Re: Black soul gems

Is there any way to make black soul gems in Skyrim?

They can be harvested in Geode Veins (I haven't done this yet, but I assume with a pick axe) - The dwemer ruin of Blackreach, below Alftand,  is a good harvesting area.

Thanks. I'll give that a try

There is a shady mage merchant (Enthir) at the College of Winterhold who sells Black Soul Gems and Daedra Hearts (at a premium).

Echo Drive:

There is a shady mage merchant (Enthir) at the College of Winterhold who sells Black Soul Gems and Daedra Hearts (at a premium).

I knew i'd bought some in the past but couldn't remember who. Spent ages trying to find them in shops. Thought it was just some one off thing being able to buy them.

I'll check when Enthir. Hopefully he's got more to sell.

**Possible Spoiler** How do you gain access to Blackreach? I stumbled across it in my adventuring and noticed it was locked down pretty tight.

Lax:

**Possible Spoiler** How do you gain access to Blackreach? I stumbled across it in my adventuring and noticed it was locked down pretty tight.

It's part of the main quest. I'm not sure you can get in there without doing that quest.

What is the difference between black and grand soul gems, aside from appearance?....I remember there was a quest in oblivion about them...and you could only get them by placing grand soul gems in alters in remote locations at midnight on a full moon or something......is there any benefits to them over grand soul gems though?

This is a little of topic, however if you go to Azura Shrine, a mage will ask you to recover the The star of Azura (which is a reusable black soul gem). Just make sure that you return it to Nelacar found in the Frozen Hearth in Winterhold and he will repair it  for you after a small quest and you then have a reusable black soul gem that traps human souls. (Don't return it to Azura as it will only be able to capture non-human souls).

Here's the guild: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Black_Star

There is no main difference aside from bein able to trap human souls, and a much higher resale price.

Hope this isn't too far off topic, but can someone tell me what Soul Gem Fragments are for? I've been collecting these things hoping I can use them for something later. Thx.

I've been wondering the same thing. I have loads in my inventory but am too scared to sell them in case they are needed for a quest.

@Lax - It is accessable while doing the main quest "Elder Knowledge" that is given by Paarthurnax at the Throat of the World.  From there, you will get a special orb that unlocks the way to Black Reach.  It is under Alftand to start.

Zombie Bogan:

What is the difference between black and grand soul gems, aside from appearance?....I remember there was a quest in oblivion about them...and you could only get them by placing grand soul gems in alters in remote locations at midnight on a full moon or something......is there any benefits to them over grand soul gems though?

The main difference is that Black Soul Gems can capture humanoid souls, but only humanoid souls.  Other soul gems (Petty, Common, Greater, Grand) only capture creature souls.  This has an advantage as all humanoid souls are considered Grand, where as animal/creature souls scale based on level (weak creatures like a skeever give a petty soul and big creatures like a mammoth give a Grand soul).  As for the fragments they may just be miscellaneous loot (found items such as Broken Steel Sword Hilt as well) or they may be implemented later in some DLC as quest items.  For now I have a pile sitting in a drawer in proudspire manor, they seem to be fairly common in dungeons with spellcasters (usually find them littering tables or near an enchanting table).

This is from IGN about the creatures and their levels of souls. www.ign.com/.../Soul_Gem

That is incorrect. There are multiple entrances into the Black Reach and all of them all accessible outside of the main quest line.

elderscrolls.wikia.com/.../Blackreach

Ughhh I didn't realize that if you only had a grand soul gem in your inventory and you killed some creature with a common or petty soul, it would enter into the grand soul gem.  UGHH!!!  Noo!!!!!!  That's going to cause me a little trouble in battle when I have to consider what I have in my inventory and what kind of soul each creature has.  :(

BizarroMantis:

Ughhh I didn't realize that if you only had a grand soul gem in your inventory and you killed some creature with a common or petty soul, it would enter into the grand soul gem.  UGHH!!!  Noo!!!!!!  That's going to cause me a little trouble in battle when I have to consider what I have in my inventory and what kind of soul each creature has.  :(

The sould will go into the smallest gem that can hold it. This has always been the way sould gems work. You just need to be sure you have them all. In point of fact, it is pointless to have Grand gems unless you are killing mammoths and high level daedra, there aren't many souls to fill them. A cave bear or a sabrecat fill a common.

BizarroMantis:

Ughhh I didn't realize that if you only had a grand soul gem in your inventory and you killed some creature with a common or petty soul, it would enter into the grand soul gem.  UGHH!!!  Noo!!!!!!  That's going to cause me a little trouble in battle when I have to consider what I have in my inventory and what kind of soul each creature has.  :(

Yeah I know it sucks. Bethesda could easily fix this by allowing soul gems to hold multiple souls. What I mean by this is if I trap a petty soul into a grand soul gem, I should be able to trap more petty souls into that same gem until it becomes completely full. Instead of checking for an empty gem, the system should check for available space in all of your gems and prioritize filling those partially filled first. 

Ok I typed up a list from a chart I found:

Grand
Dragon Priest
King Olaf One-Eye
Mammoth
Potema's Remains
Dremora Kynreeve
Ghost


Greater
Giant
Storm Atronach
The Pale Lady
Wispmother
Draugr Death Overlord (either greater or grand)

Wow, I've been killing EVERYTHING with my "Soul Sucker" enchanted weapon.  *cry*

BizarroMantis:

Ughhh I didn't realize that if you only had a grand soul gem in your inventory and you killed some creature with a common or petty soul, it would enter into the grand soul gem.  UGHH!!!  Noo!!!!!!  That's going to cause me a little trouble in battle when I have to consider what I have in my inventory and what kind of soul each creature has.  :(

If you drop the grand soul gem with the lesser/petty soul in it and then pick it up again the gem becomes empty again.

hope this helps

OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH I wish I would have known that before.  THANKS.  

lol Soulsuker, Sorry but I think I might have to use that XD

^ :D

Well....back to using Soul Sucker since I can just empty out the grand soul gems if need be.  Sooooo glad to get that info.  

@LuvRavi - you are correct that there are multiple entrances into Blackreach, however you must have the Attunement Sphere (elderscrolls.wikia.com/.../Attunement_Sphere) to gain access underground.  I believe that Septimus is the only way to get the sphere and he gives it to you during Elder Knowledge and/or Discerning the Transmudane.