History Characters / DarkestDungeonHeroesAToF

* TheHero: Out of all the characters, he fits the bill best; he's also one of the first characters you get, along with the Highwayman. However, even he can die.

* {{Foil}}: To the Arbalest. Both strong, beautiful black women with Renaissance-era European weapons and gear whose backstories involve the loss of a man who loved them. Whereas the Arbalest is a compassionate SupportPartyMember and LongRangeFighter who [[ReluctantWarrior was forced into a life of violence]] by the death of her father, the Duelist is an amoral, bloodthirsty CloseRangeCombatant who murdered her father-figure/boyfriend in what may or may not have been a frenzy of sadomasochistic lust.

* GratuitousFrench: Many of her moves have French names and her barks are peppered with French, and she seems to hail from a NoCommunitiesWereHarmed version of Medieval France. As her quote above indicates, she can also be SophisticatedAsHell with her french; "Tu as merdé" can be translated as "You screwed up" or, more vulgarly, "You fucked up". More specifically, given her African-looking features and Muslim-sounding name, it's also very possible she's meant to be from a FantasyCounterpartCulture of Algeria.

* {{Determinator}}: She was obsessively single minded in her ambition to become the perfect duellist when she was at the Academie. Now she's tirelessly seeking a WorthyAdversary that might be able to beat her in single combat.

* GratuitousFrench: Many of her moves have French names and her barks are peppered with French, and she seems to hail from a NoCommunitiesWereHarmed version of Medieval France. As her quote above indicates, she can also be SophisticatedAsHell with her french; "Tu as merdé" can be translated as "You screwed up" or, more vulgarly, "You fucked up".

* BossInMookClothing: [[spoiler:In ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeonII'', she randomly appears assisting Pillagers in their road battles. As shown by how battles involving her are ''not'' {{Timed Mission}}s, she inevitably ends up a FlunkyBoss.]]

* BossInMookClothing: [[spoiler:In ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeonII'', she randomly appears assisting Pillagers in their road battles. As shown by how by battles involving her are ''not'' {{Timed Mission}}s, she inevitably ends up a FlunkyBoss.]]

* {{Foil}}: In the sequel, to the Bounty Hunter. [[spoiler: While in the first game both were clearly OnlyInItForTheMoney, in the second game the Bounty Hunter occasionally joins the heroes (for a fee), while the Antiquarian has joined the brigands]].
** Also serves as one to the Leper, with even the devs acknowledging that she's the most sinister and selfish of the heroes while the Leper was the most noble and compassionate.

* {{Foil}}: In the sequel, to the Antiquarian. [[spoiler: While both were OnlyInItForTheMoney in the first game, in the sequel the Antiquarian has joined the brigands, while the Bounty Hunter joins the heroes from time to time (for a fee).]]

* {{Foil}}: Serves as one for the Plague Doctor.
** In lore, they're the only two heroes whose backstories involve their time at a school of some sort, but the Plague Doctor was a recluse and social outcast due to her eccentric ideas and butted heads with her instructor. When he died, she had no part in causing it, and her subsequent experiments resulted in a horrid monster she eventually had to MercyKill, out of regret and horror at what she'd done that lingered well after the body had been disposed of. The Duelist stuck to herself out of dismissive disregard for her classmates, only growing close with an instructor she was impressed by, leading to a mutually amorous relationship... up until she killed him. And rather than feel any regret, the Duelist simply made him the first in a presumably long line of victims as she would duel to the death all in the name of perfecting her craft.
** Mechanically the Duelist prioritizes using the right move in the right position and in the right stance to get the intended results of each attack. The Plague Doctor has skills that do her well in any position, but most of them involve dedicated commitment. The Duelist's supporting skills have buffs based on the Duelist's condition and stance, while the Plague Doctor's support skills are based on the condition of her allies. Lastly, the Plague Doctor is one of the initial four characters in ''II'', standing alongside the Highwayman, one of the first two playable characters in the original game. The Duelist in contrast joins the game at the same time as the Crusader, the other starting character in the original game.

* ArcherArchetype: Averted. She serves as the ranged class, but she's nowhere near delicate or precise. She's dressed in full armor and has a crossbow so big she holds it like a minigun.

* MysteriousPast: The Bounty Hunter's past is barely explored in both games, with only the occasional bark alluding to his life before being a bounty hunter. His comics only shows him during a job and in II, he's unable to use the Shrine of Reflections, only snorting before the party leaves.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crusader_dd2.png]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duelist_dd2.png]]

* MechanicallyUnusualFighter: The Duelist is not the only Hero to have a StanceSystem (The Abomination) nor is she the only one which can easily fill almost every role (The Bounty Hunter, The Occultist, etc.), but she is the only character so far to have unique tokens which actively change the properties of her moves beyond [[GatheringSteam powering them up]] and the Hero with the most amount of variation between the ability changes of her three Paths.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the {{Paladin}} and KnightInShiningArmor types. While normally he fits these tropes, the horrors of the dungeon may cause him to snap, either [[BreakTheBeliever shattering his faith]] (Hopeless), turning him into a ruthless KnightTemplar (Abusive), giving him [[AGodAmI delusions]] of being TheChosenOne (Selfish), or making him [[DeathSeeker obsessed with becoming a martyr]] (Masochistic).
** Defied when he becomes Virtuous, as his every word drips with heroic resolve.

* CombatMedic: While Reynauld's initial loadout wouldn't indicate it, the Crusader still works extraordinarily well in a healer role. While the Crusader can only heal or ease the stress of one hero at a time, notably the Crusader can use these abilities from any battlefield position, which sets him apart from the Vestal and Plague Doctor. He is also the only character that can both heal and destress, making the Crusader the only class that benefits from both benefit's of the Ancestor's Scroll.

* UndeadAbomination: The second game has him become this, being an undying madman who has avoided Death herself even as his body and skin rots away from the damage he inflicts upon his body. Visually, he isn't too dissimilar to [[OurGhoulsAreDifferent the Gaunts]], except he has kept his ([[BloodKnight relative]]) sanity and personality.

* GratuitousFrench: Many of her moves have French names and her barks are peppered with French, and she seems to hail from a NoCommunitiesWereHarmed version of Medieval France.

''[[caption-width-right:350:"Tu as merdé', ghoul!"]]''

''[[caption-width-right:350:"Be judged by the light!"]]''
->"'''Tu as merdé', ghoul!.''"