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Event Build: The Banshee of the Reach

Tags: #Race:Breton  #Rank:Bloodworks  #Phil  #Ordinator  #Event:2in2  #Character Build: Barbarian 
  • Member
    April 1, 2017

    The Banshee of the Reach is the story of an angry Breton woman on a quest to discover who she is and to carve out a place for herself in the world. Armed and armoured only in that which she can take, Cliodhna must adapt or die in the wilderness of Skyrim. Having grown up with the nightmarish stories of the Reachmen, she finds that the saga-spinning of the Nord mead halls comes naturally to her. Cliodhna's skill with big weapons, deep connection to the natural world, and proclivity towards violence eventually lead her to discover, and feel an affinity with, the darker aspects of the goddess Kyne...

     

    "They told me the stories, my people. Told me how I would be hunted if I left, taught me to fear Arlabeg who rides the great stag, Uricanbeg, who would force me to be his mate. If I left, they said I would be the hare, hunted and forced to run until my heart burst or I had my skin turned inside out by his hounds.

    I left anyway.

    The Hunter and his hags can chase me but they will find that I am the fang and the claw of the wilds. I am the screech of the raven before its beak plucks out an eye.

    I am Gulibeg, the Clever Fox, who will lead my pursuers to death upon the jagged crags.

    I am Cliodhna. I am the banshee of the Reach, for my voice will herald their doom."

    Anger, rage, and resentment drove Cliodhna to leave her way of life behind. It is no small thing to turn one's back on all one has ever known, but losing everyone she loved in their futile fight for freedom and territory, the constant bloody war and raiding between clans, and the twisted veneration of the ghsatly hags and hagravens became too much for Cliodhna. Always the rebel, always the one to question, and always the troublemaker, Cliodhna had simply had enough. Grief and wrath for the wretched futility of it all drove her to leave the last sorry remnants of her clan behind. With no family or friends in the entire world, and feeling the first tugs of destiny's pull, Cliodhna sets out to make a new life for herself in a world unfriendly to the barbarians of the Reach.

    Levels one to twelve represent Cliodhna's fury days of wandering and questing, fighting and boasting as she tries to find her own identity after leaving all she knows behind. Using the Alternate Start mod, Clionadh's story began as a member of a Forsworn clan - the only natives of the Reach remotely friendly towards her. She hated them and herself, and so she left for Markarth - the only city she had heard of. Even then she couldn't escape Forsworn attacks in the streets and Nords spitting on their name. She had never felt so alone, but knew this life of meaningless savagery was not for her.

    So she travelled east, fighting both her own people and herself, torn between her love of the wilderness and her loathing for those who lived in it. Beaten, bloody, and exhausted from her flight, ever worried that she was now the hunted in Hircine's game, Cliodhna stumbles into the Old Hroldan inn, despretaely needing a good night's sleep...

    The goal in Part One is to level up Speech as quickly as possible in order to unlock Ordinator's Speak With Animals Perk. This perk is simply wonderful as it allows you to tame any animal who will follow you indefinitely and cannot be killed. This companion makes up for the Banshee's lack of AR and defence, acting as a guardian and protector.

    By doing this, The Banshee is using Hircine's aspects against her enemies, turning from hunted to hunter as she makes her way east across the tundra. Because she relies only on that which she can take or trade, and having a nice racial boost to Speech which I interpreted as being an intimidating presence thanks to her barbarian background, The Banshee of the Reach takes the Performer perk to simulate her own story telling at the inns and taverns of Skyrim. Using this perk will also increase the skill, and the money and goods given can be used to trade for training and equipment.

    During this phase The Banshee is also carving her place in the world by taking contracts, doing small quests, and joining the Companions whose love of battle and stories matches her own. However, as soon as she discovers their Hircine connection she stops. Has the Hunter caught her even here? The Old Hroldan Inn quest for Hjalti's sword makes a nice early hint at the Fox's destiny, while the quest for Red Eagle's Blade is a nice way to explore Cliodhna's inner turmoil.

    By the time level twelve is reached, The Banshee will have heard tell of suspicious activity near Helgen as well as rumours of dragons and so will head to Helgen to investigate. Gulibeg the Clever Fox, recognised as Hjalti Early-Beard by ghosts of the past, is taking her first steps on the cobbles of bone-strewn destiny.

    Ordinator Perks

    Speech Mastery 2/2 - Sell items for 20% more. Your intimidation attempts are twice/four times as likely to succeed.

    In terms of how this fits with the character, I took that line about intimidation and ran with it. She may lack the social graces of a silver tongued merchant, but there are other ways of skinning a Khajiit.

    Performer - Grants the "Perform" power. Once a day, play a song to entertain up to five people within 50 feet and collect a donation from each, based on your Speech skill and the amount of gold they are carrying.

    In terms of RP, this was how I roleplayed the spinning of yarns in the bannered mare. Using this skill also improves the speech skill.

    Serenade - Performing to members of the opposite sex yields twice as much gold and potentially small items.

    Well, she is not a bad looking woman and, being somewhat exotic, is fascinating to the men of Skyrim.

