Asgore Dreemurr

For the track named after this character, see ASGORE.

I so badly want to say, "would you like a cup of tea?"
But...
You know how it is.

Asgore meets the protagonist.

Asgore Dreemurr (/ˈæzɡɔːr ˈdɹiːmər/ AZ-gore DREE-mər)^[2] is the King of the Underground and its denizens, monsters. He serves as the secondary antagonist of Undertale, planning to kill seven humans and use their SOULs to break the barrier that traps everyone Underground. However, he is not evil or malicious. Asgore is the ex-husband of Toriel, father of Asriel, adoptive father of the first human, and the penultimate boss of the Neutral Route.

Profile

Appearance

Asgore is a large Boss Monster, and the tallest main character in Undertale. Asgore has two large curved horns, golden-blond mane, golden-blond full beard, white fur, long ears, a snout, and a set of visible fangs. Asgore wears a small, three-pointed crown atop his head, golden pauldrons, a long purple cape that slightly drags along the ground, which he often uses cloak his armored body. Asgore's armor is near-full body, though his feet are unarmored. Distinctly, Asgore's armor has a large chestplate, with a winged crest of the implied "angel" from the Delta Rune emblem, and his tasset visually resembling the triangles of the emblem.

Asgore's weapon in battle is a sharp red trident, adorned with a six-petaled flower at its base.

In the True Pacifist Ending Credits, Asgore is shown to have golden-blond arm hair on his forearms, muscular arms, and a notably rotund stomach, in contrast to his broad-chested armored appearance. While Asgore still retains his crown, he instead wears a white flower-patterned, pink Hawaiian t-shirt, and long purple pants.

Personality

Asgore is kind, often quiet, yet upbeat. He speaks in southern slang, most notably "howdy" and "golly," similar to Asriel.

Asgore's interests include gardening, humming,^[3] making tea,^[4] such as Golden Flower tea,^[5] going for walks,^[6]sparring with Undyne, dressing up as Santa Claus,^[7] and puns.^[8] He has a sense of humor, as he accepts being called "Fluffybuns" after Toriel accidentally nicknamed him in public.^[9] However, he is bad at naming places. Asgore gave the monster cities literal names, such as the first being "Home",^[10] and naming their latest city as "New Home."^[11] Gerson suggests that Asgore may not be too intelligent, as he states everyone knew Toriel managed governing.^[12]

Despite this, monsters respect Asgore as a powerful leader. Many monsters refer to him by his name, or by nickname, and partially by his title. Asgore's name is always fully capitalized, and sometimes in red text,^[13] yellow text,^[14] or a combination of both.^[15] However, he only fights humans to give hope to monsterkind.^[16] Asgore feels miserable for the deaths of the six humans, does not want to kill anybody,^[17] and feels guilty for declaring war on humanity.^[18] This guilt seemingly extends to Asgore destroying the MERCY button, and his pessimism on humans trusting monsterkind.^[19]

Asgore lives in the past, and only wants to see his wife and Asriel, even though they have been gone for a long time.^[20] He writes the same short positive phrase in his journal every day, presumably to not think about his guilt or his family. However, he seemingly tries to bake Toriel's Butterscotch Pie multiple times, which is one of his favorites.^[21]

Main Story

Before the events of Undertale, King Asgore and Queen Toriel ruled monsterkind. After the war, monsters were sealed in the Underground by humans with the Barrier. Fearful of more attacks, monsters retreated further into the the Ruins, and Asgore named their new city "Home."^[10] Toriel and Asgore later had a son, Asriel, and sometime later, adopted the first human, who had fallen into the Ruins.

No longer fearing humans, Asgore, his family, and much of monsterkind moved out of Home and went further into the Underground. Asgore's family and some of monsterkind eventually settled in their new capital, which Asgore named, "New Home."^[11] For some time, Asgore and his family lived in Asgore's Home, close to the Barrier. One day, the first human became ill, much to Asgore's dismay. After his children's sudden deaths, Asgore blamed humans and declares war on humanity in a fit of anger. He swore to kill any human that fell into the Underground and planned to use their SOULs to break the Barrier and destroy all humans.^[22] Toriel, disgusted with him, left New Home and returned to the Ruins.

Before the protagonist fell into the Underground, W. D. Gaster disappears, and Asgore did not hire a new Royal Scientist for a long time.^[23] While Asgore tended to the Golden Flowers, he often also went for walks and interacted with monsters.^[6] At unspecified points, six more humans fell, and Asgore saved their SOULs for future use. Eventually, Asgore becomes impressed by Alphys, and hires her as the new Royal Scientist.^[24] Asgore requested Alphys to research on SOULs in an attempt to break the Barrier.^[25]

Though puzzles were meant as a precaution versus humans, Asgore eventually wished to correct older mandates to make the Underground safer on multiple occasions. This includes the spikes from Snowdin Forest's puzzles^[26] and the precarious bridges in Waterfall.^[27]

Neutral Route

You know what we must do.
When you are ready, come into the next room.

