The persuasion system in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a mini-game used to increase an NPC's disposition toward you, which can unlock better dialogue options, discounts, or quest information. Here’s how it works and how to succeed:
How Persuasion Works in Oblivion
- Initiating Persuasion: When talking to an NPC, click the persuasion button (a face icon in the original or silhouette with arrows in the remaster) below the dialogue options to start the mini-game
- Disposition: Each NPC has a disposition score (0 to 100) representing how much they like you. Your goal is to increase this score through persuasion
- The Persuasion Wheel: The mini-game presents a circular wheel divided into four segments, each representing one of four actions you can choose: Admire, Boast, Joke, and Coerce
- Facial Cues: NPCs give facial expressions indicating whether they love, like, dislike, or hate each action. Loving an action increases disposition, while hating it decreases disposition
- Selecting Actions: You must select all four actions exactly once per persuasion attempt. Each time you select an action, the wheel rotates clockwise by one quarter turn, changing which segment corresponds to which action
- Strategy: The size of each wedge on the wheel shows the magnitude of the effect (positive or negative). Your goal is to time your selections so that the largest positive wedges align with actions the NPC likes and the smallest negative wedges align with disliked actions
- Time Pressure: The game is timed, and your disposition gradually decreases if you take too long, so you must act quickly
- Bribing Alternative: If persuasion fails or you want to skip the mini-game, you can bribe the NPC to increase their disposition at a cost
Tips for Winning Persuasion
- Quickly hover over each action to observe the NPC’s facial reaction and identify their preferences
- Plan your moves so that hated actions are chosen when their wedge is smallest, and loved actions when their wedge is largest
- Don’t spend too much time; hesitation lowers disposition
- After the first attempt, the game color-codes actions based on the NPC’s affinity, making it easier to choose correctly
In summary, Oblivion’s persuasion mini-game is a timed puzzle where you must tactically select four different actions once each, matching the NPC’s preferences with the size of the effect wedges on a rotating wheel to raise their disposition toward you