    Speak with Animals - Can Activate animals to tame them, forcing them to follow you anywhere you go and fight for you until released. You can only have one Wild Companion at a time.

    This is the key perk really, and the centre of the build. Lacking any meaningful AR, the animal companion is a guardian and protector. The animal chosen cannot be killed, only knocked out of the fight like an essential companion. You can tame any animal you want - a mudcrab following you is good fun. Cliodhna identifies with the aspects of Hircine, the wolves and bears, and taming them to use against her enemies is her way of fighting back against her own people's traditions. 

    Bleed Like a Dog 3/3 - Attacks with battle axes deal an additional 2/3/4 points of damage per second for 3 seconds to living targets. When the bleeding stops, they take damage equal to 20/25/30% of the Health they lost while bleeding.

    Focusing on axes and bleed damage, Cliodhna likes her violence bloody. Ordinator increases bleed damage viability, and these perks help increase the damage dealt with each swing of the axe.

     Rive 2/2 - Power attacks with a battle axe ignore 25/50% armor.

     

    Having explored Skyrim and gotten to know herself and her purpose, The Banshee of the Reach has matured and found herself at last. The answers to her questions were not what she was hoping for, and the Nords who call Skyrim home are no different than the Reachmen she had left behind. Resigned to the knowledge that for her she may never find peace, Cliodhna finds comfort in her kinship with Kyne's children, the land, and the goddess of war and storms herself.

     

    "These Nords with their stories, their tales of battle and ancient glories. So much blood and pointless death in the name of a goddess, alone and bereft.

    Skyrim is gripped by a civil war and brother and clan fight one another just as my own people do. I hoped to find a home amongst the Nords, but it seems that like she who bestowed the Stormcrown upon me I am to be forever alone. 

    So be it. I will be as the bear: Solitary, roaming, and let all who see and hear me fear my coming for my dreams of peace have been shattered.

    I am the banshee of the Reach. I am Hrokkibeg the Bear, my voice is the sky and my roar is thunder."

     

    Having been named Ysmir, Dragon of the North, by the Greybeards at High Hrothgar, Cliodhna returns to the world below fully mantled with the Storm Crown. Her first act, she determines, will be to restore the Gildergreen in Whiterun, a quest which she feels summarises her former turmoil nicely. For hagravens veruses Kyne is the theme, and Cliodhna's allegiance is no longer in any doubt. After, Cliodhna returns to the Reach as there is some unfinished business there. Fighting and war is the way of the world, that much is clear, and all men and woman deserve the chance to fight for what they feel is right. Madanach, her people's King in Rags, deserves that same chance, and with his freedom, the Banshee of the Reach finally throws off the shackles of the past to become like her bear companion, alone but free.

    A Daedra's Best Friend to get the Rueful Axe, a weapon which looks so fitting for this build and was used to kill a werewolf, is sort of the odd ball of this quest list, but  The Massacre perk has a 10% chance of increasing attack speed by 175% for 3 seconds with every swing which synergises nicely with Speech's Windborne which grants 30% extra damage and movement speed for 15 seconds after shouting. 

    A Scroll For Anska to get a word of Storm Call was a nice quest as the word has such a long cooldown that if I needed to heal, thanks to And the Universe Listens which restores points to all stats equal to the cooldown of the shout used, became a great source of healing and damage dealing. If the 10% chamce of reducing the cooldown from Force Redoubled kicked in it worked wonderfully. 

    My gameplay ended with every nook and cranny of the Reach explored, any Word Wall given by the Greybeards was visited, and the Banshee truly became the lonely bear.

    Levels thirteen to twenty-five are when all aspects of this build work together more visually. The Wolfkin perk from the Two-Handed skill manifests a spirit wolf in combat to further that connection she has to the natural world, while the Speech skills And the Universe Listens, which restores points to all stats equal to the cooldown of the shout used, and Force Redoubled which provides a 10% chance to reduce the cooldown of a shout to 3 seconds emphasise her Voice. The ability to heal by shouting, summon a spirit wolf in battle in addition to her companion animal, and shrug of blows while power attacking thanks to Bear Hide demonstrate the Banshee of the Reach in all her barbaric glory.

    Getting training from Vilkas and Ogmund in Speech and Two-Handed was also helpful, the money primarily sourced from Rebalanced Level Lists. I also used Nordic Cooking for its Green Apple Ale, a drink which adds 46 points to AR. The Book of UUNP was used heavily, just for that Red Sonja bikini for RP reasons :p

     

    Ok, so that wraps it pretty much. Time and energy ran out on this submission for the Two in Two event, but I think my inspirations are plain to see. Karver the Lorc's Witchmen of the Reach was an incredible fuel for this fire, as was Edana's blog Shadow of the Druadachs which opened my eyes to Markarth like it was 2011 again. Thanks guys, a double whammy of Reach imagery absorbed :) 

    PCOutcast's Barbarian video made me want to try Ordinator.

    Lissette's Cloakapalooza discussion and art was the final straw, I simply had to play a red-headed barbarian :D Thanks Lis!

    The Workshop guys who commented and/or supported was a huge help, so thank you!

