♚THE SCION♚
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”
♚
"Everyone is born with a drop of magic; this is a given fact. There is no man across Tamriel that does not possess a touch of Magicka. Some never tap into this unique resource, while others dedicate their lives to developing their magic abilities. But these scholars can only assimilate so much before their time comes. A mortal's lifespan is short, and magic is a vast and still unfamiliar realm, hard to control, and even harder to master.
However, this unpredictability is what has netted us the Scions, peculiar individuals born in the time of great magical anomalies. Their bodies serve as vessels for the excess Magicka that is released when these events occur; as such, these children display an unusual predisposition towards all of the magical schools, and a superb ability for learning magic.
But this condition also comes with bizarre side effects. Throughout maturity, these men and women begin to develop and exhibit multiple split personalities, tied in with one of the magic disciplines and which manifest freely and unstably. As of yet, there is no clear explanation for this phenomenon; as such, most Scions are still regarded with caution and mistrust even in the rather liberal magical community. One thing is certain, though: there are few individuals that can achieve that which a Scion is born with, and that in itself is a trait worthy of admiration."
- Extract from "A Compendium of Magical Anomalies" by Aurane Amedee
♚
The Scion is a young woman which crosses into Skyrim in an attempt to leave behind the social stigma and focus on developing her magical skills. On the outside, she appears as a simple runaway mage; on reality, the Scion is a powerful, unstable magical being that frantically oscillates between multiple split personalities - trances, as she calls them herself. Each of these grants the Scion certain magical abilities and combat patterns, making for a devastatingly unpredictable adversary. The Scion is yearning for magical knowledge, and practice is the best teacher - a motto to which she adheres with the utmost fervence.
Basically, the Scion is my attempt at making a jack of all trades build, from a magical perspective. All trances use Destruction as a main skill, with a corresponding secondary branch and Dragonborn Dragon Priest mask, for identification. This makes for a unique, easily maneuverable playstyle.
♚
BUILD
●Race: Altmer are definitely the best fit; the passive Magicka boost fits perfectly into the background of this build, not to mention that they receive starting bonuses solely for their magical abilities. Other magic proficient races, such as the Breton or the Dunmer work as well.
●Standing Stone: The Mage would reinforce the idea that the Scion is unusually able in mastering magic, while the Atronach fits the idea of a Magicka draining anomaly. I went with the Mage, but it's your call.
●Stat Distribution: 3/1/0. This being a pure mage build, Stamina is useless, but we will be using a lot of Magicka. While Health is of course important, it comes second behind our spell fuel.
●Vampirism: Optional. You don't have to actively seek it, but if it happens, you don't have to cure it either. Becoming a Vampire would open up new magical abilities for the Scion, so it fits partially.
TRANCES
❂THE LION❂
The Lion could be seen as the Scion's dominating personality; she usually leads the offensive using a barrage of fire spells. Some might mistake her penchant for Illusion as an indication of a more manipulative side, but there is no subtlety to the Lion's headstrong approach to battle. Rash and brazen, she takes a peculiar interest in observing how mind magic dulls the senses and turns comrade against comrade... all in the name of learning, of course.
The Lion focuses on setting her enemies on fire and simply distracting them while the burn damage does its job. Then, you'll find that it's much easier to blast everyone with fire when your enemies are running around in fear or at eachother's throats.
❂ Dominating element: Fire
The Lion is the trance geared around dealing the most direct, 1v1 damage. Targets on fire take extra damage, which perfectly complements an exclusively offensive playstyle.
❂ Dominating school: Illusion
Rage spells work great for additional damage; coupled with fire spells, the effect can be quite devastating. Fear spells are also an option if you ever find yourself overwhelmed by your enemies.
❂ Dragon Priest Mask: Ahzidal
Ahzidal boosts fire damage, alongside with adding fire resistance. A non-Dragonborn alternative is Nahkriin, which boosts available Magicka by 50 and reduces the cost of Destruction spells by 20%.
❂ Dominating Shout: Fire Breath
Self-explanatory. Useful for when you run out of Magicka or just as an extra damage device.
