So first off, I would like to give props to a character build that originally inspired the whole style of fighting I went with.
The Arbalist by Henson
Also, quick disclaimer, this is an RP FOCUSED BUILD, not one maximized for effectiveness. In fact, a ton of my choices were made specifically to underpower the build, making it more challenging and fun. Just wanted to let you know. And now that I have, I present to you,
THE AUXILIARY ARTILLERY!!!
Obviously the name is inspired by the initial way you are addressed upon becoming a member of the Legion. This is because my build centers very heavily around identifying with the Legion. Essentially I had always liked the Legion best as a faction, always siding with them in the war. I had also been fiddling around with dozens of builds in the last few weeks, and found myself quickly growing bored with each style of combat. Admittedly this is my own fault, as I hate switching things out (shouts, weapons, spells, gear, etc) and having only one set of equipment tends to restrict variety of combat. Not so anymore. So without further ado, let us get to the meat of the character.
Backstory:
Zylta Rish is a Khajiit born into slavery. Her parents were slaves of the Dominion, she was a slave, and she grew up fully expecting that any children she should bear would be slaves as well. From a young age she was trained to fight, an unwilling warrior overseen by the brutal Thalmor. She was sent where the Dominion could not openly go, as no one would expect a Khajiit to be working with the Aldmeri. With her family as hostages, she had little choice but to obey. So she fought, unleashing her rage on those who were not truly her enemies, fighting into her mid twenties as a slave. Then she was sent to Skyrim, to join the Stormcloaks and fight beneath another agent of the Thalmor, Ulfric Stormcloak. He had divived Skyrim to weaken the Empire, and she would be another pawn used to further this rift.
But for once destiny was kind. As Zylta was being brought into the country, along with other slave soldiers and Thalmor agents, her captors were ambushed. They in turn became captives of the Empire, and were brought to Helgen for their execution. Zylta Rish found this irony incredibly just, and was fully prepared to die watching the heads of her tormentors roll. Life had only ever been hard for her, and she was glad it would end so soon, so quickly, and in so satisfying a manner. The rise of Alduin, the destruction of Helgen, made her reevaluate her options.
Aided in her escape by a soldier of the Legion, Zylta found herself in a foreign land without anything holding her back, and nothing to give her direction. All she knew was that she was some manner of prophesied hero, a dragon slayer. But first, she had some scores to settle, with the Stormcloaks and Thalmor alike. So after warning the Jarl of Whiterun, after slaying her first dragon, she went to Solitude, and there she found her calling as a Legionaire of the Empire.
Race:
Khajiit: I went with Khajiit for several reasons. For one, I asked my wife and she suggested I make a 'Kitty' arbitrarily. At first I was ready to ignore the idea, but it quickly grew on me as I considered it. The cats have claws, and I have always loved being dangerous even when unarmed. The build also focuses on heavy armor, which can make unarmed much more effective. Some of my most recent builds had also focused on Alteration, solely because I like the lights. The graphics had been set extremely dim to make the lights actually helpful. Now, in a build with no magic, the dimness not only continued to make dungeon dives much scarier, but my Night Eye was useful! Dark, creepy atmosphere, but sight issues are alleviated once combat starts. Besides, the skills I needed to take were pretty much scattered across the board, so racial bonuses were largely irrelevant. So for appearance, for rp (I like being races that are discriminated against), and for kitty claws, I went Khajiit. But in all reality, any race would work.
Stats:
While the character herself hates magic and potions for being something beyond her understanding, and therefor not trustworthy, there is an ooc reason for the stat distribution here. I love magic, but I hate when I am useless after eating all my mana. And as mentioned before, I hate switching weapons/methods of attack. Mages need backups (since I refuse to make use of most glitches). I also hate potions because if you carry enough, you can beat anyone with ease. But anyway, here are the stats.
0/1/0 FOREVER
Yes, forever. NEVER any stamina, never any magicka. I like the more lumbering pace of the character, as it fits the playstyle of just kicking in the door and beating everyone to death. You never use magic, so magicka is a waste. Not to mention I adore just taking a beating and giggling about it. Some items will be used to alleviate stamina deprivation just a little, but I never saw any need for a huge amount of it.
Stone:
Steed: So this is largely preferential, nothing is really required for the character. However, I went with Steed Stone. I get to skip taking Conditioning and Cushioned this way. I always thought Cushioned was pointless, so taking it just to get Conditioning is painful. Plus, since I hate potions (which we will cover more later) I needed a lot of extra carry weight, and I don't put points into Stamina. Lord would be good to make you tougher, Lady would be great for recovery without Restoration or potions. However, whatever you pick keep in mind the distrust of magic and magical effects. This means Ritual Stone and Serpent Stone would be pretty out of character.
Shout:
Marked for Death: Yes, SHOUT, singular. I don't like changing things up by circumstance! If it comes down to just having the right tool in your kit, the preparation for battle becomes more important than the fight. For me the challenge is winning using what I have, not finding the ideal tool. If you disagree, change stuff! Anyway, I went with Marked for Death. The reasons are manifold. It seems like one of the shouts that has the least magical effect, draining armor and hp slowly. There are very few Shouts I like anyway! I used the effect from Marked for Death represent enemies just struggling against panic when they face the dreaded Auxiliary! The more they panic as combat goes on, the more mistakes they make, the easier it is to get killing blows on them. Many of the other shouts are just plain overpowered anyway! This maintains the straightforward bulldozing style of combat, just makes you better at it. (plus I like to kill bunnies, but they can be hard to hit with a bolt. Not with Marked for Death!) Most importantly though, I HATE when I almost kill somebody, and have to shoot them again. If they are Marked for Death, just move to the next target and let their HP dwindle away.
