You’re barely out of the Imperial Prison. The sunlight in Cyrodiil is blinding, the bloom lighting is turned up to a questionable degree, and you’ve finally made it to Anvil. You expect epic dragon-slaying or perhaps uncovering a Daedric conspiracy. Instead, you get Arvena Thelas. She’s an elderly Dunmer with a basement full of "pets." This is the start of Oblivion: A Rat Problem, a quest that has become a permanent fixture in the CRPG hall of fame for being simultaneously mundane and deeply weird.
It’s one of the first missions you’ll likely pick up from the Fighters Guild. On the surface, it feels like a classic subversion of the "kill five rats in the cellar" trope that haunted early 2000s gaming. But the Bethesda developers decided to flip the script. In this version, the rats aren't the enemy. They are the victims.
📖 Related: Dark Deception Chapter 5: What Really Happened with the Final Nightmare
Honestly, the first time I played this, I walked into that basement and swung my silver longsword at the first furry thing that moved. Big mistake. You're actually there to protect them. The subversion is clever, but the quest mechanics are where things start to get a bit clunky, especially if you're playing on the original Xbox 360 version or an unmodded PC build in 2026.
What Actually Happens in Oblivion: A Rat Problem?
The setup is simple. Arvena is distraught because something is killing her beloved pet rats. Yes, the same giant rats that tried to gnaw your ankles off in the tutorial sewers. She’s even named them. There’s a specific kind of charm in how The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion treats its NPCs, giving them these bizarre, hyper-fixated hobbies.
When you head downstairs, you find a Starved Mountain Lion. It’s a bit of a shock compared to the usual mudcrabs. Once you kill it, Arvena sends you to find Peryite-worshipper and local hunter Pinarus Inventius. This is where the quest expands from a simple cellar crawl into a bit of detective work around the Gold Coast.
The logic here is that mountain lions shouldn't be in the city. Something is drawing them in. You eventually track the source to a neighbor, Quill-Weave. She’s an Argonian author who has been leaving meat out to lure the rats out of Arvena’s house so she can get some peace and quiet. Instead, she’s been ringing the dinner bell for the local predators.
Why This Quest Still Breaks (And How to Fix It)
Even years later, Oblivion: A Rat Problem is notorious for scripting errors. It’s one of those Elder Scrolls moments where the Radiant AI—the system meant to give NPCs schedules—goes a little haywire.
🔗 Read more: How Many Koroks in BOTW? Why Most Players Give Up (and Why You Should Too)
Sometimes Quill-Weave won't show up behind the house at night. You’ll be crouched behind a flowering bush for three in-game hours, wondering if you missed the window. If she doesn't appear, it’s usually because her AI package got stuck in the Flowing Bowl tavern or she’s pathfinding against a wall in her own home.
Common Glitches and Solutions
If you're stuck, try waiting until exactly 8:00 PM. Stand near the back of Arvena's house, but don't stay too close or you might "spook" the AI script. If you're on PC, you might have to use the console command setstage FGD01Rat 40 just to get the game to recognize you've spotted her. It's frustrating. It's vintage Bethesda.
There's also the issue of the rats themselves. If one of Arvena's "babies" dies during the mountain lion attacks, your reward gets docked. If they all die? Quest failed. Keeping a low-level NPC (even a rat) alive against a mountain lion is a nightmare because the rats have zero self-preservation instincts. They will charge a mountain lion. It’s a bold strategy, but it rarely works out for them.
The Quill-Weave Dilemma: To Snitch or Not?
Once you catch Quill-Weave in the act, she offers you a bribe. Well, not a bribe exactly, but a "reward" for your silence in the form of Acrobatics training.
This is where the role-playing kicks in. Do you tell Arvena the truth?
- If you tell Arvena: She’s happy, you get gold, and your reputation in the Fighters Guild goes up. Quill-Weave, however, will be less than thrilled with you.
