The Elder Scrolls IV ------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______ ______ _ _________ _________ _______ _ ( ___ )( ___ \ ( \ \__ __/|\ /|\__ __/( ___ )( ( /| | ( ) || ( ) )| ( ) ( | ) ( | ) ( | ( ) || \ ( | | | | || (__/ / | | | | | | | | | | | | | || \ | | | | | || __ ( | | | | ( ( ) ) | | | | | || (\ \) | | | | || ( \ \ | | | | \ \_/ / | | | | | || | \ | | (___) || )___) )| (____/\___) (___ \ / ___) (___| (___) || ) \ | (_______)|/ \___/ (_______/\_______/ \_/ \_______/(_______)|/ )_) #################################### ##################################### ################################## ############## ########### ########### ########## ########## ######### ########### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### # ######## ######## ###### ######## ######## ######## ######## ######## ####### ####### ####### ##### ####### ###### ## ####### ####### ####### ###### ####### ###### ####### ##### ###### ##### ###### ##### ###### #### ###### #### ##### ### ##### ## #### ### ## FAQ/Walkthrough (for PC & XBox 360) v2.00 2006-05-26 Copyright 2006 Barry Scott "PapaGamer" Will A premium version of this Walkthrough is available. It includes maps, screenshots, hyperlinked cross-references and more. See http://www.papagamer.com/ for more information. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was developed by Bethesda Game Studios, published by Bethesda Softworks and 2K Games and is copyright 2006 Bethesda Softworks. This guide is not endorsed by, nor is the author associated with, Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks or 2K Games. This FAQ/Walkthrough does not include a Character Guide. You can find my Character Build Guide at: http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt This includes a complete rundown of all the skills, races, attributes and birthsigns in Oblivion, as well as many class templates for your amusement. *SPOILER WARNING* This guide contains plot spoilers. You have been warned. <~~~~~~ CONTACT INFORMATION ~~~~~~> To contact me about the guide, send email to: barry@papagamer.com Please include "Oblivion FAQ" in your subject line so I don't auto-discard the message. Also, please read the FAQ carefully prior to asking for help on any part of the game. If you send me additional suggestions or hints for the game and I find them useful, you will be acknowledged in the Credits. If you found this guide useful and would like to contribute a small token for my efforts, you may send money through PayPal by using the Donate link found on my Web site: http://www.papagamer.com/ Thank you, and enjoy the guide! <~~~~~~ TABLE OF CONTENTS ~~~~~~> Front Matter Contact Information Table of Contents How to Use This Guide Gameplay.............................................................GP00 Controls & Icons..................................................GP01 Game Mechanics....................................................GP02 Radiant AI...................................................GP02-A The Leveled System...........................................GP02-B Time, Waiting & Resting......................................GP02-C Travel, Horses & Quest Markers...............................GP02-D Mini-games: Lockpicking & Persuasion.........................GP02-E Enchanting, Spellmaking & Soul Gems..........................GP02-F Combat............................................................GP03 Tips & Tricks.....................................................GP04 Frequently Asked Questions........................................GP05 Main Story...........................................................MS00 Tutorial..........................................................MS01 Deliver the Amulet................................................MS02 Find the Heir.....................................................MS03 Breaking the Siege of Kvatch......................................MS04 Weynon Priory.....................................................MS05 The Path of Dawn..................................................MS06 Dagon Shrine......................................................MS07 Spies.............................................................MS08 Blood of the Daedra...............................................MS09 Blood of the Divines..............................................MS10 Miscarcand........................................................MS11 Bruma Gate........................................................MS12 Allies for Bruma..................................................MS13 The Wayward Knight (Cheydinhal)..............................MS13-A Bravil.......................................................MS13-B Anvil........................................................MS13-C Chorrol......................................................MS13-D The Battle for Castle Kvatch.................................MS13-E Leyawiin.....................................................MS13-F Skingrad.....................................................MS13-G Defense of Bruma..................................................MS14 Great Gate........................................................MS15 Paradise..........................................................MS16 Light the Dragonfires.............................................MS17 Imperial Dragon Armor.............................................MS18 Fighters Guild.......................................................FG00 A Rat Problem.....................................................FG01 The Unfortunate Shopkeeper........................................FG02 The Desolate Mine.................................................FG03 Unfinished Business...............................................FG04 Drunk and Disorderly..............................................FG05 Den of Thieves....................................................FG06 Amelion's Debt....................................................FG07 The Master's Son..................................................FG08 More Unfinished Business..........................................FG09 Azani Blackheart..................................................FG10 The Wandering Scholar.............................................FG11 The Fugitives.....................................................FG12 Trolls of Forsaken Mine...........................................FG13 The Stone of St. Alessia..........................................FG14 The Noble's Daughter..............................................FG15 Mystery at Harlun's Watch.........................................FG16 Information Gathering.............................................FG17 Infiltration......................................................FG18 The Hist..........................................................FG19 Expelled From the Fighters Guild..................................FG20 Mages Guild..........................................................MG00 Anvil Recommendation..............................................MG01 Bravil Recommendation.............................................MG02 Bruma Recommendation..............................................MG03 Cheydinhal Recommendation.........................................MG04 Chorrol Recommendation............................................MG05 Fingers of the Mountain......................................MG05-A Fingers of the Mountain, Part II.............................MG05-B Leyawiin Recommendation...........................................MG06 Skingrad Recommendation...........................................MG07 A Mage's Staff....................................................MG08 Ulterior Motives..................................................MG09 Vahtacen's Secret.................................................MG10 Necromancer's Moon................................................MG11 Liberation or Apprehension?.......................................MG12 Information at a Price............................................MG13 A Plot Revealed...................................................MG14 The Bloodworm Helm................................................MG15 The Necromancer's Amulet..........................................MG16 Ambush............................................................MG17 Confront the King.................................................MG18 Mages Guild Suspension............................................MG19 Thieves Guild........................................................TG00 May the Best Thief Win............................................TG01 Independent Thievery..............................................TG02 Untaxing the Poor.................................................TG03 The Elven Maiden..................................................TG04 Ahdargi's Heirloom................................................TG05 Misdirection......................................................TG06 Lost Histories....................................................TG07 Taking Care of Lex................................................TG08 Turning a Blind Eye...............................................TG09 Arrow of Extrication..............................................TG10 Boots of Springheel Jak...........................................TG11 The Ultimate Heist................................................TG12 Cast Out of the Thieves Guild.....................................TG13 Dark Brotherhood.....................................................DB00 A Knife in the Dark...............................................DB01 A Watery Grave....................................................DB02 Accidents Happen..................................................DB03 Scheduled for Execution...........................................DB04 The Renegade Shadowscale..........................................DB05 The Assassinated Man..............................................DB06 The Lonely Wanderer...............................................DB07 Bad Medicine......................................................DB08 Whodunit?.........................................................DB09 Permanent Retirement..............................................DB10 Of Secret and Shadow..............................................DB11 The Purification..................................................DB12 Affairs of a Wizard...............................................DB13 Next of Kin.......................................................DB14 Broken Vows.......................................................DB15 Final Justice.....................................................DB16 A Matter of Honor.................................................DB17 The Coldest Sleep.................................................DB18 A Kiss Before Dying...............................................DB19 Following a Lead..................................................DB20 Honor Thy Mother..................................................DB21 Whispers of Death.................................................DB22 Dark Exile........................................................DB23 Side Quests..........................................................SQ00 Quest Index..........................................................QL00 Alphabetical Index................................................QL01 City/Region Index.................................................QL02 Miscellaneous Adventures.............................................MA00 Home Ownership....................................................MA01 Expanding Your Game..................................................XP00 PC Optimization...................................................XP01 PC Console Commands...............................................XP02 Mods..............................................................XP03 Version History & Credits To quickly jump to a section, copy the section code, press CTRL-F and paste the section code in the search box. <~~~~~~ HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE ~~~~~~> Oblivion is a huge game, and very much free-form. You can spend 100 hours playing the game and never touch the main quest. You can play through the main quest a half-dozen times and never do the sameside questss twice. In addition, some dungeons and quests are randomly generated. There's no way to write a typical linear walkthrough for this game. So here's how the walkthroughs are organized: * Main Quest: First up is a step-by-step walkthrough of the main quest. The main quest does advance in a fairly linear manner, so each step along the journey will be laid out. Of course, you do not have to complete the main quest in any sort of time limit and you can take your time and do lots of side quests during the main quest. However, the Main Quest walkthrough will concern itself only with the quests that are directly connected to the main story. * Guild Quests: There are four "guilds" in Oblivion--Fighters, Mages, Thieves and the Dark Brotherhood (assassins). Each guild has numerous quests associated with it, and each has its own section in this part of the guide. * Side Quests: Everything that doesn't fit into the previous categories is organized here in alphabetical order by quest name. Before all the walkthroughs is a rundown of basic gameplay in Oblivion, including the controls, how the Radiant AI works, combat hints and frequently asked questions. At the end of the walkthroughs is an index of every quest in the game, with the section number where you can find the mini-walkthrough for that quest. The index is organized both alphabetically and by city/region. A complete breakdown of the character system in Oblivion, including all the skills, races, signs, etc. is in a separate document, located at: http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt The guide wraps up with Miscellaneous Adventures, which covers vampirism, buying and furnishing houses and other non-quest related activity; and Expanding Your Game, which covers optimizing your PC to run Oblivion well, using console commands (on the PC) for that extra edge and mods (mostly for PC, but some for X360 as well). The main point of Oblivion is to explore, have fun and immerse yourself in the world. The game simply cannot be adequately covered in words, you have to experience it for yourself. But, if you get stuck, feel like you're in over your head, or just can't figure out how to do that one little thing...then this guide is here for you. [GP00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GAMEPLAY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ [GP01] <~~~~~~ CONTROLS & ICONS ~~~~~~> These are the default controls for the game: +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ACTION | PC (keyboard/mouse)+ | XBOX 360* | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Movement | W, A, S, D | Left stick | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Camera | Move mouse | Right stick | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Activate | SPACE | A button | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Jump | E | Y button | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Run | Left SHIFT | Movement speed is | |------------------------+------------------------| controlled by the | | Always Run (toggle) | CAPS LOCK | force on the left stick| |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Ready/Sheath Weapon | F | X button | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Attack | Left mouse button | R trigger | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Power Attack | Hold left mouse button | Hold R trigger + | | | + movement key | move left stick | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Shoot Arrow | Hold left mouse button | Hold R trigger to aim, | | | to aim, release to fire| release to fire | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Block/Bow Zoom | Right mouse button | L trigger | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Cast Spell | C | R button | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Grab | Z press-and-hold | L button press-and-hold| |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Sneak | Left CTRL | Press left stick | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Journal | TAB; You can also open | B button | | | a journal tab directly | | | | F1 - Stats | | | | F2 - Inventory | | | | F3 - Spells | | | | F4 - Map/Quests | | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Hotkeys | 1 - 8 | D-pad | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Assign Hotkeys | Press-and-hold 1 - 8 | Press-and-hold D-pad | | w/Inventory Open | and click item | and select item (A) | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Game Menu | ESC | Start | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Wait | T | Back | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Switch View (1st/3rd) | R | Press right stick | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Vanity Mode | Press-and-hold R | Press-and-hold rt stick| |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Quicksave | F5 | | |------------------------+------------------------+------------------------| | Quickload | F9 | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ * XBox 360 Controls list courtesy of Styck and GOSFreak from GameFAQs. + The PC version does support gamepads; however, there are some problems with the default control setup. Find your Oblivion.ini file (typically in My Documents\My Games\Oblivion) and open this file in a *text* editor such as Notepad. (Don't use Word or Wordpad or other word processing program. Stick with a simple, plain text editor.) Find these lines in the section headed [Controls]: fMouseSensitivity=0.0020 ;X = 1, Y = 2, Z = 3, XRot = 4, YRot = 5, ZRot = 6 iJoystickMoveFrontBack=2 iJoystickMoveLeftRight=1 fJoystickMoveFBMult=1.0000 fJoystickMoveLRMult=1.0000 iJoystickLookUpDown=6 iJoystickLookLeftRight=3 fJoystickLookUDMult=0.0020 fJoystickLookLRMult=0.0020 These are the default movement (left analog stick) and camera (right analog stick) controls. Specifically, the Look (i.e. camera) controls may not be set properly for your joystick. If moving the right analog stick has no effect on the camera, change these two lines: fJoystickLookUDMult=0.0020 fJoystickLookLRMult=0.0020 Increase the value of 0.0020 to something significantly larger, such as 0.5000. If the camera still does not respond or is sluggish, increase to 1.0000 and so on until the camera responds to the right joystick in a way that works for you. Additionally, you may find the camera movement does not correspond correctly to the joystick movement: i.e. the camera moves up and down as you move the stick left and right. In that case, switch these values: iJoystickLookUpDown=6 iJoystickLookLeftRight=3 so that you have: iJoystickLookUpDown=3 iJoystickLookLeftRight=6 You may also need to change some of these values completely depending on your controller and your controller's drivers. You can set the buttons within the Controls Options of the game. | Icons +------- When in first-person perspective, the center of the screen is occupied by a crosshair. When you move over a target, the crosshair changes depending on the target. * Face: NPC, Activate the NPC to talk to him or her * Crown: plot critical NPC, Activate the NPC to talk to him or her * Open hand: a loose item, press Activate to take the item * Closed fist: something that can be manipulated (such as a door or switch), press Activate to...well...activate the item * Pottery jar: container, press Activate to open the container * Door: a door, Activating may open the door or take you to another area depending on the door * Lock: this icon appears in the lower right corner of the screen when a door or container is locked. * Moon and stars: a bed, Activate to sleep in the bed * Book: a book or note, Activate it to read the item * Stool: a chair, bench, etc., Activate it to sit down, press Activate again while not targeting anything to stand up * Horseshoe: a horse, press Activate to mount the horse, press Activate again while not targeting anything to dismount * Bat: NPC, Activate the NPC to feed on him or her (can only be used when you are a vampire) * Eye: indicates you are in Sneak mode Sometimes icons display in red. When you see a red icon, don't touch the item or you'll be accused of a crime. Unless, of course, you're trying to commit a crime, then go ahead and touch away... [GP02] <~~~~~~ GAME MECHANICS ~~~~~~> Most of the basic gameplay elements are dealt with during the tutorial. How to pick things up, how to drop them, how to equip weapons and spells, how to Sneak, etc. But, there are a lot of things going on under the hood that the tutorial never mentions. This section covers all those extra game mechanics. | Radiant AI [GP02-A] +--------------------- Radiant AI is Bethesda's name for its NPC scripts. NPCs in Oblivion are supposed to "act like real people". At first, this really seems to be the case. After a few hours invested in a city, you'll see it's just another bunch of scripts strung together with some pseudo-random events to give the feel of actual intelligence. Here are some of the things the Radiant AI does: * NPCs keep a schedule. Their schedule is occasionally randomized, but, for the most part, these characters move around eating, working, sleeping and other activities at different times of the day. * NPCs react to crimes. Enter one's house uninvited and they'll call for the gendarmes. Hit someone and they'll scream, "Assault!" Etc. * NPCs talk to one another as they pass on the street. After spending a couple hours in a city, you'll have heard every variation on conversation there is. (Since everything in Oblivion is voice acted, the number of conversations is quite limited.) Sometimes, hearing these conversations opens up a new topic for you, often leading to a quest. Here are some things the Radiant AI does not do: * Force you to keep a schedule. For the most part, if someone tells you to meet them at midnight tonight or else, you can show up at midnight three weeks later and they'll be there waiting patiently for you. There are very, very few quests in Oblivion that actually require you to act within time constraints. * React to assaults on allies. The vision/hearing of every NPC in Oblivion must be impaired. If you have two enemy mages on opposite sides of a large room, you can blow one of them to smithereens while the other wonders aloud about the rats. This does help with combat since you don't want lots of bad guys swarming you, but it is kind of ridiculous. * Care much about the world around them. There are scripted instances where you can't get help from someone because of an Oblivion gate nearby, but, for the most part, while the big, bad demonic invasion is happening, most NPCs still just want you to kill (or protect, depending on the situation) the rats in their basement. So, don't get your hopes up to high over the Radiant AI. The NPCs in Oblivion pretty much act like the NPCs in every other RPG, except they don't just stand around waiting for you to show up (unless you're in the middle of a quest requiring they just stand around until you show up--in which case they'll wait for months). And, even if a quest-target NPC is moving around, the convenient objective marker on your map will always show you where he or she is. | The Leveled System [GP02-B] +----------------------------- Oblivion uses a system that matches enemy levels to your PC's level. It does this in two ways: * Changes the type or number of creatures you face. For example, at low level, the daedra you fight inside Oblivion are mostly scamps and the occasional clannfear runt. At higher levels, you'll start seeing dremora, adult clann- fear, atronachs, etc. * Increases the level of the enemy. This is mostly used on boss creatures. For example, the opponents you face in the Arena are always the same, but their level, skills and equipment increase in power as you increase in power. The leveled system means you never get in over your head. Whatever challenge you face is always scaled to your level, so you can do anything at the beginning of the game. This is also a drawback, as being able to complete any quest even at level 1 is somewhat unrealistic. The leveled system also means you never overpower your opponents. There are never any "easy" fights against overwhelmed opponents. When you encounter bandits at level 1, they are clad in fur and wield rusty daggers. If you encounter them at level 20, they are clad in mithril and wield enchanted glass short swords. Treasure and store inventories are likewise leveled. At level one, you can fight for your life through a three-level ruin, dispatching dozens of undead and come away with a grand total of 32 gold, a flawed jewel and some day-old bread. Going through the same ruin at level 10 can yield a couple hundred Sepgoldome soul gems and an enchanted weapon. The leveled system also affects quest rewards. Finish Fingers of the Mountain at level 3 and the spell you get is, to say the least, underwhelming. Finish it at level 25 and you get one of the most powerful spells in the game (assuming you have the Magicka to cast it). A sigil stone collected at level 5 is a lot less powerful than a sigil stone collected at level 15. (*NOTE*: PC users can download a mod that corrects this problem.) The leveled system does present some problems, especially in the main story. There are a few quests where you have to defeat hordes of enemies, and you are given help; or, you have to protect someone from enemies. In these cases, having a higher level PC works against you since your allies do not similarly increase in power. The last thing you want is a dozen dremora overwhelming the guards around you, then turning all their attention on you. No matter how uber you think your gear, you're not going to survive that. There are some ways to work around this system: 1) Increase your class levels slowly. If you work mostly with minor skills, and only increase your major skills (and, thus, your class level) when you've locked in +5 modifiers for your attributes, then you'll run far ahead of the NPCs of similar level. For more info on the skill/class system, see the PapaGamer Character Build Guide at: http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt 2) Play at a lower difficulty level. If a quest is just too hard, turn the difficulty down until you complete the quest. 3) Use a modded leveling system (see the Mods section near the end of the guide). This will allow you to level more reasonably without having to pay a lot of attention to the math. 4) Use the Quest Reward Leveling mod (see the Mods section near the end of the guide). This levels up quest rewards with your class level, so you'll always have a use for those special gifts. | Time, Waiting & Resting [GP02-C] +---------------------------------- Time in Oblivion passes at the rate of 30 minutes for every one real minute spent playing the game (not in Pause). So a 24-hour day takes 48 minutes of real time to play through. NPCs operate on schedules during the game day. Normal operating hours for merchants are 8am to 8pm every day. In the cities, most of the rulers hold court from 8am to 6pm every day. You can find a lot of NPCs at dinner in the local tavern or castle dining hall around 8pm to 11pm most days. The calendar is just like the Gregorian calendar, albeit with different names: January - Morning Star July - February - Sun's Dawn August - Last Seed March - First Seed September - Heartfire April - October - Frost Fall May - November - Sun's Dusk June - December - Evening Star Sunday - Sundas Monday - Morndas Tuesday - Tirdas Wednesday - Middas Thursday - Turdas Friday - Fredas Saturday - Loredas The months have the same number of days as the Gregorian calendar, thus Last Seed has 31 days, Heartfire has only 30, etc. The game begins the 27th of Last Seed, Third Empire, year 433 (7/27/433--The in-game calendar displayed with the debug console counts the months from 0 to 11, so August/Last Seed is month 7, not 8). You can see the current date by turning on the debug console (tdt) and choosing page 0 (sdt 0). What does all this mean? Well, not much, unless you need to figure out an NPC's schedule. If a character does activity X on weekdays, you know that means Morndas, Tirdas, Middas, Turdas and Fredas. If it's currently Loredas, you've got to Wait two days to catch the NPC. And so on and so forth. At any time there are no enemies nearby and you are not trespassing you can use the Wait command (default PC key 'T', XBox 360 button 'Back'). You can Wait in one hour increments up to 24 hours (one full day). Waiting any period of time, even just one hour, fully restores your Health, Magicka and Fatigue. This is a kind of cheap way to heal yourself up while spelunking--clear out enough enemies and you can just Wait one hour. You can also sleep, if you have a bed handy. The only times you have to sleep are: 1) To increase your class level. Unless you're using a mod, or have turned on instant leveling in your INI file, you must sleep in a bed to level up. 2) Certain quests require you to sleep in a bed. E.g. "Where Spirits Have Lease" or during Dark Brotherhood quests. An easy way to have access to cheap (i.e. free) beds is to join either the Fighters Guild or Mages Guild. Just asking to join gives you a key to all the guild halls, all of which have beds to sleep in. You don't even have to perform any quests. Every city except Kvatch and Imperial City have both a Fighters Guild and Mages Guild. | Travel, Horses & Quest Markers [GP02-D] +----------------------------------------- There are three ways to travel in Cyrodiil: 1) On foot, either walking or running. 2) By horse. Faster than running (unless you have a very high Speed attribute), but somewhat unreliable. You cannot fight while you're on a horse, they're difficult to steer and they sometimes wander away while you're spelunking. There are seven horses or types of horses available (the Speed attributes in these lists are somewhat misleading, as horses can move a lot faster than humans, so only compare the Speed of a horse against other horses, not humanoids): * Paint: Speed 23, Combat 40, Attack Damage 10, Health 300 Available in Bruma, Leyawiin and from Prior Maborel as part of the "Find the Heir" main quest. Paint horses are the slowest, least combat-worthy horses in the game. However, they are sturdy (300 Health), cheap and you can get one free two minutes after you leave the tutorial dungeon. * Bay: Speed 26, Combat 30, Attack Damage 10, Health 250 Bay horses are sold at the stables outside Bravil and Skingrad. They are not as sturdy as Pain horses, but are faster. * Chestnut: Speed 29, Combat 20, Attack Damage 10, Health 200 Faster and not as hardy as the Bay, Chestnut horses are sold in Chorrol. * White: Speed 29, Combat 50, Attack Damage 12, Health 400 The white horses of Anvil are the sturdiest regular horses available. They're also pretty fast. * Black: Speed 33, Combat 60, Attack Damage 15, Health 325 Cheydinhal's black horses are good combat companions and the fastest regular horses in the game. * Shadowmere: Speed 33, Combat 50, Attack Damage 20, Health 500 You obtain Shadowmere during the Dark Brotherhood quests. As fast as the black horses of Cheydinhal and a better fighter, plus, he can never be killed! (He just falls unconscious.) * Unicorn: Speed 29, Combat 70, Attack Damage 45, Health 350 The unicorn is the target of a hunt instigated by the daedric lord Hircine. While a fearsome combatant, he's not particularly suited to be your regular mount. He doesn't like drawn weapons and will attack even you if you show steel in his presence. 3) Fast Travel: while outdoors, open your World Map, choose a location and click its icon. As long as there are not enemies nearby, you'll be asked if you want to Travel there. Choose yes, and hey! There you are. Some caveats about Fast Travel: * Except for the city markers and a few quest-related locations (Weynon Priory, Cloud Ruler Temple and a couple of others) you must have actually visited the location to Fast Travel there. Even though someone marks the location on your map, you must still get there by foot or horse first. Once you have "discovered" a place, you can Fast Travel there as much as you want. * If you own a horse, the horse Fast Travels with you (and is used to calculate time passed, see below) even if you aren't mounted on the horse. If you Fast Travel into a city, the horse is automatically stabled outside the walls. There's no fee for stabling your horse. * Time does pass when you Fast Travel, based on whether you're on foot or on horse. It's not a large amount of time. Traveling from Cheydinhal in the east to Anvil in the west takes only 11 hours on foot or 5 hours on a black horse. * If you use the console to turn on all map markers (tmm 1), you can Fast Travel to every marker. Of course, all these travel options don't mean jack if you don't know where to go. That's where the quest or objective marker comes in. On local maps, world maps and your HUD compass, you'll see either a green or red arrow marker--provided you have an active quest. This marker shows you the location or direction in which your current objective is located. This is why, many times in this walkthrough, you are told to go through certain steps. You could, conceivably, skip some of the interrogations and move straight to the target; however, without questioning people, you won't get the quest marker on your maps and you'll be trying to find the marble in the oatmeal. A red quest marker indicates the target is *not* in the same area as you. A green quest marker indicates the target *is* in the same area as you. Multiple arrows mean there are multiple targets--i.e. more than one enemy you must kill or more than one NPC who can provide you with information. Your quest journal has three tabs: active quest, open quests and completed quests. Quest markers only show for the active quest, and there can be only one active quest at one time. To change active quests, select an open quest and click it. The open quest you selected becomes the new active quest and quest markers change to reflect the new quest. If you have no active quest, and you get a new quest, it automatically becomes active. If you have an active quest, and you get a new quest, you are asked if you want to Continue or Make This My Active Quest. Continuing adds the new quest to open quests, but does not make it active. The second option, obviously, marks the quest as active. | Mini-games [GP02-E] +--------------------- LOCKPICKING ----------- Whenever you Activate a locked door or container, the lockpicking mini-game starts. You'll see a stylized rendition of the internal workings of a lock. Through the middle runs a hollow bolt into which your pick is inserted. This bolt is held in place by from one (very easy locks) to five (very hard locks) tumblers. You may attempt to automatically open the lock using the Auto Attempt button, or you may pick the lock manually. Move the pick under a tumbler and push up to push the tumbler out of the bolt. The tumblers are spring-loaded and will pop back down either immediately or after a one- or two-second delay. While the tumbler is still seated in the up position, LEFT-CLICK or press the right trigger to set the tumbler. If you click at the wrong time, the tumbler falls back into place and breaks your pick. Depending on your Security skill, other tumblers you have already set will also fall and you'll have to set them all over again. Security controls the lockpicking mini-game in three ways: * Higher Security provides a more likely chance of success if you use the Auto Attempt button to try to pick the lock. * Higher Security keeps set tumblers in place when you break a pick by failing to properly set a tumbler. (Novice: all set tumblers fall; Apprentice: up to three set tumblers fall; Journeyman: up to two set tumblers fall; Expert: only one other set tumbler will fall; Master: no other tumblers fall.) * Higher Security causes tumblers to drop back down more slowly. You can figure out when to set a tumbler into place in one of two ways: * Keep pushing it up and letting it fall and watch the pattern. On more complex locks the tumbler's patter can be quite long. For example, an easy lock might have a tumbler with a pattern of short-long-short-short. A more complex lock might have patterns like short-long-long-short-short-short-long-short-long. Once you've got the pattern, click to set on a long segment of the pattern. * Listen to the sound of the tumbler moving up. There is an extra, very quiet click when the tumbler is going to stay seated for a second or two. That's when you can set the tumbler. Once you learn how to recognize that little extra click, you can pick locks very easily. There are two ways to get around this mini-game: 1) Work on your Alteration skill and use Open Lock spells. 2) Perform Nocturnal's quest (as soon as you reach level 10) and get the Skeleton Key. This unbreakable lockpick allows you to open any lock just by clicking Auto-Attempt. PERSUASION ---------- Each NPC has a Disposition score that indicates how likely they are to give you important information or Haggle with you (if a merchant). You can increase an NPC's Disposition using a Persuasion mini-game. In some cases, getting or continuing a quest requires you to get a high Disposition score with the target. *NOTE* You can also increase Disposition by using Charm spells or the Imperial ability, "Voice of the Emporer". To play the Persuasion mini-game, click the Persuade button (face icon on the left of the conversation menu) during conversation. A segmented wheel opens next to the NPC. There are four segments: Admire, Boast, Joke and Coerce. During each round of play, you must perform each action once. To perform an action, select it and LEFT-CLICK or Right Trigger. Of the four actions, the NPC will love one, like one, dislike one and hate one. You can tell the NPC's reaction by examing his or her face when you select the action. Inside each action's segment of the wheel is a wedge. After each selection, the wedges "rotate", changing their position. There are four wedges: 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. They always rotate clockwise and their order will differ from round to round. The actions the NPC loves, likes, dislikes and hates will always be the same, so you only need to test them at the beginning of the mini-game. Basic gameplay involves choosing liked or loved responses when they are filled with a medium or large wedge and choosing disliked and hated actions when they have only a small wedge in them. All the while you're deciding which action to pick, the NPC's Disposition is falling. First, get a blank sheet of paper and sketch four large X's on it: \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \/ \/ \/ \/ /\ /\ /\ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ Start the Persuasion mini-game and quickly examine the NPC's reactions to each action. Pause the game and note these reactions in the appropriate section of your diagrams. In this example, the NPC (a city guard) loves Admire, likes Boast, dislikes Joke and hates Coerce: LV LV LV LV \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D /\ /\ /\ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ H H H H Next, quickly examine the current position of the wedges, pause the game and note these in your first X: LV \ 25 / \ / LK \/ D 75 /\ 50 / \ /100 \ H You can now extrapolate where each wedge will be for each selection: LV LV LV LV \ 25 / \ 75 / \100 / \ 50 / \ / \ / \ / \ / LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D 75 /\ 50 100 /\ 25 50 /\ 75 25 /\100 / \ / \ / \ / \ /100 \ / 50 \ / 25 \ / 75 \ H H H H The strategy is simple: First determine in which turn you get the 25% wedge in Hate and take that--in this example, it is the third turn. Then you want the 100% wedge in Love, or, if that's unavailable (because it occurs in the same turn as 25% in Hate), then take 75% in Love (second turn in this example). Then Dislike when it is lower--of the remaining turns (first and fourth), Dislike is lower in the first. So, the correct strategy for this round is: Dislike (50%), Love (75%), Hate (25%), Like (25%). You then start the next round and your opening looks like this: LV \100 / \ / LK \/ D 25 /\ 75 / \ / 50 \ H Planning ahead yields: Love (100%), Like (50%), Dislike (25%), Hate (25%). You'll get a greater increase in Disposition this round than the previous round. Continue until you've maxed the NPC's Disposition. Once you get good at this mini-game, you won't need to sketch out your moves, you'll be able to do it in your head, which dramatically decreases the time it takes to sweet-talk NPCs. [GP03] <~~~~~~ COMBAT ~~~~~~> As would be the case in any adventure/RPG style game, there is plenty of combat in Oblivion. Combat can be generalized into three types: Melee, Ranged and Stealth. You can use magic or weapons in any of the types--yes, there are plenty of touch spells to use in an up-close-and-personal way. Before getting into specific tactics for each type of combat, there are some rules-of-thumb that apply to all combat in Oblivion: | Divide and Conquer +-------------------- The combat in Oblivion is real-time and based on simple physics: if you swing at the right time and in the right place, you hit. If you aim your arrow properly, you hit. If you don't do these things right, you miss. There are no dice rolls going on "in the background". Nobody stands around "waiting their turn". If you get surrounded by three or more enemies, you're dead. Fortunately, the developers, for the most part, spaced enemies out so you don't typically walk in on a horde that's just sat down for lunch. Most rooms have only one or two nasties in them. Larger rooms may have three or four, but widely spaced out. You need to learn to draw enemies to you one (or, at worst, two) at a time. Use arrows, ranged spells or jump up-and-down to attract the attention of the closest to you, then turn and run back a ways so your foe will foolishly charge after you, not waiting for his/her/its compatriots. Once you learn how to deal with enemies in *very small* numbers, combat becomes a lot easier. | Variety is the Spice of Survival +---------------------------------- Don't restrict yourself to a single type of combat. Have different methods (melee weapons, ranged weapons, spells) available to you. Some enemies are much more difficult to kill in certain ways. For example, the best way to deal with a mage hurling spells at you is Me Smash! Trading fireballs probably won't cut it (unless you were born under the sign of Atronach and are using the opposing spells to regenerate your own Magicka, but that's advanced tactics and you better know what you're doing...) | The Better Part of Valor +-------------------------- Sometimes, sneaking past is the best way to handle the situation, even for non Stealth characters. And, of course, you can always run away and return later when you've got new, fancier equipment (with enchantments!) | Melee Combat +-------------- If you're used to the charge-and-bash "strategy" present in many RPGs, it's time to re-think your tactics. Oblivion is much more akin to standard first-person shooters (which it emulates in gameplay) in which you must use your brains before your brawn, no matter how well you've crafted your tank. Simply charging into a battle situation is a good way to end up dead. Even as a primarily melee fighter, you need to have an arsenal of ranged weapons and spells at your disposal. They don't have to especially effective, just enough to either draw enemies to you or to put archers/mages off balance while you charge. It also doesn't hurt to have some Restoration magic handy. Use magic between battles to heal yourself, saving the potions for emergencies--i.e., when you're in the middle of combat and about to die. You do not want to neglect your inner sneak thief, either. When approaching large rooms, sneak up to the doorway and try to identify the enemies within. You may be able to single them out with well-placed arrows, thus keeping yourself from being ganged up on by three or four beasties. The watchword for fighters in Oblivion: Patience. Remember, it's a virtue. | Ranged Combat +--------------- Ranged combat can be accomplished with a bow or with magic--mostly Destruction spells, as that is the school with the most damaging ranged spells. Ranged characters depend on Agility and Speed to stay out of range of melee foes. Acrobatics is a good skill for this type of fighting as it gives you the ability to jump up out of the way of the swinging sword and pepper your foe while they futilely try to reach you. This works better outdoors than in dungeons, but even some of the bigger caverns and ruins have lots of ledges and cubbyholes where you can stand and fire away. You'll want to invest some time in leveling up your Block skill and carry a shield if using spells (archers can block with their bow). This will be your fallback if you can't get away from the big nasty with sharp, pointy claws. You'll not want to wear heavy armor, as it slows you down too much; you may even want to stick with enchanted robes. If you go pure archer, you'll tend to be at a disadvantage. You will want to consider having some melee weapons to use in case of emergency--you can't snipe everything in this game. Mages will be a little better off as there are plenty of spells that can do as much, if not more, damage than the typical melee tank. | Stealth Combat +---------------- Some players prefer getting the drop on their enemies, rather than trying to duel everyone they meet. If you attack someone undetected, you score additional damage--up to six times as much damage using an undetected melee attack. Add poison and/or enchantments to your weapon, and you can rack up a lot of one-hit kills this. The downside? You must have a lot of patience, diligently level up your Sneak skill and take your time going through every dungeon. Stealth fighting is not for those who just want to get things over with. You also can find yourself at a disadvantage if you get into a scrap with multiple foes. Since your fighting abilities are designed for taking out one enemy as quickly as possible, being surrounded puts you in a world of hurt. In order to minimize your chances of being mobbed, you'll want to invest in some ranged Destruction spells or the Marksman skill. You can use arrows or spells to draw a single foe to you, then go into Sneak mode and take them out from hiding. You should also invest in light armor skill, so you're not totally defenseless if Sneaking fails you. [MS00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAIN STORY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ [MS01] <~~~~~~ TUTORIAL ~~~~~~> This "starter dungeon" is your tutorial for the game. It covers most of the basics. You start by choosing your race. Later you'll choose your birthsign and class. You'll be given the opportunity to change all of these at the end of the tutorial. | Imperial Prison +----------------- Wander around your cell, playing with the chains and listening to the dark elf across the way taunt you. Soon, Uriel Septim himself, accompanied by some of his blades, will show up and give you a way out. Follow them down into the escape tunnel. You'll soon reach a place where the Emperor is attacked and Renault is killed--stay out of this fight, as you don't have a weapon or armor and you can't change the outcome anyway. Loot Renault's corpse for her sword and a torch and search the assassin bodies for miscellaneous stuff (mostly potions). From this point, you can't follow the Emperor's party, but a convenient hole in the wall to the southeast soon opens and a couple of rats run through. Kill the rats, jump through the hole and watch out for more rats. Thoroughly search this large cavern. A skeleton near the entrance has a bow and some arrows, so you can start working on your Marksman skill. There are a number of corpses--one has several lockpicks and another has a key to the exit door. The exit is to the southeast; the lock can be picked if you haven't found the key. (The body with the key is near the door.) | Imperial Substructure +----------------------- There's a zombie at the bottom of the slope leading out of the first room. This will be the strongest foe you've faced thus far. Other than that bit of excitement, you're mostly just fighting rats and collecting loot. Near the exit is a goblin early-warning system consisting of skulls hanging from the ceiling. | Natural Caverns +----------------- Soon after entering the caverns, you'll get your first lesson in sneaking. You can just sneak past the goblin, but might as well sneak up to him and give him the business end of your weapon. Around the next corner is a tripwire. You can jump the tripwire and then fight the goblin beyond it; or, try to run through the tripwire and speed past the goblin, who will then take the brunt of the swinging maces. Don't try this unless you have a Speed rating of 40 or higher. You'll then want to advance carefully through the caverns, fighting each goblin as you come upon it. Don't rush or you'll get two or three of these nasty beasts on you at once and then it's reload time. Near the end, you'll come upon a pile of logs at the top of a slope. Activate the logs to take out the two goblins at the bottom of the slope. Advance slowly down the slope to a very large cavern. There will be three or four goblins in here, one of which is a shaman with a staff that shoots electricity. Use a bow or ranged spell to draw the weaker goblins to you, then bull-rush the shaman. The tunnel exit from this room eventually leads into the Imperial Subteranne. | Imperial Subteranne +--------------------- You come out on a high ledge looking over Uriel Septim and his bodyguards. Jump down into the room and Septim invites you to join the party. During the conversation you'll select a birthsign. Don't worry too much about your selection, you'll get to change it later. Follow the emperor and guards, helping with the assassins as they attack. You'll eventually reach... | The Sanctum +------------- Soon after entering the Sanctum, Baurus and the other guard go to scout ahead, leaving you to guard the Emperor in a side room. Uriel Septim initiates another conversation with you, this time charging that you take his Amulet of Kings to Jauffre, who will know where to find the last remaining son of the Emperor. As soon as you have the amulet, a Mythic Dawn assassin jumps through a secret door and kills Septim. [MS02] <~~~~~~ DELIVER THE AMULET ~~~~~~> | Sewers +-------- Baurus and the other guard return in time to help you deal with the assassin. You can then talk to Baurus about Jauffre. Seems Jauffre is the Grandmaster of the Blades--the Emperor's personal guard--and he bides his time at Weynon Priory outside Chorrol. Baurus also initiates your first chance to choose a class. Don't spend too much time on it now, you can change it later (along with your race and birthsign). He'll then point you through the door the assassin came through, saying it leads to the sewers and freedom. Follow the hall to the sewer entrance, then advance through the sewers. Soon after entering, you'll come to a large room divided by water. There are two exits. The left--north--exit leads to some loot guarded by goblins. The right--southeast--exit eventually leads to the long tunnel out of the sewers. About halfway down the tunnel you'll come to a gate. When you Activate the gate, you'll get a menu allowing you to change your race, birthsign, class or exit the sewers. *SAVE YOUR GAME* You may even want to use the console command SaveGame to create a specially-named save. Never delete this savegame. Whenever you want to start the game over with a "new" character, just load this savegame and change your race, birthsign and class, then exit the sewers. You never have to go through the starter dungeon again. (Well, unless you go through the Dark Brotherhood quests, but that's different.) When you're happy with your choice of character, exit the sewers. You find yourself looking out over a river toward some ruins. Behind you rises the Imperial Prison and, beyond that, Imperial City itself. | Imperial City +--------------- You can, if you like, immediately Fast Travel to Weynon Priory; however, you will probably want to stop in Imperial City and sell off any useless items you collected in the starter dungeon. The main story beckons, but so does the entire land of Cyrodiil. To quest, or not to quest, that is the question. There are several reasons for starting the main story right away and leaving everything else until later: 1) Several times during the main story you will be required either to protect an NPC or fight a pitched battle against hordes of daedra with the help of other NPCs. If you wait until you are higher level, the daedra you fight will also be higher level. Alas, the NPCs around you will not. Once you get into the late teens in level, the daedra you fight will have your allies for lunch and come looking for you as dessert. Fighting a mob of mid-level daedra isn't healthy. Not at all. You could wait until your power rivals the Nine (around 35th or 40th level), at which point the daedra you face simply can't keep up and you'll mow them down with ease. That doesn't necessarily help in the "protect the NPC" quests, though. At low levels, the daedra that spew forth from Oblivion are also low-level and your allies can pitch in and actually do more than contribute to some demon's indigestion. In this case, the leveled system works as intended and keeps the tasks challenging, but not impossible. 