This build was my first playthrough, and admittedly one of the best. This build is based on being a spy. Sent to rid Skyrim of the Emperor's foes. I aimed at making a build that was deadly when sneaking and deadly if you just wanted to run in to the midst of the battle. All will be explained...
The Ghost
The Build
'The Ghost' was once called Mullac Burguk. He lived in Dushnikh Yal as a young child. Mullac, being the brother of Chief Burguk and Ghorbash was expected to challenge his Farther in combat and become chief himself. But this did not happen in the end.
This was due to Mullac’s curiosity, he enjoyed playing hide-and-seek when he was young, and he liked being in the shadows and jumping out on his Brothers and the other Orsimer. This got him into a lot of trouble. Years pasted until Mullac made his choice. He wanted to leave the stronghold and become a spy. It sounded far-fetched for his Father to approve. So one day he decided to sneak out of the stronghold with Ghorbash and not come back. Running away from home you’d say. I also didn’t mention that Mullac was incredibly gifted with a sword. He once duelled with both of his Brothers regularly. These skills in both sneaking and sword-wielding made him sought after, after only being a merchant with Ghorbash for two years. During those two years, Mullac met a very nice, but weird Dunmer, he went by the name of Drevis Neloren. The Dunmer introduced him to magic. This made Mullac even more desirable. After only a few lessons at the College of Winterhold he had got the hang of using Illusion magic. He trained while adventuring and became very good at it.
He was then spotted by a Penitus Oculatus agent who gave him an offer to work with the Emperor as a spy. He immediately accepted and meanwhile, Ghorbash joined the Imperial army.
Now, after many years he has become extremely skilled in combat, and even avoiding it.
Race: Orc
Stats ratio: 2/2/1 I’ve chosen this ratio because you will be using a few Illusion spells which demand lots of Magicka.
Stone: Steed until the you get the Conditioning perk and then Lover
Major Skills: Heavy Armor, Illusion, Sneak
Minor Skills: Speech, One-Handed, Smithing
Shouts: Become Ethereal, Throw Voice, Call of Valor
The skills....explained
Heavy Armor: I have chosen this because I wanted The Ghost to be able to withstand a fight. Sometimes you’ll have to kill someone so when you get into close combat you can still survive, even with the highest level enemies. With the Conditioning perk coupled with Muffled Movement makes it seem like your wearing Light Armor but with much more of an armor rating.
Illusion: I chosen this to utilize the manipulation that The Ghost needs when acting stealthy. Also, I hadn’t made much use of Illusion in any of my characters. I always get Quiet Casting but that was it, until now.
Speech: With the whole of the perk tree filled, this skill is vital to getting a good deal on spells and armor. This too is used for the RP effect as he is supposed to be a merchant with a way with words.
One-Handed: For close combat. I really wanted to make a build that was stealthy, but also deadly when spotted. With Illusion spells in the left and a mace in the right that ignores most of the enemy’s armor rating is what I wanted to be deadly in combat.
Sneak: As a Ghost you will be sneaking a lot and you will sometimes avoiding combat altogether. This needs a high level of sneak, and I’ve done this. Being able to roll, sprint and hide to not get spotted by your enemies is quite fun!
Smithing: This is not really for early game. This is used to improve weapons and the armor you’ve found/ brought. But you can smith them if you really want. When you improve your armor, remember to drink a blacksmithing potion/s.
Equipment
Steel Plate Helmet of Eminent Illusion – Illusion spells cost 20% less to cast.
Steel Plate Armor of Eminent Health - Increases your health by 50 points.
Necklace of Major Haggling - Prices are 17% better.
Ring of Eminent Wielding - One-handed attacks do 30% more damage.
Steel Plate Bracers of Eminent Wielding - One-handed attacks do 30% more damage.
Steel Plate Boots of Muffling - Wearer is muffled and moves silently.
Glass Mace or Mace of Molag Bal.
These can be hard to find, make sure you visit Radiant Raiment regularly to get the jewellery, but if you can’t find these specific items then get weaker (you can find stronger too) variants.
Gameplay
As a ex-Merchant, you’re going to be trading goods. Whenever you gather loot from your travels make sure you sell them in the next hold. This can also mean buying things for yourself, buy potions to help you in battle or buy a Blacksmithing potion when you improve your armor on the workbench. You can also equip poisons onto your mace which will be devastating on top of the damage you are already inflicting.
