While reviewing the spell effects available, I came across a number that are not typically available. But having the power of console I've never had on XBox opens new doors. When I first started playing Oblivion, I did use duplications and other such things, but have come around to the desire to play the game as absolutely glitch or exploit free as I can. While saving itself might be seen in the harshest extremes as cheating, I am generally fine with any method of acquiring things that does not involve console or glitch. Yet there are some few things I feel were not right to have left out. One such is the damage attribute effect, which exists in Morrowind and was created for Oblivion but then the spells were left out. Since the money it would cost could be bribed away as though buying it, I decided adding it with console for an effect I felt should have been included was fine.

But I have the 5th Anniversary Edition which includes Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles, but not the other official plug-ins. Unable to get the spell tomes one, I have no way of acquiring stunted magicka effect. On the uesp pages, the suggestion is made that one way to acquire the effect if not born with the Atronach sign is to catch the disease Astral Vapors. However, I think maybe it meant to acquire the effect period, not for it to show up at the spell making altar. Yet even changing the birthsign through the console command to pull up the menu fails to put the effect into the list. Ordinarily, abilities that have an effect have given it at the altar.

My first question then is whether catching a disease with an effect is actually supposed to offer it at a spell making altar. I have the feeling it is not. Even the one workaround method of getting drain attribute by catching a disease and loading or starting an orc is obviously working around the intended coding.

If not, then why doesn't having the atronach birthsign's ability offer it? And more importantly I guess, how does spell tomes put it into the list? Direct manipulation through the construction set? I'm trying to decide a way to get it that I would not feel is a circumvention of intended game mechanics. I realize the spell tomes plug-in itself altars some aspects and that this very effect and sun damage being available are one such, but getting those plug-ins is my other big issue at the moment. If I had it, I would accept the availability it offers as a legit means. Are there any others? Hope this makes sense. Thanks for any help. Incidentally, I've not dug into the construction set yet, though I definitely intend to do so. I am a programmer and a large part of ordering the PC version when I own the XBox version is exactly this.