50 Fun Facts About The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Which Star Trek captain voiced Emperor Uriel Septim VII, who is assassinated in Oblivion's opening minutes?

Patrick Stewart won a Spike TV award for the role, even though the emperor is cut down by assassins before the player leaves the tutorial sewers.

Which film star voiced Martin, the priest revealed as the emperor's secret heir in Oblivion's main quest?

Sean Bean voiced Martin, the emperor's illegitimate son, who sacrifices himself in the finale to end the Daedric invasion.

Which composer, who had already scored Morrowind, wrote the quiet orchestral soundtrack for Oblivion?

Jeremy Soule kept the score soft and minimalist on purpose, so that it would not wear out players' ears.

Which city in Oblivion has already been sacked by Daedra when the player arrives to find Martin?

Kvatch lies in ruins behind a massive gate, and closing that gate earns the player the title Hero of Kvatch.

Which Daedric Prince of Madness rules the strange realm added by Oblivion's Shivering Isles expansion?

Sheogorath picks the player as his champion, and by the end of the expansion the player inherits the mad god's title and realm.

Which small paid download for Oblivion, sold for about two dollars in April 2006, was widely mocked by players?

Horse armor was attacked as an overpriced cosmetic item, yet it is now seen as a pioneer of the microtransactions that fill modern games.

In which province of Tamriel, home to the Empire's capital, does Oblivion take place?

Cyrodiil has been the seat of three human empires in the series' lore, and the game fits the whole province into roughly 16 square miles.

Which heirloom does the dying emperor hand to the player in the sewers at the start of Oblivion?

The Amulet of Kings is stolen soon after the player delivers it, and Martin ends up shattering it in the final battle.

Which Wood Elf approaches the player once they become Grand Champion of Oblivion's Arena?

The Adoring Fan trails behind you but flees at the first sign of danger, and if he dies he simply respawns and comes back.

Which TV star, married to the head of Bethesda's parent company, voiced Oblivion's female Nords and Orcs?

Lynda Carter, television's Wonder Woman, was married to ZeniMax Media chief Robert Altman and also voiced Nord women in Morrowind and Skyrim.

Which cult, devoted to the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon, murders the emperor and his sons in Oblivion?

The Mythic Dawn believes Dagon is the true creator of the world and wants him to cleanse it, so ending the royal bloodline is only its first step.

In Oblivion's finale, Martin becomes the avatar of which dragon god to defeat Mehrunes Dagon?

Akatosh's avatar casts Dagon back into Oblivion, lets out a mighty roar and then turns to stone.

Which British film actor voiced Mankar Camoran, the cult leader behind the emperor's murder in Oblivion?

Terence Stamp was already famous as General Zod in the Superman films of 1978 and 1980 when he voiced the game's chief human villain.

Where does the player start the story of Oblivion, held for a crime that is never explained?

A prison cell hides the emperor's secret escape route into the sewers, which is how an unnamed convict ends up at his side.

Which object must the player remove from the top of the main tower to close a gate in Oblivion?

The Sigil Stone is what powers the gate, and once taken it can be used to enchant one item of the player's choice.

Which ancient Elven race left behind the trap-filled ruins scattered across the countryside in Oblivion?

Ayleids once held dominion over the region, until a slave named Alessia led a human uprising against them.

What must a new emperor restore in the Temple of the One to seal the gates of Oblivion for good?

The Dragonfires were relit each time an heir took the throne and were kept burning for that ruler's whole lifetime.

Which mountain fortress of the Blades shelters Martin after the attack on Weynon Priory in Oblivion?

Cloud Ruler Temple is where Martin is first recognised as emperor, and where he later studies the cult's book to reopen its portal.

Which northern city do Martin and Jauffre leave open to attack so that a Great Gate appears in Oblivion?

Bruma is used as bait because Martin's ritual needs an item found only inside a Great Gate, and the player saves the city by closing it.

Which realm of his own making does the cult leader Mankar Camoran flee to in Oblivion's main quest?

Paradise can only be reached through a portal that Martin rebuilds from rare items, among them a Daedric artifact the player must give up.

Which voice actor played both the Arena announcer and the default Imperial men in Oblivion?

Wes Johnson has also worked as the public address announcer for the NHL's Washington Capitals, a job not far from his role in the Arena.

Which physics engine, also used in Half-Life 2, handles the tumbling bodies and flying arrows in Oblivion?

Havok models traps, paralysis and telekinesis too, and it lets arrows lodge in objects and add to their weight.

Which Bethesda system lets townspeople in Oblivion decide for themselves how to eat, read and even steal?

Radiant AI gives each character goals instead of a script, so one who is hungry and broke may steal a meal rather than buy it.

Which console did Bethesda treat as the base platform for Oblivion, calling it the easiest to develop for?

Xbox 360 and PC code was somewhat interchangeable, while the PlayStation 3 port arrived a full year after the original release.

Which Bethesda executive producer of Oblivion described the goal as the quintessential next-generation RPG?

Todd Howard argued that each entry should be a new game with its own identity, saying that merely adding features drives a series into the ground.

