The Elder Scrolls XIII: Born Under a Certain Sign

[veti]

I like Lakeview, just for the view and the weather. In both respects it reminds me of my grandparents' house.

Heljarchen is central, yes - but it's cold and isolated. And Windstad is even colder and more isolated, with added spiders. No thanks.

[Ogremindes]

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Forgotten Vale, Sun's Dusk 9
It was past noon before the snowstorm let up. Thick fog persisted, but we broke camp anyway. We eventually found a wayshrine while stumbling around in the fog. The Wayshrine of Sight, how apt.

Continuing on, we found a spider-infested pass, as we cleared our way of spiders, the fog lifted and we were greeted with the sight of a wide, frozen valley. The Chantry of Auri-el. With our vision clear we quickly found the third shrine. Following the river that flows through the valley, I came across an creature like a giant, but furred. It was aggressive, and I was keen to test my blade against a powerful beast. I felled the giant, surprising it with my quick charge, and a flurry of quick strikes thereafter made an opening for a finishing strike. He was carrying an odd gemstone, a massive amethyst with an strange shimmer.

A staircase past the giant led me to another shrine. I can see a twisting pass leading on from here, infested with Falmer. I hope the fifth shrine isn't that way, but I suspect I'm out of luck, as that's were it seems the shrines are leading me.

The light is fading, so it's already time to make camp. Tomorrow we'll continue exploration on the hope of not fighting our way through a city of the Betrayed.

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Forgotten Vale, Sun's Dusk 10
We discovered an arcane portal which the gemstone activated. It led to an otherwise inaccessible part of Darkfall, but that didn't lead anywhere. Another of those giants carried a sapphire gem of the same make, however, which opened up a portal to a treasure vault, still holding many nice things.

I found a den of five of these giants. More like overgrown trolls now that I think about it. None of them carried more gems. There's another cave that I want to examine before approaching the Falmer pass, and I plan to do so tomorrow.

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Forgotten Vale, Sun's Dusk 12
We've reached the final wayshrine and are now camped before the sanctum. The cave I had wanted to explore proved to be a waste of time, just another Falmer den going nowhere. Pushing through the pass towards the sanctum was a slog, a long, treacherous path filled with deadly little monsters.

Along the way we relieved two more giants of their magic gemstones. I wonder where they'll lead. No time to find that out now, though. The Arch-Curate awaits...

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Darkfall Cave, Sun's Dusk 13
Today, we killed Gelebor's brother. It turned out, he wasn't corrupted when the Betrayed attacked, he orchestrated that attack. He was a vampire, and swore vengeance upon his god when Auriel abandoned him and allowed him to be turned. It was he that created the prophecy, the Tyranny of the Sun, and set in motion all that has happened around it.

He sought to capture Serana for his ends, to use her cursed blood to corrupt Auriel's Bow. We put an end to that, and now, with Auriel's Bow, we need to put an end to the only other one mad enough to see this prophecy through. We'll return to Fort Dawnguard, we'll need a full-scale assault to reach Harkon.

I found one more of those giants, and used the three remaining gems before we left. Amongst other things, I acquired Auriel's Shield from doing this.

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Steepfall burrow, Sun's Dusk 16
It's done. With the Dawnguard at our back we stormed Castle Volkihar. The power of Dawnbreaker caused the Volkihar defenders to scatter, allowing the Dawnguard to sweep through with minimal casualties. Serana and I confronted Harkon himself in the castle chapel. He tried to intimidate me into handing over the bow. I instead gave him the sharp end of Dawnbreaker, and battle was joined.

He began by launching a hail of magical attacks upon us, summoning minions to tie us up as he did. As we survived the hail of magicka, he became enraged, and charged at me with tooth and claw. It was at this moment I was able to fight back fully. When he realized he was losing, he withdrew and shielded himself with shadow. Impregnable, save for one thing. With Auriel's bow I dispelled the shadows, leaving him open to a final strike. Dawnbreaker lit the room like day as it consumed Harkon's unlife, and he dissolved away, cursing his daughter.

And that was that. The Volkihar were gone. The Tyranny of the Sun is no more. Serana plans to keep working with the Dawnguard for the time being, and I... I have some loose ends to deal with. After that, well now I'm free to do what I came to Skyrim for in the first place. I may have worked with the Dawnguard, but I was never one of them as such.

So, back to Winterhold and Signus.

