A female Nord, skilled only in enchanting. I leveled destruction from 15 to 20 so I could take the dual cast perk. Player level is 17, played on novice difficulty. All level-ups into health.

For offense she uses only her Vampiric Drain (dual cast), no weapons or other magic. For defense she has only her Vampire's Sight and enchantments, no armor. She also has Embrace of Shadows and muffle to get somewhere unnoticed.

Enchanting has made her very viable. She enjoys the following enchantments and other boosts:

• Fortify Destruction: 25% x 4 (100% total). She can cast Vampiric Drain indefinitely.
• One each, Fortify Stamina, Health, and Magicka regen so she can survive in sunlight.
• Muffle so she can move silently.
• Resist Magic: 20% x 2 (40% total).

She uses the Lord Stone and is an Agent of Mara for a total magic resistence of 80%. Wears no armor, lives in stage 4 unless she needs to go into town, and joined the DB for a vamp friendly home with food.

I tested her metal a little last night. Cleared Bleakwind Basin (2 giants and 3 mammoths), Shearpoint (dragon priest), and Arcwind Point (death overlord). The priest was a cake-walk thanks to her magic resistence. Bleakwind and Arcwind were definetly a challenge, but manage both with a lot of evasion and without dipping into my store of mountain flowers. Giants and overlords hit hard enough even on novice to overtake Vampiric Drain's absord health. Lesser, but still hard hitting enemies don't stand a chance. And it's pretty cool svcking the life out of your enemies. The more they fight, the stronger they make me.

Bad news is I got hit with the dirty face bug after only the first save.

Sounds like you are having fun with that character.

This actually sounds like a fun build, and one I've never considered before. Is using only Vampiric Drain viable at higher difficulty levels - say, adept? I know you can boost it to absorb magicka and stamina with the blessing in Castle Volkihar.

Although from what you say it sounds like you don't have Dawnguard installed.

Ya, no Dawnguard. I don't think it would hold up well with difficulty above Novice. You'd get a double whammy: You'd do less damage and your enemies would do more damage.

True. My idea would be to include necromancy into the build, as that's a major facet of vampirism for enemy vampires at least. Although your character stays low level which is nice, and using conjuration would affect that. I'll maybe have a toy around with it and see. Kudos for the idea.

To be honest, being a vampire sounds more challenging without Dawnguard installed. You're seen as a pariah and can't just go where you please without consequences.

Necromancy would add a lot to the character. You'd be level 25 instead of 17, but you'd have a little more health to help offset the tougher enemies you'd face at that level. My experience has been that level 19 is a bit of a step in difficulty. Enemy level and weapons take a jump at the level. Too bad Vampire Servant is only once a day! I'm debating on running the DB far enough to acquire Summon Spectral Assassin. Still only once a day, but at least he is a thrawl and lasts until he get killed.

I Am. I've had characters with vampirism. This is my first Vampire, though.

The regen enchantments allow you to regen in sunlight or are you experiencing the same thing as me where my vamps stats will regen in sunlight at stage 4 but not at stage 1?

Btw the dirty face bug occurs from eyeliner iirc, cure yourself and remove eyeliner at the face sculptor then ask Serana/Harkon to turn you again. Cheek, nose and forehead color may cause it as well, it's best to remove all of it to try and avoid looking like Molag Bals toilet paper