Le Magicien
A true fake story... for the most part
If the title sound snobbish and pedantic that mean I'm doing my job right...
Dunmer are known to be some of the greatest mage in Tamriel right ? So if I let myself grow a goatee, had some nifty mystic blue tatoo, a raged but dignified set of robes, put on some theatrics and walked with a staff no would be the wiser that I can't cast one damn spell, suck at brewing potions and don't understand jack shit about enchantment ?
If my cousin Malur in Whinterhold can pretend to be the magic counselor of a Jarl, with my flair for dramatics I can surely become much more, maybe even... a Archmage !
The Backstory :
If you are reading these lines this mean that you managed to gain access to my vaulted chamber where I keep most of my most prized possession.
In consequence I will have to fire my current steward and also chase you around the world to get back what is mine and exact some kind of punishment on your person, one that should be excruciatingly painful
.
But if you are still reading these lines that mean you didn't run away, which prove that you are either not afraid of idle threat or too curious to have any sense of self-preservation. I can respect that.
------------------------------------------------------------
My name is Jojo Seloth and according to plan should still be the current Archmage of the Academy of Winterhold. Sound impressive isn't it ! But how did I get there you may ask ? Well stop interrupting and maybe we will get there.
I was born a dunmer of the great and powerful House Telvani. Not from a great noble family but one of farmers with some mediocre practitioner of the higher arts. I spent my twenty younger years in Cheydinhal. My parent had fled our hometown of Sadrith Mora after the Red Year and relocated themselves on the other side of the border. Of what I recall they couldn't handle the looks the mainlanders where giving to refugees, a strange mix of pity and disgust.
Far from of the classic environment of the Dunmer nation, my education was as you can guess quite unorthodox. My parents, as the new colon they were for the imperials, had to work all the harder to earn their due, and they had little time to take care of me and teach me any sort of magic. There was the local Mage guild of course but my aunt Anis would have flogged me to death before letting any member of the family join these « thieving bastards ».
All I had was her books we had saved from the exodus, I learned to read with them, quite the astonishing experience when the first words of complex vocabulary you learn are « aetheric reciprocal transfer » instead of « plucking daisies ». But books can only get you that far and without a mentor to focus one attention on the more boring parts, such as the constant recitation of half nonsense gibberish or the breathing exercises to channel your inner whatever, my endeavor was doomed from the start.
My first, and only attempt to cast a spell end up burning a barn. It was someonelse barn so that didn't really count but after that incident, my parents realized that my new hobby need to be controlled. That is how I end up clerk at my aunt Anis Seltoh Apothecary shop. Had to say I was thrilled the first couple of days, but soon I found out that the job was a thankless grinding task that more often than not involved ingredient less than appealing. Soon I turned my attention to the more businessy part of the activity and found that I had quite the touch for it.
I was darn good at overselling the benefits of some potion, seeing in one quick look what the customer was looking for and which words will persuade him. Looking for the rising spirit of your younger years old man, this stamina potion will do the deal for the right price. Having trouble with your love one my dear ? A few drop of this poison of willpower will bring him back in your arms with almost no side effects. Going to fight some trolls brave knight ? Don't go without this healing potion ! It will make your head grown up again if need be,
strangely this one customer never came back.
Of course such business did require supplies, some from far away outside the Imperial borders and If you need to wait for these dorky guards to do the customs you will die of old age before you can just see the stuff. In these case you had to cut some square ends to make circles which is short for smuggling... not the safest of trip to jump from one side to another of the Imperial border, but a quite rewarding journey if done correctly. Unfortunately one of them had to be the last for me. The town guard finally caught on my shenanigans and a bad likeness of my face was sticked up every corner. Running was the only sensible option.
I end up in Skyrim, a handsome Dunmer looking for profit with a minimum of effort. It sounded easy at first, the locals are not that bright, even for humans. I decided to settle in a small border town in the south, Helgen it was called, and started making good money selling phony healing potions by mixing some Red Mountain flower with Snowberries. It is when I run out of the later and used Nightshade instead that things turned sour. How could I know that will be poisonous ! Its not because I disguised myself as a alchemist that I have any of the talent.
It could have been the end when the guards led me to the executioner block but some strike of luck got me out of this mess. Once free again I decided to get into a new kind of business. My reasoning was the following : the only reason the guard arrested me was because no one fear a mushroom farmer. If I had some sort of threatening aura they would never had dared to touch me. Aunt Anis always told me stories of these dreadful Telvani Mages that could conduct just about any dangerous experience without any repercussion. Once you have a big enough staff and robes to match no one give you a look and they just walk by the other side of the road. That I could work with.
Finding my first set of apparel was no easy task, but once my first staves accquired life became much easier. I could walk down the streets without anybody bothering me or giving me dirty looks. I was considered. Sure these nords they say they dont like mage. Pfuu
but they do fear it enough to live them alone or pay handsome money when they need their services. I was able to get some good deals with this new outfit, and to get out more easily of some situations. Still that was not enough.
First, the staves were starting to run low on energy and I had to use them more sparsely. And the less I used them, the less I was considered and the more problems came. Second, they started to be less effective or to be not enough to satisfy my goals. Routing a few half shaved bandits was nice and all, but it was still not working when faced with the damn bears or those oversized cats. I needed more power.
I started by taking it where it was. Court wizards, alchemist, those creepy necromancer in ill lighted cave, they all had some sort of useful gadgets : potions, scrolls, enchanted trinket and staves. Not always the most potent stuff but a few useful ones sometimes. The rest I was selling it to whoever was willing to buy. The money was always useful for something. Thats what lead me to the gate of the Academy, where one could find the rarest books, and the more secret artifacts. Getting in was easy, a few winks in the direction of the tall girl guarding the entrance did the trick and then I was up to my first lessons
. From there things gets wacky.
There, with a bunch of real mages studying my every move, I needed something special to give credit to my persona and a edge in my increasingly dangerous researchs. I studied the books again, the more arcane and ghoulish stuff, spiced up with every scratch or rumors gathered in tavern or less embellished places. You may find some of the things I discover around you, artifacts of dreaded power or incredible uselessness. Not everything was a sure hit, but to reveal each one was a challenge evermore astonishing. In the end I even dealt with daedra ; once you had to argue with the God of madness about the relevance of cheese in modern day literature, you can just debate about anything on the spot !
Long story short, one that almost make no sense and is full of sound and fury, I end up with the job and after some dedication to the menial tasks my « esteemed » colleagues build up the reputation of the greatest wizard of Skyrim ! That's a work of every instant to keep the illusion on : parlor trick has to be perform in the Jarl's court, small kids has to be impressed in the streets with sleight of hand and some asses has to be kicked in explosive fashion.
Now you know who I am, and if you have any sense left you should be at least mildly afraid of me. You can run away as far as possible, knowing that I will summon all figurative hell to find you back, a expensive move I concede but one I will do gladly to keep up the appearance. Or you can leave my stuff where it is and go see my friend Brygnolf in Riften, tell him I said you passed the test or whatever. He will most likely send you in a fool's errand that will see you killed, but thats his way of saying he likes you.
