Gatherers

A Gatherer as it is seen in-game. Note the effect looking at the monster has on Daniel's sanity.

The Gatherers are Alexander of Brennenburg's servants. They are the primary enemy in the game Amnesia: The Dark Descent and its sub-games. The Gatherers come in two variations: Grunts and Brutes . They patrol various parts of Brennenburg Castle, attacking Daniel when he is seen. As Daniel is weaponless, they - along with all other enemies in game - cannot be killed and therefore have to be avoided by running away from them, throwing objects at them to make them stumble momentarily and hiding behind objects to avoid being seen.

Information

Grotesque and malformed, the Gatherers serve as the game's primary enemies, patrolling the corridors of Brennenburg Castle and chasing Daniel on sight. Daniel is unable to fight or protect himself against the Gatherers and can only flee and hide. Monsters do not stick around for long, and do not always venture completely into rooms.

Their loyalty to Alexander of Brennenburg is made known later in the game when Alexander explicitly orders them to "stop" Daniel from continuing forward in his mission. Other references of Alexander's connection with the Gatherers can be found when Daniel's location is unknown. Alexander will seemingly ask them, "Where is he?" and they will continue to search for Daniel. Also, in the Transept, after getting the Orb pieces, Alexander will say "Find him".

The Gatherers first appear in the Archives, Wine Cellar, and Refinery, although these are purely cinematic encounters; players will remain safe unless they make a deliberate effort to engage the monster. In the Archives, after witnessing an actual Gatherer, Daniel can hallucinate that one is chasing him, but it will disappear before it gets too close. In the Refinery however, catching up to the Gatherer can cause it to spot and chase you, but you must have the intention of letting it see you. The first dangerous encounter with a Gatherer is either in the storage, or in the guest room, where the player must hide in a closet.

Daniel mentions 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 Outrider, Gabriel is able to follow the mysterious creature thanks to the same particular smell. The creature is 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 that's the case, they must have been covered by a cloak - as in The Outrider - to avoid raising suspicion due to their monstrous appearance, other than being very discreet to avoid showing their clumsiness.

Gameplay

The Gatherers usually appear after Daniel picks up a plot item or when he steps into certain zones. When a Gatherer appears, it will make a monstrous cry and will start to look for Daniel. A specific music will play while a Gatherer is roaming, so when it stops, the enemy is gone. When a Gatherer spots Daniel, a loud and screeching noise will be heard and it will start the chase.

When giving chase, The Gatherers will alter their speed in relation to their proximity from Daniel, at close range they will slowly stagger towards the player, but as distance is made they will quickly pick up speed. They are capable of tearing down wooden and metal doors and knocking obstacles out of their path. Ironically, they can not break closet doors. If trapped inside a room by a Gatherer, the player can try picking up an item (a barrel, a chair, a rock, etc.) and throw it at the monster. The Gatherer will be knocked back momentarily, and if the player hurries, he/she can dart around it and hopefully manage to escape; however, this action will not only drain Daniel's sanity, but the Gatherer will also recover quickly and charge at Daniel in the blink of an eye.

In most scenarios if the creature is unaware of Daniel's presence, looking away from the Gatherer will keep the player safe. Avoiding direct eye contact with the creature is essential to survive and keep Daniel's sanity up. Looking at it will cause it to notice Daniel quicker as well as rapidly drain his sanity. Additionally, it is possible to remain hidden from a Gatherer by holding a large object, like a barrel, in front of you. This questions 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. However, in the presence of a Gatherer, the player sometimes must use their lantern to keep themselves from going insane. Players should not be afraid of pulling out their lantern while there is a monster on the map. However, a player should not use their lantern while in direct contact with the monster.

The best solution to avoiding a monster chasing Daniel is to quickly enter a room with a door. The player should immediately close and barricade the door 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 landing an attack.

Interestingly, if you watch 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.

Origins

"The Gatherers - 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?"

