The shepherds are a group of supporting characters in The Dark Pictures Anthology's third installment, House of Ashes. They live in a farm at the target LZ and are eventually revealed to be a group of drug-smuggling cultists that regularly sacrifice travelers to the vampires so that they do not come to the surface and harm them.
Appearances[]
The shepherds appear to be middle-aged dark men. Their entire facial feature is almost unknown other than the fact they have dark brown eyes.
All the shepherds appear to wear the same clothing, which consists of a sweater, trousers, and sandals that are suitable for rural deserted areas. Most of them wear beanie and scarf mask. However, one notable shepherd doesn't wear a mask, revealing their face.
Personalities[]
The shepherds are farmers that also smuggle drugs and vow a cult to the vampires. Some of them are armed, but they are smart enough to not fight against the Americans if they hold fire during the invasion of the farm. Some of them show deference but others can show violence, especially after their custom are being disrespected.
Dar sees them as not valuable despite being his fellow countrymen, even implying to Salim he'll eliminate them after dealing with the Americans. However in the American side, Rachel values their lives enough to ensure a smoothly interrogation as to scold Jason for killing one of them. Merwin sees the shepherds as unintelligent, telling Rachel "don't ask them any tough physics questions."
Biography[]
The shepherds were a group of cultists living in the Zagros Mountains who were devoted to sacrificing local travelers to the vampires living underground. They worshipped them for generations and kept feeding them to the point the vampires didn't bring harm upon them. Up until the present time, the shepherds would continue their business until when they were interrupted by forces of two countries on May 30, 2003.
House of Ashes[]
| Chapter Appearances | |||
| Cursed | Absent | ||
| The Briefing | Absent | The Assault | Absent |
| The Raid | Debut (Possible Death) | The Horror | Absent |
| Underworld | Absent | Enemy of My Enemy | Absent |
| Pazuzu | Absent | The Well | Absent |
| The Temple | Absent | The Ancient One | Absent |
| Breaking Up | Absent | Brothers | Absent |
| After the Fall | Absent | The City | Absent |
| Slayer | Absent | Strange Aeons | Absent |
| The Truce | Absent | The Vault | Absent |
| Bloodbath | Mentioned | Semper Fi | Absent |
| The Signal | Absent | Daylight | Determinant Mention |
| The End | Absent | ||
Main Story[]
As the shepherds witness the US helicopters landing outside, they retreat back into the buildings. Later, the shepherds are held hostage by the Americans, with one of them possibly getting killed in the process. When the war happens, the shepherds attempt to escape the warzone. However, one of them will be caught by Jason, in which he can be spared or killed.
They are brought up by Clarice in the pit, exclaiming how the shepherds have lived in the mountains for a long time. It can later be assumed that the shepherds flee their huts to safety before the protagonists rise onto the surface.
Possible Deaths[]
| Chapter | Mechanism of Kill | Caused by | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Raid | Shot | Jason | Jason chose to assault the building; Jason shoots the nearest shepherd. |
| Rachel | Jason didn't assault the building; Jason was enraged at the effigies. | ||
| Jason | Jason chose to shoot the fleeing shepherd near the end of the firefight. |
Killed Victims[]
| Character | Mechanism of Kill |
|---|---|
| Numerous travelers including Marie Vinay and Yves Paugam | Sacrificed to vampires |
Trivia[]
Secrets[]
- The shepherds are associated with some secrets:
- They created the pagan effigies hanging around the huts.
- They own several gas masks.
- They may possess a statue of Pazuzu.
Other[]
- Dar shows contempt for them in The Raid, implying that he does not consider them "their people." It is unclear why he says this, though he could hold dislike Kurds or suspect that they are smuggling drugs.
- Some of the shepherds' sweaters have a pattern of the compass symbols on their back. This is a reference to the fourth installment of the anthology, The Devil in Me.
- Despite being farmers, no livestock or crops can be seen on their land. However, it can be assumed that their productions are located somewhere else away from the farm.
- According to Salim in a determinant dialogue in Enemy of My Enemy, they are goat farmers.
Quotes[]
| “ | <In Arabic> The Americans! The American soldiers are here!
|
” |
| “ | <In Arabic> We are the US- US Forces. Exit the building with your hands raised above your heads. We mean you no harm!
|
” |
| “ | If these are civilians, Lieutenant Kolchek, then you just killed an innocent man.
|
” |
| “ | He may be right. If these are civilians, Lieutenant Kolchek made the right call not to go in guns blazing.
|
” |
| “ | Rachel: Are they ready for questioning? Merwin: Yeah, just don't ask them any tough physics questions. |
” |
| “ | Rachel: What happened here? He doesn't look like a hostile. Jason: With all due respect but, you weren't there and I ain't taking no chances. Rachel: Well that's just great. Jason: It is what it is. Rachel: No, Lieutenant. It's not! You killed a man. But maybe we can use this to our advantage. |
” |
| “ | Fuck you and your voodoo shit!
|
” |
| “ | Salim: Who are these people? They look like shepherds! Dar: Nobody important lives out here. |
” |
| “ | Salim: It makes no sense for them to be out here. Dar: Maybe they're looking for Saddam's hideout? Salim: You think Saddam is down there?! Dar: No. But those "shepherds" could know where he is. We can't take the risk. Salim: What do you mean? |
” |
| “ | Salim: Believe as you like. Jason: Fuck's that supposed to mean. Salim: Back at the farm, I saw you spare that shepherd. So it's clear you don't see us all as your enemies, right? |
” |
| “ | Salim: Believe as you like. Jason: Fuck's that supposed to mean. Salim: Back at the farm, you shot that shepherd in the back because what? He attacked your country? He was nothing but a goat farmer! |
” |
| “ | Think those shepherds are still around here? I could use a cold one.
|
” |
[]
| Protagonists |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonists | |||||||
| Supporting Characters |
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