Welcome to the second in my 21 part build series (oh yeah I'm ambitious this time), each focusing on one of the 18 skills of Skyrim as well as Unarmed, Shouting and Powers. Each of the builds will only perk a single skill, but will attempt to take every single perk in the skill tree, but can take a few skills as unperked 'minor skills' as long as they have something to with the main skill. For example, the Enchanter could justify the use of a few weapon/armour skills in order to have something to enchant, but wouldn't have any real use of the Smithing skill.
Hrothmund the Red was a Nordic Skaal Chieftan from way back in the 3rd Era who first claimed the Thirsk Mead Hall for the Skaal. Now the main artifact that is associated with this fella is Hrothmund's Axe (which, surprise is an axe used by Hrothmund), which is a Battleaxe that now allows for some of the Skaal Warriors to attempt to become Chieftans of the Mead Hall. This was a really minor part of that Retaking Thirsk quest in Skyrim, and so this will be the formation of the Chieftan, a Warrior that has not only claimed the right to become Chieftan of Thirsk Mead Hall, but also to wield Hrotmund's Axe in battle.
Hrothmund the Red
The tale of Hrothmund, son of Hrothmund, son of Hrothmund (and so on) is a story that bares re-telling. The legendary Nordic Hero of the 4th Era, the slayer of Miraak and retaker of Thirsk is a legendary hero who's praises shall be sung to the end of eternity. Never forget that he saved the Skaal from a fate far worse than death, without him we would've either been devoured by Miraak's lust for power, or even worse...beaten by our oldest enemy, Herma-Mora.
Allow me to take this small chance to begin the story of Hrothmund, to begin the telling of the Hrothmundsaga.
Before the tale of Hrothmund, son of Hrothmund (and so forth) can begin, the tale of Hrothmund the Red must be told. There are few who would recognize this tale in our modern times, and even fewer who know of it and could not be called Skaal-friend. Hrothmund is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in Skaal History, some consider him a hero who helped claim a second home for us while others curse his name as a traitor to the true chieftain of the time.You see it was Hrothmund who conquered Thirsk Mead Hall, which soon after became a home for our people who considered Hrothmund their new Chieftain. To this day there are those who follow Hrothmund legacy, and live there instead of the traditional home of our people. After establishing himself there, Hrothmund lived for a very long time (or at least, ruled for longer than just about any other Chieftain since) until his death at the claws of the Fell Wolf, Ondjage. It was then that he was forever laid to rest in his barrow, and his axe was used as a method to determine who would become the next Chieftain of Thirsk by communing directly with the spirit of Hrothmund.
The Build
Race: Nord
Skill: Two-Handed
Standing Stone: Warrior ---> Steed
Stats: 0 Magicka, 2 Health and 1 Stamina
Hrothmund is going to be focused entirely on the Two-Handed skill, which (at least for me) is almost entirely unique due to the Sweep Perk. Being able to hit multiple enemies in close-combat is something that no other skill has, no other type of weapon has the ability to hit more than one enemy at a time and it's pretty damn awesome. This is going to be one of the focuses of Hrothmund, but I'm also going to be looking into Bleeding Damage, especially since I know there are a few mods even on PS4 that modify it that I'd like to look at.
The Steed Stone is important, simply because I want to run around with Heavy Armour for this run. It gives a little more survivability to the character, but in the end it isn't going to be massive because we aren't running any Heavy Armour or Smithing perks (which means we're still not going to get anywhere more than maybe 100 AR). The Lord Stone would be a decent option, but in the end I preferred the extra mobility of the Steed.
Mod List
Delves of the Stone Legion - This is one of the coolest, most complete and most interesting quest mods that's available on PS4 (it's also available on Xbox and PC). This is going to be the, I suppose formation of the character's early career before heading over to Solstheim. It isn't an easy little quest, and the dungeon is simply massive but in the end it was worth it, not because of the reward involved or anything, but simply to provide something fresh to my character, and to set up a somewhat interesting start for Hrothmund.
Trial of the Stone Legion ?
Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim - Right, so there was a bit of debate amongst me, myself and I about whether I should run Smilodon or not. In the end I've decided that I am, but instead of running it on a higher difficulty like I usually would, I've dropped it down to Apprentice. Now you might be wondering why on earth I'd do that, I mean Apprentice is below the average difficulty. Well first of all, Smilodon with the Damage Patch means enemies are doing 2.5 times more damage to me (and me to them) and feels like the best balance. Weaker enemies die pretty easily but the stronger ones need a couple of hits and I'm hoping that the same will work out for me.
Perks
Barbarian 5/5
The heart of the build here is doing as much damage, as quickly as possible so that enemies don't have the chance to fight back. With the higher difficulty (Master) and Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim to really increase the difficulty of combat and make sure that hitting an enemy is always a good thing and getting hit by an enemy is always a bad thing. Barbarian is really the only way to increase our damage output so that it's reasonable later on.
