Hi everyone, this is my first build, have been playing it for about 40 hours. At first it may seem that "no combat" would be a total bore in Skyrim, but believe me, you will get used to it and possibly fall in love with it. This build is intended for the hardest difficulties, Master or Legendary. So without further explanation, allow me to present...
The Tactician
As Skyrim's bloody civil war engulfs the land, one man steps forward to lead his band of soldiers and sell-swords alike to victory. This brilliant strategist does not rely on swords or sorcery to win battles, but rather the courage in his men's hearts, and his finely honed skills in warcraft. Inspiring his troops, the Tactician's ultimate goal is to bring about a swift peace with as few casualties on all fronts.
Backstory
Skyrim is divided in a war of succession. The Imperial Legion led by General Tullius and the rebel Stormcloaks led by Jarl Ulfric rages on. Many brothers join in on the fight, bitterly clashing for the frozen land.
This war has attracted many rogues, warriors and mages. It has also attracted you: a green tactician wishing to gain experience in the ways of war. Rather than taking up a sword or devastating your foes with magic spells, you wish to play the role of the adviser, consulting your troops to victory with unbeatable strategies.
My build is heavily inspired on the Fire Emblem games. In this series, you never directly take control of a hero, but instruct armies to victory. Fire Emblem is a turn based strategy RPG, so obviously to make this work in Skyrim, we will need to adapt the rules of a Tactician.
Gameplay
Since you will be playing rather passively, you will need to Subscribe to the mod Multiple Followers Lite
The Tactician is not a warrior or mage, however this does not mean that he is a pacifist; quite on the contrary, you will be required to command your troops in battle. You may even train skills to help level up (such as Archery), but no perks will be spent on combat related skills and of course no weapons or harmful magic. In order to achieve this play-style, you will need to master several skills on your journey that unfortunately your soldiers will not be able to. My build will strictly forbid the use of any weapons or harmful magic spells, but if you wish to change this please feel free to.
Brief Overview to Start the Game Correctly
At the start of your game, after you escape Helgen, follow the regular gameflow to Riverwood. At this point in the game, if you really want to roleplay, allow Ralof or Hadvar to kill ALL enemies on the way to Riverwood. Remember, you do not want to partake in battles, only influence them with your leadership and charisma from a safe distance. Take the Thief Stone, to increase your more passive skills.
Once you get to Riverwood, I would highly recommend to recruit your first soldier. Choose between Sven or Faendal by completing the mini-sidequest of delivering a letter. At the Riverwood Trader, sell all your junk from Helgen to raise Speech, start mixing Potions to increase Alchemy, and rob people of enchanted items and lockpicks to increase Pickpocket. Head over to the Blacksmith to increase Smithing, craft new gear for Sven or Faendal. Be sure to give them Healing Potions as well!
After you're confident that you're ready (of course pick up the quests), head to Whiterun (possibly recruiting more troops like Jenassa in the Drunken Huntsman, or Ulthgerd in the Bannered Mare. Its okay to fistfight to get followers)
Try to always let your followers do all the fighting, and continue reading below skills to get an idea of what you'll be doing.
Combat Skills
1) Illusion
Talk to Farengar, the court wizard of Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun. Stock up on "Leadership" tomes to inspire your soldiers in battle. Buy Courage initially and when your skill level is high enough, Rally and Call to Arms. It is totally allowed to inspire strength and courage in your troops, even in mid-battle. Invest in Silent Casting to in the later game remain hidden from combat.
2) Restoration (optional)
If you feel that your companions are too weak, you can also be "the only combat Healer" in Skyrim. You may purchase Healing Hands and Heal Other. These spells should only be used in the emergency situation when a follower is crouching right before death.
3) Conjuration (for non-PC players)
If you're on XBox or Playstation, you cannot include the Multiple Followers mod. In that case, you are of course allowed to master Conjuration, but can only use monsters and Dremora Lords, Twin Souls is also okay.
4) Sneak
Invest some perk points in Sneak, the Tactician should not take part in battle, only view it from a distance, and return to the shadows when using Illusion spells. Also, Tacticians are smart; they wouldn't fall for a dungeons simple traps.
