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Character Build: The Terror Lord

Tags: #Character Build Sorcerer  #Character Build Vampire  #Race:Dunmer  #Rank:Recognized  #Cleric 
  • Member
    February 19, 2015

    This is the very first build I wrote down after playing skyrim for 3 years and reading this blog quite the same time. Please, I'll be gald to correct any aspect of the build, grammatical, gameplay or lore, so feel free to comment. Without more delay I'll present you:

    “Since long time ago there were many Vampire Clans (or Bloodlines) in Morrowind, one of them were the Quarra Clan.

    The Quarra Clan were the most physically prepared vampires of all land, its ranks were formed by human Vampires, Nords mostly… And they always had varied cattle in their dungeons.

    The cattle weren’t only to feed when blood-thirsty vampires were hungry as hell but to sacrifice in the name of Lord Molag Bal; father of Vampirism, one of the corners of the House of Troubles and the King of Rape and Daedric Prince of domination.

    In his name, many vampires in the clan raped the cattle in summoning days. It was Evening Star 24th when a Nord from the Quarra Bloodline raped my mother and, in consequence, bring me to life.”

    The story of the Terror Lord was a traumatic childhood, his dunmer mother survived the nine months until the birth day, when she perished. And the baby were born with the blessing of Moalg Bal. This made of him a strong man, he served in Druscasthi for many years as simply servant, but the power he carried on himself were growing non-stop. In his free time he learnt the Path of Domination, where he first met his Master. Molag Bal talked to the young mer:

            “You are the son of True Darkness, you will carry my words, my actions, don’t let anyone put you down, they all are just beasts. You’ll enslave this mortal world. Serve me now, as my priest, wake up, take your weapons and escape from this land, spread my word through all Tamriel. But act in the shadows. No one will ever see our intentions. GO”

    He woke up outside of Druscasthi, with some lesser vampires of the clan carved up around him. He fled from Morrowind that same year: 4E 5.

    Since then the boy assumed his new title: The Terror Lord, as he will inspire fear in the hearts of their foes; and then they had two options: Being enslaved and learn the Path of Domination or be killed. However the dunmer learnt that killing is dirty, risky and no well seen… He found the true way to domination was gold and power. And that’s why he went to Skyrim. With a war in its cenit and the Empire collapsing there were many opportunities to be recognized as an influent person; and with some help and the support of the Jarls he will gain the territory for Molag Bal.

     

    The Terror Lord is no fool evil maniac who slaughter everything for simple joy. No. He prefer to act as a respectable man with the sight are on him… But you should better not be in his way to domination. His power in battle inflicts Fear in his enemy hearts, and his tongue is sharper than his blade.

     

    INTO THE BUILD

    Race: Dunmer, for RP, it also mitigates the fire weakness of Vampirsim.

    Stone: Ritual/Steed/Lady. The one that suits you best. I love the the Ritual spell; raising an army of undead makes me feel as a powerful necromage. The Steed’s carryweight is quite handy because of the number of equipment (many staves and scrolls) we’ll have in inventory and the weightless armor let us dodge attacks, I must say there is no block in this build. The Lady is awesome for Vampire characters for the regeneration during day. I must say last one is the most suited if you love RP, the reason is the mother of the Terror Lord got pregnant on Evening Star, nine months later it will be Hearthfire, and the birthsign of that month is the Lady.

     

    Steel and Magic to repulse every foe you encounter.

    Major Skills: Conjuration, Restoration and Illusion

    Minor Skills: One-handed, Heavy armor, Destrution and Speechcraft.

    Other Skills: Enchanting and Vampirism

     

    Stats: 2/1/1

    Being a mixed class brings the need of every stat at least a bit. We need a larger pool of magicka especially for Wards (explanation later) and Illusion spells; in battle there is not much need of many conjuration spells altogether, and destruction will come in the form of Staves.

