Hey guys, after a few weeks of creeping around on the site, I figured I'd have a go at a build myself. Mind you, it's my first so any suggestions would be very much appreciated! A Breton student of the arcane, she will use any means at her disposal to become the most powerful scholar in Tamriel. I present: The Thunderwitch.
The Story
As the daughter of a minor Breton noblewoman, the girl who was not yet the Thunderwitch spent her early years in the lap of luxury as her mother was a descendant of Andorak Septim himself. When her mother made a dying confession concerning the bastard heritage of her daughter, the girl was disowned and cast out of Shornhelm by her mother's furious widower. Now orphaned and homeless at only fourteen, she vowed revenge and decided to take the study of magic, which she had spent her free time with back at her family's mansion, to the next level.
After three years of training she returned to her ancestral home and brought down a furious lightning storm on it, burning it to the ground and killing everyone inside. Rumors quickly spread of the Thunderwitch of Shornhelm, the vengeful daughter of a dishonored noblewoman. Now a fugitive, she fled east to Skyrim, hoping to make for the Imperial Province so she could continue her magic studies at the Imperial City's Arcane University.
Taking various jobs as a mage-for-hire along the way, she became disillusioned at the complete disorganisation at the University, turning back to Skyrim in hopes of entering the College of Winterhold. It was at the border between Cyrodiil and Skyrim that she finally bit off more than she could chew and was defeated just outside Darkwater Crossing by a rival task mage. When she came to she was in shackles on the back of an Imperial cart, with little recollection of what had transpired...
The Build
The Thunderwitch focuses on wreaking sorcerous havoc with a variety of spells. Her versatility in spellcasting makes her able to deal with any and all enemies, bending the very world to her will. Bolts of lightning leap from her fingers as both living and dead rise to do her bidding. Mastering the art of both healing and harming, she will stop at nothing to uncover the world's secrets. Her capture at the border of Skyrim proved to be a blessing in disguise, as witnessing a dragon and its terrible might sparked in her the fire of curiosity once more. Her ravenous appetite for knowledge would see her forsake her own humanity, if only to extend her life so she can continue learning the secrets of Mundus.
Stats
1/3/0 until Health reaches 300, then put every point in Magicka. She is a caster at heart, and though her desire to unravel the secrets of the universe will take her to Oblivion and beyond her frail form is not designed for close combat. This means that her spells will have to keep her safe even if she decides to take up alternative forms of combat once she has mastered the schools of magic.
Shouts
All. Become Ethereal, Bend Will, Cyclone, Dismay, Storm Call and Unrelenting Force are her favorites, though.
Equipment
Early game she wears enchanted College Robes and Hood, appropriate for her skill level; should you reach Expert before becoming Archmage, cover her head with the Mage's Circlet. Find a good ring to fortify Magicka or a magic school of choice.
Eventually she will want to run the Diadem of the Savant, Archmage's Robes, Necromancer's Amulet, Ring of the Erudite and Archmage's Boots. Her only weapon is the Staff of Magnus.
Potions
Though she spends no perks on it, the Thunderwitch makes use of Alchemy to concoct a number of brews that she uses to control the flow of her magicka and increase her resistances. Focus is on easily acquired ingredients that can mostly be grown in a garden.
Electromancer's Boon – Glowing Mushroom + Nightshade + Snowberries: An arcane brew that charges the body with electrical energy, boosting both destructive capability and Shock resistance.
Elixir of the Archmage – Jazbay Grapes + Moon Sugar + Red Mountain Flower: After a recipe liberated from a Synod research laboratory, this potion restores, fortifies and regenerates Magicka.
Dragonshield – Fly Amanita + Purple Mountain Flower + Snowberries: A simple mixture of berries, flowers and mushrooms used to ward off both cold and heat.
Role play & questlines
The Thunderwitch makes a point of picking up a copy of every single book, journal, scroll, note and tome she can find to display in her library. She disenchants every effect she can find and collects alchemy ingredients for later use. She is also a task mage at heart, more than willing to use her magical prowess to do other people’s dirty work, provided the pay is good, and is not above employing followers to aid her in these endeavors.
She has no qualms about trafficking with Daedra and will try to cheat any Aedra out of their blessings as well. She has a silver tongue and a mind for business, more likely to try and talk her way out confrontations than using intimidation or brute force.
Uninterested in the politics of Skyrim, she would nevertheless support the Empire when asked to make a choice, though she usually avoids getting involved in such matters for lack of proper payment. The Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild are both fair game once she has reached the higher levels because this allows her to delve deeper into her magical research. She avoids the Companions like the plague, though.
