MARK OF THE AKAVIRI (True Ninja Build Idea)
Little to nothing is known about the culture of the Men of Akavir, other than the fact that they seem to heavily mirror Asian culture through their armor, weapons, and buildings.
~ ( as taken from http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Akavir_(Race) )
A ninja (忍者) or shinobi (忍び) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan who specialized in unorthodox warfare. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, and open combat in certain situations. Their covert methods of waging war contrasted the ninja with the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat.
~ ( as taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja )
MAJOR SKILLS: Sneak, Alchemy, Pickpocket
MINOR SKILLS: Smiting, Enchanting, Illusion
STANDING STONES: Thief, Serpent
M/H/S: 170, 310, 310 (At Rank 50)
RACE: Any is fine, I prefer Khajiit because of Seeing in the Dark because of mods.
SHOUTS: Disarm, Whirlwind Sprint
QUESTS: Either Dark Brother Hood, or Thieves Guild.
SKILL NOTES:
- Sneak: Main skill of a Ninja, everything happens out from the shadows. If a Ninja was seen it was because he wanted to be seen.
- Alchemy: Ninja, used poison darts, and arrows as well as tonics to assassinate their targets, as well as dreaded Black Eggs that was thrown in the face of the enemy to disorientate them.
- Pickpocket: Slipping poisons into drinks or food unseen is a vital tactic of a ninja.
- Smiting: Making tools and weapons is as important as doing a mission itself. No piece of equipment was without a vital use.
- Enchanting: Sometimes a Ninja was so accurate with the bow it was as if a spirit guided it, or his Gi so dark it looked like shadows.
- Illusion: Sometimes Ninja was thought to do inhuman deeds, as suddenly vanish, or walk on water.
ADVANCED SKILL NOTES:
- Sneak: This should be the main skill you should focus on, and try to get to 100. Backstab and Deadly Aim is preferred perks, but not Assassin’s blade as you will carry a 1 handed sword and no daggers. Some would argue that daggers can be considered to be throwing stars, but since you can’t throw daggers in this game without a mod it makes no sense to have them. Others will argue that Ninja had an array of weapons in case they got disarmed. This is not true, most TOOLS a ninja carried with him was exactly that, a tool, even the Ninjato sword was used for stepping onto walls or trees, or digging holes. Also, if a ninja is disarmed, it means he was seen, or caught an aware which is not true of the ninja. Ninja used to observe the place they would infiltrate for days, studying guard routines, entry points, and high places to hide in. At rank 25 it is advisable to have at least 10 perks in Sneak.
- Alchemy: This is to create poisons you will dip your arrows in, as well as smear or splash over your sword if you are discovered. If opportunity presents itself and you can cut your opponent down with your sword, then it is also smeared over the edge of your sword. Because you will only ever have 1 sword in your main hand, and your other hand open to reach for tools or poisons, it is perfectly acceptable to use poisons while in melee. It can be seen as your free hand grabs a perfectly placed poison and splashing poison on the blade while doing dodge and acrobatic moves to stay clear of your opponent. At rank 25, having 7 perks in alchemy is feasible, up to Concentrated Poison.
- Pickpocket: This is mainly for RP purposes. Since you can’t actually put poison in food or drinks in the game, this is the next best thing we can do. If possible try get at least 5 perks at rank 25 up to Poisoned Perk.
- Smiting: Only 2 ranks are needed in Smiting at rank 25, most notably the Arcane Blacksmith. Ninja were known to pick up the weapon of their targets if it was better than what they had previously, again enforcing weapons as being mere tools to get the job done.
- Enchanting: Since Ninja never wore armor, so your Gi will be cloth only. But on the other hand, Ninja trained their bodies to do amazing feats and have great stamina and endurance. To make this possible in our RP build, buffs such as Health, Heath regen, Stamina, Stamina regen, muffle, and Waterbreathing is the preferred choices.
- Illusion: The only spell that will be used is Invisibility. And to keep this for the direst of situations, no perks are to be placed in illusion. This skill should be considered as using a great amount of preparation and meditation, and thus can only be used once a day. As an option, one can leave the Invisibility Spell, and rather use The Shadow Stone. But this might interfere if you wish to use The Thief or Serpent Stone instead.