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[DigoDragon]

Wow, lots of house options... hmm, looking at the map locations and photos, might check out Lakeview and Riverside Lodge first. I do love the wood cabin feel of those places over the stone construction and locations aren't bad. Thanks everyone!

[Ogremindes]

Ah, dammit. I didn't realise that the civil war questlines need Dragon Rising to happen. Well, I don't want to start the main quest yet (it's kinda hard to ignore narratively, and it makes it hard to justify becoming an assassin IMO). Seems mods that can fix this, or at least fix this now, aren't really available. I guess I'll have to start... Companions next, then. I hope I made a full save just before heading to Windhelm.

[Triaxx]

Are you fast traveling? If not, then the Dragons don't effect you that much. Mostly you won't see the random attacks.

After finding the lower level Apocalypse spells to be truly awesome, I am completely and utterly underwhelmed by the Master rank ones. They're worse than the Vanilla ones.

[Ogremindes]

Are you fast traveling? If not, then the Dragons don't effect you that much. Mostly you won't see the random attacks.

I'm not fast travelling at all, ever in this playthrough (either Frostfall or iNeed is blocking it, can't remember which), but the random attacks aren't what I'm concerned with. I'm more concerned with a lot of the game content feeling incongruous with being a renowned quasi-mythical demi-god.

[Sajiri]

I think Forgotten Magic Redone has become my favourite spells mod. I was using apocalypse and Im now at the point where Im using bows finally (trying to raise archery) but the spells in forgotten magic with their own perks feel great. I feel like Healing Touch and the wolf pack spell, along with arcane weapon are everything I need now

[Temotei]

After finding the lower level Apocalypse spells to be truly awesome, I am completely and utterly underwhelmed by the Master rank ones. They're worse than the Vanilla ones.

Really? I've found almost every spell to have its own use except for maybe some of the Master Conjuration spells which feel a tad redundant mechanically.

[Triaxx]

Float in the air and spit a few meteors. Or a bit of rock that spits tiny balls of fire.

Compared to Sleet Storm which is an Ice Machine Gun, or Bombardment which is rapid fire fireball, the 'Master' Destruction Spells are woefully uninteresting. Heck, Lightning Strike is laugh out loud funny, especially when it pitches an enemy entirely out of render distance.

For that matter, stealthy Ninja Wizard is utterly epic. Fury what you can, then use Muffle, Ghostwalk and a Bound Sword to backstab the survivor's, teleporting back to a place they can't see you. Clearing out Silent Moon's camp with only one enemy even hitting me is epic.

[Temotei]

Float in the air and spit a few meteors. Or a bit of rock that spits tiny balls of fire.

Compared to Sleet Storm which is an Ice Machine Gun, or Bombardment which is rapid fire fireball, the 'Master' Destruction Spells are woefully uninteresting. Heck, Lightning Strike is laugh out loud funny, especially when it pitches an enemy entirely out of render distance.

For that matter, stealthy Ninja Wizard is utterly epic. Fury what you can, then use Muffle, Ghostwalk and a Bound Sword to backstab the survivor's, teleporting back to a place they can't see you. Clearing out Silent Moon's camp with only one enemy even hitting me is epic.

Ah. That would be it. I don't do Destruction often, and it's usually only a backup when I do use it.

[Triaxx]

Ordinator makes Destruction much, much more viable as a spell set. Even with Vanilla spells, it both improves scaling and makes them more effective at dealing with enemies. Lightning to magnetize them into the air, or fire that lingers on the ground and burns anything that you didn't hit directly. Plus it scales them with level. 0.25/0.5% more powerful per level in destruction. So it's no longer relegated to the early game and then stops being strong enough to do more than tickle more powerful enemies.

My LP is with a Mage focused almost entirely on destruction, and with Ordinator, it's actually viable instead of you just sitting there running out of Magicka before you get anywhere near the half-health mark.

[Mando Knight]

Ordinator makes Destruction much, much more viable as a spell set. Even with Vanilla spells, it both improves scaling and makes them more effective at dealing with enemies. Lightning to magnetize them into the air, or fire that lingers on the ground and burns anything that you didn't hit directly. Plus it scales them with level. 0.25/0.5% more powerful per level in destruction. So it's no longer relegated to the early game and then stops being strong enough to do more than tickle more powerful enemies.

My LP is with a Mage focused almost entirely on destruction, and with Ordinator, it's actually viable instead of you just sitting there running out of Magicka before you get anywhere near the half-health mark.

You can also dabble a bit in Ordinator's Restoration to get Descending Light, which gives you enough Magicka regen to spam spells (regardless of school) in the first few seconds of combat.