    Maces, the weapon of choice, needs quite stamina to power attack frequently (or if you use any mod with more stamina influence like SkyRe Combat Module, or ACE)

     

    Gear:

    •  Weapons: Mace of Molag Bal is your main. You could choose to have an unenchanted mace to use along with “Elemental Fury”. At the late game, if you decided to develop your enchanting skill forge yourself a daedric mace at the Atronach Forge. You can always try luck with random weapon recipe if you didn’t perk enchanting.
    • Staves: Nearly everything you get will be useful, but our main will be Staff of the Frost Atronach (or other atronach) as dummie and high level destruction staves, use the most suited for you.

      Other useful staffs are Paralysis (we don’t use Alteration), Soul Trap, Fear and of course Miraak’s Staff.

    • Armor: It is quite flexible but I like the look of Daedric Chestpiece and Gauntlets, Ebony Boots and Hood. You can choose other equipment, as you wish, but I highly suggest wearing one Daedric Armor piece, which should be forged in the Atronach Forge. Here are some reccomended combinations:
      • Daedric Armor/Ahzidal's Gauntlets of Warding/Daedric Boots/Hood
      • Ebony Armor/Daedric Gauntlets/Ebony Boots/Hood
      • Ahzidal's armor of Retribution/Daedric Gauntlets/Ebony Boots/Hood
    • Amulets and Trinkets: I like to be flexible with this, but I would choose for example, Gauldur Amulet as necklace. And for ring there are many options. An enchanted ring which reduce restoration cost can be handy; also the Azhidal's Ring of Arcana provides the awesome spell ignite; however this collides with my goal to use only destruction in staff form. The other Azhidal's ring; Azhidal's ring of Necromancy would provide a great help against groups of melee enemies, it is awesome to use Ritual Stone in conjuction with it. A massive frost damage!!

     

     

    There are just two ways to serve Lord Molag Bal, join me or be sacrificed.

     

     

    SKILLS EXPLAINATION

    Conjuration:

    The power of Necromancy is your main choice here; however don’t be afraid to use, even perk the summon branch. The Soul Cairn’s Summons could be your best friend, or an icy atronatch in staff or spell form.

    Restoration

    After all, a Dark Cleric is still a Cleric. However we will keep away from anti-undead spells and focus on healing but more on wards. Wards will be our shield, against mages or wariors, yes, it can’t bash or block properly, but is very cool and works properly.

    Illusion

    Fear is our main here. It is used when you are overwhelmed. Be careful when you use it in interior dungeons, especially if they are straight, because a huge orc running away from a room crying in terror will make his friends suspect.

    Here we will use the buff spells (Courage and that stuff). With the Master of the Mind Perk we will make our undead army unstoppable.

     

    One handed

    The most typical clerics wield a mace as backup when you end fighting toe to toe. Maces makes the most damage per hit, so they are devastating when power attacking, however they are slow. Learn to timing your attacks, dodges and wards. When warding use always power attacks to keep enemies staggered and you could use the time to reposition or finishing them if they are low health.

     

    Heavy Armor

    Not only makes you harder to kill, but it makes you fearful. Daedric and Ebony are just too cool for an evil character. Daedric armor will be obtained through the Atronach Forge (more of this later).

     

    Destruction

    Your main ranged combat form and useful for AoE spells; however I decided to change something this time. The worshipper of Molag Bal was too busy developing his skills on Conjuration and Restoration (Also Illusion)… And destruction magic is veeeeeeery manahungry in battle. This makes me not to use wards frequently; so I thought… What about wards being my mana hungry spells, and use Destruction just in Staves (or scrolls if needed). The results are great. Staves scales with Destruction skill and perks; and without the need of magicka I can ward myself from enemy mages while attacking them with no problem. The use of staves gives us another benefit: Developing enchanting skill naturally.

     

    Speech

    The Terror Lord is bold, and don’t get himself caught as a Daedra worshipper… His way to domination is no through killing (not normally) but through persuading and gold power.

