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Character Build: The Dae Hyanda

Tags: #Character Build Archer  #Character Build Rogue  #Character Build Nightblade  #Race:Dunmer  #Rank:Exemplar 
  • Member
    October 31, 2013

     

    What do Dunmer do best? Slit throats and cast magic! What would be a better match then using illusion spells on enemies to turn one against the other or become invisible and kill them with a precise arrow? I present you…

    The Dae Hyanda

     

    The Dae Hyanda (Ayleid: Shadow Blades) are individuals of Dunmer rogues, thieves, assassins, artifact hunters, head hunters and infiltrators. They mainly work for the House Telvanni and operate in Morrowind but also all over Tamriel. A Dae Hyanda is not bound to this particular secret group and often joins other more influential groups like the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood or Morag Tong. What makes a Dae Hyanda so dangerous is the use of a deadly bow combined with strong illusion magic. Some members even manage to transform into a spectre-like form and disappear completely.

    Outside of Morrowind, they are also known as King Slayers, because whenever a powerful Lord needs to be killed, the Dae Hyanda will do the job clean and silently. They are not only feared as merciless fighters in face-to-face combat but they are also known as excellent archers, who kill their targets before they even know who is there. And one thing is always sure: when a Dae Hyanda is sent out on a mission, he will fulfil it.

    Tyra Mor-Agar is a Dae Hyanda. Since her time as a young Dunmer girl, she was being trained to serve the Telvanni whenever they needed her. Now is her time to fulfil her duty. She is send out to the island of Solstheim to retrieve an ancient dwemer artefact before other interested groups will get their fingers on the mysterious object. She is ready to leave her homeland Morrowind and begin her mission as a Dae Hyanda.

    Race: Dunmer. The starting bonus in 4 of 8 skills is just a perfect match.

    Standing Stone:  Shadow Stone until Invisibility can be casted , then Atronach Stone, which will buff the magic resistance a bit.

    Stats: 1/4/2 With this character I wanted to experiment with higher Health because I planned to fight Alduin after collecting all of the equipment.

     

     

     

    Major Skills: One-Hand, Block, Sneak, Archery, Light Armor

    Minor skills: Alchemy, Illusion, Smithing

    Dragon Shouts: Aura Whisper, Unrelenting Force, Marked For Death, Become Ethereal

    Spells: Invisibility,Frenzy,Fear,Calm

    Alignment: Chaotic Good

     

     

    'The Dae Hyanda has the ability to see close enemies through walls which allows preparations for a strategy.'

    Equipment:

    Head – Linwe’s Hood (Bows do 15% more damage)

    Armor – Ancient Falmer Cuirass

    Hands – Linwe's Gauntlets(One-handed attacks do 15% more damage)

    Feet – Linwe's Boots(Sneaking is 15% better) 

    Shield – Imperial Shield/ Auriel’s Shield

    Necklace – Fortify Stamina or Health

    Ring - Fortify Stamina or Health

    Weapon:

    • Nightingale Blade
    • Chillrend
    • Dwemer Black Bow of Fate

       

    The Build

    The Dae Hyanda is a blend between a skilled, sneaky archer and a close-combat warrior; she can handle any situation with ease. Sniping enemies from behind cover with her bow allows her to easily control the battlefield. The use of Illusion spells gives her the possibility to turn herself invisible and sneak past weak enemies she doesn’t need to kill. Key perks are Quiet Casting and cost reduction for Expert (Invisibility) spells.

     

    'This Mage just never saw it coming'

    As soon as her cover is blown, she switches to sword and shield to fight in open combat as she is no coward. Shield perks like Deflect Arrows or Elemental Protection allow her to block physical and magical damage efficiently. Light armor allows her to be agile, fast and light on her feet without using too much stamina, which she will recover 50% faster with the Wind Walker perk. As far as her crafting skills go, the Dae Hyanda can enhance her armor and weapons up to Dwarven and Advanced, both enchanted and non-magical. Her knowledge of herbs and other ingredients allow her to buff herself with powerful potions to recover her health and stamina during fights. I intentionally left daggers away as I don’t see the Dae Hyanda as a classic assassin build and I avoided any close sneak attacks with blades. Additionaly, the Dunmer ability Ancestors Wrath is always a last resort to deal out some DoT.

