Perhaps the title "Fenlords of Black Marsh' means nothing to you. Perhaps it means nothing to my people after millenia of their absense. But the Hist has shown me visions of the past, has shown me the depravity of the Necromancer Filth that were the Fenlords. The Hist has shown me scenes of greusome rituals, where Argonians were sacrificed in the thousands to grant these Fenlords a near unlimited power, and an ability to raise even the strongest of the dead.
Thousands...no, hundreds of thousands of my people died at the hands of these Aldmer scum millenia ago, and now. Now those foul Thalmor are returning to the borders of Black Marsh in droves in order to 'discover their past'. We have kept out the Thalmor at the very least, the Dominion has no sway in Argonia, but one mer managed to get through, and somehow cover her tracks for long enough to find one of the ancient temples. I have no idea how she managed this, nor how long she was in there, but I must assume that any, and all knowledge that was stored in that temple is in her hands, and that she has the power to cause unparalled chaos with some of those rituals.
I shall hunt her down. Every step she takes, I will follow behind. Any rumor of an Elvish Necromancer shall be followed until I kill the one responsible. And when I find her, anything she knows shall be lost to The Void, and this knowledge will die with her...at least for now.
The Basics:
Race: Argonian
Standing Stone: The Lord or The Steed
I really couldn't decide which stone to go with. The Lord and Steed are rather interesting with the character, with the former increasing our damage when we're at higher health rates (which is good because we're usually at high health) while giving us a good AoE stagger power to use. The Steed is just an interesting choice because it increases speed when out of combat.
Major Skills: Conjuration, Alteration, Restoration
Conjuration and Alteration really form the meat of this build, the former basically allows us to have a rotating cast of helpful minions that mostly just blow up (Flame Atronachs >.>) and kill things, Alteration is used in an even more passive manner, with the actual perks probably being more useful to the character than any spell, but I also used the old, Ocato's Recital + Flesh Spell combination to have free, instant AR whenever I entered battle. Restoration is used almost as much as the other two, but since I'm only using the Healing spell, it levels slowly and only ended up around 27.
Minor Skills: Destruction and One-Handed (both unperked)
Destruction is so rarely used that I'm only mentioning it because I burned three things and used Shock against Ash Spawn because I had nothing else to take them down. It's kind of weird that I managed to hit Level 30 with it, but that's just how it ended up going. One-Handed is just used for Dawnbreaker and whatever sword you pick up earlier on (Steel, Orcish, whatever).
Stats: 5 Magicka, 10 Health, 4 Stamina (in about 1/2/1...roughly)
This build starts off needing a rather hefty amount of Magicka so my early game looked closer to me just pouring my stats into Magicka which is used for all my summons, healing, and the occasional debuffing spell or Destruction spell. Health is much more important because of two factors. The first is that we're going to be fighting in melee range most of the time, and need to take a few hits, but one of our summons will also take 50 Health in order to summon (that's reduced by the way, closer to 25). Stamina is useful mainly just because each attack takes a little bit with Wildcat, but also just because laying a Power Attack in here and there is useful (and the sprinting).
Mods: Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim, Aurora - Standing Stones of Skyrim, Imperious - Races of Skyrim, Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim.
Entry One:
The foul decay of Necromancy infests the air around Windhelm just as much as the sounds of hammering and the training of the Stormcloak armies. I haven't felt a concentration as powerful as this anywhere other than around my homes and Cyrodiil, which still feels the influence of Mannimarco, King of Worms after all this time. I have no idea what it is that is causing this disturbance, but I do know that I must travel forth and slay whatever foul Necromancer is influencing the city in such a terrible manner.
Entry Two:
By the gods, I...I...I touched it. That foul, utterly disgusting amulet was in my hands for hours, tainted, TAINTED. Just the knowledge of what I held is disgusting, the Necromancer's Amulet of all things was being used in a ritual here in order for some fool to try True Necromancy. Not the mere shallow husks that most Necromancers use, but this fool was trying to bring the entirety of his wife's soul back into a...an abomination, there is no other word for what he was creating. Tonight. Tonight the events in this city shall be put to an end and this foul man and the Amulet shall both be erased from existence.
Entry Three:
NO! No, no, no, no, no, no. I thought it couldn't get any worse but I can't find it anywhere. I killed the idiotic fool attempting True Necromancy but the Necromancer's Amulet has completely disappeared. It isn't anywhere on his body, it isn't anywhere in his home and the only hint I have is an unknown Altmer leaving the city the night I killed the fool. Whoever has the Amulet cannot be allowed to use it in any real capacity, I shall not allow the taint of Necromancy to spread any further than it already has.
The early part of the build focuses on the quest, Blood on the Ice, where Dances-Through-Death stumbles across the murder in Windhelm and instantly makes the connection to Necromancy. Personally, I arranged this by starting out by taking a boat to Windhelm so I had some logical reason for being there, and then playing about two levels just going to nearby caves and clearing them out. There's no real combat requirement for the quest, but it still felt right to get to around Level 3 before completing the quest (which also got me enough money to buy Conjure Flame Atronach and Stoneflesh + Ocato's Recital).
Combat for the first third of the game (roughly) is rather easy, just smack things with a sword while conjuring Flame Atronachs...actually, that's mostly the entire playstyle. For those that don't know, Ocato's Recital is a spell added by Apocolypse that let's you store up to 3 spells that will trigger automatically when you enter combat, every time...for free. So for me, it meant I could cast an Alteration Level spell everytime I enter battle, constantly gaining XP while never sacrificing Magicka or time to conjure a shield.
Entry Four:
Interesting. Meridia is extremely well known as a hater of the Undead and the closest thing there is to a 'Good Daedra' other than perhaps Azura. And of all people, I have managed to stumble across her Beacon, and now all I need to do is head over to her Shrine and cleanse some taint. Probably some sort of Undead or Necromancer, but I can't be entirely sure. Tomorrow I should arrive somewhere near Solitude, and there I can maybe gain some sort of blessing or artifact that can help me hunt the foul Necromancer who stole the Amulet. I don't really want to live in service to a Daedric Prince, but it's far better than the taint of Undead on this land.
