Oblivion talk:Easter Eggs

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More LotR Eggs

This one is a big one, and I'm Really surprised no one has caught on to this, but the Dark Brotherhood initiation quest, "A Knife in the Dark", shares it's name with a chapter in LotR: Fellowship of the Ring. I don't think this was unintentional, seeing as another quest contained a reference to LotR — Unsigned comment by 65.95.111.226 (talk) at 05:03 on 11 September 2011‎

A similar issue has already been discussed in the archives. The consensus was that unless there's more than the name to suggest an intended connection, it's a coincidence. 205.133.160.180 18:29, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

There is more than just a coincidence in names. In the mission you must assassinate someone hiding out in an inn sleeping in his bed. The chapter in LotR begins with "assassins" trying to kill the hobbits in their sleep while they are hiding out in an inn.76.189.25.248 16:27, 15 March 2012 (UTC)

I've come to the conclusion that you are correct. The name of the quest and the events in the quests are identical to the chapter of LotoR. If anyone thinks that I'm wrong, please speak up.--Playerjjjj (talk) 02:44, 1 January 2013 (GMT)Playerjjjj

Captain Renault / Casablanca

The female Blades Captain who dies during the tutorial quest is named Captain Renault, this is also the name of the Claude Rains character in the 1942 classic Casablanca. 98.18.30.168 16:40, 5 January 2013 (GMT)

That's true, but I really doubt it's an egg. Sorry! ⇠eshe^talk 15:56, 16 January 2013 (GMT)

Adoring Fan

I think the Adoring Fan might be a reference to the villain from the Pixar film "the Incredibles" (whose name I've completely forgotten). He was an irritating child who claimed to be Mr. Incredible's biggest fan and wanted to worship the ground he walked on. He and the adoring fan even have an almost identical hairstyle. Seems to be a definite easter egg.Norowane (talk) 09:28, 6 January 2013 (GMT)

I would say that this is unlikely... Though there was about a year in between the movie being released and the game, it doesn't seem like THAT close a reference. In both cases, they are simply over zealous fans, both are likely poking fun at diehard fanboys that are found in many genres. Jeancey (talk) 18:22, 6 January 2013 (GMT)

The Incredibles villain's name is Syndrome, BTW. Pacingpal (talk) 13:23, 20 May 2021 (UTC)

Questionable "Easter Egg"

• When NPCs carry out their "book reading" animation, the text written in the book they read is a commonly used placeholder text known as "Lorem ipsum", which is often used to demonstrate the graphic elements of a document. Note that the text is the same no matter what book the NPC is actually reading.

I am interested in proposing that this Easter egg be deleted. How is generic placeholder text a reference to anything? I found the original discussion, in which really only one other user agreed to its inclusion, aside from the proposer, which one opposing it.

I would like to reopen the discussion on whether or not it belongs on the page, because I find the use of generic placeholder text to make a book look "real" isn't necessarily an Easter Egg, more like BethSoft doing their job and making the book look real, rather than reading white sheets of paper. Any thoughts on this? Snowmane^{(talk•email)} 18:56, 6 January 2013 (GMT)

It seems more like trivia than an egg. It may fit better on the Books article instead. Vely^►t►e 20:13, 6 January 2013 (GMT)

Another LOTR?

Well, I was doing some userspace-patroller-perusing, and I happened upon this promptly removed note on Sideways Cave:

The Hidden Lake zone of the cave is part of the Easter Eggs that makes a reference to the 1937 novel, The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien. The lake is in the cave with an island in the middle with an Imp on the island, supposedly acting as the Gollom of Cyrodiil

Now that someone has pointed it out, I remember that! :P Really though, seems likely, doesn't it? --Vulpa 13:25, 22 February 2013 (GMT)

A Star Wars reference

The glass helmet icon, when rotated front-to-back, is a dead ringer for Boba Fett's Mandalorian helmet. I strongly suspect that the name "Fin Gleam" might contain some reference to it, as well. The particular set of enchantments on Fin Gleam makes a lot of sense in this context, too: a modern helmet equipped with a rebreather, night sight and IR vision ("Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Arthur C. Clarke.) Looks like Boba Fett found his demise in Cyrodiil. — Unsigned comment by 87.207.122.51 (talk) at 18:36 on 24 February 2013‎

Lol. There is a pretty strong resemblance, but I think it's entirely coincidental. --Xyzzy ^Talk 18:18, 1 June 2013 (GMT)

Troll under the bridge

dont know how people missed this. In niben bay thiers a bridge with troll under it. he carried a note that said no one wanted to pay the toll.— Unsigned comment by 108.225.170.182 (talk) at 16:13 on 7 March 2013‎

Already on the page... "There is a small bridge just past the Mouth of the Panther, east-southeast of Bravil. Underneath you will find the remains of a Dead Troll. Reminiscent of the children's fairy tale "Billy Goats Gruff", you will find A Poorly Scrawled Note on the body, explaining its failure as a bridge troll:" Jeancey (talk) 23:16, 7 March 2013 (GMT)

Minecraft

The disease Wither might be a reference to Minecraft Wither effect. Think its an Easter egg? — Unsigned comment by Iancee (talk • contribs) at 20:05 on 1 May 2013

I do not believe so because the "Wither" effect in Minecraft was added after the release of Skyrim. --Ad intellige ^(talk) 00:12, 2 May 2013 (GMT)

Also, I'm fairly sure that oblivion was Released before Minecraft was. By around three years, in fact. Jeancey (talk) 00:20, 2 May 2013 (GMT)

Yet another LotR reference?

