Hey guys, how's it going? So, I have some questions about two mods - mostly about Corpse Preparation but also some concerns/curiosity about SkyTweak.

Links for both - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35378/? and http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/33395/?

So, I'll get SkyTweak out of the way. Is this mod one to recommend for the sake of adjusting the power of destruction, telekinesis damage (to make it actually seem useful to throw an option at someone with Telekinesis), etc? Would this also increase the level cap of reanimated corpses with the Conjuration magnitude scaling option? Or, for a Mage should I seek something else?

Now then - the fun part. Corpse Preparation seems amazing - don't get me wrong, but I got a few questions about this mod. For starters, how powerful can the undead created by the rituals be? Are they reliable in combat when your abilities get stronger?

Does soul corruption occur just by handling any black soul gem filled with a black soul? I ask this because according to Souls, Black and White - bits of the caster's soul can enter a gem that's not precisely the size of the gem, but it mentions nothing about handling a soul that fits into the gem. From a lore point of view, does this make sense to have corruption by handling a filled black soul gem?

The mod also mentions you can soul trap your 'reanimated revenants' - does this make sense? I know that Draugr have white souls, as do Skeletons, but how? And why would you even want to soul trap them?

And finally - I'll admit it, I'm one of the necromancer players who enjoys the reanimation of corpses in-game - would use of this mod (again, I ADORE the concept and ideas of this mod but I have my concerns and curiosities about it) make reanimation obsolete? Also, for any lore experts, would there be a difference between the reanimation spells and rituals in terms of functionality - such as the spells themselves only instilling a false spark of life or animating the body with either magicka or a conjured Daedric spirit/vestige, or would the soul be forced back into it - even if you, say, soul trap the poor schmuck before raising them?

Thanks for your time, guys.

So... it's been a while since I've been able to update my mod but I'll try to answer as much as I can from memory.

They can get quite powerful. Typically, they'll inherit their strength from whatever corpse you use. Strong melee bandits will make stronger melee skeleton minions compared to using a mage or just some random peasant. Once you get your stronger with your abilities and have some skills leveled up (I think it's perk based, optionally attribute base), you can create permanent thralls from any level corpse, similar to the master level spell.

Much lore in TES is ambiguous at best and up to interpretation. While in game, black soul gems are a one size fits all, I'd imagine that some souls are much more powerful than others and need different size soul gems. In oblivion, there was the need for a colossal black soul gem. As your necromancy skills improve, corruption from black soul gems (and other sources) becomes less severe or may even have no effect.

This is where I think gameplay conflicts with lore. The draugr have white souls in game, but realistically I would think their souls should be black. I think they're not black because they simply don't have the "NPC" tag on them. Likewise, should dremora have black souls? In game they do, but lorewise... why? The minions you raise up will have black souls (as you bring a human soul, ideally the corpse's owner, back to the minion during the ritual).

Reanimation is still useful. Reanimation spells, in my opinions, are just a quick and dirty method of necromancy. The spells don't last long. They've been altered so that they won't disintegrate the corpse when the spell runs out, but their "flesh health" is weakened. This can effect the type of minion you can raise (or eventually they'll turn to ash when using reanimate spells). If you soul trap a person, you'll need a black soul gem to reanimate him at the altar. Looking quickly through my mod, it looks like soul trapping targets will have no affect on reanimation spells (most likely an oversight on my part).