Lesser Bloodhound Knight | Elden Ring Wiki

They are so loyal that you can bewitched them. You can even bewitch rennala bloodhound spirit and he just run back and beat her up.

Submit

The fact that a Bloodhound stays "loyal for life" makes me think Darriwil was never Ranni's true master. I think it makes sense for him to be loyal to Seluvis or the Two Fingers. It also makes me compare them to Blaid and Maliketh, considering they are "hounds" and have very feral movements. It would be interesting if they served as sort of lesser Empyrean Shadows sent by the Two Fingers to become feral and betray their masters when ordered (like Blaid)

Submit

reminiscent of the outrider knights from ds3

Submit

Are they immune to poison?

Submit

So, who are these knights? Lets talk about who we know.

We know the Bloodhound knight Darriwil, who was once a member of team Ranni until he betrayed them. It is unknown if he genuinely wronged them, or if it is simply that Ranni expected lifelong service from him, and felt slighted when she did not recieve it.

Then we have the one perched upon the academy gate. This one may serve the academy in some fashion, but might also be loyal to Queen Rennala. Hiding out in the periphery of the academy may be its only option to avoid detection as it waits for its master's release. This bloodhound knight may also be the one Rennala summons during her fight. However, it is clear that the Rennala fight is an illusion conjured by Ranni's trap, and so the one summoned in the fight may be an illusion of Darriwil before his betrayal, or the spirit of a different companion of Rennala's that Ranni remembers from her youth. This knight is also found in an overgrown section of the academy, and surrounded by wolves, a symbol of House Caria, meaning they are likely related to Carian manor.

The next Bloodhound knight can be found in the cave near Lattena the Archer. She was hounded by Gideon's servants, and this knight was likely sent by Gideon to stop Lattena from leaving. However, Lattena can't move... and furthermore, Gideon asks the player to find Lattena, and yet we still fight with this knight, so it may be that this hound is a defender of Lattena and the village of the Albinaurics. The question then would arise, did this houndknight arrive too late to prevent her from being interrogated, or was it spared by Gideon's men? It is clear there are holes in both theories, but this knight is more likely Gideon's servant.

The next two knights are found in and around Volcano manor.
The more obvious one is found directly underneath the grand recusant hall (which side note totally needs a blacksmith so it can better act as an alternative to the roundtable hold). This bloodhound is clearly defending volcano manor or aligned with the recusants, however, why they have been spared a devouring session with Rykard isn't known. Perhaps the undivided loyalty is too good to sacrifice. Is it possible they might be an invading force? Like for example, a knight sent by the forces of Leyndel to infiltrate the enemy base?... Doubtful. Seems like a recusant.

The other knight affiliated with volcano manor stands watch over the gelmir knight, a corpse of one of the last soldiers of Rykard's original army, all of whom have perished of the course of the most brutal war in the whole of the lands between. This bloodhound knight seems to be holding a vigilant watch over the gelmir knight's body. Could this body have been their master? Perhaps! It might even be more likely than not! There are many legendary regional knights, like Kristoff of Leyndell, and Ogha, Friend of Radahn. Perhaps this corpse was once the commander of Gelmir's forces, and also the master of this random houndknight. A commander who sacrificed everything to defend his lord's keep, and was given a hero's burial in return. After all, the grave is called "Gelmir Hero's Grave"... but if this bloodhound is not the gelmir knight's, then it is most certainly Rykard's, placed here to guard the resting place of this hero.

The next one is Floh, the second named bloodhound knight! He is found in this same grave, as a spirit ash, who heeds not his summoners orders, attacking all enemies it can find, akin only to a rabbid stray. How did Floh come to this place? Why is a wanderer, who can only serve a true king, found at the depths of a tomb? I dont know. Imprisonment? Described as a rabbid stray, perhaps they wronged someone and were kept here as a spirit as a punishment. Or perhaps, they performed a heroic deed, and were rewarded with this ornate burial? It is unknown whether "Gelmir Hero's Grave" refers to the gelmir knight corpse, or to Floh. It seems that these tombs are meant for heroes that will not be reincarnated, heroes that are to be called back from death to aid their masters' call. Which makes this masterless spirit all the more curious, sitting in the tomb built by the serpent king, and yet not holding allegiance to anyone.

The last knight is found in Caelid. It ambushes the player as they reach a lookout tower over the festering swampland. This tower stands prominently over the whole of Caelid, but now watches over nothing but wilds and ruins. This knight may have been a part of that duty of vigilence, before the rot. They may be loyal to Sellia, or Radahn himself, or even the eternal city, as they are found guarding a sorcery of the night. But in my opinion, this knight has no lore. More like a filler enemy. Sadge.

So where do these guys come from? It is unknown. Three are associated with Volcano manor in some way, two with the Carian manor, one with Gideon and his roundtable hold-manor; the only thing we know for sure is that they like manors.
And that they have no manners, because they use claws and fangs and crawl on all fours! Are they cursed? Do they have the characterisitcs of a dog, underneath their armor? Are they kin to Maliketh and Blaidd?

We do know that they are trained as trackers and hunters. Clearly they belong to an order of some kind. There are no tarnished houndknights. We never see one chug crimson tears, and they appear to mostly ally against the golden order. They are not capable of speech, and yet Floh is recorded as having sworn to serve the one true king. OTK? Miz?

The inspirations of these bloodhound knights are many. Their unwavering loyalty is in theme with Arthurian knights. Darriwil is like Lancelot, he swore fealty to his liege, but is later hunted down when he turns away. These knights are like black knights in legend, encountered on the road, or acting as aggressive guardians of someone or something, instigating a duel before words can even be exchanged. They are reminiscent of wolves in some ways, choosing a leader and being their servants, but in many ways they are totally unlike wolves - they stay with their master, even is their master becomes weak, and they are lonely, never found alongside any others.

Hopefully, in the dlc, we learn of their origins. How did they get the most broken ash of war in the game? Why is their drip such a hard color to match with other sets? Are bloodhound knights lesser versions of the empyrian shadows? Are they humans who choose not to speek, or were their tongues cut out? Were they trained by the same master and do they all know each other, like the 10 night's cavalry, or the 24 Carian knights? Why are they so based?

Finally, I hope they add a volcano manor blacksmith retired bloodhound knight npc. Because thats two birds with one stone.

Thanks for reading

Submit

i want to pet the dog

Submit

Dog..?

Submit

Cool

Submit