Entry Five:
This disgusting den of Undead has been cleansed. I may not be a worshipper of Meridia , but she has the right idea about these Undead. I am somewhat glad that there's a deity out there other than Stendarr and Arkay that believes in cleansing the world of undead and necromancy, even if they are a Daedric Prince. This man, Malkalorn was a truly disgusting person that somehow managed to... posess himself? That's the only way I can describe what happened but after his death a Shade flew from his body and attacked me. Luckily it was weaker than he was, otherwise I would likely be dead.
Entry Six:
Wha...what is this. Dragon's Bridge is, it's just. It's almost completely empty of life. I was just here a day, maybe two days ago and now so many people are dead. I see the footsteps of, a single, tall mer, and the a few shambling people. The stink of death permeates the air so much that I can't tell anything about what happened. But the people here mentioned an Altmer, a female dressed in Ancient Nordic Armor. Perhaps...yes, it has to be that foul witch who was in Argonia. She must be here, in Skyrim and. Wait. The Necromancer who stole the Amulet, the one who escaped Windhelm, perhaps...No I must not get ahead of myself, there are a number of Necromancers in this country, but just in case. I need to keep an eye out for this Elven Witch.
I started Break of Dawn at exactly Level 12 and finished roughly around Level 15 (yeah, that's what this single area did for my character). It was probably the easiest time I've ever had of the quest, for one simple reason. I'd broken my character my Level 12, and turned Dances-Through-Death into an impossibily strong Mage (and it got worse) simply by perking Vancian Magic. You see, this perk restricts you to just 20 spells before you need to rest (and it does not include the Stoneflesh from Ocato's Recital triggering) but what it does is double either the magnitude or duration of your spells. For me, it means I can heal 21 damage a second with Healing, create summons that last longer than 5 minutes or cast an infinite, 16 point Shock/Flames spell. Yeah, infinite, that 20 spell limit includes Concentration Spells with no real downside, meaning if you can keep it up, it counts as a single spell. I just summoned a minion, and then filled everything in that final room with Sparks until they died. No casting against me, nothing touched me and I finished it without a scratch.
In normal combat, Vancian Magic just means we have a set number of Atronachs that last a very long time, and usually make it that full 5 minutes because of out collection of perks. It's otherwise identical to the first third of the character.
Entry Seven:
My search may be complete. I've searched and searched and searched for any sign of the Aldmeri magic and there is a strange power coming from Solstheim. It's not exactly close by, but the amount of energy pouring forth from...something, or someone, on that island is so powerful that you can detect hints of it from the northern shores of Skyrim. It's a shame that damned Elf is good at covering her tracks otherwise I'd have killed her by now. Regardless I must discover whatever it is that I'm detecting from that island before it either increases in power, or she finds it...that would be completely unaceptabble.
Entry Seven:
YES. I have done it. Not only have I discovered the barrow and paid my way in, but I've managed to vanquish a powerful Dragon Priest and cleanse this island of the major source of Necromancy. It was a creature called Azhidal, a powerful Necromancer and Pyromancer who combined his powers in a most unique and deadly way, but my Daedric Minions and Dawnbreaker were enough to put him down a little more permanently. That foolish Dunmer who unearthed this barrow was dealt with, his claim was that he was under some sort of mind control but I couldn't risk the idea that he had gained some knowledge from Azhidal.
The only thing left, is to kill that damned elf. Malyne is her name, and she shall die by my hand.
Combat becomes really interesting around Level 16 or so, when Unearthed was properly started. We've got our trusty sword (Dawnbreaker) which is an absolute blessing in combat against undead. We've got our final level of Conjuration Spells with the Adept Spells. The Dremora Pit Fighter is insanely strong, ridiculously durable and is a perfect tank that only adds to this character's survivability. Oh it also gets stronger based on the number of nearby enemies. The Xivilai Sorcerer is another weird one because it's one of the best 'Mage-Type' summons that I've ever used, with a powerful set of spells and shields that just makes it an incredible summon. I personally used the Sorcerer a little bit more with this build since they add a bit more range to our little party, but since we can run around with one of each, that's a perfectly valid option.
Finally, we get access to a single perk that changes how this character functions...well sort of, it makes it even more powerful defensively at least. Welloc's Dormant Arcana is an interesting little perk that gives you 3 Bonus Effects whenever a certain type of passive spell activates. For me, it was the Armour spell, and now everytime I run into combat I get a 20% boost to Conjuration, +50 Health and +50 AR. Well as long as the armour spell activates, which it always does because of Ocato's Recital. It's really just another way to add a bit more protection to the character, but changing one of them to Magic Resistance is a perfectly valid choice.
Overall, combat is still the same in it's basic form. Summon your minions and smack things with a sword. But that's just the way we like it.
Malyne
Ah, the Ayleids! Truly an inspiration to any seeker of knowledge and power: driven, intelligent, beautifully efficient... and ruthless. But their love of light was their undoing. Only one obscure group ever realized the truth: there is power in light AND dark. Necromancy. The Ayleids' had a vast knowledge of it, and in more enlightened times utilized it with great success, but as their love of light grew, necromancy fell out of vogue. A shame, really, it could have saved the greatest civilization Tamriel has ever known.
The Fenlords realized this foolishness, and moved into the most benighted region of Tamriel, the Black Marsh, to make slaves of Tamriel’s most benighted race, the Argonians, in order to study unabated and grow in power unmatched. Obviously, preserving corpses in the Black Marsh, where everything decomposes so quickly, is no easy task, so little wonder the Fenlords' necromantic prowess rose to such legendary proportions.
But the Fenlords were either shortsighted or unwilling to do what should have been blatantly obvious. When slaves revolted, they crushed all resistance, then (unlike their light-worshiping counterparts) raised them as mindless, perfectly subservient slaves. To the Fenlords, this made perfect sense. But waiting for uprisings before creating the perfect slave is foolish and inefficient—and I am neither of those things. No, you crush ALL slaves first, and then raise them ALL to obedient perfection.
