I find that it's much harder to make substantial cash and get good armor in TES4. At the start of a new character I always am struck by how slowly you accumulate cash and are able to purchase good equipment, not to mention that killing just 1 wolf will bring your weapon down 6 points. I always have to commit murder on a guard and take his armor

Anyone else feel this way? I feel that Skyrim is more forgiving in this sense (you'd think it'd be the other way around)

Never had cash issues in Oblivion myself. Go raid a few dungeons and loot everything worth its weight in gold. Be rich in no time.

I always have a rule where I never loot anything that is less than 2x it's weight in gold.

But yea, money is not a problem in Oblivion, at all

I really have never had any problem making money in Oblivion. In fact if there's one consistent gripe I have about all the Elder Scrolls games it is that I think the economies of the games are broken. Even those characters who do not sell everything they loot end up rolling in Septims before they know it.

In a lot of dungeons there are several interior cells. Save before entering the final cell, where the boss is. If he/she has some valuable enchanted stuff, take it and save. If not, reload, re-enter the cell, and try again.

And of course, don't forget Rockmilk Cave, the holy grail of TES IV money-making.

Hmm...the fact that I don't dungeon dive might have something to do with this XD

It seems that's where da big bucks are at. It's a shame...I never liked Oblivion dungeons

It seems to me that dungeon diving is about 95% of what TES games are about.

I like the dungeons. There's really quite a variety to them (in spite of what some people might say), and many of them have little "stories" that you can piece together by looking at clues, like corpses in odd places, blood stains, etc. Part of the pleasure for me is finding subtle little hand-placed "details," which are abundant in Oblivion dungeons.

Small example: I bet that not too many players find the three lockpicks that are scattered on the floor in the lower part of Vilverin.

Making potions and selling them is a good money maker as well and doesn't involve dungeon crawling. Controlling expenses is the other side of the equation. Warrior/thief types are not bad since you can scrounge/buy a few repair hammers and loot weapons/armor off baddies to use. Mages are expensive because there are plenty of spells you'll want to buy; generally, just buy the cheapest version of a spell you can find (to gain access to the magical effect) and make more potent versions at the University once you get in. Don't waste money on a house early on - although most containers respawn, there are plenty that don't in which you can safely stash your loot. And don't worry about a horse early on either; as much as my elf would never be without hers, I'll readily admit they're more for RP and, objectively, a liability. If you're a mage and get into the University, you can combine cheap items of apparel + crab/rat souls + crap enchantments and sell for a good profit.