In Oblivion, persuasion works through a minigame that involves selecting dialogue options to influence an NPC's disposition toward you. Here's how it functions:
- When you initiate persuasion, a wheel appears divided into four sections representing four actions: Admire, Joke, Boast, and Coerce
- Each NPC reacts differently to these actions with one of four feelings: Love, Like, Dislike, or Hate, which you can gauge by their facial expressions when you hover over each option
- The wheel's sections have wedges of varying sizes that act as multipliers for the effect of each action; larger wedges amplify the disposition change, while smaller wedges reduce it
- You must select each of the four actions exactly once per persuasion attempt. Each selection causes the wheel to rotate a quarter turn clockwise, changing the wedge sizes' alignment with the actions
- The goal is to end with a net positive disposition gain, so you strategically choose actions the NPC loves or likes when they align with large wedges and save disliked or hated actions for when their wedges are small
- The minigame is timed, and hesitation causes your disposition to decrease, so quick decision-making is essential
- Successfully increasing disposition through persuasion can unlock benefits like better prices, useful information, or new quests. If persuasion alone isn't enough, you can also bribe NPCs to raise their disposition
In summary, persuasion in Oblivion is a strategic minigame where you read NPC reactions, plan your choices to maximize positive effects, and carefully manage the rotation of the persuasion wheel to improve your standing with characters
