Characters: Gehrman, the First Hunter. Old Hunter Henryk. Madman Wallar. Tomb Prospector Olek. Henriett. Simple Gratia. Djura. Beastclaw Jozef. Old Hunter Vitus. Tomb Prospector Gremia. Yamamura the Wanderer. Defector Antal. Yurie, the Last Scholar. Henryk. Alfred. Eileen the Crow. Brador, Church Assassin. Valtr, Master of the League. Simon the Harrowed. Father Gascoigne. Lady Maria. Vicar Amelia. Laurence, the first vicar. Arianna, Woman of Pleasure. Oedon Chapel Dweller. The Hunters and The Hunt The hunters are a group of warriors who are dedicated to keeping their regions safe by hunting down beasts - or anything other than beasts if need be - that pose a threat. Hunters are agile fighters armed with a trick weapon, a transforming melee weapon in the right hand, and a firearm in the left. They do not employ shields but rather take advantage of their mobility to avoid attacks. Hunters exist throughout the world and are not exclusive to Yharnam since several characters such as the protagonist and Eileen come from the outside world and are yet still recognized as hunters. However, it is believed that the Hunters started as a branch of the Healing Church very much like The Choir. This would mean that, at least in Yharnam, Hunters were recruited by either Gehrman or the Church itself. The City of Yharnam Yharnam is a towering, labyrinthine gothic city, home to both the Healing Church and the Blood Ministrations. As no evidence of the existence of a ruling body is provided in the game, one may presume that the Healing Church controls the city (at least indirectly). The Church focuses on healing by infusions of blood. Miraculously, blood healing can repair wounds and cure or hinder diseases. Yharnam's whole culture became focused on blood, even to the point of blood-based drinks surpassing alcoholic beverages as the most commonly consumed. Yharnam's populace is viewed as insane or degenerate by the wider world, and the citizens have become extremely distrustful of non-natives as a result. The Red Moon The Red Moon is a nightmare revealed after slaying Rom, the Vacuous Spider who had placed a veil over the world to keep the secret of the true nature of the world from its residents. The servants of the Amygdala become fully powered, the beasts become more ravenous, and the children of Amygdala are visible at last. In this nightmare, the world reveals the Eldritch abominations it has been truly hiding. As a result, everything gets worse, and the character sees the world as they would if they had amassed 40 Insight. Unfortunately, by killing Rom, you usher in the Red Moon, which is believed by some to be the coming of Oedon. It is not clear that Oedon is the Moon Presence, but he very well could be. The Umbilical Cords While this presents a weird part of the story, it is a known fact that 75% of the game’s umbilical cords can be found in women or children. During the Red Moon, Iosefka’s dialogue suggests that she has become pregnant, and Arianna gets pregnant as well. You also find a cord from defeating Mergo’s Wet Nurse. This suggests that Oedon impregnates women on the Red Moon. The criteria for these women who are impregnated have not been determined. It also seems to be that the Great Ones impregnate women to have surrogate children. It is worth noting that one of the four umbilical cords is in the abandoned Workshop, very near the doll. The Scourge of the Beast The most common form of the blood sickness appears to be lycanthropy: Humans slowly turning into wolves. Those in the early stages of the sickness have lengthened canine teeth and grow more hair. As they progress, their arms and legs lengthen the spine hunches over and the face begins to elongate. Eventually, they grow fur and their body finishes the change into a Scourge Beast. Along with the physical transformation comes a mental degradation: At first the victim assumes all people they don't know are hostile and they'll attack on sight. As the alterations progress, the victim becomes more and more savage and hostile, until it can only stand to be around others exactly like it as "regular" humans appear to be beasts through their own blood-addled eyes. Sometimes individuals react strangely to the blood; some become unique beasts, and it's rumored that infected Clerics of the Healing Church become the largest of the monsters when they succumb to the madness. (As seen in Laurence, Ludwig, the Vicar Amelia, etc.) The blood sickness seems to be endemic to Yharnam, requiring periodic hunts for those very far gone. The hunters are both respected and feared: They bring down the worst of the beasts but are at risk of contamination themselves. Old Yharnam, Ashen Blood, and The