History TearJerker / DarkestDungeon

* The Butcher's Circus DLC adds hero corpses to the game. The Houndmaster's is the most tragic since it depicts his dog mourning over his bloodied corpse.

** ''Made even worse'' by the fact that your party can meet a similarly crystallized and time-lost woman named Mildred at the Farmstead, who gives them a trinket, "Mildred's Locket", which increases the holder's power against the Miller and reduces the damage they take from him. [[TragicKeepsake The locket has a picture of the Miller in it]] . Furthermore, if you have this locket equipped when you battle the Miller, he uses a move called "Immortal Beloved" in which he simply [[TheScream cries out in anguish]], foregoing an attack and gaining a debuff. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration He even has a locket of his own around his neck that has a picture of Mildred in it.]]

--> '''Hopeless Arablest''': What is it I ran away from?

** ''Made even worse'' by the fact that your party can meet a similarly crystallized and time-lost woman named Mildred at the Farmstead, who gives them a trinket, "Mildred's Locket", which increases the holder's power against the Miller and reduces the damage they take from him. [[TragicKeepsake The locket has a picture of the Miller in it]] . Furthermore, if you have this locket equipped when you battle the Miller, he uses a move called "Immortal Beloved" that serves no purpose other than to make killing him easier. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration He even has a locket of his own around his neck that has a picture of Mildred in it.]]

** The comic for the [[https://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Leper-Hero-Backstory.jpg Leper]] reveals that he is no ordinary peasant, but a KingIncognito. Judging by the crowd that was waiting for him outside the room he was in, he was presumably TheGoodKing at that, having gained support and respect from his people. But due to having gotten leprosy, he chose to exile himself from his homeland, leaving what was supposed to be a celebration to making the people openly weep for him, as pictured above. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming His people clearly loved him and want him to return home, even despite his disease.]]

** For the [[http://www.archives.darkestdungeon.com/darkest-dungeon-presents-the-abomination Abomination]], we watch as he is subjected to ColdBloodedTorture by a group of priests, who stick a hot poker to his head and brand him with his MarkOfShame. [[BullyingADragon At the very least]], [[AssholeVictim it didn't end well for most of them]].

** The [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Cru_final_logo.jpg Crusader]] was a simple farm's hand who was enlisted into the Crusades, leaving behind his wife and son. While he was once a humble husband, the comics show him having TookALevelInBadass as he utterly destroys those he comes across and leads at the very least a small army. At some point he stops by his old home again and sees his family waving to the soldiers, considers for a moment, [[YouCantGoHomeAgain before hesitantly turning back]].
** The reason why the [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Grv_final_logo_sm.jpg Grave Robber]] is what she is was because she went into heavy debt after the loss of a family member (presumably her husband) and robbed his grave after realizing he had valuable jewelry on him. The last shot is her giving herself a SignificantWardrobeShift. [[PrincessInRags Her quotes make it very clear that she is not happy about her situation]].
** Given that he is on the hero's side, it is easy to mistake the Highwayman as being a more GentlemanThief AntiHero. [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Hwy_final_logo.jpg His backstory]] reveals that he was a cold and ruthless murderer, possibly was affiliated with the brigands, taking down several people. He looks toward the direction of the carriage they were guiding (likely hearing a noise from inside) and shoots at it out of reflex. But when he peers into the shot through window... he finds that he murdered a mother and child, [[EvenEvilHasStandards which deeply disturbed him]] into becoming TheAtoner. This makes his claim that he WouldntHurtAChild a lot more bitter sounding.

