Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: The Lifeweaver

Tags: #Character Build Healer  #Character Build Nightblade  #Character Build Vampire  #Rank:Exemplar 
  • Member
    November 18, 2012

      I wanted a character that embraced the dualism many schools of magics seem to have.  Restoration is a school of magic that is seemed as the most holy and clean. Yet at the same time creatures of the night use it to empower their dark powers. Alteration is useful for a a mighty paladin and defensive aspects. Yet at the same time an assassin can use it to grab the upper hand by seeing through walls and scouting area's. I don't think anything is less honorable then paralyzing people. Plus of course conjuration. It is probably one of the most frowned upon school of magics. Yet at the same time it has abilities that banish Daedra in a simple hit. So I created a roleplay heavy build that plays as a holy Paladin and magical professor/companion during the day and a homicidal assassin/thief and necromancer at night. A hybrid of hybrids. 

    The Lifeweaver

    He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

    The Style.

    . Through your wide array of skills and battle styles the Lifeweaver can overcome any obstacle and is especially powerful against undead. You can play as a stealthy Nightblade striking quickly and efficiently from the shadows using magelight to distract enemies and get them out of position and detect life and dead to make sure you are never caught by surprise. However you can double as a paladin fighting with a trusty mace and restoration spell with an unlimited supply of power attacks further supplemented by your zombies and summons. You can fight along them or act as a unseen Shadowmancer.

    However out of the battle the Lifeweaver is a political force to be reckoned with. With such high influences in all reaches of the Skyrim he never not gets what he wants. Respect in all circles of the world as one of the saviors of Skyrim and ender of the great civil war. Harbringer of the companions and even Arch-Mage. He is regarded as one of the one who destroyed the Vampire and Dragon threat. In through  the eyes of all citizens is seen as helpful in every aspect.

    And little also know the Lifeweaver is a powerful Necromancer and Master thief and Assassin. Listener of the Dark Brotherhood and Guild Master of the Thieves Guild. While also having complete trust of the citizens of Skyrim. He also influences and control over aspect of its underworld. 

    Race: Any. I chose dark elf. I thought they fit in theme. None have an enormous impact on the build. Although Vampirsm is a must.

    Stone: Shadow.  While we will not be using the extremely over powered invisibility/30x damage combo often. The extra ability to sneak into the shadows will be heavily appreciated if something goes wrong.

    Weapons: Mace of Molag Bal is my preferred choice. However I also use Mehrune Razor for sneak attacks. Skull of Corruption and lots of other little artifacts I enjoy to carry around and use under certain situations. I use Wabbajacks for dragons and other more annoying enemies. A wide array of staves can be extremely useful.

    Gear: Arch-mages robes or any Master Robes. I prefer the Master because I think the Arch-Mage one looks stupid. I also wear a pair of muffle boots. I also had a pair of weird gloves that increased 1 handed damage. As we will not be investing in smithing or enchanting. Pretty much anything not armor that you can find around which you think compliments you. Try not to walk around dressed like a murderer though. However when I did the thieves guild quest I wore a mask when black mailing the people for the gold and similar things. I don't want my reputation to be ruined!

    When committing crimes look the part.

    Skills

    Alteration: We will in fact be wearing robes. We will be surviving through mage armor spells and our knowledge of paralyze spells and detect life/dead will make sure we know everything about the battle field before we engage and what strategy would be most efficient. Plus no one ever suspects a master of Alteration to be evil. Its one of the most defensive schools of magic. In the public eye it will only serve as an aspect of our defensive arsenal. It offers an amazing amount of utility that any thief and assassin can take advantage of. Not a skill is being wasted. 

    Restoration: Healing. How can this be bad at all? Turn and manipulate undead and do extra damage to them. Not to mention the "Stendarr's Blessing". How can we be seen as evil when we are literally a glowing beacon of light? However at we use this power to further increase our vampire powers and can even heal our undead risen through "necromantic healing".  Not to mention the unlimited stamina. We also use necromage to increase every aspect of our dark powers. A holy paladin could never take advantage of all it has to offer. 

    Sneak: Assassins blade. We will be able to easily destroy anyone its our job to assassinate and our fighting as a paladin can use "Shadow warrior" to easily get the upper hand in even the most holy of battles.

    1 handed: Our mastery of one handed will do us good no matter how we fight. Plus Mace's are seen as the most holy weapons. Bone Breaker will help us destroy even the most heavily armored of all opponents. 

