The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Hints

"Lucky Razor" Development Strategy

• 1 of 19: This is a variation on the Early Development Strategy that sets you up to take full advantage of the Mehrunes Razor weapon. This strategy requires that you have the "Wizard's Tower" and "Mehrunes Razor" DLC modules installed.
  • What if I've already started a character and don't want to restart?
• 2 of 19: You start out the same on this strategy, but when it comes time to exit the sewers and finalize your character, you'll need to choose the Thief as your birthsign to get its +10 to Luck. Also, be sure to make Restoration a major skill.
• 3 of 19: After you exit the sewers, go to the Imperial City and loot the place as much as you want to, practicing your skills as you go (with an emphasis on Alchemy and Restoration).
• 4 of 19: When you're ready, join the Thieves Guild and go to Bruma, where you'll need to make 10,000 gold or so by stealing stuff and fencing it with Ongar, and by making as many potions as you can and selling them. Be sure to buy all of Ongar's lockpicks so you won't run out. Also, join the Mages Guild and loot it of things to sell. You can sell non-stolen things to Selena Orania, plus buy her empty grand soul gem.
• 5 of 19: When you're done with all that, travel to Frostcrag Spire and enter it. Read the book that tells you where to buy upgrades, then teleport to the living area and harvest ingredients from the garden to make potions with. After that, use the outdoor teleporters to go to Bravil's Mages Guild.
• 6 of 19: Loot the guild building of goods to sell, and buy Ardaline's empty grand soul gem. Buy the Illuminate, Soul Trap, and Touch of Frenzy spells from Delphine Jend, and Minor Life Detection from Ita Rienus. To get a free Charm spell, do Kud-Ei's recommendation quest. (While you're in the Imperial City for that quest, go to the Market District's "Mystic Emporium" shop and buy the empty grand soul gem that Calindil has, plus the two magetallow candle sets that Aurelinwae has.)
• 7 of 19: When you're done with all that, travel to Skingrad and buy the Corrode Armor and Drain Illusion spells from Sulinus Vassinus in the Mages Guild, then visit the nearby Apprentice Stone to get its power.
• 8 of 19: Next, go to the Weynon Priory near Chorrol and finish the "Deliver the Amulet" Main Quest to get a free horse. Ride your new horse to Chorrol, then go to its Mages Guild and buy all of the following spells from Athragar and Alberic Litte: Bound Boots, Bound Bow, Bound Cuirass, Bound Dagger, Bound Gauntlets, Bound Greaves, Bound Helmet, Bound Sword, Bound War Axe, Summon Skeleton, and Summon Clannfear.
• 9 of 19: Loot the Mages Guild building and buy an empty grand soul gem from Angalmo, then go join the Fighters Guild so you can legally loot its building, too. Once you're done with that, it's time to head back to Frostcrag Spire to make a whole lot of spells.
  • What all spells should I make?
• 10 of 19: Use the spire's teleporters to go to the Imperial City, where you'll have a whole lot to do. Start by going into the university's tower lobby and using your Fortify Security spell to help you pick open the display case. (Do it sneakily, and click on the case right after the spell casting starts to help avoid being seen.) After you get it open, take the grand soul gems from it and check your bounty. If it isn't zero, go use your powerful Charm spell on a nearby guard to get him to pay your bounty for you.
• 11 of 19: Then go get some repair hammers and use the spells you have to make a suit of Permanent Bound Armor. Also make at least one permanent bound dagger and bow, and buy some cheap arrows if you don't have any. Once you're equipped, go get your horse armored if you have the "Horse Armor" DLC module installed. Then it's time to start looking into black soul gem creation.
  • What are black soul gems for and how can I get them?
• 12 of 19: The best way to go about it is to gather your empty grand soul gems and ride your horse to the Dark Fissure. Quicksave and do the "wait 24 hours" thing until you find out when the next spectral light day is, then quickrestore and go do some skill practicing until then. Start by getting Mysticism up to 25 so you can cast Soul Trap, then focus on Conjuration, Alchemy, and Sneak. Another thing you'll want to do is go get the super-useful Fin Gleam helm (and buy Felen Relas' empty grand soul gem while you're in the Anvil area).
• 13 of 19: When it's time for the light to shine, go get all of your empty grand soul gems transformed into black soul gems. However, don't go into the Dark Fissure and try to soul-trap necromancers, since that's way too much trouble right now. Instead, go back to skill practicing. You'll want to get Conjuration all the way up to 100, and Sneak and Alchemy to at least 75 each. That way, you can make strong potions and poisons, sneak really well, and summon clannfears to fight for you.
• 14 of 19: After those practicing goals have been met, it's time to go get the mighty Umbra sword. See the hints for Clavicus Vile's Daedric Shrine Quest, remembering that you don't have to visit the shrine or Pell's Gate, and that the best combat strategy will be the one where you jump onto a pillar and use summoned clannfears to kill Umbra. After she's dead, grab all her gear, then go sell off the armor (except the shield, which you'll want to keep and use for awhile).
• 15 of 19: When you're ready to go for it, see the Mehrunes Razor hints in the separate Knights of the Nine hint file for all the details on getting the razor. Remember to sneak carefully through the Sundercliff areas, using summoned clannfears to do your fighting for you. Also, occasionally come out of hiding long enough to hit an enemy with Umbra so that his soul will be captured into one of your black soul gems when your clannfear kills him. By the time you finish, you should have all of your black soul gems filled.
• 16 of 19: Now that you have the razor, it's time to make your lucky charms (spells and armor, that is). Before you can do that, you'll need to get your Restoration skill up to 75. The best way to do that is to go to Bravil and get Marz in the chapel to train you. To make the training cheap, cast your Drain Restoration on Self spell right before you talk to her. Have her train you five times, then go rest in a bed in the Mages Guild to level up, choosing Luck as one of the three attributes to increase. Repeat this process until your Restoration skill is 75, then travel to the Imperial City and sell off your excess loot.
• 17 of 19: With all of your filled black soul gems and at least 5200 gold in inventory, travel to Frostcrag Spire and use its enchanting altar to enchant each piece of your permanent bound armor with a constant Fortify Luck 10 points effect. Then use the spellmaking altar to make a Fortify Luck 100 points for 10 seconds on Self spell. If you use Mehrunes Razor while wearing that armor and right after casting that spell, you'll be able to get a lot of very quick kills with it. (Though you may still get killed a lot if you're playing on the highest difficulty setting.)
• 18 of 19: Even with all the lucky strikes you'll be making, the razor will eventually need recharging, so the next thing to do is Azura's Daedric Shrine Quest. You can then use Umbra and Azura's Star along with your 8-second Summon Skeleton spell to generate endless cheap souls to recharge weapons with.
• 19 of 19: You're now pretty much set, though you'll want to keep leveling up (increasing Luck each time) until you're at least level 25, then go for the best Resist Magic and Reflect Damage items listed in the Constant Effect Item Lists.  After that, level up as much as you can, and use your razor and summoned clannfears to spread death and destruction everywhere you go. It's what Dagon would want from the wielder of his unholy weapon!

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