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Oblivion talk:Boots of Springheel Jak/Archive 1

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This is an archive of past Oblivion talk:Boots of Springheel Jak discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page, except for maintenance such as updating links.

Gray Fox Thinking

Whilst on this quest I was pilfering his private chamber in the top of his house when I found a book on "Imbel Genealogy" and a quest-update that I should discuss it with the gray fox. I didn't get the chance to do so, he was to busy thinking to talk to me.
Can anybody elaborate? — Unsigned comment by 213.84.20.82 (talk) at 13:59 on 3 February 2007

Glitch

Whenever I talk to Jakben, he only can talk about rumors, and not about giving me the key to the crypt. I hope someone could help me with this detrimental glitch.
EDIT: After repeatedly trying to talk to him, it came across my mind that killing him may give me acsess to the key to the crypt, and while searching his body, I found he was wearing the Boots of Springheel Jak. My problem was sovled, and I never had to venture in the cellar. — Unsigned comment by 71.56.213.143 (talk) at 01:15 on 27 February 2007

anagram?

I'm not sure if Jackben Imbel is technically an anagram of Jack be Nimbel, because the order of the letters haven't been rearranged. A correct anagram would be climb jab knee or jab ben lick me etc. Grandmaster z0b 21:31, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

But it is an anagram of "Jack be nimble", which is the correct spelling :) --NepheleTalk 21:45, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
I just happened to be editing this page and wanted to nominate Nephele's reply as the best response ever. That is all :) —RpehTCE 20:01, 30 December 2007 (EST)
From a linguists point of view "Jakben Imbel" is an anagram of "Jak be nimble" and not of "Jak be nimbel" since the letters are in the right order for the latter. From a datatechnical point of view, "Jakben Imbel" is an anagram of both "Jak be Nimble" and "Jak be Nimbel". Note that for a datatechnical point of view, both the location of the spaces (character ' ') and the capitalization of the letters DO matter, but from a linguist's point of view they don't. --83.119.189.36 21:22, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

Second workaround for Jakben not appearing

After reading the diary in the crypt, I encountered the glitch listed on the main page about Jakben not appearing. I found him in his private quarters, where our battle ensued. I grabbed the boots and was on my way.

Workaround for bug

After doing this action:

The Gray Fox will simply stand there saying "Not now. I need to think" when you try and talk to him. You can fix this glitch by typing setstage TG10Boots 50 in the command line, in order for the quest to finish. When you will have fenced 1000 gold, the next and final quest will be enabled.

The independent thievery quest did not appear. Typing setstage TG10boots 55 caused both the beginning and completion of 1000 gold fenced quest.

Just some info, thought I'd never be able to finish...

Reward?

You don't actually get the boots of springheel jack as a reward do you? He takes it back i believe. Or did the creator of the page just put it there because the player gets it back in the next quest? --Piercethetruth 04:57, 14 November 2007 (EST)

Good point. I just removed the boots from the reward and added the gold. Thanks for that! --RpehTCE 02:36, 16 November 2007 (EST)
lol oh good, I just finished the quest for the first time and the gray fox took them away from me, i got kind of worried. --Piercethetruth 04:42, 16 November 2007 (EST)

Getting the boots early

I have found that it is possible to pickpocket the boots from Jackben early, as in before starting the quest or even the guild storyline (I believe this is mentioned in the page already). However, I have also found that this appears to cause a glitch in the game that, as of yet, I have not been able to work around (I am on Xbox 360, by the way). If done before receiving any of the Grey Fox missions, the Grey Fox will be where he should during the mission, and if you are trying to start another mission for him, it will not trigger- Amusei/Methredel won't come to you. I've tried the workaround of comitting a crime and paying the fine, which should make Methredel/Amusei spawn next to me, but that didn't work.

