The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a video game that consists of 18 releases

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The fourth title in the Elder Scrolls franchise, Oblivion is an immersive, open world, action-oriented role-playing game developed by Bethesda Softworks for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Overview

Oblivion is an action-oriented role-playing game providing players with a world they can traverse at will. Though the core storyline provides a linear, mission-driven experience, the player is free to pursue a staggering number of side quests that slowly develop and improve their character.

Plot

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion takes place in the same universe as its predecessors; Arena, Daggerfall, and Morrowind, though its specific storyline is original. The game is set in the imperial province of Cyrodiil, an expansive territory spanning several hundred square kilometers in the land of Tamriel. Oblivion casts the player as a prisoner within the jail of the Imperial City, imprisoned for an unspecified crime. The player soon encounters the Emperor himself, drawing them into a quest to locate and protect the regent's illegitimate blood heir from an evil Daedra (demon) named Mehrunes Dagon. Dagon is the ruler of the plane of Oblivion, and seeks to conquer the mortal realm with his Daedric armies. At the same time, trans-dimensional portals known as Oblivion Gates appear throughout Cyrodiil and spawn monsters across the landscape.

Side Quests

Apart from the main quest, numerous guilds offer to recruit the player; each with different specialties and flavors. The Fighters Guild and Mages Guild quest lines are pretty straight-forward, while others, like the Arena make the player get creative against progressively difficult A.I. gladiators. The Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild questlines require the player to murder and steal, respectively. Apart from them there are many other quests in Cyrodiil that lead to great rewards.

Visuals and Modification

Upon release, the game was noted for being visually striking, providing gorgeous vistas and realistic, sprawling environments for the player to explore. Bethesda noted the extreme popularity of the previous game, Morrowind, and developed Oblivion to be open to user modification. Soon after release fans began to modify everything from the game's core balance mechanics and inventory interface to specific environmental textures and even something as seemingly insignificant as the effect when drunk.

Customization

The game allows players to have highly customizable characters. Their gender, looks, race, and class; custom or default, are all interchangeable. Each class features a specialization mechanic for the twenty one skills, seven major skills, and a bonus for two of the eight different attributes.

Races

There are 10 distinct races in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and each one has different Attribute bonuses and minuses, and skill boosts. Several also have racial traits, that affect different stats or provide extra spells or bonuses. Males and females of each race also have slightly different attributes.

High Elves (Altmer)

A High Elf (Altmer)

High Elves hail from Summerset Isle and are a gold-skinned elven people whose name, the Altmer, means "The Cultured People." They are rather proud and are often seen as snobbish, which is a well-deserved description since they refer to the other races as "lesser races." They are a good choice for a true spell-casting character. They have a bonus to one of the essential mage attributes, and skill bonuses in several magical fields. However, they have an innate weakness against other mages due to a weakness to fire, frost, and shock. They work best against melee or ranged opponents because of this weakness, but are otherwise a good choice for spell casting.
Attributes:

Males: 10 Intelligence, -10 Strength and Speed
Females: 10 Intelligence, -10 Strength and Endurance

Skills:
10 Alteration, Destruction, and Mysticism
5 Alchemy, Conjuration, and Illusion

Traits:
High Elf Enhanced Magicka: Fortify Magicka 100 points on self, constant (boosts Magicka permanently by 100 points)
High Elf Disease Resistance: Resist Disease 75% on self, constant (75% chance to not contract a disease when exposed to it)
High Elf Elemental Weakness: Weakness to Fire, Frost, and Shock 25% on self, constant (take 25% more damage from fire, frost, and shock effects)

Argonians

An Argonian Thief in Leather Armor

Argonians are originally from the Black Marsh, but their time fighting land-dwelling invaders has made them amphibious. They are at home both in water or on land. Generations of fighting on home turf have imbued in them the skills necessary for quick and decisive surprise attacks. They are reptilian in nature and have small gills that allow them to breathe underwater. Argonians make good Thieves and Rogues, or any other sneaky character. If you don't want to head down that path, they do have some innate ability in magic, so they can make good spell casters as well.
Attributes:

Males:
10 Agility and Speed
-10 Willpower, Endurance, and Personality
Females:
10 Intelligence
-10 Personality and Endurance

Skills:
10 Athletics and Security
5 Alchemy, Blade, Hand-to-Hand, Illusion, and Mysticism

