Your theory reminded me of something else I had read, in the description of the Prince of Death’s Staff: “Staff embedded with sullied amber, said to be a very part of the Prince of Death. Enhances death sorceries.” Perhaps what they are really after is amber of the Erdtree. Amber of the Erdtree is described in many places to be life incarnate, blessings of the Erdtree that flowed like a fountain in the early days of the religion. Sellen even likens it to glintstone during her dialogue. More evidence of this is that in Woodfolk Ruins you can find the Icon Shield, which description yields: “Greatshield painted with a divine scene; the recipients of a blessed tear from the Erdtree. An item that looks back fondly on the age of plenty. The divine scene acts in and of itself as a sacred invocation; gradually restoring the carrier's HP.” It could be that consuming the pieces sullied by Godwyn were the very thing that changed them and made them ill. I mean, they’re literally vomiting death blight, something has to be causing them stomach problems haha
I agree. I think they're probably primordial creatures or mutants like the misbegotten who used to eat the nutrients (amber sap) near the erdtree's roots, and accidentally ended up eating deathblight after Godwyn corrupted the roots. Because they do in fact look like worms and are called wormface, and worms suck nutrients from the soil near plants. Considering Placidusax, the elden lord of a bygone era, is at Farum Azula, I think it was likely the old capital or something built near the erdtree which would explain their presence there as well.
They replace Erdtree Guardians both the humanoids and the Erdtree Avatar. They make me think of decapitated people who've had their faces re-grown against their will. Maybe the headless Knights are their spirits?
@@FoxBatinaHat The wormfaces do actually have heads though, it is just that they are mostly fused with their necks. You can see human ears near the end of their long "neck" on their model. Interestingly, it appears as though the worms growing from their face aren't a part of them either, seemingly just growing out of their face as a sort of parasite. So perhaps it could be a similar case to Cemetery Shades (normal withered corpses that had a parasitic deathblight crab attached to their head, which is what animates and controls them), with the worms in their faces being the primary sources of their illness and their only true connection to Godwyn
You're right about the loss of grace allowing for permanent death. It's actually indirectly told to the players as the very basis for the existence of the Tarnished. The Tarnished, as we know them now, primarily consist of fallen warriors and scholars who were incredibly powerful despite being either divested of grace, or never having it to begin with. The return of grace to the Tarnished is the whole reaaon we start coming back to life. It's why suddenly Gideon crawled out of his coffin, and why people as old as Hoarah Loux can suddenly pop back into the Lands Between... in both cases, characters who were seemingly dead, but got back up and regained the guidance of grace as well. This point is especially important for Hoarah Loux, of course. I don't mean to put down your theory, but I wanted to share this stufff with you to hopefully show you that your theory is pretty much confirmed in game, so good call :)
Because of having played DS3 before elden ring, I was constantly paranoid of these guys applying that maggot/leech effect to me whenever they spewed worms
Many people haven't noticed it, but when you look at wormfaces straight on with a bit of a tilt so you can see the top of the hood of their shawls, their face tentacles make the godrick pustule face, or at least the outline of it. Check it out and tell me if you see it. Kind of looks like Leyndell broke their own bridges to cut the wormface flood
@@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS nope. Point 1) pure fact. No denying it. The only spells that are effective against them. 2) check out the stormcaller church sword monument. It says he died. Turns out item descriptions are more important that what Rogier says. Rogier can be wrong. Item descriptions can not. Think about it
Very creepy. I remember cringing when that colossal wormface appeared out of nowhere in Mt gelmir. Their necks look similar to those of the guardians. I think they are tied. Godwyn probably infected the guardians when infecting the tree.
One of them is kneeling and crying in front of a grave with a flower on it. Also they seem to be something like shepherds to the slugs in Altus Plateau. Personally I think the worms are a seperate entity that have simply befallen a host who has retained a very small part of their humanity. They could have been erdtree guardians for example
I'm very confident they're Erdtree guardians seeing how they congregate around the tree, hang out with healthier guardians and have similar cloaks. That doesn't explain the ones in Farum Azula though.
It does appear as though the worms on their model are a separate entity, I think it was either Zullie or BonfireVN who made a video about their model's details, so they could indeed be mutated tree guardians infected with deathblight parasites
That's a good theory that the Wormfaces eat up graces. It would explain why Leyndell soldiers are hostile towards them (aside from just being disgusting). The Wormfaces pose a direct threat against Leyndell / The Erdtree.
I always though that the wormface on Gelmir is not a wormface, because if remenber corectly that one drops one larval tear so i think that could be one mimic tear in disguise like the others we found in other places that trasnform in diferrent enemies.
@Sam Cooper a note even tho ya never minded I'm pretty sure it's stated all those reborn by renalla (excluding you for obvious reasons) is a failure that can't actually live a true life like that only as those weird choir kids
@@draw2death421 I think he meant the Wormface in Gelmir wanted the Larval tear to rebirth with Rennala. The same how Boc wanted it to change his appearance to look beautiful.
Something interesting I observed; near the Windmill Village, there's a small settlement of villagers that appear to have built up defenses on the path leading into the woods, either to keep the Womrfaces out, or in!
When I was in that forest with all of these guys, it was one of the few moments I actually had to pause the game and calm my nerves because I was actually getting terrified. That has almost never happened to me while playing a video game. Only other moment I can think of right now that compares is the bog lands surrounding the crones in Witcher 3.
1:42 they seem to have a second set of white worms inside them, It would be interesting if the colony of worms inside them actually had a queen that lays eggs. the worms they spit out are even smaller white ones, unlike the dark ones that are most visible on their face.
