With the Companions having Werewolves, the Thieves' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood, the only joinable faction in Skyrim that isn't evil is the College of Winterhold. Skyrim just seems to be built for evil and dastardly characters - my main character is one. However, I do like being just and righteous, so I began a secondary character that would role-play as a "good guy". If you want to be the bringer of justice to Skyrim, this is your guide to doing so.
It can also be considered a guide for those looking for a tank character, as the archetype I used to play my good-doer was a Paladin, a melee fighter who can keep himself in the fight almost indefinitely. If you want to be a warrior, but don't mind not being a "pure" one, I recommend this build highly - as you will see, the inclusion of a little magic covers most of the flaws a pure warrior may have.
The Paladin
The Paladin is both a character build and a role-playing style. I will discuss the role-playing aspect later on -for now, let's see how we should set up such a character.
A Paladin is a justice-serving, righteous, and (optionally) divinely inspired warrior. He enters the battlefield in shining armour, lays waste to evil-doers with his sword, and tends the sick and injured. As such, in the context of this game, we're looking at a heavily-armoured melee fighter who uses Restoration Magic to keep himself and his allies in the fight.
Choosing a Weapon:
One-handed or two-handed? 'tis the question. Two handers do far more damage, but are slow and cannot block damage well. I have seen people argue for their use, but I really recommend 1 handed weapons for any melee fighter except a Barbarian, especially for a Paladin build: after all, if you are using both hands to hold your weapon, how will you heal yourself? 1-handed weapons allow for a shield or spell in your left hand, which, form my experience, is infinitely more useful than the extra damage from 2 handers. After all, this class is about lasting the longest in a fight - the longer you last, the more damage you do, even with a weaker weapon. I recommend 1 handed.
In the Other Hand:
Assuming you picked 1 handed, your other hand is free to have something in it. Herein lies a fundamental choice: do you have a shield or not? Many think that having a shield in the other hand defeats the purpose of using Restoration, so they ditch the shield and keep a Restoration spell in hand at all times. That approach certainly works - even as the enemy is damaging you the healing spells are nullifying it, and it's certainly simpler to manage.
On the other hand, there are people like myself who like to use both a shield AND restoration. I will explain how this works in a later section on gameplay tactics.
Alternatives:
So, 1 handed, block, heavy armour (obviously), restoration at the most. That will level you up to an extent, but not that far. Plus, there are other things to be utilized to expand your character.
Other skills you can choose to use included Alteration and Destruction. Which you use is, again, up to you, but I recommend focussing on one secondary magic school. If you did all three, you're not only spreading yourself too thin in terms of perks but you're more like a Mage. A Paladin is meant to be a warrior - the magic is a supplement.
Destruction fits the build as it gives you a ranged mode of attack. However, I found that using it significantly took away from the melee fighter experience I was going for - again, we're making a warrior, that's what I was going for. Destruction certainly makes a fine complement, but I prefer Alteration. The flesh spells boost your armour, and the various utility spells can be used by any character really, and come in handy sometimes (except Transmute, which is handy ALL the time). Plus, Paralyze is great.
I also recommend heavy investment into Smithing and Enchanting. Not necessarily in perks, but I recommend you enchant everything you have and you smith yourself the best armour and weapons as soon as you can get the materials. You are a frontline fighter, you need the best protection and weapons possible.
Race?
Redguard - Start with lvl 25 in 1 handed, and Adrenaline Boost will allow you to constantly power attack. It's an underrated ability.
Argonian - odd choice, yes? Ain't they supposed to be thieves? Well, yeah, and if you're roleplaying you won't pick them, but Histskin is one of the best Racial Abilities in the game. Pop this during a fight and you are effectively invulnerable.
Imperial - their starting bonuses fit the character, Imperial Luck puts more money in your pocket, and Voice of the Emperor not only fits a Paladin's preference for peace over violence, but is a good ability regardless.
Out of all of these, I recommend going Imperial if you are role-playing a Paladin, which I was. The other two have better abilities, but don't fit the RP aspect.
Playing as a Paladin:
This assumes that you are using 1 handed and both a shield and restoration.
Basically, your attack strategy comes down to hotkey usage and efficency. You cannot heal with a shield in your hand, but you cannot block with a spell in your hand. Thus, you must switch between the two. Basically, you need to organize your spells in order of importance for you or what makes sense to you. Memorize those hotkeys and make flipping between them second nature. Eventually you will have which spells to use when down to a science.
My personal setup:
1.Sword
2.Shield
3.Healing Spell
4.Heal NPC Spell
5.Ward
6.Turn Undead Spell
7.Flesh Spell
8.Paralyze
Other things you should favourite are:
-Unrelenting Force
-Slow Time
-Racial Ability
-Transmute
-Master-level spells
When you meet enemies, your process should be:
1.Cast Turn Undead Spell (if enemy is undead) or Paralyze spell
2.Cast Flesh spell
3.Cast Ward (if enemy is using destruction magic)
4.Switch to shield
5.Heal self when wounded
6.Heal follower
IN THIS ORDER^
Once you get the hang of it it becomes an awesome system that will make you pretty much unkillable and in many cases untouchable once you get levelled up and get good perks. It is, IMO, the ultimate tank class. Which 1 handed weapon you use is personal preference. I like the crits from swords, but you could also just bash people's faces in with a mace.
I really recommend the Dawnbreaker as your primary weapon. It has a fire enchantment, and a weaker version of the Bane of the Undead spell which it has a chance of emitting when used against undead. In both a role-playing and gameplay sense, a perfect weapon for a Paladin.
Although, if you're going for max damage output, a Daedric Sword with a fire and/or soul trap enchantment work very well.
As far as armour goes, you're obviously going heavy. Daedric is the best you can get, but for role-players this armour is a bit too evil-looking, so those people will want to stick with Ebony until you get Dragonplate.
Coming soon: Perks, Spells, and Role-Playing
