • Helmless Warrior or Helmless Warrior Reworked. These two mods allow the use of the armor perks with only 3 pieces of armor equiped (excluding shields), with the Reworked enabling a larger amount. While the perks past Agile Defender aren't necessery for this build, the left tree of the skill can be quite nice to have.
    • Spidercraft, those who have used the spider scrolls before, will know that the pods do not respawn and so you can end up running out of scrolls. While this mod does not change that, it does add a merchant near/under Whiterun who sells the ingredients to make the scrolls. It also adds a crafting station in the same location, which is useful for those of us that can't be bothered to travel all the way to Solstheim.
    • Immersive Speechcraft, adds a bunch of new options for those versed in speech. Basically it gives us more ways to use the skill, some of which can be helpful for a character who likes to gain the trust of others.

    Closing Notes

    A quick thanks to all those that commented on this in the workshop. Thanks guys.

    Likes: (Ning) 41 + Displayed

  • June 6, 2016

    First like and way to get one in on the wire, Goldie. I knew there was something fishy about your deceiver in the workshop.  You and I were both enjoying the spider scrolls, but for completely different reasons. 

  • June 6, 2016

    Very nice Golden. This turned out way better than I anticipated. 

  • Member
    June 6, 2016

    I had to do something that would fit the builds name now didn't I 

  • Member
    June 6, 2016

    Thanks Curse.

  • June 6, 2016

    I actually really enjoyed those little spiders. Had a good flock of four of them at one point. The noise is adorable.  Was The Exterminator, Vorstag, Mr. Sphere, and a flock of spiders. HAHA, doing jobs for the Thieves Guild. Yeah, stealing and stealthy things with flocks of spiders behind you. Yeah... stealth... nobody sees golden dude with an army of spiders... 

  • Member
    June 6, 2016

    I had a couple of them with me one time, when I was in between pawns. They proved enough of a distraction for me to kill a dragon that showed up. Sure poison had very little effect on it but they still acted as meat shields of a sort 

  • Member
    June 6, 2016
    Great build, always liked the spiderkith, and you pulled it off masterfully, well done :)
  • Member
    June 6, 2016

    glad you made a build around Mephala. I watched the lore video on her today while doing the dishes.

  • Member
    June 6, 2016

    There is a mod on the nexus that puts a spider lab in a cave underneath whiterun, so if you run out you don't have to go all the way back to solstheim