The Elder Scrolls IV – Oblivion FAQ

The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion FAQ

                              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 DocumentsMy GamesOblivion) 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 Travel to the city and then hoof it north. The caverns are 
on the north shore of Lake Arrius. When you enter, you'll meet a non-hostile 
Mythic Dawn member. He'll give you a pass code and you give him the reply. He 
then instructs you to proceed through the door and see Harrow.

Now, before you actually go any further, you need to know some things. If you 
play this undercover, you'll be stripped of all your non-quest items such as 
armor, weapons, potions--*everything*. Or, you can try to bull your way 
through, which means fights with a *lot* of Mythic Dawn assassins. Here's the 
rundown for each method:

1) You're going to play it "safe", so you decide to continue the deception.
   This is a good choice for a very low level character. Before continuing,
   Fast Travel back to Cheydinhal and stow your gear. You can join the
   Fighter or Mages Guilds just by asking and get a free place to stash your
   wares--but on the floor, not in a chest (the chests reset every few days).
   You can't drop gold, so use it to buy potions and other good stuff,
   because you don't want to just give it to Harrow.
   
   Alternately, you can drop everything on the floor of the entrance room of
   the caverns, but it will be hard to pick it back up when you come flying
   through later with a dozen assassins on your tail.
   
   Fast Travel back to the caverns and go through the door to your meeting
   with Harrow. Harrow will lead you to the main shrine and you'll hear
   Mankar Camoran himself give a little speech before disappearing into his
   own little "Paradise". He takes the Amulet of Kings with him (you didn't
   think it was going to be that easy did you?), but leaves behind the
   Mysterium Xarxes, which could prove useful.
   
   Harrow will lead you down and tell Remora Camoran (Mankar's daughter) that
   you've come to be initiated. She'll invite you up to the dais and offer to
   let you kill the Argonian tied to the altar. Regardless of what you do
   with the Argonian, you're going to end up in a fight.
   
   The wisest course of action is to agree to kill the prisoner, take the
   silver dagger laying next to the book, then Activate the prisoner to free
   him. Grab the book from the altar. Now everyone in the room has gone
   hostile. It's time to run, crying like a baby.
   
   You can't get out the way you came in. Your exit is up the stairs you came
   down, but turning to the right rather than the left. At the top is a door
   that leads to the Living Quarters. Head through the door and skip down
   to the Living Quarters section below.


2) If you're a little bit higher level, have decent kit and don't want to
   risk losing it, you can probably fight your way through to the shrine.
   Kill the guard in the entrance cavern and get a key from his body. This
   key will open the door into the next cave--just a tunnel, with possibly
   one cultist.
   
   The door at the end of the tunnel leads to the Shrine Antechamber. Read
   these directions carefully--you do not want to stop long enough to fight
   anyone, as that just brings hordes of cultists down on your head. And you
   can't handle hordes, no matter how high level you are.
   
   As you enter the Antechamber, you are in a large room. Your path is to the
   south. Book it to a tunnel and take the first left. You're going to have
   cultists nipping at your heals. Equip a healing spell and cast it as you
   need it. The key you got from the entrance guard should unlock the door
   here leading to the shrine. If you reach the end of the tunnel, where it
   turns right (east), you went too far. Good luck trying to turn around and
   go back.
   
   As you enter the shrine, a gate drops behind you, shutting off pursuit.
   You're on a high ledge looking over the altar. No one will notice your
   presence as you listen to Mankar Camoran's speech and watch him disappear
   with the Amulet of Kings. Once he's gone, you're in excellent position
   to snipe at the cultists below with arrows or spells.
   
   They will eventually respond, running up the stairs, but you should be
   able to get them one or two at a time, which is Magickageable. Once they
   are all dead, you can descend to the lower level, free the prisoner, and
   get the Mysterium Xarxes from the altar. You can't go back the way you
   came, so go up the stairs, taking a right instead of a left, and take the
   door at the top into the Living Quarters.
   

3) You can exploit a little bit of bad programming by the developers. Strip
   all your gear and drop it on the cave floor. Then agree to Harrow's
   request to be inducted into the order. Before following him through the
   door into the temple, go back and pick up your kit and re-equip yourself.
   Nobody will notice, and, since they are still peaceful toward you, you can
   depopulate the place with near impunity before going into the shrine.
   (Exploit submitted by smjellish.)


| Living Quarters
+-----------------
Whether you're fully suited up or wearing only a red robe and carrying a 
dagger, there's only one way through here: running for your life. The Living 
Quarters are full of cultists, many of whom will use hit-and-run tactics. 
Stopping to fight just means getting beaten by as many as a dozen Mythic Dawn 
assassins at once. You can't survive that.

So, running it is. Get a healing spell ready, sheathe your weapon (if you have 
one) and start pumping.

From your entry point, run down the tunnel and take a right at the end. Take 
the next left and run until you can take a right turn. This leads into a room 
with two or more cultists. The exit is to the southwest--as you enter the 
room, take a hard left and hug the wall to find your way into the escape 
tunnel.

This tunnel will turn south (left) and deposit you in a large room with at 
least two assassins. Take the stairs to the west (to your right as you come 
into the room) and run around the upper level to the exit in the southeast 
corner of the room.

This tunnel turns south, then east and dumps you in another large room. You 
may find up to a dozen cultists in here having "worship services". Lucky you. 
The exit is in the middle of the south wall, so take a right as you come into 
the room and run through the middle of the mob to make your escape.

This is a short tunnel that slopes up. At the top, turn left to find a door 
that leads back into the entrance cavern. Run down this tunnel to a small 
room. The exit tunnel is to your left (east). At the start of the tunnel is a 
turn-lever on the wall. Activate it to open the secret door just ahead and run 
through into the main entrance to the caverns. The exit to the outside world 
is straight ahead.

As soon as you are outside, attempt to Fast Travel. If you were quick enough, 
you got out before any cultists and you'll be able to Fast Travel. If you get 
the "You cannot travel while enemies are near" message, then start running 
again in the direction of Cheydinhal. Speed is your only concern now.

Once you are safe and have re-equipped yourself (if you decided on the 
undercover method), you can think about going back to the Caverns and 
methodically cleaning them out. There's a lot of loot in there. Or you can 
just count yourself lucky and Fast Travel to Cloud Ruler Temple. Martin wants 
that book you stole.



                                                                     [MS08]
                             <~~~~~~ SPIES ~~~~~~>

By now, if Baurus survived your earlier dustup with the Mythic Dawn, you'll 
find him wandering around Cloud Ruler Temple. Talk to him for boosts in your 
Blade, Block and Heavy Armor skills. Find Martin (he's usually in the main 
hall) and give him Mysterium Xarxes. He gets pumped over getting into a little 
dark magic, then sends you to Jauffre, who's got some "concerns". Jauffre, 
indeed, is concerned. It appears strangers have been loitering about the 
Temple; but, despite having a huge building full of fighters, Jauffre can't 
spare anyone but you to check into it.

Funny. Anyway, Jauffre refers you to Captain Steffan of the Blades or Captain 
Burd of the Bruma constabulary. Your quickest route through the task ahead is 
to track down Steffan. He's usually patrolling, during the day, follow your 
quest marker to find him. He reports some strangers hanging out around a 
runestone just south of the Temple.

Walk down the slope to the runestone (it's kind of hard to miss, since it's 
big and has glowing runes on it). Take up position near the stone and Wait 
until dark (around 7 or 8 p.m.). You'll soon be attacked by two Mythic Dawn 
assassins, who shouldn't be too much trouble to take out. Search their bodies 
for some keys, including one labeled "Jearl's House Key". Jearl, eh?

Go down to Bruma and find Jearl's house, it's in the southwest corner of town, 
behind the Chapel of Talos. Enter and find the trapdoor down into the 
basement, one of the keys you looted will open it. In the basement you will 
find a note outlining the Mythic Dawn's plan to open a Great Gate at Bruma in 
order to get to Martin.

Return to Jauffre with the information, and then talk to Martin about his 
progress with the book.



 *PROGRESS NOTE*
-----------------
At this point in the game, you get two divergent, parallel paths. One involves 
collecting items for Martin to use in opening a portal to Paradise. The other 
involves getting Bruma ready for the opening of the Great Gate. The quests for 
Martin are Blood of the Daedra, Blood of the Divines and Miscarcand. The 
quests from Jauffre are Bruma Gate and Allies for Bruma (which includes a 
couple of sub-quests). You can do these in whatever order you wish. 
Eventually, the main story will merge in the quest Defense of Bruma.



                                                                     [MS09]
                      <~~~~~~ BLOOD OF THE DAEDRA ~~~~~~>

The first item on Martin's shopping list is an artifact of a daedra lord. 
These are, actually, fairly easy to come by. There are fifteen, total, and 
obtaining each one involves it's own set of tasks. These are detailed in the 
Side Quests section under Daedric Quests.

Read through about the Daedric Quests and decide which artifact you are 
willing to give up, then go complete that task. The game suggests Azura, but 
many players like to keep her re-useable soul gem, Azura's Star. The best bet 
is Wabbajack. This staff from Sheogorath is: 1) easy to obtain, since the 
quest requires no combat, just pranks; and, 2) useless except as a novelty 
item.

Once you have a daedric artifact, return to Martin.* He now wants the blood of 
a god.

* A bug prevents Spell Breaker, the Peryite artifact, from being recognized by 
Martin. This is fixed with patch 1.1; however, why you would want to give up 
Spell Breaker is a mystery.



                                                                     [MS10]
                      <~~~~~~ BLOOD OF THE DIVINES ~~~~~~>

Martin refers you to Jauffre, who knows the location of Tiber Septim's armor. 
(The first emperor, Tiber eventually became the god Talos.) Speak to Jauffre. 
First, Jauffre wants you to go help close an Oblivion gate that's opened 
outside Bruma. This is the Bruma Gate quest. You can choose to do it now, or 
wait until later. Ask Jauffre about the armor of Tiber Septim.

Jauffre directs you to Sancre Tor, which used to be a holy site for the 
Blades. He'll give you a key and directions, then it's up to you. Sancre Tor 
is west-southwest of Cloud Ruler Temple, almost due north of Chorrol. You'll 
need to prep for ghosts and wraiths in this dungeon. That means a magic or 
silver weapon or lots of spells. Suit up and hike on over.

As you enter Sancre Tor, you'll find an enchanted weapon--if you don't already 
have one. Follow the hall to the first large room, and watch out for the dart 
traps surrounding the loot chests. Continue northwest and then northeast until 
you come to a large room. Be careful entering the room, this if the first of 
four boss fights you'll have in this dungeon.

You may recall from Jauffre's conversation that the four greatest Blades of 
Tiber Septim's era lost their lives in Sancre Tor. Well, their skeletons are 
still prowling the corridors, and you have to kill them to release their 
spirits. They are each using enchanted Ancient Blades equipment.

Oh. Goody.

Pepper the skeletons from range first to soften them up. They move fast, so 
you won't get many shots in. Try to keep the fights in the large rooms where 
you find them, rather than retreating up hallways. You don't want to get into 
confined places with these guys.

First up is Rielus. After he's defeated, his ghost appears and gives you the 
whole story. You'll need to release his "brothers" as well, so they can break 
the final evil enchantment on Sancre Tor. Loot his skeletal corpse for the 
Amulet of the Ansei.

Head southeast out of this room and follow the corridor to a door that leads 
to the Entry Hall. There will be a couple of ghosts here. Down in the pit is a 
huge door that leads to the Tomb of the Reman Emperors. That's the ultimate 
goal, but it is inaccessible until you kill (re-kill?) the four undead Blades.

Go down into the pit, near the door to the Tomb. Jump into the water to your 
right and find the door that's underneath the upper level of this room. This 
leads to the Catacombs. You'll make your way through several tunnels and two 
larger rooms before reaching the room with Alain, an undead Blade.

Alain drops Northwind, a one-handed katana with frost damage. Behind Alain, to 
the northeast, is a door leading to the Hall of Judgment. In the hall, go 
through the first room, exiting to the northwest to find your way to Casnar, 
your next target. He is using Mishaxhi's Cleaver, a two-handed sword with 
Disintegrate Armor enchantment. (Hopefully, you remembered to bring repair 
hammers with you.)

From Casnar's room, find the tunnel leading northeast (the exit is along the 
east wall of the room) and follow this back to the Entry Hall. In the Entry 
Hall, take the east exit to get to the Prison. When you enter the first large 
room, you'll fight the skeleton of Warden Kastav. He's not as tough as the 
Blades, but he's no patsy. There will probably be a ghost or two joining in 
the fight.

Loot his corpse for his key, which opens the door at the top of the ramp. At 
the second four-way intersection, take a right and then take your third left. 
The next left leads to Valdemar's room. Defeat him and take his enchanted 
shield. That should be all four undead Blades. Return to the Entry Hall and 
head for the Tomb.

The spirits of the four Blades should be here, and they'll take up positions 
to bring down the magical barriers protecting the armor of Tiber Septim. Once 
the barriers are down, pick up the armor and head back to Cloud Ruler Temple. 
(Yes, that really is it. There's no more fighting unless you left some ghosts 
behind you.)



                                                                     [MS11]
                           <~~~~~~ MISCARCAND ~~~~~~>

Upon your return, Martin reveals the third item necessary for a portal to 
Paradise: a great welkynd stone. If you've been exploring any Ayleid ruins 
prior to this point, you may have pockets full of the normal welkynd stones 
(they fully restore your Magicka when used). But Martin doesn't want just any 
old welkynd stone, so he directs you to the ancient Ayleid capital of 
Miscarcand.

This ruin is between Skingrad and Kvatch, not far north of the main road. It 
is filled with mostly skeletons, zombies and goblins. The goblins are engaged 
in running fights with the undead. You'll frequently be able to stand by and 
watch them kill each other before you finish off the survivors.

From the entrance, take a left and head down the long hall to a four-way 
intersection. The gate in front of you cannot be opened from this side. To 
your right, stairs go down to the large room you just passed, which is mainly 
a looting opportunity. To the left is a hall that leads to a raised corridor 
over a large room.

Snipe the goblins and undead from your raised position. Eventually, you will 
have to jump down. After looting the room, take the exit in the northwest 
corner and go up the stairs. Find the button on the first landing and push it. 
This opens a gate leading south from the raised corridor. Go up more stairs 
and step on the pressure plate at the top to open the gate at the four-way 
intersection.

Head south and enter the second level, Sel Vanua. In the first room is a varla 
stone under a cover. The button to lift the cover is on the east wall. (Varla 
stones fully recharge all enchanted weapons in your inventory.) Take the south 
exit from this room to reach another large room with a raised corridor 
crossing it. Again, you can snipe from the raised position.

Eventually, you'll have to jump down. The gate leading out of this area is to 
the north. The button that opens that gate is in a side passage on the south 
side of the room. Once the gate is open, enter the third level, Morimath.

Make your way through a series of halls to a large room with a platform in the 
middle. In the center of the platform is the great welkynd stone, ripe for the 
picking. Before you pick it, get ready for battle. If you have fire spells or 
weapons, now is the time to get them ready. Wait for one hour to fully restore 
your health and Magicka.

Ready? Pick up the stone. Some stairs rise from the lower floor up to the 
platform. (All the easier for the zombies to get you.) Behind you, a door 
opens letting out a lich, the King of Miscarcand. Jump down to the lower floor 
and deal with the zombies as quickly as you can. Then you can concentrate on 
the lich. It's resistant to frost and magic, and weak to fire. It's primarily 
a spellcaster, so try to close with it and smash it good.

After the lich is dead, loot its remains for a key. Go back up the platform 
and go north into the alcove from which the lich came. Step on the pressure 
plate, kill the zombies and exit to the west. The key you got from the lich 
will open the gate and you've got a shortcut straight back to the top level of 
the ruin. Another pressure plate opens the secret door leading to the main 
exit from Miscarcand.

Return to Martin with your booty. He's still working on the final item needed 
for the portal. Now it's time to deal with the Oblivion gate in front of 
Bruma.



                                                                     [MS12]
                           <~~~~~~ BRUMA GATE ~~~~~~>

Assuming you've already talked to Jauffre about the Bruma gate, head down to 
the city and report to Captain Burd. He wants you to show the city guard how 
to close a gate. Agree and you'll take Burd and two of his men with you into 
Oblivion.

The Bruma Oblivion world is semi-circular and filled with daedra. (You're 
supposed to be here with allies, so there are more than the usual number of 
demons.) You'll work your way around a semi-circular island to the north side, 
then head south to the Sigil Keep, this one called The Fury Spike.

There are no side towers or anything here. This is a straight run up the tower 
to the Sigillum Sanguis. The Rending Halls is a two-level affair. When you 
reach the top of the first ramp, clear the room, use the Blood Fountain, then 
exit to the east. Climb the curving ramp. When the hall makes a sharp left, 
look for a lever on the wall to spring the blade trap ahead.

Climb the final ramps and return to the Fury Spike core. The Corridors of Dark 
Salvation are next, and it's a simple loop-back climb up a couple of ramps. 
Then it's on to the Sanguis and the sigil stone. Activate it and get thrown 
(along with Burd and whoever else survived) back to Bruma. Burd now thinks he 
and his soldiers can handle any new gates that pop up around Bruma. Return to 
Jauffre at Cloud Ruler Temple.



                                                                     [MS13]
                        <~~~~~~ ALLIES FOR BRUMA ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* These quests are completely optional. However, if you want a chance of 
making it to the end of the main story, and you're not 50th level, then you 
probably want to enlist some help.

Jauffre wants you to travel to the other cities in Cyrodiil and ask for aid 
for Bruma. (He suggests seeing the Elder Council in Imperial City, but you can 
skip them. They're not going to help.) You must travel to each of the other 
seven cities--or fewer if you feel you don't need as much help--close an 
Oblivion gate (except for Kvatch, which has a different requirement) and then 
ask the ruler of the city for Aid for Bruma.

Cheydinhal and Bravil are your best stops. Each sends a high-level Captain; 
Cheydinhal also sends a soldier. Anvil and Chorrol each send two soldiers. 
Kvatch, Leyawiin and Skingrad send only one soldier each. At a minimum, you 
should get aid from Cheydinhal, Bravil, Anvil and Chorrol. If you want to make 
the next quest (Defense of Bruma) ridiculously easy, get aid from all seven 
cities.

In each city, you can go speak to the count or countess first, which will mark 
the Oblivion gate for you. Or you can just go close the gate and speak to the 
ruler after. Speaking to the ruler before offers no special advantage other 
than the map marker. Most of these rulers hold court from 8am until 6pm. You 
can find the castle for each city on your world map and Fast Travel there 
though you've never set foot in their doors.

You should also note some of these worlds use one of the seven random Oblivion 
worlds you can enter through the random gates that pop up here and there in 
the wilderness. For example, Bravil uses the #1 random world, Chorrol uses #2. 
You'll always get the same world when you go through those city gates, but you 
won't always get the same Sigil Keep since the random worlds link to random 
Keep interiors.


| The Wayward Knight (Cheydinhal) [MS13-A]
+------------------------------------------
The gate near Cheydinhal is west of the city. If you speak to the count of 
Cheydinhal first, or speak to one of the soldiers guarding the gate, you'll 
get a new quest: The Wayward Knight. It seems the count's son fancies himself 
a great knight, and has a group of friends who play at being knights with him. 
These impetuous youths charged into Oblivion when the gate opened, and the 
count wants you to bring his son out of there.

Make sure you have a spell to restore health on a target (along with your 
normal Oblivion kit) before entering the gate. You'll come out at the top of a 
large mountain. You'll be required to jump your way down here and there, and 
it will be impossible to get back up. You're in this one for the long haul.

Once you've reached the bottom of the mountain, you'll find Farwil, the 
count's son, and one other knight on the east side of the mountain, near the 
bridge that crosses to the Sigil Keep. Talk to Farwil and they'll agree to 
follow you and help you close the gate.

Advance across the bridge and into the tower. This is just like any other 
Sigil Keep, but you have to concern yourself with keeping Farwil (at least) 
alive. If he does die, you can take his signet ring from the body as proof of 
his heroism.

After the gate is closed, if Farwil survived, he makes you an honorary Knight 
of the Thorn and gives you an amulet with a Speechcraft enhancement. His 
father then will offer you the choice of a magic sword or staff. If Farwil 
didn't make it, the count will still give you some gold for your effort. 
Either way, he'll offer up the services of his captain of the guard and a 
soldier for the defense of Bruma.


| Bravil [MS13-B]
+-----------------
The Bravil gate is located northwest of the city. Inside you arrive facing a 
bridge leading to the Sigil Keep, but a gate blocks your way. To open the 
gate, you must throw a switch at the top of one of the two small towers 
southeast (Spindle Shrine) and southwest (Blood Well) of the Sigil Keep. There 
are three ways to get to one of those towers.

1) Go around the long way. Begin by going west, then north, then east across
   a long bridge with a sunken tower in the middle, then south to the Spindle
   Shrine. Fight your way up the tower (it's like a mini-keep) and throw the
   switch at the top to open the gate across the main bridge.

2) If you have some decent Acrobatics skill, you can turn southwest from your
   entry point and pick your way across a series of small islands that curve
   to the east and then north, leading you to the Spindle Shrine. Throw the
   switch at the top to open the gate across the main bridge.

3) Start by going west from the gate until you come to the bridge going
   north. Look around for a cave entrance, then work your way through the
   caves to the basement of the Blood Well (southwest) tower. Work your way
   to the top to find the switch that opens the main gate.

Once the Sigil Keep is accessible, you're all set. Note this Keep is randomly 
determined when you open the door.  Some of the random Keeps have one side 
area, some two and some three. There's no telling what you're going to get. 
When you've got the sigil stone and have closed the Oblivion gate, see Count 
Terentius for your high-level soldier.


| Anvil [MS13-C]
+----------------
You'll find the Anvil gate northwest of the city. This Oblivion world is easy, 
from a pathing perspective. The Sigil Keep is on top of a mountain, you come 
in at the bottom. Just follow the path as it goes through several switchbacks 
up the face of the mountain and you're there. After the Oblivion gate is 
closed, visit Countess Umbranox for your promise of aid, which is two standard 
soldiers.


| Chorrol [MS13-D]
+------------------
This Oblivion gate is south of the city, in the woods just beyond the stables. 
You enter Oblivion on the north side of the area, facing the Sigil Keep 
surrounded by six towers. You enter the Sigil Keep through a connecting bridge 
from the east (Earthquake) or west (Hurricane) tower. To get to one of those 
two keeps, you have to open the gates that block your way.

Pick any one of the four "corner" towers: Tsunami, Eruption, Tornado or 
Landslide. Ride the "corpse masher" elevator to the middle of the tower, then 
climb the ramp to the top and throw the switch. This opens the gate next to 
that tower. (You can, from the top of any of these towers, cross over to the 
Sigil Keep; however, you can't go anywhere inside the Keep except to one of 
the other four corner towers.)

Go back down, exit the tower and head through the now open gate. Enter one of 
the two side towers and ride the elevator to the middle of the tower. There's 
a door right at the top of the elevator to a bridge over to the Sigil Keep. 
Inside the Keep you'll find the doors to the Rending Halls and you're on your 
way.

Countess Valga spends a lot of time in the chapel, in addition to standard 
court hours, so you should be able to find her most any time of the day. 
She'll send two soldiers to the aid of Bruma.


| The Battle for Castle Kvatch [MS13-E]
+---------------------------------------
You may have already done this after Breaking the Siege of Kvatch. If so, 
you'll find Savlian Matius where you left him, in the castle of Kvatch. Speak 
to him about Aid for Bruma and he promises to send what he can (which is one 
soldier).

If you haven't done this quest yet, Matius and his guards will still be in the 
Temple of Akatosh in Kvatch. Speak to Matius and agree to help him retake the 
castle. He takes off with some men through the north door of the church. 
Follow him outside and help cut through the daedra between the church and the 
castle.

When you reach the castle gates, you find them locked. Matius instructs you to 
go through the North Guard House, under the wall, to the inside of the gates 
and unlock them. Berich Inian, a guard still in the church, has the key.

Return to the church and talk to Inian. He tells you he'll take you through 
the passage. You'll also find some Imperial legionnaires. Speak to them and 
they agree to help out. Follow Inian down into the chapel's crypt. Take it 
easy through here, there are a lot of daedra. With Inian and the legionnaires, 
the demons shouldn't be much trouble. You'll exit the crypt and wind your way 
through more daedra until you reach the North Guard House. If Inian dies along 
the way, make sure you frisk him for the key.

Once you reach the Guard House, all you have to do is drop down into the 
tunnel, run to the far end (no enemies) and climb up to find yourself on the 
inside of the castle gate. Turn the wheel to open the gate and let Matius and 
his men through. There's a pitched battle in the courtyard and then more 
fighting in the main hall of the castle.

Matius now instructs you to go find the count. You'll be aided by any 
surviving legionnaires, so you probably won't have to fight through the castle 
alone. When you reach the count's quarters, you'll find his body. Get his 
signet ring off the body and return it to Matius.

Matius, at this point, suddenly decides to retire and gives you his armor. He 
then spends the remainder of the game standing in the castle in his civvies. 
You can also ask him for Aid for Bruma and get one Kvatch soldier for your 
trouble.


| Leyawiin [MS13-F]
+-------------------
The Oblivion gate is east-northeast of Leyawiin. From the entry point, go west 
and find a cave door. The caves, like many Oblivion things, are random. Just 
keep plugging along and you'll eventually reach the main island.

When you finally make it out, there are Spindle Shrines to the east and west. 
Pick either one and climb to the top. Here you can get to a bridge that leads 
to one of the Blood Well towers. Throw the switch at the top of the Blood Well 
tower to open gates leading to the Sigil Keep. Go down to the bottom of the 
Blood Well, exit onto the bridge and fight your way to the Keep.

Once the gate is closed, you can find Count Caro in Castle Leyawiin during 
normal court hours.


| Skingrad [MS13-G]
+-------------------
The Skingrad gate is just east of Castle Skingrad, at the top of a small hill. 
Inside, you find yourself facing three towers. The two towers to your left and 
right are the Anguish Keep and the Sorrow Keep. Each is a full keep, with two 
side areas and a shrine at the top.

Fight your way to the top of either keep and throw the switch. This will 
extend a bridge across to the top of the other side keep. Cross the bridge and 
throw a switch in the second tower. The bridge between the towers retracts, 
but bridges extend from each side keep to the main Sigil Keep. You'll have to 
fight your way down one level in the second keep in order to take the bridge 
over to the Sigil Keep.

Entering the Sigil Keep, you're already about halfway up the tower and only 
have to fight your way through one side area in order to reach the Sigillum 
Sanguis. You know what to do by now.

The peculiarity in Skingrad occurs after you've closed the gate and want to 
get aid from Count Hassildor. You can only talk to the count by going through 
an intermediary. If you are in the middle of the Mages Guild quest, "Ulterior 
Motives", then Hassildor will refuse to speak to you until you fully complete 
that quest (which means reporting in to Raminus Polus). Otherwise, if you have 
not done "Ulterior Motives", then you must speak to the steward, Mercator 
Hosidus about Aid for Bruma. If you have done "Ulterior Motives", you must 
speak to Hal-Liurz.



                                                                     [MS14]
                        <~~~~~~ DEFENSE OF BRUMA ~~~~~~>

You can open this quest any time after finishing the three "relic hunts" for 
Martin and the Bruma Gate quest. Talk to Martin and he'll reveal the final 
item he needs for a portal to Paradise: a great sigil stone. You can only get 
these by entering a great gate. So Martin proposes to let the enemy open a 
great gate next to Bruma and then send you in to get the great sigil stone 
before the enemy gets its siege machine out and destroys Bruma.

It's goofy plans like this that make him the Emperor, see?

You've no choice but to agree. Martin asks that you personally see Countess 
Carvain in Bruma and fill her in on the plan. So head off to Bruma and the 
Countess, who agrees with the plan. (Must be the royal blood that causes this 
idiocy.) She'll head off to the chapel of Talos.

Follow her down to the chapel and witness the meeting between Martin and 
Carvain. After they've chatted, talk to Carvain again. At this point you have, 
essentially, two choices: "Let's go" or "I'm not ready yet". (If you haven't 
completed all the Allies for Bruma quests, you will also have a "Recruit more 
soldiers" response, which is the same thing as "I'm not ready".)

Save your game! Martin and Carvain will stand in the chapel until the cows 
come home waiting for you to get ready. So...get ready. The mission ahead is a 
timed run through an Oblivion world. You'll not be able to Wait at any point, 
so you'll need a full set of healing potions, Magicka-restoring potions, etc. 
Make sure your enchanted weapons are recharged and all your armor and weapons 
are fully repaired. Feel like you need more support? Go finish more Allies for 
Bruma quests.

When you're ready, give Carvain the go ahead and follow Martin and company out 
the East Gate of Bruma. Your little army heads towards an Oblivion gate that 
has just opened, Martin gives a speech, then the battle is on. Your primary 
job is to keep Martin alive until the great gate opens. If you recruited all 
the available soldiers in Allies for Bruma, this is really easy. There are 
more than enough guards to control the daedra popping through the lesser 
gates.

After a few minutes, you'll get the message the great gate has opened. The 
timer has started! Get moving through the gate...



                                                                     [MS15]
                           <~~~~~~ GREAT GATE ~~~~~~>

This Oblivion world is different in two ways: There's a giant siege engine 
moving toward the gate and you have about 15 minutes to get to the top of the 
Sigil Keep and get the great sigil stone. That's 15 minutes real time, but 
don't dawdle. Try not to spend too much time fighting. Use a potion, spell or 
equipment to Fortify your Speed and try just racing past most enemies. Keep a 
healing spell equipped and boost your health as you run.

There are two towers in front of you, head to the west (left) one. Climb to 
the top and exit onto a north-bound bridge that leads to another tower. Go 
down that tower and exit onto a large bridge. There's a jump here across 
broken pieces of the bridge, but if you miss the jump, you fall down in front 
of a cave entrance that might actually be an easier path.

If you decided to take the eastern route north, the jump across the broken 
bridge is much more difficult and drops you into lava. Plus, there's no 
convenient cave to take you under the fire-spitting guard towers. Your choice.

Regardless, your goal is one of the two towers flanking the Sigil Keep. If you 
use the cave at the base of the western bridge, it takes you directing into 
the western guard tower. At the tops of these two towers are switches that 
open the gates leading to the Sigil Keep.

This Keep has only one side area, the Vaults of End Times. However, you do 
need a Sigil Key from one of two Sigil Keepers. There's a Keeper on the ground 
floor, and another near the door to the Sigillum Sanguis. Kill either one, 
enter the Sanguis and run for the great sigil stone. Provided you got there in 
time, everything, including the large siege engine, blows up and Bruma is 
saved!

Your reward is a standard sigil stone lying in front of the burned-out hulk of 
the siege engine (which somehow Magickages to blow up right outside Bruma) and 
the opportunity to go after Mankar Camoran.

Aren't you lucky?



                                                                     [MS16]
                            <~~~~~~ PARADISE ~~~~~~>

After the battle for Bruma, return to Cloud Ruler Temple. Tend to your 
equipment and talk to Martin. He's ready to open a portal to Camoran's 
Paradise. The question is, are you ready? Once you enter Paradise, you can't 
get out until Camoran is dead. He's a high-level mage, so kit yourself out 
appropriately. Some Dispel scrolls or potions would be useful. Plenty of 
damage resistance, magic resistance, spell absorption...you know the drill.

Once you're ready to live off what you can carry, tell Martin to open the 
portal. Enter the portal to find yourself in Paradise.

Literally.

Camoran's little slice of reality is a pleasant garden environment with blue 
skies and fluffy white clouds. Oh, and the occasional daedra ready to tear 
your head off...Nothing's perfect. Head off down the white brick path, 
listening to Camoran lecture you. Along the way, in addition to the occasional 
daedra, you'll find Ascended Immortals. These dead Mythic Dawn cultists are 
waiting in Paradise for Dagon's victory over Tamriel.

You can talk to these cultists and learn some of the history of this place. 
You also learn the only way to Camoran is through the Forbidden Grotto. And 
you can only get in there if you have the Bands of the Chosen.

As you follow the path, you'll eventually encounter a dremora named Kathutet. 
He wants to talk (so watch your trigger finger). He'll give you Bands of the 
Chosen if you serve him or beat him in a fight. Choose to serve him and he'll 
send you on an errand to free one of his subordinates, Anaxes, who has been 
imprisoned by the Ascended Immortals.

Beating Kathutet is the easier and quicker course of action. But, if you 
decide to serve him, Anaxes' lair is to the northwest. Enter and find the 
boulder wedged in place by logs. Stand to the side and Activate the logs to 
push them out of the way. Return to where you met Kathutet.

Cross the bridge going east and enter the Flooded Grotto. At the end of the 
grotto, if you freed Anaxes, you'll meet Kathutet again and he gives you the 
Bands of the Chosen. If you killed Kathutet, you already have the Bands. Equip 
them and open the door to the Forbidden Grotto.

The Forbidden Grotto turns out to be a torture chamber. As you leave the first 
large room, you'll be intercepted by an Ascended Immortal named Eldamil. He 
wants to help, and, you want his help. Really, you do. Agree to Eldamil's 
plan. He directs you into one of the cages. While in the cage, Eldamil's boss, 
Orthe, comes to check on things.

Eldamil's ruse works, and he lets you out on the east side of the chasm. You 
can now head south, through another torture chamber and through the door into 
the next section of the Grotto.

If you chose to turn down Eldamil, then you have to head north from Eldamil's 
room and fight Orthe and two of his buddies. This is not good for your health. 
But, if you insist on trying, you'll have to kill them all and get Orthe's key 
from a loot sack in the corner of their room. This key opens the portcullis 
leading east and eventually to the exit.

In the second part of the Grotto you'll meet Eldamil again. (Even if you 
turned him down or killed him.) He removes your Bands of the Chosen and offers 
again to help you out. You really should accept his offer. Work your way 
through the Grotto until you encounter a xivilai named Medrike. He has the key 
to the exit. Take it from him.

Outside, follow the path until you run into Mankar's children, Raven and 
Remora. They lead you inside Mankar's palace, where Mankar begins making a 
speech. Don't bother listening. Walk up to him and smack him. Mankar has a lot 
of spell absorption and damage reflection, so attacking him from range, 
especially with spells, is not a good option.

Ignore the children; if you kill them, they just respawn. Mankar is your only 
concern. You want to keep him off balance, preferably with power attacks that 
stagger or stun him. You might also be able to paralyze him with poison put on 
your weapon. If you brought Eldamil along, he can help distract the two kids 
and let you focus on Mankar. If you're an Orc or Redguard, use your greater 
power and just bash Mankar as hard as you can.

As soon as Mankar is dead, Paradise collapses and you find yourself back in 
Cloud Ruler Temple, the Amulet of Kings in hand. It's time to close the 
Oblivion gates once and for all.



                                                                     [MS17]
                     <~~~~~~ LIGHT THE DRAGONFIRES ~~~~~~>

After your return from Paradise, Martin says it's time to go to Imperial City 
and the Temple of the One. Fast Travel down to the Palace district of Imperial 
City and enter the Elder Council Chambers. Once Martin's joined you, he and 
Ocato begin discussing Martin's claim to the throne and re-lighting the 
Dragonfires.

Unfortunately, you're interrupted by a couple of dremora. Oblivion gates have 
sprung up in Imperial City and daedra are rampaging in the streets. Your final 
mission is at hand: protect Martin. Follow the group outside and help deal 
with the daedra; make sure Martin stays healthy.

Once this initial wave of daedra are dead, you're joined by a small group of 
Imperial Legion soldiers. This is your army. Martin says he must get to the 
Temple of the One, so join the soldiers as they run toward the Temple 
District.

When you reach the Temple district, you find it overrun by daedra. Don't spend 
too much time on them--as you kill them, more jump out of the two gates in 
this district. Just run to your right around the temple, making sure Martin is 
keeping up with you.

You'll soon run into Mehrunes Dagon himself. You can't kill this monster, but 
you can hurt him. Your only task is to get Martin inside the Temple and the 
door is just past Dagon. Run up and power attack one of Dagon's legs. He'll 
lift the foot as he staggers back, so take that time to run to the door and 
Activate it. Martin will follow you inside.

At this point, there's nothing you can do but watch. Enjoy the show!



                                                                     [MS18]
                     <~~~~~~ IMPERIAL DRAGON ARMOR ~~~~~~>

This isn't really a quest, more of an epilogue. After all the shouting is 
done, Chancellor Ocato has a chat with you. He names you Champion of Cyrodiil 
and says he's ordered up a suit of Imperial Dragon Armor--normally only worn 
by the emperor--for you. Two weeks later, you'll be able to go to the Imperial 
Legion armory in the Imperial City Prison district and pick up a suit of 
either Light or Heavy Imperial Dragon Armor. (The type of armor is determined 
by which of your two armor skills is higher rank.) The armor not only looks 
nice, it's got some decent enchantments on it as well.

That's it! You've finished the main story of Oblivion. But the game is far 
from over...




                                                                     [FG00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                FIGHTERS GUILD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

The Fighters Guild specializes in solving problems--any problem. Whether it's 
rats in the basement, thieves in the store or goblins overrunning a 
settlement, the Guild gets called in to take care of the situation.

The Fighters Guild isn't for everyone. Several times you will be fighting in 
close quarters with multiple enemies. Tanking is highly suggested. The 
problems presented in this series of quests are to be met with sword or axe 
and do not lend themselves to sneaking around or blowing things up from range.

Joining the Guild is easy, talk to Vilena Donton at the Chorrol Guild, Azzan 
at the Anvil Guild or Burz gro-Khash at the Cheydinhal Guild. You must not 
have any outstanding bounty and your Infamy score must be less than 100. If 
your Infamy score is 100 or higher, get your Fame score to 100 or higher and 
you'll be able to join.

Vilena Donton is the guild master, but doesn't directly issue any orders. You 
get about half of your contracts from Azzan and gro-Khash; the remainder of 
your jobs come from Donton's assistant, Modryn Oreyn. Your first three 
contracts come from Azzan and gro-Khash.



                                                                     [FG01]
                         <~~~~~~ A RAT PROBLEM ~~~~~~>

Azzan, in Anvil, sends you to see Arvena Thelas, who is having a problem with 
the rats in her basement.

Not that kind of problem. It seems Ms. Thelas actually *likes* the rats, but 
someone or something is killing them. Get down there and identify the culprit. 
When you enter the basement, you'll find a mountain lion chewing on the corpse 
of a rat.

Yeah, a mountain lion. Kill it (not necessarily an easy task) and report back 
to Thelas. She worries more might follow this one, and recommends you seek out 
a hunter, Pinarus Inventius. Together, you should be able to track down and 
kill any remaining mountain lions in the vicinity of Anvil.

Use your quest marker to track down Inventius; he roams around a lot and may 
even be out hunting. When you find him, he agrees to lead you to a suspected 
lair just northwest of the city. You'll find four lions have set up camp among 
some rocks. Make sure you stick close to Inventius. Lions are fast and strong. 
Let one of them stagger you and the rest will close in and then you're cat 
chow. One possibility is to get up on the rocks from the "back" side and snipe 
the lions where they can't reach you.

When the lions are dead, return to Thelas. She's still upset. There's 
*another* mountain lion in the basement! Get down there and kill it and return 
to Thelas. She suspects her neighbor, Quill-Weave, of luring the lions into 
Thelas' basement. Find a good hiding spot in the back yard of Thelas' house 
and go into Sneak mode. Wait until dark (around 8pm) and you'll see Quill-
Weave sneak into the yard and leave a piece of meat near the hole in the 
basement wall.

Step out and confront her. She admits to trying to lure the rats out of the 
basement (she finds them disgusting, which means she's perfectly normal). She 
never intended lions to get in. She promises to leave Thelas alone and offers 
you free Acrobatics training, as long as you don't rat her out to Thelas.

* Rat her out to Thelas. Thelas is quite pleased with the outcome and boosts
  your Speechcraft skill by one point, plus your pay for fulfilling the
  contract.

* Keep Quill-Weave's secret. Thelas thinks you're holding out on her, but
  pays you for fulfilling the contract. Track down Quill-Weave and get a
  one-point boost in your Acrobatics skill.

Return to Azzan at the guild hall for another assignment.



                                                                     [FG02]
                   <~~~~~~ THE UNFORTUNATE SHOPKEEPER ~~~~~~>

Once you've dealt with the lions, Azzan sends you to see Norbert Lelles, of 
Lelles's Quality Merchandise. Lelles's store is located on the waterfront, 
outside the Dock Gate of Anvil. Thieves have been breaking into his store and 
he wants you to play security guard.

Stand behind the counter and Wait until midnight. Three thieves will sneak 
into the store. If you're a basic tank, you should be able to handle these 
guys. Stay behind the counter and try to take them one-at-a-time as they come 
around to get you.

If you're more a ranged/stealth fighter, now's the time to pull out a shield 
and block a lot--or use a Shield spell. This is just the first of several 
fights you're going to have in cramped quarters with multiple opponents.

This is the Fighters Guild, after all.

When you've disposed of the thieves, find Lelles in the Flowing Bowl for your 
payment. Return to Azzan. He's got nothing more for you. If you've already 
done "The Desolate Mine", he kicks you on to Vilena Donton in Chorrol, 
otherwise he suggests you go visit gro-Khash in Cheydinhal.



                                                                     [FG03]
                       <~~~~~~ THE DESOLATE MINE ~~~~~~>

Burz gro-Khash wants you to play delivery boy. He gives you a bow, war hammer 
and long sword and tells you to deliver them to Fighters Guild members at 
Desolate Mine, just a short jaunt to the northwest.

You'll find a couple of goblins outside the mine entrance. Inside, in the 
first room, are the three fighters. Speak to Rienna, who explains the 
situation (goblin hunting) and takes the bow. Give the war hammer to Brag gro-
Bharg and the sword to Elidor.

As soon as all three have a weapon, they take off after goblins. Desolate Mine 
is fairly small, but has a number of twists. Your main objective is to stay 
near the other three and keep them alive. The more that survive this trip, the 
higher your payment.

Once your journal informs you all the goblins are dead, return to gro-Khash 
and he'll pay you. If you haven't completed Azzan's quests yet, you're told to 
see him, otherwise you're sent to Chorrol to speak to Guild Master Donton.



                                                                     [FG04]
                      <~~~~~~ UNFINISHED BUSINESS ~~~~~~>

Vilena Donton doesn't have time to waste on peons such as yourself. She tells 
you to talk to Modryn Oreyn about any duties to be performed. Oreyn, indeed, 
has something he wants you to look in to.

Another new recruit, Maglir, has defaulted on a contract in Skingrad. You're 
to find him and figure out what's gone wrong. Travel to Skingrad and ask 
around town about Maglir. You'll be directed to the West Weald Inn, where 
you'll find the little squirt drowning his sorrows.

Maglir complains about not getting paid enough for the job, which is to 
recover the journal of Brenus Astis from Fallen Rock Cave. Maglir's not going 
to go back in there, so you're going to have to go in after the journal. 
Fallen Rock Cave is just a bit northwest of Skingrad. Undead roam it's depths, 
including spirits--make sure you have a silver, daedric or enchanted weapon.

Fallen Rock Cave is fairly small; take the first right and follow it around to 
a large room. Exit through the northwest tunnel and continue straight, 
entering a flooded area, and, eventually, a flooded room with a body and the 
journal. Make sure you collect all the ectoplasm dropped by the spirits and 
save it. You'll want it for the next task.

You can return and talk to Maglir if you like, but it's not required. Report 
back to Oreyn. You can give Maglir the credit for collecting the journal, 
which will help you later on, or claim credit for yourself. Either way, you 
get paid and another assignment.



                                                                     [FG05]
                      <~~~~~~ DRUNK AND DISORDERLY ~~~~~~>

Three Fighters Guild members are drinking on the job down in Leyawiin. You're 
sent to deal with them; you'll find them at the Five Claws Lodge. Turns out 
they're not actually drunk on the job, since they have no job. The Blackwood 
Company is taking all the work. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, 
is to find some work for these guys.

Talk to any townie and they'll point you to Margarte. You should now get a 
quest marker pointing to her, which makes it a lot easier to track her down. 
When you find her, she'll reveal she's in the market for various alchemical 
ingredients, especially ogre's teeth and minotaur horns. She doesn't trust the 
Blackwood Company to collect these ingredients, but she's not ready to hire 
the Fighters Guild either.

She wants you to prove the Guild's worth by bringing her five samples of 
ectoplasm. If you got lucky in Fallen Rock Cave, you've got the five samples 
in your pockets right now. If not, you can try scouring the nearby countryside 
for caves or ruins, which may contain ghosts or wraiths. Or, try an alchemy 
dealer at the local Mages Guild, to see if they have any in stock.

Once you have the five samples of ectoplasm, Margarte will agree to hire your 
three gadabouts to hunt ogres and minotaurs for her. (Good work if you can get 
it?) She'll also buy ogre's teeth and minotaur horns from you in lots of five 
(100 gold for teeth, 50 gold for horns). This really isn't much, considering 
the base price of those ingredients; an alchemist will pay you (assuming a 
measly 40% buy rate) 150 gold for 5 ogre's teeth and 110 gold for five 
minotaur horns.

Report the good news to the three Guild members at Five Claws, then return to 
Oreyn. Oreyn is troubled by news of the Blackwood Company's success, and has 
nothing further for you. He suggests you go see Azzan or gro-Khash for more 
contracts.



                                                                     [FG06]
                         <~~~~~~ DEN OF THIEVES ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* There's a side quest, "Newheim's Flagon", that's tied up with this 
quest. You complete the side quest as you complete the Fighters Guild quest.

Azzan in Anvil has a job for you, and a partner--Maglir, the whiny little wood 
elf you covered for in Skingrad. Reports of a gang of thieves have been 
filtering into the Guild, and Azzan wants the two of you to look into it. Ask 
around town and you'll be pointed to Newheim the Portly. Seek him out (he 
typically wanders the docks) and he'll fill in the details.

In addition to other things, the thieves stole Newheim's family tankard, and 
they're hiding out in Hrota Cave, which is close to Anvil, just north of the 
city. Take Maglir and head out there. Your job is to clean out the caves; 
don't worry about your buddy, for plot reasons he can't die just yet. The 
flagon is sitting on a barrel in the only large room inside the cave.

Return the flagon to Newheim and report back to Azzan. You don't have to 
travel with Maglir any more. If you haven't finished "Amelion's Debt" for gro-
Khash, you're sent packing for Cheydinhal, otherwise you're told to report to 
Oreyn in Chorrol.



                                                                     [FG07]
                         <~~~~~~ AMELION'S DEBT ~~~~~~>

If you've got a bit of cash on you and are feeling generous (or lazy), this 
will be a very short mission. Otherwise, you're in for some serious undead 
carnage. Burz gro-Khash sends you to Water's Edge, a farmstead down near 
Leyawiin. You're to recover some family artifacts for Biene Amelion.

When you arrive at Water's Edge, Biene explains she needs to pay off her 
father's gambling debts. She hopes to sell her grandfather's enchanted armor 
and weapon for the money. Here's where you get to decide how energetic you 
are. If you have 1,000 gold to spare, you can simply give her the money to pay 
off her debt and then be on your way.

Otherwise, you have to clean out Amelion's Tomb, which is located further 
south and on the other side of the Niben River. Fight your way through a lot 
of undead and two small levels. You'll find Brusef's cuirass and sword on a 
sarcophagus in the second level. You can also find other pieces of his armor 
scattered about. (If you pay off Biene's debt, you can still raid the tomb and 
keep the armor for yourself.)

Once Biene has the gold or the armor and sword, return to gro-Khash for 
payment. He then sends you to Anvil if you haven't finished "Den of Thieves" 
or to Chorrol for more duties from Oreyn.



                                                                     [FG08]
                        <~~~~~~ THE MASTER'S SON ~~~~~~>

Modryn Oreyn has a couple of problems, and thinks you can solve them both in 
one go. First, Guild member Galtus Previa has vanished while spelunking in 
Nonwyll Cavern. Second, Vilena Donton's younger son, Viranus, is green around 
the gills and needs seasoning. (Seems Ms. Donton is coddling the youngster 
after older brother, Vitellus, died in an earlier Guild mission.)

Anyway, you're to take young Donton with you to Nonwyll Cavern and keep him 
alive. Run down Viranus using your quest marker and tell him to come along and 
not to tell Mommy about it. Nonwyll Cavern is north of Chorrol and full of 
trolls; not to mention the occasional ogre and a minotaur boss. Don't worry 
about Viranus, he's a plot NPC and can't be killed, so let him charge in and 
take the hits for you.

At the "bottom" of the cavern, you'll find Previa's body. When you get the 
journal update, head out and report back to Oreyn. He's perturbed, and 
comments that it's strange Previa wasn't chewed up.



                                                                     [FG09]
                    <~~~~~~ MORE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ~~~~~~>

Maglir is at it again. Or, more accurately, not at it. Oreyn sends you to 
Bravil to find out why the little snot hasn't fulfilled a contract with a mage 
there. You'll find Maglir at the Lonely Suitor Lodge, and he's wearing a 
different uniform. Seems he decided to join the Blackwood Company.

If, during "Unfinished Business", you gave credit to Maglir for recovering the 
journal, then Maglir will have pity on you and give you the name of the mage 
he is supposed to be working for, Aryarie of the Bravil Mages Guild. If you 
took credit yourself earlier, Maglir has nothing more to say. If that's the 
case, you either have to hunt Aryarie down yourself (she may or may not be in 
the Mages Guild) or return to Oreyn in Chorrol to get the name (which includes 
the convenient quest marker).

Aryarie wants 10 portions of imp gall, which, predictably, can be obtained 
from imps. She points you to Robber's Glen Cave, a short distance north of the 
city. Indeed, there are at least a dozen imps in this complex, along with a 
handful of other critters. Return with the imp gall to Aryarie, who gives you 
an enchanted ring as a bonus.



                                                                     [FG10]
                        <~~~~~~ AZANI BLACKHEART ~~~~~~>

Back in Chorrol, Oreyn has a "side" job for you and asks that you meet him at 
his house after dark. Oreyn lives in the south-western most corner of Chorrol, 
in a small hut. Follow him to his house (if it's already dark), or Wait until 
after 8pm and then meet him there.

Oreyn goes into a long rant over duplicity on the part of the Blackwood 
Company. It seems they've been a thorn in his side since before they started 
stealing contracts in Leyawiin or wimpy wood elves from the ranks of the 
Guild. Specifically, he suspects them of interfering in a job to retrieve a 
valuable artifact from Azani Blackheart.

Oreyn wants to expose the Blackwood Company, and he wants you to come along 
for the ride. He wants you to meet him at the Leyawiin Guild and then go to an 
Ayleid ruin, Arpenia, with him. Fast Travel down to Leyawiin and meet up with 
Oreyn. You can then trudge down to Arpenia together.

Arpenia is mostly empty (a few low-level critters and some traps are all that 
remain). Not far into the ruin, in a large room, Oreyn decides he's seen 
enough and tells you the Blackwood Company must have struck a deal with 
Blackheart. He now wants to find Blackheart; he thinks he might be up the road 
in another Ayleid ruin, Atatar.

Blackheart is, indeed, in Atatar. Along with a dozen or more of his friends 
and a bunch of other creatures. There are four levels in Atatar, and, of 
course, Blackheart is in the last level. The route is circuitous, but, there's 
always only one way you can go.

Fortunately for you, Oreyn is a plot NPC and can't be killed, just knocked 
unconscious (which might happen a lot depending on your level). You'll need 
his help against Blackheart. Once Azani is down, loot his body and give his 
ring to Oreyn. He thanks you, tells you to go see Azzan or gro-Khash and takes 
off, leaving you to get out of Atatar on your own.



                                                                     [FG11]
                     <~~~~~~ THE WANDERING SCHOLAR ~~~~~~>

Azzan wants you to accompany a scholar, Elante, to a supposed daedric shrine 
in Brittlerock Cave. You can complete this quest even if Elante dies, but you 
don't get paid if that happens. Brittlerock Cave is northeast of Anvil and 
quite a trek. If you've previously done work around Fort Sutch ("Assault on 
Fort Sutch" side quest or "Bad Medicine" Dark Brotherhood quest), that's the 
nearest Fast Travel point.

You'll find a couple of creatures outside the mine and the scholar just inside 
the door. (Makes you wonder how she got in there, doesn't it?) Elante wants to 
take the lead, and this is both a blessing and a curse. The curse is she 
wanders through every side passage in the cavern before finding the shrine. 
The blessing is you have a trick to keep her alive.

You may have noticed, when NPCs lead you, they will stop if you get too far 
behind. Actually, they stop if you get too far away in any direction. So, what 
you do is run past Elante and keep running until you run into your first group 
of daedra. As you blow past Elante, she will stop and wait patiently for you 
to "catch up". This allows you to deal with the demons while Elante is safe 
further up the tunnel.

You can clean out the caverns one room at a time, returning to "follow" Elante 
as you go, or you can clear the entire complex (it's not large) all at once 
and then meekly trail after Elante down to the shrine. Elante decides to stay 
and study the shrine a bit longer. You can go back the way you came, or take 
the door behind the altar. It leads to another section of the cave, with more 
daedra, and another exit back into the world above.

Azzan thanks you for dedication and sends you to see gro-Khash, unless you've 
already completed "The Fugitives", in which case you're told to report to 
Oreyn.



                                                                     [FG12]
                         <~~~~~~ THE FUGITIVES ~~~~~~>

This is a simple quest. gro-Khash reports a group of four prisoners escaped 
the Bravil jail and have decided to stick around and prey on the citizens of 
that fair city. He sends you to deal with the problem. (Just in case you were 
wondering, "deal with" is a euphemism for kill. There's no other way to finish 
this quest.)

Go to Bravil and ask around. You need to get an NPCs Disposition over 60 in 
order to get the location of the fugitives: Bloodmayne Cave. The cave is 
northwest of Bravil and the ex-cons are somewhat spread out. You shouldn't 
have to face more than two at once.

When they're dead, return to gro-Khash for your pay and marching orders from 
Oreyn. (Or referral to Azzan if you haven't completed "The Wandering 
Scholar".)



                                                                     [FG13]
                    <~~~~~~ TROLLS OF FORSAKEN MINE ~~~~~~>

Oreyn sent a group of Guild members to Forsaken Mine to clear out the trolls. 
It's been days and he hasn't heard from them. You're to investigate. Fast 
Travel to Leyawiin and head southwest. Forsaken Mine is just about as far 
south as you can go in Cyrodiil. Use the entrance marked for you on your map. 
(There's another entrance to the mine, but it leads directly into some trolls 
that are better approached from behind.)

The first level of the mine is basically empty except for corpses--mostly 
Fighters Guild, but one or two will be Blackwood Company fighters. You won't 
encounter your first troll until you hit the door to the second level of the 
mine. From here, there are about 10 trolls that you must kill. Make sure you 
get every one.

Along the way you'll find Viranus Donton's body--you just know Mommy's going 
to be happy about this. His journal suggests the trolls weren't the problem. 
Something's fishy in Leyawiin, and it's not the Niben River. When you get the 
journal entry that you've killed all the trolls (a high-powered Detect Life 
spell is good for finding any that are eluding you), return to Oreyn.

He's not happy, but is ready to face the axe himself. He sends you to Anvil or 
Cheydinhal to get away from the wrath of Donton.



                                                                     [FG14]
                    <~~~~~~ THE STONE OF ST. ALESSIA ~~~~~~>

In Anvil, Azzan tells you of the theft of a religious relic from the temple in 
Bruma. He sends you there to recover the Stone of St. Alessia. In Bruma, you 
need to track down Cirroc, who is normally in the Chapel of Talos. He says 
four or five men were seen heading east out of town about the time the stone 
was discovered missing.

Your quest marker updates to a point along the east road out of Bruma. Follow 
it to find the lone remaining bandit, a Khajiit. He confesses to the crime, 
but says he and his buddies were ambushed by ogres and he's the only surviving 
member. The ogres now have the stone and are holed up in an Ayleid ruin, 
Sedor, a little further east and a bit south.

The path through Sedor is simple, but you will have to deal with ogres (by 
combat or stealth). Return the stone to Cirroc and then report back to Azzan. 
Azzan doesn't have any more work for you. Literally, this is your last quest 
for the leader of the Anvil guild. If you have finished gro-Khash's quests, 
Azzan tells you Oreyn is looking for you.



                                                                     [FG15]
                      <~~~~~~ THE NOBLE'S DAUGHTER ~~~~~~>

This is the first of two quests gro-Khash has for you, and they're the last he 
will give you. It's a simple kidnapping. gro-Khash refers you to Lord 
Rugdumph; his estate is a fair walk north-northeast of Cheydinhal. Azura's 
Shrine or the Lake Arrius Caverns (Dagon Shrine from the main story) are the 
closest quest-related Fast Travel points.

Lord Rugdumph doesn't have great command of English (or Imperial or whatever 
it is that they speak in Cyrodiil), but you get the gist. His daughter was 
kidnapped by ogres, who then headed east. Follow your quest marker almost due 
east of the estate to find the young lady and her three ogreish "protectors".

This can be a bit tricky, as the ogres sometimes clump up around the orc and 
make it difficult to pick them off (and you definitely don't want to use an 
explosive spell on them when they're near the target of your quest). Approach 
in Stealth mode and wait until the ogres are spread out. Then use bow or spell 
to attract one to you and kill it. Rinse-and-repeat for the other two.

Talk to the orc woman and she'll agree to follow you back to her home. Lead 
her there, get more entertainment from Rugdumph's language lessons and his 
special sword. Then return to gro-Khash, who has another assignment for you.



                                                                     [FG16]
                   <~~~~~~ MYSTERY AT HARLUN'S WATCH ~~~~~~>

People are disappearing from Harlun's Watch and gro-Khash wants you to find 
out why. Harlun's Watch is just south of Cheydinhal; your contact is Drarana 
Thelis. She tells of strange lights near Swampy Cave. Some villagers sent to 
investigate have not returned.

Swampy Cave is a short distance to the southeast. If you haven't encountered 
will-o-the-wisps before, you're about to. You need a couple of things to fight 
wisps: a silver, daedric or enchanted weapon (or spells); and a Detect Life 
spell (or enchanted equipment). Wisps like to go invisible and you don't want 
them sneaking up on you and draining your health.

There are three to four wisps clustered outside the entrance to Swampy Cave. 
Try to deal with them at a distance; up close they have a Drain Health ability 
that basically ignores your armor. Spell Absorption or Reflection wouldn't 
hurt. When the wisps are dead, your journal suggests that explains the strange 
lights, but not the missing townsfolk.

Enter Swampy Cave and start killing trolls. There are a lot of trolls spread 
over two levels. You'll have to kill them all to complete this quest. Your 
Detect Life spell will now come in handy for finding all the trolls. In the 
southernmost part of the first level of the caves, you'll find the bodies of 
the missing villagers*. Your journal should update at this point.

* There's a bug in the game caused by clearing out Swampy Cave before you get 
this quest. If you've already been through here, the dead villager won't spawn 
and the quest won't advance. You can fix this by downloading the v1.1 patch.

Once the trolls are all dead (your journal should update again), return to 
Thelis in Harlun's Watch with the bad news. Then see gro-Khash for your 
payment and word that Oreyn wants to see you. (Unless you haven't finished 
"The Stone of St. Alessia", then gro-Khash tells you to talk to Azzan.)



                                                                     [FG17]
                     <~~~~~~ INFORMATION GATHERING ~~~~~~>

You'll find Modryn Oreyn in his house, as, basically, he has nothing better to 
do these days than sit and chew his nails over his dismissal from the Guild. 
He thinks the Blackwood Company is a bunch bad guys (no kidding!) and he's 
determined to bring them down. But, even though he has lots of time on his 
hands, he wants you to do the bringing down.

Nice of him to think of you, isn't it?

For starters, he wants you to capture one of the Blackwood leaders, Ajum 
Kagin, from his headquarters in Glademist Cave. The cave is east of the city, 
not far, and it's very small. Kagin has six to seven Blackwood Company 
fighters holed up in there with him.

Now is actually a good time to work on your Sneak skill. This little cave is 
rather overflowing with bad guys (other than Kagin, they don't want to talk) 
and you'll want to work as hard as you can to separate them. That means bow 
attacks while in Sneak mode, to try to force a single foe out of his cozy 
cavern he's sharing with his buddies and into the tunnels where you can 
dispatch him.

Kagin is in the far room of the cavern, behind a wood door. Don't go in until 
you've killed everyone else. Confront him and he'll meekly surrender and 
follow you to Oreyn's house. Oreyn orders you to conduct the interrogation.

You have two choices:

1) Use the Persuasion mini-game and/or Charm spells to raise Kagin's
   Disposition. You'll need it over 90 to get all the information he has
   to offer.

2) Use your fists to beat on Kagin until he talks.

Either method works, just don't kill Kagin. He'll eventually give you the 
number of Blackwood Company recruits (100) and the name of the leader 
(Ri'Zakar). Once he's spilled Ri'Zakar's name, he kills himself rather than 
reveal the recipe for the Company's secret sauce.

Oreyn is satisfied, but wants more. He wants you to join the Blackwood Company 
and find out what they're up to.



                                                                     [FG18]
                          <~~~~~~ INFILTRATION ~~~~~~>

Joining the Company is easy. Fast Travel to Leyawiin and find the Company's 
main HQ right across the street from the Fighters Guild. Talk to Jeetum-Zee 
and he'll take you right in.

Must be a lot of defectors from the Guild.

Zee takes you down to the Training Room and briefs you and three other 
recruits on a goblin hunting mission. During the conversations, you discover 
the source of the Company's wild successes: sap from the Hist tree. This tree 
normally only grows in the swamps of Black Marsh, the Argonian homeland, and 
the narcotic produced from its sap is illegal in Cyrodiil. Rather than smuggle 
the sap in, the Company has figured out how to keep a Hist tree alive in this 
very building, so they've got plenty of sap for everyone.

You have no choice but to drink some Hist along with the other three recruits. 
You automatically Fast Travel to Water's Edge (you may remember this hamlet 
from a previous task). There are several goblins roaming around, and your 
brother Blackwoods lay into them immediately. The goblins are strangely 
passive and very weak.

After the goblins outside are dead, you're ordered to check the houses. Sure 
enough, you'll find four more passive, weak goblins inside the various houses. 
Kill them and you'll pass out.

You wake up in Oreyn's house in Chorrol. You were found in the streets of 
Leyawiin by Guild members and brought to him. Explain the Hist tree. He says 
he'll look into it and sends you to Water's Edge to check on its inhabitants.

There you find a truly tragic scene. Seven dead sheep, and four dead people, 
including the lovely Biene Amelion. Standing over the carnage is Biene's 
father, Marcel, recently released after Biene paid his debt. He wonders who 
could have done this.

You know, but you can't confess. All you can do is return to Oreyn.



                                                                     [FG19]
                            <~~~~~~ THE HIST ~~~~~~>

If, after the scene with the elder Amelion, you're not ready to lay some smack 
down on the Blackwood Company, there's something wrong with you. Fortunately, 
Oreyn knows just how you're feeling. He tells you to get to Leyawiin and take 
out the Hist tree. If some Company fighters go down with it...well, that's 
just collateral damage.

Fast Travel to Leyawiin, enter the Blackwood Company HQ and express your 
displeasure to the three to four fighters on the ground floor. (Don't try any 
sweet-talking, they attack on sight. So should you.) When you're finished 
pounding on them, find the body named Ja'Fazir and get the key to Jeetum-Zee's 
room.

