Oblivion Mages Guild Questline Walkthrough
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Oblivion Mages Guild Questline Walkthrough

by Scott White on 22 April, 2025

Mages, wielders of incredible power, are just one of the various factions that you can join up (and eventually rule over) alongside the likes of the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood in the world of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Throughout the Mages Guild questline, you will not only rise through the ranks of the guild, but also learn some unique and powerful spells, and eventually gain access to your own enchanting table and magic chest that will generate all the alchemic ingredients you could want. This guild will show you how to go from just a beginner associate all the way to chair of the Arch-Mage.

 

Joining the Guild

Joining the Mages guild is perhaps the easiest and most straightforward of the guilds, requiring you to ask only one of the heads of the local Mages guilds to let you join. This will make you an associate, but if you really want to take advantage of what this guild has to offer, i.e., the Arcane University, you will need to put in a bit of legwork. You will need to complete various recommendation quests at each of the main branches of the guild of the region - Anvil, Bravil, Bruma, Cheydinhall, Chorrol, Leyawiin, and Skingrad.

Mages Guild Questline:

 

Recommendation Quests

 

Anvil

In the Anvil Mages Guild seek out and speak with Carahil to get your recommendation quest. Carahil tells you that the guild believes a mage is killing merchants and asks you to go to Brina Cross Inn, just north of the city and speak with Arielle. When you're ready, head out the north gate.

Arielle will tell you to rent a room for the night from Christophe, being sure to tell  him you are a travelling merchant when you do.

Wait a short time in your room and Arielle will come to speak with you in your room where she tells you the plan. You are to rest and then depart the inn, heading along the road east towards Kvatch, making sure not to talk to Arielle or her fellow battlemage.

Caminalda will eventually reveal her self and attack you. The battlemages may help you out, or as in my case, they were MIA so you may need to take her out yourself. Regardless, she likes to summon enemies to do much of her dirtywork for her, but she shouldn't be too difficult to take out. 

With the murderer dealt with, return to Carahil and get your recommendation.

Bravil

Speaking to Kud-Ei in the Bravil Mages Guild she will explain that she is rather busy dealing with an issue involving the local mage Ardaline, and requests that you go and speak with Varon Varmori in town for more details.

Speaking with Varon, you will need to get his disposition towards you to the max, so that he will reveal that he stole Ardaline' staff to a Soris Arenim in the Imperial City. 

Soris lives in the Talos Plaza District, and he keeps the Mage's staff locked in a drawer in the basement. You can find Soris's key upstairs on a desk, or you can just pick all of the locks yourself and grab the staff. 

Once you have the staff, return and let Kud-Ei know, and you will have your recommendation.

Bruma

For Bruma's recommendation, speak to Jeanne who will inform you that another mage, J'skar, has disappeared and wants you to find him

The long-and-short of it is that J'skar has been turned invisible. Find the mage Volanaro wandering around the guild and speak with him. Once you get his disposition to around 75, ask him about J'skar and he will inform you of a little plan they have hatched. You are to sneak in and steal Jeanne's manual of spellcraft without anyone seeing.

Jeanne's room is up on the second floor and the book in question is in her desk, behind a very easy lock. Volanero gave you a spell that should open it, or just pick the lock. Either way, with the book in hand, head back and speak with Volanero. He tells you to meet him in the living quarters at 10pm.

The living quarters can be found in the guild's basement with Volanero's room being in the last door on the right. Speak with him and he will dispel the spell on J'skar and you can report to Jeanne that he has been found and earn your recommendation.

 

Cheydinhal

Speaking with Falcar, he will ask you to locate a Ring of Burden, believed to be in the well outside of the mages guild. Talk to the wandering Argonian Deestan to get a copy of the key that will unlock the well.

Deetsan will only speak with you when Falcar isn't around, so I recommend waiting until it is late and speaking with her again. She will give you not only a key but the spell "Buoyancy" spell that will grant you Feather (let's you carry more things) and Water Breathing. When you are ready, head out side and to the well.

Before entering the well, cast Buoyancy on yourself, or make sure you have at least 150 carry weight capacity available to you. Once you enter the the well, you will immediately be underwater, and nearby you will find the body of the previous bearer of the ring. The Ring of Burden has a weight of 150, so grab it and leave. 

With the ring in hand, head back inside the guild and speak again with Deetson to find out you will need to search Falcar's room to find the recommendation, so head down to the guild's basement and search his room.

