My second build aims to recreate a (somewhat) classical RPG class - The Spellthief, and my God has it proven a challenge. This build was a bitch (excuse my french) to perfect, and it took me several playthroughs to get right. However, once finished this jack-of-all-trades offered some of the most challenging, rewarding
and entertaining gameplay I have ever experienced in Skyrim. Therefore I am very glad to finally present a build that is as versatile as it is fun. Enjoy.
Meet Teressa, a girl with a taste for fame, fortune and the dangers of an adventure - I would't get on her bedside if I where you...
“Spellthieves rely on skill, stealth, magic, and their foes’ vulnerabilities to get the upper hand in any situation. They have a knack for finding the solution to just about any problem, bringing resourcefulness and versatility to their adventuring parties. Spellthieves are particularly known for their abilities at turning their foes strengths against themselves, and their unmatched creativity in dangerous situations”.
The Spellthief
- Race: Any - I played as an Imperial because they have the perfect starting skills for a spellthief.
- Stone: The Atronach - so that you can steal magicka from casters.
- Major Skills: One-handed, Enchanting and Light Armor.
- Minor Skills: Sneak, Restoration and Destruction.
- Shouts: Slow Time and Whirlwind sprint (or any other shout that can serve as a panic button).
- Spells: Wards, frostbite, sparks, frost rune, ice spike, lightning rune and bolt and pretty much all adept frost and shock destruction spells.
Building a Spellthief was a bit of a conundrum for me: They're casters, thieves, sneak attackers, and pretty much a mix of every other class out there. The main thing to remember with spellthieves is that they're not full casters and they're not assassins. What the spellthief is, fundamentally, is a class that is capable of handling any situation by denying their opponents the resources they need the most.
Having understood this as a fact makes it much simpler for me to explain this build; The Spellthief is not a thief (at least not one that steals gold and other riches), but a character that specializes in stealing an opponent’s strengths - be it magical, physical or something entirely different.
How It Works...
As already mentioned, The Spellthief specializes in stealing an opponent's resources and strengths and then killing them when they are defenceless and weak. Luckily Skyrim offers multiple gameplay mechanics that allow us to do just that, and this build makes use of (almost) all:
Enchanting: Absorb health, magicka and stamina enchantments in conjunction with damage health, magicka and stamina enchantments is stupidly powerful. It allows us to easily tap any warrior or mage dry from magicka or stamina extremely fast, gaining their strengths whilst leaving only an exhausted husk of a body.
Restoration: Ward + ward absorb + The Atronach Stone + fortify restoration enhancements make all mages super easy to handle. You will be absorbing 50% of the magic that hits you, and that will be next to none thanks to ward-spells which are easily spammed when you have a few peaces of gear with fortify restoration.
Destruction: Destruction is the spellthief’s bread and butter when it comes to ranged offence and the stealing of resources. Shock and ice spells eat through magicka and stamina pools almost as fast as powerfully enchanted weapons. However, with destruction spells you don't have to get into melee range to do so. Also, the synergy between destruction and enchanting is extremely potent once some of the destructions perks have been picked up, so your enchantment damage will automatically scale with your magick damage.
...Spellthieves are as skilled with the arcane, as they are with a blade...
Perk Spread
2 Health / 3 Magicka / 1 Stamina
Gameplay
With destruction, enchanting and one-handed all mixed together, this build has the potential of becoming a powerhouse of a spellsword, slinging out doom and death this way and that, but this is something you want to avoid at all costs. This is because The Spellthief is not a build that focuses on gaining ridiculous amounts of damage or being able to spam spells left and right. No, the Spellthief is much more refined than that. You will notice, by looking at the perks, that I haven't gone beyond adept destruction - the reasoning is that the most expensive spells you will be using, are cloak and rune spells. By levels 35 to 40 I was still making use of dualcast frostbite and sparks, because concentration spells really are the best at tapping foes resources... allow me to demonstrate a typical encounter with a melee enemy:
As soon as a foe is spotted pop into stealth in order to gain the (huge) advantage of surprise. The next thing to do is place a rune (element of your choice) between you and your enemy and wait for your magicka to regenerate (runes are expensive as hell). When you are ready, start casting spells from stealth to weaken your enemies before hand, as they come close, draw your enchanted sword (damage stamina and absorb stamina vs a warrior) and start wearing him down by dancing around him, attacking every now and again and constantly slowing him with frost spells. The result, after some time, should be an exhausted bandit snailing toward you whilst gasping for breath, with 0 stamina to spend on power attacks, or anything else for that matter. At this point all you have to do is go up to him and poke him in the forehead with your finger, he will then proceed to fall backwards and die of exhaustion. Easy as that, and damned satisfying to!
