Oblivion 100% Completion Casual Guide

Made by Ben Songster (MeemawHustlin)

This guide is intended for casual players to go about achieving the 100% objectives at their own pace. If you prefer to follow an explicit and linear set of instructions, refer to the speedrunner version of this guide and the other materials. This guide is organized by objective, focusing mainly on explaining the possible ways the 100% objectives could become impossible to achieve, and how to avoid those softlocks. Occasionally extra advice is given for ways to speed up the process of achieving certain objectives, but no glitches/exploits are absolutely required in any case. This guide also functions as a way to visually see all of the information that the speedrun route logic is developed around for those who are curious about that. Each section includes general tips, along with specific softlocks that will make certain objectives impossible.

Table of Contents

  1. Quests Completed
  2. Main Quest
  3. Mages Guild
  4. Fighters Guild
  5. Dark Brotherhood
  6. Thieves Guild
  7. Daedric Shrines
  8. Master Training
  9. Misc/Side Quests
208 Quests Completed
Quests Completed requires you to finish each quest in a way that will move it to the completed section of your quest journal. Tips:
  • This section of the guide will contain the majority of the info you will need for getting 100% completion. This is because the vast majority of other objectives tend to be tied to quests in various ways:
    • Some free skill boosts are able to be acquired by finishing quests in certain ways.
    • Three Oblivion Gates Shut are acquired during the Main Quest.
    • Several merchants that are part of the Stores Invested In accomplishment are encountered through quests.
    • All 15 Artifacts Found are acquired during the Daedric Shrine Quests.
    • Many Skill Books are in convenient locations you already have to visit during quests, and some are actually impossible to acquire later if you do not get them during certain quests.
    • A few quests cause softlocks with the Places Found objective, most notably during the Fighters Guild and Main Quest.
    • The majority of the Fame objective is directly dependent on how you finish certain quests.
    • Many Nirnroots Found are in convenient locations during certain quests.
    • The Max Faction Ranks are awarded when specific quests are completed.
    • To get the Quest Journal Filled objective, a few additional quests need to be done in certain ways, and in a certain order.
  • This section will break down each quest and the specific other objectives and potential softlocks to consider while doing it. For a summary of the tips and softlocks specific to a single accomplishment, refer to the other sections of this guide.
    • All quests are listed, so quests that do not have additional bullet points under them have no specific requirements to avoid softlocks.
    • Quests are listed by questline/category. The order these quests are listed in does not guarantee that you will be able to get 100% completion by doing them in that order. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the listed softlocks before completing quests.
    • There are numerous additional bugs that are specific to each quest that have known workarounds. Only true softlocks are listed. Use the hyperlinks for each quest in the 100% Checklist to see a detailed list of bugs and info about each quest.
  • The Thieves Guild questline has several cases where a quest can be completed along with a Blood Price for “failing” it. These situations actually reward two quests completed each. More info is provided in the Thieves Guild section below.
    • Failing a quest will still count it as complete in most cases. For example, for the Speechcraft Training quest, if you choose to kill a beggar instead of talking to all of them, the stat will still increment in your journal even though you didn’t do what you were supposed to.
    • Be careful when doing this, as many quests that can be failed will not reward you Fame, a faction rank, etc. if you fail them.
Quests — Main Quest
Tutorial
  • Taking the Iron Key off the Goblin in the first rat area and making a save will give you an easy way to reactivate the Perma Key Glitch if you want to be able to use it.
Deliver the Amulet
Find the Heir
Breaking the Siege of Kvatch
The Battle for Castle Kvatch
  • A Dance in Fire, v4 [Acrobatics] skill book is on a table in the Great Hall of Kvatch Castle.
  • After finishing this quest, you can invest in Sigrid and Batul gra-Sharob back at the Kvatch camp.
Weynon Priory
  • Make sure you discover Cloud Ruler Temple before starting this quest, or else you will never be able to max out the Places Found accomplishment.
  • Now that you can enter Cloud Ruler Temple, Legend of Krately House [Sneak] and Beggar [Athletics] can be read in the East Wing and Great Hall.
The Path of Dawn
  • Make sure you talk to Jauffre and accept his offer to join the Blades faction.
  • Luther Broad can be invested in while you are in Luther Broad’s Boarding House.
  • You can invest in Phintias while at the First Edition.
  • You will acquire all four Mythic Dawn Commentaries skill books during this quest. Read them or keep them somewhere safe for later reading.
  • If Baurus survives, talking to him later at Cloud Ruler Temple will give you +1 to Blade, Block, and Heavy Armor as long as they are below 90.
  • If you watch the two Blades fight in the courtyard of Cloud Ruler Temple for a really long time, you will get +2 to Blade and Block if those skills are below 90.
Dagon Shrine
  • Make sure that Mankar Camoran actually enters the portal during this quest to avoid a softlock later.
  • After completing this quest, all Oblivion Gate locations on the map except for the Bruma Gate will be able to be discovered and closed.
  • As you escape Lake Arrius Caverns, in a chest past the final door before you exit the Shrine Living Quarters there is the Sacred Witness [Sneak] skill book. Depending on how you choose to escape the cave, you may never be able to go back and read this book.