SPECIAL MOVES
❂Sacrifice: Fury + Firebolt
On a simple whim, the Lion's enemies become walking sacrifices. They are set ablaze on an imaginary pyre while their own comrades batter them viciously.
Set an enemy on fire, then let his allies finish the job. Simple, deadly, and it can be pulled off on more than one enemy at the same time.
❂Dragonflame: Fear + Fire Spells + Fire Breath
The Lion's fire burns almost as hot as the dragons'. Would be opponents are quick to turn on their heels when greeted by her flames.
Useful for when you're cornered and you need some distance between yourself and the enemy. If the combination of attacks doesn't kill them, they'll run away anyway.
❂Wrath of the Pride: Firestorm + Augmented Flames (2) + Intense Flames + Ahzidal
Few survive the Lion's outrage. Those who do never look back.
The damage output of Firestorm with all the buffs is pretty great. Enemies that aren't killed by the blast will give you room to breathe thanks to the effect of Intense Flames.
❇THE RAVEN❇
While the Raven's complete disregard for life of all kinds could be interpreted as some form of sadism, the truth is actually much simpler. The Raven only cares about her research, which, coupled with a sort of twisted innocence, has lead her to regarding both man and beast as disposable, and she has no qualms about taking live subjects. This is why she dabbles into the summoning of Daedra, raising the dead and trapping souls for her collection, netting herself an almost unlimited amount of testing material.
Out of the three trances, the Raven is the more balanced one. While she does not possess the Lion's attack range, she makes up for it by strong area damage - Chain Lightning is your bread and butter even later in the game. As defense, she uses her summons to take the full brunt of the enemy's attacks, while she continues to use her shock spells in the background, making her an effective mage counter as well.
❇ Dominating element: Shock
Shock spells deplete Magicka, so pitting the Raven against other mages is the best idea. Disintegrate also basically reduces the life of all enemies by 15%.
❇ Dominating school: Conjuration
Atronachs and undead are both used, but more as meat shields than damage dealers. Summoning gives you time to aim or focus stronger spells, such as Lightning Storm.
❇ Dragon Priest Mask: Zahkriisos
Zahkriisos boosts shock damage, alongside with adding shock resistance. A non-Dragonborn alternative is Vokun, which reduces the cost of Conjuration spells by 20%.
❇ Dominating Shout: Storm Call
Even though it can only be used outside, 3 words of Storm Call can clear out large groups of enemies very quickly. And it's the only lightning based shout :( give me stuff to work with, Bethesda
SPECIAL MOVES
❇Stormguard: Summon Storm Atronach/ Raise Undead + Lightning Cloak
When things get sticky, the Raven jumps behind the line and lets her summons do the work. After all, there's no need for a researcher to constantly dirty her hands.
When you're low on health, let your summons take the hits for you while you chuck some pots. Lightning Cloak ensures that any pesky melee attackers will leave you alone as well.
❇Deanimation: Banish Daedra + Disintegrate
The Raven does not appreciate competition, especially when it interferes with her research. Conjurors and necromancers will soon find their precious summons out of reach.
Disintegrate corpses to cut necromancers off from their resources. For atronachs, Banish and later Expel will do the trick.
❇Maelstrom: Call Storm + Chain Lightning + Disintegrate
The storm to end all storms. The sky itself ansers to the Raven's calls as her enemies are blasted with the purest lightning. Only ash remains.
Although, sadly, Disintegrate does not apply to Call Storm, using Chain Lightning at the same time is devastating. At higher levels, its cost is negligible and it'll disintegrate most enemies in a matter of seconds if cast repeatedly.
❆THE MARE❆
The Mare is the most reclusive of the three stances. Paranoid and always on her guard, she is less interested in magical research as opposed to ensuring her survival. Rather than focusing on using her abilities for offense, the Mare uses her frost magic to slow enemies and kill them before they have the chance to reach her. She couples her affinity for ice with an assortment of mage armor and paralyzing spells, and while her defensive capabilities are above the ordinary, foolhardy enemies should prepare for nasty surprises if they get too close.
