The Player
The Luminants of Lumen
The Etrean Luminant
The Eastern Luminant
The Central Luminant
The Northern Luminant
The Southern Luminant
The Western Luminant
Factions
Deities
The Drowned Gods | Celestials
The Depths
Scyphozia | The Eternal Gale | The Vents
The characters of Deepwoken.
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Protagonist
Player
The main character, a Pathfinder who is a "drowned", a person who has more connections to the Depths compared to the average person.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Last Second Negotiation Talent has then yelling "WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!" as they're being gripped. If it works, this results in them being forced out of their execution, forcing the opponent to grip them again unless they're interrupted.
- Assassins Are Always Betrayed: Voidwalkers can take bounties on other Voidwalkers. When asked why their leader, Eylis, would allow this, the trope itself was invoked.
- Attack Reflector: The Payback Resonance either instantly reflects whatever damage they had taken to them or has them take some damage before firing a beam dealing damage done to them multiplied or reflected back.
- Auto-Revive: The Resurrection Resonance allows them to regain 40% of their HP from an attack that would normally knock them while at low health.
- Bounty Hunter: One occupation a player can take is to hunt down bounties of other players, and Voidwalkers can teleport to their bounties with the Grasp of Eylis under the right conditions.
- Blood Magic: The Blood Scourge Resonance, which involves the player either summoning a circle to instantly grip downed humanoids or throwing a projectile that explodes, instantly gripping any downed humanoids.
- Brutal Honesty: They can tell Karliah that she isn't cut out to be a Diver, and that Mudskippers are merely small fry compared to the rest of the horrors in the Depths. Whether they convince her or not depends on how much Charisma they have.
- Calling Your Attacks: With the Spell Shout Talent, they can call the names of their Mantras they cast or the nicknames of their Mantra they assigned to.
- Charged Attack: The Wind-Up Resonance involves them charging up a attack before unleashing it, dealing massive damage and knockback.
- Charm Person: Charisma builds often integrate various Talents that inflict Charm to their opponents and allies.
- Crazy-Prepared: The Survival Kit Talent has them keep an infinite-use flint alongside a "well-stocked set of tools" at all times.
- Crazy Sane: Some of the more insane actions they can perform can be beneficial to them as the world is sinking to the Depths. Willpower builds exemplify this, often increasing their insanity to activate Talents such as Lose Your Mind and Piercing Will.
- Defiant to the End: The aptly-named Talent has them yelling "THINK YOU'VE SEEN THE LAST OF ME?" when they're being gripped, slowing their enemy down with their execution. Depending on if they have allies with them or not, this may have saved them from being gripped.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: After being tricked by Ethiron disguised as a Diver into awakening their creation, they eventually slay a powerful fragment of Ethiron's power that was had been sustaining an entire city, an act that purges it from reality.
- Dimensional Traveler: With the aptly-titled Dimensional Travel Resonance, they can take themselves and others into The Interstice, a liminal dimension with various structures.Description of The Interstice: Just what is this place?
- Energy Bow: The Shard Bow fires an arrow of light against other enemies.
- Everyone Has Standards: Even the more dubious of players such as Contractors will be horrified at Karliah's Sanity Slippage induced to her by studying at home and learning stuff she wasn't supposed to know.
- Exposed to the Elements: The Stranded Outfit is effectively just a torn rag, and those who take the Lone Warrior Origin and most of those traveling to the Trial of One will have to face freezing temperatures in them.
- Face Your Fears: Implied with the Conquer your Fears Talent, which replenishes their sanity upon killing monsters from the Depths.
- Faking the Dead: The Cap Artist allows them to make it look like they died recently. Their eyes are still open and their name tag still displays while they do this.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: At first, they can potentially start of as New Meat, who can potentially succumb to the horrors of the world. By the time they reach Power 20, however, they've left behind a massive legacy, and is considered to be powerful enough to surpass Chaser, not to mention they've likely slain multiple notorious figures at that point.
- Gravity Master: The ably-titled Gravity Field Resonance allows them to either lower or heighten the strength of an area's gravity.
- Heroic Second Wind: This is the only way to obtain their Resonance provided their soul resonates well with the Song: After a near-death experience in the First Layer, they immediately come back with a new Resonance, their wounds healed and hunger and thirst sated. They also gain access to the Temple of Hearts.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: They can carry a lot of things more realistically compared to anyone else, and how they manage to do so is a major mystery.
- Instant Runes: The Dread Breath Mantra generates small runes in the air around it.
- I Shall Taunt You: The Taunt Mantra disables the victim's ability to jump but grants them extra damage.
- Karma Houdini: The Pardon Me Talent has a chance of allied territories ignoring whatever crimes they did. Even discounting that, they can potentially get away with a lot of dubious crimes such as gripping players, killing Nomads, etc.
