Back in the Second Era, the king of Sentinel Fahara’jad was betrayed by an advisor who slew most members of his court, then raised an undead army against him. In dire straits, Fahara’jad turned to the Ash’abah for help. In a surprise ambush the Ash'abah, using forbidden mystical means, destroyed Suturah's army of Ra-Netu. The leader of the Ash’abah, Marimah, is rumored to have slain the necromancer with his own sword.
The Ash’abah do not appear in other myths or histories, due to the disgust the rest of Hammerfell felt for them at the time. They do make an appearance in the Elder Scrolls online, and I found this little snippet as well, which casts them as deeply religious people who view the slaying of the undead Ra'Netu as a grim but holy duty:
http://esohead.com/books/1776-correct-ways-of-slaying-ra-netu-12
Beyond that, they were shunned for their mastery of the necromantic arts and mysticism, but so little is known about them that I couldn’t resist trying to fill in the blanks myself story wise. Interestingly enough, Ash’abah is very similar to the Arabic word for “ghost”.
Ladies and gentleKhajiit, I give to you the Ash’abah
My tribe has been hidden since the days of the great Fahara’jad, sheltered by his gratitude. Ever since my ancestor Marimah slew the dread necromancer Suturah with his blade, we have been the guardians in the dark, the unseen shield, and the avenging blade.
Fahara’jad publicly denied us, but he kept his word. With his help we built our mountain fortress, far removed from the rest of Hammerfell. There we live for many centuries, training, learning, pushing back the boundaries of both the sword and magic. Though we lived most of lives in reclusion, some of my order traveled outside our walls whenever we sensed a disturbance in the world.
We walk unseen among our brothers and sisters. Ours is the night, the silence, the discretion of the grave. From Oblivion we call forth our blades and armor, with one hand we summon the night’s minion and its deathly chill, with the other we call upon the light of life and the scorching sun.
We are the silent wardens, the ghosts that defend. We are the Ash’Abah
The Ash’abah are very briefly described, but we from the above myth we can infer the following:
- They had knowledge of Necromancy
- They were effective against the undead
- They possibly had mystic skills other than Necromancy
- They were skilled at stealth or guerilla tactics
- They were skilled swordsmen as well
Based on that list, and with a little creative help, I decided to focus on the following skills:
Skills: Conjuration, Destruction, Restoration, One Handed, Sneak, Heavy Armor
I can hear you asking “Heavy armor? On a stealthy necromancer?” Patience, grasshopper.
Conjuration:
The Ash’abah were shunned from Redguard society for being necromancers, although they helped to take down an invading undead army. Conjuration is an essential part of this build, but it is actually very lightly perked, with only four necessary skills.
As Mason discovered in his incredible Kingslayer build, Bound Sword and Raise Zombie actually level up the Conjuration skill far more than the higher level spells. For most of our game we will be using these two spells exclusively.
The critical perks in this tree are:
- Novice Conjuration (speaks for itself)
- Mystic Binding (for that extra Bound Sword stabbiness)
- Necromancer
- Dark Souls
The last two perks are essential for any necromancer build, but they may seem a bit wasted on the humble Raise Zombie, especially since you cannot raise more powerful enemies later on, but all will become clear later.
Destruction:
The Ash’abah were said to have destroyed Suturah’s undead armies with “forbidden mystical means”. With nothing more to base myself on, I chose Destruction as one of their three damage-dealing options.
Fire damages almost all enemies equally, and is especially deadly against undead. Given their destruction of an undead army, I think it’s appropriate.
Ice symbolizes their familiarity with death and the darker magic, and it’s very useful against living opponents. Ice spells slow down your enemies considerably, allowing you to dance circles around them.
Adept level spells are where this build will shine. The Ash’abah is a front-line warrior who controls the battlefield as he wills. Both Fire Ball and Ice Storm are excellent at taking out clumps of enemies, and the two Cloak spells will make it that much easier to mow down your enemies at sword range.
Restoration:
Restoration is the opposite and complement of Conjuration. The Ash’abah view the slaying of undead almost like a religious obligation, and Restoration is extremely effective at that.
Necromage is essential for RP, and Respite helps you spam power attacks.
Key spells for me are Close Wounds, which can heal you back from the brink of death single cast and completely regenerate you with Respite and Stendarr’s Aura which turns Draugr mobs into a Sunday BBQ.
