The Elder Scrolls IV
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FAQ/Walkthrough (for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3)
V4.00 2006-02-17
Copyright 2006, 2007 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/content/view/28/39/
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
The Character Build Guide includes a complete rundown of all the skills,
races, attributes and birthsigns in Oblivion, as well as many class templates
for your amusement.
**Bethesda has released the v1.1.511 patch for both PC and Xbox 360. You
should download and install this patch as it fixes a number of quest-related
bugs. Xbox 360 users can download the patch via Xbox Live. PC users can
download the patch here:
http://elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm
The PS3 version of the game should already be at patch level 1.1.511.
KNIGHTS OF THE NINE BOXED SET
-------------------------------
The KoN boxed set includes all the official mods released independently by
Bethesda during the course of 2006. Most of the mods were previously covered
in this guide, and that coverage has not changed with the release of KoN. The
official mods included in KoN are:
Horse Armor (DLC1)
Orrery (DLC2)
Wizard's Tower (DLC3)
Thieves' Den (DLC7)
Mehrunes' Razor (DLC9)
The Vile Lair (DLC5)
Spell Tomes (DLC4)
Knights of the Nine (DLC8)
Knights of the Nine has its own major section in this guide. Mehrunes' Razor
and Repairing the Orrery are listed under Side Quests. The other mods are
covered in Expanding Your Game, under Official Mods.
**SPOILER WARNING**
This guide contains plot spoilers. You have been warned.
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONTACT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~
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!
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~
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
Heavy Melee............................................GP03-A
Light Melee............................................GP03-B
Archer.................................................GP03-C
Magic..................................................GP03-D
Magicka Effects...........................................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
Ahdarji'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
Knights of the Nine..........................................KN00
Pilgrimage................................................KN01
The Shrine of the Crusader................................KN02
Priory of the Nine........................................KN03
Nature's Fury.............................................KN04
The Path of the Righteous.................................KN05
Stendarr's Mercy..........................................KN06
Wisdom of the Ages........................................KN07
The Faithful Squire.......................................KN08
The Sword of the Crusader.................................KN09
The Blessing of Talos.....................................KN10
Umaril the Unfeathered....................................KN11
Epilogue..................................................KN12
Side Quests..................................................SQ00
Quest Index..................................................QL00
Alphabetical Index........................................QL01
City/Region Index.........................................QL02
Miscellaneous Adventures.....................................MA00
Home Ownership............................................MA01
Skill Training............................................MA02
Vampirism.................................................MA03
Alchemy...................................................MA04
Expanding Your Game..........................................XP00
PC Optimization...........................................XP01
PC Console Commands.......................................XP02
Mods......................................................XP03
Version History & Credits....................................VH00
Legal........................................................LG00
To quickly jump to a section, copy the section code, press CTRL-F and paste
the section code in the search box.
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~
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 same side quests 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 Story: First up is a step-by-step walkthrough of the main story quests.
The main story 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
story in any sort of time limit and you can take your time and do lots of side
quests during the main story. However, the Main Story 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.
* Knights of the Nine: This mini-expansion to Oblivion includes previously
released material through Bethesda's official mods store (both for PC and
X360). The main KoN quest is described after the guild quests; other KoN
content is scattered through the Side Quests and Expanding Your Game sections.
* 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, birthsigns, etc. is in a separate document, located at:
http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt
After the quest walkthroughs is Miscellaneous Adventures, which covers buying
and furnishing houses, vampirism and training your skills (including the
Master Training quests).
The guide wraps up with 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~~
*SAVE EARLY*
*SAVE OFTEN*
*KEEP LOTS OF SAVES*
Oblivion, like any major, western-style RPG, has its share of glitches and
ways things can go wrong. Frequently, the only solution is to go to an earlier
save. You should make a new save at least every 15 or 30 minutes and keep at
least 15 to 20 savegames. The number of savegames is limited only by your hard
drive capacity and many people keep hundreds of saves. (That's probably a
little over-board; but, still...) It's easy to find that a decision you made
three or four hours ago, playing time, was a bad one and you will want to go
back and fix it. On the other hand, you don't want to go back to a several-
hour-old savegame if all you need to do is get around a glitch that just
happened.
*SAVE EARLY*
*SAVE OFTEN*
*KEEP LOTS OF SAVES*
It can't be repeated too often.
[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 mouse 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 on a regular schedule.
* 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.
Example: right after killing the captain of a ship, two sailors barged into
the cabin. The PC was hidden in the back room. Seeing the captain dead on
the floor, the sailors proceeded to engage in a random conversation. The PC
steps out of the back room and fires a spell at one of the sailors. That
sailor charges and is dispatched. The other sailor, still behind the
partition at the front of the cabin, complains about the loud noises made
by the rats.
That's the Radiant AI for you!
* 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 too 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 clannfear, 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
gold, some 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. There are also mods that affect enemy leveling,
which makes the game much more interesting.
4) Use the Quest Reward Leveling mod (see the Mods section near the end of the
guide). This mod 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. Etc. If
you're looking for someone and you don't have a quest marker for that person,
you can assume that person will be at home, sleeping, during the night. Etc.
The calendar is just like the Gregorian calendar, albeit with different names:
Gregorian - Oblivion Gregorian - Oblivion
--------- ------------ --------- ------------
January - Morning Star July - Sun's Height
February - Sun's Dawn August - Last Seed
March - First Seed September - Heartfire
April - Rain's Hand October - Frost Fall
May - Second Seed November - Sun's Dusk
June - Mid-Year December - Evening Star
Gregorian - Oblivion
--------- --------
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 halls for
both the 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. Horse travel is 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
dungeon delving.
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
Paint horses are 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 Paint horses, but are faster.
* Chestnut: Speed 29, Combat 20, Attack Damage 10, Health 200
Chestnuts horses are faster; but, not as hardy as the Bay. They 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. He is 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 no 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.
When Fast Traveling to a city, your 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.
