I need a long line of dark souls style knight bosses

>Name: Calim, Covetous Pretender
>Weapon: An ultra greatsword he can barely wield, fighting madly and with frantic, huge swings. It is tied to his hands with rope.
>Armour: A suit of beautiful sculpted ceremonial armour for a young prince beaten and stretched to fit an adult man. It is crudely welded shut and his burned flesh spills out from joints.

Calim, King's Protector, spent long years in loyal unrewarded service only to be told he was no longer fit to perform his duty. In jealous rage he stole the young prince's ceremonial garb on the eve of a tourney.

As punishment, his body was broken to fit the armour he so coveted, and he was sealed within.

Back in Ye Olden Days of 3.5 I ran a campaign in a predominantly-human Kingdom. The King's personal bodyguard/troubleshooters all took their livery from animals, and were known as the 'Menagerie'. There was a Knight of the Hawk, who carried a specialized six-shot repeating heavy crossbow. A Knight of the Bear, who was a fighter/barbarian and fought with a bastard sword in one hand. A Knight of the Ram, who specialized in asymmetrical-combat and was something of a 'relic hunter'. A Knight of the Salmon: essentially an up-armored retarius with a net and trident... There were a few more.

One of the final arcs involved finding out that the King had been killed ages-prior: the assassins being members of the court who were using the Menagerie as (mostly) unwilling pawns. It kinda turned into a 'Boss Gauntlet' at the end of that scene, with the players and a few of the truly-loyal Knights storming Castle Thrym to fight the traitor-Knights and their treasonous Overlords.

>name?
Thomas de Bain, Suffering Mercenary
>weapon?
Some kind of magic knuckledusters
>armour?
A big but medium armor, no helmet, some kind of mask with cables instead.
>gimmick?
Is a very big guy, can resist extreme pain and injury despite lack of heavy armor, and his punches can demolish a house in a few hits despite being thrown machinegun fast. Might die if mask is taken off.
>story? why are you an enemy?
A long time ago, an elite order of knights existed in a faraway kingdom. However they happened to exist in the end times of that state. Witnessing the destruction and debauchery that followed and deeming the kingdom impossible to salvage, they abandoned their loyalties to the throne and the people, and retreated to the mountains to found a spartan settlement there. Unfortunately, the order of the knights got cursed when they relinquished their allegiances: they were fatally infected. One by one the knights started dying, which threw Bain into despair. But eventually, after everyone had died, he managed to find sorcerers that built him a mask that kept the infection at bay, at the cost of constant agony. Bain believed that preventing the decay of a kingdom by any means necessary would stop his suffering, so he gathered various rogues around him on the mountain fortress and formed an elite mercenary unit doubling as a secret brotherhood. Already completely insane at that point, Bain and his followers slowly infiltrated everywhere, forged alliances with all kinds of dark characters, and go around committing various terrorist acts such as crashing chariots with no survivors, all in the name of accumulating enough resources to start the big fire that will rise to consume the entire world...

> Nocricon, Tasked by Nemesis
> Multiheaded flail
> Blue steel with lightning bolt signs
> Flail's chain elongates, balls turn into screaming skulls, long reach knockdown/knockback attack
I imagine something like "slow but homing" attack as the flail stretches and curves in midair, but I dunno how you'd model that
> Nocricon was arrogant and confrontational. Boasting of his skill and overestimating his own ability, he was cursed to feel nothing but the pain of injury until he finally lived up to his old claim: that he could maintain an unbroken string of victories against a hundred enemies.

Am I doing it right? Never played DS, only heard memes.

>name?
Ser Hurley, the Rising Tide
>weapon?
A giant scimitar.
>armour?
A massively ornate full plate, shoulder plates resembling crashing waves and a helmet sculpted in the shape of a seahorse.
>gimmick?
He walks around with his scimitar on his shoulder. He swings it down two-handed or swings it in large arcs in front of him.
>story ? why are you an enemy?
Ser Hurley was charged with protecting the coast from pirates and raiders. Too much time spent in the sun, standing vigilant, sent him to madness. Now he chases away ever soul foolish enough to enters his domain.

Gulyan the Broken

Twin scimitars, knives

Mostly cloth armor with greaves, gloves, a chestplate, an armored turban, and an armored mask.

Long, malformed limbs make his attacks seem oddly timed and his range difficult to measure. Able to maneuver at strange angles and change his angle of attack mid-strike, causing increased chance to hit for a slight reduction in damage.

Gulyan cannot be called a man, for no man can move his body so. His face is unseen, his homeland unknown. He does not, or cannot speak. He serves the king with fierce loyalty, earning distinction for his ruthlessness against the forces of the White Princess of Shiva.

I'm adopting a friends player character to fit this, I think it'd work.

>name?
Drift Seaborne
>weapon?
A fishermans spear, or an anchor
>armour?
heavy armour covered in barnacles and seaweed, smells heavily of brine. Dull, rusted, and dark colored. the helmets visor looks similar to the mouth of an angler fish, the top is complete with the lure.
>gimmick?
The lure has hypnotic qualities to it, not full on hypnotism but enough to distract and potentially lower the opponents defense. fights defensively, but strikes quickly when an opening is spotted.
>story ? why are you an enemy?
Drift was first found on a small, one man boat nearly unconcious by some fishermen. With no recollection of how he got to that point, or any recollection of his name he gave himself the moniker Drift Seaborne. Sages and sorcerers and wizards alike could not find any prophecies explaining his mysterious coming, though despite all of this Drift became a renowned and well respected knight of the realm.

Thirsting for knowledge of his origins, Drift braved the depths of the deep sea. after some time he emerged again, though whatever knowledge he gained of what lurks below changed him.