In the basement, straight back through a wooden door will be Falcar's room and next to his bed will be a easy-locked dresser. Check it and take the two Black Soul Gems that are inside. Take them to Deestan and she will agree to write your recommendation letter.

 

Chorrol

In Chorrol, you will want to find the green Argoninan named Teekeus to get your recommendation from. Speaking to him, he will tell you that someone named Earana is in town and he wishes for you to find her and discover what she is after, and report back to him.

After finding and speaking with Earana (she can be found by following the quest marker on your map) you will discover she is looking for a book known as "Fingers of the Mountain". Report your findings back to Teekeus.

The book is located a short distance north of the city at a place called Cloudtop. Head out the northgate and after a few minutes you will arrive with the book being able to be found on the charred remains of a body. With the book in hand, return to Chorrol.

Returning it to Teekeus will earn you your recommendation, and you are free to go onto the next one. Alternatively, you can give it to Earana, wait a day so she can transcribe it, find yourself a few Welkynd Stones, a Shock spell, and a powerful Lightning spell called "Fingers of the Mountain." The choice is up to you.

Leyawiin

Inside the Leyawiin Mages Guild, seek out Dagail to find out she isn't well. She points you in the direction of Agata, who will explain the predicament—Degail is missing her amulet. Your mission is to retrieve it in exchange for the recommendation.

The Amulet in question, the Seer's Stone, can be found in Fort BlueBlood located southeast of the town.

The fort is full of enemies with heavy armor and melee weapons so you will want to try and sneak around, taking them out from a distance either with arrows or spells as you work your way through the fort. 

Eventually you will come to a small area where a number of coffins on the ground. In the coffin in the back you will find the amulet. As you leave with the amulet, a mage name Kalathar will stop you and you will be force to take him out, but with that finished and the amulet in hand, leave the fort and travel back to Leyawiin and the mages guild.

Back at the guild, tell Agata you have the stone and then go and give it to Dagail. With the voices silenced, she will happily give you the recommendation you are seeking.

 

Skingrad

Speaking to Adrienne Beren will begin your recommendation quest for the Skingrad Mages Guild. She will be looking for a fellow mage named Erthor.

Speaking with the other mages in the local guild will add a place known as Bleak Flats Cave to your map. It's located north of Skingrad's West gate, so when you're ready, head out. 

Inside of the cave you will find a number of zombies walking around, be sure to take care of them on your way to Erthor who is located in the back part of the cave. You will have to have him follow you out and he won't do that if there are still zombies around.

Return to Skingrad and Adrienne in the Mages Guild with Erthor and you will earn your recommendation.

Main Mages Guild Quests

Once you have collected all of the various recommendations at the other Mage Guilds head to the Arcane University in the Imperial City and speak to Raminus Polus to continue on your journey in the guild.

A Mages Staff

As a new apprentice, Raminus marks the occasion by giving you your first task - get yourself a Mage's Staff.  He will point you in the direction of the Wellspring Cave located Northeast of the Imperial City. When you're ready, head there at once.

Inside the cave, you will find the body of one of the mages you were sent to meet along with a bunch of Necromancers that aren't to thrilled with you being there and will attack you on sight. Search Zahrasha's body for a key to take with you.w

Go through the cave, killing the necromancers until you find a key on one of the bodies.

At the back of the cave will be a wooden door, unlocked via the key you found on Zahrasha. Heal up and head through when you are ready. You will be taking on another two necromancers on the other side of the door.

Once you dispose of the three necromancers, you will find the body of the other mage you were sent to meet. More importantly, a short distance away is a tomb for you to check out. Inside, you will find an unfinished staff. Take the staff and head back to the University.

After telling Raminus about what happened, he will tell you to take the unfinished staff to a mage named Delmar in the Chironasium just outside of the University. 

Speaking with Delmar he will ask you what sort of Staff you want, and after you have told him, wait 24 hours and pick it up from the cupboard in the back and then return to Raminus.

Ask Raminus about advancement, and he will promote you to the rank of Journeyman in the Mages Guild. Congratulations!

Ulterior Motives

Speaking with Raminus, he will task you with going to Skingrad and speaking with the city's count, Janus Hassildor. So stock up on potions and when you're set, head for Caslte Skingrad.