I'm surprised people haven't picked this up before. Upon talking to a wandering Imperial Guard before the main quest is complete, he hay say "If you've got to travel, by the nine, stay on the road..." This is referring to the part in The Fellowship of the Ring when the hobbits are attempting to reach the town Bree, where they are being pursued by the Nazgul, better known as The Nine Furthermore, they are warned to stay OFF the road. The line is put in to contrast the warning given to them. — Unsigned comment by Beorn (talk • contribs) at 20:16 on 10 May 2013

The nine refers to the Nine Divines, the gods of the elder scrolls series. I don't think there is enough to tie this to LOTR. It is very common to stay on the road, because off the road is dangerous, that is just a fact of life in this setting. Jeancey (talk) 20:19, 10 May 2013 (GMT)

Not likely. Warnings to stay on the road are common in fantasy games, due to monsters spawning away from the roads. --~The wind, forsaken~ (talk) 20:21, 10 May 2013 (GMT)

I believe there is also a loading screen tip that tells you to stay on the roads to avoid creatures. And, as said before, the nine are the nine divines. Not a reference. Vely^►t►e 20:34, 10 May 2013 (GMT)

Skingrad

There is a magic seller that mentions BATMAN — Unsigned comment by 76.14.218.86 (talk) at 16:26 on 24 May 2013

In order to verify this we need to know who and when they said this. If we have that we can see what dialogue they have, but if you can provide some of the line itself. I cannot currently find anything that appears to support your statement. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 17:38, 24 May 2013 (GMT)

Blades Easter Egg

One of the Blades found at Cloud Ruler Temple is named Belisarius. While Belisarius is historically better known as a great Byzantine general, he started out as a soldier in Justinian's personal guard. Given that the Blades perform the same function (Justinian was the Byzantine emperor during Belisarius' entire military career), this seems to be a reference to a not as well known part of history. ---- Beoca — Unsigned comment by Beoca (talk • contribs) at 15:07 on 1 June 2013‎

You may be right about Belisarius' name being taken from the historical figure, but I don't know that I would call it an easter egg. --Xyzzy ^Talk 18:07, 1 June 2013 (GMT)

TES Arena

Is the arena poster an refrens to the arena boxart of te first TES game? — Unsigned comment by Greger (talk • contribs) at 01:04 on 2 June 2013‎

Yes. Vely^►t►e 01:08, 2 June 2013 (GMT)

possible thalmor mentioned

i dont know exactly, but when some npc's say "syndicates of wizards gathering in the summerset isles" couldnt that be a reference to the rise of the thalmor or something? — Unsigned comment by Mjslaytheimperial (talk • contribs) at 16:24 on 8 July 2013

It could be a precursor to the Thalmor storyline, but I don't know if there was any inkling of this during Oblivion's development. Even if it is, it wouldn't belong on Oblivion's EE page. If it were confirmed, then it might be appropriate on Skyrim's Historical Reference page. --Xyzzy ^Talk 02:20, 9 July 2013 (GMT)

Mystara

Recently brought up on the Beggars page was a strange reference uttered by beggars to a "Mystara" ("Blessings of Mystara upon ye."). The only Mystara to be found is a realm in Dungeons and Dragons. There was also a game based in the realm called "Shadow Over Mystara", which fits quite well with the Thieves Guild specific greeting of "Blessings of the Shadow upon ye." Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 18:17, 17 July 2013 (GMT)

I support it. Also, not recently brought up. I mentioned it like 4 or 5 months ago! Jeancey (talk) 18:22, 17 July 2013 (GMT)

Is there more to support this connection besides just the name? We have generally required more than just a name to call something an egg. The "Shadow" thing seems pretty generic, as thieves and other criminal elements would naturally value darkness and shadow for their livelihoods. --Xyzzy ^Talk 03:41, 18 July 2013 (GMT)

The only mention of Mystara is elder scrolls at all, anywhere is in this line. There is absolutely nothing else named that. And there is something named "Shadow Over Mystara". I dunno if the whole Mystara=shadow thieves guild thing is a reference, but Mystara itself is a reference to the Dungeons and Dragons thing. You can read more about it here. This is 100% a reference. It's not that it is an Elder Scrolls concept that has a similar name, its a name that is found nowhere else in elder scrolls lore. Jeancey (talk) 04:03, 18 July 2013 (GMT)

I'm familiar with Mystara through the two hack'n'slash arcade games (they're pretty good too), but I'm not at all convinced this is an easter egg. It makes absolutely no sense for the beggars to throw out the name of a D&D campaign setting in the context they do, as a source of good fortune. The shadow in "Shadow over Mystara" is shadow as in a doom that looms over the land, nothing at all like the shadow associated with the Thieves Guild.

