Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: The Warden of Azura

Tags: #Character Build Archer  #Character Build Necromancer  #Character Build Witchhunter  #Race:Dunmer  #Felkros  #SE Rank:Master  #The Warden of Azura 
  • September 3, 2017

    "For you, our thanks and blessings; our gift and token given. Come; take this thing from the hand of god." - Azura in The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

     

    The Warden of Azura

     

    Before we get too into the details, I want to answer one important question. Who are the Wardens of Azura? They appear in ESO, and are a group of worshipers only tolerated becuase they deal with other Daedra worshipers who worship Vaermina, Azura's rival. They are outcasts, and, judging by their lack of appearence in other games, faded away after the Second Era. Whether they persisted in small caves where no one else dares tread or died out entirely is unknown to all... Except the Warden. He found them, weak, scribbling in the dirt. They taught him of Azura, and he rose through their ranks, rose above them, effortlessly surpassing even the highest mages and priests in the group. A group of Vaermina worshipers attacked in the night, killing all but him. As he stepped foward to face them, the cultists smiled, ready for an easy kill...

    By dawn, none except the Warden were left alive. Disgusted by the failure of those who worship Azura in caves, away from the dawn and dusk that is Her will, by those that cannot even defeat deluded prophets, he vowed to better The Wardens' name. Azura's name. He then recieved a vision, of a shrine in Her honor, with a single faithful worshiper, overlooking a ruined town and a churning sea... And so, he set forth to Skyrim. To the Shrine. To his destiny.

    Race: Dunmer or Khajiit. While the Dark Elves revere Azura and often mention her in their speech, the Khajiit also worship her, although under a slightly different name: Azurah. The Khajiit hold that Azurah shaped them in different shapes from strange forest people who later become the Wood Elves. While Dark Elf or Khajiit are both acceptable, Dunmer have the better skill set to become a Warden of Azura.

    Stone: The Lord Stone's month is First Steed, and Azura is invoked on Hogithum, which is the 21st of First Steed. Gameplay wise, this allows us to use less health boosting enchants and more damage boosting ones, and is a great stone for any character starting out. Later, you can go with the Ritual Stone. Useful for when you're out of magicka and need an army to defend you. I'd recommened using the Lord Stone at first, and switching to the Ritual once you have a decent set of enchanted armor.

    Stat Placement: 1/1/1 until you feel you have enough Stamina (I personally stopped at 150 Stamina), then 1/1/0. You could get more Stamina, but it's only required for sprinting and bow bashing, so you could easily not put any into Stamina if you wanted. If you favor a more glass cannon approach, you could go with 2/1/0, allowing you to shoot out more spells, but with less survivability. If you ever feel like you're dying too much, either enchant with fortify health, or dump it all into health for a few levels before going back to your chosen stat distribution.

    Major Skills: Enchanting, Destruction, Conjuration, Archery

    Minor Skills: Light Armor, Alteration, Illusion, Restoration

    This may seem like a lot of skills, but the only minor skill being perked is Light Armor, and it only takes up 4 perks, so you should have plenty of perks for your major skills.

     

    Level 40 Perk Spread

    Weapons and Spells: Glass Bow with either Fire Damage (Dawn) or Absorb Health/Fear (Dusk), Flame spells, Necromancy, Fear, Healing, Soul Trap.

    Armour: Glass, with the enchants being up to you. I would recommend a mix of Fortify Health/Magicka and Fortify Skill enchants early on, and then using only Fortify Skill enchantments later. You can't craft the armor, but finding it should be fairly easy once you level up enough.

    Shouts: Become Etheral, Slow Time, Fire Breath, Marked For Death.

    "We had no idea Azura had her sights on us until Her champion came to destroy us. The bow was mesmerizing, each arrow shot a star streaking through the night."

    Combat:

    As Azura's Champion you are responsable for both her spheres, Dusk and Dawn, the times of change. This is reflected by using both magic seen as 'evil', as well as that considered good. 