Head into the hall when you arrive and seak out Mercator Hosidus, and he will tell you to come back in a day as he has to convince the count to meet with you. Return and speak with him after waiting 24 hours.

Mercator will inform you that the count has agreed to meet you at a place just southeast of a place called the Cursed Mine at 2am (sounds totally normal),

When you get to the meeting spot, instead of the count you are greeted by three necromancers, one of whom is Mercator. Luckily though, you will have some help dealing with this ambush as the count himself has come to your aid. Make sure you don't attack him!

With the message from Count Hassildor, return to Raminus and fill him in on what has transpired. Completing this quest, you are able to ask to be advanced to the next rank within the guild - Evoker - and with it a the Spelldrinker's Amulet as a gift.

Vahtacen's Secret

Raminus has a new task for you, one that he assures you doesn't have anything to do with necromancers. He tells you to seek out Irlav Jarol in the Arch-Mage Tower. Jarol will give you a key and tell you to check out the some ruins and gives you a key. Before you leave, be aware that in order to complete this quest you will need to have something that can deal Cold damage. When ready, head out.

Vahtacen is located to the south of Cheydinhal, so travel there and depart out of the west gate, heading south.

Inside the ruin, you will come across the Argonian Skaleel and tell you about a pillar that she would like your help solving the mystery of, found in the bottom of the ruins. On your way to the pillar you will run across another mage, Denel, and nearby a chest containing a bunch of spell scrolls, these include:

  • Alluring Gaze
  • Cure Disease
  • Damage Fatigue
  • Elevate Magicka
  • Flare
  • Minor Heal Other
  • River Walk
  • Sever Magicka
  • Turn Undead

Grab them and continue to the pillar.

At the pillar, you will need to hit it with the correct sequence of magicka-based attacks to proceed. The order is: Fire (Flare spell from Denel's chest will work) , Frost (This is why you need the Cold-based attack), Damage Magicka (the Sever Magicka scroll will work), and Fortifying Magicka (Elevate Magicka scroll). Just know, that it doesn't have to be a spell that does the damage, it can be an enchanted weapon or arrow as well. If you hit the pillar with the wrong spell or in the wrong order, you will get injured, so be careful.

Once the Pillar is down, descend the newly revealed stairs. 

Ghosts prowl these areas so have your silver weapons or spells ready. Soon you will come to a large room, but be careful, the center is a trap that will drop down into a spike pit. Jump over it and proceed through the doorway on the other side.

Eventually you will come to a dead end, but in the center will be a slightly-raised slab. Stepping on it will reveal a path forward and two tombs to the left and right with ghosts in them. Dispatch the ghosts and head into another large room with another trap in the center (this time marked by the large blood puddle on the ground. Jump around avoiding it, and head out the otherside.

The doorway here has swinging blades, so run past quickly.

Soon, you will come to a large room with some sort of structure in the middle. Run to the back of the room and up some stairs. To the right of the stairs will be a small switch. Pressing it will raise the stairs to the middle platform.

With the stairs revealed, head up to the middle portion, and you will notice another switch on one of the pillars by the cage in the center. Pressing it will reveal a helmet, take it. Be aware, however, two zombies will have spawned now.

Head back to Skaleel, either by backtracking or if you are adept as lock picking, you can take the shortcut via the doorway to the right of the one where you entered.

Skaleel will tell you to take the helmet back to Irlav and speak with him. He will take the helmet and this will complete your mission. Speak to Raminus regarding advancement to earn the rank of Conjurer and a set of fancy robes. When you're ready, you can accept Raminus' next mission.

Necromancer's Moon

For your next task, Raminus wants you to speak with Tar-Meena in the Mystic Archives to try and get to the bottom of the Black Soul Gems, so when you're set, head to the Mystic Archives found on the University's grounds.

Tar-Meena may be frazzled with how busy the council keeps her, but speaking to her about Black Soul Gems rings a bell. She tells you to seek out a book called "Necromancer's Moon". Lucky for you, this can be found on a small table to the entryway of the Archives!

With the book in your possession, speak with Tar-Meena again after reading it, and then take it to Raminus. R

Raminus will tell you to take it to a mage named Bothiel. Speak to her, and you will get notes on what Falcar scribbled out. Read it and report your findings to Raminus who will recognize the Dark Fissure and tell you to go there next.

The Dark Fissure is located slightly southeast of Cheydinhal, so travel to the closest point you have unlocked and get to walking!

