Countess

Thirsty =

Flushed =

Bloodlust =

Ancestor's Memoirs: The Countess
"In those younger years my home was a hive of unbridled hedonism, a roiling apiary where instinct and impulse were indulged with wild abandon. A bewitching predator slipped in amidst the swarm of tittering sycophants. Though outwardly urbane, I could sense in her a mocking thirst. Driven half-mad by cloying vulgarity, I plotted to rid myself of this lurking threat, in a grand display of sadistic sport. But as the moment of murder drew nigh, the gibbous moon revealed her inhuman desires in all their stultifying hideousness. Narration_cc_part1.mp3 Mercifully, the morbid encounter resolved itself in my favor, and I set to work pursuing degeneracy in its most decadent forms. The air pulsed with anticipation as I revealed the unnatural terroir of the house vintage. But my exultation was cut short, as the attending gentry turned upon themselves in an orgy of indescribable frenzy. A single drop of that forbidden tannin gifted me with a dizzying glimpse of the hibernating horror beneath my feet and in that moment, I understood the terrible truth of the world. I stood reborn, molted by newfound knowledge. My head throbbing to the growing whine of winged vermin come to drink the tainted blood... of the Darkest Dungeon. Narration_cc_part2.mp3"

- The Ancestor.

History
Back in his younger years, the Ancestor would frequently host lavish parties at the Courtyard where he would fraternize with members of the nobility. During one such party, his attention was caught by a particularly striking and vexing young woman. Whether due to her temptress vibe, his dwindling patience with the aristocracy, or his own depravity, he plotted to kill her for the sheer thrill whilst dancing with her under the moonlight. However, as the hour of murder drew near, the moonlight revealed her true form and she pounced on him. Luckily, he managed to get the upper hand and slew her, but rather than quietly disposing of her body, he let his depravity get the best of him. Shortly afterward, he drained her body of blood, mixed it into the house wine, and served it to the rest of the party, causing the outbreak of the Crimson Curse.

Unintentionally, in one fell swoop, the Ancestor succeeded in getting rid of the upper class and leaving him the sole ruler of the realm. However, he too consumed a single drop of the tainted tannin that laid the attending gentry low. Instead of turning him into a ravenous, bloodthirsty aberration, it granted him a vision, a mere glimpse, of what lies hidden deep underneath his manor and sent him down the path to seek out forbidden knowledge and open the gate to oblivion.

Through some sort of malign miracle, the Countess survived her whole ordeal, and now that the Curse has reached its final stage, she rules over the Courtyard and its denizens as the Queen Bee. Grown to immense size and with an abdomen full of blood and eggs, she is almost completely incapable of movement, instead relying on her massive army of drone-like servants to provide and care for her by bringing her fresh blood and hosts, and should neither be found, offering up their bodies instead. It also appears that she is the only one of the vampiric denizens to still be capable of reproducing, and thus the only one capable of replenishing their numbers, making her invaluable and irreplaceable to the Court. It appears though that as her hunger grows, she becomes more and more unstable and undergoes a hideous metamorphosis between her barely human form and the corpulent, bloodsucking abomination she truly is.

It is unclear if she is the true source of the Crimson Curse, or just another in a long line of hosts, but if the words of the Ancestor are to be believed, then the Cursed blood originated from the same source as the corruption that plagues our Estate...

Behavior
The Countess is the third boss fought in The Courtyard.

Reaching the Boss
A map of the area can be found.

Fighting The Countess
She has three forms, each with unique attacks, stats, and resistances.

She starts in Thirsty form, with 3 actions per round. In this form, she injects a Parasite Egg to a hero, dealing damage over time until it rips off, dealing massive damage. She can also apply Stumble, which could be seen as a Shuffle DOT, i.e. every turn the hero affected will be shuffled, making party compositions that rely on a stable position bad for this boss fight. After that, she will change form to Flushed.

In Flushed Form, she has only one action per round, and it's her weakest form because she has no way to deal HP damage. When transforming to Bloodlust Form, she applies Horror.

Bloodlust Form is her most dangerous form, having 4 actions per round, plus increased stats and resistances. She has many attacks that deal massive damage, can stun two heroes at the same time, and can reach 75% PROT thanks to the Parasite Egg when it rips off from the hero.

Defeating The Countess
Once the Countess has been defeated, as usual the Veil Lifted event will occur, curing every hero affected by the Crimson Curse. However, because the source of the disease has been eradicated and thanks to the knowledge acquired, from this point on, the Sanitarium becomes able to cure the Curse. This means that the Crimson Curse becomes basically as every other disease, even if it still won't be cured using Camping Skills.

Abilities
Thirsty =

Flushed =

Bloodlust =

Parasite Egg
The Parasite Egg is injected to a hero by the Countess when using the skill Love Letter. This Parasite does damage to the hero at the end of his/her initiative (turn), and every turn has a chance to hatch, dealing massive damage and buffing the Countess. Taking in mind that only attacks make the hatch/gestation. Buffing or healing don't trigger the hatch or gestation.

The Countess will receive the following buffs.


 * Poptext_buff.png Buffs: +3 SPD, +15% PROT

Trivia

 * The Countess may have been inspired by Elizabeth Báthory, also known as the Blood Countess and Countess Dracula. She was allegedly history's most prolific female serial killer who, depending on the exact interpretation of her trial and the wild speculation surrounding it, might have killed up to 650 women and was rumoured to bathe in the blood of her victims.
 * 8 of her craving servants (highest amount in the game) can be found on the final path to her room theorizing if the countess drained strength from them,before the battle to make herself stronger.
 * The Countess is voiced by Youtuber/Streamer Baertaffy, whose longest and most popular series consist of Darkest Dungeon playthroughs, going well over 400 episodes and hundreds of hours of playtime. Baertaffy is also the voice of The Baron and The Fanatic.