Narrator (Darkest Dungeon)

The narrator is a vital part of Darkest Dungeon, accompanying the player in their adventures and creating a dark and stressful atmosphere with his ruthless comments. The voice actor for the narrator is Wayne June.

Identity
The narrator is a vital part of the game: he will comment on a grand variety of events and parts of the game including the sparse cinematics, positive and negative dungeon interactions, critical hits, hero recruitment and death, as well as various interactions within the Hamlet and more.

The narrator is the Ancestor of the player, having sent a letter urging him to reclaim his heritage and purge it from the evil that the Ancestor himself unleashed upon it in his search for dark knowledge.

The story of Darkest Dungeon is exposed through the narrator, who will give hints on his mysterious past as the player approaches the various bosses. All unlocked narrations concerning the plot are available by consulting the Ancestor's Memoirs, a building found in the central square of the hamlet.

Narrator's responses
The narrator reacts to many events and actions of the player differently.

Entering the hamlet
"In time, you will know the tragic extent of my failings..."

"In truth I cannot tell how much time has passed since I sent that letter."

"Once, our estate was the envy of this land..."

"Our family name, once so well regarded, is now barely whispered aloud by decent folk."

Upgrading buildings
Blacksmith "In the end, every plan relies upon a strong arm, and tempered steel."

Recruiting heroes
Abomination "Tortured and reclusive... this man is more dangerous than he seems..."

Arbalest "Shoot, bandage and pillage: the dancing steps of war."

Bounty Hunter "The thrill of the hunt... The promise of payment..."

Crusader "A mighty sword-hand anchored by a holy purpose. A zealous warrior."

Grave Robber "To those with the keen eye, gold gleams like a dagger's point."

Hellion "Barbaric rage and unrelenting savagery make for a powerful ally."

Highwayman "Elusive, evasive, persistent. Righteous traits for a rogue."

Hound Master "A lawman and his faithful beast. A bond forged by battle and bloodshed."

Jester "He will be laughing still... at the end."

Leper "This man understands that existence and adversity are one and the same."

Man-At-Arms "The raw strength of youth may be spent, but his eyes hold the secrets of a hundred campaigns."

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

Plague Doctor "What better laboratory than the blood-soaked battlefield?"

Vestal "A sister of battle. Pious and unrelenting."

Dismissing a hero from the roster
"This one has become vestigial, useless."

"Suffer not the lame horse... nor the broken man."

"Another soul battered and broken, cast aside like a spent torch."

"Those without the stomach for this place must move on."

"It is done. Turn yourself now to the conditions of those poor devils who remain."

Entering the Ruins
Explore mission "Pace out the halls of your lineage, once familiar, now foreign."

Cleanse mission "The fiends must be driven back, and what better place to begin than the seat of our noble line?"

Activate mission "Can the defiled be consecrated? Can the fallen find rest?"

Gather mission "There is power in symbols. Collect the scattered scraps of faith and give comfort to the masses."

Boss mission against the Necromancer "A devil walks these halls... only the mad or the desperate go in search of him."

Boss mission against the Prophet "The echoes of his mindless tittering reverberate maddeningly - he must be silenced!"

Entering the Weald
Explore mission "I knew all these paths once; now they are as twisted as my own ambitions."

Cleanse mission "Corruption has soaked the soil, sapping all good life from these groves - let us burn out this evil."

Activate mission "Excise the fungal tumors and the land may yet live."

Gather mission "Our land is remote and unneighbored. Every lost resource must be recovered."

Boss mission against the Hag "There is method in the wild corruption here. It bears a form both wretched and malevolent."

Boss mission against the Brigand Pounder "The smell of sulfur and gunpowder hangs in the air, the war machine is close."

Entering the Warrens
Explore mission "To prosecute our war against the Swine, we must first scout their squalid homes."

Cleanse mission "They breed quickly down there in the dark, but perhaps we can slay them even faster."

Activate mission "The Swine draw power from their horrid markings and crude idols - tear them down!"

Gather mission "The fiercest beast will lay down when it has not eaten. Steal their food."