The Mare is the defense oriented trance. Using a combination of Alteration and frost spells, she keeps her enemies at bay with slowing and stamina draining attacks. She is especially good at dealing with melee enemies, keeping them from using power attacks while also dealing close proximity damage using Frost Cloak, her main damage dealer.
❆ Dominating element: Frost
Ice magic slows and depletes stamina, helping the frail mage deal with bulky melee fighters. Frost Cloak is wonderful because it continuously slows and damages enemies that wander too closely, allowing you to escape more easily.
❆ Dominating school: Alteration
Mage armor is used for extra armor rating (obviously) which gives a further edge against melee attacks. Later on, Paralyze is used to stop enemies that get too close, and letting Frost Cloak do its job.
❆ Dragon Priest Mask: Dukaan
Dukaan boosts frost damage, alongside with adding frost resistance. A non-Dragonborn alternative is Otar, which boosts fire, frost and shock resistance by 30%.
❆ Dominating Shout: Ice Form
Ice form will completely incapacitate enemies, acting as a replacement for Paralyze when mana reserves are low.
SPECIAL MOVES
❆Iceborn: Mage Armor + Frost Cloak + Wall of Frost
At her command, the Mare's body becomes solid and sharp as ice, and just as cold. Enemies that are unfortunate enough to be in her proximity are buffeted by a cruel barrage of hail.
Mage Armor spells allow you to resist melee damage, while Frost Cloak and Wall of Frost continuously damage and slow incoming attackers.
❆Permafrost: Paralyze + Ice Storm + Ice Form + Deep Freeze
Assaulting the Mare directly is a foolish attempt. Any perceived threats become frozen solid in a matter of seconds.
A combination of paralyze, Ice Form and the Deep Freeze perk will allow you the render most enemies immobile when needed, giving you time to retreat or better plan your course of action. Ice Storm has a wide radius of action, making it perfect for freezing many enemies at the same time.
❆Eye of The Storm: Blizzard + Frost Cloak + Augmented Frost (2) + Dukaan
When the Mare is cornered, she unleashes a deadly ice storm. Any enemy that tries to reach her is frozen to the bone.
Dukaan's boost coupled with Blizzard's slowing effect means that any foe unfortunate enough to be caught in the storm's radius has no chance of escaping. If any enemies do manage to get close to you, Frost Cloak will finish them off.
♚
EXTRA SKILLS
There is only one extra skill that the Scion will take, besides those for her stances, and that is Enchanting. Seeing as this build relies on four magic schools, Magicka costs will be very high. This is why Enchanting is taken, especially for the Extra Effect perk, which allows you to reduce the casting costs of two branches at the same time. Enchanting is also a magical skill so it fits fine with the lore.
PERK SPREAD
LEVEL 25 | LEVEL 50
EQUIPMENT
♚Body: Archmage's Robes
Lenghty questline, fitting rewarding. The unique enchantment that reduces the casting cost of all spells by 15% is what it's all about, but the Magicka and Magicka Regeneration boosts aren't that bad either. Plus, it looks great coupled with the Dragon Priest masks.
♚Head: Ahzidal/ Zahkriisos/ Dukaan
As mentioned earlier in the build, depending on the trance you use, you will also be using a certain Dragon Priest mask. Each boosts its respective element damage by 25% and resistance by 50%. Great for boosting your Destruction spells.
♚Ring/ Amulet: Fortify Destruction + Fortify Corresponding School/ Magicka
Aside from switching between the masks, I had a set of jewellery for each of the trances, which had a Fortify Destruction enchantment coupled with another Fortify for each corresponding school. If you find switching between sets too much of a hassle, you can simply stick with a Fortify Magicka secondary enchantment.
♚Gloves: Ebony - Fortify Magicka & Fortify Heavy Armor
The Mage Armor perk is negated by the masks, so there's no reason not to use heavy armor. Extra Magicka & protection never hurt.
