History Characters / DarkSoulsEnemyNPCsAndBosses

* MsFanservice:A beautiful naked woman whose nakedness is only hidden with her hair.

* AntiVillain: Possibly. Not only are the Darkwraiths more morally ambiguous than outright evil, [[spoiler:but WordOfGod confirms that he's actually a Chaos Servant. Indeed, you even find his armor near the Daughter of Chaos after defeating him during all three encounters. If that's the case, he was never attacking you ForTheEvulz, he was gathering humanity to ''help'' soothe the IllGirl's pain!]]

* {{Expy}}: [[spoiler: The reveal that he's actually a Chaos Servant makes him a darker version of [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls Garl Vinland]]; a knight willing to commit violence against strangers in order to aid a good-natured IllGirl.]]

* NiceHat: Just look at it!

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The dragon in the Painted World is actually split in half, which only becomes apparent when you kill it and see its legs blocking the other end of the bridge. [[UpToEleven The legs themselves are still alive]], and can be made to stand up with a properly aimed jumping attack, opening up a handy shortcut to the area’s end.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:''Dark Souls 3'' reveals that Smough was the sole god in Anor Londo other than Gwyndolin to stay behind after the first game. Even after the other Four Knights had long since fled, Smough [[UndyingLoyalty remained at his post]] and, when the Cathedral of the Deep invaded, [[LastStand fought to the bitter end]] to protect Gwyndolin. In fact, given that you recieve his armor for killing Aldrich (in the same chamber where you fought Smough in the first game, ntoably), it's quite likely that he died in single combat with ''[[TranshumanAbomination Aldrich himself]]''. Considering how tough a boss Smough is, that must have been one hell of a fight.]]

* DraconicAbomination: It was originally a normal Archdragon, but the onset of life filled it with an all-consuming hunger that mutated it into a grotesque beast with a massive BellyMouth reaching from the base of its throat to its pelvis -- with even its ribs serving as teeth.

* KnifeNut: They use throwing knives at range and attack with a dagger when they close in.

* KnifeNut: They share a moveset with the Hollow Thieves, and thus will throw knives and try to get critical hits on you with a dagger.

* LittleBitBeastly: While the exact extent of her dragon heritage is unknown (we don't even know whether her white robe is clothing or a natural body covering), she's at least visibly just a (very big) pretty girl with a tail, white hair, slit-pupilled eyes and tiny horns on her brow.

* AdultFear: If you believe the common fan theory that [[spoiler:Pinwheel is a family of three fused together after one of them tried to reanimate the other two. No matter who you think did it, the end result is not pretty. A father or mother trying to revive her loving family, or a child doing everything in their power to bring back their parents...]]

* OutnumberedSibling: The youngest and only brother out of seven older sisters.

* NobleWolf: Sif is a sort of cross between this and SavageWolf. In the past, it was a longtime companion of the late knight Artorias, and even now guards its master's grave, [[UndyingLoyalty almost to a fault]]. True to the original trope, Sif is both large and formidable, and is relatively relentless during the boss fight. In the area where you fight it, there are many swords stuck into the ground and corpses littered around, implying that Sif fought a lot of potential grave robbers before you came. This is emphasized heavily if the player completes the DLC and saves Sif. When Sif recognizes the player he whimpers and howls mournfully because he truly doesn't want to kill the one who saved his life but at the same time if honor bound to defend the grave of his master.

* {{Necromancer}}: His introductory cutscene consists of him doing performing some sort of experiment with a corpse laid bare on a table. As if that wasn't enough, there are dozens of bodies left hanging all over the boss area...

* FlashStep[=/=]VideogameDashing: Ornstein's hyper-fast attack in which he glides across the ground. If you're helping fight him as a phantom, even a little bit of latency tends to make it look a FlashStep.

* IWillFindYou: ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' states that the real Ornstein left Anor Londo after watching over it for a long period of time following the war with the dragons. All for the sake of finding his friend and teacher, [[spoiler:the Nameless King, who is all but stated to be Gwyn's firstborn.]] This would retroactively mean that the Ornstein's faced in 1 and 2 could be fakes.

* CrystalPrison: Bizarrely, the Golden Crystal Golems seem to function as this. The one at the end of Darkroot Basin has trapped Dusk of Oolacile inside of it, while the one outside Crystal Cave contains [[spoiler: Siegmeyer's daughter Sieglinde]]. They are the only standard enemies to function this way, and it's unknown why or how they do this.

* DyingMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' indicates that he actually [[UndyingLoyalty stayed behind in Anor Londo]] long after everyone else was departed or dead. It seems that Smough, in a brave but ultimately futile [[RedemptionEqualsDeath effort to protect Gwyndolin]], went down fighting against either the forces of the Cathedral of the Deep or (given the fact that you find his armor after killing Aldrich) in single combat with ''[[EldritchAbomination Aldrich himself.]]'' Considering how hard [[ThatOneBoss Smough is as a boss fight]], then one certainly imagines that, while he might have lost, Smough did ''not'' go down quietly.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:''Dark Souls 3'' reveals that Smough was the sole god in Anor Londo other than Gwyndolin to stay behind after the first game. Even after the other Four Knights had long since fled, Smough [[UndyingLoyalty remained at his post]] and, when the Cathedral of the Deep invaded, [[LastStand fought to the bitter end]] to protect Gwyndolin. In fact, given that you recieve his armor for killing Aldrich (in the same chamber where you fought Smough in the first game, ntoably), it's quite likely that he died in single combat with ''[[EldritchAbomination Aldrich himself]]''. Considering how tough a boss Smough is, that must have been one hell of a fight.]]

