Some of the best questlines in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered can be found in its guilds. All four of Oblivion Remastered‘s full Guilds include compelling questlines and characters alongside their typical guild services. According to player stats, the Mages Guild is the most popular guild in Oblivion Remastered, but all of them are rewarding in some way. Another popular guild is the Thieves Guild, which is well-regarded for its surprisingly touching storyline, its climactic heist, and the reward for completing its main questline.
These two Guilds intersect in an unexpected way during the Thieves Guild quest Misdirection. This quest happens fairly late in the Thieves Guild questline, and has an amusing and unexpected consequence if the player has already completed the Mages Guild. The Elder Scrolls 6 needs to embrace this kind of interaction between the guilds. While there was some guild interaction in Skyrim, taking it further and having actual questlines affect each other would be a great way for the world of The Elder Scrolls 6 to feel more alive and connected.
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The Archmage Steals Their Own Staff From Themselves
An amusing event happens if the player has completed the Mages Guild questline and later embarks on the Thieves Guild quest Misdirection. The Thieves Guild charges the player to sneak into the Archmage’s private room in the Arcane University to steal Hrormir’s Ice Staff. The Thieves Guild contact gives suggestions of how to sneak into the Archmage’s rooms, but this is laughably easy if the player has completed the Mages Guild questline as they are the Archmage.
Stealing the Staff is far more challenging for players who aren’t high-ranking members of the Mages Guild, and requires going through two rooms that are often occupied at all hours. Stealing the Staff is a test of the player’s Sneak skill, as being caught has dire consequences thanks to the multiple high-level mages and battlemages who populate the area.
Being the Archmage, however, simply requires the player to walk to their room, take the staff from their bedside table, and leave a note addressed to themselves. Returning the Staff is a little more difficult, as it requires breaking into a Mages Guild member’s home rather than the player’s own room, but the Staff is eventually returned to the Archmage, and the player is free to take and use it once the quest is complete.
The Elder Scrolls guilds rarely interact with each other beyond a throwaway line. The Thieves Guild and Mages Guild interacting with each other in this way is an exception, and is an especially amusing one. Unfortunately, Oblivion Remastered doesn’t acknowledge the situation, and only an unofficial patch adds a remark in the player’s journal about the situation. Despite being familiar with the contents of the Archmage’s rooms, the Thieves Guild seems to have no idea who the Archmage actually is, or hasn’t been notified that there’s been a change in leadership.
Despite this, the quest is humorous and makes becoming Archmage feel more like an achievement. In-game noting of the progression within the guilds is a great way to acknowledge the achievements and status of the player character, all while making the world feel cohesive, rather than guilds feeling like islands completely separated from each other.
Even a simple acknowledgment for comedic reasons, such as in the Unofficial Oblivion Patch, would add a lot of heart and soul to The Elder Scrolls 6. Making certain questlines easier or more difficult beyond a Fame or Infamy requirement would also go a long way to make The Elder Scrolls 6 feel more alive, with more consequences for the players’ actions, whether for better or for worse.