Boss Designs of Bloodborne: Rom, the Vacuous Spider kzread.info/dash/bejne/hXtpuseiaJqoaaw.html

@gogeta5303

Жыл бұрын

Is KZread glitching or did you this comment really com from three days ago?

@rainingfist

Жыл бұрын

I think the scholars underestimate Rom. There's a reason why the old man was up there by himself

@cali843

Жыл бұрын

Wasn't Rom a scholar originally?

There's a text description that states that the the "great ones are sympathetic in nature." Given that Rom herself was a human who turned like a great one and the player character themselves can into a great one, the quote implies that the healing church are just totally misinterpreting the actions and nature of things they do not understand, and their stupidity cost them everything.

@blackbloom8552

Жыл бұрын

Thats a detail that make this version of cosmic horror interesting. The great ones are not inherently evil, but their actions and presence still cause great damage and strife to the world despite what is likely good intentions. It might also just be that the great ones being benevolent is just what the church believe and the truth is not quite that simple. Moon presence especially seems to be only interested in preserving her current power. Overall, its hard to tell as the great ones intents are shrouded in mystery and we never get to learn much about them.

@Ozzieapologist

Жыл бұрын

@@blackbloom8552 It reminds me of something I read on Tvtropes about Bloodborne being simultaneously an homage and a subversion of cosmic horror stories, where humans are much more montrous than the eldritch creatures. As you and Alec said, most great ones are actually benevolent or neutral at worst but become violent and even feral after humans attack and torture them. A few great ones (Amygdala and Moon Presence) seem to play the part straight, treating humans as pawns or cattle but we, the players, have the possibility of killing them both, with our bare hands even!

@VBabis

Жыл бұрын

This reminds me of my favourite interpretation of elder and outer gods I read somewhere on tumblr, some time ago. Basically it said, imagine that you find an ant colony in your house, and they can communicate. They ask you for some sugar for example, which you gather is some kind of currency to them. Not a lot of ants can communicate with you btw, just one small group or something. You give a tea spoon of sugar because, well, why not.? You just wanna see what happens. They begin to ask you for more things, like, water droplets or breadcrumbs, and you give them the stuff as well. Now, you're kinda hooked on seeing what happens. Then, they start asking for more complex stuff, like, for example one ant might ask you to destroy a neighbouring ant hole, or to kill a certain insect, or even kill another ant. Then, one asks you to make another ant fall in love with it. You can't do that, you can only squish ants or give them stuff. But then, you have an idea. You destroy the colony, leaving alive only the ant that asked the question in the first place and the target of their affection, leaving them quite literally alone in the world. Realizing what it did, the ant goes mad from the regret and horror of what just happened, what they caused. That's essentially what we are to the elder gods. Just, an ant colony they find. They're not necessarily malicious or benevolent, they just are.

@vyrawllxo300

Жыл бұрын

@@blackbloom8552 it’s not even rlly that the old ones are doing bad things, it’s a common thing with religion and faith in just about any iteration of humanity in culture. warhammer has the god emperor ffs, he’s just a dude that never had a bad hair day and everyone now treats him as the first and only coming of Christ and that if you do so much as to say you don’t hold 100% faith and willingness to sacrifice yourself in the name of god, you’re a heretic and deserve death. In bloodborne it comes across from Rom, and I like to think Ludwig shows it rlly well, with how he goes bat shit nutty when he finds his sword, which uses the same sort of magic rom does. The college sees rom, with all this knowledge and power, and they’re aware of others of equivalence, so naturally they get a projected messiah complex and wish to worship them, old ones try to say “aye, we ain’t all that chill, here’s why” and then when they show why the humans just put their foot further in the door on some zealot martyr shit tryna unlock the secrets of the arcane

@ejhstmac8783

Жыл бұрын

@@VBabis i remember seeing that too but i couldn't find it again, love this interpretation of cosmic gods

She is literally the barrier that keeps the "eldritch truth" (the Real nightmares) away from Yharnham.

