"Ruin has come to our family..."

You are the Heir to a once well-regarded noble bloodline. Before committing suicide by flintlock pistol, your Ancestor sent you a letter in which he admitted to many horrible sins committed in the pursuit of thrill and knowledge, and begged you to return home so that you may set right all the wrongs he has done. You arrive by stagecoach, and find your hometown, the Hamlet, to be run-down and nearly abandoned, while the surrounding lands are infested by roving gangs of brigands, murderous cults worshipping eldritch gods, and many other unspeakable horrors. It is your duty to make up for your Ancestor's wrongdoings by recruiting any soldier, assassin or mercenary that comes your way, delving into various "dungeons", collecting loot and slaying many horrible monsters. Along the way, you will face many tough decisions and experience many failures, all the while the voice of your Ancestor reverberates in your head, impassively commenting on your circumstances, mistakes and accomplishments in a flowery manner.

"In time, you will know the tragic extent of my failings..."

Your Ancestor is solely responsible for the horrible things plaguing the Estate. He once was a decadent noble, but gradually grew tired of decadence and luxury, dedicating himself to the occult. He conducted all sorts of experiments and rituals, summoning nameless things from outer spheres. Eventually, he learned that a gate to some unnameable power was sealed beneath your family manor, and attempted to have it dug up. What he unleashed drove him mad, and he took his own life after writing a desperate plea for you to return home and undo his countless mistakes. Now, he lives on only as a voice in your head, narrating your journey, mistakes and victories alike, in that gravelly, flowery manner of his.

"Welcome home, such as it is. This squalid Hamlet, these corrupted lands – they are yours now, and you are bound to them."

Despite its rundown state, most of the Hamlet's facilities are still running. However, it will be up to you to rebuild them, earning more heirlooms with each and every little victory against the encroaching dark. These are the most notable buildings:

• The Tavern, a place where the Heroes you recruit may spend some time off to unwind, be it by drinking their stress away, losing themselves in the rush of gambling, or by employing the services of the local Brothel;
• The Abbey, the town's main church and a place of worship for The Light, serves as another stress relief facility, where one may either confess their woes and sins to the Abbot, pray to The Light for relief, or absolve their guilt through the act of flagellation;
• The Graveyard, where most will end up, covered in the poisoned earth, awaiting merciful oblivion;
• The Guild, a place where trained soldiers gather to improve their skills and impart their knowledge on those who are yet lacking;
• The Blacksmith, who may improve one's equipment by reforging it... for a hefty price, of course;
• The Nomad's Wagon, where one may buy trinkets and charms, gathered from the forgotten corners of the Earth, all with various magical effects that may prove helpful... or detrimental;
• The Sanitarium, the staff of which may cure any malady or suppress any negative trait, though their methods aren't exactly ethical;
• The Stagecoach, which brings a new batch of recruits to your sordid cause each week;
• The Survivalist's Tent, situated on the edge of town, where one may learn many useful skills to fall back upon in the absence of civilization;
• and the Ancestor's Memoirs, a granite statue of your predecessor, where you may read back the written accounts of his unspeakable misdeeds. ===HEROES=== "Women and men; soldiers and outlaws; fools... and corpses. All will find their way to us now that the road is clear."

Your Ancestor's misdeeds are too numerous and grand in scale for you to undo them all by yourself; that is why you must recruit whatever meager help comes your way - from disgraced bandits to former soldiers to even exiled kings, your campaign will require you to put all of them to work, and perhaps sacrifice some. But such is the way of things...

"A mighty sword arm, anchored by holy purpose – a zealous warrior!"

The Crusader is a holy warrior, a devout soldier of the Church of Light – clad in plate armor and armed with a longsword, he cleaves his way through whatever foes are in front of him without question, and does what he can to support his allies in battle. His blessed weapon is best auited for fighting Unholy foes, such as the skeletal undead that infest the Ruins. Once a simple farmhand, he was conscripted to fight in his kingdom's holy wars, and quickly found himself to have a talent fo shedding the blood of heathens, rising through the ranks until he became leader of his own battalion in the army. However, once the war was over, he found himself unable to return home, leaving his wife and child behind, for he had grown too accustomed - even addicted - to the rush of doing righteous battle.

