| “ | They're hiding in the shadows. | ” |
– Bierce | ||
Dread Duckies are recurring enemies in Dark Deception and a playable monster in Monsters & Mortals.
They are among the many minions of the demon lord Malak and the guardians of the sewer, a realm housing the fourth of the ring pieces. They embody the souls of liars and manipulators, now left to decay as repulsive husks. Like in their previous lives, the Duckies rely on deception to hunt their prey, hiding amongst the ducky floats scattered throughout the flooded hallways.
They either serve or work alongside Doom Ducky, a hulking monstrosity Malak describes as his "loyal pet."
Description[]
| “ | There are unusually large duckies scattered around in every tunnel. I thought they were all hollow, but then I sense something moving in a short distance away. It seems some of the duckies are not as hollow as they appear. Instead, they contain the rotten souls of liars, flushed down to the sewers and left to decay. They are now creatures of deception, as they were in life. | ” |
– E's fourth note, describing what the Dread Duckies really are | ||
As suggested by their name, Dread Duckies are human-sized creatures that take the form of a large rubber duck with stubby, round wings that seem to serve no purpose (the enemy is confirmed to be completely flightless),[1] a jaw adorned with decayed human teeth, asymmetrical, large hollow eyes, and traffic cones atop their heads. Their lower jaws can rotate open and shut while their bodies and traffic cones bear grime marks and blemishes from their time floating in sewer water.
Once approached by unsuspecting prey, Dread Duckies would pop two shriveled humanoid legs out of a cavity under their base and give chase, dropping their benign façade. Occasionally, they would open their mouths and release a second, smaller head on a mechanical spring to try and stun their victims. This second head has slit-like vertical pupils, a long, narrow scissor-like beak with pointed razor-sharp teeth on each jaw. Once they have secured their catch, the Dread Ducky would finish off their prey either by curb-stomping their victim's head or reeling them into their guts with their inner jaws.
In their "Nightmare" Mode, the Dread Duckies turn slightly darker, while the smaller duck head within their mouth takes on a light gray hue. Similar to previous adversaries, their eyes emit a red glow. They also exhibit an increased level of grime, with the darker color accentuating their more disgusting appearance.
Personality[]
The Dread Duckies are deceptive and mischievous, much like in their previous lives. They appear to enjoy manipulating and taunting their prey, relishing in fooling and surprising their targets when they reveal their true nature, then mocking them with quacks and a dance upon stunning their quarry, which they would eventually kill with sadistic fervor. As is expected of predators, Dread Duckies are intelligent and coordinated, dispersing themselves throughout the sewer to ambush Doug and working together to block the sewer entrances when he is chased by the Doom Ducky, which is likely their leader. These traits intensify in their "Nightmare" form, where they become even more persistent and eager to kill Doug. As with their immediate superior, the Dread Duckies are unwaveringly loyal to their demonic overlord and creator, Malak (which they humorously refer to as "bossman" in an official video about Makeship's Dread Ducky plush).[2]
The Dread Duckies exhibit a tendency towards laziness in their pursuit of Doug, often refraining from attacking unless he draws near. They consistently chase him only when instructed by higher entities like Malak and Doom Ducky. Nevertheless, whenever they spot Doug, they seize the chance to end him, displaying some strategic thinking by obstructing certain pathways later on. The relations between Dread Duckies and Malak's servants from other nightmare realms is not clear. However, a few of them were seen inside the carnival cages of Crazy Carnevil, making it possible that they either trust the Clown Gremlins as peers, or despise them as unjust handlers.
Abilities[]
Strength[]
Dread Duckies are strong enough to stomp a victim's head against the ground. Their inner jaws are also powerful enough to stun their prey on impact. If successful in landing their attack, they taunt the player by dancing in front of them, though this allows for an opportunity to recover and escape.
Camouflage[]
Dread Duckies can blend into the environment, making them seem like other fake duckies within the sewer. The only way to tell between the real duckies and the fake ones is by using the telepathy ability given to Doug before the level.
Long-Range Stun[]
Dread Duckies have the ability to stun Doug with the heads inside their mouths. After stunning him, they will dance for a short moment as a way to taunt Doug. It is the first enemy that has the ability to do this.
Amphibious body[]
As is expected of rubber ducks, Dread Duckies can float on water. While their human legs look better suited for moving on land, Dread Duckies can effectively run at the same speed in water, which makes sense given how they have long adapted to their lair in sewer.
Dark Deception[]
Chapter 2: Into Madness[]
A Dread Ducky appears as a silhouette in the Chapter 3 teaser, accompanied by echoing quacks. It turns toward the camera before cutting to black.