@profmembrane8501

Жыл бұрын

And is the reason the Mensis scholars (including micolash) were all trapped in the Nightmare of mensis (when she became a great one. She created the barrier that kept the Eldritch truth away, which trapped the scholars in the nightmare. Thats why all the mensis students are all dead when ya go to Micolash's body to teleport to the Nightmare of Mensis)

@profmembrane8501

Жыл бұрын

And the fact it was Kos who blessed Rom with becoming a Great one "as you once did for the vacuous Rom. Grant us eyes. Grant us eyes" so Rom could hide away the eldritch truth from outsiders, preventing them from delving into the secrets of Yharnam. From the cruel experiments at the Fishing Hamlet, to the horrors the Choir, the School of Mensis, and the Healing Church and their bullshittery

@travisoliver6741

Жыл бұрын

@@profmembrane8501 Actually, there is a possibility that it was Ebrietas who turned Rom into a Great One. He says "Kos, or some say Kosm", only to later say "The cosmos, of course!" Ebrietas is the left-behind Great One known as the Daughter of the Cosmos. It's also probably why Ebrietas is weeping over Rom's corpse. Rom is her kid, which makes a bit more sense than the long-dead Kos.

@KosMik_Skul

11 күн бұрын

@@travisoliver6741 dude that makes so much more sense, but i don't think I've seen anyone else say this anywhere before.

"Fuck around and find out" is basically the whole game in a nutshell

@avej99

Жыл бұрын

@@ExpandDong420 starting the game tomorrow so im excited to understand what the hell this means

@avej99

Жыл бұрын

@@ExpandDong420 damn I didn’t even know there were multiple endings. I know mext to nothing about that game

@lookdontlook8829

Жыл бұрын

@@avej99 go through it blind first, then on a 2nd playthrough go for other endings

@lookdontlook8829

Жыл бұрын

@@ExpandDong420 2 of the endings you just get through playing normally, it's only the 3rd ending that needs any sort of guide for first timers. it's better if they play the game normally without looking up ending requirements the first time so they get a better experience. if they choose to go for the other endings, they'll already have gotten the blind experience so looking things up then wouldn't really hurt too much

@xLionsxxSmithyx

Жыл бұрын

@@lookdontlook8829 agreed.

Another thing is that she flees from you first, then sends her children, before finally resorting to the meteor summon. So she really goes through great pains to avoid fighting us, even while fighting us.

I'll also point out that it doesn't feel like a fight, but rather like a chore. It's as if Rom is deliberately trying to drag out the process to the point where the Hunter gives up, similar to how Lady Maria openly admits that her strategy is to try and get you to rage quit so that you don't continue on to the Fishing Village.

@capybara9521

Жыл бұрын

Ok

@quigojr6783

Жыл бұрын

Well said fellow Hunter.

@TheSpiritsLease

Жыл бұрын

@@capybara9521 You usually add this little to society?

@mightymidget1306

Жыл бұрын

I beat Lady Maria on my first try

@McBehrer

Жыл бұрын

@@mightymidget1306 wow, so cool

"Sometimes when you fuck around, you do, in fact, find out." -Stanzi

@kasperwithanak3853

Жыл бұрын

She is an icon, she is a queen, and she is the moment.

@foxyloxyBABE

Жыл бұрын

Yess the talented wonderful stanzi ❤❤❤

I’ve never played Bloodborne or any Souls-like game but I always love your analysis of the boss designs and how it interacts with the lore of the game.

@joshuadejesus9861

Жыл бұрын

Yo the lore is top-tier if you don’t play en at least watch a couple of vids it’s always 👍 😊

@aSentientPickle

Жыл бұрын

BoomHammer.

@sirbutterbutter8792

Жыл бұрын

The lore is always awsome

@chumaktv5386

Жыл бұрын

Oh dude the lore alone is awesome, welcome!

@eldriswenbro8957

Жыл бұрын

If I'm correct I think they're all connected for sure. At least Dark Souls through Elden Ring. Only because I've heard the name Yharnam in other games. I think it was in Bloodborne but canonically referenced in each game after that. Someone please point me to an explanation lol.

Rom did nothing wrong. Still wish I could get a Rom plushie.

@foxalpha09

Жыл бұрын

Commission someone to do it.

@ryzekiv7147

Жыл бұрын

👀🕷🧿 “Its so _Ugly!_” 😊 “I love it!” 😄

@ryzekiv7147

Жыл бұрын

If we are requesting FromSoft merch, Can we include Elden Ring’s Merchants in the style of Elf on the Shelf? (Merchant on the Perch!)

