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Character Build: The Yekef

Tags: #Character Build Archer  #Character Build Enchanter  #Character Build Vampire  #Race:Bosmer  #Rank:Mythic  #Seductress  #Vazgen  #Yekef 
  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    After spending nearly a year without playing Skyrim I decided to start it again in anticipation of Fallout 4. And boy, am I glad of that decision! It resulted in a unique playstyle that explored a previously untouched character concept and brought it to life, as with my other build, without using any glitches! I'm proud to present to you...

    "Nothing leaves a body so... empty... as a Yekef does."
    Innkeeper in Silvenar

    Many legends exist about the vampire clans of the Valenwood. Stories tell of the Bonsamu - masterful illusionists whose snares can only be broken under a candlelight, the Keerilth - sneaky barbarians with a unique control over mist... But one bloodline stands separate. The clan of irresistible seductresses, capable of ensnaring the minds of men with only a few words, turning even the mightiest warriors into drooling weaklings. Once a Yekef picks a man to seduce, they "swallow him whole" - all their thoughts, dreams, actions end up serving the will of the vampire, until she grows bored of the thrall and consumes the rest - the blood and soul.

    Race: Bosmer Vampire

    Standing Stone: Mage -> Lady

    Stats: 1/1/1 – until 200 magicka, after that - 0/2/1

    Powers: Command Animal, Vampire's Seduction

    Passive Abilities: Champion of the Night, Agent of Dibella, Seeker of Sorcery, Lover's Insight


     

    Archery – Some people say that it were the Bosmer who invented the bow. Not all legends are true, but one thing is certain - many of the Bosmer are exceptional archers and the Yekef are no exception. Arrows shot with their inhumane strength can stagger targets and pierce even the strongest armor. 

     

     

     

    Enchanting – The Yekef are masterful enchanters, capable of binding even the most complex spells to any item. Their mastery of the craft gives their bows unparalleled power and at the same time makes sure that they are the only ones who can tame it. 

     

     

     

    Sneak – The Yekef have no match when it comes to staying unseen. Their usage of Illusion spells and natural (or rather, unnatural) vampire skills allows them to stay hidden even in the plain sight. Light-footed, the enemies never hear them coming until it's too late. 

     

     

     Illusion – Masteful illusionists, the Yekef however prefer to be more subtle with their magic and don't use spells to exert temporary control of the victim's thoughts. They instead focus on other aspects of the school to easily locate their targets and stay undetected, leaving the thralls to fight for them.

    Spells: Clairvoyance, Muffle, Invisibility 

     

     Speech – The Yekef prefer a more temperate approach with their snares than other vampires. Their charms work slowly but once the Yekef gets into the victim's thoughts, the control is permanent. Simply exchanging several words with a Yekef vampire is enough for the guards to forget about the crime or for a merchant to buy something he would normally never accept.

    Perk Spread (Level 35)

    http://skyrimcalculator.com/420722

     

    Yekef utilize a fairly straightforward combat style, which involves redirecting all the damage they might've taken to a follower.

    They usually open fight with a barrage of well-placed shots utilizing the signature Bosmeri technique of drawing and shooting the bow in one continuous motion. The survivors rash to the shooter's position only to find the vampire's thrall, ready to kill or die for his master. While the fight commences, Yekef keep their distance and continue shooting from the shadows. That technique (and powerful Fear enchantment) forces the living to flee the battle, and the unnatural strength of a vampire helps in making sure that they won't escape the thrall's reach by staggering targets on their way to escape.

    The mastery of Enchanting makes Yekef weapons so powerful that they instill fear even in the hearts of Gargoyles and Death Hounds, forcing vampires of the other clans to rely only on themselves.

     

    Yekef use self-enchanted apparel, customized to allow free casting of their snares and more damage from their already powerful bows. The enchantments also allow to somewhat rectify the vampire weakness to sunlight and/or fire.

     

    Yekef Hood

    Waterbreathing, Fortify Illusion (-25% cost)

     Yekef Ring

    Fortify Archery (+40%) + Fortify Illusion (-25% cost)

     Yekef Amulet

    Fortify Archery (+40 %) + Fortify Illusion (-25% cost)

     Yekef Garb

    Fortify Health Regen (+31%) + Fortify Illusion (-25% cost)

     Yekef Gloves

    Fortify Archery (+40%) + Fortify Magicka (+62 pts)

     Yekef Boots

    Resist Fire (+40%) + Fortify Stamina Regen (+31%)

    Together this equipment nullifies the cost for Illusion spells which allows Yekef to use their signature bows without worrying about them losing their magical abilities. It also improves their already excellent marksmanship skills, gives a boost to their magicka pool, allowing to cast Invisibility and Muffle with more ease and lowers the weakness of the vampire blood to fire.


    For weapons, Yekef always spend some time before ending up with one final bow. It should be heavy enough to be able to make a dent even in the thickest shield and at the same time, flexible enough to allow Yekef to shoot multiple arrows in 2 seconds with a full draw. The best bow in Skyrim to fit those criteria is the Supple Ancient Nord Bow - a weapon which Yekef turn into a deadly tool with their mastery of Enchanting.

    Yekef Bow

    Fear (level 35 - displayed) + Fiery Soul Trap

    The only moral code Yekef follow is the loyalty to their clan. An enemy of the clan will be hunted across all the Tamriel. The unique "talents" of the Yekef allow them to travel freely between provinces, spreading their influence over mortals. Women are the ones that have the best chance of detecting and resisting Yekef charms for which reason the Yekef prefer to eliminate them out of the picture first.

