Nord / Viking character build

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Comenius

Viking
I wish to create a nord character, probably inspired by the old norse vikings, and want your opinion on how this character should be (armor, weapon, perks..) everything.

Of course I know that every individual is unique, however, the reason I made this topic, is that I want to get some opinions on how you think the "typical" viking was. Clearly, vikings from the viking age had their way of dressing, fighting, etc. We're talking about a whole culture here, and even though there always will be individual differences, there will always be some cultural characteristics. I'm actually Norwegian myself, and perhaps that's what makes me so interested in viking history.

I also want your ideas on lore, so bring it on! :D
 

Seanu Reaves

The Shogun of Gaming
So first thing is armor. Vikings favored a light armor. mostly Chain mail. Though I think for looks wise guard armor is prime. Now due to leveling you will want to move up to say Scaled armor. That was the easy part from my understanding.

Next is weapons. They seemed to favor 2-handed axes, as well as a sword and shield. Now you can just go with a 1 handed axe or sword to cut out the difference but that is preference. Now I am assuming you aren't really modding so that is about what you have to chose from. Note I think you should use the guard shield no matter your level since it gives off a certain Viking clan feel (IDK did they do the whole clan thing?).

So skills from my opinion: Light Armor, Block, 1-handed or 2-handed, sneak (For raider/surprise attacks), Smithing (To make your gear last as long as possible as well as fitting some character role play of weapon maintenance), Restoration (Because late in the tree [level 70 perk] there is Avoid Death which would make you like a berserker or even just getting your second wind), Any thing you want (I would personally recommend Alteration [so you can get some natural magic resistance as well as minor armor boosts] or Archery [Breaks "historical accuracy depending on the time period but can still be justified well enough])

I would like to say Welcome to the Forums and enjoy your time here.
 

Irishman

Well-Endowed Member
Umad%20+_678f6624d587bf4628f7daedbfa50965.jpg

  • Helm of yngol/iron helm (although that is heavy armour)
  • Fur Armour (fur shoulder variant)
  • Steel/iron/nordic carved or ancient sword/war axe/mace
  • Iron/steel/guard/ysgramor's/dawnguard shield
  • (Or) two-handed axe
There are lots of styles for a viking, but if it were me, Id make him like the centre dude with Ysgramor's shield and a nordic carved sword wearing the Helm of Yngol (I usually mix up heavy and light armor for aesthetic reasons).
 

Comenius

Viking
So first thing is armor. Vikings favored a light armor. mostly Chain mail. Though I think for looks wise guard armor is prime. Now due to leveling you will want to move up to say Scaled armor. That was the easy part from my understanding.

Next is weapons. They seemed to favor 2-handed axes, as well as a sword and shield. Now you can just go with a 1 handed axe or sword to cut out the difference but that is preference. Now I am assuming you aren't really modding so that is about what you have to chose from. Note I think you should use the guard shield no matter your level since it gives off a certain Viking clan feel (IDK did they do the whole clan thing?).

So skills from my opinion: Light Armor, Block, 1-handed or 2-handed, sneak (For raider/surprise attacks), Smithing (To make your gear last as long as possible as well as fitting some character role play of weapon maintenance), Restoration (Because late in the tree [level 70 perk] there is Avoid Death which would make you like a berserker or even just getting your second wind), Any thing you want (I would personally recommend Alteration [so you can get some natural magic resistance as well as minor armor boosts] or Archery [Breaks "historical accuracy depending on the time period but can still be justified well enough])

I would like to say Welcome to the Forums and enjoy your time here.
Thanks! :) I really can't decide whether to use two handed (I'm thinking of Wuuthrad here) or one handed (Okin/Eduj with the Shield of Ysgramor).

There are also many heavy armors I think would fit this build, like the Stalhrim armor, the steel Nordic armor, and the helm of Yngol together with the ancient nord armor. On the other hand, there is also many fitting light armors for this build, and sometimes I prefer sneaking around while using my bow before moving in on larger groups of enemies.
 

Hildolfr

It's a big hammer.
If you are going for historical accuracy, you're going to be using a shield and axe. Two handed axes, while legit, were relatively uncommon. The Vikings fought in a shield wall which was when they would line up together and, you guessed it, interlock their shields to create a wall.

Also, the Helm of Yngol, while very cool, would not be what the Vikings wore. There is no historical evidence of any horned helmets. It is a myth that started with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries opera and it has persisted to modern day. The most accurate helmet in Skyrim I could think of would be the steel helmet, the one sans horns obviously.

If you wanted my suggestion for a Viking build then I would go with light armor, one-handed (axe), block (shield), and maybe a few perks in archery since most warriors know how to fire a bow. Since it's Skyrim you may want to throw a perk or two into alchemy simply to represent having basic herb knowledge which your usual person of the period would have. But if you're going strictly warrior, that's definitely not necessary.