Not to say it can't be an easter egg (some dev played Shadow over Mystara -> ooh, let's add that name there), but it's unintelligible. It might be an easter egg we haven't really figured out yet, or it might be a coincidence. Mystery -> Mystara... Not such a difficult word to come up with. Weroj (talk) 09:22, 18 July 2013 (GMT)

"Blessings of Mystery upon ye" doesn't make sense. There is no other usage of Mystara that I can find, either in the entire elder scrolls history or unrelated to the Dungeons and Dragons realm. Unless someone has a plausible explanation as to why the word Mystara is used, this is as clear an easter egg as you can get. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 10:05, 18 July 2013 (GMT)

Supported. There's nothing else this could be. Tenth page of a google search on the word mystara is still all D&D references. Also, if what I've read is true, mystara was the D&D environment that most people in the 80's played, meaning the devs would likely be familiar with it. --AN|L (talk) 14:42, 18 July 2013 (GMT)

I searched Google out to 20 pages and started to see references to other uses, but nothing that wasn't somehow linked back to D&D. It looks like this is the only likely reference, but it still seems weak, mainly "Nothing else exists with this name, so it must be a reference to this." It is possible that there is a more obscure reference, but if there is, I haven't found it. --Xyzzy ^Talk 19:53, 19 July 2013 (GMT)

Uriel Septim Easter egg and reference to The Chocolate War?

Seven in Latin is septem, and Uriel is the seventh Septim named Uriel, which comes to Uriel Septim VII. Is this significant? Also, on a very unlikely note which may be just coincidence, Captain Renault in the Tutorial may be a reference to Jerry Renault from "The Chocolate War" written by Robert Cormier, both of which were defeated after a lengthy and meaningful fight against evil. MJ The Unrelenting (talk) 01:06, 17 October 2013 (GMT)

The 7s thing is mildly interesting, and may deserve an etymology note in the article, but wouldn't qualify as an easter egg. The Renault thing seems purely coincidental, though. --Xyzzy ^Talk 03:26, 17 October 2013 (GMT)

Fair enough I suppose, even I can admit the second one was far-fetched. A nice thought though, thanks for the quick reply. MJ The Unrelenting (talk) 06:44, 17 October 2013 (GMT)

Heh, I didn't know that about Septim... It may well be how they came up with the name in the first place. That has nothing to do with Oblivion, however,seeing as Uriel Septim VII first appeared in Arena. Weroj (talk) 08:17, 17 October 2013 (GMT)

Shrek Reference

In the imperial city there is a bright green orc wandering around wearing the exact same clothes as shrek from the film shrek plus if you talk to him he might say I lost my horse which could link to shrek 2 when donkey becomes a horse. — Unsigned comment by 2.28.15.70 (talk) at 18:39 on 9 February 2014 (GMT)

That seems fairly unlikely to be a reference. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 18:39, 9 February 2014 (GMT)

Plus no-one says they lost their horse, at least not in the way you have described. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 18:41, 9 February 2014 (GMT)

If you could tell us which Orc you are referring to, we could look it his picture and decide if his outfit does indeed look like Shrek's. --Xyzzy ^Talk 20:33, 9 February 2014 (GMT)

Dracula's Castle in Skingrad

The Skingrad castle is very similar to the Bran Castle in Romania (sans picturesque bridge), commonly known as 'Dracula Castle' and a popular tourist destination (although in reality it did not belong to Basarab family). Sure, it is not an exact copy due to the TES constraints, but the shape of the castle and especially the structure of the courtyard is very similar to the features of Bran castle. Given that count Hassildor is a vampire noble, this doesn't look like coincidence. 159.205.114.53 21:28, 20 April 2014 (GMT)

Judging by [these] [two] pictures, among the first found googling the Bran Castle, I think you have a point. —MortenOSlash (talk) 12:48, 21 April 2014 (GMT)

Morning Glory

I'd be surprised if this one hasn't been brought up already, but I searched and didn't get any results. Vicano (talk) 18:13, 2 June 2014 (GMT)

What about it? Jeancey (talk) 18:37, 2 June 2014 (GMT)

It's slang for waking up with an erection. Vicano (talk) 18:40, 2 June 2014 (GMT)

Um...I don't think so. Especially since it's a real flower. •WoahBro^►talk 18:42, 2 June 2014 (GMT)

Oh, it's real? Nevermind then. Vicano (talk) 18:43, 2 June 2014 (GMT)

In any case, you are thinking of Morning Wood, not Morning Glory.... Jeancey (talk) 19:00, 2 June 2014 (GMT)

No, no, Morning Glory is used as well, according to Urban Dictionary and personal experience. Vicano (talk) 19:06, 2 June 2014 (GMT)

Count Bela Vlad Hassildor

Following the Hassildor/Dracula lead, the resemblance between vampire count Janus Hassildor and the late Bela Lugosi, Hungarian actor who created 'classical' cinematic image of Count Dracula is rather uncanny. Please compare [this] and [this] as well as [these] [two] pictures. 90.156.73.234 11:27, 6 June 2014 (GMT)

There is a resemblance between the side views of the faces, though the game version looks modded. The face images do not appear that similar to me, the cheeks on Hasildor look more full and rounded. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 11:48, 6 June 2014 (GMT)

Yeah, I'm not seeing it. ThuumofReason (talk) 12:00, 6 June 2014 (GMT)

The only real resemblance I see is the slicked-back hair. Not similar enough for me to support. --Xyzzy ^Talk 15:38, 7 June 2014 (GMT)

M'aiq the Liar line from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

I was listening to the audiobook for the 1966 novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress when I heard the main character say "Mike knows much, doesn't tell all". I immediately thought of M'aiq the Liar, as I'm sure any fan of TES would. I'm bringing it up here since, AFAIK, Oblivion is the first game that M'aiq utters the very similar line "M'aiq knows much, tells some". Should this be included in the article as a pop culture reference? --Xyzzy ^Talk 17:31, 21 July 2014 (GMT)

