You remember the first time you saw a Mudcrab and thought, "Yeah, I can take that," only to realize The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was a lot weirder than you expected? Then came the expansions. Long before the industry got obsessed with battle passes and "live service" nonsense, we had the Knights of the Nine. It wasn't just a questline. Honestly, it was Bethesda trying to figure out how to tell a coherent story in a world where players usually just spent forty hours picking flowers or jumping repeatedly to level up their Acrobatics.
People talk about the Shivering Isles all the time because, well, Sheogorath is a riot. But the Knights of the Nine did something different. It took the messy, lore-heavy world of Aedric worship and turned it into a literal scavenger hunt for God’s own armor. It’s basically the "Paladin Simulator" that the base game lacked.
The Problem With Being a "Good" Hero in Cyrodiil
In the base game of Oblivion, you’re the Hero of Kvatch. You’re supposed to be this paragon of virtue, yet the game lets you lead the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild with basically zero consequences beyond a high bounty. You could be a serial killer on Tuesday and the Savior of Bruma on Wednesday.
The Knights of the Nine changed that vibe. It introduced a mechanic that actually cared about your Infamy. If you had even one point of Infamy, the Divine Crusader’s relics—the very armor you spent hours tracking down—would literally fall off your body. You’d get a message saying you were no longer worthy. It was frustrating. It was punishing. It was also exactly what the game needed to make the world feel like it had actual moral weight.
To start the quest, you had to talk to a Prophet in Anvil. This guy is just shouting outside the ruined Chapel of Dibella. Most players stumbled into it after the chapel was massacred by Umaril the Unfeathered’s minions. It felt urgent. Unlike the main quest where Martin Septim is chilling at Cloud Ruler Temple for months while you do side quests, the Knights of the Nine felt like a direct response to a desecration.
Who Was Pelinal Whitestrake Anyway?
The lore behind the Knights of the Nine is actually pretty metal. You aren't just finding old gear; you're following the footsteps of Pelinal Whitestrake. If you haven't read the in-game books like The Song of Pelinal, you're missing out on one of the most unhinged characters in fantasy history.
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Pelinal wasn't a "nice" knight. He was a "divine cyborg" sent from the future (depending on which lore nerd you ask) who went on genocidal rampages against the Ayleids. He was so violent that the gods themselves had to look away. This is the guy whose armor you're collecting. It's a fascinating bit of world-building because it highlights the complexity of the Divines. They aren't just "good" in a fluffy way; they are powerful, distant, and sometimes very, very angry.
The Scavenger Hunt for the Relics
The meat of the DLC is the Pilgrimage. You have to visit the wayshrines of the Nine Divines. It sounds easy. It’s not. You’re trekking across the entire map of Cyrodiil, often on foot if you’re roleplaying it right, looking for these tiny stone altars in the middle of nowhere. It forces you to see the landscape. You see the fog rolling off the Nibenay Valley. You see the way the light hits the Great Forest at sunset.
Then comes the gear:
- The Helm of the Crusader: Found in the submerged ruins of Vanua.
- The Cuirass: Located in Priory of the Nine after a trial of spirit.
- The Mace: Hidden in Leyawiin, requiring a "leap of faith" that usually kills players who don't pay attention to the hints.
- The Shield: Guarded by a massive, ancient fort.
Each piece of the Divine Crusader set had its own little story. It wasn't just +5 to Defense. The boots, for example, made you peaceful to woodland creatures. Suddenly, those annoying timber wolves that chased you across the map would just leave you alone. It changed how you interacted with the world.
The Priory of the Nine: A Home That Actually Mattered
One of the coolest parts of the Knights of the Nine was the restoration of the Priory. You start with a dusty, haunted ruin. As you progress, you recruit new knights. These aren't just random NPCs. They have names, backstories, and they actually move into the Priory.
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Sir Thedret, Sir Casret, Sir Lathon. You’d see them training in the courtyard. You’d see them eating dinner. It felt like you were building an organization from the ground up. In the final battle against Umaril, these guys actually ride out with you. Sure, the AI in Oblivion was... let's call it "experimental"... so half of them might get stuck on a rock or run into a wall, but the feeling of leading a charge was there. It was a precursor to the faction-building we’d see later in games like Skyrim or Fallout 4.
Why the Ending Still Hits Hard
The final confrontation with Umaril the Unfeathered takes place in two parts. First, the physical world. Then, the spiritual realm. To truly kill him, you have to cast a spell that allows you to follow his spirit into the "waters of Oblivion" (or a spiritual approximation).
You’re falling through the sky, fighting an ancient Ayleid king while the ground is miles below you. For 2006, this was mind-blowing. It broke the standard "walk into a dungeon, hit a guy with a sword" loop that most of the game followed. When you win, you don't just get a trophy. You get a legacy. You become the Divine Crusader.
But here’s the kicker: the game doesn't end. You go back to the Priory, and the ghosts of the previous knights—the ones who failed or died centuries ago—finally find peace. They stand in a circle and salute you. It’s a quiet, surprisingly emotional moment for a game that usually spends its time being a wacky sandbox.
Common Misconceptions and Technical Quirks
Some people think Knights of the Nine was part of the base game. It wasn't. It was released as a "plug-in" and later bundled with the Game of the Year edition. Because of how it was coded, it can sometimes be a bit buggy.
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If you’re playing on a modern PC, you might run into the "invisible door" glitch or issues where the Prophet doesn't appear. Most of these are fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch, but it's worth noting. Also, the "Armor of the 9" is leveled. This is huge. If you get it at level 5, it has lower stats than if you get it at level 25. Luckily, Bethesda added a mechanic where placing the armor on the stand in the Priory resets its level to match yours. It’s one of the few pieces of gear in the game that actually scales with you without feeling like a chore.
How to Get the Most Out of Knights of the Nine Today
If you’re firing up Oblivion in 2026—maybe through a backwards-compatible console or a heavily modded PC setup—don't rush this quest.
- Do the Pilgrimage on foot. Seriously. Don't fast travel. The whole point of the quest is the journey and the "cleansing" of your character.
- Read the books. Find the "Ten Commands of the Nine Divines" and the "Song of Pelinal." The context makes the final boss fight feel ten times more significant.
- Wait until you're at least Level 20. While the armor scales, the challenge of the dungeons is much more satisfying when you're actually facing high-level enemies.
- Watch your Infamy. If you’re planning on doing the Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild, do them before you start this questline. Or, better yet, do them after and watch the hilarious consequences when your holy armor decides you're too "stabby" for its liking.
The Knights of the Nine represents a specific era of gaming. It was an era where developers were experimenting with how to add meaningful content to an open world without cluttering it with icons. It’s a focused, thematic, and deeply lore-driven experience that remains the gold standard for what a "faction" DLC should look like.
Your Next Steps in Cyrodiil
If you have finished the main quest and feel like the world is a bit empty, head to Anvil. Look for the man shouting about the end of the world. Even if you aren't playing a "Paladin" build, the quest rewards and the sheer scale of the story are worth the detour. Just remember to leave your criminal tendencies at the door; the Divines are watching, and they have very high standards for their wardrobe.