The Dark Brotherhood | The Elder Scrolls Podcast #20 

Drew is a fountain of knowledge... He's quiet most of the time, but... Uncertain about lore? Drew to the rescue!

I just wish destroying the brotherhood had more to it. Tracking down members, discovering plots of assassination...etc.

Well to be fair, the Skyrim branch of the dark brotherhood doesn't die even if you do that quest to destroy them. No mater what you do, Cicero, Babbet, the whiterun fortune teller, and the night mother all survive, and there will still be an assassin on the emperors ship. And don't forget the little boy that you got your first contract from.

In Raven Rock's temple, I wish they scripted dialogue for if you have azura's star, the ebony blade, and the ebony mail in your inventory. The priest guy could be all blown away by seeing someone who is the champion of all three of the "good" daedra... also if you have the ebony blade and encounter the morag tong, they should see the blade and bow before mephala's champion... Lols, that would be fun...

you can ask the members of the brotherhood for tips when you have an active main quest. babette will tell you about the statue, gabrielle tells you to shoot victoria from the other alcove, where she left a bow called "finiriel's end". so, yeah, the dialog is there.

In Oblivion I killed 1 of the guards sent through the Kvach portal to get his sword and armour so the Dark brotherhoods talent scouts are very good to have found out about a killing that happened in a different plain of existence

While under Astrid, the Dark Brotherhood stopped following the tenets and became much more independent and about survival and income rather than about serving Sithis. I think the whole point of the Skyrim DB quest line is that Astrid was in the wrong and was punished for it. She breaks most if not all of the tenets, dismisses any authority the Night Mother and by extension the Listener has, and in the end she's punished and most of her beloved family gets killed. To me, this indicates that the Dark Brotherhood will return to the old ways and adhere to them more in the future, leading to prosperity. Babette even says she was around when they abided by the old ways, but she kind of doesn't anymore, mostly because she likes Astrid and is just following her lead though.

The quest "bonuses" in Skyrim are sometimes more than just monetary. The assassin ghost and the Ring of the Nightweaver just to name a few. Edit: The Ancient Shrouded Armor as well!

You should do a podcast on vampires and there history.

Drew the Daedrologist steering it back on track 👍

i wann see atlest a refernce to cicero cuz he's got like his own fandom within the dark brotherhood fandom

Hot chocolate, rainy weather, FudgeMuppet TES podcast. Ah yes, it's all coming together.

I’d like to see a Hashashin inspired assassin group in Hammerfell - I reckon it would suit the overall theme of Hammerfell. I’m excited by the idea of the alikr deserts possibly with some buried cities to explore, and possibly some Caribbean-esque pirating coastal regions. I’m very excited for the middle eastern cities and honestly the whole theme seems to be amazing. Maybe even some inspiration from Petra in Jordan P.s. love what you guys do

I love these deep dives guys, nice to get you All sitting around talking about something we all love!

The Dark Brotherhood sounds like a hard-rock band

Skyrim's dark brotherhood challenges do also include bonuses, including the gem from Olava the Feeble who gives you your future telling, or an extra ring from the old man, or a unique ring from Muiri. Also, similar to the aftereffects of your murders in Oblivion, there's outcomes resulting from your work. Muiri again - murdering Nilsine as well as the bandit she sent you after first will result in Nilsine's mother committing suicide over the death of another daughter, and her husband sinking even further into despair. So there's those aftereffects. It was also a nice touch to allow you to destroy the dark brotherhood instead. I do wish they'd fleshed out the people a bit more, but I think if you talked to the other Dark Brotherhood members about the different targets you have they give you more of the information and tips/hints about how you might creatively deal with them.

3:26 oh boy, here I go killing again.

5:23 Weatherman: “Yeah we’ve got a 60% chance of f o u l m u r d e r over in Morrowind, better bring your poisoned candles and umbrella”

Are we gonna have to cause a dragon-break to get an episode about the Numidium? I swear they had plans from ep 1

Earliest I have ever been for these guys.

You know, I'd read that the lady believed to become the Night Mother had been a Dunmer woman. Maybe they've got different sources. 🤔 Cicero, however, became one of my favorite characters because of his journals. After I spared him and kept him around as a follower, he grew on me.

how did i just find out you lads have a podcast hell yes

There's one thing i don't get regarding Bethesda and the Dark Brotherhood. What is the point of coming up with an awesome Assassin Guild and then in the last two Elder Scrolls games come up with a stupid storyline where they nearly wipe out themselves? That is absolutely counter-productive.

