Narrator (Darkest Dungeon II)

"I remember our first meeting on the steps of the University, a collegial handshake that would doom us both."

- The Academic

The Narrator of Darkest Dungeon II is a new character called the Academic. He has a similar role to the Ancestor in the previous game, and is also voiced by Wayne June.

Identity
In peaceful years long past, the Academic met the player at the University in The Sprawl. Together, they studied the metaphysical structure of the world and learned a horrifying truth. The player left and secluded themselves at their home in The Valley, but the Academic continued his research. Later, as the world teetered on the brink of oblivion and madness overwhelmed all, the Academic tracked down the player, shook them out of their complacency, and charged them with taking The Flame to The Mountain to stop the source of the evil.

Narrator's Responses
The Narrator reacts differently to many events and actions of the player. He will comment on a grand variety of events and parts of the game including the opening cinematic, critical hits, bosses, and various interactions throughout the game.

Intro cinematic
"Ruin has found you at last. My protégé - my friend - our calculations were correct: the ephemeral equation is unbalanced. The earth spins on a strange and terrifying new axis and everywhere... unbridled consequence. The world is a wasteland of failures past, and you must ride out into it, unafraid. Take this - it is Hope. The very last of it. It is yours now. You were bold once. Be bold once more. Free yourself from this suffocating stillness, fix your gaze on the horizon, and face the fearsome truth... of the Darkest Dungeon."

The Howling End Trailer
"In the howling darkness of the end - men will become monsters, but hope will ride those courageous enough to carry... The Flame."

A Glimmer of Hope Trailer
"You were right to fear the world. It has gone mad. The gutters brim with poets, and decency lies burning in the street. But this is not a time for heroes. Look instead to those battered souls who have known fear and failure in ample portion, but rise again to reclaim a glimmer of hope from the spreading stain of the Darkest Dungeon."

Grave Robber
"Avarice slips unseen into the catacombs of the mind."

Hellion
"Beneath the bloodlust and fury, there is emptiness... and shame."

Highwayman
"Hunted, harried - a fugitive seeking to outpace the past."

Jester
"A murderous melody lingers long after the final chord has been struck."

Leper
"Making peace with adversity is the very essence of existence."

Man-at-Arms
"Pride - more devastating than the horrors of a hundred campaigns."

Occultist
"To know the abyss, one must embrace it."

Plague Doctor
"Indiscriminate science stains the surgeons hands."

Entering The Valley
"Onward - and let us hope enough yet remains of the world..."

Entering The Foetor
"The rancid crop grows unchecked and abhorrent..."

Entering The Sluice
"Tread carefully and quickly. This is swine country."

Entering The Tangle
"War rewards only resignation."

Entering The Mountain
"At last the great Ziggurat - temple of failure and regret!"

Healing an ally
"A little help, impeccably timed." "Welcome relief from caustic agony..." "This wound at least has been tended to."

Self Healing
"Self-reliance is a rare and wonderful thing."

Killing an Enemy
"Another impediment cleared with impunity."

Killing a weak enemy
"Let us hope to finish this quickly." "The work continues..."

Killing a large enemy
"Persistence will overcome even the greatest of threats." "All problems have their solutions... even the big ones."

Killing an enemy with a strong attack
"Easily dispatched!"

Inflicting Blight, Bleed, or Burn
"A slow dissection... an unavoidable end." "The slow dissection."

Striking a critical hit
"A brilliant conclusion!" "Excellent work!" "A breakthrough!"

Recieving a critical hit
"Steady yourself!"

Recieving a Deathblow
"An unforeseen complication..."

Winning a battle
"Experience, however painful, is the greatest teacher of all..." "By confronting the past, we learn to face the future." "The means of mastery!"

The Shambler
"The walker from beyond the stars - a shambling horror!" "We tread beyond the realms of reason!" "A star-spawned child of the infinite void!"

The Antiquarian
"The Antiquarian wants what we have and she will not be denied." "Once she had a sliver of decency now, only greed." "She searches the dying world for the keys to her own salvation."

Amorous
"While the heart still beats, desire will never die."

Inseperable
"Two facets of the same stone - never one without the other."

Resentment
"Resentment - the slowest poison and deadliest poison of them all."