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WiP Character Build: The Arch-Atronach (On hold)

Tags: #Character Build Witchhunter  #Character Build Summoner  #Character Build Bound Weapons  #Race:Orc  #Long-Chapper Build 
  • October 21, 2016

    This build, my conception of how I imagined Urag gro-Shub to be based on a single line of his dialogue mixed with some aspects of his UESP class description, when completed, will take you through some severe handicaps (no magicka regen, chronic disease, an aversion to magicka potions) to become an engrossing, rp-heavy build that features exciting - you can fail - mechanics that give poingancy to our favorite librarian. I present to you...

    Lots to do here, for this build, based on Urag gro-Shub from the College of Winterhold, to come to life. In the UESP, he's listed as a scout or a combat scout, which include the skills light armor, archery, sneak, and restoration.  He wears only adept robes of Conjuration, boots, and carries an Orcish dagger. His spells are frostbite, fast healing, and lesser ward. Yeah, you read that right, not a single bloody atronach. Yet he says this right when you first meet him. 

    "You are now in the Arcanaeum, of which I am in charge. It might as well be my own little plane of Oblivion. Disrupt my Arcanaeum, and I will have you torn apart by angry Atronachs. Now, do you require assistance?"

    Atronachs, he clearly says Atronachs, plural, meaning more than one and yet where? Where are his Atronachs? When you attack him, you don't even get a familiar. With this build, I'm here to change that. I will keep some of his UESP skills and draw other skills based on his dialogue in addition to exploring some mechanics to reimagine one of my most favorite of Skyrim npcs, exploring some fun limiting mechanics along the way. Excited to use his quotes from the game. As for gameplay, get ready for a challenge. Borrows Oblivion elements and a retro vibe and we will finally get an explanation why the Necromancer's amulet is in Skyrim. :D

    Race: Orc

    Stats: put it all in health

    Stone: PC players: True Atronach - Spell absorption and the +50 magicka of the Atronach stone coupled by two forms of Witbane equals no magicka regen, or the true Oblivion-style atronach.

    Console players: Either Advanced Atronach, or standard Atronach, the key is that you want to retain your summons ability which is what the True Atronach on PC gives you. If you can catch Witbane, all the better, so I encourage fearlessness, especially around saber cats and other thtings that give witbane. 

    Glitches: True Atronach & Staff Summons Glitch which are contingent on a Patched game.  On pure Vanilla, your glitch will be the Summons glitch which happens when you take the atronach stone. 

    Skills: I've messed arouund with this soooo many times, you have no idea. They call Urag a scout in the UESP and part of me wanted to stay a little true to that, but put in my own spin. He's a scout for books. He's also extremely learned. Just go listen to his lecture on Shalidor and 'nuff said, so after many months struggling what to do with him, I decided to make him at least novice level in all forms of arcana. I also paid close attention to the quoted line above. Atronaches. While his major skills are Conjuration, Alteration, and Archery (that's the scout in him), he also is competant in one-handed, destruction, restoration, illusion, though I stay away from enchanting as this is a no crafting build

    Tested Difficulty: Expert, Adept with difficulty mods.

    Crafting: None. He's an Orc, a crusty Orc and his bow and blade from Oblivion.

    Gear: I'll do some explaining with this one.

    College Robes - Adept Robes of whatever. Endgame gear will be archmage robes. 

    Vokun - 20% cost reduction to all three magic schools being used. More than enough to compensate for the lack of reduction anywhere else.

    Necromancer's Amulet - Another +50 magicka, thank you, yes. In additon to a 25% cost reduction to conjuration spells, even better. The -75% health and stamina regen only adds to the roleplay of Urag being old. Expect some fun in Urag's backstory that ties into the Quest Blood on the Ice and the Mythic Dawn (When an ambitious young mage makes a dark pact...). I always wanted a roleplaying justification for doing this quest. Well, I found one, both Wuunferd the Unliving and Calixto have ties to the college of Winterhold. Where did Calixto get this amulet from? It never says and this Orc does not like it when things of his go missing...

    Boots of elemental resistance -  Savos Aren keeps taking his boots! Tolfdir keeps losing his Alembic, what's wrong with these mages? Or, did they just send an assassin for me? Well, they're gonna find themselves in a lot of pain. Until then, any boots are fine, even armored ones, you're not taking mage armor perks.

    Gauntlets of either archery or wielding - self explanatory. 

    Weapons: Bound bow (obtainable at level 1 at Fort Amol), possibly Gauldur Blackbow, Staff of the Storm Atronach (the source of his power), war axe (He's an Orc), bound sword to be later replaced with bound bow and a war axe (yay Morrowloot)

    Alignment: Whatever gets the job done and ensures the safety of his books. He's not a nice as you think he is. There will be thievery. 

