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Quests: written by Already Written, checked by SerCenKing (CS & in-game)
Schedule: written by SerCenKing (in-game) Services: written by Manic (None - CS), checked by Vulpa (N/A - in-game) Personal Inventory: written by Arch-Mage Matt (in-Game), checked by mxk101 (CS) House Contents: written by GK (N/A - lives at the Roxey Inn), checked by Emoboy64 (In-Game) Unique Dialogue: written by SerCenKing (in-game) Rumors: written by SerCenKing (CS & in-game) Faction: written by already written, checked by Vulpa (CS) |
Claude Maric (RefID: 0002C8D0) |
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Location | Roxey Inn | ||
Race | Breton | Gender | Male |
Level | PC+2 | Class | Rogue |
RefID | 0002C8D0 | BaseID | 0002AF05 |
Other Information | |||
Health | 35 + (5+1.4)x(PC+1), PC=3-41 | ||
Magicka | 175 + 3.5x(PC+1) (max=300) | ||
Responsibility | 80 | Aggression | 5 |
Follower | Secrets of the Ayleids | ||
Faction(s) | Claude Maric's personal faction |
Claude Maric is a Breton rogue who can be found in the Roxey Inn just outside the Imperial City, alongside the mercenaries in his employ. He is a treasure hunter specializing in the area's Ayleid ruins and works for notable collector Umbacano, as you will discover during the Nothing You Can Possess. If he survives that quest, he will join you in escorting Umbacano into Nenalata during the Secrets of the Ayleids quest.
He can be found at the Roxey Inn before the related quests, where he will simply wander around the ground floor at all times. Should he survive until the end of the Secrets of the Ayleids quest, he will again make his way back to the Roxey Inn and resume his usual schedule.
He is equipped with a nearly full suit of leveled light armor, all of the best possible quality for your level and potentially enchanted. The only piece of armor he is missing is the helmet. His weapon is a short sword, again of the best quality and possibly enchanted. Out of combat, he wears a brown shirt, tan linens, and doeskin shoes. He also has a small amount of gold. He will know one leveled Illusion spell.
Related QuestsEdit
- Nothing You Can Possess: Umbacano wants you to recover a decorative carving from the High Fane.
- Secrets of the Ayleids: Umbacano wants you to try to buy the Crown of Nenalata from a rival collector.
Quest-Related EventsEdit
Nothing You Can PossessEdit
Once you start the quest, he will relocate to the Imperial City and track you down as soon as you leave Umbacano Manor, at which point he will introduce himself:
- "You must be Umbacano's new plaything. Well met! I am Claude Maric, another pawn in Umbacano's game. I always enjoy meeting my rival treasure hunters. What, did you think you were the only one? Ha ha ha! Come, let us have a drink together."
After this he will lead you to the nearby The Tiber Septim Hotel. If you speak to him en route, he will dismiss you with:
- "Come, I have much to tell you. A tavern is right over here. We will drink a toast to Umbacano."
Once inside, he will call out to Augusta Calidia:
- "Barkeep! A drink for my friend!"
He will then head to the area at the back of the inn, sit on one of the benches and start to drink some Tamika's West Weald Wine. If you speak to him now, he will jest:
- "Now then, I propose a toast. To Umbacano, may his purse never run dry!"
- Umbacano
- "Our mutual employer rarely tells us the whole story, but he pays very well! Not that I should be giving advice to one of my rivals, ha ha ha!"
Should you leave conversation now he will call out:
- "Farewell, my friend!"
If you ask him about The High Fane, his response will vary depending on his Disposition. If it is below 60, he will point you in the direction of a useful book:
- "What would be the sport in me just telling you? I'm not that drunk yet! No, you must earn your pay. Read "The Cleansing of the Fane." You may be less eager to seek the High Fane then."
Should you leave conversation now, he will remind you:
- "Remember. Read "The Cleansing of the Fane" before deciding whether to seek for Umbacano's treasure."
With a higher disposition, however, he will share the name of ruin:
- "You know what? I will help you, although it is liable to get you killed. The High Fane is now known as Malada, up in the Valus Mountains. But I do not advise you to go there. Read "The Cleansing of the Fane" first. Then decide. As I said, a very bad place."
Either way, you will be able to ask him about the book:
- "The Cleansing of the Fane"
- "I don't own it. One of the rare book dealers in the Market District may have a copy. Read it. Educate yourself."
If you speak to him again, he will say:
- "And so we meet again. What can I do for you this time?"
Once you've found out about the High Fane's current name, he will sneer:
- Malada
- "Must I hold your hand? I begin to wonder what Umbacano sees in you. It is an Ayleid ruin in the far west of this province, up in the Valus Mountains."
After this he will leave conversation with:
- "Think carefully about what I told you! But I'm sure you'll be fine!"
Throughout this time you will find him constantly sitting in the inn, drinking.
Once you arrive at Malada, you will notice an encampment where his mercenaries have relocated. It appears not all are entirely loyal to him though, as the archer S'razirr will propose to cut a deal against Maric:
- "This one is working for Maric. He never tells us anything, though. Just between the two of us, this one thinks Maric is cheating him. In fact, this one is sure of it. Listen. S'razirr has an idea of how we can both come out of this ahead. We wait and see how this plays out. If and when there's an opportunity, S'razirr will help you against Maric. If we succeed in recovering the treasure, you give this one half of what you're getting paid."
As soon as you have retrieved the carving, Maric will relocate to just outside the ruin, ready to ambush you with his mercenaries once you emerge. Once you do so, he will step forward and say:
- "Well done! You have much to learn about this business, my friend, but you show definite promise. But first, of course: you must hand over the carving."
