Paranoia Quest Walkthrough in Oblivion Remastered

Few of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered's side quests do a better job of evoking the game's atmosphere of intrigue and moral choice than "Paranoia." A dull-sounding appeal to snoop on a couple of citizens of Skingrad becomes one of the more compelling psychological storylines in the entire game. The Oblivion Paranoia quest isn’t just about completing objectives; it’s about interpreting clues, making moral judgments, and deciding how much you’re willing to indulge a man who may or may not be losing his mind.

Similar to most of the best quests in Oblivion Remastered, "Paranoia" is open to players who are alert-eyed, resourceful, and won't begrudge replaying it to see how radically differently things will proceed. Behind its seemingly straightforward facade, this quest shows Bethesda's dedication to branching stories before branching stories had become a modern RPG standard. To initiate the Paranoia quest in Oblivion Remastered, you will have to explore the city of Skingrad, which lies to the east of Kvatch and to the southwest of the Imperial City. Once you have entered the city and are making your way around, a Wood Elf named Glarthir will approach you at some point. The gathering will usually be held at the West Weald Inn, but will sometimes be held in one of a couple of other locations in town.

Glarthir is upset and whispers for you to meet him at midnight behind the Great Chapel of Julianos. You agreeing to the request adds "Paranoia" to your quest journal. You can refuse, but that will terminate the quest prematurely out of order, and you'll miss one of Oblivion's greatest spots.

Glarthir's Midnight Meeting

When night falls, head behind Skingrad's Great Chapel of Julianos. It is advisable to handle this encounter by arriving at 11 p.m. and staying there till midnight using the Wait function. Glarthir will appear soon and begin ranting about the conspiracy that he believes is being played against him. He claims that a bunch of townsfolk are hiding and observing him and that he needs your help to verify it. Your initial assignment is to tail one of the suspected spies, Bernadette Peneles, at 6 a.m. the next morning.

Following Bernadette Peneles

Be at Glarthir's house the next morning at sunrise. Bernadette lives on the other side of the road, and when she comes out of her house, your task is to follow her quietly throughout the day. It becomes quite clear that she's not tracking anyone down; she flits in and out of the chapel and then back home discreetly. If you return him to Glarthir at midnight and tell him of what you found, you will have your first moral dilemma. You can tell him the truth, Bernadette is not spying on him, or lie to him and tell him that she is. You get 150 gold if you tell the truth, and 200 gold if you lie. It doesn't seem like much, but that's the way it is for the rest of the quest, and your choice begins to determine how everything goes. If you outright refuse to help Glarthir or won't see him, he will attack Bernadette himself later on. City guards will kill him, and the quest is cut short without a reward.

After Toutius Sextius

On your next trip, Glarthir will assign you another target, Toutius Sextius, who lives in the north-east province of Skingrad. As with the previous mission, you'll be asked to track him from 6 a.m. Before you even get a chance to lag behind Toutius, there's a guard named Dion who may come along and inform you that Glarthir is mad and you're best off reporting any dodgy dealings to the guards instead of taking his orders. If you decide to continue the investigation, you will notice Toutius having his day just doing his usual day, nothing out of the ordinary. Reporting this truth to Glarthir once again rewards you 150 gold, and reporting him for stalking you rewards 200. Your honesty, or dishonesty, will again decide if the Paranoia quest in Oblivion Remastered is successful later on.

After Davide Surilie

Finally, Glarthir gives you one last target, Davide Surilie, a wealthy vineyard owner. His mansion is to the north of Glarthir's, and as in the case of the first two suspects, you can catch him early morning when he goes out to work. Davide spends most of his day at the West Weald, outside the city gates, which clearly shows that he has no time to tail anyone. Once you have completed your gathering, head back to the Great Chapel at midnight for the final time. Depending on how many lies and realities you have already told, there are a few varied endings that can be achieved.

All Oblivion Remastered Paranoia Quest Endings

There are multiple endings to the Paranoia quest in Oblivion Remastered, based on the attitude that you had maintained during your conversations with Glarthir. If you've told Glarthir the three people you lied to him about, that they were spying on him, he will finally go out of his mind due to paranoia. Thinking that you are a part of the conspiracy, he'll kill you. Killing him and finishing the quest. You can loot his corpse for his house key and take some useful baubles from inside, but otherwise, it is a tragic end to a man who was incapable of distinguishing illusion from reality. If you have been dishonest in any of the reports, Glarthir will give you a sealed letter with the names of the suspected spies on it. You can hand this note over to the guards, who'll arrest and murder Glarthir straight away. You can do that for a Fame point and the pleasure of stopping the madness without your own fingers getting bloody. Or you can pass the note over to the Surilie brothers, who'll sort out Glarthir once and for all and murder him, although it'll bring you no Fame. And lastly, of course, there's the worst solution of them all: helping Glarthir obtain his revenge. If you go along with his offer to kill his "enemies," you'll have to track down each of the three suspects, going about their everyday lives in town or out in the fields. Murdering them serves to complete Glarthir's sick fantasy and rewards 1,000 gold when you return the corpses. Of course, this comes at the cost of your conscience, and also triggers an invitation by the Dark Brotherhood, as your actions fall under the criteria for membership in Tamriel's most feared assassin gang.

Why Paranoia Shines in Oblivion Remastered

What is so strong a quest in Oblivion Remastered about Paranoia is the liberty it provides for the player. Every choice, truth, lie, or murder is within the scope of the world's logic and displays yet another facet of Glarthir's illusions. The quest really only has an aside mention of problems of trust, isolation, and how giving someone's phobias can go wrong. Despite being this close to two decades since the initial release of Oblivion, the Paranoia quest in Oblivion Remastered still catches that cringeworthy feel of realistic paranoia that made NPCs in the game so memorable. Regardless of whether you help Glarthir, betray him, or simply leave him alone, you'll find yourself questioning everyone and wondering who was really in the right all along. Was there ever a conspiracy, or was the biggest threat paranoia?