Oblivion:Blind Moth Priest

Blind Moth Priests are monks that have read the Elder Scrolls in White Gold Tower.  As a result of reading the Scrolls over their lifetimes, they eventually lose their sight.

Blind Moth Priests can be found during the quest Turning a Blind Eye. They are the guardians of Savilla's Stone, the first item the Gray Fox requests during the strand of quests you do for him in the Thieves Guild. These NPCs are also the priests from whom you steal an Elder Scroll during The Ultimate Heist quest. They favor Akaviri weapons.

Blindness
All Blind Moth Priests have a hidden attribute named Blindness set to 100, which has several effects. Firstly, the player has a 100% chance of being able to hide, even right in front of one, regardless of sneak. As they can still hear, this does not give the player a 100% chance of being undetected if they are moving, but as long as the player is not moving while in sneak, the priest won't know that the player is there. There is also a 100% chance that a Moth Priest will not notice when the player steals an item in front of them, but will respond to being pickpocketed.

Despite their blindness the priests still act like regular NPCs. For example, they will still say things like ''"Heh, I'd better cut down on the ale. Starting to see things, I am..."''  Spells such as Chameleon and Invisibility will also have an effect on their ability to detect you.

Spells
All the priests possess a special Monk birthsign, giving them a 20% resistance to normal weapons. They also know one spell from each of the Alteration, Mysticism and Restoration magic schools:
Alteration: Shield, Fire Shield, Shock Shield, Frost Shield, Burden.
Mysticism: Dispel (self or target), Spell Absorption, Reflect Spell.
Restoration: Restore Health, Absorb Health, Absorb Skill, Absorb Fatigue.

Blind Moth Priests
Temple of the Ancestor Moths
 
 
This monk sleeps in the dormitory at the center of the Temple Moth Catacombs from 10am to 4pm then heads into the dining hall in the Moth Halls for afternoon breakfast for two hours before heading into the living area at 6pm and sitting at a bench in quiet contemplation until 4am. He then heads back to the dining area for another meal before returning to the bench at 6am and then returning to bed once more.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals he holds an Akaviri Dai-Katana and the Ancestor Moth Key. He is hostile and will attack on sight.

 
 
This monk sleeps in the dormitory at the center of the Temple Moth Catacombs from 10am to 4pm then heads into the dining hall in the Moth Halls for afternoon breakfast for two hours before heading into the living area at 6pm and sitting at a bench in quiet contemplation until 4am. He then heads back to the dining area for another meal before returning to the bench at 6am and then returning to bed once more.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals he holds a copy of the Ancestor Moth Key. He is hostile and will attack on sight.

 
 
This monk sleeps in the dormitory at the center of the Temple Moth Catacombs from 8pm to 2am then heads into the dining hall in the Moth Halls for afternoon breakfast for two hours before heading into the living area at 4am and sitting at a bench in quiet contemplation until 6pm, changing seats at 2pm. She then heads back to the dining area for another meal before going back to bed.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals she holds an Akaviri Katana and the Ancestor Moth Key. She is hostile and will attack on sight.
 
Bugs
 


 
 
This monk sleeps in the dormitory at the center of the Temple Moth Catacombs from 8pm to 2am then heads into the dining hall in the Moth Halls for afternoon breakfast for two hours before heading into the living area at 4am and sitting at a bench in quiet contemplation until 6pm. She then heads back to the dining area for another meal at 6pm before going back to bed.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals she holds a copy of the Ancestor Moth Key. She is hostile and will attack on sight.
 
Bugs
 


 
 
This monk spends his entire time praying in the square chamber to the southeast of the Catacombs that contains dozens of the sacred moths. He holds an Akaviri Dai-Katana in addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals.

 
Imperial Palace
 
This monk sleeps in the dormitory of the Moth Priest's Quarters from midnight to 8am then eats breakfast for two hours at the nearby table. At 10am she heads into the library and reads books for the next 12 hours: Arcana Restored for three hours, then The Brothers of Darkness and Spirit of the Daedra for four hours each, and finally an hour studying Arcana Restored again. At 10pm she returns to the dormitory and eats an evening meal before heading back to bed. This changes depending on your progress through the quest The Ultimate Heist. Before the quest, and before you are detected or take the Elder Scroll (ie, before stage 95), the time between 10am and 10pm is spent reading only Spirit of the Daedra. At quest stage 80, as long as the door to the library is open, the monk spends the time between 10am and 10pm standing still at the foot of the library stairs.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe sack cloth sandals, she carries copies of the books he reads, and a copy of the Imperial Palace Key.

 
 
This monk is on the night shift. She sleeps between midday and 8pm then grabs a meal at the nearby table for two hours. It's then time to head to the library, where she first spends three hours reading Glories and Laments, then four hours on Cleansing of the Fane, switches back to Glories for four hours then reads Cleansing for one more hour. This takes her to 10am, and it's time to head back to the dormitory for a two hour meal before bed. Before The Ultimate Heist, and before you are detected or take the Elder Scroll (ie, before stage 95), the time between 10am and 10pm is spent reading only Cleansing of the Fane. At quest stage 80, as long as the door to the library is open, the monk spends the time between 10pm and 10am standing still at the foot of the library stairs.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe sack cloth sandals, she carries copies of the books she reads, and a copy of the Imperial Palace Key.

