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Character Build: The Stormsword of Satakal

Tags: #Character Build Spellsword  #Character Build Elementalist  #Character Build Enchanter  #Character Build Mods  #Race:Redguard  #Roleplaying  #Ordinator  #SE Rank:Novice  #Trekster 
  • October 22, 2018

     

     

    A master combatant who has gone through the usual, rigorous training of a Redguard swordsmen but with an exception - he is a spellsword. He was granted his arcane ability after he was struck down by a bolt of lightning in a desert storm. He believes Satakal, the Yokudan god, chose him to wield the divine power of the storm, to decimate foes and usher in a new age for Tamriel. He will rid the land of the Altmer threat because they are filthy sub-humans that tried to invade his land and have killed his father. He comes from meager beginnings and will hoard gold and jewels he finds in Skyrim. Though a hateful character towards High Elves, the Stormsword of Satakal is still considered a lawful character, if misguided at times.

     

    ATTRIBUTES

    Race: Redguard | Stat Spread: 1 / 0 | Standing Stone: Apprentice (Andromeda) | Alignment: Lawful Neutral*(see bottom)

     



     

    The Stormsword of Satakal is Mercutz, a young Redguard hailing from the Alik'r desert of Hammerfell. His father was an Alik'r warrior who fought against the invading forces of the Altmeri Dominion. He was often out on maneuvers so the boy rarely saw his father. Still, he always idolized the man. One day, much to his dismay, his father left and never returned. Since then he's been assumed dead. This cultivated a hatred within Mercutz towards the Altmer race. They stole his father from him, and he could never forgive this.

    Mercutz's mother was his primary caregiver. She was a talented blacksmith and armed the resistance fighters. The boy had a loving relationship with her but she was a busy woman and strict in her demands. When she wasn't assigning him chores, the boy would go out beyond the dunes and play war with his friends. He enjoyed the outdoors.

    One day, while the children played in the desert, a mighty dust storm rode in without warning. The kids scattered, making their way home in a hurry, but young Mercutz became disoriented and was encircled by a thick cloud of sand. He lost all sense of direction and watched as the air around him charged with energy. He felt his tongue tingle and and his hair stood on end. Suddenly, a purple beam of light struck down on top of him, electricity coursing through his entire body. He felt its power running through his veins but the pain was too much to handle. He passed out.

    When the Stormsword awoke he shot up. The lightning strike had turned the surrounding dune into pure glass, with him resting on top. He did not know how he could have survived. Surely Satakal was looking out for him - he had heard the stories of the Yokudan god destroying the old to make way for the new. The boy was no longer a normal Redguard, electricity now surged forth from his fingers. This was definitely "new". Perhaps the lord commanded it. It was then he knew he was meant for something greater.

     

    As the Stormsword grew to manhood he learned to harness his arcane talent, never entirely in control of his awesome power, but able to direct it outward. He pairs it with high level swordsmanship, like all young Redguards. Mercutz was unlike his Redguard peers, though. He couldn't explain it, but whenever a storm returned he felt a connection with it. He longed to be out in the elements, among the storm.

    It would be fair to say that Mercutz has no love lost for the High Elves. If the Altmer hadn't been pushed from Hammerfell he would have jumped at the chance to join the Alik'r mercenaries. Donning some traditional garb left behind by his father, the Stormsword made off for Skyrim instead. He had heard the Nords were continuing the good fight there. He hoped to seek revenge against the Dominion forces for his father's presumed death. He would seize the opportunity to adventure in the new land. Growing up in poverty, he had a fascination for gold and gem stones. He would hoard any he could find in the North, seeking a fortune beyond anything his parents imagined. He hoped to leave his modest life behind. He'll start his journey in the Reach, after crossing the border unnoticed.

     

    Ordinator - This perk overhaul will allow for a specialized spellsword-style playthrough. Mercutz will rely heavily on perks that prioritize a hybrid playstyle of shock spells in one hand and an enchanted sword in the other. "Spellblade" perk in the Alteration tree is a must.

    Imperious - Being a Redguard, Imperious will offer more immersive and lively race bonuses. Dispatching with big groups of enemies (3 or more) is this build's speciality, having a high-powered offense. Being successful at this will offer the training and bonus experience the Stormsword needs.

