Here's something fun I think you all might want to see. Here are the Servant sheets I had for each of the servants, and some author's notes to go along with them. You know, if anyone was interested.
Personal Info:
Name: Zahhak
Also Known As: Azi Dahaka, the Son of Angra Mainyu, Prince of Daemons
Height: 167 cm
Weight: 50 kg
Place of Origin: Iranian Mythology/Zoroastrianism
Likes: Praise, Evil
Dislikes: Looking Foolish, Getting Caught/Called Out
Talents: Fooling Himself, Slipping Away Without Facing Repercussions
Natural Enemy: Himself, Angra Mainyu
Class: Saber
Other Potential Classes: Rider, Caster
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Parameters:
Str: D
End: E
Agi: E
Luck: A
Mana: C
NP: C
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance - E - Cannot cancel spells, but magic damage is reduced somewhat.
Personal Skills:
Protection from Elementals - B - A blessing granted to Zahhak by several Daevas. A composite skill of several "Protections from"-type skills. The related protections are "Wind", "Lightning", "Water", and "Earth". Nullifies attacks of these elements.
Clairvoyance - A- - Zahhak can foresee future events in his sleep… but he is likely to merely dismiss them as dreams and forget about them.
Mana Burst (Shadow) - C - A version of Mana Burst that infuses weapons with Magical Energy that imparts a shadowy effect. This version doesn't reinforce Attack or Defense, like other Mana Bursts, and repurposes it for Agility exclusively, causing Zahhak's speed to increase to extremely high levels for short amounts of time.
Noble Phantasms:
Daeva Avesta: Corrupted False Inscription - Anti-Unit - An innate ability by Zahhak that is a representation of his right to rule over the world as Azi Dehaka. It automatically drains the Mana of the people around him, fueling him, though he has no real use for it besides releasing it through Mana Burst (Shadow). The effect is increased if the target in question likes Zahhak, and even further if they accept him as a King or Leader. Zahhak himself is unaware of the ability, so he cannot utilize it to it's true effectiveness, but he may use it subconsciously. - C
Author's Notes:
Zahhak, the Saber of Failing Miserably.
In the original draft, Saber was Sir Bors, but I changed it after I changed the Main Character away from Saber's Master (originally a woman named Cassie Beckland) to Chiaki. I liked the idea of a Saber being the weakest in a war when the usual standard was for them to be the strongest and to always win. He ended up winning anyway, so I wonder why I even tried. Tying him in to Angra's lore was a bit of a challenge considering that Angra isn't really a god, so I had to find a way to justify how he could be the son of a guy who really couldn't have had children.
I was inspired by the archetype of that character that just sort of lucks into everything going their way, and other characters fear them because they think he did it on purpose. He ended up being more of the "Team Rocket"-type of villain. Oh well.
I'm actually quite proud of his skillset, even going so far as to invent a new Mana Burst and "Protection from-" skill. I rarely make my own skills, so when I do it well (in my own opinion, anyway), I tend to be biased towards that design.
I feel that he's the kind of servant you could only attain victory in a Grail War with if you were an extraordinarily powerful magus, but those extraordinarily powerful maguses would've summoned a better servant in the first place, so he's basically an insta-loss in any other Grail War situation.
Personal Info:
Name: Crazy Horse
Also Known As: Thasunke Witko, Cha-O-Ha
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 73 kg
Place of Origin: North American History
Likes: Children, Nature
Dislikes: Fighting, Glory
Talents: Accidentally Wooing Women, Hunting, Reading People
Natural Enemy: General Custer
Class: Archer
Other Potential Classes: Rider, Berserker
Alignment: Neutral Good
Parameters:
Str: D
End: C
Agi: A
Luck: B
Mana: D
NP: C+
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance - C - Cancel spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against Magecraft on the level of High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals.
Independent Action - A - It is possible to take action even without a Master. However, to use Noble Phantasms of great magical energy consumption, backup from the Master is necessary.
Personal Skills:
Charisma - C- - Though he never had a way with words, his mere presence on the battlefield boosted the morale of his allies.
Marksmanship - C - When using firearms, accuracy increases tenfold. At C-Rank, sniping with a rifle is possible.