Note - I am currently debating whether or not I should disable Smilodon and just take this naturally (but on Expert). I think I might personally prefer to play Hrothmund as a skilled warrior and having to strike first 100% of the time (and not get hit) isn't quite as fun and interesting as the more drawn out battles of Vanilla Skyrim.
Champion's Stance and Devastating Blow
These two perks are, I suppose the closest the build comes to 'wasted' perks. I mean, they're both obviously useful for increasing damage output and decreasing the Stamina cost but with Smilodon it's just not a good idea to...well ever power attack. Mostly it's because enemies have figured out that shields are good at bashing with and stagger you so often that Standing Power Attacks just aren't something I've been using.
Great Critical Charge
Right, so I said that Champion's Stance and Devastating Blow aren't great perks, but GCC is actually a really good perk 100% of the time (for all the characters that ever charactered). Well it isn't perfect, but the extra damage that can be inflicted isn't all that bad, and it adds a little more output that Hrothmund desperately needs.
Limbsplitter 3/3
Limbsplitter is the perk that I want to work with the most from a modding perspective here. Generally speaking it isn't something I've worried about as anything other than a fun thematic extra to a character (Orcs or Falmer-based characters being more brutal, and thus cutting enemies open like that) but here I want to see about modding it to be somewhat decent.
Sweep and Warmaster
I didn't want to just combine these, but at the end of the day Sweep and Warmaster are similar perks. These are what could be called the 'useful Power Attacks'. Sweep is undeniably epic, even with Smilodon (or a similar combat mod) installed it adds a whole new aspect to combat that is really fun to make use of. Warmaster on the other hand is something I've rarely used (why delve that far into the Two-Handed tree?) but it could be really interesting to kind of have a 'Paralyze Enchantment' on all my Two-Handed weapons (so to say).
Equipment
Weapon - Hrothmund's Axe
I mean, the Axe is simply perfect for this character. Sadly the PS4 version has to just chuck it down outside Riften rather than in Hrothmund's Barrow (or does anyway, it could probably be moved) so it isn't the most...realistic feeling inclusion of a weapon but it's good enough for me in the end. I think of this as a recreation and you don't get to unleash it's full potential until you reach Hrothmund's Barrow and actually deal with that whole quest.
Armour - Dwarven Armour ---> Nordic Carved Armor (NO HELMETS)
Hrothmund starts out as an adventurer, hunting through Dwarven Ruins with his trusty party of fellow adventurers (in other words...spoilers for future builds in the series) but later becomes aware of his Nordic heritage, well the specifics of it anyway and tries to truly honour his role as Chieftain of Thirsk Mead Hall.
Welcome to the second in my 21 part build series (oh yeah I'm ambitious this time), each focusing on one of the 18 skills of Skyrim as well as Unarmed, Shouting and Powers. Each of the builds will only perk a single skill, but will attempt to take every single perk in the skill tree, but can take a few skills as unperked 'minor skills' as long as they have something to with the main skill. For example, the Enchanter could justify the use of a few weapon/armour skills in order to have something to enchant, but wouldn't have any real use of the Smithing skill.
Hrothmund the Red was a Nordic Skaal Chieftan from way back in the 3rd Era who first claimed the Thirsk Mead Hall for the Skaal. Now the main artifact that is associated with this fella is Hrothmund's Axe (which, surprise is an axe used by Hrothmund), which is a Battleaxe that now allows for some of the Skaal Warriors to attempt to become Chieftans of the Mead Hall. This was a really minor part of that Retaking Thirsk quest in Skyrim, and so this will be the formation of the Chieftan, a Warrior that has not only claimed the right to become Chieftan of Thirsk Mead Hall, but also to wield Hrotmund's Axe in battle.
Hrothmund the Red
The tale of Hrothmund, son of Hrothmund, son of Hrothmund (and so on) is a story that bares re-telling. The legendary Nordic Hero of the 4th Era, the slayer of Miraak and retaker of Thirsk is a legendary hero who's praises shall be sung to the end of eternity. Never forget that he saved the Skaal from a fate far worse than death, without him we would've either been devoured by Miraak's lust for power, or even worse...beaten by our oldest enemy, Herma-Mora.
Allow me to take this small chance to begin the story of Hrothmund, to begin the telling of the Hrothmundsaga.
Before the tale of Hrothmund, son of Hrothmund (and so forth) can begin, the tale of Hrothmund the Red must be told. There are few who would recognize this tale in our modern times, and even fewer who know of it and could not be called Skaal-friend. Hrothmund is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in Skaal History, some consider him a hero who helped claim a second home for us while others curse his name as a traitor to the true chieftain of the time.You see it was Hrothmund who conquered Thirsk Mead Hall, which soon after became a home for our people who considered Hrothmund their new Chieftain. To this day there are those who follow Hrothmund legacy, and live there instead of the traditional home of our people. After establishing himself there, Hrothmund lived for a very long time (or at least, ruled for longer than just about any other Chieftain since) until his death at the claws of the Fell Wolf, Ondjage. It was then that he was forever laid to rest in his barrow, and his axe was used as a method to determine who would become the next Chieftain of Thirsk by communing directly with the spirit of Hrothmund.
