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Character Build: Bladechanter

Tags: #Character Build Spellsword  #Character Build Acrobat  #Character Build Mage Armor  #Rank:Recognized 
  • Member
    August 25, 2013

    Bladechanter

    So this is my first build and involves, to my knowledge, a relatively unique mechanic in that you have 0 magicka regeneration despite actively using it in a supporting role, leading to tough decisions on whether to cast spell A or B or none at all as well meaning extended fights can become more challenging. And with that, onto my build, enjoy.

    *References to essence essentially mean magicka for in game purposes.

     

    Background:

    The Bladechanters were a secretive order of knights, situated in the center of Tamriel in their underground fortress, where none but a member of the order has ever entered, and no outsiders word has power. The reason for this is the source of their power, a method of harnessing magicka into a controllable liquid form which can then be inscribed in a forgotten tongue onto their armor and weapons, despite the essence being extremely reactive when in contact with living tissue.

    This form of magicka is known as essence to the order and the secret of making this was known only to a small few given the task of harvesting the essence for the orders usage in keeping the powers of the continent balanced. However, since the orders participation on the side of Empire against the Thalmor and all bar one who knew how to manufacture the essence survived, the knowledge is now given to all members of the order to prevent this crisis from occurring again.  

    Your mission is to restore the status quo in Skyrim and to do this you, along with two other knights, are to stop Thalmor intervention there and restore Imperial peace to the province. However you were ambushed by the Thalmor along the border of Skyrim, whom slain your companions and left you for dead. You were unconscious for a period and came to among the storm cloaks you were sent to destroy with your hands bound, heading towards an unknown destination…

     

    Race: Altmer(Essence Boost, Height/Speed), Redguard(Initial Skill, Adrenaline Rush)

    Stats: 2/2/ 1 up to 200 essence, then 0/2/1 since health is what keeps you alive.

    Stone: Lover until you have 200 essence. Atronach after for 0% essence regeneration.

    0% Magicka Regeneration: This is achieved through the 'Uber' Atronach stone.

    'Uber' Atronach Stone:

    Credit for this goes to Mason and his Obsidian Sentinel build.

    Obsidian Sentinel

    Perks: lv20  lv40

    Major Skills:

    One Handed: This is your primary form of damage dealing and is what your other skills will be used to supplement.

    Alteration: This will provide you with your defense and general purpose spells.

    Illusion: Despite under perking this skill, it will provide you with some useful spells in muffle and invisibility.

    Minor Skills:

    Destruction: Provides your long range damage and extra damage in close combat.

    Block: Just for quick reflexes.

    Sneak: If you can kill someone before the fight starts a proper, it can only be a good thing.

    Smithing: Just to improve your sword that extra bit.

    Enchanting: No perks but provides some boosts to damage/ essence efficiency.

    Alchemy: Need a supply of essence and since no one outside the order has ever heard of it, your going to have to make it yourself. Also required to make better potions of restoration for the 0% magicka regeneration.

    Equipment:

    Blades Sword, Circlet, Amulet (of Talos), Clothes, Gloves, Ring, Boots, Essence Potions.

    All armour items are up to the user on what color/version they go for. I personally like a circlet with blue sapphire in it, belted tunic with the brown colored boots, gloves, sapphire silver amulet and sapphire ring, but black/dark gear looks nice as well. If you wish to use the shouts more, the Amulet of Talos is always an option.

    Ingredients:

    Creep Cluster, Elves Ears, Giant Lichen and White Cap.

    This potion is only to be used outside of combat, as applying it requires care to prevent it touching your skin. For extra difficulty, wait 1 hr after use to represent it drying.

     

    Enchantments:

    Blade Sword: None

    The base runes on the sword harden the metal to incredible levels, allowing it to be used to block blows from larger blades without it shattering, while simultaneously giving a feeling of weightlessness to the blade allowing the wielder to strike quickly and from unexpected directions.

    Circlet: Fortify Magicka

    The gem in the circlet is the key to the runes covering your gear and it is from here that they are activated.

    Amulet:

    Clothes: Fortify Alteration.

    Better understanding of the runes allow for more economical usage of essence in their activation.

    Gloves: Fortify One Handed

    Runes of strength are inscribed over your gloves allowing you to swing with greater force than any mortal should.

    Ring: Fortify Illusion

    Better understanding of the runes allow for more economical usage of essence in their activation.

    Boots: Fortify Sneak

    Upon the soles of your boots runes of sealing are placed which prevent sound from escaping when you move.

    Usable Spells:

    These can only be used when you have your equipment due to the ruins being placed on them rather than your skin so, for example, you cant use your spells or shouts in jail.

    Mage Armour Variants.

    You chant the activation pattern for the runes on your armor, turning the maneuverable cloth into a material capable of sustaining the strongest blows and turning the sharpest blades and arrows.

