Curing vampirism in Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion depends on one thing: how long you have been infected. Inside the first three in-game days it is an ordinary disease and any Cure Disease effect removes it, but once the transformation completes, the only in-game cure is the Vampire Cure quest that starts at the Arcane University and ends with a witch named Melisande. This guide covers both routes as they work in the current build of Oblivion Remastered, the exact ingredient list (the version of this page from 2025 got several items wrong), and what to expect after you drink the potion.
Cure It Early: The Three Day Window
Vampirism starts as the disease Porphyric Hemophilia, which you catch from vampire attacks in dungeons and during certain quests. Open your Magic menu (F3 on keyboard, D-Pad Left on a controller) and check Active Effects: if Porphyric Hemophilia is listed and you have not yet had the transformation dream, you still have the easy way out.
Within those first three days, the infection behaves like any other disease. Remove it with any of the following:
- A Cure Disease potion, bought from alchemists and general merchants or brewed yourself.
- An ingredient that carries the Cure Disease effect, eaten straight from your inventory.
- Praying at a chapel altar in any of Cyrodiil’s cities, or activating a wayshrine in the wilderness.
- A Cure Disease spell from a Restoration vendor.
Our guide on how to cure diseases in Oblivion covers where to find each of those. Once three days pass and you sleep, the disease converts into full vampirism, and none of the above works anymore.
Confirm You Are a Full Vampire
Full vampirism in Oblivion Remastered shows up in Active Effects as a stage from 25 to 100 percent, rising each day you go without feeding. Powers such as Hunter’s Sight, Vampire’s Seduction, Reign of Terror and Embrace of Shadows appear at the higher stages, sun damage starts at 50 percent, and townsfolk stop talking to you at 100 percent. The remaster also changed the look: per community documentation of the new appearance system, most races get bloodshot eyes and pale irises rather than the wrinkled, aged face of the 2006 original, so do not rely on your character’s face to tell you where you stand. Check the menu instead.
If you would rather keep the condition and learn how the stages, feeding and bonuses work, see how to become a vampire in Oblivion. Otherwise, read on.
Start the Vampire Cure Quest
Ask any healer, chapel priest or Mages Guild member about a cure for vampirism and you will be pointed to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University in the Imperial City. You do not need to be a guild member to talk to him. He refers you to Count Janus Hassildor of Skingrad, who has a personal interest in the matter.
Go to Castle Skingrad and ask the steward, Hal-Liurz, for an audience. Follow her to the Count, who tells you about a witch named Melisande living near the Corbolo River and adds a marker for her cottage at Drakelowe, east of the Imperial City on the far side of the river. Speaking to Melisande the first time can be a hassle: she is not interested until you bring her five empty Grand Soul Gems. Buy them from Mages Guild alchemists once your level is high enough for them to stock Grand gems, or loot them from nearby dungeons such as Crayfish Cave and Nornal.
The Ingredient List
Hand over the five Grand Soul Gems and Melisande gives you the real shopping list. This is the correct list for the current build, verified against the quest as it ships in the remaster:
- 6 cloves of Garlic (hangs in kitchens and basements all over Cyrodiil, also sold by alchemists)
- 5 Nightshade leaves (sold by alchemists, grows in the wild)
- 2 shoots of Bloodgrass (grows inside Oblivion gates, also sold by some alchemists and found in a few Cyrodiil locations)
- Blood of an Argonian: Melisande gives you an enchanted dagger. Hit any Argonian with it once. You do not have to kill them, and using it in the Arena or on a hostile Argonian bandit avoids a bounty.
- Ashes of Hindaril: Hindaril is a powerful vampire in Redwater Slough, a cave on the Panther River southeast of the Imperial City. Melisande marks it once you ask about him. His inner door has a Very Hard lock, so bring picks, a Very Hard Open spell, or a Security boost. See our Oblivion lockpicking guide if you need help.
The 2025 version of this guide listed a filled Black Soul Gem, one Bloodgrass and six Nightshade. Those numbers were wrong and a Black Soul Gem is not part of the quest at all. Do not waste time filling one.
Deliver, Wait and Drink
Give Melisande everything and she asks for 24 hours. Leave the cottage before you wait: her home counts as trespassing, so the Wait command refuses inside. Wait outside, sleep at a nearby camp, or stay underwater in the river to reduce sun damage if your stage is high. Our guide on how to wait in Oblivion explains the command.
Come back and she hands you two potions: one Cure for Vampirism for you and one for the Count’s wife, Rona. Drink yours from the inventory and vampirism is removed on the spot, along with every stage bonus and power, and you gain immunity to catching it again. Return to Castle Skingrad and speak to Hal-Liurz to finish the quest and collect a gold reward that scales with your level.
Two things worth knowing before you finish. First, the cure is permanent: after this potion you cannot become a vampire again through normal play, so anyone who wants the nighttime bonuses later should think twice. Second, the remaster fixed the trespassing bug that made Melisande turn hostile during the first conversation in the original game, per Bethesda’s Update 1.1 and 1.2 patch notes and community testing, but early player reports still describe her occasionally refusing the Bloodgrass line of dialogue if the main quest was finished first. Keep a save from before you hand over the ingredients.
For every other Oblivion guide we have, from Daedric artifacts to saving your game, see the Elder Scrolls hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cure vampirism in Oblivion Remastered without the quest? Only while it is still Porphyric Hemophilia, within three days of infection. After the transformation, the Vampire Cure quest is the only in-game route. Owners of the Vile Lair DLC, which is included with the Deluxe edition, also get a Font of Renewal that removes vampirism, but the quest is the standard path.
Where is Melisande? At Drakelowe, a cottage on the Corbolo River east of the Imperial City. Count Hassildor adds the map marker after you speak to him at Castle Skingrad.
Does a Cure Disease potion work on a full vampire? No. Once vampirism has set in, Cure Disease effects, chapel altars and wayshrines do nothing to it.
Can I become a vampire again after the cure? No. The cure potion grants permanent immunity, so this is a one-way decision.
How long does the cure quest take? Most of the time goes into gathering five Grand Soul Gems and clearing Redwater Slough. With those done, the rest is two trips to Skingrad, one to Drakelowe and a 24 hour wait.