One of the most frustrating quests inThe Elder Scrolls 4: OblivionRemastered(as in the original game) is part ofthe Dark Brotherhood questline, but one player has found a chaotic way to make it a little more interesting.NavigatingOblivion’s guildsis notoriously difficult; their questlines often clash with one another, occasionally with catastrophic results. That’s because their rules are often at odds with each other. Stealing things from a Mages Guild, for example, to fund your Thieves Guild rank-up can easily get you expelled.
Other guild quests just have difficult requirements that can seem impossible to achieve, especially if you’re only in the particular guild for funsies, and don’t particularly care aboutputting together a decent stealth buildor being able to craft your own spells. The Dark Brotherhood’s “Whodunit?” is one such quest, and has stymied many a player. However, as one streamer recently discovered, there’s a unique way to get through this quest in a matter of seconds
Dark Brotherhood Quests Can Be Challenging
“Whodunit?” Has Highs & Lows
Look, I’ll be the first to admit that “Whodunit?” is one of my favorite quests in the originalOblivion(and the remaster, too).It’s a classic murder mystery: you’re summoned to an ornate mansion in Skingrad, where five people are attending a party. One by one, they all start dying, and they slowly grow more and more suspicious of one another as they attempt to point theblame. The twist, of course, is thatthe player is the murderer, and has been tasked with leaving no survivors of this ill-fated party.
You can walk in guns blazing and finish the quest in one fell swoop, if you don’t mind the bounty. But the caveat is thatyou only get full marks on “Whodunit?” if you manage to kill everybody with no witnesses. And you’ll want the reward: if you succeed, you’ll gain the Night Mother’s Blessing, a permanent effect that grants you +2 to Acrobatics, Blade, Marksman, Security, and Sneak, all important skills no matter what your class.
The difficulty lies in isolating each attendeesufficiently to kill them without being seen. Although it’s possible to do it with a variety of different dialogue options, the sequence can be a bit confusing, and it’s easy to mess up and have to start the whole thing over again if you want the blessing.
Oblivion Remastered Player Beats Whodunit Quest In Record Time
But Not Without A Little Preparation
But there is a better way to do it - a video posted to X (formerly Twitter, first spotted byGames Radar) by streamerCrikendemonstratestotal completion of “Whodunit?” in under ten seconds, using only unarmed attacks and leaving no witnesses. Criken runs from room to room while crouched, punching each of the five attendees for fatal damage. In total, he manages to complete all five murders in just 8.75 seconds, which has to be some kind of record.
Of course, this speedrun didn’t appear out of thin air; don’t expect to stroll into the mansion with your heavy armor greataxe build and just stealth punch everyone to death. Criken’s running a powerful unarmed build that, in conjunction with the sneak attack bonus, allows him to do incredible amounts of damage with his bare fists. Still,this could be a fun speedrun for anyone to trywith a little bit of preparation, and bypasses a lot of the tedium of the quest, which is certainly welcome if you’re anything like me and have already beaten it what seems like a thousand times over.
Fun Approaches Can Mix Up Oblivion Remastered If You’ve Already Played It
But Make Sure To Experience It Normally At Least Once
I’ve played through the base game enough that I’m past the point of caring about balance inOblivionRemastered. I’m playing solely for fun this time: I stick to the normal difficulty, and, whenever I come to a quest I remember being annoying the last time around, I activate thePotion Seller console commandand punch away. Things like Criken’s challenge run intrigue me too:setting weirdly specific goals for yourself and going to great lengths to achieve them is the best way to enjoyOblivionover and over again.
It doesn’t have to be punching your way through the Dark Brotherhood, either: make it your goal to craft the wildest and most chaotic spells possible, or to steal everything in the Imperial City, or to get rich quick selling Skooma. Using your game knowledge from years ofOblivionruns, goals like these should be enjoyable, if not always easy, to achieve.These things keepOblivioninterestingyear after year, run after run, anddon’t even require mods.
Still, if it’s your first time, I don’t necessarily recommend trying a challenge run. Instead, you should experienceOblivionfor everything it is: make a character you’re really interested in, pick a class that you like, and play through it blindly, and without setting specific limits on yourself. Save the weird stuff for the second playthrough, and you’ll be able to enjoy everythingThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredhas to offer.
