The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition: Sneak Rune-Mage build (the Phantom)

Laernil comes from an ancient and old Bosmeri assassin family called the Moonflowers, but she tosses that all behind her and escapes to Skyrim when her mother betrays their gang and what they stand for and their (powerful) patron who hired them all. They were an intel and white collar crime operation who was more than just assassination specialists when asked, they were their patrons spy network facilitators. They operated out of Valenwood, having at first developed for the Nightwind family, their patrons, with branches stretching through Elsweyr and the Isles, and the other island nations. They were not in direct opposition to the Empire; rather, were a beating heart of its politics indirectly for the preservation of the Nightwinds and their allies. At least until her mother betrayed them, and incriminated/scapegoated/passed blame onto Laernil.

She had trained as a bard, and used this great skill of hers to gain entry to anywhere, for anything she’d need. She met the wandering Vilja in Cyrodiil, and had to leave her when her mother betrayed the Moonflower oath of honor, and Laernil was called to protect Vilja in the tumult and go to handle her business far away from her. Thinking their relationship done, Laernil fell for Mjoll the Lioness who had traveled to Valenwood.

As heir to the dark, undercover spy empire, she ended her corrupted mother’s schemes at the price of her inheritance of power and reputation. She did however take all the money when she liquidated their assets after everything came crashing down. (Why I am loaded cause I like using cheats to heal trauma, click the ~ button in game and type player.additem f _________ to add any amount of gold you wish at the start of the game)

This would come in handy for starting a new life.

Wanting a simpler way of life now, and needing to hide from the remaining Nightwind heirs who felt that she was the one who had betrayed them, Laernil seeks peace now in Skyrim, the origin land of the Elves and the land of the dragons, and the northern peaks of the world, inhabited by a people she knows not much about. She wants adventure, but the kind she can manage. She is reborn as Laernil the Phantom, her true name Moonflower a secret turning her truly to a phantom in all ways. It is a title she earned, and a name given both to her by her lover Mjoll who first spoke to her of her homeland Skyrim whilst adventuring in Valenwood.

They came now to Skyrim separately, acting as strangers to further separate Mjoll from those seeking the beautiful and wonderful, dark Laernil, princess of the Moonflower legacy.

With the skills of the night princess, she will become again an agent of war, but not for the destruction of enemy houses at the preservation of her own, turning the evil wheel in politics because of evil patrons and not breaking it, but all those who would destroy the sanctity and serenity of her new home. A new home that has her loyalty equal to Y’ffre, a new home which is her new master to serve as a force of nature from out of the spotlight. All her skills are now at the direct call of Skyrim and her plights.

She may rise to glory and fame, but always her truth and the depth of her exploits remain something only known to those who bear witness, and could be aware of/know her for. She will be known as a light, as she is like a star, though not everyone will know it is because of what must be done in the dark, which is her mother and her father, sister and brother, and her true friend and her nature.

She will save Skyrim, and save herself. And all who she loves will be safe, in a world freed by her own hand, whether it is known fully or not. (Justification for questing and never becoming a Jarl, etc. just becoming a farming tycoon and landlady of the century LMAOOOO but free for her friends haha- but also backstory yk, and #completionismisroleplayingtoo)

A stranger from a strange land, who sees her home across the continent, where the same wind blows through the trees as that which blows through the branches of those in Valenwood. She came alone, a leaf in the wind, and perhaps it was her beloved Kynareth who gave her the fate of the Dragonborn, and perhaps let the wind speak through her to be with her wherever she blew, as the Voice. She came to know more of Kynareth in Skyrim, and the other nordic gods, and honors them as much as the bosmeri ones which still have space in her heart above all.

Her father was the patriarch of the Nightwind family, noble by status and only sometimes by feats, and ancient, and this secret she would guard more than the legacy of her mother’s family which she lived and breathed and trained.