Chapter 3: Retribution[]
Dread Duckies are the primary enemies of the game's fourth level, Stranger Sewers.
Dread Duckies are first seen floating behind a grate in the wall, revealed by light just as Bierce mentions them. Upon entering the sewer pools in Zone 1, Dread Duckies will begin to stalk Doug.
Dread Duckies rely on camouflage to ambush Doug, hiding amongst the ducky floats scattered across the flooded regions of the level. They are all identical in appearance, so the only way to safely tell them apart is to use a red Soul Shard or the Telepathy power to outline them.
Similar to Agatha and Clown Gremlins, Dread Duckies are never usually aware of Doug's exact location. The hidden ones will only activate when approached (usually after a 0.1 - 3-second delay) and chase Doug until he is out of sight. They will then wander around the map in search of Doug for a short period before returning to their original position, camouflaging themselves again.
Dread Duckies kill Doug on contact. However, they will occasionally use their long-ranged stun attack by extending their inner mouths at him. While Doug is stunned, the Dread Ducky will dance for a few seconds, giving him time to break free and escape.
When Dread Duckies reset or respawn, they will face in random directions, unlike the fake ones, which will always face in a fixed direction. However, they can only respawn should Doug look away from one of the real Dread Duckies' spawn spots; however, they will go for unoccupied spots near the location that he isn't looking at, regardless of how close they are to the spot. Sometimes, however, the Dread Ducky won't reset when Doug is far away. Doug can't reset Dread Duckies' position to prevent them from attacking when it sees them. Also, stunning an active Dread Ducky will not reset its original position.
Dread Duckies will avoid any floor grates on dry land, making them effective safe zones against the creatures. They will not, however, avoid elevator platforms, and they will end up getting trapped in a pit if Doug lowers it.
In Zone 1, seven Dread Duckies stalk Doug, one of which is already active at the start of the level. Unlike the other Duckies, it does not camouflage itself after losing Doug.
In Zone 2, eleven Dread Duckies stalk Doug. Two of them always wander around the zone instead of camouflaging. They may also hide in the shadows to surprise Doug and give chase immediately after. There also appears to be a higher quantity of lifeless Duckies.
Two Dread Duckies will be summoned to pursue Doug during the battle with Doom Ducky, emerging from the pipes in the walls. When Doug lures Doom Ducky into slamming its head into a pillar, the Dread Duckies will become stunned, giving Doug time to twist the valves to escape.
Dread Duckies reappear as Doom Ducky chases Doug in Zone 1. Most of them will dance in front of the sewer doors, blocking them and forcing Doug to take an alternative route. One final Dread Ducky (revealed to be the middle duck from behind the grate in the beginning) will appear in the portal hallway and must be avoided, along with Doom Ducky, whose head bursts through the secret doorway, to return to the portal.
In the circus, the player can see some Dread Duckies in cages.
Chapter 4: Mortal Ramifications[]
When Malak invades the ballroom after Mascot Mayhem, he spawns several clones from the previous nightmares. His clones then turn one by one into the enemies encountered up to that point, with the clone by the fourth portal (which leads to Stranger Sewers) turning into a Dread Ducky.
Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals[]
 "Are you not aware that she offers only lies?" This article contains information on a subject that isn't considered canon in Dark Deception franchise.
|
The Dread Ducky appears as a Balanced class monster in Monsters & Mortals. They are, therefore, average in terms of monster health (240 hit points), speed, attack cooldown and strength, dealing 30 damage with their inner mouths (which, given its nature, reaches further than the average attack) and 60 damage with a headbutt.
When using its ultimate ability, "Ducky Surprise," the Dread Ducky pulls an enemy within range with its inner jaws, then continue striking for 13 times. This is highly efficient for killing an enemy just out of reach. This will do 60 damage per bite, dealing 780 damage if all 13 bites strike the enemy. Should the target still have enough health after that (usually due to being saved by items), they will be stunned for two seconds, giving the Dread Ducky a chance to either run off or finish the enemy.
| Team | Monsters |
| Class | Balanced |
| Weapon | Extensible Tongue |
| Health | 240 |
| Speed | Average |
| Light Attack Damage | 30 |
| Heavy Attack Damage | 60 |
| Ultimate Ability |  Ducky Surprise
|
| UA Description | Dread Ducky hooks the target and reels them in close, unleashing a biting barrage on its stunned victim. |
| UA Duration | 3 seconds |
| UA Damage | 60(per bite) 780(maximum potential damage) |
Skins[]
| Image | Name | Rarity | Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Nightmare Mode |  Common
|
Nightmare Mode Collection
The Dread Ducky retains the same look as it did when it enters Nightmare Mode in the original game. |
 |
Bone Ducky | Common
|
Halloween Collection
The Dread Ducky is now white with three black stripes across its body as if it were a ribcage, and its traffic cone is now a single black color. |
 |
Flamingo |  Rare |
The Dread Ducky's entire body is coated pink, obscuring most of the grime. Its bill is painted blue with a black tip, while its traffic cone hat has also been painted blue with multiple pineapples drawn over it. |
Parallels and Symbolism[]
- This is for the monster character. For the parallels and symbolism of their dark, damp, and dreadful domain, see The Sewer.