Great observations! These guys are so freaky, such a well done enemy. The one on Mt Gelmir is actually a Mimic bc it drops a Larval Tear tho, so I don't think it's a real Wormface, but who even knows with those enemies... And if the underground map is lined up with the overworld correctly, Godwyn's corpse is actually closer to being beneath Blackguard and the Auriza Hero's Grave, which is why we find crab's with the Prince of Death's face growing on their backs, as well as the Golden Epitaph sword there. However, I still think you're right about Godwyn's proximity being a factor for their presence, due to the /elevation./ This valley is as low if not even lower than the trench where the crabs are found, so the Minor Erdtree there could technically be closer to Godwyn. Whether the "Woodfolk" who once lived there became the wormfaces, or if they came from Farum Azula seeking the source of the Deathblight, I still have no idea. In my curiosity, I used the cameramode mod to make myself invisible to enemies and went to examine the Farum Azula ones more closely. Their wrappings seem to be binding gold disk talismans to them, which does indeed give off a mummy-like vibe, since many irl cultures that practiced mummification would do this. I find it interesting that the big one in the pond seems to be praying to a Grave Glovewort Picker's Bell Bearing, since according to the Great Grave Glovewort: "Since times of old, large gloveworts were used to comfort heroic spirits. Given in tribute to those who died the most glorious of deaths, in the hope their stories would become legend." All kinds of things to speculate with that. Also, the uh... "worms" of their faces... do actually seem to be literal worms. As in... not a natural feature. They have giant earthworms boring into or out of their faces. And of course they barf up smaller ones a lot too. Total infestation. And yet, somehow, the worst part for me is that if you look closely... you can see they have ears. imgur.com/IfeKdjJ imgur.com/tz0DILp
The only creature in Elden Ring that scared the crap out of me when I first found them. Between their mysterious yet disgusting look, and that freaking ungodly noise they make - I shat in many a leg armor while walking through the Altus forest
My theory is that they are ancient servants or nobles from the lineage of Godwyn during the golden age. Like the knights of the mausoleum are former knights of Godwyn who guard the soulless demigods, their old lords (vassals to Godwyn). It seems like a lot of the lineage of Godwyn shared his fate somehow, they are all linked to Death in some manner. Wormface actually wears a nice piece of cloth, with lace, as well, and all their attire is colored yellow, Godwyn/The Capital theme color. I am not surprised to see them in Farum Azula because Godwyn was famously friends with the Dragons, so some of his people may have lived there. I believe that these creatures are scared, crying for their dead Lord and for their dead lineage, and maybe with the help of Grace they are trying to either revive their Lord, to recreate his soul or to heal themselves.
The corpse of Godwin became an ecosystem, there are 3 elements to death blight, the black roots the worms and the flys, the worm faces could be spawned form deathroot as incarnations of Godwins body or nobles infested by Godwin’s worms, the basilisk are born from the roots itself thus having the eyes of the prince of death and it can be argue that the ants could be born form the root as well
Every SINGLE time I've showed up to Mt. Gelmir, that wormface is already standing there? I've never seen the putrid corpse before hand, that is very strange. I have over 600 hours in the game, played through several times. I know he drops a larval tear, just like all the other disguised enemies, so it makes sense. I'm just wondering why he's already transformed for me EVERY TIME. Almost feel like I was robbed lol.
This game for some reason has a lot of things I fear, these guys and darkness, and the whole caelid area was a nightmare. Especially darkness and pitch-black places, I remember when I went to morgott's tower to activate his great rune and suddenly the area went pitch black I'm not kidding I just closed the game and didn’t play for two days, you might think I’m exaggerating but I was so scared and even after 4 playthroughs of this game I never went back to that place, it reminded me of bloodborne when the same thing happened going down to see that deformed great one... great games but man they have a lot of things I fear.
I think it's the fact that the game is difficult and unforgiving that somehow makes everything feel scarier. Everything can kill you, everything is a threat. So there's this really strong, real desire for self preservation in souls games. And thus when there are events like lights going out, I think it actually can feel surprisingly real.
Yeah, the game can go from Zelda to Silent Hill so fucking fast sometimes. I love it. Also that moment i just went: "A-HA! I know whats up, the moment i touch that corpse i'll be attacked." And so i waited....for 5 min. Actually had to walk for a chunk after the soldier.
There are enemies in that pitch-blackness. Not extra hard though. I was surprised by it, and immediately summoned the mimic tear. We survived it with pure gusto.
My headcanon is that they’re erdtree guardians who while on duty got slowly infected by the deathblight morphing them into root monsters and they feed off of anything that has grace
What are the Wormfaces? Absolutely fucking disgusting in my opinion. But that's just me. :p I can't help but notice they are mostly confined to that misty valley in the middle of the Altus Plateau, like everyone else wants nothing to do with them and have just stuck them down there permanently. I think it's the most unsettling place in the whole game, honestly, what with the mist and the Wormfaces sitting around and sobbing/praying to themselves until they're threatened.
Their shape, their sounds, the way they move, literally everything about them reminds me of ds1 mimics. Just worms instead of a chest with teeth and a deeper voice
Between this video and the Mausoleum knights, I honestly feel when Godwyn was killed every creature had their lives completely upended and changed, and almost all of them, mysterious or understood have two clear functions. They either seek to return to normalcy, meaning the life of devotion towards grace and the Erdtree, or a life fighting against it and the Golden Order. So essentially you have the loyalists, rebellion, and anyone else who's life was f**ked after the Shattering
a neat detail is that the files refer to the smaller ones as Deracine_Male and the bigger ones as Deracine_Female(so we now know the actual name of their species) Deracine means "displaced" or "uprooted" maybe that has some lore implications
Literally the only enemy I've completely avoided. Every enemy I come across I face them and it's very hard for me to not fulfill the desire of thorough completion/looting. I just can't deal with them; they're unsettling, scary, and make me cringe so hard.