If you have any cells left in your brain you will take the deal. Of course if you can not read you won't even know there was one but as you can see I don't take ignorance for a excuse.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Race : Dunmer, Male, 50% resist fire is nice and Ancestor's Wrath is the only way to simulate at least one cloak spell
Stone : Thief until getting the aetherial crown and 60 in speech, then Steed as main and Shadow toggled in the crown for more regular use
Stat Repartition : 0 / 10 / 0, Full health if you want to stay alive, it will also fake high level flesh spells
Shouts : none, we are no dragonborn, and do you think we look like we can handle dragons ?
Followers : none, we look for spectators to watch us not followers who are stealing the light.
Difficulty level : up to you but I play adept/expert because I'm a big baby casual
The build :
Time to grow the beard
Just like some other great builds on this site, this is some kind of Wizard of Oz that is faking magic effects by using a large array of artifacts, tricks and "unsuspected game mechanics" (also known as glitch) and finish the Academy questline without casting a single spell of his own. That mean :
- This character don't use any magic or magic related (looking at you alchemy) skills, and by that I mean that they are not perked and not even dutifully increased in any voluntary way (except enchanting when recharging staves but i can't do otherwise)
- This character is not that great of a thief either. We are not going to stealth run the questline like any full committed sneak thief could. Sneak is not even a major perk in this build.
- This character is both a coward (meaning that he will avoid any though encounter like no one business) and a big attention whore that will use some of the most colorful ways to dispatch his enemy if the odds are in his favor. We will more often than not take head on our foes in the biggest waste of excessive display of (fake) power possible.
The skills :link
Do I look cool ? I do, do I...
Speech :
This one will get us out of many dead-ends and will allow us to buy scrolls and soul gems for a reasonable price. Thanks to merchant we can directly sell all the loot to mage merchant which make the whole process much easier.
Block :
Block is our way to simulate wards with spellbreaker. We need to be quick on our feets to render the effect of magic protection and being able to throw away enemies with shield charge is the special someting that make our "wards" that much awesome in the eyes of others. Also shield runing allow to go full speed in stealth mode which is a funny glitch we will use from time to time. No quick reflex since the whole point of this skill is to take hits and show everyone that it doesn't do much.
Pickpocket :
+ 100 in carry is essential with our arsenal of staves and other scrolls. It may sound funny but you will soon realise that carrying over a dozen staves and the ton of soul gems to keep them running is no small business. Misdirection is a nice sleight of hand that is essential to all good entertainer.
Lockpicking :
Golden touch and Treasure Hunter are the keys for late level benefits. More money mean less worry to charge the staves and better loot mean more chance to get the staves missing in your collection.
Sneak :
Sneak is the least perked skill and the only one from the classic Dunmer skillset. We only need Muffle to simulate the spell of the same name and use thief guild equipement with little malus. Stealth is not futher perked to keep the challenge on. Since we have a near infinite access to invisibility I thought that being too sneaky would be unfair.
Gameplay :
Phase One : the begining
Maybe the most challenging part of the game. You will feel very naked during the first ten levels or so. Even if at first five bandits and small wild life are easy to get rid of, soon the wild animals and then the draughs are going to become really dangerous.
This is the time to gather as much non leveled staves as possible, starting with the ones in Shalidor’s Maze and the wabbajack. I advise to rise quickly sneak at level 30 ASAP to be able to take the muffle perk and start wearing armor with no penality to sneak. Don’t spend too much of your perks points and keep some for Deflect arrows or other essential perks when you reach the skill level.
The rest of the leveling will come from speech and pickpocket, Riften is the best place for that with lots of speech related quest, a shrine of Dibella in Haelga’s bedroom and the thief guild equipment which with novice robes of destruction will be our first outfit.
The gameplay at these early levels is the one of a thief, avoiding detection at all cost, running away when we can. It is hard to get filled soul gems and we won’t have enough staves to make combat easy enough, but unleash their power from time to time to boost your ego a little.
This part of the game is over when you unlock The Only Cure quest, has both the Persuasion and Merchant perks and gathered at least the staves of Shalidor’s Maze and the staff of Paralysis.
Phase Two : working the system
At level 15ish we should be ready to get our hands on our favorite toys : Spellbreaker and the Aetherial Crown. I advise to start with the shield and then go for the crown, the reason being that most of the dirty tricks we will pull to get the first will be useful to get the second.
The quest The Only Cure is not a easy one for this character. The Afflicted are surprisingly tough opponents : not only are they leveled bandits that hit hard, are most of the times grouped on pack of three or four, but their poison attack is a nasty trick that will see the death of you. Hopefully the dwemer ruin they live in is filled with shadow corners that will allow you to bypass them in sneak mode. It will not be easy because they seem really good at picking target and we are not that good a thief, but if you study the pattern of the patrol and move slowly enough you will make it. Still there is some passage when you won’t be able to stay undetected, like full lighted room, dwemer automaton popping out, etc… but nothing a a invisibility potion or making the best of traps and hights can’t solve.
Killing Orchendor is another thing. In the end you still has to fight the damned mage solo and to be honest wining in a fair fight is not a option : not only is he tough, cast powerful spell, has a good enchanted dagger, but the worst is that he can teleport and that by some stroke of luck that make him invulnerable to any spell, even wabbajack !
You don’ t have the weapon to hit him hard enough, you can’t conjure anything strong enough to hit him hard enough and your staves are useless. Worst ! You don’t even have the skill for a effective sneaky assassination.But what you have is a cunning plan…
Before the boss room there is a centurion and four spiders guarding the entrance. You can bypass them with a invisibility potion but you can also loose them at a corner where pipes are blocking the way of the big one. Now what I have done is led Orchendor away from his chamber to this particular corner where the dwemer machines were stuck, jump out of the fight and start watching. The mage managed to kill two spiders and badly damaged the centurion but was smacked in the end. Funny thing the space was so cramped that when he tried to teleport he end up in almost in the same place and kept being hammered on. It work on the first try for me be if you fill he is gonna win, enter the frey and stagger lock him with shield bashes so that your unknowing allies can finish the job.
For the Aetherial Crown we will use the same techniques for the two dungeons we need to pass by. Lots of sneaking and pitting automaton and falmers against each other. As a side note try to kill one of the shaman and loot the corpse for the staff of frost damage they usually carry. We will need one against the Forgemaster. Against said enemy use Katria to focus the big bad clock attention while you shred his molten behind. Don’t worry too much about the flame attack since you are partially immune to them, maybe try to buy a enchanted rings or amulet to increase elemental resistance, but don’t let him get close.
