Dbd concepts chapter 5: Darkest Dungeon.
The remains of what looked like a once luxurious manor stood ominously on the forest's clear. The door slightly ajar.
Weapon of choice: Twisted flesh
When the Ancestor attacks, his hand morphs into a red hooked tentacle. His cooldown animation consists in the tentacle transforming back into a hand.
Introducing: The Ancestor
As I peeked in. A deep raspy voice beckoned from the inside, inviting me in. A man stood expectantly in the darkness, at the other end of the hall.
Power: Imperfect reflection
Holding the power button (M2) for 0,6 seconds willl charge up an imperfect reflection. While charging, your movement speed is reduced by 10% and an arrow will be shown in the ground. This arrow will signal the direction your clone will take when deployed.
Releasing the power button will create a clone from your exact possition that will travell in the chosen direction to a maximum distance of 15 meters and will move at a base speed of 4.6 m/s.
The clone will move similarly to Houndmaster's dog: slightly swirving around obstacles and walls in order to keep up the illusion instead of faceplanting into walls and disappearing.
From more than 8 meters away, the clone appears identical to the Ancestor, also possesing a red stain. From a closer distance, thought, the clone will show it's true form which doesn't have a red stain.
After the clone has been released your power will go into a 0,4 second cooldown and change into "Embrace the flesh"
After a clone is released, "Imperfect reflection" changes into "Embrace the flesh" after a short cooldown.
While the ability is active, you'll be able to teleport to the clone's possition by pressing the ability button (CTRL). This will make the clone dissappear.
But be wary: the clone does not have collision and will disintegrate if it comes into contact with a survivor or hit by a pallet. In exchange, the survivor will be inflicted with a big ammount of stress.
Once the clone disappears, the ability will change back into "Imperfect reflection" after a 5 second cooldown.
Some in-trial events will cause survivors to gain or loose stress.
Survivors can monitor their stress progression in their character portrait in the status hud. The killer isn't able to see said progression.
Survivor hooked: All survivors gain +10 stress
Colliding with clone: +25 stress
Stunning clone: +10 stress
Missing a skillcheck (generator): +15 stress to you and +10 to all other survivors working on the generator.
Missing a skillcheck (healing): +15 stress (to you and the person you're healing)
Being grabbed by the killer: +10 stress
Survivor becomes afflicted: +15 stress (to all)
(Every time a survivor gains stress, an iron crown appears above their head.)
Succeeding great skillcheck (generator): -15 stress
Succeeding great skillcheck (healing): -15 stress (to you and the person you're healing)
Complete healing/pick up: -5 stress (to both healed and the healer)
Gen pop: -10 stress (to all)
Unhook safely: -10 stress (to unhooked)
Kindled torch: -1 stress per 0.5 seconds
(Every time a survivor looses stress, a halo of light appears above their head.)
When a survivor reaches 100 stress, they will scream and become afflicted and an iron crown will be displayed over their character portrait in the status bar for both survivors and killer to see.
Afflcted survivors will sporadically scream and will loose a healthstate when colliding into the clone.
To remove the affliction, survivors must make their stress meter go bellow 50%.
4 torches will appear around the map. Their aura is revealed to survivors from 8 meters away.
Equipping a torch will allow you to kindle it by performing a 0.3 second interaction.
Holding a kindled torch will slowly make your stress meter go down. Placing the torch over a generator will cause all the survivors working on it to also loose stress at a rate of -1 stress per 0,5 seconds.
Kindled torches last up to 15 seconds. When its hopefull flame goes out, a new torch wil spawn somewhere else in the map.
Carrying a lit torch prevents the survivor's stress meter from going up, even when being hit by the clone.
Lit torches can be snuffed out by hitting the survivor who bears one with an M1 attack or by them colliding with the clone. If the torch happens to be placed on a gen, kicking it will also snuff out its flame.
The ancestor is a stress inducing killer with a great snowball potential and decent anti-loop.
Use your clones to force survivors into leaving loops and jungle gyms. Keep in mind the survivor's pathing in regard to your clone's possition to be able to pull off a surprise attack.
