Detect Life lets you see the glowing outline of nearby living creatures through walls and floors. Hostiles show up red, friendly people blue. Undead, machines and Daedra don’t show at all – that’s what Detect Dead is for. A must for stealthy characters who like to count the bandits before opening the door.
Tips
It levels Alteration faster the more people it reveals, so casting it in a busy market like Whiterun’s is a well-known training trick.
Spell details
- School: Alteration (Adept)
- Effect: Nearby living creatures, but not undead, machines or daedra, can be seen through walls.
- Base Magicka cost: 200 per second
- Casting: Concentration, self
- Spell tome: Spell Tome: Detect Life – value 332 gold, ID 000A26E7
More Alteration spells
Candlelight (Novice), Equilibrium (Novice), Oakflesh (Novice), Magelight (Apprentice), Stoneflesh (Apprentice), Ash Shell (Adept), Ironflesh (Adept), Telekinesis (Adept), Transmute (Adept), Waterbreathing (Adept), Ash Rune (Expert), Detect Dead (Expert), Ebonyflesh (Expert), Paralyze (Expert), Dragonhide (Master), Mass Paralysis (Master).
Cost, effect and tome value read from the Skyrim game files (base values before skill, perks and gear).