GEAR OPTIONS:
- Weapons: Angi’s Bow or Bow of the Hunt are good choices as it can be enhanced with Steel Ignots, but if you prefer more rp, then the Hunting Bow is your best bet as it requires the steel perk in Smiting to enhance. Concerning sword, Blades Sword is an obvious choice. Additionally you can try get your hands on Bolar’s Oathblade or Dragonbane. All three these swords have a Katana graphic which really fits in with this build.
- Gi: Shrouded Hood, Shrouded Shoes and Shrouded Hand Wraps from joining the Dark Brotherhood are classed as clothing, and has got some good buffs, especially at starter levels in the game. The Mourner’s Clothes for the chest can be bought at Radiant Raiment, and is nice because it is black without any enchantments.
- Mods: Installing Immersive Weapons and Armors will give you a greater variety of lore-friendly gear to choose from if you are a PC user.
EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL GEAR ENCHANTMENTS:
POISONS, ELIXIRS AND SPECIAL MOVES:
JUNGLE FROG POISON: (Paralysis/DMG Health/Lingering DMG Health)
Human Flesh, Imp Stool, Orange Dartwing, Slaughterfish Eggs, Slaughterfish Scales
(Good against most enemies)
DEVIL FISH POISON: (DMG Health/Lingering DMG Health)
Imp Stool, Orange Dartwing, Mora Tapinella, Nirnroot, River Betty, Slaughterfish Eggs, Slaughterfish Scales
(Good against Ranged enemies with Bows)
BLACK EGGS: (DMG Health/Weakness to Poison/Slow)
Abecean Longfin, Bleeding Crown, Chaurus Eggs, Deathbell, Giant Lichen, Large Antlers, Pine Thrush Egg, River Betty, Saber Cat Tooth, Small Antlers
(Good against Melee Enemies)
FEAR OF THE DARK SHOT: (Damage Magicka/Ravage Health/Fear)
Cyrodilic Spadetail, Eye of Saber Cat, Namira's Rot
(Good against Solitary Mages)
FEAR OF THE MIST SHOT: (Damage Health/Damage Magicka/Frenzy/Damage Magicka Regen)
Falmer Ear, Glow Dust, Hanging Moss, Human Heart, Nightshade, Troll Fat
(Good against groups of Mages)
ELIXIR OF THE EMPEROR: (Fortify Health/Restore Health)
Blue Dartwing, Blue Mountain Flower, Butterfly Wing, Charred Skeever Hide, Eye of Saber Cat, Giant's Toe, Swamp Fungal Pod
(Good when detected and unable to go back into Stealth)
ELIXIR OF THE DRAGON: (Fortify Marksman/Fortify One Handed)
Bear Claws, Canis Root, Elves Ear, Hanging Moss, Hawks Feathers, Juniper Berries, Small Pearl
(Good for setting up Stealth Shots – Combine with Poisons - or when resorting to Melee weapon)
GAME PLAY AND TACTICS:
The game play is fairy simple and follows the normal stealth based build. Typical dungeon exploration would be. Sneak, observe, calculate, dip arrow in poison, shoot at enemy, if the enemy does not die and has not spotted you yet, dip another arrow and shoot him again. If they still don't die and move to your location, move away to another hidden location and wait till they lose interest in you. If you are discovered, and cannot shrink back into the shadows, you pull out your Ninjato and prepare for some intense close-quarters-combat. During this phase, try to dodge all physical attacks from the enemy darting back and forth, in and out of combat. While doing this splash poison on your blade every so often, but do not try to spam it as that will be unrealistic. Block if you have to. If you don't die and slay your enemy, your number one objective is to slink back into the shadows. Bonus points for putting poisons in the enemy's pocket without being detected.
Considering shouts. For me, the shouts are a bit awkward for the base idea of this build, but after careful consideration, I found 2 that can be reasoned as physical skills. Disarming your opponent is a skill one can learn when training with weapons over along period of time. Whirlwind sprint can be seen as quickly rolling away from your opponent and jumping backwards in a series of acrobatic flips.
Quest lines are subject to the role playing of the individual, but there is two quests that stand out and fit well with this build. Dark Brother Hood, and Thieves Guild. A Ninja did many mercenary jobs that involved both espionage, and assassination. I personally prefer the Thieves Guild Quest Line over the Dark Brother Hood, as that is what I believe the Ninjas of old would have done. But the option is really up to the player and what they want to get out of this build. Don't forget to talk to Jarls or their Patrons for Mercenary work. Ninjas were for hire, and Mercenary work was right up their alley.
