Build Theme
Original Art by Vance Kovacs
Once a Vigilant of Stendarr, an exemplary warrior, the Grim is now everything it hates. Left with only its ideals to hold onto, its return to Skyrim is a dark omen of inevitability.
During an excursion to Skyrim, you are attacked and abducted by cultists. What first appeared to be a great misfortune turned out to be much worse as the cultists revealed themselves to be a collection of vampires and lycanthropes in a self proclaimed war against followers of Stendarr. Years of practice have made them skilled at their art. There's no knowing how long you suffered at their hands.
You thanked the Divines when at last it seemed that they had had their fun and would finish you, but the worst was still to come. Instead of simply ending you, the werewolves turned you. Only then did the vampires kill you...and bind your soul to your cold, dead body. They left you in that state, beneath a full moon. Your last conscious thought that night was to use this curse against them and to become a curse and a scourge to all the daedric abominations of Tamriel. You flee Skyrim and begin your work. Whether it's been days, years or decades, time has marched on since your capture, torture, and murder in Skyrim. Over time, it appears Stendarr has indeed had mercy on you for your eternal devotion, and given you a stewardship from his quiet brother, Arkay: to sense when mortal lives must end and reap their souls for the afterlife. Your travels have brought you back to Skyrim, where it all began. The work must go on. *This build uses content from Dawnguard, but can be played without it with minimal impact*
The Build
The aim of the build is to be an avatar of fear on the battlefield, sweeping enemies before you, and claiming the souls of those "marked" for you by Stendarr. A surprisingly amicable character with a different perspective of what it means to serve the God of Mercy, the Grim seemingly goes where the wind takes them, changing lives...and taking them. The final perk spread given achieves the Grim's functionality very tightly, but by choosing one particular axe material to stick with, several Smithing perks can be saved to enhance other skills.
Race: Imperial and Breton are the most fitting races for roleplay, while the Altmer have the most starting bonuses for the Grim's key skills. Bretons also start with Conjure Familiar, a useful leveling tool and companion in a pinch. Lycanthropy will, of course, be essential.
Stone: Early leveling can be done with the Warrior Stone. Frequent use of flesh spells will make the Mage stone less important for leveling. Eventually take the Shadow Stone.
Primary Skills: Two Handed, Alteration, Illusion, Enchanting
Secondary Skills: Destruction, Smithing
Key Spells: ____flesh, Detect Life, Detect Dead, Calm->Harmony, Frost Cloak
Key Shouts: Soul Tear, Slow Time, Ice Form, Marked For Death, Ice Breath, Become Ethereal, Dismay
Attribute Spread: 2/1/2
Possible Level 25 Perk Spread
Weapons and Equipment
Weapons:
Your only physical weapon is your Axe of Harvesting, which will likely have many incarnations throughout the game. The most fitting choices are single-headed battleaxes; avoid Steel and Stalhrim. The Dwarven battleaxe also lacks the character of the Grim, in my opinion, but the choice is yours. Your primary enchantment will be Frost damage or Absorb Stamina, while your secondary will be Soul Trap.
Equipment:
Black Robes of Illusion and Alteration- You'll find black robes throughout the game, in shops and as loot. Our preferred hooded black robes can be looted from Malyn Varen during the Azura's Star quest(important for the character anyway), or Logrolf the Willful during House of Horrors. Early game, Necromancer robes with any Fortify Magicka hood serve just fine.
Amulet of Illusion and Destruction- Until you can dual-enchant, simply carry one or both amulets with these enchantments to use as circumstance requires.
Ring of Hircine- You've taken the curse of lycanthropy and made it work for you. You have complete control over your transformations.
Gameplay
Progressing:Your first quest priority should be the Companions, in order to acquire and begin leveling the Werewolf as soon as possible. Following that, travel to Falkreath and begin Ill Met by Moonlight in order to get the Ring of Hircine. Take Smithing training and leveling opportunities so you can make and maintain a well honed axe. Azura's Star should also be high on your quest list, as it gives you not only the replenishable soul gem, but characterful hooded black robes free of enchantment(which you will have to hold onto until you can enchant effectively).
No other quest lines are absolutely essential(though the Thieves Guild and Dawnguard offer the powers used in our special abilities). As the vast majority of quests have one death or another, there is reason for the Grim to be there. Consider important character deaths that might get the attention of the Divines, or the soul hungry Ideal Masters (more on that in the roleplay sections). Every major quest line includes high profile deaths. Your only concern is that you never serve the Daedra.
