Relycs and I have been working on this character for quite a while now and after rigorous playthroughing and planning we have completed our build, The Black Rider, based on the Nazgûl from Lord of the Rings is now released!
The Black Rider is a horse and dragon-riding vampiric illusionist that wields a mace and defends himself with flesh spells, the end result is an incredibly dominating character with potential to lay waste to all enemies in his path.
The Black Rider
~
A Breton noble with a good heart travelled to Skyrim in his search for honest justice. He was captured upon the borders of the Fatherland and was sentenced to death, in the midst of the execution, a harbinger of destruction - a dragon appeared and turned the town into a ruin, however, it also set the noble free to travel.
In the city of Markarth he met a young cannibal in a crypt, hypnotized by her charm he obeyed her and became the champion of the Lady of Decay, the Daedric God Namira. The Foul Lady gave unto the noble a ring of great and terrible power.
As he travelled with the ring his heart became dark and shrouded in a sinister haze, the good-hearted noble was slowly being drowned by the will of the ring. Before long, its power consumed him, he became a hand of Sithis and the Night Mother, murdering for the coin, an undead stalker of the night, a pawn of Molag Bal and a devourer of corpses.
They call him the Dragonborn of legend, but that is not his destiny, he is a slave to his own power now, forever cursed to murder, consume and destroy.
~
The Build
This character, as stated above was a wealthy Breton noble that was caught on the borders of Skyrim that fell to the promises of power from Lords that offered him power. It is best to make the face as dirty as possible and you choose full-face black warpaint (Or you can change it at the Face Sculptor in the Ragged Flagon), this will mean when you equip your hood and you are a vampire, if the lighting is right you will see nothing but two glowing yellow eyes within blackness instead of a face.
Race: Breton Vampire, this race (besides from being my person favorite race) is also the best race defensively, since it offers a 25% reduction from spell damage, which stacks with:
Stone: The Lord, this in combination with the Breton race gives 50% magical resistance, giving us great survivability against mages.
Stats:3/2/1 with this stat layout you should have enough magicka to cast your flesh and illusion spells, enough health to survive heavy hits and enough stamina to send your mace through the opponents skull more than a few times.
Major Skills:One-Handed, Enchanting, Illusion and Alteration
Minor Skills:Restoration and Smithing
Powers: Blessing of Talos, The Earth Stone, Dragonskin
Shouts: Soul Tear, Marked for Death, Drain Vitality, Bend Will, Summon Durneviir, Slow Time, Frost Breath.
Spells: Rout, Ebonyflesh, Ignite, Freeze.
Quests: Main Quest (Up until and including The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller), The Taste of Death, The House of Horrors The Dark Brotherhood, Pieces of the Past, The Volkihar, March of the Dead, Dragonborn, Unearthed.
~
Gear
~
You'll want to obtain the Ring of Namira as soon as possible, just go to Markarth Hall of the Dead and activate the quest by speaking to the Priest. Obviously you can use whichever mace takes your fancy at first I chose the Steel Mace until level 14 and immediately went to get The Mace of Molag Bal, which is used until your Smithing and Enchanting Skill is high enough to wield your Chaos Damage and Absorb Health Ebony Mace. Immediately at level 20 you'll want to obtain Mehrune's Razor.
After many battles, in Kolbjorn Barrow The Black Rider finds his true ring, Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy... An epic battle with Ahzidal ensues and The Black Rider emerges victorious.
Skills
One-Handed:Used to increase your damage output to devastate your enemies with your crushing mace, key perks are Armsman 5/5 and Bonebreaker 3/3.
Enchanting: Used to give you massive benefits from your armor in combination with Necromage. Key Perks are Fire Enchanter, Frost Enchanter, Storm Enchanter, Insightful Enchanter and Extra Effect.
Illusion: This skill is used to simulate the fear that is emanated from the Nazgûl in Tolkien's series by using (Get this) Fear spells. Key Perks are Aspect of Terror, Expert Illusion and Kindred Mage.
