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Event Build: The Timely Hero

Tags: #Character Build Archer  #Character Build Bard  #Character Build Hero  #Race:Bosmer  #Crossworlds3  #Event:Crossworlds3 
  • Member
    December 29, 2017

    Hello all. Welcome to my first build. I’ve been lurking for a while, but this event is one of my faves so I just HAD to toss something in. This might be an ambitious one, but here goes! A classic, not terribly unique in its basic parts, but an icon in flavor. I hope the flavor enriches the experience for you. Enjoy.

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    This is but one of the legends of which the people speak...

    Long ago, the Divines created the realm of Mundus. It was a teeming land blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and untamed life. But one day, Alduin, Firstborn of Akatosh consolidated the power of the Dragons under his terrible rule. With their strength at his command, he spread darkness across the land of Tamriel. But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand...

    ...brave heroes appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the great power of the Dragons themselves, they cast the Beast adrift upon the sea of time and gave the land hope. The heroes' tale was passed down through generations until it became legend...

    But now, a day comes when a fell wind began to blow across Tamriel. The great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the heroes once again crept forth from the echoes of time, eager to resume its dark designs. The memory of the heroes vanished, but their legacy survived on the blood of a blessed few. In the Reach, one such heir was born. Clothed in the green of fields, they aspired to find adventure and cast down evil. The elders wished only for the youth to know courage like the heroes of legend...

    ======== The Timely Hero ========

    The Hero, at its core, is your standard sword-and-board adventurer with a healthy addition of archery, but with a little spellwork flavor.

    Race: Most are acceptable, but Altmer or Bosmer fit the flavor the best. Alternatively, Imperial and Breton are justifiable in some cases, and the Imperials' luck ability is always handy. In the end, Bosmer has the best flavor, but Imperial has the best starting scores for the build, so perhaps starting there is a good option.

    Stone: The Thief or Lover are a great place to start, with the Mage being a viable option, but the Lord will be the ideal endgame.

    Stats: 1/4/2

    You will need some magicka at times, but health and stamina are very important. Depending on your gear choices and playstyle preferences, swapping stamina and health is an option.

    Major skills=======

    One-handed - A masterful fighter, the Hero wielded a shining blade to smite evil.

    Your primary combat option alongside Block. Swords are the focus, with every perk except the ones related to maces and axes being useful, although past Bladesman is not a priority.

    Block - The noble soul guards himself and the innocent from the foul predations of monstrous foes.

    A good defense helps in any situation, and a strong shield is an excellent active defensive choice. Everything pertaining directly to defense is very important, with the bashing options being a nice addition but unnecessary. The most important perk is the ever-glorious Quick Reflexes, which fits the flavor as much as giving a massive edge in combat. Getting this early can be a big boon.

    Archery - As keen of eye as of spirit, the Hero’s arrow struck as if with guided precision. 

    When your sword just won’t reach (and doesn’t shoot magical energy beams) you have to use something. Here a sturdy bow will help you out. No magic will sap your arrows from your quiver, so you don’t have to worry about running out unexpectedly. Most perks are handy, but not essential. Steady Hand does match Quick Reflexes for flavor however.

    Light Armour - Clad in the legendary garb of the Hero, the land had a verdant symbol of courage to follow.

    You can choose to skip this skill if you wish to use different gear, but it is very helpful to have. Unfortunately, the design doesn’t make use of the later-game armours, so the application of this skill might feel limited. In any case, no perk here is a bad idea besides Matching Set (which will be impossible with the armor choices we take) and other full-set bonuses will probably be a bit of a waste.

    Minor Skills=======

    Many are the varied challenges that face test the Hero in their quest to save Tamriel.

    Alchemy - brewing up your own potions from the parts of critters and monsters you catch can give you an edge, but don’t expect to spend too much time picking flowers or mixing at a lab.

    Blacksmithing - Upgrading your armour and weapons will be extremely useful - especially for your armour - but you can skip this often if you don’t feel the need. Making your own arrows will be handy. Definitely get Arcane Blacksmith at least.

    Restoration - This school will effect some of your equipment slightly, but healing is never a bad choice. If you choose not to use some of the restoration-based abilities later in the list, feel free to skip this skill altogether. If you do level it up, Avoid Death is always a great choice. Necromage is never a bad idea either.

    Destruction - You can choose to sling a lot of spells here if you want, but that’s not the focus here. Either way though, it will help to inprove this, especially the fire school. Rune Master is a nice choice if you opt for those in the list below.