A healer, through the short swords and the bow which cut away infection of the world and society, and the kind hand and voice which soothed and renewed. She blamed no one outside of fact, and did the bidding of her heart and her master, Skyrim, and her gods, Y’ffre, Z’en, and Kynareth/Kyne. (and Dibella LMAO)

Coming to Skyrim as the last of the great and old Moonflowers, she is their new hope. As they begin a new chapter in Skyrim and become something new and bold, she will die in Skyrim one of many, matriarch of a new secret empire.

Laernil does not eat plants, as a follower of the green pact. #greenpactvamp

She follows Bosmeri ritual cannibalism— eventually as a vampire, feeding only on the willing and the conquered foe as is Bosmer culture, but despises the cannibals of Markarth for their perversion which is distinct/opposite. Her family is old/follows the old ways and is deeply entrenched in the faith of the Green. Roleplay this by only eating what you hunt, or what you buy from hunters, etc. and do not drink plant-based alcohols. (until you’re a vampire, and then just vamp. Also, do the companions questline before you do the dawnguard one, to experience both)

She worships the gods of Skyrim as well as Valenwood. She acknowledges Talos, but fights for the imperials. See my general guide for newbs for more backstory on why she chooses the imperials, but the long and short is that she sees herself as a citizen of Valenwood and Skyrim, and the empire makes things easier for them overall against the threat of the Aldmeri Dominion, despite the indignities.

She dreams of being a dragonrider, and will not harm a dragon, even in self defense, unless there is no other way. She sees the dragons as the epitome of platonic beauty, and grace and elegance, and joy. She sought a way to live together with dragons, and sees their rebirth as a new opportunity. She works with the dragonslayers to stop hostilities from both sides. Saving innocents from the dragon fire, and saving the dragons from the fate of extermination they faced before from inside the house so to speak. She seeks to convince the world of a better way. Gifted with Thu’um, she will be the bridge between the worlds.

Upon reaching Skyrim she learns Mjoll suffered a horrible accident, and forgot her completely. She will fight for her place in Skyrim to be worthy of Mjoll and earn her love again, living with Mjoll in Riften with their children they adopt, close to Aerin, the children’s friends in the orphanage, and the thieves guild. Laernil and Inigo love the leaves and trees and water of the Rift, and Inigo marries the Housecarl. Inigo is her closest friend, along with Vilja and those which eventually accompany her on her political and ethical exploits. Every now and then, Mjoll and the children holiday in Heljarchen Hall, hunting the plains of Whiterun with the bosmer there and the companions and living in the wintry forests in Dawnstar, etc

She has a scar on her face from when her friend Inigo tried to kill her, the angle went straight up her face and past her eye, shooting up and past her head but she didn’t get hurt more than a scar. Her head had flown back and she was rendered unconscious, though, so he thought she’d died. This was from her days in Cyrodiil adventuring after she left Vilja, processing.

No matter what your build is, LEVEL SMITHING and SPEECH to 100 ASAP.

Make sure you get your band/crew together before you do big quests, to get the most out of their dialogue and companionship. In the early game, do what your roleplaying heart desires and feel is right, but try to hit up the locations with the cool followers you want early as possible. 🙂

Don’t complete the civil war questline until after you complete the main questline, the one which takes you to High Hrothgar. HOWEVER, where you want to do a lot of quests and become Thane, I’d do the civil war quests enough so that your Jarl you get dialogue with is the one on the same side as you. Winterhold is the last hold you conquer/retake before you fight Ulfric if you’re an Imperial, keep that in mind.

Dogs are not immortal, unless you use console commands to make them so. Sabretooth is immortal however. I recommend letting your kids keep your dog at home so they’re both all the safer.

You get to choose between Hadvar and Ralof concerning Helgen. Hadvar is Imperial leaning, Ralof is Stormcloak leaning. I recommend saving the one on the same side you’ll choose, even though you don’t have too. If you decide not to do the vanilla start, you can still choose which one to save when you happen upon Helgen.