QUEST MARKERS
---------------
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 a marble in
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. "Area"
in this sense does not mean the small "areas" loaded by the game as you
travel. You are in the same "area" if you are in the same world-space. This
means a target that is in the world-at-large is in the same area as you if you
are both outside cities and outside any building/dungeon--even if you are on
opposite sides of the map. Multiple arrows mean there are multiple targets--
i.e. more than one enemy you must kill or more than one location you must
visit.
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 a 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
(move your mouse up or press up on the control pad) 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 pattern 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 pick any lock just by
clicking Auto-Attempt until the lock opens.
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, the Imperial
ability, "Voice of the Emperor", or the vampire ability, "Vampire's
Seduction".
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 examining 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 maximized the NPC's Disposition.
Your Speechcraft skill can help with the Persuasion mini-game in several ways:
* At Apprentice rank, you can get a free rotation of the wheel during
the mini-game.
* At Journeyman rank, the NPC's Disposition falls more slowly while
you're making your decisions.
* At Expert rank, there is less reduction in Disposition from the
hated response.
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.
| Enchanting, Spellmaking & Soul Gems [GP02-F]
+----------------------------------------------
Sooner, rather than later, you're going to be depending on enchanted weapons
and/or armor for survival. You may also find that you want a specific type of
spell that you can't find anywhere from a spell merchant--perhaps you want a
stronger healing spell, but the only stronger ones sold are too high in level
for you to use.
Regardless, you're going to be interested in three things:
* Enchanting your own items (armor, clothing, weapons and jewelry)
* Recharging enchanted weapons
* Making your own spells
SPELLMAKING
-------------
To make your own spells requires access to an Altar of Spellmaking. In the
base game, Altars of Spellmaking are only available in Arcane University to
Apprentices (and higher) of the Mages Guild. That means you have to complete
the seven Recommendation quests. You can get an Altar of Spellmaking in
Frostcrag Spire if you buy the Wizard's Tower official plug-in -- no guild
membership necessary.
Activate an Altar of Spellmaking and you'll be presented with a simple menu.
At the top is a box where you enter your spell's name. On the left is a list
of effects from spells currently in your spellbook. You can only create new
spells using effects you already know--magnitude isn't relevant.
So, if you want to create a spell that does 50 points of fire damage and you
still have Flare (5 points fire damage) in your spellbook (the spell you're
given in the starter dungeon), you can create your 50-point fire damage spell.
When you choose an effect, you get a new window with four controls:
* Range: one of Self, Touch or Target
* Magnitude: strength of the spell
* Area: how large of an area will be affected by the spell (if you select
Self as the Range, this option disappears)
* Duration: how long the spell lasts
(Some of the sliders may not show depending on the effect. For example, Detect
Life only shows Magnitude and Duration. Other effects may show additional
controls, for example an Attribute control for picking an Attribute to Fortify
or Drain.)
Along the bottom of this window you will see the current number of Magicka
points required to cast the spell based on your skill rank in the appropriate
spell school (next to the lightning bolt icon), the cost to create the spell
(next to the gold coin icon with the arrow) and the total gold you currently
possess (next to the right-most coin icon).
You can manipulate these sliders to get similar effects at different costs.
For example, a spell causing 50 points of fire damage on Target costs 33
Magicka to cast and 99 gold to create. A spell causing 10 points of fire
damage for 5 seconds (total 50 points) costs only 21 Magicka to cast and 63
gold to create. Add a 10-foot explosion to that spell, and it still only costs
32 Magicka to cast and 96 gold to create. (Magicka costs based on Destruction
rank of 100.)
You can combine effects, even effects from different spell schools in a single
spell. The spell school under which the spell falls is determined by the first
listed effect. The skill rank needed to cast the spell is determined by the
spell cost.
ENCHANTING
------------
In addition to finding a lot of enchanted equipment in the world, you can make
your own. To do so, you need to use an Altar of Enchanting or a sigil stone
(the ones you collect when you close an Oblivion gate). The only Altars of
Enchanting in Cyrodiil are in Arcane University--so you'll have to complete
the Mages Guild Recommendation quests to get in there. (Alternately, you can
buy the Wizard's Tower official plug-in and get your own Altar of Enchanting
without joining the Mages Guild.)
To enchant an item with a sigil stone, simple select the sigil stone in your
inventory. Each sigil stone shows two effects: one defensive/buffing effect
and one offensive effect. For example, a stone may show the effects of Fire
Resist and Fire Damage. When you select the stone and click it (or press the A
button), you get a menu showing your available weapons and worn items that
have no enchantments. Select a weapon to get the offensive effect added to
that weapon. Select an item of wear to get the defensive effect added to that
item. You can also name your item. No altars or soul gems are needed to
enchant the item. You will still need soul gems or varla stones to recharge
the item.
In order to enchant an item without using a sigil stone, you must have a soul
gem with a captured soul. Souls and soul gems come in five sizes: petty,
lesser, common, greater and grand. The enchantment ability is determined by
the size of the soul, not the size of the gem.
When you Activate an Altar of Enchanting, you get a menu showing a box across
the top for the name of your item. On the left you can Add Item--you can
enchant any weapon or item you can wear (clothing, armor, rings or amulets).
On the right you can Add Soul Gem, selecting the filled gem you want to use
from your inventory.
After you've selected an item, a list of effects--governed by the effects you
know how to cast (i.e. have similar spells in your spell book)--shows in the
left-hand box. Effects you have added to your item show in the right-hand box
as you add them.
ENCHANTING WEAPONS
--------------------
Weapons can have multiple enchantments, but you must add all enchantments at
one time. Once an enchanted weapon has been made, you cannot add enchantments
to it. The size of the soul you use to enchant the weapon determines how many
total charges the weapon will have:
Petty: 150 charges
Lesser: 300 charges
Common: 800 charges
Greater: 1200 charges
Grand: 1600 charges
When you choose an effect to add to the weapon, you get a window with three
controls:
Magnitude: strength of the effect
Area: how large of an area will be affected by the weapon
Duration: how long the effect will last
(Some effects, such as Drain Skill, will show an additional control.)