** The comic for the [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Lep_final_logo.jpg Leper]] reveals that he is no ordinary peasant, but a KingIncognito. Judging by the crowd that was waiting for him outside the room he was in, he was presumably TheGoodKing at that, having gained support and respect from his people. But due to having gotten leprosy, he chose to exile himself from his homeland, leaving what was supposed to be a celebration to making the people openly weep for him, as pictured above. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming His people clearly loved him and want him to return home, even despite his disease.]]
** The [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Maa_final_logo.jpg Man-at-Arms]] was shown to have a degree of ShellShockedVeteran before, but his backstory reveals that he was the SoleSurvivor of his platoon after a particularly nasty battle.
** The Hound Master's comic reveals what was suspected from his trinket: that the very police he worked for were corrupted. But worse yet: they weren't just dirty cops, they were part of the ''Flesh Cult!'' The [[HeroicBSOD horror on his face]] at the sight makes it pretty clear why he left and became the broken adventurer we see in-game. The only solace is that [[AWorldHalfFull the Bounty Hunter]] brought justice upon the corrupt in the end.
** The [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/darkest-dungeon-presents-the-shieldbreaker Shieldbreaker's comic]] and attached journals show that she was MadeASlave [[SoBeautifulItsACurse because of her beauty and grace as a dancer]], only to break free and kill her captors... but the act of escaping crippled her, trapping her under a piece of wreckage and leaving her vulnerable when a viper bit her. To save her life, she sawed off her own arm, and now the experience leaves her with [[BadDreams horrific nightmares made manifest]].
** The [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/darkest-dungeon-presents-the-jester Jester's comic]] confirms that he comes from a DecadentCourt who mistreated and mocked him for so long, including spitting on him and throwing knives at him. One day he plays a song about his woes and was met with little approval, [[TheDogBitesBack so he grabbed a nearby knife and proceeded to murder everyone in the room before leaving]]. While this comic seemingly has a less bleak ending than most of the other comics, FridgeHorror kicks in when you see the doorway he leaves from has the [[ArcSymbol stress symbol]] pattern bearing over his head. [[DrivenToMadness Then wonder why the Jester is seemingly so unhinged]].
** [[https://www.darkestdungeon.com/darkest-dungeon-presents-the-hellion/ Hellion’s comic]] starts off with her and several members of her clan planning an ambush against a regiment of knights. As her clan enacts their ambush, the Hellion... [[DeerInTheHeadlights freezes]]. What ensues is a total CurbstompBattle as the knights decimate the Hellion’s clansmen. Even as her clansmen shout out her name, she couldn’t bring herself to fight. This resulted in her exile from her clan for her cowardice and likely [[FridgeHorror the reason why she’s an alcoholic, unstable mess of a]] BloodKnight.

** The one for the [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Arb_final_logo.jpg Arbalest]] is probably the most bleak of them all. Her father arrives home, with a fatal injury in his stomach as he is chased by an angry mob. [[EmpathyDollShot He takes the stuffed rabbit toy she was holding]], [[HadToBeSharp and gives her her now iconic crossbow]] before tearfully sending her out the back. The Arbalest, alone and crying with crossbow in hand, walks into the woods as her home burns behind her.

->''I remember days when the sun shone, and laughter can be heard from the tavern.''

* The Color of Madness DLC may give us the most pitiable boss of the entire game. The Miller was an innocent man who approached the Ancestor to beg for aid after his harvest failed for a second year in a row. Seizing the opportunity, the Ancestor ordered the Miller and his farmhands to erect enchanted stone slabs around his farm turning it into a giant celestial array, sadistic foremen to drive the Miller, his family and his workers like slaves all while cruelly hoping that the mill would be destroyed by whatever his experiments might summon. Soon after the Ancestor killed himself, a comet fell from the sky, smashing into the mill and releasing a mist that turned everything it covered into crystal. The Miller, his family and workers went to investigate and became lost in the mists and mutated into broken crystalline husks. Now all the Miller can do is wander through the time distorted mists, desperately seeking his loved ones and never able to find them.
** Even the Ancestor acknowledges how cruel the world has been to the Miller.

