Shovel Knight Treasure Trove: Main Characters | Order of No Quarter | Townsfolk and Other NPCs | Wandering Travelers and Guest Characters | Enemies and Other Bosses
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Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon: Puzzle Knight and Other Characters
Tropes about the Townsfolk and other NPCs.
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Assorted Main NPCs
Chester
"Psst... Hey, blue guy, you wouldn't BELIEVE the merchandise I've got for ya today... Why not have a look?"
An intrepid salesman/explorer. In Shovel of Hope, he sells Shovel Knight magical Relics that he can use to supplement his Shovel Blade while fighting against the Order of No Quarter. In Plague of Shadows, he sells Plague Knight Arcana that achieve the same effect, though they're more costly than Shovel Knight Relics. In King of Cards, King Knight can purchase new Joustus cards, buy back Joustus cards that he's lost, and even buy cheats to make Joustus matches easier.
- Honest John's Dealership: Chester's willingness to purchase stolen Relics from a villainous alchemist suggests that he is not too picky about where he gets his wares. His only concern is that said alchemist might try to scam him by paying with synthetic gold.
- Inexplicable Treasure Chests: In each Order of No Quarter stage, Chester can be found hanging out inside of blue treasure chests, in which he has found a new Relic that he'll sell to Shovel Knight on the spot, or an Arcana to trade for the Relic that Plague Knight found. He also hangs out in both the village and Armor Outpost, as well as in every House of Joustus and the Glidewing.
- Intrepid Merchant: He's always one step ahead of you and ready to sell you treasure that he just found. He didn't actually find any of them himself. Plague Knight found them all and traded them to Chester in exchange for Arcanas, but Shovel Knight doesn't need to know that...
- Out of Focus: He's completely absent from Specter of Torment despite being a main fixture in every other campaign, including Showdown.
- Punny Name: Get it?
- Rhymes on a Dime: His slogan/sales pitch whenever he pops out of a blue chest.Shovel of Hope: In the village or out in the field, I have all the deals!
Plague of Shadows: Poured in a beaker or stuffed in a bag, Chester's always got the swag!
The Bard
"What can the humble Bard do for you today?"
A simple but talented composer who wears a knight helmet for some reason. He's written songs for various customers, from the Order of No Quarter to the Enchantress herself. He has one problem, though: his entire music collection has been scattered across the land. He asks Shovel Knight for help in retrieving his music sheets and will pay 500 gold for each one retrieved.
He also appears in King of Cards, where he assists King Knight in his quest to be "King of Cards". He asks King Knight to call him the "Card Bard" because he feels his music has gone stale.
- The Artifact: After the game got an actual Sound Test, his role in Shovel of Hope became this.
- Ascended Extra: He has a much bigger role in the story of King of Cards, being the one who recruits King Knight along with Cooper as their new Joustus champion and prominently appearing in cutscenes as part of the Glidewing's crew.
- Creator Cameo: He's quite obviously Jake Kaufman in a suit of armor.
- Deadpan Snarker: He comes off as very sarcastic sometimes.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He's only known as the "Bard", or the "Card Bard" in King of Cards. Jake Kaufman likes to call him "Virttholomew", a reference to the name he used as an OC remixer, Virt, but it's not clear how canon this name is.
- Foregone Conclusion: He's in a musical slump during King of Cards, to the point where he's not comfortable being called a normal bard. Obviously, since King of Cards is a prequel to Shovel of Hope, we know he'll get his groove back.
- Additionally, we're shown how he loses his music all across the valley: It gets knocked from his inventory and scatters across the wind in the chaos of Propeller Knight conquering the Glidewing.
- Happy Dance: He dances with joy whenever you've got a new music sheet for him.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Jake Kaufman wrote all of the Bard's dialogue and song descriptions in Shovel of Hope, leading to many in-jokes about 8-bit composition and the dev process of the game.
- He refers to "In the Halls of the Usurper" as "my first publicly performed lair theme" (being the first music available in the game's demo level) and that "you might say it kickstarted my career!", complete with the font becoming Kickstarter-logo green.
- He acknowledges that "Flowers of Antimony" and "A Thousand Leagues Below" weren't written by himself, but by a talented older female bard from another land (Manami Matsumae), who's been composing for a very long time.
- His description of "A Decisive Blow" lampshades the crowd sounds by saying he used a "special technique" (noise channel modulation), and he namechecks the process when telling how he composed "The Destroyer".
- He states that he "had to search outside my usual channels" when arranging "The Blades of Chaos". The track is very unusual for its extensive use of compressed samples to simulate a epic choir, when most of the other songs on the soundtrack don't even use the DPCM channel for drum sounds.
- Noodle Incident: Asking for info in regards to the songs he wrote reveals they were commissioned by various characters, including the Order of No Quarter. He also reveals some misadventures in the process, such as being given an amulet as payment for composing a song for the Enchantress; he recommends not taking an amulet as payment when asked about the song from the Enchantress's second phase.
- Sound Test: Basically provides an in-universe justification for one in Shovel of Hope.
King Pridemoor
"You have much to learn before you can become a king! Let's test your tactics!"
The rightful ruler of Pridemoor Keep before it was taken over by King Knight. He was known as "The Deposed King" Shovel of Hope. He's also a Joustus judge, which is why he and King Knight come to blows in Pridemoor Keep in King of Cards.