Powder Kegs Eventually, Old Yharnam was founded (obviously just “Yharnam” at the time), but it was brought low by a strange (the text says “baffling”) illness known as Ashen Blood, which was a worse form of slow/fast poison. The antidote description cites it as being a more severe case, and in the case of Ashen Blood, the antidotes only provided temporary relief. Eventually, the disease (likely spread due to blood ministrations) took over, and those infected turned into beasts. This is why the beasts in Old Yharnam are poisonous, particularly the red-eyed werewolf near the boss, and why the Blood-Starved Beast is coated with poison. After the fall of Old Yharnam, it was closed up, and Central Yharnam was built, along with the Grand Cathedral. This is perhaps the first instance of “hunters” as we know them now being formed. The Powder Kegs were a group of hunters that tried to make explosive weapons, to varying degrees of success. A few prided creations of the Powdered Kegs are the Stake Driver, the Rifle Spear, and the Cannon. However, due to differences in designs, they were banned from the Workshop, becoming known as Workshop Heretics. Blood Ministration and The Healing Church Perhaps the most influential of the organizations, the Healing Church was founded in the wake of the Choir. There were three echelons to the church: black-garbed hunters, white-garbed “doctors,” and the Choir. Though they did not spring from Byrgenwerth directly, they were explorers who found the labyrinth in the wake of that place discovered the same remnants of the Truth, and used the research done there already to kick off their research. However, their form of metamorphosis began with Blood Ministrations and their research/experiments with the blood. Master Laurence, the founder of the Healing Church, and one of Master Willem's apprentices believed that to transcend humanity they had to research blood healing using Old Blood. During the times of Byrgenwerth, Master Willem taught all of his students to blindfold themselves so that they could "look into oneself" and that they needed to "line their brain with eyes" to see what the Great Ones see and acquire more eldritch knowledge, also known as insight, to further evolve into greater beings. With insight, they were able to see the world for what it is, beyond human comprehension. One of the most important of Willem's teachings is the Byrgenwerth adage "Fear the Old Blood". Only Willem respects and fears the true nature of the Old Blood in the beginning. According to the memory shown by the skull on the altar of the Grand Cathedral. Master Laurence strayed from Master Willem's teachings and their paths eventually diverged. Laurence chose a different path to use the Old Blood for his experiments to move forward, disregarding the adage "Fear the Old Blood". He then founded the Healing Church and spread the teachings of the art of Blood Ministration. Later on, as blood healing became more common among the citizens of Yharnam, some citizens began transforming into beasts. At this point, Master Laurence discovered his mistake of using Old Blood for when it is mixed with human blood, it transforms subjects into beasts. This is where Yharnam's plague of beasts started. We can tell that Master Laurence deeply regrets his decision to use Old Blood through his notes around the Lecture Building. These notes also leave clues on what one must do to transcend the hunt, which he later found out after realizing his mistakes. "Master Willem was right. Evolution without courage will be the ruin of our race". "Hunt the Great ones. Hunt the Great ones". "Three third Umbilical cords" From the Caryll Rune Beast: "Beast" is one of the early Caryll Runes. as well as one of the first to be deemed forbidden. "The discovery of blood entailed the discovery of undesirable beasts". The Choir, The Cosmos and Ebrietas The leaders of the healing church, the Choir differentiate themselves from the rest of the members of the church as they received teachings directly from Ebrietas. Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos is a celestial being who emerged from the depth of the Old Labyrinth and acted as a source of knowledge to the healing church with seemingly no ill will thus furthering the notion that the Great Ones are sympathetic to humans. Not only did Ebrietas grant members of the Choir profound knowledge, but she also further convinced them that they could commune with the Great Ones and learn the Eldritch Truth. They believed they could ascend to the Cosmos (or at least make contact with it), and it came in a sudden and unexpected realization that perhaps while their feet were rooted to the ground, the cosmos was not immeasurably far away, but right above their heads. Together with Ebrietas, the Choir worked tirelessly to understand the Great One’s Truth. The School of Mensis and the Mensis Ritual Members of the School of Mensis desperately seek communion with the Great Ones, to the point of near (if not) insanity. Typically found wearing Mensis cages, a follower of the School of Mensis could be distinguished from a normal person from a mile away. But they certainly don't care about other humans' opinions as much as they do the Great Ones'. Despite sharing the same goal with the Healing Church, the School of Mensis and the Healing Church do not seem to get along - this is indicated by the corpse of a Choir member locked away in the Unseen Village, which happens to be founded and controlled by the School of Mensis. The founder of the School of Mensis, Micolash seems to have telepathic powers, being able to plant nightmares and illusions into the minds of his victims. This might indicate the School of Mensis having foul intent if they succeed in communicating with the Great Ones. They may have turned the knowledge and power they obtained onto the people, which would explain the tension between them and the Healing Church. The pertinent Umbilical Cord for the School of Mensis' description reads as follows after obtaining it from Murgo's Wet Nurse in the Nightmare: "Every Great One loses its child, and then yearns for a surrogate. This Cord granted Mensis audience with Mergo, but resulted in the stillbirth of their brains." When Micolash and his ilk used this cord to commune with The Infant Great One, they discovered that the power was too much and it killed the whole School of Mensis, locking the survivors in the Nightmare Realm that Micolash controls and driving them all insane. Whether or not this was intended by Mergo is up for debate Cainhurst, The Vilebloods, and the Executioners In Cainhurst Castle, Queen Annalise was a ruler over many nobles and dandies, the first Vileblood that partook in corrupted blood from Byrgenwerth. Having the ability to extract the essence of hunters' blood, Queen Annalise ordered her followers to hunt down hunters without scruples and gained notoriety for her insatiable hunger for blood. Annalise consumed the blood offerings brought back by her servants and eventually became immortal due to her vile predations. A timeless society of vampire-like entities was formed in Cainhurst Castle thereafter. It was a place of refinement and sophistication, and the occasional beast that arose from the foul practice was dispatched discreetly as well as gracefully - such is the Cainhurst way. Those who served the queen did so out of loyalty, fear, and an unending desire to taste her blood, and settled with various Caryll runes that improved Visceral Attacks as a cheap substitute (as described in the rune’s texts). Queen Annalise hoped desperately one day to bear a true heir and dubbed this the Child of Blood, which she sought to have at all costs. She sent her Vilebloods to hunt for her, and all hoped that, with enough blood dregs, she could birth a Child of Blood. However, the justice-seeking knight commander known as Master Logarius took these practices as an affront and founded the Executioners: blood-thirsty zealots looking to kill Vilebloods at all costs. Eventually, they stormed Cainhurst castle, eliminating everyone inside with extreme prejudice. Ironically, the executioners slew all the maids they could find, who likely had nothing to do with Annalise's malevolence, but could not harm Annalise due to her immortality. Seeing no other option, master Logarius sent his Executioners away and martyred himself to prevent Annalise from ever escaping. He stands guard in front of Annalise's tower forever, sealed off with the Crown of Illusion, so that none can enter again. The Great Ones The Healing Church has pursued a strange goal for a long, long time; a goal that has been hidden from all but the highest of rank among them: to summon or harness the power of the Great Ones, beings not of this world, powerful enough to be seen as gods. They were here, in the labyrinth, long ago. They appear to be much closer than you'd think at Byrgenwerth, men were sent into the labyrinth, and an academy was built to understand the strange discoveries inside, generally called the Truth. It seems the Truth is a terrible thing, slowly breaking the mind of anyone who delves too deeply. Awful things happened at Bygenwerth, and as a result, the church closed off not only the academy but the entire forest, calling it "forbidden". Whether or not the Great Ones are gods or just higher levels of beings is inconsequential, the question