Character Build: The Tavern Wench
(Modded Build)
Concept:
I was very poor and I was a waitress, and it's hard to be a poor waitress in New York.
- Kristin Davis
The Tavern Wench is a young woman who aspires for a more adventurous life, but is trapped in her routine as a waitress at the Winking Skeever and wishes nothing more than to earn enough coin to leave Solitude behind and travel Skyrim's beautiful landscapes.
She works the night shift, barely having enough energy to attend her lessons at the Bards College the next morning, and takes up odd jobs for extra cash whenever she can.
Living in a rented room upstairs in the Winking Skeever, it is a tough life for a young woman. But despite her situation, the Tavern Wench is a jolly soul, chatting with customers left and right while serving them their drinks - occasionally playing them a tune and earning her well-deserved coin.
Build:
The second installment in my Life as a Commoner series (Fisherman of the Rift here)
Note: To play this build you will need Jobs of Skyrim and Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim. I also stongly recommend an Alternative Start mod.
See Recommended Mods section for more mods that enrich the Tavern Wench experience.
Race: Irrelevant. Female. Lore-wise, the humanoid races fit well into Solitude.
Sign: The Thief for speech. The Lord to offset no armor rating from clothing if needed.
Stats: 0/1/2 (M/H/S).
Major Skills: Speech, Alchemy, (Smithing), Sneak.
Minor Skills: Onehanded, Lockpicking
Equipment: Common clothing. You aren't a hero or adventurer. You are a young waitress who has never left Solitude.
Weapons: Dagger.
Follower: Anyone whose company you enjoy. Someone strong enough to protect you once you begin your travels.
Possible Quests: Quests from Jobs of Skyrim. Bards College Questline.
Major Skill Perks:
Speech
- 0 - Speech Mastery (2) - Sell items for 10/20% more. Your intimidation attempts are twice/four times as likely to succeed.
- 20 - Performer - Grants the "Perform" power. Once a day, play a song to entertain up to five people within 50 feet and collect a donation from each, based on your Speech skill and the amount of gold they are carrying.
- 30 - Serenade - Performing to members of the opposite sex yields twice as much gold and potentially small items.
- 50 - Speak with Animals - Can Activate animals to tame them, forcing them to follow you anywhere you go and fight for you until released. You can only have one Wild Companion at a time.
- 60 - Encore - Able to Perform multiple times per day.
- 80 - Gift of Kynareth - Improves your Wild Companion. Wolves gain 100% extra attack damage. Spiders gain magic immunity. Bears gain 150 points of Health. Chaurus gain 300 points of armor. Saber cats gain 40% movement speed and move silently.
Alchemy
- 0 - Alchemy Mastery (2) - Potions and poisons you make are 20/40% stronger.
- 20 - Physician - You may choose a type of beneficial potion: Health, Magicka or Stamina. Potions you mix that restore or fortify the chosen attribute are 50% stronger.
- 20 - Stimulants - When you use a beneficial potion or ingredient, you regenerate 2% of your Magicka and Stamina per second for 30 seconds.
- 30 - Experimenter - Eating an ingredient reveals all effects.
- 40 - Crimson Haze - Stimulants also increases movement speed by 10% for its duration.
- 60 - Green Thumb - Twice as many ingredients are gathered from most harvestable objects.
Smithing
This is only listed as a major skill because as a blacksmith's assistant, you will be levelling this up often. You are not an expert smith, however.
- 0 - Smithing Mastery (2) - You can create Novice (Steel/Bonemold) items at a forge or anvil, and improve them twice as much./All items can be improved 10% more.
Sneak
- 0 - Sneak Mastery (2) - Sneaking is 15/30% more effective. Sneak success depends on visibility (movement and light level), sound (movement and armor weight), skill level and distance.
- 20 - Tripwire - Grants the "Tripwire" power. At will, places a tripwire in front of you for 120 seconds. It snaps when tripped, knocking all targets hit by it to the floor.
Minor Skills
(Coming Soon)
Core Mods of the Tavern Wench:
These mods build the foundation of the waitress' lifestyle.