"I will forget them. Regret is sin."

=============================== "Elusive. Evasive. Persistent. Righteous traits for a rogue!"

The Highwayman is a bandana-clad, shifty bandit, with many prominent crimes to his name. A skilled marksman and knife-fighter, he wields a knife and flintlock with practiced ease, bleesing enemies dry, striking down attackers with a well-timed riposte, or even blowing a particularly sturdy foe away with a point-blank shot. Despite his grisly past, he is one of the few who have explicitly come to the Hamlet in search of redemption; in the Highwayman's case, he once conducted a routine stagecoach raid, only to be horrified upon finding out he inadvertently killed a young woman and her small child, who were the coach's passengers.

"A reflex – I didn't mean to..."

"A sister of battle - pious and unrelenting!"

The Vestal is a battle nun of the Church of Light, carrying with her a holy tome and a spiked club that she can use as a conduit for divine might. Her capabilities are many – from conjuring healing light to knit her companions' wounds, to summoning holy lightning to strike an enemy down, to sometimes simply beating someone over the head with her club in a pinch. The Vestal has come to the Hamlet to prove herself worthy of The Light's blessings, as she struggles with repressed salacious desires, which have caused her to be ostracized by her convent – especialy after an incident where she was to stand watch over the Eternal Flame, but let it fo out because she was too busy ogling a nearby young couple.

"I fear the whispers of my mind!"

"What better laboratory than the blood-soaked battlefield?"

The Plague Doctor is, simply put, a madwoman with a doctor's license – having come to the Hamlet to experiment on the horrifying things infesting it for the sake of her own scientific curiosity. Whether it be sabotaging the enemy backline by tossing poisonous plague grenades or hide-melting acids, exsanguinating them with skillful incisions of her curved dagger, or supporting her allies with experimental "wonder medicine" – she does it all with a clinical detachment. Once a brilliant college student, she was kicked out for dissecting her professor in the middle of class, moments after he had died from his disease.

"Those fools at the University..."

"The thrill of the hunt... The promise of payment."

The Bounty Hunter is a mysterious, masked-and-helmeted figure, who's only reasons for coming to the Hamlet are to earn his pay. In battle, he wields a diverse arsenal – from a double-edged hand-axe, to a grappling hook used to pull distant enemies close, to sharp caltrops, and even primitive flashbang bombs. In a pinch, he can deliver a mean uppercut to stun a foe. Not much is known about the Bounty Hunter's background, other than he has a serious vendetta against a veritable who's who of crime lords across the land, and hunts them down mercilessly.

"They. Will. Pay."

"Barbaric rage and unrelenting savagery make for a powerful ally."

The Hellion is a glaive-wielding screaming warrior, an exile from the barbarian tribes of the far north. Agile and brutal in equal measure, she cleaves through enemies with the power of a freight train, and derives power from adrenaline, shrugging off poisons and blood loss if she's amped herself up enough. However, her most powerful attacks are liable to leave her temporarily exhausted and vulnerable. The Hellion was exiled from her tribe after an ill-fated attack on a passing battalion of an invading army; when she was meant to join her tribesmen in attack, she froze in fear and hid shamefully while her fellow warriors were slaughtered to a one. Now, she seeks to undo her shame by battling the horrors that menace the Hamlet.

"Outcast. Alone. Shamed."

"He will be laughing still... at the end."

The Jester is a masked madman, clad in a court performer's worn garb. Though he is undeniably psychotic, his talent still remains, and he is able to inspire his allies with ballads played on his lute, inbetween slicing enemies apart with his sickle, or even giving a particularly tough foe the coup de grace via a music-powered spell known as the Finale – however, it must be built up to over the course of the fight, just like a song's finale would. In his past, the Jester was attendant to the court of a particularly tyrannical king, and was subject to many cruel and humiliating "games". One day, the Jester was pushed too far and simply went insane, massacring the king and his entire royal court, before merrily walking away. Who knows why he came to the Hamlet – perhaps the resident horrors are simply entertainment to him.

