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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Hints

How can I get several grand-level souls early on?

  • 1 of 8: The idea is to make some black soul gems and trap NPCs in them, since they always count as grand-level souls.
  • 2 of 8: Buy some empty grand soul gems from the vendors who sell them.
  • 3 of 8: GLITCH TIP: If the item duplication glitches in the Useful Glitches list still work in the version of the game you're playing, you can just buy one empty grand soul gem and make lots of free duplicates of it.
  • 4 of 8: You then need to be able to cast the Soul Trap spell somehow.
  • 5 of 8: One way is to buy the standard Soul Trap spell from one of the people who sell it (see the Spell Finding list) and then practice your Mysticism skill up to 25 (see the Magic Skills Practice Tips) so you can cast the spell or enchant a weapon with it.
  • 6 of 8: Another way is to do Mages Guild quests until you can make a staff for yourself, and have it be a Soul Trap staff. That way it doesn't matter what your Mysticism skill is -- just use the staff to cast Soul Trap. (However, making a Paralyze staff is so useful, it would be better to practice your Mysticism up so that you don't need a Soul Trap staff.)
  • 7 of 8: Go to one of the necromancer altars listed in the hints on making black soul gems and convert all of your empty grand soul gems into black soul gems.
  • 8 of 8: Then go into the necromancer lair near the altar you used and soul-trap some of the necros inside in order to fill your new black soul gems with grand-level souls. (You could also use the above glitch tip to duplicate a filled black soul gem once you have one.)