Guardian Beast - B - Crazy Horse's spirit animal is, of course, the Crazy Horse of the Spirit World.
Animal Dialogue - A - Complete understanding, even of subtle nuances in meaning, can be conveyed between himself and animals.
Noble Phantasm:
Bloody Cloak: His Final Residence - Anti-Unit (Self) - A cloak that Crazy Horse wore when he died, called "his residence" after he died. Slowly regenerates his Health and Mana, returning to full by the end of any 24 hour period. Since it, in a sense, counts as special clothing, he cannot be wearing it in order to activate his Ultimate Noble Phantasm. - C
Red-Tailed Hawk Prophecy: Vision of the Crazy Horse - Anti-World - The prophecy foretold to Crazy Horse in his dream manifested as a Noble Phantasm. As long as he does not take any War trophies, and wears only simple clothing, he can access it. It allows him to both see and interact with the "Spirit World", the true world, of which the world we perceive is simply a shadow that is cast by it. He can create pockets into this Spirit World, either moving through it, shooting projectiles through it, or causing attacks to be lost in it. From a person in this World's perspective, it appears that he can change the location of his projectiles, allowing him to "fire an arrow that never misses", or it would appear that he was somehow teleporting without the use of any Mana, and making attacks disappear before they can even reach him. - EX
Author' Notes:
Crazy Horse, the Archer of Not What You'd Expect. (I say that in terms of how well he ended up doing in the war, not so much his personality.)
Crazy Horse is one of only three servants that remained as the same identity from the original drafts. I wanted more Native American heroes and I sucked at making Archers, so the first one I made just kinda stuck. I think it worked out for the best.
I remember wanting to make him distinguishable from Geronimo, but they became quite similar looking back at it… unfortunately I discovered part way through the drafting process that Crazy Horse was quiet, though intelligent and inexplicably charming. I attempted to represent this in his plain way of talking, but who knows if that got through. Either way, I had no other recourse since there was no one who really fit the story like he did.
Another regret is that he never showed off all his abilities the way I had originally intended them. The closest I got was in his fight with Assassin. Unfortunately, as the story went on, I realized that I had forgotten about him - having not revealed his identity when it should have been, as well as not showcasing or explaining his Noble Phantasms super well. Maybe I should've called him the Archer of Being Forgotten…
My biggest regret of all is that I can't draw so there's very little eye candy from my main source of male eye candy.
Personal Info:
Name: Woden
Also Known As: Odin, Young God of War
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 82 kg
Place of Origin: Germanic Mythology
Likes: Hard Work, Knowledge
Dislikes: Hot-Headedness, Laziness
Talents: Strategy, Drawing/Painting
Natural Enemy: His Son, His Brother
Class: Lancer
Other Potential Classes: Saber, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Parameters:
Str: A
End: B
Agi: A+
Luck: D
Mana: A
NP: B
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance - B+ - Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for them to be affected. In the case of Rune Magic, Woden is completely immune.
Personal Skills:
Primeval Rune - EX - The knowledge about Runes that come from older eras. Those with knowledge of Primeval Runes can also make use of the classic Rune Magic. As he is the one who invented Rune Magic, Woden can go so far as to create new Runes and combine their powers for varied effects.
Divinity - A+ - Woden's divinity is naturally high, being a younger version of the Elder God Odin.
Clairvoyance - C(A+) - Though Odin's original rank in this skill is A+, it is reduced severely due to Woden being an aspect of Odin before he obtained wisdom from Mimir. He can temporarily restore his original rank with the correct runes, but it would not last long, and doing so would distort his Saint Graph, thus destabilizing his existence.
Noble Phantasm:
Gungnir Prototype: First Declaration of the Elder God - Anti-Army - A spear that, when thrown, could decimate an army. More powerful than the Gungnir wielded by Elder God Odin, but it loses all other capabilities it would otherwise have, such as "Rune Creation" and "Thaumaturgy Nullification". - B
Gungnir Prototype: Piercing Lance - Anti-Unit - A spear that allows the wielder to always strike the opponent, no matter how unskilled it's user. This manifests as though every strike were one from it's later legendary off-shoot incarnation, Gae Bolg. However, though it consumes about the same mana as Gae Bolg, this weapon only ensures that the user strikes any point of the opponent's body, not their heart directly. Even so, it is a powerful weapon that Woden uses with nearly every strike. - B+
Author's Notes:
Woden, the Lancer of Expecting Too Much From Yourself.
