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Character Build: Shabahz, the Alik'r Sellsword

Tags: #Character Build Rogue  #Character Build Mods  #Race:Redguard  #Ordinator  #SE Rank:Novice  #21 TES Classes 
  • Member
    June 18, 2018

    Shabahz

     

    Shabahz, the Alik'r Sellsword

     

    This is the fifth installment in what will be a twenty-one part series. I have been working on this project for literally three years. The goal is to create twenty-one different builds for the twenty-one classes from the Elder Scrolls (TES) series. Albino put together a similar project that served as an inspiration, but I fleshed each class out into a full on character and have been tinkering with these builds over the course of three different consoles (PS3, PS4 and XB1). I have an extensive mod list that can be viewed here. Most of these builds have been directly inspired by other builds on the Tamriel Vault, and those builds will be cited below as well.

    I followed a number of self-imposed rules and restrictions when making these builds. Each has exactly seven skills, with at least one of them a crafting skill. Five of the seven skills must come from the pool of skills used by the class in past TES games, allowing each character two additional free skills. I used information from Daggerfall, Morrowind and Oblivion to determine the skill pool for each class. Each build must have at least three skills in their specialization (Magic, Combat or Stealth), and cannot have more than three skills from a single other specialization. Over all twenty-one builds, I incorporated every gender, race, skill, weapon class and faction at least once, if not more. The result is a literal cast of characters spanning every aspect of TES V: Skyrim. The fifth build I will present is my Rogue - Shabahz, the Alik'r Sellsword.

    Shabahz’s father was a traveling mercenary who scoured Hammerfell for information on the ways of the ancient Sword-Singers. When he was still a young boy, Shabahz and his father came upon a group who followed the old ways within the ancient Halls of Virtues of War. There, Shabahz’s father began to study the path of the Sword-Singer. A few years later his father was ready to become a Master of the Way upon completion of his Walkabout - a wilderness trek emulating the life of Frandar Hunding, the most accomplished sword-singer in history. Shabahz’s father left the Hall to wander the countryside, defeat monsters and aid the citizenry in the name of virtue. Unfortunately, around 4E 179, the Hall learned that Shabahz’s father had died in his valiant quest to emulate the life of Frandar, struck down by a Thalmor battalion while trying to defend a village from their rampage. After burying his father, Shabahz vowed to avenge his father by becoming a Sword-Singer himself and using his mastery of blade against the Thalmor. Some twenty-two years later, Shabahz is still on his own Walkabout in Skyrim, and maintains a burning desire for vengeance against the Thalmor.

    Young Shabahz

    A young Shabahz prepares for battle in the Alik'r Desert.

    Age: 37 Gender: Male Race: Redguard Class: Rogue Specialization: Combat (4 of 7 skills) Attributes: Personality, Speed

    Spouse: Rayya Follower: Rayya Deities: Yokudan Pantheon Home: Tundra Homestead Alignment: Chaotic Good

    Factions: none Magicka/Health/Stamina0 / 2 / 1 Standing Stone: The Warrior, then the Lord

    Major Skills

    One-Handed: Shabahz is a master bladesman. As a child, he trained under some of the best swords in Tamriel in the Hall of the Virtues of War. He continued this training on his Walkabout, and through rumor and gossip has made a shortlist of some potential trainers in Skyrim: Amren, a fellow Redguard in Whiterun, Athis of the Companions, and Burguk, the Chief of Dushnikh Yal. He longs to claim the title of the best swordsman in all of Tamriel. Rogue's Parry gives Shabahz a reason to leave his left hand free, as it allows him to counter opponents who are winding up an attack with a strike of his own that deals 40% more damage. Windswept and Into the Dust both have a chance to launch opponents, giving Shabahz an element of crowd control without relying on Unrelenting Force. Even a simple scimitar will be absolutely deadly with all of these perks combined.

    One-Handed Mastery (2/2), Disciplined Fighter, Clash of Champions (3/3), Cross Cut (2/2), Furious Strength, Falling Sword, Overrun, Rogue's Parry, Windswept, Into the Dust, Thundering Blow, Judgment, Aftershock, Wandering Warrior (18 perks)

    Light Armor: Shabahz has tempered his traditional Alik'r garb with boiled leather plates to cover his chest and also crafted matching bracers. Being equipped in all leather armor allows him to move quickly and easily dodge most attacks. Windrunner and Survival Instinct allow Shabahz to move even faster in combat. These perks combined with Quick Reflexes will make Shabahz extremely hard to strike.