I have learned everything the Fenlords have to offer in this beautiful temple sullied by muck and mire. The small contingent of Argonians who lay in “ambush” outside the temple doors will suffer the same fate as their predecessors: extermination, reanimation, and subjugation. I’m getting out of this wretched swamp. Perhaps when I control the parts of Tamriel worth having, I will return to the Black Marsh—then drain it, burn its vegetation, and salt every last bit of its soil. As for the Argonians… their service will no longer be required.
Get ready for a new world order!
Race: Altmer
Standing Stone: The Ritual Stone
A driven, Altmer necromancer with an itch to further her own knowledge and power in the necromantic arts… could there be any other choice? Nuff said.
But the Ritual stone is an immensely useful even if you aren’t about becoming a necromantic near-deity: it works on corpses as high as level 75, and you can raise a slew of them at a time (AND the corpses don’t disintegrate afterward, the result of which is if you are so inclined, you could keep an undead posse with you indefinitely merely by waiting or by exploiting the Aethereal crown). With so many fallen draugr in that final battle with Ahzidal, busting out the Ritual Stone is a highly satisfying experience.
Major Skill: Conjuration
It’s all about the Conjuration, baby! Conjuration gives you offensive capabilities in the form of bound weapons—even without perking One-handed or Archery, those weapons are incredibly powerful even as far as level 15.
Conjuration also boosts defense in the form of minions, AND since I roll with Ordinator, I got some sweet perks for my meat (and bone) shields: assemble a small skeleton army… check! Buff that army by burning more bones on the altar… check! Three undead skeevers that appear the instant you enter combat… check! Significantly beefier reanimated dead for the first 60 seconds of reanimation… check! There were just so many fantastic perks in this school that I was going crazy trying to figure out how to choose only 20. xD
Oh, and did I mention that Conjuration skill ramps up insanely fast with the schools two lowliest spells: Bound Sword and Reanimate Dead? To give you an idea, I decided to get a feel for the build and raise a bit of capital by taking on Embershard Mine and Bleak Falls Barrow right out of Helgen before snatching up the Ritual Stone. By the time I got to the Ritual Stone I was at level 9 or 10, and my Conjuration skill level was in the 50’s—I couldn’t have been playing for more than an hour.
Unperked Skills: Heavy Armor, One-handed/Archery, Block, & Restoration
I perked none of these skills, but used them heavily (or at the very least once per dungeon). This Altmer scourge to the living rolls slow, heavy, and relentless. I grabbed whatever heavy armor I could find and kept upgrading (though I opted not to pick up any Dwarven items… didn’t feel or look right).
When enemies were riveted on my minions, I would hop in and start swinging with the bound sword. For more powerful enemies like draugr scourges, overlords and such, I’d put some distance between us and pop them with the bound bow.
Early on I found a shield of Blocking and decided to hang on to it in order to take some of the sting off the hits I was receiving. I also tended to double-cast the Heal spell in order to save found potions of health for emergencies.
Stats: 1 Magicka and 1 Health
Magicka and Health are equally important in this build; Magicka because you’ll need it to raise minions and conjure bound weapons, Health because you’ll be tanking hits fairly regularly while your minions are chipping away at your enemies.
Blood on the Ice
Entry One:
Windhelm. I feel such ambivalence for the benighted city. This rabble of Nords can barely carry on an intelligible conversation yet strut around the streets as if they were anything but the animals they are. Actually, this is unfair... animals serve a useful purpose. Perhaps the only issue on which I find myself in agreement with these mead-swilling buffoons is their distaste for Argonians. The ancient Fenlord masters were correct: it is a race suitable only for servitude and entertainment. Yet Ulfric allows these creatures to roam the streets unfettered--it is an insult to natural law.
Yet there is true power here too; you feel it when you cross the bridge... a bone altar located beneath. And somewhere in this city lies the Necromancer's Amulet, an artifact far more powerful than any bumpkin here could possibly imagine. It sickens me to think that someone here, perhaps even at this moment, is touching it, holding it, carressing it. It belongs with a master. It belongs with ME!
Entry Two
Finally some good luck! Someone in Windhelm is murdering and mutilating the women of Windhelm. It looks like some novice is trying to piece a corpse together, and what better place to look for the amulet than here? When I find the fool, there shall be one corpse more before this farce is finished...
Entry Three
Somebody's been poking around. The secret room I found has been rifled through, and talk around the market has it that a local dealer in antiquities has been making regular inquiries about a lost amulet that sounds suspiciously familiar, then suddenly, the inquiries stopped. Sounds like I'm going to have to arrange a private interview with this Calixto... and I know just the place!
Entry Four
Time to leave. Calixto was obviously stalking his next victim, completely unaware that he, himself, was being stalked. What better time to put a sword through the fool than when he is standing, exultant, over his prey? But just before he could put an end to the woman, some do-gooding Argonian emerges from the shadows, kills him, and calls for the Guard. Evidently I'm not the only one stalking that bungling, would-be necromancer.
While killing upstart Argonians is a pleasant enough passtime, killing guards is a less pleasing prospect--kill one and five more jump out of the woodwork. But just as I was starting to think things were going to get incredibly difficult, a crowd gathered, and in all the ensuing confusion as stories were explained and bandied about, it was a simple matter of stooping down, snapping the Amulet off that fool Calixto's neck, then strolling away. Windhelm has nothing left to offer, and anyhow... I tire of the stench of Argonians.
The Break of Dawn
Entry Five
I hear there is a necromancer north of Dragon's Bridge that has turned the temple of Meridia into his own base of operations--a gutsy move. But foolish. That puts him in MY line of sight. Just imagine what could be accomplished by combining what he knows with my advanced knowledge of the ancient Ayleid necromancers of the black marsh. I think it's time to take a trip to Haafingar, and since Meridia appears to be out of the picture, this Malkoran will soon wish he had some higher power to appeal to for mercy... he'll find none from me.
Entry Six
Meridia is NOT out of the picture, she has made this abundantly clear. The temple has somehow been cleansed, and Malkoran's knowledge has been denied me. Admittedly, this put me in a foul mood when I arrived in Dragon's Bridge looking for answers. An unfortunate turn of events for the households who received midnight visits from me and my loyal followers looking for answers. But I found their pain... cathartic... even if their information leaves me unsettled.
