Demon's Souls: the game that keeps on giving

I've played through DES a few times in the past, but after starting my most recent playthrough I realised a couple of things which had passed me by before:

1. In the opening section of Boletaria Castle, I was passing the hole in the grating, the one that drops down into Miralda's lair, when it suddenly occurred to me just what all the swirling lights in the hole actually were - a concentration of souls that had risen from the numerous corpses dumped in the pit below.

2. In the Tower of Latria, where you pick up the knight's fluted armour off one corpse and the silver bracelets off the corpse next to it, I suddenly saw that the two corpses are holding hands in death. So it seems that the knight was in the process of rescuing a woman (since the silver bracelets are female-only) from the tower when they were both killed in the attempt. This is an amazing little detail that I never noticed before.

These are both great touches, and they once again reminded me of just how many little details From managed to fit into both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls - details that may be small but which can also enhance and add further depth to the experience and atmosphere. Amazing games.

I'm playing DeS now. You're forcing me to check this out now lol
Good find

twigsterxd wrote:I'm playing DeS now. You're forcing me to check this out now lol
Good find

Thanks.

I think it's my fourth playthrough, so I was pleased to spot these things after all this time. It keeps me wondering what else I may have missed and makes me want to explore the game world yet again.

As the old saying goes, "The Black Phantom is in the details."

I'm also involved in a new run and I agree. I keep finding new things that are awesome too.

One I noticed was that the archstone in 3-1 is actually on a body that is sorta holding it and sitting cross legged against the wall.  I usually just run right out of the cell into a squidhead stun + stab special, so that was kinda cool to spot.

befowler wrote:One I noticed was that the archstone in 3-1 is actually on a body that is sorta holding it and sitting cross legged against the wall.  I usually just run right out of the cell into a squidhead stun + stab special, so that was kinda cool to spot.

Same here - I didn't notice the corpse holding the archstone until a later playthrough. I know it's dark in that cell, but as soon as I finally saw the corpse I just thought to myself, "How the hell did I not notice this before?"

Dogwelder wrote:

befowler wrote:One I noticed was that the archstone in 3-1 is actually on a body that is sorta holding it and sitting cross legged against the wall.  I usually just run right out of the cell into a squidhead stun + stab special, so that was kinda cool to spot.

Same here - I didn't notice the corpse holding the archstone until a later playthrough. I know it's dark in that cell, but as soon as I finally saw the corpse I just thought to myself, "How the hell did I not notice this before?"

Both these comments make me wanna get rid of my landlord this weekend so I can steal his hdtv lol.
My stupid tv makes it so dark I STILL can't see it

Another cool thing I didn't notice until a later playthrough:

Stockpile Thomas abandoned his wife and daughter when the demons came. His little girl owned a Jade Hair Ornament. There are two corpses hung side-by-side from a balcony of the Boletarian Palace, and when you cut them down, you can collect two things from them - one corpse holds the Old Raggedy Robes, and the other the Jade Hair Ornament.

The Old Raggedy Robes are female-only. The Jade Hair Ornament belonged to Thomas' daughter. So, despite the character models of the two bodies in question being "generic male corpse", this strongly suggests that the two corpses strung up outside the palace are Thomas' wife and daughter.

And if this is indeed the case, it then raises questions about Thomas' wife due to the fact she was wearing the Old Raggedy Robes, considering that items in this armour set feature the descriptions "The witches hat painted through tradition actually seems to be worn by witches…" and "No sane person would dare wear something like this…"

So was Thomas' wife a witch? Or insane? Or both? Did this have any bearing on him abandoning his wife and daughter when the demons came? Speculation, I know, but it's food for thought.

Strung up usually means punishment. They're adult males who have mementos from females. Maybe they murdered (or worse) Thomas's family and were punished prior to everyone going completely insane.

I also wanted to add I took a look at the fountain corpse pile after the Tower Knight and I'm quite impressed. The variety of equipment is wild and even more, there appears to be a lot of stuff that's unique to these bodies. There's some cool looking gear

I'm glad this thread was in new threads area. I thought I'd have to search for it lol.

In co op with bef, and he mentions something bout the priest you rescue in 4-2. Never noticed the bread and wine bottles before. My tv is crappy so never really looked lol. Also, noticed the female follower has wine as well.
Once I get freke and yuria, I'll need to see wut goodies they got.
bef, I checked out YOUR 3-1 arch

skarekrow13 wrote:Strung up usually means punishment. They're adult males who have mementos from females. Maybe they murdered (or worse) Thomas's family and were punished prior to everyone going completely insane.

