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Character Build: The Betrayed Assassina

Tags: #Race:Imperial  #Rank:Recognized  #Assassin 
  • Member
    September 15, 2015

    "You are stong, brave and fast. You had everything one could ever wish for. Power, money, recognition. A task to live for. You were General Tullius' personal bodyguard. His right hand, consultant...even friend. But your life has taken a turn, has it not?

    You are strong, brave and fast. You had everything one could ever wish for. But some wished for more...or didn't grant it to others. You always knew, that she was jealous. Legat Rikke...the name still echoes through your mind. You had everything...but now you want only one thing...revenge. You are still strong, brave and fast...and gifted from something even more mysterious than magic...

    The Betrayed Assassin

    Race: Imperial

    Stone: Lady

    Spread:  0/1/2

    Major Skills: Sneak, One-Handed, Pickpoket

    Minor Skills: Illusion, Block, Archery

    Weapons: Nightingale Blade, Crossbow

    Armor: Hevnoraak, Thalmor Robes (without hood), Nightingale Boots, Amulet of Thalos, Ring with Fortify 1-Handed

    The Build


    "You were once a highly famed Warrior of the Empire, a legend among men and mer. But the higher you are, the harder you fall. And some wanted you to fall hard. You got betrayed by Chief Commander Legat Rikke, who wanted to inhabit the status you had to this date.

    One day, a heavy fight ensured between Stormcloaks and Imperials. You were busy protecting the General, but you got overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. But something didn't feel right. Legat should have protected your left flank...but the biggest wave of enemies came from this very flank. You knew: She wanted you to fail. And you failed. The General nealry got killed and you were blamed for it. You were sent to prison and sentenced to Death.

    But in your cell, an entity appeared. It spoke to you, telling something about "higher powers" and "chosen one". It was too fast and too surprising, but before you could ask any questions, it left, but not before branding you with a strange mark on your left hand...

    On your way to Helgen, your execution place, you were still wondering what it could be. But right now, you got bigger problems, first the Headsman, swinging his gigantic axe ready to behead any Stormcloak. Still, this sign was intriguing. Even while kneeling on the stone, seconds before death, you still thought about it. But then, this mighty, black dragon appeared. Your mark glowed, almost a burning passion flowed through you. You used the chaos to escape with a Stormcloak named Ralof..."

    By now, you should have recognized, that this build is inspired by Dishonored. A great game and oddly enough, the main character can be replicated pretty well in Skyrim, both in appearel and skills.

    I tried to give this build a different spin. Many might wonder, why I didn't spent a single point into Magicka, when Corvo clearly has magical abilities. The reason is simple: Corvos powers are actually not his own, but bestowed upon him. This fact has some very intriguing parallels to the Dragonborns abilities. You can use a dragon's powers, but it is a power you didn't train in. You just had it. Furthermore, many Dragonshouts resemble Corvo's powers, but more on that later.

    You need a lot of stamina, as you are evading enemy attacks most of the time, sprint/roll through enemies or blocking.

    The Roleplay

    As you are Corvo, you are very bad at lockpicking, but masterful at stealing keys. So search for any keys you can possibly get.

    You are fast, strong, but fragile. Center your playstyle around being fast and zippy, block only in the worst situations or to activate Quick Reflexes.

    Be gentle to your surrounding, Corvo doesn't kill out of a habit. But, you still hate Imperials with a burning passion, so kill every imperial soldier in your way, steal from them or do anything else which pisses them off.

    Also, be stealthy all the time. The Imperials are searching for you, so you don't want to get spotted.

    If you are in a Stormcloak-reigned city, take off your mask.


    The Inventory


    Head: Heavnoraak - We need a mask, so Dragon Priest Masks are your best bet. I choose Hevnoraak both for it's look (the color is nearly identical) and the fact, that you are immune to diseases; much like Corvo, who wanders around in an heavily infected city without ever getting ill.
    Chest: Thalmor Robes - looks closest to your trenchcoat. Also gives you some royal flavour...something which you once knew well.

    Hands: Nothing - Corvo has no gloves, your mark shall scare and awe everybody lucky enough to look at it long enough.

    Boots: Nightingale Boots - Has the Stealth enchantment and looks very similiar to Corvos boots.


    Necklace: Amulet of Thalos - you will use your shouts A LOT - you will need every reduction you can get.

    Ring: Fortify One-Handed - you will mainly use your sword, so buff it's damage. Also comes in handy on higher difficulties, as you have no crafting skill.

    Weapons: Nightingale Blade + Crossbow. Your main weapons. The Nightingale blade resembles Corvo's blade the closest and the Crossbow is a nice addition to hit targets that are too far away from you.

    Blessing: Talos - you will need the shout cooldown reduction.

