Destroy the Dark Brotherhood - Enhanced
⚪ Last updated 2021⚠️ Install Order · 5 steps
Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.
Preview

🔍 Analysis
- 👍 2.4% endorsement rate — high engagement, a strong quality signal
- 🏆 #9 of 11 Guilds/Factions mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
Have you ever been disappointed that your righteous hero misses out on so many unique treasures of the Dark Brotherhood? Are you a loyal Son/Daughter of Skyrim who can't stand having to work with the Penitus Oculatus just to destroy a blight on your homeland? Or have you simply had your immersion broken when a Stormcloak guard tells you to report directly to Commander Maro, an Imperial agent? Well, this mod should cater to all of your tastes!
How it works:
This mod overhauls the vanilla Destroy the Dark Brotherhood quest. The quest plays out normally until you have to report Astrid's death to a guard. Instead of reporting you to Commander Maro, they give you a paltry reward of 200 coins. However, after reporting Astrid's death, players will eventually receive a note from a courier. This note asks you to meet a new NPC.
This new NPC has a personal grudge against the Brotherhood and dedicated his life to eradicating them. Old and frail, and having heard of your deed in the defeat of Astrid, he employs you to do the dirty work.
He first asks you to track down the jester Cicero to beat the Sanctuary's passphrase out of him.
At this point the quest plays out the same, but with a few differences. Festus and Gabriella will now hold the Darkstalker's Band and Firiniel's End, respectively. Babette is also here and killable, though technically optional. If you do kill her, you'll get the Jarrin Root. She doesn't fight back unless you hit her, she just kind of stands there to watch, which I think makes sense since she's still technically a child and not very physically adept.
Once you report back to the NPC, he'll thank you for realizing his life's goal and gives you Tumbler's Bane, found during his own efforts to destroy the Brotherhood.
And that's the end. It's not too complicated, maybe a bit cliche, but I think it will be useful for roleplayers who may not like the other popular alternative Penitus Oculatus that forces players to join an Imperial aligned faction. Plus you get the quest exclusive items you normally miss out on.
How to obtain the other items:
[]Emperor's Robes/Gilded Wristguards: Found on the Brinehammer, which has been rebranded as a decoy boat for the emperor, with some added backstory found in notes on some bodies. These can be obtained at any time, which means you can obtain duplicates, but these are neither powerful nor expensive, so I'm ok with it. The owner of the Winking Skeever hints where you can find it.
[]Ancient Shrouded Armor: Found where it normally is at Hag's End, enabled as soon as Astrid has been killed.
[*]Vittoria's Wedding Garb: If the player pays a visit to the dungeons of Solitude, they'll notice a new prisoner there. He is a follower of Sanguine who stripped the bride at her own wedding. If the player agrees to pay his fine of 350 septims, he'll tell them where he stashed the i
Destroy the Dark Brotherhood - Enhanced lets Skyrim players wipe out the Dark Brotherhood without committing to the usual questline, offering a politically neutral path and access to all the unique loot normally missed. With over 1,000 endorsements and 41,000 downloads, it's a proven alternative for completionists.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Community favorite with 1,006 endorsements and 41,779 downloads
- Gives you a fresh way to take down the Brotherhood without feeling railroaded
- You finally get that sweet unique loot without breaking your roleplay
⚠️ Cons
- Last updated in 2021, so it might not be fully compatible with the latest Skyrim updates or mods
- Potential conflicts with other mods that alter the Dark Brotherhood questline or faction
- The politically neutral approach might not fit players who want a more aggressive or morally charged playthrough
For Skyrim players who want to destroy the Dark Brotherhood but hate being forced into a specific moral stance, and for completionists who can't stand missing out on unique items. Skip if you're fine with the vanilla questline or if you're running a heavily modded setup with other Brotherhood overhauls.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Make sure to start this mod at a point where you haven't already begun the Dark Brotherhood questline to avoid conflicts.
- If you're using a mod manager, let it handle the file placement to keep your load order clean.
- Check your load order to ensure this mod loads after any other mods that touch the Dark Brotherhood.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Skyrim Mods
- Author
- Commander Shrekard
- Version
- 1.20
- Downloads
- 41,779
- Endorsements
- 1,006
- Category
- Guilds/Factions
- Created
- 1/6/2021
- Updated
- 7/10/2021
🔧 How to Install Skyrim Mods
Download from Nexus.
📖 Full step-by-step install guide for Skyrim →
Visit the official mod page for specific installation instructions for this mod.
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