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1[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oblivion_cover_art.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:275: ''Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion.'']]
3
4->''I was born 87 years ago. For 65 years I've ruled as Tamriel's emperor, but for all these years, I've never been the ruler of my own dreams.\
5I have seen the gates of Oblivion, beyond which no waking eyes may see. Behold! In darkness, a doom sweeps the land.\
6This is the 27th of Last Seed, the Year of Akatosh 433. These are the closing days of the Third Era... and the final hours of my life.''
7-->-- '''[[Creator/PatrickStewart Emperor Uriel Septim VII]]'''
8
9''Franchise/TheElderScrolls IV: Oblivion'' is a RolePlayingGame developed by [[Creator/{{Bethesda}} Bethesda Softworks]] and released in 2006 for PC and Xbox 360 and one year later for the Platform/PlayStation3.
10
11The game places you in the role of a prisoner, convicted of an unknown crime and incarcerated in the dungeons of the Imperial City. Your imprisonment is cut short by the arrival of Emperor Uriel Septim (played by Creator/PatrickStewart) and his bodyguards, the Blades, fleeing assassins who are trying to eliminate the royal family. Their escape route just happens to lead through your cell.
12
13What follows is a lengthy quest to save the province of Cyrodiil, heartland of the Empire which spans the whole continent of Tamriel, from destruction at the hands of Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince of destruction.
14
15The game boasts a huge open world with sixteen square miles of terrain to explore, hundreds of dungeons, eight cities filled with {{Non Player Character}}s that have their own daily routine and enough quests to fill hundreds of hours of play time. Notably, these NPC routines could be disrupted by the player's activity; Bethesda's new and proprietary 'Radiant AI' would attempt to simulate a realistic response to those actions. The AI for the most part is not scripted, with {{Non Player Character}}s merely having a list of general goals to achieve with degrees of priority. Remove all of the food from an NPC's house? When it's time to eat, they may then go out to the market in search of more food. It was... [[ArtificialStupidity not without its teething problems]] as a system, with the AI often deciding to do very bizarre things to accomplish its goals.
16
17The player has the opportunity to join several factions, such as the Fighter’s Guild, and all have their own storylines spanning several quests.
18
19The game received a universally positive critical response, the PC and Xbox 360 versions holding Metacritic scores of 94. The response from players was also generally positive, but the opinions of long-time fans of the series was more mixed, as many of them thought the game was too simplified compared to the previous installment in the franchise, ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''. In the long view, the game has also faced some pointed criticism for [[GameBreakingBug glaring technical issues]] that become very obvious during long or repeated playthroughs, as well as certain aspects of its gameplay mechanics being extremely, almost trivially-to-the-point-of-doing-so-accidentally easy to break. ''These'' criticisms are ones the game's [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim descendants]], obvious [[VideoGame/Fallout4 or otherwise]], have tried to answer.
20
21The game spawned a huge and dedicated modding community that still continues to churn out content. These mods range from new items to complete overhauls of the game. For mods with their own trope pages, see ''VideoGame/IntegrationTheStrandedLight'' and ''VideoGame/{{Nehrim}}''. For other recommended mods, see [[JustForFun/OblivionRecommendedMods this page]].
22
23The game launched during a turning point in the medium, and served as a guinea pig of sorts for the Xbox Live Marketplace and DownloadableContent, receiving a significant amount of new content, ranging from player homes, to a whole new story arc in the form of ''Knights of the Nine'', which was eventually released on PC as well. The game also received a full expansion called ''Shivering Isles'', dealing with Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of madness, in 2007.
24
25-----
26!!This video game provides examples of:
27
28[[foldercontrol]]
29
30[[folder:A-D]]
31* AbandonedMine: The Player Character can enter several of these around Cyrodiil, including one named the Abandoned Mine. They're usually inhabited by hostile monsters or bandits and, despite the name, only look like caverns with cosmetic timber framing and the occasional ore deposit.
32* AbilityDepletionPenalty: A creature's [[SprintMeter Fatigue]] regenerates continuously and is drained by activities like jumping and attacking. Low Fatigue normally only penalizes their attack damage, but, if they hit negative Fatigue, they collapse on the ground until it rises above zero.
33* AbortedArc:
34** In the vicinity of the Black Horse Courier offices, you are given the new topic "Do you need couriers?", which was obviously part of an intended quest. However, the question never appears in your dialogue options.
35** There is also a cave that can't be explored as a door is locked and there is no key in the game. Dialog indicates there was to be a quest involving a Red Queen and Black Queen- the Black Queen was to live in the cave. Cheating your way through- either by using the console to unlock the door, clipping through, or using paintbrushes to get through the secondary entrance- reveals a cave that's completed but not quite finished in terms of final content.
36** The game quickly dispenses with plot points which had been set up in Morrowind and its expansion packs. Uriel Septim either recovered from his illness, or it hadn't progressed to a critical stage before he was assassinated. The SuccessionCrisis among his sons that was implied didn't end up being an issue, as the Mythic Dawn cult killed all of them before the game even began.
37* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The Imperial Capital has a {{justified|Trope}} example, as the city is built on top of Ayleid ruins that were repurposed after the Ayleids were overthrown. In some parts, the original Ayleid structures are mostly intact, connected by more recent sewer tunnels. The sewers are a popular hideout for bandits and vampires as a result.
38* AdjectiveAnimalAlehouse:
39** The Drunken Dragon Inn.
40** The Gray Mare Inn in Chorrol.
41* AdoringThePests: As in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', one of the first Fighter's Guild quests sends you to help out a woman who has a [[RatStomp 'rat problem']] in her basement. Unlike in ''Morrowind'', the rats are her pets; the problem is the mountain lions that keep killing them.
42* AffablyEvil
43** Mankar Camoran. He seems to have some respect for the player at times.
44** Most people you meet in the Dark Brotherhood as well. They're murderous, bloodthirsty sociopaths, but they're also very charming and chummy, the only one of this cabal of assassins who openly dislikes you is the resident merchant.
45* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Several examples.
46** [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]]. Since vampirism takes three days to fully take hold, and a very simple spell (or common potion) is all that's needed to arrest it, the majority of Tamrielic vampires ''wanted'' to turn into cannibalistic horrors.
47*** Although this could also possibly be a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation, since Azura sends you on a quest to kill a cave full of vampires who used to be her followers but were infected with vampirism and sealed themselves in said cave to protect others. If a cure was so easy to obtain, then surely these followers would have sought one rather than sealed themselves in a cave and resigned themselves to their fate.
48** The [[{{Cult}} Mythic Dawn]]. Killing the Emperor, worshipping [[GodOfEvil Mehrunes Dagon]], and plotting to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt summon him]] isn't a good indicator for... well, good.
49* AmazonBrigade: The Shivering Isles are policed by two of them, no less, the Golden Saints (Auriel) and Dark Seducers (Mazken). There ''are'' males... but they're rare, subservient to the females, and statistically weaker. Additionally, due to a scripting error when you [[spoiler: become Duke or Duchess of Mania/Dementia]] the two groups will greet or refer to you only in the feminine. It's "fixed" in the Unofficial Patch, for those that don't find it entertaining.
50* AmbiguouslyBrown: Or perhaps Ambiguously Blue, in this case. There are a few {{Non Player Character}}s running around which either had their races incorrectly flagged in the CS, or are showing signs of mixed heritage. One noteworthy example is a guard seen in Anvil (who guards the chapel and warns people of the scene inside with KOTN installed) who is definitely a Redguard in skin tone and appearance but has an Imperial voice. Cutter, the emo Dementia blacksmith in Shivering Isles, looks to be a Dunmer, but has yellow eyes (the CS lists her race as Bosmer). There are also two female Dementia residents, both Imperial, who have blue skin tones.
51** And then there are some who definitely belong to other races yet are programmed to be otherwise. Numeen and Mahei are a couple of wealthy Argonians who are seen as guests by the count and countess in Leyawiin. Considering the [[FantasticRacism issues]] of the countess, it is surprising that she visits them often. Later on you realize that they are apparently also referred to as the Derics (they both share an item called Deric's Key which refers to their home, and the [=NPCs=] call them as Derics through gossip) and one could easily tell that they were probably meant to be Bretons.
52* AndIMustScream:
53** A Wizard stole from Vaermina the Daedric Prince of Nightmares. Now he's trapped within nightmares for all eternity. [[spoiler: You have the option to MercyKill him]].
54** One merchant in Crucible also suggests doing this to you via Chronomancy- trapping your body in time while keeping their mind intact. Thankfully, you can't accept his offer.
55** Mankar Camoran's followers give their lives to defend his cause and end up in his Paradise, which looks like a forested Eden... [[spoiler: but it isn't. They're essentially trapped in a fiery Hell, being killed over and over and OVER again, and will never be free from the cycle until you kill their leader.]]
56** Mehrunes Dagon ''himself'' is stuck in this situation. As the Daedric Prince of Destruction, his only purpose in life is to kill, maim, and obliterate everything in his path. The problem? He's stuck in his own plane of Oblivion, where ''nothing can be permanently destroyed.'' No matter what he does, Dagon can't eradicate Daedra or anything generated within his plane (they just keep reviving), essentially rendering him powerless in his own kingdom. That's why he's so eager to get to Cyrodil: that way, the Prince of Destruction can actually, you know, ''destroy'' things.
57** Speaking of Daedric princes, [[spoiler:Jyggalag and Sheogorath suffered this. The other Princes, fearful and envious of the former's power of Order and growing influence, combined their own abilities to transform him into the exact opposite of his aspect--namely, Madness. To make matters worse, they deliberately eradicated the victims' memory of this, trapping them in an endless cycle wherein Sheogorath senses the forces of Order are coming, prepares for them, remembers that he himself is Jyggalag, and transforms briefly, only for the whole routine to start up again. It isn't until the Player Character comes along and defeats Jyggalag in battle that the spell is lifted, allowing him to return to his former self.]]
58** The Gray Fox [[spoiler: specifically Emer Dareloth, the first Gray Fox]] stole the Cowl of Nocturnal from Nocturnal herself. As a Daedric Prince, she cursed the cowl to literally eradicate its user from history, meaning that no one can remember who he really is or even his own name. The Gray Fox is trapped in a world of people who can never know anything about him, rendering him unable to form permanent connections [[spoiler:and separating the current one, Corvus Umbranox, the Count of Anvil, from his wife--he could ''stand in front of her'' and she wouldn't be able to recognize him.]] The Gray Fox [[EarnYourHappyEnding earns his happy ending]] when, with the player's help, he figures out how to break the curse and finally rejoins the world.
59* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Several quests. Notably, completing [[spoiler:the central plotline]] awards you a [[spoiler:custom suit of Imperial Dragon armor]], which by that point is probably considerably weaker than what you are already wearing.
60* AnimeHair: Several elven [=NPCs=] have magnificent gravity-defying 'dos. For example, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Umbacano]], [[LoonyFan the Adoring Fan]], and [[CoolOldGuy Modryn]] Oreyn.
61* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: With the construction set.
62* AnnouncerChatter: Sometimes the mysterious announcer guy in the Arena can do this.
63* AnnoyingArrows: After taking a few arrows to the gut, you'll resemble a living pincushion but can still move around perfectly normally. Even with an arrow right through your crotch. If you shoot someone in the head and they don't die or see you, they'll just walk back to where they were with the arrow still sticking out of their heads. Because it "[[MajorInjuryUnderreaction must have been the wind.]]"
64* AntiHero: You can potentially be one, if you gain a lot of infamy points by doing evil things and generally be a dick, at the same time that you're saving the empire. You can also go right past this, straight into VillainProtagonist. The game is sometimes criticized for allowing players to be the Thieves, Mages, Dark Brotherhood's, AND Fighters guild leader while also being a vampire, god of madness, hunter of Vampires, Arena Champion, Hero of the Imperium, AND the man who serves food to prisoners for 5 gold a week.
65* ApocalypseCult: The Mythic Dawn seek to summon Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric prince of destruction in order to "purify" Tamriel. To do that, they are trying to break down the barriers between Nirn and Oblivion by murdering the Emperor and all his heirs, who are essential to keeping the barriers in place.
66* ArbitraryMissionRestriction: The [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] questline uses the "optional objectives" variant. Players are free to kill the targets any way they please, but with every target after Rufio and Captain Gaston Tussaud--[[spoiler:until the player becomes Lucien Lachance's Silencer]]--there's a bonus added to the payment (usually a magic item) if the kill is carried out in the specified manner (e.g. to MakeItLookLikeAnAccident in "Accidents Happen").
67* ArcWords: In the Mages Guild questline, Falcar says, ''"We shall see how prepared you actually are,"'' before sending you on a task he intends for you to die on. The mod "Mannimarco Revisited," makes Mannimarco say this to you as well, right before the final battle with him.
68* {{Arcadia}}: Skingrad is a very prosperous, green town whose people enjoy quiet country living.
69* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
70** The Gray Fox's "Wanted" poster lists the charges against him as "Theft, embezzlement, forgery, pickpocketing, counterfeiting, burglary, conspiracy to commit theft, grand larceny, tax evasion, slander, fraud, perfidy and ''impertinence''".
71** Can also apply to the player, if you stole a pear from someone's table and got seen doing it expect that to show up on your list of charges even if you've also killed a dozen guys.
72* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: Vilena Donton gives you one of these when you complete the last mission for the Fighter's Guild.
73* ArtifactTitle: Averted... in a manner of speaking. It is the first Elder Scrolls game since ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'' where the actual Elder Scrolls are seen, but they still don't play a part in the ''Main'' Quest, but rather in the [[SideQuest Thieves Guild quest line]]. [[spoiler:You get to steal one!]]
74* ArtificialAtmosphericActions: Oh so much. In particular, [[ProceduralGeneration procedurally generated]] NonPlayerCharacter conversation can be a bit vapid.
75--> "Hello."\
76"Hi."
77--> "I'm through talking to you."
78--> "Goodbye."
79--> "Bye."
80** An especially amusing one can randomly occur while sneaking around in Bandit lairs. After the main quest is completed, there's a random chance that certain of the bandits might start singing a song in your honor. That won't stop them from trying to kill you once you're spotted. {{Lampshaded}} by some of the idle dialogue (which unfortunately you never hear due to an oversight. A mod that fixes that can be found [[https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/38466 here]])
81--> ''"Everyone is talking, but no one has anything to say."
82* ArtificialStupidity:
83%%** The Radiant AI system is commendably ambitious, but it does fall flat very frequently and very visibly. Part of the problem is that NonPlayerCharacter behavior is driven by ''motivations.''
84** One quest involving vampire hunters can be botched if the vampire hunters get too jealous of each other's inventory items, whereupon they'll start pickpocketing one another until they're all angry enough to draw weapons. Also, in some cases "good" characters will murder unarmed innocents simply because they've been blocked into a corner.
85** [=NPCs=] who are following you have a terrible tendency to get in your way during combat, which often results in your accidentally killing them. Which could result in other [=NPCs=] turning hostile on you, or failing a quest, if the outcome depends on a particular NPC's survival. Cue ClusterFBomb.
86** Some characters have a bad habit of forgetting they need to unlock a store's front door in the morning, even if they have the appropriate key and locked it the night before. Others will end up [[SuicidalOverconfidence trying to pick fights with]] ''[[TheLegionsOfHell daedra]]'' [[TooDumbToLive who just spawned from an Oblivion portal]].
87** Start a fight with one NPC in the marketplace or resist arrest for picking up an apple. In a matter of seconds the whole market district will erupt into one giant gang war, with citizens attacking guards, citizens attacking each other, and guards slaughtering citizens and each other left and right.
88** In the Caught in the Hunt dungeon, there's a pit that drops you onto a bed of spikes. If you survive, you can make your way back up into the same corridor. You can also trick enemies into chasing you and falling into this pit... and then doing it again... until they die.
89** After a certain point in the main quest, the members of the covert Mythic Dawn cult who assassinated the Emperor have low enough disposition to attack you on sight... in broad daylight, in a city, with dozens of guards around. [[note]]Or who knows, maybe they just see it as a XanatosGambit. Either they succeed in killing you, a HUGE victory to their cause, or they fail and go to Paradise for immortal life and great rewards, returning to rule Tamriel when Mehrunes Dagon wins.[[/note]]
90** Sometimes if a guard ends up killing a citizen or someone else, that same guard will comment that since the body is warm, the killer must be nearby.
91** The aforementioned AI, while giving non-player characters a purpose besides pacing or standing in place, it can also hinder them in a number of ways. For example, [=NPCs=] that have a specific schedule set out for them will ''always'' try to fulfill it, and always walk back to their original location, even if there are benefits to gain elsewhere. Apparently, the citizens of Kvatch would rather live the rest of their days moping around their filthy makeshift tents at the doorstep of their destroyed, Daedra-infested city than accept any attempt by the player to be moved to a safer location with plentiful resources to thrive on. There are also many friendly [=NPCs=] that are found in hostile dungeons that are simply adamant about standing in a certain room and practically waiting to get themselves killed by the local bandits/undead/whatever.
92** Players who like exploring Cyrodiil's forests will occasionally hear battlecries and the sound of arrows being shot. When they investigate the commotion, they will witness two Imperial Legion soldiers... Shooting each other until only one of them is left standing. The reason for this is that one particular kind of guard, the ''Legion Forester'' (imperial scouts) is meant to occasionally hunt deer. For some reason, their arrows hitting a deer is considered "assault", which will turn nearby guards or Legion soldiers hostile to them.
93** The enemies only focus on attacking a single target and hardly ever switch targets. That is, when they attack you and you turn invisible and have your allies aid you, the enemies will stand there and look for you, instead of fighting back your allies.
94** Sometimes, for exceptionally stealthy characters, certain scripted events can lead to [=NPCs=] switching repeatedly - in mid sentence - between speaking their lines for searching for you, and giving up. The reason for this madness, is because the scripting always knows where you are, even if the AI doesn't - but the AI is in charge of actual combat.
95* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence:
96** [[spoiler:Martin's fate after becoming an avatar of Akatosh to defeat Dagon.]]
97** This also happens to members of the Mythic Dawn who are killed in the mortal world. Rather than actually dying, their souls are transported to Mankar Camoran's realm of Paradise where they become immortal. Of course, once you destroy Paradise near the end of the main quest, then they all die for real.
98** [[spoiler: At the end of Shivering Isles you become Sheogorath and eventually rule his realm of Oblivion. Though the transformation doesn't take its full permanent form until you meet him in Skyrim.]]
99* ArtShift: Cyrodiil goes from "Romans in a Rain Forest" from the last games to rather normal middle age Europe (then back to Romans for Skyrim).
100** Also, due to the game's vibrant colors, Dunmer are suddenly not just gray-skinned, they are light blue-gray.
101* AutomatonHorses: Partially averted by the fact that horses (excluding Shadowmere) have a finite amount of health and can be killed. But, they still don't need to eat or sleep.
102* {{Autosave}}: The game automatically saves your progress each time you enter a new location, with a small "Autosaving" notification on the upper left of the screen. This feature can be turned off, however, and some expert players even suggest it, as it has been occasionally known to produce corrupted save files for some players.
103* AxCrazy:
104** The Orc in the Dark Brotherhood.
105--> "I don't know who the Night Mother is, but she pays me to kill people! My own mother never loved me so much."
106--> "What's with all this sneaking about? I'd much rather look my target in the eye and say something scary like, 'I am the deliverer of death!' and hit them with a hammer."
107--> "Once, I had a contract to kill a little Nord girl at her birthday party. She asked me if I was the jester, so I replied: "No. I am a messenger of death". Ha! You should've seen the look on her face! [[WouldHurtAChild She won't be reaching age six]]!"
108** If you refuse to help Glarthir, he takes matters into his own hands, and starts attacking people in the street with a battleaxe! Not only that, but if you try to convince him that no-one is spying on him, he'll convince himself that you're part of the conspiracy and ''attack you''! [[TooDumbToLive Big mistake.]]
109** Most of the worshippers at Sheogorath's shrine.
110* AwesomeButImpractical:
111** The unicorn is supremely cool to ride around on but has such a high aggression that it will attack anyone it sees with drawn steel, including you[[note]]Unless your fame - infamy >=50, that is[[/note]].
112** Several leveled spells also count. Said spells are still fairly useful at lower levels even though they're weaker. When obtained at higher levels they become much stronger, but in turn they also cost so much magicka to use that they become extremely impractical. This includes the summonable lich, which has an area of effect spell that can demolish the player character if an enemy gets too close.
113* BackFromTheDead:
114** The player, at the end "Knights of the Nine." You think that merely getting hit repeatedly with a magic sword and lightning bolts, then falling thousands of feet onto the ground, and being proclaimed dead by all his friends who personally saw his mangled body can keep the Divine Crusader down? Bah!
115** In Camoran's Paradise you'll probably notice that ''everyone'' there pops up again if you kill them. Created to be a paradise for his followers, there is no lasting death there. Of course, for many of them there is a sting there.