- Ascended Extra: He was a minor NPC in Shovel of Hope, but he gets a full-on boss fight in King of Cards and a much more important role in the story as King Knight's Eccentric Mentor.
- Dirty Coward: With his golden armor destroyed, Pridemoor constantly flees to hide when he and King Knight meet a new boss to defeat, leaving the Knight alone to defeat it. By the time they reach the Enchantress, she calls him and King Knight's allies out of their cowardly attitude, and becomes another reason for King Knight to decide to betray in favor of the evil sorceress.
- A Dog Named "Dog": King Pridemoor, who rules the castle of Pridemoor, and as King of Cards finally addresses, in the kingdom of...Pridemoor.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: Punishes King Knight for his betrayal by making him scrub the floors of Pridemoor Keep without his crown. Given what King Knight did to Pridemoor, this was both merciful and (humorously) ironic.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Is an accomplished blacksmith alongside being a dutiful ruler, and likely designed the armor he wears into battle.
- Although, in the Glidewing he merely has a Goldarmor fetch your upgrade and put it onto King Knight the way they do his Power Armor before his battle, his only contribution being a single, comically soft tap with a hammer.
- The Good King: All of his subjects welcome him back with open arms when he returns. He also doesn't mind King Knight using Loop Hole Abuse in regard to beating him at Joustus— or rather, not beating him at Joustus, instead challenging an older, smaller man to a fistfight.
- Horrible Judge of Character: In King of Cards, he views King Knight's dream of kingship as aspiration to be a good, wise and just king like himself, instead of seeing that shallowness and vanity are all that there is to King Knight. He doesn't realize there's such a thing as being King In Name Only, considering he's more than happy chasing the title of "King of Cards." He also doesn't seem to realize that King Knight is very sensitive about his mother, especially where King Pridemoor is involved. This costs him dearly in the end, as King Knight holds a grudge against him and doesn't realize being King of Pridemoor is meaningless if he's simply the Enchantress's thrall.
- Idiot Ball: King Pridemoor is a very smart man, but when it comes to King Knight, he makes some very dumb choices. Not the Horrible Judge of Character matter below, but regarding King Knight's mother, and continuing to make passes at her no matter how many times King Knight makes it clear he wants him to back off. This matter ends up being the final straw that breaks the camel's back later. King Knight was visibly conflicted about accepting the Enchantress' offer. Then Pridemoor opened his mouth asking what his mother would think — the last person King Knight would ever want to hear anything about his mother from. Oops.
- Innocently Insensitive: He truly means well trying to be a Parental Substitute to King Knight, but he doesn't seem to realize how much his flirting with King Knight's mother annoys and even angers him. Then when King Pridemoor attempts to convince a conflicted King Knight by asking him what his mother would think, it's the final push for King Knight to take the Enchantress' offer.
- Though to be fair to the King, this is actually an extraordinarily generous offer. Had the King married King Knight's mother, he could have adopted King Knight and made him heir apparent on top of King Knight being king of his own realm where ever that would've ended up. King Knight is just too vain and undiplomatic to play the game of Thrones to his advantage. This makes King Knight's betrayal sting even harder had this been King Proudmoor's plan since all he wanted was a family.
- King Mook: He resembles a massive Goldarmor in his boss fight.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Along with the crew of the Glidewing and King Knight's mother, he pushes King Knight to follow his dream of being king because of how excited he was to see such a spirited young man attempting to win the Joustus Crown. As King Knight laughs and gloats upon Pridemoor's throne, installed by the Enchantress after selling out everyone he met on his journey, he says the following:King Pridemoor: Oh dear... what is it that we have created?
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When he the crew was holding onto a rope for safety and a conflicted King Knight was deciding about helping them or accepting the Enchantress offer, Pridemoor triggers King Knight's berserk button by asking what his mother would think of him. This leads to an infuriated King Knight betraying everyone, costing Pridemoor his kingdom and an early chance to defeat the Enchantress for good.
- Parental Substitute: He begins acting this way towards King Knight after getting in a relationship with his mother, tellingly making certain future remarks, such as commenting on how the cape King Knight's mother made for him would be "fine practice for a real one", implicating in no uncertain terms coming into the royal family. Unfortunately for him, despite chasing any sort of crown in any other scenario, King Knight does not return the sentiment. He really, really doesn't.
- Power Armor: Dons this for his boss fight in King Knight's campaign.
- Riches to Rags: After being betrayed by King Knight in the ending of King of Cards, he goes from being the wise and beloved king to an old man who is forced to sweep for King Knight in order to get by. If he's visited in the pub in Shovel of Hope before defeating King Knight, he bemoans that he is rule of nothing but his own barstool. Thankfully, this is reversed in the ending of Shovel of Hope and he's back on his rightful throne while King Knight is punished by being forced to scrub the floors of the castle.
King Birder
"You only kneel before your new master, King Birder, and prepare for an ETERNITY OF SERVITUDE."
"WOO! I'm bouncin' off the walls! I love bein' a Birder!"
The third and final Joustus Judge King, and ruler of the Birders.- Climax Boss: Is the last Joustus Judge King to be defeated, and everything is revealed to have been masterminded by The Enchantress to find a usable Puppet King and create The Order Of No Quarter.
