When humans succumb to beasthood, they become, for example:
The key identifying features of actual transformed humans:
Scourge beasts, by contrast:
Think of it this way: Scourge beasts are like plague rats. People with the plague do not transform into rats—the rats are carriers and manifestations of the disease itself. Scourge beasts function the same way in Bloodborne's plague logic.
Cleric beasts might also be apparitions rather than literal transformations, with the actual transformed clerics being the massive Bloodletting Beasts (which retain human faces, while the faces of Cleric Beasts are more animal-like). However, this is harder to prove definitively due to the limited number of cleric beast encounters in the game, and Vicar Amelia's directly observable exploding into a very unusual beast form.
The Beast-Possessed Soul found in the chalice dungeons is likely a Pthumerian who was somehow possessed by the scourge. Notably, its head resembles the Demon hounds found in lower chalice layers.
| Feature | Transformed Humans (Beast Patients, Large Huntsmen, etc.) |
Scourge Beasts |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Retains human features | Wolflike, non-human face |
| Horns | Sometimes present | Absent |
| Origin | Afflicted humans, possibly revived corpses | Apparitions/manifestations of the scourge itself |
| Examples | Beast Patients, Large Huntsmen, Bloodletting Beasts, Darkbeasts | Common Scourge Beasts in Central Yharnam and elsewhere |
Djura's compassion extends to:
He does not protect scourge beasts, which are apparitions of the plague itself. His philosophy is about recognizing the humanity in the afflicted, not about protecting plague manifestations.
Dogs were used extensively in beast hunting:
There is no reason why Djura, who witnessed the burning of Old Yharnam and came to see the beasts as victims, would have any love for the hunting dogs that participated in that slaughter. The assumption that he "loves dogs" misunderstands both his character and the role dogs play in Yharnam's hunts.
| Common Misconception | Actual Lore |
|---|---|
| Scourge beasts are transformed humans | Scourge beasts are apparitions of the plague; beast patients are transformed humans |
| Djura protects all beasts including scourge beasts | Djura protects beast patients—afflicted humans who retain some humanity |
| Djura loves dogs | Djura likely hates dogs, which were used in the hunts that destroyed Old Yharnam |
Final Note: These distinctions matter because they reflect Bloodborne's deeper plague logic—the difference between victims of a disease and manifestations of the disease itself. Djura's tragedy is not that he loves monsters, but that he recognizes the people trapped within the transformation, abandoned by a Church that would rather burn than heal.
The transformation with the Beast's Embrace rune keeps a human face, with the hair around the head looking more like a lion's mane than anything wolf-like.
The horns of a Large Huntsman, which are hard to see in-game. Their shape also resembles the huge crooked horns of the Loran Cleric, although much smaller.
Interesting detail: The hands of the beast patient in the concept art seem bizarrely mutated, which is not visible in the game.