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The Khnum is a very powerful and dangerous opponent first introduced in Serious Sam 3: BFE, and then appearing in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE, Serious Sam 4, and Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem. It also appears in Legend of the Beast expansion pack, serving as the boss of the mini-campaign. In Serious Sam 3, Serious Sam 4, and Siberian Mayhem, the Khnum is introduced as a miniboss and then fought later as a regular enemy.
Overview[]
The Khnum is a large, bipedal creature that originates from an unnamed planet located in the system of Lambda Arietis, in the northern constellation of Aries. Powerful and aggressive, their race crushed the planet's lesser species into submission, while they declared themselves as gods and demanded to be worshipped.[1] When they encountered Mental, they recognized his superior military might and willingly joined his army, where they occupy positions with great prestige.[2]
Appearance-wise, Khnums are very large creatures that stand approximately 45 feet tall. Their entire body is hairless, being covered in thick grey skin. They have a large head with glowing red eyes, a gaping mouth with sharp teeth and two prominent horns similar to a goat, although these are not practical for use as a weapon. Due to the shape of the creature's horns, they are often associated with the Egyptian god Khnum, and may have also inspired the ancient Egyptians to create the concept of said deity.[1][3] While they do not have feet (rather, they have two large hooves that, while slow, allow it to walk as fast as the player), they do have hands, each with three fingers and what appears to be an opposable thumb. A Khnum's skin is extremely thick, with only rounds surpassing 30 mm caliber being able to penetrate it.[4]
Appearances[]
Khnums appear much later in their appearances than other enemies, though they can be encountered early as a boss. As regular enemies, Khnums may appear alone or in small groups. When they are seen, it is usually a sign a very big battle is about to take place. On the final level of the game they appear in, dozens of them may be seen at once.
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
The first Khnum seen in Serious Sam 3: BFE.
The Khnum first appears in Serious Sam 3 as a passing feature, looking at the player but does not engage, as if disinterested. The first Khnum encountered by the player serves as a boss. It is fought in Unearthing the Sun in an enclosed space filled with pillars, and has over twice as much health as a normal Khnum. Later on, Khnums appear most commonly alone or in pairs with groups of enemies. However, in the final level, several can appear at the same time. They usually appear with larger amount of weaker enemies. On easy difficulties, Khnums walk at a relatively slow pace. On harder difficulties, Khnums will walk/run faster at roughly the same speed as the player's walking pace.
Legend of the Beast[]
The Khnum appears in Legend of the Beast as the final boss of the 3-level mini-campaign. It is found waiting for the player on its throne in a sacrificial chamber and wears the Sign of Amon-Ra. The room has a number of columns, which the Khnum can easily smash, but they can protect the player from incoming fireballs.
The room has 6 switches and a metal platform in the middle, where a lightbeam shines. One of the switches is located above the Khnum's throne, and another one is on the opposite side of the wall, facing the one above the throne. 2 others are on the right and left upper wings of the room, and another group of 2 are on the right and left lower wings of the room. The ones on the lower wings of the room need to be activated in order for the one opposite of the throne to be activated. The one above the throne will not activate unless all others are active.
The Khnum has a tremendous health amount of 100,000 HP, which makes it the boss with the second highest health in the Serious Sam series, only exceeded by the Mental Institution (with 1,000,000) from Serious Sam 2. Canonically, the Legend of the Beast Khnum has the highest health of any Serious Sam boss. Given that fact, the player's weapons will do virtually no harm to it. Although, once all 6 switches are activated, if the Khnum is hit by the electric beam, the beam will erase 1/3 of its health if it stands in it for the full duration (the Khnum is stunned while hit by the beam). The Khnum will also punch the player if they get too close. As with Serious Sam 3, directly touching the Khnum will deal 10,000 damage to the player, killing them instantly.
Unlike Khnums in the original version of Serious Sam 3, the Khnum from the Legend of the Beast is vulnerable to every weapon, aside from the Serious Bomb (which the player cannot acquire normally in the mini-campaign anyway). As before, the Legend of the Beast Khnum still has a 25% sniper bullet resistance.
