Lore Dive: Forgotten Killers
Overview:
After revisiting a game that I played a little while ago, I noticed a subtle, yet noticeable detail included in the game. The game I revisited was Payday 2. In case you don’t already know, Payday 2 did some sort of collaboration with Dead by Daylight to promote both of their games back in 2016. Payday 2 created more masks that the player would be able to wear that specifically related to Dead by Daylight. These masks were free (with 2 exceptions) as long as you followed the Dead by Daylight Steam Community Group. To get the 2 other masks, you would have needed to purchase the Dead by Daylight Deluxe Edition. What I’m looking to do is to attempt to theorize and analyze the brief descriptions behind each of these masks to determine whether or not we may see these killers in-game.
REMINDER: In no way is any of this information confirmed coming to Dead by Daylight. I am just theorizing potential characters within Dead by Daylight’s universe.
General Background
Just for some more insight, I am first going to discuss what we know currently about outside killers (characters we have yet to see). These killers in particular are killers we have only heard stories about or have heard slight references about. A good example of this would be the killer from The Archives Tome 1 Arcus 1672. This killer’s background is available online for you to read here https://deadbydaylight.gamepedia.com/Tome_I_-_Awakening#Logs_1513.2C_1672.2C_4902:_Revelations.
From this entry, we can assume that there are hundreds to possibly thousands of other survivors and killers that we have yet to see or may never see. The killers mentioned in the Payday 2 masks are in the same scenario as the killer from Arcus 1672, but have an even less chance of appearing directly in the game due to them not being referenced within Dead by Daylight itself and just referenced in another game of what could possibly just be something done for fun. This is further supported by one of the developers from Dead by Daylight, Peanits, who responded to a question in the steam discussions regarding the masks. Peanits responded “They are just inspired by horror creatures. Not sure why, but I would guess because the other killers had not been revealed at the time, only Chuckles was.” (Link to the discussion can be found here https://steamcommunity.com/app/218620/discussions/8/135513549103042629/). Something important to remember, however, is that the masks and that discussion were introduced during Dead by Daylight’s first year as a game. From what I remember, the Dead by Daylight team was not entirely focused on the game’s story during their first year. However, now is a different story. We have the archives which focus more on certain characters backstories, lore, and as new characters come out, their general backstory is more in-depth than it used to be. Now that the general background behind these masks is finished, I will discuss the brief details given with each mask/potential killer. I will go in a certain order, starting with what I believe could have just been masks based off of killers already introduced in the game to killers that are vastly different from any we have seen. I will also provide the descriptions with each image of the masks below (except for the first one because it’s obviously a killer we already have). The link to the mask descriptions and images can be found here https://imgur.com/a/NSolE.
The Killer
This mask is just The Trapper’s mask. Since The Trapper is already in the game, I’m going to move on to the other masks.
Blister Head
“This blister stricken creature is the embodiment of true terror. All your childhood fears poured into something unfathomable and horrendous. Question is if you will even need bullets anymore.”
This mask has a very strong resemblance to The Hillbilly, a killer that has been in the game since the start. Also, the last sentence of that description may seem like it’s just a Payday 2 thing, but if you read it over a second time, it could be referencing The Hillbilly’s unique perk, Enduring, and how the mask’s description describes how you would be able to seemingly withstand so much damage. Overall, I believe that this mask is just a reference to The Hillbilly.
Dendron
“A dark forest is scary to anyone, no matter how old you are. You fear whatever is in it, and the things lurking in the shadows. But you seldom think of the actual trees. You never think of Dendron. And when you do, it's already too late. Dendron strikes without mercy. So fear not what's behind the trees, but instead the trees.”
We’re now reaching the point where some of these killers could possibly be out there in The Entity’s realm, but there are still some similarities and/or references once again. In this case, I see some resemblance from this mask/killer to The Wraith, a killer already in the game. Furthermore, the detail with how Dendron “strikes without mercy” also describes how The Wraith can suddenly show up and land a clean hit in a few seconds. However, the description is a little more detailed than the last mask. Another word for Dendron is dendrite. The definition for the word dendron is “a short branched extension of a nerve cell, along which impulses received from other cells at synapses are transmitted to the cell body.” or “a crystal or crystalline mass with a branching treelike structure.” These definitions can be linked to the description with how people should fear the trees themselves instead of what may be hiding behind them. This may suggest that if The Dendron were a killer within The Entity’s realm, its ability may be to blend in with its surroundings and then ambush survivors. While the mask’s appearance may seem similar to The Wraith’s appearance, the background stands out differently from the rest of the killers in Dead by Daylight, potentially making this killer lurking within the realms of The Entity or just one we have yet to see.
The Clawer
“On gloomy nights when the moon is bright, one might witness how the Clawer emerges from the watery depths. It yearns for fresh meat and won't stop until its hunger is still. The Clawer is one of those urban myths that campfire teens tell - just before The Clawer strikes. Afterwards, it returns to the deep. Hibernating until its stomach growls yet again.”
