Oblivion:Imperial Legion Forester

An Imperial Legion Forester

A Forester inspecting his prize

Occasionally, if you venture out into the wilds, you'll encounter an Imperial Legion Forester. All of the Foresters are Imperial men and are usually hunting deer on foot. They are all equipped with a silver bow and steel arrows and wear varying combinations of fur, leather, and Imperial Legion armor. They will comment on the weather if you talk to them. A total of thirteen Foresters (four variations) can be found in the game.

The only topic generally available when you talk to them is "Rumors", though other topics such as "Gray Fox" or "Prophet"^KotN may appear at the appropriate points of various quests. Apart from that, Imperial Legion Foresters will treat you like any guardsman, meaning they'll attack you if you've got a price on your head. So if you're ever on the run, be careful if you decide to venture into the wilderness, because you just might end up being pursued by one of these guys. They'll give you the standard options of "Pay Gold", "Go to Jail" and "Resist Arrest" if they catch you.

When approached, a Forester may respond, "Shhh! You'll spook the deer!"

ID	Locations	Notes
0018B11A	Far north of Anvil, near Malacath's Shrine Far south of Cheydinhal, between the Reed and Silverfish Rivers. South of Bruma, near Mephala's Shrine Between Skingrad and the Imperial City, near Clavicus Vile's shrine	Leather boots, gauntlets, and greaves Legion cuirass
0018BA84	South of Leyawiin, on the east bank of the Niben South of Bruma, north of Mephala's Shrine North of Leyawiin, near Blankenmarch Deep in Blackwood, east of Nocturnal's Shrine South of the Imperial City, near Hircine's Shrine	Legion boots, gauntlets, and greaves.
00061444	West of Bruma, past Applewatch West of Bruma, closer to the city Also west of Bruma, closer to the city	Fur gauntlets and greaves Legion boots, cuirass, and helmet
0006B592	Inn of Ill Omen. This is the only one you will ever see near civilization. He sometimes eats at the inn, but most of the time is hunting outside it.	Leather boots and bracer Legion greaves

Bugs

Imperial Legion Foresters attacking each other

• One notable quirk with the Foresters' AI is their tendency to get into fights with other Legion members. Whenever a Forester hunts for a deer (i.e., whenever a deer passes by), any nearby guards or Legion members (including any other Foresters) will chase and attack the Forester. The two NPCs will invariably fight to the death. One place where fights between Foresters are particularly common is west of Bruma, near Applewatch, where two Foresters patrol fairly close to each other.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.