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Event Build: The Hero of Kvatch

Tags: #Character Build Warrior  #Character Build Bound Weapons  #Character Build Hero  #Race:Imperial  #Rank:Event Legendary  #Hall of Fame Build  #Event:Resurrection  #Phil  #TwistedOrthrusBuild 
  • Member
    March 31, 2014

    The Hero of Kvatch

    By Twisted Orthrus and Phil

    During the Oblivion crisis of 3E 433 the city of Kvatch became the first casualty of Mehrunes Dagon's daedric invasion. It was only through the actions and leadership of one man that anybody survived at all to keep hope alive. That man was Savlian Matius, the true Hero of Kvatch.

    Yet despite his victory against the daedra, we are left with the impression that breaking the siege of Kvatch also broke something within the man. With most of his men dead, he arrives at the keep too late to save the count. With a breaking voice and the words "I'm tired of fighting" Savlian gives the player his enchanted cuirass and leaves us with the sense that he has changed since we first met him.

    This resurrection build explores these changes to Savlian's character, addressing themes of bitterness and regret. What if he secretly resents the Champion of Cyrodiil for taking all the glory for lifting the siege of Kvatch? What if he regrets not entering the Oblivion Gate outside the city gates? If he could do things over again what would he do differently?

    Brought back from the dead 200 years later Savlian Matius gets another chance...

     

    The Build

     

    Race: Imperial

    Standing Stone: The Lord

    Major Skills: Block, Conjuration, One Handed

    Minor Skills: Archery, Light Armour and Enchanting

    Equipment: Shield of Solitude, Winterhold Guard Armour, Stormcloak Officer's Boots, Ulfric's Bracers, Amulet of Stendarr

    Weapons: Bound Sword, Bound Bow and an enchanted Silver Sword

    Shouts: Become Ethereal and Unrelenting Force

     

     

     

    Block: The primary means of defense, The Hero of Kvatch uses the level 25 Shield of Solitude. It's wolf's head motif reminds Savlian of his Kvatch shield and at this level, when used in conjunction with a Blessing and Amulet of Stendarr, means only a single perk is needed in Shield Wall to hit the block cap. 

     

     

    Conjuration: Conjuration takes precedence in the build which is reflected in it's heavy investment. The bound weapon line has great synergy with the build, with the powerful weaponry, soul stealing and Daedra banishing abilities one would expect. By taking dual casting it also allows us to either banish or control high level Daedra leaving none of them safe from Savlian's vengeance.

     

     

     

    One Handed: Savlian Matius remains the same master swordsman he was in the third era. However his experience fighting Daedra and his unswerving quest for vengeance against the demons who sacked his city have led him down a slightly darker path. The bound swords with their summon-controlling and soul trapping powers reflect this. Savlian also carries an enchanted silver sword - his weapon of choice 200 years ago - for when the situation calls for a more traditional approach.

     

     

     

    Archery: A fitting support skill for a former guard captain, Savlian has nevertheless turned this art into another means of sending fiends back to hell. Using the bound bow, The Hero of Kvatch can turn undead and banish summoned enemies from afar while still dishing out significant amounts of damage. Used primarily as back up while his own summons distract an enemy, this skill is essential when in danger of being overwhelmed.

     

     

     

     

    Enchanting: Enchanting is only perked along the armor line as Savlian's primary weapon cannot be enchanted. Extra effect is crucial in ensuring the build stays viable at higher levels. Savlian can recreate his cuirass with defensive enchantments such as fortify light armor, which along with the Shield of Solitude, helps to make up for his low armor rating.

     

     

     

     

    Light Armour: Light armor is left at a very low level in this build because of using low level gear without a full set of armor. This leaves Savlian vulnerable and forced to rely more heavily on resurrected allies to tank damage for him, along with heavy investment in the block tree to ensure his survival.

     

    Level 48 Perk Spread

    Gameplay

    The Hero of Kvatch has the combat approach of thetraditional sword and board style but by focusing on necromancy, Savlian is able to ensure he is never outnumbered in combat. On top of this, he is able to gain the benefits of the atromancy line with no investment: when summoned atronachs are taken control of, any applicable perks that the summoner had that improved the atronach will carry over when Savlian takes control.

    Able to take quite a bit of punishment thanks to the Block skill, the magic resistance granted by this shield combined with the Agent of Mara passive bonus, The Lord Stone and the Elemental Resistance perk allows Savlian to survive the very fires of Oblivion itself. 

    Savlian must still occasionally make a tactical withdrawal, though, by using the Become Ethereal Shout. This repositioning tactic while the enemy is concentrating on the summoned helper allows ranged attacks to be brought to bear.

    However, the fun really starts when facing enemy summons and casters as this is where this build's focus on daedric-domination comes into play. Draugr Scourges, Briarheart mages, Conjurors, Necromancers and Dragon Priests are all weaker against Savlian's Daedra dominating spells of Control Daedra, Banish Daedra and Bound Sword. In fact, even within their own realm of Apocrypha Hermaeous Mora's Seeker servants are not safe: a dual cast Expel Daedra spell will cause them to flee and ignore any attacks.

