Balance update: now balanced with vanilla and Advanced Aimed Spells in mind, its now more damaging, but more (justifiably) mana hungry, also formed both an apprentice and adept level versions.

Edit: Please update to 1.0 immediately, there were severe issues with no damage in 0.9.

Notice: If you're updating and have a new game, I recommend the CID version, this prevents the mod from editing a few leveled lists

In keeping with the theme of electricity, I will donate a dollar for every unique download this mod gets until the end of 2024 to a charity or organization focused on improving access to renewable energy for the less fortunate, up to $1,000.  Any donations this mod ever gets will also be matched and donated.

Charity update: I have chosen to donate equally in parts to good energy collective (nuclear), project innerspace (geothermal for densely populated areas in global south), Empowered by Light (solar energy projects for impoverished areas), and New Energy Nexus (improves access to last mile energy, drives clean energy transition in poorer areas).
Charity update 2: I had 594 unique downloads on January 7th, 2025, so I rounded up and gave each organization $200.  A sincere thank you to everyone who downloaded the mod, I really hope you're enjoying it.  I'm always open to feedback.  I'll be updating some of my other mods soon, starting with the gradual series :)

ESP flagged ESL, won't take an important slot. 3 records, a spell, a magic effect, and a spell tome, compatible with everything.

Chain Sparks is a concentration spell version of Chain Lightning, it is an Adept level Destruction spell.  I am still working on balancing it, using vanilla as a guide, base cost is 64 base damage is 24.  Right now it does triple the damage of sparks (24 vs 8), and costs slightly more than triple (64 vs 19).  It does a little over half the damage of chain lightning per second (24 vs 40), and costs a little over half (64 vs 124).  It costs some significant magicka to cast but it is no slouch with damage.

The spell tome is a copy paste of the chain lightning spell tome but with a different name, meaning you'll have a chance to find it at any vendor that would have a chance to sell chain lightning.

It can switch targets based on whatever it wants to do that very second, I've noticed in testing that it can almost seem like its shocking three targets at once but I doubt this is true, it just switches bonus targets before the previous shock link animation is over.  It still looks cool

Compatibility: 

I edited 3 leveled lists in version 1.0
LitemSpellTomes50Destruction
LitemSpellTomes50AllDestruction
DLC2itemSpellTomes50Destruction

If you have other mods in your Load order that edit any of these leveled
lists (rare but not unheard of), they should overwrite mine, and if you
desire, you can add chainsparks.esp as a master to them, and just carry
over the spell tome I added.  I would make a Skypatcher version, but I'm
in VR and we sadly do not have SkyPatcher yet.

Edit: Container Item Distributor works fine, no need for Skypatcher here, though I'm so glad its in VR now :)

Version 1.1 uses the mod Container Item Distributor and I will be removing the leveled list changes in this version.  You must use CID version 1.2.0 for this to work for now, I could not get this mod does not work with version 2.1.0

MerchantWCollegeFaraldaChest = 0x802~Chain Sparks.esp|1
MerchantSolitudeSybilleStentorChest = 0x802~Chain Sparks.esp|1
MerchantWhiterunFarengarsChest = 0x802~Chain Sparks.esp|1
DLC2MerchantTelMithrynTalvasChest = 0x802~Chain Sparks.esp|1