It's the Talos temple in Windhelm. :)  I almost never go in there, but the place has a great visual atmosphere.

Windhelm is the Gotham City of Skyrim.

This build needs a lets play!

Nobody else can write a Nord build that makes me want to get hairy and go a-Viking like you can, Paul. Your ability to weave poetry into your work that inspires and grips the imagination is second to none:

A Stalhrim greatsword is one of the finest-looking weapons in the game, and the cold will cling to it like mist above a frozen lake.

I also enjoy your fusion of real world and TES lore to create a believable background for these guys to fit into.

My only concern would be this character's defence - I'm not sure unperked Block would be sufficient for long, hard fights, but I guess with shouts, conjuration and restoration this character always has a way out, no?

Great job sir!  

Thanks, Phil - your words are much appreciated. :)

It's true that defenses are low for this character - low-end (unperked) armor, no Alteration, no Block investment.  I considered adding some points in Block (even if only to get the excellent Quick Reflexes), but in the end decided that that would make the character too "action-y".  I envisioned my particular character as an old man, so I didn't want him to feel like he could rely on physical prowess alone.  (Plus, with my Vargr build I'd already played around with a close-to-zero-AR character who relied on a greatsword's blocking capability for protection)

So the low defense was a deliberate self-imposed weakness, for roleplay purposes as well as an added challenge.  I wanted to feel like I *needed* to use Shouts, healing, and raised undead in order to survive tough encounters. 

That said, a decent Stamina pool allowed me to get away with some bashing, which is effective even without the perks.  And the decent Health allowed me to survive a few hits I couldn't avoid - at least on Adept difficulty. 

If I were to play the Clever Man into the higher levels, though, I'd probably put some points into Block and/or Light Armor.  Light Armor in particular was well into the 60s if not higher by the time I considered the character "done" - high enough to easily spare a few of the base perks. 

I keep rereading this and I decided to run this as my next playthrough. Its just too well done, I have to play it heh. Two handed, fragile, yet capable of emerging triumphant if used tactically... And dat RP... quest choices... outfit... all outstanding. Reading this is like unwrapping a gift as the idea sinks in and you start to feel what an ancient Nordic Clever Man was really like. Your view on ancient Nordic clever craft being intimate and strange instead of flashy and direct appeals to me greatly.  

Did you use any summons aside from Seekers? Also, did you ever improve your armor at all? Last question, being a hybrid character, what path did you take when using the Oghma Infiniium (sp)?    

Thanks!

I just used Seekers (and of course, raised undead, both from spells and the Ritual power).

Yeah, I did upgrade the armor at a workbench, but since fur armor doesn't correspond to a Smithing perk I don't think it made much difference.  It was mostly just something to do, for a tiny gain in Smithing experience. 

Great question about the Oghma.  I found during the playthrough that Smithing was the skill I had to focus on to level up.  Conjuration took care of itself (though I did a bit of grinding near the end - soul trapping dead bodies - to get it to 100 for Twin Souls), Two-Handed rose steadily, and Enchanting and Restoration were fine.  But a lot of my concept for the character actually started when I did a bit of research into Stalhrim, so I *really* wanted to get my hands on a Stalhrim greatsword. 

So long story short, I went with the combat option (Path of Might, I think) with the Oghma.  I had actually forgotten how much of a boost that gave you, so I was pleasantly surprised when it tipped me just over 80 in Smithing - enough for me to take the Ebony perk and trek over to Solstheim to make my Stalhrim sword. 

I forgot fur armor isn't craftable or available for perked smithing upgrades. I am thinking about using a Stormcloak officer helm and a Bonehawk Necklace with this guy, but clipping will decide that. 

I felt like that would be the case with the Oghma. This guy has me all pumped about a Stalhrim greatsword as well!

I've yet to fight Miraak (just got the DLC around Xmas), and I hear he is a very tough opponent. Do you think this guy could safely take him on at the height of his power, or would that just be futility? I understand you didn't take the Dragonborn questline to fight Miraak, but I think it would be a fitting RP for me to finally beat him. Thoughts?

Oh, sorry if that wasn't clear - I *did* fight Miraak with this character; it was just that he was much more interested in exploring the Black Books and "beating Hermaeus Mora at his own game" than in defeating Miraak. 

Miraak is a tough fight, and there's no handy corpses nearby to raise, so this character is at a disadvantage.  IIRC the Bloodskal Blade came in handy there, as I was able to attack/stagger him at range (I believe Miraak is a Nord, so the frost-enchanted Stalhrim greatsword will be less effective).  Pretty sure I made use of potions during that fight, though a lot of my healing came from Restoration spells during the little breaks that Miraak gives you. 

I've never made a Bonehawk Necklace - it probably will look the part, though you may(?) have to go a little farther in the Dawnguard questline to make it.  Does it have any other advantages?

The Stormcloak bear-helmet would be a good choice, I think.  Ultimately I decided not to use it, because I like the look of the hood and I wanted that Magicka bonus.  Plus, playing on Adept meant I could afford to disregard my AR to a greater degree.