Hard-Core Paladin RP Playthrough

[JacquesStrappe88]

Hi guys! I have played skyrim since day 1, but only as a casual player. I still haven't been to Solstheim, Faalskaar, or Wyrmtooth, I have never defeated nor been a Vampire Lord, nor have I built my own house... although I have all the DLCs. I have become very interested in a Paladin playthrough, though, and I would like advice from you guys.

 

First of all-- Vanilla, SkyRe, or Requiem? I have used them all.... I prefer requiem, but the thought of being one-shotted by undead for months while I level is unappealing. I think that SkyRe and vanilla level too quickly, though, and turning up the difficulty setting only increases hit points and spawn numbers-- it doesn't actually make a harder, more immersive environment.

 

Second-- Stendarr or Dawnguard? Or both? Stendarr was unfortunately nothing more than an afterthought by Bethesda, but you have to be invited to join Dawnguard. I would like to RP as a young acolyte training to be a holy warrior, but Beth limitations make this tough.

 

Third- Armor and weapons. I use the Live another Life mod, and i tried as a vigilant, but robes don't seem to work well, especially with requiem. And while a Battlemage is somewhat appealing, the thought of running around as a squishy is not. At all. Also-- edged or blunt weapons? D&D had clerical restrictions on Edged, but I seem to remember that Pallys could use swords. Vigilants, I believe, are more attuned to blunt. Please correct me if I 'm wrong. And what weapons do you guys think would work well with a Pally? Mods and such, I mean. Armor as well-- I haven't used the Divine Wrath Pally Armor yet, but I have used the Templar Armor by Mancika, and that is some of the most beautiful armor i have ever seen. If you know of other armor mods that would work please let me know!

 

4th- Questlnes. Other than Dawnguard and Destroy the Dark Brotherhood, are there any that are suitable? And even Destroy the Brotherhood requires a murder to activate it. Are there any quest mods that would fit well? I know there is a small Stendarr questline mod, but from what i hear it is fairly wonky and incompatible with Dawnguard.

 

5th- other mods that will enhance this playthrough. I use all the standards-- frostfall, RND, Immersive HUD, etc, but what about lesser-known mods that will enhance my experience?

 

6th- Race. I think a Nordic Paladin working with Ulfric to Liberate Skyrim from the greedy grasp of the Empire would be awesome, but a Nord doesn't really fit the mold-- aversion to magic, 2H vs sword and board, etc. Thoughts on race? The only races i would consider are Imp, Nord, Breton, and Redguard-- Khajiit Pallys are like Obama in the white House- it just doesn't work.

 

7th-- Skills and Perks... absolutely no clue here. Resto, Destruction, alteration, illusion, 1H, or what??? I have no idea about a build-out.

 

I am fortunate enough to have recently gotten a pretty strong rig, so i am able to rum pretty much any and all mods I want and still get great performance. I tried Realvisoin ENB, and although I LOVED the look, my fps went from a steady 60 fps to about 28 fps. I want 40 or so fps at the very least. Perhaps some different configs on RealVision would help... I am a complete noob at ENBs as i never had a rig powerful enough to handle them.

 

Any and all advice is welcome! Thanks in advance!!!

 

Dean

[GandhisLunchbox]

I'm also doing a pally playthrough. Hothtrooper44's Immersive Armors has a paladin armor which looks pretty neat. If I was you I would go for: restoration, one handed, block, heavy armour and smithing. Also install The Dance of Death and Deadly Mutilation. Pretty cool walking through bandit mines doing kill moves and at the same time cutting their arms off and stuff.

[notmyhome]

I'll simply assume you'll use Requiem, because that's what I'm playing at the moment so I can give better advice there.

 

If you'll get into heavy armor, you can safely use Requiem. Bows are only overpowered against light armor and cloth. Use at least one of your three starter perk points for armor and you're good to go.

 

Redguards start with a +5 Bonus on Block and Destruction; no bonus for Restoration, though.

Imperials seem like the most logical choice for a Paladin, their reduced power attack cost, stamina bonus and +5 skill for Restoration, Onehanded, Block and Heavy armor sound like the "traditional" Paladin. Voice of the Emperor for speechcraft increase does fit the well-spoken, educated Sir.

 

Weapons, I'd go for sword and shield. Either get a (cross-)bow as a side weapon, or throw in some magic - you NEED ranged capability in Requiem. For role playing's sake, don't touch crossbows - in the real world's middle age, the Pope tried to have them banned for being "unfair".

Blunt weapons only is for Priests - but have you had a look at Skyrim's "blunt" weapons? They got edges as sharp as a knife! They'll draw blood just as well.

 

Not too fond of Dawnguard, their leader is a fanatic. Still, your choice, there's enough good to be found in the DG. Companions only until before becoming a Werewolf.

Quests; anything in service for priests. Maybe get the "X for good guys" mods, dunno if they work with requiem, but if they do, they're what you'll want.

[MagesticFox]

I've just started a Paladin profile actually, it's kinda fun to do something other than my usual kickbutt-super-stealth-mega-archer things. For RP purposes, I installed 'Alternate Start - Live Another Life' ( http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9557 ) and chose to begin as a Vigilant of Stendarr. Then I quit the Vigilants and became this heavily armored Healer/One-Handed Paladin. Then I was invited to join the Dawnguard and used their items. :hurr: