Prolific builder, helpful CB host, and a talented artist to boot..? Can you guys seriously believe that our own Curse Never Dying hasn't had a spotlight yet? When I scrolled through the list of previous Spotlights, I was beyond shocked to find that one of our most active members (let alone the things mentioned above!) had yet to have a write-up in his honor. With ten builds that have soared to Legendary under his belt (a few of which could qualify for Super-Legendary if such a rank existed) and more on the way, the guy deserves a really big round of applause for all the dedication and amazing content he's contributed to the site. To be honest, his moment in the light is so stupidly overdue that when we discussed who to feature for this month's Spotlight, I insisted this time around it had to be his turn.
Though we’ve come to know the CB Host as Curse Never Dying, CND, or simply "Curse," his real name is Hantz. Having a moniker that's challenging for some people to pronounce has proved entertaining for him, though he claims his middle and last name are even more challenging to say. He was born in New York, but his family moved to Boston when he was four. Moving from one city to another that share a huge sports rivalry, he's found fertile ground for amusement there, too. Though he personally doesn't care for or follow sports, he enjoys trolling fans of one team by pretending to support the other. Ahh, there really is nothing like riling up some overzealous sports fans!
Curse makes his living as a soldier for the U.S. Army, which to him is "a job that does not come well-recommended." His specialty in the military is air defense operations. He'd tell us all more about it but, you know, that's classified. All security clearance joking aside, he says in his free time his main hobby outside of gaming is art… either that or chasing his "four poorly behaved dogs around."
From the content he writes, to the kinds of builds he creates, and the useful feedback he leaves for aspiring builders, it's immediately apparent that Curse cares deeply about the site and its membership. A member himself since 2013, he found the site as most of our members do: looking for a place where people shared builds.
But I wanted something more in-depth than a simple two paragraph concept. I can't remember precisely which build brought me to the site, but I do remember the first ones that left me in awe; builds like Henson's Fearmonger, Raidriar's Crusader, Mason's Sentinel, and No snakes aLive's War-Priest and Shadowmancer got me hooked.
Inspired by the work on the then Skyrim Blog, he set out to emulate and become one of the best builders the site had to offer. And it's a good thing he did, because it's also how he discovered his artistic talent. Anyone who's read through one of Curse's builds can see how much care he puts into them, and the fact that he creates his own original artwork for them is a testament to this.
When I first joined the site I honestly believed all the top builders did their own build artwork. I wanted my builds to stand out as much as theirs, so I set out to learn to draw. It was daunting at first, but somehow I've managed to pick it up fairly quickly. My first attempts were so bad that I'd be bright red with embarrassment if anyone saw them. Fast forward to today and I still have much to learn. Whenever I need to be humbled, I head to DeviantArt to see what the real artists are up to.
Of his own builds that he's completed, his favorite is The Knight Cleric, which he says forced him well out of his comfort zone and took a whole year to perfect. Obviously it was all time well-spent, because his dedication and hard work really show. Three pieces of self-made artwork, synergistic gameplay, and interesting roleplay that puts players above the law by serving the gods, and has players struggle with choices most people usually take for granted are what make this build shine.
The range of builds Curse has come up with is truly remarkable. Play as an honorable close quarters fighter that makes full use of the dual-wielding mechanic, or breed absolute chaos with armies of undead, toss enemies around like rag dolls, and concoct some truly sinister poisons. No matter who you are or how you like to game, Curse has come up with a build that you'll love to play. So there's little wonder as to why he's such a natural fit to help host the group that's most vital to the success of the site, Character Building. As Host, he considers it an absolute privilege to be in the driver's seat of the group. When asked if he had any favorite builds on the site, he felt that picking a select few would be impossible, but he considers the works of Mason, Raidriar, Teccam, Tae, and Elysium to be among his favorites.
It also stands to reason that character building is part of the reason why he loves The Elder Scrolls so much: the near limitless options that are available to players makes for really interesting gaming.
There's never been sandbox-style game as free and open as The Elder Scrolls series. We're 900 builds and four years into Skyrim and we're still cranking out new and interesting builds with no end in sight. That says some things about a game. Great things.
As far as gaming in general goes, Curse mostly sticks to RPGs. He admits that there's nothing he likes better in a game than a very well-told story. Curse's favorite classic RPGs are games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7. When asked about any upcoming games he's excited about, he said:
I don't know where to start. We have Fallout 4, Mass Effect Andromeda, and a remake of Final Fantasy 7. There couldn't be a better time to be alive and gaming right now.
I think we all couldn't agree more.
Speaking of consensus, I think we can also all agree that Curse is not only an amazing contributor to the site, but he’s a huge part of the strong pulse that keeps it going. His enthusiasm for the Elder Scrolls series, genuine and deep commitment to the community, and willingness to help others is exactly what we need around here. So please help me in congratulating and thanking Curse for his amazing work and countless hours spent helping to make our site great.
Spotlight prepared by Edana
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