Once both items are secure it is time to update our equipment. Start to look for the staff of chain lightning, either you can buy it to Neloth at Tel Mithryn or fin dit in boss chest. Some NPC also carry random destruction staves like Wylandriah or Kesh you can try to pickpocket. Blackguard’s boots, bracers & hood will be a nice update to your thief guild ones and look nice with some apprentice robes of destruction. At last charge the Crown with the shadow stone and put yourself under the steed and we are almost good to go. One last stop is to be done at Mor Khazgur where you will be able to train block to reach 70 and get Block Runner. Don’t forget to pickpocket back your money to also train this skill and perk extra pocket and misdirection.
This phase is over when you talk your way in the Academy, and get our atronach staves. Start Tolfdir first lesson and let the fun begin.
I've read enough lusty argonian books to know how it will end
Phase Three : on the path to glory
Fully equipped and ready to quick ass it is time to do the academy quest line. Now that you are at the Academy you can use the merchant perk to ditch all the loot to the teachers and empty their stock of soul gems to fill your staves or buy scrolls to play merry hell on your enemies. I don’t have any special advise on the general way of doing the questline, you can be all sneaky and trickery or goes all out with burning staves at the expense of a lot soul gems, maybe a little bit of both, it’s up to you. Still there is three situations that will be slightly more difficult and for which I have some words of advise :
First the fight against the magic anomalies. They are hard to hit, have a good resistance to weapon and there is ten of them. My advise is to call a storm atronach and repeatedly strike them with staves of chain lightling and fireball, it will be easier to hit them that way and collateral damage will be minimal since most oher NPC present are essential at this point.
Second is Morokei. As a dragon priest he can turn your atronach against you and know some spells by himself. Fist you could use his control daedra spell to stuck him with a less usefull sumoun like a weak flame atroncah, then Wabbadjack should deal enough damage and if you turn him into a rabbit it will make you laugh. Better to finish him with another staff in case the fickle artefact decide to backstab you at the last moment.
Last is Ancano, don’t let you distracted by the floating balls and get him. I strongly advise to have reached 100 in block to perk shield charge at this point : it will allow you to throw him away from the eye and cut his connection to it longer while you shield bash him to death. Once he bite the dust the other members of the academy should come to deal with the rest of the anomalies.
Once you have finished the Academy main quest line, it is time to chase collectible in your new robes. Starting level 24 you should get your hand on the Rose of Sanguin to enjoy the powerful dremora within. Another item worth mentioning is the dagger of Mehrunes Dagon, insta-kill dreadlords never gets boring. You should also look for the black books, at least because secret servant can carry all your legendary staves and secret of Arcana can let you use them more. At last, after getting the Skull of Corruption you should also make yourselves one nice manor with full wizard towers to show your new status.
Closing words :
Honestly it is rather unlikely that you will be able to perk everything you need at level 36 like in the initial perk spead, mostly because the last rank in haggling, shield charge and treasure hunter are hard to get in a spontaneous fashion. So you should have some extra perks to place, between 5 to 7 from the the inevitable increase in One-Hand and Enchanting. Here are some suggestions if you don't want to waste these points :
- 2 perks in enchanting for Soul squeeze.
- 2 perks in speech for investment and fence.
- 3 perks in block to increase shield bashes damage and disarm. Combine with vegetable soup it make you a real threat in close combat to laughable levels
- 4 perks in sneak make you way more sneaky and combine with the shadow stone make you untouchable.
Gathering the arsenal :
A little bit more on the left and that will be perfect
Spellbreaker (The Only cure) : Our most important piece of equipement. Not only it will allow us to pass Tolfdir first lesson without breaking the roleplay, but after that it will be our first and best line of defence against all the threats we will met. With our perks in block it will perfectly fake the most steadfast wards.
Atronach staves (Atronach Forge) : Each Daedra has its own use. The flame ones for diversion, frost ones hold back the enemy with its health and frost cloak, the storm ones for combat in the open against multiple oponent. Added perk of sumoning staves, they have unlimited range of conjuration !
Staves of Shalidor's Maze : Our first set of staves. The destruction one will be the most useful but remember the turn the undead and fear ones at low level when they are still relevant.
Staff of Fireball (North of Solitude next to the Talmor Embassy) : Hard to get at first levels since you have to avoid some sabercat but it is worth it. The wide zone of the explosion if perferct to deal with grouped assailant and its easier to aim than the other ones.
Staff of Chain Lightning (Looted in chest or pickpocketed onWylandriah in Riften) : Gods bless this one ! It's hard to get since I'm not sure the court wizard has always it on her. But damn is it useful. The auto-stagger that come with it is a blessing and the rippling effect really make things easier.
Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson (Under Saarthal) : It has a rapid firering rate and shock damages rarely met any resistance. It make for some good quick pace combat.
Staves of Flame and Frostbite (Looted in chest) : Classic but still effective enough.
Staff of Revenant (In a unmarked ruin south of Morthal) : Don't forget this one when draughs are around, a life saviour at early level when you don't have the atronachs staves to call for back-up.
Grand Staff of Repulsion (In Winterhold Jarl Chamber) : Always come in handy, powerful enough to turn the anoying undeads or to stagger the more dangerous ones.
Staff of Paralyze (Snapleg Cave) : for combat of course and to pickpoket back some money or stuff (but not too often) when necessary
Wabbajack (The Mind of Madness) : Boss dealer and general wild card, this little fella bring some flashy moves and a lot of fun. When you start using it be ready for the eventual backfire.
Skull of Corruption (Waking Nightmare) : With its rapid fire rate and good damage it is a general security blanket that can be coupled with Wabbajack to pick up the enemies already crippled by the wacky staff.
Rose of Sanguine (A Night to Remember) : To pick up at level 24 or 36 for the better version. The dremora is our best ally for close combat and pack a lot of punch.
Black books (Dragonborn) : for the flashy powers that we will incorporate in our special moves. Targets are Mora's Grasp, Secret of Arcana, Secret Servant, Lover's Insight and Seeker of Shadows.
Vegetable soup (Heartfire) : because mommy always tell us to finish our bowl, also infinite shield bashes if you are in a pinch.
Master Spell Scrolls : sold by any mage merchant, used for our explosive moves.
Sipder Scrolls (White Ridge Barrow) : Tthe elemental ones can reproduce the effect of a rune spell, the mind control ones some illusion, and the oil traps can fake a fire wall. More for show that for actual efficiency since I only get them quite late in the playthrough.
Combat :
Unfortunately Skyrim is first and foremost a action RPG and combat play a great role in it whatever the focus of your character. Combat for Le Magicien is like a great cabaret show where everything has to be prepared beforehand in order to perform his tricks.
The outcome of combat resolve around the possibilities allowed by your environment and your mastery of surprise. Hence I will divide this section in indoors and outdoors situation.
Outdoors fights :
Looks nice isn't it ? But there is three trolls behind you...
Skyrim is massively made of wild forests, baren deserts of ice and great rocky mountains. Out in the open you are way more sensible to ambush form random enemies like wild animals and highwaymen that may take you on the wrong footing if taken unprepared.
Being overhelmed by a stray sabercat is no small threat, especially at low level where your health is not high enough to sustain damage. Hoppefuly the Wild is vast enough for you to loose any oponent once you get back your wits, but running is not the only option even if it is a tempting one if the stakes are worthless.
