Skyrim talk:Souls

Black Souls

falmer gloomlurker seems to be common soul (not black), and all black souls seem to show up as either grand souls, or they also fit in one of the other categories (i've only found grand black souls so far). 78.86.90.226 14:45, 21 November 2011 (UTC)rash

Black Souls are always Grand. Emrys DSD 18:07, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

I can confirm what Emrys says. As for the falmer in discussion, it is indeed a common soul, and definately not black (as those are reserved only for humans) — Unsigned comment by ES teamEffort (talk • contribs) at 09:08 on 25 November 2011

I have to correct you when you say "Humans". Humanoids would be more appropriate, as all the playable races are black, plus I believe Vampires are black (not able to take them in even though I have several grand soul gems plus Azuras start, but no black ones) and I know for a fact Daedra are black. ZeNinjaHawk 17:21, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

I have found lower than Grand black souls, I think these are from draugr. (Haven't tested or confirmed this, but I did check my soulgems at one point and found I had lesser and petty souls in my black soulgems..) — Unsigned comment by 77.160.229.209 (talk) at 18:40 on 25 November 2011

Black soul gems are capable of taking in white souls as well ( I believe) so what happened was that you didn't have any smaller gems that could take in the Draugr soul. ZeNinjaHawk 19:02, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

From what I know, only Dremora have "black" souls — Unsigned comment by 80.202.174.254 (talk) at 13:52 on 5 December 2012

Troll Soul

Trolls have lesser souls --99.246.19.225 08:29, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

Frostbite Spider

I have just defeated a Frostbite Spider that gave me a Lesser soul. Is it possible that difficulty has a bearing on the soul received? This wasn't a Giant Frostbite Spider, just a normal one. I'm playing on Expert. Emrys DSD 18:07, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

Alright, I just did some quick saving/difficulty changing and what I've found is that soul sizes do NOT depend on the difficulty of the game. The difficulty only changes how much the enemies (and traps) hurt you and and how hard it is for you to hurt enemies. But I did find something else. There were two different Falmer Gloomlurkers in Shimmermist Cave that gave me two different Soul sizes. The only difference was their level (console command getlevel <target>). The one that was level 14 gave me a Lesser soul, and the one that was level 22 gave me a Common soul. So I have a theory: The soul size is dependent only on the level of the enemy you kill, with the exception of NPC enemies, which always give Grand souls that can only fit in Black Soul Gems or Azura's Star. --Nicklink483 22:11, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

There are two sizes of enemy, both titled "Frostbite Spider." The smaller ones are petty souls, and the larger ones are lesser souls. --67.190.87.137 22:58, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

Soul Variance

It seems that one monster can dish out more than one type of soul. It seems to depend on Enemy level, but the following could also be true.

1. Each enemy has a range of levels it will spawn as. (for example, a Falmer Gloomlurker will show up anywhere from level 13-24)
2. Each enemy has a few distinct levels it will spawn as. (for example, a Falmer Gloomlurker will show up as level 14, 18, or 22)
3. Each enemy can spawn at any level.

Can anyone offer evidence that verifies/discredits these possibilities?

--Nicklink483 07:25, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

I don't think 3 is true since I have yet to find a Skeever at a level higher than 1. My money is on 2.

--Nicklink483 07:25, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

It's almost inevitable that some creatures' souls are going to be leveled. See for example Oblivion where a large fraction of the creatures were leveled. Leveling still exists in Skyrim. We know for sure that #1 happens -- there are 527 leveled lists controlling creatures/NPCs alone. The large number of different lists reflects the fact that there's no absolute range of levels -- it's different for every creature, and different for different locations/situations. Some creatures are probably completely unleveled -- chickens, cows, goats, for example -- meaning that some creatures obey #3. In addition, I'd be willing to bet that stats for some creatures are also tied directly tied to the player's level, just as in Oblivion. Which would cause the soul of the creature to be different at different levels, based upon as-yet-unknown equations, even though the creature name/appearance/etc is identical. --Nephele^Talk 06:13, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

