Skyrim Character Building » Discussions

Character Build: The Grendel

Tags: #Character Build Rogue  #Character Build Vampire  #Character Build Villain  #Race:Argonian  #Rank:Recognized  #No Crafting 

• VDW

  

  Member
   

  June 12, 2015

  Thanks Tom! I cannot claim any credit for it beyond having modest Google-Fu. I used a photo editor on the spread, of course, and agonized over text color. In the end, I wanted to go with something reminiscent of yellowed bone or teeth or horn. As I mentioned above, I thought about trying to get a few screenshots to enhance the immersion and add some inspiration but I think creating your own Grendel is part of what makes the monster so horrifying. My overall goal was to create something that looked like it was illustrated with rough woodcuts, no two the same and no two agreeing as to what the creature looked like.

  Thanks Tom! I cannot claim any credit for it beyond having modest Google-Fu. I used a photo editor on the spread, of course, and agonized over text color. In the end, I wanted to go with something reminiscent of yellowed bone or teeth or horn. As I mentioned above, I thought about trying to get a few screenshots to enhance the immersion and add some inspiration but I think creating your own Grendel is part of what makes the monster so horrifying. My overall goal was to create something that looked like it was illustrated with rough woodcuts, no two the same and no two agreeing as to what the creature looked like.

• Paul England

  

  Member
   

  June 13, 2015

  Nice additions; wish I could like it twice!  You're totally right about the Night Mother too - something else I never would have considered.  Would be fun as hell to play this character through the DB.  Of course, you don't need/want any of their gear, but playing as a monstrous barbarian in their emo club is a good time!

  That Deft Movement perk is always so difficult for me to get to.  How did you get your Light Armor skill up to that point?  I mean, I imagine you're tanking a lot of hits.  But I always find myself having to do some (a lot) of grinding:  letting giants whale on me, for instance.  Did you find that was the case, or did it work up more naturally?

  Nice additions; wish I could like it twice!  You're totally right about the Night Mother too - something else I never would have considered.  Would be fun as hell to play this character through the DB.  Of course, you don't need/want any of their gear, but playing as a monstrous barbarian in their emo club is a good time!

  That Deft Movement perk is always so difficult for me to get to.  How did you get your Light Armor skill up to that point?  I mean, I imagine you're tanking a lot of hits.  But I always find myself having to do some (a lot) of grinding:  letting giants whale on me, for instance.  Did you find that was the case, or did it work up more naturally?

• VDW

  

  Member
   

  June 13, 2015

  It's too bad this one doesn't appeal to you, and that you hate it. I started working with limited builds after I got worn out on running power-leveled god and goddess characters that did everything. Essentially, I got tired of running the same character over and over, so I decided to try some specialists that only did one or two things. It's in the finding ways to apply those one or two things to each situation that I find interesting. For instance, a Sneak character is going to have a hard time at the end of Meridia's Daedric quest. There's a room full of shades and the big bad wizard that sprouts his own shade after death. Figuring out how to get a character that relies on Sneak for damage through that situation? It almost makes it a whole new encounter if each previous run has involved just beating down everything in the room.

  Also, I didn't write it up in detail in the build, but managing social areas with a high bounty can  feel very dangerous. It's high risk/high reward as Grendel's goal is to kill, but too many guards will bring him down with his low AR and limited healing. I really had to rely on my ability to keep out of sight until I was ready to strike, and then hit with overwhelming force before they could take me down.

  Since it is a no crafting/casting build, I also relied much more on my Daily Powers than with previous vampire characters. Raising an undead servitor at just the right moment for a distraction, or disappearing from sight with Embrace of Shadows for a breather while Histskin heals wounds made me really appreciate the vampire/racial power set more.

  Perhaps I should include a special moves section, like I've seen in some of the other builds here. Coming up out of a Silent Roll and going directly into the Great Critical Charge animation can be tricky to aim, but looks cool on film.

  Thanks for your feedback!

  It's too bad this one doesn't appeal to you, and that you hate it. I started working with limited builds after I got worn out on running power-leveled god and goddess characters that did everything. Essentially, I got tired of running the same character over and over, so I decided to try some specialists that only did one or two things. It's in the finding ways to apply those one or two things to each situation that I find interesting. For instance, a Sneak character is going to have a hard time at the end of Meridia's Daedric quest. There's a room full of shades and the big bad wizard that sprouts his own shade after death. Figuring out how to get a character that relies on Sneak for damage through that situation? It almost makes it a whole new encounter if each previous run has involved just beating down everything in the room.