Evidently an Argonian was seen entering the temple just before the rays of light started appearing--an Argonian that sounds an awful lot like the interloper from Windhelm. It has crossed my path too often for my liking... I will tear that creature apart scale by scale!
Unearthed
Entry Seven
The reptile has been making inquiries around Windhelm looking for passage to Solstheim. This is a coincidence that cannot be ignored. There is a great necromantic presence in Kolbjorn Barrow--a presence that has been touched by the Ayleid Fenlords. A presence with knowledge and power that I MUST have.
But what to do? My initial reaction is to follow the frogspawn into the barrow and let it deal with the denizens therein--then erase it from Mundas (provided it even survives long enough to find its way to the necromantic source). But no, I think I have something far more fun in mind...
Final Entry
More good luck: though the Argonian has beaten me to Kolbjorn Barrow, the barrow is not yet opened. The reptilian fool has been funding the operation, and while she is away waiting for word of progress, I will enter and prepare an appropriate reception for her...
The Dark Elf who leads this operation is obviously touched by the necromantic power that lies within--also good news... he will accompany me and raise this Ahzidal when the Argonian inconvenience arrives. Should it survive the encounter, I, from deep within the barrow, I will start raising the draugr that reptilian slave-in-waiting previously disposed of as a reception committee for it. She'll have fought her way into the barrow, have to fight her way out of it, and in her exhausted state will finally face the greates power within the barrow... me!
Combat
Aaaand... now's the part where you kneel before your new mistress!
The early stages of this build is are pretty simple: Bound Sword in one hand, kill opposition, raise opposition, then together sweep remaining opposition off the face of Tamriel. The bound sword is plenty powerfull for bandits and outlaws, and (as long as you've got a minion) thugs. Same with draugr, restless draugr, and wights. Just get in there and start slashing, blocking, and reanimating. Mages and magic attacks were perhaps the trickiest encounters, but with the bound bow (which you can pick up for free in Fort Amol, you are able to keep a bit of distance while your minions take the heat (or freeze or shock ;D).
Toward the middle stages, I was summoning skeleton warriors/mages at the Bone Altar, and had perked 'Rat King' which summons three undead skeevers every time I enter combat. It made sense to back off and let them get to work before slashing at enemy backsides or picking off threats with the bound bow. I would know when combat was initiated because three undead skeever would go tearing off after all threats. Then just walk behind the skeletons, and wait for them to engage. From there, you can sit back and enjoy the show, raise additional corpses when needed, or flank attack larger threats to your minions. Be forewarned: your bound weapons (the bow especially) will destroy your summoned skeletons, so take your shots judiciously if you wish to keep your minions with you. Otherwise, it's off to the nearest bone altar with you xD
By the end game I had 3 skeleton warriors, 2 skeleton mages, three undead skeevers, and a reanimated corpse created from the toughest fallen enemy at any one time. When things got dicey and there were plenty of corpses, the Ritual Stone ended that nonsense post hast! Being bad has never felt so good... thank you Ordinator!
The Final Battle
Shadows danced across the plains of Solstheim, the setting sun lighting the Ash Fields up in even more brilliant hues of red and orange. A gentle breeze surrounded Kolbjorn Barrow, throwing ash around in a constant ebb. Upon this field, stood two women, one covered in the heavy plate of the Ancient Nords and the other one protected only by her thin robes. The two were complete opposites, one had a visible aura of menace and darkness pulsing around her, all of it converging on her chest and a bright blue amulet located there, drawing in power at a phenomenal rate. The other, was wielding a Sword of Pure Light, pulsing as the sun set, and throwing out a light so pure and vibrant that the area seemed like midday.
The Necromancer and The Holy Mage stood there, neither moving, neither feeling the need to talk, simply waiting for the right moment. And that moment, was the sun finally disappearing beneath the horizen. At that single moment, the Sword of Light lit up even more, pulsing this time in tune with the Robed Woman's heartbeat. The Necromancer called forth her minions, a hoard of skeevers and a small army of undead skeletons rushed forth towards The Holy Mage, weapons hoisted high and spells ready to fling. The Necromancer stood firm behind her small group of minions, conjuring a Bound Sword in her right hand and just waiting as her army attacked. The Holy Mage brought forth her Blade of Light and readied herself to fight her final battle. Spells flew first, she summoned the gigantic form of a Dremora Pit Fighter was the first, quickly joined by a second. The two of them drew their axes and rushed towards the approaching hoard of minions, flying into battle and absolutely devastating the first skeletons that they hit. Each swing of their massive axes were absolutely destructive, even with a miss they shattered the earth beneath the field, sending ash flying through the air. The Necromancer's skeletons were quick to fall the the overwhelming might of the Pit Fighters, but not before taking down one of the massive Dremora summons. The Skeevers that the Necromancer had brought were quickly crushed by the last remaining Pit Fighter, before a blur of brown and purple shot forward and simply tapped the Dremora with it's blade. Instantly the summoned creature dissapeared, returning to Oblivion as the Necromancer's Bound Sword banished it.
Now, the Holy Mage and the Necromancer were devoid of their summons. Each simply had their blade left, one pulsing with the darkness of the Necromancer's Amulet, the other pulsing with the Holy Light of Meridia. A final fight of blades would be fought between the two, where the Daedric Blade of Light met the Bound Sword of Shadows...
Closing Notes:
Anyway, thank you all for reading this build. My half was ridiculously fun to play and just getting to read Shin's stuff as it came out was an absolute treat (that I hope you enjoyed as well). I was really excited to work with ShinJin, and the Workshop Event finally gave me the kick in the butt to send out the message and get it started. I'd like to thank Phil who basically gave us the basic idea for the build. He brought the lore of the Ayelid Fenlords (which we really didn't go into enough detail on) and originally suggested the idea of two characters so without him this build would be totally different. Go check out ShinJin's Builds, he's been building for years now and has some truly awesome builds that you should check out.
