Styx is the deuteragonist in the game, Of Orcs and Men, and the protagonist in Styx: Master of Shadows and Styx: Shards of Darkness.
He is the opposite of Arkaïl, relying on subtlety instead of brute force. Styx is perfect for stealth and he has some dark powers at his command.
He is unique in the fact he is the only known Goblin capable of human speech, unlike the other Goblins which can only make unintelligent growling sounds.
Background
The original Styx was an orc scholar who was accidentally mutated into the first goblin by the magic of the World Tree when he tried to study the properties of its amber. This was the same power that mutated humans into the first elves, although their transformation was deliberate and voluntary.
Styx: Master of Shadows
Styx hated his new form, not just for the loss of his orcish identity, but also because he couldn't shut out the voices of the elves who dwelt around the World Tree. The elves share a communal telepathic mind, and Styx's exposure to the amber of World Tree opened his own mind to their voices. Fed up, Styx decided to the steal the Heart of the World Tree in hopes of finding a cure for his condition. The problem was that the World Tree was heavily protected by the floating fortress tower of Akenash.
One of the peculiar gifts of Styx's transformation was his ability to spawn clones of himself, which he could control telepathically. Styx used these clones as expendable tools, and typically granted them virtually no free will and only a sliver of his skills and knowledge. When Styx broke into Akenash, he planned to allow himself to be captured so that he could question the masters of the tower. Before this happened, Styx created a clone of himself with an unusually high degree of free will and a substantial share of his skills, so that this clone could complete some other goals within the tower on his behalf, then liberate the real Styx from prison. The clone thought that he was the real Styx, but the real Styx was subtly controlling his actions through telepathic suggestions.
But Styx miscalculated. He granted this clone too much power and free will. When the clone realized what he truly was, he rebelled against his creator. With the help of an elf, the clone severed his telepathic connection to the original Styx. He then pursued Styx to the heart of the World Tree. During the battle, the clone Styx fell into a pool of amber, and out of the amber poured hundreds of clones, who then tore the original Styx to pieces. This incident had the side-effect of destroying the magic that kept Akenash afloat in the sky, and the tower crashed on the surface.
The clones all emerged from the ruins and spread out across the land. This was the birth of the goblin race. The clone Styx was among them. He had lost most of his memories in this ordeal, but he retained his intellect and powers as the knowledge that "Styx" was somehow his name.
Personality
Styx is an ancient goblin and is incredibly intelligent for his species being the only known goblin able to speak. He is a skilled infiltrator and assassin, capable of killing humans twice his size without raising suspicion. He has a sarcastic demeanour as opposed to Arkail's much more serious personality. He tends to shy away from prolonged combat as he is somewhat fragile and instead prefers taking out enemies silently without raising alarm.
When Styx learned he was merely a duplicate of the original, he was shown to be infuriated to have been manipulated into blindly following orders for another and resented his condition and what he had been put through.
Appearance
In Of Orcs and Men
As a Goblin, Styx is a significantly shorter being, standing roughly two thirds the height of an average human when at full height and about half the height of a human when crouched down. In Of Orcs and Men, Styx is shown wearing shoulder pad armour, a pair of rough sandals, and a red/brown-ish ragged cloak like garb, also with a long pointed hood pulled over his head, with ear holes.
In Styx: Master of Shadows
Styx's design remained very similar in Master of Shadow and his clothing strongly resembled what he wore later on in Of Orcs and Men. The only real difference being his cloak like clothing was a dark black colour rather than the red/brown-ish colours he adopted in Of Orcs and Men.
His attire was also more ragged, with most of his left shoulder and chest being exposed. For the vast majority of the game, he also possessed an intricate Amber tattoo that would glow when he was enshrouded in darkness, though in the final stage this mark would be removed.
In Styx: Shards of Darkness
(This section is for a currently unreleased title in the Styx series. Specific details unavailable are currently unavailable at the present time.)
Equipment
In Of Orcs and Men
==
In Of Orcs and Men, Styx carries 3 throwing knives over his right shoulder, a dagger over his left shoulder and another dagger attached at his waist.
==
In Styx: Master of Shadows
== In Master of Shadows, Styx seems to travel relatively light, compared to his creator. He only possesses a single dagger, however he still carries Vials of Life and Flasks of Amber (up to 3 of each respective item) as well as Acid vials for rapid disposal of enemies.
==
In Styx: Shards of Darkness
== (This section is for a currently unreleased title in the Styx series. Details unavailable are currently unavailable at the present time.) ==
Abilities
Standard Abilities:
Agility:
Styx is a very agile Goblin. He has the capacity to jump high into the air, scale walls by jumping from one foothold to another, and roll a short distance across the ground, letting him either dodge enemy attacks or rapidly slip through their field of view. Styx can even avoid Inquisitor spells, as well as crossbow bolts and throwing knives.
