Talk:Easter Eggs (Oblivion)/Archive

Easter eggs are hidden features or messages that were included intentionally in the game, to put a fun touch to it. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion contains many of these goodies.

Funny References
There is an item called Blue Suede Shoes. Possibly a reference to the song "Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins (mostly known from Elvis), or to the opening line of "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn.

Another possible music reference is Black Dog Camp, which may refer to the famous Led Zeppelin song, Black Dog.

In Dasek Moor, a ruined fort south of Kvatch, the fort's third level is titled "Dasek Moor Maleboge". This is possibly a reference to "The Divine Comedy" by the medieval Italian author Dante Alighieri, where he names the Eighth Circle of Hell "Malebolge" (Italian for "evil ditches").

The Way of the Exposed Palm book is a reference to the Way of the Open Palm in the game, Jade Empire

Sheogorath's Shrine
In the Shivering Isles, in some people's houses, there are busts of Sheogorath with yarn, a head of lettuce and a lesser soul gem in front of it. This is since in Cyrodiil, at Sheogorath's Shrine, you offer those items to Sheogorath.

Family Connection?
In The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind, the first Fighters Guild quest is to help Drarayne Thelas to exterminate 2 rats in her attic and one in her bedroom.

In The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion, the first Anvil Fighters Guild quest is to help Arvena Thelas to save 4 rats in her cellar.

Similarities
 * Arvena and Drarayne have the same last name, Thelas.
 * Both of them are females.
 * Both of them are Dark Elves.

Difference
 * Arvena loves rats, while Drarayne hates rats.
 * Drarayne's rats are in her attic, while Arvena's are in her cellar.

An Odd Pastime
Talk to Falanu Hlaalu, the lady who runs All Things Alchemical, in Skingrad about the town. She'll ask you a rather interesting question. The third answer is the funniest, but you can come back and ask this any time. Perhaps this is the reason why necromancy was banned.

Outside the Imperial City there is a burnt out building that has an All Things Alchemical sign with a lot of potions of insulation left in the charred remains of the building, these potions apparently the only things to survive the mysterious fire (explainable perhaps by their own protective nature against fire).

You will also find a lot of necromancers here during the course of the Mage's Guild quest arc.

Gro-Bak Camp
A camp located South-South west of Skingrad, this camp is an obvious play on words. It is quite humorus though, despite its ominous name, there is very little resistance or loot in this Bandit camp.

The Liar
Remember M'aiq the Liar? Well, he's back in Oblivion.

Outside of the city of Anvil he is there in a gray overcoat. He can be seen running throughout Tamriel, ending his run outside Leyawiin. Talk to him and he will say some weird things, some about discussions, such as 'should crossbows be included in the game?' however in funnier versions. He'll also make veiled comments on mods in a few discussions.

Unfortunately, he doesn't offer anything really helpful. Just some funny commentary and some jokes that are funny (and only funny) if you're familiar with the Elder Scrolls universe.

The one problem about this is that he is extremely fast. He has a speed of 100 with athletics at 100, making him difficult to catch, even with Shadowmere.

Bendu Olo
Bendu Olo, in Elder Scrolls lore, is the name of a king from the old republic of Colovia who fought off an invasion of Sloads. Within the data files for Oblivion, the name "Bendu Olo" is assigned to the actor object that represents the player, as the default name of a male Imperial character. This is the characters usually used by Bethesda for marketing materials and such. Although normally you would assign a custom name to your character, which would replace the default name in your saved game and thus hide "Bendu Olo", there are a number of reports of glitches that expose this default name during game play.

Note that naming your character Bendu Olo has no real effect on gameplay, and provides no bonuses or other Easter Eggs, other than being named for a famous Colovian king. The glitches which have been reported to expose this name are, thus far, not reproducable and not consistent, making it unlikely that they can be exploited on demand. A few such reported means of triggering this glitch are:


 * Rapidly and repeatedly pressing 'A' during the initial cutscene, during Uriel Septim's monologue, auto-generated the default character.
 * Set yourself at the active reference (e.g., select yourself while the console is open), then quit to the main menu and start a new game.
 * Start a new game, before assigning a name to your character, open the console while in the race menu and save the game. The name Bendu Olo will apear in your saved file.

The Wurst Troll Evurr
Follow the Panther River eastward from its mouth in the Niben Bay until you reach a humpbacked bridge. Under the bridge, face down in the water is a dead troll. Swim over and take a peek at his inventory for a good laugh.