Whenever talking to someone, make sure you use the wittiest response there is as he has a good way with words, and can successfully intimidate or persuade someone to do anything. Whenever you find a trainer, learn from them. There are many trainers you can visit, Look for the skills you need:
Combat
In combat, you have multiple decisions. To avoid combat completely, run in with mace unsheathed or use Illusion to distract enemies such as Frenzy (needs one hand) or Hysteria (needs two hands) which makes the targeted enemy attack anything nearby for sixty seconds.
Whenever you’re trying to avoid combat completely, stick to the shadows, trick your enemies by using Throw Voice and get behind cover.
You can choose to have a follower but only ones that are skilled in stealth and then you could use Rally which can be stacked with its counterparts (Courage and Call to Arms). You can triple the health and stamina buff in this way but I would advise that you don’t as followers usually give you away.
The enchantments on the weapons and armor really help in combat. With the perk Bone Breaker, maces ignore 75% of armor, this, coupled with 60% more damage with One-Handed weapons because of the ring and bracers of eminent wielding. But it isn’t just health that it affects, if you choose to get the Mace of Molag Bal then you will also affect the enemies Magicka and Stamina pool. This is deadly and with Illusion costing 20% less you can cast master Illusion spells when you want without losing all of the Magicka in the Magicka pool.
Recommended Quests
The main quest, this would be to get the Unrelenting Force shout. But the most important is the College of Winterhold and the Illusion spell ritual quest, as these hone your skills with spells and your One-Handed/Sneak skills. I would also suggest Discerning the Transmundane so to get the Oghma Infinium to give The Ghost that extra push to get higher in his skills and Destroy the Dark Brotherhood as they are a threat to the Emperor. You’ll need to become members of the Companions and the Thieves Guild to get many more trainers to boost your level.
Special Abilities
The Invisible man
Whenever you never want to be seen, all you need to do is fill the minds of your foes with anger and make them loose their minds. While one of their actual enemies sneak past.
Frenzy or Mayhem + Invisibility
Forgettable
Whenever your enemy gets too aggressive all you have to do is poison their minds with torture and cruelty. As they run away, the poison spreads even more.
Critical Charge + Fear + Poison applied to blade
Thanks to:
LieutenantHawk, CaBaL from Nexus mods.
Make sure to check out The Dark Apprentice too!
This build was my first playthrough, and admittedly one of the best. This build is based on being a spy. Sent to rid Skyrim of the Emperor's foes. I aimed at making a build that was deadly when sneaking and deadly if you just wanted to run in to the midst of the battle. All will be explained...
The Ghost
The Build
'The Ghost' was once called Mullac Burguk. He lived in Dushnikh Yal as a young child. Mullac, being the brother of Chief Burguk and Ghorbash was expected to challenge his Farther in combat and become chief himself. But this did not happen in the end.
This was due to Mullac’s curiosity, he enjoyed playing hide-and-seek when he was young, and he liked being in the shadows and jumping out on his Brothers and the other Orsimer. This got him into a lot of trouble. Years pasted until Mullac made his choice. He wanted to leave the stronghold and become a spy. It sounded far-fetched for his Father to approve. So one day he decided to sneak out of the stronghold with Ghorbash and not come back. Running away from home you’d say. I also didn’t mention that Mullac was incredibly gifted with a sword. He once duelled with both of his Brothers regularly. These skills in both sneaking and sword-wielding made him sought after, after only being a merchant with Ghorbash for two years. During those two years, Mullac met a very nice, but weird Dunmer, he went by the name of Drevis Neloren. The Dunmer introduced him to magic. This made Mullac even more desirable. After only a few lessons at the College of Winterhold he had got the hang of using Illusion magic. He trained while adventuring and became very good at it.
He was then spotted by a Penitus Oculatus agent who gave him an offer to work with the Emperor as a spy. He immediately accepted and meanwhile, Ghorbash joined the Imperial army.
Now, after many years he has become extremely skilled in combat, and even avoiding it.
Race: Orc
Stats ratio: 2/2/1 I’ve chosen this ratio because you will be using a few Illusion spells which demand lots of Magicka.
Stone: Steed until the you get the Conditioning perk and then Lover
Major Skills: Heavy Armor, Illusion, Sneak
Minor Skills: Speech, One-Handed, Smithing
Shouts: Become Ethereal, Throw Voice, Call of Valor
The skills....explained
Heavy Armor: I have chosen this because I wanted The Ghost to be able to withstand a fight. Sometimes you’ll have to kill someone so when you get into close combat you can still survive, even with the highest level enemies. With the Conditioning perk coupled with Muffled Movement makes it seem like your wearing Light Armor but with much more of an armor rating.
