The Imperial Demagogue
Fanning the Flames of War
The concept behind the Imperial Demagogue is one that combines direct action with manipulation to achieve your goals. What exactly the Demagogue's goals are remain a mystery, for he shares little about himself. His methods, however, are clear to anyone who has not yet fallen under his influence. Using a combination of Illusion spells, Destruction magic, and personal charm, the Demagogue has come to Skyrim to instigate, manipulate, and inflame the growing tensions into an outright war so that he can profit from it. When the Demagogue goes to war, the end result is often a scene of him striding through panicked crowds of warriors, laughing maniacally as he burns men to death while they try to flee.
The Demagogue differs from most Illusionists considerably. A typical Illusionist favors subtlety and stealth, avoiding direct conflict whenever possible. The Demagogue instead wields illusions as a direct weapon, using the school to inflict chaos as a precursor to burning his foes to ashes. His enemies definitely know that he's there, but can rarely act on this knowledge because of mind-bending fear and anger.
Race: Obviously, this build is intended for an Imperial, though this is largely a roleplaying choice. The Imperial's racial power and bonus to Destruction magic is fitting with the class build, but any race could be used with this playstyle.
Stone: Because this build primarily uses magic, I recommend the Mage Stone. Because you dabble in other skills as well, the Lover Stone also works, and when you feel as though you've leveled your skills sufficiently, the Lord Stone or Lady Stone can help keep you alive. Should you decide to seek vampirism, I strongly recommend the Lady Stone as your end-game standing stone in order to mitigate the sunlight vulnerability.
Stats: 3/2/0. You need health slightly more than typical mages, because your tactics make it surprisingly easy to get into trouble. Most of your magic items will be enchanted to boost magicka to mitigate any possible shortages.
Spells and Equipment: Your primary weapons are fear, anger, and fire. Learn the appropriate spells as you level, and find mage's robes that bolster whichever of your two schools, Illusion and Destruction, you find yourself using most. A sword enchanted with fire serves well as a backup weapon, but remember that if you have to cross blades with a foe, something has gone very wrong.
Your first line of defense is complete and utter chaos, but a shield serves well as a secondary means of defense, and still allows you to throw fear-inducing illusions at whichever enemies break through the chaos to come attack you. Spellbreaker is the best choice at low levels. However, when facing more powerful mages, the stagger effect from Spellbreaker's ward being broken can get you killed, so at this point, hang it up in your home and enchant some items with magic resistance instead. Your headgear of choice should be the Diadem of the Savant, which can be acquired fairly easily and is a very powerful item for any mage. Rings and amulets can be carried in larger numbers, and be used for whichever effects you currently need, from elemental resistances to carry weight fortification.
Shouts: Your powers as Dragonborn only serve to prove what you already knew: Words cut deeper than blades. Most of the shouts you use will be ones with similar effects to your preferred spells, with Bend Will, Dismay, and Fire Breath being your primary choices. Disarm is another useful choice, particularly against enemies resistant to your preferred spells. Become Ethereal should be held in reserve as a means of escaping if things get out of control.
Skills
Destruction: Your primary means of dealing direct damage. Take the perks to reduce spell costs all the way up to Master spells, as well as the perks to increase the power and utility of your fire spells. You will use other elements, particularly against dragons, but they are not your primary weapon, so spending perks on them may be a poor decision. If you feel that you need to spend the perks on other elements to be effective, I suggest limiting your cross-elemental dabbling to Shock, because it works against a wide range of enemies. If you decide to go this route, consider using the Storm Call shout to maximize the benefits.
Illusion: Illusion spells will usually be how you initiate battles, and how you prevent enemies from attacking you. It will also be where most of your perks go, because you will eventually need all of them except Quiet Casting. Dual Casting can be left until later in the game, when and if you ever start meeting enemies who are too high in level to use your rage and fear spells against. The most important perk, however, is Aspect of Terror, because it also increases fire damage. Master of the Mind is nearly as important, as it allows you to use the school against nearly anything.
Speech: Although it plays such a large part of the flavor of the build, Speech won't see that much use, because of how the game handles it. Only certain conversations allow you to use Speech, and a high enough skill means that you don't need the perks. However, equipping a mage can get very expensive, and a high Speech skill can help dramatically. I recommend taking the perks up to the Persuasion and Merchant perks.
Block: Whether you spend perks on Block depends on whether you ever use it. I recommend at least putting a perk into Quick Reflexes, because when you need it, you really need it. Deflect Arrows and Elemental Protection will also be useful, but again, if you find that you don't need them, don't take them.
Restoration: Because your illusion spells should help prevent you from being attacked at all, leveling Restoration will be slow going, so it takes a lower priority when it comes to perks. Regardless, there are a few perks that are extremely useful. When combined with Master of the Mind, the Necromage perk allows you to use your standard tactics against undead. Recovery and Regeneration are also very helpful, and require very few perks to gain access to.
