Can you beat Oblivion without gaining any experience?

I feel like I was a bit mean to Baurus in this video. Not as mean as he was to the Emperor, though...
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Music used (in order of appearance):
TESIV: Oblivion - Reign of the Septims
TESIII: Morrowind - Caprice
TESIV: Oblivion - Minstrel's Lament
TESIV: Oblivion - Dusk at the Market
TESIV: Oblivion - March of the Marauders
TESIV: Oblivion - Harvest Dawn
TESIII: Morrowind - The Road Most Travelled
TESIV: Oblivion - Auriel's Ascension
TESV: Skyrim - Far Horizons
TESIII: Morrowind - Peaceful Waters
Old School Runescape - Beneath the Kingdom
TESIV: Oblivion - Sunrise of Flutes
TESV: Skyrim - Ancient Stones
TESV: Skyrim - Secunda
Old School Runescape - The Guardians Prepare
Old School Runescape - A Forgotten Religion
Old School Runescape - The Seed of the Cryws
TESIV: Oblivion - Fall of the Hammer
Old School Runescape - Mor Ul Rek
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Farron Woods
TESIII: Morrowind - Nerevar Rising
#elderscrolls
#oblivion
#challenge

[@joshuawiener5003]

You cheated, bud. By playing this game, you gained experience. The experience of gaming, that is. As such, I cannot accept this run in good faith.

[@Catman_CM]

Oh no, he didn't specify "in game"!

[@runningchief]

He will now have to persist in the doomed world he has created

[@theccarbiter]

You can’t gain experience from the same game twice tho

[@Catman_CM]

@@theccarbiter Sure you can, as long as you don't play it the same way. I guarantee JBN had never played Oblivion without gaining XP before, so he had to learn new strategies and tactics; in other words, he experienced a completely different game from any other playthrough. The plot and story beats were the same, but the challenges were unique to this run.

[@theccarbiter]

@@Catman_CM it’s a joke bro chill

[@AerinSwift]

"I’m going to get up in a minute and walk out of here. That guy in the corner behind me will follow me. You follow him. I will follow you. Remember, I’ve trained for this kind of follow thing my whole life!"

[@munitiondragon69]

"I will follow him. Follow him wherever heeee may goooo..."

[@operator8014]

I'm going to get up and walk out of your cell. That emperer over there will follow me. You follow him.

[@eatshytforlife8751]

*Proceeds to immediately spring from the chair ragdolling all over the room.

[@Leeloo-Foxx]

"remember.... dont screw the fucking broads!"

[@asiblingproduction]

so dont fu 'n screw the broads

[@versebuchanan512]

"Martin, we have to save the Empire!" "What are your skills?" "Literally? Nothing. At all." "...you mean-" "Not a fucking thing, man."

[@Dsmky117]

only a gamer could appreciate that clanfears are the phlog pyros of oblivion

[@scrittle]

Haha, infinite stun loop go brr

[@kingdavey90]

Dang it, I'm not a real gamer..

[@TheMustardisbad]

That sewer level was used as a demo to show off things such as physics and lighting for the game. Which is why there are strangely placed traps in it

[@SeanORaigh]

The idea of Steven Seagall making a deal with Clavicus Vile certainly explains his acting career.

[@Hohenstein1871]

No, Steven Seagall is a deadric lord himself, Clavicus Vile just managed to get Seagalls deadric artifact (probally while he was sitting in a chair).

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

What was the bargain then? "You get an acting career" But the art of bullshido doesn't train you in reading small print, and down there it says "quality of the works acted in are up to Clavicus Vile's decision" And the good old daedric prince decided that it would be a great joke to produce the same direct to video movie a hundred times.

[@JarethS]

Vampirism in Oblivion is never the right choice, JBN. Never. Except when it is.

[@arifhossain9751]

A masochist's favorite way to play Oblivion

[@dollarestoreoffbrand5545]

​@arifhossain9751 it's not masochism if my strength goes up by 40, it's masochism if I can't cary 10 short swords

[@et34t34fdf]

@@arifhossain9751 I actually love it, after maxing out skills like acrobatics, and attribues, you can push them beyond 100, which can be worth it.