  • If you rescue Jeelius and talk to him at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City afterwards, you will get +1 to Alchemy, Mysticism, and Restoration as long as they are below 90.
  • After completing this quest, Mythic Dawn Agents begin revealing themselves and fighting you in public. Try to avoid situations where NPCs fight each other, as this could lead to NPCs dying that you will need for other objectives.
Spies
Blood of the Daedra
  • You will need a Daedric Artifact to complete this quest, which will require you to complete one of the Daedric Shrine quests. Giving the Artifact to Martin will not decrease your Artifacts Found statistic.
Bruma Gate
  • This quest unlocks the ability to discover the Bruma Gate location and close the gate. At this point, every Oblivion Gate except for the Great Gate can be shut, and all places on the map can be discovered with the exception of Serpent’s Trail depending on how far you’ve advanced the Lifting the Vale quest.
Allies for Bruma
  • You will need to get the aid of all the other 7 major cities including Kvatch in order to get all 7 Fame. This requires you to have completed Battle for Castle Kvatch, as well as closing the gate that is right outside of each city.
    • The Wayward Knight quest is done during the Cheydinhal Oblivion Gate. Simply ignoring Farwil and closing the gate without interacting with him will avoid him dying so that you don’t miss the +2 Fame for that quest as well.
  • If Count Regulus Terentius or Viera Lerus die before getting aid from Bravil, you will not be able to get all 7 Fame.
  • The display case behind the throne in Bravil Castle has the Battle for Sancre Tor [Blade] skill book.
Blood of the Divines
Miscarcand
  • After this quest is completed, the skill books The Warp in the West [Block], The Doors of Oblivion [Conjuration] and The Refugees [Light Armor] are on the tables in front of Martin.
Defense of Bruma
  • While you are in the Chapel in Bruma, in the Chapel Hall downstairs you can read 2920, Hearth Fire (v9) on the NW shelf in the first room.
Great Gate
  • At this point, you can now close all 60 Oblivion Gates. 
Paradise
  • Make sure to discover all of the Oblivion Gates before doing this quest, since many random Oblivion gates will be unable to spawn once this quest is completed, preventing you from completing the Places Found and Oblivion Gates Shut objectives.
Light the Dragonfires
Imperial Dragon Armor
  • Close all of the Oblivion Gates before doing this quest since all of the open gates will close without giving you credit for them after you finish this quest, making it impossible to complete the Oblivion Gates Shut objective.
Quests - Mages Guild
  • If you get kicked out of the Mages Guild three times before becoming the Arch Mage, all of the below quests will become impossible to complete, and the max faction rank will be unattainable.
    • This also means you will lose access to the Arcane University, preventing you from reading the skill books Mannimarco, King of Worms [Alchemy], Song of the Alchemists [Alchemy], Liminal Bridges [Conjuration], Response to Bero’s Speech [Destruction], The Argonian Account, Book 3 [Illusion], and Before the Ages of Man [Mysticism] in the various Arcane University facilities.
Bravil Recommendation
  • Trying to do this quest and Through a Nightmare, Darkly will be potentially problematic since it can alter Kud-Ei’s schedule.
Anvil Recommendation
Cheydinhal Recommendation
  • There is a Nirnroot in the well.
  • The Firsthold Revolt [Mysticism] is on bookshelf next to a crystal ball in the basement.
Fingers of the Mountain
  • You need to give the book to Teekeeus to get +2 Fame, otherwise you will only get +1 Fame.
  • A Game at Dinner [Alchemy] is on the SE bookshelf of the main floor.
Fingers of the Mountain, Part II
  • You can tell Earana you won’t help her and the quest will still count as completed.
Skingrad Recommendation
  • Lord Jornibret’s Last Dance [Light Armor] is on the table where you find Erthor.
  • Daughter of the Niben [Alteration] is on a shelf in the Living Quarters of the guild hall.
Leyawiin Recommendation
Bruma Recommendation
  • The Wolf Queen, v 3 [Illusion] is downstairs in the guild hall. It will become impossible to read after the Information at a Price quest is completed.
    • More advanced players can try the Load Warping Glitch to get around this.
  • You can invest in Selena Orania in the guild hall. She will become impossible to invest in after the Information at a Price quest is completed. 
    • More advanced players can try the Load Warping Glitch to get around this.
Join the Mages Guild
Mages Guild Suspension
  • You need to complete this quest before finishing Confront the King, otherwise you will never be able to complete it.
Mages Guild Second Suspension
  • You need to complete this quest before finishing Confront the King, otherwise you will never be able to complete it.
  • Do not get suspended a third time.
A Mage’s Staff
  • If you want to use the Dorian Glitch to farm a lot of gold quickly, choosing the Mage’s Staff of Paralysis gives you an easy paralysis spell to use for that.
Ulterior Motives
  • If you haven’t talked to Glarthir yet, he may approach you during this quest and can potentially die, making completing the Paranoid quest impossible.
Vahtacen’s Secret
Necromancer’s Moon
Liberation or Apprehension?
Information at a Price
  • Read The Wolf Queen, v 3 [Illusion] downstairs in the Bruma Mages Guild Hall before finishing this quest or you will never be able to read this skill book.
  • Invest in Selena Orania in the Bruma Mages Guild Hall before finishing this quest or you will never be able to invest in her.
