Thrall Thread : Living with the dead

[Daelon DuLac]

Nazeem sucks as a Thrall. I brought him back from a kidnapping for the Companions and as soon as we got back to the city he was killed by a Vampire incursion. I raised him and the guard and, frankly, the naked, unarmed guard was a whole lot more useful. Needless to say they both went to ashes immediately as worthless.

 

[NecromancerBob]

Guess what? I found out how to thrall the hunters in Ill met by moonlight.
It does require you to have a active quest and follow these steps, the results are amazing including arrows pointing to them, and multiple thralls
1 do the quest like normal until the grotto part
2 help sinding but *Do Not Kill Him*
3 Thrall/ use aetherial crown to move them out
4 never return or kill sinding,
Congrats you now have some amazing thralls that are perma( you might want to use anchor) with arrows at all times

 

[NecromancerBob]

*Update* you will have to sacrifice your ring slot

 

[Adam Warlock]

Haven`t posted recently due to rolling out a new character , Sonja.
Red-haired , blue-eyed , tan , and robust Breton Female.
Just reached lvl 21 with 78 Alchemy , 71 Enchanting , 46 Conjuration , and 40 Speech.
Thane of Falkreath , she has Rayya and Vigilance following while Lakeview Manor is under construction.
Primarily using conjured Atronachs and Bound Weapons until Conjuration gets high enough(65) to go to the College at Winterhold and pick up Conjure Dremora Lord.
A serious change of pace to have a character with no armor or melee skills but have only died once(Bandit Marauder and his mob)
Will report again once she`s able to cast Dead Thrall.

Best of all , she hasn`t talked to Alvor or gone to Dragonreach so there are NO DRAGONS !

Sonja now at level 31 with 100 Conjuration and Dead Thrall spell/Dual Dremora Lords.
100 Enchanting with Extra Effect , 87 Alchemy , 49 Speech with everything else at 20ish or below.

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD !

 

[Adam Warlock]

Unlife at level 31 quite entertaining so far and I`ve yet to do many quests.

Goals are to do DB and Dawnguard Vampire Lord at this level , stick to role-playing , and use 3rd person perspective more.

Sonja`s major quirk is a phobia about the eyes being covered and will abide no masks or other headgear that do this.

Sonja continues to train her skills despite the lack of additional perks.
The ability to craft potions and gear at peerless levels (zero magic cost) has been invaluable.

Stoneflesh , then Waterbreathing got her to 100 skill in Alteration and access to Expert spells(no dragons= no Master spells here)

Turn Undead on Dead Thralls raised Restoration to 100 and expert spells(masters are unavailable due to bug with quest giver)

Sneak maxed by stealth attacks on conjured Dremora Lords who will stand with their backs turned until killed(glass dagger). This also raised 1h some

Illusion upped with Muffle/Invisibility and gained Master spells. This is the only school where I can dual-cast and should be useful when I turn vampire

Smithing leveled making jewelry and improving Nordic Carved pieces.

Light Armor as well as Block maxed by using Healing and allowing the Silver Hand boss at Gallows Rock to beat on me for a while.
Left her there with a bit of health left , changed to Orchish gear and leveled Heavy Armor on the return.
This variant of the never-to-be Krev the Skinner looked just like Adam`s Rigel Strong-Arm and was a lot of fun to "grind" with.

Thrall encounters so far :

Sild the Warlock - I needed a Diamond to make a ring for spouse Jenassa but this gem is leveled too high to find in ore veins or vendors.
Went to Rannveig`s Fast to get one .
This particular variant of the mage is incredibly puny and can be raised with Revenant spell.
Permanently entombed in my cellar

Falx Carius - couldn`t thrall this guy even at this level because he scales at 1.5xPC !

Old Orc - found dead on road with corpse of Balbus just east of Honningbrew Meadery. A nearby Fire Atronach believed responsible for both deaths.
A legit level 25 Bandit Marauder type , he is anchored with a Treasure Map and wears Studded Armor with Scaled Boots and Gauntlets.
Moans but not continuously

Briarheart - level 38 found at Kloskeggr Mine. Frost Cloak , Icy Spears , and Frost Atronach. Strong and deadly . Moans continuously.
His armor doesn`t show in inventory and if you remove his headdress or boots he will not put them back on or respawn replacements.
Corpse can`t be anchored but I know where to find him if he vanishes.