    Light Armor Mastery (2/2), Annoying Mosquitoes (2/2), Light Armor Fit, Initiative (2/2), Keen Senses, Unhindered, Windrunner, Into the Maelstrom, Fight or Flight, Wardancer, Survival Instinct, Glancing Blows, Lightning Strike (16 perks)

    Block: Never a fan of shields, Shabahz has learned how to use his weapon in a defensive stance in order to offset incoming damage. While he still relies on agility and light armor to mitigate attacks, he can block and bash with his scimitar to add more variety to his offense. Quick Reflexes is a critical perk here as it fits in with Shabahz's theme of moving quickly and dodging most attacks. Mocking Blow is a weapon-specific bash perk that can help turn the tides in a long fight against a high-level enemy.

    Block Mastery (2/2), Timed Block (2/2), Poke the Dragon, Apocalypse Proof (2/2), Power Bash, Quick Reflexes, Skull Rattler, Dragon Tail, Block Runner, Mocking Blow, Dragon Scales (14 perks)

    Minor Skills

    Archery: Shabahz is a decent marksman, but uses his bow mostly to hunt for food or to initiate fights. His weapon of choice will always be his sword, but the plains of Skyrim are full of game and his skill with a bow allows him to live off the land for weeks at a time. I just picked the most basic archery perks here. Nothing too special, but these present a good way to take down dragons, to start a fight, or to hunt deer around Whiterun. Redguards start with a natural bonus to archery, so it made sense to me that Shabahz would be slightly skilled with a bow.

    Archery Mastery (2/2), Clean Kill, Long Shot (3/3), Steady Hand (3/3), Crippling Shot, Hunter's Discipline (11 perks)

    Speech: As a sellsword, Shabahz has become very skilled in negotiating, haggling and bartering. These are more thematic perks for the sellsword build, and just allow Shabahz to more easily make money.

    Speech Mastery (2/2), Kinship, Business Relation, Salesman, Investor, Fence, Trade Prince (8 perks)

    Crafting Skills

    Smithing: Shabahz ensures his weapons are honed and his armor is tempered.

    Smithing Mastery (2/2), Advanced Workshop, Arcane Blacksmith, Recycle Materials, Sandstone Sheath, Smithing Specialization (choose one-handed), Iron Lore (8 perks)

    Alchemy: Shabahz is an apprentice alchemist who brews very simple healing and stamina potions to aid him in battle.

    Alchemy Mastery (2/2), Physician (choose stamina), Stimulants, Advanced Lab, Experimenter, Crimson Haze, Green Thumb (8 perks)

    This totals 83 perks. With 50% More Perk Points enabled, the build will be completed at level 56Note - due to the number of perks my builds seem to require, I have added two additional perk point mods - 20% More Perk Points and Perk Points at Skill Levels 50-75-100. If you add these, the build can be completed by ~ level 50.

    Rogue

    The Rogue's starting kit, as seen in Morrowind.

    Arsenal and Armory

    Shabahz relies almost entirely on his sword. Whether that is a plain scimitar or something more exotic is up to you. I play on XB1 and use the incredible Old Kingdom Weapon Overhaul, which gives me a ton of options. The Special Edition Followers - All in One Add-On  makes Astrid drop Windshear when you kill her, but Red Eagle's Bane/Fury is an option as well. I'd also consider an Ebony Sword (it is the weapon of Ebonarm, after all) or a katana. 

    As with Ashaka, Warrior of the Cursed Legion, do not hesitate to throw a cool enchantment on what you find. Any fire/sun enchantments, stamina drain or paralyze all fit in with Shabahz's themes. Collect all the scimitars you can to ensure you have one left unenchanted for Elemental Fury. Potential names for your weapons include Sunshard, Leki's Blade, Glinting Talon, Zulfiqar, Rysh Alrzqa, Rysh Hymra, Roshadon, Rok'dun, Najash and Shehai (these are all terms associated with the Redguards I took from the lore). Have fun and be creative!

    Shabahz uses the wonderful Sand Assassin Armor from Warmonger Armory SSE, which was recently ported to XB1.

    Shabahz begrudgingly takes on the threat of the dragons as he feels obligated merely by the circumstances he finds himself in. While he is not really concerned with the prophecies of the Dragonborn, but uses a trio of shouts: Elemental Fury,  Slow Time and Whirlwind Sprint. He also does not consider these abilities anything other than boons from Ruptga, whom Shabahz believes would bestow his blessing upon a lifelong Walkabout.

    Shabahz's racial ability is the Red Sand Dance, which he learns by winning 30 battles in which he slays 3 or more people. He also will learn the lesser powers of Lover's Insight, Seeker of Might and Secret of Strength.

    Special Attacks

    Might of Ebonarm: Elemental Fury + Windswept. Shabahz channels Ebonarm, the God of War, to strike his opponents with blinding speed and fury.

    Time of Satakal: Slow Time + Quick Reflexes. Shabahz becomes unmoored from time, rapidly moving around his opponents as if imbued with temporal powers from Satakal himself.

