Line #14 Characters/HellbladeSenuasSacrifice


1	A Character Sheet for Creator/NinjaTheory's ''VideoGame/HellbladeSenuasSacrifice''.
2
3	[[foldercontrol]]
4
5	!Humans
6	[[folder:Senua]]
7	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/senua.png]]
8	--> '''Portrayed by''': Melina Juergens
9
10	The PlayerCharacter. Senua, tormented for a long time and traumatized by the death of her fiancé, embarks on her MentalStory journey to Hel.
11	----
12	* EleventhHourSuperpower: Once Senua [[spoiler:realizes just how badly her father abused her and her mother]] and gains strength from it, enemies fall far more quickly. The soundtrack switching to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeNF2aB_FGU Just Like Sleep]] helps underline her new resolve.
13	* ActionGirl: Senua is a fierce female Pict warrior, capable in swordplay and dueling.
14	* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Senua learned to become at least passably good at swordfighting simply by watching Dillion from afar before he started actually training her.
15	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: So, so averted. Senua begins the game slightly disheveled and it only goes downhill.
16	* BigNo: Senua lets out a few of these throughout the game, particularly the direst of circumstances.
17	* BrokenBird: Senua has suffered her entire life and she has lost her one ray of hope, Dillion. She's beset by constant self-doubt, believing herself cursed and the cause of suffering to those around her.
18	* CaptainObvious: The voices in her head often state the obvious.
19	* CoolSword: After her first sword is broken during her first encounter with Hela, Senua is forced to undergo a series of trials in order to obtain [[spoiler: [[PublicDomainArtifact Gramr]], the magical sword forged by Odin and claimed by the hero Sigmund]].
20	* CrusadingWidow: Senua is this, of the "bring their lover back" variety.
21	* ColorMotifs: Blue. Blue eyes, blue warpaint, [[spoiler: blue magic sword]] Even her headband has a bluish stone in it.
22	* DisabilitySuperpower: Downplayed to subverted. While Dillion and the narration imply that her condition makes her a better warrior, able to 'see patterns others miss' and she successfully [[spoiler: detects plague in the water at her new village]], the many drawbacks of her condition are explored in horrifying detail. However, it's not clear how much of the pain caused by her condition is unavoidable and how much [[spoiler: can be traced back to her father's abuse]].
23	* DiseaseByAnyOtherName: Senua and those around her have no term for or understanding of her condition, only referring to it with epitaphs like "the darkness" and "the curse". However, from a modern day perspective, it's clear she's schizophrenic.
24	* {{Determinator}}: There is nothing that will stop her from rescuing Dillion's soul.
25	* DreadlockWarrior: A Celtic example -- the ancient Celts washed their hair in lime before battle to sculpt it into more fearsome styles (though they braided their hair in reality).
26	* TheExile: Of the self-imposed kind, as an attempt to get rid of her "darkness." Since this took place before the story's start, it didn't work.
27	* HearingVoices: Because of her schizophrenia, Senua hears them constantly, coming from a variety of locations and with a variety of ages and genders. One of these voices is treated [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration as the player character telling Senua what to do through the game's controls; others will offer suggestions on what to do during fights]].
28	* IcyBlueEyes: Senua has piercing, clear blue eyes. All the more appropriate and meaningful every time she faces towards the camera.
29	* InkSuitActor: Her face is very closely modelled on her voice actress, Melina Juergens.
30	* ItsAllMyFault: Due to [[AbusiveParents her upbringing]], she believes that [[spoiler: the plague coming to their village is her fault, for noticing something unusual with the water [[CassandraTruth and not being believed]], and later that Dillion died while she was away trying to purge the darkness within her]].
31	* MadwomanInTheAttic: Senua's abusive father locked her in a basement for years due to her mental illness.
32	* TheMentallyDisturbed: A significant portion of the game consists of vengefully [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] the stereotypes relating to schizophrenia and mental illness in general; Senua is a warrior but she's not unconsciously dangerous, her illness isn't something she can overcome with willpower alone, it's not a fun quirk or a disease, and it's the attitudes of those surrounding her that harm or help her.