2) If you do a little bit of the main story, up to taking Martin back to Weynon Priory, you'll start the part of the game where random Oblivion gates pop up around Cyrodiil. If you get up to that point in the main story, then go side questing for a while, your way will eventually be impeded by all the daedra roaming the countryside. Better to get to the end of the main story and clear all that up. 3) When you finish the main story, you are proclaimed the Champion of Cyrodiil and everyone loves you. Literally. You get a big Disposition increase with all the NPCs, which makes all the side quests (many of which require a high Disposition score with an NPC somewhere along the way) much easier. No mucking about with the Disposition mini-game, or Charm spells or any thing like that. Just chat with the people and they'll do whatever you want or tell you anything you want to know. Makes the side quests a breeze. 4) A lot of the rewards for side quests are special enchanted items that are keyed to your level. The higher your level, the more powerful the item. If you collect all this junk at low levels, that's exactly what they will be-- junk. (PC users can download a mod that fixes this problem. See the Mods section at the end of this guide.) Better to do all these side quests later and get the uber leet gear instead of the fancy baubles. Of course, you can ignore the voice of reason and go off side questing, in which case, just skip on down to the section you want to see. For those of you with a bit more wisdom, Fast Travel to... | Weynon Priory +--------------- Weynon Priory is located southeast of Chorrol. You can Fast Travel there from the beginning of the game. Jauffre is typically found upstairs in the main priory house, usually sitting at his desk. Talk to him for a history of the kings, the dragonfires and Oblivion. He'll also point you to Septim's lone surviving heir, Martin, who serves as a priest of Akatosh in Kvatch. Jauffre will take the amulet and charge you with finding Martin and bringing him to Weynon Priory. After, ask Jauffre about assistance. He'll open his chest and you can loot it for better armor, weapons and other things. Downstairs, talk to Prior Maborel, who will offer the loan of his horse. Accept, with thanks. You now have some decent equipment and a horse, the world is yours! Or you can get on with your mission to Kvatch. [MS03] <~~~~~~ FIND THE HEIR ~~~~~~> | Outskirts of Kvatch +--------------------- When you reach the outskirts of Kvatch, you find the city in flames. To the south is a refugee camp, where you get the full story of daedra spewing forth from an Oblivion gate. Questions about Martin lead you to Savlian Matius, captain of the Kvatch guard, who is holding the line against the demons at the entrance to Kvatch. Wind your way up the hill and find Matius and a few troops fighting daedra. (The specific type of daedra depend on your class level.) Pitch in, if you wish. When the fighting is over, talk to Matius, who tells you Martin is holed up inside the chapel in the city. Your only hope is to find out how to close the Oblivion gate, so the soldiers can retake the city. [MS04] <~~~~~~ BREAKING THE SIEGE OF KVATCH ~~~~~~> | Oblivion: Kvatch Gate +----------------------- Welcome to your primary task in the main story of Oblivion. You will soon grow to hate Oblivion gates. Ah well, no better time than the present. Step up to the glowing portal and Activate it and go to hell. Literally. Fire resistance is a good thing. Fire spells--not so good. Almost everything you encounter in Oblivion is resistant to fire, but weak against shock damage. Load up on shocking spells, or shock-enchanted weapons. (Funny--you would think the weakness would be to frost. Anyway...) If you start encountering Flame Atronachs, you can use frost against them. (Similarly, use fire against Frost Atronachs. Against Storm Atronachs, use anything other than shock.) As you enter Oblivion, you'll find a Kvatch guard under attack by daedra. If the guard survives--his name is Ilend Vonius--talk to him and either send him back to Matius, or ask him to come along and watch your back. Ahead of you (north) is a bridge blocked by a gate. To the east is a dead end. Your path lies to the west. First note about Oblivion: these areas are all very linear. If you get lost, just look at your map. There's usually only one way you can go. Wind your way around the west side of this island, until you reach the northwest section. Then you head back south--and a little east--eventually reaching the large round tower in the center of the north sector of the island. This is a Sigil Keep. You'll get to know these well. This particular keep is called Blood Feast. Lovely, ain't it? All Oblivion towers follow the same basic layout: * The tower is hollow in its center, with a Sigillum Sanguis at the top. To reach the Sanguis, you have to climb through one to three side areas. * Most Sigil Keeps have two side areas: Rending Halls and Corridors of Dark Salvation. These areas are relatively small, feature a few daedra, and the occasional trap. * In between the side areas, you'll climb some ramps around the central hollow center of the tower. First up in Blood Feast, as in most Sigil Keeps, is the Rending Halls. Enter and climb the ramp, which takes a 90-degree turn. At the top, kill the daedra and use the Blood Fountain for some health regeneration. Re-enter the tower core through one of the two doors to the south. Climb a ramp around the tower core to reach an entrance to the Corridors of Dark Salvation. Wind your way up the ramp to a large room and dispose of the daedra. The only unlocked exit from this room (besides the hall you just came through) is to the west. This leads to a bridge over to a smaller tower. In the small tower (Reapers Sprawl), climb the ramp and kill the Sigil Keeper. Take a key from his body. Inside a cage is another Kvatch guard--still alive! Talk to him to learn what you must do: enter the Sigillum Sanguis at the top of the tower and remove the sigil stone. That will close the gate. Go back to Blood Feast. You can now leave this room through either the north or southwest door. The southwest door eventually leads back to the tower core, but on a dead-end balcony. There is some loot here (in bloody hunks of meat called "The Punished"). The north door leads to a ramp that curves to the east. At the top of the ramp, you'll see another ramp going down to the east and a door to the south. The door goes to your objective. The ramp going down eventually leads to another small tower, with some minor loot. Leave through the south door at the top of the ramp, re-entering the core of Blood Feast. Wind your way up the ramps to what looks like a dead end. Find the round platform surrounded by spikes. It's a teleporter (only a few of the Sigil Keeps have these). Step on it, Activate one of the spikes and you'll reach the level where you can enter the Sigillum Sanguis. All the Sanguis you enter are round rooms with three levels--you always enter at the bottom of the room and the sigil stone is always at the top. Of course. Fight your way up the stairs, and then up a ramp. When you reach the sigil stone at the top, simply Activate it. Things blow up. Lots of flashing. You're back in front of Kvatch with only a burned out relic to remind you of the lovely Oblivion gate. Find and talk to Matius. He wants you to come with them as they fight through to the survivors in the chapel. | Kvatch +-------- *NOTE*: The only way to get Martin out of the chapel is to let Matius and his men go in, going with them, and kill all the daedra inside the gates. If you try to go it alone, the daedra keep respawning and you can't get the survivors (including Martin) out of the church. Charge into Kvatch with Matius and his men and kill daedra (about four or five). Once you get a message that all the daedra are dead, enter the Temple of Akatosh. Matius will get a report from one of his guards inside the temple, and the survivors will head out to the refugee camp--Martin among them. You have a couple of choices: * Buttonhole Martin now and convince him to go with you to Weynon Priory. You then leave Matius and company to their own devices (which is to stand around and do nothing). * Let Martin go on down to the refugee camp. You can find him there later, perfectly safe, and have your heart-to-heart with him then. This frees you up to do the "Battle for Castle Kvatch" sub-quest. Regardless of what you decide to do, you must talk to Matius to officially end Breaking the Siege of Kvatch. Matius will ask for your help re-taking the Castle of Kvatch and finding the count. This is an optional sub-quest that relates to the optional "Allies for Bruma" quest that comes later on. This quest is covered under "Allies for Bruma", so if you want to do it now, skip down a few sections and get the low-down on your tasks. *NOTE* It is possible to do everything in Kvatch before ever visiting Jauffre at Weynon Priory. But, if you do that, you won't be able to recognize Brother Martin (he'll be labelled as a generic priest) and you won't be able to talk to him about being the heir to the throne. If you do break the siege before talking to Jauffre, you'll have to go talk to him, return to the refugee camp, and there you will find Martin wandering about. [MS05] <~~~~~~ WEYNON PRIORY ~~~~~~> When you're ready to get on with the main quest, talk to Martin and then Fast Travel to Weynon Priory. (You do not want to walk all that way when leading someone. They never run and it will take a long, long time.) You arrive in the middle of an attack. The Priory's shepherd runs up, with a Mythic Dawn assassin on his heels, and fills you in. Maborel is dead. (Yay! His horse is, ipso facto, yours now!) Jauffre is holed up in the chapel. Kill the assassins outside (with Martin's help, Brother Piner will join in as well), then enter the chapel and kill the assassins inside. You must keep Martin and Jauffre alive, else it's reload time. Once the assassins are dead, Jauffre thinks of the Amulet of Kings. Follow him to his loft room so you can be there to witness the look of shock on his face when he finds the Amulet is gone. Yeah. Never saw that coming. Jauffre decides the safest place for Martin is the headquarters of the Blades: Cloud Ruler Temple. The temple will be marked for you on your map and you can even Fast Travel there. (Hooray!) When you arrive, Martin is introduced as the Emperor, gives a little speech and heads off to settle in. Jauffre offers you membership in the Blades. Go ahead and accept--especially if you are a heavy armor fighter. There's a full set of kit (helm, gauntlets, cuirass, greaves, boots, shield and katana) for every Blade. This equipment is the equivalent of steel armor, so it's pretty good if you're still low level. <~~~~~~ RANDOM OBLIVION GATES ~~~~~~> This isn't really a quest. You get no journal entry, and there are no rewards (beyond any normal loot you may collect). You don't even have to worry about this at all; however... Once you go to Weynon Priory, the main story advances to the point where Oblivion gates begin popping up in random spots around Cyrodiil. The further you are in the main story, the higher the chance a gate will open in whatever region you are in. These gates not only open in random places, they point to random Oblivion worlds. All Oblivion worlds are roughly the same, but there's no way to predict the exact layout you'll get when going through a gate. Enter at your own risk. You can: * Ignore them. When you finish the main story, they will close automatically. You'll still have whatever daedra came out of them to deal with, but that's just a nuisance. (Especially since the first daedra to come out will be commensurate with your level at the time the gate opened--not your level when you come back through to sweep the area clean.) * Close them. They don't stay closed. But if you want the extra experience and/or loot and/or alchemical ingredients found only in Oblivion, then you can go in and close them (temporarily). [MS06] <~~~~~~ THE PATH OF DAWN ~~~~~~> Once you've settled in, talk to Jauffre. He wants you to track down the Mythic Dawn and find the Amulet. He points you to an old friend, Baurus (the guy who failed to properly guard Uriel Septim), who is hanging out at Luther Broad's Boarding House in Imperial City. Luther Broad's is in the Elven Gardens district. You can Fast Travel there, or walk/run/ride. Your choice. During normal hours, Baurus is sitting at the bar in Luther's place, having a pint (or two or three). Check out the guy sitting over in the corner, name of Astav Wirich. This will be your target. Have a seat next to Baurus (target the stool and Activate it) and have a little chat. Baurus has been intelligence-gathering and now he's being followed. He wants you to help him pin his shadow. Baurus will get up and leave, heading down to Luther's basement. Wirich will get up and follow him. You do the same. Once down in the basement, Wirich transforms himself in to a Mythic Dawn assassin. Help Baurus dispose of him. Frisk the body to find a book: Mankar Camoran's Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book 1. (This is a skill book, and will increase your Conjuration skill by 1 when you read it.). Talk to Baurus about the book. He suggests taking it to Tar-Meena, at the Arcane University. Go to college. If you're a member in good standing of the Mages Guild (i.e. you've completed enough of their tasks to have access to the University), you'll find Tar-Meena in the library. If not, she'll be hanging around in the lobby, just in case a visitor with a strange book happens to drop in and need help. Show her the book and she'll tell you this is the first of four Commentaries. She supposes having all four commentaries will reveal the location of the Mythic Dawn's headquarters. She just happens to have Book 2 (skill, Destruction +1) and suggests the bookstore First Edition in Imperial City for the other two. Go to the Market District of Imperial City. First Edition is located on the main SW to NE street near the gate to Green Emperor Way. Talk to Phintias, the merchant about the Books. Yes, he just so happens to have Book 3, but another customer has already reserved the book and he's holding it for this person. Gwinas is the key to both Book 3 and Book 4. He's coming to buy Book 3 and he has a note setting up a meeting at which he'll receive Book 4. You have several options: 1) (Preferred): Wait in First Edition (you won't have to wait long), to Gwinas to show up. As soon as Gwinas has bought the book, corner him and reveal to him the Mythic Dawn is the group that killed the Emperor. Gwinas will re-think his idea of joining the cult, give you Book 3 (skill, Illusion +1) and the note about the meeting. 2) Get Phintias' Disposition north of 70 and he'll sell you Book 3 without waiting for Gwinas to come get it. You'll still have to get the note from Gwinas, which you can do by confronting him as in option #1. Since Gwinas will give you Book 3 free, but Phintias won't, option #1 is better. 3) Follow Gwinas back to his hotel, and either pick-pocket Book 3 and the note from him, or kill him and take them from his corpse. *HINT* Visit Edgar's Discount Spells in the Market District and pick up a Convalescence spell. (Convalescence allows you to heal a target.) Very useful for keeping NPCs alive during the tasks ahead. Once you have Book 3 and the note, return to Baurus. He'll tell you he knows exactly where this meeting is to take place. Follow him to the Elven Gardens district and a sewer entrance. Baurus leads you on a winding path through the sewers, impeded by the occasional rat, mud crab or goblin. Finally, he'll stop and tell you the meeting is to take place just beyond a door. He suggests you go up some stairs to the left and spy on the proceedings from above. You can either acquiesce or demand to be the one who has the meeting and Baurus can be the cover. Either way works. The meeting is with Raven Camoran, Mankar's son. Not long into the meeting, a couple of assassins find whoever is handling backup duty on the upper floor and your cover is blown. It's a 3-on-2 fight, unless you let Baurus get killed, then you're in trouble. Once all the assassins are dead, loot Raven's corpse for Book 4 (skill, Mysticism +1) and a key to another exit from the sewers. Talk to Baurus (if he's still alive). He's going to Cloud Ruler Temple to take up his duties under Martin. You need to get out of the sewers. Use the key you took from Raven to go out the way he came in and loot their hideout. If you keep heading north, you'll reach the Talos Plaza sewers, which is a slightly shorter way out; but, hasn't been cleared of enemies (and you're on your own now). You can also go back the way you came in--if you can remember which turns to take. Once out of the sewers, return to Tar-Meena at Arcane University. She'll say she has to study the books in order to find the hidden message. It takes her three days to figure out the hidden message, which is "Green Emperor Way Where Tower Touches Midday Sun". (Read the first letter of each paragraph of each book.) You don't have to wait for Tar-Meena. Go to Green Emperor Way (middle section of Imperial City, where the palace is located). The palace is surrounded by acemeteryy and you're looking for the tomb of Prince Camarril. His tomb is located in the southwest portion of the district. It's not marked on your map; look for a large, domed tomb and target the door to find out if it's his. Once you've found the tomb, Wait until the 11:00am hour and then sit and wait for the light show to begin. When you see a glowing map appear on the door of the tomb, step up close enough to get the message you've found the headquarters of the Mythic Dawn. Mission accomplished. [MS07] <~~~~~~ DAGON SHRINE ~~~~~~> Your next step is obvious: invade HQ and get the Amulet of Kings back. You can return to Cloud Ruler Temple if you wish, but Jauffre and Martin aren't going to tell you any different. The Lake Arrius Caverns now marked for you on your map are northwest of Cheydinhal, so Fast Travel there first. The caverns are on the north shore of Lake Arrius. When you enter, you'll meet a non-hostile Mythic Dawn member. He'll give you a pass code and you give him the reply. He then instructs you to proceed through the door and see Harrow. Now, before you actually go any further, you need to know some things. If you play this undercover, you'll be stripped of all your non-quest items such as armor, weapons, potions--*everything*. Or, you can try to bull your way through, which means fights with a *lot* of Mythic Dawn assassins. Here's the rundown for each method: 1) You're going to play it "safe", so you decide to continue the deception. This is a good choice for a very low level character. Before continuing, Fast Travel back to Cheydinhal and stow your gear. You can join the Fighter or Mages Guilds just by asking and get a free place to stash your wares. You can't drop gold, so use it to buy potions and other good stuff, because you don't want to just give it to Harrow. Alternately, you can drop everything on the floor of the entrance room of the caverns, but it will be hard to pick it back up when you come flying through later with a dozen assassins on your tail. Fast Travel back to the caverns and go through the door to your meeting with Harrow. Harrow will lead you to the main shrine and you'll hear Mankar Camoran himself give a little speech before disappearing into his own little "Paradise". He takes the Amulet of Kings with him (you didn't think it was going to be that easy did you?), but leaves behind the Mysterium Xarxes, which could prove useful. Harrow will lead you down and tell Remora Camoran (Mankar's daughter) that you've come to be initiated. She'll invite you up to the dais and offer to let you kill the Argonian tied to the altar. Regardless of what you do with the Argonian, you're going to end up in a fight. The wisest course of action is to agree to kill the prisoner, take the silver dagger laying next to the book, then Activate the prisoner to free him. Grab the book from the altar. Now everyone in the room has gone hostile. It's time to run, crying like a baby. You can't get out the way you came in. Your exit is up the stairs you came down, but turning to the right rather than the left. At the top is a door that leads to the Living Quarters. Head through the door and skip down to the Living Quarters section below. 2) If you're a little bit higher level, have decent kit and don't want to risk losing it, you can probably fight your way through to the shrine. Kill the guard in the entrance cavern and get a key from his body. This key will open the door into the next cave--just a tunnel, with possibly one cultist. The door at the end of the tunnel leads to the Shrine Antechamber. Read these directions carefully--you do not want to stop long enough to fight anyone, as that just brings hordes of cultists down on your head. And you can't handle hordes, no matter how high level you are. As you enter the Antechamber, you are in a large room. Your path is to the south. Book it to a tunnel and take the first left. You're going to have cultists nipping at your heals. Equip a healing spell and cast it as you need it. The key you got from the entrance guard should unlock the door here leading to the shrine. If you reach the end of the tunnel, where it turns right (east), you went too far. Good luck trying to turn around and go back. As you enter the shrine, a gate drops behind you, shutting off pursuit. You're on a high ledge looking over the altar. No one will notice your presence as you listen to Mankar Camoran's speech and watch him disappear with the Amulet of Kings. Once he's gone, you're in excellent position to snipe at the cultists below with arrows or spells. They will eventually respond, running up the stairs, but you should be able to get them one or two at a time, which is manageable. Once they are all dead, you can descend to the lower level, free the prisoner, and get the Mysterium Xarxes from the altar. You can't go back the way you came, so go up the stairs, taking a right instead of a left, and take the door at the top into the Living Quarters. | Living Quarters +----------------- Whether you're fully suited up or wearing only a red robe and carrying a dagger, there's only one way through here: running for your life. The Living Quarters are full of cultists, many of whom will use hit-and-run tactics. Stopping to fight just means getting beaten by as many as a dozen Mythic Dawn assassins at once. You can't survive that. So, running it is. Get a healing spell ready, sheathe your weapon (if you have one) and start pumping. From your entry point, run down the tunnel and take a right at the end. Take the next left and run until you can take a right turn. This leads into a room with two or more cultists. The exit is to the southwest--as you enter the room, take a hard left and hug the wall to find your way into the escape tunnel. This tunnel will turn south (left) and deposit you in a large room with at least two assassins. Take the stairs to the west (to your right as you come into the room) and run around the upper level to the exit in the southeast corner of the room. This tunnel turns south, then east and dumps you in another large room. You may find up to a dozen cultists in here having "worship services". Lucky you. The exit is in the middle of the south wall, so take a right as you come into the room and run through the middle of the mob to make your escape. This is a short tunnel that slopes up. At the top, turn left to find a door that leads back into the entrance cavern. Run down this tunnel to a small room. The exit tunnel is to your left (east). At the start of the tunnel is a turn-lever on the wall. Activate it to open the secret door just ahead and run through into the main entrance to the caverns. The exit to the outside world is straight ahead. As soon as you are outside, attempt to Fast Travel. If you were quick enough, you got out before any cultists and you'll be able to Fast Travel. If you get the "You cannot travel while enemies are near" message, then start running again in the direction of Cheydinhal. Speed is your only concern now. Once you are safe and have re-equipped yourself (if you decided on the undercover method), you can think about going back to the Caverns and methodically cleaning them out. There's a lot of loot in there. Or you can just count yourself lucky and Fast Travel to Cloud Ruler Temple. Martin wants that book you stole. [MS08] <~~~~~~ SPIES ~~~~~~> Back at Cloud Ruler Temple, find Martin (he's usually in the main hall) and give him Mysterium Xarxes. He gets pumped over getting into a little dark magic, then sends you to Jauffre, who's got some "concerns". Jauffre, indeed, is concerned. It appears strangers have been loitering about the Temple; but, despite having a huge building full of fighters, Jauffre can't spare anyone but you to check into it. Funny. Anyway, Jauffre refers you to Captain Steffan of the Blades or Captain Burd of the Bruma constabulary. Your quickest route through the task ahead is to track down Steffan. He's usually patrolling, during the day, follow your quest marker to find him. He reports some strangers hanging out around a runestone just south of the Temple. Walk down the slope to the runestone (it's kind of hard to miss, since it's big and has glowing runes on it). Take up position near the stone and Wait until dark (around 7 or 8 p.m.). You'll soon be attacked by two Mythic Dawn assassins, who shouldn't be too much trouble to take out. Search their bodies for some keys, including one labeled "Jearl's House Key". Jearl, eh? Go down to Bruma and find Jearl's house, it's in the southwest corner of town, behind the Chapel of Talos. Enter and find the trapdoor down into the basement, one of the keys you looted will open it. In the basement you will find a note outlining the Mythic Dawn's plan to open a Great Gate at Bruma in order to get to Martin. Return to Jauffre with the information, and then talk to Martin about his progress with the book. *PROGRESS NOTE* At this point in the game, you get two divergent, parallel paths. One involves collecting items for Martin to use in opening a portal to Paradise. The other involves getting Bruma ready for the opening of the Great Gate. The quests for Martin are Blood of the Daedra, Blood of the Divines and Miscarcand. The quests from Jauffre are Bruma Gate and Allies for Bruma (which includes a couple of sub-quests). You can do these in whatever order you wish. Eventually, the main story will merge in the quest Defense of Bruma. [MS09] <~~~~~~ BLOOD OF THE DAEDRA ~~~~~~> The first item on Martin's shopping list is an artifact of a daedra lord. These are, actually, fairly easy to come by. There are fifteen, total, and obtaining each one involves it's own set of tasks. These are detailed in the Side Quests section under Daedric Quests. Read through about the Daedric Quests and decide which artifact you are willing to give up, then go complete that task. The game suggests Azura's shrine, but many players like to keep her re-useable soul gem, Azura's Star. Once you have a daedric artifact, return to Martin. He now wants the blood of a god. Oh goody. [MS10] <~~~~~~ BLOOD OF THE DIVINES ~~~~~~> Martin refers you to Jauffre, who knows the location of Tiber Septim's armor. (The first emperor, Tiber eventually became the god Talos.) Speak to Jauffre. First, Jauffre wants you to go help close an Oblivion gate that's opened outside Bruma. This is the Bruma Gate quest. You can choose to do it now, or wait until later. Ask Jauffre about the armor of Tiber Septim. Jauffre directs you to Sancre Tor, which used to be a holy site for the Blades. He'll give you a key and directions, then it's up to you. Sancre Tor is west-southwest of Cloud Ruler Temple, almost due north of Chorrol. You'll need to prep for ghosts and wraiths in this dungeon. That means a magic or silver weapon or lots of spells. Suit up and hike on over. As you enter Sancre Tor, you'll find an enchanted weapon--if you don't already have one. Follow the hall to the first large room, and watch out for the dart traps surrounding the loot chests. Continue northwest and then northeast until you come to a large room. Be careful entering the room, this if the first of four boss fights you'll have in this dungeon. You may recall from Jauffre's conversation that the four greatest Blades of Tiber Septim's era lost their lives in Sancre Tor. Well, their skeletons are still prowling the corridors, and you have to kill them to release their spirits. They are each using enchanted Ancient Blades equipment. Oh. Goody. Pepper the skeletons from range first to soften them up. They move fast, so you won't get many shots in. Try to keep the fights in the large rooms where you find them, rather than retreating up hallways. You don't want to get into confined places with these guys. First up is Rielus. After he's defeated, his ghost appears and gives you the whole story. You'll need to release his "brothers" as well, so they can break the final evil enchantment on Sancre Tor. Loot his skeletal corpse for the Amulet of the Ansei. Head southeast out of this room and follow the corridor to a door that leads to the Entry Hall. There will be a couple of ghosts here. Down in the pit is a huge door that leads to the Tomb of the Reman Emperors. That's the ultimate goal, but it is inaccessible until you kill (re-kill?) the four undead Blades. Go down into the pit, near the door to the Tomb. Jump into the water to your right and find the door that's underneath the upper level of this room. This leads to the Catacombs. You'll make your way through several tunnels and two larger rooms before reaching the room with Alain, an undead Blade. Alain drops Northwind, a one-handed katana with frost damage. Behind Alain, to the northeast, is a door leading to the Hall of Judgement. In the hall, go through the first room, exiting to the northwest to find your way to Casnar, your next target. He is using Mishaxhi's Cleaver, a two-handed sword with Disintegrate Armor enchantment. (Hopefully, you remembered to bring repair hammers with you.) From Casnar's room, find the tunnel leading northeast (the exit is along the east wall of the room) and follow this back to the Entry Hall. In the Entry Hall, take the east exit to get to the Prison. When you enter the first large room, you'll fight the skeleton of Warden Kastav. He's not as tough as the Blades, but he's no patsy. There will probably be a ghost or two joining in the fight. Loot his corpse for his key, which opens the door at the top of the ramp. At the second four-way intersection, take a right and then take your third left. The next left leads to Valdemar's room. Defeat him and take his enchanted shield. That should be all four undead Blades. Return to the Entry Hall and head for the Tomb. The spirits of the four Blades should be here, and they'll take up positions to bring down the magical barriers protecting the armor of Tiber Septim. Once the barriers are down, pick up the armor and head back to Cloud Ruler Temple. (Yes, that really is it. There's no more frighting' unless you left some ghosts behind you.) [MS11] <~~~~~~ MISCARCAND ~~~~~~> Upon your return, Martin reveals the third item necessary for a portal to Paradise: a great welkynd stone. If you've been exploring any Ayleid ruins prior to this point, you may have pockets full of the normal welkynd stones (they fully restore your Magicka when used). Martin directs you to the ancient Ayleid capital of Miscarcand. This ruin is between Skingrad and Kvatch, not far north of the main road. It is filled with mostly skeletons, zombies and goblins. The goblins are engaged in running fights with the undead. You'll frequently be able to stand by and watch them kill each other before you polish off the survivors. From the entrance, take a left and head down the long hall to a four-way intersection. The gate in front of you cannot be opened from this side. To your right, stairs go down to the large room you just passed, which is mainly a looting opportunity. To the left is a hall that leads to a raised corridor over a large room. Snipe the goblins and undead from your raised position. Eventually, you will have to jump down. After looting the room, take the exit in the northwest corner and go up the stairs. Find the button on the first landing and push it. This opens a gate leading south from the raised corridor. Go up more stairs and step on the pressure plate at the top to open the gate at the four-way intersection. Head south and enter the second level, Sel Vanua. In the first room is a varla stone under a cover. The button to lift the cover is on the east wall. (Varla stones fully recharge any enchanted weapon you have equipped.) Take the south exit from this room to reach another large room with a raised corridor crossing it. Again, you can snipe from the raised position. Eventually, you'll have to jump down. The gate leading out of this area is to the north. The button that opens that gate is in a side passage on the south side of the room. Once the gate is open, enter the third level, Morimath. Make your way through a series of halls to a large room with a platform in the middle. In the center of the platform is the great welkynd stone, ripe for the picking. Before you pick it, get ready for battle. If you have fire spells or weapons, now is the time to get them ready. Wait for one hour to fully restore your health and Magicka. Ready? Pick up the stone. Some stairs rise from the lower floor up to the platform. (All the easier for the zombies to get you.) Behind you, a door opens letting out a lich, the King of Miscarcand. Jump down to the lower floor and deal with the zombies as quickly as you can. Then you can concentrate on the lich. It's resistant to frost and magic, and weak to fire. It's primarily a spellcaster, so try to close with it and smash it good. After the lich is dead, loot its remains for a key. Go back up the platform and go north into the alcove from which the lich came. Step on the pressure plate, kill the zombies and exit to the west. The key you got from the lich will open the gate and you've got a shortcut straight back to the top level of the ruin. Another pressure plate opens the secret door leading to the main exit from Miscarcand. Return to Martin with your booty. He's still working the final item needed for the portal. Now it's time to deal with the Oblivion gate in front of Bruma. [MS12] <~~~~~~ BRUMA GATE ~~~~~~> Assuming you've already talked to Jauffre about the Bruma gate, head down to the city and report to Captain Burd. He wants you to show the city guard how to close a gate. Agree and you'll take Burd and two of his men with you into Oblivion. The Bruma Oblivion world is semi-circular and filled with daedra. (You're supposed to be here with allies, so there are more than the usual number of demons.) You'll work your way around a semi-circular island to the north side, then head south to the Sigil Keep, this one called The Fury Spike. There are no side towers or anything here. This is a straight run up the tower to the Sigillum Sanguis. The Rending Halls is a two-level affair. When you reach the top of the first ramp, clear the room, use the Blood Fountain, then exit to the east. Climb the curving ramp. When the hall makes a sharp left, look for a lever on the wall to spring the blade trap ahead. Climb the final ramps and return to the Fury Spike core. The Corridors of Dark Salvation are next, and it's a simple loop-back climb up a couple of ramps. Then it's on to the Sanguis and the sigil stone. Activate it and get thrown (along with Burd and whoever else survived) back to Bruma. Burd now thinks he and his soldiers can handle any new gates that pop up around Bruma. Return to Jauffre at Cloud Ruler Temple. [MS13] <~~~~~~ ALLIES FOR BRUMA ~~~~~~> *NOTE* These quests are completely optional. However, if you want a chance of making it to the end of the main story, and you're not 50th level, then you probably want to enlist some help. Jauffre wants you to travel to the other cities in Cyrodiil and ask for aid for Bruma. (He suggests seeing the Elder Council in Imperial City, but you can skip them. They're not going to help.) You must travel to each of the other seven cities--or fewer if you feel you don't need as much help--close an Oblivion gate (except for Kvatch, which has a different requirement) and then ask the ruler of the city for Aid for Bruma. Cheydinhal and Bravil are your best stops. Each sends a high-level Captain; Cheydinhal also sends a soldier. Anvil and Chorrol each send two soldiers. Kvatch, Leyawiin and Skingrad send only one soldier each. At a minimum, you should get aid from Cheydinhal, Bravil, Anvil and Chorrol. If you want to make the next quest (Defense of Bruma) ridiculously easy, get aid from all seven cities. In each city, you can go speak to the count or countess first, which will mark the Oblivion gate for you. Or you can just go close the gate and speak to the ruler after. Speaking to the ruler before offers no special advantage other than the map marker. Most of these rulers hold court from 8am until 4 or 6pm. You can find the castle for each city on your world map and Fast Travel there though you've never set foot in their doors. You should also note some of these worlds use one of the seven random Oblivion worlds you can enter through the random gates that pop up here and there in the wilderness. For example, Bravil uses the #1 random world, Chorrol uses #2. You'll always get the same world when you go through those city gates, but you won't always get the same Sigil Keep since the random worlds link to random Keep interiors. | The Wayward Knight (Cheydinhal) [MS13-A] +------------------------------------------ The gate near Cheydinhal is west of the city. If you speak to the count of Cheydinhal first, or speak to one of the soldiers guarding the gate, you'll get a new quest: The Wayward Knight. It seems the count's son fancies himself a great knight, and has a group of friends who play at being knights with him. These impetuous youths charged into Oblivion when the gate opened, and the count wants you to bring his son out of there. Make sure you have a spell to restore health on a target (along with your normal Oblivion kit) before entering the gate. You'll come out at the top of a large mountain. You'll be required to jump your way down here and there, and it will be impossible to get back up. You're in this one for the long haul. Once you've reached the bottom of the mountain, you'll find Farwil, the count's son, and one other knight on the east side of the mountain, near the bridge that crosses to the Sigil Keep. Talk to Farwil and they'll agree to follow you and help you close the gate. Advance across the bridge and into the tower. This is just like any other Sigil Keep, but you have to concern yourself with keeping Farwil (at least) alive. If he does die, you can take his signet ring from the body as proof of his heroism. After the gate is closed, if Farwil survived, he makes you an honorary Knight of the Thorn and gives you an amulet with a Speechcraft enhancement. His father then will offer you the choice of a magic sword or staff. If Farwil didn't make it, the count will still give you some gold for your effort. Either way, he'll offer up the services of his captain of the guard and a soldier for the defense of Bruma. | Bravil [MS13-B] +----------------- The Bravil gate is located northwest of the city. Inside you arrive facing a bridge leading to the Sigil Keep, but a gate blocks your way. To open the gate, you must throw a switch at the top of one of the two small towers southeast (Spindle Shrine) and southwest (Blood Well) of the Sigil Keep. There are three ways to get to one of those towers. 1) Go around the long way. Begin by going west, then north, then east across a long bridge with a sunken tower in the middle, then south to the Spindle Shrine. Fight your way up the tower (it's like a mini-keep) and throw the switch at the top to open the gate across the main bridge. 2) If you have some decent Acrobatics skill, you can turn southwest from your entry point and pick your way across a series of small islands that curve to the east and then north, leading you to the Spindle Shrine. Throw the switch at the top to open the gate across the main bridge. 3) Start by going west from the gate until you come to the bridge going north. Look around for a cave entrance, then work your way through the caves to the basement of the Blood Well (southwest) tower. Work your way to the top to find the switch that opens the main gate. Once the Sigil Keep is accessible, you're all set. Note this Keep is randomly determined when you open the door. Some of the random Keeps have one side area, some two and some three. There's no telling what you're going to get. When you've got the sigil stone and have closed the Oblivion gate, see Count Terentius for your high-level soldier. | Anvil [MS13-C] +---------------- You'll find the Anvil gate northwest of the city. This Oblivion world is easy, from a pathing perspective. The Sigil Keep is on top of a mountain, you come in at the bottom. Just follow the path as it goes through several switchbacks up the face of the mountain and you're there. After the Oblivion gate is closed, visit Countess Umbranox for your promise of aid, which is two standard soldiers. | Chorrol [MS13-D] +------------------ This Oblivion gate is south of the city, in the woods just beyond the stables. You enter Oblivion on the north side of the area, facing the Sigil Keep surrounded by six towers. You enter the Sigil Keep through a connecting bridge from the east (Earthquake) or west (Hurricane) tower. To get to one of those two keeps, you have to open the gates that block your way. Pick any one of the four "corner" towers: Tsunami, Eruption, Tornado or Landslide. Ride the "corpse masher" elevator to the middle of the tower, then climb the ramp to the top and throw the switch. This opens the gate next to that tower. (You can, from the top of any of these towers, cross over the the Sigil Keep; however, you can't go anywhere inside the Keep except to one of the other four corner towers.) Go back down, exit the tower and head through the now open gate. Enter one of the two side towers and ride the elevator to the middle of the tower. There's a door right at the top of the elevator to a bridge over to the Sigil Keep. Inside the Keep you'll find the doors to the Rending Halls and you're on your way. Countess Valga spends a lot of time in the chapel, in addition to standard court hours, so you should be able to find her most any time of the day. She'll send two soldiers to the aid of Bruma. | The Battle for Castle Kvatch [MS13-E] +--------------------------------------- You may have already done this after Breaking the Siege of Kvatch. If so, you'll find Savlian Matius where you left him, in the castle of Kvatch. Speak to him about Aid for Bruma and he promises to send what he can (which is one soldier). If you haven't done this quest yet, Matius and his guards will still be in the Temple of Akatosh in Kvatch. Speak to Matius and agree to help him retake the castle. He takes off with some men through the north door of the church. Follow him outside and help cut through the daedra between the church and the castle. When you reach the castle gates, you find them locked. Matius instructs you to go through the North Guard House, under the wall, to the inside of the gates and unlock them. Berich Inian, a guard still in the church, has the key. Return to the church and talk to Inian. He tells you he'll take you through the passage. You'll also find some Imperial legionnaires. Speak to them and they agree to help out. Follow Inian down into the chapel's crypt. Take it easy through here, there are a lot of daedra. With Inian and thelegionnairess, the demons shouldn't be much trouble. You'll exit the crypt and wind your way through more daedra until you reach the North Guard House. If Inian dies along the way, make sure you frisk him for the key. Once you reach the Guard House, all you have to do is drop down into the tunnel, run to the far end (no enemies) and climb up to find yourself on the inside of the castle gate. Turn the wheel to open the gate and let Matius and his men through. There's a pitched battle in the courtyard and then more fighting in the main hall of the castle. Matius now instructs you to go find the count. You'll be aided by any surviving legionnaires, so you probably won't have to fight through the castle alone. When you reach the count's quarters, you'll find his body. Get his signet ring off the body and return it to Matius. Matius, at this point, suddenly decides to retire and gives you his armor. He then spends the remainder of the game standing in the castle in his civvies. You can also ask him for Aid for Bruma and get one Kvatch soldier for your trouble. | Leyawiin [MS13-F] +------------------- The Oblivion gate is east-northeast of Leyawiin. From the entry point, go west and find a cave door. The caves, like many Oblivion things, are random. Just keep plugging along and you'll eventually reach the main island. When you finally make it out, there are Spindle Shrines to the east and west. Pick either one and climb to the top. Here you can get to a bridge that leads to one of the Blood Well towers. Throw the switch at the top of the Blood Well tower to open gates leading to the Sigil Keep. Go down to the bottom of the Blood Well, exit onto the bridge and fight your way to the Keep. Once the gate is closed, you can find Count Caro in Castle Leyawiin during normal court hours. | Skingrad [MS13-G] +------------------- The Skingrad gate is just east of Castle Skingrad, at the top of a small hill. Inside, you find yourself facing three towers. The two towers to your left and right are the Anguish Keep and the Sorrow Keep. Each is a full keep, with two side areas and a shrine at the top. Fight your way to the top of either keep and throw the switch. This will extend a bridge across to the top of the other side keep. Cross the bridge and throw a switch in the second tower. The bridge between the towers retracts, but bridges extend from each side keep to the main Sigil Keep. You'll have to fight your way down one level in the second keep in order to take the bridge over to the Sigil Keep. Entering the Sigil Keep, you're already about halfway up the tower and only have to fight your way through one side area in order to reach the Sigillum Sanguis. You know what to do by now. The peculiarity in Skingrad occurs after you've closed the gate and want to get aid from Count Hassildor. You can only talk to the count by going through an intermediary. If you are in the middle of the Mages Guild quest, "Ulterior Motives", then Hassildor will refuse to speak to you until you fully complete that quest (which means reporting in to Raminus Polus). Otherwise, if you have not done "Ulterior Motives", then you must speak to the steward, Mercator Hosidus about Aid for Bruma. If you have done "Ulterior Motives", you must speak to Hal-Liurz. [MS14] <~~~~~~ DEFENSE OF BRUMA ~~~~~~> You can open this quest any time after finishing the three "relic hunts" for Martin and the Bruma Gate quest. Talk to Martin and he'll reveal the final item he needs for a portal to Paradise: a great sigil stone. You can only get these by entering a great gate. So Martin proposes to let the enemy open a great gate next to Bruma and then send you in to get the great sigil stone before the enemy gets its siege machine out the gate and destroys Bruma. It's goofy plans like this that make him the Emperor, see? You've no choice but to agree. Martin asks that you personally see Countess Carvain in Bruma and fill her in on the plan. So head off the Bruma and the Countess, who agrees with the plan. (Must be the royal blood that causes this idiocy.) She'll head off the the chapel of Talos. Follow her down to the chapel and witness the meeting between Martin and Carvain. After they've chatted, talk to Carvain again. At this point you have, essentially, two choices: "Let's go" or "I'm not ready yet". (If you haven't completed all the Allies for Bruma quests, you will also have a "Recruit more soldiers" response, which is the same thing as "I'm not ready".) Save your game! Martin and Carvain will stand in the chapel until the cows come home waiting for you to get ready. So...get ready. The mission ahead is a timed run through an Oblivion world. You'll not be able to Wait at any point, so you'll need a full set of healing potions, Magicka-restoring potions, etc. Make sure your enchanted weapons are recharged and all your armor and weapons are fully repaired. Feel like you need more support? Go finish more Allies for Bruma quests. When you're ready, give Carvain the go ahead and follow Martin and company out the East Gate of Bruma. Your little army heads towards an Oblivion gate that has just opened, Martin gives a speech, then the battle is on. Your primary job is to keep Martin alive until the great gate opens. If you recruited all the available soldiers in Allies for Bruma, this is really easy. There are more than enough guards to control the daedra popping through the lesser gates. After a few minutes, you'll get the message the great gate has opened. The timer has started! Get moving through the gate... [MS15] <~~~~~~ GREAT GATE ~~~~~~> This Oblivion world is different in two ways: There's a giant siege engine moving toward the gate and you have about 15 minutes to get to the top of the Sigil Keep and get the great sigil stone. That's 15 minutes real time, but don't dawdle. Try not to spend too much time fighting. Use a potion, spell or equipment to Fortify your Speed and try just racing past most enemies. Keep a healing spell equipped and boost your health as you run. There are two towers in front of you, head to the west (left) one. Climb to the top and exit onto a north-bound bridge that leads to another tower. Go down that tower and exit onto a large bridge. There's a jump here across broken pieces of the bridge, but if you miss the jump, you fall down in front of a cave entrance that might actually be an easier path. If you decided to take the eastern route north, the jump across the broken bridge is much more difficult and drops you into lava. Plus, there's no convenient cave to take you under the fire-spitting guard towers. Your choice. Regardless, your goal is one of the two towers flanking the Sigil Keep. If you use the cave at the base of the western bridge, it takes you directing into the western guard tower. At the tops of these two towers are switches that open the gates leading to the Sigil Keep. This Keep has only one side area, the Vaults of End Times. However, you do need a Sigil Key from one of two Sigil Keepers. There's a Keeper on the ground floor, and another near the door to the Sigillum Sanguis. Kill either one, enter the