[Interest Check] Creating Black Soul Gems : V

» Wed May 16, 2012 6:47 am

Hey all,

So I guess that I will officially declare this mod a WIP by yours truly. I will begin serious work as soon as Thanksgiving is over / When the CK is released. I have a document written up on my other computer detailing the mod in specifics, and I'll post that when I get back to that computer.
For now though, a general synopsis would be that creating soul gems will require a quest obtained item that you can then convert your grand soul gems into black soul gems on a weekly basis.

Thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Lyrian

(For anyone who wants to see the old post) :

Spoiler

I'm just posting this here to check to see if there is interest in a mod to allow the creation of Black Soul Gems. I'll probably make it for myself, but I'll make it release-able if there's interest.

--

I'd probably just follow the Oblivion style creation. For those of you who don't remember/know, it involved placing grand soul gems into an altar and every now and then, a light would shine on the altar and you could cast soul trap at the altar and it would convert them to black soul gems. If anyone has a better idea, please feel free to share.

Thanks

» Wed May 16, 2012 5:49 am

I'd be interested, however not sure about the once a month thing.

» Wed May 16, 2012 5:04 am

Note that waiting 30 in-game days will also make all the Geode Mineral veins respawn.

» Wed May 16, 2012 3:54 am

Mm im currently working under the impression that there is a altar, somewhere, where you can create black soul gems similarly to how morrowind handled it, and just nobody has found where yet... Is this false?

» Wed May 16, 2012 10:22 am

I'm interested.

Though, I too, am not 100% behind a monthly limit. Perhaps a sacrifice of some other sort would be more appropriate?

» Wed May 16, 2012 9:02 am

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I have to agree that one month in-game time would be a rather long time period. As I've said, I'm completely open to suggestions on how it should be done.

Anyone have any specific ideas?

» Wed May 16, 2012 10:15 am

I was thinking about other Oblivion esq things, when I did recall that Necromancers Moon - I kinda felt cheated that there doesnt seem to be any mechanic like that in Skyrim.

I think it would be great for some modder to try and come up with some other celestial body system, that allows the triggering of certain events in the world.

If someone was really good, they could create a framework for celestial bodies and times of months, allowing the rest of the modding community to maybe hook into it and add their own events.

eg - At High Moon South of Skytemple - a secret Cavern could open
On the Summer Solstace - Sprygins/Tree Creatures attack the city.
At midnight - ghosts can sometimes be seen outside the Halls of the Dead in Markarth.

Going along with this idea- you could define specific celestial/timing events that can trigger a Black Soul Gem ritual at certain places in Skyrim.

Alternatively - I do like the idea of Rituals being introduced to Skyrim.
I wish it was possible to perform the Black Saccriment etc

eg - Prepare a Circle of Candles
Drop a Ruby, Sapphire, and a Grand Soul Gem
Cast soul trap on an npc near the items, and the spell triggers the death of the npc and the creation of a Black Soul Gem, at the cost of the rest of the items.

(eg - the Soul Trap spell could perform a location/distance check to see if all the required items are nearby the target creature - if yes = create black soul gem, if not = act as normal)

» Wed May 16, 2012 4:29 am

5 Death Bell + 1 Filled Grand Soul Gem = Black Soul Gem IMO

» Wed May 16, 2012 10:30 am

5 Death Bell + 1 Filled Grand Soul Gem = Black Soul Gem IMO

5 Death Bell + a Grand Soul is way harsh for one Black Soul Gem. Considering that you can just buy empty Black Soul Gems from the mages guild for hardly more than the cost of an empty Grand Soul Gem!

» Wed May 16, 2012 12:06 am

5 Death Bell + a Grand Soul is way harsh for one Black Soul Gem. Considering that you can just buy empty Black Soul Gems from the mages guild for hardly more than the cost of an empty Grand Soul Gem!

How about 5 Black Souls gems then?

» Wed May 16, 2012 10:56 am

One of the mods I'm most hoping for is a unique necromancer mod. The current system IG is atrocious, If I may say so. Limitations to undead followers is terrible, there are no real "zombies" (draugr don't count). These sorts of rituals would create the atmosphere essential for playing out a legit necromancer, and it would be pretty incredible to see come to fruition.

Kinda would like to see a system of the buildable bots mod from NV. Get a specific item (hacksaw), go out and carve up some parts from dead bodies (this would require a whole..limb detach system though too.) return to the altar (protectron holder), insert required items (head, torso, arm, arm, leg, leg) and include something like a soul gem as well. Then, cast a spell on the altar, and voila, you have an essential NPC that you can order to stay/follow/go home/patrol?

Interesting possibilities and expansions on that idea include changing different limbs. Instead of two arms, maybe one arm and one sword? Would give more combat ability to the zombies and would make an awesome configurable altar/zombie system.

Just my musings.

» Wed May 16, 2012 2:21 am

How about 5 Black Souls gems then?

How about 1 grand soul gem = 1 black soul gem, but you can only do it at certain times. Just like in Oblivion?

» Wed May 16, 2012 3:29 am

How about 1 grand soul gem = 1 black soul gem, but you can only do it at certain times. Just like in Oblivion?