Enchanted weaponry makes it roughly 40-60% of a spellthief's damage output, therefore wielding a dagger, or three, can be very useful in order to land more attacks, and thereby more enchanting damage.
Equipment
A spellthief has, as any thief, a large arsenal of equipment that she relies on to survive various situations. It is therefore at the utmost importance that such items, weapons and what have we not, are sorted before any actions take place, and that she has exactly what she needs to overcome exactly the correct situations.
For an instance, a spellthief must always carry at least two (enchanted) swords - one for fighting stamina reliant enemies and the other for fighting magicka reliant ones. Such things are essential in order for The Spellthief’s survival. Therefore here is a list of items that you should aim at crafting / obtaining throughout your adventures:
Weapons: I would highly recommend choosing three enchanted one-handed swords of your choice - one for dealing with stamina reliant foes, the other for magicka reliant ones and the last for pure damage. Here are some enchantment combinations that work very well against different types of enemies:
- Sword 1 “Glimmersneed” (vs mage): Glass sword with absorb magicka + Shock damage
- Sword 2 “White-Harvester” (vs warrior): Scimitar with frost damage + Stamina damage
- Sword 3 “Ice/Lightning Storm” (hybrid): Ebony sword with frost or shock damage + Chaos
- Sword 4 “Sanctums Wrath” (vs undead): Silver sword with turn undead + Fiery Soul Trap
- Sword 5 “Luck's edge” (hybrid): Forsworn sword with paralysis + chaos (all comes down to luck)
As far as armor is concerned, a spellthief always chooses light; light armor allows for unmatched flexibility, stamina regeneration and speed, all key factors to this build’s gameplay.
- Head: Fortify restoration and fortify destruction.
- Body: Fortify light armor and fortify restoration or destruction.
- Boots: Fortify stamina and fortify one-handed.
- Gloves: Fortify light armor and fortify magicka
Fur - Leather: Fledgling Spellthief's wear light, flexible leather or fur to guard their wrists and throat, and hoods to hide their faces and blend in with shadows. This may protect them from the sun, but that’s about it.
Leather - Scaled: Improved armor brings noticeable plating that’s carefully crafted and form-fitting. With superior materials, even the most pragmatic thieves make minor concessions to ornamentation on their legplates and capes.
Scaled - Glass: Elegant and strong suits of rare metals allow for both swift maneuvering and withstands some of the deadliest blows. Such armor is the masterpiece of a spell thieves crafting skills and boasts custom enhancements to further increase their skills.
Roleplaying
Roleplaying as the spellthief is an experience as versatile as the build itself; There are no specific guidelines to follow, there are no rules to keep and there are certainly no "correct" ways of going about it. However what there is, and tons of it, is imagination - the one aspect of the human mind that (in my opinion) is the most awesome.
If you are looking for a personality or a mindset of a character, to follow as you play, I can only recommend This RPG Character Guide which is THE guide to follow when creating a fantasy character for an RPG.
But as for the build itself I found it by far most enjoyable playing as a treasure hunter / sell sword who seeks fame and fortune and gold. My character was a female Imperial - Teressa, and she was a bard, thief, sellsword, bounty hunter, treasure hunter and scout in the imperial army. In other words: she was busy, and by level 40, very VERY rich. This is because Teressa was a mischievous, lightning-intelligent and cocky girl of high skill and a taste for adventure.
In other words it is very import an to constantly have a job to do when playing a spelltheif.
Rule number one: Always stay busy! No one ever got rich by sitting on their ass (at least not in Skyrim).
Rule number two: Always explore! No one ever found that awesome glass sword at lvl 20 by sticking to the road.
Rule number three: Always take the job! Want the gold and the adventure? Then you better work for it lad.
With these three rules established, you should have a great time making (tons) of gold and constantly jumping from job to job, sometimes not even finishing the first before starting the second. But even for a character as versatile as The Spellthief there are some quests more useful than others...
Quests: Thieves guild! Companions! Bards Collage! And as many radiant quests as possible! Bounty quests by the loads! And whatever else that pops up on your travels.
* * *
As a finishing note I would like to mention the lack of a special moves section. The thing is that this build is more of a build concept than an individual character and will therefore be played very differently from person to person - so I thought it smartest to leave it up to you guys to find your own favorite skill combinations for this build. But if you do want some specific combinations then comment below and I will put them in.
Click The Icon and be AMAZED!