♚Boots: Ebony - Resist Shock & Resist fire
The Mage Armor perk is negated by the masks, so there's no reason not to use heavy armor. Shock damage is our main enemy, since it also depletes Magicka. Fire means extra damage, and since frost depletes stamina, resistance to the other two is favored.
TACTICS
Seeing as the Scion is a fairly versatile build, the Tactics section will be split in three sections, for each trance in particular.
THE LION
I used the Lion mainly for dealing with ranged attackers and dragons while they were still in flight. She's also good for clearing groups of weak enemies fast. Begin by using Illusion spells to set your enemies against each other; then, while they're busy, start taking them down one at a time. When cornered, use your fear spells to drive foes away, or, if the Intense Flames perk is available, continue blasting them with AoE spells such as Fireball or incinerate. I found the Lion to be the most costly Magicka-wise, so you'll be doing some running around, but if you use your illusion spells there shouldn't be anything you can't handle.
THE RAVEN
The Raven was planned as a mage counter, a role which she plays adequately. Shock spells have shorter range than frost or fire magic; the advantage is that they hit targets instantly. When entering battle, focus on killing an enemy so you can raise its corpse. Later on, necromancy will be replaced with Storm Atronachs, as you'll be disintegrating everyone, and you can't really raise ash, so be sure not to take the perk until you get your hands on the Conjure Storm Atronach spell tome. Chain Lightning was the spell I used the most; your atronachs are immune to it and its low cost late game makes it a devastating attack. Have fun disintegrating everything, in the name of science, of course!
THE MARE
The Mare is the defensive playstyle, geared around taking down resilient warrior types - or at least surviving their attacks. Setting up Frost Cloak and Mage Armor is the first thing you'll want to do when switching into this trance. Continue by laying down some Walls of Frost in your enemy's path, then start blasting them with ice from a distance. If they manage to reach you, they'll already be slowed down and without any stamina, and they'll be finished off by Frost Cloak. Late game, this combination also allows you to easily brush off dragon attacks, making for an effective grounded dragon counter.
ROLEPLAY
The Scion is a young mage which crosses the border into Skyrim hoping to leave her old life behind a begin anew. As with all Scions, she possesses an innate thirst for magical knowledge, but her peculiar condition often gets in the way of her endeavors. None of the trances are inherently violent, although all of them exhibit sociopathic tendencies one way or another. Her seclusion has also left her with a rather severe social handicap, which is obvious in her interactions with the outer world and her attitude regarding people and life in general.
♚
In short, to act the character well during this playthrough, here's what you need to do:
Switch trances often. The Lion and the Raven are domineering and want to perform lots of tests; the Mare is constantly afraid that they'll get her killed, so she'll try to take control as well. There's quite a bit of competition.
As the Lion, jump into battle whenever you have the chance. Some see bloodshed, the Lion sees a chance to test out her mind magic. Go ahead and have fun!
As the Raven, test your spells on any living things you see. Did you know rabbits can be revived? I didn't. I guess you learn something new everyday. I wonder if you can revive mammoths.
As the Mare, avoid all conflict. Why bother with killing, when you can avoid? The mare knows that less fighting means smaller chances of losing limbs, a philosophy she goes to great lengths to reinforce. Or you could just freeze everyone and run away. Your call,
Each trance has its own personality. The Lion is rude and abrasive, the Raven is polite, but aloof, and the Mare is shy, mistrustful and constantly scared. Pick dialogue choices appropriately.
Read & pick up books and scrolls. It doesn't hurt to have an extra copy of that spell tome, even if you know it. Better safe than sorry.
Do the Daedric quests. The Daedric Artifacts are so mysterious and powerful... is there any mage that wouldn't dream of studying such a marvel of magical properties? Get your hands on those babies (even though you don't really have any use for some of them)
Alingment: True Neutral
CONCLUSION
Bleh, my fingers hurt. My head hurts. But I missed this. Have fun~
MORE BUILDS
✥ The Crepuscular ✥
❋ The Scholar ❋
✽ The Warmaiden ✽
✠ The Anti-Paladin ✠
♚THE SCION♚
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”
♚
"Everyone is born with a drop of magic; this is a given fact. There is no man across Tamriel that does not possess a touch of Magicka. Some never tap into this unique resource, while others dedicate their lives to developing their magic abilities. But these scholars can only assimilate so much before their time comes. A mortal's lifespan is short, and magic is a vast and still unfamiliar realm, hard to control, and even harder to master.