If that's not intentional, it's the most ridiculous coincidence ever. I support its inclusion. Zul se onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 01:50, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

I'm gonna have to oppose this, since M'aiq first appears in Morrowind. —Legoless (talk) 02:01, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

Sure, he appears in Morrowind first, but that is a pretty darn similar line, and the name is one syllable off. It's a pretty staggering coincidence, even by MY standards. Zul se onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 04:05, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

I'm going to say that it should be included. Legoless just because a reference isn't in one game, It doesn't mean that it's not a reference. The devs probably didn't know about it when Morrowind came out. Lorenut (talk) 04:22, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

Wow, that is... quite the resemblance. The lines and the names sound almost identical! I support its inclusion as well. —<({QT>> 05:40, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

We don't include M'aiq's sayings in the historical references so they shouldn't go on the eggs either. The link at the bottom in the see also is there for this reason. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 12:08, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

(←) Yes, but this is different from most of Mai'q's sayings, in that it references something outside of the Elder Scrolls universe. All of Mai'qs other saying are referencing fan complaints and new features in the games. I agree that it should be included. --AN|L (talk) 15:22, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

Judge Dredd Reference when talking to Gogen

So when you first talk to Gogen in Anvil (I believe you have to initiate the "Siren Deception" Quest) and you proceed to mention the Gang, he replies "Go talk to Maelona. She runs the Council. Judge. Jury. Executioner". Now that phrase right there is quite commonly used to describe Judge Dredd himself and the other Street Judges in the Judge Dredd universe. A quick search of the phrase can back up my statement. — Unsigned comment by 68.110.99.23 (talk) at 03:24 on 23 July 2014‎

Judge, Jury, and Executioner is a pretty common phrase actually, it's not unique to Dredd. Zul se onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 11:29, 23 July 2014 (GMT)

Quest For Glory Reference?

Discussion moved from Oblivion talk:Earana

That series has a mage named "Erana", who looks more than somewhat like Earana. -- 69.86.93.93 19:26, 5 August 2014 (GMT)

Are there other similarities beyond the name and appearance? —<({QT>> 08:52, 6 August 2014 (GMT)

After a quick google image search and comparison, I really don't see any resemblance between the two. This is most likely coincidental. Zul se onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 16:17, 6 August 2014 (GMT)

Heart of Darkness (moved from Oblivion:Vaermina)

Two crumpled pieces of paper can be found in Arkved's room. They read, "The Horror, The Horror" and "I shall lie here in the dark waiting for death", both allusions to Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, in which the enigmatic Kurtz also becomes deranged by power.

I see that this has already been discussed, but I would like to re-submit it for discussion. "The horror, the horror" obviously refers to Kurtz's last words from the book after becoming deranged by power and gaining a glimpse into a darker side of the human mind, much like Arkved has. The other note is also a near-verbatim quote from Kurtz's dying moments. I don't think there's any doubt that this is a reference. Zul se onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 18:50, 31 December 2014 (GMT)

I'd support including this. I'm not familiar with the work, but I can see some parallels between Kurtz and Arkved. This note has also been on the Vaermina page for quite a while, so it seems that a fair share of readers have thought that this easter egg seems logical enough. Forfeit (talk) 07:37, 1 January 2015 (GMT)

Weye

When it comes to historic references, it is worth mentioning that Weye near Imperial City is almost certainly a reference to ancient city/town of Veii (probably name went through some slavic language back to english), one of main etruscan cities, which was conquered by Rome at the early years of the republic after a series of wars, in which it was a worthy rival. After conquest it remained a small, rural town next to Rome growing to be mightiest city in a great empire. In Oblivion, Weye is exactly that - two houses next to capital of continent. — Unsigned comment by ‎VonStronghold (talk • contribs) at 21:36 on 13 January 2015 (GMT)

I'm not sure that counts, since there isn't any hints of Weye having been a rival state to the Imperial City at some point in its history. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 21:36, 13 January 2015 (GMT)

This sounds more like a coincidence than anything. Zul se onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 21:49, 14 January 2015 (GMT)

Well, it would be somewhat ridiculous to write that Weye was rival to Imperial City while Imperial City is like 500 m from Weye in game... — Unsigned comment by VonStronghold (talk • contribs) at 11:51 on 15 January 2015 (GMT)

I don't think there's enough evidence to solidly link the two. Like Thuum said, it just sounds like a coincidence. •WoahBro^►talk 16:17, 15 January 2015 (GMT)

Jair

Moved from article page

There is a Redguard NPC named Jair, who shares his name with Lord Jair, the protagonist of the adventure game Shadowgate. By the events of the third Shadowgate game, Trials of the Four Towers, Castle Shadowgate has played host to a den of thieves, similar to the Thieves Guild, which Jair is a member of. — Unsigned comment by Bauglir100 (talk • contribs) at 08:28 on 20 February 2015‎

As a courtesy, I've copied this proposed addition here to the talk page. For myself, I find the association a bit tenuous, but I'm not strongly opposed to it. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 20:42, 21 February 2015 (GMT)

I think this is a bit of a stretch myself. Other than the name, there are no similarities between them, other than the fact that there are thieves in both games (a staple of Western fantasy games). Zul do onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 04:09, 22 February 2015 (GMT)

Arena names

When you challenge Agronak gro-Malog for the title of Grand Champion of the Arena, you get to choose an arena name for your character. One of the possible options for females is "The Iron Maiden", and for males "Man o' War". It might be a reference to the heavy metal bands Iron Maiden and Manowar. Or just a coincidence? What do you think? --Vordur Steel-Hammer (TINV1K) 00:56, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