Serious Sam 4[]
The first Khnum seen in Serious Sam 4.
Like the Khnum in Serious Sam 3, the first Khnum that appears is encountered as a miniboss. The Khnum is first seen in Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, carrying the beacon that Thomas Jones was meant to place, shortly before it devours him. Sam defeats the Khnum and, enraged, shoves the beacon right into its skull afterwards, avenging Jones's death.
In the later levels, Khnums become more frequent enemies, usually in groups of up to three. They become much more numerous in the final level, and several of them are seen attempting to push back Earth Defense Force soldiers during the Battle of Tunguska.
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
The Khnum does not appear as a boss this time, but is encountered as a "surprise" to Sam after he turns on the power at the refinery to explore the locked hangar. Compared to Serious Sam 4, Khnums are slightly rarer, but many of them appear in the final level, Crime And Punishment, during the large battle that takes place near the Octanian Harvester Leviathan. They are more numerous when playing on Serious difficulty and New Game+.
Application[]
Khnums are some of the strongest and most dangerous creatures seen in Mental's Horde, even more so than Major Bio-mechanoids, and are a force to be reckoned with. Being high-ranking servants of their master Tah-Um, Khnums occupy high positions and often serve as "commanders" or generals on the battlefield, leading masses of smaller or weaker forces towards the enemy.
In combat, Khnums are mostly used for charging straight towards enemy forces in the line of fire and to deal a devastating strike with the projectiles it throws, as well as its melee attacks. From a distance, Khnums are used for providing support to weaker forces with their fireballs. A Khnum's massive size also guarantees the target to be forced out of cover, where the creature will be able to easily dispose of them with its powerful attacks.
Behavior and skills[]
Aside from the Major Bio-mechanoid and the Highlander Aludran Reptiloid, Khnums are some of the most powerful and dangerous non-boss enemies seen in the series. Their skin is remarkably thick and their tissue has regenerative capabilities.[1] They are formidable opponents, and their speed, endurance and strength are not to be underestimated.
When a Khnum spots the target, it has several attacks it may perform; from medium to far range, the Khnum will begin to charge a fireball in one of its hands (this is easily visible by the glow in its hand). After it's done charging, it will toss the fireball(s) at the player. By charging its projectiles this way, it can make the fireballs travel great distances and also spread them out. In the original version of Serious Sam 3, the Khnum throws three fireballs regardless of the difficulty setting enabled. In Serious Sam Fusion, however, it throws only one fireball from a distance, and two when strafing sideways. If a Khnum takes a substantial amount of damage that takes away a large portion of its health, the creature will be momentarily stunned and unable to attack for a while.
A Khnum dodging rockets fired by the player.
The Khnum can rapidly toss its fireballs for a quick attack, but this has less range and the projectiles are often tightly grouped together. The Khnum usually performs this attack when it sees incoming projectiles from the player (such as rockets) and is strafing to dodge them. In the Serious Sam Fusion version, the Khnum will also perform this manuever if the player is trying to throw blocks of C-4 onto its chest. Khnums are one of the few enemies in the series that are capable of dodging the player's attacks. Although the fireballs have no target tracking of their own, the Khnum can throw them so that if the target is moving, it will hit the target if it continues its movement in the same direction. An easy counter for this is to change direction. The fireballs travel extremely fast and cause immense amounts of damage to the player's health.
The Khnum also has a variety of melee attacks, which it will use on the player if it gets too close. These attacks are far more dangerous and deal much higher damage than its fireballs. At close range, the Khnum may perform a swipe, which deals high damage. Also, it may use a hoof stomp attack which is faster, but does less damage. When a Khnum is close enough to the target, it will start charging towards them.
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
In the original version of Serious Sam 3, Khnums are immune to small-arms fire due to their thick skin, and bullets will bounce harmlessly off them. The best way for dealing with Khnums is to use explosive weapons or projectiles. In the Serious Sam Fusion of the game, though, they can be harmed with small-arms fire, but they only receive half of the damage taken.
