A while back I decided I wanted to adopt one of the kids from the orphanage just to check out what kind of dialogue you get. Naturally, to do this I had to kill Grelod (I threw a tomato at her) and then go talk to the Arentino kid. Since then I have been avoiding sleep like the plague. Its been weeks now since I last slept and I can't take it anymore. I have to make a decision!

I have never played the DB quest line. I have always chosen to destroy them. I hate the things you have to do in that quest line. I couldn't even hack the DB in Oblivion, and that was a lot tamer the the DB in Skyrim. But now I am thinking about doing it for once. Its not that I don't know the story. I've watched a play through on youtube. So I know how things shake out. But I have never done it myself.

The only positive I can think of is that I would have the chance to kill Cicero, the most annoying character in all of Tamriel. I don't need the horse. I have a better one I can summon anytime I want. I can get all the DB apparel (except the jester stuff) by destroying them. I can get a blade of woe off of Astrid's corpse. So what can I get from actually doing this quest line?

Help convince me to take the plunge and do the horrible, horrible things this quest line involves. (Conversely, convince me that there really isn't a point if the story is not going to reveal anything new.)

I tried the Dark Brotherhood quest. I quickly discovered that it didn't like the way it made me feel. When the character who was doing it ceased to exist (data accident), I didn't try again.

I make a policy of not destroying them, because I actually like them. They're the most interesting characters in the game. But you can hang out with them without doing the questline.

Thanks for that idea. I never thought of that.

You can have the spectre of Lucien Lachance on call, if that means anything to you. It didn't do much for me, but then I have no nostalgic attachment to his character from Oblivion. It sounds like you might be much the same in that respect.

There is also a chance to acquire a token that gets Olava in Whiterun to tell your fortune, which leads to a quest wherein you can obtain the unique http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Ancient_Shrouded_Armor#Ancient_Shrouded_Armor. Since I wasn't a big fan of the standard Shrouded stuff that didn't mean much to me either.

Others will say that the DB questline is very lucrative but I've made far more money with other characters through other less nefarious means.

I dunno, I'm not the best person to convince anyone, lol, I only did it once to see what it was like and wasn't impressed. I would have to be very bored with other types of characters to do it again. Yeah Shadowmere was nice but not worth doing that questline IMO. A couple of the DB members are amusing characters when you take time to talk to them but then you also have to deal with Astrid and Cicero for almost the entire duration of the questline so that's kind of a trade-off.

whats the nature of your character?

My character Salessi Darkwater will have nothing to do with the Dark Brotherhood or Thieves guild. I did what I had to with her so she could adopt Runa from Honorhall. The first night I had her sleep in her bed in Windstad Manor not far from that abandoned Dark Brotherhood shack. Salessi was very angry at being kidnapped in the middle of the night, and the fact they dared enter her home. It was a blood bath. Every single Dark brotherhood member died.

Now my character Ruth Ann Drygoon who I had do just about everything possible, is already finished with the Dark Brotherhood questline. So when she does decide to start a family, this issue won't come up.

Do you forsee your character wanting to do anything with the darkbrotherhood? No? Yes? If your character is not an empire supporter, do it. The Dark Brotherhood is a very fun questline if you like sneaking about killing targets. I enjoyed it. But for my character Salessi, that sort of action is not for her. She does quests/kills to help people. not because someone paid her to.

Here's a thought: I've never done the Boethia quest. Never wanted to sacrifice anyone before. Could I sacrifice Cicero? Does he lose his essential status once you gain him as a follower? He would make the perfect sacrifice!

Nope. He's essential after you spare him.

And you best stop hating on my favorite follower

If all you want to do is get Cicero out of your game, find him on the road from Whiterun to Dawnstar and help him get his wagon fixed. Eventually he'll disappear and if you destroy the Dark Brotherhood you will never see him again. Or just avoid the DB completely - you will still never see him again once he disappears from the road.

If you want to kill kill KILL him, lol, you'll have to join the DB and play it through almost to the end, which is the only point in the game where you will ever have that option.

Does he? He still there in all my games. Ok, I might have to check my Dunmer's, she hasn't been that way since she destroyed the DB. The rest never even went to talk to Aventus, and in their games Cicero still is waiting for his carriage to be fixed, no matter how long ago I talked to the farmer.

Astrid shouldn't kidnap you if you sleep inside Windhelm's walls.

Huh, why? She kidnapped me from Candlehearth Hall.

To initiate the kidnapping, you have to do two things...
1. Kill Grelod
2. Talk to Aventus after the fact.

If you want to avoid the questline, skipping either step will do it.
And I wouldn't lose any sleep over not doing the questline. There's plenty of other fun you can have in Skyrim.

until you complete the task "talk to Aventus after killing Grelod" you can not adopt from Honorhall. Grelod the Kind's assistance just keeps running around screaming. And of course as soon as you do that, you will be kidnapped in your sleep.

You get good stuff from doing the quests in specific ways.