Dracula (Gabriel Belmont)
- Voiced by: Robert Carlyle
Twenty-five years after the events of Lords of Shadow, Dracula returns from decades of exile to take up residence in the old Bernhard Castle that once served as the stronghold for Carmilla and her vampire brethren. Now a powerful vampire himself, he soon marshals the creatures of the night under his banner. With these dark forces, Dracula plans to wage war on both his former allies in the Brotherhood of Light, and the world that betrayed him.
Note: For tropes applying to Dracula before The Reveal, see the Gabriel Belmont section.
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A-F
- Adaptational Badass: As revealed in 2, he cannot truly die except by one method: The Vampie Killer itself. The original Dracula, despite being able to ressurrect multiple times, has died multiple times and without requiring the Vampire Killer whip. During the events of Mirror of Fate, when Simon stabbed Dracula with a stake, Alucard revealed that he escaped and faked his death (although weakened), knowing that this is not how a vampire is supposed to die. This form of Dracula also can go through sunlight, while the original Dracula cannot.
- Adaptational Heroism: As shown in 2, despite his villainous actions in Mirror of Fate, this version of Dracula does want to fight evil. However, he's angry with God and resentful of being manipulated so thoroughly throughout his life, so when he's attacked by the forces of Light he goes along with it.
- All There in the Manual: Bits and pieces of Dracula's characterization have been addressed after 2's release by the game developers. See individual tropes for details.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Allowed himself to be transformed into a vampire at the end of Reverie, albeit with some reluctance.
- And Show It to You: Is really fond of ripping out still-beating hearts as his Finishing Move. He either pops them open like grapes or squeezes the blood out of it directly into his mouth. The rebelling Dungeon Minions, the Riot Police, the Gorgon, and a handful of others fall prey to this trope.
- Animal Motifs: Dragons.
- Anti Anti Christ: Zigzagged. He's Satan's equal in combat and could easily rule beside – or even usurp – Lucifer as the lord of Hell, yet instead chooses to oppose him, mostly because if anyone were to destroy humanity, it would be him. This becomes a much straighter version of the trope nearing 2's climax, where he's standing up to Satan for an very good reason.
- Anti-Hero: Returns to Type IV by the end of 2. Despite everything that he's done he's still a great man who vows to protect the world and fight evil
- Appropriated Appellation: Zobek is the one to give him the moniker of "Prince of Darkness" which, much later, Gabriel adopts as a title.
- Archnemesis Dad: To his son Alucard also known as Trevor, though they get over it in 2.
- Arc Words: The three defining pillars of his character: love, compassion, and tenderness. They're the central themes of 2, too.
- Aside Glance: Gives you one if you enter the Konami Code during the introductory loading screen, thus unlocking the cheat menu.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Rules the monsters of the night because he's a very powerful Physical God none of them would dare cross.
- The Atoner: In his desperation, he is responsible for sentencing his only son to suffer the eternal curse of vampirism. Lords of Shadow 2 is more of a personal tale of him trying to earn Alucard's forgiveness.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Is the final boss of Mirror of Fate.
- Background Boss: For a section of his boss fight in the second act of MoF where he possesses Simon. Note that he doesn't do anything but gloat during this; however, Alucard cannot harm him until you finish the required puzzle.
- Badass Boast: In spite of his outward emotionlessness has a few. Though taking into consideration his powers and virtual invincibility, these can come across as either pre-mortem one-liners or bond one-liners.
- Badass Longcoat: His outfit of choice is an ornate blood-red (or black with the DLC) longcoat with armored shoulders.note
- No Shirt, Long Jacket: When he isn't a Walking Shirtless Scene.
- Barbarian Long Hair: Fitting, considering his powers.
- Bag of Spilling: Loses most of his powers in Lords of Shadow 2 due to centuries of sleep, and has to re-explore his castle to get them back. This justifies the use of stealth.
- Because Destiny Says So: Revels in being evil because he thinks destiny has given him no other choice. Subverted in the end where he decides to take matters into his own hands.
- BFS: Early concept art depicts him carrying one. This is also partially present in Mirror of Fate: when he finishes his sword combo with a hammer-like swing, the Void Sword nearly doubles in length and reach.
- Berserk Button: Don't bring up the matter of his past in front of him; you will not live long enough to finish the sentence. On the related note, do not address him by his birth name. He will end you, unless, of course, your last name is Belmont. Or if you surprise him with a question whilst he's brooding.
- Biblical Motifs: His entire character arc reminds of a mix between the Book of Job and the Book of Revelation. From the former, he receives the misfortunes so reminiscent of that of Job's (although, unlike Job, he turned his back on the tenets of biblical teachings) and God's favor, and from the latter he borrows themes typical to both the Devil and Archangel Michael who led the heavenly hosts against the Dragon.
- Big "WHY?!": In the end of Mirror of Fate.
- Blood Magic: The bread and butter of his abilities. See below for details.
- Bloody Murder: Blends multiple subtypes into one. Owns a whip and daggers which are molded directly out of his own blood, can transform into streams of the same liquid to take control of an enemy – complete with said enemy's body falling to pieces under the strain – and even spew entire projectiles of it to disintegrate inanimate objects and corrupt living creatures into his servants.
- Blood Knight: Revels in battle and violence. It's the only thing he seems to take pleasure in anymore.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: Ends up getting covered in blood after he stabs an opponent through the chest or bites into their neck and drains them.
- Body and Host: Is the Host to his castle.
- Boss Banter: Can taunt you in Mirror of Fate during his boss battles.
- Brave Scot /Violent Glaswegian: Technically, Gabriel's French, but he's voiced by Scottish actor Robert Carlyle with his natural accent. And whether human or vampire, he's a fighter.
- Break the Haughty: Murdering his own son, siccing the lycans on his daughter-in-law, and then getting staked by his grandchild truly have toned his haughtiness down. Plus-minus a couple of centuries.