116* BadassBoast: Lucien Lachance. "My friend, I do not spread rumors... I create them."
117* BadassBystander: Most if not all of the Master trainers are not people in position or power. Instead they tend to be commoners in unassuming inns or in the wilderness, looking nothing out of the ordinary.
118* BadBadActing: The "little show" Francois Mottiere puts on for the Dark Brotherhood assassin manages to be melodramatic and wooden at the same time.
119* BareHandedBladeBlock: If you try this while your block skill is less than 24, it will [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome hurt like hell]]. Played straight once you reach apprentice level.
120* BarrierMaiden: Martin Septim is a male example.
121* BattleBallgown: Sort of. Many [=NPCs=] wear unarmored pants in their leg armor slot, even if their other slots are occupied by actual armored pieces of equipment. On female characters, those pants are rendered as a long skirt.
122* BeastMan: The Khajiit (CatFolk) and Argonians (LizardFolk).
123* BeatingADeadPlayer: Averted. Once you die, you can briefly see that enemies immediately stop attacking. They sheathe their weapons and walk away.
124* BeginWithAFinisher: Initial EvilGloating notwithstanding, the {{Necromancer}} Mannimarco opens the fight against the PlayerCharacter with a spell that would instantly [[ReforgedIntoAMinion kill and reanimate them]]. [[spoiler:Fortunately, the previous quest wins the character an artifact that [[NoSell No-Sells]] the effect.]]
125* BeneathTheEarth: The Imperial city is so vast, its sewers are used by several vampires as an alternative to living on the surface.
126* BerserkButton:
127** Most of the city guards around Cyrodiil are actually a really, ''really'' nice and friendly bunch of guys - but break ''any'' law, even by accidentally picking something up off a shopkeeper's table, and they'll [[DisproportionateRetribution immediately go nuts and kill you without hesitation]]. You can, however, yield to them by blocking long enough. The Guards actually do a pretty good job of keeping things running smoothly, an entire guild of professional thieves has a hard time operating in the imperial city as a result. [[spoiler:(Not that it stops the Player and the Grey Fox from stealing an [[MacGuffin Elder Scroll]] right out from under their noses.)]]
128*** The guards are so determined to hunt you down to face justice that there was even an account of one chasing you into an Oblivion gate. That is dedication!
129--> [[AllCrimesAreEqual "You won't go to jail for that apple you stole?]] THEN PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!"
130** Melus Petilius, a retired paladin, has sworn off violence, but will recant his oath if you attack him at his 'sacred place', the grave of his wife.
131* BettingMiniGame: Betting at the Arena.
132* {{BFS}}: Claymores, and the [[KatanasAreJustBetter Akaviri Dai-katana]].
133* BigBad:
134** Mehrunes Dagon.
135** Also, Umaril in Knights of the Nine, [[spoiler:Jyggalag]] in Shivering Isles, Frathen Drothan in Mehrunes' Razor, the Yellow Team Champion & Agronak gro-Malog in the Arena questline, Mannimarco in the Mages Guild questline, Ri'Zakar in the Fighters Guild questline, Hieronymus Lex for most of the Thieves Guild questline and [[spoiler:Mathieu Bellamont]] in the Dark Brotherhood questline.
136* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Mehrunes Dagon is defeated, but the Empire now has no heir.]] It's clear the Empire's not out of the woods yet and this will likely lead to an [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim interesting future]].
137* BlackEyesOfCrazy: The more feral of the vampires, as well as the Dark Seducers featured in the Shivering Isles expansion pack. Subverted in the latter case: the Seducers are actually pretty nice.
138* BladeBelowTheShoulder: In the Shivering Isles expansion, we have the Gatekeeper, a sizeable [[FrankensteinsMonster Frankenstein-like]] monster guarding the entrance to the Isles. One of his arms is a giant blade. [[spoiler:After killing the monster, we are tasked later on with putting him back together, using various body parts. For his arm, we can choose between the exact same blade and also an axe and a mace. The cut content suggests that there was also a regular fist to be included too...]]
139* BlamedForBeingRailroaded:
140** Late in the Dark Brotherhood quests, you are given assassination contracts by dead drop, which a traitor intercepts to trick you into killing Dark Brotherhood members instead. Even though the change in the letters' tone is obvious and several targets have Dark Brotherhood gear in their homes, even though you can visit your boss at home for a chat between killings, StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: you have to kill most of your superiors, get caught by your boss, and weather his WhatTheHellHero speech.
141** In the Wizards storyline, you are sent as an envoy to the reclusive Count Hassildor, whose suspicious-acting steward tells you that the Count will only meet you at a remote mine shortly after midnight. To progress, you have to walk into the steward's [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption obvious ambush]], then let the Count "rescue you" -- even if you beat your assailants yourself -- and repeatedly insult you for your foolishness.
142* BlingOfWar:
143** Neon green glass armour. Not only is it perfectly valid, but it's also some of the best armour in the game.
144** The Amber armor from Shivering Isles adds to the hilarity. Now you've got some road-sign yellow armor to go with the neon green.
145* BloodStainedGlassWindows: A sort of off-screen version occurs at the beginning of the "Knights Of The Nine" questline where the cathedral in Anvil is attacked and everyone inside is slaughtered. A bit more straight example would be [[spoiler:Cadlew Chapel]] where the player [[spoiler:is forced to fight necromancers who slaughtered everyone there to use as combat fodder.]] Really though, with all of the churches in the game, the player can invoke this dozens of times if they get bored and don't care where they pick a fight at.
146* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Sneak attacks with a bow can send enemies flying in a ludicrous ragdoll-ballet of death.
147* BodyHorror: Worm thralls.
148** Also the flesh pods and "the Punished" through the portals.
149** On a more mundane side, the final fate of [[spoiler:Lucien Lachance]]. What's more disturbing than a skinless mutilated corpse? How about a ''very fresh'' one? [[spoiler: Oh, and he's completely innocent of what they killed him for. (That may be the only thing he's innocent of.)]]
150* BoisterousBruiser: Most {{O|urOrcsAreDifferent}}rcs and [[HornyVikings Nords]] play into this trope.
151
152* BookEnds: The Oblivion Crisis begins with the death of a Septim, and [[spoiler:ends with the "[[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence death]]" of a Septim]].
153* BoozeBasedBuff: All over the place. Ale, mead, beer, wine... there are over a dozen alcoholic items for the player to drink, each with different stat buffs and debuffs. Probably the most interesting of these is Shadowbanish Wine, a special rare vintage that can only be found in a handful of forts. It grants the player a special ability when drunk, but its quest involves turning in six bottles to an innkeeper instead of actually drinking them. (They actually respawn, but most players wouldn't know that unless they like to go back to places they've been and cleared out already.)
154* BossAlteringConsequence: The final quest in the Arena chain pits you against the Gray Prince, the current grand champion. If you do his personal sidequest first, the fight is much easier, [[spoiler:as the Gray Prince refuses to fight at all due to depression from finding out about his half-vampiric heritage.]]
155* BreachingTheWall: The results are seen after the fact. Mehrunes Dagon's forces attacked Kvatch with a [[http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Daedric_Siege_Crawler Daedric Siege Crawler]] that blasted open the city's walls. They attempt it again at Bruma later in the story, but the PlayerCharacter closes the Oblivion gate on the Crawler, destroying it before it can reach Bruma. The whole game is actually predicated on this trope, as the assassination of The Emperor Uriel Septim VII and his heirs allows the Daedric armies to breach the mystical barrier between their native Oblivion and the material plane of Nirn and to stage an invasion through hundreds of Oblivion Gates that opened across Tamriel as a result. The main quest of the game revolves around finding a way to mend the veil between Nirn and Oblivion and thus to prevent any more Gates from opening.
156* BreakingAndBloodsucking: Once you've contracted vampirism, you can only feed on sleeping people. You can find bums sleeping around outside or you break in to homes and hope the [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard psychic guards]] don't catch you with your fangs in a neck.
157* BringHelpBack: You can do this by getting reinforcements from the other cities when Bruma is besieged by a Great Gate (but only after you close the gates threatening ''their'' cities, naturally). It's an optional quest, though, so you can just [[OneManArmy do it all yourself]] instead, if you prefer.
158* BringingBackProof: If the PlayerCharacter joins the [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]], you can accept a quest from Teinaava to kill the renegade [[LizardFolk Argonian]] assassin Scar-Tail and bring back his heart as proof of the deed. When the player finds Scar-Tail, he recently had to kill another Argonian in self defence, so the player can opt to spare Scar-Tail and take the heart from the corpse instead.
159* BringIt: Attempt to/Fight an ogre with your bare hands and it may make this gesture.
160* ButForMeItWasTuesday: When Mogens Wind-Shifter killed Ra'Vindra, Mazoga the Orc swore to become a knight so she could avenge her friend. Mogens doesn't remember any of this when you and Mazoga kill him.
161* BritainIsOnlyLondon: In-universe, Outsiders seems to think the Imperial City is the entire province, but the game makes it clear, it is just a capital city, if a busy one. There are citizens who move to the Imperial City and never set foot outside its walls, because they think they have seen it all.
162* {{Butlerspace}}: Haskill, the chamberlain to Sheogorath, can be {{summon|Magic}}ed with a spell you get during the main quest.
163* ButThouMust:
164** One quest in Anvil involves investigating a series of robberies for the town watch. A group of women have been luring men to a remote cabin with promises of a good time, only to take all their possessions once the men have removed their gear. If you go to a local inn soon afterwards, you will meet the women. If the player character is male, they will attempt to lure him to the cabin with the aforementioned promises. If the PC is female, however, they will offer her a place in their gang. That evening, the quest calls for you to join them at the cabin. No matter whether the PC is male or female, your only dialogue options involve revealing your status as a mole, then taking out the whole gang by yourself in combat. As a female character (who may even be a member of the Thieves Guild and/or Dark Brotherhood and whose railroaded behavior therefore makes little sense), this seems like a waste of a good plot.
165** An even worse example comes in the final stages of the Dark Brotherhood missions, after becoming a Silencer. Your orders are delivered to you via dead drops, giving your the location and name of your target(s). After the first two, there's a noticable change in the sound of the writing, from Lucien's professional but polite tone to outright glee and creepy familiarity. Also, the orders start giving the player explanations of the targets' "crimes" and details of personal lives, things that Lucien had never done prior unless it had relevance in the mission (ie, a hit was placed on a necromancer who he was trying to become a lich, making conventional killing methods difficult). But the worst parts? [[spoiler: There's a massively obvious change in the ''handwriting'' of the orders, and you can even find Dark Brotherhood robes in the possession of your newest 'targets.' It'd be one thing for the game to put evidence in front of you and let you act on it, but you have no choice but to carry out ''six'' of these clearly forged orders before being confronted by Lucien and having already served as an accessory to the conspiracy that would get him killed.]]
166** There's quite a lot of this in the game. Other examples feature a prank that Volanaro wants you to play on Jeanne Frasoric, the head of the Bruma Mages Guild, where the game doesn't give you the option to tell Jeanne about the prank; and a mission that the Blackwood Company undertakes to slaughter goblins where [[spoiler: the goblins are actually innocent humans and there's no way to stop them from being cut down in their own home]] once the quest begins, whether you figure out what's going on or not - you can opt to run away and it'll complete the mission, but the people who come on the mission with you don't, and [[spoiler: end up killing everyone.]]
167* CallAHitPointASmeerp: They're not "magic" points, they're "magicka" points!
168* CaptainErsatz: Spider daedra, unique to this game and ''Online'', are essentially [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons driders]] with the serial numbers filed off.
169* CaptainObvious: BY THE NINE DIVINES, ASSAULT!
170** "Someone's been murdered!"
171** Rarely, guards who helped you kill someone may go to the corpse and say "Hmm... body's still warm. Looks like there's a killer about."
172** When you're given the quest to kill the Black Bow Bandits, you're told the gang is called that because [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they use black bows.]]
173* CatchPhrase: The Thieves' Guild is fond of "shadow hide you".
174** The Gray Fox is fond of "Capital!".
175** For the Dark Brotherhood, we have, among others, "May the Night Mother wrap you in her loving embrace."
176** "BY AZURA, BY AZURA, BY AZURA, ITS THE GRAND CHAMPION!"
177** The Mythic Dawn cult's doubles as a shibboleth: "The dawn is breaking." "Greet the new day, Brother/Sister."
178* CitadelCity: Imperial City is built on its own island and has a massive set of Ayleid-era walls and towers on top of that. [[spoiler:Not that this does it any good when Mehrunes Dagon starts opening portals inside the walls.]]
179* CityGuards: The embodiment of this trope.
180--> '''Guard:''' Stop! You violated the law. Pay the court a fine or serve your sentence. Your stolen goods are now forfeit.
181* ChainmailBikini: Averted with some of the female armors, but played straight with others.
182** If you put an actual chainmail shirt on a female character it turns into a MinidressOfPower.
183* TheChessmaster: Mankar Camoran. To A lesser degree, The Gray Fox.
184* ChekhovsSkill: J'skar, the lovable Khajiit prankster of the Bruma Mages Guildhall, is shown to only be really good at invisibility. [[spoiler:When Mannimarco attacks Bruma's guildhall, his invisibility mastery might be the only thing that saves him, though J'skar suspects that Mannimarco saw him and decided to SpareAMessenger.]]
185* ChevalierVsRogue: The specifically evil playable faction is the Dark Brotherhood (assassin/ninja) and the specifically good one is Knights of the Nine (knight/paladin). The rest of the playable factions are more or less neutral and can be played by both good and evil characters.
186* CleverCrows: This game features Corvus [[spoiler: Umbranox, the Grey Fox, leader of the Thieves Guild, and former Count of Anvil. Fellow gets around]]. He's clever and dark-haired.
187* ClosedCircle: The quest "[[Creator/AgathaChristie Whodunit?]]" is a classic textbook example, [[spoiler:except ''you're'' the killer.]]
188* CodeName: All of the brigands aboard "The Bloated Float" inn-boat during the quest "An Unexpected Voyage".
189* ColdSnap: The time you spend in Bruma will be fairly well defined by its snowy enviroment both in and around the town.
190* CollectorOfTheStrange: As you might expect, the ''Shivering Isles'' expansion contains a few characters who have collections to match their respective obsessions. The player can also go on a quest to enlarge the collection in the Museum of Oddities.
191* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: According to a loading screen tip, "Higher willpower allows you to defend against magical attacks." In reality, the magic damage formula does not reference "target's willpower" at any point.
192* ConspiracyTheorist:
193** A sidequest concerns a Bosmer named Glarthir who is convinced that several people in town are involved in a conspiracy against him, and wants the player to help him find proof.
194** This is apparently a VERY common trait with the Dukes and Duchesses of Dementia in ''Shivering Isles''.
195* ContinuityNod:
196** The "Hero of [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]" and [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Jagar Tharn]] are mentioned in passing many times, in both in-game books and by a few certain characters. [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind The province of Morrowind]] has abolished slavery (according to NPC chatter). These examples are notable because most content in ''Oblivion'' is self-contained (though this is by no means an exhaustive list).
197** Also, the Utherfrykte Matron. The Utherfrykte was an obscure OptionalBoss in the "Bloodmoon" expansion for ''Morrowind.'' In relation to this is an NPC from Bloodmoon, the foxy Svenja Snow-Song, who became your character's second in command at the Solstheim Mead Hall. In Oblivion, you can find her husband's journal at Dive Rock, detailing numerous nightmares she had regarding the creatures. Having enough of it, the two decided to venture to Cyrodiil to slay their Matron, only for Svenja to get eaten alive by the creature before getting off a shot. Her husband watches in horror, and is mortally wounded soon after, being able to make it back to their nearby camp to finish writing. You can find the husband's body and journal at the camp, and can also slay the Matron once and for all. Inside its body is Svenja's bow... along with her mostly digested corpse.
198** One off hand but memorable [[spoiler:downer]] instance of this is an NPC in the Imperial Capital who was at Raven's Rock, the ebony mining settlement from Morrowind's expansion. [[spoiler:He left when the money dried up, meaning that the settlement canonically ''fails'', though not entirely, as it's still (barely) populated by the time the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Dragonborn]]'' roll around.]]
199** A snippet of info you get from a random loading screen says "No one has escaped from the Imperial Prison in over 40 years, since the days of Jagar Tharn and the Imperial Simulacrum". The [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Eternal Champion]] escaped from the Imperial Prison during the late Imperial Simulacrum, just ''under'' 40 years ago.
200** Another couple of Morrowind examples: You can overhear two Elven [=NPCs=] talking about the [[PlayerCharacter Nerevarine]] having left on an expedition to Akavir. You can also over hear mention of "St. Jiub, who drove all the cliff racers from Morrowind."
201* ConvectionSchmonvection: Invoked and subverted. The areas of Oblivion you go to seem to be small islands in an ocean of lava, yet one [=NPC=] points out that while he'd expect it to be hot, all he feels is a deathly chill. Notably, the fire resistance stat does nothing to protect you from said lava and even Flame Atronachs will die if they fall in, suggesting it may not actually be lava at all.
202* CookingMechanics: The game includes bread, cheese, ale, carrots, stew, and various kinds of meat which can typically be eaten raw for a minor fatigue/stamina boost. ''Oblivion'' treats food (of all kinds) as a type of [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemical ingredient]], which can be eaten raw or used to make potions; they have various effects, mostly restoring stamina.
203* CosmicKeystone: The Amulet of Kings isn't just a shiny piece of jewelry. It's the physical embodiment of a covenant between the Nine Divines and the rulers of Cyrodil. Only a direct descendant of royal blood can wear it, and when they do, the Dragonfires--magic flames that keep the barrier between the hellish realm of Oblivion and the mortal world of Nirn intact--burn brightly. As soon as royals ''stop'' wearing it, portals to Oblivion begin to open.
204* CosmicRetcon[=/=]HandWave[=/=]AWizardDidIt: A rare InUniverse one. Witness the home of the Red King [[ChaosArchitecture once jungled!]] Apparently, a god (or the White-Gold Tower, or the Emperor, or the Emperor using the White-Gold Tower, because canon and lore are confusing) decided that Cyrodiil should be a deciduous forest rather than a rainforest like in previous installments of the series.
205** Uriel Septim should have a head of long, flowing silver hair, rather than the perfectly smooth and hairless scalp he sported in ''Daggerfall'' (Ironically looking more like Patrick Stewart than the version he played.)
206** Ocato, who also sported a smooth scalp and a badass posture in ''Daggerfall'', suddenly turned into an Altmer in ''Oblivion''.
207** It is implied the dungeon in Oblivion is supposed to be the same one as in Arena. Both games take place in sewers underneath the palace (Though in Oblivion it's only the very last area) not counting the one zombie in Oblivion and the "Random Thieves" in Arena. All the enemies are rats and goblins. And the mentioned thieves only appear if you stand in one place too long, where do they come from? They come out of hidden doors in the walls, which the Mythic Dawn used when assassinating the Emperor.
208* CrapsaccharineWorld: Cheydinhal seems like a quiet quaint lush county/town... but just ask around and you will notice it's subject to a lot of loose-values from those in charge at cost to the citizens.
209* CruelAndUnusualDeath:
210** If you attack Sheogorath at any time during ''Shivering Isles'', he will paralyse you with magic, then teleport you to thousands of feet above ground out in the wilderness and let gravity do the work for him. Or he throws the rest of the world at you. It's not really clear which.
211** Transformation into Worm Thrall, the fate of [[spoiler:TheMole within the Necromancers, Mucianus Allias]]. You are expected (but not required) to MercyKill them.
212** The many corpses seen strung up in the realm of Oblivion, along with the sacks of skin simply labelled "The Punished" have their fates left to the player's imagination, but they were no doubt very painful deaths. That is, assuming they're dead.
213** Near the end of The Dark Brotherhood Questline, [[spoiler:Lucien Lachance is cornered by members of the Black Hand and killed for his treachery... except he didn't do it]]. All that's left of him is a strung up husk, with its mouth ripped out. If you talk to one of the culprits, she will mention eating his intestines.
214* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: In the Mehrunes' Razor DLC, [[spoiler:the "normal" way to finish the final puzzle and get the Razor is by ''eating a still living man's heart'', getting you a massive infamy penalty. The only others options are to either force the gate (which requires a near maxed out strength stat), or fight a difficult boss.]][[note]][[spoiler:Although you can take the heart, not eat it, and try to force the gate. This will weaken the aforementioned boss significantly without the negative effects of eating the heart, which include contracting Porphyric Hemophilia (the disease that turns you into a vampire) and Cannibal's Prion. Additionally, if you keep the heart, you can make a potion that turns you into a vampire with maxed Alchemy.]][[/note]]
215* CrutchCharacter: A starting character with Conjuration as a Major Skill will get the spell "Summon Skeleton" for free. It makes for an effective "meat shield" (irony of that statement notwithstanding) to draw aggro away from your (likely SquishyWizard) starting character. It is also useful for repeatedly casting in order to level up your Conjuration skill, allowing you to use more powerful summons once you gain access. The Skeleton will quickly fall by the wayside after your first couple of levels once you do get those better summon spells.
