History VideoGame / TheElderScrollsIVOblivion

* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou - With the construction set.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking - 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''".

* ArtifactTitle: Finally averted. So far the only game since ''TheElderScrollsOneArena'' where the actual Elder Scrolls are seen (in the [[SideQuest Thieves Guild quest line]]). [[spoiler:[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu You get to steal one!]]]]

** 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 apropriate key and locked it the night before. Others will end up [[TooDumbToLive trying to pick fights with daedra who just spawned from an Oblivion portal]].

* AutomatonHorses - Partially averted by the fact that horses have a finite amount of health and can be killed. But, they still don't need to eat or sleep.
* AxCrazy
** the Orc in the Dark Brotherhood.
---> ''"I don't know who the Night Mother is, but she pays me to kill people! My own mother never loved me so much."

---> ''"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 [[DropTheHammer hammer]]."

* BeatingADeadPlayer - Averted. Once you are dead, you can briefly see that enemies immediately stop attacking. They sheathe their weapons and walk away.
* BerserkButton - 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 [[LawfulStupid immediately go nuts and kill you without hesitation]].

* BettingMiniGame - Betting at the Arena.
* {{BFS}} - Claymores.
* BigBad - Allegedly Mehrunes Dagon, but Mankor Camoran is the one who's really the active villain.
*** Which would either make Mankor Camoran the BigBad and Mehrunes Dagon the BiggerBad, or Camoran TheDragon, TheHeavy, and a DragonInChief, with Dagon remaining the BigBad.

* BittersweetEnding - [[spoiler:Mehrunes Dagon is defeated but the Empire now has no heir.]] It is clear the Empire is not out of the water yet and will likely lead to an interesting ''Elder Scrolls V''. WordOfGod established the next game will occur 200 years after the events of ''Oblivion'', it'll be interesting to see [[spoiler:how the partial fall of the Empire affected the Tamrielic continent in that span of time.]]

* BlackEyesOfCrazy - The more feral of the vampires, as well as the Dark Seducers featured in the Shivering Isles expansion pack.
* BlessedAreTheCheeseMakers

* BodyHorror - Worm thralls.

* BoisterousBruiser - Most Orcs and Nords play into this trope.
* BonusBoss - This game has a few of these, and finding each one of them generally is a GuideDangIt moment:

* BribingYourWayToVictory - quite a few of the {{DLC}}s are borderline cheat mods. (A quick and easy way of curing vampirism, a garden that supplies almost every rare ingredient, etc...)
* BringIt - Attempt to/Fight an ogre with your bare hands and it may make this gesture.
* BuryYourGays There's one gay character in the game. You find this out shortly after you find his decaying corpse. [[spoiler: Viranus Donton, the son of the Fighters Guild's grandmaster.]]

* CallAHitPointASmeerp - They're not "magic" points, they're "magicka" points!
* CaptainObvious - There's a burglar on the loose!

* CatchPhrase - The Thieves' Guild is fond of "shadow hide you".

* CityGuards - the embodiment of this trope.
* ChainmailBikini - Averted with some of the female armors, but played straight with others.

* ColdFlames - The Will O Wisp enemies.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard - The infamous psychic guards, who will come to arrest you even if your crime could not possibly be noticed (such as attacking an {{NPC}} in a place with no one to see or hear you do it, then killing them).
* TheChessmaster - Mankar Camoran. To A lesser degree, The Gray Fox.
* 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 is what makes him the sole survivor.]]
* CodeName - All of the brigands aboard "The Bloated Float" inn-boat during the quest "An Unexpected Voyage".
* ContinuityNod - The "Hero of [[TheElderScrollsTwoDaggerfall Daggerfall]]" and [[TheElderScrollsOneArena Jagar Tharn]] are mentioned in passing many times, in both in-game books and by a few certain characters. [[TheElderScrollsThreeMorrowind 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).

* ConvectionSchmonvection - Possibly deliberately done. 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.
* CosmicRetcon...HandWave...AWizardDidIt - Behold the kingdom of the Red King [[ChaosArchitecture once jungled!]] Apparently, a god decided that Cyrodiil should be a deciduous forest rather than a rainforest like in previous installments of the series.