Hills, cliffs and other lanscape milestones like giants camps are tools that a good shield charge can exploit to get rid of ambushers. It is also possible to use conjuration staves to buy some time to regroup and mount a counter-attack, fire atronach can lead away small ennies, frost block mobs while the storm ones are prefect to hit multiple target real quick.
The other kind of situation that can be met outdoors is storming the entrance of a dungeon. If it is big enough better to take the guards in small groups from in the fringe of the area. If they are concentrated in front of the doors, likely in small number, better go all out with chain lightning and fire ball to get rid of the weaker one and then call a summon to finish the job. But if you can throw someone from the battlement beforehand, that also make a good oppening move.
Indoors fights :
The warmth of a camp fire... telling stories to... Wait there is no one left alive to listen !
These are the ones we tend to win. Ill lighted corridors and cave bowels are perfect for our small sneak skills and allow to better address the situation. Look for traps to activate later, bottlenecks that can be filled by a frost atronach mass, main threat you can take by surprise or disarm with misderection, etc…
Three kinds of enemies are met especially in these conditions : Draughs, Dwemer Automatons and Falmers.
The undeads are like thougher bandits, imune to frost and with the bad habbit of conjuring forst atronach and casting frost spells. Hopefully there is some staves of replusion and scrolls that are made to deal with them especially. J'zargo's scrolls are a bit dangerous to use but can make wonders to thin the horde and don't forget guardian circle if you have to fall back against overhelming numbers.
Automatons are another kind of dull. They are resistant to elemental damage, some hit really hard and pop out of nowhere. Until you reach high enough level in sneak you will have troubles avoiding them 100% of the time. Hopefully the places they dwell in are filled with deadly traps that will help you dispose of them, but when stuck in a corner the only solution is to unleash your most powerfull artifact, it will be costly but since they usually drop some filled soulgems it should compensate the expense.
Last but not least the Falmers. Buggers are the worst, first they deal poison attacks, are at high level followed by pets insects that can cut you in half in a few strokes and at low level hit much harder than your common highwaymen. Not to mention the loot they drop is most of the time worthless better avoid them all the same when you can. And it is not that hard to do either since their cave are ill lighted and full of holes, a good way to increase the sneak skill.
A word about dragons, they are legends and don't exist ! Don't worry about these silly rumors, they are made up by these nords too afraid to loot the word walls. Go for the treasure chest but stay away from these talking things still, words are not supposed to make that sound...
Special Moves :
Master of the Storm !
Require : Staves of Jyrik Gauldurson, of Chain Lightning, of Storm Atronach
Unleash the power of the elements to your enemies. The two destruction staves are bugged and we take full advantage of that. The first one has a too quick fire rate compared with other staves of the same kind while the second auto-stagger each time it hit. Add a Storm Atronach in the mix and make short work of any resistance by bringing in the Thunder
Madness Unleashed !
Require : Wabbadjak and the Skull of Corruption
The awesome combination of two daedric staves, Wabbadjack can seriously hurt if he is in the mood and then you can finish the already damaged menace with the high firing rate of the skull.
Turning the tide !
Require : Staff of revenant and Grand Staff of repulse
Bring back the dead and turn off the ones that dont comply ! Not always the more effective but a good reminder to these necromancers of who is the boss
Frozen in time !
Require : Mora's Grap
Petrify the big one in the outer realms while you deal with its underlings, maniac cackle is mandatory
Shadow Wind !
Require : Aetherium crown with shadow stone, Block Runner and Shield Charge
One of my favorite. With Block Runner you can move in sneak mode at normal walking pace while staying hidden. Even better, with Shield Charge you can perform the charge in sneak mode too ! Even even better, I found out that in this case you just have to tap the sprint once to start an unlimited run regardless of stamina ! Turn invisible and knock down your enemies like a cyclone.
Dynamic Entry !
Require : Aetherium crown with shadow stone then Blizzard or Firestorm or Bane of the Undead scroll
Make your introduction knowned ! Blizzard will stuck the foes in place, Firestorm will burn to a crisp a good bunch of target and Bane of Undead will turn down draughs making them easy picking for your destruction staves.
Living the scene
...
Require : Blizzard or Firestorm or Bane of the Undead scroll then Aetherium crown with shadow stone
Same as the Dynamic Entry but the other way around. Cast the master spell then turn invisible. Excellent with a blizzard that will trap your dazed enemies suck in the cold while you reposition yourself for the kill.
Ascension of the Archmage and Doppleganger Archmage !
Require : Aetherium crown with shadow stone, Summon Arniels shade and Philter of the Phantom.
A totally expensive, pretty useless, totally worth it move. Just like living the scene prepare the casting of Arniels Shade and at the same time the ghost mage is conjured, disappear in the shadow. Then let the enemy attack your new ascended form while you post yourself in its back and break invisibility while drinking the Philter of the Phantom : Now there is two ghostly mages on the field ready to quick confused ass.
Unlimited Power !
Require : Secret of Arcana and Staves
Just enjoy your 30 seconds of unlimited use of your most costly toys.
Hells Pit !
Require : Staff of Fireball and Oil spider
Litter the floor with Oil Spiders and then turn them ablaze with the staff to open pits of fire everywhere.
Roleplay :
Our everyday inspiration...
The main idea to keep in mind when impersonating Le Magicien is that it is a character of extreme hubris, persuaded he knows better than anyone or that at least he can make everyone believe so. The sheer feeling of superiority ooze from every inch of this guy, especially when magic stuff is involved.
While dealing with mage, show your ambition and interest, even if you don’t understand half of what you’re saying ; a perfect example is the short dialogue you can have with Wylandriah in Riften : she is half mad and no one around will get a thing of your conversation with her but will believe it is a very astute and profound one. Conclusion, ignorance is a bliss… take advantage of it !
In the same way quests that involve magical artifacts or items are a priority, not necessary for a gameplay gain but better to build the role as a seeker of mystical curios. What better proof of your legitimacy that the countless research and expedition you’ve led in search of ancient knowledge ?
To better remember everyone of you higher status and that you are beyond petty mortal considerations avoid any politics. Thalmor, Imperials, Stormcloaks are just child's play. You see the big picture, forces of Oblivion are at your command ! Hence you are no courier to some snob Altmer or Tulius minion, and let’s not talk about the upstart Ulfrics…
At last, when at the peak of your power, it won’t hurt to show of a bit of your least aggressive trick be bemuse the common folks. Random invocation of fiery atronach or harmless spells like courage or mage light are a cheap way to make a attraction of yourself. But you can also aim higher and perform at the Jarl court, master spell scrolls of call to arms will rouse everyone spirit or a Bane of the Undead will ease the fear of vampire infiltration, that you will have cunningly inspire beforehand…
**************
Thank you for your advise and helpful comments and kudos to my predecessors the the Charlatant, the Freelancer and Oz, The Great and Powerful, to pay tribute to the builds that already pave the way for phony mages and other staves lovers.
