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Specter Knight

From The Codex

Your boy is a handful, Luan. But... he will be safe. That's a promise I can now keep. Well... one last reverie...
~ Specter Knight

Background

Specter Knight (formerly called Donovan) is one of eight Knights of the Order of No Quarter who serves the Enchantress and keeps watch over the Lich Yard.

Specter Knight also serves as the protagonist of Specter of Torment where he must recruit knights for the Enchantress to regain his life back.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Specter Knight's story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Personality

Specter Knight is a thoroughly cruel Knight, showing sheer coldness towards his enemies, as well as being somewhat sarcastic. He has a tendency to hiss at people when he is angry or annoyed.

When about to face Shovel Knight, he taunts him with the memory of Shield Knight by insisting she is dead. Whilst many of his comrades acknowledge Shovel Knight's strength to some extent after the Battle Royale, Specter Knight instead affirms his faith in The Enchantress and assures Shovel Knight that he cannot succeed.

Before battling Plague Knight, he is quick to mock him for his cowardice, being the only one able to reduce Plague Knight to stunned silence.

As shown in Specter of Torment, Donovan's loyalty to The Enchantress is actually incredibly forced, despite her being the one who resurrected him in the first place. In reality, Specter Knight hates The Enchantress and deeply resents her treatment of him, only serving her because he is forced to, as he had relinquished his free will to her.

At the start of Specter of Torment, he only agreed to serve her as part of a deal so she can restore him back to life. This is enforced by the Keepsake Locket, which The Enchantress granted the power to reverse death, but only when 8 knights swear their loyalty to her, thus Donovan is forced on a quest to gather them for her.

After discovering that The Enchantress is actually Shield Knight, he also shows how angry he can be, and proceeded to attempt to slay her, knowing he would never be restored to life if he succeeded. He does not believe that there is anything left of Shield Knight in the Enchantress, and that attempting to return her to normal is a pointless endeavor, nor does he care to try due to his deep-seated hatred of her. His sarcastic remarks about Shield Knight being dead to Shovel Knight may stem from this.

Though his loyalty to The Enchantress is forced, his loyalty to his late-friend Luan is genuine. He swore to protect Luan's son, Reize, at all costs, even at his own life. He honors this oath so far, that he took Reize's place as the 8th knight of the Order of No Quarter, relinquishing his own free will to The Enchantress, and then used the locket's power that could have restored his humanity to save Reize from The Enchantress's power.

While he can be genuinely ruthless and cold, his heart is not as dead as he is. He still feels incredibly guilty over having a hand in the death of Luan.

Relationships

Luan

Luan was Specter Knight's friend in life and longtime partners in crime. Luan considered Donovan part of his family, and even handed his treasured keepsake locket to him.

Reize

Luan's son, whom Donovan swore to protect if anything would happen to Luan. As Specter Knight, Donovan still honors his promise and tries his best to protect Reize.

Shield Knight

Specter Knight holds a grudge against Shield Knight, as it was her interference that prevented Luan and him from obtaining the magical amulet inside the Tower of Fate. Donovan's fight with Shield Knight caused the ceiling of the chamber where the amulet was to collapse, resulting in Luan's death. After Specter Knight discovers that Shield Knight is the Enchantress, he becomes even more fueled by rage, blaming her for the death of his friend and his state as a serving wraith.

Black Knight

He was the very first Knight that Specter Knight attempted to recruit, under the orders of The Enchantress, and the one that reveals to Specter Knight that she is actually Shield Knight possessed. Specter Knight and Black Knight show a mutual respect for each other's abilities. He is one of the few characters to only refer to Specter Knight as Donovan. This is because they knew each other in life, though it is unclear as to how. He also has knowledge on the events leading up to Donovan's death, unlike any other known character. Black Knight expresses happiness to see Specter Knight well, but also wishes to maintain distance between them.

King Knight

Specter Knight has a hatred towards King Knight due to him being a "fool" and "a child, in the guise of a monarch". Every dialogue exchange between them has King Knight taunting on Specter Knight, calling him names such as "loyal lapdog" or "mangy beggar", showing their rivalry and antipathy for each other.

King of Cards

Specter Knight faces King Knight twice in King of Cards, using his ninja-like form seen in Specter of Torment. His first appearance is in Spectral Ravine, where he tries to give King Knight advice on how to become a champion of Joustus, but becomes aggravated by King Knight's arrogant personality and decides to fight the gilded goon instead. During this battle, Specter Knight runs and jumps around the room, sometimes using his Curios to attack. He'll often shoot Bounding Soul and Spider Scythe and will sometimes jump into the air to use Dread Talon. On rare occasions, he'll use Judgement Rush, but the attack can be interrupted.

Later, Specter Knight appears as an Encounter Boss blocking the way to King Birder's stage, King's Roost. Here he uses his Curios much more often and breaks out the Throwing Sickle and Skeletal Sentry in addition to the ones he used in his first battle. However, once his health is reduced to three full health bubbles, Specter Knight channels his power and transforms into his reaper-like form from Shovel of Hope and fights exactly as he did in the aforementioned campaign.

