Elden Ring Lore - Demi Humans & Their Culture

Have you ever wondered why the Demi-Human Queens can wield magic? Why is it that Boc can speak to us when other Demi-Humans seem to do nothing but scream? Learn these answers and more right here.
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[@berylman]

You failed to mention that Demi-humans successfully run a complete monopolistic racket on the supply of rope in the Land Between

[@kelvinsantiago7061]

If these were a ttrpg that would be very impressive

[@ijoel6747]

☠️

[@pkthunder416]

No one ever mentions that the Demi Humans are clearly the evolutionary link between beastmen and humans. Or the fact that this is all very Bloodborne

[@blodiaaa6990]

Elaborate

[@grelm1322]

Not evolutionary... degenerate steps. Elden Ring is symbolic of a future Earth. Demi Humans are severely dumbed-down humans. Just my take

[@zenebean]

Imagine if Queen Margot whipped out the jar cannon and just started blasting. Would have been a hilarious change of pace from the other queens lol

[@necrogenesis1981]

So anyway, I started blastin’

[@zenebean]

@@necrogenesis1981 *tosses away staff* aight, I'm casting "bullet"

[@thebrickmaster7403]

Something I thought to be VERY interesting is the dead Demi human queen in fort Haight. Kenneth says he wants to remake peace with the Demi humans, so most likely when Godrick took over the fort, they killed the Queen that Kenneth had made peace with. Edit: I also find it funny that one of the queens moves in their boss fights is throwing their wand at you 😂

[@Nemo12417]

Not just a Knight of Godrick. A Knight who uses a blood ash of war, has Bloodrose growing everywhere, and the cookbook that gives the recipe for blood consumables. Methinks that particular Knight had found himself a new Lord......

[@thebrickmaster7403]

@@Nemo12417 ayyy good point!

[@errorcode9542]

If we read into that the demi humans throwing their staffes at you mirrors Godfrey ripping of his lion friend As a rejection of intelligence and manner in preference of savagenesd and brutally

[@joeymendez1442]

*Tarnished existing* Boc: They can do no wrong

[@noamias4897]

Never stop using the character creation music, it's so good and relaxing

[@FlyingNova223]

I like them. They’re like goblins from… any fantasy, honestly.

[@zenebean]

But they have their own look and style, I like it

[@WretchedRedoran]

Their especially primate-esque attributes remind me specifically of the Goblins from TES4: Oblivion, who also possess especially primate-esque attributes.

[@Ratat0skr0]

Justice for Boc

[@Volti-Vagra]

>casually turns him back into a tree *[Justice Sewn]*

[@kalemnir]

I need to revisit Boc's full story (perhaps, rewatch your video on him), but this one gave me a thought. Maybe, Boc was weaker than other demihuman men - the ones like him didn't usually survive (maybe, were killed as useless to their tribes, or just died early). they couldn'r fight well. O0f course, he was more intelligent than others. His mother really loved him, so she kept Boc and cared for him. And when she died he was exiled because no one else needed him... That's really sad, yeah.

[@trippyzero8612]

Oh. Fun thought! Every now and then a human is born with horns, signs of the crucible from where all life was mixed. Then wouldn't it follow as well that: Every now and then a Demi-human is born with greater intelligence, signs of the crucible from where all life was mixed.

[@danielcallahan2981]

There is a dead demi-human queen in Fort Haight, slain by the knight of blood that ousted Kenneth and severed the communications he was building with the demi-humans. During the fight with the demi-human queen that is underground, she gets frustrated and flings her staff at you and switches to biting/claw attacks.

[@SophietheMothQueen]

They remind me of lemurs and other non-simian primates

[@ethane1149]

Don’t forget, Kenneth Haight also talks about setting up relations again with the demi-humans and makes a comment that it is in fact possible.

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

Dracula in his first phase

[@hhowdy]

Ha ha

[@WretchedRedoran]

A little additional info on the Demi-Human ashes, as they are my favourite spirit ash in the game, upon upgrading them enough the "Though they seem somewhat intelligent" line in the item description changes to "Though they seem intelligent".

[@MisanthropicOccellus]

Could that be due to differences? I have two sets of random soldier ashes with slightly different descriptions as I got one before a patch changed it

[@WretchedRedoran]

@@MisanthropicOccellus From what I remember, it's directly based upon how leveled up they are.