The only big quest I have done so far is Unearthed.
Ahzidal was a total bad-ass who just blew away wave after wave of spammed Dremora Lords after dispatching the Old Orc and a Reaver Lord!
No way could I have beat this Dragon Priest one-on-one !
But the Relics are quite nice and Ahzidal`s Genius a great power for an enchanter. The Ring of Arcana especially useful since it gives me a powerful Destruction spell even though I`m under 25 skill in that school right now.
The mask was left behind in Ahzidal`s ash pile and the Black Book remains unopened.


Which leads to Dead Thrall , Ralis Sedarys - No moaning , no muttering like the Reavers , occasionally hums or sniffles , a few alerted/combat vocal clips.
Requires anchoring.
Will still dual-wield without forsworn weapon but not as powerful as the Old Orc for instance because he`s only half way to his capped strength at this level.
Adding enchants/tempering his leather gear helps a lot

More later.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Thralls from Laid to Rest - minor spoilers from Sonja`s lvl 31 quest

Laelette the Vampire- permanent corpse with anchoring. this particular variant is weak (<22)

Alva - vanished despite anchoring

Note - the respawning Morvarth was Master Vampire lvl and unthrallable without Necromage perk . The highest level thrallable vamp for Sonja is an Ancient Vampire (not yet encountered) and , of course , Vyrthur(@lvl 38) and hopefully the Traveler.



The level 38 Briarheart nicknamed"Bryann" from Kloskeggr has been my go-to thrall for a while
His AI appears to be same as the Forsworn Ravager mages.
When he needs help , a conjured Dremora Lord usually does the trick.
I thought the Briarheart wouldn`t use weapons at first but he looted an Ancient Nord Battleaxe from a Draugr during a dungeon crawl. I tempered and enchanted it and he uses it to good effect when he runs out of Magicka.
I haven`t begun Dawnguard yet so the only way to heal him quickly is to deactivate , then re-thrall him .
Since he wasn`t from a random encounter , his corpse is stable enough to leave for a day or so without disappearing but I`m fairly certain he`s not perm.



Thralls from Mistwatch -

Unlike Adam`s game where 2 Mistwatch Bandits remain perm , all except Fjola disappeared.
Fjola(moans) is Bandit Chief level as a Thrall but her name changed to "Bandit Leader" after she was killed . Body seems perm with no anchor.
Wears Nordic Carved armor and pairs up rather well with the Old Orc.

 

[Devinoextra]

Sometimes Bandit Chiefs attack me after I cheat them. Normal?

Yes , if they are ones that are randomly encountered out in the wilds. Many NPC such as Vampires and Blood Horkers you find in this manner will likewise attack you , typically just after a loading screen.

Yea same here most random mobs will not like the thralling at all

But then I'm quite ok with that having my overpowered enchanted set of dragonbone items

 

[Adam Warlock]

As earlier related , Sonja is more a role-player than Adam.
Unlocking the Skyrim map so far has been limited to 2 radiant mini-quests , namely The Treasure Hunter notes found to the east of Anise`s Cabin and Shalidor`s Insights from the mage college.
I really like those scrolls of Shalidors since they replace the perks of magicka cost reduction and spell augments that Sonja doesn`t have.


Spoiler alert- Urag the librarian sent me to Yngvild and unlike the weak Sild the Warlock , the necromancer Arondil was a top level 40 variant and very powerful with his frost attacks including Ice Storm.
If only he didn`t have that awful male Altmer moan !
Redeeming grace is a permanent corpse.
After letting Vexel the Man pay for looking at Arondil`s Journals , I will test them as anchors and report results.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Newest Thralls-

Ugor(anchored)- this unfortunate Orc Ranger had already been killed by a Giant when I first arrived at her stronghold.
Level 30 and quite effective archer.(I gave her improved Forsworn Bow due to presence of follower`s bow bug)
You should add Fortify Heavy Armor enchants to her default Steel gear because her natural skill is in light armor.
She moans but not as irritating as an Orc male.
Even though I never met her while she was alive, a courier delivered her Inheritance Letter to my home after the quest at the stronghold was completed.

Chief Yamarz (anchored)- Level 20 BUT over 1200 hp IF you kill the boss Giant at the end of the Cursed Tribe quest instead of letting him try it.
Moans .
Wears a full set of Orcish Armor with high Heavy Armor skills.
His damage output is comparatively low and he has only 50 Stamina so adding stamina to his gear or Absorb Stamina on weapon is advised to increase the number of his power attacks.
He will however use any kind of bow/arrows you wish to give him

 

[Adam Warlock]

More thrall reports from Sonja(still locked at lvl 31)
Anchored unless noted-

Bashnag- damn , but I wanted to thrall this guy since Orc mages seem to be rarer than Hawk Eggs !
Unfortunately , he was Arch Necromancer level.
Can be raised with Ritual Stone and has respawned once already.