Asgore

The protagonist finds Asgore watering the Golden Flowers in the Throme Room. Realizing he has a visitor, Asgore turns around and greets them before visibly taken aback, as he realizes the protagonist is a human. He comforts them as he brings them to the barrier, giving them several opportunities to turn back if they have anything left to do before the fight. Asgore does not mind the delay, admitting that he is not ready either.

Before fighting, Asgore tells the protagonist that it was nice knowing them. He then draws his trident and destroys the MERCY button. FIGHTing Asgore is the only way to progress to the ending.

Much like with Toriel, attacking Asgore when he is at low HP deals significantly greater damage. However, he survives the attack with a small amount of health remaining and kneels in defeat, talking to the protagonist about his declaration of war against humanity, admitting that he only wanted to give the monsters hope by continuing the war, and asking them to take his SOUL to escape the Underground.

The protagonist is given the choice of killing Asgore by selecting the FIGHT button or sparing him by choosing the partially repaired MERCY button.

• If the protagonist chooses FIGHT, Asgore dies with a sorrowful smile. Before the protagonist can take his SOUL and pass through the barrier, Flowey shatters Asgore's SOUL, and congratulates the protagonist for affirming his "kill-or-be-killed" philosophy.
• If the protagonist chooses MERCY, Asgore is surprised that the protagonist would sacrifice their freedom for the sake of keeping hope alive in the Underground, and offers to care for the protagonist as his own child. Flowey ambushes Asgore, destroying his body and SOUL in succession, then mocking the protagonist for being unwilling to accept his "kill-or-be-killed" philosophy.
  • If the protagonist has already completed the Neutral Route beforehand, and in that playthrough had killed Flowey (or followed Flowey's offer to spare Asgore by gaining no EXP), and chooses to spare Asgore again; Asgore begins to mention that he would care for the protagonist, but stops himself, realizing that his SOUL holds the key to getting the protagonist through the barrier. After telling the protagonist that it was what his son, Asriel Dreemurr, would have wanted, he sacrifices himself to give the protagonist his SOUL, hoping that they find some way to free the monsters from the surface. Asgore then fades to dust, his SOUL remaining for a moment, only to be destroyed by Flowey, who mocks the protagonist for thinking that killing him would have made a difference since he would return to kill Asgore anyway.
• If the protagonist aborted the Genocide Route, Flowey refers to the protagonist by the name of the first human before telling them that this is a "kill-or-be-killed" world.

After defeating Photoshop Flowey/Flowey's appearance, the protagonist inexplicably crosses the Barrier and leaves the Underground. Asgore's death has a grave impact on the monsters, the outcome of which is further shaped through the protagonist's actions in-game.

True Pacifist Route

Human, for the future of humans and monsters...!
You have to stay determined...!

Asgore

Much like how she stopped Flowey in the beginning, Toriel interrupts the fight with Asgore, stating how awful it is that he could seek to hurt an innocent creature such as the protagonist. She then explains that she intervened to prevent both Asgore and the protagonist from killing each other. While Asgore is ecstatic to see Toriel again, he is saddened when she chastises him for his plan to collect human SOULs, arguing that he could have gone through the Barrier after collecting one SOUL, but instead chose to wait and hope another human never came, which he solemnly agrees with. After that, Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, and Sans arrive and begin conversing, until Flowey appears.

During the fight against Asriel, Asgore appears as one of the Lost Souls alongside Toriel. After the fight, he is then seen in the epilogue, where he is first available for a conversation along with the other main characters, and later asks the protagonist if they would become the ambassador for monsters to humanity on the surface. Asgore also appears during the True Pacifist Ending Credits, trimming a hedge to the shape of Papyrus's face in front of Toriel's new school.

Genocide Route

Now, now.
There's no need to fight.
Why not settle this...
Over a nice cup of tea?

Asgore

When the protagonist kills Sans and enters the throne room, Asgore greets them, commenting on Flowey's warning and asks what kind of monster they are. Though he isn't intent on killing the protagonist, they still attack and deplete his health in one hit. Horrified and bewildered, the helpless Asgore was soon finished by Flowey, who also destroys his SOUL.

In Battle

For an in-battle description, see Asgore Dreemurr/In Battle.

