The Cheydinhal Fighters Guildhall, one of the guild headquarters of the Fighters Guild.
- For other uses, see Factions.
Factions or guilds are organizations of people with a common goal in Cyrodiil. The Hero of Kvatch can join several of these factions. Upon joining, specific tasks, known as quests can be administered by a higher-up or leading official of the faction.
Most factions have multiple guildhalls or headquarters that remain static for the entire storyline, other factions only have the one headquarters. Each faction has a clear leader, such as Arch-Mage Hannibal Traven for the Mages Guild, Jauffre as the Grandmaster of the Blades and Sheogorath as the leader of the Court of Madness.
Comparisons with other games[]
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion shares the same three core factions as the previous The Elder Scrolls games: the Thieves Guild, the Fighters Guild, and the Mages Guild. While the religious orders dedicated to the Divines are featured in the game, this time the player cannot join any of them, the only exception being the Knights of the Nine, introduced with the DLC of the same name. There are a number of chivalric military orders that the player is able to join, similar to the Knight Orders of The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. The Dark Brotherhood was introduced as a joinable faction, replacing in function the Morag Tong from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
Oblivion is the last game in the series to feature the same core factions, as of the three only the Thieves Guild makes an appearance in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. While the player is not able to join the Imperial Legion, the faction is joinable in both the preceding and the succeeding title. The Blades are one of the few factions present in all of the games.
Perks of joining factions[]
Some factions, such as the Knights of the Nine grant a special uniform upon joining which can be worn optionally either to reap the bonuses of the armor or for role-playing aesthetic. More extreme benefits, such as becoming a Pilgrim's Grace can only be achieved by joining factions.
Other factions may provide amenities to the Hero of Kvatch, such as sleeping quarters, containers that never reset for safe item storage, and followers. Once a member attains a certain rank, they can freely take any items from the guild hall.
Certain guild-mates cannot be unlocked as followers unless a given faction is joined. For example, the Mages Guild has two possible followers that can be unlocked. These are Mage Apprentices.
Because guild members can come and go at any hour of the day, joining a faction is wise for vampires, since there will be an abundance of sleeping guild-mates that can be accessed without breaking and entering, trespassing, or sneaking. Additionally, they provide safe havens that can be quickly entered to avoid sustaining Sun Damage.
Expulsion and availability[]
Factions possess some integral rules. Members cannot steal, murder, or attack other members of the guild without risking expulsion, arrest, or the faction's members becoming relentlessly hostile toward the Hero of Kvatch. Some will desist if the bounty is cleared.
While most factions can be joined at any time throughout the main storyline, some factions can only be joined for a limited amount of time or are entirely unavailable upon joining another faction. In the former example, the Blackwood Company can be temporarily aligned during the fighters guild questline, similar to the Hero of Kvatch joining the Mythic Dawn to temporarily advance the questline.
List of factions[]
Joinable[]
Non-joinable[]
Trivia[]
- The Black Hand is merely a sub-faction within the Dark Brotherhood.
- The Dark Seducers and the Golden Saints are part of the Daedric Forces of Madness.
See also[]
- All factions that appear in Oblivion.
- Factions that only appear in lore sources, such as in-game books.