Decision-making is what makes RPG games entertaining, as it allows storytelling to impact the gameplay. One of the decisions you have to make in Oblivion Remastered is whether to keep the strong Umbra Sword or exchange it for the Masque of Clavicus Vile. Here in this guide, we will look at how you can obtain the Umbra Sword and the best course of action to deal with the decision at the end of the quest.
The Clavicus Vile Daedric Quest
The Shrine of Clavicus Vile is located east of Gold Road in the West Weald, near Lake Rumare. No objective marker will point you at the shrine; you must find it on your own. Near the shrine, you will find a Khajiit named Ma’Raska. He will ask you to donate 500 Gold to the Altar as an offering to interact.
Now our mission is to find the Umbra Sword, give it to Clavicus, and obtain the reward. Here you will see a dog following you, it will try to convince you to keep the Umbra sword instead of giving it away to the shrine.
Finding the Umbra Sword
- You must get to Pell’s Gate, south of Red Ring Road, east of the Shrine of Clavicus Vile. Here, talk to Irroke the Wide NPC to learn about the whereabouts of Umbra. He will direct you to the Ayleid Ruin named Vindasel to find Umbra.
- You will find Vindasel west of Pell’s Gate. Inside the Ayleid Ruins, you will encounter Umbra. She is one of the toughest challenges in the game, based on her armor and weapon. But when you spot her, she will give you two options. Either to fight or flee the scene.
- Fleeing the Scene: Leaving is certainly an option, but you will not get any reward upon returning to the shrine.
- Fight Umbra: Fighting Umbra can be difficult, but once you defeat her, you will get an Umbra sword and a full set of Ebony armor.
- Now, make it back to the Shrine of Clavicus. Here you will need to make a decision whether to keep the sword or hand it over.
Keep the Umbra Sword Or Hand it Over
Keeping the Sword:
- Umbra Sword is a pretty powerful weapon in the game; keeping it is not a bad idea. Just like in Morrowind, the Umbra sword can deal an excellent amount of damage to almost anything in the game. But it does fall apart later. If you deny the sword to the shrine, the weight of the sword will hit 45 instead of 0, as it used to be.
- Clavicus Vile will get mad at you for not following his order. The worshippers of Clavicus Vile will immediately hate you. But other than that, you will not suffer any consequences in the game.
Returning the Sword:
- Returning the sword will help you obtain the Masque of Clavicus Vile, a helmet with the enchantment of +20 Personality.
Best Decision:
The best course of action would be to put the quest in the queue. After acquiring the Umbra Sword, don’t go back to the Shrine. The sword will have 0 weight, but on the downside, the quest will remain unfinished. But we can always go back and finish the quest. Use the sword to your heart’s content, if you have found something better, then return the Umbra Sword to Clavicus Vile and get the Masque of Clavicus Vile.
Either way, you must finish the quest to get the last Daedric artifact, Oghma Infinium, in the game. The artifact requires the completion of all Daedric quests, the list includes the quest revolving around Clavicus Vile.
Check out our other guides on other quests in the game like how to find all clues in Canvas the Castle quest, how to sneak into Fort Faroth in Bad Medicine quest or the one on how to steal the letter from Dairihill’s office.
