Oblivion:Gray Cowl of Nocturnal

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Daedric Artifact: Gray Cowl of Nocturnal (00022E81)
Type	Hood
Editor ID	TGGrayFoxCowl
Statistics
Weight	2	Value	0.
Enchantment
Wearer becomes the Gray Fox Detect Life 120 ft Fortify Sneak 25 pts Feather 200 pts

The Daedric artifact Gray Cowl of Nocturnal is a hood that was supposedly stolen from Nocturnal by the Gray Fox 300 years ago. Whoever wears this hood takes on the identity of the Gray Fox: the wearer's fame, infamy, and bounty all become those of the Gray Fox. Any crimes committed (or good deeds done) are attributed to the Gray Fox rather than to the character wearing the hood. The cowl can be acquired at the end of the Thieves Guild quest line.

It also seems that if you take the hood off in front of someone else, they won't see any connection between you and the Gray Fox. The blue writing down the middle of the mask says "Shadow hide ou^[sic]", which refers to the phrase "Shadow hide you", used as a farewell in conversations with members of the Thieves Guild. As is common with Daedric Alphabet, the letter Yahkem (Y) is omitted.

You cannot be identified while wearing the cowl, and even if you take it off right in front of others, they won't associate you with the Gray Fox. Every time you put the cowl on you gain the Gray Fox's bounty, which cannot be permanently paid off; every time you take it off, your own bounty returns. The Gray Fox's bounty is 500 gold minus your own bounty at the time on donning the Cowl to start. You can rack up a huge bounty as the Gray Fox which will only be active when the mask is on--enabling players to go on crime sprees essentially consequence-free since they can just remove the mask. Just remember that you have a huge bounty next time you don the Cowl and that any guard in range will come running.

In short terms, it does not make any sense to pay off the Gray Fox's bounty because it returns every time you take off the mask and put it on again. It only makes sense to pay off the bounty if you want to keep wearing the mask until you have finished your tasks as the Gray Fox, for example, do some crimes or quests that give you Infamy. In this case the Gray Fox would get the Infamy Points and not your normal character. If you come under attack while wearing the Cowl, you can remove it and yield to your attacker to make them stop.

Contents 1 Notes 1.1 Stealing the Cowl 1.2 Remove Your Bounty Without Paying a Doyen 2 Bugs

[edit] Notes

• You cannot do the Pilgrimage for the Knights of the Nine with the Gray Cowl on. If you attempt to activate any wayshrine while wearing the Gray Cowl you are told "The gods are not mocked! They require an honest heart, not one hidden behind a false face."
• Because the Gray Cowl alters your fame and infamy, it can also change the Disposition of NPCs, by up to 40 points.
• Being seen by any guard when wearing the cowl will automatically result in the guard recognizing you as the Gray Fox and trying to arrest you. You are not given the normal options of going to jail or paying your fine; your only option is to resist arrest. If you immediately remove the cowl, you will be able to yield to the guard. The guard will have forgotten that he ever saw the Gray Fox and will treat you as a normal citizen.
• Wearing the cowl does not truly give you a second identity. The majority of the game's scripts are not set up to treat you any differently when you are wearing the cowl. Therefore, other than the specific effects noted in this article, most aspects of gameplay are not altered by the cowl.
  • The Gray Cowl's effects do not work in the Shivering Isles. If you put it on in Sheogorath's Realm, you will still gain the enchantments (Fortify Sneak 25 points, Detect Life 120 ft., and Feather 200 points), but no one will say to you, "You're the Gray Fox!", and guards will not arrest you.
• If you pay the bounty off at a doyen, it will only last until the next time you take it off.
• Try to avoid taking off/putting on the Cowl in front of guards or committing crimes and quickly taking off the Cowl. Sometimes the game will give your 'real' character a bounty (even if technically you committed the crime with the Cowl on).
• Try to remember when you have the Cowl on while dungeon diving. It can be quite an annoyance to have +200 worth of stuff, then getting to town, having the guards run at you, and then being quite over-encumbered with all your new found loot after taking the Cowl off.
• Commiting crimes against fighters/mages guild members with the cowl on will still result in being expelled from the guild. (If you're a member)

[edit] Stealing the Cowl

It is possible to steal the Gray Cowl from the Gray Fox, provided that you have advanced through the Thieves Guild questline to the stage where you have met the Gray Fox. †

1. Exploit the permanent bound items glitch to obtain a weightless Helmet.
2. Reverse pickpocket the Gray Fox and place the Bound Helmet in his inventory. Strike him once to prompt him to equip the Bound Helmet. You may also strike a conjured creature 3 times, and he will come to your aid with his new helmet on. Alternatively, give him an enchanted helm or hood at the start of one of his quests and when you return after it's over he will be wearing that item.
3. The Gray Cowl will now be unequipped and can now be stolen from his inventory. He has a very high sneak rating--even without the cowl--so save first, as you are extremely likely to get caught.

† There are also two glitches that allow the cowl to be stolen earlier. Visiting the Temple of the Ancestor Moths will trigger the Turning a Blind Eye quest and allow you to visit the Gray Fox in Bruma, and stealing the Boots of Springheel Jak from Jakben, Earl of Imbel will start the Boots of Springheel Jak quest and let you visit the Gray Fox in Cheydinhal.

[edit] Remove Your Bounty Without Paying a Doyen

If you pay off your bounty to a Doyen, the bounty will go away until the next time you take off the cowl. However, since the Gray Fox's bounty is always so high, you can take inconvenience in lieu of 500 gold down the drain with this exploit:

1. Go to any city prison and pick the lock of the door to the cell that you spawn in upon getting arrested. (Save first so you can find out which cell this is beforehand.)
2. Drop the cowl in the cell and leave the cell block.
3. Attack the first guard you see and choose the "Go to Jail" option.
4. When you spawn in the cell, put on the cowl and then serve your time.

When you get out, your bounty will still be at 500, but guards will not run up and arrest you any more.

However, if you talk to a guard, he will run through his default "Gray Fox arrest" dialogue, and you will have broken the exploit. You will also break the exploit if you ever take the cowl off.

[edit] Bugs

• While wearing the Gray Cowl, be careful doing any quest where your equipment is forcibly removed from your inventory (see Glitches for a complete list of such quests). If the Gray Cowl is equipped when your equipment is removed, your character will permanently acquire all of the Cowl's effects (including the infamy)
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• If you cast Bound Helmet and then attempt to wear the Gray Cowl, you will acquire the cowl's bounty even if you are not wearing it.