How to create spells in Oblivion Remastered
Everything you need to know about spellcrafting in Oblivion
Would you like to create spells in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered? Although there are plenty of premade spells to cast at the beginning of the game, true power (and fun) lies in Oblivion's custom spells. That's right; you can craft your own personalised spells, allowing you to combine countless spell effects with various duration, range, and magnitude stats.
Sounds like a mage's dream come true, doesn't it? In this guide, we'll explain everything you need to know to unlock and craft custom spells in Oblivion Remastered.
How to unlock custom spells in Oblivion
To unlock spell creation, you must have an altar of spellmaking at your disposal. Unfortunately, you can only find them in two locations: the Arcane University and Frostcrag Spire. Here's how to reach the altar of spellmaking in Frostcrag Spire, which doesn't take much effort but requires a good stack of gold:
- Travel to Frostcrag Spire north of the Imperial City and go inside. You must open a lock of average difficulty, so bring enough lockpicks.
- Interact with the spellcrafting altar (on the stage, next to the other altars) to begin the Frostcrag Spire quest.
- Go to the Imperial City Market District and buy Magetallow Candles from the Mystic Emporium shop. Priced at a few thousand gold, you may have to earn more money first. Don't forget to increase the shop owner's disposition to get a better price!
- Return to Frostcrag Spire and use the Magetallow Candle Box on the spellcrafting altar to unlock it.
If you'd rather use one of the altars in the Arcane University, you must join the Mages Guild to access the building. It takes more time, but at least it won't empty your wallet. Don't worry, you don't need to complete every Guild Quest, just enough to become an Apprentice. Here's what you must do:
- Visit any Mages Guild Hall (there's one in every city except Kvatch and the Imperial City) and speak with the Head of the Guild. Choose the 'Join Guild' dialogue option.
- Get a recommendation from every Head of a Mages Guild Hall, which is seven in total. You must complete a small side quest for each Head to obtain the recommendation.
- Visit the Arcane University in the Imperial City and speak with Raminus Polus, who will officially welcome you to the Mages Guild.
- Head inside the Praxographical Center of the Arcane University to find the Altar of Spellmaking. Now you can start spellcrafting!
If you're playing on PC and looking for a shortcut, you can also use a spellcrafting cheat. Open the commands menu with the tilde key (~) (this key is usually placed between Tab and 1) and type "showspellmaking", then press Enter. This will open the spellcrafting menu even if you haven't joined the Mages Guild or unlocked the altar at Frostcrag Spire.
How to create spells in Oblivion
When you interact with an Altar of Spellmaking, you'll see a list of 'Known Effects' on the left. These are the spells you've obtained and are able to cast. That last part is important, as you can't craft spells above your current level (novice to master). For example, if you purchase the Heal Legendary Wounds spell, you can't use its effect for spellcrafting unless your Restoration skill has reached the 'master' level.
Two examples of early-game 'novice' spell effects you might use for spellcrafting are 'Flare', which deals fire damage to a target, and 'Heal Minor Wounds', which restores your HP. The two most common ways to obtain new spells are questing and purchasing them from vendors. You should find several spell merchants in almost any city, especially at the local Mages Guild Hall.
At the Altar of Spellmaking, select a spell effect you'd like to use for your custom spell, then press 'Create' to alter the spell effect's range, magnitude, area, and duration.
- Range: This determines who the spell affects. You can cast it on yourself, on a target, or on 'touch', meaning anyone hit by the spell.
- Magnitude: The strength of the spell. This affects the amount of damage it deals, for example.
- Area: This determines the size of the area of effect, ranging between 10 and 100.
- Duration: How long does the spell effect last? This ranges from 1 to 120 seconds.
Before you enthusiastically drag every slider to the right, beware that this will increase the gold cost, magicka cost, and level requirement for this spell. Best to be a bit frugal if you're still in early game!
You can add as many spell effects as you like, but the more complex the spell, the more unpredictable its effects. You might want to experiment a bit before using custom spells against dangerous enemies.
And that's how you create spells in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Use them to boost your Attributes, cure diseases, or fight demons so you can close the Oblivion Gates.