Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: The Underlord

Tags: #Character Build Necromancer  #Character Build Villain  #Race:Breton  #SE Rank:Apprentice  #Baldur's Builds 
  • August 21, 2017

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/07/56/da/0756da818d476542722a9b36134db891.png

    Image result for evil necromancer

     

    This character was something I made simply to challenge myself. I generally don't play as Necromancers, as I find the groans of risen dead humans annoying.. but I sucked it up for this build and came up with another build I Feel rather proud of. This build will utilize a set of armor I rarely see used in builds.. yet is one I think looks REALLY cool.. Don't worry about the name.. you're not as weak as it implies....

          

    Image result for evil necromancer

     

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e5/77/8e/e5778e6e44f3f03699676c95498f0d7e.png

     

    Nazius the Feeble was born into a rather wealthy family in High Rock almost eighty seven years ago. For the majority of his young life, he was taught his letters and numbers, as any boy of wealth, and then began his combat training. Much to his father's chagrine, Nazius was born with a deformity in his hand that gave him rather poor grip strength, and he was frequently disarmed, earning him the nickname Nazius the Feeble. Furious and humiliated after a particularly brutal sparring match against a boy from a neighbouring house, Nazius's rage was so intense he was able to conjure a weapon from Oblivion itself, a weapon he used to run his rival, and childhood bully, through. Fortunately for him.. he missed all the boy's major arteries and vital organs, and though the boy retaned a rather vicious scar... Nazius's deed earned him little more than a beating from his father, rather than a murder charge as he had feared.

    However, Nazius's dark curiosity was just beginning, as he used money of his family's fortune to obtain books of summoning. Within weeks he had raised his first skeleton, though he was unable to hold it for very long before it collapsed into a pile of ash upon the floor. However, this time when his father discovered what he had done.. it did not earn him a simple beating. He was thrown from his own home and forced to live as a pauper, with little more than a robe his mother had given him to keep warm, and a pair of fine boots he later sold for a meal. He was forced to live in ruins and caves, killing and eating whatever he could get for nourishment.. including humans if necessary, but his desire for power never left him. Sixty five years after leaving his home, he was forced to flee High Rock when someone discovered his necromantic lair and mustered a large enough party to wipe it out. As he fled into skyrim he was caught by the Imperials, taking a rather severe blow to the head and forgetting most of his skills, except how to summon a simple ghostly dog. Nevertheless.. his muscle memory made him feel comfortable in Heavy armor, his hunger for knowledge soon replacing what he had lost with new knowledge, new spells.. though with the end of his life fast approaching.. will he remember his past before he dies? Or, with mutters of vampires on the guard's lips.. will another solution present itself?

     

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cc/22/bb/cc22bb81ae6fd92438cfc414111a8fa6.png

    This character will be a little bit difficult at lower levels, as the build will require you not to wield any solid weapons... however use of Destruction and Conjuration should see you through fairly easily. You will be leaving Helgen with Ralof, so you can get a free fuill suit of heavy armor early in the game.

      

    [Heavy Armor]: Here we will be using Heavy Armor for our defense, as a person trained in Classic Knighthood as it were would have learned Heavy. This build will be utilizing the Falmer Hardened, then Falmer Heavy armor, primarily for the aesthetics, but it is by no means a bad set of armor..Falmer Hardened has the same stats as Dwarven but is slightly lighter, and Falmer Heavy is as good as Ebony but lighter and easier to upgrade. Both benefit from the advanced armors perk to upgrade I believe, and only require Chaurus Chitin, a resource you can find fairly easily in Dwemer Ruins.

    Perks Chosen; Juggernaut (5), Fists of Steel, Well Fitted, Cushioned, Tower of Strength, Conditioning, Matching Set, Reflect Blows

    [One Handed]:As one trained in Classic Knighthood or Fencing, you will be using a blade... although since you cannot "Grip" a real sword without dropping it after a few blocks, you will be using the Bound Sword spell. As such you will need to level up the one handed skill to get the most use out of your conjured blade.

    Perks Chosen; Armsman (5), Fighting Stance, Bladesman (3), Critical Charge, Savage Strike, Paralyzing Strike.