The Giant Mudcrab
Within a cave called Greenmead Cave (Northeast of Skingrad and South of the Gold Road) is a giant mudcrab. It stands roughly the size of a Brown Bear and is no stronger than a regular mudcrab; nor does it have anymore crab meat within it than a usual mudcrab. It's a long fight just to get to the mud crab as there's mostly mythic creatures in the cave. It will ocassionally attack you.

Sutch
In early video footage of the game appearing on Official Xbox Magazine demo disks, the scrolling map at the main menu showed a city named "Sutch" on the West coast of Cyrodiil, North of Anvil. Although Sutch was ultimately cut from the game, just East of where it would have been is a fort named Fort Sutch, which plays a role in two seperate missions. Also the book Thief of Virtue mentions a town named Sutch in Hammerfell.

Upon completing the Fighters Guild quest Mystery at Harlun's Watch, the quest completion text in your journal reads, "Burz gro-Khash has paid me the balance of the contract. He tells me that he has no further contracts to offer, but I should speak with Azzan in Sutch, if I have not already." Azzan is the head of the Anvil Fighters Guild, though presumably he used to be at the city of Sutch before it was cut. All the game text was changed, but this was overlooked. There are also empty places on some signposts at crossroads, presumably where the one for Sutch would have gone (left as an inside joke?).

''Note: Funny you should mention this unusual "oversight!" Perhaps this was actually intended as a play on words: No Sutch Town.''

Morrowind Connection(s)
In the Fighter's Guild quest, "The Wandering Scholar," players must escort a female High Elf named Elante of Alinor to Brittlerock Cave so she can conduct her research on Daedra. In Morrowind, there was a cave named Ibar-Dad. Ibar-Dad was the tomb of Mordrin Hanin and there were many Daedra there protecting it. There was also a hostile NPC named Elante, a female High Elf. Based on her notes on her desk, she was researching the Daedra there. Ibar-Dad was very close to a Daedric ruin.

In Skingrad, when players discuss "Rumors" with the townsfolk, many will reply that their favorite baker, Salmo, gave them a sweetroll. Then, they remember that they once were ambushed in an alley by a gang of thieves, when they "took the sweetroll and ... " These are intentional references to one of the Character Creation / Class Selection questions in the Elder Scrolls games Morrowind, Arena, and Daggerfall. The Bethesda game Fallout 3 has an event almost exact to this in the beginning.

The play The Lusty Argonian Maid can be found in several locations across Tamriel. The play was written by Crassius Curio, a Councilor for House Hlaalu, one of three Great Dunmer Houses. In Morrowind, Crassius sponsors Hlaalu initiates, giving the player many (and sometimes strange) quests.

Sometimes, when you listen to NPCs talking, you may hear rumors about Morrowind informing (more or less) "even St. Jiub, who had ridden the cliffracers out of Vvardenfell, is dead". Jiub was a prisoner who asked you about your name at the beginning of TES III.

Quest Name References
Several quest names can possibly be attributed to the names of "Star Trek" episodes. For example, the quest "Whom Gods Annoy," in which the player assists Rosentia Gallenus by bringing the Staff of the Everscamp to Darkfathom Cave, might be attributed to an episode of the original series, entitled "Whom Gods Destroy." Other instances include quests such as Where Spirits Have Lease ("Where Silence Has Lease"), and Sins of the Father ("Sins of the Father"), both of which may be allusions to "Star Trek: The Next Generation." "Through a Nightmare Darkly" may be a reference to the "Star Trek: Enterprise" episode "In a Mirror, Darkly." In addition to all the Star Trek references, it's interesting to note that Patrick Stewart (who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation") voices the character Emperor Uriel Septim VII

"Through A Nightmare Darkly" might be an allusion to writer Philip K. Dick's science fiction classic, "A Scanner Darkly," or to the 1961 film "Through A Glass Darkly," a work by dir. Ingmar Bergman. Additionally, all of these titles can be linked to the Biblical text of 1 Corinthians 13, which states: " ... For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

"A Shadow Over Hackdirt" is likely a reference to "Shadow Over Insmouth," a classic horror story by H.P. Lovecraft. A game Bethesda published "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth" follows the story of "Shadow over Insmouth". There are also several references within this quest to "the Deep Ones," an alien (underground/undersea) race who are also an important part of Lovecraft's well-known Cthulhu mythos.

