Artorias of the Abyss

Lore & Background

Artorias of the Abyss is set centuries before the events of Dark Souls. The player is taken back into the past by a primeval human known as Manus, Father of the Abyss, who was resurrected and tortured by the sorcerers of Oolacile centuries prior, hoping to unlock his dark power. Manus' power went wild and created the Abyss, a dark void that threatens to swallow the entirety of Oolacile. Anor Londo sent Knight Artorias to slay Manus, but he was unable to withstand the dark onslaught due to his lack of Humanity and became possessed himself, only able to save his wolf companion, Sif. The player, due to their Humanity, is better able to fight off the darkness, and must defeat the possessed Artorias. They must then descend through Oolacile Township and into the Chasm of the Abyss, where they take on Manus and rescue the land's ruler, Princess Dusk. An additional, optional fight involves defeating the black dragon Kalameet that is menacing Oolacile, with the assistance of Hawkeye Gough, a giant archer who was one of the Four Knights of Gwyn.

In Their Own Story

The player, due to their Humanity, is better able to fight off the darkness, and must defeat the possessed Artorias. They must then descend through Oolacile Township and into the Chasm of the Abyss, where they take on Manus and rescue the land's ruler, Princess Dusk. An additional, optional fight involves defeating the black dragon Kalameet that is menacing Oolacile, with the assistance of Hawkeye Gough, a giant archer who was one of the Four Knights of Gwyn.

Reader's Guide

Artorias of the Abyss adds a new area, Oolacile, that can be accessed after obtaining the 'Broken Pendant' item. The area includes four bosses and other optional miniboss fights. It also introduces many new weapon and armor items that can then be used in the main game, as well as new shopkeepers and additional upgrade material for the player's weapons. A multiplayer arena was included that allows for more structured PvP and includes online leaderboards. According to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, there was a removed event in the early development of Dark Souls where you would get summoned to the world of the character Dusk of Oolacile. There was a quest to rescue her in that kingdom after being summoned. The development team scrapped that quickly, thinking 'there's no way we can do that!' Dusk of Oolacile was left in the original game as a merchant. The concept was revisited following the release of Artorias of the Abyss, as rescuing Dusk was made a pre-requisite to unlock access to it.

Did You Know?

• Artorias of the Abyss was originally a removed event in early Dark Souls development where you would get summoned to the world of Dusk of Oolacile.
• The pack released as part of the Prepare to Die Edition for Windows in August 2012, then separately for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 two months later.
• Manus, Father of the Abyss, was resurrected and tortured by the sorcerers of Oolacile centuries prior, hoping to unlock his dark power.
• Knight Artorias was unable to withstand the dark onslaught due to his lack of Humanity and became possessed, only able to save his wolf companion Sif.
• An optional fight in the DLC involves defeating the black dragon Kalameet with the assistance of Hawkeye Gough, a giant archer and one of the Four Knights of Gwyn.