(The less you explain about him and what went on below the better, lends it self to the potential speculation that dark souls in known for)

>Name
Masterless Pawn Artimenster

>Weapon
A morning star that's seen quite a bit of use. He uses it in one hand, the other is for grabbing, punching, and blocking.

>Armor
A rusty coat of plates that covers the parts around the silhouette as well as a breasplate. Looks like it was once standard issue, until it saw constant use. Under the armor and torn gambeson is thick, heavily scarred skin.

>Gimmick
Known for lacking initiative, he holds back because he had no one to tell him to fight. He's slower, weaker, but more tanky at this stage, as if he were half asleep. As he gets hurt, he begins to feel urgency, and fights back harder. He is so incredibly nihilistic that he has come to terms with the fact that pain is a trick the body plays on him, and is can ignore attacks if he was prepared to do so. Incredibly inattentive, so fails most spot checks, easy to juke or sneak around.

>Why is he an enemy
There was never a point in his life where Artimenster did not serve someone. He was a very valuable asset; very skilled, low maintenance, had no disloyal thoughts so long as his very little material desires were met. Nobles gathered in the forest to duel each other to in order to call him one of their own, and in the end, they all killed each other around him, leaving him without a home or someone to pledge allegiance to. Unable to function without someone telling him what to do or where to go, he sits where his masters killed each other, knowing only emptyheadedness and how to kill something. The last order he was given from a dying noble was to burn their corpses and protect the ashes, to hide something someone was carrying. Not that he knew why, of course. He just wanted an order to live on.

>Name

Korfu

>Weapon

Butcher's knife of pic related

>Armour

A single helmet above a red and long hair

>gimmick

Hit stronger the more you hit him

>Story

A warrior from a barbarian tribe of the cold, who woved to overcome the greatest battle and the greatest pain that ensues. He simply wants a good bloody fight and often cry of joy when hit

Very good, you guys. Will be using these!

Sauce pls

>Name:
Crown Princess Sejmer, The Nightsaint

>Weapon:
Sorcery, and the unnatural strength and speed it lends her undying body.

>Armour:
Though she appears to be clad little more than flowing robes of black silk and a golden crown, she is both physically swift and shockingly durable, enchaining her body with vile sorceries to give her unholy speed and strength.

>Gimmick:
During the initial phase of the fight, she acts as if the entire battle is a farce. She strides confidently about, taking her time, attacking only with dark magic that she telegraphs clearly, constantly mocking the player.

However, after she has taken some damage, she will become angry, indignant and furious that someone would dare lay a weapon on her. She begins to become more aggressive at this point, hurling insults, venting her frustration as she attacks more frequently and in unexpected ways.

Finally, when she finally realises how serious the fight has become, the mask falls. She strides and bounds about on all fours, gnashing and clawing like a beast devoid of all humanity and nobility. Her attacks are instinctive, like an animal consumed by blood-lust and hunger.

>Story:
Where her elder sister was firm and resolute as iron, and her younger sister was kind and merciful, Sejmer was dark and cruel and hungry. She wanted what others had, grew jealous and spiteful of her sisters, so beloved by the kingdom and her father the King. So she made a deal. A bargain. With that which should not be named.

No real idea what would be, but I guess I could work with my DS1 character.

>name?
Touchstone the Joyous/Gluttonous

>weapon?
Shield and hand axe

>armour?
Beaten and rusty knightly armor, with bright red tatters and hints of heraldry now too warn to be distinct enough to decipher

>gimmick?
Rushes towards any corpses on the battlefield as a top priority, starts ripping them apart and stuffing bits and souls down his throat. May or may not heal based on that, but players are advised to make use of his distraction either way to stick sharp things inside his body.
Charges around, tries to lock enemies into savage quick strikes that they get locked into blocking or have to dodge away entirely, if they dont just get shredded.

>story ? why are you an enemy?
Starts out as a fairly inoffensive dude, can be spotted around the area poking at the environment. Greets the players happily, deep voice and belly laughs at pretty much everything. Wishes them good luck in whatever it was they were doing in this land of cursed and undead.
Later spotted around any plant life, where he complains that it's impossible to find anything good to eat any more and how hard it is to remain in a state where it would even be enjoyable, wistfully recounts meals of roast potatoes, suckling pig and tankards of.. oh I do apologise, almost forgot where I was. Oh what I would do for a simple stew..
The point before he becomes an enemy he's seen at a campfire with a on empty cauldron nearby, mentions he finally got a good meal in ages, too bad you weren't here earlier though, for good food is always enjoyed best with good company! There's something disquieting about him now. He stares at the players and his laughs seem somewhat forced.
It takes a little bit before he's seen again, but by now he's gone pretty much entirely feral. Screaming that nothing can make him feel full, not bones that snap and go in my broth! Nor flesh that drips with blood and burns in fire! Nor souls that flicker and feed the spark in his chest.. but maybe yours! Yours.. sorry friends, but it must must must be filled, this undead hole in me!
Dies with a spluttered laugh and a muttered "finally.."

Checking his pot and campfire afterwards reveals a couple items made of undead bodies, bones and such, which basically confirms he went full wendigo.

I have something i used for an old game. Basically i was challenged me to make an enemy that was a giant knight, but was in actuality just five smaller knights in one suit of armor. I accepted.

>Name
The Sackcloth Company. Derived from "sackcloth and ashes", some old biblical term for repentance. I am not good with names.

>Weapon
A large, greatly eroded sword of matte black metal. The sword itself is unremarkable. It is, however, long stained with blood at the tip.

