Cryomancer
Khajiit - Dagger - Light - Mage
Background
The Cryomancer harnesses the power of winter and manifests it in the form of ice and frost. They slow, debilitate and incapacitate their enemies allowing them to keep their distance.
Weapons
Any one-handed weapon at the start of the game.
A dagger is used as a backup weapon should you run out of Magicka or you face an enemy with immunity to Frost, such as Dwemer automatons. There are automatons that are encountered in this build to get items so another means of dealing damage other than Frost is required.
A Stalhrim Dagger is used with the Frost Damage enchantment but this is used to apply a 50% boost to the Damage Stamina enchantment which will reduce the number of power attacks against you from enemies. You can also play this as a Restoration spellsword in when Frost spells do no damage and the healing spells will keep your stamina topped up for power attacks. Dwemer automatons have a 100% resistance to frost damage but I still put it on the dagger as it fit the build in terms of appearance.
Armor
Craft a set of Leather Scout Armor as soon as you can as it’s the best light armour you can craft without needing any smithing perks. It’s a good idea to head to the College of Winterhold early as Mirabelle will give you a Novice Robes of Destruction when you take the tour.
The final gear is Mage Hood (rare version), Skaal Coat, Stalhrim Light Boots, Stalhrim Light Gauntlets
The Mage Hood is not the regular Mage Hood that you can buy from Colette at the college of Winterhold that is the same colour as a Novice Hood but a version that exists in the game that is the same colour as and Apprentice hood.This was previously only available via console commands or mods before the Staff of Hasedoki Creation was released. It can be acquired by reading the Smuggler’s Trade Notes in the cave on the Western Side of Whiterun. This then starts a quest that directs you towards an Orc looking to purchase the staff and he wears this rare mage hood, which can be looted from his corpse.
The Skaal Coat can be found on a dead Skaal by a tent near the lake next to Thirsk Mead Hall. A note on a barrel there also starts the quest for the Stahlrim Fur creation. The Coat cannot be tempered so the armor rating only goes up with Light Armor skill levels, perks and enchantments.
I’m not sure at what level Stalhrim gear starts appearing in Glover Mallory’s inventory, he’s the blacksmith in Raven Rock on Solstheim, but the at level 38 they were spawning for me. You can therefore buy them without progressing the Dragonborn DLC main story.
Spells
Alteration for some utility spells. Destruction for frost spells. Restoration for heals.
Standing Stones
The Atronach Stone for 50% spell absorption, 50 Magicka but -50% magicka regeneration.
Shrines
Use a shrine of Talos for 20% shout cooldown reduction.
Shouts
Ice Form (Ice – Flesh - Statue)
Location: Frostmere Crypt, Mount Anthor, Sarthal (College of Winterhold main quest)
Can be used to freeze enemies in a block of ice although any damage to them breaks the ice.
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.
Character Creation
Female Khajiit
I picked Khajiit for the looks as I thought a cat with this armour combination looked very good.
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.
Female versions of the mage hoods have a fur trim, while the male versions do not. In my opinion the fame version of the hood looks better for the build.
Attribute Distribution
Place attribute points at 1 / 1 / 0. At level 60 which is required for all the perks the attributes are:
| Magicka | Health | Stamina |
|---|---|---|
| 400 (565) | 390 (620) | 100 |
Perk Point Distribution
The skill boosts for Khajiit are marked in bold.
| Mage | Warrior | Rogue | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alteration | 9 | Archery +5 | 0 | Alchemy +5 | 7 |
| Conjuration | 0 | Block | 0 | Light Armor | 7 |
| Destruction | 8 | Heavy Armor | 0 | Lockpicking +5 | 0 |
| Enchanting | 10 | One-handed +5 | 5 | Pickpocket +5 | 0 |
| Illusion | 0 | Smithing | 4 | Sneak +10 | 0 |
| Restoration | 9 | Two-handed | 0 | Speech | 0 |
| Total | 36 | Total | 9 | Total | 14 |
Skills and Perks
Mage Skills
Alteration 9
Novice Alteration
Apprentice Alteration
Adept Alteration
Expert Alteration
Magic Resistance 3/3
Stability
Atronach
Destruction 8
Novice Destruction
Apprentice Destruction
Adept Destruction
Destruction Dual Casting
Impact
Augmented Frost 2/2
Deep Freeze
Enchanting 10
Enchanter 5/5
Insightful Enchanter
Corpus Enchanter
Extra Effect
Fire Enchanter
Frost Enchanter
Restoration 9
Novice Restoration
Apprentice Restoration
Adept Restoration
Expert Restoration
Regeneration
Recovery 2/2
Respite
Necromage
Warrior Skills
One-Handed 5
Armsman 5/5
Smithing 4
Steel Smithing
Dwarven Smithing
Orcish Smithing
Ebony Smithing
Rogue Skills
Alchemy 7
Alchemist 5/5
Physician
Benefactor
Light Armor 7
Agile Defender 5/5
Custom Fit
Unhindered
Spells
Alteration
| Spell | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Detect Life | Adept | Nearby living creatures, but not undead, machines or daedra, can be seen through walls |
| Waterbreathing | Adept | Can breathe under water for 60 seconds. |
Talk to the Steward in Dragonsreach to get a quest to investigate an assassination attemp on the Jarl. After reading the buiness ledger at Arcadia's Cauldron go the Whiterun Stables and on the body of a stablehand is a Detect Life spellbook. This can be used to level Alteration slowly.
