Paws said:
Wait, why is dual-wield worse? I find it fun and just the change of pace needed to keep stamina dd's interesting, something mag dd's don't have unless changing the flavour of their staff counts. Stamcros are fun, too, so I don't think you'll find it a slog at all. Nord is a great race for stamina dd's, especially for solo content. I like that you've based him on Lort, and if he's involved with Korysha, it just confirms my theory that elven lasses like it Nord. It must be a cultural thing for the Altmer, like eating an Indrik heart - decadent and taboo, a kind of forbidden fruit.
Of all the dps weapons I have enjoyed dual wield the least in the past, mainly because of the light and heavy attack animations looking like the character is flailing their arms around. But I want this character to play with things I don't normally touch so a dual wielding dps would have to be the epitome of that.
Paws said:
I think I found my inspiration. I needed to complete one or two quests in Eastmarch in order to conclude Cadwell's Silver, one of those quests led me to Mistwatch Crevasse.
The ice caverns of Skyrim do not melt, even in Mid Year. Some say the cold that keeps them frozen wells up out of the depths of Nirn itself.
It's interesting lore, presents a fact followed by an unreliable explanation. It got me thinking about what force that cold is, like Nirn as a spiritual entity. That led to thinking about topics in which we see spiritual manifestations of ice, such as ice wraiths and wispmothers:
Lydette Viliane of the Synod contends that Wispmothers are not undead at all, but rather elemental manifestations arising out of Nirn itself. By noting several similarities to Spriggans and Ice Wraiths, she contends that the Wispmothers are essentially elemental personifications of snow or mist, innately wielding the power of their element, instead of manipulating it through conventional sorcery. ~ The Wispmother
A line of thought such as that can only really end with the animistic shamanism of the Skaal. I find it quite compelling and refreshing for a character to see everything around them, every tree, rock, mountain, lake, or element as having a spirit.
So maybe a Nord running Ysgramor's Birthright, Winterborn, and Iceheart. I tried getting Iceheart last night but, dammit, ZOS moved the lever. Well pissed me off, I shouldn't need a group to get this helm and it's really fun to solo.
I'm also slightly tempted to go a different route and explore the idea of a Snow Elf character. Not sure how my suspension of disbelief could hold up, though.
A Skaal could certainly be fun to play with, especially since outfiting them became very easy with the Skaal Explorer outfit.