Go upstairs to Jeetum-Zee's room and explain what the pointy thing on the end 
of your sword is for. From his corpse you get the key to Ri'Zakar's room on 
the third floor. You haven't met Ri'Zakar yet; he's going to wish you never 
did. Take the key to the basement from him.

Find the basement door on the first floor and enter. There's a huge tree 
growing in the center of the room with complex machinery on either side of it. 
There are also two Argonian mages. Make them regret ever leaving Black Marsh.

Once they're dead, find two loose pipes laying on the floor and pick them up. 
With the pipes in your inventory, Activate each large machine to destroy them. 
The Hist tree goes up in flames and you can start breathing again. On your way 
out, Maglir shows up.

It's OK. You get to kill him now.

Return to Oreyn, who sends you on to Vilena Donton to explain everything. 
While initially ticked you and Oreyn have been working behind her back, she 
ultimately decides the real problem is herself. She's getting too old and too 
shell-shocked to lead a guild of fighters.

So, she hands the reins over to you and recommends you appoint Oreyn your 
second-in-command. Oreyn initially complains about missing out on retirement, 
but then decides you need someone to look after you.

Once each calendar month, you can give Oreyn new orders from a list of three:
1) Focus on getting new recruits.
2) Focus on drumming up business.
3) Focus on both equally.

On the first of each month, you get a stipend placed in the guild master's 
chest in your office in the Chorrol guild hall. It will contain a mixture of 
gold and magic items. If you instruct Oreyn to concentrate on recruitment, 
you'll get more items. If the focus is on contracts, you get more gold. 
Balancing the two will balance your monthly reward.

Take your boots off and relax a bit. You get to collect loot without doing any 
of the work.

It's good to be the boss.



                                                                     [FG20]
                <~~~~~~ EXPELLED FROM THE FIGHTERS GUILD ~~~~~~>

Like the other guilds, you are not permitted to steal from, attack or kill 
other members of the guild. (Non-members are fair game.) The Fighters Guild 
operates on a three-strikes and you're out policy. The first two times you 
commit a crime against a guild member, you can earn your way back in. The 
third time, you're out for good.

The first time you are expelled, you must bring 20 bear pelts back to Vilena 
Donton in Chorrol to be re-instated. The second time you are expelled, you 
must bring Donton 20 minotaur horns. Neither are particularly easy tasks, 
especially since bears and minotaurs are leveled creatures that only appear 
when you're at the right level.

The best policy is to avoid committing crimes against fellow guild members. If 
you suspect you might get a little out of control, stockpile bear pelts and 
minotaur horns as you find them. If you commit a third offense against a guild 
member, you're out for good.




                                                                     [MG00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                  MAGES GUILD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

The Mages Guild quests should be considered a necessity for any character, at 
least to the point where you get access to Arcane University (after completing 
the Recommendations). Once you are an Apprentice, you can enchant items and 
make your own spells, both highly useful activities.

Note also that completing the Mages Guild quests does not require you to be a 
mage, nor even particularly proficient with magic. Most of the quests are 
"solved" by combat, which any character can be adept at.

Joining the Mages Guild is simple: make sure you have no outstanding bounty, 
then speak to the leader in one of the seven local guild halls. They are:

* Anvil: Carahil
* Bravil: Kud-Ei
* Bruma: Jeanne Frasoric
* Cheydinhal: Falcar
* Chorrol: Teekeeus
* Leyawiin: Dagail
* Skingrad: Adrienne Berene

Once you've joined, you are considered an Associate and you receive a key that 
opens the various locked doors in the guild halls and you can pick up 
equipment freely in the guild storerooms. Before you can advance in rank and 
access the Arcane University in Imperial City, you must get a recommendation 
from each local guild leader.

Ask each guild leader about a recommendation. They'll say they can't possibly 
give you a recommendation unless you do something for them first.

Uh huh. You've been down this road before.

Agree to undertake the tasks they ask of you and you'll get their 
recommendations.



                                                                     [MG01]
                      <~~~~~~ ANVIL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

This quest, while it initially sounds exciting, is quite yawn-worthy. Talk to 
Carahil at the Anvil Guild. She wants you to bait a trap for a rogue mage 
that's been murdering merchants traveling the Gold Coast. You are sent to the 
Brina Cross Inn, just north of Anvil. Be sure to follow through all Carahil's 
conversation options to get some Frost Shell scrolls.

Go to the Inn and speak to Arielle Jurard. She tells you to take a room. Do 
so, and Jurard will come up to your room soon after you enter and explain the 
plan. You are to rest, then travel east along the road. You'll be followed by 
Jurard and another battlemage. When the rogue mage hits you, they'll move in 
and take him out.

You only need to rest in the bed 1 hour (you can rest overnight if you wish), 
then head out to the road and walk east. You'll soon be waylaid by Caminalda, 
who may have spoken to you at the Inn. She's the rogue and she is easily 
dispatched. In fact, you don't even really need to do anything except step 
back and let the other two battlemages take over.

After, loot Caminalda's body for the key to her room at the Inn, which 
contains a bit of loot. Then return to Carahil for her recommendation.

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?



                                                                     [MG02]
                     <~~~~~~ BRAVIL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

No combat required for this task, just lots of running around and a fair bit 
of gold from your pocket (or a bit of theft). Kud-Ei, head of the Bravil 
Guild, wants you to speak to Varon Vamori about a staff he stole from one of 
Kud-Ei's "girls". To help matters, Kud-Ei gives you a Beguile scroll (Charm, 
30 points for 30 seconds). Head to Vamori's house, which will be marked for 
you on your local map.

Talk to Vamori. You need to get his Disposition to 65 to find out the fate of 
the staff. You can do this with the Persuasion mini-game and/or bribes or use 
the Beguile scroll. Once you've persuaded him, Vamori reveals he stole the 
staff in a fit of anger and sold it to one Soris Arenim, who lives in Imperial 
City.

Lovely. Go back to Kud-Ei and get another supply of Beguile scrolls. Travel to 
the Talos Plaza District and find Arenim's house (marked on your map). You 
must get Arenim's Disposition up to 70 to get any information about the staff. 
He offers to sell it to you for 200 gold. You can pay the price and finish 
this business; or, if you're opposed to being out-of-pocket on this mission...

Speak to Arenim's wife, Erissare. Get her Dispostion to 65 (again, with 
Persuasion or spell), and she'll tell you where Arenim keeps the staff and 
where he keeps the key to the chest containing the staff. (If you don't want 
to use up a scroll, the key is upstairs in Soris' desk; the chest with the 
staff is in the cellar.)

Return the staff to Kud-Ei, who is suitably grateful. She teaches you a mild 
Charm spell (Captivate) and promises her recommendation to the Guild.



                                                                     [MG03]
                      <~~~~~~ BRUMA RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

This may just be the easiest and shortest quest in the entire game. Talk to 
Jeanne Frasoric, guild leader, to learn one of her mages, J'skar, has gone 
missing. Now, if you have a Detect Life spell, cast it and walk around 
(including down in the basement living quarters) and you should find an 
invisible humanoid. Cast a Dispel to reveal J'skar and return to Jeanne for 
your recommendation.

If you don't have Detect Life, you may still be able to find J'skar by 
wandering around and pointing your crosshair target at random places. If it 
suddenly changes to a crown (plot NPC) icon over thin air, you've found your 
Dispel target.

Finally, if you don't have a Dispel handy, talk to guild member Volanaro. He 
reveals the whole disappearance is a prank. Raise his Disposition to 70 and 
he'll make a deal: you steal Jeanne's copy of the Manual of Spellcraft and 
he'll "find" J'skar. Getting the book is easy, especially since Volanaro will 
teach you an Unlock spell. Jeanne's room is the only room on the upper floor 
of the guild. Break in, unlock her desk (with spell or lockpick) and grab her 
book.

Return to Volanaro, and he'll agree to meet you at 10pm in the living 
quarters. Wait ahead to the appropriate time, meet Volanaro in the basement 
and he'll Dispel J'skar's invisibility.



                                                                     [MG04]
                   <~~~~~~ CHEYDINHAL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

Falcar, leader of the Cheydinhal guild, has dropped a ring down the well 
behind the guild. He makes some mention of sending someone else after it and 
not getting it back. He now wants you to go get the ring. He sends you to 
Deetsan for a key to the well.

Deetsan won't give you the key until she's had a talk with you, and she won't 
talk while Falcar is around. Wait ahead until Falcar goes back to his 
quarters, then talk to Deetsan. She is concerned over Falcar's "prank tasks" 
given to new Associates, and warns you to be careful. Then she hands over the 
key and teaches you a combination water-breathing and feather (reduced 
encumbrance) spell.

Deetsan's warning is well-taken. The ring is a Ring of Burden and increases 
your encumbrance by 150 points. Deetsan's spell only reduces encumbrance by 5 
points. Bit of a discrepancy there. Once you enter the well, you can easily 
find Vidkun's body and take the ring off him. As soon as you do, you get 150 
pounds added to your encumbrance--you don't have to equip the ring to suffer 
the effects.

You have two options:

1) Divest yourself of at least 150 pounds of gear. Even if this is your first 
recommendation quest, you have access to the bedroom and chests upstairs, so 
put all your gear into a chest. You can then safely carry out the ring.

2) Once you have the ring, wait until you get the quest update saying you 
should return the ring to Falcar. As soon as you have that quest update, drop 
the ring. The quest has continued and you don't need to actually hand over the 
ring. *NOTE* Some people have experienced a glitch where the quest does not 
update and the ring disappears so this quest becomes impossible to complete. 
The safest way to do the quest is to get rid of your gear and actually bring 
the ring to Deetsan.

Return to the guild. Deetsan rashly confronted Falcar over the disappearance 
of the previous Associate and he had a fit and has taken off for parts 
unknown. So how do you get your recommendation? Deetsan tells you to search 
Falcar's quarters for the letter of recommendation. You won't find a letter, 
but you will find two black soul gems. Take them to Deetsan, who is dismayed 
with your find, and promises to send your recommendation herself.



                                                                     [MG05]
                     <~~~~~~ CHORROL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

The Chorrol recommendation only comes with your completion of the Fingers of 
the Mountain quest. There's a part 2 of that quest, depending on how you 
handle the first part.


| Fingers of the Mountain [MG05-A]
+----------------------------------
Teekeeus, head of the Chorrol guild, has bad relations with former colleague 
Earana. She is loitering about town, and Teekeeus wants you to find out why so 
she can be sent on her way. Follow your objective marker to Earana. She isn't 
interested in Teekeeus, she wants a book, Fingers of the Mountain, that can be 
found at a ruin called Cloud Top. She promises a vague reward if you bring her 
the book.

Relay this to Teekeeus and he lets you know he would like the book as well. 
Retrieve it for him and the recommendation is yours. Journey (by foot or 
horse) to Cloud Top, which has been marked for you and is north-northwest of 
Chorrol. There are no specific enemies to fight, though you will encounter the 
normal range of wild animals on your path. The book is conveniently located on 
a charred corpse lying at the base of a broken column.

You now have two choices:

1) Take the book to Teekeeus. He accepts, with thanks, and the recommendation
   is yours.

2) Take the book to Earana. She says she must study it for a day. Return to
   her the following day and she'll give you instructions on how to obtain
   a powerful spell. See "Learning the Spell" below for the full
   instructions.


| Fingers of the Mountain, Part II [MG05-B]
+-------------------------------------------
You can, actually, do both--get the recommendation from Teekeeus and the spell 
from Earana. After finishing part 1 of this quest, go to the other participant 
and reveal what you've done. This opens Part II: you are asked to steal the 
book back. Teekeeus keeps the book in a locked chest in his quarters. Earana 
keeps the book in her room at the Grey Mare Inn.

Once you've stolen the book, return it to the other party. You'll get the 
recommendation (from Teekeeus) or the spell instructions (from Earana) and 
still have the other "reward" from the previous "owner" of the book.

It's all good.


| Learning the Spell
+--------------------
The true reward for this quest is Finger of the Mountain, a very powerful 
spell. Two things to note about this spell:

1) Its power is keyed to your level. If you learn the spell at level 2, you
   get a low-level spell. Learn the spell at a higher level, and the power
   is much higher. (See list below.) PC users can learn the low-level spell
   and have it automatically leveled up using a mod.

2) At higher levels, the spell is only useful to dedicated mages, since it
   costs a lot of Magicka. If you don't rely much on spells, don't bother
   learning this one.

To learn Finger of the Mountain, you must visit Cloud Top and cast a Shock 
spell on the central, broken column and have a welkynd stone in your 
inventory. Welkynd stones are all over the place in Ayleid ruins. If you don't 
have one, you can get some from a small ruin just northeast of the Chorrol 
north gate.

It's called Hrotanda Vale, and it is a two-level, bandit-infested ruin. The 
first large room you come to has two floor traps in the center. If you draw 
the bandits over them, you may finish off two or three with the traps. Careful 
jumping around the corners will get you past the traps into a room full of 
welkynd stones. (You can finish off the rest of the ruin, or not. All you 
really need is one stone.)

Make sure you have a spell or scroll that does shock damage (any magnitude) 
and a welkynd stone. Return to Cloud Top, restore yourself to full health and 
cast your Shock spell on the central column. You'll get hit by lightning in 
return and learn Finger of the Mountain. The shock damage done to you and the 
power of the spell is keyed to your level:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|              |           | Finger of the Mountain (Destruction magic) |
| Min PC level | Dmg to PC | Shock Dmg | Area |  Magicka* | Skill level |
|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|
| 1            |        15 |         6 |    5 |        11 | Novice      |
|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|
| 5            |        40 |        20 |    5 |        54 | Journeyman  |
|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|
| 10           |        60 |        40 |    5 |       131 | Expert      |
|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|
| 15           |       120 |        90 |    5 |       371 | Master      |
|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|
| 20           |       210 |       140 |    5 |       653 | Master      |
|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|
| 25           |       210 |       200 |   10 |      1547 | Master      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Actual Magicka cost will be adjusted based on your skill level in 
Destruction.



                                                                     [MG06]
                    <~~~~~~ LEYAWIIN RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

The head of the Leyawiin Mages Guild, Dagail, is somewhat incoherent. Speak to 
her, and, among her ramblings, she'll point you to Agata. Speak to Agata to 
learn about the stone Dagail used to have that allows her to focus her 
visions. Find Kalthar and ask him about the Seer's Stone.

He'll give you an earful and then some. Return to Agata and discuss Kalthar 
with her. She'll tell to you go back to Dagail. Speak to Dagail again and 
listen intently to her riddles. Or not. Your journal will now point you to 
Fort Blueblood.

Refer to your map, where you'll find Fort Blueblood now showing southeast of 
Leyawiin. Hoof it over there and fight your way through a bunch of marauders 
in a two level dungeon. After killing the marauder warlord, make sure you loot 
his body for the Fort Blueblood key. This gives you access to the crypt where 
Dagail's father lies.

His coffin is protected by leveled creatures. Once they are down and you've 
retrieved his amulet, you'll be confronted by Kalthar. He wants the amulet, 
which, of course, you're not going to let him have. Kalthar's a conjurer, so 
ignore his buddy if he summons one and concentrate on taking him out. Return 
to Dagail in Leyawiin for the recommendation.



                                                                     [MG07]
                    <~~~~~~ SKINGRAD RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

Adrienne Berene wants some notes from Erthor, a mage Adrienne ran out of the 
guild. She has no idea where Erthor is, and wants you to track him down. Talk 
to Sulinus Vassinus, who should be wandering around the guild. Vassinus says 
Erthor moved into Bleak Flats Cave and hasn't been seen in a long time. (Yay! 
Caves!) Vassinus has no idea where Bleak Flats Cave is.

Find Druja, another mage wandering around the guild. Druja can pinpoint Bleak 
Flats Cave on your map and mentions it was Berene that recommended the cave to 
Erthor. Talk to Berene again; she'll order you point-blank to go to the cave 
and bring Erthor back. To aid you, you are taught a new spell, Fireball. (Yay! 
Fire!)

Bleak Flats Cave now appears on your map, north-northwest of Skingrad. You 
can't Fast Travel there, so walk on over. Inside are quite a number of 
deranged zombies. (Yay! Zombies! In a cave! With fire!) Fight your way through 
them, making sure you wipe them all out, until you find Erthor. Erthor will be 
pleased with the rescue and ask that you lead him out of the cave.

Letting Erthor follow you is not required. You can simply tell him to return 
to the Skingrad guild hall on his own. There's a shortcut out of Erthor's 
"room" to the northwest. Pull the lever to move the rock. After returning to 
the Mages Guild, talk to Berene to get your recommendation.



                                                                     [MG08]
                         <~~~~~~ A MAGES STAFF ~~~~~~>

After completing the seven recommendation quests, talk to any guild leader 
about your recommendation. You'll be sent to Raminus Polus at Arcane 
University just outside Imperial City. Travel there and enter the lobby of the 
University during normal hours to meet Polus. You'll be promoted to Apprentice 
and given a new task: create a mages staff.

First, you have to collect the proper wood for your staff. Polus sends you to 
a grove near Wellspring Cave, which is east of Imperial City. To reach the 
grove, you must go through the cave. In the first area of the cave you'll find 
the body of one of the grove's guardians. (You knew this wasn't going to be 
simple, right?) Make sure you Activate the body twice--once to update your 
journal, again to get the key to the grove from her body.

There are also some necromancers in the cave. Necromancers like to summon 
things; try to ignore the summoned creatures and take out the summoner (which 
also dispels the summons). Near the end of the cave is the body of the second 
grove guardian. Outside, in the grove, are three necromancers. There's no way 
to take them on one-by-one, you'll have to put up with all three hitting you 
at once.

If you're having trouble with them, make sure you use items and potions with 
damage resistance (especially against fire and shock). Remember to take out 
the summoner and don't waste time on the summons. When the necromancers are 
dead, get your wood from the chest in the center of the grove. You can jump 
down from the grove into Lake Rumare and swim across to Arcane University.

Polus is appalled at the necromancer attack on the grove. He sends you along 
to Delmar in the Chironasium, who will make a staff of your choosing. You can 
pick from three schools, and then choose one of three powers from that school:

* Destruction: Fire, Frost or Shock damage
* Illusion: Charm, Paralyze or Silence
* Mysticism: Dispel, Telekinesis or Soul Trap

Wait until the next day and collect your staff from the cupboard in the back 
of the room. Return to Polus and ask about Advancement; you are now a 
Journeyman in the Guild. Then ask about Tasks for a new mission.



                                                                     [MG09]
                        <~~~~~~ ULTERIOR MOTIVES ~~~~~~>

Polus sends you on a simple step-n-fetch mission. Count Hassildor in Skingrad 
borrowed a book, and the Guild wants it back. Travel to Castle Skingrad. You 
can't see the count, and everyone refers you to Mercator Hosidus, castle 
steward. Mercator is brusque and won't bother the count until the following 
day.

Return the next day. Hosidus sets up a meeting between you and the count on 
the road west of town after 2am that night. Wait until the appropriate time, 
then head out the west gate and down the road, just past the first farm on the 
left. Make sure you're kitted out for battle first (yeah, you're not getting 
off easy).

Hosidus and a couple of necromancers are waiting for you. This can't end well. 
Endeavor to make sure Hosidus and friends feel worse about the meeting than 
you. During the ruckus, Count Hassildor will show up and take a personal 
interest in "retiring" Hosidus--and his pals. Then he chews you out for being 
a gullible fool.

Well. Yeah. But it's not like the game gives you any other choice. You find 
out you were sent to spy on Hassildor, but he turned the situation around and 
used you as bait to draw out Hosidus and his allies. Travel back to Arcane 
University and do some chewing out of your own on Polus. He apologizes, fully 
explains the count's condition (he's a vampire, if you haven't figured that 
out yourself) and promotes you to Evoker. You get a leveled amulet with a 
Spell Absorption enchantment and a new task.



                                                                     [MG10]
                       <~~~~~~ VAHTACEN'S SECRET ~~~~~~>

Polus sends you to help Irlav Jarol, who hangs out in the Arch-Mages Council 
Chamber (use the portal in the Lobby). Jarol is supervising an archaeological 
study of an Ayleid ruin and they've hit a snag. He sends you to investigate.

Vahtacen is located south-southeast of Cheydinhal. The upper level of this 
ruin is unoccupied except for a couple of Mages Guild workers: Skaleel and 
Denel. Skaleel is disgruntled and doesn't want to help. She sends you down to 
Denel, who explains the problem.

They've got a wall blocking their way further into the ruin and they can't 
figure out how to open it. You can do this the hard way by entering the large 
room and looking at the inscriptions on the walls. Then return to Denel and 
ask about translating the runes. He sends you to Skaleel for a book, then 
helps you translate the writing.

Or, you can just go ahead and open the wall. You need four spells (scrolls or 
staffs will work): fire damage, frost damage, damage Magicka and fortify 
Magicka. If you don't have these spells, you can find scrolls in the chest 
behind Denel. Walk up to the large column in the center of the room and cast 
your spells in this order: fire, frost, damage Magicka (must be damage, not 
drain or absorb) and fortify Magicka (must be useable on a target, not on 
self). The walls will open, revealing a staircase leading down.

It's up to you to go down and explore Vahtacen's depths. Speaking to Denel or 
Skaleel will only confirm this for you. You'll fight your way through a lot of 
ghosts (or wraiths, depending on your level) until you reach a large room with 
a platform in the middle. There's no immediate way up onto the platform. Use 
the stairs on the south side of the room to get up to the switch that raises 
steps to the central platform.

On top of the platform is a cover that is raised with a nearby switch. Don't 
push the switch until you're ready for battle. Open the cover and take the 
relic underneath. When you do, three zombies are released into the room. 
They're pretty stupid and won't use the stairs to come get you, so you can 
stand on the edge of the platform and snipe them. Or you can jump down and try 
to take them all on at once.

Once they're dead, you can take a shortcut back to the upper levels of the 
ruin by using the northern-most exit from this room. Show the relic to 
Skaleel, who will be delighted, then return to Jarol at Arcane University for 
your reward.



                                                                     [MG11]
                       <~~~~~~ NECROMANCER'S MOON ~~~~~~>

Polus now gives you another promotion and a new task: talk to archivist Tar-
Meena about necromancy. Use the "Black Soul Gems" topic to get Tar-Meena to 
talk. She tells you to read a book called "Necromancer's Moon". It's lying on 
a table there in the library. Talk to Tar-Meena again, who points out a 
reference to "Shade of the Revenant".

Return to Polus, who refers you to Bothiel, the resident astronomer. Bothiel 
recalls Falcar (he of the Ring of Burden "prank") once asking about the Shade 
of the Revenant. He dropped a note when he left and she kept it. The note 
mentions four sites: The Dark Fissure, Fort Istirius, Fort Linchal and 
Wendelbek. Polus decides to send you to Dark Fissure, which is a place he 
recognizes.

This cave is near Cheydinhal, and you never actually need to go inside. You 
can finish this quest in two ways:

1) When you find the cave, you'll see an altar out front. Wait until
   nightfall and watch as a necromancer comes out and turns normal soul gems
   into black soul gems. You'll get a new journal entry and can return to
   Polus with what you've seen.

2) If you arrive during the day and don't want to wait, enter Dark Fissure.
   In the very first room, you'll be able to kill a necromancer and get a
   recipe for black soul gems from his body. Return to Polus with this
   information.
   
In neither instance is it necessary to clear out the caves, though you can do 
so if you wish. Polus promotes you to Magician and sends you to Arch-Mage 
Traven.



                                                                     [MG12]
                  <~~~~~~ LIBERATION OR APPREHENSION? ~~~~~~>

You'll find Traven either in the Council chambers or in his room (use the 
portal in the Council chambers). His first task for you is to bring in an 
informant who has been working with the necromancers. Traven fears a team of 
battlemages may mistake the informant for a real necromancer and kill him. You 
are sent to Nenyond Twyll, southeast of Imperial City.

Travel down there and enter the ruins. You'll meet one of the battlemages, who 
reports the necromancers wiped out the rest of the team. Despite that, he 
thinks he and you are enough to take out this nest of vipers. Let him rush 
down the stairs and be killed by the trap at the bottom. Better him than you, 
right?

Jump around the corners of the trap and fight your way south to the entrance 
to the second level of the ruins. This is basically just one big room, mostly 
filled with water. There are several necromancers in this room, so advance 
slowly and try to pick them off one-by-one. There's one, who, if given a 
chance, will talk and reveal the fate of the informant; but, you're going to 
find that out soon anyway. Along the north wall is a secret door, opened with 
a switch that's in an alcove to the left.

Beyond is the informant, now a zombie (Worm Thrall, in technical terms). Kill 
him and your journal updates. Also to the left of the secret room entrance is 
a shortcut back to the exit from the ruins. Return to Traven to complete the 
quest, then talk to Polus, who increases your rank to Warlock.



                                                                     [MG13]
                     <~~~~~~ INFORMATION AT A PRICE ~~~~~~>

Having dealt with Count Hassildor in Skingrad once, you're sent back to him. 
He has important information for the Guild, and has requested that you 
personally come to collect. When you arrive, and have gone through Hal-Liurz 
to see the Count, he lets you know there's a little task--or two--he wants you 
to perform before he divulges his knowledge.

First on the list are a group of uncultured vampires who have taken over 
Bloodcrust cave just outside the castle. Hassildor wants them wiped out as 
they are little better than beasts. Second are the vampire hunters who have 
come to town to kill these vampires. Hassildor doesn't want them poking too 
much into his own nocturnal activities.

There are at least three ways to handle this little task:

1) Find the vampire hunters (they have rooms at the Two Sisters Lodge and
   also eat lunch there). Tell the leader, Eridor, where the vampires are,
   then follow them to watch the fun. Bring some popcorn. When it's all done,
   either mop up the rest of the vampires or congratulate the surviving 
   hunters, who will pack up and leave town now that all the vamps are dead.

2) Go wipe out the vampires yourself. Make sure you take at least one sample
   of "Vampire Dust" from one of these vampires. (Dust from other vamps won't
   work.) Go find the hunters at the Two Sisters Lodge and speak to their
   leader, Eridor, and tell him the vampires are all dead. Show him the dust
   sample as proof. The hunters will take off for other parts.

3) Kill the vampires and the vampire hunters. The latter is risky as it is
   murder and the count has told you he can't protect you. Though he,
   personally, doesn't care if you kill them, he can't intervene if you're
   caught.

Overall, the first option is by far the easiest. You may even get lucky and 
the hunters will prevail and you won't have to lift a finger. Regardless, 
return to Hassildor and get his information and then take that to Traven.



                                                                     [MG14]
                        <~~~~~~ A PLOT REVEALED ~~~~~~>

Traven is upset by the information you bring him, and says he and the council 
need some time to sort things out. You can't get another quest from him until 
a couple of days have passed. Either go quest somewhere else for a while or 
Wait two days and try him again.

The news of the King of Worms' return has blown up the council. While they try 
to sort things out, Traven sends you to Bruma. Jeanne hasn't reported in 
several days and Traven is worried.

And rightly so. The Bruma Mages Guild is on fire and filled with the dead 
bodies of its members and lots of leveled undead. You'll have to kill off the 
creatures on the main floor, then go down the right-hand set of stairs to the 
living quarters.

This is where things get hairy. There are from four to six creatures in this 
confined area and they will all hit you at once--one as soon as you come 
through the door. Your only chance is to immediately scuttle into the room to 
your right and try to take them out as they come through the door. If you can 
keep them bottled up in the doorway, only one or two can hit you at a time.

When you leave the living quarters, you can go up the stairs to Jeanne's room, 
where you'll find the necromancer in charge of this expedition. She's not 
talkative, so take her out fast. When you do, J'skar appears out of nowhere. 
He used his invisibility to hide and escaped destruction. He has a terrifying 
eye-witness account of the attack, and then heads for Arcane University for 
safety. Follow him and report in to Traven.

Go see Polus for another advancement, to Wizard, and the spell Wizard's Fury, 
which is keyed to your level and provides fire, shock and frost damage in one 
handy explosion.



                                                                     [MG15]
                       <~~~~~~ THE BLOODWORM HELM ~~~~~~>

You'll need to go play with your new spell for a couple of days, because 
Traven and his cronies need time to digest the new information. When you 
return, he gives dismaying news. The other two council members, Irlav Jarol 
and Caranya, have stolen some powerful artifacts and taken off with them.

*NOTE* You can do these two quests in any order.

Jarol has stolen the Bloodworm Helm and gone to Fort Teleman. Teleman is 
northeast of Leyawiin, so Fast Travel there and head out to the Fort. You'll 
have to fight your way through two levels of necromancers and daedra (even if 
you finished the main story, there will still be daedra in here). At the 
bottom of the second level is Jarol's body.

Retrieve the Bloodworm Helm from Jarol's corpse and return it to Traven; or, 
use it to help retrieve the Necromancer's Amulet.



                                                                     [MG16]
                    <~~~~~~ THE NECROMANCER'S AMULET ~~~~~~>

Caranya has made off to Fort Ontus, which is in-between Chorrol and Kvatch in 
the Colovian highlands. The mages in here are initially peaceful, so there's 
no fighting as you work your way down to the second level and a meeting with 
Caranya. Of course, you won't get out without a fight, so note the positions 
of all these future enemies.

After Caranya reveals herself to be a traitor to the cause, kill her and take 
the amulet. There are two ways back out, both of which cover about the same 
distance. Either way, you're going to have to wade through several 
necromancers and their summons.



                                                                     [MG17]
                             <~~~~~~ AMBUSH ~~~~~~>

After returning both the Bloodworm Helm and Necromancer's Amulet to Traven, 
talk to Polus again for promotion to Master Wizard. You're now Polus' equal in 
rank. Traven now wants you to help take the battle to the enemy.

A group of battlemages has been sent to the Ayleid ruin of Silorn to intercept 
a unique black soul gem. Before leaving, buy a Paralyze or Burden spell or 
scroll, if you don't have one. Travel to Silorn, southeast of Skingrad, and 
meet up with the leader of the team, Thalfin. A direct assault didn't work 
because the entrance to Silorn is blocked with an enchantment. The team lost 
one member in the assault, so they've decided to set up an ambush.

Talk to her about abilities and positioning, then do the same with the others. 
You want to station Thalfin and Iver closer to the action and Merete further 
away. Join Thalfin and Iver behind a column on the road leading out from the 
ruin and wait.

When Thalfin suddenly casts a spell and runs out, do the same. Your target is 
your old nemesis, Falcar. He's going to make a break for the ruin and you want 
to stop him. Use your paralyzing or burdening spell, power or weapon 
enchantment to stop him in his tracks, then finish him off. You can then turn 
and help your team get rid of Falcar's supporting staff. Take the Colossal 
Black Soul Gem from Falcar's body.

If you just can't get to Falcar fast enough, then you'll have to follow him 
into Silorn. Silorn is three levels full of necromancers and undead. Have fun. 
When you reach Falcar, kill him and take the special gem.

Return to Traven. Your final task in the Mages Guild awaits.



                                                                     [MG18]
                       <~~~~~~ CONFRONT THE KING ~~~~~~>

Time to put an end to the King of Worms. Traven kills himself, putting his 
soul in the Colossal Black Soul Gem you just took from Falcar. Take the gem 
and journey to Echo Cavern, which is west of Cloud Ruler Temple. At the door, 
you'll be confronted by Bolor Savel, who gleefully informs you he has the only 
key for the door. Introduce him to the folly of guarding a door from you, take 
his key and enter the cave.

The top two levels of the cave are standard necromancer-infested lairs. You've 
seen a lot of these by now. When you reach the bottom, you've found 
Mannimarco, King of Worms. Fortunately for you, Mannimarco is a bit 
overconfident. Seems he intends to turn you into a Worm Thrall; but, the 
special black soul gem prevents that from working.

Don't give Mannimarco time to finish his conversation, cast his Enthrall spell 
and then realize it doesn't work. Walk up to him during his speech and hit 
him...hit him hard. Keep him off-balance and staggered and the fight should be 
easy. If you let him get off a few spells, you could be in trouble. Once he's 
dead, loot the place, then return to Arcane University.

Congratulations! You are the new Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild. Primarily what 
this means is free alchemy ingredients. There's an enchanted chest in your 
room. Put an ingredient in there and, 24 hours later, you'll find lots of that 
particular ingredient. (The chest gets cleared out after a week, so come back 
for your stuff before then.)

You can also pick any Apprentice on the grounds and take him or her along with 
you on adventures. There are still necromancers lying around (refer to 
Falcar's note from the "Necromancer's Moon" quest for their locations); 
however, there are no more formal quests for the mages guild.



                                                                     [MG19]
                    <~~~~~~ MAGES GUILD SUSPENSION ~~~~~~>

The Mages Guild frowns on members who commit crimes against other members. You 
get two opportunities to earn your way back into the guild. After the third 
crime, you are banned for good.

Earning your way back into the guild depends on the type of crime. You must 
bring two types of alchemical ingredients to Raminus Polus, who will re-
instate you into the guild.

Theft: 20 nightshade, 20 mandrake root
Assault: 20 dragon's tongue, 20 redwort flowers
Murder: 20 vampire dust, 20 daedra hearts

These prices apply regardless of whether it is your first or second offense.




                                                                     [TG00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                 THIEVES GUILD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

The Thieves Guild provides a welcome respite from the typical step-n-fetch 
quests that predominate the main story and the Fighters and Mages Guild quest 
lines. There are no dungeon crawls and almost no combat until you get near the 
end of the story. Prior to that, you'll be required to "obtain" or "retrieve" 
various items, *without* killing anyone!

Can you believe it? These quests require a bit more thought, better 
preparation and some serious Sneak and Security skills. If you can't pick 
locks or Sneak effectively, you'll need to buff up on those skills prior to 
joining the Guild.

* Sneak can be easily leveled by breaking into an occupied house, during the 
night, Sneaking up beside the sleeping owner, and Sneak-running into the wall. 
(PC users can press 'Q' to turn on auto-movement.) Get your Sneak skill past 
50 so you don't have to go barefoot all the time. You can supplement Sneaking 
with Invisibility spells, but you still need a decent Sneak so you aren't 
heard and to allow you to pickpocket various targets.

* Security is difficult to level up; however, there are various workarounds. 
First, you can wait until level 10, perform Nocturnal's quest, and get the 
Skeleton Key, which is an unbreakable lockpick with a +40 Security boost 
enchantment. No lock can stand against you. Second, you can level up your 
Alteration skill (keep casting Feather on yourself, over and over) and buy 
some high-powered Open Lock spells.

In short, the bull-rush tactics of your average fighter or blast-them-to-
Oblivion mage strategy aren't going to work for you in the Thieves Guild. 
You've got to be a lot more sneaky.

When you're ready to join, go to Imperial City. There's two ways of getting an 
invitation:

1) Steal something and go to jail. When you are released, wait around until 
you are approached by Myvryna Arano and given a message. The message says to 
go at midnight to the Garden of Dareloth in the Waterfront district.

2) Read one of the Gray Fox wanted posters scattered about the city. This 
gives you a couple of new topics. Approach a beggar and Persuade or Charm him 
or her to a Disposition past 70. Then ask about the Gray Fox. Say you want to 
work with him. You'll be told to go at midnight to the Garden of Dareloth in 
the Waterfront district.

Once you have those instructions, head to the Waterfront district. You can 
Fast Travel there or go out through the door in the Temple district. Head 
south, past the docks and through the large wall to the dockworker slums. 
There's one house, on the eastern edge of the slums, with a walled garden 
behind it. That's the Garden of Dareloth.



                                                                     [TG01]
                     <~~~~~~ MAY THE BEST THIEF WIN ~~~~~~>

Wait until midnight and Armond Christophe will appear. The two of you will be 
joined by a wood elf, Methredhel and an Argonian, Amusei. When everyone's 
there, talk to Christophe and ask about joining the Guild. Christophe says 
there's never been this many new recruits at once, so he proposes a test. The 
first one to return with the diary of Amantius Allectus wins approval to join 
the Guild.

Now, technically, there's no way to lose. If you don't win this first test, 
you'll get another; still, better to get it over with quick. Fast Travel to 
the Temple district. (Yes, you can run over there, but you're probably not 
fast enough.) As soon as the Temple district loads, hang a right and run along 
the wall until you reach the southeastern corner. Go left and pick the lock on 
the second door to your left.

This is Allectus's house. (If you want to do this the "right" way, you would 
first need to find a beggar--Puny Ancus--sleeping near the Garden and ask him 
the location of Allectus's house.) Regardless, Methredhel will be there before 
you, Sneaking across the room. Don't bother Sneaking. Run to the desk against 
the wall to your right and open it to get the diary. Go back to the Garden, 
Wait until the next midnight hour and give the diary to Christophe.

If, for some reason, the wood elf gets the diary first, you can still get it 
back. You're not allowed to kill your fellow contestants (or Allectus for that 
matter), but there's no prohibition against stealing from them. Wait until 
after sunrise, say about 7 or 8am. Methredhel lives right next to Dareloth's 
house. Pick the lock on her door, then on the chest next to her bed (she 
sleeps from sunrise until 10am). Get the diary, Wait until midnight, and give 
the diary to Christophe.

Say that, for some reason, you don't get the diary at all and Methredhel wins 
the contest. Hope is not lost. Christophe figures the Thieves Guild could 
still use another member, so he proposes another test between you and Amusei; 
you're to bring back Rohssan's sword.

For plot reasons, Amusei is not capable of winning either of these contests, 
so you don't need to worry about him getting the sword first. Fast Travel to 
the Market District and find "A Fighting Chance" next to the Merchant's Inn. 
They're both along the street leading to the Arena in the southeastern section 
of the Market district.

Pick the lock on the door and go upstairs to Rohssan's quarters. You'll have 
to kill her dog, then pick the lock on Rohssan's Chest to get Rohssan's 
Antique Cutlass. Return the sword to Christophe at the next midnight hour.



                                                                     [TG02]
                      <~~~~~~ INDEPENDENT THIEVERY ~~~~~~>

Congratulations! You are now a Pickpocket in the Guild. There are a series of 
ten "special jobs" you will have to perform to advance to the rank of guild 
master (Gray Fox). However, in order to get each job, you have to fence a 
certain amount of stolen goods. As you advance, the required total amount of 
fenced property increases, and you get access to more fences.

For starters, your only fence is Ongar the World-Weary in Bruma. He lives 
behind the chapel and he isn't called "World-Weary" for nothing. He spends a 
lot of time sleeping. He'll only fence items for you while in his house, so if 
you find him on the street or in a tavern, you're just going to have to Wait 
until he goes home. He has a limited amount of gold, but you probably aren't 
going to be selling him any high-priced items anyway.

You can, without too much work, fence over 1,000 gold worth of items to Ongar 
on your first try. That way you can zip right through the ten quests without 
stopping to clean out houses and fence the loot. There's a house in Imperial 
City's Temple district owned by Trenus Duronis. His house is west of the 
temple, and opens into the central circle.

Duronis is a skooma (drug) addict. He's rarely home at night and has no 
servants. His house is easy pickings. You can grab over 40 bottles of premium 
wine, lots of silver, plus jewelry and 15 bottles of skooma (base price 75 
gold each). Make sure you loot all the miscellaneous sacks lying around, some 
of the jewelry are in those sacks. Ignore the basement, there's nothing down 
there. Haggle Ongar up to paying you 45 or 50 percent of base price and you 
can get 1,500 fenced value in one shot.

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Rank         | Target | Quest                   | Contact  | Fence         |
|-------------+--------+-------------------------+----------+---------------|
|Pickpocket   |     50 | Untaxing the Poor       | Armand   | Ongar, Bruma  |
|Footpad      |    100 | The Elven Maiden        |          |               |
|Bandit       |    200 | Ahdarji's Heirloom      | S'Krivva | Dar Jee,      |
|Prowler      |    300 | Misdirection            |          | Leyawiin      |
|Cat Burglar  |    400 | Lost Histories          |          | Luciana Galena|
|             |    500 | Taking Care of Lex      |          | Bravil        |
|Shadowfoot   |    600 | Turning a Blind Eye     | Gray Fox | Orrin, Anvil  |
|             |    700 | Arrow of Extrication    |          |               |
|Master Thief |    800 | Boots of Springheel Jak |          | Fathis Ules,  |
|             |  1,000 | The Ultimate Heist      |          | Imperial City |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+



                                                                     [TG03]
                       <~~~~~~ UNTAXING THE POOR ~~~~~~>

Once you have over 50 gold worth of fenced goods, talk to Christopher (always 
at midnight in the Garden) about Special Jobs. He goes on a rant about how 
futile it is to tax the poor people, but that's just what Imperial Watch 
captain Hieronymus Lex has done. Christophe wants you to get the tax money 
back from Lex, as well as the records so the Thieves Guild knows how to 
redistribute the funds.

Find a beggar--Puny, who sleeps near the Garden will do--to learn Lex's 
quarters are at the top of the South Watchtower. The South Watchtower is 
between the Temple district and the Arboretum, near Allectus's house. The best 
time to break in is during mid-morning.

Yeah, broad daylight. You see, the Radiant AI is a bit stupid. During the 
night, there are too many watchmen entering the barracks for the number of 
beds available. Since there aren't enough beds, some of the watchmen just 
stand around all night and it's devilishly hard to Sneak past them. An 
Invisibility spell might work, but better just to wait until daylight.

Around 9am, there's no one in the tower except the night shift watchmen, and 
they're all sleeping. As a bonus, Lex will also be out and about on his 
rounds. You can enter the tower's bottom level publicly, then you have to 
Sneak your way up (find the ladder on the wall and Activate it) through two 
levels of barracks until you reach Lex's quarters.

Pick the lock on his desk and collect the tax records and gold, then return to 
Christophe at the next witching hour.



                                                                     [TG04]
                        <~~~~~~ THE ELVEN MAIDEN ~~~~~~>

If you've fenced at least 100 gold worth of goods, Christophe offers you 
another special job. You're to steal the bust of the late Countess Indarys of 
Cheydinhal. Fast Travel over there and use your quest markers to track down a 
beggar. You'll probably have to bribe them to tell you the bust is sitting 
next to the Countess' coffin in the undercroft of the chapel.

Oh yeah, and there's a guard patrolling day and night and the place is haunted 
as well. Joy.

Sneak down into the undercroft of the chapel and watch the guard. He (or she) 
patrols between the two wings of the crypt, from east to west. The bust is in 
the west wing, so wait until the guard is heading east, then zip in and grab 
the bust. Hide behind a column while the guard comes and peeks in, then scurry 
back out when his (or her) back is turned.

You won't encounter any ghosts unless you try to Activate the coffin, so don't 
do that.

Return to the Waterfront of Imperial City and you'll find the place crawling 
with cops, under the direction of Captain Lex, all asking questions about 
Christophe and the bust of Countess Indarys. Looks like you've been set up, 
but by whom?

Hang around the Waterfront for a while, and Methredhel eventually finds you. 
The whole operation was designed to ferret out an informant in the Guild. The 
weasel is revealed as Myvryna Arano, and Methredhel suggest you frame her for 
the crime. Her hut is near where Lex is standing, and with all the guards 
running about, Sneaking in can be difficult.

You can use an Invisibility spell to get you in, or just go into Sneak mode 
while standing next to Arano's door and wait until the eye icon dims down and 
then quickly pick the lock and get inside. Activate the cupboard next to the 
bed; the bust will automatically be placed inside.

Now the hard part, convincing Hieronymus Lex his stooge is the real thief. 
You'll have to get his Disposition up to 70 (Persuade, Charm or Bribe) and 
then follow him into Arano's shack, where he confronts her with the evidence.

You might say she's been busted.

The police clear out, life returns to normal and Christophe shows up at the 
appointed time and place once again. He'll pay you for your work, promote you 
and let you know he's got nothing more for a talented crook like yourself. He 
suggests S'Krivva in Bravil.

You also get access to a new fence, Dar Jee, in Leyawiin. Dar Jee lives in 
Leyawiin's "skid row"--a group of tumble-down shanties amidst the more stately 
manors. His shack is diagonally across from the one you can buy, and right 
next to Weebam-Na ("Mazoga the Orc", "Nocturnal").



                                                                     [TG05]
                       <~~~~~~ AHDARJI'S HEIRLOOM ~~~~~~>

As you enter Bravil's North Gate, the place ahead and to your right is the 
home of your next Doyen in the Thieves Guild, S'Krivva. She holds court during 
normal hours (roughly 8am to 6pm) and will only deal with you during those 
hours. If you catch her on the street or break into her house any other time, 
she just tells you off. At least you don't have to wait until midnight every 
day to see her.

Provided you've fenced at least 200 gold in stolen property, S'Krivva hands 
out one of those Special Jobs you've come to love. The widow of a dearly 
departed Thieves Guild fence has lost a prized possession. While you're 
talking to S'Krivva, buy some lockpicks if you don't have any (perhaps because 
you're using spells or the Skeleton Key to open locks). Ahdarji lives in 
Leyawiin, so head down there and question the beggars for directions to her 
house.

Ahdarji is incensed because a freelance (i.e. non-Guild) thief took her ring 
and names the culprit, Amusei. (Yep. Your erstwhile competition from the entry 
test.) She wants you to kill him, but is willing to let it go at suffering. In 
any case, she wants the ring back.

Question the beggars again, or talk to any city guard. Amusei was caught 
trying to blackmail Countess Alessia. Head for the castle and the entrance to 
the dungeons. The guard is not pre-disposed to let you in to see any 
prisoners. You can bribe him (20 gold) or try to Sneak past him and pick the 
lock leading to the cells. Your choice.

Inside, talk to Amusei, who doesn't want to be left to rot. Give him a 
lockpick to open him up. The ring was actually the Countess' ring and Amusei 
found he couldn't fence it after he stole it, so he tried to sell it back to 
the Countess and got thrown in jail for his trouble. Countess Alessia has her 
ring.

Now, you can try just going through the front door. However, the doors into 
the private quarters of Castle Leyawiin are guarded 24/7, so you would need 
100% invisibility to get through. There is another way, one that provides some 
additional "color" to the story.

Find a beggar and discuss the matter. You get the name of the Countess' maid, 
Hildari Mothril. You also get the convenient quest marker showing you Ms. 
Mothril's current location. Track her down and butter her up (Disposition of 
80) and she'll spill all the beans. The Countess is away from the 15th through 
the 17th of the month. She goes to sleep around 11pm and always takes the ring 
off when she goes to sleep. There's also a secret passage linking the royal to 
the castle's cellar.

Enter the main room of the castle and take the door to the southwest to reach 
the cellar. Along the far wall, look for an open barrel that just barely shows 
the tip of a lever extending above the rim. Activate the lever to open a 
secret door and make your way through a torture chamber (the Countess 
has...interesting...amusements) and to the royal quarters.

The ring is in a jewelry box next to the royal bed. You can pick the lock or 
pickpocket a key off either the sleeping Count or Countess. To let them know 
what you think of their little funhouse, steal their gold as well. (Remember, 
no killing.) Go back out the way you came in and return the ring to Ahdarji 
and then see S'Krivva for payment.



                                                                     [TG06]
                          <~~~~~~ MISDIRECTION ~~~~~~>

Hieronymus Lex is up to his old tricks again. Provided you've fenced at least 
300 gold worth of loot, S'Krivva sends you back to the Waterfront district of 
Imperial City to help get Lex out of the Guild's collective hair. The obsessed 
captain of the Watch has pulled guards from their regular patrols and is 
turning the Waterfront inside-out. You're to meet Methredhel, who is director 
of operations for the current job.

Again, the beggars point you to Methredhel's location, which is Dynari Amnis's 
house in Talos Plaza. Methredhel outlines an audacious plan: have four thieves 
pull off high-profile robberies all at once. The resultant hue and cry from 
the city's elite will force Lex to pull back his troops to their regular 
patrols.

Your job is stealing Hrormir's Staff from the Arch-Mage's quarters. (Note: you 
still get this quest even if you are the Arch-Mage. It's just, you won't have 
to actually "steal" the staff, since it belongs to you.) Wait until just after 
1am, enter the Arch-Mage's Lobby of Arcane University and use the portal to 
get to the Council Chambers. Use the other portal in this room to get to the 
Arch-Mage's chambers.

Assuming Traven is still Arch-Mage (and not you), he should be asleep. The 
staff is lying out in the open on a table. Pick up the staff, then Activate 
the nightstand next to the bed to automatically insert a note from the Gray 
Fox. Return to Methredhel with the staff.

She congratulates you, lets you know everything is going well, and asks you to 
go keep an eye on Lex, to see if anything breaks. Head for the Waterfront and 
find Lex where you found him earlier in "The Elven Maiden". Stand nearby and 
wait. Soon a dremora approaches and hands Lex a note, then departs. Lex reads 
the note, drops it, then hurries away, ordering his men to follow him.

Go pick up the note, which is lying on the ground. It's from Raminus Polus of 
the Mages Guild. It says, in part, "We demand that you return all guards to 
their posts immediately. If you do not do this, we will be forced to bring the 
matter to the attention of your superior."

Lex won't be bothering the good people of the Waterfront for a while. Go back 
to Methredhel; there's one last task for you. The Gray Fox isn't really 
interested in having the Mages Guild permanently mad at him, so you're to 
return the staff--but not to the place where you grabbed it, security will be 
too high.

Rather, you're to return the staff to the home of a former University 
researcher, Ontus Vanin. Vanin lives in the Talos Plaza district, in the 
southwest section. His house is built into the outer wall. (If you've done 
"Unfriendly Competition", his house is opposite Agarmir's house.)

Ontus spends weekday afternoons out eating and shopping. He sleeps from 2am to 
10am. Pick your time to Sneak into his house, head upstairs and Activate the 
chest against the wall. The staff is automatically placed in the chest and you 
can return to S'Krivva in Bravil for your payment and a promotion. You also 
get access to a new fence, Luciana Galena, right here in Bravil. She's open 
for business at the Lonely Suitor Lodge in the afternoons and evenings.



                                                                     [TG07]
                         <~~~~~~ LOST HISTORIES ~~~~~~>

Once you've fenced at least 400 gold in illicit items, S'Krivva has a new 
assignment for you. She sends you to Skingrad to find out what happened to a 
thief named Theranis. He was supposed to steal a book called "The Lost 
Histories of Tamriel" and he hasn't been heard from in days.

Go to Skingrad and track down one of the beggars. With a high enough 
Disposition (or a bribe), you'll find Theranis boasted about his theft in 
front of a captain of the guard and is now cooling his heels in prison. You 
can't bribe your way into this dungeon, so you have three options:

1) Get a job delivering food to the prisoners. To get this job you need to 
find the count's butler, Shum gro-Yarug. He spends his mornings in town and 
afternoons in the castle. To make finding him easier, you can ask around town 
about "Work in the castle" and someone will refer you to gro-Yarug. You should 
then get a quest marker showing his location. Once you have the job, report to 
the dungeons and the jailor will let you in.

2) Get arrested. Any small crime will do, but make sure you have either a 
powerful Open Lock spell or several lockpicks so you can break out of your 
cell.

3) Break into the jail. This is probably the hardest, as Sneaking past the 
jailor will be very difficult, not to mention you have to pick the locks 
leading into the cell area.

Once you're inside, you'll find only one prisoner behind bars, and he's not 
Theranis. Bump Larthjar's Disposition high enough (telling him you're here to 
rescue him is a good way to do this) and he'll relate Theranis was taken by 
the "Pale Lady". Theranis' Argonian roommate was also taken and put up a 
fight, leaving blood marks all over the place.

Using this information, follow the bloodstains on the floor to the wall at the 
end of the cell area. Activate the "strange candle" on the wall to open a 
secret door. Follow the tunnel to a door and pass through into a another 
tunnel. At the end of this tunnel, turn the handle to the left to open another 
secret door.

You're now in the wine cellar. Follow the bloodstains down the hall and then 
to your right where they end in front of three large wine casks. To to the 
right-most cask and Activate the "strange candle" on the column to the left of 
the cask. The center cask opens up to reveal a hidden passage.

Down the passage is the Pale Lady, a vampire (in case you hadn't guessed). 
After you kill her, you'll find Theranis' body on the floor and your old 
friend Amusei in the cell (he was Theranis' Argonian cellmate). Amusei knows 
where Theranis stashed the book, but he wants out of Castle Skingrad first.

Get him out of his cell and tell him to follow, he'll automatically go into 
Sneak mode, but you can't. You see, if you Sneak, Amusei can't see you so he 
won't follow you. Whatever. Head back into the wine cellar and go up the ramp, 
but don't turn left toward the secret door.

Instead, turn right and go through the door into the dining hall. Go through 
the kitchen and toward the main dining room (keep an eye out of guards or 
other castle occupants). Just before the main dining room, turn right and go 
through a door into the County Hall.

Go straight until you come out on the balcony overlooking the main hall. Head 
left and through an opening, then turn right. The door straight ahead of you 
leads out into the castle courtyard. Slip through when there are no guards 
patrolling and head down the main road to Skingrad. Once you are far enough 
away from the castle, Amusei will stop you and tell you the location of the 
"Lost Histories".

The book is "under a bush near a well behind Nerastarel's house". Continue 
down the castle path to Skingrad's East Gate. After entering Skingrad, head 
down the street and make the first right-hand turn. Follow the stone path 
around the houses until you see a well. Beyond the well a bush and rock crowd 
close together. The book is lying right out in the open between the bush and 
the rock. Return to S'Krivva with your prize.



                                                                     [TG08]
                       <~~~~~~ TAKING CARE OF LEX ~~~~~~>

The Gray Fox has had it with Hieronymus Lex; but, since this is the Thieves 
Guild, not the Dark Brotherhood, rather than order a hit on Lex, the Fox wants 
him re-assigned--to Anvil, the other end of the world. Countess Umbranox is 
looking for a new Captain of the Guard. The Imperial Watch commander has sent 
her a list of candidates, but no specific recommendation.

However, the Countess hasn't even seen this list of candidates. Her steward, 
Dairihill, has hidden the list in hopes of getting her cousin the job. (You 
find out this tidbit later.) Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is:

1) Steal the letter from Dairihill.
2) Forge it with a strong recommendation for Captain Lex.
3) Get the Imperial Watch commander's seal on it.
4) Deliver it to Countess Umbranox.

Simple, right? Actually, more so than you might imagine. Report to Anvil and 
find one of the beggars. You'll be directed to find the smith. Wait until 
morning (when Dairihill is in the main hall) or the middle of the night (when 
Dairihill is asleep). Enter Anvil Castle and hang a right (northwest) to find 
the smithy.

Orrin is a Thieves Guild fence (soon to be your fence) and knows of a secret 
passage. You can wake him if necessary and he'll show you to the door--the 
secret door. Go up the stairs, through a wood door and up some more stairs. At 
the top, Activate the moveable column on the left to open a secret door into 
the private quarters.

Dairihill's office is immediately to your left. Pick the lock on her door and 
on her desk to get the list of candidates. Return the way you came and go back 
to Anvil and talk with one of the beggars. You need a forger, and the beggars 
point you to someone known only as "The Stranger". He lives in an abandoned 
house to the west of the Mages Guild hall.

Enter the house and talk to the Stranger. He needs 24 hours and 500 gold to 
complete the forgery. Give him both and you'll have the new high 
recommendation for Lex in your hands. Now all you need is the Imperial seal to 
make it authentic. (If you have previously done the Dark Brotherhood quest 
"Early Retirement", you will have received a key to the Imperial Watch office. 
Get that key now.)

Enter the Imperial Prison compound (northeast of the city) in the middle of 
the night (between 2am and 4am). Go to the second door to the left of the main 
entrance, enter Sneak mode and wait until the guards near the gate aren't 
watching (your eye icon is dim). Pick the lock on the door (or use your key).

On the desk is the seal; Activate it to seal the forged letter, then Sneak 
out. Return to Anvil and present the letter to Countess Umbranox during normal 
hours (8am to 6pm). She decides Lex would be a perfect fit for Anvil, and asks 
you to personally deliver his new orders.

It's back to Imperial City for you; follow your quest marker to catch up with 
Lex and hand him his exile papers. He suspects the Gray Fox is behind all 
this, but off to Anvil he goes. And off to Bravil you go for your payment, 
promotion and access to Orrin as a new fence.



                                                                     [TG09]
                      <~~~~~~ TURNING A BLIND EYE ~~~~~~>

Now begin your tasks for the Gray Fox himself. These are more traditional 
dungeon crawls, and you'll actually be allowed to kill people (or things) 
somewhat indiscriminately. All these quests are received the same way: you 
make sure you have fenced enough loot, then you sit around twiddling your 
thumbs until you get a message from Fox.

To get this first task, you will need to have at least 600 gold worth of 
fenced items. The best place to wait (for any of these messages) is the 
Waterfront district in Imperial City. Your first messenger is Methredhel, who 
sounds kind of breathless that the Gray Fox would want to speak to you. You're 
to meet Fox at Helvius Cecia's house in Bruma.

*A note about the messengers*
They won't deliver their message except in a major city, and not in the same 
city (or same district in the case of Imperial City) where the meeting is to 
take place. They start out in Imperial City, so you can either: 1) stay in the 
same city where you last met Fox; or, 2) Fast Travel back to the Waterfront 
and sit tight. In either case, Waiting for a few hours generally guarantees 
you'll be interrupted by the messenger.

Cecia lives in the south of Bruma, behind the chapel. The Gray Fox is waiting 
for you downstairs. He wants you to retrieve an item known as Savilla's Stone. 
It is kept in a monastery known as The Temple of the Ancestor Moths. You're 
allowed to kill the Stone's guardians, but not spill any innocent blood.

The closest quest-related point to the Temple is Azura's Shrine. You can also 
Fast Travel to Lake Arrius Caverns or Lord Rugdumph's Estate if you've been 
there before. From any of those locations, the Temple is further north. If you 
have to Fast Travel to Cheydinhal, go due north from the city to eventually 
reach the Temple.

First go to the Monk's Quarters and talk to Holger. Get his Disposition to 80 
or higher and he'll tell you all about the blind monks that live in the 
catacombs and even take you up and unlock the door for you. (Alternately, you 
can find the crypt entrance yourself, next to the chapel, and pick the lock.)

There are three levels of catacombs. The top two levels are just occupied by 
blind priests and you can easily Sneak past them. (You can also kill them, but 
it's not necessary and they might attack you in large groups if you start 
making a lot of noise.) The final level has undead, and you'll have to kill 
those.

When you reach the final room, there's a blind monk guarding the Stone and 
you'll most likely have to kill him. There's also a dark welkynd stone that 
will zap you with frost damage as you approach Savilla's Stone. Kill the monk 
from a distance, then run in, grab the Stone and run out. There's an emergency 
exit to the east that lets you skip all the tedious catacomb Sneaking. Return 
to Cecia's house in Bruma and give the Stone to the Gray Fox.



                                                                     [TG10]
                      <~~~~~~ ARROW OF EXTRICATION ~~~~~~>

Your next message comes from old pal Amusei. Yeah, seems the goof-up joined 
the Guild and immediately moved to the top of the class, running errands for 
the Fox his-own-self. Kind of makes you wonder why you work so hard, doesn't 
it? Of course, he won't show up until you've fenced a total of 700 gold in 
purloined property.

The meeting place is in Chorrol, at the home of Malintus Ancrus. He lives in 
the far southwestern corner of Chorrol, between Valdus Odiil ("The Killing 
Field") and Reynauld Jemane ("Separated at Birth") and across the street from 
Modryn Oreyn (Fighters Guild). The Gray Fox wants you to steal the Arrow of 
Extrication from Bravil court wizard Fathis Aren. The wizard and the guardians 
he strews in your path are fair game.

*IMPORTANT*
Aren is a member in good standing of the Mages Guild; if you are also a member 
of the Mages Guild, you'll get booted if you kill him.

Go to Bravil and hunt down the beggars. For a bribe, they'll reveal Aren has a 
tower outside of town, keeps all his precious stuff in it and is the only one 
who can open the door to the tower. However, there's also rumored to be a 
secret passage from his room in the castle to the tower, so that should be 
your route of attack.

*ALTERNATE ROUTE*
There is a back way into the Wizard's Grotto that does not involve sneaking 
your way past the guards in the castle. If you have a pitiful Sneak skill, 
what are you doing in the Thieves Guild? No, you might be able to get in the 
back way. Swim out into Niben Bay. About where the 'a' in 'Bay' shows on your 
world map, swim down to the bottom and hunt for a wood trapdoor. There is a 
partially buried wooden chest and some broken pottery nearby. It will be very 
difficult to find (a mod that improves the underwater view would help). This 
takes you directly into the cave with the giant slaughterfish (see below) and 
you can swim up and continue through the Wizard's Grotto.

The direct route goes through a door in Castle Bravil's main hall. The door is 
in the center of the balcony and is always protected by two guards. Good luck 
Sneaking through there--an Invisibility spell would help tremendously. Inside 
the private quarters, hang a left and Aren's room is the first door on your 
left.

You can loot his room, but the important thing is the secret door on the back 
wall. There's a "moveable column" on the wall--Activate it and the door opens. 
Enter the Wizard's Grotto. At the end of the first hall is the first of many 
leveled daedra you will meet. Sneak past or, better, kill it and open the gate 
straight ahead of you. Hug the left wall as you go down into a flooded 
section, eventually leading to a section where the floor drops away and you 
can swim down.

Swim down slowly, hugging the left (north) wall and looking for an entrance to 
a flooded tunnel. If you encounter a giant slaughterfish in a cave, you've 
gone too far down. (This is the cave you enter through the trapdoor in Niben 
Bay.) Swim back up, hugging the right wall and try to find that tunnel 
entrance.

Check your map, if you find yourself swimming along a northbound tunnel that 
quickly turns east, you're in the right place. Come out of the flooded tunnel 
going north; turn right (east) at the T-intersection. Through the locked gate, 
turn south (right), then take the next left (east) and another left (north) 
and wend your way to a locked wooden door. This leads to the Wizard's Lair.

There's only one way to go through here, blocked by daedra and conjurers. At 
the end you'll enter Aren's Tower, which is a ruined fort on the surface. 
There are more daedra out here. Fathis Aren is in a little open-air lab on the 
third level. Climb the stairs and circle around to his lab.

Now, if you're a Mages Guild member in good standing, you can walk right by 
him, open his chest, remove his Tower Key and a key-shaped arrowhead, chat 
with him, then walk out. If you're not a Mages Guild member in good 
standing...

Well, you're either going to have to kill him or use an Invisibility spell (or 
have very, very high Sneak skill). Aren stands right in front of his chest, 
facing it, and it is almost impossible to steal its contents using just Sneak. 
Of course, Aren is expendable--there's no Blood Price attached to killing him, 
so go ahead if that seems the simplest solution.

Regardless, you now have the key to walk right out of the tower with the 
arrowhead the Gray Fox wants. Return to Chorrol and deliver the arrowhead. As 
part of your reward, you are promoted to Master Thief and you can now fence 
items with Fathis Ules.



                                                                     [TG11]
                    <~~~~~~ BOOTS OF SPRINGHEEL JAK ~~~~~~>

Once again, Amusei brings you news of a meeting requested by the Gray Fox. You 
must have pawned off at least 800 gold in pilfered goods to get the message. 
The meeting is to take place at Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal. Fast Travel 
to Cheydinhal's East Gate and head straight south. Ganredhel's is the fourth 
house on your left (just past the Abandoned Home that is a front for the Dark 
Brotherhood Sanctuary).

