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We've been advised not to call them zombies; the Hollow Man Anti-Defamation League is getting stronger all the time.
— Barry Hatch in Fable III

Hollow Men are ancient corpses animated by the restless souls of the dead (also called 'Wisps'). They are first introduced in Fable II as a new incarnation of Undead from Fable, and make a return in Fable III. They most often attack in large groups, swarming the Hero, and are one of the most frequently encountered enemy types throughout both games.

In an article in the Bowerstone Times, it is revealed that the term 'hollow man' was first coined by the naturalist Bartholomew Briggard.

Fable II[]

Hollow Men are first encountered in the Wellspring Cave during the Hero of Strength portion of the main quest. Wisps can be seen hovering harmlessly in the air as the Hero and Hammer make their way through the cavern to the first room, but will fly into the ground and emerge as Hollow Men when the pair attempt to leave. They can be encountered in areas such as Wraithmarsh, the Tomb of Heroes, and the Crucible. There are two known types, both of which are weak to fire and lightning.

  • Standard Hollow Man: Fast, melee type. Wields two hand weapons and appears in groups. There are a few different models, both male and female. They resemble dead peasants, and all have the same attacks and stats. They have barely any armour, and wield what appears to be sickles, small swords, and makeshift axes.
  • Elder Hollow Man: Stronger, melee & caster type. They are covered in ancient armour, and will also attack with Shock and Force Push in addition to their weapons, which are often dual-wielded swords or hammers. They are first encountered in Wraithmarsh when heading to Bloodstone. They tend to swarm the Hero, like their other kin, but stay back more often, and watch their brethren die. Although they are tough, it is quite easy for an experienced Hero to kill them, with any weapon type, preferably guns and fire spells.

Dismemberment[]

Hollow Men are one of the few enemies in Fable II that can survive dismemberment. Their arms, and head are both removable. When their heads are dismembered, they will attack in the direction of their most recently received attack. This can work as a great crowd control measure, if needed. There is an achievement associated with dismembering Hollow Men. For more information, see The Black Knight.

Fable III[]

In Fable III, Hollow Men are first encountered in the Reliquary, and are the first major enemy type the Hero must face. They now appear to be reanimated soldiers wearing antiquated armour, instead of peasants and ancient warriors. Their appearance and tactics will vary. They still dual-wield crude melee weapons, but have gained the ability to use guns. An individual hollow man's strength can be determined from its size and the amount of armour it's wearing.

  • Standard Hollow Man: Adorned in a basic, lighter version of the uniform used by the Royal Army, these smaller hollow men are the only ones that use guns, and will favour rifles almost exclusively at higher levels. This means that they can hit a Hero from many yards away, and should be killed first in an engagement. They are a nuisance, because they inflict semi-powerful attacks at long range, and also, if you run at them with a melee weapon, they back away. Since they are easily killable with any weapon, this is an easy task.
  • Warrior Hollow Man: These hollow men, adorned in antiquated armour, are taller, faster, and are capable of casting Shock.
  • Commander Hollow Man: The strongest and rarest type of hollow man, commanders are much larger and wield two large swords. Commanders are capable of targeted and area Shock spells, but their most notable feature is their ability to summon five to six mid-level hollow men during battle. In combat, they charge in mindlessly when you are far away and walk towards you if you are at a fairly small distance, but when all of the summoned hollow men are slain, they begin to spawn more allies. They will continue to summon more until they are defeated. They have the ability to block oncoming melee attacks with their giant swords. They are clad with armour, and are giant compared to their cousins. When encountering them, it is best to use spells and guns to your advantage, rather than using melee weapons.

Hollow men count as ugly enemies and evil enemies for the purpose of legendary weapon upgrades.

Hollow men can be encountered in The Catacombs, the Reliquary, Mourningwood, Sunset House, Silverpines, and Reaver's Manor during The Masquerade quest. In the Understone DLC, hollow men are once again encountered in Reaver's Wheel of Misfortune.

