Although Skyrim may have done away with the beloved custom spell creation system of previous games in the series, there are still plenty of prefabricated magic for players to add to their arcane arsenal. And although they aren't quite as numerous, Skyrim also introduced "Shouts," which are basically snippets of dragon language that have profound magical effects when uttered (or shouted, rather) by the Dragonborn. Together, they make for a pretty lengthy list of sorcerous powers for players to hunt down.
But what about those that they can't hunt down? Whether they're buried within the code or reserved for the use of specific NPCs, there's an exhaustive catalog of spells and shouts that players simply cannot get their hands on outside the use of console commands, if at all. Today, Game Rant is checking out ten of these forbidden magical fruits, some of which are so surprisingly cool that we wish they were included in our spellbooks.
10 SPELL: Spectral Arrow
Spectral Arrow is a low-cost conjuration spell that sticks pretty close to the title. When cast, it fires an arrow from the palm of the caster's hand, dealing thirty points of damage and staggering the target it hits. Though simple, it actually looks as if it'd be pretty cool to use.
Since it casts silently, it would've fit in pretty well with an assassin playstyle that incorporates magic. Of course, that aspect of the spell may simply be due to it being unfinished content. Regardless, it's fun to play around with and carries the distinction of being one of the only directly damaging spells outside of the Destruction school of magic.
9 SHOUT: Devour Soul
Devour Soul is utilized by the Dragonborn Miraak, specifically to...well, devour the souls of dragons. This one certainly doesn't leave much to the imagination. During the player's final confrontation with Miraak, he'll eat his pet dragons with this when he's short on health. Until there are no more dragons to eat, anyway, and the Dovahkiin finally kills him.
As a fun fact, this is the only dragon shout that is known to possess four words of power. They are Zii, meaning "spirit," Los, meaning "is," Dii, meaning "mine," and Du, meaning "devour." Miraak definitely has some Shang Tsung vibes going on here.
8 SPELL: Fade Other
If you've ever made the mistake of dragging a follower along for a sequence that required you to be stealthy, you're likely to be more than a little angry that this spell isn't obtainable. Fade Other is literally just an invisibility spell that you can cast on other people or creatures.
Although it only effectively camouflages the target for thirty seconds, that's definitely long enough to keep Lydia from turning your infiltration of the East Empire Company's warehouse into a bloodbath. The spell seems to work perfectly despite not having any real presence in the game, and NPCs even have specific dialogue reactions to having it cast on them.
7 SHOUT: Reanimate Dragon
This shout is essentially what allows Alduin to create the dragon crisis that the Dovahkiin is going to spend the majority of the game trying to mitigate. Though he can be seen using it at several junctures, the most memorable for most is likely the resurrection of the dragon Sahloknir at Kynesgrove, during the quest "A Blade In the Dark."
The words for this shout are Slen, meaning "flesh," Tiid, meaning "time," and Vo, meaning "undo." It's probably obvious why players can't get their hands on this one, beyond these resurrections generally being scripted events. Though the idea of being powerful enough to raise dragons from the dead is pretty enticing.
6 SPELL: Ash Spray
If you've ever wanted to invoke the PTSD you developed while being viciously pepper-sprayed by Ash Guardians on Solstheim, this unobtainable spell would definitely do the trick. As might be evident, this spell is typically reserved for the aforementioned abominations.
Ash Spray works quite similar to basic spells like "Flames," but it does quite a bit more damage, clocking in at thirty-five points per second. It also has the added bonus of humiliating your targets by visually coating them in ash as they're being damaged by the spell.
5 SHOUT: Spectral Clone
This is the shout used by the Greybeards to summon the ghostly clones upon which the Dragonborn demonstrates his ability to shout when meeting them for the first time. Once summoned, the player gets to have a grand old time yelling at them to make them dissipate.
The words for Spectral Clone are Fiik, meaning "mirror," Lo, meaning "deceive," and Sah, meaning "phantom." The phantoms themselves seem perfectly harmless, though it's worth noting that the Greybeards didn't exactly summon them for combat purposes.
4 SPELL: Kilkreath Light Beam
Chances are that you're familiar with the Kilkreath light puzzle, given that it's integral to one of the more popular side quests in the game, "The Break of Dawn." What you probably didn't know was that the light beam itself is a Destruction spell.
With the help of the console, you can channel the might of Meridia and run about shooting holy lasers from the palm of your hand. Unfortunately, it doesn't grant you the power to create elaborate puzzles to badger foolhardy adventurers into solving.
3 SHOUT: Soul Fog
This shout would seem to be exclusive to Alduin, and it is not encountered until very near the end of the main questline. Alduin will use it to conjure a defensive mist, preventing the Dragonborn and his motley band of Sovngarde's finest from engaging him.
This words for this one are Ven, meaning "wind," Mul, meaning "strong," and Riik, which means "gale." Interestingly, this shout has a hard counter in "Clear Skies," which dispels the mist once used by the party to force Alduin into combat.
2 SPELL: Spriggan Spray
Spriggans are some of Skyrim's most notoriously difficult combatants, being deceivingly tough and possessing an impressive arsenal of offensive and defensive spells. Chief among their most annoying attacks is the Spriggan Spray, which deals a crippling amount of poison damage per second in melee range.
Despite the context in which most players will encounter it, this is definitely one of the cooler unobtainable spells in the game. It essentially launches a dark swarm of ambiguous poisonous insects at the target, though the buzzing sound effect does grate on the nerves after a while.
1 SHOUT: Meteor Storm
If we had to choose one of Alduin's many powers to be unreasonably jealous of, the Meteor Storm shout would have to be it. It causes several barrages of fiery and explosive projectiles to rain from the sky, wreaking all sorts of mayhem around the immediate area.
Strangely, this shout doesn't seem to have any actual dragon words associated with it. Alduin just unleashes an unintelligible roar and down rain the meteors. Either way, it's visually impressive, and since it's one of the first things we ever see Alduin do when he interrupts our execution at Helgen, it leaves a lasting impression.