Dawnstar Sanctuary is one of the oldest Dark Brotherhood sanctuaries in Skyrim, tucked away just north of Dawnstar and left empty for close to a century. The locals all know about the “Black Door” and know to stay well away from it. After the original Falkreath sanctuary is destroyed during Death Incarnate, this creepy old place becomes the family’s new home – and yours.
What you’ll find
- A Black Door that asks, “What is life’s greatest illusion?” The answer is “Innocence, my brother” – but that option only appears once you’ve read the passphrase in Cicero’s final journal. Without it, the door just tells you that you are not worthy.
- Sanctuary Guardians and Udefrykte, a unique troll, during The Cure for Madness.
- Once restored: Nazir, Babette, the Night Mother, nameless Dark Brotherhood Initiates and – if you spared him – Cicero.
- An icy cave section reached through a broken stained-glass window.
Quests
- The Cure for Madness – Cicero flees here. You can spare or kill him; if you attack, his wounded act vanishes and he fights back hard.
- Hail Sithis!
- Where You Hang Your Enemy’s Head – sanctuary upgrades.
- The Dark Brotherhood Forever
Sanctuary upgrades
After the move, Delvin Mallory in the Ragged Flagon in Riften sells upgrades costing 19,000 gold in total: a Master Bedroom with mannequin and weapon rack, a Torture Chamber with four prisoners who reveal treasure locations worth 1,000–2,000 gold each, a Secret Entrance through the stained-glass window that lets out near the Khajiit traders in Dawnstar, and an Alchemy Lab with a poison garden.
Notable items
- Skill books: Sithis (Alteration), The Marksmanship Lesson (Archery) and Fire and Darkness (One-Handed) on a table at the foot of the first stairs, and Sacred Witness (Sneak).
- Jester’s Outfit in the first room, Worn Shrouded Armor, and Tumblerbane Gloves after the bedroom upgrade.
- Cicero’s Outfit if you kill him (or pickpocket it with the Perfect Touch perk).
- Three Scrolls of Fireball beside a chest in the ice cave, and leveled weapons on a rack in the round room.
Tips
Read Cicero’s journal before knocking, or you’ll be stuck trading riddles with a rude door. If you decide to kill Cicero, go in healed and ready – he hits far harder than his limp suggests. The game doesn’t autosave the first time you step inside after talking to the door, so make a manual save. Unlike the Falkreath sanctuary, your followers are allowed in here, so you don’t have to leave your housecarl sulking outside.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Dawnstar, Nightcaller Temple, Hela’s Folly, Windward Ruins, Yngvild.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.
