Oblivion:Ontus Vanin

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995

Ontus Vanin (RefID: 0001CF34)
Home City	Imperial City Talos Plaza District
House	Ontus Vanin's House
Race	Imperial	Gender	Male
Level	PC+5 (min=15)	Class	Battlemage
RefID	0001CF34	BaseID	0001CF33
Other Information
Health	43 + (3+1.4)x(PC+4), PC=1-20	Magicka	113 + 7.5x(PC+4) (max=250)
Respons.	75	Aggress.	10
Faction(s)	IC Citizens; Ontus Vanin

Ontus Vanin in his house

Ontus Vanin is retired from the Mages Guild. He "sleeps late and reads trashy books". After spending 40 years at the Arcane University, he's completely useless and proud of it. He is still officially considered to be a researcher at the university; because of that connection, Hrormir's Icestaff is returned to Ontus' house during the Thieves Guild quest Misdirection. He lives in the Imperial City Talos Plaza District. He does not offer any services.

He can be found in his house between ~10 AM and 12 PM, when he will lock his doors and boot you out. He then proceeds to wander the Talos Plaza District, going to the Tiber Septim Hotel.

[edit] Unique Dialogue

I spent 40 years at the Arcane University. Good years, but I don't miss it. Now I'm completely useless, and proud of it.

[edit] Notes

He is not an essential NPC during the game (even though he plays a role in the Misdirection quest) so he can be killed.
Because he is no longer a member of the Mages Guild, Mages Guild members can murder him without any penalty.
Once you have read Modern Heretics or spoken with Ulene Hlervu about "Cheydinhal", a new "Daedra shrines" conversation topic will appear. When you speak to Ontus about this, he will mark Hircine's Shrine, Mephala's Shrine, and Vaermina's Shrine on your map.

[edit] Bugs

After the Fighter's Stronghold official mod is installed, Ontus suffers from the Mystic Emporium Bug and will often be found standing just outside the store, unable to enter.
Ontus actually dislikes Mages Guild members: he has a -5 disposition modifier towards Mages Guild members. Since this modifier is multiplied by your Mages Guild rank, when you become Arch-Mage, Ontus will have a -50 disposition adjustment to you. This is generally enough to make him attack you on sight, especially as he has slightly higher aggression than most NPCs.
- To prevent him from attacking you when you advance through the Mages Guild, the easiest strategy is to be sure to talk to Ontus early in the game and use the Speechcraft minigame to boost his disposition as high as possible.
- If you are already Arch-Mage, sneak up on Ontus, cast a moderate Charm spell on him (e.g., 25 pts), and then talk to him. His disposition should now be high enough that he won't attack you, but low enough that you can use the Speechcraft minigame to permanently boost his disposition, even after the Charm spell wears off.
- This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.