- Broken Angel: Five consecutive centuries of comatose sleep had turned him into this: a shambling and wheezing wreck. Still, considering he's a vampire, it doesn't take him long to recover his youthful looks and powers. His character arc can also be symbolically interpreted this way: an Angel who not only severs his own wings as an act of insubordination, but also replaces them with a vile, blood-based imitation.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: States as such about the death of Trevor's mother in Mirror of Fate finale, much to Trevor's chagrin. When he finds out who Trevor's mother was, he is very, very affected.
- Byronic Hero: He's still one, but chooses to bring it down a notch or two as he is not chained down by morality anymore.
- Casting a Shadow: Prince of Darkness. His Dragon Form literally bleeds shadow and embers, too.
- Card-Carrying Villain: In Mirror of Fate only. It's a symptom of his desire to be the villain the world wants him to be more than anything, and by 2, he mostly stopped due to being just overall tired and wanting to die to reunite with his beloved family.
- Character Development: Starts out as a ruthless villain, but soon enough, makes a Heel–Face Turn into a Nominal Hero. And, by the time the 21st century arrives, he, on his own account, becomes an Unscrupulous Hero.
- Character Tic: Expect him to tilt his head back and give Heaven a glare full of scathing resentment whenever he brings God into conversation. He does it every single time.
- The Chosen One: He is still God's chosen champion, even after becoming the Prince of Darkness. This is why holy objects don't harm him like they would other monsters.Dracula: The power of your God cannot destroy me... because I am His chosen one!
- Circling Monologue: Stridently recounts all the reasons which had led both him and Marie to losing their only child. All while pacing about her.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To the Chupacabras whenever they're both on-screen. He doesn't say much, he just... stares, and the dwarf deflates moments later.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Is fond of this, if judging from the knight scrolls in both Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2, and even has a separate torture cellar in 2.Dracula: (scroll quote) The worst prisoners must be isolated from the rest and taken to the cells with the levers inside. The mechanisms, once activated, allow water into the gallery, drowning all of the convicts in the lower sections.Brotherhood Knight: Did they think my sword would find Dracula distracted by his sadistic fantasies and his chest ready to receive the mortal blow?
- Cold Ham: His Mirror of Fate appearance, full stop.
- Complete Immortality: Is an everlasting demonic god who cannot die, not even by his own hands. The only thing that can kill him is the Vampire Killer Combat Cross stabbed into his heart, and he destroyed the only one he knows of.Dracula: The waters of my life flow ever on... never stopping...
- Composite Character: Of the original continuity's Dracula, Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Michael, and Satan.
- Cool Chair: His throne in Bernhard Castle.
- The Corruption: According to the in-game lore article for the Navigators, he emanates an extremely powerful aura capable of deforming and twisting lesser creatures beyond human comprehension.
- Cosmic Plaything: Possibly one of the strongest examples of the trope.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: Scrawled various sayings and denunciations on the walls of the Forbidden Wing at some point during his ravings. In blood, no less. And Latin.Dracula: (as translated): Gabriel Belmont no longer exists.
- Cross-Melting Aura: A variation. As he is still The Chosen One for God even after his Face–Heel Turn, holy objects do not harm him as they would other kinds of monsters. This is taken to the "melting" part when he takes the time to pray alongside a Golden Paladin of the Brotherhood of Light in the prologue...causing a huge blast of light that destroyed the castle, laid waste to the surrounding area, and obliterated all the remaining knights.
- Curtain Clothing: Resorts to this not long after he wakes up in the modern day. If anything, it only adds up to his bedraggled state.
- Cycle of Revenge: With the, admittedly tenacious, Brotherhood of Light. He attacks them because he believes they betrayed him, they attack him because he attacked them, he retaliates, they retaliate, and so on, and so forth. Then Trevor dies in the finale of Mirror of Fate. After that, he snaps and swears to "hunt down God's children for all eternity."
- Dark Is Not Evil: In 2. You wouldn't expect a vampire with demonic powers, a fiendish alias, a penchant for ripping out hearts, and a whip made of his own blood to be fighting on the side of good, would you?
- Dark Messiah: In Mirror of Fate, he believes that he's doing the world a service by ruthlessly killing the innocent people before they could succumb to the evil that festers within their hearts. By ridding the world of them, he's not only "sending them all to a better life", but also creates a foundation for a new, remodelled world as he sees fit. And the Brotherhood of Light is just a nuisance he is all too eager to wipe out. Fortunately for humanity, the arising issues with his own flesh and blood, Alucard, quenched his yearning for vengeance, and ultimately turned him into a bitter Death Seeker.
- Daywalking Vampire: Doesn't suffer any ill effects from being in the sunlight as seen in the finale of 2.
- Death Seeker: By the modern day, he wants to get rid of his Complete Immortality and die. Alucard's well-timed intervention effectively pushes him out of his yearning to kill himself.
- Deity of Human Origin: After aquiring the Forgotten One's power, he became a vampiric, demonic Physical God who can fight Satan himself on equal terms. Even when he was the human Gabriel Belmont, he possessed unbelievable power due to his status as God's Chosen One.
- Despair Event Horizon: Went evil after losing everything, including his humanity, in Lords of Shadow.
- Disproportionate Retribution: His response to being deceived? Massacre everyone, responsible and innocent alike.
- Don't Sneak Up on Me Like That!: States this almost word-for-word – plus a death threat – after he and the Lieutenant exchange roundhouse punches at the train station.
- Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto Us: Invokes this as an unspoken quote in one of the lore entries.Dracula: You need not fear pain if you give it out first...
- Dracula: One would think so, but the in-game universe strongly emphasizes that "Dracul" and "Dracula" are two distinct beings, in spite of addressing Dracul as "Dracula" in every appearance with the exception of the official artbook. The difference is purely cosmetic, as the lore makes it abundantly clear that this is indeed "the Dragon" and not his son. Reinforced in Mirror of Fate where he is seen giving his deceased son the name of Alucard. Technically, Alucard is "Dracula" this time around; his dad wears the mantle, not the name.