33	* {{Naytheist}}: Senua initially acts deferential toward Hela, but over time it becomes very clear what her opinion of gods, any gods, really is: she rejects and despises them, even those of her own people.
34	* NoSocialSkills: While recollecting the first time she met Dillion, Senua is stiff, shy, and avoids eye contact during the beginning of their conversation. Justified, since her zealot father kept her inside their home for much of her life until meeting Dillion.
35	* TheOphelia: Senua is a more realistic version of this, if not an outright deconstruction considering how much she suffers because of her illness. She has experienced visual and auditory hallucinations all her life and is strongly implied to have schizophrenia or a similar disorder. She carries her dead boyfriend's head around and even talks to it, has long hair worn in messy braids, wears animal skins and furs, and is quite pretty (when she's not covered in gore) and otherworldly; her 'visions' and the voices she hears are seen as magical by her people, as they lack a modern understanding of mental health. Her lover Dillion never judged her for this and they had a mostly happy relationship. When Dillion was horribly killed, it triggered a psychotic break and it's not entirely clear how much of the game's events, if any, are actually happening or if it's just in Senua's head. The game's creators actually went to a lot of effort researching psychosis to portray her condition accurately.
36	* PowerBornOfMadness: Senua's voices warn her whenever an enemy creeps up behind her and she can enter BulletTime by focusing. While the latter one is almost certainly not "real", Dillion believed Senua's sight could make her a more powerful warrior.
37	* PrecisionFStrike: [[spoiler:In her memory of her learning her father had her mother burned, he justifies it by saying it was the will of the gods. She responds by screaming "FUCK THE GODS!"]]
38	* ThePromise: When she last went into self-imposed exile, fearing she was responsible for a plague, Dillion made her promise she would come back to him. She kept the promise only to discover he had been killed in battle; now her promise is to find him in Helheim.
39	* ScreamingWarrior: Senua lets out brief, yet utterly ''vicious'' screams throughout her battles.
40	* SelfHarm: When Senua is first touched by TheCorruption infecting her arm, she tries to scratch it off in a way that would likely make her arm bleed. At one of her lowest points, when her sword is broken, Senua is compelled by her psychosis to heat the blade and burn the side of her face with it to "cauterize" one of the veins of rot.
41	* SerkisFolk: Senua was both voiced and motion-captured by Melina Juergens, who prior to that point was a video editor for Creator/NinjaTheory -- this was her first-ever acting role. Her Game Award for Best Performance was handed to her by Serkis himself.
42	* ShellShockedVeteran: Senua was already traumatized before she experienced a kind of therapy by watching Dillion train with his sword and imitating him. She was skilled enough that he encouraged her to undergo warrior trials and she succeeded. Returning from a self-imposed exile to find Dillion and the rest of the village massacred pushes her over an edge she was teetering on her entire life.
43	* ShesBack: A somewhat minor example. After losing ''badly'' to Hela in their first confrontation, resulting in her sword getting shattered and her being thrown off of a high ledge, she seems to have hit even more of a DespairEventHorizon than she normally seems to exist at. Then, spurred by the memory of Dillion, she conquers the Odin Trials, claims [[CoolSword Gramr]] and almost immediately proceeds to fight her way through the Sea Of Corpses.
44	* ThisMeansWarpaint: Senua wears blue warpaint (also called woad) in the present -- most flashbacks are indicated by her being barefaced.
45	* ThousandYardStare: Her default expression is an impassive glazed stare, her mouth slightly agape.
46	* UnreliableNarrator: We, the players, see and hear the world from Senua's perspective. Considering she suffers from psychosis aggravated by trauma, how much and what actually happens is up to the player's interpretation.
47	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: A short list of things Senua fears, for various reasons: fire, darkness, plague/rot, and isolation. A short list of things she encounters on her quest: fire, darkness, plague/rot, and isolation.
