Rook

**Rook** is a lead (POV) Hero character in *The Banner Saga* games.

## Background

#### Saga 1

Rook is a skilled hunter from a long line of woodsmen who have lived in Skogr, though none of his family have survived the long, hard winters of the north. Since childhood, he has been close friends with the town’s resident Varl, Iver. His talents quickly landed him the position of huntmaster of Skogr, and Rook wrestles with wanting to teach his daughter, Alette, to become a self-sufficient woman while also keeping her safe from harm, something he was unable to do for his wife Aldis years ago.

#### Saga 2

Overcome with grief from the death of his daughter at the Battle of Boersgard, Rook - a skilled hunter and proven leader - wonders why anyone would still follow his lead. With the help of a lifelong friend, the giant varl Iver, perhaps he can change the tragic pattern of losing those who depend on him and ensure the caravan's safety on the long journey to the human capital, Arberrang.

## Active Ability: Mark Prey

By slashing at an adjacent enemy target with his knife, the Hunter does a small amount of Armor Break damage and then focuses the attacks of his allies on the target enemy. Any allies in-range of the victim instantly attack, during the end of the Hunter's present turn.

**Rank 1:** 1 Break on target unit, instant attack by all in-range allies

**Rank 2:** 2 Break on target unit, instant attack by all in-range allies

**Rank 3:** 3 Break on target unit, instant attack by all in-range allies

## Active Ability: Call To Arms

* Rook gains Call To Arms ability when he is promoted to Rank 6.

The peal of Rook's warhorn rallies the heroes and call them to Pillage.

During Pillage, there are no more guaranteed turns. Killing an enemy gives the heroes two turns in a row, but the same holds true for the enemy.

This an ability that can only be used once per match once there are a certain number of enemies remaining (or less). This number depends on the ability rank.

**Rank 1:** 3 enemies remaining

**Rank 2:** 5 enemies remaining

**Rank 3:** 7 enemies remaining

## Passive Ability: Light Step

The landsman uses his superior dexterity to move around bodies, allowing him to pass through, but not stop on, any allies.

Light step can help a crafty landsman get safely into position behind armored allies before going in for the strike, or escape from a dangerous position.

## Joining the Party

* Rook is one of the lead (POV) characters and will join your party at the beginning of Chapter 2 and will also be playable in Chapter 4 through 7.
* He will also lead the Skogr caravan in the second game (Chapters 8, 10, 12 and 14), if he survives Boersgard...

## Possible Death or Departure

Rook will be killed after the first phase of the battle against Bellower, in the end of Chapter 7, if you decide that he should loose the Silver Arrow.

Rook will die in chapter 20 if you open the gates for the dredge, unless you have the dredge baby from the first game.

## Playstyle

* Rook is a very versatile and extremely mobile character. The combination of his passive, his 4-tile movement range and his hybrid ranged/melee attacks, can make his presence felt practically everywhere on the board!
* With the right item he is one of the best breakers in the game, scoring 6-9 Break on his turn.
* When set up smartly, Mark Prey can be one of the most powerful tactics available to the party, and make the difference between victory and defeat in an impossible battle. His active ability can be very devastating, even when Rook himself is maimed: Move a few allies in-range of an enemy, break him and then use Mark Prey on him. This is even more deadly when used with archers, thanks to Puncture.
* It is advised to promote Rook to Rank 5, since he will take a part in the battle against Bellower in the end of the first game.
* When used, Rook's second active ability, Call To Arms, rewards players who do not use the Maiming strategy. As such, it should only be used when You have a numbers advantage on your enemy

#### Survival Mode

In the Survival Mode of the second part of *The Banner Saga*, Rook gets Rally (Eirik's) ability when promoted to Rank 6, since Call to Arms is unusable in the 'Pillage-locked' Turn-Queue used.