    Enchanting - It's not a bad idea to customize some of your gear, but not core to the build either. Some resist fire or waterbreathing enchants wouldn’t be out of place though.

    Great legends come from humble origins.

    Equipment=======

    Armour - The clothes are as much a symbol to the people as they are the ward against the enemy’s claws. Vibrant green emboldens the spirit and brings courage to the meek and helpless!

    You can take your pick here. If you prefer to take the padded route, guard armour fits the flavor best. Markarth and Hjaalmarch guard armours specifically. Boots and gloves will be basic leather, although you can toss on Thieves Guild bits if you feel like being a little mischievous. It’s easy enough to get them without dedicating too much effort if you can ignore it a little bit. Plus, depending on our source focus, “pirates” as friends are an option. Eventually adding Solitude and Stormcloak armour with some handy resist fire or frost enchants to match would be a nice touch.

    Alternatively, you can opt for the green Dunmer Clothes if you don’t mind adding a trip to Solstheim to your setup step. There are hooded and unhooded versions, with the hooded being an ideal look. Unfortunately, while red and blue versions are available here, they all come enchanted with magicka enchants by default, so customization is not an option. For an unenchanted option, there is a set of green Clothes that includes a hat that is a fitting choice if you require. Red and blue  options here are lacking however.

    In any case where headwear isn’t built into the outfit, a green Cowl bought from a tailor is the right look. For those wanting some armour however, and that don’t mind lacking a snazzy green cap, the Diadem of the Savant adds some durability and completes light armour kits for perk reasons.

     

    Weapons - A major component of this build is attaining the armaments that you require. As such, the endgame items will be mentioned further below in the “Legend” section.

    For the beginning though, a basic bow, sword and shield will suffice. A wooden sword is a nice choice for flavor if you really want, but it’s up to you on that. Until you acquire the equipment listed below, just use the best versions of the generic stuff you find as you go.

    Shouts and Spells======= 

    There are some alternative choices for some of these. Pick the ones you like to use most, don’t use things that feel too awkward.

    Whirlwind Sprint - The Divine Wind guides the Hero as they travel. 

    A handy friend of many for zipping around the place. It can help you close in on rangers and mages when you need to, sparing you the mild lack of protection offered by your armour (or heroic clothes).

    Become Ethereal - Love of the Divines protects the Hero from the foul arms of the minions of darkness.

    The classic panic button. Be it an untimely ambush, the roar of a dragon when you are low on health, or just the fastest rout down a mountain when you don’t have some kind of gliding tool, this ability is never a poor choice.

    Fire Breath or Incinerate - Divine Fire shall burn away the vile darkness from this land.

    Very few common enemies are resistant to fire, and some of the stronger common enemies are infact weak to it. The breath especially can add a nice bit of damage in a pinch.

    Slow Time - The Hero was blessed with the power to transcend time and accomplish great feats!

    An excellent tool for any ocassion, tossing this out in combat can give you the chance to avoid attacks rather than blocking them and pick your targets at your discretion.

    Cyclone, Storm Call, and Whirlwind Cloak - With the song of the Hero’s voice, the storms and sun obey.

    Handy utility and awesome enemy control. Passive random damage attacks, or the ability to sling your enemies like helpless chickens for the massacre are wonderful. (Warning: do not actually attack chickens. It usually ends with everyone being unhappy)

    Stendarr’s AuraGuardian Circle/Circle of Protection, and Clear Skies - The Hero called upon the light of the Divine Sun to destroy the minions of evil.

    Vampires and Undead really hate sunlight magic, and you’ll be fighting quite a good bit of both. The Clear Skies bit is only included with this for flavor, and it also helps stop your storm when you want it gone, but it’s more important for something later.

    Fire Rune/Dawnguard Rune Hammer or Exploding Flame Spider - The explosive might often wielded by those who dwell near the fiery Mountains grants its great strength to the Hero when the obstacle proves beyond the sword’s ken.

    Setting down a fiery explosion before a battle with a big foe can help to level the playing field. The spiders are hard to keep flush, but they don’t cost magicka or require any skill practice if you wish to avoid such things. The scarcity can be solved by exploiting your favourite duplication glitch (I find Jenassa often a willing aid for that. Park her by the Whiterun gate, drop your spiders, ask her to pick them up for you, leave and re-enter, pick up the spiders you swear you just told her to grab, then take the ones she actually did grab, and repeat until you feel satisfied or bored. Remember to save first.) Unfortunately, there aren’t any destructible objects to blow up.

    ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈ Legend of the Hero ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

    The quest to come promised great challenges and tests, and would require the Hero become greater than when they had started.

    Part quest priority, part the lore and flavor that makes this build itself. The lense through which the adventure should be viewed to get the full experience to sink in. This will require all the DLC. It’s a bit more structured than most builds, but it’s the focus here. Always feel free to deviate where you feel it enhances your experience.

    We’ll be doing the whole enchilada of the hero thing as it were. All 3 main quests! There are side quests too, these are major parts of the Hero's design and should be done between major events in the overall quest. First, let’s start at the beginning.

    The shadow of the Dark Beast loomed over the would, threatening all of Tamriel as it once had in the past. The Hero’s task was laid plain.

    First thing’s first: the good ole Main Quest. Start this and run through the standard way. Try to take your time and explore as always, find those handy little odds and ends along the way. In the "Collection" section below are some side-objectives you can attempt as you go if you want some nice little distractions to fill your time. Try to colelct your armour and main weapons before this if you can, but you can join the Thieves Guild while going to get Esbern during this step if you want to use their gloves and boots for your set (they also offer 2 varieties of hood if you like those better.) Try to up your level as you go, because the first iconic item of this build (albeit the least significant) is a potent magical shield, and you need to be at least 10 for it to randomly happen, or 12 to seek it out yourself.. 

    The Hero began in a humble state, wielding naught but their simple green garb and the bow, sword and shield they had managed to scrounge together. Such tools would not be enough to save the land, and so the Hero sought to enhance their armament.... First, with a far-less-flamable ward. To this end, the Hero retrieved an ancient shield, wielded often by legendary knights in ages past.

    Try to reach level 12 in your meandering and side-questing. This will be important for the next major item, but first we'll be snagging one of the keys to surviving with such little armour: Spellbreaker. If you haven't met the pukey green wanderer, head on over to Peryite's shrine once you reach level 12 and do the quest. Spellbreaker's magic ward effect combined with a surprisingly decent armour rating makes it exceptionally useful in all cases, be it physical blades attempting to put a pointy end to your Legend, or a dragon's fire trying to show you what happens to flammable green things when it gets really hot. Once you have this shield, continue your way to obtaining the Elder Scroll to fight Alduin, but before you take the fight to the Throat, we have the signature weapon to grab...

    To defeat the foul beast, the Hero must first obtain a legendary Blade which glowed with the power to destroy evil. The Hero would have to seek out an artifact that glowed with sacred golden power to awaken the slumbering sacred blade.

    Dawnbreaker is the signature weapon of choice for the Hero. This shining sword is one of the most iconic weapons in Skyrim, and I always felt it would be perfect for this exact concept. This sword is the most important weapon in this build and is the core of the Hero's identity. Make a little trip to Solitude and swing by Meiridia’s shrine to get the quest for the beacon if you haven’t found it yet. Save before you do this, in case the location is awful (like requiring a full-on archaeological dig or killing an emperor.). Once you have the sword, go fight that big monster lizard!

    The Hero retrieved the weapon to seal away evil and triumphed in the fateful battle to defeat the foul beast... but the corruption of the fiend ran deep. This battle was far from final, but the beast had retreated and all of Tamriel breathed a gasp of respite.

    Once you kick Alduin’s scaley butt to Sovngarde, it’s time to do some cleaning up while he’s taking his ghost nap. You might have been pestered by a tusky fellow about some vampires or assaulted by some masked psychos along the way. You can pick which you do first, but we’ll be doing both before we finish the Main Quest. As Dawnguard requires a lower level and gives us the other big key weapon to the build, we can do it first.

    In the calm left in the absence of the Dark Beast, lesser evils stirred in Tamriel. One of the greater threats was a foul man with an affinity for bats wielding dark magics.

    Make your way through Dawnguard and chop up some vampires. Dawnbreaker can make this an easy enough task if you have it already. Some extra punch and flavor can be added if you get some werewolf going on before you do this. Turning into a dark wolf monster isn’t beyond the source here, and you get to accomplish some nice alpha-night-hunter showdown in the process if you want. The main benefit gained from this quest is Auriel's Bow. This weapon fits in well with the sword  and the overall lore of the character. It is also one of the most powerful weapons in the game. It might be a good idea to make a whole ton of elvish arrows for blessing. Get the Bow, save the "princess", and head on to your next quest! Also, Clear Skies as stated above is super handy with the bow. Just shout away the weather and fire a shot into the sun for an amazing light show! 