In the original draft, he was Yennenga - since I wanted a good balance between Male and Female Servants (and I'm one of those fans unwilling to genderbend a historical figure to achieve that). Unfortunately, once I realized how well Woden would mesh with Theseus, I had to replace Yennenga for the drama points. Luckily, this change happened pretty early on, so Yennenga didn't have much to do in the story at that point. I also was going to make the Master of Lancer be Rin, with her partner (Master of Archer) being Waver, but I ended up scrapping that at some point… don't exactly remember when. The release of the Heaven's Feel movies probably had something to do with it.
He was also going to be much more bashful and embarrassed due to his Master's flirtatious tendencies, but since she got replaced with an all-business Master, that got scrapped. I guess if he ever shows up in other things I write, I'll have to put that in - he's terrible with romance due to him simultaneously being a young man in his prime, but wanting to be an old wiseman "above such things.'' He was also supposed to be a pretty boy, to make it even funnier that he wasn't a ladies' man, but… maybe that'd make him too anime-protagonist-y? Not that many anime protagonists are THAT pretty, but I digress.
He's definitely the most powerful servant in the war with the exception of St. Michael (who's a living, breathing, cheat code anyway). If he and Berserker were to fight seriously, with no holds barred, Lancer would win, though barely.
Since he's a Counter Guardian, the idea of him showing up in other stories does seem a bit more plausible now… hmm...
Personal Info:
Name: Davy Jones
Also Known As: Saint David, The Sailor's Devil, Ghost of Jonah
Height: 199 cm
Weight: 13 kg (No Flesh)
Place of Origin: English Folklore
Likes: Drowning, Scaring People, The Sea
Dislikes: Humans
Talents: Fishing
Natural Enemy: Saint David
Class: Rider
Other Potential Classes: Caster (as Saint David), Ruler (as Saint David)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Parameters:
Str: B
End: D
Agi: B
Luck: E
Mana: D
NP: EX
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance - A - Cancel spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what High-Thaumaturgy it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a "Magus Killer".
Personal Skills:
Voyager of the Storm - E - Though he technically was a ship captain and indeed owns many vessels, he never actually was at the helm, and therefore only owns this skill as a technicality.
Golden Rule - A - Has obtained a thousand treasures from a thousand ruined vessels. Though he has no need for such riches, he can still access them.
Innocent Monster - EX - Though his original identity is that of Saint David, his inspiration of the legend of Davy Jones has completely changed his form altogether into a different Heroic Spirit while he has been summoned as a Rider. It is unknown if he even remembers his true identity.
Battle Continuation - A+ - Continues fighting so long as there is a single piece of him remaining. In Davy Jones' case, he can possess corpses with his Spiritual Core. Though these bodies are weaker than his original one, his resilience and ability to hide make him difficult to kill.
Noble Phantasms:
Ran's Sea: Corpse of the Sea Mother - Anti-Life - As an aspect of death itself, pertaining to drowning at sea, he is the second-coming of Ran, and has power of her dominion. Allows him to summon floods of water, howling winds, and can bring back any shipwreck or treasure lost to the sea over the course of time. The water is an ever-active curse, and forces the breath out of anyone who touches it, as well as saps their magical energy. - EX
Davy Jones' Locker: Possession of the Sea Devil - Anti-Death - Davy Jones' ultimate Noble Phantasm. All those that have drowned over the course of the war can be summoned up as an undead monster for Davy Jones to use. It is even effective on Heroic Spirits. As it is a Noble Phantasm that defies death in it's conventional sense, it is classified as "Anti-Death". - EX
Author's Notes:
Davy Jones, the Rider of Getting Ignored. (Alternatively the Rider of Substitutions).
