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"A cleansing fire always burns little Mandus, but it purifies and it makes anew."
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They are called Gatherers as they seem to follow some ambition to steal living creatures. It is their prey which can be heard struggling inside damp burlap sacks dragged behind them which reveal their presence. What dark scheme do they follow?

Part of a note found in the Archives.
Gatherers group

The Gatherers are Alexander of Brennenburg's servants. They are the primary enemies in Amnesia: The Dark Descent. There are two different Gatherers: the Grunt and the Brute. They patrol various parts of Brennenburg Castle, attacking Daniel when he is spotted. As Daniel is unarmed, they cannot be killed and therefore must be avoided by running, hiding in wardrobes or hiding behind objects to avoid being seen.

Information

Encounters

The Gatherers first appear in the Archives and Wine Cellar, although those are purely cinematic encounters—the player is in no danger there. In the Archives, after witnessing an actual Gatherer, Daniel could hallucinate that one was chasing him if he ran up to some rubble at the leftmost part of the window gallery, but it would disappear before it gets too close. In the Refinery, it was possible to have your first dangerous run-in with a Gatherer, although it is very easy to avoid as the monster would disappear very quickly, and was easy to hide from. The first truly dangerous encounters with Gatherers would occur in either Storage or the Guest Room, depending on which place the player decided to visit first upon reaching the Back Hall. The Gatherer in the Guest Room would only spawn when Daniel stepped in front of the open wardrobe in the side room to the right of the entrance and could be avoided entirely by keeping away from the open wardrobe. If the monster does spawn, the open wardrobe is intended as an obvious, introductory hiding place to teach the player about evading future encounters. Gatherers in the Storage and Prison blocks posed a much greater threat. Hiding when alerted of a Gatherer's presence is always the safest option, but sometimes they were inescapable.

Their loyalty to Alexander of Brennenburg was made known later in the game when Alexander explicitly ordered them to stop Daniel from continuing forward in his mission, leading the Gatherers to intercept Daniel in the Chancel and lock him up in the Cells. Other references to Alexander's connection with the Gatherers could be heard when Daniel's location is unknown to Alexander. At certain points in the game, Daniel would hear Alexander furiously ask the Gatherers questions like "Where is he now?" and make commands such as "Find him".

Behavior

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Strategy

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Description

Physical appearance

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Intelligence

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Daniel mentioned in his diary the presence of sneaky and skulking servants in the castle. According to the loading screens, these servants smelled of spiced wine permeated by clove and sage. In the short story The OutriderGabriel was able to follow the mysterious creature due to the same particular smell. The creature was then revealed to be a servant Grunt. It is unclear whether the servants mentioned by Daniel are Gatherers, like the one encountered by Gabriel. If this is the case, they are most likely covered by a cloak - as in The Outrider - to avoid raising suspicion from their monstrous appearance.

The Gatherers were also present in the short story The Outrider, which is a part of the Remember - Amnesia: The Dark Descent short-story collection. In it, a Servant Grunt kidnapped the cat, Tinker, and knocked down a young boy, Jacob, who worked at the Der Mühle inn in Altstadt. Gabriel, an outrider who grew up in Altstadt, and who had just returned to the hamlet at the behest of Daniel who urged him to take him there, gave chase to the creature and put a couple of shots in its back. After chasing it to a cave, the creature grabs hold of him, and Gabriel unmasks the beast in his panic, revealing it to be a Servant Grunt. He manages to escape its grasp by smashing it upon the head with his lantern.

A local cooper in the story, Herr Zell, told Gabriel that the Grunt was "One of them lost souls (who) come for the animals. They collect them." confirming that this is something that has been going on for quite some time.

The Gatherers will always alert the player of their presence with an audible growl when entering Daniel's immediate area. When Daniel sees these monsters, his sanity will decrease. It is, therefore, best to avoid direct eye contact with them. The Gatherers generally do not remain for long periods of time and are usually unthorough in their investigations, providing Daniel ample space to hide.

If the game is played in Hard Mode, these enemies will become an even bigger threat: they will have increased movement speed, increased attack damage, higher perception in spotting the player, and will stay in their searching state for longer. There will also be no danger music to indicate if they have left. Sanity being too low kills the player in this mode, which means that not looking at enemies is even more important.

