Goblins Now Start Fights Without You in Oblivion Remastered

There’s something magical about chaos you didn’t cause, especially in an RPG like Oblivion. For years, the infamous goblin wars were a hidden gem of Elder Scrolls IV, something you’d stumble upon by reading a random forum post about totem theft and tribe rivalries. But in Oblivion Remastered, the chaos has grown teeth. Now it doesn’t wait for you.

Modder NaiadGirl’s Enhanced Goblin Wars breathes violent, independent life into Cyrodiil’s goblin factions. Unlike the original version of the game, where only two tribal wars ever break out on their own and the rest require you to run around stealing sacred sticks, this mod puts the goblins in charge of their own blood feuds. You don’t have to lift a finger.

"Every 5 in-game days, a new Goblin War has a 20% chance to trigger," NaiadGirl wrote. "Surrounded by shadow, sneaky goblin thieves steal a rival's totem when no one's watching, and place it in their respective lair. The War Chief of the wronged tribe will embark with a group of Greenskins to the opposition's lair, and attempt to take back what is theirs!"

That’s not just a cool mechanic. That’s a living ecosystem of AI-driven warfare. Instead of babysitting tribal beefs with your backpack full of loot, now you’re just a citizen in a world where goblins have beef—and that beef travels. They can even storm the Imperial City if someone’s totem gets moved there, thanks to expanded AI behavior that doesn't limit them to dungeon skirmishes anymore.

I'm a fan of vanilla versions of games, and I'm sure the developers are against interfering with the gameplay of the original product, which we support them in, but you can check out the mod yourself on the NexusMods website.

This puts Oblivion’s goblin wars on the same level as iconic dynamic encounters in the RPG space—like Skyrim’s radiant world events, Mount & Blade’s war economy, or Baldur’s Gate 3’s layered faction politics. Except here, it's all little green dudes going feral over a stick. It’s the kind of emergent storytelling players dream about: a background conflict you observe, not engineer.

The mod even adds a Goblin Friendship Amulet near Vilverin. Wear it and you’re basically goblin Switzerland, free to walk among tribes at war and watch them fight it out without taking a club to the face. If you’ve ever dreamed of being a goblin war reporter, this is your moment.

There’s one small caveat: the chaos might interfere with the “Goblin Trouble” quest, since the mod can shuffle the totem’s location around. But the quest marker will still point to wherever it ends up, and NaiadGirl insists it’s not game-breaking. Just... don’t expect things to stay tidy.

And if you do want to stir the pot, nothing’s stopping you from grabbing a totem yourself and chucking it into some poor village’s backyard. The AI will take care of the rest. You’re not the puppetmaster anymore—you’re the wildcard. Or maybe just a spectator at the wildest bloodsport show this side of the Arena.

This isn’t the first time someone tried to expand the goblin war mechanics in Oblivion Remastered. Modder ImmortanJoel did a take with “Goblin Wars Remastered,” but NaiadGirl’s version dives deeper into autonomous gobbo warfare. It’s the one you want if you're after real, systemic conflict.

Compared to most RPG systems, especially in older Bethesda games, the original goblin wars were cool but shallow. They were proof of concept for what emergent AI could do. This mod turns that proof into proof of life. Every five in-game days, you’re not wondering if a quest is ready to turn in. You’re wondering who’s getting raided this week, and if it’s happening on your route to Chorrol.

Want to play god of War? Don’t. Let the goblins handle that. They’ve got grudges, totems, and no time for diplomacy.