Except money and soul gems are so easy to come by that it doesn't really matter at all.

Not early on, and the usefulness of recharging an entire group of staves/artifacts/enchanted from clearing out a cave filled with level 1 bandits is very economical.

What does money have to do with it?
And if you use staffs or enchanted weapons it might be good to have the black star because you can just recharge the weapon on the run and fill up the star, instead of having like 100 soulgems ;P

How is it a bug though? It seems to be the standard behavior of soul gems. Soul gems can trap at it's level or below. A grand soul gem can trap anything from a petty soul to a grand soul, so it makes sense that a black soul gem should be able to trap anything from a petty soul to a black soul.

It just contradicts what Nelacar tells you. He says that the star will only be able to trap black souls, not white, once it's cut off from Azura.

I always make it black because I like Nelacar, but man you have to really trust him. You're literally putting your life in his hands. I guess the same goes for Aranea/ Azura, but in that case it's a deity overseeing things rather than just some guy who when you first meet him is talking about "minor miscalculations" in an experiment.

Well, they haven't fixed Blood on the Ice, so I'd say the chance of Black Star being fixed is close to nil

But then again, they decided to make it so you can get out of menus with ESC. It's one of the best little things they add, so I guess the chance is not that low

@Celan:
I always bring Jordis when I have to do that makes sure that the guy will go to Oblivion with me should anything go wrong

She also is quite good at sneaking and lockpicking. I am using her as a follower at the moment and she doesn't seem to trip as many traps in dungeons as Lydia does. Lydia is not very good at sneaking and sets off every trap that we come to.

I choose Azura's Star every time. Look http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dunmer to http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Chimer after 3 members of that race betrayed Azura.

Frankly, those 3 guys decided to spat on Azura's face despite her warning, while Azura didn't seem to think much when Nelacar played with it, so I'd guess that you're fine

Different from description, but behaves like normal black soulgems. Will not be fixed as it would probably require rewriting how soul trapping works.

shadeMe already http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1300172-rel-smart-souls/page__hl__soul. Well, I mean white souls not going into Black Soul Gem.

Modders can do whatever it is Bethesda can / should do, and at a quicker pace. Perhaps it has something to do with being a "fan" and not a "labor", and perhaps it has something to do with a broader range of free actual gamer QA testers, but yeah, Bethesda is good at laying the foundation, modders are good at actually finishing the job.

That's what he thought would happen, but it's not like it was ever done before. He could've easily been wrong.

First you don't need black soul gems to get the best enchantments. A black soul gem is equal to a grand soul gem. So Azura's Star with a grand soul is the same as a filled Black Star. Also it is highly likely that the Black Star being able to store any soul not just human souls is a bug that maybe that may be patched out at anytime.

I don't know about others but after about 60 hours played I was making enough money to buy as many full grand soul gems as I need. I have the Azura's Star and I really only got it to build towards my 15 total artifacts. I have also never used the mage you can get as a follower. These of course are personnal preferences.

I went with the Azura's Star basically because it was the good thing to do, the Black Star maybe fixed via patch, and the fact I have never ran out of full grand soul gems.

J'zargo is the best Mage Follower. He goes to 81.

I recommend what is right.

Anyways, a black soul gem test:

Give Lydia 1 black soul gem or the black star (empty)
Give Lydia 1 ebony sword enchanted with paralyze 1 sec, and firey soul trap
Punch Lydia in the face until she attacks
Get killed and soul trapped.

DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for deaths caused by these instructions. If you followed these, you deserved it. And no, Molag Bal will not save you this time, nor can you draw upon the powers of the Shivering Isles.

It's strictly a question of morality. I do use the occasional black soul gem, but I reserve them for the assassins who continually try to ambush me. I went with the "clean" star but it does limit me. There aren't a lot of grand souls available in the early part of the game. I think mammoths qualify, but i you find something with a grand soul it's going to be tough to kill, much more so than a bandit. So on practical grounds, Black star. On a more "good" route, Azura Star.

I'm thinking it must be the Advanced Armors perk because I went up the heavy side. Did you have Advanced perk when you made it...I"m assuming you made it Legendary?

He could be lying.