June 14, 2013

30-Day Angel of Darkness Challenge Day 14: About the Cabal

In today's installment of the AOD Challenge, we turn to the game's villains. Please share your thoughts on the Cabal. Who is your favorite Cabal member?

Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness villain Pieter Van Eckhardt
Eckhardt concept art courtesy of Croft Generation.

Since the original, 15th-century Cabal was supposedly made up of five members, I always assumed the 21st-century version also had five: Pieter Van Eckhardt, Joachim Karel, Kristina Boaz, Grant Müller and Luther Rouzic. Rouzic didn't make it into the final game, but there is concept art and a little info about him floating around the internet, including this interesting thread on TRF. I was under the impression that Marten Gunderson was not a full-fledged member of the Cabal—more like Eckhardt's strongman and go-to guy—but I'd be interested to hear other ideas.

6 comments:

  1. Most definitely Boaz. She's so wonderfully creepy in her human incarnation. Then when she's cast into the pod and returns in not one but two hideous, mutated forms...! Eeeww! Ick! Awesome!

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  2. Boaz. Although I'm not that bothered about the Cabal. (Sacrilege!) :)

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  3. Favorite Cabal member? Karel. Though it seemed to be Eckhardt, it's Karel who's the mastermind of the whole thing. He killed Von Croy, he killed Eckhardt, he helped Lara since the beginning... it's like the whole story was manipulated by him and it feels like some of the other characters never existed. It was him all along...

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  4. I like Karel since he brings so much drama to the story right in the end where you think everything is going to end in a predictable way!

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  5. Karel. He was nearly the heart and soul of AoD, and there was a definite side-story that revolved around him.
    Karel guided Lara throughout most (if not entirely) of the game, but the misfortune was that he murdered Von Croy, Lara's old friend and mentor. Why he chose to kill Von Croy remains a mystery...was it because he wanted to give Lara a fuel and passion to discover his "beign new order" and stand at his side (as he proposed? What was that about?)

    Anyhoo, he was my favourite Cabal member because he was a mystery and a great character. I suspect he would have returned in the second part of the series.

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  6. Boaz is the creepiest, closely followed by Muller. And in this context, creepy is good!

    A mad scientist half in love with their creation is always a winner in video game narrative though, so Boaz wins. That bit where she gets pushed into the squelchy pod? Gross. And awesome.

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