Vampire Cure (Oblivion)

Overview
If you were bitten by a vampire, contracted Porphyric Hemophilia (vampire disease), and did not cure yourself of the disease within three days, you most likely became a vampire. Should you not want that, this quest can cure you of vampirism. Or, alternately, you've fully enjoyed being a vampire and would like to be "normal" again. Easy cures are the Arcane University and Deepscorn Hollow.

Initiation
You must start the quest by speaking to Raminus Polus in Arcane University.

WARNING: For PS3 GOTY owners, there is a glitch in the quest where a NPC wont respond to an ingredient, therefore being able not to complete the quest. This does not affect non GOTY PS3 owners.

Walkthrough
The first step of the quest is to talk to Raminus Polus in the Arcane University, located in the Imperial City. He will talk to you about vampirism, then refer you to Count Hassildor of Skingrad. Upon arrival to the castle in Skingrad, find Janus Hassildor's steward, Hal-Liurz. Choose the correct topic from the list and the steward will go and get Hassildor for you.

Once Hassildor comes, he will tell you that he and his wife are vampires. He lives with it, but his wife, Rona Hassildor, could not, and slipped into a coma. Hassildor wants the cure, and tells you of a witch that lives near the Corbolo river, south of Cheydinhal at a lonely place called Drakelowe.

Travel to her house and enter. Melisande will tell you that she needs five empty Grand Soul Gems before she will help you with the cure.

Grand Soul Gems

 * Chorrol Mages' Guild Hall - Two are located in a display case on the main floor (Very Easy lock). There are also three more in another display case when you go in there is a door to the left, it's the second display case along. (Some are not empty in the PS3 GOTY version)
 * Buy from Aurelinwae or Calindil in the Mystic Emporium, Imperial City Market District
 * Imperial City Arcane University - One can be found in a display case (Very Hard lock) next to a couple other Grand Soul Gems (which are not empty).You can also find one in the Arch Mage Lobby next to two others. Another can be found in a display case (Very Hard Lock) in the Arcane University Mage's Quarters. Another one may be found on a desk on the second floor of the enchanting building. Not empty in the PS3 version
 * Drakelowe - Located in the basement (to get to basement, you have to go through trapdoor in the fireplace). Not empty in the PS3 version.
 * Crayfish Cave - Down the Corbolo river to the south-southeast. Three are located in various areas inside the cave.
 * Nornal ruin - North of Drakelowe. On the map it is just left of the capital N where it says The Nibenay Basin.
 * Squandered Mine - Northwest of Drakelowe. Located behind a secret door on the bottom level, guarded by an undead creature.
 * Swampy Cave - Swampy Cave Dry Rock Run specifically, just head south a bit from SC to find this entrance. The gem is located in one of the chests in the large room where there are 2 swamp trolls. (The Gem is not empty in the PS3 and 360 versions. The Gem is not present in the PC version)
 * Most Mages Guild Halls will have at least one Grand Soul Gem for sale.
 * You can receive 94 gems via the Sins of the Father quest. Not empty in the PS3 version, PC or Xbox 360 version.
 * You can also pick pocket them from one person in almost every mages guild place by pick pocketing the people who sell stuff in their respective mages guild halls This seems to be the best way to get the gems in the PS3 version (note this also works for X-box360 version however its much harder)
 * Revisit Melisande and give her the gems. She will now start on the cure, and asks you to collect these ingredients for her:

Ingredients

 * Six (6) cloves of garlic, found in the Imperial Legion mess hall,can be bought in ready numbers at Main Ingredient in the Imperial City Market District and in All Things Alchemical as well as 2 clusters hanging in the basement of the West Weald Inn in Skingrad. 4 can also be found in Antoinetta Marie's Chest in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary's Living Quarters.There is also a Garlic Cluster to be found at a camp right next to Vilverin,East of where you escaped from the sewers at the beginning of the game. 2 can be found in Battlehorn Castle Basement if you purchesed the Dining Room.
 * Five (5) nightshade leaves, easily found at the Main Ingredient in the Imperial City and on a table in the library of the Chorrol Mages Guild. One leaf can be found from Anvil's Mages Guild, second floor, Carahil's room. They can also be found in Frostcrag Spire. There are also quite a lot of leaves in Fort Farragut. There are also some nightshade plants southeast of Skingrad near a camp called Fat Ramp Camp. Head southeast from the middle of the camp up a hill and look around for them. Five can be found in the Shrine of Sithis in Deepscorn Hollow, as well. Also it is found on the Arcane University garden.
 * Two (2) bloodgrass shoots, found in Oblivion. Can be bought at the Main Ingredient in the Imperial City Market District. They can also be found in Frostcrag Spire. Be aware that once you complete the Main Quest you will not be able to enter Oblivion again. Be prepared just in case, grab some when you go into Oblivion. Sometimes at old Oblivion Gate sites, there will be some Bloodgrass growing. However she will not always accept it due to bugs. It can also be bought from Julienne Fanis in the Arcane University.
 * Blood of an Argonian.
 * Dust of the powerful vampire, Hindaril.
 * Remember that you can't easily buy items when you are in advanced stages of Vampirism.