itself is entirely academic. The important thing is that they exist. They influence the world. They appear to be ageless, but they can be killed. Their powers are strange things, often involving teleportation or energy or things that the human world cannot do. Even perceiving the Great Ones properly requires great amounts of Insight--something Master Willem tried to do, at his own cost. The strongest of the Great Ones appears to be the Moon Presence, the creator of the Nightmare the Hunter is trapped within. Others are Oedon, Rom, Mergo's Wet Nurse, Amygdala, the Celestial Emissary, the Brain of Mensis, and Ebrietas. Oedon, one of their number, has transcended even the others, to the point that he no longer has a physical body but instead is just a voice and an influence. He is very powerful and has become sort of "timeless", thus potentially making him the most powerful, yet the most indirect, of the Great Ones. He is also the only Great One explicitly referred to as male, with all the others' genders either female or undefined (assuming the Great Ones even have humanly definable genders) Some items' descriptions tell about Great Ones living in "The Dream" and others living in "The Nightmare" (Which is the case of the Amygdala whose function is still to be defined, and Mergo's Wet Nurse). Humans have been able to contact them through the use of Phantasm, little invertebrates found in the Labyrinth. Interestingly, Mergo's Wet Nurse and the Moon Presence are themselves never directly identified as Great Ones. Whether this is merely an oversight or an indication that they are indeed a different class of being is unknown. Pthumerian civilization Pthumeria was an ancient civilization ruled by Queen Yharnam. It was populated by Pthumerians, an ancient race of people who truly understood the Truth of the Great Ones and gained supernatural powers as a result. Queen Yharnam was a medium for the Great Ones, as cited by an item (saying the Choir discovered a medium, though she’s the only likely candidate). Eventually, the Pthumerians retreated into a deep labyrinth, with their holy chalices being the only remnants of their ancient rituals to break the seals. Some chalices (such as the ailing Loran chalice) led to other lands, and the Isz Chalice was in particular used in holy communion with the Great Ones. The Pthumerians are a race of humanoid beings and the inhabitants of the ancient Pthumeru. They exhibit pale greyish skin, and a head with a permanent, expressionless face, with their mouths wide open. Additionally, most of the Pthumerians possess tall and thin frames, though retaining great and powerful strength. Their strange, almost "undead-like" appearance stems from being marked by the Eldritch Truth when they came in contact with the Great Ones. In-game, Pthumerians are powerful foes that comprise the bulk of the enemies found within the Chalice Dungeons, and are weak against Arcane damage. Gehrman, the First Hunter In time, a man named Gehrman would rise to the task of the Beast problem. Gehrman redesigned common clothing to provide better defense against the beasts' claws, and also created the Burial Blade, a unique weapon capable of transforming during battle to cater to Gehrman's need for a short or long weapon. Gehrman’s work was so admired as well as effective that his Burial Blade would become the basis for all hunter armament technology, later known as trick weapons. Gehrman was also a formidable fighter whose school of thought would become mandatory in any hunter's fighting style when facing the horrors of the hunt. While it doesn’t say specifically, there is a heavy implication that Gehrman was hired by the Healing Church to work in the Workshop due to his role as an inventor, since his work place is directly beneath the Healing Church’s Oedon Chapel. Gehrman worked in the Workshop presumably until his death. He took many apprentices, who all did his duty in his honor, and may well have died long ago. The bone in the workshop graveyard was one of such apprentices, who had mastered the art of Quickening, allowing him to move at incredible speeds. Periodically, The Doll can be seen mourning at the same grave from which the bone is retrieved, leading some to speculate that this hunter was incredibly powerful and was one of the few to get close to defeating the Moon Presence making it possible that he was a viable replacement surrogate to take Gehrman's place in the Dream. The description of the Umbilical cord found in the Old Abandoned Workshop states "Every Great One loses its child, and then yearns for a surrogate. The Third Umbilical Cord precipitated the encounter with the pale moon, which beckoned the hunters and