Major Skills: (gasp there are only 2!)
Archery:
Well duh, I use a crossbow. Kinda the whole point of the build! Anyway, this tree you will want to take EVERYTHING and do it as soon as possible. The exception here was I put my very first perk into Heavy Armor because I know crossbows have huge power for low levels, and since we are using sub-par armor, it was needed more there. Every single perk in here is useful.
Heavy Armor:
Your primary method of defense. I was originally toying with the idea of Light Armor, but the Imperial Armor is by far my favorite. You will need limited Perks here, as I play without a helm so I can see the character I spent so long crafting. Plus it makes me feel more charismatic than with a helmet. Take all the ranks of Juggernaut to maximize defense. You will be using Imperial Armor for the whole playthrough, so it won't be getting much better. Take Fists of Steel if you wish to develop your unarmed fighting (especially useful if Khajiit or Argonian). Nothing else will be useful without a helm and using the Steed Stone. If you change either of those things, feel free to take more Perks!
Minor Skills:
Smithing:
So this skill will be used minimally, but play a hugely important role in the character. You need Steel Smithing and Dwarven Smithing only, at least if you stick to the gear I did. Steel will let you upgrade your armor. Dwarven upgrades the crossbow. You will never be using, making, or doing anything but selling enchanted gear, so you have no need to be able to improve it. Advancing this skill to make better improvements is something I ended up doing, and also I made money as a jewelry smith. Good skill to make Legendary if it suits you, as after you upgraded your armor fully you won't need those perks anymore, and it can feed you more HP!
Speech:
I always love Speech, and there is no way to avoid leveling it! Don't perk this before combat skills of course, but it is always fun once you start being able to convince people of everything, can invest in stores, etc. Can Legendary if you want, but I kept it to avoid losing all my fun perks.
Lockpick:
This should have no Perks, unless you want to take the one that improves how much gold you find. But honestly, with no potions, basic gear, no enchanting, and relatively cheap equipment, money should be no object. I am just acknowledging that I used this to open chests in dungeons and the like to ensure I missed no loot. Best option for Legendary as your skill level is largely irrelevant given enough picks.
Sneak (Optional):
My original run with this build included minimal stealth, only taking Stealth a couple of times. I wanted to be able to scout things out, plan, then strike once before being discovered. I was horrified to find Sneak was so effective that I usually dropped all my foes without being spotted, despite having heavy armor and no muffling. It quickly became a stealth assassin archer rather than a soldier-naut, so I restarted and dropped Sneak altogether.
Gear: (I won't specify endgame or beginning, as it changes little, and you can acquire all of it as you please)
Chest: Imperial Armor
Extremely basic heavy armor, and in fact the first set you have the chance to acquire! I chose this armor for two reasons that might not be so popular. First, I adore the Legion. They are my favorite, and I love the three main NPCs in them more than anyone other than Serana. I always found it just about impossible to side against them. Secondly, it looks cool. I dislike most heavy armors on my female character as they make her fairly masculine in appearance. My Khajiit might be as bulky as I could make her, but she is still a woman-cat dangit! I like the skirted part of the armor, the way you can see arms, hands, bits of leg, etc. I also love the way the shoulder plates move when you are running. So aesthetics and RP wise, this is the armor for a loyal legionaire.
Feet: Imperial Boots
See above! Was tempted to switch out a few times for something enchanted, since it is visually minimally impactful, but NO. RP demanded it stay. Plus, no magic, no magical items that aren't religious in origin.
Hands: Imperial Bracers
See above.
Head: Aetherial Crown, anything that boosts archery (whatever you want really, I just wanted to be able to see my character)
This is more open ended. I have grabbed several items intending to use them forever, then ended up trading them for something else later. If you want another Stone, Aetherial Crown. Archery boosts are always nice too. Mostly I just wanted something that allowed me to see my character, so no hoods or helmets.
Neck: Locket of Saint Jiub or any Amulet
I was originally going to restrict this to Amulets of the Divines only to show the distrust of magic. Blessings from the gods, not the same as magic! But then I ran into Saint Jiub in the Soul Cairn and decided that the Stamina and carry capacity would help immensely. As with the Steed Stone, the capacity is for all the food I lug around in place of potions. The Stamina allows me to perform more bashes, run faster, etc. Quite useful since I put no points in Stamina.
Ring: Bond of Matrimony
Solely for RP. When you avoid enchanted objects, finding a useful ring to wear is hard. Besides, getting married is always a central part of my characters, and getting a ring you never wear seems odd. So this is a ring I will never be taking off! Again, blessed by god is not the same as magic.
Combat:
I built this character to be a "I don't GIVE A DANG" kind of lady. With heavy armor and an insane HP pool, she can walk into combat and just lay waste. more than that, with her huge reserves of delicious food, even when caught on the backfoot she can sustain herself. Your primary weapon is of course your lovely crossbow, but this does not mean you are helpless in melee either.
