Oblivion Remastered Character Creation goes far beyond simple visual customization — it forms the mechanical backbone that shapes how your hero fights, progresses, survives, and engages with the province of Cyrodiil. While the remaster enhances the interface and visual fidelity, it faithfully preserves the deep role-playing systems that defined the original experience.
Below is a comprehensive breakdown of each core system and strategic guidance to help you make informed decisions from the very beginning.
Race & Origin: Choosing Your Foundation
Your first major choice is your race. Each race includes:
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Base attribute bonuses
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Skill bonuses
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Unique racial abilities or resistances
Examples of strong racial identities:
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Bretons – High magic resistance and strong spellcasting potential
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Nords – Durable frontline fighters with frost resistance
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Redguards – Excellent stamina and melee efficiency
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Khajiit – Agile stealth specialists
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Argonians – Poison resistance and underwater breathing
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High Elves (Altmer) – Highest magicka pool but lower durability
In the remaster, Origins provide lore-based background variations. Unlike older systems, gender no longer affects stats — it influences appearance only.
Strategic Advice
Pick a race that complements your intended playstyle. While any race can succeed in any role, synergy makes early progression smoother and more forgiving.
Appearance & Body Customization
The remaster significantly improves facial modeling and lighting. You can adjust:
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Facial structure (jaw, cheekbones, brow depth)
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Eye shape and spacing
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Nose and mouth proportions
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Skin tone and age
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Hair, facial hair, and complexion
Body type selection no longer impacts stats.
Important: Before leaving the tutorial sewers, you receive one final opportunity to redesign your character completely. After that, changes require PC console commands.
Birthsigns: Permanent Passive Power
Birthsigns provide permanent bonuses or daily-use powers. They are one of the most impactful early decisions.
Notable examples:
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The Warrior – +10 Strength and +10 Endurance
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The Mage – Large magicka boost without drawbacks
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The Thief – +10 Agility, Speed, and Luck
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The Atronach – Massive magicka and spell absorption, but no natural regeneration
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The Lady – Endurance and Willpower boost
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The Shadow – Daily invisibility power
Beginner Recommendations
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Melee builds: The Warrior
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Magic builds: The Mage
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Advanced players: The Atronach (high reward, high management)
Birthsigns cannot be changed later, so choose carefully.
Class Selection: The Core of Leveling
Classes determine how your character progresses.
Each class contains:
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A specialization (Combat, Magic, or Stealth)
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Two favored attributes
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Seven Major Skills
You level up when your Major Skills increase by a combined total of 10 points.
Preset Classes
There are 21 predefined classes covering archetypes like:
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Warrior
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Mage
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Thief
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Spellsword
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Assassin
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Nightblade
Preset classes are ideal for beginners who want structured progression.
Custom Classes (Recommended for Advanced Players)
Custom classes allow full control. You select:
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Specialization
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Two favored attributes
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Seven Major Skills
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Class name
Strategic tip: Avoid choosing constantly-used passive skills (like Athletics) as Major Skills. They can cause you to level too quickly, making enemies scale faster than your combat effectiveness improves.
Balanced builds often include:
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One primary combat skill
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One armor skill
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One support or magic skill
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Utility skills (Alchemy, Speechcraft, Security)
Understanding Level Scaling
Oblivion uses skill-based leveling:
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Use skills → skills increase
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Increase Major Skills 10 times → level up
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Level up → choose attribute increases
Attribute bonuses depend on how many related skills improved before leveling.
Efficient leveling requires planning, though the remaster smooths out some of the harsher scaling issues of the original version.
Specialist vs Hybrid Builds
You generally choose between two philosophies:
Specialist
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Focus on one combat method
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Strong early performance
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Easier resource management
Hybrid
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Mix melee, magic, and/or stealth
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Greater flexibility
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Slower peak power
Popular hybrid examples:
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Battlemage (Blade + Heavy Armor + Destruction)
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Stealth Archer (Marksman + Sneak + Light Armor)
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Illusion Assassin (Sneak + Illusion + Blade)
Final Checklist Before Locking In
Before exiting the sewers:
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Confirm Major Skills match your real playstyle
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Ensure your birthsign supports your build
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Consider early-game survivability
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Double-check your appearance
Character creation in Oblivion Remastered remains one of the deepest RPG systems available. Every choice — race, birthsign, class, and skill selection — shapes your long-term power curve and roleplaying identity.