Oblivion:Ontus Vanin

Ontus Vanin (RefID: 0001CF34)
Home City	Imperial City, Talos Plaza District
House	Ontus Vanin's House
Race	Imperial	Gender	Male
Level	PC+5 (min=15)	Class	Battlemage
RefID	0001CF34	BaseID	0001CF33
Other Information
Health	43 + (3+1.4)x(PC+4), PC=1-20
Magicka	113 + 7.5x(PC+4) (max=250)
Responsibility	75	Aggression	10
Faction(s)	IC Citizens; Ontus Vanin

Ontus Vanin

Ontus walking through Green Emperor Way as part of his radiant schedule

Ontus Vanin is an Imperial battlemage who is retired from the Mages Guild. He "sleeps late and reads trashy books". After spending 40 years at the Arcane University, he claims to be completely useless and proud of it. He is still officially considered a researcher at the university; because of that connection, Hrormir's Icestaff is returned to Ontus' house during the Thieves Guild quest Misdirection. He lives in the Imperial City's Talos Plaza District.

True to his word, Ontus sleeps late and does not roll out of bed until 10am. He will begin his day by heading downstairs from his private quarters to wander around the main area of his house for two hours. On weekdays, he will leave home at noon and have a two-hour lunch at The Tiber Septim Hotel. At 2pm, he may leave The Tiber Septim Hotel to head to the Market District. There, he will randomly shop at any of five stores: Rindir's Staffs, Mystic Emporium, The Gilded Carafe, The Main Ingredient, or First Edition. Once he arrives, he may leave immediately to go to a different store or wander around the current location. However, anytime between 2pm and 8pm, he may stop wandering and pick a new store to visit. At 8pm on weekdays, after Ontus has finished shopping in the Market District, he will head to The Foaming Flask for a four-hour meal. At midnight, he will return home. Enjoying the lack of responsibilities that goes along with his retirement, Ontus will wander around his house for two more hours until he finally goes to bed in his private quarters at 2am.

On weekends, Ontus' schedule is simpler. He will still wake up at 10am but wander around his house until 2pm, skipping lunch at The Tiber Septim Hotel. At 2pm, he may begin his shopping routine in the Market District or stay indoors until he decides to go out. At 8pm, he will return home from the Market District, skipping his trip to The Foaming Flask. He will wander around the main area of his house until his bedtime at 2am. The only exception to this schedule is during Light the Dragonfires, when all Imperial City residents are confined to their homes by martial law.

Ontus wears a pair of gold trimmed shoes and a white mage's robe. He carries a random staff and a steel longsword for protection. He also has the key to his house and some gold. Ontus knows a leveled set of battlemage spells.

Related Quests

• Misdirection: Help the Thieves Guild get the waterfront back to normal.

Dialogue

Ontus seems to be enjoying his retirement and will greet you with:

"Ontus Vanin, retired. Sleep late, and read trashy books. I don't keep up with Mages Guild affairs any more."

When asked about the Imperial City, he will tell you about his career at the Arcane University:

"I spent 40 years at the Arcane University. Good years, but I don't miss it. Now I'm completely useless, and proud of it."

You can also ask him about the topic of "Daedric Shrines", at which point he will give you directions to three shrines in the area:

"I can think of three. The Hircine shrine is south of town, northeast of Bravil, between the Upper Niben and the Green Road. The Mephala shrine is northeast of the junction of the Red Ring Road and the Silver Road. I've heard there's a Vaermina shrine at the headwaters of the Reed River, though I've never been there myself."

This will cause map markers for the three mentioned shrines to be added to your map.

Quest-Related Events

During the related quest, after Hieronymus Lex orders the guards back to their original posts, Methredhel will need you to return Hrormir's Icestaff to the Mages Guild. Rather than giving it back to them directly, she suggests placing it in the retired wizard's home instead:

"As a sign of good faith, the Thieves Guild needs to return Hrormir's Icestaff to the Arcane University. However, the wizards are not to be trusted. I'm sure they are watching for us to put it back where you got it. They would have no qualms about killing you once they had the Icestaff back. Instead, I want you to put Hrormir's Icestaff into Ontus Vanin's safe chest. He keeps one in his home. Ontus is a former University researcher."

You can then ask people around the city about where to find Ontus, which will have them say,

"That name sounds familiar. Something to do with the Arcane University. Most wizards live somewhere in the Imperial City."

The beggars will be a bit more knowledgeable and will point you toward the Talos Plaza District:

"Isn't he a wizard at the Arcane University? I think he lives somewhere in the Talos Plaza district."

Notes

• Because he is no longer a member of the Mages Guild, Mages Guild members can murder him without expulsion.
• Once you have read Modern Heretics or spoken with Ulene Hlervu about "Cheydinhal", a new "Daedra shrines" conversation topic will appear. When you speak to Ontus about this, he will mark Hircine's Shrine, Mephala's Shrine, and Vaermina's Shrine on your map.

Bugs

• Ontus actually dislikes Mages Guild members: he has a -5 disposition modifier toward Mages Guild members. Since this modifier is multiplied by your Mages Guild rank, when you become Arch-Mage, Ontus will have a -50 disposition adjustment to you. This is generally enough to make him attack you on sight, especially as he has slightly higher aggression than most NPCs. This can lead to the guards and townspeople coming to your assistance, then fighting and killing each other as a result of accidental hits.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 1.7.0, fixes this bug.
  • To prevent him from attacking you when you advance through the Mages Guild, the easiest strategy is to be sure to talk to Ontus early in the game and use the Speechcraft minigame to boost his disposition as high as possible.
  • If you missed the chance to raise his disposition early in the game, a combination of Calm and Charm spells can stop him from attacking, then you can raise his disposition in the Speechcraft minigame.
• After the Fighter's Stronghold official download is installed, Ontus suffers from the Mystic Emporium Bug and will often stand outside the store, unable to enter.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches fixes this bug.