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 when the Ancestor was still fraternizing among the upper class, a woman caught his eye during one such party. Whether it was her temptress vibe or the Ancestor's dwindling patience with the aristocrats, he plotted to kill her for sport, while dancing with her under the moon. But before the hour of murder struck, the moonlight revealed her true form and she pounced on him first. Luckily, he managed to defeat the creature, but his depravity soon got the best of him. He drained her of her blood and then he served her tainted blood mixed with wine to the rest of the party, causing the outbreak of the Crimson Curse, while also accidentally having a taste himself.

The Ancestor succeeded in getting rid of the upper class in one fell swoop, leaving him as sole ruler of the realm. However, a single drop of that blood touched his lips and gave him a vision, a mere glimpse, of what lies hidden deep underneath his ancestral manor and send him down the path that will lead him to seek forbidden knowledge and open that acursed portal.

The Countess somehow survived the whole ordeal and as her disease had reached its final stage, she now rules over the Courtyard as the Queen of the Hive. Grown to enormous size, the Countess is barely capable of movement as her bloated abdomen is full of blood and eggs. It appears that she is the only one of the vampiric aristocrats to be still capable of reproducing, making her invaluable to the Court as she is the only one that can replenish their numbers and with the constant need for blood and living hosts for her parasitical offspring, the drone-like Manservants try to provide for their queen. However, she appears to have become more unstable as she grew hungrier, undergoing hideous metamorphoses between her barely human form and the bloated bloodsucking monstrosity she truly is.

It is unclear if she is the true source of Crimson Curse or just one of a long line of hosts for the disease, but if the words of the Ancestors are to be believed, the Tainted Blood originated from the same place where the source of corruption that plagues our Estate lies sleeping.

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.