Onef

Onef is a Human Hero character encountered in the first part of The Banner Saga.

Background
Some relation to Ekkill has seemingly driven this man away from Frostvellr, though he has never told you much about the exact reasons why.

He is the brother-in-law of Ekkill and murdered his own wife, claiming that she died of an illness. When the Dredge started invading, he tried to take control and used Ekkill as a puppet, presenting him as a madman.

Active Ability: Run Through
The Backbiter selects a target and then runs through multiple spaces to reach them, causing 2 Armor damage to each character he runs through. He then stops behind his target and stabs them for normal Strength damage.

This allows the Backbiter to move through both friend and foe, giving him extremely high mobility on the board. The Backbiter is the most useful when hunting down ranged or weakened enemies hiding in the back rows.

Rank 1: Run through 2 tiles

Rank 2: Run through 3 tiles

Rank 3: Run through 4 tiles

Passive Ability: Shield Wall
By standing next to an ally, the raider creates a Shield Wall, raising the armor of both himself and his ally by 1. This bonus remains until the Raider is no longer adjacent to the ally.

When multiple Raiders stand next to each other this effect is magnified as they grant each other their own bonus. Four Raiders standing in a square formation will each gain an additional 4 armor.

Joining the Party
Onef can be recruited during the start of Chapter 4, before leaving Frostvellr. He claims he was forced to mistreat the Skogr refugees by Ekkill, and offers to take Rook to a supply-cache if he is brought along. If the player stays outside of Frostvellr, he will offer to join you and bring supplies when you leave.

Possible Death or Departure

 * Rook has the option to kill Onef if he tries to sneak into Frostvellr using a supply cart as cover, at the end of Chapter 2.
 * After departing Sigrholm during Chapter 6, Rook and his allies pass through a forest. Onef takes Rook aside for a quick word, confesses his intended mutiny and attacks him! He then slays Egil, stabs Oddleif and flees into the forest kidnapping Alette, who is forced to slay Onef after the battle for her rescue.

Playstyle

 * Onef starts with quite low stats, and his Strength is also capped really low. Increasing his Break and Armor is a top priority.
 * He is one of the most mobile units, besides the two Landsmen of the game, owing to his active ability, Run Through.
 * Run Through can be used to deal Armor damage to multiple lined-up enemies, or reach a protected low-Armor unit (e.g. an Archer or Slinger) hiding in the enemy back lines.

Trivia

 * Recruiting Onef is the only way to recruit his brother-in-law, Ekkill.
 * Recruiting Onef will lock you out of the Steam achievements, Innocent and Beat the Odds.
 * Onef's character is true to the namesake of his class, Backbiter...
 * His scripted mutiny is one of the most (negatively) memorable moments of the game, resulting in Egil's unexpected death, if he is still alive!