Combat: The most appropriate use of your Beast Form is to kill undead and deadra creations, which makes filling the perk tree difficult. Take advantage of the feed/Aura Whisper, or Soul Trap exploit in the link above if you want to level the Werewolf more "in character" and get the Savage Feeding perk first, eliminating the need for exploits.
Beast Form will be a huge asset against tougher enemies, with it's sprint attack, knockdown and ability to retain flesh spells. Take advantage of this to fortify your werewolf form with your best flesh spell before each transformation. Early in the game, before acquiring strong flesh spells, the werewolf will actually be your strongest armor. You can quickly find Oak and Stoneflesh with Lucan Valerius or Farengar Secret-Fire. Oakflesh can also be found in the barrow just outside Ivarstead.
Muffle or enchanted boots/shoes, together with the Shadow Stone make an excellent combination for starting combat without looking ungainly by sneaking around in robes with a battleaxe in your hands. Early game, don't hesitate to use hand and foot armor, as you won't have the benefit of Mage Armor. Take advantage of potions that buff Sneak. Frost Miriam and the purple Mountain Flower are the most common ingredients with that effect.
Ideally, get as close to enemies as you can while undetected, then strike hard. Against large groups, Calm leaders and put the weak links to the blade first, beginning by chasing down any archers or mages. A Frost Cloak will help you maintain a speed advantage over groups of melee enemies.
Abilities
Kiss of Death- Instant, unmitigated and massive damage with the potential to drop an enemy instantly. Also incredibly useful against tougher, higher level enemies, greatly reducing their effective health. Remember to use Soul Tear first, as the Grim is not a necromancer. Soul Tear+Nightingale Strife
Heart Attack- Another high damage opportunity, this is much more applicable as a finishing move for the final enemy or boss in a pack. As their heart seizes up in their chest, they collapse to the ground, easy prey for the harvesting blade. Paralysis+Nightingale Strife
Roleplay
The Grim refers to a folkloric death omen, a black dog seen by mortals before they die. It is, of course, a terrifying prospect. Use that terror. Stalk enemies in wolf form, perhaps just out of sight in the trees. Killing in wolf form should be reserved for daedra creations and undead, but it's not required. Do not use the Totem of the Moon, as Lycanthropy is a disease which you bear with shame, and do not condone in others.
As the immortal Grim, nothing is truly an inconvenience, not even grievous injury. Part of the inspiration for this build was a desire to play a character whose RP wouldn't be interrupted by a death. The enemy may have thought you defeated, but you reconstitute before their eyes and carry on your work.
If you have to make a kill in the open, there is no need to resist arrest; a few hours or days in jail don't mean much. Merchants and masters may offer to train you, at which you can smile and listen politely, as you probably perfected their art long ago. You may also find it immersive to use Clairvoyance to determine where Stendarr would have you go.
My personal story for the character revolves around this "stewardship" over the dead. Beginning with the two key werewolf questlines is appropriate for the deaths that surround them. The Grim believes that it was Stendarr's mercy that gave them this power and responsibility. In truth, it was a manipulation by the Ideal Masters. The reveal happens when the character is eventually led to the Soul Cairn, where they are either enslaved completely to the Masters' bidding, giving in to the monster they've become and serve willingly to continue bringing souls to the Cairn, or fight back against them. If choosing a negative outcome, summon Durnehviir only the three times needed to learn Soul Tear so he can't take advantage of any freedom from the Ideal Masters.
This character can move among any of the factions with relative ease, knowing who on which side is nearest death's door, so faction questlines and the Civil War are up to your discretion.
Note that as a "reaper" archetype, you are not necessarily killing mortals that "deserve it", but those whose time has come, meaning any kill(guilty or innocent) is yours to justify. Use Detect Life to "find" those people. It's very fitting, for example, to be at the bedside of Nurelion at the conclusion of the White Phial quest. Depending on if you choose to use the Ideal Master's story and side with them, you'll also want a healthy supply of Black Soul gems. These are best found in the Soul Cairn, on vampires/necromancers, or bought from the Winterhold College black market.
Roleplay Alternatives:
Treat the character as a former Knight of the Circle, a militant of Arkay. The only real difference is the deity reverenced, and the same deception as above can apply, OR maybe Arkay actually has given the Grim this stewardship (which makes more sense to come from the Divine of life and death). In that case, be very selective in using black soul gems, reserving them as punishment for particular enemies.
Thanks for reading!