  • Now may be a good time to buy the Skingrad House from Shum gro-Yarug before he potentially dies from falling off the bridge due to a bug, which would prevent you from getting 100%.
  • In Janus Hassildor’s living quarters, you can read A Hypothetical Treachery [Destruction] on the shelf to the right of the bed, and read The Wolf Queen, v 2 [Hand to Hand] on the south bookshelf.
A Plot Revealed
The Bloodworm Helm
The Necromancer’s Amulet
Confront the King
  • Complete Mages Guild Suspension and Mages Guild Second Suspension before finishing this quest or you will be unable to complete them.
  • There is a Nirnroot in the Arch-Mage’s Quarters.
Alchemy Acquisitions
  • You can invest in Julienne Fanis during this quest.
Quests - Fighters Guild
  • If you get expelled three times from the Fighters Guild, you will be unable to complete all the quests and will be unable to get 100% completion.
Join the Fighters Guild
  • If your Infamy is 100 or higher, you will be unable to join the Fighters Guild unless you also have at least 100 Fame. It is highly recommended to at least join this guild early on even if you don’t do the questline itself right away, since you could potentially gain a lot of Infamy during the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood questlines.
A Rat Problem
  • You need to tell Arvena Thelas that Quill-Weave was behind it to get the +1 Fame for this quest. This will also give you a +1 Speechcraft bonus.
The Unfortunate Shopkeeper
  • Upstairs in the Dining Hall is the Death Blow of Abernanit [Block] skill book, in the chest in the room through the locked door.
  • You can invest in Norbert Lelles and Maenlorn at the inn at the end of this quest.
The Desolate Mine
  • You only get the +1 Fame from this quest if all 3 of the NPCs that assist you in the cave survive.
Expelled from the Fighters Guild (Journal-Filled)
  • This is a Journal-Filled quest. See the section about Journal-Filled quests for more info.
  • If you do not do this quest before finishing The Hist then you will be unable to fill your quest journal.
  • This quest is considered done after finishing the second expulsion, at which point the journal entry will say “I have been reinstated into the Fighters Guild once again...”. Do not get expelled a third time or you will be unable to complete the rest of the questline.
Unfinished Business
  • You need to tell Modryn Oreyn that you completed the task to get the +1 Fame.
  • You can invest in Erina Jeranus when you go to talk to Maglir.
  • In the Chorrol Fighters Guild Tower on the second floor of the guild hall, there is a trapdoor that leads to the Hallgerd’s Tale [Heavy Armor] skill book in a chest.
Drunk and Disorderly
  • There is a Nirnroot on the first floor of Margarte’s House.
Den of Thieves
Amelion’s Debt
The Master’s Son
  • On the third floor of Vilena Donton’s House, there is a Nirnroot and The Legendary Sancre Tor [Blunt] on a shelf.
More Unfinished Business
Azani Blackheart
  • Discover Arpenia before starting this quest, or else you will never be able to discover it.
  • This quest is incredibly buggy and can cause softlocks. It is highly recommended that you save frequently, and read the list of bugs about this quest, which are hyperlinked in the 100% Checklist if you get stuck.
  • The skill book Words and Philosophy [Blade] is on a shelf in Modryn Oreyn’s House.
The Fugitives
The Wandering Scholar
  • If Elante of Alinor dies, you will not get the +1 Fame.
  • After you get a quest update from escorting her, she will walk to a second spot and then hand you the skill book 2920, Morning Star (v1) [Blade].
Trolls of Forsaken Mine
The Stone of St. Alessia
  • Make sure you discover Sedor on the map before doing this quest, or else you will be unable to finish the Places Found objective. A quick fix is to simply ignore the quest marker telling you to go talk to the Bandit, and instead go straight to Sedor on your own.
The Noble’s Daughter
  • There is a Nirnroot on the second floor of Lord Rugdumph’s Estate.
Mystery at Harlun’s Watch
Information Gathering
Infiltration
  • There is a Nirnroot on the second floor walkway of the Blackwood Company.
The Hist
  • Make sure you have journal-filled the Fighters Guild Expulsion quest before completing this quest, otherwise you will be unable to do it afterwards.
  • There is a Nirnroot in Jeetum-Ze’s room on the second floor.
Quests - Dark Brotherhood
  • Do not become a Vampire before starting the Darkness Eternal quest from this questline or else you will be unable to obtain the quest and get 100%.
  • The contract bonuses for doing extra objectives are not required for 100% since they do not increment any of the finite statistics. Failing these quests does not matter either since there is no Fame tied to them.
  • If you get permanently exiled by getting kicked out three times, you will be unable to complete the Dark Brotherhood questline and be unable to get the maximum faction rank. This means that the Eternal Exile quest is the only one in the game that cannot be completed.
  • Many quests in this questline are just a simple starter quest to point you towards the next contract giver, so they have been grouped with the primary quest they are associated with.
A Knife in the Dark
  • If you kill Lucien Lachance, you will be unable to complete the rest of this questline.
  • You will need to kill someone to get initiated before you can start this quest. The safest NPC to kill in order to avoid softlocks is Alga in Bruma since she respawns for some reason, and is not related to any other objectives.