It turns out, after rigorous and comprehensive console-driven investigation, that the souls given are decided as follows: The size of the soul trapped by a creature depends on their level, with the exception of NPC souls. The breakdown is this: Petty - levels 1-3, Lesser - levels 4-15, Common - levels 16-27, Greater - levels 28-36, Grand - level 37 and higher. The level of the creature is one of a few for that type of creature. For example, a Falmer Gloomlurker will ONLY ever spawn as level 14, 22, or 26. A Bear (not a cave bear or a snow bear, just a regular bear) will only ever spawn as level 1 or 12. As a result, the soul you get from a Falmer Gloomlurker is ALWAYS going to be either Lesser or Common, and a Bear will ALWAYS be either Petty or Lesser, depending on which version happened to have spawned. The leveling mechanic only decides which version of the monsters gets spawned. It does not take the base level and change it. The difficulty of the game has no effect on the level of monsters or the soul you get. The difficulty only changes how much damage you take/give from creatures and the environment (like traps).

--Nicklink483 07:29, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

There are also leveled Creatures. One example being Magic Anomaly. But the soul they drop still depends on their level, after calculated by the game.

--Nicklink483 17:10, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

List of things to add

I won't create a list here, just start one. I am too inexperienced with wiki-editing to just put it into the main page, so I'll make this here. I put it on the top because I consider this to be the most relevant.

• Potema's Remains - Grand

ZeNinjaHawk 11:56, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

• Hagraven - Common

The two column format is a bit complicated when adding entries alphabetically. Maybe it should just be one column. Anyway I'm adding here because I'm too lazy to add it to the main page. --71.254.244.170 12:47, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

I fixed the two-column "problem". Now it's easier on the eyes to the reader and easier to deal with for an editor. :) And I added Hagraven. Thanks for the heads-up.

--Nicklink483 13:43, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

• Potema's Remains - Grand
• Hagraven - Common

crossed finished items off list --Nicklink483 02:55, 27 November 2011

Seeing as it's stll ND'd in the list, a Draugr Scourge Lord has a Common soul for a level 30 character, in a cell respawned at 29, and originally populated at around level 15 or so. He's probably a leveled monster, likely following rule #2 bellow, considering his increased level compared to the rest of the dungeon (which use a locked in level from when you first originally entered, in my case, about 15). Unfortunately, I lack a grave key or the CS, if someone wants to peek and check for the exact values, since I'm not going to update the page with only half a guess. -- Highyena 20:14, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

(←) Can someone add Lurkers and Seekers? I'm not 100%, but I'm pretty sure that Seekers are common souls and almost completely sure Lurkers have grand souls. — Unsigned comment by 71.80.163.253 (talk) at 18:22 on 15 June 2013

Draugr Deathlord

I've seen these with grand souls. These ones who use ebony bows and arrows (they hit hard with shots!) appear to have grand souls — Unsigned comment by 85.30.249.247 (talk) at 20:09 on 24 November 2011

no... that's not correct, i'm level 75+ i always get the highest spawns available, only Draugr Death Overlords are Grand in that family of creatures, deathlords max at greater. They look the same & use the same weapons, so it's easy to confuse them, but only the Overlords can give Grand. — Unsigned comment by 71.203.101.80 (talk) at 05:26 on 27 November 2011

dragon souls

dragons always resist soul trap (mine anyway, other people confirm plz?) probably because you need to absorb the soul yourself, it wouldnt be logical to soul trap it and then absorb the soul yourself for shouts — Unsigned comment by 81.242.208.80 (talk) at 21:54 on 26 November 2011

I noticed that too, probably for the reason you noted, it wouldn't make sense for it to have two souls.RIM 22:00, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

You have to realize one thing, you can't absorb a dragon soul into a gem because you already absorb it's full soul for shouts. — Unsigned comment by 24.9.209.236 (talk) at 18:16 on 2 December 2011