The Gray Fox wants the boots of a legendary thief known as Springheel Jak. He 
was supposedly buried 300 years ago with his boots on, so you need to find his 
crypt and acquire said footwear. Your only lead is a descendant: Jakben, Earl 
of Imbel. Fast Travel to Imperial City and track down a beggar; bribe him or 
her for information about Jakben and you'll get the location of his house--
Talos Plaza district--and the information he only goes out at night.

Gee...wonder where you've heard that before...

Head over to Talos Plaza and enter the house--it opens out into the central 
plaza. It's preferable to go during the day. In order to get anywhere with 
this quest, you have to talk to the earl himself. You might need to Wait 
around bit by bit in order for Jakben to show; when he does, he'll be 
terrified of you and give you the key to the family crypt, which is beneath 
the cellar of his house.

You may have noticed the earl's red eyes. Jakben is actually Springheel Jak, 
he's a vampire, he's wearing the boots you need. The only way to get them is 
to take them from his body, so might as well skip the crypt and just attack 
the earl as soon as you see him. If you like, you can still go down into the 
crypt, where you'll find about a half-dozen vampires and a decent loot haul.

Return the boots to the Gray Fox. Your adventures are almost at an end...



                                                                     [TG12]
                       <~~~~~~ THE ULTIMATE HEIST ~~~~~~>

...once you've fenced stolen goods totaling at least 1,000 gold, that is. Sit 
around and wait for Amusei once more. He brings a message the Gray Fox wants 
to see you at the house of Othrelo in the Elven Gardens district of Imperial 
City. If you Fast Travel to the district, go left from your entrance point, 
around the corner and Othrelo's is the first door on your right (northeast 
corner of the district).

The Gray Fox now reveals his ultimate plan: he wants you to break into the 
Imperial Palace's Elder Scrolls library and steal one of the scrolls. Gee, 
won't that be simple.

Not.

This is easily the most complex and longest individual quest in the game. (The 
side quest "The Collector" might be longer, but it's more like a bunch of 
individual tasks grouped under one heading.) The Fox has a plan, and it's so 
complicated, he writes it down for you so you won't forget it.

Here's what you need before you start:
* Plenty of potions, poisons, empty soul gems and repair hammers. You'll be
  out of circulation for a long time and there are a lot of enemies between
  you and the final goal.

* Lots of lockpicks or the Skeleton Key or a Open Very Hard Locks spell.
  There will be numerous locks, most Hard or Very Hard, that have to be
  picked.

* The Boots of Springheel Jak, the Arrow of Extrication and the Palace Sewers
  Key. The Gray Fox will give these to you, don't drop them anywhere.

* Detect Life spell or enchanted item will make it easier to Sneak around the
  palace, since you can "see" through the walls.

Here are the steps:

    "1) Activate the Old Way using the Glass of Time. It is located
     inside the Imperial Palace. I do not know what it looks like or
     exactly where to find it."

The Glass of Time is located in the basement of the Imperial Palace. Enter by 
the main doors into the publicly accessible Elder Council Chambers. 
Immediately go left, around the circular hall and down a ramp to the the 
basement. Enter Sneak mode and wait until the eye dims, indicating no one is 
watching, then pick the lock and Sneak into the basement.

There's a patrolling guard here. He patrols around the outer circumference of 
the room. Sneak through the center to the opposite side of the basement, where 
you'll find a giant hourglass. That's the Glass of Time. Activate it, your 
journal updates and you can Sneak out.

Now come the hard parts.


    "2) Find the entrance to the Old Way. It is rumored to be somewhere
     in the sewers under the Imperial City."

The entrance to the sewers is in the Arboretum. Near the door to the Arena 
(northeast section of the Arboretum) is a sewer grate to the Southeast Tunnel. 
Drop down into the sewers. Go down the stairs and through the one tunnel 
available. Pick the lock on the gate to enter the next room.

Turn the wheel on the south wall to open a door to the northeast. Go through 
the tunnel and enter a room with a water trench. Go right (east), through a 
small tunnel, then jump up to the left (north) to find a door into the Arena 
sewers (Beneath the Bloodworks). From here on out you'll be facing a variety 
of undead. These sewers are vampire lairs. Watch your step.

Go down the stairs and through the east gate. Go up the stairs in the next 
room and through the tunnel. The next room you enter has a wheel on the north 
wall. Turn it, then go through the gate to the west. As you go over a bridge, 
drop down and head north through the newly opened door.

You'll enter a water trench room. Cross the trench and go into the room to the 
north. Turn the wheel on the west wall, then return to the trench and go 
through the newly opened tunnel to the west. Your next route is through a 
tunnel to the left (south) as you enter the next trench room. There's an 
undead concealed in that tunnel, so climb the stairs to your right (north) and 
reconnoiter before heading into the tunnel.

That tunnel takes you to a gate opened with the key given you by the Gray Fox. 
Inside is a manhole cover to the Palace Sewers. From here, the entrance to the 
old way is pretty straightforward, but still blocked by the occasional undead. 
Go northwest until you come to a large cistern. Go northeast to another 
cistern, then southeast to a trench room. The entrance to the Old Way is 
across the trench and to your right.


    "3) Inside the Old Way is an entrance to the heart of the Imperial
     Palace. Savilla's Stone was only able to scry the two most important
     obstacles. For one of them you will need to use the Boots of
     Springheel Jak."

Inside the Old Way, take the quickest route, which is straight down the hall 
to the first left, then straight to the entrance to the second section of the 
Old Way. Watch out for the pressure plate midway down the hall; it releases a 
swinging mace trap.

You come out on the second level of a two-level room full of undead. Once they 
are all out of the way, find the hole in the wall in the western, lower 
section of the room. Follow this "cave" west and then south and find another 
hole in the wall. Drop down into the room beyond and destroy the spirits in 
the room. Find a hole in the east wall that leads to a downward sloping tunnel 
and a wood door to the Lost Catacombs.

The Catacombs go on forever, but there's only one way to go and lots of undead 
filling the path. There are some ways to avoid some of the fighting. First, 
remain in Sneak mode. Second, when you approach a large room with stone and 
wood columns arranged in a square in the center, you'll find a lot of undead. 
You'll also find a tunnel in the south wall before you reach the center of the 
room. You should be able to Sneak your way into that tunnel.

Follow it around until you reach a T-intersection, then turn right (south). 
You'll soon enter another very large room with several undead. There are two 
exits from this room on the north wall. The shorter route is the east (right-
hand) exit.

At the end of the tunnel, go to the north wall of the room and take the tunnel 
east. You'll enter a large room with a couple of undead. Get rid of them, then 
find the broken stairs on the north side of the room. Equip the Boots of 
Springheel Jak and jump up the stairs. There are two pushbuttons on this upper 
level, one to the north and one to the south. Activate both of them to open 
the gate to the east, which leads to the Hall of Epochs.


    "4) To enter the Imperial City you must use the Arrow of Extrication
     to unlock the final door."

Straight ahead are some undead foes and an extremely large room. Keep going, 
up the stairs to some statues and you'll get a journal entry that this must be 
the secret entrance to the Palace that is opened with the Arrow of 
Extrication. Staying on the upper level, go right (south) and find the gate on 
the south wall. Pick the lock and step through onto a balcony. To your left is 
a pushbutton, Activate it, then go back west and down the steps into the room 
below.

There's a new opening in the southeast corner of the room. This leads to a 
door to a second Hall of Epochs. As you go through the door, there will be an 
undead immediately in front of you, so be prepared. Turn left into a large 
room and exit at the northeast corner. At the end of the hall, turn left, then 
left again and go down some stairs.

In this room, behind an altar, is a pushbutton. Activate it, then retrace your 
steps to the very large room with the statues. Be careful, your Activation of 
that button released some more undead into this room, so all is not clear. As 
you re-enter the large room, you'll notice several walls have dropped. 
Straight ahead of you now is a bridge with a pressure plate in the center.

Stand on the pressure plate and the statue across the room will rotate, 
revealing a key-shaped hole. This is where the Arrow of Extrication must go. 
Practice with normal arrows first--the aiming spot is approximately where the 
statue's hands grip the sword hilt--you'll hear the impact if you hit the 
right spot, and hear nothing if you miss.

*SAVE YOUR GAME*

Without moving your crosshair, open your inventory, equip the Arrow of 
Extrication, close your inventory and let the arrow fly. If you miss, reload 
and try again. If you succeed, the statue rises, revealing a door into the 
Palace. Also revealed are a couple of Ayleid Guardians, but they won't mess 
with you unless you attack them.

*SAVE YOUR GAME AGAIN*


    "5) Inside the Imperial Palace you must find the Imperial Library.
     On the bottom floor is some sort of viewing room."

The secret door deposits you into the fireplace of the Imperial Guard's 
quarters. Make sure you're in Sneak mode before you enter. Getting through 
here is ticklish. This is where you need the Detect Life spell or enchanted 
item. If you're lucky, the guards (if any) in this part of the room will be 
sleeping. If you're not lucky, you walked into the middle of a shift change 
and you're probably dead meat, in which case it's reload time and you'll have 
to wait a while before trying again.

Sneak over to the large doors that lead to the dining area. Wait until Detect 
Life detects no life beyond the doors, then Sneak out into the corridor and go 
left. This will take you to the Library level. Go halfway around the corridor 
to the Library entrance.

In the Library, go right until you reach a gate. There's a priest on this side 
of the gate, but--as are all the priests--he's blind. So Sneak up behind him 
and pull the lever on the floor to your right. Go back around the hall to the 
now open door into the main library.


    "6) I have arranged to have a particular scroll made available in
     the Chamber. The blind monks that care for the scrolls are expecting
     Celia Camoran, but you will take her place. Just find the chair
     assigned to visitors to the library. You must not speak, or they
     will know it is not her. Just let them bring you the scroll."

Sit in the Reading Chair and a priest will call you Lady Camoran and bring you 
a scroll. Remember not to Activate (talk to) any priest. Take the scroll and 
Sneak up the circular staircase. Pick the lock on the door on this upper level 
to get back out into the Palace corridors.


    "7) Once you have the scroll, retrace your steps and deliver it to
     me. Of course the chances of something going wrong with this plan
     are very high. When that happens, you'll just have to get creative."

Now, to escape. Instead of going down, go up. Go left from the library to the 
priests' quarters, then all the way around to the Imperial Battlemage's 
quarters. Go halfway around the hall to the door to the battlemage's actual 
rooms, find her fireplace, make sure you have the Boots of Springheel Jack 
equipped, and drop down through the fireplace flue.

It's a long way down, but the Boots protect you. (They are destroyed in the 
process.) You land near where you entered the Old Way. Just retrace your steps 
through the sewers and return to the Gray Fox. (Ignore your quest marker, it 
will try to lead you out through a different--i.e. full of enemies--way. Just 
go back the same way you came.)

But! The Gray Fox is not finished with you yet. He gives you a ring and asks 
you to deliver it to Countess Umbranox in Anvil. Do as he says and watch the 
cutscenes. After it's all over, you have the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal and you're 
the new Gray Fox, guild master of the Thieves Guild.


| The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal
+----------------------------
This amazing hood (and it is a hood, not a light or heavy helmet) Fortifies 
your Sneak by 25 points, reduces encumbrance by 200 points and has a constant 
Detect Life effect.

Wait! There's more!

It also changes your identity. When wearing the Cowl, you *are* the Gray Fox. 
Any bounty accrued while wearing the Cowl disappears when you take the Cowl 
off. Moreover, the enchantment is such that even when people see you put on or 
take off the Cowl, they don't notice the change. No one will ever know you are 
the Gray Fox (or the Gray Fox is you).

Think of the scenarios: you invade a home while wearing the Cowl, steal them 
blind, then remove the Cowl as you exit. The guards will come running...and 
politely ask you how you're doing. You can even assault or kill people in 
broad daylight with the Cowl equipped, then remove it immediately and have 
everyone wonder where the criminal is.

There are some downsides. If you run into any guards while wearing the Cowl, 
they will confront you and the only option is "Resist arrest". You can always 
remove the Cowl and yield--Block + Activate; however, during the brief moment 
between removing the Cowl and yielding, townspeople will see the guard 
attacking an "innocent" and they will attack the guards. (On the other hand, 
this is great for causing incredible mayhem in a town.)

You can't pay off your bounty as the Gray Fox, and, even if you did, it's 
renewed at 500 gold the next time you re-equip it after removing it.

The constant Detect Life effect is useful for clearing out dungeons; however, 
it makes it difficult to tell friend from foe, so only use it when you know 
you're surrounded only by enemies.

Some NPCs will ignore the cowl, including your maid in the Skingrad house (if 
you've purchased the house and hired the maid). Many quest givers will treat 
you and the Gray Fox equally.

Finally, in Dareloth's Garden in the Waterfront District, you can now enter 
Dareloth's house through the basement. This is the new Thieves Guild 
headquarters, and you have private quarters on the top floor. Fathis Ules and 
Christophe hang out here, so you have constant access to a fence and a doyen. 
You'll also see other Thieves Guild familiars (Methredhel, Amusei) now and 
again. You'll find mementos of your exploits (Savilla's Stone, the tax 
records, The Lost Histories, etc.) lying around the place.

However, beyond that, there's no benefit to being the guild master. Unlike the 
Fighters Guild or Dark Brotherhood, where you receive regular payments; or the 
Mages Guild where you can recruit a henchman to fight with you, the only 
benefit to being the Gray Fox is...well, being the Gray Fox. You'll have to 
make your own wealth.



                                                                     [TG13]
                 <~~~~~~ CAST OUT OF THE THIEVES GUILD ~~~~~~>

The Thieves Guild has some pretty strict rules regarding behavior. 
(Apparently, there *is* honor among thieves.) You are not to steal from, 
assault or kill another guild member. Additionally, you cannot kill anyone 
while committing a theft for the guild (unless your doyen or the Gray Fox 
specifically gives you permission in advance.)

Unlike the other guilds, getting back into the Thieves Guild is a simple 
matter of money. There is a fine attached to each action, and paying the fine 
to Armand or S'Krivva gets you back into the guild.

Crime     Fine
-------   --------
Theft     200
Assault   500
Murder*   1,000

* You get charged 1,000 gold Blood Price for each unnecessary murder during a 
job. The exceptions are killing one of the two targets of "May the Best Thief 
Win", their Blood Price is 500 gold. Your doyen or the Gray Fox will let you 
know if any job targets can be killed before you go out on the job.

The Thieves Guild is pretty lenient and always lets you back in, as long as 
you pay the fines.




                                                                     [DB00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                DARK BROTHERHOOD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

*NOTE* The Dark Brotherhood should not be undertaken by anyone with a weak 
stomach or a disinclination to slaughter people for money. How a game with 
these types of tasks got through with (initially, anyway) a 'T' rating is a 
mystery. The Dark Brotherhood is a major reason the game was re-rated to 'M'.

*QUESTS* The following journal quests run during the Dark Brotherhood story; 
they are "placeholder" quests that merely tell you to go get your next 
contract. They are not individually broken down in this walkthrough:
* Welcome to the Family
* Blood of the Damned
* No Rest For the Wicked
* To Serve Sithis
* My Brother's Keeper
* Enter the Eliminator
* The Night Mother's Child
* The Assassin's Gambit
* The Dead Drop

Like the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood quests are geared toward Stealth 
characters. Unlike the Thieves Guild, you don't need Stealth to complete the 
missions. After all, each task basically involves killing someone and you 
don't have to be a sneak-thief to do that.

However, each contract carries with it bonus perks based on meeting specific 
parameters. Meeting these parameters and receiving the bonus does require 
Stealth. For example, in one quest you must infiltrate the Imperial prison and 
kill a prisoner. To get the bonus, you must do so without killing any guards. 
In another quest, to get the bonus, you must make the assassination appear to 
be an accident *and* not kill the target's servant.

You will also need some lockpicking skill to complete some of these tasks, 
whether you do it stealthily or not. If you have trouble with the lockpicking 
mini-game, you may wish to hold off on joining the Brotherhood until you've 
received Nocturnal's Skeleton Key, which you can do at level 10.

The Dark Brotherhood is more than a gang of hit men (women/cats/lizards). They 
are a religious cult that worships Sithis, the Dark Lord of Death. They 
delight in killing and bloodshed, but more than just being savage, they 
delight in performing complicated murders that require cunning and stealth. 
There are some...interesting conversations you can have with your colleagues, 
and they are not for the faint-of-heart.

Also, you should be aware you cannot join the Brotherhood with the goal of 
wiping them all out. Such is not possible; though the Brotherhood is nearly 
destroyed in the course of these quests, it is your destiny to rebuild it. You 
can't rise to the top only to kill the few remaining survivors. So if that's 
your goal, forget about it and find something else to do.

Joining the Dark Brotherhood is simple: murder someone. But, you can't just 
murder *anyone*, you have to murder an innocent. (Well, maybe innocent is not 
the right word; you have to perform what the game deems an unnecessary 
killing.) There are several possibilities:

1) Fight through the Arena, perform "Origin of the Gray Prince" and then 
challenge the Gray Prince to a fight, which ends with him begging you to kill 
him. This is more like assisted suicide and you won't get in trouble with the 
law, but the game regards it as murder anyway. This is the safest murder you 
can commit, since it's not really murder and the character only exists to die 
anyway. On the flip side, you have to fight through 21 successively more 
difficult battles to reach the Gray Prince.

2) Kill a beggar. Make sure no guards are around when you commit the crime. 
Beggars generally sleep outdoors on bedrolls. The beggars play a big role in 
the Thieves Guild quests; if you intend to play through the Thieves Guild, 
murder one in the Imperial City--there are five total in the city, so they'll 
be some left over that can help you with the Thieves Guild quests.

3) Kill a non-essential innkeeper or shopkeeper. There are a dozen or more 
shopkeepers in Imperial City and several inns, so you could probably off one 
of them in their sleep without messing up your game too much. You always run a 
risk of killing someone who sells something that may be important to you 
later; but you can minimize this. Just make sure the merchant you kill doesn't 
provide any other services, such as training or armor repair.

4) Kill a solitary Imperial Legionnaire or Forester you encounter on the road. 
Trying to kill a guard in town is tough as you will be attacked by the other 
guards and the citizenry, but one of the wandering troopers in the country can 
probably be dispatched without too much trouble. This will get you in trouble 
with the law, so you'll have to pay a fine or serve some jail time.

When you commit a "proper" murder, you'll get a message saying, "Your killing 
has been observed by forces unknown..." The next time you sleep (and you have 
to sleep, not just Wait), your rest will be interrupted by one Lucien 
Lachance. He introduces you to the Dark Brotherhood and asks if you would like 
to join their family.

You still have an out--maybe you didn't intend to kill an innocent and you 
don't really want to join the Brotherhood. You can turn Lachance down and he 
won't bother you again. You can also (try to) kill Lachance, in which case he 
definitely won't bother you again. If you choose to join, Lachance first sends 
you on an initiation run...



                                                                     [DB01]
                      <~~~~~~ A KNIFE IN THE DARK ~~~~~~>

In order to complete your "application" and fully join the Brotherhood, 
Lachance points you to a target: Rufio. Rufio spends most of his time asleep 
at the Inn of Ill Omen, which is located on the Green Road about halfway 
between Bravil and Lake Rumare.

Speak to the innkeeper and he'll reveal Rufio's room is in the cellar. The 
trap door downstairs is just to the left of the main entrance to the inn. 
Rufio's room is the last door on the left, and he sleeps all the time, except 
for the middle of the night. You can kill him with a single blow.

You can also choose to wake him. If you use the "Oh, but you have Rufio" 
response, you'll get a hint of why there is a price on his head. Regardless, 
if you do wake him, you better be between him and the door. He moves very fast 
for a tired, old man and will hotfoot it for the exit as soon as he finishes 
speaking. However, even when awake, he's still a one-hit kill.

Find a bed (you can even use Rufio's) and Sleep, and Lachance will visit you 
again. He welcomes you into the family and, if you follow all his conversation 
options, gives you some detail on the operations of the Brotherhood.

The leadership of the Brotherhood is composed of a Listener and four Speakers-
-together known as the Black Hand. The Listener receives assignments from the 
Night Mother and gives those assignments to the Speakers who pass them on to a 
local Sanctuary, where a family member is tasked to carry out the mission. You 
also learn the Five Tenets (See "A Dark Exile" below).

Lachance is sending you to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Fast Travel to 
Cheydinhal's East Gate and go south. The third house on the left, almost 
directly behind the chapel, is an Abandoned House. Even though the door is 
boarded over, enter and go down into the basement.

Follow the basement to a black door with strange runes carved into it. When 
you Activate the door, you are asked for a pass phrase, which is "Sanguine, my 
brother". Enter the Sanctuary and find Ocheeva, a female Argonian. She 
welcomes you to the Sanctuary, gives you an outfit (Shrouded Armor and Hood 
that, when worn together, Fortify your Sneak, Illusion, Marksman, Blade and 
Acrobatics by 10 points each) and sends you to Vincente Valtieri for 
assignments.



                                                                     [DB02]
                         <~~~~~~ A WATERY GRAVE ~~~~~~>

Yes, Valtieri is a vampire, and proud of it. In fact, later on, he'll offer to 
give you "The Dark Gift"--i.e. turn you into a vampire.

But only if you want to.

Right now, Valtieri is just your boss. He explains the contract system--some 
contracts have bonus rewards if you meet certain conditions. He also will tell 
you to talk to your colleagues in the Sanctuary about each contract; they may 
have valuable information.

Your first contract is to kill Captain Gaston Tussaud aboard his ship, the 
Marie Elena, which is docked at Imperial City's Waterfront district. There are 
no bonuses for this mission, just the standard pay. The Marie Elena berths at 
the eastern end of the Waterfront dock. There are three ways of reaching the 
captain:

1) The direct approach. Simply walk onto the ship. You'll be warned away by 
the first mate, but when you don't listen, she and the other crew attack. This 
could get sticky, except for the fact that, since they attacked you, all the 
guards around the waterfront will be hostile to them. Lead them on a chase 
into a group of Legion Watch and...well, watch the fun. Once all the sailors 
are down, you can pick the lock on the Captain's cabin, enter and kill him, 
then return to Vincente.

2) Stowaway. This is the method suggested by Valtieri when he gives you the 
job. Walk past the ship, to the east end of the dock and twiddle your thumbs 
for a moment. You'll get a message the nearby crate looks like it has enough 
room for you to fit. Choose to climb in the crate and you'll jump straight to 
the Marie Elena's cargo hold. Climb up to the middle deck and hide until a 
couple of sailors finish their argument and go to bed. Then Sneak past and 
climb up to the captain's cabin.

You can kill the captain quickly, but two sailors will hear the noise and rush 
in to investigate, so kill them as well. (You can hide in the aft part of the 
cabin when the sailors rush in, and then Sneak attack at least once to give 
yourself an edge.) When the two are dead, get the captain's key from the chest 
next to his bed, open the door in the aft section of the cabin and jump off 
the balcony into the water and swim out of range of the enemies on the ship. 
Then Fast Travel back to Cheydinhal to report to Vincente.

3) If your Acrobatics skill is high enough, you can jump from the east end of 
the dock to the balcony outside the captain's cabin. Then it's just a matter 
of picking the lock, killing the captain and running back outside and jumping 
into the water to get away. You don't even have to kill the two sailors who 
come to investigate, because you don't need the captain's key to get out. 
Report back to Vincente.



                                                                     [DB03]
                        <~~~~~~ ACCIDENTS HAPPEN ~~~~~~>

Valtieri assigns you the task of killing Baenlin, of Bruma. To earn a bonus, 
you must make the killing appear accidental and make sure you don't kill 
anyone else, especially Baenlin's servant, Gromm. Valtieri suggests a way to 
make it happen: use a hidden crawlspace on the second floor to drop a prized 
minotaur head on top of old Baenlin. Baenlin always sits below the head from 
8pm to 11pm.

Baenlin lives just north of Bruma's East Gate (next to the house you can buy). 
You have a choice to make. The easiest time to infiltrate the house is during 
the middle of the night; however, you can't Wait while trespassing, so you 
would be stuck twiddling your thumbs for around 30 real minutes (15 game 
hours) until 8pm when you can drop the head. One way to make use of this time 
is to Sneak-run into the wall in the hidden crawlspace. You'll gain 25 or more 
ranks in your Sneak skill during the time you're waiting.

The other option is to Wait until 8pm to infiltrate the house. You may still 
be able to successfully Sneak past Gromm and Baenlin, but you're going to need 
a fairly high Sneak skill to accomplish this. Choose your time, go around the 
back of the house and pick the lock to the basement. Go into Sneak mode and 
pick the lock on the door to the main floor.

The crawlspace is up on the second floor--make a U-turn at the top of the 
stairs and go through Gromm's bedroom to the far corner, where you'll find the 
secret panel. At the appointed hour, Activate the fastenings on the end wall 
of the crawlspace and hear the satisfying thump of death. Resist the urge to 
peek out the hole, Gromm will see you and soon be in the crawlspace with you. 
Enraged Nord + big axe + cramped quarters = reload time.

Sneak out of the crawlspace and down the stairs. Gromm will be standing, 
weapon out, over the old man's body. Sneak along the far wall to the basement 
door and go out the way you came in. For "accidentally" killing Baenlin 
without killing Gromm, you get Sufferthorn, a dagger with Damage Health and 
Damage Strength enchantments.



                                                                     [DB04]
                    <~~~~~~ SCHEDULED FOR EXECUTION ~~~~~~>

Valtieri next reveals there is an Imperial prisoner, Valen Dreth, who needs to 
be put out of his misery. It seems another prisoner recently escaped using 
secret tunnels under the prison (that would be you) and you are now to use 
those tunnels to get back into the prison and kill Dreth. If you can do so 
without killing any guards, you'll get a bonus.

Your path back through the underground system will not be identical to the 
path you took when fleeing in the wake of the emperor. However, much will be 
familiar, especially your cell and the sneering dark elf across the hall.

The route through the sewers, the Sanctum, the Subteranne and the prison is 
pretty straightforward. The challenge here is not in figuring out which way to 
go, but avoiding the guards with torches that patrol regular routes. The trick 
is to stay in Sneak mode as far into the shadows as possible and watch the 
route of each guard. Choose your moment to Sneak through--usually by scurrying 
along in the wake of the guard.

The biggest problem occurs in the Sanctum. Getting out is difficult as there's 
a guard right next to the stairs and the stairs are well lit. You can use an 
Invisibility spell to get through here, or wait until the guard turns and 
stares as the back wall for a few minutes.

When you reach your old cell, hide in it while a guard chats with Dreth, then 
step across the hall and say goodbye to your old friend. The easiest thing to 
do is a spell or arrow through the bars of Dreth's cell; he's wasted away and 
a single shot should be the end of him.

If you Sneak down the hallway to the left of Dreth's cell, you should be able 
to procure a prison key from the guardroom at the end of the hall. Then go 
back up the other way and enter the main prison room. You can exit Sneak mode 
now, this is a public area, and walk right out, then Fast Travel back to the 
Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Assuming you killed no one but Dreth, your payment 
includes the Scales of Pitiless Justice. This miscellaneous item Fortifies 
your Strength, Intelligence and Agility while Draining your Personality. It 
works any time it is in your inventory; just drop it to lose the effect.



                                                                     [DB05]
                    <~~~~~~ THE RENEGADE SHADOWSCALE ~~~~~~>

This is not an official Dark Brotherhood quest, rather it's a favor for the 
male Argonian, Teinaava. He tells you a tale of a Shadowscale (Argonian royal 
assassin), Scar-Tail, who decided to forsake his duties and flee to Bogwater 
Swamp. Teinaava asks you to go kill him and bring back his heart as proof of 
his death.

Anything for a friend, right? Bogwater is southeast of Leyawiin, almost as far 
south as you can go in Cyrodiil. Tidewater Cave (Nocturnal's quest), 
Darkfathom Cave ("Whom God's Annoy" side quest) and Fort Blueblood ("Leyawiin 
Recommendation" Mages Guild quest) are the closest quest-related landmarks for 
Fast Traveling. If you've not visited them yet, Fast Travel to Leyawiin and 
hoof it.

You'll find Scar-Tail by a small campfire, weakened by a previous fight with a 
Shadowscale agent. You can: 1) kill him and take his heart; or, 2) talk to him 
and he asks that you allow him to live and take the heart of the dead 
Shadowscale as proof and Scar-Tail's treasure for yourself. If you decide on 
option #2, you'll find the treasure in a hollow rock near the campfire and the 
dead agent a short way from the campfire.

Regardless of which heart you bring back to Teinaava, you get the Boots of 
Bloody Bounding, with Fortify Acrobatics and Blade enchantments.



                                                                     [DB06]
                      <~~~~~~ THE ASSASSINATED MAN ~~~~~~>

This one's a little different. You are *not* supposed to kill someone this 
time, rather you are to make it look like you killed someone without actually 
performing the deed. Francois Motierre wants to welsh on his debts, and has 
asked for the Dark Brotherhood's assistance. Since *someone* is supposed to 
die to satisfy the Dark Lord Sithis, Motierre handed over his own mother.

These are the kinds of people you get to deal with.

Motierre's being pursued by an enforcer for the people to whom he owes money. 
You're supposed to hit him with a dagger laced with Langourwine in view of the 
enforcer and then run away. The Langourwine will cause Motierre to fall into a 
coma that feigns death; the enforcer will report Motierre has been killed by 
the Brotherhood; and, then you revive the skinflint using an antidote. 
(Vincente provides all this for you.) If either Motierre or the enforcer die, 
you don't get your payment for this mission, though you can continue to 
advance in the Brotherhood.

Fast Travel to Chorrol and find Motierre's house, which is in Chorrol's 
upscale district around the great oak (straight ahead from either the North or 
South Gate). Enter and Motierre will fill you in on all the details. Soon 
after his conversation ends, you'll hear the enforcer, Hides-His-Heart, 
picking the lock on the door.

You don't want to waste any time. Equip the Langourwine dagger and stand next 
to Motierre. As soon as the Argonian enforcer is inside, strike Motierre and 
beat it. If you hang around and listen to Motierre and Hides chat, you won't 
learn anything and you'll probably have to kill the lizard (which fails the 
mission). You have to get outside the city in order to shake the pursuit.

As soon as your journal lets you know you were successful, Wait 24 hours, then 
go to the Chapel of Stendarr and go down to the undercroft. Motierre's "body" 
is lying in the southern wing of the undercroft. Activate him to revive him 
with the Langourwine antidote. Motierre chooses, at this time, to let you know 
his ancestors won't be pleased with his cheating of death, screams, "Aunt 
Margaret" and the zombie attacks.

Auntie isn't the only ticked-off relative in the crypt. There are two more 
zombies out in the main part of the undercroft. You still have to keep 
Motierre alive, so take out Aunt Margaret as quickly as you can, then rush the 
other two.

Once all three are dead, lead Motierre to the Gray Mare inn and then return to 
Valtieri for your payment. If all went as planned, your reward includes an 
amulet, Cruelty's Heart (Fortify Strength and Willpower), promotion and a key 
to the "back door" of the Sanctuary. There's a well behind the abandoned house 
that leads directly into the Sanctuary (the ladder going up is in a corner of 
the main room, behind a broken section of wall). No more trudging through the 
basement to get in an out of the place.

Finally, Vincente offers to give you the "Dark Gift"--i.e. make you a vampire. 
And he turns you over to Ocheeva for future assignments as he has nothing left 
for one of your rank.



                                                                     [DB07]
                      <~~~~~~ THE LONELY WANDERER ~~~~~~>

Ocheeva's first assignment is to kill an elf named Faelian in Imperial City. 
There must be no witnesses. There are a number of ways in which you can track 
down Faelian, but, by far the quickest and easiest is to Fast Travel to the 
Talos Plaza district in Imperial City.

Find the Tiber Septim Hotel, which opens out onto the main plaza on the 
southwest side of the district. Charm innkeeper Augusta Calidia to a 
Disposition of 50 or higher and she'll give tell you Faelian and his 
girlfriend live in the hotel. Find the girlfriend, Atraena, who is almost 
always in the hotel.

Get her Disposition over 50 and she'll give you the name of the place where 
Faelian goes to do drugs during the day: Lorkmir's house in the Elven Gardens 
District. Lorkmir's is in the western section of the Elven Gardens, along the 
central street.

*NOTE* You could go straight to Lorkmir's house without going through the 
girlfriend, but then you get no quest marker to help you find the house. Your 
call.

Break in and find Faelian there or Wait for him (he comes in from around noon 
until late afternoon). Kill him in Lorkmir's house and head back to 
Cheydinhal. Your bonus for a completely successful mission is Shadowhunt, a 
steel bow with several enchantments: on hit you will Turn Undead, Damage 
Health, Damage Magicka and imbue the target with Weakness to Poison.



                                                                     [DB08]
                          <~~~~~~ BAD MEDICINE ~~~~~~>

You're to kill a mercenary warlord named Roderick, who makes his camp in Fort 
Sutch. Once again, you're to make the death appear accidental. Roderick is 
very sick and takes a powerful medicine daily. You're to replace his medicine 
with poison supplied by Ocheeva. Doing so without detection earns you a bonus. 
If you are detected, you can kill Roderick (and all his mercenaries) the old-
fashioned way, but then you don't get the bonus.

It turns out the bonus isn't especially good, so don't worry over this one too 
much. It really isn't that hard to Sneak in and replace the medicine, but it 
does take a while.

Fort Sutch is midway between Anvil and Kvatch, north of the main road between 
those two cities. Brina Cross Inn ("Anvil Recommendation" Mages Guild quest) 
and Malacath's shrine are the closest quest-related points. You may have even 
done "Assault on Fort Sutch" during the main story and can Fast Travel 
directly there. Ocheeva suggests finding a back way into the fort through 
tunnels leading to a nearby ruined tower.

But that's the long and arduous way. Go straight in the front door and 
immediately turn right, picking the lock on the gate. Sneak through the tunnel 
until you come out on the upper level of a two-level room. Creep up close to 
the edge and listen in on the conversation below.

When it ends, the two mercs head up to your level. Sneak back into the tunnel, 
and then follow them when they pass you. They'll lead you through a northeast 
passage to a room divided by columns. The orc starts patrolling through the 
columns. Your objective is a cupboard on the northwest wall. Sneak around the 
columns, avoiding the orc merc's patrol routes.

Open the medicine cabinet, remove Roderick's medicine and put in the poison 
you brought with you. Sneak back out the same way you came in, and Fast Travel 
back to Cheydinhal. Ocheeva pays you and, if you didn't alert anyone, gives 
you The Deceiver's Finery, clothing that Fortifies your Personality and 
Speechcraft.



                                                                     [DB09]
                           <~~~~~~ WHODUNIT? ~~~~~~>

Your new threads are largely intended to help you with this contract. You're 
going to play "Clue" and you get to be the culprit--in every room with every 
conceivable weapon. You and five others will be locked into a house for a 
"treasure hunt". You are supposed to kill the other five people. To earn the 
bonus, you must kill them without any of them ever figuring out you are the 
killer.

Fast Travel to Skingrad's East Gate and go down the street a short way to 
Summitmist Manor. You'll be met by Fafnir, presumably the man who prayed for 
the hits, and he gives you the key to the manor and a few instructions. As you 
enter the manor, you're met by an old woman, Matilde Petit. Tell her you're an 
assassin sent to kill her and she'll think you're joking; her Disposition will 
also rise to maximum. Matilde will also summarize the other targets: Dovesi 
Dran, Nels the Naughty, Neville and Primo Antonius.

There are two ways to play this:

1) Just start killing. The guests are initially spread out, none present a 
significant challenge and the bonus reward may not be particularly appealing 
to you. The important thing is for everyone to die. (When you think about it, 
since they all end up dead, the concept of keeping them ignorant of your 
identity seems nonsensical. But maybe the client has a perverse sense of 
humor.)

2) Use the Persuasion mini-game or Charm spells to raise their Dispositions. 
You can then lure a couple of them away, and set the rest on each other. For 
example, tell Dran that Antonius has fallen for her and wants to meet her in 
his room. Follow her up the stairs and kill her. Offer to team up with Matilde 
and suggest you search the basement, when you go downstairs, kill her. Neville 
likes to take naps in his room, wait for him to go upstairs and go to sleep, 
then kill him. The remaining two (Nels and Antonius) despise each other; you 
can easily persuade either one to attack and kill the other, then finish off 
the survivor.

When you're done, return to the Sanctuary and report to Ocheeva. If you 
accomplished your mission within the parameters, you'll receive the 
Nightmother's Blessing--a "spell ability" (like a birthsign) that permanently 
increases your Blade, Acrobatics, Sneak, Security and Marksman skills by 2 
points each.



                                                                     [DB10]
                      <~~~~~~ PERMANENT RETIREMENT ~~~~~~>

Captain of the Imperial Watch Adamus Phillida has been a thorn in the side of 
the Brotherhood for a long time. Phillida has finally retired to Leyawiin and 
you are sent there to kill him. (The Brotherhood waiting until after his 
retirement is another nonsensical plan. Wouldn't it have been more useful to 
kill him when he still posed a threat? Whatever.)

You are given a special arrow, the Rose of Sithis that will kill Phillida in 
one shot. (The Rose only works on Phillida, don't bother saving it to use on 
someone else.) The Rose won't pierce armor, so you have to use it when 
Phillida is not wearing his metal suit. To earn the bonus, you must get 
Phillida's ring finger and put it in the desk of the current commander of the 
Imperial Watch.

Travel to Leyawiin and find the pond just west of the castle guard tower. The 
pond is surrounded by houses, has a dock at the northeast corner and a set of 
stairs to the south. Go to the dock and Wait until mid-afternoon (about 2pm). 
Phillida will soon come to the south end of the pool, where he strips, leaves 
his bodyguard and takes a little swim.

*SAVE YOUR GAME*

Draw a bead on Phillida with the Rose of Sithis and shoot him. If you miss, 
reload your game and try again. When he's dead, swim out to his body and 
Activate it. Take his keys and his ring finger, then swim to the south shore 
(the bodyguard will have gone running around the pond to the dock, so you 
don't want to go back there), and high-tail it out of town.

*ALTERNATE METHOD*
If you're a fairly high-level character and don't want to run the risk of 
mixing it up with the city guards, then you can kill Phillida elsewhere; but, 
you won't be able to use the Rose. Go to the Coast Guard station outside 
Leyawiin's Northeast Gate. Wait until morning, around 9am, and Phillida will 
come with his bodyguard and enter the station. You can enter behind them and 
kill them both. You'll have to do it the conventional way and it will be a 
tough fight. Get Phillida's keys and finger.

Fast Travel to the Imperial Prison district northeast of Imperial City. From 
the main entrance, go to the second door on the left, which leads to the 
commander's office. Wait until the middle of the night, go into Sneak mode, 
and enter (you have the key) when the Watch isn't...watching. You also have a 
key to the desk, so put the finger in there and Sneak back out.

Assuming you weren't detected, you can Fast Travel from right outside the door 
and return to Ocheeva for your pay and bonus, which is 500 gold.



                                                                     [DB11]
                      <~~~~~~ OF SECRET AND SHADOW ~~~~~~>

Ocheeva has important news! Lachance wants to see you. Like, right now. His 
headquarters are in Fort Farragut, just east of Cheydinhal. He mentions 
something about getting past his guardians to prove your worth, yada yada.

Walk out to Fort Farragut and go around to the northwest side of the fallen 
tower and look for a hollow tree. Inside is a trapdoor that leads directly to 
Lachance's quarters, skipping a short, but tedious, skeleton-and-trap-filled 
dungeon crawl.



                                                                     [DB12]
                        <~~~~~~ THE PURIFICATION ~~~~~~>

Lachance informs you there is a traitor working out of the Cheydinhal 
Sanctuary. You are above suspicion because the problems began before you 
joined the family. Since the Black Hand can't figure out exactly who, among 
your brethren in the Sanctuary, is guilty, you are ordered to exterminate them 
all in a rite known as "Purification".

To help you out, Lachance gives you a poisoned apple and a scroll that will 
summon the ghost of Rufio (your first official victim). In a barrel in the 
corner of Lachance's quarters (behind a lock) are ten more poisoned apples.

There are, of course, numerous ways to handle eliminating your fellow 
assassins. Regardless of how you go about the killings, you'll want to try to 
separate them so they don't gang up on you. One way of working it is to remove 
all the food in the main hall and the Living Quarters and putting some 
poisoned apples on the food tables and in the food cupboards. You may have to 
Wait up to a week before all your victims partake.

You can let the ghost of Rufio out among a small (three to four) group. 
They'll concentrate on the ghost, leaving you free to backstab them. The 
training room or Living Quarters work well for this tactic--for one because 
the Dark Guardian won't be around to pitch in, and also because you tend to 
get concentrations of targets in these two places.

Valtieri and Ocheeva, with separate rooms, can be killed in their sleep. You 
can also attack other Brotherhood members while they are asleep in the Living 
Quarters, but their sleeping habits are irregular.

Once the Sanctuary has been cleansed, return to Lachance. He reveals that each 
member of the Black Hand has their own personal assassin, called a Silencer. 
Congratulations! You're now Lachance's Silencer. From now on, you'll be 
receiving assignments and payment at "dead drop" locations around Cyrodiil. 
Your first dead drop is at Hero Hill, south-southeast of Fort Farragut.

Oh, and since you're going to be running all over Cyrodiil at Lachance's 
request, he gives you Shadowmere, the fastest, strongest horse in the game. 
Enjoy!



                                                                     [DB13]
                      <~~~~~~ AFFAIRS OF A WIZARD ~~~~~~>

Find the hollowed-out rock at Hero Hill and read the orders. You're to kill a 
necromancer named Celedaen before he completes his transformation into a lich. 
Celedaen hangs out in Leafrot Cave, which is south-southeast of your current 
location, near the Panther River. The closest quest-related point is Redwater 
Slough ("Vampire Cure").

Leafrot Cave is a small, two-level affair full of undead. In the first room is 
Celedaen's journal. Reading this will update your quest journal with the 
objective of removing Celedaen's magical hourglass in order to kill him. 
Celedaen is on the second level of the caves, and it is difficult to Sneak up 
on him.

If you can Magickage it, pickpocket the hourglass to kill him instantly. 
Otherwise, you're in for quite a fight as Celedaen is much more powerful than 
you and can conjure a number of different creatures. Hit him as hard as you 
can, ignoring his summons, in order to kill him.

You are then instructed to go to Chorrol. Your payment for this task and 
orders for your next task are in a sack near the great oak in northern 
Chorrol. Fast Travel to Chorrol's North Gate and go straight south to the 
tree.



                                                                     [DB14]
                          <~~~~~~ NEXT OF KIN ~~~~~~>

You are ordered to kill the entire Draconis clan: mother Perennia, sons 
Matthias and Andreas and daughters Sibylla and Caelia. Start with mom; she 
resides at Applewatch Farm, just west of Bruma. During the day you'll 
typically find her outside tending to her garden.

She will think you're a courier come to buy and deliver gifts to her four 
children. She'll give you a list of what to buy them, and their locations, so 
you can deliver the gifts. Oh, you'll be delivering something all right. Kill 
mother Draconis (and, possibly, also her dog), then look at your list.

1) Andreas: He runs the Drunken Dragon Inn, northwest of Leyawiin. If you tell 
him what you did to his mother, he'll attack you. This causes the Imperial 
Legion guard who is almost always at the Inn to attack and kill Andreas for 
you. Neat.

2) Caelia: She's a guard in Leyawiin, on the night watch. You can track her 
down during the night while she's making her rounds; or, you can kill her in 
her room at the Three Sisters Inn. (Note: as a Leyawiin guard, Caelia is off-
limits if you currently have "The Elven Maiden" Thieves Guild quest open. 
Finish that quest first before killing Caelia.)

3) Matthias: He lives in the Talos Plaza district of Imperial City, in the 
southwestern section (across from Ontus Vanin and next to Agarmir). Break in 
during the middle of the night and kill him in his sleep.

4) Sibylla: She has gone wild, living with animals in Muck Valley Cavern. This 
small series of caves is located halfway between Imperial City and Cheydinhal, 
south of the Blue Road. Vaermina's shrine (Daedric quest) is nearby. Kill her 
and the animals that protect her.

When the Draconis line has been erased from the annals of history, Fast Travel 
to Castle Skingrad and Activate the well in the courtyard. You'll receive your 
pay and your next assignment.



                                                                     [DB15]
                          <~~~~~~ BROKEN VOWS ~~~~~~>

The father of the bride is upset. His daughter's erstwhile groom decided to 
break off the engagement when he saw the size (or lack thereof) of the young 
lady's dowry. Papa wants J'Ghasta dead. That should make daddy's little girl 
happy.

J'Ghasta lives in Bruma, three doors south of the East Gate. Pick the lock, go 
downstairs and look for a trapdoor somewhat hidden behind the staircase. 
J'Ghasta is an expert in unarmed combat. Ha ha. Good one! Teach him the 
advantage of shiny, pointy things.

Your payment and next assignment are in an old box under Old Bridge. Old 
Bridge is directly south of Imperial City's Waterfront.



                                                                     [DB16]
                         <~~~~~~ FINAL JUSTICE ~~~~~~>

Shaleez, an Argonian hunter, is your next target. She lives in Flooded Mine 
just north of Bravil. As the name implies, there will be some swimming here. 
The best time to attack is in the middle of the night, when Shaleez is asleep. 
Swim through the tunnels, following your quest marker to the lizard.

After she's dead, you can collect your payment and new mission at Fort Redman, 
which is halfway between Bravil and Leyawiin, on the east side of the Niben 
River. There's a single bandit roaming the surface area of the Fort. In a 
coffin near the door are your blood money and two pieces of paper.



                                                                     [DB17]
                       <~~~~~~ A MATTER OF HONOR ~~~~~~>

One piece of paper names your subject: Alval Uvani, a traveling merchant. The 
other piece of paper lays out Uvani's schedule. Now here's where lady luck 
might just shine on you. Depending on how far into the game you are, Uvani 
might already be dead.

Yes, in fact, the further along you are, the higher the probability Uvani 
traveled into something he couldn't handle. If you're lucky, as soon as you 
get the journal entry opening "A Matter of Honor", you'll get another journal 
entry that proclaims you have killed Uvani. Pat yourself on the back for 
excellent work and go on to your next job.

(There's no way to tell why or how this happens. Uvani actually does travel 
from city to city--unlike some games where he would just spawn in the 
appropriate place at the appropriate time. So if you've done the main story, 
or a substantial part of the main story, Uvani might have run into some daedra 
near one of the random Oblivion gates between cities. Or it could have been 
wild animals. Or, maybe a glitch in the AI caused him to have it out with some 
Imperial Legion guards. Regardless, count your blessings and move on.) 

Otherwise, take a look at Uvani's schedule.

     As he travels around Cyrodiil, Alval Uvani can be found at the
     following locations, on the following days:
     
     Morndas/Tirdas -- Bravil -- The Lonely Suitor Lodge
     
     Middas/Turdas -- Skingrad -- The West Weald Inn
     
     Fredas/Loredas -- Bruma -- Olav's Tap and Tack
     
     Sundas -- Leyawiin -- Alval Uvani's House (rented property)
     
     Keep in mind that there may be some variation based on the time
     it takes for him to get to the different cities.
     
Your best bet for a clean kill is Uvani's rented house in Leyawiin--it's the 
southeastern most house in Leyawiin. Every other location is fairly public and 
things can get messy. The downside is, if Uvani starts running behind, he may 
not even stop in Leyawiin, or his stop is so brief he never goes into his 
house. Regardless, Fast Travel to Leyawiin, Wait until Sundas (you have to 
Wait before entering the house), break in and wait until Uvani shows his face.

If you have trouble killing him--he's a master of Destruction magic--your 
orders provide a workaround: Uvani is allergic to the honey in mead. You can 
get several bottles of mead from the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, distribute it in 
his house, remove all the other consumables, then wait for him to come home, 
drink the stuff, and be paralyzed.

Your payment and orders are in a hollow stump in the Market District of 
Imperial City. Find the garden behind Edgar's Discount Spells and the hollow 
stump is there.



                                                                     [DB18]
                       <~~~~~~ THE COLDEST SLEEP ~~~~~~>

Your next hit: Havilstein Hoar-Blood. He has a camp east of Bruma. There's 
nothing special about this mission. Hoar-Blood is a tough Nord axe-wielder and 
he has a pet wolf. Go in gun's blazing or try a Sneak-attack at night when the 
Nord is sleeping.

The next dead drop is in the Ayleid ruin of Nornal. Fast Travel to Muck Valley 
Cavern (from the Draconis assassinations) and go south. You don't have to go 
all the way into the ruins, just go down the first set of stairs and take the 
first right. There's a locked gate and chest underwater, so have a Water 
Breathing spell handy.



                                                                     [DB19]
                      <~~~~~~ A KISS BEFORE DYING ~~~~~~>

You are to kill a Bosmer named Ungolim. He spends his evenings--from midnight 
to 2am--praying to a statue known as "The Lucky Lady", in Bravil. You're told 
not to worry about guards, they've been bribed to look the other way.

Head to Bravil and find the statue in the northern part of town. Find a hiding 
place and Wait until midnight. When Ungolim shows up, Sneak attack him 
(preferably from range) and then finish him off.

Next thing you know, Lachance shows up and begins chewing you out. Seems you 
just eradicated the Listener and all your other hits since the Draconis family 
have likewise been members of the Black Hand--Speakers and their Silencers. 
Lachance is here to kill you, but then realizes you have no idea what he's 
babbling about.

He deduces someone is switching your orders. The rest of the Black Hand 
suspects him, and there's a price on his head. The two of you need to find out 
who's doing this, and fast. Lachance tells you to go to the next dead drop and 
wait to see who comes and drops off the money and orders.



                                                                     [DB20]
                        <~~~~~~ FOLLOWING A LEAD ~~~~~~>

Fast Travel to Anvil's North Gate, hang a left and find the barrel behind the 
pond. Select a hiding place nearby and wait for a Wood Elf to show up. Make 
sure you are not in Sneak mode, then confront the little punk. He claims a man 
in a robe put him up to this, and the man lives under the lighthouse here in 
Anvil. (Ignore the new orders the Wood Elf has placed for you, they don't lead 
to anything. The punk Bosmer keeps your 500 gold--unless you kill him for it.)

Go to the lighthouse, outside Anvil's Dock Gate. Find the caretaker and 
question him about his tenant. When he asks, "Who wants to know", tell him the 
truth. He'll wet himself trying to give you the key faster.

Use the key to enter the basement of the lighthouse, the door is outside, on 
the north face of the tower. In the back room of the cellar is a grisly sight: 
a shrine featuring the rotted head of a long-deceased woman. Nearby, on a 
little table, is a diary detailing the traitor's mental instability. (It also 
provides the back story on "The Ghost Ship of Anvil".) Too bad there's no name 
attached.

Take the diary (and the head, for a little extra amusement) and Fast Travel to 
the recently departed Draconis family farm, Applewatch. Lachance is waiting 
for you there. Unfortunately, the remainder of the Black Hand is waiting for 
Lachance. He's dead when you arrive, and you can speak to the other members. 
Arquen takes the lead.

You are not suspected of anything; they believe Lachance was the traitor and 
everything is now green. Here's where you use the head. Drop it on the ground 
and talk to Bellamont. He sure is jumpy isn't he? Oh well, you can't do 
anything about him now.

Arquen says they are going to see the Night Mother, who will choose a new 
Listener so they can begin rebuilding the Black Hand and the Brotherhood. Wait 
until midnight (but not past 3am) and talk to Arquen again. Say you're ready 
and you'll all Fast Travel to Bravil and the statue of the Lucky Lady.



                                                                     [DB21]
                        <~~~~~~ HONOR THY MOTHER ~~~~~~>

There's a cutscene and the statue opens to reveal a trapdoor. Follow the Black 
Hand inside. The Night Mother (a ghost) tells Arquen they're all idiots and 
then Bellamont attacks. The other two Black Hand members (i.e. not you and not 
Arquen) get it quick and then Bellamont is on you. Take him out. (Note that 
neither the Night Mother nor Arquen are predisposed to give you a lot of 
help.)

Afterwards the Night Mother once again rants about the idiocy infecting the 
Brotherhood, tells Arquen off (again) and promotes you to Listener and puts 
Arquen in charge of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. She also tells you to take what 
you want from the crypt. Loot the place thoroughly (you'll never come back 
here again).

Talk to the Night Mother again to be transported to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. 
Congratulations! You're the leader of a guild of assassins.



                                                                     [DB22]
                       <~~~~~~ WHISPERS OF DEATH ~~~~~~>

Once each week you can go to the Lucky Lady statue in Bravil and Activate it. 
The Night Mother will speak to you, giving you the name of someone who needs 
the services of the Brotherhood. These people are all outside of Cyrodiil, so 
don't even try to do anything about them.

Go see Arquen in Cheydinhal and give her the name. She'll give you a portion 
of the weekly take. Gradually, new assassins will start wandering around the 
Sanctuary. You can ask any of them to travel with you as a henchman. 
Otherwise, there's not much to being Listener. You listen a lot. That's about 
it...



                                                                     [DB23]
                           <~~~~~~ DARK EXILE ~~~~~~>

When you first join the Dark Brotherhood, Lucien Lachance will fill you in on 
the Five Tenets: 

Tenet 1: Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of 
Sithis.

Tenet 2: Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to 
invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Tenet 3: Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood 
superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Tenet 4: Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do 
so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Tenet 5: Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the 
Wrath of Sithis.

You may wander what this "Wrath of Sithis" is. It is a spirit that will attack 
you if you break one of the Tenets. The first two times this happens, 
defeating the spirit means you're back in the guild. The third time, defeating 
the spirit just means you get to avoid reloading your game. You're out of the 
Brotherhood forever.

The first three tenets are impossible to break. The game never gives you a 
chance to do any of those things. Well, you can fail to carry out an 
assignment, but you're never visited by the Wrath, it just remains an open 
quest in your journal. So, basically, you'll only run into a problem if you 
steal from or kill another member of the Brotherhood.




                                                                     [KN00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            KNIGHTS OF THE NINE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

*NOTE* Before installing Knights of the Nine, you must install the v1.1.511 
patch. If you install KoN first, the patch will fail.

Install the Knights mod and make sure it's active. Unlike the other official 
mods, Knights of the Nine does not automatically start when you next load up 
your game. This mod is intended for good characters--especially paladin types 
(i.e. melee fighters with healing magic and a hatred for undead). When you 
finish the quest, you'll be the leader of a new guild: Knights of the Nine.
 
The Crusader's Relics you collect are a suit of armor and both a blunt and 
blade weapon. The armor matches your level when you receive it; however, 
unlike other quest rewards, there's a method in the game to keep it up-to-date 
with your increasing power. The armor will either be light or heavy depending 
on which skill is higher. There's no difference in appearance between the 
light and heavy armor.

 RELICS OF THE CRUSADER
------------------------
Helm of the Crusader:
 - Fortify Restoration
 - Fortify Personality
 - Serene Beauty (Calm on touch)
Cuirass of the Crusader:
 - Fortify Restoration
 - Resist Normal Weapons
 - Fortify Health
Boots of the Crusader:
 - Fortify Restoration
 - Woodland Grace (normal woodland animals will not be hostile;
                   e.g. lions and wolves and bears, oh my!)
Gauntlets of the Crusader:
 - Fortify Restoration
 - Resist Disease
 - Merciful Touch (Restore Health on touch)
Greaves of the Crusader:
 - Fortify Restoration
 - Fortify Destruction
 - Blessing of the Eight (Shield on touch)
Shield of the Crusader:
 - Reflect Spell
Mace of the Crusader:
 - Fire Damage
 - Turn Undead
 - Fortify Blunt
Sword of the Crusader:
 - Fire Damage
 - Damage Magicka
 - Fortify Blade

You'll be fighting lots of spirits during this quest, so you'll want silver, 
daedric or enchanted weapons or plenty of Destruction spells--at least, until 
you acquire the Mace of the Crusader about a third of the way into the story.

In order to wear and use the Crusader's Relics, you must have an Infamy score 
of zero (0). If you gain one point of Infamy, you'll receive a warning. If 
your Infamy increases to two (2) or higher, you can't equip the Relics until 
you have once again walked the Pilgrim's Way (first quest for KoN).

To kick off this quest, you must talk to a Prophet, who is declaiming across 
the street from the Temple of Dibella in Anvil. You may hear Rumors of an 
attack on the Temple from just about anyone in all Cyrodiil; however, you do 
not need to hear these Rumors before talking to the Prophet.


                                                                     [KN01]
                         <~~~~~~ PILGRIMAGE ~~~~~~>

Talk to the Prophet and follow the natural lines of conversation until he asks 
if you are a worthy champion to defeat Umaril the Unfeathered. Use any "No" 
answer and the Prophet will tell you that you must follow the Pilgrim's Way 
and visit a wayshrine of each of the Nine Divines. He gives you a map showing 
the locations of one wayshrine for each of the Nine.


 WAYSHRINES
------------
In Cyrodiil, there are at least three wayshrines for each of the Nine. These 
wayshrines are part of the base game and you may have already encountered some 
during your travels. Normally, when you pray at (Activate) a wayshrine, you 
receive a small buff for five minutes or so (assuming your Infamy is zero). 
You can perform this quest even if your Infamy is greater than zero; however, 
you won't receive the blessings as you pray. When you complete the Pilgrim's 
Way, your Infamy is reset to zero.

Now, you do not specifically have to go to the wayshrines marked on the map 
the Prophet gives you. There are at least three wayshrines in Cyrodiil for 
each of the Nine. Unfortunately, wayshrines are never marked on your primary 
map--even with this mod installed; so, you have to find them on your own. Here 
is the quickest route (from Anvil) to a wayshrine for each of the Nine:

* Go around to the east side of Anvil and head straight east, passing Fort 
Strand to the north, to find a Wayshrine of Akatosh.

* Walk straight north until you cross the Kvatch-Anvil road, then turn north-
northwest until you find a Wayshrine of Arkay in a small hollow among the 
hills.

* Go back to the Kvatch-Anvil road and travel east until you reach Gottshaw 
Inn. A Wayshrine of Zenithar is on the hill behind the Inn (to the east).

* Go around the south side of Kvatch and catch the road to Skingrad. Follow 
the road east toward Skingrad. You'll cross over a stone bridge; on the far 
side turn left (north) and you'll see a Wayshrine of Talos up the slope.

* Go east-northeast a short distance to a Wayshrine of Mara.

* From the Wayshrine of Mara, go due north into the Imperial Reserve to find a 
Wayshrine of Kynareth. The Wayshrine is located directly on top of the "E" in 
"IMPERIAL" on your map.

* Go due east and you'll soon run in to a Wayshrine of Julianos. On your map, 
it sits directly on top of the "A" in "IMPERIAL".

* Head due northeast, going through Weatherleah ("Legacy Lost") and Hackdirt 
("Shadow Over Hackdirt") to find a Wayshrine of Dibella.

* Fast Travel to the sewer entrance where you started the game (just outside 
Imperial City Prison). Go south along the shore until you see a wayshrine 
across the lake. Swim over and pray at the Wayshrine of Stendarr.

*NOTE* You can encounter a couple of other knights walking the Way if the last 
shrine you visit is one marked on the map given you by the Prophet. While not 
important to the quest, if you want to meet these knights, go to a different 
Wayshrine of Stendarr as your last stop. Fast Travel to Bravil and head down 
the road toward Leyawiin. About halfway along that road is the Wayshrine to 
Stendarr marked on your map.

As soon as you pray at the last wayshrine, you'll have a vision and speak to 
Pelinal Whitestrake. He marks the location of his lost shrine on your map. It 
just so happens to be in the middle of Lake Rumare, not far south of the 
Wayshrine of Stendarr.

How convenient!

You also receive the Greater Power, Pilgrim's Grace. This power fortifies your 
Agility, Endurance, Intelligence, Luck, Personality, Speed, Strength and 
Willpower by 10 for 300 seconds.

Sweet!



                                                                     [KN02]
                 <~~~~~~ THE SHRINE OF THE CRUSADER ~~~~~~>

The Shrine of the Crusader is located inside the Ayleid ruin of Vanua. The 
entrance to Vanua is under water, just north of the Ring Road bridge over the 
Upper Niben River. Water Breathing is a plus; but, not required. Suit up for 
undead hunting in an Ayleid ruin and swim out to the spot marked on your map.

Dive down and find the entrance to Vanua (it's easier to do this on a bright, 
sunny day). Once inside, you'll have to swim about 10 meters to a stairway 
that takes you out of the water--if you don't have Water Breathing, be sure 
you have enough breath before entering the ruin.

At the top of the stairs is your first encounter with a (leveled, obviously) 
undead. Many more will follow. Continue straight until you reach a T-
intersection. The right (east) branch is eventually blocked, so go left 
(west). When you reach a large room and dispose of the guardians, go through 
the tunnel to the north into the Shrine of the Crusader.

Yeah...it's not that simple. This area is a lot like the secret passages under 
the Imperial prison--lots of ruins mixed with crawling through tunnels; and, 
undead all over the place. Go straight and drop down into a ruin; turn left 
(west) and then right (north) until your way is blocked. A hole in the wall to 
your left (west) leads through a small cavern and then into the shrine. You 
can now see the target; but, you can't reach it yet.

Loot the skeleton on the raised bit of floor to get Sir Amiel's key, ring and 
diary. This opens the next quest, "Priory of the Nine", and lets you continue 
on your way. First, unlock the gate to the south and deal with the undead 
guardian of that path. That's your shortcut back out once you've retrieved the 
Helm of the Crusader.

Go through the gate to the west and kill the undead. In the next room, find 
the hole in the west wall and jump into another tunnel. Fight your way north 
and then drop down into the ruin again. Take the south hall for a little 
treasure, then take the door to the north. This leads to the Lost Catacombs.

Follow the catacombs--make sure you take opportunities to loot--until you 
reach a door leading back into the Shrine. There are actually two doors; 
either will serve. Back in the Shrine, fight your way to the altar where the 
Helm is located. Watch out for the undead near the altar--it might be down in 
a little doorway on the north side of the area.

Collect the Helm, jump over the fence and go through the south gate you opened 
earlier. This takes you to a tunnel leading back into Vanua. In Vanua, you'll 
pass through a room with at least three undead--including one boss-level mob. 
In the same room is an Ayleid Reliquary with your reward for this dungeon. 
Leave Vanua and embark on the next stage of your quest.



                                                                     [KN03]
                     <~~~~~~ PRIORY OF THE NINE ~~~~~~>

Your next stop is the old Priory of the Knights of the Nine. This is located 
in the middle of nowhere, halfway between Skingrad and Bravil. Lucky you, it's 
marked on your map; but there's precious little close by that you can Fast 
Travel to. The closest may be Silorn (Mages Guild quest, "Ambush"); or, you 
can Fast Travel to Skingrad and hoof it.

Regardless of how you go, stock up on healing potions or a good healing spell 
and Magicka potions before you go. When you reach the Priory, all appears 
peaceful. Enter the Priory and find the Knights of the Nine seal on the floor. 
Activate it and Sir Amiel's ring opens the door to the basement. (You did 
remember to loot Amiel's ring in the Shrine, right?) Go down into the 
basement, which is a training room, then take the door into the Undercroft.

There's the Cuirass of the Crusader! That was easy.

Yeah, right. Eight of the original Knights of the Nine surround you and you 
have to beat them all in personal combat (i.e. one-on-one). You can use any 
style of combat you wish, just so long as you beat each one. They are all 
swordsmen, and good ones; but, they are leveled to match you so you should be 
able to handle them. Use the brief respite in between each fight to heal up 
and restore your Magicka. Summon help if you need it.