Perhaps the title "Fenlords of Black Marsh' means nothing to you. Perhaps it means nothing to my people after millenia of their absense. But the Hist has shown me visions of the past, has shown me the depravity of the Necromancer Filth that were the Fenlords. The Hist has shown me scenes of greusome rituals, where Argonians were sacrificed in the thousands to grant these Fenlords a near unlimited power, and an ability to raise even the strongest of the dead.
Thousands...no, hundreds of thousands of my people died at the hands of these Aldmer scum millenia ago, and now. Now those foul Thalmor are returning to the borders of Black Marsh in droves in order to 'discover their past'. We have kept out the Thalmor at the very least, the Dominion has no sway in Argonia, but one mer managed to get through, and somehow cover her tracks for long enough to find one of the ancient temples. I have no idea how she managed this, nor how long she was in there, but I must assume that any, and all knowledge that was stored in that temple is in her hands, and that she has the power to cause unparalled chaos with some of those rituals.
I shall hunt her down. Every step she takes, I will follow behind. Any rumor of an Elvish Necromancer shall be followed until I kill the one responsible. And when I find her, anything she knows shall be lost to The Void, and this knowledge will die with her...at least for now.
The Basics:
Race: Argonian
Standing Stone: The Lord or The Steed
I really couldn't decide which stone to go with. The Lord and Steed are rather interesting with the character, with the former increasing our damage when we're at higher health rates (which is good because we're usually at high health) while giving us a good AoE stagger power to use. The Steed is just an interesting choice because it increases speed when out of combat.
Major Skills: Conjuration, Alteration, Restoration
Conjuration and Alteration really form the meat of this build, the former basically allows us to have a rotating cast of helpful minions that mostly just blow up (Flame Atronachs >.>) and kill things, Alteration is used in an even more passive manner, with the actual perks probably being more useful to the character than any spell, but I also used the old, Ocato's Recital + Flesh Spell combination to have free, instant AR whenever I entered battle. Restoration is used almost as much as the other two, but since I'm only using the Healing spell, it levels slowly and only ended up around 27.
Minor Skills: Destruction and One-Handed (both unperked)
Destruction is so rarely used that I'm only mentioning it because I burned three things and used Shock against Ash Spawn because I had nothing else to take them down. It's kind of weird that I managed to hit Level 30 with it, but that's just how it ended up going. One-Handed is just used for Dawnbreaker and whatever sword you pick up earlier on (Steel, Orcish, whatever).
Stats: 5 Magicka, 10 Health, 4 Stamina (in about 1/2/1...roughly)
This build starts off needing a rather hefty amount of Magicka so my early game looked closer to me just pouring my stats into Magicka which is used for all my summons, healing, and the occasional debuffing spell or Destruction spell. Health is much more important because of two factors. The first is that we're going to be fighting in melee range most of the time, and need to take a few hits, but one of our summons will also take 50 Health in order to summon (that's reduced by the way, closer to 25). Stamina is useful mainly just because each attack takes a little bit with Wildcat, but also just because laying a Power Attack in here and there is useful (and the sprinting).
Mods: Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim, Aurora - Standing Stones of Skyrim, Imperious - Races of Skyrim, Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim.
Entry One:
The foul decay of Necromancy infests the air around Windhelm just as much as the sounds of hammering and the training of the Stormcloak armies. I haven't felt a concentration as powerful as this anywhere other than around my homes and Cyrodiil, which still feels the influence of Mannimarco, King of Worms after all this time. I have no idea what it is that is causing this disturbance, but I do know that I must travel forth and slay whatever foul Necromancer is influencing the city in such a terrible manner.
Entry Two:
By the gods, I...I...I touched it. That foul, utterly disgusting amulet was in my hands for hours, tainted, TAINTED. Just the knowledge of what I held is disgusting, the Necromancer's Amulet of all things was being used in a ritual here in order for some fool to try True Necromancy. Not the mere shallow husks that most Necromancers use, but this fool was trying to bring the entirety of his wife's soul back into a...an abomination, there is no other word for what he was creating. Tonight. Tonight the events in this city shall be put to an end and this foul man and the Amulet shall both be erased from existence.
Entry Three:
NO! No, no, no, no, no, no. I thought it couldn't get any worse but I can't find it anywhere. I killed the idiotic fool attempting True Necromancy but the Necromancer's Amulet has completely disappeared. It isn't anywhere on his body, it isn't anywhere in his home and the only hint I have is an unknown Altmer leaving the city the night I killed the fool. Whoever has the Amulet cannot be allowed to use it in any real capacity, I shall not allow the taint of Necromancy to spread any further than it already has.
The early part of the build focuses on the quest, Blood on the Ice, where Dances-Through-Death stumbles across the murder in Windhelm and instantly makes the connection to Necromancy. Personally, I arranged this by starting out by taking a boat to Windhelm so I had some logical reason for being there, and then playing about two levels just going to nearby caves and clearing them out. There's no real combat requirement for the quest, but it still felt right to get to around Level 3 before completing the quest (which also got me enough money to buy Conjure Flame Atronach and Stoneflesh + Ocato's Recital).
Combat for the first third of the game (roughly) is rather easy, just smack things with a sword while conjuring Flame Atronachs...actually, that's mostly the entire playstyle. For those that don't know, Ocato's Recital is a spell added by Apocolypse that let's you store up to 3 spells that will trigger automatically when you enter combat, every time...for free. So for me, it meant I could cast an Alteration Level spell everytime I enter battle, constantly gaining XP while never sacrificing Magicka or time to conjure a shield.
Entry Four:
Interesting. Meridia is extremely well known as a hater of the Undead and the closest thing there is to a 'Good Daedra' other than perhaps Azura. And of all people, I have managed to stumble across her Beacon, and now all I need to do is head over to her Shrine and cleanse some taint. Probably some sort of Undead or Necromancer, but I can't be entirely sure. Tomorrow I should arrive somewhere near Solitude, and there I can maybe gain some sort of blessing or artifact that can help me hunt the foul Necromancer who stole the Amulet. I don't really want to live in service to a Daedric Prince, but it's far better than the taint of Undead on this land.
