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WiP Character Build; Glass Cannon (Playtesting for Viability)

Tags: #Character Build Mage  #Race:Dunmer  #Baldur's Builds 
  • August 30, 2017

    [Volesa Radaus]

    Image result for dark elf mage female

     

    This is a build that will survive based on it's high Damage output. In this build health gain will be minimal and your physical defenses will be pretty light, so no close combat if you can help it. However, your magic defenses will be pretty high, my reasoning is because Glass isn't super weak to energy, as electricity, cold and heat can pass through it pretty easily, like through a window etc. However a few hits and it breaks. My goal is to create a challenging build that's still fun. This build maxes out at level 57. (My apologies if the art looks a bit "Sexy" finding art for a female wizard that isn't deliberately provocative is difficult)

     

    Image result for dark elf mage female

     

    Backstory

    Volesa hails from the lands of Morrowind, and is a daughter of a high ranking member of House Telvanni. As a child, she was always rather slow and sickly, she was never able to run and play with the other children, she was never physically strong and though house Telvanni were usually isolationists anyway, she always felt more like her isolation was forced upon her than one she made by choice. With nobody to play with and the grown-ups all treating her with pity which infuriated her, Volesa would often hide in the great libraries, reading tome after tome of stories, history, whatever she could get her hands on. When she reached adolesence she found a key someone had "accidentally" left on a table and ended up finding her way into the family's Magical library. She attacked book after book, eager for new things to read that weren't dusty tomes of family history and who bred with who etc, and soon she was confident enough to try her first spell.

    Summoning forth all her will, she concentrated all her energies into the palm of her hand, as the books said to do, and ignite the air in front of you.. "imagine all the heat pouring away from you" said the book. Well she tried.. and promptly blew her own eyebrows off. Startled and blinded she fell to the floor only to hear quiet laughter. Humiliated she started to run away, and bounced off a magical barrier. The laughter was coming from her father, who was a rather important mage in the house at the time, and his laughter wasn't mean spirited. He helped her up and dusted her off, then personally tutored her in magic, how to cast fire from her fingers, how to bend the minds of others, how to summon beings of fire to defend herself. Though her strength in magic grew greatly, her physical body never improved much. To teach her to keep herself safe from physical harm, she was sent to a friend of her Father's, who taught her how to make and maintain armour that was like glass in appearance, almost transparent but green and strong and light enough she could wear it without feeling strained by it. While she was learning, a group of bandits attacked, hoping to steal food, goods, whatever they could get. It was there that Volesa earned her nickname "The Glass Cannon" as while her physical strength was weak, her magical power was devastating.

    On that day, Volesa killed her first man.. and though she was heartily sick about it afterwards, her father's friend patted her on the back and praised her for learning all he could teach about armor. Though she regretted the kills, she found herself eager to kill again. She snuck out one night, tracking where the bandits came from and tried to take on their leader. Unfortunately, her pride nearly got her killed. If it wasn't for the fact that her Father, who had been coming to retrieve her, had seen her leaving the house that night and followed, Volesa would have easily died. The leader of the bandits was an orc wielding a warhammer the size of a small child, and would have pounded Volesa's head until it exploded if it weren't for her father. With atronachs and storm magic her father turned every last bandit in that fortress into a pile of ash and, for the first time, Volesa cried. She cried until there were no tears left in her.

    She just couldn't stop.. she never cried when her mother passed away, never cried whenever she was hit or picked on, didn't even cry the previous night when she killed her first person.. but the expression of that orc as they tried to smash her to bits with that massive bloodstained warhammer.. well you can imagine how terrified she was and all the sadness, all the hurt and fear from her life up until that point just flowed from her body. Her father was kind and understanding and decided some time away from the ashlands would do his daughter some good, sending her towards the Mage's Guild in Cyrodil. She attended the Guild until the War between the Aldmeri Dominion and the Imperials forced her into hiding.. she was an elf and they didn't really care WHAT kind of elf she was just that she was an elf. Many years later, a now adult Volesa attempted to sneak into Skyrim, hoping to hop a ship and head home, or at least to Tel Mithryn to find some form of refuge among her own kind and ended up caught crossing the borders with forged papers.

    She was able to escape with the aid of a kind Imperial man, who had tried to protect her from being executed. Though her long time in hiding had made her magic weak.. it was just like riding a silt strider, you never really forget. She had the ability to send fire from her hands and some control over storm magic.. she was certain if she dedicated herself she could become stronger than she had ever been before..