Sanguis and run for the great sigil stone. Provided you got there in time, everything, including the large siege engine, blows up and Bruma is saved! Your reward is a standard sigil stone lying in front of the burned-out hulk of the siege engine (which somehow manages to blow up right outside Bruma) and the opportunity to go after Mankar Camoran. Aren't you lucky? [MS16] <~~~~~~ PARADISE ~~~~~~> After the battle for Bruma, return to Cloud Ruler Temple. Tend to your equipment and talk to Martin. He's ready to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise. The question is, are you ready? Once you enter Paradise, you can't get out until Camoran is dead. He's a high-level mage, so kit yourself out appropriately. Some Dispel scrolls or potions would be useful. Plenty of damage resistance, magic resistance, spell absorption...you know the drill. Once you're ready to live off what you can carry, tell Martin to open the portal. Enter the portal to find yourself in Paradise. Literally. Camoran's little slice of reality is a pleasant garden environment with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Oh, and the occasional daedra ready to tear your head off...Nothing's perfect. Head off down the white brick path, listening to Camoran lecture you. Along the way, in addition to the occasional daedra, you'll find Ascended Immortals. These dead Mythic Dawn cultists are waiting in Paradise for Dagon's victory over Tamriel. You can talk to these cultists and learn some of the history of this place. You also learn the only way to Camoran is through the Forbidden Grotto. And you can only get in there if you have the Bands of the Chosen. As you follow the path, you'll eventually encounter a dremora named Kathutet. He wants to talk (so watch your trigger finger). He'll give you Bands of the Chosen if you serve him or beat him in a fight. Choose to serve him and he'll send you on an errand to free one of his subordinates, Anaxes, who has been imprisoned by the Ascended Immortals. Beating Kathutet is far the easier and quicker course of action. But, if you decide to serve him, Anaxes' lair is to the northwest. Enter and find the boulder wedged in place by logs. Stand to the side and Activate the logs to push them out of the way. Return to where you met Kathutet. Cross the bridge going east and enter the Flooded Grotto. At the end of the grotto, if you freed Anaxes, you'll meet Kathutet again and he gives you the Bands of the Chosen. If you killed Kathutet, you already have the Bands. Equip them and open the door to the Forbidden Grotto. The Forbidden Grotto turns out to be a torture chamber. As you leave the first large room, you'll be intercepted by an Ascended Immortal named Eldamil. He wants to help, and, you want his help. Really, you do. Agree to Eldamil's plan. He directs you into one of the cages. While in the cage, Eldamil's boss, Orthe, comes to check on things. Eldamil's ruse works, and he lets you out on the east side of the chasm. You can now head south, through another torture chamber and through the door into the next section of the Grotto. If you chose to turn down Eldamil, then you have to head north from Eldamil's room and fight Orthe and two of his buddies. This is not good for your health. But, if you insist on trying, you'll have to kill them all, get Orthe's key from a loot sack in the corner of their room. This key opens the portcullis leading east and eventually to the exit. In the second part of the Grotto you'll meet Eldamil again. (Even if you turned him down or even killed him.) He removes your Bands of the Chosen and offers again to help you out. You really should accept his offer. Work your way through the Grotto until you encounter a xivilai named Medrike. He has the key to the exit. Take it from him. Outside, follow the path until you run into Mankar's children, Raven and Ruma. They lead you inside Mankar's palace, where Mankar begins making a speech. Don't bother listening. Walk up to him and smack him. Mankar has a lot of spell absorption and damage reflection, so attacking him from range, especially with spells, is not a good option. Ignore Raven and Ruma, if you kill them, they just respawn. Mankar is your only concern. You want to keep him off balance, preferably with power attacks that stagger or stun him. You might also be able to paralyze him with poison put on your weapon. If you brought Eldamil along, he can help distract the two kids and let you focus on Mankar. If you're an Orc or Redguard, use your greater power and just bash Mankar as hard as you can. As soon as Mankar is dead, Paradise collapses and you find yourself back in Cloud Ruler Temple, the Amulet of Kings in hand. It's time to close the Oblivion gates once and for all. [MS17] <~~~~~~ LIGHT THE DRAGONFIRES ~~~~~~> After your return from Paradise, Martin says it's time to go to Imperial City and the Temple of the One. Fast Travel down to the Palace district of Imperial City and enter the Elder Council Chambers. Once Martin's joined you, he and Ocato begin discussing Martin's claim to the throne lighting the Dragonfires. Unfortunately, you're interrupted by a couple of dremora. Oblivion gates have sprung up in Imperial City and daedra are rampaging in the streets. Your final mission is at hand: protect Martin. Follow the group outside and help deal with the daedra, make sure Martin stays healthy. Once this initial wave of daedra are dead, you're joined by a small group of Imperial Legion soldiers. This is your army. Martin says he must get to the Temple of the One, so join the soldiers as they run toward the Temple District. When you reach the Temple district, you find it overrun by daedra. Don't spend too much time on them, as you kill them, more jump out of the two gates in this district. Just run to your right around the temple, making sure Martin is keeping up with you. You'll soon run into Mehrunes Dagon himself. You can't kill this monster, but you can hurt him. Your only task is to get Martin inside the Temple and the door is just past Dagon. Run up and power attack one of Dagon's legs. He'll lift the foot as he staggers back, so take that time to run to the door and Activate it. Martin will follow you inside. At this point, there's nothing you can do but watch. Enjoy the show! [MS18] <~~~~~~ IMPERIAL DRAGON ARMOR ~~~~~~> This isn't really a quest, more of an epilogue. After all the shouting is done, Chancellor Ocato has a chat with you. He names you Champion of Cyrodiil and says he's ordered up a suit of Imperial Dragon Armor--normally only worn by the emperor--for you. Two weeks later, you'll be able to go to the Imperial Legion armory in the Imperial City Prison district and pick up a suit of either Light or Heavy Imperial Dragon Armor. (The type of armor is determined by which of your two armor skills is higher rank.) The armor not only looks nice, it's got some decent enchantments on it as well. That's it! You've finished the main story of Oblivion. But the game is far from over... [FG00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FIGHTERS GUILD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ The Fighters Guild specializes in solving problems--any problem. Whether it's rats in the basement, thieves in the store or goblins overrunning a settlement, the Guild gets called in to take care of the situation. The Fighters Guild isn't for everyone. Several times you will be fighting in close quarters with multiple enemies. Tanking is highly suggested. The problems presented in this series of quests are to be met with sword or axe and do not lend themselves to sneaking around or blowing things up from range. Joining the Guild is easy, talk to Vilena Donton at the Chorrol Guild, Azzan at the Anvil Guild or Burz gro-Khash at the Cheydinhal Guild. You must not have any outstanding bounty and your Infamy score must be less than 100. If your Infamy score is 100 or higher, get your Fame score to 100 or higher and you'll be able to join. Vilena Donton is the guild master, but doesn't directly issue any orders. You get about half of your contracts from Azzan and gro-Khash; the remainder of your jobs come from Donton's assistant, Modryn Oreyn. Your first three contracts come from Azzan and gro-Khash. [FG01] <~~~~~~ A RAT PROBLEM ~~~~~~> Azzan, in Anvil, sends you to see Arvena Thelas, who is having a problem with the rats in her basement. Not that kind of problem. It seems Ms. Thelas actually *likes* the rats, but someone or something is killing them. Get down there and identify the culprit. When you enter the basement, you'll find a mountain lion chewing on the corpse of a rat. Yeah, a mountain lion. Kill it (not necessarily an easy task) and report back to Thelas. She worries more might follow this one, and recommends you seek out a hunter, Pinarus Inventius. Together, you should be able to track down and kill any remaining mountain lions in the vicinity of Anvil. Use your quest marker to track down Inventius; he roams around a lot and may even be out hunting. When you find him, he agrees to lead you to a suspected lair just northwest of the city. You'll find four lions have set up camp among some rocks. Make sure you stick close to Inventius. Lions are fast and strong. Let one of them stagger you and the rest will close in and then you're cat chow. One possibility is to get up on the rocks from the "back" side and snipe the lions where they can't reach you. When the lions are dead, return to Thelas. She's still upset. There's *another* mountain lion in the basement! Get down there and kill it and return to Thelas. She suspects her neighbor, Quill-Weave, of luring the lions into Thelas' basement. Find a good hiding spot in the back yard of Thelas' house and go into Sneak mode. Wait until dark (around 8pm) and you'll see Quill-Weave sneak into the yard and leave a piece of meat near the hole in the basement wall. Step out and confront her. She admits to trying to lure the rats out of the basement (she finds them disgusting, which means she's perfectly normal). She never intended lions to get in. She promises to leave Thelas alone and offers you free Acrobatics training, as long as you don't rat her out to Thelas. * Rat her out to Thelas. Thelas is quite pleased with the outcome and boosts your Speechcraft skill by five points, plus your pay for fulfilling the contract. * Keep Quill-Weave's secret. Thelas thinks you're holding out on her, but pays you for fulfilling the contract. Track down Quill-Weave and get a five-point boost in your Acrobatics skill. Return to Azzan at the guild hall for another assignment. [FG02] <~~~~~~ THE UNFORTUNATE SHOPKEEPER ~~~~~~> Once you've dealt with the lions, Azzan sends you to see Norbert Lelles, of Lelles's Quality Merchandise. Lelles's store is located on the waterfront, outside the Dock Gate of Anvil. Thieves have been breaking into his store and he wants you to play security guard. Stand behind the counter and Wait until midnight. Three thieves will sneak into the store. If you're a basic tank, you should be able to handle these guys. Stay behind the counter and try to take them one-at-a-time as they come around to get you. If you're more a ranged/stealth fighter, now's the time to pull out a shield and block a lot--or use a Shield spell. This is just the first of several fights you're going to have in cramped quarters with multiple opponents. This is the Fighters Guild, after all. When you've disposed of the thieves, find Lelles in the Flowing Bowl for your payment. Return to Azzan. He's got nothing more for you. If you've already done "The Desolate Mine", he kicks you on to Vilena Donton in Chorrol, otherwise he suggests you go visit gro-Khash in Cheydinhal. [FG03] <~~~~~~ THE DESOLATE MINE ~~~~~~> Burz gro-Khash wants you to play delivery boy. He gives you a bow, warhammer and long sword and tells you to deliver them to Fighters Guild members at Desolate Mine, just a short jaunt to the northwest. You'll find a couple of goblins outside the mine entrance. Just inside, in the first room, are the three fighters. Speak to Rienna, who explains the situation (goblin hunting) and takes the bow. Give the warhammer to Brag gro-Bharg and the sword to Elidor. As soon as all three have a weapon, they take off after goblins. Desolate Mine is fairly small, but has a number of twists. Your main objective is to stay near the other three and keep them alive. The more that survive this trip, the higher your payment. Once your journal informs you all the goblins are dead, return to gro-Khash and he'll pay you. If you haven't completed Azzan's quests yet, you're told to see him, otherwise you're sent to Chorrol to speak to Guild Master Donton. [FG04] <~~~~~~ UNFINISHED BUSINESS ~~~~~~> Vilena Donton doesn't have time to waste on peons such as yourself. She tells you to talk to Modryn Oreyn about any duties to be performed. Oreyn, indeed, has something he wants you to look in to. Another new recruit, Maglir, has defaulted on a contract in Skingrad. You're to find him and figure out what's gone wrong. Travel to Skingrad and ask around town about Maglir. You'll be directed to the West Weald Inn, where you'll find the little squirt drowning his sorrows. Maglir complains about not getting paid enough for the job, which is to recover the journal of Brenus Astis from Fallen Rock Cave. Maglir's not going to go back in there, so you're going to have to go in after the journal. Fallen Rock Cave is just a bit northwest of Skingrad. Undead roam it's depths, including spirits--make sure you have a silver, daedric or enchanted weapon. Fallen Rock Cave is fairly small; take the first right and follow it around to a large room. Exit through the northwest tunnel and continue straight, entering a flooded area, and, eventually, a flooded room with a body and the journal. Make sure you collect all the ectoplasm dropped by the spirits and save it. You'll want it for the next task. You can return and talk to Maglir if you like, but it's not required. Report back to Oreyn. You can give Maglir the credit for collecting the journal, which will help you later on, or claim credit for yourself. Either way, you get paid and another assignment. [FG05] <~~~~~~ DRUNK AND DISORDERLY ~~~~~~> Three Fighters Guild members are drinking on the job down in Leyawiin. You're sent to deal with them; you'll find them at the Five Claws Lodge. Turns out they're not actually drunk on the job, since they have no job. The Blackwood Company is taking all the work. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find some work for these guys. Talk to any townie and they'll point you to Margarte. You should now get a quest marker pointing to her, which makes it a lot easier to track her down. When you find her, she'll reveal she's in the market for various alchemical ingredients, especially ogre's teeth and minotaur horns. She doesn't trust the Blackwood Company to collect these ingredients, but she's not ready to hire the Fighters Guild either. She wants you to prove the Guild's worth by bringing her five samples of ectoplasm. If you got lucky in Fallen Rock Cave, you've got the five samples in your pockets right now. If not, you can try scouring the nearby countryside for caves or ruins, which may contain ghosts or wraiths. Or, try an alchemy dealer at the local Mages Guild, to see if they have any in stock. Once you have the five samples of ectoplasm, Margarte will agree to hire your three layabouts to hunt ogres and minotaurs for her. (Good work if you can get it?) She'll also buy ogre's teeth and minotaur horns from you in lots of five (100 gold for teeth, 50 gold for horns). This really isn't much, considering the base price of those ingredients; an alchemist will pay you (assuming a measly 40% buy rate) 150 gold for 5 ogre's teeth and 110 gold for five minotaur horns. Report the good news to the three Guild members at Five Claws, then return to Oreyn. Oreyn is troubled by news of the Blackwood Company's success, and has nothing further for you. He suggests you go see Azzan or gro-Khash for more contracts. [FG06] <~~~~~~ DEN OF THIEVES ~~~~~~> *NOTE* There's a side quest, "Newheim's Flagon", that's tied up with this quest. You complete the side quest as you complete the Fighters Guild quest. Azzan in Anvil has a job for you, and a partner--Maglir, the whiny little wood elf you covered for in Skingrad. Reports of a gang of thieves have been filtering into the Guild, and Azzan wants the two of you to look into it. Ask around town and you'll be pointed to Newheim the Portly. Seek him out (use the quest marker) and he'll fill in the details. In addition to other things, the thieves stole Newheim's family tankard, and they're hiding out in Hrota Cave, which is close to Anvil, just north of the city. Take Maglir and head out there. Your job is to clean out the caves; don't worry about your buddy, for plot reasons he can't die just yet. The flagon is sitting on a barrel in the only large room inside the cave. Return the flagon to Newheim and report back to Azzan. You don't have to travel with Maglir any more. If you haven't finished "Amelion's Debt" for gro-Khash, you're sent packing for Cheydinhal, otherwise you're told to report to Oreyn in Chorrol. [FG07] <~~~~~~ AMELION'S DEBT ~~~~~~> If you've got a bit of cash on you and are feeling generous (or lazy), this will be a very short mission. Otherwise, you're in for some serious undead carnage. Burz gro-Khash sends you to Water's Edge, a farmstead down near Leyawiin. You're to recover some family artifacts for Biene Amelion. When you arrive at Water's Edge, Biene explains she needs to pay off her father's gambling debts. She hopes to sell her grandfather's enchanted armor and weapon for the money. Here's where you get to decide how energetic you are. If you have 1,000 gold to spare, you can simply give her the money to pay off her debt and then be on your way. Otherwise, you have to clean out Amelion's Tomb, which is located further south and on the other side of the Niben River. Fight your way through a lot of undead and two small levels. You'll find Brusef's cuirass and sword on a sarcophagus in the second level. You can also find other pieces of his armor scattered about. (If you pay off Biene's debt, you can still raid the tomb and keep the armor for yourself.) Once Biene has the gold or the armor and sword, return to gro-Khash for payment. He then sends you to Anvil if you haven't finished "Den of Thieves" or to Chorrol for more duties from Oreyn. [FG08] <~~~~~~ THE MASTER'S SON ~~~~~~> Modryn Oreyn has a couple of problems, and thinks you can solve them both in one go. First, Guild member Galtus Previa has vanished while spelunking in Nonwyll Cavern. Second, Vilena Donton's younger son, Viranus, is green around the gills and needs seasoning. (Seems Ms. Donton is coddling the youngster after older brother, Vitellus's, death in an earlier Guild mission.) Anyway, you're to take young Donton with you to Nonwyll Cavern and keep him alive. Remember the "keep him alive" bit. If Viranus dies, so does your career in the Fighters Guild. Run down Viranus using your quest marker and tell him to come along and not to tell Mommy about it. Nonwyll Cavern is north of Chorrol and full of trolls. Not to mention the occasional ogre and a minotaur boss. Make sure you have a "restore health on target" spell to use on Viranus, as he has the nasty habit of running off after the bad guys as soon as he detects their existence. You're not going to be able to stealth your way through this one. At the "bottom" of the cavern, you'll find Previa's body. When you get the journal update, head out and report back to Oreyn. He's perturbed, and comments that it's strange Previa wasn't chewed up. [FG09] <~~~~~~ MORE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ~~~~~~> Maglir is at it again. Or, more accurately, not at it. Oreyn sends you to Bravil to find out why the little snot hasn't fulfilled a contract with a mage there. You'll find Maglir at the Lonely Suitor Lodge, and he's wearing a different uniform. Seems he decided to join the Blackwood Company. If, during "Unfinished Business", you gave credit to Maglir for recovering the journal, then Maglir will have pity on you and give you the name of the mage he is supposed to be working for, Aryarie of the Bravil Mages Guild. If you took credit yourself earlier, Maglir has nothing more to say. If that's the case, you either have to hunt Aryarie down yourself (she may or may not be in the Mages Guild) or return to Oreyn in Chorrol to get the name (which includes the convenient quest marker). Aryarie wants 10 portions of imp gall, which, predictably, can be obtained from imps. She points you to Robber's Glen Cave, a short distance north of the city. Indeed, there are at least a dozen imps in this complex, along with a handful of other critters. Return with the imp gall to Aryarie, who gives you an enchanted ring as a bonus. [FG10] <~~~~~~ AZANI BLACKHEART ~~~~~~> Back in Chorrol, Oreyn has a "side" job for you and asks that you meet him at his house after dark. Oreyn lives in the south-western most corner of Chorrol, in a small hut. Follow him to his house (if it's already dark), or Wait until after 8pm and then meet him there. Oreyn goes into a long rant over duplicity on the part of the Blackwood Company. It seems they've been a thorn in his side since before they started stealing contracts in Leyawiin or wimpy wood elves from the ranks of the Guild. Specifically, he suspects them of interfering in a job to retrieve a valuable artifact from Azani Blackheart. Oreyn wants to expose the Blackwood Company, and he wants you to come along for the ride. He wants you to meet him at the Leyawiin Guild and then go to an Ayleid ruin, Arpenia, with him. Fast Travel down to Leyawiin and meet up with Oreyn. You can then trudge down to Arpenia together. Arpenia is mostly empty (a few low-level critters and some traps are all that remain). Not far into the ruin, in a large room, Oreyn decides he's seen enough and tells you the Blackwood Company must have struck a deal with Blackheart. He now wants to find Blackheart; he thinks he might be up the road in another Ayleid ruin, Atatar. Blackheart is, indeed, in Atatar. Along with a dozen or more of his friends and a bunch of other creatures. There are four levels in Atatar, and, of course, Blackheart is in the last level. The route is circuitous, but, there's always only one way you can go. Fortunately for you, Oreyn is a plot NPC and can't be killed, just knocked unconscious (which might happen a lot depending on your level). You'll need his help against Blackheart. Once Azani is down, loot his body and give his ring to Oreyn. He thanks you, tells you to go see Azzan or gro-Khash and takes off, leaving you to get out of Atatar on your own. [FG11] <~~~~~~ THE WANDERING SCHOLAR ~~~~~~> Azzan wants you to accompany a scholar, Elante, to a supposed daedric shrine in Brittlerock Cave. You can complete this quest even if Elante dies, but you don't get paid if that happens. Brittlerock Cave is northeast of Anvil and quite a trek. If you've previously done work around Fort Sutch ("Assault on Fort Sutch" side quest or "Bad Medicine" Dark Brotherhood quest), that's the nearest Fast Travel point. You'll find a couple of creatures outside the mine and the scholar just inside the door. (Makes you wonder how she got in there, doesn't it?) Elante wants to take the lead, and this is both a blessing and a curse. The curse is she wanders through every side passage in the cavern before finding the shrine. The blessing is you have a trick to keep her alive. You may have noticed, when NPCs lead you, they will stop if you get too far behind. Actually, they stop if you get too far away in any direction. So, what you do is run past Elante and keep running until you run into your first group of daedra. As you blow past Elante, she will stop and wait patiently for you to "catch up". This allows you to deal with the demons while Elante is safe further up the tunnel. You can clean out the caverns one room at a time, returning to "follow" Elante as you go, or you can clear the entire complex (it's not large) all at once and then meekly trail after Elante down to the shrine. Elante decides to stay and study the shrine a bit longer. You can go back the way you came, or take the door behind the altar. It leads to another section of the cave, with more daedra, and another exit back into the world above. Azzan thanks you for dedication and sends you to see gro-Khash, unless you've already completed "The Fugitives", in which case you're told to report to Oreyn. [FG12] <~~~~~~ THE FUGITIVES ~~~~~~> This is a simple quest. gro-Khash reports a group of four prisoners escaped the Bravil jail and have decided to stick around and prey on the citizens of that fair city. He sends you to deal with the problem. (Just in case you were wondering, "deal with" is a euphemism for kill. There's no other way to finish this quest.) Go to Bravil and ask around. You need to get an NPCs Disposition over 60 in order to get the location of the fugitives: Bloodmayne Cave. The cave is northwest of Bravil and the ex-cons are somewhat spread out. You shouldn't have to face more than two at once. When they're dead, return to gro-Khash for your pay and marching orders from Oreyn. (Or referral to Azzan if you haven't completed "The Wandering Scholar".) [FG13] <~~~~~~ TROLLS OF FORSAKEN MINE ~~~~~~> Oreyn sent a group of Guild members to Forsaken Mine to clear out the trolls. It's been days and he hasn't heard from them. You're to investigate. Fast Travel to Leyawiin and head southwest. Forsaken Mine is just about as far south as you can go in Cyrodiil. Use the entrance marked for you on your map. (There's another entrance to the mine, but it leads directly into some trolls that are better approached from behind.) The first level of the mine is basically empty except for corpses--mostly Fighters Guild, but one or two will be Blackwood Company fighters. You won't encounter your first troll until you hit the door to the second level of the mine. From here, there are about 10 trolls that you must kill. Make sure you get every one. Along the way you'll find Viranus Donton's body--you just know Mommy's going to be happy about this. His journal suggests the trolls weren't the problem. Something's fishy in Leyawiin, and it's not the Niben River. When you get the journal entry that you've killed all the trolls (a high-powered Detect Life spell is good for finding any that are eluding you), return to Oreyn. He's not happy, but is ready to face the axe himself. He sends you to Anvil or Cheydinhal to get away from the wrath of Donton. [FG14] <~~~~~~ THE STONE OF ST. ALESSIA ~~~~~~> In Anvil, Azzan tells you of the theft of a religious relic from the temple in Bruma. He sends you there to recover the Stone of St. Alessia. In Bruma, you need to track down Cirroc, who is normally in the Chapel of Talos. He says four or five men were seen heading east out of town about the time the stone was discovered missing. Your quest marker updates to a point along the east road out of Bruma. Follow it to find the lone remaining bandit, a Khajiit. He confesses to the crime, but says he and his buddies were ambushed by ogres and he's the only surviving member. The ogres now have the stone and are holed up in an Ayleid ruin, Sedor, a little further east and a bit south. The path through Sedor is simple, but you will have to deal with ogres (by combat or stealth). Return the stone to Cirroc and then report back to Azzan. Azzan doesn't have any more work for you. Literally, this is your last quest for the leader of the Anvil guild. If you have finished gro-Khash's quests, Azzan tells you Oreyn is looking for you. [FG15] <~~~~~~ THE NOBLE'S DAUGHTER ~~~~~~> This is the first of two quests gro-Khash has for you, and they're the last he will give you. It's a simple kidnapping. gro-Khash refers you to Lord Rugdumph; his estate is a fair walk north-northeast of Cheydinhal. Azura's Shrine or the Lake Arrius Caverns (Dagon Shrine from the main story) are the closest quest-related Fast Travel points. Lord Rugdumph doesn't have great command of English (or Imperial or whatever it is that they speak in Cyrodiil), but you get the gist. His daughter was kidnapped by ogres, who then headed east. Follow your quest marker almost due east of the estate to find the young lady and her three ogreish "protectors". This can be a bit tricky, as the ogres sometimes clump up around the orc and make it difficult to pick them off (and you definitely don't want to use an explosive spell on them when they're near the target of your quest). Approach in Stealth mode and wait until the ogres are spread out. Then use bow or spell to attract one to you and kill it. Rinse-and-repeat for the other two. Talk to the orc woman and she'll agree to follow you back to her home. Lead her there, get more entertainment from Rugdumph's language lessons and his special sword. Then return to gro-Khash, who has another assignment for you. [FG16] <~~~~~~ MYSTERY AT HARLUN'S WATCH ~~~~~~> People are disappearing from Harlun's Watch and gro-Khash wants you to find out why. Harlun's Watch is just south of Cheydinhal; your contact is Drarana Thelis. She tells of strange lights near Swampy Cave. Some villagers sent to investigate have not returned. Swampy Cave is a short distance to the southeast. If you haven't encountered will-o-wisps before, you're about to. You need a couple of things to fight wisps: a silver, daedric or enchanted weapon (or spells); and a Detect Life spell (or enchanted equipment). Wisps like to go invisible and you don't want them sneaking up on you and draining your health. There are three to four wisps clustered outside the entrance to Swampy Cave. Try to deal with them at a distance; up close they have a Drain Health ability that basically ignores your armor. Spell Absorption or Reflection wouldn't hurt. When the wisps are dead, your journal suggests that explains the strange lights, but not the missing townsfolk. Enter Swampy Cave and start killing trolls. There are a lot of trolls spread over two levels. You'll have to kill them all to complete this quest. Your Detect Life spell will now come in handy for finding all the trolls. In the southernmost part of the first level of the caves, you'll find the bodies of the missing villagers. Your journal should update at this point. Once the trolls are all dead (your journal should update again), return to Thelis in Harlun's Watch with the bad news. Then see gro-Khash for your payment and word that Oreyn wants to see you. (Unless you haven't finished "The Stone of St. Alessia", then gro-Khash tells you to talk to Azzan.) [FG17] <~~~~~~ INFORMATION GATHERING ~~~~~~> You'll find Modryn Oreyn in his house, as, basically, he has nothing better to do these days than sit and chew his nails over his dismissal from the Guild. He thinks the Blackwood Company is a bunch bad guys (no kidding!) and he's determined to bring them down. But, even though he has lots of time on his hands, he wants you to do the bringing down. Nice of him to think of you, isn't it? For starters, he wants you to capture one of the Blackwood leaders, Ajum Kagin, from his headquarters in Glademist Cave. The cave is east of the city, not far, and it's very small. Kagin has six to seven Blackwood Company fighters holed up in there with him. Now is actually a good time to work on your Sneak skill. This little cave is rather overflowing with bad guys (other than Kagin, they don't want to talk) and you'll want to work as hard as you can to separate them. That means bow attacks while in Sneak mode, to try to force a single foe out of his cozy cavern he's sharing with his buddies and into the tunnels where you can dispatch him. Kagin is in the far room of the cavern, behind a wood door. Don't go in until you've killed everyone else. Confront him and he'll meekly surrender and follow you to Oreyn's house. Oreyn orders you to conduct the interrogation. You have two choices: 1) Use the Persuasion mini-game and/or Charm spells to raise Kagin's Disposition. You'll need it over 90 to get all the information he has to offer. 2) Use your fists to beat on Kagin until he talks. Either method works, just don't kill Kagin. He'll eventually give you the number of Blackwood Company recruits (100) and the name of the leader (Ri'Zakar). Once he's spilled Ri'Zakar's name, he kills himself rather than reveal the recipe for the Company's secret sauce. Oreyn is satisfied, but wants more. He wants you to join the Blackwood Company and find out what they're up to. [FG18] <~~~~~~ INFILTRATION ~~~~~~> Joining the Company is easy. Fast Travel to Leyawiin and find the Company's main HQ right across the street from the Fighters Guild. Talk to Jeetum-Zee and he'll take you right in. Must be a lot of defectors from the Guild. Zee takes you down to the Training Room and briefs you and three other recruits on a goblin hunting mission. During the conversations, you discover the source of the Company's wild successes: sap from the Hist tree. This tree normally only grows in the swamps of Black Marsh, the Argonian homeland, and the narcotic produced from its sap is illegal in Cyrodiil. Rather than smuggle the sap in, the Company has figured out how to keep a Hist tree alive in this very building, so they've got plenty of sap for everyone. You have no choice but to drink some Hist along with the other three recruits. You automatically Fast Travel to Water's Edge (you may remember this hamlet from a previous task). There are several goblins roaming around, and your brother Blackwoods lay into them immediately. The goblins are strangely passive and very weak. After the goblins outside are dead, you're ordered to check the houses. Sure enough, you'll find four more passive, weak goblins inside the various houses. Kill them and you'll pass out. You wake up in Oreyn's house in Chorrol. You were found in the streets of Leyawiin by Guild members and brought to him. Explain the Hist tree. He says he'll look into it and sends you to Water's Edge to check on its inhabitants. There you find a truly tragic scene. Seven dead sheep, and four dead people, including the lovely Biene Amelion. Standing over the carnage is Biene's father, Marcel, recently released after Biene paid his debt. He wonders who could have done this. You know, but you can't confess. All you can do is return to Oreyn. [FG19] <~~~~~~ THE HIST ~~~~~~> If, after the scene with the elder Amelion, you're not ready to lay some smack down on the Blackwood Company, there's something wrong with you. Fortunately, Oreyn knows just how you're feeling. He tells you to get to Leyawiin and take out the Hist tree. If some Company fighters go down with it...well, that's just collateral damage. Fast Travel to Leyawiin, enter the Blackwood Company HQ and express your displeasure to the three to four fighters on the ground floor. (Don't try any sweet-talking, they attack on sight. So should you.) When you're finished pounding on them, find the body named Ja'Fazir and get the key to Jeetum-Zee's room. Go upstairs to Jeetum-Zee's room and explain what the pointy thing on the end of your sword is for. From his corpse you get the key to Ri'Zakar's room on the third floor. You haven't met Ri'Zakar yet, he's going to wish you never did. Take the key to the basement from him. Find the basement door on the first floor and enter. There's a huge tree growing in the center of the room with complex machinery on either side of it. There are also two Argonian mages. Make them regret ever leaving Black Marsh. Once they're dead, find two loose pipes laying on the floor and pick them up. With the pipes in your inventory, Activate each large machine to destroy them. The Hist tree goes up in flames and you can start breathing again. On your way out, Maglir shows up. It's OK. You get to kill him now. Return to Oreyn, who sends you on to Vilena Donton to explain everything to her. While initially ticked you and Oreyn have been working behind her back, she ultimately decides the real problem is herself. She's getting too old and too shell-shocked to lead a guild of fighters. So, she hands the reins over to you and recommends you appoint Oreyn your second-in-command. Oreyn initially complains about missing out on retirement, but then decides you need someone to look after you. Once each calendar month, you can give Oreyn new orders from a list of three: 1) Focus on getting new recruits. 2) Focus on drumming up business. 3) Focus on both equally. On the first of each month, you get a stipend placed in the guild master's chest in your office in the Chorrol guild hall. It will contain a mixture of gold and magic items. If you instruct Oreyn to concentrate on recruitment, you'll get more items. If the focus is on contracts, you get more gold. Balancing the two will balance your monthly reward. Take your boots off and relax a bit. You get to collect loot without doing any of the work. It's good to be the boss. [FG20] <~~~~~~ EXPELLED FROM THE FIGHTERS GUILD ~~~~~~> Like the other guilds, you are not permitted to steal from, attack or kill other members of the guild. (Non-members are fair game.) The Fighters Guild operates on a three-strikes and you're out policy. The first two times you commit a crime against a guild member, you can earn your way back in. The third time, you're out for good. The first time you are expelled, you must bring 20 bear pelts back to Vilena Donton in Chorrol to be re-instated. The second time you are expelled, you must bring Donton 20 minotaur horns. Neither are particularly easy tasks, especially since bears and minotaurs are "leveled" creatures that only appear when you're at the right level. The best policy is to avoid committing crimes against fellow guild members. If you suspect you might get a little out of control, stockpile bear pelts and minotaur horns as you find them. If you commit a third offense against a guild member, you're out for good. [MG00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAGES GUILD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ The Mages Guild quests should be considered a necessity for any character, at least to the point where you get access to Arcane University (after completing the recommendations). Once you are "inside", you can enchant items and make your own spells, both highly useful activities. Note also that completing the Mages Guild quests does not require you to be a mage, nor even particularly proficient with magic. Most of the quests are "solved" by combat, which any character can be adept at. Joining the Mages Guild is simple: make sure you have no outstanding bounty, then speak to the leader in one of the seven local guild halls. They are: * Anvil: Carahil * Bravil: Kud-Ei * Bruma: Jeanne Frasoric * Cheydinhal: Falcar * Chorrol: Teekeeus * Leyawiin: Dagail * Skingrad: Adrienne Berene Once you've joined, you are considered an Associate and you receive a key that opens the various locked doors in the guild halls and you can pick up equipment freely in the guild storerooms. Before you can advance in rank and access the Arcane University in Imperial City, you must get a recommendation from each local guild leader. Ask each guild leader about a recommendation. They'll say they can't possibly give you a recommendation unless you do something for them first. Uh huh. You've been down this road before. Agree to undertake the tasks they ask of you and you'll get their recommendations. [MG01] <~~~~~~ ANVIL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~> This quest, while it initially sounds quite exciting, is quite yawn-worthy. Talk to Carahil at the Anvil Guild. She wants you to bait a trap for a rogue mage that's been murdering merchants traveling the Gold Coast. You are sent to the Brina Cross Inn, just north of Anvil. Be sure to follow through all Carahil's conversation options to get some Frost Shell scrolls. Go to the Inn and speak to Arielle Jurard. She tells you to take a room. Do so, and Jurard will come up to your room soon after you enter and explain the plan. You are to rest, then travel east along the road. You'll be followed by Jurard and another battlemage. When the rogue mage hits you, they'll move in and take him out. You only need to rest in the bed 1 hour (you can rest overnight if you wish), then head out to the road and walk east. You'll soon be waylaid by Caminalda, who may have spoken to you at the Inn. She's the rogue and she is easily dispatched. In fact, you don't even really need to do anything except step back and let the other two battlemages take over. After, loot Caminalda's body for the key to her room at the Inn, which contains a bit of loot. Then return to Carahil for her recommendation. Don't you love it when a plan comes together? [MG02] <~~~~~~ BRAVIL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~> No combat required for this task, just lots of running around and a fair bit of gold from your pocket (or a bit of theft). Kud-Ei, head of the Bravil Guild, wants you to speak to Varon Vamori about a staff he stole from one of Kud-Ei's "girls". To help matters, Kud-Ei gives you a Beguile scroll (Charm, 30 points for 30 seconds). Head to Vamori's house, which will be marked for you on your local map. Talk to Vamori. You need to get his Disposition to 65 to find out the fate of the staff. You can do this with the Persuasion mini-game and/or bribes or use the Beguile scroll. Once you've persuaded him, Vamori reveals he stole the staff in a fit of anger and sold it to one Soris Arenim, who lives in Imperial City. Lovely. Go back to Kud-Ei and get another supply of Beguile scrolls. Travel to the Talos Plaza District and find Arenim's house (marked on your map). You must get Arenim's Disposition up to 70 to get any information about the staff. He offers to sell it to you for 200 gold. You can pay the price and finish this business; or, if you're opposed to being out-of-pocket on this mission... Speak to Arenim's wife, Erissare. Get her Dispostion to 65 (again, with Persuasion or spell), and she'll tell you where Arenim keeps the staff and where he keeps the key to the chest containing the staff. (If you don't want to use up a scroll, the key is upstairs in Soris' desk; the chest with the staff is in the cellar.) Return the staff to Kud-Ei, who is suitably grateful. She teaches you a mild Charm spell (Captivate) and promises her recommendation to the Guild. [MG03] <~~~~~~ BRUMA RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~> This may just be the easiest and shortest quest in the entire game. Talk to Jeanne Frasoric, guild leader, to learn one of her mages, J'skar, has gone missing. Now, if you have a Detect Life spell, cast it and walk around (including down in the basement living quarters) and you should find an invisible humanoid. Cast a Dispel to reveal J'skar and return to Jeanne for your recommendation. If you don't have Detect Life, you may still be able to find J'skar by wandering around and pointing your crosshair target at random places. If it suddenly changes to a crown (plot NPC) icon over thin air, you've found your Dispel target. Finally, if you don't have a Dispel handy, talk to guild member Volanaro. He reveals the whole disappearance is a prank. Raise his Disposition to 70 and he'll make a deal: you steal Jeanne's copy of Manual of Spellcraft and he'll "find" J'skar. Getting the book is easy, especially since Volanaro will teach you an Unlock spell. Jeanne's room is the only room on the upper floor of the guild. Break in, unlock her desk (with spell or lockpick) and grab her book. Return to Volanaro, and he'll agree to meet you at 10pm in the living quarters. Wait ahead to the appropriate time, meet Volanaro in the basement and he'll Dispel J'skar's invisibility. [MG04] <~~~~~~ CHEYDINHAL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~> Falcar, leader of the Cheydinhal guild, has dropped a ring down the well behind the guild. He makes some mention of sending someone else after it and not getting it back. He now wants you to go get the ring. He sends you to Deetsan for a key to the well. Deetsan won't give you the key until she's had a talk with you, and she won't talk while Falcar is around. Wait ahead until Falcar goes back to his quarters, then talk to Deetsan. She is concerned over Falcar's "prank tasks" given to new Associates, and warns you to be careful. Then she hands over the key and teaches you a combination water-breathing and feather (reduced encumbrance) spell. Deetsan's warning is well-taken. The ring is a Ring of Burden and increases your encumbrance by 200 points. Deetsan's spell only reduces encumbrance by 5 points. Bit of a discrepancy there. You don't actually have to retrieve the ring. Drop down into the well, cast your water-breathing spell and find the body of a previous Associate sent after the ring. Take the ring from his body, which will over-encumber you, then drop it to the bottom of the well. Return to the guild. Deetsan rashly confronted Falcar over the disappearance of the previous Associate and he had a fit and has taken off for parts unknown. So how do you get your recommendation? Deetsan tells you to search Falcar's quarters for the letter of recommendation. You won't find a letter, but you will find two black soul gems. Take them to Deetsan, who is dismayed with your find, and promises to send your recommendation herself. [MG05] <~~~~~~ CHORROL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~> The Chorrol recommendation only comes with your completion of the Fingers of the Mountain quest. There's a part 2 of that quest, depending on how you handle the first part. | Fingers of the Mountain [MG05-A] +---------------------------------- Teekeeus, head of the Chorrol guild, has bad relations with former colleague Earana. She is loitering about town, and Teekeeus wants you to find out why so she can be sent on her way. Follow your objective marker to Earana. She isn't interested in Teekeeus, she wants a book, Fingers of the Mountain, that can be found at a ruin called Cloud Top. She promises a vague reward if you bring her the book. Relay this to Teekeeus and he lets you know he would like the book as well. Retrieve it for him and the recommendation is yours. Journey (by foot or horse) to Cloud Top, which has been marked for you and is north-northwest of Chorrol. There are no specific enemies to fight, though you will encounter the normal range of wild animals on your path. The book is conveniently located on a charred corpse lying at the base of a broken column. You now have two choices: 1) Take the book to Teekeeus. He accepts, with thanks, and the recommendation is yours. 