[@Spellweaver5]

Vampirism is basically survival mode.

[@Artemicion321]

I remember playing Oblivion for the first time. Completely glossing over the "sleep to level" up thing. Went through the entire game wondering why my character level never went up. Slept, gained a dozen or more levels, and had quite the whiplash as the random scamps turned into Minotaurs.

[@Elden-Nigga]

Learn to read

[@udozocklein6023]

yep, the oblivion experience haha

[@somehoodedguy]

Same here and even after I figured that out I didn't know how the major skills worked so I only leveled up to level 7 😂😂

[@EddieSpaghetti69]

I had a similar experience; except my stupid 14 year brain figured *it was a bug and I was stuck.* I made a new char, picked different abilities because "lul I'm a ninja!" and proceeded to do the *very same thing* I did before. No, you cannot beat Minotaurs as "a ninja" and not understanding how char stats worked I was confused on easy. Same general thing happened in Morrowind except I got lucky and *figured out spells* which make you beyond overpowered. Oblivion requires more finesse; more work but a similar payoff.

[@SomeoneYouDontKnowOfficial]

Gonna be honest, I'm very tired and about to go to bed but when I saw this video, I thought the viewer count said "2B views" as in 2 billion and I just thought "Wow!!! Glad to see you're finally getting close to the recognition you deserve!" I figured out a few seconds later that it was "28 views" but we can dream I suppose

[@HereticalKitsune]

In the 20 minutes since then it's up to 1572 views, so not too bad!

[@arifhossain9751]

"1 second and 2 billion views, fell off"

[@DargorShepard]

I like some 2B views... Imma edit that out.

[@adralimus]

@@HereticalKitsune in 3 hours it's up to 8286

[@marclaw9479]

sooooon

[@ryanwebb1552]

Reading the title, i thought you were going to mod out the ability to gain exp. This was infinitely more convoluted and entertaining

[@mr.cauliflower3536]

I knew this would be it because I watched enough challenge runs.

[@skaboney]

I really liked when he visited Desktop for the 35th time. Thank you Todd, very cool.

[@AlexGoesBoom280]

Desktop is my favorite Bethesda dungeon.

[@magnetsphere2872]

Especially with no cursor

[@Resursator]

I wonder if playing the game on old hardware helps with stability of the game. I've heard, that it does..

[@vodkavecz]

"The next stop is.... the desktop." Goddamn that was good :D

[@pe4enie401]

that caught me so offguard 🤣

[@darthplagueis13]

Fun fact: The whole "priests not being allowed to shed blood" thing had major implications for how the medical profession developed in the middle ages. Basically, what happened was that you got two different types of medical professionals. Doctors and Surgeons. Doctors studied medicine at the universities, but because early universities were religious institutions, studying medicine meant becoming a cleric and therefore taking a vow to not spill blood. Thus, a doctor could only treat his patients by administering medication and giving recommendations on how a patient should live, what they should eat, etc. Surgeons on the other hand weren't part of academia at all and just learned their skills through an apprenticeship. They technically started out as barbers, presumably because that job already involved treating people with a sharp blade, though you would sometimes also have other people such as executioners and nurses offering surgical services. Surgeons would operate on patients but weren't allowed to prescribe medication. So you've got this interesting situation where depending on what ailed you, you'd seek the services of two completely separate fields. If you caught a disease, you'd call for a doctor, but if you suffered an injury, you'd ask for a surgeon. A doctor might also end up prescribing a bloodletting session (based on their study of Galens teachings of the four humors) which you might then have to visit a surgeon for, because the doctor wasn't allowed to touch the red icky stuff.

[@liastaob]

I wonder if that's part of why Surgeons are so separated from General Practitioners today? Obviously they still go to medical school now, but they're very specialized. Although, I suppose if somebody's literally going to cut me open and rummage around inside me, I'd prefer they've done it a few times before...

[@goldensloth7]

cool! thank you for the info!