- Early Birder Cameo: A talking Birder first appeared in Specter of Torment and says the exact same thing King Birder says while he's on the Glidewing, implying the two to be one and the same.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: During his fight, one of his attacks involves him repeatedly diving at King Knight headfirst at sharp angles. This is similar to the behavior of normal Birder enemies, but is also strongly reminiscent of an attack used by The Enchantress. This foreshadows the fact that The Enchantress is controlling his body.
- King Mook: Is a Birder with limbs. There's a reason for that.
- Puppet King: Turns out to be just an enchanted Birder that was controlled by the Cloaked Figure, also known as The Enchantress.
- Suddenly Voiced: Is a Birder that can talk. Even after losing its limbs, its can still speak, as an after-effect of The Enchantress's brainwashing it.
- Uplifted Animal: Birders are usually feral and unable to talk, but this one was given the ability to talk and think by The Enchantress, presumably as a side effect of her controlling it.
- Verbal Tic: He likes to use geometric terms in his speech.Enough of this tangent! Don't be obtuse, ghost!
Hedge Brothers
The Hedge Farmer
The Hedge Pupil
The 'Edge Farmer
The Ledge Farmer
A quartet of hedgehog NPCs that appear throughout each campaign.
- Ambiguously Evil: The Hedge Pupil's, as while he's working with Plague Knight in Plague of Shadows by hiding the entrance to the Potionarium in his house, he never does anything actually bad, and Plague Knight isn't all that evil himself.
- He's also working with King Knight in King of Cards by designing one of his Heirlooms, but King Knight doesn't become evil until the end of the story.
- Call-Forward: The house where the Hedge Pupil develops and tests the Rat Bombardier in King of Cards may or may not be the same house that Plague Knight blows up at the beginning of Plague of Shadows. That would actually explain why he had so many explosive barrels in there.
- Cool Shades: The 'Edge Farmer has some that emphasize his "cool-guy"-ness.
- Easily Impressed: The Hedge Farmer is excited by Shovel Knight digging up dirt, and the 'Edge Farmer is impressed by Specter Knight crossing his arms.
- Evil Brit: Downplayed. The 'Edge Farmer has a Cockney accent, a thuggish appearance, and hangs around the Tower of Fate, but he never does anything bad. He's just attracted to edgy things.
- Evil Is Cool: In-Universe, this is the 'Edge Farmer's opinion. The edgier you are, the cooler.
- Irony: The wing-suited Ledge Farmer is apparently terrified of heights.
- Meaningful Name: Hedgehogs with hedge-related Theme Naming.
- The 'Edge Farmer is obsessed with edginess (and appears in the campaign of the edgiest player character).
- The Ledge Farmer is always seen standing next to a ledge.
- Parental Substitute: At the end of Specter of Torment, it's revealed that the Hedge Farmer and Hedge Pupil took Reize in after Specter Knight left the kid at their doorstep.
- Punny Name: "Hedge" as in "Hedgehog".All of their names feature a play on the word.
- Running Gag: Them getting excited/freaking out due to the player's actions.
- All of their names being plays on the word "Hedge".
- Theme Naming: They all are named (Blank) Farmer, where Blank is a play on Hedge. Except the Hedge Pupil, but he still follows the spirit of the theme.
- Suddenly Shouting: The Hedge Pupil will occasionally shout out information that he should really keep under wraps.In Plague of Shadows: Psst... Hey, Plague Knight. I'm still guarding your SECRET ENTRANCE, but I lost the key.In King of Cards: Psst... Over here. Sire! It's me! Thanks for dropping by for the test. I finished up our... SECRET DEVICE.
Village NPCs
The Goatician
"A tactician such as myself should consider all avenues!"
A goat-man that can be found in the Village. He sells Shovel Knight Meal Tickets, which can then be traded in for health upgrade. He's also a fine player of Joustus.
- Furry Reminder: He's a goat, so he'll occasionally chow down on some paper from the book he's holding, or a card from his hand in between games of Joustus. He also mentions wanting to eat a tin can at one point.
- Meaningful Name: The Goatician is a goat tactician, while the Goatarmorer is a goat armorer.
- Palette Swap: New Game Plus gives us the Goatarmorer, who's just the Goatician except with brown fur and red clothing. He exists to allow Shovel Knight to change between armor before getting to the Armor Outpost.
The Gastronomer
"Bring a Meal Ticket, I'll whip up a feast!"
A master chef who will cook nourishing meals for Shovel Knight in exchange for Meal Tickets, improving his maximum health.
- Happy Dance: If Shovel Knight has a meal ticket on him, the Gastronomer will start dancing with joy to signify that he has a meal ready for him.
- Heart Symbol: He has a heart tattoo on his right arm.
- Supreme Chef: His meals are so hearty and healthy that they increase Shovel Knight's maximum health value, permanently.
- Rhymes on a Dime: He talks in rhymes whenever he is in a good mood, which is often."I'll dazzle your palate in no time or less! So bon appetit, and pardon the mess!
The Dancer
"Hey you, watch me dance!"
A woman who lived in the Lich Yard before it was taken over by Specter Knight. Now she hangs around in the Village's pub, cursing his name.
- Felony Misdemeanor: The reason she wants Shovel Knight to beat up Specter Knight? Obviously, he took over her home, but he also refused to show any enjoyment of her dance (and it's implied that it took effort on his part)!
- Funny Afro: Sports one nearly twice the size of her own head.
- Life of the Party: She dances around on tables and eventually causes the other patrons to join in the festivities by clapping along to her song.