>Armor
A suit of charred black armor, and a tattered ashen cloak. Carved into various parts of the armor as well as embroidered into the cloak, is the image of five knights standing beside each other, all grasping a single sword in the center. Their hands become one at the wrist. These images are long faded and difficult to make out.

>Gimmik
During the corse of the fight, Sackcloth Company may divide up to four times, until there's a total of five knights on the battlefield. They all share the exact same stats, appearance, and a single (albeit very large) health bar. Damaging one of them damages all of them.

Note: they don't just appear in a poof of smoke. The division is a very loud, very physical "peeling" from the original armor, as identical suits of armor literally burst from the first with a metallic wrenching sound.

>LORE
The Sackcloth Company, as the name implies, is not actually a single knight, but an entire order inhabiting the same suit of armor.

Once long ago, an order of knights turned against the king they were sworn to protect, so they may betray their kingdom into the hands of a nation they had long been at war with. The city was burned, and the company sentenced to death. Even if it did win them the war, their treason was considered so depraved that the new king saw fit they pay for their crime.

As penance for their sin, The Sackcloth Company is cursed to wander the ruins of their razed former city, painfully sharing the symbol of their ancient company.

>name
Vanguard Deor

>weapon
Magic, grab

>armour
Ruined Gothic full plate and cloak, but the head is desiccated and aged with a long white beard

>gimmick
Casts various offensive spells, absolutely tanks attacks but is slow to move, has no physical weapon, just magic. Once his armour/health has been sufficiently damaged, he will whisper 'My Lords...' and his head will burst open in bloom of finger-like growths at which point he will become fast, more bestial and attempt to grab opponents in between spells as the fingers growths spew damaging blood

>story
Vanguard Deor was one of the Duke Seirac's first altered Vanguard Knights, a project of Court Wizard Vont to produce powerful warriors to turn the tide of a stagnating war that had consumed many of the realm's resources. Little did the Duke know, or care, that his Court Wizard had been deeply involved in darker bargains that even the desperate ruler might have balked at. As a result, Deor the sorcerous accomplice of Vont, willingly gave his flesh to the Rotting Masters and became the standard of power and terror that future Vanguard Knights would be made to.

Here's a decent tutorial boss idea I've had for a while. Something along the lines of Asylum Demon / Iudex Gundyr

>Tohtus the Unfettered

>Silver Gladius

>Thin steel armor that fits the body almost too tightly. The helmet is crude, with only two eye holes lazily punched into the visor.

>Tohtus fights with his gladius, and prefers speed to defense. He stands roughly seven feet tall, and is hard to knock over. His gimmick is that at half health, a pair of metal wings burst out of the back of his chestplate, allowing him to crudely "fly," glide, and hover, giving him a wide range of new attacks.

>Tohtus was a ceremonial guard for the whatever religion. When the leader of said religion was assassinated, the ceremonial guard were locked away by the new leader. Tohtus was left alone, atop a prison tower near the old asylum. There, he was chained to the ground, and left to rot. In isolation, Tohtus was visited by a great light that bestowed upon him a terrible revelation. Now a mindless marionette, Tohtus guards the old tower, in service to something unimaginably Greater.

>The Legend
>Chaos Two Hander, Grass Crest Shield and Black Flame*2 (That means NG+, bitches)
>GIANTS, GIANTS, GIANTS
>Stamina, Health, Endurance, everything you could ever want
>Father of Giants, the Legend will never die.

kukez.tumblr.com/
got your back brah

It keeps expanding! and I like it!

>name
Sword-shatterer Emil
>weapon
A damaged enchanted greatsword
>armour
A heavy scalemail, plated shoulder pads, plate gauntlets and plated leggings and a flute helm.
>gimmick
While appearing quite heavy, he wileds the greatsword with only his right hand, swinging it around like it was a wig. With his left hands he grapples when in very close range.
If you stay colse too much, he'll eventually do a sword n' punch combo that will aim to either chop one of the opponent's limbs off or break their sword.
He'll mainly try to disable the opponent with quick technique.
While having superhuman strenght, it can only be seen during his disabling attacks and his normal attacks are much like the ones of a common human.
>Story
Emil was a warrior of the ages past and fought alongside many other demi-gods during the 13th, 14th and 16th War of the Gods in which he broke many times the sword of an enemy deity so that one of his comrades might inflict the killing blow without danger.
In the 17th (and last) War he finally succumbed to a superior foe that took him alone and overpowered him in a duel.
After his demise his corporeal form temporarely shattered, leaving him alone as a wandering spirit. Anger and resentement built up in his soul during his time spent as spirit. When he reincarnated he had become mad with anger, leaving him a mere wandering demi-god warrior gone berzerk.
The one who would be able to make the Sword-shatterer fall can pillage from the fallen warrior his enchanted relic sword.

Shatterer isn't a proper word, and you have to say shat as part of it. Why not Breaker?

Because, if you think about it, "sword breaker" is a bit too much of a cliche as a name.
And if Shakespeare bent english to his will and invented words, why can't we?
Also the sound.
Can't you hear the alliteration between sword and shatterer?

Well, here's something I actually want to talk about. It's not every day someone asks you for your shitty Dark Souls boss ideas. Well, I have one that might make for a fun battle.

>Cohesive Unit
Cohesive Unit is a large mass of armor, weapons, and hollows. It's "body" is a spherical mass of iron/steel plates, gauntlets, squashed helmets, and other scrap pieces of armor. Swords, spears, and axes jut from every angle, making physical contact with the titan potentially lethal.

The creature functions like a golem, despite being made up almost entirely of hollows and metals. The body is supported by two large legs made of sharp, twisted metal. The creature has one large arm with a "hand" like a mess of blades. It has no head or second arm.