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

This whole time i honestly thought Boc was a monkey

[@OscarofAstora69]

The demi-humans are hybrids between humans and beastmen. Let me explain, on the walls of the Farum Azula ruins, you find engravings that depict humans! So clearly the beastmen and the humans knew each other and were connected enough for the beastmen to put them on their walls. Also, the cinquedea's description talks about five fingers, and how it is a sign of their intelligence. Humans, beastmen, and demi-humans all have five fingers, so theres a connection right there. The demi-humans go crazy at night, likely losing their intelligence in a way. You know where the sun NEVER sets? Farum Azula, which is where the beastmen were able to get really smart and built a society (at least until their god left). Now, in Limgrave, you find the most ruins compared to any other region. These ruins are from Farum Azula by the way. You know where you find the most demi-humans in the game? Limgrave of course! In fact, you even find a surviving beastman in Limgrave. The only other place ywhere you find other surviving beastmen is in caelid, ( beastman duo). However, its very close to the Beastial Sanctum itself, where you find Gurranq himself! Demi means half, so demi-human obviously means half human! The demi-humans also drop ruin fragments, a part of Farum Azula itself. The demi-humans are also sometimes described as beasts. Lets put two and two together, alright? The beastmen, and the humans, mated with each other creating the demi-humans! And the demi-humans only retained the humans' knowledge and not the beastmen's, because the beastmen ended up losing their intelligence! Its not really known when they started mating, but since you find demi-human queen skeletons in the room where you speak to Gurranq, its possible it could have even been before Farum Azula's downfall, knowing that they had clearly met with each other before if the beastmen have engravings of humans on their walls! And there's my theory, that the demi-humans are more than they seem!

[@square-table-gaming]

I've seen this theory a couple times and I absolutely think it has some merit. The only big hole I see in it is the fact that we only see Beastmen in Farum Azula aside from the Banished Knights and Crucible Knights. If there were hybrids during Farum Azula's time before it was hidden away, I think it'd be likely we'd have run into them or the skeletal remains of them when we explored the area. Not shooting anything down, just playing devil's advocate!

[@MisanthropicOccellus]

​@@square-table-gamingthere is of course that random beastman in the first cave in limgrave

[@goldenbough6563]

Margot, Maggie, Gilka, - all the demi-human queens' names incorporate elements of Marika. If demi-humans are an artificially created species like the albinurics, then doesn't that imply that humans are also an artificially created species? Recipe for a human: one demi human plus some numen genetics.

[@iboofer]

Their heavily matriarchal society also hints at this, as it's similar to the Numen.

[@allthe1]

Half-bats, perhaps? They have a similar screech and their eyes glow red at night

[@FlamingAomeba]

It may be far-fetched, but i like to think it was Boc's father holding the pate. Its a clay fetish, and perhaps he made it to remember Boc's mother by. I don't have much evidence for this, but Daedicar could potentially be Boc's mother. It just makes me somewhat happy to think that Rya and Boc are half-siblings that have a chance at a happy ending in the lands between.

[@moisesnoyola8705]

Could it be that Azur is the one who taught sorcery to the demi humans? 🤔

[@TheCreepyLantern]

the idea the player as the new eldenlord could totally try to improve things is really damn sweet and makes taking the throne all the more worthwhile, so thank you for genuinely improving the game for me :) :)

[@Vk10787]

My number 1 when it comes to elden ring lore

[@square-table-gaming]

MUCH appreciated

[@YATZIwastaken]

a few lore things that are still unsolved if u wish to use as a topic -who was the god dragon lord placidusax served -what are the giant skulls in caelid -what exactly and where did the god devouring serpent come from -who is the gloam eyed queen? how did she get the rune of death maliketh took from her by defeating her? is she still alive? why do her followers hunt gods? -who killed iji -any detail on who the masoleum demigods are and are they carried in mausoleums because they have death blight like godwyn and therefore cant be in the ground near the erdtree roots? And any ties to the new dlc

[@allthe1]

I wonder if any ingame lore specifies the origins of the dem-humans? They don't seem to be related to the great tree nor the crucilbe, plus they seem to be well regarded by the Golden Order and doing well. All in all they seem to have made a fairly recent apparition in the Lands Between!