2) Take the book to Earana. She says she must study it for a day. Return to her the following day and she'll give you instructions on how to obtain a powerful spell. See "Learning the Spell" below for the full instructions. | Fingers of the Mountain, Part II [MG05-B] +------------------------------------------- You can, actually, do both--get the recommendation from Teekeeus and the spell from Earana. After finishing part 1 of this quest, go to the other participant and reveal what you've done. This opens Part II: you are asked to steal the book back. Teekeeus keeps the book in a locked chest in his quarters. Earana keeps the book in her room at the Grey Mare Inn. Once you've stolen the book, return it to the other party. You'll get the recommendation (from Teekeeus) or the spell instructions (from Earana) and still have the other "reward" from the previous "owner" of the book. It's all good. | Learning the Spell +-------------------- The true reward for this quest is Finger of the Mountain, a very powerful spell. Two things to note about this spell: 1) Its power is keyed to your level. If you learn the spell at level 2, you get a low-level spell. Learn the spell at a higher level, and the power is much higher. (See list below.) PC users can learn the low-level spell and have it automatically leveled up using a mod. 2) At higher levels, the spell is only useful to dedicated mages, since it costs a lot of magicka. If you don't rely much on spells, don't bother learning this one. To learn Finger of the Mountain, you must visit Cloud Top and cast a Shock spell on the central, broken column and have a welkynd stone in your inventory. Welkynd stones are all over the place in Ayleid ruins. If you don't have one, you can get some from a small ruin just northeast of the Chorrol north gate. It's called Hrotanda Vale, and it is a two-level, bandit-infested ruin. The first large room you come to has two floor traps in the center. If you draw the bandits over them, you may finish off two or three with the traps. Careful jumping around the corners will get you past the traps into a room full of welkynd stones. (You can finish off the rest of the ruin, or not. All you really need is one stone.) Make sure you have a spell or scroll that does shock damage (any magnitude) and a welkynd stone. Return to Cloud Top, restore yourself to full health and cast your Shock spell on the central column. You'll get hit by lightning in return and learn Finger of the Mountain. The shock damage done to you and the power of the spell is keyed to your level: +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Finger of the Mountain (Destruction magic) | | Min PC level | Dmg to PC | Shock Dmg | Area | Magicka* | Skill level | |--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------| | 1 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 11 | Novice | |--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------| | 5 | 40 | 20 | 5 | 54 | Journeyman | |--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------| | 10 | 60 | 40 | 5 | 131 | Expert | |--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------| | 15 | 120 | 90 | 5 | 371 | Master | |--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------| | 20 | 210 | 140 | 5 | 653 | Master | |--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------| | 25 | 210 | 200 | 10 | 1547 | Master | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ * Actual magicka cost will be adjusted based on your skill level in Destruction. [MG06] <~~~~~~ LEYAWIIN RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~> The head of the Leyawiin Mages Guild, Dagail, is somewhat incoherent. Speak to her, and, among her ramblings, she'll point you to Agata. Speak to Agata to learn about the stone Dagail used to have that allows her to focus her visions. Find Kalthar and ask him about the Seer's Stone. He'll give you an earful and then some. Return to Agata and discuss Kalthar with her. She'll tell to you go back to Dagail. Speak to Dagail again and listen intently to her riddles. Or not. Your journal will now point you to Fort Blueblood. Refer to your map, where you'll find Fort Blueblood now showing southeast of Leyawiin. Hoof it over there and fight your way through a bunch of marauders in a two level dungeon. After killing the marauder warlord, make sure you loot his body for the Fort Blueblood key. This gives you access to the crypt where Dagail's father lies. His coffin is protected by leveled creatures. Once they are down and you've retrieved his amulet, you'll be confronted by Kalthar. He wants the amulet, which, of course, you're not going to let him have. Kalthar's a conjurer, so ignore his buddy if he summons one and concentrate on taking him out. Return to Dagail in Leyawiin for the recommendation. [MG07] <~~~~~~ SKINGRAD RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~> Adrienne Berene wants some notes from Erthor, a mage Adrienne ran out of the guild. She has no idea where Erthor is, and wants you to track him down. Talk to Sulinus Vassinus, who should be wandering around the guild. Vassinus says Erthor moved into Bleak Flats Cave and hasn't been seen in a long time. (Yay! Caves!) Vassinus has no idea where Bleak Flats Cave is. Find Druja, another mage wandering around the guild. Druja can pinpoint Bleak Flats Cave on your map and mentions it was Berene that recommended the cave to Erthor. Talk to Berene again; she'll order you point-blank to go to the cave and bring Erthor back. To aid you, you are taught a new spell, Fireball. (Yay! Fire!) Bleak Flats Cave now appears on your map, north-northwest of Skingrad. You can't Fast Travel there, so walk on over. Inside are quite a number of deranged zombies. (Yay! Zombies! In a cave! With fire!) Fight your way through them, making sure you wipe them all out, until you find Erthor. Erthor will be pleased with the rescue and ask that you lead him out of the cave. Letting Erthor follow you is not required. You can simply tell him to return to the Skingrad guild hall on his own. There's a shortcut out of Erthor's "room" to the northwest. Pull the lever to move the rock. After returning to the Mages Guild, talk to Berene to get your recommendation. [MG08] <~~~~~~ A MAGES STAFF ~~~~~~> After completing the seven recommendation quests, talk to any guild leader about your recommendation. You'll be sent to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University, in Imperial City. Travel there and enter the lobby of the University during normal hours to meet Polus. You'll be promoted to Apprentice and given a new task: create a mages staff. First, you have to collect the proper wood for your staff. Polus sends you to a grove near Wellspring Cave, which is east of Imperial City. To reach the grove, you must go through the cave. In the first area of the cave you'll find the body of one of the grove's guardians. (You knew this wasn't going to be simple, right?) Make sure you Activate the body twice--once to update your journal, again to get the key to the grove from her body. There are also some necromancers in the cave. Necromancers like to summon things; try to ignore the summoned creatures and take out the summoner (which also dispels the summons). Near the end of the cave is the body of the second grove guardian. Outside, in the grove, are three necromancers. There's no way to take them on one-by-one, you'll have to put up with all three hitting you at once. If you're having trouble with them, make sure you use items and potions with damage resistance (especially against fire and shock). Remember to take out the summoner and don't waste time on the summons. When the necromancers are dead, get your wood from the chest in the center of the grove. You can jump down from the grove into Lake Rumare and swim across to Arcane University. Polus is appalled at the necromancer attack on the grove. He sends you along to Delmar in the Chironasium, who will make a staff of your choosing. You can pick from three schools, and then choose one of three powers from that school: * Destruction: Fire, Frost or Shock damage * Illusion: Charm, Paralyze or Silence * Mysticism: Dispel, Telekineses or Soul Trap Wait until the next day and collect your staff from the cupboard in the back of the room. Return to Polus and ask about Advancement; you are now a Journeyman in the Guild. Then ask about Tasks for a new mission. [MG09] <~~~~~~ ULTERIOR MOTIVES ~~~~~~> Polus sends you on a simple step-n-fetch mission. Count Hassildor in Skingrad borrowed a book, and the Guild wants it back. Travel to Castle Skingrad. You can't see the count, and everyone refers you to Mercator Hosidus, castle steward. Mercator is brusque and won't bother the count until the following day. Return the next day. Hosidus sets up a meeting between you and the count on the road west of town after 2am that night. Wait until the appropriate time, then head out the west gate and down the road, just past the first farm on the left. Make sure you're kitted out for battle first (yeah, you're not getting off easy). Hosidus and a couple of necromancers are waiting for you. This can't end well. Endeavor to make sure Hosidus and friends feel worse about the meeting than you. During the ruckus, Count Hassildor will show up and take a personal interest in "retiring" Hosidus--and his pals. Then he chews you out for being a gullible fool. Well. Yeah. But it's not like the game gives you any other choice. You find out you were sent to spy on Hassildor, but he turned the situation around and used you as bait to draw out Hosidus and his allies. Travel back to Arcane University and do some chewing out of your own on Polus. He apologizes, fully explains the count's condition (he's a vampire, if you haven't figured that out yourself) and promotes you to Evoker. You get a leveled amulet with a Spell Absorption enchantment and a new task. [MG10] <~~~~~~ VAHTACEN'S SECRET ~~~~~~> Polus sends you to help Irlav Jarol, who hangs out in the Arch-Mages Council Chamber (use the portal in the Lobby). Jarol is supervising an archaelogical study of an Ayleid ruin and they've hit a snag. He sends you to investigate. Vahtacen is located south-southeast of Cheydinhal. The upper level of this ruin is unoccupied except for a couple of Mages Guild workers: Skaleel and Denel. Skaleel is disgruntled and doesn't want to help. She sends you down to Denel, who explains the problem. They've got a wall blocking their way further into the ruin and they can't figure out how to open it. You can do this the hard way by entering the large room and looking at the inscriptions on the walls. Then return to Denel and ask about translating the runes. He sends you to Skaleel for a book, then helps you translate the writing. Or, you can just go ahead and open the wall. You need four spells (scrolls or staffs will work): fire damage, frost damage, damage magicka and fortify magicka. If you don't have these spells, you can find scrolls in the chest behind Denel. Walk up to the large column in the center of the room and cast your spells in this order: fire, frost, damage magicka (must be damage, not drain or absorb) and fortify magicka (must be useable on a target, not on self). The walls will open, revealing a staircase leading down. It's up to you to go down and explore Vahtacen's depths. Speaking to Denel or Skaleel will only confirm this for you. You'll fight your way through a lot of ghosts (or wraiths, depending on your level) until you reach a large room with a platform in the middle. There's no immediate way up onto the platform. Use the stairs on the south side of the room to get up to the switch that raises steps to the central platform. On top of the platform is a cover that is raised with a nearby switch. Don't push the switch until you're ready for battle. Open the cover and take the relic underneath. When you do, three zombies are released into the room. They're pretty stupid and won't use the stairs to come get you, so you can stand on the edge of the platform and snipe them. Or you can jump down and try to take them all on at once. Once they're dead, you can take a shortcut back to the upper levels of the ruin by using the northern-most exit from this room. Show the relic to Skaleel, who will be delighted, then return to Jarol at Arcane University for your reward. [MG11] <~~~~~~ NECROMANCER'S MOON ~~~~~~> Polus now gives you another promotion and a new task: talk to archivist Tar-Meena about necromancy. Use the "Black Soul Gems" topic to get Tar-Meena to talk. She tells you to read a book called "Necromancer's Moon". It's lying on a table there in the library. Talk to Tar-Meena again, who points out a reference to "Shade of the Revenant". Return to Polus, who refers you to Bothiel, the resident astronomer. Bothiel recalls Falcar (remember him) once asking about the Shade of the Revenant. He dropped a note when he left and she kept it. The note mentions four sites: The Dark Fissure, Fort Istirius, Fort Linchal and Wendelbek. Polus decides to send you to Dark Fissure, which is a place he recognizes. This cave is near Cheydinhal, and you never actually need to go inside. You can finish this quest in two ways: 1) When you find the cave, you'll see an altar out front. Wait until nightfall and watch as a necromancer comes out and turns normal soul gems into black soul gems. You'll get a new journal entry and can return to Polus with what you've seen. 2) If you arrive during the day and don't want to wait, enter Dark Fissure. In the very first room, you'll be able to kill a necromancer and get a recipe for black soul gems from his body. Return to Polus with this infor- mation. In neither instance is it necessary to clear out the caves, though you can do so if you wish. Polus promotes you to Magician and sends you to Arch-Mage Traven. [MG12] <~~~~~~ LIBERATION OR APPREHENSION? ~~~~~~> You'll find Traven either in the Council chambers or in his room (use the portal in the Council chambers). His first task for you is to bring in an informant who has been working with the necromancers. Traven fears a team of battlemages may mistake the informant for a real necromancer and kill him. You are sent to Nenyond Twyll, southeast of Imperial City. Travel down there and enter the ruins. You'll meet one of the battlemages, who reports the necromancers wiped out the rest of the team. Despite that, he thinks he and you are enough to take out this nest of vipers. Let him rush down the stairs and be killed by the trap at the bottom. Better him than you, right? Jump around the corners of the trap and fight your way south to the entrance to the second level of the ruins. This is basically just one big room, mostly filled with water. There are several necromancers in this room, so advance slowly and try to pick them off one-by-one. There's one, who, if given a chance, will talk and reveal the fate of the informant; but, you're going to find that out soon anyway. Along the north wall is a secret door, opened with a switch that's in an alcove to the left. Beyond is the informant, now a zombie (Worm Thrall, in technical terms). Kill him and your journal updates. Also to the left of the secret room entrance is a shortcut back to the exit from the ruins. Return to Traven to complete the quest, then talk to Polus, who increases your rank to Warlock. [MG13] <~~~~~~ INFORMATION AT A PRICE ~~~~~~> Having dealt with Count Hassildor in Skingrad once, you're sent back to him. He has important information for the Guild, and has requested that you personally come to collect. When you arrive, and have gone through Hal-Liurz to see the Count, he lets you know there's a little task--or two--he wants you to perform before he divulges his knowledge. First on the list are a group of uncultured vampires who have taken over Bloodcrust cave just outside the castle. Hassildor wants them wiped out as they are little better than beasts. Second are the vampire hunters who have come to town to kill these vampires. Hassildor doesn't want them poking too much into his own nocturnal activities. There are at least three ways to handle this little task: 1) Find the vampire hunters (they have rooms at the Two Sisters Lodge and also eat lunch there). Tell the leader, Eridor, where the vampires are, then follow them to watch the fun. Bring some popcorn. When it's all done, either mop up the rest of the vampires or congratulate the surviving hunters. 2) Go wipe out the vampires yourself. Make sure you take at least one sample of "Vampire Dust" from one of these vampires. (Dust from other vamps won't work.) Go find the hunters at the Two Sisters Lodge and speak to their leader, Eridor, and tell him the vampires are all dead. Show him the dust sample as proof. The hunters will take off for other parts. 3) Kill the vampires and the vampire hunters. The latter is risky as it is murder and the count has told you he can't protect you. Though he, personally, doesn't care if you kill them, he can't intervene if you're caught. Overall, the first option is by far the easiest. You may even get lucky and the hunters will prevail and you won't have to lift a finger. Regardless, return to Hassildor and get his information and then take that to Traven. [MG14] <~~~~~~ A PLOT REVEALED ~~~~~~> Traven is upset by the information you bring him, and says he and the council need some time to sort things out. You can't get another quest from him until a couple of days have passed. Either go quest somewhere else for a while or Wait two days and try him again. The news of the King of Worms' return has blown up the council. While they try to sort things out, Traven sends you to Bruma. Jeanne hasn't reported in several days and Traven is worried. And rightly so. The Bruma Mages Guild is on fire and filled with the dead bodies of its members and lots of leveled undead. You'll have to kill off the creatures on the main floor, then go down the right-hand set of stairs to the living quarters. This is where things get hairy. There are at least four, and possibly five or six creatures in this confined area and they will all hit you at once--one as soon as you come through the door. Your only chance is to immediately scuttle into the room to your right and try to take them out as they come through the door. If you can keep them bottled up in the doorway, only one or two can hit you at a time. When you leave the living quarters, you can go up the stairs to Jeanne's room, where you'll find the necromancer in charge of this expedition. She's not talkative, so take her out fast. When you do, J'skar appears out of nowhere. He used his invisibility to hide and escaped destruction. He has a terrifying eye-witness account of the attack, and then heads for Arcane University for safety. Follow him and report in to Traven. Go see Polus for another advancement, to Wizard, and the spell Wizard's Fury, which is keyed to your level and provides fire, shock and frost damage in one handy explosion. [MG15] <~~~~~~ THE BLOODWORM HELM ~~~~~~> You'll need to go play with your new spell for a couple of days, because Traven and his cronies need time to digest the new information. When you return, he gives dismaying news. The other two council members, Irlav Jarol and Caranya, have stolen some powerful artifacts and taken off with them. *NOTE* You can do these two quests in any order. Jarol has stolen the Bloodworm Helm and gone to Fort Teleman. Teleman is northeast of Leyawiin, so Fast Travel there and head out to the Fort. You'll have to fight your way through two levels of necromancers and daedra (even if you finished the main story, there will still be daedra in here). At the bottom of the second level is Jarol's body. Retrieve the Bloodworm Helm from Jarol's corpse and return it to Traven; or, use it to help retrieve the Necromancer's Amulet. [MG16] <~~~~~~ THE NECROMANCER'S AMULET ~~~~~~> Caranya has made off to Fort Ontus, which is in-between Chorrol and Kvatch in the Colovian highlands. The mages in here are initially peaceful, so there's no fighting as you work your way down to the second level and a meeting with Caranya. Of course, you won't get out without a fight, so note the positions of all these future enemies. After Caranya reveals herself to be a traitor to the cause, kill her and take the amulet. There are two ways back out, both of which cover about the same distance. Either way, you're going to have to wade through several necromancers and their summons. [MG17] <~~~~~~ AMBUSH ~~~~~~> After returning both the Bloodworm Helm and Necromancer's Amulet to Traven, talk to Polus again for promotion to Master Wizard. You're now Polus' equal in rank. Traven now wants you to help take the battle to the enemy. A group of battlemages has been sent to the Ayleid ruin of Silorn to intercept a unique black soul gem. Before leaving, buy a Paralyze or Burden spell or scroll, if you don't have one. Travel to Silorn, southeast of Skingrad, and meet up with the leader of the team, Thalfin. A direct assault didn't work because the entrance to Silorn is blocked with an enchantment. The team lost one member in the assault, so they've decided to set up an ambush. Talk to her about abilities and positioning, the do the same with the others. You want to station Thalfin and Iver closer to the action and Merete further away. Join Thalfin and Iver behind a column on the road leading out from the ruin and wait. When Thalfin suddenly casts a spell and runs out, do the same. Your target is your old nemesis, Falcar. He's going to make a break for the ruin and you want to stop him. Use your paralyzing or burdening spell, power or weapon enchantment to stop him in his tracks, then finish him off. You can then turn and help your team get rid of Falcar's supporting staff. Take the Colossal Black Soul Gem from Falcar's body. If you just can't get to Falcar fast enough, then you'll have to follow him into Silorn. Silorn is three levels full of necromancers and undead. Have fun. When you reach Falcar, kill him and take the special gem. Return to Traven. Your final task in the Mages Guild awaits. [MG18] <~~~~~~ CONFRONT THE KING ~~~~~~> Time to put an end to the King of Worms. Traven kills himself, putting his soul in the Colossal Black Soul Gem you just took from Falcar. Take the gem and journey to Echo Cavern, which is west of Cloud Ruler Temple. At the door, you'll be confronted by Bolor Savel, who gleefully informs you he has the only key for the door. Introduce him to the folly of guarding a door from you, take his key and enter the cave. The top two levels of the cave are standard necromancer-infested lairs. You've seen a lot of these by now. When you reach the bottom, you've found Mannimarco, King of Worms. Fortunately for you, Mannimarco is a bit overconfident. Seems he intends to turn you into a Worm Thrall; but, the special black soul gem prevents that from working. Don't give Mannimarco time to finish his conversation, cast his Enthrall spell and then realize it doesn't work. Walk up to him during his speech and hit him...hit him hard. Keep him off-balance and staggered and the fight should be easy. If you let him get off a few spells, you could be in trouble. Once he's dead, loot the place, then return to Arcane University. Congratulations! You are the new Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild. Primarily what this means is free alchemy ingredients. There's an enchanted chest in your room. Put an ingredient in there and, 24 hours later, you'll find lots of that particular ingredient. (The chest gets cleared out after a week, so come back for your stuff before then.) You can also pick any Apprentice on the grounds and take him or her along with you on adventures. There are still necromancers lying around (refer to Falcar's note from the "Necromancer's Moon" quest for their locations); however, there are no more formal quests for the mages guild. [MG19] <~~~~~~ MAGES GUILD SUSPENSION ~~~~~~> The Mages Guild frowns on members who commit crimes against other members. You get two opportunities to earn your way back into the guild. After the third crime, you are banned for good. Earning your way back into the guild depends on the type of crime. You must bring two types of alchemical ingredients to Raminus Polus, who will re-instate you into the guild. Theft: 20 nightshade, 20 mandrake root Assault: 20 dragon's tongue, 20 redwort flowers Murder: 20 vampire dust, 20 daedra hearts These prices apply regardless of whether it is your first or second offense. [TG00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THIEVES GUILD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ The Thieves Guild provides a welcome respite from the typical step-n-fetch quests that predominate the main story and the Fighters and Mages Guild quest lines. There are no dungeon crawls and almost no combat until you get near the end of the story. Prior to that, you'll be required to "obtain" or "retrieve" various items, *without* killing anyone! Can you believe it? These quests require a bit more thought, better preparation and some serious Sneak and Security skills. If you can't pick locks or Sneak effectively, you'll need to buff up on those skills prior to joining the Guild. * Sneak can be easily leveled by breaking into an occupied house, during the night, Sneaking up beside the sleeping owner, and Sneak-running into the wall. (PC users can press 'Q' to turn on auto-movement.) Get your Sneak skill past 50 so you don't have to go barefoot all the time. You can supplement Sneaking with Invisibility spells, but you still need a decent Sneak so you aren't heard and to allow you to pickpocket various targets. * Security is difficult to level up; however, there are various workarounds. First, you can wait until level 10, perform Nocturnal's quest, and get the Skeleton Key, which is an unbreakable lockpick with a +40 Security boost enchantment. No lock can stand against you. Second, you can level up your Alteration skill (keep casting Feather on yourself, over and over) and buy some high-powered Open Lock spells. In short, the bull-rush tactics of your average fighter or blast-them-to-Oblivion mage strategy aren't going to work for you in the Thieves Guild. You've got to be a lot more sneaky. When you're ready to join, go to Imperial City. There's two ways of getting an invitation: 1) Steal something and go to jail. When you are released, wait around until you are approached by Myvryna Arano and given a message. The message says to go at midnight to the Garden of Dareloth in the Waterfront district. 2) Read one of the Gray Fox wanted posters scattered about the city. This gives you a couple of new topics. Approach a beggar and Persuade or Charm him or her to a Disposition past 70. Then ask about the Gray Fox. Say you want to work with him. You'll be told to go at midnight to the Garden of Dareloth in the Waterfront district. Once you have those instructions, head to the Waterfront district. You can Fast Travel there or go out through the door in the Temple district. Head south, past the docks and through the large wall to the dockworker slums. There's one house, on the eastern edge of the slums, with a walled garden behind it. That's the Garden of Dareloth. [TG01] <~~~~~~ MAY THE BEST THIEF WIN ~~~~~~> Wait until midnight and Armond Christophe will appear. The two of you will be joined by a wood elf, Methredhel and an Argonian, Amusei. When everyone's there, talk to Christophe and ask about joining the Guild. Christophe says there's never been this many new recruits at once, so he proposes a test. The first one to return with the diary of Amantius Allectus wins approval to join the Guild. Now, technically, there's no way to lose. If you don't win this first test, you'll get another; still, better to get it over with quick. Fast Travel to the Temple district. (Yes, you can run over there, but you're probably not fast enough.) As soon as the Temple district loads, hang a right and run along the wall until you reach the southeastern corner. Go left and pick the lock on the second door to your left. This is Allectus's house. (If you want to do this the "right" way, you would first need to find a beggar--Puny Ancus--sleeping near the Garden and ask him the location of Allectus's house.) Regardless, Methredhel will be there before you, Sneaking across the room. Don't bother Sneaking. Run to the desk against the wall to your right and open it to get the diary. Go back to the Garden, Wait until the next midnight hour and give the diary to Christophe. If, for some reason, the wood elf gets the diary first, you can still get it back. You're not allowed to kill your fellow contestants (or Allectus for that matter), but there's no prohibition against stealing from them. Wait until after sunrise, say about 7 or 8am. Methredhel lives right next to Dareloth's house. Pick the lock on her door, then on the chest next to her bed (she sleeps from sunrise until 10am). Get the diary, Wait until midnight, and give the diary to Christophe. Say that, for some reason, you don't get the diary at all and Methredhel wins the contest. Hope is not lost. Christophe figures the Thieves Guild could still use another member, so he proposes another test between you and Amusei--you're to bring back Rohssan's sword. For plot reasons, Amusei is not capable of winning either of these contests, so you don't need to worry about him getting the sword first. Fast Travel to the Market District and find "A Fighting Chance" next to the Merchant's Inn. They're both along the street leading to the Arena in the southeastern section of the Market district. Pick the lock on the door and go upstairs to Rohssan's quarters. You'll have to kill her dog, then pick the lock on Rohssan's Chest to get Rohssan's Antique Cutlass. Return the sword to Christophe at the next midnight hour. [TG02] <~~~~~~ INDEPENDENT THIEVERY ~~~~~~> Congratulations! You are now a Pickpocket in the Guild. There are a series of ten "special jobs" you will have to perform to advance to the rank of guild master (Gray Fox). However, in order to get each job, you have to fence a certain amount of stolen goods. As you advance, the required total amount of fenced property increases, and you get access to more fences. For starters, your only fence is Ongar the World-Weary in Bruma. He lives behind the chapel and he isn't called "World-Weary" for nothing. He spends a lot of time sleeping. He'll only fence items for you while in his house, so if you find him on the street or in a tavern, you're just going to have to Wait until he goes home. He has a limited amount of gold, but you probably aren't going to be selling him any high-priced items anyway. You can, without too much work, fence over 1,000 gold worth of items to Ongar on your first try. That way you can zip right through the ten quests without stopping to clean out houses and fence the loot. There's a house in Imperial City's Temple district owned by Trenus Duronis. His house is west of the temple, and opens into the central circle. Duronis is a skooma (drug) addict. He's rarely home at night and has no servants. His house is easy pickins'. You can grab over 40 bottles of premium wine, lots of silver, plus jewelry and 15 bottles of skooma (base price 75 gold each). Make sure you loot all the miscellaneous sacks lying around, some of the jewelry are in those sacks. Ignore the basement, there's nothing down there. Haggle Ongar up to paying you 45 or 50 percent of base price and you can get 1,500 fenced value in one shot. +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Rank | Target | Quest | Contact | Fence | |-------------+--------+-------------------------+----------+----------------| |Pickpocket | 50 | Untaxing the Poor | Armand | Ongar, Bruma | |Footpad | 100 | The Elven Maiden | | | |Bandit | 200 | Ahdargi's Heirloom | S'Krivva | Dar Jee, | |Prowler | 300 | Misdirection | | Leyawiin | |Cat Burglar | 400 | Lost Histories | | Luciana Galena,| | | 500 | Taking Care of Lex | | Bravil | |Shadowfoot | 600 | Turning a Blind Eye | Gray Fox | Orrin, Anvil | | | 700 | Arrow of Extrication | | | |Master Thief | 800 | Boots of Springheel Jak | | Fathis Ules, | | | 1,000 | The Ultimate Heist | | Imperial City | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [TG03] <~~~~~~ UNTAXING THE POOR ~~~~~~> Once you have over 50 gold worth of fenced goods, talk to Christopher (always at midnight in the Garden) about Special Jobs. He goes on a rant about how futile it is to tax the poor people, but that's just what Imperial Watch captain Hieronymus Lex has done. Christophe wants you to get the tax money back from Lex, as well as the records so the Thieves Guild knows how to redistribute the funds. Find a beggar--Puny, who sleeps near the Garden will do--to learn Lex's quarters are at the top of the South Watchtower. The South Watchtower is between the Temple district and the Arboretum, near Allectus's house. The best time to break in is during mid-morning. Yeah, broad daylight. You see, the Radiant AI is a bit stupid. During the night, there are too many watchmen entering the barracks for the number of beds available. Since there aren't enough beds, some of the watchmen just stand around all night and it's devilishly hard to Sneak past them. An Invisibility spell might work, but better just to wait until daylight. Around 9am, there's no one in the tower except the night shift watchmen, and they're all sleeping. As a bonus, Lex will also be out and about on his rounds. You can enter the tower's bottom level publicly, then you have to Sneak your way up (find the ladder on the wall and Activate it) through two levels of barracks until you reach Lex's quarters. Pick the lock on his desk and collect the tax records and gold, then return to Christophe at the next witching hour. [TG04] <~~~~~~ THE ELVEN MAIDEN ~~~~~~> If you've fenced at least 100 gold worth of goods, Christophe offers you another special job. You're to steal the bust of the late Countess Indarys of Cheydinhal. Fast Travel over there and use your quest markers to track down a beggar. You'll probably have to bribe them to tell you the bust is sitting next to the Countess' coffin in the undercroft of the chapel. Oh yeah, and there's a guard patrolling day and night and the place is haunted as well. Joy. Sneak down into the undercroft of the chapel and watch the guard. He (or she) patrols between the two wings of the crypt, from east to west. The bust is in the west wing, so wait until the guard is heading east, then zip in and grab the bust. Hide behind a column while the guard comes and peeks in, then scurry back out when his (or her) back is turned. You won't encounter any ghosts unless you try to Activate the coffin, so don't do that. Return to the Waterfront of Imperial City and you'll find the place crawling with cops, under the direction of Captain Lex, all asking questions about Christophe and the bust of Countess Indarys. Looks like you've been set up, but by whom? Hang around the Waterfront for a while, and Methredhel eventually finds you. The whole operation was designed to ferret out an informant in the Guild. The weasel is revealed as Myvryna Arano, and Methredhel suggest you frame her for the crime. Her hut is near where Lex is standing, and with all the guards running about, Sneaking in can be difficult. You can use an Invisibility spell to get you in, or just go into Sneak mode while standing next to Arano's door and wait until the eye icon dims down and then quickly pick the lock and get inside. Activate the cupboard next to the bed; the bust will automatically be placed inside. Now the hard part, convincing Hieronymus Lex his stooge is the real thief. You'll have to get his Disposition up to 70 (Persuade, Charm or Bribe) and then follow him into Arano's shack, where he confronts her with the evidence. You might say she's been busted. The police clear out, life returns to normal and Christophe shows up at the appointed time and place once again. He'll pay you for your work, promote you and let you know he's got nothing more for a talented crook like yourself. He suggests S'Krivva in Bravil. You also get access to a new fence, Dar Jee, in Leyawiin. Dar Jee lives in Leyawiin's "skid row"--a group of tumble-down shanties amidst the more stately manors. His shack is diagonally across from the one you can buy, and right next to Weebam-Na ("Mazoga the Orc", "Nocturnal"). [TG05] <~~~~~~ AHDARGI'S HEIRLOOM ~~~~~~> As you enter Bravil's North Gate, the place ahead and to your right is the home of your next Doyen in the Thieves Guild, S'Krivva. She holds court during normal hours (roughly 8am to 6pm) and will only deal with you during those hours. If you catch her on the street or break into her house any other time, she just tells you off. At least you don't have to wait until midnight every day to see her. Provided you've fenced at least 200 gold in stolen property, S'Krivva hands out one of those Special Jobs you've come to love. The widow of a dearly departed Thieves Guild fence has lost a prized possession. While you're talking to S'Krivva, buy some lockpicks if you don't have any (perhaps because you're using spells or the Skeleton Key to open locks). Ahdarji lives in Leyawiin, so head down there and question the beggars for directions to her house. Ahdargi is incensed because a freelance (i.e. non-Guild) thief took her ring and names the culprit, Amusei. (Yep. Your erstwhile competition from the entry test.) She wants you to kill him, but is willing to let it go at suffering. In any case, she wants the ring back. Question the beggars again, or talk to any city guard. Amusei was caught trying to blackmail Countess Alessia. Head for the castle and the entrance to the dungeons. The guard is not pre-disposed to let you in to see any prisoners. You can bribe him (20 gold) or try to Sneak past him and pick the lock leading to the cells. Your choice. Inside, talk to Amusei, who doesn't want to be left to rot. Give him a lockpick to open him up. The ring was actually the Countess' ring and Amusei found he couldn't fence it after he stole it, so he tried to sell it back to the Countess and got thrown in jail for his trouble. Countess Alesia has her ring. Now, you can try just going through the front door. However, the doors into the private quarters of Castle Leyawiin are guarded 24/7, so you would need 100% invisibility to get through. There is another way, one that provides some additional "color" to the story. Find a beggar and discuss the matter. You get the name of the Countess' maid, Hildari Mothril. You also get the convenient quest marker showing you Ms. Mothril's current location. Track her down and butter her up (Disposition of 80) and she'll spill all the beans. The Countess is away from the 15th through the 17th of the month. She goes to sleep around 11pm and always takes the ring off when she goes to sleep. There's also a secret passage linking the royal to the castle's cellar. Enter the main room of the castle and take the door to the southwest to reach the cellar. Along the far wall, look for an open barrel that just barely shows the tip of a lever extending above the rim. Activate the lever to open a secret door and make your way through a torture chamber (the Countess has...interesting...amusements) and to the royal quarters. The ring is in a jewelry box next to the royal bed. You can pick the lock or pickpocket a key off either the sleeping Count or Countess. To let them know what you think of their little funhouse, steal their gold as well. (Remember, no killing.) Go back out the way you came in and return the ring to Ahdargi and then see S'Krivva for payment. [TG06] <~~~~~~ MISDIRECTION ~~~~~~> Hieronymus Lex is up to his old tricks again. Provided you've fenced at least 300 gold worth of loot, S'Krivva sends you back to the Waterfront district of Imperial City to help get Lex out of the Guild's collective hair. The obsessed captain of the Watch has pulled guards from their regular patrols and is turning the Waterfront inside-out. You're to meet Methredhel, who is director of operations for the current job. Again, the beggars point you to Methredhel's location, which is Dynari Amnis's house in Talos Plaza. Methredhel outlines an audacious plan: have four thieves pull off high-profile robberies all at once. The resultant hue and cry from the city's elite will force Lex to pull back his troops to their regular patrols. Your job is stealing Hrormir's Staff from the Arch-Mage's quarters. (Note: you still get this quest even if you are the Arch-Mage. It's just, you won't have to actually "steal" the staff, since it belongs to you.) Wait until just after 1am, enter the Arch-Mage's Lobby of Arcane University and use the portal to get to the Council Chambers. Use the other portal in this room to get to the Arch-Mage's chambers. Assuming Traven is still Arch-Mage (and not you), he should be asleep. The staff is lying out in the open on a table. Pick up the staff, then Activate the nightstand next to the bed to automatically insert a note from the Gray Fox. Return to Methredhel with the staff. She congratulates you, lets you know everything is going well, and asks you to go keep an eye on Lex, to see if anything breaks. Head for the Waterfront and find Lex where you found him earlier in "The Elven Maiden". Stand nearby and wait. Soon a dremora approaches and hands Lex a note, then departs. Lex reads the note, drops it, then hurries away, ordering his men to follow him. Go pick up the note, which is lying on the ground. It's from Raminus Polus of the Mages Guild. It says, in part, "We demand that you return all guards to their posts immediately. If you do not do this, we will be forced to bring the matter to the attention of your superior." Lex won't be bothering the good people of the Waterfront for a while. Go back to Methredhel; there's one last task for you. The Gray Fox isn't really interested in having the Mages Guild permanently mad at him, so you're to return the staff--but not to the place where you grabbed it, security will be too high. Rather, you're to return the staff to the home of a former University researcher, Ontus Vanin. Vanin lives in the Talos Plaza district, in the southwest section. His house is buit into the outer wall. (If you've done "Unfriendly Competition", his house is opposite Agarmir's house.) Ontus spends weekday afternoons out eating and shopping. He sleeps from 2am to 10am. Pick your time to Sneak into his house, head upstairs and Activate the chest against the wall. The staff is automatically placed in the chest and you can return to S'Krivva in Bravil for your payment and a promotion. You also get access to a new fence, Luciana Galena, right here in Bravil. She's open for business at the Lonely Suitor Lodge in the afternoons and evenings. [TG07] <~~~~~~ LOST HISTORIES ~~~~~~> Once you've fenced at least 400 gold in illicit items, S'Krivva has a new assignment for you. She sends you to Skingrad to find out what happened to a thief named Theranis. He was supposed to steal a book called "The Lost Histories of Tamriel" and he hasn't been heard from in days. Go to Skingrad and track down one of the beggars. With a high enough Disposition (or a bribe), you'll find Theranis boasted about his theft in front of a captain of the guard and is now cooling his heels in prison. You can't bribe your way into this dungeon, so you have three options: 1) Get a job delivering food to the prisoners. To get this job you need to find the count's butler, Shum gro-Yarug. He spends his mornings in town and afternoons in the castle. To make finding him easier, you can ask around town about "Work in the castle" and someone will refer you to gro-Yarug. You should then get a quest marker showing his location. Once you have the job, report to the dungeons and the jailor will let you in. 2) Get arrested. Any small crime will do, but make sure you have either a powerful Open Lock spell or several lockpicks so you can break out of your cell. 3) Break into the jail. This is probably the hardest, as Sneaking past the jailor will be very difficult, not to mention you have to pick the locks leading into the cell area. Once you're inside, you'll find only one prisoner behind bars, and he's not Theranis. Bump Larthjar's Disposition high enough (telling him you're here to rescue him is a good way to do this) and he'll relate Theranis was taken by the "Pale Lady". Theranis' Argonia roommate was also taken and put up a fight, leaving blood marks all over the place. Using this information, follow the bloodstains on the floor to the wall at the end of the cell area. Activate the "strange candle" on the wall to open a secret door. Follow the tunnel to a door and pass through into a another tunnel. At the end of this tunnel, turn the handle to the left to open another secret door. You're now in the wine cellar. Follow the bloodstains down the hall and then to your right where they end in front of three large wine casks. To to the right-most cask and Activate the "strange candle" on the column to the left of the cask. The center cask opens up to reveal a hidden passage. Down the passage is the Pale Lady, a vampire (in case you hadn't guessed). After you kill her, you'll find Theranis' body on the floor and your old friend Amusei in the cell (he was Theranis' Argonian cellmate). Amusei knows where Theranis stashed the book, but he wants out of Castle Skingrad first. Get him out of his cell and tell him to follow, he'll automatically go into Sneak mode, but you can't. You see, if you Sneak, Amusei can't see you so he won't follow you. Whatever. Head back into the wind cellar and go up the ramp, but don't turn left toward the secret door. Instead, turn right and go through the door into the dining hall. Go through the kitchen and toward the main dining room (keep an eye out of guards or other castle occupants). Just before the main dining room, turn right and go through a door into the County Hall. Go straight until you come out on the balcony overlooking the main hall. Head left and through an opening, then turn right. The door straight ahead of you leads out into the castle courtyard. Slip through when there are no guards patrolling and head down the main road to Skingrad. Once you are far enough away from the castle, Amusei will stop you and tell you the location of the "Lost Histories". The book is "under a bush near a well behind Nerastarel's house". Continue down the castle path to Skingrad's East Gate. After entering Skingrad, head down the street and make the first right-hand turn. Follow the stone path around the houses until you see a well. Beyond the well a bush and rock crowd close together. The book is lying right out in the open between the bush and the rock. Return to S'Krivva with your prize. [TG08] <~~~~~~ TAKING CARE OF LEX ~~~~~~> The Gray Fox has had it with Hieronymus Lex; but, since this is the Thieves Guild, not the Dark Brotherhood, rather than order a hit on Lex, the Fox wants him re-assigned--to Anvil, the other end of the world. Countess Umbranox is looking for a new Captain of the Guard. The Imperial Watch commander has sent her a list of candidates, but no specific recommendation. However, the Countess hasn't even seen this list of candidates. Her steward, Dairihill, has hidden the list in hopes of getting her cousin the job. (You find out this tidbit later.) Your mission, should you choose to accept it is: 1) Steal the letter from Dairihill. 2) Forge it with a strong recommendation for Captain Lex. 3) Get the Imperial Watch commander's seal on it. 4) Deliver it to Countess Umbranox. Simple, right? Actually, more so than you might imagine. Report to Anvil and find one of the beggars. You'll be directed to find the smith. Wait until morning (when Dairihill is in the main hall) or the middle of the night (when Dairihill is asleep). Enter Anvil Castle and hang a right (northwest) to find the smithy. Orrin is a Thieves Guild fence (soon to be your fence) and knows of a secret passage. You can wake him if necessary and he'll show you to the door--the secret door. Go up the stairs, through a wood door and up some more stairs. At the top, Activate the moveable column on the left to open a secret door into the private quarters. Dairihill's office is immediately to your left. Pick the lock on her door and on her desk to get the list of candidates. Return the way you came and go back to Anvil and talk with one of the beggars. You need a forger, and the beggars point you to someone known only as "The Stranger". He lives in an abandoned house to the west of the Mages Guild hall. Enter the house and talk to the Stranger. He needs 24 hours and 500 gold to complete the forgery. Give him both and you'll have the new high recommendation for Lex in your hands. Now all you need is the Imperial seal to make it authentic. (If you have previously done the Dark Brotherhood quest "Early Retirement", you will have received a key to the Imperial Watch office. Get that key now.) Enter the Imperial Prison compound (northeast of the city) in the middle of the night (between 2am and 4am). Go to second door to the left of the main entrance, enter Sneak mode and wait until the guards near the gate aren't watching (your eye icon is dim). Pick the lock on the door (or use your key). On the desk is the seal; Activate it to seal the forged letter, then Sneak out. Return to Anvil and present the letter to Countess Umbranox during normal hours (8am to 6pm). She decides Lex would be a perfect fit for Anvil, and asks you to personally deliver his new orders. It's back to Imperial City for you; follow your quest marker to catch up with Lex and hand him his exile papers. He suspects the Gray Fox is behind all this, but off to Anvil he goes. And off to Bravil you go for your payment, promotion and access to Orrin as a new fence. [TG09] <~~~~~~ TURNING A BLIND EYE ~~~~~~> Now begin your tasks for the Gray Fox himself. These are more traditional dungeon crawls, and you'll actually be allowed to kill people (or things) somewhat indiscriminately. All these quests are received the same way: you make sure you have fenced enough loot, then you sit around twiddling your thumbs until you get a message from Fox. To get this first task, you will need to have at least 600 gold worth of fenced items. The best place to wait (for any of these messages) is the Waterfront district in Imperial City. Your first messenger is Methredhel, who sounds kind of breathless that the Gray Fox would want to speak to you. You're to meet Fox at Helvius Cecia's house in Bruma. *A note about the messengers* They won't deliver their message except in a major city, and not in the same city (or same district in the case of Imperial City) where the meeting is to take place. They start out in Imperial City, so you can either: 1) stay in the same city where you last met Fox; or, 2) Fast Travel back to the Waterfront and sit tight. In either case, Waiting for a few hours generally guarantees you'll be interrupted by the messenger. Cecia lives in the south of Bruma, behind the chapel. The Gray Fox is waiting for you downstairs. He wants you to retrieve an item known as Savilla's Stone. It is kept in a monastery known as The Temple of the Ancestor Moths. You're allowed to kill the Stone's guardians, but not spill any innocent blood. The closest quest-related point to the Temple is Azura's Shrine. You can also Fast Travel to Lake Arrius Caverns or Lord Rugdumph's Estate if you've been there before. From any of those locations, the Temple is further north. If you have to Fast Travel to Cheydinhal, go due north from the city to eventually reach the Temple. First go to the Monk's Quarters and talk to Holger. Get his Disposition to 80 or higher and he'll tell you all about the blind monks that live in the catacombs and even take you up and unlock the door for you. (Alternately, you can find the crypt entrance yourself, next to the chapel, and pick the lock.) There are three levels of catacombs. The top two levels are just occupied by blind priests and you can easily Sneak past them. (You can also kill them, but it's not necessary and they might attack you in large groups if you start making a lot of noise.) The final level has undead, and you'll have to kill those. When you reach the final room, there's a blind monk guarding the Stone and you'll most likely have to kill him. There's also a dark welkynd stone that will zap you with frost damage as you approach Savilla's Stone. Kill the monk from a distance, then run in, grab the Stone and run out. There's an emergency exit to the east that lets you skip all the tedious catacomb Sneaking. Return to Cecia's house in Bruma and give the Stone to the Gray Fox. [TG10] <~~~~~~ ARROW OF EXTRICATION ~~~~~~> Your next message comes from old pal Amusei. Yeah, seems the goof-up joined the Guild and immediately moved to the top of the class, running errands for the Fox his-own-self. Kind of makes you wonder why you work so hard, doesn't it? Of course, he won't show up until you've fenced a total of 700 gold in purloined property. The meeting place is in Chorrol, at the home of Malintus Ancrus. He lives in the far southwestern corner of Chorrol, between Valdus Odiil ("The Killing Field") and Reynauld Jemane ("Separated at Birth") and across the street from Modryn Oreyn (Fighters Guild). The Gray Fox wants you to steal the Arrow of Extrication from Bravil court wizard Fathis Aren. The wizard and the guardians he strews in your path are fair game. *IMPORTANT* Aren is a member in good standing of the Mages Guild; if you are also a member of the Mages Guild, you'll get booted if you kill him. Go to Bravil and hunt down the beggars. For a bribe, they'll reveal Aren has a tower outside of town, keeps all his precious stuff in it and is the only one who can open the door to the tower. However, there's also rumored to be a secret passage from his room in the castle to the tower, so that should be your route of attack. *ALTERNATE ROUTE* There is a back way into the Wizard's Grotto that does not involve sneaking your way past the guards in the castle. If you have a pitiful Sneak skill, what are you doing in the Thieves Guild? No, you might be able to get in the back way. Swim out into Niben Bay. About where the 'a' in 'Bay' shows on your world map, swim down to the bottom and hunt for a wood trapdoor. There is a partially buried wooden chest and some broken pottery nearby. It will be very difficult to find (a mod that improves the underwater view would help). This takes you directly into the cave with the giant slaughterfish (see below) and you can swim up and continue through the Wizard's Grotto. The direct route goes through a door in Castle Bravil's main hall. The door is in the center of the balcony and is always protected by two guards. Good luck Sneaking through there--an Invisibility spell would help tremendously. Inside the private quarters, hang a left and Aren's room is the first door on your left. You can loot his room, but the important thing is the secret door on the back wall. There's a "moveable column" on the wall--Activate it and the door opens. Enter the Wizard's Grotto. At the end of the first hall is the first of many leveled daedra you will meet. Sneak past or, better, kill it and open the gate straight ahead of you. Hug the left wall as you go down into a flooded section, eventually leading to a section where the floor drops away and you can swim down. Swim down slowly, hugging the left (north) wall and looking for an entrance to a flooded tunnel. If you encounter a giant slaughterfish in a cave, you've gone too far down. (This is the cave you enter through the trapdoor in Niben Bay.) Swim back up, hugging the right wall and try to find that tunnel entrance. Check your map, if you find yourself swimming along a northbound tunnel that quickly turns east, you're in the right place. Come out of the flooded tunnel going north; turn right (east) at the T-intersection. Through the locked gate, turn south (right), then take the next left (east) and another left (north) and wend your way to a locked wooden door. This leads to the Wizard's Lair. There's only one way to go through here, blocked by daedra and conjurers. At the end you'll enter Aren's Tower, which is a ruined fort on the surface. There are more daedra out here. Fathis Aren is in a little open-air lab on the third level. Climb the stairs and circle around to his lab. Now, if you're a Mages Guild member in good standing, you can walk right by him, open his chest, remove his Tower Key and a key-shaped arrowhead, chat with him, then walk out. If you're not a Mages Guild member in good standing... Well, you're either going to have to kill him or use an Invisibility spell (or have very, very high Sneak skill). Aren stands right in front of his chest, facing it, and it is almost impossible to steal its contents using just Sneak. Of course, Aren is expendable--there's no Blood Price attached to killing him, so go ahead if that seems the simplest solution. Regardless, you now have the key to walk right out of the tower with the arrowhead the Gray Fox wants. Return to Chorrol and deliver the arrowhead. As part of your reward, you are promoted to Master Thief and you can now fence items with Fathis Ules. [TG11] <~~~~~~ BOOTS OF SPRINGHEEL JAK ~~~~~~> Once again, Amusei brings you news of a meeting requested by the Gray Fox. You must have pawned off at least 800 gold in pilfered goods to get the message. The meeting is to take place at Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal. Fast Travel to Cheydinhal's East Gate and head straight south. Ganredhel's is the fourth house on your left (just past the Abandoned Home that is a front for the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary). The Gray Fox wants the boots of a legendary thief known as Springheel Jak. He was supposedly buried 300 years ago with his boots on, so you need to find his crypt and acquire said footwear. Your only lead is a descendant: Jakben, Earl of Imbel. Fast Travel to Imperial City and track down a beggar; bribe him or her for information about Jakben and you'll get the location of his house--Talos Plaza district--and the information he only goes out at night. Gee...wonder where you've heard