"Heh. The last laugh is mine!"

"This man understands that adversity and existence are one and the same."

The Leper is a masked warrior poet, armor covering every inch of his diseased, yet still inhumanly strong body. He fights with the broken half of a large greatsword – which is still no less lethal than if he was using a complete blade – and though his swings are inaccurate, the damage they deal is truly devastating. Once the beloved king of a distant land, he placed himself in voluntary exile once he was afflicted with leprosy. Now, the Leper seeks to do good with what little time he has left here on Earth.

"The last treasures of a King."

"To fight the abyss, one must know it."

The Occultist is a Middle-Eastern scholar, and an expert in the dark arts. Using the skull of his mentor as a conduit for eldritch forces, he unleashes abyssal artillery and crippling hexes upon his enemies, whilst healing the wounds of his allies with unholy, and often imperfect, flesh-melding techniques. Naturally, arcane power comes at a price, and the same goes for the Occultist. Having struck a pact with a Thing from the great beyond, he is now slave to its whims, and it often possesses him briefly, to utter its indecipherable black speech.

"The bargain is struck!"

"To those with a keen eye, gold gleams like a dagger's point!"

The Grave Robber is a former noblewoman turned charming criminal belle – sneaking around the battlefield and harassing her foes with thrown daggers and poison darts, only to emerge from the shadows to deliver a devastating lunging stab, or to crack someone's head open with her trusty pickaxe. Once an upstanding married woman, she was left despondent after her husband died and left her saddled with his numerous debts; she was forced to turn to grave-robbing to pay those debts off, but it quickly grew into a career of its own. Now, she is the Grave Robber, having come to the Hamlet in search of easy money.

"Poise makes perfect, darling!"

"Shoot, bandage and pillage: the dancing steps of war."

The Arbalest is a dark-skinned markswoman, and a heavily-armored trained soldier. She is armed with a massive crossbow and a variety of ammunition for every situation – from basic bolts to pick off backliners, to bola bolts that tie down and trip up enemies at the front, to flares that light up the dark and blind foes. She is also able to support allies with rudimentary healing efforts. The Arbalest's crossbow was a parting gift from her father, who had her run away from home in the middle of the night, right before he was killed by a raving lynch mob for an unspecified crime.

"I remember my father's kindly eyes."

"The raw strength of youth may be spent – but his eyes hold the secrets of a hundred campaigns!"

The Man-at-Arms is an elderly soldier, with one eye missing and covered by an eyepatch – though he is by no means a pushover. Clad in heavy armor and armed with a mace & shield, he is a natural-born commander, supporting and bolstering his allies whilst he moves around the battlefield, smacking enemies around to stun them – or guards a vulnerable ally, soaking up damage that may be targetting them. The Man-at-Arms is a textbook case of classic PTSD - having once lost all of the soldiers under his command during a disastrous and ultimately meaningless charge against enemy cannoneers. He hopes that by battling the horrors of the Hamlet, he may atone for his sins and be "forgiven" in the eyes of his comrades.

"Glory days? Hmph."

"A champion markswoman - keen for a new kind of challenge."

The Musketeer is a sort of counterpart and "rival" to the Arbalest, as she is able to do pretty much anything that her crossbow-wielding foil can. Once a competitive sharpshooter, she lost a competition due to accidentally glimpsing... "something" during a moment of intense concentration, when it was her time to shoot. Now, she's come to the Hamlet in hopes of proving her skill to everyone, most of all herself.

"I...I missed!? But how...?"

"A lawman and his faithful beast - a bond forged by battle and bloodshed."

