How to Get and Use the Adoring Fan in Oblivion Remastered

To recruit the Adoring Fan in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, become the Imperial City Arena’s Grand Champion. That means defeating Agronak gro-Malog, the Gray Prince, completing Ysabel Andronicus’s reward step, and leaving the Arena. The Adoring Fan then approaches outside and offers to join you.

What unlocks the Adoring Fan

The Adoring Fan is tied to the Imperial City Arena questline. He is not available at the beginning of the game and does not appear simply because you visit the Arena. You must complete the climb through the Arena ranks, defeat the reigning Grand Champion, and finish the post-fight conversation with Ysabel Andronicus.

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The decisive opponent is Agronak gro-Malog, better known as the Gray Prince. After you defeat him, the game still expects you to return to Ysabel and complete the rank-and-reward step. Only after that conversation and your exit from the Arena does the follower encounter occur.

Guide descriptions differ slightly on the total number of matches. Destructoid describes more than 20 fights, while GameSpot calls the route nearly two dozen fights. Treat those figures as approximate descriptions of the Arena climb, not as a guaranteed count for every character or progression path.

Before you start the Arena climb

The Arena is a substantial commitment rather than a quick side visit. You will be asked to return for multiple rank conversations, so plan on making repeated trips to the Imperial City. The Arena fast-travel point is available by default, and GameSpot places it on the eastern side of the city. Using that point saves time when you need to report a result or begin the next match.

Make a manual save before entering the Arena area and another between rounds. Bethesda Support specifically recommends saving before entering and between matches because a stalled progression trigger is much easier to recover when you can return to a recent save. Keep those saves until you have spoken with Ysabel after the Gray Prince fight and seen the Adoring Fan outside.

Bring healing and equipment suited to your level, and repair or replace anything that is close to failing. The exact loadout is up to your character, but the route includes many fights and the final encounter is not reached immediately. The follower cannot be recruited early as a way to help with this preparation; the Grand Champion milestone is the prerequisite.

Step-by-step: recruit the Adoring Fan

1. Reach the Imperial City Arena

Travel to the Arena district on the eastern side of the Imperial City. The Arena fast-travel point is available by default, according to GameSpot. You can also enter the district normally and look for the Arena building.

Speak with Owyn inside the Arena to begin the sequence. He handles the initial registration and directs you into the rank-based fights. Save before entering the Arena area and keep additional saves between rounds; Bethesda Support recommends this precaution for progression problems.

2. Work through the Arena ranks

Owyn’s early matches lead through a series of increasingly difficult ranks. Continue accepting the fights and return to the Arena staff whenever a round ends. The game’s progression is tied to these rank conversations, so do not assume that winning a match alone advances every part of the quest.

• Talk to Owyn when a new fight is available.
• Enter the Arena only when you are prepared for the next match.
• Return to the Arena staff after each victory to receive the next objective.
• Keep a manual save before entering the Arena and another between rounds.

The number of battles is substantial. Bring healing, repair supplies, and equipment appropriate for your level, but remember that the Adoring Fan cannot be recruited until the final Arena milestone.

3. Accept the Gray Prince challenge

As you approach the top rank, Ysabel Andronicus tells you about the reigning Grand Champion, Agronak gro-Malog. You must challenge him rather than merely winning another ordinary rank match.

Follow Ysabel’s instructions, then return to her to begin the final battle. If the challenge dialogue is not available, check that you have completed the preceding rank fight and spoken with the Arena staff after claiming its result.

4. Defeat Agronak gro-Malog

Fight Agronak in the Arena and win the match. Destructoid reports that he drops Agronak’s Raiment. Take that item to Ysabel as proof of the victory.

Defeating Agronak is the event that grants the Grand Champion rank, as also described by GameSpot, but the dialogue with Ysabel is still required to finish the sequence. Do not leave the Arena immediately after the fight without speaking to her.

5. Complete Ysabel’s reward conversation

Return to Ysabel after the battle and hand over Agronak’s Raiment when prompted. She awards the Grand Champion rank and a Raiment of Valor. This is the completion point that turns the victory into the final Arena reward sequence.

If you exit before this conversation, the Adoring Fan encounter may not trigger. Make sure the rank and reward dialogue has finished before leaving the district.

6. Leave the Arena and accept his offer

Exit the Arena after speaking with Ysabel. Outside, the Adoring Fan approaches and offers to accompany you. Choose the dialogue option “Follow your esteemed Grand Champion!” to recruit him.

He is linked to your Grand Champion status, so the encounter should occur after the completed reward step rather than after the fight alone. If you decline the offer, Destructoid says he waits outside the Arena and can rejoin you later.

