History Characters / SkyrimFactions

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Beyond Aventus Aretino's contract and Astrid's abduction, the EstablishingCharacterMoment of the Dark Brotherhood itself has her narrating to her teammates how she took advantage of [[DeliberatelyCuteChild her appearance]] to bait and kill a child molester.

* ArcherArchetype: A master archery trainer and Bosmer, who are the Elder Scrolls version of Wood Elves, the fantasy race synonymous with archery and stealth.

* TheArcher: Has high stats in Archery and is an Expert Archery trainer. As such, she tends to favour the bow in combat.

* DropTheHammer: His weapon of choice is a Steel Warhammer. Ironically, this makes him the only Companion who does ''not'' use the superior Skyforge Steel weapons, though it is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in-game by the fact that Skyforge Steel warhammers (and maces) aren't available to begin with.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of Gogron gro-Bolmog, the orc member of ''Oblivion''[='s=] Dark Brotherhood. Like Gogron, Arnbjorn is [[SquareRaceRoundClass somewhat unsuited for stealth]], though unlike Gogron, he wears Light Armor. Also has shades of M'raj-Daar in that Arnbjorn just plain doesn't like you [[spoiler:especially after you get named Listener and become a threat to his wife's authority]] and there's really nothing you can do about that. [[spoiler:Like M'raj-Daar, Arnbjorn also starts to warm to you right before he dies, though at least this time it's not by your hand.]]

* BigBrotherMentor
* TheDragon: To Mercer [[spoiler:and eventually you when you become Guildmaster]].

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Possibly. The first time you meet him, he will say that you must be the type of person who's never earned an honest day's work in your life, no matter how you've been playing so far.
** Alternately, this could just be a standard routine he does to anyone he thinks could be a useful recruit; if it turns out they're not the thieving type and rebuff him, oh well, no skin off his back.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He comes off as just a straight-up {{Jerkass}} at first, but he's actually this with a side of PunchClockVillain. He'll sing your praises to a skeptical Mercer and the rest of the Guild, especially if you do well on the jobs he assigns. He will also [[spoiler:come looking for you after you and Mercer go missing, according to Vekel.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: However, this doesn't appear to extend to people outside the guild. He frames Brand-Shei, a decent man, without question, and is in general an unrepentant thief. The Guild's no-killing rule is more a matter of pragmatism than morals.

* BloodBrothers: He's stood side by side in battle with every member of the Companions, and trusts each of them with his life, which is more than he can say about the family that raised him. As he puts it, "The bonds of sweat are stronger than those of blood."

* HeroesWantRedheads: If the Dovahkiin chooses to marry her.

* GutturalGrowler: Most of the time. If the Dragonborn marries him, however, he adopts a softer, sweeter tone when speaking to his beloved. It's actually quite amusing to have him along as a follower after the marriage, because he alternates between the honey talk and the guttural growling.

* FlatEarthAtheist: She doesn't put much stock in the Night Mother, despite worshiping Sithis and living in a world full of active gods. Then again, this is mostly due to her being a ControlFreak who doesn't want to be overthrown.

* EvilIsSexy: [[invoked]] Invoked. Nirya, an Altmer mage at the College, says that he's up to something, but admits that he's handsome.

* AssholeVictim: She dies at the end of either questlines, either being killed by the Listener or after being burned to near death by the Commander's forces. Given that both of the instances happened after she kidnaps them and expects to murder a defenseless target or after selling them out to the Empire in an attempt to get them off her back, she certainly had it coming.

* TooDumbToLive: She sells out the PlayerCharacter to the Emperor's Commander so that they can leave her faction alone and somehow expects him to uphold his end of the bargain in spite of the fact that she has the Commander's son murdered and framed along with the fact that the Listener is sent to assassinate the Emperor at the time that she betrayed the Listener. Unsurprisingly, Maro did not keep his word and has his forces attack her hideout, wiping out most of her fellow Dark Brotherhood members including herself indirectly.

* TooDumbToLive: She sells out the PlayerCharacter to the Emperor's Commander so that they can leave her faction alone and somehow expects the him to uphold his end of the bargain in spite of the fact that she has the Commander's son murdered and framed along with the fact that the Listener is sent to assassinate the Emperor in the first place. Unsurprisingly, Maro did not uphold his end of the bargain and has his forces attack her hideout, wiping out most of her fellow Dark Brotherhood members including herself indirectly.

* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: He's still an Orc despite his chosen occupation, and it shows.
--> '''Urag''': You are now in the Arcanaeum, of which I am in charge. It might as well be my own little plane of Oblivion. Disrupt my Arcanaeum, and I will have you torn apart by angry Atronachs. Now, do you require assistance?

* SeriousBusiness: Is fiercely devoted to his duties tending to books and threatens to have you torn apart by Atronachs if you damage them.
* SquareRaceRoundClass: Even if [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Elder Scrolls orcs are Blizzardian-type]], you still wouldn't expect to see one as the librarian at a magical college.

* TookALevelInJerkass: In past ''Elder Scrolls'' games, the Thieves' Guild was a Robin Hood-esque organization that protected the poor and downtrodden, policed violent and petty crime in their own ways, and some law authorities unofficially let them operate out of recognition that they helped keep the peace in their own ways. The ''Skyrim'' chapter of the guild, though, is much more ruthless -- they extort money from people who can't afford it, are comparatively lax on their "no killing" rules, and if anyone who doesn't fall in line with their demands, the Guild will blackmail them, plant stolen property in their house to frame them for the theft, or just beat them up. To make this distinction clear, the first two quests you get from them are to steal a ring from one merchant and plant it in another's pocket (both merchants are perfectly nice and have done nothing wrong), and the second is to extort money from three shopkeepers through either verbal or physical intimidation. This is justified in three ways:

* MuggingTheMonster: The final phase of his plan consists of luring [[spoiler:Karliah, Brynjolf, and the Dragonborn to Irkngthand, where he believes his Nightingale abilities and the FullPotentialUpgrade provided by the Skeleton Key will allow him to kill all of them in a straight-up fight. This plan does actually make sense against other thieves like Karliah and Brynjolf, whose skill sets are more geared towards infiltration. But against someone like the Dragonborn, who's already used to fighting the likes of bandits, werewolves, ancient vampires, and ''dragons'', that's just not enough.]]

* FallGuy: [[spoiler:For Mercer.]]

* RatedMForManly: They're a guild of grizzled Vikings who live in a great mead hall to rival Heorot, who value strength and honor above all else, and who never shy away from battle. [[spoiler:And don't forget the whole turning into werewolves thing.]] Even the few ladies among them are manlier than most people you'll encounter.

* GreenEyedMonster: Considering was never named Listener despite his many prayers to the Night Mother and his years of loyal service and devotion, one might reasonably expect that the Dragonborn appearing out of nowhere and becoming Listener overnight might grate on him. [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope It doesn't,]] he's just happy that the Dark Brotherhood can finally function properly, and is satisfied with his role as Keeper. But he seems aware of how people might perceive him and uses it to pull a prank on the Dragonborn if he's spared.]]

* ISurrenderSuckers: See WoundedGazelleGambit.