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I'm aiming to keep my Dunmer Nightblade, Ariada, as a pure Dagger Incarnate, as much as I can, with Illusion as a support skill to get her in and out of the sweet spot.
I have a few questions that have come as I have played her.

The Nine or Eight, the Three, are faded stories before the truth of a volcano.
Ariada was born to be a tool, the tool she has chosen to be is a blade of the void, a blade seeking the void.

1.Shadow warrior. How do you use it? I understand it gives you a ONE second break? How do you use it tactically?
2. 100 %poison resistance on her present armour - is poisoning a big issue on Adept difficulty?
3. Asura's /Black Star. As I understand lore, the likes of my dunmer would never trick or displease a Daedric Prince. Am I interpreting this right?
I would love the Dark Star to feed her mace, it feels wrong to clobber those roadside bandits and waste their souls. Its a minor issue though, and not worth breaking RP for.

5. Foes. (playing Adept level setting)
Are dragons and dragon priests the only foe that aren't oneshotted by 30 X backstabs?

a) Dragons. They sleep on in Ariada's Skyrim so far.
But would some shouts enhance her dagger?
As a pure (but poisoned) dagger, what is the best tactic to use?
I like the look of the summoned assassin, as long as he doesn't die dead.
Does she need distruction ie ranged magick? Fire runs in her natural blood, the cold of the void is her sustenance, and she manifests as Mehrunes Razor.( The odd defensive fireball has pushed Destruction up already)
Is it worth raising the armour perk to gain more time? My feeling her only hope is in dodging and hiding.
b). And Dragon Priests. Again, as a Dagger Incarnate, can she kill these, ?

Thanks.

1. I mainly use it for retreating. If you want to be a little more exploitey you can use it to continuously get the sneak attack bonus damage.

2. Not really, but if you run into a Chaurus it can save your life.

3. I don't know if you've played Morrowind, but Azura is not a daedric lord to cuss with if you're a Dunmer. Best stick to Azura's Star and not The Black Star.

4.????

5. I think so. There may be a Draugr Deathlord or something that might survive too, along with Boss NPCs and creatures.
5.A) The only shout that would be useful (there are arguments to be made) I think would be Aura Whisper.
The Spectral Assassin doesn't die permanently, so feel free to go hog wild there.
I do recommend taking Destruction on as a secondary skill; the range can be useful and it isn't as OP as Sneak+Archery.
5.B) I can't think of any reason why not.

Thanks. I think I'm going to have to work more on my retreating, particularly above ground, even though she travels mainly at night. Shadow warrior certainly didn't make my mediocre retreats masterful. Calm saves the elf's hide too often.

2. I'd say there are better enchantments for your armor than poison resistance - as far as I know only spiders and chaurus' use poison

3. Not every dunmer is the same in terms of faith.^^ But in the Tribunal Temple, the primary dunmer religion, Azura is one of the three venerated daedric princes, along with boethia and mephala, so you'd better not cross these. The other princes are fair game though, as far as I know.

5. I see no reasons why you shouldn't be able to defeat them, at least I was able to do so with my dual dagger/archery character
a) if you have an unenchanted dagger, you could consider the Elemental Fury shout, though I'd prefer an enchantment instead (like absorb health, I use meruhne's razor and the blade of woe for my char)
I always get the armor perks if possible, it greatly incteases my survivability in combat^^
for ranged combat, it is your choice between destruction magic or archery, both work

Yes, Daedric Princes are the only reality she recognizes, so I'm resigned to the fact that she wouldn't cross any, "good" or "bad". Because of the Red Mountain, she rejects "believing" in gods.
Which is ironic, because Micheal Kirkbride seems to point to VIvic as the DB "Sithis". Or not.

I am still trying to tie in her skills, present and further, with her spiritual direction. A tool wielded by the nearest hand, I suppose. I read of builds on Tamriel Vault, that transform shouts and skills into a unified story.