  Also, I didn't write it up in detail in the build, but managing social areas with a high bounty can  feel very dangerous. It's high risk/high reward as Grendel's goal is to kill, but too many guards will bring him down with his low AR and limited healing. I really had to rely on my ability to keep out of sight until I was ready to strike, and then hit with overwhelming force before they could take me down.

  Since it is a no crafting/casting build, I also relied much more on my Daily Powers than with previous vampire characters. Raising an undead servitor at just the right moment for a distraction, or disappearing from sight with Embrace of Shadows for a breather while Histskin heals wounds made me really appreciate the vampire/racial power set more.

  Perhaps I should include a special moves section, like I've seen in some of the other builds here. Coming up out of a Silent Roll and going directly into the Great Critical Charge animation can be tricky to aim, but looks cool on film.

  Thanks for your feedback!

• VDW

  

  Member
   

  June 13, 2015

  It was definitely an endgame perk for me. Luckily, Nazir is the Master trainer for Light Armor, and it was the only skill I trained. Grendel doesn't really have much other use for gold, after all. There was some grinding involved there, and use of the Oghma Infinium is definitely recommended to get those last 5 points. Using the Thief Stone can help increases as well, though I tended to do that only while grinding. I kept the Lady Stone on for probably 90% of the time.

  Forsworn camps can really lay a ton of hits down and are fun to tank, and of course a hit or two from a Giant will provide all sorts of XP. I did also use a Light Armor Dragon Priest Mask while doing my infrequent grinds to maximize the XP count. Rationalizing it in character wasn't too tough, as Grendel would definitely want to take down the noisy giants, but would fear their vengeance. Voila, use of a mask!

  It was definitely an endgame perk for me. Luckily, Nazir is the Master trainer for Light Armor, and it was the only skill I trained. Grendel doesn't really have much other use for gold, after all. There was some grinding involved there, and use of the Oghma Infinium is definitely recommended to get those last 5 points. Using the Thief Stone can help increases as well, though I tended to do that only while grinding. I kept the Lady Stone on for probably 90% of the time.

  Forsworn camps can really lay a ton of hits down and are fun to tank, and of course a hit or two from a Giant will provide all sorts of XP. I did also use a Light Armor Dragon Priest Mask while doing my infrequent grinds to maximize the XP count. Rationalizing it in character wasn't too tough, as Grendel would definitely want to take down the noisy giants, but would fear their vengeance. Voila, use of a mask!

• VDW

  

  Member
   

  June 13, 2015

  Apologies for misunderstanding your use of the word 'hate'. Likewise, I didn't say I hate high power builds, but I find them less interesting than I did when the game came out. Hate's a strong word.

  Daily Powers, by their nature, can't be overly relied upon. Judicious management and timely use is called for, as opposed to having an encounter and then waiting 24 hours for the ability to cycle. I did write into the build that I relied heavily on the Elemental Fury Shout for open combat, since Two-Handed Hammers are not silent and after a Sneak kill or two open combat is inevitable.

  Sneak characters on the whole run the risk of being monotonous. The entire Stealth game genre (Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid, etc.) has been likened to playing a golf game--the pace can be slow, the outcomes predictable and the action rare. So you're right: if Sneak doesn't appeal to you, this build wouldn't suit you.

  Conjuration is an interesting example, since when I use it I Perk it only along one side or another. I've got a character that uses it, but only for Atronachs. Another is interested solely in using the bound weapons, and yet another is purely a Necromancer. Just different approaches to the game, I guess.

  Apologies for misunderstanding your use of the word 'hate'. Likewise, I didn't say I hate high power builds, but I find them less interesting than I did when the game came out. Hate's a strong word.

  Daily Powers, by their nature, can't be overly relied upon. Judicious management and timely use is called for, as opposed to having an encounter and then waiting 24 hours for the ability to cycle. I did write into the build that I relied heavily on the Elemental Fury Shout for open combat, since Two-Handed Hammers are not silent and after a Sneak kill or two open combat is inevitable.

  Sneak characters on the whole run the risk of being monotonous. The entire Stealth game genre (Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid, etc.) has been likened to playing a golf game--the pace can be slow, the outcomes predictable and the action rare. So you're right: if Sneak doesn't appeal to you, this build wouldn't suit you.