48	* TheWorseningCurseMark: Early in her journey, one of Senua's arms starts turning black. You're told that every death she suffers will cause the darkness to spread and will eventually kill her permanently if it reaches her head. [[spoiler:The game is lying to you; the game does not actually feature perma-death but threatens you with it to increase the tension. The game is indeed over once the darkness reaches her head, but that's because there's no more to play and you've finished it]].
49	[[/folder]]
50
51
52	[[folder:Dillion]]
53	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dillion.png]]
54	--> '''Portrayed by''': Oliver Walker
55
56	Senua's fiancé, who she hopes to resurrect after his death in a battle with Vikings.
57	----
58	* AmazonChaser: Part of his attraction to Senua seemed to stem from her potential as a warrior.
59	* CompanionCube: His head wrapped in a cloth is kept on Senua's belt. She occasionally talks to it, though mostly to encourage herself (it doesn't talk back).
60	* FlayingAlive: The method of his death is particularly gruesome. [[spoiler:He was sacrificed by Norse raiders in the style known as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_eagle Blood Eagle]], his limbs and the flesh of his back tied to posts.]]
61	* TheLostLenore: He remains Senua's one ray of hope even after his death.
62	* MrFanservice: Appears shirtless in several of his limited cutscenes. One notable case where his appearance is contrasted with Senua's, however, could cross in to FanDisservice.
63	* NiceGuy: Next to Senua's mother, Dillion was the most inspiring and comforting person in her life. When he first meets her watching him practice his swordsmanship, he's nothing but understanding and friendly despite her status as a pariah. His eventual fate is the catalyst for Senua's psychotic breakdown.
64	* PrinceCharming: Technically qualifies, as his father is stated to be head of the village Senua moves to. He also fulfills the classical functions of the role, being kind and supportive to Senua, seeing her inner beauty, and helping her gain the courage to leave [[spoiler: her abusive family situation]].
65	* SageLoveInterest: A big source of guidance for Senua, and implied to be a good influence on his people as well. When Senua is accused of [[spoiler: (perhaps unintentionally) tainting the water supply of her new village and causing a plague]], he keeps a level head and has a very rational take on the whole situation.
66	* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: His primary character trait is how kind he was to Senua, and how much he wanted to help her learn to value herself. Naturally, he dies horrifically.
67	* UnderstandingBoyfriend: To Senua. He's one of only a handful of characters not to ostracise her for her mental illness, instead showing her nothing but genuine adoration, patience, and support.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70
71	[[folder:Zynbel]]
72	--> '''Portrayed by''': Steven Hartley
73
74	Senua's abusive father, and a druid fanatic.
75	----
76	* AbusiveParents: He emotionally and physically tortured his daughter for years in an effort to rid her of her "darkness", which included locking her up in a pit and constantly belittling and shaming her for her mental illness, believing it to be a curse from the gods. [[spoiler:He also killed Senua's mother by burning her alive when Senua was only five years old.]]
77	* AerithAndBob: "Zynbel" is absolutely not a Celtic name.
78	* ColdHam: Though he does at times raise his voice, he mainly speaks in a sepulchral CreepyMonotone whilst being rather hammy when Senua hears his voice.
79	* DarkIsEvil: He wears a BlackCloak, in the game he mainfests as the Darkness plaguing Senua throughout the game, and [[spoiler:Garmr, the representation of his daughter's hatred of him, lives in a dark domain, and uses darkness-based attacks.]]
80	* DirtyCoward: He physically and psychologically tortured his wife and child who were powerless against him. Yet, [[spoiler: he double-crossed his entire village as a service to the Northmen, in order to save his own life]].
81	* EvilSoundsDeep: His voice is a deep, sepulchral rattle, and it only gets deeper as you progress through the game.