The wormfaves are clearly demigods like in the walking mausoleums. The wrappings they wear are the same as the demigods and the demigods were placed in mausoleums to keep away death.
given that the gelmir wormface drops the item used for rebirths, a larval tear (much like several other enemies that appear in a similar way) it seems more likely that the putrid corpse was "reborn" as a wormface rather than that it always was one in disguise
Walking through those woods and hearing all of the noises they make was one of the most scary moments of the game for me. You have this urge to explore but what's out there waiting for you to find it?
I believe the wormfaced things we see now are the current form of the woodfolk, and I may even say that woodfolk/wormfaces were once Godwyn's followers. Farum Azula wormfaces may be stationed there, by Godwyn, as a friendly gesture to the resident dragons. That's the only thing I could imagine that would grant them the power of deathblight, without them contacting either the body or one of the faces of the Prince of Death. Great video!
@@square-table-gaming I'd guess they had some other power granted through Godwyn prior to his death that changed to deathblight as he became the prince. It's still hard to pinpoint what Godwyn was all about, so I can't say he could have even granted any kind of power. I still haven't ironed the theory all the way out, and I still don't have any concrete idea about how the basilisk got the deathblight either, but I feel strongly about the wormfaces being the woodfolk regardless of allegiance. Edit: After thinking more, being granted power through the living Godwyn may even explain the gold shit, even if the power granted has been warped.
I like the idea that they were followers of Godwyn during his friendship with dragons and lost their grace when Godwyn died. So its their own grace they shat out, Dung Eater plug.
I think there was not only wormfaces, but everyone in the land between excreted gold tinged excrement. In runes description, runes was grace that dwelled in being; runes, with proper method, could be transformed to fresh and bones and vice versa. As golden grace was very common in the land between, everything was made of golden graces. Thus, when you eat something in the land between, your excrement should be golden too. I believe only boars, runebears and wormfaces were chosen by Fromsoft to drop the gold tinged excrements because of game aesthetics and their behavior. Afterall, these animals seemed to eat and shit alot.
I was so intrigued! These guys and the Windmill girls are by far the most intruging characters to me. It made me go through the zone with care and I tried to figure out what had happened. Why had the Ruins of the Wormfaces more "wormfaces" than the village? I felt I liberated that part of the forest just as I did the same when I took out the Apostole at the Windmill place
The clothing the ones in Farum Azula wear actually resemble the bangles that the beastmen wear. To me, it's likely that these are ceremonial burial garments of some kind, similar to the robes that the wormfaces in the plateau have. There's much to suggest that they're actually corpses uprooted by the deathroot in some way.
Yeah… won’t lie, first fought them yesterday and um… died. Then did a lil digging and there inspiration came directly from the king yellow haster. I have the series of books and to see these things.. ooph trippy but it proves Miyazaki is a cultured man
5:33 I just looked into this myself and I just wanted to share that my theory is actually that they are eating the roots of the minor erdtrees. Boars and bears both eat roots in real life
LOVE your content, especially how you present Elden RIng lore in your own way! It's SO good, I binged watched your entire list, yesterday! Keep it up, man! Before THIS video, I didn't know that trees and animals had Grace as well, I thought it was just humans, you learn something new every day!
The wormface on mount Gelmir gave me a larval tear when i defeated it.... i'm certain only the silver tears have the ability to shapeshift, like the bear, the lion.....
6:20 Jokes on you Worm Bois I'm into that shit nothing better to alleviate the mental anguish of dying to a boss for an hour straight than going into the woods to get the grace sucked out me by a couple of Death Spewing Betty's
The most disgusting enemy ever. They also move so weird. I started screaming once the big one started running towards me and dropped the controller. They remind me to the slim godskin once he transform. But maybe he has a more snake-like appearance? Not sure.
The wormfaces in farum azula may be mutated from undead beastmen, hence the wraps. The ones on the ground in altus might be trying to hide their appearance from other people either to stay hidden for safety or to lure in unsuspecting victims.
I imagine they are (ancient) dragon decendents. They resemble the dragon form our Tarnished takes. Their worm head also resembles that of a finger, which even have similar bone joints a finger would have-two near the top and one on their back, like a knunckle. Their presence at Farum Azula, which is home to many dragons, could mean they are Undead forms of their former self, who arose from their mummified state after Destined Death was taken away. Which might also explain why they aren't a skeleton compared to others that live in death. If we can assume they were in fact mummies, we can also assume they were of great importance within their tribe to have received mummification. I don't know much about the lore of Elden Ring dragons and Farum Azula, but maybe they are so somber because they want to return to their roots, which they obviously can't since they have no grace. So they may be sucking your grace in order to return to the roots. And they are crying because they are so close to it, yet so far away. The tendrils on their face is what's interesting to me. Like it's a parasite that came later. Perhaps that is what ressurected them, with the intent to spread the Death plague. Their densest concentration is near the Minor Erdtree, which is directly above the Prince of Death's throne. So maybe they are vessels for the deathroot to spread across the lands. They are definitely one of the most interesting creatures I've come across!
After watching this video, it got me thinking... What if the worm faces are the offspring of Godwyn? If you recall when we first see the husk of Godwyn in stormvail castle and again in the deep root area, the bodies possessed worm like tendrils protruding from their faces. Due to their close proximity to Godwyn's resting place above ground, they could have spawned from his body because, technically, Godwyn isn't dead. After being spawned, the worm faces could've made their way up to the surface. That's as far as my theory goes.
