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WiP Character Build: Maria, Necromancer and Bard Extraordinaire

  • August 22, 2017

    FADE IN:

    INT. THE SLEEPING GIANT INN - DAY

    The inn is relatively quiet in the early afternoon, with the same regulars ordering mead and the same bartender serving it. The only difference is the visiting BARD. Green-eyed, red-haired, and rather fetching to look at, she perches on a barrel by the bar, lute in hand, smile on her face, and bucket by her feet.

               BARD
    Make way, make way! The magical, musical, magnificant,
    musician extraordinaire, MARIA! is here to entertain the masses
    of Skyrim with beautiful ballads, suprising songs, powerful
    poems and mystical music.

    The now identified MARIA strums a simple but pleasant chord on her lute.

               MARIA (CONT'D)
    That's right folks, your once in a lifetime opportunity to see
    the Bard herself, Maria Lavioel, is today! There will be no
    repeat performances, there will be no magical recordings and
    there will be absolutely no chance to see this event ever again
    while you toil in the land of Skyrim.

    As she speaks, the inn door opens and a couple walks in - an older Nord DRUNKARD, covered in mead stains and carrying a small handful of flagons, escorting a younger, pompous-looking woman. Immediately, Maria turns to address them, putting on a charming (and entirely fake) smile.

              MARIA (CONT'D)
    Ah, young man, welcome to this charming establishment! You
    and your lady, do you happen to have any interest in the musical
    arts? Maria Lavioel is the finest musician the two of you will ever
    hear, and this performance will be cheaper than anywhere in
    High Rock or the Imperial City!

    The couple ignore her and head straight for the bar.

              DRUNKARD
    Bartender, a mead!

    As he speaks, he casually tosses an empty tankard at Maria, who ducks as it sails past her head.

              MARIA

         (grumbling to self)
    Fine, fine. You're missing out on a wondrous opportunity to listen
    to the world's greatest bard, but that's no skin off my back. I suppose
    there truly is no accounting for the simplistic minds of the locals.

    Maria gathers her belongings as she grumbles to herself, scooping a few lonely septims from the bucket at her feet. She glances at them and scowls.

              MARIA (CONT'D)
    Eight septims! This is an affront. Highway robbery! I could make a
    hundred times this in one evening in Wayrest! I wouldn't even sing a
    tavern ditty for eight septims! Not that I would sing one of those...
    travesties anyway.

    As she turns to leave, she almost bumps into the Drunkard, who has stood from his stool at the bar to tower over her menacingly.

              DRUNKARD
         (angrily)
    What did yer say, girlie? Yer ain't sound like no bard that ever I heard
    afore. A whore, maybe, dressed like that. If you want yer eight septims,
    why don't yer put tha' smart-talking mouth of yers to better use? If'n
    not, then shut yer trap and piss off to some back alley to do wha' yer
    really paid fer.

    Hissing, Maria's hand drops to her dagger, but before she can draw steel, the inn door opens and a trio of guards meander into the inn. She stays her hand and backs away, but can't resist a parting jab as she turns to leave.

              MARIA
         (coldly)
    As you were, then. I suppose Whiterun will be a civil enough destination.
    Not that I have much hope of finding civility in Skyrim, if this is what
    the rest of the... province is like. Judging by your accursed tavern ditties,
    you stupid Nords don't even know what music is.

    FADE OUT:

    Maria, Necromancer and Bard Extraordinaire

    So, this build is very much a work in progress, being a build that I've pretty much only come up with the concept of, but it's something that I really want to try something different with. 

    Mostly this is just the actual presentation of the build, both from a visual point of view, and of course the way that I write the build. The ah, no doubt terrible attempt at following a bit more of a screenplay there might not be the final version, but this is going to be me attempting some more..artistic styles, there may be songs (lines from songs...I'm not stupid enough to think I can write an entire song), a bit of a broken up story that's told throughout the build. I'm not entirely sure but I want it to feel like your stepping into a build that feels like a proper bard.

    The actual Gameplay is really interesting to me, the idea is too well...combine Necromancy and Bardic Music into a single build and hope it doesn't suck. I'm mainly using Ordinator for this but there's a mod I recently downloaded called 'Become a Bard' (or something similar) which seems like it'll be kickass. Adds like 100 and something songs to the game which my character can sing (though I don't know if it's gender based or really much about the mod). But Ordinator does some really interesting things with Necromancy that means I should be able to create a decent class without ever needing to reanimate a dead body, at least not in the traditional sense and I can just create Skeletons out of Bonemeal (which doesn't feel as shitty and evil).