>gimmick
The Cohesive Unit has two gimmicks. The first is that it can only be damaged from the front, in the "eye" of its spherical body. The "eye" is composed of hollows, some still living and clutching weapons. The creatures back is too thick to damage. The second gimmick occurs when Cohesive Unit reaches half of it's HP. A much larger hollow arm bursts out of the center, clutching at a battle axe. The arm can blindly swipe at anyone who gets too close. When the Cohesive Unit dies, the true boss climbs out of the wreckage of corpses and scrap metal. The tall hollow that arises from the pile of weapons grabs his axe, and picks up a kiteshield.

>Captain Hriston
Hriston, captain of the guard, is a very lightly armored hollow. He fights with his large battleaxe, and is surprisingly agile for his enhanced height. He can roll, dash, dodge, and block with his shield. At 50% HP, he tosses aside his shield and uses a fire pine resin on his axe. Unencumbered by his shield, he now moves even quicker, and can deal massive damage with his flaming axe. At 25% HP, he throws his axe once, and equips a pair of caestus's in an effort to physically pummel his attacker to death, once again changing his fighting style.

>Cohesive unit
Tyrannicon much?

>Story
Captain Hriston was a tough captain, but a generally fair and competent leader. He was a father to his men, most of whom had been picked off of the streets as boys, or abandoned by invading forces.

Captain Hriston always impressed upon his soldiers the importance of working together, telling them that the only way to defeat a superior foe was to act as a cohesive unit.

Even while hollowed, his men sought to find him, and fight alongside him. Their mutual desires and love of combat brought them back together, and the strength of their combined soul called their long discarded weapons and armor back to their bodies.

When the mass of soldiers falls, Captain Hriston takes up the mantle of his men, and continues the fight. Although totally mindless, his irremovable instincts still give him the upper hand in combat.

Never heard of it.

I'll admit that the idea of a mass of zombies is by no means an original thought. I probably stole it from Castlevania, if anything.

He's a youtuber that made multiple series about Dark Souls and always referred to those that give him money via-Patreon as his ''Cohesive Unit''

Wasn't there an enemy exactly like that in the Painted World in Dark Souls 2? Like a phalanx except with hollows. Loving this thread in any case. Unique monster/enemy ideas are always neat.

Shitting things out my brain. Not basing it on anything in particular.

>name?
Time-worn Laureate

>weapon?
A massive lute-like instrument, half hammer.I think Monster Hunter does something similar

>armour?
Tattered robes, a dead laurel crown.

>gimmick?
Area of effect sorcery, strumming his lute causes ice and spectral hands covered in frost to emerge to try and drag the PCs down and freeze them in place. Somewhat damaging on it's own but mostly setting up for a massive hammer smash.

>story ? why are you an enemy?
Player of ancient songs, he once sought the perfect melody, an ur-song from which all others are pale imitations. In his travels however he heard the song of death and the undead, and was forever unable to play anything else. Try and try he might, only the song that drags all who hear it closer to death is emitted.
He claims he was tricked into hearing it, but refuses or cannot remember to say how or who tricked him. Is forever confused and sad he can't play any of the other songs he knows, nor stop playing the one he hates.
Not necessarily aggressive, but simply being near enough to hear him is dangerous, and thus he must be silenced.

>Youtuber
Ah, that's why I don't know him. Strange thing to call his fans, though.

Sorta. I liked the idea, but I wanted something a bit more mobile.

Thanks!

>Bingarid the Fifth

>Shortspear and shield with an ox crest

>Scorched breastplate and chain mail. Mostly burned-away with an ox crest

>Fire immunity, undead traits, spears thrown explode, breathes fire sometimes.

>Came from a cursed line of noblemen, each meeting a horrible death. One day he was traveling the country-side, and a panicked woman found him and pleaded with the knight to save her child. She led him to her large cottage, which was engulfed in flames. Bingarid charged in. He searched high and low, but he couldn't find the child. He quickly found himself lost in the house somehow. The door vanished behind him and the rooms were without windows. Fire and smoke engulfed him. The knight fell to the floor. Looking up, already suffocating, he saw the woman's face in the fire, laughing. Now his vengeful spirit wanders the countryside, destroying indiscriminately, hoping to one day kill the fae trickster who killed him.

Like, a zombie lobster. A giant zombie lobster as big as a house that shits fire.
Oh and it's tail is covered in axes that it swings about and it occasionally electrifies the knee deep water of the arena after half health.
Because fuck you and why not.

>name
Thydur

>weapon
Claws and teeth

>armour
Ornate but with sections missing in the arms and face, out of these burst black hair and a long snout with jagged teeth

>gimmick
Can only be really harmed by magic or enchanted weapons, takes minimal damage from regular attacks

>story
The son of a provincial lord who headed a secret cult of lycanthropy, owing their powers and wealth to a mysterious Master of the Forest. Thydur took to the blood too well and retained his beastly form, chained in a cell and let out to roam the grounds and mansion as a guardian at night, or when a servant was going home late and a sacrifice to the Master of the Forest was necessary.