"Welcome to the Family" is most likely a reference to the movie The Godfather as this is a commonly used phrase to welcome a new member into the Corleone mob family.

The Umbacano quest ‘Nothing You Can Possess’ is most likely a reference to the opening sequence of Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark. In which his rival, Belloq, is waiting for him with armed men after retrieving the artifact, stating that, ‘‘There is nothing you can possess that I cannot take away’’ In fact midway through the quest one your rival treasure hunters has a conversation with you that is similar to the one Belaq has with Indiana Jones.

Gigantic Items
Inside the Imperial Palace Basement are a few oversized novelty item such as a giant crystal ball. Their purpose is unknown, with the exception of the Sands of Time, which is part of the final quest for the Thieves Guild. The Sands of Time also is the title of the first Prince of Persia game. You can also move the club, crystal ball, and Sands of Time, although the sand doesn't move. Outside bleak cave there's a giant aloe vera plant next to Lord Drad's Estate. In Arkved's Tower there's an entire bedroom full of giant items including a giant bed and table. Around the pond near the Shardrock farm west of Skingrad, there are two giant Nirnroot plants.

Dead Climber
In the north of Cyrodiil, at the bottom of the mountain known as Dive Rock, a dead body can be found which has a letter in its inventory. The letter is from the climber`s daughter, telling him not to go climb, since his balance and climbing skills are not very advanced. The natural conclusion is that the climber decided to climb up to Dive Rock but ultimately suffered the inevitability of fate. This is also part of a Misc. Quest in where you must climb the mountain.

Pell's Gate
The town of Pell's gate nearby the Imperial city. Perhaps a reference to the movie "Hell's Gate"?

Also, after saving Martin from Kvatch, an Oblivion gate can open very close to Pell's Gate.

Capt. Aluc Cardius
There is a note, in the Ayleid ruins of Vilverin, which is addressed to an Imperial Watch officer named "Capt. Aluc Cardius" in the High Rock city of Daggerfall. The note suggests that Capt. Cardius may be suffering from porphyric hemophilia - also known, in its more permanent condition, as Vampirism.

The name Aluc Cardius is undoubtedly taken from the name "Alucard," a common name in games and books used for characters who have an ancestral connection to Dracula or to Vampirism in general. ALUCARD is, of course, the reversed spelling of DRACULA.

Finally, in the well-known "Castlevania" video game series, Alucard is the half-human son of Dracula.

Uriel Septim VII
"Septem" is the Latin word for "Seven" (7 or VII), and "Septim-" is the prefix for a word denoting it as the seventh in a series.

Oford Gabings / Frodo Baggins
During the quest "Unfriendly Competition," the player must obtain a book entitled the Macabre Manifest from the home of Agarmir, a Nord grave robber. The book lists the names of several recently deceased citizens of Tamriel, along with an index of their possessions.

One of the names in the Manifest is "Oford Gabings," which can be rearranged to spell FRODO BAGGINS, the protagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings". The manifest states that "Gabings" was buried with an "Enchanted Short Sword" with "inlaid writing" - undoubtedly a reference to Frodo's legendary orc-slaying short sword, Sting, among that is also Frodo´s leaf brooch attached to the elven cloaks giftet to the Fellowship in Lothlórien. There is also the description of a ring: a "gold ring (cursed?)" with an "inscription" - certainly a reference to Sauron's One Ring, also known as the Ring of Power, the driving force behind the plot of "LotR."

At the end of the quest you get the Weatherward Circlet, which is an inscribed gold ring that looks similar to the One Ring and may be an additional reference to Weathertop, a location in Middle-earth.

Lelles' Quality "Mercandise"
Lelles' Quality Merchandise, a shop located in the Docks district of Anvil, is the location of another Fighter's Guild quest. The sign outside his shop, however, reads "Lelles' Quality Mercandise" - a clear typo that gets quite a few laughs from the townsfolk of Anvil! Lelles has tried to fit a little "h" in the sign.

This has now been patched (at least on the 360 version).

Name Play
Sheogorath may or may not be named after a Shoggoth, an H. P. Lovecraft creature capable of changing its form to any shape. There are several Lovecraft references within character names. For instance, Dagon is a Lovecraft character featured in Shadow Over Innsmouth, who was based off of the ancient semitic god Dagon. The real-life version of Dagon was not evil, however.

