10 Video Game Factions You Joined (Just To Mess With)

3. Mage's Guild - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Fallout New Vegas
Bethesda

Oblivion is very much a product of its time. Back in 2006, Bethesda's RPG was the pinnacle of game design. In 2024, it's a relic that Elder Scrolls fans new and old (re)visit for reasons ranging from curiosity to nostalgia. Oblivion's core gameplay and systems have always been buggy at best and borderline broken at worst (as expected of a Bethesda title) and nowhere is that more evident than NPC behaviour.

Aspiring magic users can visit the Imperial City to join the Mage's Guild. Here, you'll be taught the ins and outs of spell crafting and the importance of Soul Gems. In addition to those, it's also the potential grounds for a spontaneous war between wizards and warriors. To do so, commit an act heinous enough to have a bounty placed on your head. Immediately head to the Mage's Guild and resist arrest from the nearby Imperial guards.

The latter, heavy-handed in their approach to law enforcement, will immediately attack, triggering your mage friends to join the fight on your side. The last and most important step is to grab a cuppa and watch the chaos unfold on the city streets. Sheogorath would be proud.

 
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Contributor

Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.