Summary
- The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion features a variety of quests involving ghosts, from haunted houses to ghost ships and cursed spirits.
- Players can uncover the dark secrets behind the haunted locations and help put the restless spirits to rest.
- The quests offer intriguing twists and engaging storylines, making them memorable and rewarding experiences for players.
When there’s something strange in the neighborhood, who should one call? The Hero of Kvatch, of course! Yes, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion has ghosts. A lot of them, actually, and a number of them play a central role in an assortment of side-quests in the game.
Ghosts could be angry spirits, horrible Wraiths armed with swords and casting spells, or spectral forms of men and women who were once alive but have not yet passed on to the afterlife. There are quests in Oblivion that have haunted houses, vengeful spirits on a pirate ship, and a ghostly siege cursed to replay their crushing defeat endlessly as punishment for everyone’s cowardice. Of course, with the intervention of the player, all of them can finally be properly put to rest.
1 Where Spirits Have Lease
A Fallen Necromancer
Houses aren’t all that cheap in Oblivion, barring some of the nasty shacks that can be bought. Surprisingly, Velwyn Benirus in Anvil ends up selling Benirus Manor for a suspiciously low price: only 5,000 gold. The home is dusty, creepy… and haunted! Sleeping in the home will summon ghosts everywhere.
After a bit of exploration, it is revealed that Benirus’ grandfather was a necromancer who was cut down by the Mages Guild in his own home due to how powerful and dangerous he was becoming. Convincing the grandson results in him uncovering a secret passage to a tomb where the fallen sorcerer’s remains can be found. Deceiving the player, he revives as a Lich and must be defeated to turn the house back to normal again. The whole quest is full of intriguing twists, and the un-cursed house is such a glow-up compared to its original state.
2 A Dark Exile
Wrath Of Stihis
Committing a crime during the events of the Dark Brotherhood will result in expulsion. Three strikes and a player is out. However, compared to the tedious fetch quests that the Fighters and Mages Guilds both punish the player with when booted out, the guild of assassins decides to shake up their test with an apparition that appears beside one’s bed after resting.
A Gloom Wraith named the Wrath of Sithis will appear and attack. On the first and second strike, defeating it will be good enough to get the player back in the Brotherhood’s good graces. The third time, however, will simply be revenge for displeasing the titular Dread Father, and there will be no return. Each iteration becomes increasingly tougher to kill, so it would be best not to break any of the Five Tenets when with the family of killers in the first place; otherwise, an angry mini-boss will await.
3 The Ghost Ship of Anvil
The Lingering Crew
An Atlmer by the name of Varulae can be seen fretting atop the Serpent’s Wake in Anvil’s docking area. Offering help, the player must plunge through multiple floors of the narrow ship, where Wraiths are roaming the halls, cutlasses in hand. With little room to move around, a head-on approach is required here.
Following the Dark Brotherhood story will reveal what happened to the crew. A traitor among the assassins was mocked by his former crew mates for his looks. In response, he snuck on the boat and murdered each of them in cold blood. It’s a dark detail that sheds some light on a gloomy quest and is further proof of Bethesda’s clever, intertwining story-telling.
4 Lifting the Vale
A Commander & His Crew
Countess Carvain offers a mighty journey of a side-quest to the player when their Fame is high enough. An ancient Akaviri fort, Pale Pass, holds a medallion known as the Draconian Madstone, which she is after. The journey is a lengthy one, pushing the player through a cave into a snowy location that leads to the fallen fort.
Deep inside are the skeletons of the Akaviri invaders. The specter of Commander Mishaxhi and his crew are guarding the Maidstone and can either be fought or peacefully put to rest by offering a scrap of paper explaining their orders. Whatever is done, these once-mighty warriors are finally liberated from their unwavering life after death before the jewelry can be collected. It’s a lengthy quest, yet a very memorable one. If only the reward was as good…
5 The Forlorn Watchman
A Depressed Ghost
Listening to the rumor mill in Bravil will reveal talk about a ghostly sailor wandering around a nearby lake south of town. It turns out it’s not just talk. Milling around Bawnwatch Camp at 8 pm is the specter of a man who only responds with “please” when approached. When following him for a lengthy stroll, he’ll reveal his name – Grantham Blakeley – and wishes to be freed from a place called ‘The Mouth of the Panther.’
This is a quest with a rewarding outcome. Seeing a glum ghost making brief pleads is enough to keep a player hooked to see what he’s asking for. The quest ends with a fight against a Wraith of a traitor who killed the sailor. Upon freeing Blakeley’s shackled bones, he’ll thank the player and offer a treasure map with a collection of jewels and gold.
6 The Sword of the Crusader
Sir Berich Vlindrel
The Knights of the Nine DLC is made up of a lot of what seem like fetch-quests on the surface, yet a quick peek will show how much effort was put into the story-telling. The former knights, now specters, all failed their quests due to succumbing to greed, selfishness, pride, and rage. One of them, Sir Berich Vlindrel, even killed a fellow ally before heading out to the war, where his anger remained and manifested into a Wraith long after his death. In-hand is the Sword of the Crusader, now tainted with evil.
The Wraith ends up killing a fellow pilgrim, Sir Roderic, whom the player may have met during a player’s exploration of the waypoints earlier in the DLC. It’s a shocking turn of events, for sure. Putting down the evil spirit to free a ghostly knight of his sins and honor the fallen Roderic feels like a befitting bout of justice.
7 Ghosts of Vitharn
A Harrowing Fate
One of the most tragic quests involving ghosts is from the Shivering Isles. ‘Ghosts of Vitharn’ is a sad tale where an under-prepared army in Vilharn was utterly annihilated by invaders. Sheogorath, disgusted with the cowardice and poor preparations of its denizens, cursed them to relive the final few moments of the assault as phantoms.
This is where the Hero comes in. The player can break the cycle by speaking to key members of the defense, finding out what went wrong, and finding a solution. For instance, a soldier is smitten with a ghostly plush doll, which can either be burnt or placed in the possession of an enemy to encourage him to fight.
Soon enough, the player can directly join in and defeat the invaders to put the curse to an end. It’s really engaging to explore the fort and speak to everyone in order to piece together the full story, and to finally end the loop is a most rewarding end to a very memorable quest.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Released
- March 20, 2006
