How To Join The Dark Brotherhood Skyrim
Gaming How To Guide

How to Join The Dark Brotherhood In Skyrim

Here’s a useful tutorial on How To Join The Dark Brotherhood In Skyrim. 2021 has been a year of many things, many ups and downs but one thing that has made this year better is yet another release for one of the best games of all time, Skyrim! The special occasion for this re-release? The 10th anniversary of course!

November 11th 2021 marks the 10th anniversary for this remarkable game and with it comes a special anniversary edition of the game, and with that a whole host of new and returning players.

So whether it’s your first time playing or you just need a refresher on what’s going on in Tamriel we here at CodeWithMike have got you covered.

How to Join the Skyrim Dark Brotherhood

In the land of the Skyrim Special Edition there are many different factions the Dragonborn can join and none are more brutal than the Dark Brotherhood.

This group of ruthless assassins are Skyrims’ version of an urban legend. You complete a ritual and the person you want dead will end up dying soon after.

But enough of their in-game creepypasta, you want to know how to join this obscure group. Well I’ve got some good news for you, I’ve got a step-by-step guide to help you.

Step 1: The Inns

So first off what you want to do is head to one of the many inns located around Skyrim. If you’re having trouble finding one then head to any of the major cities and you’ll stumble across one pretty quickly.

Once you’ve entered the inn then head straight to the innkeeper who will usually be stood behind a bar. Start a conversation with them.

Make sure that you ask them about the latest rumors and they will tell you about a cursed child performing the black sacrament to summon the Dark Brotherhood. This will start the quest Innocence Lost.

There are other ways to start the quest, like going straight to the Aretino household in Windhelm or asking Maul about the Dark Brotherhood rumours when entering Riften for the first time.

Step 2: Complete Innocence Lost

Next off you want to complete the innocence lost quest, this is easy enough.

To do this you need to talk to Aventus Aretino in his house in Windhelm where he will ask you to head over to Riften to take out Grelod The Kind, the horrible and abusive matron of Honorhall Orphanage where Aventus was sent after his mother died.

This is one of the only murders you can commit in Skyrim with witnesses and not get a bounty.

Step 3: Wait

After completing innocence lost you have to wait 24 hours in game, after you do this the Dragonborn will be approached by a courier with an ominous note with a black hand print on it with only the words, “We know”.

When you get the note your next step is to go and sleep in a bed.

This doesn’t have to be a player owned bed, any bed will do fine. After you have slept you will wake up in a mysterious cabin with a member of the Dark Brotherhood and three people tied up.

Step 4: Choose a Victim

Astrid (the leader of the Dark Brotherhood) tells you that because you stole a contract from the Brotherhood you now have to pick one of the three people in the room to kill, the catch, you don’t know which one has a contract put out on them.

Once you choose your victim Astrid invites you to join the Brotherhood by telling you the location of their base and the secret code to enter through the dark door.

There is a secret ending to this quest where you kill all three people tied up in the room. After doing this Astrid will congratulate you for your initiative and still invite you to the Dark Brotherhood.

One last warning, if you’re wanting to join the Brotherhood then don’t attack Astrid as this will begin a quest to destroy the Brotherhood instead.

Step 5: Profit

Now you’re a member of the Dark Brotherhood, you have access to their base and all quests relating to them.

Join The Brotherhood
Join The Brotherhood

How To Join Dark Brotherhood TLDR

  • Speak to Aventus Aretino in Windhelm.
  • Accept his request to kill Grelod the Kind, mistress of the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften.
  • Go to sleep in a bed.
  • When you wake up you’ll be in an Abandoned Shack
  • Astrid will ask you to kill one of her prisoners.
  • Kill one of the prisoners.
  • Astrid will then give you the location and more importantly, the password to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
  • Head to the Falkreath Hold to join the faction.

How many factions are in Skyrim

There are a good number of factions in Skyrim that you can join. Provided you also own the Dawnguard DLC, there are 15. Each faction has its own unique story, characters and power struggles and challenges that you’ll need deal with and resolve.