 
Bugs
 


 
 
This monk sleeps in the dormitory of the Moth Priest's Quarters from midnight to 8am then eats breakfast for two hours at the nearby table. At 10am he heads into the library and reads books for the next 12 hours: Children of the Sky for an hour, ''N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis! for eight hours, and then back to Children for three more hours. At 10pm he returns to the dormitory and eats an evening meal before heading back to bed. This changes depending on your progress through the quest The Ultimate Heist. Before the quest, and before you are detected or take the Elder Scroll (ie, before stage 95), the time between 10am and 10pm is spent reading only Children of the Sky''.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe sack cloth sandals, he carries copies of the books he reads, and a copy of the Imperial Palace Key.

 
 
This monk is on the night shift. He sleeps between midday and 8pm then grabs a meal at the nearby table for two hours. It's then time to head to the library, where he first spends five hours reading The Waters of Oblivion, then seven hours on Modern Heretics. This takes him to 10am, and it's time to head back to the dormitory for a two hour meal before bed. Before The Ultimate Heist, and before you are detected or take the Elder Scroll (ie, before stage 95), the time between 10am and 10pm is spent reading only Modern Heretics.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe sack cloth sandals, he carries copies of the books he reads, and a copy of the Imperial Palace Key.

 
Bugs
 


 
 
Before stage 80 of The Ultimate Heist, the monk sits on the stool by the lever that controls the door to the library. At some point after reaching this stage, he will head to the dormitory and goes to bed, where he will spend the rest of the game.

In addition to the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals, he carries a copy of the Imperial Palace Key.

 
 
This monk spends her time patrolling the Moth Priest's Quarters. Most of the time she will be found walking around the dormitory or close by. She may decide to patrol the outer corridor for a while, but this behavior is largely random.

Uniquely for a Moth Priest, she wears a standard monk robe along with the usual sack cloth sandals. She also carries a Akaviri Dai-Katana and a copy of the Imperial Palace key.

 
Blind Moth Prelates
Temple of the Ancestor Moths
 
This prelate sleeps in the catacombs between 4am and 10am then eats a meal in the halls until midday. He then heads to the shrine near the level's entrance and prays for four hours. At 4pm he heads to the storeroom in the west of the catacombs and does an inventory of the containers for two hours before heading to the moth shrine in the south and harvesting the fungi that grow there until 8pm. Next, it's back to the storeroom and another inventory then off to the living area in the Halls for two hours of silent contemplation and meditation. At midnight it's time for another check of the storeroom for two hours and at 2am he heads to the fungus garden again before returning to bed at 4am.

He wears the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals, and also has a copy of the Ancestor Moth Key.

 
 
This prelate sleeps in the catacombs between 4pm and 10pm then eats a meal in the halls until midday. Upon waking, she heads to the shrine near the entrance to the Halls for four hours of prayer then heads to the storeroom in the catacombs where she inventories the containers for two hours. At 4am she heads to the living area in the Halls for another two hours of meditation, then it's back to the storeroom for another two hours. At 8am she heads to the moth shrine in the south and harvests the fungi that grow there until 10am then heads back to the storeroom again until midday. At this point it's time for two more hours of meditation followed by a two hour meal in the dining area before bed.

She wears the usual monk outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals, wields an Akaviri Dai-Katana and also has a copy of the Ancestor Moth Key.

 
 
This prelate stands guard over Savilla's Stone, not moving from his position at any point.

He wears the usual white monk robe and sack cloth sandals, and also carries an Akaviri Dai-Katana but is most notable for the leveled magical item of jewelry he possesses. This can be any of the most powerful rings or necklaces in the game. Since the monk respawns, he can be used as an infinite source of powerful magic items. See this section for more detail.

 
Imperial Palace
 
This prelate sleeps in the dormitory between midnight and 8am then eats a meal at the nearby table for two hours. At 10am he heads into the library, where he roams the shelves for 12 hours, overseeing the lower-ranked monks. When the click hits 10pm, he heads back to the private room in the Priest's Quarters and wanders around for two hours before bed.

In addition to the usual outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals, he carries an Akaviri Dai-Katana and a copy of the Imperial Palace Key.
 
Bugs
 


 
 
This prelate sleeps in the dormitory between midday and 6pm then paces around the private room for two hours before eating a meal at the nearby table for two hours. At 10pm he heads into the library, where he roams the shelves for 12 hours, overseeing the lower-ranked monks. When the clock hits 10am, he heads back to the private room in the Priest's Quarters and eats a two-hour meal before returning to bed.

In addition to the usual outfit of white monk robe and sack cloth sandals, he carries an Akaviri Dai-Katana and a copy of the Imperial Palace Key.
 
Bugs
 

Related Quests
 
 

Notes
Details of the relationship between the monks, blind priests and Ancestor Moths can be found in the book Pension of the Ancestor Moth, found in the Chapel and the Monk's Quarters.