Selveni Nethri - even though she shares the same site as Bashnag , this radiant NPC was weak and could be raised by Revenant spell.

Sarthis Idren- a weak radiant variant who could be raised by Revenant.
The LOUDEST BREATHER I`ve yet to encounter, he sounds like a pet fox X 100 !

Silus Vesuius - a scaling NPC (0.75xPC) , so he`s @ level 22 or so.
OK in a mage duel but very weak to physical attacks.
2 or 3 arrows from a Forsworn puts him down for the count.
Note- the most powerful form of Dremora that have yet appeared/respawned at the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon have been Kynreeve.
Silus has permanent corpse

Forsworn Briarheart - lvl 38 Melee found near Hag Rock.
Was dual-wielding Ebony and Glass War Axes when encountered.
I would rank him over Bandit Chiefs/Marauders for strength of attacks , but like his mage counterparts his armor can`t be improved either by smithing or enchantments so he loses health rapidly. Respawns

 

[Adam Warlock]

Sonja continues at locked level 31.

As far as available thralls , notably missing so far are Ancient Vampires , melee/archer types of Forsworn Ravagers , Reaver Marauders , and Dremora Markynaz.

Sacrificed Roggi Knot-Beard in order to get the Ebony Mail as well as the Champion of Boethiah(anchored, lvl38?) as a thrall.
Despite UESPWiki saying you can`t reproduce the Ebony Mail if patched , Champ readily respawned the artifact after thralling.
Noted that Champ resisted Dead Thrall spell(as did all the disappearing Boethiah Cultists) until after the quest was fully completed.
Pairing Champ with Ralis Sedarys makes for a devastatingly deady Dunmer duo that can be upgraded to a terrific trio with spouse/follower Jenassa.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Sonja`s newest thrall is the Redguard mercenary , Kematu(anchored w/Treasure Map IV) who was acquired via My Time of Need quest.

Kematu is one of those NPC who scale faster(x 1.2) than the Dragonborn and must be thralled before level 34 , if at all(xbox).
A bigger fellow than the other Alk`r warriors , Kematu is quite tough with health and stamina equal to a Bandit Chief although he wears no armor.
He dual-wields his scimitars with deadly effect but is only average with a bow.

The unexpected event happened mid-quest as Sonja was leaving the Bannered Mare en route to Swindler`s Den to meet Kematu.
Accompanied by the thralled Champion of Boethiah , Sonja had doffed her own armor to show Saadia that she wasn`t the only one in Whiterun with a nice rack.
Still naked when exiting the inn , the Champ was heard to say , "You`re not nearly as attractive as you think you are."

Might just be time to visit that face sculpter in Riften ! lol

 

[Adam Warlock]

More notes from level 31.

The Caller - very disappointing that this radiant leveled mage was a very weak example who can be raised with Revenant spell(lvl<21).
So far my luck with radiant thrallable mages is not-so-hot with only Arondil reaching capped strength(40) while The Caller and Sild the Warlock are too weak to be useful.

Beem-Ja - scaled NPC(30) anchored with Torn Note.
One of the rare ones who will spawn and wear his own enchanted jewelry(ring). He was originally wearing a lockpicking ring but after @5 respawns produced a Ring of Major Health .
Also wears Gloves to which extra Magicka can be added by enchantment.
Very reluctant to use weapons , he tends to cast magic even in close quarters
(like a squishy J`zargo with thunderbolts instead of sparks)
His Argonian moan is quite tolerable.
I rate him just a notch below a Bandit Marauder mage overall.
Probably won`t use him after I eventually level up as he was owned in a one-on-one with a Master Vampire.
Paired him up with follower Marcurio and the lightning was flying everywhere !

 

[AS88]

Adam Warlock, I'm a level 30 (ish) Altmer vampire, looking for a Dead Thrall. I don't have the Necromage perk yet and I don't think I'll be pursuing it.

I'm looking for a mage, ideally another Altmer but possibly a Bosmer. I don't really want to do the quest for Orchendor, but if there are no decent alternatives then I'd take him. Also, I'd prefer a thrall that doesn't moan. How good are Thalmor Wizards as thrall candidates?

 

[Adam Warlock]

Adam Warlock, I'm a level 30 (ish) Altmer vampire, looking for a Dead Thrall. I don't have the Necromage perk yet and I don't think I'll be pursuing it.

I'm looking for a mage, ideally another Altmer but possibly a Bosmer. I don't really want to do the quest for Orchendor, but if there are no decent alternatives then I'd take him. Also, I'd prefer a thrall that doesn't moan. How good are Thalmor Wizards as thrall candidates?