- Multiple-Choice Past: They have multiple Origins which explain how they came to be:
- The default Origin, the Castaway, was once a crew member of Cap'n Orlandeau, but after the Authority bombarded their ship, the Rotten Lot, they were confirmed to be the only survivor. Though exploring a bit in New Kyrsa reveals that Cap'n Orlandeau also survived, but a disagreement with Klaris resulted in him being exiled to New Kyrsa.
- Lone Warriors have no past aside from fighting, and they wake up at the Trial of One, ready to be judged by the Voice of Solitude whether they are worthy of becoming more stronger or being sent to the Depths.
- Deepbound players were recruited into the Divers by Roy, and gave them basic apprentice training before being assigned to Castle Light.
- Voidwalkers somehow managed to contract with Eylis, and after immense training, are given the power of the Grasp of Eylis and the Voideye to hunt down bounties.
- Mysterious Past: Aside from first arriving at Spring 1271note , almost nothing is known about them. This is exaggerated for Lone Warriors, who have no past aside from combat.
- No-Sell: The Run It Back Resonance allows them to ignore a certain amount of attacks before teleporting them back to the location where they first used it.
- Orbiting Particle Shield: The Ice Orbital Talents summons one of these made out of floating ice cubes.
- Snake Oil Salesman: Implied with the aptly-titled Snake Oil Talent, which increases the sell value of items.
- Soul Power: The Jar of Souls Resonance they can have stores souls taken from dead enemies before unleashing a beam of light.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: With the Crazy Slots Resonance, they can summon a variety of powerful Divine weapons, with the weapon appearing depending on how much of their Weapon Attribute stat was before activating it.
- Supreme Chef: The Artisan Chef Talent allows them to cook Artisan Food which increases their nutritional value, while the Master Chef Talent increases the longevity of the effects of certain meals.
- Token Evil Teammate: Depending on how they play, they can potentially be a lunatic compared to the rest of their teammates.
- Token Good Teammate: Depending on how they play, they can potentially be the only sane person, especially if they're a Voidwalker but refuse to actively to engage in PvP and use the Voideye for escapes unless threatened.
- Weaponized Stench: The Stench enchantment releases a cloud that damages enemies when activated.
- Weaponized Teleportation: The Portals Resonance sometimes allows them to dive into a portal before emerging from it with a dive kick, while the aptly-called Teleportation Resonance allows them to teleport both them and their enemy to a more favorable ground.
Supporting Characters
Cap'n Orlandeau
Anything to be free of Klaris
The mentor for the players who choose the Castaway Origin, captain of the Scoundrel's Bounty and its crew, the Rotten Lot.- Dressed to Plunder: Sporting a Brigand's Bicorn and wielding a Razor Cutlass, he's bizarrely the only man dressed as a pirate in a sea-based game.
- The Exile: Orlandeau is sent by Klaris to New Kyrsa over a minor disagreement in world view, leaving him unable to return to the surface due to her connections, which she would use to hunt him down. He decides he's better off in a Soiled City on a Hill infested by Brainwashed and Crazy creatures that constantly goes through a "Groundhog Day" Loop that damages the very soul than having to deal with her.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Just after teaching the player everything they need to know, the ship is sunk by the Central Authority and he's sent to the Depths.
- Pirate: Seeking wealth and glory as the captain of his very own crew, he's the closest the game has to a pirate, though he never actually engages in criminal activity. The Authority blast him and his crew to bits regardless.
- Talk Like a Pirate: Even his name is abbreviated as if it were pirate speak.
- Took a Level in Cynic: By the time the player finds him in New Kyrsa, he's lost all hope of ever living a normal life on the surface, and warns his former crewmate that any higher power they work for only sees them as worms.
Antagonists
The Ministry
Chaser, Scholar of the Burning Blood
- Voiced by: DemStormz
- Battle Theme Music: "A God, Manufactured"
. - Blood Magic: Granted an Oath by the Ministry's Second Prophet, he can manipulate blood to generate tendrils, waves of blood and even regenerate as long as he has a suitable source.
- Damage-Sponge Boss: Chaser originally had 50k HP, 10k more than the actual final boss of the game, the Scion of Ethiron. This was eventually lowered to 25k.
- Deal with the Devil: In exchange for a little bit of power, he swore himself to one of the leaders of an Apocalypse Cult. One of the main interpretations of his death is that it came back to bite him.
- Disney Villain Death: Falls to his death after being horribly injured during his boss fight.
- Double Agent: While he seems like an eccentric Diver, he's actually The Dragon for one of the Ministry's Prophets.
- Elemental Eye Colors: His eyes are red swirls of blood.
- Evil Laugh: Will do this after recovering from a fall or preparing to unleash faster versions of his attacks.
- Expy: Elden Ring's Mohg is clearly spreading his influence beyond the Lands Between and into other games.
- Fallen Hero: He was once a member of the Divers and considered their third greatest graduate, before betraying them and joining The Ministry.