Additionally in the original version, a Khnum's fireballs can deal a devastating amount of damage, especially when playing on high difficulty settings - just three of them can kill a player with 200 health and armor on Serious difficulty. Unlike missiles and fireballs in earlier Serious Sam games, a Khnum's fireballs are immune to gunfire and cannot be shot down mid-air.
If the player is within close range to a Khnum, it will begin giving chase to the player and it can easily catch up with them, even killing them instantly upon merely touching them - this is because the Khnum inflicts 1000 touching damage. The best tactic to use when it is closing in is to sprint away from it. If the Khnum manages to catch up with the player, it will deliver a powerful stomp or swipe.
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
The Khnum behaves quite differently in both of these titles. It now has twice as much health (3000 HP as opposed to 1500) and therefore can take a lot more punishment before it can be killed. However, thanks to the critical hit mechanic, the Khnum will take three times as much damage when the player shoots at its head, which serves as the Khnum's weak point. Firing a fully-charged cannonball at its head is enough to stun it and deplete two-thirds of its health. Khnums will also become temporarily stunned when they are under heavy fire or if they take more than 800 damage in a short period of time.
A Khnum's ranged attacks remain almost identical to its previous incarnations. At medium to far range, the Khnum will charge its fireballs and toss them at the player. It will fire one or two fireballs at medium range, and several fireballs at far range. They have a higher chance of tossing multiple fireballs when playing on higher difficulties.
At close range, the Khnum will begin charging towards the player in a straight line in a manner similar to a Sirian Werebull. This attack can deal a lot of damage if the player doesn't quickly move out of the way, but it can be easily dodged by sidestepping. Unlike in previous games, though, the Khnum no longer inflicts fatal damage, instead dealing 5-60 points of damage. They will also attempt to stomp on the player if they are close enough.
Like other big enemies, the player can perform a finishing kill on a Khnum if they have unlocked the "The Harder They Fall" S.A.M. skill. Unlike some enemies where the player can instantly deliver a finishing move, the Khnum needs to be stunned first. When it has, if the player walks up to the Khnum and, when prompted, presses the Use key, Sam will take out his knife and stab the Khnum in the head. This will finish off the creature.
Riding[]
The Khnum can be ridden by the player if they have unlocked the "Rodeo Time" skill in the S.A.M. system. The Khnum has to be stunned first in order to ride it. When the player is mounted on a Khnum, the same controls for riding a vehicle apply to the Khnum. The primary fire button allows the Khnum to throw three fireballs, which are much more powerful than the ones fired by enemy Khnums, while pressing the secondary fire button makes the Khnum do a hoof stomp. Like other mountable enemies, the Khnum's health will be displayed by a HUD icon on the bottom-left corner of the screen. Once the Khnum is dead or if the player presses the melee button, the player will be dismounted from it.
Like othe rideable enemies, the Khnum cannot be ridden indefinitely. This is indicated by the yellow bar on the left side of the player's HUD. Once it is empty, the player will be ejected by the Khnum. However, the player can choose to ride it again if they wish to do so.
Tactics[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
Boss[]
- It should be noted that the boss has much higher health that normal Khnums, thus the C-4 Demolition Charge is the best weapon to use on it. The Khnum requires approximately 3 C-4 charges to kill it.
- There is a crate of C-4 just to the left of where the Khnum appears. The player should immediately head there to restock on C-4 if they haven't got enough for the fight.
- Bullet-firing weapons will barely leave a dent on the Khnum, even in the Fusion version. The player shouldn't waste their ammo using said weapons.
- The Khnum's AI behaves slightly differently than that of the other Khnums seen in the game; it has a preference for destroying any columns or pillars that are in its way. The arena is packed full of them, so it will do this very frequently. The Khnum will do this even if the player is within striking range.
- The player can use this to their advantage to quickly place a C-4 charge on its chest and then back away while it is distracted destroying the ruins.
Enemy[]
- In the original version, bullets will bounce harmlessly off a Khnum, regardless of where they're hit. Only explosives will work, with each explosive weapon sometimes being more appropriate depending on the situation.