The Houndmaster is a former officer of the law, armed with a billy club and accompanied by his trusted bloodhound. The dog proves its title as "man's best friend" by being an invaluable asset – whether it be by mauling enemies, no matter how horrific a monstrosity they may be, or by protecting and supporting allies. In a pinch, it can even act as a therapy animal! The Houndmaster was a former gendarme, who left the force after one of his investigations led him to stumble upon a blood cult sacrifice, being perpetrated by his fellow lawmen. Now, he's brought his faithful dog to the Hamlet in hopes of enforcing his own uncompromising brand of Justice.

"Even the Chief was in on it."

"Tortured and reclusive... this man is more dangerous than he seems."

The Abomination is, at first glance, a scrawny, unassuming prisoner, clad in restraining metal chains and branded with a condemning mark – however, he is able to willingly transform into a horrifying were-beast, with vicious claws and poisonous bile. While this beast form is a great asset in battle, the sight is understandably unsettling to his allies, and they may grow more stressed as the fight goes on. It's unknown why or how the Abomination is able to become this monstrous alternate self – sometimes, he cannot even control himself and mentally blacks out during the times he is transformed. The origin of the brand on his forehead is simple – it was inflicted upon him by a group of mad inquisitors who had imprisoned him in their dungeon; until he inevitably broke out and massacred them all after transforming for the first time. Who knows why he's come to the Hamlet – perhaps to find a way to control his eldritch lycanthropy. Or perhaps, the release he seeks is in death...

"I must hide from the world."

"She goes where others will not go... and sees what others will not see."

The Antiquarian is a wandering treasure hunter and collector of curiosities, wielding a censer that can exhale either invigorating or debilitating fumes, as well as carrying a large kukri knife. She is not much of a fighter, however, and her primary focus is on self-preservation. Her true value lies in scrounging for treasure, as she can easily find useful trinkets and valuable antiques that other Heroes might've simply overlooked; thus, she is invaluable to have on a team when it comes to making money. The Antiquarian once had a mentor, who had her oversee the sacrifice of a young woman he was performing. But, when his back was turned, she quite literally stabbed him in the back, only to perform the sacrifice in his stead. Now, she seeks a suitable third life to claim, all in search of what she claims will be the "Final Antique".

"It will be mine - whatever the cost!"

"Awash in blood and delusion, he bears the burden of a thousand lifetimes."

The Flagellant is a hooded, blood-soaked madman, and the perfect example of the kind of extremist the Church of Light can create. Armed with a spiked multi-headed flail, he charges into battle to bleed his enemies - and himself - dry, seeming to derive power from his own suffering and only growing stronger the closer he is to death. Furthermore, he can take his allies' ills on as his own, curing and healing them at the cost of his own health, both mental and physical. Should Stress get to him, the Flagellant will inevitably become Rapturous – well and truly lost in the ecstasy that only accepted suffering can bring. He was once a homeless beggar like any other, but when a cruel drunk began brutalizing him one night, the Flagellant found that he enjoyed the pain and could sustain himself on it, much to his assailant's horror and exhaustion. Now, the Flagellant has come to the Hamlet to purge the horrors, as just another holy duty given to him by the Church of Light.

"We're all falling apart..."

"Shifting, swaying - she mesmerizes her prey before the final strike."

The Shieldbreaker is a Middle-Eastern beauty, armed with a spear and wirst-mounted round shield. Though missing one arm, she is no less lethal – as her spear can easily pierce even the toughest armor, and she has many exotic poisons to inflict her enemies with. Once a simple village lass who was kidnapped by orders of the Sheikh, who had wanted an exotic dancer, she escaped her captors' stagecoach by deliberately causing a crash, of which she was the only survivor. However, whilst she was trying to free herself from the wreckage, she was beset by a vsnomous snake, and was forced to amputate her arm to prevent herself from dying. Though the Shieldbreaker is stoic on the outside, the experience still haunts her, and she is often beset by nightmarish visions of monstrous serpents – visions that border on reality.

"Broken and Beautiful." ===LOCATIONS=== "A mecca of madness and morbidity... Your work begins."