[Temotei]

Ordinator makes Destruction much, much more viable as a spell set. Even with Vanilla spells, it both improves scaling and makes them more effective at dealing with enemies. Lightning to magnetize them into the air, or fire that lingers on the ground and burns anything that you didn't hit directly. Plus it scales them with level. 0.25/0.5% more powerful per level in destruction. So it's no longer relegated to the early game and then stops being strong enough to do more than tickle more powerful enemies.

My LP is with a Mage focused almost entirely on destruction, and with Ordinator, it's actually viable instead of you just sitting there running out of Magicka before you get anywhere near the half-health mark.

Yeah, I know. I've dabbled in it and read all the perks, but Destruction is the least interesting school of magic to me. The shock line of perks is pretty fun, but I still prefer other schools by a long shot. Alteration specialists with Apocalypse are hilarious.

[Triaxx]

Destruction is just something I've always enjoyed. My first character was a Khajiit Destruction Mage. Stuff like Bolide, with it's extreme damage bonus from range is fun, or Ice Shiv for hitting targets from behind.

Alteration feels much more utility to me, though that's not a bad thing. Ocato's Recital is flat out essential, Drop Zone is crazy useful, and so is Waterstride. Reynos Fins should be useful, but I'm playing with Frostfall, so it's not as much. Fabricate Item is something I really want to play with, but haven't found an opportunity to use. What spells am I missing?

[Sajiri]

On my current playthrough, I began as a fire destruction mage. It started to get a bit frustrating since nothing seems to match up with the crosshair even though I fixed that for archery. But I think I read somewhere that magic is different somehow particularly if you play in 3rd person like I do? It was fun at first but now Im more focusing on conjuration and archery, and I'll probably start shifting towards more of a magic assassin style soon. I have discovered the joys of ghostwalk, and several of the skill lines with ordinator. I've been using ordinator pretty much since the day it released when I spotted it in the most recent files list, but I never paid attention to the skills I didnt use. Now that Im shifting my playstyle depending on what Im doing in game, I start looking into different skills and they all look fun and interesting.

[Triaxx]

Magic fires from your hands, rather than the center of the screen even in first person, so it's naturally more difficult in third person. That's why it doesn't seem to be going straight, because your hands have moved when you jumped into third person. Stick with the level 1 spells, Flames, Frostbite and Sparks, and that seems to work okay since they're both short range and have a bit of width to the hit box.

Two-handed light armor is the only character type I play in third-person because it's essential to being able to see where I'm moving, with the fact that I have to not get hit to survive. Getting caught up on anything is death. Everything else I play first person exclusively.

[DigoDragon]

Two-handed light armor is the only character type I play in third-person because it's essential to being able to see where I'm moving, with the fact that I have to not get hit to survive. Getting caught up on anything is death. Everything else I play first person exclusively.

I toggle around a bit. Mostly 3rd person for melee combat, mostly 1st for searching rooms and archery.

[Spore]

Ordinator makes Destruction much, much more viable as a spell set. .

People should just know that the Ordinator overhaul uses much more perk points for each individual skill tree. Hybrid builds are still a thing and very viable but specialists can invest 20-30 perks in a tree and not be forced to continue their destruction mage with other perk trees simply because you run out of options to pick.

A Fire Destruction Mage in Vanilla uses 10 perks (and usually is forced to spend their perks on other trees as you lack the requirements for high level destruction perks). A Fire Destruction Mage in Ordinator have 15-20 perks that they can invest in while only using fire spells.

[Triaxx]

Which is true, but you're mostly spending perks to boost damage, rather than a couple damage boosts, then the five ranks of cost reduction.

Ordinator crams the cost reduction to two perks, with lower requirement's, and the rest are either pure boost, or damage amplifying special effects.

[Keltest]

Which is true, but you're mostly spending perks to boost damage, rather than a couple damage boosts, then the five ranks of cost reduction.

Ordinator crams the cost reduction to two perks, with lower requirement's, and the rest are either pure boost, or damage amplifying special effects.

Honestly, I don't like straight up damage amplification perks at a conceptual level. On the surface it seems cool; specialization grants better use of your stuff, right? In practice, you either end up drastically outpacing your enemies, or cannot hybridize at all because enemies are balanced around having all the perks. If I need to invest 10 perks just to be remotely effective with my fireball spell, what incentive is there to even learn it unless I plan to use it as my primary attack? Those are perks that could be invested in my weapon or armor instead. Utility and ease of access perks are much better, because then you can still use the baseline spell without the perks and have it do its basic job.