My second build aims to recreate a (somewhat) classical RPG class - The Spellthief, and my God has it proven a challenge. This build was a bitch (excuse my french) to perfect, and it took me several playthroughs to get right. However, once finished this jack-of-all-trades offered some of the most challenging, rewarding and entertaining gameplay I have ever experienced in Skyrim. Therefore I am very glad to finally present a build that is as versatile as it is fun. Enjoy.
Meet Teressa, a girl with a taste for fame, fortune and the dangers of an adventure - I would't get on her bedside if I where you...
“Spellthieves rely on skill, stealth, magic, and their foes’ vulnerabilities to get the upper hand in any situation. They have a knack for finding the solution to just about any problem, bringing resourcefulness and versatility to their adventuring parties. Spellthieves are particularly known for their abilities at turning their foes strengths against themselves, and their unmatched creativity in dangerous situations”.
The Spellthief
- Race: Any - I played as an Imperial because they have the perfect starting skills for a spellthief.
- Stone: The Atronach - so that you can steal magicka from casters.
- Major Skills: One-handed, Enchanting and Light Armor.
- Minor Skills: Sneak, Restoration and Destruction.
- Shouts: Slow Time and Whirlwind sprint (or any other shout that can serve as a panic button).
- Spells: Wards, frostbite, sparks, frost rune, ice spike, lightning rune and bolt and pretty much all adept frost and shock destruction spells.
Building a Spellthief was a bit of a conundrum for me: They're casters, thieves, sneak attackers, and pretty much a mix of every other class out there. The main thing to remember with spellthieves is that they're not full casters and they're not assassins. What the spellthief is, fundamentally, is a class that is capable of handling any situation by denying their opponents the resources they need the most.
Having understood this as a fact makes it much simpler for me to explain this build; The Spellthief is not a thief (at least not one that steals gold and other riches), but a character that specializes in stealing an opponent’s strengths - be it magical, physical or something entirely different.
How It Works...
As already mentioned, The Spellthief specializes in stealing an opponent's resources and strengths and then killing them when they are defenceless and weak. Luckily Skyrim offers multiple gameplay mechanics that allow us to do just that, and this build makes use of (almost) all:
Enchanting: Absorb health, magicka and stamina enchantments in conjunction with damage health, magicka and stamina enchantments is stupidly powerful. It allows us to easily tap any warrior or mage dry from magicka or stamina extremely fast, gaining their strengths whilst leaving only an exhausted husk of a body.
Restoration: Ward + ward absorb + The Atronach Stone + fortify restoration enhancements make all mages super easy to handle. You will be absorbing 50% of the magic that hits you, and that will be next to none thanks to ward-spells which are easily spammed when you have a few peaces of gear with fortify restoration.
Destruction: Destruction is the spellthief’s bread and butter when it comes to ranged offence and the stealing of resources. Shock and ice spells eat through magicka and stamina pools almost as fast as powerfully enchanted weapons. However, with destruction spells you don't have to get into melee range to do so. Also, the synergy between destruction and enchanting is extremely potent once some of the destructions perks have been picked up, so your enchantment damage will automatically scale with your magick damage.
...Spellthieves are as skilled with the arcane, as they are with a blade...
Perk Spread
2 Health / 3 Magicka / 1 Stamina
Gameplay
With destruction, enchanting and one-handed all mixed together, this build has the potential of becoming a powerhouse of a spellsword, slinging out doom and death this way and that, but this is something you want to avoid at all costs. This is because The Spellthief is not a build that focuses on gaining ridiculous amounts of damage or being able to spam spells left and right. No, the Spellthief is much more refined than that. You will notice, by looking at the perks, that I haven't gone beyond adept destruction - the reasoning is that the most expensive spells you will be using, are cloak and rune spells. By levels 35 to 40 I was still making use of dualcast frostbite and sparks, because concentration spells really are the best at tapping foes resources... allow me to demonstrate a typical encounter with a melee enemy:
As soon as a foe is spotted pop into stealth in order to gain the (huge) advantage of surprise. The next thing to do is place a rune (element of your choice) between you and your enemy and wait for your magicka to regenerate (runes are expensive as hell). When you are ready, start casting spells from stealth to weaken your enemies before hand, as they come close, draw your enchanted sword (damage stamina and absorb stamina vs a warrior) and start wearing him down by dancing around him, attacking every now and again and constantly slowing him with frost spells. The result, after some time, should be an exhausted bandit snailing toward you whilst gasping for breath, with 0 stamina to spend on power attacks, or anything else for that matter. At this point all you have to do is go up to him and poke him in the forehead with your finger, he will then proceed to fall backwards and die of exhaustion. Easy as that, and damned satisfying to!