>name
Madman Dukaror, the Killer of Giants
(formerly) Dukaror the adventurer
>weapon
"Uppercut", an enormous glaive,
"Chrisytrypani", a gigantic golden spear
>armour
Heavy golden plate armour. Everything is covered by an enormous golden coat.
It too is covered by golden plates.
He wears a golden war-mask.
>gimmick
In phase one he is jumping around and thrusting wildly with his spear.
Upon reaching phase two he takes off his now damaged plate armour and coat, leaving him with only his golden mask, bracers, greaves and rusty chainmail. He plants his spear in the ground and summons his glaive, which he starts then to use with martial discipline, as opposed to the wild swininging of phase one.
>Story
Giants have always preyed on humans and only ecceptional men troughout human history managed to hold them back.
Dukaror was even more than such a man, as he sought to end the giant threath once and for all.
Along with other man as brave and crazy as him he journeyed off to the land of giants, to kill every last one of them.
On the way he found relics of old and fought monsters even worse than the giants themselves.
When he reached their capital, he was the only survivor of his company, and something had changed in him.
The giants respected strength and thus he was evnerated like a wargod the second after he killed the Giant King with one hit of his spear.
He did not listen to any of them and started slaughtering everyone.
Even when thousands of giant warriors came rushing at him, he only thrusted, and so he did for days, chasing off and killin every single giant.
Now there is the need to kill the slaughterer of the giants as his bloodlust and destructive power make him an even greater threat than the giants ever were.

...

pretty good!

This is the aspect of the Sword Shatterer, more or less.
But it's like the filename says.

You could probably port this shit directly into Dark Souls and nobody would notice.

Name: Vidicles, Patron Saint of Archery

Vidicles wields an ornate, divine-enchanted greatbow. He wears pristine white armor, and a flowing purple cape.

Vidicles fights from atop a Cathedral tower, shooting gigantic arrows down at anyone foolish enough to approach sacred ground. His arrows range from ordinary steel arrows, to flaming explosive arrows, to arrows covered in corrosive urns, to poison arrows, and so on. His aim is typically impeccable.

He must be approached first from the courtyard. Then, the player must ascend the tower in which Vidicles resides. When they make it to the top, he fires a few covering shots while retreating. He then leaps off of the tower, and crashes through a stained-glass "skylight" into the Cathedral itself, in which the true battle takes place.

The player must run in between ornate pillars and mosaics, avoiding the steady barrage of arrows that the boss unleashes. When they finally corner Vidicles in the place of worship, he still proves to be dangerous up close, using "leap back and fire" techniques, "grab and stab" arrow attacks, and bow-bashing techniques. Vidicles can also punch and kick, and his size makes these mundane attacks painful. When he dies, an NPC enemy "Follower of the Saint" spawns in the cathedral later on. This poorly armed peon wields a greatbow of her own, and will snipe at the player from a hidden location if they attempt to return later in the game.

Story: Vidicles, the Patron Saint of Archery, was a master bowman in service to the old king. Surprisingly, the curse never quite took hold of him, forcing him to live a miserable "human" life in the abandoned cathedral, defending it from any who would seek the secrets located in the derelict graveyard hidden within the cathedral itself.

After his death, one of his human admirers returns to his place of death, attempting to get revenge on the murderer of the venerated saint.

Seriously, he's created to guard the treasures of the Goddess, was corrupted by a demonic being, hurls around massive fuck off blades and luls you into a false sense of security with his immobile first form before smashing the ground, getting up and drawing six scimitars the size of a fridge each and starts wandering about smashing the landscape to get at you.
His arms must be torn off to access his core, and the massive blades he wields turned against the core cover in his second form in addition to the disarming.
Oh and he summons the undead.

>name?
Skaldur, King of the North

>weapon?
Sword and Axe

>armour?
Savage plate, fur and leather

>Gimmick
Sword does quick stabbing blows and fast swings, Axe does heavy lumbering strikes and sweeps, The lower his HP he gets, the more armor that falls off and the faster he gets.

>story ? why are you an enemy?
Skaldur was a great chief of the Frozen Northern realms, a Giant of a man, rumoured to even have giants blood. One winter his lands grew cold, and never thawed, Skaldur set off to find the cause or the cure of the curse, but returned too late, the North was a frozen wasteland, where only spirits and beasts make their home.

Skaldur sits on a cold Throne, King of nothing.

>name?
Koporob the lawsknekt

>weapon?
Large metal shield with a spyhole
And an iron baton with a built-in flamethrower

>armour?
Very rounded, lots of ball motif

>gimmick?
Basically a knightly riot cop with a flamethrower

>story ? why are you an enemy?
Devoted to his king and church, Koporob upheld the laws of the king and brought his justice across the land but once the law became lawless Koporob broke with the law of the king and went full force into the law of the church.
Alas, living through the chaos and darkness that befell his land the poor knight went a little batty...

>Mixture of Fume Knight and Flamelurker with a frost theme

panic.jpg

If they mixed the Fume Knight, the Smelter Demon and the Flamelurker to create an unholy monstrosity I think most people would just ragequit. A chimera with the Flamelurker's aggressiveness, the Smelter Demon's bulk, and the Fume Knight just sticking out the back waving his swords around going "HA HA"

Just call him the flamefucker, it's perfect.

Enamalar
A big old falcata made from teeth
A suit of studded leather with teeth instead of metal
Sometimes does a breath weapon with teeth and has lots of tooth fairy minions (Hellboy style tooth fairies)
The lord of the Tooth Fairies, pissed that nobody is putting teeth under their pillow and is now taking the teeth by force.The PCs happen to have some very nice teeth.

Mother of god......

Could you make a knight or being that cycles around the battlefield in a bicycle work?

Just how grimdark can you make a cyclist?

I know OP asked for knights, but Dark Souls needs some big monsters too.

>Name
Spider Dragon

>Weapons
Fire breath, teeth, claws, spear-like tail

The Spider Dragon isn't actually a dragon. It is the unholy chimera of an arachnid demon, and a drake. The Spider Dragon is a large red beast with a dragon's head, a long neck, a large body sustained by eight thin legs, two shredded wings that barely function, and a long tail.

