Morrowind offers adventurers numerous paths to power, but few are as potent and versatile as enchanting. While deity-level spells can obliterate foes with raw damage or summon armies, the true magic for the discerning adventurer lies in imbuing items with extraordinary abilities. This guide unveils the secrets of enchanting in Morrowind, transforming you from a novice spellcaster to a master enchanter wielding artifacts of immense power.
Before diving into the enchanting arts, let’s briefly touch upon the deity-tier spells mentioned in other guides, and how enchanting provides a more adaptable and readily available form of magic:
- Offensive Power: Spells like ‘Leech’ and ‘God’s X’ deliver devastating damage. Enchanted items can replicate and even surpass this, offering on-demand bursts of elemental or magical force.
- Debilitation: ‘God’s Wither’ cripples enemies by reducing their core attributes. Enchanted weapons can achieve similar effects with each strike, weakening opponents with every blow.
- Summoning Minions: ‘Goon Squad X’ spells conjure allies to fight by your side. While enchanting cannot directly summon creatures, it can provide powerful offensive and defensive capabilities, making you a force multiplier on the battlefield.
- Turning Enemies: ‘Defector III’ temporarily sways enemies to your cause. Enchanted items offer a more reliable form of control, allowing you to paralyze or command foes directly.
- Crowd Control: ‘Clouded Mind/Ceasefire’ pacifies opponents. Enchanted items can provide similar effects like calming or even blinding enemies, disrupting their attacks and strategies.
- Defense against Magic: ‘Event Horizon’ offers spell absorption. Enchanted armor and shields can grant constant or on-demand spell resistance and absorption, making you a fortress against magical assaults.
- Physical Defense: ‘Fortify Armour’ and ‘Chim Dodge Reflexes’ enhance physical resilience. Enchanted armor can provide permanent or triggered sanctuary and agility boosts, making you incredibly difficult to hit.
- Invisibility: 100% Chameleon spells offer complete stealth. Enchanted items can grant this same level of invisibility, allowing for unparalleled infiltration and strategic advantage.
Enchanting in Morrowind comes in three distinct forms, each offering unique advantages: Constant Effect, Cast On Strike, and Cast When Used. Understanding these types is key to unlocking the full potential of magical items.
Constant Effect Enchantments: The Everlasting Power
Constant Effect enchantments, as the name suggests, provide a permanent magical effect to the wearer. These are the most potent enchantments, continuously bestowing their benefits without needing activation. Creating Constant Effect items requires powerful souls, typically from Golden Saints, Ascended Sleepers, or even the Tribunal Gods, necessitating Soul Gems with a charge of 400 or more. These items, while expensive to create or rare to find, offer unparalleled passive bonuses, constantly fortifying your attributes, skills, or providing unique abilities.
Cast On Strike Enchantments: Weaponizing Magic
Cast On Strike enchantments are exclusive to weapons, triggering their magical effect whenever the weapon strikes an opponent. These enchantments transform your weapon into a conduit of magic, delivering spells with each successful hit. Similar to Cast When Used items, they draw upon a charge based on the Soul Gem used in their creation. Cast On Strike enchantments are ideal for warriors and adventurers who prefer direct combat, adding magical damage or debilitating effects to their melee attacks.
Cast When Used Enchantments: Magic at Your Fingertips
Cast When Used enchantments are a hallmark of Morrowind, offering a unique and versatile way to wield magic. These enchantments allow you to cast On Touch or On Target spells directly from an item, consuming charge with each use. Unlike Magicka, the charge in enchanted items regenerates slowly over time, at approximately 3 charge points per minute. This regeneration makes Cast When Used items a sustainable source of magical power, especially for those who manage their charges wisely.
The beauty of Cast When Used items lies in their accessibility and ease of use. They require no skill training in magic schools, making them universally accessible to any character build. This accessibility is why some consider them to overshadow traditional spellcasting, especially when an adventurer accumulates a collection of powerful enchanted items.
Alt Text: Ring of Fire Storm, a powerful enchanted ring in Morrowind, demonstrating Cast When Used magic.
While Cast When Used items require no spellcasting skill, a high Enchant skill does reduce the charge cost per use for both Cast When Used and Cast On Strike items. Investing in Enchant skill, therefore, can significantly enhance the efficiency and sustainability of enchanted items. Training Enchant skill can be a slow process, and seeking out trainers like Ajira (up to skill level 48) and the master trainer Qorwynn of Indoranyon (though he is typically hostile and may require calming spells or items) is highly recommended. Reaching an Enchant skill of 110 reduces the charge cost of all Cast When Used and On Strike items to a mere 1 charge per cast, maximizing their utility.
