Oblivion talk:Malacath

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995
Jump to: navigation, search

Guard Bug[edit]

The bug about the guards is pretty annoying. The only real way to avoid it is to kill enough of the guards before freeing the ogres, so that the ogres can mop up the remaining guards.

The problem with this is that you have to be careful which guards you kill, otherwise they will count as murders.

If you kill the leader of the guards, or the guards in the room near the entrance to the mine, before you free the ogres, they will be considered murders. However, the other guards deeper in the mine are fair game -- killing them will not add a murder to your record. I wound up killing 4 of the guards, then I freed the second set of ogres first (i.e. not the ones where the quest marker is on the map), and then the first set. The reason I did that was that the second set has farther to travel, so if you free them first then run and free the first set, the two groups of ogres will meet before fighting the remaining guards. This pretty much ensures that there will be no surviving guards.

If you do wind up getting into a fight with the guards captain or the other front room guards after you have freed the ogres, killing them will no longer count as a murder at that point. — Unsigned comment by Phaid (talkcontribs) at 17:11 on 12 July 2006

You could also try using a Frenzy spell to get them to attack you first. --TheRealLurlock 13:30, 12 July 2006 (EDT)
I was able to free the Ogres without fighting the guards by sneaking around. The key for the back Ogres in on a sleeping guard near the door, and you can get the other key from a body of a guard as the released ogres pass through the mine.
At one point I was caught by the guards, but I didn't have a weapon drawn and they just made some threatening remarks then let me go. 202.81.246.125 10:17, 9 November 2006 (EST)
I entered the mine, unsheated my weapon and wasn't attacked by anybody. Went on, freed the first group of ogres, the guards arrived and ignored me, even if I was healing the ogres during the battle. When the battle was over I went and freed the second group undisturbed. The second group of ogres safely reached the mine exit. Then I went to collect the dead guards stuff, a rich loot, lots of ebony armor and weapons. I suppose the guards reaction is based on their disposition towards you and if it is high enough they won't attack. — Unsigned comment by 83.103.75.230 (talk) at 16:23 on 22 November 2006
I also did something similar. Looks like the guards will ignore you unless you draw a weapon. In my case the first group of ogree(deepest in) killed two guards before they were killed themself. I then freed the second group who just walked to the exit. The guards must have been too far in I guess, exhausted after the first battle ;) Bongo 06:47, 7 May 2007 (EDT)
It did not matter what I did, it counted as murdering the guards. I am level 47, Personality 100, Fame 49, Infamy 33, and I could not seem to lower their disposition enough to get them to attack. A Frenzy spell did nothing! They'd call me names and thief if I raided their crates, but no aggression. Having my weapon drawn? No change. I finally got them to attack me by deliberately getting caught pickpocketing the captain, but even then, the game counted their deaths against me as murders!
It also did not matter whether I freed the ogres first, which guard I got to fight me first, I could only complete this quest in one of two ways: murder the guards, or let the ogres out and stay out of the melee. However, the second method led to one of the guards showing up when I got out of jail. (I went to jail afterwards, to test it.) Oddly, though all the guards survived, only one followed me. He wasn't aggressive, but I was concerned about future complications, so I ended up just killing the guards and living with the increase in my murder tally. If anyone is concerned about their murder stat, it is probably best to do this quest early before you are too awesome for the guards to hate you! EmmBee 17:54, 5 August 2011 (UTC)

() I just got out of the mine, 3rd trial, without drawing my weapon: If you successfully sneak by the guards (chameleon helps), open the northern cell, pass by the single quard attacking the ogres, sneak to the second eastern cell fast (passing two guards who will accuse you but won't attack) and free the other ogres these 2 x 3 ogres can handle the split forces. One loss (dead ogre). All guard ded, big lute ;-) If you instead free one triple and wait what happens the guards overcome the ogres. The other ogres may escape unharmed since the guards are concentrated at the other cell. 31.18.83.140 16:27, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

Ogres Attacking Horses[edit]

(from the main article)

"While the freed ogres won't hurt you, it is possible for them to attack your horse on sight. In particular, this is likely if you are riding Prior Maborel's Paint Horse, Shadowmere, or a stolen horse (all of which are members of the Prey faction). If so, you may want to leave your horse at the shrine and head to the farm on foot."

