Factions (Oblivion)

Factions or guilds are organizations of people with a common goal in Cyrodiil. The Hero of Kvatch can join several of these factions. Upon joining, specific tasks, known as quests can be administered by a higher-up or leading official of the faction.
Most factions have multiple guildhalls or headquarters that remain static for the entire storyline, other factions only have the one headquarters. Each faction has a clear leader, such as Arch-Mage Hannibal Traven for the Mages Guild, Jauffre as the Grandmaster of the Blades and Sheogorath as the leader of the Court of Madness.
==Comparisons with other games==
 shares the same three core factions as the previous games: the Thieves Guild, the Fighters Guild, and the Mages Guild. While the religious orders dedicated to the Divines are featured in the game, this time the player cannot join any of them, the only exception being the Knights of the Nine, introduced with the DLC of the same name. There are a number of chivalric military orders that the player is able to join, similar to the Knight Orders of . The Dark Brotherhood was introduced as a joinable faction, replacing in function the Morag Tong from .
Oblivion is the last game in the series to feature the same core factions, as of the three only the Thieves Guild makes an appearance in . While the player is not able to join the Imperial Legion, the faction is joinable in both the preceding and the succeeding title. The Blades are one of the few factions present in all of the games.
==Perks of joining factions==
Some factions, such as the Knights of the Nine grant a special uniform upon joining which can be worn optionally either to reap the bonuses of the armor or for role-playing aesthetic. More extreme benefits, such as becoming a Pilgrim's Grace can only be achieved by joining factions.
Other factions may provide amenities to the Hero of Kvatch, such as sleeping quarters, containers that never reset for safe item storage, and followers. Once a member attains a certain rank, they can freely take any items from the guild hall.
Certain guild-mates cannot be unlocked as followers unless a given faction is joined. For example, the Mages Guild has two possible followers that can be unlocked. These are Mage Apprentices.
Because guild members can come and go at any hour of the day, joining a faction is wise for vampires, since there will be an abundance of sleeping guild-mates that can be accessed without breaking and entering, trespassing, or sneaking. Additionally, they provide safe havens that can be quickly entered to avoid sustaining Sun Damage.
==Expulsion and availability==
Factions possess some integral rules. Members cannot steal, murder, or attack other members of the guild without risking expulsion, arrest, or the faction's members becoming relentlessly hostile toward the Hero of Kvatch. Some will desist if the bounty is cleared.
While most factions can be joined at any time throughout the main storyline, some factions can only be joined for a limited amount of time or are entirely unavailable upon joining another faction. In the former example, the Blackwood Company can be temporarily aligned during the fighters guild questline, similar to the Hero of Kvatch joining the Mythic Dawn to temporarily advance the questline.
==List of factions==
===Joinable===
Faction 	Headquarters 	Leader 	Conditions
The Blades 	Cloud Ruler Temple 	Grandmaster Jauffre 	Asking Jauffre to join after the quest Weynon Priory
Thieves Guild 	Dareloth's Basement 	Gray Fox 	After the quest May the Best Thief Win
Mages Guild 	Arcane University 	Hannibal Traven, Arch-Mage 	After the quest Join the Mages Guild
Mythic Dawn (temporary) 	Lake Arrius Caverns 	Mankar Camoran 	Only during the quest Dagon Shrine
Fighters Guild 	Guild halls in all the major cities	Guild Master Vilena Donton 	Head to the main guild halls in either Anvil, Cheydinhal or Chorrol. Speak to the respective head of the guild and join.
Dark Brotherhood 	Crypt of the Night Mother 	Night Mother/Black Hand 	After the quest A Knife in the Dark
Order of the Dragon 	 	The Emperor 	After Completion of the main quest
Order of the Virtuous Blood 	Seridur's House 	Seridur 	After completing Order of the Virtuous Blood
Arena 	Arena Bloodworks 	Grand Champion 	During the quest Arena
Knights of the Nine 	Priory of the Nine 	Divine Crusader/Pelinal Whitestrake	Exclusive to , complete Priory of the Nine
Knights of the Thorn 	Knights of the Thorn Headquarters 	Farwil Indarys 	If Farwil Indarys survives during the Cheydinhal part of Allies for Bruma
Knights of the White Stallion	White Stallion Lodge 	Count Marius Caro 	After the quest Knights of the White Stallion
Nine Divines 	Chapels in all the major cities 	Martin Septim 	Exclusive to , automatically through the Knights of the Nine questline
Blackwood Company (temporary)	Blackwood Company Hall 	Ri'Zakar 	During the Fighters Guild quest Infiltration
Court of Madness 	Shivering Isles 	Sheogorath 	Exclusive to , automatically when arriving on the island.
===Non-joinable===
Faction 	Headquarters 	Leader
Adventurers of Orsinium 	Unspecified 	Gortwog gro-Nagorm
Black Bows 	Telepe 	Black Brugo
Blackwater Brigands 	Unspecified 	Selene
Crimson Scars 	Deepscorn Hollow 	Greywyn Blenwyth
Cult of the Ancestor Moth 	White-Gold Tower 	Unspecified
Imperial Legion 	Imperial Legion Offices 	Adamus Phillida/Giovanni Civello
Knights of the True Horn 	Battlehorn Castle 	Lord Kelvyn
Order of the Black Worm 	Echo Cave 	Mannimarco
Elder Council 	Elder Council Chambers 	High Chancellor Ocato
Order of Talos 	Weynon Priory 	Jauffre
Glenmoril Witches 	Unspecified 	Melisande
Drothmeri Army 	Varsa Baalim 	Frathen Drothan
Daedric Forces of Destruction	Deadlands 	Mehrunes Dagon
Apostle 	The Howling Halls 	Ciirta
Daedric Forces of Madness 	Shivering Isles 	Sheogorath
Daedric Forces of Order 	Realm of Order 	Jyggalag
Duelists 	Sickly Bernice's Taphouse	Unspecified
==Trivia==
*The Black Hand is merely a sub-faction within the Dark Brotherhood.
*The Dark Seducers and the Golden Saints are part of the Daedric Forces of Madness.
==See also==
*All factions that appear in Oblivion.
*Factions that only appear in lore sources, such as in-game books.
==Appearances==
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fr:Factions (Oblivion)