This build actually started as a little experiment of mine. I wanted to see how viable it would be to play as a merchant in Skyrim. I quickly discovered that being a merchant revolved around only one perk tree: Speech. If you master speech you can sell anything to anyone for very high prices. But Skyrim is an adventure RPG. Focusing on speech alone wouldn't give this character any means to defend himself. And how would he get his goods to sell? The result to those questions is this unexpected, but extremely fun to play build.
The Merchant Thief:
"Nothing raises my ire more than having an agreement broken. It's bad for business and it wastes time."
Build:
Race: Imperial. The Imperials are known to be shrewd traders who have a silver tongue that puts everyone at ease. The Imperial Luck also puts a few extra coins in your pocket, meaning you'll spend less time trying to acquire loot you'll be trying to sell.
Stone: First lover, then the Serpent or Tower Stone.
Stat Distiribution: 1M/1H/1S until you hit 200 Magicka, then 1H/1S.
Shouts: Aura Whisper and Throw Voice.
Gear:
Weapons:
- Imperial sword with Absorb Health and Stamina enchantments.
- Silver sword with Fire Damage and Turn Undead enchantments.
- Ebony sword with Absorb Magicka and Shock Damage enchantments.
Apparel:
- Silver and Sapphire Circlet with Fortify magicka and Fortify Restoration
- Fine Clothes with Fortify Illusion and Magicka Regeneration
- Ebony Gauntlets with Fortify Pickpocket and Lockpicking
- Ebony Boots with Muffle and Fortify Sneak
- Silver Sapphire Necklace with Fortify Barter and One-Handed
- Gold Sapphire Ring with Fortify Carry Weight and Stamina Regeneration
Major Skills:
Speech: What good is a merchant if he can only sell his goods at a terrible loss? With this skill you will become a master among the merchants, selling your goods at high prices. And you'll also be able to get rid of some of your more ill-gotten goods.
Illusion: The Merchant Thief is a master manipulator, able to put even the greatest foe at ease around him. He can also turn the biggest friends into the greatest rivals.
Enchanting: What point is there in having vasts amount of wealth if you can't spend it on anything? The Merchant Thief will take an interest in Enchanting and with it he'll be able to create powerful weapons and turn his softest clothes into powerful protective shields. The Merchant Thief is no warrior, but his strikes will hurt a lot nonetheless.
Minor Skills:
Sneak: Not everything can be bought from other merchants. Sometimes you have to enter caves or ancient ruins in order to acquire the goods your client craves...
Pickpocket: Sometimes the easiest way to get your goods is to steal them from other merchants. Something as trivial as the law won't stand in the Merchant Thief's way.
Unperked Skills:
One-Handed: This skill will level naturally with you as you will be using enchanted weapons.
Restoration: You'll want to use some healing spells on your companion as you support him during battle.
Perk Calculator: http://skyrimcalculator.com/#374550
Gameplay:
In the eye of the Merchant Thief there are two different sorts of quests that he is given: mercenary quests and item quests. Depending on the quest you'll be playing you'll want to change your strategy:
Mercenary quests:
These are all the quests in which you'll have to complete a dungeon or kill a bandit chief or something.
To put it bluntly: the Merchant Thief is a glass cannon. He might survive one hit, but the second one will put him out of his misery. That's why you want to even the odds by hiring someone to do the fighting for you. I ended up going with Stenvar because of his skills in Heavy Armor and Two-Handed.
Give your follower the finest weapons and armor that you can buy and give the armor the finest enchantments possible. I decided not to enchant their weapons because you'll want to keep the soul gems you have for your own enchanted weapon, which you'll be using to stab enemies in the back while your follower takes the bulk of the damage.
You'll want to support your follower with courage spells and healing spells. The odd Fury spell every once in a while also won't hurt and will make your companion's work that much easier.
Item quests:
These are all the quests where you will have to acquire items, but don't have to kill anyone. It's during these quests that the Merchant Thief will result to sneaking, pickpocket and illusion spells. You're free to use any illusion spell, but I ended up going with Fury spells. Nothing distracts a large group of enemies like a teammate suddenly going berserk. However, you will not lift your own blade during these sorts of missions. You're to be a ghost who goes in and out caves or dungeons without ever being spotted.
Roleplay and Quests:
Deep down inside the Merchant Thief is nothing but a money-hungry individual who'll do anything in his might to get what he wants: lots and lots of money. No job is too low for this character, so long as the price is right.
You'll want to roleplay this character as a pompous, yet charming individual who'll say anything he thinks the others will want to hear, so long as those others are useful to him. Don't waste your breath on beggars or the common rabble. To you they're nothing but lazy parasites who don't want to put in enough effort to make something of themselves. It's the noblemen and the jarls that'll attract your attention and whom you'll want to suck up to. Accept any job they'll offer you. Ignoring jobs is bad for your reputation and a merchant is nothing without a good reputation.
