What is Dave Exactly? (Thunder Warden)

[ifoz]

We all know and love our good giraffe friend Dave the Thunder Warden, but just exactly what is he and how does he fit into the lore?

Looking at Dave, he looks mechanical to me. Rivets dot his limbs and his back is coated with spines that look like those of the resonators and the Chamber in the Archives, presumably used for wirelessly sending and receiving sound waves or other such pulses of data.

Did Jonas build him too? Is Dave a giant, mobile sound and communication device? Do the temporal storms follow him around, and they hit us when he graces us with his presence, or does he follow them around instead? Perhaps he is like a gigantic lightning rod, channelling temporal storms around him. Or is it that he merely becomes visible when in a temporally low state?

Is he friendly or hostile to Seraphs? We never get close enough to him to find out.
Reportedly a Seraph once got close enough to touch him, but all that they found of the poor soul was a pile of charred, flickering ashes.
Granted, I heard that one from Crazy Pete down at the Dancing Drifter Tavern during happy hour, so I don't know how reliable it is.

Another story I heard was of the rumoured emergence of a cult-like group, the Thunder Apostles, based in the Chapel of Dave, though I don't yet know much about it.
Apparently they go around and hunt for rifts before standing in them to greet their master, though it sounds so ridiculous that I almost doubt it's existence.

------

Does anyone have any theories on what exactly Dave is?


Note the resonator-esq spines and jagged build. If you can see him up close, you can notice his rivets. He definitely looks mechanical to me.

Edited May 27, 2024 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

19 hours ago, ifoz said:

Looking at Dave, he looks mechanical to me. Rivets dot his limbs and his back is coated with spines that look like those of the resonators and the Chamber in the Archives, presumably used for wirelessly sending and receiving sound waves or other such pulses of data.

Did Jonas build him too? Is Dave a giant, mobile sound and communication device?

I'd say if Jonas didn't build him, someone familiar with Jonas tech did. None of it looks organic like the drifters, so I don't think it's a mutation of anything, exactly. More likely it's either a "friendly" machine with an unknown/forgotten purpose, or it's a machine gone rogue. If Dave is a communication device, my guess is he might be the "microphone" end of the Resonator in the Resonance Archive.

19 hours ago, ifoz said:

Is he friendly or hostile to Seraphs? We never get close enough to him to find out.
Reportedly a Seraph once got close enough to touch him, but all that they found of the poor soul was a pile of charred, flickering ashes.
Granted, I heard that one from Crazy Pete down at the Dancing Drifter Tavern during happy hour, so I don't know how reliable it is.

I heard someone threw a spear at Dave once and managed to hit him, resulting in a horrific scream that the entire server heard...right before it crashed. Granted, I heard this tale in the strange lands of YouTube comment section, so I'd say Crazy Pete's stories are more likely to be true.

19 hours ago, ifoz said:

Does anyone have any theories on what exactly Dave is?

I've been wondering if Dave isn't the Salvation Engine gone rogue. Some of the shapes are similar, though that could just be a result of sharing a designer with other tech. That being said, if you folded him up just right...I think the silhouettes could match. Not to mention that if the Salvation Engine could turn humans into seraphs, it could just as easily turn the infected into monsters and continue to do so, especially if it went rogue shortly after activation. If this is the case, perhaps it got sealed away in a different reality, which in turn destabilized the flow of time. That would certainly explain why Dave only shows up during a temporal storm or others periods of low temporal stability.

[ifoz]

18 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

I heard someone threw a spear at Dave once and managed to hit him, resulting in a horrific scream that the entire server heard...right before it crashed. Granted, I heard this tale in the strange lands of YouTube comment section, so I'd say Crazy Pete's stories are more likely to be true.

Aye, I have heard this tall tale too. My associates at the Limwich Guild of Temporology and Other Such Sciences and I aspire to test this myth soon, and we shall report back here with any notable results.

 

18 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

I've been wondering if Dave isn't the Salvation Engine gone rogue. Some of the shapes are similar, though that could just be a result of sharing a designer with other tech. That being said, if you folded him up just right...I think the silhouettes could match. Not to mention that if the Salvation Engine could turn humans into seraphs, it could just as easily turn the infected into monsters and continue to do so, especially if it went rogue shortly after activation. If this is the case, perhaps it got sealed away in a different reality, which in turn destabilized the flow of time. That would certainly explain why Dave only shows up during a temporal storm or others periods of low temporal stability.

This is actually a really cool theory, and is something that I was thinking of too considering we haven't seen the Salvation Engine yet in the game. I mean, it could be part of a future story location, but the reveal of it being Dave could be really interesting. In regards to your theory of him being a big "microphone", I think this fits too. A large device sent out to collect and record data from the world, or potentially sent into the Rust World intentionally for the same purpose. I suppose that would make him a... 'macrophone'. Badum-tss.
Considering his height, if this is indeed his purpose, perhaps he also records meteorological data as well as sound and terrain, if his limbs map the world he walks on. A gigantic Google Maps car in a way, except using his limbs' sense of touch instead of a camera.  