Jobs of Skyrim: The mod adds several new jobs to the game, including the option to earn gold by serving alcohol at bars. Other jobs include helping a cook make some meals, tailoring new clothes, creating potions for Alchemists, collecting donations for temples and helping out the blacksmith.
These jobs will serve as the basis for this build; this mod is a must-have for a commoner playthrough.
Ordinator: A well-known perk overhaul that, among other things, lets the player play as a bard in front of an audience to earn money. Very useful as a secondary means of earning cash in the tavern.
(Highly) Recommended Mods:
Clothing: Common Clothes. Adds a variety of different outfits for your common citizen to wear.
Survival: Any you like, really. Campfire + Tentapalooza is great, an eating/drinking/sleeping mod of your choice, Frostfall / Hypothermia and Diseased – Disease System Overhaul can make this playthrough infinitely more interesting.
Gameplay: Extended Stay - Longer Inn Rental. Allows the player to book an extended stay in an Inn ranging from 3 days to an entire month. The Eloquent Reader increases Speechcraft when you read a book.
NPCs: You may want a mod that adds NPCs to the inns of Skyrim to give them more life, seeing as you will spend a great amount of time in them.
Misc: Carryable Props lets your character carry a bunch of stuff, including a tray full of drinks. Great for roleplay.
Gameplay
The Tavern Wench's life is repetitive and requires its fair share of patience, but it is not without it's unique appeal. The build forces you to play the game from an entirely new perspective. You are a young and naive Barmaid who has never experienced Skyrim's harsh wilderness; while the Civil War rages on and mercenaries roam Skyrim, you live your life within the safe walls of Solitude.
I strongly recommend an Alternative Start mod. Otherwise, you may want to console yourself into Solitude directly after Helgen (for roleplay reasons).
Chapter I: Stuck in Solitude
Daily Routine:
The Tavern Wench works the night shift, when the Winking Skeever is at it's peak and where she is sure to earn good coin from the may drunken patrons. From around 21:00 to 01:00, the Barmaid serves drinks at Solitude's beloved tavern, chatting with all the interesting folk and adventurers who pass through. In between serving drinks, she also helps the cook out by making fresh meals.
After her busy shift, the Wench heads upstairs to the room she's renting and turns in for the night. At about 08:00 the next morning, she eagerly strides over to the Bards College where she attends the lecture of Inge Six Fingers, followed by private speechcraft lessons by Giraud Germane (funded entirely by the waitress' shifts at the tavern and other odd jobs she does).
The Barmaid then has the afternoon free to do what she wishes - be that strolling the streets of Solitude, taking a walk down to the docks, chatting with the locals, or reading in the library of the Bards College.
By 14:00, however, she is back to work: with the Civil War raging on, the local blacksmith has his hands full and is always in need of extra help to supply the Empire's soldiers. This being her secondary job, she is free to work however long a shift as she wants. The Tavern Wench is also known to help tailor new clothes at Radiant Raiments, despite the unpleasant company. She is also known to stop by Angeline's Aromatics and assist with the potion-brewing.
On days when she has earned a considerable amount of coin, it is not uncommon for her to request extra lessons from Germane in the late afternoon. But by 21:00, she is back at the Winking Skeever for her shift.
Once the Tavern Wench has gained enough training, she may even feel confident enough to perform as a bard at the Winking Skeever and encorporate a few sessions during her working hours.
Notes:
Being stuck in a city limits the ways you can level up - only being able to advance levels by paying for a skill trainer (which is allowed 5 times per level). The goal is to unlock the "Performer" perk, which requires Speech level 20 and 2 perk points. Performing also gives Speech experience.
The Blacksmith sidejob gives you Smithing experience. You may also want to practice Sneak or Alchemy. Ma'dran of the Khajiit Caravans occasionally stops by Solitude and offers Lockpicking training. Should you still be having problems levelling and unlocking perks, here is a list of Skill Books that you can check for the ones scattered in Solitude.
Chapter II: Working Her Way Up
(Coming Soon)
Notes:
Does the word "Wench" give off the wrong impression for the spirit of the build?
A Wench is an archaic word for "servant," but it's very often used for "prostitute" - which is something I learned while googling for artwork for the build :P
Alternative Title: The Waitress? The Winking Skeever Waitress?