One Handed:
Although the Ash’abah were shunned by Redguard society, they had not abandoned the ways of their ancestors. The way of the sword is strong as ever with them, and some of them will even rise to the rank of a Sword Singer or even an Ansei.
Paralyzing strike will come late to the build, but it will turn it into a powerhouse. Since we depend on power attacks for much of our damage dealing, using a backwards power attack will paralyze enemies momentarily and stun dragons. This also synergizes well with Ice spells that make it much easier to out-maneuver slowed enemies.
Heavy Armor:
I envisioned the Ash’abah as powerful battlemages, controlling the frontlines when needed before fading back into the darkness. Between being a no-crafting build, splitting our stats between magicka and health, and not using the Mage Armor spells, five ranks of Juggernaught should allow us to survive any single strike from enemies at least until we can cast Close Wounds.
Sneak:
Stealth is a necessary part of roleplay, as implied by the name, but its importance for gameplay will depend for a large part on personal preference. Sneaking in heavy armor may sound counterintuitive but it becomes very easy with our later choices.
I prefer to think of stealth as a tactical option rather than a way to deal damage directly. The Ash’abah attacked the undead army from ambush, and this is exactly how I’d envision using it here: Put yourself in the best position, then overwhelm your target with spell and sword.
Stats Distribution: I suggest using 1/1 for health and magicka until you feel that you have enough magicka for your spells, and then dump everything in health. Stamina is useless if we have Respite.
Standing Stone: Take the Mage stone to level up, then Steed.
The Steed stone is what allows us to be stealth even in Heavy Armor, and essentially turns the Ash’abah from a frontline tank into a heavily armored ninja. You will be able to sneak into the midst of an enemy camp before unleashing your full fury against them, and Restoration will ensure you can survive the onslaught.
Finally, the extra carry weight allows you to gather that much more gear to sell to level up Destruction and Restoration with trainers.
Equipment:
This is where the Conjuration and Heavy Armor schools will show their true synergy. By leveling up Conjuration to 90, you will gain access to the Atronach Forge, also known as the True Source of Asskicking.
Completing the Conjuration Ritual quest will net you the Sigil Stone, which can then be used at the Atronach Forge to create enchanted Daedric armor. Using the Stone, an Ebony Ingot, a Daedra Heart, Void Salts, and a Greater Soul you can create a randomly enchanted piece of Daedric armor.
Save, reload, and even an unlucky bloke like me can find the enchantment he wants in record time. The enchantments are generally very powerful as well, so the gear will carry you through the entire game.
I could have gone many different ways with the possible enchantments, but I chose to focus on improving my offense, both physical and mystical.
The Aetherial Crown:
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear of an Undead army is “World War Z”.
The seconds thing, however, is the Ritual Stone. By having the Ritual Stone saved up on the Crown we can raise as many undead as are available in the vicinity, as many times per day as we’d like. This allows the Ash’abah to take full advantage of the Necromancy and Dark Souls perks without wasting any other perks in Conjuration, and without wasting Magicka calling up the undead.
Couple with the area of effect damage spells of Adept Destruction, the Ash’abah will quickly gain access to his own army.
Shouts:
I’m not so sure about having a Dragonborn Ash’abah, as the idea of a dragon-souled battlemage-ninja-necromancer starts to sound like a NinjaPirateZombieRobot. However, two shouts sound very thematically appropriate, and can kick unprecedented amounts of ass with this build.
Marked for Death: This shout will turn your enemies into brittle glass once it runs its course. The Bound Sword may lag a bit behind in damage in the late game, but MoD will quickly even up the odds.
Slow Time: The Ash’abah way of dispatching undead has them outmaneuvering the undead with superior speed. Also, I can think of few abilities that sound more mystical and mysterious than control over time. Finally, Slow Time will open up the way for some very interesting combos later on.
Gameplay:
The various elements of this build were chosen to strengthen each other as much as possible. The various synergies break down along the following lines:
- Restoration and Destruction: Necromage and Augmented flames strengthen both Sun and Flame spells against the Undead, turning the Ash’abah into a walking Holy Hand Grenade.
- One Handed and Destruction: Ice spells and Paralyzing Strike slow and paralyze your enemies, and regular power attacks should be enough to stagger most enemies as well. Add in Respite, and you can keep them staggered or paralyzed.
- Conjuration will grant you access to the best Heavy Armor in the game, fully enchanted, and the Steed Stone lets you move like a ballerina on crack.
- Ice spells will keep enemies away from you until MoD has reduced their armor into the negatives.