[Triaxx]

Yes, but saying amplification of damage is a simplification. One of the perks gives a chance to catch targets on fire, and then cause them to EXPLODE for a bunch of damage, another one allows me to burn corpses. Which is something I want when fighting necromancers, so I can deny them additional forces, and also set them on fire if they cross the pyre.

So yes, it amplifies the damage, but it's more than that. I get it though, you don't like Destruction. No big deal. I try to play all styles, but some I'm just not that good at. I tend to go for heavy specialization more than broad hybridization. My mages do magic, my fighters hit things, and my thieves don't get seen until the knife is across your throat. And my archers fire a shot in Riften, and a guard falls off the walls of Solitude.

[Keltest]

Yes, but saying amplification of damage is a simplification. One of the perks gives a chance to catch targets on fire, and then cause them to EXPLODE for a bunch of damage, another one allows me to burn corpses. Which is something I want when fighting necromancers, so I can deny them additional forces, and also set them on fire if they cross the pyre.

So yes, it amplifies the damage, but it's more than that. I get it though, you don't like Destruction. No big deal. I try to play all styles, but some I'm just not that good at. I tend to go for heavy specialization more than broad hybridization. My mages do magic, my fighters hit things, and my thieves don't get seen until the knife is across your throat. And my archers fire a shot in Riften, and a guard falls off the walls of Solitude.

No, I like destruction in principal, I just think that a progression system that involves a flat damage increase of any sort in a game like Skyrim where encounters are tailored to your level is inherently flawed.

[Spore]

Honestly, I don't like straight up damage amplification perks at a conceptual level. On the surface it seems cool; specialization grants better use of your stuff, right? In practice, you either end up drastically outpacing your enemies, or cannot hybridize at all because enemies are balanced around having all the perks. If I need to invest 10 perks just to be remotely effective with my fireball spell, what incentive is there to even learn it unless I plan to use it as my primary attack? Those are perks that could be invested in my weapon or armor instead. Utility and ease of access perks are much better, because then you can still use the baseline spell without the perks and have it do its basic job.

I think you got this wrong. Ordinator gives a perk with two levels to reduce the costs of the spell. That is the minimum for your primary attack. Then you get a Combustion perk that deals more damage the more health the enemy is missing. Then you get a perk that reduces fire resistance by 25%. And then you still have 5-7 perks that add different effects (explosions, a fear effect, burning ground and as capstone a knockback explosion).

Additionally Destruction is much like Onehanded, Archery, Twohanded or to some extend Conjuration a primary way of attack (Sneak is up there but honestly requires a bit of investment in Onehanded). Of course it needs a bit more involvement and perks. As should your primary defense.

Also there are some fun cross-tree perks. Pact Magic gives your 15% more damage on Detruction spell for each Daedra close by (up 5 minions means 75% more damage, for all your endgame mage needs). Elemental Potency gives those Daedra 30% more attack power when you channel a spell (say a destruction spell!).

[Keltest]

I think you got this wrong. Ordinator gives a perk with two levels to reduce the costs of the spell. That is the minimum for your primary attack. Then you get a Combustion perk that deals more damage the more health the enemy is missing. Then you get a perk that reduces fire resistance by 25%. And then you still have 5-7 perks that add different effects (explosions, a fear effect, burning ground and as capstone a knockback explosion).

Additionally Destruction is much like Onehanded, Archery, Twohanded or to some extend Conjuration a primary way of attack (Sneak is up there but honestly requires a bit of investment in Onehanded). Of course it needs a bit more involvement and perks. As should your primary defense.

I was referring less to Ordinator specifically, and more in a general sense. I also don't care for how my master warrior can do more damage with an iron longsword than he can a daedric greatsword just because he has a high skill in 1h and low skill in 2h.

[Temotei]

Destruction is just something I've always enjoyed. My first character was a Khajiit Destruction Mage. Stuff like Bolide, with it's extreme damage bonus from range is fun, or Ice Shiv for hitting targets from behind.

Alteration feels much more utility to me, though that's not a bad thing. Ocato's Recital is flat out essential, Drop Zone is crazy useful, and so is Waterstride. Reynos Fins should be useful, but I'm playing with Frostfall, so it's not as much. Fabricate Item is something I really want to play with, but haven't found an opportunity to use. What spells am I missing?