I've not experienced this myself having done the quest three times, but evidently somebody has. Does anybody else have confirmation here or should this line go?

--RpehTalk 13:39, 1 September 2007 (EDT)

Based on the factions, Malacath's ogres have a -50 disposition modifier towards prey (from the creature faction), so it would make sense that the ogres would attack those horses that are counted as prey. This would also explain why only some people have reported the problem. I modified the original note to add the info that it should only affect a few horses. --NepheleTalk 14:55, 1 September 2007 (EDT)

It should be noted[edit]

If you do not kill all the guards and they follow you to a prison and the members of the Fighters guild from the Forsaken mine are there it can stay a massive battle leaving all the FG members dead, the mine guards dead, and a few imperial guardsmen out for the count to. — Unsigned comment by 68.60.226.203 (talk) at 21:52 on 9 September 2007

It already is noted, under the bugs section of the article. There's no need to mention another quest that has no relevance to this one. --Saruuk 19:15, 9 September 2007 (EDT)
I think i should mention maybe for the bugs or notes pages that happened 2 out of 4 times - i loaded as i was already inside the first room in the mine and about 20 seconds later, (staying in the first room) i got a message saying "i freed one group of ogres. I must check to see if there are more to be freed." Finding this odd, i checked and the ogres in the back had indeed somehow escaped and ravaged the single guard there. I loaded after this point to try and recreate the situation, but it seems random. Has any else encountered this?--Piercethetruth 04:42, 18 November 2007 (EST)
Another thing i noticed is that the ogres have some human characterists, after i murdered all 6 of the guards, and freed the ogres, a few of them knelt down similar to a city guard to check if the human guards were dead. Or am i just going crazy. anyone else notice this? --Piercethetruth 05:07, 18 November 2007 (EST)
Anyone else think readers would want to know that the chests in here contain good loot, regenerate like standard dungeons, and have no enemies in their way? (except the first time) Every 73 hours a person could just walk in, take everything and walk out. --Piercethetruth 05:24, 18 November 2007 (EST)

Query about Bleak Mine Guards[edit]

Two things that I don't necessarily want to add to the article yet, but may be informative: I was attacked (sounds like a confessional) by a Bleak Mine Guard as I exited the Flowing Bowl, right after I did this mission.

Also, that time and the other times I've encountered the guards, they didn't wait until anyone else drew a weapon, they drew first, and attacked other NPC's as readily as they attacked me. So my experience differs a bit from this article. xoxo Coryl

Very Strange Occurances[edit]

Firstly, I raised the disposition of Lord and Lady Drad and got the required info. After entering the mine, I simply sneaked around all of the guards, occasionally using the invisibility spell.

Here is where it gets interesting. Even with the invisibility on, it seems the game is scripted to make you visible for a split second, as they were constantly losing me then finding me and drawing weapons.

I unlocked the prison gates and watched the ogres get slaughtered. Afterwards, the guards chased me out of the mine, and as I went to hide, THEY BEGAN ATTACKING THEIR BOSSES. Lord and Lady Drad were farming and they come up and slash them up (they only go unconscious). Why they made this first blow I do not know...