    Conjuration: Our knowledge of necromancy is one of our...darker endeavors. We will be using it to banish Daedra and turn raised undead with our bound sword on the brighter side.  Or just use the straight up "Banish" spells. However when we are deep dungeon delving necromancy can be used.  However in the public eye Daedra can be used under dire circumstances.

    illusion: As much as I wanted to avoid this school.  On my second game I grinded it too 50 and used 5 perks for Quiet Casting. 

    Ideal build: http://skyrimcalculator.com/#211836

    Gameplay

    The Lifeweaver constantly switches between 2 roles. A warrior supplemented by magic and a Assassin supplemented by magic. However before every battle you should decide which would be the ideal situation for approaching the problem. Usually its best to slip in undetected and lighten the load of enemies and create some bodies to be brought back with a dagger. However you will eventually be discovered and then you should use your best mage armor you have then switch to the mace and the healing spell. After bringing back the nearest body. After that you can just bash through everything constantly healing with a zombie at your back. Its fairly simple.

    However if things go wrong while in battle I love the Shadowstone. As it allows you to quickly revert to the assassin style and with the 1 day limit avoids making it extremely over powered like an illusion assassin.

    And alteration in an assassin build also allows for more interesting strategies  Such as when something goes horrible wrong I cast water-breathing and jump into  a near body of water until they suspect I'm gone and strike again. I drop and move things far away then me with telekinesis. Distracting them also with magelight  so they move and I can sneak around better.

     

    Motivation

    This is probably my favorite part of the build. It allows anything to be done and allows for a series of endless role play possibilities.  Is it a Hero who suffers from alot of dark indulges? Or maybe its a Thief who manipulates all of Skyrim for nothing but the gold? Maybe its a Paladin who became a vampire for the sole purpose of increasing his power so he can kill slay vampires better? Maybe a curious mage who just delved far into the dark arts? Maybe your character suffers from multiple personalities? Or is possessed by some sort of powerful spirit? Any story is available. Any ideologies can be had and any quest can be done. Its extremely adaptable to be any style of play. However what defines your character is your true motivation.  My first character was driven by hatred of undead. Everything he did came from the goal to eliminate undead in all of skyrim. Even becoming a undead vampire himself so he had increased power to accomplish his goal. My second playthrough was driven by an urge for Necromantic power. Walking around with dead thralls and disguising them as nothing more then traveling companions. With the Necromancer's amulet he become a truely unstoppable force on the battlefield healing his "companions" with necromantic healing. A third motivation could easily be gold. Collecting artifacts and working for every organization for nothing but the gold. However feel free to create more complex idea's.

  • Member
    November 18, 2012

    Very, very cool character concept. It is rare to see a unique approach such as this build. The best part I find is this build can cover most of the game with the duality mentality of good and evil. As you stated, morality can go up and down at any moment and the character fits into a lot of niches. Awesome stuff! +1

  • Member
    November 18, 2012
    i would post a paragraph but im dumbfounded
  • Member
    November 18, 2012

    TO LEGENDARY!

  • Member
    November 18, 2012

    Thanks guys! I really wanted a character that got the most out of everything.

    Lots of people think limits is what makes characters interesting. And I agree. But I wanted to choose my limits instead of having them be forced upon me with build and character choices.

  • Member
    November 19, 2012

    Really neat examination of all the perk trees as well.  Never really thought to find the good/evil parts of Alteration/Restoration though it's fairly apparent in Conjuration.  Pretty neat. 

  • Member
    January 8, 2013

    I've been considering a nightblade build for master difficulty, and somehow had missed this gem. Awesome roleplay idea, and neat presentation. Definite +1.

  • Member
    January 8, 2013

    I have really wanted to create a split personality character for a while, a fearless battle maiden but with the subtle art of seduction and manipulation, someone who uses the shadows for her cloaked art form with deft hands and a slick dagger.

    Essentially i really like it  

  • January 8, 2013

    Good stuff, man!  I don't have a lot to add to this.  I'm sure you could do something else to minmax something, but that's not what RP is about.  Again very nice. +1

  • Member
    March 24, 2013

    Very good build. I think a lot of "spread" builds tend to be at a disadvantage because of the way world leveling works in Skyrim. This one looks like it will be able to make up for that disadvantage through resourcefulness and flexibility. +1!