HAIL SITHIS!

It would be cool if instead of joining you help establish a new chapter for them in hammerfell with its new base. Having it be detached from the empire would make it a cool place for them to quietly rebuild.

Scott straight up looks like a character from ES 4 Oblivion.

I really like the Skyrim Dark Brotherhood because of the variety of assassin characters in the sanctuary - they aren't all just people who sneak up and stab people with daggers - they have a mage who likes to blow people apart, a guy who fights his prey in single combat, etc.

Like drew was gonna say, in Dragonborn DLC, the Morag Tong are on solstheim, after the tribunal is gone. So SOME family is retaining contact with some faction regardless of size

The Dark Brotherhood is one of my favorite guilds, I loved being an assassin in Oblivion and Skyrim

I honestly want a podcast around Akatosh and all his different interpretations but also how Akatosh is related to Lorkhan with how some Dragonborn were also Shezzarine

I am so early that Jyggalag hasn't turned into Sheogorath yet

Remember, in the emperor's ship there is another assassin on board, other than the dragonborn.

Babette tells you about the statue option during the Vici wedding ✌️doing that quest again today as I'm listening

The dark brotherhoods ruling body is the black hand, mephala is said to have black hands , eno hlaalu wears black gloves to symbolize mephalas black hands.

You guys are great. I listen to the podcast while I play Morrowind a lot recently.

I started playing ESO because I got so tired of waiting for TES6. I will be 40 by the time of release.

the best dark brotherhood quest was the (party) one where you have to kill all the guest without the others knowing and the fact that your the one with the key everyone is looking for

Love you guys. Keep up the amazing work.

yay another podcast i can rewatch 20 times

Just saying the specter of Lucien Lachance makes comments about the dread father. If you haven't had the specter summoned when clearing the Dawnstar sanctuary I really recommend it. That or find a youtube video that I'm sure has it lol.

I love these so much, please keep doing them!

I love the idea that Vivec was the first Night Mother that orchestrated the Morag Tong/DB split, probably as a way to send all these terrible assassins outside of Morrowind to save the Dunmeri people from their unrestrained murderous ways. Mephala is most likely the first Night Mother, but Vivec is Anticipated by them, and he seemed to take credit for the split in his Sermons. Plus that would really rustle the DB’s jimmies. ;)

Maybe a questline based around rebuilding the brotherhood and you can choose to follow a more old school path with the tenets being reinstated or follow a more in it for the money like skyrim. Have it start by sleeping under a moonless sky outdoors and you receive a dream from sithis or the nightmother that leads you to an old abandoned sanctuary in the mountains and gives you the words to open the door finding the nightmothers coffin and the keepers skeleton dressed in the armor of the dark brotherhood and the first few quests can be you going out and finding people who have committed murders and getting them to join the new brotherhood

I love the deep diving discussion into the TES lore, guys! Keep it up! :D

If the three criteria of DB returns in ES6, it’s ten-ish years later, and it’s in the Illiac Bay region are met, I would want to be recruited by an aging-but-still-capable Nazir to rebuild the Brotherhood in the area. So instead of destroying the memorable cast of assassins, you build them up this time while taking contracts, with the quest line ending with you being a Speaker (because the Listener is still in Skyrim), and getting to choose between a few unique assassins to be your Silencer (faction follower).

Hardest thing to in Skyrim in Dark Brotherhood questline is choising between sparing or killing Cicero.

You get the ghost of lucien lachance and the extra set of special brotherhood armour as quest rewards

Michael hits the nail on the head at the beginning of this podcast. It would be better for BGS to be more creative and create or flesh out some other assassin organization for players to interact with. But like with the BoS and SuperMutants in Fallout, the Brotherhood is so established among the fans that they will almost certainly exist as a full faction in TESVI. BGS seems more inclined to include fan-favorite staples and handwave excuses for their inclusion, than to stick to their established continuity and let the DB fade to history.

yes, a great podcast yet again!