- Faux Affably Evil: Chaser initially presents himself as a victim of a mutiny, and offers the protagonist their help in finding their way to New Kyrsa. He then blasts them away mid-conversation and insults their intellect for trusting him.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: The ability to fight him multiple times is justified by a time loop.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He's killed by his own Blood Magic slamming him into the ground over and over, breaking every bone in his body, until it creates a hole in the ground and sends him falling to his death. Additionally, there's nothing stopping you from using his own weapon, the Flareblood Kamas against him, and it's surprisingly a viable option as well, due to it doing bleed damage.
- Instant Runes: His Blood Oath's Mantras generate runes to activate blasts of blood.
- Kaizo Trap: The final phase of his fight has him slamming to the ground with his Blood Magic in a radius. Trying to stay away from it causes unblockable and undodgable damage the player, and he can also perform several attacks in this phase. Hope your Light Hook is still active if your Health is low
- Meaningful Name:
- His original title, Scholar of the Crimson Contract, alludes to his Oath, Contractor, which allows him to manipulate blood.
- His current title, Scholar of the Burning Blood, reflects his competence with Flamecharm and his ability to incorporate it into his attacks.
- Subverted with his actual name. He never chases anyone.
- Playing with Fire: A master of Flamecharm, Chaser can ignite his Blood Magic for a more powerful attack.
- Puzzle Boss: The pre-reworked version of him originally required you to destroy all the blood jars to defeat him. While he can be attacked when forced down, it's highly recommended to only do this to increase Tempo and use any abilities that heal the user, such as Mantra equipped with Bloodless, as attacking him too much will spawn Bounders in the area, making it much harder to defeat him. The reworked version is a zig-zagged case: While destroying all the blood jars is no longer a requirement, it does prevent him from healing for the rest of the boss fight.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Though the mutilated corpses and air thick with blood was probably a dead giveaway.
- Script Breaking: Normally, Chaser would be killed by his own blood magic if his health was depleted enough. However, if the player does enough damage during the moment where gets knocked down before he can get back up, he can be gripped like any other NPC, thus skipping the section where his blood magic would cause him to slam down on the ground until it creates a hole, thus leaving behind a hole that mysteriously appears after you grip him.
- Serial Killer: Around sixty poor Divers will killed by Chaser, either directly or indirectly, during his betrayal in the Second Layer, as well as a member of the Ignition Union. The Flareblood Kamas also imply that he killed several before then as well.
- Sinister Scythe: Invented the Flareblood Kamas, though he never actually uses them. You can have a rare chance of pillaging off of him from a chest when you defeat him.
- Talk to the Fist: It is possible, and is highly recommended, to attack him mid-dialogue, as this not only immediately starts the fight, but also has the potential to start off with a chunk of his health missing. He himself lampshades it:Chaser: Aha, the first strike? Not one to mince words are we?
- Turns Red: After all the blood jars have been destroyed, there's a chance he might perform slightly faster versions of his attacks, which is signified by an Evil Laugh and him being highlighted with an aura.
- Worf Had the Flu: Chaser was one of the most powerful Black Divers simply around his graduation and has only gotten stronger since. Eventually his powers were amplified through his Oath with the Second Prophet, but as a result, by the time he's encountered he's on a Power High and isn't considering the possibility of defeat, using his Oath as a crutch far more than he needs to, resulting in his unfortunate demise. He barely uses his Flamecharm or his hand to hand combat skills, and being stuck in a time loop means he'll never learn from his mistakes and keep repeating them till the end of time.
Races
Etreans
Counterclockwise from top left: Coral, Viper, Mamba, File
- "Defined by their snake-like features and cunning. Isolationists who tend to their own interests."
- Animal Eyes: They have the slit pupils of snakes thanks to their Hereditary Vows.
- Necessary Drawback: Their Molt Racial Talent allows them to reduce the duration of status effects, but this also includes the positive ones such as Reinforce.
- Snake People: They are themed after snakes, and much like snakes, they can molt to get rid of status effects.
Celtors
Counterclockwise from top left: Marten, Otter, Badger, Weasel
- "Silver-tongued traders whose pride often gets the better of them. Renowned as ship-builders and seafarers alike."
- The Captain: Their Seaborne Racial Talent allows them to build ships with more durability and better steering, invoking this trope.
- Doomed Hometown: They used to have a Merchant City named after them called Lost Celtor. However, the Ministry sacrificing it to Yun'Shul resulted in it becoming one of the many casualties of the Great Drowning.
- Useless Useful Spell: Their Seaborne Racial Talent allows them to not only get a discount for ships, they also have increased ship HP and better steering. While very useful in the overworld, it's far less useful when farming in the Depths.
- Wicked Weasel: They're themed after members of the Mustelidae family, but some of them have been noted for their greed and pride.
Adrets
Counterclockwise from top left: Alder, Greymarch, Salt, Seeker
- "Tattooed when they come of age, their tattoo represents the path of life they seek. Well-regarded as bureaucrats and keepers of coin."