    You're equipped in shining glass armour, that scatters and reflects the rays of both the fading light of dusk and the renewal of dawn. This armor lets you move around without being too hindered, but still, stops enough damage to keep you alive. You'll start out combat by using your Glass Bow, which I named "Starslinger." You should put either Fire Damage, for the dawn, or Absorb Health/Fear, for the dusk. For later levels, Absorb Health is most likely the surperior option, as enemies scale with you and eventually even bandits won't be affected by your fear enchantments. Leveling Enchanting is slow thanks to your very limited supply of souls, so Extra Effect will probably not be something you're getting. You could perk into stealth if you want, seeing as dusk is frequently mentioned in texts of Azura, but I chose not to, only crouching down when I wanted the double damage for an opening strike. You'll want to get off as many arrows as possible before they reach you. Slow time can help greatly, though you have to be careful not to abuse it. Sometimes, if an enemy is low, you might want to wait until they're right in front of you before firing off the killing shot. That way, you have a corpse all ready for your magic.

     

    Speaking of Necromancy, that should be the first thing you do once they reach you. You'll not have permanent thralls, because Azura is the Daedra of change, so that would defeat the purpose. Try not to summon those who are "good": Don't summon fallen allies, don't summon the random merchant who the vampires just killed, ect. Once the enemies are in your face and you have your dead body guard, you can start flinging your other spells around. 

    You have two more spells related to dusk: Fear and Equilibrium. Equilibrium is the dark side of the night, when vampires and other things move around in the shadows, practicing their life-stealing rituals. Use this when you need to hold a spell for a long time, but as always, watch your health. Even if it doesn't kill you, you don't want to be too weak. Meanwhile, Fear Spells  are what the normal people feel when they hear of these dark creatures. When the sun goes down, everyone is afraid, and you can amplify that to the extreme. Use fear spells when you need some space, or are running out of Magicka, and follow it up with a bow. You can also use Soul Trap to choose when you wish to absorb a creature into Azura's Star.

    Finally, you have the magic of the sun, of the dawn. Fire Spells  are the sun's cleansing light and can burn almost any creature to a crisp, while fire resistant creatures are weak and rare enough to be not a problem for your bow. Healing Spells can be used as well, but are not necessary. If you're using a 1 Magicka 1 Health stat spread, you may want to not use healing so you still have some sort of challenge. On the other hand, if you're having too much trouble with a 2 Magicka 1 Health spread, healing could be just the thing you need to round it out. 

    Use Shouts as you see fit, but try not to use Ice Form or Storm Call, becuase Fire Breath is the more fitting choice for this build.

    So, as a recap: Archery as they try close in, Necromancy and Fire spells when they get to you, and Equilibrium and Fear spells for when you're in a corner, with Healing spells as an optional choice. 

    Dealing With:

    Wildlife: A charged firebolt should be able to kill most wolves, while bears and sabrecats might take a few spells, but nothing should pose a large threat.

    Bandits and other humanoids: 

    Melee Attackers: They usually give you plently of time to shoot them full of arrows as they charge. If they're still alive when they get to you, finish them with fire, or throw out a fear spell to buy some more time. Low priority while not close to you, High priority once they're within striking distance.

    Archers: They fire slow enough that you can out-shoot them, kill them with fire, or even leave a reanimated corspe to take care of them. Low priority.

    Mages: These are who you should watch out for. They can slow you, drain your magicka, and attack at range. Try to focus on these first. High priority.

    Vampires: These are more challenging than your normal human. You can't reanimate vampires once they turn to dust, and Azura frowns on you summoning innocent people, so even if they're killed a merchant, you're on your own. Archery should be your backup, while fire is your main weapon. Try to stay as far away as possible from them when you're fighing, because they have nasty drain spells.