2:20 i find it so cute how Drew says he thinks the Morag Tong will be in ES6 even though its likely gonna be in Hammerfell and then everyone giggles at him

I have a theory that if the night mother is truly mephala taken a guise to continue her self worshipping assassins cult upon the rise of the tribunal, then perhaps the sudden downfall of the brotherhood is because she has diverted her favor again back to the morang tong since they must be worshipping her again since the fall of the tribunal, that would explain their own comeback

One of the most interesting aspects of The Brotherhood is the Nightmother imo. Whether she appears as a spirit or a corpse, the way their contracts work is really cool.

I remember in oblivion the Night mother was portrayed and referenced as a wood elf in ghost form, with her skeletal remains in the Bravil tomb, then in skyrim she's exhumed as a still decaying corpse with human shaped ears. Rather inconsistent. Plus in ESO I'm pretty sure I played a quest in Blackmarsh where Sithis literally talks to the player in the form of a spiritual snake. Unless it was an imposter.

Oh yes my favorite in game group 🤗 was waiting for it so muchhh

Around 6:20 Drew calls Michael, Mick, today of fudge muppet we will be looking into the deeper lore reasons as to how these friends developed a mick name

Pretty sure Babette tells you about the statue you can push over because it's so old. I know they do have dialogue about using it.

I can see the tong returning and there being an element of them interfering with the Brotherhood's work. But as for a traditionally Dunmer guild taking over the assassin industry of all provinces, I doubt it. If we go back to Morrowind in a game, yes. But the DB transcends borders and race, which is what makes it so versatile. You can't realistically have a bunch of dunmer assassins, sanctioned by the government of morrowimd, running around Hammerfell and/or High Rock and killing their citizens without serious repercussions -- like war. The DB is not tied to any governing body, so they're a much safer choice for all your murderous needs when outside morrowind.

Was hoping we’d get a sithis tangent... Perhaps a discussion about the primordial entities of Elder Scrolls perhaps?

My favourite assassin's guild. Thanks guys.

The Mroang Tong and dark brotherhood are enemies if you complete the thieves guild and return it to its former glory you get a dark elf member that use to be a Mroang Tong and he says they rival the dark brotherhood

Babette tells you about the statue if you talk to her about the contract and the mage woman tells you about the ledge where you find the unique bow. I can't remember her name though

Thanks for this!

the DB, especially in oblivion, was 100% my favorite. but never because it was edgy or anything or because i particularly liked the idea of being an assassin(Though I never minded that either), but rather because of just how oddly *nice* everyone there is. like, seemingly everyone in oblivion is rude as hell to the pc, but then the dark brotherhood is there and treats you so well and i just fcjhjjhg. it just gives off such paradoxically good vibes

While I don’t share in the worship of Sithis as the Dark Brotherhood does, _I do worship_ his/its soul, the one being who started it all, and the one being who will end it all, and allow for _true transcendence,_ beyond Aedra and Daedra. That being, the only god worthy of worship to me, is, of course, _the Missing God who goes by many names._ Some call him Sheor, and others call him Shezarr. Some know him as Sep, and others know him as Shor. Some understand him as Lorkhaj, The Tricky Cat. And others know him as an evil Trickster God, whose name feels like chewing broken glass when uttered, and thus shall not be named. It matters not how you know him, but it _does matter_ that he exists because of, and thanks to the Dread Father, Sithis, the manifestation of the Void itself. So while I do not _worship_ Sithis, I feel an eternal sense of gratitude to him/it for what he/it sparked in the Aurbis. And that is why, I will leave everyone with a hearty, full-throated, and proud, “HAIL SITHIS!” 💀

It would be so awesome for bethesda to make an entire game based fully off of the dark brotherhood and being an assassin!! Like reform the shadowscales or the crimson scars are trying to be reformed!!!

If the storyline lines up, I would love to see Nazir in The Elder Scrolls Vl.

Morag Tong: A mastery of murder and betrayal will help you get ahead in this cruel and indifferent world. Mephala has taught us that, while sometimes distasteful, deception and violence are a reality of the world and it is better to be the deceiver than the decieved. Dark Brotherhood: mURdeR iS CoOl! HaIL sITHis!!!

I agree Scott, as soon as Microsoft bought Bethesda, I began to recall the best first person sword/spell combat I've ever experienced: Arkane Studio's "Dark Messiah of Might & Magic". I would love nothing more than the people responsible for that and Dishonored to build a smaller, more intimate open world where changes could actually take place based on actions. Your idea rocks, you could easily write the game where you could choose who you'd wish to follow after the schism.

Fuck yeah!!!! Great way to start my Sunday

Oh boy, here I go killing again!