Conjuration
| Spell | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Soul Trap | Apprentice | If a target dies within 60 seconds, fills a soul gem. |
Soul Trap is used to level Conjuration and also fill soul gems.
Destruction
| Spell | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flames | Novice | A gout of fire inflicting a base damage of 8 points of fire damage per second. |
| Frostbite | Novice | A blast of cold that does 8 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina. |
| Ice Spike | Apprentice | A spike of ice that does 25 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina. |
| Ice Storm | Adept | A freezing whirlwind that does 40 points of frost damage per second to Health and Stamina. |
| Icy Spear | Expert | A spear of ice that does 60 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina. |
| Unbounded Freezing | Expert | A freezing wind envelops the caster, knocking down nearby enemies and freezing them for 50 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina. |
| Blizzard | Master | Targets take 20 points of frost damage for 10 seconds, plus Stamina damage. |
Use progressively better frost spells as you take the Destruction perks.
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 but it's not needed in the build.
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 caster by 100 points. |
| Grand Healing | Expert | Heals everyone close to the caster 200 points. Does not affect atronachs, machines or undead. |
You can start using better healing spells as the cost reduction perks are acquired but I pretty much just used Healing and Fast Healing before getting enchanted gear.
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
Destruction spells cost no Magicka to cast. Restoration spells cost 46% less to cast. Health is increased by 230 points. Magicka is increased by 115 points. Light Armor skill is increased by 46 points. Carrying Capacity is increased by 138 points Increases Frost Resistance by 108%. Increases Magic Resistance by 37%.| Item | Enchantment | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Fortify Destruction | Destruction spells cost 46% less to cast. |
| Fortify Restoration | Restoration spells cost 46% less to cast. | |
| Body | Fortify Destruction & Magicka Regen | Destruction spells cost 28% less to cast. Magicka regenerates 10% faster. |
| Fortify Health | Health is increased by 115 points. | |
| Hands | Fortify Carry Weight | Carrying capacity is increased by 69 points. |
| Fortify Magicka | Magicka is increased by 115 points. | |
| Feet | Fortify Carry Weight | Carrying capacity is increased by 69 points. |
| Resist Frost | Frost Resistance is increased by 108%. | |
| Amulet | Fortify Health | Health is increased by 115 points. |
| Resist Magic | Magic Resistance is increased by 37%. | |
| Ring | Fortify Destruction | Destruction spells cost 46% less to cast. |
| Fortify Light Armor | Light Armor skill is increased by 46 points. | |
| Dagger | Frost Damage | Target takes 108 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina |
| Damage Stamina | Does 75 points of Stamina damage |
The Damage Stamina is reduced from 103 down to 75 to make the frost the dominant enchantment and keep the frost effect on the dagger rather than the green effect from the Damage Stamina. This is achieved by lowering the Damage Stamina down 4 notches.
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.
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.Potion of Fortify Health
| Ingredients | Blue Mountain Flower & Wheat | |
|---|---|---|
| Effects | Fortify Health | Increases health by 170 points for 60 seconds. |
| Restore Health | Restores 266 points of health | |
All of the ingredients can be found in or around Whiterun.
Potion of Fortify Carry Weight
| Ingredients | Creep Cluster, Glowing Mushrooms & Steel-Blue Entoloma | |
|---|---|---|
| Effects | Fortify Carry Weight | Carrying capacity increases by 170 more for 300 seconds |
| Fortify Destruction | Destruction spells are 213% stronger for 60 seconds | |
| Restore Magicka | Restores 266 points of Magicka | |
There’s 7 Glowing Mushrooms in the secret lab at the farm so gather another 3 just inside the entrance of Shimmermist Cave to the North East of Whiterun.. Creep Clusters start appearing near Kynesgrove to the south of Windhelm. You can also taken one for free from Arcadia’s Cauldron if you deliver her the Frost Salts from Farengar. Steel-Blue Entoloma are available from Khajiit caravans. Remember to buy, quick save, attack and quick load to reset the vendor until you have all 15 Steel-Blue Entoloma.
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.
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.
Farming
For more information on getting to and setting up your farm read my guide.
Ingredients Needed
5 x Blue Mountain Flower 10 x Creep Cluster 10 x Glowing Mushrooms 15 x Steel-Blue Entoloma 4 x WheatPotions and Poisons Produced
20 x Potions of Forify Health 60 x Potions of Fortify Carry WeightMain Area (27)
| Ingredient | Qty | Harvest | Green Thumbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat (4) | 4 | 16 + 4 = 20 | 32 + 4 = 36 |
| Steel Blue Entoloma (3) | 4 | 12 + 4 = 16 | 24 + 4 = 28 |
| Creep Cluster (5) | 10 | 50 + 10 = 60 | 100 + 10 = 110 |
| Glowing Mushrooms(5) | 4 | 20 + 4 = 24 | 40 + 4 = 44 |
| Blue Mountain Flowers (3) | 5 | 18 + 6 = 24 | 36 + 6 = 42 |
Side Area (11)
| Ingredient | Qty | Harvest | Green Thumbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel Blue Entoloma (3) | 11 | 33 + 11 = 44 | 66 + 11 = 77 |
Planters (6)
| Ingredient | Qty | Harvest | Green Thumbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glowing Mushrooms (5) | 6 | 30 + 6 = 36 | 60 + 6 = 66 |