Character Build: The Tavern Wench
(Modded Build)
Concept:
I was very poor and I was a waitress, and it's hard to be a poor waitress in New York.
- Kristin Davis
The Tavern Wench is a young woman who aspires for a more adventurous life, but is trapped in her routine as a waitress at the Winking Skeever and wishes nothing more than to earn enough coin to leave Solitude behind and travel Skyrim's beautiful landscapes.
She works the night shift, barely having enough energy to attend her lessons at the Bards College the next morning, and takes up odd jobs for extra cash whenever she can.
Living in a rented room upstairs in the Winking Skeever, it is a tough life for a young woman. But despite her situation, the Tavern Wench is a jolly soul, chatting with customers left and right while serving them their drinks - occasionally playing them a tune and earning her well-deserved coin.
Build:
The second installment in my Life as a Commoner series (Fisherman of the Rift here)
Note: To play this build you will need Jobs of Skyrim and Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim. I also stongly recommend an Alternative Start mod.
See Recommended Mods section for more mods that enrich the Tavern Wench experience.
Race: Irrelevant. Female. Lore-wise, the humanoid races fit well into Solitude.
Sign: The Thief for speech. The Lord to offset no armor rating from clothing if needed.
Stats: 0/1/2 (M/H/S).
Major Skills: Speech, Alchemy, (Smithing), Sneak.
Minor Skills: Onehanded, Lockpicking
Equipment: Common clothing. You aren't a hero or adventurer. You are a young waitress who has never left Solitude.
Weapons: Dagger.
Follower: Anyone whose company you enjoy. Someone strong enough to protect you once you begin your travels.
Possible Quests: Quests from Jobs of Skyrim. Bards College Questline.
Major Skill Perks:
Speech
- 0 - Speech Mastery (2) - Sell items for 10/20% more. Your intimidation attempts are twice/four times as likely to succeed.
- 20 - Performer - Grants the "Perform" power. Once a day, play a song to entertain up to five people within 50 feet and collect a donation from each, based on your Speech skill and the amount of gold they are carrying.
- 30 - Serenade - Performing to members of the opposite sex yields twice as much gold and potentially small items.
- 50 - Speak with Animals - Can Activate animals to tame them, forcing them to follow you anywhere you go and fight for you until released. You can only have one Wild Companion at a time.
- 60 - Encore - Able to Perform multiple times per day.
- 80 - Gift of Kynareth - Improves your Wild Companion. Wolves gain 100% extra attack damage. Spiders gain magic immunity. Bears gain 150 points of Health. Chaurus gain 300 points of armor. Saber cats gain 40% movement speed and move silently.
Alchemy
- 0 - Alchemy Mastery (2) - Potions and poisons you make are 20/40% stronger.
- 20 - Physician - You may choose a type of beneficial potion: Health, Magicka or Stamina. Potions you mix that restore or fortify the chosen attribute are 50% stronger.
- 20 - Stimulants - When you use a beneficial potion or ingredient, you regenerate 2% of your Magicka and Stamina per second for 30 seconds.
- 30 - Experimenter - Eating an ingredient reveals all effects.
- 40 - Crimson Haze - Stimulants also increases movement speed by 10% for its duration.
- 60 - Green Thumb - Twice as many ingredients are gathered from most harvestable objects.
Smithing
This is only listed as a major skill because as a blacksmith's assistant, you will be levelling this up often. You are not an expert smith, however.
- 0 - Smithing Mastery (2) - You can create Novice (Steel/Bonemold) items at a forge or anvil, and improve them twice as much./All items can be improved 10% more.
Sneak
- 0 - Sneak Mastery (2) - Sneaking is 15/30% more effective. Sneak success depends on visibility (movement and light level), sound (movement and armor weight), skill level and distance.
- 20 - Tripwire - Grants the "Tripwire" power. At will, places a tripwire in front of you for 120 seconds. It snaps when tripped, knocking all targets hit by it to the floor.
Minor Skills
(Coming Soon)
Core Mods of the Tavern Wench:
These mods build the foundation of the waitress' lifestyle.