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 be blown to pieces, as we see in the room in the wine cellar where Wilhelm leaves his note. Snippets of audio from a flashback, when one of Wilhem's men mentions that his chest is about to burst and another pleads for Alexander to let them go, are titled "Transformation." 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 have been his servants since the 1600's, 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.

Developer's Logs

The developer logs describe the gatherers as beings from beyond that had been summoned into bodies of humans. Once inside humans, they did their best to deform the host into a body that they were used to controlling by shattering bones, tearing flesh, and producing cancer-like growths. This in turn resulted in a scene where the player witnesses how some humans under great pain are taken over.

Music

Main article: Soundtrack Grunts and Brutes have their own set of music; both enemies having three samples of music for themselves making a total of six. The three samples of music "explain" the actions of both enemies:

• Danger: The monsters wander around without knowing of Daniel's whereabouts.
• Search: A monster sees Daniel, but loses sight of him. They will try to find Daniel for a short time.
• Attack: The monsters find and start to pursue Daniel.

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 third piece of music for each monster is not particularly noticeable, because the Terror Meter blares over it.

Types

Servant Grunt

Main article: Servant Grunt

A Servant close up

The Servant Grunts are the first and most common type of Gatherer encountered in the game. They first appear either in the wine cellar or in the archives (when heading towards the big hall right before leaving the archives) but will be non-combative (Hallucination or a cinematic). They become a mortal threat when either encountered in the storage or when one breaks into the guest room.

They are easily recognizable by their horrifying jaws hanging off their chests, grotesquely distended arms and their bulging eyeballs. They also seem to have ropes wrapped around their bodies. Their primary form of attack is to slash at Daniel with the claws on their left hand.

Brute

Main article: Brute

A close up of the Brute's head.

The Brutes are the rarest and most powerful type of Gatherer encountered in the game. They can be distinguished from the servant Grunts by their split-head and the large hamstring blade that has been grafted into their left arm, as well as the other plates grafted into their legs and other arm. They wear what appears to be a crudely patched pair of overalls with no leggings. Brutes are notably more dangerous, given that they can instantly kill Daniel with one attack, and the Brute is also slightly more faster than Daniel, the Brute looks blind but isn't both in gameplay and lore/story. They make distinctive bellows and groans similar to the sounds emitted from whales or cows. Brutes appear predominantly in the sewer and in the choir, although they do make minor appearances in the chancel and morgue as well. They can also be heard in various parts of the game, but they cannot hurt Daniel.

Trivia

• Throughout the castle there are several rooms that Daniel cannot access, such as in storage or the prison. These have blood stains 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. 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 down 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 the storage without it affecting Daniel's vision.
• In the choir, by jumping onto a pillar across a chasm and alerting the Brute to 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 Sewers, Daniel will find one servant Grunt torn apart by the Shadow that is hunting him.
• 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 Brutes 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, three servant Grunts were able to work together to capture Daniel in the chancel. The Gatherers seem to use speed and strength rather than wit to stop Daniel.
• The Gatherers have many bugs, such as wrong smashes, becoming stuck due to an immoveable crate or rock, or just not noticing you if you're holding props in front of Daniel's face.
• The Brute runs faster than Daniel, and charges if Daniel is chased for long time.
• The Gatherers seem to attempt to communicate with Daniel, after spotting him while searching. By listening closely, you can distinctly hear lines like, "What do you want?" and "I see you".
• Common names include "Mr.Face" (Grunt), "Mr.Tall" (Brute), and "Bros" but most importantly, "Mr. Struts" (Grunt) and "Anti-struts" (Brute).

Gallery

A screenshot taken in the model editor

A hallucination of a Servant Grunt.

A Servant Grunt attacking Daniel.

Concept art of a brute.

Grunt Concept Final

Early Grunt Concept

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Video

thumb|300px|left|Servant sounds thumb|300px|left|Brute sounds thumb|300px|left|A video showing how to make a Brute fall into a pit in the Chancel. thumb|300px|left|The Gatherer/Grunt/Servant's Theme Song