- Amazing Technicolor Population: They often have Cyan to dark blue skin. That being said, Ishan implies that is because of them joining greater society after the mountains they used to live in sank.
- Badass Bureaucrat: They're well-regarded as bureaucrats, but they're still capable of combat if necessary, with the Authority having an entire army of them.
- Cartoon Creature: The only race to have no confirmed animal basis. Ishan implies they are based on fish, but developer Arch_Mage shot that guess down. They are heavily implied to be humans, however, given that they make heavy use of technology unlike other races that utilize spirituality.
- Facial Markings: Upon coming of age, they get tattoos on their face, with it representing the life they seek.
- Not the Intended Use: Their Maudet Racial Talent gives them 3 free Investment Points to use, and it can stack with Autodidact, which is intended for them to be an early-game Crutch Character who is able to easily level up early on, but suffers from an experience drought in the late-game. However, because of this, they are often used for Echoes grinding, which has them exploiting the easiest way to obtain Echoes.
Canors
Counterclockwise from top left: River, Red, Lion, Interior, Steppe
- "With canine features, the Canor are fiercely loyal. Often found as guards and personal servants in the retinue of powerful people."
- Canine Companion: They're themed after dogs, and often found as servants towards many factions. Additionally, they used to be a major part of the Authority's military as part of the Canor Swordfangs, and some of them still do so as soldiers and peacekeepers.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: They're considered to be the game's equivalent to Germans, with the Canor Borderwatchers have popularized the Zweihänder, a German greatsword and have some German names as well.
- Friendly Fireproof: Downplayed, but their Loyalty Racial Talent reduces damage from guildmates, which is very useful in guild battles.
- Stealth Pun: They're dogs considered to be the counterpart of the German people. They're German Shepherds.
- This Index Barks: The amount of dog tropes themed from them are way too many to list.
Gremors
Counterclockwise from top left: Birch, Cedar, Redwood, Aspen, Teak
- "Deer-horned pariahs who lived a peaceful life as nomads before the tides came. Tolerant of extremes that many others would avoid."
- Horned Humanoid: They have deer-like horns on their heads.
- Magic Compass: Navae herself serves as a compass to them, guiding them to her.
- The Marvelous Deer: They're themed after Deer, and are guided by Navae who acts as a compass.
- No-Sell: They have resistance towards blindness, a trait only shared by Blindseers.
Lightborn
Not pictured: The many other Lightborn variants
- "The stars call you back..."
- The Ageless: Lightborn have no signs of aging.
- Bilingual Bonus: The runes on their halo translate to "Be the mysterious light the few whom were chosen".
- Despair Event Horizon: They lost the motivation to fight against the Drowned Gods when the Celestials withdrew from the conflict, resulting in many of their cities sinking to the Depths.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: The main reason why they don't have a Racial Skill unlike the others is that they are an hybrid race.
- Jack of All Stats: They have a +2 for every starting stat except Charisma.
- Holy Halo: They have a halo above their head, signifying their connect to the Celestials.
- Secret Character: Currently, the only way to obtain the Lightborn race is through various events run by the Deepwoken team. In the future, they plan to make it obtainable for everyone in the future, likely involving making contact with a living Celestial, a herculean task given how rare a Celestial is.
- Semi-Divine: They are mortals who have made contact with the Celestials.
Oaths
General Tropes
- Claimed By The Super Natural: Most Oaths have some sort of obtuse indicator, showing which entity the individual is sworn to.
- Deal with the Devil: Oaths generally involve swearing yourself to a creed or entity. Given the types of people this world creates, the latter is almost always malicious.
- Eye Colour Change: Taking an Oath changes your character's eye color.
Oathless
- "You vow to never be bound to any oath; to live your life free of any restraint. If free will is an illusion, why not make it an convincing one?"
An balanced oath that gives its user resistance to other Oath mantras and more freedom on what mantras they can choose. Obtained by talking to Cerulean after talking to their disciples scattered across the East Luminant.
- Boring, but Practical: Part of the reason why it's surprisingly a good pick is because of not of the +2 Wildcard Mantras, but of its +10 Health bonus upon gaining the Oath. The other Oath that has this, Silentheart, has to discard their mantras entirely, which includes the ones that boost their movement, and the ones that used to have this, Dawnwalker and Arcwarder were nerfed to not have a health bonus. Plus, it has no stat requirements, much like Contractor, Dawnwalker and Fadetrimmer, meaning that any build can be used to obtain this oath.
- Crippling Overspecialization: One of the traits that it has is that it resists Oath mantras. Keep in mind that Silentheart removes the users' mantras in exchange for additional damage. Though it's somewhat downplayed in that Oathless players can retain their mobility mantras.
- Exact Words: Gameplay example. You can't get the Oathsworn badge if you take Oathless even though for all intents and purpose, it's an Oath. You are Oathless, after all...