Haven't seen anyone make the comparison yet, but they look pretty similar to the brain suckers in Bloodborne, who don't steal grace but do steal insight
Like Maggots and worms to a Corpse , life that feeds on the dead and by extension in a way Death itself and if able will do the same to the wounded and dying if given the opportunity (like a infested wound) feeding on the life that is desperately trying to survive and will likely die if the infestation is not stopped...
i think they are godwyn's devout followers who followed him even after his death and mutating into hideous beings through godwyn's deathblight. Similar to scarlet rot that even in rot new life blooms
While I was playing recently I noticed the caped worm faces seem to wear a cloak very similar to the pumpkin heads. Weird connection, but the green capes seemed to look the same as I went from a fort in Altus to the forest where the worm faces are. Maybe one faction stole their capes from the other? Or were the worm faces and pumpkin heads both the different result of rune experiments? Maybe a leap but I didn’t see anyone else mention this
The pumpin heads are just gladiators who've gone mad with bloodlust. A trait you see a lot with certain characters relating to Horah Loux. As during the time of his reign, the coliseums were in full swing. I think marika banished him because he went mad with a desire for battle or something, hence why his shadow serosh was placed on his back to contain him.
@@sirrealism7300 Marika didn't banish him for going mad, she banished him so that he may grow stronger by fighting to the death outside of the lands between. She always planned to send him away and then call him and the Tarnished back to reclaim the elden ring for her. Melina gives us direct quotes from Marika when you get to the graces on the upper part of the mountaintops of the giants.
I think they were beasts that were killed in Farum Azusa, but when destined death was locked away they could not die true deaths and became corrupted by death blight, turning into vessels to propogate it
The worms of the Lord of death forever wandering the land between in search for more Grace to consume and pray that there Lord will once again rise from his slumber so they can feast upon the radiant tree and Bring death to all.🐱
It was my understanding that Rog, like most modern Tarnished no longer can see grace, and that Tarnished only resurrect through Grace, which means they die permanently no matter what the cause.
Maybe wormface are servants of the golden Order... i was wondering who were the ones that killed the fire giants since all of them are killed with deathroot... and also in stromveil castle you can find death root. The thing below might be the original stormlord and the first demigod(Stormlord) killed by deathroot... OR maybe even as part of the gloam eyed queens contingent, which might have supported godfrey
Do you think possibly that the worm faces, We're dead golums or beasr men of Azura, things thst had been buried in sacred golden shrouds, and with worm consuming their flesh, but when the death rune was removed and a fragment taken, these things came back fused as one with the worms that had begun to consume their body, or maybe this is what happens when one communes with death to long, similar to the Wyrms and their origins
maybe the ones in faram azula are an offshoot that dont worship the gikden order and wish to die a true death and are searchng for the rune of death for that end, while the other want to welcome and age of undeath?
Late comment, but has the relationship to ulcerated tree spirits been explored? I feel like the wormfaces being found near dead or dying erd trees is significant, and the ulcerated tree spirits are related. There are skin ulcers that develop from poor blood flow and blood pressure, and if we think about the tree spirits’ and guardians’ grace as blood, a dead or dying tree spirit would be covered in ulcers due to poor “grace flow” for lack of a better term. In nature, worms serve a purpose in decay, the processing of dead matter, along with fungus and other unpleasant creatures. It would stand to reason that wormfaces would serve to contribute to the decay of erd trees. I feel like that could explain the significance of both a random wormface and an ulcerated tree spirit both being found at the ruined tree outside Mt. Gelmir.
Easily the most unsettling enemy in the game, and this is a game with the Royal Revenant in it.
The most unsettling enemy in this game for me is gravity
"You can't fight Gravity" - Dutch Van der Linde
@i have no mouth and i must scream Why thank you
@i have no mouth and i must scream original 🤓
@i have no mouth and i must scream so funny🙂
The sound engineering is creepy af.
Worm faces do a very good job at keeping tarnished from coming back from death because the second you see one you want to turn the game off in terror.
any enemy that applies death blight is stressful to fight but the design of these things makes them the creepiest enemy in the game by far
Your theory reminded me of something else I had read, in the description of the Prince of Death’s Staff:
“Staff embedded with sullied amber, said to be a very part of the Prince of Death. Enhances death sorceries.”
Perhaps what they are really after is amber of the Erdtree. Amber of the Erdtree is described in many places to be life incarnate, blessings of the Erdtree that flowed like a fountain in the early days of the religion. Sellen even likens it to glintstone during her dialogue. More evidence of this is that in Woodfolk Ruins you can find the Icon Shield, which description yields:
“Greatshield painted with a divine scene; the recipients of a blessed tear from the Erdtree. An item that looks back fondly on the age of plenty.
The divine scene acts in and of itself as a sacred invocation; gradually restoring the carrier's HP.”
It could be that consuming the pieces sullied by Godwyn were the very thing that changed them and made them ill. I mean, they’re literally vomiting death blight, something has to be causing them stomach problems haha
I agree. I think they're probably primordial creatures or mutants like the misbegotten who used to eat the nutrients (amber sap) near the erdtree's roots, and accidentally ended up eating deathblight after Godwyn corrupted the roots. Because they do in fact look like worms and are called wormface, and worms suck nutrients from the soil near plants. Considering Placidusax, the elden lord of a bygone era, is at Farum Azula, I think it was likely the old capital or something built near the erdtree which would explain their presence there as well.
They replace Erdtree Guardians both the humanoids and the Erdtree Avatar.
They make me think of decapitated people who've had their faces re-grown against their will. Maybe the headless Knights are their spirits?
@@FoxBatinaHat The wormfaces do actually have heads though, it is just that they are mostly fused with their necks. You can see human ears near the end of their long "neck" on their model. Interestingly, it appears as though the worms growing from their face aren't a part of them either, seemingly just growing out of their face as a sort of parasite. So perhaps it could be a similar case to Cemetery Shades (normal withered corpses that had a parasitic deathblight crab attached to their head, which is what animates and controls them), with the worms in their faces being the primary sources of their illness and their only true connection to Godwyn
I've never screamed so violently than when the creature walked up to me with insane speed.