The Early Levels
Level 25 Spread
Much of the early levels will focus on developing the different magical skills, using them all in tandem to keep the opposition at bay. Offensively, the Thunderwitch utilizes Shock spells in conjunction with Fury effects while Raising Zombies to aid her. Defensively, she relies on Wards and Flesh spells to keep her alive. Should the odds be against her, she does not hesitate to use Fear, Calm and Turn Undead effects to turn the tide of battle so she can Heal.
Since she simply devours magicka it would be wise to track down some equipment that reduces the cost of spells. To this end, go straight to the College of Winterhold and apply, picking up the Necromancer Amulet in Windhelm along the way. The appropriate robes and ditto hood will help in casting whatever spells you favor. As far as rings go, any ring that cuts costs will do, though further reducing the cost of Destruction is preferable. Also: collect Eidar Cheese, Ale and Moon Sugar whenever possible, as Elsweyr Fondue is essential to keep those Magicka levels nice and high.
Keep the Mage Stone for now, as it will help with leveling. Once the Staff of Magnus is acquired, she will carry it around and use it in battle against opposing mages to make sure she always comes out on top.
Special Moves
Lightning Shield – Flesh Spell + Lightning Cloak + Electromancer's Boon + Elsweyr Fondue: The Thunderwitch starts nearly every battle by surrounding herself with a cloak of lightning powerful enough to repel physical attacks and preparing her Magicka flow.
Crimson Curse – Marked for Death + Fear / Turn Undead: Using the power of her Voice to augment her Illusion skills, she marks a target with a fear-inducing curse that slowly drains their strength. Combines well with Lightning Shield and undead minions.
Thunder Spirit – Dual-cast Lightning Cloak + Become Ethereal: By shifting into ethereal form while emitting a torrent of Shock magic, the Thunderwitch can harm her enemies from between dimensions while her raised and recruited allies keep them busy.
The Later Levels
Level 50 Spread
Once the Thunderwitch deals with the aftermath of the disaster at the College, her hunger for knowledge leads her to pursue her destiny as Dragonborn, seeing the Thu’um as another school of magic to master. This means that she will be tracking down every single Word Wall and hunting dragons to deepen her understanding of the Thu' um, frequently communing with the Greybeards. Lord Harkon's offer to become a Vampire Lord allows her to extend her life so she may continue her studies beyond her normal Breton lifespan, going as far as the Daedric realm of Apocrypha in her quest for knowledge.
Special Moves
Legion of the Dead – Twin Souls perk + Summon Durnehviir + Summon Wrathman: Calling upon the full might of the Soul Cairn, the Thunderwitch conjures an undead dragon and a mighty Wrathman to destroy her enemies.
Eye of the Storm – Dual-cast Ebonyflesh + Dual-cast Lightning Cloak + Storm Call: The Thunderwitch envelops her body with a Lightning Shield powerful enough to warp the atmosphere, calling down a furious thunderstorm that ravages everything near her.
Finger of the Mountain – Slow Time + Secret of Arcana + Lightning Storm: The epitome of her meditations on Shock magic. The Thunderwitch opens a Magicka well that upsets the very flow of time and projects it onto her foes, only closing it when everything around her has turned to dust.
Post-Level 50
While working her way up toward mastery of the various magical schools, she also begins to dabble in the arts of alchemy and enchanting, seeking more practical applications for her magical prowess and augmenting her skills with the crafting of potions and enchanted apparel.
The skeletons wandering the Skytemple Ruins are her favorite training dummies, using her Turn Undead spells in conjunction with passive spells from the other schools to rise to master level. She willingly becomes a vampire when asked, as immortality only means that she has an eternity to unravel the secrets of Mundus.
The Lord Stone will make sure that her defenses are augmented in the later levels, preferably on the Aetherial Crown to keep the Mage Stone’s benefits as well. I personally avoided the Disintegrate perk as this burns the corpses you’ll want to be raising to a crisp, though undead from the Soul Cairn (Bonemen, Mistmen, Wrathmen) and Solstheim (Ash Spawn) are viable alternatives if you really want the destructive power of the perk.
As for the rest, keep developing her skills, making them legendary to be able to keep picking perks: the extent of her growth is limited only by your patience.
The End
Well, that's all she wrote. I would very much like comments, tips to improve and an impression of how you liked the build!
