What Happens If You Don’t Kill Astrid in Skyrim? The Dark Brotherhood Awaits!
The short answer? If you don’t kill Astrid during the quest “With Friends Like These…”, you embark on the main questline of the Dark Brotherhood, becoming an assassin and engaging in a series of morally questionable (but often entertaining) contracts. You’ll experience the full breadth of the Dark Brotherhood’s storyline, gain access to unique quests, armor, weapons, and ultimately, influence within the organization. Refusing to kill Astrid is the only path to joining the Dark Brotherhood.
Choosing to spare her unlocks a rich narrative experience, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and, of course, murder. Let’s delve deeper into what this decision entails.
The Path of the Assassin: Joining the Dark Brotherhood
By obeying Astrid’s initial demand (killing one of the bound hostages), you essentially accept her offer to join the Dark Brotherhood. This triggers a series of quests that will take you across Skyrim, eliminating targets for various clients.
New Quests and Characters
You’ll meet a colorful cast of characters within the Dark Brotherhood, each with their own quirks and motivations. Characters like Nazir, Babette, Festus Krex, and Cicero will become familiar faces, offering quests, advice, and even a bit of dark humor along the way. These characters add depth and personality to the guild, making it more than just a collection of assassins.
You’ll progress through a series of contracts, starting with relatively simple assassinations and escalating to more complex and morally challenging tasks. The contracts often involve unique scenarios and environments, showcasing the creativity of the game’s design.
Rewards and Benefits
Joining the Dark Brotherhood offers several tangible benefits:
- Unique Armor and Weapons: The Shrouded Armor set and the Blade of Woe are powerful and stylish, enhancing your assassin skills. The Ancient Shrouded Armor found later in the questline is even more powerful.
- Gold and Resources: Completing contracts rewards you with gold, allowing you to purchase better equipment and training.
- New Abilities: As you progress, you’ll learn new techniques and skills, making you a more effective assassin.
- Sanctuary Upgrades: You can upgrade the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, adding new features and improving its functionality. This includes new vendors and training opportunities.
- Leadership Potential: Eventually, you’ll have the opportunity to rise through the ranks and become a powerful figure within the Dark Brotherhood.
The Looming Betrayal and Death Incarnate
While joining the Dark Brotherhood offers many rewards, it’s important to remember that this is a world of shadows and deception. Astrid, despite initially recruiting you, has her own agenda.
The Betrayal
As hinted at in the provided text, Astrid ultimately betrays you. This betrayal stems from her desire to maintain control over the Dark Brotherhood and the fear that your growing influence will threaten her position. Her actions set in motion a chain of events that lead to the destruction of the Falkreath Sanctuary.
Death Incarnate
Regardless of your choices, Astrid’s fate is sealed. During the quest “Death Incarnate”, the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary is attacked by the Penitus Oculatus, and Astrid is gravely wounded. Ultimately, she asks you to kill her to fulfill a contract and ensure that the Brotherhood survives, in some form. This tragic end highlights the dangers of the assassin’s life and the complex moral choices that define the Dark Brotherhood questline. You absolutely can not avoid her death.
Consequences of Joining
By choosing to join the Dark Brotherhood and progress through its questline, you’re effectively condoning a life of murder and deceit. This can have implications for your character’s roleplaying experience, especially if you’re playing a character with a strong moral compass. You may find yourself wrestling with the consequences of your actions and the impact they have on the world around you.
However, the Dark Brotherhood storyline is one of the most engaging and well-written in Skyrim, offering a unique perspective on the darker side of the game’s world. It’s a journey filled with memorable characters, challenging quests, and morally ambiguous choices that will leave a lasting impression.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions about the consequences of not killing Astrid and joining the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim:
1. Can I really not save Astrid?
No. Astrid’s death is a fixed event in the game. No matter what choices you make, she will die during the “Death Incarnate” quest. There are no alternative endings or ways to prevent her demise within the standard game mechanics.
2. What if I try to heal Astrid with magic?
Healing spells and potions will not prevent Astrid’s death. Her death is scripted as part of the questline, making her impervious to any healing attempts.
3. Can I still get the Blade of Woe if I don’t kill Astrid immediately?
Yes. You can obtain the Blade of Woe by progressing through the Dark Brotherhood questline. It’s given to you by Astrid at a later stage. You can also pickpocket it from her, or, after her death, loot it from her corpse.
4. Is it possible to betray the Dark Brotherhood after joining?
While you can’t outright “betray” the Dark Brotherhood in the sense of siding with an opposing faction, the questline explores themes of betrayal from within the organization. You will eventually kill other members.
5. Does joining the Dark Brotherhood affect my reputation with other factions?
Joining the Dark Brotherhood does not directly affect your reputation with other factions, unless you are caught committing crimes while fulfilling contracts. However, your actions may be seen as morally reprehensible by some NPCs.
6. Can I become the leader of the Dark Brotherhood?
Yes. After completing the Dark Brotherhood questline, you become the Listener, effectively the leader of the organization, guided by the Night Mother.
7. What happens if I ignore Astrid and go straight to Volunruud?
You can go to Volunruud, but the relevant quest (“Delayed Burial”) won’t properly start until you’ve spoken to Astrid. The chest in Amaund Motierre’s chamber can be looted, but the quest-related events won’t trigger without Astrid’s involvement.
8. Is there a moral choice in killing the hostages or should I just kill the Khajiit?
While Astrid implies that the Khajiit is the obvious choice, the decision is entirely up to you. Killing the Khajiit might ease your conscience, but all three hostages are guilty of crimes, so there’s no truly “good” option. Ultimately, the “correct” choice is whichever one you feel is right for your character.
9. What are the benefits of destroying the Dark Brotherhood instead of joining?
Destroying the Dark Brotherhood allows you to roleplay as a morally righteous character and eliminate a force of evil from Skyrim. You also get to fight a challenging group of assassins and claim their unique gear.
10. Are all the Dark Brotherhood members unkillable if I don’t kill Astrid at the start?
No. Only during the quest, are they unable to be killed. Once that quest is over, members can be eliminated. They simply have a high health pool.
11. Can I marry Muiri if I destroy the Dark Brotherhood?
No. You must complete the Dark Brotherhood quest “Mourning Never Comes” to marry Muiri. Destroying the Dark Brotherhood prevents you from completing this quest and marrying her.
12. Is the Dark Brotherhood a necessary evil in Skyrim?
This is subjective and depends on your character’s worldview. Some argue that the Dark Brotherhood provides a necessary service by eliminating those who deserve it, while others see them as a purely malevolent force.
13. Are there mods that allow me to save Astrid?
Yes, there are mods that alter the game and allow you to save Astrid or change the Dark Brotherhood questline. However, these mods are not part of the base game and may have compatibility issues. Check out Games Learning Society for mod reviews to make sure you’re making the best choices!
14. What unique equipment does Astrid drop if I kill her at the start?
Astrid drops the Blade of Woe, the Shrouded Armor set (armor, boots, cowl, and gloves), and the key to the Abandoned Shack.
15. Can I still complete other questlines if I join the Dark Brotherhood?
Yes. Joining the Dark Brotherhood does not prevent you from completing other questlines in Skyrim. You can be a member of multiple guilds and factions simultaneously.
Choosing to spare or kill Astrid is a pivotal decision that dramatically alters your Skyrim experience. By choosing to spare her, you are entering a world filled with shadows and intrigue, a world that will test your morals and skills as an assassin. Make your choice wisely, Dragonborn!