Struggling with a new character .. ..

Bones of the Earth power and/or Secret of Protection would greatly benefit this kind of build if you have Dragonborn DLC.
Either one is easier to obtain than the Dragonhide spell or Ebony Flesh (x3augments) i.e. no extreme Alteration leveling required.

Guessing that an Orc would be best race since Berserker power can get you out of jams early on.

Dragon`s Tongue + Mudcrab Chitin + Troll Fat makes a great potion to fortify 2H which will also help you resist poison and fire

Right then i've had a good think about this and what i have come up with is the following : Race doesnt matter but Orc is poss best then maybe either nord or redguard but i might just pick random, gonna focus on alchemy for all the buffs as alchemy is my favourite, i virtually know most potions by memory, will be wearing heavy boots and gauntlets and carry a helmet for battle time, then go for block, 2 handed and a bit of smithing and have a follower, as for alteration i decided against it due to it wearing off mid battle, , , comments on this would be appreciated both positive and negative please guys,

just throwing it out there-

female Orc in Tavern clothes , boots , gloves , and circlet/hood/hat
Considers herself a bard but makes Lurbuk sound like Sinatra.
Picks up an irritating dog named Barbus.
Hires a bodyguard because that`s what entertainers do.
Goes to apply for a job at Liar`s Retreat . Doesn`t find work but does find a nice warhammer , light and fast just like a lady wants

Adam Warlock said:

just throwing it out there-

female Orc in Tavern clothes , boots , gloves , and circlet/hood/hat
Considers herself a bard but makes Lurbuk sound like Sinatra.
Picks up an irritating dog named Barbus.
Hires a bodyguard because that`s what entertainers do.
Goes to apply for a job at Liar`s Retreat . Doesn`t find work but does find a nice warhammer , light and fast just like a lady wants

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It occurs to me that armored pieces might be used as "costumes" for performance/appearances ala Lady Gra-Gra.

lol

Twiffle said:

Right then i've had a good think about this and what i have come up with is the following : Race doesnt matter but Orc is poss best then maybe either nord or redguard but i might just pick random, gonna focus on alchemy for all the buffs as alchemy is my favourite, i virtually know most potions by memory, will be wearing heavy boots and gauntlets and carry a helmet for battle time, then go for block, 2 handed and a bit of smithing and have a follower, as for alteration i decided against it due to it wearing off mid battle, , , comments on this would be appreciated both positive and negative please guys,

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sounds great, you could get sven as a follower too as he is a bard and travel from inn to inn, you could go to the bards college and do those quests too, the mask of clavicus vile from the barbas quest would actually be good for a bard and you could still get a normal dog, you could enchant your clothing with speech buffs and you should use torches at night too, loads of great clothes at the store in solitude, oh and get an instrument like a flute or something

I had a Merchant who dressed like this, he wore fine clothes and had a huge Hammer on his back ha, he was more of support for which ever follower he had though. Alteration was necessary at later levels, of course 2h, and smithing because you need your followers to have some badass gear to keep you alive! I added a few other things for fun like illusion so I could sneak past people easier and sneak and what not, he was a very enjoyable character.

Twiffle said:

Just to first say i have played thousands of hours on this game and probably played most styles, however today i saw character that i hadnt noticed before but seen thousands of times previously, the character is Ma'jhad a guard of Mad'rans khajiit caravan, i never really took any notice before but i suddenly noticed he was wearing clothes but carried a greatsword, so i thought about it for a while to work out how to do a build based on clothes and two handed, and would like some advice to see if this is possible, , i just cant seem to work it out for defence really,,, input and advice would be cool guys, , pweees

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I didn't have time to read what others said, so sorry if this has already been covered.

But one word will solve your problem: Alteration. With the right perks and the final master spell Dragonhide, you will resist 80% of damage when just wearing clothes (which is also the max for actual armor). This is what I used for my mage and any characters wearing clothes.

So, it is not a stupid build. It is different and interesting, and completely possible.