- The Dreaded: It's mentioned in 2 that the likes of both Zobek and Satan are terrified of Dracula, to the extent that he had to fake his own death to draw them out of hiding.Dracula: All shall come to fear me.
- Due to the Dead: After he discovers that Trevor is his son upon his death, Dracula gives him a proper burial.
- Dying Truce: Shares one with Trevor in the conclusion of Mirror of Fate.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Very much so, to a point of his hair turning to a stark ash-black sometime between games, despite it being brown/auburn in the concept art.
- Empowered Badass Normal: Was formerly an extremely badass vampire hunter with no special traits whatsoever. After becoming the Dragon, he only got more powerful.
- Enemy Mine: His relationship with Zobek in 2, a departure from the Villainous Friendship that usually comes up between these two characters in the prime continuity. Ultimately, this is subverted, as he was unknowingly using him and betrays Zobek.
- Epic Battle Boredom: After he fells the Siege Titan in the prologue of 2, he dusts himself off and cracks his neck wearing an expression of utter indifference. He perks up when Roland descends for round two.
- Epiphanic Prison: A cruel, self-inflicted instance that lasted nearly a quarter of a century, in-between the events of Resurrection and Mirror of Fate. Choosing to butcher nearly everyone was his "salvation."
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He still has some measure of his humanity, namely his love for his family. By 2, it is explicitly stated that his love for his son is the only pure human emotion he has left.
- He built tombs for himself, for his late wife, and for Laura.
- He was also horrified when he learned of the true identity of Trevor, something that came tragically too late.
- Even Evil Has Standards: In the beginning of 2, Dracula awakens after centuries of sleep, severely deprived of blood. In a blood-crazed frenzy, Dracula feeds on an innocent family, including the daughter. It's made clear by his facial expression at looking at their corpses that he took no pleasure in the act. It's also pretty obvious that as much as he hates God, he hates Satan even more. Considering the kind of person Satan is, it's easy to see why.
- Evil Costume Switch: After becoming evil, he discarded his Brotherhood of Light garbs and switched to a more demonic-looking Badass Longcoat number.
- Evil Is Burning Hot/Evil Is Deathly Cold: Combines both tropes with his Void Sword and Chaos Claws.
- Evil Is Hammy: Loves laughing, taunting his opponents, and gloating. He's toned down significantly by 2, tired of going through the motions already.
- Evil Laugh: An Evil Overlord who loves to laugh in his opponents' faces.
- Evil Old Folks: His aged form. He's relatively weak in this state, but still capable of slashing a human's throat open in the blink of an eye. More powerful opponents give him trouble.
- Evil Overlord: Ruler of all the monsters and undead in Bernhard Castle.
- Evil Versus Evil: He was the greatest threat to the world for centuries. Come Lords of Shadow 2, however, and he may be the only thing standing between Satan and the modern world. Lampshaded by Drac himself, saying that him being feared by others prevents those who are Eviler than Thou arising and causing more havoc.
- Evil Versus Oblivion: His essential motivation in Resurrection against the Forgotten One. God-like power was an additional bonus.
- Evil Wears Black: The Dark Dracula skin DLC which replaces his standard red-and-black color palette with a completely pitch-black one.
- Eviler than Thou: Continues his quest to destroy the Omnicidal Maniac God of Evil, the Forgotten One, even after becoming a monster himself.Dracula: Look upon me, demon, for I am darker and more terrible than thee.
- Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Averted. He gives all of his opponents a final, appropriate, and above all, quick death.
- Face–Heel Turn: Went from a hero to the Evil Overlord.
- The Faceless: Done intentionally in the first act of Mirror of Fate. His face and upper part of his torso is completely framed in shadow...◊ in spite of several brightly-lit torches on either side of his throne. But when Alucard confronts him in act two, the darkness shrouding him dissipates.◊
- Face Realization: Upon remembering his designedly forgotten Heel–Face Turn, he gives Alucard a blithesome smile.
- Faith–Heel Turn: After he loses everything and everyone who he had held dear to his heart, he decides to abandon everything that had made him human and become a malevolent and remorseless creature as an attempt to spite the Almighty Himself. As it turns out, it didn't accomplish much. God still favors him as His chosen Champion.
- Faking the Dead: As a part of his Batman Gambit with Alucard, he allowed himself to be put into a five-century long slumber with the help of the Crissaegrim.
- Fallen Angel: He has a lot of the trappings of one — and he may even be playing up the resemblance on purpose. His role? His significance to the divine? His status in the first game? His motives and powers? His wings? Hell, his name? It's hard to imagine it's all purely coincidence.
- Fallen Hero: Former Champion of the heroic Brotherhood of Light.
- Familiar: The multipurpose castle bats. Not only do they act as a useful tool of distraction, but can also blind/stun Dracula's enemies and pinpoint climbable ledges for him to use. Oh, and they're also a living part of him.
- The Fatalist: Became this sometime prior to 2. He sees no other alternative to his current predicament, and is not hesitant to point it out to others. He, however, does admit that anyone's fate can be altered, and in the finale, he openly defies his destiny by shattering the Mirror of Fate.
- Fate Worse than Death: Despite wishing true death and eternal peace, Dracula cannot die unless killed by the Vampire Killer weapon, thought to have been destroyed. Throughout this time, he has to bear witness eternal torment, knowing that if he were to die, Satan or Zobek would simply take over the prince of darkness title and make things far worse. Even until the end, he does not die, but will allow fate to choose his and Alucard's destiny, still lingering to the above statement.
- Faux Affably Evil: In Mirror of Fate, he's incredibly polite and candid when Trevor encounters him (if you don't know what he means when he says he was going to pay the Brotherhood a "visit"), to a point of asking the stranger to introduce himself. Then he boasts about how many people he's killed and mocks the suggestion that any of his victims were memorable to him.
- Femme Fatalons: After becoming a vampire, he gained long, pointed fingernails.
- Fights Like a Normal: Despite having nigh-limitless power and an innate ability to transform into a dragon, he prefers a more brisk and direct approach when confronted by an adversary.