conceived the hunter's dream." According to this umbilical cord, we can infer that Gehrman became the substitute child of the Moon Presence or that Gehrman was the one who summoned the Moon Presence itself and was then chosen (There are a few ways this could go depending on who summoned the Moon Presence. There just hasn't been enough lore discovered to fit any one claim of the creation of the Hunter's Dream.) For what purpose does the surrogate child exist? Could this mean that they possess some emotions or is it for an entirely different reason? We may never know for sure. Secret Dialogue of Gehrman strongly suggests that he is trapped in the Hunter's Dream for far too long and wants someone to free him. It also seems that he knows Master Willem and Laurence during the times of Byrgenwerth from this dialogue. Ludwig, First Hunter of the Church Ludwig was acknowledged as the first hunter of the Healing Church. Ludwig fought with heavy weapons that were meant to mortally wound his enemies, an irony since the Healing Church is normally dedicated to saving lives. Nonetheless, this became a tradition among Church hunters, who employed heavy weapons just like Ludwig did. Moreover, Ludwig is also likely the first to recruit normal Yharnamites to join the hunter's rank, since the beasts are many. Eventually, he fell victim to the Old Blood and changed into a monstrous beast wielding the Holy Moonlight Blade. Eileen the Crow In time, hunters needed to receive blood ministrations to compete with the beasts they hunted, as a kind of all-or-nothing gamble. However, many hunters would fail, and become obsessed with, infected by, and eventually overcome by the blood, becoming beasts themselves. For this, the Hunter of Hunters did their duty, ending the lives of these madmen with grace and dignity. Eileen’s set says that they were buried in a foreign and respectful way, rather than the vile way of Yharnam (which I assume is cremation on a pyre or cross), and references a sky burial (which is a practice in which a body is dismembered and left out for the carrion birds, such as a crow, to eat). However, there is one interesting note: it says that the hope for the sky burial is that the hunters would find rest and solace in “a hunter’s dream.” This leads to some fairly open-ended speculation on what "The Dream" actually is or means. Djura, Retired Hunter A member of the Powdered Kegs, Djura renounced his title of hunter when he failed to protect Old Yharnam. Stubborn as always, Djura remained in Old Yharnam as he watched the inhabitants of his town slowly decay into beasts, but insisted on protecting them nonetheless. Since the Powdered Kegs are rejected from the Workshop, Djura does not have much mercy or respect for the workshop conformists, and wouldn't mind shedding the blood of a few trespassers who will raise their blades against what used to be his friends. Alfred Alfred is a hunter as well as an executioner, he has sworn to slay beasts as well as the Vilebloods of Cainhurst Castle sworn to Queen Annalise. Although the executioners are better known for their resolution, their ferocious penchant for killing, and their "merciless" nature, Alfred is surprisingly jolly and asks to befriend the player and to be comrades in arms against the scourge of the Vilebloods and the beasts alike. Father Gascoigne and Henryk Father Gascoigne came from a foreign land where he was referred to as "Father" leading to the belief that he was a cleric or a priest in his former home. No rank or title in Yharnam is referred to as Father, which implies he obtained this title before coming to Yharnam. Gascoigne had been living with the blood sickness for quite some time, which may have had something to do with his relocation to Yharnam and the joining of the Healing Church. It is unclear whether he had the sickness before coming to Yharnam, but he had the sickness long before he met the Player. As a powerful hunter, he can contain his beastly form even though he is infected. He seems to have set aside his affiliation with the Healing Church to become a hunter, as seen by his Hunter Axe and "Pistol"; on the other hand, he seems to be eliminating everyone who tries to enter the Tomb of Oedon and has the key to the Tomb's gate that leads to Cathedral Ward, so it might be that the Church has employed him to protect their headquarters from the scourge. He is (or once was) a black cleric, which is apparent by his garb. Church hunters who wear black garb are notorious for targeting "potential victims before signs of sickness manifest themselves". This can explain his paranoid behavior towards you before the battle, saying "You'll be one of them, sooner or later". His