OK this is just my take on how to roleplay an evil character in Oblivion, but I often hear talk about how people think by just having an assassin or being in the Dark Brotherhood, their character is evil. While this might be an orientation towards evil, again, in my opinion, this doesn't qualify. Here's what I think about how to be evil.

First, and probably the most obvious are skills. Magic and Stealth are certainly laced with evil implications, so building an evil character will focus on those skills. Blade is a standard evil doers weapon, so don't forget to leave Blade out of the equation. So, at the very tip top of my evil skills list is destru....not a chance. Illusion houses those command spells that make enemy AI lap up your drool and you can get the to do stuff for you. Paralyze is quite evil too, and silence. Overall, Illusion is the look-no-further-than-here evil skill. Alchemy is pretty high on the list, since poisoned daggers deffinitely qualifies in the evil bastard category. Destruction nets a spot more for the disentigrate spells. They're more subtle, which for evil characters is a necessity. Alteration has Burden, and with the right mind is more evil than paralzye if you can stack the effect so they can't move anywhere. Also, you want to preserve your body...this is a good place to start. Restoration...monks and clerics use restoration to heal yourself...evil characters use restoration to suck the life out of enemies and give it to themselves...nuff said.

Second is race, well, any race can have evil characters, but if I'm going to end up with a lawful evil character, they better look like a walking Abercrombie ad. Pretty characters are the least suspected, most coniving, and their acts of wrongdoing are generally more acceptable than if your ugly. Altmer and Dunmer are obvious choices, but I tend to go straight for Imperials or Bretons, afterall, white people have been performing the most sinister and evil acts throughout the course of human history, I don't see any reason to stop just because I'm playing a game.

Doing evil things 101:
First of all, killing someone in their sleep isn't necessarily evil. Watching their every movement for a week, understanding them completely, and figuring out a way to disrupt their daily routine or cutting them off from something precious is an evil must do. But in general, killing NPC's with religious ties is a good thing.

Mage Apprentices. Deffinitely become Arch-Mage of the Mages guild, they'll follow you around and won't completely suck at fighting. If they die...resurrect them (it can be done)...only be sure to strip them of their clothing and put a necromancers robe on them...make sure their undead incarnation knows where their loyalties lie.

Illusion. Well, nothing says HAHA more than coaxing that Orge out of the woods and into civilization. By the time they figure out where they are, you're safely on a rooftop eating Mutton and enjoying the fight.

Bandits are you friends. Well not really, they're practice fodder...goblins are your friends, they're ugly, they stink, and if I understand how the War Party mod works, if you get the Warchief to follow you, so will the tribe. I haven't test this, but it's deffinitely worth the effort.

Dremora are mindless thugs not worthy of your time or presence. Mock them by running straight past them when you're climbing towers. They'll wonder what all the orange/yellow is about...and then cease to exist.

When fighting in combat and guards come to help out, start healing whatever was attacking you...then kill it when the guard dies...then kill the guard's horse.

The Dark Brotherhood doesn't know evil all that well...the Night Mother, what's that all about? Invoke the wrath of Mephala and show them who the REAL cuthroats are.

Aside from the fact that anything with reflect damage is gross, think about it in terms of "I'm Rubber and You're Glue"...just with more Healing Potions and Spells.

Even though this is simply an aesthetic than anything, nothing says 'you should be scared of me' than a CE fire effect on a piece of clothing....of course...you'll want that resist fire 100% CE ring, otherwise you'll be the butt of all jokes in Cyrodill "hey remember that guy who died because he caught himself on fire...."

Gather as many skulls as is physically possible by your character...then 1 by 1 drop them all over your house...or better yet, fill a church altar with them.

Unless you're climbing the ranks of a guild in order to use your power for evil, never, for any reason, help anybody...after all, you're the one in charge.