Rider was the only class that changed identities more than once in the drafting process. In the original draft, it was going to be Ching Shih, but was changed to Hannibal Barca since Yennenga ended up getting changed and a lot of Ching Shih's planned scenes up to that point involved Yennenga. However, even though I drafted MOST of the story with Hannibal, I ended up changing him since 1) there wasn't really a way for me to showcase his powers the way I wanted, and 2) I realized that there were too many "rival" type characters for Berserker to face, so I changed him just a month or so before beginning writing on the story. Yes, Davy Jones was mostly an afterthought, but I had him prepared a while back and I thought he was fitting since the original servant was going to be a pirate and I needed another "bad guy" servant. (Lilith and Hannibal teaming up made less sense in my mind).
His personality is mostly one note, but he's pretty easy to write because of that. If he were to ever become aware of his existence as Saint David, he'd be much more complex but, much like Gilles de Rais, I feel like that would also kill a lot of his charm. I dunno, maybe I'll write a side-story to that effect but until then...
Power-wise, he's the most situational. Summoned into a Grail War without the ocean nearby, he's C-Tier. With the ocean, he's at least A-Tier. He didn't get to showcase a lot of his power until near the end of his tenure, where he ended up jobbing to the real big bad. He also has high Magic Resistance as a side effect. I realized that no one in the war had A-Ranked Magic Resistance at that point, so I upped his rank a notch or two. I figured it would still kind of work, what with him being a Saint AND a Demon of sorts. He ended up being very powerful. If not for True Saber, he might've ended up being the main villain.
Plus, living Skeletons are just really goddamn cool.
Personal Info:
Name: Lilith
Also Known As: Mother of Vampires, Serpent-Woman, The Betraying Wife
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 66 kg
Place of Origin: Judaism
Likes: Blood, Sex, Vengeance
Dislikes: Celibacy, "The Greater Good"
Talents: Hiding
Natural Enemy: Saint Michael the Archangel
Class: Caster
Other Potential Classes: Assassin, Berserker, Avenger, Ruler
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Parameters:
Str: C
End: C
Agi: C
Luck: D
Mana: A+
NP: E
Class Skills:
Territory Creation - EX - The creation of an "Eden" is possible.
Item Construction - D - Creation of small objects is possible.
Personal Skills:
Natural Monster - C - As she was one of the first Phantasmal Species on Earth, she would normally have this at Rank-EX, but when summoned as a Caster (her human form), this is reduced drastically. She still retains fairly high parameters for a Caster, as well as having the horns and tail typical of a Succubus, but her parameters are still not as high as they would normally be.
Blood-Sucking - A+ - As a Succubus, she drains magical energy from men, usually through their sperm, but she has it at a high enough rank to gain energy from the exchange of any of their fluids.
Shapeshift - C - Can transform various parts of her body into animal parts, and may fully transform into animals themselves. Should she do this, she can hide her Mana source from other servants, but it also reduces her Parameters for as long as she is hiding.
Witchcraft - EX - Her style of Witchcraft is heavily in the Western form, but she has good skill in Eastern forms as well.
Divinity - E- - Though she was the first woman on Earth, she has fallen from grace.
Noble Phantasms:
Eden: Lost Paradise - Barrier - A Reality Marble used by Lilith that is relatively small compared to most Reality Marbles, perhaps being 50 meters across at most. However, the world created is of Lilith's memory of the Garden of Eden, having lush plants that have the most delicious of fruit on it. The Reality Marble itself is special in that it's border is undetectable from normal reality, representing the fact that Eden is lost to humankind. It can still be sensed from other realities, however. It has no other offensive capabilities, and none of the fruit are magical in nature, so it is essentially just a space used by Lilith to hide her location and Mana. - E
Samael Descent: Army of God's Wrath - Anti-Humanity - Summons the army of one of her husbands, the Archangel Samael, consisting of two million angels tasked with slaying humanity. Samael himself can appear as a Beast-Class Servant through this ability, but the Mana required would require the sacrifice of thousands of souls per minute. However, Lilith is also capable of summoning only a few angels at a time for menial tasks or for reconnaissance, should she wish. - EX
Author's Notes:
Lilith, the Caster of "Most Writers are Male".