The lands surrounding the Hamlet can be divided into seven different locations, each infested by its own brand of horror. In order, these are the Ruins, the Warrens, the Weald, the Cove, the Courtyard, the Farmstead, and lastly, your ultimate goal – the Darkest Dungeon itself.

=============================== "The fiends must be driven back, and what better place to begin, than the seat of our noble line?"

The Ruins, as their name suggests, are the remnants of the sprawling, giant manor that was once your family home. Now, they are infested with hostile undead – animated skeletons of the servants and guards that once called this place home. Furthermore, an eldritch cult worshipping some nameless Thing has chosen the manor as its base of operations.

"I knew all these paths once... Now they are as twisted as my own ambitions."

The Weald is the forest surrounding the Hamlet and the family manor, having become corrupted and infested by an eldritch species of giant poisonous fungi that can even overtake living beings and drive them mad. The Weald is home to a coven of witches that tend to the vile mushrooms, as well as a roving gang of brigands and their so-called superweapon – a giant cannon.

"To prosecute our war against the Swine, we must first scout their squalid homes."

The Warrens are a labyrinthian subterranean network of aqueducts and tunnels, that serve as home to the Swine, a race of humanoid piglike monsters created from your Ancestor's attempts at demon summoning. The Swine have formed a primitive warrior society, and emerge from their tunnels to ruthlessly massacre innocent human beings. This cannot go unpunished!

"These caverns are teeming with Pelagic nightmares. They must be flushed out!"

The Cove is a sprawling cave network underneath the manor, adjacent to the ocean. It is infested by the Pelagics, a race of humanoid fish-like beings that emerge from the sea depths to commit their sordid deeds. There are rumors abound that the Cove is also haunted by the ghosts of a pirate crew that your Ancestor had once kept in his employ.

"Soaked and sinking, these stone terraces and sprawling gardens are the site of long forgotten revelry...and well remembered regret."

The Courtyard is a series of lavish gardens and terraces where your Ancestor once hosted extravagant parties. It is now home to an insect-borne vampiric plague and its victims, the depraved and mutated nobles that have turned the Courtyard into their personal playground. These Bloodsuckers are led by three head figures – the sadistic Baron, the gluttonous Viscount and the seductive Countess.

"Nothing lives for long on these barren fields..."

The Farmstead was once tended to by the Miller and his workers. However, through the late Ancestor's machinations, it became the crash site for a crystalline comet housing a gestating Thing from beyond the void. Time and space around the Farmstead have become distorted, folding in on themselves, while the Miller, his family, the farmhands and even their horses were turned into crystalline Husks of their former selves. Even if one were to fight through the hordes and slay the Sleeper that came from the stars, it will live again – in another time, another place.

"The gateless gate. A maddening aperture to realms beyond human understanding."

The Darkest Dungeon is your ultimate goal – an underground complex deep beneath the manor, where your Ancestor's transgressions culminated in the unearthing of a horrible, nameless Thing. Now, you must descend to the bottom of the earth and slay the eldritch Heart of Darkness, lest it awaken and destroy the world. ===BOSSES=== "A devil walks these halls... Only the mad or the desperate go in search of him."

The Ncromancer is an unholy robed being dwelling in the Ruins, who once was one of the occult scholars that your Ancestor had invited to help him study the art of bringing the dead to life. As a demonstration of all he had learned, the Ancestor murdered the scholars as they slept, then brought them back to life with all their intellect intact. The now undead scholars went on to raise an army of their own – the dead reviving the dead, on and on, down the years... forever.

"The echoes of his mindless teetering reverberate maddeningly."

The Prophet is the undead figurehead of the cult operating out of the Ruins, and was once a mere ragged indigent that arrived in the Hamlet while the Ancestor's pursuits in the occult were well underway. The Prophet prognosticated publically that the Ancestor would lead the world to ruin, and all attempts to silence him had failed – as the Prophet survived the stockades, the icy waters and the knives stabbed into his back. Finally relenting, your Ancestor opted to simply show him everything he had planned, causing the Prophet to go mad and rip out his own eyes. Even now, this raving creature clings on to a facsimile of undeath, and it is up to you to silence him for good.