Croaker
"Have I told you about the broken sword? Eh, never mind, it's pointless..."
A frog-man who will regale Shovel Knight with a wide variety of puns. If you suffer through all of them, you'll get the "Pungent" feat.
- Foil: To Toader. He loves making puns and laughing, while Toader is too grumpy to laugh at any of Shovel Knight's puns.
- Frog Men: He is one.
- Hurricane of Puns: Every one of his lines is a pun-based joke based on some character in the game.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: All of his dialogue is this. Even his line thanking you for listening to all his puns ends up being one.
- Meaningful Name: A "croak" is a deep hoarse sound made by a frog or a crow. His name also rhymes with "joker".
- Pungeon Master: All of his dialogue is puns, what else would you expect?
Grandma Swamp
"Double, trouble, soil and shovel. My third eye knows your useless info!"
An elderly women who will provide the player with their miscellaneous statistics, such as their current playtime and death counter.
- Berate and Switch: In King of Cards, asking her about Joustus will cause her to ask King Knight if he thinks she's following everyone that's playing a frivoulus card game. She then admits cheerily that she does and reads off King Knight's Joustus stats.
- Flying Broomstick: She flies on a broom when visiting the Glidewing in King of Cards.
- Magic Mirror: She's contacted through an enchanted looking-glass in Specter of Torment, which she insists isn't a mirror.
- Robe and Wizard Hat: She wears a tattered robe and hat made out of a log, adding to her witch-like appearance.
- Running Gag: People mistaking her for a witch, or a bewitched mirror in "Specter of Torment". She always angrily corrects them.
- Witch Classic: A green hag in a robe who talks in rhymes and sees things that cannot be seen... but she is not a witch.
Armor Outpost NPCs
Toader
"I'm so grumpy! I'm just not in a good mood... I wish someone could cheer me up..."
A frog-man who's in a very bad mood. Shovel Knight can try to cheer him up by telling him very bad puns.
- Foil: To Croaker. He's a grump who won't laugh at any of Shovel Knight's puns, while Croaker loves making puns and takes pride in them.
- Frog Men: He is one.
- Grumpy Old Man: He's way too grumpy for his own good and despite Shovel Knight's best efforts, he'll never laugh. Even when watching the Tower of Fate crumble to the ground, he can't help but dismissively shake his head.
- Hurricane of Puns: Shovel Knight tries a myriad of puns to get him to laugh. None of them work.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: All of the jokes Shovel Knight tries to tell him are pun-based. He doesn't like any of them.
Mary Sweets
"All I know is I've been bitten by the love bug, Shovel Knight."
A woman found in the Armor Outpost. She expresses great romantic interest in the many Knights of the Valley, especially Shovel Knight.
- All Women Are Lustful: All of her dialogue is her remarking about how attractive all the Knights in the Valley are.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She expresses interest in all the Knights of the Order of No Quarter, but she always ends by expressing more interest in Shovel Knight. In Shovel of Hope's credits, she and several other girls are wooed by Propeller Knight, who is one of the nicer members of the Order.
The Armorer and Shovel Smith
"This is the Aerial Anvil! Need an armor upgrade?"
-The Armorer
Two blacksmiths who work in the Aerial Anvil at the Armor Outpost. The Armorer sells armor which Shovel Knight can purchase, and the Shovel Smith can upgrade Shovel Knight's Shovel Blade with special abilities.
- The Armorer: The Armorer. He supplies Shovel Knight with various armor that all have different abilities.
- The Blacksmith: Both of them are this. They use their skills to make Shovel Knight stronger.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Both of them are referred to by their professions. Shovel Knight: Official Design Works, the official art book, gives them proper names: the Armorer is called Greyson and the Shovel Smith is Haggris.
- Those Two Guys: They are always seen together, even when competing in Joustus. You duel one of them, you duel both of them. No, really. They even share the same table and banner.
Cooper
"Why, I haven't seen such a decadent airship since I sold mine! Hah!"
An airship enthusiast who used to own one himself before he sold it. He allies himself with King Knight in King of Cards.
- Ascended Extra: In King of Cards, he owns the Glidewing which serves as King Knight's mobile hub of allies and upgrades.
- I Have Many Names: When encountered in the Armor Outpost, he's called the Airship Enthusiast, but when encountered in the Mysterious Area (where the Battletoads are fought), he's called the Rooster Gent. King of Cards reveals that his real name is Cooper.
- Irony: Despite being a chicken, he's the only resident of the Armor Outpost who doesn't run away after Plague Knight takes over. Lampshaded by Plague Knight.Plague Knight: Hee hee hahaha, If they're not cowards, they're chickens!
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Plague Knight jokes about him being a chicken after taking over the Armor Outpost, and Cooper angrily replies that he is a rooster!
Team Plague
Plague Knight's allies that reside in the Potionarium, located under the village. Percy
"Love can easily be distilled: it all comes down to having the proper chemistry."
A horse-man who serves as one of Plague Knight's colleagues, he mechanically fills the Bard's payment role in the Plague of Shadows expansion (actually listening to the music is handled by Oolong). He also fancies himself something of a love guru, but his advice is terrible. He's also a boss in King of Cards and runs the target minigame in Showdown.
- Ascended Extra: More so than even Mona (who had a minigame attached to her in Shovel Knight's campaign), Percy was actually in Shovel Knight's story as an unnamed NPC fanboying over the catapult on top of the Aerial Anvil. Plague of Shadows gave him a degree of story prominence, a portrait, and a better-animated sprite.