At range, you have a variety of ammunition types to choose from. Personally, after getting the Dwarven Crossbow, I used only varieties of dwarven bolts. More effective, I was loaded at this point (and can smith these), and they fit more with the crossbow they are made to complement. These are the only situational tools I use really! Shock for mages and dragons to reduce magicka, frost for warriors to prevent power attacks, fire for everything to kill it faster! Basic bolts are best for mooks who are no real threat. Why waste the fun stuff?
Now, thus far the combat is pretty run of the mill. I love how crossbows work, so even just shooting over and over is fun for me. But when things get up close and personal, not only do you really shine, but things get really fun. This brings me to the only glitch I allow myself to use, the bash-shot (dunno if there is a more official name for it). Essentially right after reloading, if you time it right, a bash from the crossbow will do damage as though you shot them with a bolt. I call this technique Bayonet Bash, as I justify it by saying my crossbow has a bayonet! Given some of the animations, this is actually quite fitting. This technique is essential to close quarters fighting with a crossbow.
Bombardment: As enemies close, they should be getting staggered in turns to keep the fighting ranged as long as possible. Just as they are about to reach you, hit them with a Marked for Death. If this is one group of many, maybe not use full strength, allowing it to cooldown faster. At this point your priority is preserving your own HP, watching them become increasingly more vulnerable from your Shout. You can do this in several ways, covered below:
Run'n Gun: turn and run! You have a small pool of stamina, but Steed Stone makes you lighter than most human enemies, and faster. Run, turn and fire, run! Simple right? But not always possible. Some enemies can pace/outpace you with ease, or use ranged attacks. Useful against large numbers of heavily armored or slower enemies.
Hold the Line: this is when you get to use that lovely Bayonet Bash. Pick a target, shoot him, reload. He is likely staggered, so pick another target. Bash him as quickly as possible to activate Bayonet Bash. This should stagger the second target as well. You can either stagger a third target with a shot, shoot one of the original targets, or just do a normal bash to keep them on their heels! The key is to take full advantage of your higher stagger shots, high damage Bayonet Bash, and normal bashes to keep them off of you. This will minimize the damage they can deal as they are busy recovering, allowing Marked for Death to take a toll. Time is your ally here.
Stunlock: as mean as it sounds, this is a technique for dealing with single targets. Honestly, they should usually not even reach you with how often you can stagger them with a bolt! But hey, let us assume they make it. Now you just cycle. Shoot them, hope they stagger. Reload, Bayonet Bash. Shoot. Etc, etc. This will make them spend most of their time recovering, Marked for Death slowly eating them away. This is especially hilarious on dragons, where you can just keep interrupting their breath attacks, their formidable armor dwindling quickly to nothing. If battles last long enough, you will see the damage you deal skyrocket as armor hits negatives. Easy peasy.
Recovery: if you will notice, all of the above strategies require continuous use of Stamina, which we didn't invest in! OH NO! But wait, there's more! For one thing, plenty of food will provide instant Stamina in a pinch, allowing you to continue to use any of the above. You can also eat food that provides a regen boost to Stamina, letting it replenish faster. But absent the use of food, you have one last trick up your fur! You're a cat after all (or not depend on how closely you followed this lol!) and your claws are enhanced by a coating of armor. When Stamina is gone and enemies close in, sheathe that crossbow and unsheathe those pointy pricks of kitty fury! How viable this is will vary depending on your level of course, but you're never helpless. Slash away as Stamina recovers!
Ferocious!
Using the above strategies, I have had little difficulty with most enemies. Dragon Priests can be an issue, as their high speed is obnoxious, their spells care little for your armor, and they can be hard to hit if mobile. I tend to keep them at range with bolts, booking it as they approach, then laying into them again as they give chase. If you're far away, they tend to move right at you, becoming very easy stagger-targets indeed. Large numbers of small enemies can be annoying due to reloads, but claws can often take care of that.
Roleplay: (obviously if you're here for mechanics, you can stop)
For me this is the most important part, which is ironic since as of yet I have very little backstory! I actually wanted to post this up to see what suggestions people had for background, and for character aspects that enhance how the game will be played. But here is what I have so far!
1. YOU ARE LEGION: this is the first and most important rule of the Auxiliary Artillery! You are Legion through and through, loyal to Emperor, Empire, and all of the citizens! This means you are law abiding and generally good. (I know, no fun!) Wiping out the Dark Brotherhood is a necessity to get full Marked for Death. I guess you could join it, but since it involves killing the Emperor, my own RP would not permit it. The Thieves Guild is also a no-go unless you can find a justification. The College of Winterhold isn't off limits so much as it is pointless and strange given your lack of magic, and distrust of it. Companions are a big thumbs up of course, though curing your Lycanthropy seems the most obvious course. Dawnguard is needed for the crossbow enhancements, and because you aren't an evil bloodsucker!