No.. Too restricting.

» Wed May 16, 2012 3:24 am

If we are certain that a way doesn't already exist in game and we haven't found it yet then it seems like a good idea, however I don't think it should be easy. I think it should be a recipe we have to earn, a quest for example and then a longish recipe rather than something easy.

» Wed May 16, 2012 9:12 am

I say just add Geode veins outside of Blackmarch for people to mine. Creating soul gems sounds silly no matter what.

» Wed May 16, 2012 12:27 am

Reading A Tragedy in Black put me off of Black Soul Gems. Depressing stuff, yo.

But yeah, it'd be cool to add in a mod. I'll probably make an "evil" character one of these days.

» Wed May 16, 2012 6:15 am

I love the idea of making it be based on a time schedule, because that would open up a huge number of options. I found in Oblivion that having to wait a week for necromancers moon was never too big a deal; if i was impatient, i could just go to it and wait every night for the light to show up; if i was patient, i could research when the event would occur, and then make sure to be there on that night. Very Roleplayey, so good in my book.

But if you created the framework for a system of events that happened based on dates around Skyrim, there are loads of options...summoning daedra/aedra comes to mind. Much of this lore already exists. Here's a quote from UESPwiki.

Morning Star
[edit]New Life Festival
Morning Star 1st
Today the people of provinceName are having the New Life Festival in celebration of a new year. The Emperor has ordered yet another tax increase in his New Life Address, and there is much grumbling about this. Still, despite financial difficulties, the New Life tradition of free ale at all the taverns in the cities continues. The people of provinceName certainly know how to hold a celebration. In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Clavicus Vile.
[edit]Scour Day
Morning Star 2nd
Scour Day is a celebration held in most High Rock villages on the day after New Life. It was once the day one cleans up after New Life, but has changed into a party of its own.
[edit]Ovank'a
Morning Star 12th
Ovank'a is the day the people of the Alik'r Desert offer prayers to Stendarr in the hopes of a mild and merciful year. It is considered very holy.
[edit]Meridia's Summoning Day
Morning Star 13th
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Meridia.
[edit]South Winds Prayer
Morning Star 15th
The 15th of Morning Star is a holiday taken very seriously in provinceName, where they call it South Wind's Prayer, a plea by all the religions of Tamriel for a good planting season. Citizens with every affliction known in Tamriel flock to services in the cities's temples, as the clergy is known to perform free healings on this day. Only a few will be judged worthy of this service, but few can afford the temples usual price...
[edit]Day of Lights
Morning Star 16th
The Day of Lights is celebrated as a holy day by most villages in Hammerfell on the Iliac Bay. It is a prayer for a good farming and fishing year, and is taken very seriously.
A possibly unrelated Festival of Lights is a tradition in the Skyrim city of Dawnstar. Little candies are given out to celebrate.[1]
[edit]Waking Day
Morning Star 18th
The people in Yeorth Burrowland invented Waking Day in prehistoric times to wake the spirits of nature after a long, cold winter. It has evolved into a sort of orgiastic celebration of the end of winter.

That's one month's worth of interesting events. On summoning days, summons from their dominion could be more powerful, or enchantments could result in stronger effects(even after the day has passed). Getting their daedric artifact on that day could increase its power. Drinks could be free all across skyrim...the list goes on and on! It would really make you feel that you were living in a real world!

» Wed May 16, 2012 7:38 am

5 Death Bell + a Grand Soul is way harsh for one Black Soul Gem. Considering that you can just buy empty Black Soul Gems from the mages guild for hardly more than the cost of an empty Grand Soul Gem!

With a grand soul it's no reason for black soul gems except role-playing.
Say 5 death bells and a grand soulgem would be better, as a bonus let you use a gem who is filled with greater, common, lesser or petty as a way to refill them.

One question can you fill a black gem with anything but black souls?
One idea would be a way to empty an gem with a to small gem.

» Wed May 16, 2012 2:06 pm

Just have anothewr Pillar of Sacrifice somwhere, with a chest infront of it. Stick any ammount of *whatever quallity soul gem the modder thinks is appropriate* in it, and kill someone, BAM, black soul gems. The drawback is that it uses a finite resource, aka lives, but you can get a good ammount of black gems, despite the steep price.

» Wed May 16, 2012 5:50 am

Spoiler

If you do the Blackened Star quest, you can taint Azura's star and make it take human souls. An essential mission for any enchanter.

» Wed May 16, 2012 9:09 am

5 Death Bell + 1 Filled Grand Soul Gem = Black Soul Gem IMO

If I already had a Grand Soul Gem that was filled, why would I want to turn it into a Black Soul Gem?

» Wed May 16, 2012 4:22 am

Thank you for all your comments and ideas. I have compiled them and taken them into account. I will update this topic with specifics after Thanksgiving. Please read the first Post.

» Wed May 16, 2012 3:31 am

It would be nice to have more Black Soul Gems, 60 something hours in and I've seen one and that was dropped by some Forsworn guy. I really need to hit up that Azura's Shrine quest.