Jobs of Skyrim: The mod adds several new jobs to the game, including the option to earn gold by serving alcohol at bars. Other jobs include helping a cook make some meals, tailoring new clothes, creating potions for Alchemists, collecting donations for temples and helping out the blacksmith.
These jobs will serve as the basis for this build; this mod is a must-have for a commoner playthrough.
Ordinator: A well-known perk overhaul that, among other things, lets the player play as a bard in front of an audience to earn money. Very useful as a secondary means of earning cash in the tavern.
(Highly) Recommended Mods:
Clothing: Common Clothes. Adds a variety of different outfits for your common citizen to wear.
Survival: Any you like, really. Campfire + Tentapalooza is great, an eating/drinking/sleeping mod of your choice, Frostfall / Hypothermia and Diseased – Disease System Overhaul can make this playthrough infinitely more interesting.
Gameplay: Extended Stay - Longer Inn Rental. Allows the player to book an extended stay in an Inn ranging from 3 days to an entire month. The Eloquent Reader increases Speechcraft when you read a book.
NPCs: You may want a mod that adds NPCs to the inns of Skyrim to give them more life, seeing as you will spend a great amount of time in them.
Misc: Carryable Props lets your character carry a bunch of stuff, including a tray full of drinks. Great for roleplay.
Gameplay
The Tavern Wench's life is repetitive and requires its fair share of patience, but it is not without it's unique appeal. The build forces you to play the game from an entirely new perspective. You are a young and naive Barmaid who has never experienced Skyrim's harsh wilderness; while the Civil War rages on and mercenaries roam Skyrim, you live your life within the safe walls of Solitude.
I strongly recommend an Alternative Start mod. Otherwise, you may want to console yourself into Solitude directly after Helgen (for roleplay reasons).
Chapter I: Stuck in Solitude
Daily Routine:
The Tavern Wench works the night shift, when the Winking Skeever is at it's peak and where she is sure to earn good coin from the may drunken patrons. From around 21:00 to 01:00, the Barmaid serves drinks at Solitude's beloved tavern, chatting with all the interesting folk and adventurers who pass through. In between serving drinks, she also helps the cook out by making fresh meals.
After her busy shift, the Wench heads upstairs to the room she's renting and turns in for the night. At about 08:00 the next morning, she eagerly strides over to the Bards College where she attends the lecture of Inge Six Fingers, followed by private speechcraft lessons by Giraud Germane (funded entirely by the waitress' shifts at the tavern and other odd jobs she does).
The Barmaid then has the afternoon free to do what she wishes - be that strolling the streets of Solitude, taking a walk down to the docks, chatting with the locals, or reading in the library of the Bards College.
By 14:00, however, she is back to work: with the Civil War raging on, the local blacksmith has his hands full and is always in need of extra help to supply the Empire's soldiers. This being her secondary job, she is free to work however long a shift as she wants. The Tavern Wench is also known to help tailor new clothes at Radiant Raiments, despite the unpleasant company. She is also known to stop by Angeline's Aromatics and assist with the potion-brewing.
On days when she has earned a considerable amount of coin, it is not uncommon for her to request extra lessons from Germane in the late afternoon. But by 21:00, she is back at the Winking Skeever for her shift.
Once the Tavern Wench has gained enough training, she may even feel confident enough to perform as a bard at the Winking Skeever and encorporate a few sessions during her working hours.
Notes:
Being stuck in a city limits the ways you can level up - only being able to advance levels by paying for a skill trainer (which is allowed 5 times per level). The goal is to unlock the "Performer" perk, which requires Speech level 20 and 2 perk points. Performing also gives Speech experience.
The Blacksmith sidejob gives you Smithing experience. You may also want to practice Sneak or Alchemy. Ma'dran of the Khajiit Caravans occasionally stops by Solitude and offers Lockpicking training. Should you still be having problems levelling and unlocking perks, here is a list of Skill Books that you can check for the ones scattered in Solitude.
Chapter II: Working Her Way Up
(Coming Soon)
Notes:
Does the word "Wench" give off the wrong impression for the spirit of the build?
A Wench is an archaic word for "servant," but it's very often used for "prostitute" - which is something I learned while googling for artwork for the build :P
Alternative Title: The Waitress? The Winking Skeever Waitress?
