History Characters / DarkSoulsEnemyNPCsAndBosses

* EasyLevelTrick: If you summon Black Iron Tarkus before the battle he can literally solo it for you. After all, he's better at this game than you.

* RingOut: The battle against the Iron Golem takes place at the top of Sen's Fortress, and there are no guardrails to prevent you from falling off. [[spoiler:The same applies to the Iron Golem.]]

* BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon: Smough is an all-around reprehensible guy hated by all his cohorts. Accordingly he wields a massive hammer covered in spikes whose uneven proportions reflect how little Smough gives a damn about subtlety and decorum.

* UnexplainedRecovery: Despite them not being in ''any'' way an optional boss, neither Ornstein nor Smough actually died in ''Dark Souls,'' as both were mentioned in ''Dark Souls III.''' But while Ornstein simply wasn't there in the first place (you're only fighting [[spoiler:an illusion or copy of him, as he has presumably already left Anor Londo to search for his former master, the Nameless King]]), there's no explanation for how Smough survived the encounter to [[spoiler:die fighting the worshippers of the Cathedral of the Deep]].
* UnskilledButStrong: Smough isn't a trained knight like Ornstein, he's the sadistic yet loyal executioner of Anor Londo. Smough's strategy is to swing his hammer haphazardly and crush anything within his radius, clearly showing his reliance on his strength and weight. He also underutilises his lightning abilities in the second phase, as he never uses them for ranged attacks. His weapon and armour descriptions confirm this, his hammer requires no dexterity and only strength to wield it. His armour is said to be able to be worn by anyone who's strong enough to wear it.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Same as Quelana.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Goes barefoot. [[spoiler:This helps track her if she turns invisible during the fight against her.]]

* BladeOnAStick: They carry a special weapon called a Titanite Catch Pole, which functions as a combination halberd and magic catalyst.

* BladeOnAStick: Their unique halberd, which they drop if defeated.

* BladeOnAStick: The [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Dragonslayer Spear]], which is imbued with [[ShockAndAwe lightning]], the natural weakness of these types of dragons, is one of the more ornate weapons in the game.

* BladeOnAStick: At first it's basically made of spears and can throw them as powerful projectiles. When it splits, it's revealed that every creature comprising it is holding one.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Minor example. Darkwraith Knights carry (and sometimes drop) the Dark Hand weapon, which they use to block attacks and steal liquid humanity. What makes this an example is that they can do both ''with the same hand''; for the player, thr grab attack can only be done if the Dark Hand is on the right hand, and thr shield can only be done with the Hand on the left, so a player using both these abilities can only do so if they're dual-wielding Dark Hands (instead of carrying a BFS like the Darkwraith Knights do).

* EveryoneHasStandards: Like all the other knights, he was disgusted by Smough's cannibalistic tendencies and barred him from being a knight. If Smough dies first, Ornstein respectfully absorbs his soul as a way to show his admiration for Smough's sacrifice.
* 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 like a FlashStep.

* ScaryImpracticalArmor[=/=]BlingOfWar: Some of the coolest armor in the game, making him look like a blinged-out Dragon. He presumably sees through his lion-head helm's open mouth, though his field of vision would be ridiculously limited.

* PunnyName: It's quite subtle, but in Japanese his name is pronounced "sumou" - exactly like [[Main/SumoWrestling the well-known sport played by very large men]].

Bipedal plant creatures that roam Darkroot Garden, ambushing travelers on the narrow paths. They mainly attack with their arms, which can be used [[WhipItGood as whips]] or in dangerous grab attacks.

* WhipItGood: Wields and drops the Notched Whip.

* UniqueEnemy: Only two of these monsters are found in New Londo, and both don't respawn.

* CanisMajor: It's huge for a wolf, and you're mouse-sized compared to it. [[spoiler:In ''[[DownloadableContent Artorias of the Abyss]]'', Sif is around your size, given this takes place in the past.]]

* NonHumanHumanoidHybrid: There are a multitude of hints in throughout the series that she's the daughter of a dragon and one of Anor Londo's ''gods''.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Smoh? Smuh? Smuff? Smug? Smoo? Smoff? [[Literature/TheHobbit Smaug?]] Based on the Japanese spelling and pronunciation, Smough is likely a romanization of 'sumo' (スモウ "Sumou"). If so, "Smoh" is the most likely candidate.

* BeefGate: As the source of the lava covering the Demon Ruins, you'll have to defeat him before setting foot in yourself, although going there immediately after defeating Quelaag isn't recommended since you have yet to acquire [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement the Lordvessel]].

* BodyOfBodies: They form out of clusters of random bones.