Hey guys, after a few weeks of creeping around on the site, I figured I'd have a go at a build myself. Mind you, it's my first so any suggestions would be very much appreciated! A Breton student of the arcane, she will use any means at her disposal to become the most powerful scholar in Tamriel. I present: The Thunderwitch.
The Story
As the daughter of a minor Breton noblewoman, the girl who was not yet the Thunderwitch spent her early years in the lap of luxury as her mother was a descendant of Andorak Septim himself. When her mother made a dying confession concerning the bastard heritage of her daughter, the girl was disowned and cast out of Shornhelm by her mother's furious widower. Now orphaned and homeless at only fourteen, she vowed revenge and decided to take the study of magic, which she had spent her free time with back at her family's mansion, to the next level.
After three years of training she returned to her ancestral home and brought down a furious lightning storm on it, burning it to the ground and killing everyone inside. Rumors quickly spread of the Thunderwitch of Shornhelm, the vengeful daughter of a dishonored noblewoman. Now a fugitive, she fled east to Skyrim, hoping to make for the Imperial Province so she could continue her magic studies at the Imperial City's Arcane University.
Taking various jobs as a mage-for-hire along the way, she became disillusioned at the complete disorganisation at the University, turning back to Skyrim in hopes of entering the College of Winterhold. It was at the border between Cyrodiil and Skyrim that she finally bit off more than she could chew and was defeated just outside Darkwater Crossing by a rival task mage. When she came to she was in shackles on the back of an Imperial cart, with little recollection of what had transpired...
The Build
The Thunderwitch focuses on wreaking sorcerous havoc with a variety of spells. Her versatility in spellcasting makes her able to deal with any and all enemies, bending the very world to her will. Bolts of lightning leap from her fingers as both living and dead rise to do her bidding. Mastering the art of both healing and harming, she will stop at nothing to uncover the world's secrets. Her capture at the border of Skyrim proved to be a blessing in disguise, as witnessing a dragon and its terrible might sparked in her the fire of curiosity once more. Her ravenous appetite for knowledge would see her forsake her own humanity, if only to extend her life so she can continue learning the secrets of Mundus.
Stats
1/3/0 until Health reaches 300, then put every point in Magicka. She is a caster at heart, and though her desire to unravel the secrets of the universe will take her to Oblivion and beyond her frail form is not designed for close combat. This means that her spells will have to keep her safe even if she decides to take up alternative forms of combat once she has mastered the schools of magic.
Shouts
All. Become Ethereal, Bend Will, Cyclone, Dismay, Storm Call and Unrelenting Force are her favorites, though.
Equipment
Early game she wears enchanted College Robes and Hood, appropriate for her skill level; should you reach Expert before becoming Archmage, cover her head with the Mage's Circlet. Find a good ring to fortify Magicka or a magic school of choice.
Eventually she will want to run the Diadem of the Savant, Archmage's Robes, Necromancer's Amulet, Ring of the Erudite and Archmage's Boots. Her only weapon is the Staff of Magnus.
Potions
Though she spends no perks on it, the Thunderwitch makes use of Alchemy to concoct a number of brews that she uses to control the flow of her magicka and increase her resistances. Focus is on easily acquired ingredients that can mostly be grown in a garden.
Electromancer's Boon – Glowing Mushroom + Nightshade + Snowberries: An arcane brew that charges the body with electrical energy, boosting both destructive capability and Shock resistance.
Elixir of the Archmage – Jazbay Grapes + Moon Sugar + Red Mountain Flower: After a recipe liberated from a Synod research laboratory, this potion restores, fortifies and regenerates Magicka.
Dragonshield – Fly Amanita + Purple Mountain Flower + Snowberries: A simple mixture of berries, flowers and mushrooms used to ward off both cold and heat.
Role play & questlines
The Thunderwitch makes a point of picking up a copy of every single book, journal, scroll, note and tome she can find to display in her library. She disenchants every effect she can find and collects alchemy ingredients for later use. She is also a task mage at heart, more than willing to use her magical prowess to do other people’s dirty work, provided the pay is good, and is not above employing followers to aid her in these endeavors.
She has no qualms about trafficking with Daedra and will try to cheat any Aedra out of their blessings as well. She has a silver tongue and a mind for business, more likely to try and talk her way out confrontations than using intimidation or brute force.
Uninterested in the politics of Skyrim, she would nevertheless support the Empire when asked to make a choice, though she usually avoids getting involved in such matters for lack of proper payment. The Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild are both fair game once she has reached the higher levels because this allows her to delve deeper into her magical research. She avoids the Companions like the plague, though.
