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Event Build (Skyrim): The Ash'abah Outcast

Tags: #Character Build Juggernaut  #Character Build Warrior  #Character Build Unarmored  #Rank:Event Recognized  #Event:2in2 
  • Member
    March 23, 2017

    "The Alik'r Desert is truly inhospitable, from the frequent sandstorms to the boiling heat. If the confounding landscapes don't drain your hope and energy, encounters with dunerippers or scorpions most certainly will. On this forsaken terrain roams an ancient and secretive tribe: the Ash'abah . These pariahs answer to no regional ruler, and shift their whereabouts like the sand itself. It is said the Ash'abah are finishing the work first set out by the three great Ansei who formed the Ansei Wards . As with these ancient heroes, the Ash'abah cast aside their own devotions to serve the lives of the Redguard people. For when the dead, whether blighted or honored, rise to strike at the Redguards, the Ash'abah strike back when their brethren cannot."

    Our character is another in the long lineage of this saga begun by two brothers and a father turned undead.  Tiring of his forced exile he declares his intention to venture to Skyrim where the call of battle cries out.  Rumors of undead rising in their tombs whisper across the wastes and he decrees to bring Ash'abah justice to these northern undead heathens. 

    This is an event build and the theme of the event is "Two in Two".  The nutshell is that you can only level up two skill trees.  So we are going pretty vanilla here and making our warrior skilled in One-Handed and Block.  The drawback of this is that armor is not allowed (for the most part).  I'm going to go with a cross of Option A and Option B allowed by the event rules.  We'll get more into that in the Gameplay section.

    Stone: Warrior, then Lord.  Feel free to use the Aetherial Crown to tie in both stones.

    Stats: Put all points into Health for as deep a pool as possible. 

    Mods: None are needed but Hearthfire DLC is suggested for some RP aspects and Immersive Armors provides the shield I used.  (Link is below)

    As you can see our two skill trees are One-Handed and Block.  This focuses on manageable defense and also dealing damage in the most optimal way possible. 

    Armsman (5/5): We want to boost the damage of our melee weapon as best we can making this our go-to perk.

    Fighting Stance: We are dumping all our points into Health so this allows us to conserve and manage what little Stamina we will have. 

    Bone Breaker (3/3): I went with maces to avoid armor and allow faster kills so we max out the ability of our mace with this perk.

    Shield Wall (5/5): We need to maximize our blocking ability so this is crucial.

    Deflect Arrows: This helps us against ranged opponents.

    Elemental Protection: This helps us against mages.

    Power Bash: The ability to stun an opponent could always be useful.

    Deadly Bash: Five times the damage?  More damage is good news.

    The Gildegreen Aegis shield

    For gear I immediately grabbed the Heavy Target Shield off of the Skyforge (after joining the Companions).  It has the highest armor rating of any starting shield that I had quick access to.  I also grabbed a Steel Mace from within Jorrvaskr, again after joining the Companions.  That takes care of our two skill trees and is basically all we are allowed.  Take the Gildegreen quest in Whiterun and head off to finish that quest.  More importantly, grab the Gildegreen Heavy Aegis.  It looks AWESOME and also bumps our non-existant defense significantly.  (This does require the Immersive Armors mod which is available on PC at Nexus for both vanilla and SE).

    During leveling I was looking for any magically imbued mace to enhance my damage dealing ability.  The same applied to shields.  Anything that enhanced Stamina was a bonus to hold on to.  I was also very aware of any necklaces that helped against mages, or also with Stamina buffs or regeneration.  As we are putting all our points into Health you will need to seek ways to enhance your Stamina beyond the Fighting Stance perk.

    I went with just basic (non-armored) clothing that suited my fancy, same for basic boots (no AR).  If you come across any Redguard specific clothing during your questing it certainly makes roleplaying sense to use this type of gear.  I did put together a set of (fallback) armor to use if the need arose, say with multiple opponents or boss fights, where I struggled with survival. 

    So gameplay was mostly straight forward.  When attacking an enemy evaluate your ability to get off the first hit, or if you must receive the first hit.  If the former, then charge in and deal one or two blows.  Then mix in your blocking to both avoid damage and stagger your opponent.  Don't forget your bash ability with the shield.  If the latter, you have two options.  First is to block the blow or, better yet, try to remain mobile and back up out of range when he starts his attack; especially on power attacks.  Either way, if he misses or is staggered, this is your opportunity to move in with your mace and begin mashing his face.  This build will put a premium on avoiding attacks as much as possible.