- With C-4 equipped, a red C-4 target will appear on the Khnum's chest. Although effective, (requiring roughly two to three attached blocks of C-4) C-4 may not always be the best choice considering the distance required to successfully attach C-4. Khnums tend to run towards the player, bringing themselves, and the attached explosives closer to an unsafe distance. On the other hand, detonating an attached C-4 will always stun the Khnum, so consistently using C-4 can take it down without it attacking or advancing.
- The XPML21 Rocket Launcher is also another choice, but Khnums will actively dodge rockets shot at them, making hitting them difficult when not in close proximity. Khnums will also quickly throw single fireballs when dodging rockets, increasing the difficulty of successfully hitting one. This makes the rocket launcher one of the more challenging ways to engage Khnums, especially multiple groups. It is advised to fire rockets just as the Khnum starts charging, stop when the Khnum gets too close and then start firing again when it starts to use a ranged attack.
- The A-24 Devastator is a much better choice, doing roughly as much damage as the rocket launcher, but because the Devastator's projectiles travel faster, Khnums are unable to dodge each shot. Hitting Khnums with Devastator rounds also does not provoke them into doing their quick sidestepping fireball attack.
- The SBC Cannon is a very effective weapon to take a Khnum down, needing only two fully charged hits. In addition, it causes them to flinch after getting hit, preventing them from firing their fireballs. However, due to the rarity of cannonballs, players may opt in using other methods.
- It is possible to decapitate a Khnum with the Sirian Mutilator, but only with at least two players using the Mutilator simultaneously. If a player attempts to decapitate a Khnum alone, then it will grab the beam and pull the player closer, which puts them in danger of a melee attack and usually disrupts the beam's charging process. Even if the player holds the charge indefinitely alone, the Khnum will not be decapitated. However, using the Mutilator in singleplayer against the Khnum can still be useful as it temporarily stuns it, stopping its charge and making the Khnum vulnerable to C-4.
- Getting directly touched by a Khnum will deal 1000 damage to the player, which is instant death on any difficulty above Normal.
- With other enemies, Khnums are a medium-high-priority target. In some situations, they may be treated as high-priority targets. Their projectiles can be dodged at a distance but they deal a lot of damage and it can be hard to keep track of if other enemies are present.
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
- Khnums are more dangerous in this installment due to their increased health. Despite this, they can still be harmed by bullet-firing weapons, and no longer receive a damage penalty from said weapons.
- Like other enemies, the Khnum's main weakspot is its head. The player should fire at its head whenever they get the chance, as they deal extra damage and can quickly deplete the Khnum's health and allow the player to finish it off faster.
- Strong weapons like the cannon, Devastator, and TCC-2 "Perun" Crossbow deal a tremendous amount of damage to the Khnum when they are shot in the head with these weapons. It works especially well when they are dual-wielded, enhanced with a Rage Serum, or both.
- The cannon remains a powerful weapon to use on a Khnum, but it takes roughly four fully-charged cannonballs to kill one. When using the cannon on a Khnum, fire at its head, as this will deplete over 75% of the Khnum's health in one hit.
- The FRPCL is the ultimate weapon to use against groups of Khnums; the projectiles fired from the weapon can rip them to shreds in just a few seconds thanks to its very rapid damage output. It is also one of the only few weapons capable of gibbing a Khnum.
- If the Khnum receives a moderate amount of damage within a small period of time, it will become enraged and try to charge towards the player. This attack can be easily avoided by sidestepping.
- C-4 charges still remain a decent weapon against Khnums, but now require at least four to kill one (as opposed to just three in the original version of Serious Sam 3 and two in the Fusion version).
- The Khnum can be stunned upon receiving heavy damage dealt by C-4 charges, crossbow arrows, or cannonballs. In this state, the player can execute or mount it if they have the appropriate S.A.M. skills.
- Riding a Khnum after severely damaging it is recommended as the Khnum can be used to easily destroy other enemies with its fireballs, which are five times more powerful than if thrown by an enemy one. This can be used to instantly kill any enemy up to a Common Aludran Reptiloid and severely damage tougher enemies like Draconian Burners, Major Bio-mechanoids, and Scrapjacks.
- Its immensely high health in comparison to other rideable enemies also allows it to keep the player alive for longer as long as they are riding it.