Besides sucking up to noblemen you'll want to collect as many items as you want. What point is there in gathering lots of money if you can't spend it? The Merchant Thief is an arrogant and prideful individual who loves to show off. I ended up buying (and enchanting) all the different sets of armor and every weapon the other merchants were willing to sell and put it all on display in my home on Falkreath. I also ended up collecting a lot of books for my little library in Markath. You'll want to buy as many houses as you possibly can. A good merchant has a place he can call home in every hold, close to the many jarls and people in power he hopes to leech off of.
As the Merchant Thief is still a lowly pickpocket he'll find a lot of friends at the Thieves Guild. Why get caught trying to lighten the pockets of a few people and pay a heavy fine when your connections to the Thieves Guild can make the guard look the other way for a few coins? The merchant Thief is also a strong believer in the core tenet of the guild: don't kill your victims. It's bad for business and as a result you'll want to stay your blade whenever you can. Only kill when you absolutely have to or in self-defence. You are a merchant, not a brute!
Keep your eyes on the prize!
Necessary quests:
- Companions questline: Why on earth would you want to join a guild of warriors? Because as the harbinger you've got your hands at a reliable group of mercenaries who respect you and are willing to die for your selfish needs. The harbinger is an advisor to the group, but that doesn't mean you'll have to be a warrior... Cure yourself of lycanthropy though. You are a refined gentleman, not a brutish monster.
- Thieves Guild: You're a thief, this is a guild for the thieves... Perfect fit.
- Bard college: An entire faction of people who try to persuade others with the art of speech? Sounds like you'd fit there naturally!
- Thane quests: Try to become a thane in every hold. As a rich member of society it only makes sense that you are bestowed upon a title for keeping the economy spinning!
- College of Winterhold: Mainly to get your hands on the higher level Illusion spells and a steady supply of soul gems that you can buy.
Credits:
- A big thanks to Elder Scrolls Wikia and Uesp for providing the images I used for this build.
- I'd also like to thank Vlad B for his Warmaiden build. It served as inspiration for my own supportive aspects in this build. Here's a link to his build: http://theskyrimblog.ning.com/group/character-building/forum/topics/character-build-the-warmaiden
This build actually started as a little experiment of mine. I wanted to see how viable it would be to play as a merchant in Skyrim. I quickly discovered that being a merchant revolved around only one perk tree: Speech. If you master speech you can sell anything to anyone for very high prices. But Skyrim is an adventure RPG. Focusing on speech alone wouldn't give this character any means to defend himself. And how would he get his goods to sell? The result to those questions is this unexpected, but extremely fun to play build.
The Merchant Thief:
"Nothing raises my ire more than having an agreement broken. It's bad for business and it wastes time."
Build:
Race: Imperial. The Imperials are known to be shrewd traders who have a silver tongue that puts everyone at ease. The Imperial Luck also puts a few extra coins in your pocket, meaning you'll spend less time trying to acquire loot you'll be trying to sell.
Stone: First lover, then the Serpent or Tower Stone.
Stat Distiribution: 1M/1H/1S until you hit 200 Magicka, then 1H/1S.
Shouts: Aura Whisper and Throw Voice.
Gear:
Weapons:
- Imperial sword with Absorb Health and Stamina enchantments.
- Silver sword with Fire Damage and Turn Undead enchantments.
- Ebony sword with Absorb Magicka and Shock Damage enchantments.
Apparel:
- Silver and Sapphire Circlet with Fortify magicka and Fortify Restoration
- Fine Clothes with Fortify Illusion and Magicka Regeneration
- Ebony Gauntlets with Fortify Pickpocket and Lockpicking
- Ebony Boots with Muffle and Fortify Sneak
- Silver Sapphire Necklace with Fortify Barter and One-Handed
- Gold Sapphire Ring with Fortify Carry Weight and Stamina Regeneration
Major Skills:
Speech: What good is a merchant if he can only sell his goods at a terrible loss? With this skill you will become a master among the merchants, selling your goods at high prices. And you'll also be able to get rid of some of your more ill-gotten goods.
Illusion: The Merchant Thief is a master manipulator, able to put even the greatest foe at ease around him. He can also turn the biggest friends into the greatest rivals.
Enchanting: What point is there in having vasts amount of wealth if you can't spend it on anything? The Merchant Thief will take an interest in Enchanting and with it he'll be able to create powerful weapons and turn his softest clothes into powerful protective shields. The Merchant Thief is no warrior, but his strikes will hurt a lot nonetheless.