  • You can invest in Manheim Maulhand while at the Inn of Ill Omen.
Welcome to the Family/A Watery Grave
  • The skill books The Gold Ribbon of Merit [Marksman] and The Rear Guard [Light Armor] are in a chest in the Training Room of the Sanctuary.
  • The skill book The Black Arrow, v 2 [Marksman] is in Teinaava’s Chest in the Living Quarters.
  • The skill book The Wolf Queen, v 6 [Sneak] is in the main lobby of the Sanctuary.
  • There is a Nirnroot in Gaston Tussaud’s room.
Blood of the Damned/Accidents Happen
  • There is a Nirnroot upstairs in Baenlin’s House.
No Rest for the Wicked/Scheduled for Execution
To Serve Sithis/The Assassinated Man
Darkness Eternal
  • Start this quest before The Purification, or else you will not be able to complete it.
  • You will not be able to start this quest if you are already a vampire.
  • This quest can only be completed when Vicente dies.
A Dark Exile
  • Complete this quest before The Purification, or else you will not be able to complete it.
Another Dark Exile
  • Complete this quest before The Purification, or else you will not be able to complete it.
The Renegade Shadowscale
  • Complete this quest before The Purification, or else you will not be able to complete it. There is no failure state for this quest after starting it, so you have to complete the quest normally before Teinaava dies to get the maximum Quests Completed.
My Brother’s Keeper/The Lonely Wanderer
Enter the Eliminator/Bad Medicine
The Night Mother’s Child/Whodunit?
  • Completing the bonus for this contract by not getting caught will give you a permanent skill boost of +2 to Acrobatics, Blade, Marksman, Security, and Sneak.
The Assassin’s Gambit/Permanent Retirement
  • In the Leyawiin Barracks, the skill book The Mirror [Block] is in a side room on the ground floor.
Of Secret and Shadow/The Purification
  • Start Darkness Eternal, and complete A Dark Exile, Another Dark Exile, and The Renegade Shadowscale before starting this quest or else you will not be able to complete these quests.
The Dead Drop/Affairs of a Wizard
  • The skill book The Art of War Magic [Destruction] is on a bookshelf in Leafrot Cave.
Next of Kin
  • Invest in Andreas Draconis before killing hum during this quest to avoid softlocking the Stores Invest In requirement. If you select the “[Say Nothing]” dialogue option, you will be able to invest in him safely.
Broken Vows
  • The skill book Ahzirr Traajijazeri [Hand to Hand] is in the basement of J’Ghasta’s House.
Final Justice
A Matter of Honor
The Coldest Sleep
A Kiss Before Dying
Following a Lead
  • You can invest in Enilroth after talking to him at the barrel.
  • There is a Nirnroot inside of Ulfar Fog-Eye’s House in the lighthouse.
Whispers of Death (Journal-Filled)
  • This is a Journal-Filled quest. See the section about Journal-Filled quests for more info.
  • This quest is considered done just by having it in your journal since it cannot ever be updated or completed.
Quests - Thieves Guild
  • The Thieves Guild questline has several cases where a quest can be completed along with a Blood Price for “failing” it. These situations actually reward two quests completed each, since you complete one quest for paying off the Blood Price, and a second quest for doing the actual quest itself. In most cases, completing the Blood Price actually automatically finishes the quest it is associated with even if you didn’t actually steal the required item yet.
    • To complete a Blood Price, you will need to pay a fine to Armand (and sometimes the Gray Fox.) 
    • Each quest will have a specific note detailing how its Blood Price works, as they vary a bit between quests.
Finding the Thieves Guild
  • This quest has no Blood Price.
May the Best Thief Win + Blood Price
  • If Amantius Allectus and Rohssan are both dead before starting this quest, you will be unable to complete the Blood Price and cannot get 100% completion.
  • You can fail this quest once and be given a second objective (this is not a separate quest, but a continuation of the current one), but regardless of which of these two tasks you complete, you need to kill Amantius Allectus to trigger the Blood Price. You should not kill Rohssan since you need to invest in her to get the Stores Invested In objective.
Independent Thievery
  • This quest has no Blood Price.
  • This quest requires you to fence a total of 1000 gold, but will not complete itself until you have finished the Thieves Guild questline.
  • You can invest in Ongar the World-Weary while selling items to him.
Cast out of the Thieves Guild (Journal-Filled)
  • Do this quest before The Ultimate Heist or you will never be able to start/finish it.
  • This is a Journal-Filled quest. See the section about Journal-Filled quests for more info.
  • This quest is considered done when you have looped it once (gotten kicked out and paid the fine to get back in.)
Untaxing the Poor
  • This quest has no Blood Price.
  • There is a Nirnroot on the top floor of the Watchtower.
The Elven Maiden + Blood Price
  • To trigger the Blood Price, you need to kill the Chapel Guard in the Cheydinhal Chapel Undercroft. Paying the fine to Armand for this will complete the quest without having to get the item.
Ahdarji’s Heirloom + Blood Price
  • This quest is horribly broken. Make sure to complete this quest BEFORE the Sanguine quest, since a bug will softlock you from being able to complete this quest. It is highly recommended to complete Sanguine directly after this quest to avoid a separate bug that may prevent you from finishing that quest too.