When you have bested all eight knights, claim the Cuirass as your own. When 
you get the quest update telling you to talk to the knights about the other 
Relics, go around the circle and speak to the knights. The four important 
conversations are with Sir Casimir (Gauntlets of the Crusader), Sir Ralvas 
(Mace of the Crusader), Sir Henrik (Shield of the Crusader) and Sir Juncan 
(Boots of the Crusader).

You can quest after these items in any order with one restriction: you must 
retrieve the Boots before you can get the Mace. All clear? On with the show 
then...



                                                                     [KN04]
                       <~~~~~~ NATURE'S FURY ~~~~~~>

To get the Boots of the Crusader you must travel to a Shrine of Kynareth west 
of Imperial City. Make this your active quest and the shrine's location will 
be marked on your map; it's southwest of Wawnet Inn and north of Clavicus 
Vile's shrine. When you find it, talk to Avita Vesnia to get the details of 
your test. She instructs you to go to the Grove of Trials and face whatever 
test Kynareth has for you.

Go ahead and sheath whatever weapon you may be carrying. Not only do you not 
need it, you best not use it. Travel west a short distance to a ring of white-
barked trees. Enter them and wait a bit until a wild animal enters and attacks 
you. You can block the attacks; but, don't return the favor. Take your lumps 
and, pretty soon, Kynareth deems you worthy, shows you a secret door; and, you 
enter Kynareth's Grotto and get the Boots.

Simple.



                                                                     [KN05]
                 <~~~~~~ THE PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS ~~~~~~>

The Mace of the Crusader is protected by Zenithar in his chapel in Leyawiin. 
Make sure you have the Boots of the Crusader before you attempt to get the 
Mace. Travel to Leyawiin; go to the chapel and downstairs into the Undercroft. 
There will be at least four spirits down here. Dispatch them; then, Activate 
the Tomb of Saint Kaladas at the far end of the Croft.

You'll find yourself in space, on a floating piece of a fort. In the distance 
is the Mace. If you have the Boots of the Crusader equipped, you just walk 
across the misty path that appears. If you don't have the Boots equipped--
well, go get them and put them on!

As soon as you grab the Mace, you re-appear in the Undercroft. Go ahead and 
equip the Mace (or your favorite weapon) and gird your loins. As you leave the 
Undercroft and enter the chapel, you'll be attacked by Aurorans--Umaril's 
daedra servants. You'll have help killing them, try to be careful you don't 
harm the eager knight that greeted you when you first entered the Temple. He 
soon declares himself a new Knight of the Nine and runs off to join your 
service.



                                                                     [KN06]
                      <~~~~~~ STENDARR'S MERCY ~~~~~~>

This is a pretty simple quest. Go to the Chapel of Stendarr in Chorrol and 
talk to the priest, Areldur. He'll tell you the sad tale of Sir Casimir and 
his descendents. He'll also inform you Kellen, the current scion of the 
Casimir family, is in the temple trying to be rid of the family curse.

Go downstairs to the Chapel Hall and find Kellen. He's typically sitting in a 
small bedroom off to the side. Kellen tells you more about his curse and says 
he thinks Areldur knows the cure but is holding out on him. Return to Areldur 
and confront him about Kellen. He reveals the only way to cure Kellen is to 
take the curse yourself. Once you show mercy to Kellen, you can lift the 
Gauntlets.

Pray at the altar of Stendarr and you'll be asked if you want to take Kellen's 
curse on yourself. Answer yes and you'll receive a one-use Lay Hands lesser 
power. Go downstairs and Lay Hands on Kellen. He'll be cured and you'll suffer 
the Curse of the Consumed, which is a permanent Damage Fatigue effect. (It is 
by no means crippling and you'll hardly notice it.)

In the main chapel, find the gauntlets laying on the floor behind the altar; 
Activate them to pick them up. On with the show!



                                                                     [KN07]
                     <~~~~~~ WISDOM OF THE AGES ~~~~~~>

Make "Wisdom of the Ages" your active quest and find Fort Bulwark in eastern 
Cyrodiil. It is northeast of Leyawiin and not particularly near anything. The 
closest quest point is Fort Teleman (Mages Guild, "Bloodworm Helm"). Fast 
Travel to Teleman and go south, or go to Leyawiin and head northeast.

Approach Fort Bulwark warily. There are conjurers also seeking the Shield and 
two are outside the main doors--one at ground level and one at the top of the 
tower. If you can draw the ground-level conjurer outside the fort and dispatch 
him, you can sneak into the fort without the upper-level mage knowing about 
it. Or, run upstairs and take care of him too.

Inside, watch your step as there are plenty of conjurers and daedra to impede 
your progress. The quickest route to your target is to follow the corridor 
around a left turn, then take the first left-hand branch and then the next 
right through a double wood door.

You'll be in a large room on a raised catwalk. Note the gate to your right and 
raised drawbridge to your left. Go past these two obstacles and through 
another set of double wood doors. Follow the tunnel to a makeshift bedroom 
with two conjurers. When they are down, turn the handle on the north side of 
the room and pick up the Conjurer's Note from the desk to the right of the 
handle.

Backtrack a short way down the tunnel and take the left-branch. You'll come to 
a balcony overlooking a room with two raised drawbridges. Turn the handle and 
watch the drawbridges lower and a gate rise. That's the gate you passed a 
short while ago. Backtrack to it and go through, across the drawbridges and to 
a corridor with four rows of three pressure plates.

If you follow the clue on the Conjurer's Note, you need to step on the plates 
in this order: left - middle - right - left. There's no penalty if you mess 
up, other than you have to go back and start the sequence over. Go through the 
door into the second area of Fort Bulwark.

You're in a corridor with prison cells to either side. Go past the first pair 
and then enter an open cell to your left. There's a door on the north side of 
the cell that leads to a torture room and a conjurer or two. Dispose of them, 
then go to the cell on the other side of the corridor and open it to free Sir 
Thedret. He'll give you a clue to reach the shield and then leave for the 
Priory of the Nine.

At the end of the prison corridor is another room full of mages. Get rid of 
them and loot their stuff. There's another note that details what they have in 
mind for Sir Thedret. Continue west, keeping an eye out for conjurers. You 
will soon reach a long room running north-south with raised drawbridges. The 
handle for the first drawbridge is right next to the bridge. Turn it, watch 
the drawbridge lower and marvel at the number of darts being flung out by the 
traps in the ceiling.

If you've got plenty of health, you can just make a run for it. Otherwise, 
watch the pattern of the darts and try to slip through in between cycles. At 
the end of the first bridge, you'll make a left and find another handle that 
lowers the second bridge. This handle is in a safe spot out of range of the 
darts, so take a breather here and heal up if necessary. Then, dodge your way 
across the second bridge and continue.

Advance carefully into the next room. There are at least two conjurers in this 
room and one of them is the boss of this dungeon. Get rid of the mages, then 
study the room. You'll see four Stone Guardians on pedestals around a seal of 
Julianos. At the base of each Guardian is a handle. Turn each handle until 
each Guardian is turned to face the seal of Julianos. You may have to turn 
each handle multiple times until the Guardian rotates all the way around.

Once all four Guardians are facing the seal, a door in the south wall opens 
and you can advance to the third area of the fort. Fortunately, there are no 
more enemies or traps, so you can move ahead swiftly.

Area three is small--just a short tunnel and a big room. The room has a raised 
platform with a chest and eight Stone Guardians around the edges of the room. 
Each Guardian is turned away, facing the wall, and has a chest at its base. 
The large chest in the center of the room is randomly filled with one of eight 
items:

* Rodgar's Book
* Rodgar's Gem
* Rodgar's Goblet
* Rodgar's Hammer
* Rodgar's Helm
* Rodgar's Skull
* Rodgar's Stone
* Rodgar's Sword

You have to take the item that appears in the large chest and place it in the 
correct small chest at the base of one of the Guardians. When you place the 
correct item in a Guardian's chest, the chest glows and the Guardian turns to 
face the room. If you place the incorrect item in a Guardian's chest, nothing 
happens. The item will randomly show up again in the large chest.

If you want to solve this yourself...why are you using a walkthrough? Anyway, 
each time you take an item out of the chest, scan the room. One of the 
Guardians will randomly display a floating image of the item it wants.

Start facing the door, the Guardians to the left, beginning with the one 
closest to the door, take: sword, goblet, helm, stone. Facing the door, the 
Guardians to the right, beginning with the one closest to the door, take: 
book, hammer, skull, gem.

Lights flash, a door opens at the top of the stairs and you can go into the 
next room and retrieve the Shield of the Crusader as well as other goodies. 
Once you pick up the Shield, doors to either side of the altar open and you 
can take a shortcut back to the top level of the fort. You'll come out on the 
drawbridge you couldn't lower earlier. Leave Fort Bulwark and Fast Travel back 
to the Priory of the Nine.



                                                                     [KN08]
                    <~~~~~~ THE FAITHFUL SQUIRE ~~~~~~>

Upon your entry to the main Priory building, you'll be accosted by Lathon, 
squire to Sir Roderic. (You may have met Roderic and Lathon on your Pilgrimage 
if you used the wayshrines on the Prophet's map.) Lathon tells you of the 
death of Sir Roderic at the hands (or ephemeral representations thereof) of 
Sir Berich's ghost. Lathon presents you with the Greaves of the Crusader and 
tells you the Sword of the Crusader is still in the misty appendages of Sir 
Berich in Underpall Cave.

Further, Lathon asks if you'll allow him to join the newly formed Knights of 
the Nine. If you say yes, Lathon not only becomes one of your Knights, he also 
accompanies you on the upcoming quest for the Sword. If you're a stealthy 
fighter, this won't be a good thing and Lathon will just keep getting in your 
way. The upcoming mission is no more difficult than the invasion of the Shrine 
of the Crusader, so tell Lathon to be patient a bit longer.

Explore the Priory a bit more. You'll see many of the people you have 
previously met on this adventure. They have come to join your Order. (Yes, 
it's your Order. Several of the warriors address you as Commander.) The place 
is nice and livable now and has become a place of residence for you. And 
there's a very nifty contraption in the Undercroft.

Go down to where the eight ghostly Knights still await the completion of Sir 
Pelinal's crusade. Speak to Sir Amiel about Berich for a little more history 
of the original Knights of the Nine. Behind Amiel is the armor stand where you 
first found the Cuirass. Activate the stand and place all your current Relics 
on it; then, target the bit of stand showing between the greaves and take all 
the Relics back. You'll find them completely repaired and recharged and, if 
you've increased enough in level, leveled up.

Seriously Sweet.

Leave the Priory and Fast Travel to Bruma. Refit yourself (healing potions, 
arrows, etc.) and look for the quest marker pointing to Underpall Cave. It's 
north of the Orange Road between Bruma and Chorrol. Leave Bruma by the East 
Gate and travel the Orange Road toward Chorrol. When you get to a point east 
or southeast of the cave, cut cross-country.



                                                                     [KN09]
                 <~~~~~~ THE SWORD OF THE CRUSADER ~~~~~~>

When you reach the cave, go ahead and charge in. There's nothing in the cave 
portion of this dungeon. Deep in the cave is a sunken fort; it is inside the 
fort where you will encounter all the enemies (primarily undead, though a few 
creatures show up as well).

Once inside the fort, advance to the first main room, kill the undead creeping 
around, and make a U-turn down another south-running hallway. The other two 
exits from this large room--to the east and west--lead back out into Underpall 
Cave. There's a little loot on those paths if you're intent on scavenging as 
much as possible.

Advance carefully down the south-running hall. There's one door that blocks 
your way; on the other side is a rock-fall trap. Only take a step through the 
door, then jump back to avoid the rocks. At the end of the hall is the door to 
the Underpall Reflecting Room and your big boss fight with the remains of Sir 
Berich.

Go through the entrance tunnel slowly. There are two ways to proceed; both are 
about equivalent. You may or may not encounter any enemies, depending on your 
level. The left (east) path has Sir Roderic's body. When you enter the main 
chamber, you're in for a fight with a wraith. You'll need a silver, daedric or 
enchanted weapon (such as the Mace of the Crusader), or spells. This can be a 
difficult fight; however, there's plenty of room for maneuvering and you can 
even run away into the tunnels for a bit to heal up. Just try not to fall into 
the water, as there's only one place where you can climb back out.

When the wraith has spewed forth its final essence, pick up the Sword of the 
Crusader.

*DO NOT EQUIP THE SWORD!*

It's cursed and, if you equip it, you will be cursed as well. Leave Underpall 
the same way you came in and Fast Travel to Cheydinhal. Rest and refit before 
entering the Temple of Arkay. Upon entering the Temple, you'll be attacked by 
Aurorans. You have two choices:

1) Kill all the Aurorans (with the help of the other people inside the Temple) 
and then pray at the altar to consecrate the Sword.

2) Run straight to the altar and pray to consecrate the Sword. You can then 
use the Sword to kill the Aurorans.

Either way, the Aurorans end up dead, the Sword is now useable and you'll find 
you've also lost the Curse of the Consumed you took from Kellen, descendant of 
Sir Casimir. All-in-all, a good day's work. Return to the Priory of the Nine. 
It's time to put an end to this business.



                                                                     [KN10]
                   <~~~~~~ THE BLESSING OF TALOS ~~~~~~>

As soon as you arrive at the Prior, you're met by Sir Thedret. The Prophet has 
come sticking his nose into your business again and is preaching to your 
knights in the chapel. Well, you'll just have to see about this. Enter the 
chapel and listen to the Prophet's sermon. He then approaches you and tells 
you to get on with killing Umaril and all. As an aid, you get one thing 
Pelinal did not: the Blessing of Talos. This Power will enable you to follow 
Umaril into the spirit realm and destroy him once and for all.

After the Prophet's speech, go around the chapel and induct all the people who 
want to become Knights of the Nine. They'll run off, suit up and head out for 
Umaril's headquarters, Garlas Malatar. Before following them, head down into 
the Undercroft and chat with the spirit of Sir Berich, now restored to his 
brothers. Repair, recharge and (possibly) upgrade your Relics while you're 
down there.

Ready to kick some butt?



                                                                     [KN11]
                   <~~~~~~ UMARIL THE UNFEATHERED ~~~~~~>

Garlas Malatar is located on the coast, northwest of Anvil. Fast Travel to 
Anvil and head out to the coast and then go north. You'll find some, if not 
all, of your knights on the beach facing the bridge that leads over to the 
main entrance. If all eight knights are not there, wait for a few minutes and 
the rest will show up.

Once they are all gathered, give one of them the command to charge and they 
will. They'll bowl over the two Aurorans stationed outside the main door, then 
charge inside. Try to keep up. There are two more Aurorans in the first large 
room, then your way is blocked by some gates. The button to open the gates is 
on top of one of the altars in the room.

Before opening the gates, take the opportunity to walk around and use Merciful 
Touch (healing Lesser Power granted by the Gauntlets) on your knights. Push 
the button, charge up the stairs and continue your rampage through the ruins. 
Your path leads to the northeast section of the ruins and through a door into 
Garlas Malatar, Ceysel.

When you enter Ceysel, you'll be stopped by a couple of gates. The button to 
push is right there--on the wall between the gates. Again, take the 
opportunity to go around the use Merciful Touch on your companions. Open the 
gates and charge into the next room.

Ignore the Aurorans and run around the right (east) side of the large raised 
platform in the center. Go around the back and head west up a flight of stairs 
and around to the top of the platform. Ignore any Aurorans that get in your 
way. When you reach the glowing orb, Activate it to destroy it. The orb 
explodes and time stops...

Now, you can take some time and loot the area. Your knights and the Aurorans 
are gone; but, you can still collect welkynd stones and anything else you can 
find lying around. You should also use this time to heal up and make sure 
you're ready for battle.

When you're ready to move on, go back up to the orb platform and go north into 
Garlas Malatar, Carac Abaran. Run through the halls, disposing of a couple 
Aurorans on the way until you reach the main chamber, where Umaril is waiting 
for you. The door is blocked behind you, so this is a fight to the finish.

Umaril is big and packs a big punch; but, he's predictable. He will 
occasionally shoot lightning at you, which is easy to dodge. Then he'll run up 
close and make a big thrusting attack. This attack is easy to avoid since he 
spends a lot of time winding up. He is also easily distracted by other 
enemies, so summon help if he's giving you fits.

Generally, if you just stay out of the way of his lightning blasts and sword 
thrusts, you can take him down pretty easily with potshots from range or by 
getting in a few, quick strikes right after he's made a sword attack. The 
higher your level, the tougher Umaril will be; but, he should be manageable by 
anyone.

When he's dead, you'll get a quest entry reminding you to cast The Blessing of 
Talos to follow Umaril into the spirit realm. Don't rush off! Heal yourself 
first and restore your Magicka as well. Loot the place. There are some Ayleid 
casks around, not to mention Umaril's body and his sword. Once you've picked 
the place clean, cast The Blessing of Talos.

You'll find yourself fighting in the clouds over Imperial City. Umaril is 
quite a ways off, so take the opportunity to stick a couple of arrows into  
him. (If they're poisoned first, so much the better.) Repeat your earlier 
tactics. Umaril is no tougher now than he was earlier. When he dies, you fall 
into mist...

And come to in the Undercroft of the Priory of the Nine. Sir Amiel chats with 
you right before the old knights pass into glory. When you leave the 
Undercroft, Sir Thedret greets you and tells you what happened in Garlas 
Malatar after you destroyed the orb. He then goes out and speaks to your 
assembled knights. They all cheer. And then...



                                                                     [KN12]
                          <~~~~~~ EPILOGUE ~~~~~~>

Life goes on. You are now the Commander of the Knights of the Nine. There will 
always be eight other knights available to you in the Priory. Any that were 
killed in the attack on Garlas Malatar are replaced by generic, no-name NPCs. 
You can, at any time, ask one of the knights to accompany you as a henchman-
type person.

There's also the armor stand in the Undercroft, waiting to repair, recharge 
and upgrade your threads. You have your own bedroom in the Priory (to the left 
at the top of the right-hand set of stairs). Right outside your room is a 
bookshelf with a number of books about Pelinal and the original Knights. You 
can read these sometime when you want more history of the original Crusader 
and the Order. The altar in the Chapel functions just as the altars in the 
Temples in the big cities, curing diseases, poisons, damaged attributes and 
the like.

And, oh yes, there's the little matter of praying at the crypts of the eight 
original knights. (Sir Berich, you may remember, is not buried in the 
Undercroft.) Praying at a knight's crypt grants you a permanent boost to one 
ability score. This remains in effect until such time as you pray at another 
knight's crypt--i.e. only one of these blessings can be in effect at one time. 
The amount of boost you get to your ability score depends on your level when 
you pray. The knights and the blessings they bestow are:

Sir Gregory (Dibella): Fortify Personality
Sir Juncan (Kynareth): Fortify Speed
Sir Casimir (Mara):    Fortify Endurance
Sir Torolf (Arkay):    Fortify Willpower
Sir Henrik (Julianos): Fortify Intelligence
Sir Caius (Stendarr):  Fortify Personality
Sir Ralvas (Zenithar): Fortify Luck
Sir Amiel (Akatosh):   Fortify Strength

Remember, the cost of having all this goodness is you must keep your Infamy at 
zero (0) or one (1). Anything higher and you have to walk the Pilgrim's Way 
again to reduce your Infamy and be able to be the Crusader.




                                                                     [SQ00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                   SIDE QUESTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

These quests are arranged alphabetically by their title as given in the quest 
log. See the Quest Index following for a regional breakdown of the quests. The 
quests in this section are all those not tied specifically to the main quest 
or any of the four main guilds.



                                                                     [SQ38]
                      <~~~~~~ ATTACK ON FORT SUTCH ~~~~~~>

This is a simple Oblivion-gate closing operation. It's unique among the side 
quests because there's a limited time-frame for completing the quest. The gate 
opens after you've completed the "Dagon Shrine" quest in the main story; and, 
of course, it closes automatically if you finish the main story.

During that time period, travel to Fort Sutch north-northeast of Anvil. Near 
the ruined fort, Imperial Legion soldiers are fighting daedra spewing forth 
from an Oblivion gate. Help them wipe out the daedra, then the Legion captain 
will ask you to close the gate.

The gate leads to a random Oblivion world, which you've seen before if you've 
been on a gate-closing spree.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ01]
                           <~~~~~~ THE ARENA ~~~~~~>

Imperial City, like any good Roman knock-off, has gladiatorial blood sports. 
You can earn some quick cash by joining in the "fun", or, make some less-easy 
cash betting on the action. The Arena district is located on the east side of 
the city, between the Market district and the Arboretum. The only thing in the 
district is the Arena itself, which, amazingly, looks a lot like the Roman 
coliseum. The Arena is open for business, whether betting or fighting, from 
9am to 9pm every day.

*BONUS*
To the south of the Arena are a pair sparring (Redguard and Argonian). They 
spar most of the day, every day. Stand and watch them for a few minutes and 
you will receive a +5 bonus to your Hand-to-Hand skill.


| Betting
+---------
Hundolin, the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Arena, is also the local 
bookie. Make a bet on either the Yellow or Blue team for 25, 50 or 100 gold.

*THERE IS NO WAY TO GUARANTEE A WIN*

The two fighters are randomly equipped, and the fight may be fair--or not. You 
can slightly influence the outcome with your Luck attribute. Once past 50, the 
higher your Luck, the higher "your" fighters health. That's it. You take your 
chances and hope you win. You can, of course, artificially boost your Luck 
before placing a bet in order to move things in your favor, but that still 
won't help if your guy gets stuck with light armor, no shield and a dagger and 
the other guy gets heavy armor and a claymore. 


| Fighting
+----------
Here's where things get interesting. You can make quite a lot of cash working 
your way up the ladder--assuming you don't blow it all on healing potions. 
Enter the main gate of the Arena, where Hundolin hangs out, and hang a left, 
down the stairs into the Bloodworks. Find Owyn and ask him about joining. 
There's a uniform required of each combatant, but you can pick Light or Heavy 
raiment.

*NOTE* You have to wear the raiment to participate in a match.

This raiment is a full suit of armor, so you can't wear your own cuirass, 
greaves, boots or gauntlets. You can wear your own helmet and use any shield 
and weapon you like. You can also use spells, etc. Anything goes on the floor 
of the Arena.

*BONUS* While you can't wear your own armor in the Arena, you can wear the 
Arena raiment anywhere. It's enchanted armor (+2 Personality, +5 Athletics), 
with base armor ratings of 10 for the light and 15 for the heavy. This is 
pretty decent armor for the beginning of the game, so you might want to stop 
by the Arena and join as soon as you exit the sewers. You don't have to start 
fighting right away. (Remember, because it's enchanted, you can't repair it 
unless you've reached Journeyman rank in Armorer.)

Fighting is a case of just working your way up the ladder. While your 
opponents are leveled in keeping with your level, the Arena is a lot easier 
once you have some enchanted weapons and a decent selection of spells.

To begin a match, suit up in your Arena raiment and talk to Owyn. He'll give 
you a brief hint of what you're facing, and send you on your way up the ramp. 
Note that you're fighting for the Blue team and you can't place a bet on 
yourself.

ARENA BATTLES
Fight # | Opponent(s)                | Reward
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
  1     | Fighter                    | 50 gold
  2     | Fighter                    | 50 gold
  3     | Archer                     | 100 gold, promotion to Brawler 
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
  4     | Fighter                    | 100 gold
  5     | Twins: fighter, archer     | 100 gold
  6     | Fighter                    | 150 gold, promotion to Bloodletter
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
  7     | Fighter                    | 150 gold
  8     | Fighter                    | 150 gold
  9     | Fighter                    | 200 gold, promotion to Myrmidon
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
 10     | Fighter (frost dmg dagger) | 200 gold
 11     | Fighter                    | 200 gold
 12     | Fighter                    | 250 gold, promotion to Warrior
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
 13     | Fighter                    | 250 gold
 14     | Mage                       | 250 gold
 15     | Fighter                    | 300 gold, promotion to Gladiator
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
 16     | 3 unarmed prisoners        | 300 gold
 17     | Fighter                    | 300 gold
 18     | Fighter                    | 350 gold, promotion to Hero
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
 19     | Fighter (former Blade)     | 350 gold
 20     | Mage (magic resistant)     | 350 gold
 21     | 3: Yellow team champion,   | 500 gold, promotion to Champion
        | mage and archer            |
--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------
 22     | The Gray Prince            | 1,000 gold, promotion to Grand
        |                            | Champion, continued fights with
        |                            | monsters, and...an Adoring Fan

Tactics for each fight will vary depending on the type of weapon being used 
against you:

* One-handed weapon fighters: they are usually too fast for you to stay out
  of range and fight with arrows or spells; step in with your own weapon,
  block their attacks, then hit them with a power attack

* Two-handed weapon fighters: these guys are good at staggering you, but they
  swing their weapons slowly; and they usually move slowly as well; you can
  either stay away from them and hit them from range, or keep just out of
  range of their weapon, then, just after they swing and miss, swiftly step
  in and pop them a few times with a one-handed weapon.

* Mages: there are only two you face one-on-one and the best tactic is to
  rush them and stagger them with power attacks

* Archers: like mages, it's best to charge them and stagger them with power
  attacks. Use the columns in the center of the arena to "dodge" their
  arrows.

* Twins: the wood elves are nasty and how you choose your poison is up to
  you. Generally, the claymore fighter does a lot more damage to you and is
  harder to take down. Try rushing the archer first. She'll keep backing
  away, which keeps the fight moving, which should keep the fighter from
  pounding your back with her big sword. Once the archer is dead, you can
  devote your time to properly dealing with her sister.

* Three prisoners: while they are unarmed and unarmored, they have decent
  Hand-to-Hand attacks and there are three of them. You want to separate them
  and pick them off one-by-one. Explosive spells (such as Fireball) are a
  good way of slowing one or two down. You can also weave in between the
  columns, which should break them up. By no means let them surround you or
  you're dead meat. They move fast, so trying to stay out of range and
  hitting them with arrows or spells is a bad idea.

* Yellow team champion and allies: it's another 3-on-1 fight, but actually
  it's 3-on-2. Owyn has pity on you and gives you the aid of a wild boar,
  Porkchop. One way of dealing with this fight is concentrating on the
  champion and hoping Porkchop occupies her allies enough so they don't
  pester you. Or, you can try to quickly take out her allies--they're both
  ranged fighters and subject to staggering. In this scenario, you hope the
  allies run around enough the champion can't catch up with you and beat on
  your backside.

* The Gray Prince: a very tough fighter. The bonus is you get to wear your
  own armor. (The Orc has a special Raiment of Valor, so you'll want some
  enchanted armor--and weapons--of your own.) He's a one-handed fighter so
  the same basic tactics apply: block his attacks, then power attack in
  return.
  
  Optionally, you can complete "The Origin of the Gray Prince", in
  which case gro-Malog will rush out into the Arena, and then beg you to kill
  him. If you do this, the killing counts as the murder of an innocent, and
  you'll be visited by the Dark Brotherhood the next time you sleep.

Once you've defeated The Gray Prince, you are Grand Champion of the Arena. 
Battle Matron Ysabel Andronicus will continue to arrange fights for you; this 
time against wild beasts and monsters, depending on your level. The reward is, 
likewise, dependent on your level. You can ask for one fight each week.

Finally, when you exit the Arena after killing The Gray Prince, you are met by 
an Adoring Fan. This youngster will follow you around, pestering you 
endlessly. You can turn around and kill him, thus earning some skill 
experience, and he'll respawn in front of the Arena, where you can go pick him 
up in order to kill him again. (Make sure you do this killing out in the 
wilderness, so you don't get arrested for it.) Other than that, Adoring Fan is 
mostly just useless.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ39]
                          <~~~~~~ BEAR SEASON ~~~~~~>

Shardrock farm is a small homestead north of the road between Skingrad and 
Kvatch, north-northeast of Miscarcand (from the main story). Shepherd Thorley 
Aethelred is having troubles with bears. They've been killing his sheep, and 
he asks you to do something about it. Specifically, he wants you to kill six 
of the bears, and hopes that will scare off the remainder.

There are at least eight bears (possibly more) spread out around Shardrock. A 
Detect Life spell is useful here for finding the bears. These are very tough 
animals, and occasionally get close enough to each other that it's impossible 
to separate them. For ranged characters, there are a lot of rocks about that 
you can jump up to, but the bears can't--useful for sniping these beasts.

Take the fangs from the corpses. Once you have six, head back to the farm; 
Aethelred will award you a skill book that boosts one of your combat skills.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ02]
                     <~~~~~~ A BROTHERHOOD BETRAYED ~~~~~~>

Rumors are flying about Bruma that a vampire hunter named Raynil Dralas has 
killed a vampire in their very midst. Visit the vampire's home, his name is 
Bradon Lirrian and he lives on the west side of the chapel. Inside you'll find 
city guard Carius Runellius. Raise his Disposition score to 70 and he'll give 
you the full story. Bradon's body is on the bed nearby.

Also present is Bradon's distraught wife, Erline. She says her husband was no 
vampire and wants you to ferret out the truth. Your journal suggest talking to 
a merchant about the location of Dralas, and, in fact, this is just what you 
should do. Several of the merchants can point you to Olav's Tap and Tack, next 
to the East Gate.

Go see Olav. With a Disposition of at least 70, Olav will give you a key to 
search Dralas' room. You can also just break-and-enter. Inside, you find a 
diary partially hidden behind the dresser. Reading it will give you the full 
scoop on what's happening.

Return to the Lirrian house and show the journal to Runellius. He'll order a 
city-wide search for Dralas and ask you to meet him in one hour at Olav's. 
When you meet him, he reports Dralas has made for Boreal Stone Cave. Runellius 
wants you to go catch him, as he thinks Dralas might scare off if he sees city 
guards shadowing him.

Runellius gives you a time limit of one day, and you must reach Boreal within 
that time, else Dralas gets away clean. The cave isn't far west of the city, 
and Dralas waits for you almost right inside the door. This can only come to 
violence. Retire Dralas from his vampire hunting job and get three keys from 
his body.

Use the keys to open the chest nearby and get an ordinary amulet. Return to 
Erline Lirrian with the amulet and she "unlocks" it and gives it back, now a 
shiny Phylactery of Litheness, which has a Fortify Speed enchantment keyed to 
your level.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ29]
                       <~~~~~~ A BRUSH WITH DEATH ~~~~~~>

The rumor mill in Cheydinhal points you to a missing husband. (Wives in 
Cyrodiil keep losing their husbands. Is something wrong with them or the men?) 
Tivela Lythandas's husband, the famous painter Rythe Lythandas, vanished from 
his locked studio. You're asked to play Holmes and solve this little mystery.

The Lythandas live in the southwest corner of Cheydinhal, near the house you 
can buy for yourself. Tivela more fully explains the situation and gives you a 
key to the studio. Inside, take a look at Rythe's current painting, then 
Activate it. You skidoo right into the painting!

In front of you is the great painter himself, who 'fesses up about his secret: 
a magic paintbrush. Some thief came in, stole the brush, then got trapped in 
the painting. The thief then painted some trolls to protect him, but the 
trolls killed him. You have to fight your way through the trolls and get the 
paintbrush off the thief's corpse so you and Rythe can get out.

Set off north. You have to work your way north, then west, then south to find 
the thief, killing six painted trolls along the way. Rythe gives you six 
bottles of turpentine that act as poison for your weapon. The Turpentine is 
leveled and does anywhere from +20 to +250 damage to painted trolls (depending 
on your level). Loot each troll for Painted Troll Fat, useful for alchemical 
products and available nowhere else.

Once you reach the thief, take the Brush of Truepaint from his body and go 
straight north. From this direction, you can jump up the rocks and drop down 
right back where you started. Give the Brush to Rythe. He paints a door and 
you can both leave.

Back in the real world of computer-generated graphics, Rythe asks you to keep 
the Brush a secret and gives you the Apron of Adroitness, which Fortifies 
Intelligence and Agility.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ03]
                       <~~~~~~ CANVAS THE CASTLE ~~~~~~>

Visit the castle in Chorrol between the hours of 8am and 6pm and talk to 
Countess Valga. She is busy hunting a stolen painting. Offer to help and 
she'll give you the names of five people:
* Chanel, the court mage, suspect
* Orgnolf, porter, suspect
* Bittneld, guard captain, witness
* Orok gro-Ghoth, steward, witness
* Laythe Wavrick, herald, witness

Speak to all five. Chanel, Orgnolf and gro-Ghoth can usually be found in the 
private area of the castle (for which you are given a key). Wavrick typically 
hangs out in the audience chamber with the Countess. Bittneld can be a 
problem. He makes regular patrols around town. Perhaps you'll get lucky and 
find him in the castle, otherwise you're going to have to run him down.

Once you've heard all five stories, it becomes apparent Chanel is hiding 
something. You know she spends time in the West Tower, so go there and find 
the trap door in the floor. Use the trap door and carefully search to find a 
partially completed painting. Activate it to add it to your quest entries.

Now head for the dining room, which is just off the attendance hall, and look 
around on the rug. You should spot some paint stains in the shape of 
footprints. Activate them to update your journal. Return to the private area 
and Chanel's bedroom. Open her lectern to find paint supplies.

Talk to Chanel and Accuse her. You must max out her Disposition score in order 
for her to confess to the crime and give you the painting. You now have two 
choices:

1) Report in full to the Countess, who rewards you and banishes Chanel.

2) Refuse to accuse either suspect to the Countess, who gives you a little 
money anyway. Return the painting to Chanel, who will paint you a picture of
your own that you can display in your house (if you buy a house).
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ27]
                       <~~~~~~ CAUGHT IN THE HUNT ~~~~~~>

Chase the rumor mill in Bravil to learn about Ursanne Loche's missing husband. 
Find Ms. Loche and question her. Her husband, Aleron, is a gambler heavily in 
debt to a loan shark named Kurdan gro-Dragol. Aleron was supposed to meet gro-
Dragol at the Lonely Suitor Lodge yesterday, and he hasn't come back.

Go to the Lonely Suitor and seek out Messr. gro-Dragol. Once you get his 
Disposition to 60, he does, indeed, know where Aleron is; but, before he'll 
tell you, you must do him a favor. Go to Fort Grief out on an island in the 
bay, and retrieve gro-Dragol's father's axe. That's the only way you or 
Ursanne will see Aleron alive again.

When you're ready, gro-Dragol even provides transportation. Go down to the 
little public dock on the river flowing through the middle of Bravil and 
there's a boat waiting. Activate it to be transported to Fort Grief. The gate 
leading into the fort must be opened with a wheel located on the ground to the 
right.

Inside, the gate slams shut, you find Aleron and you get all the details on 
gro-Dragol's little trap. You and Aleron are the prey in a little game of 
hunt-the-human(oid). There are three hunters inside the fort, and you will 
have to kill them all to get the key to the inner gatehouse, allowing you both 
to escape.

Inside you go. There's nothing inside but the three hunters and a few low-
level critters, such as rats. Just to your left as you enter is the gatehouse. 
You need a key to get in there. Down the hall is a little room with a rock 
column in the center. The Imperial hunter waits here. If you're the Stealthy 
type, you can use the center column for cover while you snipe at the hunter 
from range, but you'll probably still have to fall back on sword & shield 
because of the close quarters. Loot his body for the First Key.

Follow the path to a stone bridge. If you have good Speed, run across the 
bridge. Two spiked barrels will swing down to knock you off, but you can avoid 
them if you're fast enough. If you're not fast enough, swim through the 
channel to the northeast and make the first left-hand turn that you can and 
then another left.

Assuming you made it across the bridge, turn left at the next intersection, 
jump over the hole in the floor and take the first right.

The two paths are now together again. There's an arrow trap on the far wall, 
so don't dally. Around the corner, watch for the tripwire on the floor, it 
sets off some poison gas vents. The Nord hunter waits just ahead. The room 
forms a sort-of squared figure-eight. Again, Stealthy types can use the center 
columns for cover. You can also try to lead him back through the traps that 
you just came through. Loot the Nord for the Second Key.

Beyond the Nord, to the southwest, is the door to The Hunter's Abyss. You need 
both Hunter's Keys to open this door. Down the hall, take the first left, 
skipping over the tripwire. Follow the tunnels, watching out for another 
tripwire along the way. You'll eventually reach a set of stairs leading down 
into a large room with a pool. The Orc hunter waits here.

Stealthy fighters should try to peg an arrow into the Orc from the top of the 
stairs, then leap onto the little platforms along the side of the steps. With 
a high enough Sneak skill, you can crouch there and pepper the Orc with arrows 
without being detected. Otherwise, keep the fight down in the pool room--you 
don't want to get into confined quarters with this guy.

After he's dead, loot the Fort Grief Key from his body and exit the pool room 
to the southwest. Take the first right and follow the tunnel to a door that 
brings you out over the stone bridge you crossed not long ago. Drop down and 
run back up to the gatehouse.

Uh oh. The key doesn't work. Raise your hand if you didn't see that coming.

Exit the Hunter's Run and watch gro-Dragol kill Aleron. Poor guy. You now have 
to kill gro-Dragol to get the real gatehouse key. Stealthy fighters will want 
to Sneak up the stairs next to the main door and snipe gro-Dragol from up 
there. Regular fighters will appreciate the wide-open area in which to engage 
the Orc.

Take his real key, open the gatehouse just inside Hunter's Run, and turn the 
handle to open the main gate. Take the boat back to Bravil, find Ursanne and 
explain what happened. She's devastated, but gives you a Speechcraft skill-
training book as a reward for trying to help.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ30]
                         <~~~~~~ THE COLLECTOR ~~~~~~>

This is a wide-ranging quest dealing with the recovery of ten Ayleid statues 
from ten ruined Ayleid sites. To get this quest started, you must retrieve one 
of the ten statues listed below. Now, if you want to do this quest the "right" 
way, you would sell the statue to any merchant for about 125 gold; then, you 
wait until you are contacted by Jollring, a servant in the household of 
Umbacano.

But, if you want to make a few hundred extra gold and not go through the 
waiting period, go straight to Umbacano. Umbacano lives in the Talos Plaza 
district of Imperial City. His house opens onto the northeast quarter of the 
central plaza. When entering his house, speak to Jollring and you'll be 
escorted upstairs to Umbacano.

Umbacano wants to collect the complete set of ten Ayleid statues; but, he 
doesn't know which sites have statues. You're on your own there (fortunately, 
you have this guide, while Umbacano does not). Umbacano promises 500 gold for 
each statue, plus a bonus of 5,000 gold when you have returned all the statues 
to him.

After you've brought back a second statue, Umbacano gives you five sites that 
his research reveals have statues. That's all you get in the game to help you 
out. After bringing back one more statue (total of three), Umbacano will offer 
you another job. This kicks off "Nothing You Can Possess".

The ten Ayleid ruins containing statues are:

1) Culotte
-----------
Culotte is located on the east bank of the Upper Niben River about halfway 
between Niben Bay and Lake Rumare. If you find the 'T' in "The Yellow Road", 
it sits just on the northeast corner of that 'T'. This is a simple, single-
level undead lair. In fact, it looks very simple going in, because there's 
nothing in there.

Run down the stairs and all the way to the end of the first hall. There's a 
pressure plate in this room, stand on it, then go back up one flight of steps 
and take a right. This will lead you down and around to a raised bridge over 
two large rooms full of coffins. At the end of the bridge, you'll go down some 
steps and into the southeast coffin area. At the far end is the room with the 
statue.

Of course, nothing could be that simple. Stepping into the statue room spawns 
six undead in the dungeon. Two are in each coffin area and two more wait in 
the main hall on the way to the exit. A trap may have taken out the bridge 
between the two coffin rooms, if so, jump through the gap to the northwest 
room and find the exit on the north wall.


2) Fanacas
-----------
This one-level vampire lair is north-northeast of Cheydinhal. (It's one of the 
map markers you can get by standing on Dive Rock.) Find Lake Arrius north of 
Cheydinhal and go due east from the eastern-most tip of the lake. There are 
about a half-dozen different ways to go through this dungeon, but if you're 
just looking for the quickest way to the statue...

Go straight from the entrance to the big, flooded room. Immediately dive into 
the water to your right (south) and find the submerged tunnel. At the top of 
the tunnel, turn right (west) and circle back around toward your starting 
point. You'll find a pressure plate that opens the door in front of you and 
another door beyond, leading north.

Go through this door and follow the bridge around, going east, then north into 
another room. Take the southeast exit onto another bridge and follow it to 
another, smaller flooded room. Jump in the water and find the tunnel leading 
northeast. At the end of the tunnel is the statue.

You can return the way you came, or you can circle to the south and west, 
where you'll eventually run into the boss vampire, with appropriate loot.


3) Mackamentain
----------------
North of Silverfish River is a little unnamed lake. Mackamentain sits on the 
north shore of that lake. It's a three-level necromancer hangout, so be 
prepared for the usual mixture of conjurers and undead.

The first large room has four varla stones. The buttons to raise the covers 
are in alcoves on the northwest and southeast sides of the room. Down the hall 
to the next room, be wary of the trap in the center else you will find 
yourself becoming a fixture on the ceiling.

The second level is called Tombs of the Undead and you want to avoid those 
tombs. From your entry point, go straight and hang a left at the top of the 
stairs. This takes you over the undead wandering among their coffins and 
eventually to the door to the Necromancer's Asylum. This is just one big room 
with the boss necromancer and two or three undead. The statue is in the middle 
of the room.

Leave the Asylum to the northwest for a shortcut back to the varla stone room 
and the dungeon exit.


4) Moranda
-----------
If you draw a straight line between Castle Chorrol and Castle Bruma, Moranda 
is about halfway along that line. There's a section of the Orange Road between 
the two cities that curves south; Moranda sits at the top-center of that 
"cup". Bring spells, potions or equipment with poison resistance.

This three-level dungeon is a mythical creature lair. If you have good lock 
picking ability, you only need to go through a small portion of the dungeon. 
At the bottom of the stairs is a four-way intersection. Take the southeast 
path by picking the lock on the gate. Go straight through the next room and 
along the hall to a door to Moranda Abaspania.

This level has no creatures, but it is full of poison gas. In the first room, 
take the left-hand exit and the statue is in the center of the next room. (You 
can pick up a varla stone in the room southeast of the statue room, the button 
to open the cage is in the alcove on the southwest wall.) Return the way you 
came and you're done.

Now, if you want to thoroughly loot this dungeon (there's a nice boss-level 
chest to be had and two varla stones), or, if you can't pick the lock to take 
the shortcut...

From the entrance, continue straight until you reach the second four-way 
intersection. Go southeast, straight through the next room to a door that 
leads to Moranda Arastel. This level is basically one huge, multi-level room.

From your entrance point, go into the large room and up the stairs in front of 
you. Turn right along this "bridge" in the center of the room, then right 
again at the end of the bridge. The room to the southeast has a varla stone; a 
pressure plate in front of the column opens the cage.

At the northeast end of the main room, take either hall and go around to a 
small room with a big treasure in the Ayleid Reliquary. The treasure includes 
the key that will get you back out. Back in the main room, go along the bridge 
and down the stairs opposite the ones you came up. The hall leading northwest 
goes back to the first level of Moranda.

Back in Moranda, follow the hall to the first room, then exit to the 
southwest. This hall leads to a door going into Moranda Abaspania. Again, no 
creatures, just lots of poison gas. From the first room, take the right-hand 
exit to find the statue.

From the statue room, take the northeast exit and turn right to reach another 
varla stone. The button that opens the cage is in the alcove on the southwest 
wall. Take the southwest exit from this room and straight through the next 
room to return to the first level. Follow the hall, straight through the room, 
and the key you got from the boss chest will open the gate leading to the 
dungeon exit.


5) Ninendava
-------------
Northwest of Moranda is the single-level vampire and undead lair, Ninendava. 
Reaching it can be difficult, as there's no direct route up the mountains from 
Moranda. Your best bet is to start in Bruma and work your way west along the 
Jerall Mountains. There's an unmarked road that runs along the southern face 
of this mountain range, and Ninendava lies at the end of that road.

From Bruma's North Gate, go around the west side of the town and find the road 
heading west. When it forks, take the right/northwest fork. You should run 
right past Applewatch (Dark Brotherhood quests) and Boreal Stone Cave ("A 
Brotherhood Betrayed"). When you pass over a wood bridge, the path splits 
again, this time take the left/west fork to run right into Ninendava.

If you have decent lock picking ability, this couldn't be easier. From the 
entrance, go straight until you come to a T-intersection. From the T, go left 
(west) and up the stairs. Pick the lock on the gate, and collect the statue. 
You might have to kill two creatures along the way.

If your lock picking is on the level of a slug, there is a key, but you have 
to fight your way through every denizen of this dungeon. At the T, go right 
(east) and down the stairs. You eventually reach a large room. The key is on a 
table in a small alcove at the extreme west end of that room.


6) Vilverin
------------
This may well be the first ruin you visit and the way you kick off this quest. 
After all, it's the first thing you see when you exit the tutorial sewers at 
the beginning of the game. It sits on a little island in Lake Rumare, just 
across from that infamous sewer grate.

There are two bandits outside and several more on the first level of this four 
level dungeon. At the very bottom of the first flight of stairs inside 
Vilverin is a large room containing up to four bandits. Caution is advised and 
careful use of arrows or spells to separate the bandits is the best policy.

To the south of the large room is the bandits' sleeping quarters, which 
contains a decent amount of loot. To the north, drop down (or take the stairs 
to the northwest) to the lower level of the large room and head east. In the 
next room you'll find the door to Vilverin Canosel.

From here on out, you'll be facing undead rather than bandits. The first room 
in Canosel is divided by four columns and there's a cask in the center. Go 
west from this room into a large square room with an exit to the north. Avoid 
that exit; instead, enter the niche on the west wall and find the pressure 
plate behind the coffin. It opens a path to the south.

Advance cautiously to a very large room with a pool in the center and at least 
three undead. The door to Vilverin Wendesel is to the west. The first large 
room in Wendesel has a pit trap in the center. Use arrows or spells to lure 
the undead in the room over the pit trap, then skirt the edge of it and 
continue.

At the intersection, turn south. This next room has six doors (three on a 
side). Behind five doors are undead, behind the sixth door is the key to the 
gate to the west. Two columns with six push buttons are at the east end of the 
room; Activating the buttons opens the doors. You can: 1) open all the doors, 
killing the undead, collecting a little loot and the key; 2) open the door 
just to get the key, it's the top right button; 3) pick the lock on the gate 
and ignore the buttons.

The next room has a varla stone in a cage. The push button to open the cage is 
up on the balcony on the south side of the room. From that balcony, you go 
through to Vilverin Sel Sancremathi, the final level of the dungeon.

Down the first hall, straight ahead through a swinging blades trap, is the 
statue. Dodge the blades, grab the statue, then continue straight (west) 
through more swinging blades. At the top of the stairs is Jalbert, a leveled 
necromancer. Kill him, then loot his room. On the table is a key to a gate 
that is a shortcut out of the dungeon. (The key is actually lying on the 
table, not in a container, so you may need a torch or Night Eye to see it. You 
can also just pick the lock on the gate.)

When you're done, take the north exit, through the aforementioned locked gate, 
and back to the first level of Vilverin. When you drop down, you're near the 
exit and you're done.


7) Welke
---------
Find the Panther River east-southeast of Bravil. It curves north, then south, 
then east, then branches north and south. From the branch point, follow the 
south branch, traveling on the east bank of the river, and you'll stumble 
across this three-level undead crypt.

The fastest way through requires picking an easy lock--take a right at the end 
of the entrance hall, pick the lock on the gate, and follow the only path to 
Welke Ceyede. Follow the main path until you reach a T-intersection, then turn 
right (northwest). You'll have to swim through a submerged tunnel, and you'll 
come out into a room with at least three leveled undead, so be prepared. In 
the southwest corner of this room is the door to Welke Edesel.

Edesel is a small room with several coffins and one boss-level undead. You can 
fight it or Sneak away with the statue, which is on a coffin in the center of 
the room. Get out the same way you came in.


8) Wendelbek
-------------
Southeast of Bravil, the Panther River winds its way through the Nibenay 
Valley. Two northbound tributaries form a bowl along the eastern half of the 
Panther, Wendelbek lies in this bowl. If you mark the 'V' in "Nibenay Valley" 
and draw a line due east, you'll find this ruin just past the first tributary. 
(If you've already been to Welke, just go northeast from there, across the 
Panther and you'll find Wendelbek.)

Wendelbek is a four-level necromancer headquarters, as announced by the black 
altar out front. The statue is on level three, so you don't have to go through 
the whole dungeon to get it. The quickest route to the statue is to go 
straight from the main entrance, along a balcony.

When the balcony curves east, continue straight rather than take the left 
(south) branch. Keep following it until you reach a left-hand turn, then on to 
the door to Wendelbek Aldmerisel. Aldmerisel is basically one large room with 
a platform in the center. For a varla stone, snipe the necromancers on the 
central platform, jump down into the pit, find the push button and climb the 
stairs to reach the stone on the table on the platform.

To reach the next level of the dungeon, climb the stairs in the northeast 
corner of the room to a push button. This opens a gate in the east wall of the 
main room and you can get to Wendelbek Sel Aran Mathmedi. To reach the statue, 
turn left from the entrance, follow the hall all the way around, avoiding any 
turns, until you are on a raised walkway overlooking the lowest level of the 
main room. Take a left at the T-intersection and the statue will be right 
around the corner.

Now, you can take the statue and run, or continue to the final level and 
collect a boss chest and two more varla stones. From the statue, jump down to 
the lower floor and go down the steps to the south. In the next room is a door 
to Wendelbek Silaseli. Take out the two necromancers in front of you, then on 
to the first large room.

There are two varla stones at the top of the stairs, and they aren't covered. 
Follow the east hall to the headquarters of the necromancer adept and collect 
the loot. From the adept's room, exit to the west for a shortcut back to level 
one of the dungeon.


9) Wendir
----------
This two-level undead dungeon lies south of Chorrol. If you've done "Shadow 
Over Hackdirt", travel to Hackdirt and go northwest. Otherwise, travel due 
south from Chorrol's South Gate until you reach Fort Carmala, and then turn 
due west. Bring lots of lockpicks, the Skeleton Key or Open Very Hard Lock 
spells.

At the end of the first hall, turn right and pick the lock on the gate. Follow 
this upper hallway all the way around until you reach the door to Wendir 
Nagasel. In the first room of Nagasel, be wary of the pit trap. As you go down 
the next hall, at the bottom of a stairway is a pressure plate. Stepping on 
this opens a door to a couple of undead back down the hall.

You soon reach a balcony overlooking a large, three-tier room. You're on the 
top tier. If you're very good with a bow or spells, you may be able to snipe 
the undead boss in the center, second tier of the room. Continue along the 
balcony until it takes you down to the second tier.

Turn left at the bottom of the stairs and then right and push the button to go 
through the gate and face off against the boss. (If you killed him from the 
balcony, so much the better.) The statue is around to your left. Return to the 
balcony and, halfway down, is a shortcut door to the beginning of the dungeon.

Assuming you can't pick locks, then, from the dungeon entrance, you'll have to 
drop down into the large room. Fight your way south into the next area, then 
east to find the door to Nagasel. In Nagasel, you'll enter a room with a pit 
trap in the center. Exit to the northeast, which places you on the lowest tier 
of the boss room. The stairs up to the boss are in the northeast corner of the 
room. Down here, the room is full of poison gas. After killing the boss and 
getting the statue, you can use the same shortcut up on the balcony.


10) Wenyandawik
----------------
Wenyandawik is northwest of Bravil, kind of all by itself--there's nothing 
else nearby. The best way to find it is to find the 'R' in "The Green Road" 
and go straight south.

The first level of this undead home is one large, two-tier room. Kill the 
undead in the room, then use the exit to the north to reach Wenyandawik 
Edesel. In Edesel, turn left, kill a couple of rats and collect two varla 
stones. Then go west along the hall. Twice as you advance, secret passages 
will open either to your side or in front of you, revealing undead. Tread 
carefully.

When the hall turns left (south), a secret door will have opened in front of 
you. Go through the secret passage and up the stairs to the boss lair. The 
statue is in the southern part of the room, once the boss is dead. You can't 
go back the way you came. Leave this room to the south, drop down into the 
hallway and there's a door back into the first level of the dungeon. 
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ28]
                   <~~~~~~ CORRUPTION AND CONSCIENCE ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* This quest removes Captain Ulrich Leland from service in Cheydinhal. 
Captain Leland is one of your better fighters in the Defense of Bruma quest in 
the main story. You don't want to complete this quest before finishing Defense 
of Bruma.

The rumor mill in Cheydinhal is full of complaints about heavy fines imposed 
by the new captain of the guard, Ulrich Leland. Following up on the rumor 
points you to Uevana Nedaren who lives near the chapel. Find her and talk to 
her. She's not hesitant to open up about the problems. Nedaren gives you two 
names: Aldos Othran, who lost his house for being drunk & disorderly; and, 
Garrus Darelliun, second-in-command of the guard.

Darelliun is usually in the castle audience chamber during the day. Seek him 
out, raise his Disposition to 60 and he'll agree to help you by bringing 
Leland up on charges. But first, he needs a witness. Othran seems to be the 
perfect fit.

Find Othran and talk to him. Unfortunately, your pep talk puts the wrong kind 
of pep in him. He races to his house and confronts the guard outside the door. 
The guard ends up killing him. Report this development to Nedaren. She gets 
really ticked off and suggests you ask Leland over to her place for a little 
"chat".

Go see Darelliun. He doesn't like the sound of Nedaren's scheme and suggests 
another avenue of attack: pilfer evidence from Leland's quarters. (Rules of 
evidence seem not to have developed in Cyrodiil at this point in history.) You 
can follow either plan, the only difference being the amount of gold given you 
as a reward at the end of the quest.

1) Nedaren's plan: Follow your quest marker to Leland, raise his Disposition 
to 60 and invite him over for tea. Leland and Nedaren scream at each other for 
a moment, then Nedaren paralyzes him and calls her pet rats down for dinner. 
Yech. Report this back to Darelliun. He's not happy about it, Nedaren will 
have to do some time, but you're off the hook and get some glittery coins for 
your trouble.

2) Darelliun's plan: During the day, when Leland is on patrol, Sneak into the 
castle barracks and open the left hand door on the back wall (Darelliun gives 
you the key). The evidence you want is a letter lying on a book on top of the 
desk. Take this back to Darelliun and he takes off to arrest his superior. 
Everybody lives, the only person in gaol is Leland and you get extra glittery 
coins for helping out.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ04]
                         <~~~~~~ DAEDRIC QUESTS ~~~~~~>

Each daedric quest involves finding a shrine, bringing an offering, talking to 
the spirit of the daedra lord and then running errands for him or her. 
Complete the errand and you get a daedric artifact. Each quest has certain 
prerequisites, usually a minimum level, and various offerings.

Most shrines have to be found by exploring. A few are pointed out to you by 
various persons. One, Azura's, is blatantly marked for you at a certain point 
in the main story. You can "discover" information about the shrines in the 
main game in one of several ways:

* Martin will give you a book listing some of the shrines when he gives you
  the "Blood of the Daedra" quest in the main story. This is when Azura's
  shrine is marked for you.

* You can also find a copy of the same book, "Modern Heretics", in the library
  of Arcane University, if you've advanced the Mages Guild quests enough to
  have access to the library.

* You may overhear people talking about daedra worship, which will give you
  a new topic (Daedra) with some townsfolk. Using that topic will generally
  get you a pointer to a specific shrine.

The quests are listed here by their level requirement.


| Azura [DQ01]
+--------------
Requirements: At least level 2
Offering:     Glow dust
Reward:       Azura's Star, a re-useable grand soul gem

Azura's shrine is located north-northeast of the Lake Arrius Caverns you visit 
in the Dagon Shrine quest part of the main story. It is usually the first 
shrine mentioned in the game. The offering, glow dust, is a by-product of the 
will-o-wisp, which can be difficult to find. The easiest way to get glow dust 
is to go to the Bruma Mages Guild and ask to join (if not already a member). 
Go to the basement and pick some glow dust up from a table in the alchemy 
room. You may also be able to find some in one of the alchemy shops in 
Imperial City.

During the hours of dawn (roughly 5 - 7am) or dusk (roughly 5 - 7pm), Activate 
the statue of Azura with some glow dust in your pocket. In times past, Azura 
sent five followers to kill a vampire lord. They succeeded, but at the price 
of becoming vampires themselves. They sealed themselves in the cave of the 
vampire lord. Azura wants you to grant them "eternal peace".

Joy. Azura marks a "Gutted Mine" on your map to the southeast. Stock up and 
head out. The cavern is small, and contains only the five vampiric followers 
of Azura. Advance very slowly and try to take them on one at a time. The first 
three tend to be close together (they are marked on your map), so separating 
them can be difficult.

One option, submitted by reader jbucking, is to enter during daylight, get the 
attention of the vampires, then run outside. They'll follow you and you'll 
have more room to maneuver as well as receive additional help from the sun, 
which does extra damage to the vampires.

Fire works well on vamps, so use that if you have it. You will almost 
certainly get infected with porphyric hemophilia (the vampire disease). Don't 
worry about it until you've finished the task. The last two vampires are 
located in a secret chamber opened with a pull cord in the first large room 
you come to.

After all five are dead, return to Azura and she'll reward you with a re-
useable grand soul gem, Azura's Star. If you're heavily dependant on enchanted 
weapons, this may be a very useful item. On the other hand, you can get 
enchanted weapons recharged at any Mages Guild hall, and regular soul gems are 
found quite frequently.

Once you're done, use a Cure Disease potion or visit a temple in a city to 
cure your porphyric hemophilia. Or, get ready to run from sunlight for the 
rest of the game. For more about Vampirism, see the section under 
Miscellaneous Adventures.


| Sheogorath [DQ02]
+-------------------
Requirements: At least level 2
Offering:     Lesser soul gem, lettuce, yarn
Reward:       Wabbajack, a staff with...well, Wabbajack power

This is a weird one, but, then, Sheogorath is apparently the daedric lord of 
practical jokes. You'll find his shrine halfway between Bravil and Leyawiin, 
west of the main road between the two cities. It's off the beaten track, but 
you can find it by lining yourself up with the 'B' in "Bravil" on your world 
map and going straight south.

You should be able to scavenge the offering from houses and guild halls in 
Bravil. Activate the statue with the offering in inventory and Sheogorath 
complains about the boring population of Border Watch, a small Khajiit 
settlement to the south. He wants you to go there and stir things up a bit.

Go to Border Watch and ask about the K'Sharra Prophecy. You'll be referred to 
Ri'Bassa, town shaman. Find him and get his Disposition to 60 and he'll tell 
you the first two portents of the apocalypse: plague of rats and the death of 
all the livestock. He won't tell you the third portent, but you don't need to 
worry about that one anyway.

Go to the only inn in town, at the top of the hill, to the left of the stairs. 
Talk to the innkeeper about cheese and she'll tell you all about her prized 
collection. You're interested in the rare Olroy cheese. Wait until the middle 
of the night, break into the blue-lined display case and steal the Olroy 
cheese. (If your lockpicking skills are weak, you can pickpocket the key from 
the sleeping innkeeper.) Go outside and dump it in the cooking pot nearby.

Wait until morning and the town will be infested by rats. Watch as Ri'Bassa 
runs up the steps and puts down rat poison. Once he's placed the poison, go 
pick it up. Enter the sheep pen down the street from the inn and put the rat 
poison in the food trough. Wait an hour and the sheep will all be dead.

Sheogorath then speaks and tells you to go to the center of town and watch the 
third portent. Go halfway down the stairs and watch the anti-climactic show. 
Return to the shrine and you are rewarded with Wabbajack--a staff that, when 
used on a creature (i.e. not a human, orc or elf) will transform that creature 
into another, random creature. You might turn a goblin into a spider daedra, 
or a spriggan into a sheep.

You just never know...


| Namira [DQ03]
+---------------
Requirements: At least level 5
              Personality of 20 or lower
Offering:     None
Reward:       Ring of Namira, Reflect Damage and Reflect Spell enchantments

Namira's shrine is east-southeast of Bruma. Go due east from Bruma's East Gate 
until you reach The Plundered Mine, guarded by a couple of goblins. From the 
mine, turn south and bear east and you should find the shrine easily. Namira 
requires no offering, but you must be a person others find to be...less than 
pleasing to the eye.

You have to get your Personality to 20 or lower. The easiest way to do this is 
to tank up on Cheap Wine--each bottle drains your Personality by 10 points, so 
if your Personality is 53, you would need to drink 4 bottles of Cheap Wine.

Cheap Wine can be found in many houses, including those you have purchased if 
you've purchased the furnishings that add a wine rack. You can also buy Cheap 
Wine in many inns and taverns. Get enough bottles to do the trick, go to the 
shrine, then drink up. Talk to Namira to get the quest.

Namira has some followers called "Forgotten". They live in the darkness of the 
Ayleid ruin, Anga. Some priests of Arkay are trying to give them some light. 
Namira teaches you a spell to shroud the priests in darkness. She asks only 
that you cast the spell on each priest and let the Forgotten do the rest.

Nothing could be simpler. Anga is almost due south of the shrine and is a 
single, fairly small level. The priests are not hostile. Cast your new spell, 
Namira's Shroud, at each one (they are marked on your map) and watch some 
Forgotten run in and bash the priests to death.

When all the priests are dead, find the secret room in the southern-most point 
of the ruin. There's a pushbutton to open it in the long hall that runs along 
the southeastern side of the dungeon. There are two undead in the room and two 
chests. The chest along the west wall contains boss-level treasure.

Be careful you don't kill a priest or a Forgotten. That cancels your reward, 
which is a nice ring with leveled Reflect Damage and Reflect Spell 
enchantments.


| Vaermina [DQ04]
+-----------------
Requirements: At least level 5
Offering:     Black soul gem
Reward:       Skull of Corruption

Vaermina's shrine is southwest of Cheydinhal. Find Lake Poppad on your map; 
the shrine sits on the eastern shore. To get this task, you must present 
Vaermina with a black soul gem. That, in itself, could drive you nuts. Black 
soul gems aren't just sold in stores like normal soul gems. So your only 
options are to find one or make one.

For both operations, Dark Fissure is the place to start. It's east (and just a 
little north) from the shrine, on the eastern bank of the Reed River. This is 
a necromancer lair and necromancers are the source of soul gems. You can loot 
the caves, and hope you find a black soul gem in its depths. If not, you can 
make one at the altar outside the entrance to Dark Fissure.

To make a black soul gem, you need an empty grand soul gem and a Soul Trap 
spell (any level spell will do). You can purchase grand soul gems from the 
Mystic Emporium in Imperial City, if your level is high enough. Edgar's 
Discount Spells, across the street, will sell you a Soul Trap spell.

Return to Dark Fissure and 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 it does, put your empty grand soul 
gem in the altar and cast Soul Trap on the altar. Remove your shiny new black 
soul gem.

Once you have the required offering, present it to Vaermina for her quest. The 
Wizard Arkved has stolen the Orb of Vaermina and she wants it back. Arkved's 
Tower is south-southwest of the shrine and leads to a seven-level mini-
dungeon. Each level is very short and filled with leveled daedra.

The first two levels are a straight shot through some rather unusual rooms. 
(In one, the table and chairs are on the ceiling.) Next is Arkved's Void, 
which are Oblivion bridges connecting hunks of rock in a black void. There's 
one side path to a little bit of treasure, but otherwise, only one way to go.

In Arkved's Lost Halls, take the left (southwest) exit from the main room to 
reach Arkved's Hall of Changes. This is a little bit of a maze; just take the 
southeast exit from each room and you'll reach the end quickly. Next is 
Arkved's Rending Halls, which is a linear path to Arkved's bedroom.