Hide in the nearby rocks behind the altar that you find, and wait until late at night (1am-2am should work) and eventually a necromancer will come and perform a ritual. No need to kill (unless you want to).

Return to Raminus with the information, and ask about advancement to be promoted to the rank of Magician!

Liberation or Apprehension

You will now be taking your tasks directly from the Arch-Mage himself, Hannibal Traven. When you a ready, head upstairs in the tower and speak with him. Your mission to meet up and keep safe an informant that the Mages Guild has within the necromancers before the Council Battlemages get to him.  Prepare your gear for a fight and head out for Nenyond Twyll to the south.

Nenyond Twyll is located to the South of the Imperial City, west a bit from the Inn of Ill Omen (if you have done the Dark Brotherhood missions, this will be familiar). Once you arrive, head inside.

Regardless of how fast you get there, the battlemages will beat you to the place, but things don't go well for them as Necromancers were waiting for them, and the last remaining battlemage unfortunately doesn't know how to check for traps so it's up to you to continue on and try to meet up with your contact.

After fighting through a bunch of necromancers, you will slowly discover that something horrible has happened to the informant. At the end of the dungeon, you will discover him in a secret room, accessible via a nearby switch on the wall. 

With the fate of Mucianus determined, it's time to head back to tell the Arch-Mage. You can either head back the way you came or out a secret shortcut through a door on the side of the large room just before Mucianus' hidden one. 

Reporting to Hannibal will complete the quest. Speak with Raminus to advance your rank to Warlock.

Information at a Price

Speaking with Traven, it appears our old pal, the Count of Skingrad, wants to talk to us about something important, so head to Skingrad Castle right away.

When you arrive in Castle Skingrad's hall, speak to the Argonian Hal-Liurz; she will get the count for you.

Speaking with the count, it turns out that before he will give you the super important information you need, you will have to deal with a vampire infestation at a nearby cave and some pesky vampire hunters who are in town, staying at the Two Sisters Lodge.

The easiest solution to this situation is to tell the hunters about the vampires in the cave, watch them clean up the mess, and wipe up any weakened strangers. The hunters can be found dining between 1pm and 4pm or resting in their rooms between 11pm and 7am. With the tip, speak to the hunters' leader, Eridor, and then head to the cave and chill outside. 

It may take a couple days, so wait a couple 24 hours and you should get a pop-up either saying that the vampires or the hunters are dead, and then all you need to do is mop up whoever is left!

With the favor finished, return to the castle and let the Count know, speaking with Hal-Liurz again to summon him. He will tell you that a powerful Necromancer has come to Cyrodil and you must let Tavren know right away, so head back to the University.

Speaking with the Arch-mage, the quest will be complete and you will need to wait a few days until you can undertake the next mission so either spend time restocking on items or completing other quests, or simply wait a few days.

A Plot Revealed

After waiting a few days, Traven will ask you to go and check on the Bruma Mages Guild as he hasn't heard from them in a few days and is concerned. As things are starting to heat up, before you head to Bruma, be sure you stock up on healing potions and are ready for a fight...

Upon reaching the guild, inside will be in disarray with flames licking up the walls, strong skeleton heroes roving around, and bodies on the ground. Your goal is to get up to the second floor, but at first look, your usual path there is blocked by a fiery bookcase. Instead you will need to go downstairs to the living quarters and up the other side to reach the upstairs.

If the skeletons are proving to be too  troublesome, try to get a couple to follow you outside into Bruma as the guards (and even the townsfolk) will help you take care of the ones that follow you. If a guard does die, however, be sure to loot his body not only for his gear but also the Bruma Castle Keys they have. Also, be sure to grab the skeleton's weapons such as their Elven and Dwarven axes as they can sell for a lot of gold!

Upstair,s you will encounter a necromancer, and after you have dealt with her, J'Skar will appear and fill you in a bit about what transpired here in Bruma.

Take the information back to the Arch-Mage and then ask Raminus about advancement to be promoted to the Wizard rank and learn the 'Wizard's Fury' spell.

The Bloodworm Helm

Speaking with Traven, you will discover that two powerful artifacts tied to the necromancy school of magicka have been stolen by members of the council - the Bloodworm Helm and the Necromancer's Amulet. You can retrieve these artifacts in whatever order you wish, and once you have them, return them to Tavren. 