  • To trigger the Blood Price, kill a Bravil Guard in the bedroom after taking the ring. You can pay S’Krivva but you must also complete the rest of this quest normally as well.
  • You can read Thief [Acrobatics] upstairs in S’Krivva’s House.
  • There is a Nirnroot and the skill book Ice and Chitin [Light Armor] in the upstairs west wing of Ahdarji’s House.
  • You can read Warrior [Block] on a shelf in the bedroom where you steal the ring.
Misdirection + Blood Price
  • Kill an Imperial Battlemage (the blue hooded guards) to trigger this Blood Price. Depending on how you’ve completed previous quests, they may be running around randomly in the Waterfront District. You can pay S’Krivva, and will finish the quest without doing the actual objective as long as you’ve already talked to Methredhel at the start of the quest.
Lost Histories + Blood Price
  • Kill the Jailor in the Skingrad Dungeon to trigger this Blood Price. You can pay S’Krivva and you can finish the quest without doing the actual objective.
Taking Care of Lex + Blood Price
  • Kill an Anvil Guard in Castle Anvil to trigger the Blood Price. You can pay S’Krivva but you must actually complete the objective normally as well.
  • There is a Nirnroot and the skill book The Red Kitchen Reader [Athletics] in the Private Quarters.
  • The skill book King [Blunt] is on a bookshelf in the Royal Quarters.
  • The skill book Chimarvamidium [Heavy Armor] is upstairs in the Imperial Legion Offices.
  • You can invest in Orrin while in Castle Anvil.
Turning a Blind Eye + Blood Price
  • If Helvius Cecia (the owner of the house the Gray Fox is in) is dead, this quest will be impossible to complete since his script updates the quest to be completed for some reason.
  • Kill any of the Monks in the Monk’s Quarters outside to trigger the Blood Price. You will be able to pay the Gray Fox after giving him the stone, and must complete the quest normally.
Arrow of Extrication + Blood Price
  • Kill a Bravil Guard in the castle to trigger the Blood Price. You will be able to pay the Gray Fox, but must complete the quest normally.
  • In Castle Bravil, the book The Importance of Where [Blunt] is in the Dungeon and the book Light Armor Repair [Armorer] is in the Barracks upstairs.
  • The book Father of the Niben [Marksman] is in the Lord’s Manor North Wing.
  • There is a Nirnroot at the edge of the water in the Bravil Wizard’s Grotto.
Boots of Springheel Jak + Blood Price
  • Kill Gemellus Axius to trigger this Blood Price. You need to pay Armand the fine before turning the quest in to the Gray Fox, and you need to complete the quest normally.
The Ultimate Heist
  • There is no Blood Price for this quest.
  • If you get caught before you are able to obtain the Elder Scroll, you will be kicked out of the Thieves Guild and never be able to reach the max rank of the faction.
  • If you do not read 2090, Second Seed (v5) [Speechcraft] on the top shelf by the final fireplace in the Imperial Battlemage’s Chambers before exiting, you will be unable to ever go back and read the book, preventing you from getting 100% completion.
    • More advanced players can try the Load Warping Glitch to get around this.
  • The book Fire and Darkness [Blade] is in an Ayleid Cask in the side room of the Hall of Epochs. It is very inconvenient to backtrack to this location later, so it is highly recommended that you read this book now.
  • The skill book Proper Lock Design [Security] is on the top floor of Dareloth’s House.
  • Do not do any quests or actions associated with Fame while wearing the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal quest reward, as it will give the fame to the Gray Fox instead of you, preventing 100% Fame completion.
Quests - Daedric Shrines
  • Failing any of the other Daedric Shrine quests will make it impossible to start the Hermaeus Mora quest.
  • Each Daedric Shrine quest has both Fame (except for Namira) and an artifact to count towards the Artifacts Found accomplishment. In all cases, you will earn the Fame and Artifact by doing the same thing. Each softlock will be listed, and in parentheses next to the quest name, the level and item(s) required for starting each quest will be listed for convenience.
  • Shrine quests are ordered by level requirement, but it is highly recommended that you read about the Sanguine quest early since it has major issues that can cause softlocks.
Azura (Level 2 - Glow Dust)
Sheogorath (Level 2 - Lesser Soul Gem, Lettuce, and Yarn)
  • You can invest in S’thasa at the Border Watch Inn.
  • There is a Nirnroot behind the counter at the Border Watch Inn.
Namira (Level 5 - Personality of 20 or less)
  • If you kill any of the priests of Arkay without letting the Forgotten do it themselves, or you kill any of the Forgotten, you will be unable to receive the Artifact.
Vaermina (Level 5 - Black Soul Gem)
  • The skill book Palla, volume 1 [Illusion] is on the table next to the Orb of Vaermina.
Sanguine (Level 8 - Cyrodilic Brandy)
  • This quest is horribly broken. Make sure to complete this quest AFTER the Ahdarji’s Heirloom quest, since a bug will softlock you from being able to complete this quest. It is highly recommended to complete Sanguine directly after Ahdarji’s Heirloom to avoid a separate bug that may prevent you from finishing this quest too.