    Having rescued the maiden and the land from the foul plot of the dark sorcerer, the hero found themselves drawn to a threat in a distant land, to defeat a masked horror and brave a nightmarish fate.

    Head to Solstheim, and beat down the masked crazy man. Pick up the Bloodskal Blade while you're here if you feel like it, because a beam-shooting sword is pretty cool. Feel free to add some Two-handed to your skills if you like, with the sideways power attack perk and sword perks as the focus. This is mostly a fun little detour to complete a rather large quest chain, but the distant land with a masked villain was such a nice call to one of my favourite parts of this character's lore. This is also a great opportunity to go grab those spiders we mentioned earlier if you want to use them, along with Whirlwind Cloak and Cyclone.

    With the golden power attained, the Hero now wielded weapons of divine light. Having defeated the foes that threatened Tamriel in the Hero’s absence, the final pursuit could begin. The Beast could now be sought and slain in its own dark realm.

    Finish the job and become the Legend. Don’t be surprised if the boss is a bit easy now, though neither of the weapons are especially more effective against him. Hero, you saved the day and put Alduin in his grave! If that’s not enough adventure for you, we’ve got some sidequests you can do as well. Read on for some fulfilling filler!

    ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Hidden Skills ( ( ( ( ( ( (

    "A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. Remember those words..."— An Ancient Hero

    Below are some handy combat techniques and tips. Some might count as special moves, some are just focal tactics that fit the character.

     

    Song of Slowed Time - The Hero wielded their power to manipulate time to terrifying effect, decimating their foes in combat.

    Slow Time is a great control tool that can be combined with Quick Reflexes to amazing effect! Simply charge the shout and block before it finishes. Once Quick Reflexes activates, let go of block and enjoy a long-lasting time effect that allows you to do some amazing stuff! Maybe even try aiming your bow with Steady Hand during this to see what you can do!

    Song of Tempest The Hero's command of the winds and the weather wreaked havoc upon the battlefield!

    Knocking foes in the air with Cyclone or Whirlwind Cloak and then shooting them midair is cool, but a really fun effect - if short-lived - is to shoot the sun with Auriel's Bow before using Storm Call to bring down a barrage of falling deadly bolts. It's sadly less effective than you might think, and can get you into a lot of trouble, but it's super cool!

    Hurricane Strike - One of the most impressive techniques employed by the Hero, a tempest of spirally strikes threaten to devastate surrounding foes.

    If you have obtained the Sweep perk for your Two-handed skill, you can down some vegetable or venison soup and make use of infinite sideways power attacks to hit EVERYONE around you. The opportunity to use this is rare, but it can be very fun to employ.

    Bomb Arrows - Among the many devastating tools the Hero commanded, the simple combination of explosives and ranged implements proved to be a devastating one.

    Toss out a Rune or a Spider and shoot it with your bow to trigger it when enemies are near if you don't feel like hoping they activate it themselves, or as a potent opening against unaware foes. Steady Hand can make this much easier. 

    ++++++ The Legendary Collection ++++++

    The Hero wielded many tools in the quest to banish evil and save the land!

    The Hero's Equipment - The Hero gathered together many powerful and useful items to aid in their adventure.

    For completion's sake, here's a list of what you can consider the signature "Hero's Set" for the endgame.

    DawnbreakerSpellbreakerAuriel's BowBloodskal BladeDawnguard RunehammerStaff of Telekinesis if you can find one (a handy tool for grabbing distant items!); A Fire and Frost Damage bow to spare those holy arrows when you can; your chosen format of Armour with Green armour enchanted to fortify Light Armour or fortify Health depending on the item type, Red armour enchanted with resist fire, and Blue armour enchanted with resist frostGloves with fortify One-hand or fortify MarksmanBoots enchanted with fortify Carry Weight, fortify One-handed, or fortify Stamina; a Green Cowl enchanted with fortify Marksman.

    If you want to get a more full experience, try some of these tasks!

    The Major Masks - An ancient tribe wore these masks during their dark rituals. Their vile power remains within.

    A good one to do before you fight Miraak. Collect all the other dragon priest masks. This does require some work in the College, but you don’t have to become the archmage to do it. If you like, you can even wear Konahrik with the Ancient Falmer gear and the Bloodskal Blade for an iconic final battle between rival masked monsters!

