Post by Lucien Lachance on Oct 22, 2008 12:46:42 GMT -5
Dark Brotherhood
General Information/History
The Dark Brotherhood is a guild of professional assassins with considerable influence and power. It is similar to Morrowind's Morag Tong and is in fact a splinter group of it; however, the legality of this organization is much more limited. Entry is governed not by completing a given task, but by the Brotherhood observing you committing murder.
According to Lucien Lachance, the Dark Brotherhood has sanctuaries all over Cyrodiil, however only one of these is ever accessible to the player; the basement of an abandoned house in Cheydinhal. This particular sanctuary was founded more than 200 years ago.
The current head of the Cheydinhal "family" is Ocheeva, however new family members are given instructions by Vicente Valtieri. Ocheeva receives instructions from the Speaker, Lucien Lachance, who is also responsible for recruiting new members. Lucien in turn receives his instructions from the Listener. The absolute leader of the Dark Brotherhood is the Night Mother.
Joining
Murder someone! As you've most likely heard spoken by citizens anywhere in Cyrodiil, the Dark Brotherhood recruits new members by locating murderers in their sleep. If you want to join and have yet to kill anyone, you must murder an innocent citizen. Upon killing a citizen, whether or not you were detected, a message will appear saying, "Your killing has been observed by forces unknown...." The next time you sleep in a "safe location," a message will appear saying, "The air grows chill and a shadow approaches...." You will then be woken by Lucien Lachance, a Speaker of the Dark Brotherhood. He will offer you membership and describe what you must do to be accepted.
Note that Lucien will not make his first appearance (to offer membership) if you sleep in the Inn of Ill Omen. However, second and subsequent appearances can occur if you sleep at this Inn. Lachance will still approach you if you use Rufio's bed, located in the basement of the Inn.
Targets
Almost any named NPC could be killed if you chose. Several quests involve killing NPCs, any of whom could be used as a target to gain entrance to the Dark Brotherhood. Also, after most quests are completed, people involved in the quest could become valid targets with no subsequent consequences.
Limitations
As long as nobody sees you when you kill someone, you will not gain a Bounty or have any subsequent problems with the law. However, completing Dark Brotherhood quests automatically earns you Infamy points. As explained in detail on the article on Infamy, gaining infamy has several effects. One of the most notable is that if your Infamy exceeds your Fame you cannot use temple altars for healing.
The Dark Brotherhood is not as well accepted as the Morag Tong. The Morag Tong is a government-sanctioned guild of assassins in Vvardenfell. In Cyrodiil, even trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood is illegal, not to mention being a part of it. If you are caught in the act of a murder, you are on your own. Whichever way you want to handle your bounty, the Brotherhood will not endanger other agents by helping you Eunlike the Thieves Guild, which will help its members pay off their bounties.
The Five Tenets. If you break these rules you are exiled from the Dark Brotherhood and have to defeat the Wrath of Sithis to be reinstated. However, you only have two chances before you are dismissed permanently.
The only Tenets you have any chance of breaking in the game are the Fourth and Fifth, which prohibit you from stealing from or killing your fellow assassins. There is no way, through conversations or your character's actions, to break the first three Tenets.
RANKS:
Murderer
Slayer
Eliminator
Assassin
Executioner
Silencer
Speaker
Listener (Main)
MORE INFO
The Dark Brotherhood is a guild of assassins shrouded in shadow and mystery. Their origins lie with the Morag Tong, but some time after the assassination of Potentate Versidue-Shaie by the Morag Tong in 2E 324 the Dark Brotherhood split away. The exact reason for this schism in the Morag Tong is a topic still debated on by scholars. One theory holds that, after the murder of Potentate Versidue-Shaie (and the outlawing of the Morag Tong throughout the whole of Tamriel) the Morag Tong appealed to the highest power in Morrowind to ensure their existence. The highest power in Morrowind at that time where the three god-kings, Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec. Mephala, whom the Tong worshiped as their patron goddess, was seen by the Dunmer as Anticipation of Vivec. This theory concludes that because of this it is logical to assume that in exchange for toleration of their continued existence, the Tong ceased their worship of Mephala in exchange for the worship of Vivec. The Dark Brotherhood could not forgive their brethren in Morrowind for this betrayal, resulting in the war between the two organizations that has lasted until this day.