- Food Chain of Evil: From an average individual's point of view, nearly anything can become an hors d'oeuvre to him. Anything. Deformed mace-wielding midgets, hulking jailers, mutated citizens of the city, and even a twelve-foot demon note , all can fall prey to his untidy eating habits.
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- Game-Over Man: Should the player die during any attempt at the Boss Rush in Mirror of Fate HD, you get a small cutscene of him sitting on his throne, taunting the player themselves, and challenging you to do better next time.
- Genius Bruiser: His fighting style is to brutally dominate and overwhelm his opponents, before literally tearing them apart with his fangs. He also loves violence and bloodshed. But he's not just a brute — he's retained his skill and precision as a warrior, and has no problem scheming his way out of situations where his powers won't serve.
- Genocide Backfire: After Trevor dies, he orders his legions to lay waste to one of the Brotherhood's strongholds. Unfortunately, in his zeal, he causes the demise of Trevor's wife, Sypha, which in turn gives Simon a reason to return to exact revenge later on.
- Genre Savvy: Is cognizant of the biblical motifs surrounding him and entertains himself by twisting them into something much more diabolic.
- A Glass of Chianti: Seems to be a fan of drinking wine, only really stopping from his slouch and drink to throw it away and go to a fight if it comes to him. He suggests, however, that it's not wine.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Is a Physical God with glowing red eyes. Though, if they ever become monochromatic, run.
- A God Am I: Subtly hinted to be this in Mirror of Fate in terms of pride and ego, particularly with Cornell's surviving lycanthropes viewing him as their new deity, a stained-glass window which shows him as a saint, and gigantic statues of his draconic form framing the entrance to his Throne Room. However, the events of the interquel had left its imprint on him, and by the time of Lords of Shadow 2, he's reverted back to a person who does not wish for any reverence from others.
- God-Emperor: He is this to both vampires and lycanthropes.
- God of Evil: Became an immortal demonic god of darkness after taking the powers of and then killing the old one. Also styles himself as the one and only "Prince of Darkness" as an act of vengeance against those who betrayed him.
- Good All Along: In Lords of Shadow 2. See the Heel–Face Turn entry.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: When questioning Raisa, he's the Good Cop (never straight-out injures her) to Zobek's Bad (putting a cigarette out in her eye).
- Good Is Not Nice: Better believe it, he still fits this trope to a tee.
- Good Parents: In spite of everything, he does love and care about Alucard, and overtly shows it in his interactions with the boy. The prime example of this being the willingness he had expressed when trying to recover the Mirror of Fate just so Trevor would have something to play with.
- Good Wings, Evil Wings:
- Playing with. His wings are mainly crimson and black in colour, but their contours resemble standard angelic wings.
- Played straight with his Dragon Form, where his wings are torn and leave entire billows of darkness.
- Hate at First Sight: Downplayed to one-sided hostility. He's this with Zobek's Lieutenant, to a point of fiercely refusing his aid and mockingly calling him a “dog.” Lieutenant himself is rather dismissive of it as 'dog' is not an insult to him.
- Healing Factor: Any injury dealt to his body regenerates in less than two seconds. But it also has the unfortunate side effect of preventing him being killed, even when he desperately wants to die.
- Heel–Face Turn: He made one before the beginning of Lords of Shadow 2, agreeing to work alongside Alucard to destroy Satan once and for all. The entire game is actually a massive Batman Gambit on his and Alucard's part.
- Hellish Pupils: Downplayed. In some sequences, his pupils become slitted, but not all the time.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: In Lords of Shadow 2, the Void Sword seems to be his favorite weapon, as he uses it in a lot of cutscenes. Not that we complain.
- Hero Killer: In this continuity, not even being a Belmont is guaranteed to protect you from him.
- He's Back!: An exceptionally twisted version. Dracula returns from years of exile and soul searching to wipe out his former allies and take the world for himself.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Invokes this in Mirror of Fate by influencing Simon and pitting him against Alucard. Alucard spectacularly defies the trope and refuses to harm Simon in spite of his yearning for revenge. To say that it merely miffed his dad is a grave understatement.
- Hidden Depths:
- In Mirror of Fate. Peering past his practised mask of a jerk can seem problematic at first, but upon further investigation, one might notice just how disjointed and self-contradictory his speech is. He even explicitly brags about killing Trevor. A guilt-ridden and repentant father bragging about killing his firstborn? Not likely. This may also qualify as the beginning of his Death Seeker outlook.
- His relationship with, well, himself is an intriguing detail, too. Some significant background events established in Mirror of Fate – and, in particular, a stained-glass mosaic you can see near the Throne Room entrance◊ – indicate that Dracula venerates his past self. Or at least holds his past persona in high esteem. This comes as both strange and unexpected, seeing as he overtly rebuts any allusion to that he's still that man. Why would he keep a blatant reminder to what had caused him to renounce everything he had so hazardously close to his throne is a mystery, nevertheless.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In Mirror of Fate. If he hadn't turned Trevor at the end of the game, he wouldn't have returned in the second act and, together with Simon, successfully rammed a stake through his chest. Not that it had any lasting impact, but still.
- Holy Burns Evil: An inverted example. In spite of his Faith–Heel Turn and present-day view on God, he still commands the hallowed powers, and even channels them to wipe out an entire army of blessed knights in the prologue of the final game.
- Hopeless Boss Fight: Trevor's confrontation with him in the finale of MoF is this.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Wants to destroy the human-filled Brotherhood of Light because they lied to and betrayed him. Best said in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.
- Humanoid Abomination: Knowing the lore behind the trilogy, it is... difficult to pinpoint what exactly is he. He possesses characteristics which are vampiric, angelic, draconic, and demonic in origin. Lords of Shadow 2 even describes him as a cursed soul condemned to spend an eternity in the body of a vampire.