* 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 Akiviri (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 Akiviri influences on their armor, weapons and architecture.
* CursedWithAwesome - Vampirism.
* CutAndPasteEnvironments - This can be seen a lot in outdoor areas.
* 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.

* TheDarkSide - Necromancy. The Dark Brotherhood.

* DeadStarWalking - PatrickStewart as the doomed [[TheEmperor Emperor]]. There's even a mod that replaces Uriel Septim's head with Patrick Stewart's.

* DifferentAsNightAndDay - The friendly, helpful Dark Seducers and the arrogant, antisocial Golden Saints.

* 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.

* DrunkOnTheDarkSide - The Necromancers.
* DualWorldGameplay - Between the mortal realm and the realm of Oblivion.
* 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.

* DummiedOut - The Lock spell, mainly so as to not break NPC's scripts and such.
* 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.

* 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).

* EasilyAngeredShopkeeper - 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.
* EasingIntoTheAdventure - The point of the tutorial dungeon.
* 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 create the fifth element, Flesh.

* ElvesVsDwarves - Averted, since Dwarves (Dwemer) are apparently another subspecies of elves. That and the fact that they are extinct.
* {{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.
* EmpathicWeapon - 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.

* EmptyLevels - Leveling up in a manner that is remotely intuitive - say, by choosing your main skills as those you expect to use often and leveling up when you have the option on the assumption that gaining a level will make you stronger - will result in a character's abilities increasing minutely while the enemies around you transform from annoyances to nightmares. Many people just bypass the whole aggravating "levelling up" process by never sleeping.
* EndOfAnAge - It is heavily implied that in ''The Elder Scrolls V'', the time of the Empire will be over.
* 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).
* 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!
* EstrogenBrigadeBait - Lucien Lachance is quite popular among fangirls. "Hot damn!"

* 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 us the ability to remove corpses like we could in Morrowind.

* 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.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin - There's a shop called Rindir's Staffs. It's owned by Rindir. He sells magical staffs. Imagine that.
* 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.]]

* 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.

** 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 brenton, 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, but between the humans.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture - The Nords are obviously inspired by the Scandinavian peoples of northern Europe. The Redguards are Africans. The Imperials are mostly based on Romans (They have an Emperor, a Legion, a gladiator arena etc.). Bretons are French.

* FantasyKitchenSink - Imps, unicorns, spirits, demons, vampires...
* 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?

* {{Fauxshadow}} - When you first hear of the [[TheCassandra Prophet]] in ''Knights of the Nine'', you may think that he's just a typical doom saying wacko. [[spoiler:He's actually one of your most vital allies in the fight against Umaril]].
* FetchQuest - there aren't too many of these, thankfully. However, 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.

* 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.

* ForestRanger - The Bosmer. At least those who are native to Valenwood. Also, the Imperial Legion has rangers roaming through the woods.
* 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 Freidian excuses simply because [[spoiler: it was, in fact, the Dark Brotherhood who killed his mother.]]
* GameMod - enough of them to build several whole new games. In fact, several mods are there for ''just that purpose''. Sadly, SturgeonsLaw is in effect for many of them.

* 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.

* GiantMook - The Xivilai, massive daedra who wield battle axes and warhammers in one hand.
* GladiatorSubquest - The Arena.
* GodWasMyCopilot - It is strongly implied in ''Knights of the Nine'' that [[spoiler:The Prophet is, in fact, Tiber Septim (Talos). He even looks like Uriel and Martin Septim.]]

* HeelFaceTurn - Eldamil, a Mythic Dawn member in Mankar Camoran's Paradise who helps the player out of regret over his role in the emperor's assassination and the siege of Kvatch.
* {{Hellgate}} - The Oblivon Gates.

* 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.

* HeroicSociopath - Relmyna Verenim. ''So much''.