At this point you have two choices. If you hand over the carving, he will say:
-
- [Give him the carving.]
- "You will go far in this business, my friend. You know when you've won, and when you've lost. Until we meet again!"
He then mounts his horse and starts to slowly make his way to Umbacano's Manor, with his mercenaries in tow. After delivering the carving, he will set off on foot back to the Roxey Inn. If you speak to him now, he will only say:
- "I won, you lost. There's nothing else to talk about right now."
Should you attack him in an effort to get the carving back, he will fight until he has little health left, at which point he will yield:
- "Hold there! Stop fighting! I surrender! I'll give you the carving!"
If you speak to him now, he will hand the carving back to you:
- "I know when I'm beaten! Here, take the carving, if it means so much to you. I had no idea you would take things so personally."
Alternatively, if you chose not to part with the carving, he will say:
-
- No, you can't have the carving.
- "Are you sure? I truly have no wish to harm you. It is the carving I want. Just business. Hand it over, and some day we will both laugh about this over drinks at the Tiber Septim. I will give you one last chance."
- [Give him the carving.]
- "You will go far in this business, my friend. You know when you've won, and when you've lost. Until we meet again!"
- No, you can't have the carving.
- "As you wish. Too bad, I was just getting to like you. Kill him."
At this point his mercenaries will attack you, while he gallops off on his horse. Regardless of how you kept onto the carving (by taking it back from Claude or refusing to give it up in the first place) he will head back to the Roxey Inn.
If you were the one to hand over the carving to Umbacano, when approaching and greeting him later, he will amiably say:
- "Don't worry, I hold no grudges. You bested me! I am man enough to admit it!"
- "You won the last round. I salute your bold spirit!"
- Malada
- "An unfortunate encounter for both of us. But as I said, it was only business. No hard feelings, I hope."
If instead Claude was the one to do so, he will crow:
- "Ah, we meet again. No hard feelings, I hope!"
- "You aren't brooding on that little unpleasantness at Malada, are you?"
- Malada
- "You showed admirable prudence. I was not half so sensible at your age, ha ha ha! Not to worry, I'm sure you will get the drop on me one day!"
Umbacano will also note:
- "My methods were vindicated. Apparently Maric was more capable than you. I'm sure you will try harder the next time."
If you had cut a deal with S'razirr previously, his responses when agreeing or declining to pay him demonstrate his ongoing dislike of Maric:
- "You are honorable. Unlike that renrij Maric, may the moons never shine upon his path. This one will not forget."
- "You are no better than that renrij Maric. S'razirr should have known better than to trust you. Get out of this one's sight."
Secrets of the AyleidsEdit
If he survived the previous quest, Claude will join you to escort Umbacano through the Ayleid city of Nenalata during the Secrets of the Ayleids. He will make his way towards Nenalata once you've agreed to accompany Umbacano and will then wait outside the entrance for you.
Speaking to him before talking to Umbacano will net you:
- "Don't worry, my friend, this time we are on the same side! Umbacano wants us both to guide him through Nenalata."
After you've agreed to lead the two through the ruins, he will begin to follow you and when spoken to will simply say:
- "You're the leader of this expedition. So lead on!"
Depending on whether Umbacano died upon sitting on the throne or was transformed into the King of Nenalata, Maric will say respectively:
- Umbacano
- "An unfortunate end to a profitable relationship. Where will we find another like him? I wonder how he could have miscalculated so badly. Those old Elves didn't seem as glad to see him as he expected, eh?"
- "I never suspected Umbacano might be up to no good. Apparently he was as mad as he was rich!"
If you approach him after the quest, he will say:
- "Umbacano nearly did us in this time, and no mistake."
- "And here you are again, my friend!" (Disposition above 30; 33% chance)
Unused DialogueEdit
- Claude has a "hello" line that is always overridden by other lines or by his chosen AI package:
- "What can I do for you now, my friend?"
- He also had a line to comment on the end of the Secrets of the Ayleids quest, but the topic never appears:
- Nenalata
- "That was a bad fix and no mistake. One of the worst I've ever been in. You saved us both, my friend."
NotesEdit
- Sometimes Claude Maric gets a Chameleon enchanted piece of armor, and if he is following you this makes it quite easy to hit him by mistake.
- If you accepted S'razirr's offer of help during the Nothing You Can Possess quest, he survives, AND you pay him the agreed upon money, S'razirr will return to the Roxey Inn. If Maric survives Secrets of the Ayleids he will also return to the Inn, and when you enter the Inn he will attack S'razirr.
BugsEdit
- If you raise Maric's disposition towards you and get him to tell you where Malada is, he will mistakenly say that it is to the far west in the Valus Mountains, when it is in fact to the east.
- The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.5.0, fixes this bug.
- If you made a deal with S'razirr, when you refuse to hand over the carving Claude Maric will try to fight him instead of fleeing.
- The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.5.5, fixes this bug.
- If both Claude Maric and S'razirr survive until after the Secrets of the Ayleids quest, when you enter the Roxey Inn Claude will still attack S'razirr.
- The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.5.5, fixes this bug.
- Should Maric join you in escorting Umbacano in the Secrets of the Ayleids quest, and if he survives the many undead that attack in the throne room, he may walk back the way you came rather than leave through the new exit. However, the stairs leading out the way you came have been raised and are no longer accessible, meaning that he will walk aimlessly into the stairs.
- He may also walk around in a circle near the stairs for some time in confusion, but should eventually find the right way out.