Hi all.

I must admit, I don't know much about Elder Scroll lore. Just some that I have picked up from Oblivion and Skyrim. But it is starting to interest me more and more, and I'm always willing to learn.

Anyway, about soul gems. From what I have figured out, you capture the souls of the beings you slay, with a enchant, or magic spell. Correct me if I'm wrong.

So my question is, or maybe not a question more of an observation. Why is it not considered evil to do this? Sure, animals might not matter as much, but to capture the soul of a human? Denying her right
to enter Sovngarde?

In Skyrim, to capture souls seems very accepted. It's just how you do enchants. But from I gather it seems to be a very evil practice. Something a demon, or a necromancer does.

What do you all think? I would like to hear some RP complications about this as well, if you play a good character / paladin?

/Thomas

Well if you play a "good" character I'd suggest just avoiding black soul gems and trapping human souls. Animals I don't see as a big deal.

You can't capture the souls of people (human or otherwise) in a soul gem...

Or, look at it as capturing a soul's energy upon death, and not the actual self of the person that died. I.e., you're taking energy from the spirit leaving the body, but the soul/spirit/self itself moves on to the afterlife.

EDIT: Edited to put part of the text in spoiler tags.

Using Black Soul gems(which Necromancers use) is considered "evil" as they are the only soul gems capable of capturing a human/elven/beast race soul.

They had a debate in the lore section about this not long ago, if i remember right the consensus was as long as it isn't intelligent or humanoid it's ok :goodjob:

IIRC black soul gems and necromancy were once a taboo but by the time of skyrim has become an accepted practice.

Black soul gems are the only ones able to contain a human soul so that kinda implies a bit of evil or darkness to capturing one.

A more interesting note is that the very soul is used to enchant stuff. What happens when the enchantment is depleted?

And yes, when it says "soul trap", it actually means "soul trap", as in "capturing the ghost of whatever it is you slay". Black Soul Gem is commonly associated with necromancy, and necromancy is a big no no in Tamriel.

Most of tamrial i think it was legal in cyrodil

Ah, I see.

Did not know about black gems.

But even if it is just animal soul you capture, it still seems kinda evil. I mean, they must have a soul after all if you are able to capture it.
Maybe the animals have something similiar as Sovngarde?

Sure, people don't seem to care about animals in Skyrim, but you are still harvesting souls, if you get my drift.

truthfully, bethesda refuses to make any definitive in-game information on the matter. all we know is that you cant soul trap if arkay doesnt want you to without a black soul gem to work around his blessing, which he gives to the intelligent races. we dont know if there is a poor confused soul screaming to get out of your soul gem or if its just some kind of generic energy.

Dpends on the souls, Id rather trap the souls of the evil and mailcous than the innocent any day. Im very picky about my use with Black Soul gems, I prefer capturing the souls of Vampires or bandits Black soul gems.

I had a collection of soul gems with the ash vampires from morrowind in my tower.

Not in Third Era. There's a reason the Archmage died for no reason (see what I did thar?)

To slay the bandit is good enough for me. Capturing the soul of someone, seems.. nightmarish. Being trapped inside some kinda of limbo, forever. Or maybe you vanish after you have been "used up" for an enchant.

from a quest in skyrim it seems you actually absorbe a soul into the gem, the creature you managed to capture only exists in the gem, but from past lore iv only heard of umbra behaving this way, maybe it was

I use the souls of bandits to enchant boots that I sell to common traders, forever to be trampled on. They deserve it.

Ah ok for some reason i was thinking it was just traven and a mage guild thing rather then an actual law :sweat:

In my view there is not problem for a good character to capture any "soul" that can be captured in a regular soul gem. Because that's not what we typically call a "soul" it's just some sort of life energy.

However, for sentient creatures that need a special soul gem, it may well be evil.

That's not really evil though either. Any morality would depend on how the person or creatures soul you were capturing died. Like in OB where the archmage basically sacrifices himself for the Black Soul Gem. Was that evil?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Souls,_Black_and_White

Noo!! I prefer to think that I not only murdered that wandering farmer but also ripped out his very soul using the darkest of magics and subsequently doomed him to an eternal existence as a pair of magical smithing boots. :hehe:

lol

Well, sorry to spoil your Lovecraftian nightmare-fest. I suppose Bethesda leaves it ambiguous so that you can treat it as acceptable or horribly, horribly eeeeeeee-vil, depending on your character.

The nature of the soul is unknowable. Therefore it is ambiguous. Lore wise. In the end, its neither good or evil.

No.

Fear not good sir. No harm has been done for fortunately my imagination provides me with a thick protective cocoon through which reality's forces can seldom pass. Excepting hunger and fatigue, those dastardly villains.

Animals don't matter?
Do you have a pet sir? If you do, mind if i take his soul and curse him to damnation?