82	* GreaterScopeVillain: He's [[AmbiguousSituation (probably)]] not actively present in the story, but his abuse and cruelty are what set everything in motion,
83	* HateSink: He's an AbusiveParent who [[ManOnFire burned his own wife alive]] and would later [[spoiler: sell out his own village to the Northmen just so they spared him while the rest of the villagers all get massacred]]. It's clear that he's not meant to be liked from the start
84	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Other than Senua herself, Zynbel may be the only person who survived the events of the story.]]
85	* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: He claim that he needed to make Senua hate "the darkness" so fiercely that she'd never give in to it (as he considers her mother to have done). However not only does Senua not agree, but she calls Zynbel out of that excuse in that he was more concern with his standing in the village (which he later had destroyed) than he was for his family's wellbeing.
86
87	* TilMurderDoUsPart: [[spoiler:Has his own wife burnt at the stake for assumed witchcraft.]]
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Galena]]
91	--> '''Portrayed by''': Ellie Piercey
92
93	Senua's mother, who suffered from a similar form of mental illness as her daughter.
94	----
95	* BrokenBird: She had very much the same illness as her daughter.
96	* BurnTheWitch: [[spoiler:Suffers this fate, with Zynbel blaming her "darkness" on her and seeking to appease the gods.]]
97	* PosthumousCharacter: She's long dead, [[spoiler:having died when her daughter was five years old]].
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Druth]]
101	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/druth.jpg]]
102	--> '''Portrayed by''': Nicholas Boulton
103
104	Druth is an escaped slave of the Vikings who raided Senua's village. He is dead, but offers her guidance still.
105	----
106	* AndThatLittleGirlWasMe: Through the lorestones, Druth tells the story of another man by the name of Findan, who'd been captured by the Norsemen, but eventually escaped. Although Findan died in the process, another man was born -- Druth himself.
107	* IDieFree: He doesn't mind facing death; not only has he escaped those who enslaved him, Senua will "carry [his] stories" and ensure he's not forgotten, and maybe one day with his help she'll be free as well.
108	* InsultOfEndearment: Senua and her voices often refer to him as "the old fool", but with obvious fondness and affection.
109	* LargeHam: He has a tendency to narrate the Nordic tales this way. Most prominent in the description of [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarok]].
110	* MrExposition: He taught the mythology of the Norse gods to Senua, which she experiences in flashbacks and through the game's scattered lorestones -- and possibly [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane gave shape to the delusions she experiences]]. If they are delusions.
111	* PosthumousCharacter: An old man who'd lived a hard life even before receiving his terrible burn injuries, he died not long after meeting Senua, but swore to guide her through the underworld.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	!Denizens of Hel
115	[[folder:Surt, Fire Giant]]
116	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/surt.jpg]]
117
118	* AlienBlood: He bleeds fire, appropriately enough.
119	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Surt is a metaphor for annihilation and destruction, as both experienced by Senua after raids by the Northmen, and from Druth's stories, combined with Senua's own issues with fire. His areas often have bits of the environment inexplicably smoldering or smoking, and his trials have the area go up in flames, with people screaming as they burn to death.
120	* {{BFS}}: Wields a ''massive'' sword [[OneHandedZweihander in one hand]] that's also [[FlamingSword on fire]].
121	* HumanoidAbomination: Takes the form of a massive, brutish warrior with a head made of burning wicker.
122	* MightyGlacier: He's slow as Hel, but has a massive amount of health and hits hard.
123	* OminousLatinChanting: His unique boss theme is dominated by a very aggressive sounding Norse chant and marching drum beat. Once he wreathes himself in fire, the soundtrack throws in what sounds like muffled agonized screams, further driving home what he represents to Senua.
124	* PlayingWithFire: He has power over fire, though he only uses it to cover his body and weapon in flames.
125	* ScarredEquipment: His blade is pitted all over and the tip appears to have been broken off. It doesn't make it any less deadly though.
126	* WarmUpBoss: He's likely the first boss Senua will face, and his moveset is slow and predictable with his flame aura being his only gimmick.
