You're standing in the Great Hall of Bruma. Countess Narina Carvain looks at you with that desperate "we’re all going to die" expression, and suddenly, the weight of the entire Cyrodiil defense falls onto your shoulders. It’s the quest Allies for Bruma, a sprawling, often tedious, but narratively massive chunk of the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion main storyline. Honestly, it’s the ultimate litmus test for how much you actually like the game’s core loop.
If you’ve played Oblivion, you know the drill. You need soldiers. To get those soldiers, you have to travel to every major city in the province and help the local Counts and Countesses with their own "small" problem: an Oblivion Gate parked right outside their front door. It’s a lot of running. It’s a lot of Dremora.
Most people just skip it.
Seriously, you can technically finish the Battle of Bruma with just the local guards, but it’s a bloodbath. If you want to see a united Cyrodiil—and more importantly, if you want your favorite NPCs to actually survive the onslaught—you’ve got to put in the work.
The Grind for Allies for Bruma
The quest is triggered after the "Bruma Gate" mission. Martin Septim realizes he needs a Great Sigil Stone to open a portal to Mankar Camoran’s Paradise. To get it, he has to let the Daedra attack Bruma. Naturally, the Countess isn't thrilled about being bait. She demands reinforcements.
This is where the game opens up in a way that’s both impressive and exhausting. You have seven cities to visit: Anvil, Bravil, Cheydinhal, Chorrol, Leyawiin, Skingrad, and the Imperial City.
Wait. Not the Imperial City.
Actually, Chancellor Ocato gives you the cold shoulder. It’s one of those moments in the game that perfectly captures the bureaucratic mess of the Empire. He tells you the Legions are tied up defending the provinces. It feels like a slap in the face after all you’ve done, but it sets the stakes. You are truly on your own, relying on the local lords rather than the central government.
Cheydinhal and the Indarys Problem
Cheydinhal is usually where players start, and it’s arguably the most emotional part of the questline. Count Andel Indarys won't help you because his son, Farwil, has gone missing inside the Gate.
Farwil Indarys is... a lot.
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He’s the head of the "Knights of the Thorn," a group that is basically a glorified social club for rich kids playing soldier. If you want the Cheydinhal soldiers for Bruma, you have to go in there and keep this kid alive. It’s a nightmare. Farwil has the survival instincts of a moth flying toward a blowtorch. He will charge at a Xivilai with a silver shortsword and zero armor.
If he dies, you still get the troops, but the Count is heartbroken. If you save him, you get a decent medallion and the "honor" of being a Knight of the Thorn. Most importantly, you get the Cheydinhal Watch to show up at the Bruma camps.
Why the Skingrad Gate is Everyone’s Least Favorite
Skingrad is different. Count Janus Hassildor is a vampire, though he keeps it on the down-low. He’s pragmatic. He doesn't have time for your "save the world" speeches unless his own borders are clear.
The Skingrad Gate is notoriously annoying because of the terrain. The West Weald is vertical. You’re constantly sliding down rocks trying to find the entrance to the Sigillum Sanguis. But the Skingrad soldiers are some of the best-equipped in the game. They wear full steel or chainmail and actually hold their own in a fight.
Kinda makes the effort worth it. Sorta.
The Logistics of Reinforcements
When you successfully close a gate for a city, the leader promises to send a "contingent." In gameplay terms, this usually means two soldiers.
Two.
It feels small, right? You do all that work, dodging fireballs and killing Clannfears, and they send two guys in itchy wool tunics. But when you aggregate them, the battlefield outside Bruma transforms. Instead of a handful of Bruma guards getting overwhelmed by Dremora Lords, you have a genuine army.
Here is the breakdown of who actually shows up:
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- Anvil: Two Anvil Soldiers led by a Sergeant.
- Bravil: Viera Learsel and her archers (crucial for ranged support).
- Cheydinhal: Two Cheydinhal Soldiers.
- Chorrol: Two Chorrol Soldiers in that distinct green and oak-leaf livery.
- Leyawiin: Two Leyawiin Soldiers.