    [Conjuration]: Here we get the meat of this build.. your Necromancy! You're not going to be using the Atronach perks at all, so don't bother getting atronach spells.. unless of course the College of Winterhold makes you use them for your entrance exam. Make sure you get the Mistman, Wrathman and boneman spells from the Soul Cairn

    Perks Chosen; Novice Conjuration, Apprentice Conjuration, Adept Conjuration, Expert Conjuration, Master Conjuration, Mystic Binding, Summoner (2), Soul Stealer, Necromancy, Oblivion Binding, Dark Souls, Twin Souls 

    [Restoration]: You were Moderately skilled in Restoration before you came to Skyrim, and know how to take care of yourself. With Vampirism a part of this build you'll want the Necromage perk. Restoration in my opinion can be one of the most useful skills.. it's useful in keeping yourself alive why not use it? :P 

    Perks Chosen; Novice Restoration, Apprentice Restoration, Adept Restoration, Expert Restoration, Master Restoration, Respite, Regeneration, Necromage (get this perk AFTER becoming a Vampire) Recovery (2) Avoid Death, OPTIONAL Ward Absorb.

    [Alteration]: The key reason for this skill tree is for the Atronach perk, which grants you 30 percent spell absorption. Combined with the Atronach Stone, which grants 50 percent spell absorption, and on average you're walking around with 80 percent immunity to all spells. Use the Dragonskin power to give yourself immunity to enemy magicka for a minute a day.. which can be INCREDIBLY useful against dragons. I know I used this for my last build too but.. it REALLY is a useful skill

    Perks Chosen; Novice Alteration, Apprentice Alteration, Adept Alteration, Expert Alteration, Atronach (Get this after necromage)

    [Illusion]:As an evil lord of the dead and powerful necromancer, you are a terrifying and commanding presence to any who are around you. Use this skill to send your foes fleeing in a panic, Rally your slave...er follower.. or simply make everyone forget why they were fighting for a short time.

    Perks Chosen; Novice Illusion, Apprentice Illusion, Adept Illusion, Expert Illusion, Master Illusion, Animage, Kindred Mage, Aspect of Terror, Rage, Master of the Mind.

    [Smithing]:After a lengthy debate with myself I have decided to keep this perk tree in. You may argue that with a hand deformity, Nazius would be unable to smith...and if he were the one actually using the hammer then yes. Using the power of Necromancy, Nazius calls forth an undead smith to forge with the knowledge he possesses, his actions guiding the minion until the task is done. {In actuality you will be using the hammer but it's a RP reason} Eventually, however Nazius grew tired of this roundabout method of improving his armor, and sacrificed the power of a Dragon Soul to make himself more knowledgeable in Enchanting. {Use the Black Book at the end of Dragonborn to transfer the perk points from Smithing to Enchanting once you get full Falmer Heavy and improve it)

    Perks Chosen; Steel Smithing, Arcane Blacksmith, Elven Smithing, Advanced Armors.

    [Enchanting]: As you will not be using the weapon enchantments, or resist element enchantments since we're using the Layers of Atronach to give immunity to magic, you will focus on getting towards the Extra Effect, allowing you to boost such skills as one handed. Though I say you can use destruction earlier in the build.. you will not be taking perk points in that skill

    Perks Chosen: Enchanter (5), Soul Squeezer, Insightful Enchanter, Corpus Enchanter, Extra Effect.

     

    https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/241724526935670784/349029470209835011/e02d30de989fce6422b4f207bbd1fd6f--dark-fantasy-fantasy-art.png?width=316&height=473

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/62/5f/29/625f290df70d56e09170674486534b3d.png

     

     

    BANDITS/REAVERS/FORSWORN;Utilize your Conjuration and your one handed abilities to the best you can. I would also suggest using things like Soul Tear and Bend Will.. having a few extra minions taking hits for you can help keep the heat off of you at low levels. Using the Vampire Lord form can also be invaluable, as the Drain Life spell can be pretty damn strong at lower levels if you don't have Serana with you. Alternatively summon a wrathman/daedra, raise the dead, move around a lot and in essence.. hit eveything until it dies or you do. Keep in mind, Hagravens and Briarhearts can still be tough so make sure you either keep circling them in close combat or move around a lot so their destruction spells can't hit you.

     

     

    MAGIC USERS; These should be fairly easy to deal with once you have the Atronach perk and Atronach stone, as you're walking around with literally 80 percent spell absorption, and therefore taking only 20 percent damage from spells at any one time. However at lower levels they can still prove somewhat tricky, so in those situations use your Dragonskin power to boost your defense, if you already have the Atronach stone but not the perk this should raise your absorption to 100 or at least to the cap, allowing you to take next to no damage from their spells, then charge in close and finish them off. Most magic users are pretty devastating from a distance, but are worthless at close combat. Just as with my last build, you're using One Handed primarily, so using stuff like Whirlwind sprint to stab your foe in the face with a bound weapon, or simply summoning a few helpers to kill them for you, is going to see you through most battles.