- Jack of All Stats: Nothing too great, but nothing too bad either. Outside of its +10 Health bonus, it also offers +2 Wildcard Mantra slots, allowing for more flexibility, though more specialized Oaths such as Visionshaper, Linkstrider and Arcwarder have more Mantra slots, but not +2 Wildcard slots.
- Weak, but Skilled: Oathless has virtually no Oath mantras, a dubious honor shared with Silentheart (though the latter has unique Talents to make up for this). But unlike the others, it also has +10 Health, the same boost that Silentheart has, and the +2 Wildcard slots allow for more flexibility compared to the more specialized Oaths. With the right Talents, they can rival other builds with other Oaths.
Blindseer
- "You vow to not let the horrors of the world pierce your tightly fastened blindfold. Everything is simply as we chose to perceive it."
An oath focused on increased sanity resistance to assist those in Scyphozia, while also having offensive mantras to shut down other enemies' mantras. Obtained by having 40 willpower with all Mental Fortress Talents when looking at the engraved text in the Temple of the Forgotten Flame while blinded.
- Anti-Magic: Tranquil Circle completely disables mantra usage, including the user's own. Modifying it with a Magnet Spark allows it to follow its user.
- Blindfolded Vision: Blindseers without the Blind flaw can equip a blindfold, which grants the Blinded Talent which increases sanity in exchange for blinding them when equipped, with the downside not mattering to Blindseers.
- Blind Seer: Exactly What It Says on the Tin, who are able to see through the entire world in spite of being blinded.
- Blind Weaponmaster: Being blinded doesn't stop them from landing a good hit or two, which is justified because of them being immune to blindness.
- Combat Medic: Mindsoothe heals anyone within the Blindseer's vicinity at the expense of the Blindseer's sanity.
- Developer's Foresight: Because the Vesperian's Chitin mask covers their eye accessories, obtaining the oath as a Vesperian changes their mask to a unique one.
- Eye Beams: Sightless Beam fires beam straight from their eyes. It has a high windup, but it has a blinding effect if it lands.
- Logical Weakness: Because Tranquil Circle only works in a certain radius, the Anti-Magic effects of it can be negated by simply getting away from it, with weapons such as Petra's Anchor having Critical Attacks that move the user.
- Man of Kryptonite: They are an living counter towards Visionshapers, due to their Talents allowing them to easily see Visionshapers while also reducing the time their clones spawn.
- No-Sell: Any techniques that would normally blind them, such as Flame Blind, will not work on them.
- See the Invisible: The All-Seeing Eye Talent allows them to see invisible players, and heavily increases the range needed to detect players who are in Tacet.
Visionshaper (SPOILERS)
- "You vow to see only that which you wish to see. Reality itself is malleable, pliable to your deft hands."
An oath focused on combating their enemies with illusions. Obtained by successfully completing Aelita's event in the Valley of Heroes, then having 50 Charisma and approaching Surge with a Dark Feather, and accepting the Nestmind's offer to become their food.
- Achilles' Heel: The Disbelief Talent reduces the amount of time the Illusory Servants last against their victim if they have it. While it thankfully isn't harsh enough to lock the Visionshapers out of their other options, this forces them to rely more than just their clones. Additionally, the clones will disperse immediately if their user was hit.
- Counter-Attack: The Illusory Counter mantra has the user strike a pose. If they're hit while doing this, they instantly teleport behind their victim and spawn a clone in their place.
- Critical Status Buff: Under the effects of the Cheap Trick Talent, if a Visionshaper's HP reaches 50%, they immediately disappear and spawn a clone in their place before reappearing.
- Deal with the Devil: To obtain it, Visionshapers must swear themselves to the Nestmind. In exchange for their powers, the creature will devour their body and mind after their life concludes.
- Domain Holder: The Illusory Realm has the user trap any player near them in a dimension they control.
- Doppelgänger Attack: The Illusory Servants and Illusory Counter mantras spawn clones to attack their target, which synergizes very well with Lightning Clones due to following almost the same concept.
- Master of Illusion: Visionshapers are capable of creating impressive illusions to fool their enemies.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: Any damage done in the Illusory Realm is translated to 40% damage taken in the real world for the realm's owners, while anyone else gets 60% damage taken in the real world. Additionally, if their HP is reduced to 0%, they get autogripped.
Jetstriker
- "You vow to flow with the Song itself, drifting across where the trails may take you. If the Song permeates everything, then let it be your conduit, and you its master."
An oath focused on pure agility, allowing its users to climb cliffs more easily while also dodging attacks with ease. Obtained by winning a race against Alirian with 50 Agility.
- Back Stab: Successfully hitting someone in the back with mobility mantras or basic attacks with the Acceleration Points Talents grants you momentum. In addition, the Fake Strike mantra has them quickly turn to their opponent's back and strike them from behind.
- Critical Status Buff: Under the effects of the Decisive Winds Talent, if a Jetstriker's HP reaches 50%, they temporarily gain maximum sprint momentum.