Conjuration: Unfortunately, because you will be throwing so much fire around, any creatures you summon should ideally be resistant or immune to fire. This limits you considerably, and I recommend sticking to a Flame Atronach just to give your enemies someone else to fight. Flaming Familiar also works, and has the added benefit of being completely hilarious. If you spend perks on Conjuration at all, it should only be up to the Apprentice level.
Gameplay
Your combat methods follow a simply pattern at first, but you will have to react quickly during large-scale battles. First, rage and fear effects. If you see your character as a bit more sinister, you could instead simply throw more rage around. Once your enemies are busy, switch to your fire spell of choice, and try to pick off trouble-makers at range. This means archers who were too far out to be hit by the first round of illusions, creatures immune to the effects, or any enemy that threatens to kill all his allies and then come after you.
Enraged enemies that manage to target you instead of their allies are your top priority. Either slow them down with a summoned minion, cast a fear spell on them, or hit them with your considerable magical power and simply blast them out of their shoes. Remember to collect the shoes later. Adventuring can be expensive, and boots are worth money.
Once the number of enemies has been cut down, you'll have to finish off the survivors on your own. I personally prefer Area of Effect spells such as fireball, but that's mostly because I have terrible aim. Burn them down with whatever you have, and dance in their ashes.
Roleplay
How you play your Demagogue largely depends on how you see his motivations. Is he a loyal Imperial citizen, come to Skyrim to use his skills against the Stormcloaks? Is he a dissident who wants to fight alongside the rebels? Or is he just after personal wealth and power? Because of the diverse possible motivations of the class, the suggestions here are just that: suggestions.
The Civil War: Which side you join depends on your personal motivations. Changing sides after acquiring the jagged Crown would definitely be in character, but the Season Unending quest, in which you broker a peace treaty between the two sides, probably would not be.
The Mage's College: As a mage, the benefits of joining the college are considerable, and it offers a means of gaining a power-base, a place of refuge when your scheming causes too much trouble.
Dawnguard: Becoming a vampire lord may be in character, depending on your personal goals and how deep your lust for power runs. On the other hand, driving out the vampires could also be in character, should your character see them as rivals in the field of manipulation or as complications to his own plans.
The Dark Brotherhood: If you play as an evil Demagogue, the Dark Brotherhood might be a good place for you. It allows you to hone your skills, and earn money while doing so.
The Imperial Demagogue
Fanning the Flames of War
The concept behind the Imperial Demagogue is one that combines direct action with manipulation to achieve your goals. What exactly the Demagogue's goals are remain a mystery, for he shares little about himself. His methods, however, are clear to anyone who has not yet fallen under his influence. Using a combination of Illusion spells, Destruction magic, and personal charm, the Demagogue has come to Skyrim to instigate, manipulate, and inflame the growing tensions into an outright war so that he can profit from it. When the Demagogue goes to war, the end result is often a scene of him striding through panicked crowds of warriors, laughing maniacally as he burns men to death while they try to flee.
The Demagogue differs from most Illusionists considerably. A typical Illusionist favors subtlety and stealth, avoiding direct conflict whenever possible. The Demagogue instead wields illusions as a direct weapon, using the school to inflict chaos as a precursor to burning his foes to ashes. His enemies definitely know that he's there, but can rarely act on this knowledge because of mind-bending fear and anger.
Race: Obviously, this build is intended for an Imperial, though this is largely a roleplaying choice. The Imperial's racial power and bonus to Destruction magic is fitting with the class build, but any race could be used with this playstyle.
Stone: Because this build primarily uses magic, I recommend the Mage Stone. Because you dabble in other skills as well, the Lover Stone also works, and when you feel as though you've leveled your skills sufficiently, the Lord Stone or Lady Stone can help keep you alive. Should you decide to seek vampirism, I strongly recommend the Lady Stone as your end-game standing stone in order to mitigate the sunlight vulnerability.
Stats: 3/2/0. You need health slightly more than typical mages, because your tactics make it surprisingly easy to get into trouble. Most of your magic items will be enchanted to boost magicka to mitigate any possible shortages.
Spells and Equipment: Your primary weapons are fear, anger, and fire. Learn the appropriate spells as you level, and find mage's robes that bolster whichever of your two schools, Illusion and Destruction, you find yourself using most. A sword enchanted with fire serves well as a backup weapon, but remember that if you have to cross blades with a foe, something has gone very wrong.
Your first line of defense is complete and utter chaos, but a shield serves well as a secondary means of defense, and still allows you to throw fear-inducing illusions at whichever enemies break through the chaos to come attack you. Spellbreaker is the best choice at low levels. However, when facing more powerful mages, the stagger effect from Spellbreaker's ward being broken can get you killed, so at this point, hang it up in your home and enchant some items with magic resistance instead. Your headgear of choice should be the Diadem of the Savant, which can be acquired fairly easily and is a very powerful item for any mage. Rings and amulets can be carried in larger numbers, and be used for whichever effects you currently need, from elemental resistances to carry weight fortification.
