- For other uses, see Soul Gem.
A Soul Gem is an item in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It is a magic stone capable of storing the "soul" of a creature. The gems are used to recharge magical weapons, or to create new enchantments.
Locations[]
Soul gems are available for purchase from most alchemical and magical merchants. They can also be looted from mages and necromancers.
Value[]
Empty soul gems, whether looted or bought, have a value based on the grade of the gem, which does not change if filled later. Merchant gems sold or found filled with a soul have a value based on the level of the soul, regardless of the grade of gem.
Charging[]
There are a few ways to charge soul gems:
- Soul Trap spell
- Scroll of Soul Trap
- Use a weapon with a Soul Trap enchantment, such as Umbra.
Types[]
Soul gems come in various sizes. The bigger the gem, the greater the "soul" that can be stored in it. The charge level is used for both enchanting and recharging:
| Size | Charges |
|---|---|
| Petty Soul Gem | 150 |
| Lesser Soul Gem | 300 |
| Common Soul Gem | 800 |
| Greater Soul Gem | 1200 |
| Grand Soul Gem | 1600 |
| Black Soul Gem | 1600 |
| Azura's Star | 1600 |
Recharging costs[]
The base prices for filled soul gems, other than Azura's Star and black soul gems, range from 40 
for a filled petty soul gem to 500 
for a filled grand gem, and these prices can be reduced using Mercantile. Conversely, recharging a weapon from a character is at a fixed 1 per charge point that cannot be haggled down. Since the prices for filled gems are generally an order of magnitude less than the charge they provide, it is always cheaper to buy soul gems than to pay for recharging.
Azura's Star[]
Azura's Star is a reusable Soul Gem, obtained by completing Azura's quest at the Shrine of Azura.
Black Soul Gem[]
Black Soul Gems hold humanoid souls (Imperial, Argonian, Khajiit, etc., as well as Daedric Kyn). All others, including Azura's Star, hold only the souls of creatures.
All humanoid souls have a "grand" value, making the value of a humanoid soul equal to that of a Gloom Wraith. Since the power level of an enchantment from Grand and Black Soul Gems are identical, this equality of soul value makes the creation of Black Soul Gems a basically unnecessary process once you start encountering more creatures possessing a Grand soul.
Creation[]
Black Soul Gems are created by placing a Grand Soul Gem in one of four necromancer altars in Cyrodiil, then casting Soul Trap on the altar at the appropriate time. They can also occasionally be found on necromancers.
Unique soul gems.
Colossal Black Soul Gem[]
The Colossal Black Soul Gem is a special black soul gem with a larger capacity created by Falcar that was meant to hold the soul of Hannibal Traven.
Unique soul gems[]
On the first floor of the Leyawiin Mages Guild resides a display case, containing uniquely sized and colored soul gems. The cabinet requires a key to open, but the key is nowhere to be found. Console commands can be used to unlock the case, but the gems cannot be added to the inventory or moved.
Souls[]
Lesser[] |
|---|
| Boar |
| Brown Bear |
| Clannfear Runt |
| Ghost |
| Goblin Skirmisher |
| Horse |
| Imp |
| Scamp |
| Skeleton Guardian |
| Timber Wolf |
| Trolls |
| Zombie |
Trapping a soul[]
To use Soul Trap without having to cast the actual spell, it is possible to enchant a weapon with the Soul Trap spell for a one-second duration. This second is sufficient in case the enchanted weapon is used to give the killing blow. If the weapon has a damaging enchantment of more than 1 second, the soul trap effect has to last longer. For example, a sword dealing five seconds of fire damage would need a soul trap effect of at least 6 seconds. An alternative method that can be used by spellcasters would be to create a spell that deals damage and to supplement this spell with a soul trap spell. Again, the soul trap duration would need to exceed that of the other spell by at least one second. Lastly, it is also possible to soul trap creatures that the player has conjured. Actively killing the creature is required however; simply letting the spell expire is not sufficient to trap the soul.
Another easy way to fill soul gems is to get a Black Soul Gem and duplicate it with a duplicate items glitch. If you have the Staff of Worms (dropped by Mannimarco during the "Confront the King" quest), go to one of the Bandit or Marauder camps around Cyrodiil. Kill all of the Bandits/Marauders except for one. Soul Trap this one, and kill it. Then, use the Staff of Worms to reanimate a dead bandit. Wait a few seconds, then Soul Trap it and kill it. It will count as a humanoid soul. Continue this process for as long as you like.
Locations in the Wizard's Tower plug-in[]
An easy place to pick up soul gems are the vault guards in Frostcrag Spire if the Wizard's Tower plug-in is installed. All guards have a soul value of Greater and respawn in three in-game days.
Bugs[]
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This section contains bugs related to Soul Gem (Oblivion). Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:
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- There is a known bug in which all soul gems in a stack will be filled with the soul if a follower absorbs the soul of a creature through a weapon with the soul trap enchantment and has the appropriate soul gem in his or her inventory.