    And thank you for reading :)

  • April 1, 2017

    First thing I'll do when I get up in the morning is give your build many hugs and kisses. But I'm too tired from rehearsal and internet woes. Besides, I want to play Basil Polidorius when I reads it. :D

    Tehehehe at the reference to me and red-haired barbarians. You forgot the big uh... axes, yeah, axes. ;)

     

  • Member
    April 1, 2017

    Always a fan of well developed intermingling of build, story and paths. Really enjoyed the read Phil! A pretty unique combo too - I would never have thought to mix speech in as a main skill...but it works so well. All these Ordinator builds have def got me wondering how much I'm mssing out :D Guess I'll have to give it a try!

  • April 1, 2017

    This is an absolutely bloody fantastic character concept Phil - I wish I could give it two likes!

  • Member
    April 1, 2017

    Lissette Long-Chapper said:

    First thing I'll do when I get up in the morning is give your build many hugs and kisses. But I'm too tired from rehearsal and internet woes. Besides, I want to play Basil Polidorius when I reads it. :D

    Tehehehe at the reference to me and red-haired barbarians. You forgot the big uh... axes, yeah, axes. ;)

    She dos have big axes, very true :D She likes the long handles. 

    Mottyskills said:

    Always a fan of well developed intermingling of build, story and paths. Really enjoyed the read Phil! A pretty unique combo too - I would never have thought to mix speech in as a main skill...but it works so well. All these Ordinator builds have def got me wondering how much I'm mssing out :D Guess I'll have to give it a try!

    Thank you Motty :) Go for Ordinator, so much fun to be had!

    Plunders-The-Mountains said:

    This is an absolutely bloody fantastic character concept Phil - I wish I could give it two likes!

    That's very kindd of you, thank you Plunders :) This event has been a blast!

     

  • Member
    April 3, 2017

    Awesome build! I have actually been thinking about trying a basic barbarian build and this convinced me to try it using Ordinator. Taming a bear as a follower like you have done is just too awesome not to try.

  • Member
    April 3, 2017

    Alright. Ordinator's Speech tree is simply amazing. There... I said it. I'm just super-excited you decided to go that direction for this build. It fits so well.

    I am also really enjoying the way you approach the build. Half narrative, and have expository on how the build works, but seemlessly integrated so you get the very best of both worlds: quick and ready access to the build's essential components, but also in a format that entertains. I also enjoy how you present the Reachmen and all the issues surrounding them. They are a group I've just naturally found myself unsympathetic towards, yet you present this in a way that has me curious to know just a bit more about them.

    And, of course, the character of Cliodhna is wonderful: powerful, willful, conflicted, yet somewhat vulnerable and sympathetic all at the same time. Awesome! A perfect character to go along with the title of Banshee of the Reach :D

  • Member
    April 3, 2017

    TexasC4 said:

    Awesome build! I have actually been thinking about trying a basic barbarian build and this convinced me to try it using Ordinator. Taming a bear as a follower like you have done is just too awesome not to try.

    Thanks Texas :) Yep, it was PC Outcast's Ordinator vid, the Barbarian that sold me on Ordinator and as soon as I saw the Speak with Animals Perk I knew I couldn't resist. There is mileage there, I took a mammoth up to Eldersblood peak and the thing is so massive it makes for the biggest shield in the game! Deer and elk are not so inclined to get stuck in, but they make interesting pets for RP reasons.

    So do it! Do Ordinator and post your build :D Will you stick with the two perked skills formula? Is there a seperate official # for Ordinator builds? 

    ShinJin said:

    Alright. Ordinator's Speech tree is simply amazing. There... I said it. I'm just super-excited you decided to go that direction for this build. It fits so well.

    I am also really enjoying the way you approach the build. Half narrative, and have expository on how the build works, but seemlessly integrated so you get the very best of both worlds: quick and ready access to the build's essential components, but also in a format that entertains. I also enjoy how you present the Reachmen and all the issues surrounding them. They are a group I've just naturally found myself unsympathetic towards, yet you present this in a way that has me curious to know just a bit more about them.

    And, of course, the character of Cliodhna is wonderful: powerful, willful, conflicted, yet somewhat vulnerable and sympathetic all at the same time. Awesome! A perfect character to go along with the title of Banshee of the Reach :D

    Ha, thanks Shinjin :) Speech is mighty in Ordinator. I didn't go extreme for the Voice related ones, but there is a huge bucket of fun to be had with it. Restoring health by shouting? Oh yes! That perk alone makes gaining lower cooldowns perhaps not the greatest choice. Those long-assed cooldown shouts when you're at low health, magicka and/or stamina can bring you back up to a decent resovoir again very swiftly. 

    Thank you too for the kind words on the approach I took here. I kinda ran out of time, but the mixture of narrative and mechanics was what I was hoping for and so am pleased some of that remained coherent :D 

  • April 3, 2017

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading this build for a second time, Phil. Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy admin schedule to hash out a build for this event. We were literally limping to the finish line, but we did it and this is a great build. You just have such a way of phrasing your writeups that make me really wanna play this and I am really intrigued by some of the perks in the speech tree. I will be messing around with Ordinator a lot in the summer, methinks.