216* CrystalDragonJesus: Oddly enough, the Nine Divines, considering how previous games depicted the religion (particularly in ''Daggerfall'') as very polytheistic Greco-Roman religion.
217** This was also hit the hardest with the Nibenese-Cyrodiil (the Imperials who live in the east), in a very bizarre form of cultural {{Flanderization}}. Previously, the Nibenese where described as esoteric and philosophizing, with elaborate customs and devote to various religions, cults, and ancestor worship. By the time of Oblivion though, they were described as simply chapel-going and doing religious services on Sundays, complementing the now christianity-based worshipping of Nine Divines.
218* CultureChopSuey: ''Oblivion'' is set in a predominantly European FantasyCounterpartCulture. However, Cloud Ruler Temple is a Buddhist temple outside, complete with upturned roof corners. Inside, we're back in fantasy Europe. This is pointed out and explained in game: at one time, the empire was ruled by a series of Akaviri (FantasyCounterpartCulture of Japan) stewards after a failed invasion on their part (long story). The Blades were formed, and Cloud Ruler Temple built, during this time, hence the Akaviri influences on their armor, weapons and architecture.
219* CurseCutShort: When Modryn Oreyn learns that the Blackwood Company has been taking away most job opportunities from the Fighters Guild, he starts with "Those sons of..." before shrugging it off and paying you for your completed task.
220* CursedItem: The Staff of the Everscamp is one of the artefacts of [[JerkassGods Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness]], and seems to exist for the sole purpose of {{Troll}}ing mortals. The staff's owner is constantly followed by four Scamps that give off a horrible smell, generally make the owner's life a misery and can't be permanently killed. Furthermore, [[ClingyMacguffin the staff's owner feels a compulsion to keep it on their person at all times]], and can only get rid of it if another person willingly agrees to become the staff's owner or by leaving it at one of Sheogorath's shrines.
221* CurseEscapeClause: Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order, was [[spoiler:cursed with madness to become Sheogorath. Once an era, he returns to normal, and will conquer his land of the Shivering Isles. Once he did that, however, he would become Sheogorath once again. Aware of his fate, Sheogorath attempts to find an escape clause by preventing his change into Jyggalag. However, he fails at this. The Hero of Kvatch and Haskill decide to escape the curse by taking up the mantle of Sheogorath and beating Jyggalag in battle. This works.]]
222* CutAndPasteEnvironments: This can be seen a lot in outdoor areas.
223* CuteButPsycho: Cutter, the blacksmith in Dementia is definitely cute, but tells you she tests the weapons she makes on herself, and relishes the thought of you using them on others.
224* CutsceneIncompetence: At several points in the game, the script forces your character to freeze while you have to watch an enemy character butcher a friendly NPC.
225* DamselInDistress: A few, but most prominently [[spoiler: Dar-Ma]] in ''A Shadow Over Hackdirt''.
226* DangerouslyGarishEnvironment: ''Shivering Isles'' expansion, the titular Isles are the home of the MadGod Sheogorath, and are split down the middle to represent the dual nature of madness. The Northwestern half of the Isles, Mania, represents aspects of madness that can be considered positive (such as artistic creation and the spark of invention), and is full of technicolor plants and brightly covered monsters, but is every bit as dangerous as the [[SwampsAreEvil southeastern half, Dementia]].
227* DarkestHour: Once you're far enough into the main quest, not only do members of the Mythic Dawn start openly attacking people in the city streets, but Oblivion Gates open ''right outside'' each major city.
228* DarkIsNotEvil: The Dark Seducers in ''Shivering Isles'' are generally friendlier than their [[LightIsNotGood counterparts]], [[{{Jerkass}} the Golden Saints]].
229* DaywalkingVampire: Vampires can day-walk if they are well-fed, but burn otherwise.
230* DeadlyEnvironmentPrison: The prisons in the Shivering Isles. They do confiscate your stuff, but your cell is not locked and you are free to try and brave the dungeon creatures with your bare hands and spells.
231* DeadDrop: This is the preferred method the Dark Brotherhood uses to get in touch with and pay you. [[spoiler:The drops get taken over by a traitor halfway through the quest line. You end up trying to kill off the Brotherhood command instead.]]
232* DeadStarWalking: Creator/PatrickStewart as the doomed [[TheEmperor Emperor]]. There's even a mod that replaces Uriel Septim's head with Stewart's.
233* DeadpanSnarker:
234** Haskill, Chamberlain of Lord Sheogorath the Prince of Madness. "What a surprise. I'm summoned. Your skill in repetition is truly astounding."
235** Kathutet, the Dremora guarding the entrance to the Forbidden Grotto, is this in contrast to [[EvilIsHammy the rest of the Dremora you encounter in the game]].
236* DeathByDepower: [[spoiler:Rona Hassildor [[SupernaturalAngst hated being a vampire]] so much that she refused to feed and slipped into a years-long coma. You can find a cure for vampirism, but in her weakened state, she dies peacefully as soon as she becomes human again.]]
237* DefeatMeansRespect: Your characters' role in the Battle of Kvatch earns them respect from the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Dremora]] who were besieging the town.
238* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The climax of ''Shivering Isles'' pits you against [[spoiler:Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order]].
239* DiedOnTheirBirthday: {{Implied|Trope}}. Dark Brotherhood assassin Gogron gro-Bolmog tells the player about a time he got hired to kill a five-year-old Nord girl at her birthday party.
240* DiegeticCharacterCreation: After the Hero of Kvatch's prison cell is used by the Emperor and his bodyguards as an escape tunnel and he judges you as trustworthy, you choose your starsign after he asks you what it is, and choose or design your class based on one of his guard's guessing of it.
241* DiscOneNuke:
242** It's relatively minor, but in the tutorial dungeon, after Blades Captain Renault is killed by some Mythic Dawn assassins, you can loot her body for her personal sword, a steel Akaviri katana. While by no means an incredibly impressive weapon, it's still an extremely good weapon for a level one character and can make mincemeat out of pretty much all the enemies in the dungeon, and could serve you well for the first few levels (and is also better than the other weapon she was holding, a steel short sword). Except that after the Emperor's death, when you talk to Baurus, he will thank you for keeping the sword and take it from you so it can be returned to Cloud Ruler Temple. And no, you can't just drop it before Baurus talks to you, because once the conversation is over, the sword simply disappears, meaning there really is no way to hold onto it.
243** Once you gain access to spellcrafting, "Drain Health 100 Points for 1 second" is a OneHitKill on anything with less than 100 hit points. Drain effects are much cheaper than Damage effects, because once they wear off, the target gets their attributes back -- unless they're already dead. Once the level scaling starts producing enemies with more than 100 hit points, its value decreases significantly, though it still makes a decent finishing move.
244* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In the Shivering Isles expansion there is a quest where Hirrus Clutumnus asks you to kill him. He's sick of being alive, but doesn't want to kill himself because suicides are punished in the Shivering Isles by having their souls stranded forever on the Hill of Suicides. He offers you a reward which you can retrieve from his house after you kill him. The reward is the Ring of Happiness, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antidepressant a ring which brightens things around the wearer, makes them feel lighter, and makes it easier for them to talk to people.]] In his will he mentions that it was given by a mage who said it would make his life bearable; [[NoMedicationForMe but he stopped wearing it]] because it made him not [[DyingAsYourself feel like himself]].
245* DontGoInTheWoods: There is a thick forest to the south between Chorrol and Skingrad... do ''not'' go into it lightly.
246* DoomedHometown: Martin's hometown of Kvatch is destroyed by Daedra at the beginning of the main quest. Unusual because it's not the player character with the DoomedHometown.
247* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Thieves love to attempt to steal things from Nocturnal, the Daedric goddess of the night (and therefore, a crucial part of their jobs). Two thieves succeed and the player recovers the artifact, [[spoiler: the Grey Fox exists because of this]], and one in a book has a fate that's not elaborated on when she gets caught past being consumed by an angry Nocturnal's shadows.
248* DoubleEdgedBuff: All the positive and negative effects of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism]] grow stronger the longer you go without feeding -- it boosts several abilities and skills, grants DamageReduction, and enables a series of powers, but inflicts [[BurnTheUndead fire vulnerability]] and causes DamageOverTime in sunlight. You can reset the effects to their lowest level by drinking blood, or stall the progression by not sleeping.
249* DownerBeginning: Emperor Septim is attempting to escape an attempt on his life and breaks you out as he flees for his life. He doesn't make it.
250* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: The Necromancers.
251* DualWorldGameplay: Between the mortal realm and the realm of Oblivion.
252* DudeWheresMyRespect: Even if you're already the Champion of Cyrodiil, the guilds will still make you do petty tasks before they let you advance. And highwaymen will still try to rob you. And nearly every boss-type character you defeat will use his last words to tell you what an unworthy opponent you are.
253** It's even worse when you've beaten the Shivering Isles and [[spoiler:become the new Sheogorath.]] Everyone and their mother still treats you the same in Cyrodiil and in Oblivion, including certain types who should know what you are now. Mankar Camoran especially should know, and if not him, certainly the Dremora. However, this would have required much more extra dialog recording and time to implement and would have heavily altered much of the game as a result, which no doubt would have pushed the expansion beyond the deadline.
254** Voranil. In the words of the [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Voranil UESP Wiki]]: ''He throws the best parties every weekend, and anybody who's anybody in the city goes there. Unfortunately, that doesn't include you, and it never will. It doesn't matter if you're the Grand Champion of the Arena, the Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild, and head of every other faction in the game. It doesn't matter if you own the nicest, most beautifully-furnished house in the city, or in Cyrodiil for that matter.''
255* DungeonBypass: In many forts and Ayleid ruins, the final door, after the boss mob and reward chest, leads to a ledge overlooking the entrance, so that you can jump down and leave immediately rather than have to backtrack through an empty dungeon. With sufficient Acrobatics skill (it can be fortified over 200 if necessary), you can jump up to the ledge and work backwards, surprising the boss from behind, and immediately claiming the most lucrative loot.
256** A different but significantly easier one is [[spoiler: at Fort Farragut, a.k.a. where Lucien Lachance makes his hideout. Don't want to hack through all those skeletons? Just go to the big, hollow tree on the northeastern side of the fort to drop straight down on top of Lucien himself.]]
257* DysfunctionJunction: Most aren't given any background story, but several character's pasts are implied to be this. Most notably with members of the Dark Brotherhood (which is fitting because it explains how they became psychopaths to begin with).
258** Skingrad. The blacksmith's an alcoholic, the town trader's in a loveless common-law marriage with his maid, one alchemist's a necrophiliac, the other hasn't been outside for years, and there's a paranoid wood elf convinced that half the city's population is trying to kill him. Then there's the Count and his right-hand man... Yet despite everything, Skingrad is noted as being one of the most prosperous counties in Cyrodiil.
259[[/folder]]
260
261[[folder:E-N]]
262* EasingIntoTheAdventure: The point of the tutorial dungeon.
263* EasyLevelTrick:
264** The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal is the mask of the Gray Fox, [[KingOfThieves Master Thief]] of the ThievesGuild. Naturally, you acquire it after completing that questline. With strong enchantments that help a sneaky character and the ability to conceal your true identity while committing crimes to avoid getting a bounty, it's quite useful but obviously comes too late to help out in the Thieves Guild questline itself. However, it is immensely useful through the [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] questline if you wait to start it until after acquiring the Cowl. In addition to its ever useful boost to your Sneak skill, it also allows you to Detect Life while worn. For a number of Dark Brotherhood quests where committing the murder undetected gives you a bonus, being able to "detect" where other [=NPCs=] are makes it trivially easy. Of particular note is the quest where you have to sneak through the sewers to kill a target in the Imperial City Prison. Due to the events of the game's opening, the already dark and maze-like sewers are now patrolled by guards who must be avoided to earn the bonus. The Cowl will allow you to see where the guards are and, if you watch for a bit, you can pick up on their patterns to easily avoid them.
265** For both the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood questlines (and really anywhere with locked doors and containers), the Skeleton Key, granted by completing Nocturnal's Daedric Quest, provides a massive boon. As an unbreakable lockpick, even a character with a minimal Security skill can spam "Auto Attempt" until even the highest level locks eventually fall. Expect to see players rush to complete the quest as soon as they hit the level 10 requirement.
266* ElaborateUniversityHigh: The Arcane Univesity is the second tallest structure outside White-Gold-Tower, and so big it is its own district of the Imperial City.
267* ElementNumberFive: An alchemist in Shivering Isles theorizes that each of the four classical elements corresponds to a part of the body (fire is meat, earth is bone, water is blood and air is breath), and that these elements when brought together, along with the fifth: light, create the sixth element, Flesh.
268* {{Emo}}: [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Shivering:Cutter Dementia blacksmith Cutter]] from Shivering Isles almost plays this straight. She's halfway between emo and psycho, with serious self-esteem issues and a self-cutting habit, but she also seems to like wounding others and tests all her weapons "personally". There's always fresh blood on her work floor.
269* TheEmperor: The tutorial introduces you to the benevolent Emperor of Cyrodiil, voiced by Creator/PatrickStewart. His death, and the loss of the supernatural protections the office grants the Empire, sets off the main plot.
270* EmptyLevels: [[LevelScaling Enemies scale based purely on your level]], but your actual strength in combat involves many factors besides just level (health gain per level, attributes, equipment, and skills). As such, leveling up with too many non-combat skills is likely to result in an insignificant bonus to your abilities, but all enemies still increase in strength. Keeping well ahead of the leveling curve requires training additional minor skills to get the best bonuses per level (such as leaving, say, Conjuration as a minor skill, and then increasing it ten times between levels to get the +5 Intelligence bonus for the next level up). Many people just bypass the whole aggravating "leveling up" process by [[LowLevelAdvantage never sleeping]].
271* EndOfAnAge: The start of the game has Uriel Septim stating its the end of the Third Era, along with his eventual death. The Septim bloodline is gone and the empire itself in a weakened state. [=NPCs=] in the game already talk about the High Elves planning to go against the empire and, after finishing the main quest, some of the provinces plan on seceding. [[spoiler: Turns out that in [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]], the High Elves formed their own Empire, slowly picking away territory. And, like the NPC's said, 2 of the other provinces did indeed secede. By the time Skyrim's story starts, the Empire is only a shadow of its former self.]]
272* EnemyChatter: Nothing special, but occasionally if you're quiet and just stand around and listen, you will hear enemy NPC's talking amongst themselves (Necromancers, bandits, marauders, vampires, guards, etc).
273* EscortMission: A few, but by far the most annoying one is the quest The Wayward Knight. Farwil Indarys, your escortee and complete {{Leeroy|Jenkins}}, will run into battle against enemies far stronger than he, and even worse will completely ignore environmental dangers. He'll even follow enemies off cliffs!
274** The higher your level, the worse these quests become, to the point of FakeDifficulty. While monsters will level, and even get replaced by classes of newer and more powerful monsters, the people you escort... don't. Some quests are made easier by essential characters, as they don't die when the overpowered monsters beat on them, but you still have to kill everything and then wait for them to wake up to push forward into another fight.
275** The Mages Guild quest "Liberation or Apprehension?" thankfully subverts this. You are meant to escort your fellow mage Fithragaer and find Mucianus Allias and bring them back. The former will most likely get killed by a huge trap that pushes the floor up to a spike ceiling and the latter [[spoiler:suffered a fate worse than death.]] All that is required to finish the quest is explore the ruins, fight some monsters, grab some loot, and further the subplot.
276* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Dark Brotherhood might kill almost anyone, but even they seem to draw the line at the thought of killing the Emperor himself... though this might be because his death is actually quite bad as far as keeping the barriers to Oblivion in place.
277** [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Insanity Has Standards]]: In the Shivering Isles, addiction to a poisonous drug and ColdBloodedTorture are perfectly fine, but [[spoiler:the duke of Mania and duchess of Dementia having an affair]]? Unthinkable!
278** Some horrible person did the unspeakable crime of [[spoiler:''growing a beard''.]] He was executed for his heinous crime.
279*** Which is why [[spoiler: Sheogorath is the only person you ever see with one.]] Probably the dev team LeaningOnTheFourthWall there.
280* EverybodysDeadDave: Only a handful of citizens and guards survived the attack on Kvatch. Everybody else is dead, including [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Jiub]], who was living there at the time, and the Count Ormellius Goldwine, whom the remaining city guards [[ShaggyDogStory were trying to save]].]]
281* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep:
282** The Stranger in Anvil. Justified due to the fact that [[spoiler:he's the Gray Fox and the curse of the cowl he wears strikes the wearer's identity from history]]. In fact [[spoiler:he even tells you his name a few times but thanks to the curse you still only know him as a stranger]].
283** The Adoring Fan.
284** The player character is referred to in various ways, usually related to their prior accomplishments (Grand Champion of the Arena, Hero of Kvatch, Champion of Cyrodiil, etc.). When fighting in the Arena proper, they are allowed to select a nickname, though.
285* EverythingFades: Without mods or using console cheats, as long as you don't leave the area corpses ''never'' disappear; even if you do leave, it takes three in-game days for the cell to reset. Can be rather troublesome since the developers didn't give the ability to remove corpses like they did in Morrowind.
286* EvilCounterpart: The Order of the Black Worm, to Necromancy in general. The Blackwood Company is essentially what the Fighters Guild would be like if they didn't have a shred of morality or decency.
287* EvilIsSterile: In the ''Shivering Isles'' expansion, the amazingly creepy Knights of Order and their master Jyggalag are said to have no original thoughts whatsoever. Their fighting style reflects this - Jyggalag uses some spells, but the knights just swing swords at you until you or they die. The reason for this is that Jyggalag is the Daedric Prince of ''Order'', anything that's wild and unpredictable is wrong in his eyes [[spoiler:which is why he was turned into Sheogorath.]]
288* EvilWeapon: Dawn/Duskfang, which grows in power for every 12 enemies it kills, although this has to be done every day and night and only affects it after dawn or dusk, hence the name.
289** This weapon is actually four weapons in one, two of which are upgraded or "superior" versions of the "base weapons" (Dawnfang and Duskfang). The sword "morphs" into a form appropriate for the current time of day, and if you've slaughtered enough enemies before that point, it will morph into the superior version of its counterpart. For example, Dawnfang will morph into Superior Duskfang at night.
290* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: There's a shop called Rindir's Staffs. It's owned by Rindir. He sells magical staffs. Imagine that.
291* FaceHeelTurn: As the plot of ''Shivering Isles'' progresses, several citizens defect to the Forces of Order, [[spoiler:including one of the two Dukes of Madness. SchrodingersGun: You implicitly pick which duke or duchess defects. Whether you assassinate the Duke of Mania or the Duchess of Dementia, the other, surviving ruler will defect.]]
292* FacelessGoons: Dremora, Aurorans, and Knights of Order tend to wear face-concealing helmets.
293* FairPlayWhodunit: One quest has you investigating who stole a precious painting from the Countess of Chorrol. All of the clues you need to find the culprit are available, and indeed have to be found to complete the mission with the maximum reward. However, even before you've found the pieces of evidence, there's a giveaway clue that lets you solve the case earlier: [[spoiler: three of the four suspects' alibis refer to the rain outside the castle the night of the theft, while the fourth--and the guilty party--mentions that she was making star charts, which would have been impossible during a cloudy storm.]]
294* FakeAssassination: The Dark Brotherhood quest "The Assassinated Man" involves faking a client's assassination to help him escape from {{Loan Shark}}s.
295* FakeDifficulty: Dependent on the difficulty you're playing on.
296* FakeUltimateHero: [[spoiler: Raynil Dralas]], who killed his old adventuring partners for a [[MagicalAccessory magical amulet]] and covered it up by planting evidence suggesting they were vampires.
297* FalseInnocenceTrick: In one quest you can buy a house, only to find that it's haunted. Investigation reveals the corpse of a lich (imprisoned for being evil) who claims he's [[TheAtoner turned good]] after having time to reflect on his crimes. Unfortunately StupidityIsTheOnlyOption if you want to complete the quest.
298* FameGate: The Heaven Stones, which can only be activated and grant you their Greater Powers after the sum of your Fame and Infamy reaches a certain value. Also, the ''Knight of the Nine'' expansion has an {{inversion}}; it requires your character to be free of any infamy, which means (unless you've been an absolute saint for the whole game) you have to go on a {{pilgrimage}} to every single shrine in the game to receive a blessing.
299* FamilyExtermination: Two examples:
300** One [[ProfessionalKiller Dark Brotherhood]] quest sees the player character given a contract to wipe out an entire family line. The first target is the clan matriarch, who believes the player to be a courier that will deliver birthday presents to her children--so she's [[NiceJobBreakingItHero prepared a detailed list of their locations and schedules]]. The player even has the opportunity to [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential mock the kids about how much their mother bled]] before killing them, too.