Lmaoooo😅😅
You're right about the loss of grace allowing for permanent death. It's actually indirectly told to the players as the very basis for the existence of the Tarnished. The Tarnished, as we know them now, primarily consist of fallen warriors and scholars who were incredibly powerful despite being either divested of grace, or never having it to begin with. The return of grace to the Tarnished is the whole reaaon we start coming back to life. It's why suddenly Gideon crawled out of his coffin, and why people as old as Hoarah Loux can suddenly pop back into the Lands Between... in both cases, characters who were seemingly dead, but got back up and regained the guidance of grace as well. This point is especially important for Hoarah Loux, of course. I don't mean to put down your theory, but I wanted to share this stufff with you to hopefully show you that your theory is pretty much confirmed in game, so good call :)
Except for us we are the exception and seem to be the erdtrees last gamble
Because of having played DS3 before elden ring, I was constantly paranoid of these guys applying that maggot/leech effect to me whenever they spewed worms
Many people haven't noticed it, but when you look at wormfaces straight on with a bit of a tilt so you can see the top of the hood of their shawls, their face tentacles make the godrick pustule face, or at least the outline of it. Check it out and tell me if you see it.
Kind of looks like Leyndell broke their own bridges to cut the wormface flood
Yes! The Golden Order was founded to fight Godwyn. He was undead before the Night of Black Knives.
@@darkhobo nonsense
@@WeWillAlwaysHaveVALIS nope. Point 1) pure fact. No denying it. The only spells that are effective against them. 2) check out the stormcaller church sword monument. It says he died.
Turns out item descriptions are more important that what Rogier says. Rogier can be wrong. Item descriptions can not.
Think about it
@@darkhobo lol
@@darkhoboi will have whatever you were smoking
Very creepy. I remember cringing when that colossal wormface appeared out of nowhere in Mt gelmir. Their necks look similar to those of the guardians. I think they are tied. Godwyn probably infected the guardians when infecting the tree.
One of them is kneeling and crying in front of a grave with a flower on it. Also they seem to be something like shepherds to the slugs in Altus Plateau. Personally I think the worms are a seperate entity that have simply befallen a host who has retained a very small part of their humanity. They could have been erdtree guardians for example
I'm very confident they're Erdtree guardians seeing how they congregate around the tree, hang out with healthier guardians and have similar cloaks. That doesn't explain the ones in Farum Azula though.
It does appear as though the worms on their model are a separate entity, I think it was either Zullie or BonfireVN who made a video about their model's details, so they could indeed be mutated tree guardians infected with deathblight parasites
That's a good theory that the Wormfaces eat up graces. It would explain why Leyndell soldiers are hostile towards them (aside from just being disgusting). The Wormfaces pose a direct threat against Leyndell / The Erdtree.
I always though that the wormface on Gelmir is not a wormface, because if remenber corectly that one drops one larval tear so i think that could be one mimic tear in disguise like the others we found in other places that trasnform in diferrent enemies.
@Sam Cooper ahh because of course. I too whould want to look like a burned corpse.
@Sam Cooper a note even tho ya never minded I'm pretty sure it's stated all those reborn by renalla (excluding you for obvious reasons) is a failure that can't actually live a true life like that only as those weird choir kids
@@draw2death421 I think he meant the Wormface in Gelmir wanted the Larval tear to rebirth with Rennala. The same how Boc wanted it to change his appearance to look beautiful.
Or that one ate a a mimic.
Something interesting I observed; near the Windmill Village, there's a small settlement of villagers that appear to have built up defenses on the path leading into the woods, either to keep the Womrfaces out, or in!
When I was in that forest with all of these guys, it was one of the few moments I actually had to pause the game and calm my nerves because I was actually getting terrified. That has almost never happened to me while playing a video game.
Only other moment I can think of right now that compares is the bog lands surrounding the crones in Witcher 3.
Yura's cut dialogue says there's a worm like infestation behind his eyes growing slowly back till his brain.. and his heart.. seems eerily similar
1:42 they seem to have a second set of white worms inside them, It would be interesting if the colony of worms inside them actually had a queen that lays eggs.
the worms they spit out are even smaller white ones, unlike the dark ones that are most visible on their face.
Great observations! These guys are so freaky, such a well done enemy. The one on Mt Gelmir is actually a Mimic bc it drops a Larval Tear tho, so I don't think it's a real Wormface, but who even knows with those enemies... And if the underground map is lined up with the overworld correctly, Godwyn's corpse is actually closer to being beneath Blackguard and the Auriza Hero's Grave, which is why we find crab's with the Prince of Death's face growing on their backs, as well as the Golden Epitaph sword there. However, I still think you're right about Godwyn's proximity being a factor for their presence, due to the /elevation./ This valley is as low if not even lower than the trench where the crabs are found, so the Minor Erdtree there could technically be closer to Godwyn. Whether the "Woodfolk" who once lived there became the wormfaces, or if they came from Farum Azula seeking the source of the Deathblight, I still have no idea.
In my curiosity, I used the cameramode mod to make myself invisible to enemies and went to examine the Farum Azula ones more closely. Their wrappings seem to be binding gold disk talismans to them, which does indeed give off a mummy-like vibe, since many irl cultures that practiced mummification would do this. I find it interesting that the big one in the pond seems to be praying to a Grave Glovewort Picker's Bell Bearing, since according to the Great Grave Glovewort: "Since times of old, large gloveworts were used to comfort heroic spirits. Given in tribute to those who died the most glorious of deaths, in the hope their stories would become legend." All kinds of things to speculate with that.