    Dragons: Save your fire for when they land, and use archery when they're in the air. Necromancy won't be a great help, becuase you'll almost never have a corpse you can reanimate, and even then it'll die as soon as the dragon hits it. Fear spells are similarly uneffective, so there's not much chance of deviating from the bow and fire pattern.

    Special Moves:

    Dance in Fire: The Dawn's rays surround you, and you feel the light's speed within you. You circle your foes, fires burning and cleansing, turning them to ash. But beware, for the Dawn takes a heavy toll, and when the Dance is complete you will be drained of both your Thu'um and magic.

    Requires: Flame Cloak, Slow Time, Fire Spells (Up to Expert level)

    Description: Cast Flame Cloak, and use the slow time shout. Begin circling around your enemies, casting flame spells while your cloak burns them even more. Try to avoid being hit, but stay close enough for your cloak to do its work. This is very powerful, and works best on single targets, like a strong boss. Be careful, if you do use it while many enemies are nearby, it's hard to keep track of them all. In addition, when Slow Time wears off, your magicka will be very low and your shouts on cooldown.

    Dusk's Toll: Drain your enemies, dancing around as they slowly wither away. When those around you lay dead, summon your new army.

    Requires: Marked For Death, Ritual Stone.

    Description: Use Marked For Death, and circle around your afflicted foes, waiting for the weaker ones to die. Finish the strongest ones with your spells, before using the Ritual Stone to summon your new army. Lay back and watch them swarm the remaining enemies, or help them with your bow.

    Fires of Twilight: You melt into the Twilight, sending your foes fleeing in terror. Of the brave souls who resist, emerge with the Dawn's fire as a greeting.

    Requires: Hysteria, Become Etheral, Firestorm.

    Description: This is a very high level tactic. Use Hysteria to send all in the radius fleeing, save those who are a high enough level to resist. Then, use Become Etheral, and charge up Firestorm, releasing it as soon as Become Etheral wears off. This will take a lot of magicka, but will leave your most powerful foes crippled, while the rest are unable to defend themselves. 

    Roleplay: 

    As Azura's Warden, you are Her servent. Do not go against Her. Do not corrupt Her star. Use only Her star for enchanting, never even pick up a soul gem, even if you are going to sell it. The only exception to the rule is when you take up the beast blood, which is explained below. When you can spare it, give up your wealth and gems to Azura's Shrine, so you might show Her your devotion. I recommend making a full pilgrimage to the Shrine at least once. No fast travel, no carriage drivers. The various fortresses and dens you raid along the way should provide even more wealth to give to Her. Give anything of value that you have no use for: gold, gems, unwanted enchanted items, anything you do not want, as long as it isn't junk. If you do a pilgrimage to the Shrine with no fast travel, make sure you have enough stuff to make it worthwhile! I made a few pilgrimages, and the most underwhelming feeling in the world is trecking from the corners of Skyrim, all the way to the Shrine, and have nothing but a few garnet to give. Even when you're fast traveling to the shrine, at least make sure you have a ruby or something to throw in there.

    Do not take other Daedra as your Masters, ever. The exception, however, comes from taking up the beast blood. Azura, as the Prince of change, understands this desire well, but you must still prove your worth. If you have taken the beast blood, you may pick up 10 soul gems. Fill them with the souls of wolves, and leave them on Azura's altar, to prove that you are still loyal to her first, and Hircine second. Remember, no more than 10 soul gems, and after you've made your offering, do not pick any soul gems up again.

    Azura dissaproves of soul trapping innocent. Killing is less grevious, for it allows the soul to go on, but is still frowned upon. Unless you have a reason, do not kill townsfolk. (For example, Azura would understand getting rid of Grelog the Kind, for she is not kind at all, but a witch who beats children. However, gutting Nazeem becuase he sneered at you is... less advisable.)

    You may not pick up soul gems, because as Azura's champion, you wish to use nothing less than Her very star. Do not even pick them up to sell, lest Azura rage at you for using weak 'gems' over Her gift to you.