Even if his power is most usefull in chase, the Ancestor's passive ability requires the player to have a good grasp on macroplay in order to take as much advantage as possible of the stressed out survivor team.
Remember: when one of them falls into dispair, the other ones will soon follow...
To survive against the ancestor one must hold steady and make hard decisions.
While you must keep your sanity in check, checking on your teammate's stress levels is always a good idea if you value their lives at all. Remember: it takes one survivor to become afflicted for the whole team to suffer the consequences.
Carrying a torch is a good idea as long as you're not at risk of getting hit. When in chase, be patient and observe both Ancestor and clone. You'll know which one's which when they are close enough. Sometimes you'll be better off taking the stress penalty of the clone to avoid being injured. Other times it might be a better idea to take the hit in order to avoid becoming afflicted.
We spoke for what felt like hours. Sharing our knowledge about these crow infested lands and the horror that hides beyond the fog.
Memories of the past haunt your every step. And such is the case for them it seems...
When a survivor screams while inside of your terror radius, they gain a random debuff for 2/4/6 seconds.
This perk has a 9 seconds cooldown.
- Hex: Haunt the narrative.
A dull totem becomes hexed at the start of the trial.
When a survivor is unhooked, they become cursed and one of their perks becomes blocked by the entity and therefore disabled until the totem is cleansed.
After a safe hook rescue, the aura of the rescuer becomes visible for 3/6/9 seconds.
- Scourge hook: Embrace futility.
Reduce the number of scourge hooks to 1.
Hooking a survivor for the first time on the scourge hook and never hooking them again will cause the survivor to become exposed and allow you to mori them after the exit gates are powered.Ā
When the exit gates are powered, the auras of the exposed survivors are revealed to you by 4/8/12 seconds
When a survivor is unhooked from the scourge hook, the perk will transfer onto a different hook.
Survivors that have been hooked at least once before are immune to this perk's effects.
Yet, even in the most dire situations, a friendly hand can be found...
The highway-man. Cutthroat yet compassionate. His sacrifice to the depths did not go unnoticed.
Every time you succeed at a great skillcheck while healing survivor gain a token. When the healing is complete, the survivor gains 5% action speed per token for 10/15/20 seconds.
Said survivor will also have a 50% chance to scream when the healing is finished, revealing their location to he killer.
After stunning the killer, this perk activates.
When the killer becomes undetectable, you'll be able to see the aura of interactible objects within 5 meters of the killer for 5/8/11 seconds while the killer is undetectable.
When the killer injures you, this perk activates. For the next 10 seconds, stunning the killer with a pallet will Increase the stun duration by 3/6/9 %.
Soon the conversation turned to himself. He tended me his hand and told me his intention to share with me the truth behind this bizzare new world. But as my fingers aproached his skin, I felt a chill run up my spine and a sharpness in his gaze.
Increase the time it takes to kindle a torch by 1 second.
Decrease Imperfect reflection's charge time by 10%.
Stress damage is doubled for survivors that are holding items but halved if they aren't holding anything.
Torch duration -10%. Reduce the distance by which survivors can see the torch's aura by 1.5 meters.
When a survivor picks up a torch, their aura is revealed for 2 seconds. Hitting a survivor holding a lit torch inflicts them with 5 stress.
Teleporting to the clone's possition triggers killer instinct on the survivor with the least ammount of stress within your terror radius.
Increases the clone's travell speed by 50% and stress damage by 10. You become unable to teleport to the clone's possition.
Survivors that gain max stress will view all other survivors that are further than 8 meters away as The Ancestor.
Every time a survivor hears one of the ancestor's voicelines while out of chase, they gain 5-10 stress.
Every time a survivor gains stress, their aura is revealed to you by 2 seconds.
Injured survivors gain double the ammount of stress. You are able to mori afflicted survivors.
Increase torch duration by 100%.
"A single drop of that forbidden tannin gifted me with a dizzying glimpse of a hibernating horror beneath my feet. And in that moment, I understood the terrible truth of the world."
This is the nerdiest I'm ever going to get in this already pretty nerdy series, so, bear with me.
SImilarly to other lisenced killers, this one would need to recieve voice lines for it's identity to be complete. I mean, such an eloquent man simply requires for some of his ICONIC lines to be carried over.