Boss mission against the Swine Prince "A nameless abomination, a testament to my failures - it must be destroyed!"

Boss mission against the Flesh "The thing is more terrible than I can describe - an incoherent jumble of organ, sinew and bone."

Entering the Coves
Explore mission "The smell of rotting fish is almost unbearable, but we must find its source..."

Cleanse mission "These salt-soaked caverns are teeming with pelagic nightmares - they must be flushed out!"

Activate mission "The flopping, fish-like things abhore the warding sigils. Let us claim this place anew!"

Gather mission "Recover these lost shipments of rarities, that we may prevent them from falling into even less scrupulous hands..."

Boss mission against the Siren "I always wondered what became of the unfortunate little waif..."

Boss mission against the Drowned Crew "The poor devils, chained and drowning for eternity..."

Ruins
Explore "The shifted corridors and sloped vaults of our ancestry are beginning to feel familiar."

"The great Ruins belong to us, and we will find whatever secrets they hold."

Cleanse "More bones returned to rest. Devils remanded to their abyss."

"Room by room, hall by hall, we reclaim what is ours."

Activate "This day belongs to the Light!"

"Beacons in the darkness, stars in the emptiness of the void."

Gather "Tokens of hope, recovered from the encroaching dark."

"The Abbot will be grateful - the trappings of his faith have been restored."

Boss (Prophet) "Did he foresee his own demise? I care not, so long as he remains dead."

"In life, his claims to precognition were dubious at best, in death, they are ridiculous."

Boss (Necromancer) "With no living sinew to actuate them, will these walking bones finally fail?"

"Even reanimated bones can fall; even the dead can die again."

Weald
Explore "Every cleared path and charted route reduces the isolation of our troubled estate."

"Paths and roads bring soldiers and supplies, let them arrive unharried!"

Cleanse "Driving out corruption is an endless battle, but one that must be fought."

"The agents of pestilence will yet be driven from our woods!"

Activate "Good fortune and hard work may yet arrest this plague."

"[Disinfection, at last."

Gather "These medicines will prevent the outbreak of epidemic at our struggling Hamlet."

"These tonics and herbs will stave off infection and neutralize contagion."

Boss (Hag) "The wood is still poisoned. The way is still blocked. But less people will be eaten."

"Let her corpse to rot, consumed by the spores she spawned."

Boss (Brigand Pounder) "A corpse of twisted metal and splintered wood - at home amongst the headstones."

"The Brigands are undone - our family crest is once again a symbol of strength!"

Warrens
Explore "The swinefolk's labyrinth may yet prove to be navigable."

"The twisting tunnels seem a little less ...impossible."

Cleanse "Some experiments should have never happened. You are doing just work, ending them."

"Their squeals fade, their confidence is shaken!"

Activate "Ha ha! Let those dirty beasts worship the mud now!"

"Robbed of their writings, the Swine will grow ever more ignorant - if such a thing were possible."

Gather "These foodstuffs yield double benefit: the town may eat, and the Swine will not."

"Our supplies are replenished, the soldiers will feast tonight."

Boss ([[Flesh]+) "It is as grotesque in death as it was in life..."

"Its destruction is a small consolation, given the implications of its terrible existence."

Boss (Swine Prince) "How many rats will it take to gnaw through a tonne of putrid flesh?"

"The thing is even more horrible in death. Liquefaction cannot come soon enough."

Cove
Explore "Despite its morbid aspect, this twisted, cavernous maze seems almost traversable."

"We will find all manner of great and terrible things in this watery tomb..."

Cleanse "The pungent odour abates! The things are driven back, for a time."

"At last, wholesome marine life can flourish - if indeed there is such a thing."

Boss (Siren) "Hideous matriarch, vile queen of the aphotic depths - she has no place in the sane world!"

"Seafaring trade, the lifeblood of any port, can resume again now that the routes are safe."

Boss (Drowned Crew) "Finally, a sailor's death for captain and crew. Fitting."

"They are cursed to float forever, deep in the swirling blackness, far beyond the light's reach."