- As consolation for not making it in as a playable character, Percy runs the targets minigame in Showdown. It even has a unique theme, which is also used when King Knight fights him!
- The Ditz: Percy is a bit thick, which is best demonstrated by his inability to recognize sheet music. He is also a terrible shot with the catapult. Plague Knight often makes fun of his intelligence, or rather lack thereof, under his breath.
- Genius Ditz: Though that being said, after Mona disappears for the rest of the game after meeting with the Black Knight, Percy takes over the position and does just as good a job. Of course, he does mention that Mona left very thorough notes, so he's probably just following directions. On that note, though, he is somehow able to create the Pandemonium Chalice if you do indeed collect all the Cipher Coins, despite Mona saying it probably wouldn't work.
- Fighting Clown: After King Knight unwittingly corners him in the middle of trying to get Plague Knight's base set up, Percy decides to square up and try to fend him off using various objects around the makeshift lab. Though he has a very strong kick, he's mostly just flinging himself around in a panic until Plague Knight steps in to take over.
- Non-Standard Character Design: His sprite and portrait are much more detailed and less cartoony than the other Funny Animal characters in the game come Plague of Shadows.
- Red Baron: Never mentioned in-game, but the soundtrack for King of Cards gives him one for his boss theme: "The Swift Kicker".
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Like everyone else, Percy was right about Plague Knight having strong feelings for someone. Percy was just wrong about who Plague Knight had feelings for.
Magicist
"I can increase your maximum magic, good?"
A mage who sells magic upgrades to Shovel Knight, improving his maximum mana. Reprises this role in Plague of Shadows, which also shows her to be a frequent research collaborator of Plague Knight.
- Absent-Minded Professor: She is an expert in magical relics, but her speech patterns imply that she is not fully "there" when conversing with Shovel Knight.
- All Love Is Unrequited: She insists she's attracted to Plague Knight, but he's either too oblivious or just doesn't care since he only has eyes for Mona. At the end of the story, she hooks up with Percy.
- Funny enough when talking to her, she will often say Plague Knight would look more charming if he added something to his style, ex: Put a feather on his hood; other times, she will flat-out state what she likes in a man, ex: Tall, long hair, more into physics than chemistry. It gets to the point where Plague Knight couldn’t physically fit that standard; at the end, the Magicist realizes she was describing a man like Percy, not Plague Knight.
- Ascended Extra: She gets a larger role in Plague of Shadows, being privy to Plague Knight's machinations and interacting more with the story.
Oolong
"So, Doctor Knight. Oolong ready. You listen some musics now?"
A strange creature that resides in the Potionarium. He is essentially a living music instrument and is able to read and perform the "useless" pieces of paper Percy throws away.
- Affectionate Nickname: He holds Plague Knight in high regard and calls him "Doctor Knight".
- The Artifact: Much like the Bard in Shovel of Hope, his role is somewhat redundant now that there's an actual Sound Test, even moreso because rewarding the player for collecting sheets is handled by Percy.
- Iron Butt Monkey: It's possible for Plague Knight to force feed him his explosive potions and make him regurgitate the potion's effects, with visible discomfort on his part. Not only does the game encourage this by giving you a music sheet the first time you do this, and there's also even an achievement for feeding him every type of potion.
- Sound Test: Like the Bard in Shovel of Hope, he provides an in-universe justification for one in Plague of Shadows.
- You No Take Candle: He has a rather strange manner of speaking, frequently getting grammar wrong and occasionally talking in Pluralses.
Troupple NPCs
The Troupple King
"Who has awakened me?! Mortal! Dost thou need aid?"
A forest deity that appears to be a cross between an apple and a trout. If you hold your Troupple chalice aloft to him, he'll grant you Ichor with magical properties. He's also a boss in King of Cards, serving as one of the three Joustus Judge Kings that King Knight seeks to defeat.
- A Father to His Men: The king cares for his acolytes, willing to hear them out if they intercede on someone's behalf, and angered when their work is upset.
- Antiquated Linguistics: He speaks in a very regal, Elizabethan tone with plenty of "thees" and "thous".
- Berserk Button:
- He won't be amused if you try to fish near him. He's also not pleased if you manage to drown in his lake.
- He's also not fond of anyone spoiling the labors of his acolytes, or being blatently disrespected, as King Knight finds out.
- Beware the Nice Ones: A jolly guardian of the troupples. The king even has enough patience to overlook any occasional faux pas on Shovel Knight's part, and is even willing to assist Plague Knight for a fee. When King Knight pushes his buttons too far though, the Troupple King is willing to throw down.
- Big Fun: He's a gigantic, friendly Troupple who enjoys dancing regularly.
- Expy: He appears to be one of Manbo from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. An aquatic creature who does a lengthy dance sequence before he helps you out. He grants you potions just like Crazy Tracy from the same game.
- Healing Potion: One of his potions can do this; others can grant invincibility and attract items to you.
- King of All Cosmos: A benevolent, powerful being that bestows his blessings upon the worthy (and not so worthy). Said being also happens to be a giant apple/trout hybrid fond of dancing, that bestows the aforementioned blessings with his magic spit.