Minor Skills:
Sneak: Not everything can be bought from other merchants. Sometimes you have to enter caves or ancient ruins in order to acquire the goods your client craves...
Pickpocket: Sometimes the easiest way to get your goods is to steal them from other merchants. Something as trivial as the law won't stand in the Merchant Thief's way.
Unperked Skills:
One-Handed: This skill will level naturally with you as you will be using enchanted weapons.
Restoration: You'll want to use some healing spells on your companion as you support him during battle.
Perk Calculator: http://skyrimcalculator.com/#374550
Gameplay:
In the eye of the Merchant Thief there are two different sorts of quests that he is given: mercenary quests and item quests. Depending on the quest you'll be playing you'll want to change your strategy:
Mercenary quests:
These are all the quests in which you'll have to complete a dungeon or kill a bandit chief or something.
To put it bluntly: the Merchant Thief is a glass cannon. He might survive one hit, but the second one will put him out of his misery. That's why you want to even the odds by hiring someone to do the fighting for you. I ended up going with Stenvar because of his skills in Heavy Armor and Two-Handed.
Give your follower the finest weapons and armor that you can buy and give the armor the finest enchantments possible. I decided not to enchant their weapons because you'll want to keep the soul gems you have for your own enchanted weapon, which you'll be using to stab enemies in the back while your follower takes the bulk of the damage.
You'll want to support your follower with courage spells and healing spells. The odd Fury spell every once in a while also won't hurt and will make your companion's work that much easier.
Item quests:
These are all the quests where you will have to acquire items, but don't have to kill anyone. It's during these quests that the Merchant Thief will result to sneaking, pickpocket and illusion spells. You're free to use any illusion spell, but I ended up going with Fury spells. Nothing distracts a large group of enemies like a teammate suddenly going berserk. However, you will not lift your own blade during these sorts of missions. You're to be a ghost who goes in and out caves or dungeons without ever being spotted.
Roleplay and Quests:
Deep down inside the Merchant Thief is nothing but a money-hungry individual who'll do anything in his might to get what he wants: lots and lots of money. No job is too low for this character, so long as the price is right.
You'll want to roleplay this character as a pompous, yet charming individual who'll say anything he thinks the others will want to hear, so long as those others are useful to him. Don't waste your breath on beggars or the common rabble. To you they're nothing but lazy parasites who don't want to put in enough effort to make something of themselves. It's the noblemen and the jarls that'll attract your attention and whom you'll want to suck up to. Accept any job they'll offer you. Ignoring jobs is bad for your reputation and a merchant is nothing without a good reputation.
Besides sucking up to noblemen you'll want to collect as many items as you want. What point is there in gathering lots of money if you can't spend it? The Merchant Thief is an arrogant and prideful individual who loves to show off. I ended up buying (and enchanting) all the different sets of armor and every weapon the other merchants were willing to sell and put it all on display in my home on Falkreath. I also ended up collecting a lot of books for my little library in Markath. You'll want to buy as many houses as you possibly can. A good merchant has a place he can call home in every hold, close to the many jarls and people in power he hopes to leech off of.
As the Merchant Thief is still a lowly pickpocket he'll find a lot of friends at the Thieves Guild. Why get caught trying to lighten the pockets of a few people and pay a heavy fine when your connections to the Thieves Guild can make the guard look the other way for a few coins? The merchant Thief is also a strong believer in the core tenet of the guild: don't kill your victims. It's bad for business and as a result you'll want to stay your blade whenever you can. Only kill when you absolutely have to or in self-defence. You are a merchant, not a brute!
Keep your eyes on the prize!
Necessary quests:
- Companions questline: Why on earth would you want to join a guild of warriors? Because as the harbinger you've got your hands at a reliable group of mercenaries who respect you and are willing to die for your selfish needs. The harbinger is an advisor to the group, but that doesn't mean you'll have to be a warrior... Cure yourself of lycanthropy though. You are a refined gentleman, not a brutish monster.
- Thieves Guild: You're a thief, this is a guild for the thieves... Perfect fit.
- Bard college: An entire faction of people who try to persuade others with the art of speech? Sounds like you'd fit there naturally!
- Thane quests: Try to become a thane in every hold. As a rich member of society it only makes sense that you are bestowed upon a title for keeping the economy spinning!
- College of Winterhold: Mainly to get your hands on the higher level Illusion spells and a steady supply of soul gems that you can buy.
Credits:
- A big thanks to Elder Scrolls Wikia and Uesp for providing the images I used for this build.
- I'd also like to thank Vlad B for his Warmaiden build. It served as inspiration for my own supportive aspects in this build. Here's a link to his build: http://theskyrimblog.ning.com/group/character-building/forum/topics/character-build-the-warmaiden