The Build
Race: Nord
Skill: Two-Handed
Standing Stone: Warrior ---> Steed
Stats: 0 Magicka, 2 Health and 1 Stamina
Hrothmund is going to be focused entirely on the Two-Handed skill, which (at least for me) is almost entirely unique due to the Sweep Perk. Being able to hit multiple enemies in close-combat is something that no other skill has, no other type of weapon has the ability to hit more than one enemy at a time and it's pretty damn awesome. This is going to be one of the focuses of Hrothmund, but I'm also going to be looking into Bleeding Damage, especially since I know there are a few mods even on PS4 that modify it that I'd like to look at.
The Steed Stone is important, simply because I want to run around with Heavy Armour for this run. It gives a little more survivability to the character, but in the end it isn't going to be massive because we aren't running any Heavy Armour or Smithing perks (which means we're still not going to get anywhere more than maybe 100 AR). The Lord Stone would be a decent option, but in the end I preferred the extra mobility of the Steed.
Mod List
Delves of the Stone Legion - This is one of the coolest, most complete and most interesting quest mods that's available on PS4 (it's also available on Xbox and PC). This is going to be the, I suppose formation of the character's early career before heading over to Solstheim. It isn't an easy little quest, and the dungeon is simply massive but in the end it was worth it, not because of the reward involved or anything, but simply to provide something fresh to my character, and to set up a somewhat interesting start for Hrothmund.
Trial of the Stone Legion ?
Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim - Right, so there was a bit of debate amongst me, myself and I about whether I should run Smilodon or not. In the end I've decided that I am, but instead of running it on a higher difficulty like I usually would, I've dropped it down to Apprentice. Now you might be wondering why on earth I'd do that, I mean Apprentice is below the average difficulty. Well first of all, Smilodon with the Damage Patch means enemies are doing 2.5 times more damage to me (and me to them) and feels like the best balance. Weaker enemies die pretty easily but the stronger ones need a couple of hits and I'm hoping that the same will work out for me.
Perks
Barbarian 5/5
The heart of the build here is doing as much damage, as quickly as possible so that enemies don't have the chance to fight back. With the higher difficulty (Master) and Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim to really increase the difficulty of combat and make sure that hitting an enemy is always a good thing and getting hit by an enemy is always a bad thing. Barbarian is really the only way to increase our damage output so that it's reasonable later on.
Note - I am currently debating whether or not I should disable Smilodon and just take this naturally (but on Expert). I think I might personally prefer to play Hrothmund as a skilled warrior and having to strike first 100% of the time (and not get hit) isn't quite as fun and interesting as the more drawn out battles of Vanilla Skyrim.
Champion's Stance and Devastating Blow
These two perks are, I suppose the closest the build comes to 'wasted' perks. I mean, they're both obviously useful for increasing damage output and decreasing the Stamina cost but with Smilodon it's just not a good idea to...well ever power attack. Mostly it's because enemies have figured out that shields are good at bashing with and stagger you so often that Standing Power Attacks just aren't something I've been using.
Great Critical Charge
Right, so I said that Champion's Stance and Devastating Blow aren't great perks, but GCC is actually a really good perk 100% of the time (for all the characters that ever charactered). Well it isn't perfect, but the extra damage that can be inflicted isn't all that bad, and it adds a little more output that Hrothmund desperately needs.
Limbsplitter 3/3
Limbsplitter is the perk that I want to work with the most from a modding perspective here. Generally speaking it isn't something I've worried about as anything other than a fun thematic extra to a character (Orcs or Falmer-based characters being more brutal, and thus cutting enemies open like that) but here I want to see about modding it to be somewhat decent.
Sweep and Warmaster
I didn't want to just combine these, but at the end of the day Sweep and Warmaster are similar perks. These are what could be called the 'useful Power Attacks'. Sweep is undeniably epic, even with Smilodon (or a similar combat mod) installed it adds a whole new aspect to combat that is really fun to make use of. Warmaster on the other hand is something I've rarely used (why delve that far into the Two-Handed tree?) but it could be really interesting to kind of have a 'Paralyze Enchantment' on all my Two-Handed weapons (so to say).
Equipment
Weapon - Hrothmund's Axe
I mean, the Axe is simply perfect for this character. Sadly the PS4 version has to just chuck it down outside Riften rather than in Hrothmund's Barrow (or does anyway, it could probably be moved) so it isn't the most...realistic feeling inclusion of a weapon but it's good enough for me in the end. I think of this as a recreation and you don't get to unleash it's full potential until you reach Hrothmund's Barrow and actually deal with that whole quest.
Armour - Dwarven Armour ---> Nordic Carved Armor (NO HELMETS)
Hrothmund starts out as an adventurer, hunting through Dwarven Ruins with his trusty party of fellow adventurers (in other words...spoilers for future builds in the series) but later becomes aware of his Nordic heritage, well the specifics of it anyway and tries to truly honour his role as Chieftain of Thirsk Mead Hall.