During the Thieves Guild quest, Boots of Springheel Jak, the player must steal an artifact from an NPC named Jakben Imbel.

Try saying the character's name out loud: "Jack Be Nimble," one half of the timeless children's rhyme, "Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick."

Note: Spring Heeled Jack is also a character of English folklore from the Victorian era known for being able to jump inhuman heights. Spring Heeled Jack is reported to have the features of the devil himself and was often drawn to have a cape not unlike a vampire's cape. He was able to breathe fire and jump heights of nine feet or higher with ease.

The horse eating proprietor of the chestnut handy stables Mrs. Snak gra-Bura is a warped version of the phrase "snack grabber"

Goblin Jim's Rat
In Goblin Jim's Pantry, on the table near his bed, there is a tiny, dead rat. It is about the size of an actual rat. It only has one rat meat.

Captain Renault
Capt. Renault is one of the Emperor's personal Blades, who accompanies the player during the game's opening Tutorial. She is also the first to die at at the hands of the Mythic Dawn.

Renault's name may be a reference to the classic film, "Casablanca." Capt. Louis Renault was the city's police captain, who saves the protagonist's life near the film's conclusion, before the protagonist replies: "Louie, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship!"

Song Reference
Occasionally, NPCs in Skingrad will mention the Surilie Brothers' wines in conversation. Other NPCs will sometimes respond: "I don't know Gaston well, but I helped him drink his wine, and he always has some mighty fine wine." This is a slightly different wording of the first lines of the popular 1970s song, "Joy to the World," by Three Dog Night. (Specifically, this conversation has taken place several times at Colovian Traders, between Eyja and Gunder.)

Also a reference to the band Nightwish is made in the Shivering Isles expansion of the game with the item Ring of the Oceanborn, "Oceanborn" is the name of a CD of theirs and the chest which it is found is called The Dark Chest of Wonders which is the name of a song on their album "Once"

Reference to Norse Mythology
In the Dark Brotherhood quest "Whodunit?" the player character goes to Summitmist Manor, which supposedly holds a chest full of gold. Before entering the house you speak with the doorman, Fafnir. In Norse mythology, "Fafnir" was the name of a powerful dragon who guarded a massive cache of gold.

Also, the quest has a large similarity to And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, who is a popular Murder Mystery writer, fitting to the quest.

Rivalry Among Thieves
Inside of the Thieves Den plug-in several members of the crew occasionally display some odd behavior. Kovan Kren the sneak trainer and Melliwen the marksman trainer seem to have a rivalry and will seemingly at random leave their posts in the cave to attack one another. They will fight until one is knocked out and then return to their posts as if nothing happened. Melliwen usually wins the fights and Kovan has a bad habit of running away when he starts to lose.

Star Wars reference
When you enter the Oblivion Gate near Kvatch, one of the first things you will see is a burnt corpse of a would-be-hero missing one hand and both his legs near the sea of lava. This could be a reference to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Also, "Hound's Tooth Key" could be a reference to the very ship bounty hunter Bossk travels the galaxy with which is named Hounds Tooth. While in Paradise, just before entering the final building, there are two Immortals. When killed one of them says " My Father will bring me back, even more powerful than before".

Also, the name "Sithis" is seemingly related to the title "Sith" from Star Wars. In Oblivion, Sithis is the Dark Father. In Star Wars, Luke's FATHER, Anakin Skywalker, becomes Darth Vader, the DARK LORD of the Sith.

Blackwater
The name of the Fighters Guild main rival, Blackwood, is very close to the real life company Blackwater. Also there is a gang called The Blackwater Brigands.

Giant Slaughterfish
In the Tower of Fathis Aren, in the Wizard's Grotto there is a body of water within the halls. It goes very deep, and if you swim down to the bottom you will notice a Giant Slaughterfish. Kill it, and you will find armor, 5 scales, 12 crab meat, and other things. You can access the grotto on the quest The Arrow Of Extrication in the Thieves Guild. Or you can sneak into Fathis Aren's quarters in the Bravil Castle, and open the movable pillar leading to a door into his grotto. Also, there is an underwater trapdoor in the Nibenbay water, exactly at the letter 'a' in the primary map, which takes you directly into the water chamber.

Lord of the Rings reference
The Dark Brotherhood quest A Knife in the Dark is almost certainly a reference to the chapter 'A Knife in the Dark' in J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Book II.