How to tell whether the unlock worked

The reliable sequence is not simply “win the final match.” You should have all of the following signs: Agronak is defeated, Agronak’s Raiment has been taken to Ysabel, Ysabel has awarded the Grand Champion rank and Raiment of Valor, and you have left the Arena. The Adoring Fan then approaches outside and presents the recruitment dialogue.

If you see no approach immediately, do not repeat the Gray Prince fight first. Re-enter the Arena and check Ysabel’s dialogue, then leave the building again. A missing reward conversation is a more likely explanation than a missing follower, especially if you left directly after the battle.

How to give the Adoring Fan orders

Follow

Speak with him and choose the option that tells him to follow. He then travels with you as a basic companion. You can take him into the open world, dungeons, and battles, but his role is intentionally simple.

Wait

Use the conversation option that tells him to wait when you want to enter an area alone, avoid exposing him to a fight, or leave him in a safe location. Speak with him again when you are ready for him to resume accompanying you.

Dismiss and re-recruit

If you dismiss him or initially decline his offer, he remains associated with the Arena. Destructoid reports that he waits outside the Arena and can rejoin you later. Return to the Arena exterior and speak with him when you want to take him along.

The practical command set is therefore small:

Command or choice	Effect
Follow	The Adoring Fan travels with you.
Wait	He stays where you leave him until you speak with him again.
Dismiss or decline	He remains outside the Arena and can rejoin later, according to Destructoid.

How to use him without creating problems

Use wait proactively rather than after he has already entered a dangerous room. Before opening a door, starting a fight, or moving through a narrow dungeon passage, leave him in a safe location if you do not want him involved. When the area is secure, return and choose follow. This makes his limited command set useful even though he has no elaborate tactical menu.

For travel, treat him as company rather than as a reason to change your entire build. He can accompany ordinary exploration and combat, but the available descriptions do not present him as a dedicated healer, damage specialist, or inventory manager. Keep your own healing, defense, and carrying plans in place.

What the Adoring Fan is useful for

Think of him as a flavor-focused companion rather than a specialist. GameSpot describes him carrying a torch and offering encouragement from the sidelines during combat. Those behaviors make him entertaining company and occasionally useful in dark areas, but they do not turn him into a dedicated damage dealer, healer, or equipment manager.

• Light: His torch can help illuminate areas while he is with you.
• Companionship: His enthusiastic comments provide comic relief during exploration and combat.
• Basic support: He can follow you and participate in the general follower experience.
• Limited specialization: He is not presented as a combat specialist or an inventory mule.

Plan encounters with those limits in mind. Do not build a difficult fight around the assumption that he will defeat a major enemy, carry your excess loot, or replace a purpose-built combat strategy. If you need to protect him, use the wait command before pulling enemies into a confined space and resume following afterward.

What happens if he dies?

Destructoid says that the Adoring Fan returns within three in-game days if he dies in combat. That behavior is a secondary-guide report, not an official guarantee: Bethesda’s surfaced support material for Arena progression does not confirm follower death or respawn mechanics.

Because the behavior is not confirmed by Bethesda, treat it as a practical report rather than a rule to rely on. If he disappears after a fight, wait or sleep for three in-game days and check the Arena exterior. If he does not return, reload a save from before the encounter and verify that the follower relationship was fully established.

Troubleshooting: the Arena will not progress

Some progression problems involve the game failing to register time, equipment, or the completion of a round. Bethesda Support’s Arena guidance provides a sequence of resets that can clear these states.

Use a save from before entering the Arena area

Reload a save made before you entered the Arena district or started the problematic sequence. This is why a manual save before entering and another between rounds is valuable: you can retry the trigger without losing the entire Arena climb.

Leave and return

Fast-travel away from the Arena, then fast-travel back. Re-enter the building and speak with the relevant Arena character again. An area transition can cause a stalled progression check to run again.

Check the Arena Raiment

If the issue involves time or equipment not registering, remove bound equipment and re-equip the Arena Raiment. Bethesda specifically recommends this check. Confirm that the required Arena gear is actually equipped before beginning the round again.

Wait or sleep for three in-game days

Use an in-game wait or sleep period totaling three days, then return to the Arena. This can refresh delayed quest and character states. It is separate from real-world time; the instruction concerns the game’s calendar.

Restart the game

Save, close the game completely, and restart it. Load the earlier save and retry the Arena step. A full restart can clear a temporary state that survives ordinary area transitions.

Check mods

If you use mods, disable or remove them temporarily and test the Arena on a clean load. Bethesda lists mod interference as a possible factor in progression problems. Keep a backup save before changing your load order, and restore your normal setup only after confirming that the Arena sequence advances.