Entry Five:
This disgusting den of Undead has been cleansed. I may not be a worshipper of Meridia , but she has the right idea about these Undead. I am somewhat glad that there's a deity out there other than Stendarr and Arkay that believes in cleansing the world of undead and necromancy, even if they are a Daedric Prince. This man, Malkalorn was a truly disgusting person that somehow managed to... posess himself? That's the only way I can describe what happened but after his death a Shade flew from his body and attacked me. Luckily it was weaker than he was, otherwise I would likely be dead.
Entry Six:
Wha...what is this. Dragon's Bridge is, it's just. It's almost completely empty of life. I was just here a day, maybe two days ago and now so many people are dead. I see the footsteps of, a single, tall mer, and the a few shambling people. The stink of death permeates the air so much that I can't tell anything about what happened. But the people here mentioned an Altmer, a female dressed in Ancient Nordic Armor. Perhaps...yes, it has to be that foul witch who was in Argonia. She must be here, in Skyrim and. Wait. The Necromancer who stole the Amulet, the one who escaped Windhelm, perhaps...No I must not get ahead of myself, there are a number of Necromancers in this country, but just in case. I need to keep an eye out for this Elven Witch.
I started Break of Dawn at exactly Level 12 and finished roughly around Level 15 (yeah, that's what this single area did for my character). It was probably the easiest time I've ever had of the quest, for one simple reason. I'd broken my character my Level 12, and turned Dances-Through-Death into an impossibily strong Mage (and it got worse) simply by perking Vancian Magic. You see, this perk restricts you to just 20 spells before you need to rest (and it does not include the Stoneflesh from Ocato's Recital triggering) but what it does is double either the magnitude or duration of your spells. For me, it means I can heal 21 damage a second with Healing, create summons that last longer than 5 minutes or cast an infinite, 16 point Shock/Flames spell. Yeah, infinite, that 20 spell limit includes Concentration Spells with no real downside, meaning if you can keep it up, it counts as a single spell. I just summoned a minion, and then filled everything in that final room with Sparks until they died. No casting against me, nothing touched me and I finished it without a scratch.
In normal combat, Vancian Magic just means we have a set number of Atronachs that last a very long time, and usually make it that full 5 minutes because of out collection of perks. It's otherwise identical to the first third of the character.
Entry Seven:
My search may be complete. I've searched and searched and searched for any sign of the Aldmeri magic and there is a strange power coming from Solstheim. It's not exactly close by, but the amount of energy pouring forth from...something, or someone, on that island is so powerful that you can detect hints of it from the northern shores of Skyrim. It's a shame that damned Elf is good at covering her tracks otherwise I'd have killed her by now. Regardless I must discover whatever it is that I'm detecting from that island before it either increases in power, or she finds it...that would be completely unaceptabble.
Entry Seven:
YES. I have done it. Not only have I discovered the barrow and paid my way in, but I've managed to vanquish a powerful Dragon Priest and cleanse this island of the major source of Necromancy. It was a creature called Azhidal, a powerful Necromancer and Pyromancer who combined his powers in a most unique and deadly way, but my Daedric Minions and Dawnbreaker were enough to put him down a little more permanently. That foolish Dunmer who unearthed this barrow was dealt with, his claim was that he was under some sort of mind control but I couldn't risk the idea that he had gained some knowledge from Azhidal.
The only thing left, is to kill that damned elf. Malyne is her name, and she shall die by my hand.
Combat becomes really interesting around Level 16 or so, when Unearthed was properly started. We've got our trusty sword (Dawnbreaker) which is an absolute blessing in combat against undead. We've got our final level of Conjuration Spells with the Adept Spells. The Dremora Pit Fighter is insanely strong, ridiculously durable and is a perfect tank that only adds to this character's survivability. Oh it also gets stronger based on the number of nearby enemies. The Xivilai Sorcerer is another weird one because it's one of the best 'Mage-Type' summons that I've ever used, with a powerful set of spells and shields that just makes it an incredible summon. I personally used the Sorcerer a little bit more with this build since they add a bit more range to our little party, but since we can run around with one of each, that's a perfectly valid option.
Finally, we get access to a single perk that changes how this character functions...well sort of, it makes it even more powerful defensively at least. Welloc's Dormant Arcana is an interesting little perk that gives you 3 Bonus Effects whenever a certain type of passive spell activates. For me, it was the Armour spell, and now everytime I run into combat I get a 20% boost to Conjuration, +50 Health and +50 AR. Well as long as the armour spell activates, which it always does because of Ocato's Recital. It's really just another way to add a bit more protection to the character, but changing one of them to Magic Resistance is a perfectly valid choice.
Overall, combat is still the same in it's basic form. Summon your minions and smack things with a sword. But that's just the way we like it.
Malyne
Ah, the Ayleids! Truly an inspiration to any seeker of knowledge and power: driven, intelligent, beautifully efficient... and ruthless. But their love of light was their undoing. Only one obscure group ever realized the truth: there is power in light AND dark. Necromancy. The Ayleids' had a vast knowledge of it, and in more enlightened times utilized it with great success, but as their love of light grew, necromancy fell out of vogue. A shame, really, it could have saved the greatest civilization Tamriel has ever known.
The Fenlords realized this foolishness, and moved into the most benighted region of Tamriel, the Black Marsh, to make slaves of Tamriel’s most benighted race, the Argonians, in order to study unabated and grow in power unmatched. Obviously, preserving corpses in the Black Marsh, where everything decomposes so quickly, is no easy task, so little wonder the Fenlords' necromantic prowess rose to such legendary proportions.
But the Fenlords were either shortsighted or unwilling to do what should have been blatantly obvious. When slaves revolted, they crushed all resistance, then (unlike their light-worshiping counterparts) raised them as mindless, perfectly subservient slaves. To the Fenlords, this made perfect sense. But waiting for uprisings before creating the perfect slave is foolish and inefficient—and I am neither of those things. No, you crush ALL slaves first, and then raise them ALL to obedient perfection.