Also, the uh... "worms" of their faces... do actually seem to be literal worms. As in... not a natural feature. They have giant earthworms boring into or out of their faces. And of course they barf up smaller ones a lot too. Total infestation. And yet, somehow, the worst part for me is that if you look closely... you can see they have ears. imgur.com/IfeKdjJ imgur.com/tz0DILp
Great analysis
The only creature in Elden Ring that scared the crap out of me when I first found them. Between their mysterious yet disgusting look, and that freaking ungodly noise they make - I shat in many a leg armor while walking through the Altus forest
My theory is that they are ancient servants or nobles from the lineage of Godwyn during the golden age. Like the knights of the mausoleum are former knights of Godwyn who guard the soulless demigods, their old lords (vassals to Godwyn). It seems like a lot of the lineage of Godwyn shared his fate somehow, they are all linked to Death in some manner.
Wormface actually wears a nice piece of cloth, with lace, as well, and all their attire is colored yellow, Godwyn/The Capital theme color. I am not surprised to see them in Farum Azula because Godwyn was famously friends with the Dragons, so some of his people may have lived there.
I believe that these creatures are scared, crying for their dead Lord and for their dead lineage, and maybe with the help of Grace they are trying to either revive their Lord, to recreate his soul or to heal themselves.
The corpse of Godwin became an ecosystem, there are 3 elements to death blight, the black roots the worms and the flys, the worm faces could be spawned form deathroot as incarnations of Godwins body or nobles infested by Godwin’s worms, the basilisk are born from the roots itself thus having the eyes of the prince of death and it can be argue that the ants could be born form the root as well
Every SINGLE time I've showed up to Mt. Gelmir, that wormface is already standing there? I've never seen the putrid corpse before hand, that is very strange. I have over 600 hours in the game, played through several times. I know he drops a larval tear, just like all the other disguised enemies, so it makes sense. I'm just wondering why he's already transformed for me EVERY TIME. Almost feel like I was robbed lol.
Me too. I've never seen him disguised. He's always already a worm face every time I've gone there. Even in other people's playthroughs I've watched.
This game for some reason has a lot of things I fear, these guys and darkness, and the whole caelid area was a nightmare. Especially darkness and pitch-black places, I remember when I went to morgott's tower to activate his great rune and suddenly the area went pitch black I'm not kidding I just closed the game and didn’t play for two days, you might think I’m exaggerating but I was so scared and even after 4 playthroughs of this game I never went back to that place, it reminded me of bloodborne when the same thing happened going down to see that deformed great one... great games but man they have a lot of things I fear.
I think it's the fact that the game is difficult and unforgiving that somehow makes everything feel scarier. Everything can kill you, everything is a threat. So there's this really strong, real desire for self preservation in souls games. And thus when there are events like lights going out, I think it actually can feel surprisingly real.
Yeah, the game can go from Zelda to Silent Hill so fucking fast sometimes. I love it.
Also that moment i just went: "A-HA! I know whats up, the moment i touch that corpse i'll be attacked." And so i waited....for 5 min. Actually had to walk for a chunk after the soldier.
There are enemies in that pitch-blackness. Not extra hard though. I was surprised by it, and immediately summoned the mimic tear. We survived it with pure gusto.
My headcanon is that they’re erdtree guardians who while on duty got slowly infected by the deathblight morphing them into root monsters and they feed off of anything that has grace
What are the Wormfaces? Absolutely fucking disgusting in my opinion. But that's just me. :p
I can't help but notice they are mostly confined to that misty valley in the middle of the Altus Plateau, like everyone else wants nothing to do with them and have just stuck them down there permanently. I think it's the most unsettling place in the whole game, honestly, what with the mist and the Wormfaces sitting around and sobbing/praying to themselves until they're threatened.
The best take on Wormfaces I had heard before today was "I wanna be where Wormface is not"
The worm faces have a grab attack? That’s okay, I didn’t need to sleep tonight
Their shape, their sounds, the way they move, literally everything about them reminds me of ds1 mimics. Just worms instead of a chest with teeth and a deeper voice
Wormface is one of the bosses I really enjoy, I love the horror vibe the fight has and the enemy is generally creepy.
Between this video and the Mausoleum knights, I honestly feel when Godwyn was killed every creature had their lives completely upended and changed, and almost all of them, mysterious or understood have two clear functions.
They either seek to return to normalcy, meaning the life of devotion towards grace and the Erdtree, or a life fighting against it and the Golden Order.
So essentially you have the loyalists, rebellion, and anyone else who's life was f**ked after the Shattering
a neat detail is that the files refer to the smaller ones as Deracine_Male and the bigger ones as Deracine_Female(so we now know the actual name of their species) Deracine means "displaced" or "uprooted" maybe that has some lore implications
You know what's weird? Deracine is the name of a V.R. game that Fromsoft released a few years ago.
Literally the only enemy I've completely avoided. Every enemy I come across I face them and it's very hard for me to not fulfill the desire of thorough completion/looting. I just can't deal with them; they're unsettling, scary, and make me cringe so hard.
The wormfaves are clearly demigods like in the walking mausoleums. The wrappings they wear are the same as the demigods and the demigods were placed in mausoleums to keep away death.
given that the gelmir wormface drops the item used for rebirths, a larval tear (much like several other enemies that appear in a similar way) it seems more likely that the putrid corpse was "reborn" as a wormface rather than that it always was one in disguise
I will never forget the first time I happened upon a giant worm face, the sheer terror I felt was immediate and paralyzing
Walking through those woods and hearing all of the noises they make was one of the most scary moments of the game for me. You have this urge to explore but what's out there waiting for you to find it?
Sometimes the unknown is the biggest thing to fear 😱
I think it sounds like the wormfaces at Altus plateau are praying for help from the Erdtree, something like "Erdtree please help me, please"
I believe the wormfaced things we see now are the current form of the woodfolk, and I may even say that woodfolk/wormfaces were once Godwyn's followers. Farum Azula wormfaces may be stationed there, by Godwyn, as a friendly gesture to the resident dragons. That's the only thing I could imagine that would grant them the power of deathblight, without them contacting either the body or one of the faces of the Prince of Death. Great video!
