Oblivion Remastered: How to join the Thieves Guild
How to find the Thieves Guild and pass the initiation mission
Wondering how to join the Thieves Guild in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered? If you're a character who delights in cracking open locks and taking what isn't yours, why not join the Thieves Guild? Aside from acting as one of the most enjoyable factions in Oblivion, the Thieves Guild offers up fencing options for crooks as well as some of the game's best side quests.
Learning the Thieves Guild's whereabouts and succeeding on its initiation rite can be tricky. So in this guide, we'll explain what you need to do to join the Thieves Guild in Oblivion Remastered, and we'll also list some of the benefits that come with guild membership if you're still undecided.
How to join the Thieves Guild in Oblivion
To join the Thieves Guild, you first need to learn of its existence and the location of its initiation ceremony. There are two events that prompt this:
- Examine Gray Fox Wanted Posters in the Imperial City. Then speak with nearby guards or beggars about the Gray Fox. If their disposition towards you is high enough, they'll mention the Waterfront District as an area of interest.
- Get caught stealing someone's possessions or picking their pocket. While this requires you to escape from jail, the next time you rest, an NPC named Myvryna Avrano will pay you a visit with a guild invite, as well as instructions to visit the Waterfront District.
Once you've done either of these options, hang around the southern section of the Waterfront District, in the garden right behind the Abandoned Shack, around 11PM. Wait long enough and the guild Doyen, Armand Christophe, appears along with two rivals. Armand begins the initiation once you speak with him about joining the guild.
The initiation quest for joining the guild is dubbed "May the Best Thief Win" and requires you to steal Amantius Allectus' Diary before your two rivals. You can't kill anyone, and you aren't given any other hints other than the fact that beggars might be helpful.
To find Amantius Allectus' house, you can talk to a beggar and pay them 5 coins to have Allectus' house in the Temple District highlighted on your map. Or, just teleport directly to the Temple District and follow your rival Methredhel, who will be veering right towards the house. You'll need to lockpick the door, which is of Average difficulty and shouldn't be too hard. Once you're inside, look for a desk on the right wall where the diary will be located.
You should do this quickly to beat Methredhel to the chase, though she tends to loiter around in the house for a bit, making it easy to inspect the desk before her. If she does nab the diary before you, follow her in Sneak mode and pickpocket it.
Once the diary is yours, head back to Armand, hand over the goods, and enjoy entry to the Thieves Guild.
Thieves Guild benefits
The Thieves Guild offers up the following benefits for sneaky players:
- You'll get access to fences, who are merchants willing to sell all items that you pilfer from NPCs. Your first fence is a fellow named Ongar in Bruma. As you progress in Thieves Guild quests you'll unlock more fences.
- The Thieves Guild Doyen can remove any active bounty on your head for half of its price, without your stolen stash being taken away by guards.
- Beggars in any city will be willing to tell you about possible targets for thievery if you pay them some coin.
- You'll get access to a wide variety of quests that will test your mettle at stealing merchandise and offer up unique rewards, like the Boots of Springheel Jak, which raise your Acrobatics skill. The last of these missions sees you pulling off the ultimate heist that actually ends in stealing an Elder Scroll!
- Once you steal that aforementioned Elder Scroll, you get a nice safehouse where you can store your goods and rest.
The guild also has some rules - you can't steal from another member, you can't kill anyone on the job, and you can't steal from the poor. Technically the second rule can be finessed a bit, as animals and monsters are fair game. And even if you kill a bystander on the job, in some circumstances you can pay 1,000 gold to get the job accepted anyway.
And that's how to join the Thieves Guild in Oblivion Remastered. While you're at it, you should also take a peek at our guide on how to get the Skeleton Key, which is a vital item that no good thief should be without. Or perhaps you're looking for how to how to recharge weapons, how to cure disease, or how to create spells? Whatever your Oblivion needs, we've got you covered!