Cultist Brawler

Devoted and fanatical followers of the Old Gods, they were drawn to the Estate by either witnessing visions of or hearing rumors about the thing that sleeps within the depths of the Darkest Dungeon. Up until recently, these heretics used to practice their dark and blasphemous religion in secret; far away from the ever watchful eye of the Church of Light. However, now that their ranks have grown substantially in both number and strength, they have begun to conduct their unholy rituals and human sacrifices openly; all in the hopes of awakening the god that lays slumbering below and joining it in glorious ascension.

Cultist Brawlers serve as the assistants and bodyguards to the Cultist Acolytes. They use their sharped blades to inflict deep, gaping wounds on their victims and leaving their minds open to the arcane incantations of the Acolytes. They constantly patrol the various areas of the Estate in search of new sacrifices or to slaughter any who would dare oppose their mission. Occasionally, they even offer their services to the other factions that plague the land.

Behavior
The Cultist Brawler is a Human type enemy that can be found in any area, usually accompanied by Cultist Acolytes and almost always spawn on the first and second ranks. These mere mortals are not particularly tough nor hard-hitting, but they do have a good chance to inflict Bleed and a debuff that makes heroes more vulnerable to incoming Stress, priming the victim for the Acolytes' Stressful Incantations. They're also more dangerous to marked heroes, and the higher the difficulty, the more likely they are to take advantage of this.

Overall, these enemies are only the helping hand of their Acolyte allies and are not a major threat. Though frail compared to the more eldritch creatures, their health pool can still be quite an irritant as dispatching these foes usually requires the turns of two heroes, save for the killing blow of a critical strike.

If a quick kill isn't possible, there is merit in pushing them to the back ranks, forcing them to waste a turn on a much weaker attack getting back to the front lines, and possibly displacing a more fragile Acolyte to the front where your heroes' blades wait.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =

All Areas

 * Cultist Acolyte