@muhammadaltairaufa4178

Жыл бұрын

@@ryzekiv7147 i would sell my soul for a Sif/Blaidd plush. would also sell my kidney for a pope turtle plush and or a mug/shirt designs of the aforementioned plushies.

@ryzekiv7147

Жыл бұрын

Xmas Wishlist: •Nomad Merchant on a Perch (in several colours! collect em all!) •Seluvis Marionette •Mini Ranni Statuette (with disapproving, eye-rolling action!) •Turtle Pope Plushie •Blaidd action figure •Blaidd dog chew toy •Blaidd Bodypillow (ironically, of course) •Blaidd Plush •Blaidd Wolf Head head-thing •Renna Belle of the Ball on the Halfwall (???) •Lands Between Alarm Clock (dozens of enemy voices and sfx to panic you out of bed!) •Lands Between Home Security (dozens of enemy voices and sfx to scare off would-be intruders!) •Monopoly: Lands Between Edition! (Become the True Heir of Limgrave with the only Stat that matters: money!) •The Game of LiFE in The Lands Between! (Fun for most of the family!) •Patches The Blowup Punch-doll •Patches the Punching Bag •Patches the Bodypillow •”Patches Has Fled” Sign to hang up wherever •”Marika’s t*ts, you are ‘ungry aren’t chya?” Sign to replace the “Live Laugh Love” sign in the kitchen! •Wondrous Physick cocktail kit! •Beast Repellent Torch (coyotes and skunks have been a problem in my area recently ) •Swords! (A lot of swords!) •Black Wax Gargoyle statue •Summoning pool statues (for inside and outside use) •PvP Obelisks (for inside and outside use!) •Stake of Marika statues (for inside and outside use) •Radahn and Tiny Horse Costume (for adults and kids) •Radahn Rider _(to attach to your dog!!)_ •Astel, Naturalborn of The Void security camera costume! • •

I love how the Great Ones (Rom, Ebrietas, Moon Presence, etc.) look both horrifying and beautiful. Really fits the whole "Do you REALLY want to see the Truth?" vibe that Bloodborne simply drenches itself with. I love it.

@poggeromegalol8751

3 ай бұрын

rom is definitely beautiful

To fuck around is human, to found out is divine

@Drekromancer

5 ай бұрын

I'm writing this on my tombstone

I always had the idea that she was more so protecting the world from seeing the horrific truth, rather then taking it

@McBehrer

Жыл бұрын

that's basically what the video said

@MMAHypeWatch

Жыл бұрын

never played BB. But what us the truth?

@Monarch_Prime

Жыл бұрын

@@MMAHypeWatch that the world is horrifyingly fucked

@MMAHypeWatch

Жыл бұрын

@@Monarch_Prime I can figure from all the characters and all. But I'm trying to explain without destroying 50 controllers trying to play the game =O

@ninjastar4076

Жыл бұрын

​@@MMAHypeWatch bloodborne is ez lol, also great ones are aliens trying to take over

She's trying to stop me from reaching my ultimate form as an idiot Great One is what she's doing

@Waywardpaladin

Жыл бұрын

Right, I messed around and found out divinity. Don't mind that I am a god slug.

so when comes to the title "vacuous spider" I always felt it was a joke name, basically the scholars called it the stupid spider because she drains you of your insight, making you stupid, or even just an insult, calling rom a stupid spider because the scholars wanted to keep their insights and gain hers

@benadrylcumbersplatch6448

Жыл бұрын

I think it's because unlike the Amygdalas or Ebrietas or even formless Oedon, Rom does nothing for them or the Church, she just...sits there, blocking the Blood Moon and refusing to interact with them, probably frustrating them and making them go "Bah! Stupid spider!"

@geraldyeager7652

Жыл бұрын

​@@benadrylcumbersplatch6448 Just like how most people are with their pets

A corpse should be left well-enough alone, and spiders even more-so.

Bloodborne is just “I WILL FUCK AROUND AND ADDITIONALLY FIND OUT”

Something else about Rom I think is cool! We know A corpse similar to Rom is located with Ebrietas. I’ve seen some wild theories about that, but I think it is not a corpse at all, but Ebrietas’s previous form. Rom herself might be a caterpillar that would eventually become an Ebrietas like entity, which could suggest Ebrietas herself might also have been previously human, thus potentially explaining why she like rom is initially non aggressive.

