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Character Build: The Telvanni Shield-Mage

Tags: #Character Build Mage  #Rank:Recognized  #Mage  #Aetherial  #Auriel  #Character Build Dunmer  #Ethereal  #Nelaf 
  • Member
    November 9, 2013

    The concept for this build revolves around Solstheim lore, the awesome potential of shields, and a rarely used archetype, which, when designed properly as you're about to witness, is probably just the most amount of fun you can have whilst experiencing the latest DLC, whilst frying and bashing Ash Spawn and tiny Rieklings half way to Hammerfell.

    So, to recap: Unique Shields, Solstheim, Telvanni Lore, and huge Fireballs. let's get started...

    Be sure to click play on the video here for a better reading experience.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wbbTlrv8hI

    The Telvanni Shield-Mage

    The Telvanni Shield Mage handles tomes with dark, ancient Telvanni knowledge of offensive spells and incantations, mixed with a handful of brimstone and hellfire, and a huge shield to protect himself with. Hailing from the dusted lands of poverty-stricken dark-skinned elves, his shield in his lifeline, and his spells scatter his most fearful foes.

    *

    Race: Dunmer (Dark Elf)
    Stone: Apprentice, then Mage or Lord (Preferably Lord).
    Major Skills: Destruction, Block, Illusion.
    Minor Skills: Enchanting.
    Armor: Telvanni Robes & Shoes
    Weapons: Any Shield, and a fearsome Destruction spell of your choice.
    Shouts: Slow Time, Become Ethereal, Soul Tear, Marked for Death, Fire Breath.

    The Lore

    House Telvanni is one of the Great Houses of Morrowind. It governed the Telvanni District of eastern Morrowind from the island city of Port Telvannis, and administered the eastern portion of the Vvardenfell District from its council seat in Sadrith Mora. The house comprises mainly highly egocentric and ambitious mages, and is known to many as the house of the master wizard. Here, it was common to rise through the ranks by eliminating or otherwise 'indisposing' other members. Of the Telvanni lords, only Master Aryon of Tel Vos seemed able to look beyond the end of his own nose and at the concerns of other people; the rest wanted little more than to be left alone to their research and ambitions. The other members were similarly isolationist in outlook and did not intend to be presided over by any of the other institutions, predominantly the Guild of Mages.

    All of the Telvanni Councilors on Vvardenfell lived in great towers (which required levitation to ascend), with one leader in each of their main towns: Sadrith Mora, Tel Aruhn, Tel Vos, Tel Mora, and Tel Branora. None of the Telvanni towns were on the Silt Strider routes; the only transport available to them was by boat, except for Sadrith Mora itself. Being the only Telvanni town with a significant Imperial presence, it could be reached by Guild Guide from another Mages Guild to the nearby Imperial-controlled Wolverine Hall. On the mainland, House Telvanni lands included the fort of Firewatch, east of Tel Mora, and Port Telvannis, located on the islands to the northeast of the mainland which extend out into the Padomaic Ocean.

    The Telvanni suffered greatly during the Red Year in the early Fourth Era. All of the settlements on Vvardenfell were obliterated, but the Telvanni survived and attempted to rebuild. Morrowind was then invaded by the Argonians of Black Marsh, and in an act of revenge for centuries of slavery, the Argonians focused on wiping out the weakened House Telvanni. Circa 4E 6, the last remaining stronghold of the House was sacked by the Argonian invasion force and Great House Telvanni fell. It is documented that some survivors attempted to flee aboard The Pride of Tel Vos, a ship which was later found wrecked along the coast of Skyrim, east of Winterhold. By this account, a single heir of the house survived: Brandyl Tenvanni, son of Lymdrenn Tenvanni, who was found as an infant by Argonians. He grew up in Black Marsh under the name Brand-Shei. Brelyna Maryon is also a descendant of House Telvanni. The Telvanni mage lords still have holdings on Vvardenfell, although it is unknown what or where they are.

    The Build

    This guy uses a door to smack his opponents about with, before char-grilling their arses with an impressive array of hellish fire-based spells. The Telvanni Lore this character utilizes makes for deep, lore-enriched background, whilst taking back his homeland and rescuing his race from the deathly clutches of Miraak. Before sticking his arse on a barbecue too, along with the heaps of third-degree burn victims that went before.