     

    Enchanting

    As I said above, this will increase naturally as we recharge our staves. We can perk it for the right branch to keep staves full and, in late game, we could choose to perk up to Extra Effect to keep our gear up to the max.

     

    Vampirsim

    As worshipper of the God of domination and Father of Vampirism, you will end to succumb to the temptation of it. With Necromage perk from Restoration will give you quite decent bonus buffs; also, the Frost Resistance in change of your Fire Resistance is not bad deal; if you keep yourself in phase 2 of vampirism you will benefit of both resistance a bit. The Champion of the Night buff will provide a nice help with Illusion spells.

    Attention: This Perk Spread at level 55 is for Fire specialization, you can choose other specialization, or none, and spend the perks in speech and enchanting or one-handed.

    After level 55 you should goal to max enchanting and perk it full (At least Insightful Enchanter, Corpus Enchanter and Extra Effect).

     

    GAMEPLAY

    The Terror Lord is a multi-purpose combatant; he can go melee, mace-wielding, and wards for protection; also for dangerous foes, like two-handed warriors, the Terror Lord relies on his favourite Crowd Control effect: Fear.

    For ranged enemies The Terror Lord has an arsenal of staves and scrolls; against mages remember ALWAYS to have your ward spell in your offhand.  The spells in your staves and scrolls depends if you prefer specialization or versatility. If you decide to specialize in one of the destruction magic I suggest Fire for several reasons:

    1. As Dunmer you have an inherent bond with Fire.
    2. Many necromancy users wield Frost magic, it is boring to use always the same.
    3. The perk Aspect of Terror from Illusion synergized too well with fire spells to ignore it.

    The way to victory is going one by one, and remember to raise any corpse you have nearby or enemy you defeated.

    You try to revenge your friend? Fool, HE will be your end.

     

    One thing you should know is a good retreat is a victory. The Terror Lord isn’t a no-brainer warrior who will stand in front of the enemy until he dies. No. He is treacherous and intelligent, use your surroundings, and feel free to turn invisible while your minions do the work. The only TRUE way to complete domination is NOT dying, and this is something the Terror Lord knows too well.

     

    There is another approach to a battle. The Terror Lord could play his role as support of his minions. In this case, he prefer to stay back and raise some undead; then buff them with courage, Call to Arms and Rally spells; use Undead Healing to replenish their health and the only thing else you have to worry is to observe how you humiliate your foes.

     

    ROLEPLAYING NOTES

    As you saw along all the build The Terror Lord is an intelligent agent of Molag Bal, you should worship him always, but in secret; just share your thoughts to the ones you are about to sacrifice in Your Master’s glory.

    Don’t be shy, you are a sociopath, you try people are in debt with you and for strangers you are happiness in its own meaning; just a mask, but the most effective one. Gaining the favor of Jarls in each hold will provide you a great route to spread your Master’s desires.

    You shouldn’t change your attitude even when you contracted Sanguine Vampiris, just be careful to engage in battle when the sun is up on the sky.

     

    QUESTS AND FACTIONS:

    • Main Quest: Molag Bal saw your potential in your childhood, he knew the blood of dragons flow through your veins. Since you saw that black dragon in Helgen something awaken in your inner being, you felt the need to know more… Dragon knowledge is power, being dovahkiin just will give you respect of many nords. What’s the better way to control Skyrim that being acclaimed by everyone?

     

    • The House of Horrors:  Some damn Stendar Vigilant is about to discover an altar for your master… Claim that house as your new home and the Mace of Molag Bal as your main weapon. Do it ASAP.

    • The Black Star: Azura, one of the Reclamation goddess of Dunmer pantheon... They think they can take Molag Bal out of his rola as Supreme God. I've heard of some Altmer... One who despites Azura... Maybe he can give me a hand against Azura. Also, having a rechargable Soul Gem is a delight when you use so many staves. 