The Early Levels
Level 25 Spread
Much of the early levels will focus on developing the different magical skills, using them all in tandem to keep the opposition at bay. Offensively, the Thunderwitch utilizes Shock spells in conjunction with Fury effects while Raising Zombies to aid her. Defensively, she relies on Wards and Flesh spells to keep her alive. Should the odds be against her, she does not hesitate to use Fear, Calm and Turn Undead effects to turn the tide of battle so she can Heal.
Since she simply devours magicka it would be wise to track down some equipment that reduces the cost of spells. To this end, go straight to the College of Winterhold and apply, picking up the Necromancer Amulet in Windhelm along the way. The appropriate robes and ditto hood will help in casting whatever spells you favor. As far as rings go, any ring that cuts costs will do, though further reducing the cost of Destruction is preferable. Also: collect Eidar Cheese, Ale and Moon Sugar whenever possible, as Elsweyr Fondue is essential to keep those Magicka levels nice and high.
Keep the Mage Stone for now, as it will help with leveling. Once the Staff of Magnus is acquired, she will carry it around and use it in battle against opposing mages to make sure she always comes out on top.
Special Moves
Lightning Shield – Flesh Spell + Lightning Cloak + Electromancer's Boon + Elsweyr Fondue: The Thunderwitch starts nearly every battle by surrounding herself with a cloak of lightning powerful enough to repel physical attacks and preparing her Magicka flow.
Crimson Curse – Marked for Death + Fear / Turn Undead: Using the power of her Voice to augment her Illusion skills, she marks a target with a fear-inducing curse that slowly drains their strength. Combines well with Lightning Shield and undead minions.
Thunder Spirit – Dual-cast Lightning Cloak + Become Ethereal: By shifting into ethereal form while emitting a torrent of Shock magic, the Thunderwitch can harm her enemies from between dimensions while her raised and recruited allies keep them busy.
The Later Levels
Level 50 Spread
Once the Thunderwitch deals with the aftermath of the disaster at the College, her hunger for knowledge leads her to pursue her destiny as Dragonborn, seeing the Thu’um as another school of magic to master. This means that she will be tracking down every single Word Wall and hunting dragons to deepen her understanding of the Thu' um, frequently communing with the Greybeards. Lord Harkon's offer to become a Vampire Lord allows her to extend her life so she may continue her studies beyond her normal Breton lifespan, going as far as the Daedric realm of Apocrypha in her quest for knowledge.
Special Moves
Legion of the Dead – Twin Souls perk + Summon Durnehviir + Summon Wrathman: Calling upon the full might of the Soul Cairn, the Thunderwitch conjures an undead dragon and a mighty Wrathman to destroy her enemies.
Eye of the Storm – Dual-cast Ebonyflesh + Dual-cast Lightning Cloak + Storm Call: The Thunderwitch envelops her body with a Lightning Shield powerful enough to warp the atmosphere, calling down a furious thunderstorm that ravages everything near her.
Finger of the Mountain – Slow Time + Secret of Arcana + Lightning Storm: The epitome of her meditations on Shock magic. The Thunderwitch opens a Magicka well that upsets the very flow of time and projects it onto her foes, only closing it when everything around her has turned to dust.
Post-Level 50
While working her way up toward mastery of the various magical schools, she also begins to dabble in the arts of alchemy and enchanting, seeking more practical applications for her magical prowess and augmenting her skills with the crafting of potions and enchanted apparel.
The skeletons wandering the Skytemple Ruins are her favorite training dummies, using her Turn Undead spells in conjunction with passive spells from the other schools to rise to master level. She willingly becomes a vampire when asked, as immortality only means that she has an eternity to unravel the secrets of Mundus.
The Lord Stone will make sure that her defenses are augmented in the later levels, preferably on the Aetherial Crown to keep the Mage Stone’s benefits as well. I personally avoided the Disintegrate perk as this burns the corpses you’ll want to be raising to a crisp, though undead from the Soul Cairn (Bonemen, Mistmen, Wrathmen) and Solstheim (Ash Spawn) are viable alternatives if you really want the destructive power of the perk.
As for the rest, keep developing her skills, making them legendary to be able to keep picking perks: the extent of her growth is limited only by your patience.
The End
Well, that's all she wrote. I would very much like comments, tips to improve and an impression of how you liked the build!
