Arachnothera

Argonian - Bow - Heavy - Archer - Assassin

Background

Bounty hunters sometimes have a specialism and when the need is dire, they are sought by the wealthy or authorities to remove a problem. The Arachnothera have a specialism in hunting creepy crawlies of all types..

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Weapons

A long bow in Helgen as soon as you can and then buy a Hunting Bow from Alvor in Riverwood once you get there.

The final weapon is a Falmer Bow enchanted with both Paralysis and Absorb Health. The bow is quite a common drop from Falmer Enemies. There is also one located on a rock where the first Falmer is located in Shimmermist Cave to the North East of Whiterun.

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Armor

Craft a set of Steel Soldier gear once you have the steel smithing perk.

The final gear is any combination of Hardened or Heavy Falmer Armor and a Shellbug Helmet. They can be found on higher level Falmer.

The Shellbug Helmet can be found on the way to the Forgotten Vale in the Dawnguard DLC. It’s crafted from Shellbug Chitin, which is harvested from Shellbugs in a cave near the first portal shrine.

It makes sense to join the Dawnguard with this build as it gives you access to Sorine who is a master level archery trainer. This also means that you could wear a full set of Dawnguard heavy armor prior to getting the Falmer gear. Alternatively Nordic Carved Armor can be used.

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Spells

Alteration for Paralysis Rune and utility spells. Restoration for healing spells.

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Standing Stones

The Atronach Stone for 50% spell absorption, 50 Magicka but -50% Magicka regeneration.

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Shrines

Use a shrine of Talos for the 20% shout cooldown reduction.

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Shouts

Aura Whisper (Life - Seek - Hunt)

Location: Northwind Summit, Valthume, Volunruud.

Identifies all targets nearby.

Whirlwind Sprint (Whirlwind - Fury - Tempest)

Location: Dead Men’s Respite, Volskygge, High Hrothgar (The Way of the Voice)

Use to reach otherwise inaccessible places and to quickly evade attacks or catch up with fleeing enemies.

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Character Creation

Female Argonian

There’s lots of creepy crawlies in Black Marsh so Argonian seemed the best choice as a specialist bug hunter.

Pick female as the sex for your character as there are more male humanoids than females to fight in Skyrim so the 10% damage bonus against the opposite sex from Agent of Dibella gets more use. All Dwemer Automatons count as Male.

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Attribute Distribution

Distribute attributes at a ratio of 0/2/1. At level 65 which is required for all the perks the attributes are:

Magicka	Health	Stamina
100 (265)	530 (760)	310 (425)

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Perk Point Distribution

The skill boosts for Argonians are marked in bold.

Mage		Warrior		Rogue
Alteration +5	9	Archery	10	Alchemy	12
Conjuration	0	Block	0	Light Armor +5	0
Destruction	0	Heavy Armor	4	Lockpicking +10	0
Enchanting	8	One-handed	0	Pickpocket +5	0
Illusion	4	Smithing	3	Sneak +5	6
Restoration +5	8	Two-handed	0	Speech	0
Total	29	Total	17	Total	18

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Skills and Perks

Mage Skills

Warrior Skills

Rogue Skills

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Spells

Alteration

Spell	Level	Description
Candlelight	Novice	Creates a hovering light that lasts for 60 seconds
Detect Life	Adept	Nearby living creatures, but not undead, machines or daedra, can be seen through walls
Paralysis Rune	Adept	Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes when enemies are nearby, immobilizing them for 8 seconds
Telekinesis	Adept	Can pull an object to you from distance. Add it to your inventory or throw it

I talked to the Steward in Dragonsreach to get the In The Shadows quest, which once you have read the business ledger from Arcadia's Cauldron places a dead body in the stables with the Detect Life spell. Casting this in Whiterun market during the day levels Alteration reasonably quickly.

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Conjuration

Spell	Level	Description
Soul Trap	Apprentice	If a target dies within 60 seconds, fills a soul gem

Soul trap is used to fill soul gems to help level enchanting.

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Destruction

Spell	Level	Description
Flames	Novice	A gout of fire inflicting a base damage of 8 points of fire damage per second

Destruction is not needed in this build. But I did use Unbounded Freezing and fast travel to level Destruction, make it legendary and then level it again to gain levels. This spell is found in Hob's Fall Cave which is located between Winterhold and Dawnstar.

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Illusion

Spell	Level	Description
Courage	Novice	Target won't flee for 60 seconds, and gets some extra health and stamina

Courage can be used to level illusion by casting it at an NPC. At higher levels Muffle and then Rally can be used.

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Restoration

Spell	Level	Description
Healing	Novice	Heals the caster 10 points per second
Fast Healing	Apprentice	Heals caster by 50 points
Close Wounds	Adept	Heals the caster 100 points
Grand Healing	Expert	Heals the caster and followers 250 points

Use progressively better healing spells as you unlock the perks.

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Enchantments

The effects listed below are based upon 100 Enchanting skill, all the enchanting perks in the build and with a set of enchanted crafting gear. Read my guide on making crafting gear if you are not familiar with it.