@geraldyeager7652

Жыл бұрын

But it's been said that Ebrietas was found in the chalice dungeon and was left behind by the other Great Ones

I've gotta say, i LOVE your pronunciation of Byrgenwerth. I'll never be able to pronounce it BUR-gen-WORTH again.

@thebaseandtriflingcreature174

Жыл бұрын

BYEER-gen-VERTH

Rom: “trust me you don’t want to fuck around and find out”

I can’t remember where but I remember seeing art of Rom with legs, like full legs like the little spiders. Perhaps they were removed? You can see pits on her cephalothorax (head) where those legs would have been

@grantus_pax

Жыл бұрын

I think that in early development, rom had big spider legs that resisted damage like her head, but they were so big that their hitboxes shielded too much of her soft, squishy abdomen, so they gave her new, itty bitty legs and turned her into a classic magic user: she needs minions and spells to keep you at range, bc she's incredibly weak to physical attacks.

@shogun_414

Жыл бұрын

@@grantus_pax my first playthrough wasn't close to breezy killing Rom, not out of difficulty but with how long it took purely with melee

@valdirarruda1576

Жыл бұрын

You can actually find what seems to be another form of Rom in the Altar of Despair, also where you fight Ebrietas. This form has the typical spider legs, right on the aforementioned pits.

That is the most ominous version of "Fuck around and find out"

Playing the game multiple times through really makes you appreciate rom. She for sure is protecting everyone from what's real, she's great!

I always thought Rom was so adorable and it made me sad to fight her. I did notice that too that she will literally not attack you unless you attack first.

@desmondcoppin591

Жыл бұрын

And even then, she fights super defensively.

"Fuck around and find out." - Humanity "Stop fucking around." - Rom

I find it interesting that the lore behind Radahn is similar to that of Rom. As Rom is holding back information and insight, Radahn is holding back the stars. They both are trying to prevent a catastrophic event which in turn happens and unleashes eldritch beings not from this world after both Rom and Radahn are defeated

"Except for Rom. Rom is the very hungry caterpillar."

@thezambambo2184

Жыл бұрын

"If they had a legion of arachnid slaves"

Super interesting analysis, thanks for sharing as always. I have to admit I never viewed Rom as a sort of Martyr, trying to protect humanity from itself, but makes perfect sense in the context of your analysis, and it makes hunting her every playthrough all that much more tragic and emotional

You mentioned in your later video about The Doll, that Bloodborne has this underlying tone of violence against women; but I also think that there is this theme of women trying to stop others from doing stupid s***. Rom may be one of the most important ones, because in sense, she seems to literally make herself braindead to keep back the true horrors that haunt Yharnam

I don't have arachnophobia but dear God that design gives me chills. The way it reminds me of the kind of unrealistically distorted insects you see in fever dreams. Chasing you down from Every surface and over every obstacle. Only to kind of just stare at you awkwardly, and maybe crawl over your face when they actually reach you, as if they didn't know what to do when they actually catch you.

As i recall, vacuous is a way of saying “you sure said a lot of words that meant nothing”

@ProtoPropski

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, which is a round about way of saying "stupid, or un-insightful" after-all if you say words that mean nothing it's generally assumed you know nothing.

@realrealwarpet

Жыл бұрын

@Lucky7Bolt more i assume she said a lot of pretentious nonsense that didn’t actually mean anything. Its entirely possible that her words to humans was vacuous, but meant so much more to the great old ones

As a wise doctor once said, "The words 'Rom' and 'death' should mean the same for you."

I think it's also worth mentioning that it feels that Brom is based off of a African legend of a Spider who gathered all of the Wisdom of Earth in a spoon, but slipped and accidentally poured it all over the Earth.

@michealforguson5317

3 ай бұрын

Whoops. Rom.

"Ohh its beautiful" (Looks at face) OOOOH GREAT HEAVENS!!!

Well at least her sacrifice allowed the night of the hunt to end.....permanently

One design detail I love about Rom is that she used to have legs. Several statues in game show her with large blades legs like her little spawns. The Schoolars literally ripped her legs off like kids playing with a trapped bug. Those tiny little legs she has are actually her babies carrying her around.

