Cast When Strikes

The following spells will be cast whenever the item strikes its target. This means it won't work on anything other than weapons (and maybe gauntlets in Hand-to-Hand). Comments are the spell description from the game manual plus any personal observations from using the effects.

Paralysis (1620 EP’s): "Medium level chance of immobilizing the target for the duration of the spell." Paralyzed targets are great opportunities to develop pickpocketing and backstabbing skills. Paralyzed targets are moved backwards each time you strike them in melee, so you'll have to move forward to re-engage them after a couple of hits.

Hand of Sleep (780 EP’s): "Destroys stamina from a target with a successful strike." Might be a good effect for a missile weapon, but why bother to damage fatigue when you're in melee and the critter is beating on you? You’re probably going to kill it before it goes to sleep in front of you.

Vampiric Touch (1380 EP’s): "Transfers health from a target to the caster by touch." I haven't had much success with the duration and, as a spell effect, the target gets a saving throw. I find "Vampiric Effect" to be much more workable (and at a cheaper cost, too).

Magica Leech (930 EP’s): "Transfers inherent magica energy from a target to the caster on a successful strike." Doesn't work if the target has no magica (animals, some undead, some humanoids) and should read, “Drains magica,” rather than “Transfers magica.” If you're going to use this effect, use it in a missile weapon since the time to worry about a spell caster is BEFORE he's close enough to zap you.

Hand of Decay (1830 EP’s): "Low to medium-level chance of disintegrating a target with a successful strike." Cheaper than "Sphere of Negation" with slightly better chances of success. If you want to put a disintegration spell into a weapon, this is a good one to choose.

Wildfire (1020 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting medium-level damage and then low-level damage as the fire continues to burn." The continuous damage is nice if you can put this into a bow and catch the critter at range.

Ice Storm (1420 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which explodes on contact, delivering medium-level damage to all within range." Very bad news. This is an area effect spell and you're within the area of effect when it goes off. Much better to put this one into a missile weapon and catch the critter(s) at range.

Fire Storm (840 EP’s): "Creates a fiery aura around caster, delivering medium-level damage to all within its boundaries." A handy effect when they're ganging up on you (it's an area spell). The "Continuous Damage" part doesn't work very well on my system.

Ice Bolt (990 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which inflicts medium- to high-level damage to a single target." Not effective against critters like Frost Daedra or Ice Atronachs. Decent damage at higher levels and Continuous Damage really needs to be in a missile weapon, not a melee weapon.

Wizard’s Fire (480 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting low-to medium-level damage." Not effective against fire-based critters. Slightly lower damage than Ice Bolt (might be a mistake in the spell file, though). Again, Continuous Damage effects are more useful in ranged weapons rather than melee weapons.

Sphere of Negation (4230 EP’s): "Creates a sphere around the caster which may disintegrate any sentient form trapped in its radius." An expensive enchantment and one that is best NOT used on a weapon since it will be cast each time the weapon strikes and, consequently, wear out the item faster. But if you have the GP's to spare, it's a great effect, even if the chance of success is a little lower than "Hand of Decay".

Energy Leech (1260 EP’s): "Transfers stamina from target to caster with a successful strike." Handy when you need to avoid resting. Best if combined with another effect or used in a small weapon that can be equipped and unequipped quickly.