Get a scratch while facing a vampire and you might be on your way to becoming one in Oblivion. While vampirism might sound dreadful, its perks are worth considering if you want to clear Cyrodill’s quests faster in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. However, it’s a mixed boon that gives you sunlight damage and weird looks from bystanders among other drawbacks. Read on to learn how you can become a vampire, gain those sweet vampirism perks, where your future brethren are, and find cures for Porphyric Hemophilia.

Table of Contents¶

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Turning into a vampire¶

To gain vampire powers, your character needs to contract Porphyric Hemophilia. Once you obtain this condition, don’t cure it and wait for 72 hours. Sleep after doing so and you will turn into a vampire. While some effects will take hold of you right away, spending more time without feeding will enhance these effects. Here’s how you can contract Porphyric Hemophilia in Oblivion:

• Fight vampires scattered across Cyrodiil.
• Finish the Darkness Eternal quest with the Dark Brotherhood faction.
• Eat the Beating Heart in the Unearthing Mehrunes Razor quest.

Fighting vampires¶

Vampires can give you this condition when they hit you with melee attacks, even if they use weapons. You’ll see a pop-up noting that you’ve contracted Porphyric Hemophilia if you do it right. The Active Effects screen will also mention this condition if you are successful.

Darkness Eternal quest¶

A longer route to vampirism is joining the Dark Brotherhood by murdering an innocent person. You’ll need to finish five quests before getting the Darkness Eternal quest from Vicente Valtieri. These are A Knife in the Dark, A Watery Grave, Accidents Happen, Scheduled for Execution, and The Assassinated Man. Speak to Valtieri after these quests and ask about the Dark Gift. You can find him at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary under the Abandoned House in Cheydinhal. He will agree to grant you the Porphyric Hemophilia disease as he is a vampire. Sleep in a bed after this and you will obtain this journal entry:

“Upon awakening, I discovered two bleeding pinpricks on my neck. It would appear Vicente Valtieri did indeed visit me last night, and passed along his Dark Gift! If what Valtieri told me is true, my vampirism will begin to manifest itself in three days, after I sleep once more.”

Unearthing Mehrunes Razor Quest¶

Unearthing Mehrunes Razor is another quest that gives you this trait. It’s no longer a DLC quest and is a part of the base game in the Remastered edition. Head to Sundercliff Watch on the eastern side of the in-game map to start this quest. While you can do so right after beating the tutorial, we recommend clearing most of the campaign before pursuing this quest as it features some challenging opponents.

Here’s how you can beat the Unearthing Mehrunes Razor quest:

• Get to a door within Sundercliff Watch with a journal in a bag near this entrance. Read it to get the passcode for the main dungeon.
• Once you’re inside, find Frathen Drothan’s cabin and read his journal.
• You will learn that you need to defeat the Drothmeri Commander in Sundercliff Commune and the Forgemaster in Sundercliff Forge. The Commander’s house is next to Drothan’s cabin, while the Forgemaster is in the lower level of the Sundercliff Forge.
• Looting the Commander’s side table and Forgemaster’s tent will give you two Enchanted Bezoars.
• There’s a shortcut passageway in the northwest corner of the forge that will let you return to the village quickly. Simply pull the rope to lower the rock wall. Now, place the bezoars on the pedestals and enter the Varsa Baalim Ayleid Ruin.
• Get to the Cava Marspanga door here and enter it to reach the Nefarivigum area. You’ll run into Drothan near a casket that contains Msirae Faythung, Mehrunes Dagon’s champion. Handle Drothan and interact with the casket to get the Beating Heart. You’ll also find the powerful Mehrunes Razer weapon behind a gate here.
• Eating the Beating Heart will infect you with Porphyric Hemophilia and Cannibal’s Prion. Wait 72 hours for vampirism to take hold. You can then cure Cannibal’s Prion with a potion or scroll. Curing yourself before that will remove the Porphyric Hemophilia condition too. Instead, you can create a Potion of Porphyric Hemophilia with the Beating Heart if you have an Alchemy Level of 100.

Vampire locations¶

In addition to random encounters with vampires, some locations have a confirmed vampire presence. Here’s where you need to go to quickly contract Porphyric Hemophilia:

Vampire bonuses and drawbacks¶

Here are the bonuses you can obtain by becoming a vampire in Oblivion:

• Gain +100% Disease Resistance and +100% Paralysis Resistance.
• A +5/10/15/20 Bonus to Strength, Willpower, and Speed Attributes.
• Another handy +5/10/15/20 Bonus to Acrobatics, Athletics, Destruction, Hand To Hand, Illusion, Mysticism, and Sneak Skills.
• Gain the Hunter’s Sight ability at 25% Vampirism Level. Spend 5 Magicka to gain Night Eye and Detect Life up to 100 feet for 30 seconds.
• Obtain the Vampire’s Seduction ability at 50% Vampirism Level. Use this to Charm a target for 20 seconds when you’re next to them, boosting their Disposition towards you by 50 points. It can only be used once a day.
• Get the Reign Of Terror ability at 75% Vampirism Level. Touch a target to Demoralise them for 60 seconds. This also casts Silence in a 20 foot area around you, preventing foes from casting spells. Reign Of Terror can only be used one per day.
• Gain the Embrace Of Shadows ability at 100% Vampirism Level. Gain Night Eye for 90 seconds and Invisibility for 180 seconds once per day.