PERK BREAKDOWN AT RANK 25:
PERK BREAKDOWN AT RANK 50:
SPECIAL RP NOTES:
- Ninja knew their environment well, they could recognize key structures and Natural flora, or Rocks to guide them back to where they once where. For RP sake, I allow my Ninja to use Location Markers (the blue map marker you place) as a guide to places I've been before. I also have a mod installed that shows no HUD, it only shows the appropriate Magicka/Health/Stamina bar when it goes down from 100%, and the cross-hair only appear when sneaking, Targeting with a bow, or magic spell, magic staff, or objects I can interact with. It also allows a quick toggle to show you the map marker. I think any person walking around in the wild will at least attempt to make a makeshift map, or identify key road sights.
- Concerning Alchemy recipes, I have decided, that every time I read an Alchemy skill book, or each time I train with a trainer, I'm allowed to look up 1 recipe on the internet. the rest I'll have to discover on my own. This ties in nicely by learning something new from reading a book, or being taught by someone with more knowledge than you on the subject.
- To learn more on the Avakiri race and culture, please refer to the links below:
Mysterious Akaviri Book (Skyrim)
Akivir Race, and History
Land of Akivir and the Continent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right, this is my take on a true Ninja build, or at least how I would play the class in Skyrim. I tried to stay as true to the original ninja from the 15th century. I have read Nate Lingenfelter's Ninja build and it's a really good build, but it was not what I consider a true Ninja of old build. Although he's build is very strong and fun to play I wanted something with a little more mysticism, and a lot less actual magicka. I didn't want to create just another Invisibility-Stealth-Assassin's Blade-Dagger build, but actual stealth dependant on awareness and non-magicka skill. I hope you guys like it, I've only played it so far on Adept, and will soon try it out on Master and see how it goes. I will update this page accordingly. Please consider leaving some crits and comments, or suggestions on how I can make this build better, while still maintaining the original idea.
=FX=
MARK OF THE AKAVIRI (True Ninja Build Idea)
Little to nothing is known about the culture of the Men of Akavir, other than the fact that they seem to heavily mirror Asian culture through their armor, weapons, and buildings.
~ ( as taken from http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Akavir_(Race) )
A ninja (忍者) or shinobi (忍び) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan who specialized in unorthodox warfare. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, and open combat in certain situations. Their covert methods of waging war contrasted the ninja with the samurai, who observed strict rules about honor and combat.
~ ( as taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja )
MAJOR SKILLS: Sneak, Alchemy, Pickpocket
MINOR SKILLS: Smiting, Enchanting, Illusion
STANDING STONES: Thief, Serpent
M/H/S: 170, 310, 310 (At Rank 50)
RACE: Any is fine, I prefer Khajiit because of Seeing in the Dark because of mods.
SHOUTS: Disarm, Whirlwind Sprint
QUESTS: Either Dark Brother Hood, or Thieves Guild.
SKILL NOTES:
- Sneak: Main skill of a Ninja, everything happens out from the shadows. If a Ninja was seen it was because he wanted to be seen.
- Alchemy: Ninja, used poison darts, and arrows as well as tonics to assassinate their targets, as well as dreaded Black Eggs that was thrown in the face of the enemy to disorientate them.
- Pickpocket: Slipping poisons into drinks or food unseen is a vital tactic of a ninja.
- Smiting: Making tools and weapons is as important as doing a mission itself. No piece of equipment was without a vital use.
- Enchanting: Sometimes a Ninja was so accurate with the bow it was as if a spirit guided it, or his Gi so dark it looked like shadows.
- Illusion: Sometimes Ninja was thought to do inhuman deeds, as suddenly vanish, or walk on water.