In the original draft, she was an Avenger-class who invaded the war alongside a Ruler-class Saint Michael, but when I decided to make it a simple seven Servant war, she was made the Caster, and the original Caster (Adolf Hitler) got turned into her Master. So she's been a part of the story since the beginning, even if her role within it has changed greatly. I didn't get to use her as much as I would've liked, but that's what happens when you decide that you're only going to have one big bad.
I originally wanted her to be a woman that was confident in her sexuality to contrast Chiaki (and also offend Sir Bors, when he was gonna be in the story), but I think I ended up making her too generic. I also wanted to avoid any misandry, since I feel like the two ways you write Lilith in modern fiction is either as a body-horror-womb-monster or a sexy-traitorous-man-hater, and I didn't want to do either. Hopefully I towed the line well, but she ended up being the one character I'm most dissatisfied with in terms of my ability to write her compellingly.
As far as Casters go, she's very physically capable, with very powerful witchcraft at her disposal. She'd be able to outdo most other Casters in magical ability alone, let alone physical capability (though there are a few Casters who have higher Parameters than her). Considering she's the origin of the "Succubus" legend, she'd be ridiculously powerful in any class that allowed her to manifest those abilities. As a Caster, she's kind of caught between her "innocent human" form (as a Ruler) and her "unstoppable monster" form (everything else). I hate that she got overshadowed by most of the other Servants. She's actually very strong!
Another eye candy servant that can't be shown off due to my lack of ability to draw… *sigh*.
Personal Info:
Name: Theseus
Also Known As: The Hero from Thebes, Minotaur Slayer, Wise King of Athens
Height: 215 cm
Weight: 181 kg
Place of Origin: Greek Mythology
Likes: Party Girls, Trying New Things, Heroes
Dislikes: Condescending People, Superiors, Himself
Talents: Wrestling, Sailing
Natural Enemy: Athena
Class: Berserker
Other Potential Classes: Saber, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Parameters:
Str: A+
End: A
Agi: B
Luck: C
Mana: B
NP: EX
Class Skills:
Mad Enhancement - (C) - Theseus's Mad Enhancement has been negated by his Ariadne's String, but is normally Ranked-C. Because it is negated, he doesn't receive any Rank-Ups.
Personal Skills:
Natural Body - A - As a semi-divine being who lifted a large boulder at a very young age, his Strength Parameter gains a plus modifier. Furthermore, even without training he's still beyond brawny. No matter how many calories he ingests, his body shape will not change.
Divinity - B - As the son of Poseidon, he gains immunity to water-related curses and a plus modifier on Agility when fighting in water.
Natural Born Genius - C - Has the ability to learn at an unprecedented rate. However, this is his natural ability to learn on his own. He has an aversion towards learning from other people.
Eye of the Mind (True) - B - Over the course of his life, Theseus encountered a multitude of enemies. As such, he has garnered the Rank of B in this skill, though this could be higher in his "King" form.
Noble Phantasms:
God Hand: Six Labours - Anti-Unit (Self) - Theseus can multiply himself into six copies of himself, replicating the six labours he completed in life. Each one is truly him and is capable of performing God Hand, though the number of Theseus' in the world cannot go above six. Due to the fact that there is only one Ariadne Thread, all other Theseus' will have access to their Mad Enhancement, and therefore have the related Rank-Ups gained from the skill. Mana increase for the Master increases as if they were the Master of 6 individual Servants, so it is something that cannot be used lightly. - EX
Ariadne Thread: Guiding Love - Anti-Unit (Self) - A golden string wrapped around Theseus' arm that prevents any mental interference or alteration as long as Theseus wears it. Given to Theseus by Ariadne, who wished to aid him in defeating the Minotaur. Since the Minotaur was hidden away in an enchanted Labyrinth that would assault the mind of anyone who entered, Theseus would not only need a way back, accounting for the Thread's incredible length, but he would also need something to defend himself from the barrage of magical mental interference. It has very low Mana cost, and could easily be upkept by an average Magus by today's standards without any need for assistance from the Holy Grail or the servant from which it originates. - D
Author's Notes:
Theseus, the Berserker of Fallen Heroes… that's not actually a bad name… I need to think of a dumber one, hold on…
Theseus, alongside Archer and Assassin, was pretty much the same from the original drafts from then to now. He originally wasn't the Main Character's servant, but since I had put so much effort into his backstory and personality, I decided the story would be more interesting from his and his Master's perspective. He was originally going to be fodder for Sir Bors to show his power against, as Sir Bors' Noble Phantasm was a direct counter to Theseus' God Hand. Glad that ended up changing.