The Gatherers usually appeared when Daniel picked up a plot item or stepped into certain zones. When a Gatherer appears, it will make a monstrous cry and start looking for Daniel. Specific, intense music tracks will play while a Gatherer is roaming and stop when the Gatherer leaves, indicating safety. When a Gatherer spots Daniel, the Terror Meter can be heard and begins the chase.

When giving chase, Gatherers will alter their speed in relation to their proximity from Daniel. At close range, they would slowly stagger towards him, but would quickly pick up speed from a distance. They are capable of tearing down doors and knocking obstacles out of their path. Surprisingly, they didn't appear to see Daniel hiding even if they saw him enter a dead-end room and simply gave up the chase. Even hiding in a dark corner can be enough to get them to leave confused, which may indicate they don't possess much intelligence. Gatherers are able to break closet doors if they see that the player is inside (if they see the player enter a cabinet or see them peeking out by opening the door). The cabinet would, like broken doors, remain destroyed. If trapped inside a room by a Gatherer, the player can try picking up an item (a barrel, a chair, a rock, etc.) and throwing it at the monster. The Gatherer will be knocked back momentarily, and if the player hurries, they can dart around it and possibly manage to escape. However, this action would not only drain Daniel's sanity, but the Gatherer will also recover quickly and charge Daniel in the blink of an eye. This is not recommended to do If the Gatherer has just noticed Daniel. Doing so would cause the Gatherer to instantly charge at him at full speed. There is always a warm-up time before the actual chase begins. If a Gatherer has just noticed Daniel then it is possible to quickly hide or duck around a corner. Doing this will either cause the Gatherer to lose interest or going into a short "search" for Daniel. Only when the chase music begins, then you should start running. The Terror Meter is not the key to being chased.

Hiding by crouching in a dark corner greatly reduces the chance of being noticed by a Gatherer. Looking directly at it will rapidly drain Daniel's sanity, regardless of the distance between him and the Gatherer. Contrary to a hint that appears early on in the game, looking at a Gatherer will NOT make them notice Daniel. Avoiding looking at them is still a good idea, just to prevent unnecessary loss of sanity. Collapsing due to total loss of sanity, however, will alert Gatherers, so looking at them is only a real risk at low levels of sanity.

It is possible to remain hidden from a Gatherer by holding a large object, like a barrel, in front of you. This calls into question the Gatherers' intelligence.

Avoiding the Gatherers is not a difficult task. In most situations, Daniel is given fair warning of the beast's entrance into the map so the player should be able to find a decent hiding spot. A common misconception is that darkness is something for a player to avoid at all times. Instead, being in darkness conceals the player, so crouching in a dark area is the most effective and readily available option. However, being in darkness drains sanity, so the player may need to use their lantern while hiding in darkness to prevent themselves from collapsing if their sanity is already dangerously low. Players should not be afraid of pulling out their lantern while there is a Gatherer present in the map. However, a player should not use their lantern while in direct contact with the monster. Using the lantern has a similar effect to standing up while a Gatherer is close by, in the sense that the player will be seen if the Gatherer has an unobstructed line of sight to the player. The main difference is that the range at which the Gatherer can see you while standing is limited; this range is effectively limitless while the lantern is out, regardless of if the player is crouching or not. Therefore, this should only be done if the Gatherer is far away and cannot see the player.

One thing that the player should absolutely avoid doing while a Gatherer is present is moving around with the lantern out. Not only does this risk coming across the Gatherer and being spotted, it also makes it much easier for them to find the player. Even if the lantern is put out, the Gatherer's unlimited sight range mentioned above will persist until the player stops moving. Because of this, if the player is spotted while moving with the lantern out, one should find a hiding place as soon as possible, or at least stop moving for a second after putting the lantern away.

The best solution to avoiding a Gatherer chasing Daniel is to quickly enter a room with a door. The player should immediately close the door (and barricade it with objects, if there is time) as the creature will quickly begin to break in. If done successfully, the monster should be unable to enter the room and continue patrolling. In addition, players should avoid the temptation to look back once a monster has given chase. At top speed, their proximity to the player is closer than most will expect and checking will most likely result in the monsters closing in for an attack.