I am currently trying to locate Methredel, as I have found Amusei but he won't give me the go-ahead to start first Grey Fox quest. Waiting outside of the cells of the Imperial City so they respawn apparently doesn't work either. I have tried to go retreive the item from the first mission, but it does not spawn. Neither does the Arrowhead. Also, even with the boots in my inventory, when I talk to the Grey Fox he just says "Don't you have something to do?"

In short: if you get the Boots of Springheel Jack before starting the first Grey Fox quests, it appears that you won't get the messenger coming to you to say the Grey Fox wants to see you. This might be because he's already in the game world, or it might not. None of the items for the other quests will spawn, either. The Grey Fox does not respond to me when I have the boots with me.

Can someone tell me if I'm the only one who's got this problem/encountered these circumstances? 70.252.182.106 19:07, 30 December 2007 (EST)

I've not heard of this before so it's quite possible you've discovered a new bug. Or at least, one that wasn't mentioned on the site before. It'll need a bit more research but will probably end up being put on the page so thanks for the tip! —RpehTCE 20:01, 30 December 2007 (EST)
Well, I found Methredel and she told me to go see the Grey Fox in Bruma. However, he was still in Cheydenhall, and I was able to complete the first quest normally. Only strange part was he was in Cheydenhal the whole time. Then, moving on to the Arrow of Extication quest, he doesn't appear in the house. I didn't find him in Bruma either, wierdly enough. I'll go check again though, make sure I didn't miss anything. 70.252.182.106 20:10, 30 December 2007 (EST)

Bugs

I thought I'd give editing another go. We'll see how it goes this time.

I edited the bugs section to add info that was given to me on the Oblivion boards pertaining to the 360 and PS3 versions of the game. The thread located at http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=812821 is the source of the information, but I don't know the correct format to insert sources or if that's even a standard here. --Alaston

Thanks for the information. I reworded the note to be more consistent with other such notes and contain less redundant information. For example, it is a universal problem on all versions of the game, but that's true of all information on the wiki, except when noted otherwise. And the fact that console commands are only available on the PC is implicit in the revised phrasing, and is explicitly stated in many other places (e.g., Oblivion:Console, Oblivion:Xbox 360, Oblivion:PS3), so we try not to repeat that information every time a console command gets mentioned in the bug notes. Just trying to explain some of the changes I made :) Also, a forum thread link isn't really necessary; it's straightforward to doublecheck and confirm the information using the Construction Set. --NepheleTalk 14:51, 22 February 2008 (EST)

Cool enough. Thanks for the run-down. There's another bug/glitch I found tonight. I'm not certain which of two things caused the error, but I'm pretty it's #2.

1. I entered the library from the upper level rather than the lower level where most people would enter.

2. The blind monk actually opened the door for me (another monk was right in front of me), so I never threw the switch to get in the door.

The result of one/both of these events was that once I sat down at the appropriate place, combat started, except no one would hit me and I couldn't get back up. I had to re-load the game from here. I really do believe one MUST throw the switch behind the monk, and not take any short-cuts even if he's kind enough to open the door for you on his own. --Alaston

Another bug for you!

Um, I went to Jakbens room just as he was leaving it, so he saw me, but appeared in a different room. I read the genology, came down, talked to him. Tried to pickpocket his stuff, found that he could always see me, even with invisibility on. He brought his fists up, and started to follow me, but did not attack. Just as I was about to enter the basement, he equipped all his armor, etc. When I killed him his sword was gone. — Unsigned comment by 71.161.94.175 (talk)

What about this is supposed to be a bug? And in particular, given this is a quest page, how is a missing sword a problem? You're after his boots, not his sword. --NepheleTalk 17:05, 12 March 2008 (EDT)
I had a similar bug. I went up to Jakben's room, and he acted just as the article said he would... but once the dialogue was over, he just started following me around. I didn't get a quest update, but I went down to the basement anyway. As soon as I reached the door, however, he put on all his armor and attacked me. Once I killed him, I got the boots, and returned them to the Gray Fox for my reward. I'm not complaining; it made the quest a lot easier for me. :) Ikkikim 22:06, 3 December 2008 (EST)

Fathis Ules Bug?