His personality really kind of got away from me. Theseus had always been a Greek legend I had been fascinated with, so it only seemed natural to make a servant with him… and then I found out that he was kind of an asshole (like most other Greek Heroes, admittedly, but I was still pretty new to researching mythologies at the time). I wanted to make him sympathetic, so I skewed the ideas from his legend away from the traditional ideas of being a Hero in Greece, and more towards a deconstruction of those ideas, with him wanting to be more of an all-loving hero, but getting broken along the way and succumbing to the will of the Gods instead. Now that I say it like that, he's a bit similar to EMIYA, no? Of course, EMIYA was never so perverted, which was merely a decision on my part because I noticed that the Greek servants tended to act less perverted than the culture would have you stereotypically believe. Then Orion came out in Grand Order and made me look dumb. I tried to cross him over into "Chivalrous Pervert" because I still wanted him to be heroic in the traditional sense.
I imagine that if you were to make a "Top 10 Most Powerful Greek Servants" list, he would rank somewhere in the 5-7 region. Not as powerful as Heracles, Achilles, Medusa, or Orion, but not quite as weak as Perseus, Aias, or Cadmus. He's about on par with Chiron and Odysseus. That said, I took a lot of notes from Heracles when I first made him, but I made him more of his own man after a while (much like how Theseus' actual legends were forged as knock-offs of Heracles'). Since Berserker-class Theseus takes more from the "hero that completed six labours", he doesn't have the sword that he used to kill the Minotaur with, but I imagine that his Saber form would be the most powerful due to that legend. Not like I have any motivation to actually make his other forms.
The Berserker of B+-Tier? The Berserker of Almost the Most Powerful? The Berserker of Being Intelligent? Come to think of it, I also wanted a Berserker that was just plain crazy, since Grand Order tended to make Berserkers intelligent to some degree, so we didn't get much of the "Heracles", "Lancelot", and "Lu Bu" style Berserker anymore. I wanted to change that, but must've forgotten somewhere along the line. Oops.
Personal Info:
Name: Guy of Gisbourne
Also Known As: Robin Hood, The Horsehide Mercenary
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Place of Origin: English Folklore
Likes: Nothing
Dislikes: Robin Hood
Talents: Acting, Identifying Weaknesses
Natural Enemy: Robin Hood
Class: Assassin
Other Potential Classes: (Each Class is a different person who has taken the name Robin Hood. Guy of Gisbourne can only ever be summoned as Assassin-class Robin Hood) Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Berserker
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Parameters:
Str: D
End: D
Agi: B
Luck: A+
Mana: C
NP: C
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment - D - Suitable for spying.
Personal Skills:
Protection from Arrows - A - Years of studying an opponent's weapon and trajectory of said weaponry has led to him being a master of dodging projectiles. Even if the projectile is assisted by magecraft or something similar, he can easily dodge out of the way. This skill doesn't assist him in dodging against weapons with a long reach or attacks that have a widespread area of effect, like an explosion.
True Name Discernment - E - An enemy's Noble Phantasm's True Name is revealed as soon as the user of this skill observes it. Obtained due to the fact that he identified Robin of Loxley based off his skill with a bow, and not his appearance (as Robin Hood was disguised at the time).
Noble Phantasms:
Anonymous Sherwood: A Silent Killing in Sherwood Forest - Anti-Unit - An accidental Noble Phantasm, given to him because his corpse was passed off as "Robin Hood's", resulting in him becoming a pseudo-"Robin Hood" in death. Allows him to use modified versions of Robin Hood's Noble Phantasms, "Yew Bow", "No Face May King", and "Sword of the Merry Men". However, since he did not actually have the knowledge that the Robin Hoods who wielded these weapons in life had, he cannot activate their true effects, and has to rely on their passive effects, such as the poison of "Yew Bow" and the invisibility of "No Face May King". - D
Capull-Hyde: Horsehide - Anti-Unit (Self) - The only Noble Phantasm that can be said to belong to "Guy of Gisbourne". It was a piece of protective clothing that made him identifiable from a distance. A worn horsehide that deflects melee attacks ranked C or below. - C
Author's Notes:
Guy of Gisbourne, the Assassin of Being an Asshole.