* HeyItsThatVoice - [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Jean-Luc]] [[PatrickStewart Picard]] is Emperor Uriel Septim

* HighFantasy
* HoldYourHippogriffs - Averted oddly enough. Methredhel uses the phrase "Pull the plug", despite neither modern electricity or bath tubs existing in the world.
* TheHorde - Mehrunes Dagon's army of Daedra during the assaults on Bruma and the Imperial City.
* HornedHumanoid - The Dremora.
* HornyDevils - The Dark Seducers' name implies this, but it really isn't true unfortunately. "Seductive" they sure as heck ain't.
* HoYay - From Knights of the Nine, Sir Berich and Sir Caius. Despite having been killed by the former, Sir Caius seems oddly eager to clear Sir Berich's name and enter Afterlife with him. Sir Berich seems equally excited about it.

* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame - The quest "Caught in the Hunt".
* IAmDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin - The plot that is presented to us at the beginning of the game plays out this trope to a tee. With the Amulet of Kings being the MacGuffin.
* IHateYouVampireDad - [[spoiler:The Grey Prince]] invokes this on himself.

* IKnowYouKnowIKnow - Both the Paranoia quest in Skingrad and being the Duchess of Dementia's "Grand Inquisitor" in the Shivering Isles.

* 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 refridgeration or food preservation yet all foods you find will be perfectly fresh, even stuff found on the floor.
* 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.
* InfinityPlusOneSword - Several, as befits the series. Some examples:

* {{Irony}}: 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 is a amazing though.
* InspectorZenigata - Hieronymus Lex, a recurring thorn in the side for the Thieves Guild.
* InterspeciesRomance - Lord Lovidicus (an Imperial nobleman) and Luktuv gro-Malog (an Orsimer woman).

* JerkAss - Many:

* JerkassGods - A few of the Daedra Lords, though this is far from universal.
* KarmicDeath - In one ending of the Umbacano questline, [[spoiler:Umbacano is killed by the evil Ayleid powers he sought to control.]] In the other you kill him.
* KillEmAll - There are lots of scripted NPC deaths in the game. Let's leave it at that.

* KleptomaniacHero - Optional for the player, but not profitable unless you either a.) join the Thieves Guild or b.) use stolen ingredients to manufacture potions.
* KnightTemplar - Jyggalag and his Forces of Order.
* InGameNovel - Tons. Most of them aren't full length novels, but some are.
* InUniverseGameClock - The standard "one ingame hour is equivalent to one real life minute".

* IrrelevantImportance - Once you get your hands on them, quest items are eternally stuck in your inventory. 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.

* ItsUpToYou - Yes, that's right, player. The Emperor even said so himself. You alone must figure out how to stop an army of demons and batshit mortals from destroying the world.
* LadyLand - The Shivering Isle's population is almost entirely female. Male Aureal/Mazken are a rare sight.
* LateToTheParty - 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]].
* 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.

* LethalLavaLand - Inside the Oblivion Gates.
* LevelEditor - Dear god. With the Construction Set and a bit of imagination, the possibilities are endless.
* LevelScaling - Oblivion's system has you constantly MinMaxing just to survive. Needless to say, it's not well liked.
* LightIsNotGood - Umaril and the Aurorans in ''Knights of the Nine.'' [[JerkAss to a lesser extent,]] Sheogorath's Golden Saints.
* 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.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading - Some can experience issues with this, particularly on lower-end systems. Especially if one has a lot of mods in their game.
* 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?

* 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 become a GameBreaker. [[hottip:*: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]]. Thankfully there is a difficulty slider if the game mechanic goes pathalogical.

* LuckStat - [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Luck attribute]].

* MadOracle - Dagail
* MadScientist - Relmyna Verenim is of the "monster expert" variety.
* MagicalSociety - The Mage's 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.
* MagicWand - mage's staffs.
* {{Magitek}} - The DLC player home Frostcrag Spire is a prime example of this.