2. Daedra Bad, Aedra Good: pretty simple right? NO! Because Daedra are fun! But fun or not, their missions tend to lead people to misery. Of course, the kind of missions that help people can be accepted. Freeing Dawnstar from nightmares is a good example, but no Skull of Corruption for you! Basically you can do Daedra missions that trick you into it, or do no harm, but you absolutely cannot use their artifacts. As for Aedra, I personally adore Mara, but any and all of them would be appropriate. Just no Talos worship, if only because your hatred of the Aldmeri must remain a secret.
3. Thalmor BAD!!!: of all the factions, the Thalmor are always my most deeply hated of foes. Yeah, they are set up to be, but it doesn't change my hatred for them! Basically you are on of those who fight for the Empire, knowing that one day soon you will wage war against the Dominion once again! But first you must recover your strength, lay low, so you will abide by the White-Gold Concordat for now. Whether you are loyal to Talos or not, no signs of it are permitted. You serve your Legion and your Emperor, and both are biding their time until they can strike. Slaughter Thalmor in the wilds if you can get away with it, getting no bounty. Massacre Northwatch as often as possible. But if someone will see you (aka you will get a bounty) then stay your bolts. The time will come for Thalmor blood to flow freely, but not yet.
4. Keeper of the Peace: after the war, you were released to serve as you see fit. This means wandering the wilds, delving into dungeons, and slaughtering all the dangerous things you find there. This will make Skyrim safer for everyone. More than that, any Stormcloaks are to be put down without mercy. A divided Empire will never be strong enough to free itself from the Dominion! This also leads you to clash with the Forsworn, and be an ambassador to the Orcs so they will support the Empire in the next war.
5. Vampirism/Lycanthropy: optional I suppose. I am tempted as always to become a vampire, just because Serana is the coolest. The difficult part comes with their origins, since both were made by Daedra. If you can get your head around it or find an excuse, cool. As for me, it remains uncertain.
6. NO SOUL GEMS: this right here is the core of why you don't use enchanted stuff. Everything enchanted used a soul, and you find that pretty abhorrent, especially after seeing the Soul Cairn. This is particularly why NO ENCHANTED WEAPONS, as you have to continuously feed them souls! Abominable. However, you realize the futility of preaching this belief, so keep it to yourself. Any soul gems you find are to be sold or 'offered to Mara', aka left in a chest in her temple to vanish eventually, the goddess embracing these lost souls.
7. The Fuzzy Gourmet: while not as adept at cooking as the true Gourmet, the food you served as a Legion soldier/cook has earned you this title. If you need money, make it cooking if at all possible. This also gives you reason to wander around and gather ingredients, which leads to adventure and fun! Idle enjoyment extends the time a character is interesting for.
8. Marriage: I have several candidates I am looking at for this. Cosnach makes me laugh pretty continuously, and I always feel good marrying a man down on his luck and short of work, and giving him an awesome place to live. Ria is good if you want a fighty wife, as she is very nice. The other Companions always struck me as either dim witted or mean. To me Housecarls seem too easy, you just get them with the house/position. Mages are a no go due to distrust of magic of course. Any of the Dibellans would be good, but a pretty obvious choice, and in general my characters lean toward being virtuous, which Dibellans....aren't. Vorstag is cool, a good fighter, and a nice guy. Camilla is a no, as it is pretty heavily hinted she cheats on you. Wilhelm is a favorite for being marked Essential, making him unkillable. I like all of the orcs for their dialogue, and most are good fighters too. This also works with you being a wandering soldier, as you will make frequent stops by strongholds. In general I find the Argonians boring. Mjoll is good if you want an unkillable fighter at your side, but Aerin being around bugs me. And as a good guy, I can't just kill him. Taarie is always a favorite of mine as she takes real effort to get, as you need to invest in her store. As a Thalmor hater, maybe that would be an issue though. Octieve San is another option (stick with me here). Yeah he is old and kind of a drunk, but he is a war veteran. Fits with the backstory on the Auxiliary, and as a cat person, do looks matter that much? I mean he is already lacking in fur, if you can get past that, what are a few wrinkles?
9. Looting: in the beginning, looting bodies is pretty necessary to get going. But once you have your gear, a lot of which is free, it is largely not necessary. It is appropriate as you progress to respect the dead, unless they have something REALLY cool of course, or they were particularly evil and you just HAVE to throw their naked body off a cliff. Besides, save the carry capacity for food, and then you have more time to kill instead of looting people. Of course, stripping an ancient nord tomb of goodies isn't the same as stripping a dead body naked. (it's not like the nord traditions matter anyway, you're an Imperial soldier!) I mostly just stop looting for profit later on to save time.
I believe those are all the primary guidelines. Of course, everything can be altered! If you can justify it, or just want to change the personality and morals, do it. Have fun. This is just how I decided to make this character, and I posted her up largely to get feedback and suggestions on further roleplay. I am working on the backstory though, so any suggestions for that would be appreciated! I hope that you enjoyed the build and found it entertaining! It's my first one, so be gentle and constructive please.
Also as a last note, I wanted to give a shout out to Dibella's Beautiful Blade by ShinJin. One of the coolest things ever, and what inspired me to make a good/Aedra loyal character, though I picked Mara. I did try to make a few characters highly challenging like that, but just got frustrated too often. In the end I opted to pour all points into one stat also, but chose HP for the lulz rather than either of the others for a challenge. Thank you for getting my brain rolling though!