Seems like an obvious reference to me. —Legoless (talk) 01:04, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

It could also be a reference to the Iron Maiden torture device and the Man o' War class of ships, which the bands themselves are named after. I'm not entirely convinced this is a reference to the bands. What are some of the other names you can choose from? Jeancey (talk) 01:16, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

See here. -Vordur Steel-Hammer (TINV1K) 01:31, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

I'd say no. If the names were simply "Iron Maiden" and "Manowar" spelled like that, then sure, but because they are spelled the same as another possible reference, I can't really see supporting the bands as the source. If that makes sense. Jeancey (talk) 01:34, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

It seems unlikely that they'd make them opposite names of each other if it wasn't a reference. Look at the pattern: Lady Luck/Sir Slaughter, Iron Maiden/Man o' War. What possible link does a torture device have to a ship/jellyfish? I made the heavy metal connection instantly in-game the first time I saw Man o' War, and to be honest I'm surprised it isn't already on this page. They don't need to spell out the reference for us to infer it as an Easter egg. —Legoless (talk) 01:40, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

The thing is, I would never in my life had made the connection to either band, even together. If Lady Luck and Sir Slaughter were references to Iron Maiden or Manowar songs, then I'll give it to you, but purely a similarity in names isn't enough. The winner of the arena is a powerful person. The Man o' War ship was the most powerful ship of its day. The Iron Maiden is widely considered one of the most painful torture devices. Simply using the historical connection makes much more sense as an arena nickname than the bands. And if it makes sense, there isn't really a reason to go further to assign some other connection that I just don't think is there. Jeancey (talk) 01:49, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

(←) Although Sir Slaughter is not directly named after any of these bands' songs, Iron Maiden does have a rather infamous song called Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter which could have a connection to this name. Going a bit deeper, Slaughter is a name of a glam metal band and Deep Purple, one of Iron Maiden's influences, has a song called Lady Luck. Metal songs with names similar to a few of the other grand champion names exist as well, but this is a rather moot point since the grand champion names fit with some of the more stereotypical metal themes. Personally, while it's not quite as clear or obvious as other eggs, I think the connection is strong enough to justify an entry on the page. Forfeit (talk) 02:28, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

I could accept the argument that the names were based on torture devices or warships, seeing as they're more thematically appropriate for the fantasy setting, if there was only one of them. The fact that *two* heavy metal bands appear in the title list is too much of a coincidence. —Legoless (talk) 02:33, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

I would like to get a few other opinions. Personally, I think that it's a coincidence, especially since they aren't spelled the exact same as the bands but ARE spelled the same as the torture device and warship. Jeancey (talk) 02:49, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

I'm also of the opinion that this is a coincidence. Similar names by themselves isn't enough, and the other connections offered seem to be a bit of a stretch. Zul do onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 12:49, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

It does seem like a coincidence, but at the same time it's almost too much of a coincidence. The fact that there's a reference for males and another for females almost seems intentional, but I just can't be sure. •WoahBro^►talk 14:11, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

The same logic could be applied to the current Blue Suede Shoes entry. It's possible that the item was named after literal blue shoes. There is zero certainty that the item is a reference to a song, but common sense dictates. If we're disavowing the heavy metal bands, we might as well remove the shoes, and indeed any other reference that we can't be 100% certain of. Occam's razor; 'coincidence' isn't a sensible argument to be made here. —Legoless (talk) 14:46, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

(←) I would have left it of as a coincidence if the Arena names were not in the same gender pair of titles. Having the titles paired up both being names the two of the classic heavy metal bands gives an absolute feeling it was intended. The other attempts to make further heavy metal connections of the other seems a little far fetched. —MortenOSlash (talk) 15:18, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

The Blue Suede Shoes entry isn't relevant here, although I would be more than happy to hold a discussion reviewing it, as I agree it seems a bit weak at first glance. As for this one though, I'm having a little bit of trouble following the "gender pairs" argument here. Yes, there are two names unique to men and two unique to women. A "Man O'War" is a particularly large and aggressive type of jellyfish, and "Iron Maiden" conjures images of a torture device, but it could also be intended as a play-on words for a particularly fierce woman (it was Margaret Thatcher's nickname in real life). "Lady Luck" is a common phrase, and "Sir Slaughter" doesn't appear to have any symbolic meaning. So really the only argument in support of this is that two of the four gender-specific nicknames are similar to names of heavy metal bands which are themselves named after other things. If the names were spelled exactly the same, then sure, but they aren't. If Bethesda was going to go out of their way to make a reference to something through a name, why would they not include any other clues and then spell the name wrong on top of that? There's just too much uncertainty for it to be listed here. Zul do onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 16:55, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

The names aren't spelled wrong, though. Including correct spacing is a stylistic choice, and shouldn't detract from anything. The Nova Roma entry suffers from the same vague difference. If uncertainty is an issue here, it isn't a problem to word the proposed entry so that the reader can make up their own mind based on the facts. Opposing its inclusion based on this uncertainty, however, isn't constructive, and this page would be empty if we applied that philosophy to the majority of the eggs. The rule of discussing proposed additions on the talk page was implemented to prevent the more ridiculous suggestions from seeing the light of day, not to grill proposals. The article is subjective by its very definition, and I think we should try to more closely follow the concept of ROWN when it comes to new entries. —Legoless (talk) 17:38, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