Can i just say that the transition to Blood Moon is still one of the most bone chilling things in video game history? Still to this day the baby crying as the blood moon descends and when you wake up, the horrifying truth of the state of the world is revealed, something that we the player just unleashed all for the pursuit of our mission, still to this day gives me greater chills than any horror movie or game has ever done

Ah Yes, the very very hungry caterpillar that died due to a mixture starvation and blunt force trauma to the head

Rom may not be a spider, but she is still horrifying to look at; I almost had nightmares because of that thing it was so glad when it finally died

So basically she’s the embodiment of “fuck around and find out”

That last joke got a chuckle out of me, despite how ominous you made it sound

I loved the theory I heard a while back. Was in the massive Redgrave essay “the pale blood hunt” where he shows evidence that it’s likely that rom is the daughter of ebritas, and that it’s possible that the vacuous thing is in part because rom was a baby that the scholars sacrificed.. really recontextualized a lot of this but it’s very on brand for bloodborne

As far as im aware to rom isnt designed to look like a spider but actually designed to look like an egg nest of spiders. Even its legs kind look like other spider legs just coming out of a nest and holding it up. But rom also has tons of eyes and a mouth so it is a living being it just also seems to be a spiders nest

NO DONT FUCK AROUND! YOU'LL FIND OUT!

Rom is concealing Micolash's plan from the ones who would try to stop him, and we all know Micolash is the true villain of Bloodborne, along with Lawrence. I'm pretty sure Rom doesn't even try to hide anything, she was just experimented on to end up with that result.

This looks like a cool nightmare! And im not being sarcastic...the grey tones, spiders and her multiple eyes put me in a peaceful calm state😀

I love how this guy calls some of them beautiful when they’re like demons lol

We live on a small island of knowledge in a infinite sea of pitch black ignorance. Sometimes the gift of ignorance is the most merciful thing there is.

"True enlightenment need not be shared "

In the words of freeza: i must fuck around and additionally find OUT!!!!!

"To them knowledge is sight, and when you know of them, they will know of you"

Another thing to point out is lakes are described as protective in bloodborne, look at all the lake runes & the Lochshield. Rom lives in / on a lake

One of my favorite story structure tropes right here in the first episode: I LOVE the "beaten" heroes having crappy new jobs, that all turn out to be integral parts of a clever ruse to get back! ❤

I got to this vid accidentally swiped and got a survey if the last video was sadge or smile. I gave it a big smile, came back. Saw the front of the caterpillar and now I regret giving the big smile rating 😭

I have to say I am horrified of spiders but every time I see Rom the only thing I think of is "Ah yes... Glowing potato"

In the Ebrietas boss arena, you can find her kneeling in front of a spider that looks a lot like Rom, except with the full compliment of spider legs. I believe it implies that her full sized legs were removed at one point.

I remember something in Bloodborne saying "The spider halts all rituals" meaning that as long as Rom is alive and sucking up all the rituals being attempted to be done (healing church's blood ministration, Yharnam's beast scourge, Yahar'gul hidden qualities, the amygdala themselves) that there will be no new rituals done, but as soon as rom dies She unleashes all the rituals that were undone by Rom, and let any other rituals commence

@tylerrussell9926

Жыл бұрын

Partly right the word was obscure and all it did was hide the lovecraftian creatures from view as a veil of sorts so the average yharnamite didn't go insane all of it still happened all we did was show up at the part where it all came crumbling down

rom is my best friend and I knew she was good all along 💛 (I also felt very validated for loving her when I found out she was Miyazaki's fave too)

This is the first explanation of Rom in relation to the whole game changing after her death that I've seen that really explains _why_ things really changed. Thanks, Skyen!

So she is one of the few kind characters

I thought that too at first I was like oh wow look at this fuzzy caterpillar thing, then it turned around like 👁️👄👁️

The "acting stupid but actually horrified by what she actually knows" deal. Yeah, that's something I admire about the design and the character itself: she *seems* out of place as a great one until you see what happens after. Given her shape, the amount of eyes, she could also be a reference to the False Behelit apostle from Berserk who causes the Second Eclipse.

She’s also the first Kin Coldblood you get, implying that this is the first time we’ve truly met Kin to the Great Ones.

