I have few questions as well...

1. All the guilds in the game, can I join all of them or am I restricted to a few based on my character? Like for example if I'm a fighter... I can only be in a fighter guild, or can I be in a mage, thief, and etc. guild.

2. I over heard that creatures in the game kind of level-up the same time as the player. So for example, if I just level to Lv.10... from now on every other creature is more or less Lv.10 or up. So is there any accuracy to that statement?

3. Xbox 360 question, is there a 3rd person view... and how good is it?

I have yet to play Oblivion... I'm still going thru GRAW on Hard and I was moving a long pretty well, until I hit the tank mission... what a pain. Until now it was ok... even Mission 4 was so surprisingly easy on hard but Tank mission just drove me nuts. Hell with it, I'll play Oblivion tonight!

I haven't played enough to see it happen yet, but I've read in interviews that as time passes and you level up, new inhabitants will make a home of dungeons you have previously cleared.

1. Your class won't restrict you from joining particular guilds, but depending upon your skill set the quests for a given guild might vary in difficulty. For example, a character heavily focused on magic use might have trouble with some of the quests handed out by the fighter's guild. Check the character creation thread for more in depth discussion of what choosing a class means in the game, but short story is that no matter what class you choose, you can use whatever skills you like. You won't improve as quickly at skills that are outside your class focus, but nothing will keep you from using them if you want to.

2. Yes, creatures are leveled up along with the player. That isn't to say that they will always be the exact same level as you, but rather that the game will always be appropriately challenging.

3. Yes, there is a third person view, but I don't really use it. It is mostly there for examining your character model, really. It might also prove useful when trying to be stealthy (ie, you can better tell whether or not you are in the shadows) but the game is really designed to be played from the first person view.

With wandering NPCs, empty places may not stay empty long. I was in a small undercity dungeon where I didnt belong and was just snooping around curiously when 5 (FIVE!) hostile NPCs came down the ladder where I was watching 3 (THREE!) other hostile guys. I was beaten to a bloody pulp.

Oblivion is a dangerous place. Watch your back

Guilds are just another part of the world. Membership in a guild will give you access to jobs, intrigue, and services that you would not be privy to if you were not a member. So basically, yes to your question, plus a lot more.

So is leveling still ridiculous in that you can take athlethics as a primary and just level up by running around. Ditto on armor skills and blocking. They fix that at all?

Like Edwin's picture says, yes, but you won't have much fun and might be in bad a bad state when you go into a dungeon with nothing but a high athletics skill.

You think that is bad... try having a game on a shelf for 2 day and try resist playing it!

I've read that it depends on what was in the dungeon/cave (thugs, pirates, goblins, etc.) but for the most part they will repopulate within a few days of you clearing them out. I believe the idea was that with you being nice enough to clear out the space, others will come in take it over and make it their new home. Loot will also re-populate.

I was actually curious about this myself. I spoke with an NPC who told me that he was kicked out of the Fighter's Guild for having been caught stealing. I would guess the devs put that in there as a hint to the player that stealing will indeed get you kicked out, but I haven't tested it myself. Playing as a Thief/Mage I've stolen a lot of items from the Mages guild (and resold them back the shopkeeper in there.. hah!) but nobody's caught me yet. Actually, since I'm in the guild I don't think they consider it stealing (no red hands on any of the items I pick up) so I can basically pick something up off the shelf and turn to the shopkeeper and sell it to him. Perhaps that will be someting addressed in a patch.

Yeah, I'm really wishing I hadn't taken speechcraft as a major skill. I use it VERY often (have to get that extra gold or two out of the merchants, you know?) but it is causing me to level up a lot faster than I would like. On the bright side, it is giving me big bonuses to personality, which is good because illusion is probably the minor skill I have been using the most, and it is governed by personality.

The manual explains this by saying that the justice system is very efficient in Cyrodil.

Cheesy, I know, but the fact is that if you get reported for commiting a crime, you will get a bounty and you will get stopped by guards and asked to either pay that bounty as a fine or go to jail. So even if you are no longer in possession of stolen goods, if you were seen stealing or trespassing or killing without cause, you will be a marked man in the guards' eyes throughout the world.

So for now, your only option is to pay the fine, I think. If things work as they did in Morrowind, eventually there should be someone in the Thieves Guild who can take care of a bounty on your head for a drastically reduced price if you become a member of said guild.

In the future, just be more careful about breaking the law, and make sure to check your stats page if you think you may have been reported for committing a crime.

1000 fine and you don't have stolen goods on you? Did you kill someone?

I got one question too. Why would I buy books? The guy at the bookstore lets me read them without calling the guards.

Hmmm....

I did accidently fireball an Imperial Guard as we took back a city. Knocked him clean across the courtyard. He sort of got in the way. It wasn't my fault. Honest!

So you think the bounty is for murder?!? Sheesh! I'm only trying to save the world here, people. Where's the forgiveness?

Hmm, I'm not sure if accidental killing of a friendly character in battle counts as murder... perhaps I'll give it a try when I get an opportunity.