  • Failing to cast the Stark Reality spell on Countess Alessia Caro when she is sitting at the dinner table during the party will make it impossible for you to obtain the +1 Fame and Artifact for this quest.
  • You can invest in Engorm while at the shrine. After completing this quest, Engorm becomes non-essential and could potentially die to wildlife spawning near the shrine, resulting in not being able to invest in him.
Malacath (Level 10 - Troll Fat)
  • Free the ogres. You cannot kill any of the ogres or else you will not receive the Artifact.
    • Guards in the mine will continue to randomly hunt you down later in the game if you do not kill them during this quest, which can cause unexpected instances of NPC combat. They will usually spawn next to you after you go to jail or pay a gold fine.
Meridia (Level 10 - Bonemeal, Ectoplasm, or Mort Flesh)
Nocturnal (Level 10 - No offering)
  • The Skeleton Key Artifact that you get as a quest reward gives you a +40 Security bonus that actually changes your base stat, making this +40 count towards the Master Skills requirement as long as you keep the item in your inventory.
Peryite (Level 10 - No offering)
Mephala (Level 15 - Nightshade)
  • Invest in Kirsten before finishing this quest, since she will potentially die or stop talking to you after finishing it, making it impossible to invest in her.
  • If you get caught for any crime in Bleaker’s Way during or even before starting this quest, you will be unable to get the Artifact.
  • If you kill everybody in Bleaker’s Way before you properly plant the evidence, you will fail this quest and be unable to get the Artifact.
  • The only correct way to complete this quest is to properly kill each of the clan leaders, plant the evidence on both bodies, and report the attacks to another NPC at Bleaker’s Way.
Hircine (Level 17 - Bear Pelt or Wolf Pelt)
Molag Bal (Level 17 - Lion Pelt)
  • Accidentally selling or dropping the Cursed Mace will make it impossible to receive the Artifact.
  • Killing Melus Petilius will fail the quest and you will be unable to obtain the Artifact.
  • Being killed by Melus Petilius without him using the Cursed Mace will also fail the quest.
  • There is a Nirnroot in Torbal the Sufficient’s House, and The Black Arrow, v 1 [Acrobatics] in the chest by the bed.
Boethia (Level 20 - Daedra Heart)
Clavicus Vile (Level 20 - 500 Gold)
  • You must choose to return the Umbra Sword to Clavicus Vile to receive the Fame and Artifact.
Hermaeus Mora (Level 20 - Successfully complete all other Daedric Shrine quests)
  • Failing any of the other Daedric Shrine quests will make it impossible to start the Hermaeus Mora quest.
  • You will receive the Oghma Infinium, which can be read to provide a massive free skill boost depending on the path you choose:
    • Path of Steel:         +10 to Blade, Blunt, and Heavy Armor
    • Path of Shadow:     +10 to Light Armor, Security, and Sneak
    • Path of Spirit:         +10 to Conjuration, Destruction, and Restoration
Quests - Master Training
  •  If any of the master trainers die before their quest is started, you will be unable to complete their quest. Trainers that are extremely prone to dying will have a dedicated note about their potential softlocks.
    • Additionally if both the Advanced Trainers that can recommend the quest to you die, you will be unable to start that Master Training quest. In general this is incredibly unlikely as most trainers have simple schedules, but it is still recommended to start these quests early if possible.
  • All of these quests can be failed by killing the trainer without compromising 100% Completion as long as you started the quest before the NPC died.

  • Starting these quests requires getting to level 70 at a skill (which can be artificially boosted with a spell) and then talking to an Advanced Trainer of that skill about finding further training.

Acrobatics Training
  • Torbern lives outdoors, which may result in him dying randomly to wildlife at higher levels, although this is generally unlikely.
Alchemy Training
  • If you choose to kill Sinderion instead of doing the quest properly, make sure you have already invested in him and completed Seeking Your Roots, otherwise you will not get +1 Fame from that quest.
  • You can invest in Sinderion while doing this quest.
Alteration Training
  • Tooth-in-the-Sea lives outdoors, which may result in him dying randomly to wildlife at higher levels, although this is generally unlikely.
Armorer Training
Athletics Training
Blade Training
Block Training
Blunt Training
Conjuration Training
  • Olyn Seran lives outdoors, which may result in him dying randomly to wildlife at higher levels, although this is generally unlikely.
Destruction Training
  • Bralsa Andaren lives outdoors, which may result in her dying randomly to wildlife at higher levels, although this is generally unlikely.
Hand to Hand Training
  • If you choose to kill Helvius Cecia for this quest, make sure you have already completed the Turning a Blind Eye quest from the Thieves Guild, or else that quest will become impossible to finish.
Heavy Armor Training
Illusion Training
  • You need Welkynd Stones to complete this quest, which do not respawn anywhere in the game, so if you have used them all you will have to kill Martina Floria to complete this quest.
Light Armor Training
Marksman Training
  • Alawen is extremely prone to dying since she lives outdoors and goes hunting. Try to start this quest as early as possible to avoid this very likely softlock.
Mercantile Training
Mysticism Training
  • You cannot complete this quest until after you have helped Dagail during Leyawiin Recommendation. She cannot be killed so you also need to actually close 3 Oblivion Gates, which can only be done after completing Find the Heir.
