Ludin

Ludin is a Hero character encountered in the first and second part of The Banner Saga. He is the son of King Meinolf, and the heir to the throne.

Saga 1
Ludin is the Prince of men. The next in line to become king of most of the continent. He is not well-liked amongst either peers or rivals, mostly due to his high-born attitude. However, not many will claim that he isn't smart, a well-trained fighter or lacking courage. He currently finds himself, somewhat against his will, on a visit to the Varl capital in what his father hopes becomes a new era of rule by lineage.

Saga 2
Having survived many recent challenges, including the Battle of Boersgard, Ludin's thoughts on leadership are in disarray.

Active Ability: Impale
The Spearmaster skewers an adjacent enemy unit doing normal Strength damage (with 100% chance to hit) before knocking it back with a kick to release his spear. Impaled characters will bleed for one round, taking 1 Strength damage for each tile of movement. This can be especially deadly if bleeding characters are moved against their will, such as Dredge slingers using the Back Off ability.

Rank 1: Bleed and Knock-back 1 tile

Rank 2: Bleed and Knock-back 2 tiles

Rank 3: Bleed and Knock-back 3 tiles

Notes: Knock-back by Impale will not push the target through other units, unlike Battering Ram or Mule Kick. Bleeding damage is not received for the tiles knocked-back by Impale's 'kick'.

Active Ability: Pig Sticker
The Slaughterer comes in low and attempts to skewer his target, attacking with a 20% chance to deal a critical strike, double damage attack. This chance increases for each ally adjacent to the slaughterers target.
 * Ludin gains Pig Sticker ability when promoted to Rank 6.

Unlike Impale, Pig Sticker has the same range as the Slaughterer's regular attacks, so the Slaughterer has more opportunity to benefit from adjacency bonuses.

Rank 1: +10% critical chance per adjacent ally

Rank 2: +20% critical chance per adjacent ally

Rank 3: +30% critical chance per adjacent ally

Passive Ability: Embolden
Each kill the Spearman makes encourages allies to fight harder, granting 1 Willpower to the Spearman and any adjacent allies.

Joining the Party

 * Saga 1: Ludin is a member of the Varl caravan at Chapter 1 and becomes available to the player in Chapter 3 and, potentially, at game's final battle.
 * Saga 2: If he survived the first game, Ludin starts with the Skogr caravan at Chapter 8.

Saga 1

 * It is possible to cause Ludin's removal from the Roster (but not his death) by striking or mistreating him while playing as Hakon during Chapter 3.
 * Ludin will be killed in Ridgehorn if he's allowed to ride into battle alone during Chapter 3.

Saga 2

 * If you decide to fight the dredge at Lundar and lend support to Dagr, Ludin will accompany him but won't make it back alive in Chapter 10.

Playstyle

 * Ludin starts with 2 Exertion, so he can greatly benefit from high morale. He is a versatile character, so you can invest on either of his basic stats (i.e. Strength, Armor or Break).
 * The Spearman's increased attack-range of 2 tiles can be used to strike 'diagonally' or while safely behind high-Armor allies. In this way, he potentially receives/grants bonuses like Shield Wall and/or Bloody Flail and is still able to attack.
 * Impale is an Armor-bypass damaging ability that can be used in conjunction with displacement abilities (e.g. Battering Ram, Malice or Mule Kick) to cause significant bleeding damage. This is useful against high Armor enemies like Dredge Stoneguard. It is also useful against slingers who always move upon being attacked.
 * Impale is extremely efficient against Dredge Slingers owing to their Back Off passive: After any attack they will (randomly) move three tiles away, thus taking 3 bleeding damage!

Trivia

 * Ludin's entourage includes two useful characters, Yrsa and Bersi, who will also be removed from the caravan Roster if Ludin is sent away (or dies).
 * Ludin is the only potential witness to Vognir's mysterious death, supposedly at the hands of a Dredge Brute, at the end of Chapter 1.