If you seek to craft your own magical arsenal, creating Cast When Used items is a rewarding endeavor. For those looking for pre-made power, Morrowind offers a collection of exceptional Cast When Used items, many of which are associated with House Telvanni quests:
Ring of Fire Storm: This ring unleashes Fire Damage of 1-50 points for 10 seconds in a 20ft radius on touch, with approximately 5 uses per charge. Found as rare loot in Bandit Caves and as a reward for the morally ambiguous Slave Rebellion quest for Therana’s Mouth in House Telvanni (obtained by killing the slave leader Elledal-Lei). This ring is obtainable even at level 1 and is remarkably potent, capable of dealing significant area-of-effect damage. Be mindful of Reflect effects on enemies.
Ring of Toxic Cloud: Similar to the Ring of Fire Storm, but dealing Poison Damage of 2-60 points for 10 seconds in a 20ft radius on touch (approximately 5 uses). Also found in Bandit Caves and as a reward from the Slave Rebellion quest (obtained by eliminating all slaves). Even more potent than the Ring of Fire Storm, this ring can dispatch formidable foes like Golden Saints and Gaenor in mere moments. Reflect is also a consideration.
Alt Text: Ring of Toxic Cloud, an even more potent enchanted ring in Morrowind, showcasing powerful Poison Damage via Cast When Used.
Vampiric Ring: This ring drains life and stamina, casting Absorb Health & Fatigue 20-30 points for 10 seconds on touch (approximately 2 uses). Found on a Skeleton War Wizard atop Ald Redaynia in the Sheogorad region, near the Bittercup. A powerful self-healing and stamina-restoring item, though with a lower charge capacity compared to the Fire Storm and Toxic Cloud rings.
Amulet of Admonition: This amulet casts Paralyze for 30 seconds on target and Frost Damage 1-2 points for 30 seconds on target (approximately 5 uses). Reward for completing the ‘find me 3 books’ quest for Baladas Demnevanni of House Telvanni. It boasts the longest duration Paralysis enchantment available in the game, rendering enemies helpless for extended periods.
Amulet of Shadows + Ring of Surroundings: A powerful combination for stealth. The Amulet of Shadows (Chameleon 80% for 60 seconds, found southwest of Ald Velothi after Synette Jeline’s ‘lost ring’ quest) and the Ring of Surroundings (Chameleon 20-30% for 30 seconds, reward from Larrius Varro’s quest at Fort Moonmoth or in a locked chest in the Dren Plantation Tower Shack) together provide 100% Chameleon when used simultaneously. This combination grants complete invisibility through Cast When Used items.
Aryon’s Dominator: This artifact offers Command Creature 15 points for 120 seconds on target and Command Humanoid 15 points for 120 seconds on touch (approximately 2 uses). Reward for the Mages Guild Monopoly quest for Master Aryon of House Telvanni. Useful for controlling creatures and NPCs, though its limited charges at low Enchant skill may require skill fortification before use.
Aryon’s Helper: Summons a Flame Atronach for 120 seconds, a Frost Atronach for 90 seconds, and a Storm Atronach for 60 seconds (approximately 5 uses). Reward for the ‘Recruit a Mouth’ quest for Master Aryon of House Telvanni. Capable of summoning a trio of powerful Atronachs simultaneously, although their close-quarters combat can lead to friendly fire.
Ring of Equity: This ring grants Spell Absorption 100% for 30 seconds and Reflect 70% for 30 seconds (approximately 2 uses). Reward for the ‘Ring of Equity’ quest for Fast Eddie, your House Telvanni Mouth. The 100% Spell Absorption negates the Reflect effect, providing complete immunity to spells for a short duration. High charge cost necessitates Enchant skill fortification for frequent use.
For adventurers seeking powerful Cast On Strike weapons in the base game, consider these notable examples:
Black Hands Dagger: Delivers Absorb Health 10-25 points for 30 seconds on strike and Blind 10-50% for 30 seconds on strike (approximately 10 uses). Reward for eliminating Severia Magia for Eno Hlaalu, Grandmaster of the Morag Tong. Unrivaled in ‘total damage output per strike’ among pre-made On Strike enchantments, though custom enchantments can achieve higher damage per second.
Alt Text: Black Hands Dagger, a Morag Tong artifact with powerful Absorb Health and Blind On Strike enchantments in Morrowind.
Mace of Molag Bal: This heavy mace casts Absorb Strength 1-15 points for 30 seconds on strike and Absorb Magicka 1-20 points for 30 seconds on strike (approximately 10 uses). Reward for defeating Menta Na in Kora Dur cave for the Daedric Prince Molag Bal. While dealing reasonable blunt damage, its primary strength lies in absorbing approximately 300 Magicka over 30 seconds per strike, making it an excellent supplementary weapon for mages proficient in Blunt Weapons, allowing them to drain enemy Magicka reserves with ease.
Conclusion: Embrace the Magic of Enchanting
Enchanting in Morrowind is more than just imbuing items with magical effects; it’s about crafting your own personalized arsenal of power. Whether you prefer the constant benefits of perpetually enchanted items, the magical strikes of enchanted weapons, or the on-demand spells of Cast When Used items, Morrowind’s enchanting system offers unparalleled customization and power progression. Explore the world, seek out powerful souls, and master the art of enchanting to truly become a force to be reckoned with in Morrowind.