With each nightmare portal being tied to one of the Nine Layers of Hell from Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, the Dread Duckies represent Fraud; embodying the souls of deceivers and swindlers, now dwelling in sewers as foul and repulsive as their souls were in life. Even in their new, more monstrous forms, these liars continue to feign innocence, pretending to be a harmless part of the crowd, taking joy in fooling anyone who fell for their tricks. It is possible that their leader, the Doom Ducky, is either the single biggest offender in this sin or an amalgamation of several liars. Ironically enough, ducks are also seen as symbols of honesty in Celtic mythology.
A secret room found at the beginning of Stranger Sewers shows how Doug viewed his wife and daughter as "defective" and "insufferable" thanks to their mental disorders and disabilities, which mirrors how Dread Duckies resemble toys that were deemed no longer useful and thus abandoned, flushed down the sewers and left forgotten. The daughter being viewed by his father as an "Ugly Duckling" for her bipolar disorder references Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name, in which a young duck is ostracized by his peers for being different. This mirrors how the Dread Duckies blend themselves with the other rubber ducks, trying to pass themselves off as "normal" when they obviously aren't. In addition to that, Doug also lied and cheated on his wife about his fidelity to their marriage through his relationship with his mistress. When people want to get rid of their possessions, some resort to flushing things down the toilet and end up in the sewers. Perhaps this was how he viewed his daughter; something he wanted to dispose of secretly because of her imperfections.
The Dread Duckies' half-submerged and blemished appearance reflects Doug's depression from abandoning and killing his entire family, alongside the way his wife and daughter died from having their car sink into the water and then drowning in a river. On the same note, their orange traffic cones also symbolize how his family passed away in a horrible car crash at the bridge, as well as Doug's view of his wife and daughter's mental health as something to be avoided and/or an annoyance as someone might view road work. The tears flowing out of the Dread Duckies' eye sockets could represent how eventually he distanced himself from his wife and kid, who his normally a sad subject. These tears could be the tears of them, as they realize daddy won’t come back tonight. Their feminine shriveled legs could also represent his wife again, but instead representing how he ran away from his wife, causing her to chase Doug. Much like the Dread Duckies themselves, Doug's repressed memories lay hidden just below the surface. When they emerge, they bring with them only pain and suffering.
Their long-ranged extendable inner jaws could represent Doug's feelings of being constantly restrained or pulled down by his wife and daughter against his will, unable to run away from his past mistakes. This could also be reflected by their squawking noises, representing the way his wife kept arguing with him whilst being legitimately frustrated towards his casually dismissive and toxic attitude towards his family. Said attitude is also mirrored by the dirty and disgusting nature of the sewer environment they inhabit. As with most monsters in Dark Deception, Dread Duckies also likely represent various phobias.
| Phobia | Relevance |
|---|---|
| Anatidaephobia Fear of Ducks, Geese, and Swans |
Anatidaephobia actually started out as a fictional phobia that specifically refers to the fear of being watched by a duck, goose, or swan somewhere in the world, but the term, which literally translates to "Duck Fear" in general, may be considered valid. In both the fictional and technical sense of the term, Dread Duckies are large, deadly rubber ducks that may or may not be looking at the player at any given moment. Additionally, when they stun the player with their inner mouths, Dread Duckies watch the player as they struggle to recover, staring right at them as they taunt them with mocking quacks while dancing. |
| Ornithophobia Fear of Birds | |
| Scopophobia Fear of Being Watched or Stared At | |
| Zoophobia Fear of Animals | |
| Ludilophobia Fear of Toys |
Like Murder Monkeys, Chef Monkeys, the Doom Ducky, Mama Bear, and Trigger Teddies, Dread Duckies take the form of a child's plaything, twisted from its original, innocent form. Furthermore, not only do the Dread Duckies resemble manmade toys half-submerged in the sewer, Dread Duckies themselves used to be men, entities that do not belong in a sewer (and thus, are artificial additions to it), yet, by their own evil actions, submerged themselves in the lowly waters full of waste. They can also be considered as having already proven themselves to be one with the waste back when they were still mortals, and hence now gained a repulsive, contaminated exterior to perfectly match who they really are on the inside. |
| Mysophobia Fear of Germs and Contamination | |
| Submechanophobia Fear of Submerged Artificial Objects |
Trivia[]
- The Dread Duckies may be inspired by the Lub Glubs from Adventure Time as they are both monsters taking the form of inflatable bath toys, the titular monsters from the 1984 American horror movie C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers), "SCP-1356" from the SCP Foundation universe, various mutants from the Fallout franchise, and sewer alligator urban legends. Their behavior is also very reminiscent of "SCP-1507" (a comparison made even more apparent by the Dread Ducky's "Flamingo Ducky" skin in Monsters & Mortals).