Edited May 28, 2024 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

16 minutes ago, ifoz said:

A gigantic Google Maps car in a way, except using his limbs' sense of touch instead of a camera.  

So what you're saying is...we seraphs need to go do some goofy poses nearby to mess with Dave!

Dave's "body" module also reminds me of the Apollo space capsules used back in the day. I doubt that's what's going on with Dave, of course, but you never know!

[ifoz]

57 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

Dave's "body" module also reminds me of the Apollo space capsules used back in the day. I doubt that's what's going on with Dave, of course, but you never know!

Now that you say it, there is a definite similarity!
Imagine living inside of Dave's body module. What a cozy and definitely not cramped way to set up a mobile base. 
"Who needs an elk or a ship when you can own your very own Dave! Comes with free constant temporal storms!"

[LadyWYT]

21 hours ago, ifoz said:

Another story I heard was of the rumoured emergence of a cult-like group, the Thunder Apostles, based in the Chapel of Dave, though I don't yet know much about it.
Apparently they go around and hunt for rifts before standing in them to greet their master, though it sounds so ridiculous that I almost doubt it's existence.

I also forgot to mention this earlier, but I do hope we see some sort of antagonist faction later. A cult that wants to bring more of the Rust into our current reality would definitely make for a cool one to battle against! I think the one thing scarier than the mindless drifters out to eat your face off, is perhaps a corrupt human/seraph determined to control which faces the monsters munch on.

[ifoz]

1 hour ago, LadyWYT said:

I also forgot to mention this earlier, but I do hope we see some sort of antagonist faction later. A cult that wants to bring more of the Rust into our current reality would definitely make for a cool one to battle against! I think the one thing scarier than the mindless drifters out to eat your face off, is perhaps a corrupt human/seraph determined to control which faces the monsters munch on.

While I do really like this idea, I think only having one antagonistic faction may be a bad idea. In a game as endlessly open as VS, I think that any factions or groups added to the story need to allow the player to join them. (You should only be able to choose one to join though, or else we would end up like Skyrim guilds).

The 'antagonistic' faction should be the one that does not align with your views as a player.
Perhaps you are playing a character who wants the Rust to spread, so your antagonistic faction could be Falx himself.

Instead of being a linear story with a set antagonistic group, I think it would be a good design decision to let the player play their own part in the larger story by choosing who they ally themselves with.
That being said, a Rust cult would be a really cool idea for a potential future faction!

[LadyWYT]

10 hours ago, ifoz said:

While I do really like this idea, I think only having one antagonistic faction may be a bad idea. In a game as endlessly open as VS, I think that any factions or groups added to the story need to allow the player to join them. (You should only be able to choose one to join though, or else we would end up like Skyrim guilds).

The 'antagonistic' faction should be the one that does not align with your views as a player.
Perhaps you are playing a character who wants the Rust to spread, so your antagonistic faction could be Falx himself.

Instead of being a linear story with a set antagonistic group, I think it would be a good design decision to let the player play their own part in the larger story by choosing who they ally themselves with.
That being said, a Rust cult would be a really cool idea for a potential future faction!

Very true! By "antagonist" I generally mean factions that would be considered the "bad guys", as the goal in most cases is to save the world and not destroy it. I do agree though that having multiple options and outcomes for the player regarding the story's path would be really cool and extend the game's longevity.

[ifoz]

10 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Very true! By "antagonist" I generally mean factions that would be considered the "bad guys", as the goal in most cases is to save the world and not destroy it. I do agree though that having multiple options and outcomes for the player regarding the story's path would be really cool and extend the game's longevity.

All I can hope for is that if factions are added and form an overarching plot between groups, that the player never becomes some kind of leader or sole hero. I really don't want another generic 'prophesised hero' plot here! This game has so much roleplay potential and unique and interesting lore that it would be such a waste to just say "oh ok you are now the leader of the Falx faction, you are also the legendary hero who will save the world from the Rust and nobody but you can do it."

Certainly there could be an ending where you help Falx and his allies destroy the Rust, but I really don't think the player should be the legendary hero of the charge against the Rust unless they have to do some crazy optional stuff to earn such a title.

[LadyWYT]

20 hours ago, ifoz said:

Certainly there could be an ending where you help Falx and his allies destroy the Rust, but I really don't think the player should be the legendary hero of the charge against the Rust unless they have to do some crazy optional stuff to earn such a title.