It's a proper name, so I think spacing and apostrophe placement (or lack thereof) actually do matter, as they distinguish the name of a single entity from a name given to any number of marine animals. As for your other points, we're just going to have to agree to disagree. Opposing the inclusion of proposals based on a high degree of uncertainty is what's been done on the easter egg pages for as long as I've been here, and "grilling proposals" is exactly what these discussions are for. They have to be able to stand up to scrutiny if they're going to meet our criteria, because the entire point in listing something as a definitive reference is to minimize or eliminate subjectivity. Also, could you explain that ROWN thing to me? I don't understand how it applies here. Zul do onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 22:21, 12 April 2015 (GMT)

The "revert only when necessary" concept involves only deleting content that damages the wiki. In this case, there isn't any actual reverting since we're having a preemptive discussion, but the basic principle can be applied: instead of opposing an addition based on the uncertainty of the evidence provided, it should be judged based on any contradictory evidence that would point to it not being an Easter egg. In this case, I feel like the appearance of two heavy metal bands in a single dialogue tree outweigh the small chance that they were added by coincidence due to the fact that the bands were themselves named after something. I don't see its addition detracting from the page, especially if it's added with the appropriate wording ("may possibly be a reference to", "both of which are the names of heavy metal bands", etc). —Legoless (talk) 00:38, 13 April 2015 (GMT)

Lord of the Rings (moved from Oblivion talk:Parwen)

Could Parwen and Ah-Malz's tally of who has killed more goblins be a reference to Legolas and Gimli's tally of who has killed more orcs at the Battle of the Hornburg in The Two Towers? Or am I looking too deep into this? Norowane (talk) 08:12, 16 May 2015 (GMT)

Doubtful. That's a common theme in fiction, and there's nothing to suggest that it's referring to LotR in particular. Zul do onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 15:48, 16 May 2015 (GMT)

I agree with Thuum. This one rumor does not provide enough context to really suggest that this refers to anything specific. Their dialogue and the other rumors about them also don't relate to The Lord of the Rings at all. Forfeit (talk) 22:12, 19 May 2015 (GMT)

Fighters Guild Rumors: 'The Bard's Tale'

So I was recently in-game verifying that the dialogue in FGConversations actually can be heard in-game, when I heard one of the guild members say: "I have a warm place to sleep and three squares a day. It ain't 'The Bard's Tale', but it's good enough for me." This rumor could perhaps be an Easter Egg for the role-playing game, The Bard's Tale. Someone proposed this egg in the past here, but no discussion ever took place as to whether or not this would be a valid egg. Admittedly, it's not the strongest of eggs, but I think it's well worth discussing since some of the developers were probably familiar with the game given its popularity and legacy in the RPG genre. I'd ultimately support its inclusion on the page because of the way it is presented in the dialogue, with "The" capitalized and quotes around the whole phrase. Forfeit (talk) 03:02, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

Better late than never in replying to this, but if it sounds like a solid reference it's quoted like that. Might be worth clarifying where those lines can be heard though - are they the unique Rumors available from male Imperial Fighters Guild members? —Legoless (talk) 20:47, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Yeah, the line is from the unique rumors only spoken by Imperial males in the Fighters Guild. The line is from the FGConversations dialogue group and can be heard in NPC conversations (no unique replies to any of them though) or when you ask a male Imperial Fighters Guild member for a rumor. The exact line of dialogue can be seen here, noting the capital "The" and quotes around the whole phrase. Forfeit (talk) 22:31, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Looks like a definite reference to the franchise then. I can't find any alternate meanings to that phrase online. —Legoless (talk) 22:41, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

I'll support this. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. --MetaCthulhu (talk) 22:52, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

It's a classic game, makes sense they'd toss a reference in there. As said, there isn't much else it could conceivably mean. Echo (talk) 22:58, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

I've added it to the page. —Legoless (talk) 20:09, 29 April 2017 (UTC)

Shout-out to Monolith Productions?

The Claw Monolith may be a nod to Monolith Productions' 1997 game, Claw. — Unsigned comment by 198.84.152.198 (talk) at 19:55 on 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Seems like a coincidence to me. It matches the naming patterns of the other sigil keeps, which all resemble great stone monoliths with claws protruding out of them. —Legoless (talk) 20:45, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Jump On My Sword: Baldur's Gate Reference

A common phrase of combat dialogue that can be heard in the game is "Jump on my sword while you can!", which can be seen here. Recently, don't ask why, I google'd this phrase and was surprised that stuff about Oblivion did not come up. Rather, a similar quote from a Baldur's Gate II character named Minsc was among the top searches. His quote is: "Jump on my sword while you can, evil. I won't be as gentle!" Looking around a bit more, search results for this phrase seemed to only bring up results for Baldur's Gate II and Oblivion, so I would like to propose this as an Easter Egg. This has been discussed in the past here and here, but in both instances it wasn't really heavily discussed. I believe this is an egg given the phrases start out exactly the same and the fact that Baldur's Gate is a well known role-playing game series. Forfeit (talk) 22:38, 19 May 2017 (UTC)

I can even hear Minsc's voice saying it in my head. :) Googling, I found no other common source for this phrase, so I'd have to agree, it's a reference to BG2. – Robin Hood  ^(talk) 03:18, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