Another, perhaps more disputed, theory holds that somewhere in the Second Era some members of the Thieves Guild found it efficacious to strangle the occupant of the house when performing a burglary. The leadership of the Thieves Guild disagreed with this and found it too dangerous for business. As a reaction to this, an unnamed female Guild member founded her very own murder syndicate. When members of the Morag Tong, disgruntled with the Tong’s assassination of Potentate Savirien-Chorak in 2E 431, joined this organization it became officially known as the Dark Brotherhood.
Although the reasons behind the schism might still be nothing but speculation, more is known about the exact date of the formation of the Dark Brotherhood. In 2E 358 a note was found beneath the floorboards of an abandoned house in the Nordic village of Jallenheim. Depicting a war going on between two shadowy organizations, scholars speculate that this note is a rare piece evidence about the war between the Morag Tong and it's hated offshoot, the Dark Brotherhood. This would make this note the first recorded evidence about the existence of the Dark Brotherhood. About fifty years later , in 2E 412, the Blood Queen Arlimahera of Hegathe wrote a short piece in her journals, mentioning that her family had enlisted the services of the Dark Brotherhood since her grandfather's time. Together with the note found in Jallenheim this puts the formation of the Dark Brotherhood somewhere between 2E 358 and 2E 360.
As was already mentioned, in 2E 431 they were involved in the murder of the Potentate Savirien-Chorak and all of his heirs, ending Akaviri rule over Tamriel. In the centuries thereafter the Dark Brotherhood showed just how powerful they really had become. In 3E 41 Tiber Septim's heir, Pelagius I, was murdered by the Dark Brotherhood while he was praying in the Temple of the One.
Today the Brotherhood can be found all over Tamriel and, although their business is certainly not legal, they are almost universally tolerated. Whenever an individual with legal authority takes an interest in their dealings, the Brotherhood relies upon a combination of bribery, blackmail, coercion, and murder to keep their activities hidden.
In contrast to the Morag Tong's veneration of the Daedric Prince Mephala, the brotherhood worship the void - Sithis. In addition, they see their murders as more of a business opportunity than as a matter of religion and honor. These differences have caused bitter enmity between the two organizations.
The leader of the Dark Brotherhood in Tamriel is the Night Mother, but facts about her are almost impossible to establish. Some suggest that the current Night Mother is the ghost of the first, who is now the wife of Sithis. Others say that the title is merely an honorific given to the current leader. Some even consider her to be none other then Mephala.
Next in command beneath the Night Mother is the Black Hand; a Listener and four Speakers. The Listener relays instructions from the Night Mother to the Speakers who will dispatch a brotherhood member to carry out the murder.
To obtain a contract with the Dark Brotherhood, it is necessary to perform a ritual to contact the Night Mother. The ritual involves stabbing some actual body parts (including a heart, skull, bones and flesh), within a circle of candles, with a dagger rubbed with the petals of a Nightshade plant, while whispering the plea, "Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear."
A special part of the Dark Brotherhood are known as the Shadowscales. In the Argonian homeland of Black Marsh, those born under the sign of the Shadow are taken at birth and presented to the Dark Brotherhood. A Shadowscale hatchling is then trained in the arts of stealth and assassination, and lives a life in service to the mighty kingdom of Argonia. Any Shadowscale who lives to come of age is accepted into the Dark Brotherhood as a full member of the family. If a Shadowscale deserts the Dark Brotherhood, the penalty is death.
In 3E 421 a Dark Brotherhood member named Greywyn began his own crusade against the Dark Brotherhood. Believing to have been ordered by Sithis to remove all non-vampires from the brotherhood, Greywyn founds an organization known as the Crimson Scars. His attempt failed however when a member of the Crimson Scar betrayed him to the Black Hand. The Black Hand swiftly retaliates and murders the Crimson Scars. The final fate of Greywyn, or his supposed sanctuary, is unknown.