The idea behind all of this is to give you a very organic gameplay, with as many options as possible. Blast your enemies from a distance, before finishing them off with your swords. Raise an undead army and keep healing it until everybody's dead. Turn yourself into a flaming comet and charge in with both swords a-blazin'. It's up to you.
Tactics:
Patience of Death: Marked for Death, Frost, Respite, Dual Wield
Use all three words for MoD, then slow your enemies with Frost. Sprint away to let MoD take effect, replenish your stamina with Respite, then summon a second Bound Sword and charge in. The general effect will be like a buzzsaw meeting timber.
Like Day and Night: Slow Time, Flames, Ice Storm
This is my favorite move when facing a mob of melee attackers. Use Slow Time, spray them all with Flames to increase damage from all sources, then move to the side to line them up as much as possible before firing off Ice Storm.
Undead Revenge: Marked for Death, Ice Storm, Ritual Stone
This is especially useful against damage-sponge bosses who have a posse with them. Cast MoD on all enemies, then blast the weaker enemies with Ice Storm. As soon as you have enough bodies in one place use the Ritual Stone and let them tear away at their old boss.
Undead Surprise: Room of corpses, Ice Spike, Ritual Stone
This is for those bosses who don’t have a posse with them. After killing all enemies in a previous room, go up to the boss and shoot them Ice Spike. As they lumber after you kite them back to the room of corpses and raise them all. Open a beer and enjoy the look on the boss’ face.
The Mountain Fortress: Slow Time, AoE spell, Guardian Circle, Dual Wield
This combo turns the Ash’abah from a mobile battlemage to an immovable vortex of destruction. The first word of Slow Time should be enough to help you setup the spells before enemies reach you. Depending on your love for Destruction, you can either call up Blizzard or settle for the Cloak spells (or even Stendarr’s Aura against undead). The Guardian Circle will keep you alive and allow you to forego healing spells in your left hand for an additional Bound Sword.
Roleplay:
Since we know so little about the Ash’abah, this section is entirely up to the player. On one hand, they answered the call of a king and defeated the undead army of a traitor. On the other, the reports of their political enemies hint at magical depravity and harsh bargains with the king.
I like to play mine as a guardian in the shadows, but a mystic mercenary in search of power works very well too.
Back in the Second Era, the king of Sentinel Fahara’jad was betrayed by an advisor who slew most members of his court, then raised an undead army against him. In dire straits, Fahara’jad turned to the Ash’abah for help. In a surprise ambush the Ash'abah, using forbidden mystical means, destroyed Suturah's army of Ra-Netu. The leader of the Ash’abah, Marimah, is rumored to have slain the necromancer with his own sword.
The Ash’abah do not appear in other myths or histories, due to the disgust the rest of Hammerfell felt for them at the time. They do make an appearance in the Elder Scrolls online, and I found this little snippet as well, which casts them as deeply religious people who view the slaying of the undead Ra'Netu as a grim but holy duty:
http://esohead.com/books/1776-correct-ways-of-slaying-ra-netu-12
Beyond that, they were shunned for their mastery of the necromantic arts and mysticism, but so little is known about them that I couldn’t resist trying to fill in the blanks myself story wise. Interestingly enough, Ash’abah is very similar to the Arabic word for “ghost”.
Ladies and gentleKhajiit, I give to you the Ash’abah
My tribe has been hidden since the days of the great Fahara’jad, sheltered by his gratitude. Ever since my ancestor Marimah slew the dread necromancer Suturah with his blade, we have been the guardians in the dark, the unseen shield, and the avenging blade.
Fahara’jad publicly denied us, but he kept his word. With his help we built our mountain fortress, far removed from the rest of Hammerfell. There we live for many centuries, training, learning, pushing back the boundaries of both the sword and magic. Though we lived most of lives in reclusion, some of my order traveled outside our walls whenever we sensed a disturbance in the world.
We walk unseen among our brothers and sisters. Ours is the night, the silence, the discretion of the grave. From Oblivion we call forth our blades and armor, with one hand we summon the night’s minion and its deathly chill, with the other we call upon the light of life and the scorching sun.
We are the silent wardens, the ghosts that defend. We are the Ash’Abah
The Ash’abah are very briefly described, but we from the above myth we can infer the following:
- They had knowledge of Necromancy
- They were effective against the undead
- They possibly had mystic skills other than Necromancy
- They were skilled at stealth or guerilla tactics
- They were skilled swordsmen as well
Based on that list, and with a little creative help, I decided to focus on the following skills:
Skills: Conjuration, Destruction, Restoration, One Handed, Sneak, Heavy Armor
I can hear you asking “Heavy armor? On a stealthy necromancer?” Patience, grasshopper.