- If you lie to Arvena: You keep Quill-Weave’s secret. She gives you a permanent boost to your Acrobatics skill.
From a pure min-maxing perspective, the Acrobatics boost is usually the better call. Gold is easy to find in Cyrodiil. Just go raid a nearby Ayleid ruin and sell some Varla stones. But permanent skill points? Those are precious. However, if you're playing a "lawful good" character, lying to a sweet old lady about her dead pets feels... gross.
Deep Lore: Rats in the Elder Scrolls Universe
It sounds silly to talk about "rat lore," but Bethesda actually puts effort into this. In Morrowind, the first quest for the Fighters Guild in Balmora is literally "Exterminate the Rats." Arvena’s quest is a direct parody of that. It’s a nod to long-time fans saying, "We know the trope, and we're going to mess with you."
Rats in Oblivion are often used as a litmus test for the world's state. When you see them acting strangely, it usually points to a larger ecological or magical disturbance. In this case, it’s just a neighborhood feud, which honestly makes the world feel more lived-in. Not everything has to be about Mehrunes Dagon trying to pull the sky down. Sometimes, it’s just about a lady who likes rodents too much and a neighbor who wants to write her books in peace.
Technical Nuance: The Gold Coast Environment
The Gold Coast region around Anvil is one of the most demanding areas for the game's engine. The high density of grass and the specific lighting shaders used for the sunset can cause frame drops on older hardware. When you're running through the hills with Pinarus Inventius looking for those mountain lions, you might notice "pop-in" where rocks or trees suddenly appear.
This is a byproduct of the Gamebryo engine's LOD (Level of Detail) settings. If you’re playing the "A Rat Problem" quest today, especially with 4K texture packs or the "Oblivion Reloaded" mod, make sure your heap size is adjusted in the .ini files. Otherwise, the game might crash the moment the mountain lion spawns outside the city walls.
Actionable Tips for Completing the Quest
If you want to get through this without pulling your hair out, follow these steps:
- Don't Bring a Follower: If you have a stray dog or a Mage Apprentice following you, they will likely kill the rats. The AI doesn't distinguish between "friendly rat" and "enemy rat" very well during a chaotic fight.
- Use Paralysis or Calm Spells: If you have decent Illusion or Alchemy skills, use them on the mountain lions. It stops them from shredding the rats while you whittle down their health.
- The 11 PM Rule: If Quill-Weave isn't showing up at 8 PM, wait until just after 11 PM. Sometimes her "Sneak" script takes a while to trigger as she walks from her house.
- Check the Basement Floor: Sometimes the mountain lion spawns inside the geometry of the basement. If you hear growling but see nothing, try using an area-of-effect spell like "Flare" to flush it out.
The "Oblivion A Rat Problem" quest is a perfect microcosm of why people still play this game twenty years later. It's glitchy, the voice acting is often campy (shoutout to the Dunmer rasp), and the stakes are hilariously low. Yet, it sticks with you. It builds the character of Anvil as a city of artists, hunters, and eccentric old ladies.
To wrap this up, your best path is to prioritize the Acrobatics training from Quill-Weave if you're a stealth build, but make sure you save your game before entering Arvena’s basement for the final confrontation. The physics engine can sometimes launch the mountain lion into the ceiling, making the quest impossible to complete without reloading. Once you've finished, you'll be well on your way to becoming a Protector in the Fighters Guild, leaving the world of pest control behind for more dangerous contracts in Cheydinhal and Chorrol.
Next Steps for the Player:
- Save the game manually before speaking to Pinarus Inventius for the second time.
- Locate Quill-Weave's house (it’s right near the North Gate) to familiarize yourself with the path she takes.
- Decide beforehand if you value the gold reward or the skill point more, as you can't change your mind once the dialogue is finished.
- After completion, head to the Anvil Mages Guild nearby to pick up the "Anvil Recommendation" quest to keep your momentum going in the city.