- No Hero Discount: Inverted. He provides Shovel Knight with ichor for free, but Plague Knight has to pay through the beak since he's a villain. note
- Phrase Catcher: All Hail the Troupple King! The King of Fish and Fruit! LONG MAY HIS STEM GROW!
- Planimal: He's half-apple, half-trout.
- Pretentious Pronunciation: He pronounces "ichor" as "eye-core", even though "ichor" is normally pronounced as it's spelled ("icker").
- Sophisticated as Hell: There is a lapse in his antiquated speech whenever dancing is involved. Dancing is sorta his thing...
- Super Spit: Weaponizes his ichor spit in his King of Cards battle.
Troupple Acolytes
Male Acolyte
Female Acolyte
"You've never heard of the Troupple King?! Half trout and half apple! Pronounced like 'mouthful'! He's one of the forest gods, here to help those in need. I'm TELLING THE TRUTH!"
The Troupple King's followers. The male one assists Shovel Knight on his journey and the female one assists Plague Knight and King Knight. The male one also helps Specter Knight as well, but it's not immediately obvious that this is the case.
- Catchphrase: "All hail the Troupple King!" and "THE KING OF FISH AND FRUIT! LONG MAY HIS STEM GROW!", which is the first and last thing they'll say respectively.
- Heel–Face Turn: In Specter of Torment, the male acolyte is revealed to have once worshiped the Enchantress as the Dark Acolyte before seeking forgiveness from the Troupple King at the end of the campaign. King of Cards reveals that its was actually a Heel–Face Revolving Door, as he worshiped the Troupple King until King Knight betrayed everyone and screwed the kingdoms over, causing the male acolyte to lose faith and turn to the Enchantress.
- Undying Loyalty: To the Troupple King.
Troupple
"The Troupple King commands me to share his bounty with you!"
A species of half apple, half-fish that are led by the Troupple King. In Shovel of Hope, they can be found throughout the various stages in fishing spots, and if they are fished up, they can refill Shovel Knight's Ichor.
- Luck-Based Mission: Subverted. Finding individual Troupples in Shovel of Hope seems this way, but a little bit of observation reveals that every sparkling spot contains exactly the same thing every time, whether that be a goldfish or a specific Ichor-granting Troupple. Beyond that, if you don't feel like finding his subjects, the King himself will freely gift you an Ichor of your choice as long as you have a Chalice to carry it.
- Planimal: Like their king, they're half-apple, half-trout.
Specter Knight's Allies
Those who assist Specter Knight on his journey in Specter of Torment. They mainly reside in the Tower of Fate. Dark Acolyte
"Shall I prepare the Magic Mirror for your departure, my lord?"
A follower of the Enchantress who transports Specter Knight to each level.
- Achievements in Ignorance: When Specter Knight departs to pursue the Enchantress at the Tower's peak, the Dark Acolyte and the other allies of Specter Knight choose to band together beside him, and re-engineer the Mirror of Fate into a device meant to seal away the Enchantress and hopefully spare Specter Knight the risk of fighting her. It doesn't work, of course, but they achieve something else: Because of the whole incident, Shovel Knight realized Shield Knight could still be saved, beginning his journey where he'd ultimately succeed where Specter Knight failed and free him from her enslavement in turn.
- Back for the Finale: Returns just in time to lead Specter Knight to the Enchantress.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: The Enchantress had him sent to the dungeon after Reize took over the mirror. Once he returned, he said that he likely would've starved had it not been for Black Knight's unexpected raid on the Tower of Fate.
- Creepy Child: You would expect this from the assistant of an undead knight, but he's actually a nice kid.
- The Dragon: He works as Specter Knight's assistant.
- Heel–Face Turn: During Specter of Torment's epilogue, he's transformed into the Troupple Acolyte from Shovel of Hope. King of Cards reveals that its was actually a Heel–Face Revolving Door, as he worshiped the Troupple King until King Knight betrayed everyone and screwed the kingdoms over, causing the male acolyte to lose faith and turn to the Enchantress.
- Undying Loyalty: To Specter Knight. It's telling that when he comes back from the dungeon, it's him that the acolyte is loyal to, rather than the Enchantress. Though the torture might have had something to do with it.
Red
"My heart grows cold... I have located new Curios, but have you found any Red Skulls?"
A red skeleton hanging around the Tower of Fate, longing for his lost lover. In exchange for the red skulls you find scattered around the Valley, he'll sell Specter Knight some of his Curios.
- Determinator: Red's skull collection is enormous. Just how long did it take for him to collect them all?
- Dungeon Shop: One wonders how he expects many potential skull-hunters in the Tower of Fate.
- I Will Find You: The whole reason he's searching for red skulls is because he lost his lady love a long time ago. By the time we meet him, he's amassed an incredible collection. Specter Knight can, and if you're anywhere near thorough, will, find her skull, but it's not until you buy all of Red's curios that he finally looks at her skull and realizes it's her.
- Latin Lover: His clothing and the Mexican folk dance he performs when reunited with his lover evoke this.
- Meaningful Name: They don't get more descriptive than this.
- Odd Friendship: He and Specter Knight get along surprisingly well, given that he's a jovial romantic, while Specter Knight is a cynical, hardened warrior. Upon getting all Red Skulls and giving them to him, allowing you to access the Donovan Set and Caltrop subweapons, Specter Knight sincerely thanks him, and Red, in turn, shows concern over Specter Knight's possible thoughts of insubordination toward the Enchantress.