that before... Head over to Talos Plaza and enter the house--it opens out into the central plaza. It's preferable to go during the day. In order to get anywhere with this quest, you have to talk to the earl himself. You might need to Wait around bit by bit in order for Jakben to show; when he does, he'll be terrified of you and give you the key to the family crypt, which is beneath the cellar of his house. You may have noticed the earl's red eyes. Jakben is actually Springheel Jak, he's a vampire, he's wearing the boots you need. The only way to get them is to take them from his body, so might as well skip the crypt and just attack the earl as soon as you see him. If you like, you can still go down into the crypt, where you'll find about a half-dozen vampires and a decent loot haul. Return the boots to the Gray Fox. Your adventures are almost at an end... [TG12] <~~~~~~ THE ULTIMATE HEIST ~~~~~~> ...once you've fenced stolen goods totaling at least 1,000 gold, that is. Sit around and wait for Amusei once more. He brings a message the Gray Fox wants to see you at the house of Othrelo in the Elven Gardens district of Imperial City. If you Fast Travel to the district, go left from your entrance point, around the corner and Othrelo's is the first door on your right (northeast corner of the district). The Gray Fox now reveals his ultimate plan: he wants you to break into the Imperial Palace's Elder Scrolls library and steal one of the scrolls. Gee, won't that be simple. Not. This is easily the most complex and longest individual quest in the game. (The side quest "The Collector" might be longer, but it's more like a bunch of individual tasks grouped under one heading.) The Fox has a plan, and it's so complicated, he writes it down for you so you won't forget it. Here's what you need before you start: * Plenty of potions, poisons, empty soul gems and repair hammers. You'll be out of circulation for a long time and there are a lot of enemies between you and the final goal. * Lots of lockpicks or the Skeleton Key or a Open Very Hard Locks spell. There will be numerous locks, most Hard or Very Hard, that have to be picked. * The Boots of Springheel Jak, the Arrow of Extrication and the Palace Sewers Key. The Gray Fox will give these to you, don't drop them anywhere. * Detect Life spell or enchanted item will make it easier to Sneak around the palace, since you can "see" through the walls. Here are the steps: "1) Activate the Old Way using the Glass of Time. It is located inside the Imperial Palace. I do not know what it looks like or exactly where to find it." The Glass of Time is located in the basement of the Imperial Palace. Enter by the main doors into the publicly accessible Elder Council Chambers. Immediately go left, around the circular hall and down a ramp to the the basement. Enter Sneak mode and wait until the eye dims, indicating no one is watching, then pick the lock and Sneak into the basement. There's a patrolling guard here. He patrols around the outer circumference of the room. Sneak through the center to the opposite side of the basement, where you'll find a giant hourglass. That's the Glass of Time. Activate it, your journal updates and you can Sneak out. Now come the hard parts. "2) Find the entrance to the Old Way. It is rumored to be somewhere in the sewers under the Imperial City." The entrance to the sewers is in the Arboretum. Near the door to the Arena (northeast section of the Arboretum) is a sewer grate to the Southeast Tunnel. Drop down into the sewers. Go down the stairs and through the one tunnel available. Pick the lock on the gate to enter the next room. Turn the wheel on the south wall to open a door to the northeast. Go through the tunnel and enter a room with a water trench. Go right (east), through a small tunnel, then jump up to the left (north) to find a door into the Arena sewers (Beneath the Bloodworks). From here on out you'll be facing a variety of undead. These sewers are vampire lairs. Watch your step. Go down the stairs and through the east gate. Go up the stairs in the next room and through the tunnel. The next room you enter has a wheel on the north wall. Turn it, then go through the gate to the west. As you go over a bridge, drop down and head north through the newly opened door. You'll enter a water trench room. Cross the trench and go into the room to the north. Turn the wheel on the west wall, then return to the trench and go through the newly opened tunnel to the west. Your next route is through a tunnel to the left (south) as you enter the next trench room. There's an undead concealed in that tunnel, so climb the stairs to your right (north) and reconnoiter before heading into the tunnel. That tunnel takes you to a gate opened with the key given you by the Gray Fox. Inside is a manhole cover to the Palace Sewers. From here, the entrance to the old way is pretty straightforward, but still blocked by the occasional undead. Go northwest until you come to a large cistern. Go northeast to another cistern, then southeast to a trench room. The entrance to the Old Way is across the trench and to your right. "3) Inside the Old Way is an entrance to the heart of the Imperial Palace. Savilla's Stone was only able to scry the two most important obstacles. For one of them you will need to use the Boots of Springheel Jak." Inside the Old Way, take the quickest route, which is straight down the hall to the first left, then straight to the entrance to the second section of the Old Way. Watch out for the pressure plate midway down the hall; it releases a swinging mace trap. You come out on the second level of a two-level room full of undead. Once they are all out of the way, find the hole in the wall in the western, lower section of the room. Follow this "cave" west and then south and find another hole in the wall. Drop down into the room beyond and destroy the spirits in the room. Find a hole in the east wall that leads to a downward sloping tunnel and a wood door to the Lost Catacombs. The Catacombs go on forever, but there's only one way to go and lots of undead filling the path. There are some ways to avoid some of the fighting. First, remain in Sneak mode. Second, when you approach a large room with stone and wood columns arranged in a square in the center, you'll find a lot of undead. You'll also find a tunnel in the south wall before you reach the center of the room. You should be able to Sneak your way into that tunnel. Follow it around until you reach a T-intersection, then turn right (south). You'll soon enter another very large room with several undead. There are two exits from this room on the north wall. The shorter route is the east (right-hand) exit. At the end of the tunnel, go to the north wall of the room and take the tunnel east. You'll enter a large room with a couple of undead. Get rid of them, then find the broken stairs on the north side of the room. Equip the Boots of Springheel Jak and jump up the stairs. There are two pushbuttons on this upper level, one to the north and one to the south. Activate both of them to open the gate to the east, which leads to the Hall of Epochs. "4) To enter the Imperial City you must use the Arrow of Extrication to unlock the final door." Straight ahead are some undead foes and an extremely large room. Keep going, up the stairs to some statues and you'll get a journal entry that this must be the secret entrance to the Palace that is opened with the Arrow of Extrication. Staying on the upper level, go right (south) and find the gate on the south wall. Pick the lock and step through onto a balcony. To your left is a pushbutton, Activate it, then go back west and down the steps into the room below. There's a new opening in the southeast corner of the room. This leads to a door to a second Hall of Epochs. As you go through the door, there will be an undead immediately in front of you, so be prepared. Turn left into a large room and exit at the northeast corner. At the end of the hall, turn left, then left again and go down some stairs. In this room, behind an altar, is a pushbutton. Activate it, then retrace your steps to the very large room with the statues. Be careful, your Activation of that button released some more undead into this room, so all is not clear. As you re-enter the large room, you'll notice several walls have dropped. Straight ahead of you now is a bridge with a pressure plate in the center. Stand on the pressure plate and the statue across the room will rotate, revealing a key-shaped hole. This is where the Arrow of Extrication must go. Practice with normal arrows first--the aiming spot is approximately where the statue's hands grip the sword hilt--you'll hear the impact if you hit the right spot, and hear nothing if you miss. *SAVE YOUR GAME* Without moving your crosshair, open your inventory, equip the Arrow of Extrication, close your inventory and let the arrow fly. If you miss, reload and try again. If you succeed, the statue rises, revealing a door into the Palace. Also revealed are a couple of Ayleid Guardians, but they won't mess with you unless you attack them. *SAVE YOUR GAME AGAIN* "5) Inside the Imperial Palace you must find the Imperial Library. On the bottom floor is some sort of viewing room." The secret door deposits you into the fireplace of the Imperial Guard's quarters. Make sure you're in Sneak mode before you enter. Getting through here is ticklish. This is where you need the Detect Life spell or enchanted item. If you're lucky, the guards (if any) in this part of the room will be sleeping. If you're not lucky, you walked into the middle of a shift change and you're probably dead meat, in which case it's reload time and you'll have to wait a while before trying again. Sneak over to the large doors that lead to the dining area. Wait until Detect Life detects no life beyond the doors, then Sneak out into the corridor and go left. This will take you to the Library level. Go halfway around the corridor to the Library entrance. In the Library, go right until you reach a gate. There's a priest on this side of the gate, but--as are all the priests--he's blind. So Sneak up behind him and pull the lever on the floor to your right. Go back around the hall to the now open door into the main library. "6) I have arranged to have a particular scroll made available in the Chamber. The blind monks that care for the scrolls are expecting Celia Camoran, but you will take her place. Just find the chair assigned to visitors to the library. You must not speak, or they will know it is not her. Just let them bring you the scroll." Sit in the Reading Chair and a priest will call you Lady Camoran and bring you a scroll. Remember not to Activate (talk to) any priest. Take the scroll and Sneak up the circular staircase. Pick the lock on the door on this upper level to get back out into the Palace corridors. "7) Once you have the scroll, retrace your steps and deliver it to me. Of course the chances of something going wrong with this plan are very high. When that happens, you'll just have to get creative." Now, to escape. Instead of going down, go up. Go left from the library to the priests' quarters, then all the way around to the Imperial Battlemage's quarters. Go halfway around the hall to the door to the battlemage's actual rooms, find her fireplace, make sure you have the Boots of Springheel Jack equipped, and drop down through the fireplace flue. It's a long way down, but the Boots protect you. (They are destroyed in the process.) You land near where you entered the Old Way. Just retrace your steps through the sewers and return to the Gray Fox. (Ignore your quest marker, it will try to lead you out through a different--i.e. full of enemies--way. Just go back the same way you came.) But! The Gray Fox is not finished with you yet. He gives you a ring and asks you to deliver it to Countess Umbranox in Anvil. Do as he says and watch the cutscenes. After it's all over, you have the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal and you're the new Gray Fox, guild master of the Thieves Guild. | The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal +---------------------------- This amazing hood (and it is a hood, not a light or heavy helmet) Fortifies your Sneak by 25 points, reduces encumbrance by 200 points and has a constant Detect Life effect. Wait! There's more! It also changes your identity. When wearing the Cowl, you *are* the Gray Fox. Any bounty accrued while wearing the Cowl disappears when you take the Cowl off. Moreover, the enchantment is such that even when people see you put on or take off the Cowl, they don't notice the change. No one will ever know you are the Gray Fox (or the Gray Fox is you). There are some downsides. If you run into any guards while wearing the Cowl, they will confront you and the only option is "Resist arrest". (You can always remove the Cowl and yield--Block + Activate.) You can only pay off your bounty through Christophe or S'Krivva. Finally, in Dareloth's Garden in the Waterfront District, you can now enter Dareloth's house through the basement. This is the new Thieves Guild headquarters, and you have private quarters on the top floor. Fathis Ules and Christophe hang out here, so you have constant access to a fence and a doyen. You'll also see other Thieves Guild familiars (Methredhel, Amusei) now and again. You'll find mementos of your exploits (Savilla's Stone, the tax records, The Lost Histories, etc.) lying around the place. However, beyond that, there's no benefit to being the guild master. Unlike the Fighters Guild or Dark Brotherhood, where you receive regular payments; or the Mages Guild where you can recruit a henchman to fight with you, the only benefit to being the Gray Fox is...well, being the Gray Fox. You'll have to make your own wealth. [TG13] <~~~~~~ CAST OUT OF THE THIEVES GUILD ~~~~~~> The Thieves Guild has some pretty strict rules regarding behavior. (Apparently, there *is* honor among thieves.) You are not to steal from, assault or kill another guild member. Additionally, you cannot kill anyone while committing a theft for the guild (unless your doyen or the Gray Fox specifically gives you permission in advance.) Unlike the other guilds, getting back into the Thieves Guild is a simple matter of money. There is a fine attached to each action, and paying the fine to Armand or S'Krivva gets you back into the guild. Crime Fine ------- -------- Theft 200 Assault 500 Murder* 1,000 * You get charged 1,000 gold Blood Price for each unnecessary murder during a job. The exceptions are killing one of the two targets of "May the Best Thief Win", their Blood Price is 500 gold. Your doyen or the Gray Fox will let you know if any job targets can be killed before you go out on the job. The Thieves Guild is pretty lenient and always lets you back in, as long as you pay the fines. [DB00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DARK BROTHERHOOD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ *NOTE* The Dark Brotherhood should not be undertaken by anyone with a weak stomach or a disinclination to slaughter people for money. How a game with these types of tasks got through with (initially, anyway) a 'T' rating is a mystery. The Dark Brotherhood is a major reason the game was re-rated to 'M'. Like the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood quests are geared toward Stealth characters. Unlike the Thieves Guild, you don't need Stealth to complete the missions. After all, each task basically involves killing someone and you don't have to be a sneak-thief to do that. However, each contract carries with it bonus perks based on meeting specific parameters. Meeting these parameters and receiving the bonus does require Stealth. For example, in one quest you must infiltrate the Imperial prison and kill a prisoner. To get the bonus, you must do so without killing any guards. In another quest, to get the bonus, you must make the assassination appear to be an accident *and* not kill the target's servant. You will also need some lockpicking skill to complete some of these tasks, whether you do it stealthily or not. If you have trouble with the lockpicking mini-game, you may wish to hold off on joining the Brotherhood until you've received Nocturnal's Skeleton Key, which you can do at level 10. The Dark Brotherhood is more than a gang of hitmen (women/cats/lizards). They are a religious cult that worships Sithis, the Dark Lord of Death. They delight in killing and bloodshed, but more than just being savage, they delight in performing complicated murders that require cunning and stealth. There are some...interesting conversations you can have with your colleagues, and they are not for the faint-of-heart. Also, you should be aware you cannot join the Brotherhood with the goal of wiping them all out. Such is not possible; though the Brotherhood is nearly destroyed in the course of these quests, it is your destiny to rebuild it. You can't rise to the top only to kill the few remaining survivors. So if that's your goal, forget about it and find something else to do. Joining the Dark Brotherhood is simple: murder someone. But, you can't just murder *anyone*, you have to murder an innocent. (Well, maybe innocent is not the right word; you have to perform what the game deems an unnecessary killing.) There are several possibilities: 1) Fight through the Arena, perform "Origin of the Gray Prince" and then challenge the Gray Prince to a fight, which ends with him begging you to kill him. This is more like assisted suicide and you won't get in trouble with the law, but the game regards it as murder anyway. This is the safest murder you can commit, since it's not really murder and the character only exists to die anyway. On the flip side, you have to fight through 21 successively more difficult battles to reach the Gray Prince. 2) Kill a beggar. Make sure no guards are around when you commit the crime. Beggars generally sleep outdoors on bedrolls. The beggars play a big role in the Thieves Guild quests; if you intend to play through the Thieves Guild, murder one in the Imperial City--there are five total in the city, so they'll be some left over that can help you with the Thieves Guild quests. 3) Kill a non-essential innkeeper or shopkeeper. There are a dozen or more shopkeepers in Imperial City and several inns, so you could probably off one of them in their sleep without messing up your game too much. You always run a risk of killing someone who sells something that may be important to you later; but you can minimize this. Just make sure the merchant you kill doesn't provide any other services, such as training or armor repair. 4) Kill a solitary Imperial Legionnaire or Forester you encounter on the road. Trying to kill a guard in town is tough as you will be attacked by the other guards and the citizenry, but one of the wandering troopers in the country can probably be dispatched without too much trouble. This will get you in trouble with the law, so you'll have to pay a fine or serve some jail time. When you commit a "proper" murder, you'll get a message saying, "Your killing has been observed by forces unknown..." The next time you sleep (and you have to sleep, not just Wait), your rest will be interrupted by one Lucien Lachance. He introduces you to the Dark Brotherhood and asks if you would like to join their family. You still have an out--maybe you didn't intend to kill an innocent and you don't really want to join the Brotherhood. You can turn Lachance down and he won't bother you again. You can also (try to) kill Lachance, in which case he definitely won't bother you again. If you choose to join, Lachance first sends you on an initiation run... [DB01] <~~~~~~ A KNIFE IN THE DARK ~~~~~~> In order to complete your "application" and fully join the Brotherhood, Lachance points you to a target: Rufio. Rufio spends most of his time asleep at the Inn of Ill Omen, which is located on the Green Road about halfway between Bravil and Lake Rumare. Speak to the innkeeper and he'll reveal Rufio's room is in the cellar. The trap door downstairs is just to the left of the main entrance to the inn. Rufio's room is the last door on the left, and he sleeps all the time, except for the middle of the night. You can kill him with a single blow. You can also choose to wake him. If you use the "Oh, but you have Rufio" response, you'll get a hint of why there is a price on his head. Regardless, if you do wake him, you better be between him and the door. He moves very fast for a tired, old man and will hotfoot it for the exit as soon as he finishes speaking. However, even when awake, he's still a one-hit kill. Find a bed (you can even use Rufio's) and Sleep, and Lachance will visit you again. He welcomes you into the family and, if you follow all his conversation options, gives you some detail on the operations of the Brotherhood. The leadership of the Brotherhood is composed of a Listener and four Speakers--together known as the Black Hand. The Listener receives assignments from the Night Mother and gives those assignments to the Speakers who pass them on to a local Sanctuary, where a family member is tasked to carry out the mission. You also learn the Five Tenets (See "A Dark Exile" below). Lachance is sending you to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Fast Travel to Cheydinhal's East Gate and go south. The third house on the left, almost directly behind the chapel, is an Abandoned House. Even though the door is boarded over, enter and go down into the basement. Follow the basement to a black door with strange runes carved into it. When you Activate the door, you are asked for a pass phrase, which is "Sanguine, my brother". Enter the Sanctuary and find Ocheeva, a female Argonian. She welcomes you to the Sanctuary, gives you an outfit (Shrouded Armor and Hood that, when worn together, Fortify your Sneak, Illusion, Marksman, Blade and Acrobatics by 10 points each) and sends you to Vincente Valtieri for assignments. [DB02] <~~~~~~ A WATERY GRAVE ~~~~~~> Yes, Valtieri is a vampire, and proud of it. In fact, later on, he'll offer to give you "The Dark Gift"--i.e. turn you into a vampire. But only if you want to. Right now, Valtieri is just your boss. He explains the contract system--some contracts have bonus rewards if you meet certain conditions. He also will tell you to talk to your colleagues in the Sanctuary about each contract; they may have valuable information. Your first contract is to kill Captain Gaston Tussaud aboard his ship, the Marie Elena, which is docked at Imperial City's Waterfront district. There are no bonuses for this mission, just the standard pay. The Marie Elena berths at the eastern end of the Waterfront dock. There are three ways of reaching the captain: 1) The direct approach. Simply walk onto the ship. You'll be warned away by the first mate, but when you don't listen, she and the other crew attack. This could get sticky, except for the fact that, since they attacked you, all the guards around the waterfront will be hostile to them. Lead them on a chase into a group of Legion Watch and...well, watch the fun. Once all the sailors are down, you can pick the lock on the Captain's cabin, enter and kill him, then return to Vincente. 2) Stowaway. This is the method suggested by Valtieri when he gives you the job. Walk past the ship, to the east end of the dock and twiddle your thumbs for a moment. You'll get a message the nearby crate looks like it has enough room for you to fit. Choose to climb in the crate and you'll jump straight to the Marie Elena's cargo hold. Climb up to the middle deck and hide until a couple of sailors finish their argument and go to bed. Then Sneak past and climb up to the captain's cabin. You can kill the captain quickly, but two sailors will hear the noise and rush in to investigate, so kill them as well. (You can hide in the aft part of the cabin when the sailors rush in, and then Sneak attack at least once to give yourself an edge.) When the two are dead, get the captain's key from the chest next to his bed, open the door in the aft section of the cabin and jump off the balcony into the water and swim out of range of the enemies on the ship. Then Fast Travel back to Cheydinhal to report to Vincente. 3) If your Acrobatics skill is high enough, you can jump from the east end of the dock to the balcony outside the captain's cabin. Then it's just a matter of picking the lock, killing the captain and running back outside and jumping into the water to get away. You don't even have to kill the two sailors who come to investigate, because you don't need the captain's key to get out. Report back to Vincente. [DB03] <~~~~~~ ACCIDENTS HAPPEN ~~~~~~> Valtieri assigns you the task of killing Baenlin, of Bruma. To earn a bonus, you must make the killing appear accidental and make sure you don't kill anyone else, especially Baenlin's servant, Gromm. Valtieri suggests a way to make it happen: use a hidden crawlspace on the second floor to drop a prized minotaur head on top of old Baenlin. Baenlin always sits below the head from 8pm to 11pm. Baenlin lives just north of Bruma's East Gate (next to the house you can buy). You have a choice to make. The easiest time to infiltrate the house is during the middle of the night; however, you can't Wait while trespassing, so you would be stuck twiddling your thumbs for around 30 real minutes (15 game hours) until 8pm when you can drop the head. One way to make use of this time is to Sneak-run into the wall in the hidden crawlspace. You'll gain 25 or more ranks in your Sneak skill during the time you're waiting. The other option is to Wait until 8pm to infiltrate the house. You may still be able to successfully Sneak past Gromm and Baenlin, but you're going to need a fairly high Sneak skill to accomplish this. Choose your time, go around the back of the house and pick the lock to the basement. Go into Sneak mode and pick the lock on the door to the main floor. The crawlspace is up on the second floor--make a U-turn at the top of the stairs and go through Gromm's bedroom to the far corner, where you'll find the secret panel. At the appointed hour, Activate the fastenings on the end wall of the crawlspace and hear the satisfying thump of death. Resist the urge to peek out the hole, Gromm will see you and soon be in the crawlspace with you. Enraged Nord + big axe + cramped quarters = reload time. Sneak out of the crawlspace and down the stairs. Gromm will be standing, weapon out, over the old man's body. Sneak along the far wall to the basement door and go out the way you came in. For "accidentally" killing Baenlin without killing Gromm, you get Sufferthorn, a dagger with Damage Health and Damage Strength enchantments. [DB04] <~~~~~~ SCHEDULED FOR EXECUTION ~~~~~~> Valtieri next reveals there is an Imperial prisoner, Valen Dreth, who needs to be put out of his misery. It seems another prisoner recently escaped using secret tunnels under the prison (that would be you) and you are now to use those tunnels to get back into the prison and kill Dreth. If you can do so without killing any guards, you'll get a bonus. Your path back through the underground system will not be identical to the path you took when fleeing in the wake of the emperor. However, much will be familiar, especially your cell and the sneering dark elf across the hall. The route through the sewers, the Sanctum, the Subteranne and the prison is pretty straightforward. The challenge here is not in figuring out which way to go, but avoiding the guards with torches that patrol regular routes. The trick is to stay in Sneak mode as far into the shadows as possible and watch the route of each guard. Choose your moment to Sneak through--usually by scurrying along in the wake of the guard. The biggest problem occurs in the Sanctum. Getting out is difficult as there's a guard right next to the stairs and the stairs are well lit. You can use an Invisibility spell to get through here, or wait until the guard turns and stares as the back wall for a few minutes. When you reach your old cell, hide in it while a guard chats with Dreth, then step across the hall and say goodbye to your old friend. The easiest thing to do is a spell or arrow through the bars of Dreth's cell; he's wasted away and a single shot should be the end of him. If you Sneak down the hallway to the left of Dreth's cell, you should be able to procure a prison key from the guardroom at the end of the hall. Then go back up the other way and enter the main prison room. You can exit Sneak mode now, this is a public area, and walk right out, then Fast Travel back to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Assuming you killed no one but Dreth, your payment includes the Scales of Pitiless Justice. This miscellaneous item Fortifies your Strength, Intelligence and Agility while Draining your Personality. It works any time it is in your inventory; just drop it to lose the effect. [DB05] <~~~~~~ THE RENEGADE SHADOWSCALE ~~~~~~> This is not an official Dark Brotherhood quest, rather it's a favor for the male Argonian, Teinaava. He tells you a tale of a Shadowscale (Argonian royal assassin), Scar-Tail, who decided to forsake his duties and flee to Bogwater Swamp. Teinaava asks you to go kill him and bring back his heart as proof of his death. Anything for a friend, right? Bogwater is southeast of Leyawiin, almost as far south as you can go in Cyrodiil. Tidewater Cave (Nocturnal's quest), Darkfathom Cave ("Whom God's Annoy" side quest) and Fort Blueblood ("Leyawiin Recommendation" Mages Guild quest) are the closest quest-related landmarks for Fast Traveling. If you've not visited them yet, Fast Travel to Leyawiin and hoof it. You'll find Scar-Tail by a small campfire, weakened by a previous fight with a Shadowscale agent. You can: 1) kill him and take his heart; or, 2) talk to him and he asks that you allow him to live and take the heart of the dead Shadowscale as proof and Scar-Tail's treasure for yourself. If you decide on option #2, you'll find the treasure in a hollow rock near the campfire and the dead agent a short way from the campfire. Regardless of which heart you bring back to Teinaava, you get the Boots of Bloody Bounding, with Fortify Acrobatics and Blade enchantments. [DB06] <~~~~~~ THE ASSASSINATED MAN ~~~~~~> This one's a little different. You are *not* supposed to kill someone this time, rather you are to make it look like you killed someone without actually performing the deed. Francois Motierre wants to welsh on his debts, and has asked for the Dark Brotherhood's assistance. Since *someone* is supposed to die to satisfy the Dark Lord Sithis, Motierre handed over his own mother. These are the kinds of people you get to deal with. Motierre's being pursued by an enforcer for the people to whom he owes money. You're supposed to hit him with a dagger laced with Langourwine in view of the enforcer and then run away. The Langourwine will cause Motierre to fall into a coma that feigns death; the enforcer will report Motierre has been killed by the Brotherhood; and, then you revive the skinflint using an antidote. (Vincente provides all this for you.) If either Motierre or the enforcer die, you don't get your payment for this mission, though you can continue to advance in the Brotherhood. Fast Travel to Chorrol and find Motierre's house, which is in Chorrol's upscale district around the great oak (straight ahead from either the North or South Gate). Enter and Motierre will fill you in on all the details. Soon after his conversation ends, you'll hear the enforcer, Hides-His-Heart, picking the lock on the door. You don't want to waste any time. Equip the Langourwine dagger and stand next to Motierre. As soon as the Argonian enforcer is inside, strike Motierre and beat it. If you hang around and listen to Motierre and Hides chat, you won't learn anything and you'll probably have to kill the lizard (which fails the mission). You have to get outside the city in order to shake the pursuit. As soon as your journal lets you know you were successful, Wait 24 hours, then go to the Chapel of Stendarr and go down to the undercroft. Motierre's "body" is lying in the southern wing of the undercroft. Activate him to revive him with the Langourwine antidote. Motierre chooses, at this time, to let you know his ancestors won't be pleased with his cheating of death, screams, "Aunt Margaret" and the zombie attacks. Auntie isn't the only ticked-off relative in the crypt. There are two more zombies out in the main part of the undercroft. You still have to keep Motierre alive, so take out Aunt Margaret as quickly as you can, then rush the other two. Once all three are dead, lead Motierre to the Gray Mare inn and then return to Valtieri for your payment. If all went as planned, your reward includes an amulet, Cruelty's Heart (Fortify Strength and Willpower), promotion and a key to the "back door" of the Sanctuary. There's a well behind the abandoned house that leads directly into the Sanctuary (the ladder going up is in a corner of the main room, behind a broken section of wall). No more trudging through the basement to get in an out of the place. Finally, Vincente offers to give you the "Dark Gift"--i.e. make you a vampire. And he turns you over to Ocheeva for future assignments as he has nothing left for one of your rank. [DB07] <~~~~~~ THE LONELY WANDERER ~~~~~~> Ocheeva's first assignment is to kill an elf named Faelian in Imperial City. There must be no witnesses. There are a number of ways in which you can track down Faelian, but, by far the quickest and easiest is to Fast Travel to the Talos Plaza district in Imperial City. Find the Tiber Septim Hotel, which opens out onto the main plaza on the southwest side of the district. Charm innkeeper Augusta Calidia to a Disposition of 50 or higher and she'll give tell you Faelian and his girlfriend live in the hotel. Find the girlfriend, Atraena, who is almost always in the hotel. Get her Disposition over 50 and she'll give you the name of the place where Faelian goes to do drugs during the day: Lorkmir's house in the Elven Gardens District. Lorkmir's is in the western section of the Elven Gardens, along the central street. *NOTE* You could go straight to Lorkmir's house without going through the girlfriend, but then you get no quest marker to help you find the house. Your call. Break in and find Faelian there or Wait for him (he comes in from around noon until late afternoon). Kill him in Lorkmir's house and head back to Cheydinhal. Your bonus for a completely successful mission is Shadowhunt, a steel bow with several enchantments: on hit you will Turn Undead, Damage Health, Damage Magicka and imbue the target with Weakness to Poison. [DB08] <~~~~~~ BAD MEDICINE ~~~~~~> You're to kill a mercenary warlord named Roderick, who makes his camp in Fort Sutch. Once again, you're to make the death appear accidental. Roderick is very sick and takes a powerful medicine daily. You're to replace his medicine with poison supplied by Ocheeva. Doing so without detection earns you a bonus. If you are detected, you can kill Roderick (and all his mercenaries) the old-fashioned way, but then you don't get the bonus. It turns out the bonus isn't especially good, so don't worry over this one too much. It really isn't that hard to Sneak in and replace the medicine, but it does take a while. Fort Sutch is midway between Anvil and Kvatch, north of the main road between those two cities. Brina Cross Inn ("Anvil Recommendation" Mages Guild quest) and Malacath's shrine are the closest quest-related points. You may have even done "Assault on Fort Sutch" during the main story and can Fast Travel directly there. Ocheeva suggests finding a back way into the fort through tunnels leading to a nearby ruined tower. But that's the long and arduous way. Go straight in the front door and immediately turn right, picking the lock on the gate. Sneak through the tunnel until you come out on the upper level of a two-level room. Creep up close to the edge and listen in on the conversation below. When it ends, the two mercs head up to your level. Sneak back into the tunnel, and then follow them when they pass you. They'll lead you through a northeast passage to a room divided by columns. The orc starts patrolling through the columns. Your objective is a cupboard on the northwest wall. Sneak around the columns, avoiding the orc merc's patrol routes. Open the medicine cabinet, remove Roderick's medicine and put in the poison you brought with you. Sneak back out the same way you came in, and Fast Travel back to Cheydinhal. Ocheeva pays you and, if you didn't alert anyone, gives you The Deceiver's Finery, clothing that Fortifies your Personality and Speechcraft. [DB09] <~~~~~~ WHODUNIT? ~~~~~~> Your new threads are largely intended to help you with this contract. You're going to play "Clue" and you get to be the culprit--in every room with every conceivable weapon. You and five others will be locked into a house for a "treasure hunt". You are supposed to kill the other five people. To earn the bonus, you must kill them without any of them ever figuring out you are the killer. Fast Travel to Skingrad's East Gate and go down the street a short way to Summitmist Manor. You'll be met by Fafnir, presumably the man who prayed for the hits, and he gives you the key to the manor and a few instructions. As you enter the manor, you're met by an old woman, Matilde Petit. Tell her you're an assassin sent to kill her and she'll think you're joking; her Disposition will also rise to maximum. Matilde will also summarize the other targets: Dovesi Dran, Nels the Naughty, Neville and Primo Antonius. There are two ways to play this: 1) Just start killing. The guests are initially spread out, none present a significant challenge and the bonus reward may not be particularly appealing to you. The important thing is for everyone to die. (When you think about it, since they all end up dead, the concept of keeping them ignorant of your identity seems nonsensical. But maybe the client has a perverse sense of humor.) 2) Use the Persuasion mini-game or Charm spells to raise their Dispositions. You can then lure a couple of them away, and set the rest on each other. For example, tell Dran that Antonius has fallen for her and wants to meet her in his room. Follow her up the stairs and kill her. Offer to team up with Matilde and suggest you search the basement, when you go downstairs, kill her. Neville likes to take naps in his room, wait for him to go upstairs and go to sleep, then kill him. The remaining two (Nels and Antonius) despise each other; you can easily persuade either one to attack and kill the other, then finish off the survivor. When you're done, return to the Sanctuary and report to Ocheeva. If you accomplished your mission within the parameters, you'll receive the Nightmother's Blessing--a "spell ability" (like a birthsign) that permanently increases your Blade, Acrobatics, Sneak, Security and Marksman skills by 2 points each. [DB10] <~~~~~~ PERMANENT RETIREMENT ~~~~~~> Captain of the Imperial Watch Adamus Phillida has been a thorn in the side of the Brotherhood for a long time. Phillida has finally retired to Leyawiin and you are sent there to kill him. (The Brotherhood waiting until after his retirement is another nonsensical plan. Wouldn't it have been more useful to kill him when he still posed a threat? Whatever.) You are given a special arrow, the Rose of Sithis that will kill Phillida in one shot. (The Rose only works on Phillida, don't bother saving it to use on someone else.) The Rose won't pierce armor, so you have to use it when Phillida is not wearing his metal suit. To earn the bonus, you must get Phillida's ring finger and put it in the desk of the current commander of the Imperial Watch. Travel to Leyawiin and find the pond just west of the castle guard tower. The pond is surrounded by houses, has a dock at the northeast corner and a set of stairs to the south. Go to the dock and Wait until mid-afternoon (about 2pm). Phillida will soon come to the south end of the pool, where he strips, leaves his bodyguard and takes a little swim. *SAVE YOUR GAME* Draw a bead on Phillida with the Rose of Sithis and shoot him. If you miss, reload your game and try again. When he's dead, swim out to his body and Activate it. Take his keys and his ring finger, then swim to the south shore (the bodyguard will have gone running around the pond to the dock, so you don't want to go back there), and high-tail it out of town. *ALTERNATE METHOD* If you're a fairly high-level character and don't want to run the risk of mixing it up with the city guards, then you can kill Phillida elsewhere; but, you won't be able to use the Rose. Go to the Coast Guard station outside Leyawiin's Northeast Gate. Wait until morning, around 9am, and Phillida will come with his bodyguard and enter the station. You can enter behind them and kill them both. You'll have to do it the conventional way and it will be a tough fight. Get Phillida's keys and finger. Fast Travel to the Imperial Prison district northeast of Imperial City. From the main entrance, go to the second door on the left, which leads to the commander's office. Wait until the middle of the night, go into Sneak mode, and enter (you have the key) when the Watch isn't...watching. You also have a key to the desk, so put the finger in there and Sneak back out. Assuming you weren't detected, you can Fast Travel from right outside the door and return to Ocheeva for your pay and bonus, which is 500 gold. [DB11] <~~~~~~ OF SECRET AND SHADOW ~~~~~~> Ocheeva has important news! Lachance wants to see you. Like, right now. His headquarters are in Fort Farragut, just east of Cheydinhal. He mentions something about getting past his guardians to prove your worth, yada yada. Walk out to Fort Farragut and go around to the northwest side of the fallen tower and look for a hollow tree. Inside is a trapdoor that leads directly to Lachance's quarters, skipping a short, but tedious, skeleton-and-trap-filled dungeon crawl. [DB12] <~~~~~~ THE PURIFICATION ~~~~~~> Lachance informs you there is a traitor working out of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. You are above suspicion because the problems began before you joined the family. Since the Black Hand can't figure out exactly who, among your brethren in the Sanctuary, is guilty, you are ordered to exterminate them all in a rite known as "Purification". To help you out, Lachance gives you a poisoned apple and a scroll that will summon the ghost of Rufio (your first official victim). In a barrel in the corner of Lachance's quarters (behind a lock) are ten more poisoned apples. There are, of course, numerous ways to handle eliminating your fellow assassins. Regardless of how you go about the killings, you'll want to try to separate them so they don't gang up on you. One way of working it is to remove all the food in the main hall and the Living Quarters and putting some poisoned apples on the food tables and in the food cupboards. You may have to Wait up to a week before all your victims partake. You can let the ghost of Rufio out among a small (three to four) group. They'll concentrate on the ghost, leaving you free to backstab them. The training room or Living Quarters work well for this tactic--for one because the Dark Guardian won't be around to pitch in, and also because you tend to get concentrations of targets in these two places. Valtieri and Ocheeva, with separate rooms, can be killed in their sleep. You can also attack other Brotherhood members while they are asleep in the Living Quarters, but their sleeping habits are irregular. Once the Sanctuary has been cleansed, return to Lachance. He reveals that each member of the Black Hand has their own personal assassin, called a Silencer. Congratulations! You're now Lachance's Silencer. From now on, you'll be receiving assignments and payment at "dead drop" locations around Cyrodiil. Your first dead drop is at Hero Hill, south-southeast of Fort Farragut. Oh, and since you're going to be running all over Cyrodiil at Lachance's request, he gives you Shadowmere, the fastest, strongest horse in the game. Enjoy! [DB13] <~~~~~~ AFFAIRS OF A WIZARD ~~~~~~> Find the hollowed-out rock at Hero Hill and read the orders. You're to kill a necromancer named Celedaen before he completes his transformation into a lich. Celedaen hangs out in Leafrot Cave, which is south-southeast of your current location, near the Panther River. The closest quest-related point is Redwater Slough ("Vampire Cure"). Leafrot Cave is a small, two-level affair full of undead. In the first room is Celedaen's journal. Reading this will update your quest journal with the objective of removing Celedaen's magical hourglass in order to kill him. Celedaen is on the second level of the caves, and it is difficult to Sneak up on him. If you can manage it, pickpocket the hourglass to kill him instantly. Otherwise, you're in for quite a fight as Celedaen is much more powerful than you and can conjure a number of different creatures. Hit him as hard as you can, ignoring his summons, in order to kill him. You are then instructed to go to Chorrol. Your payment for this task and orders for your next task are in a sack near the great oak in northern Chorrol. Fast Travel to Chorrol's North Gate and go straight south to the tree. [DB14] <~~~~~~ NEXT OF KIN ~~~~~~> You are ordered to kill the entire Draconis clan: mother Perennia, sons Matthias and Andreas and daughters Sibylla and Caelia. Start with mom; she resides at Applewatch Farm, just west of Bruma. During the day you'll typically find her outside tending to her garden. She will think you're a courier come to buy and deliver gifts to her four children. She'll give you a list of what to buy them, and their locations, so you can deliver the gifts. Oh, you'll be delivering something all right. Kill mother Draconis (and, possibly, also her dog), then look at your list. 1) Andreas: He runs the Drunken Dragon Inn, northwest of Leyawiin. If you tell him what you did to his mother, he'll attack you. This causes the Imperial Legion guard who is almost always at the Inn to attack and kill Andreas for you. Neat. 2) Caelia: She's a guard in Leyawiin, on the night watch. You can track her down during the night while she's making her rounds; or, you can kill her in her room at the Three Sisters Inn. (Note: as a Leyawiin guard, Caelia is off-limits if you currently have "The Elven Maiden" Thieves Guild quest open. Finish that quest first before killing Caelia.) 3) Matthias: He lives in the Talos Plaza district of Imperial City, in the southwestern section (across from Ontus Vanin and next to Agarmir). Break in during the middle of the night and kill him in his sleep. 