While all those abilities and bonuses can help you speed through quests and dungeons, vampirism has its drawbacks:

• 0/1/4/8 HP damage per second in sunlight. You also lose the ability to fast travel while in sunlight.
• 20/30/40/50% weaker to Fire damage. This stacks with other fire damage debuffs like those of the High Elves and the Lord birthsign.
• Your appearance changes, making it harder to speak with people as your Vampirism Level increases.
• You need to feed on sleeping NPCs to lower your Vampirism Level. This needs to be done every night if you want to stay at the lowest Vampirism Level. The value increases by 25% for every 24 hours spent without feeding. Doing so in a public place has a chance of alerting nearby guards to your condition.

Preventing vampirism¶

If you’ve been struck by Porphyric Hemophilia, removing the condition in 72 hours will prevent you from turning into a vampire. Fail to do so and you will turn into one when you rest. This is impossible to avoid because you can only level up when you take rest. Instead, avoid becoming a vampire by trying the following methods:

• Pray at a Chapel. You can find them in cities like Kvatch, Chorrol, and Cheydinhal.
• Find and eat Mandrake Root or Shepherd’s Pie. The former can be found in the Colovian Highlands and the Arcane University. You can find Shepherd’s Pie in homes like Philip Franc’s house to the east of Blankenmarch.
• Use the Cure Disease Restoration spell.
• Get and drink a Cure Disease potion. This can be found as random loot from foes and chests.

Curing vampirism¶

If you’ve turned into a vampire, the previous methods won’t help. Instead, you should consider the Vampire Cure quest or use the Font of Renewal.

Font of Renewal¶

Here’s how you can use the Font of Renewal to cure vampirism:

• Head to the Deepscorn Hollow southeast of Leyawiin. This will give you the Deepscorn Hollow quest. You don’t need to complete it to cure your vampirism.
• You’ll need to use an underwater entrance to gain entry. Head to the Font of Renewal here after taking Purgeblood Salts from the crystal formations in the same room.
• Step into the water of the Font and interact with the obelisk in the middle. This will cure your vampirism.

The Vampire Cure quest¶

The Vampire Cure is a lengthy quest in Oblivion that can help you cure vampirism. Here’s how you can finish it:

• Speak with Raminus Polus at the Arch-Mage’s Lobby within Arcane University of the Imperial City. He will point you to Count Janus Hassildor who stays in Castle Skingrad to the east of Kvatch. Gain an audience with him by speaking to his steward Hal-Liurz.
• Hassildor will ask you for a Cure Vampirism potion for his wife. He will also tell you that one of the witches of Glenmoril lives near the Corbolo River and may have a cure for vampirism.
• Head to the quest marker in Drakelowe and speak to Melisande about your condition. She will first ask for 5 empty Grand Soul gems as payment. Either purchase them from magical vendors or visit locations like Melisande’s basement, the Wind Holes in Squandered Mine, Crayfish Steep in Crayfish Cave, and Nornal Ageasel in Nornal. You can also find Grand Soul Gems in the Arch-Mage’s Lobby of the Arcane University and the entrance room of the Chorrol Mages Guild.
• Return to Melisande and she will tell you about the ingredients necessary for the Cure Vampirism Potion: 2x Bloodgrass, 6x Garlic, 5x Nightshade, the Blood of an Argonian, and the Ashes of a Powerful Vampire.
• Bloodgrass can be found in Oblivion Gates and Garlic can be found in clusters hanging in building basements. Finally, Nightshade can be found in the West Weald region or bought at The Main Ingredient vendor in the Market District of the Imperial City.
• The last two ingredients are trickier to find. The Blood of an Argonian can be obtained from marauders or the Imperial City Arena. All you have to do is stab an Argonian. As for the Ashes of a Powerful Vampire, Melisande will mark the Redwater Slough for you. Beat the vampire Hindaril here to get his ashes.
• Return to Melisande with the ingredients and wait for a day. Do so outside her home or else she will turn angry. Return and you will get two potions, one for yourself and the other for Hassildor.
• Drink one of the potions to cure yourself of vampirism. Finish the quest by speaking with Hassildor once again in Castle Skingrad.

That covers everything you need to know about being a vampire in Oblivion. I cured my vampirism the moment I got infected since I couldn’t stand the idea of sunlight damage. But if you want a unique role-playing experience that involves nighttime raids and secret feeding, a vampire is a great way to shake up your Oblivion playthrough.