     

     

    DOVAH/DRAGONS;  This one should be a fairly obvious choice seeing how to deal with their priests and all.. you're gonna wanna utilize things like Ward Absorb. You should also utilize the Dragonrend shout to bring the dragon down to earth and have your minions rip that poor lizard to pieces.. you need it's power for yourself after all. You can also support your minions using shouts and your bound weapons. (*Remember as per the additional roleplay rule if you're using that, you can't use regular weapons for more than four strikes before you drop it or have to return it to your inventory for the rest of the fight*)

     

     

    THE BETRAYED/FALMER;These should be basically the same as your fights against ordinary bandits.. though watch out for their frequent use of Poisons. With the Atronach stone and the Atronach Perk, or Atronach Stone and Dragonskin power you can deal with their shamans and other spellcasters fairly easily as well. With Vampirism, you're generally immune to poison, or if you do get poisoned you resist 100 percent of the damage if I read that right so that should be the one area where the Vampire Lord form might be an ideal solution Speaking of this form you may also utilize the Drain Life Glitch to muscle your way through without having to change back and forth between forms all the time.. Keep in mind.. this will make your right hand have the Drain Life spell from Vamp Lord form so if you're going to hit someone with a conjured weapon use your left hand or rely on summons to stay at a distance.

     

     

    DWEMER AUTOMATONS; You might struggle a bit with the larger ones, but generally utilize power attacks as much as you possibly can, it generally keeps them stunlocked so you can keep hitting them. Make sure you circle them.. the bigger automatons like the Centurions struggle to turn around sometimes so you can stay ahead of their blows and hit them hard and fast. Yes essentially, hit them til they break. :P This is an area where the Restoration and Alteration skill trees won't make much difference for you. Also use your summoned minions as much as possible to keep your foe distracted. It could mean the difference between life and death.

     

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/15/49/db/1549db753c1cadc0cdc7c62491994821.png

    [Army of Darkness]
    Requirements: Aetherial Crown with Ritual Stone in it, Boneman/Mistman/Wrathmanx2, Ritual Stone Power, a lot of corpses.
    DescriptionCalling upon all his might, Nazius calls forth an army of those he has slain and sends them against his enemies, alongside two of his faithful minions from the Soul Cairn, slaughtering all who oppose him.

     

     

    [Necromantic Conversion]
    Requirements: Soul Tear Shout.. a Victim or Two
    Description: Utilizing the Dark power of the Thu'Um, Nazius tears the soul(s) from any affected by his terrible voice, replacing them with more subservient ones and turning his victims against their former allies, capturing their original souls into Black Soul Gems or the Black Star to use later.

     

     

    [Demonic Alliance]

    Requirements: Conjure Daedra, Durnehviir shout (Outside only)

    Description: Nazius calls upon the Daedra of Oblivion, and the strength of an Undead Dragon to destroy his foes, be it a bandit camp or an army of some sort.

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0b/f3/59/0bf3592f3184026f5aea8f5e7e82f115.png

    Race: Male Breton, To fit with the backstory make him as old looking as possible, Up to you otherwise.

    Stone: Mage/Warrior then Ritual in the Aetherial Crown and Atronach.

    Stats Distribution: [6] Magicka | [2] Health | [2] Stamina. Here, health and Stamina sacrificed for Magicka.. and to fit the character.. you're an old man you're not gonna be super strong anymore Physically.. but you're gonna be pretty strong mentally.

    Equipment: Early Game, Falmer Hardened Armor, Falmer Hardened Gauntlets, Falmer Hardened Boots, Falmer Hardened Helmet (Guaranteed pieces found in Nchuand-Zel after activating the Dwemer Defences..just mop up any damaged Automatons and Falmer in your way, some of the foes are guaranteed to have it according to the Wiki.. otherwise you'll have to get lucky with Gloomlurkers etc) Late Game Falmer Heavy Armor, Falmer Heavy boots, Falmer Heavy Gauntlets, Shellbug Helmet (When you start seeing it later in game switch to that) Aetherial Crown, Ring of Namira, Necromancer's Amulet, Amulet of Articulation (For Roleplay Purposes, you are able to use your Illusion powers in conversation to make people see things your way) Black Star. (Here we will be utilizing, for it's unique appearance, the Falmer Hardened and Falmer Heavy armor. I've always found it looks INCREDIBLE with the deep purple cloth and the sinister looking black Chitin but nobody really builds around that so.. you get this. Wear the Aetherial Crown when you need to use the Ritual Stone, or are walking in town.. you are better than Lesser mortals after all. When not using the Ritual Stone/ In a battle, use the Falmer Hardened/Heavy helmet to look terrifying to your foes.)