* LightningBruiser: The first common enemies along the mandatory game path that are simultaneously incredibly strong, resistant to most forms of physical damage, and dish out quick attacks that can rapidly drain your stamina and health. Sen's Fortress being ''full'' of these guys is only one of the reasons for its [[ThatOneLevel reputation]].

* 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 ''[[TranshumanAbomination 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.]]

* LightningBruiser: The first common enemies along the mandatory game path that are simultaneously incredibly strong, resistant to most forms of physical damage, and dish out quick attacks that can rapidly drain your stamina and health. Sen's Fortress being ''full'' of these guys is only one of the reasons for its reputation.

* HonorBeforeReason: If the player saved Sif during the DLC, it should be clear to Sif that the player is the good guy and doesn't have any bad intentions when he visits the grave of Sif's master. Sif still fights him anyway.

* InformedFlaw: By the lore, it's much weaker than any true dragon, but it's [[LuckBasedMission sometimes]] even more difficult to kill than ''[[BonusBoss Kalameet]]''; its tail is very easy to destroy, in contrast. (Although to be fair, you can only properly fight Kalameet [[WorfHadTheFlu after one of his wings is crippled.]])

* DamageSpongeBoss: Has a ludicrous amount of health (4,401 in your first run, ''8,800'' in your second) for how early in the game you fight it -- ignoring the Stray Demon BonusBoss, no other enemy you fight can take more punishment until you've obtained the Lordvessel and unlocked the end-game Lord Soul bearers.

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC1N-1SMAXQ "Iron Golem"]], which is shared with the [[BonusBoss Stray Demon]].

The lastborn son of Gwyn and leader of the Blades of the Darkmoon. Is fought as a BonusBoss through special circumstances. For more information on this character, see Characters/DarkSoulsCovenants.

* BonusBoss: Both Hydras are easily missed due to having no relevance to the plot and being a pain to access.
** The one in Darkroot Basin is fought on water, which requires the Rusted Iron Ring to even move normally, and even then, the long pathway down from the Darkroot Garden is often ignored in favour of the Moonlight Butterfly, ''another'' BonusBoss. [[spoiler:Killing it is required to access the DownloadableContent, though.]]
** The one in Ash Lake is self-explanatory, as getting access to this location in the first place is tricky and never mentioned at all in the game.

* BigGuyLittleGuy: For a relative sense of ''little'', since said "little guy" is [[https://i.imgur.com/ThQbjvD.jpg easily nine feet tall]].

* EldritchAbomination: Nothing else in the game looks like them, and they're more comparable to aliens than to any demons or monsters encountered in the depths of Lordran.

* AnAxeToGrind: Their Demon's Greataxe, a rare drop that requires a lot of strength to wield, but is incredibly powerful. Apparently, it is carved from the [[BadWithTheBone bones of other demons]].

* RoyalRapier: Several of them wield rapiers to great effect, and all were in direct service of the Knight King Rendal.

* ShieldBash: Often if you're too close to them.
* SwordAndSorcerer: To a degree. The first gargoyle is more heavily armored, wields a shield in addition to a halberd, and prefers to use physical attacks. Meanwhile the second gargoyle has less health and tends to stand back and breathe fire.

* DegradedBoss: You can fight several Taurus Demons as non-respawning enemies on your way to the Demon Ruins, with some grouped together to guard [[spoiler:the Ember needed to forge weapons upgraded down the Chaos path]].

* AnAxeToGrind: Wields the aptly-named Demon's Greataxe, ''the'' most powerful weapon in terms of damage per hit when maxing out the Strength stat.

* BewareMyStingerTail: Their tail is basically [[AnAxeToGrind a large double-ended axe]]. You can sever it to acquire it as a weapon.

* AnAxeToGrind: [[{{BFS}} One befitting its size, no less!]] It also fires [[RazorWind streams of air that explode upon impact.]] You can forge one for yourself by using the golem's core, with the ability to fire those streams as well, [[AwesomeButImpractical although it's the heaviest weapon of its category]].

* ShoutOut: Like many other references to ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', these take inspiration from the undead strapped to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel breaking wheels]], who use similar forms of locomotion to run over Guts and Isidro.

* PinataEnemy: The sole respawning one in Lost Izalith is the only respawning enemy in the game that drops Demon Titanite. It's going to make you work for it.

* ShockAndAwe: At range, they cast powerful lightning spells that deal significant damage.

* ImAHumanitarian: Getting killed by their grab attack will result in them [[EatenAlive devouring you alive]]. Some of them also carry around chewed-up human corpses in place of conventional weapons.

* UniqueEnemy: In a sense; while there's quite a few of them scattered throughout Blighttown, once you kill each of them they never respawn. [[DemonicSpider Thank god.]]

Smaller descendants of the dragons for whom the Valley is named. They reside only near the end of the Valley.