The Gaunt knight, also known as Ser Seril, is a non-playable character and a possible unique enemy encounter in Fear & Hunger. He is a member of Buckman's party.
Ser Seril was recognized as a knight of the royal guard of Rondon and also happens to be the brother of Captain Rudimer. Seril was referred to as a "dark knight" by his fellow Jeanne, although it remains unclear whether this title was an informal moniker or an official designation.
After receiving a perplexing emergency message from Rudimer, informing him that the order of the dungeons of fear and hunger had fallen apart, Seril was dispatched to investigate the situation and rescue his brother. He joined a team led by Lord Ludwig Buckman, which included Ser Seymor and Jeanne. However, as they progressed deeper into the dungeons, Seril lost himself. In the process, he also witnessed his brother succumb to the darkness, causing him to question whether madness runs in his family.
Location
The Gaunt knight is found in the downstairs area of the Ancient city - Inside building, located between the Temple district and Center square of present Ma'habre.
At first, he will only stand still and the player can walk up to him and attempt to communicate unharmed - the knight will not respond. After a short period, he will suddenly raise his sword to the player if they pass by and initiate a battle. The player can save the Gaunt knight instead by throwing an Elixir of mind at his body when facing him; Ser Seril will begin to recollect who he is and cease fighting, and if the player has been briefed by Jeanne about his missing status, he will shortly leave to join Buckman's party, completing their quest. Otherwise, he will stay on this map, and might engage the player subsequently in battle if they pass by. The same Elixir of mind strategy can be repeated as many times as the player wishes.
Battle
Stats
Body part
HP
Blunt
Slashing
Piercing
Fire
Otherworldly
Ev. Rate
Magic Ev.
Resistances
Head
500
100%
100%
115%
100%
100%
55%
40%
None
Torso
2000 (4000)
5%
None
Left arm
450
5%
None
Right arm
350
5%
None
Left leg
50
5%
None
Right leg
50
5%
None
Note: HP in parenthesis is only used for Damage-over-Time calculations.
Strategy
The Gaunt knight wields a sword in each arm, and will either use cross-slash or a double attack (95% chance to cut arms and cause bleeding) per arm. Instead of being cut off immediately, attacking his arms will cause him to become disarmed, making him attack the party with punches. As these punches are much weaker, disarming him as soon as possible should be the priority.
The player can also save the Gaunt knight instead by throwing an Elixir of mind at his body (via Talk). The knight will begin to recollect who he is and cease fighting; the outcome afterward varies according to the player's previous involvement in Buckman's quest.
The Gaunt knight wears the most defending armor in the game, which can only be obtained through looting his corpse; as such, the player must choose between killing him and getting his armor, or saving him and completing Buckman's quest.
