One of the most enigmatic characters inThe Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remasteredis Janus Hassildor, the Count of Skingrad. While the other leaders of Cyrodiil’s cities rule in the open from their thrones, Count Hassildor is more difficult to meet in person, but plays a key role in several quests. The Mages Guild quest Information at a Price is one of the few times inOblivion Remasteredwhere players are given a choice on how to deal with a questline, but it also shows why these choices are few and far between.Oblivionis a great game with considerable strengths, but its coding and player freedom can make quest outcomes unreliable or, worse, break them entirely.
Information at a Price is one of the quests most at risk of breaking, which relies on the order of action the player takes. Overall, the quest is very clunky with a lot of variables, meaning more can go wrong. Completing the quest hassle-free relies on luck, repetition, or following a guide.
Getting Information at a Price From the Count of Skingrad
On the surface, the quest is relatively simple. Count Hassildor has information valuable to the Mages Guild, but will only hand it over once the player completes a favor for him. A clan of vampires has taken up residence in a nearby cave, and a group of vampire hunters has pursued them to Skingrad. Both groups pose a threat inunmasking Count Hassildor’s identity as a vampire.
This quest is especially challenging if theHero of Kvatchis being roleplayed as a good character. The vampire hunters are not evil and are little more than inconvenient. The trick to completing the quest with the best outcome for a morally good character is to ideally eliminate the vampires, then tell the vampire hunters that they’re gone.
This takes a bit of foresight and luck. First, players need to avoid the vampire hunters in town and head straight to Bloodcrust Cavern. Once the vampires are killed, the player needs toloot at least one Vampire Dustfrom one of the Bloodcrust Cavern vampire corpses. This will be shown to Eridor, the leader of the hunters, who will only leave if all the vampires are dead and is given the vampire dust specifically from a Bloodcrust vampire.
Where Oblivion Remastered Can Go Wrong
This quest can mess up in several ways, even without bugs. The biggest issue is for players who are vampires and have already received thevampire cure quest from Hassildor. If the vampire cure quest is still incomplete, it could be impossible to finish Information at a Price until the vampire cure quest is completed, which is a very long detour.
Keeping Infamy Low
If the player didn’t loot the Vampire Dust from Bloodcrust Cavern, it could require backtracking to the cave or killing the hunters in town. Killing the hunters brings its own set of issues, particularly for players using theKnights of the Nine’s Relics of the Crusader. Having an Infamy of two or more will prevent the Relics of the Crusader from being equipped, and requires the player to complete the Path of the Pilgrim once again to reset Infamy to zero. Killing the hunters outright also causes this problem.
One of the biggest frustrations is sending the hunters to Bloodcrust Cavern, and keeping them all alive. The hunters always wear the same low-level armor, while the vampires have leveled armor and equipment, making it almost impossible to keep the hunters alive at higher levels. If Eridor dies, the quest cannot be completed, and so the player has to kill the hunters to progress.