I'm not sure if I should add this here or to the discussion page of "The Ultimate Heist," but this page is a lot shorter, so here's my problem: I have successfully given the boots to the Gray Fox and have even been given my next assignment (steal 1000 gold worth of stolen goods). My new fence is apparently Fathis Ules. I steal some armor/weapons from a smith and head off towards the Imperial City to track down my new fence. He is in Dul gro-Shug's house. At the top of the stairs. Trying to open a locked door. And failing. However, I am still able to talk to him. When confronted he says, "Ah, yes, a guild brother in search of a fence?" I can talk to him, but cannot barter with him. I can discuss a variety of subjects with him and can even persuade him, but there is no bartering option. Has anyone encountered anything like this before (He has a dispostion of 81 at the moment, if that matters)? --21:31, 27 March 2008 (EDT)24.174.107.81

I don't know if this is a glitch or not, but I fixed it. Apparently punching my fence in the face reset him. Also got me thrown out of the guild. Pay the fine, and you'll find Fathis back in the orc's house. As soon as you enter the house (a guard was inside for some reason) you'll see that your fence exited at the same moment you entered. Follow him and he'll go sit on a box. Talk to him, and you finally have the bartering option. His dispotion will have dropped by about twenty. --24.174.107.81 21:34, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

Actually, Fathis Ules' talk page would perhaps be the most appropriate place to discuss this, especially since the issue is already discussed on Fathis Ules's page, including a fix that doesn't involve getting thrown out of the guild or angering Fathis. --NepheleTalk 22:12, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

Ah, good point. I keep forgetting how extensive this wiki is. --24.174.107.81 22:37, 27 March 2008 (EDT)

Fathis will use this greeting even if he's not currently buying or selling (ie has a travel package). He should trade when he's sitting on his merchant chest or is in the Oak and Crosier in Chorrol. Kivan 17:12, 7 May 2008 (EDT)

Diary Change?

When people get the uncursed Cowl of Norturnal at the end of the quests shouldn't Jakben's diary be changed because he would have been able to remember Emer Dareloth back when he wrote the diary? Helper Unknown 21:08, 11 July 2008 (EDT)

That's actually a good point. I suppose it's just one of those little things that get overlooked. –RpehTCE 01:52, 12 July 2008 (EDT)

The curse of the Cowl may be gone but the magic that gives the duel identity remains the only difference is you get to keep your old identity. The diary should probably contain Earl's name but not anything connecting him to the cowl or the theft from Nocturnal. --Vukodlak

Unnecessary Tips

  • If you are having a hard time killing the vampires and zombies in the basement, try sneaking in and only getting the attention of one or two of them at a time, then running out of the house and into the main square. Keep fleeing the baddies until the Imperial Guards turn up and kill them. You can speed up the process by doing this in the daylight. The vampires are holding a number of useful (and expensive) weapons and armors. This method is also useful for dispatching Jakben himself.
  • The easiest way to defeat him is to sneak attack him. Once you get the diary, you don't need to read it before he'll come running. If you have a bow and arrow, all you have to do is wait to see him walk through the door in the room before his coffin, and load a sneak attack arrow on him. This solves the problem of having to deal with pickpocketing to remove his armor and weapon.
  • After talking to Jakben and getting the key, try pickpocketing him. You can take his sword and armor, making the fight with him later much easier.
  • Planting an equipable item with a Damage health on Jakben will kill him.

I've moved all these tips from the article because none of them are specific to this quest. The first applies to any dungeon delve; the second is a short description of how to sneak attack; the third is a short description of picking pockets and the fourth is just about cursed items (and doesn't even describe how to make him wear it)

  • If you kill an innocent and incur a blood price, returning to Armand to pay it will result in an extra reward for your character, regardless of whether or not he has acquired the boots. This will also occur when visiting the Gray Fox.