301** This is BigBad Mankor Camoran's plot for the game--wipe out the entire Septim line, which will in turn extinguish the Dragonfires which keep the realms of Oblivion and Nirn separate, then have Mehrunes Dagon come in and tear the place apart in exchange for transporting him and his followers to "Paradise." It's only the existence of Martin, the Emperor's bastard son, that prevents the plan from succeeding.
302* FanDisservice: The Goblin Shamans show way too much veiny cleavage than is necessary.
303* FantasticRacism: There actually isn't too much of this in Cyrodiil; it's a very racially diverse place and most folks are very accepting. Although you do get the occasional negative comment directed towards your character's race. The bottom of [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Races this]] page shows that character's base disposition towards you is partly based upon what race you play. Everyone hates the poor Dunmer and the poor Orcs.
304** Countess Alessia Caro despises the beast races. Her speech towards you if you play a Khajiit or Argonian barely even tries to disguise this. [[spoiler:She also has a secret TortureCellar made specifically for Argonians]]. [[VideogameCrueltyPotential Which makes it so much fun to kill her over and over again.]][[labelnote:elaborate]]Unless you've finished all the quests she's related to, at which point her NPC immortality vanishes and you can kill her for good.[[/labelnote]]
305** One minor NPC has a hobby of fostering discord between Argonians and Khajiit. If you talk to him and you happen to belong to one of those two races, he'll tell you a member of the other race insulted you behind your back.
306** Interesting variation in the quest Whodunit, where you're locked in a mansion with five people of various races [[spoiler: you have to kill them]], including a Breton, a Nord, a Redguard, a Dark Elf, and an Imperial. The Breton is racist against the Dark Elf, but the most extreme racism is displayed by the Redguard towards the Nord; which is to say that the worst hatred isn't between the fantasy races, [[HumansAreBastards but between the humans]].
307** The town of Leyawiin is actually quite racist between the Khajiits and Argonians, who will actually tell racist jokes about each other. This makes sense, since the town lies directly between the borders of the respective races' homelands.
308** The first character you meet in the game, Valen Dreth, has a different set of insults for you depending on the race you've chosen.
309*** In other words he's basically racist against everyone. So it's probably not surprising that [[spoiler: someone put a hit on him]].
310*** Even if you're a dark elf like him, he either promises to sleep with your wife (if you're male) or propositions you (if you're female). So the racism probably comes from just being a {{Jerkass}}.
311** The developers actually programmed racism into the engine; every character has a setting for how much they like or dislike characters of a certain race. This doesn't normally appear in the game because the settings on most characters are insanely high. The mod Race Balancing Project actually tinkers with these settings, to make races that don't like each other act more snarky towards each other than the defaults.
312* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Franchise/TheElderScrolls loves this trope.
313** The Nords are the obvious example. They're inspired by the [[HornyVikings Scandinavian peoples of northern Europe]].
314** The Redguards are Africans.
315*** Their ProudWarriorRace status and physical appearance were probably original inspired by the Masai, but the way their culture interacts with the Empire resembles the Sikhs' relationship with 19th-century imperial Britain.
316*** They have a bit of moors in them too. On that note, we haven't seen much of the Khajiit homeland but lore suggests they lead a tribal lifestyle similar to aborigines and pygmy peoples.
317*** Given the racism towards them, a tribal culture, a religion that differs from the Imperial norms more than a lot of others, an addiction to a liquid substance and a reputation for being thieves, one could also say they're fantasy Native-Americans (the theft part being casinos).
318** The Imperials are mostly based on Romans (They have an Emperor, their armies are organised into Legions, their capital has a gladiator arena etc.).
319** Bretons are French/Celts.
320** Although we never see Akavir, it's apparently based on [[{{Wutai}} China and Japan]].
321** The (extinct) Dwemer become more and more like steampunk Assyrians with each game.
322** The Dunmer have some traits from Semite people, complete with a religious exodus led by a prophet while they were still part of the Chimer race.
323* FantasyKitchenSink: Imps, unicorns, spirits, demons, vampires...
324** Cyrodiil itself is primarily medieval Europe, owing a lot to Arthurian legend. The Empire and the Imperial Legion mix together the ancient Roman Empire with kings and knights. Asian influences exist thanks to the Akaviri. However, many of the towns and cities better resemble the Americas from the early colonial period to the 1800s, with cobblestone paved streets and raised sidewalks. Clothing also heavily mixes ancient and modern styles, from medieval clothing to things that may have been worn in the 1700s.
325* FastForwardMechanic: The act of resting allows the player to skip any amount of hours in-game.
326* FateWorseThanDeath: Relmyna's experiments, whom she kills ''over and over'' to get her methods just right. She does bring "the worthy ones" back to life for good at the end, but how traumatized must they be?
327** Camoran's Paradise, where his followers are killed by daedra, reborn, and killed again.
328* FauxActionGirl: Captain Renault, who is presented as a highly-qualified no-nonsense protector of the emperor at the beginning but is always killed in the very first battle of the game. The game's fatally overconfident bandits who happen to be female could also qualify.
329* FetchQuest: There aren't too many of these, thankfully.
330** One, the Cheydinhal Mages' Guild quest is rather an egregious example: you are sent to retrieve something from a well just outside the building. When you return, less than a minute later, you are informed that a heated argument took place and the guild leader abandoned his post. (ItMakesSenseInContext, though.)
331** Nerussa's quest to retrieve 6 bottles of Shadowbanish wine requires you to go to different ruined forts to retrieve them. There are only 8 different forts that have them, of which there is ''around fifty forts'', so [[GuideDangIt you have to find them by trial and error from the different forts]]. If you don't have a guide. Thankfully the bottles respawn, so you could just raid one fort 3 times for the wine. The Battlehorn Castle and Frostcrag Spire add-ons add one non-respawning bottle each of the wine, as well.
332** Umbacano's quest, "The Collector" requires you to go through ''ten different'' Ayleid ruins to get the ten statues.
333* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Mehrunes Dagon's realm of Oblivion, the Deadlands, is this in all but name.
334* FlatEarthAtheist: Zigzagged with Else God-Hater in Skingrad. [[spoiler:Her involvement with the Mythic Dawn]] might make this seem like a subversion, but she does mention that she has no trouble believing the [[spoiler:Daedric Princes]] exist, on the grounds that "they do things. Bad things, mostly, but things you can see." Yet she isn't convinced by the actions of the Nine Divines despite the consistent and measurable magical effects caused by praying at altars.
335* ForebodingArchitecture: See that giant black tower in the distance, with [[SpikesOfVillainy spikes sticking out of the top?]] Oh yes. You just ''know'' that whatever is in there, it will want to kill you on sight.
336** See that smaller tower right next to you? It wants to kill you too. And it doesn't care if it sees you.
337* {{Foreshadowing}}:
338** Some people will talk about unrest in Summerset about an Aldmeri uprising. ''Skyrim'' expands on this with the Aldmeri Dominion. Further, Umbacano, who [[spoiler:was going to gain the power of an ancient Ayleid king, solely to restore his own kind to power and subjugate everyone else... all while getting you to do all the hard work for him!]] It was already hinted at pretty strongly that a few Altmer wanted the old ways back.
339** There is a piece of rather heavy foreshadowing that is possible to miss during the Dark Brotherhood Questline. [[spoiler:If you unlock a barrel in J'Ghasta's house or the [[ConcealingCanvas portrait safe]] in Alval Uvani's place, you will find a set of Black Hand robes and a copy of The Five Tenets. These are early indicators that you are being set up to kill the members of the Black Hand]].
340** If you choose to travel on foot to Chorrol and/or Kvatch at the start of the main quest, you'll likely pass by a pair of road signs with the other city names and arrows for direction. The Kvatch sign has what appears to be a claw mark through it, hinting [[spoiler:that something has gone terribly wrong there]].
341* ForestRanger: The Imperial Legion has rangers roaming through the woods. Also, apparently the [[NatureHero Bosmer]] are really good at this sorta thing.
342* ForgedLetter: In the Thieves Guild questline, the you are tasked to forge a letter of recommendation, in order to get rid of the troublesome Watch Captain.
343* FreeLoveFuture: The Khajiit bandits, the Renrijra Krin, want this kind of future.
344-->''"Life is short. If you have not made love recently, please, put down this book, and take care of that with all haste. Find a wanton lass or a frisky lad, or several, in whatever combination your wise loins direct, and do not under any circumstances play hard to get. Our struggle against the colossal forces of oppression can wait.\
345"Good. Welcome back."''
346* FreshClue: Upon finding a corpse, guards will sometimes say "the body's still warm... The murderer cannot be far away." They will do this [[ArtificialAtmosphericActions even when they are the one who killed the victim, or when you killed him in front of them]].
347* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Bellamont,]] the assassin who betrays the Dark Brotherhood has one in the form of his dead mother. It's a bit more justified than most Freudian excuses simply because [[spoiler:it was, in fact, the Dark Brotherhood who killed his mother.]]
348* GameBreakingBug:
349** A rather well-known bug exists called [[http://forums.uesp.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17892 Abomb]] which causes slow but steady and inevitable corruption to save files over time. Save files become clogged with useless data that, after so many hours of play, albeit it can take over 200 hours (though between all the side quests, guilds and extra quests from mods, this isn't too hard to accomplish). The end result is that animations become slow or outright freeze, making projectiles, magic attacks and even doors fail to work and can render the game unplayable. Several tools exist for the PC to clean save files, though console users can be all but out of luck trying to fix it - Xbox users would need to extract the save from the console and manually hex edit, and [=PS3=] users can follow the same procedure but need the additional step of using tools to decrypt and afterwards re-encrypt the save file ([[http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Technical_Support#Animation_slowdown_.28Abomb_bug.29 See here]]). Bethesda is also aware of the flaw but declined to make a game patch to fix it as Oblivion was too old for them to take focus away from current game development to fix an older title. And yeah, there are probably many other bugs that will do this as Oblivion has piles of bugs, but that's the one that's probably hardest to deal with or patch out.
350** Not quite as bad, but the [=PS3=] Game of the Year version has a notorious bug that renders the Vampirism Cure quest impossible to complete because an event flag fails to work properly. If you become a vampire then you are stuck like that and need to either reload an earlier save or get used to it. Strangely, switching languages temporarily allows you to complete the quest... but it completely resets the Shivering Isles expansion.
351* GameMod: Enough of them to build several whole new games. In fact, several mods are there for ''just that purpose''.
352** ''VideoGame/{{Nehrim}}: [[http://www.nehrim.de/indexEV.html At Fate’s Edge]]'' by [[http://www.sureai.de/ SureAI]] is one of the better ones, expansive enough to warrant its own page here.
353** ''VideoGame/IntegrationTheStrandedLight'', a sprawling quest mod larger than all the [=DLCs=] combined, involving helping a guild full of friendly (and not so friendly) daedra, Khajiit sufferage, stamping out (or aiding) the notorious Renrijra Krin, [[spoiler: building a mushroom city]], and a romance with a daedra seducer, just to scratch the very surface.
354** Another major mod is Knights Of The Nine: Revelation, which serves as a sequel to the original KOTN, building heavily on more. [[spoiler:You will eventually be sent back to the first era to assist in the fall of White Gold Tower, meeting St. Alessia and Pelinal Whitestrake. And, if just to add more fuel to the guessing, you get to chat with the severed head of Pelinal Whitestrake... as if Sheogorath's "a severed head" line in Skyrim didn't need even more fuel to confuse matters...]]
355** Some of the more renowned mods include Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (removes leveled enemies in favor of hand placed, as well as other tweaks), Deadly Reflex (a complex combat overhaul), Martigan's Monster Mod (adds literally ''hundreds'' of new monsters, many of which are hand made) and The Lost Spires (lengthy quest mod with a complex story about the ancient history of Tamriel).
356** Oblivion XP replaces the skill leveling system with more traditional experience points (earned by killing monsters, completing quests, discovering locations, etc), and eliminates increasing attributes based on skills in favor of simply allocating points at every level however the player sees fit.
357** Kvatch Rebuilt, which sees the burnt town restored and, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin rebuilt]].
358** Trade And Commerce lets the player own a shop to sell goods through rather than having to sell everything to stores.
359** There are also mods which completely rewrite lore, such as A Path Of Dawn which lets the player join the Mythic Dawn, and many, many mods which expand on the Dark Brotherhood. Player homes, armor display mannequins, weapons and armor and even tweaks to the crime system, merchant system... beautification mods, mods to make the game run better on lower-end systems, level uncappers... if you can ask for it, there's a good chance a mod exists for it.
360** Morroblivion which successfully converted the entire Morrowind game to the Oblivion. Skywind is a similar one which will again update Morrowind to Skyrim.
361* GameOver: If the timer runs out on the giant daedric siege machine bearing down on Bruma, the game just has you reload. This is unusual, as most events like this in a Bethesda game would allow Bruma to be destroyed, like how you can [[spoiler:destroy Megaton in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'']].
362* GameplayProtagonistStoryProtagonist: The gameplay protagonist is the [[PlayerCharacter Champion of Cyrodiil]], but story-wise, they are just a HypercompetentSidekick to the story protagonist, Prince Martin Septim -- the last illegitimate son of the assassinated Emperor, who, with your help, [[spoiler:becomes an Emperor himself and saves the Empire from the LegionsOfHell]].
363* GateGuardian: The Gatekeeper in the expansion ''The Shivering Isles'' is a giant monster created by Relmyna Verenim out of the flesh of the dead to guard the exit from the Fringe out into the rest of the Shivering Isles. The player kills it to gain access to the rest of the realm, but is later tasked by Sheogorath to create a new Gatekeeper with Relmyna's help.
364* GetIntoJailFree: A sidequest involves getting yourself imprisoned to gain the trust of an inmate, who you are told has hidden a stash of treasure somewhere.
365** A nonstandard use is in the very beginning. "Why am [[FeaturelessProtagonist I]] in jail?" [[BecauseDestinySaysSo "Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we may meet."]]
366* GhibliHills: Cheydinhal is easily one of the most lush yet hospitable counties in Cyrodiil.
367* GiantMook:
368** The Xivilai, massive daedra [[BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon who wield battle axes and warhammers]] in ''one hand''.
369** The ''Knights of the Nine'' expansion also adds Aurorans, humanoid Daedra associated with Meridia, that wear [[LightIsNotGood golden armor]] and feature the same hulking body structure as the Xivilai. They act as Umaril's personal army of {{Smash Mook}}s, and wield Ayleid Battle-Axes in combat.
370* GladiatorSubquest: The Arena.
371* GodivaHair: The mermaid statue in Anvil.
372* {{Gonk}}: It's evident that the developers tweaked the face generator a little far to produce Kalthar and the inhabitants of Hackdirt. [[spoiler: (Justified, though; Read H.P. Lovecraft's "Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth" for details.)]]
373* GoodPaysBetter:
374** There is a mission near the end of the game where you need to ask all the city rulers to send soldiers to protect the capital. Each ruler will assign you a mission that you need to finish first. If you go the extra mile and complete all the optional objectives, you will get more units to help fight and better rewards.
375** The sidequest ''Sins of the Father'' has the player recover a stolen relic of Chorrol for a member of the Thieves' Guild. Giving it to him merely gives you a leveled amount of [[MoneyForNothing gold]], while returning it to the castle rewards you the Escutcheon of Chorrol, one of, if not the best shield in the game with its high Reflect Damage enchantment.
376* GrimUpNorth: The Viking like culture of Skyrim has been absorbed into Bruma and the local culture is very much about toughing-out adversity. On a Narrative level, Bruma will play host to Mehrunes Dagon's main force that's set to invade Tamriel. Making the snowfields of Bruma a possible preview to the end of the world if you fail.
377* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Actually subverted, especially in the case of the Imperial Guards. They are actually rather good at keeping the peace - because, as anyone who has played the game longer than a couple hours can tell you, ''they are legitimately insane''. The number of videos online showcasing Imperial Guards doing bizarre, inexplicable, hilariously ridiculous things cements these guards as ''actually crazy''.
378** In addition to their lunacy, they are not pushovers in the slightest, and will relentlessly, furiously chase down lawbreakers of the slightest variety, arresting those who comply and striking down those who resist with righteous fury.
379* GuideDangIt: [[GuideDangIt/TheElderScrolls See here.]]
380* HackingMinigame: The improved lock-picking system. The Speechcraft system as well, raising some interesting existential questions.
381* HadToBeSharp: Accoridng to Countess Valga, her people have learned self-reliance due to Chorrol being a mountainous county that has had to get-by without the creature-comforts of more heavy-trade areas.
382%%* HammerspacePoliceForce
383* HauntedHouse: Benirus Manor in Anvil (which the player can purchase) turns out to be full of ghosts and a lich. [[TooGoodToBeTrue The suspiciously low price should probably have clued in the player that there was something wrong with the house.]]
384* TheHeavy: Mankar Camoran, despite only being TheDragon, is the villains' main driving force for most of the game.
385* HeelFaceTurn: Eldamil, a Mythic Dawn member in Mankar Camoran's Paradise who helps the player out of [[TheAtoner regret]] over his role in the emperor's assassination and the siege of Kvatch.
386* {{Hellgate}}: The Oblivon Gates.
387* HeroAntagonist: Naturally, there are a few of these in the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood quest lines.
388* HeroicBastard: Martin is the bastard son of dear old Emperor Uriel, which is the reason why the assassins weren't as quick to get to him, so you had time to save his life. Yet despite the fact that almost nobody knew of his existence until now (even ''he'' wasn't aware that he was the Emperor's son until you told him), when everyone finds out they immediately kneel before him and treat him with total respect as their Emperor.
389** This is derived from two sources; in the case of the Blades, it's the word of their Grand Master which convinces them. For everyone else, its most likely that Martin can wear the Amulet of Kings, something which is physically impossible to do without fulfilling certain conditions (such as being Dragonborn or descended from a Dragonborn) that amount to divine right.
390** It probably helps that all the other candidates are dead, and without an Emperor on the throne the world is (literally) going to hell.
391* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Hannibal Traven]] commits suicide by trapping his own soul inside of the colossal black soul gem, so the player can defeat the King of Worms.
392* HeWhoFightsMonsters: There's actually nothing stopping you from going out and ''killing everyone that can be killed'', leaving Cyrodill a desolate wasteland populated by a handful of people before [[BigBad Mehrunes Dagon]] is even mentioned.
393%%* HideYourChildren
394* HighFantasy: Very much so.
395* HighlyVisibleLandmark: The [[TheTower White-Gold Tower]] in the heart of the Imperial City at the center of Cyrodiil is visible from almost everywhere else in the land, and nearly all roads in the land lead back there.
396* HighTurnoverRate: The Imperial City is this for law-enforcment. No less than three different captains-of-the-guard end up getting replaced, one for corruption, one for crossing the thieves guild, and one due to a Dark Brotherhood contract.
397* HoneyTrap: Like their mythological namesake, the Sirens in Anvil use one. They rob men by flirting with them, getting them to come out to a farmhouse in the middle of the night and take their clothes off, and taking everything they have while they're defenseless.
398* TheHorde: Mehrunes Dagon's army of Daedra during the assaults on Bruma and the Imperial City.
399* HornedHumanoid: The Dremora.
400* HorribleHousing: The two cheapest houses you can buy are squalid one-room shacks on the Imperial City waterfront and over a canal in the WretchedHive of Bravil. The seller of the former reacts with a surprised "Why?" when you express interest, while that of the latter says that "the smell will soon make you forget how ugly it is."
401* HubCity: While you are not required to go to the Imperial City in-between missions, it is at the center of the map, an easy shopping area and vital for at least four story-beats of the main quest.
402* HubUnderAttack: The major cities of Cyrodiil are walled off and implemented as separate exterior cells from TheOverworld, and therefore most combat that can take place in cities is player-instigated. At the end of the game, the Oblivion Crisis culminates in a massive daedric invasion on the Imperial City from inside the walls, led by Mehrunes Dagon himself.
403* HundredPercentHeroismRating: You have to settle for the occasional compliment ("You're the one who closed the demon gate! The Hero of Kvatch!"). Although you get these based on your actions regardless of your fame or infamy. [=NPCs=]' disposition towards you also increases as your fame rating increases. Oh, and you do get a statue of your character built (it's essentially a copy of your character model at the time the quest was completed but stone textured) which is modeled with the most valuable items you have with you when you do this. There is a very nice and thus valuable dagger you get from the Brotherhood, which will take precedence. It just looks silly - full regalia, big armour, giant shield, ramming a 3 inch dagger [[StabTheSky into the sky]]...although, apparently, if you have enough torches in your inventory at the time of completion, your weapon will be [[IncendiaryExponent on fire]]!
404** ''Oblivion'' tracks fame and infamy separately so you can be greeted heartily when you approach a guard and then be chastised for being a thief when you talk to him.
405* HungryWeapon: the warrior Umbra holes up in an Ayleid ruin mostly to isolate her sword (also called Umbra) from the souls it lusts for. Of course, you, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential the bastard that you are]], will kill her and take this evil thing for yourself.