Shouts: Your powers as Dragonborn only serve to prove what you already knew: Words cut deeper than blades. Most of the shouts you use will be ones with similar effects to your preferred spells, with Bend Will, Dismay, and Fire Breath being your primary choices. Disarm is another useful choice, particularly against enemies resistant to your preferred spells. Become Ethereal should be held in reserve as a means of escaping if things get out of control.
Skills
Destruction: Your primary means of dealing direct damage. Take the perks to reduce spell costs all the way up to Master spells, as well as the perks to increase the power and utility of your fire spells. You will use other elements, particularly against dragons, but they are not your primary weapon, so spending perks on them may be a poor decision. If you feel that you need to spend the perks on other elements to be effective, I suggest limiting your cross-elemental dabbling to Shock, because it works against a wide range of enemies. If you decide to go this route, consider using the Storm Call shout to maximize the benefits.
Illusion: Illusion spells will usually be how you initiate battles, and how you prevent enemies from attacking you. It will also be where most of your perks go, because you will eventually need all of them except Quiet Casting. Dual Casting can be left until later in the game, when and if you ever start meeting enemies who are too high in level to use your rage and fear spells against. The most important perk, however, is Aspect of Terror, because it also increases fire damage. Master of the Mind is nearly as important, as it allows you to use the school against nearly anything.
Speech: Although it plays such a large part of the flavor of the build, Speech won't see that much use, because of how the game handles it. Only certain conversations allow you to use Speech, and a high enough skill means that you don't need the perks. However, equipping a mage can get very expensive, and a high Speech skill can help dramatically. I recommend taking the perks up to the Persuasion and Merchant perks.
Block: Whether you spend perks on Block depends on whether you ever use it. I recommend at least putting a perk into Quick Reflexes, because when you need it, you really need it. Deflect Arrows and Elemental Protection will also be useful, but again, if you find that you don't need them, don't take them.
Restoration: Because your illusion spells should help prevent you from being attacked at all, leveling Restoration will be slow going, so it takes a lower priority when it comes to perks. Regardless, there are a few perks that are extremely useful. When combined with Master of the Mind, the Necromage perk allows you to use your standard tactics against undead. Recovery and Regeneration are also very helpful, and require very few perks to gain access to.
Conjuration: Unfortunately, because you will be throwing so much fire around, any creatures you summon should ideally be resistant or immune to fire. This limits you considerably, and I recommend sticking to a Flame Atronach just to give your enemies someone else to fight. Flaming Familiar also works, and has the added benefit of being completely hilarious. If you spend perks on Conjuration at all, it should only be up to the Apprentice level.
Gameplay
Your combat methods follow a simply pattern at first, but you will have to react quickly during large-scale battles. First, rage and fear effects. If you see your character as a bit more sinister, you could instead simply throw more rage around. Once your enemies are busy, switch to your fire spell of choice, and try to pick off trouble-makers at range. This means archers who were too far out to be hit by the first round of illusions, creatures immune to the effects, or any enemy that threatens to kill all his allies and then come after you.
Enraged enemies that manage to target you instead of their allies are your top priority. Either slow them down with a summoned minion, cast a fear spell on them, or hit them with your considerable magical power and simply blast them out of their shoes. Remember to collect the shoes later. Adventuring can be expensive, and boots are worth money.
Once the number of enemies has been cut down, you'll have to finish off the survivors on your own. I personally prefer Area of Effect spells such as fireball, but that's mostly because I have terrible aim. Burn them down with whatever you have, and dance in their ashes.
Roleplay
How you play your Demagogue largely depends on how you see his motivations. Is he a loyal Imperial citizen, come to Skyrim to use his skills against the Stormcloaks? Is he a dissident who wants to fight alongside the rebels? Or is he just after personal wealth and power? Because of the diverse possible motivations of the class, the suggestions here are just that: suggestions.
The Civil War: Which side you join depends on your personal motivations. Changing sides after acquiring the jagged Crown would definitely be in character, but the Season Unending quest, in which you broker a peace treaty between the two sides, probably would not be.
The Mage's College: As a mage, the benefits of joining the college are considerable, and it offers a means of gaining a power-base, a place of refuge when your scheming causes too much trouble.
Dawnguard: Becoming a vampire lord may be in character, depending on your personal goals and how deep your lust for power runs. On the other hand, driving out the vampires could also be in character, should your character see them as rivals in the field of manipulation or as complications to his own plans.
The Dark Brotherhood: If you play as an evil Demagogue, the Dark Brotherhood might be a good place for you. It allows you to hone your skills, and earn money while doing so.