There is an NPC named Boromir. The actor Sean Bean played the Lord of the Rings character named Boromir in Peter Jackson's films and also did the voice for Martin Septim in Oblivion.

Double-meaning?
At the Imperial Market District, The Copious Coinpurse has a note on the desk where the shopkeep is. Read it, it's sure to bring a few laughs. NOTE: This has been proven on the Xbox 360 on multiple consoles and multiple characters as well as on the PC version, however it is only consistent on the Xbox 360.

Infinite-Adding Transcendent Sigil Stone
One of the houses in the Testing Ground, will lead you to a VERY darkened Oblivion area, which at the top has a transcendent Sigil stone. However, once obtained, the area won't burn like in normal Oblivion areas, it will instead continuously add an infinite amount of Transcendent Sigil Stones in different amounts, over-encumbering you within seconds. You can drop them, but they will continue to add until you leave the house. The door is floating a couple of feet off the ground on the bottom floor of the chamber. If you wish to leave quickly, then as soon as you activate the stone, jump down and stare at the door so that you can open it. Then, when over-encumbered, you can just exit the room and drop the stones you don't want. This may be a glitch/bug however, or possibly an easter egg. This is obtainable on the console versions of the game using the "Wizards Tower Glitch".

To do the Wizards Tower Glitch,You must go inside the Wizards Tower and delete the DLC.(Note:You can download it again for free)

The Angry Man of Atatar
In Atatar Haelia Dagon, the first part you enter (a square room) is made to look like an angry face. Explore the square and look at it on your map.

Seinfeld on The Shivering Isles?
Well... not Jerry himself, but in the quest "The Lady Of Paranoia" you will finally get to Muurine, who has in her bedroom a zombie named Uncle Leo. Uncle Leo being an uncle to Jerry Seinfeld on the television show "Seinfeld."

There is also an Uncle Leo in Fallout 3, which is also made by Bethesda. Also, Uncle Leo is a friendly Super Mutant, which are grotesque brute-like humanoids which is the result of large doses of a forced evolutionary virus called FEV.

Shrine of Mephala
At the shrine the leader of the three worshipers name is 'Haekwon' A reference to the wu-tang clan rapper Raekwon, who also sports the corn-rows perhaps?

Vindasel
The name of the Ayleid ruin, Vindasel, may be a reference to the actor Vin Diesel, who lived in Bethesda, Maryland, where Bethesda Softworks is based. The movie The Pacifier, which stars Vin Diesel as the main character, also takes place in Bethesda, Maryland. To further prove that the naming of the ruin was done on purpose, there is a chest located next to Umbra which contains "The Staff of Pacification." Of course, Pacification is already a spell, as this staff is not unique, but the staff may have been placed there because Pacification resembles Pacifier in the title of the movie. In addition to this, Umbra (who can be found in Vindasel) is the Latin word for the darkest part of a shadow; Vin Diesel played the leading role in Pitch Black.

NOTE: In The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Umbra was a powerful orc who wore orcish armor and wielded the same sword with a similar enchantment. It would seem this orc was also possessed by the sword and that the sword somehow made its way into the the hands of the girl from Pell's Gate in the time between the two games. So Umbra inside Vindasel may be two easter eggs instead of one, the other being a cross-game easter egg.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
East of Cheydinhal lies Fort Farragut where you receive orders from Lucien Lechance to purify the Dark Brotherhood. Farragut is also the last name of the captain of the Abraham Lincoln in Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Also, in Fallout 3 (by Bethesda) there is a metro station called Farragut Station—though this may not have much relevance, because a "Farragut West" Metro station does exist in DC, where Fallout 3 takes place.

This may also be a reference to Star Trek, this time the Kirk-era version, where James t. Kirk once served onboard the Farragut.

Nocturnals Shrine
At Nocturnal's Shrine, It is possible to get an 'Up-Cape' shot, in which you can see her Breasts. I'm not sure why the people at Bethesda would sculpt this into the game unless Nocturnal was originally not supposed to be wearing a cape.

Funny picture
If you have done the quest Information Gathering in the Fighters Guild then in Modryn Oreyn's house in Chorrol you can find a badly painted picture of the player character beating Ajum Kajin of the Blackwood company. Even Modryn himself said, that "he is a getting to be quite a good painter, so he can retire and doesn't need to be vice-master of Fighters' Guild."