Before you talk to Aventus Aretino, I recommend helping the jester outside of Loreius Farm (what Uthgerd is talking about outside the Whiterun stables.) I highly recommend making sure the jester get’s his wheel fixed if your character is not adverse to crime. This is if you have the cutting room floor mod, which adds cut content.

I recommend doing the Companions/Jorrvaskr questline before you do the Dawnguard questline, so you have all your options, which is all I can say without spoiling anything. I recommend doing this chain of events early in your game to make sure you also get the most out of your playstyle/have the most fun.

Don’t kill any Forsworn until you do the main quest of Markarth, because you might regret it and feel bad depending on the choices you make after you learn everything. Speaking about Markarth, make sure the first time you go there you notice the man about to murder a woman in the marketplace- you can choose to save her if you’re fast.

Abusive parent NPC’s can be murdered in the name of child defense, and if you’ve spoken to Aventus Aretino and done his quest you can adopt children from the orphanage in Riften. Any children whose parents die, dragon attack or otherwise, will be sent there, but only after that quest is done. Rorikstead has an abusive parent in it, cough cough.

I recommend learning a little magic and mastering that so you can experience the wonders of Winterhold with full immersion. Like a healing spell, and magelight, at least. Magic is really fun in the game, and you can become a spellbow or spellblade easily if you don’t do this build. Don’t miss out!

Outcasts deserve a place in the world, and this world isn’t “perfect world” yet which makes survival and morality contextually based concerning morality. Don’t let black and white extreme thinking make you miss out of the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood questlines, they’re really good. But as in all things, you have choice, if you choose to destroy the Dark Brotherhood that is a developed questline too. That is understandable more than the Thieves Guild being missed out on, more, but still, it’s one of the better questlines and factions if you choose to do it!

Wood Elves/Bosmer are culturally/ritualistically cannibalistic and strictly carnivores, though if you play as a bosmer you can choose to not follow that faith, or choose to not to do it just in Skyrim which is understandable considering they only do this because their Divines prohibit harming their forested homeland. Religious Bosmer who follow their homeland’s divinity pair well with vampire builds.

Mjoll the Lioness says she’s against the Thieves Guild, but her morality is set to neutral. Also, she is in a relationship with Aerin, and even if you marry her he’s included in the package deal. He will travel from his home in Riften to see her if you move her out of Riften.

The potential follower Ilia in Darklight Tower in the Rift has no home set, so after you do her quest I’d recommend setting one for her. She’s a potential steward and Blade.

The Imperials defeated the Aldmeri Dominion, but only because of the combined strength of the Empire. The Stormcloak rebellion was manufactured by the Dominion to weaken the Empire, which is why they banned the worship of Talos, etc. to give the Stormcloaks a rallying cry when their tool Ulfric started causing trouble and making the ban enforced more. Heads up. The Emporer only accepted the terms so his people would stop dying, and at first the ban against Talos wasn’t enforced until Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak pushed the issue. The Emporer also planned to gather strength against the inevitable time the peace broke, and he needed to buy time to regroup. Now he has to worry about Stormcloaks. The Stormcloaks and Ulfric are also canonically oppressing any travelers to Skyrim which aren’t Nords, especially the Dark Elf refugees, which they only allow to live in slums. HEADS UP. If this doesn’t bother you, then of course you may join the Stormcloaks, but I wanted you to make a fully informed decision with presenting again this information from the game, because learning this too late would be traumatic if it bothers you. The game is great because it presents this moral dilemma in a natural way, you might only learn what I told you to the fullest extent after only hearing propaganda, which is part of the realism which makes the game so great.

If you don’t want to hurt dragons, I am RIGHT there with you. Dragons are friends, and family, not foes. HOWEVER, Skyrim the country has a great but tragic history, and the dragons played a role in oppressing humans and elves. Humans and elves overthrew them and hate them for the past actions of the majority- they are rightfully scared. You can befriend some kind dragons, but you must do the main questline, and the “Dragonborn” questline which takes you to Solstheim, and also the “Dawnguard” questline to reach full potential. 🙂 If you don’t ever want to shoot at a dragon (LIKE ME), if you get your band of homies, they can usually handle the issue for you if it arises.