    The Build:

    Race - Breton

    Skills - One-Handed, Speech, Conjuration and Pickpocket

    Gender - Female

    Weapons - Something pretty.

    Armour - Dark Huntress Armour (modded, will get link)

    Stats - 1 Magicka, 1 Health and 1 Stamina

    Standing Stone - The Lady

     

    Skills:

    Speech: Speech is essentially the first of two major components for Maria to be who she is. A talented singer, writer and musician, but beyond all skills is that of the Silver Tongue. Whether it be enticing a merchant into giving her a better deal, or convincing a Thalmor that 'No killing me isn't a good idea, and I'm not here to cause any trouble" or even the act of putting on a show for the septims that will earn her room, board and a bit to eat. Speech, is incredibly important to the young Bard, and her words flow truly like honey. 

    One-Handed: Hardly an expert with blade, axe or mace, it's undeniable that even a young Bard needs a weapon. But Skyrim, home of the Nords is known most for grand old swords and massive axes, for weapons crude, ugly but strong. While there's nothing at all wrong with such a weapon, the swifter, more artful design and no weapon is more fitting than the Blade of Intrigue (or a nice Elven blade if she can't find it).

    Pickpocket:  The art of a bard is only enhanced when one takes the skills of a thief and applies the trades together. A young lady casually leaning on a table or tripping up on her way out of the Inn, is hardly what one looks for in a Master Thief, and when she's just spent the night telling a tale grander than grand. Well, by then most marks are drowned in mead, ale or wine and make for an easy source of a little extra gold.

  • Member
    August 22, 2017

    The screenplay section is... not quite on point. I've had to work in screenplay format in the recent past, but I lost my links. You should definitely google screenplay formatting, though, it's very finicky. In a serious movie submission the formatting has to be exactly right in every way, but since this is just for the sake of presentation we can let the details slide a bit. That said, a properly formatted screenplay should look something like this:

    FADE IN:

    INT. THE VINTNER AND CLERGY INN - DAY

    The inn is relatively quiet in the early afternoon, with the same regulars ordering mead and the same bartender serving it. The only difference is the visiting BARD. Green-eyed, red-haired, and rather fetching to look at, she perches on a barrel by the bar, lute in hand, smile on her face, and bucket by her feet.

               BARD
    Make way, make way! The magical, musical, magnificant,
    musician extraordinaire, MARIA! is here to entertain the masses
    of Skyrim with beautiful ballads, suprising songs, powerful
    poems and mystical music.

    The now identified MARIA strums a simple but pleasant chord on her lute.

               MARIA (CONT'D)
    That's right folks, your once in a lifetime opportunity to see
    the Bard herself, Maria Lavioel, is today! There will be no
    repeat performances, there will be no magical recordings and
    there will be absolutely no chance to see this event ever again
    while you toil in the land of Skyrim.

    As she speaks, the inn door opens and a couple walks in - an older Nord DRUNKARD, covered in mead stains and carrying a small handful of flagons, escorting a younger, pompous-looking woman. Immediately, Maria turns to address them, putting on a charming (and entirely fake) smile.

              MARIA (CONT'D)
    Ah, young man, welcome to this charming establishment! You
    and your lady, do you happen to have any interest in the musical
    arts? Maria Lavioel is the finest musician the two of you will ever
    hear, and this performance will be cheaper than anywhere in
    High Rock or the Imperial City!

    The couple ignore her and head straight for the bar.

              DRUNKARD
    Bartender, a mead!

    As he speaks, he casually tosses an empty tankard at Maria, who ducks as it sails past her head.

     

    That aside, I'm quite curious as to how this is going to look. I've been thinking of sinking my teeth into a bardy character recently, but inspiration has been... lacking. As has Skyrim time.

  • Member
    August 22, 2017

    Become a Bard is a really sweet mod as you no doubt have experienced by now, and Ordinator's Speech perks can only enhance and synergise with a character focussed on that. Being able to perform for free lodging and some coin/items from patrons in order to raise your fame for greater reward is cool. As that fame rises, you get sent to perform for Jarls who gift you with magic items, they become Ring-Givers like in the Norse tales! Those little quests are radiant, given by the folks at the Bards College, but they hint at a deeper something going on as it implies there is a spy network or somecuch going on as you pass back notes on what you saw and heard at the Jarls' courts.