- Hypocrite: One of the main reasons he starts his initial onslaught against the Brotherhood of Light is because they sent his own son after him and essentially tricked him into killing his own flesh and blood. However, when Simon shows up on his doorstep, he's more than willing to use his powers to turn him into a meat puppet to fight Alucard. Given the space in time between Trevor's initial demise and Simon's arrival, and the fact that Dracula knew that Simon was a Belmont, he had to have known that Simon was Alucard's son. A Justified Trope, as Lords of Shadow 2 indicates that he just stopped caring after that whammy.
- I Am the Noun: Calls himself "The Dragon" or Dracul. (Note: he never uses the name "Dracula", which really means "Son of Dracul/the Dragon".)
- I Did What I Had to Do: Attempts to give a justification for his actions in Mirror of Fate in front of Trevor. The boy doesn't buy it, and there's an uneasy pause.
- I Have Many Names: Beside the commonly known Dracul/Dragon, he had earned himself a few more titles, such as the "Lord of Evil" and "Prince of Shadows". note
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Displays shades of this in the sequel. His voice actor confirms that Dracula would have preferred a much simpler life and a better relationship with his son to what he has now.
- I Love You, Vampire Son: He does care for Alucard deeply, though the feeling is not mutual. At first.
- Impaled Palm: How he stops the riot mook's automatic pincer. With said mook crashing into him.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: At the end of the Blood Curse chapter, he uses a simple metal rod to spike Carmilla through the mouth. From a distance of fifty or so feet, no less. While she was getting up.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He resembles his voice-actor, plus fangs, red eyes, dark hair and pale skin; minus a few years.
- Interim Villain: Is the main antagonist of Mirror of Fate.
- In Their Own Image: In Mirror of Fate, he tries to sway Alucard to his side by saying that he would "remake this world" as he sees fit. Alucard promptly refuses. See also We Can Rule Together.
- I Shall Taunt You:Dracula: You fight well. Worthy of the name "Belmont."
- I Work Alone: Tells Victor this. In his case, it is justified as every ally he's ever had died either at his own hand or because of him. When Zobek's Liutenant offers to help him in 2 at the train station, Dracula rebukes him by saying he doesn't need anyone's help.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Jekyll to Inner Dracula's Hyde.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Through the years Dracula has shown nothing but contempt and hostility to others. He is rude and physically abusive towards the Chupacabra and tells Zobek's Liutenant that he doesn't need his help. However, he still retains his love for his family, and Marie and Trevor are always able to bring forth his capacity for love and compassion.
- Jumped at the Call: He's long since given up on humanity by the time of 2's prologue. But when Trevor comes to him with a plan to lure out both Zobek and Satan, the true evils of the world, he has to be more convinced that the plan will work than he does whether or not he should do it. He certainly makes the decision quickly, for how monumental it is, and his short period of indecision almost seems like he's trying to convince himself not to do it. Even his utter loathing of humanity can't stop Gabriel Belmont from saving them, it seems.
- Kick the Dog: He's this throughout the entirety of the first two acts of Mirror of Fate. He's staked shortly afterwards. In 2, he actually kicks the Chupacabra in the face even after the latter has promised to stop his tricks and shows undying devotion to him.
- Kill All Humans: If his Mirror of Fate Boss Banter and Revelations scribbles are of any indication, he was evidently this. Notice the past tense.
- Kill It with Fire: One of his finishing move animations in 2 has him kill the Riot Police mooks this way. Even if not equipped with the Chaos Claws, Dracula may burn them alive.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Becomes this over the course of 2.
- Leitmotif: A rather grim forte-piano piece, Dracula's Theme. It plays in the main menu, but its echo can be heard at several points in the story, like during his encounter with Carmilla, reunion with Marie, and the end-fight against Satan.
- Leave Him to Me!: Civilly asks Alucard to stand aside and not interfere whilst he exchanges blows with Death.
- Life Drinker: Retains his youthful appearance by drinking human blood.
- Light Is Not Good: Still commands the power of God, though he has abandoned the use of Light Magic.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: He is a ruthless vampire lord who will violently kill anyone who stands in his way, and fights against the Devil himself, who is even worse.
- Living Mood Ring: His red eyes can lose their saturation and turn grayish-blue depending on his mood. Specifically, intense emotion, focusing his attention, and general alertness make them brighten. When he's indifferent, wool-gathering, or confused, they fade. In-game textures even reveal that the above-mentioned gray is his standard eye color; he just has a texture of crimson overlaid atop of it.
- Load-Bearing Boss: In Mirror of Fate, when he finally dies, the whole castle crumbles shortly after. In 2, it is explained that the castle is not... prepared to go through the experience again.
- Long-Lost Relative: Founder of the Belmont Clan.
- Love Redeems: His biggest theme in 2. His newly rediscovered tenderness towards his wife and only son had encouraged him to abandon his monstrous side and seek forgiveness. It's also why he ultimately doesn't kill himself in the finale.
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- Magic Knight: He uses his Void, Chaos, and Blood powers for both creating weapons and "classic" magic such as fireballs or blizzards.
- Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Playing with. He's upholding his end of the deal with Zobek exclusively to get his hands on the one thing that can destroy him.
- Mirror Character: As much as he despises Satan, the two are actually very much alike, besides sharing the same title, the same role as opposition to God, and the same tendency to taunt their opponents into tripping up. They're both holy champions who fell from grace and chose to establish kingdoms where, stewing in resentment, they rule souls they've tricked away from God. They even utilize both light-based and dark-based magic. The only differences between the two really, is that Dracula favors control over blood, while Satan favors darkness, and that Dracula actually cares for and loves his son whereas Satan... doesn't.
- The Mourning After: Zigzagged. Played fairly straight in the first game and Mirror of Fate, but come Lords of Shadow 2, and it turns tangled. Dracula is still committed to Marie, but her role in the earlier installments had left him bitter. Bitter enough to wake his memories of Carmilla. Later on, however, he reunites with Marie, who had been brought Back from the Dead. It's not entirely clear what happens next.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Inverted. Dracula personally stakes Carmilla for getting in-between him and Marie.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Realizes that Trevor was his son right after he killed him, and in a panic, begs for him to live and ultimately turns him into Alucard.