    Spells: All Atronachs, bound bow, bound sword, Banish, Equilibrium (he takes his chances!),

    Blessings: None, only freaking chronic Whitbane, a disease, so you're gonna spend a lot of time wandering the wilderness stepping on traps and letting sabre cats bite you. HAHA. This disease gives poor Urag an extra -25%, nope -50%  to his magicka regen, bringing them on par with the stunted Health and Stamina from the Necromancer's Amulet. But he won't let these little things stop him because he's got a Library to tend to and a college to save. Possibilities include:  Azidal's genius, Seeker of Socery, Scholar's Insight, Mora's boon, Secret of Protection or Arcana, other powers. The dilemma is that there are no shrine blessings so I can keep Whitbane as a permanent effect. Berserker. If you are playing pure vanilla, then Julianos is nice. 

    Followers: None, only his babies, the atronachs. Perhaps he will occasionally take an apprentice out for a spin to test their mettle. 

    Shouts: He's not Dragonborn, he leaves that to a certain Knight-Paladin of Auri-El who he's besties with! 

    Quests: College of Winterhold, Dragonborn books, Discerning the Transmundane, Dawnguard (Elderscrolls and Ancient Falmer texts), Shalidor's Insights, Urag's book quests, Shalidor's maze (Urag is an expert on Shalidor), Blood on the Ice, a Scroll for Anska, Waking Nightmare, The Cursed Tribe. Another book-lover build of mine. And artifacts. I can justify him starting the thieves guild just for Vekel the Man's quest. :)

    Mods: I will have both SSE and Oldrim mods. You can play both ways, but to get the effects of the True Atronach glitch, you'll need to play on PC with the Unofficial patches.  You can still play Urag on Vanilla, but he will have some regen, slow and during combat, it's a scary crawl, but you'll still have it.  Highly recommended are Morroloot, either Immersive College of Winterhold or Magical College of Winterhold, The Midden Expanded, Real Bows, Legacy of the Dragonborn, Undeath, interesting NPCs, anything book related. Alternate start or Skyrim Unbound, so he doesn't have to be the Dragonborn. I'm going to test him on Oldrim, as WICO looks better there, but I've tested the glitch in SSE too.  

    So much to do still, but I'm closer to where I want him to be. He actually became a bigger build, level 45 or so depending on the use of Illusion.  

  • Member
    October 22, 2016

    This looks like being another masterpiece Mrs, I love this character, he is so direct, he dont pussyfoot around, and I would imagine there is a lot of his personality in his combat methods, you have got him to a tee so far Lis, good luck with the play test, I am playing this when its done. +1

  • Member
    October 22, 2016

    The concept of this build just makes me grin. I'm imagining a grumpy Orc wondering about and cursing loudly as he steps on every trap he doesn't see and keeps getting bitten in the arse by Sabre Cats. Seems like the tyoe of guy that you'd smirk about it private, but shit yourself if he looks at you.

    I think it would be hilarious to give him a focus on Frost magic - 'You think I move slowly? Well now you do too!' Mayeb it could be RPed as even bandits and criminals feeling guilty about attacking an old geezer, so they approach slowly and reluctantly. But the use of Bound weapons a good idea, he may be a mage, but he's an Orc at heart, so he can still beat the stuffing out of you, even if it's with magic.

    I'm getting an Old Orc feeling of this guy as well (not least because he is an old Orc). Walking around not giving caring about who attacks him, as he knows he'll probably win, which would be as much Orc pride as the knowledge he wields. Only books and his babies keep him going, and so the use of Equilibrium to protect both of these at the cost of his own life fits perfectly. Are you going to use the advanced version? It would fit better, in my opinion, like some ancient text he read gave him the ability to make it more powerful, or his love of his atronachs inspires him to make more of a sacrifice.

    Shouts I think would be a great addition to the build. Harnessing old power fits an old librarian well (RP them as fancy spells, not shouts), and the cooldown could be his memory being bad, and him forgetting how to cast them (which would also explain why he doesn't have them right away).

    Do you think using a Hearthfire house to make his own library would fit? His commitment to the College kinda suggests not, but having backups under his direct protection would be an endeering apsect of the character, and would really help RP. I can't see this old guy building a house with his hands, they're too arthritis riddled, but either Telekenesis or a young whippersnapper follower could fit (Onmund springs to mind, but Sven is fairly local and could fit as well). Perhaps a local boy who wants to be a librarian, who is rewarded with looking after the library in Urag's absence.