Her head is also a malformed Amygdala head (without the cage like structure around it), which kind of implies she came close but then stopped progressing, opting to hide the reality for everyone else.

She's a baked potato 🥔 😋

Why these games always have to fuck with me like this? You mean to tell me now I have to feel bad for something looking like THAT?!..

She’s like, f*ck around and find out

I believe this , it’s sad when your hacking away at the poor ugly thing and she’s just facing you while you do it like she’s saying “bro wtf man you don’t wanna do this please !” 😢😢😢

Another interesting fact is that there's a text early on in the game talking about how "The Byrgenwerth Spider locked away all rituals and is keeping our lost master from us!" Now initially you could assume this is talking about Willem since he is closest associated with Byrgenwerth and is in fact there. But then you realise that Rom...isn't guarding Willem. Some of the mutated scholars and the choir member are, but not Rom. In fact, Rom's death only unlocks...the blood moon. And that blood moon belongs to the Moon Presence... So that piece of writing did in fact refer to the Moon Presence as the writer's 'lost master' which makes it fascinating since that creature has very little presence in the game's lore. We can assume Laurence or Gehrman beckoned it in an effort to gain knowledge or to help with the Beast Plague and establish the dream hunters who could return from death and the Hunter's Nightmare proves this connection with it has been around since as long as Yarnham has, but it's truly an otherwise enigmatic creature and it's really interesting that this text acknowledges its existence so openly. The only other reference to it is through the term "Paleblood" which is also deliberately kept vague outside of you having to 'look for' it.

Bury the sword, slay the beast and embrace the madness that's unleashed.

Though she is called a spider, she reminds me more of a tick

Bloodbourne boils down to fucking with things you shouldn’t and reaping the consequences

Or maybe she is so vacuous that she doesnt have the capabilities to percieve you as threat right away

Rom probably was probably acting as a seal on the school of Mensis' ritual which is why someone from Mensis helps you in the fight and someone from the choir is trying to keep you away (as they are rivals)

Thought there was a crack in my screen. turns out it was just the health bar creeping into frame

I love how in the room right before the arena there's a book bringing up the blood moon and then immediately after rom the blood moon begins

They call her vacuous for they'd prefer to insult what they can't understand.

I already felt bad when I was fighting her for some reason, but this just made my heart break :(

She is protecting us her ritual is stopping the Moon Presence from causing more damage

My fave little spider potatoe

In the wise words of Rom:”Fuck around, and you might just find out”

I had a buddy who's first fromsoft game was Bloodborne. He wasn't very good but he fucked w the aesthetic. He was stuck on Rom for literally a month. He would go to the nightmare college to grind. We called it going to school.

the very hungry caterpillar.

Rom is an ascended human who holds back the blood red moon. It was probably her wish to figure out how to ascend and the great ones allowed her the knowledge and the means in the safety of a dream as the moonlight lake does seem very dream-like. She cant communicate with them since only her mind has ascended not her body similiarily to how Yharnams body is in the chalice dungeons and her mind is in the nightmare. Shes probably slumped over in a study somewhere rotting away while her mind gathers knowledge of the great ones in a new, ascended form. The great one who granted her this gift would be Ebreitis since she is seen mourning Rom in the altsr of despair

I always saw Rom as an ally trying to keep out all that absurd stuff going on behind the scenes

Historically, vacuous had more of an "empty/hollow" meaning. Now we understand it as meaning, empty-headed or, yeah, stupid.

Just finished Bloodborne last week. Loved it and I'm now looking for lore that's 9 years old.

Such a calm creature being a great one, and yet she still beat me into next week.

I wonder game programmers had thought that deep into it when coding it 🤔

the wordplay of that last sentence is perfect

This boss made me want to send my head through my desk because of how hard it was to beat, i never want to redo this boss

Rom basically said “you don’t wanna know”

I don't know how I got here though pets and cooking shorts, but I guess I'll keep watching. It would still be a bad choice to watch this in the middle of the night.

Rom the protector of Fucking Around, guardian of Finding Out

THE END LINE WAS A SERVE!!!

That was such a good line

Dude literally said "how come"

"There are some things that are better left unknown"

Rom rolling over is kinda cute.

The face kind of reminds me of the giant spider from the movie Spookies!

“Eldritch horrors descends”. Hunter kills it anyway.