The Spider Dragon has no scales, and is instead covered in a red hide that appears smooth, but it deceptively strong. A strange black pattern appears on its "abdomen." The creature can fly with great effort, due to its shredded wings, and has difficulty staying airborne for very long. However, it can easily climb up tower walls and cliffs with its many legs, and can even stay suspended upside down in wait for prey.

Mechanically, the Spider Dragon ambushes the characters two or three times before it is fought on the side of a mountain.

Story: Dragon experiment gone wrong cliche. Shouldn't be that hard to fill in some easy lore

>Tanareth the Guilty
>Wields the remnants of what was once a large and majestically decorated zweihander, now broken in half and battered beyond recognition but still holding a formidable edge
>His dust-ridden armor similarly holds evidence of once being grand and beautiful, but countless chips and dents have reduced it to a pitiable wreck
>Moves and fights in a listless, weary manner, as if daring others to kill him, but this serves to hide his true skill with his wrecked blade. Tanareth seemingly ignores any and all injuries inflicted upon him, continueing to move and fight despite suffering from wounds that would logically have killed him long ago. Only complete destruction of his body will put him down for good.
>Once beloved by all as a proud servant of the crown, Tanareth's fortunes changed when he deserted from a battle that ended in the death of all his allies. Branded as a coward for fleeing instead of fighting and dying, Tanareth was locked in his own manor and abandoned as a hidden shame of the country. Even decades after, rumors talk of a decaying manor locked from the outside, filled to the brim with gold and gems, but guarded by the undying husk of a once proud knight, wandering aimlessly throughout his dusty prison, weary of life but never being graced by the mercy of death.

Were you sp00pt?

>you'd think it's an experiment
>actually it was just a drake with a giant spider fetish

>Name: Reddran the Cruel-Wheeler
>Weapon: Bike, Hands, Dark Magic
>Armor: Bicycle helmet made from solid bone

Reddran the Cruel-Wheeler rides upon a bike formed from the corpses of infants, supported by wheels made from human spines. His hands are skeletal, and shrouded in darkness.

He was exiled from the Primordial Skating Rink for performing the Forbidden Bunny Hop twice in a row, and then saying "Fuck the police" as he cycled over three homeless men and a dog.

It is said that he still roams the world, a mad cycling spirit. The "toot toot" of his bicycle horn is an omen of great devastation and catastrophic plagues.

>The serfs grow increasingly tired of the brutal and irrational treatment they are subjected to at the hands of their lord. The Baron is a feudal knight of a militant and formerly prosperous fiefdom with coffers swollen only by recent land grabs. During a campaign for further territory acquisition the Baron was made awares of a tomb on the outskirts of a neighbouring lord's manor.
>While rumoured to contain the dowry and burial tributes of a wealthy aristocratic couple struck down in their prime by a virulent and pernicious illness that had wracked the local countryside, it was said that grave robbers have superstitiously avoided the loot. After the Baron had dashed their remains about the crypt while ordering the collection of anything of value, he returned to his own estates. He began refusing to be seen outside of his armour, and a horrific stench emanated from both his person and quarters.
>He had his smithy refashion and modify his armour in seemingly illogical ways which should have rendered it unwearable by a normal person. Servant girls consistently went missing when attending him in his private chambers, and he became a rare sight outside these rooms. His lands lay in disarray, and his subjects starve and flounder.

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So basically this?

>name?
Courier Arngrim
>weapon?
Skeleton Bone piles, he tosses them at you and they come back to life periodically until you lay them to rest.
>armour?
Light armour, suitable for his preferred steed.
>gimmick?
His steed - a misshapen bicycle chariot formed from Wheel Skeletons that keeps him continually moving around the circular arena that he's been confined to. Unfortunately due to the nature of the Wheel Skeletons he can literally backpedal. Be wary of charge attack
>story ? why are you an enemy?
A messenger from a forgotten kingdom, his message was never delivered before he perished to the prowling undead, and necromancers took hold of his corpse. In death, he moves with a single motivation, to deliver the last message he had, but with his two newfound "companions" he finds it hard pressed to leave the Necromancer's Crypt.

But perhaps if he should kill you, the Necromancers may see use in him, and set him free.

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Kek.
That said, k6bd has already been there with a 'fallen' angel using sinners as motorbike parts.

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>name?
Sangrel Stormsmash

>weapon?
Fists imbued with thunder and lightning

>armour?
Just padded clothing.

>gimmick?
Storm based fighter. Other than that, none really.

>story ? why are you an enemy?
Sangrel was an run of the mill orc, until the village shamans saw something in him; the aspect of the God of storms Wondsirre. Sangrel was since trained to fight like the storms. He's only an enemy since you're treading near his sacred cave and refuse to leave.

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>name?
Wilbur The Filthy (formerly Wilbur Champion of The People)

>weapon?
An enormous, dirty, rusted and blunt machete. He swings it around more like a blunt piece of metal than a blade. A pitchfork, rocks laying on the ground and sometimes his own body.

>armour?
A full suit of chainmail armor that he never takes off, covered by dirty rags.

>gimmick?
Unpredictable combat style, wounds will not slow him down, machete has a chance of poisoning characters, at 50% of his health his weapon will break and he will start using whatever he finds on the ground (he'll throw rocks and pieces of wood, pick up pitchforks or shovels and use them as weapons, or if nothing is available, he will start using his fists and throw himself at the characters like a beast)

>story ? why are you an enemy?
Wilbur was once a courageous fighter that led a revolution throughout the whole city, ultimately managing to capture and kill the former king. He soon became the new ruler of the land and stopped being a fighter altogether. Soon, the king's cursed crown warped his mind and he became hungry. Hungry for power, but also for food. Nothing could satisfy Wilbur, and soon his obsession for food drove both him and his kingdom into the ground. In his hunger-induced hallucinations he thought to be a great swordsman again, leader of the revolution! This caused him to take up arms and murder his own people, thinking of them as servants of the evil king. He now wanders, through the city, a hulking and fat figure, always hungry and feasting upon the corpses of peasants, killing all who enter the city, believing them to be agents sent by the evil king to end his life. For it is his quest to protect the people, and fill his belly with their carcasses.