This is a good theory but Godwyn didn't have the power of deathblight while he was alive so when would the woodfolk have been granted that power?
@@square-table-gaming I'd guess they had some other power granted through Godwyn prior to his death that changed to deathblight as he became the prince. It's still hard to pinpoint what Godwyn was all about, so I can't say he could have even granted any kind of power.
I still haven't ironed the theory all the way out, and I still don't have any concrete idea about how the basilisk got the deathblight either, but I feel strongly about the wormfaces being the woodfolk regardless of allegiance.
Edit: After thinking more, being granted power through the living Godwyn may even explain the gold shit, even if the power granted has been warped.
I like the idea that they were followers of Godwyn during his friendship with dragons and lost their grace when Godwyn died. So its their own grace they shat out, Dung Eater plug.
I think there was not only wormfaces, but everyone in the land between excreted gold tinged excrement. In runes description, runes was grace that dwelled in being; runes, with proper method, could be transformed to fresh and bones and vice versa. As golden grace was very common in the land between, everything was made of golden graces. Thus, when you eat something in the land between, your excrement should be golden too.
I believe only boars, runebears and wormfaces were chosen by Fromsoft to drop the gold tinged excrements because of game aesthetics and their behavior. Afterall, these animals seemed to eat and shit alot.
If not imps next, just imps in general at some point would warm my heart
I was so intrigued! These guys and the Windmill girls are by far the most intruging characters to me. It made me go through the zone with care and I tried to figure out what had happened. Why had the Ruins of the Wormfaces more "wormfaces" than the village? I felt I liberated that part of the forest just as I did the same when I took out the Apostole at the Windmill place
Your laugh is so snuggly wuggly cute boy
The clothing the ones in Farum Azula wear actually resemble the bangles that the beastmen wear. To me, it's likely that these are ceremonial burial garments of some kind, similar to the robes that the wormfaces in the plateau have. There's much to suggest that they're actually corpses uprooted by the deathroot in some way.
The Mt Gelmir one is a silver tear mimicking a putrid corpse and a wormface. There's several sneaky tears like this around the world.
I believe their are carvings/pictures of them all over Farum Architecture. They are in a repeating pattern with other creatures from the crucible age.
These things are freaky. But nothing compares to the finger spiders. God damn those things give me goosebumps.
3:38 it's a mimic, there's a few throughout the lands between above ground ^_^
Love the vids!!
Yes thank you!!! I finally know a little more about these little freaks!!
Yeah… won’t lie, first fought them yesterday and um… died. Then did a lil digging and there inspiration came directly from the king yellow haster. I have the series of books and to see these things.. ooph trippy but it proves Miyazaki is a cultured man
5:33 I just looked into this myself and I just wanted to share that my theory is actually that they are eating the roots of the minor erdtrees. Boars and bears both eat roots in real life
LOVE your content, especially how you present Elden RIng lore in your own way! It's SO good, I binged watched your entire list, yesterday! Keep it up, man! Before THIS video, I didn't know that trees and animals had Grace as well, I thought it was just humans, you learn something new every day!
I'm going to have nightmares.
The wormface on mount Gelmir gave me a larval tear when i defeated it.... i'm certain only the silver tears have the ability to shapeshift, like the bear, the lion.....
I thought shit couldn't get more scary than the dogs and crows in Calied. Then I saw these things, and boy, was I wrong
I’ve seen enough anime to now where this is going
Loving the slave knight geal cosplay, at least that’s what I assume it is.
6:20 Jokes on you Worm Bois I'm into that shit
nothing better to alleviate the mental anguish of dying to a boss for an hour straight than going into the woods to get the grace sucked out me by a couple of Death Spewing Betty's
The most disgusting enemy ever. They also move so weird. I started screaming once the big one started running towards me and dropped the controller.
They remind me to the slim godskin once he transform. But maybe he has a more snake-like appearance? Not sure.
They gather beloew that bridge in altus because Godwyns corpse is directly below that spot? Good catch thats so interesting & well hidden.
The wormfaces in farum azula may be mutated from undead beastmen, hence the wraps. The ones on the ground in altus might be trying to hide their appearance from other people either to stay hidden for safety or to lure in unsuspecting victims.
They have a moves set similar to the mimic chests in DS3
I imagine they are (ancient) dragon decendents. They resemble the dragon form our Tarnished takes.
Their worm head also resembles that of a finger, which even have similar bone joints a finger would have-two near the top and one on their back, like a knunckle.
Their presence at Farum Azula, which is home to many dragons, could mean they are Undead forms of their former self, who arose from their mummified state after Destined Death was taken away. Which might also explain why they aren't a skeleton compared to others that live in death.
If we can assume they were in fact mummies, we can also assume they were of great importance within their tribe to have received mummification.
I don't know much about the lore of Elden Ring dragons and Farum Azula, but maybe they are so somber because they want to return to their roots, which they obviously can't since they have no grace. So they may be sucking your grace in order to return to the roots. And they are crying because they are so close to it, yet so far away.
The tendrils on their face is what's interesting to me. Like it's a parasite that came later. Perhaps that is what ressurected them, with the intent to spread the Death plague. Their densest concentration is near the Minor Erdtree, which is directly above the Prince of Death's throne. So maybe they are vessels for the deathroot to spread across the lands.
They are definitely one of the most interesting creatures I've come across!
After watching this video, it got me thinking... What if the worm faces are the offspring of Godwyn? If you recall when we first see the husk of Godwyn in stormvail castle and again in the deep root area, the bodies possessed worm like tendrils protruding from their faces. Due to their close proximity to Godwyn's resting place above ground, they could have spawned from his body because, technically, Godwyn isn't dead. After being spawned, the worm faces could've made their way up to the surface. That's as far as my theory goes.
