[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Mercurias]Mercurias[/url] said:[/b] Eh. Five seconds of Paralysis is barely more crowd control in combat than a knockback. I'd have thought going unarmed, and thus incapable of blocking, would've been enough weakness.

As for the Serpent, it would depend. In Skyrim, I always thought the Serpent signified both Alduin and the Dragonborn. Both were blessed by the gods above all others, but cursed with painful destinies. Both wandered, Alduin through time and the Dragonborn across all of Skyrim. Both bring great change and upheaval in their wake simply due to their natures.

If you want to go the route of a wanderer who makes all of Skyrim tremble, maybe mark characters who signify certain Stars, then systematically defeat or eliminate them before you allow yourself to put their standing stones in the Aetherial Crown. That would work pretty fantastically for a Civil War build.[/blockquote]

I guess it depends on the enemy and quantity. Five seconds of paralysis against a troll feels like a lot longer by the time the thing stands up again. Five seconds against two trolls... not so much. Granted, by the time you get the Crown you may be pushing level 20 depending on how you play and so a troll is not the threat it is at level 5. Unarmed and therefore no blocking is enough of a weakness, and no doubt justification for previous builds using exactly this tactic, which is why I am sorta trying to think outside the box. Keeping it a daily power may actually make it more fun, that small five-second window allows for creativity and possibly where the build could shine. Or, if we go with your Blizzard/Apprentice scenario, an at-will Serpent Strike followed by Blizzard could make for some fun, The Apprentice possibly offsetting some of the advantages. 

Alduin/Akatosh as The Serpent in Skyrim is an interesting and debate-worthy point as most of the Constellation lore is Yokudan themed, part of the reason why that sign is vilified. Even to the Nords the snake is a bad thing despite The Serpent's ties to Lorkhan. Complex stuff is Constellation lore, but all is very compelling.

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/ShinJin]ShinJin[/url] said:[/b]

Okay, at the risk of highjacking this thread I will only say the following things:

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Paws]Phil[/url] said:[/b]

That it does!:D Let the seed take root in your mind, Master Jin.

 [/blockquote]

Oh, it’s in there, and I don’t see it leaving any time soon. I’ve learned a few things today… mainly that I need to do a bit of reading xD

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Paws]Phil[/url] said:[/b]Good call on the All-Maker Stones. Could be a topic all its own for the Jack Vance fans.

[/blockquote]

Omigosh! Mix the All-Maker stones with a bit of magic in the off hand (or possibly shouts) and some good old fashioned punches, and you’ve got seven martial art forms (if you include the Serpent Stone).

Love how the Serpent ties in so well with a wanderer. And a curse/blessing is intriguing. Tying into previous discussions, you could nerf one of the Big Three as a big weakness (can you imagine, for example, an unarmed build that puts no points into Health?). Also, I automatically think of vampirism/lycanthropy when I think of powers that are both blessing and curse, but I don’t know how well that ties into lore.

From a character creation standpoint, a Serpent influenced character sounds conflicted (which I like) with a bit of good and bad in him/her. Of course, you could go all evil (or even crusader) by having the character change throughout the build: a fall from grace (as Mercurias mentions with Alduin), or a character that is trying to atone for past misdoings.

Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to get anything done at home or work now xD

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Maybe we need to call up Alastor and tell him there is a Vancian Karate Kid on the way to join his Vancian Wizard :D Those All-Maker stones are good fun, but like any power, I end up storing them for an emergency that never happens. By using them often it would require spending a lot of time in Solstheim in order to refresh them every day. That is an interesting thought as it changes the mood a fair bit. Is the martial artist now something inspired by Skaal belief or theme? Or does he share a similar animistic or shamanic worldview? That concept could add a mystical monk element to the build if explored.

As I said before I rarely build stone centric builds. Hence most of my stone recommendations are, take the appropriate Guardian stone then switch to the Lord. The Lord I think is the most universally useful of all the stones with the Lady making a close second.   It seems to me that every build which doesn’t have a specific stone in mind end’s up settling on the Lord. It’s unfortunate that many of the stones are so forgettable, I wish more were like the Atronach or Apprentice, I like the positive/negative balancing that these stones have. They are way more interesting to use and build around than a one off power or static buff.