Restoration Training
  • You can softlock this quest by not starting it, then completing The Battle for Castle Kvatch to move Oleta out of the Chapel, and then have her die to wildlife since she now lives outdoors, but this is a very unlikely outcome.
Security Training
Sneak Training
Speechcraft Training
  • Although you can’t kill Tandilwe, you can kill any beggar after starting this quest without compromising 100% Completion.
Quests - Misc./Side Quests
The Arena (Journal-Filled)
  • If you get permanently kicked out of the Arena by getting disqualified twice for not wearing your raiment, you will be unable to do this quest.
  • Make sure to start Origin of the Gray Prince before challenging the Grand Champion, since you will have to kill Agronak gro-Malog, resulting in you being unable to start his quest. Killing him without finishing Origin of the Gray Prince correctly does not affect 100% Completion.
  • This is a Journal-Filled quest. See the section about Journal-Filled quests for more info.
  • This quest is considered done after the quest update when you have been offered the creature fight by Ysabel.
  • In the Arena District where the brawlers are fighting, the skill book Song of Hrormir [Blade] is in a locked chest.
  • The skill book The Ransom of Zarek [Athletics] is in the Bloodworks in a cupboard.
  • If you watch the brawlers fight for long enough, you will get +5 to Hand to Hand if it is below 90.
Buy a house in the Imperial City
  • If Vinicia Melissaeia or Sergius Verus die, you will be unable to buy the house or complete this quest.
Unfriendly Competition
  • Make sure Agarmir does not die before starting this quest. If he is killed early during the quest, you will still be able to get 100% Completion.
  • You can invest in Jensine during this quest.
The Collector
  • Complete this quest before doing Secrets of the Ayleids, otherwise you will be unable to complete it and cannot complete all quests.
Nothing You Can Possess
Secrets of the Ayleids
  • Complete The Collector before starting this quest otherwise that quest will become impossible to complete.
  • If Umbacano dies and the quest is “failed” you are still able to get 100% Completion.
The Order of the Virtuous Blood
  • If Ralsa Norvalo dies before you start this quest, you will be unable to start it.
  • You must choose to kill Seridur to get the +1 Fame and to join the faction.
  • The skill book Immortal Blood [Hand to Hand] is in the basement of Seridur’s House.
Imperial Corruption
  • If Ruslan, Luronk gro-Glurzog, or Audens Avidius die before starting/completing this quest, it will become impossible to complete.
An Unexpected Voyage
  • You can invest in Ormil while doing this quest.
Origin of the Gray Prince
  • Start this quest before challenging Agronak gro-Malog during the Arena quest, otherwise you will be unable to start this quest. Killing him after starting this quest does not affect 100% Completion.
Vampire Cure
  • Make sure to start the Darkness Eternal quest from the Dark Brotherhood before doing this quest, otherwise you will be unable to start that quest.
  • This quest is incredibly buggy. It is highly recommended that you read about this quest’s bugs via the link in the 100% Checklist since you likely encounter at least one bug during this quest.
Newheim’s Flagon
Where the Spirits Have Lease
  • If Wilbur dies, this quest will become impossible to complete.
  • You can invest in Wilbur at The Count’s Arms, and Ley Marillin at the King and Queen Tavern.
The Siren’s Deception
  • If you kill the Sirens before they talk to you at the farmhouse, you will not get the +1 Fame and be unable to get maximum Fame.
The Ghost Ship of Anvil
  • If Varulae dies before starting this quest, you will be unable to start it and won’t be able to complete it.
Caught in the Hunt
  • If Ursanne Loche, Kurdan gro-Dragol, or Aleron Loche die prematurely, you will not get the +1 Fame and will be unable to get maximum Fame.
  • There is a Nirnroot in the first water area of the Hunter’s Run.
  • The quest reward is the skill book Biography of the Wolf Queen [Speechcraft].
Through A Nightmare, Darkly
  • Do not do this quest at the same time as Bravil Recommendation, as this can glitch out Kud-Ei’s schedule and make one or both of them impossible to complete.
  • If you do not read The Lunar Lorkhan [Alteration] by the bed in the Dreamworld house, you will be unable to ever go back and read it, preventing you from getting all Skill Books Read.
The Forlorn Watchman
Buying a house in Bravil
  • If Count Regulus Terentius dies before you buy the house from him, this quest will be impossible to start, and you will be unable to max out the Houses Owned statistic.
  • If Nilawen dies, you will be unable to complete this quest.
  • You can invest in Nilawen during this quest.
Two Sides of the Coin
  • If Jorundr dies before finishing this quest, you will be unable to complete it.
  • If you kill Arnora Auria before you’ve gone to jail to talk to Jorundr, you will not get the +1 Fame for this quest and be unable to get maximum Fame.
  • You have a chance of getting skill books that only appear in random loot. See the Skill Books Read section for more info.
A Brotherhood Betrayed
  • Make sure no NPCs are killed except for Raynil, or else you will not get the +1 Fame and be unable to get maximum Fame.
  • If you kill Raynil before talking to him at Boreal Stone Cave, or he escapes, you will be unable to get the +1 Fame.
Lifting the Vale
  • You will be unable to discover Serpent’s Trail until you have advanced this quest to the point where the Countess marks the first landmark on your map.