I have learned everything the Fenlords have to offer in this beautiful temple sullied by muck and mire. The small contingent of Argonians who lay in “ambush” outside the temple doors will suffer the same fate as their predecessors: extermination, reanimation, and subjugation. I’m getting out of this wretched swamp. Perhaps when I control the parts of Tamriel worth having, I will return to the Black Marsh—then drain it, burn its vegetation, and salt every last bit of its soil. As for the Argonians… their service will no longer be required.
Get ready for a new world order!
Race: Altmer
Standing Stone: The Ritual Stone
A driven, Altmer necromancer with an itch to further her own knowledge and power in the necromantic arts… could there be any other choice? Nuff said.
But the Ritual stone is an immensely useful even if you aren’t about becoming a necromantic near-deity: it works on corpses as high as level 75, and you can raise a slew of them at a time (AND the corpses don’t disintegrate afterward, the result of which is if you are so inclined, you could keep an undead posse with you indefinitely merely by waiting or by exploiting the Aethereal crown). With so many fallen draugr in that final battle with Ahzidal, busting out the Ritual Stone is a highly satisfying experience.
Major Skill: Conjuration
It’s all about the Conjuration, baby! Conjuration gives you offensive capabilities in the form of bound weapons—even without perking One-handed or Archery, those weapons are incredibly powerful even as far as level 15.
Conjuration also boosts defense in the form of minions, AND since I roll with Ordinator, I got some sweet perks for my meat (and bone) shields: assemble a small skeleton army… check! Buff that army by burning more bones on the altar… check! Three undead skeevers that appear the instant you enter combat… check! Significantly beefier reanimated dead for the first 60 seconds of reanimation… check! There were just so many fantastic perks in this school that I was going crazy trying to figure out how to choose only 20. xD
Oh, and did I mention that Conjuration skill ramps up insanely fast with the schools two lowliest spells: Bound Sword and Reanimate Dead? To give you an idea, I decided to get a feel for the build and raise a bit of capital by taking on Embershard Mine and Bleak Falls Barrow right out of Helgen before snatching up the Ritual Stone. By the time I got to the Ritual Stone I was at level 9 or 10, and my Conjuration skill level was in the 50’s—I couldn’t have been playing for more than an hour.
Unperked Skills: Heavy Armor, One-handed/Archery, Block, & Restoration
I perked none of these skills, but used them heavily (or at the very least once per dungeon). This Altmer scourge to the living rolls slow, heavy, and relentless. I grabbed whatever heavy armor I could find and kept upgrading (though I opted not to pick up any Dwarven items… didn’t feel or look right).
When enemies were riveted on my minions, I would hop in and start swinging with the bound sword. For more powerful enemies like draugr scourges, overlords and such, I’d put some distance between us and pop them with the bound bow.
Early on I found a shield of Blocking and decided to hang on to it in order to take some of the sting off the hits I was receiving. I also tended to double-cast the Heal spell in order to save found potions of health for emergencies.
Stats: 1 Magicka and 1 Health
Magicka and Health are equally important in this build; Magicka because you’ll need it to raise minions and conjure bound weapons, Health because you’ll be tanking hits fairly regularly while your minions are chipping away at your enemies.
Blood on the Ice
Entry One:
Windhelm. I feel such ambivalence for the benighted city. This rabble of Nords can barely carry on an intelligible conversation yet strut around the streets as if they were anything but the animals they are. Actually, this is unfair... animals serve a useful purpose. Perhaps the only issue on which I find myself in agreement with these mead-swilling buffoons is their distaste for Argonians. The ancient Fenlord masters were correct: it is a race suitable only for servitude and entertainment. Yet Ulfric allows these creatures to roam the streets unfettered--it is an insult to natural law.
Yet there is true power here too; you feel it when you cross the bridge... a bone altar located beneath. And somewhere in this city lies the Necromancer's Amulet, an artifact far more powerful than any bumpkin here could possibly imagine. It sickens me to think that someone here, perhaps even at this moment, is touching it, holding it, carressing it. It belongs with a master. It belongs with ME!
Entry Two
Finally some good luck! Someone in Windhelm is murdering and mutilating the women of Windhelm. It looks like some novice is trying to piece a corpse together, and what better place to look for the amulet than here? When I find the fool, there shall be one corpse more before this farce is finished...
Entry Three
Somebody's been poking around. The secret room I found has been rifled through, and talk around the market has it that a local dealer in antiquities has been making regular inquiries about a lost amulet that sounds suspiciously familiar, then suddenly, the inquiries stopped. Sounds like I'm going to have to arrange a private interview with this Calixto... and I know just the place!
Entry Four
Time to leave. Calixto was obviously stalking his next victim, completely unaware that he, himself, was being stalked. What better time to put a sword through the fool than when he is standing, exultant, over his prey? But just before he could put an end to the woman, some do-gooding Argonian emerges from the shadows, kills him, and calls for the Guard. Evidently I'm not the only one stalking that bungling, would-be necromancer.
While killing upstart Argonians is a pleasant enough passtime, killing guards is a less pleasing prospect--kill one and five more jump out of the woodwork. But just as I was starting to think things were going to get incredibly difficult, a crowd gathered, and in all the ensuing confusion as stories were explained and bandied about, it was a simple matter of stooping down, snapping the Amulet off that fool Calixto's neck, then strolling away. Windhelm has nothing left to offer, and anyhow... I tire of the stench of Argonians.
The Break of Dawn
Entry Five
I hear there is a necromancer north of Dragon's Bridge that has turned the temple of Meridia into his own base of operations--a gutsy move. But foolish. That puts him in MY line of sight. Just imagine what could be accomplished by combining what he knows with my advanced knowledge of the ancient Ayleid necromancers of the black marsh. I think it's time to take a trip to Haafingar, and since Meridia appears to be out of the picture, this Malkoran will soon wish he had some higher power to appeal to for mercy... he'll find none from me.
Entry Six
Meridia is NOT out of the picture, she has made this abundantly clear. The temple has somehow been cleansed, and Malkoran's knowledge has been denied me. Admittedly, this put me in a foul mood when I arrived in Dragon's Bridge looking for answers. An unfortunate turn of events for the households who received midnight visits from me and my loyal followers looking for answers. But I found their pain... cathartic... even if their information leaves me unsettled.
