Oblivion:May the Best Thief Win

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Oblivion: Quests: Thieves Guild

Contents
Image:OB-qico-ThievesGuild.png
You want to join, but are you a good enough thief? edit
On your marks...
On your marks...


[edit] Quick Walkthrough

  1. Meet with Armand Christophe at midnight
  2. Beat your competitors to Amantius Allectus’ diary
  3. Return the stolen diary to Armand

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

Once you have learned about the existence of the Thieves Guild, travel to the Garden of Dareloth (located behind the Abandoned Shack, at #13 on the Waterfront District Map) and wait until midnight.

You will discover that three people have arrived in the garden. One is Armand Christophe, local Thieves Guild doyen, the other two are your fellow guild candidates, Amusei the Argonian and Methredhel the Bosmer.

[edit] The Race for the Diary

Armand will inform you that in order to join the Thieves Guild, a simple competition will be conducted. You are to steal a diary from Amantius Allectus, and the first thief to retrieve the diary and return it to him will be inducted into the Guild.

Armand will only indicate that Amantius is located somewhere in the Imperial City, but that the local beggars might be able to tell you where his house is located.

[edit] Plan of Attack

Once you have commenced the quest, Methredhel will begin to run towards the Imperial City – she appears to already know the target’s location. You can opt to follow her, however she is quite fast and depending on your current level and speed you may lose her quickly.

By asking any of the Imperial City beggars (after a five-coin bribe) , you will gain the information that Amantius lives in the far east side of the Temple District. The easiest beggar to query is Puny Ancus who is conveniently located just outside the Garden of Dareloth, directly behind Methredhel’s shack. If his disposition toward you is high enough, he will tell you for free.

With the location of Amantius’ house confirmed, make your way to the Imperial City Temple District and enter the house.

You will generally find Methredhel already inside and sneaking around looking for the diary. As long as you head straight for the desk containing the diary quickly you should be able to obtain the diary before she does.

[edit] Creative Thieving

If you enter Amantius’ house and Methredhel has beaten you and removed the diary already, you will be informed of this by a quest message. You will also be given a tip via the message that you will be able to steal the diary back off Methredhel. (Because neither you nor Methredhel is a member of the Guild yet, it's not considered a violation of Guild rules.)

Methredhel will return to her shack in the Waterfront District and place the diary in a locked chest - where you can steal it while she sleeps. You may encounter Adanrel or Carwen awake inside which makes sneaking open her chest somewhat more difficult. You can choose to wait until the early evening around 6 PM before attempting to steal the diary as Methredhel will be away from her shack for dinner. After 12-36 hours (a noon and then a midnight has passed since the diary was placed in the chest), she will retrieve the diary to deliver it to Armand. Attempts to pickpocket the diary while it is in her chest are, of course, futile.

[edit] Welcome to the Thieves Guild

Return the diary at midnight to Armand in the Garden of Dareloth, and you'll have officially joined the Thieves Guild! If you complete the quest by giving Armand the diary, you will receive 1 Infamy point.

[edit] A Second Fighting Chance

If you do not manage to retrieve the diary and return it to Armand, you still have a chance at entering the Thieves Guild via a second thieving mission. Armand will instruct you to steal a sword from the shop A Fighting Chance, located in the Market District. Armand tells you that "Amusei is a bungler and won't get this offer," so there is no need to worry about competition this time around.

The sword, Rohssan's Antique Cutlass, is located in a chest on the second floor of Rohssan’s shop in her private quarters. Rohssan’s unnamed dog is located in her private quarters, guarding the chest, so you will need to either:

  • use your sneak or illusion skills to retrieve the sword without alerting the dog
  • kill the dog and retrieve the sword
  • use a Calm spell to pacify the dog after you steal the sword.

If you are attempting the theft at night, Rohssan is sleeping in her private quarters, so a sneak attack on the dog is best to prevent alerting her to your presence. Breaking into her quarters during the day whilst Rohssan is tending the shop is also an option, just ensure that you are successfully sneaking on the stairs when you pick the lock.

Return to Armand with the sword to become a member of the Thieves Guild and receive 2 Infamy points. One quirk of completing the quest this way is that you are not officially told the rules of guild membership.

[edit] Blood Price

Killing either of the following NPCs whilst this quest is active will require you to pay a blood price to Armand:

[edit] Notes

  • The diary is not present until the quest begins, so breaking into Amantius' house beforehand will not help.
  • You can stock up on lockpicks from Armand Christophe.
  • Don't fast travel. Sometimes it's much slower, and Methredhel will most likely make it before you if you do. Sometimes, when fast-traveling is used, you'll find yourself in the house with Methredhel, making for an awkward scramble for the diary.
  • Even though you're told to return the diary "by midnight" (actually supposed to mean 'on the following night'), it's possible to complete the quest in a single night, as Armand will stay in the garden for a few hours--giving you plenty of time to complete the quest. (You can even lesuirely follow the dejected Methredhel back to Armand's location once you've beaten her to the book.)
  • If you try to pickpocket the diary from Methredhel while she is on her way from the house to her shack and a city guard catches you, it is possible for the quest to continue to point you in the direction of Amantius Allectus' desk in his house, even though the diary is no longer there. In this case you should ignore the quest marker and go to Methredhel's shack.
  • If you manage to enter Amantius' house just after Methredhel, you can just sneak up behind her and wait for her to retrieve the diary, then immediately pickpocket her to get it. If you get outside the house and fast travel to the Waterfront, upon reappearing you will be told that Methredhel has beaten you in getting the diary. Don't worry though as it's just a small bug and you still have the diary.
  • Strangely, after taking Amantius Allectus' Diary, Methredhel will run into his basement. Following her will result in the quest being updated, and she will appear outside.
  • It is still theoretically possible to fail the second mission (retrieving Rohssan's sword). However, even if you get arrested by the guards stolen quest items such as Rohssan's sword will be returned to you if you serve your time in jail (do not try to break out because it will not be in the evidence chest).