    Apocalypse - An updated spell list will offer diverse attacks for both ranged situations and close-quarters. For destruction magick, shock spells will be his entire allocation. The Stormsword is not an expert mage so is not versed in fire or frost spells, just his god-given ability to harness the storm. His desire is to specialize in lightning magick and unleash his power on his enemies. He will develop experience in his other preferred schools of magic as well.

    Andromeda - The Andromeda version of the Apprentice Stone is a must have for this build for the roleplay. The purpose being that the Stormsword has great, unwieldy power over the forces of lightning. This stone allows his spells to be unpredictable, at times extremely powerful and dealing damage beyond even the highest mages, but at times sputtering and weak. He has learned to harness his ability but he can't completely control his profound power. This lends itself well to the roleplay.

    Summermyst - Providing a wide variety of enchantments that the character will explore through his playthrough. Enchanting and disenchanting items is also a hobby.

    Warmonger Armory - Mercutz will begin his journey with the Sand Assassin Armor from this armor pack. The garb was armor his father wore as an Alik'r mercenary and he will wear it to honor his memory. It will suffice for his entire playthrough. Since his mother was a blacksmith he is able to maintain his armor and sew it back together between battles, but he has no skill in improving it beyond its current condition. For that, he will rely on enchantments.

     

    MAJOR SKILLS

    One-Handed - The Stormsword will utilize a shock-enchanted scimitar as his weapon of choice. From a young age he was well trained in the art of swordsmanship. He is already an expert, but will continue to improve.

    Destruction - Here is the all-important skill tree for this build's damage. Since this character can only use shock damage, that will be his spell choice up the tree. Ranged and close-ranged shock spells will weaken or stagger enemies, then he will enter the fray and finish people off with his curved blade.

    Enchanting - This is where the build's name takes significance. The Stormsword takes up enchanting as a hobby and a new way to harness his storm magick. Shock damage will deplete mages and frustrate warriors. The Stormsword will be feared as he overwhelms people completely with his control over storm magic, a pure onslaught that obliterates foes of any kind. There will be no escape - in close or at range they will feel the magick of the storm. Armor enchantments are also important (fortify Health, among others), providing defense and sometimes exuding disorienting effects which fluster his enemies.

              

    MINOR SKILLS

    Restoration - Since this character has no other means to heal himself he will dedicate himself to learning the basics of Restoration magick. A supplemental skill that is used to allow the character to jump right back into battle. It's purpose is to sustain the Stormsword so he can deal more damage, his primary goal in combat.

    Alteration - This tree provides important bonuses for the Stormsword, especially the "Spellblade" perk. Apocalypse spell pack allows for more beyond just flesh spells as an option. Anything that alters the field of battle to his advantage will come in handy.

    Light Armor - Armor bonuses will provide important defense. Relying on his father's old Alik'r armor, it is strong leather armor but, at the end of the day, is just that: primarily leather. He will be unable to improve his armor through crafting so his developing magick skills will come in handy here.

     

     

    QUESTS

    Civil War (Stormcloaks) - Mercutz will take the soonest chance to prove himself to the Stormcloaks, not for the Nords but for a chance to avenge his father. Any side that positions itself with the Altmer is evil and needs to be defeated. He will overlook any downsides the Stormcloaks offer with pure focus on beating the Altmeri Dominion and, consequently, the Empire.

    Dawnguard - The Stormsword believes he acts out of divine purpose, and especially for his patron Satakal. He interests himself in the war against the vampires after first being able to view them. Once he sees these abominations in action he sees the need to curb their influence in the region. The Dawnguard is also a rag-tag group with little in the way of overhead. This lets him keep for himself whatever he finds along the way.

    Dragonborn - What the Nords call Alduin is, in fact, the end Satakal foretold. This is what the Stormsword was guided to Skyrim for. Regardless how the Nords see it, he knows this to be true. When the voice finds this character he will take this as another sign of a divine calling to high power. He will see himself as the instrument to be wielded against all in his path, even Alduin himself.

    Companions - He won't shy away from the opportunity to prove himself in battle. The Companions also offer financial incentives and a place to stay in Whiterun, which will be of great benefit to the Stormsword. He trusts those with warrior spirit and will seek their company.