There are a few occasions when I built a character with a stone in mind, specifically the Atronach Stone and the Ritual Stone. The first was perfectly suited to my Blood Magus build and its conversion/absorption mechanics. The second was abused via the Aetherial Crown for huge zombie armies with my Grave-Worm.

Speaking of the Crown, it is probably my second favorite artifact in the game (the first is the Necromancer’s Amulet) for the game changing possibilities of unlimited and free Ritual/Shadow/Serpent shenanigans. This is the primary use that I’ve played around with, however you could also use it to stack a more useful stone with one of the Guardian stones, if you get the crown early enough, like the Steed and Warrior. Or you could stack two static buff stones like the Lord and Lady, or my personal favorite for a “Blizzard Wizard” the Atronach and the Apprentice.

My one wish with the stones is that more of them were like the Atronach/Apprentice in that they balanced their ability with a down side. For instance the Steed I think would be more interesting if it instead made you ignore the effects of being over encumbered, like when you ride a horse, however it reduces your stamina and stamina regen by 50%. Or the Lady could increase your Health and Stamina regen by 50% but only when unarmored. This would make what stone you choose an important decision. As it is I often find myself at level forty something before I realize that my sorcerer is still rocking the Warrior Stone he took at level 2 to help with heavy armor leveling.

My first build too the Shadow stone, my second took the Serpent and then the Steed for roleplaying and then the extra carrying capacity and that I could ignore the left side of Heavy Armor, and my third build took Lord in my playtest, but Lady and Steed could be done with good effect. 

I have one Stone-centric build in the works and his case involves the application of a game-changing glitch that makes his choice truly have consequence. An Atronach with no magicka regen.

I tend to like to pick stones that enhance the roleplay of the build and treat them more or less like birthsigns, barring one of the first three you select in the beginning, and those I base off what the character basically is (Mage, Warrior, or Thief) and I rarely use the Aetherial crown, preferring the Shield lately. I guess I got used to things in my long playthrough on Requiem where you were pretty much bound to the group of standing stones you selected first. If you picked the Mage stone, you could only select after that either Apprentice, Rtitual, or Atronach. And add to that that it was soo bloody hard in Requiem to get the Aetherial crown, that by the time you were a high enough level to get it, you didn't need the extra stone. 

I've been playing a suprisiingly very magic focused 2handed build right now in which I'm practically using up all my magika right when the round starts then rushing in to do damage. I just switched into the Atronarch Stone and I'm loving the extra magika, but I'm kinda regretting not going altmer for that extra 50 magika and have some more health and carry weight. I just recently encountered a stone I've never seen before, the shadow stone. I never really explore in the back of major holds. 

I have question!! I have looked at many builds on this wonderful site and I keep seeing something that confuses me. In some builds when it talks about what stone to use it will say "Advanced Lady stone." What does it mean for a stone to be advanced? How does one make a stone "Advanced"? If anyone could help my noobishness it would be most appreciated :)

some crazy berzerker barbarian wearing forsworn armor, with bone-weapons and a... tiara

 

I'll have you know I've played that. She was a High Fantasy barbarian princess with minimal furs and a tiara. :D

Really though, I rarely pay the stones that much attention. It seems one more fiddly thing to have to worry about. I've seen builds where it's been a big part of it, and I've never quite been able to get my head there. The exception was a build I made of a dragon-hunting obsessive Bosmer who stacked up Magicka Absorbtion.

Question: if you are using a build that starts off with the Warrior/Mage/Thief Stone but progresses to another, around what level do you usually switch to the other stone?

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Dean1]Dean[/url] said:[/b]

Question: if you are using a build that starts off with the Warrior/Mage/Thief Stone but progresses to another, around what level do you usually switch to the other stone?

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Whenever I remember to swap over. So anywhere between me finding the stone and me completing the build.