    Now, without being able to poison a shield (Nice one Beth) we utilize a great collection of tactics to humiliate those that stand before us. I'll quickly recap the most impressive points about that huge obstruction you're clinging to, though:

    • Shields have the potential to block 80% of damage, before actually touching your AR.
    • Unique Shields, each with a unique beneficial enchantments, some of which include: Becoming Ethereal, Bleeding Damage, Magic Resistance, Large Attribute Boosts, and Sun Damage.
    • Can be used to interrupt shouts and forms of breath attacks when bashing, and are effective against Frostbite Spiders, Guardian Lurkers,  Deathlords, Centurions, and even Dragons. (Yes, Dragons, no need to go to the opticians).
    • They can disarm opponents. "We'll cut out the middle man, you just put those Pugilist Gloves on, eh?"
    • They can ward off magical attacks. Even those from Dragon Priests, Master Elementalists, and that bloody fire trap that keeps catching you off-guard in Irkngthand.
    • Can block physical attacks, such as spear traps, arrows, that hired thug with a massive enchanted warhammer, Khajiit claw damage,  among other annoying stuff.
    • They look awesome!

    So, what shield do I use?

    Here, I'll outline the best, most unique shields to help you overcome the toughest foes.

    Auriel's Shield:

    Auriel's Shield is a powerful shield allegedly created and used by the elven god Auri-El. It can be found wielded by a Falmer Warmonger in the Forgotten Vale Forest after using the Ruby Paragon on the paragon portal. After 5 successful blocks, the shield will start glowing and a shockwave can be released by power bashing, which becomes stronger with each 5 blocked attacks. After 15 blocked attacks, the shield is fully charged and the shockwave is almost exact to the effect of the Unrelenting Force shout.

    Stores the energy of blocked attacks. Performing a power bash will release the stored energy.

    Aetherial Shield:

    The Aetherial Shield is made at the Aetherium Forge as one of three possible rewards for Lost to the Ages Quest. It turns enemies ethereal for 15 seconds when bashed so they cannot be harmed or harm you. To make the Aetherial Shield, you must have (in addition to the Aetherium Crest):

     4 Dwarven Metal Ingots
        2 Refined Malachite

    Enemies struck by this shield become ethereal for 15 seconds, making them unable to attack or be attacked.

    Spellbreaker:

    Spellbreaker creates a Ward when actively blocking that functions identically to any Ward spell found in the school of Restoration. It negates up to 50 points of magical damage, be it inflicted instantly or cumulatively over time (being subjected to a spell like Frostbite or Flames will eventually break the Ward). The Ward is reset every time the shield is raised, and the shield doesn't need to be recharged with Soul Gems. It can be improved with dwarven metal ingots.

    While blocking, creates a ward that protects against spells for up to 50 points.

    Dawnguard Rune Shield:

    The Dawnguard Rune Shield is a unique piece of light armor and is aesthetically based on the Dawnguard Shield of the same faction.

    +10 Bash damage against vampires, and sustained blocking creates a minor sun shield doing 10 points of damage while draining the wielder's stamina.

    The Shield of Solitude:

    The Shield of Solitude is a unique, leveled Solitude Guard's Shield. It grants magic resistance that scale from 10% (level 1-17) to 30% (level 40+). It also increases the blocked damage from  15% (level 1-17)  to 35% (level 40+).

    Increases magic resistance by 30%. Blocks 35% more damage.

    Shield of Ysgramor:

    The Shield of Ysgramor is a unique heavy shield found in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This shield was once wielded by the legendary Atmoran warrior and leader of the Five Hundred Companions, Ysgramor. It is acquired by completing The Companions Questline.

    Increases Magic Resistance by 20%. Increases Health by 20 Points.

    Targe of the Blooded:

    The Targe's appearance is that of a basic wooden shield adorned with large spikes and studs. While this shield does not carry any magical enchantments, the spikes on the shield inflict a wound, when bashed, which bleeds for five seconds. Contrary to popular belief, the bleeding damage does stack. This shield is among the most offensive in the game, as its primary purpose is to deal damage, as it's a rather weak shield compared to others. The Targe of the Blooded is carried by a hostile Redguard named Umana in the Dwemer Ruin of Alftand

    When bashing, does 3 points of bleeding damage for 5 seconds.

    *

    Recommended Quests:

    Dragonborn DLC Storyline

    College of Winterhold (For mage's gear rewarded for certain quests, and becoming Arch-Mage)

    Dragonborn DLC Side Quests (Including Served Cold, A New Debt, From the Ashes, and a Lost Legacy)

    Destroy the Dark Brotherhood (Optional, recommended for the 'Marked for Death' Shout)

    Main Questline (Optional, but recommended for leveling purposes and more questlines)

    Dawnguard Questline (Optional, but recommended for Auriel's Shield)

    *

    Stats

    3/2/2

    Level 50 Perk Placement:

    Destruction and Block are the build's bread and butter. Enchanting is used to bind your early level shields with useful enchantments. I perked Extra Effect in case you gain it without having  found any of the above listed shields. Your endgame offense should ideally be Fire Storm and one of the listed shields of your choice. I was using Aetherial Shield purely on the basis that I could quickly ready the correct spell without being  surprised and splattered by a Deathlord I didn't see.

