Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: The Sword-Singer

  • Member
    April 8, 2014

    That's a great idea! 

    To be honest, on a personal level, I tend to be fairly lax when it comes to roleplaying. Especially as far as obtaining gear. I don't mind breaking character once if it means getting a piece of equipment I want. But it's absolutely possible to get the gear here without breaking character, it just requires a bit more patience and/or cleverness.

    And thanks, glad you like the build! Bound Sword is one of my favorites, and making it more powerful than pretty much anything else with a single potion is such a riot.

  • Member
    April 15, 2014

    Hey all -- for anyone interested, our own HeroicXCV just posted a brilliant video feature for this build. I think it deserves to be seen, so please check it out. He did a great job capturing the essence of the build. Thanks, Heroic!

    Also, I've been thinking about a couple of the comments here, talking about how Enchanting felt a bit odd. After playing the Crystallurgist, I've come to realize that Seeker of Shadows would be absolutely perfect for this guy, and that in many ways, it would be the final nail in the coffin to make Enchanting obsolete/redundant.

    As I noted in the Crystallurgist, Seeker of Shadows will cause +82% Fortify Alchemy apparel (easily obtainable via pre-enchanted gear) to behave like +100% Fortify Alchemy. That gives this guy +150% magnitude apiece on both the effects for the Crystal of Focusing. If memory serves me, they stack separately, for a total of +525% damage!!!

    And Seeker of Shadows grants a nice bonus to your AR as well. Very handy for a build that's generally pretty open defensively. And you can still find pre-enchanted rings and necklaces to Fortify One-handed (or Light Armor, Health Regen, Block, etc. as desired).

    Having said that, this guy isn't exactly made of glass. You can temper the armor to a respectable degree with a custom Smithing potion (+120%) and any Fortify Smithing gear you come across. Throw in Agile Defender, the Lord stone, and the hidden +75 AR from wearing three pieces of armor, and you're really not in bad shape. Blocking can also absorb a fair bit of damage. And of course, we're more focused on trying to avoid taking damage in the first place (staggers, dodges, etc.).

    I don't want to alter the build drastically, which I feel removing Enchanting would constitute. But I may present an alternative perk spread for people who wish to forego Enchanting, because in hindsight, it really would work absolutely fine. I mostly put it in so that this guy's spirit blade would be more powerful than the Montalion, which used the same concept (and has been sadly overlooked compared to this guy).

    tl;dr - Thanks Heroic for the awesome video. And yes, you can drop Enchanting if you want.

  • Member
    April 15, 2014

    Nice to see Hero doing more videos! He's a great Youtuber 

  • Member
    April 15, 2014

    Absolutely. Would not be at all opposed if he wanted to do a few more of my builds! 

  • Member
    April 15, 2014
    Not would I xD
  • Member
    May 30, 2014
    So Teccam, how do we go about getting the Markarth armor?
  • Member
    May 31, 2014

    Chris, I've touched on this a few times in the comments. Basically it depends on how much you want to stick to the RP.

    If you're very dedicated, you essentially have to wait until a dragon attacks and kills a Solitude guard. They come near Katla's Farm every so often, so maybe try traveling back and forth between there and Dragon Bridge until a dragon shows up (once you've progressed far enough in the MQ, of course).

    If you're willing to bend the RP a bit, you have a few other options: You can use a Fury scroll/staff to goad the guard into attacking other guards/townspeople, and they'll gang up on him. (Might want to save first so no townspeople are killed.) Or you can tell a follower to attack a guard for you -- and for RP purposes, you can say the follower was acting outside your influence, so you dismiss him from your service for his crime.

    What I personally did was to transform into a Werewolf shortly after gaining that ability via the Companions. I killed a guard outside Solitude, then fled and returned to collect his gear after I'd reverted to human form. For RP purposes, I basically attributed that attack to the uncontrollable nature of beast form, saying that my character didn't know/intend to kill anyone. So after realizing what he'd done, he vowed never to use Beast Form again, to cure it ASAP, and to aid Kodlak in curing both himself and his peers.

    Also, just for clarity: It's Solitude armor (Haafingar), not Markarth (Hjaalmarch).

  • Member
    June 2, 2014
    Hey Teccam, I have a suggestion. Instead of just never speaking to Bryn again, you could just go into the rat way, with four wooden plates,,glitch through the cabinet,mand kill every non essential,Thieves Guild member. Also, where did you get the perk spread picture? Is that from a mod?
  • Member
    June 2, 2014
    I thought it was Markarth at first glance.
  • Member
    June 2, 2014

    The perk spread background was actually a promotional screenshot for ESO. I believe it's taken at Port Hunding on Stros M'Kai, and the statue is a depiction of Frandar Hunding himself.

    As for the Thieves Guild, I'd sooner not interact with them at all. Unfortunately, you're required to do a job for Brynjolf in order to locate Esbern during the main quest (I think maybe you can pass a persuade check but it requires a high Speech level). I don't think a Sword-singer would consider killing an entire organization of thieves. He'd just avoid associating with them, and perhaps intervene in their efforts if given the opportunity -- i.e., intentionally botching that job.

    Legal/political disputes aren't really his chief concern, nor is petty crime. He's more interested in protecting the defenseless and quelling malice/evil. And he doesn't kill lightly. Killing someone over simple theft would not be in line with the Way of the Sword.