[@AedanTheGrey]

I didnt see that on wiki. It discussed the elitism of doctors vs surgeon-barbers, as the former considered themselves above such acts. Surgeons were largely because yeah, already slick with a blade so what's some extra cutting? But also: doctors were just as likely to kill/torture you for research purposes! Especially in the industrial revolution. They paid graverobbers, picked up strays on the streets, and kept other patients for no real reason but their own cruel egos. So why risk that when surgeon-barbers are mostly gonna know how not to kill you and be less likely to have any reason to cause unnecessary suffering. Otherwise solid info! Cool to see this acknowledged more!

[@rowmacnezumi8953]

Fun fact: holding your weapon out lowers everyone's disposition when you talk to them.

[@kulrigalestout]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1838">30:38</a> One day my dad decided I wasn't getting enough exercise, so he tricked me into going to the park with him to visit the RC airfield in hopes of seeing a crash. Eventually I noticed he left without me this time (usually only took a few minutes of not seeing a crash for him to get bored and want to leave), so I started walking back home. On my way I watched a fluffy, wooly caterpillar cross the road. Almost got run over a few times, and once I thought for sure the poor guy biffed it because it stopped moving for an entire minute after a SUV passed. But nope; took almost half an hour, but our hero managed to crawl all 20 feet to the other side. I decided to celebrate its victory with a 2lb hot pocket and 80oz mountain dew. God bless pre-"Supersize Me" America. That caterpillar is long dead, I am the only person who ever took notice of its struggles in life, and I don't even know for sure if it grew into a butterfly or was promptly eaten by a squirrel who was run over ten minutes later in a tragic waste of two lives. But it was a beautiful moment to bear witness to, one that I will treasure and fondly remember from time to time. I'm sure someone who thinks gooder than me can find some profound lesson in the caterpillar's quest to cross the road beyond the obvious platitudes about determination. Or someone with a melancholic outlook will find some lesson in futility, who knows. All I know is a bug crossed a road and for a moment; someone cared.

[@liastaob]

Sorry your dad left you alone in a park! That's not cool.

[@Oddigan]

80oz pop bottles? I know 3 liter bottles (101.4oz) are still around, but I've never heard of 80oz.

[@rileywalton7507]

You can get another free horse by talking to Prior Mabel at Weynon Priory after giving Jaufree the amulet

[@soupstoreclothing]

it's soooo slow tho. but faster than walking speed. i had a character that could regular run faster than that horse though it drove me mad

[@DuncansWildEscapes]

He let's you borrow it but it walks back when you get off it

[@rileywalton7507]

@soupstoreclothing it's definitely a horse for a level 1 character. Bethesda absolutely expects you to go straight to Weynon Prior right after the tutorial.

[@ketuiji]

@@soupstoreclothingyou can cast a speed spell on horses

[@LonarYolhala]

One of my favorite obscure spell tricks in Oblivion was water walking for X amount of time on Target. Then I'd cast it on my horse and ride across water. It was rarely useful but it looked really cool, so I enjoyed it. Bonus fact: Ruma Camoran is oddly named, as ruma means "ugly" in finnish. Go figure.

[@drewtaylor6919]

That NPC's "Hello there!" After you had to struggle against the sun to get to his house. That got me good 😂

[@kirti3839]

Oh this is just what I needed rn. Thank you for constantly uploading such comforting content

[@Lewid93]

The way I see it, as in real life, books can give you knowledge of how to do something, but to gain experience you really gotta DO the thing. So realistically, no XP was gained. Run valid.

[@loud_gooning]

no

[@Lewid93]

@@loud_gooning no

[@cheese3764]

Realistically, this run is impossible

[@oblivion1924]

​@@cheese3764he could have just not read the books. Like he said, he did not need to read them, but he didn't realize that until he eas editing.

[@cheese3764]

@@oblivion1924 I don't say it invalidates run, yes, he fucked up, but that's it

[@oathkeeperofoblivion972]

There's exactly one use for the spell tomes dlc. It has certain exclusive effects, like fortify skill

[@insertusername9755]

Fortify skill is not exclusive, you can get it from standing stone and make your own. Summon bear is. Some effects also have stronger effects than normal, like drain hp 250 pts. Normally max is 100.