5) Shouting
It's Skyrim, and in the end the main character is the Dovahkiin. I'd suggest avoid shouting unless its necessary for a Quest.
Non-combat Skills
1) Smithing
The idea here is NOT to smith ANYTHING for your character, only for the followers. Please avoid the Resto-loop with Enchanting and Alchemy to keep the game fun.
2) Enchanting
Obviously enchant some nice weapons and armor to keep your soldiers alive and happy. Do not enchant the Dragonborn's gear. You may wear an Amulet of Talos for Shouts (see Roleplaying for more info).
3) Alchemy
Collect any and all the ingriedients in the world whenever possible. When resting at a town or stumbling upon an Alchemy table, take your time to create some Potions and Poisons for your followers. The Tactician does not require any, but you can use him as a pack mule at any time.
4) Speech
In Fire Emblem, the Tactician was in charge of all the war funds. Since anyways you as the player are the only one who can interact with Merchants, you will need to keep a nice stock of supplies for your soldiers. You can additionally raise the Persuasion and Bribing skills, to avoid conflicts if that is your strategy.
5) Pickpocketing (optional but fun)
Nothing's wrong with picking up a few enchanted items for free once in a while, so long as the item or its effects are used for your soldiers.
6) Lockpicking (optional but fun)
What is in that treasure chest? A wise tactician would not pass up an oppurtunity to aquire more loot and gold for his troops. Again up to you if you want to play slightly "thief".
Other Information
Race: Any, but Nord or Imperial/Altmer are best choices since a large part will be the Civil War, and gender is up to you
Stone: The Steed Stone if the Tactician is a pack mule, The Lover Stone if you want to increase all these abilities faster, or the Shadow Stone to evade combat
Stats: Very important! Put all stats into Magicka and Stamina. To remain true to the concept of not partaking in battle, do not put points into Health. Magicka will be useful for casting Illusion spells (possibly Restoration and Conjuration too) and Stamina for just running around on the overworld or away from enemies. Stamina 10-15 : Magicka 1 (Or 0, its just Illusion and you can always find cost reducing gear or enchant yourself)I put all into Stamina so I can run away from combat and hide, and also for pack-muling loot from dungeons. Courage costs 35 MP with no cost reductions.
Perks:
Level 20 http://skyrimcalculator.com/425381
Level 60+ http://skyrimcalculator.com/425380
Note: You can Smith only for Heavy or Light armor, and of course swap perk points into anything non-combat related such as Lockpicking. You may enchant the gear of the Tactician such as Illusion cost reduction or Muffle bonus, but try to avoid increasing his Health.
Try to build up the perks as evenly as possible, whenever the option is available.
Major: Illusion, Smithing, Alchemy and Enchanting (but no Resto-looping!!)
Minor: Sneak and Speech
Optional: Restoration, Conjuration, Pickpocketing and Lockpicking
Additional Gear and Skills:If playing the Dragonborn DLC, you can acquire from the Black Book: Untold Legends the passive skill Bardic Knowledge. It will summon a spectral drum that increases all allies Stamina Regen by 50% for 300 seconds in a 50 foot radius.
Completing the quest A Return to Your Roots will grant the ability Sinderion's Serendipity, which grants a 25% chance to brew 2 potions while at the Alchemy station.
Main Equipment: Personally my favorite is the Psijic Order gear. You can only get this on the PC version with the following commands, hit the tilde key left of "1" on keyboard and type
player.additem 65b94 1 (this is for 1 robe for example)
- Robe: 00065B94
- Hood: 00065B99
- Gloves: 00065B9D
- Boots: 00065B9B
For everyone else, you could wear the Temple Priest robes and gear found in Dragonborn DLC. To save time (and not travelling to Solstheim) you can use these commands as well:
- Robe: 201CDAB
- Boots: 203B04B
- Hood: 203B04E
Role-playing
After escaping narrowly from Helgen with Ralof or Hadvar, and arriving to Riverwood, the Tactician decides to regroup and plan his campaign in Skyrim. Listening carefully to his companion's words, the Tactician decides to enlist with the Imperial Legion or the rebel Stormcloak army.