Le Magicien
A true fake story... for the most part
If the title sound snobbish and pedantic that mean I'm doing my job right...
Dunmer are known to be some of the greatest mage in Tamriel right ? So if I let myself grow a goatee, had some nifty mystic blue tatoo, a raged but dignified set of robes, put on some theatrics and walked with a staff no would be the wiser that I can't cast one damn spell, suck at brewing potions and don't understand jack shit about enchantment ?
If my cousin Malur in Whinterhold can pretend to be the magic counselor of a Jarl, with my flair for dramatics I can surely become much more, maybe even... a Archmage !
The Backstory :
If you are reading these lines this mean that you managed to gain access to my vaulted chamber where I keep most of my most prized possession.
In consequence I will have to fire my current steward and also chase you around the world to get back what is mine and exact some kind of punishment on your person, one that should be excruciatingly painful
.
But if you are still reading these lines that mean you didn't run away, which prove that you are either not afraid of idle threat or too curious to have any sense of self-preservation. I can respect that.
------------------------------------------------------------
My name is Jojo Seloth and according to plan should still be the current Archmage of the Academy of Winterhold. Sound impressive isn't it ! But how did I get there you may ask ? Well stop interrupting and maybe we will get there.
I was born a dunmer of the great and powerful House Telvani. Not from a great noble family but one of farmers with some mediocre practitioner of the higher arts. I spent my twenty younger years in Cheydinhal. My parent had fled our hometown of Sadrith Mora after the Red Year and relocated themselves on the other side of the border. Of what I recall they couldn't handle the looks the mainlanders where giving to refugees, a strange mix of pity and disgust.
Far from of the classic environment of the Dunmer nation, my education was as you can guess quite unorthodox. My parents, as the new colon they were for the imperials, had to work all the harder to earn their due, and they had little time to take care of me and teach me any sort of magic. There was the local Mage guild of course but my aunt Anis would have flogged me to death before letting any member of the family join these « thieving bastards ».
All I had was her books we had saved from the exodus, I learned to read with them, quite the astonishing experience when the first words of complex vocabulary you learn are « aetheric reciprocal transfer » instead of « plucking daisies ». But books can only get you that far and without a mentor to focus one attention on the more boring parts, such as the constant recitation of half nonsense gibberish or the breathing exercises to channel your inner whatever, my endeavor was doomed from the start.
My first, and only attempt to cast a spell end up burning a barn. It was someonelse barn so that didn't really count but after that incident, my parents realized that my new hobby need to be controlled. That is how I end up clerk at my aunt Anis Seltoh Apothecary shop. Had to say I was thrilled the first couple of days, but soon I found out that the job was a thankless grinding task that more often than not involved ingredient less than appealing. Soon I turned my attention to the more businessy part of the activity and found that I had quite the touch for it.
I was darn good at overselling the benefits of some potion, seeing in one quick look what the customer was looking for and which words will persuade him. Looking for the rising spirit of your younger years old man, this stamina potion will do the deal for the right price. Having trouble with your love one my dear ? A few drop of this poison of willpower will bring him back in your arms with almost no side effects. Going to fight some trolls brave knight ? Don't go without this healing potion ! It will make your head grown up again if need be,
strangely this one customer never came back.
Of course such business did require supplies, some from far away outside the Imperial borders and If you need to wait for these dorky guards to do the customs you will die of old age before you can just see the stuff. In these case you had to cut some square ends to make circles which is short for smuggling... not the safest of trip to jump from one side to another of the Imperial border, but a quite rewarding journey if done correctly. Unfortunately one of them had to be the last for me. The town guard finally caught on my shenanigans and a bad likeness of my face was sticked up every corner. Running was the only sensible option.
I end up in Skyrim, a handsome Dunmer looking for profit with a minimum of effort. It sounded easy at first, the locals are not that bright, even for humans. I decided to settle in a small border town in the south, Helgen it was called, and started making good money selling phony healing potions by mixing some Red Mountain flower with Snowberries. It is when I run out of the later and used Nightshade instead that things turned sour. How could I know that will be poisonous ! Its not because I disguised myself as a alchemist that I have any of the talent.
It could have been the end when the guards led me to the executioner block but some strike of luck got me out of this mess. Once free again I decided to get into a new kind of business. My reasoning was the following : the only reason the guard arrested me was because no one fear a mushroom farmer. If I had some sort of threatening aura they would never had dared to touch me. Aunt Anis always told me stories of these dreadful Telvani Mages that could conduct just about any dangerous experience without any repercussion. Once you have a big enough staff and robes to match no one give you a look and they just walk by the other side of the road. That I could work with.
Finding my first set of apparel was no easy task, but once my first staves accquired life became much easier. I could walk down the streets without anybody bothering me or giving me dirty looks. I was considered. Sure these nords they say they dont like mage. Pfuu
but they do fear it enough to live them alone or pay handsome money when they need their services. I was able to get some good deals with this new outfit, and to get out more easily of some situations. Still that was not enough.
First, the staves were starting to run low on energy and I had to use them more sparsely. And the less I used them, the less I was considered and the more problems came. Second, they started to be less effective or to be not enough to satisfy my goals. Routing a few half shaved bandits was nice and all, but it was still not working when faced with the damn bears or those oversized cats. I needed more power.
I started by taking it where it was. Court wizards, alchemist, those creepy necromancer in ill lighted cave, they all had some sort of useful gadgets : potions, scrolls, enchanted trinket and staves. Not always the most potent stuff but a few useful ones sometimes. The rest I was selling it to whoever was willing to buy. The money was always useful for something. Thats what lead me to the gate of the Academy, where one could find the rarest books, and the more secret artifacts. Getting in was easy, a few winks in the direction of the tall girl guarding the entrance did the trick and then I was up to my first lessons
. From there things gets wacky.
There, with a bunch of real mages studying my every move, I needed something special to give credit to my persona and a edge in my increasingly dangerous researchs. I studied the books again, the more arcane and ghoulish stuff, spiced up with every scratch or rumors gathered in tavern or less embellished places. You may find some of the things I discover around you, artifacts of dreaded power or incredible uselessness. Not everything was a sure hit, but to reveal each one was a challenge evermore astonishing. In the end I even dealt with daedra ; once you had to argue with the God of madness about the relevance of cheese in modern day literature, you can just debate about anything on the spot !
Long story short, one that almost make no sense and is full of sound and fury, I end up with the job and after some dedication to the menial tasks my « esteemed » colleagues build up the reputation of the greatest wizard of Skyrim ! That's a work of every instant to keep the illusion on : parlor trick has to be perform in the Jarl's court, small kids has to be impressed in the streets with sleight of hand and some asses has to be kicked in explosive fashion.
Now you know who I am, and if you have any sense left you should be at least mildly afraid of me. You can run away as far as possible, knowing that I will summon all figurative hell to find you back, a expensive move I concede but one I will do gladly to keep up the appearance. Or you can leave my stuff where it is and go see my friend Brygnolf in Riften, tell him I said you passed the test or whatever. He will most likely send you in a fool's errand that will see you killed, but thats his way of saying he likes you.
