| “ | ENTRY NUMBER SEVENTEEN. DARK. DARKER. YET DARKER. THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING. THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER. PHOTON READINGS NEGATIVE. THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT. SEEMS. VERY. VERY. INTERESTING... WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK? | „ |
| ~ Gaster's only line of dialogue, translated from Wingdings to English. |
| “ | It makes sense why ASGORE took so long to hire a new Royal Scientist. After all, the old one... Dr. Gaster. What an act to follow! They say he created the CORE. However, his life... Was cut short. One day, he fell into his creation, and... Will Alphys end up the same way? | „ |
| ~ The first Gaster Follower revealing him to be the one behind the creation of the CORE, as well as alluding to his ultimate fate. |
Doctor W.D. Gaster, better known as Dr. Gaster or simply Gaster, is a mentioned character in the 2015 indie video game Undertale, and is speculated to play a role in its 2018 successor Deltarune, both created by Toby Fox.
He was the former royal scientist of the underground working under Asgore Dreemurr, who created the CORE before falling into an unspecified creation and being shattered across time and space. He's also theorized to be the one who masterminded the events of Deltarune, although this is up for debate.
Appearance[]
As of now, Gaster's true appearance has never been confirmed, remaining unseen in both Undertale and Deltarune. However, many fans have theorized that Gaster is actually the Mystery Man NPC, encountered in Waterfall if the player's Fun Value is at 66. Evidence of this includes the following:
- His room is only encountered in Waterfall when the Fun Value is 66. Going into the game's files, Gaster's stats shows a heavy use of the number 6, meaning both characters have an association with that number.
- Upon being interacted with, the Mystery Man reacts by fading away, making the same sound byte as the Gaster Followers when they disappear.
- The sound byte used when the Mystery Man and the Gaster Followers fade away is titled "snd_mysterygo" giving the sound effect and the character the commonality of having "mystery" in their name.
- The sound byte used when the Mystery Man and the Gaster Followers disappeared, when reversed and slowed down, is actually a distorted version of Gaster's Theme, used in the Sound Test.
While the Mystery Man is accepted by most of the fandom as the true appearance of Gaster, there is another character hidden in one of Undertale's unused rooms that is believed to be Gaster. Found in one of the game's unused rooms that can be accessed after removing the Dog Check, this character, known as "Redacted" within the game's files, is a mysterious, ghostlike figure with a generally unfinished appearance. Some fans believe this to be the true appearance of Gaster as opposed to the Mystery Man, evidence of such goes as follows:
- Upon interacting with Redacted, they speak in lowercase Wingdings. Wingdings, as seen through the hidden "Entry Number 17" dialogue, is a font that Gaster appears to speak in, although Gaster uses all-caps.
- Its sound byte when talking sounds similar to that of Gaster's.
- Upon attempting to leave the room it is located in, you are relocated to the game's hidden Sound Test, where Gaster's theme can be played.
As of now, it is still up in the air as to what W. D. Gaster truly looks like, and it's unclear if we ever truly will.
Personality[]
Not much is known about Gaster's personality. However it can be safely assumed that he was a very smart man, not only thanks to his former status as the Underground's Royal Scientist, but also through the fact that, according to the first Gaster Follower, he had been the one to create the CORE, the most technologically advanced area within the whole Underground.
Judging by his monologue hidden in the game's files, Gaster also seemed to be very keen on experiments, judging by how he shows intrigue at this so-called "next experiment" that he mentions in his monologue. It can also be assumed that he has a formal way of speaking judging by how he talks throughout this single line of dialogue.
History[]
Undertale[]
Not much is known about Gaster's past. However, according to the Gaster Followers, Gaster was the former royal scientist of the Underground before Alphys. Having been the one behind the creation of the CORE, Gaster would end up meeting his demise after "falling into his own creation", being shattered across time and space. One of the pieces ending up in the second Gaster Follower's possession.
The one and only time Gaster is ever shown speaking is within one of the hidden rooms that can be accessed through the game's files. Here, Gaster is seen supposedly writing the True Lab's seventeenth entry, something of which was mysteriously absent in the game itself. Translating the Wingdings font will reveal Gaster is speaking about an unspecified experiment to two individuals, where "the darkness keeps growing" and the shadows "cut deeper".
It's been heavily speculated Gaster is connected to Sans and Papyrus, likely as family. The biggest piece of evidence is that Sans' weapons are known as Gaster Blasters within the game's files.
Deltarune[]
Gaster is not confirmed to be part of Deltarune, but he is heavily speculated to play a massive role. He is widely agreed to be the voice from the game's Twitter and the intro due to his speaking pattern, directly quoting Entry Number 17, and the theme song being titled "ANOTHER HIM", while "Gaster's Theme" was called "him" in the game files. If so, then he would be responsible for the SOUL ending up inside Kris' body.
Gaster is also widely speculated to be the "Someone" who drove Jevil and Spamton mad. Evidence includes Seam claiming their view of the world became "darker, yet darker" after Jevil's insanity, and "garbage noise" coming out of Spamton's phone after his fall to madness; if you try to use Kris' phone in the Dark World, a recording of Entry Number 17 will play out that is called "garbage noise" by the narration.