[@oathkeeperofoblivion972]

@@insertusername9755 ah. My bad. Didn't know you could get fortify skill vanilla, but still, you can get exclusive/hard to get effects.

[@syrelian]

@@insertusername9755 I didn't know getting it from a Standing Stone Greater Power gave you spell craft access, funky

[@turtlesandwich77]

Iirc it was to introduce Skyrim's system ahead of its release, or at least that's what I heard

[@XAWZ]

Someday I'll finally get the Summon Bear tome. Has to be the coolest effect added by Spell Tomes DLC. I've never come across it though.

[@Alicehastur]

"thank you Martin for opening this DOOR" I love how this still pisses you off

[@JustBackgroundNoise]

There aren't many hills I'll die on. But this is one of them.

[@Dovah_Slayer]

I mean tbf the word portal can mean door as by definition it's a doorway, gate, or other entrance, especially a large and imposing one

[@Donuts8]

God this must have been torture to play. I found out recently through another Oblivion video that you can skip Sancre Tor by having enough healing magic/potions and a staff or spell to blast the armor you need off the pedestal and close enough to you to pick up.

[@austinclements8010]

HE NEVER LEARNED A DAY IN HIS LIFEEE

[@liastaob]

Except that time he read four books all at once for no reason at all...

[@jerensteinbear]

I always love finding a channel that I can confidently hit the like button on before I've even watched the video.

[@caytfeash7553]

horse riding is a weird combination of consoling a large dog and athleticism in my experience

[@fareastslav]

What dog

[@DQBlizzard_]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1423">23:43</a> " _Egg salad_ "

[@oathkeeperofoblivion972]

Oh! Theres a trick to oblivion lockpicking. There are several different animations the game will cycle through. The one that lets you (somewhat) consistently get through is always the one right after the fastest animation.

[@pinheadgringo]

I've always done it through audio cues, the slow (succeed) and fast (fail) animations make different sounds

[@kennykrool74]

Fun fact, Clavicus vile is voiced by Todd Howard

[@katzenkampf]

no, he aint

[@TehTechnoMiser]

@@katzenkampf I also thought this was complete BS, but it's actually 100% true. Todd voiced Clavicus Vile in Oblivion.

[@cheese3764]

So, we have access to audio file of Clavicus Vile saying "it just works"?

[@TehTechnoMiser]

@@cheese3764 In a just and kind world, we would

[@Reac2]

Todd Howard IS Clavicus Vile

[@neoqwerty]

"How many videogame horses don't operate like cars anyway?" One. One horse. Agro will not listen to Wander's steering attempts, you must go where the horse desires.

[@sunshowers3838]

That does have the pleasant side-effect of making her a lot easier to shoot from, especially during combat. Good horsie.

[@1thevm1]

Fun fact - the Conjurer is a bit of a meme in the Oblivion community, especially with hardcore mods that turn him into a raid boss, so from the moment you start the game, you'll be racing against the clock to gain enough power and cheese to take him down when he inevitably finds you, or manage to give him the slip 😂

[@gibkl4837]

Mr. Bean speedrun: bumps into the main quest, accidentally kills enemies, keeps gesticulating wherever he goes

[@berrie-nice-to-meet-you]

"oh that's a neat idea. Oh wait. That's going to be a pain. A whole lotta pain"

[@annabellerice839]

Four random levels be damned, this was remarkably impressive.

[@JetSetStarfall]

This is honestly one of your best videos, homie. Great work all around.

[@plurpworp3236]

man, i just gotta say, this channel was an absolute GEM to find, the mixture of childhood nostalgia games with the modern challenge video format is just PERFECT!

[@scottmiller2785]

Get super jazzed every time I see one of your videos pop up, haven't finished video yet, but love it!

[@hobbyist518]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2068">34:28</a> Wow, that scamp has some moves. Crazy what the development team of this game focused on, no matter how sick.

[@Beriorn]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2155">35:55</a> Oh hey Todd, didn't expect to hear you here.