    • Dawnguard: The Vampires made terrible things to you in your childhood… But also gave you access to Molag Bal. Your master. When you hear news about vampires in Skyrim you will to find out what is happening. Go to the dawnguard, but when you realized how much power you can obtain from Volkihar clan, you will stay with them, but Harkon will lead the Bloodline to destroy and will make people hate Molag Bal even more… He is a danger to your plans, you should finish with his undead life.

     

    • Dragonborn: The ones who challenges you, challenges your Lord. Finish the cult to Miraak and show Herma-Mora who is the most powerful Daedra.

     

    • The College of Winterhold: Here you will practice your magic arts. Becoming Archmage is optional, your charge as archimage will provide you more influence in Skyrim but if you are the kind of people who don’t like to be the master of every faction or story stick in Hitting the Books.

     

    • The Companions: (Optional) They think they can see you through your soul… “Even a Dunmer can be born with Nord heart”. Take the control of the faction and show them Hircine is just an ant in comparison to The King of Rape.

    I put it as optional because the mess of getting rid of lycanthropy, many claimed that being a werewolf and get the blood of Harkon glitches the Companions questline, so many (especially console players) should decide to do this quest before or after completing the DG questline, or not to do it.

    • The Dark Brotherhood/Destroy the Dark Brotherhood: Your choice here, both options will provide you some support. Joining them will lead you to be the listener. Having an army of assassins is quite useful for domination of Skyrim, and finishing with the Emperor will take out some… rivalry. But, maybe you choose to get rid of this assassins, gaining the favor of the Empire.

     

    • Civil War: Choice your side, thinks who will support you most in your way up. Just remember your ambitions is different as theirs. Once the War is won, the winner will be a rival to total power.

    • Lost to the Ages:  (Optional) Dwemer knowledge is always a good and reliable source of power. The Aetherium Forge will provide us the Aetherial Crown, it is optional... But the power of the Ritual Stone+Aetherial Crown makes me feel excited.... 

    • Other Daedric Quests: (Optional) Molag Bal was one of the four corners of the House of Troubles… But what about his comrades of destruction, havoc, and chaos? If you choose to do these, the one you need are: The Mind of Maddnes, The Cursed Tribe and Pieces of the Past (please Mehrunes). Let their artifacts in your house. They will just be supporters for Molag Bal.

     

    • Paarthunax: After learning everything you can from the Greybeards kill their master… Paarthunax is a savior dragon, and could get noticed of your devotion to Molag Bal… This will also provide the total help of the Blades.

     

    • Telvanni Quests: Nearly all of them are helpful for something… Having the possibility to enchant your own staffs, gaining access to some new spells and the Black Books… “Remember, your mind is your most powerful weapon”.

     

    • Conjuration Ritual Spell: It will give you access to master conjuration spells… But most important: To the sigil stone.

    Tyranus, you fool. You cannot challenge my master’s power.

     

    THE ATRONACH FORGE

    I really love the Atronach Forge… It seems so… Original. So different from any other thing in Skyrim. Well, the Atronach Forge will provide two things for you:

    1. Your Final Gear, thanks to the Sigil Stone.
    2. The Final Challenge for the Path of Domination for any of your followers.

    I’ll start talking of the Path of Domination. If you get some follower with you some time, you will get close… And then you’ll want to recruit him/her in order to serve your master as you do. But there is some steps in order to gain access to your Molag’s favor.

     

    First they will have to prove their loyalty to Molag’s priest, aka you. This is done when your follower has done at least 3 or so quests with you.

    Second, they will have to defeat an Unbound Atronach depending of the class of the follower. If the follower is a warrior he/she will face a Frost Atronach; if is a mage, a Storm Atronahc; and if is a rogue/archer/other type, a Fire one.

    Third thing is they must resist a drain attack from Vampire Lord form. If that killed them, or throw them to their knees, thay will be sacrificed in Molag Bal’s name.