Below you can see (from right to left): the number of charges used per hit
with the weapon, the number of uses you'll get before the weapon needs to be
recharged (this is the total charges from the soul divided by the number of
charges used per hit), the cost to create the weapon and the total gold you
have in your pockets.
As you manipulate the sliders to create the effect, the number of charges per
hit will go up (or down) with corresponding dips or increases in the number of
uses.
To recharge any enchanted weapon:
* Use a filled soul gem from your inventory, the number of charges restored
from the soul is the same as the number of charges that size soul provides
when enchanting (i.e. 150, 300, 800, 1200 or 1600)
* Use a varla stone in your inventory. Varla stones fully recharge every
enchanted weapon in your inventory.
* Pay a recharger. Various merchants (most in the Mages Guild halls) will
recharge your weapons. They charge one gold per charge restored.
ENCHANTING ARMOR, CLOTHING AND JEWELRY
----------------------------------------
Items you wear can only have one enchantment placed on them. You select the
item, the soul gem and the effect. The magnitude of the effect is determined
by the size of the soul in the gem. The range is always self and the duration
is always constant. Enchanted wear items do not have charges associated with
them.
SOUL GEMS
-----------
For purposes of enchanting and recharging, soul gems are highly useful. Of
course, they must first be filled with a soul. You capture souls using a Soul
Trap spell. Cast Soul Trap on an enemy and kill that enemy before the Trap
spell wears off. The enemy's soul will go into the smallest empty gem in your
inventory that is still big enough to hold the soul.
For example, you have an empty lesser and an empty greater soul gem. If you
capture a petty or lesser soul, it will go into the lesser gem. If you capture
a common or greater soul, it will go into the greater gem. If you capture a
grand soul, it will be wasted because you don't have an empty grand soul gem
available. If you capture a lesser soul, then a petty soul, the lesser will go
to the lesser gem and the petty will end up in the greater gem.
You can only capture the souls of creatures that are not one of the ten player
races (Argonian, Breton, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Khajiit, Nord, Orc,
Redguard or Wood Elf). Using Soul Trap on a "sentient" race is a waste of the
spell.
The exception is the black soul gem. Black soul gems are grand soul gems that
can be used to capture "human" souls. There are a few black soul gems that are
found as treasure. You can also make your own black soul gems using a
necromancer altar. To make a black soul gem, you need an empty grand soul gem
and a Soul Trap spell (any level spell will do).
Find a necromancer altar (there's one in front of Dark Fissure in eastern
Cyrodiil). Wait until midnight. Look for a bright cone of light shining down
around the altar. (It's easier to see this cone if you look up into the sky,
rather than looking at the altar.) If there's no bright light, Wait 24 hours
and try again. Sometime during the week, a bright cone of light will shine
down on the altar; when you see the light, put your empty grand soul gem in
the altar and cast Soul Trap on the altar. Remove your shiny new black soul
gem.
AZURA'S STAR
--------------
Azura's Star is your reward for completing Azura's quest (one of the Daedric
quests). Azura's Star is a refillable grand soul gem. Normal soul gems
disappear when you use them to make or recharge an item. Azura's Star does not
disappear. You can use it over and over again, as many times as you like. You
cannot convert Azura's Star into a refillable black soul gem.
Azura's Star is a very useful item, especially for fighters relying on
enchanted weapons. If you enchant your own weapons, add a short Soul Trap
effect to each weapon, this way you will always capture the soul of whatever
you kill. You can then instantly recharge your weapon before attacking the
next creature. If you do not enchant your own weapons, be sure to use as long
a duration Soul Trap spell as you can cast on each creature you fight.
Always make sure to recharge your weapon as soon as you've killed a creature,
so you don't waste any souls (i.e. charges).
SOULS
-------
Here is a short list of soul sizes for commonly encountered creatures. These
sizes are for the base creatures. Leveled creatures will have larger souls.
* Petty: Deer, Dog, Goblin, Mud Crab, Rat, Sheep, Skeleton, Slaughterfish,
Stunted Scamp, Wolf
* Lesser: Boar, Clannfear Runt, Deranged Zombie, Ghost, Goblin Skirmisher,
Horse, Imp, Timber Wolf, Troll, Zombie
* Common: Ancient Ghost, Black Bear, Clannfear, Faded Wraith, Flame Atronach,
Goblin Berserker, Goblin Shaman, Goblin Warlord, Headless Zombie, Minotaur,
Mountain Lion, Ogre, Scamp, Skeleton Hero, Spriggan, Will-o-the-Wisp
* Greater: Brown Bear, Daedroth, Dread Zombie, Frost Atronach, Land Dreugh,
Nether Lich, Skeleton Champion, Spider Daedra, Storm Atronach, Wraith
* Grand: Gloom Wraith, Lich, Minotaur Lord, Xivilai
[GP03]
<~~~~~~ COMBAT ~~~~~~>
As would be the case in any adventure/RPG style game, there is plenty of
combat in Oblivion. There are four basic types of combat in Oblivion: heavy
melee (tank), light melee (scout), archer and magic. There are two basic rules
that apply to all four types of combat...
| 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 mobs 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.
| Everyone Uses Magic
+---------------------
Regardless of your play style or character type, you need magic. All
characters can use buffs, regardless of class type. Melee fighters will want
to enchant their own weapons, which means having spells with the right effects
in your spellbook. Melee fighters will also benefit from paralyzing-type
spells used against archer and mages so they can close in without taking a lot
of damage. Archers and light melee fighters sometimes need a summoned creature
to help with mobs. And, of course, there are the always useful Restoration
spells to restore health or damage abilities.
So, don't neglect your inner Breton. Learn some useful spells and keep scrolls
handy. Keep welkynd stones and Magicka-restoring potions in your pockets in
case you suffer a sudden loss of Magicka. Learn to use magic as part of your
tactics and you'll be much more successful.
| The Numbers Game
+------------------
Some numbers you need to know before you go about fitting out your character:
* Armor
Your armor rating is the *percentage* of *physical* damage deducted from hits
on you. The max is 85: 85% of physical damage is deducted from any hits on you
(i.e. you only take 15% damage from physical attacks). Armor doesn't affect
elemental damage--fire, frost and shock. Both Light Armor and Heavy Armor can
be maxed out, though it will take longer with Light Armor (you'll need Elven
or glass and Master Light Armor skill).