So first off, I would like to give props to a character build that originally inspired the whole style of fighting I went with.
The Arbalist by Henson
Also, quick disclaimer, this is an RP FOCUSED BUILD, not one maximized for effectiveness. In fact, a ton of my choices were made specifically to underpower the build, making it more challenging and fun. Just wanted to let you know. And now that I have, I present to you,
THE AUXILIARY ARTILLERY!!!
Obviously the name is inspired by the initial way you are addressed upon becoming a member of the Legion. This is because my build centers very heavily around identifying with the Legion. Essentially I had always liked the Legion best as a faction, always siding with them in the war. I had also been fiddling around with dozens of builds in the last few weeks, and found myself quickly growing bored with each style of combat. Admittedly this is my own fault, as I hate switching things out (shouts, weapons, spells, gear, etc) and having only one set of equipment tends to restrict variety of combat. Not so anymore. So without further ado, let us get to the meat of the character.
Backstory:
Zylta Rish is a Khajiit born into slavery. Her parents were slaves of the Dominion, she was a slave, and she grew up fully expecting that any children she should bear would be slaves as well. From a young age she was trained to fight, an unwilling warrior overseen by the brutal Thalmor. She was sent where the Dominion could not openly go, as no one would expect a Khajiit to be working with the Aldmeri. With her family as hostages, she had little choice but to obey. So she fought, unleashing her rage on those who were not truly her enemies, fighting into her mid twenties as a slave. Then she was sent to Skyrim, to join the Stormcloaks and fight beneath another agent of the Thalmor, Ulfric Stormcloak. He had divived Skyrim to weaken the Empire, and she would be another pawn used to further this rift.
But for once destiny was kind. As Zylta was being brought into the country, along with other slave soldiers and Thalmor agents, her captors were ambushed. They in turn became captives of the Empire, and were brought to Helgen for their execution. Zylta Rish found this irony incredibly just, and was fully prepared to die watching the heads of her tormentors roll. Life had only ever been hard for her, and she was glad it would end so soon, so quickly, and in so satisfying a manner. The rise of Alduin, the destruction of Helgen, made her reevaluate her options.
Aided in her escape by a soldier of the Legion, Zylta found herself in a foreign land without anything holding her back, and nothing to give her direction. All she knew was that she was some manner of prophesied hero, a dragon slayer. But first, she had some scores to settle, with the Stormcloaks and Thalmor alike. So after warning the Jarl of Whiterun, after slaying her first dragon, she went to Solitude, and there she found her calling as a Legionaire of the Empire.
Race:
Khajiit: I went with Khajiit for several reasons. For one, I asked my wife and she suggested I make a 'Kitty' arbitrarily. At first I was ready to ignore the idea, but it quickly grew on me as I considered it. The cats have claws, and I have always loved being dangerous even when unarmed. The build also focuses on heavy armor, which can make unarmed much more effective. Some of my most recent builds had also focused on Alteration, solely because I like the lights. The graphics had been set extremely dim to make the lights actually helpful. Now, in a build with no magic, the dimness not only continued to make dungeon dives much scarier, but my Night Eye was useful! Dark, creepy atmosphere, but sight issues are alleviated once combat starts. Besides, the skills I needed to take were pretty much scattered across the board, so racial bonuses were largely irrelevant. So for appearance, for rp (I like being races that are discriminated against), and for kitty claws, I went Khajiit. But in all reality, any race would work.
Stats:
While the character herself hates magic and potions for being something beyond her understanding, and therefor not trustworthy, there is an ooc reason for the stat distribution here. I love magic, but I hate when I am useless after eating all my mana. And as mentioned before, I hate switching weapons/methods of attack. Mages need backups (since I refuse to make use of most glitches). I also hate potions because if you carry enough, you can beat anyone with ease. But anyway, here are the stats.
0/1/0 FOREVER
Yes, forever. NEVER any stamina, never any magicka. I like the more lumbering pace of the character, as it fits the playstyle of just kicking in the door and beating everyone to death. You never use magic, so magicka is a waste. Not to mention I adore just taking a beating and giggling about it. Some items will be used to alleviate stamina deprivation just a little, but I never saw any need for a huge amount of it.
Stone:
Steed: So this is largely preferential, nothing is really required for the character. However, I went with Steed Stone. I get to skip taking Conditioning and Cushioned this way. I always thought Cushioned was pointless, so taking it just to get Conditioning is painful. Plus, since I hate potions (which we will cover more later) I needed a lot of extra carry weight, and I don't put points into Stamina. Lord would be good to make you tougher, Lady would be great for recovery without Restoration or potions. However, whatever you pick keep in mind the distrust of magic and magical effects. This means Ritual Stone and Serpent Stone would be pretty out of character.
Shout:
Marked for Death: Yes, SHOUT, singular. I don't like changing things up by circumstance! If it comes down to just having the right tool in your kit, the preparation for battle becomes more important than the fight. For me the challenge is winning using what I have, not finding the ideal tool. If you disagree, change stuff! Anyway, I went with Marked for Death. The reasons are manifold. It seems like one of the shouts that has the least magical effect, draining armor and hp slowly. There are very few Shouts I like anyway! I used the effect from Marked for Death represent enemies just struggling against panic when they face the dreaded Auxiliary! The more they panic as combat goes on, the more mistakes they make, the easier it is to get killing blows on them. Many of the other shouts are just plain overpowered anyway! This maintains the straightforward bulldozing style of combat, just makes you better at it. (plus I like to kill bunnies, but they can be hard to hit with a bolt. Not with Marked for Death!) Most importantly though, I HATE when I almost kill somebody, and have to shoot them again. If they are Marked for Death, just move to the next target and let their HP dwindle away.