[@ZergrushEddie]

Thank you, Martin, for opening this *DOOR* ^_^

[@SkyBlueFox1]

Man... I replayed Oblivion literally just last year, around this time, and watching this video is already making me want to do it all over again. All it took was the music kicking in at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="345">5:45</a> and immediately my braincells started firing lmao EDIT: Aaaand immediately you have your first crash a few minutes after that. God, that's a mood and a half - I think a lot of people might underestimate just how disruptive the crashing really is. Anyway, super-interesting run! The idea of trying to literally never gain EXP is a really neat choice for a game like TES, and because of how wonky Oblivion's level-scaling is, I think the challenge works a lot better this way (compared to, like, getting a no-EXP mod or something like that).

[@pzyko21]

My god, Oblivion is beautiful. Amazing. It just works

[@po0peater]

I love that paralysing animation, gotta play the game again just because of it

[@araksi7404]

man i appreciate the captions sm

[@moom81]

the pet vampire line got a genuine lol outta me, great video

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Why do I feel like the Oblivion gates are the perfect moment for a classic Dark Souls edge drop.

[@themystic8634]

I absolutely love your sense of humour. This video in particular had me laughing the whole time.

[@aunraza3678]

I love your personality, humor, and creativity! Like many others in my life, you have inspired me to think ahead of the curve and in ways to utilize the fullest potential of Morrowind/Oblivion.

[@ketuiji]

glazing

[@ZacharyDavidMartyn]

The only way to ensure this is a zero experience run is to remove your frontal lobe via lobotomy

[@aza8800]

Im so excited to see another Oblivion video, I hope you do more oblivion! There's such a charm about the game

[@BritaniaLives]

Poor Baurus catching pot shots all run lol

[@0d3X]

I hope you never run out of wild ideas to bring to video form. Fantastic entertaiment ❤

[@zeonos]

been watching elder scrolls challenges lately and the one thing they all got in common is the crashing, be it oblivion or skyrim, moddem or modless.

[@KingOfTheCows]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="746">12:26</a> The little "Oh, hello" really killed me, idk why xD

[@BlazeIsBack323]

I was expecting a kenshi video, but was not disappointed when I saw the oblivion title

[@skulblaka965]

The "I'm about to zero-sum" bit absolutely sent me lmao

[@TheTolnoc]

Reading a skill book isn't gaining experience, it's gaining a level.

[@KimJongBeIllinDaily]

Man, I always love when you upload. Thanks for the entertainment.

[@TheComputer-km3mc]

"What school do you study?" and then "Chiropractic" killed me

[@soupstoreclothing]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1660">27:40</a> made me laugh. that zoom in on the "oblivion has stopped working" got me good.

[@BobbyBlackhearts666]

While working I need Just Background Noise to listen to. I was searching a bit and saw this video in the recommends. Your puns are delectable, your way of speech and voice is pleasant to listen to. It was a pleasure listening to this video, and I'm going to go on to watch/listen more! Thank you for your work!

[@TeamMunky]

Nice to see this video gain 3k views since I opened it, this channel's challenge runs puts it at the top of my favourite content creators right now. This level of perseverance is insane to me, and as someone who grew up playing all these games it's wild seeing the self-imposed restrictions people endure for entertainment

[@Yawimaya]

Perfect timing, I just got done cooking.

[@daskampffredchen9242]

Spell Tomes also added some new cool spells so it isnt completly useless One even lets you conjour a bear

[@youtubecommenter2527]

Mehrunes' packing some serious heat. It's at least 12 feet long.

[@sergiulykaa]

i swear to god, ur vids help me sleep, i really use ur videos as background noise at night, then rewatch it by day

[@hawkticus_history_corner]

I have hundreds of hours in Oblivion and I never knew about the Order of the Virtuous Blood quest. Neat. Also, if you ever do another Oblivion run, you may want to consider the Lord Star if you don't know what you want. The heal power it gives is kinda crazy.

[@DepressedSkorpion]

Zombies are actually weakness to lightning, not fire. Common misconception.

[@gravity056]

Random Korend Underground music in the middle of the video. Love it.

[@benjaminharmon6541]

"We return to the Priory with Martin" How hard could it be--oh. Oh I can't say it either.