    The Ash'abah consider the body to be sacred.

    To try and mesh with this basic philosphy of the Ash'abah, I decided, as noted in the gear section, to forego armor and use only basic clothing and boots so the only Armor Rating (AR) that I had was the shield itself.  Per event rules we can allow "some" variations in leveling but not many.  We are completely devoid of the ability to open locked chests but don't forget to check them all just in case they are open already.  You should have a follower and there is a rumor that you can order a follower to pick locks to get around this.  I did not try it but it's a possibility.  With a cap of six total points allowed outside of the two major trees you will have to be very judicious in selling anything and/or reading books.  Take book reading completely out unless you are sure it affects only 1H or Block.  Also limit any selling to very high gold valued items which means leaving most loot behind in dungeons.  One place we can allow some creative license, and use some of these six "free" points, is in armor.  Typically go sans armor as noted but I chose to  carry a set just in case it was needed for a boss level fight or if I was overwhelmed in sheer numbers.  Immediately remove the armor when you finish the fight.  I fluctuated between light and heavy armor.  I would caution to wear full sets (all light or all heavy) when you do this so you are not skilling up BOTH armor types when taking damage.  Something else to consider while leveling is to carry lockpicks and open doors/gates.  I have found a couple of areas in SE where there are locked gates that are required to be picked in order to complete a quest.  In Vanilla, for example, one dungeon area had a "glitch" that you could merely walk around the wall but that's been fixed in SE forcing you to pick the gate.  This must be prudently limited to only these areas and events to stay in compliance with event rules.

    A neat little item that cropped up that gives a little change to the build is the use of those everyday items that we tend to take for granted in a full build.  Potions become very meaningful due to the lack of restoration spells and you want to save these for crisis situations.  For the rest of the time, say between fights, eating a few carrots or apples pick up 1-2 points of health which can make a difference.  Also, cooking does not skill up anything so become an apprentice of The Gourmet and cook you up some healing meals.  These can be extremely helpful as some affect Stamina as well as Health. 

    Against the widespread distrust of magic, the Ash'abah perform rituals of purification for mausoleums and other places where vengeful spirits might arise, including an annual ceremony at Tu’whacca’s Throne meant to ensure the rest of the ranks of Redguard royalty. This activity is regarded as blasphemous, but tolerated due to the necessity of its performance.

    Also, become a part time librarian as you gather magical scrolls.  While Redguards abhor magic they do note that it is tolerated in the hands of the Ash'abah.  While you have no innate casting abilities you do have the ability to read scrolls of magic and these blossom to life in your hands.  With no armor, these scrolls can become matters of life and death to the Ash'abah.  Healing scrolls, clerical scrolls and scrolls of flame and destruction can all benefit you on your path.  I was really impressed with how much I was looking to small things like this, things that I normally ignore as "too small to worry about" can become huge items on your pallette of war.

    One caveat that can enhance your use of forbidden magic (and fitting in with the event rules) is to use staves for ranged attacks.  Mace & Shield will always be your bread and butter but using staffs does not cause any skill ups in the magic trees.  Of course, you will burn through charges with no magic perks so add a Soul Trap weapon to your inventory to build up a supply of soul gems.  This adds one additional item that you'll want to loot while delving around.  The further utilization here is there is no limit to what staffs you can use.  As the Ash'abah use forbidden magics, you can use destruction and conjuration staffs.  Familiars, raising dead of your own (non-Redguard only though!!) give you some added strength and defenses. 

    So to recap a little, there is no manual spell casting, no restoration spells, no setting traps.  I rarely used stealth and even then only if the situation warrants it.  One example of this is in Bleak Falls Barrow where the bandit is going to open the gate and dies to the poisoned arrows.  If you don't stealth you typically draw him back into combat.  Keep your eyes ever peeled for any nick knacks that may be of use.  These can all be very useful and play a much bigger role in this build than you might normally consider.   

    One other tidbit, get a follower with armor to take some heat off of you.  I looked around and joined the Companions.  After doing the initial quest then you are set up with Skorn to team up with Farkas.  You can then ignore the quest itself and use Farkas as a follower.  He deals good damage and is geared in Heavy Armor so definitely draws a lot of attention away from you.  You are not looking to complete the Companions nor follow the werewolf path so this works out well in our short version gameplay.  As you progress a little bit, if you want to stay within the racial constraints, then I would look to Falkreath and the housecarl Rayya that can be obtained there.  This does require the Hearthfire DLC to go this route.  It also opens up marriage opportunity to adopt a Redguard boy found in Dawnstar (also requires Hearthfire) if you want to further the roleplaying to expand your own legacy of the Ash'abah tree.