Which ratings board raised Oblivion's age rating six weeks after launch, citing extra blood and gore?

ESRB moved the game from Teen to Mature, saying it showed more detailed blood and gore than first considered, and stores had to sticker the new rating onto boxes.

Which graphics technology renders 2025's Oblivion Remastered on top of the original game's logic?

Unreal Engine 5 handles only the graphics, while the old Gamebryo engine still runs physics and combat underneath.

Which outside studio, working from its Paris office, co-developed Oblivion Remastered with Bethesda?

Virtuos gave the surprise away a week early, when images of the remaster were found in an open file folder on its website.

Which frightening event during the scoring of Oblivion did its composer say shaped the music's outlook on life?

A car crash sent him rolling across an interstate toward oncoming traffic, and he said the feeling that life is precious stayed with the score.

What does a sudden switch to faster music usually tell a player out in Oblivion's countryside?

An enemy has seen them: the soundtrack is sorted into explore, public, dungeon and battle tracks, and the battle set cuts in as soon as a fight is coming.

In which city does the Dark Brotherhood quest Whodunit lock the player inside Summitmist Manor in Oblivion?

Skingrad hosts the deadly house party, and the game forces a thunderstorm every time the player walks up to the manor door.

Which Dark Brotherhood Speaker visits the player at night after their first murder in Oblivion?

Lucien Lachance will track the player down wherever they rest, and killing him on the spot closes the guild's door for good.

What makes Shadowmere, the black horse of Oblivion's Dark Brotherhood quests, unlike any other mount?

She cannot die, only be knocked unconscious, and she is also one of the fastest horses in the game.

In the Oblivion quest Whodunit, what do the five guests of Summitmist Manor believe they are there to find?

A hidden treasure is only the bait: the doorman is an assassin too, and the player cannot leave until every guest is dead.

Which masked master thief, dismissed as a myth by the Imperial Legion, leads the Thieves Guild in Oblivion?

The Gray Fox is rumoured to turn invisible at will, shrink to the size of a mouse or seep under locked doors as mist.

In Oblivion's last Thieves Guild quest, which building does the player infiltrate to steal an Elder Scroll?

The Imperial Palace keeps its Elder Scrolls in a library tended by blind Moth Priests, which is why the thief can walk right past them without sneaking.

Which High Elf necromancer, known as the King of Worms, is the final enemy of Oblivion's Mages Guild quests?

Mannimarco exploits the split caused by the guild's ban on necromancy, recruiting the mages who walked out over it.

Which Imperial City campus admits a Mages Guild member in Oblivion only after every local hall recommends them?

Arcane University is the prize for all that legwork because it lets the player make custom spells and enchant items.

Which mercenary outfit based in Leyawiin undercuts the Fighters Guild by taking less scrupulous jobs in Oblivion?

The Blackwood Company grew to more than a hundred members, and it was founded by soldiers who failed to retake part of Black Marsh for the emperor.

Which potion from the Argonian homeland makes mercenaries see villagers as goblins in Oblivion?

Hist sap is handed to the player during an undercover mission, and drinking it leads to the slaughter of a harmless village.

Which skill in Oblivion is trained by a wheel minigame of admiring, boasting, joking and coercing?

Speechcraft earns experience for every full round of the persuasion wheel, whether the listener ends up liking the player more or less.

Which stealth skill, governed by Agility, covers the use of lockpicks on doors and chests in Oblivion?

Security is practised one tumbler at a time: each one locked into position earns experience, however hard the lock is.

Which of the eight attributes in Oblivion governs no skill directly yet quietly nudges almost all of them?

Luck of 50 is neutral: every point above it secretly adds to most skills, and every point below it works against the player.

Which skill in Oblivion rises every time the player jumps and softens the damage from long falls?

Acrobatics at high levels lets a character leap one way and completely change direction in mid-air.

Which combat skill do axes fall under in Oblivion, alongside every other weapon mounted on a haft?

Blunt covers maces, hammers and axes alike, because the game groups weapons that rely on their weight rather than a cutting edge.

Which action makes a level-up take effect in Oblivion once ten major skill points have been earned?

Sleeping in a bed is the only trigger, so a character who never rests keeps the same level however far their major skills climb.

Which blue-green waterside plant in Oblivion emits a quiet ringing sound and never regrows once harvested?

Nirnroot starts the quest Seeking Your Roots the first time it is picked, and finishing that quest takes a hundred samples.

Which Daedric Prince rewards the player with the Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick, in Oblivion?

Nocturnal's gift is confiscated if the player is arrested, so an ordinary lockpick is still needed to break out of jail.

Which condition does the Oblivion disease Porphyric Hemophilia cause in anyone who fails to cure it in time?

Vampirism ages the character's face by about twenty years in the original game, and from the halfway stage daylight does constant damage outdoors.

Which Daedric Prince of Order leads the Greymarch against the Shivering Isles in an Oblivion expansion?

Jyggalag turns out to be the realm's own ruler, cursed with madness by rival princes who feared his growing power.