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/349650014705942529/352515028609662987/0Qyp6Ih.png

     

    Basic Information

     

    Race: Female Dark Elf. (Our main goal is to do the most damage we can to enemies, and with the Blessing of Dibella, we'll be doing extra damage to men, seeing as most enemies in Skyrim are male this gives us the highest benefit. Plus with the extra resistance to Fire, and the boost to your destruction, it fits the theme of what I'm going for perfectly.)

    Stone: Mage to start, this build will rely heavily on Magic to kill our enemies or shield ourselves from Magic, so we're going to need that. After reaching a decent level of your skills switch to Atronach for the Magic Absorb, We want Magic to be the thing we fear least but melee to terrify us.

    Stats Distribution: [8] Magicka | [2] Health | [0] Stamina. (Magicka is your primary goal here.. as until you can get some pretty hefty enchants going, you're going to need all the magicka you can get to keep blasting away your enemies. I also give you some points in health as you should be weak physically but it does help to have a few extra points here and there)

    Equipment: Early Game robes of destruction and any form of light armor.. you're going to want the boost to your magic. Jewelry should boost magic as well, you want your destruction to cost as little as possible, and your magic to regen as fast as possible. End game Glass armor, Enchantments Fortify Destruction, Fortify Conjuration. Glass Helmet (Fortify Conjuration Fortify Destruction) Glass boots (Resist Fire Resist Frost) Glass Gauntlets (Fortify Magicka and either Fortify Unarmed or Fortify Light Armor) Any necklace with Fortify Destruction and Fortify Conjuration, and any ring with fortify Conjuration and Fortify Destruction.

    Personality/Quirks: Though you have no particular love for the Daedra, you feel uncomfortable praying at the shrines of Imperial gods. (Only pray on Solstheim) You can be incredibly petty, often refusing to help people just because they were mean or rude to you. As such, you will endeavor to get Expert Destruction perk before talking to J'Zargo, so when he's like "Tell me have you mastered expert destruction" you can say you have and he can be thrown off by the fact that you're better than him. I would suggest avoiding the Companions.. you won't be getting Lycanthropy, and since Aela was rude to you because they killed a giant before you could get a single shot off you won't be joining them.. snobbish companions rude to you because they killed a giant... YOU could have killed it if you weren't coming from four farms away when you saw it... 

    Followers:This is one build I can't go with the blanket "get Cicero" since that requires completing the Dark brotherhood. As such, I will say Darkeesus of Darkwater Crossing, Serana, and then later Frea of the Skaal. All these companions are Essential, so your Destruction spells won't accidentally kill them if they run in front of you like an idiot.. though Serana can be tempermental and will attack you back eventually. Frea is an optimal choice as she uses magic and melee and can tank for you while you stay behind and support from afar. 

    Spouse:Any of the priestesses from the Temple of Dibella, since they were the first people to flirt with you besides Camilla.. and she already has a love triangle going so you have no desire to make it a love square or some other bizarre shape. Besides them, marry anyone who you choose, I won't restrict you to females, I personally just know which Skyrim ladies i like etc. 

    Black Book Bonusses: Dragonborn Flame, Secret of Sorcery, Mora's boon, Seeker of Sorcery, Lover's Insight (More damage against opposite sex again) Black Market.

     

    Image result for dark elf mage female

    Gameplay

    This build will be relying heavily on Fire and, later Storm magic as well to do as much damage to enemies as you can. You will also be relying on conjuration, as Flame atronachs and storm atronachs can really help in a pinch. Remember we wanna do as much damage at once as possible. 

     

    [Destruction]: Your main source of damage this build will be Destruction. We will be taking the Fire and Shock paths, Fire early game, Storm late game, as Storm does more damage and comes with that awesome Lightning Storm spell that's basically a beam of death. This will also ensure that Fire and Lightning staves will never run out of charge, as Destruction skill tree reduces the cost the enchants use as well..

    Perks Chosen: Novice Destruction, Destruction Dual-Casting, Impact, Augmented Flames (2) Intense Flames, Augmented Shock (2), Disintegrate, Apprentice Destruction, Adept Destruction, Expert Destruction, Master Destruction. 

    [Conjuration]: Your primary support skill. We will be utilizing Fire Atronachs and Storm Atronachs (and their thrall versions). No Necromancy, No Daedra (besides the one from the conjuration master quest)

    Perks Chosen:Novice Conjuration, Apprentice Conjuration, Adept Conjuration, Expert Conjuration, Master Conjuration, Conjuration Dual Casting, Summoner, Atromancy, Elemental Potency, Twin Souls.

    [Smithing]: Your only defense will be light armor in this build, so you'll wanna make it as strong as you can.

    Perks Chosen: Steel Smithing, Elven Smithing, Advanced Armors, Glass Smithing, Arcane Blacksmith.