- When riding a Khnum, however, the monster's slow movement speed makes it easily prone to Reptiloid projectiles, Adult Arachnoids, Hatchling Arachnoids, and swarms of weaker enemies like Gnaars, Kleer Skeletons, Processed Anthropolyps, or especially Beheaded Kamikazes. As such, Arachnoids and Reptiloids and become high-priority targets when the player is riding a Khnum.
- The Khnum's fireballs travel in an arc trajectory, so it is recommended to aim upwards to make the fireballs hit enemies above or far away from the player.
- It is not recommended to attempt to engage flying enemies like Scythian Witch-Harpies or Draconian Burners with the Khnum's fireballs as the fireballs will more often than not miss their target.
- If the player does get swarmed while riding a Khnum, they can use its hoof stomp attack to eliminate any hostiles that get too close.
Behind the scenes[]
- The Khnum originally appeared in a screenshot in a 2006 demonstration of Serious Engine 3, where it was smaller and had a slightly different face.
- The models for the Khnum and Canned Cain were created as part of a temporary partnership with id Software, creators of the Doom franchise. The Khnum's appearance is similar to the Baron of Hell from Doom and Hell Knight from Doom II, as is the fact that it is first encountered as a boss and has pale skin like the Hell Knight.
- The way its legs bend mean it also slightly resembles the Cyberdemon, the second boss of Doom and final boss of Doom 3.
- Early Serious Sam 4 concept art of the Khnum reveal different looking creatures or variants of it, but retaining the creature's original design.
- In Serious Sam 4 and Siberian Mayhem, the Khnum has been given a completely new design; its body is covered in patches of dark grey skin, has sharper horns, and its eyes are more orange than red. Unlike the Serious Sam 3 version, the Serious Sam 4 Khnum has longer, sharper horns that curve up rather than outwards. It also has two hooved toes as opposed to just one like before.
- The Khnum is the first enemy in the Serious Sam franchise to be introduced in a new game and then retroactively added to an old one. In its case, the Khnum was introduced in Serious Sam 3 in 2011, then added to Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter (originally released in 2010) in the Legend of the Beast DLC, which itself was released in 2012.
Related achievements[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
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| Decapitate a Khnum. |
Serious Sam VR: The Second Encounter[]
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| Finish the Legend of the Beast campaign in single player or cooperative. |
Serious Sam Fusion[]
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| Finish the Legend of the Beast campaign in single player or cooperative. |
Serious Sam 4[]
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| Melee a big enemy. |
Trivia[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
- The Khnum is called "DeeDee" in the game files.
- In the original version of Serious Sam 3, if a Khnum kills a player in co-op, an on-screen obituary message will appear on-screen reading either "A Khnum roasted [player name]." (fireball attack) or "A Khnum ran over [player name]." (kicking or melee attack).
- In every other game, including Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, these messages are replaced by "[player name] is missing in action." regardless of how the Khnum killed the player.
- The Khnum, along with the Kleer Skeleton and Ugh-Zan IV, are the only enemies in the original version of Serious Sam 3 that don't bleed (or splatter blood) when damaged or killed. They do bleed however in other games that they appear in.
- In the Fusion version of Serious Sam 3, Khnums can be harmed by bullet-firing weapons, but they have a 50% resistance to said hese weapons. For example, shooting at a Khnum with the assault rifle will deal 5 damage as opposed to its 10 damage per shot. This is also shared with the Technopolyp.
- Also in the Fusion version, Khnums will strafe sideways even when the player is holding C-4 charges, which can make it more difficult to place C-4 onto them.
- The Khnum reuses the Aludran Reptiloid's idle sound from Serious Sam 1.
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
- The Khnum can be gibbed, unlike in previous titles. They can only be gibbed with the FRPCL, cannonballs fired by the SBC Cannon, or shells fired from the M1A1 Abrams's cannon.
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
Pre-release[]
Retail[]
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter[]
Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope[]
Serious Sam 4[]
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter (Legend of the Beast only)
- Serious Sam 3: BFE (First appearance)
- Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope
- Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam 4
- Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem