I'm still procrastinating on creating an primarily mage character. Couple more questions on spells.

1. I don't see anywhere that describes how long a Ward spell lasts (lesser ward, greater ward etc.)
2. When casting spells like Calm, which says creatures won't attack for 30 seconds, does this hold true for the entire 30 seconds even if I attack them?
3. When casting spells like Fear, after fleeing for 30 seconds will creatures return to fight?

Thanks!

I don't know. Have you tried them to see how they work?

For the first one. They last as long as you have the magicka for it. Or if a hostile spell breaks it.

Ward spells last as long as you cast the spell, the ward is broken by an incoming spell, or until you run out of magicka, whichever comes first.

If you attack a creature that you've cast Calm on, the spell breaks and you'll be attacked.

As far as Fear goes, it depends on how far the creature has run away from you when the spell wears off. If the creature is outside of its aggro range, it typically won't come back.

>> If you attack a creature that you've cast Calm on, the spell breaks and you'll be attacked <<

So, if attacking breaks spells like Calm, why would I use that spell? To get away from a fight as opposed to fighting?

Thanks.

Pretty much - that's what I use it for. Sometimes I just don't feel like fighting after I've dealt with a couple of dozen cave bears and another one appears. You could also use it to break off an attack long enough to cast a healing spell on yourself or down a couple of potions, and then attack and get back into the fight

I've used Pacify (Calm's bigger brother) a couple of times to fetch items from Bandit-infested ruins without killing a single Bandit. I could have easily just massacred them all, but I wanted to see if it I could complete the objective peacefully.