Arkved is unconscious on the bed. You can kill him, or not, he's stuck in his 
dream state for the entire game. Take the Orb from the nearby table; there's 
also an Illusion skill book ("Palla, volume 1") and a back door that dumps you 
outside in the ruined fort (you can't come in this way, so don't try).

Return to Vaermina for your reward: the Skull of Corruption. Using this on any 
NPC or creature creates a hostile copy of the NPC. It's a bit more useful than 
Wabbajack, but no less fun.


| Sanguine [DQ05]
+-----------------
Requirements: At least level 8
Offering:     Cyrodiilic Brandy
Reward:       Sanguine Rose, staff that summons a random daedra

This shrine is in the middle of nowhere north of Skingrad. If you helped the 
Jemane boys return to Weatherleah in "Legacy Lost", Fast Travel there and go 
southwest (a little more south than west). Else, leave Skingrad by the West 
Gate and follow the road to the Cursed Mine, then go straight north. You may 
also get this marked on your map by talking to the owner of All Things 
Alchemical in Skingrad and using the "Daedra" topic.

Sanguine is a party animal, and before he'll talk to you, he wants some 
Cyrodiilic Brandy. The easiest way to obtain this fine spirit is to buy some 
from The Main Ingredient in Imperial City. Offer it to Sanguine and receive 
your task: you're to liven up the life of Countess Alessia Caro in Leyawiin.

This is an...interesting quest, and not one without a little trouble (even 
though there's no combat involved). Sanguine gives you a spell and tells you 
to cast it in the midst of a dinner party to be hosted by the Countess. Travel 
to Castle Leyawiin, enter and wait until 6pm.

You'll see the Countess and some friends head into the dining room, which is 
to the right as you enter the audience chamber. Talk to the guard outside the 
door. If your clothing is of high enough value, he'll let you in no questions 
asked. How to know if your clothing is of high enough value? Hard to say, 
really fine clothing or higher-level armor will fill the bill.

If your clothing doesn't pass muster, you can still get in by raising the 
guard's Disposition to 70 or above. Inside, cast the spell, Stark Reality, on 
Countess Caro (casting it at someone else or into thin air won't work). 
Everyone loses their clothes.

Including you.

In fact, you've lost everything--clothes, weapons, items...even gold. You're 
in your undies and the guards aren't happy. You have two choices:

1) Serve time. You have no gold to pay the fine, so you'll have to do a week 
or so jail time. When you get out, you can Fast Travel to Sanguine.

2) Resist Arrest. Of course, you're in no condition to fight guards, so this 
basically entails running for it. Hightail it out of the castle and head for 
the West Gate of Leyawiin. Outside are the stables, where you can steal a 
horse and ride like the wind up the Green Road toward Bravil. Once you find a 
spot free of guards (and monsters!) you can Fast Travel to Sanguine. You'll 
still have the bounty (increased for stealing a horse), but you'll get your 
gold back so you can pay the fine rather than serve jail time.

Sanguine rewards you with Sanguine Rose, a staff that summons a random, 
leveled daedra whenever you use it.


| Malacath [DQ06]
+-----------------
Requirements: At least level 10
Offering:     Troll fat
Reward:       Volendrung, battle axe with Paralyze and Drain Health

To find this shrine, head due north from Anvil's North Gate until you run into 
Lord Drad's estate. Then turn northwest to the shrine. For an offering, you'll 
need troll fat. Trolls show up in mythic creature dungeons at relatively low 
levels (about level 5). You can find them at any time in Tidewater Cave 
(south-southeast of Leyawiin, part of Nocturnal's quest) and in Forsaken Mine 
(just south of Leyawiin, part of the Fighters Guild quest "Trolls of Forsaken 
Mine").

When given the appropriate offering, Malacath demands you release some ogres 
that are enslaved by Lord Drad. Easy enough. You passed Drad's estate on the 
way in, head back there now. You can talk to Drad (and his wife) or not. The 
ogres are in Bleak Mine, just a little way to the east. To get it marked on 
your map, either tell Lord Drad you agree with his methods, or talk to his 
wife and get her Disposition north of 70.

Bleak mine is a single level with a bunch of guards and ogres in pens to the 
north and south. You can...

1) Go in swinging: kill the guards and get keys to the pens from their bodies.

2) Sneak in with appropriate lockpicking devices and release the ogres, who 
will then kill the guards.

Option 2 may be preferable--you can even lend the ogres a hand after releasing 
them (just make sure you don't kill an ogre, though if the guards kill an 
ogre, Malacath doesn't care). The guards in this mine are a bit smarter than 
your average NPC and will gang up on you if you're not careful. Since they're 
close to your level, with appropriate equipment, you could get in serious 
trouble trying option 1.

Return to Lord Drad's estate to find both he and his wife engaging in hard 
labor under the supervision of the newly freed ogres. Then back to the shrine 
for your reward: Volendrung, a two-handed axe with Paralyze and Drain Health 
enchantments.


| Meridia [DQ07]
+----------------
Requirements: At least level 10
Offering:     Mort flesh, bonemeal or ectoplasm
Reward:       Ring of Khajiiti, Chameleon 35% and Fortify Speed +10

To get a task from Meridia, you must provide the remains of an undead 
creature. That means mort flesh (zombies), bonemeal (skeletons & liches) or 
ectoplasm (ghosts & wraiths). Meridia is west of Skingrad (if you go west from 
the city to the Cursed Mine, you can then go almost due west to the Shrine) 
and not far from Miscarcand, which has a number of undead in the first couple 
of rooms. (Assuming you aren't already carrying the stuff from all your 
encounters with the walking dead.)

Meridia sends you to Howling Cave, east of Castle Skingrad, and orders you to 
kill all the Necromancers you'll find there. This is tougher than it sounds. 
In the cave, go straight to the T-intersection, turn right and immediately 
left to wend your way to a secret door. That door leads to the Lower 
Galleries, which is where all the trouble starts. (Hint: Go into Sneak mode 
before going through the door.)

There are five necromancers in here, two almost right in front of you. They're 
aided and abetted by a half-dozen or so undead. And they *will* gang up on 
you. The three necromancers who are currently out of sight will come running. 
All the necromancers will start summoning. Depending on your level, some of 
the undead (skeleton champions, liches) may start summoning. Things can get 
real nasty, real quick.

So, here's what you do. As you enter the Lower Galleries, go straight across 
the first room and bear left through a wide tunnel. Turn left at the end of 
the wide tunnel and twist around to a small room. If you have high Sneak 
levels or an Invisibility spell, you may be able to do this without anyone 
noticing. Otherwise, just run for it. You should be able to clear the small 
room (one necromancer and maybe one undead), then turn and defend the narrow 
opening into the room.

You may even avoid drawing attention from the far (southern) rooms, where the 
other two necromancers and more undead are lurking. You should be able to 
handle the initial wave, then take your time clearing out the remainder of the 
dungeon in the more traditional way.

Once the five necromancers are dead (you don't have to finish off the undead, 
just the necromancers, but you'll probably want to kill everything just to be 
safe), return to Meridia for the Ring of Khajiiti, with 35% Chameleon and +10 
Speed enchantments.


| Nocturnal [DQ08]
+------------------
Requirements: At least level 10
Offering:     None
Reward:       Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick with Fortify Security 40

Nocturnal's shrine is located just off the road that leads north from Leyawiin 
along the east bank of the Lower Niben river. Just leave Leyawiin's Northeast 
Gate and follow the road. Keep an eye out on your right (east) side as you 
head north. The shrine is about halfway to the mouth of Niben Bay. You can get 
this marked on your map by talking to one of the mages in the Leyawiin Mages 
Guild (assuming you have Daedra as an available topic).

Nocturnal will only respond to you at night. Her Eye has been stolen and she 
wants you to return it. No offering is required. As for leads on the thieves, 
you're given only a vague pointer to nearby Leyawiin. Head into town and talk 
to any guard. Use the Eye of Nocturnal topic to learn two Argonians, Weebam-Na 
and Bejeen, have been boasting about scoring a valuable jewel.

Find Weebam-Na's house using your new objective marker, enter, and talk to 
both lizards. They're reticent, and your journal suggests you eavesdrop. Go 
into the entry hall and enter Sneak mode. Stand still near the door and you 
will eventually hear the two Argonians discuss whether or not the jewel is 
safe from the trolls in Tidewater Cave.

Trolls. Goody.

Fire damage works well on trolls, so load up before heading out. Tidewater 
Cave sits on the edge of Topal Bay and is just about the most southern point 
in all of Cyrodiil. Walk down there and prep for the two trolls you meet 
outside the cave.

Once they're down, enter the cave. Your main encounters here will be with 
bears, but there are two or three trolls in here as well. If you just want the 
Eye, take the first left, left again at the end of the tunnel and then left 
again through an underwater passage to find the Eye. Return to Nocturnal's 
Shrine and the grateful daedra gives you the Skeleton Key.

This handy device Fortifies your Security skill by 40 points and is an 
unbreakable lockpick. Upon obtaining this device, no lock (that does not 
specifically require a key) can stand against you. Simply hit Auto Attempt 
until the lock opens.


| Peryite [DQ09]
+----------------
Requirements: At least level 10
Offering:     None
Reward:       Spell Breaker, shield with 30% Spell Reflection

If you look east of Bravil on your world map, you'll see the Silverfish River. 
About halfway along its length, on the south bank, is Peryite's shrine. 
Peryite isn't picky about hired help. He just wants someone to rescue his 
followers, who foolishly tried to summon him. Now their souls are trapped in 
Oblivion and he wants you to retrieve them. When you're ready for an extended 
trip into Oblivion, with lots of fights against daedra, Activate the statue 
again and ask to be sent to hell. (Hand basket not included.)

You're on a circular area, looking over a sea of lava. There are paths off 
this "island" to the northeast, east and west. Take the northeast path first. 
There are a *lot* of daedra (keyed to your level) roaming this area. They 
usually work in pairs, too. (You'll also find some cave entrances. Ignore them 
as they don't significantly help you, and just lead to even more fights in 
cramped quarters.)

Your first captive soul will not be far along this track--you can tell where 
the souls are located by the giant bonfires that give off a lot of light and 
smoke. To free the soul, simply Activate it. Return to your starting point--do 
not take the west path from this first soul.

From your starting island, now head east and find some rocks that lead across 
the lava. Jump across, defeat the daedra and free the second soul. Jump back 
across the rocks and head south. The path will eventually curve west and 
you'll find the third soul. Go back to your starting point.

From here you should now take the west path. The track will quickly turn 
southwest and eventually lead to a tower. The fourth soul is in front of this 
tower. Head due north from the tower to reach the fifth soul. Now head back to 
your starting point where you'll find a portal back to normality.

Peryite rewards you with a shield with 30% spell reflection. Not bad, 
considering all the work you had to put into getting it.


| Mephala [DQ10]
+----------------
Requirements: At least level 15
Offering:     Nightshade, between midnight and dawn (about 6am)
Reward:       Ebony Blade, Silence and Absorb Health enchantments

Mephala's shrine is northeast of Imperial City, but cannot be approached 
directly from the south. Take The Silver Road leading to Bruma from Imperial 
City until you reach the intersection with The Orange Road to Chorrol. Turn 
and head due southeast and you should find the shrine. (You'll pass Anga on 
the way, if you've previously found that ruin, Fast Travel there and head 
southeast.)

You'll need one sample of nightshade, which can be found several places. The 
easiest way to obtain it is to check with alchemists. There are two in 
Imperial City: The Main Ingredient and The Gilded Carafe. If you purchased the 
Frostcrag Spire official mod, you can pick some from the garden in your tower. 
Activate the statue between the hours of midnight and 6am with nightshade in 
your inventory.

Mephala wants you to start a war in a peaceful village known as Bleaker's Way. 
This settlement is west-northwest of the shrine. It is home to two families: 
the Dalvilu family of Dunmer and the Ulfgar family of Nords. You are to kill 
the leader of each family and leave evidence implicating the other leader.

Travel to Bleaker's Way by going north into the mountains and then turning 
west. If it's still the middle of the night, you can do this right away. Break 
into Nivan Dalvilu's house (northern side of the village) and kill him while 
he sleeps. On a table near the door is a Dalvilu Ceremonial Dagger. Take it 
with you when you leave.

Next, visit Hrol Ulfgar in his house on the west side of Bleaker's Way. As you 
ascend to the loft where he sleeps, pick up the Ulfgar Family Ring from the 
table next to the stairs leading to the third floor. Kill Ulfgar, then "open" 
his corpse and place the Dalvilu dagger in it. Return to Nivan's house and put 
the Ulfgar ring in his corpse.

If you arrive in Bleaker's Way during the day, you can walk into the houses of 
the leaders and take the dagger and ring. Then chat with the two families 
(they don't have a lot to say, and what they do say sounds too good to be 
true) or Wait until the middle of the night. Then perform the assassinations.

Wait until morning and watch the chaos in the streets. (You may need to speak 
to one of the villagers to instigate the fighting.) You can lend a hand if you 
like, just don't kill everyone. Return to Mephala for the Ebony Blade, a long 
sword with Silence and Absorb Health enchantments.


| Hircine [DQ11]
+----------------
Requirements: At least level 17
Offering:     Wolf or bear pelt
Reward:       Savior's Hide, light armor cuirass with Resist Magicka

This is a simple quest, but not an easy one. Hircine's shrine is located 
midway between Imperial City and Bravil, on the west side of the Upper Niben. 
It's almost directly south of Arcane University, so if you take your bearings 
on that (using your map) and strike out due south, you should stumble across 
it.

Bring a bear or wolf pelt as an offering and Hircine reveals he wants you to 
perform the ultimate hunt: kill a unicorn and bring its horn to him. There's 
only one unicorn in the game, and it's conveniently located south and a little 
east of the shrine in Harcane Grove.

The unicorn is guarded by three minotaurs. Approach slowly, preferably 
stealthily, and use a bow or spells to prod one of the beasts to charge you. 
Repeat for the other two. This prevents not only the minotaurs from ganging up 
on you, but it also keeps the unicorn from joining in the fray. It doesn't 
like drawn weapons.

In fact, while it may be tempting to ride the unicorn around, it is a most 
unreliable mount. It goes into a frenzy whenever weapons are drawn in its 
vicinity and will attack anything--including you, even if you are ostensibly 
its owner. The unicorn is good for just one thing: dying to provide its horn 
for this quest.

Kill it, take the horn back to Hircine and receive a Light cuirass with a 
resist magic enchantment, Savior's Hide.


| Molag Bal [DQ12]
+------------------
Requirements: At least level 17
Offering:     Lion pelt
Reward:       Mace of Molag, Drain Strength 5 points, Drain Magicka 5 points

Bal's shrine is in the middle of the Great Forest, west of Imperial City. Make 
a triangle between Chorrol, Skingrad and the Wawnet Inn on the west shore of 
Lake Rumare; the shrine is dead center in that triangle. If you don't have a 
lion's pelt to give as an offering, go straight west from Wawnet Inn and 
you'll find Breakneck Cave. This three-level dungeon is full of wild animals 
and a few mythic creatures, mountain lions should be among them. You can then 
head due southwest to get to the shrine.

Molag Bal wants you to corrupt a good man. He refers you to Brindle Home--a 
small settlement to the southwest of the shrine. There you are to goad a man 
named Melus Petilius into killing you with a Cursed Mace that Bal supplies. Go 
to Brindle Home and charm a townsperson to a Disposition of 60 and they'll 
tell you all about Petilius. You'll also get his house, set a little outside 
the main "town", marked on your map.

You can't do anything with Petilius when he's at home. Wait outside his door 
until he leaves to visit his wife's grave. Drop the Cursed Mace on the ground 
near his feat, remove all your armor and punch him in the face. He'll pick up 
the mace and start beating on you. When you die, you'll automatically be 
transported back to Molag Bal's shrine and you'll receive the Mace of Molag 
Bal, which drains Strength and Magicka 5 points per hit.

For a little extra fun, return to Brindle Home and talk to Petilius.


| Boethia [DQ13]
+----------------
Requirements: At least level 20
Offering:     Daedra heart
Reward:       Goldbrand, long sword with +22 fire damage

You'll need a daedra heart for this quest; you get these hearts from dremora 
and xivilai. If the main story is still open, pop into an Oblivion gate and 
emerge a moment or two later with the necessary item. If you've closed all the 
Oblivion gates and used all the hearts you collected...well, you've got a bit 
more work ahead of you.

You won't find daedra in many places around Cyrodiil once the gates are gone. 
The Wizard's Grotto that leads from Castle Bravil to Fathis Aren's tower has 
plenty. Arkved's Tower (from Vaermina's quest) is also full of daedra. You 
could also try Summoning a dremora (if your Conjuration skill is up to snuff 
and you can find a merchant that sells the spell) and pickpocketing it 
(killing it just causes it to vanish).

With the heart in hand, talk to Borba of Borba's Goods & Stores in Cheydinhal 
and try the "Daedra" topic (if you have it). She'll mark Boethia's shrine on 
your map; that's the easiest way to find it. The shrine is in the middle of 
the Valus mountains, with no easy landmarks to guide you to it. If you have 
visited Drakelowe for "Vampire Cure", you can Fast Travel there; else, find 
Drakelowe by traveling along the east bank of the Reed River south of 
Cheydinhal.

Once in Drakelowe, strike due east and try to stick to that direction as you 
go up into the mountains. You should be able to find the shrine that way. 
Offer a daedra heart to Boethia and he offers you a way to prove yourself in a 
Tournament of Ten Bloods. He opens a portal to an Oblivion Plane that consists 
of a circle divided by gates into ten sections--one section for each sentient 
(i.e. player) race.

You are...well, whatever you are...and you have to face off against one each 
of the other nine races. The battles are all one-on-one, there are no 
interlopers and there are plenty of hiding places for Sneak attacks or perches 
for sniping. Just make sure you bring plenty of sustenance (repair hammers, 
potions, soul gems or varla stones, etc.). Nine fights against nine NPCs 
kitted out similarly to you is no picnic.

Your reward for defeating the nine is Goldbrand, a long sword with 22 points 
of fire damage.


| Clavicus Vile [DQ14]
+----------------------
Requirements: At least level 20
Offering:     500 gold
Reward:       Masque of Clavicus Vile, helmet, Fortify Personaltiy 20;
              or Umbra, ebony long sword, Soul Trap 120 seconds

Vile's shrine is southwest of Imperial City. If you exit the city to the west 
and take the road south, keep your eye to your right (west) as the road begins 
to turn east. You should see a wayshrine (if you reach the Ayleid ruin 
Vindasel, you've gone too far). From that wayshrine, go almost due west to 
find the shrine of Clavicus Vile.

Clavicus wants an offering of 500 gold, which should be peanuts to a 20th or 
higher level character. He instructs you to find the sword of a hero named 
Umbra and return it to him. In exchange he'll give you a fabulous masque. Your 
journal instructs you to begin your search at Pell's Gate. Along the way, 
Vile's pet puppy, who now resides in your backpack, will offer some sage words 
of wisdom.

Actually, you only need to go to Pell's Gate if you want all the background 
story for the quest. (Find Irroke the Wide and ask about Umbra.) The person 
now calling herself Umbra resides in Vindasel, an Ayleid ruin located right on 
the Red Ring Road not far from the shrine. There's a conjurer and his pet 
outside, inside is a straight shot to Umbra, with only low-level wild animals 
and a couple of traps in your way. (The first room has a pit trap near the 
door; the second main room is a poison gas trap--hug the wall as you go around 
the room.)

Umbra can be tough, depending on how you're equipped. You enter her room up on 
a balcony, this is an excellent opportunity to Sneak attack with a bow or 
ranged spell. She'll come charging up the stairs; have another arrow or spell 
ready to meet her. This will shave off a good bit of her health. Don't try 
leading her back through the ruins to the traps, she regenerates health, so 
that will do you little good.

*NOTE* You can go down and talk to Umbra, but this doesn't help unless you 
decide to leave her alone. If you want her sword (for yourself or Clavicus), 
don't start the fight face-to-face. That's just stupid.

Now that you have the sword, Vile's hound suggests you keep it. It is, indeed, 
a wonderful tool--especially in combination with Azura's Star. However, it has 
no damage enhancement, just the soul trap ability. You would need to strike an 
enemy with it, then switch to another weapon (or spell) to finish the enemy 
off.

So, you have a choice: keep the sword, or return it to Clavicus Vile, where 
you get an ugly full-head helmet that increases your Personality by 20 points. 
Oh joy. If you decide to keep the sword and don't want the quest sitting in 
your open quest list, return to Vile's shrine and refuse to give him the 
sword. He'll mutter some threats, but they're hollow. Nothing bad will happen 
to you.


| Hermaeus Mora [DQ15]
+----------------------
Requirements: At least level 20
              Finished all other daedric quests
              Started "Blood of the Daedra" quest in the main story
Offering:     None
Reward:       Oghma Infinium, special skill book

Mora's shrine is high in the Jerall mountains. If you've been to Sancre Tor 
(main story), you can Fast Travel there and find a gully leading north-
northeast straight to the shrine. If not, start from Bruma's North Gate, go 
around the west side of the town and find the road heading west. When it 
forks, take the right/northwest fork. You should run right past Applewatch 
(Dark Brotherhood quests) and Boreal Stone Cave ("A Brotherhood Betrayed"). 
When you pass over a wood bridge, the path splits again; take the left/north 
fork to reach the shrine.

Once you've completed all the other Daedric Lord quests and gotten at least as 
far as the "Blood of the Daedra" quest in the main story, you may receive an 
invitation to visit Mora. You do not have to wait for that invitation, you can 
head straight to the shrine. Activate the shrine to get Mora's quest.

He wants you to collect one soul from each of the ten sentient races (i.e. the 
player races). He gives you a special Soul Trap spell and soul gem. You can 
only collect one of each soul and you can only collect one soul at a time 
(i.e. you can only cast the spell on one NPC at a time). Cast the spell on an 
NPC (it's a ranged spell) and then kill that NPC before time (120 seconds) 
runs out. The soul will be stored in Mora's special soul gem.

*NOTE* If you do cast the spell on two NPCs at the same time, the quest will 
get "stuck" and you won't be able to trap any more souls. Avoid casting on 
another NPC until the first one is dead! (Even if it's a race you already 
captured.) PC users can download a fix for this bug from:

http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2863

You have several options:

1) Go on a killing spree through a city. Imperial City is a good choice, as 
you'll find plenty of representatives of every race within its walls. The 
downside is the difficulty (breaking into all those houses) and the risk 
(getting caught).

2) Kill the daedric shrine worshippers. They're all alone in the wilderness 
(and Mora doesn't care, even if you kill his own worshippers) and you can 
definitely find all ten races. Some caveats: don't kill the worshippers at the 
shrine of Molag Bal, one of them is the Master level Conjuration trainer. Even 
though the killings take place in the wilderness, you still end up with a 
bounty and the psychopathic--that is, psychic--guards will chase you the next 
time you enter a city.

3) Run down some bandits and marauders. There are numerous bandit camps spread 
around Cyrodiil. In addition, you can find bandits in the first level of 
Vilverin (Ayleid ruin outside the starting sewer exit); the Cursed Mine just 
west of Skingrad and Dzonot Cave, on the southwestern shore of Lake Rumare. 
Marauders can be run down in Fort Cedrian (on the Yellow Road where it crosses 
the Carbolo River) and Fort Strand (just east of Anvil). You might not 
encounter all ten races (Argonians are especially hard to find), but there's 
no bounty and you might find some other things as well (Fort Strand plays in 
"When the Vow Breaks" and Vilverin is a location for "The Collector").

When you have all ten souls trapped, return to Mora's shrine and Activate the 
statue. He gives you the Oghma Infinium, a special skill book. When you read 
it, you are asked if you want to read the...

* "Path of Steel": Strength +10, Speed +10, Blade +10, Blunt +10, Heavy Armor 
+10

* "Path of Shadow": Speed +10, Agility +10, Sneak +10, Security +10, Light 
Armor +10

* "Path of Spirit": Intelligence +10, Destruction +10, Conjuration +10, 
Restoration +10

*NOTE* The "Path of Spirit" is also supposed to set your Willpower +10, but 
it's bugged, so you just get the INT and skill boosts. PC users can download a 
mod to fix this from:

http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=4878



                                                                     [SQ05]
                      <~~~~~~ THE FORLORN WATCHMAN ~~~~~~>

The rumor mill in Bravil is rife with the story of a ghost who wanders the 
coast of Niben Bay. You're referred to Gilgondorin, proprietor of Silverhome-
on-the-Water. He tells you the ghost appears every evening at 8 at Bawnwatch 
camp and marks the camp on your map. It is on a point of land southeast of 
Bravil.

Travel there and wait until nightfall and watch the ghost appear. You can't 
elicit any information from him, so follow him as he begins his solitary 
journey down the shores of Niben Bay. On the cliffs above Fort Irony, the 
ghost stops, turns and speaks to you.

He identifies himself as one Grantham Blakeley and requests that you free him 
from the "mouth of the Panther". Your journal refers you back to Gilgondorin 
for more info on the "mouth of the Panther"; however, it's nothing more than 
the point where the Panther River empties into the Niben, which just happens 
to be directly east of where you are now, across the river.

Swim across and look for the ruined hulk of a ship among the rocks. You can 
enter the upper deck the ship through a hole in the side. Inside you'll meet 
your fair share of restless spirits. These aren't quite as amiable as 
Grantham.

On this upper deck you'll find a couple of spirits and a hatch up to the 
captain's cabin (good loot) and a hatch to the middle deck. You can also find 
a logbook that reveals the fate of the ship. Fight your way through the middle 
deck to the cargo hold, where you'll dispatch the ghost of the lead mutineer. 
From his remains, pick up a small key. This opens a door further back in the 
hold and inside is the skeleton of Blakeley.

The key will also unshackle the skeleton, which releases Blakeley's spirit to 
pursue more pleasant fields of travel. As parting advice, he says the room 
contains a map to his "gratitude". Look on the floor behind the post that was 
holding the skeleton. Pick up the map you find there, which will pinpoint a 
burial place further up the Panther River. Go upriver, following your 
objective marker to the loot, which is lodged between rocks underwater.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ06]
                    <~~~~~~ THE GHOST SHIP OF ANVIL ~~~~~~>

This is a "simple" step-n-fetch quest. Find the "Serpent's Wake", a ship 
docked at Anvil. It's the western-most of the two ships in port. On deck a 
distraught Varulae has a sad tale...The ship is hers and she sent it to pick 
up a crystal ball that belonged to her mother. When the ship returned, she 
found the sailors all murdered and roaming the decks as vengeful spirits.

Work your way through three levels of wraiths, with nasty spells and even 
nastier swords and retrieve the crystal ball. Return it to Varulae for your 
reward, including an enchanted cutlass.

The murders of the sailors will remain unsolved unless you play through the 
Dark Brotherhood quests. In "Following a Lead", you find a diary that 
implicates a Brotherhood traitor who lived beneath the Anvil lighthouse. In 
his diary he writes:

"I did it, mother! I killed them all! I killed them and I cursed them to 
wander their ship in undeath for all eternity! They came to talk to the old 
man in the lighthouse. When they saw me, they could have kept walking. But no. 
They laughed! They laughed at me, mother! They called me names! They said I 
was strange, that I was a human rat, living here in the cellar of the 
lighthouse. They did not know who they were dealing with! So I snuck on board, 
later that night, and I slit their throats. Every last one of them. So there 
the Serpent's Wake sits. The ghost ship of Anvil they'll call it now! Ha ha ha 
ha ha!"
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ07]
                            <~~~~~~ GO FISH ~~~~~~>

This relatively simple quest is picked up outside Imperial City. Heading west, 
out of town, past the stables, you'll run into a little hamlet called Weye. 
Here you will meet an old man named Aelwin Merowald. He asks for some help. 
Seems he has a deal with an alchemist to sell scales from Lake Rumare 
slaughterfish. The scales from these particular fish apparently have some rare 
alchemical properties.

Unfortunately for Aelwin, a slaughterfish recently got the better of his leg 
and he can't go after them any more. He wants you to procure 12 sets of scales 
so he can make one last sale and finally retire. Your quest marker now points 
to a location in Lake Rumare just north of Weye. You'll need water breathing 
potions/spells/equipment (or be an Argonian). Fishing in Oblivion does not 
involve a rod and reel.

Walk down into the lake toward your quest marker. Find the first fish, kill it 
and take its scales. Killing these fish may not be easy, depending on your 
level. They can be quite tough and you can't use targeted spells under water.

After a moment, your quest marker will update and point you to the next fish. 
Each fish only spawns once you've killed the previous fish, so you can't just 
walk around and run into them, you have to follow the quest marker.

Once you have 12 scales, return to Aelwin and hand them over. He'll give you a 
ring with Fortify Athletics and Water Breathing enchantments.

If you're of an evil disposition, you can raise Aelwin's Disposition to 70 and 
he'll tell you where he keeps all the money he's earned thus far from selling 
scales. You'll need the key he keeps on him to open the chest, so either pick 
his pocket or kill him; then, steal his retirement money. You stinker.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ40]
                         <~~~~~~ GOBLIN TROUBLE ~~~~~~>

Find the spot where the Yellow Road, running southeast from Imperial City, 
crosses the Carbolo River. Fort Cedrian is on the east side of the bridge; on 
the west side is Crestbridge Camp. In the camp, speak to Barthel Gernand to 
get the story. A small family (Gernand, his daughter and his son-in-law) were 
trying to start a farm at Cropsford.

Unfortunately, goblins interrupted them. Goblin war parties have overrun 
Cropsford. Now, before you run off to Cropsford (northwest of the camp), talk 
to Mirisa, a guide helping the Gernand family. She gives you the full scoop. A 
tribe of goblins living from Timberscar Hollow (Rock Biter goblins) stole the 
tribal totem from the goblins in Cracked Wood Cave (Bloody Hand goblins). 
Cropsford is right in the middle of these two caves, and the war parties 
traveling back-and-forth wreak havoc on their way.

Mirisa gives you two options for ending the trouble...

1) Kill the shaman in the Cracked Wood Cave. Without their leader, those 
goblins won't venture forth to retrieve their totem. You'll probably have to 
kill every other goblin in the cave as well, but them's the breaks.

2) Get the totem (a staff with a shrunken head on the end) from Timberscar 
Hollow; once the Rock Biters no longer have the totem, the Bloody Hand will 
leave them alone. You can pull this off without combat if your Sneak skill is 
high enough. There's also a bonus if you retrieve the staff...

Once either mission is complete, return to Crestbridge and speak to Mirisa (if 
you stole back the totem) and speak to Gernand. The family thanks you and 
heads off to Cropsford to begin re-settling the farm.

What? No reward? Well...no. Here's where retrieving the staff comes in handy. 
Take it back and drop it back in Timberscar Hollow, or another goblin tribe's 
headquarters. The Bloody Hand will once more take off in pursuit of their 
tribal totem. And the Cropsford settlers...well, that's what they get for 
leaving you high and dry, right?
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ35]
                    <~~~~~~ THE GRAVEFINDER'S REPOSE ~~~~~~>

You get this quest by talking to Malene, proprietor of the Roxey Inn on the 
north shore of Lake Rumare. She wants you to kill a necromancer named Raelynn, 
who operates out of Moss Rock Cavern. The cave is just up the hill, north of 
the Inn. It's a single level necromancer + undead hangout. When Raelynn is 
dead, return to Malene for a reward.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ08]
                      <~~~~~~ IMPERIAL CORRUPTION ~~~~~~>

There are two residents of Imperial City, Ruslan and Luronk gro-Glurzog, who 
will complain of being shaken down by a corrupt Imperial guard captain. They 
were rousted at Jensine's "Good as New" Merchandise in the Market district.

Visit Jensine and boost her Disposition over 70. She'll then tell you the name 
of the corrupt soldier: Audens Avidius. Your journal suggests you report 
Avidius to the authorities.

If you talk to a soldier, he'll refer you to Captain Hieronymus Lex. (If Lex 
has been taken out of the picture because you've been playing through the 
Thieves Guild quests, you'll get sent to Servatius Quintilius.) Use your quest 
marker to track the captain down. Either one will be dis-interested in your 
report and push you along to Itius Hayn.

Hayn wants to believe you, but he needs two witnesses. Your best bets are 
Ruslan and gro-Glurzog. You need a Disposition score of 70 with them to 
convince them to talk. (Jensine is a tougher nut to crack.) You can use your 
quest markers to find the two and send them along to Hayn. Wait for a day. 
Your journal should update that Avidius has been arrested and the quest moves 
to completed status.

But wait...

Ten days later (or when you hit 5th level, whichever comes later), Avidius 
escapes and comes looking for you. He'll find you, wherever you are, and 
attack. Unfortunately, he attacks with a dagger and wearing nothing but his 
prison clothes.

Idiot.

Once he's dead, the quest is truly complete.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ09]
                       <~~~~~~ THE KILLING FIELD ~~~~~~>
Visit the Grey Mare in Chorrol to meet Valus Odiil. His sons are on their way 
to clean out some "vermin" from the family farm and Valus wants you to go help 
them. Leave town by the south gate and go toward Weynon Priory to find the 
Odiil boys standing on the road. Talk to Rallus, the older son, his brother 
wants nothing to do with you.

Follow them down the road to their farm and stand with them in the vegetable 
garden. Kill off three waves of goblins, trying your best to keep the boys 
alive. Afterward, speak to Rallus and they will return to Chorrol. Help 
yourself to vegetables from the garden to use in potions. (It's not a crime to 
take the veggies.)

Return to the Grey Mare and talk to Valus and get Chillrend, an enchanted 
sword--but only if both boys survived the goblin raid.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ10]
                 <~~~~~~ KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE STALLION ~~~~~~>

After completing "Mazoga the Orc", Count Caro offers you and Mazoga positions 
as Knights of the White Stallion--if you first kill Black Brugo, leader of the 
Black Bow Bandits. (If Mazoga did not survive her earlier encounter at 
Fisherman's Rock, you can't perform this quest.)

Talk to Mazoga. She jumps at the chance and she also happens to know where 
Brugo has his headquarters and what kind of schedule he keeps. Make your way 
to Telepe, an Ayleid ruin northwest of Leyawiin. Make sure you arrive during 
the day.

There are two guards, one an annoying archer that fires from the top of the 
ruin. You can stand back and trade shots/spells with him, or, go around to the 
back of the ruin where a combination of a small ledge and some boulders on the 
ground allow you to jump up there with him. Step inside and go down the 
stairs. The room to the right has two more Black Bow bandits. Kill them and 
collect their bows (Count Caro will pay a bounty for them). Now skulk in the 
corner and Wait until after midnight.

Brugo shows up and wonders what happened to his guards. Educate him. He'll 
have two cronies with him, but concentrate on him before turning to deal with 
the regulars. Take his key, open the gate at the back of the ruin by pushing 
the button in the room to the left. Unlock Brugo's treasure chest and take his 
portion of the bandit's loot.

Return to Count Caro and sell off the bows you collected (you should have four 
or five). Caro makes both you and Mazoga Knights of the White Stallion and 
gives you keys to the White Stallion Lodge, which is north of the city on the 
west bank of the river. Tell Mazoga, who happily hurries off to settle in. 
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ11]
                          <~~~~~~ LEGACY LOST ~~~~~~>

This is a continuation of Separated at Birth. You must complete that quest 
before you can begin this quest. Talk to Guilbert Jemane in Chorrol after he 
has been reunited with his brother Reynald. He mentions he wants to find his 
family's old farm and see if it's still occupied by ogres.

It is.

Prepare yourself before venturing forth. Guilbert doesn't exactly know where 
the farm is; so, ask NPCs until one of them mentions Sabine Laul. Sabine hangs 
out at the Fighters Guild. Find her and she'll mark the location of the Jemane 
family farm, Weatherleah, on your map.

Go to the farm and clear out three ogres wandering the yard outside the house, 
then return to Guilbert and escort the brothers to their farm. Talk to 
Guilbert again to close out the quest. You can help the Jemane boys one more 
time, in the quest Sins of the Father.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ12]
                        <~~~~~~ LIFTING THE VALE ~~~~~~>

If your Fame score is at least 10, speak to Countess Narina Carvain in Castle 
Bruma. She collects Akaviri artifacts and has partially tracked down one 
called the Draconian Madstone. The artifact is supposedly at Pale Pass, an 
Akaviri headquarters during the wars against Reman during the First Era. The 
Countess will, in fact, relate nearly all the ancient history to you if you're 
willing to listen.

The upshot is, Carvain has an Akaviri courier's journal along with directions 
to Dragonclaw Rock. From the Rock, you can follow the directions west to a 
giant statue and then north to the entrance to Serpent's Trail. This is, 
basically, a tunnel inhabited by several ogres. Along the way you'll find the 
courier's skeleton. Take the orders from the body and proceed.

You exit Serpent's Trail into Pale Pass. The path is constantly blocked by 
ogres, so you're either in for a dozen or more rough fights or you need to 
sneak a lot. You'll finally reach the Fortress of Pale Pass, which is guarded 
by two more ogres. These you'll have to dispatch so they don't follow you into 
the ruins.

Inside you'll be in the "Mouth of the Serpent". Your goal is the "Venom of the 
Serpent" and here's the quickest route to your objective. Go down the stairs 
and watch out for the swinging log trap at the bottom. Just past the trap, 
turn left and follow the hallway around until it crosses over where you just 
were. You have to make a running jump across the gap to reach a door to the 
"Scales of the Serpent".

In Scales, follow the hall straight until you are forced to turn left; then, 
continue straight to a raised bridge. Use the nearby lever to lower the bridge 
and go across to the "Fangs of the Serpent". You are facing a group of 
columns, some of which have arrow traps. To safely go around the columns, hug 
the right-side wall until you reach another raised bridge.

   TRAPPED COLUMNS
 Fangs of the Serpent

       ___ A ___              A,B = Doors to "Eyes of the Serpent"
      |         |             C   = Door to "Scales of the Serpent"
      | O     OX|             O   = Column
     B          |             X   = Area covered by arrow trap
      | OXXXXXOX|             D   = Drawbridge
      |       X  D
      |XO     O |
     C  X     X |
      | O     O |
      |_________|

Turn the wheel to lower the bridge, go across and turn left to reach Venom. 
Inside is the spirit of the Akaviri commander, Mishaxhi. Talk to him. If you 
have the orders you picked up earlier, you can give them to him and he'll 
depart, taking his undead warriors with him. The way is now open to the 
Draconian Madstone.

You can also attempt to kill Mishaxhi, but that's going to be a difficult 
task. Either way, once you have the Madstone, take the door just to the right 
of the Madstone and you'll come back out in Scales, right above the bridge you 
lowered earlier. Go back out the way you came in. Once you're outdoors, you 
can Fast Travel back to Bruma and give the Madstone to Countess Carvain. She 
rewards you with the Ring of the Vipereye, which has Fortify Agility and 
Resist Magicka enchantments.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ13]
                         <~~~~~~ MAZOGA THE ORC ~~~~~~>

You can find Mazoga hanging around Castle Leyawiin, making a nuisance of 
herself. If you try to talk to her, she'll refuse since you aren't the count. 
Talk to the count instead about "Service to Leyawiin". He asks you to find out 
what Mazoga wants and deal with it.

When you talk to Mazoga again, you can now represent the count and Mazoga 
launches into her tale; or, at least, part of it. She wants to see a hunter 
named Weebam-Na. Mssr. Na has a house that is not far from the castle's 
entrance. You'll need to get his Disposition over 50 in order for him to agree 
to go see Mazoga with you.

Mazoga wants Weebam-Na to guide her to a camp at Fisherman's Rock, a ways up 
the Niben River. Weebam-Na refuses since Mazoga won't say why she needs to get 
to Fisherman's Rock. She then appeals to you, telling you a bit more of the 
story. Leave by the Northeast Gate and trek upriver along the east bank until 
you reach the camp at Fisherman's Rock, which is occupied by bandits.

Mazoga will jump ahead and carry on a conversation with the bandit leader. As 
soon as the two of them start in with the fighting, join in, keeping the 
minions off Mazoga's back. Return to Castle Leyawiin and report in to the 
Count. He is pleased by the adventure and offers both you and Mazoka positions 
as Knights of the White Stallion...If you first complete the quest by the same 
name.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ41]
                       <~~~~~~ NO STONE UNTURNED ~~~~~~>

Lithnilian has lost his notes and doesn't know where to find them. Well, 
actually, he does know where they are, he just can't get them. Lithnilian was 
researching welkynd stones found in a cave--not an Ayleid ruin--when he was 
attacked and ran, leaving his journal behind. He wants you to go get it for 
him. You'll find this absent-minded professor at the Imperial Bridge Inn, on 
the north bank of the Silverfish River (east of Bravil), just east of the 
Yellow Road.

The journal is in a creature lair known as Bramblepoint Cave. This cave is 
west-northwest of the Imperial Bridge Inn. It's a three-level dungeon full of 
both wild animals and mythic creatures. From your starting point, go north 
from the first room to reach Inner Bramblepoint Cave.

In this second level, go south from the second room and find a door in the 
"pit" of the room beyond. This leads to Deep Bramblepoint Cave. Go south from 
the entrance and continue south to reach the "boss" room. On the far (south) 
wall, you'll see the welkynd stone cluster the elf was studying. His notes are 
to the left (southwest corner) of the stones, inside a chest.

When you return the notes to Lithnilian, he gives you a few potions as a 
reward.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ36]
                    <~~~~~~ NOTHING YOU CAN POSSESS ~~~~~~>

This sequel to "The Collector" begins after Umbacano has three statues. He 
offers you "another task", to collect a carving from an ancient Ayleid site he 
knows only as the High Fane. He shows you a sketch, which may or may not mean 
anything to you.

The High Fane is now known as Malada. If you previously visited Malada or have 
read the book, "The Cleansing of the Fane", your character will immediately 
recognize Umbacano's sketch and you'll know where to go. If not, you'll find 
out quite quickly.

As you leave Umbacano's estate, you'll meet Claude Maric. If you already know 
about Malada, you can ignore him. Otherwise, charm his Disposition to 60 and 
Maric will tell you all about High Fane and Malada. Malada is just about as 
far east as you can go in Cyrodiil. Find the Silverfish River on your world 
map, and then Lake Canulus to the southeast. Due north of the 'k' in "Lake" is 
Malada.

Approaching from the west, you'll find a couple of "hunters" and a small 
campsite. These two don't have anything to say, but, on a hill south of 
Malada's entrance is a Khajiit, S'razirr. Question him and he'll offer you a 
deal: he'll help you out in whatever goes down later if you'll give him half 
your pay. (If your Speechcraft skill is 51 or higher, you can bargain him down 
to 25 percent.)

These three are Maric's hired guns and you'll have to fight them when you 
leave Malada with the carving. (Under no circumstances does Maric try to fight 
you.) You have a few options:

1) Do nothing about the mercs. When you leave Malada, hand the carving to 
Maric. You lose out on the reward.

2) Do nothing about the mercs. When you leave Malada, refuse (twice) to hand 
over the carving, and you'll have to kill the three mercs. (Maric doesn't 
fight.)

3) Kill all three mercs before entering Malada. (You'll find a note outlining 
the plan on the female warrior, Rigmor.) Maric will not show his face when you 
leave Malada.

4) Make the deal with S'razirr. When you leave Malada, refuse (twice) to hand 
over the carving. S'razirr will join you in fighting Rigmor and Brucetus 
Festinius. If the cat survives, you'll find him later at the Tiber Septim 
hotel and can pay him off. (Note that, if you make the deal with S'razirr and 
then attack the other two before entering Malada, S'razirr will join them and 
you'll have to kill him as well.)

Getting the carving from Malada is relatively simple. On the first level are 
mainly wild animals and a couple undead. When you reach the carving on the 
second level, removing it causes the wall in front of you to crumble and 
reveals three fairly high-level undead. If you Sneak run real fast back the 
way you came, you don't even have to fight them.

Return the carving to Umbacano, who rewards you based on your level (to a 
maximum of 2,500 gold). He also mentions yet "another task", which starts 
"Secrets of the Ayleids".
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ14]
                  <~~~~~~ ORDER OF THE VIRTUOUS BLOOD ~~~~~~>

While wandering around the Temple district of Imperial City, you'll be met by 
one Ralsa Norvalo. She asks that you meet her husband, Gilen, at the house of 
an elf named Seridur. Seridur lives in the Temple district.

Enter his house and Seridur takes you down to the basement and introduces you 
to the Order of the Virtuous blood. They're vampire hunters.

Oh, goody.

They've identified a vampire, one Roland Jenseric. Jenseric's house is across 
the garden from Seridur; break-and-enter to search the place. On the table 
near the door is a book, and there is a note on top of the book. Pick up the 
note to learn the location of a cabin hideaway used by Jenseric.

This cabin is east-northeast of Imperial City, along the road to Cheydinhal. 
When you enter, Jenseric wants to talk. He, of course, claims Seridur is the 
vampire and gives a little different story. Who's telling the truth? Well, 
Roland is, but you can kill him anyway and return to Seridur for a reward.

Or, you can believe Roland. He suggests asking about Seridur at First Edition 
Books in the Market district. Do so. Phintias, proprietor of First Edition, 
reports that Seridur likes to visit Memorial Cave to the southeast.

When you enter the cave, your journal updates that you've found a vampire 
lair. Uh huh. Remember, fire is your friend when fighting vampires and make 
sure you visit a chapel after you finish to rid yourself of porphyric 
hemophilia. You've got a bunch of animals, some undead and several vampires--
including Seridur--to dispatch.

Return to Roland at his cabin and inform him of the good news. Meet him back 
in Imperial City at Seridur's house. The Order of the Virtuous Blood is going 
to carry on the good work of hunting vampires. From now on, they'll pay you 
250 gold for any vampire dust you bring them, starting with what you picked up 
at Memorial Cave.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ15]
                   <~~~~~~ ORIGIN OF THE GRAY PRINCE ~~~~~~>

The Gray Prince is Agronak gro-Malog, Grand Champion of the Arena, and he 
spends his time down in the Bloodworks, working out. Talk to him and he 
professes he's the half-son of a Lord Lovidicus. He gives you a key, given him 
by his mother, and asks that you find out what it unlocks in Crowhaven, the 
place of his birth.

Crowhaven is at the extreme west end of Cyrodiil, northwest of Anvil. It's 
essentially a one-level dungeon (a second level has a trifling amount of loot 
and some undead encounters). You'll find it filled with wild animals, mostly 
wolves, until you come to a locked door. gro-Malog's key opens the door and 
you've found the quarters of Lovidicus himself.

Lovidicus will attack you on sight, and you'll have to kill him. Find his 
journal to learn the truth; then, return it to gro-Malog. He gives you an 
initial reward, which is training that boosts your Blade, Block and Athletics 
skills by 3 pints. Then, he reads the journal and he's distraught at what he 
learns. If you play through the Arena, gro-Malog will beg you to challenge 
him; then, surrender to your sword during the match.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ16]
                            <~~~~~~ PARANOIA ~~~~~~>

Not long after you've entered Skingrad the first time, you'll be approached by 
a nervous elf named Glarthir. He wants you to meet him behind the Chapel of 
Julianos at midnight. You can go any day--Glarthir dutifully shows up at 
midnight every night until you meet him. When you do meet him, he tells you 
there are people out to get him and he wants you to spy on them.

If you turn Glarthir down, he goes crazy, runs back to his house, gets a 
battleaxe and goes on a killing spree. His targets are the three people he 
wants you to spy on: Bernadette Peneles, Toutius Sextius and Davide Surilie 
(whose wine you've seen all over Cyrodiil). You can do a few things here: wait 
until he attacks his first victim, then step in and kill him (if you kill him 
before he attacks it is considered murder); run along behind him and watch 
until the city guard finally catches up to him and kills him; or, help him out 
(you'll have to pretty much depopulate Skingrad if you go this route).

The other option is to humor Glarthir. He'll ask you to spy on Bernadette 
Peneles, then report back at midnight the next night. You don't have to 
actually do anything, just Wait until midnight and report in. The same is true 
of Toutius Sextius and Davide Surilie.

If you tell Glarthir none of the targets is interested in him, which they 
aren't, he believes you're in on the plot and tries to kill you...with his 
fists, and not wearing any armor. Well, that won't end pleasantly--for him, 
anyway. You can loot his corpse and get the key to his house, which you can 
then loot for whatever you can find.

If you lie and report even one target as a spy, Glarthir offers a reward of 
1,000 gold if you kill any conspirators. You can make the hit and collect the 
reward; you can turn the note over to the constabulary, who will chase after 
Glarthir and give him the pointed end of justice; or, you can show the note to 
Davide Surilie, who, along with his brothers, will deal with the matter 
personally.

So, basically, anything you do ends with Glarthir dead. Simply Waiting one day 
at a time and reporting the truth is, thus, the quickest way to end this 
quest.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ42]
                      <~~~~~~ THE POTATO SNATCHER ~~~~~~>

Faregyl is an Inn along the Green Road between Imperial City and Bravil. It's 
just northwest of the Inn of Ill Omen, part of the Dark Brotherhood's 
initiation quest (and east of Nenyond Twyll, from the Mages Guild quests). 
Inside is S'jirra, a baker of famous potato bread. She's lost six jumbo 
potatoes and thinks the thief took off to the west.

Indeed. Follow your quest marker to an ogre with an addiction to spuds and 
take the potatoes (undigested) off his body. Return them to S'jirra, who 
rewards you with her potato bread (an alchemy ingredient with Damage Agility, 
Damage Strength, Detect Life and Restore Health effects).
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ34]
                        <~~~~~~ RAID ON GREYLAND ~~~~~~>

Outside the West Gate of Leyawiin stands a guard, Lerexus Callidus. Talk to 
him to open this quest. Basically, he's trying to shut down a skooma (drug) 
gang that operates out of the little homestead of Greyland. He can't get close 
to the house without the gang going into hiding, but figures you might be able 
to walk right in and "deal with" (i.e. kill) them.

You can. Greyland is just south along the main road. Enter the house and kill 
gang leader Kylius Lonavo and his buddy. Take Lonavo's ring to Callidus for 
your reward.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ17]
                      <~~~~~~ REPAIRING THE ORRERY ~~~~~~>

This quest is added as soon as you load a game after having installed the 
official mod Orrery DLC2; or, installing the Knights of the Nine mini-
expansion pack. (See the Mods section for information on obtaining the mod.) 
After installing the mod, the next time you load a game (or leave the tutorial 
sewers), you get a note from Bothiel, resident astronomer at Arcane 
University.

It seems she is attempting to repair the Imperial Orrery, an astronomical 
device, but parts she was having delivered were stolen. Evidence points to 
Camp Ales as a possible base for the bandits who stole the parts. Camp Ales is 
due north of Kvatch. Travel there and kill the lone bandit inhabiting the 
place. From his body, get an undelivered message and the first Dwarven part.

The message points you to four other camps: Dagny's Camp, Brotch Camp, Bodean 
Camp and Varus Camp. These camps are arranged in a rectangular pattern around 
Ales. Travel to each one and kill the bandit or bandits you find there. From 
one of the bodies in each camp, retrieve a Dwarven part for the Orrery. At the 
last camp you visit, you'll face the bandit leader and two minions, so prep 
for a major battle before entering the camp.

After all five Dwarven parts are in your pockets, Fast Travel to Arcane 
University. If you have not completed the Mages Guild Recommendations quests, 
Bothiel will be waiting for you, during normal hours, in the Arch Mages Lobby. 
(The only place open to the general public.) If you are a member of the Mages 
Guild with access to Arcane University, you may find Bothiel elsewhere. Just 
use your objective marker to track her down.

After delivering the parts, Wait until the next day and visit Bothiel again. 
She'll give you a key to the Orrery, which is accessible from a door in the 
Arch Mages Lobby. Go up to the Orrery and Activate it.

Once activated, the Orrery will permanently grant you a greater power 
depending on the phase of the moon. Just Activate the Orrery any time you want 
to gain a power. These powers are just like racial powers: use them once per 
24 hours; each has a duration of 60 seconds.

To figure out which power you will get, look up the number of days that have 
passed since you started the game (available on the Accomplishments tab of 
your Stats menu). If the number of days passed is greater than 23, divide by 
24 and look at the remainder (modulus).

* Days 0, 1 & 2 - Masser's Might: Strength +20, Speed -20
* Days 3, 4 & 5 - Masser's Grace: Agility +20, Endurance -20
* Days 6, 7 & 8 - Secunda's Will: Willpower +20, Intelligence -20
* Days 9, 10 & 11 - Secunda's Opportunity: Luck +20, Personality -20
* Days 12, 13 & 14 - Masser's Alacrity: Speed +20, Strength -20
* Days 15, 16 & 17 - Secunda's Magnetism: Personality +20, Luck -20
* Days 18, 19 & 20 - Secunda's Brilliance: Intelligence +20, Willpower -20
* Days 21, 22 & 23 - Masser's Courage: Endurance +20, Agility -20

Example 1: 83 days have passed since you started the game. 83/24 = 3 remainder 
11. The power granted on day 11 is Secunda's Opportunity. Example 2: 120 days 
have passed since you started the game. 120/24 = 5 remainder 0. The power 
granted on day 0 is Masser's Might.

You can only have one power at a time. Each time you use the Orrery, whatever 
Orrery-granted power you currently have will be replaced by the new Orrery 
power.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ43]
                      <~~~~~~ REVENGE SERVED COLD ~~~~~~>

This is a goblin-genocide quest given by a bereaved husband. Corrick Northwode 
lives on a small farm called Harm's Folly. This single-dwelling farmstead is 
north of the Blue Road, halfway between Imperial City and Cheydinhal. It's 
right on top of the 'n' in "Heartlands" on your world map.

During the day, you'll find Northwode kneeling in front of his wife's grave to 
the side of the house. Speak to him and he'll ask you to wipe out the goblins 
that killed his wife; and, he wants you to bring back her jade amulet so he 
has something to remember her by.

The goblins are holed up in the Exhausted Mine, just a little to the 
southwest. This is the three-level, very linear dungeon filled with goblins. 
The jade amulet is on the body of the "Netherboss" (after you kill him, of 
course) in the last room of the third level. There's no shortcut back out, so 
you'll have to retrace your steps.

Return to Northwode, who gives you a handful of gems as a reward.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ37]
                     <~~~~~~ SECRETS OF THE AYLEIDS ~~~~~~>

Once you've obtained the carving in "Nothing You Can Possess", Umbacano asks 
you to do something else for him. He wants the crown of the last Ayleid king; 
but, you can't just go dungeon-crawling for this one. The crown is owned by 
another collector, Herminia Cinnia. Umbacano gives you 1,000 gold to get the 
crown and tells you to keep whatever you don't spend on the crown.

First, don't take this quest until you've finished "The Collector". Umbacano 
ends up dead, so he won't be able to pay you for any more statues, or the 
5,000 gold bonus for all ten if you finish this quest before finishing the 
first quest. Second, Cinnia is not going to sell you the crown. Whether or not 
you even bother to talk to her depends on how much work you want to do.

| Option #1
+-----------
Steal the crown from Cinnia. She lives in the Elven Gardens district, near the 
southeast corner. Her door faces the east wall of the district. Cinnia wanders 
the town most days, but you're still better off breaking in during the middle 
of the night, when she's asleep. You'll have to pick the lock on her front 
door, the lock on her bedroom door and the lock on the Ayleid cask in the 
corner. Take the crown to Umbacano, who now asks that you accompany him 
through Nenalata, the city of the last Ayleid king. He'll meet you there in 
three days.

| Option #2
+-----------
Use your quest marker to track down Herminia Cinnia, who wanders around town 
most of the time. Talk to her about the crown and she'll tell you Umbacano 
isn't just a collector, but a man obsessed with returning the Ayleid 
civilization to power. She suspects the Crown of Nenalata that she has will 
make Umbacano too dangerous.

She suggests an alternative--take Umbacano a fake crown. She gives you the key 
to another ruin, Lindai, and tells you to get that crown. Lindai is due east 
of Castle Chorrol, in the Great Forest. There is a rather large number of 
undead spread over two levels. You are confronted immediately with two sets of 
swinging blade traps, and it's only going to get worse. Watch your step.

The second large room has a pit trap in the center, and the third has three--
yes, three--ceiling crusher traps laid out in a row. If you walk to the far 
(northwest) edge of the middle crusher trap and step onto it, you'll be pushed 
into the cavity in the ceiling, but there are no spikes, so you won't be hurt. 
What you will see is a pushbutton. Activate it to open the side rooms below 
and collect a boss chest for your trouble.

Beyond the crusher traps is the door to the Inner Tombs. Nothing remarkable 
here except a boss undead guarding the cask containing the crown of Lindai. 
Exit the boss' room to the southeast for a shortcut back to the beginning of 
the dungeon. Careful going through the door, there will be an undead right on 
top of you as you come out of the Tombs. Return the crown to Umbacano, who 
seems doubtful, but accepts it as the real deal. He asks you to meet him at 
Nenalata in three days.

| Nenalata
+----------
You don't have to wait a full three days. Umbacano shows up at Nenalata on the 
morning of the third day, counting the day you turned over the crown. E.g. if 
you gave him the crown in the evening of Saturday (Loredas), he'll be at 
Nenalata by Monday morning (Morndas). Claude Maric shows up the day before, 
saying Umbacano wants the both of you to escort him through the ruins.

Nenalata is full of undead, often in pairs. If you are high level, you'll get 
summoning undead (skeleton champions and liches), which means the possibility 
of four-on-one battles. You may appreciate having Maric and Umbacano help you. 
On the other hand, if Umbacano dies, the mission is over. While he does have 
healing magic, you might want to tell him to Wait Here and clean out the 
dungeon on your own--especially if you rely on Stealth and ranged kills.

Nenalata is very linear and there are no traps. Just lots and lots of leveled 
undead. When you reach the third level, Sel Aran Arpena, you'll find a slot 
that fits the carving you obtained in "Nothing You Can Possess". Umbacano 
places the carving, incants and a door to the throne room opens.

(If you're using a Detect Life spell, you may be alarmed at the life forms 
showing around the throne room. Get ready...)

Umbacano sits on the throne, puts on the crown and incants. If you gave him 
the Lindai crown, the dark welkynd stones around the room kill him. If you 
gave him the Nenalata crown, he transforms into the King of Nenalata, a lich. 
If you gave him the correct crown, step up close while he's transforming and 
whack him hard and fast. He should go down easily.

Now, regardless of which crown he used, wait for the doors to the side rooms 
(one each north, east and south) to open, then run to the north side room as 
fast as you can. Run up the stairs in the north wall.

You have two choices: run like crazy--at the top of the stairs is a shortcut 
back to the beginning of Nenalata and sweet safety. Or, turn and use the 
stairwell to channel the undead to you one at a time. If you stay down in the 
throne room, you and Maric (if he survived) will be mobbed by six undead. (If 
you're high level, they'll all be summoners and it will be twelve undead. 
Think about that before you decide to stand and fight in the throne room.)

The quest ended when Umbacano died. Your reward was whatever you Magickaged to 
pull out of the dungeon. If you kill all the undead in the throne room, you 
can loot Umbacano's corpse for a lot of very nice items. You'll also get the 
keys to his manor, which means you can Sneak in and steal back all the statues 
you previously collected for him, as well as whatever other filthy lucre you 
can find.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ44]
                       <~~~~~~ SEEKING YOUR ROOTS ~~~~~~>

You kick this quest off the first time you find a nirnroot plant. Nirnroot is 
a rare alchemical ingredient, and, unlike other flora in Cyrodiil, it does not 
grow back after you pick it. (Also, there's a 100% chance of success 
harvesting it, which is also different from other plants.) Your journal 
suggests you see an alchemist about the plant. Any alchemist you talk to is 
going to kick you over to Sinderion in Skingrad, so just go to him first.

Sinderion lives and works in the basement of the West Weald Inn. You'll find 
the Inn near the West Gate of Skingrad. Sinderion is excited about the plant 
and tells you all about a rare Elixir of Exploration he can make using the 
plants. He needs 10 for the first level of the Elixir. There are four Elixirs 
in all:

* Weak (requires 10 nirnroots): Fortify Health 20, Night Eye, 300 sec duration

* Moderate (requires 20 nirnroots): Fortify Health & Fatigue 20, Night Eye, 
300 sec duration

* Strong (requires 30 nirnroots): Fortify Health & Fatigue 20, Night Eye, 
Fortify Blade, Blunt, Destruction, Restoration, Sneak & Security 5, 300 sec 
duration

* Grand (requires 40 nirnroots): Fortify Health & Fatigue 20, Night Eye, 
Fortify Blade, Blunt, Destruction, Restoration, Sneak & Security 10, 300 sec 
duration

Each level of the potion requires the full number of nirnroot plants, so, to 
get the Grand potion, you'll have to collect a total of 100 nirnroots (10 + 20 
+ 30 + 40). And, they aren't that easy to find. Sinderion points you to 
Shadeleaf Copse, just north of Skingrad. You can, indeed, find three nirnroot 
plants around the pond in the copse. As for the rest...

Nirnroot is most commonly found near water, and is usually growing among 
rocks. However, there's a lot of water in Cyrodiil--and most of the shore is 
lined with rocks. You can also find nirnroot in some flooded dungeons and even 
in some houses. Here's a partial list (if you find others, feel free to 
contribute their locations):

* Just beyond your sewer exit at the start of the game

* In the Mages Guild well that's part of the Cheydinhal Recommendation quest

* Near the entrance to Wellspring Cave, east of Imperial City, on the opposite 
shore of Lake Rumare

* In the Border Watch Inn (you visit Border Watch for Sheogorath's quest)

* On the southwestern shore of Lake Rumare, just south of Fort Virtue

* In Anvil, near the statue next to the main gate

* Dairihill's bedroom; Dairihill is the steward in Castle Anvil, you'll invade 
her office during the Thieves Guild quest "Taking Care of Lex", her bedroom is 
behind her office

* Next to the entrance to Redwater Slough, on the Panther River's easternmost 
north branch

* Near the entrance to Tidewater Cave, at the southern end of Cyrodiil (beyond 
Leyawiin)

* In the moat in the Arboretum of Imperial City

* Arch-Mage's quarters in Arcane University

* At the eastern end of the Old Bridge along the southern shore of Lake Rumare

* Near Culotte, an Ayleid ruin on the east shore of the Upper Niben

* On the top floor of Silverhome-on-the-Water in Bravil

* On the second floor of the Bravil Fighters Guild

* In the Wizard's Grotto that is part of the Thieves Guild quest "Arrow of 
Extrication"

* In Baenlin's bedroom in his house in Bruma (part of the Dark Brotherhood 
"Accidents Happen" quest)

* At the mouth of the Panther River, near the wrecked ship

* Inside Fort Cedrian along the Carbolo River

* In Cheydinhal, on the island in the river that cuts through town

* In the Gilded Carafe, Imperial City, Market District

* In the captain's cabin of the Marie Elena, the northernmost ship docked at 
Imperial City's Waterfront, part of the Dark Brotherhood quest "A Watery 
Grave"

* Near the entrance to Welke, an Ayleid Ruin on the Panther River's 
southernmost branch, two more are across the Panther from Welke

* Near the entrance to Fort Irony, on the west shore of Niben Bay south of 
Bravil

* On the shore of Imperial City's Waterfront, just beyond the north section of 
the docks, near the ship Marie Elena

* In the Smuggler's Cave under Castle Anvil

* In the Hunter's Run, the dungeon under Fort Grief, part of "Caught in the 
Hunt"

* In Lord Rugdumph's Estate, part of the Fighters Guild quest "The Noble's 
Daughter"

* Along the coast near the Anvil lighthouse.