    Last they will need to defeat a Random unbound Dremora in high level (Master or Legendary)

    If they fail in any of the steps his soul is condemned, soul trap them and killed them. If they passed through the trial they will be acclaimed as son of Molag Bal, they will be able to do work without you and you should recruit a new soul for you lord. Also you will need to “forge” at least one daedric piece of armor or weapon to them.

     

    Now let’s talk about gear. You can use the Atronach Forge asap to get a staff of the Frost Atronach; but the true potential of the forge comes when you complete the Conjuration Ritual Spell. With the Sigil Stone you can “forge” daedric armors and weapons. Here are the necessary recipes:

    Staff of the Flame Atronach

    • 1 Broom
    • 1 Fire Salts
    • 1 Corundum Ingot
    • 1 Soul Gem (Greater or Higher)

    Staff of the Frost Atronach

    • 1 Broom
    • 1 Frost Salts
    • 1 Refined Moonstone
    • 1 Soul Gem (Greater or Higher)

    Staff of the Storm Atronach

    • 1 Broom
    • 1 Void Salts
    • 1 Oricalchum Ingot
    • 1 Soul Gem (Greater or Higher)

    Daedra Heart

    • Sigil Stone
    • 1 Human Heart
    • 1 Black Soul Gem

    Daedric Armor

    • Sigil Stone
    • 1 Daedra Heart
    • 1 UNENCHANTED ebony armor of the fesired type (Deadric boots are bugged; use the                      random piece recipe for them)
    • 1 Centurion Dynamo Core
    • 1 Black Soul Gem (empty or filled)

    Daedric Weapons

    • Sigil Stone
    • 1 Daedra Heart
    • 1 UNENCHANTED ebony weapon of the desired type
    • 1 Centurion Dynamo Core
    • 1 Black Soul Gem (empty or filled)

    Daedric Armor (random piece, random enchantment)

    • Sigil Stone
    • 1 Daedra Heart
    • 1 Ebony Ingot
    • 1 Void Salts
    • 1 Soul Gem (filled with Greater Soul)

    Daedric Weapon (random piece, random enchantment)

    • Sigil Stone
    • 1 Daedra Heart
    • 1 Ebony Ingot
    • 1 Silver Sword
    • 1 Soul Gem (filled with Greater Soul)

    Unbound Atronachs (For the trial of the Path of Domination)

    • 1 Ruby/Sapphire/Amethyst
    • 1 Fire/Frost/Void Salts

    Obviously the recipe is for Fire/Frost/Storm Atronachs.

    Random Unbound Dremora

    • Sigil Stone
    • 1 Skull
    • 1 Daedra Heart
    • 1 Dog Meat/Horker meat/Horse meat/Leg of Goat/Mamooth Snout (use just one) 

     

    Closing Notes

    First I must say thanks for reading and hope you liked it. I had a fun time playing it and writing the whole thing down. Also, If there is something to improve post a comment!! This is my first build ever, so it could be plagued of errors, and grammatical errors (I’m not English after all).

    I must give special thanks to:

    Ponty's Guide to Character Building

    Golden Fool's Tutorial of how to make a Perk Spread without Photshop or GIMP

    Teccam's idea for headers and Vazgen's HTML/CSS Tricks

    And of course to all amazing builders I've read so far 

     

    The Master chooses. The Slave obeys.

  • Member
    February 20, 2015
    Cool build one question what armor is that in the second picture
  • Member
    February 20, 2015
    It appears to be steel plate
  • Member
    February 20, 2015
    Where did the cloak come from mod?
  • February 20, 2015

    Nice build, I really love that thing with followers. Really unique that one. GJ +1

    BTW, you have some problems with grammar, try ask some of the native English users to help you with that, otherwise it´s very well presented.

  • Member
    February 20, 2015
    Oh yeah. It's cloaks of Skyrim. I tried not to use pictures with mods but I didn't see that one.
  • Member
    February 20, 2015
    I'll spend some time with correction today. Thanks for the warning