Gatherers will almost always despawn when they have finished patrolling the area, as long as the player is not nearby and cannot see them. The only exceptions are certain Gatherers that will not disappear on their own, instead remaining present indefinitely. They will only vanish when the player reaches a particular point. The only example of this behavior is the Brute in the Sewer guarding the exit. Other Gatherers may seem to take longer than usual to despawn in some cases, but this is simply due to them being too close to the player once they have completed their patrol. When this occurs, sneak away from the enemy in order to allow them to vanish.

Origins

A note found in the castle hints at the origin of the servants:

This story reaches all the way back to the time of the Thirty Years' War. It is said that soldiers who abandoned their duty got lost in the cold, dark woods and were forever damned to roam the grounds. Their bodies wrought by their tainted souls have left them disfigured and empty of essence. Many have sighted them over the years and describe them as horrid revenants. They move silently through the woods, shying away from any beholder. They are called Gatherers as they seem to follow some ambition to steal living creatures. It is their prey which can be heard struggling inside damp burlap sacks dragged behind them which reveal their presence. What dark scheme do they follow?

Note in the Archives


Types

Servant Grunt

The Servant Grunt is the weaker, more commonly encountered of the two Gatherers in Amnesia: The Dark Descent. While not as powerful as the Brutes, it is still a considerable threat in any appearance.

Servant Brute

The Servant Brutes are the rarer, more dangerous type of the Gatherers in Amnesia: The Dark Descent. They deal much more damage than a Servant Grunt, and they are able to kill Daniel in one hit, even at full health, making survival harder.

Sound

Vocals

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Music


The Grunt and the Brute have their own set of music; both enemies having three states of music for themselves making a total of six. The three samples of music correlate with the actions of both enemies:

  • Danger: The monsters wander around without knowing of Daniel's whereabouts. (Not heard in Hard Mode.)
  • Search: A monster has seen Daniel, but lost sight of him. They will try to find Daniel for a short time.
  • Attack: The monster(s) see Daniel and give chase.

There are also extracts of music that play when these enemies appear, but don't play as redundantly as the three samples mentioned above, as they are used for the cutscene itself, and not just the Gatherer alone. This same format of music is also used for Suitors.

It's worth noting that the Attack state for each monster is not particularly audible, because the Terror Meter blares over it. You can, however, listen to the Attack state when you press TAB to go to the interface menu.

Design

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Speculation

  • As revealed by this note, these creatures were originally soldiers who deserted their stations and got lost in the woods, presumably near Castle Brennenburg. It is strongly implied that their disfigurement is a consequence of drinking Alexander's poisoned wine, which causes the drinker to violently rupture from the inside, as we see in the room in the wine cellar where Wilhelm leaves his note. Audio from a flashback, when one of Wilhelm's men mentions that his chest is about to burst and another pleads for Alexander to let them go, are titled "Transformation" in the game's files. Their lack of essence may hint at the fact that they have been drained of vitae; however, since they are still wandering around and not dead like the rest of Alexander's experiments, this can't be known for certain. Assuming that Alexander was behind their transformation from men into monsters, these creatures may have been his servants since the early 17th century CE, capturing live humans for Alexander's experiments.
  • The process for turning a human into a Gatherer is only hinted. The only evidence is given by the note that describes the fate of Wilhelm and his men, who had their bodies deformed after drinking tainted wine, offered by Alexander. Probably just drinking the "wine" is not sufficient and more steps must be taken, like binding them to Alexander's will and grafting the metal pieces into their limbs to keep the bones in place.
  • It is speculated that Alexander turns only strong-willed and robust subjects into Gatherers, like the soldiers and Wilhelm and his men. These men could be used to pain due to their military training and experience, thus making them inadequate subjects for vitae extraction, but effective for the Gatherer's role thanks to their strong build.
  • The Gatherers might be the one and the same servants encountered by both Daniel and Gabriel. This theory can be supported by the fact that Daniel finds a wide collection of white clothes inside the Castle rooms that the monsters may have used to hide their true horrid appearance.
  • Ghouls might have been the inspiration for Alexander to create Gatherers.[speculation] Their purposes are the same (harvesting Vitae from victims) and their transformations are very similar (drinking a "contaminated" liquid).