Traits:
Argonian Disease Resistance: Resist Disease 75% on self, constant (75% chance to not contract a disease when exposed to it)
Argonian Poison Immunity: Resist Poison 100% on self, constant (Immunity to all poisons)
Argonian Water Breathing: Water Breathing on self, constant (Ability to breathe underwater for an unlimited amount of time)

Wood Elves (Bosmer)

A Wood Elf civilian

Wood Elves hail from a forested province in southwestern Tamriel called Valenwood. Their name means "the Tree-Sap People," and is meant to indicate their break with their Altmer and Dunmer cousins. They are much more down-to-earth and humble, preferring to live with and around nature. They have no compulsion to assert their cultured selves over other races like the Altmer. They are agile and cunning, and amazing with bows, abilities that lend them toward stealth gameplay, like the Argonians.
Attributes:
Males:
10 Agility and Speed
-10 Strength, Willpower, and Personality
Females:
10 Agility and Speed
-10 Strength, Willpower, and Endurance

Skills:
10 Alchemy, Marksman, and Sneak
5 Acrobatics, Alteration, and Light Armor

Traits:
Beast Tongue: Command Creature up to Level 5 (20 points) for 60 seconds on target, once per day (Can control small creatures)
Wood Elf Disease Resistance: Resist Disease 75% on self, constant (75% not to contract a disease when exposed to it)

Bretons

A Breton in Mithril Armor

Bretons are a half-elven people from the province of High Rock. They owe their existence to the fusion of the Aldmer elves and Nedic peoples in the First Era. They are highly intelligent, and coupled with a resistance to Magicka, they make good mages, especially against other casters. They are the magical combat "yin" to the Altmer's "yang", so to speak.
Attributes:
Males:
10 Intelligence and Willpower
-10 Agility, Speed, and Endurance
Females:
10 Intelligence
-10 Strength, Agility, and Endurance

Skills:
10 Conjuration, Mysticism, and Restoration
5 Alchemy, Alteration, and Illusion

Traits:
Breton Enhanced Magicka: Fortify Magicka 50 points on self, constant (boosts Magicka permanently by 50 points)
Breton Magic Resistance: Resist Magic 50% on self, constant (take 50% less damage from magic effects)
Dragon Skin: Shield 50% on self, 60 seconds, once per day (take 50% less damage from physical attacks for one minute)

Dark Elves (Dunmer)

A Dark Elf in Fur Armor

Dark Elves are the dark-skinned, red-eyed elven people from the Eastern Empire. Dark Elves make very good combat mages, combining physical attacks with either the sword or bow with magical spells. Growing up around the volcanic Red Mountain has increased their resistence to heat and fire. Dark Elves are all-around characters, since they have some skill in both magic and fighting.

Attributes:
Males:
10 Speed
-10 Willpower and Personality
Females:
10 Speed
-10 Willpower and Endurance

Skills:
10 Blade and Destruction
5 Athletics, Blunt, Light Armor, Marksman, and Mysticism

Traits:
Ancestor Guardian: Summon Ancestor Guardian for 60 seconds on self, once per day (Summons a ghost to fight with you)
Dark Elf Fire Resistance: Resist Fire 75% on Self, constant (Take 75% less damage from fire effects)

Imperials

An Imperial in Steel Armor

Imperials are humans from the province of Cyrodiil. They are well-known for their disciplined militias, and though they are physically less intimidating than other races, they make good diplomats and traders. Their military discipline along with their diplomatic skill have allowed them to subdue all the other races either by word or by force, to create their glorious Empire. Imperials make good warriors characters since they get bonuses to melee skills and have a racial disadvantage in stealth-related tasks. They're built for taking damage while dispatching foes, rather than hit-and-run tactics.
Attributes:
Males:
10 Personality
-10 Agility and Willpower
Females:
10 Personality
-10 Agility and Speed

Skills:
10 Mercantile, Speechcraft, and Heavy Armor
5 Blade, Blunt, and Hand-to-Hand

Traits:
Star of the West: Absorb Fatigue 100 points on touch, once per day (absorb 100 points of Fatigue from one target you are touching)
Voice of the Emperor: Charm 30 points for 30 seconds on target, once per day (Increase one target's starting disposition by 30 points)

