Thrall Thread : Living with the dead

[JayW]

I hope they include the usual spoilers for the next DLC in the script for the next update. I never thought I would run out of stuff to do in SKyrim but I am in need of some new quests...the other day I found myself decorating my pad with some shrunken skulls and imperial horns.

With a bit of luck they might throw the necromancers a bone and get rid of the cap on thralls or create a reliable anchor to prevent thralls disappearing (maybe a tag that reads "property of Dovahkiin, if you find this corpse please return it to Breezehome, Whiterun - many thanks").

I got round to collecting one of those packs of werebears. You can thrall the werebears in human form but they don't convert after enthralment. You have to use the ritual stone trick to use them as your new pack. The biggest problem is that in keeping the pack going you will end up mixing in assorted bandits who litter your path and join the pack when you resurrect the werebears... the tribulations of a necromancer.

Any XBox players wanting to make some quick gold - the fastest way is to use the Dupe glitch with East Empire necklaces. Its like chopping wood in that the trader who collects them will pay for whatever number you have collected. No running out of money and you can dupe a couple of hundred in about 20 mins (they sell for 500 each).

 

[Imrah]

The quest "The Lost Expedition" located underneath markarth is an anchor goldmine. You can acquire up to 10 usable anchors during the course of the quest. Make sure that when you reach each researcher, you loot their body first NOT pick up the journal next to them. Looting the body will pick up the journal, but you will get a second copy of it as well. The same thing works with the soldier Alethius that starts the quest.

alethius's notes, erj/krag/stromm/staubin's journal/diary. All 10 work as functioning anchors after the quest is completed.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Must regretfully report that after a 45 day unvisited stay at Tel Mithryn , Rigel Strong-Arm respawned alive once more.
Her body doesn`t disappear as quickly as many do so she has some utility since she is a very powerful bandit chief , but it is suggested that you store any of her special gear if you aren`t going to have regular contact with her

 

[Ian Jones]

Hi! I wanted to give props to this great thread of fellow Necromancers-good stuff guys.

I remember a post about stumbled-upon corpses often being too useless (low level,equipment,skills)to keep.My currently favorite thralls are the four Riften Guard corpses in Shor's Watchtower.

Note:I have not started the Civil War questline as I understand if the Imps take the Rift the corpses will turn into Imperial Legionaires which will have generic "corpse" name(lvl1)-on a side note this gives the player access to the only other
female Imperial Soldier in the game(a rare corpse).

They are great because they are true(stay dead,no anchoring) permanent corpses,come with full complement of armor and weapons(which do reset-so do not use as storage),good leveled skills(one-twohanded,block,marksman)and level with
your PC(up to 50).Like all thralls,their equipment matters in making them effective thralls.One of mine is dualwielder(absorb health,paralyze) the other a shield and board-marksman warrior-plus these guys always start combat by using a conjuring staff.Ideal for players who like me want to use Hold Guards as thralls but none too keen on killing them for that purpose.I'm generally a good,pure Necromage(no armor ,no weapons,destruction,alteration,illusion spells),using only my enemies dead bodies as weapons.

For Necros who like playing with the Ritual Stone power, I recommend the last four Necromancers in the WolfSkull Cave quest in Solitude(the Ritual Master is also permanent but non-combattant).All are true permanent corpses.

My prized thrall so far is Bashnag-a rarity-an Orc mage who wears cool heavy armor plus jewelry which all reset if remove,who I have to occasionally visit or use less he will resurrect and turn from a Master Necromancer to an Arc-Necromancer.

Who do you consider your prized thrall?

 

[JayW]

Most prized thrall?

Hmmm ... I like quite a few but if I had to choose one it would be the Traveler. You can play the entire game and not even notice him. He wears black hooded robes and turns up as a radiant NPC in any of the main holds during the Dawnguard quest. He is a vampire so he has glowing eyes but he looks as though he is pretty advanced in his vampirism (more like a Vampire Lord than most others). He also summons a gargoyle which can prove helpful in a pinch. He has unique dialogue, which I am yet to get bored with since he grumps in the background wherever and whatever I'm doing. I super enchant his robes (so that he won't die) and arm him with the Blade of Woe.

I wish there were more unique thralls. They are every bit as fun as a new bow or sword.

 

[Wishmaker1234]

Not to be a noob can someone explain what anchoring is how it is used?