* BottomlessPit: 90% of this boss's challenge comes from the fact that it starts destroying the floor under your feet and any stray hit can send you falling in.
* EldritchAbomination: A [[BotanicalAbomination tree-like monstrosity]] whose roots -- provided they're not the roots of the Great Hollow -- can be seen throughout the Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith, and is the source of all the Chaos Demons. [[spoiler:It turns out it had been created by the Witch of Izalith's failed attempt at re-creating the First Fire.]] Additionally, it seems the two orbs flanking the main body are [[spoiler:two of the Witch's daughters, who also got caught in the Bed of Chaos's catastrophic birth]].
* {{Expy}}: As an EldritchAbomination made of tree roots who hides a tiny, pathetic slug thing that used to be a great ruler in its core, it's pretty clearly an updated version of the Old One and True King Allant from ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls''.

* TheManBehindTheCurtain: Reach the core, and you'll find [[spoiler:a tiny, twisted creature; the remains of the Witch of Izalith]]. So much for the dramatic EldritchAbomination...

* BonusBoss: It's not encountered as part of the main game, and it takes some time to figure out ''how'' to get back to the Asylum. Fittingly, it is also much tougher than the tutorial boss, having stats that match late-game bosses. It also drops the incredibly rare Titanite Slab needed to bring a weapon to its maximum power in the standard and lightning upgrade paths.

* BonusBoss: It’s very out of the way and all killing it gives you is the items you’d make from its soul, the ability to make divine weapons, and the key to Havel’s tower--the latter of which you can use the Master Key as a substitute.

* BonusBoss: She's actually the boss of a world that has [[BonusDungeon literally no relevance to the plot]], and even then, [[NonMaliciousMonster she doesn't attack you unless provoked]].

* DemotedToExtra: She was originally supposed to be a ''major'' character, equivalent to [[VideoGame/DemonsSouls the Maiden in Black]] or [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsII the Emerald Herald]]. She was reduced to a mere BonusBoss.

* RockMonster: Apparently mindless bruisers made entirely of crystal.

* DragonAncestry: Priscilla is a half-dragon and, as such, is of giant size and has a dragon tail. As her "parents" may be [[spoiler:Gwynevere and Seath the Scaleless,]] it's possible that she may have been created instead of naturally born.

** Another theory is that, assuming Priscilla doesn't age, is that [[spoiler: she was destroyed along with Ariamas' Painted World when it began to rot away.]] While it's never outright stated, it's heavily implied that Ariams' painting no longer exists and that would be her fate if she stayed.

* AmbiguousSpecies: At 14 feet tall, they're ''much'' larger than the Silver or Black Knights, or the Anor Londo royal family (Gwynevere possibly excepted, since [[spoiler:she was an illusion]]), but it's not clear whether they're Giants or just particularly big Gods/Lords (like Smough and Lorian, who are actually taller). Their item descriptions suggest that they're giants but come just short of outright confirming it; calling them "giant" in a way that leaves it ambiguous if that's their species or just a physical descriptor (it's not capitalized).

* AchillesHeel: You'd think that, considering [[EasyLevelTrick how trivial Witch Beatrice renders the boss]], it must be weak to magic, so you might as well use your own Sorcery to bring it down yourself and save yourself the Humanity. [[SubvertedTrope Haha, nope!]] The Moonlight Butterfly's defense against Magic Damage is actually its ''highest'' defensive stat and if you try and bring it down with Sorcery you could be in for a nasty shock (on the other hand Lightning Miracles are quite effective against it and it's ''extremely'' weak to Fire, but there aren't many Pyromancies with the range to hit it while it's flying around). So how does Beatrice kill it with such disdainful ease? We guess [[TheAce she's just THAT good at Sorcery.]]
* BonusBoss: Even moreso than many other optional bosses, as its soul is hardly worth the effort needed to obtain it and the weapons made from it are some of the most obscure. Along with this boss just being generally out of the way.
** To its credit, it ''is'' blocking the way between you and the Divine Ember. Which you'll need if you actually want to smith Divine weapons.

* OurMinotaursAreDifferent: It's based on a minotaur and vaguely resembles a wingless [[Manga/{{Berserk}} Zodd]] in that regard, although its horns are curled, resembling a ram's, and it has a [[SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset skull-like face]].
* SkippableBoss: If one chose the master key as their item in the character creation menu, you can take a detour through the Valley of Drakes and go all the way up from the Darkroot Basin, to reach the Undead Parish without ever having to tackle the Undead Burg, making the Taurus Demon skippable. [[SelfImposedChallenge Although why you'd WANT to do this is hard to work out.]] Alternatively, you can just make your way down Havel's tower and try to make your way up the Darkroot Basin to Andre's. Still not exactly easy, but easier than the Valley of Drakes at an early level (and Havel, while extremely tough for new players, is not exactly a fast runner).
** There's a third way to do this, which actually ''doesn't'' require the Master Key, but it's easily the most difficult of the three. Breaking certain pots in New Londo Ruins grants the player Transient Curses, which can be used to fight through New Londo Ruins, kill Ingward, and open the seal, which drains directly into the Valley of the Drakes. However, those pots only drop two or three Curses each, which is about how many are needed to make the run in the first place (so if you die in your first attempt at it, you aren't likely to get a second one until much later in the game). It requires so much more foreknowledge and planning that the player is better off facing the demon, [[SelfImposedChallenge but it can be done.]]

* ALoadOfBull: It's based on a minotaur and vaguely resembles a wingless [[Manga/{{Berserk}} Zodd]] in that regard, although its horns are curled, resembling a ram's, and it has a [[SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset skull-like face]].