4) Sibylla: She has gone wild, living with animals in Muck Valley Cavern. This small series of caves is located halfway between Imperial City and Cheydinhal, south of the Blue Road. Vaermina's shrine (Daedric quest) is nearby. Kill her and the animals that protect her. When the Draconis line has been erased from the annals of history, Fast Travel to Castle Skingrad and Activate the well in the courtyard. You'll receive your pay and your next assignment. [DB15] <~~~~~~ BROKEN VOWS ~~~~~~> The father of the bride is upset. His daughter's erstwhile groom decided to break off the engagement when he saw the size (or lack thereof) of the young lady's dowry. Papa wants J'Ghasta dead. That should make daddy's little girl happy. J'Ghasta lives in Bruma, three doors south of the East Gate. Pick the lock, go downstairs and look for a trapdoor somewhat hidden behind the staircase. J'Ghasta is an expert in unarmed combat. Ha ha. Good one! Teach him the advantage of shiny, pointy things. Your payment and next assignment are in an old box under Old Bridge. Old Bridge is directly south of Imperial City's Waterfront. [DB16] <~~~~~~ FINAL JUSTICE ~~~~~~> Shaleez, an Argonian hunter, is your next target. She lives in Flooded Mine just north of Bravil. As the name implies, there will be some swimming here. The best time to attack is in the middle of the night, when Shaleez is asleep. Swim through the tunnels, following your quest marker to the lizard. After she's dead, you can collect your payment and new mission at Fort Redman, which is halfway between Bravil and Leyawiin, on the east side of the Niben River. There's a single bandit roaming the surface area of the Fort. In a coffin near the door are your blood money and two pieces of paper. [DB17] <~~~~~~ A MATTER OF HONOR ~~~~~~> One piece of paper names your subject: Alval Uvani, a traveling merchant. The other piece of paper lays out Uvani's schedule. Now here's where lady luck might just shine on you. Depending on how far into the game you are, Uvani might already be dead. Yes, in fact, the further along you are, the higher the probability Uvani traveled into something he couldn't handle. If you're lucky, as soon as you get the journal entry opening "A Matter of Honor", you'll get another journal entry that proclaims you have killed Uvani. Pat yourself on the back for excellent work and go on to your next job. (There's no way to tell why or how this happens. Uvani actually does travel from city to city--unlike some games where he would just spawn in the appropriate place at the appropriate time. So if you've done the main story, or a substantial part of the main story, Uvani might have run into some daedra near one of the random Oblivion gates between cities. Or it could have been wild animals. Or, maybe a glitch in the AI caused him to have it out with some Imperial Legion guards. Regardless, count your blessings and move on.) Otherwise, take a look at Uvani's schedule. As he travels around Cyrodiil, Alval Uvani can be found at the following locations, on the following days: Morndas/Tirdas -- Bravil -- The Lonely Suitor Lodge Middas/Turdas -- Skingrad -- The West Weald Inn Fredas/Loredas -- Bruma -- Olav's Tap and Tack Sundas -- Leyawiin -- Alval Uvani's House (rented property) Keep in mind that there may be some variation based on the time it takes for him to get to the different cities. Your best bet for a clean kill is Uvani's rented house in Leyawiin--it's the southeastern most house in Leyawiin. Every other location is fairly public and things can get messy. The downside is, if Uvani starts running behind, he may not even stop in Leyawiin, or his stop is so brief he never goes into his house. Regardless, Fast Travel to Leyawiin, Wait until Sundas (you have to Wait before entering the house), break in and wait until Uvani shows his face. If you have trouble killing him--he's a master of Destruction magic--your orders provide a workaround: Uvani is allergic to the honey in mead. You can get several bottles of mead from the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, distribute it in his house, remove all the other consumables, then wait for him to come home, drink the stuff, and be paralyzed. Your payment and orders are in a hollow stump in the Market District of Imperial City. Find the garden behind Edgar's Discount Spells and the hollow stump is there. [DB18] <~~~~~~ THE COLDEST SLEEP ~~~~~~> Your next hit: Havilstein Hoar-Blood. He has a camp east of Bruma. There's nothing special about this mission. Hoar-Blood is a tough Nord axe-wielder and he has a pet wolf. Go in gun's blazin' or try a Sneak-attack at night when the Nord is sleeping. The next dead drop is in the Ayleid ruin of Nornal. Fast Travel to Muck Valley Cavern (from the Draconis assassinations) and go south. You don't have to go all the way into the ruins, just go down the first set of stairs and take the first right. There's a locked gate and chest underwater, so have a Water Breathing spell handy. [DB19] <~~~~~~ A KISS BEFORE DYING ~~~~~~> You are to kill a Bosmer named Ungolim. He spends his evenings--from midnight to 2am--praying to a statue known as "The Lucky Lady", in Bravil. You're told not to worry about guards, they've been bribed to look the other way. Head to Bravil and find the statue in the northern part of town. Find a hiding place and Wait until midnight. When Ungolim shows up, Sneak attack him (preferably from range) and then finish him off. Next thing you know, Lachance shows up and begins chewing you out. Seems you just eradicated the Listener and all your other hits since the Draconis family have likewise been members of the Black Hand--Speakers and their Silencers. Lachance is here to kill you, but then realizes you have no idea what he's babbling about. He deduces someone is switching your orders. The rest of the Black Hand suspects him, and there's a price on his head. The two of you need to find out who's doing this, and fast. Lachance tells you to go to the next dead drop and wait to see who comes and drops off the money and orders. [DB20] <~~~~~~ FOLLOWING A LEAD ~~~~~~> Fast Travel to Anvil's North Gate, hang a left and find the barrel behind the pond. Select a hiding place nearby and wait for a Wood Elf to show up. Make sure you are not in Sneak mode, then confront the little punk. He claims a man in a robe put him up to this, and the man lives under the lighthouse here in Anvil. (Ignore the new orders the Wood Elf has placed for you, they don't lead to anything. The punk Bosmer keeps your 500 gold--unless you kill him for it.) Go to the lighthouse, outside Anvil's Dock Gate. Find the caretaker and question him about his tenant. When he asks, "Who wants to know", tell him the truth. He'll wet himself trying to give you the key faster. Use the key to enter the basement of the lighthouse, the door is outside, on the north face of the tower. In the back room of the cellar is a grisly sight: a shrine featuring the rotted head of a long-deceased woman. Nearby, on a little table, is a diary detailing the traitor's mental instability. (It also provides the back story on "The Ghost Ship of Anvil".) Too bad there's no name attached. Take the diary (and the head, for a little extra amusement) and Fast Travel to the recently departed Draconis family farm, Applewatch. Lachance is waiting for you there. Unfortunately, the remainder of the Black Hand is waiting for Lachance. He's dead when you arrive, and you can speak to the other members. Arquen takes the lead. You are not suspected of anything; they believe Lachance was the traitor and everything is now green. Here's where you use the head. Drop it on the ground and talk to Bellamont. He sure is jumpy isn't he? Oh well, you can't do anything about him now. Arquen says they are going to see the Night Mother, who will choose a new Listener so they can begin rebuilding the Black Hand and the Brotherhood. Wait until midnight (but not past 3am) and talk to Arquen again. Say you're ready and you'll all Fast Travel to Bravil and the statue of the Lucky Lady. [DB21] <~~~~~~ HONOR THY MOTHER ~~~~~~> There's a cutscene and the statue opens to reveal a trapdoor. Follow the Black Hand inside. The Night Mother (a ghost) tells Arquen they're all idiots and then Bellamont attacks. The other two Black Hand members (i.e. not you and not Arquen) get it quick and then Bellamont is on you. Take him out. (Note that neither the Night Mother nor Arquen are predisposed to give you a lot of help.) Afterwards the Night Mother once again rants about the idiocy infecting the Brotherhood, tells Arquen off (again) and promotes you to Listener and puts Arquen in charge of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. She also tells you to take what you want from the crypt. Loot the place thoroughly (you'll never come back here again). Talk to the Night Mother again to be transported to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Congratulations! You're the leader of a guild of assassins. [DB22] <~~~~~~ WHISPERS OF DEATH ~~~~~~> Once each week you can go to the Lucky Lady statue in Bravil and Activate it. The Night Mother will speak to you, giving you the name of someone who needs the services of the Brotherhood. These people are all outside of Cyrodiil, so don't even try to do anything about them. Go see Arquen in Cheydinhal and give her the name. She'll give you a portion of the weekly take. Gradually, new assassins will start wandering around the Sanctuary. You can ask any of them to travel with you as a henchman. Otherwise, there's not much to being Listener. You listen a lot. That's about it... [DB23] <~~~~~~ DARK EXILE ~~~~~~> When you first join the Dark Brotherhood, Lucien Lachance will fill you in on the Five Tenets: Tenet 1: Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Tenet 2: Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Tenet 3: Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Tenet 4: Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Tenet 5: Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. You may wander what this "Wrath of Sithis" is. It is a spirit that will attack you if you break one of the Tenets. The first two times this happens, defeating the spirit means you're back in the guild. The third time, defeating the spirit just means you get to avoid reloading your game. You're out of the Brotherhood forever. The first three tenets are impossible to break. The game never gives you a chance to do any of those things. Well, you can fail to carry out an assignment, but you're never visited by the Wrath, it just remains an open quest in your journal. So, basically, you'll only run into a problem if you steal from or kill another member of the Brotherhood. [SQ00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SIDE QUESTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ These quests are arranged alphabetically by their title as given in the quest log. See the Quest Index following for a regional breakdown of the quests. The quests in this section are all those not tied specifically to the main quest or any of the four main guilds. [SQ01] <~~~~~~ THE ARENA ~~~~~~> Imperial City, like any good Roman knock-off, has gladitorial bloodsports. You can earn some quick cash by joining in the "fun", or, make some less-easy cash betting on the action. The Arena district is located on the east side of the city, between the Market district and the Arboretum. The only thing in the district is the Arena itself, which, amazingly, looks a lot like the Roman colliseum. The Arena is open for business, whether betting or fighting, from 9am to 9pm every day. *BONUS* To the south of the Arena are a pair of sparrers (Redguard and Argonian). They spar most of the day, every day. Stand and watch them for a few minutes and you will receive a +5 bonus to your Hand-to-Hand skill. | Betting +--------- Hundolin, the gatekeep at the entrance to the Arena, is also the local bookie. Make a bet on either the Yellow or Blue team for 25, 50 or 100 gold. *THERE IS NO WAY TO GUARANTEE A WIN* The two fighters are randomly equipped, and the fight may be fair--or not. You can slightly influence the outcome with your Luck attribute. Once past 50, the higher your Luck, the higher "your" fighters health. That's it. You take your chances and hope you win. You can, of course, artifically boost your Luck before placing a bet in order to move things in your favor, but that still won't help if your guy gets stuck with light armor, no shield and a dagger and the other guy gets heavy armor and a claymore. | Fighting +---------- Here's where things get interesting. You can make quite a lot of cash working your way up the ladder--assuming you don't blow it all on healing potions. Enter the main gate of the Arena, where Hundolin hangs out, and hang a left, down the stairs into the Bloodworks. Find Owyn and ask him about joining. There's a uniform required of each combatant, but you can pick Light or Heavy raiment. *NOTE* You have to wear the raiment to participate in a match. This raiment is a full suit of armor, so you can't wear your own cuirass, greaves, boots or gauntlets. You can wear your own helmet and use any shield and weapon you like. You can also use spells, etc. Anything goes on the floor of the Arena. *BONUS* While you can't wear your own armor in the Arena, you can wear the Arena raiment anywhere. It's enchanted armor (+2 Personality, +5 Athletics), with base armor ratings of 10 for the light and 15 for the heavy. This is pretty decent armor for the beginning of the game, so you might want to stop by the Arena and join as soon as you exit the sewers. You don't have to start fighting right away. (Remember, because it's enchanted, you can't repair it unless you've reached Journeyman rank in Armorer.) Fighting is a case of just working your way up the ladder. While your opponents are leveled in keeping with your level, the Arena is a lot easier once you have some enchanted weapons and a decent selection of spells. To begin a match, suit up in your Arena raiment and talk to Owyn. He'll give you a brief hint of what you're facing, and send you on your way up the ramp. Note that you're fighting for the Blue team and you can't place a bet on yourself. ARENA BATTLES Fight # | Opponent(s) | Reward --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 1 | Fighter | 50 gold 2 | Fighter | 50 gold 3 | Archer | 100 gold, promotion to Brawler --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 4 | Fighter | 100 gold 5 | Twins: fighter, archer | 100 gold 6 | Fighter | 150 gold, promotion to Bloodletter --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 7 | Fighter | 150 gold 8 | Fighter | 150 gold 9 | Fighter | 200 gold, promotion to Myrmidon --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 10 | Fighter (frost dmg dagger) | 200 gold 11 | Fighter | 200 gold 12 | Fighter | 250 gold, promotion to Warrior --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 13 | Fighter | 250 gold 14 | Mage | 250 gold 15 | Fighter | 300 gold, promotion to Gladiator --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 16 | 3 unarmed prisoners | 300 gold 17 | Fighter | 300 gold 18 | Fighter | 350 gold, promotion to Hero --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 19 | Fighter (former Blade) | 350 gold 20 | Mage (magic resistant) | 350 gold 21 | 3: Yellow team champion, | 500 gold, promotion to Champion | mage and archer | --------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------- 22 | The Gray Prince | 1,000 gold, promotion to Grand | | Champion, continued fights with | | monsters, and...an Adoring Fan Tactics for each fight will vary depending on the type of weapon being used against you: * One-handed weapon fighters: they are usually too fast for you to stay out of range and fight with arrows or spells; step in with your own weapon, block their attacks, then hit them with a power attack * Two-handed weapon fighters: these guys are good at staggering you, but they swing their weapons slowly; and they usually move slowly as well; you can either stay away from them and hit them from range, or keep just out of range of their weapon, then, just after they swing and miss, swiftly step in and pop them a few times with a one-handed weapon. * Mages: there are only two you face one-on-one and the best tactic is to rush them and stagger them with power attacks * Archers: like mages, it's best to charge them and stagger them with power attacks. Use the columns in the center of the arena to "dodge" their arrows. * Twins: the wood elves are nasty and how you choose your poison is up to you. Generally, the claymore fighter does a lot more damage to you and is harder to take down. Try rushing the archer first. She'll keep backing away, which keeps the fight moving, which should keep the fighter from pounding your back with her big sword. Once the archer is dead, you can devote your time to properly dealing with her sister. * Three prisoners: while they are unarmed and unarmored, they have decent Hand-to-Hand attacks and there are three of them. You want to separate them and pick them off one-by-one. Explosive spells (such as Fireball) are a good way of slowing one or two down. You can also weave in betwee the columns, which should break them up. By no means let them surround you or you're dead meat. They move fast, so trying to stay out of range and hitting them with arrows or spells is a bad idea. * Yellow team champion and allies: it's another 3-on-1 fight, but actually is 3-on-2. Owyn has pity on you and gives you the aid of a wild board, Porkchop. One way of dealing with this fight is concentrating on the champion and hoping Porkchop occupies her allies enough so they don't pester you. Or, you can try to quickly take out her allies--they're both ranged fighters and subject to staggering. In this scenario, you hope the allies run around enough the champion can't catch up with you and beat on your backside. * The Gray Prince: a very tough fighter. The bonus is you get to wear your own armor. (The orc has a special Raiment of Valor, so you'll want some enchanted armor--and weapons--of your own.) He's a one-handed fighter so the same basic tactics apply: block his attacks, then power attack in return. Optionally, you can complete "The Origin of the Gray Prince", in which case gro-Malog will rush out into the Arena, and then beg you to kill him. If you do this, the killing counts as the murder of an innocent, and you'll be visited by the Dark Brotherhood the next time you sleep. Once you've defeated The Gray Prince, you are Grand Champion of the Arena. Battle Matron Ysabel Andronicus will continue to arrange fights for you; this time against wild beasts and monsters, depending on your level. The reward is, likewise, dependent on your level. Finally, when you exit the Arena after killing The Gray Prince, you are met by an Adoring Fan. This youngster will follow you around, pestering you endlessly. You can turn around and kill him, thus earning some skill experience, and he'll respawn in front of the Arena, where you can go pick him up in order to kill him again. (Make sure you do this killing out in the wilderness, so you don't get arrested for it.) Other than that, Adoring Fan is mostly just useless. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ02] <~~~~~~ A BROTHERHOOD BETRAYED ~~~~~~> Rumors are flying about Bruma that a vampire hunter named Raynil Dralas has killed a vampire in their very midst. Visit the vampire's home, his name is Bradon Lirrian and he lives on the west side of the chapel. Inside you'll find city guard Carius Runellius. Raise his Disposition score to 70 and he'll give you the full story. Bradon's body is on the bed nearby. Also present is Bradon's distraught wife, Erline. She says her husband was no vampire and wants you to ferret out the truth. Your journal suggest talking to a merchant about the location of Dralas, and, in fact, this is just what you should do. Several of the merchants can point you to Olav's Tap and Tack, next to the East Gate. Go see Olav. With a Disposition of at least 70, Olav will give you a key to search Dralas' room. You can also just break-and-enter. Inside, you can find a diary partially hidden behind the dresser. Reading it will give you the full scoop on what's happening. Return to the Lirrian house and show the journal to Runellius. He'll order a city-wide search for Dralas and ask you to meet him in one hour at Olav's. When you meet him, he reports Dralas has made for Boreal Stone Cave. Runellius wants you to go catch him, as he thinks Dralas might scare off if he sees city guards shadowing him. Runellius gives you a time limit of one day, and you must reach Boreal within that time, else Dralas gets away clean. The cave isn't far west of the city, and Dralas waits for you almost right inside the door. This can only come to violence. Retire Dralas from his vampire hunting job and get three keys from his body. Use the keys to open the chest nearby and get an ordinary amulet. Return to Erline Lirrian with the amulet and she "unlocks" it and gives it back, now a shiny Phylactery of Litheness, which has a Fortify Speed enchantment keyed to your level. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ29] <~~~~~~ A BRUSH WITH DEATH ~~~~~~> The rumor mill in Cheydinhal points you to a missing husband. (Wives in Cyrodiil keep losing their husbands. Is something wrong with them or the men?) Tivela Lythandas's husband, the famous painter Rythe Lythandas, vanished from his locked studio. You're asked to play Holmes and solve this little mystery. The Lythandas live in the southwest corner of Cheydinhal, near the house you can buy for yourself. Tivela more fully explains the situation and gives you a key to the studio. Inside, take a look at Rythe's current painting, then Activate it. You skedoo right into the painting! In front of you is the great painter himself, who 'fesses up about his secret: a magic paintbrush. Some thief came in, stole the brush, then got trapped in the painting. The thief then painted some trolls to protect him, but the trolls killed him. You have to fight your way through the trolls and get the paintbrush off the thief's corpse so you and Rythe can get out. Set off north. You have to work your way north, then west, then south to find the thief, killing six painted trolls along the way. Rythe gives you six bottles of turpentine that act as poison for your weapon (+200 damage to painted trolls). Loot each troll for Painted Troll Fat, useful for alchemical products and available nowhere else. Once you reach the thief, take the Brush of Truepaint from his body and go straight north. From this direction, you can jump up the rocks and drop down right back where you started. Give the Brush to Rythe. He paints a door and you can both leave. Back in the real world of computer-generated graphics, Rythe asks you to keep the Brush a secret and gives you the Apron of Adroitness, which Fortifies Intelligence and Agility. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ03] <~~~~~~ CANVAS THE CASTLE ~~~~~~> VisIt the castle in Chorrol between the hours of 8am and 6pm and talk to Countess Valga. She is busy hunting a stolen painting. Offer to help and she'll give you the names of five people: * Chanel, the court mage, suspect * Orgnolf, porter, suspect * Bittneld, guard captain, witness * Orok gro-Ghoth, steward, witness * Laythe Wavrick, herald, witness Speak to all five. Chanel, Orgnolf and gro-Ghoth can usually be found in the private area of the castle (for which you are given a key). Wavrick typically hangs out in the audience chamber with the Countess. Bittneld can be a problem. He makes regular patrols around town. Perhaps you'll get lucky and find him in the castle, otherwise you're going to have to run him down. Once you've heard all five stories, it becomes apparent Chanel is hiding something. You know she spends time in the West Tower, so go there and find the trap door in the floor. Use the trap door and carefully search to find a partially completed painting. Activate it to add it to your quest entries. Now head for the dining room, which is just off the attendance hall, and look around on the rug. You should spot some paint stains in the shape of footprints. Activate them to update your journal. Return to the private area and Chanel's bedroom. Open her lectern to find paint supplies. Talk to Chanel and Accuse her. You must max out her Disposition score in order for her to confess to the crime and give you the painting. You now have two choices: 1) Report in full to the Countess, who rewards you and banishes Chanel. 2) Refuse to accuse either suspect to the Countess, who gives you a little money anyway. Return the painting to Chanel, who will paint you a picture of your own that you can display in your house (if you buy a house). <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ27] <~~~~~~ CAUGHT IN THE HUNT ~~~~~~> Chase the rumor mill in Bravil to learn about Ursanne Loche's missing husband. Find Ms. Loche and question her. Her husband, Aleron, is a gambler heavily in debt to a loan shark named Kurdan gro-Dragol. Aleron was supposed to meet gro-Dragol at the Lonely Suitor Lodge yesterday, and he hasn't come back. Go to the Lonely Suitor and seek out Messr. gro-Dragol. Once you get his Dispostion to 60, he does, indeed, know where Aleron is; but, before he'll tell you, you must do him a favor. Go to Fort Grief out on an island in the bay, and retrieve gro-Dragol's father's axe. That's the only way you or Ursanne will see Aleron alive again. When you're ready, gro-Dragol even provides transportation. Go down to the little public dock on the river flowing through the middle of Bravil and there's a boat waiting. Activate it to be transported to Fort Grief. The gate leading into the fort must be opened with a wheel located on the ground to the right. Inside, the gate slams shut, you find Aleron and you get all the details on gro-Dragol's little trap. You and Aleron are the prey in a little game of hunt-the-human(oid). There are three hunters inside the fort, and you will have to kill them all to get the key to the inner gatehouse, allowing you both to escape. Inside you go. There's nothing inside but the three hunters and a few low-level critters, such as rats. Just to your left as you enter is the gatehouse. You need a key to get in there. Down the hall is a little room with a rock column in the center. The Imperial hunter waits here. If you're the Stealthy type, you can use the center column for cover while you snipe at the hunter from range, but you'll probably still have to fall back on sword & shield because of the close quarters. Loot his body for the First Key. Follow the path to a stone bridge. If you have good Speed, run across the bridge. Two spiked barrels will swing down to knock you off, but you can avoid them if you're fast enough. If you're not fast enough, swim through the channel to the northeast and make the first left-hand turn that you can and then another left. Assuming you made it across the bridge, turn left at the next intersection, jump over the hole in the floor and take the first right. The two paths are now together again. There's an arrow trap on the far wall, so don't dally. Around the corner, watch for the tripwire on the floor, it sets off some poison gas vents. The Nord hunter waits just ahead. The room forms a sort-of squared figure-eight. Again, Stealthy types can use the center columns for cover. You can also try to lead him back through the traps that you just came through. Loot the Nord for the Second Key. Beyond the Nord, to the southwest, is the door to The Hunter's Abyss. You need both Hunter's Keys to open this door. Down the hall, take the first left, skipping over the tripwire. Follow the tunnels, watching out for another tripwire along the way. You'll eventually reach a set of stairs leading down into a large room with a pool. The Orc hunter waits here. Stealthy fighters should try to peg an arrow into the orc from the top of the stairs, then leap onto the little platforms along the side of the steps. With a high enough Sneak skill, you can crouch there and pepper the Orc with arrows without being detected. Otherwise, keep the fight down in the pool room--you don't want to get into confined quarters with this guy. After he's dead, loot the Fort Grief Key from his body and exit the pool room to the southwest. Take the first right and follow the tunnel to a door that brings you out over the stone bridge you crossed not long ago. Drop down and run back up to the gatehouse. Uh oh. The key doesn't work. Raise your hand if you didn't see that coming. Exit the Hunter's Run and watch gro-Dragol kill Aleron. Poor guy. You now have to kill gro-Dragol to get the real gatehouse key. Stealthy fighters will want to Sneak up the stairs next to the main door and snipe gro-Dragol from up there. Regular fighters will appreciate the wide-open are in which to engage the Orc. Take his real key, open the gatehouse just inside Hunter's Run, and turn the handle to open the main gate. Take the boat back to Bravile, find Ursanne and explain what happened. She's devastated, but gives you a Speechcraft skill-training book as a reward for trying to help. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ28] <~~~~~~ CORRUPTION AND CONSCIENCE ~~~~~~> *NOTE* This quest removes Captain Ulrich Leland from service in Cheydinhal. Captain Leland is one of your better fighters in the Defense of Bruma quest in the main story. You don't want to complete this quest before finishing Defense of Bruma. The rumor mill in Cheydinhal is full of complaints about heavy fines imposed by the new captain of the guard, Ulrich Leland. Following up on the rumor points you to Uevana Nedaren who lives near the chapel. Find her and talk to her. She's not hesitant to open up about the problems. Nedaren gives you two names: Aldos Othran, who lost his house for being drunk & disorderly; and, Garrus Darelliun, second-in-command of the guard. Darelliun is usually in the castle audience chamber during the day. Seek him out, raise his Disposition to 60 and he'll agree to help you by bringing Leland up on charges. But first, he needs a witness. Othran seems to be the perfect fit. Find Othran and talk to him. Unfortunately, your pep talk puts the wrong kind of pep in him. He races to his house and confronts the guard outside the door. The guard ends up killing him. Report this development to Nedaren. She gets really ticked off and suggests you ask Leland over to her place for a little "chat". Go see Darelliun. He doesn't like the sound of Nedaren's scheme and suggests another avenue of attack: pilfer evidence from Leland's quarters. (Rules of evidence seem not to have developed in Cyrodiil at this point in history.) You can follow either plan, the only difference being the amount of gold given you as a reward at the end of the quest. 1) Nedaren's plan: Follow your quest marker to Leland, raise his Disposition to 60 and invite him over for tea. Leland and Nedaren scream at each other for a moment, then Nedaren paralyzes him and calls her pet rats down for dinner. Yech. Report this back to Darelliun. He's not happy about it, Nedaren will have to do some time, but you're off the hook and get some glittery coins for your trouble. 2) Darelliun's plan: During the day, when Leland is on patrol, Sneak into the castle barracks and open the left hand door on the back wall (Darelliun gives you the key). The evidence you want is a letter lying on a book on top of the desk. Take this back to Darelliun and he takes off to arrest his superior. Everybody lives, the only person in gaol is Leland and you get extra glittery coins for helping out. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ04] <~~~~~~ DAEDRIC QUESTS ~~~~~~> Each daedric quest involves finding a shrine, bringing an offering, talking to the spirit of the daedra lord and then running errands for him or her. Complete the errand and you get a daedric artifact. Each quest has certain pre-requisites, usually a minimum level, and various offerings. Most shrines have to be found by exploring. A few are pointed out to you by various persons. One, Azura's, is blatantly marked for you at a certain point in the main story. You can "discover" information about the shrines in the main game in one of several ways: * Martin will give you a book listing some of the shrines when he gives you the "Blood of the Daedra" quest in the main story. This is when Azura's shrine is marked for you. * You can also find a copy of the same book, "Modern Heretics", in the library of Arcane University, if you've advanced the Mages Guild quests enough to have access to the library. * You may overhear people talking about daedra worship, which will give you a new topic (Daedra) with some townsfolk. Using that topic will generally get you a pointer to a specific shrine. The quests are listed here by their level requirement. | Azura [DQ01] +------------- Requirements: At least level 2 Offering: Glow dust Reward: Azura's Star, a re-useable grand soul gem Azura's shrine is located north-northeast of the Lake Arrius Caverns you visit in the Dagon Shrine quest part of the main story. It is usually the first shrine mentioned in the game. The offering, glow dust, is a by-product of the will-o-wisp, which can be difficult to find. The easiest way to get glow dust is to go to the Bruma Mages Guild and ask to join (if not already a member). Go to the basement and pick some glow dust up from a table in the alchemy room. You may also be able to find some in one of the alchemy shops in Imperial City. During the hours of dawn (roughly 5 - 7am) or dusk (roughly 5 - 7pm), Activate the statue of Azura with some glow dust in your pocket. In times past, Azura sent five followers to kill a vampire lord. They succeeded, but at the price of becoming vampires themselves. They sealed themselves in the cave of the vampire lord. Azura wants you to grant them "eternal peace". Joy. Azura marks a "Gutted Mine" on your map to the southeast. Stock up and head out. The cavern is small, and contains only the five vampiric followers of Azura. Advance very slowly and try to take them on one at a time. The first three tend to be close together (they are marked on your map), so separating them can be difficult. Fire works well on vamps, so use that if you have it. You will almost certainly get infected with porphyric hemophilia (the vampire disease). Don't worry about it until you've finished the task. The last two vampires are located in a secret chamber opened with a pull cord in the first large room you come to. After all five are dead, return to Azura and she'll reward you with a re-useable grand soul gem, Azura's Star. If you're heavily dependant on enchanted weapons, this may be a very useful item. On the other hand, you can get enchanted weapons recharged at any Mages Guild hall, and regular soul gems are found quite frequently. Once you're done, use a Cure Disease potion or visit a temple in a city to cure your porphyric hemophilia. Or, get ready to run from sunlight for the rest of the game. For more about Vampirism, see the section under Miscellaneous Adventures. | Sheogorath [DQ02] +------------------ Requirements: At least level 2 Offering: Lesser soul gem, lettuce, yarn Reward: Wabbajack, a staff with...well, Wabbajack power This is a weird one, but, then, Sheogorath is apparently the daedric lord of practical jokes. You'll find his shrine halfway between Bravil and Leyawiin, west of the main road between the two cities. It's off the beaten track, but you can find it by lining yourself up with the 'B' in "Bravil" on your world map and going straight south. You should be able to scavenge the offering from houses and guild halls in Bravil. Activate the statue with the offering in inventory and Sheogorath complains about the boring population of Border Watch, a small Khajiit settlement to the south. He wants you to go there and stir things up a bit. Go to Border Watch and ask about the K'Sharra Prophecy. You'll be referred to Ri'Bassa, town shaman. Find him and get his Disposition to 60 and he'll tell you the first two portents of the apocalypse: plague of rats and the death of all the livestock. He won't tell you the third portent, but you don't need to worry about that one anyway. Go to the only inn in town, at the top of the hill, to the left of the stairs. Talk to the innkeeper about cheese and she'll tell you all about her prized collection. You're interested in the rare Olroy cheese. Wait until the middle of the night, break into the blue-lined display case and steal the Olroy cheese. (If your lockpicking skills are weak, you can pickpocket the key from the sleeping innkeeper.) Go outside and dump it in the cooking pot nearby. Wait until morning and the town will be infested by rats. Watch as Ri'Bassa runs up the steps and puts down rat poison. Once he's placed the poison, go pick it up. Enter the sheep pen down the street from the inn and put the rat poison in the food trough. Wait an hour and the sheep will all be dead. Sheogorath then speaks and tells you to go to the center of town and watch the third portent. Go halfway down the stairs and watch the anti-climactic show. Return to the shrine and you are rewarded with Wabbajack--a staff that, when used on a creature (i.e. not a human, orc or elf) will transform that creature into another, random creature. You might turn a goblin into a spider daedra, or a spriggan into a sheep. You just never know... | Namira [DQ03] +-------------- Requirements: At least level 5 Personality of 20 or lower Offering: Reward: | Vaermina [DQ04] +---------------- Requirements: At least level 5 Offering: Reward: | Sanguine [DQ05] +---------------- Requirements: At least level 8 Offering: Reward: | Malacath [DQ06] +---------------- Requirements: At least level 10 Offering: Reward: | Meridia [DQ07] +--------------- Requirements: At least level 10 Offering: Reward: | Nocturnal [DQ08] +----------------- Requirements: At least level 10 Offering: None Reward: Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick with Fortify Security 40 Nocturnal's shrine is located just off the road that leads north from Leyawiin along the east bank of the Nibenay river. Just leave Leyawiin's Northeast Gate and follow the road. Keep an eye out on your right (east) side as you head north. The shrine is about halfway to the mouth of Niben Bay. You can get this marked on your map by talking to one of the mages in the Leyawiin Mages Guild (assuming you have Daedra as an available topic). Nocturnal will only respond to you at night. Her Eye has been stolen and she wants you to return it. No offering is required. As for leads on the thieves, you're given only a vague pointer to nearby Leyawiin. Head into town and talk to any guard. Use the Eye of Nocturnal topic to learn two Argonians, Weebam-Na and Bejeen, have been boasting about scoring a valuable jewel. Find Weebam-Na's house using your new objective marker, enter, and talk to both lizards. They're reticent, and your journal suggests you eavesdrop. Go into the entry hall and enter Sneak mode. Stand still near the door and you will eventually hear the two Argonians discuss whether or not the jewel is safe from the trolls in Tidewater Cave. Trolls. Goody. Fire damage works well on trolls, so load up before heading out. Tidewater Cave sits on the edge of Topal Bay and is just about the most southern point in all of Cyrodiil. Walk down there and prep for the two trolls you meet outside the cave. Once they're down, enter the cave. Your main encounters here will be with bears, but there are two or three trolls in here as well. If you just want the Eye, take the first left, left again at the end of the tunnel and then left again through an underwater passage to find the Eye. Return to Nocturnal's Shrine and the grateful daedra gives you the Skeleton Key. This handy device Fortifies your Security skill by 40 points and is an unbreakable lockpick. Upon obtaining this device, no lock (that does not specifically require a key) can stand against you. Simply hit Auto Attempt until the lock opens. | Peryite [DQ09] +--------------- Requirements: At least level 10 Offering: None Reward: Spell Breaker, shield with 30% Spell Reflection If you look east of Bravil on your world map, you'll see the Silverfish River. About halfway along its length, on the south bank, is Peryite's shrine. Peryite isn't picky about hired help. He just wants someone to rescue his followers, who foolishly tried to summon him. Now their souls are trapped in Oblivion and he wants you to retrieve them. When you're ready for an extended trip into Oblivion, with lots of fights against daedra, Activate the statue again and ask to be sent to hell. (Handbasket not included.) You're on a circular area, looking over a sea of lava. There are paths off this "island" to the northeast, east and west. Take the northeast path first. There are a *lot* of daedra (keyed to your level) roaming this area. They usually work in pairs, too. (You'll also find some cave entrances. Ignore them as they don't significantly help you, and just lead to even more fights in cramped quarters.) Your first captive soul will not be far along this track--you can tell where the souls are located by the giant bonfires that give off a lot of light and smoke. To free the soul, simply Activate it. Return to your starting point--do not take the west path from this first soul. From your starting island, now head east and find some rocks that lead across the lava. Jump across, defeat the daedra and free the second soul. Jump back across the rocks and head south. The path will eventually curve west and you'll find the third soul. Go back to your starting point. From here you should now take the west path. The track will quickly turn southwest and eventually lead to a tower. The fourth soul is in front of this tower. Head due north from the tower to reach the fifth soul. Now head back to your starting point where you'll find a portal back to normality. Peryite rewards you with a shield with 30% spell reflection. Not bad, considering all the work you had to put into getting it. | Mephala [DQ10] +--------------- Requirements: At least level 15 Offering: Reward: | Hircine [DQ11] +--------------- Requirements: At least level 17 Offering: Wolf or bear pelt Reward: Savior's Hide, light armor cuirass with Resist Magicka This is a simple quest, but not an easy one. Hircine's shrine is located midway between Imperial City and Bravil, on the west side of the Upper Niben. It's almost directly south of Arcane University, so if you take your bearings on that (using your map) and strike out due south, you should stumble across it. Bring a bear or wolf pelt as an offering and Hircine reveals he wants you to perform the ultimate hunt: kill a unicorn and bring its horn to him. There's only one unicorn in the game, and it's conveniently located south and a little east of the shrine in Harcane Grove. The unicorn is guarded by three minotaurs. Approach slowly, preferably stealthily, and use a bow or spells to prod one of the beasts to charge you. Repeat for the other two. This prevents not only the minotaurs from ganging up on you, but it also keeps the unicorn from joining in the fray. It doesn't like drawn weapons. In fact, while it may be tempting to ride the unicorn around, it is a most unreliable mount. It goes into a frenzy whenever weapons are drawn in its vicinity and will attack anything--including you, even if you are ostensibly its owner. The unicorn is good for just one thing: dying to provide its horn for this quest. Kill it, take the horn back to Hircine and receive a Light cuirass with a resist magic enchantment, Savior's Hide. | Molag Bal [DQ12] +----------------- Requirements: At least level 17 Offering: Reward: | Boethia [DQ13] +--------------- Requirements: At least level 20 Offering: Reward: | Clavicus Vile [DQ14] +---------------------- Requirements: At least level 20 Offering: Reward: | Hermaeus Mora [DQ15] +--------------------- Requirements: At least level 20 Finished all other daedric quests Offering: Reward: [SQ05] <~~~~~~ THE FORLORN WATCHMAN ~~~~~~> The rumor mill in Bravil is rife with the story of a ghost who wanders the coast of Niben Bay. You're referred to Gilgondorin, proprietor of Silverhome-on-the-Water. He tells you the ghost appears every evening at 8 at Bawnwatch camp and marks the camp on your map. It is on a point of land southeast of Bravil. Travel there and wait until nightfall and watch the ghost appear. You can't elicit any information from him, so follow him as he begins his solitary journey down the shores of Niben Bay. On the cliffs above Fort Irony, the ghost stops, turns and speaks to you. He identifies himself as one Grantham Blakeley and requests that you free him from the "mouth of the Panther". Your journal refers you back to Gilgondorin for more info on the "mouth of the Panther"; however, it's nothing more than the point where the Panther River empties into the Niben, which just happens to be directly east of where you are now, across the river. Swim across and look for the ruined hulk of a ship among the rocks. You can enter the upper deck the ship through a hole in the side. Inside you'll meet your fair share of restless spirits. These aren't quite as amiable as Grantham. On this upper deck you'll find a couple of spirits and a hatch up to the captain's cabin (good loot) and a hatch to the middle deck. You can also find a logbook that reveals the fate of the ship. Fight your way through the middle deck to the cargo hold, where you'll dispatch the ghost of the lead mutineer. From his remains, pick up a small key. This opens a door further back in the hold and inside is the skeleton of Blakeley. The key will also unshackle the skeleton, which releases Blakeley's spirit to pursue more pleasant fields of travel. As parting advice, he says the room contains a map to his "gratitude". Look on the floor behind the post that was holding the skeleton. Pick up the map you find there, which will pinpoint a burial place further up the Panther River. Head upriver, following your objective marker to the loot, which is lodged between rocks underwater. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ06] <~~~~~~ THE GHOST SHIP OF ANVIL ~~~~~~> This is a "simple" step-n-fetch quest. Find the "Serpent's Wake", a ship docked at Anvil. It's the western-most of the two ships in port. On deck a distraught Varulae has a sad tale...The ship is hers and she sent it to pick up a crystal ball that belonged to her mother. When the ship returned, she found the sailors all murdered and roaming the decks as vengeful spirits. Work your way through three levels of wraiths, with nasty spells and even nastier swords and retrieve the crystal ball. Return it to Varulae for your reward, including an enchanted cutlass. The murders of the sailors will remain unsolved unless you play through the Dark Brotherhood quests. In "Following a Lead", you find a diary that implicates a Brotherhood traitor who lived beneath the Anvil lighthouse. In his diary he writes: "I did it, mother! I killed them all! I killed them and I cursed them to wander their ship in undeath for all eternity! They came to talk to the old man in the lighthouse. When they saw me, they could have kept walking. But no. They laughed! They laughed at me, mother! They called me names! They said I was strange, that I was a human rat, living here in the cellar of the lighthouse. They did not know who they were dealing with! So I snuck on board, later that night, and I slit their throats. Every last one of them. So there the Serpent's Wake sits. The ghost ship of Anvil they'll call it now! Ha ha ha ha ha!" <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ07] <~~~~~~ GO FISH ~~~~~~> This relatively simple quest is picked up outside Imperial City. Heading west, out of town, past the stables, you'll run into a little hamlet called Weye. Here you will meet an old man named Aelwin Merowald. He asks for some help. Seems he has a deal with an alchemist to sell scales from Lake Rumare slaughterfish. The scales from these particular fish apparently have some rare alchemical properties. Unfortunately for Aelwin, a slaughterfish recently got the better of Aelwin's leg and he can't go after them any more. He wants you to procure 12 sets of scales so he can make one last sale and finally retire. Your quest marker now points to a location in Lake Rumare just north of Weye. You'll need water breathing potions/spells/equipment (or be an Argonian). Fishing in Oblivion does not involve a rod and reel. Walk down into the lake toward your quest marker. Find the first fish, kill it and take its scales. Killing these fish may not be easy, depending on your level. They can be quite tough and you can't use targeted spells under water. After a moment, your quest marker will update and point you to the next fish. Each fish only spawns once you've killed the previous fish, so you can't just walk around and run into them, you have to follow the quest marker. Once you have 12 scales, return to Aelwin and hand them over. He'll give you a ring with Fortify Athletics and Water Breathing enchantment. If you're of an evil disposition, you can raise Aelwin's Disposition to 70 and he'll tell you where he keeps all the money he's earned thus far from selling scales. You'll need the key he keeps on him to open the chest, so either pick his pocket or kill him, then steal his retirement money. You stinker. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ08] <~~~~~~ IMPERIAL CORRUPTION ~~~~~~> There are two residents of Imperial City, Ruslan and Luronk gro-Glurzog, who will complain of being shaken down by a corrup Imperial guard captain. They were rousted at Jensine's "Good as New" Merchandise in the Market district. Visit Jensine and boost her Disposition over 70. She'll then tell you the name of the corrupt soldier: Audens Avidius. Your journal suggest you report Avidius to the authorities. If you talk to a soldier, he'll refer you to Captain Hieronymus Lex. (If Lex has been taken out of the picture because you've been playing through the Thieves Guild quests, you'll get sent to another Servatius Quintilius.) Use your quest marker to track the captain down. Either one will be dis-interested in your report and push you along to Itius Hayn. Hayn wants to believe you, but he needs two witnesses. Your best bets are Ruslan and gro-Glurzog. You need a Disposition score of 70 with them to convince them to talk. (Jensine is a tougher nut to crack.) You can use your quest markers to find the two and send them along to Hayn. Wait for a day. Your journal should update that Avidius has been arrested and the quest moves to completed status. But wait... Ten days later (or when you hit 5th level, whichever comes later), Avidius escapes and comes looking for you. He'll find you, whereever you are, and attacks. Unfortunately, he attacks with a dagger and wearing nothing but his prison clothes. Once he's dead, the quest is truly complete. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ09] <~~~~~~ THE KILLING FIELD ~~~~~~> Visit the Grey Mare in Chorrol to meet Valus Odiil. His sons are on their way to clean out some "vermin" from the family farm and Valus wants you to go help them. Head toward Weynon Priory to find the Odiil boys standing on the road. Talk to Rallus, the older son, his brother wants nothing to do with you. Follow them down the road to their farm and stand with them in the vegetable garden. Kill off three waves of goblins, trying your best to keep the boys alive. Afterward, speak to Rallus and they will return to Chorrol. Help yourself to vegetables from the garden to use in potions. (It's not a crime to take the veggies.) Return to the Grey Mare and talk to Valus and get Chillrend, an enchanted sword--but only if both boys survived the goblin raid. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ10] <~~~~~~ KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE STALLION ~~~~~~> After completing "Mazoga the Orc", Count Caro offers you and Mazoga positions as Knights of the White Stallion--if you first kill Black Brugo, leader of the Black Bow Bandits. (If Mazoga did not survive her earlier encounter at Fisherman's Rock, you can't perform this quest.) Talk to Mazoga. She jumps at the chance and she also happens to know where Brugo has his headquarters and what kind of schedule he keeps. Make your way to Telepe, an Ayleid ruin northwest of Leyawiin. Make sure you arrive during the day. There are two guards, one an annoying archer that fires from the top of the ruin. You can stand back and trade shots/spells with him, or, go around to the back of the ruin where a combination of a small ledge and some boulders on the ground allow you to jump up there with him. Step inside and go down the stairs. The room to the right has two more Black Bow bandits. Kill them and collect their bows (Count Caro will pay a bounty for them). Now skulk in the corner and Wait until after midnight. Brugo shows up and wonders what happened to his guards. Educate him. He'll have two cronies with him, but concentrate on him before turning to deal with the regulars. Take his key, open the gate at the back of the ruin by pushing the button in the room to the left. Unlock Brugo's treasure chest and take his portion of the bandit's loot. Return to Count Caro and sell off the bows you collected (you should have four or five). Caro makes both you and Mazoga Knights of the White Stallion and gives you keys to the White Stallion Lodge, which is north of the city on the west bank of the river. Tell Mazoga, who happily hurries off to settle in. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ11] <~~~~~~ LEGACY LOST ~~~~~~> This is a continuation of Separated at Birth. You must complete that quest before you can begin this quest. Talk to Guilbert Jemane in Chorrol after he has been reunited with his brother Reynald. He mentions he wants to find his family's old farm and see if it's still occupied by ogres. It is. Prepare yourself before venturing forth. Guilbert doesn't exactly know where the farm is; so, ask NPCs until one of them mentions Sabine Laul. Sabine hangs out at the Fighters Guild. Find her and she'll mark the location of the Jemane family farm, Weatherleah, on your map. Go to the farm and clear out three ogres wandering the yard outside the house, then return to Guilbert and escort the brothers to their farm. Talk to Guilbert again to close out the quest. You can help the Jemane boys one more time, in the quest Sins of the Father. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ12] <~~~~~~ LIFTING THE VALE ~~~~~~> If your Fame score is at least 10, speak to Countess Narina Carvain in Castle Bruma. She collects Akaviri artifacts and has partially tracked down one called the Draconian Madstone. The artifact is supposedly at Pale Pass, an Akaviri headquarters during the wars against Reman during the First Era. The Countess will, in fact, relate nearly all the ancient history to you if you're willing to listen. The upshot is, Carvain has an Akaviri courier's journal along with directions to Dragonclaw Rock. From the Rock, you can follow the directions west to a giant statue and then north to the entrance to Serpent's Trail. This is, basically, a tunnel inhabited by several ogres. Along the way you'll find the courier's skeleton. Take the orders from the body and proceed. You exit Serpent's Trail into Pale Pass. The path is constantly blocked by ogres, so you're either in for a dozen or more rough fights or you need to sneak a lot. You'll finally reach the Fortress of Pale Pass, which is guarded by two more ogres. These you'll have to dispatch so they don't follow you into the ruins. Inside you'll be in the "Mouth of the Serpent". Your goal is the "Venom of the Serpent" and here's the quickest route to your objective. Go down the stairs and watch out for the swinging log trap at the bottom. Just past the trap, turn left and follow the hallway around until it crosses over where you just were. You have to make a running jump across the gap to reach a door to the "Scales of the Serpent". In Scales, follow the hall straight until you are forced to turn left, then continue straight to a raised bridge. Use the nearby lever to lower the bridge and go across to the "Fangs of the Serpent". You are facing a group of columns, some of which have arrow traps. To safely go around the columns, hug the right-side wall until you reach another raised bridge. TRAPPED COLUMNS Fangs of the Serpent ___ A ___ A,B = Doors to "Eyes of the Serpent" | | C = Door to "Scales of the Serpent" | O OX| O = Column B | X = Area covered by arrow trap | OXXXXXOX| D = Drawbridge | X D |XO O | C X X | | O O | |_________| Turn the wheel to lower the bridge, go across and turn left to reach Venom. Inside is the spirit of the Akaviri commander, Mishaxhi. Talk to him. If you have the orders you picked up earlier, you can give them to him and he'll depart, taking his undead warriors with him. The way is now open to the Draconian Madstone. You can also attempt to kill Mishaxhi, but that's going to be a difficult task. Either way, once you have the Madstone, take the door just to the right of the Madstone and you'll come back out in Scales, right above the bridge you lowered earlier. Go back out the way you came in. Once you're outdoors, you can Fast Travel back to Bruma and give the Madstone to Countess Carvain. She rewards you with the Ring of the Vipereye, which has Fortify Agility and Resist Magicka enchantments. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ13] <~~~~~~ MAZOGA THE ORC ~~~~~~> You can find Mazoga hanging around Castle Leyawiin, making a nuisance of herself. If you try to talk to her, she'll refuse since you aren't the count. Talk to the count instead about "Service to Leyawiin". He asks you to find out what Mazoga wants and deal with it. When you talk to Mazoga again, you can now represent the count and Mazoga launches into her tale. Or, at least, part of it. She wants to see a hunter named Weebam-Na. Mssr. Na has a house that is not far from the castle's entrance. You'll need to get his Disposition over 50 in order for him to agree to go see Mazoga with you. Mazoga wants Weebam-Na to guide her to a camp at Fisherman's Rock, a ways up the Niben River. Weebam-Na refuses since Mazoga won't say why she needs to get to Fisherman's Rock. She then appeals to you, telling you a bit more of the story. Leave by the Northeast Gate and trek upriver along the east bank until you reach the camp at Fisherman's Rock, which is occupied by bandits. Mazoga will jump ahead and carry on a conversation with the bandit leader. As soon as the two of them start in with the fighting, join it, keeping the minions off Mazoga's back. Return to Castle Leyawiin and report in to the Count. He is pleased by the adventure and offers both you and Mazoka positions as Knights of the White Stallion...If you first complete the quest by the same name. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ14] <~~~~~~ ORDER OF THE VIRTUOUS BLOOD ~~~~~~> While wandering around the Temple district of Imperial City, you'll be met by one Ralsa Norvalo. She asks that you meet her husband, Gilen, at the house of an elf named Seridur. Seridur lives in the Temple district. Enter his house and Seridur takes you down to the basement and introduces you to the Order of the Virtuous blood. They're vampire hunters. Oh, goody. They've identified a vampire, one Roland Jenseric. Break-and-enter Jenseric's house, which is across the garden from Seridur. On the table near the door is a book, and there is a note on top of the book. Pick up the note to learn the location of a cabin hideaway used by Jenseric. This cabin is east-northeast of Imperial City, along the road to Cheydinhal. When you enter, Jenseric wants to talk. He, of course, claims Seridur is the vampire and gives a little different story. Who's telling the truth? Well, Roland is, but you can kill him anyway and return to Seridur for a reward. Or, you can believe Roland. He suggests asking about Seridur at First Edition Books in the Market district. Do so. Phintias, proprieter of First Edition, reports that Seridur likes to visit Memorial Cave to the southeast. When you enter the cave, your journal updates that you've found a vampire lair. Uh huh. Remember, fire is your friend when fighting vampires and make sure you visit a chapel after you finish to rid yourself of porphyric hemophilia. You've got a bunch of animals, some undead and several vampires--including Seridur--to dispatch. Return to Roland at his cabin and inform him of the good news. Meet him back in Imperial City at Seridur's house. The Order of the Virtuous Blood is going to carry on the good work of hunting vampires. From now on, they'll pay you 250 gold for any vampire dust you bring them, starting with what you picked up at Memorial Cave. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ15] <~~~~~~ ORIGIN OF THE GRAY PRINCE ~~~~~~> The Gray Prince is Agronak gro-Malog, Grand Champion of the Arena, and spends his time down in the Bloodworks, working out. Talk to him and he professes he's the half-son of a Lord Lovidicus. He gives you a key, given him by his mother, and asks that you find out what it unlocks in Crowhaven, the place of his birth. Crowhaven is at the extreme west end of Cyrodiil, northwest of Anvil. It's essentially a one-level dungeon (a second level has a trifling amount of loot and some undead encounters). You'll find it filled with wild animals, mostly wolves, until you come to a locked door. gro-Malog's key opens the door and you've found the quarters of Lovidicus himself. Lovidicus will attack you on sight, and you'll have to kill him. Find his journal to learn the truth, then return it to gro-Malog. He gives you an initial reward, which is training that boosts your Blade, Block and Athletics skills by 3 pints. Then, he reads the journal and he's distraught at what he learns. If you play through the Arena, gro-Malog will beg you to challenge him, then surrender to your sword during the match. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ16] <~~~~~~ PARANOIA ~~~~~~> Not long after you've entered Skingrad the first time, you'll be approached by a nervous elf named Glarthir. He wants you to meet him behind the Chapel of Julianos at midnight. You can go any day--Glarthir duitifully shows up at midnight every night until you meet him. When you do meet him, he tells you there are people out to get him and he wants you to spy on them. If you turn Glarthir down, he goes crazy, runs back to his house, gets a battleaxe and goes on a killing spree. His targets are the three people he wants you to spy on: Bernadette Peneles, Toutius Sextius and Davide Surilie (whose wine you've seen all over Cyrodiil). You can do a few things here: wait until he attacks his first victim, then step in and kill him (if you kill him before he attacks it is considered murder); run along behind him and watch until the city guard finally catches up to him and kills him; or, help him out (you'll have to pretty much depopulate Skingrad if you go this route). The other option is to humor Glarthir. He'll ask you to spy on Bernadette Peneles, then report back at midnight the next night. You don't have to actually do anything, just Wait until midnight, then report in. The same is true of Toutius Sextius and Davide Surilie. If you tell Glarthir none of the targets is interested in him, which they aren't, he believes you're in on the plot and tries to kill you...with his fists, and not wearing any armor. Well, that won't end pleasantly--for him, anyway. You can loot his corpse and get the key to his house, which you can then loot for whatever you can find. If you lie and report even one target as a spy, Glarthir offers a reward of 1,000 gold if you kill any conspirators. You can make the hit and collect the reward; you can turn the note over to the constabulary, who will chase after Glarthir and give him the pointed end of justice; or, you can show the note to Davide Surilie, who, along with his brothers, will deal with the matter personally. So, basically, anything you do ends with Glarthir dead. Simply Waiting one day at a time and reporting the truth is, thus, the quickest way to end this quest. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ17] <~~~~~~ REPAIRING THE ORRERY ~~~~~~> This quest is added as soon as you load a game after having installed the official mod: Orrery DLC2. (See the Mods section for information on obtaining the mod.) After installing the mod, the next time you load a game (or leave the tutorial sewers), you get a note from Bothiel, resident astronomer at Arcane University. It seems she is attempting to repair the Imperial Orrery, an astronomical device, but parts she was having delivered were stolen. Evidence points to Camp Ales as a possible base for the bandits who stole the parts. Camp Ales is due north of Kvatch. Travel there and kill the lone bandit inhabiting the place. From his body, get an undelivered message and the first Dwarven part. The message points you to four other camps: Dagny's Camp, Brotch Camp, Bodean Camp and Varus Camp. These camps are arranged in a rectangular pattern around Ales. Travel to each one and kill the bandit or bandits you find there. From one of the bodies in each camp, retrieve a Dwarven part for the Orrery. At the last camp you vist, you'll face the bandit leader and two minions, so prep for a major battle before entering the camp. After all five Dwarven parts are in your pockets, Fast Travel to Arcane University. If you have not completed the Mages Guild Recommendations quests, Bothiel will be waiting for you, during normal hours, in the Arch Mages Lobby. (The only place open to the general public.) If you are a member of the Mages Guild with access to Arcane University, you may find Bothiel elsewhere. Just use your objective marker to track her down. After delivering the parts, Wait until the next day and visit Bothiel again. She'll give you a key to the Orrery, which is accessible from a door in the Arch Mages Lobby. Go up to the Orrery and Activate it. Once activated, the Orrery will permanently grant you a greater power depending on the phase of the moon. Just Activate the Orrery any time you want to gain a power. These powers are just like racial powers: use them once per 24 hours, and each has a duration of 60 seconds. To figure out which power you will get, look up the number of days that have passed since you started the game (available on the Accomplishments tab of your Stats menu). If the number of days passed is greater than 23, subtract 24 and keep subtracting 24 until you have a number from 0 to 23, then find the power in the list below. * Days 0, 1 & 2 - Masser's Might: Strength +20, Speed -20 * Days 3, 4 & 5 - Masser's Grace: Agility +20, Endurance -20 * Days 6, 7 & 8 - Secunda's Will: Willpower +20, Intelligence -20 * Days 9, 10 & 11 - Secunda's Opportunity: Luck +20, Personality -20 * Days 12, 13 & 14 - Masser's Alacrity: Speed +20, Strength -20 * Days 15, 16 & 17 - Secunda's Magnetism: Personality +20, Luck -20 * Days 18, 19 & 20 - Secunda's Brilliance: Intelligence +20, Willpower -20 * Days 21, 22 & 23 - Masser's Courage: Endurance +20, Agility -20 E.g: 73 days have passed since you started the game. 73 - 24 = 49. This is still greater than 23. 49 - 24 = 25. This is still greater than 23. 25 - 24 = 1. The power granted on day 1 is Masser's Might. You can only have one power at a time. Each time you use the Orrery, whatever Orrery-granted power you currently have will be replaced by the new Orrery power. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ18] <~~~~~~ SEPARATED AT BIRTH ~~~~~~> Talk to NPCs around Chorrol and find out they've seen the local drunk, Reynald Jemane, in Cheydinhal--sober no less. But, when confronted, he claims he doesn't know his buddies from Chorrol. Track down Reynald, who will give you 50 gold to go to Cheydinhal and find out who's impersonating him. Travel to Cheydinhal and ask around about Reynald Jemane. The people in this town don't know a Reynald, but they do know a Guilbert Jemane. Find him and you'll learn some history of these two brothers. Guilbert will go to Chorrol; return there after a couple of days, once the brothers have had a chance at a reunion. Track down Guilbert in Chorrol and talk to him to finish this quest, and start the next in the series...Legacy Lost. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ19] <~~~~~~ SHADOW OVER HACKDIRT ~~~~~~> Whilst wandering about Chorrol, you may meet an Argonian named Dar-Man. Be polite to her and you get instant 20-point Diposition increases with both Dar-Ma and her mother, who runs Northern Goods and Trade. At least three days later, provided you've left Chorrol for another city and then returned, you'll be able to talk to Seed-Neeus, the mother, and find out Dar-Ma is missing. (If you failed to talk to Dar-Ma earlier, or were impolite to her, then you'll have to pick up the rumors of Dar-Ma going missing and then confront her mother with this information.) Seed-Neeus explains Dar-Ma went to make a delivery to Hackdirt, a little village to the south. She's overdue for her return. Head out the south gate of Chorrol and make your way to Hackdirt. This nasty little town is filled with even nastier people. You can poke around town, talking to people identified by Seed-Neeus. You can find Dar-Ma's horse, Blossom. You can even find Dar-Ma's diary in a room in the Moslin Inn. But, in the end, none of this leads anywhere except the conclusion something is badly wrong in Hackdirt. The lone help you get is from Jiv Hiriel. Find him and speak to him. He says to come meet him at his house between 6pm and midnight. Show up on schedule and he'll fill you in on the whole story. There's still things left unsaid. Who are the Deep Ones? What are the Brethren changing into? (The whole things sounds suspiciously like vampiric activity, but nothing is ever confirmed.) In any case, Hiriel gives you a key to the Hackdirt caverns and tells you to wait until the middle of the night and use the trapdoor in Moslin's Inn. Excellent advice. Wait until 2 or 3 in the morning, then enter the Inn and find the trapdoor. Drop down into the caverns and, right around the corner, is the cell with Dar-Ma. Release her using your trapdoor key and head back to the surface. Find Blossom behind the Dry Goods store and Dar-Ma will mount up. You can then lead her back to Chorrol. Once you've reunited mother and daughter, Seed-Neeus gives you a +5 increase to your Mercantile skill. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ20] <~~~~~~ SINS OF THE FATHER ~~~~~~> This is, essentially, the third and final part of the Jemane brothers quests (begun in Separated at Birth and continued in Legacy Lost). The quest begins a few days after you've dropped the Jemane boys at Weatherleah. The next time you're in Chorrol and out and about at night, you'll be approached by one Fathis Ules, a Thieves Guild fence. Seems the Jemane's father wasn't a noble and honorable man, but a thief who decided to keep his last score rather than fence it to Fathis. Fathis knows the item was stored at Weatherleah and suspects the ogres took it back to their home cave after sacking the place. They did. Fathis points out Redguard Valley Cave on your map, it's due south of Chorrol. Travel to the cave and take care of the goblins guarding the door. Inside, the cave is infested with ogres. You have to find the ogre chieftan and kill him to retrieve the Honorblade of Chorrol. You get a journal entry that suggest you might want to see someone in the castle about this. You can sell it to Fathis Ules, for a rather large amount of gold. You can keep it for yourself (though this leaves the quest as incomplete). Preferably, you will head for Castle Chorrol and see the steward, Laythe Wavrick. He identifies the sword, takes it from you, and gives you the Escutheon of Chorrol shield (Fortify Endurance and Reflect Damage) in return. If you handed the sword over to Wavrick, head out to Weatherleah and visit the Jemane boys. Talking to Guilbert nets you an additional reward as well as his thanks. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ21] <~~~~~~ THE SIREN'S DECEPTION ~~~~~~> Rumors in Anvil mention a gang of women preying on married men. When you pursue the topic, you are pointed to Maelona. You may also run into Maelona before hearing the rumors. Either way, talk to Maelona about her husband, Gogan's, involvement with these women. Seems they took a family heirloom and Maelona wants you to get it back. She points you to The Flowing Bowl as the base of operations for the gane. The Flowing Bowl is a tavern in the docks area outside the southwest gate in Anvil. Enter and wait a bit. You'll be approached by either Faustina Cartia or Signy Home-Wrecker. If you're a male, you'll be tempted with delights beyond your wildest dreams. If you're female, you'll be offered a position with the gang. Either way, you're invited to the Gweden farmhouse at 11:00 that evening. Travel to the farmhouse, southeast of Anvil and now marked on your map, and enter during the 11pm hour. You'll talk to Faustina. Regardless of your gender and the original reason for the invitation, the talk ends in violence. You'll have to fight Faustina, Signy and a third member of the gang, Tsarinna. This part is difficult because you're confined to the small farmhouse and have three foes to deal with. Anything you can do to immobilize one or two while you work on the others is a good thing. When all three are dead, Maelona and her "husband" Gogan enter the farmhouse, in the normal work clothes: uniforms of the Anvil city guard. They've been working undercover trying to stop the gang and decided to use you as bait. Nice, ain't it? Loot the bodies for a key to the basement and go check it out. It's filled with the swag collected by the gang in earlier conquests, so help yourself. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ22] <~~~~~~ THROUGH A NIGHTMARE, DARKLY ~~~~~~> While not part of the Mages Guild quests, you can get this task once you've finished the Bravil Recommendation for the Mages Guild. After completing that quest for Kud-Ei, speak to her again. She'll ask that you help her friend, Henantier. You can also get this quest by speaking to various NPCs around Bravil until one of the rumors concerns the missing Henantier. Speak to Kud-Ei about Henantier and she'll explain he is trapped, but she knows where he is. Agree to follow her to Henantier's house, where you find the unfortunate fellow trapped in his own dreams. Kud-Ei gives you Henantier's Dream Amulet. Equip it, then rest in the bed next to Henantier. You find yourself next to Henantier in a dream-version of his house. There are four portals: Tests of Patience and Perception upstairs, Tests of Courage and Resolve downstairs. You have no equipment and cannot cast spells. You must use what you find in each portal to retrieve an element of Henantier's personality and restore him to himself. *NOTE* At any time during these tests, if you are low on health, you can use the Wait function to wait an hour and fully restore your health and magicka. | Patience +---------- At the beginning you can retrieve a mysterious scroll from the chest. This is a map across three arrow traps ahead. Make your way safely across the traps, either following the map the game gives you, or these more easily decipherable maps: *HINT* Use third person view and walk (don't run) to make sure you walk across the correct squares. This is the test of Patience, after all. In these maps, 'S' marks the safe squares. TRAP 1 TRAP 2 TRAP 3 S X X X X X X X S X S X X X X X X X | | | S X X X X X S--S--S X S X X X S--S--S--S | | | | | S--S X X X S--S X X X S--S--S--S--S X X S | | | X S X X X S X X X X X X X X S--S | | X S--S--S X X X X X X S X | | X X X S X X X X S--S--S--S--S X | X X S X X X X X | X X S X X X X X Once past the third trap you can pick up the Element of Patience, which returns you to Henantier's dream room. | Perception +------------ Pick up a torch from the chest at the beginning of this stage and carefully pick your way around pressure plates. The first pressure plate sets off a falling rock trap. Beyond are swinging blades. You can't stop them, but you can dodge them easily enough. Past those are poisonous gas traps--stay away from them--then avoid the pressure plate that sets off another falling rock trap. Next is a broad avenue with blades overhead. You can try running through, or carefully walk in between each set and wait for them to rise again. Beyond is a hill of blocks with several pressure plates. Avoid them or suffer frost damage (Nords may choose to just run through...) Now you can get the Element of Perception and return to the main room. | Courage +--------- The first door you come to downstairs leads to the Test of Courage. Inside the chest is a Weak Potion of the Sea (water breathing for 30 seconds). Drink the potion and dive in. Navigate carefully--you'll have to occasionally turn the camera to twist your way through the tunnels. Halfway through is another chest with another potion--just in time to injest to make it the rest of the way through. When you surface, the Element of Courage is there for the taking. | Resolve +--------- You get to fight two minotaurs. Yay! Suit up with items from the chest at the beginning of the test and take on the minotaurs in whatever fashion suits you. You may be able to just dispose of them using the Staff of Lightning, regardless of your class. Once the minotaurs are dead, stairs rise from the ground leading up to the Element of Resolve. After collecting all four elements, speak to dream-Henantier about Dreamworld and you will both wake up in the real world. Henantier gives you several scrolls as a reward. You don't keep anything you picked up in the dream world. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ23] <~~~~~~ TWO SIDES OF THE COIN ~~~~~~> Follow rumors in Bruma pointing to a spat over money between Arnora and Jorundr. Find Arnora, she's usually at her house behind the chapel, and get her Disposition above 60. She then tells you the "spat" rumor was started by herself to lure an adventurer in for a little scheme. If you're up for a bit of skullduggery, agree to help her out and she'll lay out the whole tale. She and Jorundr were petty thieves who finally decided to strike the big time by stealing money form an Imperial tax convoy. During the fracas, Jorundr killed a soldier. They escaped and hid; but, while Arnora was out collecting supplies, the Bruma guard showed up and arrested Jorundr. Unfortunately for Arnora, Jorundr had moved the stash while she was gone and she can't get him to tell her where it is. She promises half the loot if you will go speak to Jorundr and find out where the cache is hidden. Go to Castle Bruma, and hang a right through the guard's room and down the stairs to the prison. Ask the guard to speak to a prisoner and he takes you in to the main cell room. Find Jorundr (he's the only prisoner in the place) and talk to him. He refuses to speak to you. He doesn't trust anyone who's "on the outside", so to speak. Simple enough, all you have to do is get yourself arrested. You can do anything, the guard who let you in is helpfully standing at your shoulder shouting orders. Punch him, or pick the lock on a cell door or rifle through a chest. Whatever suits your fancy. Choose to go to jail and you'll be thrown in the cell with Jorundr. Talk to him again. Now he gives you his side of the story. (The other side of the coin, get it?) Arnora was the one who killed the soldier and Jorundr believes she set him up by turning him into the Bruma constabulary. But, he was bright enough to move the loot and that is frustrating her. He knows he's done for, so he promises to tell you the location of the loot if you'll do one eeny, teeny, tiny thing for him...kill Arnora and bring back the family amulet she always wears. Return to Arnora's house. You have two choices: * Whack her. This counts as a murder and you may be arrested for the crime. Don't bother with the amulet she's wearing, get the key from her corpse and find the chest next to her bed. That contains the "true" amulet. Return to Jorundr. * Tell her of Jorundr's request. She suggests a trick: she'll give you the amulet and you tell Jorundr she's dead. She'll give you a key and direct you to the chest next to her bed where you can get the amulet. Return to Jorundr. Jorundr accepts the evidence of the amulet, whether Arnora is actually dead or not, and gives you the directions to the cache. It will now be marked for you on your map, just outside the North Gate. Head for the marker. If you killed Arnora, the loot is yours. If you fooled Jorundr, you'll run into corrupt guard Tyrellius Logellus (you encountered him while in prison, but couldn't talk to him). He overheard your conversation with Jorundr, went and killed Arnora and then waited by the cache for you to show up so he can tie up all the loose ends. Demonstrate to him the error of his ways, then collect the loot. To officially close the quest, go to Arnora's house to confirm her death. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ24] <~~~~~~ UNFRIENDLY COMPETITION ~~~~~~> Walmart has moved into the Imperial City Market District and the Mom & Pop stores aren't happy about it. You can get this quest started from several different shopkeepers if you ask about Thoronir; however, your first step is always to talk to Jensine of "Just Like New" Goods and she can also give you the quest. Make her shop your first stop when entering the Market District. Jensine wants you to find out how Thoronir is undercutting everyone else. Visit Thoronir's shop, The Copious Coinpurse, and ask about his Inventory. He'll get all sly on you and you'll get an entry in your journal that says you should follow him. Wait outside his shop until the 8:00pm hour. Thoronir will exit and you should follow him. He goes various places (The Merchant's Inn, the Arboretum), but whereever he ends up, he hangs around until the 11:00pm hour. So when he stops moving, use Wait to jump ahead to that time. Follow him back to the Market District and a little garden behind his shop. He has a meeting with a man named Agarmir. Walk toward them until they start talking. (You don't have to Sneak.) Listen to their conversation, and then follow Agarmir per your journal's instruction. He goes to his house in the Talos Plaza district. Your journal instructs you to wait until Agarmir leaves his house. Agarmir only leaves in the afternoon (around 4pm) on weekdays and in the mornings (around 8am) on weekends. Wait until the appropriate time and you should see Agarmir leave his house. After he leaves, wait until no guards are present, then pick the lock on his house door (Average lock) and his basement door (Average lock). In the basement, take the Macabre Manifest and leave Agarmir's house. Return to the Copious Coinpurse and show the Manifest to Thoronir. After, go to the Imperial Green Way and find the marked tomb on your map (it's on the south side of the area). Enter and trip Agarmir's little trap. He and a buddy will try to put you to rest. Agarmir is using an enchanted sword, which might be a nice weapon for you once you've slipped it from his cold, dead fingers. Grab the shovel from the rear of the tomb and any loot you can find. Return to Thoromir and then to Jensine to complete the quest. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ25] <~~~~~~ WHERE SPIRITS HAVE LEASE ~~~~~~> The rumor mill in Anvil will eventually give you a name, Velwyn Benirus. Inquire after him and learn he hangs out at the Count's Arms. (You can also just go to the Count's Arms and find Benirus.) He offers to sell you his family's mansion for a mere 5,000 gold. How could you possible pass up such a deal? As soon as you complete the transaction, Benirus high-tails it out of town. The mansion is located in the northeastern section of town. Paying a visit reveals you just bought a wonderful restoration project. Try to sleep in the upstairs bed and get even more bad news: an attack by three ghosts. Once they are gone, head downstairs and find a vase that fell and broke during the ruckus. Underneath is a skeletal hand and a piece of paper. The paper reveals Benirus' grandfather, Lorgren, had a nasty habit of conducting necromancy experiments on the citizens of Anvil. The current guild leader, Carahil, entombed Lorgren in a sealed room in the basement (you may have marked the door and seal in an earlier inspection of the premises). Return to the Count's Arms and inquire after Velwyn. You are told he departed for Imperial City. Head there yourself and ask after Velwyn Benirus and you should eventually find someone who knows a Benirus is staying at the King and Queen Tavern in the Elven Gardens district. Go there and confront Belirus. He feels sorry for giving you a cursed mansion and agrees to return to Anvil and help you sort it out. Go back to Anvil and the Count's Arms. Talk to Velwyn and then follow him to the mansion. Once you enter the mansion, you take the lead. You'll have to fight your way through a number of ghosts, both on the upper floors and in the basement. Alternatively, you can race past the ghosts to the portal and then defend Velwyn while he opens it. Once the portal is open, the ghost disappear. Enter the crypt and find the altar with Lorgren Benirus' skeleton. Activate the altar and listen to Lorgren's contrite speech. Then Activate the skeleton with the skeletal hand you picked up earlier in your inventory. Oh. Look at that. It was a ruse. How surprising. Once Lorgren reforms, race to him and smack him with your best weapon as quickly as possible. Once the lich is dead, loot the tomb, then leave, re-sealing the portal behind you. You'll find the mansion is now fully restored and is probably the nicest house you can buy in Cyrodiil. Definitely worth 5,000 gold and a little ghosthunting. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [SQ26] <~~~~~~ WHOM GODS ANNOY ~~~~~~> The rumor mill in Leyawiin buzzes with the strange noises and awful smells coming from Rosentia Gallenus' house. Enter her house and find the fair lady surrounded by scamps she cannot rid herself of. Seems she picked up a cursed staff. Gallenus sends you to consult her friend, Alves Uvenim at the Mages Guild. Uvenim reveals the staff can only be handed off to a willing recipient and can only be disposed of at a shrine to Sheogorath in Darkfathom Cave, southeast of Leyawiin. Return to Gallenus, who is only too happy to give up the staff and the scamps to you. Trudge (the staff Drains your Speed by 20 points) down to the cave and fight your way through a dozen or so daedra. Once you reach the shrine, you can drop the staff anywhere near the altar and the scamps will stay put. Return to Gallenus for your reward. <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~> [QL00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ QUEST INDEX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ To find the mini-walkthrough for a quest, find the quest title in one of the two lists below, copy the section code and use your browser's Search function to search for that section code. If there's no section code for the quest, that mini-walkthrough has not yet been completed. [QL01] <~~~~~~ ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ALL QUESTS ------> Accidents Happen (Dark Brotherhood)....................................DB03 Affairs of a Wizard (Dark Brotherhood).................................DB13 Ahdarji's Heirloom (Thieves Guild).....................................TG05 Allies for Bruma (Main Story)..........................................MS13 Ambush (Mages Guild)...................................................MG17 Amelion's Debt (Fighters Guild)........................................FG07 Anvil Recommendation (Mages Guild).....................................MG01 Arena, The.............................................................SQ01 Arrow of Extrication (Thieves Guild)...................................TG10 Assassinated Man, The (Dark Brotherhood)...............................DB06 Assassin's Gambit, The Attack on Fort Sutch Azani Blackheart (Fighters Guild)......................................FG10 Azura (Daedric Quest)..................................................DQ01 Bad Medicine (Dark Brotherhood)........................................DB08 Battle for Castle Kvatch, The........................................MS13-E Bear Season Blood of the Daedra (Main Story).......................................MS09 Blood of the Divines (Main Story)......................................MS10 Bloodworm Helm, The (Mages Guild)......................................MG15 Boethia (Daedric Quest) Boots of Springheel Jak (Thieves Guild)................................TG11 Bravil Recommendation (Mages Guild)....................................MG02 Breaking the Siege of Kvatch (Main Story)..............................MS04 Broken Vows (Dark Brotherhood).........................................DB15 Brotherhood Betrayed, A................................................SQ02 Bruma Gate (Main Story)................................................MS12 Bruma Recommendation (Mages Guild).....................................MG03 Brush with Death, A....................................................SQ29 Canvas the Castle......................................................SQ03 Cast Out of the Thieves Guild..........................................TG13 Caught in the Hunt.....................................................SQ27 Cheydinhal Recommendation (Mages Guild)................................MG04 Clavicus Vile (Daedric Quest) Coldest Sleep, The (Dark Brotherhood)..................................DB18 Collector, The Confront the King (Mages Guild)........................................MG18 Corruption and Conscience..............................................SQ28 Dagon Shrine (Main Story)..............................................MS07 Daedric Quests.........................................................SQ04 Dark Brotherhood, The..................................................DB00 Dark Exile, A (Dark Brotherhood).......................................DB23 Darkness Eternal Defense of Bruma (Main Story)..........................................MS14 Deliver the Amulet (Main Story)........................................MQ02 Den of Thieves (Fighters Guild)........................................FG06 Desolate Mine, The (Fighters Guild)....................................FG03 Drunk and Disorderly (Fighters Guild)..................................FG05 Elven Maiden, The (Thieves Guild)......................................TG04 Expelled from the Fighters Guild.......................................FG20 Final Justice (Dark Brotherhood).......................................DB16 Find the Heir (Main Story).............................................MS03 Finding the Thieves Guild (Thieves Guild)..............................TG00 Fingers of the Mountain (Mages Guild)................................MG05-A Fingers of the Mountain, Part II (Mages Guild).......................MG05-B Following a Lead (Dark Brotherhood)....................................DB20 Forlorn Watchman, The..................................................SQ05 Fugitives, The (Fighters Guild)........................................FG12 Ghost Ship of Anvil, The...............................................SQ06 Go Fish................................................................SQ07 Goblin Trouble Goblin Wars Gravefinder's Repose, The Great Gate (Main Story)................................................MS15 Hermaeus Mora (Daedric Quest) Hircine (Daedric Quest)................................................DQ11 Hist, The (Fighters Guild).............................................FG19 Honor Thy Mother (Dark Brotherhood)....................................DB21 Imperial Corruption....................................................SQ08 Imperial Dragon Armor (Main Story).....................................MS18 Independent Thievery (Thieves Guild)...................................TG02 Infiltration (Fighters Guild)..........................................FG18 Information at a Price (Mages Guild)...................................MG13 Information Gathering (Fighters Guild).................................FG17 Killing Field, The.....................................................SQ09 Kiss Before Dying, A (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB19 Knife in the Dark, A (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB01 Knights of the White Stallion..........................................SQ10 Legacy Lost............................................................SQ11 Leyawiin Recommendation (Mages Guild)..................................MG06 Liberation or Apprehension? (Mages Guild)..............................MG12 Lifting the Vale.......................................................SQ12 Light the Dragonfires (Main Story).....................................MS17 Lonely Wanderer, The (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB07 Lost Histories (Thieves Guild).........................................TG07 Mage's Staff, A (Mages Guild)..........................................MG08 Malacath (Daedric Quest) Master's Son, The (Fighters Guild).....................................FG08 Matter of Honor, A (Dark Brotherhood)..................................DB17 May the Best Thief Win (Thieves Guild).................................TG01 Mazoga the Orc.........................................................SQ13 Mephala (Daedric Quest) Meridia (Daedric Quest) Miscarcand (Main Story)................................................MS11 Misdirection (Thieves Guild)...........................................TG06 Molag Bal (Daedric Quest) More Unfinished Business (Fighters Guild)..............................FG09 Mystery at Harlun's Watch (Fighters Guild).............................FG16 Namira (Daedric Quest) Necromancer's Amulet, The (Mages Guild)................................MG16 Necromancer's Moon (Mages Guild).......................................MG11 Newheim's Flagon.......................................................FG06 Next of Kin (Dark Brotherhood).........................................DB14 No Rest for the Wicked No Stone Unturned Noble's Daughter, The (Fighters Guild).................................FG15 Nocturnal (Daedric Quest)..............................................DQ08 Nothing You Can Possess Of Secret and Shadow (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB11 Order of the Virtuous Blood............................................SQ14 Origin of the Gray Prince..............................................SQ15 Paradise (Main Story)..................................................MS16 Paranoia...............................................................SQ16 Path of Dawn, The (Main Story).........................................MS06 Permanent Retirement (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB10 Peryite (Daedric Quest)................................................DQ09 Plot Revealed, A (Mages Guild).........................................MG14 Potato Snatcher, The Purification, The (Dark Brotherhood) Raid on Greyland Rat Problem, A (Fighters Guild)........................................FG01 Renegade Shadowscale, The (Dark Brotherhood)...........................DB05 Repairing the Orrery (Official Mod)....................................SQ17 Revenge Served Cold Sanguine (Daedric Quest) Scheduled for Execution (Dark Brotherhood).............................DB04 Secrets of the Ayleids Seeking Your Roots Separated at Birth.....................................................SQ18 Shadow Over Hackdirt, A................................................SQ19 Sheogorath (Daedric Quest).............................................DQ02 Sins of the Father.....................................................SQ20 Siren's Deception, The.................................................SQ21 Skingrad Recommendation (Mages Guild)..................................MG07 Spies (Main Story).....................................................MS08 Stone of St. Alessia, The (Fighters Guild).............................FG14 Sunken One, The Taking Care of Lex (Thieves Guild).....................................TG08 Tears of the Savior Through a Nightmare, Darkly............................................SQ22 Trolls of Forsaken Mine (Fighters Guild)...............................FG13 Turning a Blind Eye (Thieves Guild)....................................TG09 Tutorial (Main Story)..................................................MS01 Two Sides of the Coin..................................................SQ23 Ulterior Motives (Mages Guild).........................................MG09 Ultimate Heist, The (Thieves Guild)....................................TG12 Unexpected Voyage, An Unfinished Business (Fighters Guild)...................................FG04 Unfortunate Shopkeeper, The (Fighters Guild)...........................FG02 Unfriendly Competition.................................................SQ24 Untaxing the Poor (Thieves Guild)......................................TG03 Vaermina (Daedric Quest) Vahtacen's Secret (Mages Guild)........................................MG10 Vampire Cure Venerable Vintage, A Wandering Scholar, The (Fighters Guild)................................FG11 Watery Grave, A (Dark Brotherhood).....................................DB02 Wayward Knight, The (Main Story).....................................MS13-A Weynon Priory (Main Story).............................................MS05 When the Vow Breaks Where Spirits Have Lease...............................................SQ25 Whispers of Death (Dark Brotherhood)...................................DB22 Whodunit? (Dark Brotherhood)...........................................DB09 Whom Gods Annoy........................................................SQ26 Zero Visibility [QL02] <~~~~~~ QUESTS LISTED BY CITY/REGION ~~~~~~> Quests in this section are listed by the closest major city. If you want to know everything you can do in a city and the surrounding area, just look through this list and then find the mini-walkthroughs for each quest. Only side quests (i.e. not any main story, guild or daedric quests) are listed here. | Anvil +------- Ghost Ship of Anvil, The...............................................SQ06 Siren's Deception, The.................................................SQ21 Where Spirits Have Lease...............................................SQ25 | Bravil +-------- Caught in the Hunt.....................................................SQ27 Forlorn Watchman, The..................................................SQ05 Through a Nightmare, Darkly............................................SQ22 | Bruma +------- Brotherhood Betrayed, A................................................SQ02 Lifting the Vale.......................................................SQ12 Two Sides of the Coin..................................................SQ23 | Cheydinhal +------------ Brush with Death, A....................................................SQ29 Corruption and Conscience..............................................SQ28 | Chorrol +--------- Canvas the Castle......................................................SQ03 Killing Field, The.....................................................SQ09 Legacy Lost............................................................SQ11 Separated at Birth.....................................................SQ18 Shadow Over Hackdirt, A................................................SQ19 Sins of the Father.....................................................SQ20 | Imperial City +--------------- Arena, The.............................................................SQ01 Go Fish................................................................SQ07 Imperial Corruption....................................................SQ08 Order of the Virtuous Blood............................................SQ14 Origin of the Gray Prince..............................................SQ15 Repairing the Orrery (Official Mod)....................................SQ17 Unfriendly Competition.................................................SQ24 | Kvatch +-------- | Leyawiin +---------- Knights of the White Stallion..........................................SQ10 Mazoga the Orc.........................................................SQ13 Whom Gods Annoy........................................................SQ26 | Skingrad +---------- Paranoia...............................................................SQ16 [MA00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MISCELLANEOUS ADVENTURES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ [MA01] <~~~~~~ HOME OWNERSHIP ~~~~~~> One of the big downsides to looting dungeons is becoming overburdened with stuff you simply don't want to part with. Whether it's books, extra clothing, the hundred-or-so keys you collect or that cool-looking sword you want to show off...you can't keep it with you. But you can't store it in any public or semi-public (like a guild hall) place because the containers in those places are periodically reset. You can always just drop items on the ground. The ground is never reset (except in a few instances), so your items stay there. But there are numerous problems with that: wandering NPCs might pick up some of your stuff, it can be hard to locate small items laying on the ground, and it just looks trashy. The solution: a home of your own. There are a variety of options for ownership of a home in Cyrodiil. You can buy a house in each main city, except Kvatch. The basic method of purchasing a home is: talk to the city's ruler (or designate), get said person's Disposition high enough (typically 60 or 70), ask about buying a home, buy the home, purchase furnishings at a shop, move in. You can store whatever you want in your home. Containers in your house (or houses) are never reset. Thieves do not break in and steal. There are bookshelves for your books. And the largest house available also has display cases where you can show off all your trophies. The houses are here ranked according to their desirability factor--a highly subjective number that encompasses three things: value, attractiveness and location. The prices of the homes are fixed. The price of furnishings will vary, depending on your ability to haggle with the furniture merchant. The figures listed are the base price charged by the merchant prior to any haggling. Furnishings are purchased in sets; for example a dining area, a bedroom area, etc. What you actually purchase is a "receipt" telling you what you're getting. (These receipts are filed under the Books category in the merchant's inventory.) As soon as you purchase the receipt, the items appear in your home. Three houses--Anvil, Skingrad and Chorrol--have names, listed in parentheses after the city. The remaining are simply referred to as "My [city name] House". ANVIL (Benirus Manor) Price: 5,000 Furnishings: n/a (already furnished) Total cost: 5,000 Desirability factor: 10/10 Extras: Lich tomb in the basement, 2nd floor balcony The only way to really occupy this house is to complete the side quest "Where Spirits Have Lease". Once you've destroyed the lich entombed in the basement, the house is all yours--and a nice place it is, too. While not quite up to the luxury of Cheydinhal, Chorrol or Skingrad, it's still a step up from the other cities. And it's cheap. Real cheap. The total cost of Benirus Manor is less than the hovel in Imperial City, and it's a lot nicer. Not to mention it's conveniently located near Anvil's North Gate and right across the street from the Fighters Guild hall (you'll frequent this hall if you play through the Fighters Guild quests). If you want a house as quickly as possible, pinch your pennies, get a magic weapon, and take out the spirits living in this house rather than buy one of the shanties elsewhere. SKINGRAD (Rosethorn Hall) Price: 25,000 Furnishings: (Colovian Traders) * Balcony Area (2 stools, 2 rugs, chair, chest, table, candles), 2797 * Balcony Upgrade (2 large shelves, candles, pottery), 2447 * Bedroom Area (2 cupboards, bed upgrade, shelves, chest, dresser, rug, stool), 2797 * Den Area (2 dressers, desk, chair, rug, candle sconces, pottery), 2797 * Dining Area (3 chairs, shelves, chandelier, rug, silver place settings, candle holder, pottery), 2797 * Display Case Upgrade (3 large & 4 small display cases, candles), 1748 * Kitchen Area (2 cupboards, table, barrel, set of scales, pottery), 2797 * Lower Wall Hangings (10 paintings, 5 tapestries), 2797 * Servants Quarters (2 stools, privacy screen, bed, cupboard, table, chest, candles, pottery), 2797 * Sitting Area (2 stools, 2 rugs, bench, shelves, table, pottery), 2797 * Storage Area (4 crates, 4 barrels, 3 chests, 2 wine racks, shelves, candle holders), 2797 * Study Area (2 bookshelves, executive desk, chair, chest, mini-tapestries), 2797 * Upper Hall Area (2 chests, 2 chairs, shelves, table, rug, candles, pottery), 2797 * Upper Sitting Area (2 stools, 2 chairs, table, chandelier, pottery), 2797 * Upper Wall Hangings (6 tapestries, 5 paintings), 2797 Total cost: 65,556 Desirability factor: 10/10 Extras: Maid, hidden treasure, 2nd floor balcony A house worth every penny you have to spend on it, and then some. The peak of ostentatious wealth, and your ultimate "prize" for plundering all those dungeons. To obtain the house, you must have a Fame of 15 (or higher), and speak to Count Hassildor's butler, Shum gro-Yarug. gro-Yarug spends his mornings in town, and hangs around the castle the rest of the day. Get his Disposition to 70 and he'll tell you the count is getting ready to evict Rosethorn Hall's current tenant and his "junk" and the place is yours for a mere 25,000 gold. You can buy furnishings from Gunder at Colovian Traders. After you've purchased the Servants Quarters, talk to Gunder's assistant, Eyja. She asks if you need a maid. She'll charge you 150 gold a month, and sleeps in the basement. At any time, you can ask her for "Drink" and get a bottle of Rosethorn Mead (Fortify Strength & Endurance, Drain Intelligence & Willpower); or, ask her for "Food" and get her own Shepherd's Pie, which acts as an alchemical ingredient. Finally, in your bedroom (third floor), you can find an old scroll on top of the section of the room covering the stairs. You'll need to get up on the bookcase next to the ledge to get the scroll--it's easiest to reach by jumping from the nearest display case. The scroll contains a riddle leading to a hidden treasure. The treasure is in an hourglass in the basement--find the column with garlic cloves hanging from it and look in the eastern support where the crossbeam forms a triangle. (The hourglass will not appear until you've seen the old scroll.) Inside are a number of gems and the Ring of the Gray, which contains Fortify Sneak, Marksman, Security and Acrobatics, Resist Poison and Detect Life enchantments. BRUMA Price: 10,000 Furnishings: (Novaroma) * Bedroom Area (2 candle sconces, cupboard, dresser, chest, rug, candle holder, pottery, flowers), 1906 * Dining Area (3 chairs, rug, shelves, pottery, utensils, flowers), 1906 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, wine rack, chest, fireplace rack, candle holder, rug, bottles, pottery), 1906 * Lower Storage (3 barrels, chest, shelves, table, bench, chair, rug, pottery), 1906 * Lower Wall Hangings (3 paintings, 3 tapestries, 4 candle sconces), 1906 * Study Area (2 bookshelves, desk, chair, candelabra, candles), 1906 * Upper Sitting Area (2 tables, bench, chair, rug, candle holder, flowers), 1906 * Upper Storage (2 chests, shelves, table, candelabra, pottery), 1906 * Upper Wall Hangings (5 paintings, tapestry, 2 candle holders), 1906 Total cost: 27,154 Desirability factor: 9/10 Extras: None The Bruma house is the first step up from the basic shacks in Imperial City, Bravil and Leyawiin. The total cost is only 36% higher than the Leyawiin house, yet it is a huge improvement. It's still not spacious--the rooms are somewhat cramped--but there are several different rooms, it's attractive and clean and it is extremely convenient. It's located right next to Bruma's East Gate, and you'll spend a lot of time in Bruma and its environs as part of the main story. Plus, your house is near the merchants, rather than grouped with all the other houses. What more can you ask? Well, room, for one. The Bruma house is "cozy"; there's more room in the Chorrol, Cheydinhal, Anvil and Skingrad houses; but, only the Anvil house is any cheaper, the rest are quite a bit more expensive. If you're looking for the perfect "tweener" house to tide you over from your starter shack to your future mansion, the Bruma house is it. FROSTCRAG SPIRE Price: Free* Furnishings: (Aurelinwae, Mystic Emporium, Market District, Imperial City) * Alchemy Lab, 2455 * Magetallow candles, 2 boxes, each 3275 * Bedroom Area, 1637 * Library Area, 1637 * Vault Area (includes guardian imps), 1637 Total cost: 13,916 Desirability factor: 8/10 Extras: Altar of Enchanting, Altar of Spellmaking, alchemical table & garden, portals to all Mages Guilds * Your character receives the deed to Frostcrag Spire for nothing. You, the player, must pay Bethesda Softworks $1.89 (US) in real money for the official mod. You receive this tower, free-of-charge, when you purchase and install the Wizard's Tower (DLC3) official mod. Even though the tower is free, furnishing it is not. In addition to the furnishings, you must buy certain equipment to get everything functional. (Namely, magetallow candles at a total of about 6,500 gold to get the enchanting and spellmaking altars working.) The tower is remote and difficult to reach without using Fast Travel. When you do use FT, you are deposited quite a distance away and have to climb up to the tower, and then up three flights of stairs before you can enter. Also, the official description promises breathtaking views, but the weather is always lousy, so good luck getting a glimpse of Imperial City from the top of your tower. What pushes this up into the top four homes is the conservatory, containing a large variety of alchemical ingredients (including some normally only found in Oblivion), and the enchanting and spellmaking altars. With this tower, you don't need to join the Mages Guild to make your own spells, enchant equipment and experiment with Alchemy. CHORROL (Arborwatch) Price: 20,000 Furnishings: (Northern Goods and Trade) * Bedroom Area (3 chairs, bed upgrade, shelves, dresser, cupboard, chest, chandelier, desk, rug), 3146 * Dining Area (4 chairs, rug, chandelier, wine rack, silver place settings and utensils), 3146 * Dining Upgrade (3 tables, 2 sets of shelves, pottery), 3146 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, barrel, table, stool, candle holder, pottery), 3146 * Lower Wall Hangings (7 paintings, 5 tapestries, 2 wall lanterns), 3146 * Middle Wall Hangings (3 paintings, 3 tapestries, wall lantern), 2622 * Servants Quarters (bed, cupboard, table, rug, chandelier, pottery), 3146 * Sitting Area (3 tables, 2 benches, 2 chairs, small table, cupboard, large rug, pottery), 3146 * Study Area (2 bookcases, 2 small bookcases, chair, desk, rug, desk accessories, candles), 3146 * Suite Area (4 chairs, 2 tables, large bed, large rug, rug, dresser, cupboard, chandelier, pottery), 3496 * Upper Wall Hangings (4 tapestries, 3 paintings), 2622 Total cost: 53,908 Desirability factor: 7/10 Extras: none This "other mansion" is a little cheaper and a little easier to obtain than Rosethorn Hall--you need a Fame of 12 (or higher) and a Disposition of 70 with the Countess of Chorrol, who has regular hours (8am to 6pm) in the castle. Considering what an extra 12,000 gold can get you in Skingrad, it's hard to justify this purchase. You get no servant (though there are Servants Quarters) and the house isn't quite as opulent as Rosethorn Hall. (Plus, no hidden loot.) If you play through the Fighters Guild, you could buy this as your "guild master residence", since it's only a couple doors down from the Fighters Guild hall and your office. IMPERIAL CITY Price: 2,000 Furnishings: (Three Brothers Trade Goods, Sergius Verus) * Dining Area (shelves, rug, pottery, candles), 732 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, rug, basket, pottery), 732 * Sitting Area (2 chairs, table), 732 * Storage Area (2 dressers, chest, candles), 732 * Wall Hangings (3 tapestries, 1 painting), 732 Total cost: 5,660 Desirability factor: 5/10 Extras: none There's no getting around it--this is a shanty in the slums of the Waterfront district. Despite that, it is not a bad purchase. The furniture looks more rustic than decrepit; and, while it's single, small room, it's pretty clean and quite cozy. For a cheap place to store your goods, you can't go wrong with this one. Plus, it gives you a place near Imperial City for conducting operations--especially those involving the Thieves Guild. On the downside, you're not in the Imperial City itself, and the Fast Travel point is a good walk away. If you play through the Thieves Guild, you'll get a room in the nearby guild hall that's larger and nicer than this clapboard shack. If you've got 5,000 gold to invest, the Anvil manor is a better purchase, but you may not want to fight the undead to get it (plus, it's Anvil, the other end of the world). This small home might just be what you need to hold you over until you can buy one of the really nice homes. CHEYDINHAL Price: 15,000 Furnishings: (Borba's Goods and Stores) * Bedroom Area (bed upgrade, dresser, chest, table, rug, candles, pottery), 2788 * Dining Area (2 chairs, shelves, rug, basket, pottery, utensils), 2788 * Dressing Area (cupboard, dresser, shelves, chair, rug, candles, pottery), 2788 * Kitchen Area (2 cupboards, table, rug, pottery, utensils), 2788 * Lower Wall Hangings (5 paintings, 2 tapestries), 2788 * Sitting Area (2 chairs, 2 tables, bench, rug, barrel, pottery), 2788 * Storage Area (3 barrels, 2 crates, 2 chests, candles), 2788 * Study Area (desk, stool, bookshelf, rug, basket, desk accessories), 2788 * Upper Hall Area (2 candle sconces, 2 sets of shelves, 2 candle holders, bench, pottery), 2788 * Upper Wall Hangings (3 tapestries, 3 paintings), 2788 Total cost: 42,880 Desirability factor: 5/10 Extras: none The Cheydinhal house is an attractive, Tudor-style house in the southwest quarter of the city. It's a step up from the Bruma house, and quite a step it is: 58% hike in the total cost. Is it worth it? Probably not. If you have the Bruma house, you can easily use it until you can afford Rosethorn Hall in Skingrad. The Cheydinhal house is larger, but it is terribly inconvenient. It's a fair walk from any of the city's three Fast Travel points; plus, it's Cheydinhal. Unless you're doing the Fighters Guild or Dark Brotherhood quests, you'll spend little time here. BRAVIL Price: 4,000 Furnishings: (The Fair Deal) * Dining Area (2 chairs, rug, pottery), 1127 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, table, chair, pottery), 1127 * Racks Assortment (2 wine racks, 3 weapon racks), 1127 * Reading Area (2 bookshelves, rug, chair, candelabra), 1127 * Storage Area (2 dressers, chest, chair, rug, candelabra), 1127 * Wall Hangings (4 paintings, 1 tapestry), 1127 Total cost: 10,762 Desirability factor: 2/10 Extras: none LEYAWIIN Price: 7,000 Furnishings: (Best Goods and Guarantees) * Bedroom Area (dresser, privacy screen, rug, shelves, candles), 1844 * Dining Area (3 chairs, rug, candle, pottery), 1844 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, large table, baskets), 1844 * Reading Area (3 bookshelves, 2 candles, chair, table, rug, large privacy screen), 1844 * Storage Area (3 barrels, chest, basket, rug, broom), 1844 * Study Area (desk, chair, bookshelf, candelabra), 1844 * Wall Hangings (5 paintings, 2 tapestries), 1844 Total cost: 19,908 Desirability factor: 1/10 Extras: none Both the Bravil and Leyawiin "houses" are little more than hovels, only slightly larger than the shanty in Imperial City, but a lot dirtier and more dilapidated. The Bravil house gets a slightly higher rating due to the fact it is about half the cost of the one in Leyawiin. Neither is conveniently located to a Fast Travel point, nor is either in any way attractive or even "homey". Unless you're collecting houses, give these two a miss. [XP00] ~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EXPANDING YOUR GAME ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~ [XP01] <~~~~~~ PC OPTIMIZATION ~~~~~~> Oblivion requires some serious hardware to run well on a PC. If your computer is not a gaming geek's dream machine, then you may have to tweak your rig to get Oblivion running even semi-smoothly. Of course, the best option for you may be to upgrade your PC, buy a new PC or buy an XBox 360. Even the cheapest option (a new video card) is going to set you back $150 (US) or more, and you may not want to spend that kind of money just to play one game. *DISCLAIMER* Anything you do to your PC you do at your own risk! If anything in this section makes you scratch your head and want to call the nearest eight-year-old for an explanation, then STOP and don't go any further. Resign yourself to living with a less than optimal PC or go slap down a few hundred for an X360 or a couple thou' for a pre-built gaming system from Dell or Sony. If you follow any of the suggestions in this section, you implicitly agree to indemnify the author from all claims arising from damage caused by following these suggestions. *THIS IS SERIOUS!