*** ''Made even worse'' by the fact that your party can meet a similarly crystallized woman named Mildred at the Farmstead, who gives them a trinket, "Mildred's Locket", which increases the holder's power against the Miller and reduces the damage they take from him. [[TragicKeepsake The locket has a picture of the Miller in it]] . Furthermore, if you have this locket equipped when you battle the Miller, he uses a move called "Immortal Beloved" that serves no purpose other than to make killing him easier. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration He even has a locket of his own around his neck that has a picture of Mildred in it.]]

-->''The poor Miller. Thrice a victim. The seasons took his livelihood. I took his land. And, incountable years later, the comet has taken his humanity.''

''Slumped shoulders, wild eyes, and a stumbling gait — this one is no more good to us.''

--> '''Hopeless Jester''': [[MirthlessLaughter (chuckles)] You WANT more misery? [[YouBastard You sadist! TORTURER!]]

* The Hopeless affliction itself can easily qualify as a tearjerker, as the quotes of characters with this affliction all but state that they've become suicidal.
* The Fearful affliction can be rather tearworthy itself, particularly the Vestal, who will sometimes burst into tears at the horror she's being forced to face...

** The comic for the [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Lep_final_logo.jpg Leper]]reveals that he is no ordinary peasant, but a KingIncognito. Judging by the crowd that was waiting for him outside the room he was in, he was presumably TheGoodKing at that, having gained support and respect from his people. But due to having gotten leprosy, he chose to exile himself from his homeland, leaving what was supposed to be a celebration to making the people openly weep for him, as pictured above.[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming His people clearly loved him and want him to return home, even despite his disease.]]

** The Hound Master's comic reveals what was suspected from his trinket: that the very police he worked for were corrupted. But worse yet: they weren't just dirty cops, they were part of the ''Flesh Cult!''. The [[HeroicBSOD horror on his face]] at the sight makes it pretty clear why he left and became the broken adventurer we see in-game. The only solace is that [[AWorldHalfFull the Bounty Hunter]] brought justice upon the corrupt in the end.

* And in the final battle against [[spoiler:The Heart of Darkness, during the course of the final phase of the fight you're forced to sacrifice two of your party members. Not only did you have to invest huge amounts of time and resources to get them to a level to even face the Heart, but the game sadistically forces YOU to choose which party member dies! Some heroes are willing to take one for the team, others... not so much.]]
** [[spoiler: Even worse, their sacrifice is ultimately in vain. As the Ancestor so eloquently states this is only a temporary victory. The darkness is not destroyed but merely sent back into slumber. It will return one day when humanity has forgotten and is unprepared and when it does there will only be more death and devastation.]]
** [[spoiler: Faced with all of this, and unable to look at their fellow man without seeing visceral eldritch horrors, the Heir takes their own life at the end of the game and becomes a ghost haunting the grounds. Worse, depending on how you interpret the various quotes hinting at a ViciousCycle, they may be trapped there for ''all eternity'' with countless other shades of themselves.]]
* Some of the classes who die to [[spoiler: the Heart of Darkness]] still [[FaceDeathWithDignity hold fast even in the face of annihilation.]] ''This does not make their last words any less depressing or tragic.'' The worst of these is probably the Houndmaster:

--> ''Arbalest'': Please, no! I want to live!
--> ''Grave Robber'': A proper lady does not volunteer herself for slaughter!
--> ''Jester'': Hah! The joke's on me then...?
--> ''Plague Doctor'': No! Not me! I am a learned scholar!
--> ''Vestal'': I-It's too horrible! Noooo!
** The Abomination however is especially sad as he sees death as a kind release rather than something to be feared. Given how much he has suffered in the past for what he is, he finds sacrificing himself to a pure cosmic horror as a preferable alternative to continuing to live.

--> '''Highwayman''': A reflex - I didn't mean to...

* The trinkets added to the characters without an official backstory comment are less than pleasant, too. The Plague Doctor was kicked out of the university for experimenting on a test subject (who the comic reveals was her teacher), the Houndmaster was shunned out of the law by corruption from within, the Jester confirmed to have come from a DecadentCourt and the flavor text of having the last laugh on a tyrant may imply he was abused within it, the Hellion mentioning she was an outcast to her tribe, and even TheStoic Bounty Hunter was on some personal RoaringRampageOfRevenge quest.

