The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is known for its wide variety of quests and locations to explore, and most of these points of interest have or involve characters. Although characters in Oblivion aren't as advanced as modern-day RPGs graphically and mechanically, they are still some of the most fleshed-out characters from any RPG video game during the Xbox 360 and PS3 era.
You can barter, fight, and gain quests from the characters in Oblivion, and some of them act a little more than strange when you interact with them. Here are ten of the weirdest characters you can interact with in Oblivion and why they're so strange.
10 Sheogorath
Sheogorath is the Daedric Prince of Madness, so it's not surprising that he's one of the strangest characters you can interact with in Oblivion. Sheogorath is such an interesting character that he has an amazing DLC dedicated to him and his realm, the Shivering Isles.
The reason Sheogorath is so strange is because he talks nonsense half of the time, and his motivations and actions often don't make sense. You get a chance to interact with Sheogorath a lot in Oblivion, which is why along with being weird, he's also one of the best characters in the game.
9 Ushnar
Ushnar is an Orc living in Crucible in the Shivering Isles, and he's one of the stranger characters you can interact with in the DLC. One of Ushnar's character traits is that he's terrified of cats, and by extension, Khajiit.
If you talk to Ushnar while you're in Crucible, then he'll ask you to make Bhisha the Khajitt "disappear". He doesn't state exactly what he means by "disappear", so you have many options including killing Bhisha or paying him to leave town. Regardless, an Orc that's scared of a Khajitt is very strange, especially since he's not a shy person otherwise.
8 Rythe Lythandas
Although Rythe Lythandas isn't weird in a negative way, he's still incredibly strange because he has an ability that would make even Daedric Princes jealous.
With the Brush Of Truepaint, Rythe can go inside paintings and explore them, which is a very unique, and also weird, ability. There's a quest revolving around saving this artist from a painting he's gotten stuck in, and it's one of the most interesting quests in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.
7 The Night Mother
The Night Mother is a character present in both Oblivion and Skyrim. Technically, the Night Mother isn't a normal character; instead, she's a corpse that the Dark Brotherhood can interact with to hear the calls from people that require the Dark Brotherhood's assistance for an assassination.
The Night Mother is an important person, or rather, spirit, in the Dark Brotherhood's operation. However, it's weird that this powerful group of assassins is getting all of their information from a dead spirit instead of another more standard method.
6 Big Head The Argonian
Big Head is another character that the developers introduced in the Shivering Isles DLC. He's not just a regular Argonian; Big Head is a collector of forks, which he hoards in New Sheoth. If being an obsessive collector of random forks wasn't enough, he also displays all of his forks in a type of shrine inside his house.
You can complete a quest for Big Head to collect the Fork of Horripilation. Even though the Shivering Isles is full of characters similar to Big Head, he's weirder than a lot of the other characters.
5 M'aiq The Liar
M'aiq The Liar is a Khajitt character who appears in Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and The Elder Scrolls Online. M'aiq lies about many topics if you talk to him, so it's hard to trust anything that he says.
It's revealed in Skyrim that M'aiq The Liar is not an immortal character that manages to stay young, but instead a generational family that keeps passing along the mission of lying to Tamriel throughout the centuries.
4 Sickly Bernice
Sickly Bernice is a strange Breton Woman living in the Shivering Isles, and she has a disease which she is supposed to die from, according to her dialogue; however, she never dies through regular in-game time. She'll give you a quest to find the cure for her, which is called Aquanostrum.
However, even if you give Bernice this item, she won't be cured, and stranger, she repeatedly asks you to retrieve more of the cure. This repeats forever, so it's very likely that Bernice isn't actually sick but instead just believes that she has an illness, which would make sense since she lives in the Shivering Isles.
3 Glarthir
Many characters in Oblivion are somewhat paranoid about one thing or another; however, none are more severe than Glarthir. Glarthir is a Wood Elf living in Skingrad who believes that multiple people are involved in a conspiracy that all connects back to him.
Glarthir has no substantial evidence of this conspiracy, however, so he enlists your help to follow and track what multiple other characters are doing. Even the town guards realize that Glarthir is strange, so this character grabs everybody's attention with his uniqueness.
2 Runs-In-Circles
Another strange Argonian found in the Shivering Isles is named Runs-In-Circles, and she has this name for a good reason.
Runs-In-Circles may approach you and ask for food or other items; if you say no, then she'll either ask you what you said or start running around a rock screaming "Ni-ni-ni-ni" over and over again. It's unclear why Runs-In-Circles does this, but it probably has to do with her living in the Shivering Isles.
1 The Adoring Fan
If you've completed the Arena questline in Oblivion and have become the Grand Champion, then you'll most likely remember the Adoring Fan. The Adoring Fan is a companion that follows your achievements in the Arena and follows you around after you reach the Grand Champion rank if you allow him to.
The Adoring Fan acts incredibly strange, and many players are uncomfortable around him. However, he never tries to hurt you, and he's overall nice; it's simply that he's very dedicated to you, perhaps a bit too dedicated.