The Shell - NPCs - Enemy Non-Playable Characters and Bosses
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In General
- Dying Alone: It's implied that these people died alone and forgotten, or at least until the Foundling finds their bodies to use.
- Meaningful Name: The Shells are former people that died, and the Foundling is using their bodies as a form of protection. Aka a shell, to protect itself as it goes through the crumbling world.
- Posthumous Character: Aside from Hardern, by the time the Foundling finds the Shells, they're already long dead.
The Foundling
A mysterious, pale creature, the Founding was born into this world for reasons unknown and goes on a quest for answers.
- Body Surf: It finds the other four Shells throughout Fallgrim by finding their dead bodies and possessing them.
- Counter-Attack: After it undoes the first Chain of the Unseen Prisoner, it gains the Tarnished Seal which allows it to do this a la Dark Souls, though it must have at least one bar of Resolve.
- Fragile Speedster: Even more so than Tiel. Its stamina bar is longer than a Lord of the Rings movie, but it dies in one hit from anything.
- I Am Who?: When the Founding first controls the Shells, it has no idea who they are, as they're just some random corpse it found. By talking to Sester Genessa and spending some tar, the Foundling can learn who they were and their history before they died.
- Last Chance Hit Point: While the Foundling outside of a Shell counts as one, Recollection of Death allows each Shell to regain a Last Chance after racking up enough kills, though they cost 4000 Tar and 25 Glimpses each.
- No Gender: It has no genitalia of any kind, is not referred to by any gendered pronouns, nor does it make any vocalizations to give any indication of its intended sex. Virtuous Cycle adds the Twin-Sister NPC, who addresses it as "brother", so its presumably male.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: The Foundling is this outside of the Shell and is basically a Last Chance Hit Point. Even moreso during an Obsidian Run. Averted during the tutorial, where you actually have a relatively generous HP bar, but as soon as you arrive in Fallgrim Outskirts it vanishes and leaves you one hit from death.
Harros, the Vassal
- "The brigands pointed us toward the temple. Shunned by the Devout, their allegiances lie with those who offer Tar or spirits. They entertain themselves with drunken antics or violent cruelties. They know better than to attack us, but they followed us at a distance, hoping for scraps."
The first Shell that the Foundling, as well as most players, will find after the tutorial level.
- Jack of All Stats: He has a 5/10 in every stat.
- Stone Wall: Literally. Out of all the shells, he has the most abilities related to Hardening, including a passive increase in its cooldown speed as well as an instant cooldown after slaying two enemies in quick succession, allowing him to Harden far more often than the other Shells.
- Trading Bars for Stripes: In his Recollection of Strength, he was given a choice: either lose his head or kneel before the Queen. He chose the latter, but hated it."I was given a choice: to kneel before the executioner's axe or their queen. An easy choice. For years, I wore her sigil and repeated all the oaths. But I always knew one day, no matter how many honors were bestowed upon me, I would escape."
Tiel, the Acolyte
- "They foretold a truth more terrifying than any other. Those who glimpse it behold no monster other than an utter lack of meaning. The visage of a razor thin line between existence and nonexistence and nothing in between."
- The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: The disease he suffered from is never mentioned by name, but considering all of his poison-based abilities and his repeated mentions of his flesh rotting off, The Black Death is a safe bet.
- Fragile Speedster: He has the highest stamina of the Shells at 10, but has 3 Durability and 2 Resolve. His Accretion of Resolve makes it so that sprinting doesn't consume his stamina at all.
- I Am a Monster: In his Recollection of Knowledge, his condition makes him feel like this."I'm unrecognizable. A ghoul or perhaps a ghost, haunting this empty household. But I am not unworthy of pity. Not yet, at least. A merchant dared to speak to me. He was a devious fellow, but a kindred soul I suppose. He mentioned a colony of sorts, where my misfortune would be cured. He did not name its price."
- Poisonous Person: His Accretion of Dominance allows him to gain a buff which poisons enemies on hit, but loses it when he gets hit."We stole from those thieves. There was never enough Tar to go around. It was wasted on them anyways. We knew what it was, it's full potential. Why dilute it? But we were punished all the same. In time, my ruined face peeled away. Her form faded into something like fog, something trapped between realms."