    The Perks

    Level 45

    I know, you think: "Meh, standard stealth char.", but let me explain. Yes you are primarily a Stalker, you primarily walk among the shadows. But, in the end you are still of of the most skilled fighters in all of Tamriel. Sneak into a group and eliminate the strongest target/biggest threat. After this, you will fight all of them at once. Because you are lightweight and good with blocking, you can evade many attacks of your enemies. Use this to your advantage. Use your "Gifts" and combine them with your skill to create unique ways of fighting.

    Abilities

    "How you use what I have given you falls upon you, as it has to the others before you, and now, I return you to your world, but know that I will be watching with great interest."

    Bend Time I
    Use your gifts to bend time around you, appearing as a flash to your enemies while laughing at their sluggishness.

    Requires: Slow Time


    Bend Time II
    You rip the time barrier to nearly stop time completely around you. When activating your Quick Reflexes use the first word of Slow Time to slow everything even more for a longer period of time. This will be one of your key skills.

    Requires: Slow Time (1. word) + Quick Reflexes

    Dark Vision
    You can see clearly now...even enemies through solid matter

    Requires: Aura Whisper

    Possesion
    No mind is safe from you. You can see through others eyes, listen to their minds and use their bodies to your hearts delight.

    Requires: Bend Will (2 words)

    Blink
    Vanish instantly to appear behind your enemies, amaze and scare them at the same time.

    Requires: Whirlwind Sprint + Quiet Casting


    Windblast
    Use the power of Gaia to unleash a fierce storm upon your enemies, blasting them away.

    Requires: Unrelenting Force

    Combos

    Steel Flurry
    Unleash more attacks than the human eye can count. When the dust settles, all will fall at once. Use Bend Time II to nearly stop time completely and use the extended slow motion to fire multiple arrows while vanishing with shadow warrior to "assassinate" your enemies from behind.

    Requires: Bend Time II + Crossbow + Shadow Warrior + Nightingale Blade

    Deadly Trap
    Manipulate the perception of your enemies, letting them walk straight into your traps. The voice of a breaking bottle or a bolt hitting stone will attract enemies into looking for the sound, letting you setup traps for them.

    Requires: Throw an object/Shoot a bolt into a specific area + spider scroll traps

    Ghost of Dunwall
    Whirlwind Sprinting right after entering Shadow warrior will make you undetectable for a short amount of time, giving you the chance of escaping dangerous sitautions or to setup a new ambush.

    Requires: Shadow Warrior + Whirlwind Sprint

    There are many more possibilities to combine your gifts, but it would take too long to list them all. Be creative!

    Quests

    Stormcloak Questline: As you were betrayed by the Imperials, you want revenge. Join them as soon as possible.

    Destroy the Dark Brotherhood!: The remaining whalers from your old past. They still want you dead, so you still want to kill them.

    Dawnguard Questline: First and foremost to get access to crossbows. Also, think of Vampires as the Brigmore Witches, and ancient tribe of dangerous witches, they need to be killed.

    Main Questline: Up until you get access to Dragon shouts, everything else is optional (although you want to get to the Thalmor Embassy to get the hoodless Thalmor Robes).

    Thieves Questline: To get access to the Nightingale Sword/Boots. Also, they operate in secret, which compliments your general gamestyle.

    Closing words

    This is my very first build here, so I'm pretty new, and English is not my first, but my 4th language, so bear with me if there are mistakes. Feedback is appreciated.

  • September 15, 2015
    This is the exact way I played a Corvo-inspired character. I'm not kidding or over exaggerating when I say the EXACT way.
  • Member
    September 15, 2015

    In the Armor: section you list Ciceros Boots, but later in The Inventory  you list the Nightingale Boots

  • Member
    September 15, 2015
    I'm all for Cicero's boots, but they are hard to get if you destroy the Dark Brotherhood....
  • Member
    September 16, 2015
    Thx, I changed it in the middle of the text, but forgot to edit it.
  • Member
    September 16, 2015

    To be frank, I'm not really impressed with this build. I've never played Dishonoured, but if I was, I would actually play the game and not convert a Skyrim character to it. Feels like the typical assassin and nothing really unique enough for me to enjoy it. Props for effort but no +1 from me today.

  • Member
    September 17, 2015

    For English being your 4th language, its hardly noticeable. Its well written good job in that department.

  • Member
    September 17, 2015
    It's a nice effort but I think there can be some changes: 1. Abilities: Your combo's are your abilities. What you have now a shouts rebranded. Pls change it. 2. Deadly trap: might wanna rework this one... Too simple and plain. As a rule of thumb, Need at least 2 moves to combine into an ability. Other than that, I like the mechanics of your ghost of dunwall ability. However all these are dragon shouts infused... So might want to rework the whole outsider angle. If you wanna skyrimize it, the grey beards can be seen as agents of external draconia, which is technically a dragon outsider version of skyrim. Instead of giving you powers, they identify your latest ability and guide you to shouts... You can build and rock around that and the characters rise to power before seeking revenge. Other than the above, nice simple gameplay and solid first start. +1