Your character never asks to be the leader though. Cicero flipped and went nuts and Astrid doesn't like the Night Mother as a challenge to her authority. We killed Cicero (or said we did at least) and Astrid isn't about to take down the Night Mother, so she decides you're the one who is expendable. You know, despite killing for her over and over, despite performing the most high profile assassinations, and despite you helping her with her paranoia and then tracking down Cicero and helping her husband.

Above and beyond what was expected of the "new blood" and she still turncoats you. Just like the Blades and Paarth.

Yeah, she abducted me while the housecarl and wife watched me sleep.

I liked Skyrim's DB but it will never compare with Oblivion's DB.

Astrid really is an idiot, so, because of this, my Honorable nord found it in him to skewer her on his sword.

And my assasin, well he relished in seeing her mutilated later on. She corrupted and violated all that the brotherhood meant, even going so far as to reject the 5 tenants and the sacred night mother herself. Heck I had Luciens ghost out most of the time and you could tell he didnt like her choices, so of course I followed the advice of the amazing Wes Johnson- er Lucien Lachance.

This. Also, she sits all the way up there, where I can hit her once, wait three seconds for her to come down to kill her, or kill her in the middle of her descending animation.

Also, her end-of-the-questline decision is also beyond idiotic and I thought it was a really cheap ending. Bethesda could have done better, especially with how awesome the DB was in Oblivion.

"You're the one coming after me and my brothers and sisters. But if I sell someone out to save us, you'll leave us alone, you say? Yeah, I'll believe you!" *gets betrayed*

Also the issue of the fact that like 3 quests of the entire DB line were pretty much made redundant. Find the guy who knows the chef who cooks for the emperor, kill him, find the guy guy who cooks, kill him, then pose as a chef and kill the emperor, then kill his body double all because Astrid was a [Bleep]. You do kill him later on but still, it's kind of an empty quest line in hindsight.

What's hilarious is you find out where the Emperor is FROM THE GUY WHO HIRED YOU TO KILL HIM.

Wow, talk about wasted resources.

Heh. At that point I guess I would be saying "so wait.... you know where Mede is, but YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO TAKE HIM OUT?" *sigh*

To be fair, hiring the Dragonborn is a bit like hiring an army.

But.... you don't NEED an army for Mede. He's an old man, who KNOWS his only option is to die gracefully.

She was an idiot. The kidnapping wasn't as much of a problem as what she did with the DB. She was threatened by the tenants which separated the DB from a rag tag bunch of merc/assassins. And she was threatened by the Night Mother. I captured her soul. Why let a perfectly good Grand soul go to waste when you have a perfectly good empty black soul gem? Well, we are now back on the dark path.

very true, i about lmao off whne i got that spell form her, went ahead and used it, and the first thing he says is that this place could really benfit from a good old fashion purification...while i am right there talking to Astrid...i think thats what gave her the heads up...

Because he knows the DB has marked him for death. The way he stares into the face of death without fear, without pleading is the reason I grant his last request.

Take him out with what? his good lucks, his money? his singular bodyguard? He didn't hire the DB to find the Emperor he hired them to kill the emperor.

I haven't done the DB quests yet, but the reason most peple hire hitmen is so they can be far removed from the scene of the crime thereby giving themselves an alibi.

Edited for grammar.

Hail Sithis!

edit: And no Astrid really isn't stupid, as much as she's overly ambitious in an incredibly stupid way. Besides overconfidence, hubris in particular, seems to be her most favorite sin. A clearly imprudent trait when serving as the Nightmother's self appointed "Listener". It's unwise to piss off the Nightmother, even though she might have been rotting for the last millenium. Not even Cierco---the resident psychotic Village Idiot---would dare fantacize of f@ cking with Sithis. But so far, Astrid has managed to do both---and is thereby playing with fire.....

Astrid is an idiot.......................because apperently she forgot to check about my history with all my other guilds and about the mysterious circumstances of the leades of those guilds...

Precisely! As soon as Astrid covinced the others to abandon the tenets, the Night Mother and Sithis, their fate was sealed. It was only a matter of time until their end came. One thing I found interesting was, Festus. He was the one who was most adament against Astrid's methods...but ended up meeting the same end as the others. Meanwhile Nazir (blatantly supported Astrid) and Babette (on the fence) both survived....Sithis works in curious ways.

As the Nightmother says in Oblivion, don't confuse them for gods who care about you. No matter how loyal, how fanatical, or how devoted - Sithis will kill you as easily as anyone else.

They respect strength.

Which means you're on your own.

Touche'.

Sadly, I have to agree. I pretty much enjoyed the Dark Brotherhood questline right up to the point where Maro tells you of her betrayal. And the slaughter of the sanctuary? Really? Your family gets wiped out AGAIN?

*sigh*. Loved every part of the Dark Brotherhood until then. Barring Nazeem- I really disliked his character. At least I can summon Mr. Lachance and have a PROPER Dark Brotherhood member give me advice.

It will be the final reform of the brotherhood. The imperials are just a tool for that. Cicero, supposedly, wants the Brotherhood to go back to the old ways and in his position as listener must have convinced a few that he's right. Astrid is a cold blood professional with little faith in religion and traditions. Let's say that the Night mother corpse burned down with the sanctuary. No more listener. No more silly religion cult attracting mad and deranged murderers (seriously, between Oblivion and Skyrim the Brotherhood seems more an asylum than a guild of assassins).

Reform the brotherhood. No more cult but a mere guild of professionals. Cold blood. Nothing personal. No silly justifications or pledges to gods and daedra. I can understand that and I wish it could be possible to support her way of thinking. Sadly Bethesda implemented quest so that they can be ended only in one way. The ability to erase the DB as an outsider was the only major concession

The Brotherhood, without Sithis and the Night Mother, is nothng more than hired thugs. We see what happens when you deny the biggest part of the Dark Brotherhood.

The only person i liked in DB was Babette, she's about the only "kid" that isn't an annoying little [censored].
I wish Webster(the pet spider) survived the fire I also liked Gabriella & festus or w.e there names where. But anyways yeah, F*** astrid she's a ass nugget.

Also, to be blunt, the Nightmother and Sithis don't exactly HAVE any goals. Sithis is Melrunes Dagon without the ambition and she's an undead psychopath. The "Five Tenants" aren't even real rules. They amount to, "don't kill other members, don't steal from them, don't turn down orders."

Wow, what a religion.

Like the Thieves Guild, they're a business which has the good sense to ask for the support of the god of their profession.

Poor Astrid. My killer was happy to stick with her in charge.

The spider's name is http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Lis.