406* HunterOfTheirOwnKind: A vampire PC who completes the Order of the Virtuous Blood sidequest [[spoiler: by killing Seridur]] can then join the order and get paid by them to kill other vampires.
407* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: The quest "Caught in the Hunt".
408* HyperspaceArsenal: While you're not able to carry an infinite amount of stuff, you can pack several hundred pounds worth of stuff into an invisible pocket. Each item has a weight value, and based on your Strength stat, you can carry so much stuff (1 point of Strength = 5 pounds of encumbrance). Warriors who raise strength can carry more things (up to 500 pounds with a max 100 strength), and spells/effects such as Feather exist to lighten your load even further. Also, being highly skilled (Expert or Master rank) in either of the Light or Heavy armor attributes decreases the weight of armor you have equipped - at Master skill rank, heavy type armor will weigh nothing when worn.
409** It's possible to actually have more items in your inventory than you can carry, but you will not be able to move, and negative effects such as Burden or Drain/Damage Strength can lower encumbrance. The only visible items in your total inventory are whatever you have equipped at the time. [[note]]But this largely seems to affect the player only. [=NPCs=] usually only carry a limited stock of goods and rarely pick up anything, and even Burden spells are rarely effective to keep them in place. This is taken to extremes due to a bug that effects the Duelists in the Shivering Isles. Each one carries up to several ''thousand'' copies of their weapon in inventory with no ill effects, though trying to take all those weapons for yourself (pickpocketing/character death) can either leave you over-encumbered, or glitch the game severely. The Unofficial Patch fixes this.[[/note]]
410* IAmDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: The plot that is presented to us at the beginning of the game plays out this trope to a tee. With the [[MagicalAccessory Amulet of Kings]] being the MacGuffin.
411* IOweYouMyLife: Seed-Neeus and Dar-Ma, the General Trader in Chorrol and her daughter, respectively, both say this after you [[spoiler:save Dar-Ma from the [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraft-esque]] town of [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth Hackdirt]]]]. It even comes with maxed out disposition in both women, some free Merchantile training from Seed-Neeus, and Dar-Ma will occasionally welcome you with "My hero!" if you talk to her afterwards.
412* IdleAnimation: If your character is equipped with a one-handed weapon and is standing still, on rare occasion you can see him/her reach for the weapon and check if it's properly attached to their waist.
413* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: The final step to being initiated into the Mythic Dawn is to murder a prisoner as as sacrifice to Mehrunes Dagon. [[spoiler:If you try to infiltrate them, you'll be presented with an Argonian they've captured. It's up to you if you want to save him and blow your cover, or [[ShootTheDog kill him to keep the ruse]].]]
414* IgnoredConfession: During a Dark Brotherhood quest where you are required to kill 5 people in a ClosedCircle à la Creator/AgathaChristie, you can straight up tell the person who greets you that you are an assassin, sent to kill everyone. She'll laugh, praise your sense of humour, and her disposition will rocket to full.
415* IHateYouVampireDad: [[spoiler:The Grey Prince]] invokes this on himself.
416* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: Both the Paranoia quest in Skingrad and being the Duchess of Dementia's "Grand Inquisitor" in the Shivering Isles.
417* ImperfectRitual: In one questline, Umbacano, a collector of Ayleid artefacts, asks you to aquire an Ayleid Crown of Nenelata that is in the possession of a rival collector; the second collector refuses to sell, but suggests that an Ayleid Crown from Lindai might be similar enough to fool Umbacano. Whichever crown you give him, Umbacano reveals that he wants to use it as a component in a ritual. If he has the Nenelata crown, the ritual will turn him into a lich, but if he has the Lindai crown, the ritual will kill him.
418* ImpossibleThief: The Dark Brotherhood agent that asks if you want to join will ''always'' appear when you rest, even if this rest will take you into a dream world that needs a special amulet to enter.
419** If you're in the Shivering Isles, an ''entire alternate plane of Oblivion'', he'll appear, smile, and say "[[GameBreakingBug I HAVE NO GREETING]]."
420* ImpossiblyMundaneExplanation: Those mysterious ruins all over the Shivering Isles? They're not, as you'd expect, the ruins of some mysterious vanished civilization; they're the previous versions of New Sheoth. Sheogorath builds New Sheoth in a different spot after every Greymarch because he always forgets where the last site was.
421* InHarmonyWithNature: The large number of hunters and farmers around Chorrol have a healthy respect for the enviroment.
422* IndestructibleEdible: Many of the places you visit, from caves to ancient dungeons that have been abandoned for hundreds of years, will have perfectly edible food stashed away in containers. Then again, this is a world that seems to lack any stort of refrigeration or food preservation yet all foods you find will be perfectly fresh, even stuff found on the floor.
423* InfinityMinusOneSword: Umbra. Not quite as spectacular as the Plus Ones, but is the best one-handed weapon in terms of damage and can Soul Trap, and you can get it even if you're fresh out of the tutorial... of course, killing Umbra to get her sword and gear will be nigh impossible unless you're well prepared.
424* InfinityPlusOneSword: Several, as befits the series. Some examples:
425** Umaril's Sword: A ridiculously powerful two-handed sword that can be looted from the final boss of ''Knights Of the Nine''. [[spoiler: twice, if you're fast enough.]]
426** And, of course, the trademark Daedra Prince Artifacts (Azura's Star, Wabbajack, etc) are available upon completing their Prince's quest.
427* InformedAbility:
428** The main quest contains many claims the empire is in chaos with the Emperor's assassination. The game fails to show any actual chaos outside of Kvatch. Although it is mentioned that other cities throughout Tamriel are being invaded by the Daedra, or other events like distant battles involving Nords and Orcs, or groups of wizards causing trouble in Summerset Isle, [[TheGreatOffscreenWar you don't get to see too much of the former and none of the latter two]], since the game's boundaries confine you to Cyrodiil.
429** An advertisement for the Red Diamond says it has the best guards, but it in fact has no guards. In fact, it's one of the easiest and most profitable places to rob, as it's the only store with inventory of any value that respawns (due to being in containers that are easily opened with the easily stolen key).
430* InGameNovel: Tons. Most of them aren't full length novels, but some are.
431* InitiationQuest: While joining the [[MagicalSociety Mages Guild]] is as simple as talking to a guild leader, gaining access to the [[WizardingSchool Arcane University]] in the Imperial City (where most of the Guild's best services including Enchanting are located) requires getting a letter of recommendation from each of the guild hall stewards. Cue a number of {{Fetch Quest}}s to get their recommendation, with the notable exception of one who is [[spoiler:a TreacherousAdvisor in league with the [[SidequestSidestory questline's]] BigBad]], who gives you a SuicideMission trying to get you killed, instead.
432* InUniverseGameClock: Defaults to "one ingame hour is equivalent to ''two'' real life minutes". Can be changed with console commands in PC version.
433* InsistentTerminology: Mazoga the Orc insists that you call her "Sir Mazoga", even though she's a woman. You can even {{lampshade}} this.
434* InterspeciesRomance:
435** Lord Lovidicus, an Imperial nobleman, and Luktuv gro-Malog, an Orsimer (aka Orc) woman.
436** A few others if you count the human/ Bosmer couple in Anvil and the Fo'c'sle.
437--> "I reserve my beds for seamen."
438** Glistel (Dunmer) and Malintus Ancrus (Imperial) in Chorrol; the townspeople are rather openly disgusted by their relationship ([[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim although some are just more surprised that a girl like her would choose a guy like him]]). [[spoiler:However, it is possible that it is a front, as they're both active Thieves' Guild members]].
439* IronicEcho: "You're going to die in here!" and "All of Tamriel will know my name"[[labelnote:elaborate]]When you first start the game, the first NPC you meet is a Dunmer named Valen Dreth, a prisoner in the cell opposite yours. He'll insult you (depending on which race and gender you choose, even if you're a Dunmer yourself), and then finish with "you're going to die in here". Additionally, before you find him the 2nd time, he is heard taunting a guard that "All of Tamriel will know my name" when he is released, his killing winds up a major headline. If you're in the Dark Brotherhood, you're given a contract to kill him. You don't have to talk to him, but if you do, you can fling those exact words back at him before murdering him[[/labelnote]].
440* {{Irony}}:
441** It is revealed that Gaiden Shinji, whose "The best techniques are passed down by the survivors" quote started ''Arena'', was '''not''' a survivor. People still think he's amazing though.
442** During [[spoiler:''A Shadow Over Hackdirt'']], the villagers plan to sacrifice [[spoiler:Seed-Neeus' daughter, Dar-Ma]], an Argonian. Given [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth the story that inspired the quest]], and the fact that the Argonians are a mix between LizardFolk and FishPeople, someone on the writing team had a sense of humour.
443* IrrelevantImportance: Once you get your hands on them, some quest items are eternally stuck in your inventory due to buggy scripts. The game will never ever let you dump quest items. Even if they've already served their purpose and the said quest has been completed. Sometimes even items without any quest relation at all get this treatment. But considering that quest items typically have a weight value of 0, it's not really a big deal anyway
444* ItsUpToYou: Yes, that's right, player. The Emperor even said so himself. [[WithThisHerring You alone must figure out how to stop an army of demons and batshit insane mortals from destroying the world]].
445* {{Jerkass}}:
446** Valen Dreth, the prisoner in the Imperial dungeons you meet in the prologue. No matter what race or gender you are, Dreth will mock and insult you and assure you're going to end your days in prison. When you return to the prison, he can also be heard hurling ineffectual insults at the guards.
447** Glenroy the Blade, also met in the prologue. He's very distrustful and rude of the player and at one point suggests killing you just in case you are working with the assassins. Then again, the Emperor's life ''is'' in danger, Glenroy knows nothing about the assassins (which means the player could really be one of them) and the source of the Emperor's trust in the Champion are the dreams of an 87 years old man. [[ProperlyParanoid Even though the Champion is not an assassin, they still end up killing the Emperor while Glenroy himself dies trying to protect him]]
448** Alval Uvani, who brushes off every attempt to speak with him by saying: "I have no time for your pathetic attempts at small talk. Now walk away, before I get nasty!"
449** The entire skooma-dealing Orum gang in Cheydinhal save for Borba.
450** M'raaj-Dar, the Khajiit merchant in the Cheydinhal Dark Brotherhood sanctuary is extremely rude and hostile towards the player... but he apologizes towards you just in time for the mission that demands that you kill him.
451** Voranil, as mentioned under DudeWheresMyRespect. Cheydinhal seems to attract these guys.
452** Mazoga the Orc, [[CharacterDevelopment at least when you first meet her]]. She takes an exceptionally rude and peremptory manner with you and Weebam-Na, and [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs insists]] that you address her with her self-given style of "Sir Mazoga".
453** The Yellow Team Champion from the Arena, who seems to delight in coming up with a ''new'' insult everytime you advance in rank. Later, she seems determined to be the one to personally kill you.
454* JerkassGods: A few of the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Daedra Lords]], namely [[NightmareWeaver Vaermina]], [[PersonOfMassDestruction Mehrunes Dagon]], [[TheChessmaster Boethiah]], [[TinTyrant Jygg]][[LightIsNotGood alag]], and [[GodOfEvil Molag Bal]]. However, not all of them: Sheogorath, Hermaeus Mora and Sanguine [[BlueAndOrangeMorality work on their own brand of logic]] rather than evil; Hircine, Nocturnal and Namira usually mind their own business, and some like Peyrite, Azura and Meridia actually seem [[DarkIsNotEvil nice]].
455* JerkassRealization: A minor one for Bittneld the Curse-Bringer, the captain of the guard in Chorrol. When you ask him about Chorrol, he will remark that although it's a nice place, the women there are kind of snooty and not very nice. If you then mention Emfrid, the owner of the local lower-class inn, he will remark that he goes instead to Oak & Crosier, since as the captain of the guard he should visit more upper-class places... and upon saying that, he will realize that he's acting in the exact same way he's accusing the Chorrol women of acting, and subsequently concede that he should probably start paying more attention to Emfrid.
456* JokeItem: Lord Rugdumph's sword. First off, it's designed like a claymore and is used as a two-handed weapon, yet both its length and stats are more fit for a longsword. Additionally, it's statistically no better than an average silver longsword, which you are able to find as early as 4th level, or even 1st if you manage to take it from a guard's inventory. The enchantments aren't of much use either: Absorb Speechcraft 5 points for 5 seconds is completely worthless (it's highly unlikely you'd be able to first attack someone to absorb their Speechcraft and then start a conversation with someone else before the effect wears off, and even then, 5 points makes no notable difference whatsoever), and while Silence for 5 seconds could be potentially useful against mages, the duration is so short that you'd have to continuously hit them with this sword until they die, at which point you'd probably waste a considerable amount of the remaining charges of the enchantment. However, the joke item status seems justified, considering [[{{Malaproper}} who gives it to you...]]
457* KarmicDeath: In one ending of the Umbacano questline, [[spoiler:[[HoistByHisOwnPetard Umbacano is killed by the evil Ayleid powers he sought to control]].]] In the other, ''you'' kill him.
458* KeystoneArmy:
459** Most of the named Goblin tribes (the exceptions being "Bitterfish" and "White Skin") in the game will automatically stop being hostile towards the player once they eliminate the local shaman. They'll even let you explore their lairs at your own pace and take their stuff without even attempting to stop you. However, they ''will'' resume attacking you if you decide to harm them any further.
460** Also, summoned creatures will automatically vanish if the NPC that conjured them gets killed.
461** Once you kill [[LoadBearingBoss Mankar Camoran]] in Paradise, then Eldamil, the Camoran siblings, and all the other immortal residents will drop dead on the spot. A similar event happens to the Golden Saints and Dark Seducers when their Wellsprings are stopped by the forces of Order.
462* KeywordsConversation: Dialogue is fully voiced, so the keywords appear in the list after they are spoken. [=NPCs=] can refuse to react to certain keywords if your RelationshipValues aren't high enough, however.
463* KleptomaniacHero: Optional for the player, but not profitable unless you either a.) join the Thieves Guild, b) have the Thieves' Den DownloadableContent installed and have bought yourself the fence at Dunbarrow Cove, or c.) use stolen ingredients to manufacture potions.
464* KnightTemplar: Jyggalag and his Forces of Order.
465* LadyLand: The Shivering Isles' Daedric population is almost entirely female. Male Aureal/Mazken are a rare sight.
466** Inverted with the Deadlands' population of Dremora, which are almost exclusively male, with only a few females existing anywhere (they are found as archers of the Markynaz rank) in the entire game and likely being more a result of an oversight than anything else (since they don't even have any voiced lines).
467* LargeHam:
468** Sheogorath is quite a captivating one.
469** Nords and Orcs are whole races of hams.
470** Imperial Guards. You know you're a ham when upon seeing someone swipe a grape, you shout, "Stop right there, criminal scum!"
471** The Arena announcer is made of this trope, although in his line of work it's sort of expected.
472** The male Dremora, in addition to being fierce warriors, are exceptionally hammy when it comes to their various battle-cries. It certainly helps that they're voiced by the same actor as the Imperial males. Averted with the rare female Dremora, which due to an oversight in the game's development, [[TheVoiceless are completely silent]]. Unsurprisingly, all of the above, except the Nords and Orcs, are voiced by the same actor, Wes Johnson.
473* LateToTheTragedy: When the player arrives at Kvatch and finds the city completely destroyed. And when the player arrives at the Bruma Mage's guildhall and finds [[spoiler:almost everyone murdered and the place in ruins]].
474* LawfulStupid: The Guards. ''All'' of them. So, ''so'' much. Trying to talk to someone, but mis-clicked and picked up an item instead? Now the law enforcement is after you for the horrendous crime of stealing an apple.
475* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
476** A Dunmer alchemist in Skingrad identifies herself as being from [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind House Hlaalu]], before noting that such distinctions don't matter anymore.
477** In the Shivering Isles expansion, there is a quest where you are tasked with finding unusual items for the local Museum of Oddities. One of the items that you can turn in is a mixing bowl: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literally a bowl that you mix potions in]]. The item is unusual in terms of gameplay, since normally you use mortars, pestles and other alchemical apparatus in order to make potions rather than plain ol' bowls, but it's a perfectly ordinary item in terms of normal, everyday logic. The museum owner lampshades this by musing over the idea before giving in and accepting the item anyway, since she can tell you're trying.
478* LeeroyJenkins: Pretty much every NPC in the game, but most notably the one in the Mages' Guild quest who tells you to follow him and runs straight into a deathtrap not 30 seconds after meeting.
479** There's also the son of the Count of Cheydinhal, who blindly ran into an Oblivion gate and got most of his men killed.
480** The Bruma Guard in the Main Quest are guilty of this. Why can’t you LIVE? Burd survives only because the game deems him necessary.
481** When fighting in the arena, the best strategy is to stay in the starting area and pick off your enemies with a bow and arrow as they [[ArtificialStupidity run directly toward you]] instead of, say, hiding behind one of the many pillars in the arena.
482** Kathutet accuses the Player of this if he/she chooses to fight him for the Bands of the Chosen instead of doing his task.
483--->'''Player''': I'll take this key from your corpse.\
484'''Kathutet''': Your mind follows the simple path ... the choice of an animal. You see an enemy and you attack it, unthinking. But you have courage, at least. To slay a bold animal like you is not without glory.
485* LegacyCharacter: One of the characters you meet is a Redguard named Cyrus. Presumably, the Cyrus from the game ''Redguard'' has long passed on in the past just-over-400 years.
486* LethalLavaLand: Inside the Oblivion Gates.
487* LevelEditor: Dear god. With the Construction Set and a bit of imagination, the possibilities are endless.
488* LevelScaling: Oblivion uses one of the most extreme examples of this where most encounters level with the player up to a certain (high) level.
489** One part which does ''not'' scale are allies provided to fight alongside the player in some missions. This means at low levels the allies can [[CurbStompBattle easily walk all over the enemies]] in the mission, while at high levels they are on the receiving end of this.
490* LightIsNotGood: Umaril and the Aurorans in ''Knights of the Nine.'' Also, Sheogorath's [[CantArgueWithElves Golden Saints]].
491* LimitedWardrobe: Rich merchants and members of the nobility have a choice of about three distinct outfits, which somehow magically take a gender-appropriate form for the wearer.
492* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: Some can experience issues with this, particularly on lower-end systems. Especially if one has a lot of mods in their game.
493* LockedDoor: Probably the most egregious example is with barrels. Just how do you lock a ''barrel''? And even so, why can't you just take a mace to it?
494* LockedRoomMystery: The quest ''A Brush With Death'' is one: the painter Rythe Lythandas entered his study, his wife, possessor of the only extra key, opening the door after he failed to emerge for several days to find him gone... despite the door remaining locked the whole time. [[spoiler:As it turns out, [[PortalPicture he was still in the room]]]].
495* LockpickingMinigame: You are shown the one to five pins inside the lock (depending on its complexity) and must use your lockpick to push each one up in succession, then try to set it with a button press before it falls down. The speed at which pins fall back varies, and if you're too slow, your pick breaks and some of the already set pins fall (how many depends on your Security skill). Alternatively, you can Auto Attempt to pick the lock, which either opens it or breaks the lockpick instantly, with the success chance determined by your Security skill.
496* LordBritishPostulate: Mehrunes Dagon is actually killable, he just has a ridiculous amount of health and regeneration. If you can figure out how to hit over 10000 (see GameBreaker.TheElderScrolls), you can actually ''one-hit kill'' him. Alternatively, use Wabbajack to bypass his health entirely, then wail on the poor Daedric Prince until he melts. [[note]]Mehrunes Dagon character has no proper death animation programmed since he wasn't meant to be killed, and as a result of dying, the skeleton literally gives way and the 3D character model simply collapses to the ground. This will effectively happen with anything that has no proper skeleton installed, but is quite visible here just because Dagon is so damn BIG.[[/note]]
497* LoonyLaws: There are two acts punishable by death in The Shivering Isles; attacking its ruler, [[MadGod Sheogorath]], and attempting to grow a beard.
498* LowLevelAdvantage: Many players despise the leveling system used for enemies, firstly since it prevents any real advancement and secondly because it can actually cause a character to become ''weaker'' as they level "up". At higher levels, the later effect can cause enemies to become overpowered. The same mechanic can be exploited to level up skills without gaining character levels[[note]]by leveling up your combat skills (which happens independently of your character level, especially if you don't rest in beds or sleeping bags -- in which case you'll never level up -- or if you choose or build a class in such a way that your "major skills," for which each skill raised counts for 10% of the next level, don't include the combat skills you use the most. Enemies level up based on your character's level, not on your aggregate combat skills[[/note]]. Thankfully there is a difficulty slider if the game mechanic goes pathological.
499** A popular mod, "Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul", replaces this system with objective levels for enemies and loot, making player leveling meaningful.
500* LuckStat: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Luck attribute]] has no direct uses, but a high score grants a hidden boost to most skills.
