| Fanatic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Enemy Type | Human | |||
| Size | Large (2) | |||
| Actions per round | 
| |||
| Stats | ||||
| Variation | Fanatic | Fanatic | Fanatic | |
| HP | 99 | 149 | 203 | |
| HP (Stygian/Bloodmoon) | 119 | 179 | 244 | |
| Dodge | 3 | 11.75 | 25.5 | |
| Protection | 15% | 15% | 15% | |
| Speed | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
 Stealth
|
None | None | None | |
| Resistances | ||||
 Stun
|
45% | 65% | 90% | |
 Blight
|
80% | 100% | 125% | |
 Bleed
|
45% | 65% | 90% | |
 Debuff
|
35% | 55% | 80% | |
 Move
|
55% | 75% | 100% | |
| Pyre | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ||||
| Enemy Type | Unholy Wood | |||
| Size | Large (2) | |||
| Actions per round | None | |||
| Stats | ||||
| Variation | Pyre | Pyre | Pyre | |
| HP | 70 | 105 | 144 | |
| HP (Stygian/Bloodmoon) | 84 | 126 | 173 | |
| Dodge | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Protection | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Speed | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stealth
|
None | None | None | |
| Resistances | ||||
| Stun
|
200% | 220% | 245% | |
| Blight
|
200% | 220% | 245% | |
| Bleed
|
200% | 220% | 245% | |
| Debuff
|
200% | 220% | 245% | |
| Move
|
200% | 220% | 245% | |
| “ | Madness can take many forms, but none so contemptible as man's belief in a mythology of his own making. A world view buttressed by dogmatic desperation invariably leads to single-minded fanaticism, and a need to do terrible things in the name of righteousness. This man is an animal - rabid, destructive, and incapable of nuanced understanding. He. must. be. put. down.
|
„ |
| ~ The Ancestor |
The Fanatic is a wandering boss in 
The Crimson Court that may hunt down heroes afflicted with the Crimson Curse.
The Fanatic is a wandering boss, like The Collector and Shambler. He will not appear in the game until the Infestation Level reaches medium or high, at which point a town event occurs announcing his arrival.
Once this event is triggered, he will randomly spawn somewhere inside a dungeon whenever you bring a party with two or more members afflicted by the Crimson Curse in it. If you have 2 or 3 heroes infected, the chance of him appearing is 20% and 33% at medium and high infestation, respectively. If all four of your heroes are infected, there is a 75% chance at both medium and high infestation. If the game decides that the Fanatic is to appear during an expedition, a special loading screen with his face will show when the Dungeon is loading, and the Ancestor will also give a narration to the Fanatic's background. This is your primary warning that he is lurking somewhere within.
The Fanatic will not spawn in boss quests due to their loading screen having priority over his. This makes bringing any amount of cursed heroes to these quests safe. You are also spared from facing the Fanatic if you're venturing into the Courtyard or the titular Darkest Dungeon. If you complete an Epic Courtyard quest, which removes the Crimson Curse from your entire roster and resets the Infestation Level, you will not encounter the Fanatic until the Infestation Level builds back up again. If you have slain the Countess, the Infestation Level disappears, and you will never encounter the Fanatic again for that playthrough.
Upon entering battle, the Fanatic will always surprise the party. If you decide to run away from the Fanatic, he will appear in the next encounter, fulfilling his promise to hunt "the Cursed" down. He will spawn in the two back ranks with his stake and pyre in the front two rows. He has three actions per round, and attacks with various skills that can cause debuffs, bleed, stuns, and horrors, on top of moving him around the battlefield.
The most dangerous part of the fight is his "Sentence Rendered" skill, which, if not dodged, binds a hero to his pyre and causes them to take damage over time. Similarly to the Hag, a hero currently burning at the stake will not retreat with the rest of the party if the party retreats from combat, but will instead count as having died. In addition, if this hero had any trinkets on them when you retreated from combat, those trinkets will be lost. Once the hero reaches Death's Door, they are released from the pyre to the front of the formation.
Unlike the Hag's cauldron, the Fanatic's pyre does not restore its durability after a hero gets released from it. If the pyre is destroyed, the Fanatic will no longer be able to use "Sentence Rendered" to deny use of your heroes, and instead start using "Fury of the Righteous" as his first move on every round, dealing physical and stress damage to your entire team in order to avenge his pyre.
