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Character Build: The Mad-God's Spider

Tags: #Character Build Dual-Wield  #Character Build Illusionist  #Character Build Alchemist  #Rank:Mythic  #Borom  #Character Build RP  #Padomaic 
  • Member
    March 15, 2014

     

    Build Theme

     

    The Spider

    Perhaps you once had a place at the feet of Madness. Were you a loyal worshiper, dedicated to the spread of insanity and chaos, wishing only for the boon of your patron? Or were you something much less assuming, dwelling quietly on a silken web in the Palagius Wing of the Blue Palace? In any case, something about you caught the attention of Sheogorath himself and held it long enough that he decided...well, something. Was it to make you crazier? Or did you just need a better form to sow your chaos? The details are blurred now. All you know is finding yourself among snowy mountains and the sounds of a struggle. When you next encounter people (have they gotten smaller?) you don't hesitate to pounce, even unarmed, consumed by the instinct to trap, poison...and feed. It isn't until you are bound and in the back of the wagon that some semblance of understanding forms in your mind.

    The Build

    The idea behind this build came from the Wabbajack. In a mortal's hands it's one thing. In Sheogorath's, it's something else entirely. Turning a lowly spider into a humanoid (or whatever it was he did to you) is child's play. The gameplay is meant to emulate the erratic, disturbing movement of the spider and employ the natural fear it causes so many people, even more so in Skyrim where they can be a very real threat. You are meant to be wily, quick, difficult to touch and able to incapacitate or finish an enemy in one or two dizzying flurries of movement. And, of course, a little crazy.

    Race: I suggest Breton or Kahjiit, being the only races with more than one bonus in the required skills. As always, though, any race can play the build. I advise against Dunmer, as Sheogorath is not looked upon kindly in their pantheon, but anything can be justified.

    Stone: Start with the Thief Stone for leveling, followed by the Serpent Stone whenever comfortable.

    Primary Skills: One Handed, Light Armor, Alchemy, Illusion

    Secondary Skills: Alteration, Restoration, Enchanting, Destruction

    Key Shouts: Marked for Death, Drain Vitality, Throw Voice, Slow Time, Whirlwind Sprint, Frost Breath

    Key Spells: Ash Shell, Ash Rune, Fury, Calm, Frenzy, Frenzy Rune, Mind Control Spiders

    Black Book Abilities- Dragonborn Frost, Bardic Knowledge, Seeker of Stealth

    Attribute Spread2/1/2

    Weapons and Equipment

    Weapons:

    As the Spider, your weapons are your method of taking sustenance (health) from targets. Ideally, a pair of Absorb Health enchantments will do this nicely, but a combination of other Absorb enchantments works as well, tailored to whatever attribute you find yourself burning the most. Take full advantage of poisons by applying them to both wielded weapons.

     

     

    Mandibles- Twin maces serving as crushing implements, reducing prey to a more manageable form. That is to say, dead. As the highest damage class of One Handed weapons, tempering shouldn't be too necessary. Give smithing priority to armor.

     

     

    Fangs- Bypass the often armored exterior altogether by piercing the enemy's shell with honed knives. Because they do less damage and the build has no focus on Smithing, it's important to keep these updated with a leveled set and as tempered as possible. These may be worth using a "Blacksmith's ____" potion to keep sharp.

     

     

     

     

    Equipment:

    Exoskeleton: Take hard, full-body light armor. You are squishy on the inside, your only survivability coming from this armor, your agility, and life stealing enchantments. For further roleplay immersion, settle on Chitin armor. You'll feel more comfortable in something that looks like an exoskeleton. Other suggestions might be: Glass, Stalhrim, Royal Vampire or Nightingale. Enchant your helmet with an Illusion or Alteration boost, and your chest piece to fortify your Magika or Stamina regeneration. Your bracers will be best served with a One Handed enchantment,  due to your limited smithing. Boots can be enchanted with Stamina regeneration or Muffle. It's easier to place the enchantments yourself than find them, and your favor with a Daedric Prince means no excuses.