501* KingOfThieves: The mysterious Grey Fox, who is the leader of the ThievesGuild. Naturally, if you advance through the Thieves Guild quest line, [[spoiler:you obtain the position]].
502* MagicIsMental: The attributes that govern magic are "Intelligence" and "Willpower".
503* MacGuffin: While there are certainly more, the [[MagicalAccessory Amulet of Kings]] is the most obvious one.
504* MadOracle: Dagail.
505* MadScientist: Relmyna Verenim is of the "monster expert" variety.
506* MagicalSociety: The Mages Guild, of course. The Altmeri society in the Summerset Isles is also said to be this, because the Altmer have a strong association with magic.
507* MagicalAccessory: The Amulet of Kings.
508* MagicWand: Mage staffs.
509* {{Magitek}}: The DLC player home Frostcrag Spire is a prime example of this.
510** Also Xedilian, the order-obelisk powered adventure trapper dungeon in the Shivering Isles.
511** Ayleid Ruins and Daedric Realms are rife with Magitek as well.
512* TheMagocracy: Pyandonea (never seen), the home of the mysterious Maormer (only appearance in VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline). Also, Summerset Isle.
513* {{Malaproper}}: Lord Rugdumph.
514* MalevolentArchitecture: Most prevalent inside of Oblivion Gates, but can also be seen quite a lot inside of Ayleid ruins and forts around Tamriel.
515* TheManBehindTheMan: Mehrunes Dagon behind Mankar Camoran. Justified: the former is a god worshipped by the latter, who's trying to shape civilization to the tenets of his religion.
516* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:Umbacano]], [[spoiler:Seridur]] and [[spoiler:Mathieu Bellamont]].
517* MasterForger: In the ThievesGuild quest line, the only person capable of forging a transfer recommendation for an Imperial Guard Captain is a nameless stranger who works out of an abandoned shack. His skill and anonymity are explained by [[spoiler:him being the [[KingOfThieves Gray Fox]], bearer of the Cowl of Nocturnal.]]
518* AMasterMakesTheirOwnTools: The player's first quest after winning admission to the Arcane University is to create a personal MagicStaff. It's a unique process, unrelated to the usual ItemCrafting mechanics.
519* MeaningfulEcho: An oddly effective combination with WelcomeToCorneria: "[[spoiler: The Emperor is dead, and so are his heirs. We're a Legion without a leader. The Blades were entrusted with our Lord's protection... and they failed.]]" It starts out as a pedestrian bit of atmospheric worldbuilding, but begins sounding more and more like a well-aimed personal accusation in two ways: [[Literature/TheSunAlsoRises gradually, and then suddenly.]]
520* MedicationTampering: One of the Dark Brotherhood quests requires you to assassinate a sickly bandit leader by stealthily replacing his medicine with poison.
521* MerchantCity: The Imperial City features so many merchants they have their own district, and even that is not including the inns and restaurants in basically every section of the city.
522* MercyKill: Azura's daedric quest has the player go into a mine to slay people who succubmed to vampirisim.
523* MilkmanConspiracy: All the beggars of Cyrodiil are in collusion with the Thieves Guild.
524* MirrorMatch: One of the bosses in ''Shivering Isles'' is a shadow clone of your character with all your attributes, skills, and spells.
525* MoleInCharge: The vampire hunter organization [[spoiler:The Order of the Virtuous Blood's own leader is a vampire using it to scapegoat innocent people for his own murders. A vampire player character can just as easily take his place, though they can at least be a FriendlyNeighbourhoodVampire or [[HunterOfHisOwnKind hunt hostile vampires]].]]
526* MoneySpider: Sometimes generic enemies (rats, mudcrabs, imps, wolves) will be carrying a small amount of gold.
527* MonsterCloset: Happens in Ayleid Ruins, though this is at least [[HandWave handwaved]] by the fact that Ayleid ruins are notorious for being booby-trapped.
528* {{Mordor}}: The appropriately named Deadlands, Mehrunes Dagon's realm of Oblivion.
529%%* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Relmyna Verenim.
530* MoreCriminalsThanTargets: Thugs-for-hire walking down Cheydinhal's streets with impunity, a corrupt captain-of-the-guard, assassins and a wealthy elitest who despises the lower-class and is secretly part of a dooms-day-cult; Even the head of the otherwise altruistic Mages Guild is up-to-something.
531* MurderInc: The Dark Brotherhood is a secret {{Cult}} of assassins who kill for profit, pleasure, and religious devotion.
532* MyGrandmaCanDoBetterThanYou: When you first join the arena, the Blademaster tells your character that his grandma could beat you. And she's dead.
533* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch:
534** [[spoiler:Count Janus Hassildor]] is pretty much the only vampire that ''doesn't'' want to kill you and drink your blood.
535** [[NobleDemon Kathutet]], who you meet in Mankar Camoran's Paradise, is the friendliest (well, the least aggressive) Dremora in the game. In reality, he's just as rude towards mortals as any other Daedra, but he sees the player as a WorthyOpponent for defeating his comrades in the siege of Kvatch, and even agrees to provide you with the means to move on through the related quest, should you agree to do a favor for him.[[note]]As is the tradition, whether you side with or against him is GreyAndGrayMorality: he wants you to release an AxCrazy, insanely brutal Xivilai and letting him butcher countless people who had ''just'' managed to seal him in the first place, but then again, those "people" are Mythic Dawn members who ''are'' trying to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.[[/note]] [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Of course]], [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim you can just kill him, and carry on like normal.]]
536* MythologyGag: Jiub, the Dunmer who wakes you up on the prison ship at the start of ''Morrowind'' and is promptly taken to parts unknown, has been made a saint... for wiping out cliff racers. [[spoiler:His severed head can also be found in one of the ruined buildings of Kvatch, complete with eye scar, but nearly every player failed to notice who it was meant to be. It wasn't until the Skyrim expansions featured his spirit, mentioning that he was living in Kvatch at the time of the attack, that players noticed the head and realized who it was.]]
537* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
538** Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath, Molag Bal...
539** There is a side quest about investigating a gang of women who seduce and rob men. One of them is called Signy Home-Wrecker. The clue is in the name, chaps!
540* NatureIsNotNice: The wilderness around Chorrol is treacherous, but its people feel the hash mountains and forest only make their town more impressive to florish in spite of it.
541* NeverMyFault: After [[spoiler:the Fighters Guild guildmaster's son]] is murdered, she spends up until the very end of the questline putting the blame entirely on you and Oreyn. Once you complete the final quest, however, she realizes that she was wrong and has ceased to be a good leader, promptly retiring and handing you the reins.
542* NeverSentAnyLetters: The Dark Brotherhood quest line has a variant. [[spoiler:You receive assassination orders from your handler Lucien via DeadDrop, but a traitor starts intercepting them and replacing them with orders that target the Brotherhood leadership. Lucien confronts you in a panic after your fifth murder as an UnwittingPawn.]]
543* NewWeaponTargetRange: The [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] will set you optional objectives during your missions and award you magic items as a bonus if you complete all objectives successfully. One of these items is The Deceiver's Finery, a set of fancy clothes that boost your Personality trait and Speechcraft skill... and sure enough, the next mission they give you has you murdering people who are searching for treasure in a manor, and the optional objective involves using Speechcraft to convince them to split up so you can kill them without being discovered.
544* NiceJobBreakingItHero: During roughly the first half of the Fighter's Guild questline, you and another, high ranking guildmate help the Guildmaster's timid son grow in confidence to prepare him for when he inherits the guild. The good news is that it works, the bad news is that [[spoiler:he becomes a little ''too'' confident, boldly charges into a cave full of trolls, and gets slaughtered when he gets mixed up in a fight between the trolls and a group Blackwood Company mercenaries under the effects of [[PsychoSerum Hist]]. The Guildmaster is ''not'' pleased by this.]]
545** An earlier quest has another cave full of trolls that will probably get him (and you) knocked out instantly. It's considered a better idea to go into the cave beforehand and kill them one by one first.
546** In the "Where Spirits Have Lease" quest, you end up playing right into the [[MonsterOfTheWeek monster of the sidequest's]] hands. Thankfully, you're able to correct your error immediately afterwards.
547* NiceGuy: The Guards. Really, guards in Oblivion are a lovely bunch of polite, helpful guys. Just... Try not to [[BerserkButton break the law]] in their presence.
548* NobodyPoops: And nobody washes themselves, either, judging by how there's not a single bathroom, outhouse or a bathtub in the entire game.
549* NoEnding: Aside from the fact you can continue playing after the game is over, the fact that the Uriel Septim line [[spoiler: has ended]], the game finishes with a major question unresolved. [[spoiler: Who will be Emperor?]]
550* NoGearLevel: Happens during Sanguine's shrine quest, where you cast a spell on the Countess of Leyawiin and her company that causes them all to be stripped naked. It also causes the player to lose their equipment and entire inventory, so you've got to face the guards unarmored and unarmed.
551* NoHarmRequirement: The Thieves' Guild enforces a strict ThouShaltNotKill policy on its members; Killing anyone related to a mission for them will result in you being expelled from the guild and forced to pay a fine to one of their leaders if you want to be allowed to rejoin.
552* NonHealthDamage: There's many damage: For example:
553** The Disintegrate effects for damaging the BreakableWeapons, and the Armor variant, which is AntiArmor.
554** The Damage Attribute effects, targeting the non-metered stats.
555* NonLethalKO: NPC's that are flagged as essential will only be knocked unconscious if their health is reduced to zero, rather than killed, to prevent the player from making quests {{Unwinnable}}.
556* NonMammalMammaries: The lizard people, Argonians.
557** The females of the three Daedric races (Dremora, Golden Saint, and Dark Seducer) and other lesser Daedra (Flame Atronachs, Spider Daedra) have breasts, despite the fact that Daedra cannot produce life.
558* NoodleImplements: At his shrine, Sheogorath asks for an offering of a lesser soul gem, a head of lettuce and some yarn.
559* NoodleIncident: We never find out what exactly happened to Archmage Traven to make him hate necromancy so much.
560** It's also never revealed why the PC is in prison, with the Emperor pretty much saying "Who cares? A demon invasion is underway!" To correct for this, there's a mod where you start in the basic world, and [[ArcWelding the first crime you get arrested for in the Imperial City starts the main plot]].
561* NorthIsColdSouthIsHot: Just as Leyawiin is a to the far-far-far south and a thick rainforest-like county, Bruma is to the far-far north and an eternal winter-wonderland. You could say it makes sense considering Skyrim is just over the border, but as seen in ''Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'', southern Skyrim is actually quite green.
562* NotCompletelyUseless: The second-last Mages Guild {{Sidequest}} involves creating a ProtectiveCharm to NoSell the villain's [[BeginWithAFinisher opening attack]], which would otherwise [[ReforgedIntoAMinion transform the player character into a Worm Thrall]]. The attack is never used again and the item has no other use.
563* NotSoSafeHarbor: Just outside Anvil's walls, dock-side, the area is ripe with scoundrel sailors and pirates on their off-hours. They are fond of the area though and have no desire to start trouble while on shore-leave.
564* NothingIsScarier: In-universe literary example: "Vralla, go give your parents a big hug."
565* NPCRandomEncounterImmunity: Averted. In the wilderness, foresters are threatened by the local wildlife, Imperial Legion soldiers face off against bandits, and townspeople visiting acquaintances in other cities sometimes meet fatal accidents.
566* TheNudifier: There is a quest for the Daedric Prince Sanguine which requires the Player Character to cast the spell "Stark Reality" at a dinner party. The spell strips everyone in the vicinity ([[HoistByTheirOwnPetard including the Player]]) to their undergarments. The Ring of Disrobing in Shivering Isles has a similar effect.
567[[/folder]]
568
569[[folder:O-Z]]
570* ObviouslyEvil: [[spoiler:''Kalthar.'']] Seriously, he has black, messy rat's nest hair, a near permanent scowl, [[BigOlEyebrows thick eyebrows]], and he's a [[JerkAss colossal dick]]. Oh, and he's a Necromancer.
571* OfferingAnotherInYourStead: One [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] quest requires you to save a man's life from mob enforcers rather than kill anyone. Being an assassin cult, the Brotherhood demanded a life as part of the payment, so the man handed over his mother for execution.
572* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: It is implied that once you show them how to do it, the city guards from Bruma manage to close any Oblivion Gates that open around the city all on their own - to the point where they later have to be specifically instructed to cease doing it, so that Martin can carry out his plan on getting the Great Sigil Stone.
573* OhMyGods: Multiple:
574** "By the Nines / Nine Divines!"
575** From the Adoring Fan: "By Azura! By Azura! By Azzzzura!! It's the Grand Champion!!"
576* OlderIsBetter: Ancient Elven and Dwemer gear is better than most modern armors and weapons.
577* OmnicidalManiac: Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedra and the Mythic Dawn.
578* OmnicidalNeutral: An option for the player.
579* OneTimeDungeon: The Painted World area, a dream sequence that can't be returned to, and [[spoiler:Mankar Camoran's Paradise]]. Also, closing an Oblivion gate destroys that instance, although it's possible (and indeed likely) to find an identical map behind another gate, but completing the main quest line permanently closes all the gates, cutting off access to Oblivion entirely.
580* OnlyMostlyDead: Umaril's main ability. [[spoiler:You have to do this to ''yourself'']] in order to kill him for good.
581* OnlyTheWorthyMayPass: At the end of the Mehrunes' Razor DLC.
582* OpenSecret:
583** The existence of the Dark Brotherhood is officially "just a rumor" and categorically denied by the rulers of Cyrodiil. However, the populace is firmly aware of its existence, and all of the royals are, too; chatting with a guard will sometimes have them comment that they specifically ruled out the Brotherhood as the culprits behind the Emperor's assassination.
584** Count Janus Hassildor's being a vampire also falls under this trope--no one will outright confirm it, but it's obvious to everyone that meets him.
585* OptionalBoss: This game has a few of these, and finding each one of them generally is a GuideDangIt moment.
586** Erandur-Vangaril (a lich). He can only be found in a specific cave that none of the game's quests lead you to, and can only be fought there once your character reaches a certain level.
587** The giant slaughterfish, who shows up in one of the dungeons you explore in the Thieves Guild questline, but chances are you won't ever see this one if you don't fully explore the place.
588** There's also the Uderfrykte Matron at Dive Rock.
589* TheOrder: The Blades, the Dark Brotherhood, the Thieves' Guild, and the Knights of the Nine from the eponymous DLC.
590* OrderReborn: The Knights of the Nine
591* OrderVersusChaos: The theme of the Shivering Isles main quest.
592* OrganDrops: Daedra hearts, imp galls, daedra venin.
593* OurMinotaursAreDifferent: Minotaurs can be encountered in several places.
594* OurVampiresAreDifferent:
595** ''Not'' drinking blood makes a vampire PC ''stronger'' and grants them more abilities, but with more weaknesses to fire and sunlight. A vampire who has fed recently has no problem blending into society, but one who has not fed for several days becomes exceeding gaunt and pale with deep red eyes, making their condition obvious to anyone else. One vampire you encounter who has been trapped and gone decades without feeding has [[WasOnceAMan gone irrevocably insane]] and attacks anybody on sight. Another you may encounter [[spoiler:in a quest to find a vampirism cure]] hasn't been able to come to terms with her condition and refused to feed, falling into a coma as a result. Also, you get infected with the vampire virus if bitten by an NPC vampire, but for some reason [=NPCs=] don't get infected when you bite them. Cyrodiil vampires are different from Morrowind vampires, as they were from Daggerfall vampires. An in-game book confirms there are regional breeds of vampires, and Cyrodiil was once home to other bloodlines that have long since been wiped out by the currently dominant order.
596** Vicente Valtieri has a severe allergy to garlic, but this trait is unique among vampires. Nonetheless, the "vampires are weakened by garlic" myth still exists in Cyrodiil.
597* OurZombiesAreDifferent: You can collect their flesh. And you can ''eat'' it. And brew it into a potion to drink.
598* OutlawTown:
599** Bravil is home to a skooma-den, the main Thieves's Guild doyen, beggars who are all in on Thieves Guild secrets, a fence, and a hustler who secretly runs contests HuntingTheMostDangerousGame.
600** Anvil's dock-side is ripe with pirates and smugglers, an outlaw-themed home is availble just on the coat outside of town for the player, according to old logs, one of the former Counts was secretly a smuggler and a certain important figure may well be one of greatest thieves of all time.
601** The Imperial City Waterfront is a segment of the city where the Thieves Guild operates the most.
602* PersuasionMinigame: Each NPC has a [[RelationshipValues Disposition score]] and will only help the PC if it is high enough. The Disposition can be raised with a minigame accessible from the dialogue screen, in which the PC must use four actions (Admire, Boast, Joke, and Coerce) in any order to gain a Disposition boost. Each NPC reacts differently to different actions (increasing or decreasing Disposition by different amounts), and the "weight" of each action shifts randomly every time one is used (higher weight increases the results, whether positive or negative). A high Speechcraft skill increases Disposition gains from liked actions and reduces losses from disliked ones.
603* PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements: The Divine Crusader equipment set in ''Knights of the Nine''. To use it, you need to go on a long pilgrimage to all the wayshrines of the Nine Divines, and if your Infamy is raised to anything above 1 after you have obtained it, then you must go on said pilgrimage ''again''.
604* {{Pilgrimage}}: The ''Knights of the Nine'' add-on has a subquest where you have to visit each of the Nine Divines' shrines scattered around the province in order to advance the main quest.
605* PointAndClickMap: The world map's fast travel option allows you to skip to the end of the journey instead of hoofing it.
606* PoorCommunicationKills: The Heretics of Cann, a ruin in The Shivering Isles, kidnap people from the marshes and lock them in a dungeon, offering them fine foods, poetry-writing supplies and sensual comfort to prepare them for "The Elaborate Spectacle" (which is described as involving "loving embraces" and "public display of shared pleasure"). Unfortunately, their habit of simply assuming people would naturally think as they do instead of actually explaining their intentions led every single captive to believe that the Spectacle was actually an arena battle to the death. It never ended well.
607* PortTown: Anvil is a lovely little sea-side town inside the walls, and a less than subtle pirate/smuggler port dockside.
608* PortalEndpointResemblance: The area near an active Oblivion Gate always has the {{red sky|TakeWarning}} of the [[FireAndBrimstoneHell Planes of Oblivion]] and might take on features like volcanic rock, fragments of Daedric architecture, and FantasticFlora. The sky returns to normal when the Gate is shut down, but the rest stays.
609* PowerUpFood: Downplayed. Food items (both real and fantastical) are present in the game and can be eaten directly for mild effects (mostly Restore Stamina). They are treated as standard [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemical ingredients]] and can be used to make potions with various effects.
610* PressurePlate: You see these a lot in forts and Ayleid ruins.
611* PromotionNotPunishment: The final Fighters' Guild quest has you working with a disgraced former guild-member and single-handedly bringing down the Blackwood Company by assaulting their headquarters. After you report your success to the Guildmaster, she tells you that for your reckless actions, you are to be stripped of your position as her second in command... because she will be stepping down and offering you her title
612* PsychoSerum: Hist. The sap of the Hist Trees of the Black Marsh changes Argonians into stronger forms over time but when ingested by Non-Argonians strong hallucinogenic properties that sent them into dangerous bloodlust. The Hisy sap in game causes even Argonians to go into a frenzy but this can handwaved by the Blackwood Company messing with the sap.
613* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Malacath. Is not. Popular. At parties!
614* QuietingTheUnquietDead:
615** Most undead are generic monsters with HardCodedHostility. However, one {{Sidequest}} has the player character help a FriendlyGhost move on by freeing his corpse from the shackles that caused him to drown.
616** The spirit of an evil necromancer feigns remorse and asks you to help him pass on by reassembling his dismembered body in his tomb. You have to fall for it, but his Boss Fight quiets him by force.
617* QuirkyTown: Between the Argonian telling intentionally politically incorrect jokes about Khajiit, the fella taking about sneaking into people’s houses and switching things from one container to the other just to mess with people, the Orc wanna-be Knight, the recently closed down restaurant serving exclusively RATS, the Countess’s... hobby, and the single best Mage in the region talking in riddles as she experiences non-linear time, Leyawiin certainly has the widest range of quirk in Cyrodiil. And considering the rest of the game that is saying something!
618* RandomlyGeneratedLevels: Like Daggerfall, Bethesda built the non-quest non-Oblivion dungeons out of existing dungeons pieces and randomly spliced them into a "new" dungeon that gets used for every copy's instance of that dungeon. Unlike Daggerfall, you [[{{Bizarrchitecture}} aren't busy getting lost]], and the dungeon pieces are much more distinct looking, making it very noticeable (indeed, there were a few instance of "leftovers" from quests in some dungeons in early versions). Additionally all spawns and loot are randomly chosen from leveled lists.
619** The terrain is also computer generated through simulated soil erosion. It sounds neat, but it is very noticeably featureless as a result.