Oddly, the freed ogres were once again alive and well surrounding the farm, but not hostile (to either the guards or Drads)

very strange stuff... 209.134.75.234 01:19, 10 May 2008 (EDT)Dave123

Everything that has happened here does not affect your quest. After the quest is finished, the Ogres then enslave the Drad's as payback as part of the script. So pretty much everything is normal here. Things like allies attacking allies can happen all the time. For example, in one of my games in 'Light the Dragonfires', Chancellor Ocato and all the members of the Blades were at war. Since Ocato is an essential, he won. --Matthewest TCE 00:50, 10 May 2008 (EDT)
Shhhhhh!! I havent gotten to any part about Ocato! I have had this game for 2 years but just came back to it and never finished the main quest. (actually i never bothered to start it). As for this quest, I simply reloaded to an earlier save, since the guards were simply constantly hacking the drads to death as they awoke. Didnt feel right. The second time, the guards all lived, but i managed to sneak out undetected. The Drads are farming, but what if I kill the Ogres to "free" them after the quest. Anyone tried this? 209.134.75.234 01:19, 10 May 2008 (EDT)Dave123
What I said about Ocato does not reveal anything. It was just a bad situation. Anyway, this wiki is full of spoilers. You can kill the ogres if you want but the Drad's are scripted to work on the farm for eternity so it will achieve nothing. The ogres will probably respawn anyway. --Matthewest TCE 01:26, 10 May 2008 (EDT)

Guards not Attacking[edit]

I've removed the line about the guards not attacking if you don't draw your weapon. This is down to your disposition with them and so isn't a fixed occurrence. The Aggression of the guards is only 50, which means if your disposition with them is 45+, they won't attack. If you have a high personality or a decent amount of fame, this can easily happen. Drawing your weapon causes an instant disp drop, leading to the attack.

To test, I loaded an old save and popped into the mine. I didn't get attacked straight away but as soon as I drew a bow, everybody came for me. Reload. Went back into the cave and used the console to drop my personality score to 1. Again, instant attack. Proof positive. –RpehTCE 09:07, 5 October 2008 (EDT)

An even more strange ocurrence[edit]

I am playing the GOTY PS3 version. I entered Bleaked Mine with Erthor. He was attacked, so we run out and there was some fighting and running to Malacath Shrine. I saved again with Erthor outside and I entered the mine again. Then I got the messages of completed quest. I was able to get Volendrung and everything. Apparently, all the ogres had been able to scape by themselves and kill the remaining guards (I got all their armor and weapons). The ogres didn't attack my Prior Maborel's horse or Erthor. In short, the quest completed itself.— Unsigned comment by 83.39.50.227 (talk) on 15 July 2009

White skin?[edit]

Isn't it a big odd that Lord Drad is referred to a white skin? He's a Dark elf. 81.170.79.77 16:52, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Complexions differ for each person. I wouldn't say it is not a little odd, but I don't think Oblivion is without its oddities. :) –Elliot talk 02:38, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Unable to load saves if this quest is completed[edit]

If I complete this quest, every save thereafter will not load. This applies to new saves, overwrites, and autosaves. I'm on the PS3 GOTY edition. Any ideas for a fix? I don't really care about the artifact, I just want to have the quest completed. 74.128.170.193 16:28, 12 October 2009 (UTC) Big Spank

Also having problems loading a save after completing this quest (PS3 GOTY edition). Any solutions found yet? — Unsigned comment by 68.118.10.154 (talk) on 23 November 2009
I also have this problem. I'm a level 12 Breton, just completed the Malacath quest, and none of my save files will load once I've talked to Malacath and recieved Volendrung (They load fine immediately before this.) Suggestions? -L — Unsigned comment by 71.8.90.73 (talk) at 14:19 on 8 June 2010
I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I've had identical issues on the PC when I had a corrupted item in my inventory. If this quest is at the heart of it, try dropping any items associated with the quest or even that you might have picked up during the quest and see if that helps. If dropping them doesn't, selling them may, though that seems less likely. Of course, it may do nothing at all, but it's an idea. Robin HoodTalk 19:08, 8 June 2010 (UTC)
Encountered this issue even with the Unofficial Oblivion Patch. If I turn in the quest at the shrine, the game will crash on loading any save created thereafter. I tried selling Volendrung and I've tried stashing Volendrung in a Frost Spire chest: both result in crashing on load. All I can think to do at this point is leave the quest uncompleted. --FordGT90Concept (talk) 22:51, 23 December 2021 (UTC)