General Information/History
The Dark Brotherhood is a guild of professional assassins with considerable influence and power. It is similar to Morrowind's Morag Tong and is in fact a splinter group of it; however, the legality of this organization is much more limited. Entry is governed not by completing a given task, but by the Brotherhood observing you committing murder.
According to Lucien Lachance, the Dark Brotherhood has sanctuaries all over Cyrodiil, however only one of these is ever accessible to the player; the basement of an abandoned house in Cheydinhal. This particular sanctuary was founded more than 200 years ago.
The current head of the Cheydinhal "family" is Ocheeva, however new family members are given instructions by Vicente Valtieri. Ocheeva receives instructions from the Speaker, Lucien Lachance, who is also responsible for recruiting new members. Lucien in turn receives his instructions from the Listener. The absolute leader of the Dark Brotherhood is the Night Mother.
Joining
Murder someone! As you've most likely heard spoken by citizens anywhere in Cyrodiil, the Dark Brotherhood recruits new members by locating murderers in their sleep. If you want to join and have yet to kill anyone, you must murder an innocent citizen. Upon killing a citizen, whether or not you were detected, a message will appear saying, "Your killing has been observed by forces unknown...." The next time you sleep in a "safe location," a message will appear saying, "The air grows chill and a shadow approaches...." You will then be woken by Lucien Lachance, a Speaker of the Dark Brotherhood. He will offer you membership and describe what you must do to be accepted.
Note that Lucien will not make his first appearance (to offer membership) if you sleep in the Inn of Ill Omen. However, second and subsequent appearances can occur if you sleep at this Inn. Lachance will still approach you if you use Rufio's bed, located in the basement of the Inn.
Targets
Almost any named NPC could be killed if you chose. Several quests involve killing NPCs, any of whom could be used as a target to gain entrance to the Dark Brotherhood. Also, after most quests are completed, people involved in the quest could become valid targets with no subsequent consequences.
Limitations
As long as nobody sees you when you kill someone, you will not gain a Bounty or have any subsequent problems with the law. However, completing Dark Brotherhood quests automatically earns you Infamy points. As explained in detail on the article on Infamy, gaining infamy has several effects. One of the most notable is that if your Infamy exceeds your Fame you cannot use temple altars for healing.
The Dark Brotherhood is not as well accepted as the Morag Tong. The Morag Tong is a government-sanctioned guild of assassins in Vvardenfell. In Cyrodiil, even trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood is illegal, not to mention being a part of it. If you are caught in the act of a murder, you are on your own. Whichever way you want to handle your bounty, the Brotherhood will not endanger other agents by helping you Eunlike the Thieves Guild, which will help its members pay off their bounties.
The Five Tenets. If you break these rules you are exiled from the Dark Brotherhood and have to defeat the Wrath of Sithis to be reinstated. However, you only have two chances before you are dismissed permanently.
The only Tenets you have any chance of breaking in the game are the Fourth and Fifth, which prohibit you from stealing from or killing your fellow assassins. There is no way, through conversations or your character's actions, to break the first three Tenets.
RANKS:
Murderer
Slayer
Eliminator
Assassin
Executioner
Silencer
Speaker
Listener (Main)
MORE INFO
The Dark Brotherhood is a guild of assassins shrouded in shadow and mystery. Their origins lie with the Morag Tong, but some time after the assassination of Potentate Versidue-Shaie by the Morag Tong in 2E 324 the Dark Brotherhood split away. The exact reason for this schism in the Morag Tong is a topic still debated on by scholars. One theory holds that, after the murder of Potentate Versidue-Shaie (and the outlawing of the Morag Tong throughout the whole of Tamriel) the Morag Tong appealed to the highest power in Morrowind to ensure their existence. The highest power in Morrowind at that time where the three god-kings, Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec. Mephala, whom the Tong worshiped as their patron goddess, was seen by the Dunmer as Anticipation of Vivec. This theory concludes that because of this it is logical to assume that in exchange for toleration of their continued existence, the Tong ceased their worship of Mephala in exchange for the worship of Vivec. The Dark Brotherhood could not forgive their brethren in Morrowind for this betrayal, resulting in the war between the two organizations that has lasted until this day.