620* RageAgainstTheHeavens: In the Knights of the Nine expansion, Umaril sends his agents to attack temples of the Nine Divines who helped engineer his first defeat. He claims that he'll cast down the Divines themselves, but it's unclear how he might do this, and you make sure he doesn't get the chance.
621* {{Ratstomp}}: Subverted. The first Fighters Guild mission is entitled "A Rat Problem", but when you talk to the owner of the house you discover that the rats are her pets and that the "problem" is that they keep getting attacked by mountain lions.
622* RainOfSomethingUnusual: In one quest, you help Sheogorath the Madgod with an elaborate prank by fulfilling stages of a prophecy, in order to convince some villagers that the world is about to end. At the end of the quest, Sheogorath summons a rain of burning dogs, the final sign that the prophecy is coming true.
623* RareCandy: Hermaeus Mora's [[TomeOfEldritchLore ''Oghma Infinium'']], which can permanently raise your stats when used.
624* RealIsBrown: Notably averted, but moreso if your system can run with HDR enabled.
625* RedOniBlueOni: Mania and Dementia in the Shivering Isles, though it's more like [[BlueAndOrangeMorality yellow and dark violet]].
626* RedSkyTakeWarning: When you get close to an Oblivion gate, the sky turns blood red and a thunderstorm rolls in. Provides the page image for this trope.
627* ReligionOfEvil: The Dark Brotherhood and the Mythic Dawn Cult.
628** Averted with the [[DarkIsNotEvil other Daedric cults]]. [[DarkIsEvil Sometimes]].
629* ReplacedWithReplica: Umbacano is a collector obsessed with artifacts of the Ayleid AbusivePrecursors, who hires you to "obtain" a specific Ayleid crown from a rival. You can fool him with a similar crown from a nearby Ayleid ruin instead. In his next quest, he tries to [[spoiler:absorb the power of an Ayleid throne to usher in a new age of Elf rule]]; if he uses the decoy crown, [[spoiler:instead of SuperEmpowering him, the throne electrocutes him on the spot]].
630* TheRepublic: The Imperial City stays an ally of all the provinces around it and all the counties within it, to the point that even those who don't like the idea of it still need it for trade and border security. With the royal family gone/displaced the Elder Council runs things through a centralized democracy, and nearly all of them are working for the betterment of their people.
631* {{Retcon}}: In previous games and source material, Cyrodiil was described as a much more exotic and unique place than how it was potrayed in Oblivion, with a much more fancier and regal looking Imperial City with waterways much like Venice, singing priest clothed by moths; an esoteric, Chinese/Japanese-inspired culture in Nibenay regions; and it was overall a FantasyCounterpartCulture for Roman Empire combined with [[{{Wutai}} East Asia]]. In Oblivion, this was mostly abandonded in favour of traditional MedievalEuropeanFantasy with only dubiously Roman-like elements and the rest was vaguely [[HandWave handwaved]] as being outdated propaganda.
632* {{Retirony}}: Grommok in the Shivering Isles quest "Baiting the Trap". Direct quote from his journal - "We're going to head north and explore the area around Niben Bay today. I hope that something else like this turns up on our adventures. Then I'm going to retire!". Depending on the players actions, [[spoiler: he either dies or goes insane.]]
633** Enforced in the Dark Brotherhood quest Permanent Retirement, which requires the player to kill a newly retired Imperial Legion commander who spent his life investigating and interfering with the Dark Brotherhood's 'operations'.
634* RevenueEnhancingDevices: The Horse Armor DLC. Long since made into a meme or a RunningGag, even by Bethesda itself -- on April 1, 2009 the price of all ''Oblivion'' DLC was halved, except for the Horse Armor DLC, which had its price ''doubled.''
635* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Pulled on [[spoiler: Myvryna Arano]] by Hieronymus Lex in the early Thieves Guild questline; Lex had been using [[spoiler: Myvryna]] to spy on the Guild, but it turns out the Grey Fox had cottoned on to her, so he creates a fake contract to have the player character steal a bust of the late Countess of Cheydinhal Lathasa Indarys from the Chapel Undercroft there. When Lex uses this as an excuse to order a crackdown on the Waterfront, the PC is directed by Methredhel to drop the bust in a cabinet in [[spoiler: Myvryna's]] home and get Lex to check it out. When confronted by this evidence, Lex arrests her on the spot; if she did steal the bust, then she's been playing him, but if she's telling the truth (that the PC standing two feet away watching this is a member of the Thieves Guild and is setting her up), she's still of no use to him, because it means the Grey Fox knows about her. So either way, off to jail she goes.
636* RidiculouslyAliveUndead: Vampirism is caused by a disease, so vampires can eat, drink, and sleep; are susceptible to drowning; and can [[{{Dhampyr}} have children]]. Unlike other undead, they're still considered humanoid for the purposes of [[YourSoulIsMine Soul Trap]] effects.
637* RougeAnglesOfSatin: Anvil's resident ButtMonkey, Norbert Lelles, is the proprietor of a shop whose sign is misspelled to read "Lelles' Quality Mercandise", which draws many amused comments from various [=NPCs=].
638* RuinsForRuinsSake: Outdoors, unless the woods are dense, you are rarely out of sight of one set of ruins or another.
639* {{Rule 34}}: Notable in that there's a pack of mods that basically turn the whole game into an unapologetically adult game.
640* RulesOfTheGame: In the Arena.
641* RulingFamilyMassacre: At the start of the game, the Mythic Dawn {{cult}} carries out coordinated assassinations of the entire Septim Emperor bloodline to clear the way for their [[LegionsOfHell Daedric master's invasion]]. However, TheEmperor's [[HiddenBackupPrince last bastard son]] is saved just in the nick of time by the PlayerCharacter to lead Cyrodiil's defenders.
642* RunDontWalk: Most players will find themselves doing this. Because for some reason, no matter how high leveled you are, the PC always walks extremely slowly. Even slower than NPC characters.
643* RunningGag: During the Dark Brotherhood questline, whenever you are presented with dialogue prompts to choose from, one of them is always going to be "say nothing". This can lead to some amusingly awkward moments, depending on whom you're currently "talking" to.
644* SavingTheWorld: From an army of apocalyptic demon monsters. You know, the usual.
645* ScaryImpracticalArmor: Daedric armour.
646* SceneryPorn: Lots and lots of it. Especially in ''Shivering Isles'', whose titular region looks a lot like the more "unusual" areas of ''Morrowind'', but some players even complained about seeing grass and forests everywhere. And it's too bad you can only visit [[spoiler: Paradise]] ''once''...
647* SealedEvilInACan: Mehrunes Dagon.
648* SecretPolice: The Blades.
649* SecretTest: [[spoiler: In the end of the Dark Brotherhood quest the Night Mother reveals she knew Mathieu Bellamont was the traitor before he even knew. Instead of telling the Listener to watch out for him she decided to see if her followers were smart enough to figure it out themselves. Turns out they weren't.]]
650* SeekingSanctuary: Each city has a church where you can go and pray and be healed of any afflictions you've picked up. Some also have beds to rest in.
651* SequenceBreaking: A high level in acrobatics can allow you to do this in optional dungeons. Most dungeons have a DoorToBefore near their entrance, that's usually found in a higher place, unreachable through normal means. A high Acrobatics skill allows you to jump to these doors, essentially skipping the entire dungeon and allowing you to quickly obtain the best loot found in the dungeon.
652* ServileSnarker: Haskill. He never shows much emotion in contrast to his lordship and when he does, it usually very dry wit.
653* TheSiege: [[spoiler:Mehrunes Dagon's final assault on the Imperial City in the endgame.]]
654* SequelHook: "When the next Elder Scroll is written, you will be its scribe."
655* SetAMookToKillAMook: You can use magic to summon monsters that would normally try to kill you on sight when encountered, who will fight other monsters for you, even of their own kind. There's also the Frenzy spell.
656* ShapedLikeItself: Rindir's Staffs is a shop run by a Bosmer named Rindir. It sells {{Magic Staff}}s. Rindir lampshades it with his greeting.
657-->''You're in Rindir's Staffs. And I'm Rindir. I sell magical staffs. Imagine that.''
658* ShiningCity: The Imperial City is this both metaphorically in the plot and literally when the Dragonfires are lit.
659* ShipperOnDeck: Casta Scribonia from Chorrol ships the proprieter of the Gray Mare and the captain of the guard.
660* ShopFodder: Copious amounts of it, mostly in form of precious stones or household utensils, as well as books.
661* ShopliftAndDie: Oh yes. Though not as badly done as in Morrowind; normal [=NPCs=] don't immediately go apeshit, swarm attack you and try to kill you on sight if caught stealing. They do, however, start screaming like morons and any nearby guards will come running. And then if you refuse to pay gold or go to jail, they'll kill you.
662** Each NPC in the game has an assigned "responsibility" value, which determines how strictly they follow the law and also how they will report violations of the law. While Imperial Waterfront inhabitants might steal food and cheer on a fight rather than report it to guards, shopkeepers will call for the guards if you so much as touch something without paying for it.
663* ShoutOut:
664** Explaining the [[SplitPersonality literally split personalities]] in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Split]], a townsman says, "AWizardDidIt."
665** The luck spell "The Dark One's own luck," is a reference to ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
666** There is a Dark Brotherhood quest in which you have to join a party with a group of strangers but only to kill all the others off without exposing your real identity, called "[[Creator/AgathaChristie Whodunit]]?"
667** One of the many quests involving the retrieval of an artifact from a ruin is called "[[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk Nothing You Can Possess.]]" You might be able to guess how things play out.
668** The quest called "[[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth A Shadow Over Hackdirt]]", which involves you going into a [[TownWithADarkSecret rundown and very much xenophobic village]] with suspicious residents who worship something called "[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos The Deep Ones]]" and turns out to make human sacrifices. Heck, you even find a [[TomeOfEldritchLore Cthulhu Bible]].
669*** This is possibly also a reference to the Bethesda-published game ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth'', which was released a few months before ''Oblivion'' and was also an adaptation of ''The Shadow Over Innsmouth''.
670*** To enter the Shivering Isles, you have to enter [[Film/InTheMouthOfMadness the mouth of madness]].
671** One of the first Fighter's Guild missions you can get is a shout out, and LampshadeHanging to the first Fighter's Guild mission you can get in Balmora, in Morrowind. In Morrowind, you're contracted to kill the rats in a woman's basement. In Oblivion, you're contracted to defend them.
672** In ''Shivering Isles'', you can find a chest labeled "[[Music/{{Nightwish|Band}} The Dark Chest of Wonders]]," and it contains the Ring of the Oceanborn.
673** Umbra is a black, soul-eating sword whose owner despises herself. [[Literature/TheElricSaga Sound familiar]]?
674** When a gang of thieves take over "The Bloated Float" inn-boat while you're aboard, you have to fight and/or talk your way past all of them. One of the dialogue options is to claim that you're [[Film/UnderSiege the ship's cook]].
675** One wardrobe item that can be found or purchased is a pair of [[Music/ElvisPresley blue suede shoes]].
676** In one quest, you have to try and catch a man who's supplying items to merchants by stealing said items from the dead. As part of your proof, you find [[http://uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Macabre_Manifest a book]] that lists the recently deceased and any items of value they own. One of the names in the list is Oford Gabings - an anagram of [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Frodo Baggins]] - and the items listed are ones that he carried in ''Lord of the Rings'': "Travel Cloak with Silver and Green Leaf Fastener", "Enchanted Shortsword with Inlaid Writing", "Leather Bound Travel Journal", and "Gold Ring with Inscription (Cursed?)"
677** During one of the Dark Brotherhood quests, the player must venture to a lighthouse with a basement. There player finds a decapitated head in a state of decay sitting on a plate called "Mother's Head", which is a reference to ''Film/FridayThe13thPart2''.
678** The Staff of Everscamp quest, "Whom Gods Annoy", is a LiteraryAllusionTitle to the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E14WhomGodsDestroy Whom Gods Destroy]]".[[note]]Which is itself an allusion to a proverb of uncertain origin, "Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad."[[/note]]
679** In Shivering Isles, upon meeting Sheogorath for the first time, during one of the possible discussions, he makes it clear that [[Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977 "You wouldn't like me when I'm bored."]]
680** Two of the Thieves Guild members are named [[VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}} Jair]] and [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/{{Heretic}} Corvus]]]].
681** During the quest "Where Spirits Have Lease", you're confronted by Lorgren Benirus, a Lich, who tricks the player into helping him rise again. He concludes his subsequent evil monologue by shouting [[Film/ArmyOfDarkness "I live.. AGAIN!"]]
682* SideQuest: As per ''Elder Scrolls'' tradition, there's a hell of a lot of them. In fact, they make up the bulk of the gaming experience.
683* SingleUseShield: The ''Boots of Springheel Jak'' will prevent you from dying at the end one very, very long fall but are destroyed upon landing. Various exploits exist to survive said fall and still keep the Boots.
684* {{Skybox}}: Utilized exceptionally well. And the number of mods out there to enhance Oblivion's skies even further is mind blowing.
685* SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom: Lots of these, mostly in various Ayleid Ruins such as Nenyond Twyll. In the Mages Guild mission "Liberation or Apprehension?", Fithragaer, the NPC you're (meant to be) escorting charges straight into one and dies instantly. If he doesn't he'll just stand there, just in front of the trap as being trapped in the ruins broke his tiny Bosmer brain. When the quest is done, he'll walk slowly to the exit and will most likely die for real this time.
686* SnipingMission:
687** The Dark Brotherhood quest where you are ordered to kill Adamus Phillida with a special arrow. Though even if you're standing really far away and are well hidden from view, somehow the guards will always detect you...[[note]]Although if you are interested in the technical reason, the script for the arrow (which immediately kills Philida) doesn't activate until a split second ''after'' the arrow hits. Unless you're completely invisible, Philida will recognize he's under attack and will immediately report the crime before he croaks.[[/note]]
688** The Thieves Guild has a quest in which you must stand on a switch in order to open a keyhole on the other end of the room, then fire the key (which has been made into an arrowhead) into the keyhole without stepping off the switch.
689%%* SociopathicHero: Relmyna Verenim. ''So much''.
690* SpaceCompression: The explorable area is 16 square miles (41.4 square kilometers), larger than the precedessor ''Morrowind'' but still orders of magnitude smaller than what the province's size is claimed to be in background material. City Isle, which is about the size of Great Britain on the world map, is scarcely large enough to contain the Imperial City, which is as big as a large parking lot. With the visibility set to maximum and fog options turned off, a player can still see the Imperial City's central tower when climbing mountains near the border. The level of vertical exaggeration applied to said mountains is fairly incredible, too; the road from the Imperial City up to Bruma is almost all at a 30 degree (or more) slope. Despite the map being larger, the level of compression is actually greater than in ''Morrowind'' - Vvardenfell represented a bit less than half of a mid-size province, while Cyrodiil represents almost all of the largest by far province.
691* SpellCrafting: The game grants the ability to create custom spells to players who progress to a certain point in the Mages' Guild quest line or purchase the Wizard's Tower DownloadableContent. The player chooses a spell's range (self, touch, or ranged), area of effect (single-target or SplashDamage), duration, and effects, and the game automatically assigns a Magicka cost depending on how powerful the spell is, theoretically maintaining game balance. In practice, it is hilariously easy to design game-breakingly powerful spells by combining synergistic effects such as Weakness to Fire + Fire Damage, or assigning a one-second duration to spells that increase the Persuasion skill (which only works in dialogue, which pauses the game clock). ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall'' and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' had similar features.
692* SpellLevels: The game had all spells divided into five difficulty levels (Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, and Master), and you could only learn higher-level spells after raising your skill in the corresponding magical school to a certain level.
693* SpikesOfVillainy: Most of the building in the Oblivion realms have a spiky motif both inside and out. The spikes are apparently just for show, as touching them doesn't hurt you a bit
694* SpoilerTitle: Several sidequests, including but not limited to the following:
695** One sidequest has Reynald Jemane asking you to find out why someone has been impersonating him. This quest might have been interesting if it hadn't been named "Separated at Birth".
696** Archmage Traven sends you to retrieve a book from Count Janus Hassildor... but he has an ulterior motive. Which probably won't come as a major twist, considering that the quest is named "Ulterior Motives".
697* SpringHeeledJack: "Springheel Jak", a legendary thief who lived three centuries before the game's timeframe. One of the quests for the ThievesGuild has you recover the legendary pair of boots originally belonging to Springheel Jak, which are magically enchanted to provide a massive boost to the wearer's Acrobatics skill, which governs how far and high you can jump. The boots also have a secret power to allow you to survive a very, very long fall in a later quest, which is why you need them in the first place.
698* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Argonians can breathe underwater. PC's can breathe under water using spells or rings.
699* SupportingTheMonsterLovedOne: In "Shivering Isles", the conspiracy theorist Muurine lives with her uncle Leo. Uncle Leo is a zombie locked on the second floor of her house, and it appears that she still loves him and feeds him (judging by the fact that the zombie is non-hostile, he's well fed). Muurine also appears to be unaware what exactly is wrong with Uncle Leo, saying he's only "not feeling well".
700* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
701** The "Imperial Corruption" sidequest consist in investigating (justified) accusations of extortion againt Audens Avidius, one of Imperial City's captains of the guard. Unsurprisingly, trying to confront him without backup from other guards and ironclad proofs results in a failure and earns you a bounty.
702** Trying to perform a BareHandedBladeBlock without an adequate level in the Block skill will cause you to take a fair bit of damage. Averted once your Block skill improves.
703** In the ''Shivering Isles'' expansion, you are sent on a vital quest by Sheogorath to save his realm from destruction. If the player goes back to Cyrodill and then begins Sheogorath's daedric quest, he will be upset that you are wasting time rather than completing the tasks he has given you. [[spoiler:If you do so after being made the new Sheogorath, Haskil will appear and comment on you leaving offerings to yourself, as well as criticize you for wasting time if you have no yet resolved the threat facing the Isles.]]
704** If the player attacks Sheogorath he will instantly kill them by teleporting them into the sky and letting gravity do the rest. What else would you expect to happen when you attack a god in his own realm?
705** In the Shivering Isles, there's an Orc who's terrified of cats being followed by a Khajiit. Because of this he can hire the PC to get rid of them. That is, unless you are also a Khajiit, then he'll just have his guard dog attack you.
706* StaminaBurn: "Damage Fatigue" and "Drain Fatigue" spell effects. Targets take wide-ranging penalties at zero fatigue, but these effects can also reduce fatigue to negative levels, causing them to collapse until their score rises above zero.
707* StealthPun: In ''The Shivering Isles'', the first place the player visits on the Isles is called the Fringe, populated by the kind of crazy people you'll expect to meet, making it the "lunatic Fringe".
708** The Adoring Fan is absolutely crazy for the Hero of Kvatch. At night, given his zeal for the Hero of Kvatch, while following them around, he may be [[DoubleEntendre carrying a torch for them]] [[StalkerWithACrush in more ways than one]].
709* SticksToTheBack: Played completely straight, with nothing visibly holding weapons, quivers etc. in place.
710** There is an explanation for the way a one handed weapon seems to "hover" over a character's hip: armors in ''Oblivion'' are [[TruthInTelevision thick and padded]], and most of them also have belts that are supposedly there for the sword's scabbard/blunt weapon's handle to hang on to. A character wearing nothing but mere clothing (which isn't as thick as, say, a suit of leather armor) will have his weapon "hovering" over their hip, because if they were sticking to it, they would clip through thicker armors.
711* {{Stripperiffic}}: The Huntsman Leather shirt and pants. When equipped to females, becomes nothing but a furry bra and tight revealing pants.
712* StuckItems: The game won't allow you to drop quest essential items. This is to prevent you from making a quest {{Unwinnable}} by losing quest-essential items. Also, said items are weightless. Unfortunately many items will not properly have the "undroppable" tag removed long after they are no longer needed and at least once (Molag Bal's quest) [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable an item that needs to be dropped to complete a quest may get flaged as undroppable]]. Most of these are unfixed as of the last official patch, requiring fan-made patches to fix.
713* StuffBlowingUp: Delphine Jend of the Bravil Mages Guild prides herself on the creation of the "Enemies Explode" spell, and just loves destruction magic in general.
714-->''"I love my work. [[KillItWithFire Fire]], [[KillItWithIce frost]], [[ShockAndAwe shock]], [[StatusEffects poison]]... Little presents for Kynareth's cute little woodland creatures."''
715* StumbledIntoThePlot: Played with. The protagonist is a nobody in prison and happens to cross paths with The Emperor, who is trying to escape assassins, thrusting them into the main quest of preventing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. However, how they managed to ''get'' into that cell (it's never supposed to be occupied) is never answered... in fact, you can even ask the Emperor ''why'' you were placed there, indicating the protagonist is just as unaware as the player. The Emperor believes the same forces of fate that gave him prophetic dreams about you arranged your placement there to make your encounter possible.