That's an interesting theory that I hadn't considered, but my problem with it is that you can't assume the two corpses are actually male just because the "generic plainclothes male corpse" 3D character model is used for them in-game. Because as far as I know (and I'm not 100% sure about this), there are no female-looking corpse models in the game - any corpse carrying female-only gear looks the same as those carrying male-only or non-gender-specific gear, don't they? They all look male?

So if this is the case (and again, I'm not certain, so prove me wrong if I am), the fact that the two strung-up bodies look male is irrelevant - what matters is what items they are carrying.

Also, when Thomas talks about abandoning his wife and daughter, he says "When the Scourge came, I abandoned my wife and daughter" and "Why didn't I protect my wife and daughter, even if it meant being slain by the Demons?" These lines strongly suggest that it was indeed the demons who killed his family, not human men. I just assume that the murdered wife and daughter being hung from the castle is simply a sign of the cruelty and chaos that befell the place when King Allant returned with the demons in tow.

twigsterxd wrote:In co op with bef, and he mentions something bout the priest you rescue in 4-2. Never noticed the bread and wine bottles before. My tv is crappy so never really looked lol. Also, noticed the female follower has wine as well.
Once I get freke and yuria, I'll need to see wut goodies they got.

Yeah, Saint Urbain is having himself a little picnic in the Nexus. I think Freke has a few scrolls or parchments around him. I'm not sure about Yuria.

The real joke is that all of Urbain's bottles look empty, so I think once he got out of the pit he immediately got drunk.  After all, Patches was starving people to death down there.  Once I got out the first thing I'd do is also throw a big party with a lot of food and drink.

Not really a level aspect, but I recently saw the worst bloodstain death I've ever seen (I compulsively check bloodstains).  It was in 3-1.  Starts with a guy getting knocked down by the squiddy blast attack, then he gets electrostunned back to his feet before he can move, then gets spike stabbed, and then thrown through a gap in the railing to his death.  It was like a 4 hit combo that took 20 seconds and probably resulted in a broken controller somewhere.

I thought he was just trying to get the female follower drunk
No wonder the guy is in a bad mood all the time LOL

Agreed, love the details and ambiance.

In Latria you can also find Lord Rydyells corpse with a broken phosphorescent pole next to it.

About Skarcrows post, you'll notice there are alot of shaman wearing corpses which sticks out to me because it is not a starting class equip. With Satsuki also wearing one, it's almost fair to say the shamans were indeed an in-game clan of sorts given their almost purposeful presence.

Also funny to note the powerful Sage Freke was defeated by the octopusheads given his dire warning about them. (Before he became enfeebled by imprisonment.)

Dialogue from Yuria and Freke tell the difference in the magic schools and how they use Demons Souls in conjunction with the Mental Trinity; Thought, Feeling, Emotion. Sorcery uses Knowledge to rework Demon Souls power into human potential. Witchcraft uses Emotion, channeling directly from the Demon Souls Power. Miracles use Feeling, or faith to cleanse them into empathetic power. Freke describes Witchcraft as 'drawing from emotion, a lesser-type of miracle.' Emotion being the lesser-type to Feeling. 

Maybe I'm connecting invisible dots but I found it interesting to note.

It is also taboo for media to include dead women and/or children especially in japanese games or games where one might be able to kill a woman or child him/herself. This is why all corpses are adult male's.

Anyone else notice the goat-legged corpse in Miralda's pit with the Primordial Demon Soul? Wonder who that guy was...

@Dogwelder - I hate you now LOL.
Was waiting for a friend to log into chat last night so I went around the nexus with a bow to zoom in on things. Found, (so far), 2 candles NOT lit.
Also never knew that the mobs with the hats in 1 1 were actually wearing a bucket.
You got me searching now lol

Should add the maiden statue has no face. Wonder if there has been others before her.

befowler wrote:Not really a level aspect, but I recently saw the worst bloodstain death I've ever seen (I compulsively check bloodstains).  It was in 3-1.  Starts with a guy getting knocked down by the squiddy blast attack, then he gets electrostunned back to his feet before he can move, then gets spike stabbed, and then thrown through a gap in the railing to his death.  It was like a 4 hit combo that took 20 seconds and probably resulted in a broken controller somewhere.