    Ornaments:

     

     

    One Ring each of Alchemy and Illusion; leave the Alchemy ring near your go-to Laboratory

     

     

     

    http://tamrielvault.com/public/album_photo/68/1c/02/2184e_cd28.png?c=c3bb

     

     

    One Amulet each of Alchemy and Illusion or Magika regeneration; again, leave your Alchemy necklace behind while you adventure

     

     

     

     

    Gameplay

    Progressing: Pursue training for destruction, as it's main purpose is the Rune Master perk. Take every opportunity to level Enchanting, and complete Azura's Star for the Black Star as early as possible. Likewise, early potion making and Alchemy training are your friends. Sinderion's Serendipity is a useful passive, if you don't mind devoting some time to Black Reach. Your other skills can level naturally. While the Dragonborn DLC questline is recommended for level 20 and higher, you only need to delve far enough into the questline to gain access to Talvas Fathryon as a merchant. Note also that the needed spells (Ash Shell/Rune, Poison Rune) will likely be unavailable until you have reached the relevant skill level. That'll be upwards of level 65 Alteration, and level 40 Restoration. These requirements make the Mage's College an even more attractive leveling venue. You'll eventually need to get the Black Books as well, but you won't be hampered if you wait until level 20 to go for them. Other important resources on Solstheim are the Albino Spiders and the Imbuing Chamber (More on that in the next section) and Chitin armor.

    There are a couple of ways to get the Absorb Health enchantment if you don't want to wait for a random weapon. Beginning the Dark Brotherhood questline and attacking Astrid allows you to loot the Blade of Woe from her, or you can progress through the Mage's College questline until you are sent to Labryinthian, where you will find draugr armed with the Drainblood battleaxe. Either of these can be disenchanted. It might be helpful to go with the Mage's College as they have trainers and spells readily available.

    Combat: Despite what you might expect, sneaking is completely optional in this build. A muffle enchantment will allow a low-Sneak character to close with the enemy undetected reasonably well, eventually improving Sneak to an ideal level. Whether you sneak or not can be dictated mostly by how you prefer to play. When the fighting starts, open combat with Shouts or spells that give you control of the battlefield. Throw Voice is extremely useful as reconnaissance, as it gather enemies together in easy view. It's also a helpful opener due to its short recharge time. Using it, you can draw enemies on to a placed rune, or throw one into their midst, and follow up with a new shout like Whirlwind Sprint to close the distance, or Slow Time to give you an edge in agility.  Alternatively, Calm those you can and then weed out the tougher enemies with a Black Book enhanced Frost Breath, Ash Shell or Rune. Bardic Knowledge and armor enchantments will give your character the stamina to rain down power attacks on the enemy, while weapon enchantments mitigate damage.

    By hoarding weak soul gems, you can also use the Imbuing Chamber in White Ridge Sanctum to craft Mind Control Spiders. They require Albino Spider Pods and Soul Gems(any quality, no soul required), and you can employ as many as six at a time. Like the Serpent Stone's paralyze effect, these Spiders aren't influenced by level cap, turning almost any enemy to your side for a time. They are a finite resource, though. Unlike the other spiders, three is the maximum each batch will produce, and there is only one respawning Spider Pod on Solstheim, producing a new one approximately every ten days. Luckily, there is a glitch that can reproduce the pods (or, more simply, the scrolls themselves) if you burn through them too quickly. I recommend using this sparingly. 

    Possible lvl25 Perk Spread: http://www.skyrimcalculator.com/359983

    Venom/Combos

    Neurotoxin: Canis Root+Imp Stool+Orange Dartwing Effect: Lingering Damage Health+Paralyze

    Digestive Enzyme: Giant Lichen+Death Bell+Skeever Tail Effect: Damage Health+Ravage Health+Weakness to Poison

     Mixed Messages- Do you want the enemy's mind dulled to the point of lethargy, or bent until they can't distinguish friend from foe? Why not both? Cause dissension among your foes, and when the ranks have been thinned, calm so they submit willingly to your blade. Perhaps more entertaining, if more time consuming, is to Frenzy one half of a group of enemies, and Calm the others for as long as possible while their friends destroy them. Any variant of Frenzy+Calm

     

     

    Tenderize- Take advantage of the unnatural abilities of movement provided by your arachnid essence. To your enemies, you will be too fast to follow, let alone touch. To further reduce incoming attacks, coat your maces in a damaging neurotoxin that will drop adversaries like wooden planks, leaving them wide open. What health you may have lost can be recovered at your leisure as it is sucked through your weapons. Substitute knives for maces and the ability becomes Perforate, sacrificing minimal reach and damage for increased speed. Reapply your venom as needed. Slow Time+Neurotoxin/Enzyme+Absorb Health(Dual maces or daggers)

     