Missy
"If you ever miss any wisp chests, I can summon their contents here!"
One of the denizens of the Tower of Fate, who summons any Will/Darkness wisps Specter Knight missed.
- Affectionate Nickname: Calls Specter Knight "Specty".
- Amazing Technicolor Population: She has green skin and green hair to match.
- Anti-Frustration Feature: Her main purpose. If you miss a wisp in a stage, you can talk to her to get without having to go back for it. However, wisps found in stages are free, while Missy will charge you for them.
- Heel–Face Turn: She accompanies the Dark Acolyte to the Troupple Pond and helps him convert into a Troupple King follower.
- Punny Name: You can look for her if you MISS out on the hidden wisps.
Legion & Manny
"Weee be Legion..." -Legion
"We like...your gold. We like...your cloak. Touch it...Nnnnew powers. Yesss. We cloak you..in darkness." -Manny
A pair of weird beings that appear to be made up of small, black bug-things inhabiting old robes and teddy bear masks. After Specter Knight pays them enough tribute, they will sell him upgrades: Manny upgrades your cloak, and Legion upgrades your curios.
- Cash Gate: Both of them require Specter Knight to make three offerings of gold apiece before they will offer their services; a total of 2400 gold is required for Manny, while Legion needs 3000.
- Meaningful Name: There names are a reference to the Biblical passage Mark 5:9, "My name is Legion, for we are many", referencing the fact they're both made up of tiny creatures that have come together to form a bigger one.
- Palette Swap: Of each other. They share the same sprite model, just with different color palettes.
- The Worm That Walks: They're comprised of multiple bugs manipulating old robes.
Gall
"Ah, Specter! I'm working on my technique for a new killer move. Brace yourself for... THE KISS OF DEATH!!!"
A skeleton man who's trying to perfect his new killer move. He appears in the tower after half of the Order is recruited.
- Ambiguously Gay: He has no issue kissing the male Specter Knight despite being male himself.
- Self-Damaging Attack Backfire: More often than not, his "Kiss of Death" will work, but on him rather than the person he's kissing."My victim is supposed to die, not me! Now I'm DOUBLE DEAD!"
- Kiss of Death: This is verbatim the name of his new killer move.
- You Can't Kill What's Already Dead: No matter how many times his "Kiss of Death" backfires and kills him, he'll always shake it off. He is already dead, after all.
Scarlet
"The power of love reaches beyond the grave!"
Red's missing lover, whom he's asked Specter Knight to locate.- Calacas: She has shades of this. You will tell her skull apart from all the other red skulls out in the field by the ornate white pattern around her eyes.
- And when you finally find her, she and Red perform a cute, surprisingly authentic Mexican folk dance.
- Meaningful Name: A bit more flowery, yet just as descriptive as her husbands.
Horace
"Care to play my game?"
A suit of Animated Armor that sits in the Endless Parapet, a secret area of the Tower. If you find him, he'll host a climbing minigame for you.
- The Artifact: In-Universe; he was here before the Enchantress began her reign, and none of her forces really bother him.
- Limited Animation: No matter what, Horace will never be seen not sitting on his winch-operated seat outside of cutscenes. Reaches the most absurd conclusion in King of Cards, where Horace's seat is exclusively shown either so high up it can't be hanging from anything, or is somehow anchored to the Glidewing despite him only agreeing to follow King Knight seconds ago.
- Rise to the Challenge: His minigame is basically scaling the platforms to see how high you can get while avoiding the electric barrier rising from below.
- Spear Counterpart: Gameplay-wise, Horace is pretty much the Specter of Torment equivalent to Mona in Shovel of Hope.
- Time-Limit Boss: As a Joustus champion, his ChronoShock ability puts a time limit on your turns.
"Specter Knight"
"I kept your hideout safe and sound. Only Specter Knight gets in here. Nobody else, not a soul."
One of eight Knights of "The Order of No Quarter" who serves the- wait, no. This guy is actually just a Super Skeleton that works for Specter Knight by guarding his secret hideout in the Lich Yard.
- Blatant Lies: After you clear the Lich Yard, he shows up at the Tower and pretends to be Phantom Striker.
- Bouncer: To Specter Knight's hideout. He's not allowed to let anyone but Specter Knight in.
- No Name Given: He's never given a proper name of his own.
- Palette Swap: Of a normal Super Skeleton. The only difference is that his clothing is red instead of green, presumably to line up the locals' descriptions of "Specter Knight" as closely as possible between the real deal and this one.
- Right in Front of Me: He is forced to drop his "Specter Knight" act when the real Specter Knight shows up.
Dragon Goldarmor
"Maybe I don't need to change who I am to fit in!"
A Goldarmor that can be found in the Tower of Fate that's struggling to stand out. Specter Knight can eventually help him find his way.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: He wants to find his place in the Enchantress' army. Specter Knight helps him shuffle through the different Goldarmor variants until his mask breaks, revealing him to be a dragon person. He resolves to be proud of who he is, sure that the Enchantress will find a place for him.
- Draconic Humanoid: Like all other Goldarmors, he has a humanoid body, just with a dragon head.
- Promoted to Playable: As a costume for the playable Goldarmor in Showdown.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Specter of Torment takes place well before Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows, yet this guy isn't present in either of those campaigns, leading to question as to what happened to him.
King Knight's Allies
Those who assist King Knight on his journey in King Of Cards, taking refuge in the Glidewing. Doe
A childhood friend of Cooper's who pilots the Glidewing.
