Incense is an environmental element in Bloodborne.
Description[]
Incense is an ever present motif seen throughout the land of Yharnam and is used by its denizens, the Yharnamites, to ward off beasts during the nights of the Hunt.
They are stored and burned in pots or censers that create a thin white mist in the air.
Locations[]
Though Incense can be found in virtually every area of Bloodborne, there are some areas in the game that possess large quantities of it stocked in certain places, specifically, the Incense Urns, which from their appearance seem to last for much longer due to their sheer size.
- Cathedral Ward:
- Oedon Chapel, inside the chapel itself.
- Near the room that would connect with the Great Bridge, near the Church Giant who wields a wrecking ball.
- Upper Cathedral Ward:
- In front of the locked door to the area, atop the Healing Church Workshop.
- Hypogean Gaol:
- In the cells and in various key locations to keep the kidnappers and the kidnappees safe from the wandering beasts.
Lore[]
Incense masks the scent of blood and beasts.
Many Yharnamites who locked themselves inside would ask the Hunter to find them a safe place. The abundant incense supply in Oedon Chapel helps them make it to the morning.
The Yahar'gul Hunters, who kidnap commoners for the blasphemous rituals, also use incense to ward off beasts from where they help their victims. But after the Blood Moon rises, the beasts become stronger and frienzier, killing most of the kidnappers and kidnappees alike.
Notes[]
- On first glance the incense urns aren't all that striking, however, breaking them will reveal that they possess human remains inside.
- Oedon Chapel has a gigantic censer hanging from its ceiling, seemingly the largest in the game. It is essentially the symbol that one associates with the chapel.
- There are two attire sets that have pendants depicting a "censer". Gascoigne's Set and the Choir Set.
- The incense is burned in censers and pots, not in the red lanterns. The lanterns indicate an interactable NPC. There is one NPC that lives in a house without a red lantern outside but can still be spoken to. This NPC can be found below Father Gascoigne's house.
Trivia[]
- Arianna's reason to ask the Hunter for help stems from the fact that she ran out of incense.
- It is unknown how exactly the incense smells like, but it can mask the sense of the Hunter which is said "Moon-scented". The Oedon Chapel Dweller states:"...Hmm? Oh... you must be... a hunter. Very sorry, the incense must've masked your scent."
- Yharnamites aren't the first to use incense. Many incense burners can be found through out Pthumeru Chalice Dungeons. Perhaps the general lack of Beasts in this dungeons can be attributed to this factor and to the fact that so many traps and bosses attacking with Fire, from this standpoint they seem to be well prepared for the Beasts.
- The Afflicted Beggar, unlike all other rescued residents of Yharnam, will stand outside the chapel. This is likely due to the presence of the incense inside, hinting at his "beastly" side.
- There are great amounts of incense urns in three key positions of Yharnam: inside Oedon Chapel; atop of the Healing Church Workshop, at the gate of the Upper Cathedral Ward; and, finally, in the small path that connects the Great Bridge with the Cathedral Ward, where a locked door that can never be opened lies. This means that the entirety of Cathedral Ward is blocked off to Beasts by incense, and when one thinks of all the other places that connect to it, there are, in fact, no places where Beasts may com from, with the exception of within itself, or the Forbidden Woods, once the door is opened (the one where the Afflicted Beggar enters from).
- It also explains why players encounter the Cleric Beast in the Great Bridge, as it was a member of the Church who turned from within, and likely jumped below to escape the incense and Church Giants.
- Two incense pots can be found near the hung Blood-starved Beast in a old abbandoned chapel within Old Yharnam. Perhaps some one or some group has secretly killed the beast to harvest ritual blood and they brought along those incense pots for safe keeping.