Thanks!

I just want Drew to read to me every night b4 bed

There is also that in lore the instant death from mehrunes razor might be intended to be more effective against people who are important

The dark brotherhood was my fav quest line i did in skyrim

Hey Fudge, are you guys continuing the greatest of all time series? Still waiting for the the greatest High Elves and Dark Elves of all time video

I was just watching another one of your dark brotherhood videos

Great episode! Also the dark brotherhood in skyrim does have bonuses; for example kill vici while shes addressing the crowd. I believe that's how u get the Lucian Lachance spell. also i think the morag tong will return in es6 because the thief in riften who was a former morag tong says the members are waiting to return.

Catch me anxiously waiting for Michael’s DB comparison video

Oblivion Thieves guild was the best. Great moral side , and detailed main plot line. . Second DB Skyrim for the detailed plot line. The Companions were a good story line But it was a poor replacement for the fighter's guild that did exist in Skyrim in Daggerfall , & Oblivion .

My wish has been commanded!!

I believe Scott was looking for “aftermath”?

Pushing the gargoyle on Vittoria Vici is meant to give you a bonus, but the scripting on the quest is bugged. IIRC the only way to really get it to work is sniping her with an arrow on the balcony during her heartwarming speech.

I really love the rivalry between the dark brotherhood and the morag tong as it helps the emersion in the dragonborn dlc because if you are a brotherhood assassin when you're hired by the second of Raven Rock you have kinda a twisted glee about being an assassin hire too clear out a den of assassin's and if you're not well it as good of a reason as any other to join

Hail sithis brother

There should be a redguard assassin guild based on the hashashin of the Middle East

You should do a video on the orgins of trolls and their subtypes

Yesss!!!

you should try to do a podcast on the top best fiction from the books of the different games like "a dance of fire", "the real Barenziah", "the mirror" etc...

The first time I had an experience with the dark brotherhood was in the arena of oblivion. When you get to the end and have to kill the half vampire half orc champion, he is completely passive in the fight. If you complete the arena quest completely before joining the brotherhood, it becomes the next step off of the story of the arena. I loved it at the time as a way to intertie all of the game into itself. Even now I love how it scripted out that way making me feel like I had publicly displayed how unmerciful a killer my character was. I wish in that game there were more questlines that fed into the dark brotherhood like the arena felt like, rather than a generic series of events that happened to occur after killing literally anybody that was a neutrally dispositioned character.

in skyrim even if you kill the dark brotherhood (astrid/nazir/arbijorn etc) you never truly will cuz cicero is still with the nightmother, as long as the nightmother lives the brotherhood lives.

I love this channel and ES is by far my favorite video game series, but I recently discovered the lore behind Cyberpunk 2077 and it's incredibly dense, I think many of us that are overhyped for Cyberpunk would love to see some analysis of the lore behind the upcoming game

Could you do a video about what will happen when the dragonborn dies because with the amount of deadra who have the right to your soal when you die there would be a war of the gods over your soal

I think Cicero either hears Sithis or Mephala, or even The Night Mother but not as good as The Listener would hear her Because in The Dark Brotherhood Questline in Skyrim, when Astrid asks us to kill Cícero, with we Summon The Dark Brotherhood Spirit that we gain, he talks that killing Cícero is not What The Dread Father want

I liked The Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim but I absolutely loved them in Oblivion they were so cool in oblivion

I have a build idea that you could look into, a sneaky assassin character that uses restoration Magic and illusion to kill their targets, like the poison rune

All hail the dread father and the eternal night mother

Still waiting on Fudgemuppet to do a podcast on the Asir. I know they will get tired of covering the same lore over and over eventually.

This isnt my idea but It would be cool if you could side with the penitus oculatus and join the dark brotherhood as a spy it would make the speech skill line so much better. Now heres me adding to that idea, The story would include stuff like the DB becoming suspicious of you, having to frame one of the members, and even having to kill an innocent person to prove your loyalty to the DB (obviously there would be an option to fake the kill).

Is there any way you can make a video/talk about the size of Tamriel as a continent, its geography, real world size, travel times via walking, horse, ship etc,, distance + real world comparisons and real world cultures?

Scott looks like a Breton ... drew looks like a nord and Michael looks like an imperial... all we need is a fudge muppet member who looks like a redguard and we will have all the races of man ... now for the mer....