    Plus, being able to perform Morrowind's theme with a lute never gets old :D

    So yeah, excited to see this unfold.

     

  • August 22, 2017

    Oh man, that just looks a lot better, yeah I'll try and stick a bit closer to that than Soly, even if I ignore the fact that it's just a correct format (which is hard for me) it just looks and feels a lot better. Thanks for the help there mate. 

  • August 22, 2017

    Become a Bard is a really sweet mod as you no doubt have experienced by now, and Ordinator's Speech perks can only enhance and synergise with a character focussed on that. Being able to perform for free lodging and some coin/items from patrons in order to raise your fame for greater reward is cool. As that fame rises, you get sent to perform for Jarls who gift you with magic items, they become Ring-Givers like in the Norse tales! Those little quests are radiant, given by the folks at the Bards College, but they hint at a deeper something going on as it implies there is a spy network or somecuch going on as you pass back notes on what you saw and heard at the Jarls' courts.

    • Plus, being able to perform Morrowind's theme with a lute never gets old :D
    • So yeah, excited to see this unfold.

    Just bought and made my Lute really, haven't experienced anything to the mod yet. But yeah, it feels like it's going to be fun, just getting a note from...bloody hell what's his name Luburk or whatever was a really good start to the mod. I'll have to dive a bit deeper into it, but yeah I've already had a bit of fun just trying to find my collection of instruments (which really is just going to be an army of Lutes.) I am a bit more interested in the Necromancy stuff to be honest, all of the interesting skeleton/bone altar stuff is just really cool in my opinion, excellent stuff that looks like it'll end up being really awesome.

  • Member
    August 23, 2017

    I've never delved deep into Become a Bard. I guess it's time to roll an actual bard for my next playthrough.

  • August 23, 2017

    It's pretty good, really I just like the idea of it expanding the Bard's College a little bit more but the music isn't too bad (just bloody loud).

  • Member
    August 23, 2017

    If you want, I can transcribe the rest of the opening for you - the bits where MARIA insults the local Nord populace, and where the DRUNKARD hates on her.

  • Member
    August 23, 2017

    Dragonborn1921 said:

    Become a Bard is a really sweet mod as you no doubt have experienced by now, and Ordinator's Speech perks can only enhance and synergise with a character focussed on that. Being able to perform for free lodging and some coin/items from patrons in order to raise your fame for greater reward is cool. As that fame rises, you get sent to perform for Jarls who gift you with magic items, they become Ring-Givers like in the Norse tales! Those little quests are radiant, given by the folks at the Bards College, but they hint at a deeper something going on as it implies there is a spy network or somecuch going on as you pass back notes on what you saw and heard at the Jarls' courts.

    • Plus, being able to perform Morrowind's theme with a lute never gets old :D
    • So yeah, excited to see this unfold.

    Just bought and made my Lute really, haven't experienced anything to the mod yet. But yeah, it feels like it's going to be fun, just getting a note from...bloody hell what's his name Luburk or whatever was a really good start to the mod. I'll have to dive a bit deeper into it, but yeah I've already had a bit of fun just trying to find my collection of instruments (which really is just going to be an army of Lutes.) I am a bit more interested in the Necromancy stuff to be honest, all of the interesting skeleton/bone altar stuff is just really cool in my opinion, excellent stuff that looks like it'll end up being really awesome.

    An army of lutes is for the best, also found that some of the songs require a folower to make sense of. Like, I'd perform an option 6 from Songs of High Rock and the character would produce a flute, but drums would be playing too. So I tried it with a follower and, sure enough, they produced a drum from their pocket.

    Fair enough on the necromancy thing, though. Don't have much thoughts on that except to say I look forward to whatever Ordinator T&T post you create on the back of this playthrough. Also, liking the presentation using the screenplay idea you and Soly have got cookiing there.

  • August 23, 2017

    If you want, I can transcribe the rest of the opening for you - the bits where MARIA insults the local Nord populace, and where the DRUNKARD hates on her.

    Sorry for the late response Soly but that'd be really awesome yeah, you've got a much better writing style than I do for...well most things to be honest. I really did like that starting bit so thank you for that.