Major Skills: (gasp there are only 2!)
Archery:
Well duh, I use a crossbow. Kinda the whole point of the build! Anyway, this tree you will want to take EVERYTHING and do it as soon as possible. The exception here was I put my very first perk into Heavy Armor because I know crossbows have huge power for low levels, and since we are using sub-par armor, it was needed more there. Every single perk in here is useful.
Heavy Armor:
Your primary method of defense. I was originally toying with the idea of Light Armor, but the Imperial Armor is by far my favorite. You will need limited Perks here, as I play without a helm so I can see the character I spent so long crafting. Plus it makes me feel more charismatic than with a helmet. Take all the ranks of Juggernaut to maximize defense. You will be using Imperial Armor for the whole playthrough, so it won't be getting much better. Take Fists of Steel if you wish to develop your unarmed fighting (especially useful if Khajiit or Argonian). Nothing else will be useful without a helm and using the Steed Stone. If you change either of those things, feel free to take more Perks!
Minor Skills:
Smithing:
So this skill will be used minimally, but play a hugely important role in the character. You need Steel Smithing and Dwarven Smithing only, at least if you stick to the gear I did. Steel will let you upgrade your armor. Dwarven upgrades the crossbow. You will never be using, making, or doing anything but selling enchanted gear, so you have no need to be able to improve it. Advancing this skill to make better improvements is something I ended up doing, and also I made money as a jewelry smith. Good skill to make Legendary if it suits you, as after you upgraded your armor fully you won't need those perks anymore, and it can feed you more HP!
Speech:
I always love Speech, and there is no way to avoid leveling it! Don't perk this before combat skills of course, but it is always fun once you start being able to convince people of everything, can invest in stores, etc. Can Legendary if you want, but I kept it to avoid losing all my fun perks.
Lockpick:
This should have no Perks, unless you want to take the one that improves how much gold you find. But honestly, with no potions, basic gear, no enchanting, and relatively cheap equipment, money should be no object. I am just acknowledging that I used this to open chests in dungeons and the like to ensure I missed no loot. Best option for Legendary as your skill level is largely irrelevant given enough picks.
Sneak (Optional):
My original run with this build included minimal stealth, only taking Stealth a couple of times. I wanted to be able to scout things out, plan, then strike once before being discovered. I was horrified to find Sneak was so effective that I usually dropped all my foes without being spotted, despite having heavy armor and no muffling. It quickly became a stealth assassin archer rather than a soldier-naut, so I restarted and dropped Sneak altogether.
Gear: (I won't specify endgame or beginning, as it changes little, and you can acquire all of it as you please)
Chest: Imperial Armor
Extremely basic heavy armor, and in fact the first set you have the chance to acquire! I chose this armor for two reasons that might not be so popular. First, I adore the Legion. They are my favorite, and I love the three main NPCs in them more than anyone other than Serana. I always found it just about impossible to side against them. Secondly, it looks cool. I dislike most heavy armors on my female character as they make her fairly masculine in appearance. My Khajiit might be as bulky as I could make her, but she is still a woman-cat dangit! I like the skirted part of the armor, the way you can see arms, hands, bits of leg, etc. I also love the way the shoulder plates move when you are running. So aesthetics and RP wise, this is the armor for a loyal legionaire.
Feet: Imperial Boots
See above! Was tempted to switch out a few times for something enchanted, since it is visually minimally impactful, but NO. RP demanded it stay. Plus, no magic, no magical items that aren't religious in origin.
Hands: Imperial Bracers
See above.
Head: Aetherial Crown, anything that boosts archery (whatever you want really, I just wanted to be able to see my character)
This is more open ended. I have grabbed several items intending to use them forever, then ended up trading them for something else later. If you want another Stone, Aetherial Crown. Archery boosts are always nice too. Mostly I just wanted something that allowed me to see my character, so no hoods or helmets.
Neck: Locket of Saint Jiub or any Amulet
I was originally going to restrict this to Amulets of the Divines only to show the distrust of magic. Blessings from the gods, not the same as magic! But then I ran into Saint Jiub in the Soul Cairn and decided that the Stamina and carry capacity would help immensely. As with the Steed Stone, the capacity is for all the food I lug around in place of potions. The Stamina allows me to perform more bashes, run faster, etc. Quite useful since I put no points in Stamina.
Ring: Bond of Matrimony
Solely for RP. When you avoid enchanted objects, finding a useful ring to wear is hard. Besides, getting married is always a central part of my characters, and getting a ring you never wear seems odd. So this is a ring I will never be taking off! Again, blessed by god is not the same as magic.
Combat:
I built this character to be a "I don't GIVE A DANG" kind of lady. With heavy armor and an insane HP pool, she can walk into combat and just lay waste. more than that, with her huge reserves of delicious food, even when caught on the backfoot she can sustain herself. Your primary weapon is of course your lovely crossbow, but this does not mean you are helpless in melee either.