"Twisted and maniacal – a slathering testament to the powers of corruption."

The Hag is a grotesque, cannibalistic witch living in the Weald. She once was a beautiful young woman who assisted the Ancestor in his study of alchemy and herbology. However, her self-experimentation eventually made her fat and ugly, to the point your Ancestor could no longer stomach it and had her exiled to the Weald. There she hides out to this day, spreading the spores of the poisonous fungi that overtakes all, assisted by her sinister coven.

"A marvel of technology – an engine of destruction!"

The Brigand Pounder is a large wheeled cannon that the Weald's resident brigands use as their "superweapon". They once were a band of unscrupulous mercenaries that the Ancestor had hired to quell a rebellion brewing in the Hamlet, after news of his sordid pursuits reached the populace's ear. What these bandits would do afterwards was not the Ancestor's concern, and now that he's dead, it is your task to stop them from terrorizing the estate with this cannon of theirs.

"It is a travesty – a blundering mountain of hatred and rage."

The Swine King is a monstrosity dwelling in the Warrens – the pinnacle of your Ancestor's demon summoning efforts. The great Thing he managed to bring into this world turned its pig host into a colossal beast, without eyes or a lower body. However, it was brutish, stupid and gluttonous, traits which led to its imprisonment in the Warrens. Now, the Swinefolk venerate it as their king, thanks to its sheer physical strength. In battle, it is assisted by a smaller piglet named Wilbur, who directs the eyeless beast's attacks.

"The thing is more terrible than I can describe – an incoherent jumble of organ, sinew and bone."

The Formless Flesh was borne after the Ancestor grew tired of his attempts at demon summoning, and was left with a pile of mindless possessed pig flesh. When excavations broke into the Warrens, the Ancestor had the useless flesh poured into some dark pit, where it fused itself together into a single, horrifying organism.

"The aquatic devils have remade the poor girl in their image! She is their queen, and their slave..."

The Siren is the hideous matriarch and breeding sow of the Pelagics that lurk in the Cove. She once was a precocious young girl who developed a crush on the Ancestor, and often spied on him. One night, she was spotted watching him make a pact with the Pelagics, and the Ancestor lured her in, only to throw her into the sea as a sacrifice. Now, she has been transformed into the Siren, luring sailors to their doom with her song.

"They are cursed to float forever, deep in the swirling blackness, far beyond the light's reach..."

The Drowned Crew are the ghosts of a pirate crew, haunting the Cove. They were once a group of smugglers that the Ancestor employed to find and bring him all sorts of idols and artefacts. However, they demanded more and more payment as time wore on, so your Ancestor arranged their deaths. He placed every curse and hex he could think of onto their ship's anchor, and when the witching hour struck, the crew and their vessel were dragged to the bottom of the sea. Now, they exist in a state of undeath, seeking unfortunate souls to condemn to this same horrible fate.

"A hideous mutation - unnatural and abhorrent!"

The Crocodilian is, as the name suggests, a large crocodile - once an exotic pet that's been twisted and mutated by the Crimson Curse. As a result, its limbs turned into sharp insectoid mandibles, and a mosquito hive has grown in The Crocodilian's spiny back, the loathsome Sycophants existing in symbiosis with the man-eating reptile. The Crocodilian dwells in the marshes and swamps of The Courtyard, having become the apex predator of the resident ecosystem. Due to its high aggression, the vampiric nobles have made it their "guard dog", training The Crocodilian to protect vital artifacts and keys that one may need to proceed further into The Courtyard.

"It would seem his taste for triviality remains unabated, even now."