Enchanted weaponry makes it roughly 40-60% of a spellthief's damage output, therefore wielding a dagger, or three, can be very useful in order to land more attacks, and thereby more enchanting damage.
Equipment
A spellthief has, as any thief, a large arsenal of equipment that she relies on to survive various situations. It is therefore at the utmost importance that such items, weapons and what have we not, are sorted before any actions take place, and that she has exactly what she needs to overcome exactly the correct situations.
For an instance, a spellthief must always carry at least two (enchanted) swords - one for fighting stamina reliant enemies and the other for fighting magicka reliant ones. Such things are essential in order for The Spellthief’s survival. Therefore here is a list of items that you should aim at crafting / obtaining throughout your adventures:
Weapons: I would highly recommend choosing three enchanted one-handed swords of your choice - one for dealing with stamina reliant foes, the other for magicka reliant ones and the last for pure damage. Here are some enchantment combinations that work very well against different types of enemies:
- Sword 1 “Glimmersneed” (vs mage): Glass sword with absorb magicka + Shock damage
- Sword 2 “White-Harvester” (vs warrior): Scimitar with frost damage + Stamina damage
- Sword 3 “Ice/Lightning Storm” (hybrid): Ebony sword with frost or shock damage + Chaos
- Sword 4 “Sanctums Wrath” (vs undead): Silver sword with turn undead + Fiery Soul Trap
- Sword 5 “Luck's edge” (hybrid): Forsworn sword with paralysis + chaos (all comes down to luck)
As far as armor is concerned, a spellthief always chooses light; light armor allows for unmatched flexibility, stamina regeneration and speed, all key factors to this build’s gameplay.
- Head: Fortify restoration and fortify destruction.
- Body: Fortify light armor and fortify restoration or destruction.
- Boots: Fortify stamina and fortify one-handed.
- Gloves: Fortify light armor and fortify magicka
Fur - Leather: Fledgling Spellthief's wear light, flexible leather or fur to guard their wrists and throat, and hoods to hide their faces and blend in with shadows. This may protect them from the sun, but that’s about it.
Leather - Scaled: Improved armor brings noticeable plating that’s carefully crafted and form-fitting. With superior materials, even the most pragmatic thieves make minor concessions to ornamentation on their legplates and capes.
Scaled - Glass: Elegant and strong suits of rare metals allow for both swift maneuvering and withstands some of the deadliest blows. Such armor is the masterpiece of a spell thieves crafting skills and boasts custom enhancements to further increase their skills.
Roleplaying
Roleplaying as the spellthief is an experience as versatile as the build itself; There are no specific guidelines to follow, there are no rules to keep and there are certainly no "correct" ways of going about it. However what there is, and tons of it, is imagination - the one aspect of the human mind that (in my opinion) is the most awesome.
If you are looking for a personality or a mindset of a character, to follow as you play, I can only recommend This RPG Character Guide which is THE guide to follow when creating a fantasy character for an RPG.
But as for the build itself I found it by far most enjoyable playing as a treasure hunter / sell sword who seeks fame and fortune and gold. My character was a female Imperial - Teressa, and she was a bard, thief, sellsword, bounty hunter, treasure hunter and scout in the imperial army. In other words: she was busy, and by level 40, very VERY rich. This is because Teressa was a mischievous, lightning-intelligent and cocky girl of high skill and a taste for adventure.
In other words it is very import an to constantly have a job to do when playing a spelltheif.
Rule number one: Always stay busy! No one ever got rich by sitting on their ass (at least not in Skyrim).
Rule number two: Always explore! No one ever found that awesome glass sword at lvl 20 by sticking to the road.
Rule number three: Always take the job! Want the gold and the adventure? Then you better work for it lad.
With these three rules established, you should have a great time making (tons) of gold and constantly jumping from job to job, sometimes not even finishing the first before starting the second. But even for a character as versatile as The Spellthief there are some quests more useful than others...
Quests: Thieves guild! Companions! Bards Collage! And as many radiant quests as possible! Bounty quests by the loads! And whatever else that pops up on your travels.
* * *
As a finishing note I would like to mention the lack of a special moves section. The thing is that this build is more of a build concept than an individual character and will therefore be played very differently from person to person - so I thought it smartest to leave it up to you guys to find your own favorite skill combinations for this build. But if you do want some specific combinations then comment below and I will put them in.
Click The Icon and be AMAZED!
+1 from me