If you have any cells left in your brain you will take the deal. Of course if you can not read you won't even know there was one but as you can see I don't take ignorance for a excuse.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Race : Dunmer, Male, 50% resist fire is nice and Ancestor's Wrath is the only way to simulate at least one cloak spell
Stone : Thief until getting the aetherial crown and 60 in speech, then Steed as main and Shadow toggled in the crown for more regular use
Stat Repartition : 0 / 10 / 0, Full health if you want to stay alive, it will also fake high level flesh spells
Shouts : none, we are no dragonborn, and do you think we look like we can handle dragons ?
Followers : none, we look for spectators to watch us not followers who are stealing the light.
Difficulty level : up to you but I play adept/expert because I'm a big baby casual
The build :
Time to grow the beard
Just like some other great builds on this site, this is some kind of Wizard of Oz that is faking magic effects by using a large array of artifacts, tricks and "unsuspected game mechanics" (also known as glitch) and finish the Academy questline without casting a single spell of his own. That mean :
- This character don't use any magic or magic related (looking at you alchemy) skills, and by that I mean that they are not perked and not even dutifully increased in any voluntary way (except enchanting when recharging staves but i can't do otherwise)
- This character is not that great of a thief either. We are not going to stealth run the questline like any full committed sneak thief could. Sneak is not even a major perk in this build.
- This character is both a coward (meaning that he will avoid any though encounter like no one business) and a big attention whore that will use some of the most colorful ways to dispatch his enemy if the odds are in his favor. We will more often than not take head on our foes in the biggest waste of excessive display of (fake) power possible.
The skills :link
Do I look cool ? I do, do I...
Speech :
This one will get us out of many dead-ends and will allow us to buy scrolls and soul gems for a reasonable price. Thanks to merchant we can directly sell all the loot to mage merchant which make the whole process much easier.
Block :
Block is our way to simulate wards with spellbreaker. We need to be quick on our feets to render the effect of magic protection and being able to throw away enemies with shield charge is the special someting that make our "wards" that much awesome in the eyes of others. Also shield runing allow to go full speed in stealth mode which is a funny glitch we will use from time to time. No quick reflex since the whole point of this skill is to take hits and show everyone that it doesn't do much.
Pickpocket :
+ 100 in carry is essential with our arsenal of staves and other scrolls. It may sound funny but you will soon realise that carrying over a dozen staves and the ton of soul gems to keep them running is no small business. Misdirection is a nice sleight of hand that is essential to all good entertainer.
Lockpicking :
Golden touch and Treasure Hunter are the keys for late level benefits. More money mean less worry to charge the staves and better loot mean more chance to get the staves missing in your collection.
Sneak :
Sneak is the least perked skill and the only one from the classic Dunmer skillset. We only need Muffle to simulate the spell of the same name and use thief guild equipement with little malus. Stealth is not futher perked to keep the challenge on. Since we have a near infinite access to invisibility I thought that being too sneaky would be unfair.
Gameplay :
Phase One : the begining
Maybe the most challenging part of the game. You will feel very naked during the first ten levels or so. Even if at first five bandits and small wild life are easy to get rid of, soon the wild animals and then the draughs are going to become really dangerous.
This is the time to gather as much non leveled staves as possible, starting with the ones in Shalidor’s Maze and the wabbajack. I advise to rise quickly sneak at level 30 ASAP to be able to take the muffle perk and start wearing armor with no penality to sneak. Don’t spend too much of your perks points and keep some for Deflect arrows or other essential perks when you reach the skill level.
The rest of the leveling will come from speech and pickpocket, Riften is the best place for that with lots of speech related quest, a shrine of Dibella in Haelga’s bedroom and the thief guild equipment which with novice robes of destruction will be our first outfit.
The gameplay at these early levels is the one of a thief, avoiding detection at all cost, running away when we can. It is hard to get filled soul gems and we won’t have enough staves to make combat easy enough, but unleash their power from time to time to boost your ego a little.
This part of the game is over when you unlock The Only Cure quest, has both the Persuasion and Merchant perks and gathered at least the staves of Shalidor’s Maze and the staff of Paralysis.
Phase Two : working the system
At level 15ish we should be ready to get our hands on our favorite toys : Spellbreaker and the Aetherial Crown. I advise to start with the shield and then go for the crown, the reason being that most of the dirty tricks we will pull to get the first will be useful to get the second.
The quest The Only Cure is not a easy one for this character. The Afflicted are surprisingly tough opponents : not only are they leveled bandits that hit hard, are most of the times grouped on pack of three or four, but their poison attack is a nasty trick that will see the death of you. Hopefully the dwemer ruin they live in is filled with shadow corners that will allow you to bypass them in sneak mode. It will not be easy because they seem really good at picking target and we are not that good a thief, but if you study the pattern of the patrol and move slowly enough you will make it. Still there is some passage when you won’t be able to stay undetected, like full lighted room, dwemer automaton popping out, etc… but nothing a a invisibility potion or making the best of traps and hights can’t solve.
Killing Orchendor is another thing. In the end you still has to fight the damned mage solo and to be honest wining in a fair fight is not a option : not only is he tough, cast powerful spell, has a good enchanted dagger, but the worst is that he can teleport and that by some stroke of luck that make him invulnerable to any spell, even wabbajack !
You don’ t have the weapon to hit him hard enough, you can’t conjure anything strong enough to hit him hard enough and your staves are useless. Worst ! You don’t even have the skill for a effective sneaky assassination.But what you have is a cunning plan…
Before the boss room there is a centurion and four spiders guarding the entrance. You can bypass them with a invisibility potion but you can also loose them at a corner where pipes are blocking the way of the big one. Now what I have done is led Orchendor away from his chamber to this particular corner where the dwemer machines were stuck, jump out of the fight and start watching. The mage managed to kill two spiders and badly damaged the centurion but was smacked in the end. Funny thing the space was so cramped that when he tried to teleport he end up in almost in the same place and kept being hammered on. It work on the first try for me be if you fill he is gonna win, enter the frey and stagger lock him with shield bashes so that your unknowing allies can finish the job.
For the Aetherial Crown we will use the same techniques for the two dungeons we need to pass by. Lots of sneaking and pitting automaton and falmers against each other. As a side note try to kill one of the shaman and loot the corpse for the staff of frost damage they usually carry. We will need one against the Forgemaster. Against said enemy use Katria to focus the big bad clock attention while you shred his molten behind. Don’t worry too much about the flame attack since you are partially immune to them, maybe try to buy a enchanted rings or amulet to increase elemental resistance, but don’t let him get close.