Relationships[]
Gaster Followers[]
The Gaster Followers are a series of three (possibly five if you consider Goner Kid and Clam Girl) mysterious NPCs that can be rarely encountered in Hotland. While it's unclear what their exact relationship with Gaster is, it is clear that they respect/worship the royal scientist in some way, telling of how he was an amazing scientist and even referencing when he was shattered across time and space, the second Gaster Follower in particular even managing to obtain a piece of him through unknown means.
Sans & Papyrus[]
While not explicitly stated, it is highly implied that Gaster was in some way related to the skeleton brothers. The biggest piece of evidence is the fact that one of the attacks used in Sans' fight is called the "Gaster Blaster", something which Papyrus is also highly implied to possess. Sans is also shown to have a scientific background, with it being speculated that he was one of the two characters he was speaking to in his infamous monologue.
If one chooses to believe that the Mystery Man is the true form of Gaster, then he would also bare a striking resemblance to Sans & Papyrus, being what looks to be some sort of skeleton-like creature. Gaster also shares the unique trait of speaking in a distinct font, (that being Wingdings), a trait which is only shared with the skeleton brothers. It's also because of this that many people believe that the "W. D." in his name actually stands for "Wing Ding Gaster".
Sans' Secret Lab also reveals that he has a picture of him standing alongside a bunch of unidentified people smiling along with the note "Don't Forget", a line that is used in the credits sequence of Deltarune Chapter 1, which Gaster is theorized to play some sort of part in.
As of now, the exact nature of Sans and Papyrus' relationship with Gaster is unknown, but many believe that he was related to or perhaps even the father of the two brothers.
Alphys[]
Being the royal scientist that preceeded Alphys, some have been lead to believe that Alphys may have had some sort of connection to Gaster, possibly being one of his right-hands. Some also believe that she was one of the two people he was speaking to in the hidden Entry Number 17 monologue. This however, is unconfirmed.
River Person[]
There is a rare chance that upon taking a ride to one of the main areas in Undertale with the River Person, that they will speak of a "Man Who Speaks In Hands" as well as a "Man Who Came From Another World". This is widely believed to be referring to Gaster due to how he speaks in Wingdings, hence the "Man Who Speaks In Hands", and if his connections to Deltarune are to be believed, then he would also match the description of being a "Man Who Came From Another World".
Assuming that they are in fact referring to Gaster, then it's possible that the River Person has an antagonistic relationship with him due to telling the player to beware of his pressence.
Goner Kid[]
Goner Kid is a secret NPC that is able to be encountered in Waterfall. Upon interacting with them, they express their fears in the idea of a world where they don't exist (which is rather ironic as this is an NPC that can't even be encountered on most playthroughs). Unlike the Gaster Followers, Goner Kid never speaks of Gaster directly, however, due to their grayscaled appearance as well as the fact that they can only appear based on a certain Fun Value, much like the Gaster Followers, it has lead many to believe that the Goner Kid too is a Gaster Follower.
Clam Girl[]
Prior to the release of Undertale's Nintendo Switch port, the Clam Girl did not appear to have any relations to Gaster whatsoever. However, following the release of the game's Switch port, the Clam Girl gained a new line of dialogue that served to tease the first chapter of Deltarune. Something of which they do by turning into a grayscale version of themselves before disappearing via the exact same sound byte that the Gaster Followers, as well as the Mystery Man, use, hence establishing a possible connection to Gaster.
Jevil & Spamton G. Spamton[]
It is heavily speculated that Gaster is the engimatic "Someone" who drove both Jevil and Spamton to madness due to the aforementioned correlations this character has with Gaster as referenced in the page's history section. This however, like many of the other things relating to Gaster's character, is unconfirmed.
Quotes[]
| “ | Alphys might work faster. But the old Royal Scientist, Doctor W.D. Gaster? One day, he vanished without a trace. They say he shattered across time and space. Ha ha... How can I say so without fear? I'm holding a piece of him right here. | „ |
| ~ The second Gaster Follower talking about Gaster being shattered across time and space. |
| “ | I understand why ASGORE waited so long to hire a new Royal Scientist. The previous one... Dr. Gaster. His brilliance was irreplaceable. However, his life... Was cut short. One day, his experiments went wrong, and... Well, I needn't gossip.
After all, it's rude to talk about someone who's listening. |
„ |
| ~ The third Gaster Follower speaking of Gaster's life being cut short. |
| “ | Tra la la. Beware of the man who speaks in hands. | „ |
| ~ One of the River Person's lines of dialogue, believed to be referring to Gaster |
| “ | Tra la la. Beware of the man who came from the other world. | „ |
| ~ Yet another one of the River Person's lines of dialogue that is presumed to be referring to Gaster. |
Trivia[]
- Due to the possibilty that he is linked to Deltarune, Gaster's status may end up changing in the future.
- If he ended up being confirmed as the indentity of "Someone", then he would stop being a Neutral Character due to the fact that he drove both Jevil and Spamton insane, turning the both of them into villains.
- It is speculated that the creation Gaster fell into that caused him to shatter across time and space was actually the CORE.
- The Mystery Man was given a tarot card along with various of the game's cast, one which was originally labeled as being Gaster before it was changed. Despite this, it is still up for debate if he truly is meant to be Gaster as Toby Fox has gone out of his way to state that all Undertale merch is non-canon.
- Gaster may have a connection to the Memoryheads, one of the amalgamates encountered in the True Lab. as the one attack they use has you dodging a bunch of faces that suspiciously look a lot like that of the Mystery Man, who is widely believed to be Gaster.
External Links[]
- W. D. Gaster on the Undertale Wiki