    Level 60 Perk placement: Click here

    Block: Shield Wall 4/5, Deflect Arrows,Quick Reflexes, Elemental Protection, Block Runner

    One-Handed: Armsman 5/5, Fighting Stance, Savage Strike

    Archery: Overdraw 5/5, Eagle Eye, Steady Hand 1/2, Power Shot, Quick Shot

    Light Armor: Agile Defender 5/5, Custom Fit, Unhindered, Wind Walker, Deft Movement

    Sneak: Stealth 3/5, Backstab, Deadly Aim, Muffled Movement, Light Foot, Silent Roll

    Illusion: Novice-Expert, Animage, Kindred Mage, Quiet Casting

    Smithing: Steel, Dwarven, Arcane, Elven, Advanced

    Alchemy: Alchemist 5/5, Physician, Benefactor

     

    'Tyra may look sexy, but she is extremely deadly. She is not to be messed with.'

    Roleplay

    As I mentioned earlier, the Dae Hyanda is an Artifact Hunter. She is send to Solstheim to recover an ancient Dwarven artifact, the Dwarven Black Bow of Fate. After being freed from capture in Helgen, she joins the Thieves Guild, to conquer valuable items and make some money. With the tale of a hidden vampire artifact hidden in Skyrim, she seeks out the Dawnguard to get information about what the Vampires are looking for.

    'Once weakened with the Marked for Death shout, even Dragons will fall by the Dae Hyanda's blade.'

    A Dae Hyanda is usually chaotic good as alignment. She is a strong individualist, sometimes selfish, as she tends to keep artifacts that are useful to her, but still has some kindness. She will help those in need and never hurt the innocent and poor.

    On the other side, she hates to bow to laws and rules and will fight those suppressing the weak and helpless, but she will never kill for pleasure, only in defense. She despises poison as it is a cowardly method to kill.

    Quests:

    I recommend the following quests to do for equipment and roleplay (may contain spoilers):

    Thieves Guild:

    • Hard Answers is perfect for roleplay. Sneaking inside a heavy guarded museum and extracting an artifact, that’s a Dae Hyanda’s job.
    • Summerset Shadows. It is essential to get the equipment needed.
    • Other essential rewards: Nightingale Blade, Chillrend.

    The Kagrumez Trials: This quest is essential to recover your primary target, the Dwarven Black Bow of Fate. You need to find 5 Kagrumez Gems in order to open the doors to your weapon, which you will use for yourself.

    Dawnguard Main Quest:

    • Almost at the end of the quest line, you will be able to recover the Ancient Falmer Cuirass
    • Auriel’s Shield: It is easy to miss this awesome shield. It is located in the Forgtotten Vale Forest and you need to find a Ruby Paragon and place it near the Paragon Platform.

    Dark Brotherhood: For the Marked for Death Shout and roleplaying and fulfilling the King Slayer nick name.

    Mage's College: This is optional. I wasn't planning on relying heavily on illusion spells, but the quest line has some interesting rewards.

    Other: Any quests where you must slay Giants, Dragons or cleanse camps/caves of bandits 

    Alchemy

    'Every Dae Hyanda knows basic alchemy to mix useful potions in battle' 

    Here I will write some recipes for useful potions. Combine 3 of the following ingredients:

    Resist Poison:

    Beehive Husk, Charred Skeever Hide, Falmer Ear, Garlic, Grass Pod, Mudcrab Chitin, Slaughterfish Egg, Thristle Branch, Troll Fat, Yellow Mountain Flower

    Fortify Health:  

    Bear Claws, Blue Mountain Flower, Boar Tusk, Giant's Toe, Glowing Mushroom, Hanging Moss, Wheat, Yellow Mountain Flower