[@MarkusManon]

That wet paint joke at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="734">12:14</a> should not have gotten me as good as it did

[@n0vitski]

Btw, it maybe because of the patch or something, but when I played Oblivion as a kid, Martin only cared about whether the gates are closed or not. Even though his dialogue sounds like he wants us to expell daedra from the city, he would always go with meto Jauffrey as soon as the gates were closed. The keep quest is a side, when I played the first time as a kid, I even missed it.

[@TheSprinkler]

the power lunge definitely seems to be quicker than walking

[@zswords]

Half AFK in runescape listening to this video when catacombs of kourend started to play really through me for a loop.

[@Kryptnyt]

"You didn't grow, you didn't improve..."

[@PrdnemTiUusta]

This is exactly the kind of Oblivion content I never knew I needed in my life.. tyvm sir for making this. It calms and fulfils my inner autism and gives me peace and enjoyment.

[@t.d.3803]

That run looked painful, thank you for your sacrifice so that we may be entertained.

[@Gensolink]

dont worry hippos dont need to swim when they can RUN UNDERWATER

[@KramerWaifu]

Another absolute BANGER video. Great work man. I certainly don't have the patience or skill for a run like this and it's so sick to see.

[@brandonc5074]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1094">18:14</a> ive watched this twice and i only just got that joke, its really good.

[@alioncosmic]

Looking forward to the adventure of this sad, Habsburg-esque Nord. Edit: Ea-nasir!

[@Spellweaver5]

Honestly? A spell to fold people in half would be quite neat.

[@pelimies1818]

Horseriding does not require as much athletical input as driving a Lada.

[@kitsuneprincess4637]

"What school did you study?" "Chiropractic." "I meant magic." "I did too!" 😂😂😂

[@cadencenavigator958]

With that guy in the cage at the top of the tower, there should be a lever around on the floor that opens the bottom. Usually there's no floor directly beneath, so whoever's in there falls all the way to the bottom.

[@mrwheezer2420]

"Drawing from real life lore, history as its called" 💀💀

[@akuro6470]

i loved the contempt in your voice when calling the portal a door

[@magesticalmysterium6856]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="712">11:52</a> I love the Morrowind Reference there. Lol, Your Rest has been Interrupted *Dagger Rasps from Sheath* "You N'Wah!"

[@TheOriginalElkstone]

It's crazy that there weren't any safety saves before the books were read to redo

[@JustBackgroundNoise]

There were, but I didn't notice until the very end of the run.

[@Thr4kus]

Solid Bosmer burn with the Green Pact reference.

[@thecuza9716]

"It feels faster" is why I deliberately turn off any kind of "run by default" or "toggle between walking and running" option in games and just hold down the run button constantly.

[@jumpyspiderlady8454]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1038">17:18</a> struck me as so funny. Had a good chuckle. Thanks

[@ashsattva]

Dang, one of the more challenging runs just by how much of the core design of the game has to be worked around in order to beat the challenge, well done!

[@bluediskentertainment]

I don't think I can fall asleep to Oblivion.

[@pedrofalquetoaquino]

My man Baurus got roasted every minute

[@jiimbv]

Yayyy more JBN Oblivion!

[@MishraArtificer]

JBlivioN!

[@MrMoridinalthor]

You let the emperor die one time and you never hear the end of it.

[@teneksi7803]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1808">30:08</a> eloquent and thoughtful way to say 'touch grass'

[@syrelian]

Re: Spell Tomes, largely they were added because there is no easy way to move Upward through spell schools that isn't Just Buying New Spells(which was often quite pricy) or Crafting(which is pricy AND investment heavy), since unlike gear, enemies prior did not drop learnable spells, aside from that, they have some unique spell-effects you couldn't find in shops prior(no wholesale new effect types though iirc, so spellcraft didn't get any winners), and a numerous supply of new spells that are just like, mid-stages between the really abrupt jumps the base game spells MP costs, or some more unique combinations of effects (they're DLC for ostensibly REALLY STUPID REASONS, blame Microsoft's update policy at the time apparently)

[@supabass4003]

Todd Howard is taking notes for the next TES.

[@AriasArius]

Great video in my time of need! Watching this while my sinuses explode