Imperial Legion
Hadvar leads the Tactician back to his uncle's home in Riverwood, and convinces him that Skyrim must abide by the laws and customs laid down in the White-Gold Concordat. Skyrim is a province of the Empire, and Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak seeks to disrupt the peace. The Tactician realizing that this is a perfect oppurtunity to hone his skills, seeks out General Tullius and is put under the command of Legate Rikke. His job is to assist in capturing of many Stormcloak forts, rescuing imprisoned Imperial soldiers, and essentially putting an end to the Stormcloak rebellion in any form he sees fit.
Stormcloak Rebellion
Ralof leads the Tactician back to Riverwood, and insists that he pay a visit to Windhelm to become a true son/daughter of Skyrim. Travelling to the incredibely snowy lands, the Tactician assists the Jarl and Galmar Stone-Fist in the conquest of Skyrim. His tactical abilities are put to the test when he needs to wrestle back forts and captured soldiers, and crush the Imperial invasion at every turn possible.
Wearing the Tactician's Cowl
If you truly want to play this correctly, you will join the Imperials or Stormcloaks immediately after Helgen. A fun little feature is to dress your followers in either Imperial or Stormcloak gear for further immersion. Remember, the Tactician does not ever directly attack the enemy, you must always inspire your troops and remain safe to view the fights. To speed up battles, enchant your followers gear, conjure monsters or Dremora, and use Illusion spells like Rally to boost everyone's morale. If you get bored of the total non-violence, you may change your play-style, but unfortunately it will no longer be a pure Tactician.
The beauty of being a Tactician also allows for an entirely open play-through; you can join any guilds including the Dark Brotherhood and Thieve's guild so long as you remain true to offering strategies.
One last word of advice, the mod Multiple Followers Lite comes with a special power to summon all your companions to your location. PLEASE AVOID this ability, but you are permitted to use it whenever the game separates you entirely from followers, such as entering Hermaeus Mora's realm or Quests like in Markarth where you're put in jail. In this case you can roleplay that your entire army travels with you through a book to Apocropha or is imprisoned.
Hi everyone, this is my first build, have been playing it for about 40 hours. At first it may seem that "no combat" would be a total bore in Skyrim, but believe me, you will get used to it and possibly fall in love with it. This build is intended for the hardest difficulties, Master or Legendary. So without further explanation, allow me to present...
The Tactician
As Skyrim's bloody civil war engulfs the land, one man steps forward to lead his band of soldiers and sell-swords alike to victory. This brilliant strategist does not rely on swords or sorcery to win battles, but rather the courage in his men's hearts, and his finely honed skills in warcraft. Inspiring his troops, the Tactician's ultimate goal is to bring about a swift peace with as few casualties on all fronts.
Backstory
Skyrim is divided in a war of succession. The Imperial Legion led by General Tullius and the rebel Stormcloaks led by Jarl Ulfric rages on. Many brothers join in on the fight, bitterly clashing for the frozen land.
This war has attracted many rogues, warriors and mages. It has also attracted you: a green tactician wishing to gain experience in the ways of war. Rather than taking up a sword or devastating your foes with magic spells, you wish to play the role of the adviser, consulting your troops to victory with unbeatable strategies.
My build is heavily inspired on the Fire Emblem games. In this series, you never directly take control of a hero, but instruct armies to victory. Fire Emblem is a turn based strategy RPG, so obviously to make this work in Skyrim, we will need to adapt the rules of a Tactician.
Gameplay
Since you will be playing rather passively, you will need to Subscribe to the mod Multiple Followers Lite
The Tactician is not a warrior or mage, however this does not mean that he is a pacifist; quite on the contrary, you will be required to command your troops in battle. You may even train skills to help level up (such as Archery), but no perks will be spent on combat related skills and of course no weapons or harmful magic. In order to achieve this play-style, you will need to master several skills on your journey that unfortunately your soldiers will not be able to. My build will strictly forbid the use of any weapons or harmful magic spells, but if you wish to change this please feel free to.