- The Dread Duckies' traffic cone hat may or may not be a reference to the "Conehead Zombies" from Plants vs Zombies.
- The inner mouth of the Dread Duckies is confirmed to be inspired by the "Zombie Duck" from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. In addition, the Dread Duckies launching their second head may be a reference to the skull-piercing pharyngeal jaws of the "Xenomorph" from the Alien franchise, the "Sandworms from Beetlejuice, the Graboids from the Tremor franchise, and the "Barnacle" from Half-Life.
- The way how the Dread Ducky reels its prey in with its inner jaws while using its ultimate ability, "Ducky Surprise", resembles the iconic, harpoon-like "Spear" (roped/chained kunai) attack of "Scorpion" from the Mortal Kombat franchise, as well as the tongue of frogs and chameleons, a trait applied to older video game characters like "Yoshi" from the Mario franchise, "Syzoth" (more commonly referred to as "Reptile") from the Mortal Kombat franchise, and "The Smoker" from Left 4 Dead.
- The Dread Duckies are the only enemies in Dark Deception that spawn at random locations.
- The Dread Duckies are the second enemies to demonstrate a long-ranged attack, the first being the Doom Ducky, which grabs the player from a hole in the wall just before they have hostile encounters with the Dread Duckies in Stranger Sewers. It is followed by the Reaper Nurses, Penny the Chicken, Joy Kill, and Trigger Teddies.
- All the aforementioned enemies (except for the Trigger Teddies) are also the only ones in Dark Deception with stunning abilities, since they have long-ranged attacks to stun the player (Trigger Teddies do not count since their sole ranged attack involves blowing up in a lethal explosion).
- The dance Dread Duckies do while taunting the player (upon stunning them, upon being encountered in a secret room, and while blocking other exits during the final chase sequence) was first revealed on Devlog #5, where a Dread Ducky model being animated was shown standing in place as it swerved its body. This has since become an inside joke within the Dark Deception community, frequently referred to as the "Dread Ducky Dance".
- In the 22nd Q&A, Vince revealed that Dread Duckies aren't capable of flying, unlike Penny the Chicken.
- They are among the first characters in the Dark Deception series to receive the plushie counterpart in the Makeship campaign.
- The ultimate ability of the Dread Duckies originally did 25 damage per bite, then was lowered to 18 damage per bite by the 1.6.2 update, before being raised in the 1.8.0 update to do 60 damage like their heavy attack (despite being done with their inner jaws, which only deal 30 damage by default).
Voicelines[]
Dread Duckies do not have a voice actor.
| Voiceline | Used | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| *Quacking* | Preview at the end of Chapter 2. | |
| *Squelching* | While using their stun attack. | |
| *Metal clanking* | When provoked. Shared with the Doom Ducky. | |
| *Groaning* | When stunned. | |
|
Ambient sounds heard throughout the level. | |
| *Small quacking* | When dancing (after stunning Doug), during their jumpscare, and near their cage in "Crazy Carnevil". | |
| *Screeching* | After catching Doug. | TBA |
Gallery[]
In-game[]
Dark Deception[]
(In Stranger Sewers).
Monsters & Mortals[]
Super Dark Deception[]
Related Items[]
Jumpscares[]
Models[]
(which likely started the "Dread Ducky Dance" joke)
.png "Dread Ducky (Attack).png (7.38 MB)")
.png "Flamingo Ducky (Attack).png (7.51 MB)")
.png "Bone Ducky (Attack).png (7.09 MB)")
Artwork[]
Miscellaneous[]
.jpg "Chapter 3 Cover (DLC).jpg (81 KB)")
Concept Arts
Merchandise[]
.jpg "560 (1).jpg (18 KB)")
References[]
[]
