Skyrim: The Dark Brotherhood Ending Was Different Originally

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, like this iconic opening sequence, has a number of notable events and missions the very first time the Dragonborn faces a dragon head-on, the whole guild of the Theovers, not to forget the Dark Brotherhood storyline. While Oblivion may have established the Dark Brotherhood, the work of Skyrim with a number of outstanding tasks and intriguing people is still remarkable. This led one of the creators of the game to discuss how this side mission should have ended.

When they first began the quest for the Dark Brotherhood, many were confused about how it would end. Emil Pagliarulo and others on staff had a talk and they agreed that the ending should deliver a bigger payoff and more excitement for those who played through it. Unfortunately, the original ending wasn’t given nearly as much promotion as the chosen one. In the original plot of the Dark Brotherhood questline, The Emperor is killed by the Dragonborn, revealing he was in fact a decoy. The Emperor’s doppelganger is the one murdered and the Emperor remains safe.

Todd Howard, the creative director of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, believed that a canonical death of a major character in the game would be more interesting, and, in the final version of Dark Brotherhood players kill the actual emperor.

Dark Brotherhood is a special group of assassins who operate secretly in Skyrim. Unlike the Thieves Guild and Brotherhood of Steel, the Dark Brotherhood does not openly advertise its existence. The Dark Brotherhood is one of the most famous factions in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; they first appear in the main questline, “The Dark Brotherhood,” when the player character and the first apprentice meet. Their primary activity is the assassination of targets. Because of their secretive nature, many myths and legends arose concerning these assassins.