Spell not working properly?

[tapakidney]

I have the spell, Tap Vitality III. It says it absorbs 20 health on touch. When I cast the spell on an enemy, it does make him glow...can't tell if it hurts him, and I do not receive 20 health. Am I expecting the wrong thing, or is the spell not working properly?

[chaosapiant]

Assuming it's not a bug or am mod conflict or some other technical error, it could be that the individual you are casting on has some form of spell absorption, reflection, or something else to mitigate the spell effect. Also, if you look in your spells tab, you'll see a percentage of "spell effectiveness." If this is low as well due to low fatigue, low magical prowess, and/or low ability with chosen armor, that could also affect the outcome of the spell.

[David Brasher]

I would think that for a spell like that, there should be a red umbilical connecting you to the enemy sucking out his life and drawing it to you. I might be mistaken. That may be the graphic for spells like absorb attribute X. I think a purple glow on an enemy is spell absorption. I am not sure what color he glows for spell reflection. I think the yellow glow is reflect damage.

 

Spells in Oblivion never misfire unless your magicka is too low. The amplitude is what changes. If you are exhausted, bad at magic, and wearing the wrong armor, your absorb health 20 might turn into absorb health 10. You might test your spell on some other enemies. If you have a defective custom spell from some mod, you might try using the Vanilla Oblivion spell that does the same thing or make your own on the alter of spellmaking.