Clean-installed Oblivion for the 235346th time, going to do a main quest RP-friendly run.

At which point in the MQ is it deemed realistic to start wandering and exploring, doing insignificant side quests, maybe guilds and stuff? To me, it has always seemed like:

Thank you Emporer for getting me out of prison... OMG The Emporer was murdered, QUICK TAKE THIS AMULET TO JAUFFRE. Whew, made it in time... no WAIT! Have to pick up Martin in Kvatch. Man, Kvatch sure looks bleak and weird... WHAT THE!? Oblivion gate in front of Kvatch, need to close it!... Boy that was quite a hellish run, glad that's over... WHAT!? Now I have to help the Kvatch soldiers... Alright, done, now can I finally... oh hi Martin... oh what's that you MUST get back to Weynon Priory now? Okay let's go! Arrived at Weynon Priory... OMG Mythic Dawn assassins! QUICK retreat to Cloud Ruler Temple! ... etc etc etc

Unlike Morrowind -- where after every few quests, Caius tells me that I'm basically a noob and should take my time to get a freelance job or two, make a name for myself, hone my skills and gain some levels -- everything in the Oblivion Main Quest is so tightly put together that from an RP perspective, it's just unrealistic for me to go, "yo, I'm going to join the Mage's Guild first and become Arch Mage, can this Amulet of Kings business wait?"

In this particular character's run, I am strictly doing the Main Quest and NOT wandering off at all. I follow all the safe roads in Cyrodiil, and my gameplay is exactly how I described it above. For this reason, I am only Level 2 and about to do the quest to meet the Sponsor to get the 4th Xarxes book. I'd like my character to do some of the side content too, but I'm not sure if there's any point in the MQ where I can realistically wander off - besides AFTER the MQ has ended, becoming a Champion of Cyrodiil, and by then it feels weird to do mundane side quests because I consider myself the savior of the world already - not to mention most of the small side quests would be horribly unbalanced by endgame because Oblivion's level/monster/item scaling is weird.

Active Mod Files:

No time is really good. That's why i like using Alternate start mods so my character starts without any main quest so i can free roam and it doesn't feel silly. Then when i'm ready to do the Main quests it's off to the sewers.

One can intersperse side/guild/misc. quests into a main-quest centric play-through without qualm. The trick is, in my opinion, to do so so that it seems natural. That's how my current avatar did it early on this play-through. Those long ago days remain a highlight for me. I retain many fond memories of the period. One legitimate approach is that from the get-go your avatar realizes he or she is in over his/her head, and needs all the help he/she can get. Thus my avatar traveled to Anvil, heard the Prophet, and became Divine Crusader. it was in that capacity, with the help of the Nine, that he battled Daedric invasion. Who better to counter Daedra than Aedra?

Likewise, he felt he needed to establish solid relations with Tamriel's two major non criminal guilds, though he would not rise to the top of those organizations until after the Crisis. (He also joined the Imperial Legion very early on, via mod.)

As to side quests, well, my avatar was constantly traveling from city to city, both as patrolling legionnaire and seeker of Gates to terminate. It seemed only fitting (and appropriate to his role as Divine Crusader) that he help citizens in need as time allowed. In any case, shutting down sixty-some Gates back to back with no break in the monotony can become too much of a good thing.

I agree that once one becomes CoC and / or Divine Crusader some quests lines no longer seem appropriate. The Arena comes to mind. My avatar simply didn't find the time to squeeze it in early on. Once the Crisis ended it made absolutely no sense to demean to titles of Champion and Divine Crusader by associating them with a circus act.

And of course my avatar turns his back on quests too overtly criminal.

As is obvious, my avatar tackled the Crisis as a goody-goody. There are certainly other, equally valid, approaches. The trick, again, is to do those things which make sense for whichever approach you settle on, and be leery of the rest.

-Decrepit-

I understand. I am also playing a good guy and I am definitely turning down any shady quests. It's just that with so much going on at this moment, I find it hard to justify running off to join the Fighter's Guild and gain some ranks, for example. Right now I have located the Mythic Dawn's base and am getting ready to infiltrate their base, see if I can get back the Amulet from them. Is now a good time to sort of stray for a couple of days, do some jobs for the FG to get some funds to get better gear so that I don't go in the MD base unprepared? Martin seems to be pretty safe for now, what with Baurus and Jauffre watching over him at the Cloud Ruler Temple...

