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Character Build: Atmoran Totems - The Snake

Tags: #Race:Nord  #Character Build Warrior  #Character Build Blacksmith  #Character Build Illusionist  #Rank:Exemplar 
  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    In Skyrim, the totems of the old Atmoran gods can still be found – the symbols scratched into a stone protruding like a jagged tooth from a grassy field, or carved outside the entrance to a forgotten tomb. The symbols speak, it is said, to those who would listen.

    Some men and women are said to partake of the spirits of the stones. Even if they know nothing of the symbols or their origin, their companions mark how their strength rivals that of the bear, how their cunning is that of the fox, how their restlessness is that of the hawk. Such individuals body forth the totems in their minds and their hearts, their learning and their fighting, their being and their dying.

     

    This is the third installment in a series of nine character builds, each keyed to a particular totem. (See here for the first build, The Hawk, as well as an introduction to the project. See here for the second build, The Wolf.) The race for each build presented in this series is assumed to be Nord, as those with the blood of the North are the most likely to bear the aspect of a totem. But just as the Dragonborn can be a member of any race, so too the call of the totems can be answered by any race of man, or beast, or even elf.

     

    The Snake

    The Snake is a perpetual outsider. It is always moving and always changing. Even the birthsign that bears its mark does not stand still, but wanders across the skies of fate. Perhaps for this reason the Snake is sometimes associated with Shor, chief of the Nordic gods and trickster or demon to the Elves, among whom he is called Lorkhan. After all, the Nords are ever changing their minds, lest their thoughts freeze.

    Crafty in many senses of the word, those with an affinity for the Snake seek to prove their mastery over minds and metal. As chief of the gods, Shor was a war leader, capable of inspiring fury and courage. And Lorkhan was able to deceive the gods into fashioning the world. The Cyrodiilics would later interpret Shor as Shezarr, the spirit behind all human undertaking.

    Primary Skills: Illusion, Smithing

    Complementary Skills: Two Handed, Block, Light Armor, Sneak

    Attributes: 5:6:1 M:H:S

    Stone: Warrior, then Serpent and Ritual (via Aetherial Crown). The Serpent Stone is obviously thematic, and the Snake (as well as Shor) is often associated with death and the underworld.

    Shouts: Marked For Death, Call of Valor. A sinister and deadly Shout, Marked For Death allows the Snake to strike down its foes more quickly. It is helpful against all foes, especially in a build with few defenses. Call of Valor shows that death is no barrier to the Snake, whose shedding of its own skin symbolizes its transition between the worlds.

    Mask: Konahrik (“Warlord”). The most powerful individuals who follow the Snake's path will be relentlessly drawn to the mask with the missing priest, just as Shor is the missing or dead god of the Nordic pantheon. Of course, such ambition requires a mad tenacity, since Konahrik can only be grasped once all eight of Skyrim's dragon priests have been subjugated.

    Gear: Hide/Scaled/Dragonscale Armor, Steel/Nordic/Ebony/Dragonbone Greatsword, Amulet of Talos, Circlet of Illusion/Aetherial Crown, Ring of Health.

    Key Quests: Dark Brotherhood, College of Winterhold, Main Quest.

    Those born with an affinity for the Snake totem may find themselves torn between roles. Some may find it difficult to resist the Padomaic lure of the Dark Brotherhood, with its connection to change. And of course, the call to Sovngarde, to do battle with the World-Eater, is strong indeed.

    I chose to play a Snake-inspired character as … barely held together. Something of a pariah among his fellow Nords – perhaps a bandit before Helgen – he would feel a great affinity for those old stories of Nordic heroes, but would recognize in himself something different.

    The Dark Brotherhood (with early access to Marked for Death) provides some fun early quests for a character based on the totem associated with a dead god (it allows you to play your barbarian like a creepy illusionist murderer – which is more fun than I would have thought!), and also serves as a great counterpoint to the heroics of the Main Quest.

    The College of Winterhold is a necessity for high-level Illusion spells as well as Morokei, but those of the Snake care nothing for leadership over a group of mages. I played it as though the character was actively seeking out Dragon Priests, and the College wouldn't cooperate until he'd first solved their problem. As soon as Morokei was in my possession, I never returned to Winterhold.

    The crowning achievement of the Snake-inspired is to do battle, sheathed in dragonscale, with the World-Eater in Sovngarde, and from there, to claim Konahrik, the mask of the missing warlord.

     

    Level 35 Perks

    Illusion – all perks

    Smithing – all perks except Glass Smithing

    Two Handed – Barbarian (5/5), Champion's Stance, Great Critical Charge, Deep Wounds (3/3)

    Block – Shield Wall (1/5), Quick Reflexes

     

    Illusion and Smithing reflect the duality of Shor/Lorkhan, who was both a trickster and a creator figure. When Illusion is mastered, even the dead can be swayed by the words of those who follow this path.

    Taking Smithing perks on both the light and the heavy side may seem redundant, but it allows the character to adapt to ever-changing opportunities, using and improving found items that can benefit him. In the absence of any Enchanting skill, it is important that useful pre-enchanted gear can be tempered to high levels. Dwarven Smithing is practically required, as Dwarven Bows are perhaps the fastest and easiest way to increase the skill. As the various tiers become available, sinuous weapons (Orcish, Ebony) will be preferred for aesthetics.

    Snakes strike fast and hard, and move uncannily. Individuals taking after the Snake learn the strikes and blocks of the greatsword, lunging from the shadows after their foes have been manipulated and sliding out of the way of deadly blows.

    Since those of the Snake prefer to avoid blows rather than shrug them off, armor is more of an aesthetic choice, although Light Armor is a good option for speed, and will level accordingly. Similarly, Sneak may increase as the character slinks around the battlefield and strikes from the shadows to begin combat.