Trivia

  • Throughout the castle, there are several rooms that Daniel cannot access, such as in Storage or the Prison. The doors to these rooms often have bloodstains and, sometimes, human remains around them. If a Gatherer killed Daniel, they sometimes spawn in these rooms and snarl if he tries to open them; however, like Daniel, they are unable to open them as well. After the first Grunt in the Storage de-spawns, some decals indicating that he walked to the locked door become visible on the floor. These rooms may be the living quarters of where the Gatherers reside.
  • If the player holds certain props (crates, drawers, etc.) up to their face so the Gatherer cannot see Daniel's head, they will often pass by as if he isn't there (unless he is making noise). This seems to be a bug or could be due to the lack of intelligence displayed by the Gatherers.
  • One can look directly at the Servant Grunt which spawns behind the second door in the food storage area of Storage without it affecting Daniel's vision.
  • In the Choir, by jumping onto a pillar across a chasm and alerting the Servant Brute of your presence, you can trick it into rushing off the edge and falling down. The same goes for the Chancel, although this is a bit tricky, as it requires you to jump on top of the Brute's head and jump off of it just as it falls off the edge.
  • In the Sewer, Daniel will find the torn-apart body of a Servant Grunt. Seconds after leaving the room where it is found, a Servant Brute will break down the metal bars that block Daniel from proceeding in the level, suggesting that the Brute is the one who killed the Grunt; which seems pretty likely, considering its arms and legs have been completely separated from its torso, something a Brute might easily be able to do with his blade arm. It could be seen as a warning, as the first encounter with the Brutes as real enemies occur in this level. However, the abundance of fleshy residue in the room, as well as Alexander's panicked admonition to Daniel soon after to "turn around this instant" because he is "carrying the Shadow" with him, could equally point to it having been the Shadow's work.[citation needed] Additionally, there are no other known instances in the game where Alexander's servants kill one another—although Grunts and Brutes never appear simultaneously in any parts of the game, suggesting that the Brutes very well may be preying on the substantially weaker Grunts.
  • The Brute is covered in metallic plates, similar in appearance to Roman armor.
  • It is possible that after Daniel escapes from the Cells, the Gatherers may not have actually intended to kill him. They may only have wanted to recapture him to sacrifice him to the Shadow so that Alexander can complete his ritual.
  • The overall intelligence of the Gatherers is unknown and questionable. As previously mentioned, they do not usually notice Daniel if he has a prop over his head. He can also repeatedly hide the prop in front of him and take it away to let the Gatherer notice him and place it back to hide again like a game. They are also easy to avoid overall by either retreating, closing doors, or hiding in deep dark corners as they do not wander very far when searching for Daniel. A Brute in the sewer is easily tricked by throwing a rock to distract it and won't move from where the rock lands, though it does seem to notice Daniel as he attempts to escape the sewer. They also will not venture into different areas, even when chasing Daniel (though Frictional Games most likely made it that way to make the game easier). In addition, they cannot climb ladders (though the Brute can't because one of their arms has been replaced by a blade). They are even sometimes seen to go the opposite direction that Daniel runs in after searching for him; however, the Grunt was able to capture Daniel in the Chancel. The Gatherers seem to use speed, strength and numbers rather than wit to stop Daniel.
  • The Gatherers have many bugs (or signs of stupor), such as wrong smashes, becoming stuck due to an immoveable crate or rock, or just not noticing you if you're holding props in the way of their vision.
  • The Brute can run faster than Daniel, and charges if Daniel is a far enough distance away.
  • The Brute has a harder time trying to communicate compared to the Grunt, mainly because its face is split into an almost floral shape.
  • Oswald Mandus manages to procure a Gatherer's body for his experiments from the area around Brennenburg 60 years after the events of The Dark Descent.
  • In one of the notes found in A Machine for Pigs, Mandus wrote that the body of a Gatherer sent to him from Brennenburg has "the smell of the Orb upon him" and suspected the body was his "Great Uncle's work."
  • The Gatherers can apparently still understand human speech. This is evidenced by the fact that they obey Alexander when he directly commands them to find Daniel. They may also be able to hear Daniel's rambling on low sanity, which may be the reason why Daniel can be detected more easily when his sanity is low.
  • Interestingly, if one watches a Gatherer for long enough, it may become startled by a noise, holding its hands to its mouth and looking around as if in fright; it may also put its face in its hands and appear to sob. Whether this means they have any semblance of humanity left in them is a mystery.

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