* Along the western side of the small island just off the coast west of Anvil.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ18]
                       <~~~~~~ SEPARATED AT BIRTH ~~~~~~>

Talk to NPCs around Chorrol and find out they've seen the local drunk, Reynald 
Jemane, in Cheydinhal--sober no less. When confronted in Cheydinhal, he claims 
he doesn't know his buddies from Chorrol. Track down Reynald, who will give 
you 50 gold to go to Cheydinhal and find out who's impersonating him.

Travel to Cheydinhal and ask around about Reynald Jemane. The people in this 
town don't know a Reynald, but they do know a Guilbert Jemane. Find him and 
you'll learn some history of these two brothers. Guilbert will go to Chorrol; 
return there after a couple of days, once the brothers have had a chance at a 
reunion. Track down Guilbert in Chorrol and talk to him to finish this quest, 
and start the next in the series...Legacy Lost.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ19]
                      <~~~~~~ SHADOW OVER HACKDIRT ~~~~~~>

Whilst wandering about Chorrol, you may meet an Argonian named Dar-Ma. Be 
polite to her and you get instant 20-point Disposition increases with both 
Dar-Ma and her mother, who runs Northern Goods and Trade. At least three days 
later, provided you've left Chorrol for another city and then returned, you'll 
be able to talk to Seed-Neeus, the mother, and find out Dar-Ma is missing.

(If you failed to talk to Dar-Ma earlier, or were impolite to her, then you'll 
have to pick up the rumors of Dar-Ma going missing and then confront her 
mother with this information.)

Seed-Neeus explains Dar-Ma went to make a delivery to Hackdirt, a little 
village to the south. She's overdue for her return. Head out the south gate of 
Chorrol and make your way to Hackdirt. This nasty little town is filled with 
even nastier people.

You can poke around town, talking to people identified by Seed-Neeus. You can 
find Dar-Ma's horse, Blossom. You can even find Dar-Ma's diary in a room in 
the Moslin Inn. But, in the end, none of this leads anywhere, except the 
conclusion something is badly wrong in Hackdirt.

The lone help you get is from Jiv Hiriel. Find him and speak to him. He says 
to come meet him at his house between 6pm and midnight. Show up on schedule 
and he'll fill you in on the whole story. There are still things left unsaid. 
Who are the Deep Ones? What are the Brethren changing into?

--
As many people have pointed out, this quest is a take-off of a novella by H. 
P. Lovecraft, "Shadow Over Innsmouth". In Innsmouth, the people worship a fish 
god, Dagon, and are turning into fish people. You can read more about "Shadow 
Over Innsmouth" here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_Over_Innsmouth
--

In any case, Hiriel gives you a key to the Hackdirt caverns and tells you to 
wait until the middle of the night and use the trapdoor in Moslin's Inn. 
Excellent advice. Wait until 2 or 3 in the morning, then enter the Inn and 
find the trapdoor.

Drop down into the caverns and, right around the corner, is the cell with Dar-
Ma. Release her using your trapdoor key and head back to the surface. Find 
Blossom behind the Dry Goods store and Dar-Ma will mount up. You can then lead 
her back to Chorrol. Once you've reunited mother and daughter, Seed-Neeus 
gives you a +5 increase to your Mercantile skill.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ20]
                       <~~~~~~ SINS OF THE FATHER ~~~~~~>

This is, essentially, the third and final part of the Jemane brothers' quests 
(begun in Separated at Birth and continued in Legacy Lost). The quest begins a 
few days after you've dropped the Jemane boys at Weatherleah. The next time 
you're in Chorrol and out and about at night, you'll be approached by one 
Fathis Ules, a Thieves Guild fence.

Seems the Jemane's father wasn't a noble and honorable man, but a thief who 
decided to keep his last score rather than fence it to Fathis. Fathis knows 
the item was stored at Weatherleah and suspects the ogres took it back to 
their home cave after sacking the place.

They did.

Fathis points out Redguard Valley Cave on your map; it is due south of 
Chorrol. Travel to the cave and take care of the goblins guarding the door. 
Inside, the cave is infested with ogres. You have to find the ogre chieftain 
and kill him to retrieve the Honorblade of Chorrol. You get a journal entry 
that suggests you might want to see someone in the castle about this.

You can sell it to Fathis Ules, for a rather large amount of gold. You can 
keep it for yourself (though this leaves the quest as incomplete). Preferably, 
you will head for Castle Chorrol and see the steward, Laythe Wavrick. He 
identifies the sword, takes it from you, and gives you the Escutheon of 
Chorrol shield (Fortify Endurance and Reflect Damage) in return.

If you handed the sword over to Wavrick, head out to Weatherleah and visit the 
Jemane boys. Talking to Guilbert nets you an additional reward as well as his 
thanks.

GLITCH WARNING: If you complete this quest in any way other than selling the 
sword to Fathis Ules; then, Fathis won't talk to you--even if you join the 
Thieves Guild and want to fence items with him. You can get around this by 
wearing the Gray Cowl to talk to him; or, PC users can download a fan-made fix 
for this problem:

http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2106
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ21]
                     <~~~~~~ THE SIREN'S DECEPTION ~~~~~~>

Rumors in Anvil mention a gang of women preying on married men. When you 
pursue the topic, you are pointed to Maelona. You may also run into Maelona 
before hearing the rumors. Either way, talk to Maelona about her husband, 
Gogan's, involvement with these women. Seems they took a family heirloom and 
Maelona wants you to get it back. She points you to The Flowing Bowl as the 
base of operations for the gang.

The Flowing Bowl is a tavern in the docks area outside the southwest gate in 
Anvil. Enter and wait a bit. You'll be approached by either Faustina Cartia or 
Signy Home-Wrecker. If you're male, you'll be tempted with delights beyond 
your wildest dreams. If you're female, you'll be offered a position with the 
gang.

Either way, you're invited to the Gweden farmhouse at 11:00 that evening. 
Travel to the farmhouse, southeast of Anvil and now marked on your map, and 
enter during the 11pm hour. You'll talk to Faustina. Regardless of your gender 
and the original reason for the invitation, the talk ends in violence.

You'll have to fight Faustina, Signy and a third member of the gang, Tsarinna. 
This part is difficult because you're confined to the small farmhouse and have 
three foes to deal with. Anything you can do to immobilize one or two while 
you work on the others is a good thing.

When all three are dead, Maelona and her "husband" Gogan enter the farmhouse, 
in their normal work clothes: uniforms of the Anvil city guard. They've been 
working undercover trying to stop the gang and decided to use you as bait.

Nice, ain't it? Loot the bodies for a key to the basement and go check it out. 
It's filled with the swag collected by the gang in earlier conquests, so help 
yourself.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ45]
                         <~~~~~~ THE SUNKEN ONE ~~~~~~>

Just northeast of Kvatch you'll find an abandoned homestead named Shetcombe 
Farm. When you enter the house, you get a journal entry saying you should 
search for clues to the whereabouts of the occupant. On the table, inside a 
bowl, is a page torn from a journal. This identifies the owner as Slythe 
Seringi, and he has gone to Sandstone Cavern to make a sacrifice to "The 
Sunken One".

You'll find Sandstone Cavern northeast of the farm; it's a two-level creature 
dungeon. From the first room, take the south exit and continue until you reach 
a room divided by a chasm. After killing the beasties upstairs, drop down into 
the chasm and look for a treasure chest along the west wall. On top of the 
chest is a second page from Seringi's journal. Pick up the page in order to 
advance the quest.

Go south through the chasm to enter Sandstone Big Caverns. Go straight through 
the first room (down into and then back out of the pit) to enter another chasm 
where you find Seringi's body. Activating his corpse not only lets you find 
the last page of his journal, it also triggers the Sunken One--a storm 
atronach--who spawns in right behind you.

When you retrace your steps, going through the first chasm with the treasure 
chest takes you to an alternate route out of the dungeon. Your reward is 
whatever you collected in Sandstone Cavern.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ32]
                      <~~~~~~ TEARS OF THE SAVIOR ~~~~~~>

Talk to S'drassa, the hooded Khajiit at the Leyawiin Mages Guild. He collects 
crystals. He's looking for a specific crystal known as Garridan's Tear. He 
wants you to track some down for him. He suggests you visit Julienne Fanis at 
Arcane University for a lead.

Fanis will be found in the Arch-Mage's Lobby, the publicly accessible part of 
the university. Fanis can give you the full legend; or, you can shortcut 
directly to the useful information which is to read a book called 
"Knightfall". First Edition in the Market district should have a copy. Buy the 
book from Phintias and Frostfire Glade will be marked on your map.

You need two things before you start out: refined frost salts and some type of 
protection from frost damage. You can buy the refined frost salts from Fanis 
over at Arcane University. S'drassa will give you five potions of frost 
immunity. You are now ready to go to Frostfire Glade.

The glade is southeast of Bruma, almost halfway to Cheydinhal. You first go 
through a cave with a few daedra; then, enter the glade. In the center of this 
area is the hero, Garridan, frozen in battle with a frost atronach. There's 
also a non-frozen frost atronach waiting for you. In a circle around the ice 
sculpture is the area where you need frost resistance; else you'll take 
serious damage.

There are five tears, which are elongated blue crystals that can be difficult 
to find lying on the ground. Here's a map showing the crystals' locations:

http://www.papagamer.com/files/frostfire_glade.png

Note that one crystal is actually up on top of the rocks supporting the ice 
sculpture and, just below that, another is hidden on the ground among some 
rocks. One tip: try to draw the frost atronach out of the center area and kill 
it outside the frost circle. If you kill it inside, it may fall on one of the 
crystals, and then good luck finding it. Return all five crystals to S'drassa 
for your reward.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ22]
                  <~~~~~~ THROUGH A NIGHTMARE, DARKLY ~~~~~~>

While not part of the Mages Guild quests, you can get this task once you've 
finished the Bravil Recommendation for the Mages Guild. After completing that 
quest for Kud-Ei, speak to her again. She'll ask that you help her friend, 
Henantier. You can also get this quest by speaking to various NPCs around 
Bravil until one of the rumors concerns the missing Henantier.

Speak to Kud-Ei about Henantier and she'll explain he is trapped, but she 
knows where he is. Agree to follow her to Henantier's house, where you find 
the unfortunate fellow trapped in his own dreams. Kud-Ei gives you Henantier's 
Dream Amulet. Equip it; then, rest in the bed next to Henantier.

You find yourself next to Henantier in a dream-version of his house. There are 
four portals: Tests of Patience and Perception upstairs, Tests of Courage and 
Resolve downstairs. You have no equipment and cannot cast spells. You must use 
what you find in each portal to retrieve an element of Henantier's personality 
and restore him to himself.

*NOTE* At any time during these tests, if you are low on health, you can use 
the Wait function to wait an hour and fully restore your health and Magicka.


| Patience
+----------
At the beginning you can retrieve a mysterious scroll from the chest. This is 
a map across three arrow traps ahead. Make your way safely across the traps, 
either following the map the game gives you, or these more easily decipherable 
maps:

*HINT* Use third person view and walk (don't run) to make sure you walk across 
the correct squares. This is the test of Patience, after all. In these maps, 
'S' marks the safe squares.

   TRAP 1               TRAP 2                     TRAP 3
 S  X  X  X        X  X  X  X  S  X        S  X  X  X  X  X  X  X
 |                             |           |
 S  X  X  X        X  X  S--S--S  X        S  X  X  X  S--S--S--S
 |                       |                 |           |        |
 S--S  X  X        X  S--S  X  X  X        S--S--S--S--S  X  X  S
    |                 |                                         |
 X  S  X  X        X  S  X  X  X  X        X  X  X        X  S--S
                      |                                      |
                   X  S--S--S  X  X        X  X  X        X  S  X
                            |                                |
                   X  X  X  S  X  X        X  X  S--S--S--S--S  X
                                                 |
                                           X  X  S  X  X  X  X  X
                                                 |
                                           X  X  S  X  X  X  X  X

Once past the third trap you can pick up the Element of Patience, which 
returns you to Henantier's dream room.


| Perception
+------------
Pick up a torch from the chest at the beginning of this stage and carefully 
pick your way around pressure plates. The first pressure plate sets off a 
falling rock trap. Beyond are swinging blades. You can't stop them, but you 
can dodge them easily enough. 

Past those are poisonous gas traps--stay away from them--then avoid the 
pressure plate that sets off another falling rock trap. Next is a broad avenue 
with blades overhead. You can try running through, or carefully walk in 
between each set and wait for them to rise again.

Beyond is a hill of blocks with several pressure plates. Avoid them or suffer 
frost damage (Nords may choose to just run through...) Now you can get the 
Element of Perception and return to the main room.


| Courage
+---------
The first door you come to downstairs leads to the Test of Courage. Inside the 
chest is a Weak Potion of the Sea (water breathing for 30 seconds). Drink the 
potion and dive in. Navigate carefully--you'll have to occasionally turn the 
camera to twist your way through the tunnels. Halfway through is another chest 
with another potion--just in time to ingest to make it the rest of the way 
through. When you surface, the Element of Courage is there for the taking.


| Resolve
+---------
You get to fight two minotaurs. Yay! Suit up with items from the chest at the 
beginning of the test and take on the minotaurs in whatever fashion suits you. 
You may be able to just dispose of them using the Staff of Lightning, 
regardless of your class. Once the minotaurs are dead, stairs rise from the 
ground leading up to the Element of Resolve.


After collecting all four elements, speak to dream-Henantier about Dreamworld 
and you will both wake up in the real world. Henantier gives you several 
scrolls as a reward. You don't keep anything you picked up in the dream world.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ23]
                     <~~~~~~ TWO SIDES OF THE COIN ~~~~~~>

Follow rumors in Bruma pointing to a spat over money between Arnora and 
Jorundr. Find Arnora, she's usually at her house behind the chapel, and get 
her Disposition above 60. She then tells you she started the "spat" rumor to 
lure an adventurer in for a little scheme.

If you're up for a bit of skullduggery, agree to help her out and she'll lay 
out the whole tale. She and Jorundr were petty thieves who finally decided to 
strike the big time by stealing money from an Imperial tax convoy. During the 
fracas, Jorundr killed a soldier. They escaped and hid; but, while Arnora was 
out collecting supplies, the Bruma guard showed up and arrested Jorundr.

Unfortunately for Arnora, Jorundr had moved the stash while she was gone and 
she can't get him to tell her where it is. She promises half the loot if you 
will go speak to Jorundr and find out where the cache is hidden. Go to Castle 
Bruma, and hang a right through the guard's room and down the stairs to the 
prison. Ask the guard to speak to a prisoner and he takes you in to the main 
cell room.

Find Jorundr (he's the only prisoner in the place) and talk to him. He refuses 
to speak to you. He doesn't trust anyone who's "on the outside", so to speak. 
Simple enough, all you have to do is get yourself arrested. You can do 
anything; the guard who let you in is helpfully standing at your shoulder 
shouting orders. Punch him, or pick the lock on a cell door or rifle through a 
chest. Whatever suits your fancy.

Choose to go to jail and you'll be thrown in the cell with Jorundr. Talk to 
him again. Now he gives you his side of the story. (The other side of the 
coin, get it?) Arnora was the one who killed the soldier and Jorundr believes 
she set him up by turning him into the Bruma constabulary. But, he was bright 
enough to move the loot and that is frustrating her. He knows he's done for, 
so he promises to tell you the location of the loot if you'll do one eeny, 
teeny, tiny thing for him...kill Arnora and bring back the family amulet she 
always wears.

Return to Arnora's house. You have two choices:

* Whack her. This counts as a murder and you may be arrested for the crime.
  Don't bother with the amulet she's wearing, get the key from her corpse and
  find the chest next to her bed. That contains the "true" amulet. Return to
  Jorundr.

* Tell her of Jorundr's request. She suggests a trick: she'll give you the
  amulet and you tell Jorundr she's dead. She'll give you a key and direct
  you to the chest next to her bed where you can get the amulet. Return to
  Jorundr.

Jorundr accepts the evidence of the amulet, whether Arnora is actually dead or 
not, and gives you the directions to the cache. It will now be marked for you 
on your map, just outside the North Gate. Head for the marker. If you killed 
Arnora, the loot is yours.

If you fooled Jorundr, you'll run into corrupt guard Tyrellius Logellus (you 
encountered him while in prison, but couldn't talk to him). He overheard your 
conversation with Jorundr, went and killed Arnora and then waited by the cache 
for you to show up so he can tie up all the loose ends. Demonstrate to him the 
error of his ways; then, collect the loot. To officially close the quest, go 
to Arnora's house to confirm her death.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ49]
                   <~~~~~~ UNEARTHING MEHRUNES' RAZOR ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* Before installing the Mehrunes' Razor mod, you must install the 
v1.1.511 patch. If you install the mod first, the patch will fail and the mod 
won't run without the patch.

To get this quest, you have to download the official plug-in, DLC9 ($2.99 for 
PC, also available on Xbox360 in the Marketplace for 250 points); or, install 
the Knights of the Nine mini-expansion pack. After installing the plug-in, the 
next time you load a game or exit the tutorial sewers, you will get a message 
informing you of rumors of a fabled weapon, Mehrunes' Razor, that may be 
located beneath the ruined fort of Sundercliff Watch.

Before setting off in search of Mehrunes' Razor, divest yourself of all non-
essential equipment. You'll be underground for quite a while, and you don't 
want to leave loot behind because you're over-encumbered. (Investment in a 
Feather spell or potions or equipment is recommended.) You should also be high 
enough level to handle four or five enemies at once. There are some pitched 
battles ahead of you.

Sundercliff Watch is in the far east of Cyrodiil. The nearest quest-related 
point is Peryite's Shrine (due west of the fort). Inside the front door is a 
large room with two guards, one standing still and one patrolling. Take them 
out, then approach the wooden door to the south. To the right of the door is 
an abandoned knapsack. Loot this for a diary that gives you the password to 
get through the door, "Chimer". Beyond the door are two more guards.

To the south you'll come out on a raised platform with another guard 
patrolling below. Your path then turns east through a tunnel, which leads to 
the upper level of a circular room. There are three to four guards below you, 
one of which is a veteran (much tougher than the soldiers you've faced thus 
far). Once you've cleared the lower level, exit to the north to reach 
Sundercliff Village.

This underground town has quite a few NPCs wandering about. Immediately to 
your left as you exit the tunnel you'll find four to five soldiers sitting 
around a campfire. Wait until a couple have gone off on patrol before 
attacking the ones that remain. If you get lucky, the patrol won't come 
running back to help. If you're unlucky...

Well, hope you have some decent weaponry or spells or it's reload time. These 
soldiers are the main problem on the upper level of this large cavern. Stay on 
the upper levels, exploring the buildings. Most buildings have one or two 
occupants and a fair bit of treasure. In the northwest corner is the jail; 
inside, locked in a cell, is a Morag Tong (Morrowind assassin). Kill him for 
his full suit of Morag Tong armor (especially good for Stealth-based 
characters).

From the top level of the cavern, exit to the east into Sundercliff Forge. At 
the T-intersection, go left (north) and follow the tunnel around until you see 
a large tunnel to your left (east). Follow this tunnel to the door to 
Sundercliff Mines.

The Mines is basically one large room with two levels--you enter at the 
bottom. There are a lot of soldiers and laborers in the Mines, and it is 
almost impossible to avoid a 4-on-1 or 5-on-1 battle near the entrance. 
Fortunately, the laborers aren't that tough and do little damage (unless 
you're attempting this as a low-level character).

Once you've cleared your way into the Mines, it gets easier. Find the tunnel 
entrance to the southeast and follow the path to the upper level of the main 
cavern--you can pick off the laborers and soldiers here one-by-one. Once you 
reach the upper level of the main cavern, you'll have to pick your way through 
two or three patrolling soldiers. Again, if you're careful and watch the 
patrol patterns, you can take them one at a time.

To the northeast is the tunnel that leads back to Sundercliff Forge; this 
time, you're below where you came in from the Village. Follow the only path, 
fighting your way through four apprentices, to reach the Forgemaster. Watch 
out for his enchanted axe! Once he's dead, loot his tent, making sure you pick 
up the enchanted bezoar. Return to Sundercliff Village through the shortcut on 
the north side of the Forgemaster's cave.

Clean out the lower portion of the Village. Find one of two exits to the west 
(the upper-level exit is better) to enter Sundercliff Commune. If you come in 
on the lower level of the Commune, you'll face a couple of veterans. On the 
top level are mostly laborers and a couple of soldiers. Along the bottom chasm 
of the Commune is the Veteran's Lodge, which contains two or three veterans 
and a boss-level chest.

On the north top tier of the Commune is Drothan's cabin, mentioned in the 
diary you picked up earlier. Enter his cabin and find his journal on a small 
table. It mentions the Ayleid city where Mehrunes' Razor is hidden, and tells 
how Drothan has shielded the entrance. You need two enchanted bezoars to get 
through the shield. You got one from the Forgemaster. The other is right next 
door in the Commander's quarters.

Now that you have the two enchanted bezoars in hand, go west through the lower 
chasm of the Commune. At the Ayleid door, Activate the pedestal to either side 
to place a bezoar and dispel the shield. Follow Drothan through the door to 
the Ayleid ruin. This first section is a long series of halls with no enemies 
and no traps. Just run through to the door into Varsa Baalim.

Varsa Baalim is a large cavern with an Ayleid ruin inside. Advance carefully 
(and, preferably, in Sneak mode) to witness a battle below you. The combatants 
are some Drothmeri soldiers and vampires. Wait until the dust has settled to 
go down and take out the survivors. Along the south wall are two entrances to 
Cava Arpenia. This side area has two vampires and a little loot.

Further exploration will reveal, to the west, some more vampires as well as a 
door to Cava Beldameld. Enter this small room, dispose of the vampire, and 
exit at the far side to return to Varsa Baalim, this time in the southwest 
corner in a previously inaccessible area. Leave Cava Beldameld in Sneak mode. 
As you re-enter Varsa Baalim, there's a battle in front of you. Let the 
soldiers and vampires settle their differences before mopping up.

Go to your left (northwest) to reach the large, northern section of Varsa 
Baalim. There are more vampires down here, and, in the northern corner of the 
area, a door to Cava Marspanga. Enter here and go slowly down the stairs. At 
the bottom, three Drothmeri soldiers and three vampires are mixing it up.

Once you've helped them all to the great beyond, re-enter Varsa Baalim. You're 
now on the extreme northern edge of the large cavern. Go right (west) to find 
a small encampment with a single vampire and some loot chests. Once you've 
satisfied your avarice, go back east past the door to Cava Marspanga. To your 
left you should see a collapsed walkway forming a ramp leading up.

Climb up to find some more vampires, including the vampire patriarch. They 
should be weakened by a fight with soldiers that occurred while you were 
looting. Take them out and keep climbing and following the causeway until you 
see a giant welkynd stone marking the entrance to The Nefarivigum.

Down the stairs you go, through the door, and down a lot more stairs. All the 
enemies on the stairwell are dead. At the bottom is Drothan himself, studying 
a statue. He's a powerful mage, so adjust your battle tactics accordingly. 
Leading with a Sneak attack is always helpful.

After Drothan is dead, Activate the statue of Msirae Faythung. (If you're 
using Detect Life, you may notice the statue is glowing. But it's not really 
alive...yet.) The statue contains a beating heart. Remove the heart and then 
open your inventory and consume (use) the beating heart. The statue comes 
alive and you've got an angry dremora to defeat.

There's not a lot of room to maneuver for ranged fighters, so you might want 
to revert to quick jabs with a one-handed weapon and then dance out of the way 
while he swings. Or you can just tank him if you have the appropriate armor 
and weapons. When Faythung is dead, a gate to the south opens and Mehrunes' 
Razor is yours.

After you take the Razor, a secret passage leading to some Forgotten Tunnels 
opens. There's nothing in the Tunnels except a rock fall and some rats. At the 
end is a small pool; dive in to find a door that leads into Lake Canalus, west 
of Fort Sundercliff. 

Congratulations! You now have a lot of loot, including a dagger that is 
capable of one-hit killing any enemy in the game. (Only a small chance, 
though.)
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ31]
                      <~~~~~~ AN UNEXPECTED VOYAGE ~~~~~~>

At the west end of the dock of Imperial City's Waterfront district is a 
floating tavern known as The Bloated Float. Spend a night there, and, when you 
wake up, you find the boat has put to sea and everything seems strangely 
quiet. When you step outside your room, you meet Lynch. If you claim just to 
be a passenger and then claim to be a member of his gang, he'll fill you in on 
a little of what's happening. Regardless, you have to send him to Davy Jones' 
locker.

Take his key and instructions and go down the hall to the storage room. 
Release the inn's bouncer, Graman gro-Marad; he says he can get the ship back 
to port, but he's not going up on deck until you give the all clear. Head up 
to the main deck, where you'll find Minx. Again, you can lie your way through 
the conversation and pick up some tidbits of information, or just run her 
through.

Get the top deck key from Minx and proceed up. Outside, surrounded by nothing 
but water, you can chat with Wrath. Again, you eventually have to kill him, 
lying to him just gives you a more complete picture of what's going on. From 
his body you can get the captain's cabin key. Return to the main deck and tell 
gro-Marad he can go topside and start sailing the ship back to port.

Enter the captain's cabin behind the bar to find the leader of the pack, 
Selene. You have two options:

1) Kill her. That might be tough depending on how you're kitted out. She's 
five levels above you and has a sword that drains your Fatigue, and these are 
tight quarters, not allowing for a lot of movement or ranged fighting.

2) Get her to surrender. You can do so by answering her, in order:
   * I took the key from Wrath.
   * I'm here to join the gang.
   * ...three months ago?
   * To find the Golden Galleon.
   * You mean in Bravil?
   * I've killed all of them.
   She stands down and hands over her sword.

Talk to Ormil, the owner and captain of The Bloated Float and he'll ask that 
you escort Selene to a cabin downstairs. Go downstairs, Selene will follow, 
and Activate the door next to your own cabin on the lower deck. Selene will be 
locked up. Return to Ormil for the whole story, then back down to your cabin 
to Sleep a bit so the ship can return to port. After you awake, see Ormil 
again for your reward.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ24]
                     <~~~~~~ UNFRIENDLY COMPETITION ~~~~~~>

Wal-Mart has moved into the Imperial City Market District and the Mom & Pop 
stores aren't happy about it. You can get this quest started from several 
different shopkeepers if you ask about Thoronir; however, your first step is 
always to talk to Jensine of "Just Like New" Goods and she can also give you 
the quest. Make her shop your first stop when entering the Market District.

Jensine wants you to find out how Thoronir is undercutting everyone else. 
Visit Thoronir's shop, The Copious Coinpurse, and ask about his Inventory. 
He'll get all sly on you and you'll get an entry in your journal that says you 
should follow him. Wait outside his shop until the 8:00pm hour. Thoronir will 
exit and you should follow him. He goes various places (The Merchant's Inn, 
the Arboretum), but wherever he ends up, he hangs around until the 11:00pm 
hour. So when he stops moving, use Wait to jump ahead to that time.

Follow him back to the Market District and a little garden behind his shop. He 
has a meeting with a man named Agarmir. Walk toward them until they start 
talking. (You don't have to Sneak.) Listen to their conversation, and then 
follow Agarmir per your journal's instruction. He goes to his house in the 
Talos Plaza district. Your journal instructs you to wait until Agarmir leaves 
his house. Agarmir only leaves in the afternoon (around 4pm) on weekdays and 
in the mornings (around 8am) on weekends. Wait until the appropriate time and 
you should see Agarmir leave his house.

After he leaves, wait until no guards are present; then, pick the lock on his 
house door (Average lock) and his basement door (Average lock). In the 
basement, take the Macabre Manifest and leave Agarmir's house. Return to the 
Copious Coinpurse and show the Manifest to Thoronir.

After, go to the Imperial Green Way and find the marked tomb on your map (it's 
on the south side of the area). Enter and trip Agarmir's little trap. He and a 
buddy will try to put you to rest. Agarmir is using an enchanted sword, which 
might be a nice weapon for you once you've slipped it from his cold, dead 
fingers. Grab the shovel from the rear of the tomb and any loot you can find. 
Return to Thoronir and then to Jensine to complete the quest.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ46]
                          <~~~~~~ VAMPIRE CURE ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* An easier way to cure vampirism is to purchase the Vile Lair official 
plug-in. Inside the Lair is a pool with a Font of Renewal. Collect Purgeblood 
Salts from the nearby rock outcropping and Activate the Font with Salts in 
your pockets. Your vampirism will be cured.


You can do this quest whether you want to cure yourself of vampirism or not, 
but there is no real reward except the cure. You must be a vampire (any stage, 
but more than just infected with porphyric hemophilia) to start this quest. 
Find Raminus Polus in the Arch-Mage's Lobby of Arcane University during normal 
daytime hours. Ask about a cure for vampirism and he'll refer you to Count 
Hassildor in Skingrad.

Fast Travel to Castle Skingrad and speak to either Mercatus Hosidus (if you 
haven't completed "Ulterior Motives" in the Mages Guild quests) or Hal-Liurz 
(if you have) about a vampire cure and they'll fetch the count. The count 
tells you all he knows; he has himself been searching for a cure for his wife. 
(He likes being a vampire, she doesn't, yada, yada.)

He refers you to a witch of Glenmoril who lives in Drakelowe, along the 
Carbolo/Reed Rivers in eastern Cyrodiil. Fast Travel to Cheydinhal and head 
south; you'll find Melisande inside the one house. She agrees to help you with 
a cure, but first, she needs a favor: five empty grand soul gems.

The easiest way to get the soul gems is to buy them. Most Mages Guild halls 
have a merchant who has various sizes of soul gems. In addition, the Mystic 
Emporium in Imperial City will usually have one or two of that size. Bring 
five to Melisande to discover that little scavenger hunt was just the 
beginning. The ingredients she wants for the vampire cure will have you 
hopping all over the country...


| Vampire Ashes
+---------------
For this one, at least, Melisande has a specific target in mind. She wants the 
ashes of Hindaril, who resides in Redwater Slough near the east end of Panther 
River. (It's actually on the eastern of two tributaries that feed into the 
Panther from the north.) At the first T-intersection, turn left (north) to 
reach Hindaril directly; however, you'll have to pick a lock to get to him.

If you have little in the way of lock-picking skill, go right (south) at the 
T-intersection to find a key. This won't be easy as you'll have to swim 
through a flooded tunnel and come up into a room with several undead 
surrounding you. The chest with the key is in a corner of the room.

If you happened to clear this dungeon earlier, never fear. Hindaril's ashes 
are marked as a quest item, so you couldn't have dropped or sold them anywhere 
and you can just hand them over to Melisande.


| Blood of an Argonian
+----------------------
Again, this is fairly simple. All you need is an Argonian, any Argonian. You 
have a number of choices available to you:

1) Pick an Argonian in any city--Bravil and Leyawiin have several each--this 
is by far the simplest option if you have the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal (Thieves 
Guild)

2) Raid a bandit or marauder hangout, searching for Argonians

3) If you've finished the Daedric Shrine quests (or most of them), find an 
Argonian worshipper at the shrines of Azura, Boethia, Hircine, Peryite and 
Sheogorath

4) You'll find an Argonian (Skaleel) on the first level of Vahtecen, but she's 
off-limits if you're a member of the Mages Guild.

You don't need to kill the Argonian, just hit him once with the special dagger 
given you by Melisande. Of course, that will make the Argonian and nearby 
friends hostile, so choose your mark wisely.


| Nightshade & Garlic
+---------------------
You can pick these up at alchemist shops; there's one in every Mages Guild 
hall. You can also try The Main Ingredient and the Gilded Carafe in Imperial 
City's Market district. That should be all you need to get the five nightshade 
plants and six garlic cloves.


| Bloodgrass
+------------
This plant typically grows only in Oblivion. If there are Oblivion gates still 
open, you can pop through and pick up two samples pretty quickly. If not, you 
can try the Daedric quests of Boethia and Peryite, both of which send you to a 
special Oblivion plane, where you might be able to find some bloodgrass.

If the gates are all closed and you've previously finished the Boethia and 
Peryite quests, you may still find some bloodgrass growing around the wreckage 
of closed gates. Or, you may get real lucky and some alchemist has some in 
stock. If you've purchased the Wizard's Tower official plug-in, then head 
straight to Frostcrag Spire--you can get two samples of bloodgrass in the 
conservatory next to your quarters.


| The Cure
+----------
Once you have all the ingredients, hand them over to Melisande. You then have 
to Wait 24 hours to get the cure. Return to Castle Skingrad and talk to 
Hosidus or Hal-Liurz again and you'll be escorted to a secret room where the 
Countess lies in a coma.

Lo and behold, Melisande is there before you. She revives Rona Hassildor long 
enough for her to drink the cure and then she dies. If you try to talk to the 
count, he'll brush you off with a request you wait a day to allow him to set 
his wife's affairs in order.

Wait 24 hours and ask the steward for the count. He'll come down and 
officially conclude the quest with a small reward. And, oh yeah, you still 
have one dose of the cure to use on yourself. If you later get vampirism 
again, you have to repeat the ingredient gathering for Melisande in order to 
get another dose.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ47]
                      <~~~~~~ A VENERABLE VINTAGE ~~~~~~>

Nerussa is a lover of fine wines; in fact, she collects them. She is the 
proprietress of the Wawnet Inn, at the west end of the bridge coming off the 
west side of Imperial City Isle. There's one particular type of wine, 
Shadowbanish Wine, that is eluding her. She would give anything (well, not 
anything, but a nice reward) for six bottles of this special win.

Shadowbanish Wine was made especially for Imperial Legion soldiers, and it can 
only be found in their old forts. There are eight forts with Shadowbanish 
Wine; in each fort, you'll find two bottles in a chest. The wine provides 240 
seconds of Night Eye (as well as draining your Agility and Intelligence for 
120 seconds). You'll need to stop in at least three forts to complete the 
quest.

* Fort Aurus: southern point of the mouth of the Carbolo River. This single-
level dungeon is inhabited by conjurers and their Summons. At the first T-
intersection, take a right and then a left to find the "boss" conjurer and the 
chest with the wine (on the west wall of the room).

* Fort Carmala:

* Fort Dirich:

* Fort Grief: island in the middle of Niben Bay. This is the location of 
"Caught in the Hunt". The wine chest is on the top level of the outer ruin--
you only go into the dungeon during the associated quest.

* Fort Irony: along the west coast of the Upper Niben, south of Bravil. This 
is a goblin hangout. From the first T-intersection, go left and the wine chest 
is in the next room, on the southwest side of the central pillar.

* Fort Magia:

* Fort Scinia:

* Fort Vlastarus:

* Frostcrag Spire: If you buy the Wizard's Tower official mod and the Vault 
furnishings, there's a wine rack in your cellar; it includes one bottle of 
Shadowbanish Wine.

Nerussa will pay you 1,000 gold for the first six bottles, and 100 gold for 
any additional bottles you bring her.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ48]
                      <~~~~~~ WHEN THE VOW BREAKS ~~~~~~>

Just outside Anvil's North Gate is the farm of Maeva the Buxom, Whitmond farm. 
Speak to Maeva to get an earful about her good-for-nothing husband, Bjalfi 
(the Contemptible). Soon after their marriage, Bjalfi took Rockshatter--a 
family heirloom given them by Maeva's father--and joined a group of marauders 
operating out of Fort Strand.

The fort is close--just east of the city. At the first T-intersection, turn 
left and follow the path until you find a door to the Fort Strand Great Dome. 
In the first room, jump off the bridge and take the path southeast. You'll 
quickly come to a "room" (more of a widening of the corridor) where Bjalfi is 
hanging out with his new squeeze--the marauder warlord. If you run past them, 
keeping in a southeast direction, you can lead them right through a swinging 
mace trap.

Take Rockshatter from Bjalfi's body (or from the floor where it was flung when 
you blasted him). Return to Maeva who rewards you with her dowry and decides 
to jump right back into the dating game.

Taking the death of her husband kind of hard, isn't she?
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ25]
                    <~~~~~~ WHERE SPIRITS HAVE LEASE ~~~~~~>

The rumor mill in Anvil will eventually give you a name, Velwyn Benirus. 
Inquire after him and learn he hangs out at the Count's Arms. (You can also 
just go to the Count's Arms and find Benirus.) He offers to sell you his 
family's mansion for a mere 5,000 gold.

How could you possibly pass up such a deal? As soon as you complete the 
transaction, Benirus high-tails it out of town. The mansion is located in the 
northeastern section of town. Paying a visit reveals you just bought a 
wonderful restoration project.

Try to sleep in the upstairs bed and get even more bad news: an attack by 
three ghosts. Once they are gone, head downstairs and find a vase that fell 
and broke during the ruckus. Underneath is a skeletal hand and a piece of 
paper. The paper reveals Benirus' grandfather, Lorgren, had a nasty habit of 
conducting necromancy experiments on the citizens of Anvil. The current guild 
leader, Carahil, entombed Lorgren in a sealed room in the basement (you may 
have marked the door and seal in an earlier inspection of the premises).

Return to the Count's Arms and inquire after Velwyn. You are told he departed 
for Imperial City. Head there yourself and ask after Velwyn Benirus and you 
should eventually find someone who knows a Benirus is staying at the King and 
Queen Tavern in the Elven Gardens district. Go there and confront Belirus.

He feels sorry for giving you a cursed mansion and agrees to return to Anvil 
and help you sort it out. Go back to Anvil and the Count's Arms. Talk to 
Velwyn and then follow him to the mansion. Once you enter the mansion, you 
take the lead. You'll have to fight your way through a number of ghosts, both 
on the upper floors and in the basement.

Alternatively, you can race past the ghosts to the portal and then defend 
Velwyn while he opens it. Once the portal is open, the ghosts disappear. Enter 
the crypt and find the altar with Lorgren Benirus' skeleton. Activate the 
altar and listen to Lorgren's contrite speech. Then Activate the skeleton with 
the skeletal hand you picked up earlier in your inventory.

Oh. Look at that. It was a ruse. How surprising. Once Lorgren reforms, race to 
him and smack him with your best weapon as quickly as possible. Once the lich 
is dead, loot the tomb, then leave, re-sealing the portal behind you. You'll 
find the mansion is now fully restored and is probably the nicest house you 
can buy in Cyrodiil.

Definitely worth 5,000 gold and a little ghosthunting.
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ26]
                        <~~~~~~ WHOM GODS ANNOY ~~~~~~>

The rumor mill in Leyawiin buzzes with the strange noises and awful smells 
coming from Rosentia Gallenus' house. Enter her house and find the fair lady 
surrounded by scamps she cannot rid herself of. Seems she picked up a cursed 
staff. Gallenus sends you to consult her friend, Alves Uvenim at the Mages 
Guild.

Uvenim reveals the staff can only be handed off to a willing recipient and can 
only be disposed of at a shrine to Sheogorath in Darkfathom Cave, southeast of 
Leyawiin. Return to Gallenus, who is only too happy to give up the staff and 
the scamps to you.

Trudge (the staff Drains your Speed by 20 points) down to the cave and fight 
your way through a dozen or so daedra. Once you reach the shrine, you can drop 
the staff anywhere near the altar and the scamps will stay put. Return to 
Gallenus for your reward.

Alternately, you can keep the staff for a while. You can kill the summoned 
scamps with impunity and they always come back. This is a very useful way of 
leveling attack-related skills (Blade, Blunt, Destruction, etc.).
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>



                                                                     [SQ33]
                        <~~~~~~ ZERO VISIBILITY ~~~~~~>

You want a Detect Life spell or enchanted item for this quest.

You can get this quest from Malene, the innkeeper of the Roxey Inn on the 
north shore of Lake Rumare; or, by stumbling across the little town of 
Aleswell, which is along the Red Ring Road west of the Roxey Inn. The town 
appears empty; use a Detect Life spell to see there are several inhabitants.

You can talk to these invisible people; they all just tell you to see Diram 
Serethi. Walk around, pointing your crosshair at the glowing purple forms 
(from your Detect Life spell) until one is identified as Serethi. He runs the 
little inn, and may be in there, though he wanders sometimes.

Serethi says the problem is a wizard named Ancotar who is holed up in a ruined 
tower called Caractus. Ancotar likes to conduct strange experiments and 
accidentally rendered the whole town invisible. The villagers have not been 
able to get through to Ancotar, and ask for your help.

Caractus is down the slope south of the village. There are several invisible 
wild animals wandering outside the tower, so you will want Detect Life active 
as you approach. Wander around the tower with Detect Life until you find the 
humanoid form that is Ancotar. Talk to him and he will provide a scroll with 
the counterspell for invisibility. He also gives you a ring and warns that you 
should wear the ring before casting the spell.

Listen to him. Return to Aleswell, put on the ring and cast the scroll. The 
invisibility curse is removed and Diram will give you a reward. (If you try 
casting the spell without wearing the ring, your Luck is damaged by 50 
points.)
                             <~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>




                                                                     [QL00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                  QUEST INDEX
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

To find the mini-walkthrough for a quest, find the quest title in one of the 
two lists below, copy the section code and use your browser's Search function 
to search for that section code.

                                                                     [QL01]
                <~~~~~~ ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ALL QUESTS ------>

Accidents Happen (Dark Brotherhood)....................................DB03
Affairs of a Wizard (Dark Brotherhood).................................DB13
Ahdarji's Heirloom (Thieves Guild).....................................TG05
Allies for Bruma (Main Story)..........................................MS13
Ambush (Mages Guild)...................................................MG17
Amelion's Debt (Fighters Guild)........................................FG07
Anvil Recommendation (Mages Guild).....................................MG01
Arena, The.............................................................SQ01
Arrow of Extrication (Thieves Guild)...................................TG10
Assassinated Man, The (Dark Brotherhood)...............................DB06
Attack on Fort Sutch...................................................SQ38
Azani Blackheart (Fighters Guild)......................................FG10
Azura (Daedric Quest)..................................................DQ01
Bad Medicine (Dark Brotherhood)........................................DB08
Battle for Castle Kvatch, The........................................MS13-E
Bear Season............................................................SQ39
Blood of the Daedra (Main Story).......................................MS09
Blood of the Divines (Main Story)......................................MS10
Bloodworm Helm, The (Mages Guild)......................................MG15
Boethia (Daedric Quest)................................................DQ13
Boots of Springheel Jak (Thieves Guild)................................TG11
Bravil Recommendation (Mages Guild)....................................MG02
Breaking the Siege of Kvatch (Main Story)..............................MS04
Broken Vows (Dark Brotherhood).........................................DB15
Brotherhood Betrayed, A................................................SQ02
Bruma Gate (Main Story)................................................MS12
Bruma Recommendation (Mages Guild).....................................MG03
Brush with Death, A....................................................SQ29
Canvas the Castle......................................................SQ03
Cast Out of the Thieves Guild..........................................TG13
Caught in the Hunt.....................................................SQ27
Cheydinhal Recommendation (Mages Guild)................................MG04
Clavicus Vile (Daedric Quest)..........................................DQ14
Coldest Sleep, The (Dark Brotherhood)..................................DB18
Collector, The.........................................................SQ30
Confront the King (Mages Guild)........................................MG18
Corruption and Conscience..............................................SQ28
Dagon Shrine (Main Story)..............................................MS07
Daedric Quests.........................................................SQ04
Dark Brotherhood, The..................................................DB00
Dark Exile, A (Dark Brotherhood).......................................DB23
Defense of Bruma (Main Story)..........................................MS14
Deliver the Amulet (Main Story)........................................MQ02
Den of Thieves (Fighters Guild)........................................FG06
Desolate Mine, The (Fighters Guild)....................................FG03
Drunk and Disorderly (Fighters Guild)..................................FG05
Elven Maiden, The (Thieves Guild)......................................TG04
Expelled from the Fighters Guild.......................................FG20
Final Justice (Dark Brotherhood).......................................DB16
Find the Heir (Main Story).............................................MS03
Finding the Thieves Guild (Thieves Guild)..............................TG00
Fingers of the Mountain (Mages Guild)................................MG05-A
Fingers of the Mountain, Part II (Mages Guild).......................MG05-B
Following a Lead (Dark Brotherhood)....................................DB20
Forlorn Watchman, The..................................................SQ05
Fugitives, The (Fighters Guild)........................................FG12
Ghost Ship of Anvil, The...............................................SQ06
Go Fish................................................................SQ07
Goblin Trouble.........................................................SQ40
Gravefinder's Repose, The..............................................SQ35
Great Gate (Main Story)................................................MS15
Hermaeus Mora (Daedric Quest)..........................................DQ15
Hircine (Daedric Quest)................................................DQ11
Hist, The (Fighters Guild).............................................FG19
Honor Thy Mother (Dark Brotherhood)....................................DB21
Imperial Corruption....................................................SQ08
Imperial Dragon Armor (Main Story).....................................MS18
Independent Thievery (Thieves Guild)...................................TG02
Infiltration (Fighters Guild)..........................................FG18
Information at a Price (Mages Guild)...................................MG13
Information Gathering (Fighters Guild).................................FG17
Killing Field, The.....................................................SQ09
Kiss Before Dying, A (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB19
Knife in the Dark, A (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB01
Knights of the White Stallion..........................................SQ10
Legacy Lost............................................................SQ11
Leyawiin Recommendation (Mages Guild)..................................MG06
Liberation or Apprehension? (Mages Guild)..............................MG12
Lifting the Vale.......................................................SQ12
Light the Dragonfires (Main Story).....................................MS17
Lonely Wanderer, The (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB07
Lost Histories (Thieves Guild).........................................TG07
Mage's Staff, A (Mages Guild)..........................................MG08
Malacath (Daedric Quest)...............................................DQ06
Master's Son, The (Fighters Guild).....................................FG08
Matter of Honor, A (Dark Brotherhood)..................................DB17
May the Best Thief Win (Thieves Guild).................................TG01
Mazoga the Orc.........................................................SQ13
Mephala (Daedric Quest)................................................DQ10
Meridia (Daedric Quest)................................................DQ07
Miscarcand (Main Story)................................................MS11
Misdirection (Thieves Guild)...........................................TG06
Molag Bal (Daedric Quest)..............................................DQ12
More Unfinished Business (Fighters Guild)..............................FG09
Mystery at Harlun's Watch (Fighters Guild).............................FG16
Namira (Daedric Quest).................................................DQ03
Necromancer's Amulet, The (Mages Guild)................................MG16
Necromancer's Moon (Mages Guild).......................................MG11
Newheim's Flagon.......................................................FG06
Next of Kin (Dark Brotherhood).........................................DB14
No Stone Unturned......................................................SQ41
Noble's Daughter, The (Fighters Guild).................................FG15
Nocturnal (Daedric Quest)..............................................DQ08
Nothing You Can Possess................................................SQ36
Of Secret and Shadow (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB11
Order of the Virtuous Blood............................................SQ14
Origin of the Gray Prince..............................................SQ15
Paradise (Main Story)..................................................MS16
Paranoia...............................................................SQ16
Path of Dawn, The (Main Story).........................................MS06
Permanent Retirement (Dark Brotherhood)................................DB10
Peryite (Daedric Quest)................................................DQ09
Plot Revealed, A (Mages Guild).........................................MG14
Potato Snatcher, The...................................................SQ42
Purification, The (Dark Brotherhood)...................................DB12
Raid on Greyland.......................................................SQ34
Rat Problem, A (Fighters Guild)........................................FG01
Renegade Shadowscale, The (Dark Brotherhood)...........................DB05
Repairing the Orrery (Official Mod)....................................SQ17
Revenge Served Cold....................................................SQ43
Sanguine (Daedric Quest)...............................................DQ05
Scheduled for Execution (Dark Brotherhood).............................DB04
Secrets of the Ayleids.................................................SQ37
Seeking Your Roots.....................................................SQ44
Separated at Birth.....................................................SQ18
Shadow Over Hackdirt, A................................................SQ19
Sheogorath (Daedric Quest).............................................DQ02
Sins of the Father.....................................................SQ20
Siren's Deception, The.................................................SQ21
Skingrad Recommendation (Mages Guild)..................................MG07
Spies (Main Story).....................................................MS08
Stone of St. Alessia, The (Fighters Guild).............................FG14
Sunken One, The........................................................SQ45
Taking Care of Lex (Thieves Guild).....................................TG08
Tears of the Savior....................................................SQ32
Through a Nightmare, Darkly............................................SQ22
Trolls of Forsaken Mine (Fighters Guild)...............................FG13
Turning a Blind Eye (Thieves Guild)....................................TG09
Tutorial (Main Story)..................................................MS01
Two Sides of the Coin..................................................SQ23
Ulterior Motives (Mages Guild).........................................MG09
Ultimate Heist, The (Thieves Guild)....................................TG12
Unearthing Mehrunes' Razor..............................................SQ49
Unexpected Voyage, An..................................................SQ31
Unfinished Business (Fighters Guild)...................................FG04
Unfortunate Shopkeeper, The (Fighters Guild)...........................FG02
Unfriendly Competition.................................................SQ24
Untaxing the Poor (Thieves Guild)......................................TG03
Vaermina (Daedric Quest)...............................................DQ04
Vahtacen's Secret (Mages Guild)........................................MG10
Vampire Cure...........................................................SQ46
Venerable Vintage, A...................................................SQ47
Wandering Scholar, The (Fighters Guild)................................FG11
Watery Grave, A (Dark Brotherhood).....................................DB02
Wayward Knight, The (Main Story).....................................MS13-A
Weynon Priory (Main Story).............................................MS05
When the Vow Breaks....................................................SQ48
Where Spirits Have Lease...............................................SQ25
Whispers of Death (Dark Brotherhood)...................................DB22
Whodunit? (Dark Brotherhood)...........................................DB09
Whom Gods Annoy........................................................SQ26
Zero Visibility........................................................SQ33



                                                                     [QL02]
                  <~~~~~~ QUESTS LISTED BY CITY/REGION ~~~~~~>

Quests in this section are listed by the closest major city. If you want to 
know everything you can do in a city and the surrounding area, just look 
through this list and then find the mini-walkthroughs for each quest. Only 
side quests (i.e. not any main story, guild or daedric quests) are listed 
here.

| Anvil
+-------
Ghost Ship of Anvil, The...............................................SQ06
Siren's Deception, The.................................................SQ21
When the Vow Breaks....................................................SQ48
Where Spirits Have Lease...............................................SQ25


| Bravil
+--------
Caught in the Hunt.....................................................SQ27
Forlorn Watchman, The..................................................SQ05
Through a Nightmare, Darkly............................................SQ22


| Bruma
+-------
Brotherhood Betrayed, A................................................SQ02
Lifting the Vale.......................................................SQ12
Two Sides of the Coin..................................................SQ23


| Cheydinhal
+------------
Brush with Death, A....................................................SQ29
Corruption and Conscience..............................................SQ28


| Chorrol
+---------
Canvas the Castle......................................................SQ03
Killing Field, The.....................................................SQ09
Legacy Lost............................................................SQ11
Separated at Birth.....................................................SQ18
Shadow Over Hackdirt, A................................................SQ19
Sins of the Father.....................................................SQ20


| Imperial City
+---------------
Arena, The.............................................................SQ01
Collector, The.........................................................SQ30
Imperial Corruption....................................................SQ08
Nothing You Can Possess................................................SQ36
Order of the Virtuous Blood............................................SQ14
Origin of the Gray Prince..............................................SQ15
Repairing the Orrery (Official Mod)....................................SQ17
Secrets of the Ayleids.................................................SQ37
Unexpected Voyage, An..................................................SQ31
Unfriendly Competition.................................................SQ24


| Kvatch
+--------
Sunken One, The........................................................SQ45


| Leyawiin
+----------
Knights of the White Stallion..........................................SQ10
Mazoga the Orc.........................................................SQ13
Raid on Greyland.......................................................SQ34
Tears of the Savior....................................................SQ32
Whom Gods Annoy........................................................SQ26


| Skingrad
+----------
Paranoia...............................................................SQ16
Seeking Your Roots.....................................................SQ44
Vampire Cure...........................................................SQ46


| Wilderness
+------------
These quests take place out in the wilds of Cyrodiil, away from the cities.
Attack on Fort Sutch...................................................SQ38
Bear Season............................................................SQ39
Go Fish................................................................SQ07
Goblin Trouble.........................................................SQ40
Gravefinder's Repose, The..............................................SQ35
No Stone Unturned......................................................SQ41
Potato Snatcher, The...................................................SQ42
Revenge Served Cold....................................................SQ43
Unearthing Mehrunes' Razor..............................................SQ49
Venerable Vintage, A...................................................SQ47
Zero Visibility........................................................SQ33




                                                                     [MA00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                            MISCELLANEOUS ADVENTURES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~


                                                                     [MA01]
                         <~~~~~~ HOME OWNERSHIP ~~~~~~>

One of the big downsides to looting dungeons is becoming overburdened with 
stuff you simply don't want to part with. Whether it's books, extra clothing, 
the hundred-or-so keys you collect or that cool-looking sword you want to show 
off...you can't keep it with you. But you can't store it in any public or 
semi-public (like a guild hall) place because the containers in those places 
are periodically reset.

You can always just drop items on the ground. The ground is never reset 
(except in a few instances), so your items stay there. But there are numerous 
problems with that: wandering NPCs might pick up some of your stuff, it can be 
hard to locate small items lying on the ground, and it just looks trashy.

The solution: a home of your own. There are a variety of options for ownership 
of a home in Cyrodiil. You can buy a house in each main city, except Kvatch. 
The basic method of purchasing a home is: talk to the city's ruler (or 
designate), get said person's Disposition high enough (typically 60 or 70), 
ask about buying a home, buy the home, purchase furnishings at a shop, move 
in.

You can store whatever you want in your home. Containers in your house (or 
houses) are never reset. Thieves do not break in and steal. There are 
bookshelves for your books. And the largest house available also has display 
cases where you can show off all your trophies.

The houses are here ranked according to their desirability factor--a highly 
subjective number that encompasses three things: value, attractiveness and 
location. The prices of the homes are fixed. The price of furnishings will 
vary, depending on your ability to haggle with the furniture merchant. The 
figures listed are the base price charged by the merchant prior to any 
haggling.

Furnishings are purchased in sets; for example a dining area, a bedroom area, 
etc. What you actually purchase is a "receipt" telling you what you're 
getting. (These receipts are filed under the Books category in the merchant's 
inventory.) As soon as you purchase the receipt, the items appear in your 
home.

Three houses--Anvil, Skingrad and Chorrol--have names, listed in parentheses 
after the city. The remaining are simply referred to as "My [city name] 
House".


| ANVIL (Benirus Manor)
+-----------------------
Price: 5,000
Furnishings: n/a (already furnished)
Total cost: 5,000
Desirability factor: 10/10
Extras: Lich tomb in the basement, 2nd floor balcony

The only way to really occupy this house is to complete the side quest "Where 
Spirits Have Lease". Once you've destroyed the lich entombed in the basement, 
the house is all yours--and a nice place it is, too. While not quite up to the 
luxury of Cheydinhal, Chorrol or Skingrad, it's still a step up from the other 
cities. And it's cheap.

Real cheap.

The total cost of Benirus Manor is less than the hovel in Imperial City, and 
it's a lot nicer. Not to mention it's conveniently located near Anvil's North 
Gate and right across the street from the Fighters Guild hall (you'll frequent 
this hall if you play through the Fighters Guild quests).

If you want a house as quickly as possible, pinch your pennies, get a magic 
weapon, and take out the spirits living in this house rather than buy one of 
the shanties elsewhere.


| SKINGRAD (Rosethorn Hall)
+---------------------------
Price: 25,000
Furnishings: (Colovian Traders)
 * Balcony Area (2 stools, 2 rugs, chair, chest, table, candles), 2797
 * Balcony Upgrade (2 large shelves, candles, pottery), 2447
 * Bedroom Area (2 cupboards, bed upgrade, shelves, chest, dresser, rug,
   stool), 2797
 * Den Area (2 dressers, desk, chair, rug, candle sconces, pottery), 2797
 * Dining Area (3 chairs, shelves, chandelier, rug, silver place settings,
   candle holder, pottery), 2797
 * Display Case Upgrade (3 large & 4 small display cases, candles), 1748
 * Kitchen Area (2 cupboards, table, barrel, set of scales, pottery), 2797
 * Lower Wall Hangings (10 paintings, 5 tapestries), 2797
 * Servants Quarters (2 stools, privacy screen, bed, cupboard, table,
   chest, candles, pottery), 2797
 * Sitting Area (2 stools, 2 rugs, bench, shelves, table, pottery), 2797
 * Storage Area (4 crates, 4 barrels, 3 chests, 2 wine racks, shelves,
   candle holders), 2797
 * Study Area (2 bookshelves, executive desk, chair, chest, mini-tapestries),
   2797
 * Upper Hall Area (2 chests, 2 chairs, shelves, table, rug, candles,
   pottery), 2797
 * Upper Sitting Area (2 stools, 2 chairs, table, chandelier, pottery), 2797
 * Upper Wall Hangings (6 tapestries, 5 paintings), 2797
Total cost: 65,556
Desirability factor: 10/10
Extras: Maid, hidden treasure, 2nd floor balcony

A house worth every penny you have to spend on it, and then some. This is the 
peak of ostentatious wealth, and your ultimate "prize" for plundering all 
those dungeons. To obtain the house, you must have a Fame of 15 (or higher), 
and speak to Count Hassildor's butler, Shum gro-Yarug. gro-Yarug spends his 
mornings in town, and hangs around the castle the rest of the day.

Get his Disposition to 70 and he'll tell you the count is getting ready to 
evict Rosethorn Hall's current tenant and his "junk" and the place is yours 
for a mere 25,000 gold. You can buy furnishings from Gunder at Colovian 
Traders.

After you've purchased the Servants Quarters, talk to Gunder's assistant, 
Eyja. She asks if you need a maid. She'll charge you 150 gold a month, and 
sleeps in the basement. At any time, you can ask her for "Drink" and get a 
bottle of Rosethorn Mead (Fortify Strength & Endurance, Drain Intelligence & 
Willpower); or, ask her for "Food" and get her own Shepherd's Pie, which acts 
as an alchemical ingredient.

Finally, in your bedroom (third floor), you can find an old scroll on top of 
the section of the room covering the stairs. You'll need to get up on the 
bookcase next to the ledge to get the scroll--it's easiest to reach by jumping 
from the nearest display case. The scroll contains a riddle leading to a 
hidden treasure. The treasure is in an hourglass in the basement--find the 
column with garlic cloves hanging from it and look in the eastern support 
where the crossbeam forms a triangle. (The hourglass will not appear until 
you've seen the old scroll.)

Inside are a number of gems and the Ring of the Gray, which contains Fortify 
Sneak, Marksman, Security and Acrobatics, Resist Poison and Detect Life 
enchantments.


| BRUMA
+-------
Price: 10,000
Furnishings: (Novaroma)
 * Bedroom Area (2 candle sconces, cupboard, dresser, chest, rug, candle
   holder, pottery, flowers), 1906
 * Dining Area (3 chairs, rug, shelves, pottery, utensils, flowers), 1906
 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, wine rack, chest, fireplace rack, candle holder,
   rug, bottles, pottery), 1906
 * Lower Storage (3 barrels, chest, shelves, table, bench, chair, rug,
   pottery), 1906
 * Lower Wall Hangings (3 paintings, 3 tapestries, 4 candle sconces), 1906
 * Study Area (2 bookshelves, desk, chair, candelabra, candles), 1906
 * Upper Sitting Area (2 tables, bench, chair, rug, candle holder, flowers),
   1906
 * Upper Storage (2 chests, shelves, table, candelabra, pottery), 1906
 * Upper Wall Hangings (5 paintings, tapestry, 2 candle holders), 1906
Total cost: 27,154
Desirability factor: 9/10
Extras: None

The Bruma house is the first step up from the basic shacks in Imperial City, 
Bravil and Leyawiin. The total cost is only 36% higher than the Leyawiin 
house, yet it is a huge improvement. It's still not spacious--the rooms are 
somewhat cramped--but there are several different rooms, it's attractive and 
clean and it is extremely convenient.

It's located right next to Bruma's East Gate, and you'll spend a lot of time 
in Bruma and its environs as part of the main story. Plus, your house is near 
the merchants, rather than grouped with all the other houses. What more can 
you ask?

Well, room, for one. The Bruma house is "cozy"; there's more room in the 
Chorrol, Cheydinhal, Anvil and Skingrad houses; but, only the Anvil house is 
any cheaper, the rest are quite a bit more expensive. If you're looking for 
the perfect "tweener" house to tide you over from your starter shack to your 
future mansion, the Bruma house is it.


| FROSTCRAG SPIRE
+-----------------
Price: Free*
Furnishings: (Aurelinwae, Mystic Emporium, Market District, Imperial City)
 * Alchemy Lab, 2455
 * Magetallow candles, 2 boxes, each 3275
 * Bedroom Area, 1637
 * Library Area, 1637
 * Vault Area (includes guardian imps), 1637
Total cost: 13,916
Desirability factor: 8/10
Extras: Altar of Enchanting, Altar of Spellmaking, alchemical table & garden,
        portals to all Mages Guilds

* Your character receives the deed to Frostcrag Spire for nothing. You, the 
player, must pay Bethesda Softworks $1.89 (US) in real money for the official 
mod.

You receive this tower, free-of-charge, when you purchase and install the 
Wizard's Tower (DLC3) official mod. Even though the tower is free, furnishing 
it is not. In addition to the furnishings, you must buy certain equipment to 
get everything functional. (Namely, magetallow candles at a total of about 
6,500 gold to get the enchanting and spellmaking altars working.)

The tower is remote and difficult to reach without using Fast Travel. When you 
do use FT, you are deposited quite a distance away and have to climb up to the 
tower, and then up three flights of stairs before you can enter. Also, the 
official description promises breathtaking views, but the weather is always 
lousy, so good luck getting a glimpse of Imperial City from the top of your 
tower. (Note: turning off precipitation in the .ini file as detailed in PC 
Optimization may help you get a good view of Imperial City.)

What pushes this up into the top four homes is the conservatory, containing a 
large variety of alchemical ingredients (including some normally only found in 
Oblivion), and the enchanting and spellmaking altars. With this tower, you 
don't need to join the Mages Guild to make your own spells, enchant equipment 
and experiment with Alchemy.


| DUNBARROW COVE
+----------------
Price: Free*
Furnishings/Crew: (Dahlia Rackham, Clarabella)
 * Upgraded quarters (500 gold): slightly improves the appearance of the
   captain's--that is your--quarters.
 * A fence (1,000 gold): Khafiz and his pet warthog, Bacon, settle in to
   Dunbarrow. Khafiz is an Expert trainer in Mercantile and a fence with
   1,500 gold (the same as Fathis Ules of the Thieves Guild).
 * A fletcher (1,000 gold): Melliwin moves in and hangs out along the back
   wall of the cavern. She is an Expert trainer in Marksman and sells some
   basic supplies and Stealth-related spells.
 * A security expert (1,000 gold): Tahm Blackwell sells a few supplies, some
   Stealth-related spells and provides Expert training in Security. He has a
   little campsite to your right as you enter the main cavern.
 * A spymaster (1,000 gold): Kovan Kren is a dark elf who likes to spend his
   time practicing with his sword over to your left as you enter the main
   cavern. He sells Stealth-related supplies and spells and provides Sneak
   training up to Expert level.
 * A supplier (1,000 gold): Jak Silver takes up residence in the Black Flag
   mid-deck. He has a number of interesting items for sale and also provides
   Expert-level Speechcraft training.
 * Miscellaneous pirates (no cost): Talk to one of these guys and send them
   out to plunder. They'll return in a week and give you a share of the
   booty.
Total cost: 5,500
Desirability factor: 8/10
Extras: Fence, trainers, plunder!