* Weapon damage
The higher your weapon skill, the more damage you do with that type of weapon.
Blades tend to be more powerful than blunts, and more plentiful as well.
Strength also affects melee weapon damage. Agility affects bow weapon damage.
* Spells
The potency of your spells is not changed by your skill level in that spell
school, your Intelligence or your Willpower. When you increase in a spell
skill, you have the opportunity to buy or make stronger spells. Higher ranks
in a spell skill also decrease the Magicka needed to cast spells in that
school. Your Intelligence directly affects your total Magicka. Your Willpower
determines how fast your Magicka regenerates.
* Damage Over Time
If something is listed as "5 points fire damage for 5 seconds", it means
you'll get a total of 25 points fire damage from the effect (5 damage each
second x 5 seconds = 25 damage). Damage over time spells are cheaper to make
and cheaper to cast.
* Spell Effectiveness
Wearing armor decreases the effectiveness of your spells. As your armor skill
increases, so does the effectiveness of your spells. The highest effectiveness
rate of spells while wearing armor is 95%. E.g. a spell that is listed as "20
fire damage" only does 19 damage at 95% effective, 16 damage at 80% effective,
etc. All fractions are dropped (i.e. rounded down), so 80% of 5 is 4 and 95%
of 5 is 4. If you want 100% effectiveness from your spells, you can't wear any
armor--not even gloves or boots.
| Heavy Melee [GP03-A]
+----------------------
First, give up on two-handed weapons. There is little additional benefit and a
couple of negatives to fighting that way. You give up speed, so you make fewer
attacks; and, you give up a shield, so you can't block as effectively. In
return, you get a minor increase in damage.
For example, a steel long sword has a base attack rating of 12; a steel
claymore or battle axe has a base attack rating of 14. The steel war hammer
gives a base attack of 16. This spread (2 extra points for the claymore or
battle axe, 4 points for the war hammer) carries through the different weapon
types (i.e. a daedric war hammer does 4 points more damage than a daedric long
sword).
Once you layer on enchantments, power attacks, poisons, etc., the small
difference in base attack is not worth losing your shield and not being able
to swing as fast.
As a tank, your focus is on absorbing damage. You want the best heavy armor
you can obtain, and you want to make sure you level up your Block, Heavy Armor
and Armorer skills. Focus on boosting your Strength (for damage and carrying
capacity), Endurance (for health) and Agility (to avoid being staggered).
FIGHTING TACTICS
------------------
Against other melee fighters: Step in and trade blows. Block when the other
guy starts to swing, then smash him with power attacks when he pauses. Nothing
could be simpler.
Against archers: You have to run them down, which can be tricky in large
areas. Having a paralyze spell or poison for an arrow of your own will stop
them long enough for you to close in and smash them. Many archers make things
easier by pulling a sword when you get close, much to their detriment. When
charging an archer, keep your shield up to avoid being staggered by their
arrows, and try weaving a bit to throw off their aim.
Against mages: This is tricky. If you get hit with a burden spell, you'll
likely be easy pickins'. A weapon with Silence is deadly against mages--
especially a bow. Sneak up on them and hit them with a Silence arrow and you
can then bull-rush them and take them out easily. Another good tactic, since
mages tend to be weaklings, is to use Sneak Attacks with a powerful weapon.
You can often drop them in one hit.
EQUIPMENT
-----------
Heavy armor enchanted against elemental damage and with spell reflection or
absorption to help against mages. You don't need Shield effects as your armor
rating is going to get maxed out anyway.
You'll want a silver, daedric or enchanted one-handed weapon, preferably a
blade. There are better and more numerous blades than blunts available in the
game. As you increase in level, you should fill out your arsenal with at least
one weapon enchanted with each elemental damage type (fire, frost and shock).
If you enchant your own weapons, you can add a small (1-2 second duration)
Soul Trap spell to the weapon when you add the elemental damage. Get Azura's
Star as soon as you can and you can instantly recharge your weapon after each
fight.
Rings and amulets with Feather or Fortify Strength bonuses. You're going to be
carrying a lot of weight just in the equipment you use regularly, so you'll
want the ability to increase your max encumbrance or decrease your current
encumbrance so you can properly loot dungeons.
| Light Melee [GP03-B]
+----------------------
While you can, eventually, get as high an armor rating with light armor as you
can with heavy armor, it is going to take a lot longer. Your fighting style is
going to depend more on giving damage without taking much in return. You will
rely more on Stealth for Sneak Attacks; and, when in melee, use your Speed to
dance in and out of range, dishing out short, quick strikes before running
away.
You want to focus on your Speed, Agility and Strength attributes and your
Stealth and weapon skills. You won't block as much (the idea is to avoid being
hit, not blocking some of the damage) and you'll probably use spells a bit
more, so you want to pick a school and level it up. A Magicka-enhancing
birthsign wouldn't hurt as well as increasing your Intelligence and/or
Willpower.
FIGHTING TACTICS
------------------
Against other melee fighters: You want to stay out of range of the other
character's weapon. This will be most difficult against some of the beast and
melee creatures (clannfear, mountain lions, etc.) as they can move very fast.
Leading with a paralyze, burden or Drain Strength spell can help a lot--
especially against the heavy tanks. Start with either a Sneak Attack from
Stealth mode, or by firing arrows or spells until the enemy rushes you; the
more damage you can do before the fighting starts, the better off you will be.
Against archers and mages: The basic tactic here is the same--avoid getting
into a long-range battle with these types of characters. You're not built to
absorb damage the way a heavy tank is, so your best friend is a Stealth
attack, preferably a melee attack to get the extra bonus damage. If you put
some type of poison on your blade (Silence against mages, paralyze or Drain
Marksman skill for archers), so much the better.