Blood of an Argonian
Use the dagger provided by Melisande to stab any Argonian in the game. If caught, pay the bounty. Also, you may innocently get Argonian blood by facing one in the Arena, or through fighting an Argonian in the wild, most commonly a marauder archer in a dungeon, etc. Also, if you have finished the entire Dark Brotherhood quest line, you can return to the camp bog water, and may stab the argonian there (if you didn't kill him) as he plays no part in the rest of the game. It is also possible to stab the Argonian at Peryite's Shrine, as he won't fight back due to being in the trance. There is also a cave north of Bravil called Veyond Cave which is crawling with Argonians.

Vampire Dust
You must kill the vampire Hindaril, found in Redwater Slough off of the Panther River. Hindaril is behind a door with a very hard lock. The key is beyond an underwater passage and in a chest. Once you find him, attack immediately so he cannot become armed.

Finishing the Quest
Return to Melisande and talk to her. After a day, she will have a potion. It will show up as a single item in your inventory.you may drink it as the other one is in the misc section of your diary, bring it to the castle for Rona Hassildor. Talk to the steward again, and tell her that you have the cure.

She will lead you to the Chamber of the Lost and Melisande will revive Rona long enough for the cure to be administered. Unfortunately for the count, she then dies. After about two days, the count will tell you to return and talk to the steward in a day. Once you return, he will reward you with a decent amount of gold - 1000 or higher depending on your level. You will be free of vampirism when you drink the remaining potion.

Alternate Solution
If you own the official The Vile Lair add-on and have upgraded it, it is possible to cure your vampirism at any time using the Font of Renewal in the Vile Cloister and the Purgeblood Salts found near it. This can be done as many times as you want. Note that this does not finish the Cure for Vampirism questline, or remove it from your quest log, it simply cures your vampirism.

Another way to do it is if you have contracted the disease but you haven't slept or waited and the disease hasn't taken affect yet you can use either a spell, or a potion of cure disease and it will take away the porphyric hemophelia, as well as any other disease, or diseases you might have contracted.

Issues and Bugs

 * If you are still a vampire when Count Hassildor comes to reward you and you haven't fed in a few days, he will ask you to go. Cure your vampirism or feed before returning to speak with the count.


 * If the Count will not acknowledge that you have the cure, it seems that you are stuck. If this happens, he will have his six or so normal things you can ask him about, instead of immediately taking the potion. This is caused by having the Information at a Price quest currently active. It gets worse, however. You now no longer may complete either quest. You must go back to a save point prior to having the cure potion created. Then complete Information at a Price quest, and you may now finish the vampire cure.


 * If one of your grand soul gems is stolen and the rest bought or found, you will keep the 4 unstolen ones and only give up 1 grand soul gem to the witch. (Works on PS3, PC and Xbox 360)


 * The count will keep rewarding you with unlimited gold (if you do not have the Xbox live patch, or live at all) every time you ask about the "Reward" if you keep the dialogue open.
 * This bug has been patched: The patch that came out June 2006 fixed this bug.