     

     

    BUILD RESTRICTIONS / TRAITS

    - Uses shock spells exclusively. No frost or fire.
    - Collects gem stones because they fascinate him; makes jewelry.
    - Hates the Altmer, is a bigot and will fight them to the death.
    - Skooma addict after trying it once. Will drink any and all he finds as loot.
    - Is always lawful because of a strict upbringing (exception: Redguard Bloodlust*).
    - Fairly good natured to others with a neutral alliance; will help those in need, within reason.
    - Mudcrabs creep him because he grew up in a desert. Will avoid waterways and swimming.
    - Believes himself to be Satakal's divine instrument, will approach battles with over-confidence

     

    *Redguard Bloodlust = Years of war with the Altmer race have created generational trauma for the Redguards. Though this character is lawful neutral, when bloodlust takes over he will be taken by rage and charge into combat with Altmer foes.

     

     

     

  • October 22, 2018

    Question...how are we supposed to read this one? Personally have no issue copying, pasting and changing the font (afterall, it isn't that much time out of my life) but I would be somewhat surprised if everyone would be willing to, meaning you've kind of created a situation where people will glance at the build and then leave.

    That said, I really enjoyed the build once I copied it and all that :D I though you did an excellent job of giving the character weaknesses and character traits that made him feel quite real and well-constructed. He wasn't brokenly overpowered (in regard to RP or Gameplay) and just felt like a very real sort of character. In particular I kind of enjoyed the 'fear' of Mudcrabs and general hesitance around Water, makes a fair bit of sense and just adds flavour to the character.

    There are a few things I'd personally recommend. First is talking a bit more about the Enchantments/Armour, especially since your using Summermyst and it has some really interesting combinations and ideas. Shock Damage - Wild for example would be a really nice enchantment to at least mention because it seems like it'd fit the character quite well. Negate Magic, Light, Amplify Destruction and Area Drain Magic Resist are all interesting Armour based enchantments, though I'm not sure if the modded equipment is enchanted/if you would even enchant it (would fit the RP if he wouldn't meddle with his father's gear, but would be nice to see it mentioned). Second, you do need a full list of Perks somewhere, especially when using Ordinator because, well it's pretty much impossible to play a character if you don't have the full list of Perks...that and Ordinator isn't something everyone uses (though a lot of people obviously) so it's nice to provide a bit of context for key perks, just so people can understand the build without playing Ordinator extensively.

    The final note I wanted to touch upon, was just asking if you used... bugger I've forgotten the name...Thunderchild, that's right. You mentioned completing Dawnguard and Dragonborn, in which case he can Shout (I assume) and there are some really interesting Shouts there that could work with this character. In particular is Stormblast or Lightning Shield. 

     

    Anyway, a few points but the build was really enjoyable, (and want to quickly apologize if it looks like I'm mostly only being critical, I'm just bette at formulating my thoughts if I'm saying something positive so there's less to say) really hope to see more builds from you Trekster, and welcome to the Character Building Group :D

  • October 22, 2018
    Hey thanks for your pointers. I agree about including more on summermyst. I can shed some light on this: It's a mod I've recently added so I haven't discovered all the enchantments yet. It's a killer mod. I like the ones you mentioned though, I can definitely add ones like those in there. Thunder child could be a useful mod, as you say. Seems to fit the playthrough, I've just never used that one before. Might be an important addition though. I'm not sure what you mean about how you're supposed to read it or the copying and pasting, did the formatting come out confusing? I started this last night and it ended up taking way longer than I ever would have expected lol. Definitely a work in progress but hopefully I get better at this over time. Thanks again!
  • October 22, 2018
    I can’t speak to what Dragonborn sees, maybe it looks different on different formats, I’m not sure. But I can say that the font is really small, that could be it? I know there are people who will find it an issue to read just because of that. Otherwise, I’m viewing this on an iPad and the formatting itself looks good. Just really tiny font. But then again, I’m old(er), so that might be it, too.
  • October 22, 2018
    Oh! I'll change the font to larger I didnt realize.
  • October 22, 2018

    Huh, so on PC I've got it appearing with This Font. Calls it symbol apparently, and well it makes it rather difficult to read...Just checked on mobile (both full site and mobile site) and it's fine there so...Something strange is up here, not your fault Trekster but, here's a quick snap of what it looks like on my screen (shitty quality since I just uploaded it directly, but yeah).

  • October 22, 2018
    Oh no! Didnt show up like that on my laptop or on mobile. Shoot. Should I change the font you think? Anyone know a font that wont turn to wingdings on me ha ha
  • October 22, 2018

    I think it can't hurt to try, in which case Book Antiqua is my font of choice (though nothing wrong with Times New Roman either)