How to Join the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim?

Let’s be honest here, playing as the good guy in every video game is getting a bit played out.

With all the powers that the Dragonborn has, you might’ve wondered, what if the fearsome Dragonborn joined the dark side and turned evil?

Well, that’s exactly what we’re doing here by joining the Dark Brotherhood.

The Dark Brotherhood is a group of assassins who worship Sithis and kill people in its name.

To join the guild, you’ll need to complete an assassination mission for an orphan in Windhelm. Soon after, you’ll get abducted by the leader of the brotherhood, and then you will get the invitation to become a member of the guild.

Joining the Dark Brotherhood offers a nice change of pace from your usual hectic fighting style.

The quests that you get upon joining the guild puts heavy emphasis on the stealth aspects of the game which I believe is loved by every player.

Additionally, you will also have access to rarer weapons and items in the game after joining the guild. So, considering all the fun perks that the guild offers, let’s move on to steps on how to actually join their fellowship.

There aren’t any pre-requisites questlines that you’ll need to complete in order to join the Dark Brotherhood. In fact, you can join the guild as soon as you complete the intro sequence of the game.

Head to any inn and speak with the innkeeper. Pick the ‘Heard any rumor lately’ dialogue option. Eventually, they’ll mention a kid named Aventus Aretino, who is trying to make contact with the Dark Brotherhood. Alternatively, you can also head to the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften to start the quest line.
Travel to Windhelm and enter Aretino’s residence.
Speak with the kid. He’ll ask you to eliminate Grelod the Kind.
Head to Riften and kill Grelod, you’ll find her usually in the Honorhall Orphanage. Killing her inside the orphanage will not add a bounty to your head.
Return to Aventus and tell him about the assassination.
Now, you’ll need to kill some time. Fast travel to different cities and after 24 in-game hours, a courier will stop you and hand you a note.
Open the note, there should be the message ‘We know’ along with a black handprint.
Head to an inn and buy a room or sleep on your bed.
You’ll be teleported to a shack upon waking up. Here, you’ll meet Astrid, leader of the Dark Brotherhood.
Now, you’ll have to kill a captive to leave the place even if you don’t want to. Or you can also eliminate all three of them.
Astrid will be pleased and invite you to join the Brotherhood.
Head to the location marker and interact with the Black Door. The password for the door is ‘Silence, my brother’
Speak with Astrid again, and she’ll welcome you to the guild.

Perks of Joining the Brotherhood

There are many spells, items, and weapons exclusive to the Dark Brotherhood guild. The most notable is the Shrouded armor set.

It is a unique enchanted light armor made from leather. It’s also one of the few armors sets featuring a cool-looking cowl.

Stats-wise, the cuirass increases your poison resistance by 50%, and boots muffle your footsteps, allowing you to be more stealthy.

As for the gloves, they double the damage done from backstabs, whereas the cowl adds 20% more damage to your bows.

Completing quests for the guild will grant you rare items such as the Muiri’s Ring, a crucial item if you’re looking to make strong healing potions.

Next, we have Shadowmere, the immortal horse that is significantly better than all the other horses in the game. The red-glowing eyes of the steed add so much to its intimidating factor.

And finally, you can get the legendary dagger, ‘Blade of Woe’. This weapon steals health from enemies on every hit making it a must-have if you’re playing as a stealth character.

Besides rare rewards, there are also a lot of side quests you can complete from the guild as well. You can take up assassination contracts from Nazir to eliminate the unfortunate citizens of Skyrim.

Taking out your target efficiently will generally yield more gold coins, making this an excellent way to earn currency.