716* StylishProtectionGear: Glass armor and weapons. As well as the amber ones from The Shivering Isles. Now you too can mix glowing yellow and lime green.
717* SundialWaypoint: One of the clues is only seen when the sun shines from a certain angle (at a certain time of day) on a gravestone.
718* SuspiciousSpending: Ulrich Leland lines his pockets with the extortionate fines he imposes on the citizens of Cheydinhal, raising suspicions among his men, who question how a captain's salary can pay for some of the things in his quarters.
719* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Hieronymus Lex - one of the Imperial City's Watch Captains - is the Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist to the Gray Fox, leader of the Thieves' Guild in Cyrodiil. In fact, he is one of the only members of the Imperial Watch who even believes the Thieves' Guild exists, and has dedicated himself to becoming a perpetual, overzealous thorn in its side. [[spoiler:He mellows considerably after you inform him that he's been reassigned to the city of Anvil... although not without a brief rant about how the Gray Fox must have been behind that, too.]] [[spoiler:He's right.]]
720** Although for fun, [[spoiler: once you get the Gray Fox cowl, you can put it on in front of him and have him sputter in disbelief at finally catching him]].
721*** So many layers of irony were in that 'reassignment'. [[spoiler:On one hand, Lex is now unwittingly working for the Gray Fox. On the other hand, it was the Gray Fox who, after so many years of cat-n-mouse evasion between them, hand-picked him to be his head of security. This actually reveals a huge respect for the man.]]
722* TakenForGranite: [[spoiler:Martin]]'s ultimate fate.
723* TakeThat: The character M'aiq the Liar is a walking (well, running) take that and LampshadeHanging of various subjects: [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind the previous game (largely things that didn't make it into this one)]], new additions and mechanics that some fans disapproved of, [[MemeticMutation memes]], and [[spoiler:''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'']].
724* TakeYourTime: With two exceptions, the Daedric invasion of Bruma and tracking down a fake vampire hunter also in Bruma, there's no quest situation that will get any worse if you ignore it entirely. This even includes major battles to defend cities. No, go ahead and play in the WideOpenSandbox. The LegionOfDoom will wait.
725* TeamPet: The Dark Brotherhood Cheydinhal sanctuary has Schemer the rat, the blue team at the Arena has Porkchop the boar, The Anvil branch of the Fighter's Guild has a dog called Mojo, and Anvil's Mage Guild has an imp called Sparky.
726* TechDemoGame: Despite being released in 2006, the game can still stress out many of the newest computers to this day.
727* TechnicalPacifist: You aren't allowed to kill people during Thieves Guild quests, but nothing says they can't die by any means that don't involve you. A good example of this is an early assignment where you need to raid a tomb with a guard. Opening the target grave will result in a ghost spawning, which isn't on the same side as the guard. If done at low levels (or in OOO) the guard won't have magic weapons or offensive spells and will easily die to the ghost.
728* TerminalTransformation:
729** [[spoiler:Rona Hassildor [[SupernaturalAngst hated becoming a vampire]] so much that she refused to drink blood and fell into a coma. You can deliver a cure, but she's so weak that she dies as soon as she becomes human again.]]
730** In the finale, [[spoiler:Martin is transformed into a draconic avatar of Akatosh to fight off Mehrunes Dagon. As soon as he wins, the divine power turns his body to stone.]]
731* ThatCameOutWrong: The big plot point of the Mages Guild questline is the fact that Necromancy is banned, and various Necromancers are now posing threat to the Guild as a response to this policy. Tar-Meena, one of the guild's researchers, is overwhelmed with numerous requests from various guild members to provide more info about Necromancy, as the Guild wants to know how to defend itself against them better. You are at once point asked to consult her, but when you talk to her, she tells you in annoyance not to bother her due to her being "up to her ears in Necromancy". Given the Necromancy ban and the dire situation, she's quick to correct herself and explain that she's simply tasked with researching it.
732* ThematicSequelLogoChange: The Imperial Dragon is replaced with the Daedric letter "O", which also happens to look like an [[{{Hellgate}} Oblivion Gate]], referencing Mehrunes Dagon's invasion of Tamriel through the Oblivion Gates.
733* ThisIsThePartWhere: You fall down and [[LargeHam bleeeeeed to death!]]
734* ThrivingGhostTown: Played with. Most of Cheydinhal's population comes from guilds or are locked inside buildings that are not immediately accessible to the player, making it seem like the town is nigh uninhabited. Not counting Guilds, the Dark Brotherhood, or Quest-only citizen, the town only has a population of 23.
735* TimedMission: The Great Gate outside Bruma during the main quest. To a lesser extent, the resolution to the side quest 'A Brotherhood Betrayed' (you only have a day to bring Raynil Dralas down after finding out the truth about him, or else he makes his getaway with what would have been your reward).
736* ToBeLawfulOrGood: In one quest, the Countess of Chorrol tasks the player character with figuring out who on her staff stole a precious painting of her now-deceased husband. The culprit is [[spoiler: the court mage Chanel, who created the painting in the first place. Chanel admits that she was actually in love with the Count and became envious of the Countess monopolizing the painting for herself, and so stole it back to have a small memento of the only man she's ever loved.]] The player can choose to reveal the truth to the Countess to receive the maximum reward (gold and jewels) for the quest while the thief is fired, or give the wrong name or say must have been an outsider who will never be caught, which earns less of a reward but ensures the thief's safety and happiness. [[spoiler: Chanel will also give you a special, one-of-a-kind painting as a reward, too.]]
737* TopDownView: You can achieve this in free camera mode.
738* TortureTechnician: Relmyna is a MadScientist with a fanatical devotion to pain and a torture dungeon full of research specimens. If you volunteer to save one by taking their place, her AgonyBeam spell can potentially kill you on the spot.
739* TownWithADarkSecret:
740** Cheydinhal is secretly the Dark Brotherhood's base of operations in Cyrodiil. But of course, the Count and many others deny it, possibly under threat of becoming targets themselves.
741** Staff at Castle Skingrad keep a tight lid on the fact that Count Hassildor is a vampire, though the amount of garlic to be found in Skingrad households suggests that rumours have spread. Fortunately for the city, he's of the {{Friendly Neighborhood|Vampire}} variety.
742** The backwater village of Hackdirt hosts a unique {{Cult}} that practices HumanSacrifice and worships LovecraftLite "Deep Ones".
743* TranslationTrainwreck:
744** The German translation suffered from multitude of shortcomings, among them: unwieldy, misleading or incorrect item and spell names and descriptions. Even quest texts had errors. There was bad dialogue, fragments of the english orginal, widely different subtitles and so on. Neither the reviewing press nor the German fans were pleased. The latter rectified many issues with mods.
745** The French version has it bad as well, with unvoiced bits of dialogues, some texts or names that are left in English, or some names that the translators got ''completely wrong'', such as a scale (the tool used to measure weights) being translated as "écailles" (which is indeed the proper translation for "scales"... As in, "the scales of a reptile"), or an enchanted axe being called a "sword". Some names were also shortened due to their length once translated, leaving us with things such as a ''Scroll of Absorb Magicka'' becoming a "Roul. Absorb. Mag."
746* TrickShotPuzzle: In "The Ultimate Heist", [[spoiler: you need to fire an Arrow of Extrication to open a door]].
747* {{Troll}}:
748** Sheogorath, obviously. Unlike the other Daedric princes who either have their preferred niche roles or see mortals as beneath them, Sheogorath prefers to mess with people directly, to either drive them mad or just be a total jerkwad. Most Daedra may have made an artifact that cursed people into evil; he makes a staff that forces four harmless but annoying Scamps to follow a person around. He also helps bring about the end times prophecy of a small village, just because he thinks the village is dull and because they ''have'' such a prophecy.
749** Sanguine is also this, but to a much lesser degree than Sheogorath. Sanguine seems to prefer harmless fun and partying hard over death, evil, or insanity. He's basically the God of Frat Boys.
750** Clavicus Vile may also be one, but it's accidental and incidental to his actual goals.
751* TrophyRoom: In the ''Shivering Isles'' expansion, the alcoves in Sheogorath's throne room automatically fill with mementos of your progress through the main quest. You can take some of them with you.
752* TyopOnTheCover: In-universe, poor Norbert Lelles in Anvil, whose shop sign misspells the word merchandise as "Mercandise." Several other townsfolk will comment on it in amusement.
753* UncannyValley: The Brethren of [[TownWithADarkSecret Hackdirt]] invoke this deliberately with their unusually large eyes. At first, [[NightmareFace it's very unnerving.]] But once you find out who they are (and their goal), they're terrifying.
754* TheUndead: Common enemies in dungeons at all levels. Zombies. Animate skeletons. Ghosts that shriek like bats out of hell, wraiths and liches.
755* UndergroundLevel: Cyrodiil has an abundance of caves, abandoned mines, oversized sewers, and subterranean Ayleid ruins, most of them infested with monsters. They have the side benefit of loading as a separate map from the great outdoors.
756* UnexpectedInheritance: Two [[DownloadableContent DLCs]] use this to HandWave the Hero abruptly receiving a new PlayerHeadquarters. One nameless "long-lost relative" wills them a remote MageTower; another passes on Deepscorn Hollow, an ElaborateUndergroundBase first built by a vampire assassin.
757* UnknowinglyPossessingStolenGoods: One {{Sidequest}} has you investigate an Imperial City shopkeeper with suspiciously cheap merchandise. When you find evidence that his mysterious supplier has been RobbingTheDead, he's [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrified]] and helps you bring the thief to justice.
758* UnPerson: Putting on [[spoiler: the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal]] makes the wearer one. To clarify, the [[spoiler: cowl actually removes all traces of the wearer from the memory of reality itself. In other words, reality freaking forgets that you exist once you put in on. This was a curse put on the cowl by its original owner, Nocturnal, as punishment for its theft. It's revealed at the end of the Thieves Guild questline that the Gray Fox's ultimate goal was to obtain an Elder Scroll so he could rewrite history and undo the curse. Afterwards you're given the cowl as a reward, with the effect still intact. Thankfully your identity is restored whenever you take it off.]]
759* UnusualEuphemism:
760** "Die, fetcher!"
761** "Filthy s'wit!"
762* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:The player himself]], in the Dark Brotherhood quest line.
763* TheUpperCrass: PlayedForLaughs with Lord Rugdumph, the one known Orcish noble in the setting. He lives comfortably on his rural estate, hampered only by his DelusionsOfEloquence and his adventurous daughter's hatred of the IdleRich lifestyle.
764* UrbanSegregation: Naturally the political leaders live/work at the center of the Imperial City, the working-class are divided up by function - with mostly equal living conditions in each district, the city has a "slum" in Dockside, but it largely an unplanned community and just where those who lost all their money decided to set-up a shanty-town, and even then, as far a slums go, it makes Bravil look like an even bigger pieces of troll excrement.
765* ViceCity: Bravil is home to a den that sells the otherwise highly regulated/illegeal addictive substance - skooma. In addition there are at-least three bars selling various intoxicants.
766* ViciousCycle: The Greymarch. Also, the fate of the Ascended Immortals in Kamoran's Savage Garden/Forbidden Grotto.
767* VideoGameCaringPotential: Depending on how attached you become to some of the {{Non Player Character}}s, you may reload certain battles multiple times to ensure that they survive past the time they're flagged as no longer essential, up to and including the ending.
768* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The game allows you to kill any non-essential characters in the game (although this may result in you failing quests that you haven't even started), and essential characters can just be knocked unconscious over and over again.
769** The sheer amount of videos on Website/YouTube about killing certain people (or yourself) in Oblivion is astounding, but admit it, starting random rampages and mercilessly massacring the guards and citizens of Cyrodiil is ''fun''.
770*** Number one on the list of favorite targets is the Adoring Fan, who, if killed, will respawn three days later and reappear at your side, torch in hand and smile on face. The amount of videos of killing him in various manners (including that perennial favorite, death by Dive Rock) is ''mind-boggling'' to non-fans who don't fully grasp the relationship between players of Oblivion and the Adoring Fan.
771** When you talk to the heart-broken fisherman outside Imperial City you have two options: you help him fish, or you laugh hard at his misfortune.
772** The Wiki notes some strategies for increasing combat skills, including "Use your horse for target practice. If you have obtained Shadowmere, she is unkillable."
773** The game's own tips suggest killing your own summoned creatures to trap their souls for enchanting.
774** In the "Shivering Isles" add-on, the paranoid duchess of a city gives you the task to uncover a conspiracy against her, bestows the title of "Grand Inquisitor" upon you, and lends you her torturer. Then you can either take a direct route to find the conspirators... or let your tourturer zap annoying [=NPCs=].
775** In the Vile Lair DownloadableContent, you can buy the Cattle Cell, which contains an unwakable, unkillable prisoner meant as a food source for those who become vampires, but is more useful for target practice.
776* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Kalthar]] in the Mages Guild questline.
777* VulnerableCivilians: Besides the usual fact that most [=NPCs=] are [[VideogameCrueltyPotential killable by the player]], the game's artificial life system means that many characters (especially those who live in small settlements or commute outside the city walls) can be attacked and killed by random wandering monsters, or even in rare extreme cases starve to death or pick fights with each other.
778* WarpWhistle: You can "Fast Travel" to any of the cities, and most other important locations. The InUniverseGameClock will still advance by a proportionate amount of time, so be careful of {{timed mission}}s.
779* TheWarSequence: Mehrunes Dagon's assault on the Imperial City at the end of the main quest.
780* WeaksauceWeakness: One Dark Brotherhood quest requires you to assassinate a man who's allergic to honey; your handler suggests tricking him into drinking a bottle of mead, which paralyzes him, making him easier to kill.
781* WeaponizedOffspring: The Daedra Spiders send little mini-versions of themselves to attack and paralyze you.
782* WeirdnessMagnet:
783** Vampires are subconsciously attracted to Skingrad due to a certain well known figure’s presence. In addition there seems to be an abnormal number of unstable people in town between the eccentric alchemist, absentminded Mage’s Guild head, all but open Mythic Dawn Cultist, various jerks with prices on their heads all showing up to the same party, and the single craziest Bosmir in Cyrodiil.
784** Being sandwiched between Elsweyr and Blackmarsh seems to create a weirdness melting-pot in Leyawiin, although also being sandwiched between shrines to the goddess of night and the god of insanity may also be a factor.
785* WhamEpisode: Through the last three games, the Emperor has been the BigGood who the player has been doing all the missions for. In this one? He dies. At the end of the tutorial mission.
786** Likewise, the Third Empire has been the main unifying political entity for all three games, ruled over by the Septim Dynasty. [[spoiler:By the end of the game the Septim dynasty is no more, leaving the Empire in disarray, and the resulting chaos from what becomes known as the Oblivion Crisis has far-reaching effects [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim two hundred years later.]] ]]
787* WhamLine: Mankar Camoran's monologue to the player: "The Principalities have sparkled as gems in the black reaches of Oblivion since the First Morning. Many are their names and the names of their masters: the Coldharbour of Meridia, Peryite's Quagmire, the ten Moonshadows of Mephala, and... and Dawn's Beauty, [[spoiler:the Princedom of Lorkhan... misnamed Tamriel by deluded mortals."]] Even after the release of Skyrim, it's still unclear if Mankar was lying or not.
788* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Jagar Tharn's child. According to an ingame book, he fathered a child with Barenziah, the queen of Morrowind, when he seduced her in order to fool her into showing him the way to the Staff of Chaos. Then this child just fades into space ace. Also, lore says that after the events of the very first game, the Staff of Chaos was put away somewhere in White Gold Tower, yet in the game it is nowhere to be found.
789** Players finally got an answer to this in ''Skyrim''. [[spoiler:It wasn't actually Tharn's child; he hired a famous thief to seduce Barenziah. Finishing the Thieves Guild quest line in ''Skyrim'' gives access to the [[http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Nightingales_Vol._2#Content book]] which explains that the Dragonborn has actually been working with the grandchild of Barenziah and the thief for several missions.]]
790** In-game, several quest-related {{Non Player Character}}s are usually disabled and removed from the game once their related quest is finished. Often, this is done without any in-universe explanation whatsoever. The most egregious examples are J'Skar (the sole survivor of the attack on the Bruma Mages Guild), and Nelrene (the Dark Seducer involved in the conspiracy in the "Lady of Paranoia" quest, even though she ends up helping you in the end).
791* WideOpenSandbox: Larger than ''Morrowind'' [[note]]By raw square footage anyways. Morrowind's design makes traveling in a straight line impossible without levitation, and it implements a large vertical component not present in Oblivion[[/note]] but still far smaller than ''Arena'' or ''Daggerfall''.
792* WildWilderness: Leyawiin county is easily the least tamed most untouched of all Cyrodiil.
793* WineIsClassy: Skingrad has vast vineyards, two friendly competition wine companies, multiple taverns and is easily the most well to-do county outside of the Imperial City.
794* WorthyOpponent: [[spoiler: While not directly stated as the reason, the Gray Fox effectively picks SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Hieronymus Lex to serve as his head of security]].
795** Perhaps even more touching if you take this motivation is that [[spoiler: the Gray Fox may have chosen Lex to defend his wife while he was absent.]]
796** One of the reasons that Kathutet agrees to help you reach Mankar Camoran is because he considers you one of these for defeating his fellow Dremora during the siege of Kvatch.
797* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied: Invoked by the player, of all people. When you kill Andreas Draconis, you have the option of taunting him about his mother's death by saying "Your mother bled like a pig."
798* WretchedHive:
799** ''Thieves Den'' reveals that Anvil used to be this, a seedy, dangerous den of smugglers and pirates, where pretty much everyone was completely under the thumb of the leader of the single most vicious, bloodthirsty pirate group in Tamriel. Only after Admiral Umbranox defeated the pirate captain and his men did Anvil become the respectable harbor town it is today.
800** Compared to the other major cities of Cyrodiil, which range from average to wealthy, Bravil is a dull, squalid place of shoddy wooden structures, which is often remarked upon by people all across the country. Its reputation as a center for the skooma trade and its rather lackluster leadership (see below) don't help either.
801* WritersCannotDoMath: As [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20673_5-video-games-with-disturbing-implications-you-didnt-notice.html this article]] points out, there is a subtle (but kind of scary) example in the Arena's method of promoting gladiators. When writing out the means for promoting the player character, Bethesda likely didn't conceive just how exponentially large the killcount would really be when the other gladiators' ranks (and thus number of victories) were considered.
802* YouAllMeetInAnInn: Several [[SideQuest side quests]] start at inns. (This usually makes sense, as some of the quest givers are drunks or people who have fallen on hard times.)
803* YouAreWhoYouEat: Vampires.
804* YouCantThwartStageOne: CutsceneIncompetence stops you saving the Emperor from assassins at the start of the game. You arrive at Kvatch the day after The Daedra burn it to the ground, though thankfully Martin, the man you were sent to rescue, survived by hiding in a chapel. You take him back to the priory just as the Mythic Dawn have finished ransacking the place and taken [[MacGuffin the Amulet of Kings]]. You can't stop Mankar Camoran fleeing to Paradise with the amulet, you need to adventure the length and breadth of Cyrodiil looking for components to build a portal so you can follow him. [[spoiler:And even when you finally get the amulet, Mehrunes Dagon still achieves his goal of being summoned to Tamriel.]]
805** If you join the Dark Brotherhood, [[spoiler:Lucien Lachance can't stop you murdering half of the Brotherhood, all the way up to The Listener. You can't save him when the surviving members execute him for treachery, and the only way you can expose the real traitor, Bellamont, is when he tries to kill the Night Mother, by which time only you and one other Brotherhood leader, Arquen, remain.]]
806** No matter what you do, once you come out of the [[spoiler:orc usurer's]] dungeon, you can't stop[[spoiler: poor Aleron's death.]]
807** And you can only delay [[spoiler:Sheogorath's transformation into Jyggalag and the triggering of the Greymarch]], not stop it completely.
808* [[YouFightLikeACow You Fight Like A Pregnant Cow]], and apparently not as well as a mudcrab.
809* YouFool: In a Mages' Guild quest, a count's steward informs you that the count wishes to meet you outside of town at 2 am. The steward shows up there with a couple of necromancers, tells you that he tricked you, and tries to kill you. The count himself arrives and helps save you. Afterward, he angrily says: "You impossible fool. What possessed you to think I would suggest a meeting here, of all places?"
810* ZipMode: While outdoors, you can "Fast Travel" to any location with a discovered icon on the game map, starting with the major cities and adding more as you encounter them in gameplay. It's instantaneous to the player but sets the [[InUniverseGameClock game clock]] ahead based on your estimated travel time. And, of course, "You Cannot Fast Travel While Enemies Are Nearby".
811* ZodiacMotifs: Character creation includes a Birthsign in the FictionalZodiac that grants a passive effect, a bonus spell, and/or a unique power usable once per day. For example, characters born under the Atronach have double the ManaMeter and [[ResistantToMagic absorb half of every incoming spell]], but lack RegeneratingMana.
812[[/folder]]
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