For weapons and stuff... I guess the guard armor would be the most fitting. It has the chainmail look. Nothing in the game would really fit a historically accurate character, I don't think. The armors and stuff are pretty stylized. But even if you just wore some hide armor or scaled armor, that's pretty close. Since you're going light armor, a hide shield would probably be best. It has the boss, the center of the shield, that was put on shields in order to deflect blows. Most of the shields lack that. I wouldn't use anything other than steel axes, either. If you want, you can use a sword if you prefer. Vikings had swords, but the average soldier always had an axe.

If you want a "Nord" character and not really a true "Viking" character, then I like to use Ancient Nord Armor. It's heavy armor, but looks like it should probably be light armor. Nice horns/antlers on the helmet or the Helm of Yngol goes perfectly. And Nords favor two-handed, so feel free to go elf-slaying crazy with Wuuthrad.

This is my bread and butter playstyle. In fact, I think at this point, this is the only kind of character I play anymore. I've tried basically everything else, with magic being the only real exception (though I have dabbld), and it's always fun. I wonder how out of place Nords will feel in TESVI.
 

Daelon DuLac

How do you backstab a Dragon?
Agree with Hildofr. From what I know of my people's history, it would be any of the light armors (fur, hide, studded or scaled) since there really isn't a chain option in SR. A heavy solid armor simply wouldn't have been used (Nordic carved, plate or steel, although you could get away with steel if you wanted). Any of the Ancient armors would be fine, but I agree about the no horns on the helmet. That's just not viking. I normally play very viking characters on my guys (although I will admit that I use a 2 handed sword or hammer most of the time while a one handed with shield would be more accurate - I just like doing a lot of damage!). The steel helmet just looks right to me, but the leather helmet is also quite accurate to the look. Too bad they don't have actual shield/shield would be a whole lot more accurate than the circular bracer. From what I've known, the classic Viking was a wearer of fur/hide like armor, in later ages layered on a scale or chain mail with a cap-like helmet (often metal, but not necessarily) with a one handed sword (or ax would work as they certainly did exist at the time), mostly iron rather than steel and a large shield (more along the shape of the one you get from Peryite, so maybe dwarven shaped (I think they're more oblong). I agree that steel and large axes/hammers/swords probably wouldn't have been very common unless they were taken as part of a raid (so it's possible). If I had to choose a heavy armor, it would definately be steel.

As to skills sets, we Nords are and always have been a superstitious lot - anything having to do with nature (restoration, alteration) would certainly be appropriate but destruction not so much (that was more for the gods) although magic use certainly wouldn't be common (although we did have our shamans and mages). Alchemy would be mostly reserved for a shaman class, although most folks would be familiar with basic potions (healing, disease, etc...). Obviously smithing would be a big thing (we Nords are pretty well known for our iron and leather work).

As to archery, Nords were known to be quite adept at it and often had entire squads dedicated to it. Nordic bows tended to be rather heavy or extremely light (say Nordic or longbow).

Of course you can play it any way you want, but for me, those are the basic guidelines I use.

My Viking types use up to scale, 2 handed (usually swords), archery and do not use any magic or alchemy (although there are no qualms about utilizing the services of anyone that sells those services). Heavy smithing.
 

khazan99

Semi-professional cabbage collector
Great suggestions from all these knowledgeable folks - I'll just add a link to a good Swordthane build that I used for one of my early playthroughs. It's got some great 'flavor' ideas as well:

The Swordthane

Have fun! :)
 

Papoy

DON'T EXPECT SPOILER WARNINGS FROM ME
LOLZ Can i call my character a viking? Heavy armour (the thing that concerns me), heavy armour shield (I prefer spellbreaker) any kind of war-axe (i'm courenty using ebony axe that i found in a cave) Since that i've allmost finished one-handed perks (without critical charge perk, cuz i am passive fighter), i plan on going 3 perks in bladesman and then start Two-handed skill treee. I'm only 31 lvl and at about 37 i will start with two haneded. I simply cant stick to sheild-axe for 80 lvls. woops i went off theme. SOO... can i call my character a viking, or no?
As you can see, I'm trying have similiar battle style as them :p Going with guard armour for 80 lvls... how long can i last aginst a wolf?
 

Daelon DuLac

How do you backstab a Dragon?
LOLZ Can i call my character a viking? Heavy armour, heavy armour shield (I prefer spellbreaker) any kind of war-axe (i'm courenty using ebony axe that i found in a cave) Since that i've allmost finished one-handed perks (without critical charge perk, cuz i am passive fighter), i plan on going 3 perks in bladesman and then start Two-handed skill treee. I'm only 31 lvl and at about 37 i will start with two haneded. I simply cant stick to sheild-axe for 80 lvls. woops i went off theme. SOO... can i call my character a viking, or no?
You can call anybody a Viking, of course. While your build is not particularly accurate to classic "Viking" (think about it - Vikings were seafairing folk so it wouldn't make sense for them to use heavy armor - too much weight), but, whatever playstyle you like. That's Skyrim for you! Besides, Nords are not Vikings and you see plenty of Nords in heavy armor and even using magic. See my post above. You can always justify the build using RP, of course. Maybe a Nord trained for war in Cyrodil? Maybe a Nord trained for combat by Orcs? It's all up to you! Just enjoy!
 