However, this unpredictability is what has netted us the Scions, peculiar individuals born in the time of great magical anomalies. Their bodies serve as vessels for the excess Magicka that is released when these events occur; as such, these children display an unusual predisposition towards all of the magical schools, and a superb ability for learning magic.
But this condition also comes with bizarre side effects. Throughout maturity, these men and women begin to develop and exhibit multiple split personalities, tied in with one of the magic disciplines and which manifest freely and unstably. As of yet, there is no clear explanation for this phenomenon; as such, most Scions are still regarded with caution and mistrust even in the rather liberal magical community. One thing is certain, though: there are few individuals that can achieve that which a Scion is born with, and that in itself is a trait worthy of admiration."
- Extract from "A Compendium of Magical Anomalies" by Aurane Amedee
♚
The Scion is a young woman which crosses into Skyrim in an attempt to leave behind the social stigma and focus on developing her magical skills. On the outside, she appears as a simple runaway mage; on reality, the Scion is a powerful, unstable magical being that frantically oscillates between multiple split personalities - trances, as she calls them herself. Each of these grants the Scion certain magical abilities and combat patterns, making for a devastatingly unpredictable adversary. The Scion is yearning for magical knowledge, and practice is the best teacher - a motto to which she adheres with the utmost fervence.
Basically, the Scion is my attempt at making a jack of all trades build, from a magical perspective. All trances use Destruction as a main skill, with a corresponding secondary branch and Dragonborn Dragon Priest mask, for identification. This makes for a unique, easily maneuverable playstyle.
♚
BUILD
●Race: Altmer are definitely the best fit; the passive Magicka boost fits perfectly into the background of this build, not to mention that they receive starting bonuses solely for their magical abilities. Other magic proficient races, such as the Breton or the Dunmer work as well.
●Standing Stone: The Mage would reinforce the idea that the Scion is unusually able in mastering magic, while the Atronach fits the idea of a Magicka draining anomaly. I went with the Mage, but it's your call.
●Stat Distribution: 3/1/0. This being a pure mage build, Stamina is useless, but we will be using a lot of Magicka. While Health is of course important, it comes second behind our spell fuel.
●Vampirism: Optional. You don't have to actively seek it, but if it happens, you don't have to cure it either. Becoming a Vampire would open up new magical abilities for the Scion, so it fits partially.
TRANCES
❂THE LION❂
The Lion could be seen as the Scion's dominating personality; she usually leads the offensive using a barrage of fire spells. Some might mistake her penchant for Illusion as an indication of a more manipulative side, but there is no subtlety to the Lion's headstrong approach to battle. Rash and brazen, she takes a peculiar interest in observing how mind magic dulls the senses and turns comrade against comrade... all in the name of learning, of course.
The Lion focuses on setting her enemies on fire and simply distracting them while the burn damage does its job. Then, you'll find that it's much easier to blast everyone with fire when your enemies are running around in fear or at eachother's throats.
❂ Dominating element: Fire
The Lion is the trance geared around dealing the most direct, 1v1 damage. Targets on fire take extra damage, which perfectly complements an exclusively offensive playstyle.
❂ Dominating school: Illusion
Rage spells work great for additional damage; coupled with fire spells, the effect can be quite devastating. Fear spells are also an option if you ever find yourself overwhelmed by your enemies.
❂ Dragon Priest Mask: Ahzidal
Ahzidal boosts fire damage, alongside with adding fire resistance. A non-Dragonborn alternative is Nahkriin, which boosts available Magicka by 50 and reduces the cost of Destruction spells by 20%.
❂ Dominating Shout: Fire Breath
Self-explanatory. Useful for when you run out of Magicka or just as an extra damage device.
