The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionis a masterpiece, but many fans would agree thatThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis a far better masterpiece.Skyrimbuilds on nearly everything thatThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionestablished, so much so that Bethesda has released the game several times across multiple platforms. Even to this day,Skyrimis still regularly played thanks to those generational ports.
Obliviondoes have its charms, and there are features in it thatSkyrimwas never able to match.Oblivionis set in Cyrodiil, the heart of Tamriel, the continent in which theElder Scrollsfranchise is set. Withrumors of anOblivionremasterbecoming more frequent, there is one gameplay feature that should make a return thatSkyrimcouldn’t quite match, and that feature is Spell Tomes.
RELATED:An Oblivion Remaster Would Be a Welcome Change of Pace For The Elder Scrolls
How Oblivion and Skyrim Both Tackle Spell Tomes
Spell Tomes in Skyrim
Skyrimdid have some great spells, and that doesn’t even include Shouts and other abilities players procure. But when it comes to unique spell tomes found in the wilderness, there were only six, with only Transmute and Equilibrium found in the base game:
Spell Tomes in Oblivion
Oblivion’s Spell Tomes were introduced as part of the add-on ‘Spell Tomes’ released on July 05, 2025. However, none of the add-ons apart from the two main expansions were available to PlayStation users, so if the potentialOblivionremaster comes to current-gen consoles then that could mean Spell Tomes will finally become available on PlayStation.
This added a new kind of book toOblivioncalled Spell Tomes which were found exclusively in containers and the bodies of enemies, particularly wizards who would spawn and attack the player while on an adventure or exploring the wilderness. These spells were similar to those that could be obtained from merchants, but some were new and unique altogether or had new combinations.
The level of the player helped determine which spells would appear, though there was no fixed location. They would have a one-in-four chance of replacing a scroll in a container, unlike the fixed locations of the unique spell tomes inSkyrim. Moreover, unlikeSkyrim,Oblivionalso had the feature of creating spells, which allowed the player to create their own unique spells.
Oblivion’s Unique Spell Tomes
There are lots of spell tomes that come with the add-on, from destruction spells like Hangman’s Noose and Mara’s Wrath to Illusion spells like Night Form and Orum’s Aquatic Escape. Many ofthese spells were hard to come acrossas there was no guarantee which tome would appear, and most of the time it would be novice spells.
Since the spells would appear depending on what level the player was, the more unique spells would have started to appear when the player was at the corresponding skill level. Many of the expert and journeyman spells had new combinations and creative names, with these are just a few of the spells included in the add-on:
Destruction
Expert
Fire Damage 3pts in 15ft for 30s on Target. Turn Undead 35pts in 15ft for 30s on Target.
Illusion
Journeyman
Fortify Sneak 10pts for 30s on Self. Invisibility for 30s on Self. Sun Damage 2pts for 50s on Self.
Invisibility for 15s on Self. Night-Eye for 15s on Self. Water Breathing for 15s on Self.
One spell that stands out among all the spells in the add-on is the expert-level Conjuration spell, Pride of Hirstaang. This gives the player the ability to summon a Bear for 30 seconds, as well as fortifying their strength and resisting frost for the duration of the Bear’s summon. Therefore,Skyrimmissed out by not following in the footsteps ofOblivion’s Spell Tomes.
It would have been a fun feature to have and would have made the adventures more exciting with the anticipation of potentially finding a new spell in a chest or on the body of a wizard. Hopefully, if a remaster or remake ofThe Elder Scroll 4: Obliviondoes happen, it will include the add-on as it would be a sorely missed opportunity not to add this thrilling and exciting feature to the game.
