Spellmaking (Morrowind)

Spellmaking allows the creation of custom spells with up to eight magical effects from multiple schools of magic. This service is not limited to members of the Mages Guild, and is offered by numerous people of various classes and factions throughout Morrowind. Unlike enchanting, spellmaking is not considered to be a skill and can not be learned, or performed independently by the Nerevarine.

Acquiring effects
Spellmakers can craft spells with any effect from any school of magic (regardless of their magical expertise), but they do not have libraries of magical effects available. Only the client's known effects can be used to create a spell. Prior to retaining the services of a spellmaker to create a custom spell, the Nerevarine must first learn a spell consisting of a desired magical effect.

Spells can be purchased from merchants, or occasionally learned during quests. A source spell's magnitude, duration, and other details are inconsequential to spellmaking, a known spell must simply consist of the desired effect. Note that possessing an item that is enchanted with a desired effect is not equivalent to knowing a spell with that effect.

Interface
Spellmaking can be initiated by speaking with a spellmaker and selecting Spellmaking from the list of available services in the top-right corner. An interface box appears containing an area to name the spell, a list of known effects on the left, a list of selected effects on the right, as well as the spell's Magicka cost, estimated chance of success (varies with Fatigue), and the purchase price.

Placing the cursor over a magical effect displays its description, while selecting it opens a second interface box. The effect's range, minimum magnitude, maximum magnitude, duration, and area are controlled here and must be set individually for each effect. The maximum duration for a custom spell is 1,440 seconds (24 minutes), and the maximum area permitted is 50 feet. As an effect's parameters are modified, the spell's Magicka cost, chance of success, and purchase price can be seen updating in the first interface box.

Up to eight effects can be added and a name must be provided before purchasing the spell. A spell's purchase price is based on its potency, and is not negotiable or influenced by disposition, Mercantile, Personality, reputation, or Speechcraft.

Tips

 * The Magicka cost of a ranged (target) effect is 150% of an effect cast on touch.


 * Unlike, creating a spell that uses two similar effects of a lower magnitude rather than one effect of a greater magnitude does not impact spellmaking. (e.g. 5 points Fire Damage plus 5 points Frost Damage is equal to 10 points Fire or Frost Damage in regard to Magicka cost, chance of success, and purchase price.)


 * The Magicka cost and purchase price of an instantaneous effect is higher, and the chance of success lower, than an effect distributed over time. This is demonstrated in the example below, purchasing 20 points of Damage Health using a character with 40 Destruction, 50 Luck, and 40 Willpower:


 * Weakness effects must be active prior to inflicting the associated damage. If these effects are cast simultaneously, such as by a spell consisting of Weakness to Shock and Shock Damage, the weakness will become active but not be applied to the damage dealt when it is first cast. (If the spell is cast again while the weakness effect is still active it will be applied.) For maximum efficiency, weakness and damage effects should be cast separately, allowing a couple of seconds between castings.


 * Spells which defend against magical attacks adhere to an effect hierarchy. Spell Absorption takes priority over Reflect, and Reflect takes priority over Resist Magicka (or elemental resistances). If a spell consisting of all three effects is cast, they are processed in a linear and sequential manner. An incoming magical attack first has a chance of being absorbed. If it is not absorbed, it has a chance of being reflected. If it is not reflected, resistances are applied. These effects do not directly combine, or interact. A spell consisting of 50 points Spell Absorption and 50 points Reflect is not equivalent to 100 points of either effect, and does not provide 100% protection. To calculate protection when combining these effects, the following formula can be used:
 * % Protection = 100 - ((100 - Spell Absorption mag.) × Reflect mag. × 0.01)


 * When creating a custom spell containing effects from multiple schools of magic, note that it is exclusively the Nerevarine's lowest applicable skill that is used to calculate the chance of successfully casting the spell. For example, if the Nerevarine has 24 Alteration, 13 Destruction, 37 Mysticism, and creates a spell requiring those skills, it is considered a Destruction spell and 13 is used for the ensuing calculations. As the Nerevarine's skills evolve over time, the spell's school and chance of success are automatically updated to reflect the Nerevarine's lowest applicable skill at the moment.


 * Factors that affect the chance of successfully casting a spell include its Magicka cost, being inflicted with Sound, and the caster's skill, Fatigue, Luck, and Willpower attributes:
 * % Cast Success = [(Skill × 2) + (Willpower × 0.2) + (Luck × 0.1) - (Magicka cost + Sound mag.)] × [(Fatigue ÷ Max. Fatigue × 0.5) + 0.75]

List of spellmakers
The following is a list of Spellmakers in and expansion packs.

 * This person's services are available to faction members of a sufficient rank only.