Khajiit

A Khajiiti highwayman in Fur Armor

Khajiit are a feline race from Elsweyr. Their strength and agility make them extremely capable as either Warriors or Thieves, though some are capable in magical arts. If you want a stealth-related character, Khajiit, along with Argonians, are the best choice. Khajiit also hold the ability Eye of Fear; a power that makes enemies become afraid and run away for a short period of time.
Attributes:
Males:
10 Personality
-10 Agility and Willpower
Females:
10 Personality
-10 Agility and Speed

Skills:
10 Mercantile, Speechcraft, and Heavy Armor
5 Blade, Blunt, and Hand-to-Hand

Traits:
Eye of Fear: Demoralize up to Level 25 (100 points) for 30 seconds on target, once per day (Causes target to run in fear for 30 seconds)
Eye of Night: Night-Eye for 30 seconds on self (grants night vision for 30 seconds)

Nords

A Nord civillian

Nords are a race of tall humans from the frozen region of Skyrim. The harsh conditions of their homeland have conditioned them to be highly trained Warriors with a high tolerance for cold. They make a living of transoceanic trade, and are quite skilled at sailing. Nords are a great choice for melee fighters due to their attributes and skill bonuses.
Attributes:
Males:
10 Strength and Endurance
-10 Intelligence, Willpower, and Personality
Females:
10 Strength
-10 Intelligence and Personality

Skills:
10 Blade, Blunt, and Heavy Armor
5Armorer, Block, and Restoration

Traits:
Nordic Frost: Frost Damage 50 points on touch, once per day (deal 50 Frost damage to one target)
Woad: Shield 30% for 60 seconds on self, once per day (take 30% less damage from physical attacks)
Nord Frost Immunity: Resist Frost 50% on self, constant (take 50% less damage from Frost effects)

Orcs

An Orc Merchant in Leather Armor

The Orcs' ancestral name, Orsimer, means the "Pariah Folk," and they come variously from the Wrothgarian Mountains, Dragontail Mountains, and a city named Orsinium, which translates to "City of the Pariah." Historically, Orcs were feared and hated by the other races, but after service in the Imperial Legion they have become more accepted. They are renowned as blacksmiths, especially for their heavy armor, and are highly prized on the front lines of combat. Orcs specialized in Blunt melee combat, and work best wielding a club or similar weapon while wearing heavy armor.

Attributes:
Males:
10 Willpower and Endurance
5 Strength
-10 Intelligence, Speed, and Personality
-5 Agility
Females:
10 Endurance
5 Strength and Willpower
-15 Personality
-10 Speed
-5 Agility

Skills:
10 Armorer, Block, Blunt, and Heavy Armor
5 Hand-to-Hand

Traits:
Berserk: Fortify Fatigue (200 points), Health (20 points), and Strength (50 points); Drain Agility (100 points) all for 60 seconds on self, once per day (boosts Fatigue, Health, and Strength; decreases Agility)
Orc Magic Resistance: Resist Magic 25% on self, constant (receive 25% less damage from magic effects)

Redguards

A Redguard swordsman

Redguards are a dark-skinned folk from Hammerfell. They are naturally skilled in combat, but their sense of independence and legendary pride discourage an organized army. They are comfortable with many types of weapons and armor types, and their resistance to disease and poisons make them tough. They are best as melee fighters.
Attributes:
Males:
10 Strength and Endurance
-10 Intelligence, Willpower, and Personality
Females:
10 Endurance
-10 Intelligence and Willpower

Skills:
10 Blade, Blunt, and Athletics
5 Light Armor, Heavy Armor, and Mercantile

Traits:
Adrenaline Rush: Fortify Agilitiy (50 points), Endurance (50 points), Speed (50 points), Strength (50 points), Health (25 points) all for 60 seconds on self, once per day (boosts Agility, Endurance, Speed, Strength, and Health for one minute)
Redguard Disease Resistance: Resist Disease 75% on self, constant (75% chance not to contract a disease when exposed to it)
Redguard Poison Resistance: Resist Poison 75% on self, constant (75% not to be poisoned)

Attributes

Attributes are your character's personal abilities in different fields. At the beginning of the game they all start at 40, except for Luck which starts at 50, but they are affected by what race you choose, and as you level up you can put more points into them. Each attribute, except for luck, is associated with 3 different skills. If you level up those skills, you'll be able to put points into that attribute.

Strength: Strength is most important to characters that work primarily by dealing melee damage. To a lesser extent it's nice to have for carrying stuff around, but there are spells that help with that, and if you sell extraneous items often, your carrying capacity shouldn't be a big deal, even if you're some sort of mage. Every point in Strength has these effects: 5 lbs. to carrying capacity, 1 to Fatigue Stat, and 0.66% to melee damage. Associated Skills: Blade, Blunt, and Hand-to-Hand.

