*major spoilers ahoy*
First post here, so 'hi' to all.
On my first playthough I destroyed the DB. My character (and I) just couldn't reconcile joining an organisation that was prepared to kill in such an arbitrary manner. That, and they had been attempting to kill me for quite a while. On my second playthrough I decided to join, mainly to see what all the fuss was about, since most people agreed that it was one of the best quest lines.
Overall, I have to say that I'm glad that I played it. But that's not to say that it wasn't distinctly unpleasant and uncomfortable in places.
First up was killing Vittoria, on what should have been the happiest day of her life, right in front of her love. Yuck! I actually stopped playing for a while after that and spent quite some time internally debating with myself on whether to continue, it sickened me so much. Virtual, it may be. But it's the though that counts, as they say.
However, that was also a turning point for my character, and they (and I) became a lot more hardened to the concept of non-emotional contract killing.
My next 'unpleasant' kill was putting Astrid out of her misery. Standing over her like that, with her all burnt, her eyes staring right into mine, silently pleading with me for forgiveness and death, was kind of disturbing, to say the least, and still sends a bit of a shiver down my spine when I think about it. There's nothing quite as unsettling as staring into someone's eyes as you take their life and watch them die.
Lastly, killing the emperor. Well, he was just so...calm and resigned, that it made the situation rather surreal and uncomfortable. I just didn't enjoy killing someone who could display bravery like that. It made me feel 'dirty'.
All that said and done though, I'm glad I played the quest line, because it was extremely well done. So I have to agree with those who said as much.
However, my most intensive dislike for the DB quest line isn't arguably even part of it. It's within the 'aftermath', and it's the torture room upgrade for the Dawnstar Sanctuary.
I did pre-save and buy every upgrade blindly just to check them out before making a final decision, and I have to say I was rather sickened at what Bethesda had included. Seriously. You'd have to have a real unpleasant sadistic streak for real to even spend a minute of your gaming time torturing hapless virtual victims.
I'm sorry, if that sounds overly judgemental or if anyone is offended by the statement. But I found the inclusion of that in the game to be unconscionable and thought of even using it utterly offensive and repugnant.
If my character is going to be an assassin, then it is a totally professional act for her. There is no love, no hate, no sadism; just the pleasure gained from a clean hit and a job well done. She does not need to indulge herself in wanton hateful cruelty for the sake of it.
In my mind, bad Bethesda for even encouraging anyone to do so... -_-
Anyway, if you got this far, thanks for reading.