Build Theme
Original Art by Vance Kovacs
Once a Vigilant of Stendarr, an exemplary warrior, the Grim is now everything it hates. Left with only its ideals to hold onto, its return to Skyrim is a dark omen of inevitability.
During an excursion to Skyrim, you are attacked and abducted by cultists. What first appeared to be a great misfortune turned out to be much worse as the cultists revealed themselves to be a collection of vampires and lycanthropes in a self proclaimed war against followers of Stendarr. Years of practice have made them skilled at their art. There's no knowing how long you suffered at their hands.
You thanked the Divines when at last it seemed that they had had their fun and would finish you, but the worst was still to come. Instead of simply ending you, the werewolves turned you. Only then did the vampires kill you...and bind your soul to your cold, dead body. They left you in that state, beneath a full moon. Your last conscious thought that night was to use this curse against them and to become a curse and a scourge to all the daedric abominations of Tamriel. You flee Skyrim and begin your work. Whether it's been days, years or decades, time has marched on since your capture, torture, and murder in Skyrim. Over time, it appears Stendarr has indeed had mercy on you for your eternal devotion, and given you a stewardship from his quiet brother, Arkay: to sense when mortal lives must end and reap their souls for the afterlife. Your travels have brought you back to Skyrim, where it all began. The work must go on. *This build uses content from Dawnguard, but can be played without it with minimal impact*
The Build
The aim of the build is to be an avatar of fear on the battlefield, sweeping enemies before you, and claiming the souls of those "marked" for you by Stendarr. A surprisingly amicable character with a different perspective of what it means to serve the God of Mercy, the Grim seemingly goes where the wind takes them, changing lives...and taking them. The final perk spread given achieves the Grim's functionality very tightly, but by choosing one particular axe material to stick with, several Smithing perks can be saved to enhance other skills.
Race: Imperial and Breton are the most fitting races for roleplay, while the Altmer have the most starting bonuses for the Grim's key skills. Bretons also start with Conjure Familiar, a useful leveling tool and companion in a pinch. Lycanthropy will, of course, be essential.
Stone: Early leveling can be done with the Warrior Stone. Frequent use of flesh spells will make the Mage stone less important for leveling. Eventually take the Shadow Stone.
Primary Skills: Two Handed, Alteration, Illusion, Enchanting
Secondary Skills: Destruction, Smithing
Key Spells: ____flesh, Detect Life, Detect Dead, Calm->Harmony, Frost Cloak
Key Shouts: Soul Tear, Slow Time, Ice Form, Marked For Death, Ice Breath, Become Ethereal, Dismay
Attribute Spread: 2/1/2
Possible Level 25 Perk Spread
Weapons and Equipment
Weapons:
Your only physical weapon is your Axe of Harvesting, which will likely have many incarnations throughout the game. The most fitting choices are single-headed battleaxes; avoid Steel and Stalhrim. The Dwarven battleaxe also lacks the character of the Grim, in my opinion, but the choice is yours. Your primary enchantment will be Frost damage or Absorb Stamina, while your secondary will be Soul Trap.
Equipment:
Black Robes of Illusion and Alteration- You'll find black robes throughout the game, in shops and as loot. Our preferred hooded black robes can be looted from Malyn Varen during the Azura's Star quest(important for the character anyway), or Logrolf the Willful during House of Horrors. Early game, Necromancer robes with any Fortify Magicka hood serve just fine.
Amulet of Illusion and Destruction- Until you can dual-enchant, simply carry one or both amulets with these enchantments to use as circumstance requires.
Ring of Hircine- You've taken the curse of lycanthropy and made it work for you. You have complete control over your transformations.
Gameplay
Progressing:Your first quest priority should be the Companions, in order to acquire and begin leveling the Werewolf as soon as possible. Following that, travel to Falkreath and begin Ill Met by Moonlight in order to get the Ring of Hircine. Take Smithing training and leveling opportunities so you can make and maintain a well honed axe. Azura's Star should also be high on your quest list, as it gives you not only the replenishable soul gem, but characterful hooded black robes free of enchantment(which you will have to hold onto until you can enchant effectively).
No other quest lines are absolutely essential(though the Thieves Guild and Dawnguard offer the powers used in our special abilities). As the vast majority of quests have one death or another, there is reason for the Grim to be there. Consider important character deaths that might get the attention of the Divines, or the soul hungry Ideal Masters (more on that in the roleplay sections). Every major quest line includes high profile deaths. Your only concern is that you never serve the Daedra.