In case you don't know, here is some tips on increasing alteration and helping you in the meantime. Get the alteration spell Oakflesh and always cast it in battle. This will provide you with a little armor rating and also help raise your skill. Once you hit skill 25, you can upgrade it to Stoneflesh which will provide you a higher armor rating than Oakflesh. Once again, do the same thing. Finally, once you hit 50 in Alteration, buy the Telekinesis spell, and you will hit 100 in no time. Just go somewhere and make things float, it is actually quite entertaining, being able to throw things onto roofs of buildings, into the sky, etc. It will help if you can enchant some items decreasing the magika needed to use alteration spells (enchanting four pieces of apparel, which a high enough enchanting skill, you can get 0 cost for it and it will be unlimited).

The reason why you need to reach 100 is so you can get the master spell, Dragonhide, the one that will resist 80% of damage. Another plus of reaching 100 is you get the other master spell Mass Paralysis, which paralyzes nearly anyone in the game. You're in a cave with tons of draugr after you? Just paralyze all of them and wack away at them with your two handed weapon. Mission accomplished.

As far as perks go for this: Obviously, make sure you get all of the perks related to armor that will increase the duration of the spell. If you are a vampire, you can get the perk Necromage (from Restoration skill tree), which increases spell effects and durations among the undead. Since you are considered that, the spell will be affected. With all of these perks, the spell Dragonhide will end up lasting a few minutes, especially when dual cast. AND YES this can be dual casted, it is only one of two master spells that can be dual casted (so make sure you get the dual casting perk). You won't see the animation change, but you will see your magika used up more.

Anyhow, that is the route I would go. Really, that will be your best option with the armor if you will wear only clothes.

AS88 said:

wrighty said:

I've done a similar style before its great fun, my character was a travelling bard, i always used clothes and a greatsword, the way i played it was with a follower and a lot of potions, i made a lot of money with alchemy so i always had enough potions to beat any enemy eventually but i did use a lot of illusion as it fit my build and many enemies you can just calm or make the run away, invisibility ruins it though as its too easy

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That'd have been really cool with a Bound Battleaxe

Commoner one second, armoured with a battleaxe the next.

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Actually that, I think, you could dual cast, as long as you had the magicka. The armor is instant, but the bound weapons take a second to appear. One in each hand, and double-trigger.

JoeReese said:

AS88 said:

wrighty said:

I've done a similar style before its great fun, my character was a travelling bard, i always used clothes and a greatsword, the way i played it was with a follower and a lot of potions, i made a lot of money with alchemy so i always had enough potions to beat any enemy eventually but i did use a lot of illusion as it fit my build and many enemies you can just calm or make the run away, invisibility ruins it though as its too easy

Click to expand...

That'd have been really cool with a Bound Battleaxe

Commoner one second, armoured with a battleaxe the next.

Click to expand...

Actually that, I think, you could dual cast, as long as you had the magicka. The armor is instant, but the bound weapons take a second to appear. One in each hand, and double-trigger.

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You could boost duration for flesh spells with the dual-casting perk, too. Yeah, all the bound weapons take a second, but it's worth it when you're wielding weightless, high damage weapons.

I once played a wood elf that wore nothing but clothes and it was really fun. Thing is, you gotta ask yourself what exactly are you gonna do with this guy? My wood elf in question didn't quest. He lived at the Alchemist's Shack, hunted and mined, made stuff to sell. Only major cities he ever saw were Whiterun and Riften. My biggest concern was wild animals attacking me through the mountains and on the roads between cities and towns. He was 100% evasion and Calming tactics. It was a total nightmare if bandits started in on me. I'd have to run.

Point I'm trying to make is that if you are going to forego armor completely... and not be a mage using extended flesh spells, you may have to be really selective on which quests you participate in. Living in Skyrim with only clothes on is one thing, but questing is a whole different deal. Even back in the old days, quests were a big deal and not taken lightly. Skyrim is even worse in that regard. Quest without either armor or flesh spells and you will die regularly unless you are on Novice or Apprentice. Even Adept would be anxiety filled at higher levels.