Help with vampire necromancer build

[imaginepageant]

(SPOILER ALERT FOR THE DARK BROTHERHOOD. AND POSSIBLY DAWNGUARD.)

I'm hoping to play Dawnguard with a vampire necromancer, but, having played neither a vampire nor a necromancer before, I'm sure I'll need a bit of help!

First things first: she will be an Altmer. This is the build I've put together for her. Basic points of interest:

• She will be using Flesh spells for armor, and wear mage robes, mage hoods, and Shrouded Shoes. Not sure what to do about gloves, or if I should bother with them at all. I also hope to find an amulet and/or ring with a good fire resistance enchantment.

• She will not be dealing any direct damage except with vampiric spells like Vampiric Drain.

• In single-enemy scenarios, use existing zombies or thralls, as well as vampiric spells, in combat, and Illusion spells to escape if necessary. In multiple-enemy scenarios, cast Fury, then raise whoever dies in the battle to finish off the remaining enemy or enemies.

• She'll start with the Mage Stone until her Illusion reaches level 50 and I can get the Quiet Casting perk; then I'll switch her to either the Lord Stone or the Ritual Stone.

• She will be joining the Dark Brotherhood. I just cannot pass up the opportunity to have an Altmer thrall the Emperor of Tamriel, despite how useless I've read he is as a thrall.

• She will also be joining Harkon's coven, obviously. Kind of the point here.

Any other suggestions or ideas for this build? Anything I should know about playing a vampire or, more importantly, a necromancer before attempting this?

 

[Mahone]

My dunmer vampire specializes in one-handed, illusion, sneak, light armor, and smithing. I usually use a fury/frenzy spell on a group of enemies, then sneak attack the survivors. Sometimes when i encounter a single enemy like a boss or something, i usually use a calming spell,(and once you get high perks in illusion, you can calm deathlords even), and sneak attack. Or I just sneak attack them without calm. I'm level 24 right now, and i'm having a load of fun with it, its pretty strong too. Sorry for my bad grammar, or spelling. Hope this helps.

And i know its not a necromancer build, but it still works great.

 

[Vinz]

Not dealing any direct damage? This is going to be really difficult against bosses.

 

[MushroomGenius]

Not dealing any direct damage? This is going to be really difficult against bosses.

I agree and not just against bosses.

You're going to have a difficult time with that restriction simply because your zombies are relatively weak and they expire, and remember, you cannot re-raise your dead until you get the mastery level Dead Thrall spell. Early on, your zombies turn to ash. You'll oftentimes run into situations also that there is nothing you can raise, either because they can't be raised, or they're too high of a level at the moment.

 

[Mahone]

Use my build its strong even on expert.

 

[MushroomGenius]

Use my build its strong even on expert.

Her point is to be a robe-wearing necromancer.

 

[Mahone]

Her point is to be a robe-wearing necromancer.

I think raising dead sucks except for dead thralls, conjuring atronachs or daedra is much better

 

[MushroomGenius]

I think raising dead sucks except for dead thralls, conjuring atronachs or daedra is much better

So do I, but respect her role-play.

 

[Vinz]

You can use raise dead staff (or whatever it is called) if it doesn't violate your rp. I believe then your zombies wouldn't turn to ash.

 

[imaginepageant]

Use my build its strong even on expert.

I've done the stealthy, light armor, one-handed, blacksmith build already. A few times. And that is kind of the exact opposite of the pure mage necromancer I've proposed. So, no thank you.

You're going to have a difficult time with that restriction simply because your zombies are relatively weak and they expire, and remember, you cannot re-raise your dead until you get the mastery level Dead Thrall spell. Early on, your zombies turn to ash. You'll oftentimes run into situations also that there is nothing you can raise, either because they can't be raised, or they're too high of a level at the moment.

I know I'll have a difficult time, but I like the challenge. And if I've learned anything from my pacifist Khajiit, I've learned that it's quite all right to not kill every last thing I come across. So if there's nothing to raise or if what I do raise dies too quickly, and Vampiric Drain (and whatever other vampiric powers we get with Dawnguard) isn't cutting it, I can fall back on Illusion spells to get myself out of there.

However, I don't want to have to rely too much on the Calm 'n' Run tactic—one pacifist is all I need. How much damage do you think my early-level zombies might actually do? For example, enough to kill half of the enemies in a barrow or fort? Or only enough to take down one or two?

If I do have to take some actual combat skill, it'll definitely be Destruction, and I'll likely focus on frost, since it fits so well with vampire lore.

As much as I wanted to wait until Dawnguard was released to start this character, I think I might start her tonight to test out early-level necromancy. Thanks for the tips, guys!

 

[Mahone]

I've done the stealthy, light armor, one-handed, blacksmith build already. A few times. And that is kind of the exact opposite of the pure mage necromancer I've proposed. So, no thank you.

You forgot illusion, that's the main part of my build.