ADVANCED SKILL NOTES:
- Sneak: This should be the main skill you should focus on, and try to get to 100. Backstab and Deadly Aim is preferred perks, but not Assassin’s blade as you will carry a 1 handed sword and no daggers. Some would argue that daggers can be considered to be throwing stars, but since you can’t throw daggers in this game without a mod it makes no sense to have them. Others will argue that Ninja had an array of weapons in case they got disarmed. This is not true, most TOOLS a ninja carried with him was exactly that, a tool, even the Ninjato sword was used for stepping onto walls or trees, or digging holes. Also, if a ninja is disarmed, it means he was seen, or caught an aware which is not true of the ninja. Ninja used to observe the place they would infiltrate for days, studying guard routines, entry points, and high places to hide in. At rank 25 it is advisable to have at least 10 perks in Sneak.
- Alchemy: This is to create poisons you will dip your arrows in, as well as smear or splash over your sword if you are discovered. If opportunity presents itself and you can cut your opponent down with your sword, then it is also smeared over the edge of your sword. Because you will only ever have 1 sword in your main hand, and your other hand open to reach for tools or poisons, it is perfectly acceptable to use poisons while in melee. It can be seen as your free hand grabs a perfectly placed poison and splashing poison on the blade while doing dodge and acrobatic moves to stay clear of your opponent. At rank 25, having 7 perks in alchemy is feasible, up to Concentrated Poison.
- Pickpocket: This is mainly for RP purposes. Since you can’t actually put poison in food or drinks in the game, this is the next best thing we can do. If possible try get at least 5 perks at rank 25 up to Poisoned Perk.
- Smiting: Only 2 ranks are needed in Smiting at rank 25, most notably the Arcane Blacksmith. Ninja were known to pick up the weapon of their targets if it was better than what they had previously, again enforcing weapons as being mere tools to get the job done.
- Enchanting: Since Ninja never wore armor, so your Gi will be cloth only. But on the other hand, Ninja trained their bodies to do amazing feats and have great stamina and endurance. To make this possible in our RP build, buffs such as Health, Heath regen, Stamina, Stamina regen, muffle, and Waterbreathing is the preferred choices.
- Illusion: The only spell that will be used is Invisibility. And to keep this for the direst of situations, no perks are to be placed in illusion. This skill should be considered as using a great amount of preparation and meditation, and thus can only be used once a day. As an option, one can leave the Invisibility Spell, and rather use The Shadow Stone. But this might interfere if you wish to use The Thief or Serpent Stone instead.
GEAR OPTIONS:
- Weapons: Angi’s Bow or Bow of the Hunt are good choices as it can be enhanced with Steel Ignots, but if you prefer more rp, then the Hunting Bow is your best bet as it requires the steel perk in Smiting to enhance. Concerning sword, Blades Sword is an obvious choice. Additionally you can try get your hands on Bolar’s Oathblade or Dragonbane. All three these swords have a Katana graphic which really fits in with this build.
- Gi: Shrouded Hood, Shrouded Shoes and Shrouded Hand Wraps from joining the Dark Brotherhood are classed as clothing, and has got some good buffs, especially at starter levels in the game. The Mourner’s Clothes for the chest can be bought at Radiant Raiment, and is nice because it is black without any enchantments.
- Mods: Installing Immersive Weapons and Armors will give you a greater variety of lore-friendly gear to choose from if you are a PC user.
EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL GEAR ENCHANTMENTS:
POISONS, ELIXIRS AND SPECIAL MOVES:
JUNGLE FROG POISON: (Paralysis/DMG Health/Lingering DMG Health)
Human Flesh, Imp Stool, Orange Dartwing, Slaughterfish Eggs, Slaughterfish Scales
(Good against most enemies)
DEVIL FISH POISON: (DMG Health/Lingering DMG Health)
Imp Stool, Orange Dartwing, Mora Tapinella, Nirnroot, River Betty, Slaughterfish Eggs, Slaughterfish Scales
(Good against Ranged enemies with Bows)
BLACK EGGS: (DMG Health/Weakness to Poison/Slow)
Abecean Longfin, Bleeding Crown, Chaurus Eggs, Deathbell, Giant Lichen, Large Antlers, Pine Thrush Egg, River Betty, Saber Cat Tooth, Small Antlers
(Good against Melee Enemies)
FEAR OF THE DARK SHOT: (Damage Magicka/Ravage Health/Fear)
Cyrodilic Spadetail, Eye of Saber Cat, Namira's Rot
(Good against Solitary Mages)
FEAR OF THE MIST SHOT: (Damage Health/Damage Magicka/Frenzy/Damage Magicka Regen)
Falmer Ear, Glow Dust, Hanging Moss, Human Heart, Nightshade, Troll Fat