Verify the reward dialogue

After defeating Agronak, make sure you have spoken with Ysabel, delivered Agronak’s Raiment, and received the Grand Champion rank and Raiment of Valor. Leaving after the battle but before this dialogue can make it appear that the Adoring Fan has failed to spawn when the reward step is simply incomplete.

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A compact unlock checklist

• Travel to the Imperial City Arena and speak with Owyn.
• Complete the Arena rank fights.
• Speak with Ysabel when she introduces Agronak gro-Malog, the Gray Prince.
• Accept and complete the challenge.
• Defeat Agronak.
• Take Agronak’s Raiment to Ysabel.
• Receive the Grand Champion rank and Raiment of Valor.
• Leave the Arena.
• Choose “Follow your esteemed Grand Champion!” when the Adoring Fan approaches.

Common mistakes that delay recruitment

Looking for him before becoming Grand Champion

The Adoring Fan is not an early-game recruit. Visiting the Arena before completing its rank sequence will not make him appear.

Stopping after Agronak’s defeat

The Gray Prince’s death is necessary, but the sequence is not finished until Ysabel’s reward conversation is complete. Return to her before leaving.

Missing the item hand-in

Defeating Agronak and possessing Agronak’s Raiment are not the same as completing the hand-in. Speak with Ysabel and make sure the item is accepted and the Grand Champion reward is awarded.

Declining the dialogue and assuming he is gone forever

According to Destructoid, declining the offer or dismissing him leaves him outside the Arena, where he can rejoin you later.

Expecting a powerful specialist

His appeal is personality, torchlight, and encouragement. He should not be treated as a replacement for a dedicated combat build or as a guaranteed solution to a difficult encounter.

Changing mods without a backup save

If you suspect a mod is blocking progression, preserve your current save before disabling anything. Testing on a clean load is safer than permanently changing a campaign without a fallback.

Availability context

Bethesda’s April 22, 2025 getting-started article listed Oblivion Remastered for Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, PlayStation 5, and PC. That dated platform statement does not establish current regional availability, pricing, or edition details. The recruitment steps above concern the game’s Arena questline regardless of platform.

You do not need a separate accessory, consumable, manual, or special purchase to recruit this follower. The required path is entirely inside the game: progress through the Arena, defeat the Gray Prince, finish Ysabel’s reward dialogue, and leave the building.

Sources and certainty

The unlock sequence and follower commands are reported by Destructoid and GameSpot guides. Bethesda Support supplies the Arena troubleshooting recommendations, including reloads, area transitions, Raiment checks, three-day waits, restarts, and mod checks. The reported three-day return after the Adoring Fan dies comes from Destructoid and is not confirmed in Bethesda’s surfaced support guidance, so it should be treated as an unofficial behavior rather than an assured mechanic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recruit the Adoring Fan before completing the Arena?

No. You must reach Grand Champion by defeating Agronak gro-Malog, completing Ysabel Andronicus’s reward step, and leaving the Arena.

Do I have to speak with Ysabel after killing the Gray Prince?

Yes. Take Agronak’s Raiment to Ysabel and finish the conversation awarding the Grand Champion rank and Raiment of Valor before leaving.

What dialogue recruits him?

When he approaches outside the Arena, choose “Follow your esteemed Grand Champion!”

Can I get him back after dismissing him?

Destructoid reports that he waits outside the Arena and can rejoin you later if you decline or dismiss him.

Is the Adoring Fan a strong combat follower?

He is best treated as a simple, flavor-focused companion. GameSpot describes torch-carrying and encouragement, not specialized combat, healing, or inventory management.

What should I do if he disappears after dying?

Destructoid reports a return within three in-game days, but Bethesda does not officially confirm that behavior. Wait or sleep for three in-game days, check the Arena exterior, and reload an earlier save if necessary.

How can I fix an Arena quest that will not advance?

Bethesda recommends reloading an earlier save, fast-traveling away and back, removing and re-equipping the Arena Raiment, waiting or sleeping three in-game days, restarting the game, and testing without mods.

How many Arena fights are required?

Guide descriptions vary: Destructoid says more than 20, while GameSpot says nearly two dozen. Treat those as approximate descriptions rather than a fixed formal count.

The Bottom Line

Complete the Imperial City Arena climb, defeat Agronak gro-Malog, finish Ysabel’s reward conversation, and leave the Arena. Accept the Adoring Fan’s offer outside, then use his follow and wait commands as needed; he is entertaining company with limited practical utility.

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Adoring Fangame guidesImperial City ArenaOblivion RemasteredThe Elder Scrolls