* Personal note: While trying to tweak my system, I accidentally disabled my video card altogether and couldn't see anything, not even the system BIOS. I had to dig up an old PCI video card just to get into the BIOS and reset everything. Don't mess around with anything in this section unless you know what you are doing! Or, more importantly, how to recover when you muck it up. *ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR DATA* Before attempting any of the tweaks listed, make sure you've backed up your important files, just in case something goes horribly wrong. To measure the framerate in Oblivion, open the console in-game by pressing the backtick (`) key--on US English keyboards, backtick is directly left of the numeral 1 key. Type: tdt press ENTER and exit the console by pressing backtick. You'll get a debug console in the upper right corner of the screen, including framerate (FPS). You can also download and use Fraps: http://www.fraps.com/ When tweaking, make one change at a time and test it in the game using the Debug console or Fraps. Information in this section is compiled from a variety of sources, some for games other than Oblivion. | System Setup +------------- Update your PC! This includes (but is not limited to): * Your operating system (i.e. Windows) * Your motherboard (or mainboard) drivers * Your video card drivers * Your sound card drivers To update Windows: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ To update anything else in your system, you will need to know what you have inside the box. If you are using a manufactured system--Dell, Sony, HP, Alienware, etc.--visit the manufacturer's Web site and enter the serial number of your PC (usually found on a sticker on the back of the case). You'll get a list of the pre-installed components, and you can download a lot of the necessary drivers (see below). If you are using a custom-built PC, you should either know what parts you used, or you need to ask the person who built the PC what parts were used. Specifically, you need the *chipset* used on the motherboard (also called a mainboard), the video card manufacturer and model number and the sound card (if there is one) manufacturer and model number. *IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING THIS INFORMATION* Try this program: http://www3.sympatico.ca/gtopala/about_siw.html SIW is a self-contained program--i.e. it requires no installation, you just download and run it--that will give you every detail you could ever want about your PC. To update your motherboard drivers: You need to know what chipset is used on your motherboard. The chipset are the components that support your CPU by handling input/output, internal communications, hard drive connections, etc. There are four main chipsets in use: * Intel: http://downloadfinder.intel.com/ * nVidia: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp * Via: http://www.viaarena.com/ * SiS: http://www.sis.com/download/ Download and install the most recent drivers for your chipset. If you are using an integrated sound card, also download and install the most recent drivers for your sound from the chipset site. To update your video card drivers: * ATI: http://www.ati.com/ Use the most recent Catalyst drivers (v6.3 as of 2006-04-06). There are alternate (unsupported) drivers for ATI cards: + Omega Drivers: http://www.omegadrivers.net/ + DHZer0point Drivers: http://www.driverheavendownloads.net/zeropoint.htm These alternate drivers are "pre-tweaked" for optimum performance and quality. They may offer some performance improvement in Oblivion; they may also produce graphics corruption or crashes. Your best bet is to stick with the official drivers and tweak the settings yourself. * nVidia: http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_rel70betadriver.html Use the most recent beta drivers (v84.25 as of 2006-04-06). There are alternate (unsupported) drivers for nVidia cards: + DHZer0point Drivers: http://www.driverheavendownloads.net/zeropoint.htm These alternate drivers are "pre-tweaked" for optimum performance and quality. They may offer some performance improvement in Oblivion; they may also produce graphics corruption or crashes. Your best bet is to stick with the official drivers and tweak the settings yourself. Before installing new video card drivers, first download Driver Cleaner Pro: http://www.drivercleaner.net/professional.html and install it. Uninstall your existing drivers. Reboot Windows in Safe Mode (press F8 during system boot for the boot menu and choose plain Safe Mode). In Safe Mode, run Driver Cleaner Pro according to the program's instructions to completely remove all traces of your old drivers. Reboot normally and install the new drivers. To update your sound card drivers: If you have a separate (non-integrated) sound card, download and install the latest drivers from the sound card manufacturer's Web site. Final steps: * Make sure, in your System BIOS (refer to your system or motherboard manual to find out how to enter your BIOS), your AGP or PCI-Express port is enabled. If you are using an AGP port, check to see at what speed (i.e. 1x, 2x, 4x or 8x) the port is set. * Run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (Start>Run>dxdiag). On the Display tab, make sure DirectDraw Acceleration and Direct3D Acceleration (and AGP Texture Acceleration if applicable) are all Enabled. If not, start over and try installing drivers again. * Defragment your Windows drive. Just do it. (Also defragment the Oblivion drive if you installed it to a different drive.) * If you have the space (and the ability), create a separate logical hard drive (partition) of about 4-5MB in size. Make sure the new drive is empty, then set Windows to use that drive for your global page file. (Even better if you create the new partition on a different physical drive.) If none of this step made sense to you, ignore it. | Clean Boot Windows +-------------------- Before running Oblivion, always clean boot Windows per the instructions in this Microsoft Knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310353 Be sure to disable firewall/anti-virus/anti-spam services as part of the clean boot. Also disable any multimedia services (such as iPod or Nero)--anything other than required system services. | Before Tweaking +----------------- Start with a clean slate. Delete the Oblivion.ini file found in My Documents\My Games\Oblivion and launch Oblivion. The game will reset all your settings and create a new Oblivion.ini file. If you want to make any non-graphics related changes (see Miscellaneous Tweaks below) in the INI file, make them now. Create a backup copy of this file as a "start over" version. If something goes badly wrong, delete the Oblivion.ini file and replace it with your backed up copy. | Safe Tweaks +------------- Ready to get started? Good. Here are video settings you can change in-game, or by using the Options choice from the launch menu. -> Resolution The higher the resolution, the more pixels are needed to draw each frame. There is an obvious correlation between this setting and your framerate. The first thing you should do in getting Oblivion to run faster is reduce the resolution. If you are using a widescreen monitor, be sure to select an appropriate widescreen resolution (identified with an asterisk * in the list of supported resolutions). If your preferred resolution is not listed, you can still set a custom resolution in the Oblivion.ini file (see below). -> Vertical Sync (V.Sync) This controls the rendering of individual frames, forcing them to match up to the refresh rate of your monitor. Turning this off will cause occasional "tearing" of the scene--a horizontal line will run down across the screen as the frames get out of sync with the monitor. Turning it off may give you a performance boost. You can only turn V.Sync on/off from the Options choice of the launch menu. -> Fullscreen/Windowed mode From the Options choice of the launch menu, you can choose to play Oblivion either Fullscreen (default) or in a window. Playing in a window may give you better performance. -> Anti-Aliasing (AA) AA smooths "the jaggies": jagged diagonal lines caused by too-few pixels to adequately display the line. AA is very hard on your video card and leaving it off will generally give you a big performance boost. At resolutions of 1024x768 and higher, the pixels on screen are usually small enough that AA provides little real visual advantage unless you have a really big monitor and/or really good eyesight. Try different sampling rates (starting with 2 samples or 2x) and seeing what the difference is in both framerate and visual quality. At very low resolutions such as 640x480, you may want to live with the framerate hit just to keep the picture as smooth as possible. -> Bloom/HDR These are both "dynamic lighting" techniques designed to make scenes on screen appear more realistic. Specifically, they create hot spots or glare from certain areas whenever there is a bright light source, such as the sun. Bloom is the older, less realistic technology, but works on any card that runs Oblivion. HDR (High Dynamic Range) works only with newer video cards, and cannot be used at the same time as AA*. Both will decrease your framerate, so turn these off if you need a boost. * On 2006-04-07, ATI released a beta version of its Catalyst drivers that supposedly allows the use of HDR and AA when running Oblivion with a 1xxx series Radeon card (i.e. 1300, 1600, 1800, 1900). The beta is not supported by Bethesda or ATI. Use at your own risk. -> Texture Size: controls the size (and, thus, resolution) of textures loaded into your video RAM. Textures are the 2-dimensional images that are wrapped around 3-dimensional objects to make them look like a real object. (A 3D object without a texture is just a wireframe. You can see the wireframe using a Console Command, see below.) Large textures should only be used if you have 256MB or more of video RAM. If, after trying everything else, you're still trying to get a few more frames, you can set the texture size to small. -> Shadows: shadows are self-explanatory; however there are a bunch of set- tings that control shadows in the game. Shadows have a significant impact on framerate. If you are having a lot of trouble, turning shadows off completely will help without taking too much realism from the scenes. * Int. Shadows: this slider controls the number of objects that will cast shadows in indoor areas. Move the slider all the way to the left to turn off interior shadows. Move it all the way to the right to have up to 10 objects cast a shadow. * Ext. Shadows: works the same as Int. Shadows, but for exterior areas. * Self Shadows: causes actors to cast shadows on themselves. Besides being a performance hog, these shadows rarely look good and it is recommended that all players turn these off. * Shadows on Grass: if grass is visible, actors will cast shadows on it. Casting shadows on a moving surface (grass blows in the wind) is sig- nificantly harder on your hardware than other shadows. This should be set to off by all but those with top-notch hardware. * Tree Canopy Shadows: causes trees to cast dappled shadows on the ground. Creates a very realistic effect, but has a big impact on framerate, especially in heavily forested areas. * Shadow Filtering: if set to High or Low, creates diffuse, soft-edged shadows. If set to Off, the shadows will have hard, well-defined edges. If you are using shadows, the High setting will be much more realistic at the cost of frames-per-second. -> Specular Distance: specular effects create the shininess of reflective surfaces, such as metal (armor, weapons), glass, etc. This slider controls the distance at which specular effects are visible. Turning it down (effectively turning specular effects off) can provide a performance boost on older cards. -> Water: There are three settings that control the look of water surfaces in the game. Individually, they have little impact on framerate, but, combined, may give you a small boost if you're really trying to squeeze a few more frames from the game. * Water detail: on High causes reflected objects on the water's surface to show in greater detail. It will hardly be noticeable unless the water is near detailed objects (such as buildings). Normal detail will provide a performance boost while not looking that much different in most out- door areas. * Water Reflections: when set to off, the water does not reflect at all, providing a performance boost at the cost of realism. Non-reflective water appears as a solid block of color that doesn't look much like water at all. * Water Ripples: not the general wind-caused rippling of the water, but ripples caused by objects impacting the surface of the water. If you play in 3rd-person view, turning this on lets you see your own wake as you move through the water, at the cost of a small performance hit. -> Grass Distance: controls the distance at which grass begins to be visible. Setting this all the way to the left effectively turns grass off. Some players may actually prefer not to have the grass showing. Regardless, displaying grass has a noticeable negative effect on your framerate. There are other ways of tweaking the grass display; see Experimental Tweaks and Console Commands below. -> View Distance: this slider controls the distance at which the world becomes visible. By default, the slider is set all the way right and you can see to the horizon. This obviously has an impact on framerate as the game has to render all those distant objects. If you move this slider left, the following three options (Distant Land, Distant Buildings and Distant Trees) automatically turn off. Moving this slider left causes the stereotypical "fog" to roll in, cutting off your view of all distant objects. -> Distant Land: turning this off has the same effect as moving the View Distance slider to about 50% and turns Distant Buildings and Distant Trees off as well. -> Distant Buildings & Distant Trees: you can turn these options off to cut display of distant objects (buildings and tree respectively), thus gaining some framerate without turning on the fog--i.e. you can still see to the horizon, there just won't be much to see. -> Tree Fade, Actor Fade, Item Fade, Object Fade: controls the distance at which trees, actors (NPCs and creatures), items (weapons, armor, bottles, food, etc.) and objects (buildings, barrels, crates, etc.) become visible. Moving these sliders left can pick up some frames at the cost of seeing objects "pop" into existence. The Actor Fade slider should be left at default (about 1/4 from the left side) or a little higher else you won't see enemies until they are almost on top of you. -> Window Reflections: simply makes glass in windows appear more real. Turning it off might give you a small performance boost, especially in towns, with- out hurting the overall graphic experience. -> Blood decals: controls the amount of blood in the game. Off does not get rid of blood entirely. You will still see blood spurt after a good hit on an opponent; however, the blood that sprays out will not stick anywhere. Low blood decals means blood splatters show on the ground. High blood will show on actors and items as well. Turning blood decals off can give you a framerate boost during combat. You can further tweak the gore settings in the INI file as shown in Experimental Tweaks below. | Graphics Card Tweaks +---------------------- These are general tweaks you can make to your graphics card drivers that will benefit any game, not just Oblivion. The best way to make these tweaks is to download a free utility program designed for this purpose: * ATI: ATI Tray Tools (ATT) http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/ * nVidia: NVTweak http://nvtweak.laptopvideo2go.com/ -> Render-ahead: this setting controls how many frames are rendered by the card in advance of the current frame. Reducing this to 0 (zero) can give you a large performance boost (at the potential cost of some stability). In NVTweak, the option is under "Additional Direct3D Setting" and is called "Max Frames to Render Ahead". In ATT, the option is under "3D" and is called "Flip Queue Size". If setting this option to zero causes instablity, increase it in steps of 1 (i.e. 1, 2, 3), but don't go beyond 3, which is the default rate. -> Geometry instancing (ATI cards only?): using ATT, go to Tweaks>Standard Tweaks and check the "Geometry instancing" box. This allows the video drivers to upload a single instance of a repeated object and then clone it rather than upload every single instance. May help some, especially in heavily forested areas where many of the trees are copies rather than unique models. -> Temporal Antialiasing (ATI cards only?): you have to use the Catalyst Control Center for this change. Open CCC, select Anti-Aliasing under 3D, and set it to 2x or 4x. Check the Temporal Antialiasing box. This option allows the Catalyst drivers to "cheat" a little bit and makes lower AA settings look better. So you could, for example, run at 2x and the graphics will look as good as normal 4x. -> Catalyst AI (ATI cards only): turn this to High to enable the Catalyst drivers to better optimize the frames on the fly. -> Fast Writes (AGP cards only): you have to enable this in your BIOS and in your graphics driver. For ATI cards, the setting is in the SmartGART tab of the Catalyst Control Center. *THIS IS A HIGHLY UNSTABLE SETTING* It can negatively affect your PC, so be very careful. If it does work for you, it may produce a few glitches; however, it is also likely to produce 10-15fps higher framerate. | Experimental Tweaks +--------------------- These enhancements involve editing your Oblivion.ini file. See "Before Tweaking", above, before making any changes. Make sure you edit the INI file in a *text* editor, such as Notepad, EditPad, UltraEdit, etc. Do not use a word processor such as WordPad, Word, OpenOffice.org, etc. Such programs may put unsupported characters into the file, even if you save it as Plain Text. These are "experimental" tweaks because performance or quality increases are not guaranteed. And even if you do get a performance or quality increase, the tweak may introduce instability. Use at your own risk. When you're ready, open My Documents\My Games\Oblivion\Oblivion.ini in a text editor and search for the following items... -> Grass: these settings help further tweak the display of grass. * iMinGrassSize=80 Increase this number to "thin out" the clumps of grass. There's very little visual difference, but it might give you a few extra FPS. The normal values for tweaking range from 120 to 150. * fGrassEndDistance=3000.0000 fGrassStartFadeDistance=2000.0000 EndDistance is the distance at which grass ceases being visible. FadeDistance is the distance at which the grass starts fading out. If you increase iMinGrassSize, you can extend these to the point where you never see grass "pop" in at all. Values on the order of 8000.0000/ 7000.0000 will work well. This will decrease your framerate. * bDrawShaderGrass=1 Setting this to 0 (zero) turns off rendering of grass. A bit more "final" than moving the in-game Grass Distance slider down to zero. * iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=2 Setting this to 1 (one) might give you a few extra frames per second with no visible change in graphic quality. -> uGridsToLoad=5 The Oblivion game world is composed of square cells. This setting controls the number of cells that are loaded in full for each "area". The setting is a grid arrangement centered around the PC. The default, therefore, loads a total of 25 cells: X X X X X X X X X X X X P X X X X X X X X X X X X (P is the player character) These are the cells for which all cell data is loaded. Cells beyond this grid are not loaded in full, so you get low-resolution textures on the landscape; and, objects, items and creatures present in that cell are not loaded at all. Every time you advance to the edge of the current area, a "new" area loads and you get the Loading Area message (and, perhaps, pause) as new info is loaded. With the default setting, this happens every time you move two cells (see arrangement above). This also affects the size of local maps. The larger the uGridsToLoad setting, the larger the local maps. Interior areas are largely unaffected by this setting, as interior areas are never 25 cells large. Exterior areas are where you'll see the biggest changes. The number must always be an odd number so the PC can be properly "centered" in each area. Increasing this number will: * Reduce the number of "Loading Area" messages and pauses, unless you set it too high for your RAM, in which case you'll actually see more "Loading Area" messages. * Increase the size of local maps, thus increasing the area you can view at one time on your map--assuming you've explored the area or used the console so the "fog of war" isn't covering the map. * Increase the distance at which you can see fully detailed terrain. * Decrease your framerate as your video card is forced to render all that extra detail in distant terrain and your CPU is forced to deal with any AI scripts on creatures in those cells. If you have the RAM to support it (1GB or more), a setting of 7 or 9 can reduce the number of "Loading Area" pauses without significantly cutting into your framerate. If all you're interested in is the extra detail in distant landscapes, better to use the LOD Landscape mod as detailed in the Mods section below. Note that, if you increase this setting, you should also increase the iPreloadSizeLimit as detailed next... -> iPreloadSizeLimit=26214400 Sets the RAM used by Oblivion to cache future objects. Size is in bytes, default is 25MB (divide the number by 1048576). You may get a performance increase if you raise this number. Determine how many MB of RAM you want to commit to Oblivion, multiply that by 1048576 and enter the result. Giving too much RAM to Oblivion may cause crashes. Try 50MB (52428800) if you have 1GB of RAM or 100MB (104857600) if you have more than 1GB. If you increase the uGridsToLoad setting, increase this as well so Oblivion has plenty of RAM to load all the cells at once. -> bDoCanopyShadowPass=1 Set this to 0 (zero) to remove all tree shadows. Can give a decent FPS boost outdoors at the cost of realism. -> bUseRefractionShader=1 Setting this to 0 (zero) may help users of older cards when around Oblivion gates. -> iSize W=640 iSize H=480 Set the width and height of the Oblivion screen (either fullscreen or windowed). Use these settings for custom resolutions not in Oblivion's default list. -> iShadowMapResolution=1024 Lower this number to 128, 256 or 512 to decrease shadow resolution. At low numbers, shadows will appear extremely blocky. You're better off running without shadows than with low-res shadows. -> iActorShadowIntMax=10 iActorShadowExtMax=10 This is the maximum number of shadows that can be cast indoors (Int) and outdoors (Ext). Increase these numbers to let more objects cast shadows, with the corresponding framerate hit. -> bAllow30Shaders=0 Change this to 1 (one) if you have a newer video card that supports Pixel Shader 3.0 (check your card documentation). You'll get nicer quality graphics, and probably a slightly lower framerate. -> bUseWaterDepth=1 Set to 0 (zero) to turn off the ability to see into water (water surface becomes opaque). May provide a slight performance boost in outdoor areas. -> bUseWaterReflectionsMisc=0 bUseWaterReflectionsStatics=0 bUseWaterReflectionsTrees=0 bUseWaterReflectionsActors=0 If you are using reflective water with high detail, setting these to 1 (one) will increase the number of objects that reflect in detail. Can be a performance hit, but lends greater quality, especially around water sources in towns. -> bUseHardDriveCache=0 Setting to 1 (one) forces Oblivion to cache textures in your hard drive's cache (onboard RAM) for faster access. Probably won't work unless your system is very old/badly optimized. Use of the hard drive cache should be controlled by Windows and your motherboard drivers. If this gives you a performance increase, you may want to investigate why your hard drive cache is not being used normally. -> bEnableBoundingVolumeOcclusion=0 Setting this to 1 (one) may increase framerates in crowded interior areas, as, supposedly, Oblivion stops processing NPCs hidden behind walls. -> bDSoundHWAcceleration=1 Setting to 0 (zero) may provide a performance increase when using some integrated audio chipsets. -> bMusicEnabled=1 Set to 0 (zero) to turn off in-game music. Removes sense of immersion (and the music is very high quality!); however, may provide a performance increase as the game will no longer need to load, change and play music. -> bForceFullLOD=0 Setting to 1 (one) increases level of detail within the uGridsToLoad range. May cause a performance decrease, but increases graphic quality. If you increase uGridsToLoad, you probably want to leave this at 0 (zero) to minimize the framerate hit of the extra cells being loaded. -> iThreads=3 iOpenMPLevel=10 Increasing these values may give a performance increase, but only on multi-core or multi-CPU systems. -> bDoSpecularPass=1 bDoDiffusePass=1 bDoAmbientPass=1 Set these to 0 (zero) if you want to play the game, but you have a very old video card. Removes all specular effects, dynamic lighting and ambient lighting, producing a very cartoonish look. Compare this: http://www.papagamer.com/images/stories/oblivion/specular_on.jpg with this: http://www.papagamer.com/images/stories/oblivion/specular_off.jpg Changing these settings can also produce graphic anomalies and crashes. Use these only if you can't get out of single-digit framerates even with all the other optimizations. If you do change these, you need to use this mod: http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2019 to fix crashes caused by not performing the specular pass. | Miscellaneous Tweaks +---------------------- These tweaks to the INI file won't improve your framerates, but may improve your overall enjoyment of the game. -> SMainMenuMovie= SMainMenuMovieIntro= SIntroSequence= Blank these three entries to get rid of, respectively, the animated back- ground in the main game menu; the logo animation that occurs right after the main menu has loaded and the opening series of company logos that show when you launch the game. Getting rid of MainMenuMovie may help if you are experiencing mouse lag in the main menu. -> bHealthBarShowing=1 If set to 1 (one), shows a standard health bar over a creature rather than the curved bar over the crosshair. -> fGlobalTimeMultiplier=1.0000 Changes the rate at which time passes in the game. Decrease the number to slow down time; increase it to speed up time. -> bAllowConsole=1 If set to 1 (one), allows use of the Command Console in game. -> bAllowScreenShot=1 If set to 1 (one), allows you to take screenshots using the Print Screen key. Screenshots are saved to your Oblivion installation folder in bitmap (.bmp) format. Due to a glitch in the game, you cannot take screenshots when using AntiAliasing. If you wish to take screenshots with AA, use FRAPS http://www.fraps.com/ -> SScreenShotBaseName=ScreenShot iScreenShotIndex=0 Determines the base name of screenshot files and the starting index number. Using these defaults, screenshots would be named ScreenShot0.bmp, ScreenShot1.bmp, ScreenShot2.bmp, etc. -> fDefaultFOV=75.0000 Sets the default Field of View for the game, in degrees. The default is 75. A normal range of values is 60 - 90. You can also change this with the Command Console, to experiment, then set this to your favorite view so Oblivion will always run at that camera angle. -> bInstantLevelUp=0 Change this to 1 (one) to level up as soon as you gain 10 ranks in your major skills. Removes the need to rest in a bed. -> bPrecipitation=1 Setting to 0 (zero), turns off all precipitation (rain, snow). -> iDebugText=12 Changes the information displayed when using the debug console command. Option 12 shows just FPS. Option 0 shows a lot of information, including the day of the week, the date (both in normal units, such as Monday, 10/12/433) and two clocks: one game time and one playing time. While the debug information is showing, you can press Scroll Lock to change the information until you find the display that most suits your taste. You can also set the debug page displayed using the SDT console command. -> Gore settings: * fDecalLifetime=10.0000 Determines the length blood splatters last on objects. Default is 10 seconds. Increase to have blood stick around longer. * iMaxDecalsPerFrame=10 Determines the number of blood splatters you can get. Increase for more blood. -> fDifficulty=0.0000 Gives greater control over your difficulty level than the slider in the game. Range is -1.0000 to 1.0000. Thus, 0.0000 is 50% difficulty (default). Set to -0.5000 for 25% difficulty, for example, or 0.5000 for 75%. [XP02] <~~~~~~ PC CONSOLE COMMANDS ~~~~~~> To use the in-game console, enable the console by setting bAllowConsole equal to 1 (one) in the Oblivion.ini file. In the game, press the backtick (`) key (just left of the number one key on US English keyboards) to open the console. Type a command and press ENTER. Press backtick again to close the console. This is an abbreviated list of the most useful console commands. A full list is available at: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Category:Console_Functions In the following list, brackets [] surround arguments you have to replace when using the command. Do not type the brackets when using the command. For example: modpcs [skill] [#] should be typed as: modpcs Athletics 100 when used in the console. Some of these commands require that you enter a hex code for an item or spell. You can find a full list of these codes at: http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionCheats.List Alpha characters in hex codes should be entered in uppercase. I.e. enter 00185FE2 rather than 00185fe2. Command | Description --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- FOV [#] | Changes the default field of view to angle [#] --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- modpcs [skill] [#] | Adds [#] to PC's [skill] --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- modpca [attribute] [#] | Adds [#] to PC's [attribute] --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- movetoqt | Instantly transports you to your current quest | target --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- player.additem [hex] [#] | Adds [#] of item [hex] to your inventory. | Example, gold is hex 0000000F, so to give yourself | 5,000 gold, type player.additem 0000000F 5000 --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- player.addspell [hex] | Adds spell [hex] to your list of known spells. --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- player.payfine | Pays your bounty so guards leave you alone --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- player.removespell [hex] | Removes spell [hex] from your list of spells. | This is the only way to get rid of older, less- | powerful spells. For instructions on getting the | hex codes of custom-made spells, see + below. --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- RefreshINI | Refreshes INI settings without quitting/restarting | Useful during tweaking --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- SaveGame [filename] | Saves game with given [filename], use if you don't | like the default filenames --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- SDT [#] | Set's the debug console display to the specified | page number. Some useful pages: 0, 2 and 12 --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- SetINI [setting] [value] | Sets an INI [setting] to [value], example: | SetINI fGlobalTimeMultiplier 1.5000 --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- showbirthsignmenu | Brings up the birthsign menu, allowing you to | change your sign* --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- showclassmenu | Brings up the class menu, allowing you to change | your class* --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- showracemenu | Brings up the race menu, allowing you to change | your name, gender and race* * Using the class, race and birthsign menus after you've been playing for a while may reset all your attributes and skill levels and/or cause your skills to stop increasing. If you're really unhappy with your character, best to start over. --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TAI | Toggles AI, use this to cause all NPCs and mon- | sters to stand still (for screenshots or easy | kills) --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TDT | Toggles debug console --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TFOW | Toggles the fog of war that obscures the map --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TG | Toggles grass, use this if you normally have | grass visible, but are lagging badly in some | outdoor combat --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TGM | Toggles "god mode" --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TM | Toggles menus (turn them off for clean screen- | shots) --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TMM [0/1] | Toggles the map markers, 0=all off, 1=all on | Turning all map markers on puts all the markers on | the world map and lets you Fast Travel to them, | just as if you had discovered them; turning them | off turns off even those markers you discovered | yourself prior to using the console --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- TWF | Toggles wireframe mode, letting you see the under- | lying 3D models of the game world --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- unlock | After opening the console, click a locked chest | or door and enter this command to unlock it --------------------------+--------------------------------------------------- + Some spells you wish to rid yourself of may be spells you've made yourself. To get the hex codes of these spells, open your main Oblivion program folder. There you will find a text (.txt) file named "LevelUpData_1". Open that file in Notepad or some other text editor and find your character information from your last level up. There will be listed all your spells, including custom spells, with their hex codes. [XP03] <~~~~~~ MODS ~~~~~~> | Official Mods +--------------- Bethesda Softworks is hard-at-work releasing new, official content for Oblivion. To date, 2006-04-25, they have released three mods. These mods are not free, but are available to XBox360 owners as well as PC users. -> Horse Armor DLC1: $1.99 (PC), 250 Marketplace points (XBox 360) This mod adds two types of barding (horse armor) to the game: elven (gold color) and steel. Both types are available at Chestnut Handy Stables (outside the west gate to Imperial City) from Snak gra-Bura Comments: Even though it's only two bucks, it's not worth the download. Horses are an affectation, not a necessity, and the armor doesn't do a whole lot of good since you still can't fight from your horse. Does look pretty, but that's about it. For vanity players only. -> Orrery DLC2: $1.89 (PC), 150 Marketplace points (XBox 360) Adds a simple step-n-fetch quest, Repairing the Orrery, to the game (details in the Side Quests section of this guide). After finishing the quest, you have access to the Imperial Orrery, which will grant you a Greater Power depending on the phase of the moon. Comments: It's OK. The quest is very simplistic and the Powers granted by the Orrery are not hugely useful. (They all Fortify one attribute by 20 and Drain another by 20 for a total of 60 seconds.) Overall, not a huge addition, and probably not worth the money. -> Wizard's Tower DLC3: $1.89 (PC), 150 Marketplace points (XBox 360) Adds Frostcrag Spire to the game, and gives you a deed to the place. Frostcrag is a wizard's tower with a garden full of alchemical ingredients, including many from Oblivion, an enchanting altar, a spellmaking altar, the ability to summon an atronach (storm, fire or frost) servant and an alchemical table that boosts your Alchemy skill by 15 when you stand near it. In order to get the tower functioning, you have to buy the materials from a newly added merchant in Imperial City. This merchant also buys/sells alchemical ingredients and potions and recharges enchanted items. Comments: Definitely worth the money for the plant conservatory alone. Characters who want to enchant and craft spells without joining the Mages Guild will also find a lot to like. It's quite expensive (around 14,000 gold) to get the place up-and-running, but it is a nice house, so, in that respect, it's cheaper than buying and furnishing a house elsewhere. Also includes a ton of books and a vault guarded by imps. Plus, there's no fighting to get it. -> Thieves Den DLC7: $1.89 (PC), 150 Marketplace points (XBox 360) Adds Dunbarrow Cove and a little quest along with it. Dunbarrow Cove is a hidden cavern underneath Castle Anvil, and it contains the wreck of the infamous pirate ship, Black Flag. It also contains the animate skeletons of the Black Flag's crew. You'll find Dunbarrow by entering a smuggler's cave at water level on the south side of the island occupied by Castle Anvil. Go straight through the cave to enter the Cove. There are six skeletons in the main cavern, plus the undead Cap'n Dugal in his cabin. Defeat them all, then go see Dahlia Rackham on the Clarabella. The Clarabella is the eastern ship docked at Anvil. (If you ventured into the ship previously, it was occupied by un- named pirates and minimal loot.) Rackham sells the services of a crew, as well as improvements to the underground wreck. Here's what you can buy: * Upgraded quarters (500 gold): slightly improves the appearance of the captain's...that is your...quarters. * A fence (1,000 gold): Khafiz and his pet warthog, Bacon, settle in to Dunbarrow. Khafiz is an Expert trainer in Mercantile and a fence with 1,500 gold (more than Fathis Ules of the Thieves Guild). * A fletcher (1,000 gold): Melliwin moves in and hangs out along the back wall of the cavern. She is an Expert trainer in Marksman and sells some basic supplies and Stealth-related spells. * A security expert (1,000 gold): Tahm Blackwell sells a few supplies, some Stealth-related spells and provides Expert training in Security. He has a little campsite to your right as you enter the main cavern. * A spymaster (1,000 gold): Kovan Kren is a dark elf who likes to spend his time practicing with his sword over to your left as you enter the main cavern. He sells Stealth-related supplies and spells and provides Sneak training up to Expert level. * A supplier (1,000 gold): Jak Silver takes up residence in the Black Flag mid-deck. He has a number of interesting items for sale and also provides Expert-level Speechcraft training. * Miscellaneous pirates (no cost): Talk to one of these guys and send them out to plunder. They'll return in a week and give you a share of the booty. Comments: Basically, this is another house mod. After a simple quest and the expenditure of some money, you have another place to hang out. The hook this time is for players who like to go around randomly robbing people; but, don't want to join the Thieves Guild (why not?). You can set your- self up in this little cave and you actually have it better than if you were the Gray Fox--higher quality fence, lots of Expert training in Stealth skills and access to Stealth-type spells (Fortify Stealth skills, Open Locks, Chameleon, etc.). Overall, Frostcrag Spire might be a better investment of your money, but, hey, it's only two bucks. The Web site for PC downloads of the official mods is: http://obliviondownloads.com/ PC users: After purchasing, downloading and installing the mods, look in your Oblivion\Data folder (by default, this is in C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\). You'll see DLC[Name].bsa and DLC[Name].esp files (where [Name] is the name of the mod, e.g. DLCOrrery.bsa) and a DLCList.txt file. Backup these files somewhere else (and/or burn them to CD). If you need to re-install Oblivion, or install it on another PC, you can re-install these mods just by copying these .bsa, .esp and .txt files to your Oblivion\Data folder--without having to activate the installer. | Fan Mods (PC Only) +------------------- The modding community for the PC version of Oblivion is very active. The following sites contain most of the mods made for this game: http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.List http://www.tessource.net/files/ http://www.oblivionsource.com/?page=modforge&op=viewcategories_list There are many more fan sites that have mods available, but most end up on one of these sites. The Oblivion Mod Wiki: http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Category:Mods is a comprehensive database with pointers to a lot of mods (approximately 600 as of 2006-04-24). Some recommended mods... -> BTMod http://btmod.beider.org/ Many improvements to the game's user interface, especially menus. -> Landscape LOD Replacement http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2182 Replaces the compressed textures normally used for distant landscape with uncompressed textures. Provides a big increase in graphic quality with almost no performance hit. Compare this: http://cavesites.com/sewer_exit_old.jpg with this: http://cavesites.com/sewer_exit.jpg If you use this mod, do not change the uGridsToLoad value in the INI (leave it at 5). -> Fasthorse http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2171 Gradually increases the speed of your horse as you ride (up to +8 Speed). -> Face/Eyes combo http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2083 Merges "More Natural Faces" (higher resolution face textures), with various eye mods (more eye color selections) with a couple of other appearance-related mods. Very nice for those who want just the right look for their PC. -> Oblivion INI Tweaker http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=1937 Not really a mod, just a small program that lets you make many of the INI changes listed in this guide via a series of checkboxes. Highly recommended if you don't want to mess around with the INI file directly. -> Kobu's Character Advancement System http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=1888 Changes the way your skills, attributes and class levels increase. Removes the need to do lots of number crunching to be sure you get your +5 modi- fiers each class level. Also contains other gameplay-improvment mods, including a health modifier, skill advancement modifiers and a change to your character's total encumbrance. -> More Merchant Money (Balanced) http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2387 Got a 12,000 septim item you don't want, but no merchant has the money to pay you what it's worth? This mod takes care of that without just giving each merchant a fortune. -> Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=3063 Completely changes the nature of the game by changing how the leveled system works. Provides a greater sense of power when you finally reach the point where common bandits are no longer a problem rather than still a match for you. Also presents uncertainty, since you may now wander into a situation in which you are the weaker participant. For experienced players only. -> Quest Award Leveling http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2119 Normally, the rewards--especially equipment, spells and the like--you receive from quests are scaled to your level. This means if you complete a certain quest early, you get stuck with a low-power version of the reward that becomes useless later in the game. This mod causes all these special leveled rewards to increase in level as you increase in level, allowing you to enjoy the full benefit of the reward without having to know in advance when you should complete the quest in order to get the best reward. -> Khajiit Night Eye Toggle http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=1797 Changes the Khajiit Night Eye unlimited-use special power to an on/off toggle. -> Fathis Fix http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2106 Fixes some bugs with the Thieves Guild fence, Fathis Ules. -> Ring of the Vipereye Fix http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2400 Changes the quest reward, Ring of the Vipereye (from "Lifting the Vale") to a non-quest item so you can sell it, stow it away, or whatever. --The Elder Scrolls IV------------------------------------------------------- VERSION HISTORY & CREDITS -------------------------------------------------------------------OBLIVION-- v2.00 2006-05-26 - Added Fighters Guild, Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood quests - Added Home Ownership in Miscellaneous Adventures section - Added Thieves Den DLC7 official mod - Added six side quests - Added Travel, Horses and Quest Markers and Mini-games to Gameplay - 131 of 165 quests completed v1.00 2006-05-01 - First published version Written and Copyright 2006 by Barry Scott Will This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/