Combat: The most appropriate use of your Beast Form is to kill undead and deadra creations, which makes filling the perk tree difficult. Take advantage of the feed/Aura Whisper, or Soul Trap exploit in the link above if you want to level the Werewolf more "in character" and get the Savage Feeding perk first, eliminating the need for exploits.
Beast Form will be a huge asset against tougher enemies, with it's sprint attack, knockdown and ability to retain flesh spells. Take advantage of this to fortify your werewolf form with your best flesh spell before each transformation. Early in the game, before acquiring strong flesh spells, the werewolf will actually be your strongest armor. You can quickly find Oak and Stoneflesh with Lucan Valerius or Farengar Secret-Fire. Oakflesh can also be found in the barrow just outside Ivarstead.
Muffle or enchanted boots/shoes, together with the Shadow Stone make an excellent combination for starting combat without looking ungainly by sneaking around in robes with a battleaxe in your hands. Early game, don't hesitate to use hand and foot armor, as you won't have the benefit of Mage Armor. Take advantage of potions that buff Sneak. Frost Miriam and the purple Mountain Flower are the most common ingredients with that effect.
Ideally, get as close to enemies as you can while undetected, then strike hard. Against large groups, Calm leaders and put the weak links to the blade first, beginning by chasing down any archers or mages. A Frost Cloak will help you maintain a speed advantage over groups of melee enemies.
Abilities
Kiss of Death- Instant, unmitigated and massive damage with the potential to drop an enemy instantly. Also incredibly useful against tougher, higher level enemies, greatly reducing their effective health. Remember to use Soul Tear first, as the Grim is not a necromancer. Soul Tear+Nightingale Strife
Heart Attack- Another high damage opportunity, this is much more applicable as a finishing move for the final enemy or boss in a pack. As their heart seizes up in their chest, they collapse to the ground, easy prey for the harvesting blade. Paralysis+Nightingale Strife
Roleplay
The Grim refers to a folkloric death omen, a black dog seen by mortals before they die. It is, of course, a terrifying prospect. Use that terror. Stalk enemies in wolf form, perhaps just out of sight in the trees. Killing in wolf form should be reserved for daedra creations and undead, but it's not required. Do not use the Totem of the Moon, as Lycanthropy is a disease which you bear with shame, and do not condone in others.
As the immortal Grim, nothing is truly an inconvenience, not even grievous injury. Part of the inspiration for this build was a desire to play a character whose RP wouldn't be interrupted by a death. The enemy may have thought you defeated, but you reconstitute before their eyes and carry on your work.
If you have to make a kill in the open, there is no need to resist arrest; a few hours or days in jail don't mean much. Merchants and masters may offer to train you, at which you can smile and listen politely, as you probably perfected their art long ago. You may also find it immersive to use Clairvoyance to determine where Stendarr would have you go.
My personal story for the character revolves around this "stewardship" over the dead. Beginning with the two key werewolf questlines is appropriate for the deaths that surround them. The Grim believes that it was Stendarr's mercy that gave them this power and responsibility. In truth, it was a manipulation by the Ideal Masters. The reveal happens when the character is eventually led to the Soul Cairn, where they are either enslaved completely to the Masters' bidding, giving in to the monster they've become and serve willingly to continue bringing souls to the Cairn, or fight back against them. If choosing a negative outcome, summon Durnehviir only the three times needed to learn Soul Tear so he can't take advantage of any freedom from the Ideal Masters.
This character can move among any of the factions with relative ease, knowing who on which side is nearest death's door, so faction questlines and the Civil War are up to your discretion.
Note that as a "reaper" archetype, you are not necessarily killing mortals that "deserve it", but those whose time has come, meaning any kill(guilty or innocent) is yours to justify. Use Detect Life to "find" those people. It's very fitting, for example, to be at the bedside of Nurelion at the conclusion of the White Phial quest. Depending on if you choose to use the Ideal Master's story and side with them, you'll also want a healthy supply of Black Soul gems. These are best found in the Soul Cairn, on vampires/necromancers, or bought from the Winterhold College black market.
Roleplay Alternatives:
Treat the character as a former Knight of the Circle, a militant of Arkay. The only real difference is the deity reverenced, and the same deception as above can apply, OR maybe Arkay actually has given the Grim this stewardship (which makes more sense to come from the Divine of life and death). In that case, be very selective in using black soul gems, reserving them as punishment for particular enemies.
Thanks for reading!