    Candle Light.

    The runes can emit a faint glow allowing light to see by when in the dark.

    Muffle.

    Runes covering the equipment are activated removing all friction and so preventing any sound being produced from their rubbing, allowing the Bladechanter to approach from behind silently.

    Invisibility.

    Runes of concealment are activated, bending light around the user so to distort their image and so allow them to sneak past watchmen and the like with no trouble. However, this is a large drain on the users essence supply and can leave them vulnerable should they not be in a safe place when the runes deactivate.

    Lightning Bolt: Requires sword to be equipped.

    A charge can be passed along the blade to be directed by a matrix of runes allowing for surprise attacks from a distance against hostiles.

    Flame Cloak(+ Intense Flames): Requires sword to be equipped.

    The sword starts to glow as the chant picks up, reaching searing temperatures and forcing your enemies back less they be burned.

    Shouts.

    These don’t use essence so try to be reasonable in there usage.

    Elemental Flurry/Slow Time.

    You activate the runes of your blade and armor allowing you to immediately swing your blade faster and move unnaturally quickly, swiftly dispatching your foes before they can return the fight.

    Whirlwind Sprint.

    Using a small amount of essence you are able to enact remarkable physical feats such as leaping vast distances in moments.

    Whirlwind Cloak. After use, no more spells/shouts until fight is over.

    You use all the essence in your armor to release a large burst of energy sending everything around you flying.

    Fus Ro Dah! Requires equipped sword

    You unleash a shockwave from your sword toppling over everything in front of you allowing you to swiftly dispatch your target.

    Combat as a Bladechanter:

    As a Bladechanter, you are trained from a young age with a sword every day for hours on end, and as such can be considered to be a most reasonable swordsman. However, unlike many swordsmen, when in battle, you are not restricted by the cumbersome armor many seem so fond of and are more of the view, if they can’t hit me, they cant kill me. In combat, this is simple; don’t let the other person hit you. To do this, make use of your quick reflexes to dodge and counter any power attacks coming your way and side step out the way of the quicker ones. This leads to a dynamic yet risky approach to combat if your not careful.

    Unfortunately, when fighting groups and are surrounded, you may have little space to dodge and so should prepare to take the hits by activating your armor runes to provide some potent protection. A second option when fighting groups would be to raise the temperature of your blade and trust in that to keep opponents of your back while you single out a target for special attention. Finally, if the situation is particularly dire, there’s no point in dying. Use your cloaking runes to cover your retreat to a more suitable position or unleash a burst of energy allowing you to hopefully dispatch some of your assailants while there down to even the odds.

    When the order was formed, there was a worry of the return of the dragons and as such they have came up with methods to fight them. In the unlikely scenario of fighting a dragon, you should weaken it with energy bolts from your sword and trust in your armors resistance to magical forms of attack to survive until it lands, then you should try to dispatch it swiftly with the blade while dodging its attacks.

    Quests/Roleplay

    For quests, the main quest line as the return of the dragons will have a serious impact on the status quo as well as the imperial side of the civil war. However who knows, you may have a change of heart after seeing first hand the stubbornness of the imperials and the way they treated you. Other quest lines you could follow would be the rumor of a Thalmor agent in the collage of Winterhold to find out what is happening there as well as news of vampire incursions increasing and what this could mean.

    As a character, I would recommend playing as a neutral or good/neutral character, as crime/cruel people are part of the status quo just as much as the good people. This does not have to mean however you look on murderers and thieves favorably and would not resort to acting like them.

     

    Thank You for reading my build, please leave your thoughts on it below.

  • Member
    August 26, 2013
    Interesting use of a different disease from the norm (vampire and werewolf.)
  • August 26, 2013

    This is a great build, i love the 0% magicka regeneration. (Also there should be a space after the colon in the name)

  • Member
    December 23, 2013

    A really interesting and different approach +1!

    I just have one question: when you achieve the 0% magicka regeneration you also achieve 100% spell absorption, which means you'll regenerate your "essence" whenever you're struck by a spell, therefore wouldn't it conflict with the build's concept of "essence"?

  • Member
    June 7, 2014

    I based this build on a book that I had read and there is a chapter where a large blast of essence recharges the ruins of an important book and so I have used that to justify the recharging.

  • June 7, 2014
    This is really cool, and the 'essence' idea and no mana regen seem really cool. Starting this as soon as I can get to my computer.
  • Member
    June 10, 2014
    Interesting build +1! Nice to see after not visiting this site in a while we still have great builds! ^.^
  • Member
    June 12, 2014

    Im planning on getting skyrim for computer during steam sale since i don't play my Xbox anymore, and then Im going to see if i can find a way to change the starting conditions of the character so that you start with 0 magicka regen and the other perks of the uber atronach stone. Would make things a bit simpler and less gamey feeling.