Edit for clarification: This character will definitely NOT be a 100% completion, do-everything-be-everything kind of character and I'm prepared to leave some content untouched, but... I have a few things in mind that I'd like to find the time to do amidts all this Save-Tamriel business. Like killing vampires, finishing the Fighter's Guild... good things like that.

People say this, but...

Savlian Matius: "Stand back, civilian! This is no place for you. Get back to the encampment at once!"

If you persist, he warns you: "You want to help? You're kidding, right? Hmm... if you're serious, maybe I can put you to use. It'll likely mean your death, though. Are you sure?" And you get a chance right there to back out.

If you close the gate and help him retake the chapel, if you don't talk to him again, he won't tell you that Martin was one of the people in the chapel, and even if you are aware of it, you know that Martin is safely at the encampment. Having closed the gate, you have effectively "ended" the Oblivion Crisis, so unless you have a particular interest in trying to get a new Emperor crowned, you're free to drop the MQ at that point.

I see several opportunities to back out and do other things, just in that short period of the MQ.

... oh, I guess I wasn't paying enough attention. I never saw it that way. :/ Good to know, though! For a future playthrough, maybe.

One of my characters, a mage, had a crystal ball that she picked up from loot on the way to Kvatch. She gazed into it, saw the future, and realized that Martin was safest right there in the camp, incognito. She went on to become Archmage before going back to get him.

There are all kinds of ways to play it.

I had the same sensation with my first couple characters. The first way I found to drag the questline out was retrieving a daedric artifact. First you have to explore to find shrines, then you have to meet certain requirements before you even have a chance to do the quest and get the item. You can easily extend the quest by months or years at this point, especially if, like one of my characters you're highly selective about which quests you'll actually do and only attempt to speak to the daedric prince on their summoning day.

But their are several points in the questline where it's appropriate to step back and say "okay Martin, I'm gonna need some time before I'm ready to tackle that one."

Yes, there are several opportunities to delay the MQ that the devs courteously provided early in the game:

1. Baurus tells you that the mission is important, but to take no chances. This implies taking the time needed to prepare.

2. Jaurffre gives you an accusatory third degree type of welcome. Those who agreed to help Uriel and Baurus because those two men were kind, just ran into a jerk who deserved to be walked out on. Tell him to send his big strong Blades to do the job.

3. As glargg mentioned, when you do eventually come upon the Kvatch gate, Captain Matius tells you the area isn't safe and to get back to safety. Sounds like great advice.

I've been doing a little experimenting and even trying on a new temporary character... the option of walking away from the Kvatch gate and Captain Mattius isn't a good option because the higher level you are when you do these 2 missions (close Kvatch gate, go in to find the Kvatch count) the more frustrating it becomes from a gameplay perspective - monsters start dealing tons of damage, it's hard keeping the various NPCs involved alive, and - depending on how you've been playing the game up to this point - you might be dishing 1-pixel damage to the monsters...

That's why I like the option of doing the Kvatch stuff, and just leaving Martin (don't even talk to him) at the encampment until you're ready to proceed. The MQ will never proceed at all, and no gates will open, until you return Martin to the Priory (and Cloud Ruler.)

If you want a good time to pause the main quest, I think that delivering the amulet is enough. After that, surely the mighty Blades and the Legion can handle the rest... that's their job.

^ That's another good idea actually. Here Jauffre, take the amulet, now I don't want to have anything to do with this drama!

That thing was way too hot. Jakob barely escaped the Imperial City. So he delivered it just to get rid of it. Being this close to the law is uncomfortable. Sold all the "Assistance." Now drunk in Chorrol.

As mentioned above you can "force" a break in the main questline if you try.

But the way the characters talk, it's really pretty much shoved on your character with no real break. I think that is a big flaw in the writting of the the MQ for a Open World game like this.

Morrowind was much better. Even other more linear games give you time to explore and prepare.... for example Mass Effect 2 (I didn't play 1 or 3) has the whole galaxy in danger, but the story writes in time for you to reasonably do side missions and preparatory missions. Oblivion should be like that.