- His Accretion of Yearning allows him to be HEALED by poison damage for a portion of how much it would have hurt him.
"Within the wilds, we forgot our teachings and fell in with brigands. They mixed droplets of Tar with muddy spirits and made no promises of salvation. We drank heartily, stumbling from one camp to the next. We rutted like joyous animals in the filth."- His Accretion of Foresight allows his Empowered Riposte to generate a poison cloud, but unless he has his Yearning, it'll bite him in the ass.
"With the Tar throbbing in my belly, I see her completely. Each movement, creates a swarm of copies. They ripple out from her, following their own whims. Some collide and join together, while others split apart, forming new copies. A reflection of a reflections, spreading out from her, the nexus, yet also indistinguishable." - Skull for a Head: He's the only Shell with any amount of his face exposed, showing that all of his flesh has completely rotted away.
- Your Days Are Numbered: His Recollection of Strength shows he was this, given only two years to live."Two winters, that is all the physician promised was left for me. The malady gnaws at the corners of my eyes, pries the flesh from fingers and toes. It burrows deeper and deeper into my bones with each passing day. Even my own kin, look away."
Solomon, the Scholar
- "Existence is a curious matter. The greatest triumph in the universe, gifted and squandered. I shan't make the same mistakes as my brother. When the moment comes, I’ll exercise restraint."
- My Death Is Just the Beginning: He found a tablet that told him of future events, including how he will die, as well as the events of the game. He accepted his fate because he knew you would need his body more than him."I know you're awaiting, my assailant. I've read how you will descend on me. I will be too slow to stop you, though I will try. Just know that, I do not blame you. I cannot hold onto this body when another will need it far more. We are a single existence, split only by the tides of time, joined together in death."
"Fate is not ours to defy, only to fulfill. You're chosen as am I, brother. As is the unborn, ordained by the infinite. Perhaps you'll understand one day. In death, I shall find a new purpose. And your purpose, twisted and malevolent as you are, will light the way." - Mistaken for Spies: It's implied that he was the "madman" Harros encountered, and subsequently cut down believing him to be a spy.
Eredrím, the Venerable
- "The Ovate made promises of an end to war and human suffering. Promises all were desperate to hear. Myself not least, for I'd seen my share of tragedy. I scratched my name in their book, swearing myself to the deathless doctrine. My armor clattered on the ice as I knelt before them and asked myself if I would ever be worthy."
- Gathering Steam: His Accretion of Resolve gives him a small damage buff every time he kills an enemy, and he can accumulate up to 99 stacks. However, they are all lost upon getting knocked out of his body."The beauty of devotion is the excision of doubt. It's true freedom, unburdened by the fears of lesser creatures. Deliverance from guilt and shame. There is no need for the agonies of the living when Ascension awaits."
- Mighty Glacier: He's the opposite of Tiel: Tons of health, piss-poor stamina. His Accretion of Endurance even gives him 15% more health on top of his already huge amount of it."They say that beyond the ice, the old world is preserved. No war. No famine. No suffering. Eternal peace, shielded by their unwavering sovereignty, a lineage that spans centuries. Why should I not be counted among the privileged?"
Hadern, the Deliverer
- "I found the seedlings wriggling in the earth. In my palm, they writhed helplessly. Their hide mottled and dried like dead leaves before falling away. These creatures grew soft and flesh-like, wrinkled like my own hands. They blossomed into something strange yet familiar."
- All Your Powers Combined: Four of his skills let him choose one skill from each of the other four Shells to have himself. You can swap skills as much as you want, but it costs Tar and Glimpses each time.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: As nasty as it gets in a Souls-like game. He will show no mercy to new and experienced players alike, as players have to fight him to earn new weapons, or Glimpses in each new cycle.
- Promoted to Playable: The same Shell that welcomes the Foundling into Fallgrim kicking and screaming is now made playable as part of the "Virtuous Cycle" DLC.