[edit] Bugs

  • A rather severe bug will occur if you happen to unlock, via lockpick or spell, the last cell on the side with two in the dungeon of Castle Leyawiin before this quest. Amusei will never show up, so the Thieves Guild questline won't start. As this is the cell that he will eventually occupy later in the questline, it will cause problems up until that point. If you find Amusei hiding behind the entry door in this dungeon in Sneak mode, then this bug has occurred. If you're on the PC, you can resolve this by locking the cell by opening the console, clicking the cell door and typing lock 40 {Enter}, then leaving and giving him at least a game day to return to the Waterfront. Console players will have to start a new game or revert to an earlier save.
  • If you manage to steal the diary, and outrun any guards pursuing you, you can have Armand pay off your bounty. Unfortunately although the guards are no longer pursuing you, sometimes the game treats it as if they are, preventing you from fast traveling. To remove this go up to a guard and pickpocket them. They will catch you, so pay the fine. When you reappear outside the Prison, the glitch will be gone.
  • After the burglary, some locals will say that Amantius Allectus was murdered during a burglary, even if he's still very much alive. Possibly, an earlier version of the quest saw one of your fellow candidates killing him (thus violating guild rules) and the rumors were never updated after this element was taken out.

[edit] Journal Entries

May the Best Thief Win (TG01BestThief)
Stage Finishes Quest Journal Entry
0
5 I approached Armand Christophe about the Thieves Guild. Apparently this is not the right time or place to discuss it. He told me to meet him in the ruined Garden of Dareloth in the Waterfront distict of the Imperial City. I have to be there at midnight.
10 I spoke with Armand Christophe, who is a member of the Thieves Guild. He offered me a chance to join the guild, but I have to compete against two other thieves, Methredhel and Amusei. Which ever one of us steals Amantius Allectus' Diary first will be inducted into the Thieves Guild. It's somewhere in the Imperial City. He told me that the beggars might be able to tell me where to find him.
15 A beggar told me that Amantius Allectus lives in the Temple district, on the far east side.
16 (Player gets Methredhel's house as a quest target.)
17 (Set quest target for Rhossan)
18 (Methredhel stops waiting for PC and takes diary.)
20 Methredhel has beaten me to Amantius Allectus' diary. If I can't get it from her somehow, she will get into the guild and I'll be left out in the cold. It's too bad the competition rules won't let me kill her. However, Armand didn't say anything about stealing from her!
22 Methredhel has escaped. If I want that diary, I going to have to track her down. I wonder if the beggars can help me?
30 I have stolen Amantius Allectus' diary from Methredhel. Now to get back to Armand at Dareloth's garden by midnight.
40 I have beaten Methredhel and Amusei to Amantius Allectus' diary. Now to get back to Armand at Dareloth's garden by midnight.
50 0Yes Armand Christophe has granted me a membership in the Thieves Guild. Methredhel is irritated, but I think she'll get over it. Amusei is threatening to become a freelance thief. Armand has given me the rules of the guild: then
1. I can't kill anyone while I'm on the job. Animals and monsters are fair game though. then
2. Never steal from anyone in the Thieves Guild. then
3. Never steal from beggars and peasants, especially in the Waterfront. The Gray Fox protects them.
60 The word on the street is that Methredhel delivered Amantius Allectus diary to Armand. I hope Armand has something else I can do to get into the Thieves Guild. I should go see him at midnight in the Garden of Dareloth.
70 Methredhel delivered the diary to Armand before me. She has been accepted into the Thieves Guild.
75 Armand is giving Amusei and I one more chance we have to steal Rohssan's sword from somewhere in the Imperial City and bring it back to him. The first one of us to do that will also be admitted into the Thieves Guild.
80 I have Rohssan's Cutlass. Now to get back to Armand in the garden of Dareloth. I'll have to wait until midnight when he is there.
90 0Yes Armand Christophe has granted me a membership in the Thieves Guild. Amusei is threatening to become a freelance thief. Armand has given me the rules of the guild:
100
Blood Price (TG01BloodPrice)
10 It may have been a mistake to kill Amantius Allectus. I seem to recall Armand telling me that I couldn't kill anyone while retrieving his diary. I'll have to pay Armand a hefty fine. Unfortunately, he will only talk to me after midnight in the Garden of Dareloth.
11 Because Amantius Allectus died during my theft, I must pay Armand the blood price of 500 gold coins. Otherwise I will be denied membership. Unfortunately, he will only talk to me after midnight in the Garden of Dareloth.
15 It may have been a mistake to kill Rohssan. I seem to recall Armand telling me that I couldn't kill anyone while retrieving his sword. I'll have to pay him a fine to get back into the guild. Unfortunately, he will only talk to me after midnight in the Garden of Dareloth.
16 Because Rohssan died during my theft, I must pay Armand the blood price of 500 gold coins. Otherwise I will be denied membership. Unfortunately, Armand will only talk to me after midnight in the Garden of Dareloth.
18 0Yes I have paid the blood price for murder while trying to get membership in the Thieves Guild. Apparently it's one of their rules that I can't kill anyone while "on the job."
Notes
  • Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
  • Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in random order.
  • If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
  • On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage quest stage. Where quest is the internal name of the quest, and stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.


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