To join the Mages Guild in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, follow these steps:
- Visit any major city in Cyrodiil that has a Mages Guild hall (all major cities except the Imperial City and Kvatch have one).
- Speak to the head of the Mages Guild in that city and ask to join. You will be accepted immediately as long as you have no bounty on your head
Once you join, you will receive a Mages Guild Charter and a key to the guild halls. You can then take items from the guild halls for sale, except for some privately owned items. To gain full access to the Arcane University in the Imperial City and advance in the guild ranks, you need to earn recommendation letters from the heads of all seven Mages Guild halls by completing their individual quests. These quests involve tasks such as recovering lost items, investigating crimes, and helping guild members. After collecting all seven recommendations, return to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University to be officially welcomed and promoted to Apprentice rank with access to spellmaking and enchanting facilities
. Summary:
- Talk to any Mages Guild leader in a major city and ask to join.
- Complete recommendation quests for all seven guild halls.
- Return to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University to gain full membership and access.
This process is straightforward but completing all recommendations can take some time as each city has its own quest