- Diving Kick: The Jet Kick attack has them rush forward while delivering a kick. Uniquely, if the Jetstriker is combat tagged, they must have a target within their vicinity in order to use it.
- Fragile Speedster: Downplayed. Jetstriker is the only oath that provides passive agility, and has a variety of Talents that focus on increasing the user's mobility. However, aside from a +5 Health and +2 Posture bonus, it doesn't have any Talents that offer some form of defense against others, which may prove troublesome to those who are unable to successfully land a hit against them.
- You Will Not Evade Me: Successfully flourishing an opponent and having them stop moving will result in the Jetstream Pursuit Talent teleporting them to their opponent while giving them momentum.
Starkindred
- "You vow to feel the knowledge of all that is, all at once. Your heart beats with the world itself, as the Stars above watch over you."
An oath focused on both combat and agility, in addition to having unique properties with Fire Blade. Obtained by having 40 strength alongside having gripped a player once, and successfully killed Iblis, The Fallen Angel and drunk from the Ichor.
- Angelic Transformation: Taking the oath turns your player into an angel-like being, complete with halo and wings.
- Awesome, but Impractical: The Starkindred version of Fire Blade is visually stunning: An enlarged Fire Blade that is able to multi-hit enemies to deal massive damage. The catch? It also drastically increases the wind-up of the Mantra, with even Insignia Gems not affecting it at all. Furthermore, for some reason, it also prevents it from breaking environments, such as the wooden blockade at the Hidden Village. This means that realistically, the mantra is only useful against enemies in narrow quarters or those trapped within Gravity Field. Fortunately, applying a Reversal Spark to it prevents the Starkindred version from applying.
- Deadly Disc: The Sinister Halo mantra has the character send out a slow-moving halo. Notably, it has no autoparry frames, forcing the recipient of the attack to either rapidly press F or dodge it.
- Instant Runes: The Sinister Halo Mantra is surrounded by several runes.
- Light Is Not Good: Starkindreds are angelic-like beings, though like the other Angels found in Deepwoken, the matter they became Starkindreds is anything but.
- Lightning Bruiser: Starkindreds have access to wings that grant them a boosted version of Aerial Assault, allowing them to fly around areas easily, and while they have a measly +8 Health bonus compared to Silentheart and Oathless' +10 Health bonus, it's more than enough to let them easily roam the battlefield.
- Power Gives You Wings: Casting a Starkindred Mantra causes your character to sprout wings for a whole minute. The wind-up for these mantra are reduced if the wings are out beforehand, and it's possible to cancel the Mantras after the wings are out if the player doesn't want to fire them needlessly.
- Unblockable Attack: Ascension cannot be blocked or parried. The only way to avoid damage from it is to dodge it, though fortunately there is a visual and sound cue when this is performed.
Linkstrider
- "The Entropy Catalyst generated enough force to fundamentally change your state of existence. You now exist between two states, your newfound clarity making the imperceptible Bonds between all souls malleable to you."
An oath focused on support utility, allowing its users to create links to both allies and enemies. Obtained by putting either 4 knocked Oath players or 4 Pristine Lotuses into the slots where the Entropy Catalyst resides, then interacting with the sphere.
- Combat Medic: Symbiotic Sustain heals a player with a blue cord, at the expense of some of the Linkstrider's health.
- Humanoid Abomination: The description of the Linkstrider card downright notes that by taking the Oath, you are existing within two states at once.
- Irony: One way to obtain the most support-oriented Oath is have four willing players to be sacrificed to the Entropy Catalyst.
- Magical Accessory: Linkstriders are signified by their blue necklace.
- Necessary Drawback: Parasitic Leech allows to drain the health of those with a red cord, at the cost of rendering the user being unable to block, parry or dodge for the duration of the drain.
- Support Party Member: The Oath is regarded as one of the most support-oriented Oaths in the game, highly encouraging a build that focuses on helping your allies, with Symbiotic Link allowing players with blue cords to gain a speed boost to catch up to other players or slowing players with red cords to have slower players to go in for the kill. While it does have some offensive abilities, they're more intended to help sustain others in practice.
- The Symbiote: Linkstriders have the abilities to create bonds with others, with their abilities causing them to fall under all three variants of this trope.
- Warp Whistle: Entropy Link allows the user to teleport to where certain meteors are located, provided they type out the name of the meteor in the chat, are in the Luminant the meteor is located at, and have at least one Stardust.
Arcwarder
- "You vow to be a shield for your comrades, to wear your regalia with pride and serve the greater collective. From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs."
An oath focused on defense, allowing its users to tank more damage while retaliating with plasma-based mantras. Obtained by rescuing Epsi from the Eternal Gale and having 20 Fortitude, 20 Flamecharm and 20 Thundercall when talking to Delta.
- Achilles' Heel: It's possible to force players out of the armor early by breaking their posture, with Arc Module: Null negating both the posturing break damage and animation, but leaving them with 50% posture and the long cooldown of Arc Suit means that they're left vulnerable for a while.