- Broken Pedestal: Though we never get to hear his reaction, he was clearly fully on board for King Knight and considered him a friend. By the time of the other campaigns, he seems to have abandoned Cooper and the valley entirely. Though, given King Knight's mom isn't seen either, he could just have been created late production and he is hanging out in the background.
- Gender-Blender Name: Doe is another term for female deer, but Doe is male.
- Mr. Smith: His name is a pun on John Doe used as a common generic male name in American English.
- Thinking Tic: He will be seated and staring at the sky if King Knight catches him silenting musing to himself. After sharing his thoughts, he stands back up and takes a more active role in steering the ship.
Hengineer
A hardworking engineer King Knight can find in the boiler room.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Exaggerated, to the degree that she can give King Knight the ability to literally cry his heart out for a quick pick-me-up, attract nearby cash when he spins, and other such things.
- Wrench Wench: And somehow, she can use that wrench to upgrade King Knight!Hengineer: "S'prised to see ya here in the back, fancy pants. When the Glidewing creaks, I'm the gal with the grease. I do a little freelance inventin', too. Wanna see?"
Cardia — Spoilers
"Joustus shines light on the heart. Shall we glimmer together?"
A mysterious woman with a love of Joustus cards.- All Your Powers Combined: In her Giga Cardia form, she can use the special abilities of all four Joustus champions.
- Disproportionate Retribution: While King Knight's request to become her world's King in exchange for saving it was selfish, Cardia's trying to kill him for even asking is a massive overreaction and serves no purpose other than to be spiteful since she could have just told him to stuff it and left.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Suddenly, aliens. No warning before and no sign after, there's suddenly an alien in this medieval high-fantasy, and then there's not.
- Homage: Her boss form is one to classic 2D Final Fantasy games - a huge detailed sprite like any enemy in those games, her design evoking the style, and the use of crystals and magic in her attacks.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Legitimately thought King Knight would be the savior of her planet. Once she sees him as the Jerkass he is, she promptly tries to destroy him only to lose. She does give him the Card Crystal, though it clear she wants to be rid of him at that point.
- Human Aliens: Exactly what it says on the tin. She's from another planet, looking for someone who can save her world from destruction. Problem is, she severely misjudged King Knight's character.
- Hypocrite: She wishes to save her own homeworld from destruction, but shows no concern for the Valley, even though by the time you're able to fight Cardia, the Enchantress has revealed and established herself as a threat to the Valley, if not the world as a whole.
- Leitmotif: Twilight Of Tomorrow for her Giga form.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Her artwork depicts her as having pointed ears, tying into her Human Alien nature. Her Giga form is also much more detailed than other characters in the game, more similar to the final bosses of their campaigns, ala Final Fantasy.
- Optional Boss: Defeating all four Joustus champions allows you to play her again a second time in her alien form, and then when King Knight demands that her people bow to him in exchange for saving her world, she transforms into a larger boss form to fight him.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After losing to King Knight in her Giga form, she leaves to find another hero, but not before giving him the Card Crystal as a reward.
- Shout-Out: To Culex from Super Mario RPG. Like Culex, Cardia is a Final Fantasy-esque Optional Boss that comes straight out of nowhere to fight the protagonist. Both also battle using colored crystals that possess different abilities, and both are fought in an Amazing Technicolor Battlefield. Also, both have primarily purple color schemes.
- Walking Spoiler: She's a seemingly normal NPC on the airship who happens to have a suspicious amount of spoilers attached. It's obvious there's more to her than meets the eye.
Traitorus
"HSSSS... Hello, sire. A moment of your time, if I may? I'm King Pridemoor's former advisor, Traitorus."
King Pridemoor's former adviser who follows King Knight in his quest to become the ruler of all.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Averted. You'd think with a name like this he'd have this trait, but just like the other characters you buy Heirlooms from, he doesn't do much for the rest of the story and stays loyal to King Knight. Ironically, he gets betrayed instead, along with the rest of King Knight's allies.
- Evil Chancellor: He used to be this to King Pridemoor. Notably for this trope, the king caught on before the events of the game and stripped him of his rank. He now intends to become this to King Knight.
- Evil Is Petty: He stole King Pridemoor's Joustus deck, for no discernible reason.
- Evil Old Folks: He at least looks elderly, and definitely gives off evil vibes.
- Obviously Evil: He hisses at people on introduction, has a creepy face, and his name is Canis Latinicus for "traitor".
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: He looks and acts as an Evil Chancellor that is never seen advising anyone, and other than a little scheming he is not shown doing much evil at all. He's never shown doing much betraying on-screen, either, and instead he's the one that gets betrayed in the end.
- Pun: He gives King Knight the Turn Coat heirloom. "Turncoat" is another term for a traitor, but the heirloom has you turn your coat towards the enemies so that their attacks become turncoats for you.
- Punny Name: Traitorus, as in traitorous.
- Token Evil Teammate: Downplayed. He's easily the most evil-looking character aboard the Glidewing, and very likely betrayed King Pridemoor some time before the story starts. That being said, he doesn't really do anything particularly evil or even betray his allies (beyond stealing King Pridemoor's Joustus deck), and never even gets the opportunity by the end, due to King Knight betraying and injuring his allies, who he ends up staying with in King Knight's old room, converted into a medical ward.