127	* WreathedInFlames: One of his abilities is shrouding himself in fire, at which point he becomes invulnerable until Senua can focus to dispel it.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Valravn, God of Illusion]]
131	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/valravn.jpg]]
132
133	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Valravn is the embodiment of disorientation, being lost and alone; all relevant to Senua, who has spent time in the wilderness and is sometimes confused by her hallucinations. When approaching him and solving his trials, it's always unclear whether he's offering help or playing tricks, which is true of Senua's delusions as well.
134	* EvilLaugh: A scratchy cackle like a raven, one of only two recognizable vocal sounds he makes (the other is his weird resonant "singing").
135	* FeatheredFiend: A more [[HumanoidAbomination anthropomorphic]] example than most.
136	* FlashStep: He disappears and reappears rapidly while fighting Senua, though it's hard to tell if he can actually teleport or if he just turns invisible and moves very fast.
137	* LightningBruiser: He moves quickly and hits with considerable force.
138	* MasterOfIllusion: His main skill. It's impossible to know what's real and what isn't in the area he controls.
139	* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: Throws 'em out during his fight with Senua, which she can [[HoistByHisOwnPetard parry into flying back at him]].
140	* SadlyMythtaken: There is no Norse god named Valravn. A valravn is a Danish monster said to be created when a raven gains supernatural powers after eating the heart of an unburied king or chieftain. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if he is indeed an anthropomorphic personification based on Druth's stories.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143
144
145	[[folder:Garmr]]
146	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fenrir_5.jpg]]
147
148	* AdaptationSpeciesChange: A wolf not unlike Fenris in Norse myth, but looks like a gnarled boar in the game.
149	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Garmr is one giant metaphor for Senua's nyctophobia, being a creature that inhabits a lair steeped in shadows and he will eat you alive if you don't have a torch lit while navigating his halls. [[spoiler:He's also a representation of her hatred for her father who kept her locked away in the dark in a vain effort to purge her illness.]]
150	* BreathWeapon: He can exhale pure darkness that clouds Senua's vision with horrific hallucinations.
151	* CastingAShadow: He uses this in its boss fight. Especially dangerous as darkness is Senua's major TraumaButton.
152	* DarknessEqualsDeath: Senua will die if she remains in the dark in his domain for too long.
153	* FullBoarAction: He looks like a giant, decaying boar corpse.
154	* ManualMisprint: For some reason, the achievement received for beating him has the condition of defeating Fenrir, not Garmr.
155	* NoNameGiven: Unlike the other bosses, Garmr is never actually referred to by name. He's only ever called the Beast.
156
157	[[/folder]]
158
159
160	[[folder:Hela]]
161	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hela_2.jpg]]
162
163	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: In addition to serving as the end goal of Senua's quest, Hela is also a catalyst for her resolve [[spoiler: as well as serving as Senua's acceptance, both of her illness and of Dillion's death]].
164	* FanDisservice: Yes, she's depicted as a naked woman. No, that doesn't make her appealing, considering that half of her is pale as ash and overlaid with runes while the other half is blackened, decayed and pitted.
165	* FashionableAsymmetry: Her right side looks more or less human, albeit pale and covered in tattoos. Her left side is a burned-out husk.
166	* InTheBlood: The gods exiled her to Helheim because, with a giant for a mother and ''Loki'' for a father, they figured she couldn't be anything but bad news.
167	* MookMaker: The fight with her consists of you mowing down endless hordes of her underlings while she watches and occasionally spits... ''something'' at you that hurts you and makes the screen go wobbly. Attacking Hela herself is not possible.
168	* RunningOnAllFours: She usually moves around on her hands and knees, possibly [[SquareCubeLaw because her massive size makes her incapable of standing upright.]]
169	* {{Sizeshifter}}: Most times we see her, she's a monstrous creature easily twenty feet tall. Her final scene shows her at normal size while listening to Senua.
170	* TenderTears: Weeps as [[spoiler:she releases Dillion -- because she is a representation of Senua.]]
171	* VocalDissonance: She speaks with a rumbling, masculine voice.
172	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / HellbladeSenuasSacrifice