The Elder Scrolls: Comparing the Mages Guild Questline of Oblivion with the College Questline of Skyrim

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The Elder Scrolls world is one steeped in magic, so it makes sense to give players the option to join magical factions. In Oblivion, the Hero of Kvatch can become a member of the Mages Guild. Meanwhile, Skyrim allows the Last Dragonborn to become a student at the College of Winterhold.

Though these are two different factions, they serve as the magic-based guilds of each game, and the community has discussed both of them in length. But picking the “better” guild is no easy task, as the factions have their upsides and downsides. Still, it’s interesting to compare and contrast the two to pinpoint where each title went wrong and what could be improved for the next iteration of The Elder Scrolls series.

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The Mages Guild in Oblivion spans across the entirety of Cyrodiil, having branches in each main city. However, its main institution is the Arcane University, located in the Imperial City of Oblivion. To join and become a magic scholar, players must travel to each of the seven branches of the Mages Guild and ask for a recommendation from the head mage. This is already a challenging task, as each head mage will send the player on a quest to prove their prowess.

Once the player has all the recommendations, they’ll become an Apprentice under the Mages Guild and gain access to the facilities within the Arcane University. Though as the questline progresses, it’s revealed that the Mages Guild is warring with a group of necromancers in The Elder Scrolls. This conflict apparently stems from the current Arch-Mage’s decision to ban the practice of necromancy among members of the guild.

The player is then roped into the guild’s necromancy issue, with the ensuing quests