SPECIAL MOVES
❂Sacrifice: Fury + Firebolt
On a simple whim, the Lion's enemies become walking sacrifices. They are set ablaze on an imaginary pyre while their own comrades batter them viciously.
Set an enemy on fire, then let his allies finish the job. Simple, deadly, and it can be pulled off on more than one enemy at the same time.
❂Dragonflame: Fear + Fire Spells + Fire Breath
The Lion's fire burns almost as hot as the dragons'. Would be opponents are quick to turn on their heels when greeted by her flames.
Useful for when you're cornered and you need some distance between yourself and the enemy. If the combination of attacks doesn't kill them, they'll run away anyway.
❂Wrath of the Pride: Firestorm + Augmented Flames (2) + Intense Flames + Ahzidal
Few survive the Lion's outrage. Those who do never look back.
The damage output of Firestorm with all the buffs is pretty great. Enemies that aren't killed by the blast will give you room to breathe thanks to the effect of Intense Flames.
❇THE RAVEN❇
While the Raven's complete disregard for life of all kinds could be interpreted as some form of sadism, the truth is actually much simpler. The Raven only cares about her research, which, coupled with a sort of twisted innocence, has lead her to regarding both man and beast as disposable, and she has no qualms about taking live subjects. This is why she dabbles into the summoning of Daedra, raising the dead and trapping souls for her collection, netting herself an almost unlimited amount of testing material.
Out of the three trances, the Raven is the more balanced one. While she does not possess the Lion's attack range, she makes up for it by strong area damage - Chain Lightning is your bread and butter even later in the game. As defense, she uses her summons to take the full brunt of the enemy's attacks, while she continues to use her shock spells in the background, making her an effective mage counter as well.
❇ Dominating element: Shock
Shock spells deplete Magicka, so pitting the Raven against other mages is the best idea. Disintegrate also basically reduces the life of all enemies by 15%.
❇ Dominating school: Conjuration
Atronachs and undead are both used, but more as meat shields than damage dealers. Summoning gives you time to aim or focus stronger spells, such as Lightning Storm.
❇ Dragon Priest Mask: Zahkriisos
Zahkriisos boosts shock damage, alongside with adding shock resistance. A non-Dragonborn alternative is Vokun, which reduces the cost of Conjuration spells by 20%.
❇ Dominating Shout: Storm Call
Even though it can only be used outside, 3 words of Storm Call can clear out large groups of enemies very quickly. And it's the only lightning based shout :( give me stuff to work with, Bethesda
SPECIAL MOVES
❇Stormguard: Summon Storm Atronach/ Raise Undead + Lightning Cloak
When things get sticky, the Raven jumps behind the line and lets her summons do the work. After all, there's no need for a researcher to constantly dirty her hands.
When you're low on health, let your summons take the hits for you while you chuck some pots. Lightning Cloak ensures that any pesky melee attackers will leave you alone as well.
❇Deanimation: Banish Daedra + Disintegrate
The Raven does not appreciate competition, especially when it interferes with her research. Conjurors and necromancers will soon find their precious summons out of reach.
Disintegrate corpses to cut necromancers off from their resources. For atronachs, Banish and later Expel will do the trick.
❇Maelstrom: Call Storm + Chain Lightning + Disintegrate
The storm to end all storms. The sky itself ansers to the Raven's calls as her enemies are blasted with the purest lightning. Only ash remains.
Although, sadly, Disintegrate does not apply to Call Storm, using Chain Lightning at the same time is devastating. At higher levels, its cost is negligible and it'll disintegrate most enemies in a matter of seconds if cast repeatedly.
❆THE MARE❆
The Mare is the most reclusive of the three stances. Paranoid and always on her guard, she is less interested in magical research as opposed to ensuring her survival. Rather than focusing on using her abilities for offense, the Mare uses her frost magic to slow enemies and kill them before they have the chance to reach her. She couples her affinity for ice with an assortment of mage armor and paralyzing spells, and while her defensive capabilities are above the ordinary, foolhardy enemies should prepare for nasty surprises if they get too close.
