This mod is no longer supported. Consider it a modder's resource.

[size=+1]1. Rebalancing the level of souls[/size]

In Vanilla Skyrim, when you capture a soul, its size is dependant on the NPCs lvl:

• Petty: lvl 1-3
• Lesser: lvl 4-15
• Common: lvl 16-27
• Greater: lvl 28-37
• Grand: lvl 38+
• Black: "humanoids"
  

I changed it to the following:

• Petty: lvl 1-9
• Lesser: lvl 10-24
• Common: lvl 25-39
• Greater: lvl 40-64
• Grand: lvl 65+
• Black: unchanged
  

Q: Why did you do this?
A: There are many mods that change the level of NPCs or add higher level NPCs to the game. Also, some popular mods make some enemies' levels scale with your level. To keep everything balanced, I decided to raise the level required for each soul, so you won't get filled Grand Soul Gems as early in the game.

[size=+1]2. Soul Gem Dust[/size]

I added a new item to the game, named Soul Gem Dust. It can be used the make forge new Soul Gems, but is also useful as an alchemical ingredient.

You can get Soul Gem Dust by:

• Mining Geode Veins
• Killing Vampires or Necromancers. (Those cheeky fellows tend to carry it around.)
• Grinding down Soul Gems or Soul Gem Shards at a Grain Mill.
  

Breakdown recipes at the Grain Mill:

• Soul Gem Fragment - Petty -> 1x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem Fragment - Lesser -> 2x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem Fragment - Common -> 4x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem Fragment - Greater -> 8x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem Fragment - Grand -> 16x Soul Gem Dust
  

• Soul Gem - Petty - Empty -> 2x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Petty - Filled -> 3x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Lesser - Empty -> 4x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Lesser - Filled -> 6x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Common - Empty -> 8x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Common - Filled -> 12x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Greater - Empty -> 16x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Greater - Filled -> 24x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Grand - Empty -> 32x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Grand - Filled -> 48x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Black - Empty -> 32x Soul Gem Dust
• Soul Gem - Black - Filled -> 48x Soul Gem Dust
  

[size=+1]3. Soul Gem Crafting[/size]

To make new Soul Gems from Shards and Dust, you can use a Soul Gem Forge or a Smelter.

A Smelter will require you to have the Arcane Blacksmith perk + have the "Art of Soul Gem Crafting" Book in your inverntory. (You'll need to find it first though and it's rather rare.) A smelter is easier to get to, but has much higher requirements and a huge cost.

Smelter recipes:

• 16x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Petty - Empty
• 30x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Lesser - Empty
• 50x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Common - Empty
• 70x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Greater - Empty
• 100x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Grand - Empty
• 120x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Black - Empty
  

• 15x Soul Gem Fragment - Petty -> Soul Gem - Petty - Empty
• 15x Soul Gem Fragment - Lesser -> Soul Gem - Lesser - Empty
• 15x Soul Gem Fragment - Common -> Soul Gem - Common - Empty
• 15x Soul Gem Fragment - Greater -> Soul Gem - Greater - Empty
• 15x Soul Gem Fragment - Grand -> Soul Gem - Grand - Empty
• 20x Soul Gem Fragment - Grand -> Soul Gem - Black - Empty
  

Soul Gem Forges are pretty rare, but are much cheaper and have no requirements to craft at.
Depending on your version, they are located at:

• Vanilla version: Archmage Quarters in the College of Winterhold.
• Dragonborn DLC version: next to the Staff Enchanter in Tel Mithryn.
  

Soul Gem Forge recipes:

• 8x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Petty - Empty
• 15x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Lesser - Empty
• 25x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Common - Empty
• 35x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Greater - Empty
• 50x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Grand - Empty
• 60x Soul Gem Dust -> Soul Gem - Black - Empty
  

• 8x Soul Gem Fragment - Petty -> Soul Gem - Petty - Empty
• 8x Soul Gem Fragment - Lesser -> Soul Gem - Lesser - Empty
• 8x Soul Gem Fragment - Common -> Soul Gem - Common - Empty
• 8x Soul Gem Fragment - Greater -> Soul Gem - Greater - Empty
• 8x Soul Gem Fragment - Grand -> Soul Gem - Grand - Empty
• 10x Soul Gem Fragment - Grand -> Soul Gem - Black - Empty
  

Q: Why do you get so little Dust from grinding down a Soul Gem, and need so many to craft a new one at a Soul Gem Forge?
A: I tried to make a balance and I didn't want to create an infinite crafting loop.

Q: What's the big difference between crafting at the Smelter and the Soul Gem Forge?
A:

• Smelter: Very easy accessable, but requires perk + book AND more expensive
• Soul Gem Forge: Much more rare (only 1 in Skyrim/Solstheim), but no requirements + much cheaper
  

Q:: Why both a Smelter and a Soul Gem Forge?
A:: I want the player to make a choice between an easy but expensive way vs a hard but cheaper way.

[size=+1]4. Incompatibilities[/size]

If you use any other mod which changes the leveled list, I strongly advice you to use a Bashed Patch from Wrye Bash.
One conflict I had was with a change to the leveled lists by OBIS. (Warlocks death item) But this can easily be solved by using a Bashed Patch.

Any mod that significantly changes the Arcane Blacksmith perk is usually not compatible. (SkyRe is fine, though.)

If you're using a College of Winterhold overhaul mod AND you have Dragonborn, you should use the Dragonborn edition.

No other known incompatibilities.

[size=+1]5. Other recommended mods[/size]

• Skyrim Redone by T3nd0
• OBIS by Indigoblade
• Skyrim Immersive Creatures by lifestorock
• Revenge of the Enemies by MyEvergreenHomeTown
• Frostfall by Chesko
• Realistic Needs and Diseases by perseid9
• The Unofficial Patches by Arthmoor (and his team)
• Immersive Weapons and Armor by hothtrooper44 (and his team)
• SMIM by Brumbek
• Hunterborn by unuroboros
• Wet and Cold by isoku
• Deadly Dragons by 3jiou
• Cloaks of Skyrim by Nikinoodles
• Winter is Coming by nivea
• Epic Gameplay Overhaul by Apollodown
• Extensible Follower Framework by expired6978
• Interesting NPCs by kristakahashi