Summary of combined effects

Bows do 75% more damage
Weapon uses no charges.
Alteration spells cost no magicka to cast.
Restoration spells cost 46% less magicka.
Health, is increased by 230 points.
Magicka and Stamina are increased by 115 points.
Sneaking is 150% easier
Magic Resistance is increased by 37%

Item	Enchantment	Effect
Head	Fortify Alteration	Alteration spells cost 46% less to cast
	Fortify Restoration	Restoration spells cost 46% less to cast
Body	Fortify Alteration & Magicka Regen	Alteration spells cost 28% less to cast. Magicka regenerates 10% faster
	Fortify Health	Health is increased by 115 points
Feet	Fortify Sneak	Sneaking is 75% easier
	Fortify Stamina	Increases your Stamina by 115 piints.
Hands	Fortify Magicka	Magicka is increased by 115 points
	Fortify Sneak	Sneaking is 75% easier
Amulet	Fortify Health	Health is increased by 115 points
	Resist Magic	Resist 37% of magical effects
Ring	Fortify Alteration	Alteration spells cost 46% less to cast
	Fortify Restoration	Restoration spells cost 46% less to cast
Bow	Paralysis	Chance to paralyze the target for 13 seconds
	Absorb Health	Absorb 37 points of Health

With the Sallowed Regent Black Book the magnitude of all enchantments can be increased. Please note that Black Books can only be used on Solstheim.

The magnitude of the enchantments can be further increased by equipping 4 pieces of Azhidal's gear.

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Alchemy

All the details for the potions and poisons are based on having all the listed alchemy perks, Alchemy at 100 and a set of crafting gear.

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Potion of Fortify Archery

Ingredients	Canis Root & Juniper Berries
Effects	Fortify Archery	Bows do 170% more damage for 60 seconds.

Canis Root can be found on rocks on the opposite side of the river to Solitude Lumbermill and they are also numerous in the Rift between Ivarstead and Riften. Junpier Berries are found around Markarth.

Potion of resist Poison

Ingredients	Grass Pod, Steel-Blue Entoloma & Thistle Branch
Effects	Resist poison	Resists 170% of poison damage for 60 seconds.
	Resist Frost	Resists 128% of frost damage for 60 seconds
	Restore Magicka	Restores 266 points of hmagicka

Grass Pods are harvested from Spiky Grass which are numerous along the northern coastline of Skyrim. Steel-Blue Entoloma can be purchased from Khajiit merchants with Ri’Saad, the merchant that travels between Whiterun and Markarth, being the first one you are likely to encounter.

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Poison of Paralysis

Ingredients	Imp Stool & Swamp Fungal Pod
Effects	Paralysis	Target is paralyzed for 43 seconds
	Restore Health	Restores 266 points of Health

Deliver the Frost Salts from Farengar to Arcadia and you can take an Imp Stool from her displayer ingredients at Arcadia’s Cauldron in Whiterun. There’s 2 Imp Stool inside Left Hand Mine and another 6 in Reachwater Rock with both locations near Markarth. Swamp Fungal Pods are numerous in the marshes around Morthal.

The Restore Health adds an extra effect to the poison to increase the value for gold generation. When you want to use it exclusively as a poison, but sell for less, take the Purity perk.

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Potion of Fortify Enchanting

Ingredients	Dreugh Wax/Stoneflower Petals & Snowberries
Effects	Fortify Enchanting	85% stronger for 30 seconds

Dreugh Wax and Stoneflower Petals are only available from Khajiit caravans. Some travel between Whiterun and Markarth. Snowberries are abundant near Windhelm.

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Potion of Fortify Smithing

Ingredients	Dreugh Wax/Gold Kanet & Glowing Mushrooms
Effects	Fortify Smithing	213% stronger for 30 seconds

Dreugh Wax and Gold Kanet are only available from Khajiit caravans. Some travel between Whiterun and Markarth. Glowing Mushrooms are in Falmer caves.

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Farming

For more information on getting to and setting up your farm read my guide.

Ingredients Needed

6 x Canis Root
4 x Grass Pods
6 x Juniper Berries
9 x Imp Stool
4 x Steel-Blue Entoloma
4 x Thislte Branch
11 x Swamp Fungal Pods

Potions and Poisons Produced

54 x Potions of Fortify Archery
28 x Potions of Resist Poison
77 x Poison of Paralysis

Main Area (27)

Ingredient	Qty	Harvest	Green Thumbs
Grass Pod (3)	4	12 + 4 = 16	24 + 4 = 28
Steel Blue Entoloma (3)	4	12 + 4 = 16	24 + 4 = 28
Thistle Branch (3)	6	12 + 4 = 16	24 + 4 = 28
Canis Root (4)	6	24 + 6 = 30	48 + 6 = 54
Imp Stool (4)	9	36 + 9 = 45	72 + 9 = 81

Side Area (11)

Ingredient	Qty	Harvest	Green Thumbs
Swamp Fungal Pod (3)	11	33 + 11 = 44	66 + 11 = 77

Planters (6)

Ingredient	Qty	Harvest	Green Thumbs
Juniper Berries (4)	6	24 + 6 = 30	48 + 6 = 54

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