Alteration: Used to create armor around yourself, since this build uses no inherent armor. (Ebonyflesh stacked with the a vampire with Necromage can get 125 Armor out of Ebonyflesh or 375 with the Mage Armor perks and a total of 425 with the Lord Stone). Key Perks are Mage Armor 3/3, Expert Alteration, Stability and Magic Resistance 3/3 (The Breton race, plus the lord stone, plus 3/3 in Magic Resistance grants 80% resistance to magic, meaning mages will be nothing against you).
Restoration:Used purely for Necromage, which boosts all the enchantments on this character by 25% and increases the effectiveness of spells we cast by 25% too. Key Perk here is obviously Necromage.
Smithing: Used to smith and improve your Ebony Mace and other maces during the game. Key Perks are Ebony Smithing and Arcane Blacksmith.
~
Perkspread
(Amazing work on this, by the way, Relycs!)
~
Gameplay and Combat
Always take advantage of horse- or on-dragon combat, as it allows you to observe the battlefield and to plan your next steps against the four types of foes you will encounter.
Melee
Fighting against melee-enemys on the groud can be very dangerous with this character. Try to weaken them with horse/dragon attacks, until you close in on the ground.
Before engaging against multiple enemys, always try to be aware of their weapons and their position. A two-handed strike to the back followed by a killcam isn´t something you´re looking for. Your mace may be slow but it will do good damage and later on, with the absorb-health enchantment, will keep you alive in long battles. Try to hit and step back from your enemy at the same time, so he wont be able to reach you. Thanks to Talos, you will be able to use your shouts fairly often, so take advantage of it. Marked for Death can be very useful to soften up enemies out of range, so they will be easy to kill once you reach them.
Mages
Aside dragons, they will be the hardest foes to deal with, as they can easily hit you while riding on horse/dragons back. Once you've landed, watch out for ice-spells because they can really hurt your movement and will make you unable to close distance or attack properly. Drain Vitality will be your friend (itwont allow your enemys to recover resources), making them easy to fight once they run out of magicka. Your high magic resist really helps against fire-wielding enemys, but even then, they will do good dmg, so try to avoid them as often as possible. Sneaking can greatly help covering some distance before the fight starts. If you see them staggered through your shouts/attacks, switch to dual-wielding to deal massive damage, before they can fight back.
Archers
Their ridiculous aim can become annoying while riding on horse/dragon. Try to focus them first. Ignite can really help here, so use it as often as possible. Freeze can also prevent them from moving around and allows you to quickly get to them. The shout Marked for Death will be your best friend because it weakens their defense, while you´re taking care of their friends. Once you've finished them, the archer/s wont be a big deal.
On higher lvls, some of them will become extremely powerful (Deathlord Archers anyone?) Avoiding their arrows will become crucial, but can be made easier with shouting one word of Slow Time during the engage.
Dragons
Probably the hardest foes to deal with, as your range attacks lack the dmg to match theirs. Your magic resistance will help a ton, but it´s always better to avoid their shouts and wait for them to land. Mehrunes Razor will really come in handy here, but shouldn´t be counted on. Calling a dragon can be a good distraction, as is your horse. Using Marked for Death, or even better Drain Vitality can help to bring them down.
Once you obtain Bend Will, they wont be a problem any longer and should be used to fight other foes. In case the effect runs out, simply shout at them again, as the amulet/blessing of Talos will make the cooldown fairly short.
~
Combo's
Morgul Rebirth - Soul Tear + Mehrune's Razor - The Morgul-blade pierces the heart of the victim, transforming them undeniably into a Nazgûl.
Morgul Bomber - Morgul Rebirth + Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy + Frost Breath - The newborn Nazgûl are mere tools, The Black Rider uses them as such...
Boneshattering Strike - Fighting Stance + Bone Breaker 3/3 - The Black Rider delivers a blow of unrelenting and unmatched pain.
Fear- Aspect of Terror + Animage + Kindred Mage + Rout - The surrounding mortals flee in terror of The Black Rider as he advances, mace in hand.
"Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh will be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye." --J.R.R. Tolkien
That's a wrap, folks, Relyc's and I sincerely hope you have enjoyed our build, feel free to leave your comments and criticisms in the comments below, thank for reading.
Note: All credit for art goes to their original owners, editing credit goes to Relycs.