* TheMagocracy - Pyandonea, the home of the mysterious Maormer (neither of which have been seen in any games to date). Also, Summerset Isle.
* {{Malaproper}} - Lord Rogdumph.
* MalevolentArchitecture - Most prevalent inside of Oblivion Gates, but can also be seen quite a lot inside of Ayleid ruins and forts around Tamriel.
* 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.
* ManipulativeBastard - [[spoiler:Umbacano]] and [[spoiler:Mathieu Bellamont]].
* MilkmanConspiracy - All the beggars of Cyrodiil are in collusion with the Thieves Guild.
* MirrorMatch - One of the bosses in ''Shivering Isles'' is a shadow clone of your character with all your attributes, skills, and spells.
* MoneySpider - Sometimes generic enemies (rats, mudcrabs, imps, wolves) will be carrying a small amount gold or some random valuable loot.
* MoralGuardians - There was a huge controversy shortly after the game was released when a nude mod was released that used textures present on the game's DVD. This prompted the ESRB to re-examine the game and re-rate it from T to M, though the nude mod was not the reason for it; they apparently missed some of the prominently displayed burning hanging corpses and other images they deemed "disturbing." Remembering how Take-Two suffered from Hot Coffee, it's surprising they didn't take measures to prevent. [[hottip:*: There are now twenty competing female nude mods, three male nude mods, and at least three mods that add actual full-blown sex. If the Moral Guardians ever looked in the Adult section of the modding community, they'd have a heart attack.]]
* {{Mordor}} - The appropriately named Deadlands, Mehrunes Dagon's realm of Oblivion.
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate - Relmyna Verenim
* MostFanficWritersAreGirls
* MurderInc / CareerKillers - the Dark Brotherhood.

* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch - [[spoiler:Count Janus Hassildor]] is pretty much the only vampire that ''doesn't'' want to kill you and drink your blood.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast - Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath, Molag Bal...
* 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.
* 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.]]
** An earlier quest has another cave full of trolls that will probably get him (and you) knocked out instantly. This is why you go into the cave beforehand and kill them one by one first.

* NobodyPoops: There isn't a single toilet in the entire game world.

* 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?]]
* 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}}.
* NonMammalMammaries - the lizard people Argonians.
* NoodleImplements - at his shrine, Sheogorath asks for an offering of a lesser soul gem, a head of lettuce and some yarn.
* NoodleIncident - We never find out what exactly happened to Archmage Traven to make him hate necromancy so much.
** We also never find out why the PC is in prison, with the Emperor pretty much saying "Who cares? A demon invasion is underway!"
*** Yahtzee from ZeroPunctuation has fun with this: "So, I chose to believe that I was out shagging the emperor's wife and daughter while doing a rock guitar solo on the desecrated corpse of God."
*** You could [[FridgeBrilliance just as easily]] choose to believe that it was for [[DisproportionateRetribution accidentally picking up someone else's apple]].
*** 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]].

* NothingIsScarier - In-universe literary example: [[NightmareFuel "Vralla, go give your parents a big hug."]]

* TheNudifier - In ''Oblivion'', 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 to their undergarments. The Ring of Disrobing in Shivering Isles has a similar effect.

* 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.
* OhMyGods - "By the Nines / Nine Divines!"

* OmnicidalManiac - Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedra and the Mythic Dawn.
* OmnicidalNeutral - An option for the player.
* OneTimeDungeon - The Painted World area and a dream sequence that can't be returned to. 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
* OnlyMostlyDead - Umaril's main ability. [[spoiler:You have to do this to ''yourself'']] in order to kill him for good.
* OnlyTheWorthyMayPass - At the end of the Mehrunes' Razor DLC.

* OrderVersusChaos - The theme of the Shivering Isles main quest.
* OrganDrops - Daedra hearts, imp galls, daedra venin.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent - ''Not'' drinking blood makes a vampire PC ''stronger'', but with more weaknesses (you become more vampiric the longer it has been since you drank blood). 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.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent - You can collect their flesh. And you can ''eat'' it. And brew it into a potion to drink.
* PettingZooPeople - the Khajiits and Argonians.
* PressurePlate - You see these a lot in forts and Ayleid ruins.
* PsychoSerum - Hist.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis - Malacath. is not. popular. at parties!

* RageAgainstTheHeavens - This is what Umaril is supposedly intending to do in Knights of the Nine, although how exactly isn't clear.

* RainbowPimpGear - Neon green glass armour. That works, sure.