At range, you have a variety of ammunition types to choose from. Personally, after getting the Dwarven Crossbow, I used only varieties of dwarven bolts. More effective, I was loaded at this point (and can smith these), and they fit more with the crossbow they are made to complement. These are the only situational tools I use really! Shock for mages and dragons to reduce magicka, frost for warriors to prevent power attacks, fire for everything to kill it faster! Basic bolts are best for mooks who are no real threat. Why waste the fun stuff?
Now, thus far the combat is pretty run of the mill. I love how crossbows work, so even just shooting over and over is fun for me. But when things get up close and personal, not only do you really shine, but things get really fun. This brings me to the only glitch I allow myself to use, the bash-shot (dunno if there is a more official name for it). Essentially right after reloading, if you time it right, a bash from the crossbow will do damage as though you shot them with a bolt. I call this technique Bayonet Bash, as I justify it by saying my crossbow has a bayonet! Given some of the animations, this is actually quite fitting. This technique is essential to close quarters fighting with a crossbow.
Bombardment: As enemies close, they should be getting staggered in turns to keep the fighting ranged as long as possible. Just as they are about to reach you, hit them with a Marked for Death. If this is one group of many, maybe not use full strength, allowing it to cooldown faster. At this point your priority is preserving your own HP, watching them become increasingly more vulnerable from your Shout. You can do this in several ways, covered below:
Run'n Gun: turn and run! You have a small pool of stamina, but Steed Stone makes you lighter than most human enemies, and faster. Run, turn and fire, run! Simple right? But not always possible. Some enemies can pace/outpace you with ease, or use ranged attacks. Useful against large numbers of heavily armored or slower enemies.
Hold the Line: this is when you get to use that lovely Bayonet Bash. Pick a target, shoot him, reload. He is likely staggered, so pick another target. Bash him as quickly as possible to activate Bayonet Bash. This should stagger the second target as well. You can either stagger a third target with a shot, shoot one of the original targets, or just do a normal bash to keep them on their heels! The key is to take full advantage of your higher stagger shots, high damage Bayonet Bash, and normal bashes to keep them off of you. This will minimize the damage they can deal as they are busy recovering, allowing Marked for Death to take a toll. Time is your ally here.
Stunlock: as mean as it sounds, this is a technique for dealing with single targets. Honestly, they should usually not even reach you with how often you can stagger them with a bolt! But hey, let us assume they make it. Now you just cycle. Shoot them, hope they stagger. Reload, Bayonet Bash. Shoot. Etc, etc. This will make them spend most of their time recovering, Marked for Death slowly eating them away. This is especially hilarious on dragons, where you can just keep interrupting their breath attacks, their formidable armor dwindling quickly to nothing. If battles last long enough, you will see the damage you deal skyrocket as armor hits negatives. Easy peasy.
Recovery: if you will notice, all of the above strategies require continuous use of Stamina, which we didn't invest in! OH NO! But wait, there's more! For one thing, plenty of food will provide instant Stamina in a pinch, allowing you to continue to use any of the above. You can also eat food that provides a regen boost to Stamina, letting it replenish faster. But absent the use of food, you have one last trick up your fur! You're a cat after all (or not depend on how closely you followed this lol!) and your claws are enhanced by a coating of armor. When Stamina is gone and enemies close in, sheathe that crossbow and unsheathe those pointy pricks of kitty fury! How viable this is will vary depending on your level of course, but you're never helpless. Slash away as Stamina recovers!
Ferocious!
Using the above strategies, I have had little difficulty with most enemies. Dragon Priests can be an issue, as their high speed is obnoxious, their spells care little for your armor, and they can be hard to hit if mobile. I tend to keep them at range with bolts, booking it as they approach, then laying into them again as they give chase. If you're far away, they tend to move right at you, becoming very easy stagger-targets indeed. Large numbers of small enemies can be annoying due to reloads, but claws can often take care of that.
Roleplay: (obviously if you're here for mechanics, you can stop)
For me this is the most important part, which is ironic since as of yet I have very little backstory! I actually wanted to post this up to see what suggestions people had for background, and for character aspects that enhance how the game will be played. But here is what I have so far!
1. YOU ARE LEGION: this is the first and most important rule of the Auxiliary Artillery! You are Legion through and through, loyal to Emperor, Empire, and all of the citizens! This means you are law abiding and generally good. (I know, no fun!) Wiping out the Dark Brotherhood is a necessity to get full Marked for Death. I guess you could join it, but since it involves killing the Emperor, my own RP would not permit it. The Thieves Guild is also a no-go unless you can find a justification. The College of Winterhold isn't off limits so much as it is pointless and strange given your lack of magic, and distrust of it. Companions are a big thumbs up of course, though curing your Lycanthropy seems the most obvious course. Dawnguard is needed for the crossbow enhancements, and because you aren't an evil bloodsucker!