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>This was the stupidest idea
>Whoever heard of a fucking warcharger snail
>My feet hurt
>Worst thing is I'm stuck with it now
>I'm the fucking Snail Knight now
>It's a good thing I cant fucking die of old age because I don't even know how long it's been since I set off
>Fuck me it was embarrassing when I left. Took over half a day just to get out of sight
>They cheered for a bit but when I wasn't going anywhere they just had to stop me shuffle off
>Are we still even in a tipping point between Fire and Dark or did I miss the whole fucking thing?
>I wish I was back home, stabbing hollows
>No, no Shelley it's just me whining, you're still my best mollusc.

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Here's something I always wanted to see in Dark Souls and was surprised it never happened:

>name
Blademaster (super generic and descriptive name, very souls-y)

>weapon
Bastard Sword main, Mace backup, medium-sized steel shield, offhand Longsword backup. Very well-crafted weapons, but of no special design beyond being exceedingly practical.

>armor
Abnormally thick and heavy armor, but of standard and orthodox design. Looks like what a person with lots of money and a good idea of what won't get you killed would go shopping for, if they also had superhuman strength and physique.

>gimmick
Blademaster will switch weapons or stance when a fight isn't going his way, potentially several times in one fight. This will happen whenever his opponent goes too long without getting hit or lands too many attacks in a row. Possible weapon combinations and stances include:

Bastard sword and shield: long reach of bastard sword for zoning and damage, blocks and parries with shield. The default setup, no obvious strengths or weaknesses.

Mace and shield: Heavy blunt strikes to punish armor and shields, his own shield defends against retaliation. Superb against tanky foes with limited mobility, not so good against faster opponents.

Two-handed bastard sword: forgoes defense for faster attack speed, more damage, and greater reach. For when the opponent is trying to get away or isn't doing a whole lot of attacking.

Two-handed mace: To punch through the dedicated damage sponges who think they can just sit there and draw aggro without being a threat on their own.

Bastard sword and longsword: heavy swings from the greatsword are paired with fast pokes and lunges from the longsword. Gives up any notion of defense for the ability to really screw over evasive types.

Mace and longsword: Crush armor with one hand, stab rogues with the other. Two normal-sized weapons give him more attacks per round, but has trouble against ranged assaults.

>story
Vagueness and obtusity.

I fell asleep reading this. Fairly neat mechanic, dull appearance and backstory.
Shit in Dark Souls is just dripping in personsality. Every piece of armor tells a story. It's all in the polish. Without polish it just doesn't work.

>name
Long Dong John

>weapon
Switch blade

>armour
Body Piercings

>gimmick
The mosaic/black bar acts as armor or makes him harder to hit.

>story/why?
Intruding on Long Dong John's domain is answered with an honor duel. He's otherwise a good chill dude.

That's fair. The basic idea is a dude who changes fighting styles to get an advantage over the player, who then adapts, and then the boss changes again, etc. He could be a homeless guy in rags so long as he had a backpack full of swords, axes, hammers, and whatnot. Maybe the weapons all came from hollows he killed, and he just uses the least shitty ones or the ones that didn't break.

...

This is a pretty good thread OP.

Are you planning on running a Souls-esque game in the future?

>Name
Amelia of Cyrendell, Tireless Amelia

>Weapon
Halberd

>Armor
Helm similar to the Elite Knight Helm, cuirass and plate armor for her arms, fingered gauntlets, a black skirt similar to a hakama, with leggings and boots.

>Gimmick
Incredibly fast, strings together attacks in a whirlwind pattern, switches up range easily, effortlessly transitions from slashes to thrusts.

>Story
Amelia was a knight of Cyrendell, famed for her skill with the halberd. She gained her name from her defense of the Sturmfeldt bridge, where she alone held the bridge for a day and a night against the armies of the traitor Dunvall.

>Elohim

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh)

MORMON JESUS

>>Name
The Concerto of One

>>Weapon
An entire orchestra's worth of musical instruments strapped to his body, all of which double as sorcery or miracle catalysts but primarily fights with a violin and bladed bow.

>>Armor
Gilded breastplate over which he wears a black, unbuttoned Prussian officer's coat and a red sash and white silk lace cuffs. Black velvet gloves. Golden helm with slitted visor over which he wears a tricorn hat with powdered wig.

>>Gimmick
Musical instruments serve as catalysts. Is a multi-stage fight. Has multiple casting styles in which he pairs his violin with one of the musical instruments he has dangling from him. They break and are replaced with different instruments as the fight goes on.

>>Story

Was secret bodyguard to his King against would be assassins as nobody expected the court musician to double as the court magician. Only fights trespassers.

Okay, I admit, its more of a Bloodborne boss.

>name?
Saint Veronica and her Hundred Knights

>weapon?
A long, dull dagger, broken at the tip and caked with old rust and blood

>armour?
A priestly garments, once pristine white, now reduced to tatters and grey mesh. She wears them over a beautiful suit of crusader armour, yet no trace of her old grace remains.

>gimmick?
A hundred knight corpses lay around her arena - which is presumably a site of a battle fought long ago. She walks around, covering her face in shame, while knights rise in groups, without end, until their mistress is finally put to rest.