    Naturally, this build is set up in compliance with Event rules.  You can take this basic build format and add to it as you see fit for gameplay into deeper levels.  Add armor, enchanting, smithing or whatever excites you to make the build your own.

    A short vid of the early playthrough.  I was nervous about the "no armor". 

  • March 23, 2017

    I like this, John. The added RP with Rayya and the boy in Dawnstar is a plus. Neat only running with two skills, huh? The perkspread is growing on me. :)

  • Member
    March 23, 2017

    This turned out really nicely, John! That perkspread is a great expression of artistic vision and certainly captures the eye. The playstyle is fun, shield and mace is always a delight, and going un-armoured to really rely on the board makes the combat challenging yet fun. Nothing not to like here :)

  • Member
    March 23, 2017

    Phil said:

    This turned out really nicely, John! That perkspread is a great expression of artistic vision and certainly captures the eye. The playstyle is fun, shield and mace is always a delight, and going un-armoured to really rely on the board makes the combat challenging yet fun. Nothing not to like here :)

    Thanks Phil.  Only two perks and no armor was a bit daunting early on.  But honestly didn't work badly.  It certainly puts a premium on thought out combat planning and movement.  Plus a companion to help out didn't hurt. 

    Yeah, Relycs did a strong job with the perk spread.  We were of a mindset with the desert scene to try and picture the wind and dust swirling with the perks and it turned out pretty good.  It is different so it may not be for everyone but we were going for something different with it.  Success there I suppose..lol.

  • Member
    March 23, 2017

    Lissette Long-Chapper said:

    I like this, John. The added RP with Rayya and the boy in Dawnstar is a plus. Neat only running with two skills, huh? The perkspread is growing on me. :)

    Thanks Lissette.  As I was traveling with Farkas I began trying to be in the mindset of this Redguard who are probably pretty racially sensitive due to their "work" and their own status within their own race.  So I really felt that a Redguard companion...maybe Rayya is actually another Ash'abah after all...would be the best suitable companion and then since she takes the Hearthfire DLC it referenced children and I saw there was exactly ONE redguard child that you could adopt.  That put it all together to continue the lineage to the next generation of Ash'abah through your character.  A neat little plot section if nothing else.

  • Member
    March 23, 2017

    Light Of Aether said:

    Yep, Redguard, Mace + Shield, neat perkspread, Rayya. Love it !

    The Gildegreen Aegis shield looks amazing *_*

    Thanks.  Yes, I've been wanting to use that shield in a build for a while...every time I do that quest it's just staring at me.  I always take it and hang it in my house but rarely use Block so was excited to actually wield it in combat. 

  • Member
    March 23, 2017

    oh nice catch with the non-leveling staves for ranged action!

  • Member
    March 23, 2017

    Mottyskills said:

    oh nice catch with the non-leveling staves for ranged action!

    Well thank goodness for the Workshop help.  I had to ask to confirm that but was glad to find it.  Certainly ties in with using forbidden magic but giving that ranged attack or support stuff.  Really helped out I think.  Thanks for the comment.

  • Member
    March 24, 2017

    Mace and board for a two-skill build... it's a winner! Totally viable, and the video of the 5 second defeat of a draugr overlooked proves it ;D

    But even more than the skills, I enjoyed the character you've created. I have no idea how you've pulled this off so early (and with a video no less). I'm still wondering if I'm even going to get finished by next Friday. 

    One way or the other, you've set the bar high. Nicely done, sir ;D

  • Member
    March 24, 2017

    ShinJin said:

    Mace and board for a two-skill build... it's a winner! Totally viable, and the video of the 5 second defeat of a draugr overlooked proves it ;D

    But even more than the skills, I enjoyed the character you've created. I have no idea how you've pulled this off so early (and with a video no less). I'm still wondering if I'm even going to get finished by next Friday. 

    One way or the other, you've set the bar high. Nicely done, sir ;D

    Thanks Shinjin.  Well, an early and fast start to the build..lol.  As Lissette said a two tree wouldn't/shouldn't take a ton of time.  Only one playthrough on this one so that helped immensely as well (lol).  Just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't die all the time and that it would work out so that was the main focus.  Honestly with just two perks there wasn't a lot to think about other than how to flesh out the build to make it interesting.