I was looking into the lore surrounding Ahzidal, it was fascinating and it turned out that he is the reason the Five-Hundred Companions defeated the Snow Elves, you guys should check it out. I was so inspired by it that I decided to make this build, however, Ahzidal's gear, ontop of being hard to get, isn't really that good at the end of it all, so I decided that I wouldn't use all of his relics and instead build a Dragon Priest character utilizing Ahzidal's Mask, but not his Armor. So, here goes.
The Embittered Destroyer
"... the elves had sacked the city, and all that lived there were dead and gone. Amid the ashes, in the smoldering ruins of his home, he swore a terrible oath of vengeance. And from that comes the name the legends gave him: Ahzidal, the embittered destroyer." ―Halund Greycloak
"He may have been sealed away by the Dragon Cult, but that was not enough to trap the legend, he used an ancient spell to let his soul escape, it took hundreds and hundreds of years, but at last he was free again, The Embittered Destroyer, The First Great Nord Enchanter, Ahzidal...."
"He possessed the body of a Nord on the border, his feeble mind was no match for his genius. Something was wrong, he noticed.... His power.... It was gone!! Curses! And captured, the humiliation!! He should have known that inhabiting a new body would make him start from scratch! .... No matter, he would work his way to the top again and show the world the unrestrained wrath of The Embittered Destroyer...."
The Build
Race: Nord (According to the Lore, Ahzidal was a Nord that grew up in Sarthaal in the late Merethic Era).
Stone: The Mage --> The Atronach (The magicka boost is useful along with the magic absorption) or The Ritual.
Stats: 3/2/1
Major Skills: Heavy Armor, Enchanting, Destruction, Conjuration.
Minor Skills: Smithing, Illusion.
Powers: Dragonborn Flame, The Fire Within, Secret of Arcana, Mora's Boon, Seeker of Sorcery.
Gear: Chitin Heavy Armor, Chitin Heavy Gauntlets, Chitin Heavy Boots, Ahzidal, Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy, Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana, Custom Enchanted Necklace (See Gear title below for more).
Shouts: Fire Breath, Dragon Aspect, Soul Tear, Become Ethereal.
Spells: Fireball, Ignite, Raise Zombie - Dead Thrall, Fire Rune, Freeze, Ice Storm Frost Rune.
Quests: College of Winterhold, Dragonborn, Main Quest, The Reluctant Steward, Unearthed, Black Book: The Hidden Twilight, Black Book: Filament and Filigree, Black Book:The Sallow Regent, Ironbind Barrow, Civil War (Stormcloaks), Discerning the Transmundane, Conjuration Ritual Spell, Dawnguard.
Skills
Heavy Armor: Ahzidal is a Heavy Armor mask and we are using Chitin Heavy Armor, so this skill was pretty much unavoidable. Key Perks are Well Fitted and Conditioning.
Destruction: Ahzidal, when encountered, is a Fire-Based Dragon Priest, his Ring of Arcana also allows Freeze to be used. I will go into detail later of just how powerful Ignite can be. Key Perks are Intense Flames, Dual-Casting and Deep Freeze.
Enchanting: According to the lore, Ahzidal was the first great Nord Enchanter, so this skill was a must. Key perks are Extra Effect and Enchanter.
Conjuration: Ahzidal was capable of great displays of Necromancy, and so I implemented it into my build, this goes hand in hand with Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy, which causes your reanimated corpses to explode for 50 points of frost damage upon defeat. Key perks are Twin Souls, Dark Souls and Necromancy.
Illusion: I used this skill for Aspect of Terror, which affects the Ignite spell, which, as I said earlier, I will go into more detail on further down. The Key perks here are Aspect of Terror and Apprentice Illusion (To power level rapidly with Muffle)
Smithing: Ahzidal learned the seven natures of metal from the Dwemer and how to harmonize them (funnily enough I ended up with seven perks in smithing, go figure), you will obviously be using this skill to craft and improve your armor. Key Perks are Daedric Smithing (Which sadly takes a lot of grinding, but after going through Nchardak in the Dragonborn main quest you can craft Dwarven bows until you can afford this perk), Elven Smithing (For your Chitin Armor) and Arcane Enchanter.