 

[Adam Warlock]

Not to be a noob can someone explain what anchoring is how it is used?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Permanent_and_persistent_items

Must be used on a non-respawning NPC who doesn`t otherwise have a permanent corpse.
Many are named characters but a few are generic , most notably "guest" bosses like Master Vampires in some of the Dawnguard faction radiant quests

 

[Adam Warlock]

^For instance , if you had a follower (lvl 40 or under) who dies and would normally disappear in a few days, you can anchor their corpse and use them as a Dead Thrall permanently

 

[Adam Warlock]

I make no secret of favoring tanks as my DT since my playstyle is mainly hiding , looting , and giggling madly while my thralls do the heavy work.
Fav named ones are Umana and Uthgerd the Broken , both in 3 pieces of strong Steel Plate and excelling with sword and board.
I prefer the AI of warriors over archers because the warriors will use a bow but will steadily advance on the enemy until they can enter melee. Archers tend to remain at range much longer.

Last several play sessions I have been using 2 female(easier on eyes AND ears) Northwatch Guards that I have named Laverne and Shirley.
They are both level 36 with a natural 565 hp and wearing full sets of Glass armor with helpful custom enchantments and Legendary tempering.
Stalhrim shield , Stalhrim War Axe of the Vampire, and Stalhrim Bow of Storms w/Daedric arrows complete their equipment.
These two battling babes are DEVASTATING in combat.
The only foes that have had any success so far in fighting them was a Nightmaster Vampire and a Legendary Dragon.

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

Idk about my favorite, but my Dremora Markynaz and Silver Hand Orc in full steel plate are awesome. Maximus the Dremora Markynaz has epic trash talk, and the orc gets a decapitation almost ever fight. Both are anchorable.

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

If you think the moan of a dead thrall is annoying, just try listening to a pawn in Dragon's Dogma for a few minutes >.<....

"What a large tree." "It's even bigger up close."

All... day... long... :'(

 

[Ian Jones]

Played Dawnguard,it had too much of an unpolished and tacked-on feel to it(see location of Dawnguard base).
I've read threads of peeps begrudging the fact that city and town NPC population being decimated by vamps(smiths,alchemist,vendors,etc).Never liked using fast-travel but with Dawnguard castle location you are forced to use it.You would think a group who enjoy popular support would have a base accessible to NPCs with vamp problems.I did like the revelation of the Falmer-SnowElf-Dwemer connection,another proof that the Elven
race is doom to go the way of the dinosaurs.So no Dawnguard-no Traveller.

Speaking of tanks,I was impress by and curious about Falx Carius(Dragonborn addon).The lowest level I could thrall him was lvl25 at which he was lvl 37 with 100-2handed, 99-block, 89-heavyarmor ,and 600plus health .He was basically 2 hitting humanoid type enemies with his cudgel and with 99 blocks like a champ(get it?)and never staggered when being pounded at relentlessly.The only other thrall I have with decent 2-handed lvls is Rigel(lvl28) with 84-2handed and 59 block but she favors broadswords and is crap with battleaxes and hammers.My Orcs Ghunzul(lvl28) and Old Orc(lvl25)both79-2handed- are beastly with it .I read Krev the Skinner does well with 2handed weps but I haven't started the Companion questline.




"Vamps are douchebags"
Dean Winchester,Supernatural W.B.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Using Legendary Skills reset , I cleared unused perks from trees like 2h and Heavy Armor to create a new build i describe as a Necro-Ringmaster of Fire.

Retaining 100 skill in Conjuration , the minimum requirements are as follows:

First , get to 50 skill in Destruction and use 7 perks including Apprentice , Dual Casting , Impact , Augmented Flames(both) , and Intense Flames.
THEN(order is important) get at least 50 skill in Illusion and spend 3 perks to get Aspect of Terror.
Now all you need is to obtain Ahzidal`s Ring of Arcana and put it on your finger for the Ignite spell.
If done in this fashion , this is the most powerful magic attack in the game with 315 Fire Damage over 15 seconds(21 per) and increases to 330(22 per) when wearing Ahzidal`s Dragon Priest Mask !
Extremely cheap and quick to Dual-Cast for even more strength, the damage effects WILL STACK on successive hits.
Impact perk can stun lock your foe so even on LEGENDARY DIFFICULTY you will be able to fry a Nightmaster Vampire or Dragr Death Overlord before they can even mount an attack.

Much fun to watch your opponent try to flee from you only to collapse as Ignite finally consumes them.

