where can I steal soul gems

[deuceyd]

need a good source of great/grand/black soul gems in the early game

[DrNewcenstein]

They're random loot. More danger and higher level locks do not guarantee bigger rewards.

Apocrypha usually has black soul gems lying around.

Also, Blackreach has geode deposits you can mine for soul gems, though their payout is also random. You might get all Petty, you might get Grand, you might get black or you might not.

Anywhere you find mages, you can find soul gems. Necros almost always have black gems.

[Hobo Misanthropus]

They're leveled usually, so there's no real reliable source of them of them to just swipe.

[FauxFurry]

You can just buy them from Falion in Morthal or from Enthir at the Mage's College of Winterhold.

[Vlad 254]

Yeah Blackreach might not work early in the game and since like hobo and Dr newcenstein says they are leveled so faux might have the best solution with Falion. By the time I ever need them in larger supply they are pretty much everywhere so I never thought about early game much.

[deuceyd]

Buying them in early game is tough, especially since im trying to avoid alchemy with this character.

[Perplex]

Soul Cairn.

[SpeedFreak1972]

Originally posted by Perplex:

Soul Cairn.

I think OP means filled gems

[NIKFS]

theres a certain artifact that removes the need for soulgems, since i cant be bothered to check your hours do tell me if you want a pointer as to where it is in case you dont know about it yet

[deuceyd]

I know, azuras star but thats just one that can be reused. I need a steady supply, closest I can get is college of winterhold glitch chest or dawnstar glitch chest but I don't wanna exploit if possible.

[FauxFurry]

Originally posted by SpeedFreak1972:

Originally posted by Perplex:

Soul Cairn.

I think OP means filled gems

Soul Cairn has fissures which emit spiritual energy that can be used to fill Soul Gems without having to use the Soul Trap spell.

[deuceyd]

Tryna get soul gems early game not deep into the dlc fam

[FauxFurry]

Originally posted by Deucey D:

Tryna get soul gems early game not deep into the dlc fam

Well, my two earlier suggestions are still the best bet to get Black Soul Gems in the early game. All one has to do is travel to Morthal with enough gold to buy them or make a bee line to the college. You can try pick-pocketing the gold off on NPCs if you don't want to waste time chopping wood at a mill to earn it.

[deuceyd]

Why the guy in morthal in particular?

[FauxFurry]

Originally posted by Deucey D:

Why the guy in morthal in particular?

He sells Black Soul Gems for whatever reason (which would likely end up spoiling something for you if I explained the in-world reason for it here).
On the college front, Enthir is a smuggler of magical artifacts so he also has his reasons for carrying this form of magical contraband.

[Perplex]

Originally posted by Deucey D:

Tryna get soul gems early game not deep into the dlc fam

Soul Cairn is not deep in Dawnguard. You can get there way before level 10.