Sadly, Tumblr only allows up to 10 audio files on each post. So I linked a friend's google drive so you can listen to the incredible voicework of Wayne June in Darkest Dungeon.
As you saw in the "Addons" section, one of the irri's causes the survivors who hear the Ancestor's voice to gain stress when out of chase. What I mean by this is that DBD's Ancestor would have telepathy. Since the Ancestor is Darkest Dungeon's narrator, my idea is that any time the ancestor says something in trial, every player hears it. I honestly think that would add a lot to his "fun" factor.
Access Google Drive with a Google account (for personal use) or Google Workspace account (for business use).
"In time, you will know the tragic extent of my failings."
"The degeneracy of the Hamlet is nothing, I fear, when compared to the condition of surrounding acres."
"I remember days when tha sun shone, and lauphter could be heard from the tavern."
"In truth I cannot tell how much time has passed since I sent that letter."
"I can still see their angry faces as they stormed tha mannor, but I was dead before they found me and the letter was on its way."
"Curiosity, interest an obsession. Mild markers in my road to damnation."
"We dug for months, years, an eternity. And we were awarded with madness!"
"The plume and the pistol. A fitting end to my folly and a curse upon us all."
"Can you feel it? The walls between the sane world and that umplumed dimension of delirium are tenuously thin here."
"All my life I could feel an instinten gnawing in the back of my mind. It was a yearning, a thirst for discovery that neither be numbed nor sated."
"An eternity of futile struggles. A penance for my unspeakable transgresions."
- Mouse over other killers
He spoke thoroughly about the creatures that would roam beyond the gates. His in-depth knowledge was bizzare and quite frankly, unnerving. So at a point's reach I chose to slowly show myself away.
"In the end, any plan relies in a strong arm and tempered steel."
"Curious is the trap-maker's art... his efficacy unwitnessed by his own eyes."
"Tortured and reclusive. This man is more dangerous than he seems."
"Barbaric rage and unrelenting savagary make for a powerfull ally."
"There is method to the wild corruption here. It bares a form both wretched and malevolent"
"Gnawing hunger sets in, turning the body against itself, weakening the mind."
"He will be laughing still, at the end."
"What better laboratory than the blood-soaked battlefield"
"The twisted faces of the damned. Piled up and cloacked in malice."
"The thing is more terrible than I can describe: an incoherent jumble of organ, sinnew and bone"
"I always wondered what became of the unfortunate little waif."
"The sparkling eyes of youth, twisted and made merciless."
"Towering, fierce, terrible. Nightmare made material"
"Fan the flames! Mold the metal! We are raising an army."
"The thrill of the hunt. The promise of payment."
"A marvel of technology! An engine of destruction!"
"Another mariner, another misfortune"
"Trouble yourself not with the cost of this crusade. It's noble end affords you broad tolerance in your choice of means..."
"The cost of preparedness. Measured now in gold. Later, in blood."
"Impressive haul. If you value such things"
"Ornaments. Neatly ordered. Lovingly admired."
"An increasing stockpile of curious trinkets. Gathered form forbidden places."
- Waiting for the trial to start
"They are cursed to float forever, deep in the swirling blackness. Far beyond the light's reach."
"A moment of respit. A chance to steal one's self against the coming horrors"
"Gathered close in tenuous firelight. An uneasy companionship."
"Huddled together, furtive and vulnerable. Rats in a maze."
"Alone in the woods or tunnels, survival is the same: prepare, persist and overcome"
"They must learn more than brutal bloodletting, they must learn to survive."
"Some may fall, but their knowledge lives on."
"Great heroes can be found even here: in the mud and rain."
"More arrive foolishly seeking fortune and glory in this domain of the damned."
"You still foolishly consider yourself an entity separate from the whole. I know better, and I WILL show you..."
"The flesh is fluid! It can be changed, reshaped, remade."
"The flesh is immortal. It is undying. Pray it does not take too hideous a form."
"Let me share with you the terrible wonders I've come to know."
"Success depends on survival."
"Nothing lives for long on these barren fields."
- Hit survivor (Weapon cooldown animation)
"Injury and despondace sets the stage for heroism or cowardice."