    Have you give any thought to Urag's religion. Because him being a heathanous Trinimac worshipper seems almost to perfect to me. It would give him reason to leave his stronghold, pursue a life of order (librarians seem the type to love order and all that) and be the reason why a libarian would be killing bandits in his search for books, he wants order as well.  The effect on the character could be massive as well, ignoring or even fighting ORc strongholds, rejecting Orc culture as much as possible, the possibilities are endless.

  • October 22, 2016

    “The books?” Barked Urag. Story time be damned, the Imperial was going to have to wait for Bumph and Ronnie to finish their tale. Books always took precedence.

    “The books are acquired and in storage in at the Synod building.” Replied Faralda with a professional tone.

    “Were you able to obtain all the copies from the dealer in Alinor?” Urag asked. Not many were allowed into Alinor now, especially since the Great War, but Urag had steered Arch-Mage Aren well, advising him to hire both Faralda and Nelecar, for the two Altmer enjoyed relatively good standing within the Aldmeri Dominion and were therefore allowed to travel within the province. They could get him the prized Altmeri volumes which were so scarce in the mainland now. Not the Thalmor garbage, but the pure Altmeri texts. They still did not beat his “Book Savior”, though. Ronnie could acquire rare books from the most obscure places.

    “Yes.” Nelecar nodded.

    They both watched as the Orc Mage clapped his hands together and grinned. “Praise be to Malacath. Those will make a fine addition to the College’s Library.” Urag then let out a belch and took another sip of mead. “Where the Oblivion is the little Bosmer, he get lost? Or…” The Orc laughed, “He in the crate?” Urag was referring to Enthir, his third suggestion to Arch-Mage Aren. Another in relatively good standing with the Aldmeri Dominion. While he didn’t deal specifically in books, he was able to acquire some pretty rare items and ingredients.

    Straag Rod: Book 1, Part 1, Chapter 20

    Lissette has the character perfectly planned. 

  • October 22, 2016

    So, I think I'm pulling this one from the event. Not because it doesn't fit, but frankly, I want a teeny bit of free time to play the remaster with my favorite silly khajiit and two builds for the event, isn't going to let me. I'll keep working on him though. I am sold on the idea completely. 

  • October 24, 2016

    Sometimes, restarts are necessary. I felt that I could start this build better and I really want to avoid being dragonborn, but I want dragons in the air!

    So, I installed.

    Alternate Start

    Immediate dragons

    For vanilla players, this can be solved by just going through Helgen and doing the MQ up through Dragon Rising and then don't go to High Hrothgar. You can then head to solitude and pick up unenchanted robes from Radiant Raiment. 

    Okay, so I learned that Witbane reduces your magicka regen by 50% off your base value. Holy crap that sucks, but at the same time, it's awesome. Battled my way to almost Windhelm (stopped at the scholar's house for the quest mod) and what a tricky balance waiting for the regen to catch up. Journeyman's nook also yielded an Elven dagger and a bow. Also, when you do Alternate start and pick start at the mage's guild, you are equipped with unenchanted robes. WIN. I got until the end of the week to make a decision on this build. But right now, I'm pretty fascinated by the balancing mechanic, especially since I plan on using Equilibrium in the endgame. 

  • Member
    October 24, 2016

    I'm loving the idea, Liss! Will you be using Thralls in addition to Atronachs? (I realize the Fire/Frost/Shock Thralls are permanent Atronachs, but if the game makes a distinction, I may as well ask.)

  • October 24, 2016

    WuYiXiang said:

    I'm loving the idea, Liss! Will you be using Thralls in addition to Atronachs? (I realize the Fire/Frost/Shock Thralls are permanent Atronachs, but if the game makes a distinction, I may as well ask.)

    I'm not certain I'll even need to go to the master level thralls, I've never really needed to when playing conjurers, but it would be fun to have his little permanent entourage. I laughed like an idiot when the Exterminator went around whiterun with his posse of spiders. 

     

  • Member
    October 24, 2016

    Think of it as... a security entourage. :D

  • October 24, 2016

    WuYiXiang said:

    Think of it as... a security entourage. :D

    Hehe, yeah, and that certainly has its appeal. 

    Right now, priority is getting back the amulet somebody stole from him. His contact in the Guild, Enthir, after some roughing up, said that the Guild wouldn't do that to THE Urag gro-Shub, so now he's gotta go to Windhelm. A few nights ago, he entertained a few old college buddies from Windhelm, Wuunferth and Calixto, and then his amulet went missing, so he's gonna ask them if they've seen it, the Orc way.