    The Snake-inspired hero calls the shade of Felldir the Old to aid in his exploration of Skyrim's dread coast

    Gameplay notes: The Snake-inspired approaches combat coolly, with an eye for a short, savage fight. A typical strategy at mid levels is to approach unseen (Muffle, Invisibility), Frenzy a group of foes, and strike out at the strongest enemy (or last standing), optionally making a backstab from stealth. Sneak is unperked, but a 2x damage multiplier with a legendarily-smithed greatsword is nothing to ignore – and easy to achieve thanks to Illusion.

    In large, open fights, Marked For Death is always a good opening move. If, despite your best preparations, the battle is still raging after the cooldown, Call of Valor combined with the Ritual Stone power will take the pressure off. I preferred Felldir for his damaging Frost Breath, and Hakon for his strong melee presence.

    Dragon priests are perhaps the most difficult adversaries for this character – especially those found in close quarters, like Vokun. Stock up on scrolls and potions, and optionally wait until Two Handed has reached higher levels – and Marked for Death is acquired – before facing them.

    The Snake may seem one of the least threatening of the Atmoran totems. But its very duality, as both a trickster and a creator, allows it to survive the trials set against it. Hunted and scorned even by the other totems (The Four Totems of Valkygge indicates the antipathy between the Snake and the Fox), the Snake's triumph is evident in the chaotic world of Mundus, home of Mankind. It is up to those who follow the Snake's crooked path to make that world their own.   

     

    The Atmoran Totem builds:

    The Hawk

    The Wolf

    ...and more to come. 

     

     

     

     

  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    I've always been a big fan of your builds, Paul. They're steeped in Nordic tradition and lore, which I love, and are usually, with the exception of (maybe) The Sword Thane, are very gritty and barbaric. This build is no exception.

    You've given us some great options for headgear. Did you wear them in progression as you obtained them: circlet of illusion > Aetherial Crown > Konahrik? After obtaining Konahrik (which I understood to be end game), did you keep the Aetherial Crown in your inventory and just put it on as you had need?

    Again, great build. Although I love my knight/crusader characters, I always thought that a canon Dragonborn would be a darker, grittier character; someone on the fringes of society, drinking his mead in a dark corner of the tavern. This build suits the role nicely.

  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    Thanks!

    Regarding the headgear, yes,to some extent I wore them in that order - but the Aetherial Crown was the "default" headgear.  I would put on Konahrik for a big or difficult battle.  Those masks are rather alienating (though Konahrik is awesome-looking), so I like to preserve them for a more "formal" situation rather than using them as my walking-around gear.  It feels somehow samurai-like to don a battle-mask in anticipation of a struggle. :)

  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    Well Paul, yet again a great build. The way you handled this totem is just perfect, between the lore aspect of Shor and the serpent, as well as the animalistic representation of the snake it is a build that (were I not occupied at the moment) I would not hesitate trying out.

    I love how much interpretation of a single divine-like being, like the totemic snake, can differ between two persons. It is in fact the essence of this particular divinty: Duality. I personally think that your character is, while absolutely drenched in Nordic lore, heavily influenced by the more general perception of Shor and Lorkhan. I am personnally going for a lot more nord centered approach, as you will discover shortly (when I update my wip page to represent the planned lore behind each totem path).

    To conclude I would like to repeat that this build is definitively going on my "to play" list, and that I plan to play it as soon as I get myself some anti-nordic pantheon detox (I think I may need it when I'll be finished playtesting my wip). Easy +1 from me.

  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    I expected to see Alchemy and passive DPS here 

    Other than that, awesome as usual, Paul! Unusual combination of skills which you made to work together greatly. Just a question, what spells did you use from Illusion school? I find that skill to be a bane of challenge in builds.

  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    I could also see Soul Tear being used as a form of snake strike, severely wounding or, in the event of death, acting like a hypnotic poison making the victim do its bidding.

  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    Heh, I know what you mean about the detox.... I'm thinking I'll play a Khajiit when this series is all over 

    Shor/Lorkhan is one of those characters where I really like both "sides" of the story - the Nordic Shor and the Elven Lorkhan.  So yeah, I definitely tried to represent both.  Thanks for the kind words!

  • June 4, 2015
    This build shattered my expectations in a great way. Nicely done.
  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    I can definitely see Alchemy being a reasonable choice for the Snake, but I ended up using it for the Moth.  Plus, I always have a hard time roleplaying when I'm an alchemist - there's all those menus, the constant searching for ingredients... it's pretty rare that I use Alchemy at all, despite its effectiveness.  Probably my least favorite crafting skill!

    I made heavy use of the Frenzy/Calm spells, depending on whether I felt like sowing chaos or commanding everyone to stop.  Fear didn't play a role, really.  The most-used Illusion spells, though, were Muffle & Invisibility.  I don't think I've ever played with Invisibility in Skyrim, so it was pretty entertaining - especially with a character who could jump out from the shadows and start laying waste! 

    It was pretty easy to raise, IMO - what do you find challenging about working Illusion into builds?  The perk investment, or the level restrictions, or something else?

  • Member
    June 4, 2015

    Illusion ruined my very first character. When fully leveled it makes the game a breeze. Soon you find yourself using the skill more and more, battles lose their challenge when you know that you can stop them at any moment. That first character of mine ended up running through dungeons without fighting anyone, just using Pacify on every enemy. If it didn't work on them, I used Muffle + Invisibility and sneaked past the enemies. It levels fast, level restrictions are low - it is very easy to get carried away with power and I don't have enough self-restraint to combat that urge.