    Image result for falmer heavy armor with shellbug helmet

    Shouts: Soul Tear, Dragonrend, Summon Durnehviir, Call of Valor, Whirlwind Sprint, Frost Breath, Ice Form, Unrelenting Force, Marked for Death, Storm Call, Dragon Aspect, Disarm, Dismay, Bend Will and Anything else you like.. those are just the main ones I used with this build.

     

    Followers: I chose to use Marcurio from the Bee and barb for his SERIOUSLY beastly Destruction ability. Alternatively you may use the female Dark brotherhood initiate, simply because she refers to you as master, Cicero, as he is a Loyal servant and can tank for you while you support with Necromancy and Conjuration, Serana is a decent choice as she is Essential and can use conjuration as well.. Really it's mostly up to you which "Slave" you bend to your will, though I suggest someone with little morals and heavy damage. (It's a Roleplay please don't get offended,)

     

     

     

     https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/67/97/096797e7d1746bf82007e6a8ea1095f7.png

      Main Questline, Dragonborn, Dawnguard(Side With Volkihar) Nazius seeks power and knowledge wherever he can get it, leading to his discovery of the Thu'um and his eventual meeting with Durnehviir and him acquiring the Soul Tear shout. 

     

      Dark Brotherhood (Full Questline) You were very surprised when you found your old Nurse maid in a small orphange in Riften.. though she did not remember you, you certainly remembered her, her abuse terrified you as a young man until your mother discovered what she was doing and Grelod fled before any harm could become her... though she has run far and she has hidden for so long.. that fateful day you went to find a successor to teach your dark arts to.. led you down a different path. Little did you know, your mother had long ago put a contract on Grelod's head, though she used a different name back then.. and you had just stolen a contract from the Dark Brotherhood. When contacted, you slaughtered the Mercenary.. his weak snivelling sickened and infuriated you. (I mostly say this questline because this character is an evil character and will require a proper Dark Steed to use until you can get Arvak... though some of the bonus gear you get can be pretty useful)

     

    College of Winterhold (Full Questline)  As another attempt to leave a Legacy behind you joined the College of Winterhold, hoping to somehow take over and leave your mark on the place. Much to your surprise when a series of Misadventures lead you to recover the Staff of Magnus and become The Archmage!. (You will want to access the College for eventually dealing with the main quest, and also to access the Master Conjuration questline.)

     

    Thief's Guild (Full Questline) You do what you have to in order to Survive, and one cannot survive or leave a legacy without coin. After a rather charming young man that reminded you of your brother approached you in the Riften Market after you killed your old Nurse-maid.. well it seemed like a chance opportunity. As you seek power wherever you go you're going to want to finish off the Thief's guild questline. Yes I know it's going to seem like I'm making you do "Everything" but you seek power wherever you find it and this is one way to get it. 

     

    No Stone Left UnturnedSince you will be needing money to buy all the houses and buy soul gems and whatnot I would suggest helping your newly acquired Thief's guild reach it's Maximum Potential by gaining back their Paragon. You should also return all relics you can to Delvin Mallory (The Decanter the Gold Ship etc.) the more coin you get the better..

     

    Civil War- As the Civil War questline does not gain any form of power or benefit besides changing the guards in various cities, Nazius has no interest in the petty squabble over who should rule the land, as there is no way to rule the land himself. Do Not Do the Civil War questline. Remember when you negotiate as part of the main quest the steps are "Make Thalmor leave, Give Markarth in exchange for Riften, Make Ulfric pay for Karthwasten" this will allow you to catch Odaviing without having to bother with the civil war... humans are so easy to manipulate. 

     

     *OPTIONAL RP RULE* If you have to use a solid sword, such as an iron sword etc, you must Unequip it after four or five swings, either returning it to your inventory or dropping it to the ground as your character's main hand is deformed and unable to grip properly. You may NOT cheat this using your off hand, as he doesn't know how to USE a sword in his off hand.