Lastly, this tip is just incomprehensible. I have absolutely no idea what "extra reward" is meant.

If anybody would like to copy any or all of these back to the article, feel free, but they would all need some fixing first. –RpehTCE 01:39, 13 October 2008 (EDT)

Bug!

I completed all the thieves guild quests and did not use up the Boots of Springheel Jak on the last one, so I would be able to wear them. As I was doing Mage's Guild Recommendations though, I came across the quest, Through A Nightmare, Darkly. In the Dreamworld all my stuff was taken away, and I got it back when I was done. But now, I cannot equip it, it gives me a message saying "You cannot equip this enchanted item right now" and when I try to drop it says "You cannot remove Quest items from your inventory." Not sure what has happened, but I am on Xbox 360 so the console won't work...

Any help would be appreciated.

Update: I just realized that I still have the +50 Fortify Acrobatics even without equipping the boots! — Unsigned comment by 68.214.192.116 (talk) on 26 March 2009

You have this problem. There's nothing you can do to fix it. –RpehTCE 03:30, 26 March 2009 (EDT)

Removal of VN tag

AverageIndie just deleted a part of the Blood Price section which had a VN tag added to it. I've undone the edit for now, since he left no explanation. If the information is wrong, please leave an explanation for the deleting here and I'll revert my edit. --SerCenKing 17:37, 28 March 2009 (EDT)

Bug VN Tag

From article:

It is possible to pickpocket the boots from Jakben whilst not even being in the Thieves Guild, in which case you will get a diary entry stating that you should return to the Grey Fox in Cheydenhal, but he will not be there.

It's accurate, but a little fiddly. He's wearing the boots, so you've got to initiate combat with him so he'll change into his equipped armour. Knock him unconscious to end the combat, then pickpocket the boots off him (he'll still be in his armour so the boots are in his inventory and there to be pinched). The script on the boots doesn't check if you're in the thieves guild or on the quest - as soon as you snatch them, the script kicks in and bumps the quest forward to stage 45. The Gray Fox's placement in Ganredhel's house is sorted at quest stage 10, which you'll have skipped if you do this, hence why you get the standard message to go to Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal and the Gray Fox isn't there (Ganredhel, however, is wandering outside and will say "The Gray Fox is inside" to you like she normally does during the quest) This isn't fixed by the UOP (I tested with and without). Even by typing setstage TG10Boots 10 into the console to make the Fox appear in Cheydinhal, he won't brief you on the quest but will ask "I assume you found Springheel Jack's tomb?" and you don't have any dialogue responses. I haven't tested the consequences, but it may mean that you can't complete the quest and subsequently can't complete the questline. --Dalimyr(TC) 13:01, 30 March 2009 (EDT)

I was able to pickpocket Jak by knocking him down, got boots and no quest update appeared in my journal. After that I was able to visit Armand and get a quest from him. Not a single note about Gray Fox. I just joined the Thieves Guild and was up to get my first quest from Armand when have pickpocketed Jak. Can it be i did not break any quest or this bug has been patched? PC GOTY version.193.227.231.132 17:20, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
Xbox360 GOTY, I had the same problem, I got the Boots early and did the rest of the questline. When I got to the proper boots part of the quest line I wasn't able to trade my boots in, hence can't do the ultimate heist.— Unsigned comment by 99.245.242.36 (talk) on October 15, 2009

Boots not on him.

I decided to try and get the boots before starting the Thieves Guild questline. I'm playing Oblivion on the Xbox 360. I sneaked into his house, killed his butler/servant and knocked Jakben himself unconscious. However, when I pickpocketed him as he got up, there were no boots on him. The only armour he had was some chainmail (my character is level 6). Has this happened to anyone? Farslayer 00:09, 17 April 2009 (EDT)

Agh, nevermind, I saw the entry above mine. Farslayer 00:12, 17 April 2009 (EDT)

The Gray Fox Wont Speak To Me!