  Conjuration is an interesting example, since when I use it I Perk it only along one side or another. I've got a character that uses it, but only for Atronachs. Another is interested solely in using the bound weapons, and yet another is purely a Necromancer. Just different approaches to the game, I guess.

• Casey

  

  Member
   

  June 14, 2015

  Fantastic! I love the artwork and the presentation is short and sweet but really written well. As for the build itself you did a ...monstrously good job... xD 

  I do wish you had incorporated unarmed but I can imagine Grendel wrenching two handers away from foes and utilizing them without a second thought, and the Long-Hammer shows his wild strength and careless rampage wrath. 

  So good! Hope to see more builds by you!

  Fantastic! I love the artwork and the presentation is short and sweet but really written well. As for the build itself you did a ...monstrously good job... xD 

  I do wish you had incorporated unarmed but I can imagine Grendel wrenching two handers away from foes and utilizing them without a second thought, and the Long-Hammer shows his wild strength and careless rampage wrath. 

  So good! Hope to see more builds by you!

• ShinJin

  

  Member
   

  June 14, 2015

  Wow! You've represented Grendel incredibly well... and made it cool to play him. I love the idea of infiltrating Jorrvaskr and taking out members of the Companions one by one!

  While I agree that unarmed would have been a more literal interpretation of the concept, I also understand that it would been pretty tricky to make the character viable, but still remain true to spirit of the build. Likewise, while eventually joining the Companions in order to further destroy them seems to go against the concept, it again remains true to the spirit of the build (and to Grendel)... especially when you add the mask ;D

  You pulled this off with finesse... Grendel could have been a tough sell in Skyrim, but you nailed it :D

  Wow! You've represented Grendel incredibly well... and made it cool to play him. I love the idea of infiltrating Jorrvaskr and taking out members of the Companions one by one!

  While I agree that unarmed would have been a more literal interpretation of the concept, I also understand that it would been pretty tricky to make the character viable, but still remain true to spirit of the build. Likewise, while eventually joining the Companions in order to further destroy them seems to go against the concept, it again remains true to the spirit of the build (and to Grendel)... especially when you add the mask ;D

  You pulled this off with finesse... Grendel could have been a tough sell in Skyrim, but you nailed it :D

• VDW

  

  Member
   

  June 14, 2015

  I'll have to track those down. There are a plethora of them in the game if one goes out of their way to collect them with the Racial, Vampire or Werewolf, Standing Stone, Faction (Nightingale/College - Arniel/DB - Lucien), Solstheim Stone, and Black Book options.

  I'll have to track those down. There are a plethora of them in the game if one goes out of their way to collect them with the Racial, Vampire or Werewolf, Standing Stone, Faction (Nightingale/College - Arniel/DB - Lucien), Solstheim Stone, and Black Book options.

• VDW

  

  Member
   

  June 14, 2015

  Thanks Casey! I have a stable of unarmed characters, some that did the Fortify Resto loop, some that stacked Gauntlets, and some that are are pure vanilla. I thought about taking Grendel that way, but unarmed Sneak is a bit twitchy on hit detection and I just sort of wanted to play a character that snuck around and walloped people with a big hammer. I also wanted to craft a character that carried the same weapon throughout the bulk of his career, which is where the Longhammer came in. If only there were a severed leg to use as a club...

  This is my first build on the site, so I really appreciate your feedback. I've got a couple works-in-progress and seeing how people react to this build has evolved my idea of how I should craft them. Thanks again for the kind words!

  Thanks Casey! I have a stable of unarmed characters, some that did the Fortify Resto loop, some that stacked Gauntlets, and some that are are pure vanilla. I thought about taking Grendel that way, but unarmed Sneak is a bit twitchy on hit detection and I just sort of wanted to play a character that snuck around and walloped people with a big hammer. I also wanted to craft a character that carried the same weapon throughout the bulk of his career, which is where the Longhammer came in. If only there were a severed leg to use as a club...

  This is my first build on the site, so I really appreciate your feedback. I've got a couple works-in-progress and seeing how people react to this build has evolved my idea of how I should craft them. Thanks again for the kind words!

• Curse Never Dying

  

  Member
   

  June 14, 2015

  This is quite good especially for a first build. I feel silly having not noticed it before. 

  This is quite good especially for a first build. I feel silly having not noticed it before.