It isn't always easy to tell the NPCs in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion apart. With only a handful of voice actors, a heap of default dialogue shared between characters, and the sometimes strange delivery that comes from the performers being given their lines in alphabetical order rather than by quest or character, many of the people the player meets across Cyrodiil can feel pretty generic.

There are some NPCs in The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion who stand out from the crowd, however. Some are annoying, others downright hilarious, and a few only get creepier the more the player thinks about them. Here are the characters it's hard for any Hero of Kvatch to forget, where the player can find them in the game, and just what made them so memorable.

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Falanu Hlaalu

Oblivion female Dark Elf NPC

Sometimes it isn't what an NPC says, but what goes unspoken that makes them so memorable. So it is with Falanu Hlaalu, the owner of All Things Alchemical in Skingrad. A Dark Elf and member of House Hlaalu, she has been forced to flee her homeland of Morrowind for reasons that quickly become apparent.

"I'm the only alchemist in Skingrad. Not much business here, but I can't go back to Morrowind. It's just like anywhere else in the Empire," she'll say when asked about the city. Innocuous enough, but the conversation quickly takes a turn. "By the way... do you happen to know what the fine is here in Cyrodiil for necrophilia? Just asking." If the Hero of Kvatch asks if it's the first offense, Falanu says, "Let's assume 'no.'"

What is perhaps most worrying about this whole exchange is the fact that the Hero of Kvatch happens to know that the fine is 500 septims. As with all Elder Scrolls games, it's never clarified what the player character was in prison for at the start of the game. If this interaction with Skingrad's resident alchemist is anything to go by, most players might not want to know.

The Adoring Fan

the adoring fan oblivion

Who could forget the Adoring Fan? Once the Hero of Kvatch has become the Grand Champion of the Arena in the Imperial City, the Adoring Fan is a Wood Elf follower who will offer he services to the player. Those services are extremely limited. In combat, the Adoring Fan will quite simply run away. If he is killed - by a monster or the player - he respawns three days later. Celebrity is hard to escape, even in Cyrodiil.

The Adoring Fan is clearly supposed to be a young kid, his dialogue peppered with phrases that sound like they were written for Burt Ward's Robin like "aw gee," and "golly, you're the best." The fact that he has the same voice as almost all of the male Elves in Oblivion, however, makes his delivery of these lines extremely strange, often hilarious, and at times even sinister. The Adoring Fan will follow the Hero of Kvatch to the ends of the earth, offering unsolicited boot-shinings and backrubs along the way.

Bowling

bowling oblivion shivering isles

Sheogorath himself might be the star of the Shivering Isles DLC, but his realm of Oblivion is also home to some particularly memorable NPCs. Bowling is a Bosmer who can be found in Crucible. Unless the player is carrying Big Head's magical fork, everything Bowling says comes out as pure gibberish delivered with such confidence that it often takes a second to realize none of the words were real.

Wandering around shouting great lines like "I'll Kalikrak the Findoo. I will! You Teratet it!" and "I saw the Zaxer. And I magged it, too! Aw, fribble!" it's certainly hard to forget Bowling. Once the player becomes the new Sheogorath themself, they are able to understand Bowling entirely, but his sage words of advice still ring true for any Mad God ascending to the throne: "just fribble it."

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Runs-In-Circles

runs in circles oblivion

The other unsung hero of the Shivering Isles DLC is Runs-In-Circles, an Argonian thief who spends her time doing just that. Runs-In-Circles delivers one of the best bits of dialogue in the game: "ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni-ni!" She can be found in Highcross, and sometimes manages to deliver her iconic line even after being killed.

Farwil Indarys

farwil indarys oblivion

Who says chivalry is dead? Farwil Indarys is the Dunmer son of the Count of Cheyinhal, and living proof to the contrary. The same cannot be said for the rest of the Knights of Thorn, however, who were killed when the Dark Elf charged into an Oblivion Gate with them in toe, suffering massive losses. Farwil's eternal optimism is unshaken, however - "Onward and upward! Huzzah!" The player can help him close the Oblivion Gate and claim victory for the Knights of Thorn - "We made!... errr, I mean... victory is ours once again! Huzzah!"

Sheogorath

sheogorath oblivion shivering isles

No list of memorable Oblivion NPCs could possibly be complete with Sheogorath. The Daedric Prince of Madness is the star of the game's final add-on. Over the course of the expansion, the player learns that at the end of every Era the Daedra becomes Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order, and destroys his own realm. When the player frees Jyggaglag from his cycle of torment, they are crowned the new Daedric Prince of Madness - presumably, the Sheogorath seen in Skyrim's Solitude is in fact the player character from Oblivion.

Although his reign is coming to an end, however, Sheogorath manages to get some of the game's most memorable lines in first: "Wonderful! Time for a celebration! Cheese for everyone! Wait scratch that cheese for no one. That can be just as much of a celebration if you don't like cheese. True?" The Mad God also appears to be the only man in Tamriel's Third Era who is able to grow a beard.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 and backward compatible on PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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