- "It's important to know who you are. But we'll all be mad, soon enough. And should you be Undead, well, all the more so."
- — Hodrick
Holy Knight Hodrick is a character, enemy, and summonable mad phantom in Dark Souls III.
He is voiced by Sean Barret, who also voiced Blacksmith Andre.
Description
Hodrick is the leader of the Mound-makers covenant and inducts the player into their ranks. Once talked to and after answering the question he poses, he will present the covenant item to the player, a malformed vertebra.
Since supposedly there is no way to leave the pit where he dwells in, he will also gift the player with a Homeward Bone as a means of escape. The player may save it by exiting and continuing the game, though. Upon return, they will spawn at the cliff once more.
If the player has not yet defeated the Curse-rotted Greatwood, Hodrick will invade near the Dilapidated Bridge, whether he was met in the Pit of Hollows or not. Upon defeat, they will be awarded a Vertebra Shackle.
Hodrick is eventually revealed to be Sirris's grandfather and the person she has been searching for on her questline. If the player has defeated the Curse-rotted Greatwood, has assisted her against Creighton in Irithyll, and has defeated Aldrich in Anor Londo, her summon sign can be found outside of the Greatwood's boss arena in the Undead Settlement, where she will finally confront him.
Equipment
- Flamberge
- Pyromancy Flame
- Sunset Shield
- Sunset Set
- Blue Tearstone Ring
- Red Tearstone Ring
- Power Within
- Warmth
Locations
- Invades as a mad dark spirit near the Dilapidated Bridge bonfire.
- Found in the Pit of Hollows, near the Mound-makers altar. The area can only be accessed by entering the metal cage on the back of a non-hostile Hollow Manservant found at the top of the highest cliff of the settlement. This has to be done before defeating the Curse-rotted Greatwood, as Hodrick will die afterward.
- Can be summoned as a mad phantom in the Crucifixion Woods, as long as the Crystal Sage is still alive. His sign can be found near a narrow path to the left of the keep's ruins, past the area with several Poisonhorn Bugs.
Strategy
Hodrick is a difficult adversary, this stems not only from his massive damage output that can kill most early game players in just a few hits while also inflicting Bleed build-up, but also from the way his AI strategizes:
- Hodrick is very aggressive with his attacks and will often try to attack through his opponents strikes by making use of his massive poise. In particular, he is fond of using his Stance strong attack, which consists of a forward lunge that deals great damage and often deals counter damage to attacking opponents.
- If the player spams attacks, Hodrick will attempt to parry them. If parried, the damage of the riposte might be too much to survive, especially if the player has suffered some blows and did not heal.
- At half health, he will start drinking from his Estus Flask (he only has three flasks) and try to cast Power Within. He will still heal with Estus, but as soon as he runs out, he will begin casting Warmth. As he casts Warmth and drinks Estus at any distance from his opponents, players can tell if he is going to cast Power Within if they notice that he starts backing away, seeing as its casting time is long enough to easily be interrupted.
- Hodrick becomes most dangerous when at low health as he wears both Tearstone rings, making him harder to kill and much more hard-hitting. Should he also cast Power Within, then most players might suffer greatly from the damage.
- While Hodrick as an invader is quite manageable, his summonable version near the Crucifixion Woods bonfire is more difficult to fight. Not only does he have nearly 50% more health, he deals very high damage; a counter hit when using his Stance strong attack can nearly kill a player even at full health. In NG+, it becomes even worse and this move can outright kill players with a single strike.
Drops
| Item |  Vertebra Shackle |
| Drop Rate | Guaranteed (mad dark spirit) |
Dialogue
| Click to see dialogue | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Notes
- Affected by Alluring Skulls.
- Must be visited prior to the Curse-rotted Greatwood boss fight as the floor above the Pit of Hollows will crumble throughout the fight, killing him in the process.
- In NG+, Hodrick may not be as useful when summoned, as being a mad dark spirit he will attack both the host and the invaders. Perhaps only if the player needs some assistance against the two Exile Watchdogs in the Road of Sacrifices.
- Interestingly, Hodrick seems to be completely amicable toward other Mound-Makers when they invade the world of hosts in the Farron Keep while he is summoned.
- The Sunset Set can be found in the Pit of Hollows by teleporting back there after completing Sirris's questline.
- The Sunset Shield can be found in the Cemetery of Ash after defeating Hodrick in Sirris's questline, on a gravestone located near the cliff on the right side of the area between the Iudex Gundyr bonfire and Firelink Shrine. Interestingly enough, it is the very same shield Lucatiel of Mirrah wielded in battle.
Trivia
- Hodrick is revealed to be Sirris's grandfather.
- A unique Budding Green Blossom can be purchased from the Shrine Handmaid after defeating Aldrich. Its description says: "Good-bye, dear Grandmother. I will visit Grandfather, in the Pit of Hollows.", which may imply that the handmaid is actually Sirris's grandmother, and possibly Hodrick's wife.
Gallery
