How to Get Skull of Corruption in Oblivion Remastered

Among the many Daedric quests in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, few are more haunting or thematically rich than Vaermina's test, the Skull of Corruption quest. And this ghoulish assignment dunks its toes into the darkest troughs of nightmares and illusion to offer a weapon unlike any other to be found in Cyrodiil. Those who want to acquire the art of dark magic or increase their collection of Daedric Artifacts will soon be drawn to Vaermina, the Daedric Prince of Nightmares and Dreams, whose favor grants the player one of the most interesting staves in the entire game, the Skull of Corruption.

In the remastered one, the quest remains quite faithful to its original form, but the new visuals and lighting introduce a new level of atmosphere. Mist chills around the forest that surrounds Vaermina's shrine, and the otherworldly, soft glow of the object itself is much more vibrant than in the original. Every movement of the quest, from discovering the shrine to navigating the crooked halls of Arkved's Tower, embodies the spooky and surreal power of the Daedric Prince whom you revere.

Finding Vaermina's Shrine

To initiate the Skull of Corruption quest, the player needs to find the Shrine of Vaermina first. It is located south of Cheydinhal, at the western shore of Lake Poppad, surrounded by rolling hills and haunted silence. As with most Daedric shrines, it won't be marked on the map until found, so players are prompted to see the countryside and listen to local gossip. When you get there, Vaermina's followers await you, but the Prince herself won't talk to anyone she deems unworthy. To gain an audience, the player must be at least Level 5 and carry a Black Soul Gem as an offering. These conditions make Vaermina different from other Daedric patrons because Black Soul Gems are not common and cannot be bought. They contain souls of living things, and obtaining one requires knowledge of necromantic magic. To create a Black Soul Gem, first purchase a Grand Soul Gem at a Mages Guild or the Mystic Emporium in the Imperial City Market District. Next, travel southeast of Cheydinhal to a remote cave called the Dark Fissure. Every eight days, a purple beam of light descends onto the altar there. During this time, placing a Grand Soul Gem on the altar and casting the Soul Trap spell on it will turn it into a Black Soul Gem. This is what Vaermina asks for in exchange for pursuing her quest.

Vaermina's Request and the Orb of Dreams

When the players finally approach Vaermina, she appears through the dark haze as a voice filled with both threat and seduction. She speaks of her Orb, a worn artifact stolen by a mortal sorcerer named Arkved, whose madness over her ability warped his mind and trapped him within his own nightmare visions. Vaermina commands the player to take the Orb of Vaermina and return it to her shrine, that she may reclaim her power and persist to haunt mortals with beautiful and terrible dreams. This is the actual beginning of the Skull of Corruption quest. To the south of the shrine lies Arkved's Tower, a corrupted and spiky tower that dwarfs the sky like some sort of living nightmare visionscape. The journey to the tower is brief, but what lies within is hardly ordinary.

Entering Arkved's Tower

The remastered Arkved's Tower is a piece of disturbing artwork. The very air wavers with illusion magic, and reality itself is warped in impossible ways. Doors lead to brick walls, rooms ignore geometry, and otherworldly lights flash up and down the walls as though the location were dreaming. Daedra patrol the halls, Flame Atronachs, Clannfear, and Dremora, all obviously attracted by the madness being created by Arkved's experiment. There is, however, a strange glitch familiar to experienced players. In certain editions of the game, an early access route to Arkved's Death Quarters is provided by a hatch found outside the tower in the north wall. This bypasses the majority of the nightmare maze completely. It can be accessed directly by players through the hatch and results in directly finding the Orb of Vaermina sitting on a table next to Arkved himself, who is unconscious and eternally confined within his own dream. This shortcut appears to be a recurring glitch, but travelling down it will not spoil the quest. Vaermina doesn't care how the orb is obtained, only that it be returned. However, players tend to choose to investigate the tower as they should, both for role-playing and for the accomplishment that it presents. For workers on the straight-and-narrow road, the tower discloses itself in a sequence of increasingly greater distortions: the Tower itself, the Void, the Lost Halls, the Oasis, the Hall of Changes, and finally Arkved's Death Quarters and Retreat. Each of these spaces is a buildup toward insanity, with dream-figures and frenetic architecture. The farther one goes, the more it's clear that Arkved has lost not only control of Vaermina's orb but his own sanity. Lastly, reaching Arkved's Death Quarters, the player will find the wizard in bed, out cold. He will not wake up. He can be killed, but it serves no purpose other than to satisfy curiosity; it won't disturb Vaermina, and it won't impact the quest. Whichever is taken up from beside his bed or snatched from the other entrance, the Orb of Vaermina is how the Prince's evil desire can be granted.

Taking the Skull of Corruption

Reinstalling the Orb of Vaermina in her shrine fulfills the Daedric Prince's request. In her twisted fondness, Vaermina gives the player the Skull of Corruption, the most recognizable Daedric Artifact in the game and beloved by illusionists and pranksters alike. The staff's design is instantly recognizable, a black handle featuring a grinning skull with violet energy bubbling off of it, pulsating with the appearance of life. The Skull is all on its own when it comes to magic. When used on an NPC, it creates a clone, a perfect doppelganger of the target, that immediately attacks its origin for thirty seconds. The replica shares the same stats, gear, and health as the victim, turning the target's own power back on themselves. The spell cannot hit beasts, but applied to humanoid enemies, it's a crippling psychological and strategic one.

Mastering the use of the Skull of Corruption takes timing and accuracy. The staff has to be charged with soul power like any magical weapon; thus, having full Soul Gems stored in your inventory is necessary. To employ it for use in combat, simply equip the staff and cast the attack button on an NPC. When attacked, the duplicate appears next to him/her and promptly enters combat. In close combat fights, this can be a recipe for disaster since friends and enemies alike get tangled in confusion, fighting their reflections, and the player sneaking away unnoticed or attacking from hiding.

In some quests, such as political motivations or stealth missions, the Skull of Corruption can even be used creatively to provide distractions or eliminate witnesses without arousing suspicion. Its illusions are temporary, but the damage they leave behind is permanent. The Importance of the Skull of Corruption Vaermina's current characteristics are her horror and beauty combined. The Skull of Corruption Oblivion artifact is not a tool, but rather an expression of fear, duplicity, and fragility of identity. In Vaermina's mythology, her nightmares are nourished by mortals' minds, and her staff does the same by making someone's own existence his enemy. As with all Daedric rewards, morals come at a cost. The staff's utilization is inherently exploitative, forcing victims to fight their own selves, both metaphorically and literally. Some are attracted to its wicked sheen, others imprison it away as a trophy, a testament to what has been paid for messing with Daedric arts.

A Daedric Dream Concluded

Completing the Skull of Corruption quest within Oblivion Remastered is equal parts understanding Vaermina's twisted domain and half about obtaining an excellent artifact. From creating a forbidden Black Soul Gem to getting through a waking nightmare within Arkved's Tower, it's all shrouded in dark magic and moral ambiguity. Ultimately, the Skull of Corruption is still one of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered's most intriguing rewards. It's a prime example of what makes the Daedric quests so iconic, an unclean combination of lore, atmosphere, and temptation. Whichever way you use it, be it to seed fear or simply to tote it around in your growing pile of Daedric relics, the staff ensures Vaermina's influence continues to echo through Cyrodiil, one corrupted dream at a time.