[@the1384]

Radagon being a Demi Human or a Misbegotten

[@alexdodd5175]

4:42 also one unnamed that died in a southeast limgrave fort. P.s. i did not visit farmazula yet, so unaware if it has any beast queens.

[@dankerdork]

some of the demi-human queens seem to be under some kind of mind control like the ants the nox ride, glowy purple eyes and connections to sorcery. im not sure where it leads.

[@diosama5713]

This was so good but also broke my heart .. the love of a mother is so life changing 😢

[@devinguy]

Unhinged lore speculation: Messmer is somehow responsible for/related to Demi-Humans because we find their ashes in the Impaler's Catacombs. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[@devinguy]

Also this video was very good, great work!

[@YATZIwastaken]

its also interesting during the margo fight and possibly others that at one point she throws her staff away and starts to beat on u with just brute strength

[@leonardorodrigues827]

I always thought that the beastman by Farrun Azula would be a more evolved version of the demi-humans, due to contact with the dragons they may have evolved, since they wield Weapons like curved greatsword e jar-shiedsAnd they can also use lightning spells directly from dragons. Another example that other races have intelligence are the leonine misbegottens since one of them guards the grafted greatsword (there are mods that make him use the weapon, it's pretty cool), in caelid the ruins greatsword guarded by a crucible knight and a misbegotten and the misbegotten cruzader using the golden order greatsword.

[@ratshapeddog]

This video made me wonder if there's a link between the demi-humans and the beastmen of Farum Azula. The demi-humans look pretty beastly themselves, maybe they could be a regression of the beastmen once the age of the crucible was over? An evolutionary offshoot? Maybe they were a kind of servant caste?

[@venomouswyverns8819]

love these lore breakdowns

[@greasemonk4576]

I wonder if there is anything deeper to the demihumans being empowered at night, perhaps tied to the moon.

[@alpacaofthemountain8760]

Great video as always

[@Kraziel797]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Can you do Ancestral Followers Next?

[@TRACTOOOOOOOOOR]

Yesss, thanks! Can't wait to see.

[@mariaasombrada3964]

This channel is terrific. Cannot wait for the new DLC content.

[@Mistercodmobilefan8378]

Thats wild i never thought of what the demi humans story really is and it is interesting! Would u think that the demi humans were taught by the raya lucaria academy to learn how to cast magic and that and idk what to think but probably the demi human boss fight protecting lusat probably lusat taught that demi human too or something idk

[@Carrot-Man1876]

Greetings from the Carrot-Man 👋🥕

[@Rodrigo24717]

Thank you Carrot man!

[@square-table-gaming]

My liege

[@TiberiusRex182]

Hello Carotin Warrior

[@Ratat0skr0]

Thy strength befits a crown, my lord.

[@SurrealiamPrime]

“My lord, my lord!” - Bac

[@axrye800]

Holy shit this was a good one. Made me tear up and everything. Keep up the great work!!

[@Kristalya]

I love your intro! Super cool videos! 💜🌟👑🌟❤️

[@TheHornedKing_27]

BEEN FUCKING WAITING FOR THIS!!!!

[@boyblue5320]

I wish these were longer …or that I lived and died in the lands between

[@roberthisbass2513]

A smart Demi human enemy would be cool, with ambush attacks like the militia

[@thelionofjudah5318]

I wonder if they have ancestral roots of the beastman from farum azula. Both beast like/dog like.

[@grelm1322]

Meanwhile, African Congo recently released their first "mute rapper". 'Tis prophecy, no hate.

[@jeankirchstein2552]

I gotta say i very much prefer this style of lore explanation videos very easy to understand and digest compared to the usual vatividya or smoughtown video essays

[@square-table-gaming]

Thank you! Our goal has always been to provide easier to digest lore dives on individual topics.

[@WilcrezTheWanderer]

Before I finish the video (I paused after the intro), I've started to think that maybe the demi-humans are descended from the mingling of the Beastmen and Humanity from Farum Azula. Farum Azula has statues of humans, here and there, hinting that the two may have cohabitated after the Beastkin were elevated in intellect. And some Beastkin were found in the Lands Between below. It may have been down there that the two interbred. And untold years later, the result remains, but shunned by civilization.