>Story
A hundred loyal knights accompanied the Saint onto her journey into the Realm. Yet she did not bring forth a miracle expected of her and they all perished protecting her. Having been forced to end her Knights' lives herself in mercy, the Saint now tends to their broken corpses, hoping of one day joining them.

>story ? why are you an enemy?

>Name
Sir François, The Redeemed
>Weapon
A sabre
>Armor
Something like the Elite Knight set, though visibly Catholic, a crucifix nailed to his back
>Gimmick
Flashy sabre skills, can smack people on their feet with the crucifix. When nearly killed, will pull himself off the cross and transform into a werewolf thing.
>Story
Once a devout paladin of the church, until an ancient curse had taken hold in his mind. Rather than lose himself to the beast within, he confessed his sin and demanded to be killed so his soul may rest with God.
So they crucified him and left him to die. Unfortunately, he did not.

>Name
Lloyd's Divine Knights
>Weapon
Sword, Great Axe, Greathammer, Spear and Shield, Crossbow and Sword, Scythe, Sword and Talisman. All knights can throw a Lloyds talisman as a standard ranged attack, or at the end of a few select combos.
>Armor
Pristine set of white/gold armor, complete with a visor that looks like a human face. Each individual knight has a different "face" visor
>Gimmick
Kind of like Abyss Watchers meets Ruin Sentinels. At the beginning of the fight the character enters a wide, beautiful church room. The center of the room is dominated by a huge, gilded altar, upon which the seven knights rest. As the battle progresses, more knights awaken and join the fight.

At the beginning, only one knight must be fought. (Sword) After killing him, two drop down. (Great Axe and Greathammer), after that three. (Crossbow and Sword, Sword and Shield, Scythe) After the sixth knight is slain, the seventh awakens, and starts the fight by throwing an entire handful of Lloyd's talismans in the air. This seventh knight wields the sword and talisman, and has significantly more HP than his allies. He can cast miracles, and if left alone for too long, he can resurrect his "dead" allies. After he is beaten, all seven knights disintegrate, and the altar cracks in half.

The knights fighting style seems similar to the Abyss Watchers, (they can roll and dash) but it is quite different. The Lloyd's knights can coordinate tactics better, and fight less directly. (When fighting two at once, for instance, one knight will get close to the player, and will roll away and let the other take the heat when he's taken too much damage. Also, the Crossbowman will use covering fire)

>Story
Lloyd's Divine Knights are guardians who protect the pathway to their teacher, the eponymous Lloyd, once God of the Way of White.

They once accompanied Lloyd and many other cleric warriors on his famous Undead Hunts, long ago. Ironically enough, they themselves have become undead as well.

>Name
Adamant Leonne, Keeper of the Gate

>Weapon
An unassuming spear with an oaken shaft, eldritch runes run from the tip to the butt, ensuring his spear is as unbreakable as he is.

>Armor
Covered in dingy robes overgrown with moss and lichen, but the clinking of chain can be heardfrom underneath, Adorned with a horned barbute, with eyes like embers peering out from within.

>Gimmick
Does not feel pain and is completely unstaggerable. However, he will never leave his bridge, and will only move if his opponent does, in which case he mirrors them.

>Story
Chosen for his absolute loyalty, Leonne guards the gatehouse into the kingdom, bearing the keyring on his belt. His will is unbreakable, as long as he stands, none shall pass. His sheer devotion to his task begs to question his humanity, if he is alive at all.

Pretty cool knight, actually. I always liked battles on bridges, and badass spearmen always win in my book.

>Name
Kevlig of the Grove

>Weapon(s)
Lance
Great-shield made from the bark of an ancient tree, enforced with a magical aura that makes his shield unbreakable

>Armour
A well fitted set of plate armour decorated to resemble wood

>Gimmicks
Mechanically he will have two charges of aura on his shield, one charge is replenished per turn

If he shield bashes he can use two charges to create a magical blast to hurt/knock back the player(s) he hits, however this opens a chance to break his shield

When his shield is destroyed he will yell out in anger and transfer the magical aura to his lance, allowing him to use it like an excessively large greatsword roughly the size of Gut's Dragonslayer

Both sides of the greatsword make up a charge, he can use it like a greatsword even with one charge

He can use a charge and launch it with a swing like the Moonlight Greatsword, or fire it off the tip like a Soul Spear

cont
>Story
Living at the base of an ancient tree, the wild boy was discovered by a group of knights returning home from a campaign. He was brought to their city and educated in the ways of a knight, where he went on to become the most skilled lancer in the kingdom. In a campaign years later he was knocked off of his horse and forced to fight on foot. Finding his lance much less effective, he took up a greatsword from a slain opponent and cleaved through enemies until he returned to his allies. This is what led him to develop the aura that allows him to use his lance as a greatsword. Many years later Kevlig was a veteran of war who had proved himself time and time again. Returning to the forest he had been born in, he found bandits hidden out among the trees. Most shockingly, they had carved the insides of the ancient tree into their base, and not without killing it. After singlehandedly eliminating the bandits, he took a large section of bark off the ground and fashioned it into a shield. From then on he kept it with him wherever he went, as an important memory of his origins.

As for why he is fighting your players I don't have enough information about your campaign to give a solid reason. If you're playing in a game-world that has the dark sign, then he could be a branded undead looking to protect nature and shit, like an overpowered treehugger. Or he could still be working for his kingdom, on guard duty or out on a mission. Maybe he is a hollow who failed to accomplish something, now wandering aimlessly and attacking anything in sight. Add to it or change it however you like.