I spoke to him about the diary which i just found out i wasnt supposed to and some1 said you get the cowl from him just after that is that true? but if it is i wont get it.

Blood Price Bug

When I retrieved the boots from Jakben i did it by killing Gemellus Axius then killing Jakben with out talking to anybody, trying to just grab the boots and go. but when I went to the Grey Fox he scorned me for killing someone and and told me to go to Armand to pay the price. well I did and received my bonus for turning the boots over, but now when ever I talk to Grey Fox he says "not now I have to think" and I never got a quest update for Amuesi to find me or to fence 1000 gold. I went looking for Amuesi but he is no where to be found. I have rested and slept in the same spot for over a week and nothing happened. I have fenced over 1000 gold hoping that would give the quest a jump-start but it did nothing. so I thought maybe if I get the diary or genealogy i could keep going. So I grab the genealogy from the desk and I got the quest update to talk to him, I went to talk and I got "Not now, I am thinking", so I go back to the manor to get the diary i get to the catacombs and says I need key. well i have waited weeks so Jakben has disappeared with the key.

Has anybody ever seen this problem or a way to fix it? or am I stuck forever...?Toungennose 10:43, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

As the article clearly says, "If you kill any innocent people in this quest and get a Blood Price, do not go to the Gray Fox first because if you give him the boots with the need to pay a Blood Price, you can never start the final Thieves Guild quest. After going to Armand, when you talk to The Gray Fox he will just say he needs time to think and end the conversation." You should have gone to Armand first. –rpehTCE 11:00, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Unkillable?

I decided to get the boots early so i could enjoy the benefits of massive hops. I finally found Jakben in his room and i persuaded him to attack me by lower his disposition. Instead of dying, he just keeps getting back up which makes it very difficult to get the boots off of him. 24.5.220.8 01:52, 14 July 2009 (UTC) Chaos

He is essential until this quest. --Elliot(T-C) 02:07, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Line?

(moved from the article)
  • When you've finished speaking with Jakben and he has given you the key to the crypts (and each time you speak to him after that), you can hear the voice actor call for "line?" before Jakben says he's still alive. You must speak with him before you recover the diary to hear this.

I just listened to all the dialogue for this quest as extracted from the game's BSA files. This doesn't happen. Please can you supply the lines that you think caused this problem? –rpehTCE 18:33, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I think he says "I'm, I'm still alive?" Rather than "Line? I'm still alive?"

cant get to the last quest

i had given the gray fox the boots of spring heel jack and got my reward i fenced over 1000 gold and still cant get the last quest he stays in the house all day and i tried to talk and he says not now im thinking i punched him the dogs didnt attack and i yeild he accepted and i paid my fine and still says not now im thinking plus i cant get that dunner to buy anything after doing the quest PLZ HELP— Unsigned comment by 24.74.104.59 (talk) on 22 August 2009

You can't get the Gray Fox to talk to you because you've completed the quest. You either need to sell more goods to one of the Fences or just wait for Amusei to show up. I'm not sure which Dunmer you're talking about. —Robin Hood (TalkE-mailContribs) 05:04, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

No need to kill or steal.

When I did this quest I simply broke into the house and spoke to jakben, he was so scared he just handed the boots right over. Strikes me as strange that no one has mentioned this. — Unsigned comment by 86.3.103.28 (talk) at 12:15 on 7 September 2009

No one's mentioned it because that's not how the story line is supposed to go in the original game. Jakben is supposed to act afraid of you and hand you the key so that you can then go get the boots. I can't find any evidence that he just hands over the boots themselves. That's not to say it's impossible—bugs happen—but it's not supposed to. If you can provide details on what exactly you did, that would be helpful. —Robin Hood (TalkE-mailContribs) 02:43, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Boots of Springheel Jack

OK I am runing of XBOX360 and have completed the boots of the springheel. I have tried several times doing the full quest to just killing the guy and taking his boots all with same outcome. After delivering to the Grey fox my jurnal doesn’t update for the independent thevery requirement of 1000 and no progress in the story line’ any ideas? Grey Fox remains in the Ganredhel's House in Cheydinhal and I am standing in front of Amusci who dose nothing.

