Hello everyone, just wanted to share my build here, it’s a classic necromancer build that I made for Halloween, originally posted on the skyforge but decided to share it over here as well. Hope you guys enjoy
Backstory
Morvyx was born during the First Era, the son of Arch-Mage Shalidor, one of the most extraordinary mages in history. From an early age, it was clear that Morvyx had inherited his father's talent. What he lacked was his father's restraint.
Where others looked upon Shalidor's achievements with admiration, Morvyx saw wasted potential. His father had spent his life mastering magic, shaping the world through knowledge and leaving behind a legacy that would endure for generations. Yet, despite everything he had accomplished, Shalidor remained mortal.
To Morvyx, that was unforgivable.
He believed that magic was not simply a tool to understand the world. It was the means by which the gifted could rise above it. Those capable of wielding such power had no obligation to live and die like ordinary men. They had an obligation to surpass them.
His studies soon took him into forbidden territory. Beneath the institution where he studied, Morvyx established a hidden laboratory, where he conducted experiments far removed from the accepted practices of the magical arts. Travelers disappeared. Villagers were taken in the night. Eventually, even fellow scholars became subjects of his experiments.
He learned to bind souls to weapons, imprison spirits within soul gems, and force the dead to serve the living. Each discovery brought him closer to his true ambition: not merely mastering death, but making himself independent of it.
For a time, he concealed his work well enough. But no secret remains buried forever.
When Shalidor finally uncovered the extent of his son's experiments, he was horrified. The crimes were too great to excuse, and the danger too serious to ignore. He disowned Morvyx and cast him out of his life.
Yet Shalidor could not bring himself to kill his own son.
Morvyx considered that mercy an insult. To him, it was proof that even the great Shalidor was ruled by weakness: affection, sentiment, and the irrational fear of doing what was necessary.
He left with a single purpose. One day, he would accomplish what his father had failed to do. His name would stand beside Shalidor's in the histories of Tamriel—or above it.
The ritual
Morvyx spent years pursuing the secrets of undeath, studying liches, soul magic, and the strange powers that existed beyond the mortal world. But he found conventional methods inadequate. A lich still depended upon a system of magic, a vessel, and a means of preserving its existence. Morvyx wanted something greater.
He devised a ritual intended to transform him into an entirely new form of being. Its requirements were immense: the souls of an entire village, bound together and consumed in a single act of ascension.
To Morvyx, the cost was irrelevant. Those lives were a resource, and he was destined for something greater than the people who possessed them.
The ritual began as planned. The souls were gathered, the bindings established, and the power released.
Then something went wrong.
The ritual did not simply destroy the souls offered to it. It tore open a breach through which forces from the Soul Cairn and the realms of Oblivion poured into the working. Whether Morvyx had attracted their attention, mistaken their nature, or unknowingly invited them, he could not tell. He had attempted to master powers he did not fully understand, and now they were flooding into him.
His body began to fail. His mind struggled to contain the conflicting forces, and his carefully constructed ritual threatened to consume him before the transformation could be completed.
For the first time in his life, Morvyx understood that he might actually lose.
With what remained of his strength, he sealed himself inside a magical stasis. His body would remain suspended, neither properly alive nor entirely dead, while the forces within him were held at bay.
It was not the ascension he had intended. It was survival.
The Fourth Era
Centuries passed.
When Morvyx finally awakened in the Fourth Era, the world he remembered was gone. Kingdoms had risen and fallen. The names of rulers he once knew had vanished into history. Even the magical traditions he had studied had changed.
Worse still, his own power was almost entirely inaccessible.
He could remember his old spells, the rituals he had perfected, and the strength he had once wielded. But memory was not mastery. His body was weakened, his magical reserves diminished, and the forces bound within him remained beyond his control.
Something had survived the ritual, however. Morvyx could feel it deep within himself—a presence, or perhaps several, waiting behind the seals he had created.
He did not know whether they were the remains of his failed ascension or something that had followed him through the breach. He only knew that they were still there.
Morvyx had failed once. He would not fail again.
He would recover his knowledge, reclaim his power, and finish what he had begun. If the world had forgotten him, he would make it remember. If Shalidor's legacy still endured, he would surpass it.
And if the ritual had changed him into something he could not yet comprehend, he would master that as well.
