Over that time, fans have accumulated an endless list of little things that could be improved. One of the most widespread criticisms against Skyrim is the poor choice of a signature Dark Brotherhood armor. The Shrouded Armor is a little bit too tight, a little bit too colorful, and way too far into circus territory for anyone to take seriously. Many modders have tried their hand at producing a better Shrouded Armor, and I’ve collected only the best to help you make an educated choice.
1. The Void – A Dark Brotherhood Armor Replacer
Check Out This Mod The first new take on the Shrouded Armor we’ll be looking at is a simple retexture by NiteFromWindhelm that emphasizes the Dark Brotherhood logo on the armor’s chest. It does this by recoloring the whole armor to varying shades of black and adding the bloody hand of the DB in bright red on one side of the chest. The resulting armor succeeds at keeping you hidden in the shadows, while also letting your victims and their associates know the hit was done in the name of Sithis. It includes both masked and unmasked versions of the cowl, wearable by any race.
2. Shrouded Armor Redesign
Check Out This Mod The Dark Brotherhood is a league of assassins. So their outfits should help them slip in and out unnoticed – but does it all have to look so much like a circus costume? FafnirEthereon’s Shrouded Armor Redesign gives members of the Dark Brotherhood a more dignified and sinister appearance by introducing elements of an executioner’s garb, such as a leather hood and a fauld. The symbol of the Dark Brotherhood can be showcased in three major areas of the outfit, depending on your choices – so nobody can say they didn’t know who they were messing with. Optionally, you can make the whole armor black, except for the bright red hand of the DB on your shoulder.
3. Dark Brotherhood Heavy Armor Set
Check Out This Mod The Dark Brotherhood tries to keep things discreet to protect their reputation as the invisible black hand of death – but a faction as big as theirs will need brute force from time to time. If your Dragonborn is more about two-handed maces and heavy armor than daggers and sneaking around, this custom heavy armor set by Haladoon can make your character feel accepted by this somber clique. In reality, it’s not much more than a retexture of the Ebony armor set’s chest piece – making it red like other Dark Brotherhood equipment and displaying the feared hand symbol right in the middle. It’s not exactly replacing the Shrouded Armor, but it’s a fantastic alternative that even Arnbjorn seems to like.
4. Dark Brotherhood Mail
Check Out This Mod Like almost everyone else who’s ever gone through the Dark Brotherhood questline, creator Rylog9 hates the original Shrouded Armor with a passion. And that’s understandable. It looks more like a gymnast’s clothes or straight-up bondage apparel rather than a specialized suit of armor designed to protect the wearer. For this reason, they created the Dark Brotherhood Mail – an Ebony armor retexture mod with the same colors as the vanilla Shrouded Armor that’ll blend in nicely with the rest of your shady associates without needing to wear a swimsuit. It has the exact same stats as the vanilla Shrouded Armor, so you don’t need to worry about balance at all.
5. Less Tight Dark Brotherhood Armor
Check Out This Mod Fans of The Witcher 3 will undoubtedly find more than a couple of things familiar in this Shrouded Armor replacer by Jarl Porta. This mod aims to make the Shrouded Armor less inconveniently tight by replacing it with modified Witcher 3 equipment. While just any random Witcher 3 armor wouldn’t be appropriate for the Dark Brotherhood, an all-black recolor and a couple minor tweaks make this set into the perfect stylish murder-wear. I’m especially fond of the female version – in part because it’s less cluttered, and because it doesn’t have Geralt’s wolf pendant reminding me it’s a mod every five minutes.
6. Alternate Ancient Shrouded Armor
Check Out This Mod The Ancient Shrouded Armor found at Hag’s End during the Locate the Assassin of Old quest is supposed to be hundreds of years old – and yet, it looks the same as any other. Modder TheyCallMeCheese decided to make it more unique with a complete makeover in a style somewhere between World of Warcraft and Mortal Kombat. This may sound wacky, but it’s really appropriate for this set. It even looks a bit bulkier, which makes sense considering its excellent armor rating. Overall it’s just badass.
7. Archet’s Shrouded Armor & Robe
Check Out This Mod Next up, we’ve got Archet’s Shrouded Armor & Robe – a fantastic replacer that makes these Dark Brotherhood staples a lot more believable. What I love so much about these pieces is how discreet they look. Sure, they have a bright red hand on the front. But the clothes themselves are much more “normal” than the average Shrouded Armor. Have you any idea how many black-clothed strangers must pass by the average tavern on any given day? This is just perfect medieval camouflage.
8. Frankly HD Shrouded Armor
Check Out This Mod There’s a lot of hate floating around the vanilla Shrouded Armor design. But I know some of you actually like this bizarre outfit, and we’re all worthy of love and mods. Frankly HD Shrouded Armor provides players with 2K and 4K high-resolution retextures for Sithis’ favorite onesie – all without any significant changes. Creator FrankFamily only made one small adjustment, matching the male version’s back to closely resemble the feminine armor, which is more detailed. There’s also an alternate dark purple color palette available for those of you who prefer Oblivion’s Dark Brotherhood.
9. Better Shrouded Armor
Check Out This Mod Here we’ve got a menacing custom armor set by Quelidge that’s aggressively medieval, and perfectly captures what the Dark Brotherhood is all about. Where many other Shrouded Armor alternatives do away with the rough-sewn stitches, this one doubles down on them. I think this is genius, as those stitches add a lot to the Dark Brotherhood’s sinister look. These people adore Sithis, who’s something like the primal force of death. They’re no butchers, but their outfits should strike fear in their enemies’ hearts. And this mod isn’t just about replacing the terrible base armor set – but more about providing a substantially better alternative that would have been a fan favorite had it been the original design.
10. Dark Brotherhood Armor SE
Check Out This Mod I can’t tell you which Dark Brotherhood armor is better for you specifically. But if you’re looking for an easy no-brainer choice that’ll leave you with a substantially better wardrobe, it’s Dark Brotherhood Armor SE by 4thUnknown. This mod is so popular because the author clearly understood what the original Shrouded Armor set out to achieve. In other words, it’s a sleek but discreet outfit that removes any impediments to movement, while helping you remain hidden. It’s just as tight and distinctive as the vanilla armor. But it looks more like what an Assassin would wear, rather than a jester’s threads. Cicero may be part of the Dark Brotherhood, but he shouldn’t dictate its fashion sense!