    The Horse Thieves - Rescuing a prized steed from vile captors is a fitting meeting between a Hero and their trusty mount!

    Go save Frost. A special horse befitting a hero, and not some terrifying demon horse made of shadows... unless you’re into that. Arvak is such a good horse.

    Milk Drinker - Of humble origins, the Hero began as a lowly shepherd.

    Get a nice little cottage, ideally in Falkreath. Raise some goats and cows. It builds character. 

    Captivating Critters and Collectibles - Alongside the above objectives, some fun treasure hunting can be had. Gather some of these items and keep them on you for some extra RP: Try to find all of the jarred bugs, or at least one of each. Don’t get a horse or use the command abilities until you have a flute or do some bardic quests. Perhaps even limit shouts and fast travel until then as well. Learn to summon a shining companion to help you, or annoy you if you want that. You can even make your friend follow and annoy anyone you target. Check jars and pots in dungeons for gems to trade for useful items maybe even pick up only gems instead of gold

    ———————————————-

    So, there you have it! There is a build like this on the Vault already, but it’s old and I felt it could be improved. I’m not going to say who it is, because I think it’s pretty obvious. I tried to leave the gender ambiguous if you wanted to switch some of it up a bit. I might make a build more focused on who that could be though, and I have an idea for a bunch of mini builds related to this one if anyone’s interested. Input is loved, please let me know!

    Special thanks to Liss and especially to Dragonborn1721 for all the amazing help. Their expertise really helped make this build what it is!

  • Member
    December 29, 2017

    This is a good build, I like the presentation and skyrimization of Link is done well. The one thing I'd say is to try to make everything more uniformed, as in all the font is the same color. It's a bit distracting when you have black text, and then some red, some blue, and some yellow here and there. It does make the text stand out, but for the most part, I'd say just stick to making them bolded if you want it to stand out because variations in color is usually distracting and hard on the eyes. Other than that, well done and congrats on your first build.

  • December 29, 2017

    Ah, well you know I enjoy the build Kris so I won't get too into that side of things :D I think it's an excellent first build and I'm really interested in seeing more from you in the future :)

    Just to build off what Aysleph said (and sorry that I hadn't thought of this earlier) is that I do think the coloured text in paragraphs is a tad distracting. I think the titles/section-headers work but maybe just leaving the actual chunks of text as just a plain area would work. Dunno, honestly I've only just really noticed it for the first time and it's a bit distracting but nothing intense. 

  • Member
    December 29, 2017

    I quite enjoyed the coloured text, I think it showed a charming attention to detail. Personal choice, I guess :) I like how this is written and presented, your enthusiasm and enjoyment of the inspiration source clearly shine through, and I think even someone less familiar with the series would have a lot of fun with this.

  • December 30, 2017

    Nice to see you post this build, Krishahl. It's come a long way from when you first posted it on the Workshop. Congratulations. 

  • Member
    December 31, 2017
    Thanks again everyone for the support. I imagine most of my future builds will be crossworlds-themed, including more from this setting and a series of mini build-ons (add-ons to this existing build) but also expect others from disparate settings (I might be working on League of Legends’ Vi in Fallout 4...) but I also have some in-universe stuff coming up too, including a rather fun monk build I’ve been working on. I’ll be using the styling in this build a bit more, so let me know if there’s any further critiques of it.
  • Member
    January 3, 2018

    This is a great read, and I am largely unfamiliar with the Zelda series! Also one of the more detailed layouts for gameplay I've seen in quite a while. 'Milk Drinker' in the Collections section almost made me spit my milk out my nose... there were actually a lot of funny things tucked away in this build that made it such a fun read. Great work on this!

    BTW, this build is currently being featured on TV's Twitter page :D

  • Member
    January 3, 2018

    ShinJin said:

    BTW, this build is currently being featured on TV's Twitter page :D

    ...and the TV Facebook page as well ;D

  • Member
    January 4, 2018

    ShinJin said:

    ShinJin said:

    BTW, this build is currently being featured on TV's Twitter page :D

    ...and the TV Facebook page as well ;D

    :O

  • Member
    January 13, 2018

    At first I thought this was going to be a tad smooshed together, I'm not going to lie. However, it turned out to be a great organized build, aesthetically appealing for the most part. The theme is conveyed fantastically throughout so kudos to that Krishahl! For a first build I'd say I'm looking forward to more content from you ;-)