[@lolosh99]

I think the matriarchal hierarchy of the demi humans can be correlated to the carians, which can imply that the staff which was a peace gift could have been given at a time when Rennala was in power. The mention of Demi humans seamstresses sewing the cloths of the demi gods can be correlated to when Rennala married Radagon. Otherwise how can lowly demi humans reach that and connect those points?

[@square-table-gaming]

I don't believe it ties them to the Carians because we find one of their queens defending Azur, who expressly ignored the rules of the academy set by Rennala and explored the primeval current. Unless their job was to keep others away from Azur. I guess that could go either way but I believe the implication is that those sorcerers were not exactly thrilled with the Carians.

[@FaeQueenCory]

All the main societies in Elden Ring are matriarchal. Lucaria? The Carian Queen Renala. The Golden Order? The God-Queen Marika. Farum Azula? The Gloameyed Queen. Queens are gods, and their men are only Lords. The conflict with this primacy and the false first Elden Lord is likely why Marika divested him of grace.

[@codyconnor6981]

They also have one of the best spirit ashes in the game.

[@platypipope328]

Im not too sure that male demihumans are even culturally unintelligent (it's likely the entourage underneath Kenneth haight were escorting him or protecting him and it's actually the soldiers he is calling for help from), though this is very much a pedantic point and i agree with the general theory of a female dominant species. I would rather think of it in the terms of being roles of subservience and not necessarily lesser intelligence. Also, with the demi humans working with raya lucaria and using staves, might it be possible the queens are trying to emulate rennala? Just a wild and likely baseless thought I'd throw out there

[@latexchariot]

Idk, I think you maybe missed on this one. I’d agree if it wasn’t for the entire bit with Kenneth Haight. The Demi-humans at fort Haight all seem to be inferred to be smart, given their queen is dead and they still report to and Garrison the fort. I believe they are even non aggressive should the player return to talk to Kenneth at the fort.

[@square-table-gaming]

You make a good point. I don't know that I would attribute that to intelligence or rather their ability to fall in-line behind their leaders.

[@Arctus69420]

Hey man awesome video do you think you could make one on the marionette enemies

[@Fundywhatshappening]

Im also pretty sure bloodhound knights are trained Demi-Humans

[@MisanthropicOccellus]

I like this.

[@jonathanpatino2334]

What sword is that at 8:02?

[@square-table-gaming]

Royal Greatsword, Blaidds weapon.

[@cannonfodderlord]

Misbegotten next please and thank you

[@square-table-gaming]

On the list!

[@cannonfodderlord]

Thanks man👍

[@AegisKHAOS]

Boc is beautiful. The rest, however, can run into my sword.

[@screentime6051]

What armour set are you wearing tho its fire 🔥

[@square-table-gaming]

Blaidds armor altered with the noble hood!

[@screentime6051]

@@square-table-gaming thanks man, great video btw

[@RawCauliflower]

Demi Humans are a very common stereotype in JRPGs. Usually though they are just sexy humans with cat ears or a fluffy tail etc (oh, and they are super submissive to the human main character). I kind of like how Hidetaka Miyazaki makes a different spin on them in Elden Ring (while still keeping Boc as the super submissive type).

[@ahmada1346]

I hope you make a video about godwyn

[@square-table-gaming]

Tbh I'm waiting until the DLC. Part of me still things we're going to get more Godwyn info from Shadow of the Erdtree

[@ahmada1346]

@@square-table-gaming I can't wait for the video because you made a video about a bear, but I haven't seen a video about godwyn😅

[@liamgalway5546]

Just how the Erdtree Avatars are homages to the Asylum Demon and the Omenkillers to the Capra Demon, I STRONGLY believe that the Demi Human Maggie fight is a nod/remake of Prowling Magnus and Congregation from DS2. The make up of sorcerers and smaller enemies. One big beastly magic enemy with the healthbar. How you just enter the fight randomly with no real lead-up. I couldn't help but think it was a DS2 Reference. Even naming her 'Maggie' for Magnus. IDK might be crazy.

[@goldfish6720]

Potato

[@DerpyBerb]

“ how do they choose their queens?” Obviously a drag race, duh.

[@christophermurray9581]

To be fair, most of elden ring is matriarchal

[@TheCronesEye]

This is lovely. “Boc the Beautiful.” A truly Royal Seamster. 🥰🥲👍💜