Daggerfall:The Acceptance Test

The acceptance test for the Dark Brotherhood. Location(s): None Reward: Membership in the Dark Brotherhood Reputation Gain: see Reputation Gain/Loss ID: l0a01l00 Required Reputation: Any Difficulty: Easy

Poison, the method of choice

Quick Walkthrough

1. Murder at least three citizens or fifteen town guards.
2. Wait for about three days to receive a letter.
3. Travel to the town named in the letter.
4. Meet the poisonmaker in town and get a bottle of snake venom.
5. Travel to the first town named by the poisonmaker and gain entry to the victim's home.
6. Find and pick up the wine decanter.
7. Drop the poisoned decanter from your inventory and leave.
8. Travel to the second town named by the poisonmaker and meet the Dark Brotherhood contact within the time limit to complete the test.

Detailed Walkthrough

Prelude

If you have murdered a minimum of three citizens or fifteen town guards, your actions will attract the attention of the Dark Brotherhood. About three days after reaching the requisite number of murders, you will receive a letter:

A young street urchin presses a letter into your hand. As you attempt to question him, it becomes obvious that he is both deaf and mute. With a wave of frustration you send him on his way.

or

You feel a letter slip into your hand and hear the sound of footsteps scampering away. There is no other sign of the mysterious courier.

Check your inventory for the letter. It reads:

(Player's name)

The Dark Brotherhood has been watching

you. You have slain without sanction several

times. You must now join us, or be counted

as our foe. Travel to (town)

in (region) and see (apothecary's name),

who will give you further instructions.

A Brother

Joining the Family

One of the Dark Brotherhood's experts on poisons

The wine decanter

This quest takes place in the region where you received the letter. Should you wish to accept the Dark Brotherhood's offer, travel to the town named in the letter and ask around to locate the apothecary's location, an alchemist's shop. Enter the shop and speak to the poisonmaker, who says:

"Ah, you must be (player's name). The Dark Brotherhood has been watching you. You have proven you can kill with a blade. The Brotherhood does not tolerate rogue assassins. You must either join us, or be marked for death. The Brotherhood will initiate you as a full member if you take this Snake venom and place it in the wine decanter of (victim's name) in (residence) of (first town). You have (time limit) days to do this and report to (Dark Brotherhood contact's name) in (second town). The blessings of Mephala upon you, (player's name).

Travel to the first town and ask around to learn the location of the victim's home. The door may be locked, so be prepared to pick the lock or open it with magic if need be. Once inside, locate the wine decanter; it looks like a potion standing on the ground. Pick it up and you will automatically add the poison, and see the following message:

The Snake venom clouds the wine but briefly. In a few seconds the drink looks normal again. Now all you have to do is put it back.

Drop the wine decanter from your inventory anywhere in the house and leave quickly, as your actions attract the attention of some spellsword guards. Once you've escaped, travel to the second town named by the apothecary, and ask around to learn the location of the Dark Brotherhood contact. Enter the building and speak to the contact to complete the test, and end the quest.

Reward

A member of the Dark Brotherhood

If you successfully poisoned the wine, your contact says:

"Well done, (player's name). (Victim's name) was stricken with sudden heart failure. Poor bastard. You have shown you can kill with care and not just with a bared blade. You are now a full member of the Dark Brotherhood. Anytime you enter a town, you will know if there are any guild buildings there. It is customary for the novice to receive payment of a single gold coin for his [sic] first sanctioned death. Here is yours."

If you speak to the contact before the assassination is complete, you will be told:

"You have failed, (player's name). (Victim's name) still lives. It is a guild rule that someone must die once a contract is accepted. You must take the place of (victim's name)."

Two nightblades and two assassins will then appear and attack you. In this instance, you have failed the quest and will be unable to join the Dark Brotherhood.

Reputation Gain/Loss

A successfully completed task will gain you no reputation.

If you ignore the letter, the quest will count as failure after the time limit expires and you will lose reputation as shown in the table below.

Faction/Person	Reputation Gain
The Dark Brotherhood	-25
Associated factions of the Dark Brotherhood	-13
Oblivion and all associated Daedra Princes	+1
Sheogorath	-1
The Night Mother	+1
The Dark Brotherhood and its associated factions	+1
Ebonarm	-1
The Order of Arkay and its associated factions	-1
The Benevolence of Mara and its associated factions	-1
The Akatosh Chantry and its associated factions	-1
The School of Julianos and its associated factions	+1
The House of Dibella and its associated factions	-1
The Temple of Stendarr and its associated factions	+1
The Mages Guild and its associated factions	-1
The Thieves Guild and its associated factions	+1
Random Ruler	-1
Daggerfall and its associated factions	-1
Sentinel and its associated factions	-1
Wayrest and its associated factions	-1
The King of Worms and The Necromancers	-1
The Underking and his Agents	-1
Orsinium and its associated factions	-1
The Glenmoril Witches	-1
The Dust Witches	+1
The Daughters of Wroth	+1
The Witches of the Marsh	+1
The Beldama	+1
The Tide Witches	+1
The Merchants	-1
The Bards	-1
The Prostitutes	-1
Wrothgarian Mountains and its associated factions	+1

(Allies/Enemies affiliations for listed factions are not considered.)

If you accepted the assassination but didn't complete it successfully, you will lose reputation according to following table.

Faction/Person	Reputation Gain
The Dark Brotherhood	-35
Associated factions of the Dark Brotherhood	-18

If you accepted the assassination but haven't completed it successfully and report to the Dark Brotherhood's contact, you will lose reputation according to following table.

Faction/Person	Reputation Gain
The Dark Brotherhood	-150
Associated factions of the Dark Brotherhood	-75

(Allies/Enemies affiliations for listed factions are not considered in the tables)

Enemies

• 3x One Spellsword every three in-game minutes (25% chance) as long as you are in the residence
• Two Nightblades if you report to the Dark Brotherhood's contact without completing the assassination
• Two Assassins if you report to the Dark Brotherhood's contact without completing the assassination

Notes

• This quest cannot be repeated if failed; if you do not successfully complete the quest, you can never join the Dark Brotherhood.
• The time limit for responding to the letter is not specified, so it is advisable to meet the contact as soon as you receive the letter.

Bugs

• Contrary to the dialogue, you do not receive a gold piece for completing the quest. ^?

Additional Dialogue

After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:

• "(Victim's name) ought to watch (his/her) step. (He/She) has a number of enemies."

If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:

• "It is unwise to disregard the Dark Brotherhood. Unwise and fatal."

If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:

• "Poor (victim's name). I guess (he/she) made too many enemies. One too many."
• "The wine in (victim's name)'s decanter must've gone bad. Wine does that."

Quest Log

The Acceptance Test (l0a01l00)
Stage/ Index	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
0		(Date): I was handed a mysterious letter by a street urchin. I dare not copy its contents into this journal.
1		(Date): I had a secret meeting with (apothecary's name), a member of the Dark Brotherhood, the guild of assassins, in (town). I was given a vial of Snake venon to secretly put into the wine of (victim's name) of (residence), in (first town). According to (apothecary's name), if I then go see (Dark Brotherhood contact's name) in (second town), I will become a member of the Dark Brotherhood. I have (time limit) days to reach him, or the Brotherhood will assume I have failed in my quest.