  • The Bards’ College
  • The Blades
  • The Greybeards
  • The Stormcloaks
  • The Imperial Legion
  • The Companions
  • The Volkihar Clan
  • The College of Winterhold
  • The Dawnguard
  • The Theives’ Guild
  • The Dark Brotherhood

Ranking The Skyrim Factions

9. The Thieves guild

Coming in at last place is The Theives Guild. It’s really only worth doing to acquire the Skeleton Key. The game haven’t really given a typical ‘Robin Hood’ guild a fair chance at being a decent part of the game. It’s a pretty pathetic attempt to be honest. Get the Skeleton Key and move on, don’t spend much time on this one.

8. The Bards college

Really only useful to train your speech. There’s no point in the Bards College as you can’t really play music in the game. It’s still slightly better than The Theives Guild though and that alone makes it worth while joining.

7. The Blades

The Blades guild is a really interesting concept. I really like the dragon slaying aspect and the fact that their initiation mission forces to kill someone that’s close to you! There a fairly nasty bunch and that makes them a decent guild to join.

6. The College Of Winterhold

The College of Winterhold is a guild of mages. It is a faction of magic-users. They have fairly strict rules around killing and stealing items from your fellow members. It makes for an interesting play though but it’s also fairly easy.

5. The Companions

The Companions is a great way to start a brand new game save or brand new character. The guild gives you plenty of companion options. They also give you a handful of abilities that’ll leave you in good stead early on in the game. You’ll get the dragon breath and the werewolf ability. The guild also has some pretty savage characters, it’s fairly placed at number 5 on the list.

4. The Greybeards

The Greybeards are up there as one of the best guilds purely for annoying the blades. The Greybeards are the better choice for most players as they give you more interesting quests and allow you to explore the countless dungeons of Skyrim.

3. Volkihar Court

The court of lord Harkon is the home of vampire players. Join this guild to get access to many perks including blood potions, death hound, vampire amulets and rings. Best of all, you get a fantastic place to get out of the sun! We all know sunlight is bad for Vampires.

2. Dawnguard

If your a Vampire you will want to stay away from the Dawnguard’s. They’re vampire hunters! If you do join you’#ll get plenty of perks aimed at those players hunting the blood suckers. It’s an interesting guild to join as it gives you a simple and thoroughly enjoyable mission statement, hunt down those vampires. The guild also has troll followers, dwarven crossbows, huskies, spells and plenty of powerful equipment.

1.Dark brotherhood.

Easily the best guild to join. The dark brother hood missions and the contracts you take on award you with so much gear it makes sense to join this guild as soon as you get the chance. Join the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim to get given the following rewards: 35K gold, Lucien Lachance will be a follower, The Blade of Woe, Shrouded Armour, Jesters Armour and more. And that’s the rewards, I’ve not even mentioned how good the actual story is! It’s well worth the number one spot.

Join The Brotherhood F.A.Q’s

What is the name of the inn in Windhelm?

Candlehearth Hall. It’s the very first building you’ll see when entering Windhelm.

How do you get the Blade Of Woe?

You can get the Blade Of Woe by Killing Astrid and starting the “Destroy the Dark Brotherhood” mission. You can also get it by pick-pocketing Astrid using the pickpocket perk. You could end up with two blades if you pickpocket Astrid and then go ahead and finish the Dark Brotherhood questline.

Where is the the Dark Brotherhood’s sanctuary?

Go to Windhelm. Listen out for “Aventus Aretino” and then head over to his house in the city. Once you’ve found him performing the ritual to summon the assassins. He will send you to Riften. There, you must Kill Grelod at the orphanage. Sleep in a bed and wait a couple of days. Astrid along with a few others will find you. Kill one of the people she brought with her. Then, head to Falkreath. Follow the map to the sanctuary. It can be found located underneath the road it’s tough to see at first. Use the passphrase to gain access.

Final Thoughts

So there’s a full guide on how to join the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim. However, if you’re like me and you’ve done all of these quests 1000 times over then you should check out this list of 5 of my top 5 mods to help keep things fresh in the world of Tamriel.

If you enjoyed this guide and want some more gaming content like lists and opinion pieces then make sure to check out our gaming page.

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