Martin Septim - Battle for Bruma

Outside Bruma just before the Great Gate battle, Martin Septim gives a speech. “We shall defend Tamriel, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!” This is pretty much identical to a part of Winston Churchill's famous speech at the evacuation of Dunkirk. "we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender," 77.100.200.83 11:43, 29 November 2017 (UTC)

Yeah, no. If those are the words you heard then you are using a mod. The actual words are on his page, and are: "Soldiers of Cyrodiil! The Empire will stand or fall by what we do here today! Will we let the daedra do to Bruma what they did to Kvatch? Will we let them burn our homes? We will let them kill our families? No! We make our stand here, today, for the whole of Cyrodiil! We must hold fast until the Hero of Kvatch can destroy their Great Gate. We must kill whatever comes out of that gate! Soldiers of Cyrodiil! Do you stand with me?" In no way is similar to Churchill's speech, it's not even in the same style of speech. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 13:41, 29 November 2017 (UTC)

Of Mice and Men

• Telaendril mention of a crushed pet rabbit appears to be a nod to Lennie Small, a character in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

I moved the above note from Oblivion:Gogron gro-Bolmog. —Legoless (talk) 15:59, 4 March 2018 (UTC)

It's already on the page, second bullet after the troll poem in the Literature section. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 16:08, 4 March 2018 (UTC)

Apologies, I didn't realise we weren't listing them on the actual NPC's page. --SerCenKing (talk) 16:20, 4 March 2018 (UTC)

Jack be nimble

The name of the rhyme is not written correctly, it says "nimbel" instead. --217.216.209.165 01:12, 22 June 2018 (UTC)

It also looks like the link to Wikipedia is broken: "Through A Nightmare, Darkly" -- it does not link to the correct section, probably because Wikipedia changed the case of the subtitle. -- 217.216.209.165 01:16, 22 June 2018 (UTC)

I've fixed the wikipedia link for you :) Timeoin (talk) 01:57, 22 June 2018 (UTC)

It's a little confusing but the name isn't meant to be spelt correctly there. The sentence is deconstructing his name into the Easter egg, and it cannot change his name from Imbel to Imble; another explanatory stage would be needed. I don't think the meaning is lost at all by leaving out a correction in spelling stage, as anyone who recognises the rhyme will easily read it correctly, and of course the wikipedia link is correctly spelt. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 02:10, 22 June 2018 (UTC)

Jak Silver

The Thieves Den plugin lets you do pirate things, and one of the upgrades adds an NPC named Jak Silver. "Jak" is used a few times in Oblivion (see previous topic) in the place of the real world name "Jack". "Jack" is often used as a nickname for "John", which would make the character's name John Silver, as in "Long" John Silver, the notorious pirate from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Echo (talk) 16:20, 1 September 2018 (UTC)

A Star Trek Reference

The Quest Through A Nightmare, Darkly is named a lot like the Enterprise episodes In a Mirror, Darkly. Here is a link to the episodes: http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/In_a_Mirror,_Darkly_(episode) — Unsigned comment by 98.245.227.230 (talk) at 08:45 on 26 November 2018‎

The phrasing has already been accepted as referencing a Bible verse. --Xyzzy ^Talk 03:48, 27 November 2018 (UTC)

Both are a reference to the bible verse. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 04:01, 27 November 2018 (UTC)

A Shadow Over Hackdirt double reference?

So the page makes it clear that A Shadow over Hackdirt is a homage to H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Could we also mention how Bethesda published a video game adaptation of that same story, titled "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth", only a few months before Oblivion was released? In fact, the European PC releases of both games happened on the same day: March 24, 2006. 24.167.247.114 17:43, 10 March 2019 (UTC)

It is quite certain there could be a connection, but since "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth" is built on "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" I think it would be a bit like saying that "The Shadow Over Hackdirt" is both a reference to both "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". —MortenOSlash (talk) 20:09, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

No, it would be more like saying that "A Shadow Over Hackdirt" is both a reference to "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and to a video game inspired by "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (as well as "The Shadow Out Of Time") that Bethesda was involved in just prior to Oblivion. "Dark Corners of the Earth" isn't a direct adaptation of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", since it takes a number of liberties with its story, characters, and setting. And while the people at Bethesda are definitely Lovecraft fans, I think it's curious that the Lovecraft story they chose to reference in their game would happen to be the one that they previously released a video game about, and it was the last game they were involved in before Oblivion was released. Either they really, really loved that particular story in late 2005 and early 2006, or they decided to include a homage to their previous game, which just so happens to be based on "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". Either way, I think it deserves some sort of mention on the page, coincidence or not. 24.167.247.114 16:13, 23 March 2019 (UTC)

Actually "Dark Corners of the Earth" was not developed by Bethesda, but the deal with the developers from Headfirst was more or less dropped in their lap from the original publisher, half finished some time around 2003/2004, to finish off and publish. Bethesda just let the developers from Headfirst make a fairly summary finish of development, cutting a lot of intended stuff, and probably cutting a lot beta-testing or similar too. Bethesda released it buggy even for Bethesda standards, leaving it on the market without any patching of known bugs, never to look back at it.