Once both items are secure it is time to update our equipment. Start to look for the staff of chain lightning, either you can buy it to Neloth at Tel Mithryn or fin dit in boss chest. Some NPC also carry random destruction staves like Wylandriah or Kesh you can try to pickpocket. Blackguard’s boots, bracers & hood will be a nice update to your thief guild ones and look nice with some apprentice robes of destruction. At last charge the Crown with the shadow stone and put yourself under the steed and we are almost good to go. One last stop is to be done at Mor Khazgur where you will be able to train block to reach 70 and get Block Runner. Don’t forget to pickpocket back your money to also train this skill and perk extra pocket and misdirection.
This phase is over when you talk your way in the Academy, and get our atronach staves. Start Tolfdir first lesson and let the fun begin.
I've read enough lusty argonian books to know how it will end
Phase Three : on the path to glory
Fully equipped and ready to quick ass it is time to do the academy quest line. Now that you are at the Academy you can use the merchant perk to ditch all the loot to the teachers and empty their stock of soul gems to fill your staves or buy scrolls to play merry hell on your enemies. I don’t have any special advise on the general way of doing the questline, you can be all sneaky and trickery or goes all out with burning staves at the expense of a lot soul gems, maybe a little bit of both, it’s up to you. Still there is three situations that will be slightly more difficult and for which I have some words of advise :
First the fight against the magic anomalies. They are hard to hit, have a good resistance to weapon and there is ten of them. My advise is to call a storm atronach and repeatedly strike them with staves of chain lightling and fireball, it will be easier to hit them that way and collateral damage will be minimal since most oher NPC present are essential at this point.
Second is Morokei. As a dragon priest he can turn your atronach against you and know some spells by himself. Fist you could use his control daedra spell to stuck him with a less usefull sumoun like a weak flame atroncah, then Wabbadjack should deal enough damage and if you turn him into a rabbit it will make you laugh. Better to finish him with another staff in case the fickle artefact decide to backstab you at the last moment.
Last is Ancano, don’t let you distracted by the floating balls and get him. I strongly advise to have reached 100 in block to perk shield charge at this point : it will allow you to throw him away from the eye and cut his connection to it longer while you shield bash him to death. Once he bite the dust the other members of the academy should come to deal with the rest of the anomalies.
Once you have finished the Academy main quest line, it is time to chase collectible in your new robes. Starting level 24 you should get your hand on the Rose of Sanguin to enjoy the powerful dremora within. Another item worth mentioning is the dagger of Mehrunes Dagon, insta-kill dreadlords never gets boring. You should also look for the black books, at least because secret servant can carry all your legendary staves and secret of Arcana can let you use them more. At last, after getting the Skull of Corruption you should also make yourselves one nice manor with full wizard towers to show your new status.
Closing words :
Honestly it is rather unlikely that you will be able to perk everything you need at level 36 like in the initial perk spead, mostly because the last rank in haggling, shield charge and treasure hunter are hard to get in a spontaneous fashion. So you should have some extra perks to place, between 5 to 7 from the the inevitable increase in One-Hand and Enchanting. Here are some suggestions if you don't want to waste these points :
- 2 perks in enchanting for Soul squeeze.
- 2 perks in speech for investment and fence.
- 3 perks in block to increase shield bashes damage and disarm. Combine with vegetable soup it make you a real threat in close combat to laughable levels
- 4 perks in sneak make you way more sneaky and combine with the shadow stone make you untouchable.
Gathering the arsenal :
A little bit more on the left and that will be perfect
Spellbreaker (The Only cure) : Our most important piece of equipement. Not only it will allow us to pass Tolfdir first lesson without breaking the roleplay, but after that it will be our first and best line of defence against all the threats we will met. With our perks in block it will perfectly fake the most steadfast wards.
Atronach staves (Atronach Forge) : Each Daedra has its own use. The flame ones for diversion, frost ones hold back the enemy with its health and frost cloak, the storm ones for combat in the open against multiple oponent. Added perk of sumoning staves, they have unlimited range of conjuration !
Staves of Shalidor's Maze : Our first set of staves. The destruction one will be the most useful but remember the turn the undead and fear ones at low level when they are still relevant.
Staff of Fireball (North of Solitude next to the Talmor Embassy) : Hard to get at first levels since you have to avoid some sabercat but it is worth it. The wide zone of the explosion if perferct to deal with grouped assailant and its easier to aim than the other ones.
Staff of Chain Lightning (Looted in chest or pickpocketed onWylandriah in Riften) : Gods bless this one ! It's hard to get since I'm not sure the court wizard has always it on her. But damn is it useful. The auto-stagger that come with it is a blessing and the rippling effect really make things easier.
Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson (Under Saarthal) : It has a rapid firering rate and shock damages rarely met any resistance. It make for some good quick pace combat.
Staves of Flame and Frostbite (Looted in chest) : Classic but still effective enough.
Staff of Revenant (In a unmarked ruin south of Morthal) : Don't forget this one when draughs are around, a life saviour at early level when you don't have the atronachs staves to call for back-up.
Grand Staff of Repulsion (In Winterhold Jarl Chamber) : Always come in handy, powerful enough to turn the anoying undeads or to stagger the more dangerous ones.
Staff of Paralyze (Snapleg Cave) : for combat of course and to pickpoket back some money or stuff (but not too often) when necessary
Wabbajack (The Mind of Madness) : Boss dealer and general wild card, this little fella bring some flashy moves and a lot of fun. When you start using it be ready for the eventual backfire.
Skull of Corruption (Waking Nightmare) : With its rapid fire rate and good damage it is a general security blanket that can be coupled with Wabbajack to pick up the enemies already crippled by the wacky staff.
Rose of Sanguine (A Night to Remember) : To pick up at level 24 or 36 for the better version. The dremora is our best ally for close combat and pack a lot of punch.
Black books (Dragonborn) : for the flashy powers that we will incorporate in our special moves. Targets are Mora's Grasp, Secret of Arcana, Secret Servant, Lover's Insight and Seeker of Shadows.
Vegetable soup (Heartfire) : because mommy always tell us to finish our bowl, also infinite shield bashes if you are in a pinch.
Master Spell Scrolls : sold by any mage merchant, used for our explosive moves.
Sipder Scrolls (White Ridge Barrow) : Tthe elemental ones can reproduce the effect of a rune spell, the mind control ones some illusion, and the oil traps can fake a fire wall. More for show that for actual efficiency since I only get them quite late in the playthrough.
Combat :
Unfortunately Skyrim is first and foremost a action RPG and combat play a great role in it whatever the focus of your character. Combat for Le Magicien is like a great cabaret show where everything has to be prepared beforehand in order to perform his tricks.
The outcome of combat resolve around the possibilities allowed by your environment and your mastery of surprise. Hence I will divide this section in indoors and outdoors situation.
Outdoors fights :
Looks nice isn't it ? But there is three trolls behind you...
Skyrim is massively made of wild forests, baren deserts of ice and great rocky mountains. Out in the open you are way more sensible to ambush form random enemies like wild animals and highwaymen that may take you on the wrong footing if taken unprepared.
Being overhelmed by a stray sabercat is no small threat, especially at low level where your health is not high enough to sustain damage. Hoppefuly the Wild is vast enough for you to loose any oponent once you get back your wits, but running is not the only option even if it is a tempting one if the stakes are worthless.
