The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion has a lot of content. And sure, everyone knows about how awesome the Dark Brotherhood questline is, or the epic finale to the Oblivion Crisis. But in true Elder Scrolls fashion, the side quests tell their own intricate stories that you won’t easily forget.
It can be easy to ignore side quests as the needy pleas of the peasants, but some shouldn't be ignored. Oblivion excels at providing variety in its side quests, and some make you feel like you are playing a different game altogether. They enhance the game while adding enjoyable content and characters.
Updated September 29, 2022 by Leah Isobel: Oblivion is a huge game with plenty of content, so it's no surprise that there are a lot of memorable quests in its digital domain. Its side content is so appealing and dense that players are still digging into the game and finding awesome quests to experience, years after the original launch. If you're looking for more ways to dig into this game's vast treasure trove of content, we've got you covered.
15 Sheogorath
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Location |
Sheogorath's Shrine, which is located south of Fort Nomore in the Blackwood region. |
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Rewards |
Wabbajack, an artifact that lets you transform any creature into a different, random creature for 30 seconds. |
Sheogorath is the Prince of Madness in the world of Oblivion, and this quest lives up to his lofty title - basically, your job is to drive a whole village mad. When you summon Sheogorath, he'll threaten you before ultimately deciding that you might be useful for entertainment, initiating this quest.
You'll head to the small, peaceful village of Border Watch and listen to a prophecy. This prophecy fortells vermin infestation, mass livestock death, and a plague of fear. Your job is to simulate the first two parts of the prophecy by bringing rats into the village and killing all the livestock - all this leads to an absurd finale, just to give Sheogorath something to laugh at. He's a weird dude.
14 Where Spirits Have Lease
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Location |
While visiting Anvil, talk to Velwyn Benirus and purchase the house. After receiving the deed and the key to the front door, sleep in the house to initiate the quest. |
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Rewards |
A beautiful, ghost-free house! You can also find the Tome Of Unlife in a secret room in the basement - though it doesn't teach you anything, you can sell it for some extra cash. |
The Benirus Manor, a large house in the city of Anvil, is for sale at only 5,000 Septim - what a steal! Or at least, it would be if the house didn't look so run-down. Still, it's rare to find a house of this size for sale at such an afforable price, so you might as well talk to Velwyn Benirus and purchase it. What's the worst that could happen?
Well, it could be infested with ghosts and the spirit of an evil necromancer who wants to return to the world. In order to make the house habitable, you'll have to find Velwyn and have him help you cleanse the house of its ghostly inhabitants. After all, ghosts are temporary - and a good deal on a house is a once-in-a-lifetime find.
13 Through A Nightmare, Darkly
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Location |
This quest is given by Kud-Ei, who lives in the town of Bravil in the Nibenay Valley. Talk to her and receive the Dreamworld Amulet, then fall asleep next to Henantier. |
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Rewards |
An assortment of magic scrolls; your Fame will also increase. |
Lucid dreaming sounds like a cool experience - in dreams, anything is possible, so you'd be able to experience any scenario that you'd want to imagine. But what would happen if you were trapped in a dream that morphed into a nightmare, with no way to wake yourself up?
That's this quest in a nutshell. You'll have to help Henantier, a hapless Mage, wake up from his distorted Dreamworld; but in order to do so, you'll have to complete four challenging trials that will test your lateral thinking and your combat skills. It's tough, but it's fun.
12 Whodunit?
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Location |
This is a Dark Brotherhood quest given by Ocheeva. In order to access it, you'll need to initiate the Dark Brotherhood questline by killing an innocent bystander, then complete the quests given by Lucien and Vicente. |
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Rewards |
Killing all of the guests will earn you a monetary reward. But if you're able to do so without any of them discovering your identity, you'll receive the Night Mother's Blessing. |
Many of Oblivion's best sidequests reference classic works of literature, and 'Whodunit?' is no exception. This quest is a note-for-note homage to Agatha Christie's novel, And Then There Were None, in which a group of guests is invited to a remote island and murdered one by one.