    [Alteration]:At low levels this skill will prove useful with armor spells, but since we will be using armor at a higher level this doesn't need a lot of perks. I'm choosing to get the Atronach perk as well since this build needs to be as resistant to Magic as possible.

    Perks Chosen: Novice Alteration, Apprentice Alteration, Adept Alteration, Expert Alteration, Atronach.

    [Enchanting]: In order to be a Cannon you need to not run out of Magic midway through a fight. This will ensure both your conjuration and destruction spells cost next to no magic and can be cast almost indefinitely. Since we won't be using weapons we won't need the perks for frost ice and shock, as the resistance enchants on the boots are just extra options. You will want to focus on Insight and Corpuss, then Extra Effect so you can make all pieces 25 percent less to cast destruction and conjuration spells. 

    Perks Chosen: Enchanter (5), Insightful Enchanter, Corpus Enchanter, Extra Effect.

     [Light Armor]: This will be your main defense in this build, as you will be finishing in glass armor. Make sure to get all these perks so you can absorb as much damage with your armor as you can.

    Perks Chosen: Agile Defender(5), Custom Fit, Unhindered, Wind Walker, Matching Set, Deft Movement.

    [Illusion]: As part of her training, Volesa learned to manipulate the minds of others, so she could get out of any situation with ease, she is especially proficient in invoking fear and a sense of calm in others. She's also able to invoke anger in people to turn them on their foes.. (Don't take perks in this skill tree until after you've smithed your Glass Armor as high as you can get it, after that distribute the perks as I have listed using the Black Book to take the perks away from Smithing)

    Perks Chosen: Novice Illusion, Animage, Kindred Mage, Hypnotic Gaze, Aspect of Terror, Rage, Master of the Mind, Apprentice Illusion, Adept Illusion, Expert Illusion, Illusion Dual Cast.

    Image result for dark elf glass armor fire magic

     

    Quests/Roleplay

    (  is required    is optional   is Do not Do)

    Main Questline, Dragonborn, Dawnguard(Side With Dawnguard): Though you don't believe the Nonsense about you being a "Dragonborn" you do acknowledge you have abilities that the rest of Skyrim don't seem to have.. you can look at words on carved walls in ruins and it's like they burn themselves into your brain.. giving you a migraine, that none of your friends and followers seem to be able to do. As such, though you do not embrace the title as "Hero" but as one eager to learn, you learn from the Greybeards, then help the Blades destroy Alduin. After you destroy Alduin, you start to get annoyed about the weird Cultists that keep attacking you so you head to Solstheim to investigate and make this "Miraak" idiot leave you alone. In the process you meet up with your father's second cousin, a crabby mage named Neloth who lives in Tel Mithryn. It seems in your absence, House Telvanni has labelled you missing or dead and removed you from the house name and Neloth won't re-instate your title until you help him with some busywork. You also joined a group of Vampire hunters simply because you sure as heck weren't going to let one of them sink their filthy fangs into you, no sir. (Get Serana Cured but get Valerica out of the Soul Cairn, simply because she helped you, you owe her at least that one favor... besides you were in the Soul Cairn for a few hours. .days at most and it gave you nightmares for ages.. You feel sorry for Valerica)

     College of Winterhold (Full Questline) Since we will want access to the Master Conjuration spells and the master Destruction spells we will need to enter the College of Winterhold. Try to manage on your own until you reach adept/Expert Destruction as it would please Volesa to be able to brag to J'Zargo about mastering Expert Destruction before him. It's not necessary of course but she loves to be better at something than someone else.. She can be quite petty at times. Otherwise just follow the questline, destroy Morokei etc.

    The Dark Brotherhood/Destroy the Dark Brotherhood: Since this build has no need of any of the gear obtained from the Dark Brotherhood questline, and destroying the Dark Brotherhood would require you to go alone into the Dark brotherhood sanctuary where most of your enemies are melee and archery characters, you will not be joining or destroying the dark brotherhood. Volesa has no desire to be a murderer, creeping in and killing people in the night, but she also has no desire to be a hero.. though if assassins attack her she will murder that asssassin. 

    The Thieves Guild:You are also no petty thief who steals other people's hard earned valuables in exchange for your own profit. There are other ways to earn coin besides taking what others have, and you have no desire to break the law. As Such, the Thieves Guild is Off limits. 

    Civil War (Side with the Imperials): Though you have no love for the Empire in general, the way you were treated when you visited the Stormcloaks in Windhelm was offensive and vulgar. As you entered the gate you saw one of your own kind being accused of being a spy, and your kind live in a slum. You have decided you need to stand up for your people and went to the Imperials, who decided they could use a powerful mage on their side after all.. that whole business in Helgen was probably just a huge misunderstanding... 