- To a smaller degree, in LoS2, he blanks out when he witnesses the aftermath of his blood-starved frenzy.
- And again, but this time he is distinctly unsettled and ashamed by the fact he fed from Marie, even if that was to preserve his own life.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Seeing as the word Dracul has an alternative meaning of the Devil, note this falls directly under this trope if the Dragon wasn't intimidating enough. Even Gabriel can fall under this trope... him being the Left Hand of God, the Angel of Death, a herald of the Apocalypse and all that.
- Nay-Theist: When he's not screaming at the Heavens, that is. Even so, he does like to announce his favored status into his opponents' faces.
- Necessarily Evil: Played with. The reason why he is supposed to live as the prince of darkness is to keep evil under control. Zobek or Satan taking over that mantle would be far much worse. The ending allows fate to decide, hinting that his true death would only occur if someone else is able to take over as the next necessary evil and that evil above him don't go as far or worse than Zobek nor Satan.
- Never My Fault: Wholeheartedly blames God and the Brotherhood for all of his misfortunes, and refuses to admit that a part of that fault is his. Notably, after killing his own son in a fight, rather than accept maybe becoming an evil vampire had something to do with it, he goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the Brotherhood... that nearly kills his own grandson.
- Never Trust a Trailer: Every single pre-release trailer to the second game presented him as an irredeemable villain who would stop at nothing to get his vengeance on all of humankind. However in the game itself, we see that his immorality is largely downplayed to a point of being non-existent. His highly boastful speech about his Complete Immortality and his revenge is not present except for the last three sentences he does say in-game. This is almost certainly to conceal the twist that he's Good All Along.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: In addition to his enhanced Healing Factor and demi-god status, he demonstrates none of the more conventional vampire weaknesses like vulnerability to sunlight, running water, or holy items. He lampshades the latter in the prologue of 2.
- No Badass to His Valet: Tries to discourage Marie from addressing him by his true name during their reunion. Marie's not impressed. Her disapproval instantly cuts him short.
- Nominal Hero: Becomes this by the time of 2. He's only a hero because his opponent is Satan.
- Nonchalant Dodge: With Abaddon in 2.
- No-Sell: Proceeds to carve the Dark Crystal demoness to ribbons after Victor sics one on him as a last-ditch attempt to gain ground. Yes, the very same demoness that could obliterate any non-boss creature in a one-hit kill in the first game.
- Offing the Offspring: Is forced to battle to the death with the descendants of his clan and his vampire son Alucard, something he secretly resents.
- Offstage Villainy: The bulk of his nefarious deeds are hidden in manuscripts, memorials, and backgrounds; the player will never witness them (barring a few exceptions), because doing so first-hand would have made it exceedingly hard to sympathize with him in 2.
- The Older Immortal: To Alucard by precisely twenty-seven years.
- Oh, Crap!: Has a speechless one when the mortally wounded Trevor brings up Marie and the part Gabriel had played in her demise. That one is instantly followed by a more vocal one.
- Omniglot: Downplayed to realistic levels. He's proficient in English (though he does speak with a clear Scottish accent, implying that it is not his mother tongue), Latin, and unsurprisingly Romanian. note
- One-Man Army: Wipes out an entire army of half-a-million holy knights and their Dungeon Punk Humongous Mecha by himself in the prologue for 2.
- Orcus on His Throne: In the siege during Lords of Shadow 2's prologue, he doesn't even bother getting up from his throne until the Brotherhood makes it all the way to his throne room.
- Papa Wolf: Despite his less-than-praiseworthy attitude in the interquel, he beyond question is this towards Trevor in LoS2. He goes absolutely ballistic against his own gory doppelgänger after it abducts the boy.
- The Pawns Go First: Commands one of his succubi to try and bewitch Simon before stepping in personally. He's pretty florid about it.
- Perpetual Frowner: Taking into account all the stuff that had happened to him, yeah, he doesn't have much to look pleased about. But when he does eventually crack a smile...
- Pet the Dog: Quite literally pets wolf-Alucard in the end of the Blood Curse chapter. Afterwards, approaching the finale of the game, he gives Victor the antidote for the blight blanketing the city.
- Psychotic Smirk: The image above.
- Pietà Plagiarism: A delightfully blasphemous version.◊ That's not Mary cradling him, but the pose is spot-on.
- Power Dyes Your Hair: Upon seizing the Forgotten One's power, his hair is instantly bleached to an unsettling shade of white. Or at least, a lighter shade: it's difficult to see due to Resurrection's peculiar Art Shift. Even so, It doesn't last, unless you install the Dark Dracula skin DLC which, despite its name, dyes his hair to a metallic-silver tinge.
- Power Floats: After absorbing the powers of a demonic god, the Forgotten One, he gains the power to float in the air.
- The Power of Blood: For a vampire of his caliber, this is a given. And it even has the power to reanimate corpses! Explanation
- Power Of Hate: He's been stewing in it for centuries, and it allows him to summon his Chaos Claws.Book of Dracul: The solid walls of Dracula's castle were not strong enough to contain the rage and fury that Dracula held inside. Engulfed by an everlasting hunger for vengeance, the Prince of Darkness attacked the solid walls of his new home. From its crumbling ashes new structures always arose, ever taller than the ones before, and from the burning flames, a blinding light appeared. In its burning core the Chaos Claws were born, filled with contained destruction, awaiting their master's will to unleash their immense power once again.
- Power of the Void: His Void Sword uses the powers of emptiness he took from the Forgotten One. 2 describes it a little differently:Book of Dracul: Pain and suffering have tormented Gabriel over the centuries following his transformation into the Prince of Darkness, beating his exhausted mind again and again. As his memories submerged into the waters of oblivion, Dracula abandoned his humanity behind to overcome the pain and suffering, and filled his heart with a cold, dark void. That feeling gave rise to the Void Sword, capable of draining both the nightmares of its owner and the life of everyone that comes in contact with its blade.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Uses the classic one-liner from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.Dracula: Enough talk...! Have at you!