    Quests

    Main Quest, Deathbrand, In My Time Of Need, Infiltration, radiant quests, Civil War (optional)

    Gameplay

    Shabahz is my take on the Agent class. Agents are complicated - what separates them from a thief, from an assassin, from a rogue? In Morrowind, agents are described as "operatives skilled in deception and avoidance, but trained in self-defense and the use of deadly force. Self-reliant and independent, agents devote themselves to personal goals, or to various patrons or causes". We can break Shabahz down by those lines. He is skilled in deception (via the Speech perks) and avoidance (via the Sneak perks), but trained in self-defense (Block and Light Armor) and deadly force (One-Handed). He is self-reliant as he doesn't belong to any particular faction, and devotes himself to both his personal goal of destroying the Thalmor and to the cause of the Walkabout. Keep in mind the Walkabout mandates you aid the citizenry!

    My first playthrough as Shabahz was as an Agent, but I quickly realized I was relying much more on Sword, Block and Light Armor than Sneak. After reading more about the Agent class, it seemed they are much more stealth-focused and mostly avoid combat or engage from a distance. I have completely revised this build as I felt that Shabahz was not a good representation of the Agent, but rather the Rogue, who is more of a combination of thief and warrior that leans more towards warrior.

    With that being said, Rogues are described as "adventurers and opportunists with a gift for getting in and out of trouble. Relying variously on charm and dash, blades and business sense, they thrive on conflict and misfortune, trusting to their luck and cunning to survive." All of this sounds much more appropriate to how I was playing, except the conflict and misfortune part. Which I explain further below.

    So, as a sellsword, think of Shabahz as somewhere between Bronn from Game of Thrones and Robin Hood - essentially the Lovable Rogue trope. For example - taking up Amren on his contract to find his ancestral sword that was stolen by bandits? Sounds good. Joining the Dark Brotherhood to kill innocents just because there is a contract? No thanks. You want to take contracts from regular, honorable people - Jarls, innkeepers, citizens, etc. 

    Shabahz also wants to give back to the needy. Always donate to the beggars. If you've given them enough, why not use Tailor's Measure to give them a nice set of warm clothes?

    Shabahz is inspired by two different takes on the standard Alik'r - FudgeMuppet's Alik'r Mercenary and Albino's Alik'r Warrior. I used these as foundations to expand a bit more upon the character I had in mind - a chaotic good sellsword, doing everything he can to profit off the rich in (mostly) honorable ways and to help the citizens of Skyrim. He especially looks out for the poor - any time you can help a beggar (think Noster's Helmet), you must do so.

    This leads us to the Civil War. I am personally undecided on this. There is a strong debate that Redguards would favor the Stormcloaks as they felt abandoned by the Empire during the Great War. I tend to lean towards this option and could foresee Shabahz serving the Stormcloaks as a mercenary of sorts. If you do decide to go down that route, I'd suggest switching out of your Alik'r gear into something a bit more appropriate, but not wearing regular Stormcloak armor - so, perhaps Riften or Dawnstar Guard armor would look best as he would blend in but show he is not a "Stormcloak" himself. Use Alternate Start to begin as an Alik'r, and work your way from there. Your primary goals are the benefit of the common folk, the destruction of the Thalmor and becoming the best swordsman in Tamriel.

    Lastly, your home. I liked the idea of Shabahz as a roaming nomad, moving from city to city and town to town with only a small campsite in between. Campfire lets you set that up, and I think this playstyle suits the sellsword best. If I end up using a home for him, I will pick something basic - most likely Tundra Homestead from the Creation Club.

    Necessary Mods: Ordinator, Imperious, Summermyst, Andromeda, and 50% More Perk Points - all by EnaiSiaion. Missives gives you more sellsword-type quests and I replaced the Notice Board with it. Warmonger Armory SSE for the incredible Sand Assassin Armor.

    Inspirations: FudgeMuppet's Alik'r Warrior was one of the first build videos I saw back when I was on PS4 that made me say "damn, I need to use Ordinator". So that build is a big inspiration here. This build is an evolution of the character I originally made using Henson's incredible Hashashin build, which is something everyone should check out as it combines so many cool elements into one. Shabahz is just a composite of influences from all those sources, put into a blender and then molded into the "Agent" class of past TES games. Hope you enjoy! Art is from TES: Legends and taken from The Elder Scrolls Wiki.

  • June 19, 2018

    Awesome Dean, always enjoy reading this series. I like the little sprinklings of Redguard Lore throughout the build, always ended up adding a little more to the character and felt really well woven in. 