Similarly, to Plague Knight in Plague of Shadows, in Specter of Torment Specter Knight receives a new sprite set that makes him smaller (almost the same size as Shovel Knight) and with unique animations for walking, jumping and climbing, among others. His design has been slightly tweaked, as his cloak no longer covers the majority of his body, allowing players to see his armor.

Specter Knight's gameplay is fast and melee oriented, using his Scythe's Slashes as his primary way of attack. He can also perform an attack called Dash Slash against enemies and certain objects while airborne; a gash will appear on the target, and if the attack he attacks in that moment, Specter Knight will fly through the target with a scythe attack. He can Dash Slash downward/upwards if he is above/below his target, respectively; it is also possible to perform Chain Dash Slashes by hitting opponents/objects multiple times.

Much like Plague Knight, Specter Knight has a very short jumping height. This is balanced by his ability to use Chain Dashes, and he can also climb walls and perform wall-jumps, granting him high mobility. He also has the ability to break dirt blocks by simply jumping off of them, but he completely falls though sand blocks due to this ability.

Specter Knight has access to Relics of his own, called Curios, which require Darkness (the equivalent of Magic) to be used. Darkness, unlike Plague Knight's Power, does not refill over time, but can be replenished collecting Darkness Jars, which drop from opponents and some breakable objects. Unlike both Shovel Knight and Plague Knight, Curios can be upgraded for 4000 gold apiece by visiting Legion in the Tower of Fate.

In addition, in order to unlock Curios, Specter Knight must collect Red Skulls, which are scattered on each stage, in a similar way to Cipher Coins in Plague of Shadows. These Red Skulls can be turned in to Red, who will lead Specter Knight to a small dungeon in the Tower of Fate, where the player must pass a small gauntlet using the Curio they bought before they can leave.

Specter Knight can also equip different kinds of Cloaks, similar to Shovel Knight's Armors and Plague Knight's Cloaks. These can be bought from Manny in the Tower of Fate.

General Information

Key: Donovan | Specter Knight

Name: Donovan (Real name), Specter Knight

Origin: Shovel Knight

Sex: Male (Canon), Female (Body Swap)

Age: Unknown

Classification: Former Thief, Knight of the Order of No Quarter

Status: Alive | Undead (After making an agreement with The Enchantress, Specter Knight became an undead being)

Alignment: Neutral Evil (Donovan was a thief and planned to steal an artifact for more power, even if it was intended to help Luan's son. He then killed Luan at a lust for greed) to Chaotic Neutral (After becoming Specter Knight, he was tasked to make an army for The Enchantress and work under her. While he does not want to and instead stop her, he has no choice but to work for her in order to keep Luan safe)

Codex Statistics

Key: Donovan | Specter Knight

Tier: High 8-C | High 8-C

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Large Building level (Fought against Shield Knight) | Large Building level (Defeated Black Knight, who can break the ground, giving these results. Cut through a cannon ball which garnered these results. Can harm Shovel Knight)

Durability: Large Building level | Large Building level (Can survive lightning bolt strikes)

Striking Strength: Large Building Class | Large Building Class

Lifting Strength: At least Class K | At least Class K (Is comparable to King Knight, and should be stronger than even Tinker Knight, who can carry the entire Order of No Quarter with one arm)

Travel Speed: Supersonic (Comparable to Shield Knight) | Supersonic (Faster than cannonballs)

Attack Speed: Massively Hypersonic | Massively Hypersonic

Reaction Speed: Massively Hypersonic (Can keep up with Shield Knight) | Massively Hypersonic (Dodged lightning from Phantom Striker)

Stamina: High | Limitless

Range: Extended Melee | Extended Melee physically, Several Meters to Tens of Meters with Curios, Kilometers with Weather Manipulation and Darkness Manipulation

Intelligence: Gifted Intelligence (Donovan was a former thief who can successfully steal various treasures with Luan. Defeated and gathered the Order of No Quarter)


Powers and Techniques


Equipment

As Donovan: Small Sword, Caltrops

As Specter Knight: Scythe

  • Curios:
Name Red Skulls Cost Unlock Stage Effect

Throwing Sickle
5 Plains Launch a boomerang blade.

Dread Talon
8 Plains Unleash a powerful close-range strike.

Will Skull
3 Plains Clutch this skull to regain Will.

Skeletal Sentry
9 Lich Yard Summon a skeleton sniper and detonate with Curio.

Barrier Lantern
7 Clockwork Tower Create a shield which blocks projectiles to charge up.

Shadow Mirror
6 Pridemoor Keep Cast a reflection and attack from a distance.

Spider Scythe
5 Stranded Ship Throw a scythe which climbs over obstacles.

Bounding Soul
5 Explodatorium Free a lost soul that reflects off of surfaces.

Chronos Coin
10 Lost City Slows down everything around you.

Hover Plume
7 Iron Whale Float for a short time.

Judgment Rush
10 Flying Machine Grasp this jewel to rush at the nearest enemy and strike.