Hills, cliffs and other lanscape milestones like giants camps are tools that a good shield charge can exploit to get rid of ambushers. It is also possible to use conjuration staves to buy some time to regroup and mount a counter-attack, fire atronach can lead away small ennies, frost block mobs while the storm ones are prefect to hit multiple target real quick.
The other kind of situation that can be met outdoors is storming the entrance of a dungeon. If it is big enough better to take the guards in small groups from in the fringe of the area. If they are concentrated in front of the doors, likely in small number, better go all out with chain lightning and fire ball to get rid of the weaker one and then call a summon to finish the job. But if you can throw someone from the battlement beforehand, that also make a good oppening move.
Indoors fights :
The warmth of a camp fire... telling stories to... Wait there is no one left alive to listen !
These are the ones we tend to win. Ill lighted corridors and cave bowels are perfect for our small sneak skills and allow to better address the situation. Look for traps to activate later, bottlenecks that can be filled by a frost atronach mass, main threat you can take by surprise or disarm with misderection, etc…
Three kinds of enemies are met especially in these conditions : Draughs, Dwemer Automatons and Falmers.
The undeads are like thougher bandits, imune to frost and with the bad habbit of conjuring forst atronach and casting frost spells. Hopefully there is some staves of replusion and scrolls that are made to deal with them especially. J'zargo's scrolls are a bit dangerous to use but can make wonders to thin the horde and don't forget guardian circle if you have to fall back against overhelming numbers.
Automatons are another kind of dull. They are resistant to elemental damage, some hit really hard and pop out of nowhere. Until you reach high enough level in sneak you will have troubles avoiding them 100% of the time. Hopefully the places they dwell in are filled with deadly traps that will help you dispose of them, but when stuck in a corner the only solution is to unleash your most powerfull artifact, it will be costly but since they usually drop some filled soulgems it should compensate the expense.
Last but not least the Falmers. Buggers are the worst, first they deal poison attacks, are at high level followed by pets insects that can cut you in half in a few strokes and at low level hit much harder than your common highwaymen. Not to mention the loot they drop is most of the time worthless better avoid them all the same when you can. And it is not that hard to do either since their cave are ill lighted and full of holes, a good way to increase the sneak skill.
A word about dragons, they are legends and don't exist ! Don't worry about these silly rumors, they are made up by these nords too afraid to loot the word walls. Go for the treasure chest but stay away from these talking things still, words are not supposed to make that sound...
Special Moves :
Master of the Storm !
Require : Staves of Jyrik Gauldurson, of Chain Lightning, of Storm Atronach
Unleash the power of the elements to your enemies. The two destruction staves are bugged and we take full advantage of that. The first one has a too quick fire rate compared with other staves of the same kind while the second auto-stagger each time it hit. Add a Storm Atronach in the mix and make short work of any resistance by bringing in the Thunder
Madness Unleashed !
Require : Wabbadjak and the Skull of Corruption
The awesome combination of two daedric staves, Wabbadjack can seriously hurt if he is in the mood and then you can finish the already damaged menace with the high firing rate of the skull.
Turning the tide !
Require : Staff of revenant and Grand Staff of repulse
Bring back the dead and turn off the ones that dont comply ! Not always the more effective but a good reminder to these necromancers of who is the boss
Frozen in time !
Require : Mora's Grap
Petrify the big one in the outer realms while you deal with its underlings, maniac cackle is mandatory
Shadow Wind !
Require : Aetherium crown with shadow stone, Block Runner and Shield Charge
One of my favorite. With Block Runner you can move in sneak mode at normal walking pace while staying hidden. Even better, with Shield Charge you can perform the charge in sneak mode too ! Even even better, I found out that in this case you just have to tap the sprint once to start an unlimited run regardless of stamina ! Turn invisible and knock down your enemies like a cyclone.
Dynamic Entry !
Require : Aetherium crown with shadow stone then Blizzard or Firestorm or Bane of the Undead scroll
Make your introduction knowned ! Blizzard will stuck the foes in place, Firestorm will burn to a crisp a good bunch of target and Bane of Undead will turn down draughs making them easy picking for your destruction staves.
Living the scene
...
Require : Blizzard or Firestorm or Bane of the Undead scroll then Aetherium crown with shadow stone
Same as the Dynamic Entry but the other way around. Cast the master spell then turn invisible. Excellent with a blizzard that will trap your dazed enemies suck in the cold while you reposition yourself for the kill.
Ascension of the Archmage and Doppleganger Archmage !
Require : Aetherium crown with shadow stone, Summon Arniels shade and Philter of the Phantom.
A totally expensive, pretty useless, totally worth it move. Just like living the scene prepare the casting of Arniels Shade and at the same time the ghost mage is conjured, disappear in the shadow. Then let the enemy attack your new ascended form while you post yourself in its back and break invisibility while drinking the Philter of the Phantom : Now there is two ghostly mages on the field ready to quick confused ass.
Unlimited Power !
Require : Secret of Arcana and Staves
Just enjoy your 30 seconds of unlimited use of your most costly toys.
Hells Pit !
Require : Staff of Fireball and Oil spider
Litter the floor with Oil Spiders and then turn them ablaze with the staff to open pits of fire everywhere.
Roleplay :
Our everyday inspiration...
The main idea to keep in mind when impersonating Le Magicien is that it is a character of extreme hubris, persuaded he knows better than anyone or that at least he can make everyone believe so. The sheer feeling of superiority ooze from every inch of this guy, especially when magic stuff is involved.
While dealing with mage, show your ambition and interest, even if you don’t understand half of what you’re saying ; a perfect example is the short dialogue you can have with Wylandriah in Riften : she is half mad and no one around will get a thing of your conversation with her but will believe it is a very astute and profound one. Conclusion, ignorance is a bliss… take advantage of it !
In the same way quests that involve magical artifacts or items are a priority, not necessary for a gameplay gain but better to build the role as a seeker of mystical curios. What better proof of your legitimacy that the countless research and expedition you’ve led in search of ancient knowledge ?
To better remember everyone of you higher status and that you are beyond petty mortal considerations avoid any politics. Thalmor, Imperials, Stormcloaks are just child's play. You see the big picture, forces of Oblivion are at your command ! Hence you are no courier to some snob Altmer or Tulius minion, and let’s not talk about the upstart Ulfrics…
At last, when at the peak of your power, it won’t hurt to show of a bit of your least aggressive trick be bemuse the common folks. Random invocation of fiery atronach or harmless spells like courage or mage light are a cheap way to make a attraction of yourself. But you can also aim higher and perform at the Jarl court, master spell scrolls of call to arms will rouse everyone spirit or a Bane of the Undead will ease the fear of vampire infiltration, that you will have cunningly inspire beforehand…
**************
Thank you for your advise and helpful comments and kudos to my predecessors the the Charlatant, the Freelancer and Oz, The Great and Powerful, to pay tribute to the builds that already pave the way for phony mages and other staves lovers.