mania may have been a result of his progressive transformation taking a toll on his mind, or of him succumbing to the bloodlust of the hunt. After helping the Player defeat the Cleric Beast, it seems Father Gascoigne made his way to the Tomb of Oedon. It seems either his condition started to worsen and dramatically reduce his sanity, or he had a change of heart. Either way, at that point he saw all people infected by the plague as beasts his is more closely related to the curse having a toll on his mind because the townsfolk view you in the same manner. However, once his mind became warped like this his wife Viola would always play the music box to somehow restore his sanity and humanity. Notice this time you find her you do not find the music box near. Thus, Gascoigne attacked his wife killing her and in turn, allowing the curse to fully overtake his body. Once you've obtained the music box Gascoigne is far too gone to return to himself. Though the box still has effects on him, it cannot impede the ailment any longer, this is why he transforms into a lycan-like beast once he is near death or much faster if exposed to the music box's now haunting melody. Henryk is an old hunter and partner of Gascoigne. The duo fought together for a long time, but very little is known about him otherwise unfortunately making him a basic cliffnote in the history of Yharnam, though his garb mentions that something happened as a result of Henryk's partnership with Gascoigne leading Henryk to have a "tragically long life." Willem, Head Scholar of Byrgenwerth Whereas it is unknown what exactly Master Willem uncovered, one thing is clear: he is a crucial figure whose wisdom heavily influenced the teachings of the Healing Church, and everyone is grateful for his contributions. Even members of the Choir are required to pay tribute to him. His teachings eventually branched out to organizations such as The Choir and The School of Mensis which continued his research and many of their experiments made progress. Master Willem's most important teaching is the adage "Fear the Old Blood". He encourages all the scholars of his college to seek enlightenment and ascension through other methods except using the Old Blood. We know that Laurence used Old Blood because he thinks that it is key for humanity's ascension. This is why Master Willem felt betrayed since Laurence didn't follow the "Fear the Old Blood" adage. So Laurence found the Healing Church and made blood ministration the cornerstone of the church. Master Willem is acquainted with Gehrman and likely lived in the same age as him. How exactly does he manage to live this long remains a mystery. The Umbilical Cord Third that is found on the corpse of the impostor Iosefka reads as such "Provost Willem sought the Cord in order to elevate his being and thoughts to those of a Great One, by lining his brain with eyes. The only choice, he knew, if man were to ever match Their greatness." So it is possible he communed with a Great One just like the Pthumerians of old and was able to obtain his long life through the secrets of whichever Great One he spoke with (Rom?) Caryll, The Runesmith Caryll was a member of the Workshop that was able to hear the voice of Oedon and managed to inscribe his words into runes, which (according to item descriptions) would have made Willem proud because it was power without using blood. While the runes themselves are a singular thing, their descriptions are incredibly varied and tend to tinge the lore here and there with extra information. Tomb Prospectors The tomb prospectors are adventurers sent by the healing church to explore the depths of the Old Labyrinth. They believe the vast labyrinth contains invaluable information about the Truth of the Old Ones. Since Ebrietas came from the depths of the Old Labyrinth, the Choir became fascinated with dungeon exploration, directly leading to these brave souls being sent to where no man has set foot since the fall of the Pthumerians. Whereas many of them returned victorious, bringing along precious artifacts, equally many were lost, perished, or gone mad due to the treachery of the deep. The failures bodies are littered throughout the depths of the Chalice Dungeons like a trail of crumbs like warning signs of death for all those who tread carelessly in the depths. Black-Garbed Hunters Though amateur doctors, the black-garbed hunters were an extermination force and a prevention, not a cure. Their goal was to kill those who were infected, turned, and those who may be infected. They wielded large weapons and powerful firearms due to the fact they were expecting to fight very large and monstrous beasts. Soon after the Black Church Hunters