In the deepest reaches of Skyrim's wilderness, some say that a vengeful hunter resides. Spurned by his kinsmen for breaking the Green Pact and forced to live as an outcast in the vast expanse of Tamriel, he is feared by many and seen by few. They say that his arrows never miss their mark, and that the mighty high elves of the Aldmeri Dominion are his prey of choice. Few know his name, and even fewer know his tale. But whatever has brought this dreaded hunter to the land of the Nords, one thing has been made abundantly clear: the forests are no longer safe, for travelers who dare to wander in them have chosen to risk an encounter with...

THE ARCHER OF WHITERUN

Hello, everyone! After making waves with my blog posts, I've received several requests to try my hand at character building. This will be a short and sweet one, as I'm short on resources and am also completely inexperienced in this field. For my very first attempt at this popular craft, I've decided to take inspiration from my own character, Marudil of Valenwood, better known to those who follow my blog as the Archer of Whiterun. Don't let the name throw you off; this build is designed to travel all across Skyrim's vast landscape. I simply chose to use it as a reference to the character that inspired this build, whose canonical infamy first took off in Whiterun Hold (and for those who are curious about the true history of the Archer, I suggest taking a look at my blog). So, that being said, let's begin with the basics of this build.

RACE

This is more or less up to the player's preference, but if we're going with the original character here, then the bosmer race will be our choice for now. Yes, I'll acknowledge that it is the obvious choice for a stealth-based playthrough but it serves a significant purpose for the history and drive of the character.

STATS

Because you're a forest-dwelling hunter, you'll mainly want to bump up your stamina and health with each level-up. For every singular boost of health, aim for three boosts of stamina. This will give you the agility to stay light on your feet, as well as the durability to take some damage if the going gets tough. Magic, however, plays absolutely no part in this build; you're a character that prefers the familiarity of the practical approach to things. So there will be no enchanting, save for those inevitable enchanted weapons you'll find scattered throughout the game.

MAJOR SKILLS

Archery: Wouldn't quite be worthy of the "Archer" title without proficient bow-and-arrow skills, yes? This will be what you primarily rely on for survival in Skyrim's harsh wilderness; because you exist outside of society (urban legend and all), you'll have to find your own food. And being a hunter, that food will generally be the animals that you kill. As it's a means of survival, you'll want a quick and easy way to prepare your next meal... not to mention the bandits and Thalmor units you'll be taking down as well.

Stealth: A good hunter relies on the prey's inability to see or hear him coming. That's what gets you your next meal, and what keeps you alive when danger comes calling. It also adds to the "deadly" factor; the Archer is an unseen figure lurking in the dark corners of the forest, who could easily be hiding behind any tree. Your job is to live up to that sinister reputation and take down your adversaries before they even have a clue who they're dealing with.

MINOR SKILLS

Alchemy: Your knowledge of plants and herbs is both a blessing to you and a curse to your enemies. And since you've broken the Green Pact, you've opened yourself up to whole new ways of using the environment to your advantage. The best part is, you don't need an alchemy station to raise your skill points or to learn new potions; you can just eat any ingredients that you find in the wilderness and learn from them.

One-Handed Weapons: Though your arrows will serve you well, there may come times when you are taken by surprise and attacked directly, whether by wolves or bandits or whatever else catches you. In those situations, your best defense is a one-handed sword, whether iron or steel. Don't make this the emphasis of your playthrough; reserve it for when you've been caught off-guard.

PERK SPREAD

First and foremost, your namesake tells of your deadliest asset. You'll want to focus on the Overdraw perk first, as it boosts the base damage of your arrows. From there, move up the right side of the perk tree to power your base damage even further. You can afford to ignore most of the left side, but whether you earn the extra perks on this tree or not is all up to you.

For the stealth perks, it is nearly the exact opposite. The left side focuses on undetected movement, while the right side focuses on sneak-attacks. Only focus on the right side until you get the "Deadly Aim" perk, since you won't be relying on back-stabbing.