Tharn's Prison, Acceleration Rune, Levitate (renamed to Wind Running since I played the character who used it), Undermine, Talons of Nirn, Perilous Path, Prepare for Adventure, Spell Twine, and Control Weather are all fantastic for various purposes, and that's just off the top of my head.

[Triaxx]

Ah, yeah, I see what you mean. Frankly, I'm more annoyed by the categorization to one-handed/two handed, from blade/blunt. It's much less believable applying sword techniques to maces/war axes, than it is medium swords to two handers.

That's sort of a Bethesda thing. They don't seem to be very good at balancing the fancier perks. For example, my super power build in Fallout 3 takes advantage of Rad Regeneration and Rad Child. Healing limbs and health full just for the slight disadvantage of being Radiated. Something like that in Skyrim would be hilariously broken. (Even accounting for built-in regeneration.)

Prepare for Adventure is tons of fun, especially early on, since you can get great staves out of it. Haven't really tried out Talons of Nirn. It seems entirely too situational, but perhaps I'm not seeing something. Acceleration Rune?

[Ogremindes]

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Abandoned Shack, Sun's Dusk 19
I returned to Signus, so small task in itself, to keep my word. He's now asked me to use a device to gather blood from each of the kinds of elf left in the world, so that he might make a facsimile of dwemer blood to open a lock. A task that I would have eventually gotten around to, I'm sure, given the amount of killing I see, except for Hermaeus Mora manifesting before I left. It would have me become his servant, taking the place of Signus. I told it I would have no part in this. It seemed untroubled by this, certain it would have my service in the end.

Part of me wanted to throw myself in the icy waters just to spite it, but I instead just resumed my travels. I have some things to gather at Fort Dawnguard before I move on. As an aspiring sellsword, my next stop will be Whiterun.

As an aside, when I travelled past Solitude I saw that a scrawled map in my possession depicted the lighthouse. I helped myself to the hidden treasure chest I found following the map.

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Nilheim, Sun's Dusk 21
This morning, I arrived at Whiterun. I had decided to present myself to The Companions, the most famous mercenary group in Skyrim. While I am certain I am amongst the deadliest warriors in Tamriel, and I have achieved great deeds, I do not strike an imposing figure and my fame is largely limited to the Dawnguard. So it was that my desire to join these warriors was met with no small amount of skepticism. But still, their... not leader as such, but near enough Kodlak was willing to give me a chance after I sparred with Vilkas to show that the sword wasn't for show.

They've given me a job, to retrieve a wealthy family's stolen heirloom from a group of bandits. I left at once, but they're based in the Rift, so I travelled as far as I could before nightfall, striking camp by Nilheim, a place I've often stopped since I cleared the bandits from it.

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Jorrvaskr, Sun's Dusk 22
I returned to the Companion's lodge of Jorrvaskr late in the afternoon. I had cleared the bandits from Faldar's Tooth and its surprisingly extensive catacombs, and reclaimed the heirloom warhammer. After selling off the bandits' nicer possessions in Riften, I made my way back to Whiterun, trudging through the rain endemic to the south of Skyrim.

As I passed Valtheim I realised the great bridge was the landmark on a crudely drawn map I had discovered, and sure enough I found an old chest tucked away where the map described. A nice little bonus on top of the pay I received when I was back in Whiterun.

Aela the Huntress had a quick job for me when I got back, to deal with a sabre cat who had made itself at home in a nearby farmstead. I was there and back within the hour. I think I'm going to get along well with Aela.

I'll see what other work is available tomorrow, once I've finished drying out.

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Mixwater Mill, Sun's Dusk 23
Aela had a couple more jobs for me today, hunting down some wolves for pelts and rescuing Gilfre at Mixwater Mill from a wolf who'd gotten itself in her house. Nothing challenging, but I'm getting paid well enough and the rain stayed away so I can't complain. I will ask around Jorrvaskr for something more interesting when I get back, though.

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I had a bunch of technical issues with Skyrim yesterday. Mostly related to radiant quests going to cleared dungeons. And somehow, none of my issues were due to dropping a 5 year old script mod into SE. That mod is Slower Companions Advancement, and it does what you'd expect: make it so you need to do more radiant quests to advance the Companions questline. I was surprised I couldn't find anything that does that for SE, but so far the script seems to work. I'll know once I've done 2 or three more radiants (I suspect Pelt Collection isn't going to count for progress, as it's not available in vanilla).

