Samael is a The Binding of Isaac mod created in 2017 that introduced the titular playable character, an Archangel wielding a scythe — predating Afterbirth+'s Forgotten as a melee character. Subsequent updates, particularly the January 31st, 2023 content update, would include more to the mod beside the playable character, including a secret ending, more unlockable items and features, and a Tainted version of Samael called "The Inevitable".
This mod contains the following tropes:
- Bad Future: Like with the base game's Tainted characters, Tainted Samael is the result of things going wrong for Samael. His secret ending showcases how he came to be: a Dogma-influenced Isaac refusing Samael's hand by shoving him into a static portal within a closet door.
- Charged Attack: To give the Close-Range Combatant a method of fighting outside their scythe swing's range, Samael can fire apparitions of his weapon upon holding and releasing the arrow keys. Said attacks are much weaker than his usual attacks, with it only getting to be as strong as his melee option with items such as Mom's Knife.
- Close-Range Combatant: Samael predates the Forgotten in Afterbirth+ by about a year, being the first modded character equipped with a melee weapon. As such, the melee weapon requires him to get close, with his only option for long range being a weak Charged Attack projectile.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Samael is an overall dark-colored, hooded figure with demon horns wielding a Sinister Scythe, whose name is Hebrew for "Severity Of God", and is considered the true name of Satan in mythical tradition. But despite the description, Samael is an entity with noble goals in mind. Exemplified in the secret ending, where after slaying most of the end-game bosses, Samael appears before Isaac to offer his hand in escorting him through the afterlife.
- Facial Horror: Tainted Samael has half of his face torn off, with the second half of his face remaining as a faceless clump of flesh hiding half of his skull.
- Fission Mailed: Eating the horse pill version of Thanatosis results in Isaac keeling over, his soul leaving his body, and Isaac's last will flashing onscreen... except the game still continues, as Isaac can still move around while in his keeling position, immune to all damage until the effect either wears off or it's preemptively canceled via shooting tears.
- Multiple Endings: Adding to the base game's own multiple endings, there's a secret ending exclusive to playing as Samael and his Tainted counterpart, with the following cutscene playing upon obtaining both heads of Isaac and ???, followed by beating the subsequent bosses:
- For Samael, Isaac awakens in his skeletal form to come face to face with Samael, who offers his hand to guide Isaac in the afterlife. Isaac, fearful of Samael at first, nods in acceptance with him taking his hand. The final shot featuring the two in the implied afterlife/purgatory holding hands with their backs to the camera.
- For Tainted Samael, it starts off like the above with Samael offering his hand to Isaac's skeleton, but then Isaac suddenly finds himself influenced by Dogma and flicker back to his flesh-n-blood self, with Samael suddenly getting pulled into a static portal closet door by static appendages. Upon trying to resist and seeking Isaac's help, Samael gets forcibly pushed into the closet to become "The Inevitable", with Isaac snapping out of his state shortly after to find himself on the first floor of the basement.
- Off with His Head!:
- Samael's scythe has the unique property of inflicting a post-mortem example - taking the head off of keeper corpses by attacking them, which occasionally results in extra coins dropping.
- Upon defeating Isaac and/or ??? in the Polaroid path, Samael interrupts their "death" animation with a sudden decapitation that result in them dropping their heads as a trinket/item
- Possessing a Dead Body: The sequence that results in Samael's secret ending involves the essences of Isaac, ???, and the Lamb turning into wisps to bring Isaac's skeleton to life.
- Sidequest: Upon reaching the unlock requirements, a Ferryman may randomly spawn on the floor who'll, upon paying a fee, will take the player to the Fragment, where the goal is to find and escort a lost soul in several rooms to the Ferryman. Each soul rewards some pick-ups and consumables, while saving all of them results in the Grim Reaper statue dissolving to reveal a pedestal item.
- Take My Hand!: Samael tries to goad Isaac to save him in this manner as he's pulled into the static portal of the closet. Unfortunately for him, the Dogma-influenced Isaac refuses, instead shoving him in and dooming Samael to become his Tainted counterpart.