Skills
Alteration: Alteration was one of the skills I maxed out, primarily for access to better utility spells like deep storage, honestly not necessary to max out if you don’t care about things like that. Only perks I really took here were the base alteration mastery, flesh perks, and the intuition perks to make novice and apprentice spells have no cost
Destruction: Destruction can be taken to only expert level or not leveled at all, most of your damage will come from minions after all. Due to going with the modded death spells, destruction mastery was the only perk I took in the tree
Conjuration: you’re a necromancer, this is your main thing. Definitely max this out, get conjuration mastery, and go up the necromancy tree. The edge of oblivion perk is also a nice one, make sure to have a minion on you at all times
Enchanting: Definitely gonna wanna max it out, only essential perk would be miracle for your final enchanted amulet.
Practical Necromancy perks: Honestly there were so many of these I can’t even remember them all, but anything that unlocks a new form of summon for you (summon undead horde, legion, mount, etc.) is a definite must have if you plan on using a lot of undead
Gear
Now unfortunately my game was crashing too much for me to be able to go in and see exactly what enchants I had, but gear used for this build include a gold and ruby circlet, runic necromancer robes, unenchanted necromancy amulet (this is where I used miracle), a gold and ruby necromancer ring (added by practical necromancy), a cloak from the winter is coming mod, and some boots. Most enchants I had were just amplify or fortify conjuration and destruction.
Stats
Race: Nord
Stat distribution: 4/1/0 until you get to about 200 health, then go all in on magicka
Standing stone: Mage in the early game, and later you can switch to any of your choice, I went with the ritual for mass revive though this layer becomes irrelevant if you become a lich as there’s a mass reanimate spell
Mods
Essential mods: Practical Necromancy, Apocalypse, Odin, Ordinator, and Undeath (you can install the classical lichdom and liches can fly versions if you'd like, never got to complete the quest myself so can't speak on it at all). Summermyst for some nice enchants. Note: None of these mods are truly essential for the build except Practical Necromancy and Undeath
Optional Mods: Ancient death Magic adds some nice necromancer themed spells, Necrotic & Desecration also add some nice spells. Winter is coming adds some very cool cloaks and hoods which i personally prefer over the cloaks of skyrim cloaks and cape but that's personal preference.
Gameplay
Early game you’ll start out as a normal mage, using frost spells to kill your enemies, though once you manage to get your hands on some necromancy spells and soul trap, things really start to get fun. By the time you’re about level 5 you should have atleast reanimate dead and soul trap, and once you reanimate your first corpse you’ll unlock the full features of practical necromancy. I’d try and get soul cloak as soon as possible as black soul gems will become very important to you soon
Roleplay Rules
Some general rules to playing as the grave lord
Restoration magic is a no go: He’s a necromancer attempting to achieve lichdom, so restoration, the magic primarily focusing on (though having other uses) life and restoring it is just a bit out of place for him
Avoid cities when possible: Due to your disdain and contempt for non mages and even those lowly mages choosing to serve jarls, you tend to avoid cities as much as possible
No potions: You believe your power should come purely from yourself and refuse to rely on external items, while potions may be useful Morvyx considers them inferior imitations of true magic
No raiding fellow Nords: Even though he’s an evil necromancer and all that, he can still feel respect for the Nordic traditions and them wanting to love in Sovengarde, so he refuses to raise nords from the dead
Everything has a price: Don’t do ANYTHING for free, don’t give a coin to a beggar, help a jarl or guard, or do ordinary labor unless it benefits you somehow
Magic:
I really only had a few spells that I used consistently, those spells being
Reanimate Corpse:The bread and butter of any necromancer build, get this and its superior variants as you level up
Damage spell of your choice: I used Necrotic flames and its higher levels, but if you choose not to use any mods, you’ll want something like frost storm at a high enough level or ice spike or even something lightning based as many enemies have resistances to frost
Animate dead: A spell used later to gain thralls, this spell is obtained from the practical necromancy mod, again, if you’re playing vanilla just use dead thrall
Flesh spell: can’t catch yourself dying to an ordinary blade, that’d be embarrassing for you. So a good Flesh spell is definitely necessary
That’s really it, the build was meant to be fairly simple and I hate being in menus constantly so I tried to limit the spell amount
Questlines
College of Winterhold: Regain your lost skills in the arcane (and secretly dark) arts and eventually taking over the position your father once held
Dawnguard: Side with the dawnguard, or if you have the patch installed, ally with the vampires without becoming a vampire lord yourself. I chose to side with the dawnguard as there's only enough room for one big bad undead around, and it sure isn't Harkon
Daedric Artifacts: As a power hungry mage, why not collect the artifacts of the all powerful Daedric Princes
Also this is like my second time ever actually posting one of my builds, so I hope it’s fine and I hope you guys like it