But the identity of the killer is kept secret until the end of the book, whereas in this quest, you'll be the murderer. You'll have to kill five guests locked in a house on a dark night, but to receive the bonus reward, you'll have to do so in such a way that keeps your identity as the murderer a secret. It turns death into a devious puzzle, with a wide variety of possible solutions.
11 Zero Visibility
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Locarion |
You can initiate this quest either by talking to Malene at the Roxey Inn northeast of the Imperial City, or by stumbling upon the village of Aleswell itself. |
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Rewards |
Free lodging in the Aleswell Inn. |
This is a short one, but it's one of the more unique quests in the game. To the north of the Imperial City lies the small town of Aleswell, which is suffering from a strange problem: all of its inhabitants have suddenly become invisible.
In order to solve their problem, you'll have to find the wizard Ancotar in the nearby ruins of Fort Caractacus - but be careful, since the wild animals in the vicinity have been enchanted with invisibility as well.
10 A Brush With Death
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Location |
Learn about the painter's disappearance through rumors or by speaking to his wife, Tivela Lythandas, in the southwest corner of Cheydinhal. |
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Rewards |
Apron of Adroitness, a unique item that increases your Intelligence and Agility. |
Much like the Picture of Dorian Gray, but without the narcissism, this quest deals with paintings coming to life. The famed artist Rythe has gone missing while working on his latest piece, and it's up to you to find him. You go to his studio to investigate - that’s when things get colorful.
You'll end up inside Rythe’s painting which has come to life thanks to his painting secret, the Brush of Truepaint - but the brush has been stolen by a thief, who is also trapped in the painting. You must retrieve it so you and Rythe can be freed.
9 Shadow Over Hackdirt
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Location |
Visit Chorrol And talk to Dar-Ma, who can be seen wandering around the northern part of town. |
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Rewards |
Permanent five-point boost in the Mercantile skill. |
You might have gotten distracted by the Mythic Dawn Cult, but an even weirder cult has been forming in the former mining town of Hackdirt. Dar-Ma, the daughter of the Northern Goods and Trade owner in Chorrol, hasn’t returned from her delivery to the village.
When asked to investigate, you come across some very shifty and weird people. One visit to their Chapel of the Brethren and you can tell these people aren’t worshiping the Nine Divines. They want to bring back The Deep Ones, who are never elaborated on - that’s probably for the best, since these ancient deities love sacrifices. Yikes!
8 Mazoga The Orc
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Location |
Mazoga is found inside the entrance of County Hall in Leyawiin. Talk to the Count and he will ask you to look into the matter for him. |
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Rewards |
While there is no actual reward for helping Mazoga, the Count is grateful for your assistance, opening more quests and potential rewards from him. |
Mazoga The Orc is weird, even by Oblivion NPC standards; but she's got a pretty solid sidequest, so you'll have to forgive her appearance. Mazoga is looking for the Count of Leyawiin; she’ll say she’s a knight on some very official business but won’t elaborate than that.
While she might not seem promising, the mystery of Mazoga itself is a compelling enough reason to help her out and see what she wants. You’ll get strung along and left without any explanation till the very end where everything comes together.
7 The Collector
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Location |
You first must have an Ayleid statue in your possession. The easiest to get resides in Cullote, located on the eastern bank of the Upper Niben. All you need to do is sell it and Jollring will find you. |
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Rewards |
the total payout for this quest is a whopping 10,000 gold, |
Relics can be a lucrative business, and there is a hot market for statues found in the Ayleid ruins. As long as you aren’t afraid of delving into these ancient buildings, this quest offers a serious payout.
Jollring is an antiquities dealer who is very much interested in getting his hands on the statues found in the ruins. Once he learns you can obtain them, he will send you to different Ayleid ruins across Cyrodiil to recover more. There are ten statues in total to get and finishing this quest leads you to other quests focused on the Ayleids.
6 Separated At Birth
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Location |
Reynald Jemane can be found at The Grey Mare in Chorrol. |
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Rewards |
There is no special reward for completing Separated at Birth, but it does mark the beginning of a series of quests aimed at uncovering the Jemane family secrets. |
A short and sweet quest about a long-lost family, this story will be a nice reprieve from the usual hacking and slashing of the main quest. Reynald Jemane spends his days in Chorrol as the local drunk - but people claim to have spotted him in Cheydinhal, completely sober.
