Skyrim:Spellbreaker

Daedric Artifact: Spellbreaker (00045f96) (lore page)
Type	Heavy Shield
Editor ID	DA13Spellbreaker
Statistics
Rating	38
Rating	38		{{{health}}}
Weight	12	Value	277
Tempering	Dwarven Metal Ingot
Tempering	Dwarven Metal Ingot	Perk	None†
Enchantment
While blocking, creates a ward that protects against spells for up to 50 points: Ward - Deflection, 50 pts

The Daedric artifact Spellbreaker

The heavy shield, Spellbreaker, is one of the most ancient relics of Tamriel. Aside from its historic importance dating from the Battle of Rourken-Shalidor, the Spellbreaker protects its wielder almost completely from any spellcaster. It is said that the Breaker still searches for its original owner, and will not remain the property of any one else for long. For most, possessing Spellbreaker for any time is power enough.

The shield creates a Ward when actively blocking that functions identically to any Ward spell found in the school of Restoration. It negates up to 50 points of magical damage, be it inflicted instantly or cumulatively over time (being subjected to a spell like Frostbite or Flames will eventually break the Ward). The Ward is reset every time the shield is raised, and the shield doesn't need to be recharged with Soul Gems. It can be improved with dwarven metal ingots.

Related Quests

• The Only Cure: Slay an apostate worshipper for the Daedra Lord Peryite.

Notes

• Spellbreaker has made multiple appearances throughout the series; for more information, see the lore article.
• When walking around with this shield equipped, some NPCs will comment on it. Guards will normally say "Your shield... Dwarf-make, is it not? But yet it seems so much... more."
• When attempting to block spells that are more powerful than the shield's Ward can withstand, the Ward will break, and the player will stagger. As such, use with caution against very high-level mages.
• The Ward appears to be of particular use against Dragon Breath attacks - holding it up fully deflects the breath of even a Legendary Dragon without buckling, provided you give it sufficient time to charge.
• The Shield will level Blocking normally when used against melee attacks, but has no effect on leveling Restoration when used against spells.
• This shield can be very helpful to mages, as shields do not negate the Alteration perk Mage Armor.
• During the First Lessons at the College of Winterhold, Tolfdir will accept a block using the Spellbreaker as though you are using a ward.
• Spellbreaker's ward benefits from both the Ward Absorb perk and Ahzidal's Gauntlets, both of which allow your wards to absorb a portion of the magicka cost of the spell that hits the ward.
• The Elemental Protection perk from the Block skill tree does not affect the strength of Spellbreaker's ward.
• Myrwatch's gallery^CC contains a special holder for this item.
• The ward created by this shield is between Lesser Ward (40 points) and Steadfast Ward (60 points) in power, though 30 points shy of Greater Ward (80). The ward also remains for a moment after you lower the shield, before dissipating.
• All other wards are convex, while the ward made by the Spellbreaker is concave, following the shape of the shield. Despite the size of the ward (being much smaller than the other available wards), it will still protect you from all spells, provided they are not cast at ground around your feet and aren't area-of-effect, like fireball, which will still damage you. Like all other wards, Spellbreaker's ward will only protect you from frontal assault; it cannot protect you from the sides or back.

Bugs

† Tempering Spellbreaker does not benefit from any perk, due to the shield having no material keyword

• The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.27, addresses this issue. Which allows the Dwarven Smithing perk to affect its tempering.