- Precision F-Strike: When Carmilla poisons him, he spits out an uncharacteristically clipped 'bitch'. It makes her giggle.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: In the final battle against Lucifer.Dracula: You. Don't. Know me. Satan. (brings the stake down)
- Rage Against the Heavens:Dracula: I am, and will be, forever, a thorn in His side! That is my vengeance!
- Really 700 Years Old: By the time of Lords of Shadow 2, he's been alive for over a thousand years, but he looks as though he's in his late thirties.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: His default look sports a red Badass Longcoat and black pants.
- Red Baron: Dracul/"The Dragon".
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: After becoming a vampire, he gained glowing red eyes.
- Religious Vampire: Inverted. As a human, he was a genuinely devout and pious man but went full blown Rage Against the Heavens mode after his fall from grace. Even as an vengeful, evil vampire king, he was still considered God's Chosen One to the point he couldn't be harmed by holy symbols. By the end of the series, he has turned into an Anti Anti Christ.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: He's noticeably exasperated when others keep expressing their astonishment at seeing him alive.
- Revenge Before Reason: Is willing to take eternity to get his revenge, even though it means never seeing his loved ones again. In reality, though, not really.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Wants to kill the entire Brotherhood of Light for lying to and betraying him.
S-Y
- Sanity Slippage: In Resurrection when he declares that he has "absolute clarity of mind", crossing over into Suspiciously Specific Denial. Not that he gets any better after the DLC.
- Satanic Archetype: Dracul, Prince of Darkness (a name for the Devil In-Universe, which Satan even derisively calls him out on), dragon, snake, goat motifs present around his throne, and a colossal sculpture of Satan just above it, his constant struggle against God... Yes, by this point it's possible that Drac's better at being this world's Satan than the world's actual Satan.
- Sealed Evil in a Duel: A variation. He's not locked in a duel per se — simply by existing, he instils fear into both Zobek and Satan, and doesn't let them run amok. But even with this so-called freedom, his choice of action is limited. Without the ability to trace their whereabouts to destroy them, he's forced to keep a vigilant watch without leaving his post. Ever.
- Shaping Your Attacks: A rather curious example. He can invoke his Limit Break in the shape of a whip-like swirling helix complete with a shrieking maw on its end.
- Shockwave Stomp: Does these in Mirror of Fate during both of his boss fights. Lords of Shadow 2 has these as well in a form of Drop & Perforation and Meteorite moves.
- Shoot the Dog: Subverted. When things turn for the worse and Alucard is possessed by Satan, Dracula feigns willingness to stake his own son in order to lure the fallen angel out. It works.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: Delivers a speechless one when Alucard tries to appeal to his better nature. Luckily, Alucard manages to stop him.Alucard: What if there was a way to destroy their evil forever... to free mankind from tyranny?Dracula: (shakes his head in disgust, turns on his heels, and tries to walk away)
- Slasher Smile: Gives a terrifying one to Satan at the climax of their battle. It was so scary it actually serves as a plot point.
- Slouch of Villainy: Enjoys lounging back on his throne in Bernhard Castle.
- Smart People Know Latin: He can both write and speak the language fluently, to be expected of a person from his era who is both literate and religious. Dracula ain't one of the latter anymore, but it's clear he recalls the holy incantations in spite of his immoral and diabolic crusade.
- The Snark Knight: Seldom, but it's there. Particularly when it comes to mouthing off his old archenemies and said archenemy's underlings.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Can form whips, swords, gauntlets, projectiles, and giant dragons on the fly. His whip is formed from his own blood, his sword from the power of the Forgotten One, and his claws from pure hate. The dragon is a facet of his own mystical physiology.
- Stop Worshipping Me: Crosses into this by the time the events of 2 are unveiled. He might consider himself a satanic figure still, yet persecutes anyone who tries to deify him.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: His eyes turn gold in his weakened, decrepit form.
- Superpower Lottery: Is immortal, can vanish, travel leagues in a matter of moments, float, transform into rats, mist, blood, a dragon, has increased strength and reflexes, demonstrates mastery over primordial fire, ice, darkness, can corrupt even those who are not native to this plane, chuck fireballs that are a one-hit kill, and has a legion of fiendish critters to do his bidding. The only one who matches him in terms of raw power note is Satan, but even the Devil is not exactly fond of the prospect of facing him one-on-one.
- Super-Reflexes: Evades incoming projectiles, combat cross knobs, and pummelling attacks from above with a Bullet Time precision.
- Sword Beam: Can unleash these in both Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2. However, the 2 ones can also encase the enemy in solid ice.
- Stages of Monster Grief: After twenty-or-so years, he reached the betrayal step and decided to make the Brotherhood and everyone else pay for screwing him over. By the 21st Century, he's gone back around to Acceptance again.
- Symbolic Wings: Quite.◊
- Synchronization: Is chained to the castle, and both cannot exist without the other. He can leave it, but doesn't bother.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He's a tall, fairly decent looking man with dark brown hair.
- Tempting Fate:
- In the prologue of 2.Dracula: (pauses and scoffs) What a timely coincidence! I'm dying for a little drop of blood! (after the Time Skip, he's half-dead and literally dying for a drop of blood)
- And another minor case which is Played for Laughs.Brotherhood Cleric: (summons three tutorial!mooks)
Dracula: Is this all you've got, priest? (promptly clubbed by a Heavy who appeared right behind him)
- In the prologue of 2.
- That Man Is Dead/Do Not Call Me "Paul": Invokes this at very least three times throughout the games, but is noticeably more coolheaded about his former identity by the end of 2.
- At the end of Lords of Shadow.
- And in Lords of Shadow 2:Dracula: I am no longer Gabriel, woman! I am the Dragon, Dracul! I am the Prince of Darkness!