Intelligence: Intelligence is not as important as it may seem. It's only good to spell casters in the first place, and it only increases your Magicka slightly. But still, it's definitely good to have if you are casting spells all the time. Every point in Intelligence gives you 2 Magicka. Associated Skills: Alchemy, Conjuration, and Mysticism.
Willpower: Willpower is an interesting attribute. Like Strength, it contributes to Fatigue, but it also affects how quickly you regain Magicka. However, it regenerates your Magicka by a percentage rate, not a number rate. What this means is, whether you have 10 Magicka or 1,000 Magicka, they will regenerate at the same rate. The more Magicka you have, the more important this attribute will be to you. Regardless, this is a good attribute for any character whose main focus is spells. Every point in Willpower gives you 1 Fatigue. Associated Skills: Alteration, Destruction, and Restoration. Your Magicka regeneration increases with every point you put into willpower, but the benefit gets smaller over time. The time it takes to recharge from 0 to full Magicka at some Willpower milestones is as follows:

0 Willpower: 131 seconds
25 Willpower: 80 seconds
50 Willpower: 58 seconds
75 Willpower: 45 seconds
100 Willpower: 35 seconds

Agility: Agility is a stat that is good for both melee and ranged characters. It increases your ability to avoid getting knocked down by melee hits, but it also adds to damage with bows. It's one of those stats that is good for just about everyone. Every point in Agility has the following effects: 1 to Fatigue, 0.66% damage with bows, and increased resistance to knockdowns. Associated Skills: Security, Sneak, and Marksman.
Speed: Speed is one of the less important attributes. It's good to have if you are geared toward ranged combat and spell casting, because the faster you are the easier it is for you to stay away from your foes, but even then it's not too essential. Every point in Speed gives you 0.44% movement speed. Associated Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, and Light Armor.
Endurance: Endurance is good for all characters, but especially characters who will be taking a lot of damage often, like melee fighters. This is the attribute that governs your Health. The higher your Endurance, the higher your starting health, and the higher your Health increase when you gain a level. Every point of Endurance gives you 2 starting Health, and 0.1 Health per level (rounded down). For example, a 42 Endurance would give you 4.2 Health per level, rounded down to 4. Associated Skills: Armorer, Block, and Heavy Armor.
Personality: Personality is arguably the least important attribute in the game. It only affects people's starting disposition toward you in conversations, and if you have enough money, the right spells, or are good enough at the Speechcraft mini-game, starting disposition is irrelevant. Every point of Personality gives you 0.25 points to NPC starting dispositions, so it takes 4 points to increase their disposition by 1. Associated Skills: Illusion, Mercantile, and Speechcraft.
Luck: Luck is an interesting attribute, because it doesn't govern any skills. However, it has a direct effect on all of your skills, because the higher your Luck, the better your skills will perform, and the lower your Luck, the worse your skills will work. Every point of Luck above 50 gives you 0.4 to all your skills. Every point of luck below 50 gives you -0.4 to all your skills Luck's effect on your skills is detailed in the following equation and table:

Skill Level ((Luck-50) X 0.4) = Modified Skill Level

If you had a 50 in a skill, your Luck score would affect it like this:

0 Luck -- 30 Skill (-20)
10 Luck -- 34 Skill (-16)
20 Luck -- 38 Skill (-12)
30 Luck -- 42 Skill (-8)
40 Luck -- 46 Skill (-4)
50 Luck -- 50 Skill (No change)
60 Luck -- 54 Skill ( 4)
70 Luck -- 58 Skill ( 8)
80 Luck -- 62 Skill ( 12)
90 Luck -- 66 Skill ( 16)
100 Luck -- 70 Skill ( 20)

Skills and Associated Categories

Combat:Block, Armorer, Heavy Armor, Blunt, Blade, Athletics, Hand-to-Hand
Magic:Destruction, Alteration, Illusion, Conjuration, Mysticism, Restoration, Alchemy
Stealth: Security, Sneak, Acrobatics, Light Armor, Marksman, Mercantile, Speechcraft