* Your character receives the quest to Dunbarrow Cove for nothing. You, the 
player, must pay Bethesda Softworks $1.89 (US) in real money for the official 
mod.

Once you buy the Thieves Den official mod, you'll get a message telling you to 
investigate Dunbarrow Cove. You'll find Dunbarrow by entering a smuggler's 
cave at water level on the south side of the island occupied by Castle Anvil. 
Go straight through the cave to enter the Cove.

Inside is the wreckage of a pirate ship and the undead crew. There are six 
skeletons in the main cavern, plus the undead Cap'n Dugal in his cabin. Defeat 
them all; then, go see Dahlia Rackham on the Clarabella. The Clarabella is the 
eastern ship docked at Anvil. (If you ventured into the ship previously, it 
was occupied by un-named pirates and minimal loot.)
Rackham sells the services of a crew, as well as improvements to the 
underground wreck.

Once you've fully "furnished" the Cove, you have your own pirate gang to do 
your bidding. There are Expert-level trainers for Mercantile, Speechcraft, 
Marksman, Security and Sneak skills. There's a fence (1,500 gold limit) and 
several different types of merchants. You can also order your crew to go out 
an plunder. Return a week later and get your share of the loot, which is very 
large. A definite must-have for Stealthy characters, and not a bad hangout for 
other types of characters as well.
 

| CHORROL (Arborwatch)
+----------------------
Price: 20,000
Furnishings: (Northern Goods and Trade)
 * Bedroom Area (3 chairs, bed upgrade, shelves, dresser, cupboard, chest,
   chandelier, desk, rug), 3146
 * Dining Area (4 chairs, rug, chandelier, wine rack, silver place settings
   and utensils), 3146
 * Dining Upgrade (3 tables, 2 sets of shelves, pottery), 3146
 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, barrel, table, stool, candle holder, pottery),
   3146
 * Lower Wall Hangings (7 paintings, 5 tapestries, 2 wall lanterns), 3146
 * Middle Wall Hangings (3 paintings, 3 tapestries, wall lantern), 2622
 * Servants Quarters (bed, cupboard, table, rug, chandelier, pottery), 3146
 * Sitting Area (3 tables, 2 benches, 2 chairs, small table, cupboard,
   large rug, pottery), 3146
 * Study Area (2 bookcases, 2 small bookcases, chair, desk, rug, desk
   accessories, candles), 3146
 * Suite Area (4 chairs, 2 tables, large bed, large rug, rug, dresser,
   cupboard, chandelier, pottery), 3496
 * Upper Wall Hangings (4 tapestries, 3 paintings), 2622
Total cost: 53,908
Desirability factor: 6/10
Extras: none

This "other mansion" is a little cheaper and a little easier to obtain than 
Rosethorn Hall--you need a Fame of 12 (or higher) and a Disposition of 70 with 
the Countess of Chorrol, who has regular hours (8am to 6pm) in the castle. 
Considering what an extra 12,000 gold can get you in Skingrad, it's hard to 
justify this purchase. You get no servant (though there are Servants Quarters) 
and the house isn't quite as opulent as Rosethorn Hall. (Plus, no hidden 
loot.)

If you play through the Fighters Guild, you could buy this as your "guild 
master residence", since it's only a couple doors down from the Fighters Guild 
hall and your office.


| DEEPSCORN HOLLOW
+------------------
Price: Free*
Furnishings: (Rowley Eardwulf, Wawnet Inn)
 * Bedroom Area, 3060
 * Cattle Cell, 3060
 * Dark Minion, 3060
 * Dining Area, 3060
 * Garden, 3060
 * Storage Area, 3060
 * Study Are, 3060
 * Ichor of Sithis, 5066
Total cost: 26,486
Desirability factor: 5/10 (10/10 for vampires)
Extras: Altar of Sithis, murdering minion, free food (for vampires),
        Vampire bath

* Your character receives the deed to Deepscorn Hollow for nothing. You, the 
player, must pay Bethesda Softworks $1.89 (US) in real money for the official 
mod.

Like Frostcrag Spire, you don't have to do anything to obtain this little 
country cottage other than purchase and install the official mod. When you 
reload your game after installation, a journal entry informs you of Deepscorn 
Hollow and marks it on your map. It is south-southeast of Leyawiin, not far 
from Tidewater Cave (Nocturnal's Quest) and Bogwater Swamp ("The Renegade 
Shadowscale").

Deepscorn Hollow is a little island just off the coast. There's a bridge over 
to it if you don't want to get your feet wet. Find the partially submerged 
towers on the south side of the island and swim down to a large, hollow log 
that protrudes from the base of one of the towers. Swim into the log to find 
the door to the lair; you have the key to open it (the key is added by the 
mod).

Inside, just as you come up from the water, you'll find a diary. Click it to 
update your journal and read about the former owner of this place. Yes, you 
are now the proud owner of a vampire lair. If you are not a vampire, you may 
still find a use for this wretched hive of villainy--there's an easy cure for 
vampirism. Explore the ruins a bit--there are no monsters...well, other than, 
perhaps, you--until you find the trap door that leads outside. You can now use 
that trap door as well as the submerged door to get back into the lair.

Now, if you don't really need a vampire lair, you can avoid purchasing any of 
the equipment from Rowley Eardwulf. If you ever need a cure for vampirism, 
return to Deepscorn Hollow, go to the Cloister area and find the pool on the 
south side of the Cloister. In one corner of the room is a Purgeblood Salts 
rock formation. Activate a formation to collect some Purgeblood Salts, enter 
the pool and Activate the Font of Renewal in the center.

Tada! You're cured of vampirism. (That's a lot easier than the Vampire Cure 
quest, isn't it?)

If you are a vampire, or just ornery enough to use the lair anyway, follow the 
suggestion of your new journal entry and travel to Wawnet Inn outside Imperial 
City. Find Rowley Eardwulf sitting on the stairs and purchase the necessary 
furnishings from him. They're expensive, so be sure to raid your bank account 
prior to visiting. In addition to the furnishings, you'll need a bottle of 
Ichor of Sithis in order to activate the Altar of Sithis in your new home. 
(Eardwulf is also a Journeyman Sneak skill trainer.)

Return to Deepscorn Hollow to find that your furnishings have been put in 
place. Wandering around the lair is your new minion (if you purchased the 
minion). Unlike Dark Brotherhood murderers, this one won't go along with you 
as a companion; but, he will go out and kill in your name and return the loot 
to you in a Victim's Loot Chest in his room next to the garden. You'll also 
find a prison cell with a sleeping prisoner. The prisoner sleeps 24/7 and 
can't be wakened--a feeding trough for vampires.

Finally, you'll find the Altar of Sithis. Activate it with the Ichor in your 
inventory and the altar is now working. Only those whose Infamy is higher than 
Fame can use the Altar. When you Activate it, you receive the following buffs: 
Fortify Sneak 10, Fortify Health 20, Fortify Agility 5. The buffs last for 
1,000 seconds (or a little over 16-1/2 minutes).


| IMPERIAL CITY
+---------------
Price: 2,000
Furnishings: (Three Brothers Trade Goods, Sergius Verus)
 * Dining Area (shelves, rug, pottery, candles), 732
 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, rug, basket, pottery), 732
 * Sitting Area (2 chairs, table), 732
 * Storage Area (2 dressers, chest, candles), 732
 * Wall Hangings (3 tapestries, 1 painting), 732
Total cost: 5,660
Desirability factor: 5/10
Extras: none

There's no getting around it--this is a shanty in the slums of the Waterfront 
district. Despite that, it is not a bad purchase. The furniture looks more 
rustic than decrepit; and, while it's a single, small room, it's pretty clean 
and quite cozy. For a cheap place to store your goods, you can't go wrong with 
this one. Plus, it gives you a place near Imperial City for conducting 
operations--especially those involving the Thieves Guild.

On the downside, you're not in Imperial City itself, and the Fast Travel point 
is a good walk away. If you play through the Thieves Guild, you'll get a room 
in the nearby guild hall that's larger and nicer than this clapboard shack. If 
you've got 5,000 gold to invest, the Anvil manor is a better purchase, but you 
may not want to fight the undead to get it (plus, it's Anvil, the other end of 
the world). This small home might just be what you need to hold you over until 
you can buy one of the really nice homes.


| CHEYDINHAL
+------------
Price: 15,000
Furnishings: (Borba's Goods and Stores)
 * Bedroom Area (bed upgrade, dresser, chest, table, rug, candles, pottery),
   2788
 * Dining Area (2 chairs, shelves, rug, basket, pottery, utensils), 2788
 * Dressing Area (cupboard, dresser, shelves, chair, rug, candles, pottery),
   2788
 * Kitchen Area (2 cupboards, table, rug, pottery, utensils), 2788
 * Lower Wall Hangings (5 paintings, 2 tapestries), 2788
 * Sitting Area (2 chairs, 2 tables, bench, rug, barrel, pottery), 2788
 * Storage Area (3 barrels, 2 crates, 2 chests, candles), 2788
 * Study Area (desk, stool, bookshelf, rug, basket, desk accessories), 2788
 * Upper Hall Area (2 candle sconces, 2 sets of shelves, 2 candle holders,
   bench, pottery), 2788
 * Upper Wall Hangings (3 tapestries, 3 paintings), 2788
Total cost: 42,880
Desirability factor: 5/10
Extras: none

The Cheydinhal house is an attractive, Tudor-style house in the southwest 
quarter of the city. It's a step up from the Bruma house, and quite a step it 
is: 58% hike in the total cost. Is it worth it? Probably not. If you have the 
Bruma house, you can easily use it until you can afford Rosethorn Hall in 
Skingrad.

The Cheydinhal house is larger, but it is terribly inconvenient. It's a fair 
walk from any of the city's three Fast Travel points; plus, it's Cheydinhal. 
Unless you're doing the Fighters Guild or Dark Brotherhood quests, you'll 
spend little time here.


| BRAVIL
+--------
Price: 4,000
Furnishings: (The Fair Deal)
 * Dining Area (2 chairs, rug, pottery), 1127
 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, table, chair, pottery), 1127
 * Racks Assortment (2 wine racks, 3 weapon racks), 1127
 * Reading Area (2 bookshelves, rug, chair, candelabra), 1127
 * Storage Area (2 dressers, chest, chair, rug, candelabra), 1127
 * Wall Hangings (4 paintings, 1 tapestry), 1127
Total cost: 10,762
Desirability factor: 2/10
Extras: none

| LEYAWIIN
+----------
Price: 7,000
Furnishings: (Best Goods and Guarantees)
 * Bedroom Area (dresser, privacy screen, rug, shelves, candles), 1844
 * Dining Area (3 chairs, rug, candle, pottery), 1844
 * Kitchen Area (cupboard, large table, baskets), 1844
 * Reading Area (3 bookshelves, 2 candles, chair, table, rug, large privacy
   screen), 1844
 * Storage Area (3 barrels, chest, basket, rug, broom), 1844
 * Study Area (desk, chair, bookshelf, candelabra), 1844
 * Wall Hangings (5 paintings, 2 tapestries), 1844
Total cost: 19,908
Desirability factor: 1/10
Extras: none

Both the Bravil and Leyawiin "houses" are little more than hovels, only 
slightly larger than the shanty in Imperial City, but a lot dirtier and more 
dilapidated. The Bravil house gets a slightly higher rating due to the fact it 
is about half the cost of the one in Leyawiin. Neither is conveniently located 
to a Fast Travel point, nor is either in any way attractive or even "homey". 
Unless you're collecting houses, give these two a miss.



                                                                     [MA02]
                         <~~~~~~ SKILL TRAINING ~~~~~~>

Oblivion is all about the skills, so training up your skills is of primary 
importance throughout the game. There are five ways to increase your skill 
ranks:

1) Use the skill. This is the most common way of skill training.


2) Read a skill book. There are five skill books for each skill (except 
Speechcraft, which has only four). Opening one of these books increases the 
associated skill by one rank. A particular title will only increase your skill 
one time, so finding multiple copies does you no good. In addition to finding 
these books at various places in the game world, you may also be able to buy 
them at one of the book merchants.


3) Pay a trainer. For each skill there are Apprentice, Journeyman and Master 
trainers. Apprentice trainers can train your skill to rank 40. Journeyman 
trainers can train your skill to rank 70. Master trainers can train your skill 
to rank 100. You can only train five skill ranks per class level (five ranks 
in one skill, or one rank in five skills or any combination thereof).

Apprentice and Journeyman trainers are available to everyone*; and, you do not 
have to be a certain rank to use Journeyman trainers (i.e. they'll train you 
even if your skill rank is 5). Master trainers are only available once you've 
reached rank 70, gotten a recommendation from a Journeyman trainer (requires 
high Disposition with the trainer) and fulfilled certain requirements.

*Trainers may be members of a guild and may not let non-guild members train 
with them; these will be noted in the skill guides below.


4) Rewards. Certain quests or actions give you increases in a skill as part of 
the reward. In the original release of Oblivion, certain skill rank quest 
awards are bugged so that you receive the additional ranks, but not the 
additional skill experience, so your skill becomes stuck until your experience 
catches up to your rank. This bug is supposed to be fixed in patch 1.1.


5) Magic. Spells and enchantments can temporarily or permanently increase your 
skill ranks. Depending on the type of effect, you may or may not receive any 
additional Mastery Level perks when increasing a skill with magic.


Here's the full list of skills along with how to train them through use, the 
related skill books (and their locations if known), the trainers and the 
Master Trainer "quest", and how you can get that skill increased as a reward.

For a more complete description of each skill (as well as races and 
birthsigns) along with how to control your leveling, see the PapaGamer 
Character Build Guide at:

http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt


| Acrobatics
+------------
* Skill use: this skill is primarily trained through jumping; however, you get 
a bonus to your skill experience if you are hurt at the end of the jump. 
(Seems counter-intuitive, but there you go.) So...go fall off a mountain. 
Actually, you need to find a steep hillside or mountainside, ready some 
healing potions or spells and jump down in stages. You'll sustain damage and 
your Acrobatics ranks will fly.

* Books:
  -> "Thief"
  -> "A Dance in Fire, v1"
  -> "A Dance in Fire, v2"
  -> "The Black Arrow, v1"
  -> "Mystery of Talara, v1"

* Trainers:
  -> Quill-Weave (Apprentice), lives in Anvil along the north wall
  -> Ida Vlinorman (Apprentice), Imperial City, Elven Gardens district
  -> Tsrava (Journeyman), Leyawiin, J'Bari's house
  -> Ganredhel (Journeyman), Cheydinhal, house is behind the chapel
  -> Torbern (Master), Aerin's Camp, north-northeast of Cheydinhal

  Master "quest": none really. The Journeymen will tell you to see Aerin at
  his camp in the northeastern section of Cyrodiil. When you get there, you
  find no Aerin, but a Torbern will train your Acrobatics. No questions
  asked.

* Rewards:
  -> +1 from Quill-Weave if you protect her secret in the Fighters Guild
     quest, "A Rat Problem"


| Alchemy
+---------
* Skill use: making potions trains this skill the fastest. You can also earn 
experience just eating ingredients, but only 10% of what you earn by making a 
potion. Potions are also a good source of income (and selling them helps your 
Mercantile skill). The time-consuming factor is obtaining ingredients. You can 
buy out alchemy merchants, but that costs a lot of gold. So whether you're 
scavenging for ingredients or scavenging for the gold to buy ingredients, it 
still takes a while to train up this skill.

* Books:
  -> "A Game at Dinner"
  -> "Mannimarco, King of Worms"
  -> "Song of the Alchemists"
  -> "De Rerum Dirennis"
  -> "Calcinator Treatise"

* Trainers:
  -> Felen Relas (Apprentice), Anvil Mages Guild
  -> S'drassa (Apprentice), Leyawiin Mages Guild
  -> Ardaline (Journeyman), Bravil Mages Guild
  -> Brotch Calus (Journeyman), Bruma, next to the chapel
  -> Sinderion (Master), Skingrad, West Weald inn basement
  
  Master "quest": Sinderion wants two bottles of wine--Tamika 399 and Surilie
  Brothers 399. You can find these wines at various places throughout the
  game, including the wine cellar in Castle Skingrad, the vault of Frostcrag
  Spire (if you buy the Wizard's Tower official mod and the vault
  furnishings); and, the captain's cabin of the Marie Elena (northern-most
  ship docked at Imperial City's Waterfront and target of Dark Brotherhood
  quest, "A Watery Grave").

* Rewards:


| Alteration
+------------
* Skill use: Alteration, like Illusion, has a lot of self-targeted spells: 
Feather, Water Breathing, etc. Pick one and cast it on yourself over and over. 
Since each cast has an effect, you earn experience for every cast. You can 
increase your skill by many ranks just walking from one town to another.

* Books:
  -> "Daughter of the Niben"
  -> "The Dragon Break"
  -> "Sithis"
  -> "Reality & Other Falsehoods"
  -> "The Lunar Lorkhan"

* Trainers:
  -> Dovyn Aren (Apprentice), Imperial City Elven Gardens district
  -> Deetsan (Apprentice), Cheydinhal Mages Guild
  -> Athragar (Journeyman), Chorrol Mages Guild
  -> Abhuki (Journeyman), owner of the Faregyl Inn, on the Green Road south
     of Imperial City (site of "The Potato Snatcher" side quest)
  -> Tooth-in-the-Sea (Master), near Flooded Mine on Niben Bay coast
  
  Master "quest": Tooth-in-the-Sea wants a demonstration of your Alteration
  prowess. You must stay underwater with him for three hours game time (six
  minutes real time). Argonians--natural water breathers--are exempted from
  this test. Afterwards, he'll train you.

* Rewards:


| Armorer
+---------
* Skill use: Armorer is actually rather difficult to train. In order to train 
this skill you need two things: damaged armor or weapons and plenty of money 
to buy repair hammers. You can get damaged armor and weapons in the same way 
you train other combat skills: Summon a low level creature, turn it hostile 
with three strikes and then let it beat on you. Getting money for repair 
hammers...well, that comes with dungeon delving. Though not as difficult to 
train as Mercantile or Speechcraft, this is not one you want to depend on when 
you need to level up or boost an attribute.

* Books:
  -> "The Armorer's Challenge"
  -> "Last Scabbard of Akrash"
  -> "Light Armor Repair"
  -> "Cherim's Heart of Anequina"
  -> "Heavy Armor Repair"

* Trainers:
  -> Eitar (Apprentice), Margarte's house in Leyawiin
  -> Tadrose Helas (Apprentice), Bravil Fighters Guild
  -> Rohssan (Journeyman), owner of "A Fighting Chance" in Imperial City's
     Market district
  -> Rasheda (Journeyman), owner of "Fire and Steel" in Chorrol
  -> Gin-Wulm (Master), wanders Elven Garden district in Imperial City

  Master "quest": Gin-Wulm wants you to prove your knowledge of armor lore
  by answering a question about a famous smith named Hazzadir. To answer, you
  need to have read "The Armorer's Challenge", which can be purchased at
  First Edition Books in the Market district (and may be found elsewhere).

* Rewards:


| Athletics
+-----------
* Skill use: training this skill seems easy enough--just run everywhere and 
swim every time you see water. But, breaking down the numbers shows it takes 
70 hours of swimming to go from rank 5 to rank 100, assuming it's not a 
specialty or major skill. (Or 97 hours running.) That's a lot of running and 
swimming. The upshot, Athletics trains pretty slowly. It will train faster if 
you have it as a major skill, and faster still if your class specializes in 
Combat.

* Books:
  -> "The Ransom of Zarek"
  -> "A Dance in Fire, v3"
  -> "The Red Kitchen Reader"
  -> "Beggar"
  -> "The Argonian Account, Book 1"

* Trainers:
  -> Uuras (Apprentice), shepherd who lives in Skingrad and spends his days
     near the grape fields west of the city
  -> Mahei (Apprentice), lives in Leyawiin
  -> Hauls-Ropes-Faster (Journeyman), wanders the docks of Anvil at night
  -> Honditar (Journeyman), lives just outside Chorrol
  -> Rusia Bradus (Master), lives in Anvil, Silgor's House, next to the
     Abandoned House
  
  Master "quest": You must have discovered 30 locations (see the stats tab
  of your journal). If you've been playing the game for a while, this should
  not be a problem.

* Rewards:


| Blade
+-------
* Skill use: obviously you train this skill by using your weapon. Every hit, 
regardless of the amount of damage, adds to your skill experience. The easiest 
way to train this skill is to use Summons as training dummies. Just summon a 
low-level creature and beat on it. Rinse and repeat as needed. Make sure you 
do this out in the middle of nowhere so civilians or guards don't join in the 
fun. And summon something that's not too far below you in level, you don't 
want to kill it in one stroke.

* Books:
  -> "Words and Philosophy"
  -> "2920, Morning Star (v1)"
  -> "Fire and Darkness"
  -> "Song Of Hrormir"
  -> "Battle of Sancre Tor"

* Trainers:
  -> Naspia Cosma (Apprentice), steward at Castle Cheydinhal
  -> Right-Wind (Apprentice), Bruma Fighters Guild
  -> Sherina (Journeyman), Leyawiin Fighters Guild
  -> Rhano (Journeyman), Anvil Fighters Guild
  -> Alix Lencolia (Master), is staying at the Faregyl Inn on the Green Road
     south of Imperial City (site of "The Potato Snatcher" side quest)
  
  Master "quest": You need either a Fame or Infamy score of at least 20.
  Unless you've been working hard on skill training without actually doing
  any quests, this should be a no-brainer.

* Rewards:
  -> For a few minutes, watch two Blades practicing outside Cloud Ruler
     Temple and get +2 Blade


| Block
+-------
* Skill use: each block of an enemy's attack gives you some skill experience, 
regardless of how much damage was done. Summon a very low-level, non-magic-
using creature (skeletons are good), punch it three times or use a very low-
damage spell three times and it will turn and attack you. Raise your shield, 
and let it hit you until its time runs out. Then summon another and do it 
again. Do this in the wilderness or there will be unwanted consequences. You 
can also train this skill in the wild; if the enemies you face are not too 
strong, just sit and Block their attacks. Since they have no expiration date, 
you can keep this up a lot longer.

* Books:
  -> "Death Blow of Abernanit"
  -> "The Mirror"
  -> "A Dance in Fire, v2"
  -> "Warrior"
  -> "The Warp in the West"

* Trainers:
  -> Huurwen (Apprentice), Anvil Fighters Guild
  -> Fadus Calidius (Apprentice), Skingrad Fighters Guild
  -> Lum gro-Baroth (Journeyman), Chorrol Fighters Guild
  -> Ambroise Canne (Journeyman), lives in Skingrad
  -> Andragil (Master), lives above Dro'Shanji in Bravil
  
  Master "quest": You have to endure a 45-second beating from Andragil.

* Rewards:
  -> For a few minutes, watch two Blades practicing outside Cloud Ruler
     Temple and get +2 Block


| Blunt
+-------
* Skill use: see Blade

* Books:
  -> "The Legendary Sancre Tor"
  -> "The Importance of Where"
  -> "Night Falls on Sentinel"
  -> "King"
  -> "Mace Etiquette"

* Trainers:
  -> Vigdis (Apprentice), Anvil Fighters Guild
  -> Bugak gro-Bol (Apprentice), owner of "Southern Books" in Leyawiin
  -> Azzan (Journeyman), Anvil Fighters Guild
  -> Christophe Marane (Journeyman), owner of the "Brina Cross Inn" north of
     Anvil
  -> Irene Metrick (Master), Imperial City, Elven Gardens District
  
  Master "quest": You must have killed more than 50 "people"--i.e. the player
  races. This stat is shown on the stats tab of your journal. You will have a
  hard time reaching a rank of 70 in Blunt in any kind of normal manner
  without killing at least that many NPCs.

* Rewards:


| Conjuration
+-------------
* Skill use: this is the fastest skill to train with use (6 skill experience 
points per cast). Skill experience is gained simply by casting a spell, so all 
you need is a low-level Summons spell and you cast it over and over. You don't 
need to wait for each summons to expire, as soon as you cast the spell again, 
the previous summons is replaced. You will also use Summon spells frequently 
to train other skills.

* Books:
  -> "The Doors of Oblivion"
  -> "Liminal Bridges"
  -> "2920: Hearth Fire [sic] (v9)"
  -> "2920: Frostfall [sic] (v10)"
  -> "The Warrior's Charge"
  -> "Commentaris on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book 1"

* Trainers:
  -> Fathis Aren (Apprentice), court mage in Bravil
  -> Sulinus Vassinus (Apprentice), Skingrad Mages Guild
  -> Alberric Litte (Journeyman), Chorrol Mages Guild
  -> Arentus Falvius (Journeyman), Great Chapel of Talos in Bruma
  -> Olyn Seran (Master), Molag Bal's shrine
  
  Master "quest": You have to summon a faded wraith in front of Seran before
  he'll train you. The Summon Faded Wraith spell requires a Conjuration skill
  of 75; so, even though you can be referred to Seran at rank 70, you can't
  get training from him until you're rank 75 (unless you're lucky enough to
  find a scroll of the spell).

* Rewards:


| Destruction
+-------------
* Skill use: essentially, you can only train this skill in the wild against 
enemies, since you only gain experience if it hits a target. You can use 
Summons for target practice, in much the same way you use them for combat 
skills. For an alternate training method, you must join the Mages Guild (or 
buy the Wizard's Tower official mod) and use the Spellmaking Altar to make a 
very low-damage self-targeted spell. Cast it on yourself until your health 
gets low; then, heal yourself to raise Restoration.

* Books:
  -> "The Horrors of Castle Xyr"
  -> "Response to Bero's Speech"
  -> "A Hypothetical Treachery"
  -> "The Art of War Magic"
  -> "Mystery of Talara, v3"
  -> "Commentaris on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book 2"

* Trainers:
  -> Chanel (Apprentice), Castle Chorrol's resident mage
     If you get Chanel expelled from Chorrol in "Canvas the Castle", she's
     out of the game for good.
  -> J'skar (Apprentice), Bruma Mages Guild
     You must complete the "Bruma Recommendation" Mages Guild quest before
     you can talk to J'skar
  -> Delphine Jend (Journeyman), Bravil Mages Guild
  -> Marc Gulitte (Journeyman), Anvil Mages Guild
  -> Bralsa Andaren (Master), hangs around a shrine to Kynareth (west of
     Weatherleah, north-northwest of the Shrine of Sanguine)
  
  Master "quest": Bring Andaren 20 bear pelts. You may be able to buy some
  from "trader" merchants (such as Colovian Traders in Skingrad, Jensine's in
  Imperial City, or Northern Goods in Chorrol). You should also be able to
  find bears in Tidewater Cave south of Leyawiin (Nocturnal's quest) and
  wandering in the wilderness beginning at level 7.

* Rewards:


| Hand To Hand
+--------------
* Skill use: see Blade

* Books:
  -> "Immortal Blood"
  -> "The Wolf Queen, v2"
  -> "Ahzirr Traajijazeri"
  -> "Way of the Exposed Palm"
  -> "Master Zoaraym's Tale"

* Trainers:
  -> Nahsi (Apprentice), Bravil Fighters Guild
  -> Rufrius Vinicus (Apprentice), Anvil Fighters Guild
  -> Ra'qanar (Journeyman), Castle Cheydinhal servant
  -> Davela Hlaren (Journeyman), owner of the "Imperial Bridge Inn" on the
     Silverfish River (site of "No Stone Unturned" side quest)
  -> Helvius Cecia (Master), lives in the south section of Bruma
  
  Master "quest": You have to reduce his health by about half in 30 seconds
  of hitting him with your fists.

* Rewards:
  -> Watch two sparrers outside the Arena (Imperial City) for a few minutes
     for a +5 to HTH skill


| Heavy Armor
+-------------
* Skill use: each hit taken on a part of the body equipped with heavy armor 
counts toward your skill level ups. Equip yourself totally in heavy armor, 
summon a very low-level, non-magic using creature (skeletons are good), punch 
it three times or use a very low-damage spell three times and it will turn and 
attack you. Prep a healing spell and let it hit you until its time runs out. 
Then summon another and do it again. Do this in the wilderness or there will 
be unwanted consequences.

* Books:
  -> "Hallgerd's Tale"
  -> "2920, MidYear (v6)"
  -> "Chimarvamidium"
  -> "How Orsinium Passed to Orcs"
  -> "History of the Fighters Guild"

* Trainers:
  -> Bumph gra-Gash (Apprentice), Bruma Fighters Guild
  -> Brodras (Apprentice), Leyawiin Fighters Guild
  -> Valus Odiil (Journeyman), lives in the southwest corner of Chorrol, but
     spends a lot of time at The Gray Mare
  -> Varnado (Journeyman), co-owner of The Best Defense in Imperial City
  -> Pranal (Master), lives in the Roxey Inn north-northeast of Imperial City
     on the Red Ring Road
     
  Master "quest": Pranal wants you to present a gift to Roxey Inn
  proprietress Malene--four silver glasses and a silver pitcher. Note--
  that's "glasses" not "cups" or "mugs". You may be able to buy these from
  the typical "trader" merchants in each city. You can also steal these
  things from just about any castle as well as some of the more affluent
  houses in the Talos Plaza and Temple disricts of Imperial City. One good
  mark: Trenus Duronis of the Temple district. His house is west of the
  temple, and opens into the central circle. Duronis is a skooma (drug)
  addict. He's rarely home at night and has no servants. His house is easy
  pickins'.

* Rewards:


| Illusion
+----------
* Skill use: every spell cast gives you experience. Illusion, like Alteration, 
has lots of self-targeted spells, such as Light or Chameleon. You just walk 
along, casting one over and over.

* Books:
  -> "The Wolf Queen, v3"
  -> "The Argonian Account, Book 3"
  -> "Incident at Necrom"
  -> "Palla, volume 1" (Can only be found in Arkved's Death Quarters in
     Arkved's Tower, part of Vaermina's quest)
  -> "Mystery of Talara, v4"
  -> "Commentaris on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book 3"

* Trainers:
  -> Hill the Tall (Apprentice), priest at Chapel of Arkay in Cheydinhal
  -> Jantus Brolus (Apprentice), Bruma, Istrius Brolas' house
  -> Carahil (Journeyman), Anvil Mages Guild
  -> Martina Floria (Master), Chironasium, Arcane University
     You have to finish the Recommendation Quests to get access to Arcane
     University's Chironasium and Master trainer Floria
  
  Master "quest": Bring Floria ten welkynd stones. You can find welkynd
  stones in Ayleid ruins. The closest ruin--Vilverin--will provide far more
  than the ten stones needed.

* Rewards:

*NOTE* Kud-Ei of the Bravil Mages Guild is supposed to be a Journeyman 
Illusion trainer--she has the conversation and the scripts. Unfortunately, the 
developers forgot to set her trainer ability, so you'll have to rely on 
Carahil for Journeyman Illusion training.


| Light Armor
+-------------
* Skill use: see Heavy Armor, but fully equip light rather than heavy armor

* Books:
  -> "The Rear Guard"
  -> "Ice and Chitin"
  -> "Lord Jornibret's Last Dance"
  -> "The Refugees"
  -> "Rislav the Righteous"

* Trainers:
  -> Dul gro-Shug (Apprentice), Imperial City, Elven Gardens district
  -> Olfand (Apprentice), Nord Winds, Bruma
  -> Luciana Galena (Journeyman), south quarter of Bravil over the house you
     can buy (she's also a Thieves Guild fence)
  -> Ahdarji (Journeyman), lives in Leyawiin, subject of "Ahdarji's Heirloom"
     Thieves Guild quest
  -> J'Bari (Master), house in Leyawiin
  
  Master "quest": Bring J'Bari an Elven cuirass. Your best bets for finding
  such a thing are to raid a bandit camp and get one off them (if you're
  high enough level for bandits to be wearing Elven armor). Besides the
  numerous small camps scattered around Cyrodiil, you can also find bandits
  in numbers in Cursed Mine just west of Skingrad, Dzonot Cave on the south-
  western shore of Lake Rumare and the first level of Vilverin (Ayleid ruin
  across from you as you leave the sewers at the beginning of the game).

* Rewards:


| Marksman
+----------
* Skill use: see Blade

* Books:
  -> "The Gold Ribbon of Merit"
  -> "A Dance in Fire, v5"
  -> "Vernaccus and Bourlor"
  -> "Father of the Niben"
  -> "The Black Arrow, v2"

* Trainers:
  -> Shameer (Apprentice), house in Skingrad
  -> Edla Dark-Heart (Apprentice), Regner's house, south Bruma
  -> Reman Broder (Journeyman), house in Skingrad
  -> Pinarus Inventius (Journeyman), hunter based in Anvil, frequently
     wanders the wilderness (part of Fighters Guild quest "A Rat Problem")
  -> Melliwin (Expert), part of the Thieves Den official mod
  -> Alawen (Master), Troll Candle Camp, east-southeast of Anvil (Gweden Farm
     from "The Siren's Deception" is closest quest-related point, west-
     southwest of the camp) Alawen hunts frequently, so you may need to Wait
     until nighttime for her to return to her camp.
  
  Master "quest": Alawen wants an Elven bow. Your best bets for finding
  such a thing are to raid a bandit camp and get one off them (if you're
  high enough level for bandits to be using Elven weapons). Besides the
  numerous small camps scattered around Cyrodiil, you can also find bandits
  in numbers in Cursed Mine just west of Skingrad, Dzonot Cave on the south-
  western shore of Lake Rumare and the first level of Vilverin (Ayleid ruin
  across from you as you leave the sewers at the beginning of the game).

* Rewards:


| Mercantile
+------------
* Skill use: you get a bump in Mercantile experience points for each item 
sold. So, how do you train this skill? Buy a stack of 100 arrows and sell them 
back--one at a time. Yeah, you would rather clean the bathrooms in Grand 
Central Station with your tongue. But, there it is.

* Books:
  -> "The Buying Game"
  -> "The Wolf Queen, v4"
  -> "2920, Sun's Height (v7)"
  -> "A Dance in Fire, v6"
  -> "A Dance in Fire, v7"

* Trainers:
  -> Foroch (Apprentice), Gottshaw Inn, southwest of Kvatch
  -> Mach-Na (Apprentice), owner of Mach-Na's Books, Cheydinhal
  -> Margarte (Journeyman), Eitar's house, Leyawiin (part of Fighters Guild
     quest "Drunk & Disorderly"), Margarte wanders a lot
  -> Seed-Neeus (Journeyman), owner of Northern Goods & Trade, Chorrol
  -> Khafiz (Expert), part of the Thieves Den official mod
  -> Palonirya (Master), owner of Divine Elegance, Imperial City, Market
     district
  
  Master "quest": If you have at least 10,000 gold in your pockets, Palonirya
  will train you (that's not how much the training costs, just how much you
  must be carrying when you meet her).

* Rewards:
  -> +5 from Seed-Neeus for completing "Shadow Over Hackdirt"


| Mysticism
+-----------
* Skill use: the Detect Life spell is a good, cheap self-targeted spell that 
will allow you to train this skill while you're walking around. Just keep 
casting it over and over; you don't have to wait for each cast to expire 
before casting again.

* Books:
  -> "The Firsthold Revolt"
  -> "2920, Sun's Dawn (v2)"
  -> "The Black Arts on Trial"
  -> "Before the Ages of Man"
  -> "Souls, Black and White"
  -> "Commentaris on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book 4"

* Trainers:
  -> Druja (Apprentice), Skingrad Mages Guild
  -> Angalmo (Apprentice), Chorrol Mages Guild
  -> Boderi Farano (Journeyman), Mystic Archives, Arcane University
     You must complete the Recommendation Quests to have access to the Mystic
     Archives and this trainer
  -> Ita Rienus (Journeyman), Bravil Mages Guild
  -> Dagail (Master), Leyawiin Mages Guild
  
  Master "quest": If you've closed at least three Oblivion gates, Dagail will
  train you.

* Rewards:


| Restoration
+-------------
* Skill use: You can train this skill using a cheap Fortify self-target spell, 
e.g. Fortify Magicka, and casting it on yourself over-and-over. But...this 
skill trains *very* slowly. You get 1/10 of the skill experience per cast as 
you do with Conjuration, 1/8 of Alteration, 1/5 of Mysticism and Illusion, and 
1/2 of Destruction. Since it takes so long to train this skill normally, 
you'll need to rely on trainers, and probably don't want to rely on this skill 
for class leveling.

* Books:
  -> "Withershins"
  -> "Notes on Racial Phylogeny"
  -> "The Exodus"
  -> "2920, Rain's Hand (v4)"
  -> "Mystery of Talara, v2"

* Trainers:
  -> Cirroc (Apprentice), Great Chapel of Talos, Bruma
  -> Marie Palielle (Apprentice), Great Chapel of Julianos, Skingrad
  -> Marz (Journeyman), Great Chapel of Mara, Bravil
  -> Ohtesse (Journeyman), Great Chapel of Arkay, Cheydinhal
  -> Oleta (Master), Chapel of Akatosh, Kvatch (but she moves to the refugee
     camp south of the city after you secure the chapel as part of the main
     story)
  
  Master "quest": You must complete "Breaking the Siege of Kvatch" and "The
  Battle for Castle Kvatch" before Oleta will consent to train you.

* Rewards:


| Security
+----------
* Skill use: there's no getting around it, the only way to train Security is 
picking locks. This is easier said than done. First, most locks that need 
picking will also get you into trouble with the law. Second, not everyone 
finds lockpicking to be easy. Fortunately for you, the developers foresaw the 
difficulties with lockpicking and provided both Open Lock spells (Alteration) 
and the Skeleton Key. So training Security isn't really worth a lot, unless 
you're trying to boost Agility. (PS: Once you have the Skeleton Key, you can 
go crazy picking locks using Auto Attempt and get ranks in Security that way.)

* Books:
  -> "The Locked Room"
  -> "The Wolf Queen, v1"
  -> "Proper Lock Design"
  -> "Advances in Lock Picking"
  -> "Surfeit of Thieves"

* Trainers:
  -> Malintus Ancrus (Apprentice), house in southwestern Chorrol
  -> Samuel Bantien (Apprentice), Imperial City, Talos Plaza district
  -> Dro'Shanji (Journeyman), house in the north quarter of Bravil
  -> Mandil (Journeyman), Othrelos's house, Imperial City, Elven Gardens
  -> Tahm Blackwell (Expert), part of the Thieves Den official mod
  -> J'baana (Master), Imperial Prison, he wanders the fenced prison yard in
     the back section of the district, you can speak to him through the gates
     or steal a key from a jailor
  
  Master "quest": You must pick up a message from S'Krivva (north quarter of
  Bravil) and bring it to J'baana.

* Rewards:


| Sneak
+-------
* Skill use: you can train Sneak by successfully Sneaking around *any* NPC; 
they don't have to be hostile. Break into someone's house, Sneak up to their 
bedroom and Sneak-run into the wall while they sleep. Sneak behind an 
innkeeper and Sneak-run into the wall. You can even train up Sneak while in a 
dungeon or on a mission where you have a convenient cubbyhole near some NPCs. 
For example, in the Dark Brotherhood contract, "Accidents Happen", you can 
Sneak-run in the crawlspace for days (game time) and rank up to 100 without 
even breaking a sweat.

* Books:
  -> "The Wolf Queen, v6"
  -> "2920, Last Seed (v8)"
  -> "Sacred Witness"
  -> "Legend of Krately House"
  -> "Purloined Shadows"

* Trainers:
  -> City-Swimmer (Apprentice), north quarter of Bravil
  -> Glistel (Apprentice), Malintus Ancrus's house, southwestern Chorrol
  -> Othrelos (Journeyman), Imperial City, Elven Gardens district
  -> Mirabelle Monet (Journeyman), owner of the Fo'c's'le, Anvil docks
  -> Rowley Eardwulf (Journeyman), new merchant added by "Vile Lair"
     official plug-in, located in Wawnet Inn west of Imperial City
  -> Kovan Kren (Expert), part of the Thieves Den official mod
  -> Marana Rian (Master), house in the Temple district of Imperial City, but
     wanders the city a lot
  
  Master "quest": Pickpocket the coin in Rian's pocket and you're in.

* Rewards:


| Speechcraft
+-------------
* Skill use: if there's one skill that can be said to be the most difficult 
and tedious skill to train, it is Speechcraft. The *only* way to train 
Speechcraft is by playing the Persuasion mini-game, which some players may 
liken to having a root canal without anesthetic. You gain 2.4 skill experience 
points each time you complete the mini-game (regardless of how much you raised 
or lowered Disposition). Considering the hundreds of points needed to rank up 
a skill...that's a lot of Persuasion. You'll definitely want to seek out 
trainers and skill books if Speechcraft is important to you.

* Books:
  -> "Biography of the Wolf Queen"
  -> "The Wolf Queen, v5"
  -> "2920, Second Seed (v5)"
  -> "The Wolf Queen, v7"

* Trainers:
  -> Alga (Apprentice), Honmund's house, Bruma
  -> Uravasa Othelas (Apprentice), Great Chapel of Mara, Bravil
  -> Gruland Garrana (Journeyman), Great Chapel of Arkay, Cheydinhal
  -> Varon Vamori (Journeyman), Bravil (has a part in the Bravil
     Recommendation Mages Guild quest)
  -> Jak Silver (Expert), part of the Thieves Den official mod
  -> Tandilwe (Master), Temple of the One, Imperial City
  
  Master "quest": You must speak to every beggar in Cyrodiil (there are 19).
  Beggars killed prior to starting the quest will not be counted. Any beggars
  you have spoken to prior to starting the quest will be counted--you do not
  have to talk to them again. There are five beggars in Imperial City; two in
  each of the other seven major cities.

* Rewards:
  -> Get "Biography of the Wolf Queen" from Ursanne Loche when you finish
     "Caught in the Hunt"
  
  -> +1 from Arvena Thelas if you turn Quill-Weave in at the end of the
     Fighters Guild quest, "A Rat Problem"



                                                                     [MA03]
                           <~~~~~~ VAMPIRISM ~~~~~~>

Yes, indeed, you can become a vampire in Oblivion. There are advantages and 
disadvantages to becoming a vampire. To become a vampire, you must first get 
the disease "porphyric hemophilia". Three days after getting the disease, when 
you sleep, you turn into a vampire. You normally get the disease during fights 
with vampires. You can also willingly receive the disease during the Dark 
Brotherhood quests, just talk to Vincente Valtieri (before you get special 
orders from Lucien Lachance).

You can stop the change to vampire by curing your porphyric hemophilia. Any 
normal method of curing disease works: potion, spell or Activating an altar in 
one of the Great Chapels in a city. You can greatly reduce the chance of 
getting porphyric hemophilia by engaging vampires at range. They can't infect 
you unless they use melee attacks against you.

Once you are a vampire, there are four stages of vampirism: 25% vampire, 50% 
vampire, 75% vampire and 100% vampire. You begin at 25% (stage 1) vampire. 
Every few days, if you don't drink any "human" (human in this case includes 
Elves, Argonians and Khajiit) blood, you move to the next stage of vampirism 
if you rest (Wait) or sleep.

Drinking human blood moves you back to stage 1 (25%) vampirism. You drink 
blood by finding a sleeping NPC and Activating the NPC. You'll be asked if you 
want to feed. Feeding on an NPC doesn't wake and doesn't harm the character. 
You can feed on beggars, your maid in Skingrad (if you're rich), fellow Guild 
members or even the Countess of Anvil (if you can break into the castle). 
Don't feed where any awake characters can see you, or they will raise an 
alarm.

The benefits and penalties of the four stages of vampirism:

| Stage 1 (25%)
+---------------
Hunter's Sight (Lesser Power):
   Night Eye on self for 30 seconds
   Detect Life 100ft on self for 30 seconds
Weakness to Fire 20
Fortify Acrobatics 5
Fortify Athletics 5
Fortify Destruction 5
Fortify Hand To Hand 5
Fortify Illusion 5
Fortify Mysticism 5
Fortify Sneak 5
Fortify Speed 5
Fortify Strength 5
Fortify Willpower 5
Resist Disease 100
Resist Normal Weapons 5
Resist Paralysis 100


| Stage 2 (50%)
+---------------
Vampire's Seduction (Greater Power):
   Charm 50 points for 20 seconds on touch
Hunter's Sight (Lesser Power):
   Night Eye on self for 30 seconds
   Detect Life 100ft on self for 30 seconds
Sun Damage 1 (1 point of damage every second spent outside during the day)
Weakness to Fire 30
Fortify Acrobatics 10
Fortify Athletics 10
Fortify Destruction 10
Fortify Hand To Hand 10
Fortify Illusion 10
Fortify Mysticism 10
Fortify Sneak 10
Fortify Speed 10
Fortify Strength 10
Fortify Willpower 10
Resist Disease 100
Resist Normal Weapons 10
Resist Paralysis 100


| Stage 3 (75%)
+---------------
Reign of Terror (Greater Power):
   Silence in 20ft for 60 seconds on touch
   Demoralize up to level 6 for 60 seconds on touch
Vampire's Seduction (Greater Power):
   Charm 50 points for 20 seconds on touch
Hunter's Sight (Lesser Power):
   Night Eye on self for 30 seconds
   Detect Life 100ft on self for 30 seconds
Sun Damage 4 (4 points of damage every second spent outside during the day)
Weakness to Fire 40
Fortify Acrobatics 15
Fortify Athletics 15
Fortify Destruction 15
Fortify Hand To Hand 15
Fortify Illusion 15
Fortify Mysticism 15
Fortify Sneak 15
Fortify Speed 15
Fortify Strength 15
Fortify Willpower 15
Resist Disease 100
Resist Normal Weapons 15
Resist Paralysis 100


| Stage 4 (100%)
+----------------
Embrace of Shadows (Greater Power):
   Night Eye on self for 90 seconds
   Invisibility on self for 90 seconds
Reign of Terror (Greater Power):
   Silence in 20ft for 60 seconds on touch
   Demoralize up to level 6 for 60 seconds on touch
Vampire's Seduction (Greater Power):
   Charm 50 points for 20 seconds on touch
Hunter's Sight (Lesser Power):
   Night Eye on self for 30 seconds
   Detect Life 100ft on self for 30 seconds
Sun Damage 8 (8 points of damage every second spent outside during the day)
Weakness to Fire 50
Fortify Acrobatics 20
Fortify Athletics 20
Fortify Destruction 20
Fortify Hand To Hand 20
Fortify Illusion 20
Fortify Mysticism 20
Fortify Sneak 20
Fortify Speed 20
Fortify Strength 20
Fortify Willpower 20
Resist Disease 100
Resist Normal Weapons 20
Resist Paralysis 100


During each stage of vampirism your appearance changes. At stage 4 vampirism, 
your condition has become so noticeable most NPCs won't talk to you. You can't 
shop, get quests or anything else. You can use the Vampire's Seduction power 
to increase the target's Disposition so you can talk to the person. You can 
also use standard Charm spells, scrolls or the Imperial race's Voice of the 
Emperor power.

Beginning with Stage 2 vampirism, you can't Fast Travel during the day. You 
can Fast Travel at night, but you'll need to make short hops. On foot, Fast 
Traveling from Cheydinhal to Anvil takes 11 hours; if you have a fast horse, 
you can cut that to 5 hours. So, on horseback, you can Fast Travel clear 
across Cyrodiil in one night; on foot you'll only be able to travel about 
halfway across the country.

By Stage 4 vampirism, being outside during the day will require that you run 
along with a healing spell ready, casting almost constantly. You will not want 
to stop and fight in this condition, so traveling through the wilderness 
during the day can be quite dangerous. Keep an eye on the clock (shown on the 
map/quest screens of your journal and on the Wait menu) and don't go outside 
during the day. If you've been spelunking, stay in the dungeon until nightfall 
(which the game defines as 8pm), and then you can Fast Travel to the nearest 
city. Wait in an Inn until daylight, then sprint for the stores to sell off 
your loot.

If you decide you don't want to be a vampire any longer, you must complete the 
Vampire Cure side quest. See the full description in the Side Quests section 
of this guide. *OR* You can purchase the Vile Lair official plug-in and use 
the Purgeblood Salts and Font of Renewal in the Lair to cure your vampirism.



                                                                     [MA04]
                            <~~~~~~ ALCHEMY ~~~~~~>

Alchemy can play a big part in Oblivion. There are certainly more than enough 
basic potions and poisons laying around that you do not need to make your own. 
Still, you can create far more interesting effects by brewing your own 
concoctions, and Alchemy is a very controllable skill, which is useful for 
leveling up and increasing Intelligence.

There are over 100 alchemical ingredients in the game. Each has four effects 
that are used in mixtures. If your mixture has beneficial effects, it becomes 
a potion and is used on yourself. If your mixture has harmful effects, it 
becomes a poison and is used on weapons. (To use a poison, select and activate 
it in your Inventory and you will be asked if you want to apply it to your 
equipped weapon--or arrow if you have a bow equipped. The poison only has 
effect on the next hit with that weapon or arrow.) If your mixture has both 
beneficial and harmful effects, you get a potion to use on yourself.

To mix ingredients, you need a mortar and pestle. You can obtain one in the 
starter dungeon, so that's no problem. At the beginning of the game, you need 
at least two ingredients with the same effect. (When you reach Master 
Alchemist, you can make potions and poisons from just one ingredient.)

Each ingredient has four effects. The number of effects you can see, and use, 
is based on your Alchemy skill:

* Novice - one effect
* Apprentice - two effects
* Journeyman - three effects
* Expert - four effects


| Making a Potion/Poison
+------------------------
Select and activate your mortar and pestle in your Inventory. The Alchemy menu 
opens. At the top is a place to name your potion (an automatic name will be 
created based on the first effect of the mixture, or you can create your own 
name). Below are two panes: a list of ingredients and a list of effects. Click 
the Add Ingredient button to get a list of ingredients in your inventory. As 
you mouse-over/select each ingredient, a pop-up will show the effects created 
by that ingredient.

Select an ingredient; then, add another with the same effect. The effect does 
not need to be in the same "position" for each ingredient. For example, you 
can create a Chameleon potion using Blood Grass (first effect) and Daedra Silk 
(third effect). Mixing an Alkanet Flower and Bonemeal will give you a Damage 
Fatigue poison even though it is the fourth effect for Alkanet Flowers and the 
first effect for Bonemeal.

You can mix up to four ingredients. They can all have the same matching effect 
or not. For example, mix Beef and Blackberries for Restore Fatigue. Then add 
Ectoplasm for a Dispel effect (matches Dispel effect in Beef); add Void Salts 
for stronger Dispel and Restore Magicka (matches Restore Magicka effect in 
Blackberries). Call it Mage's Energizer or something like that.

The strength and duration of the effects in your mixture are determined by a 
number of things:

* Your alchemy equipment. In addition to the basic mortar and pestle, you can 
also have an alembic (reduces negative effects in potions, but not poisons); a 
retort (increases beneficial effects in potions); and a calcinator (increases 
all effects in both potions and poisons). Each piece of equipment in your 
Inventory can also be leveled--there are Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, 
Expert and Master versions of all equipment. Note that for the alembic, retort 
and calcinator, you only need to have one in your Inventory to gain its bonus 
to your alchemy mixtures.

* The position of the effect in each ingredient. The Damage Fatigue from 
Alkanet Flowers (fourth position) will be stronger than from Bonemeal (first 
position).

*NOTE* You can consume (eat) ingredients directly and receive a small amount 
of experience toward your Alchemy skill. Eating ingredients always gives the 
first listed effect for that ingredient.


| Reading the Alchemy Tables
+----------------------------
Below are listed all the common (and a few uncommon) alchemical ingredients in 
the game in two tables. Ingredients that are used specifically to fulfill 
quests (such as Jumbo Potatoes, Unicorn Horn and the Ashes of Hindaril) are 
not listed. You can't both use the ingredients and fulfill the related quest 
unless you cheat in extra copies of the ingredient.

In the INGREDIENTS TABLE, all the ingredients are listed with their effects. 
After the name of the ingredient (in parenthesis) is the method in which it is 
most commonly obtained:

* Clutter - typically found in chests, crates, barrels and lying around

* Harvest - typically must be harvested from its plant, either in the wild or 
in someone's garden

* Creature - found as loot in a creature after killing it
  
* Special - the ingredient can only be obtained in a certain way or in a 
specific place

Almost all ingredients in the game can be found as clutter, though only the 
listed Clutter and Harvest items are likely to be found. Finding Creature 
ingredients as clutter is rarer and happens mostly in Mages Guild halls and 
necromancer/conjurer dungeons. Alchemy merchants will, at various times, carry 
pretty much every ingredient in the game with the exception of the Special 
items.

The listed Effects for each ingredient are in order. So if you are a Novice 
alchemist, you can only utilize the first listed effect. You must be an 
Apprentice alchemist to utilize the second effect; a Journeyman to use the 
third effect and an Expert to make use of the fourth listed effect.

After the list of effects are comments on the ingredient. Comments will tell 
you the chance of successfully harvesting the plant; the creatures that 
produce the ingredient when killed; whether or not the plant is native to 
Oblivion (and, thus, hard to find in Cyrodiil); how to collect Special 
ingredients and other pertinent information.

Following the ingredients table, you'll find the EFFECTS TABLE. This lists all 
potion-produced effects in the game followed by the ingredients that cause 
that effect. The ingredients are grouped according to which position the 
effect is in their list. So, you can use the EFFECTS TABLE to see that, if 
you're a Journeyman alchemist who wants to make a Chameleon potion, you have 
to use Blood Grass, Daedra Silk and Radishes. If you are an Apprentice 
alchemist and want a Fire Shield potion...well, you're out of luck.


                             INGREDIENTS TABLE

 Alkanet Flower (Harvest)
--------------------------
Effects:  Restore Intelligence, Resist Poison, Light, Damage Fatigue
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Aloe Vera Leaves (Harvest)
----------------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Restore Health, Damage Magicka, Invisibility
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Apple (Clutter)
-----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Luck, Fortify Willpower, Damage Health

 Arrowroot (Harvest)
---------------------
Effects:  Restore Agility, Damage Luck, Fortify Strength, Burden
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Beef (Clutter)
----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Shield, Fortify Agility, Dispel

 Bergamot Seeds (Harvest)
--------------------------
Effects:  Resist Disease, Dispel, Damage Magicka, Silence
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Blackberry (Harvest)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Resist Shock, Fortify Endurance, Restore Magicka
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Blood Grass (Harvest)
-----------------------
Effects:  Chameleon, Resist Paralysis, Burden, Fortify Health
Comments: 50% chance to harvest. Harvested in Oblivion.

 Boar Meat (Creature)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Health, Damage Speed, Fortify Health, Burden
Comments: boar

 Bog Beacon Asco Cap (Harvest)
-------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Magicka, Shield, Damage Personality, Damage Endurance
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Bonemeal (Creature)
---------------------
Effects:  Damage Fatigue, Resist Fire, Fortify Luck, Night-Eye
Comments: skeleton, lich

 Bread Loaf (Clutter)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Detect Life, Damage Agility, Damage Strength

 Cairn Bolete Cap (Harvest)
----------------------------
Effects:  Restore Health, Damage Intelligence, Resist Paralysis, Shock Dmg
Comments: 33% chance to harvest.

 Carrot (Harvest)
------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Night-Eye, Fortify Intelligence, Damage Endurance
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Cheese Wedge (Clutter)
------------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Resist Fire, Fire Shield, Damage Agility

 Cheese Wheel (Clutter)
------------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Resist Paralysis, Damage Luck, Fortify Willpower

 Cinnabar Polypore Red Cap (Harvest)
-------------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Agility, Shield, Damage Personality, Damage Endurance
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Cinnabar Polypore Yellow Cap (Harvest)
----------------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Endurance, Fortify Endurance, Damage Personality,
          Reflect Spell
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Clannfear Claws (Creature)
----------------------------
Effects:  Cure Disease, Resist Disease, Paralyze, Damage Health
Comments: clannfear

 Clouded Funnel Cap (Harvest)
------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Intelligence, Fortify Intelligence, Damage Endurance,
          Damage Magicka
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Columbine Root Pulp (Harvest)
-------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Personality, Resist Frost, Fortify Magicka, Chameleon
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Corn (Harvest)
----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Restore Intelligence, Damage Agility, Shock Shield
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Crab Meat (Creature)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Endurance, Resist Shock, Damage Fatigue, Fire Shield
Comments: mud crab

 Daedra Heart (Creature)
-------------------------
Effects:  Restore Health, Shock Shield, Damage Magicka, Silence
Comments: dremora, xivilai

 Daedra Silk (Creature)
------------------------
Effects:  Burden, Night-Eye, Chameleon, Damage Endurance
Comments: spider daedra

 Daedra Venin (Creature)
-------------------------
Effects:  Paralyze, Restore Fatigue, Damage Health, Reflect Damage
Comments: spider daedra

 Daedroth Teeth (Creature)
---------------------------
Effects:  Night-Eye, Frost Shield, Burden, Light
Comments: daedroth

 Dragon's Tongue (Harvest)
---------------------------
Effects:  Resist Fire, Damage Health, Restore Health, Fire Shield
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Dreugh Wax (Creature)
-----------------------
Effects:  Damage Fatigue, Resist Poison, Water Breathing, Damage Health
Comments: land dreugh

 Dryad Saddel Polypore Cap (Harvest)
-------------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Luck, Resist Frost, Damage Speed, Frost Damage
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Ectoplasm (Creature)
----------------------
Effects:  Shock Damage, Dispel, Fortify Magicka, Damage Health
Comments: ghost, wraith

 Elf Cup Cap (Harvest)
-----------------------
Effects:  Damage Willpower, Cure Disease, Fortify Strength, Damage INT
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Emetic Russula Cap (Harvest)
------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Agility, Shield, Damage Personality, Damage Endurance
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Fennel Seeds (Harvest)
------------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Intelligence, Damage Magicka, Paralyze
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Fire Salts (Creature)
-----------------------
Effects:  Fire Damage, Resist Frost, Restore Magicka, Fire Shield
Comments: flame atronach

 Flax Seeds (Harvest)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Magicka, Feather, Shield, Damage Health
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Flour (Clutter)
-----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Personality, Fortify Fatigue, Reflect Dmg

 Fly Amanita Cap (Harvest)
---------------------------
Effects:  Restore Agility, Burden, Restore Health, Shock Damage
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Foxglove Nectar (Harvest)
---------------------------
Effects:  Resist Poison, Resist Paralysis, Restore Luck, Resist Disease
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Frost Salts (Creature)
------------------------
Effects:  Frost Damage, Resist Fire, Silence, Frost Shield
Comments: frost atronach

 Garlic (Harvest)
------------------
Effects:  Resist Disease, Damage Agility, Frost Shield, Fortify Strength
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Ginkgo Leaf (Clutter)
-----------------------
Effects:  Restore Speed, Fortify Magicka, Damage Luck, Shock Damage

 Ginseng (Harvest)
-------------------
Effects:  Damage Luck, Cure Poison, Burden, Fortify Magicka
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Glow Dust (Creature)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Speed, Light, Reflect Spell, Damage Health
Comments: will-o-wisp

 Grapes (Harvest)
------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Water Walking, Dispel, Damage Health
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Green Stain Cup Cap (Harvest)
-------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Speed, Reflect Damage, Damage Health
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Green Stain Shelf Cap (Harvest)
---------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Luck, Fortify Luck, Damage Fatigue, Restore Health
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Ham (Clutter)
---------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Restore Health, Damage Magicka, Damage Luck

 Harrada (Harvest)
-------------------
Effects:  Damage Health, Damage Magicka, Silence, Paralyze
Comments: 50% chance to harvest. Harvested in Oblivion.

 Imp Gall (Creature)
---------------------
Effects:  Fortify Personality, Cure Paralysis, Damage Health, Fire Damage
Comments: imp

 Ironwood Nut (Special)
------------------------
Effects:  Restore Intelligence, Resist Fire, Damage Fatigue, Fortify Health
Comments: You can get these in two places: the Elder Scrolls Library during 
the Thieves Guild quest "The Ultimate Heist" or the skooma house, Greyland, 
just outside Leyawiin's West Gate.

 Lady's Mantle Leaves (Harvest)
--------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Health, Damage Endurance, Night-Eye, Feather
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Lady's Smock Leaves (Harvest)
-------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Intelligence, Resist Fire, Damage Fatigue, Fortify Health
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Lavender Sprig (Harvest)
--------------------------
Effects:  Restore Personality, Fortify Willpower, Restore Health, Damage Luck
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Leek (Harvest)
----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Fortify Agility, Damage Personality,
          Damage Strength
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Lettuce (Harvest)
-------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Restore Luck, Fire Shield, Damage Personality
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Mandrake Root (Harvest)
-------------------------
Effects:  Cure Disease, Resist Poison, Damage Agility, Fortify Willpower
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Milk Thistle Seeds (Harvest)
------------------------------
Effects:  Light, Frost Damage, Cure Paralysis, Paralyze
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Minotaur Horn (Creaure)
-------------------------
Effects:  Restore Willpower, Burden, Fortify Endurance, Resist Paralysis
Comments: minotaur

 Monkshood Root Pulp (Harvest)
-------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Strength, Damage Intelligence, Fortify Endurance, Burden
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Morning Glory Root Pulp (Harvest)
-----------------------------------
Effects:  Burden, Damage Willpower, Frost Shield, Damage Magicka
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Mort Flesh (Creature)
-----------------------
Effects:  Damage Fatigue, Damage Luck, Fortify Health, Silence
Comments: zombie

 Motherwort Sprig (Harvest)
----------------------------
Effects:  Resist Poison, Damage Fatigue, Silence, Invisibility
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Mutton (Clutter)
------------------
Effects:  Fortify Health, Damage Fatigue, Dispel, Damage Magicka

 Nightshade (Harvest)
----------------------
Effects:  Damage Health, Burden, Damage Luck, Forify Magicka
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Ogre's Teeth (Creature)
-------------------------
Effects:  Damage Intelligence, Resist Paralysis, Shock Damage,
          Fortify Strength
Comments: ogre

 Onion (Clutter)
-----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Water Breathing, Detect Life, Damage Health

 Orange (Clutter)
------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Detect Life, Burden, Shield

 Painted Troll Fat (Special)
-----------------------------
Effects:  Fortify Magicka, Restore Health, Fortify Health, Restore Magicka
Comments: You can only get this ingredient from the six painted trolls in the 
"Brush With Death" side quest.

 Pear (Clutter)
----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Speed, Fortify Speed, Damage Health

 Peony Seeds (Harvest)
-----------------------
Effects:  Restore Strength, Damage Health, Damage Speed, Restore Fatigue
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Potato (Harvest)
------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Shield, Burden, Frost Shield
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Primrose Leaves (Harvest)
---------------------------
Effects:  Restore Willpower, Restore Personality, Fortify Luck,
          Damage Strength
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Pumpkin (Harvest)
-------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Agility, Damage Personality, Detect Life
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Radish (Harvest)
------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Endurance, Chameleon, Burden
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Rat Meat (Creature)
---------------------
Effects:  Damage Fatigue, Detect Life, Damage Magicka, Silence
Comments: rat

 Redwort Flower (Harvest)
--------------------------
Effects:  Resist Frost, Cure Poison, Damage Health, Invisibility
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Rice (Harvest)
----------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Silence, Shock Shield, Damage Agility
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 S'jirra's Famous Potato Bread (Special)
-----------------------------------------
Effects:  Detect Life, Restore Health, Damage Agility, Damage Strength
Comments: You can only get this ingredient by completing the "Potato Snatcher" 
side quest. You receive some potato bread as a reward and can buy more at 
regular intervals.