EQUIPMENT
-----------
Light armor with Shield enchantments early. Later, as you get better armor and
your Light Armor skill increases, you can trade in Shield enchantments for
Reflection and Absorption enhancements.
Wearable items that Fortify your Speed attribute and your Sneak skill.
Boosting Strength wouldn't hurt either; but, your focus should be effective
Sneak Attacks rather than raw damage. A Feather effect will help with looting.
A good bow and some enchanted arrows. While you won't be dependent on ranged
attacks, you will lead with them--especially from Sneak mode.
Of course, you'll want an array of enchanted melee weapons--preferably light,
fast blades; and, Azura's Star for quick recharging between fights.
| Archer [GP03-C]
+-----------------
Early in the game, Oblivion is much more suited for melee fighters than for
ranged fighters--either archers or mages. Once you work through a few levels
and increase your Marksman skill--not to mention pick up enchanted bows and
arrows--archery is very effective.
Make no mistake about it, being a good archer means careful race, class and
birthsign selection, lots of hard work and smart battle tactics. It is also
extremely satisfying, especially when you're able to start killing enemies
before they even have a chance to reach you.
The biggest downside to archery is you need room to maneuver. There's lots of
dungeon delving in Oblivion, and the tight spaces underground are not suitable
for ranged attacks. You will need to be a good melee fighter as well.
FIGHTING TACTICS
------------------
Sneak attacks + poisoned arrows.
That's pretty much it. You can one-shot kill common mobs with a Sneak attack
even early in the game. Your biggest fear playing as an archer is getting
mobbed. You want to pick your enemies off from a distance, so the more you can
kill quickly, while staying hidden, the better. You'll want to work hard on
your Alchemy so you can brew your own poisons. The more pain you can dish out
per shot, the better.
Chameleon and Summoning spells are your friends. Chameleon gives some of the
benefits of invisibility; but, maintains the effect even when you attack.
(Which is why 100% Chameleon breaks the game--you can attack with impunity and
enemies can never see you to return the favor.) When things get tight, you
whip out a daedra or undead to do the dirty in-fighting for you while you stay
back and snipe.
You'll want to improve your Marksman skill as quickly as possible. The quicker
you can get the "scope" effect (the ability to zoom in on a target) at
Journeyman level, the more effective you will be at picking off your enemies
before they can close with you. Once you reach Expert Marksman, you can
stagger enemies, which makes you more-or-less unstoppable.
EQUIPMENT
-----------
Throughout all stages of your character development, you will be especially
vulnerable to spellcasters and other archers. Since you have to stand still,
aim and shoot, ranged mobs have an advantage against you. Furthermore, any
time you end up in a hand-to-hand scuffle, you'll be at a disadvantage.
So, you want to have decent armor. While most people think of archers as
light-armored fighters, a heavy armor archer is not out of the question. The
more protection you can layer on yourself, the more you can stand in and take
physical punishment--whether from arrows or melee weapons.
You also need to have spell absorption, spell reflection or magic-resistant
equipment. Don't forget to find or enchant some items with permanent Chameleon
effects to improve your chances of making Sneak attacks. (But, don't layer on
so much Chameleon you break the game. It's really no fun.) Since you won't be
carting around as many heavy melee weapons as the hand-to-hand fighters,
Feather spells and Strength-boosting effects are not as beneficial. (Though,
in the long run, all adventurers benefit from higher encumbrance.)
| Magic [GP03-D]
+----------------
There are lots of different mage "classes" in Oblivion. However, you can boil
them down to three distinct types:
* Battlemage: "Battlemage" is really just a term applied to a melee fighter or
archer that uses a bit more magic than is typical. A battlemage isn't really a
mage so much as a magic-using fighter. Use the tactics and equipment lists for
the type of fighter you'll be; but, you may want to use a race and birthsign
that emphasize Magicka.
* Summoner: Summoners concentrate on hanging back, out of range of attacks,
calling forth a daedric or undead minion and using a few ranged offensive
spells against the enemy; or, using buffing spells on the summoned creature.
Within Oblivion, summoners are usually called Necromancers because many of the
best summoned creatures are undead. Tactics for summoning are fairly simple:
train up your Conjuration skill (which is the easiest magic skill to train)
and have Restoration spells ready to heal and buff your summons. Try to stay
out of the fight and let your summons do the work for you. Since your
Conjuration skill will be high, you'll want a high-level Bound weapon spell
available for when the action gets too close (mainly for blocking, since
you're an ineffectual fighter).
* Sorcerer: This is the offensive mage archetype. Sorcerers are all about
raining death and destruction on their enemies using only magic. A sorcerer
disdains mundane weapons, using them only when required (and frequently
falling back on Bound Daedric weapons conjured up when necessary rather than
carting around a sword).
Both the Summoner and Sorcerer style of playing will be covered in this
section.
SPELL-CHAINING
----------------
Spell-chaining is the tactic of chaining weakness spells with damage spells to
increase the overall damage of the spell. For example, if you first hit your
target with Weakness to Shock 100; then, while the Weakness to Shock spell is
still in effect, you hit with a Shock 10 spell, the Shock 10 spell actually
does 20 points of damage (10 + 100% or 10 + 10). The idea behind spell-
chaining is to radically increase damage at a minimal cost in Magicka.
Three notes about spell-chaining:
1) You have to make your own spells. You won't find the right types of spells
for chaining in the wild or in stores. So, you must reach Apprentice level in
the Mages Guild or buy the Wizard's Tower official plug-in.
2) Spell-chaining uses short duration spells (thus minimizing the Magicka cost
of the spells). Each spell only needs a long enough duration in order for you
to hit with the next spell in the chain. Thus, you need to tailor the duration
of the spells to your ability to switch and cast a spell--typically five or
six seconds will be enough; less once you have become experienced. You also
should use touch spells rather than ranged spells, as this allows you to avoid
the duration of the spell traveling over distance and makes hitting with each
spell in the chain more of a sure thing.
