Summary
Being a faithful remake of Bethesda’s classic RPG from 2006,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredshares its fun gameplay, its great quests, and of course, its interesting lineup of characters.
When it comes to open-world fantasy RPG games, many things can make or break the experience, characters being one of the most important in this regard. Luckily,The Elder Scrollsseries has no shortage of unique, interesting, and downright hilariously strange people to interact with across themany provinces of Tamriel.
1Glarthir
Known for its vast vineyards and high-class wines, Skingrad is one of the wealthiestcities in the province of Cyrodiil. But upon entering, players can be first greeted by a local who seems to have maybe consumed too much of Tamika’s West Weald Wine.
Glarthir is a local Wood Elf who seems to have a bit of a problem, believing that three other locals are plotting something against him. Choosing to accept his odd request to meet near the chapel at night will initiate the aptly-namedparanoia quest, which sees the player attempting to help the paranoid elf get to the bottom of the mysterious plot against him. Glarthir is surely an odd character, as even warned by the other locals, and his paranoid delusions are a good mixture of strange and pretty comical at times.
2Arvena Thelas
A Bit Of A Pet Problem
Anvil is one of the smaller and usually quieter cities in the province, located along the Gold Coast in the western part of Cyrodiil. But even the calmest of areas always seem to have something going on, especially with their characters.
Meet Arvena Thelas, a local Dark Elf living near the city’s main gate. Seemingly normal at first, she even has a few pets that she loves and cares for. Well, there’s a reason she is known as “the rat lady” among the locals, as Arvena’s “cute little pets” are a group of giant rats living in her basement. Unfortunately, some of her “lovely” little rats have gone missing, soFighter’s Guild memberscan engage in a quest to help her find out who’s behind the rat burglary.
3Falanu Hlaalu
The Alchemist With A Dark Secret
Going back to the West Weald region again with the city of Skingrad, more specifically, the town’s resident potion-brewer and alchemy shop owner, Falanu Hlaalu.
“All Things Alchemical” may be your average, everyday alchemy shop, but its owner quickly turns that around. Case in point, her signature question:“By the way, do you happen to know what the fine is here in Cyrodiil for necrophilia?”is quite literally one of the first things she may ask in dialogue. She surely doesn’t create a welcoming environment for shop-goers, despite being rather harmless overall (to the living, at least).
4Big Head
An Argonian With An Interesting Obsession
From Mania to Dementia, The Shivering Isles surely has no shortage of strange items, locations, and characters to discover. With one of the strangest and possibly most amusing of its inhabitants being a particular collector from the city of Bliss.
Featured inOblivion’sShivering Isles DLC, Big Head is an Argonian savant who, of all things, has a particular interest in forks. Everything from his dialogue to the decorations of his quaint homestead seems to revolve around the common utensil for some reason. But Big Head is in search of the crown jewel, “The Fork of Horripilation,” which he will task the player with finding if they so choose. It’s unknown what causes the Argonian’s obsession with forks, but it’d be hard to deny he is one of the more amusing side characters in the game.
5The Stranger
A Rather Familiar Stranger
Aspiring members of theThieves Guildhoping to eventually climb the ranks to Master Thief will eventually have a run-in with a mysterious man who simply refers to himself as “The Stranger.”
The Stranger can first be found in Anvil during “Taking Care of Lex,” further along in the guild’s questline, where the player needs to have him use his skills to forge a letter intended for the Countess of Anvil. He’s quite dismissive in dialogue, no matter what, and lives up to his name by giving very little in the way of information about himself when asked. Nobody knows who the interesting man really is, but one thing is for sure: he seems awfully familiar.
6Sheogorath
The Prince Of Madness
Traveling back to the strange Shivering Isles, it would be nearly impossible to have a list like this without mentioning its equally strange ruler, Sheogorath.
Living up to his title as the Daedric prince of madness, Sheogorath is one of the primary characters inOblivion’sShivering Islesmain questline. So players can expect to run into this interesting NPC quite a bit throughout the DLC. Being the prince of madness, he’s a pretty enigmatic character, at times, even being quite comical in his dialogue, making him all the more intriguing.
7M’aiq The Liar
Tamriel’s Greatest Deceiver
M’aiq the Liar isn’t just one of the more iconic and mysterious characters inThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, but perhaps forThe Elder Scrollsseries itself, as he is also featured inMorrowind,Skyrim, andOnline.
M’aiq is the series-recurringKhajiit characterwho is mostly known, of course, for his propensity to tell tall tales. Very little is known about this enigmatic Khajiit, and what little information can be uncovered through dialogue probably isn’t to be trusted. The NPC was thought to be added to the games as a sort of easter egg by the developers, as a character who would provide small details about the universe’s lore.
He’s a rather eccentric character, and even though M’aiq doesn’t play a major part in any of the games he’s featured in, his presence and dialogue create a great mixture of comedy and intrigue.
8Adoring Fan
By Azura, By Azura, By Azura!
Being one of the most recognizable RPG characters when it comes to internet culture, The Adoring Fan had to make his way onto this list one way or another.
Commonly known for being a generally annoying, yet hilarious NPC across the board, The Adoring Fan becomes a near-constant follower of the player once they reach the rank of Arena Grand Champion. Although being mostly useless in combat, he will gladly accompany players on their journey, that is, if they can stand having him around long enough. While this cheerful Bosmer may seem like a thorn in the side at first, he’s worth keeping around simply for comedic value.
The NPC himself has become so iconic in gaming, he has even been immortalized in the form ofa plush on Bethesda’s online store.