* RareCandy - Hermaeus Mora's [[TomeOfEldritchLore ''Oghma Infinium'']], and to a lesser extent Sigil Stones.
* RealIsBrown - Notably averted, but moreso if your system can run with HDR enabled.
* RedOniBlueOni - Mania and Dementia in the Shivering Isles, though it's more like yellow and dark violet .
* RedSkyTakeWarning - When you get close to an Oblivion gate, the sky turns blood red and a thunderstorm rolls in.
* ReligionOfEvil - the Dark Brotherhood and the Mythic Dawn Cult. Averted with other daedric cults. Usually.
* {{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.]]

* 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.''

* RuinsForRuinsSake - The Ayleid ruins (which are called "cities" but are probably necropoli).
* RulesOfTheGame - In the Arena.
* 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.
* SavingTheWorld - from an army of apocalyptic demon monsters. You know, the usual.
* ScaryImpracticalArmor - Daedric armour.
* 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'' ...
* SealedEvilInACan - Mehrunes Dagon.
* SecretPolice - the Blades.
* SecretTestOfCharacter - During the Knights of the Nine quest chain, you have to talk to the Prophet. He fills you in on some evil that's plaguing the lands, and then talks about recovering some relics. He asks if you're worthy enough to find them, but if you say anything other than "no/not ready", then he [[ButThouMust mocks you and says that you don't need his help in finding them since you're already such an awesome hero]]. However, if you say you're not ready, he tells you that a humble heart is the first step and allows you to continue the quest chain.
* 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.
* ServileSnarker - Haskill
* TheSiege - [[spoiler:Mehrunes Dagon's final assault on the Imperial City in the endgame.]]
* SequelHook - "When the next Elder Scroll is written, you will be its scribe."
* 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.
* ShapedLikeItself

* ShopliftAndDie - Oh yes. Though not as badly done as in Morrowind; normal [=NPCs=] don't immediately go apeshit, swarm attack you and try 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.
* ShoutOut

* 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.
* Skybox - Utilized exceptionally well. And the number of mods out there to enhance Oblivion's skies even further is mind blowing.
* SnipingMission - 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...

* SpoilerTitle - Several sidequests, including but not limited to the following:

* SuperNotDrowningSkills - Argonians can breathe underwater. PC's can breathe under water using spells or rings.

* {{Stripperiffic}} - The Huntsman Leather shirt and pants. When equipped to females, becomes nothing but a furry bra and tight revealing pants.
* 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) [[UnwinnableByMistake 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 (If you are on a console, well, sucks to be you).
* 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.

* StylishProtectionGear - Glass armor and weapons. Yes, that's right, ''glass''.

* SurvivorGuilt - Baurus
* 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.
* TakenForGranite - [[spoiler:Martin's]] ultimate fate.
* TakeThat - The character M'aiq the Liar is a walking (well, running) take that at The Elder Scrolls' UnpleasableFanbase [[spoiler:and {{Fable}}.]]

* 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.
* TalkingToHimself - An unfortunate side effect of Bethesda's decision to have the game be fully voiced, while hiring only a handful of actors to voice over 1000 characters. It's quite possible you'll be hearing two [=NPCs=] conversing to each other ''with the exact same voice!''
* 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.
* TechDemoGame - Despite being released in 2006, the game can still stress out many of the newest computers to this day.
* TechnicalPacifist - You aren't allowed to kill people during thief's 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.

* TheEmperor - a benevolent one, played by PatrickStewart
* TheEmpire - The Imperial Guards appear to be power-hungry and corrupt. The best example of this is the Thieves Guild quests, since rather than being evil you're a Robin Hood type, and are constantly at odds with Heironymus Lex and other Guards.
* TheOtherDarrin - The Emperor was played by an unknown local actor in [[TheElderScrollsTwoDaggerfall Daggerfall]], in this game he is played by PatrickStewart [[hottip:*:probably chewing up a chunk of the voice acting budget: many, many characters, few voices.]]
* TheUndead - Zombies. Animate skeletons. Ghosts that shriek like bats out of hell, wraiths and liches.

