This thread is created because I'm wondering if there's a way to detect what enchantments or spells/effects npc's have on them before you attack. I'm trying to play dead is dead with this character, but I feel cheated when a scenario like this happens. "i sneak up behind a person and cast my spell that kills 85% of all creatures with one hit at my level. I cast, and fall over dead having just 1 hit myself, only to realize that that the npc was lucky enough to have spawned with a 7% reflect spell on his greaves which procced on my attack."

I have never died to an npc but have gotten unlucky enough to have that happen on 2 separate occasions and it is kind of ruining the dead is dead game play for me. So thats it. Any way to sense or see what kind of equipment npc's have on?

not really, i think you'll just have to carefully examine an enemy before you attack, if they have an outline of purple or white e.t.c then they probably have enchanted equipment.

There are spells in the less annoying magic mod for pc that lets you see what resistences enemies have.
But generic item pop ups are just more random to predict, but I would suggest heavy armours are more likely to have reflect / absorb effects (at least everytime I play it seems they do ).
As hazmick kindly pointed out the shimmer, a magenta colour for mysticism I believe may shroud the bearers of such items.
I do not play dead is dead, but I would presume the small chance of this accuring outside of "bosses" would just be a part of that playstyle.
Just as getting knocked down and swarmed just because you did not scout out the area first would be.

Honestly, I have to say that if you're relying on a one-hit-kill spell, that's just the risk you have to take. It's like using a rocket-launcher in an FPS-- usually it'll work fine, but sometimes it'll blow up in your face and kill you. That's just the way it goes, and if you want to avoid that, don't use the rocket-launcher unless you're sure it's safe to do so. Same goes for the one-hit-kill spell.

Beyond that though, yes, you should be able to see a faint glow around an NPC that's wearing enchanted armor, and yes, the color for reflect is a sort of magenta/purplish. Though it should be noted that if they have more than one enchantment, you might not necessarily see that color, so if you see any glow at all, you should probably be wary.

Wow, that all makes me glad my character is an archer/illusionist. Her arrows and mind control spells never get reflected. In fact it was only from listening to friends that she learned that clannfears have reflect damage.

Well, any spell can be reflected, but some just don't effect the PC, you know?

Never knew Clannfears have reflect damage, but that's probably because I never try to attack them melee (or anything else, for that matter). Reflect spell is more of a problem for me, but more of a tedious issue than deadly (usually, anyway).

I'd agree about strategy mentioned. Also, you could add Dispel on Self at equal strength to your 1-hit kill spell. Of course, this removes all spells on you, too, such as fortifies, etc, but it prevents you from being killed if the spell is reflected back at you (touch spells only, though).

Get a high "Resist Magic" effect going on yourself. A Breton with the Mundane Ring is immune to his/her reflected spells/enchantments for example.

I thought about getting some resist magic, but for the character i am roleplaying there's just nothing doing. He's a high Elf born under the apprentic with level 4 vampirism. let's just say he doesn't like fire O.o

My first thought is to abandon the one-hit spell, as gpstr suggested, in favor of a milder, two- or three-hit spell.

My second is ... hmmm ... it might be time to rethink the dead is dead strategy.

IME, dead is dead is an interesting but extremely difficult roleplay. Last year I tried this several times, after hearing others describe how much fun it was right on this forum , but I never got beyond level 12 to 15 (IIR) (see my sig for the mods I play). It does force the player take full advantage of every single resource. It's a challenge, but often to the point of being aggravating. Anytime a roleplay becomes aggravating, it's time to rethink the roleplay.

Without some limitation, I, too, find the game a bit boring. When dead is dead didn't work out, I came up with my own solution: 9 Lives. (You can use any number other than 9, of course; I now use a random number generator and pick a number between 1 and 20, and that's the number of lives I get). I keep track of them meticulously, with a .txt file on my desktop, and when I die, I raise the number (0/12 becomes 1/12 and so on). Basically, it allows me the flexibility not to have to abandon a character just because I didn't see that gargoyle in the corner.

But if you really want to do this and use that spell, you'll need to find/enchant reflect/absorb spells/armor/clothing. Resist magic and dispel on self are your friends. Also, you might want to keep a few fortify health spells around just in case you're not to sure ....

Good luck.

~ Dani ~

Well I can tell you wether their wearing a ring of shadows .............well sort of.....

I hate reflect spells.. ...

As a full blown mage, with my only form of attacks being magical, i hate going up against enemies and having my super-duper spell backfire

Dispel can be added to custom "on Touch" spells to effectively create reflect-proof spells. Adding Dispel on Self at the end of the spell will cancel the spell's effects if an enemy reflects the spell back at you.

My general rule, is never cast your awesome one-hit killing spell on Mended Flesh Atronachs and Liches (not the Nether Liches, the other scary ones). You appreciate how powerful your spell is when you kill yourself with it. Use weapons and arrows, only using magic to buff yourself.

With that much vulnerability, your character is already dead. They are just looking for a place to decompose.

Against undead mages and liches turn undead + summons beat all threats with my playstyle.
Add in close combat, power attacks, and casting reflect spells / using enchanted items on yourself.
Then not much can go wrong, it may but thats oblivion for you.
Really roleplaying does not mean only having one tactic, just avoiding those that do not fit.

if you're not sure then try this...when you get to where you can make spells make a spell that does damage and also dispels on target

qft