The Elder Scrolls IV: The Knights of Nine

The Knights of Nine is an official mod released by Bethesda for oblivion. It is the largest official mod released and contains some smaller mods within it and can be bought for a small price for either the PC or Xbox 360 and the PS3 version of the game has it on the disk. The mod adds a new quest that leads you on an adventure which takes about 10 hours to complete. The quest involves a story of the evil king Umaril who seeks to wreak havoc across the land and the only way to stop him is to reassemble the Knights of Nine, an ancient order of knights who defeated Umaril in the past, and collect all their holy relics.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

Entering the Realm of Madness

The Shivering Isles is the first and only expansion for Oblivion. The expansion takes place in the Daedric prince Sheogorath's Realm of Madness. The realm is effectively split down the middle. The "light" side, Mania, is filled wtih inhabitants delirious and manic and a colour saturated environment to reflect that. The "dark" side, Dementia, is inhabited by the paranoid and depressed, as reflected in its grim environments. The capital city of New Sheoth is similar with Crucible (Dementia), Bliss (Mania), and the Palace District (exact middle and home of Sheogorath), reflecting the two sides of the world, its god and his divided nature.
The player is recruited by Sheogorath to stop a Ragnarok event called the Graymarch. Jyggalag, Daedric Prince of Order, returns at the end of every era, to purge the Realm of Madness, forcing Sheogorath to rebuild his domain. With you as his champion, Sheogorath plans to fight back.

It is estimated that the Shivering Isles is one fourth the size of the original game and can provide about 30 hours of additional gameplay. The expansion includes:

32 new ingredients for alchemists
10 new creatures to combat
9,500 lines of new dialog
200 new weapons
80 pieces of armor and clothing

Collector's Edition

Upon release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda announced a Collector's Edition version for the PC and Xbox 360. This edition didn’t change any in-game content; instead it offered the player with a unique set of collectable items packaged alongside the game itself. The contents inside the package are:

Collector's Edition

A gold septim coin – This is an authentic replicated Septim coin, which is the official currency of Tamriel.

Pocket guide to the empire – This is a 112 page mini guide to Tamriel. It gives information on each significant event, as well as details on each race and their homeland.

Bonus DVD – This DVD contains a behind the scenes look at the making of Oblivion, and the lead up to E3. There’s also concept art, screenshots, renders and a trailer included on the DVD.

System Requirements

As displayed on the back cover of the box;

Minimum System Requirements:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP.

CPU (Processor): Intel Pentium 4 2Ghz or equivalent processor.

RAM: 512MB system RAM.

HDD (Hard Drive): 4.6GB.

GPU (Graphics Card): 128MB Direct3D compatible video card and DirextX 9.0c compatible driver.

Sound Card: DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card.

Recommended System Requirements:

CPU (Processor): Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz or equivalent processor.

RAM: 1GB system RAM

GPU (Graphics Card): ATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card.

Downloadable Content

Bethesda have really embraced the idea of downloadable content. Oblivion has a wide range of downloadable content, some praised and some mocked.

The Infamous Horse Armour Pack (Allows the player to don their horse in either Steel or Elven armor, which increases the horse's damage resistance)
An Education in Artifacts - The Orrery (Added a small quest which has the player searching for pieces to repair the Imperial Orrery, and is rewarded with a new power based on the position of the stars)
A Wizards Home - Frostcrag Spire (Adds a tower inherited from a long-lost relative, which can be used for storage and to grow a variety of rare ingredients)
The Money Making Cove - Thieves Den (Adds a hidden cove underneath Anvil which rewards the player that clears it out with a Pirate crew and a new source of income)
A Vampire' Retreat - The Vile Lair ( An easy way to obtain or remove Vampirism, and a hideout for the character either way)
InstaMagic - Spell Tomes (Adds books that teach the player spells to loot from various dungeons and enemies)
The Ultimate Dungeon - Mehrune's Razor (An elaborate quest which sends the player through a sprawling dungeon to obtain the legendary Daedric artifact, which can kill in a single blow)

Xbox 360 Game Installation

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion requires 6.8GB of space to install on an Xbox 360 HDD.

General Information Edit

Game Name	The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 PC
Publisher(s)	2K Games Bethesda Softworks
Developer(s)	Bethesda Softworks 4J Studios
Genres	Add a new genre Action Adventure Role-Playing (RPG)
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy
Original US Release	March 20, 2006 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases	Oblivion, TESFO
OFLC	OFLC: M
CERO	CERO: D
ESRB	ESRB: M
PEGI	PEGI: 16+
BBFC	BBFC: 15