The Mare is the defense oriented trance. Using a combination of Alteration and frost spells, she keeps her enemies at bay with slowing and stamina draining attacks. She is especially good at dealing with melee enemies, keeping them from using power attacks while also dealing close proximity damage using Frost Cloak, her main damage dealer.
❆ Dominating element: Frost
Ice magic slows and depletes stamina, helping the frail mage deal with bulky melee fighters. Frost Cloak is wonderful because it continuously slows and damages enemies that wander too closely, allowing you to escape more easily.
❆ Dominating school: Alteration
Mage armor is used for extra armor rating (obviously) which gives a further edge against melee attacks. Later on, Paralyze is used to stop enemies that get too close, and letting Frost Cloak do its job.
❆ Dragon Priest Mask: Dukaan
Dukaan boosts frost damage, alongside with adding frost resistance. A non-Dragonborn alternative is Otar, which boosts fire, frost and shock resistance by 30%.
❆ Dominating Shout: Ice Form
Ice form will completely incapacitate enemies, acting as a replacement for Paralyze when mana reserves are low.
SPECIAL MOVES
❆Iceborn: Mage Armor + Frost Cloak + Wall of Frost
At her command, the Mare's body becomes solid and sharp as ice, and just as cold. Enemies that are unfortunate enough to be in her proximity are buffeted by a cruel barrage of hail.
Mage Armor spells allow you to resist melee damage, while Frost Cloak and Wall of Frost continuously damage and slow incoming attackers.
❆Permafrost: Paralyze + Ice Storm + Ice Form + Deep Freeze
Assaulting the Mare directly is a foolish attempt. Any perceived threats become frozen solid in a matter of seconds.
A combination of paralyze, Ice Form and the Deep Freeze perk will allow you the render most enemies immobile when needed, giving you time to retreat or better plan your course of action. Ice Storm has a wide radius of action, making it perfect for freezing many enemies at the same time.
❆Eye of The Storm: Blizzard + Frost Cloak + Augmented Frost (2) + Dukaan
When the Mare is cornered, she unleashes a deadly ice storm. Any enemy that tries to reach her is frozen to the bone.
Dukaan's boost coupled with Blizzard's slowing effect means that any foe unfortunate enough to be caught in the storm's radius has no chance of escaping. If any enemies do manage to get close to you, Frost Cloak will finish them off.
♚
EXTRA SKILLS
There is only one extra skill that the Scion will take, besides those for her stances, and that is Enchanting. Seeing as this build relies on four magic schools, Magicka costs will be very high. This is why Enchanting is taken, especially for the Extra Effect perk, which allows you to reduce the casting costs of two branches at the same time. Enchanting is also a magical skill so it fits fine with the lore.
PERK SPREAD
LEVEL 25 | LEVEL 50
EQUIPMENT
♚Body: Archmage's Robes
Lenghty questline, fitting rewarding. The unique enchantment that reduces the casting cost of all spells by 15% is what it's all about, but the Magicka and Magicka Regeneration boosts aren't that bad either. Plus, it looks great coupled with the Dragon Priest masks.
♚Head: Ahzidal/ Zahkriisos/ Dukaan
As mentioned earlier in the build, depending on the trance you use, you will also be using a certain Dragon Priest mask. Each boosts its respective element damage by 25% and resistance by 50%. Great for boosting your Destruction spells.
♚Ring/ Amulet: Fortify Destruction + Fortify Corresponding School/ Magicka
Aside from switching between the masks, I had a set of jewellery for each of the trances, which had a Fortify Destruction enchantment coupled with another Fortify for each corresponding school. If you find switching between sets too much of a hassle, you can simply stick with a Fortify Magicka secondary enchantment.
♚Gloves: Ebony - Fortify Magicka & Fortify Heavy Armor
The Mage Armor perk is negated by the masks, so there's no reason not to use heavy armor. Extra Magicka & protection never hurt.