Relationships

Toriel

... Tori...
You're right...
I am a miserable creature...
... but, do you think we can at least be friends again?

Asgore meets Toriel after years

Toriel is Asgore's ex-wife. Before they separated, they used to be "insufferable together, nuzzling noses, bein' all cute n' cuddly," as described by Gerson. The two ultimately fell apart after the deaths of their children and Asgore's declaration of war on humanity.

After Toriel's departure, it seems that Asgore greatly missed her presence. A "Room under renovations" sign is put on her room door in Asgore's Home, and multiple crumpled up pie recipes imply that Asgore attempted to recreate the way her pies tasted, though he could never truly replicate it. This is the inverse of Toriel continuously making her pie and only having low-maintenance plants in her home. This is further supported by his reaction to the protagonist eating Toriel's butterscotch-cinnamon pie during Asgore's battle. After being defeated, he tells the protagonist he just wants to see his wife and child again.

When Toriel interrupts the battle between Asgore and the protagonist, she chastises him for his plan to collect human SOULs and even turns him down when he asks her if they can be friends again, which makes him sorrowful. However, after the fight against Asriel, where their SOULs are saved as one, her aggression towards him seems to cool down.

In the True Pacifist Ending, Asgore can be seen trimming the bushes in front of Toriel's school.

Undyne

"Excuse me, do you want to know how to beat me?"

Asgore meets Undyne and asks her if she wants to know how to beat him.

When Undyne was younger, she met Asgore in person and challenged him to fight. After Asgore defeated her by dodging all her blows, refusing to land his own, he offered to train her. When she finally knocked him down, Asgore was overjoyed, much to the surprise of Undyne. Asgore kept training Undyne until she became the captain of the Royal Guard.

Undyne has knowledge of Asgore's favorite type of tea, and the fact that he often gets marshmallows stuck in his beard when he drinks hot cocoa, implying that he often visits her home.

Gerson

That's the Delta Rune, the emblem of our kingdom. The Kingdom...
... of Monsters.
Wahaha! Great name, huh? It's as I always say...
Ol' King Fluffybuns can't name for beans!

Gerson on Asgore naming the kingdom.

Gerson implies that he and Asgore have been long term friends, though it is unclear how long Gerson was a hero to monsterkind. Gerson can recall Asgore's simple naming style, and moments from Asgore's life, such as when Toriel called Asgore "Fluffybuns."^[9]

Gerson is seemingly the only monster Asgore confided his pessimism on freedom and humans trusting monsterkind.^[19]

Alphys

ASGORE left me five messages today.
four about everyone being angry
one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me
thanks asgore.

Entry Number 20, True Lab

Asgore hired Alphys after she impressed him with Mettaton.^[24] Asgore is friendly to Alphys, and wholly trusts her during her Determination research. He supported Alphys by asking for monsters who had recently "fallen down,"^[28] and had let her experiment with the captured human SOULs.^[29] Asgore also gave Alphys message updates, both formal and friendly ones, such as him finding a teacup that looks like her. However, he was unaware of her research progress.

In the True Pacifist Route epilogue, Asgore is still on friendly terms with Alphys. He becomes interested in anime after he overhears Undyne and Alphys's conversation,^[30] and readily forgives and comforts Alphys when she admits the truth.^[31]

Asriel

... is what my son...
... what ASRIEL would have wanted.

Asgore about his son before death

Asriel was Asgore's biological son. Asgore loved him dearly, equally as much as he did the first human. Asriel's habit of using words such as "howdy" and "golly" likely came from his father, as did, potentially, his lack of naming skills, having dubbed his flower form "Flowey." After the death of his son, Asgore, like Toriel, was saddened by his death. He didn't even know that Flowey was his son. In one of the paths where Asgore sacrifices himself, he says that this is exactly what his son wanted.

The First Human

<Name>! You have to stay determined!
You can't give up... You are the future of humans and monsters...

Asgore asks the first human to stay determined

The first human was Asgore's adoptive child, whom he loved just as much as Asriel. Asgore considered them to be "the future of humans and monsters," as is repeated on the Game Over screen, VHS Tape 5 in True Lab, and when the protagonist sleeps on the bed in Toriel's Home. It is implied he may have believed the first human was the Angel from Delta Rune's prophecy.^[32]

In the Genocide Route, Flowey states that despite trying "hundreds of ways," to get Asgore to show him the six human SOULs, Flowey is confident the first human can convince Asgore to do so.^[33]

The Protagonist

Are you ready?
If you are not, I understand.
I am not ready either.

Asgore at the first Delta Rune arch.