  • Member
    June 19, 2018
    Awesome work as always Dean. You know man, this reminds me of a build I've been toying with on and off again with since, oh 2013....yeah I need to get that one out at some point. Keep up the good work
  • Member
    July 14, 2018

    I like this one. For what it’s worth, I think your stance on the Civil War for this guy is correct. Hammerfell would be very conflicted over so much of its territory being ceded in the White-Gold Concordant, as well as being renounced by the emperor and forced to fight on alone to reclaim its lands over five more years of hard, bloody war.

    At the same time, Hammerfell only kept its independence because General Decianus of the Imperial Legion discharged large numbers of ‘invalids’ from the Legion who formed the backbone of the resistance which kept Hammerfell in the war. Not only that, but the Battle of the Red Ring, while devastating to the Imperial forces, completely wiped out the main army of the Dominion. What was left over of the Dominion forces was STILL enough to take five more years of war. Without the Imperial volunteers and the Battle of the Red Ring, Hammerfell would have fallen.

    Ulfric also may not be a terribly respected figure to Redguard Warriors. The man is a soldier, yes, but one who uses strange magic yelling and who put non-combatants to the sword after retaking the city of Marcarth from the Forsworn. He even used his magic to shout apart Skyrim’s his king rather than face him sword-to-sword, something traditionalist, Magic-disdaining Redguards would certainly consider a no-no.

  • Member
    July 14, 2018

    Mercurias said:

    I like this one. For what it’s worth, I think your stance on the Civil War for this guy is correct. Hammerfell would be very conflicted over so much of its territory being ceded in the White-Gold Concordant, as well as being renounced by the emperor and forced to fight on alone to reclaim its lands over five more years of hard, bloody war.

    At the same time, Hammerfell only kept its independence because General Decianus of the Imperial Legion discharged large numbers of ‘invalids’ from the Legion who formed the backbone of the resistance which kept Hammerfell in the war. Not only that, but the Battle of the Red Ring, while devastating to the Imperial forces, completely wiped out the main army of the Dominion. What was left over of the Dominion forces was STILL enough to take five more years of war. Without the Imperial volunteers and the Battle of the Red Ring, Hammerfell would have fallen.

    Ulfric also may not be a terribly respected figure to Redguard Warriors. The man is a soldier, yes, but one who uses strange magic yelling and who put non-combatants to the sword after retaking the city of Marcarth from the Forsworn. He even used his magic to shout apart Skyrim’s his king rather than face him sword-to-sword, something traditionalist, Magic-disdaining Redguards would certainly consider a no-no.

    Well Merc, The Redguards aren't wholly anti-magic, they just despise "Eastern" magics, like Illusion, Enchanting, and Conjuration

  • Member
    July 26, 2018

    Chris said: Awesome work as always Dean. You know man, this reminds me of a build I've been toying with on and off again with since, oh 2013....yeah I need to get that one out at some point. Keep up the good work

    Thanks Chris!

    Mercurias said:

    I like this one. For what it’s worth, I think your stance on the Civil War for this guy is correct. Hammerfell would be very conflicted over so much of its territory being ceded in the White-Gold Concordant, as well as being renounced by the emperor and forced to fight on alone to reclaim its lands over five more years of hard, bloody war.

    At the same time, Hammerfell only kept its independence because General Decianus of the Imperial Legion discharged large numbers of ‘invalids’ from the Legion who formed the backbone of the resistance which kept Hammerfell in the war. Not only that, but the Battle of the Red Ring, while devastating to the Imperial forces, completely wiped out the main army of the Dominion. What was left over of the Dominion forces was STILL enough to take five more years of war. Without the Imperial volunteers and the Battle of the Red Ring, Hammerfell would have fallen.

    Ulfric also may not be a terribly respected figure to Redguard Warriors. The man is a soldier, yes, but one who uses strange magic yelling and who put non-combatants to the sword after retaking the city of Marcarth from the Forsworn. He even used his magic to shout apart Skyrim’s his king rather than face him sword-to-sword, something traditionalist, Magic-disdaining Redguards would certainly consider a no-no.

    Thank you! I would imagine Shabahz is certainly confused on the Civil War and I want to leave it open-ended because of that. His primary aim is service to the commonfolk, and he is definitely a "man of the people" who wants to help the needy no matter their race or allegiance, as he learned that from his father early on. Does the Empire benefit the everyday people of Skyrim, or would a revolution benefit them more in the long run? It's hard to say. Keep in mind he has a deep hatred of the Thalmor above all, and there is easily an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" argument to be made about why he would prefer to side with Ulfric instead of Tulius. That is why I'd say I'm leaning towards him working as a mercenary-for-hire of sorts for the Stormcloaks and not for the Imperials. 

     

  • Member
    January 5, 2019

    Big update here as I switched Shabahz from the Agent to the Rogue. He just was not playing like an Agent, and I have a new idea for that class, and did not have anything for the Rogue. Easy choice to switch him over! Will have some new screenshots shortly as well, and a new build, my Bard, is in the works.