Jemane will ask you to look into his doppelganger and find out why someone is impersonating him. There you will begin a Jemane family reunion with some wholesome moments sprinkled in for good measure.
5 Paranoia
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Location |
Speak to some other residents of Skingrad about Glarthir and walk past his house by the Chapel of Julianos. |
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Rewards |
You can get anywhere from 150-1550 gold depending on how you handle things. |
Everyone in Skingrad is familiar with Glarthir, the resident “eccentric”. Some will warn you that he’s only getting worse. Glarthir, however, believes he’s being watched. He is determined to figure out who is following him - and why.
He has narrowed his list down to three suspects, and once you question them, he takes the very rational step of ordering you to kill them. You can play it one of three ways. You can either kill them, warn them, or alert the authorities. The quest branches off depending on how you handle things. Either way, it's never fully stated whether Glarthir was actually just paranoid or telling the truth. What will you believe?
4 A Brotherhood Betrayed
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Location |
Visit the victim's house in Bruma to find the guard Carius Runellius. Once you get his disposition up to 70 you can start your investigation. |
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Rewards |
Phylactery of Litheness, an amulet that grants you a leveled speed bonus. |
If you like slaying vampires, you’ll want to make your way to Bruma - word on the street is that a vampire hunter killed a citizen named Bradon Lirrian. But whether Bradon was actually a vampire or not remains unclear.
The vampire hunter, Raynil Dralas, is nowhere to be found, while Bradon's widow insists her husband was an ordinary human. The city guard will be stretched thin and will enlist you to see what’s really going on.
3 Canvas The Castle
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Location |
Countess Valga is inside the castle. She is quite busy with her investigation so you will need to get her disposition up to 50. |
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Rewards |
Depending on the outcome, anywhere between 25-700 gold, a leveled jewel, and even the painting itself. |
The Countess of Chorrol is turning the castle upside down in search of a stolen work of art. The portrait was of the Count, and she needs help interrogating the entire staff to see who took it. And like a true criminal investigation, the alibis are everything.
Speaking to everyone can get things muddled, so really listening to everyone’s stories in detail is key to finding the right culprit. Once you find the thief, you can decide to turn them in or let them have the painting.
2 The Forlorn Watchman
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Location |
Gilgondorian is the proprietor of Riverhome-on-the-Watermill inside Bravil’s north gate. He’ll mark on your map where to find the ghost. |
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Rewards |
Once you help the watchmen he will lead you to a treasure map. The treasure is not marked by your compass, but if you follow the river you will soon come across the underwater chest. |
You may have seen the ghost of an old man staring out over the Niben Bay near Bravil. This is Bravil’s local ghost; the whole town knows of him. Gilgondorin can tell you where to find him - and if you are brave enough, you can go confront the ghost yourself.
Like many ghosts, The Forlorn Watchman is in unrest because his body was never given a proper burial. You'll have to uncover this poor soul’s sad story inside a sunken cargo ship and finally give the watchman the rest he deserves.
1 Seeking Your Roots
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Location |
Pick a Nirnroot, and bring it to an alchemist. They will tell you where to find Sinderion. |
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Rewards |
Elixir of Exploration, which gets stronger as you bring Sinderion more Nirnroot. |
Nirnroot is undeniably Tamriel’s most identifiable plant. It gives off a dim glow and emits a distinct noise. No one seems to know anything about it either - except for one person. Sinderion is an alchemist who has been studying Nirnroot almost his entire life. Speak to him, and you will begin a scavenger hunt that spans all of Cyrodiil.
This quest is quite possibly the longest and hardest one of the entire game. Nirnroot never grows back once picked, and it is sporadic in where it decided to grow. You’ll need to bring Sinderion a total of 100 Nirnroot. This quest also ties into The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Tou’ll recognize the name Sinderion as the skeleton found near the Crimson Nirnroot in Blackreach.