The Scholar's portrait in-game.
The Scholar is the main protagonist and a playable character in The Consuming Shadow.
Character traits
The Scholar is the default playable character. He has 60 hours to stop the invading god, a full supply of 9mm bullets and £15 to spend. He has no particular strengths or weaknesses.
The scholar has a unique Birth Star constellation, the Priest, each Birth Star placed at the exact center gives a 3% increase in the rate at which the player learns about the game's various monsters (to a maximum of +6%). The Magician also always appears in his night sky, each Birth Star placed at the exact center gives a +3% chance to discover spells (to a maximum of +9%).
History
The Ministry Man's diary says he's a university researcher, on a list of the Ministry's potential employees. He is a married man with at least one child who are staying with either his mother's or mother-in-law's household while he is away. Game creator Yahtzee describes him as "A silhouette. You can believe what you like about him." after calling him "a pretty judgemental scholar" in his review of the game.
Selection screen text
All characters have introductions when selected in the character selection screen. This made up of two paragraphs, each picked from a pool of pre-written passages. These are the possible passages for the Scholar.
Some of these paragraphs are unlocked upon completing certain endings with the Scholar. It is unknown which paragraphs these are and it is unknown which endings they are unlocked by. Help would be appreciated.
First paragraph
A shadow is trying to enter our world. One of the Ancients, The runes confirm it. I don't know which one. All I know is that they arrive at Stonehenge, three days from now.
Something made me check for patterns in the runes. I don't know why, but I'm glad I did. A massive synchronisation is coming, centred on Stonehenge, in roughly sixty hours.
Last night I dreamt that I was killed by something horrible. Two details stand out: 'Stonehenge' and 'three days'. And I've learned not to dismiss my dreams when they get this vivid. - Unlocked with ending ??.
Terrifying visions of the Ancients swim through my mind, combined with visions of Stonehenge. I estimate three days before the barrier breaks down and one of them invades. - Unlocked with ending ??.
Second paragraph
One hope remains: the Ritual of Banishment. Four runes, incanted at Stonehenge, will close the gateway. The trouble is, I don't know what the ritual is. If I investigate the strange events heralding the shadow, maybe I could piece it together. That's all I have: a 'maybe'.
I have the ability to incant runes in the Ancient tongue, but I do not know what incantation sequence will banish the evil, nor do I know which evil to banish. What I do know is that I will never determine these things by sitting here letting the time tick away.
I know what I must do: explore places touched by the Ancients, assembling clues to piece together the banishment ritual and the identity of the invading god. But I'm not sure how I know this. I have the strangest feeling that it might be because I've already done this. - Unlocked with any ending.
For some reason I cannot shake a sensation of deja vu. I have memories of assembling a ritual, fleeing through darkened hallways, and firing a gun at something unimaginable. I feel like some distant part of me may have died this way. Hundreds of times. Perhaps thousands. - Unlocked with any ending.
Trivia
- The university that the Scholar works for may be located in northern England or southern Scotland, as when the player starts a playthrough with him they always start in these general areas.
- The Priest and the Magician being constellations that always appear in the Scholar's night sky reflect his title, and how he is better at learning than the other characters.
- If the player chooses The Warrior or The Ministry Man, The Scholar's death is noted at some point in their narratives.