Gear
Ahzidal: Pre-Enchanted with Resist Fire 50% and Augmented Flames 25%
Chitin Heavy Armor: Enchanted with Fortify Destruction, Magicka Regen and Resist Frost
Chitin Heavy Boots: Enchanted with Fortify Stamina and Resist Fire
Chitin Heavy Gauntlets: Enchanted with Fortify Magicka and Magicka Regen
Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy: Pre-Enchanted with Unique frost explosion effect. Important Note: This enchantment clashes with the Dark Souls perk, I strongly recommend installing this mod from the Skyrim Nexus to avoid this, I will include it here.
Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana: Pre-Enchanted to give the player Access to Ignite and Freeze.
Gold Ruby Necklace: Enchanted with Fortify Destruction and Magicka Regen.
Ignite
As promised I will talk about Ignite, now this spell is given to the player when they equip Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana, which is obtained on the third investment stage of the Unearthed side quest. When this spell is cast it deals 4 damage to the target over 15 seconds. When the player gets the Aspect of Terror perk, it increases to 14 damage per second, add in Augmented Flames 2/2 and you're doing 21 DPS for a total of 315 fire damage. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Augmented Flames 2/2 must be acquired before Aspect of Terror for this to work). This can be further increased with this builds enchanted apparel boosts.
As you can see, this makes Ignite very useful, I used it mostly when I was low on Magicka for massive damage for almost no cost with all my enchantments and Apprentice Destruction perk.
Unearthed
"The soulless husk that was once his body fell to the floor with a hiss, turning into ashes, he picked up his mask once more and smirked, his power was returning, one step at a time..."
The problem with this quest is that to complete it you need a total of 11000 gold, not an easy task at all. The way I got around this is by saving up gold from the crypts and Dwemer ruins I visited along with selling the Dwarven Bows I crafted to increase my smithing skill. If you are intent on completing this quest then by all means find the hidden merchants chests, but this really breaks the immersion of the game in my opinion. Sadly, although this is an Ahzidal themed build we won't be using his armor as its enchantments are very mediocre at best (With the exception of Ahzidals Armor of Retribution, which has a very nice paralysis effect on it).
The Uses of Shouts
Become Ethereal: I used this when I was surrounded or when I wanted to cast Dead Thrall, as it has a stupidly long animation, this allows you to avoid all damage while using it.
Soul Tear: This character uses Necromancy and Enchanting,so this shout is ideal, since it summons the creature you killed with it back from the dead as well as trapping its soul.
Dragon Aspect: Lower Shout Cooldown and other power-ups, very useful as well as badass looking.
Fire Breath: A high damaging shout, especially with all the enchantments and boosts from perks it gets, along with The Fire Within and Dragonborn Flame,this makes this shout incredibly useful.
Combat
I enjoyed combat with this build, honestly. I started the fight with my stronger spells (Ice Storm, Fireball, etc) and when I was low on magicka I switched into Freeze and Ignite. Normally after killing a foe I would resurrect them immediately with a Necromancy Spell, when swarmed I would use Become Ethereal to make an escape.
Another use of Become Ethereal is to cast Dead Thrall whilst using it (as mentioned above) I would mainly use Dead Thrall on Draugr Deathlords, etc, encountered on higher levels in ruins, although there are many things this can work on.
Using two rings on one build can be problematic, since only one can be equipped at any one time, personally I hotkeyed them to 1 and 2 and just alternated between them to suit my needs, e.g. When I was low on magicka and wanted to use Ignite/Freeze I would switch into Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana and if I wanted to resurrect the dead I would switch into Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy.
Roleplay
- Ahzidal hated the Elves (Particularly the Snow Elves) for destroying his home, Sarthaal, he swore an oath to turn the knowledge that he had learned from the Mer to destroy them. As such you will be joining the Stormcloaks to bite back at the Thalmor.
- When you meet any Thalmor Soldiers in the wild, decimate them without a second thought.
- Take no elven followers if you choose to take a follower at all (I didn't, but if you feel you need to then go ahead).
- Ahzidal slowly became a thrall to Hermaeus Mora, so be sure to read the Oghma Infinium and search out the Black Books for their blessings
- After Season Unending has been finished in the Main Quest (Presuming you have not completed the War Questline) Elenwen will be not be essential anymore, allow her to stay at the meeting and after the meeting is finished stalk her down the mountain and kill her.
This was the Embittered Destroyer, I wholeheartedly hope you enjoyed my build and be sure to leave a response if you feel I could improve this in some way, or if you want to leave a compliment. If you read this all I thank you deeply. I hope I have piqued your interests with this one.