3) Use damage-over-time spells as they are cheaper to make and to cast. A 5
Fire Damage for 5 Seconds and a 25 Fire Damage both do the same total amount
of damage (25 points); but, the 5x5 spell will use less Magicka.
Example
---------
Spell 1: Weakness to Magicka 100 for 5 seconds
-> Start by increasing the target's vulnerability to all spells by 100%;
this doubles the effect of the next spell that hits
Spell 2: Weakness to Magicka 100 for 5 seconds,
Weakness to Shock 100 for 5 seconds
-> The next spell that hits increases the target's vulnerability to all
Spells by 200% (100% doubled by the first spell = 200%) and to Shock
Damage by 200%
Spell 3: Shock 5 Damage for 10 seconds
-> By now, the first spell has worn off; but, that's OK. The second spell
is still in effect. First, the Shock damage is increased by 200%, or
tripled. 5x10 becomes 15x10. This is then run through the Weakness to
Magicka 200 effect, which triples it again. 15x10 becomes 45x10. You've
just increased the magnitude of your spell by 800%: from 50 total
damage to 450 total damage. At a total cost of Magicka, you can cast this
chain pretty much constantly (not that you'll need to, dishing out 450
damage every ten seconds.
Spell-chaining is not an original idea; it's been around at least since Elder
Scrolls III: Morrowind. Just Google oblivion spell-chaining and you'll find a
number of treatises on the subject.
FIGHTING TACTICS
------------------
If you don't want to do spell-chaining, as described above, then your tactics
are going to be similar to an archer. You want to stay back, out of range, and
let loose targeted Destruction spells at your enemies. You should also work on
your Conjuration so you can call for help when things get sticky. You should
always carry a weapon and use it to block when attackers get too close. Have
some powerful touch spells ready (touch spells do more damage per Magicka
spent than ranged spells) to use when an opponent closes up.
Some other things you can do:
* Burden your enemies to keep them from moving (works especially well on
heavy-armor tanks).
* Lower your enemy's resistances and then follow up with a spell that exploits
that weakness (similar to spell-chaining, but you'll need longer-lasting
Weakness spells and more powerful Destruction spells).
* Buff yourself into a melee monster (Shield, Fortify Strength) and use Bound
weapons to whale on an unsuspecting foe.
* Use Sneak Attacks (preferably with a bow) before opening with magic. You
don't get any Sneak bonus when using magic, but you do when shooting an arrow.
EQUIPMENT
-----------
As a spellcaster, one of your biggest problems is spell reflection--i.e.
enemies with lots of spell reflection. If you've built yourself into a
powerhouse, you don't really want your spells coming back to bite you in the
rear. Therefore, you want to load up on items, potions and spells that provide
magic resistance. If you can ameliorate the damage being reflected back to you
(not to mention the spells of enemy casters), so much the better.
You'll also want plenty of Feather spells or potions so you can properly loot
all the dungeons you clean out. And, you'll need plenty of Shielding unless
you decide you can get by wearing light armor and taking the hit in spell
effectiveness. If you want full power from your spells, then you'll have to
replace normal armor with Shield spells.
Finally, the best equipment any mage can have is an Altar of Spellmaking. You
can get one of these by purchasing the Wizard's Tower official plug-in and
buying the necessary equipment in-game. You could also join the Mages Guild
and complete the seven Recommendation quests--this gives you access to
spellmaking at Arcane University.
[GP04]
<~~~~~~ MAGICKA EFFECTS ~~~~~~>
This is a brief rundown of the different types of effects in the game and how
to deal with them.
*NOTE 1*
You can get rid of most harmful effects by praying at the altar (Activate the
altar) in a Great Chapel in one of the major cities. In order for you to
receive restoration, your Fame must be higher than your Infamy and you cannot
have any outstanding bounty.
*NOTE 2*
Most effects are temporary unless you enchant them into an item. If you wear
an enchanted item, the effects are permanent until you remove the item.
* Absorb Attribute/Skill
Temporarily transfers some attribute or skill points from the affected
character to the affecting character. For example, if you have Absorb Magicka
on your weapon, any creature you hit with that weapon will lose some Magicka
and you will gain the same amount.
* Burden
Increase the encumbrance value of all items in your Inventory. If the total
encumbrance value of all items is more than your maximum encumbrance you are
over-encumbered and cannot move (though you can still use a weapon or cast a
spell). Using Burden spells/poisons on characters in heavy armor might just
root them in place, allowing you to pick them off from a distance.
* Chameleon
You will blend in with your environment, making it more difficult for enemies
to see you and increasing your Sneak effectiveness. Chameleon, unlike
Invisibility, is not canceled when you attack someone; thus, 100% Chameleon
essentially breaks the game by making it impossible for enemies to attack you
or react when you attack them. (And 100% Chameleon is not hard to get either.)
* Damage Attribute/Skill
Take a few points off the named attribute or skill. Damaged attributes and
skills do not restore themselves. You must use a Restore spell/potion or pray
at the altar in one of the Great Chapels in a city.
* Detect Life
You can see all animate creatures in the radius of the spell. This includes
undead. (So, why is it called Detect "Life" when it can detect non-life? Who
knows?) Animate creatures will be highlighted in a purple glow. The spell
works through walls, allowing you to see enemies in the next room (or even
down through the floor or up through the ceiling in multi-level areas).
* Disease
There are a number of different diseases in the game. You will typically be
affected when hit by certain creatures. Use a Cure Disease spell or potion, or
pray at the altar in one of the Great Chapels in a city.
* Dispel
You can rid yourself or the target of Magicka effects, harmful or beneficial.
Useful if you've been hit with Drain, Burden, Paralyze, etc. and need to get
rid of the effect fast. It can also be used to cancel your enemy's buffs.
* Drain Attribute/Skill
Similar to Damage Attribute/Skill, but the effects are temporary.
* Feather
Decrease the encumbrance value of all items in your Inventory. This will show
as an increase in your maximum encumbrance value, but that's not actually what
is happening. For example, if you are carrying 30 pounds of equipment, and you
use a Feather 50 spell, you only get the effect of Feather 30, since there
aren't 50 pounds of equipment to reduce. To avoid problems, make sure you only
use a Feather effect that is less than your current encumbrance.
