Joining the Mages Guild will introduce you to one of the more interesting storylines in Oblivion. It’s also essential if you want to master custom spells and enhance your spellcasting abilities in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Here’s how you can join the guild, where you’ll find their Guild Halls, and the quests they have to offer.

Table of Contents¶

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Joining the Mages Guild¶

Speak to any of the seven Guild Hall leaders to join the Mages Guild. Just remember not to have a bounty on your head. Here’s why you should consider joining the Mages Guild:

• You’ll be able to freely obtain alchemical supplies within the Guild Halls across Cyrodiil. Display cabinets may hold useful items like Skill Books. You can also use their beds to rest and level up once you’ve earned enough experience.
• Joining the Mages Guild will also improve the Disposition of all Mages Guild members by a solid 20 points. This improves by 20 points with each promotion, meaning you can max out their Disposition scores towards you by the time you become a Conjurer.
• Clear all the recommendation quests and you will gain access to the Arcane University. You can enchant items and create custom spells here to improve your spellcasting powers.
• If you become an Arch-Mage by clearing all of the Mages Guild’s quests, you will gain access into the Arch-Mage’s Quarters in the Arch-Mage’s Tower. In addition to altars for spellmaking and enchantment, you get a neat Enchanted Chest that can duplicate common ingredients. You can also ask Mage Apprentices to follow you into combat.

Mages Guild locations¶

Here’s where you can find all seven Mages Guild Halls in Oblivion:

List of Mages Guild quests¶

The quests offered by the Mages Guild are split into three categories:

• Recommendation quests
• Quests from Raminus Polus
• Quests from Hannibal Traven

Recommendation quests¶

Finishing the following recommendation quests from the Mages Guild Halls will grant you access to the Arcane University:

• Anvil Recommendation: Investigate some deaths along the Gold Road.
• Bravil Recommendation: Recover a mage’s staff.
• Bruma Recommendation: Find a missing mage.
• Cheydinhal Recommendation: Recover a ring.
• Chorrol Recommendation: Sort out a problem with a former guild member.
• Leyawiin Recommendation: Help a mage regain her sanity.
• Skingrad Recommendation: Find a missing mage.

Raminus Polus quests¶

Once you’ve got all seven Mages Guild recommendations, meet Raminus Polus in the Arch-Mage’s Lobby in the Imperial City’s Arcane University (map marker). He will then welcome you into the guild. Here are the quests that Raminus Polus offers:

• A Mage’s Staff: Complete your induction into the Mages Guild by creating your staff. Complete this to become a Journeyman of the Mages Guild.
• Ulterior Motives: Retrieve a book from the Count of Skingrad. Get another promotion and become an Evoker with your own Spelldrinker Amulet.
• Vahtacen’s Secret: Find out how the Mages Guild’s excavation of Vahtacen is faring. Finishing this quest turns you into a Conjurer, complete with a Robe of the Conjurer reward.
• Necromancer’s Moon: Find out about Black Soul Gems. Clear this to reach the Magician rank.

Hannibal Traven quests¶

Polus will then ask you to seek out Hannibal Traven. He’s an Arch-Mage who can be found upstairs in the Arch-Mage’s Lobby in the Council Chambers section of the Arcane University (map marker). Here’s what Hannibal will ask you to do in order to become the Arch-Mage:

• Liberation or Apprehension?: Locate a Necromancer informant and return him to the Arcane University. Beat this to become a Warlock of the Mages Guild.
• Information at a Price: Travel to Skingrad to receive information from Count Hassildor… at a price.
• A Plot Revealed: Travel to Bruma and discover why the Mages Guild has stopped correspondence. Finish this quest to gain the Wizard’s Fury spell and turn into a Wizard.
• The Necromancer’s Amulet: Find the Necromancer’s Amulet and return it to the Arcane University.
• The Bloodworm Helm: Find the Bloodworm Helm and return it to the Arcane University. Clear this quest to be promoted to a Master-Wizard of the Mages Guild.
• Ambush: Oversee a contingent of Battlemages in their fight against the Necromancers and retrieve a unique Black Soul Gem from an old “friend”.
• Confront the King: Find the King of Worms and end the Necromancers’ attacks on the Mages Guild. Finish this and you will become an Arch-Mage.

Getting back into the Mages Guild¶

If you harm a guild member or steal from them, you risk being suspended from the Mages Guild. To get back in, speak to Raminus Polus to get the Mages Guild Suspension quest. It involves collecting alchemy materials. If you stole from a member, you’ll need to acquire 20 Dragon’s Tongues and Redwort Flowers. These can be found near Fort Redwater east of Bravil and Fort Bulwark northeast of Leyawiin respectively.

Clearing a murder requires 20 Vampire Dust and 20 Daedra hearts instead. Check out our vampire locations guide for Vampire Dust. As for Daedra hearts, collect them from Dremora within Oblivion Gates. You may experience a glitch where you only need 20 of one of these items for your first offense. And while you need the same materials for your second offense, the glitch doesn’t work again. A third offense will have you expelled from the Mages Guild unless you’re already the Arch-Mage. That covers what you need to know in order to rise up the ranks in the Mages Guild in Oblivion.