Dark Hand

The  is a Gauntlet in Dark Souls. It is a versatile weapon that can also function as a shield.

Availability
The dark hand is either granted by Kaathe to the player upon joining the Darkwraith covenant, or it can be found off the Darkwraith enemies as a drop.

General Information
When used as a weapon, the dark hand has a special heavy attack that drains humanity from NPCs and other players.

As a shield, a dark hand has an 80% damage reduction from all damage types, as well as very low stability. This means that the dark hand is an inferior choice as a shield for every case except when facing lightning damage, where its damage reduction outclasses nearly every other shield.

As a weapon, the dark hand's special heavy attack is the only action capable of stealing liquid humanity from others. How much it steals is dependent on the rank the player has progressed in the Darkwraith Covenant, as listed:
 * +0 (or not in the darkwraith covenant): max 1 humanity stolen
 * +1: 3 humanity stolen
 * +2: 5 humanity stolen
 * +3: 10 humanity stolen

The special attack has a very long windup time and a small hitbox, so one must choose wisely when deciding when to use it. Darkhand users may not steal more humanity than is available on their target; for example, if a Darkwraith +3 were to use the grab on someone with 8 humanity, they'd only steal 8 and not 10. Certain NPCs carry liquid humanity on them, and can have all their humanity stolen without becoming hostile towards the player thanks to the very low damage the Dark Hand deals to NPCs when initiating the grab move.

List of NPCs that carry liquid humanity

 * Patches: 7 humanities
 * Griggs of Vinheim: 3 humanities
 * Ingward: 4 humanities
 * Laurentius of the Great Swamp: 5 humanities
 * Petrus of Thorolund: 2 humanities
 * Vince of Thorolund: 5 humanities
 * Nico of Thorolund: 3 humanities
 * Rhea of Thorolund: 12 humanities
 * Sieglinde of Catarina: 10 humanities
 * Siegmeyer of Catarina: 4 humanities
 * Lautrec of Carim: 4 humanities (8 in NG+)
 * Maneater Mildred: 8 humanities, regardless of game difficulty
 * Solaire of Astora: 8 humanities
 * Balder Knight in Dark Anor Londo: 3 humanities, regardless of game difficulty
 * Berenike Knight in Dark Anor Londo: 3 humanities, regardless of game difficulty