Brief Overview to Start the Game Correctly
At the start of your game, after you escape Helgen, follow the regular gameflow to Riverwood. At this point in the game, if you really want to roleplay, allow Ralof or Hadvar to kill ALL enemies on the way to Riverwood. Remember, you do not want to partake in battles, only influence them with your leadership and charisma from a safe distance. Take the Thief Stone, to increase your more passive skills.
Once you get to Riverwood, I would highly recommend to recruit your first soldier. Choose between Sven or Faendal by completing the mini-sidequest of delivering a letter. At the Riverwood Trader, sell all your junk from Helgen to raise Speech, start mixing Potions to increase Alchemy, and rob people of enchanted items and lockpicks to increase Pickpocket. Head over to the Blacksmith to increase Smithing, craft new gear for Sven or Faendal. Be sure to give them Healing Potions as well!
After you're confident that you're ready (of course pick up the quests), head to Whiterun (possibly recruiting more troops like Jenassa in the Drunken Huntsman, or Ulthgerd in the Bannered Mare. Its okay to fistfight to get followers)
Try to always let your followers do all the fighting, and continue reading below skills to get an idea of what you'll be doing.
Combat Skills
1) Illusion
Talk to Farengar, the court wizard of Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun. Stock up on "Leadership" tomes to inspire your soldiers in battle. Buy Courage initially and when your skill level is high enough, Rally and Call to Arms. It is totally allowed to inspire strength and courage in your troops, even in mid-battle. Invest in Silent Casting to in the later game remain hidden from combat.
2) Restoration (optional)
If you feel that your companions are too weak, you can also be "the only combat Healer" in Skyrim. You may purchase Healing Hands and Heal Other. These spells should only be used in the emergency situation when a follower is crouching right before death.
3) Conjuration (for non-PC players)
If you're on XBox or Playstation, you cannot include the Multiple Followers mod. In that case, you are of course allowed to master Conjuration, but can only use monsters and Dremora Lords, Twin Souls is also okay.
4) Sneak
Invest some perk points in Sneak, the Tactician should not take part in battle, only view it from a distance, and return to the shadows when using Illusion spells. Also, Tacticians are smart; they wouldn't fall for a dungeons simple traps.
5) Shouting
It's Skyrim, and in the end the main character is the Dovahkiin. I'd suggest avoid shouting unless its necessary for a Quest.
Non-combat Skills
1) Smithing
The idea here is NOT to smith ANYTHING for your character, only for the followers. Please avoid the Resto-loop with Enchanting and Alchemy to keep the game fun.
2) Enchanting
Obviously enchant some nice weapons and armor to keep your soldiers alive and happy. Do not enchant the Dragonborn's gear. You may wear an Amulet of Talos for Shouts (see Roleplaying for more info).
3) Alchemy
Collect any and all the ingriedients in the world whenever possible. When resting at a town or stumbling upon an Alchemy table, take your time to create some Potions and Poisons for your followers. The Tactician does not require any, but you can use him as a pack mule at any time.
4) Speech
In Fire Emblem, the Tactician was in charge of all the war funds. Since anyways you as the player are the only one who can interact with Merchants, you will need to keep a nice stock of supplies for your soldiers. You can additionally raise the Persuasion and Bribing skills, to avoid conflicts if that is your strategy.
5) Pickpocketing (optional but fun)
Nothing's wrong with picking up a few enchanted items for free once in a while, so long as the item or its effects are used for your soldiers.
6) Lockpicking (optional but fun)
What is in that treasure chest? A wise tactician would not pass up an oppurtunity to aquire more loot and gold for his troops. Again up to you if you want to play slightly "thief".
Other Information
Race: Any, but Nord or Imperial/Altmer are best choices since a large part will be the Civil War, and gender is up to you
Stone: The Steed Stone if the Tactician is a pack mule, The Lover Stone if you want to increase all these abilities faster, or the Shadow Stone to evade combat
Stats: Very important! Put all stats into Magicka and Stamina. To remain true to the concept of not partaking in battle, do not put points into Health. Magicka will be useful for casting Illusion spells (possibly Restoration and Conjuration too) and Stamina for just running around on the overworld or away from enemies. Stamina 10-15 : Magicka 1 (Or 0, its just Illusion and you can always find cost reducing gear or enchant yourself)I put all into Stamina so I can run away from combat and hide, and also for pack-muling loot from dungeons. Courage costs 35 MP with no cost reductions.