Relycs and I have been working on this character for quite a while now and after rigorous playthroughing and planning we have completed our build, The Black Rider, based on the Nazgûl from Lord of the Rings is now released!
The Black Rider is a horse and dragon-riding vampiric illusionist that wields a mace and defends himself with flesh spells, the end result is an incredibly dominating character with potential to lay waste to all enemies in his path.
The Black Rider
~
A Breton noble with a good heart travelled to Skyrim in his search for honest justice. He was captured upon the borders of the Fatherland and was sentenced to death, in the midst of the execution, a harbinger of destruction - a dragon appeared and turned the town into a ruin, however, it also set the noble free to travel.
In the city of Markarth he met a young cannibal in a crypt, hypnotized by her charm he obeyed her and became the champion of the Lady of Decay, the Daedric God Namira. The Foul Lady gave unto the noble a ring of great and terrible power.
As he travelled with the ring his heart became dark and shrouded in a sinister haze, the good-hearted noble was slowly being drowned by the will of the ring. Before long, its power consumed him, he became a hand of Sithis and the Night Mother, murdering for the coin, an undead stalker of the night, a pawn of Molag Bal and a devourer of corpses.
They call him the Dragonborn of legend, but that is not his destiny, he is a slave to his own power now, forever cursed to murder, consume and destroy.
~
The Build
This character, as stated above was a wealthy Breton noble that was caught on the borders of Skyrim that fell to the promises of power from Lords that offered him power. It is best to make the face as dirty as possible and you choose full-face black warpaint (Or you can change it at the Face Sculptor in the Ragged Flagon), this will mean when you equip your hood and you are a vampire, if the lighting is right you will see nothing but two glowing yellow eyes within blackness instead of a face.
Race: Breton Vampire, this race (besides from being my person favorite race) is also the best race defensively, since it offers a 25% reduction from spell damage, which stacks with:
Stone: The Lord, this in combination with the Breton race gives 50% magical resistance, giving us great survivability against mages.
Stats:3/2/1 with this stat layout you should have enough magicka to cast your flesh and illusion spells, enough health to survive heavy hits and enough stamina to send your mace through the opponents skull more than a few times.
Major Skills:One-Handed, Enchanting, Illusion and Alteration
Minor Skills:Restoration and Smithing
Powers: Blessing of Talos, The Earth Stone, Dragonskin
Shouts: Soul Tear, Marked for Death, Drain Vitality, Bend Will, Summon Durneviir, Slow Time, Frost Breath.
Spells: Rout, Ebonyflesh, Ignite, Freeze.
Quests: Main Quest (Up until and including The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller), The Taste of Death, The House of Horrors The Dark Brotherhood, Pieces of the Past, The Volkihar, March of the Dead, Dragonborn, Unearthed.
~
Gear
~
You'll want to obtain the Ring of Namira as soon as possible, just go to Markarth Hall of the Dead and activate the quest by speaking to the Priest. Obviously you can use whichever mace takes your fancy at first I chose the Steel Mace until level 14 and immediately went to get The Mace of Molag Bal, which is used until your Smithing and Enchanting Skill is high enough to wield your Chaos Damage and Absorb Health Ebony Mace. Immediately at level 20 you'll want to obtain Mehrune's Razor.
After many battles, in Kolbjorn Barrow The Black Rider finds his true ring, Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy... An epic battle with Ahzidal ensues and The Black Rider emerges victorious.
Skills
One-Handed:Used to increase your damage output to devastate your enemies with your crushing mace, key perks are Armsman 5/5 and Bonebreaker 3/3.
Enchanting: Used to give you massive benefits from your armor in combination with Necromage. Key Perks are Fire Enchanter, Frost Enchanter, Storm Enchanter, Insightful Enchanter and Extra Effect.
Illusion: This skill is used to simulate the fear that is emanated from the Nazgûl in Tolkien's series by using (Get this) Fear spells. Key Perks are Aspect of Terror, Expert Illusion and Kindred Mage.