After reading The Clawer’s description, it kind of reminds me of The Demogorgon. However, it’s design is somewhat different from that of The Demogorgon. The Clawer is instead an underwater creature, different from The Demogorgon. Also, it is worth mentioning that killers are no longer restricted to humanoid characters, increasing The Clawer’s potential. Also, I’m sure that if The Clawer were to ever become a killer in Dead by Daylight that it’s ability would be different from that of The Demogorgon. While I may not have much to say about this killer, there might still be some potential for The Clawer.
Feeder
“Feeder has dislodged his jaw with one sole purpose: to be able to swallow a whole, human heart. When he roams the night he seeks out teens with strong hearts that can sustain him. So if you spot a corpse with a ripped chest - run.”
In regards to similarities, The Feeder kind of reminds me of The Hag, with both killers being cannibals. However, the fact that The Feeder displaced his own jaw to consume a human heart whole is what makes this killer’s potential so interesting. The fact that The Feeder is also a cannibal could make some question if The Feeder is from the same area as The Hag. The Hag’s hometown was notoriously known for the extensive amount of cannibalism. While this is a huge stretch, it is always possible. We did get two killers from the same map realm after all; those two killers being The Spirit and The Oni. However, this may have just been a concept for The Hag.
Unborn
“A once great actor who claimed to have become possessed by a demonic spirit started to wear a mask to hide his deformed appearance. The mask one day broke and what was hiding underneath could never be sealed again.”
We’re now at the point where the rest of the killers are vastly different from ones that are currently in-game, making their potential significantly higher. This mask doesn’t have much detail in regards to their killing potential, but does have a little bit of information on their past, describing the character as “a once great actor.” It is also stated in the mask’s description that the actor claimed to be possessed by a demon. Two abilities come to my mind for this killer. 1. This killer would be able to disguise itself as a survivor. This ability ties in well with the killer’s backstory, but would undoubtedly make this killer’s ability weak as survivors on voice comms (SWF) would be able to completely cancel out the ability. 2. This killer would have some sort of multiple personality ability. Once again, this could tie in well with the killer’s backstory with how the actor claimed to be possessed. Also, this person was an actor, so they would be able to take on the role of multiple people, further supporting the possibility of this killer’s power being multiple personalities. I believe The Unborn would be an interesting killer to see in Dead by Daylight, utilizing multiple skills and forcing survivors to consistently adapt to what ability The Unborn would currently be using in order to survive.
Devourer
“This mask, heavily inspired by the Great Old Ones that rule below the seas was recovered from a police storage where it had been kept since it was found during a raid on a murderous cult. It's monstrous look makes you wonder what beings lurk out in the dark.”
Out of all of the masks, I feel like this one has the most potential of becoming a killer or even just getting mentioned in The Archives. Similar to The Clawer and The Demogorgon, The Devourer is a creature, not a humanoid. We now know that killers are no longer restricted to only humanoid killers. However, there is much more to this mask/killer. It is mentioned that the mask is heavily inspired by “The Great Old Ones”. This is somewhat similar to what The Observer mentions in Arcus 54 in Tome 1,
“The Entity is far more ancient than we ever suspected back home and most of our theories and conjectures were wrong. The rich presence of Auric particles and cells suggest it is one of the Original Ones—an Ancient.”
The fact that the description of The Devourer’s mask describes it in a similar fashion to The Entity may suggest that The Devourer could have been an “ancient” similar to how The Entity currently stands as an ancient.
There is one more detail that I have to share about this mask in particular. The last detail of note is the fact that this mask was found during a raid on a cult. This isn’t the only time we have heard of a cult in Dead by Daylight. The Observer mentions in Arcus 1513 of Tome 1,
“I have used the Auris to explore the memories of an unknown survivor who comes from a world where, from what I can gather, a cult for The Entity exists. It's not a surprise, or the first time I've seen such a thing, but the memories suggest she was a detective of sorts trying to prevent a cult sacrifice before she was snatched for the trials. I'm not sure what happened to her and will have to explore the fog to unravel more.”
The fact that The Archives as well as The Devourer’s mask description mention a cult is a game changer. As for the question with how the authorities recovered the mask, I believe that after that female detective from Arcus 1513 was captured by The Entity, backup later showed up to confront the cultists. The Entity would not be able to capture all of the authorities since that would raise suspicion of a supernatural presence if that many disappearances were to take place in such a short amount of time. With all of the details available about this mask, I believe that this killer would have the greatest amount of potential of becoming a killer in Dead by Daylight. With potential references that no one would have thought meant anything back in 2016 now with a second glance may raise more questions about these unseen killers.
Thanks For Reading!
Thanks again for reading if you made it this far. I understand that a lot of the detail in this lore dive is a huge stretch, but it was still fun to theorize about potential killers that may be out there in The Entity’s Realm. I would honestly be surprised if one of these characters came out as a killer in Dead by Daylight. I just feel like these masks were completely forgotten by just about everyone and I wanted to take this opportunity to give my thoughts on the masks. Let me know what you think! I’ll happily take feedback! Thank you again if you made it this far in my forum post.
Have a good one,
icemancat
Comments
-
This is quite an interesting theory. I personally love the H.P lovecraft feeling the entity presents, so thinking about all the horrors it has stored inside of it wouldn't be an incredibly far fetched idea.
2 -
Fascinating! I never knew about this before! Thanks for sharing!
1