I was looking into the lore surrounding Ahzidal, it was fascinating and it turned out that he is the reason the Five-Hundred Companions defeated the Snow Elves, you guys should check it out. I was so inspired by it that I decided to make this build, however, Ahzidal's gear, ontop of being hard to get, isn't really that good at the end of it all, so I decided that I wouldn't use all of his relics and instead build a Dragon Priest character utilizing Ahzidal's Mask, but not his Armor. So, here goes.
The Embittered Destroyer
"... the elves had sacked the city, and all that lived there were dead and gone. Amid the ashes, in the smoldering ruins of his home, he swore a terrible oath of vengeance. And from that comes the name the legends gave him: Ahzidal, the embittered destroyer." ―Halund Greycloak
"He may have been sealed away by the Dragon Cult, but that was not enough to trap the legend, he used an ancient spell to let his soul escape, it took hundreds and hundreds of years, but at last he was free again, The Embittered Destroyer, The First Great Nord Enchanter, Ahzidal...."
"He possessed the body of a Nord on the border, his feeble mind was no match for his genius. Something was wrong, he noticed.... His power.... It was gone!! Curses! And captured, the humiliation!! He should have known that inhabiting a new body would make him start from scratch! .... No matter, he would work his way to the top again and show the world the unrestrained wrath of The Embittered Destroyer...."
The Build
Race: Nord (According to the Lore, Ahzidal was a Nord that grew up in Sarthaal in the late Merethic Era).
Stone: The Mage --> The Atronach (The magicka boost is useful along with the magic absorption) or The Ritual.
Stats: 3/2/1
Major Skills: Heavy Armor, Enchanting, Destruction, Conjuration.
Minor Skills: Smithing, Illusion.
Powers: Dragonborn Flame, The Fire Within, Secret of Arcana, Mora's Boon, Seeker of Sorcery.
Gear: Chitin Heavy Armor, Chitin Heavy Gauntlets, Chitin Heavy Boots, Ahzidal, Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy, Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana, Custom Enchanted Necklace (See Gear title below for more).
Shouts: Fire Breath, Dragon Aspect, Soul Tear, Become Ethereal.
Spells: Fireball, Ignite, Raise Zombie - Dead Thrall, Fire Rune, Freeze, Ice Storm Frost Rune.
Quests: College of Winterhold, Dragonborn, Main Quest, The Reluctant Steward, Unearthed, Black Book: The Hidden Twilight, Black Book: Filament and Filigree, Black Book:The Sallow Regent, Ironbind Barrow, Civil War (Stormcloaks), Discerning the Transmundane, Conjuration Ritual Spell, Dawnguard.
Skills
Heavy Armor: Ahzidal is a Heavy Armor mask and we are using Chitin Heavy Armor, so this skill was pretty much unavoidable. Key Perks are Well Fitted and Conditioning.
Destruction: Ahzidal, when encountered, is a Fire-Based Dragon Priest, his Ring of Arcana also allows Freeze to be used. I will go into detail later of just how powerful Ignite can be. Key Perks are Intense Flames, Dual-Casting and Deep Freeze.
Enchanting: According to the lore, Ahzidal was the first great Nord Enchanter, so this skill was a must. Key perks are Extra Effect and Enchanter.
Conjuration: Ahzidal was capable of great displays of Necromancy, and so I implemented it into my build, this goes hand in hand with Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy, which causes your reanimated corpses to explode for 50 points of frost damage upon defeat. Key perks are Twin Souls, Dark Souls and Necromancy.
Illusion: I used this skill for Aspect of Terror, which affects the Ignite spell, which, as I said earlier, I will go into more detail on further down. The Key perks here are Aspect of Terror and Apprentice Illusion (To power level rapidly with Muffle)
Smithing: Ahzidal learned the seven natures of metal from the Dwemer and how to harmonize them (funnily enough I ended up with seven perks in smithing, go figure), you will obviously be using this skill to craft and improve your armor. Key Perks are Daedric Smithing (Which sadly takes a lot of grinding, but after going through Nchardak in the Dragonborn main quest you can craft Dwarven bows until you can afford this perk), Elven Smithing (For your Chitin Armor) and Arcane Enchanter.