The Bloodworm Helm can be found in Fort Teleman, located Northeast of Leyawiin. 

Once you reach Fort Teleman and head inside, you will quickly discover the place swarming with enemy necromancers (surprise, surprise). Either sneak through or kill them, on your way to the quest marker in the back of the fort leading to the Fort Teleman Order of the Black Rose door.

This next area has demons in addition to the odd necromancer so avoid them or fight them as you may your way to back part of the cave, towards your quest marker.

At the end of the Order of the Black Rose area, you will find the body of Irlav from the Mages Guild with the Bloodworm Helm on his person, with a menacing Daedra standing over him. Take the helm and leave (escape).

At this point you can either keep the helm with you while you get the amulet or return it to the Arch-Mage.

When both items are returned, speak with Raminus to be promoted to Master-Wizard.

The Necromancer's Amulet

Speaking with Traven, you will discover that two powerful artifacts tied to the necromancy school of magicka have been stolen by members of the council - the Bloodworm Helm and the Necromancer's Amulet. You can retrieve these artifacts in whatever order you wish, and once you have them, return them to Tavren. 

The Necromancer's Amulet can be found in Fort Ontus, located far to the Northwest of Skingrad. The terrain around the fort is rather steep so just look for the tall grass as you will be able to walk there.

Once inside the you will notice that no one is attacking you. Make your way through the two areas that compose the fort, taking care to search chests and loot what you can because things won't stay quiet for long. 

In the back of the second area you will find Caranya who has the amulet, speak to her. 

She quickly reveals that she works for Mannimarco and attacks you. Kill her and take the amulet and get out right away as the whole fort is now full of people that want you dead! This is a great time to utilize an invisibility spell or the Moonshadow power if you have it.

Once you get outside you can either keep the amulet with you while you get the helm or return it to the Arch-Mage.

When both items are returned, speak with Raminus to be promoted to Master-Wizard.

Ambush

Speaking with Traven, he tells you that a plan is in place to steal a special black soul gem that the necromancers are creating for their master and you are to handle the operation. When you are ready, head to Silorn just southeast of Skingrad. 

When you arrive at the ruins, speak with the Battlemage leader, Thalfin and she will fill you in on the situation. You are to direct each of the three mages where they should be stationed during the assault. 

  • Have Thalfin fight up close with her axe.
  • Have Iver up close.
  • Have Merete keep her distance.

Save your game and when you are ready, talk to Thalfin and then wait for the fighting to start. Falcar and a band of necromancers will depart the ruins and be ambushed.

The black soul gem is being carried by Falcar and your best (and easiest) chance to get it while he is unaware just before the ambush, so using an invisibility spell, Moonshadow power, or some other method, get to Falcar and pickpocket the gem or kill him before he gets away back into the ruins. This would result in you having to trek through three areas to reach him. This is the reason for the save before the ambush so you can keep trying.

With the stone in your possesion head back and speak with Trevan in the University, and give him the black soul gem.

Confront the King

This is it, it's time to put into action the Arch-mage's plan. Speak to Traven, and he will explain that you must take the soul gem you stole to Mannimarco, but thanks to the Arch-mage's sacrifice, you will be immune to the effects of his thrall and can deal the fateful blow.

Mannimarco and his small army of necromancers can be found in the Echo Cave, west of Bruma. When you are ready, travel there, ready for war.

When you arrive at the cave's entrance, a lone guard stands watch. You will need to take care of him in order to get his key to get inside.

Whether you want to go in stealthily or make noise is up to you, but this cave is a great place to utilize invisibility or Moonshadow and just run through. You will eventually find a door that leads to the next area (and as long as you didn't bring any guards with you, a great place to rest and regain your use of Moonshadow).

At the end of the second area, you will find a door leading to the Necromancer's Chamber, and inside, your target - Mannimarco himself.

The fight with Mannimarco shouldn't be that different from other necromancers you've fought so use the tricks you've picked up so far and take him out. Be sure to loot his body, though, for his robes and his staff that can reanimate the dead (even Mannimarco himself!) and head out the way you came.

Once you are out, head to the University and tell them the threat is over. You are now Arch-Mage and leader of Cyrodil's Mage Guild. Besides having access to your swanky new room at the top of the tower, inside you will find an enchanted chest that will create additional copies of any single ingredient you put in it, and you can also recruit various apprentice mages around the university to tag along with you on your adventures! How neat!