| Apprentice Level | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill Name | Range | Rank | Target | Accuracy | Crit Chance |
Damage | Effect (Target) |
Effect (Self) |
Notes |
| Sentence Rendered | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 102.5% | 0% | 1-1 | Burn Hero : per_turn_damage 6% MaxHp |
Back 4
|
|
| Righteous Condemnation | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1+2+3+4 | 92.5% | 0% | 1-1 |  70% Stress +5
|
 Buff +25% PROT, Back 4
|
|
| Holy Stake | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 92.5% | 6% | 3-7,  +33% DMG vs Mark, +10% DMG vs Crimson Curse |
 100% Bleed 4 100% Debuff -3 SPD
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Brand the Tainted | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 102.5% | 0% | 1-2 | Mark  Horror 4
|
||
| Strike the Heretic | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 92.5% | 6% | 2-4 | 100% Stun Back 2 +15 Stress
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Fury of the Righteous | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1+2+3+4 | 92.5% | 0% | 4-6, (-75% DMG vs Rank 4, -40% DMG vs Rank 3, -20% DMG vs Rank 2) | 70% Stress +7
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Veteran Level | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill Name | Range | Rank | Target | Accuracy | Crit Chance |
Damage | Effect (Target) |
Effect (Self) |
Notes |
| Sentence Rendered | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 108.75% | 0% | 1-2 | Burn Hero: per_turn_damage 8% MaxHp |
Back 4
|
|
| Righteous Condemnation | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1+2+3+4 | 98.75% | 0% | 1-2 | 70% Stress +5
|
Buff +25% PROT, Back 4
|
|
| Holy Stake | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 98.75% | 11% | 4-9, +33% DMG vs Mark, +10% DMG vs Crimson Curse |
120% Bleed 4 120% Debuff -3 SPD
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Brand the Tainted | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 108.75% | 0% | 1-2 | Mark Horror 4
|
||
| Strike the Heretic | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 98.75% | 11% | 3-5 | 120% Stun Back 2 +15 Stress
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Fury of the Righteous | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1+2+3+4 | 98.75% | 0% | 5-8, (-75% DMG vs Rank 4, -40% DMG vs Rank 3, -20% DMG vs Rank 2) | 70% Stress +7
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Champion Level | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill Name | Range | Rank | Target | Accuracy | Crit Chance |
Damage | Effect (Target) |
Effect (Self) |
Notes |
| Sentence Rendered | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 111.25% | 0% | 1-2 | Burn Hero: per_turn_damage 9% MaxHp |
Back 4
|
|
| Righteous Condemnation | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1+2+3+4 | 112.5% | 0% | 1-3 | 70% Stress +5
|
Buff +25% PROT, Back 4
|
|
| Holy Stake | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 112.5% | 12% | 7-13, +33% DMG vs Mark, +10% DMG vs Crimson Curse |
140% Bleed 4 140% Debuff -3 SPD
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Brand the Tainted | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 122.5% | 0% | 1-3 | Mark Horror 4
|
||
| Strike the Heretic | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 112.5% | 12% | 4-8 | 140% Stun Back 2 +15 Stress
|
Forward 4
|
|
| Fury of the Righteous | Melee | 1, 2, 3, 4 | 1+2+3+4 | 112.5% | 0% | 8-12, (-75% DMG vs Rank 4, -40% DMG vs Rank 3, -20% DMG vs Rank 2) | 70% Stress +7
|
Forward 4
|
|
Drops Crimson Curse-related trinkets, such as the Ancestor's Vintage and the Coven Signet. Subsequent Fanatic defeats will yield gem loot and other trinkets related to the Crimson Curse. Additionally, he can drop a special item known as The Cure. Any hero who uses it will be immediately healed from The Crimson Curse. Like The Blood, all unused vials of The Cure will be stored upon returning to the Hamlet.
| The Cure | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Cost | 0 | Stack | 6 | ||
| Effect | |||||
| Cures Crimson Curse. | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Its origin and ingredients unknown, but this tincture will quell the Curse. | |||||
The Fanatic is a relentless boss that you may not be prepared for when he decides to attack. He behaves like a mixture of the Hag and the Shambler, as he has a pyre that occupies the other two ranks of his side. Unlike the Hag, he moves around a lot so close-range heroes have opportunities to hit him. However, like the Shambler, he will always ambush the party when he appears, which can throw unprepared parties into shambles. If you attempt to retreat he will chase down the party and appear as the next encounter. At that point, the only way to truly escape from him is to abandon the quest and return to town.
At 3 turns per round, DoTs - Bleed, especially - will progress on him very quickly. Since he has 15% prot, bleeding him out is probably going to be the best strategy. If you prefer direct strikes, consider the Grave Robber or Shieldbreaker to pierce his prot. Riposte from the Highwayman or Man-at-Arms is also quite useful, due to his numerous turns. What's not as effective are debuffs and stuns, since his numerous turns will quickly drop them off.
The Fanatic will eventually grab a hero to burn at his stake. They will burn until they reach 0 HP, then come back at death's door. You could destroy the stake to stop this. If you do however, the Fanatic will use a new skill every round that targets the entire party for damage+stress. You should decide if you want to leave the stake, or destroy it. If you leave it, be prepared to heal heroes when they come back. If you want to destroy it, consider buffing defenses and virtue chances on the party. Sentence Rendered can be dodged, at which point the Fanatic will only use his other abilities for the rest of that round and will not attempt to use Sentence Rendered until the next round, giving you an additional action with a character.
Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor, and the best option is to not encounter the Fanatic at all by properly managing your Cursed heroes. If he's found you while you're not prepared, you may want to cut your losses and abandon the quest.