    Spectacle of Venom- Especially satisfying with groups, use the power of deceit to misdirect enemies, maneuvering them into place before striking with an array of life draining powers. Watch them fall, muscles spasming before their eyes. Should they catch wind of your position, retaliate with more poison and paralysis, and finish by stealing their very life essence. Throw Voice+Poison Rune+Nightingale Subterfuge+Serpent Stone

     

     

    Marching Feast- Force your enemies to become unwilling dinner guests at a feast of your own making. Invite half the guests to sit, trapping them in ash cocoons, and let them watch as you decimate their comrades with tireless efficiency, motivated by rhythmic drum accompaniment. Throw Voice+Ash Rune+Bardic Knowledge+Tenderize/Perforate

     

     

     

    Atrophy- When dividing and conquering, step one is removing enemies from the equation in order to focus on the most pressing threat. But there's no need for those enemies to be as dangerous when you come back to them. Lock them down after giving them a dose of poison, and leave them to shrivel and weaken as the battle goes on. Poison Rune+Ice Form

     

     

    Roleplay

    To play this Mad Spider, try to avoid any kind of bias toward any one group or person. Help someone along with their quest/agenda, then turn around and do the opposite when they least expect it. Shrug off grievous insult, take offense at the little things. Avoid public places where possible, and be more active when there are fewer people around. This would tie in to the anxiousness of having a new mind/body. Whether it's a spider turned into a humanoid, or just someone whose mind has been scrambled, they probably feel exposed, but powerful. Not long ago, people would have been a huge danger, and that fear could still be there. Now, though, almost nothing is a real threat, so there'd be some confusion there, too. Don't go on crazy murder sprees or anything like that, but maybe wander bald-facedly into bandit caves and camps. At the same time, serve your instincts: hunt, ensnare...play with your food. Do buy a home; lairs are great, but don't furnish it too much. Leave plenty of spiderwebs and dark spaces. There are a few places, like Anise's Cabin near Riverwood, that offer suitably dismal living space. Do not take followers; people may accompany you for specific quests, believing you are the only one capable of helping them, but no one would willing follow someone so clearly insane.

    Important Quests: Thieves Guild, Dragonborn, Black Books

    Roleplay alternatives:

    You serve not Sheogorath, but Mephala, the Spinner. As a devoted follower, you know of the rumored connection between Mephala and the Night Mother, and so take to the Dark Brotherhood with particular enthusiasm. No particular need to roleplay insanity in this case. If Mephala interests you, then Dunmer also becomes an appropriate race choice.

    Treat the Pelagius Wing of the Blue Palace as your starting point, going there as quickly as possible and "beginning" your adventure from there.

    Consider Daedric Princes with psychological domains as uneasy allies, or better yet, rivals. Can you disrupt their agenda? Turn their boons to the cause of your patron?

    Hope you enjoy, folks. Suggestions and critiques welcome!

    Credit: Curse Never Dying for cluing me in on the item duplication glitch.

     

    Ning has experienced an issue that affects the number of likes displayed on a build. Here's how many likes this build had before being affected. 

    -Curse Never Dying

     

     

     

     

  • Member
    March 15, 2014
    Nice build Thiago! I really like this idea, been a couple of wonderful builds today, hopefully I can add to that! Easy +1
  • Member
    March 15, 2014

    Wow......... I could have never come up with something like this......this is simply brilliant well done. The originality of this blew me away. This mad spider would make a great villain for a quest line or a future TES game. I love this and if this build does not make it to at least exemplar or mythic it would be a great shame. Awesome job!  Time to make yet another character!

  • March 15, 2014

    Wow, this is just what I was looking for. I've been needing a reason to get back into alchemy!

  • Member
    March 15, 2014

    Spiderman... Spiderman.. 

  • Member
    March 15, 2014

    This build is great

  • Member
    March 15, 2014

    I really appreciate the feedback and encouragement guys. I'm just glad to have it posted so I can start play-testing the next one!

    @Miraak Yeah, lacking a few spells to let him do whatever a spider can XD.

  • March 16, 2014

    This is great on many levels. The combos are well thought out, and if you had panned on going with the creepy vibe for this, you've certainly hit the nail on the head. Good work. 

  • Member
    March 16, 2014

    Wow, really nice build you have here! Not everyday do we see a build as twisted and original as this. And I like the presentation, too. I hope you make more builds in the coming days. +1 from me. 

  • Member
    March 16, 2014

    @ Curse

    Thanks a lot! Creepy was certainly part of the mindset, so I'm glad that came across.

    @Lazy Rocktime

    Much appreciated! I started the playtest for a new build today, so hopefully before too long there'll be another.