(Good against groups of Mages)
ELIXIR OF THE EMPEROR: (Fortify Health/Restore Health)
Blue Dartwing, Blue Mountain Flower, Butterfly Wing, Charred Skeever Hide, Eye of Saber Cat, Giant's Toe, Swamp Fungal Pod
(Good when detected and unable to go back into Stealth)
ELIXIR OF THE DRAGON: (Fortify Marksman/Fortify One Handed)
Bear Claws, Canis Root, Elves Ear, Hanging Moss, Hawks Feathers, Juniper Berries, Small Pearl
(Good for setting up Stealth Shots – Combine with Poisons - or when resorting to Melee weapon)
GAME PLAY AND TACTICS:
The game play is fairy simple and follows the normal stealth based build. Typical dungeon exploration would be. Sneak, observe, calculate, dip arrow in poison, shoot at enemy, if the enemy does not die and has not spotted you yet, dip another arrow and shoot him again. If they still don't die and move to your location, move away to another hidden location and wait till they lose interest in you. If you are discovered, and cannot shrink back into the shadows, you pull out your Ninjato and prepare for some intense close-quarters-combat. During this phase, try to dodge all physical attacks from the enemy darting back and forth, in and out of combat. While doing this splash poison on your blade every so often, but do not try to spam it as that will be unrealistic. Block if you have to. If you don't die and slay your enemy, your number one objective is to slink back into the shadows. Bonus points for putting poisons in the enemy's pocket without being detected.
Considering shouts. For me, the shouts are a bit awkward for the base idea of this build, but after careful consideration, I found 2 that can be reasoned as physical skills. Disarming your opponent is a skill one can learn when training with weapons over along period of time. Whirlwind sprint can be seen as quickly rolling away from your opponent and jumping backwards in a series of acrobatic flips.
Quest lines are subject to the role playing of the individual, but there is two quests that stand out and fit well with this build. Dark Brother Hood, and Thieves Guild. A Ninja did many mercenary jobs that involved both espionage, and assassination. I personally prefer the Thieves Guild Quest Line over the Dark Brother Hood, as that is what I believe the Ninjas of old would have done. But the option is really up to the player and what they want to get out of this build. Don't forget to talk to Jarls or their Patrons for Mercenary work. Ninjas were for hire, and Mercenary work was right up their alley.
PERK BREAKDOWN AT RANK 25:
PERK BREAKDOWN AT RANK 50:
SPECIAL RP NOTES:
- Ninja knew their environment well, they could recognize key structures and Natural flora, or Rocks to guide them back to where they once where. For RP sake, I allow my Ninja to use Location Markers (the blue map marker you place) as a guide to places I've been before. I also have a mod installed that shows no HUD, it only shows the appropriate Magicka/Health/Stamina bar when it goes down from 100%, and the cross-hair only appear when sneaking, Targeting with a bow, or magic spell, magic staff, or objects I can interact with. It also allows a quick toggle to show you the map marker. I think any person walking around in the wild will at least attempt to make a makeshift map, or identify key road sights.
- Concerning Alchemy recipes, I have decided, that every time I read an Alchemy skill book, or each time I train with a trainer, I'm allowed to look up 1 recipe on the internet. the rest I'll have to discover on my own. This ties in nicely by learning something new from reading a book, or being taught by someone with more knowledge than you on the subject.
- To learn more on the Avakiri race and culture, please refer to the links below:
Mysterious Akaviri Book (Skyrim)
Akivir Race, and History
Land of Akivir and the Continent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right, this is my take on a true Ninja build, or at least how I would play the class in Skyrim. I tried to stay as true to the original ninja from the 15th century. I have read Nate Lingenfelter's Ninja build and it's a really good build, but it was not what I consider a true Ninja of old build. Although he's build is very strong and fun to play I wanted something with a little more mysticism, and a lot less actual magicka. I didn't want to create just another Invisibility-Stealth-Assassin's Blade-Dagger build, but actual stealth dependant on awareness and non-magicka skill. I hope you guys like it, I've only played it so far on Adept, and will soon try it out on Master and see how it goes. I will update this page accordingly. Please consider leaving some crits and comments, or suggestions on how I can make this build better, while still maintaining the original idea.
=FX=