Then there's alchemy; for this tree, focus solely on the poison perks. Make sure to get that as high as is satisfactory to your playstyle before turning your attention to healing potions and such. After all, you're as crafty as you are accurate with your arrows. It only makes sense that you'd want to perfect your poison abilities first.

Finally we come to the One-Handed perk tree. This is relatively simple, as you're a character who relies on the swift cutting power of swords to get the job done -- but only when the occasion calls for it. So the only perks needed here are Armsman, Fighting Stance, and Bladesman.

EQUIPMENT

This is a build designed for light travel and virtually no crafting. For your outfit, a nice set of fur armor will give you decent protection, not to mention it looks very much like what a vagabond would wear. A hood is also suggested, but not required. As far as weaponry is concerned, you'll want to rely on the necessities; your bow and arrow are your primary weapons, but you'll also need a sword for close combat situations. And really, that's all you're bringing with you; armor to protect you from enemies and the elements, and weapons to gather food and defend yourself with.

GAMEPLAY 

Now here's where things get interesting; as the Archer, you'll be prowling the landscape of Skyrim and relying on its resources. You're also regarded as a "bogeyman" of sorts, existing in urban legends and campfire stories. Therefore, you're actually discouraged from visiting any of the major cities or doing any of the major quests. Gotta keep up a good image, right? Furthermore, this build is modeled around exploration and immersive survival roleplay... which, in short, means no fast-travel. Your focus is to be set squarely on the surrounding environment, and whatever crazy adventures or battles you find yourself involved in. This will inevitably make the game seem more tedious, but at the same time it will help to emphasize the atmosphere of the build.

ROLEPLAY:

This plays a significant role in the Archer of Whiterun build; to begin with, there is no suggested guild to join, nor is there any side you'll be taking in the Civil War. You live as a shadowy figure in the wilderness. The civilized people of Skyrim regard you as either a lunatic or a complete myth. You have a personal vendetta against the Thalmor, and your mission is best pursued alone. On your own, there is nobody to get in the way of your vengeance with tales of morality and consequences, and there are no blabbing cutthroats telling you to kill needlessly. This is your quest for vengeance, and yours alone.

And speaking of your quest for vengeance, the Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion are your sworn enemies. Elenwen in particular is at the top of your hit list. They're the ones that put you where you are. They're the ones responsible for turning you into the monster that pursues them. Anything you can do to deal a blow to their pompous faces helps put you closer and closer to your goal of punishing them for their crimes against you and your people.

For the personality of the Build, you will be playing a character that is bitter and unforgiving. You trust nobody, and you speak to very few. After all, you've been spurned by both the altmer and the bosmer, not to mention you're well aware of the hostilities between man and mer. Besides, since you've been living on your own, you've found it to be relatively easy to avoid Tamriel's inevitable conflicts; while others obsess over wars and dominance, you feel that your goal of vengeance is simple and direct. This is the life you choose to lead: free from the stresses of cultural conflict and societal mayhem, you are free to do as you please in the forest.... even if it means killing Thalmor units, skinning their bodies, and hanging them upside-down from the treetops.

This concludes my very first attempt at a character build. If you liked what's been offered or if you have any suggestions (I'd deeply appreciate pointers), then please leave a comment below. I look forward to your responses, and I thank you for taking the time to read my first build. Adventure awaits!

~MMT

One important aspect you're missing here is a perk spread that makes it clear which perks need to be taken to "build" this character. Also, your tags like "Character Build" won't be broken up into separate words if you put them in quotes.

Thank you so much for those pointers!! I'll definitely be adding a perk spread to the Build (I thought it seemed a little empty!) Though as far as the tags go, I didn't actually put them in quotes. Any word on that?

At the top of your build should be an options button that will give you a drop down menu. One of the choices is to edit the tags. Simply put "Character Build (You should put an archive category here)", instead of Character Build without quotations, and it will appear as one tag, instead of a Character tag and a Build tag.

Thanks for the advice.  I'm making these crucial edits even as we speak.

Thank you.  And once the perk spread is done, it'll be even better.

The perk spread is finished. 

The edits have been made.