♚Boots: Ebony - Resist Shock & Resist fire
The Mage Armor perk is negated by the masks, so there's no reason not to use heavy armor. Shock damage is our main enemy, since it also depletes Magicka. Fire means extra damage, and since frost depletes stamina, resistance to the other two is favored.
TACTICS
Seeing as the Scion is a fairly versatile build, the Tactics section will be split in three sections, for each trance in particular.
THE LION
I used the Lion mainly for dealing with ranged attackers and dragons while they were still in flight. She's also good for clearing groups of weak enemies fast. Begin by using Illusion spells to set your enemies against each other; then, while they're busy, start taking them down one at a time. When cornered, use your fear spells to drive foes away, or, if the Intense Flames perk is available, continue blasting them with AoE spells such as Fireball or incinerate. I found the Lion to be the most costly Magicka-wise, so you'll be doing some running around, but if you use your illusion spells there shouldn't be anything you can't handle.
THE RAVEN
The Raven was planned as a mage counter, a role which she plays adequately. Shock spells have shorter range than frost or fire magic; the advantage is that they hit targets instantly. When entering battle, focus on killing an enemy so you can raise its corpse. Later on, necromancy will be replaced with Storm Atronachs, as you'll be disintegrating everyone, and you can't really raise ash, so be sure not to take the perk until you get your hands on the Conjure Storm Atronach spell tome. Chain Lightning was the spell I used the most; your atronachs are immune to it and its low cost late game makes it a devastating attack. Have fun disintegrating everything, in the name of science, of course!
THE MARE
The Mare is the defensive playstyle, geared around taking down resilient warrior types - or at least surviving their attacks. Setting up Frost Cloak and Mage Armor is the first thing you'll want to do when switching into this trance. Continue by laying down some Walls of Frost in your enemy's path, then start blasting them with ice from a distance. If they manage to reach you, they'll already be slowed down and without any stamina, and they'll be finished off by Frost Cloak. Late game, this combination also allows you to easily brush off dragon attacks, making for an effective grounded dragon counter.
ROLEPLAY
The Scion is a young mage which crosses the border into Skyrim hoping to leave her old life behind a begin anew. As with all Scions, she possesses an innate thirst for magical knowledge, but her peculiar condition often gets in the way of her endeavors. None of the trances are inherently violent, although all of them exhibit sociopathic tendencies one way or another. Her seclusion has also left her with a rather severe social handicap, which is obvious in her interactions with the outer world and her attitude regarding people and life in general.
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In short, to act the character well during this playthrough, here's what you need to do:
Switch trances often. The Lion and the Raven are domineering and want to perform lots of tests; the Mare is constantly afraid that they'll get her killed, so she'll try to take control as well. There's quite a bit of competition.
As the Lion, jump into battle whenever you have the chance. Some see bloodshed, the Lion sees a chance to test out her mind magic. Go ahead and have fun!
As the Raven, test your spells on any living things you see. Did you know rabbits can be revived? I didn't. I guess you learn something new everyday. I wonder if you can revive mammoths.
As the Mare, avoid all conflict. Why bother with killing, when you can avoid? The mare knows that less fighting means smaller chances of losing limbs, a philosophy she goes to great lengths to reinforce. Or you could just freeze everyone and run away. Your call,
Each trance has its own personality. The Lion is rude and abrasive, the Raven is polite, but aloof, and the Mare is shy, mistrustful and constantly scared. Pick dialogue choices appropriately.
Read & pick up books and scrolls. It doesn't hurt to have an extra copy of that spell tome, even if you know it. Better safe than sorry.
Do the Daedric quests. The Daedric Artifacts are so mysterious and powerful... is there any mage that wouldn't dream of studying such a marvel of magical properties? Get your hands on those babies (even though you don't really have any use for some of them)
Alingment: True Neutral
CONCLUSION
Bleh, my fingers hurt. My head hurts. But I missed this. Have fun~
MORE BUILDS
✥ The Crepuscular ✥
❋ The Scholar ❋
✽ The Warmaiden ✽
✠ The Anti-Paladin ✠