Illusion: I chosen this to utilize the manipulation that The Ghost needs when acting stealthy. Also, I hadn’t made much use of Illusion in any of my characters. I always get Quiet Casting but that was it, until now.
Speech: With the whole of the perk tree filled, this skill is vital to getting a good deal on spells and armor. This too is used for the RP effect as he is supposed to be a merchant with a way with words.
One-Handed: For close combat. I really wanted to make a build that was stealthy, but also deadly when spotted. With Illusion spells in the left and a mace in the right that ignores most of the enemy’s armor rating is what I wanted to be deadly in combat.
Sneak: As a Ghost you will be sneaking a lot and you will sometimes avoiding combat altogether. This needs a high level of sneak, and I’ve done this. Being able to roll, sprint and hide to not get spotted by your enemies is quite fun!
Smithing: This is not really for early game. This is used to improve weapons and the armor you’ve found/ brought. But you can smith them if you really want. When you improve your armor, remember to drink a blacksmithing potion/s.
Equipment
Steel Plate Helmet of Eminent Illusion – Illusion spells cost 20% less to cast.
Steel Plate Armor of Eminent Health - Increases your health by 50 points.
Necklace of Major Haggling - Prices are 17% better.
Ring of Eminent Wielding - One-handed attacks do 30% more damage.
Steel Plate Bracers of Eminent Wielding - One-handed attacks do 30% more damage.
Steel Plate Boots of Muffling - Wearer is muffled and moves silently.
Glass Mace or Mace of Molag Bal.
These can be hard to find, make sure you visit Radiant Raiment regularly to get the jewellery, but if you can’t find these specific items then get weaker (you can find stronger too) variants.
Gameplay
As a ex-Merchant, you’re going to be trading goods. Whenever you gather loot from your travels make sure you sell them in the next hold. This can also mean buying things for yourself, buy potions to help you in battle or buy a Blacksmithing potion when you improve your armor on the workbench. You can also equip poisons onto your mace which will be devastating on top of the damage you are already inflicting.
Whenever talking to someone, make sure you use the wittiest response there is as he has a good way with words, and can successfully intimidate or persuade someone to do anything. Whenever you find a trainer, learn from them. There are many trainers you can visit, Look for the skills you need:
Combat
In combat, you have multiple decisions. To avoid combat completely, run in with mace unsheathed or use Illusion to distract enemies such as Frenzy (needs one hand) or Hysteria (needs two hands) which makes the targeted enemy attack anything nearby for sixty seconds.
Whenever you’re trying to avoid combat completely, stick to the shadows, trick your enemies by using Throw Voice and get behind cover.
You can choose to have a follower but only ones that are skilled in stealth and then you could use Rally which can be stacked with its counterparts (Courage and Call to Arms). You can triple the health and stamina buff in this way but I would advise that you don’t as followers usually give you away.
The enchantments on the weapons and armor really help in combat. With the perk Bone Breaker, maces ignore 75% of armor, this, coupled with 60% more damage with One-Handed weapons because of the ring and bracers of eminent wielding. But it isn’t just health that it affects, if you choose to get the Mace of Molag Bal then you will also affect the enemies Magicka and Stamina pool. This is deadly and with Illusion costing 20% less you can cast master Illusion spells when you want without losing all of the Magicka in the Magicka pool.
Recommended Quests
The main quest, this would be to get the Unrelenting Force shout. But the most important is the College of Winterhold and the Illusion spell ritual quest, as these hone your skills with spells and your One-Handed/Sneak skills. I would also suggest Discerning the Transmundane so to get the Oghma Infinium to give The Ghost that extra push to get higher in his skills and Destroy the Dark Brotherhood as they are a threat to the Emperor. You’ll need to become members of the Companions and the Thieves Guild to get many more trainers to boost your level.
Special Abilities
The Invisible man
Whenever you never want to be seen, all you need to do is fill the minds of your foes with anger and make them loose their minds. While one of their actual enemies sneak past.
Frenzy or Mayhem + Invisibility
Forgettable
Whenever your enemy gets too aggressive all you have to do is poison their minds with torture and cruelty. As they run away, the poison spreads even more.
Critical Charge + Fear + Poison applied to blade
Thanks to:
LieutenantHawk, CaBaL from Nexus mods.
Make sure to check out The Dark Apprentice too!