Caltrops
N/A Collect all Red Skulls Scatter spikes in front of unsuspecting foes.

Optional Equipment

  • Cloaks:
Armor Image Cost Description
Crimson Cloak N/A A tattered garment tinged with remnants of the past.
Cloak of Clemency 3500 Lose will and darkness instead of perishing in pits and spikes! Drop less gold when you fall in battle.
Rail Mail 6000 An advanced cloak. Hold [Down] when landing to grind quickly along surfaces and spikes as if they were rails!
Striker’s Shawl 6000 Hold [Attack] to charge, then release a superior scythe swing.
Raiment of Risk 5000 Break checkpoints to lower your max will, but boost attacks and regenerate darkness until you fall in battle!
Ghostly Garb 8000 Look more imposing and fearsome than ever before... but to no effect.
Donovan Set N/A Adopt the visage of your former self.
  • Showdown: Berserker Bee, Bomb, Joustus Card, Propeller Pack, Chronos Coin, Cube of Zorix, Remnant Spiral, Repeller, Griffoth Egg, Fairy Egg, Birder Egg, Slamvil, Fairy Wand, Warping Glass, Witherbolt, and Ichor of Fortitude
  • Pocket Dungeon Items:
Name Description
Potion Restores 2 HP.
Bomb Explodes, damaging everything in its radius. Effects and looks are slightly changed by Plague Knight's abilities and the Too Big Bomb Relic.
Fire Bomb Explodes, leaving damaging flames in its radius.
Ice Bomb Explodes, freezing everything in its radius.
Crystal Clear Explodes, damaging everything.
Wood Blade +1 damage to base attacks.
Steel Blade +2 damage to base attacks.
Hero Blade +3 damage to base attacks.
Flame Axe Ignite foes on hit!
Ice Axe Freezes foes on hit!
War Horn Blasts an area around you!
Shield Blocks 1 damage.
Chronos Coin Stops time for a while.
Bomb Cannon Vs. Mode item. Drops Bombs on your opponent.
Spear Long reach, pierces shields.
Wildcard Destroy all matching foes.
Monster Potion Vs. Mode item. Temporarily transform your opponent into a monster.
Zap Wand Blast a line with electricity.
Flood Fish Vs. Mode item. Flood the opponent's board.
Turkey Restores 10 HP.
Smoke Bomb Avoid harm in the smoke.
Troupple Chalice +5 max HP until end of level.
Troupple Chalice Restores 1 HP every 5 turns until end of level.
Shuffle Top Shuffle the opponent's board.
  • Pocket Dungeon Relics:
Name Base Cost Description
Swift Dagger 10000 First strikes do +1 damage.
Fenix Feather 10000 This feather will destroy everything and restore your Health if you fall in battle. But only once!
Nimbus Balloon 8000 Don't float away... Just kiddin'. With this balloon, you'll hover just high enough to avoid floor hazards.
Mentor Manual 8000 If you know the way, you can get out of the Dungeon faster!
Fury Horns 10000 After you score a fatal blow with a Chain, your next hit will pack a furious wallop!
Meal Ticket 6000 +2 Health.
Premium Meal Ticket 8000 +3 Health.
Fizzle Wand 6000 This broken Flare Wand leaves a damaging trail wherever you walk.
Snoutin' Charm 6000 Find Gems in Blocks.
Divine Liquid 8000 +1 damage to Undead. 10+ Chains recover all health.
Potion Napkin 8000 Does not Chain Potions, letting them being drink singularly.
Single Glove 8000 +1 damage to single foes.
Diamond Dust 8000 +1 Item damage and their Durability.
Third Amulet 8000 +1 damage every 3rd hit on the same foe.
Gem Beet 6000 Slows down Gem Meter depletion and slain foes grants more Gem Meter.
Dynamallet 6000 Your next Chain explodes. Recharges when opening chests.
Desperation Talon 6000 Fatal blows recover 2HP at low health.
Power Pail 10000 +1 damage at max Gem Meter.
Five String 10000 +1 damage every fifth hit.
Too Big Bomb 10000 Bigger Bomb explosions.
Gem Chain 8000 More Gems from Chains.
Shockproof Socks 6000 Resist electric damage. +1 damage every 10 steps.
Obsidian Drill 6000 Deal extra damage to all blocks.
Chronos Glass 6000 Freezes time on room enter or when board is nearly full.
Gold Leaf Clover 8000 Find rarer Items.
Bomb Seed Bag 6000 Find more Bombs + bomb resistance (this includes Ratsploders blast.
Toad Totem 10000 Attacks poison foes.

Other

Standard Tactics: As Donovan, he'd use his sword to home in on his opponents while using his shooting stars. As Specter Knight, he'd use the same homing attacking while also using various Curios to aid him in combat.

Weaknesses: Donovan's greed and pride is what ended up causing his death. As Specter Knight, his Darkness meter is limited (Though can be regenerated with the Raiment of Risk cloak), and potions hurt him when consumed.

Battle Records