Alteration: Used to create armor around yourself, since this build uses no inherent armor. (Ebonyflesh stacked with the a vampire with Necromage can get 125 Armor out of Ebonyflesh or 375 with the Mage Armor perks and a total of 425 with the Lord Stone). Key Perks are Mage Armor 3/3, Expert Alteration, Stability and Magic Resistance 3/3 (The Breton race, plus the lord stone, plus 3/3 in Magic Resistance grants 80% resistance to magic, meaning mages will be nothing against you).
Restoration:Used purely for Necromage, which boosts all the enchantments on this character by 25% and increases the effectiveness of spells we cast by 25% too. Key Perk here is obviously Necromage.
Smithing: Used to smith and improve your Ebony Mace and other maces during the game. Key Perks are Ebony Smithing and Arcane Blacksmith.
~
Perkspread
(Amazing work on this, by the way, Relycs!)
~
Gameplay and Combat
Always take advantage of horse- or on-dragon combat, as it allows you to observe the battlefield and to plan your next steps against the four types of foes you will encounter.
Melee
Fighting against melee-enemys on the groud can be very dangerous with this character. Try to weaken them with horse/dragon attacks, until you close in on the ground.
Before engaging against multiple enemys, always try to be aware of their weapons and their position. A two-handed strike to the back followed by a killcam isn´t something you´re looking for. Your mace may be slow but it will do good damage and later on, with the absorb-health enchantment, will keep you alive in long battles. Try to hit and step back from your enemy at the same time, so he wont be able to reach you. Thanks to Talos, you will be able to use your shouts fairly often, so take advantage of it. Marked for Death can be very useful to soften up enemies out of range, so they will be easy to kill once you reach them.
Mages
Aside dragons, they will be the hardest foes to deal with, as they can easily hit you while riding on horse/dragons back. Once you've landed, watch out for ice-spells because they can really hurt your movement and will make you unable to close distance or attack properly. Drain Vitality will be your friend (itwont allow your enemys to recover resources), making them easy to fight once they run out of magicka. Your high magic resist really helps against fire-wielding enemys, but even then, they will do good dmg, so try to avoid them as often as possible. Sneaking can greatly help covering some distance before the fight starts. If you see them staggered through your shouts/attacks, switch to dual-wielding to deal massive damage, before they can fight back.
Archers
Their ridiculous aim can become annoying while riding on horse/dragon. Try to focus them first. Ignite can really help here, so use it as often as possible. Freeze can also prevent them from moving around and allows you to quickly get to them. The shout Marked for Death will be your best friend because it weakens their defense, while you´re taking care of their friends. Once you've finished them, the archer/s wont be a big deal.
On higher lvls, some of them will become extremely powerful (Deathlord Archers anyone?) Avoiding their arrows will become crucial, but can be made easier with shouting one word of Slow Time during the engage.
Dragons
Probably the hardest foes to deal with, as your range attacks lack the dmg to match theirs. Your magic resistance will help a ton, but it´s always better to avoid their shouts and wait for them to land. Mehrunes Razor will really come in handy here, but shouldn´t be counted on. Calling a dragon can be a good distraction, as is your horse. Using Marked for Death, or even better Drain Vitality can help to bring them down.
Once you obtain Bend Will, they wont be a problem any longer and should be used to fight other foes. In case the effect runs out, simply shout at them again, as the amulet/blessing of Talos will make the cooldown fairly short.
~
Combo's
Morgul Rebirth - Soul Tear + Mehrune's Razor - The Morgul-blade pierces the heart of the victim, transforming them undeniably into a Nazgûl.
Morgul Bomber - Morgul Rebirth + Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy + Frost Breath - The newborn Nazgûl are mere tools, The Black Rider uses them as such...
Boneshattering Strike - Fighting Stance + Bone Breaker 3/3 - The Black Rider delivers a blow of unrelenting and unmatched pain.
Fear- Aspect of Terror + Animage + Kindred Mage + Rout - The surrounding mortals flee in terror of The Black Rider as he advances, mace in hand.
"Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh will be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye." --J.R.R. Tolkien
That's a wrap, folks, Relyc's and I sincerely hope you have enjoyed our build, feel free to leave your comments and criticisms in the comments below, thank for reading.
Note: All credit for art goes to their original owners, editing credit goes to Relycs.