were formed "their black attire became synonymous with fear, and that peculiar Yharnam madness." Their robes have their philosophy stated as follows "...When a cancer is discovered. one must pinpoint its location, reach in, and wrench it from the host's bosom." White-Garbed Doctors The White Church Doctors performed the bidding of the Choir, applying blood ministrations with the intent of experimentation, rather than healing. Many of the twisted things the church produced were a result of this experimentation such as the great giants (with axes and wrecking balls) as well as the grave keepers near them are products of these experiments and are legendary beasts that would join the church on the hunt. The White Church set gives great insight into their particular thoughts on the experiments "They (The Choir Doctors) believe that medicine is not a means of treatment but rather a method for research. and that some knowledge can only be obtained by exposing oneself to sickness." Description Church Giants are large humanoids with pale skin and a vacant expression on their faces. Their outfit consist of a black hat, a white mantle, and a bell that hangs from their necks. The bell rings whenever it takes a step, and coupled with the sound of its footsteps, it is easy to identify whether or not one is close to you. Despite their huge height and brutal strength, Church Giants are surprisingly thin and this feature, paired with their height and pale complexion, hint that they are Pthumerian. These creatures are malformed but, unlike the obese wardens of the Labyrinth, their abnormally broad shoulders and subserviency to the Healing Church set them apart from the ancient Pthumerians: it is then possible that the latter created them to be strong brainwashed slaves and the Healing Church took control on them after the prospection of the Labyrinth. There are 3 variants of Church Giants: Great axe-wielder: By far the easiest to deal with, as their attacks are easily dodged. Flail-wielder: The most dangerous and hard to predict, as he covers too much of a wide area with its attacks. This one is unique. Unarmed: They are somewhat erratic in their behavior. Flaming Fists: This variant of the Unarmed Giant deals a lot more damage. There is only one. Locations Cathedral Ward: One Greataxe-wielder at the staircase that leads to the gate to the plaza. Two Greataxe-wielders are at the plaza. The only Flail-wielder is near the area that overlooks the Great Bridge. Forbidden Woods: Three naked, Unarmed Church Giants are found inside the cavern shortcut with the poisonous pool. Lecture Building 2nd Floor: The unique Flaming Fists variant is found near the trapdoor that leads to Patches' room. Lore Church Giants are servants of the Healing Church in Yharnam. Since the Church is responsible for the treatment of the scourge plague, they send these large servants to hunt the citizens who have been infected with the disease. It is said that, when the inhabitants of Yharnam hear a ringing bell, they close their doors and stay within. Description Church Servants are humanoid but stand almost twice as tall as a human, with pale white skin and blank black eyes. They a wear a rather worn variant of the Black Church Set and White Church Set, though the latter has sometimes either a regular sized cap, akin to the black version, or sometimes, even a wide-rimmed hat. Like Church Giants, they too wear bells around their necks. There are many Church Servants found in the game, and many kinds of them: White Church Servants: Cane - They wear only a hood, no hat. Cane and Lantern - They wear a small cap, and a large rectangular lantern that emits a dull blueish, violet glow. After a certain level of Insight or the Blood Moon descends, these lanterns are covered with eyes, and they can use Arcane attacks with them. Scythe - They wear a small cap, and carry in both hands a large scythe. Cane and Repeating Pistol - They wear a wide-rimmed cap, and they act as snipers, using the Repeating Pistol to great effect. Cane and Flamesprayer - They wear a wide-rimmed caps and are extremely dangerous at close ranges due to the wide area that the Flamesprayer covers. Black Church Servants - There is only one kind of them. They wield large wooden crosses, evidently ones used for the crucifying of Beasts, as seen all throughout Central Yharnam. Attacks from these crosses induce Frenzy buildup, making these one of the most dangerous variants of this enemy. Locations Cathedral Ward Upper Cathedral Ward: Two are found on the bridge near the lamp, a Cane-wielder, and a Cane and Lantern-wielder. A scythe-wielder is found blocking the first staircase the leads into the Orphanage. Lore It is