Conjuration:
The Ash’abah were shunned from Redguard society for being necromancers, although they helped to take down an invading undead army. Conjuration is an essential part of this build, but it is actually very lightly perked, with only four necessary skills.
As Mason discovered in his incredible Kingslayer build, Bound Sword and Raise Zombie actually level up the Conjuration skill far more than the higher level spells. For most of our game we will be using these two spells exclusively.
The critical perks in this tree are:
- Novice Conjuration (speaks for itself)
- Mystic Binding (for that extra Bound Sword stabbiness)
- Necromancer
- Dark Souls
The last two perks are essential for any necromancer build, but they may seem a bit wasted on the humble Raise Zombie, especially since you cannot raise more powerful enemies later on, but all will become clear later.
Destruction:
The Ash’abah were said to have destroyed Suturah’s undead armies with “forbidden mystical means”. With nothing more to base myself on, I chose Destruction as one of their three damage-dealing options.
Fire damages almost all enemies equally, and is especially deadly against undead. Given their destruction of an undead army, I think it’s appropriate.
Ice symbolizes their familiarity with death and the darker magic, and it’s very useful against living opponents. Ice spells slow down your enemies considerably, allowing you to dance circles around them.
Adept level spells are where this build will shine. The Ash’abah is a front-line warrior who controls the battlefield as he wills. Both Fire Ball and Ice Storm are excellent at taking out clumps of enemies, and the two Cloak spells will make it that much easier to mow down your enemies at sword range.
Restoration:
Restoration is the opposite and complement of Conjuration. The Ash’abah view the slaying of undead almost like a religious obligation, and Restoration is extremely effective at that.
Necromage is essential for RP, and Respite helps you spam power attacks.
Key spells for me are Close Wounds, which can heal you back from the brink of death single cast and completely regenerate you with Respite and Stendarr’s Aura which turns Draugr mobs into a Sunday BBQ.
One Handed:
Although the Ash’abah were shunned by Redguard society, they had not abandoned the ways of their ancestors. The way of the sword is strong as ever with them, and some of them will even rise to the rank of a Sword Singer or even an Ansei.
Paralyzing strike will come late to the build, but it will turn it into a powerhouse. Since we depend on power attacks for much of our damage dealing, using a backwards power attack will paralyze enemies momentarily and stun dragons. This also synergizes well with Ice spells that make it much easier to out-maneuver slowed enemies.
Heavy Armor:
I envisioned the Ash’abah as powerful battlemages, controlling the frontlines when needed before fading back into the darkness. Between being a no-crafting build, splitting our stats between magicka and health, and not using the Mage Armor spells, five ranks of Juggernaught should allow us to survive any single strike from enemies at least until we can cast Close Wounds.
Sneak:
Stealth is a necessary part of roleplay, as implied by the name, but its importance for gameplay will depend for a large part on personal preference. Sneaking in heavy armor may sound counterintuitive but it becomes very easy with our later choices.
I prefer to think of stealth as a tactical option rather than a way to deal damage directly. The Ash’abah attacked the undead army from ambush, and this is exactly how I’d envision using it here: Put yourself in the best position, then overwhelm your target with spell and sword.
Stats Distribution: I suggest using 1/1 for health and magicka until you feel that you have enough magicka for your spells, and then dump everything in health. Stamina is useless if we have Respite.
Standing Stone: Take the Mage stone to level up, then Steed.
The Steed stone is what allows us to be stealth even in Heavy Armor, and essentially turns the Ash’abah from a frontline tank into a heavily armored ninja. You will be able to sneak into the midst of an enemy camp before unleashing your full fury against them, and Restoration will ensure you can survive the onslaught.
Finally, the extra carry weight allows you to gather that much more gear to sell to level up Destruction and Restoration with trainers.
Equipment:
This is where the Conjuration and Heavy Armor schools will show their true synergy. By leveling up Conjuration to 90, you will gain access to the Atronach Forge, also known as the True Source of Asskicking.
Completing the Conjuration Ritual quest will net you the Sigil Stone, which can then be used at the Atronach Forge to create enchanted Daedric armor. Using the Stone, an Ebony Ingot, a Daedra Heart, Void Salts, and a Greater Soul you can create a randomly enchanted piece of Daedric armor.
Save, reload, and even an unlucky bloke like me can find the enchantment he wants in record time. The enchantments are generally very powerful as well, so the gear will carry you through the entire game.
I could have gone many different ways with the possible enchantments, but I chose to focus on improving my offense, both physical and mystical.
The Aetherial Crown:
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear of an Undead army is “World War Z”.
The seconds thing, however, is the Ritual Stone. By having the Ritual Stone saved up on the Crown we can raise as many undead as are available in the vicinity, as many times per day as we’d like. This allows the Ash’abah to take full advantage of the Necromancy and Dark Souls perks without wasting any other perks in Conjuration, and without wasting Magicka calling up the undead.
Couple with the area of effect damage spells of Adept Destruction, the Ash’abah will quickly gain access to his own army.
Shouts:
I’m not so sure about having a Dragonborn Ash’abah, as the idea of a dragon-souled battlemage-ninja-necromancer starts to sound like a NinjaPirateZombieRobot. However, two shouts sound very thematically appropriate, and can kick unprecedented amounts of ass with this build.
Marked for Death: This shout will turn your enemies into brittle glass once it runs its course. The Bound Sword may lag a bit behind in damage in the late game, but MoD will quickly even up the odds.
Slow Time: The Ash’abah way of dispatching undead has them outmaneuvering the undead with superior speed. Also, I can think of few abilities that sound more mystical and mysterious than control over time. Finally, Slow Time will open up the way for some very interesting combos later on.
Gameplay:
The various elements of this build were chosen to strengthen each other as much as possible. The various synergies break down along the following lines:
- Restoration and Destruction: Necromage and Augmented flames strengthen both Sun and Flame spells against the Undead, turning the Ash’abah into a walking Holy Hand Grenade.
- One Handed and Destruction: Ice spells and Paralyzing Strike slow and paralyze your enemies, and regular power attacks should be enough to stagger most enemies as well. Add in Respite, and you can keep them staggered or paralyzed.
- Conjuration will grant you access to the best Heavy Armor in the game, fully enchanted, and the Steed Stone lets you move like a ballerina on crack.
- Ice spells will keep enemies away from you until MoD has reduced their armor into the negatives.
The idea behind all of this is to give you a very organic gameplay, with as many options as possible. Blast your enemies from a distance, before finishing them off with your swords. Raise an undead army and keep healing it until everybody's dead. Turn yourself into a flaming comet and charge in with both swords a-blazin'. It's up to you.
Tactics:
Patience of Death: Marked for Death, Frost, Respite, Dual Wield
Use all three words for MoD, then slow your enemies with Frost. Sprint away to let MoD take effect, replenish your stamina with Respite, then summon a second Bound Sword and charge in. The general effect will be like a buzzsaw meeting timber.
Like Day and Night: Slow Time, Flames, Ice Storm
This is my favorite move when facing a mob of melee attackers. Use Slow Time, spray them all with Flames to increase damage from all sources, then move to the side to line them up as much as possible before firing off Ice Storm.
Undead Revenge: Marked for Death, Ice Storm, Ritual Stone
This is especially useful against damage-sponge bosses who have a posse with them. Cast MoD on all enemies, then blast the weaker enemies with Ice Storm. As soon as you have enough bodies in one place use the Ritual Stone and let them tear away at their old boss.
Undead Surprise: Room of corpses, Ice Spike, Ritual Stone
This is for those bosses who don’t have a posse with them. After killing all enemies in a previous room, go up to the boss and shoot them Ice Spike. As they lumber after you kite them back to the room of corpses and raise them all. Open a beer and enjoy the look on the boss’ face.
The Mountain Fortress: Slow Time, AoE spell, Guardian Circle, Dual Wield
This combo turns the Ash’abah from a mobile battlemage to an immovable vortex of destruction. The first word of Slow Time should be enough to help you setup the spells before enemies reach you. Depending on your love for Destruction, you can either call up Blizzard or settle for the Cloak spells (or even Stendarr’s Aura against undead). The Guardian Circle will keep you alive and allow you to forego healing spells in your left hand for an additional Bound Sword.
Roleplay:
Since we know so little about the Ash’abah, this section is entirely up to the player. On one hand, they answered the call of a king and defeated the undead army of a traitor. On the other, the reports of their political enemies hint at magical depravity and harsh bargains with the king.
I like to play mine as a guardian in the shadows, but a mystic mercenary in search of power works very well too.