The typical male Altmer moan is the most irritating one in the game imho. Arondil(perm) , Kornalus (perm) , and Ondolemar(needs anchor) are examples.
perm Orchendor`s moan is different but still very bad.
The female moans are tolerable though

Of the rare non-moaning respawning mages I`ve encountered and previously written about , all were male and none were Altmer.

The generic Master Necromancer in Brittleshin Pass is often a male Altmer (frost)so you might try that one out first to see what you think of the racket they make.

My favorite Altmer mage thralls have been lvl 36 female Pyromancers or Electromancers randomly found at warlock lairs and the level 28 or 36 female Thalmor Wizards from the embassey(post-party). Downside is they can`t be made permanent.

Can`t say I`ve seen many Bosmer mages , Dunmer much more often

 

[Adam Warlock]

Actually those Thalmor Wizards are among the best available mages of any race.

When you have a corpse of such , save game and use Revenant.
If they resist , they are at least level 28.
Reload save and try Dread Zombie , if resisted then at least a 36.
Some may be too high level for Dead Thrall.

Shock and fire spells , mage armor , wards , banish daedra , turn undead , and conjure storm atronach!

 

[AS88]

Actually those Thalmor Wizards are among the best available mages of any race.

When you have a corpse of such , save game and use Revenant.
If they resist , they are at least level 28.
Reload save and try Dread Zombie , if resisted then at least a 36.
Some may be too high level for Dead Thrall.

Shock and fire spells , mage armor , wards , banish daedra , turn undead , and conjure storm atronach!

Sounds perfect. Should I aim for a female to avoid the terrible moans?

 

[Adam Warlock]

Actually those Thalmor Wizards are among the best available mages of any race.

When you have a corpse of such , save game and use Revenant.
If they resist , they are at least level 28.
Reload save and try Dread Zombie , if resisted then at least a 36.
Some may be too high level for Dead Thrall.

Shock and fire spells , mage armor , wards , banish daedra , turn undead , and conjure storm atronach!

Sounds perfect. Should I aim for a female to avoid the terrible moans?

Up to you.
I always thought the male moan sounded like a cave bear being raped by a horker but you might like how over the top it is
A lvl 36 male(565 hp!) is certainly worth using if only for a while

Because level and gender are rather random , you may have several thrall choices among the embassy group usually encountered.
Not an easy fight as they are supported by a more or less equal number of leveled soldiers in a relatively small area.
There are 2 wizards in the courtyard
as many as 3 more inside the cramped barracks .
Once thralled , keep with you until you are ready to move on to another minion. After a day or so outside of your cell , they typically respawn like most other enemies.
Their gloves and boots can be enchanted and any wizard will wear any other wizard`s gear


Don`t waste your time thralling randomly encountered Thalmor from patrols as they are extremely unstable and rapidly vanish

 

[AS88]

Actually those Thalmor Wizards are among the best available mages of any race.

When you have a corpse of such , save game and use Revenant.
If they resist , they are at least level 28.
Reload save and try Dread Zombie , if resisted then at least a 36.
Some may be too high level for Dead Thrall.

Shock and fire spells , mage armor , wards , banish daedra , turn undead , and conjure storm atronach!

Sounds perfect. Should I aim for a female to avoid the terrible moans?

Up to you.
I always thought the male moan sounded like a cave bear being raped by a horker but you might like how over the top it is
A lvl 36 male(565 hp!) is certainly worth using if only for a while

Because level and gender are rather random , you may have several thrall choices among the embassy group usually encountered.
Not an easy fight as they are supported by a more or less equal number of leveled soldiers in a relatively small area.
There are 2 wizards in the courtyard
as many as 3 more inside the cramped barracks .
Once thralled , keep with you until you are ready to move on to another minion. After a day or so outside of your cell , they typically respawn like most other enemies.
Their gloves and boots can be enchanted and any wizard will wear any other wizard`s gear


Don`t waste your time thralling randomly encountered Thalmor from patrols as they are extremely unstable and rapidly vanish

What about the ones at Northwatch? I'm not really looking to go anywhere near the main quest.

 

[Adam Warlock]

The Soldiers at Northwatch may use conjured weapons or flames but the only wizard there is the Northwatch Interrogator who may possibly be perm if anchored since he does not respawn.

The problem with him is that his level is radiant 14-50 which means a narrow chance of a thrallable but also powerful minion.
Suggest a save before starting Northwatch in event he can`t be thralled first try.