The Ebony Warrior is a mysterious Redguard champion added by Dragonborn, clad from head to toe in ebony armor. His story is simple: he has defeated every opponent he ever met, and there is nobody left worth fighting – except you. He wants one final duel, and he wants it to send him to Sovngarde with honour. He is effectively the endgame boss of the base world, and he hits like one.
Where to find them
He does not exist for you until your character reaches level 80. After that he will be waiting in one of Skyrim’s major cities, walks up to you on his own and delivers his challenge. The fight itself takes place at his Last Vigil, a campsite high up in the Velothi Mountains. When you arrive he will not start the duel or discuss it; he only offers small talk until you draw first blood.
Quests
He is the sole focus of The Ebony Warrior (Dragonborn), a straightforward fight to the death.
Combat
At level 80 he is one of the strongest beings in the game, outranked only by the likes of Karstaag (level 90) and Miraak and Arngeir (both 150). He fights sword-and-board, is unusually aggressive with power attacks and shield bashes, and keeps a Frost Cloak and armour spells running. Get close and he will hit you with all three words of Unrelenting Force; he also knows Disarm. Run away and he either chases you or switches to his bow, and his paralysis perks can freeze you in place for a few seconds.
He tops himself up with Close Wounds and potions of vigorous healing, and can call a storm atronach. His enchanted gear gives him 50% resistance to fire, frost and shock, and as a Redguard he shrugs off half of any poison. He is immune to the Wabbajack and to a long list of control effects, including Bend Will, Ice Form, Paralyze, Whirlwind Cloak and Dead Thrall. Knock him off a cliff and he just jogs back up (though he does take fall damage).
The nastiest surprise is the Heavy Armor perk Reflect Blows: some of your melee hits can bounce straight back at you for the same damage, which makes a big sneak-attack opener a genuinely risky idea on higher difficulties.
Loot
Win and you can take his full enchanted ebony kit – armour of regeneration, a waterbreathing helmet, a vampiric sword, a bow of winter, jewellery boosting one-handed damage and shock resistance – plus a grand black soul gem, a Daedra heart, a human heart and one flawless gem of every type.
Good to know
He is drawn at a scale of 1.21, making him taller than almost everyone else in Skyrim. There is a bittersweet irony to his last words, too: Sovngarde is the afterlife of Nord warriors, so a Redguard is not expected to get in, and he does not appear in Sovngarde if you visit after killing him. He also carries perks for maces and war axes that he never uses, since he only ever wields a sword.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim/DLC game files, written in our own words.