Another, perhaps more disputed, theory holds that somewhere in the Second Era some members of the Thieves Guild found it efficacious to strangle the occupant of the house when performing a burglary. The leadership of the Thieves Guild disagreed with this and found it too dangerous for business. As a reaction to this, an unnamed female Guild member founded her very own murder syndicate. When members of the Morag Tong, disgruntled with the Tong’s assassination of Potentate Savirien-Chorak in 2E 431, joined this organization it became officially known as the Dark Brotherhood.
Although the reasons behind the schism might still be nothing but speculation, more is known about the exact date of the formation of the Dark Brotherhood. In 2E 358 a note was found beneath the floorboards of an abandoned house in the Nordic village of Jallenheim. Depicting a war going on between two shadowy organizations, scholars speculate that this note is a rare piece evidence about the war between the Morag Tong and it's hated offshoot, the Dark Brotherhood. This would make this note the first recorded evidence about the existence of the Dark Brotherhood. About fifty years later , in 2E 412, the Blood Queen Arlimahera of Hegathe wrote a short piece in her journals, mentioning that her family had enlisted the services of the Dark Brotherhood since her grandfather's time. Together with the note found in Jallenheim this puts the formation of the Dark Brotherhood somewhere between 2E 358 and 2E 360.
As was already mentioned, in 2E 431 they were involved in the murder of the Potentate Savirien-Chorak and all of his heirs, ending Akaviri rule over Tamriel. In the centuries thereafter the Dark Brotherhood showed just how powerful they really had become. In 3E 41 Tiber Septim's heir, Pelagius I, was murdered by the Dark Brotherhood while he was praying in the Temple of the One.
Today the Brotherhood can be found all over Tamriel and, although their business is certainly not legal, they are almost universally tolerated. Whenever an individual with legal authority takes an interest in their dealings, the Brotherhood relies upon a combination of bribery, blackmail, coercion, and murder to keep their activities hidden.
In contrast to the Morag Tong's veneration of the Daedric Prince Mephala, the brotherhood worship the void - Sithis. In addition, they see their murders as more of a business opportunity than as a matter of religion and honor. These differences have caused bitter enmity between the two organizations.
The leader of the Dark Brotherhood in Tamriel is the Night Mother, but facts about her are almost impossible to establish. Some suggest that the current Night Mother is the ghost of the first, who is now the wife of Sithis. Others say that the title is merely an honorific given to the current leader. Some even consider her to be none other then Mephala.
Next in command beneath the Night Mother is the Black Hand; a Listener and four Speakers. The Listener relays instructions from the Night Mother to the Speakers who will dispatch a brotherhood member to carry out the murder.
To obtain a contract with the Dark Brotherhood, it is necessary to perform a ritual to contact the Night Mother. The ritual involves stabbing some actual body parts (including a heart, skull, bones and flesh), within a circle of candles, with a dagger rubbed with the petals of a Nightshade plant, while whispering the plea, "Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear."
A special part of the Dark Brotherhood are known as the Shadowscales. In the Argonian homeland of Black Marsh, those born under the sign of the Shadow are taken at birth and presented to the Dark Brotherhood. A Shadowscale hatchling is then trained in the arts of stealth and assassination, and lives a life in service to the mighty kingdom of Argonia. Any Shadowscale who lives to come of age is accepted into the Dark Brotherhood as a full member of the family. If a Shadowscale deserts the Dark Brotherhood, the penalty is death.
In 3E 421 a Dark Brotherhood member named Greywyn began his own crusade against the Dark Brotherhood. Believing to have been ordered by Sithis to remove all non-vampires from the brotherhood, Greywyn founds an organization known as the Crimson Scars. His attempt failed however when a member of the Crimson Scar betrayed him to the Black Hand. The Black Hand swiftly retaliates and murders the Crimson Scars. The final fate of Greywyn, or his supposed sanctuary, is unknown.