- Armored But Frail: The Arc Suit provides a 10% damage reduction assuming you have 4 Vibrant Gems on the Arc Suit mantra, but the oath doesn't have an HP bonus.
- Double Jump: Having the Arc Suit equipped allows its users to jump midair with it.
- Eye Beams: Arc Beam fires a ray of plasma from the user's eyes.
- Instant Armor: Arcwarders who use Arc Suit are immediately surrounded by a suit of armor.
- Plasma Cannon: All of Arcwarder's mantras are plasma-based, allowing them to inflict both fire and lightning damage.
- Powered Armor: The Arcwarder suit is the Ignition Union's most prized invention, granting its users a variety of abilities, to the point of being a full-blown Oath.
- Shockwave Stomp: Arc Wave has the user stomping the ground with a wave of plasma.
Dawnwalker
- "You vow to reach towards the brilliant Light. There is no shadow that your radiance cannot expunge."
An oath focused on pure offense, allowing its users to pressure enemies with Radiant Magic. Obtained by asking Klaris for the secret of Radiant Magic for 30 Kyrsan Medallions.
- Bragging Rights Reward: Fully maxing out this oath requires 75 Kyrsan Medallions, meaning that usually, you'll need to perform at least 2 successful New Kyrsa runs to get the required Kyrsan Medallions, and the only real reason to use this oath is for either PvP or the Diluvian Mechanism.
- Glass Cannon: Luminous Flash, which boosts the Dawnwalker's attack to the damage multiplier cap of 1.75 after dealing a certain amount of damage while under the effects of Absolute Radiance, and it also makes your attacks Daze as well. However, keep in mind that Dawnwalker does not have any Health bonus.
- Light 'em Up: Dawnwalkers use Radiant Magic for various mantras and talents, which is noted to be an imitation of Lightkeeping.
- No-Sell: Absolute Radiance provides immunity to most status effects whenever Dawnwalkers land a hit with their mantras.
- Spin Attack: Blinding Dawn has the user spin around while unleashing Radiant Magic around them.
- Status Buff: Protagonist Syndrome has their Dawnwalker mantras be empowered whenever they're hit by a Shadowcast attack.
- Unblockable Attack: Radiant Dawn cannot be blocked or parried. Much like Ascension, the only way to avoid damage from it is to dodge, and there is also a visual and audio cue when this happens.
Contractor (SPOILERS)
- "Your heart is now eternally tied to Zi'eer, the 4th Prophet of the Ministry. You swear to serve under his will, no matter the cost."
An oath focused on PvP combat, allowing its users to use tendrils to rip apart their opponents. Obtained by completing the Lord Regent's quest to kill Duke Erisia with positive Ministry and Etrea reputation, choosing to bite your tongue when meeting with him again, making a deal with four different Deep Shrines and gaining your Resonance to talk to Yun'shul about what happened to Lost Celtor, then choosing to join the Lord Regent when prompted.
- Anti-Frustration Features: Getting gripped by a Contractor who is progressing by themselves in Scyphozia will not wipe your character- they're simply sent to the Eternal Gale instead the same way they would have when they fall into the void with 50% HP or higher with the required Power. You still lose some of your loot, however.
- Back from the Brink: Prior to the year 1291, the group was practically nonexistent. However, with the ongoing conflict against the Central Authority, Zi'eer would then rebuild them, recruiting various Pathfinders who seek to join him.
- Cool, but Inefficient: Using Judgement to instagrip enemies. This is the only mantra that is capable of executing downed humanoids. However, the amount of time needed to kill a humanoid with this is exactly the same time needed to grip someone. As such, this is only useful for bypassing various talents that delay the grip such as Defiant to the End.
- Counter-Attack: Equalizer has the Contractor slap their enemy with a tendril while also enveloping them in a dark blue aura. If they are hit while the Contractor has the blue aura, it results in them being stunned for 2 seconds, leaving them vulnerable to an powerful attack such as Eclipse Kick.
- Crippling Overspecialization: This Oath's abilities are great for PvP, but trying to use it anywhere else proves it to be lackluster. Indeed, this Oath was made for Depths ganking in mind, and demands that the player's build be utilized for this.
- Empty Eyes: Taking this Oath causes your character's eyes to turn dull red, devoid of any empathy.
- Homage: Being an secret PvP Oath that you have to go out of your way to find and also has powers of darkness, the entire Oath is a letter to Dark Souls's Darkwraith Covenant.
- Tendrils of Darkness: This Oath allows usage of tendrils to rip apart their enemies with ease.
- Villain Protagonist: Taking this Oath solidifies your complicity in your willingness to drown the whole world with Zi'eer, making you a target of anyone who is opposed to the Ministry's goals.
Silentheart
- "You vow to reject the Words of the Song, denying yourself of mantras in pursuit of your own strength, no matter the cost."
