How to Make Money in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Money can be an annoying evil or one of the joys of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, depending on how you play. Either way, money is necessary in the game to buy equipment, purchase homes and complete some quests. Here are some tips and tricks to help you make all the money you will need in Oblivion.

Instructions

1. Work on your mercantile skill. Selling items is probably the primary way you will make money in Oblivion. Mercantile allows you to sell items for closer to retail price to vendors and buy items cheaper, thus making you money as well as saving you money. You can increase your mercantile skill by bartering. When your mercantile level gets to master and expert, vendors will have more money so you can get more from them.

2. Sell, sell, sell. Always be looking for items to sell. Return to the same shopkeeper to sell your goods because you will raise the disposition of the shopkeeper and he will buy your items for closer to retail price. Until you get your mercantile skill up, vendors carry a maximum of 1200 gold, and even when you get your skill up the max only goes to 1700. Keep this in mind when you're picking up items, since a 1200 gold piece of armor sells for the same as a 2000 gold piece of armor. Make sure the weight of the item justifies what you'll be able to sell it for.

3. Quest a lot. Doing quests both in the main storyline and side quests can result in monetary rewards. More importantly, questing will be where you find many of your items to sell. When you are going through a dungeon and killing enemies, keep a running account of your inventory so that you know what you need to keep and what you can sell.

4. Join the Thieves Guild. You can thieve without being in the Thieves Guild, but you cannot sell stolen items. When you join the Thieves Guild, you are able to sell stolen items to vendors called fences that are only available to guild members. You can also have bounties on you reduced through the guild, which can save you some money. Just don't kill anyone while thieving or you will have to pay for reinstatement, which can be expensive.

5. Try out this glitch. This is kind of cheating, so if you want to play clean you should not try this. Find Dorian's house in the Imperial City Talos Plaza District. Bribe Dorian with all the money you can and then upset him with the disposition game. Repeat the process until you've bribed him a lot of money, like 1000 gold, then kill him. Once he is dead, loot his body and click on the gold. It shouldn't disappear so you can get all the money you want off him. Just don't select the "Take All" option or the glitch will not work.

Tips & Warnings

• The glitch trick won't work if your game has been patched, so keep that in mind before you risk trying it.