I was just thinking of an idea for a challenge/roleplaying Morrowind character. I don't usually roleplay much/at all but I thought this would be cool: Pacifist thief. I make my living by robbing the shit out of people, but I can't do lasting physical harm to anyone.
Basically, what skill sets should such a character have? I'd say the important ones would be:
Athletics/Acrobatics: Since I'd certainly be on the move a lot, and running away, these are important; also they give me ways to level up since I won't constantly be raising weapon skills.
Alchemy: Because brewing potions is great for any character. Fortify speed anyone?
Hand to Hand: What do you think? Can this character use hand-to-hand combat? It doesn't cause lasting harm after all. On the other hand, it's completely freaking useless.
Mercantile/Speechcraft: Not sure if they're worth it though. I think Mercantile is pretty pointless given the game's economics, but Speechcraft could be great for talking my way into and out of situations. And because quite a few valuable items are on people and can only be taken off their dead body, I might be hard up for cash and need the Mercantile anyway. But I still think it sucks.
Sneak/Security: Duh.
Alteration: Tons of useful protection and mobility spells, plus the pseudo-offensive spell Burden which could theoretically help get bad guys off my back without physically harming them. I recall it being kind of useless though. Still good for the rest of the spells.
Destruction: Actually has a handful of spells that could be very handy: Disintegrate Weapon takes the bite out of people trying to kill me, and Drain Fatigue and Drain Strength could both do the same, removing somebody from combat long enough to make a getaway. These three may not be good enough to be worth spending a skill slot on though.
Illusion: Duh. Tons and tons of useful spells for both stealth and self-defense.
Mysticism: Between Detection, Mark/Recall/Intervention, Soultrap, Spell Absorption (!), and Reflect (!), I'd say this is also a no-brainer. Being able to cast utility spells saves carrying magic items (=more room for loot). Reflect might violate the pacifism though as it is voluntarily causing harm.
Restoration: Has some nice effects but I tend to see it as overlapping with Alchemy. Does the benefit gained from not lugging potions around outweigh the all-around usefulness of alchemy, and the fact that self-made potions are way better than healing spells?
Unarmored: For obvious reasons. Then again, might not light armor be better? Or should I just rely on protective magic?
So an idea for a build....
Major Skills:
Sneak
Security
Illusion
Athletics
Alteration
Minor:
Mysticism
Alchemy
Light Armor or Unarmored...or maybe Speechcraft
Restoration
Acrobatics...or Destruction
Favorite Attributes: Intelligence and Willpower (seems a bit odd for a thief but they govern most of my skills! Although a boost to speed would also be nice.)
Birthsign: Probably The Lady, because that extra Endurance at the beginning really helps beef up hit points and the Personality would go a long way with this type of character. Then again, The Atronach is pretty key for any magic-using character, and having that extra Spell Absorption would REALLY help when I can't get rid of spells hitting me by killing the caster.
The main changes I might make would be to ditch one of the minor skills for Speechcraft, and I'm still torn between whether Acrobatics is even worth putting in there or not. Also, I feel like Mysticism and particularly Alchemy should be major skills but I don't know what to trade out for them.
Anyway, what are your takes on this kind of character?
Also, are there any guilds where none of the quests require offing somebody? I can't remember the Thieves' Guild but I feel like it probably comes up at some point. Maybe the Temple? But that's hardly in character.
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Topic: Elder scrolls V: Skyrim (Read 269513 times)