Dragon Souls and Grand Souls

Dragon's completely resist soul trap and have no souls. You can just simply use Mammoths to trap Grand souls easily, that's what I do anyway. Giant's are incorrectly thought to have Grand souls, but they actually have Greater. Grand souls are from enemies level 38+ and I believe Mammoths are 38. As you progress in levels yourself and higher leveled enemies spawn, you may have tonnes more enemies to trap Grand souls from, I'm not too sure. — Unsigned comment by 86.141.124.199 (talk) at 23:11 on 26 November 2011

Only once have i successfully had the "soul trap" spell work on a dragon & when it died, it stayed at 1hp for about 15 seconds, while 3 NPC & myself whaled on it. Then it dropped to no lifebar at all & continued to fight for about 30 seconds after that. It appeared to do a death animation, but then my game froze. I'm assuming they are *supposed* to resist 100% if they don't it's gamebreaking... — Unsigned comment by 71.203.101.80 (talk) at 05:29 on 27 November 2011

Dwarven Centurion, Sphere, and Spider Workers

I believe these do not give souls. I have always had them resist. — Unsigned comment by 68.99.31.232 (talk) at 04:05 on 27 November 2011

Yes, they are automatons driven by soul gems (that's why they drop filled soul gems). It would be like capturing a soul into a soul gem from a soul gem. Arguably, it should be possible, but I suppose souls stored in soul gems are in a different format than souls in other vessels (i.e. bodies) so you can't tap it with Soul Trap. — Unsigned comment by 71.254.244.170 (talk) at 07:11 on 27 November 2011

Glenmoril Witches

They are pretty much hagravens with different names and they have the same soul size. Should they be included? — Unsigned comment by Tosborne1215 (talk • contribs) at 18:05 on 27 November 2011

Storm Atronach

I noticed that this is still N.D. I encountered one in Fellglow Keep (while doing "Hitting the Books") which provided a greater soul. Just wanted to leave a note here before updating the main page :) — Unsigned comment by 76.182.68.67 (talk) at 01:59 on 1 December 2011

Mammoths

mammoths always have grand souls and are pretty easy to kill in higher lvls and they are easy to find — Unsigned comment by 88.149.103.89 (talk) at 01:21 on 2 December 2011

Guardians

Experimenting with the black star, so I'll add more entries as I find them, but for now, the Guardians in Ragnvald (Saerek and Torsten) have greater souls, while the dragon priest Otar the Mad has a grand — Unsigned comment by 69.243.213.65 (talk) at 23:25 on 2 December 2011

Black souls

Where is the information that NPC's have black souls come from? There are Black soul gems, but when you fill them there are grand souls inside, not black souls... 93.103.155.75 19:17, 16 December 2011 (UTC)

Correction: Black souls are an in game title given to humanoid souls. Black Soul Gems capture humanoid souls.— Unsigned comment by 173.25.106.230 (talk) at 00:46 on 17 December 2011

sorting

Wouldn't it be wiser to sort after soul power THEN alphabetical ? This would make it easier knowing you have a certain soulgem to see what types you should capture with it without looking all over the place. — Unsigned comment by 83.248.65.107 (talk)

Is it possible to make the table sortable? I know I've seen other mediawiki wikis with that functionality. --Irrevenant (talk) 21:42, 10 December 2012 (GMT)

The tables are already sortable, however there are three different tables in alphabetical order (A-D, D-M, M-W) to save space on the page. — ABCface^◥ 00:50, 11 December 2012 (GMT)

To put my 2 cents in, it seems to me the table would be more useful as one long table. Yes it would waste more screen real estate, but that way user can effectively use the table's sort features. Right now, if you sort by soul you have to do so for each table, and look at 3 tables just to find the creatures that can provide that type of soul. Any support for this? --Finious (talk) 18:55, 7 September 2013 (GMT)

It's probably worth exploring the idea if would make the table more useful. I rearranged it in my sandbox as an example. What's the consensus? --Xyzzy ^Talk 21:41, 7 September 2013 (GMT)

Potema's Remains

With a 31 lvl character I got a Greater and not Grand Soul. Is Potema's Remains leveled? — Unsigned comment by 147.102.131.22 (talk) at 17:36 on 29 December 2011

Falmer Gloomlurker correct?

