
When hunting, a Kaernk only reacts to movements in the water. Daniel can only see where the monster is by the loud splashing noises, the splashes it makes when moving, and the banging it makes on doors when trying to break them down. However, what it lacks in reach it makes up for with its invisibility. The Kaernk is only capable of attacking things that wander into the shallow pools that it inhabits. However as the events of The Dark Descent unfold, the Shadow following Daniel consumes room after room, until it causes structural failures that allow the deadly Kaernk to escape. Several water monsters were safely contained within wells in the depths of Brennenburg Castle. Originating from the same world as Alexander of Brennenburg, this aquatic nightmare was delivered to the Baron from Johann Weyer as its saliva contained Tampter, an ingredient for a tonic to release Agrippa without killing him. This shows a lack of pattern recognition below even some invertebrate animals (e.g. Plus, when even an inert object is thrown into the water, they will always investigate it and remain nearby the object, no matter how many times this tactic is repeated to escape them. However, they do not perceive, do not care about Daniel when he is not physically in water. They do not speak intelligibly, so the complexity of their thoughts, perceptions, or society are unknown.
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Kaernks may have the lowest intelligence of all the monsters in Amnesia: The Dark Descent, as they most easily distracted and do not apparently receive orders from Alexander, but instead only colonize new areas and hunt prey, more like predatory animals. Its single-mindedness means it's easily distracted by splashing objects and especially by food. It only makes guttural roars when it hunts and splashes as it moves. It seems animalistic and single-minded, only desiring to feed on flesh.


The Kaernk has little personality to speak of. From its movement patterns in the water, however, it seems clearly bipedal. The Kaernk is completely invisible, except for the effects of its movement, and as such has virtually no physical appearance to speak of.