Gear
Ahzidal: Pre-Enchanted with Resist Fire 50% and Augmented Flames 25%
Chitin Heavy Armor: Enchanted with Fortify Destruction, Magicka Regen and Resist Frost
Chitin Heavy Boots: Enchanted with Fortify Stamina and Resist Fire
Chitin Heavy Gauntlets: Enchanted with Fortify Magicka and Magicka Regen
Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy: Pre-Enchanted with Unique frost explosion effect. Important Note: This enchantment clashes with the Dark Souls perk, I strongly recommend installing this mod from the Skyrim Nexus to avoid this, I will include it here.
Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana: Pre-Enchanted to give the player Access to Ignite and Freeze.
Gold Ruby Necklace: Enchanted with Fortify Destruction and Magicka Regen.
Ignite
As promised I will talk about Ignite, now this spell is given to the player when they equip Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana, which is obtained on the third investment stage of the Unearthed side quest. When this spell is cast it deals 4 damage to the target over 15 seconds. When the player gets the Aspect of Terror perk, it increases to 14 damage per second, add in Augmented Flames 2/2 and you're doing 21 DPS for a total of 315 fire damage. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Augmented Flames 2/2 must be acquired before Aspect of Terror for this to work). This can be further increased with this builds enchanted apparel boosts.
As you can see, this makes Ignite very useful, I used it mostly when I was low on Magicka for massive damage for almost no cost with all my enchantments and Apprentice Destruction perk.
Unearthed
"The soulless husk that was once his body fell to the floor with a hiss, turning into ashes, he picked up his mask once more and smirked, his power was returning, one step at a time..."
The problem with this quest is that to complete it you need a total of 11000 gold, not an easy task at all. The way I got around this is by saving up gold from the crypts and Dwemer ruins I visited along with selling the Dwarven Bows I crafted to increase my smithing skill. If you are intent on completing this quest then by all means find the hidden merchants chests, but this really breaks the immersion of the game in my opinion. Sadly, although this is an Ahzidal themed build we won't be using his armor as its enchantments are very mediocre at best (With the exception of Ahzidals Armor of Retribution, which has a very nice paralysis effect on it).
The Uses of Shouts
Become Ethereal: I used this when I was surrounded or when I wanted to cast Dead Thrall, as it has a stupidly long animation, this allows you to avoid all damage while using it.
Soul Tear: This character uses Necromancy and Enchanting,so this shout is ideal, since it summons the creature you killed with it back from the dead as well as trapping its soul.
Dragon Aspect: Lower Shout Cooldown and other power-ups, very useful as well as badass looking.
Fire Breath: A high damaging shout, especially with all the enchantments and boosts from perks it gets, along with The Fire Within and Dragonborn Flame,this makes this shout incredibly useful.
Combat
I enjoyed combat with this build, honestly. I started the fight with my stronger spells (Ice Storm, Fireball, etc) and when I was low on magicka I switched into Freeze and Ignite. Normally after killing a foe I would resurrect them immediately with a Necromancy Spell, when swarmed I would use Become Ethereal to make an escape.
Another use of Become Ethereal is to cast Dead Thrall whilst using it (as mentioned above) I would mainly use Dead Thrall on Draugr Deathlords, etc, encountered on higher levels in ruins, although there are many things this can work on.
Using two rings on one build can be problematic, since only one can be equipped at any one time, personally I hotkeyed them to 1 and 2 and just alternated between them to suit my needs, e.g. When I was low on magicka and wanted to use Ignite/Freeze I would switch into Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana and if I wanted to resurrect the dead I would switch into Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy.
Roleplay
- Ahzidal hated the Elves (Particularly the Snow Elves) for destroying his home, Sarthaal, he swore an oath to turn the knowledge that he had learned from the Mer to destroy them. As such you will be joining the Stormcloaks to bite back at the Thalmor.
- When you meet any Thalmor Soldiers in the wild, decimate them without a second thought.
- Take no elven followers if you choose to take a follower at all (I didn't, but if you feel you need to then go ahead).
- Ahzidal slowly became a thrall to Hermaeus Mora, so be sure to read the Oghma Infinium and search out the Black Books for their blessings
- After Season Unending has been finished in the Main Quest (Presuming you have not completed the War Questline) Elenwen will be not be essential anymore, allow her to stay at the meeting and after the meeting is finished stalk her down the mountain and kill her.
This was the Embittered Destroyer, I wholeheartedly hope you enjoyed my build and be sure to leave a response if you feel I could improve this in some way, or if you want to leave a compliment. If you read this all I thank you deeply. I hope I have piqued your interests with this one.