 * A bug is stopping PS3 American Game of the Year Edition owners from curing vampirism because Melisande won't recognize bloodgrass. Even after trying several times and many different options of getting the bloodgrass, she will not take it, nor will she ask for it.
 * Workaround: Sometimes you need to get brand new bloodgrass, as the game will not recognize the bloodgrass already in your possession. The suggestion to play through this adventure using a non-GOTY version of the game risks your inventory of Shivering Isles booty and completed adventures.
 * PS3 European Workaround: For PlayStation 3 users in Europe, including UK, there is a complex way of getting around the bloodgrass bug. Firstly, save your game (saving into a new slot is recommended) just outside of Melisande's hut. Then quit the game and go to your PlayStation 3 system settings and change the language from English to German. Then reload your game, and proceed into Meilsande's hut and talk to her; "Blutgras" (aka German for bloodgrass) is now a highlighted topic, so speak to her and exhaust the topic so that it turns grey again, by which time she will have taken the 2 bloodgrass samples from you. Then save again, quit the game and revert your PS3 system settings back to English, reload the game, and proceed with the quest.
 * Known issues with the PS3 European Workaround and Ways to Work Around: In some cases with this workaround, if you have begun your adventures in the Shivering Isles, the expansion resets and you will have to start the Shivering Isles from the beginning again; all objects/ quests from the Shivering Isles will be removed from your character screen, and there are also cases with some of the quests when you return to Shivering Isles having minor bugs as a result. Ways around this include not entering Shviering Isles until you have finished the vampire cure quest or being prepared to start Shivering Isles from the beginning again.
 * Workaround: For PC players, to avoid all bugs in this quest and immediately cure yourself of vampirism, simply type player.additem 000977E4 1 in the console.

Note: The bug is also stopping the Xbox 360 Classic Edition of the game from offering the bloodgrass to Melisande.


 * You return to her home after twenty-four hours to find that she is still in her basement and you can't get there without a key.
 * This bug has been patched: According to patch v1.2 (3/23/07), this bug has been fixed.


 * If you are cast out of the Mages Guild, you first need to bring Raminus Polus all the ingredients to be re-accepted into the guild before you can discuss the vampirism cure with him.

CONFIRMED NOT TO WORK ON Xbox.
 * Workaround: If you say you have all the ingredients, he will yell at you then you will be able to ask him about the vampire cure(worked on PS3 may work on other systems)


 * Sometimes, if the Count appears and gives you your reward prematurely, you will complete the quest, but you will not be cured of vampirism. If this happens, you can travel to Drakelowe, and she can fashion you another potion, provided you bring her another set of ingredients. You will need to be sure that Hindaril has re-appeared by waiting three days to retrieve his ashes.


 * Sometimes, after you've been cured, your character my have some slight to major facial differences and look more like the "stock" character before you customized him/her to look how you wanted. The hair will generally stay the same style and color, but the face itself will change. For instance, if you have created a very feminine looking female character, your character may have such changes that she no longer looks attractive or even female at all. It can be annoying as there is no way to re-customize your character after the "second chance" you were given at the beginning of the game. For some reason, this problem sometimes may fix itself after you've slept for several hours at least. note: it may also help to save your game, reload a game prior to vampirism and then reload your current game. (works on the PS3 version at least) Confirmed to work on Xbox 360. Confirmed on PC also.


 * Sometimes, after you cure Rona Hassildor and wait the 24 hours the count asked, he will not come out to give you the reward. Hal-Liurz will not go to the private hall to fetch the count, instead she will go to the Chamber of the Lost and will not leave, but still tell you to wait there while she gets the count. There is no way to get the reward now because even if you infiltrate the counts hall, he will not speak to you. This may be related to looting the countess's body after she accepts the cure. This may cause all other count-related quests to become impossible, because of Hal-Liurz's problem with fetching the count. Also if you talk to the count in the hall, exit out of the conversation to save, then reload, the reward option will disappear which makes it impossible to get the reward. Don't loot the body after she drinks the potion.
 * Workaround: If you DID loot the count's wife's body, there IS a way to fix the quest. To complete this bug, you must have a way to make your guy have 100% chameleon. Sneak into the count's chamber, after speaking with Hal-Luirz, regardless of what she says. While having 100% chameleon on, punch the count. He will then begin, "Fleeing" He will run to the nearest guard in the courtyard. Because you have 100% chameleon on, the count will simply chase the guard around, without an NPC reaction. If you then throw a weapon on the ground, and punch the count again, he will pick it up. Then, while he is trying to find you with your chameleon on, simply yield to his attack and quickly speak to him. This should trigger his reward diologue, and allow you to continue with the "Allies for Bruma" quest, if you cured the vampirism before this.