Poor guy. I occasionally still check bloodstains, and one recent memorable one I saw was soon after DES became free to PS Plus subscribers in Europe, which really returned a lot of life to the online aspect of the game. It was in 1-1, where the iron ball rolls down towards you when you're heading up the stairs. The deceased player - who I assume was new to the game - ran up the stairs, did a sudden 180 near the top, tried to run back down, but then clearly got hit in the back by the iron ball and was flung over the side of the stairs, plummeting to his death. Lesson learned, I'd imagine.

Undiscovery wrote:About Skarcrows post, you'll notice there are alot of shaman wearing corpses which sticks out to me because it is not a starting class equip. With Satsuki also wearing one, it's almost fair to say the shamans were indeed an in-game clan of sorts given their almost purposeful presence.

Interesting thought. Can you expand on this theory with any in-game lore or your own ideas? Just curious.

Undiscovery wrote:Anyone else notice the goat-legged corpse in Miralda's pit with the Primordial Demon Soul? Wonder who that guy was...

Hmm, a goat-legged corpse in Miralda's pit is new to me. I'll have to check that out.

twigsterxd wrote:@Dogwelder - I hate you now LOL.

Ha, sorry for helping you to become obsessed with the little details.

twigsterxd wrote:Was waiting for a friend to log into chat last night so I went around the nexus with a bow to zoom in on things. Found, (so far), 2 candles NOT lit.

"I keep the candles lit." - Maiden In Black.

Clearly not doing a good enough job, is she.

twigsterxd wrote:Should add the maiden statue has no face. Wonder if there has been others before her.

Which statue do you mean? The one on the ground floor of the Nexus?

goat legged corpse? Think it's time to plug in other controller. My main has ghost walk lol.
To reiterate on my last post bout the candles, I just noticed the dead monumentals have unlit ones. Never bothered to look before. But I did find an eph stone. Not talking bout pantheon either. There's another in nexus.

There's not much on the shamans just that they were "dubious and heretical." All corpses bear starting equip with the exception of these shaman corpses, I'm only saying it's odd. I personally believe they are a sort of shadow-ninja-clan maybe mercenary as by Satsuki's demeanor. I believe Sutsaki and his father were high members of the clan and his father (Black Phantom guarding Makoto) is possibly a leading figure as he is wearing sage robes.

And yes, it's the body you find the Colorless Demons Soul on, hanging off a beam half-way down Miralda's Pit. You can easily note the corpse has some form of hoof-feet with brown fur legs.

Also on the Maiden in Black her soul states that she was once the most powerful demon, and given her ability to manipulate any breed of soul, I'd say she was The Old Ones Predecessor and one behind the First Scurge told by the monumental. Also adding in her ability to communicate with it and lull it to sleep. That's just what I deduce though. Or more likely the 'King Allant' of the First Scurge, I'd say.

I never really looked at the manual that came with the game. I didn't realize how helpful it is. Related to that, I knew there was something on the reverse of the case cover but only today took it out to really see it. Absolutely amazing concept art.

@Dogwelder - The statue is the one right in the centre of the arches. The one you warp to when you die in the nexus.

Here's something I noticed. Blue phantom rydel looks like he is wearing wizard armour. When you go to his cell and look at his dead body, he's wearing thief mask and has no hair compared to the blue phantom. Also, not sure because of my tv but in the cell I think his phos pole is broken

Undiscovery wrote:There's not much on the shamans just that they were "dubious and heretical." All corpses bear starting equip with the exception of these shaman corpses, I'm only saying it's odd. I personally believe they are a sort of shadow-ninja-clan maybe mercenary as by Satsuki's demeanor. I believe Sutsaki and his father were high members of the clan and his father (Black Phantom guarding Makoto) is possibly a leading figure as he is wearing sage robes.

Given how covenants were integrated into the world in Dark Souls, from a lore perspective it's interesting to wonder about the shamans as a group in DES, and how there could be such a group present in Boletaria in the way that covenant groups existed and carried out their respective missions in Lordran.

Nice idea with the Satsuki / Black Phantom / sage robes connection. So is that Black Phantom definitely Satsuki's father?

Undiscovery wrote:And yes, it's the body you find the Colorless Demons Soul on, hanging off a beam half-way down Miralda's Pit. You can easily note the corpse has some form of hoof-feet with brown fur legs.

I took a thorough look and the corpse doesn't have goat legs - they're the legs of a standard corpse model but in this particular case the way the legs have been positioned is slightly messed up, making them appear shaped like goat legs. Also, the legs are split into brown boots with laces up the front, and trousers that are a more grey-ish colour.