Morrowind:Drain Skill

	Drain Skill
School	Destruction
Type	Offensive
Base Cost	1
Availability (Click on any item for details)
Spells

Drain Skill, M points for D seconds

Temporarily lowers one of the target's skills by M points for D seconds. After the spell expires, the skill will be restored to its former value.

Notes

• The Restore Skill effect is unavailable to you through spells, scrolls, or potions. However selecting Restore Attributes at an Imperial Cult Altar or Almsivi Restoration at a Shrine of the Tribunal will restore all attributes and skills.
• Drain Mercantile on self is also helpful in dealing with the selling-to-merchants bug.

Bugs

• If you are under the effect of a Fortify Skill, and are then hit with a Drain effect for the same skill, then when the Drain expires, the skill will not return to its former value, making the Drain behave more like a Damage Skill. The only way to solve this is to remove whatever was causing the Fortify effect, and then apply a Restore Skill effect (from a shrine or altar, as detailed above). You may then put the Fortify effect back on to be returned to your former skill value.
  • The Morrowind Code Patch fixes this bug.
  • OpenMW fixes this bug.
• Only the temporary skill value is considered when the game checks if training is possible and its cost, not the permanent value. That means you can use a Drain Skill spell on yourself or enchanting an item with a permanent Drain Skill effect, and effectively lower training costs down to 1gp, or use any trainer to reach level 100, or train Major and a Minor Skills to level up your character after they capped at level 100. When the spell effect wears off or when taking off the draining item, your skill will revert to 100. Since there is no Medium Armor master trainer, this is one of the only ways to train your Medium Armor skill past 83 without grinding it, the other being to use a Fortify Skill effect on a trainer.
  • The Morrowind Code Patch fixes this bug.
  • OpenMW fixes this bug.

Related Effects

• Damage Skill, Absorb Skill
• Restore Skill, Fortify Skill
• Drain Attribute, Drain Fatigue, Drain Health, Drain Magicka

Alchemy Ingredients

Only one Alchemy ingredient has a Drain Skill effect on it, the Horker Tusk from the Bloodmoon expansion. It will drain your Alteration skill. It is a first-effect ingredient, so you can experience a weak dose of the effect by eating one straight, but it will not occur in any potions.