Haven't seen anyone make the comparison yet, but they look pretty similar to the brain suckers in Bloodborne, who don't steal grace but do steal insight
Like Maggots and worms to a Corpse , life that feeds on the dead and by extension in a way Death itself and if able will do the same to the wounded and dying if given the opportunity (like a infested wound) feeding on the life that is desperately trying to survive and will likely die if the infestation is not stopped...
I get so spooked hearing their sounds all around me!
my idea is that theyre to death blight what the kindred of rot are to scarlet rot
they look like the enemies in old yharnam in Bloodborne
First time seeing these. My immediate reaction was that it felt like a mercy to kill them
I think I strong argument could be made the worm face in mount gelmir is a mimic tear, it does drop a larval tear and is a shape shifter.
It's possible, but don't mimic tears typically become their gelatinous form before transforming?
i think they are godwyn's devout followers who followed him even after his death and mutating into hideous beings through godwyn's deathblight. Similar to scarlet rot that even in rot new life blooms
The wormfaces remind me of the mindless Titans from Attack on Titan. They way they move and their desire to consume the tarnished.
While I was playing recently I noticed the caped worm faces seem to wear a cloak very similar to the pumpkin heads. Weird connection, but the green capes seemed to look the same as I went from a fort in Altus to the forest where the worm faces are. Maybe one faction stole their capes from the other? Or were the worm faces and pumpkin heads both the different result of rune experiments? Maybe a leap but I didn’t see anyone else mention this
The pumpin heads are just gladiators who've gone mad with bloodlust. A trait you see a lot with certain characters relating to Horah Loux. As during the time of his reign, the coliseums were in full swing.
I think marika banished him because he went mad with a desire for battle or something, hence why his shadow serosh was placed on his back to contain him.
@@sirrealism7300 Marika didn't banish him for going mad, she banished him so that he may grow stronger by fighting to the death outside of the lands between. She always planned to send him away and then call him and the Tarnished back to reclaim the elden ring for her. Melina gives us direct quotes from Marika when you get to the graces on the upper part of the mountaintops of the giants.
Yet another thing to hold against Ranni. I mean these and most of the other deathblight enemies are directly her fault.
I think they were beasts that were killed in Farum Azusa, but when destined death was locked away they could not die true deaths and became corrupted by death blight, turning into vessels to propogate it
If you have headphones on and sneak up to the wormfaces, you can hear them make some unsettling noises. You can even hear them laugh 🤔
The worms of the Lord of death forever wandering the land between in search for more Grace to consume and pray that there Lord will once again rise from his slumber so they can feast upon the radiant tree and Bring death to all.🐱
When I was adventuring through the area I noticed that they pray and almost weep or cry while sitting there
I just made it there. Started running around, dying lol took me a smoke break and say your vid just posted! Great timing STG
Yikes
No one has an Imp lore vid yet and they are my kin
I remeber going through the forest and saying nope nope nope don't care this place gives me the creeps
It was my understanding that Rog, like most modern Tarnished no longer can see grace, and that Tarnished only resurrect through Grace, which means they die permanently no matter what the cause.
Maybe wormface are servants of the golden Order... i was wondering who were the ones that killed the fire giants since all of them are killed with deathroot... and also in stromveil castle you can find death root. The thing below might be the original stormlord and the first demigod(Stormlord) killed by deathroot... OR maybe even as part of the gloam eyed queens contingent, which might have supported godfrey
The thing below them is confirmed to be Godwyn, but we still don't know who used deathroot on the giants so that's a thought
Do you think possibly that the worm faces, We're dead golums or beasr men of Azura, things thst had been buried in sacred golden shrouds, and with worm consuming their flesh, but when the death rune was removed and a fragment taken, these things came back fused as one with the worms that had begun to consume their body, or maybe this is what happens when one communes with death to long, similar to the Wyrms and their origins
They might be a creation of Godwyn like the Kindred of rot appears after melenia bloomed and they worship her
I literally platinum'd this game without ever seeing one of these
This is literally the first time I've ever seen them :D
Maybe the Worm faces in Farum Azula are praying to the rune of death considering Malekith is hiding it there
I got to the forest at night, let me tell u these guys are rerrifying at night when u barely can see something
These and the Iron Maiden’s are the only enemies I avoid. I don’t have time for it lol
I would very much like their armor, it’s drippy
Your videos are always really interesting! I hope your channel prospers
Thank you very much!
maybe the ones in faram azula are an offshoot that dont worship the gikden order and wish to die a true death and are searchng for the rune of death for that end, while the other want to welcome and age of undeath?
They look like the Ascended Sleepers in Morrowind
So what is the background track you use specifically for these lore videos?
The Elden Ring character creation music
The wormfaces dont seem like they like having... err... worm faces.
We should have that plank as a weapon lol
These things are straight out of a psychopath's nightmare
The one is a minmic that takes the form of a worm face
Late comment, but has the relationship to ulcerated tree spirits been explored? I feel like the wormfaces being found near dead or dying erd trees is significant, and the ulcerated tree spirits are related. There are skin ulcers that develop from poor blood flow and blood pressure, and if we think about the tree spirits’ and guardians’ grace as blood, a dead or dying tree spirit would be covered in ulcers due to poor “grace flow” for lack of a better term. In nature, worms serve a purpose in decay, the processing of dead matter, along with fungus and other unpleasant creatures. It would stand to reason that wormfaces would serve to contribute to the decay of erd trees. I feel like that could explain the significance of both a random wormface and an ulcerated tree spirit both being found at the ruined tree outside Mt. Gelmir.
The one In mount gilmer is a silver tear
They aren’t sobbing. They’re laughing.
their necks bear resemblance to Rosus a bit