The Evolution of Sir Duncan – from test knight to Legend of the Order of the Eagle

Every game has its trailblazing hero. In the case of Toria, that hero is Sir Duncan – the very first character created long before the final concept of the game was established. Though his journey was difficult, he set the tone for the other characters and is still an icon of the project.

First Steps – the “test knight”

In the very beginning, Sir Duncan was far from the majestic Dark Inquisitor we know today. He was created as a simple test knight, meant to check how the only 3D artist at the time – Mateusz – would handle character modeling. The requirements were straightforward: 300 faces and a knightly vibe. That’s how the first version was born, which Mateusz further enriched with a touch of hussar inspiration.

Ultimately, however, he wasn’t completely satisfied with this version. He decided to raise the bar and created a version with 500 faces, where Duncan got a saber, a shield, and a decorative wildcat pelt. This was the version used to test the first battles in the game.

The Birth of the Dark Inquisitor

The true transformation came when Daniel – the project leader and lead game designer – shared the story of Toria and the history of the Order of the Eagle with Mateusz. That’s when the vision of the Dark Inquisitor was born – a warrior with a past who commands respect simply by his appearance. Armed with a massive two-handed weapon, he was meant to look like someone who had seen many battlefields. The original hussar character was preserved for the moment when mounted characters are introduced into the game.

Mateusz’s tendency to create “stylized” models paid off – Duncan became a monumental knight, looking more like a 2x2 meter wardrobe than a human. His current model now has 3,500 faces, over seven times more than the original prototype.

Who really is Sir Duncan?

In Toria’s lore, the story takes place in a world inspired by Europe at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. In this world, the Order of the Eagle – modeled after the Templars – was expelled from the West and forced to seek a new homeland in the East.

Sir Duncan hails from Albion and serves as the Dark Inquisitor. He hunts all heresy and forbidden magic, including necromancy. He usually operates on behalf of the Order of the Eagle’s chapter, but players can also hire him for their own tasks – whether in combat or for more challenging missions.