Kind of stumped whould like to finish the story line. — Unsigned comment by 142.46.8.34 (talk) on 17 September 2009

The same thing happened to me when i was done the arrow of extracation-the stupid Indepenant Thievery thing won't update, so i couldn't get the boots. The second time this happened, i decided to just kill Jak and get the boots. As i was wandering around his house (probably 100s of game days later, i had found monsters in the arena at least 15 times) the quest updated. So................ the fix is to go to either the house the gray fox SHOULD be in now that you've fenced the gold OR the place he will send you (like the palace basement in Imperial City for you)

Removed Note

  • Yet another easy way to do this quest is to kill him while he is outside. He leaves the house around 10-11PM, and it's relatively easy to kill him from behind and retrieve the boots from his corpse. Put yourself in the sneak position and make sure the guards don't detect you.

Is this really true? I have never seen him outside of his house, only his servant but not him. --MC S'drassa T2M 04:58, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Why don't you try it before reverting my contribution? Things aren't automatically false just because you personally haven't encountered it. Wait outside his door in the crouch position until about 10:30 or 11; it varies. He usually turns right and goes down the street by the posts. I believe that when you're trying to find him, someone mentions that he "only goes out at night." I'm playing the PS3 version, so if you want to dismiss my contribution out of hand, you can use that excuse... — Unsigned comment by 75.187.186.52 (talk) on 17 December 2009
(e/c) Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (or Morndas, Middas and Fredas if you prefer), Jakben will roam the Talos plaza between 10pm and 2am. At all other times he stays in his house. –rpehTCE 21:36, 17 December 2009 (UTC)
Okay, so how about:

Yet another easy way to do this quest is to kill him while he is outside. He leaves the house to wander the Talos Plaza District between 10PM and 2AM on Morndas, Middas and Fredas, and it's relatively easy to kill him from behind and retrieve the boots from his corpse. Put yourself in the sneak position and make sure the guards don't detect you.75.187.186.52 21:45, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Why not something like...

Yet another easy way to do this quest is to kill him while he is outside. He leaves the house to wander the Talos Plaza District between 10PM and 2AM on Morndas, Middas and Fredas, and it's relatively easy to perform a sneak attack on him and retrieve the Boots from his corpse.

"--Kri-Dar 21:59, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Saying "A sneak attack" implies you won't have to consider the guards and passerby seeing you. Also, there's no reason to capitalize boots, unless you're going to expand the phrase into "Boots of Springheel Jack." If you're going to be petty, I can be petty right back.75.187.186.52 22:15, 17 December 2009 (UTC)
I went ahead and added a variant of the note. –Elliot talk 22:26, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Vampire Nest

I was just wondering whether it's appropriate to mention that the catacombs re-spawn (Including all containers except for Springheel Jak's tomb IIRC), While it's not strictly related to the quest it does provide a very profitable and convenient dungeon, being a very small dungeon containing a Vampire Matriarch/Patriarch and a few random members of the Vampire faction, located in the middle of the Imperial city. It may affect players who are returning to the Catacombs because they believe they've missed something (Easily possible with the quests multiple bugs)and are expecting the catacombs to be empty, or filled with dead Vampires, instead find it bristling with, well, undead vampires.— Unsigned comment by 124.191.115.16 (talk) at 08:10 on 22 December 2009

I think it's more appropriate to mention it on Jakben's page. It will eventually be added on his page as part of the Oblivion NPC Redesign Project, probably being part of house contents. But, on the other hand, it might be beneficial for some players. So if you want, go ahead! Talk Wolok gro-Barok Contributions 11:02, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
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