Kendis Playthrough

Kendis
Playthrough Info
Game Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Race Redguard
Playthrough Dates 12/07/2022-9/1/2023
Platform Nintendo Switch
Language English
Difficulty Adept (partially with Survival Mode)

This is the page for my eighth Skyrim playthrough, for the Redguard character Kendis.

I began this playthrough on 12/7/2022 on my Nintendo Switch, and finally ended it on 9/1/2023. And while the Anniversary Edition on the Switch came out at the tail end of Faanshi’s playthrough, this was my first official full playthrough with the AE on this platform.

This was also my first official attempt at running Survival Mode. But it was only a partial attempt, because I bailed on running Survival Mode partway through. (See reasons why written up in Bailing on Survival Mode in Kendis’ playthrough.)

I ran Kendis on the default Adept Difficulty, just because at the start of her run, I expected Survival Mode to make things difficult enough for me without running the Difficulty level up higher than normal.

Kendis is named for Kendis Thompson, the heroine of my Free Court of Seattle books, Faerie Blood and Bone Walker. And by rights, given that Kendis is half-Sidhe, her Skyrim counterpart really ought to be half-Altmer and half-Redguard, but the default character creation UI doesn’t let me do that. 😀 So I’ve set Skyrim!Kendis up as a Redguard!

Kendis’ Backstory

Even though this version of Kendis can’t technically be half-Altmer, I will take the liberty of assuming that Kendis does have some elf blood a few generations back in her family line. Not enough that she has any obviously elven features–but enough to bump up her magical affinity, for the inevitable point where she’ll join the College of Winterhold.

Redguard society, according to the Redguard lore page on the wiki, generally disdains magic. And from what I see about the town of Elinhir, that place in particular has reason to be distrustful of magic in the Fourth Era. So I think Kendis is from Elinhir–and grew up in a family explicitly distrustful of magic.

But when she discovered she had the ability to do certain things–throw fire with her hands, and command small wounds to heal themselves–she realized she’d have to go somewhere else if she wanted to learn more. She learned from a trader about a certain college in Skyrim that teaches magic, and so she went over the border between Hammerfell and Skyrim, hoping to find work that’d get her passage to find that college.

Unfortunately for Kendis, she came over the border right into the path of an Imperial patrol….

Playthrough Posts

Here are all the posts about Kendis’ playthrough! These are dynamically updated, so a new post should appear here when it goes up. They’re listed in descending date order, so the newest posts should always appear first. Also, note the pagination controls after the first five posts. You can page through to see the older ones.

  • Final thoughts on Kendis’ Skyrim Run - 09/01/2023
    The obligatory final thoughts post on Kendis' Skyrim run. Main takeaway: ultimately disappointing, between not liking Survival Mode, major performance issues on the Anniversary Edition build on Nintendo Switch, and major things being outright broken on Solstheim. I recommend all Switch players AVOID the AE.
  • In Which Kendis Defeats Alduin in Sovngarde - 09/01/2023
    In which Kendis traps the dragon Odahviing at Dragonsreach, and frees him again; flies with Odahviing to Skuldafn; calls in Durnehviir and her dremora lords to fight her way through Skuldafn; and, with the aid of ancient heroes, slays Alduin the World-Eater in Sovngarde.
  • In Which Kendis Fights Through Game Performance Problems to Defeat Miraak - 08/31/2023
    In which Kendis slays Ildari Sarothril at Highpoint Tower; recovers the map to the stalhrim source for the Skaal; discovers the Black Books inside White Ridge Barrow and Benkongerike; discovers the hoard of Haknir Death-Brand; and last but not least, confronts Miraak in Apocrypha, liberating Solstheim from his control.
  • In Which Kendis Aids the Tribunal Cult on Solstheim - 08/29/2023
    In which Kendis gives aid to a secret Tribunal cult on Solstheim; quests further into Kolbjorn Barrow on behalf of her mining partner; helps Elynea heal Master Neloth's mushroom house; finds Neloth a new steward; and helps Neloth identify what enemy has been sending ash spawn to attack his tower.
  • In Which Kendis Quests Across Solstheim, But With Challenges - 08/28/2023
    In which Kendis discovers the truth about what happened to Gratian Caerellius in Raven Rock Mine; slays a dragon priest in Bloodskal Barrow; clears the All-Maker Stones of Miraak's influence all over Solstheim; helps a frustrated miner at Kolbjorn Barrow; recruits the wizard Neloth to help find a Black Book in Nchardak; learns how to make netch leather armor; and rescues Baldor of the Skaal from the Thalmor.

Screenshots

Kendis’ screenshot galleries can be found on the Kendis Screenshots page.