The Baron is one of the three head vampires that rule over The Courtyard. Once a hunchbacked fiend who delighted in sadistic games which left even The Ancestor shocked by their petty brutality, the Crimson Curse has twisted The Baron into a half-man, half-tick, his arms devolving into whip-like tendrils. Nonetheless, he continues to put on grand displays of playful bloodshed for his fellow vampires in The Courtyard. In order to find and slay this monster, one may first need to acquire an Invitation to one of his gory parties...

"The glutton's taste for morbidity is made more pronounced by his mutation."

The Viscount is the second of the three head vampires that rule over The Courtyard. Once a gluttonous gourmand who wouldn't shy away even from eating spoiled and rotten slop, the Crimson Curse has only exacerbated his ravenous nature and turned him into a bulbous insect-like abomination. The Viscount kidnaps unfortunate passersby and hangs them in large fleshy sacks, to be preserved for one of his grand feasts, whereupon he eats them alive, piece by piece. Like before, one must present an Invitation to enter The Viscount's dinner party, so that they may put an end to his depraved ways.

"The Countess arrives – anomalous in aspect, and bent on exacting terrible revenge from beyond the bounds of decency!"

The Countess is the last and most important of the three head vampires that rule over The Courtyard. Once a bloodsucking seductress that attempted to beguile The Ancestor, only to be outwitted and (temporarily) killed, she is the original carrier and host of the Crimson Curse. It is through her that the rest of the nobles were infected, as The Ancestor fed them her infectious blood under the guise of wine. Giant in stature, her alluring and curvaceous body is merely a vessel hiding her hideous true form. Like before, one must obtain an Invitation in order to gain audience with The Countess, and hopefully put the wretched she-beast down for good.

"The Hamlet cannot stand for this thing that should not be! Defeat it – claim the prize it guards!"

The Garden Guardian is a half-ruined stone statue of an ancient Greek warrior, animated by the infected blood which pulses with the Crimson Curse. The dripping, blood-soaked statue is driven by a deep-rooted evil, a cosmic hatred for all that thrives beyond its tainted grasp. It dwells at the very center of The Courtyard, guarding its most well-kept artifacts and riches, as is true to its name. Regardless of how many times one puts down The Garden Guardian, it will inevitably reassemble itself over time. Nonetheless, even if its defeats are temporary, this is a battle that MUST be fought.

"The flames of the pyre dance in his eyes, with murderous zeal!"

The Fanatic is a mad monk, exiled from the Church of Light for his excessive ruthlessness. Tall in stature and driven by dogmatic zealotry, The Fanatic prowls the estate, hunting down Bloodsuckers, carriers of the Crimson Curse and even those who merely associate with them. Many innocent souls have been burned at the stake for the sake of his mission. This man is an animal – rabid and incapable of nuanced understanding. He must be put down.

"Hah, the poor fool still stands, battered and broken as his precious mill!"

The Miller was once a hapless farmer that sought The Ancestor's help after his crops began to fail. Instead, he received a bounty from beyond the void – a crystalline comet guided onto Earth by The Ancestor's machinations. The eldritch thing sleeping inside the meteor twisted The Miller's Farmstead into an ever-shifting landscape, where time and space are as malleable as fabric. His farmhands, cattle and The Miller himself were turned into crystalline monstrosities, mockeries of who and what they once were. Not even death is any respite, for The Sleeper will simply pull another copy of him from another time, another place.

"Shattered, unmade! Or perhaps... reborn?"

The Sleeper is a giant eldritch entity dwelling inside the crystalline Comet called to this earth by The Ancestor. True to its name, it is asleep, but even the slightest stir of its body is said to cause great damage, both to body and mind. Its very presence causes time and space to bend in on themselves, and the fundamental laws of reality become a mere suggestion. Even if "slain", The Sleeper will live again, thus making its continued existence an irrefutable fact. Should The Sleeper ever awaken, it and the great Thing dwelling beneath the Manor will do battle over dominion of this world. It is doubtful whether humanity would be able to survive such a conflict.

"The sparkling eyes of youth – twisted and made merciless!"

