Oblivion:Bear Season

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OB-qico-General2.png
A farmer needs you to kill some bears to protect his flock of sheep.
Quest Giver: Thorley Aethelred at Shardrock Farm
Location(s): Shardrock
Reward: Combat skill book
ID: SQ06
 
Bear problem

Quick Walkthrough[edit]

  1. Talk to Thorley Aethelred about his bear problem.
  2. Thorley tells you to kill the bears, collect their West Weald Bear Fangs, and return them to him.
  3. Hunt down the bears and retrieve their fangs.
  4. Return to Thorley with the fangs to be rewarded with a skill book.

Detailed Walkthrough[edit]

Shardrock Farm[edit]

When you first find Shardrock farm, you will meet the owner, Thorley Aethelred. He will tell you that bears have been attacking his sheep, and the fence that he constructed has not worked. Thorley asks you to kill the trouble-making bears and bring back their West Weald Bear Fangs.

Troublesome Bears[edit]

The only bears that count towards this quest are the local West Weald Bears. These are leveled bears that can be significantly more powerful than typical brown or black bears. Ten West Weald Bears exist in all, none of which respawn, and each of which has one fang. They are spread out in a rough circle around the farm: four to the north, three beyond the pond to the east, two to the south, and one among the rocks to the west of Shardrock. You only need to collect six fangs for this quest. If you collect extra bear fangs you can sell them, as they are not considered to be quest items, or keep them for your personal collection. It is important to take the bear fangs from the bears as soon as you kill them; if you later need to collect the bear fangs, the corpses may no longer be there, or it may be impossible to find them in the underbrush. You may want to stay close to Thorley, because he can get killed by a bear, effectively ending the quest.

Reward Table[edit]

When you return to Thorley with six sets of bear fangs, he will reward you with one of the six following skill books. Which one you receive is randomly determined, with an equal chance for each of the six books. The book you receive is determined at the moment when you talk to Thorley with the bear fangs. If you save your game right before talking to him, you can load that previous save if you got a book you already read. In addition to receiving one of the books, he will also allow you to use the second bed at his house anytime for sleeping.

Book Skill
The Argonian Account, Book 1 Athletics
Battle of Sancre Tor Blade
History of the Fighters Guild Heavy Armor
Mace Etiquette Blunt
Master Zoaraym's Tale Hand to Hand
The Warp in the West Block

Notes[edit]

  • The reward skill books may be difficult to find any other way (The Argonian Account, Book 1, Mace Etiquette, and Master Zoaraym's Tale in particular are only found in random loot. History of the Fighters Guild is also only found in random loot, but is available in the Battlehorn Castle DLC).
  • These bears are significantly slower to turn than other bears. Circling constantly, and attacking from the side will prevent them from being able to hit you.
  • If you are sent to prison while carrying any fangs, the script that counts the fangs runs again when you regain your equipment from the evidence chest. This means you can complete the quest having killed fewer than six bears.
  • You can actually drop the six fangs before completing the quest, complete the quest, and then pick all six fangs back up, therefore keeping the fangs and receiving your reward.
  • It is possible to get locked out of Thorley's cabin if you take anything from his garden before completing the quest. Likewise, while inside his cabin and before giving him the fangs, if you search through his things you'll get locked out once you leave. There is also a chance that you'll get locked inside once Thorley leaves. If you have a high Security you can just pick the lock.

Journal Entries[edit]

Bear Season (SQ06)
Stage Finishes Quest Journal Entry
10 Thorley Aethelred, a shepherd who lives at the Shardrock Farm, has tasked me to slay six West Weald Bears and bring back their fangs as proof. They've been threatening his sheep, and he has nowhere else to turn.
20 I've obtained the first West Weald Bear Fang from a bear that has been threatening Thorley Aethelred's sheep.
30 I've obtained the second West Weald Bear Fang.
40 I've obtained the third West Weald Bear Fang.
50 I've obtained the fourth West Weald Bear Fang.
60 I've obtained the fifth West Weald Bear Fang.
70 I've obtained the sixth and final West Weald Bear Fang. I should return to Shardrock and give the fangs to Thorley Aethelred as proof of my deed.
100 Finishes quest☑ I've given all six of the West Weald Bear fangs to Thorley Aethelred, who in turn rewarded me with an enchanted tome.
200 Finishes quest☑ With Thorley's death, it's impossible to complete this quest.
Notes
  • Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
  • Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in random order.
  • If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
  • On PC It is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage SQ06 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.