You’re wandering through the West Weald, probably just trying to get to Kvatch or Skingrad without a stray Will-o-the-Wisp melting your face off, and you stumble upon it. The shrine of Clavicus Vile oblivion completionists usually hunt down around level 20 is tucked away in the woods, looking oddly serene for a place dedicated to the Daedric Prince of trickery. Honestly, dealing with Vile is a nightmare. He’s the guy who gives you exactly what you asked for, but in a way that makes you wish you’d never opened your mouth.
In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, this specific quest is a masterclass in narrative irony. You think you’re just getting a cool sword. You think you’re just helping a guy with a dog problem. You’re wrong.
Where Exactly is This Place?
Finding the shrine isn't actually that hard if you know where to look, but the Cyrodiil wilderness is thick. It’s located southwest of the Imperial City, basically directly south of the Red Ring Road. If you find Pell's Gate, you're close. Just head south-southwest into the trees.
When you get there, you'll see the standard Daedric setup: a few cultists wandering around, a big statue, and an eerie vibe. Ma'Raska is the Khajiit you need to talk to. He’s the one who tells you that you need an offering. Don't show up empty-handed. Vile wants 500 gold. It’s a bit steep for a level 1 character, but by the time you're level 20—which is the level requirement for this quest—500 gold is basically pocket change you found in a crate in the Waterfront district.
The Quest for Umbra: A Moral Quagmire
Once you pony up the gold, Clavicus Vile speaks to you. He sounds bored. He wants you to go find a sword called Umbra. It’s a soul-trapping blade that has a habit of "eating" its owners. He sends you to Pell's Gate to talk to people, who then point you toward a ruin called Vindasel.
Inside Vindasel, you meet a woman also named Umbra. She’s wearing a full suit of Orcish or Ebony armor depending on your level, and she is arguably the toughest NPC in the entire game. She doesn't want to fight at first. She just wants to be left alone with her cursed sword. This is where the game gives you a choice that isn't really a choice. You can walk away, but then you don't get the Daedric artifact. If you want the Masque of Clavicus Vile, you have to kill her.
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It's a brutal fight. Umbra (the person) hits like a freight train. Most players end up cheesing the fight by jumping onto a pillar and shooting arrows for twenty minutes or using the "apotheosis" staff to blast her from a distance.
Barbas: The Voice of Reason
The most interesting part of the shrine of Clavicus Vile oblivion experience isn't the combat, though. It’s the dog. Or rather, the statuette of a dog in your inventory.
Barbas is Clavicus Vile’s "hound" and basically his conscience. Throughout the quest, Barbas will literally speak to you from your inventory. He begs you not to bring the sword back to Vile. He warns you that Umbra is dangerous and that Vile is a jerk who shouldn't be trusted with that kind of power. It’s a rare moment in Oblivion where an item in your backpack has a personality.
To Give or Not to Give?
This is the big dilemma.
Option A: Give Vile the sword. He takes Umbra and gives you the Masque of Clavicus Vile. It’s a heavy armor helmet that boosts your Personality by 20 points. It looks cool, sure, but in a game where you can just brew a potion or cast a charm spell, a +20 Personality boost is kind of underwhelming.
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Option B: Keep the sword. You go back to the shrine, tell Vile you're keeping it, and he gets mad. Barbas is happy, but you don't get the Masque. However, you do get to keep Umbra.
Umbra is widely considered the best one-handed sword in the game. It has a base damage that rivals Daedric longswords and it traps souls on hit. If you’re a player who uses Enchanting or needs to refill soul gems for other weapons, Umbra is a godsend. Plus, if you don't turn it in, it stays a "quest item" for a while, meaning it has zero weight in your inventory. A weightless, soul-trapping nuke of a sword? Yeah, most people choose Option B.
Why This Quest Matters for Lore Nerds
Clavicus Vile isn't just some minor demon. He represents the concept of "the deal." In the broader Elder Scrolls lore—specifically if you read the Greg Keyes novels The Infernal City and Lord of Souls—the fallout of this quest is actually a massive deal.
Basically, the sword Umbra contains a piece of Vile's own power that became sentient. By not giving it back to him, or even by him losing track of it, Vile's realm of Oblivion actually starts to destabilize. It leads to a whole floating city (Umbriel) invading Tamriel hundreds of years later. So, when you're standing at that shrine in Oblivion making a choice, you're technically messing with the future of the entire continent.
Common Misconceptions and Glitches
People often think you can get both rewards. You can't. At least, not without console commands on PC. There was an old rumor that if you dropped the sword before talking to Vile, you could trick him, but the game scripts are usually too smart for that.
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Another weird thing: if you kill Umbra before starting the quest, you can still finish it. You just skip the dialogue at the shrine. You can actually find her at level 1 if you know where Vindasel is. Killing her at level 1 is nearly impossible without some serious "difficulty slider" shenanigans, but if you manage it, you get some of the best armor in the game before you've even delivered the Amulet of Kings to Jauffre.
Technical Details You Should Know
- Level Requirement: 20 (Strictly enforced).
- The Offering: 500 Gold coins.
- The Reward: Masque of Clavicus Vile (Heavy Armor, +20 Personality).
- The Alternative: Keeping the Umbra Sword (0 Weight as a quest item, Soul Trap on strike).
- Location: South of the Imperial City, near Pell's Gate.
How to Actually Win the Umbra Fight
If you're playing on a high difficulty, Umbra will one-shot you. No joke. She has high reflect damage and moves incredibly fast.
The most "human" way to win is to use the environment. There is a table in the room. If you can get her stuck behind it, or if you can lead her back to the entrance where there are traps, you have a chance. Also, poison is your friend. Paralysis poisons are basically the "I win" button in Oblivion. Even a 1-second paralysis effect knocks an enemy to the ground, and it takes them 3-4 seconds to play the "getting up" animation. That’s your window to wail on her.
Honestly, the shrine of Clavicus Vile oblivion quest is one of the few that actually makes you feel like you’re interacting with a god who doesn't have your best interests at heart. Azura treats you like a "chosen one," but Vile treats you like a contractor he’s trying to underpay. It’s gritty, it’s frustrating, and the reward is a choice between a mediocre hat and a legendary cursed blade.
Choose the blade. Every time.
Your Next Steps in Cyrodiil
If you’ve already finished the Vile quest, you’re likely hunting for the remaining Daedric artifacts to unlock the final Hermaeus Mora quest.
- Check your level: Ensure you are at least level 20 before attempting the remaining high-tier shrines like Boethia or Mephala.
- Visit the Arboretum: If you chose to keep Umbra and now find yourself struggling with the "Personality" checks the Masque would have helped with, head to the Imperial City Arboretum and pray at the central altars for a temporary Speechcraft boost.
- Manage your Soul Gems: Since you likely have the Umbra sword now, head to a Mages Guild branch (Chorrol is best) to stock up on empty Grand Soul Gems. Umbra is useless if you aren't actually capturing the souls you're reaping.
Go deal with the other Princes, but remember: none of them are your friends. They’re just bosses with better loot.