    Illusion is a brilliant side-line to the build, and switches it up from Destruction. Invisibility was a great asset on my run-through, so I perked it heavily, to gain the best spells from what was available. Among being able to avoid some sticky situations, it works brilliantly in conjunction with a shield for some truly awesome combos!

    Endgame Equipment

    Telvanni Robes (+75% Magicka Regen.) + Shoes

    Auriel's/Aetherial's Shield, Spellbreaker, Targe, or the Shield of Solitude. (Listed Enchants)

    Ring of Recovery (+100% Magicka Regen. Rate) OR Ring of Peerles Magicka (+70 Magicka)

    Necklace of Nullification (22% Magicka Resistance) OR Necklace of Peerless Destruction (+25%).

    Overpowering the Overpowered

    Struggling in Apocrypha? Arkngthamd? Killing a Dragon Priest? Alduin? Miraak?....Harkon?
    These probably sound familiar. Probably because you were at it for a couple of hours, and went through six keyboards. My time to shine! Which brings me onto my next topic....

    Aetherial Terror

    I actually discovered this by complete accident. When you have perked 'Disarming Bash' and have the Aetherial Shield equipped, when power bashing an opponent, they drop their weapon and run away from it.

    Execution: Aetherial Shield Power Bash + Disarming Bash Perk.

    Harkon's Nemesis

    I actually used this on Harkon, and defeated him extremely easily. Make yourself a Dunmeri inferno, and have yourself a Mistwalker barbecue. Works on all vampires. Makes clearing Castle Volkihar a laugh.

    Execution: Ancestor's Wrath + Fire Breath Shout + Dual Cast Fire Storm (Or Fire Storm + Dawnguard Rune Shield Power Bash).

    I hope you greatly enjoy this build. It gave me nothing but joy to write it, and to play it. When playing the entire build in Solstheim it really captures the hauntingly beautiful visage of a tormented land.
    I hope you've enjoyed reading this build, as have I. It was a great way to re-emerge myself in the crazed obsession that is The Character Building Group here.

    Thanks!

  • Member
    November 9, 2013

    1. Tags are messed up. Use quotation marks

    2. Dawnguard Rune Shield found on the roof of Castle Dawnguard? 

    3. Remove the citation from lore section. I'm talking about [2]

    Other than that, nice one! +1 

  • Member
    November 9, 2013

    1: Fixed, I think

    2: The Dawnguard Shield is found on the roof, not the Rune one. Removed.

    3: Also removed.

    Thanks, Vaz!

  • Member
    November 9, 2013

    Nice work, Nelaf. Enchanting doesn't really seem necessary here; I know it's convenient, but it might be a more interesting build if he has to find his own gear from start to end, rather than enchant it himself. It wouldn't hurt to elaborate a bit more on Illusion; you perk it pretty heavily but hardly mention how it comes into play.

    Apart from Fire Storm, I think fire runes and walls could also be really effective with this build, not to mention the classic Ignite. The latter would pair especially well with Ancestor's Wrath and the Targe, for three different sources of DOT.

    Does that Aetherial Terror special move work every single time, or is it bound by Disarming Bash's chance to proc? Because if it's the former, that's a really impressive move. Good on you for discovering it. If it's the latter, maybe make it a bit more clear so people aren't disappointed when they give it a shot and it only works once every few tries.

  • Member
    November 9, 2013

    Works everytime, as far as I've tested. (Level 53)

    Will work on fleshing the perks section out, I accidentally skipped over it half way through posting, and forgot to circle back to it.

    Thanks Teccam.

  • November 9, 2013
    Good stuff here Nelaf. Reading through the build I'm surprised what unique effects various shields have. +1
  • Member
    November 10, 2013

    Really nice build with this one Nelaf. I ran a similar build. focusing on Board and Staff, as Compared to Sword on Board. Might bring it to CB group sometime,  though this one is rather unique in that it focuses on all the different shields.

    +1

  • Member
    November 10, 2013

    Very cool Nelaf! +1 and another on my to do list...

  • Member
    November 10, 2013

    This is amazing, I'm definitely going to try this at some point. It seems a little squishy for the early game. A few well-placed arrows or a Bandit Chief could probably take you down quickly, as your only defense is your range, shields, and roughly 30AR + maybe 20% damage reduction. Any advice on early game goals?

    +1 from me!

  • Member
    November 10, 2013
    Reminds me of the Telvanni Stafflord, except with shields. This is very good Nelaf!