I agree, for sure. Although it would be rather funny for the player to become the "ultimate hero of legend!" only to promptly die to something exceptionally silly(like getting struck by lightning or murdered by a rooster).

One thing that keeps poking at the back of my mind though...given the visual distortion of temporal storms and Dave only appearing during temporal storms/extremely low stability(currently), we don't actually know that he's as big as he looks. Given that he seems to tower over distant trees I think it's safe to say he's at least a few hundred feet tall, but for all we know he could be really tiny and just look like he's huge. Perhaps that's why we never see him without temporal distortion--he's always there, just way too small to see!

[ifoz]

3 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Given that he seems to tower over distant trees I think it's safe to say he's at least a few hundred feet tall, but for all we know he could be really tiny and just look like he's huge. Perhaps that's why we never see him without temporal distortion--he's always there, just way too small to see!

Who knows, he does shrink into the distance once the temporal storms end! 

[LadyWYT]

I had a thought the other day--if Dave is always there on the other side of the rifts, do you suppose he's responsible for the rift activity? Perhaps there's no activity when he's far away, but lots of it when he's nearby.

[LadyWYT]

Doggone it, I was just fixing to go to bed when another Dave theory struck me after looking stuff up while writing a different thread.

"I've begun to see things, even when I'm not gazing through the Lens. Walking down the halls, looking at the prints, suddenly my vision shifts and I'm in a world I cannot comprehend. I am in the other world, and it is leaking into this one."--Jonax Falx, "Breakdown"

Now I'm not entirely sure what the Lens is, aside from a device that Falx invented and likely used to look around this other dimension to help find inspiration(and possibly materials) for his projects. Nor does Dave exactly look like a mobile telescope, assuming that the Lens is even capable of moving around. But now I'm wondering if Dave is perhaps some sort of sensory device associated with the Lens, monitoring whatever goes on in the Rust world. It would explain why we only see him through rifts and temporal storms, and why he doesn't really seem to do anything other than walk around. The only problem is that given Dave seems to be a rather large construction, it's a little strange that he's not really mentioned elsewhere. Granted, that lore could be getting added later, or Dave could have been a secret project, but it seems like it'd be rather difficult to keep a project that big a complete secret.

[ifoz]

1 hour ago, LadyWYT said:

Now I'm not entirely sure what the Lens is, aside from a device that Falx invented and likely used to look around this other dimension to help find inspiration(and possibly materials) for his projects.

I'm pretty sure the 'Lens' refers to the "Ruined Lenses" clutter items that you can find. It looks like a machine with a series of, well, lenses. Like something you may see at an optometrist's, except much larger.
Though, these "Lenses" and THE "Lens" may be completely separate things, so this theory isn't disproven!  

[cjc813]

On 5/27/2024 at 12:13 AM, ifoz said:

We all know and love our good giraffe friend Dave the Thunder Warden, but just exactly what is he and how does he fit into the lore?

Is he canonically the Thunder Warden? Is this written somewhere I've missed?

[ifoz]

15 hours ago, cjc813 said:

Is he canonically the Thunder Warden? Is this written somewhere I've missed?

Yeah, the name of his painting. I think in the files, too.

[Exert]

Didn't the world that was visible through the lense have automatons that inspired the ones made by jonas and them? If I am remembering correctly and not tweaking, then my guess is that he is one of the ones that existed through the lense.

If that is the case, and based off of the name "thunder warden" my guess is that he is an ancient automaton that does something to control temporal storms, either strengthening or weakening them.

TLDR: I think Dave is a pre lense automaton (Ones that inspired Jonas's robots) that controls temporal storms.

[Maelstrom]

Having read me a bit of Lovecraft and noting that once upon a time more than a year ago, this very website called VS "an uncompromising survival game with Lovecraftian themes" Dave seems to me to be an extra-dimensional being or construct totally foreign to this world.  It could be that we aren't seing the same entity but there could very well be many "Daves" and temporal storms are something of a rift on a global scale and we see into the other realm and the entity we call Dave is simply one of the many entities from this other realm.

This other realm was certainly the inspiration for Jonas, and given his comments in "Confession" I dare say that Jonas may not be the good guy many claim him to be, but I digress which begs me to further digressions.  As for Dave?  I have serious doubts that Jonas has anything to do with him/them; although, also in Confession he states "But now it is almost time to wake it..." .  He may be referring to Dave, but it could be something else he speaks of. 

Hopefully Dave is not malicious, but it is possible that Dave is the cause of all the rot and current temporal shenanigans of the current state of the world.  In Lovecraft the extra-dimensional beings are rarely beneficial, sometimes malicious but usually malignant without intentional malice.  I pray that Dave is merely benign.