And it would have been very easy to write a break in. For example, your character delivers the amulet to Jauffre and he says something like "okay we'll check into your story. Come back later if your interested" Then if you talk with Jauffre after a few days pass he can tell you about Martin. It would even make more sense that way, rather than Jauffre spouting off about the Empire's greatest secret to an escaped prisoner that could have killed the Emperor. I love Oblivion, but Bethesda's writing can be very sloppy at times.

^ I agree with everything in this post.

When you are tasked with locating a Daedric artifact. That's no simple task, and ripe with vagueness. Just RP, that all the Shrines you go to deem you unworthy until you prove yourself by doing other deeds, or whatever else you can come up with. Cyrodiil's a big place to get lost and side-tracked in.

Yeah I'm up to that point in the MQ now and I'm buying the "finding a Daedric artifact is no easy feat" idea, it would possibly take maybe months... perfect time for me to go do some side quests =D

From a *personal* RP perspective, I'd like to get better prepared to battle the forces of one of the gods. If it weren't for the broken game-play mechanic that causes the Battle of Kvatch to be a slaughterhouse for the poor NPCs unless you do it at like level 2, I'd personally deliver the amulet, go to Kvatch, listen to what the Captain of the Guard tells me. After all, I just got out of prison and all I have is some leather armor and the lousy choice of weapons that Jauffre wants to let me have (all two-handed), and I am expected to go into a parallel dimension and fight demons??

This guy and his crew are seasoned and trained warriors and they got slaughtered, I'm sure not going in there. Now if I were a high ranking member of the fighter's guild, or a powerful mage, then sure, makes sense, I can handle that. So let me go and prepare, and come back when I have some skills and equipment for the job.

But if I do that, I know all the NPCs will get creamed, and I personally hate letting the innocent get killed if I can prevent it. So I have to go do the Kvatch gate at level 2 or so, and the Battle for Kvatch right after, to keep the NPCs alive, and run off after them while they run into battles half healed instead of using anything resembling tactics, well before I have access to any decent spells that might help keep them alive.

I would also prefer the option of exploring the unspoiled world, before the Oblivion gates start popping up like strip malls. I guess one of these playthroughs I'm going to have to ignore the MQ so that I can explore the richness of the land at my own pace, and if the NPCs get killed at Kvatch then it's their fault for not powerleveling while they had the chance.

I used to think that way. Then I realized that I'm not responsible for how well (or badly) the Kvatch guard fight, and that my character isn't going to be going back to Kvatch to count the survivors afterwards anyway. The damned city keeps on burning forever anyway, and you can go back a year later, and Savlian is still standing in the same place, in the burning castle.

So I pretend that the entire Kvatch force didn't consist of five ill-equipped individuals and three legion guys, and that the rest of the survivors are all out doing good deeds and guard stuff. And I play the game however I want to.

I think the moment when you take Martin to the Cloud Ruler Temple is a good opportunity.

"Alright, the Emperor is safe. I think I can afford to take care of other tasks"

Also Shivering Isles. The Divine Crusader running errands for a Daedric Prince? Not likely.

That wouldn't work for me. Random Oblivion Gates have been triggered by that time. And it is mainly those damn Oblivion Gates that continually shove the main quest into my face and make me feel guilty about not saving the world

If I were going to take a break from the main quest for some "me time" I think I would follow glargg's suggestion and leave Martin at Kvatch.

Exactly. Because lets face it, if you don′t start nuthin′, you get nuthin′. No gates, no monsters, no nothing. Don′t wake the bear, don′t poke the hornets′ nest, don′t go skinny dipping in a river in South America while having a small scratch.

In other words, if you don′t do as you′re told and just leave it alone there′ll be no problem

I like to take Martin to Cloud Ruler Temple & leave without talking to Jauffre. He stands patiently on the stairs while I do whatever I want to: finish lifting the siege of Kvatch, close gates if I feel like it (good source of loot, experience, & the sigil stones are great for enchanting stuff); make friends, gain fame, fortune, a house or several; & Baurus isn't chasing after me reminding me that I'm supposed to help him in the Imperial City.

Leaving Martin at the encampment is the way to go if you want to avoid the Main Quest: he lives, the shrines to Mara & Kynareth look much better without Oblivion gates atop them, & everyone is happy. Ocato is especially happy: he's in charge, & the only crisis is the succession.

Yes, that's the Main Quest's "Happy Ending."