An oath focused on combating various attunement users, allowing users to build up stacks of Dread to gain resistance to increase their damage and mantra resistance. Obtained by making a deal with the Dreadstar after having a total of 75 Weapon Mastery, 40 Strength, 25 Charisma/Agility and having been gripped by an Attunement user once.
- Death by a Thousand Cuts: If a Silentheart has at least one Dread stack, they can use Mani Katti, which has them teleport to the nearest enemy and slash them multiple times.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Silenthearts have duller and darker eyes, befitting their rampage against those who would abuse the Song.
- Dump Stat: Because Silentheart cannot use Mantras, the Songchant proficiency is worthless since it only increases Mantra scaling and PEN.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: Because Resonances and Murmurs are not considered Words of the Song, Silenthearts can still use them.
- Invisibility: At the cost of one Dread stack, a Silentheart successfully landing a vent on an enemy will proc True Vantage, which has them turn invisible for a short period of time while gaining a short burst of speed.
- Mage Killer: This oath was designed to counter mantra spamming builds, with Dread stacks increasing their resistance to them, and the Lodestar passive has their uppercuts, flourishes and criticals disabling their mantras for a brief moment.
- Mighty Glacier: Silenthearts have a +10 Health bonus only shared with Oathless, alongside having a +5 Posture bonus, making them hard to kill even if you manage to get past their Dread stacks, and also have a damage bonus for every Dread stack, with only Dawnwalker's damage bonus capable of exceeding it. However, their inability to use all mantras, including mobility mantras, means that escaping from one is easier than it sounds, even if they have weapons that give extra mobility, such as Petra's Anchor, or even consuming speed potions. They do have attacks that slow enemies to make up for this, however.
- Power Tattoo: Upon obtaining the Silentheart oath, your character has their arms and torso appear with glowing red tattoos, which can be dyed to change their color.
- Spin Attack: The Ankle Cutter attack has the user sliding before sweeping their weapon around, slowing enemies on hit and preventing them from jumping for a while.
- Sword Beam: With the Vengeful Pursuit passive, whiffing a non-gun running attack has them send a crescent projectile that slows enemies on hit.
- Would Harm a Senior: Averted. The aged Beatra is not considered a target for Silentheart progression.
Fadetrimmer
- "You vow to forever hone your precision with the scissors. There will never be another fringe incident ever again."
An oath focused on honing one's barber abilities to their absurd conclusion. Obtained by getting 10 haircuts of any kind, then levelling one's Power to 12 and then asking an barber to take up their oath.
- Aerosol Flamethrower: While it's unsure if aerosol was invented in Deepwoken, the Flammable Hair Spray does invoke this trope, and it can also proc various Flamecharm talents.
- Brick Joke: When Barbers were first introduced in August 22, 2022, players could ask them on how they could do all their customization options, to which they reply as part of their oath as a Fadetrimmer, and then players could ask about potentially taking up their oath, but are denied due to their get-up. 336 days later, it was finally made into a proper oath.
- Cherry Tapping: Flammable Hair Spray can ignite opponents and proc the Mercy Kill talent, giving an amusing sight of a enemy instantly dying to a spray can.
- Hair Tropes: The sheer audacity of playing with haircut tropes thanks to Fadetrimmer's abilities would be way too many to list.
- Jack of All Trades: Compared to other oaths, this one has the most balanced purposes compared to other classes, as it is capable of support and combat, but more specialized oaths can exceed it at the cost of potentially overspecializing in one aspect.
- Lethal Joke Character: Is this an oath made possible by an joke? Yes. Is it still capable of being on par with other oaths? Absolutely, especially if one isn't willing to go Oathless, Contractor, Dawnwalker or Linkstrider.
- Shear Menace: Upon taking the Fadetrimmer Oath, they have a pair of scissors that enlarge whenever they use the Precision Cuts or Close Shave mantras.
- Talking Weapon: Surprisingly, the scissors is capable of sentience, as breaking the Fadetrimmer oath will result in it saying "Whatever, man".
Saltchemist
- "You vow to dedicate body and mind to the furthering of the Material Arts. Your body is a conduit through which true knowledge shall be siphoned. Knowledge is power, and you shall be its vessel."
An oath focused on potion-making and altering their effects. Obtained by successfully performing one task for Ciea, then having 75 Intelligence to allow Adrofalis to task you to make a residue created through Celestial Ichor, Stardust and a Primordial Lotus.
- Anti-Frustration Features: Salts do not count towards the 5-ingredient limit when making potions.
- Magic Potion: In addition on focusing on potions, the various Salts that the Saltchemist has can modify potions to either lessen their positive effects when thrown against enemies, create a mist that applies the potions' effects per second, and also invert the potion effects.
- Mechanically Unusual Class: Rather than granting mantras like any other Oath, it instead gives you the ability to use a "Perpetual Distillery", which allows you to slot most potions in and can be used infinitely.
- Potion-Brewing Mechanic: The Saltchemist oath, in addition to the original alchemy mechanic, also has Salts to alter potions to their liking.