The chart has it listed as Level -5, which if I interpret correctly means as a level 38 character, a Gloomlurker should fill a greater soul gem. Well, I just checked and one just filled a common. So perhaps it may be Level -10? — Unsigned comment by Jonsarik (talk • contribs) at 17:36 on 4 January 2012

[Edit] Nevermind, just noticed the bit about soul variance. — Unsigned comment by Jonsarik (talk • contribs) at 19:46 on 4 January 2012

Table

Maybe we should make this a sortable table, if someone searchs for specific souls. --Killfetzer 17:54, 4 January 2012 (UTC)

Magic Anomaly's Soul Random

A Magic Anomaly's soul is not dependant on the player's level. During Containment, the Magic Anomalies will drop filled and unfilled soul gems of varying degrees. MethodicMockingbird 16:59, 8 January 2012 (UTC)

I forgot to mention that this was meant as a reference to the lack of a soul in Dwemer Constructs which resulted in a subsequent drop of a soul gem. MethodicMockingbird 17:05, 8 January 2012 (UTC)

Make a list of NPCS with thier souls

asdlakn — Unsigned comment by 50.128.215.185 (talk) at 18:32 on 3 February 2012

What? All NPC souls are considered Grand souls. It says so in the bottom table of this page. Alphabetface 21:56, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Restless Draugr

These are in the list, as Restless Draugr, but also as Draugr Restless. They're never referred in the latter manner anywhere else, I believe, so should that entry be removed? Peterguard 10:42, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Olaf One-Eye

There are two pages for this chappy, one for the undead encountered in Dead Men's Respite, and one for the dead encountered in Sovngarde. Whichever the entry on this page should have been, it named one and pointed to the other, so I've made that consistent, it's the undead one. Whether the Sovngarde instance should be on this page, I'm not sure, but as it's probably just like any NPC I suspect not. Anyway, I haven't added it. I've assumed that the listing of a Grand soul for the draugr version is correct. Peterguard 13:19, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

As it turns out, Grand isn't always correct, but that took a fair bit of investigation to confirm. I haven't yet figured out how the game decides what's considered an NPC soul, but like you, I've assumed that the one here applies to the undead version. – Robin Hood↝talk 08:09, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

Effect of Azura's Star?

I have a game right now where I have a Grand Soul stored in Azura's Star. When I go to the enchanting table, items that I create with this soul have a better performance than items I can create with Black Souls or standard Grand Soul Gem. I also am not sure why this soul went into Azura's Star as I had plenty of empty Grand Soul Gems available when it was captured. (Unfortunately, I was not paying attention to who/what I killed when this happened.) So as I see it, there are two possibilities. One, there are souls better than Grand Souls which only Azura's Star can capture. Two, Azura's Star has some effect on Enchanting that makes the soul more potent. I suppose there is third option, that I have somehow triggered a bug. In any case, can anyone explain why the soul in my Star is better than my other souls? I would like to be able to recreate it as it opens up the possibility of making even better items. If it matters, I have the "standard" Azura's Star, not the Black Star.

Followup: I was unable to recreate this after loading the save game. Chalking this up to a bug, but I'm not sure how to recreate it.

First, please sign your posts with 4 tildes (~) after the last word, thanks in advance. Generally, the game will bias souls to Azura's Star when it can with The Black Star - I have no input on the standard star unfortunately but I'll assume its much the same. I do extensive enchanting using Azura's The Black Star, Black Soul Gems, and Grand Soul Gems and have not noticed a difference. I just tried it at enchanting level 100, all perks, using twin enchantments (Banish & Stamina Damage), no potion used, on a Iron Dagger that all gave the same results (Banish lvl 37, 55 points Stamina Damage, value=2018). I wonder if you leveled enchanting without realizing it, what level was your enchanting at? Philbert (talk) 08:41, 14 March 2015 (GMT)