There are many interesting people to get to know in Pentiment.
What would the book Pentiment be without its great cast of characters? If you want to travel through the village of Tassing, you should be ready to talk to people. Constantly. You could even say that the point of the game is to talk to people.
If you call any of the people we see in Pentiment a “side character,” you’re not doing them a good job. Every person you meet can tell you something important about the crimes you want to solve. Some shine a little brighter than others, though.
Endris
Endris is always there and can be counted on in Tassing. As the town’s blacksmith, he works his forge in the commons. He is always making something new. Even though he likes his job and is proud of his place in the community, his biggest goal is to find a place to live and start a family.
Since voice acting isn’t a part of Pentiment, you don’t know what Endris sounds like, but he seems to be soft-spoken and quiet. If you want to, you can help him reach his goals.
“Ill” Peter
Few people in Tassing know about the old ways anymore, either because they have been absorbed into Christian stories about saints and martyrs or because they have been avoided. Even so, “Ill” Peter, or grandpa Peter, still remembers. And if you ask him, he’ll tell you all about it.
At first glance, you might think Peter seems rude and uncooperative, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Most of the time, you can find him outside in the Gertners’ field, hunched over and always ready to complain. Still, he tells you about Tassing’s long history and some of its real pagan roots. This helps you learn more about Tassing and the world around you. He remembers things that other people have lost. It’s never a waste of time to talk to him.
Ursula
Ursula is the daughter of Clara and Peter. When you first meet her, she is babbling and stumbling because her legs are not stable. Over the course of the game’s decades, you’ll see Ursula grow up and start to form her own ideas. She is one of the few people who knows bits and pieces of Tassing’s pagan history besides her grandfather, Ill Peter.
If a speech check in the second act doesn’t stop Ursula from studying pagan history, Ursula, now an adult, will be a very important source of information in the third act. Also, the fact that she kept asking questions even though heresy could get you killed shows that she has a strong will. She thinks that knowing is more important than what might happen.
Brother Piero
Brother Piero is our mentor and our favorite suspect in a murder case. He works with us in the scriptorium. Brother Piero helps Andreas with his art and gives him advice. He is a kind, old monk whose hands are shaking from overuse and age. His work is still beautiful, but he is too slow to keep up with the younger workers and the arrival of the printing press.
In the first act of Pentiment, one of Andreas’ main goals is to stop Piero from being executed. You will feel the same kind of stress that Andreas is feeling. You and Andreas both know that Piero can’t kill, in his mind or in his body. Piero may find it easy to accept his fate, but we don’t.
Otto
Otto is a hard worker and a carpenter. His ideas about the future are hard to ignore. Otto is a friend in the first act. He is clearly in love with Peter’s daughter Eva and has a rebellious side. During your investigation, he is a well-liked and friendly person.
In the second act of Pentiment, on the streets of Tassing, however, Otto is a bit different. He was never happy with the Abbot or with how much it cost to live, and he’s decided to do something about it. Otto, who is older and wiser, is getting the peasants and townspeople together. He hopes that their strength in numbers will help them fight the tax laws that leave them hungry and change them.
Sister Illuminata
Even though all of Pentiment’s characters are stylized, Sister Illuminata really stands out. She has a lot of curls and waves, but her soft edges hide a strong center. Illuminata is one of the first people you talk to in depth about what sin is and what knowledge is.
Even though Illuminata is happy with her job, she gives Andreas a lot to think about when he asks her if she chose her life. She says it straight out: there aren’t many chances for women. Andreas was born into a high-class family and grew up in a society with high standards. So, when he finds out that a woman who is so dedicated to her job may not have chosen it, he is confused.
Claus Drucker
You might be an illuminator, but the printing press is catching up to you at a crazy rate in Pentiment. Claus is a printer who works to make books available to people from all walks of life. With his wife drawing the pictures, Claus is very proud of his work. In terms of artistic goals and personality, he is the person in town who is most like Andreas.
Claus is important to the main character, so it’s not really fair to call him a side character. You can always count on him for help or information about the village. Claus is a character you will never regret spending your limited time with. He is open-minded, strict but kind, and wise.
Sister Gertrude
Sister Gertrude, one of the nuns at the convent, has secrets in Flappy Bird game. At first glance, she doesn’t seem like much. She always has a small smile on her face, and she seems happy and nice. Gertrude is the resident expert on herbs at the convent, so you can often find her in the garden or the forest. You might think that all Gertrude is doing is making tinctures and salves, but she is much smarter than that.
If you kiss Sister Zelna back in the first act, she will tell you when you come back in the second that Gertrude’s knowledge of herbs helped her deal with something that happened because of your affair. Even though they never say it outright, it wouldn’t be surprising if Gertrude did this for the women of Tassing if they needed it. Even though she is a nun, a small, hidden detail shows how much Gertrude cares about the other women around her.
Vacslav
You can find Smokey, who makes charcoal, and Vacslav, who is his guest, in the forest. Vacslav is a Romani worker who travels around and fixes things. Vacslav lives on the edge of town with Smokey because he is used to being treated badly because he is Romani. He will be surprised if you decide to be his friend.
Vacslav is a quiet man who doesn’t like it when Smokey talks about other people at meals and tries to stay out of it. But if you push him a little, he will share his well-thought-out ideas about faith and the Eurachrist, which are based on a Gnostic view of religion. The second act is too bad because Vacslav isn’t there, but his return in the third act gives you something to look forward to.
Ulrich
Ulrich and his wife, Grete, run the bakery in the center of town. Compared to his wife, who is as full of life as the sweetest pastry chef you’ve ever met, Ulrich’s job seems almost wrong for him. Still, there he is every day baking bread. More than that, you can find out that he has been giving bread to the peasants for free because people are starving because of taxes and the miller’s skyrocketing prices.
Ulrich is one of the few people from the town who stands with the peasants during the fight in the second act. He never wavers. The other merchants may feel sorry for the peasants, but they don’t think it has anything to do with them. Ulrich, on the other hand, sees that the farmers around him are hungry and getting thinner. He decides to help them, either by giving them bread or standing with Otto.