--> '''Irrational Highwayman''': No! [[SuddenlyShouting I DIDN'T KILL HER]]. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone 'TWAS AN ACCIDENT]]!

--> '''Masochistic Leper''': The dead long for torture -- to FEEL once more!
--> '''Irrational Man-at-Arms''': [[SurvivorsGuilt How curious you can see me]], [[ShellShockedVeteran for I am long dead]].
--> '''Masochistic Occultist''': [[DemonicPossession WOUND THIS PATHETIC CREATURE]]. [[DeathSeeker IT BEGS FOR DEATH]].

--> '''Hopeless Vestal''': [[IJustWantToBeLoved Why does everyone hate me]]? [[AbusiveParents Even the mother superior]]...

-->''Suffer not the lame horse, nor [[DespairEventHorizon the broken man]]'' \\
''[[YouBastard Another soul battered and broken, cast aside like a spent torch]]''.\\
''Slumped shoulders, wild eyes, and a stumbling gait -- this one is no more good to us.''

** The comic for the [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Lep_final_logo.jpg Leper]]reveals that he is no ordinary peasant, but a KingIncognito. Judging by the crowd that was waiting for him outside the room he was in, he was presumably TheGoodKing at that, having gained support and respect from his people. But due to having gotten leprosy, he chose to exile himself from his homeland, leaving what was supposed to be a celebration to making the people openly weep for him, as pictured above.

--> '''Hopeless Vestal''': [[IJustWantToBeLoved Why does everyone hate me]]? [[AbusiveParents Even the mother superior]]...

** The [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/darkest-dungeon-presents-the-jester Jester's comic]] confirms that he comes from a DecadentCourt who mistreated and mocked him for so long, including spitting on him and throwing knives at him. One day he plays a song about his woes and was met with little approval, [[TheDogBitesBack so he grabbed a nearby knife and proceeded to murder everyone in the room before leaving]]. While this seems to have a seemingly less bleak ending than most of the other comics, FridgeHorror kicks in when you see the doorway he leaves from has the [[ArcSymbol stress symbol]] pattern bearing over his head. [[DrivenToMadness Then wonder why the Jester is seemingly so unhinged]].

** The Shieldbreaker's comic and attached journals show that she was MadeASlave [[SoBeautifulItsACurse because of her beauty and grace as a dancer]], only to break free and kill her captors... but the act of escaping crippled her, trapping her under a piece of wreckage and leaving her vulnerable when a viper bit her. To save her life, she sawed off her own arm, and now the experience leaves her with [[BadDreams horrific nightmares made manifest.]]

** For the [[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/wp-content/uploads/Abom_final_logo.jpg Abomination]], we watch as he is subjected to ColdBloodedTorture by a group of priests, who stick a hot poker to his head and brand him with his MarkOfShame. [[BullyingADragon At the very least]], [[AssholeVictim it didn't end well for most of them]].

** The Shieldbreaker's comic and attached journals show that she was MadeASlave [[SoBeautifulItsACurse because of her beauty and grace as a dancer]], only to break free and kill her captors... but the act of escaping crippled her, trapping her under a piece of wreckage and leaving her vulnerable when a viper bit her. To save her life, she sawed off her own arm, and now the experience leaves her with [[badDreams horrific nightmares made manifest.]]

* The trinkets added to the characters without an official backstory comment are less than pleasant, too. The Plague Doctor was kicked out of the university for experimenting on a test subject, the Houndmaster was shunned out of the law by corruption from within, the Jester confirmed to have come from a DecadentCourt and the flavor text of having the last laugh on a tyrant may imply he was abused within it, the Hellion mentioning she was an outcast to her tribe, and even TheStoic Bounty Hunter was on some personal RoaringRampageOfRevenge quest.