believed that when the Healing Church came upon the dungeons underneath Yharnam, that they were able to "tame" the Pthumerians into servitude, through some arcane method. Description Kidnappers are large, deformed humanoids with skinny limbs, a disproportionately large right hand and grey skin standing twice as tall as a human. It is presumed that they are in collaboration with the School of Mensis, and kidnap citizens of Yharnam for the purpose of the school's gruesome experiments and Rituals. They dress in dark grey robes and carry a sack over their left shoulder. They attack with punches, palm strikes, kicks and by swinging their sack as a weapon. Location = After defeating the Blood-Starved Beast, ** = After triggering the Blood Moon. Cathedral Ward:* One hides in the recess to the right of the front doorway of Oedon Chapel. One to the right of the Grand Cathedral, on the cliff after the area where the two Yahar'gul Hunters are encountered. Hiding near the chapel beneath which the stairs to the top of Old Yharnam are concealed, in a small recess to the right of the front doorway. The fourth is in the small area at the bottom of the Lower Cathedral Ward. If the player takes the alley on the left immediately past the door instead of heading straight down the street they can sneak up on the Kidnapper for a backstab. Hypogean Gaol:** Two are walking around in the large room wherein the Hypogean Gaol lamp is located. Two stand at the far end of the jail beyond the cell block with the Eye Collectors and unarmed Huntsmen. One Kidnapper, who is accompanied by two dogs, patrols around the right side of the chapel before the stairs leading to the side door of the aforementioned cell block. One, also accompanied by two dogs, stands at the top end of the street where the corpse with the Tonitrus is found. Forbidden Woods* - Standing just past the dog cages, on the other side of the stone house. Kidnappers also appear in various Chalice Dungeons. In-game information Kidnappers will only appear after the Blood-starved Beast in Old Yharnam is defeated. When the Hunter is killed by a Kidnapper for the first time, instead of losing blood echoes and being returned to a Lamp as normal, a cutscene will play showing that they were taken by the Kidnapper and thrown into the jail in Yahar'gul. When you first see a Kidnapper, you should simply ignore it unless you want to go to Yahar'gul. Once the Hunter slays Rom, the Vacuous Spider, the Kidnappers outside of Yahar'gul will disappear. In the lower half of Yahar'gul, the corpses of Kidnappers are scattered around the area, presumably killed by the creatures that spawn there as a result of the Blood Moon. Description The face of this miserable being reveals similarities with both Church Giants and Church Servants, suggesting that all these towering creatures belong to the same unholy kind. Its face is the only clue about this connection because the rest of its body is twisted and rotten beyond recognition due to the crude surgery that grafted blades and firearms to its arms. The Undead Giant is a massive humanoid being that has weapons for hands. It has large, fleshy lumps on specific parts of its body that, when attacked, will burst, causing massive damage to the giant. This may also stagger it for a short time, allowing for attacks on its head and a possible Visceral Attack. There are four variations of this boss: Dual Blade: Has two large blades for hands. This variant can appear as a normal enemy and a boss. Flaming Blade: Like the Dual Blade version but with one key difference: it has one large, flaming blade for a hand. It is the rarest variant and appears only in an Oil Swamp. Its attacks can ignite the oil around it, dealing area fire damage. This variant has only been encountered as an enemy. Axe and Cannon: Has an axe attached to its right arm, and a cannon for the left. It is present in Chalice Dungeons as both a boss and an enemy. Beware its cannon as the cannonball explodes on contact (with its target or environment), dealing massive damage (often enough to one-shot the player) even if not a direct hit. Chain: Has a club attached to its right arm, and a hook for the left. The large, fleshy lump is around the backside of its right leg, making it difficult to get to. It also has chains attached to its head. These aren't much trouble at the beginning of the fight when the giant only swings them in a short radius and only when the player is in melee range behind it. During the second half of the battle, however, the giant will introduce attacks that flail them at a much longer distance, and will use it regardless of player's position. This variant has only been encountered as a boss.