    Lastly, using money made from selling enchanted items means Savlian always has the means to buy healing potions and training if things get too rough.

     

     

    Roleplay

    When resurrecting Savlian, we were not content to approach his resurrection as an opportunity to recreate the exact same man who existed in third era Cyrodill. After breaking the siege of Kvatch, it is clear that something had changed within Savlian, and this is what we wanted to focus in on in the build...

    Savlian was always an honorable and just man, and we wanted to reflect this in the build. Savlian plays the role of the hero, helping whoever he can, taking a tough stand against crime and doing everything he can to make the world a better place.

    However, what happened during the Oblivion crisis also had a marked effect on his character. Having the Champion of Cyrodill take all the credit for saving Kvatch broke something in Savlian. After rescuing civilians and leading an assault to rescue civilians trapped in Kvatch, he received next to no credit. With the small amount of men he had it was all he could do to hold the road until help arrived. However none of this mattered once the Champion of Cyrodill arrived, taking all the glory for saving the city and leaving Savlian in the shadow of his ruined city.

    Because of this, Savlian has developed a hero-complex in his new life. Savlian is still a fair and just man, doing all he can to be selfless and honorable, but when he encounters others who want to do the same, something dark sets in. Murdering traveling mercenaries and adventurers so that he can always be the hero adds an interesting, dark twist to a character who had been so courageous and noble in his former life.

     

     

    Recommended Quests

    Taking into account this new and slightly darker Savlian Matius, it was important that we establish this character's motivation. Bitter and slightly regretful, The Hero of Kvatch has regained his fighting spirit and starts upon a crusade of vengeance against the Daedric Princes who's interference in mortal affairs is abominable in his eyes.

    The Black Star: A re-useable soul gem is too good to ignore on any enchanting build. Choosing to side with Nelacar over Azura fits the character better in our opinion.

    The Book of Love: A nice 15% boost to magic resistance to accompany The Lord Stone's 25% and The Shield of Solitude's 20 %.

    The Man Who Cried Wolf and The Wolf Queen Awakened: Make sure not to start the latter of these two before level 25 in order to get the shield reward at a comfortable level.

    Dragonborn Main Quest: Savlian's chance to finally enter the realm of Oblivion, a regret  from the Third Era for being unable to enter the Oblivion Gate.

    The Civil War: Ever loyal, Savlian's devotion in his attempt to rescue the Count of Kvatch proves his belief in the system. Fighting for the Empire allows this character theme to be explored.

    Pieces of the Past: Collecting all the pieces of Mehrunes' Razor, refusing to kill Silus Vesuius just to piss Dagon off before killing Silus anyway for being a disrespectful lunatic is so in keeping with this interpretation of Matius that this quest cannot be ignored.

     

    Tactics

    Oblivion Walker  In his crusade against the demonic horde and by using their own weapons against them, Savlian has learned a lot about the planes of Oblivion. When in danger of being overrun, The Hero of Kvatch can temporarily retreat between the realms to reposition, heal and continue the fight by using Become Ethereal like a self-effecting Mora's Grasp.

     

     

     

    Special Thanks: Vazgen for doing some console magic to check the Control Daedra spell, Matt Feeney for last minute feedback and for the screenshots, the artists for awesome pictures and, of course, Twisted Orthrus for being a great bloke to work with.

    And thank you for reading!

  • Member
    March 31, 2014
    Seekers are affected by Expel Daedra? :0 (you have a typo there). It's awesome Phil, haven't played Oblivion but you give the short overview and I can definitely see the fluency and fun of this playstyle. Great work guys!
  • Member
    March 31, 2014

    Good spot Vaz, thanks for the heads up. Fixed now  

    Yeah, dual casting Expel Daedra at a Seeker turns it into a complete pussy! They turn and "run" allowing you seemingly infinite free attacks. I've not had one retaliate on me yet

  • Member
    March 31, 2014
    Matius....The "Hero of Kvatch"?! Hah, that was me! I did all the work, he just helped. Or did he just takes the title himself cause he's pissed at the PC?)
  • Member
    March 31, 2014
    LOL :D Can they be commanded?
  • Member
    March 31, 2014

    Sadly not in Apocrypha, no. However, the Seekers summoned by Dragon Priests in Solstheim's tombs definitely can!

  • Member
    March 31, 2014

    Savlian deserves more credit! if not for him there'd have been no survivors and no Emperor to relight the Dragonfires

    But yes, we ran with the "pissed at the PC" theme as you put it

  • Member
    March 31, 2014
    What gear did you use?
  • Member
    March 31, 2014

    Winterhold Guard Armor for the pale Kvatch Cuirass, Stormcloak Officer's Boots because they look close to Chainmail, Ulfric's Bracers for the same reason and an Amulet of Stendarr.

    That said, basic Leather Boots works instead of Stormcloak Officers too.

  • March 31, 2014

    Good presentation, simple and clean, and I have always liked the summoner knight type of build. It's not very different of my Soul Knight and I know just how fun these builds are to play. I recommend this to anyone who is looking forward to making a new character and can't decide what build to pick, looks very versatile and fun

    +1