 Sacred Lotus Seeds (Harvest)
------------------------------
Effects:  Resist Frost, Damage Health, Feather, Dispel
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Scales (Creature)
-------------------
Effects:  Damage Willpower, Water Breathing, Damage Health, Water Walking
Comments: slaughterfish

 Scamp Skin (Creature)
-----------------------
Effects:  Damage Magicka, Resist Shock, Reflect Damage, Damage Health
Comments: scamp

 Shepherd's Pie (Special)
--------------------------
Effects:  Cure Disease, Shield, Fortify Agility, Dispel
Comments: Shepherd's Pie is made for you by Eyja, your maid in Skingrad. You 
have to buy Rosethorn Hall, the Servant's Quarters and hire Eyja first. Then 
talk to her about "Food".

 Somnalius Frond (Harvest)
---------------------------
Effects:  Restore Speed, Damage Endurance, Fortify Health, Feather
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Spiddal Stick (Harvest)
-------------------------
Effects:  Damage Health, Damage Magicka, Fire Damage, Restore Fatigue
Comments: 50% chance to harvest. Harvested in Oblivion.

 St. Jahn's Wort Nectar (Harvest)
----------------------------------
Effects:  Resist Shock, Damage Health, Cure Poison, Chameleon
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap (Harvest)
-----------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Magicka, Fire Damage, Resist Frost, Burden
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Stinkhorn Cap (Harvest)
-------------------------
Effects:  Damage Health, Restore Magicka, Water Walking, Invisibility
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Strawberry (Harvest)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Cure Poison, Damage Health, Reflect Damage
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Summer Bolete Cap (Harvest)
-----------------------------
Effects:  Restore Agility, Shield, Damage Personality, Damage Endurance
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Sweetcake (Clutter)
---------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Feather, Restore Health, Burden

 Sweetroll (Clutter)
---------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Resist Disease, Damage Personality, Fortify Health

 Taproot (Creature)
--------------------
Effects:  Restore Luck, Damage Endurance, Resist Poison, Shock Shield
Comments: spriggan

 Tiger Lily Nectar (Harvest)
-----------------------------
Effects:  Restore Endurance, Damage Strength, Water Walking, Damage Willpower
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Tinder Polypore Cap (Harvest)
-------------------------------
Effects:  Restore Willpower, Resist Disease, Invisibility, Damage Magicka
Comments: 50% chance to harvest.

 Tobacco (Harvest)
-------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Resist Paralysis, Damage Magicka, Dispel
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Tomato (Harvest)
------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Detect Life, Burden, Shield
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Troll Fat (Creature)
----------------------
Effects:  Damage Agility, Fortify Personality, Damage Willpower,
          Damage Health
Comments: troll

 Vampire Dust (Creature)
-------------------------
Effects:  Silence, Resist Disease, Frost Damage, Invisibility
Comments: vampire

 Venison (Creature)
--------------------
Effects:  Restore Health, Feather, Damage Health, Chameleon
Comments: deer

 Viper's Bugloss Leaves (Harvest)
----------------------------------
Effects:  Resist Paralysis, Night-Eye, Burden, Cure Paralysis
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Void Salts (Creature)
-----------------------
Effects:  Restore Magicka, Damage Health, Fortify Magicka, Dispel
Comments: storm atronach

 Water Hyacinth Nectar (Harvest)
---------------------------------
Effects:  Damage Luck, Damage Fatigue, Restore Magicka, Fortify Magicka
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Watermelon (Harvest)
----------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Light, Burden, Damage Health
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 Wheat Grain (Harvest)
-----------------------
Effects:  Restore Fatigue, Damage Magicka, Fortify Health, Damage Personality
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.

 White Seed Pod (Harvest)
--------------------------
Effects:  Restore Strength, Water Breathing, Silence, Light
Comments: 80% chance to harvest. Harvested from Goldenrod.

 Wisp Stalk Caps (Harvest)
---------------------------
Effects:  Damage Health, Damage Willpower, Damage Intelligence, Fortify Speed
Comments: 33% chance to harvest.

 Wormwood Leaves (Harvest)
---------------------------
Effects:  Fortify Fatigue, Invisibility, Damage Health, Damage Magicka
Comments: 80% chance to harvest.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


                               EFFECTS TABLE

Burden
--------
First:  Daedra Silk, Morning Glory Root Pulp
Second: Fly Amanita Cap, Minotaur Horn, Nightshade
Third:  Blood Grass, Daedroth Teeth, Ginseng, Orange, Potato, Tomato,
        Viper's Bugloss Leaves, Watermelon
Fourth: Arrowroot, Boar Meat, Monkshood Root Pulp, Radish,
        Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap, Sweetcake

 Chameleon
-----------
First:  Blood Grass
Second: _none_
Third:  Daedra Silk, Radish
Fourth: Columbine Root Pulp, St. Jahn's Wort Nectar, Venison

 Cure Disease
--------------
First:  Clannfear Claws, Mandrake Root, Shepherd's Pie
Second: Elf Cup Cap
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Cure Paralysis
----------------
First:  _none_
Second: Imp Gall
Third:  Milk Thistle Seeds
Fourth: Viper's Bugloss Leaves

 Cure Poison
-------------
First:  _none_
Second: Ginseng, Redwort Flower, Strawberry
Third:  St. Jahn's Wort Nectar
Fourth: _none_

 Damage Agility
----------------
First:  Troll Fat
Second: Garlic, Pumpkin
Third:  Bread Loaf, Corn, Mandrake Root, S'jirra's Famous Potato Bread
Fourth: Cheese Wedge, Rice

 Damage Endurance
------------------
First:  _none_
Second: Lady's Mantle Leaves, Radish, Somnalius Frond, Taproot
Third:  Clouded Funnel Cap
Fourth: Bog Beacon Asco Cap, Carrot, Cinnabar Polypore Red Cap, Daedra Silk,
        Emetic Russula Cap, Summer Bolete Cap

 Damage Fatigue
----------------
First:  Bonemeal, Dreugh Wax, Mort Flesh, Rat Meat
Second: Motherwort Sprig, Mutton, Water Hyacinth Nectar
Third:  Crab Meat, Green Stain Shelf Cap, Ironwood Nut, Lady's Smock Leaves
Fourth: Alkanet Flower

 Damage Health
---------------
First:  Harrada, Nightshade, Spiddal Stick, Stinkhorn Cap, Wisp Stalk Caps
Second: Dragon's Tongue, Peony Seeds, Sacred Lotus Seeds,
        St. Jahn's Wort Nectar, Void Salts
Third:  Daedra Venin, Imp Gall, Redwort Flower, Scales, Strawberry, Venison,
        Wormwood Leaves
Fourth: Apple, Clannfear Claws, Dreugh Wax, Ectoplasm, Flax Seeds, Glow Dust, 
Grapes, Green Stain Cup Cap, Onion, Pear, Scamp Skin, Troll Fat, Watermelon

 Damage Intelligence
---------------------
First:  Ogre's Teeth
Second: Cairn Bolete Cap, Fennel Seeds, Monkshood Root Pulp
Third:  Wisp Stalk Caps
Fourth: Elf Cup Cap

 Damage Luck
-------------
First:  Ginseng, Water Hyacinth Nectar
Second: Apple, Arrowroot, Mort Flesh
Third:  Cheese Wheel, Ginkgo Leaf, Nightshade
Fourth: Ham, Lavender Sprig

 Damage Magicka
----------------
First:  Scamp Skin
Second: Harrada, Spiddal Stick, Wheat Grain
Third:  Aloe Vera Leaves, Bergamot Seeds, Daedra Heart, Fennel Seeds, Ham,
        Rat Meat, Tobacco
Fourth: Clouded Funnel Cap, Morning Glory Root Pulp, Mutton,
        Tinder Polypore Cap, Wormwood Leaves

 Damage Personality
--------------------
First:  _none_
Second: Flour
Third:  Bog Beacon Asco Cap, Cinnabar Polypore Red Cap,
        Cinnabar Polypore Yellow Cap, Emetic Russula Cap, Leek,
        Pumpkin, Summer Bolete Cap, Sweetroll
Fourth: Lettuce, Wheat Grain

 Damage Speed
--------------
First:  _none_
Second: Boar Meat, Green Stain Cup Cap, Pear
Third:  Dryad Saddel Polypore Cap, Peony Seeds
Fourth: _none_

 Damage Strength
-----------------
First:  _none_
Second: Tiger Lily Nectar
Third:  _none_
Fourth: Bread Loaf, Leek, Primrose Leaves, S'jirra's Famous Potato Bread

 Damage Willpower
------------------
First:  Elf Cup Cap, Scales
Second: Morning Glory Root Pulp, Wisp Stalk Caps
Third:  Troll Fat
Fourth: Tiger Lily Nectar

 Detect Life
-------------
First:  S'jirra's Famous Potato Bread
Second: Bread Loaf, Orange, Rat Meat, Tomato
Third:  Onion
Fourth: Pumpkin

 Dispel
--------
First:  _none_
Second: Bergamot Seeds, Ectoplasm
Third:  Grapes, Mutton
Fourth: Beef, Sacred Lotus Seeds, Shepherd's Pie, Tobacco, Void Salts

 Feather
---------
First:  _none_
Second: Flax Seeds, Sweetcake, Venison
Third:  Sacred Lotus Seeds
Fourth: Lady's Mantle Leaves, Somnalius Frond

 Fire Damage
-------------
First:  Fire Salts
Second: Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap
Third:  Spiddal Stick
Fourth: Imp Gall

 Fire Shield
-------------
First:  _none_
Second: _none_
Third:  Cheese Wedge, Lettuce
Fourth: Crab Meat, Dragon's Tongue, Fire Salts

 Fortify Agility
-----------------
First:  _none_
Second: Leek
Third:  Beef, Shepherd's Pie
Fourth: _none_

 Fortify Endurance
-------------------
First:  _none_
Second: Cinnabar Polypore Yellow Cap
Third:  Blackberry, Minotaur Horn, Monkshood Root Pulp
Fourth: _none_

 Fortify Fatigue
-----------------
First:  Wormwood Leaves
Second: _none_
Third:  Flour
Fourth: _none_

 Fortify Health
----------------
First:  Mutton
Second: _none_
Third:  Boar Meat, Mort Flesh, Painted Troll Fat, Somnalius Frond,
        Wheat Grain
Fourth: Blood Grass, Ironwood Nut, Lady's Smock Leaves, Sweetroll

 Fortify Intelligence
----------------------
First:  _none_
Second: Clouded Funnel Cap
Third:  Carrot
Fourth: _none_

 Fortify Luck
--------------
First:  _none_
Second: Green Stain Shelf Cap
Third:  Bonemeal, Primrose Leaves
Fourth: _none_

 Fortify Magicka
-----------------
First:  Painted Troll Fat
Second: Ginkgo Leaf
Third:  Columbine Root Pulp, Ectoplasm, Void Salts
Fourth: Ginseng, Nightshade, Water Hyacinth Nectar

 Fortify Personality
---------------------
First:  Imp Gall
Second: Troll Fat
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Fortify Speed
---------------
First:  _none_
Second: _none_
Third:  Pear
Fourth: Wisp Stalk Caps

 Fortify Strength
------------------
First:  _none_
Second: _none_
Third:  Arrowroot, Elf Cup Cap
Fourth: Garlic, Ogre's Teeth

 Fortify Willpower
-------------------
First:  _none_
Second: Lavender Sprig
Third:  Apple
Fourth: Cheese Wheel, Mandrake Root

 Frost Damage
--------------
First:  Frost Salts
Second: Milk Thistle Seeds
Third:  Vampire Dust
Fourth: Dryad Saddel Polypore Cap

 Frost Shield
--------------
First:  _none_
Second: Daedroth Teeth
Third:  Garlic, Morning Glory Root Pulp
Fourth: Frost Salts, Potato

 Invisibility
--------------
First:  _none_
Second: Wormwood Leaves
Third:  Tinder Polypore Cap
Fourth: Aloe Vera Leaves, Motherwort Sprig, Redwort Flower, Stinkhorn Cap,
        Vampire Dust

 Light
-------
First:  Milk Thistle Seeds
Second: Glow Dust, Watermelon
Third:  Alkanet Flower
Fourth: Daedroth Teeth, White Seed Pod

 Night-Eye
-----------
First:  Daedroth Teeth
Second: Carrot, Daedra Silk, Viper's Bugloss Leaves
Third:  Lady's Mantle Leaves
Fourth: Bonemeal

 Paralyze
----------
First:  Daedra Venin
Second: _none_
Third:  Clannfear Claws
Fourth: Fennel Seeds, Harrada, Milk Thistle Seeds

 Reflect Damage
----------------
First:  _none_
Second: _none_
Third:  Green Stain Cup Cap, Scamp Skin
Fourth: Daedra Venin, Flour, Strawberry

 Reflect Spell
---------------
First:  _none_
Second: _none_
Third:  Glow Dust
Fourth: Cinnabar Polypore Yellow Cap

 Resist Disease
----------------
First:  Bergamot Seeds, Garlic
Second: Clannfear Claws, Sweetroll, Tinder Polypore Cap, Vampire Dust
Third:  _none_
Fourth: Foxglove Nectar

 Resist Fire
-------------
First:  Dragon's Tongue
Second: Bonemeal, Cheese Wedge, Frost Salts, Ironwood Nut,
        Lady's Smock Leaves
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Resist Frost
--------------
First:  Redwort Flower, Sacred Lotus Seeds
Second: Columbine Root Pulp, Dryad Saddel Polypore Cap, Fire Salts
Third:  Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap
Fourth: _none_

 Resist Paralysis
------------------
First:  Viper's Bugloss Leaves
Second: Blood Grass, Cheese Wheel, Foxglove Nectar, Ogre's Teeth, Tobacco
Third:  Cairn Bolete Cap
Fourth: Minotaur Horn

 Resist Poison
---------------
First:  Foxglove Nectar, Motherwort Sprig
Second: Alkanet Flower, Dreugh Wax, Mandrake Root
Third:  Taproot
Fourth: _none_

 Resist Shock
--------------
First:  St. Jahn's Wort Nectar
Second: Blackberry, Crab Meat, Scamp Skin
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Agility
-----------------
First:  Arrowroot, Cinnabar Polypore Red Cap, Emetic Russula Cap,
        Fly Amanita Cap, Summer Bolete Cap
Second: _none_
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Endurance
-------------------
First:  Cinnabar Polypore Yellow Cap, Crab Meat, Tiger Lily Nectar
Second: _none_
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Fatigue
-----------------
First:  Aloe Vera Leaves, Apple, Beef, Blackberry, Bread Loaf, Carrot,
        Cheese Wedge, Cheese Wheel, Corn, Fennel Seeds, Flour, Grapes,
        Green Stain Cup Cap, Ham, Leek, Lettuce, Onion, Orange, Pear, Potato,
        Pumpkin, Radish, Rice, Strawberry, Sweetcake, Sweetroll, Tobacco,
        Tomato, Watermelon, Wheat Grain
Second: Daedra Venin
Third:  _none_
Fourth: Peony Seeds, Spiddal Stick

 Restore Health
----------------
First:  Boar Meat, Cairn Bolete Cap, Daedra Heart, Lady's Mantle Leaves,
        Venison
Second: Aloe Vera Leaves, Ham, Painted Troll Fat,
        S'jirra's Famous Potato Bread
Third:  Dragon's Tongue, Fly Amanita Cap, Lavender Sprig, Sweetcake
Fourth: Green Stain Shelf Cap

 Restore Intelligence
----------------------
First:  Alkanet Flower, Clouded Funnel Cap, Ironwood Nut, Lady's Smock Leaves
Second: Corn
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Luck
--------------
First:  Dryad Saddel Polypore Cap, Green Stain Shelf Cap, Taproot
Second: Lettuce
Third:  Foxglove Nectar
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Magicka
-----------------
First:  Bog Beacon Asco Cap, Flax Seeds, Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap, Void Salts
Second: Stinkhorn Cap
Third:  Fire Salts, Water Hyacinth Nectar
Fourth: Blackberry, Painted Troll Fat

 Restore Personality
---------------------
First:  Columbine Root Pulp, Lavender Sprig
Second: Primrose Leaves
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Speed
---------------
First:  Ginkgo Leaf, Glow Dust, Somnalius Frond
Second: _none_
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Strength
------------------
First:  Monkshood Root Pulp, Peony Seeds, White Seed Pod
Second: _none_
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Restore Willpower
-------------------
First:  Minotaur Horn, Primrose Leaves, Tinder Polypore Cap
Second: _none_
Third:  _none_
Fourth: _none_

 Shield
--------
First:  _none_
Second: Beef, Bog Beacon Asco Cap, Cinnabar Polypore Red Cap,
        Emetic Russula Cap, Potato, Shepherd's Pie, Summer Bolete Cap
Third:  Flax Seeds
Fourth: Orange, Tomato

 Shock Damage
--------------
First:  Ectoplasm
Second: _none_
Third:  Ogre's Teeth
Fourth: Cairn Bolete Cap, Fly Amanita Cap, Ginkgo Leaf

 Shock Shield
--------------
First:  _none_
Second: Daedra Heart
Third:  Rice
Fourth: Corn, Taproot

 Silence
---------
First:  Vampire Dust
Second: Rice
Third:  Frost Salts, Harrada, Motherwort Sprig, White Seed Pod
Fourth: Bergamot Seeds, Daedra Heart, Mort Flesh, Rat Meat

 Water Breathing
-----------------
First:  _none_
Second: Onion, Scales, White Seed Pod
Third:  Dreugh Wax
Fourth: _none_

 Water Walking
---------------
First:  _none_
Second: Grapes
Third:  Stinkhorn Cap, Tiger Lily Nectar
Fourth: Scales




                                                                     [XP00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                              EXPANDING YOUR GAME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~


                                                                     [XP01]
                        <~~~~~~ PC OPTIMIZATION ~~~~~~>

Tom’s Hardware refers to Oblivion as their "ultimate torture tester". It is, 
perhaps, the most graphically demanding game on the market today. Even state-
of-the-art PCs with high-end graphics cards will struggle to get 60 frames-
per-second (fps) with maximum quality and resolution. Older systems will 
hobble along on 30fps or less at low resolutions with low quality settings.

This section of the guide is intended to help you get the most out of Oblivion 
on your PC. You want a balance of good framerates and decent quality graphics. 
To that end, you may want to consider investing in a new video card if your 
card is severely out-of-date.

Some cards that will run Oblivion, but very poorly:

nVidia Geforce 5xxx series
ATI Radeon 9xxx series, 9500 or higher

Don't worry if you're still using an AGP graphics interface. There are still a 
number of good, inexpensive AGP cards available. Check out this article from 
Tom's Hardware:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/10/agp-platform-analysis/

Another option would be to cave in and purchase an Xbox 360; though, doing so 
costs you the ability to mod your game--and mods can make Oblivion an even 
better game than it already is.

In any case, if you are not running a high-end gaming rig; but, want the best 
performance possible from Oblivion, read on...


*DISCLAIMER*
Anything you do to your PC you do at your own risk! If anything in this 
section makes you scratch your head and want to call the nearest eight-year-
old for an explanation, STOP and don't go any further. Resign yourself to 
living with a less than optimal PC or go slap down a few hundred for an X360 
or a couple thou' for a pre-built gaming system from Dell or Sony.

If you follow any of the suggestions in this section, you implicitly agree to 
indemnify the author from all claims arising from damage caused by following 
these suggestions.


*THIS IS SERIOUS!*
Personal note: While trying to tweak my system, I accidentally disabled my 
video card altogether and couldn't see anything, not even the system BIOS. I 
had to dig up an old PCI video card just to get into the BIOS and reset 
everything. Don't mess around with anything in this section unless you know 
what you are doing! Or, more importantly, how to recover when you muck it up.


*ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR DATA*
Before attempting any of the tweaks listed, make sure you've backed up your 
important files, just in case something goes horribly wrong.

To measure the framerate in Oblivion, open the console in-game by pressing the 
backtick (`) key--on US English keyboards, backtick is directly left of the 
numeral 1 key. Type:

   tdt

press ENTER and exit the console by pressing backtick. You'll get a debug 
console in the upper right corner of the screen, including framerate (FPS). 
You can also download and use Fraps:

http://www.fraps.com/

When tweaking, make one change at a time and test it in the game using the 
Debug console or Fraps.

Information in this section is compiled from a variety of sources, some for 
games other than Oblivion.



| System Setup
+-------------
Update your PC! This includes (but is not limited to):
* Your operating system (i.e. Windows)
* Your motherboard (or mainboard) drivers
* Your video card drivers
* Your sound card drivers


 UPDATE WINDOWS
----------------
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

To update anything else in your system, you will need to know what you have 
inside the box. If you are using a manufactured system--Dell, Sony, HP, 
Alienware, etc.--visit the manufacturer's Web site and enter the serial number 
of your PC (usually found on a sticker on the back of the case). You'll get a 
list of the pre-installed components, and you can download a lot of the 
necessary drivers (see below).

If you are using a custom-built PC, you should either know what parts you 
used, or you need to ask the person who built the PC. Specifically, you need 
the *chipset* used on the motherboard (also called a mainboard), the video 
card manufacturer and model number and the sound card (if there is one) 
manufacturer and model number.

*IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING THIS INFORMATION*
Try this program:

http://www.gtopala.com/index.html

SIW is a self-contained program--i.e. it requires no installation, you just 
download and run it--that will give you every detail you could ever want about 
your PC.


 UPDATE YOUR MOTHERBOARD DRIVERS
---------------------------------
You need to know what chipset is used on your motherboard. The chipset are the 
components that support your CPU by handling input/output, internal 
communications, hard drive connections, etc. There are four main chipsets in 
use:

* Intel: http://downloadfinder.intel.com/
* nVidia: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
* Via: http://www.viaarena.com/
* SiS: http://www.sis.com/download/

Download and install the most recent drivers for your chipset. If you are 
using an integrated sound card, also download and install the most recent 
drivers for your sound from the chipset site.


 UPDATE YOUR VIDEO CARD DRIVERS
--------------------------------
* ATI: http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html
  Use the most recent Catalyst drivers (v7.1 as of 2007-02-15).

There are alternate (unsupported) drivers for ATI cards:
  -> Omega Drivers: http://www.omegadrivers.net/
  -> DHZer0point Drivers: http://www.driverheavendownloads.net/zeropoint.htm

These alternate drivers are "pre-tweaked" for optimum performance and quality. 
They may offer some performance improvement in Oblivion; they may also produce 
graphics corruption or crashes. Your best bet is to stick with the official 
drivers and tweak the settings yourself.


* nVidia: http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_rel70betadriver.html
  Use the most recent beta drivers (v93.81 for WinXP as of 2007-02-15; or,
                                    V100.64 for Win Vista as of 2007-02-15).

There are alternate (unsupported) drivers for nVidia cards:
  -> DHZer0point Drivers: http://www.driverheavendownloads.net/zeropoint.htm

These alternate drivers are "pre-tweaked" for optimum performance and quality. 
They may offer some performance improvement in Oblivion; they may also produce 
graphics corruption or crashes. Your best bet is to stick with the official 
drivers and tweak the settings yourself.

*NOTE* Development of DHZeroPoint alternate drivers was halted on 18 January 
2007.


Before installing new video card drivers, first download Driver Cleaner Pro:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Uninstallers/Driver-Cleaner-
Professional.shtml

and install it. Uninstall your existing drivers. Reboot Windows in Safe Mode 
(press F8 during system boot for the boot menu and choose plain Safe Mode). In 
Safe Mode, run Driver Cleaner Pro according to the program's instructions to 
completely remove all traces of your old drivers. Reboot normally and install 
the new drivers.

*NOTE* DC Pro is no longer supported or developed. It has been replaced with 
Driver Cleaner.NET

http://www.drivercleaner.net/index.php

which costs $9.99 (US) with no free download options.


 UPDATE SOUND CARD DRIVERS
---------------------------
If you have a separate (non-integrated) sound card, download and install the 
latest drivers from the sound card manufacturer's Web site.


 FINAL STEPS
-------------
* Make sure, in your System BIOS (refer to your system or motherboard manual 
to find out how to enter your BIOS), your AGP or PCI-Express port is enabled. 
If you are using an AGP port, check to see at what speed (i.e. 1x, 2x, 4x or 
8x) the port is set.

* Run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (Start>Run>dxdiag). On the Display tab, make 
sure DirectDraw Acceleration and Direct3D Acceleration (and AGP Texture 
Acceleration if applicable) are all Enabled. If not, start over and try 
installing drivers again.

* Defragment your Windows drive. Just do it. (Also defragment the Oblivion 
drive if you installed it to a different drive.)

* If you have the space (and the ability), create a separate logical hard 
drive (partition) of about 4-5GB in size. Make sure the new drive is empty; 
then, set Windows to use that drive for your global page file. (Even better if 
you create the new partition on a different physical drive.) If none of this 
step made sense to you, ignore it.

* If you have two or more large hard drives and are running Windows 2000 Pro, 
XP Pro or 2000/2003 Server(+), consider creating a striped volume and loading 
your page file and Oblivion onto the striped volume. To create a striped 
volume, refer to these instructions:

http://www.techimo.com/articles/index.pl?photo=149

Again, don't perform this step if you don't even understand what's being 
suggested.

+ Windows Vista seems to support disk striping; but, it is not clear which 
versions support it.



| Clean Boot Windows
+--------------------
Before running Oblivion, always clean boot Windows per the instructions in 
this Microsoft Knowledgebase article:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310353

Be sure to disable firewall/anti-virus/anti-spam services as part of the clean 
boot. Also disable any multimedia services (such as iPod or Nero)--anything 
other than required system services.



| Before Tweaking
+-----------------
Start with a clean slate. Delete the Oblivion.ini file found in My 
DocumentsMy GamesOblivion and launch Oblivion. The game will reset all your 
settings and create a new Oblivion.ini file. If you want to make any non-
graphics related changes (see Miscellaneous Tweaks below) in the INI file, 
make them now. Create a backup copy of this file as a "start over" version. If 
something goes badly wrong, delete the Oblivion.ini file and replace it with 
your backed up copy.



| Safe Tweaks
+-------------
Ready to get started? Good. Here are video settings you can change in-game, or 
by using the Options choice from the launch menu.

* Resolution
The higher the resolution, the more pixels are needed to draw each frame. 
There is an obvious correlation between this setting and your framerate. But, 
not so fast! In some cases, you can actually get a better framerate by 
*increasing* the resolution. Compare:

http://www.papagamer.com/files/oblivion_848x480.jpg

with

http://www.papagamer.com/files/oblivion_1440x900.jpg

The framerate has actually gone up by 33% (from 20fps to 27fps) and the 
increased resolution solves the severe case of aliasing shown in the smaller 
picture, thus reducing the need for anti-aliasing. What appears to be 
happening is, at the lower resolution, Windows does more of the graphics 
processing on the CPU rather than offloading it to the GPU.

The moral of the story: play around with different resolutions until you find 
the one that offers you the highest framerate.


* Vertical Sync (V.Sync)
This controls the rendering of individual frames, forcing them to match up to 
the refresh rate of your monitor. Turning this off will cause occasional 
"tearing" of the scene--a horizontal line will run down across the screen as 
the frames get out of sync with the monitor. Turning it off may give you a 
performance boost. You can only turn V.Sync on/off from the Options choice of 
the launch menu.


* Fullscreen/Windowed mode
From the Options choice of the launch menu, you can choose to play Oblivion 
either fullscreen (default) or in a window. Playing in a window may give you 
better performance.


* Anti-Aliasing (AA)
AA smoothes "the jaggies": jagged diagonal lines caused by too-few pixels
to adequately display the line--especially lines that are . AA is very hard on 
your video card and leaving it off will generally give you a big performance 
boost. At resolutions of 1024x768 and higher, the pixels on screen are usually 
small enough that AA provides little real visual advantage unless you have a 
really big monitor and/or really good eyesight. Try different sampling rates 
(starting with 2 samples or 2x) and seeing what the difference is in both 
framerate and visual quality. At very low resolutions such as 640x480, you may 
want to live with the framerate hit just to keep the picture as smooth as 
possible.


* Bloom/HDR
These are both dynamic lighting techniques designed to make scenes on screen 
appear more realistic. Specifically, they create hot spots or glare from 
certain areas whenever there is a bright light source, such as the sun. Bloom 
is the older, less realistic technology, but works on any card that runs 
Oblivion. HDR (High Dynamic Range) works only with newer video cards with 
"Pixel Shader 3" support. nVidia cards cannot use both HDR and AA at the same 
time. Both Bloom and HDR will decrease your framerate, so turn these off if 
you need a boost.


* Texture Size: controls the size (and, thus, resolution) of textures loaded 
into your video RAM. Textures are the 2-dimensional images that are wrapped 
around 3-dimensional objects to make them look like a real object. (A 3D 
object without a texture is just a wireframe. You can see the wireframe using 
a Console Command, see below.) Large textures should only be used if you have 
256MB or more of video RAM; everyone else can use Medium textures. If, after 
trying everything else, you're still trying to get a few more frames, you can 
set the texture size to small.

*NOTE* There are new textures available for PC users with lower-end graphic 
cards. These textures look considerably better than the default small or 
medium textures from Oblivion. You can download the texture packs here:

http://devnull.devakm.googlepages.com/128mbcards


* Shadows: shadows are self-explanatory; however there are a bunch of set-
tings that control shadows in the game. Shadows have a significant impact on 
framerate. If you are having a lot of trouble, turning shadows off completely 
will help without taking too much realism from the scenes.

  -> Int. Shadows: this slider controls the number of objects that will
     cast shadows in indoor areas. Move the slider all the way to the left
     to turn off interior shadows. Move it all the way to the right to have
     up to 10 objects cast a shadow.

  -> Ext. Shadows: works the same as Int. Shadows, but for exterior areas.

  -> Self Shadows: causes actors to cast shadows on themselves. Besides
     being a performance hog, these shadows rarely look good and it is
     recommended that all players turn these off.

  -> Shadows on Grass: if grass is visible, actors will cast shadows
     on it. Casting shadows on a moving surface (grass blows in the wind)
     is significantly harder on your hardware than other shadows. This
     should be set to off by all but those with top-notch hardware.

  -> Tree Canopy Shadows: causes trees to cast dappled shadows on the
     ground. Creates a very realistic effect, but has a big impact on
     framerate, especially in heavily forested areas.

  -> Shadow Filtering: if set to High or Low, creates diffuse, soft-edged
     shadows. If set to Off, the shadows will have hard, well-defined edges.
     If you are using shadows, the High setting will be much more realistic
     at the cost of frames-per-second.


* Specular Distance: specular effects create the shininess of reflective 
surfaces, such as metal (armor, weapons), glass, etc. This slider controls the 
distance at which specular effects are visible. Turning it down (effectively 
turning specular effects off) can provide a performance boost on older cards.


* Water: There are three settings that control the look of water surfaces in 
the game. Individually, they have little impact on framerate, but, combined, 
may give you a small boost if you're really trying to squeeze a few more 
frames from the game.

  -> Water detail: on High causes reflected objects on the water's surface
     to show in greater detail. It will hardly be noticeable unless the
     water is near detailed objects (such as buildings). Normal detail will
     provide a performance boost while not looking that much different in
     most out-door areas.

  -> Water Reflections: when set to off, the water does not reflect at all,
     providing a performance boost at the cost of realism. Non-reflective
     water appears as a solid block of color that doesn't look much like
     water at all.

  -> Water Ripples: not the general wind-caused rippling of the water, but
     ripples caused by objects impacting the surface of the water. If you
     play in third-person view, turning this on lets you see your own wake
     as you move through the water, at the cost of a small performance hit.


* Grass Distance: controls the distance at which grass begins to be visible. 
Setting this all the way to the left effectively turns grass off. Some players 
may actually prefer not to have the grass showing. Regardless, displaying 
grass has a noticeable negative effect on your framerate. There are other ways 
of tweaking the grass display; see Experimental Tweaks and Console Commands 
below.


* View Distance: this slider controls the distance at which the world becomes 
visible. By default, the slider is set all the way right and you can see to 
the horizon. This obviously has an impact on framerate as the game has to 
render all those distant objects. If you move this slider left, the following 
three options (Distant Land, Distant Buildings and Distant Trees) 
automatically turn off. Moving this slider left causes the stereotypical "fog" 
to roll in, cutting off your view of all distant objects.


* Distant Land: turning this off has the same effect as moving the View 
Distance slider to about 50% and turns Distant Buildings and Distant Trees off 
as well.


* Distant Buildings & Distant Trees: you can turn these options off to cut 
display of distant objects (buildings and tree respectively), thus gaining 
some framerate without turning on the fog--i.e. you can still see to the 
horizon, there just won't be much to see.


* Tree Fade, Actor Fade, Item Fade, Object Fade: controls the distance at 
which trees, actors (NPCs and creatures), items (weapons, armor, bottles, 
food, etc.) and objects (buildings, barrels, crates, etc.) become visible. 
Moving these sliders left can pick up some frames at the cost of seeing 
objects "pop" into existence. The Actor Fade slider should be left at default 
(about 25% from the left side) or a little higher else you won't see enemies 
until they are almost on top of you.


* Window Reflections: simply makes glass in windows appear more real. Turning 
it off might give you a small performance boost, especially in towns, without 
hurting the overall graphic experience.


* Blood decals: controls the amount of blood in the game. Off does not get rid 
of blood entirely; you will still see blood spurt after a good hit on an 
opponent; however, the blood that sprays out will not stick anywhere. Low 
blood decals means blood splatters show on the ground. High blood will show on 
actors and items as well. Turning blood decals off can give you a framerate 
boost during combat. You can further tweak the gore settings in the INI file 
as shown in Experimental Tweaks below.



| Graphics Card Tweaks
+----------------------
These are general tweaks you can make to your graphics card drivers that will 
benefit any game, not just Oblivion. The best way to make these tweaks is to 
download a free utility program designed for this purpose:

* ATI: ATI Tray Tools (ATT)
  http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/

* nVidia: NVTweak
  http://nvtweak.laptopvideo2go.com/


* Render-ahead: this setting controls how many frames are rendered by the card 
in advance of the current frame. Reducing this to 0 (zero) can give you a 
large performance boost (at the potential cost of some stability). In NVTweak, 
the option is under "Additional Direct3D Setting" and is called
"Max Frames to Render Ahead". In ATT, the option is under "3D" and is
called "Flip Queue Size". If setting this option to zero causes instability, 
increase it in steps of 1 (i.e. 1, 2, 3), but don't go beyond 3, which is the 
default rate.


* Geometry instancing (ATI cards only?): using ATT, go to Tweaks>Standard 
Tweaks and check the "Geometry instancing" box. This allows the video drivers 
to upload a single instance of a repeated object and then clone it rather than 
upload every single instance. May help some, especially in heavily forested 
areas where many of the trees are copies rather than unique models.


* Temporal Anti-aliasing (ATI cards only?): you have to use the Catalyst 
Control Center for this change. Open CCC, select Anti-Aliasing under 3D, and 
set it to 2x or 4x. Check the Temporal Anti-aliasing box. This option allows 
the Catalyst drivers to "cheat" a little bit and makes lower AA settings look 
better. So you could, for example, run at 2x and the graphics will look as 
good as normal 4x.


* Catalyst AI (ATI cards only): turn this to High to enable the Catalyst 
drivers to better optimize the frames on the fly.


* Fast Writes (AGP cards only): you have to enable this in your BIOS and in 
your graphics driver. For ATI cards, the setting is in the SmartGART tab of 
the Catalyst Control Center. THIS IS A HIGHLY UNSTABLE SETTING It can 
negatively affect your PC, so be very careful. If it does work for you, it may 
produce a few glitches; however, it is also likely to produce 10-15fps higher 
framerate.



| Experimental Tweaks
+---------------------
These enhancements involve editing your Oblivion.ini file. See "Before 
Tweaking", above, before making any changes. Make sure you edit the INI file 
in a *text* editor, such as Notepad, EditPad, UltraEdit, etc. Do not use a 
word processor such as WordPad, Word, OpenOffice.org, etc. Such programs may 
put unsupported characters into the file, even if you save it as Plain Text.

These are "experimental" tweaks because performance or quality increases are 
not guaranteed. And even if you do get a performance or quality increase, the 
tweak may introduce instability. Use at your own risk. When you're ready, open 
My DocumentsMy GamesOblivionOblivion.ini in a text editor and search for 
the following items...


* Grass: these settings help further tweak the display of grass.

-> iMinGrassSize=80

Increase this number to "thin out" the clumps of grass. There's very little 
visual difference, but it might give you a few extra FPS. The normal values 
for tweaking range from 120 to 150.

-> fGrassEndDistance=3000.0000
-> fGrassStartFadeDistance=2000.0000

EndDistance is the distance at which grass ceases being visible.  FadeDistance 
is the distance at which the grass starts fading out. If you increase 
iMinGrassSize, you can extend these to the point where you never see grass 
"pop" in at all. Values on the order of 8000.0000/ 7000.0000 will work well. 
This will decrease your framerate.

-> bDrawShaderGrass=1

Setting this to 0 (zero) turns off rendering of grass. A bit more "final" than 
moving the in-game Grass Distance slider down to zero.

-> iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=2

Setting this to 1 (one) might give you a few extra frames per second with no 
visible change in graphic quality.


* uGridsToLoad=5

The Oblivion game world is composed of square cells. This setting controls the 
number of cells that are loaded in full for each "area". The setting is a grid 
arrangement centered around the PC. The default, therefore, loads a total of 
25 cells:
X  X  X  X  X
X  X  X  X  X
X  X  P  X  X
X  X  X  X  X
X  X  X  X  X

(P is the player character)

These are the cells for which all cell data is loaded. Cells beyond this grid 
are not loaded in full, so you get low-resolution textures on the landscape; 
and, objects, items and creatures present in that cell are not loaded at all.

Every time you advance to the edge of the current area, a "new" area loads and 
you get the Loading Area message (and, perhaps, pause) as new info is loaded. 
With the default setting, this happens every time you move two cells (see 
arrangement above). This also affects the size of local maps.  The larger the 
uGridsToLoad setting, the larger the local maps.

Interior areas are largely unaffected by this setting, as interior areas are 
never 25 cells large. Exterior areas are where you'll see the biggest changes. 
The number must always be an odd number so the PC can be properly "centered" 
in each area. Increasing this number will:

-> Reduce the number of "Loading Area" messages and pauses, unless you set it 
too high for your RAM, in which case you'll actually see more "Loading Area" 
messages.

-> Increase the size of local maps, thus increasing the area you can view at 
one time on your map--assuming you've explored the area or used the console so 
the "fog of war" isn't covering the map.

-> Increase the distance at which you can see fully detailed terrain.

-> Decrease your framerate as your video card is forced to render all that 
extra detail in distant terrain and your CPU is forced to deal with any AI 
scripts on creatures in those cells.

If you have the RAM to support it (1GB or more), a setting of 7 or 9 can 
reduce the number of "Loading Area" pauses without significantly cutting into 
your framerate. If all you're interested in is the extra detail in distant 
landscapes, better to use the LOD Landscape mod as detailed in the Mods 
section below.

Note that, if you increase this setting, you should also increase the 
iPreloadSizeLimit as detailed next...


* iPreloadSizeLimit=26214400

Sets the RAM used by Oblivion to cache future objects. Size is in bytes, 
default is 25MB (divide the number by 1048576). You may get a performance 
increase if you raise this number. Determine how many MB of RAM you want to 
commit to Oblivion, multiply that by 1048576 and enter the result. Giving too 
much RAM to Oblivion may cause crashes. Try 50MB (52428800) if you have 1GB of 
RAM or 100MB (104857600) if you have more than 1GB.

If you increase the uGridsToLoad setting, increase this as well so Oblivion 
has plenty of RAM to load all the cells at once.


* bDoCanopyShadowPass=1

Set this to 0 (zero) to remove all tree shadows. Can give a decent FPS boost 
outdoors at the cost of realism.


* bUseRefractionShader=1

Setting this to 0 (zero) may help users of older cards when around Oblivion 
gates.


* iSize W=640
  iSize H=480

Set the width and height of the Oblivion screen (either fullscreen or 
windowed). Use these settings for custom resolutions not in Oblivion's default 
list.


* iShadowMapResolution=1024


Lower this number to 128, 256 or 512 to decrease shadow resolution. At low 
numbers, shadows will appear extremely blocky. You're better off running 
without shadows than with low-res shadows.


* iActorShadowIntMax=10
  iActorShadowExtMax=10

This is the maximum number of shadows that can be cast indoors (Int) and 
outdoors (Ext). Increase these numbers to let more objects cast shadows, with 
the corresponding framerate hit.


* bAllow30Shaders=0

Change this to 1 (one) if you have a newer video card that supports Pixel 
Shader 3.0 (check your card documentation). You'll get nicer quality graphics, 
and probably a slightly lower framerate.


* bUseWaterDepth=1

Set to 0 (zero) to turn off the ability to see into water (water surface 
becomes opaque). May provide a slight performance boost in outdoor areas.


* bUseWaterReflectionsMisc=0
  bUseWaterReflectionsStatics=0
  bUseWaterReflectionsTrees=0
  bUseWaterReflectionsActors=0

If you are using reflective water with high detail, setting these to 1 (one) 
will increase the number of objects that reflect in detail. Can be a 
performance hit, but lends greater quality, especially around water sources in 
towns.


* bUseHardDriveCache=0

Setting to 1 (one) forces Oblivion to cache textures in your hard drive's 
cache (onboard RAM) for faster access. Probably won't work unless your system 
is very old/badly optimized. Use of the hard drive cache should be controlled 
by Windows and your motherboard drivers. If this gives you a performance 
increase, you may want to investigate why your hard drive cache is not being 
used normally.


* bEnableBoundingVolumeOcclusion=0

Setting this to 1 (one) may increase framerates in crowded interior areas, as, 
supposedly, Oblivion stops processing NPCs hidden behind walls.


* bDSoundHWAcceleration=1

Setting to 0 (zero) may provide a performance increase when using some 
integrated audio chipsets.


* bMusicEnabled=1

Set to 0 (zero) to turn off in-game music. Removes sense of immersion (and the 
music is very high quality!); however, may provide a performance increase as 
the game will no longer need to load, change and play music.


* bForceFullLOD=0

Setting to 1 (one) increases level of detail within the uGridsToLoad range.May 
cause a performance decrease, but increases graphic quality. If you increase 
uGridsToLoad, you probably want to leave this at 0 (zero) to minimize the 
framerate hit of the extra cells being loaded.


* iThreads=3
  iOpenMPLevel=10

Increasing these values may give a performance increase, but only on multi-
core or multi-CPU systems.


* bDoSpecularPass=1
  bDoDiffusePass=1
  bDoAmbientPass=1

Set these to 0 (zero) if you want to play the game, but you have a very old 
video card. Removes all specular effects, dynamic lighting and ambient 
lighting, producing a very cartoonish look. Compare this:

http://www.papagamer.com/images/stories/oblivion/specular_on.jpg

with this:

http://www.papagamer.com/images/stories/oblivion/specular_off.jpg

Changing these settings can also produce graphic anomalies and crashes.  Use 
these only if you can't get out of single-digit framerates even with all the 
other optimizations. If you do change these, you need to use this mod:

http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2019

to fix crashes caused by not performing the specular pass.



| Miscellaneous Tweaks
+----------------------
These tweaks to the INI file won't improve your framerates, but may improve 
your overall enjoyment of the game.

* SMainMenuMovie=
  SMainMenuMovieIntro=
  SIntroSequence=

Blank these three entries to get rid of, respectively, the animated back-
ground in the main game menu; the logo animation that occurs right after the 
main menu has loaded and the opening series of company logos that show when 
you launch the game. Getting rid of MainMenuMovie may help if you are 
experiencing mouse lag in the main menu.


* bHealthBarShowing=1

If set to 1 (one), shows a standard health bar over a creature rather than the 
curved bar over the crosshair.


* fGlobalTimeMultiplier=1.0000

Changes the rate at which time passes in the game. Decrease the number to slow 
down time; increase it to speed up time.


* bAllowConsole=1

If set to 1 (one), allows use of the Command Console in game.


* bAllowScreenShot=1

If set to 1 (one), allows you to take screenshots using the Print Screen key. 
Screenshots are saved to your Oblivion installation folder in bitmap (.bmp) 
format. Due to a glitch in the game, you cannot take screenshots when using 
Anti-aliasing. If you wish to take screenshots with AA, use FRAPS:

http://www.fraps.com/


* SScreenShotBaseName=ScreenShot
  iScreenShotIndex=0

Determines the base name of screenshot files and the starting index 
number.Using these defaults, screenshots would be named ScreenShot0.bmp, 
ScreenShot1.bmp, ScreenShot2.bmp, etc.


* fDefaultFOV=75.0000

Sets the default Field of View for the game, in degrees. The default is 75.A 
normal range of values is 60 - 90. You can also change this with the Command 
Console, to experiment, then set this to your favorite view so Oblivion will 
always run at that camera angle.


* bInstantLevelUp=0

Change this to 1 (one) to level up as soon as you gain 10 ranks in your major 
skills. Removes the need to rest in a bed.


* bPrecipitation=1

Setting to 0 (zero), turns off all precipitation (rain, snow).


* iDebugText=12

Changes the information displayed when using the debug console command.  
Option 12 shows just FPS. Option 0 shows a lot of information, including the 
day of the week, the date (both in normal units, such as Monday, 10/12/433) 
and two clocks: one game time and one playing time. While the debug 
information is showing, you can press Scroll Lock to change the information 
until you find the display that most suits your taste. You can also set the 
debug page displayed using the SDT console command.


* Gore settings:

-> fDecalLifetime=10.0000

Determines the length blood splatters last on objects. Default is 10 seconds. 
Increase to have blood stick around longer.

-> iMaxDecalsPerFrame=10

Determines the number of blood splatters you can get. Increase for more blood.


* fDifficulty=0.0000

Gives greater control over your difficulty level than the slider in the
game. Range is -1.0000 to 1.0000. Thus, 0.0000 is 50% difficulty (default).
Set to -0.5000 for 25% difficulty, for example, or 0.5000 for 75%.



                                                                     [XP02]
                      <~~~~~~ PC CONSOLE COMMANDS ~~~~~~>

To use the in-game console, enable the console by setting bAllowConsole equal 
to 1 (one) in the Oblivion.ini file. In the game, press the backtick (`) key 
(just left of the number one key on US English keyboards) to open the console. 
Type a command and press ENTER. Press backtick again to close the console.

This is an abbreviated list of the most useful console commands. A fuller list 
is available at:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/code/924363.html

In the following list, brackets [] surround arguments you have to replace when 
using the command. Do not type the brackets when using the command. For 
example:

   modpcs [skill] [#]

should be typed as:

   modpcs Athletics 100

when used in the console.

Some of these commands require that you enter a hex code for an item or spell. 
You can find a full list of these codes at:

http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionCheats.List

Alpha characters in hex codes are case-insensitive; i.e. you can use A or a.


 Command                  | Description
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 FOV [#]                  | Changes the default field of view to angle [#]
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 modpcs [skill] [#]       | Adds [#] to PC's [skill]
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 modpca [attribute] [#]   | Adds [#] to PC's [attribute]
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 movetoqt                 | Instantly transports you to your current quest
                          | target
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 player.additem [hex] [#] | Adds [#] of item [hex] to your inventory. E.g.,
                          | gold is hex 0000000F, so to give yourself
                          | 5,000 gold, type player.additem 0000000F 5000
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 player.addspell [hex]    | Adds spell [hex] to your list of known spells.
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 player.payfine           | Pays your bounty so guards leave you alone
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 SetPCFame [#]            | Sets your Fame to [#]
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 SetPCInfamy [#]          | Sets your Infamy to [#]
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 player.removespell [hex] | Removes spell [hex] from your list of spells.
                          | This is the only way to get rid of older, less-
                          | powerful spells. For instructions on getting the
                          | hex codes of custom-made spells, see below.
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 RefreshINI               | Refreshes INI settings without quitting
                          | or restarting. Useful during tweaking.
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 SaveGame [filename]      | Saves game with given [filename], use if you
                          | don't like the default filenames
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 SDT [#]                  | Set's the debug console display to the specified
                          | page number. Some useful pages: 0, 2 and 12
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 SetINI [setting] [value] | Sets an INI [setting] to [value], example:
                          | SetINI fGlobalTimeMultiplier 1.5000
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 showbirthsignmenu        | Brings up the birthsign menu, allowing you to
                          | change your sign*
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 showclassmenu            | Brings up the class menu, allowing you to change
                          | your class*
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 showracemenu             | Brings up the race menu, allowing you to change
                          | your name, gender and race*

* Using the class, race and birthsign menus after you've been playing for a
  while may reset all your attributes and skill levels and/or cause your
  skills to stop increasing. If you're really unhappy with your character,
  best to start over.
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TAI                      | Toggles AI, use this to cause all NPCs and
                          | monsters to stand still (for screenshots or easy
                          | kills)
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TDT                      | Toggles debug console
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TFOW                     | Toggles the fog of war that obscures the map
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TG                       | Toggles grass, use this if you normally have
                          | grass visible, but are lagging badly in some
                          | outdoor combat
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TGM                      | Toggles "god mode"
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TM                       | Toggles menus (turn them off for clean screen-
                          | shots)
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TMM [0/1]                | Toggles the map markers, 0=all off, 1=all on
                          | Turning all map markers on puts all the markers
                          | on the world map and lets you Fast Travel to
                          | them, just as if you had discovered them; turning
                          | them off turns off even those markers you
                          | discovered yourself prior to using the console
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 TWF                      | Toggles wireframe mode, letting you see the
                          | underlying 3D models of the game world
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 unlock                   | After opening the console, click a locked chest
                          | or door and enter this command to unlock it
--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------

*NOTE* Some spells you wish to rid yourself of may be spells you've made 
yourself. To get the hex codes of these spells, open your main Oblivion 
program folder. There you will find a text (.txt) file named "LevelUpData_1". 
Open that file in Notepad or some other text editor and find your character 
information from your last level up. There will be listed all your spells, 
including custom spells, with their hex codes.



                                                                     [XP03]
                              <~~~~~~ MODS ~~~~~~>

| Official Mods
+---------------
Bethesda Softworks is hard-at-work releasing new, official content for 
Oblivion. To date, 2007-02-15, they have released eight mods. These mods are 
not free, but are available to Xbox360 owners as well as PC users. You can buy 
these mods individually, or you can purchase all eight in a single, retail 
package called "Knights of the Nine" (after the largest of the mods). The KoN 
package is available for PC only ($19.99); Xbox 360 players can still purchase 
all the mods separately through Xbox Live Marketplace.


* Horse Armor DLC1: $1.99 (PC), 200 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This mod adds two types of barding (horse armor) to the game: Elven (gold 
color) and steel. Both types are available at Chestnut Handy Stables (outside 
the west gate to Imperial City) from Snak gra-Bura.

Comments:
Even though it's only two bucks, it's not worth the download. Horses are an 
affectation, not a necessity, and the armor doesn't do a whole lot of good 
since you still can't fight from your horse. Does look pretty, but that's 
about it. For vanity players only. 



* Orrery DLC2: $1.89 (PC), 150 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adds a simple step-n-fetch quest, Repairing the Orrery, to the game (details 
in the Side Quests section of this guide). After finishing the quest, you have 
access to the Imperial Orrery, which will grant you a Greater Power depending 
on the phase of the moon.

Comments:
It's OK. The quest is very simplistic and the Powers granted by the Orrery are 
not hugely useful. (They all Fortify one attribute by 20 and Drain another by 
20 for a total of 60 seconds.) Overall, not a huge addition, and probably not 
worth the money.



* Wizard's Tower DLC3: $1.89 (PC), 150 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adds Frostcrag Spire to the game, and gives you a deed to the place. Frostcrag 
is a wizard's tower with a garden full of alchemical ingredients, including 
many from Oblivion, an enchanting altar, a spellmaking altar, the ability to 
summon an atronach (storm, fire or frost) servant and an alchemical table that 
boosts your Alchemy skill by 15 when you stand near it. In order to get the 
tower functioning, you have to buy the materials from a newly added merchant 
in Imperial City. This merchant also buys/sells alchemical ingredients and 
potions and recharges enchanted items.

Comments:
Definitely worth the money for the plant conservatory alone. Characters who 
want to enchant and craft spells without joining the Mages Guild will also 
find a lot to like. It's quite expensive (around 14,000 gold) to get the place 
up-and-running, but it is a nice house, so, in that respect, it's cheaper than 
buying and furnishing a house elsewhere. Also includes a ton of books and a 
vault guarded by imps. Plus, there's no fighting to get it.



* Thieves Den DLC7: $1.89 (PC), 150 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adds Dunbarrow Cove; and, a little quest along with it. Dunbarrow Cove is a 
hidden cavern underneath Castle Anvil, and it contains the wreck of the 
infamous pirate ship, Black Flag. It also contains the animate skeletons of 
the Black Flag's crew. Full details of this mod are under the Home Ownership 
section of Miscellaneous Adventures.

Comments:
Basically, this is another house mod. After a simple quest and the expenditure 
of some money, you have another place to hang out. The hook this time is for 
players who like to go around randomly robbing people; but, don't want to join 
the Thieves Guild (why not?). You can set yourself up in this little cave and 
you actually have it better than if you were the Gray Fox--high quality fence, 
lots of Expert training in Stealth skills and access to Stealth-type spells 
(Fortify Stealth skills, Open Locks, Chameleon, etc.). Overall, Frostcrag 
Spire might be a better investment of your money, but, hey, it's only two 
bucks.



*NOTE* All of the following mods require the v1.1.511 patch. You must install 
the patch before installing any of these mods. If you install one of these 
mods first, the patch will fail.



* Mehrunes' Razor DLC9: $2.99 (PC), 250 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adds the "Unearthing Mehrunes' Razor" side quest to the game (see the Side 
Quests section for full details). This quest is activated as soon as you load 
a game or leave the starter sewers after installing the plug-in.

Comments:
This is the first official plug-in that is a real quest, as deep as any other 
side quest in the game. You get a large and interesting dungeon to explore, a 
plot to overthrow the empire and a cool new weapon that can one-hit kill any 
enemy in the game. You also get a mod that will tax your system to its limits. 
There are lots of pitched battles between numerous NPCs. You'll find yourself 
fighting four or five NPCs at a time. If your PC starts to lag noticeably when 
fighting two or three enemies, or has difficulty with lots of dynamic light 
sources (i.e. torches and campfires), you may want to think twice about buying 
this plug-in. You will have serious problems in some areas--all of them 
involving fights. Low framerates during a fight is a good way to end up dead.



* The Vile Lair DLC5: $1.89 (PC), 150 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adds a house for evil characters. Actually, to be more explicit, the vile lair 
is a vampire hangout. When you load up a game after installing the mod, you 
get a journal entry about a key and a note letting you know you have inherited 
a place known as Deepscorn Hollow. The place is marked on your map; it is 
south-southeast of Leyawiin, not far from Tidewater Cave (Nocturnal's Quest) 
and Bogwater Swamp ("The Renegade Shadowscale"). Travel there, find the 
submerged entrance and read the diary just inside the door. Then go buy your 
"furnishings" from Rowley Eardwulf at the Wawnet Inn. Return and revel in your 
wretched hive of villainy. Full details are under Home Ownership.

Comments:
Truly evil players may get a kick out of ordering someone to go kill in their 
name; and, the Altar of Sithis might be useful. Non-evil characters can use 
the Purgeblood Salts and Font of Renewal as an easy way to cure vampirism, and 
you don't have to buy any furnishings to do that. Still, this is a vampire's 
home and only vampires will get full use of it.



* Spell Tomes DLC4: $0.99 (PC), 80 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adds spell tomes to the game. Spell tomes are books that teach you a spell. 
Formerly, to learn spells you had to pay a spell merchant; though, a few were 
given as quest rewards. Now, if you find a spell tome, you can read it and add 
the spell it teaches to your spellbook. Tomes are only available as random, 
leveled treasure. Some of the spell tomes teach spells and spell effects not 
previously available in Oblivion.

Comments:
Meh. The best spells are still the ones you make yourself. However, if you're 
a pure (or close to pure) mage and want the new spell effects, then this might 
be a useful mod. Of course, you can't guarantee you'll find any of the new 
spells without cheating.



* Knights of the Nine DLC8: $9.99 (PC), 800 Marketplace points (Xbox 360)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adds a large quest and new faction (guild) to the game. A full walkthrough of 
this quest is available in its own section prior to the Side Quests section of 
this guide.

Comments:
Pricey, but well worth the money, especially if you play paladin-type 
characters.



The Web site for PC downloads of the official mods is:

http://obliviondownloads.com/

PC users: After purchasing, downloading and installing the mods, look in your 
OblivionData folder (by default, this is in C:Program FilesBethesda 
Softworks). You'll see DLC[Name].bsa and DLC[Name].esp files (where [Name] is 
the name of the mod, e.g. DLCOrrery.bsa) and a DLCList.txt file. Backup these 
files somewhere else (and/or burn them to CD). If you need to re-install 
Oblivion, or install it on another PC, you can re-install these mods just by 
copying these .bsa, .esp and .txt files to your OblivionData folder--without 
having to activate the installer.

You can also get all the currently released official mods by purchasing the 
Knights of the Nine boxed set for PC ($19.99).



| Fan Mods (PC Only)
+-------------------
The modding community for the PC version of Oblivion is very active. The 
following sites contain most of the mods made for this game:

http://www.tessource.net/
http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.List
http://www.oblivionsource.com/?page=modforge&op=viewcategories_list


Some recommended mods in no particular order...

* BTMod
http://btmod.beider.org/
Many improvements to the game's user interface, especially menus.


* Oblivion Mod Manager
http://timeslip.chorrol.com/obmm_download.html
Helps Manage all the many mods you will be adding to Oblivion.


* Fathis Fix
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2106
Fixes some bugs with the Thieves Guild fence, Fathis Ules.


* Shum gro-Yarug Fix
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2189
Some players are unable to purchase the house in Skingrad because gro-Yarug 
ends up dead, or otherwise missing. This mod fixes that problem and re-inserts 
him into the game.


* Face/Eyes combo
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2083
Merges "More Natural Faces" (higher resolution face textures), with various 
eye mods (more eye color selections) with a couple of other appearance-related 
mods. Very nice for those who want just the right look for their PC.


* Landscape LOD Replacement
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2182
Replaces the compressed textures normally used for distant landscape with 
uncompressed textures. Provides a big increase in graphic quality with almost 
no performance hit. Compare this:

http://cavesites.com/sewer_exit_old.jpg

with this:

http://cavesites.com/sewer_exit.jpg

If you use this mod, do not change the uGridsToLoad value in the INI (leave it 
at 5).


* World Texture Packs
http://devnull.devakm.googlepages.com/totoworld
A rather large number of replacement texture packs for players with all ranges 
of video cards. These texture packs can really improve the look and feel; but, 
they will compromise your framerate.


* Harvest [Flora]
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2037
Removes or changes the 3D art for plants after you harvest them. Now you will 
know which plants you have picked and which still wait to be plucked.


* Deadlier Traps
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=1991
Changes most traps in the game to instant-kills. No longer can you be crushed 
against a ceiling full of spikes only to emerge with a few scratches. Also 
makes those traps better when used against enemies.


* Quest Award Leveling
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2119
Normally, the rewards--especially equipment, spells and the like--you receive 
from quests are scaled to your level. This means if you complete a certain 
quest early, you get stuck with a low-power version of the reward that becomes 
useless later in the game. This mod causes all these special leveled rewards 
to increase in level as you increase in level, allowing you to enjoy the full 
benefit of the reward without having to know in advance when you should 
complete the quest in order to get the best reward.


* Kobu's Character Advancement System
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=1888
Changes the way your skills, attributes and class levels increase. Removes the 
need to do lots of number crunching to be sure you get your +5 modifiers each 
class level. Also contains other gameplay-improvement mods, including a health 
modifier, skill advancement modifiers and a change to your character's total 
encumbrance.


* More Merchant Money (Balanced)
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2387
Got a 12,000 gold item you don't want, but no merchant has the money to pay 
you what it's worth? This mod takes care of that without just giving each 
merchant a fortune.


* Fasthorse
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2171
Gradually increases the speed of your horse as you ride (up to +8 Speed).


* Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul
http://jorgeoscuro.googlepages.com/
Completely changes the nature of the game by changing how the leveled system 
works. Provides a greater sense of power when you finally reach the point 
where common bandits are no longer a problem rather than still a match for 
you. Also presents uncertainty, since you may now wander into a situation in 
which you are the weaker participant. For experienced players only.


* Colored Enemy Health
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=3774
Causes the little health semi-circle over your targeting reticle to change to 
yellow and then red as the enemy's health decreases. You can also put a normal 
health bar over the enemy through an INI tweak, but this looks a little nicer.


* Buy Lockpicks
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2074
Gives Thoronir, owner of the Copious Coinpurse, lockpicks so you can buy some 
without joining the Thieves Guild. Doesn't actually make lockpicks any more 
useful.


* Khajiit Night Eye Toggle
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=1797
Changes the Khajiit Night Eye unlimited-use special power to an on/off toggle.


* Ring of the Vipereye Fix
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2400
Changes the quest reward, Ring of the Vipereye (from "Lifting the Vale") to a 
non-quest item so you can sell it, stow it away, or whatever.


* Oblivion INI Tweaker
http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=1937
Not really a mod, just a small program that lets you make many of the INI 
changes listed in this guide via a series of checkboxes. Highly recommended if 
you don't want to mess around with the INI file directly.


Also see this thread on GameFAQs for even more recommended mods:

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=924363&topic=28703919




                                                                     [VH00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        VERSION HISTORY AND CREDITS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~
V4.00 2007-02-17
      - Added all content from Knights of the Nine mini-expansion
      - Re-wrote the section on Combat
      - Updated the Mods section with KoN content, fixed Web addresses
      - Added Magicka Effects and a FAQ to Gameplay
      - Added Alchemy to Miscellaneous Adventures
      - Lots of spell-checking and small changes throughout

v3.00 2006-06-12
      - All in-game journal quests complete
      - Added "Skill Training" in Miscellaneous Adventures
      - Added "Vampirism" in Miscellaneous Adventures
      - Added "Enchanting, Spellmaking & Soul Gems" to Gameplay
      - Fixed some typos throughout

v2.00 2006-05-26
      - Added Fighters Guild, Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood quests
      - Added "Home Ownership" in Miscellaneous Adventures section
      - Added Thieves Den DLC7 official mod
      - Added six side quests
      - Added "Travel, Horses and Quest Markers" and "Mini-games" to Gameplay
      - 131 of 161 quests completed

v1.00 2006-05-01
      - First published version


Many thanks to the following persons who have helped fine-tune this guide (in 
no particular order):

Smjellish, Jeff (Liens_Consort), Karkianman, mleach26, jbucking, zclifford, 
phild23, Don Mattingly



                                                                     [LG00]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                   LEGAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

Written & Copyright 2006, 2007 by Barry Scott Will

Trademarks and other marks are reserved to their original owners. This guide 
is not endorsed or authorized by 2KGames or Bethesda Softworks.

This guide is for informational purposes only and no explicit or implicit 
warranty is made with regards to the suitability of this information. The 
reader agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the author, Barry Scott Will, 
from any consequences of using this information.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 
License. To view a copy of this license, visit

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

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