"Greavous injury. Palpable fear"
- Put survivor into dying state
"Even the aged oak will fall to the tempest's winds."
"Mortality clarified in a single strike."
"Death waits for the slightest lapse in concentration."
"How quickly the tide turns."
"Wounds to be tended. Lessons to be learned."
"Ringing ears. Blured vision. The end approaches."
"Exposed to a killing blow!"
" (Whispering) Watch your step."
"Perched at the very precipice of oblivion."
"Tittering on the brink. Facing the abyss."
"As life ebbs, terrible vistas of emptiness reveal themselves."
"Slowly, gently. This is how a life is taken."
"Continue the onslaught! Destroy. Them. All."
"Leave nothing unchecked. There is much to be found in forgotten places."
- Use "Imperfect reflection"
"Behold! The abyss is made manifest."
"The walls close in. The shadows whisper of conspiracy"
"Darkness closes in, haunting the hearts of men."
"Confusion, nerves and panic!"
"The abyss returns even the boldest gaze."
- Survivor becomes afflicted
"Fear and frialty finally claim their due."
"The mind cannot hope to withstand such an assault."
"Madness. Our old friend."
"There can be no hope in this hell. No hope at all."
"Reeling! Gasping! Taken over the edge into madness."
"And now the true test: hold fast or expire."
"And now, the darkness holds dominion: black as death."
"The bullwarks of the mind have fallen!"
"Festering fear consumes the mind!"
"Compassion is a rarityĀ in the fevered pitch of battle."
"Patched up, if only to bleed again"
"The light. The promise of safety."
"The match is struck. A blazing star is born!"
"As the light gains purchase, spirits are lifted and purpose is made clea.r"
"To fight the abyss, one must known it."
"Carelessness will find no clemency in this place"
"Death cannot be escaped! But it can be posponed."
"Death is patient. It'll wait!"
- Survivor takes endurance hit
"Those who covet injury find it in no short supply."
- Survivor opens chest/picks up item
"Glittering gold. Trinkets and baubles. Paid for in blood."
"If only treasure could staunch the flow of otherworldy corruption."
"Finding the stuff is only the first test. Now it must be carried home."
- Exit gates become powered
"Success so clearly in view. Or is it merely a trick of the light?"
"It is done. Turn yourself now to the condition of those poor devils who remain."
"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow, insiduos killer."
"As victorys mount, so too will resistance."
"Be weary, triumphant pride precipitates a dizzying fall!"
"More blood soaks the soil, feeding the evil their in."
"More dust. More ashes. More dissappointment."
"Another soul, battered and broken. Cast aside like a spent torch."
"This one has become vestigial, useless."
"Behold the infinite malignity of the stars!"
"Hahahaha! Let those dirty beasts worship the mud now!"
I felt the air shift around me, pulsating unnaturally. The man looked at me with his empty black eyes, his expecting gaze piercing through my flesh and into my soul.
This guy would probably be a Vecna skin realistically speaking. Think about it: both characters are very powerfull magic users that got involved with eldricht entities in the persue of knowledge.
But I don't do skins. So here we are...
Since you made it so far I'd like to propose a challenge: Design a build for this killer or a survivor build to counter him. I'd like to read what you guys come up with.
Anyways, I already started working on the next one.
As the man spoke about his past findings, I turned my attention towards the exit and slowly yet steadily made my way towards it.
"I know what you are, and so does the thing" He suddenly spouted.
I slowly turned around...
"That is why we now find ourselves in this curious predicament"
I tried to explain myself, but a sudden throbbing pain made its way into my head. I gasped as my vision turned blurry.
I could barely stand as my headache grew sharper, yet in this sicly state, I caught a glimpse of my host's true nature.
While I had had my suspicions before, now it had chosen to drop the facade: its hideous form exposed by the faint moonlight.
Long strands of flesh, suckers and eyes misshapen and twisted into an undescribable horror that pulsated before my very eyes. But Although terrifying, it did not give chase.
Yet the horrific visage kindled a memory from the depths of my faulty mind.
I mustered all my strength to stand up right again. And when I did, I could not help but smile.
