Most quests in require you to stumble upon them one way or another. You have to murder someone to get access to the , for instance, and you need to join the or if you want access to their questlines. In Skingrad, one of the provinces' major cities, you'll run across an especially sinister quest full of intrigue.
Paranoia, as it's called, is a fantastic adventure that can diverge in a number of interesting directions. In this guide, I'll show you how to get started and the various ways you can complete the quest while also making a healthy amount of gold in the process.
How to start Paranoia in Oblivion Remastered
Shortly after entering Skingrad for the first time, a furtive wood elf called Glarthir will approach you and ask you to meet him behind the town's Great Chapel of Julianos at midnight. This will start the Paranoia quest, with no further work needed, so make your way over to the chapel and wait for the meeting.
Upon chatting to Glarthir, you'll instantly realise that there's something not right about him. He believes that everyone else in town is in on a conspiracy against him. He knows too much, he says. He tasks you with following different people around the town and reporting to him each night, letting him know whether his suspicions are correct or not.
If this sounds like something you don't want to get involved with, you can turn him down and complete the quest. However, this will result in him grabbing a battleaxe and attempting to kill the person he asked you to tail, Bernadette Peneles.
You can also report Glarthir to the guards, but they'll be unable to do anything for now. They will, however, shed some light on Glarthir, telling you that his mental state has been concerning the townspeople for a while.
Tailing Bernadette, Toutious Sexius, and Davide Surilie
If you decide to help Glarthir, he'll tell you to wait outside of his house at 6AM. He believes that Bernadette surveils his home at this time, so go to Glarthir's house opposite the Two Sisters Lodge, wait until 6 and, like an undercover cop, keep watch. Alternatively, you can also just skip following her and report to Glarthir, telling him that either she is or isn't spying on him.
If you follow Bernadette, it becomes clear that she isn't spying on him. She goes to the chapel, but that's about it. You may overhear people talking about Glarthir, but they seem to express a mix of concern and fear, rather than wanting him harmed. It would appear that Glarthir's simply being paranoid about [[link]] his neighbour. If you want to be an agent of chaos, you can lie and tell him that she is, indeed, following him. Regardless of which option you choose, Glarthir will reward you with 150 gold.
The next job is to follow Toutious Sexius. Once again, you can either follow your quest marker to Toutious' house and wait, then follow him, or simply skip time until the following evening.
However, at this point, Dion, the guard captain, will approach you and ask why you're interested in Glarthir, the local eccentric. He'll tell you that [[link]] Glarthir is potentially dangerous and that you shouldn't be working with him, then ask you to report to the guards if he tasks you with anything strange. Apparently stalking doesn't count for this, though.
It may shock you to learn that Toutious isn't stalking Glarthir either. Once again, you can either lie and tell Glarthir that he is rightly suspicious or tell him the truth. If you tell him the truth, Glarthir will express some scepticism, even hinting at the idea that you might be betraying him, but will still pay you.
After this, Glarthir gives you one last assignment, to follow Davide Surilie, who he believes is the group's ringleader. As with the other targets, Davide isn't spying on Glarthir. However, be warned here that honesty may not be the best policy; if you've told Glarthir the truth so far, and do so here as well, he will attack you, and you'll have to kill him.
Should you help Glarthir murder the accused?
If you lie about Davide, and/or have lied about any of the others, Glarthir will give you one more task: taking care of them. He will give you a note titled "list of death", telling you to kill the named individuals for a reward. It's worth stating here that you get a big reward from Glarthir for carrying out the contract killings; 1000 gold. That's enough to make any hero question their ethics.
However, there are other options, for those whose morals remain undaunted. You can take the list and inform a guard, who will then chase down and kill Glarthir for you. You can also take the note to either of the Surilie brothers if they are on the list, who will then take justice into their own hands.
For those who are interested in serving the Night Mother as a member of the Dark Brotherhood, however, it's worth noting that any of Glarthir's targets count as innocent NPCs, making their deaths count as murders and making Lucian Lachance pay you a visit.
Note: Rob Glarthir's house once he's dead
You can still make a huge heap of coin from Glarthir, even if you choose to kill him yourself, rat him out to the guards, or tell the Surilie brothers about his attempted hits if they're on the list.
Once Glarthir is dead, one way or another, search his body and take his house key. Use this [[link]] to access his house, right near Bernadette Peneles' home. Turn right on entering and search in the basket near the door to find 800 gold. It's worth searching the rest of his house, too, as there are a host of other valuable items for you to pick your way through and later flip. No one ever said that being morally correct (sort of) had to come at the price of your purse.