Evidently an Argonian was seen entering the temple just before the rays of light started appearing--an Argonian that sounds an awful lot like the interloper from Windhelm. It has crossed my path too often for my liking... I will tear that creature apart scale by scale!
Unearthed
Entry Seven
The reptile has been making inquiries around Windhelm looking for passage to Solstheim. This is a coincidence that cannot be ignored. There is a great necromantic presence in Kolbjorn Barrow--a presence that has been touched by the Ayleid Fenlords. A presence with knowledge and power that I MUST have.
But what to do? My initial reaction is to follow the frogspawn into the barrow and let it deal with the denizens therein--then erase it from Mundas (provided it even survives long enough to find its way to the necromantic source). But no, I think I have something far more fun in mind...
Final Entry
More good luck: though the Argonian has beaten me to Kolbjorn Barrow, the barrow is not yet opened. The reptilian fool has been funding the operation, and while she is away waiting for word of progress, I will enter and prepare an appropriate reception for her...
The Dark Elf who leads this operation is obviously touched by the necromantic power that lies within--also good news... he will accompany me and raise this Ahzidal when the Argonian inconvenience arrives. Should it survive the encounter, I, from deep within the barrow, I will start raising the draugr that reptilian slave-in-waiting previously disposed of as a reception committee for it. She'll have fought her way into the barrow, have to fight her way out of it, and in her exhausted state will finally face the greates power within the barrow... me!
Combat
Aaaand... now's the part where you kneel before your new mistress!
The early stages of this build is are pretty simple: Bound Sword in one hand, kill opposition, raise opposition, then together sweep remaining opposition off the face of Tamriel. The bound sword is plenty powerfull for bandits and outlaws, and (as long as you've got a minion) thugs. Same with draugr, restless draugr, and wights. Just get in there and start slashing, blocking, and reanimating. Mages and magic attacks were perhaps the trickiest encounters, but with the bound bow (which you can pick up for free in Fort Amol, you are able to keep a bit of distance while your minions take the heat (or freeze or shock ;D).
Toward the middle stages, I was summoning skeleton warriors/mages at the Bone Altar, and had perked 'Rat King' which summons three undead skeevers every time I enter combat. It made sense to back off and let them get to work before slashing at enemy backsides or picking off threats with the bound bow. I would know when combat was initiated because three undead skeever would go tearing off after all threats. Then just walk behind the skeletons, and wait for them to engage. From there, you can sit back and enjoy the show, raise additional corpses when needed, or flank attack larger threats to your minions. Be forewarned: your bound weapons (the bow especially) will destroy your summoned skeletons, so take your shots judiciously if you wish to keep your minions with you. Otherwise, it's off to the nearest bone altar with you xD
By the end game I had 3 skeleton warriors, 2 skeleton mages, three undead skeevers, and a reanimated corpse created from the toughest fallen enemy at any one time. When things got dicey and there were plenty of corpses, the Ritual Stone ended that nonsense post hast! Being bad has never felt so good... thank you Ordinator!
The Final Battle
Shadows danced across the plains of Solstheim, the setting sun lighting the Ash Fields up in even more brilliant hues of red and orange. A gentle breeze surrounded Kolbjorn Barrow, throwing ash around in a constant ebb. Upon this field, stood two women, one covered in the heavy plate of the Ancient Nords and the other one protected only by her thin robes. The two were complete opposites, one had a visible aura of menace and darkness pulsing around her, all of it converging on her chest and a bright blue amulet located there, drawing in power at a phenomenal rate. The other, was wielding a Sword of Pure Light, pulsing as the sun set, and throwing out a light so pure and vibrant that the area seemed like midday.
The Necromancer and The Holy Mage stood there, neither moving, neither feeling the need to talk, simply waiting for the right moment. And that moment, was the sun finally disappearing beneath the horizen. At that single moment, the Sword of Light lit up even more, pulsing this time in tune with the Robed Woman's heartbeat. The Necromancer called forth her minions, a hoard of skeevers and a small army of undead skeletons rushed forth towards The Holy Mage, weapons hoisted high and spells ready to fling. The Necromancer stood firm behind her small group of minions, conjuring a Bound Sword in her right hand and just waiting as her army attacked. The Holy Mage brought forth her Blade of Light and readied herself to fight her final battle. Spells flew first, she summoned the gigantic form of a Dremora Pit Fighter was the first, quickly joined by a second. The two of them drew their axes and rushed towards the approaching hoard of minions, flying into battle and absolutely devastating the first skeletons that they hit. Each swing of their massive axes were absolutely destructive, even with a miss they shattered the earth beneath the field, sending ash flying through the air. The Necromancer's skeletons were quick to fall the the overwhelming might of the Pit Fighters, but not before taking down one of the massive Dremora summons. The Skeevers that the Necromancer had brought were quickly crushed by the last remaining Pit Fighter, before a blur of brown and purple shot forward and simply tapped the Dremora with it's blade. Instantly the summoned creature dissapeared, returning to Oblivion as the Necromancer's Bound Sword banished it.
Now, the Holy Mage and the Necromancer were devoid of their summons. Each simply had their blade left, one pulsing with the darkness of the Necromancer's Amulet, the other pulsing with the Holy Light of Meridia. A final fight of blades would be fought between the two, where the Daedric Blade of Light met the Bound Sword of Shadows...
Closing Notes:
Anyway, thank you all for reading this build. My half was ridiculously fun to play and just getting to read Shin's stuff as it came out was an absolute treat (that I hope you enjoyed as well). I was really excited to work with ShinJin, and the Workshop Event finally gave me the kick in the butt to send out the message and get it started. I'd like to thank Phil who basically gave us the basic idea for the build. He brought the lore of the Ayelid Fenlords (which we really didn't go into enough detail on) and originally suggested the idea of two characters so without him this build would be totally different. Go check out ShinJin's Builds, he's been building for years now and has some truly awesome builds that you should check out.