No Pants?[edit]

It is not very important, but when I did this quest, two of the Bleak Mine guards didn't have greaves or pants. Is there any reason why they didn't or is it just a minor bug? --Bryanmichael11 00:05, 2 January 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, after checking in the CS it seems that the standard Guards have a levelled list for every armour item except greaves, and no clothes for that area either. Spawning one in game also caused him to be fully armoured except for his lower half. Has anyone else noticed this or is it just Bryan and I that have this happening? If not, I'm quite surprised that more people didn't notice they were half naked. :p --Takark 01:11, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Yup, you're right. Two of the guards are indeed "pantsless". I would definitely qualify that as a bug. Feel free to add the info to the page if you'd like. Robin Hoodtalk 21:13, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
Okay, added it to the bugs section. Not sure about the wording of it though, so feel free to remove or redo it if it doesn't read correctly. :) --Takark 22:39, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
I moved it to the notes section; as it is not s bug, they simply don't have leveled greaves or any pants in their inventory. --Arch-Mage Matt Did I Do That? 22:51, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
So guards in full armor who are dressed only in a loincloth on the bottom is normal and expected? :Þ I think it's fair to call it a bug. Robin Hoodtalk 23:07, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
True... I was thinking along the lines of a mess up somewhere, but a leveled list were placed in his inventory. --Arch-Mage Matt Did I Do That? 23:16, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
I moved it back to a bug, but changed "error" to "oversight" to make it clear that there wasn't a clear "mess up". Robin Hoodtalk 23:52, 14 September 2010 (UTC)
And I deleted it entirely. It's nothing to do with the quest and already mentioned on the relevant page. rpeh •TCE 05:41, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

() Good point, though it should probably be listed as a bug there, as opposed to just part of the description. Robin Hoodtalk 06:33, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Permanent Corpses[edit]

Understanding that I am playing this game years after it was released and that these pages are not likely being used as much now, I still thought I would add that if you need some extra containers to use then take note that the Bleak Mine guard bodies will be a permanent fixture where ever they die. In my case they died in the bedroom of Rosethorne Hall and are not particularly attractive furniture but seem to be permanent so I use them as storage and rubbish bins. — Unsigned comment by Mgntml (talkcontribs) at 22:29 on 13 September 2010

I don't see any evidence in the Construction Set or in my game that they leave permanent corpses, though at least in my game, I was using the UOP/UOPS, so it's possible that the issue was fixed. Do you have any mods installed that might be interfering in some way? Robin Hoodtalk 23:20, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

The Lord...[edit]

The Article states what the wife says after you kill the ogres but what dose the lord guy say?--98.211.16.235 20:56, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Moved notes[edit]

  • There is a chest containing very insignificant loot right behind Malacath's statue.
    • Attacking the ogres provides a great opportunity to improve your Marksman skill. If you stand outside the door to Lord Drad's house the ogre you're attacking can't get through the gate, which lets you fire away to your heart's content.
  • After the quest, you can return to Lord Drad's Estate and check the fields for a laugh. You can also take all the loot from Lord Drad's house. It counts as stealing, but nobody will stop you.
  • If their dispositions are high enough, the mine guards will not attack you, whether your weapon is drawn or not. If you want them to attack you so killing them won't count as a murder, find some way to lower their Dispositions towards you or use a spell such as Frenzy.

I've been pruning the notes on all of the quest pages. Feel free to re-add these if you believe them to be useful

Guards scripted to follow you[edit]

Even with AI detection turned off via the tdetect command, the guards continued to follow me around the cave. Seems like they're scripted to follow you the second you enter the cell. 50.125.56.20 06:44, 8 May 2015 (GMT)