History Characters / HouseOfAshes

* DevouredByTheHorde: [[A potential fate for him if he alerts the vampires while setting the explosives at the motherlode.]]

* ExperiencedProtagonist: Served many years in the Iraqi Ground Forces after being drafted before eventually becoming a lieutenant. He also had a good education despite Iraq’s poor condition at the time.

* WildCard: Unlike the other protagonists, who are American agents and soldiers, Salim is an Iraqi soldier.

* BattleCouple: Shall she survive until the end, she can become one with [[spoiler:Eric or Nick, an Air Force officer and a marine]].

* ExperiencedProtagonist: Created a thermal satellite system called Caelus used to locate military equipment. He’s also skilled in military tactics, autonomy, and leadership. Brooks even describes him as the U.S Air Force’s “in-house genius.”

* ExperiencedProtagonist: A skilled Marine and of the toughest characters in the game as he easily carries Joey and lifts heavy objects in the temple. He’s also a capable combatant as he kills several vampires and even the Ancient One, despite the latter holding him by the throat.

* Boom!Headshot [[spoiler:A potential fate for him if Salim shoots him.]]

* NiceHat: She always wears a cap, even when she's indoors.

* HollywoodAtheist: When Jason asks Eric if he believes in God regarding the existence of the vampires, Eric denies it without further elaboration.

* TheNeidermeyer: As these tropes illustrates, He's TheCaptain that shouldn't be in command.

* AndIMustScream: In the present day, he can be found partially coated in slime, a sort of byproduct of the alien cocoons. This slime seems to render him impervious to time, causing his head and about half of his body to look as it did 4000 years after the fact. However, the slime didn't cover all of his body, so the other half is a rotted out skeleton. He is of course aware of this, as shown when his pupils contract to Salim bringing a lighter in front of his face and he does the best impression of a scream he can with ''half a head''.

* DecoyProtagonist: {{Downplayed}}. Clarice is an [=NPC=], however she is the second character to be introduced after Jason, giving the impression she might be one of the playable characters[[note]]Though GenreSavvy players will likely dismiss the idea when she doesn't get a brief cut-away giving her name and defining traits on-screen, which is the method used to introduce player characters throughout the anthology.[[/note]]; an idea reinforced by the fact that the [[VideoGame/ManOfMedan past]] [[VideoGame/LittleHope games]] always had TwoGirlsToATeam, and she and Rachel are the only female characters; tellingly, early leakers of the game during production assumed that she was a playable character, presumably for this very reason. However, [[spoiler:Clarice gets taken by one of the creatures and infected, and her death cannot be avoided]].

* DecoyProtagonist: {{Downplayed}}. Clarice is an [=NPC=], however she is the second character to be introduced after Jason, giving the impression she might be one of the playable characters[[note]]Though GenreSavvy players will likely dismiss the idea when she doesn't get a brief cut-away giving her name and defining traits on-screen, which is the method used to introduce player characters throughout the anthology.[[/note]]; an idea reinforced by the fact that the [[VideoGame/ManOfMedan past]] [[VideoGame/LittleHope games]] always had TwoGirlsToATeam, and she and Rachel are the only female characters. However, [[spoiler:Clarice gets taken by one of the creatures and infected, and her death cannot be avoided]].

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Naram-Sin is a real king of the Akkadian Empire, and reigned from 2254-2218 BC. There is also reference to the "Curse of Akkad", a historiographic epic poem in which Akkad plundered a temple and was cursed: The poem itself was written after Naram-Sin's lifetime and may simply be allegory for the Gautian conquest of Sumer, but the game treats it as real.

* {{Love Interest}}: Is this to Eric, and Nick.
* ManOnFire: [[spoiler:A potential fate for her if she’s infected and commits suicide by stabbing a White Phosphorus.]]

* AndIMustScream: In the present day, Balathu can be found [[spoiler:partially coated in slime, a sort of byproduct of the alien cocoons. This slime seems to render him impervious to time, causing his head and about half of his body to look as it did 4000 years after the fact. However, the slime didn't cover all of his body, so the other half is a rotted out skeleton. Balathu, is of course, aware of this, as shown when his pupils contract to Salim bringing a lighter in front of his face and he does the best impression of a scream he can with ''half a head''.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He's the leader of the Akkadian army and is shown to be a skilled combatant. [[spoiler: In the present day, the Ancient One is the closest thing the vampires have to a leader, and despite a millennia of undeath, he’s still lethal enough in combat to take on the entire group at once on the surface and can potentially kill several of them in a head on fight.]]

* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:The Ancient One can fight a final battle with the protagonists on the surface if Nick doesn't destroy the main vampire hive.]]
* TheHeavy: [[spoiler:Either he or Kurum is the "Ancient One" who is the closest thing the vampires have to a leader in the 21st century.]]
* HeroKiller: He can [[spoiler:kill any or all of the protagonists if he is fought above ground on the surface (caused by Nick not blowing up the main hive). He is also capable of killing Jason, Nick or Salim in the vampire hive, or killing Rachel in the temple, turning her into a vampire.]]
* HolyBurnsEvil: Subverted. [[spoiler:the Ancient One]] is not physically stopped by a crucifix, but it does pique his curiosity and he will look at it. [[spoiler:This is the proper option, as it gives more time for rest of the party to react. Shooting him, in contrast, just pisses him off and causes him to attack immediately.]]
* ItCanThink: [[spoiler:The undead]] Balathu retains his warrior skills. He's just as capable with a spear as he was during Naram-Sin's reign. [[spoiler: He is also possessed of human curiosity and will look at Nick's gold crucifix. This stalls him long enough to make the battle go in the protagonist's favor.]]
* LightningBruiser: [[spoiler:The Ancient One is tirelessly fast and tireless in comparison to humans]].
* ManOnFire: [[spoiler:If Nick does not approach the main cocoon cluster, The Ancient One will chase the party to the surface, in which he's fought in hand-to-hand. He is killed when one of the characters forces a flare down his throat, cooking him from the inside.]]
* NoSell: [[spoiler:For some reason, his undead form is not affected by UV Light the same way the creatures are, although it does blind him. Joey's vampire form combusts in seconds when exposed to the light, and even the ZombieInfectee Rachel can be seen to be partially smoking when Eric uses the lamp to burn the parasite out of her, but Balathu can withstand the light for seconds without even smouldering under it, with the only effect it has being that he's BlindedByTheLight. This greatly enhances his threat level as he's immune to the best defense the protagonists have against the vampires, in addition to his greater intelligence, combat skills and the Vampire's shared toughness to shrug off or endure multiple bullets to the torso, creating an EliteMook the heroes have to struggle against despite their greater weaponry. It's implied that his immunity is possibly the result of a human host having spent thousand of years being transformed into a vampire, allowing the parasite to enhance the body's natural capabilities like resistance to UV radiation, though he's never exposed to natural sunlight, so it's unclear if he would be similarly resistant to that as he is to the artificial UV light]].
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler: If Nick approaches the main cocoon cluster to rig it to explode, Balathu is killed by Salim InTheBack when he's giving Nick a NeckLift.]]

* AndIMustScream: In the present day, Kurum can be found [[spoiler:partially coated in slime, a sort of byproduct of the alien cocoons. This slime seems to render him impervious to time, causing his head and about half of his body to look as it did 4000 years after the fact. However, the slime didn't cover all of his body, so the other half is a rotted out skeleton. Kurum, is of course, aware of this, as shown when his pupils contract to Salim bringing a lighter in front of his face and he does the best impression of a scream he can with ''half a head''.]]

* TheHeavy: [[spoiler:Either he or Balathu is the "Ancient One" who is the closest thing the vampires have to a leader in the 21st century.]]
* NoSell: [[spoiler:For some reason, his undead form is not affected by UV Light the same way the creatures are, although it does blind him. Joey's vampire form combusts in seconds when exposed to the light, and even the ZombieInfectee Rachael can be seen to be partially smoking when Eric uses the lamp to burn the parasite out of her, but Kurum can withstand the light for seconds without even smouldering under it, with the only effect it has being that he's BlindedByTheLight. This greatly enhances his threat level as he's immune to the best defence the protagonists have against the vampires, in addition to his greater intelligence, combat skills and the Vampire's shared toughness to shrug off or endure multiple bullets to the torso, creating an EliteMook the heroes have to struggle against despite their greater weaponry. It's implied that his immunity is possibly the result of a human host having spent thousand of years being transformed into a vampire, allowing the parasite to enhance the body's natural capabilities like resistance to UV radiation, though he's never exposed to natural sunlight, so it's unclear if he would be similarly resistant to that as he is to the artificial UV light]].

* TheUnfought: [[spoiler: If Nick approaches the main cocoon cluster to rig it to explode, Kurum is killed by Salim InTheBack when he's giving Nick a NeckLift.]]

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* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:If Salim kills Eric early in the game, Jason is dead, and Salim is defensive when Rachel confronts him about Eric’s death, she will kill Salim.]]

* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:His parasite-ridden body returns to attack Nick and Jason before he gets killed. He might, however, take one of them with him.]]

* DoomedByCanon: [[spoiler: Of the named characters outside the principal quintet, his fate can be avoided the longest due to the character's choices, but he's not getting out of the cavern alive in the end]].