    Regenerate Health:

    Emperor Parasol Moss, Garlic, Gleamblossom, Juniper Berries, Luna Moth Wing, Namira's Rot, Nordic Barnacle, Vampire Dust

    Potion of the Duelist (Fortify One-Handed + Restore Stamina)

    Bear Claws + Large Antlers + Rockwarbler Egg

    Potion of Endurance (Fortify Stamina + Restore Stamina

    Antlers + Torchbug Torax

    Potion of Immunity (Fortify Block + Resist Magic) (Thanks James for the recipe)

    Tundra Cotton + Bleeding Crown

    Potion of Prowess (Fortify Health + Fortify One-handed)

    Hanging Moss + Wheat + Canis Root 

    'A precise shot is all what a skilled Dae Hyanda needs to eliminate a target'

    Special Potions:

    I used the following specific potions from the guide by Vazgen. (Thanks for your awesome work!) They can be useful while fighting tougher creatures or bosses to boost important skills at one time.

    Vekel's Liquid Courage

    Charred Skeever Hide + Felsaad Tern Feathers (DB) + Honeycomb = Cure Disease + Fortify Light Armor + Restore Health + Restore Stamina

    Ranger's Fail Safe

    Charred Skeever Hide + Felsaad Tern Feathers (DB) + Beehive Husk = Cure Disease + Fortify Light Armor + Resist Poison + Restore Health

    Wall of High Rock

    Boar Tusk (DB) + Lavender + Tundra Cotton* = Fortify Block + Fortify Stamina + Resist Magic

    *can be substituted with Bleeding Crown

    Solitude's Last Stand

    Boar Tusk (DB) + Bear Claws + Honeycomb* = Fortify Block + Fortify Health + Restore Stamina

    *can be substituted with Pearl

    Final thoughts

    Wow, I absolutely loved this playthrough. I love how it turned out and how everything works great together. It really enfolds once the equipment is gathered together. Once thing I would add is enchanting because you won't find necklaces and rings with the needed boosts all the time, but the Dae Hyanda is an artifact hunter and eventually the right jewelry will come by her hands. I hope you enjoyed reading this character build as much as I enjoyed it playing and writing, and perhaps give it a run. Any feedback, questions, thoughts are greatly welcomed.     

    If you enjoyed reading this build please check out my other builds:

     

    Ning previously suffered from a bug that affects likes. Here's how many likes this build had prior to being affected. Just add the like from the tag below with what the counter currently reads to calculate the build's current total likes. 

    -Curse Never Dying

  • October 31, 2013

    Those first two pictures are neat, but not the reason why I liked it.

  • Member
    October 31, 2013

    Haha yeah, they are cool. Thanks dude!  Do you mind telling me what you liked?

  • Member
    October 31, 2013

    A well deserve +1, just two details. You kinda change gender through the build and you say Ancient Falmer Boots and Gauntlets when it looks like Linwe's Boots and Gauntlets. Other than that, good build.

  • October 31, 2013

    You've presented the character as female but you switch to male half way through the write up...

    "...He is a strong individualist...."

    "...He joins the Thieves Guild..."

    ...it's a little odd.

    This is a great looking build though and I love the equipment combo!

  • Member
    October 31, 2013

    Thanks for pointing it out! Both things I didn't do intentionally and I will change them. And thanks for the compliment :)

  • Member
    October 31, 2013

    Thanks for pointing it out. Celtic Wolf me told the same thing and I'm changing it right now.Thanks for the kind words, it's appreciated 

  • Member
    October 31, 2013
    That armor combo though... I love it lol. Great job overall, I was expecting just another Nightblade by your introduction :P
  • Member
    October 31, 2013

    Thanks :) it's apprecated! Originally I planned it to be a nightblade, but then I got Auriel's Shield and switched everything over :P and I liked the name so much,I couldn't come up with a different name xD

  • Member
    October 31, 2013

    Love the armor set. Wish I played on pc so my character would look that good. +1 from me.