Of course this may still have triggered some interest in the story among the Bethesda staff, but they were publishers, not developers, and as publishers, only halfheartedly so.—MortenOSlash (talk) 00:01, 30 March 2019 (UTC)

I never said Bethesda developed DCOTE. But they still published it, even if it was a last-minute thing. And as you said, the guys at Bethesda could've chosen to design a quest inspired by the game, since it was the most recent game they were involved in to any sort of extent before releasing Oblivion. And since DCOTE is a Lovecraftian game and the guys at BGS are big fans of Lovecraft, they have even more of a reason to give them a shout-out. 24.167.247.114 06:27, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

Black Hand

Black Hand was also the name of the early Mafia in the USA during late 19th century, named for their extortion letters signed with a black hand. — Unsigned comment by 212.129.85.243 (talk) at 20:33 on 24 March 2020 (UTC)

Boris and Shinji being potential Easter eggs

Well let’s start with Boris from oblivion, in the 2002 British film snatch there is a character named Boris the blade, who wields a sword like Boris does, Boris is also an ex kgb agent and I feel the blades in oblivion are like the real kgb and cia so I feel like somebody who worked at Bethesda during development of oblivion was a fan of the movie and put Boris in. I feel like Gaiden shinji is a reference to shadow ninja Gaiden , an old school nes game. Nerevarinein2020 (talk) 02:18, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Shinji was introduced in Arena so any potential reference would be for Arena:Easter Eggs. —⁠Legoless (talk) 02:51, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Vahtacen, or "How to accomplish nothing"

The Quest at Vahtacen [1] requires one to speak with Skaleel[2], who wonders around remonstrating with herself that this is a waste of her precious talent. Having a little skill in the German language, I automatically pronounced this name as "fart-arson". In Australia (my homeland) the compound word we spell "fart-arsing" could be pronounced with dropped consonants, such as "fart-ars'n" and means indulging in useless play that either causes trouble, achieves nothing, or both. I laughed out loud when I connected the name to the quest while playing through the first time... and every other time! I'm surprised nobody else has caught on to this on these pages so I thought I'd add it. --Jarrah D'Ladd (talk) 04:14, 3 November 2021 (UTC)

Given that Oblivion is an English language game and the NPCs pronounce their Vs and Rs in typical American fashion, I don't see this as intentional. It's vat-a-sen, not fart-arsing. —⁠Legoless (talk) 14:18, 3 November 2021 (UTC)

Possible cold war reference

During the weapons shipment quest for the fighters guild one of the NPCs may say "The only good goblin is a dead golbin. I like dead goblins" The first sentence was an anticommunist slogan during the cold war. — Unsigned comment by 178.143.35.244 (talk) at 00:38 on 18 December 2021‎

I can't find any easily accessible evidence that that phrase originated with anticommunist movements. Even if there was a source, the phrase has been used quite a lot in popular culture since then for various purposes that I don't think we could call it easily. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 13:00, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

Again, another LotR reference

In the quest "A Brotherhood Betrayed, you come across "Gelebourne's Journal" It's name is derived from the husband of the elvenqueen Galadriel "Celeborn". --Eroldin (talk) 12:37, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

I don't see the connection. unless there is more evidence than what is presented here, I don't see how "Gelebourne" is an easter egg referencing "Celeborn". --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 12:58, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

Plaid Shirt

Its model name refers to it as a Hobbit shirt — Unsigned comment by Sgt.McHale (talk • contribs) at 06:27 on 11 January 2023 (UTC)

The model name is Shirt_gnd.NIF. The directory path the model is found under includes the hobbit shirt reference (Clothes\MiddleClass\MCShirtHobbit\M\). There's also a directory referencing hobbit pants (Clothes\MiddleClass\MCPantsHobbitBritch\M\). Not sure what can be read into this, though, since the directory path of a NIF model wouldn't be visible in-game. — Wolfborn^(Howl) 07:03, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

Red Rackham reference?

So there's a Redguard woman named Dahlia Rackham who sells you upgrades for Dunbarrow Cove. I have a hunch that her name and race combination are a reference to an older Tintin comic called "Red Rackham's Treasure". --Puppetpalclem (talk) 19:02, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

Monkey Island reference?

In Fort Urasek, when I opened the door to the Marauders, they were fighting with some goblins. I *think* one of the Marauders said "You fight like a cow!" There was a lot going on and I was doing my best to not die, so I cannot say with confidence that I heard it clearly. But I figure someone has parsed out the full dialogue file of every NPC in the game, and can confirm as to whether or not this is a possible piece of dialogue.

If it is, it's very much a reference to the Monkey Island series of games.

https://monkeyisland.fandom.com/wiki/Insult_Sword_Fighting

76.27.187.110 14:21, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Sorry, but that is not a dialogue line in Oblivion. You probably heard "Ha ha ha! You move like a pregnant cow!" --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 14:39, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Easter Eggs from the Files

Are easter eggs from the files (so, not necessarily visible in-game) allowed on the page? Because there are a ton.

• The short britches and plaid shirt are referred to in their texture and model files (and made to look like) Hobbit clothing.
• There's an unused topic simply bearing the name "Gandalf" which reads "Tell me everything. I want to understand.", I do not know if that line is also taken from Tolkien, I'm not versed in his works.
• The Mace of Doom and its related enchantment both bear the abbreviation "LOTR" in their internal name, and I presume the name refers to Mount Doom.
• There's also the test NPC Boromir.

And besides LOTR references, there's also;

• The Princess Bride, having test NPCs named Count Tyrone Rugen, Inigo Montoya, and Prince Humperdinck.
• Willow with the test NPC Madmartigan.
• Multiple test characters named after Conan the Barbarian.
• The test character Dewey Decimal, whom I presume to be named after the Dewey Decimal System.
• Another archer test character named Hawkeye, like... you know, the comic book charcacter.