    Enchanting levels slowly, but you don't need a very high level for it. You may want to use trainers, or enchant a bow with Fiery Soul Trap and go out hunting, constantly recharging it with every kill. Either one of these methods should keep your enchanting lagging behind your other skills, but on course to hit the highest level you need for perks.

    Housing:

    While Winterhold had no houses, Dawnstar does. Assuming you have the DLC, you can buy a plot of land after becoming Thane. This lets you stay relativly close to the Shrine of Azura, and it's on the western border, so you can venture out the plains of Whiterun whenever you feel like going into a few bandits camps or tombs. It even lets you live near a town named Dawnstar. What could be better than that? 

     Recommended Quests:  

    The Black Star: Required. As the Warden of Azura, this is the logical quest, and the only way to start enchanting.

    Waking Nightmare: Strongly Recommended. Vaermina is Azura's enemey, and the former Wardens of Azura fought bitterly with Vaermina's worshipers in the Second Era. The Wardens might be gone, but Azura's grudge is eternal. Do not side with Vaermina. Cleanse Dawnstar.

    Dawnguard: Strongly Recommended. Azura's very symbols are the dawn and the dusk, and destroying the sun would destroy those, would destroy the Twilight that She sees through, and let only darkness reign. Side with the Dawnguard, and destroy those vampires.

    College of Winterhold: Recommended. This lets you hone your magic skills, gives you many vendors and trainers, and is right by the Shrine of Azura.

    Civil War: Recommended. Whether you side with the Stormcloaks or Imperials, change will be caused by your joining, and that is Azura's influence. What side you choose is unimportant, only that you choose a side, and stop this stalemate that the war is in.

    Companions: Optional. While joining the Companions can allow you to gain an Archery trainer, and makes sense for honing your Archery roleplay-wise, you may not wish to take up the beast blood. If you do choose to become a werewolf, see the RP section for what you must do.

    Dark Brotherhood: Optional. You can choose whether or not you wish to become an Assasian. It will cause change, certainly, but that is not discernable when you join, so if you do join, make sure you have a reason for joining. It could be as simple as wanting money and not caring about others' lives, or something very complex and unquie to your character. Choose wisely.

     

    This is my first build, so any feedback you have is appreciated! Thanks to DB, soly, Paws, and everyone else who helped me with the lore, presentation, and just general help! In addition, all credit for the last picture goes to Legion, who let me use his amazing screenshot in this build. You've all been great at making this build the best it could be, so thank you!

  • September 3, 2017

    Glad to see this out Felkros, it's looking really good. I don't know how much all I have to say since I said most of what I wanted to in the Workshop. 

  • Member
    September 3, 2017

    What I like most about this build is all the thematic links to Azura and her spheres of influence. From the thought that went into the chosen Stone, the descriptions of the armour and bow, and even the special moves all convey that atmosphere of Azura. The character feels morally ambiguous, much like the Prince herself, and I cannot help but feel inspired as I read this. Great job, Felkros :)

  • September 4, 2017

    Thanks guys! You were both big help with the making of it, so it wouldn't be where it is today without you. :D

  • September 5, 2017

    Nicely done Felkros.

  • September 5, 2017

    Thanks!

  • September 8, 2017

    Damn, come on what's this still doing at 5 comments, 7 likes? Would've thought a build of this quality would've been closer to 15 at least :D

  • Member
    September 8, 2017

    Saw this in the Workshop and I'm glad it's finaly finished. I love this little RP builds, especially if they feature Azura or Meridia. +1 from me. :)

  • September 8, 2017

    Gee, thanks guys! I'm pretty happy with the likes, becuase almost everyone who liked also commented, which to me is much more satisfying to see (although likes aren't bad either :P).

  • September 9, 2017

    What a charming build. Sorry I didn't comment before, I was knee deep in punching pussy. I really like your roleplay elements, that you thought about Azura. Hope ot see more from you.