Asgore is polite and friendly to the protagonist, despite them being a human. Asgore attempts to comfort the protagonist numerous times, and tells them to take their time before their battle.^[34]

When the protagonist continues, Asgore says that he was pleased to meet them and says goodbye to them before starting the battle. If the protagonist attempts to ACT and chooses "Talk," Asgore falters, but continues to attack. If the protagonist explains that they have died before, Asgore acknowledges with a regretful nod, but continues attacking.

When Asgore is defeated, he explains his regrets, and tells the protagonist take his SOUL to leave "this cursed place." If the protagonist spares Asgore, he questions their reason, then suggests they could live together, along with Toriel, as a family.^[35] If Asgore was spared on a previous playthrough, he instead admits he believes the protagonist is the Angel of Delta Rune's prophecy.^[32] With remorse, Asgore sacrifices his SOUL to them, in hopes that they find the truth.^[36]

On the True Pacifist Route epilogue, Asgore properly asks if they want tea. After seeing the Surface, Asgore asks if the protagonist can be monsterkind's ambassador to the humans.

On the Genocide Route, Asgore does not recognize the protagonist as a human, and questions what kind of monster they are.^[37]

Gallery

Asgore brandishing his trident at the start of his battle.

Asgore's silhouette as seen when flashing his eyes for a trident sweeping attack.

Asgore swiping his trident during his battle against the protagonist.

Asgore's tarot card as Major Arcana IV "The Emperor".

Bonus group postcard made by Gigi D.G. for Fangamer.

Artwork from Undertale's 5th anniversary.

Trivia

• His first name is an anagram of the Latin word "Aegros," which can mean troublesome, anxious, sad, difficult, or reluctant. His last name is an anagram of "murderer" and a misspelling of "dreamer." His full name is also an anagram of "Sage or Murderer" or "Guarder Remorse" (which could be a reference to him guarding the monsters and feeling remorse for murdering human children). Also, Asgore is similar to the old Norse name Asgeirr, meaning "God Spear." This may be a reference to the large trident he wields in battle. "Asgore" is also an anagram of "a gorse". Gorse is a poisonous yellow flower similar to the flowers in his throne room.
• When attempting to name the fallen child "Asgore," the response becomes "You cannot." and prevents the name from being used.
• Asgore's voice can be heard in the Game Over screen, and when the protagonist goes back to sleep in Toriel's Home after sparing her, killing her, or going to sleep enough times. The lines seen here were spoken to the first human on their deathbed.
• Due to the fact that he is a boss monster, Asgore cannot age until his child has grown up to a few years younger in appearance and actual age than the parent. However, because Asgore's son, Asriel, is dead, Asgore cannot age.^[39]
• It is possible that Asgore is the Santa Claus of the Underground that leaves presents under the tree in Snowdin.
• Asgore's overworld sprite features a replica of the Delta Rune laid over his cape and connected to his pauldrons, but the replica is absent from his battle sprite.
• During Asgore's boss battle, he conceals his face by looking downward, conveying his reluctance to fight. Asgore's bullet patterns are only vaguely pointed in the protagonist's direction throughout, the majority of which are in wide, sweeping waves. His face is lowered even in direct attacks, such as the trident "swipe" attack.
• Asgore's facial expression when he gets hit by Toriel's fire magic before the fight against Asriel, depicting his eyes bulging and an open, shocked mouth, is similar to Flowey's face when he also gets hit by Toriel's fire at the start of the game.
• When saving the Lost Souls, the ACTs for Asgore's SOUL are references to the boss battle in the Neutral Route (Mercy, Stare, Talk) which never took place in that timeline.
• Asgore's contrasting appearance at the End Credits appears to be a common trope of fat characters sucking in their guts as an effort to look more intimidating, Asgore may doing something similar by encasing himself in tight, likely uncomfortable armor.
• In the Undertale Soundtrack, all the tracks after "ASGORE" are hidden, incorrectly indicating Asgore to be the final boss.
• Asgore has an UNDERTALE alarm clock app dialogue page. The dialogue reaffirms Asgore's interest in Santa Claus, and Papyrus's friendship with Flowey. Notably, Asgore also mentions his unseen, close friendship with Undertale's parallel of Rudy. While Rudolph Holiday had passed away prior to the game, Asgore expresses happiness that Rudy's daughters are able to see the surface.
• Asgore was originally planned to have an intimidating personality but was given a more goofy personality after Toby Fox was inspired by his friend Reid Young,^[40] a co-founder of starmen.net and Fangamer who played an early demo version of Undertale on Fangamer's official Twitch channel.^[41]
• Asgore has the slowest text speed in the game.^{[citation needed]}

See Also

• Asgore Dreemurr article on the Deltarune Wiki

References