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Mound-makers - 01
For the covenant item, see Mound-makers (item).

The Mound-makers is a covenant in Dark Souls III.

In-Game Description

The mound-makers wish only to add to their mounds, becoming mad spirits whether summoned as co-operators or invaders.
They are blithe to those around them, for in their minds, any kill might lead to another shackle.

Requirements[]

To join the covenant as early as possible, the player must not have fought the Curse-rotted Greatwood before joining. The Greatwood may be defeated at no penalty once the covenant is joined.

If the Greatwood has already been defeated, the covenant will become available again by following an NPC questline that can only be fully completed after defeating two of the four Lords of Cinder.

How to join[]

The Mound-makers can be joined in the Undead Settlement. By navigating to a hidden area patrolled by numerous Thralls, the player can discover a non-hostile Hollow Manservant carrying an empty cage on its back. By examining the hollow, the player will enter the cage and be transported to the Pit of Hollows, below the Curse-rotted Greatwood's boss arena. This Manservant will be hostile if the Greatwood has been confronted or defeated, and thus cannot be interacted with.

Once there, the player must talk to Holy Knight Hodrick, who stands next to the covenant's Sacrificial Altar and who will give them the Mound-makers covenant item. If talked to again, he will give the player a Homeward Bone, which is required to leave the area without using the Darksign or committing suicide.

If the player has fought and defeated the Curse-rotted Greatwood, killing Hodrick in the process, the only other way to join the covenant is to follow Sirris of the Sunless Realms' questline. Once Hodrick is defeated in Sirris's world, the covenant item will be rewarded.

Lore[]

The covenant was formed by the original Mound-maker, when they discovered a Vertebra Shackle in one of their victims, which they believed was a vertebra put in humans by the Gods that grants them sentience and sanity. They then started collecting Vertebra Shackles with their sword Bloodlust to offer to their sacrificial altar in the Pit of Hollows with the objective of preventing their sanity from slipping. All the while, they would create mounds out of the bodies of their Hollowed victims, which would become their "family" once they turned Hollow themselves. Eventually, the original Mound-maker sacrificed themselves as an offering and left their sword for the covenant.

At some point, the Mound-makers created the pyromancy Warmth to relieve their fear of being separated from the Gods and losing their sanity.

Benefits[]

When the covenant item is equipped, the player will take on the appearance of a Mad Phantom, and their summon sign and aura will take on a purple color. As a Mad Phantom, the player may invade or be summoned into a world, where they will be considered hostile by all other factions; if summoned via a White Sign Soapstone, basic enemies in the host's world will react to the player's presence.

In order to successfully complete an online session, the player must defeat either the Host of Embers, or a certain number of phantoms of any affiliation. Depending on the number of players already present in the host's world upon entering it, the requirement may increase to up to 3 phantoms. Therefore, unlike red invaders or blue territory defenders who must defeat the Host of Embers in order to achieve victory, a purple phantom may choose to slay phantoms allied with the host, or invaders who are attempting to defeat the host, and achieve their objective regardless. Conversely, however, the player must land the killing blow on a target to qualify, killing a target via secondary methods such as knocking them off of a cliff does not count.

Successfully completing an online session will reward the player with a Vertebra Shackle, which can be offered to the altar in the Pit of Hollows to rank up within the covenant. The method of entering the host's world has no effect on what the Mound-maker must do to complete the session.

Further rewards are granted upon leveling up:

Rank Vertebrae offered Rewards
+0 - Nothing
+1 10 Bloodlust
+2 30 Warmth

Notes[]

  • If summoned via White Sign Soapstone, mad phantoms will use invader spawn points rather than appearing where the sign was placed.
Covenants
Aldrich FaithfulBlade of the DarkmoonBlue SentinelsMound-makers
Rosaria's FingersWarrior of SunlightWatchdogs of FarronWay of Blue
The Ringed City
Spears of the Church
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