The Ultimate Showdown: Unveiling Skyrim's Superior Thieves Guild Questline Compared to Oblivion's

Highlights

The Thieves Guild in Skyrim has a seedy and mysterious reputation, with its headquarters hidden underground in Riften and its members engaging in illicit activities.

The Thieves Guild questline in Skyrim is expansive, consisting of 12 main quests and side-jobs that encompass various heists and supernatural elements. These tasks include upholding a sworn oath to the Daedric Prince Nocturnal.

On the other hand, Oblivion presents the Thieves Guild in a more secretive and legendary manner, with the guild's existence being downplayed by guards and the revered Gray Fox acting as the fabled Guildmaster. The culmination of the questline revolves around breaking the curse of the Gray Fox and assuming leadership of the guild.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim brought innovation to the franchise by creating a unique and expansive experience. Despite this, it still maintained core elements of the wider Elder Scrolls identity, including its many guild-related questlines.

Among these guilds, the Thieves Guild in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim stands out as a memorable and significant presence. The guild has its own dedicated storyline within the game, reminiscent of its importance in The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. While both interpretations of the guild and its questlines share some similarities, they also differ significantly in certain aspects.

Skyrim's Take on the Thieves Guild Questline

The Thieves Guild in The Elder Scrolls franchise has always been captivating and enigmatic. While not as ominous as the Dark Brotherhood, the illicit nature of the guild adds a shady undertone to its plots and themes.

In Skyrim, the Thieves Guild is made up of a diverse group of skilled thieves, and it is fitting that their headquarters are cleverly concealed underground in the city of Riften. The game delves deeply into the shadowy and untrustworthy nature of the guild, with its members often acting as loan sharks and having a generally unsavory reputation within society.

Oblivion's Portrayal of the Thieves Guild Questline

The epic journey of Skyrim's Thieves Guild unfolds over a substantial series of 12 primary quests and side-jobs. In this captivating narrative, the Dragonborn embarks on a thrilling path towards becoming the esteemed Thieves Guild Master, undertaking daring heists and encountering otherworldly phenomena. A notable highlight of Skyrim's Thieves Guild questline is when the player fulfills a sacred oath to the venerable Daedric Prince Nocturnal, who shares deep-rooted connections with the guild. Throughout the progression of the questline, Skyrim's pursuit of illicit activities surpasses its humble beginnings, delving into a mesmerizing experience bridging realms and mortal planes.

The events of Skyrim take place 200 years after those of Oblivion, and the portrayal of the Thieves Guild and its quests in each game differ significantly. Oblivion's setting in the significant Imperial capital of Cyrodiil necessitates a particularly secretive Thieves Guild due to heightened regulations and security in the province.

In the world of Oblivion, the Thieves Guild holds a captivating aura in the eyes of ordinary people. Even the guards of Oblivion often dismiss the guild as nothing more than a fanciful legend, highlighting the guild's discreet nature in contrast to the grandiosity portrayed in Skyrim.

Adding to the mystique surrounding the Thieves Guild in Oblivion is the enigmatic Gray Fox, an esteemed individual who assumes the position of Guildmaster in Cyrodiil's faction. The Gray Fox gained immense renown three centuries prior to the events of Oblivion, and his distinctive gray mask and title have been passed down to each successive Guildmaster. This element of secrecy enhances the allure of the Thieves Guild quests in Oblivion, as players undertake missions for increasingly notorious figures before ultimately encountering the Gray Fox himself.

The Oblivion Thieves Guild questline concludes with the player breaking the curse of the Gray Fox, allowing him to regain his original identity and pass on the title to the player character. In contrast to Oblivion's grounded quest finale, Skyrim's portrayal includes more fantastical elements, highlighting a highly successful Thieves Guild. This explains why Skyrim's questline features grand supernatural elements compared to the more modest approach taken in Oblivion.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim can be played on PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.