2. Daedra Bad, Aedra Good: pretty simple right? NO! Because Daedra are fun! But fun or not, their missions tend to lead people to misery. Of course, the kind of missions that help people can be accepted. Freeing Dawnstar from nightmares is a good example, but no Skull of Corruption for you! Basically you can do Daedra missions that trick you into it, or do no harm, but you absolutely cannot use their artifacts. As for Aedra, I personally adore Mara, but any and all of them would be appropriate. Just no Talos worship, if only because your hatred of the Aldmeri must remain a secret.
3. Thalmor BAD!!!: of all the factions, the Thalmor are always my most deeply hated of foes. Yeah, they are set up to be, but it doesn't change my hatred for them! Basically you are on of those who fight for the Empire, knowing that one day soon you will wage war against the Dominion once again! But first you must recover your strength, lay low, so you will abide by the White-Gold Concordat for now. Whether you are loyal to Talos or not, no signs of it are permitted. You serve your Legion and your Emperor, and both are biding their time until they can strike. Slaughter Thalmor in the wilds if you can get away with it, getting no bounty. Massacre Northwatch as often as possible. But if someone will see you (aka you will get a bounty) then stay your bolts. The time will come for Thalmor blood to flow freely, but not yet.
4. Keeper of the Peace: after the war, you were released to serve as you see fit. This means wandering the wilds, delving into dungeons, and slaughtering all the dangerous things you find there. This will make Skyrim safer for everyone. More than that, any Stormcloaks are to be put down without mercy. A divided Empire will never be strong enough to free itself from the Dominion! This also leads you to clash with the Forsworn, and be an ambassador to the Orcs so they will support the Empire in the next war.
5. Vampirism/Lycanthropy: optional I suppose. I am tempted as always to become a vampire, just because Serana is the coolest. The difficult part comes with their origins, since both were made by Daedra. If you can get your head around it or find an excuse, cool. As for me, it remains uncertain.
6. NO SOUL GEMS: this right here is the core of why you don't use enchanted stuff. Everything enchanted used a soul, and you find that pretty abhorrent, especially after seeing the Soul Cairn. This is particularly why NO ENCHANTED WEAPONS, as you have to continuously feed them souls! Abominable. However, you realize the futility of preaching this belief, so keep it to yourself. Any soul gems you find are to be sold or 'offered to Mara', aka left in a chest in her temple to vanish eventually, the goddess embracing these lost souls.
7. The Fuzzy Gourmet: while not as adept at cooking as the true Gourmet, the food you served as a Legion soldier/cook has earned you this title. If you need money, make it cooking if at all possible. This also gives you reason to wander around and gather ingredients, which leads to adventure and fun! Idle enjoyment extends the time a character is interesting for.
8. Marriage: I have several candidates I am looking at for this. Cosnach makes me laugh pretty continuously, and I always feel good marrying a man down on his luck and short of work, and giving him an awesome place to live. Ria is good if you want a fighty wife, as she is very nice. The other Companions always struck me as either dim witted or mean. To me Housecarls seem too easy, you just get them with the house/position. Mages are a no go due to distrust of magic of course. Any of the Dibellans would be good, but a pretty obvious choice, and in general my characters lean toward being virtuous, which Dibellans....aren't. Vorstag is cool, a good fighter, and a nice guy. Camilla is a no, as it is pretty heavily hinted she cheats on you. Wilhelm is a favorite for being marked Essential, making him unkillable. I like all of the orcs for their dialogue, and most are good fighters too. This also works with you being a wandering soldier, as you will make frequent stops by strongholds. In general I find the Argonians boring. Mjoll is good if you want an unkillable fighter at your side, but Aerin being around bugs me. And as a good guy, I can't just kill him. Taarie is always a favorite of mine as she takes real effort to get, as you need to invest in her store. As a Thalmor hater, maybe that would be an issue though. Octieve San is another option (stick with me here). Yeah he is old and kind of a drunk, but he is a war veteran. Fits with the backstory on the Auxiliary, and as a cat person, do looks matter that much? I mean he is already lacking in fur, if you can get past that, what are a few wrinkles?
9. Looting: in the beginning, looting bodies is pretty necessary to get going. But once you have your gear, a lot of which is free, it is largely not necessary. It is appropriate as you progress to respect the dead, unless they have something REALLY cool of course, or they were particularly evil and you just HAVE to throw their naked body off a cliff. Besides, save the carry capacity for food, and then you have more time to kill instead of looting people. Of course, stripping an ancient nord tomb of goodies isn't the same as stripping a dead body naked. (it's not like the nord traditions matter anyway, you're an Imperial soldier!) I mostly just stop looting for profit later on to save time.
I believe those are all the primary guidelines. Of course, everything can be altered! If you can justify it, or just want to change the personality and morals, do it. Have fun. This is just how I decided to make this character, and I posted her up largely to get feedback and suggestions on further roleplay. I am working on the backstory though, so any suggestions for that would be appreciated! I hope that you enjoyed the build and found it entertaining! It's my first one, so be gentle and constructive please.
Also as a last note, I wanted to give a shout out to Dibella's Beautiful Blade by ShinJin. One of the coolest things ever, and what inspired me to make a good/Aedra loyal character, though I picked Mara. I did try to make a few characters highly challenging like that, but just got frustrated too often. In the end I opted to pour all points into one stat also, but chose HP for the lulz rather than either of the others for a challenge. Thank you for getting my brain rolling though!