* 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).
* TinyGuyHugeGirl - The [[OurElvesAreBetter wood elves]].
* TopDownView - You can achieve this in free camera mode.
* TortureTechnician - Relmyna again.
* TownWithADarkSecret - Cheydinhal, the place where the Dark Brotherhood's base of operations is. But of course, the Count and many others deny it. There is also Hackdirt.
* TranslationTrainwreck - 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, fragements 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.
* UndergroundLevel - Lots of them.

* UnusualEuphemism - "Die, fetcher!" "Filthy s'wit!"
* UnwittingPawn - [[spoiler:The player himself]], in the Dark Brotherhood quest line.
* VendorTrash - Copious amounts of it.
* ViciousCycle - The Greymarche. Also, the fate of the Ascended Immortals in Kamoran's Savage Garden/Forbidden Grotto.

* VillainousBreakdown - [[spoiler:Kalthar]] in the Mages Guild questline.
* ViolationOfCommonSense - Oh so much.
* WarringWithoutWeapons - 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.
* WarpWhistle - You can "Fast Travel" to any of the cities, and a few important locations.
* TheWarSequence - Mehrunes Dagon's assault on the Imperial City at the end of the main quest.

* WorthyOpponent - [[spoiler: While not directly stated as the reason, the Gray Fox effectively picks InspectorZenigata Hieronymus Lex to serve as his head of security]].

* WreakingHavok - Not so much the game itself, but Havok is the physics engine used and its quirks ''will'' mess with you if you play long enough.
* 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.)
* YouAreWhoYouEat - Vampires.

** Most people you meet in the Dark Brotherhood as well. They're murderous, bloodthirsty sociopaths, but they're also very charming and chummy.

* BittersweetEnding - [[spoiler:Mehrunes Dagon is defeated but the Empire now has no heir.]] It is clear the Empire is not out of the water yet and will likely lead to an interesting ''Elder Scrolls V''. WordOfGod established the next game will occur 200 years after the events of ''Oblivion'', it'll be interesting to see [[spoiler:how the partial or total fall of the Empire affected the Tamrielic continent in that span of time.]]
** Based on advanced knowledge of Skyrim, [[spoiler: badly. Morrowind is destroyed by volcanic eruption, and what little remains have been invaded by Argonians and the Black Marsh. The Black Marsh and Elsweyr have succeeded from the Empire, the Nords are in civil war. Looks to be fun.]]

* CampGay - [[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Shivering:Dumag_gro-Bonk Mania blacksmith Dumag gro-Bonk]] from Shivering Isles. If you're playing as a male character, he will flirt with you and if you're a female, acts like he's your sister. And he's an Orc.

* RapeIsOkayIfItsDivineOnMortal: Supposedly the first vampire was created when, once upon a time, the Daedric Prince Molag Bal raped a virgin mortal woman, which... somehow resulted in her becoming the very first vampire.

* ForestRanger - The Bosmer. At least those who are native to Valenwood.

* FreudianExcuse - [[spoiler:Bellamont,]] the assassin who betrays the Dark Brotherhood has one in the form of his dead mother.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent - ''Not'' drinking blood makes a vampire PC ''stronger''. 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. Tamriel vampries are different from Morrowind vampires. An in-game book confirms there are regional breeds of vampires.

* OurZombiesAreDifferent - You can collect their flesh. And you can ''eat'' it. And brew it into a potion to drink. Squick.

The game received a universally positive critical response, the PC and Xbox360 versions holding scores of 94. The response from fans of the series was more mixed as the long-time fans thought the game was too simplified compared to the previous instalment in the franchise, {{Morrowind}}.

The game served as a guinea pig of sorts for the Xbox Live Market place, receiving a significant amount of new content, ranging from player homes, to a whole new story arch in the form of Knight of the Nine. A full expansion, called Shivering Isles, dealing with Sheogorath, the daedric prince of madness was released in 2007.

TheElderScrolls IV: Oblivion is a RolePlayingGame developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 2006 for PC and Xbox360 and one year later for the PlayStation 3.

