Charr
From Guild Wars Wiki
“The land north of Ascalon’s protective Great Northern Wall is occupied by a savage race of beasts known as the Charr.
To the Charr, flame is the physical representation of their gods. In order to keep the gods happy, they must first fulfill their obligation to the flame. To that end, the Charr have constructed a series of sacred buildings known as Flame Temples. On raised platforms, these bestial creatures have inscribed huge circular runes, which define and magically feed the sacred fires. Further defining the ring are pillars of pure obsidian or carved sandstone, sculpted to depict the faces of the mysterious creatures the Charr worship. Between these pillars, in the very center of each of these temples, are the ever-burning Sacred Flames. The Charr believe that as long as the flames are burning, the gods are pleased. If the flames go out, then the Charr have failed in their duties and will be punished by the gods.
Each temple has its own fire, which is tended at all times by four Charr Flame Keepers. The Flame Keepers have only one job—to keep the Sacred Flame burning. This is the most prestigious position a Charr can occupy; only the strongest, most capable Charr can take this honor, and all other Charr bow to the Flame Keepers.
In addition to the temples, whenever a large Charr warband travels anywhere, they take with them a bronze brazier, lit at a Flame Temple by the Sacred Flame. These braziers are placed upon palanquins, which are then carried from location to location by four Charr Flame Carriers. Each night when they make camp, the Flame Carriers erect a flammable effigy in the shape of one of their gods, then ignite it and let it burn till daylight.
Humans learned quickly how to read the flame sign: if the flame is lit, the Charr camp is occupied. If the flame is out, the Charr have moved on.
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[edit] Culture
In modern times, the Charr generally follow the way of the Shaman Caste. The caste led them in name of the "Charr Gods": the Titans. The Shamans, fully knowing that they were false Gods, used them as a pretense to control the other Charr and fight the humans. Many bases of worship can be seen including burning effigies of Titans littering Charr Camps in Ascalon.
In Guild Wars Nightfall there are two quests relating to the Titan Lore of the Charr: A Flickering Flame and Dismember the Titans. Scorch Emberspire finds out the truth about the titans not being Gods. Scorch expected to be rewarded in his afterlife due to his service to the Titans but was pulled instead into The Realm of Torment. On inspection to ask his "gods" why this has happened the Titans begin to attack triggering the lies he was told about the "Charr gods".
In Guild Wars: Eye of the North Pyre Fierceshot and his warband have dedicated their lives to bringing down Hierophant Burntsoul and the Shaman Caste. The Shaman's grip over the Charr was weakening steadily so they reaffirmed their rule over the Charr with the Destroyers as their new gods. This relationship is seemingly destroyed on the mission Assault on the Stronghold where the destroyers are released on the players by the Charr but ironically turn on the Charr instead. Finishing the mission results in Pyre Fierceshot telling the Charr to remember this day and continue to spread the word that there are no gods for the Charr.
Another speculated motivation of Pyre Fierceshot to the destruction of the Shaman Caste may be linked Vatlaaw Doomtooth who is killed in Prophecies. Gron Fierceclaw notes "...how the son of Vatlaaw has fallen" when he sees Pyre working with humans. If this is true, Pyre may believe the Shamans killed his father; there would be no way of knowing his father was killed by Prince Rurik and players in the mini mission leading to Post-Searing in Pre-Searing shortly before the Searing. This is speculation however: there is no explicit connection between Vatlaaw Doomtooth and Pyre Fierceshot in the game at any point.
Charr society is divided into a number of legions, the largest and most powerful of which are the four High Legions: the Ash Legion, Blood Legion, Flame Legion and Iron Legion.
[edit] See also
[edit] Creatures
- Only during The Great Northern Wall.
- Only during Fort Ranik.
- Only during Ruins of Surmia.
- Also encountered in the Far Shiverpeaks.
- Also encountered in the Depths of Tyria.
- Only during Against the Charr.
- Only during Warband of Brothers.
- Only during Assault on the Stronghold.
- Suspected
[edit] Major Charr NPCs
[edit] The Fierce warband
20 Bonwor Fierceblade
20 Pyre Fierceshot
20 Swift Fiercejustice
20 Roan Fierceheart
20 Cowl Fiercetongue
20 Seer Fiercereign
20 Gron Fierceclaw
[edit] Enemies
See also: Category:Charr bosses
[edit] Notes
- Charr in Guild Wars Prophecies have no family.
- There is a Charr Hero named Pyre Fierceshot.
- The Charr will be one of the playable races in Guild Wars 2.
- The Searing Tonic and sometimes the Mysterious Tonic will turn you into a Charr.
- All Charr encountered in the original Guild Wars are male. As of early 2009, no official images of female Charr have been released.
- According to Thadeus Lamount's History of Tyria, the Charr were among the races offered the gift of magic, however according to The Ecology of the Charr, the Charr received magic from the Titans two hundred years before the Searing. There have been no official statements clarifying this apparently contradiction, however there are several plausible explanations:
- Thadeus Lamount is an unreliable narrator who assumed that the Charr received magic at the same time as the other mortal races.
- The Charr were offered the gift of magic and rejected it.
- The Charr received the gift of magic, however it fell out of use, possibly due to Charr cultural taboos, the weakening of magic due to the creation of the Bloodstones or a combination of the two factors.
- The gift of magic made it possible for the mortal races to learn and use magic, some races were taught to use this gift, however the Charr were not. Prior to being instructed by the Titans, the Charr either had not learned to use magic, or had only developed crude, relatively weak magical techniques.
[edit] Eye of the North voice responses
- "I'm not impressed."
- "The Charr shall rule."
- "You may be useful."
- "You look weak."
- "You want something, meat?"
[edit] GW2W
| Announced playable races of Guild Wars 2 |
|---|
| Asura • Charr • Human • Norn • Sylvari |
