Using the unused summoning effects from Bloodmoon for new summoning spells.

Let's say that your character really likes alits. So wonderful are alits, that you want to be able to summon them to you. (It doesn't hurt that the alit is the first creature in the Creature list, either.)

Please be aware that other mods use the Bloodmoon summoning effects-- there is a basic scripted summoning tutorial here.

Start the construction set.
Select the master files you wish to use.
Don't set an active file.

Click the Creatures tab.

Right click on the alit. Select Edit.

We'll stick to Bethesda's naming convention and change the creature ID from "alit" to "alit_summon".

Click the AI button. You can copy the AI settings from another summon, such as "ancestor_ghost_summon"-- change the Fight setting to 50, and the Flee setting to 0.

Save your new creature. You'll get a warning about the changed ID-- choose Yes.

Open the Gameplay menu.
Select Settings.

Click the Magic tab.
Scroll down until you see sEffectSummonCreature04.

You can use sEffectSummonCreature05 for a second summoning spell.

Click on the sEffectSummonCreature04 in the Value column on the left side. Change the name of the spell effect-- in this case, to "Summon Alit".

Scroll to sMagicCreature04ID.

Click on sMagicCreature04ID and change the Value to the exact ID of your new creature-- in this case, alit_summon.

To avoid errors with missing spell icons and visual effects, click on Gameplay.
Select Magic Effects.

Scroll down the menu until you find your new summoning spell.

You'll need to assign a Particle Texture and an Effect Icon. You can create new ones, or use existing ones from Bethesda.

The spell icons are 32 x 32 .tga files in the Morrowind\Data Files\Icons\s directory.

The particle textures are 64 x 64 .tga files in Morrowind\Data Files\Textures. Valid particle texture names follow the format vfx_YourFileNameHere.tga.

Click on the button under Particle Texture.
Select a particle texture to use. The existing summoning spells use vfx_conj_flare02.tga.

Click on the button under Effect Icon.
Select the spell icon to use.

The existing summon spells use the conjuration sounds-- under Casting Effects, click the button and choose Conjuration Cast.
Set the visual effect in the dropdown menu to VFX_ConjureCast.
You can change the sounds for Bolt, Hit, and Area effects to the conjuration sounds as well-- the existing spells leave the visual effects at default.

Change the Scale and Lighting Effect settings if desired-- we'll take the low road and set them to the same settings as the original summoning spells. The spell's Base Cost has been set to match that of the Ancestor Ghost summon.

Check the boxes labelled Spellmaking and Enchanting to make the effect available through the spellmaker and enchanter services.

You can also enter a description for your spell in the suitably named Description box.

Click the Spellmaking tab. Right click in the listing of spells, and select New.
Give your spell an ID and name-- let's use the ever-so-original Summon Alit.
In the Effects column, open the first dropdown menu and choose your new summoning effect.

Set the spell duration and cost. Morrowind's summoning spells use Auto Calculate Cost and a duration of 60.
Add the spell to a merchant if you want the player to be able to purchase your new summoning spell.

Save your mod.