Return to Oblivion introduction
The Main Quest
Overview
Oblivion does actually have a main quest, but if you're anything like me you'll ignore it for a few weeks while getting that new sword or reputation with your guild. The main quest is always there to work on, but it's not required at all.
Getting Started and Getting the Amulet
The game basically starts with you in jail. The emperor and his guards have to go through a passageway that leads right through your cell allowing you to escape. This level is mostly a tutorial so I'll let you figure it out. Once you reunite with the king you have to fight off a few assasins. The king will then go into a dead end and the gaurds will tell you to stay with him. Talk to the king and you'll start a cut scene where he tells you to find his frienc Jauffre and show him the Amulet of Kings. After saying that he is promptly killed by an assasin.
Now that you've got the Amulet and you got out of the sewers you're supposed to go to Weynor Pirory and show it to Jauffre. You could just as easily do nothing at all though and screw around in the Imperial City.
Deliver the Amulet
So you got tired of hanging around doing nothing already? Oh well if you want to do the main quest thats fine. So now we're headed for Weynon Priory. There should be a few monks there and Jauffre in the library. Talk to him and he'll take the Amulet of Kings from you for safekeeping (guess how that ends up) and tells you there is a long lost heir to the throne in Kvatch. He sends you there to get him and bring him back so that he's safe from assasins.
Find the Heir
When Jauffre sends you to find Martin in Kvatch it sounds like a simple errand. When looking at the map though you'll notice the nearest fast travel point is a bit south of Kvatch. How odd. On arriving at this point you'll be approached by a panicking elf who explains to you that gates to Oblivion (basically hell) opened up last night and draene (demons) burned the city to the ground. Ask around and you'll find out a few soldiers are trying to keep the demons back. Get up there to lend them your sword.
Talking to the captain he'll tell you that Martin is a priest and hurried people into the chapel to try and wait it out. He also tells you no one can get in unless the gate to Oblivion closes. When you agree to help fight tou and the soldiers will rush a few weak scamps outside the portal. Then the guard captain tells you that he sent some men into the gate and the never came out so naturally you have to go in and fetch him.
Inside Oblivion it's the generic hell with fire and brimstone. You'll immediately see one soldier running around fighting scamps. Help the guy out and he'll talk to you. Now you can choose whether for him to stay and help you or go outside and help the captain. I personally suggest you send him out because the "allies" in Oblivion tend to be idiots who charge in front of you and then get angry when you slash them. If you're really lonely though he does help.
The good news is that this place is fairly linear and easy to navigate. The bad news is that this is the first time in Oblivion (assuming you went straight to the mian quest) that the enemies pose a threat. These are armored demons not goblins in the sewers. So follow the path and make your way to the tower. Now the odd thing about this tower is it seems to be completely parallel. If you go left it will be a curving pathway into a room if you go to the right it's a mirror image of the pathway and goes to the same room. It is impossible to get lost in this place as long as you keep moving upwards and killing demons.
Eventually you'll reach a floor with a few doors one of which is locked. Go into the other and you'll find yourself on a thin bridge going to another tower (nice architecture for demons) head across to the next room. You'll hear cries for help and climb up to see an old guy (presumably one of the guards sent in) in his underwear locked in a cage. The demon guarding him promptly threatens you and attacks you. You can talk to the guy in the cage or you can do the reasonable thing and kill the demon. The guard then tells you that the sigil keep is home to the sigil stone an artifact that is the heart of this plane of oblivion. Grab the demon's key and head back to that door you couldn't open.
From here on out you'll run into the freaky spell caster guys. Now it's enough trouble with one scamp running around but they are capable of summoning more so don't hesitate to kill the guys in black robes as soon as you see them the scamps he summoned will disappear and continue on your fairly straight path. When you reach the top you'll see a giant flaming stone suspended by chains. Reach over and activate it and the whole plane of Oblivion will explode. You'll be thrust out and watch as the gate closes.
Tell the captain you're ready and you can all rush into Kvatch and kill a few scamps and these weird dinosaur creatures. Then head into the Chapel and talk to Martin. He'll agree to come with you and says we should hurry back to Weynon Priory.