TheElderScrolls IV: Oblivion is a RolePlayingGame developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 2006 for PC and Xbox360 and one year later for the PlayStation3.

The game served as a guinea pig of sorts for the Xbox Live Market place, receiving a significant amount of new content, ranging from player homes, to a whole new story arch in the form of Knight of the Nine. A full expansion, called Shivering Iles, dealing with Sheogorath, the daedric prince of madness was released in 2007.

The fourth game in Bethesda Softwork's ''TheElderScrolls'' main series, released in 2006 for PC and {{Xbox 360}}, and one year later for {{PlayStation 3}}.

The game is set in Cyrodiil, the heart of the Tamrielic Empire. At the beginning of the game, the player is in the [[YouAllMeetInACell Imperial City Dungeons]] yet again[[hottip:*:that place just spits out heroes like there's no [[IncrediblyLamePun tomorrowind]]!]] when TheEmperor and his personal bodyguards [[PraetorianGuard the Blades]] show up. Apparently, they are fleeing from assassins, and are taking a secret escape route out of the capital which just happens to go right through your cell.

Naturally, you follow them as they go through [[UndergroundLevel the underground passages beneath the prison]] to escape. However, the Blades fail to keep TheEmperor safe when an assassin pops out of a secret compartment in a wall and backstabs him to death. In his dying breath, TheEmperor [[IAmDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin gives you]] his [[MacGuffin Amulet of Kings]], telling you to find his last son (the rest have already been assassinated), "Stand against the [[EvilOverlord Prince of Destruction]] and his [[{{Mooks}} mortal servants]]", and "close shut the Jaws of Oblivion."

Which is an awful lot of responsibility to lay down on some convict he hardly knows, but he's apparently had prophetic dreams saying you could handle it, so it's all good.

The game boosts over 16 square miles of land to explore, though almost all of it is computer generated.

The ''Oblivion'' modding community is also very important to the gaming experience. Many people have had issue with various immersion-reducing idiosyncrasies but the massive modding community has a mod for just about every game issue. There are mods that add hundreds of new books, new quest lines, or new factions; change gameplay mechanics (including a combat mod which allows for decapitation, dodging, and shield bashing); let you have sex with [=NPCs=]; and change the much-vilified level system so enemies do not level with you. There are mods that resolve just about every FridgeLogic issue with the game (especially the [[http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5296 Unofficial Oblivion Patch]]). [[http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/OOO/OOO_Guide.html Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul]] is the most popular ''Oblivion'' mod and radically changes the gaming experience. The game developers have acknowledged that there are areas that the modders will always exceed the dev team at perfecting. The German development team [[http://www.sureai.de/ SureAI]] made a total conversion mod {{Nehrim}}: [[http://www.nehrim.de/indexEV.html At Fate’s Edge]].

A large expansion pack was later released, ''The Shivering Isles''. It takes place in the domain of Sheogorath, [[OddJobGods God of Madness]], and is much weirder than the rest of the game. It is generally considered one of the best expansion packs for any video game, and many fans disappointed in ''Oblivion'' quickly forgave Bethesda when it came out.

''Oblivion'' was also the guinea pig for the Xbox360 Xbox Live marketplace. Bethesda released several pieces of DownloadableContent (DLC) for it prior to "The Shivering Isles," of varying degrees of size and quality, to see what worked and what didn't. Naturally, their results were mixed. "The Knights of the Nine" DLC is a large quest pack, while the "Horse Armor" DLC... allows you to armor your horse (but you still can't fight on them).

Not to be confused with ''TwoWorlds,'' though the developers of that game [[FollowTheLeader hope it will be]].

* HeyItsThatVoice - [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Jean-Luc Picard]] is Emperor Uriel Septim

* ButThouMust: 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 [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean 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 [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot a waste of a good plot]].

* InfantImmortality - Averted, due to the fact that there AREN'T any children for [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial someone that certainly isn't you]] to harm or injure in any way.
** Possibly subverted [[spoiler:when you enter the Night Mother's tomb in the Dark Brotherhood chain of quests. There's a skeleton at the back, and it has small corpses of babies around it. Whether they were killed or not...]]