* Fire Damage
Cause an additional amount of damage of type "fire". This is elemental damage
and not reduced by armor; however, it is affected by Fire Resistance, Spell
Absorption and Reflection.
* Fortify Attribute/Skill
Increase the number of points in an attribute or skill.
* Frost Damage
Cause an additional amount of damage of type "frost". This is elemental damage
and not reduced by armor; however, it is affected by Fire Resistance, Spell
Absorption and Reflection.
* Invisibility
You become invisible and impossible to detect. Attacking another character
cancels the invisibility.
* Light
Gives light in a radius around the target.
* Night-Eye
Essentially, this is ultraviolet vision. Lets you see in the dark, but
everything is bluish-gray in color.
* Open Lock
Allows you to open locks. Each spell is rated for the maximum difficulty lock
it will open. Using Open Lock on a "red" door is not considered a crime
(unlike lockpicking). Open Lock spells increase your Alteration skill and do
not affect your Security skill.
* Paralyze
Binds the target and knocks it to the ground where you can have your way with
it.
* Poison
Poisons are another way of causing the various different effects listed here.
You can instantly recover from a poison by using a Cure Poison spell or
potion. You can also pray at the altar in one of the Great Chapels in a city.
* Reflect Damage
Reflect a certain amount of damage done to you back on the character doing the
damage.
* Resist Damage
You will shrug off some of a specific type of damage. E.g. Resist Fire 10%
gets rid of the first 10% of fire damage that hits you. Resist Normal Weapons
50% deducts half the damage from normal (non-silver, non-daedric, non-
enchanted) weapons.
* Restore Attribute/Skill
Heal a damaged, drained or absorbed attribute or skill.
* Shield
Increase your armor rating; e.g. Shield 20 increases your armor rating by 20
points. You can also have a Fire/Frost/Shock Shield, which increases your
armor rating and gives you resistance to the named elemental damage type. E.g.
Shock Shield 20 increases your armor rating by 20 points and provides 20
points of Shock resistance.
* Shock Damage
Cause an additional amount of damage of type "shock". This is elemental damage
and not reduced by armor; however, it is affected by Fire Resistance, Spell
Absorption and Reflection.
* Spell Absorption
Nullify a percentage of a spell's effect.
* Spell Reflection
Reflect a percentage of a spell's effect back on the caster.
* Weakness to Damage
Make the target more vulnerable to a specific type of damage. For example,
Weakness to Frost 50 means frost effects cause 50% more damage to the weak
character.
HOW TO GET 100% CHAMELEON
---------------------------
*WARNING* 100% Chameleon breaks the game. If you do this, you won't have any
fun--unless you like playing in god mode.
You need a Chameleon spell (any level) in your spellbook (i.e. not a scroll);
five grand soul gems, each with a grand soul; about 8,000 gold; five pieces of
un-enchanted wearable equipment (e.g. two rings, an amulet, gloves and boots)
and the ability to enchant items (Apprentice in the Mages Guild or owner of
the Wizard's Tower official plug-in). Use the soul gems to enchant each piece
of equipment with 20% Chameleon for a total of 100% Chameleon.
Alternately, you can get 100% Chameleon (well, actually 120%) by waiting until
you are high level (over 16) before getting into the main quest. Then go
around closing Oblivion Gates and collecting the Sigil Stones. Save right
before taking the stone; if it doesn't offer the Chameleon effect, reload and
take it again. When you have four Transcendent Sigil Stones with Chameleon
(30%), enchant four items and get your 120% Chameleon.
Put on your equipment. You are now completely invisible all the time and can
do whatever you want whenever you want.
Have fun.
[GP05]
<~~~~~~ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ~~~~~~>
Q. Where's my horse?
A. Horses are, overall, far more trouble than they are worth. You can't fight
while you're on a horse (unless you download a mod for the PC version of the
game). Horses frequently wander off while you're spelunking. And Fast
Traveling while you're on a horse sometimes causes a glitch where either your
horse disappears from the game entirely or ends up in the city with you. If
you're having a lot of trouble keeping track of your horse, just work on
training your Speed and do without the four-legged beasts.
Q. OK, but where's Shadowmere?
A. Shadowmere, as a plot NPC, can't be killed and doesn't generally wander off
or glitch out of the game. If Shadowmere can't be found where you left him, go
back to Fort Farragut (Lucien Lachance's headquarters). Shadowmere generally
returns there whenever the game loses track of him.
Q. What's the best Daedric artifact to give to Martin? (Blood of the Daedra
quest)
A. Wabbajack, the staff you get from Sheogorath's quest. Sheogorath's quest is
easy (no combat), can be done at level 2 and Wabbajack is a fun item, but not
one you're actually going to want to use in any serious way.
Q. How do I build the best character?
A. There's lots of different answers to that quest. Hopefully I've provided
most of them in my Character Build FAQ:
http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt
Q. I can't find the body in the well! (Cheydinhal Mages Guild Recommendation
quest)
A. This is a known glitch. There's no solution other than loading up an
earlier savegame.
Q. Can I give the Honorblade of Chorrol to the Countess and then steal it
back?
A. Yes. The solution comes from Karkianman:
"I have a high stealth rating, and was wearing the Gray Cowl as well as some
Chameleon enchantments, and found it impossible to pickpocket the sword from
the countess. However, lo and behold, you can knock her unconscious, and at
some point during her forced slumber you can take items off of her body,
including the weightless sword. Wearing the Gray Cowl during this leaves you
innocent. Do note that she has to be asleep already before you knock her out
for this to work. During the day she equips the sword, and so even though
she’s knocked out, it can’t be taken. I have no idea if a similar thing can be
accomplished by giving the sword to Fathis Ules instead."
Q. The priests in the Elder Scrolls Library (Thieves Guild Ultimate Heist
quest) won't talk to me or are hostile. How do I complete the quest?