khazan99

Semi-professional cabbage collector
in-game (PC w/ armor and weapon mod) pic of my "Viking" style character Bjorri Onmundsson. Light armor with kilt and leggings, iron shield, Nordic sword

6LOPvBw.jpg
 

Daelon DuLac

How do you backstab a Dragon?
in-game (PC w/ armor and weapon mod) pic of my "Viking" style character Bjorri Onmundsson. Light armor with kilt and leggings, iron shield, Nordic sword

6LOPvBw.jpg
Why is your Nord wearing a kilt? Is he invading Scotland? Just asking. :)
 

khazan99

Semi-professional cabbage collector
in-game (PC w/ armor and weapon mod) pic of my "Viking" style character Bjorri Onmundsson. Light armor with kilt and leggings, iron shield, Nordic sword
Why is your Nord wearing a kilt? Is he invading Scotland? Just asking. :)

like I said, the armor is from a mod and it's probably the best looking Light Armor in the mod pack. I think it does a decent job of approximating the long tunic/leggings topped with a light mail shirt that was sometimes worn. i was really happy to have some Light Armor that had a good armor rating and didn't look like the weird vanilla Leather armor...

Also, he's got a damn mohawk and woad paint so don't poke fun at him Daelon or he'll treat you like a 9th century monk from Lindisfarne ;)
 

Hildolfr

It's a big hammer.
You can call anybody a Viking, of course. While your build is not particularly accurate to classic "Viking" (think about it - Vikings were seafairing folk so it wouldn't make sense for them to use heavy armor - too much weight), but, whatever playstyle you like. That's Skyrim for you! Besides, Nords are not Vikings and you see plenty of Nords in heavy armor and even using magic. See my post above. You can always justify the build using RP, of course. Maybe a Nord trained for war in Cyrodil? Maybe a Nord trained for combat by Orcs? It's all up to you! Just enjoy!
That's a build I've never done and I think I would like. A Nord adopted by Orcs and raised in the Stronghold. Gotta come up with a good reason why the Orcs would take a baby in like that, though. Conversely, you could do an Orc raised by Nords. Easier to justify a bunch of Nords ransacking a Stronghold and taking in a baby rather than killing it. The Orc raising a Nord, though... Perhaps an Orc that left a Stronghold, became a bandit, adopted the child, and decided to go back to the Stronghold. It would be a constant struggle for a human baby in a world of Orcs. Interesting, interesting...
 

JoeReese

Well-Known Member
Would be an interesting mod. Take away that Nord battlecry and add the Orcish berserker rage ability. Raised by Orcs, so they taught him how to focus his rage, but no Nords to teach him how to war cry.
 

Hildolfr

It's a big hammer.
Would be an interesting mod. Take away that Nord battlecry and add the Orcish berserker rage ability. Raised by Orcs, so they taught him how to focus his rage, but no Nords to teach him how to war cry.
Ohh, I really like that idea. I also feel like swapping the Light Armor bonus for Heavy Armor would be appropriate. I think the rest can pretty much stay the same because you wouldn't want it to simply be an Orc that looks like a Nord. He has to have some Nord qualities to him.

There has to be a mod that allows you to make these relatively simple changes. Alas, I'm on console so I have no clue, but it's definitely an awesome idea.

EDIT: I also forgot that the Nord should start with Blood-Kin. Obviously.
 

LtKaiden

A Dragon's Worst Nightmare
Just give him a War Axe, Shield and Fur Armor and call him a viking. Make sure you make him look Grizzly, and murderous.
 

Kekenko

New Member
I wish to create a nord character, probably inspired by the old norse vikings, and want your opinion on how this character should be (armor, weapon, perks..) everything.

Of course I know that every individual is unique, however, the reason I made this topic, is that I want to get some opinions on how you think the "typical" viking was. Clearly, vikings from the viking age had their way of dressing, fighting, etc. We're talking about a whole culture here, and even though there always will be individual differences, there will always be some cultural characteristics. I'm actually Norwegian myself, and perhaps that's what makes me so interested in viking history.

I also want your ideas on lore, so bring it on! :D
Divine smile on your face friend!

I got inspired by the idea of creating a good looking Viking after browsing this and other topics, and I managed to design a Ragnar outfit in vanilla Skyrim with 0 mods! So I’d like to share that for everyone’s benefit.

Here’s what I got:
- no helmet
- any round shield from any hold’s guard (I prefer Dawnstar and Winterhold as more runic ones)
- thieves guild master set (black one). What we need is body and shoes, get rid of the hood w gloves.
- Poachers axe or any more exquisite Nord-looking axe
- gauntlets are rather of your choosing, I stick with Fur braces

And as for a non-combatant, rather-farmer look - all we need is Clothes. The blue clothes described as “merchant” ones. You can see the set worn by Kjar on a ship to Solstheim. You can by the set in solitude clothing shop of the two nasty elves.

Happy raiding!
 

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