Perks:
Level 20 http://skyrimcalculator.com/425381
Level 60+ http://skyrimcalculator.com/425380
Note: You can Smith only for Heavy or Light armor, and of course swap perk points into anything non-combat related such as Lockpicking. You may enchant the gear of the Tactician such as Illusion cost reduction or Muffle bonus, but try to avoid increasing his Health.
Try to build up the perks as evenly as possible, whenever the option is available.
Major: Illusion, Smithing, Alchemy and Enchanting (but no Resto-looping!!)
Minor: Sneak and Speech
Optional: Restoration, Conjuration, Pickpocketing and Lockpicking
Additional Gear and Skills:If playing the Dragonborn DLC, you can acquire from the Black Book: Untold Legends the passive skill Bardic Knowledge. It will summon a spectral drum that increases all allies Stamina Regen by 50% for 300 seconds in a 50 foot radius.
Completing the quest A Return to Your Roots will grant the ability Sinderion's Serendipity, which grants a 25% chance to brew 2 potions while at the Alchemy station.
Main Equipment: Personally my favorite is the Psijic Order gear. You can only get this on the PC version with the following commands, hit the tilde key left of "1" on keyboard and type
player.additem 65b94 1 (this is for 1 robe for example)
- Robe: 00065B94
- Hood: 00065B99
- Gloves: 00065B9D
- Boots: 00065B9B
For everyone else, you could wear the Temple Priest robes and gear found in Dragonborn DLC. To save time (and not travelling to Solstheim) you can use these commands as well:
- Robe: 201CDAB
- Boots: 203B04B
- Hood: 203B04E
Role-playing
After escaping narrowly from Helgen with Ralof or Hadvar, and arriving to Riverwood, the Tactician decides to regroup and plan his campaign in Skyrim. Listening carefully to his companion's words, the Tactician decides to enlist with the Imperial Legion or the rebel Stormcloak army.
Imperial Legion
Hadvar leads the Tactician back to his uncle's home in Riverwood, and convinces him that Skyrim must abide by the laws and customs laid down in the White-Gold Concordat. Skyrim is a province of the Empire, and Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak seeks to disrupt the peace. The Tactician realizing that this is a perfect oppurtunity to hone his skills, seeks out General Tullius and is put under the command of Legate Rikke. His job is to assist in capturing of many Stormcloak forts, rescuing imprisoned Imperial soldiers, and essentially putting an end to the Stormcloak rebellion in any form he sees fit.
Stormcloak Rebellion
Ralof leads the Tactician back to Riverwood, and insists that he pay a visit to Windhelm to become a true son/daughter of Skyrim. Travelling to the incredibely snowy lands, the Tactician assists the Jarl and Galmar Stone-Fist in the conquest of Skyrim. His tactical abilities are put to the test when he needs to wrestle back forts and captured soldiers, and crush the Imperial invasion at every turn possible.
Wearing the Tactician's Cowl
If you truly want to play this correctly, you will join the Imperials or Stormcloaks immediately after Helgen. A fun little feature is to dress your followers in either Imperial or Stormcloak gear for further immersion. Remember, the Tactician does not ever directly attack the enemy, you must always inspire your troops and remain safe to view the fights. To speed up battles, enchant your followers gear, conjure monsters or Dremora, and use Illusion spells like Rally to boost everyone's morale. If you get bored of the total non-violence, you may change your play-style, but unfortunately it will no longer be a pure Tactician.
The beauty of being a Tactician also allows for an entirely open play-through; you can join any guilds including the Dark Brotherhood and Thieve's guild so long as you remain true to offering strategies.
One last word of advice, the mod Multiple Followers Lite comes with a special power to summon all your companions to your location. PLEASE AVOID this ability, but you are permitted to use it whenever the game separates you entirely from followers, such as entering Hermaeus Mora's realm or Quests like in Markarth where you're put in jail. In this case you can roleplay that your entire army travels with you through a book to Apocropha or is imprisoned.