If you want to cheat and get money, do this. click the (~) key on your keyboard, and type “player.additem f __(amount you want)___” without quotations, and by filling in the blank with the amount you want.
You can get other items like building materials, clothes, etc. by replacing the “f” with the ID code you can find by googling. You can find Id’s also sometimes by typing “help ___item name___” into the command section. But, there’s two types of IDs, so these might not work for every command but they will for this request.

using the same key, you can press on any existing furniture and type “markfordelete” and it will delete the furniture either immediately or after reloading the worldspacing (by leaving the room, area, etc. then coming back to it through a load screen in any way). When deleting, so you can test to make sure you selected the right thing to delete by typing “disable” and if it’s not the right thing, then type “enable” to undo that action. You can type “disable” and then “markfordelete” if you wish, if you did select the right thing. Also, with disable, the object may not immediatly disapear from view, depends on the object, sometimes you really just have to make a save and then leave and come back to the space to see the changes.

You can spawn domesticated goats at your location if you do this: press the (~) key, and type “player.placeatme 0004359c ___amount you want_____” They will wander but not leave the vicinity you spawn them in. 🙂

“recycleactor” : Put items, such as cups, back to original position.
Open console, left click on your target, type “recycleactor”

Generals:
Wear strictly light armor instead of cloth type light armor, and lean into medium armor in situations you can like concerning the Imperial uniform.

Level skills early in the game under the Thief stone, especially Speech and outside of that- smithing. Concerning magic, level restoration first alongside your heavy usage of lightning, flames, etc. I’d suggest eventually leaning into illusion as well, but explore all the schools of magic, and your unique interests and play approach should customize this. But for the strict sake of this build, your healing spell on your off hand when in medium range is your best friend, alongside magic which does damage or instills a buff.

Just some initial small advice! When fighting in short and medium range, and you’re not going around sniping people from the shadows behind your immortal companion, rush your opponent and don’t give them any time and space. This first stagger will give you the momentum to repeatedly overwhelm them, and they might not even get a single hit in on you. It will be over and done with quick! Run around outside of their range of short attacks and dodge the long-range ones with your bow/and/or magic when you’re feeling overwhelmed. You and your companion will be able to do it!

Dagger in the back when assassinating, etc. and short range dual wielding when in close quarters- but sneaking around sniping people with your bow will be your normal mode of operation outside of open war.

Smithing is important, level that alongside Speech in the very beginning and go to trainers for these first, and make your armor, upgrade it to the max, and enchant every little thing.

As you go into prepping your style, favorite all of the spells and weapons you will be cycling through, alongside potions, food, etc. so you can just switch things around easily.

Use your vampire lord form when you need to tank, and for fun, and don’t forget your shouts! Favorite your go-to shouts, and your vamp (or werewolf) form, experiment with the shouts which would support your weaknesses the most.

Short-range:
dual-wield daggers and/or swords (daggers ofc when assassinating short-range)

Mid-range:
Spell on your off-hand, usually a restoration/healing spell, think maybe of summoning something to fight alongside you, a fear spell, necromancy, good ol’ flames for a little extra range, etc. and on your main hand, a sword. (Any single handed weapon would work, but I like swords and daggers. They’re the fastest, and maces deal the most damage but are the slowest, heads up.)

Long-range:
Bow and arrow, and for this build this will be (besides mid-range) the most common approach you will take when considering your angle for a quest. Switch between these, of course, as called for, but have a general approach. Sneak around, and use your bow while your companion tanks for you. Mjoll the Lioness is immortal.

General skill trees to max:

Speech
Smithing
Sneak
Light armor
Single-handed (dual wielding)
Archery
Enchanting
Restoration
Lock-picking
Vampire/werewolf skill tree