[ifoz]

12 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

This other realm was certainly the inspiration for Jonas, and given his comments in "Confession" I dare say that Jonas may not be the good guy many claim him to be, but I digress which begs me to further digressions.  As for Dave?  I have serious doubts that Jonas has anything to do with him/them; although, also in Confession he states "But now it is almost time to wake it..." .  He may be referring to Dave, but it could be something else he speaks of. 

Hopefully Dave is not malicious, but it is possible that Dave is the cause of all the rot and current temporal shenanigans of the current state of the world.  In Lovecraft the extra-dimensional beings are rarely beneficial, sometimes malicious but usually malignant without intentional malice.  I pray that Dave is merely benign.

The thing Jonas was seemingly waking and the thing that caused all the temporal shenanigans are the Grand Machine. It managed to purge the Rot from the world, but accidentally allowed the Rust world further influence, which is why we see rifts and Rust-corrupted humans as enemies. It also blasted anyone nearby into time limbo, accidentally creating Seraphs.

I feel like Dave won't be the salvation engine, he's more likely to my eyes a native of the Rust world, that Jonas took some inspiration from when designing his own creations. Tobias tells us that back when the Lens was pristine, the Rust world was a bright place that 'shone like gemstones' and housed towering mechanical beings.

Edited May 15, 2025 by ifoz

[ifoz]

20 hours ago, LoveWyrm said:

It's a mystery to me why this game is so sabotaged by stupid stuff like calling that thing "Dave"

Its actual name is "Thunder Warden" and "Dave" is just a silly community name. "Dave" is never used anywhere in the actual game.

 

20 hours ago, LoveWyrm said:

I know there's "lore" for all of it, but maybe the lore just needs to be changed then (and perhaps a different community employed for a change, although, again, just make em human) . The tonal contrast (whiplash) is worse than in some anime, and the Japanese, in that media, have a hard time grasping that concept too..where you get super goofball scenes in seriousness, and then seriousness when it shouldn't be serious.

I've already responded to this in the suggestion thread, but there is an explained lore reason for why you aren't human, and the story we have (and that the devs have already planned for the future) fundamentally wouldn't work with a human protagonist.

 

20 hours ago, LoveWyrm said:

Good thing Tyron is 'humble' and 'small community' ... I doubt if you did an A / B study on the actual humans walking out there and if you went "So there's this neolithic starter, age of humanity progression survival game we're making and the player is [A human | B a blue alien that talks like a tuba and looks like a childs drawing at best also, there's a giraffe called Dave and it's really scary and the enemies have convulions ohh spooky ]

The game's lore is based on Lovecraftian themes and irl alchemy myth (explains what Seraphs are btw, Seraphs are a real alchemical term), and it uses instruments to represent different in-world accents.

---------------------

Anyway, I'm not trying to start an argument or anything.
The game's storyline does explain some stuff though, mostly in regards to the player race.

Edited May 20, 2025 by ifoz

[Maelstrom]

On 5/20/2025 at 5:49 AM, ifoz said:

The game's lore is based on Lovecraftian themes 

And the story devs have done such an awesome job that I swear Lovecraft himself is overseeing the story.  Recently completed chapter 2 lore and am even more convinced than ever that If Jonas had never done anything with the lens, none of the rot and following events would have happened.

[Laurelin]

I'm partial to the theory that Dave acts as a sort of conduit for temporal storms and rifts. The name 'Thunder Warden' immediately makes me think of lightning rods, so maybe Dave is a sort of lightning rod for temporal instability. Assuming Dave is responsible for temporal instability, maybe very high rift activity is a consequence of Dave passing through in the rust world. As for his origins, I'm split. Given all the stuff Falx made in his time and all the folks who worked with him, a walking skyscraper doesn't seem that hard. But the rust world has a way of corrupting things, so maybe Dave's organic and just got twisted after spending who knows how long walking the rust world. Or maybe Dave was there before the rust itself. Tobias did say that Falx said the other world shone like jewels when he looked through the Lens, so the rust world wasn't always so rusty, the same could go for Dave.

[Maelstrom]

Welcome to the forums!

I'm not so sure about that.  Consider that Dave shows up when you're temporal stability falls below about 25% or when you stand in a rift.  I think seeing Dave is an indication that the boundary between the two worlds is real thin, for that particular seraph.  

[Teh Pizza Lady]

Dave is either the final boss of Chapter 8 or a Trojan horse kind of thing in which the rest of humanity escaped the Rot and is now aboard a giant giraffe spider-looking machine waiting for the Seraphs to figure out how to bring them back.

[LadyWYT]

I know the subject was brought up in an interview a while back. If I'm recalling correctly, Tyron's response was that some things in the game just...are. They exist, but aren't explained--it's up to the player to draw their own conclusions.

That being said, Tyron also sounded just a teeny bit suspicious when he said that as well, which would suggest there might be more to the story than he lets on.  Only time will tell!