The Hollow Legion[]

During the Hollow Legion portion of the main quest line, the soldiers stationed at Mourningwood Fort come under siege from hordes of Hollow Men. Apparently, Mourningwood has garnered a sinister reputation due to the massive amounts of Hollow Men infesting the region. The Hero must aid the soldiers by first using the mortar to destroy the approaching Hollow Men, and then joining the fray once the rear gate is breached. The battle culminates with the Hero being forced to fight the reanimated corpse of Lieutenant Simmons. The fact that the Hollow Men launch a coordinated attack on the fort (and that one even disguises itself as a scarecrow) suggests they, or at least the wisps controlling them, may possess some degree of intelligence, as opposed to being mindless corpses.

Traitor's Keep[]

In the Traitor's Keep DLC, Mary Godwin's experiments at the Godwin Estate have resulted in new types of hollow men. The Hero and Commander Milton encounter hollow men that are invulnerable unless exposed to light, and stronger hollow men lit with 'unnatural' flames that use Fireball spells. Mary has also trained hollow men to cooperate with other creatures, such as Balverines, in attacking intruders. When Godwin's hollow men first appear, Milton observes that they aren't normal hollow men, and appear to be "much more ancient."

Fable: The Journey[]

In Fable: The Journey, Hollow Men are first encountered while exploring the Enlightened’s temple of Bladebarrow when Gabriel is searching for Stone’s willstone . Due to being dead for way more than a few centuries they all bear ancient weapons such as swords and spears but not a single firearm, this is the first time hollow men are seen carrying shields. They are main seen again at the destroyed fort of Stonehaven where they slayed all the soldiers more than a hundred years prior of the events of the game after the magic beacon which kept them at bay was extinguished at the fort.

Hollowmen 01

From left to right: Standart Hollow Man, Shield Hollow Man, two Elite Hollow Man, Berserker Hollow Man, Hollow Spearman and a Stronger Hollow Spearman

There are seven different classes of Hollow Men in this game:

  • Standard Hollow Man: They usually bear swords and attack by approaching the player and hitting.
  • Hollow Man with Shield: They usually bear axes as their main weapon and can only be harmed after their shield is destroyed by a direct shard or their shield holding arm is ripped out.
  • Elite Hollow Man: They are stronger and faster Hollow Men with heavier armour and will viciously attack the player if they get too close.
  • Hollow Man Captain:Even stronger than Elite Hollow Men and also carry a shield that must be destroyed before they can be harmed.
  • Berserker Hollow Man: They don’t bear any weapon but will maniacally run towards the player jumping on and explode draining a lot of health.
  • Hollow Spearman: These Hollow Men don’t move but will throw spears at the player.
  • Stronger Hollow Spearman: As its name suggest they’re just a stronger version of the common Hollow Spearmen

Wisps[]

Main article: Wisp

Wisps are the restless souls of the dead that manifest as glowing white lights that reanimate corpses to create Hollow Men. When a Hollow Man is destroyed, the wisp will leave the body in a shape very similar to a face. Wisps will only follow dead flesh.

Trivia[]

  • Hollow men are weak to the Inferno spell in Fable II and the Fireball Spell Gauntlet in Fable III.
  • If you look closely at the weapons wielded by Hollow Men, the Elder Hollow Men use Iron and Steel weapons while weaker Hollow men use Rusty and Iron weapons.
  • Together with the Banshee, the Hollow Man is the only enemy to have distinct female members. The only other group of enemies that could have female members are Hobbes, who sometimes wear dresses.
  • The name, "Hollow Men" could be a reference to the T.S. Elliot poem "The Hollow Men" who fit the description of humans without souls or purpose.
  • In Fable III, the Hollow Men wear armour similar to English Roundheads.
  • In the Hero of Strength quest in Fable II, a level one Force Push can kill the hollow men encountered in Wellspring Cave.
  • When playing Reaver's Wheel of Misfortune, Lieutenant Simmons can be fought in the Hollow Man round.
  • Despite just being bones, they can bleed.
  • Nearly all hollow men in Fable III have glowing green eyes; except for those armed with guns, who have glowing blue eyes.
  • The Hollow Men of Fable 3 are the reanimated bodies of fallen Guardsmen.

Gallery[]

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