Spoiler: List of Mods

Show

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
Campfire: Complete Camping System
Cutting Room Floor
Lore-Based Loading Screens
Run For Your Lives
When Vampires Attack
Ars Metallica
Bandolier: Bags And Pouches Classic
Cloaks & Capes
Craftable Clothing
Immersive Upgrade Leveled Items
Wearable Lanterns
Hearthfire Display Case Fix By Krucify
Non-Automatic Skill Books
Forgotten DungeonsSSE
EasierRider's Dungeon Pack
Moonlight Tales Special Edition
Sacrosanct - Vampires of Skyrim
Thunderchild - Epic Shouts And Immersion
Aurora - Standing Stones of Skyrim
Imperious - Races of Skyrim
Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim
Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim
Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim
Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim
Thief Skills Rebalance for Ordinator
Apocalypse - Ordinator Compatibility Patch
Frostfall: Hypothermia Camping Survival
iNeed Food Water and Sleep
iNeed Extended
Wet and Cold
True Storms Special Edition - Rain Thunder And Weather Redone
Alternate Start - Live Another Life
VioLens - A Killmove Mod
Slower Companions Advancement

[Temotei]

Ah, yeah, I see what you mean. Frankly, I'm more annoyed by the categorization to one-handed/two handed, from blade/blunt. It's much less believable applying sword techniques to maces/war axes, than it is medium swords to two handers.

That's sort of a Bethesda thing. They don't seem to be very good at balancing the fancier perks. For example, my super power build in Fallout 3 takes advantage of Rad Regeneration and Rad Child. Healing limbs and health full just for the slight disadvantage of being Radiated. Something like that in Skyrim would be hilariously broken. (Even accounting for built-in regeneration.)

Prepare for Adventure is tons of fun, especially early on, since you can get great staves out of it. Haven't really tried out Talons of Nirn. It seems entirely too situational, but perhaps I'm not seeing something. Acceleration Rune?

Acceleration Rune sets a rune down that makes a creature that steps on it go flying forward in the direction they were moving. Pretty funny in high places or in trapped corridors, but also just useful overall.

Talons of Nirn is fun in combination with stagger effects, a few of which come from other spells in the same school. Works well with Conjuration in my experience.

[factotum]

No, I like destruction in principal, I just think that a progression system that involves a flat damage increase of any sort in a game like Skyrim where encounters are tailored to your level is inherently flawed.

But that's exactly how all the weapon skills work in Skyrim? You do more damage as your skill in a weapon increases, regardless of what perks you take.

[Spore]

I was referring less to Ordinator specifically, and more in a general sense. I also don't care for how my master warrior can do more damage with an iron longsword than he can a daedric greatsword just because he has a high skill in 1h and low skill in 2h.

I get what you mean. But the quickest fix for that would be the hit calculcations of Morrowind and I've always felt that system to be incredibly bad for an action RPG. I don't like the computer deciding that I miss again.

But Skyrim's melee combat has its own problems. With the twohanded weapons dealing less damage because you can swing a sword faster than a big warhammer and almost no real increased reach to speak off; especially when fighting overly large monsters instead of armed humanoids.

No, I like destruction in principal, I just think that a progression system that involves a flat damage increase of any sort in a game like Skyrim where encounters are tailored to your level is inherently flawed.

I don't get it. Increasing damage is an RPG standard almost. And with a big 3D game like Skyrim it is necessary. I get that you would rather have different higher level spells that deal more damage - like a 1st level D&D Wizard uses Burning Hands while a 3rd level Wizard uses Fireball. And maybe you would like a high level Wizard to be forced to actually invoke those Master level spells that require you to stay still to deal lethal damage. And your idea is great. But the time a vanilla ritual spell needs is just too long. You have almost the same problem here. A few spammed midlevel Fireballs outpace a single Firestorm spell by a long shot while being more accurate and not immobilizing your character.

Paid mods....yay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRkrascT_iM

Considering the possibilities with Ordinator (and Apoc. spells) I will make another playthrough as an Altmer Paladin. I once played an Altmer Archmage who found the dragons interesting to research and his magic necessary to battle them. And I am unsure how to handle the majority of quests with that. I can't just help a rogue organisation (the Blades) extract information from the Aldmeri Dominion. After all, the Elves are the rightful rulers now. I can't do a majority of the Daedra quest, cannot join either the Thieves' guild nor the Dark Brotherhood. And I feel even the Companions questline has to stop when they offer me Lycantrophy. I cannot risk my immortal soul for momentary allies.

That leaves Dawnguard, the Dragonborn DLC and bumbling about without aim in the lands of Skyrim.