Blade of Woe (Skyrim)

"And to prove my... sincerity, I have prayed for a contract. You lead this family now. I give you the Blade of Woe, so that you can see it through. You must kill... Me."

- Astrid

The Blade of Woe is a unique dagger carried by Astrid, leader of The Dark Brotherhood.

Acquisition

 * It can be obtained as a quest reward upon completion of the quest Death Incarnate.
 * Alternatively, it can be obtained by defeating Astrid in the Abandoned Shack and looting it off her body during With Friends Like These...
 * It can be pickpocketed from Astrid with the Misdirection Perk. Doing so makes it possible to obtain a second Blade of Woe, but Astrid must be pickpocketed prior to completion To Kill An Empire.

Smithing
It is affected by the Steel Smithing perk, meaning that it can be improved twice as much at a grindstone. As with all enchanted weapons, the Arcane Blacksmith perk must be unlocked.

Usefulness
With a Smithing skill of 100, without fortification enchantments or potions, it is possible to obtain base damages upwards of 60. Combined with the Assassin's Blade perk and Shrouded Hand Wraps, Shrouded Gloves, Jester's Gloves, or Ancient Shrouded Gloves, sneak attacks can reach 1,800+ damage.

Higher attribute-wise than the Daedric Dagger, the Blade of Woe has six base uses. The amount of charge consumed by striking with the dagger lowers as Destruction skill level increases, assisting magic-based classes.

Bugs

 * This weapon is not affected by the "Dual Flurry" perk, retaining standard dagger attack speed, though the other weapon still receives the speed buff.
 * If the Dark Brotherhood is completed after the Main Questline is completed, the Blade of Woe may be unretrievable.

Appearance

 * The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
 * The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim