Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
=== Setting ===
Bloodborne is set in Yharnam, a decaying Gothic city known for blood ministration, a medical practice built around the healing properties of blood. Before the events of the game, scholars at the city's College of Byrgenwerth discover the existence of a race of eldritch beings dubbed Great Ones and a substance known as the old blood that can seemingly heal any illness. Using the old blood, the Healing Church, an institution founded by Byrgenwerth breakaways, spreads blood ministration throughout Yharnam. The practice is connected to a plague that transforms people into beasts, leading to the deployment of Hunters to kill the infected. Ever since, the Healing Church has succumbed to the infighting of its upper echelons. The player controls an unnamed Hunter who travels between Yharnam and the Hunter's Dream, a mysterious realm overseen by Gehrman, an elderly Hunter.
Plot
The Hunter arrives in Yharnam seeking "Paleblood" and receives a blood transfusion. After the procedure, they awaken during a night of the Hunt, when Yharnam's citizens and Hunters kill those transformed by the plague. Trapped in the Hunter's Dream, the Hunter is guided to the Healing Church's grand cathedral, where a vision points them toward Byrgenwerth.
At Byrgenwerth, the Hunter defeats Rom, a spider-like being whose death reveals the blood moon and the influence of the Great Ones. The Hunter then encounters signs of Queen Yharnam, her child Mergo, and the Nightmare of Mensis. In the hidden village of Yahar'gul, the Hunter defeats the One Reborn and enters the Nightmare of Mensis. There, they kill Micolash, leader of the School of Mensis, and Mergo's Wet Nurse, ending the nightmare.
Afterwards, the Hunter returns to the Hunter's Dream, where Gehrman offers to release them.
If the Hunter accepts, Gehrman kills them, and they awaken in Yharnam at sunrise.
If the Hunter refuses, they defeat Gehrman, but the Dream's master, the Moon Presence, binds them to the Hunter's Dream as his replacement.
If the Hunter has consumed three umbilical cords associated with the Great Ones before refusing, they resist the Moon Presence, kill it, and are reborn as an infant Great One.
The Old Hunters
In The Old Hunters, the Hunter enters the Hunter's Nightmare, a realm that imprisons hunters consumed by bloodlust. Moving through the Nightmare, they fight hunters transformed into beasts and eventually reach a clock tower guarded by Lady Maria, one of Gehrman's former pupils.
After defeating Maria, the Hunter discovers the Fishing Hamlet, whose inhabitants were experimented on after Byrgenwerth scholars discovered the corpse of Kos, a Great One. At the village's shore, the Hunter finally discovers the curse's source: Kos' post-mortem-born child. After the hunter subsequently fights and slays the creature, its spirit is released from Kos' corpse, ending the curse of the Hunter's Nightmare.
Bloodborne is set in Yharnam, a decaying Gothic city known for blood ministration, a medical practice built around the healing properties of blood. Before the events of the game, scholars at the city's College of Byrgenwerth discover the existence of a race of eldritch beings dubbed Great Ones and a substance known as the old blood that can seemingly heal any illness. Using the old blood, the Healing Church, an institution founded by Byrgenwerth breakaways, spreads blood ministration throughout Yharnam. The practice is connected to a plague that transforms people into beasts, leading to the deployment of Hunters to kill the infected. Ever since, the Healing Church has succumbed to the infighting of its upper echelons. The player controls an unnamed Hunter who travels between Yharnam and the Hunter's Dream, a mysterious realm overseen by Gehrman, an elderly Hunter.
Plot
The Hunter arrives in Yharnam seeking "Paleblood" and receives a blood transfusion. After the procedure, they awaken during a night of the Hunt, when Yharnam's citizens and Hunters kill those transformed by the plague. Trapped in the Hunter's Dream, the Hunter is guided to the Healing Church's grand cathedral, where a vision points them toward Byrgenwerth.
At Byrgenwerth, the Hunter defeats Rom, a spider-like being whose death reveals the blood moon and the influence of the Great Ones. The Hunter then encounters signs of Queen Yharnam, her child Mergo, and the Nightmare of Mensis. In the hidden village of Yahar'gul, the Hunter defeats the One Reborn and enters the Nightmare of Mensis. There, they kill Micolash, leader of the School of Mensis, and Mergo's Wet Nurse, ending the nightmare.
Afterwards, the Hunter returns to the Hunter's Dream, where Gehrman offers to release them.
If the Hunter accepts, Gehrman kills them, and they awaken in Yharnam at sunrise.
If the Hunter refuses, they defeat Gehrman, but the Dream's master, the Moon Presence, binds them to the Hunter's Dream as his replacement.
If the Hunter has consumed three umbilical cords associated with the Great Ones before refusing, they resist the Moon Presence, kill it, and are reborn as an infant Great One.
The Old Hunters
In The Old Hunters, the Hunter enters the Hunter's Nightmare, a realm that imprisons hunters consumed by bloodlust. Moving through the Nightmare, they fight hunters transformed into beasts and eventually reach a clock tower guarded by Lady Maria, one of Gehrman's former pupils.
After defeating Maria, the Hunter discovers the Fishing Hamlet, whose inhabitants were experimented on after Byrgenwerth scholars discovered the corpse of Kos, a Great One. At the village's shore, the Hunter finally discovers the curse's source: Kos' post-mortem-born child. After the hunter subsequently fights and slays the creature, its spirit is released from Kos' corpse, ending the curse of the Hunter's Nightmare.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Bloodborne. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license