The Collector is an enigmatic skeletal entity, wandering the Estate in search of severed heads. True to its name, it gathers them into a collection, and will gladly show it to anyone unfortunate enough to gaze under its yellow cloak. The Collector is not above collecting the heads of living people, and will animate its own prized "artpieces" with eldritch soul energy to attack and behead its targets. Should one slay The Collector, they are free to pillage some of its intact heads, which may have some residue mystical power, and the glittering gemstones it also carries on its person. However, The Collector will inevitably be reborn, as it exists beyond the concepts of life, death or existence as a whole.

"The space between worlds is no place for mortal men..."

The Shambler is a large tentacled horror, which hunts those foolish enough to travel around in total darkness. It reproduces extremely rapidly, and its offspring are ready to fight and deal grievous harm from the very moment of their birth. The Shambler carries with it powerful artefacts that once belonged to your Ancestor, and can be summoned by sacrificing a torch to the crimson orb of an obsidian Shambler Altar, of which there are many scattered around the Estate. The Shambler is part of an interdimensional species, and killing one does not mean you've slain them all.

"In the end, however, the damnable thing managed to get away with its prize..."

The Shrieker is a giant mutated crow that makes its nest on the tallest tree, in the center of the Weald. The abominable changes to its physiology have not changed its behavior, and The Shrieker often raids The Hamlet in search of shiny objects to take back to its nest. Should one track down and engage it in battle, it's best to be hasty, as The Shrieker is quick to flee or lose interest, and will even destroy its own nest to prevent would-be intruders from claiming its pilfered treasures.

"A shuddering crystalline bulk!"

The Thing from the Stars is an amalgamation of corpses and cadavers, both human and animal, animated by the eldritch crystals infesting the Farmstead. This titanic flesh golem shambles around the Estate, attacking all that it sees with mindless fury. Despite its overwhelming power, it has no concept of self-preservation, being a simple corpse automaton, and many of its attacks end up damaging it as well. Should one slay it, valuable crystalline treasures may be found amongst the mutilated remains.

"Flames on the horizon, sulfur in the air! The wolves are at the door!"

The Brigand Vvulf is the ruthless leader of the bandit clans that plague the Estate. Despite being a mere human, he is no less dangerous than any other eldritch horrors you may end up facing, due to his sheer bloodshed and penchant for destruction. The Vvulf carries with him a barrel of bombs that he uses to blow up any would-be opponents, and his elite guard are fiercely loyal. Regardless, he must be butchered, for the good of the Hamlet.

"The creature fattens itself on your failures."

The Shuffling Horror is a Shambler that has been corrupted and twisted by the great Thing dwelling in the Darkest Dungeon. Its reproductive capabilities have been neutered, but it is no less ferocious, serving as the first line of defense for the mad cult formed around The Heart.

"Madness made flesh!"

The Templar Impaler and Templar Warlord are scorpion-like flesh amalgamations, transformed into these forms for their devotion to The Heart. The Impaler battles using a venomous stinger, while the Warlord shoots out sharp, spine-like projectiles. They are the cult's most elite troops, and serve as the Darkest Dungeon's second line of defense.

"The flesh is immortal, it is undying! Pray it does not take too hideous a form..."

The Mammoth Cyst is the great Thing's final line of defense - a living cancerous bulb of immense size, dwelling inside the giant abomination's cavernous body. It is always accompanied by White Cell Stalks, which will teleport hapless adventurers away if left unchecked, dooming them to a fate of being lost in the endless fleshy maze.

"Behold, the Heart of the world, progenitor of life!"

The Heart of Darkness is the Thing's true form – a skinless humanoid melded with a giant pulsing heart of eldritch nature. It has impersonated your Ancestor, using his image and voice to goad you into your petty pursuit of family redemption, all to feed itself with more and more blood. The Heart claims to be humanity's creator, and will hatch from the earth like an egg once the stars are right. Thus, it must be put down in cycle after cycle, to prevent its awakening from ever occurring. Even so, victory against the Heart is a hollow and ridiculous notion...

"Ruin has come to our family."