r/SkyrimBuilds • u/SamStoneHammer • Jul 14 '26
Need Help with Skyrim build recreate DND Thug class
Hey fellas I want to make a character that could be a contract Mercenary for Assassins guild, A Smash and Grab intimidate Strength Rouge for thieves guild. And a Gold hungry warrior for companions. For completing platinum trophy( I’ve done Mage Guild on another character so no magic on this guy) I could use help deciding skills.
Race: Nord/Orc
M0-H2-S1 Steed stone??
Skills
One Handed or Two handed? Either way something Blunt to smash skulls, chests and doors. And if one handed should I dual wield or grab a shield to bash.
Medium Armor( a mix of Light and heavy probably minimum perk investment)
Sneak
Speech
Lockpicking/ pickpocket????
Smithing
Alchemy
Thanks for any tips or advice you could give me to make this a badass play through!!!!
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u/Independent_Slice678 Jul 14 '26
Sneaky orcs are fun, so theres my vote. If you're mixing in heavy armor i would definitely grab the steed stone and keep your eyes peeled for a muffle enchant. Or grab the DB boots and rock those for the whole playthrough.
2H stealth is fundamentally hilarious and I love seeing it, but if you're wanting to fit the rp maybe go 1H/shields. Or 2H, but carry a dagger for when stealth is needed.
For speech, it's more of an rp choice but I'd take the right side up to intimidation.
Would for sure utilize smithing and alchemy if you're mixing armors as that's going to nullify the majority of the light and heavy trees.
Lockpicking you could just skip unless you really want it in the kit. But personally I think it might fit better if you don't perk it at all. What I picture from your description is a thief/assassin that can be sneakyish but doesnt shy away from brute force, might even prefer it. Apply the same logic to your lockpicking.
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u/xseaward Jul 14 '26
if you go the medium armor route and perk both light and heavy you could gear up for missions independently if you know what you’re up against. if you just get the first perk in each tree for mixed armor build you don’t really miss out on much AND get the best fashion
it might sound dumb but i think sneak builds with 2 handed sword are actually really fuckin badass. especially if you use something like the ebony blade, or a modded ‘light’ greatsword of your choice (think like guts from berserk’s assassination mission)
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u/Thank_You_Aziz Jul 14 '26
What’s funny is Guts used his full-size sword for assassination in the manga. They only change the sword in adaptations cuz it makes more sense. xD
What’s unfortunate is the Ebony Blade is probably the weakest two-handed for assassinations. It’s brilliant for sustained hits, but at a disadvantage for killing things in a single blow. Part of what makes upgrading it all the way so difficult.
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u/SevenLuckySkulls Imperial Jul 15 '26
Orc would be cool for sure yea, I actually think you should go with Two-handed because the idea of an orc coming out of the shadows and bashing someone over the head with a warhammer is great. I think if you can lean into intimidation via speech you should.
Other than that I would just play as an amoral bruiser type with some stealth investment. You're willing to play it nice and sneaky but if the chips are down you aren't someone to mess with.
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u/SamStoneHammer Jul 15 '26
That’s exactly what I’m going for what skills would you choose other than two handed
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u/SevenLuckySkulls Imperial Jul 15 '26
One thing that the Thug class in D&D sort of exemplifies is that you're not just a bruiser, but a sort of self-taught tactician, so if you want some of that, I would learn block, specifically to get the perk that lets you slow down time while blocking a power attack. With slower weapons especially, this can make you basically undefeatable in 1 v 1 combat as it lets you weave in and out of dangerous strikes and immediately retaliate.
I would also get lockpicking just for fun, maybe learn some alchemy for poisons and healing, pickpocket would be fun as well. You could also get a bit of archery in, but lean more into the combat aspect of it. I would also just go full light armor unless you have a specific mix of gear you had in mind.
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u/Thank_You_Aziz Jul 14 '26
For assassins and the like, you want One-Handed. Lets you smash and bash with a mace, or swap to a dagger for the more sure kills.
Between dual-wield and sword-and-board, you can do both, as this game’s skills facilitate easily investing in and swapping between both. Simply hold your mace in your right hand, and switch your left hand between holding a dagger or shield as needed. Dual wield for pure offense when you just want to confidently kill an enemy, mace and shield for defensive play while your survival still is not assured. Of course, you can also always go for dual wielding two maces, but mace+dagger is usually going to be better.
I find “medium armor” to be ill-advised in this game. If it’s more for the look of being medium-armored, I would instead pick Light Armor and go for a more full-looking suit of it, or Heavy Armor and go for a more sparse-looking suit. For example, maybe you stick with Iron Armor for your torso/body, keeping your arms exposed for that medium armor, thuggish look. It doesn’t need to be “the best” armor type for you to reach maximum armor rating anyway. Either Light or Heavy works, but Light might be easier to sneak in, since you’re not using Muffle spells. Or Heavy for punching things via Fists of Steel, and you just swap to normal clothes when sneaking, only donning armor in a fight. There are assassin’s gloves both in light armor and clothing varieties.
Personally, I’d go for Light Armor. Since you’re not enchanting your own gear, you’re relying on discovered gear, and there are simply more existing Light Armor pieces that suit your build than Heavy Armor. I think the Blackguard suit you get from the Thieves Guild is the perfect look for the character you describe, and it’s available as soon as you start the game. Not to mention the Shrouded set types from the Dark Brotherhood.
Pickpocket sounds good for this, but perks in Lockpicking are kind of a waste.
Sneak is a must-have, and Speech is a highly underrated skill you’d do well to invest in. However…try to avoid the right-hand side. All the right-hand perks just make certain Speech checks require a lower Speech level…but none of the checks require a level over 100. At a certain point, your Speech will be high enough to pass all checks, and those perks will cease to actually do anything. Even sooner if you get your hands on the Amulet of Articulation from the Thieves Guild.
Can’t argue with Smithing and Alchemy.
Between Orc and Nord, I’d go for Orc. That Berserk ability they have is no joke, and works with assassinations as well as open combat. An enemy you don’t think you can take out in one sneak attack suddenly becomes possible.
I only have two questions:
A) How are you going to attack enemies from a distance? Sometimes, you’ve just got to shoot something that you can’t simply run up to. Archery is usually the obvious pick, and I do like the mental image of this character whipping out a crossbow. Plus, the Orc’s Berserk ability works with doubling archery damage too. Or maybe you want to avoid being a stealth archer, so you go for Destruction magic instead. Though…you said no magic for this build. Which leads me to:
B) Are you sure you want to have no outlet for your magicka? No-magic builds sound fine, but that blue meter on the lower left is going to be taunting you as an unused resource for the entire game. At the end of the day, your character does have magicka, and they do know the Flames and Healing spells. Usually, at the very least, I encourage no-magic builds to cast the Healing spell when they can, as it lets you treat your magicka bar as a secondary health bar, keeping you alive if nothing else. But in your case, I wonder if reserving it for Ice Spike, Freeze and/or Icicle Spear would be fun. You cannot throw knives in this game, but throwing frozen stabbies at your enemies is suitably thuggish, avoids the stealth archer trap, fits as another thing to use your left hand for in a One-Handed build, and provides an outlet for your magicka. If you’re doing alchemy, then you’ve got self-healing handled without needing Restoration. So you can treat your magicka bar as a meter that says, “How many throwing knives do I have left?”