- Skingrad: Two Skingrad Soldiers (the heavy hitters).
If you do the math, that’s 12 extra bodies. In a game engine like Oblivion's, which struggled to render more than 20 NPCs at once without exploding, 12 soldiers is a massive tactical advantage.
The "Optional" Nature of the Quest
A lot of veterans argue that Allies for Bruma is a waste of time. They aren't entirely wrong from a speedrunning perspective. You can trigger the Battle of Bruma without a single ally.
If you do that, prepare for a funeral.
Burd, the Captain of the Bruma Guard, is a "protected" NPC for most of the game, but during the Great Gate battle, he can die. Without allies, the Daedric waves are relentless. The sheer number of Spider Daedra and Xivilai that spawn will pin the Bruma guards against the city walls.
It’s a grim sight. Watching the city you’ve spent hours in get overrun because you were too lazy to go to Bravil? That’s a heavy roleplay price to pay.
Leveraging the Sigil Stones
There is a silver lining to the grind. Closing all these gates isn't just about the soldiers; it’s about the loot.
By the time you reach the Allies for Bruma stage, your character level is likely high enough to start pulling Transcendent Sigil Stones. These are the most powerful enchanting items in the game. We're talking +50 Magicka, 25% Fire Shield, or 12 points of Elemental Damage.
If you treat the quest as a "loot run," it feels less like a chore. You aren't just saving the world; you’re farming the most broken gear in Cyrodiil.
Tactics for the Battle of Bruma
Once you’ve gathered your allies, the battle begins. This is the climax of the Bruma arc. Martin Septim is there, looking regal in his Akaviri armor, giving a speech that—honestly—still goes hard even decades later.
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The allies you recruited are stationed in small clusters.
The best way to keep them alive? Don't just stand in the middle. The Daedra spawn from three different gates that open sequentially. If you have the Anvil and Skingrad troops, use them as your frontline. If you’re a mage, stay back with the Bravil archers.
The biggest threat isn't the Dremora; it’s the friendly fire. In the chaos of Oblivion's combat, it’s incredibly easy to accidentally hit a Chorrol soldier with a stray fireball. Do that twice, and suddenly the "Allies" are trying to kill you while the Daedra are trying to kill everyone.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think this quest is mandatory. It’s not.
They also think the soldiers are just window dressing. They aren't. They actually scale with your level to a certain degree. If you’re level 30, those soldiers have significantly more health than they would at level 5. They can actually tank a few hits from a Daedroth.
Another common misconception: you have to close every gate to progress.
Nope. You just need to talk to the Countess to start the battle. You can bring one city, all of them, or none. The quest stays in your log until the Battle of Bruma starts, at which point any gates you didn't close are essentially "missed" opportunities for reinforcements.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you’re currently staring at your map wondering if you should bother with Leyawiin, here’s how to handle Allies for Bruma efficiently:
- Prioritize Cheydinhal and Skingrad. These give you the most "bang for your buck" in terms of soldier quality and unique quest rewards.
- Fast Travel is your friend, but check the gates. Sometimes the gate isn't directly in front of the city. You might have to scout a bit.
- Use the "Staff of Everscamp" trick? No, don't do that. It just slows you down. Just run through the gates. You don't have to kill every enemy inside. High Acrobatics lets you jump over most of the lava and ramparts, allowing you to reach the Sigil Stone in under five minutes.
- Save your Sigil Stones. Don't use the ones you get during this quest immediately. Wait until you see the "Transcendent" prefix (starts appearing around level 17) to get the maximum enchantment values.
- Check your fame. Closing all these gates will skyrocket your Fame stat. This is the easiest way to get the "Divine Crusader" status if you're playing the Knights of the Nine DLC.
The quest is a slog, sure. It’s a repetitive series of "go here, enter hell, grab ball, leave." But there’s something undeniably cool about seeing those different colored shields lined up outside the Bruma gate. It makes the world feel alive. It makes the threat feel real.
Go get those soldiers. Martin’s not going to protect himself.