    Despite their frequent association with the Daedra, the Yekef also worship Dibella - not surprising, given how useful are the "Dibellan Arts" in gaining control over the thoughts of men.

    The Yekef are ultimate manipulators and will often gain the trust of their victims to then consume them. The stories of their influence are many, here are just a few of them...

     

    The bard at the Sleeping Giant inn went missing shortly after the dragon attack on Helgen. Sister of the show owner at the village claimed that it happened after a stranger helped to resolve the complications between her, Sven and Faendal. She expected Sven to come visit her but the bard had left the town at night without even informing his mother about it.

     

     

     

    Solitude resident executioner suddenly left after the execution of Roggvir. Most suspect that he was a Stormcloak sympathizer at heart and went to join the war but one of the beggars claimed that he saw Ahtar leaving the town with a "strange beautiful woman" who visited the town just before the execution.

     

     

     

    Little is known about what happened to the guard of one of Khajiit caravans. The caravan leader claimed that Kharjo just came to her one night, paid his debt and bid farewell to her, leaving into the wilds. She also noticed that he was wearing his family pendant, stolen by the bandits not too long ago...

     

     

    Volkihar Clan – One of the oldest and the most powerful vampire clans on Tamriel. Gaining control over them will help to secure Yekef dominance over other bloodlines.

    Laid to Rest – A rival seductress and an old enemy - Movarth, a vampire hunter who killed Yekef vampires in the past, now disgraces the name of a vampire.

    Dark Brotherhood – The Emperor's assassination will throw the entire Empire into disarray, allowing the vampires to operate freely.

    The Heart of Dibella – Saving a Sybil from the Forsworn please the goddess of "love" and she grants her boon to a vampire worshiper.

    Bards College – The return of the Burning of King Olaf festival goes a long way to make the Yekef welcome in Solitude and allows her to hone her "conversation skills".

    Notes

    • It is possible to find Scaled Armor at level 1. You can find it on Lisette - bard at the Winking Skeever. A well placed Fury spell will make the crowd do the job for you
    • A list of enchantments that work on followers can be found here: Enchanted Follower Equipment. I focused on health/stamina regeneration and elemental resistances.
    • An easy way to contract vampirism straight out of Helgen is available at Haemar's Shame. I've recorded a video that showcases the method.
    • Kindred Mage and Animage perks both work for Fear enchantments. The weapon's displayed enchantment will not be changed, but the effects do apply. They also work on Vampire's Seduction (again without changing the displayed magnitude). Hypnotic Gaze works on Vampire's Seduction and Champion of the Night works on both powers and enchantments.
    • This build was played as DiD (Dead is Dead) on Master and successfully reached level 45 with all the relevant quests finished. It is also viable on Legendary, though I would advise to put a few more perks in Overdraw for fights not to take too long.

    Closing Remarks

    I want to say a huge "Thank you!!" to Teccam, who tested out the magnitudes of Fear enchantment based on Illusion perks. This build would not've seen the light of day without your help!

    I also want to thank Phil for listening and providing extremely valuable insight in the process of making this build. You rock!

     

     

     

     

     

  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    Awesome work Vazgen, good to see you back

  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    This is really clever!

    When I first looked at all the skills I thought, "Oh, okay... an illusionist/seducer build." And I guess it is, but it isn't anything like the typical ones I've seen. Relying on enchantments and thralls to do the brunt of the work for you rather than spamming Illusion spells is brilliant.

    You also have a work-around for the main reason I have neglected Fear spells and enchantments... I hate running fetchers down! But you adroitly negate this downside to Fear effects by combining the fact that arrows are faster than enemies, the profound amount of staggering that archery perks provide, and an enthralled follower who is there for each stagger wailing away at the would-be runaway. That's pretty awesome!

    I also like the images in the roleplay section--almost like the 'Missing' photos I used to see as a kid on the back of milk cartons... "Have you seen this bard?"

    Glad you got back in the game... this is a really cool concept!

  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    Nice build.  I like it. 

    There are a few small spelling mistakes and a missing word in the notes section though.

  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    Lol, my hoverzoom app totally ignored that subtle edit of yours in the first picture XD

    Anyway, glad to see you turn out another one! This is a great build!

  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    This is pretty spectacular Vaz, very cool, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this before. There's a great fusion of form and function and nothing feels wasted or tacked on. From the aesthetic of the character which looks and feels Bosmeri (rather than the more obvious sexy clothes look) to the synergy between skills, weapons and mechanics, nothing is wasted and everything has been considered. Small details like when to stop investing in magicka all contribute to one of the tightest builds I've seen in a while. Your "no Illusion" Illusionist really does just that and it is very impressive. Awesome job mate

  • Member
    October 18, 2015
    Cool, vampire build. I also like the picure in the beginning.
  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    Thanks Chris! I never left 

  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    Thanks Shin! Believe me, it was hard to balance all the three together - Sneak, Archery, Illusion - they always make for a stereotypic OP build and I hope I succeeded. What I like the most about this setup is that you can afford not to care about followers - if they go down, you simply switch to the good old sneaky archer playstyle 

  • Member
    October 18, 2015

    Thanks Rhoth!

    Can you please send me the mistakes so I could correct them? I've added you as a friend so you could do it via PM, or you can just post them here.