I love detect life spells, I really do. They are one of the few spells that really make me feel like a wizard when I use them.

But here's a thought:
How many times have you shot a dear and gone looking for the body, never to find it? Or an imp, a wolf, or even a mountain lion? These animal corpses are very hard to find if you kill them in a grassy area, especially if you kill them with a bow that sends them skittering off into the weeds. Why do I bother to look? I want my arrows back, or a pelt for money or trophy, or perhaps I'm collecting ingredients like imp gall or venison. There are reasons that go beyond just RP.

Or how about this, has anyone ever sniped an NPC from a distance, then gone to try and loot the body, never to find it?

Or how about the situation that I love most:
I gather up a whole pack of animals, wolves usually (because I have a wolf pack mod), then run through a bandit camp and become invisible. The ensuing battle is entirely too much fun. I love to run around and strike a foe or two here and there and watch the bandits fall one by one.

Almost invariably, though, there is at least one bad guy, usually the one with the most expensive gear, that falls somewhere in the grass and is never found.

So I propose: Detect Death.
A spell that highlights the dead bodies of NPCs and animals that are nearby. A little glow to let me know where in the heck that body finally ended up.

Thoughts?

Well if it was just for sniping with a bow I would suggest detect arrow, but that wouldn't help with those who snipe with fire balls

Its a great idea!

However it's dealt with if it's better than Oblivion it would be something. I always toggled grass (using the command console on PC) to find bodies and weapons after a battle which was ok but even so there were times when I'd run down a hill chasing a bouncing rolling glass battle axe of awesomeness (OK it probably wasn't that good in reality but it was in my imagination!) only to have it disappear through the landscape and no doubt into the void where lost weapons go to die. This has to be sorted out in Skyrim.

yes, yes and yes. Would make looking for that random troll I killed in the forest alot eaier and it would make sense to the lore with detect. Would also help finding undead too which is always a plus. I hate sneaky quiet skeletons.

I think its a good idea I hated searching threw grass it was redundant and insane to search threw a wide spread area to search one body. I like the detect spells as well the magic system does not need to just revolve around shooting fireballs.

It'd be cool if this was how you detected the undead as well. Like skeletons and zombies and stuff.

I can certainly see the usefulness in this spell. I can't remember the number of times I've grumbled over never finding the body that rolled into the grass. Cool idea.

What really aggravated me was when the item (sword, shield, whatever it was) was sent flying into the hinter. A body, at least, is a large thing, a sword is not. I remember once accidentally dropping a helmet I wanted to keep instead of the one I didn't, it spun off down this hill into what must have the thickest clump of grass and shrubs in the world. I spent what felt like forever searching for that thing. Never did find it.

However, a "Find Treasure" spell doesn't sound appealing, only more than a tad ridiculous. I can at least think of good, solid reasons for "Detect Corpse," some can even be vaguely lore-worthy. Necromancers wanting to easily find new stock; bandits or perhaps soldiers looking for either fallen comrades or the dead enemy they want to loot.

How about "Detect (Un)Dead," for what the name obviously implies, and add on to "Detect Life" in such a way that it can find your kills by changing the color of the glow produced, as if it's detecting the fading life force of the creature that is no longer renewing said force?

Yea, a detect item spell would be a little too cheap, even for my taste. When I can't find an item, I usually just write it off as the cost of doing business. Corpses, though, are big and shouldn't be that hard to find in the weeds. Not only that but, like you said, there are plenty of valid reasons that such a spell might even exist in the lore. Necromancers, soldiers looking for their dead and dying, etc. It seems to make at least some sense.

redundant:

–adjective
1.
characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas; prolix: a redundant style.
2.
being in excess; exceeding what is usual or natural: a redundant part.
3.
having some unusual or extra part or feature.


I dont think its very superfluous not to be able to find things. I also think this is why people shouldnt repeat buzzwords without googling a dictionary.

On topic: Im told that on pc players could just turn down the scenery, remove the grass etc, in order to find things.
For console players like me this wasnt possible. The physics in Oblivion coupled with the high grass meant that often I lost stuff. They just rolled away and I never saw them again.
Once I lost goldbrand because it was knocked out of my hand.

Some sort of fix for this would be handy, and I suppose a spell to detect the recently deceased would help.
But then we would still need a way to find items we accidentally dropped, knocked over or that got knocked out of our hands.
Possibly the best way would be if console players as well as pc players had the option to turn certain parts of the scenery off.

The unusual feature of forcing you to struggle to find and chase objects for miles rolling down the hill and in grass I know the words meaning, and I think that is the "excess" it was a waste of time. I played on console so I could not delete the grass, there is no need to be rude.

I guess if they had a mini-map (More advanced that oblivion's quest-compass device) it would have a faded gray square like on red dead redemption, I think it worked very well to locate corpses. That's what I would do anyway.

Im sorry, I wasnt trying to be rude. Maybe Im just annoyed with the word redundant as a buzzword. Im not a believer in trimming the fat. I like to cook, and everyone who cooks knows the fat is where the taste comes from.
In a game such as this a lot of things are going to be not needed to advance in the game and a lot of things might overlap. And that is fine. Its great even, because it increases the games experience and replayability.

Secondly, an unintended game feature is not redundant, in the way that having more than one model of clothing or more than one way to solve a quest are. Its something annoying and accidental, not something that was the intention.

Well shouldn't it be detect heat? Life is a good idea but the body loses heat gradually not straight away after death. The body maintains or tries to maintain temperatures of 36.1 to 37.1 degrees celcius, a minute after being shot I doubt if it would drop so much that you could not detect - but you never know with Skyrims snow covered terrain. Life would be easier to make so I'm all for that.

Detect Enchantment, from Morrowind?

Your ok please dont be annoyed with me I want Skyrim bursting with content I just dont want redundant task like searching for a glass shortsword or dagger for 10 to 15 minates to find an object to sell that gets on my nerves adding senseless repetition where there need not be any at all in a long game. I want content that means something detail to land and story and extra things to explore with a detailed world compared to Morrowind. I dont think adding meaningless things enhance or add to the experiance they should add meaningful things like charater interactions and the like if they want to beef up the content with something like searching the added time to artificially lengthen the experiance. I dont want a trimming the fat like in Dragon Age 2 its a great game but the system in Origins was better I like the extra fat if you will but not searching threw grass.

An intended or unintended feature is redundant if its something as menial as searching threw grass area for 30 minates or finding that one extra coin in Mario.

We are in full agreement then
Lets share a http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/3943/fishystickcf7.jpg

Cheers mate. :foodndrink:

Yep, grass is pretty and all but when I can't find the bandit I just made into a pin cushion because the damn grass is hiding him/her I get upset.

Yeah I got mad and blasted spells everywhere I felt the pain as well. :sadvaultboy:

know the slopes and where they fall and you can easily predict where they will ultimately end up

I think detect life should show cooler colors for the recently deceased and warmer colors for the living. Recently deceased should still have a color considering body temps take a while to diminish.