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Destiny said he would become evil, so Dracula decided he would enjoy it. By the time of 2, however, he's more just going through the motions, and wants nothing more than to leave his castle behind and die.Dracula: The terrible path of my destiny was now laid before me, and with absolute clarity of mind, I walk that path paved with the corpses of my enemies and friends alike with relish.
- Thicker Than Water: His main moral value in Lords of Shadow 2.
- Tragic Monster: Was a protagonist in the first game, before he became a vampire to save the world from an Omnicidal Maniac demonic god.
- Tragic Villain: Is a villain created with the aid of both fate and consequence.
- Tranquil Fury: The staple of his personality. Dracula shows next to no emotion even in the most dire and life-threatening situations, does not waste time on self-praise or taunts, speaks calmly to a point of being unnerving, and is completely willing to carve his way through countless demons without ever abandoning a dour and dispassionate expression. Truly, the only time when he loses his temper is when someone manages to reopen one of his old wounds. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that he deflects this trope almost completely in Mirror of Fate.
- Transhuman Treachery: Is this from Resurrection and forth.
- Undeath Always Ends: By the time of 2, he wishes this were true, but his status as a God of Evil with Nigh-Invulnerability makes this impossible for him. His reward for completing his quest in 2 is promised to be his final death. Ultimately, he decides not to, and goes Walking the Earth with his son, Alucard, who is similarly immortal.
- Undeathly Pallor: His skin is chalk-white with faint purple undertones.
- Vampire Bites Suck: It ain't tidy, and it ain't pretty. He leaves withered, dessicated corpses with their throats ripped out (when he doesn't just shred the victim completely) and finishes up with his mouth, teeth, jaw and chest smeared with red.
- Vampire Monarch: Replacing Carmilla.
- Victor Gains Loser's Powers: Performs this yet again by absorbing the Forgotten One's nigh-limitless power in Resurrection and then destroying the demon in a single swipe of his hand.
- Villain Protagonist: You get to play as the vampire lord in the Resurrection DLC and Lords of Shadow 2.
- Villain Teleportation: Whenever the player's not in control of him, he's this.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Has a few.
- Animorphism: Can turn into a pack of vicious-looking rats for concealment purposes.
- Elemental Shapeshifter: Can dissolve into currents of blood. Beside the amplified movement speed, he also gains the power to possess any sentient being, and judging by the horrified shrieks that his victims let out, it hurts. Also, once that body is no longer useful to him, he makes it burst from the inside.
- Scaled Up: Can use his emblem-talisman to turn into a giant dragon, obliterating all nearby enemies and granting him invulnerability for a short time afterward. Doubles as a Limit Break and has a price in the form of five dragon scales.
- Breath Weapon: Naturally, breathes fire.
- Glasgow Grin: His mouth is split in such a fashion that it resembles an unnerving grin.
- Throat Light: An uncanny crimson one in his dragon form.
- Super Smoke: Can become a mist of smoke and embers for stealth, platforming, and combat designs.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Uses a gushing fountain of projectile blood to corrupt the control crystal of the siege golem in the beginning of 2. He uses it later to break out of Raisa Volkava's grab in her boss fight.
- Walking Spoiler: Really, taking a good look at him or listening to him talk will immediately spoil the Twist Ending of the first game. What's worse, the interquel, Mirror of Fate, outright reveals his true identity in the first five minutes.
- Walking the Earth: In the Grand Finale, Dracula decides against killing himself and subjects himself to this trope.
- Warrior Poet: He's a fairly philosophical and poetic man, when he's not chewing the scenery. He's even multilingual.Dracula: I will make this monster pay. He will know fear. He will taste the bitterness of defeat and look into the eyes of the dragon as his life spills onto the ground before him. Look upon me, demon. For I am darker and more terrible than thee. I am that dragon. And you... are my prey.
Dracula: The roots of evil are deep... irreversibly so in the hearts of men. It is their true nature, their destiny. I was their most devoted warrior, a champion of the light, but I fell... fell into darkness... and now I am feared as the Prince of Darkness. Ironic, don't you think? - We Can Rule Together: Offers this to Alucard in Mirror of Fate. Alucard is not impressed. See also In Their Own Image.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: What he claims of himself towards the end of Lords of Shadow 2. He points out to Alucard that while he himself is an insane, amoral God of Evil, his presence actually prevents monsters even worse than him like Satan and Zobek from running rampant all over the world, since they're all so terrified of him.
- What You Are in the Dark: He gives Victor Belmont the antidote to the demon virus so he can keep the refugees from turning, despite having no pragmatic reason to do so. This is the biggest turning point of his path towards redemption, and what ultimately seals his Heel–Face Turn.
- Where I Was Born and Razed: Plans to destroy the Brotherhood of Light (and has already made an awful lot of progress), the religious order to which he once swore loyalty.
- Winged Humanoid: Can invoke a pair of disembodied, crimson wings which act an infernal version of the Seraph Shoulders. In-game, he uses them purely for a now-standard Double Jump, but the lore entry suggests that they are far more potent than just that.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Is a Fallen Hero who jumped off the Despair Event Horizon when he lost his family.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Proceeds to butcher a family (a father, a mother, and a teenage girl) in the beginning of 2 in order to rejuvenate himself. The game blacks out for the girl's death, but the concept art for the scene does not.
- Later on, when you stumble across the modern city's Bedlam House, you can find a memorial about a mass grave of thousands of newborns which was discovered during the asylum's foundation works. According to the memorial, the concubines of Dracula, who could transform into snakes, entered the houses around the castle and took away the babies. Dracula doesn't personally comment on it, but the Succubus' lore entry in Mirror of Fate suggests it's true.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: By the modern day, he's sick and tired of living for hundreds of years and just wants to die. Though it's implied that this becomes Living Forever Is Awesome when he decides not to kill himself at the end of 2.
- "You!" Exclamation: Directs one at Carmilla just before her boss fight.
- You Have No Chance to Survive:Dracula: Hahaha! Your Brotherhood has betrayed you! You cannot kill me. You will die in vain, just as your father did!