If you kill every last living person in a town and nobody is around to talk about it...did it really happen? (Now this is where I would love to see a mod where, after you kill somone, you can resurrect them, like with the Staff of Worms, and then have them go about their daily routine as if they were still alive...only they're zombies...and zombies are really cool [not the headless ones, they have too much health])

ive just developed an evil character myself...

dr. benway is a black and red argonian. i've had him poisoning arrows since the prison sewers.
I also want him to be able to summon imps and lizards.
and to sneak up behind people and slit their gullet, in their home, at night or in broad daylight.

the not helping people is the hard part. many quests have odvious ways you can be cruel, but its hard to complete many quests without helping someone. when i do, like help a settlement or something, i tell myself that its only to return and feed off of them as a vampire.

benway is two faced, and has few uses for the soft pig skinned races...

I disagree about not helping people. What could be more evil than to worm your way into their confidence, get them confide their innermost secrets to you - then cruelly betray their trust. Just when they think life is sweet again, you strike, and watch the look of incomprehension and betrayal on their faces... ahhhhh.

Amassing skulls? Please. Have you no style? Art treasures is what any self-respecting evil overlord or overlady should be collecting. Or at least items treasured by your victims. Diaries and love letters would make a good collection.

The absence of fluffy white cats makes it immediately obvious that Oblivion was simply not designed for evil characters. And the unicorn is just a bit too big to sit on your lap.

A look of innocence is a must for an evil character, IMO. Ok, there is something satisfying about having small children burst into tears when they see you, but it is even more rewarding when you catch people off their guard. Don't make it obvious that you're not they kind of person they want to meet in a dark alley - teach them that looks can be deceiving.

The Skull of Corruption is an essential accessory for the evil character, IMO. Turn a harmless, respectable citizen into an enemy of the state, and watch the drama unfold. Perfect.

Poison is a must - 'Burden' is a favourite of mine. It is such a pity that the application of poisons is so limited - surely I can't be the only one who feels inclined to slip a vial or two into the guards' dinner?

There is the odd evil quest in game - some Daedric shrine quests spring to mind. Sheogorath had the right idea!

As for fighting... it is always better if you can persuade others to do your dirty work for you. Preferably innocent bystanders rather than summoned creatures.

But on the other hand, there is much to be said for sneaking up on your intended victim, hear their alarmed cries of 'who's there?', wait until they have convinced themselves that it was just their overactive imagination and not death lurking in the shadows, observe them as they suspect nothing... until the icy cold touch of your hand drains their health to nothing, and they crumple without a sound.

So sweet.

I enjoyed reading this, although i usually start with evil characters later than "normal" characters. I will be making one soon. A tip for the evil collectors: Get into the anvil lighthouse cellar (the owner has the key, but cannot be killed) and take this little thing on an altar somewhere in it... I don't know if it is part of a quest, but it sure looks nice on a shelf What it is? Find it out yourself...

There are some instances where it's OK. I certainly can legitimize finding all those lost husbands...getting to the outskirts of town, watch as their hearts swell with hope, and drop a meteor of a spell on them. It must be my character's ego. Best not to deal with the rifraf when there are people like Heronemous Rex (or whatever) are running around like unchecked vigilantes.

Dropping 120 skulls all at once is extremely satisfying, even if it does take forever to pull off. Treasured items are OK, but generally reading them pisses me off, thus perpetuating the cycle of wanting eveything to cease to exist.


Agreed on summon creatures...what a copout. Having the people who want you dead fighting for your cause like a puppet is so much better.

I am playing on a evil carachter right now..
Mostly like your instructions.. but how do I make a "CE fire effect"

CE= Constant Effect. Basically, when you enchant a piece of apparel (armor, clothing, or jewelry) the effect will be in constant use.

Enchanting some apparel with Fire Damage will cause a Constant Effect of 5 points Fire Damage. More importantly, it will visually set your character aflame.

You'll need something that will get you 100% Resistance to Fire, of course, in order to render you immune to that damage.

As to being evil, I suggest the prodigious use of Damage Speed and Damage Strength poisons, applied to one of those replica weapon pieces you'll find in a Fighters' Guild hall display case. Those weapons don't deliver anything more than 1 point of physical damage, which gives you the oppurtunity to dose the target over and over again without great risk of actually killing them.

Is there any mod I need to download or will my piece of clothing set me on fire with orginal game?

It'll set you on fire with the original game.

Please pay attention to the date of the last post in a thread before you post... unless you post something of significance in an old thread like this it counts as thread necromancy. Thanks.

Locked.