Oblivion Gate ( Oblivion ) Oblivion Gates are the gateways created between Mundus and the Oblivion planes . They are fiery , magical portals that facilitate travel between the two planes . The strange humming , whining noise they emit can be heard before the gate is even found . The Oblivion Gates have been created by the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon . He created these allowing the Daedra to roam and conquer Tamriel while causing widespread destruction and chaos . Background . Closing Oblivion Gates is one of the main tasks in . During the Oblivion Crisis , all of Tamriel was attacked by Mehrunes Dagon ' s Daedric army . Oblivion Gates opened throughout all of Tamriel , and many cities were destroyed . Martin Septim summoned the Avatar of Akatosh and defeated Mehrunes Dagon during the Battle of the Imperial City , ending the Crisis and preventing more gates from opening . Gate locations . Most Oblivion Gates appear pseudo - randomly throughout Cyrodiil , based on the Hero ' s progress along the main questline of . There are 100 distinct locations where a gate can appear , and as each gate is closed that particular location will never spawn a new gate without the use of console commands . However , no more than 60 separate gates will appear during a single game , including 10 gates which always open in designated spots . There are two gates that open on top of wayshrines . The first opens and completely buries the Wayshrine of Mara northwest of Anvil . The second one opens on top of the Wayshrine of Kynareth east of Skingrad at the top of a steep hill down the gold road , breaking it in half , although this wayshrine can still be used by activating one of the two halves . When entering an Oblivion Gate , there are several exterior map templates randomly chosen from , as well as several interior maps for the towers and caves , which allows for different map configurations for each gate . The ten guaranteed gate locations lead to a specifically chosen Oblivion map ; five gates lead to a specific one of the random worlds , and the other five have a custom Oblivion map with random towers . When closing gates , it ' s worth noting that followers cannot enter them ; they must be closed alone . Static gates . These gates always spawn in the same location , and are triggered as soon as a specific part of the main quest line in completed . Only three gates that are required to complete the main quest . These gates are : The remaining gates are part of the Allies for Bruma quest , one per city that may send allies . These open as soon as the Hero steals the Mysterium Xarxes from the Dagon Shrine . For each city , the nearby gate must be closed before the Count or Countess will risk sending their soldiers away to Bruma : Random gates . In addition to these ten gates , up to 50 out of the 90 remaining gate locations will spawn a gate as you progress through the main quest . These gates do not spawn all at once , but appear to spawn as the Hero nears their location . For example , one could pass an Oblivion Gate at one location , reload an earlier saved game , and no longer find it at that location . Once a gate spawns and is closed , the dead gate remains present for the rest of the game , and no other gate will spawn there . ( Until the end of the main quest , Oblivion Gates " can " reopen ) . The number of gates , and the odds of a gate appearing , depend on how much of the main quest line has been completed . After rescuing Martin from the Kvatch Gate , up to 25 random gates will open . When nearing each possible location , there is a 25 % chance that a gate will spawn . At the same time that the fixed city gates open , the number of possible random gates increases to 50 , its highest point . In addition , there is now a 50 % chance of any given gate location spawning a gate . After retrieving the Amulet of Kings from Paradise , the number of gates drops to 20 , with a 20 % chance of a new one spawning . Note that the maximum number of open gates also includes dead gates that have already been closed ; that is , if the Hero has closed more than 20 gates by the time they return the amulet , no more will spawn . Upon finishing the main quest , the maximum number of open gates , and the odds of a new gate opening , both drop to zero . From this point , new gates can only be opened with console commands . Below is an incomplete list of locations where a gate can open , along with a partial map to the right . The list is organized based on the nearest city to the gate location . Quests . There are several quest that require going into Oblivion Gates :