     

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/28/b3/3d/28b33d95c7c1d9fe2f263850226dac60.png

     

     HUGE thanks to Dragonborn once again on this build, as they're helping me with Banners and fancy text and stuff. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the build as well, giving suggestions etc. Big thanks as well to Paws for input and suggestions, thank you also to soly for their continued suggestions and reminders to put in combat styles for those who are interested in that :P

  • August 21, 2017

    Looking good Baldur. You've just got a really solid build and I think it's already starting to show a bit of a difference between this one and your fiirst build, especially if you compare the start of this one with the start of the other one. I don't really have any recommendations or anything else to say based on the build itself, but yeah it's just a really solid build mate :D

     

    Oh there is one thing about the ranks, I'd suggest trying out the New Ranks instead of the older ones, it's something that was really just implemented by Vargr, but they're more reflective of the site nowadays (in terms of you know, actually being able to progress in the ranking system). So instead of Rank:Bloodworks you could use the SE Rank:Novice tag instead

  • August 21, 2017

    Tag Edited.

  • August 21, 2017

    Added a small optional ruleI thought of after posting.

  • Member
    August 21, 2017

    You may argue that with a hand deformity, Nazius would be unable to smith...and if he were the one actually using the hammer then yes. Using the power of Necromancy, Nazius calls forth an undead smith to forge with the knowledge he possesses, his actions guiding the minion until the task is done.

    Yeah, I do like that creepy mental image: a bone-rattling hammering. The character bacskstory is pretty cool, while the presentation has come a long way with those banners and images. It's a huge build with a lot of perks, but fair play for sticking to your guns on that :)

  • August 21, 2017

    Paws said:

    You may argue that with a hand deformity, Nazius would be unable to smith...and if he were the one actually using the hammer then yes. Using the power of Necromancy, Nazius calls forth an undead smith to forge with the knowledge he possesses, his actions guiding the minion until the task is done.

    Yeah, I do like that creepy mental image: a bone-rattling hammering. The character bacskstory is pretty cool, while the presentation has come a long way with those banners and images. It's a huge build with a lot of perks, but fair play for sticking to your guns on that :)

     

    I believe it was you who told me to be passionate, and to show that in my work.. to make the build MY build I have to make it MINE.. I don't cater to everyone, or it won't be MY build, MY Construct etc.

     

    Please look forward to more builds! I have several I'm mulling over mentally.. some aren't flowing as well as I want them to mentally but I'll make them work.. I want "Baldur's Builds" to be a thing people look forward to!

  • Member
    August 21, 2017

    BaldurAnthology said:

    Paws said:

    You may argue that with a hand deformity, Nazius would be unable to smith...and if he were the one actually using the hammer then yes. Using the power of Necromancy, Nazius calls forth an undead smith to forge with the knowledge he possesses, his actions guiding the minion until the task is done.

    Yeah, I do like that creepy mental image: a bone-rattling hammering. The character bacskstory is pretty cool, while the presentation has come a long way with those banners and images. It's a huge build with a lot of perks, but fair play for sticking to your guns on that :)

     

    I believe it was you who told me to be passionate, and to show that in my work.. to make the build MY build I have to make it MINE.. I don't cater to everyone, or it won't be MY build, MY Construct etc.

     

    Please look forward to more builds! I have several I'm mulling over mentally.. some aren't flowing as well as I want them to mentally but I'll make them work.. I want "Baldur's Builds" to be a thing people look forward to!

    Aye, that sounds like the sort of stuff I spew :D I also thoroughly encourage you to be part of the community, read other builds and leave comments, soak in all the inspiration this site has to offer. By being a part of it, more people will look forward to your content. You're an active builder honing his craft, and that is great to see. DB has helped you out with banners and stuff, remember to support him in turn :)

  • August 21, 2017

    I can't support anyone if I have no skill other than writing to give.. all i can do is thank people in the comments and maybe make a build dedicated to someone :D

  • Member
    August 21, 2017

    Totally fair! I just mean, like, remember DB next time he posts a build - take that two minutes to read, like, and comment - that's all. We do this for fun and it's a social site, so I figure good to socialise. You've been very good at that so far and it really is cool to see your passion take shape with your builds.

    This one is pretty outside of the box, a very unique character and motivation. Looking forward to your Khajiit :)

  • August 21, 2017

    I heard my name dropped :P

    Ah, what Phil means is really just that as a new builder it can help to comment on other works that you see around. It doesn't have to be anything as massive as some of my comments can get (you didn't even get to scratch the surface of the sheer length of my comments), but even just going to a build and pointing out something that could be improved in your opinion, or even saying 'Hey good job mate' is not only a good thing to do but also a worthwhile thing. If you're out there and people see you commenting on pieces of work in the group, they'd be more likely to in return comment on your content and then when they post content, more people might see them in the same way. The idea is that you help create a kind of circle of commenting and support that builds the community more and more.

    Or, to put it simpler. Commenting is good, and Phil ninja'd me and got his response out first. Also ignore his constant mentions of me, makes me feel like I've got a content pimp :P