Encountering a boss
The Necromancer "Towering, fierce, terrible. Nightmare made material!"

The Prophet "The madman hides there, behind the pews, spouting his mindless drivel!"

The Hag "Twisted and maniacal - a slathering testament to the powers of corruption!"

The Brigand Pounder "A marvel of technology - an engine of destruction!"

The Swine Prince "It is a travesty; an accident given form - a blundering mountain of hatred and rage."

The Flesh "Squirming, contorting and ever-expanding...this horror must be unmade!"

The Siren "The aquatic devils have remade the poor girl in their image! She is their queen, and their slave!"

The Drowned Crew "Even in death, the captain shouts his orders, and the crew obeys..."

Raising the Light Meter to 100
"The match is struck. A blazing star is born."

"In radiance may we find victory."

"The light, the promise of safety."

Light Meter dropping to 0
"Terrors may indeed stalk these shadows, but yonder – a glint of gold.""

"The darkness holds much worst than mere trickery and bogeymen."

"Darkness closes in, hunting the hearts of men."

"Secrets and wonders can be found in the most tenebrous corners of this place."

"And now… the darkness holds dominion – black as death."

Camping
"Circled in the dark, the battle may yet be won."

"Gathered clothes in tenuous firelight: an uneasy companionship."

"A moment of respite. A chance to steel oneself against the coming horrors."

Getting hit by a trap
"Mechanical hazards, possessed by evil intent."

"Ancient traps lie in wait. Unsprung and thirsting for blood."

"Watch your step."

"Mind that such missteps are the exception, and not the rule."

"Curious is the trap maker's art. His efficacy unwitnessed by his own eyes."

Facing obstacles
"Even the cold stone seems bent on preventing passage."

"Such blockages are unsurprising – these tunnels predate even the earliest settlers."

"Nature herself - a victim to this spreading corruption: malformed with misintent."

"Another mariner... Another misfortune."

"Without tools of iron, you must rely on flesh and indefatigable purpose."

Failing to satiate the party
"To fall for such a little thing... a bite of bread..."

"Gnawing hunger sets in, turning the body against itself, weakening the mind…"

"Packs of steel and war, but nary of thought given to the plow."

"No force of will can overcome a failing body."

"The requirements of survival cannot be met on an empty stomach."

Killing an enemy
"Confidence surges as the enemy crumbles!"

"Continue the onslaught! Destroy. Them. All."

"Their formation is broken! Maintain the offensive."

"Press this advantage! Give them no quarter!"

"A victory... perhaps a turning point."

"As the fiend falls, a feint hope blossoms."

Killing a large enemy
"Prodigious size alone does not dissuade the sharpened blade."

"Their cursed champion falls!"

"Monsters' size has no intrinsic merit, unless inordinate exsanguination be considered a virtue."

Killing an enemy with blight or bleed
"A death by inches..."

"Great is the weapon that cuts on its own!"

"Slowly... Gently... This is how a life is taken..."

"The slow death - Unforeseen, unforgiving."

Winning a battle
"These nightmarish creatures can be felled! They can be beaten!"

"Seize this momentum! Push on to the task's end!"

"This expedition at least promises success."

"As victories mount, so too will resistance."

"Success so clearly in view... or is it merely a trick of the light?"

"Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."

Gaining afflictions or virtues
==== Gaining Vigorous "Adversities can bolster hope, and resilience."

Striking a critical hit
"A decisive pummelling!"

"A powerful blow!"

"A devastating blow!"

"A devastating blow..."

"Impressive!"

"The ground quakes!"

"A singular strike!"

"Well struck!"

"Precision and power!"

Receiving a critical hit
"How quickly the tide turns!"

"Mortality clarified in a single strike!"

"Grievous injury! Palpable fear..."

"Such a terrible assault cannot be left unanswered!"

"Death waits for the slightest lapse in concentration."

"Exposed to a killing blow!"

"Ringing ears. Blurred vision. The end approaches..."

Retreating from an expedition
"You will endure this loss. And learn from it."

Failing an expedition
"You cannot "learn" a thing. You think. You know."