    Sybyl of Dibella: If you do any of the Divine quests at all, you have to do the Sybyl of Dibella. The Extra damage against the opposite sex will ALWAYS come in handy, not to mention the flirty Dibellan priestesses made you blush.. nobody had ever called you attractive or flirted with you before.. 

    The Black Star: You heard that a mage had done some experiments with the Star of Azura, trying to sever it from the daedric influence. As you have no particular feelings of loyalty to Azura, though many of your kind worship her, you never had any particular love for her and feel that an unlimited black soul gem would be useful. Who cares if trapping the souls of bandits is "Necromancy" and "Evil" you can't enchant without the souls and if the're dumb enough to attack you then they can strengthen you. 

    The Black Books:Always hungry for knowledge, when you start finding otherworldly "Books" leading to the realm of Apocrypha, you make a point of finding every single one you can get. The blessings are powerful, and you can find many high level spells, scrolls, soul gems and other things inside them, which will benefit you in the long run.

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/349650014705942529/352515074486697986/48lbtqP.png

    Closing Notes

       THIS BUILD IS BEING PLAYTESTED. I will add a combat section later. THANKS TO TEINEEVA FOR HELP FINDING THE ART!

  • August 30, 2017

    Added quests. Added some personality quirks and a few roleplay restrictions and reasons for them. Any improvements please suggest them etc.

  • August 30, 2017

    Altered skills a bit, added Illusion since in the backstory I say she learned to manipulate the minds of others. Added the instruction to, after improving glass armor, redistribute perk points into Illusion. Build now caps out at 53. May raise that to 57 and take Illusion up to expert.

  • Member
    August 31, 2017

    (My apologies if the art looks a bit "Sexy" finding art for a female wizard that isn't deliberately provocative is difficult)

    Long may that continue! :D Firstly, I had to read twice before I got the Glass Cannon thing - normally that means you're super vulnerable, whereas Glass Armour is actually pretty decent. Now I'm up to speed with the pun, although should point out that glass is actually malachite, a volcanic crystaline material far stronger than glass... ahem. 

    Character and backstory is cool, I like that. 

    As for skills, still a massive build with two crafting skills. Mate, you should have been here for the Two in Two Weeks event Varg'Ette ran. Two skills only, level 25 was where I got with a glass cannon using detruction and archery. Sometimes less is more. If you were to strip it all back and just give Volesa Light Armour and Destruction, how much would you really lose? The core concept could shine the brighter just by using glass armour and fire/shock magic. 

  • August 31, 2017

    Paws said:

    (My apologies if the art looks a bit "Sexy" finding art for a female wizard that isn't deliberately provocative is difficult)

    Long may that continue! :D Firstly, I had to read twice before I got the Glass Cannon thing - normally that means you're super vulnerable, whereas Glass Armour is actually pretty decent. Now I'm up to speed with the pun, although should point out that glass is actually malachite, a volcanic crystaline material far stronger than glass... ahem. 

    Character and backstory is cool, I like that. 

    As for skills, still a massive build with two crafting skills. Mate, you should have been here for the Two in Two Weeks event Varg'Ette ran. Two skills only, level 25 was where I got with a glass cannon using detruction and archery. Sometimes less is more. If you were to strip it all back and just give Volesa Light Armour and Destruction, how much would you really lose? The core concept could shine the brighter just by using glass armour and fire/shock magic. 

    I can understand that I suppose.. but I suppose I would have focussed more on the Magical skills than the crafting, swap out crafting for illusion or something

  • September 16, 2017

    Paws said:

    (My apologies if the art looks a bit "Sexy" finding art for a female wizard that isn't deliberately provocative is difficult)

    Long may that continue! :D Firstly, I had to read twice before I got the Glass Cannon thing - normally that means you're super vulnerable, whereas Glass Armour is actually pretty decent. Now I'm up to speed with the pun, although should point out that glass is actually malachite, a volcanic crystaline material far stronger than glass... ahem. 

    Character and backstory is cool, I like that. 

    As for skills, still a massive build with two crafting skills. Mate, you should have been here for the Two in Two Weeks event Varg'Ette ran. Two skills only, level 25 was where I got with a glass cannon using detruction and archery. Sometimes less is more. If you were to strip it all back and just give Volesa Light Armour and Destruction, how much would you really lose? The core concept could shine the brighter just by using glass armour and fire/shock magic. 

    Totally with Paws on this. For the two in two I did destro and alteration. That being said, I like the pun and glass isn't usually an armor I go for, so cool. With followers almost anything is viable, so have fun with your playtest.