Combat:
Whilst preferring to avoid head on confrontations in most situations, Styx is a very skilled combatant, capable of killing foes several times his size using just his knives. Up close Styx can duel enemies from simple guards to archers and defeat them in one on one fights, though if facing more than one enemy Styx tends to fall short. Styx has even shown himself capable of taking down Orcs significantly larger than himself.
He also shows exceptional accuracy and throwing power with both throwing knives and sand balls, capable of killing un-armoured foes from afar with knives, provided his throwing line isn't impeded by anything, as well as lobbing sand balls to put out torches from a distance. Styx can also whistle in order to attract and lure nearby guards toward him.
Stealth:
Styx's greatest asset is his stealth capabilities. Styx can easily sneak past even the best of enemies, or slip up behind them undetected to kill them with his dagger. Styx's stealth abilities are good enough that he can even remain undetected by Roabies which possess a highly attune sense of hearing. ==
Amber Abilities:
== Thanks to his capacity to utilise Amber, Styx has several unique abilities at his command, which he can use as he pleases provided he has enough Amber. ==
Master of Shadows:
Cloning:
== Styx has ability to spit out some Amber which will form into a clone of himself. He can then temporarily assume control of the clone for a set period of time, until it either expires, he destroys it to reclaim the Amber used to originally create it, or the clone dies in some way. He can then use these clones to perform tasks he himself may not be able to, such as squeezing through grille's beneath gates in order to activate mechanisms to allow the real Styx to pass through.
The clones themselves have very basic capabilities, only being able to run, jump sneak, and around. They can also bind guards to allow the real Styx to finish them off, make loud, growling/yelling like noises in order to lure any nearby guards, as well as unfasten chandeliers and loads from cranes, to drop them on unsuspecting enemies that may be beneath and crush them.
Clone Tips:
- If guards are alterted to Styx due to noise or finding bodies use a clone some to lure them away. If the guards have not actually seen him, they will kill the clone assuming that is the culprit ("that is how I deal with rats") and cease to be on alert, equally at times clones can attract the enemies away allowing Styx to sneak past
- Quickly spawning in a clone while on the run from enemies can provide sufficient distraction to allow Styx to escape
- Since clones are dispensable they are useful to test how safe/possible a jump is. If the clone can do it, so can the master
- Clones can be occasionally used to lure beetles into a trap (with the growl) or draw the fire of other opponents
- Since the clone can also poison food at water, use it to acheive that then kill them off before the guards see. Even if the guards do see the clone if they can do it in time
- Clones allow Styx to effectively be in two places at once. For example, Styx can get a good viewpoint to watch the guard's position and switch to the clone already positioned to detatch chandelier and crane loads
- Noting that clones only have a short lifespan, they can be used, correctly postioned, as lookout allowing the player to switch back and fourth between Styx and his clone observing hazards
- Later on in the game, clones can be used as a trap by positioning them in a cupboard or chest and snaring a nearby guard. If the guard's walk path does not coincide, use growl or otherwise alert them slightly to the clone's presence and then set the trap. This is also effective on knights who cannot be killed with knives
- The sound of spawning in a clone can alert guards and beetles so take care
==
Clone, note the green bar displayed below the creature indicating remaining clone life. When that runs out they burn up/die.
Amber Vision:
== Amber Vision temporarily heightens Styx's senses, allowing him to be more aware of his surroundings. Amber Vision can help him gauge where an enemy may be facing if seeing them through a wall, easily detect objects worth collecting, observe sections of walls that are climbable, and see marks left by Ozkan and his smugglers drawn in Amber, which can lead him to hiding places. Since a lot of the areas are quite dark it can be hard to see the environment properly so Amber Vision also allow the player to temporarily brighten the view. ==
Invisibility:
== Styx can use Amber to temporarily make himself completely invisible to his enemies. This can allow him too easily escape from an enemy when in combat, or even outright bypass dangerous situations altogether. ==
Shards of Darkness Abilities:
== In addition to retaining all his abilities from Master of Shadows, Styx has several new abilities granted to him during the events of Shards of Darkness. ==
Rebirth:
== Styx can spawn a clone of himself and can teleport to its location, killing the clone in the process. This can let Styx quickly escape danger if he's spotted by an enemy, or simply let him rapidly travel from one location to another if need be. ==
Trivia
A
Gallery
Of Orcs and Men
Styx: Master of Shadows
Styx: Shard's of Darkness
Videos
Trailers