 

[Imrah]

I actually have that set-up on one of my characters. I went a step or two farther with it though.
She is a Dunmer, with the Ancestors Wrath racial power (fire cloak). I also combine the dual casted Ignite with the Fire Breath shout. Fire Breath + people on fire from ignite + Yol meditation (+25% damage) + Fire Breath black book perk = lots of flame wraiths.

 

[Daelon DuLac]

I am finding this entire discussion EXTREMELY DISTURBING! It's bad enough you necormancers are stealing people's souls and bringing the dead back to life, but now your holding extreme cage fights with them! You are EVIL! EVIL I TELL YOU! I will hunt all of you down and bring and end to your Insanity! By the way, if you could bring my wife back as a non-hostile, it would be much appreciated. Sure I may not get any luvin, but the house needs cleaning, really, really bad...

 

[Ian Jones]

This is probably something that most player Necromancers have suspected,that their Dead Thralls skill Perks count more than their Skill level and overall combat level.At least this is the conclusion I have come to believe.Hanging around in Riften for awhile, I added Telrav(lvl. 25 with 67 marksman) and the already dead Ugor in Largashbur(lvl.30 with 78 marksman) to my roster of thralls.Though both are Ranger types by far Telrav is the superior archer thrall.Where as Telrav only takes 3 accurate shots(unenchanted Glass bow and daedric arrows) to take out a Draugr Deathlord, Ugor misses often and does only small damage with the same equipment thus allowing said draugr to get close and since she also has crap close combat skills she dies easily.
From my observations,Telrav's combat A.I. is similar to that of a Forsworn Pillager Archer-having the same type accuracy and damage power.I have also seen him use a healing spell(Fast Healing maybe?) and when given a choice of type bows to equip from Long Bow to Ebony,he equips the Forsworn Bow.He also has the same type savagery a Forsworn has with close combat.
I've had the same observations with J'darr(lvl.25 with 72 one-handed and 50 block) in Alftand on my way to add Sulla(lvl.30 with 84 destruction,83 one-handed) and Umana(lvl.30 with 88 one-handed,68 block,62 marksman) in my thrall roster.Suprised with the speed and fury J'darr attacked with measly woodcutting axe and since I needed a walking storage for my loot, I equipped him with a Glass axe(damage magicka ench.) and a normal hide shield I got from the invisible chest in Dawnstar.In the last room,not only did he take out the Centurion Dynamo but both Sulla and Umana too.Now, it could be the Skooma but I'm guessing this druggie-Kitty also has some good Perks going on.

I'm curious to know if anyone else have the same train of thought when it comes to Perks and Skill levels.


Fun fact about Telrav, he always lets out a growl whenever his arrows connect for a hit.Useful when you are going about your merry way of looting and sacking and still know how your thrall is doing in combat.

P.S.
Has anyone else experienced this bug?After reanimating your thralls, the game registers them as having negative HP,for example -485.00 health.Literally deader than dead, in as much that a one minor scratch from a lowly skeever can instantly kill them.

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

I am finding this entire discussion EXTREMELY DISTURBING! It's bad enough you necormancers are stealing people's souls and bringing the dead back to life, but now your holding extreme cage fights with them! You are EVIL! EVIL I TELL YOU! I will hunt all of you down and bring and end to your Insanity! By the way, if you could bring my wife back as a non-hostile, it would be much appreciated. Sure I may not get any luvin, but the house needs cleaning, really, really bad...

Only if she survives 30 seconds in the ring. ;-)

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Only if she survives 30 seconds in the ring. ;-)

Hey, she can smack me around pretty good when I was at 28 (that's when I finally did her in), so I betcha she and her skillet could do pretty well.

 

[Adam Warlock]

Perks for thralls are great EXCEPT for the decap ones.

More than a little frustrating when your dremora/vampire/Krev the Skinner/etc. lop off the head of a potential thrall.

Most of the high level NPC have some sort of hidden help like mages with certain levels of magic resistance or armor rating.

Currently running with a 1h Khajiit Bandit Marauder (dark fur with pink scar over nose)
Powerful and aggressive , this cat is a light armor tank who will use a bow as he approaches the foe and then switches to sword and shield.
A breathy phone-sex type moan and the typical "must..kill.." combat talk with the occasional bandit vocal clip thrown in for good measure.
Just because they aren`t permanent , don`t discount either the Bandit or the talking Reaver Marauders. Nearly 500 hp and @250 stamina makes for a potent ally.

 

[Nocte Aeterna]

"These 'thralls' of yours are slower than Argonians in a blizzard..."