Buying a house in Bruma
  • If Suurootan dies, you will be unable to complete this quest.
  • You can invest in Suurootan and Karinnarre during this quest.
A Brush with Death
  • If Tivela dies, you will be unable to start this quest and complete it.
Buying a house in Cheydinhal
  • If Borba gra-Uzgash dies, you cannot complete this quest.
  • You can invest in Borba gra-Uzgash and Magra gro-Naybek, who is usually locked in the basement of Borba’s store.
Corruption and Conscience
  • If you kill Ulrich Leland, you will be unable to get the +1 Fame for this quest. You have to find and provide evidence to Garrus for the +1 Fame path.
The Wayward Knight
  • You must complete this quest before finishing Allies for Bruma to maximize the Fame you’ll get from that quest.
  • If you finish Light the Dragonfires before this quest, you will not get the +2 Fame.
  • If Farwil dies during this quest, you will not get the +2 Fame. Simply ignoring Farwil and closing the gate without interacting with him will avoid him dying.
The Killing Field
  • You can invest in Emfrid at The Grey Mare during this quest.
  • There is a Nirnroot inside the Odiil farmhouse.
Separated at Birth
  • You can invest in Dervera Romalen at the Newlands Lodge during this quest.
Legacy Lost
  • You have to choose to give the Honorblade back to Chorrol Castle or else you won’t get the +1 Fame.
  • You can invest in Fathis Ules during this quest.
A Shadow Over Hackdirt
  • Invest in Etira Moslin and Vlanhonder Moslin during this quest in case they die during it.
  • There is a Nirnroot upstairs in Natch Pinder’s House at Hackdirt.
  • If you can keep Dar-Ma alive, you will be rewarded with a free +5 Mercantile boost.
Canvas the Castle
  • You need to accuse Chanel to get the +1 Fame.
Buying a house in Chorrol
  • If Seed-Neeus dies (she becomes non-essential after completing A Shadow Over Hackdirt) then you will be unable to complete this quest.
Raid on Greyland
  • Killing Lerexus Callidus to “fail” this quest will still count it as complete.
Tears of the Savior
  • If S’drassa dies before or during this quest, you will be unable to start the quest or get the +1 Fame.
  • You can invest in S’drassa during this quest.
Whom Gods Annoy
  • You can invest in Alves Uvenim during this quest.
  • You can read Withershins [Restoration] on the 2nd Floor East room of the Leyawiin Mages Guild.
Mazoga the Orc
  • If Mazoga or Weebam-Na dies before or during this quest, you will be unable to start this quest or start the Knights of the White Stallion quest.
Knights of the White Stallion
  • If Mazoga dies, you will be unable to join the Knights of the White Stallion faction to reach all max faction ranks.
Buying a house in Leyawiin
  • If Gundalas dies, you will be unable to complete this quest.
  • You can invest in Gundalas and Elsynia during this quest.
Paranoia
  • You have to show Glarthir’s note to a guard to get the +1 Fame for this quest.
  • Declining Glarthir’s initial offer, or killing him will make it so that you are unable to earn the +1 Fame.
Buying a house in Skingrad
  • If Shum gro-Yarug dies due to a bug where he can accidentally walk off the bridge to Castle Skingrad, you will be unable to start this quest.
  • If Gunder dies, you will be unable to complete this quest.
  • You can invest in Gunder during this quest.
Helping Hands
  • If Eyja dies before starting this quest, you will be unable to start/complete it.
The Rosethorn Cache
Seeking Your Roots
  • If Sinderion dies, you will be unable to get the +1 Fame for this quest.
  • You can invest in Sinderion during this quest.
A Venerable Vintage
  • You can invest in Nerussa during this quest.
Bear Season
  • Thorley is prone to dying since he spends most of his day outdoors near bears. It is highly recommended that you at least start this quest early since you will be unable to start the quest if he dies.
  • You can kill Thorley after starting the quest and still get 100% Completion, but this is not recommended since he will reward you with a random loot skill book. See the Skill Books Read section for more info.
Go Fish
  • Make sure to start this quest before Aelwin Merowald dies. Killing him to complete the quest will still allow you to get 100% Completion.
  • Choosing the “Laugh in his face” dialogue option permanently stops you from being able to start this quest.
Goblin Trouble
No Stone Unturned
  • Make sure to start this quest before Lithnilian dies. Killing him to complete the quest will still allow you to get 100% Completion.
  • You can invest in Davela Hlaren during this quest.
  • The skill book Calcinator Treatise [Alchemy] is under a bed on the top floor.
Revenge Served Cold
  • Make sure to start this quest before Corrick Northwode dies. Killing him to complete the quest will still allow you to get 100% Completion.
The Gravefinder’s Repose
  • You can invest in Malene during this quest.
The Potato Snatcher
  • Make sure to start this quest before S’jirra dies. Killing her to complete the quest will still allow you to get 100% Completion.
  • You can invest in Abhuki during this quest.
The Sunken One
When the Vow Breaks
  • Make sure to start this quest before Maeva dies. Killing her to complete the quest will still allow you to get 100% Completion.
Zero Visibility
  • The skill book Mystery of Talara, v 4 [Illusion] is under the desk on the second floor of the tower.