A. Back up to an earlier savegame and try again. Make sure you Sneak around to
open the door (you're a thief, right?) and be extra careful you don't talk to
(Activate) any NPC in the area.
Q. There's a chest in Pale Pass (Lifting the Vale side quest) that has a key?
What does that key fit?
A. There's an undocumented side quest in Pale Pass involving four chests. The
first chest is right next to the fort, and the key in that chest fits the next
chest and that chest has a key and so on. Unfortunately, I have not yet fully
documented that side quest. If you search around on GameFAQs or other FAQ-
related sources, you may find someone who has fully explained that little
quest.
Q. I'm trying to do the Fighters Guild quest Mystery at Harlun's Watch, but
there are no villager bodies in the cave! How do I complete the quest.
A. This bug is caused if you clear out Swampy Cave before you start this
quest. The bug is fixed by the v1.1.511 patch. Install the patch, then back up
to an earlier save from before starting that quest.
Q. Where can I get the best gear?
A. All loot and store merchandise in Oblivion is leveled. As you increase in
level, so does the material you find in chests and the gear you buy from
stores. All merchants have one "special" item that they always offer for sale
(until you buy it, that is). In the long run, the best gear is enchanted stuff
you make for yourself.
Q. What are the best enchantments?
A. Every adventurer needs Feather so you can haul your bounty out of the
dungeons you explore, and Resist effects to ameliorate damage from elemental
and magic attacks. Melee fighters need Strength for increasing damage. Mages
can use boosts to their Magicka total and regeneration rate. Archers will want
boosts to their Stealth and Agility, and a bow that does extra damage.
Q. How do I get black soul gems?
A. You can generally find them in necromancer dungeons. You can also make your
own. Details on making black soul gems is in the Enchanting, Spellmaking &
Soul Gems section above.
Q. My skills or attributes have been damaged. What can I do?
A. If your Infamy is lower than your Fame and you have no Bounty, you can pray
at an altar in any Temple in the large cities. This will fully restore all
your damaged attributes. If your Infamy is larger than your Fame, then you'll
need to use Restore spells or potions; or, purchase the Vile Lair and activate
the Altar of Sithis. It works just like Temple altars, but for "evil"
characters. If your Infamy is low, but you have a Bounty, find the nearest
guard and pay off your bounty, then pray at a Temple.
Q. I'm doing the quest, Where Spirits Have Lease. I've tracked Velwyn Benirus
in Imperial City, but he refuses to talk to me about the house?
A. This is a known glitch and the only solution is to back up to an earlier
save.
Q. Can I save attribute bonuses between levels?
A. No, unless you delay leveling up. As long as you don't level up, your
attribute bonuses accumulate and you'll be able to get them all the next time
you sleep, as you'll level up two or more times. Once you do level up, all
your attribute bonuses are reset.
Q. Do I get to be emperor when I finish the main quest?
A. No. You become the Champion of Cyrodiil and get to wear the emperor's
armor, but you're not large and in charge.
Q. I'm trying to close an Oblivion gate, but Activating the Sigil Stone has no
effect! What can I do?
A. Back up to an earlier save? This glitch has hit many people, but I've seen
no solution.
Q. What are runestones, doomstones, Ayleid wells and wayshrines?
A. These artifacts of an earlier age are scattered around Cyrodiil. Each one
gives you some type of boost when you Activate (use) it. They are never marked
on your map in game. Maps are available on GameFAQs.com. Wayshrines are
essential in the Knights of the Nine quest.
Q. How can I get more money at the merchants? What's the maximum amount of
money that any merchant has?
A. In the base game, the most any normal merchant has is 1200 gold. I.e. you
make any sale over 1200 gold. The Wizard's Tower official plug-in adds a
merchant with 2000 gold. Fences have up to 1500 gold, but are only available
to Thieves Guild members, or owners of the Thieves Den official plug-in. You
can add more barter gold to any merchant by increasing your Mercantile skill.
At Expert Mercantile, you can give (invest) 500 gold to any merchant. At
Master Mercantile, all merchants have 500 more barter gold. Thus, with
Wizard's Tower + investing in the 2000 gold merchant + Master Mercantile, the
most you can get for any item is 3000 gold.
Or, if you're on the PC, you can install a mod that gives all merchants more
money.
Q. I exploited the item cloning/bound weapon/whatever glitch and now my game
keeps crashing. What do I do.
A. Back up to an earlier save and don't use exploits. Most exploits in these
games are very risky and can lead to unintended consequences.
Q. I'm trying to get out of Dagon Shrine, but the exit door is locked and says
it needs a key!
A. Wrong door. When you're escaping from the cave, it's easy to think the
highly visible door just across from you is the exit. It's not. As you come
out of the secret exit from the Living Quarters, the cave exit is to your
right, at the end of a twisting tunnel. It's easily recognizable during the
day because sunlight will be streaming through it.
Q. How do I get rid of spells I don't use any more?
A. The only way to take spells out of your spellbook is to use a console
command:
player.removespell hhhhhhhh
where hhhhhhhh is the hex code for the spell. Details are in the PC Console
Commands section of this guide. If you're playing on X360 or PS3...Sorry,
you're out of luck.
Q. I've finished all the quests. Is there anything else I can do?
A. There are at least a couple dozen dungeons that aren't connected to any
quest. You can explore those. PC users can download fan-made mods that add
additional quests. Otherwise, you have to wait until the expansion set,
Shivering Isles, is released in Spring 2007.
[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.
Not far past the swinging mace trap, 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 witch with a lightning staff.
Use a bow or ranged spell to draw the weaker goblins to you, then bull-rush
the witch. 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 you to 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. 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. Now that you have a horse, you might want
to go overland to Kvatch rather than Fast Travel. You'll discover a lot of
locations that will be important for later quests.
[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, isn'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 and feature a few daedra and
traps.
* In between the side areas, you'll climb some ramps around the central
hollow core 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 labeled 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 into 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, Gwinas, has already reserved the book and Phintias is holding it for
Gwinas.
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), for
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 a
cemetery 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 Tr