The third and last servant who has remained unchanged from the original draft, this was actually one of the first Servants I made ever. He is, in a way, responsible for me writing this story in the first place. I wanted an Assassin that wasn't a "battle assassin" like Sasaki Kojiro or Li Shuwen, and I wanted to do an Assassin-class Robin Hood (this was before I knew EXTRA existed). I switched focus to Guy of Gisborne since Robin Hood had already pretty much been done, and when I read the part about Robin Hood cutting off Guy's head and passing it off as his own, the idea for Guy of Gisbourne technically being a "Robin Hood" came into my head. As far as servant concepts go, he's probably my favorite.
Which is why it's so unfortunate that he's an unlikable bastard. I remember making most other villains likable or sympathetic to some degree, so I decided to go full-blown nuclear on Assassin, making him as unsympathetic as possible. He would still have character motivations that from his perspective made his actions justified. But that's the funny thing about justifications - if the audience (or the author) doesn't buy them, it ends up as an excuse rather than a reason. His assholishness comes from a different place than Rider's does, so I think I'm allowed to like Rider's personality more than Assassin's (see, that's MY excuse).
I've always preferred servants that have a simple skillset, so being able to give him a relatively unique and simplified skillset really makes me like him more… but his skills, the more I think about it, don't really gel well with each other or his NP, so he ends up being on the weaker end of Assassins. It wasn't on purpose, but I think it makes sense.
One final note, if you like Assassin, that's cool, I'm not saying you can't like him. I'm just saying that I'm disappointed that this cool servant concept and design could have gone to a cooler dude.
Personal Info:
Name: Saint Michael the Archangel
Also Known As: Defender of Judaism, Binder of the Devil, The One Who is Like God
Height: 195 cm
Weight: 105 kg
Place of Origin: Judeo-Christianity
Likes: Humanity, Sappy Love Stories
Dislikes: People Who Forsake Themselves
Talents: None
Natural Enemy: None
Class: Saber
Other Potential Classes: Grand Saber, Ruler
Alignment: Lawful Good
Parameters:
Str: A+
End: A+
Agi: A+
Luck: A
Mana: A
NP: A~EX
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance - EX - In addition to the Magic Resistance of the Saber Class, Michael demonstrates high Magic Resistance due to his status as an Archangel.
Personal Skills:
Attendant of Iron - A - As he protects all soldiers who pray to him, all the Master's Attributes are "Ranked-Up" to the point that the Master can be seen as a weaker Heroic Spirit of their own.
Mana Burst (Light) - B - Michael's Mana Burst takes the form of Angel Wings on his back, and allows him to fly, as well as strengthen his blows when he needs to.
Saint - A+ - As the only Archangel that is also a Saint, he can produce a multitude of Holy Shrouds with varied effects, but he mostly uses them for defensive tactics.
Charisma - B+ - Michael not only rules over his own realm in Heaven, but commands God's army of angelic warriors. His voice is a source of comfort, fear, and inspiration to many humans.
Protection of the Faith - A++ - Michael's strength comes not only from his own natural abilities, but from his faith in God. At this Rank, he can "empty" himself to become a vessel for the Lord's will. While intervention like that can't happen in a Grail War, the effect of emptying his mind allows him to fight freely, almost like Instinct or Eye of the Mind (False) would.
Noble Phantasms:
Zevul: Sword of the Glorious Paradise - Anti-Army/Anti-World/? - Michael's sword, which embodies his rule over the Fourth Heaven. It has three seals in the form of scabbards on it. With all three seals, it is simply a standard A Rank Noble Phantasm with no special attributes. Once the first seal is removed, it grows to the level of an A++ Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, capable of firing blasts that destroy entire armies, which he used to defeat a pagan army assaulting Jerusalem. After the second scabbard is removed, it exponentially grows in power to an EX Anti-World Noble Phantasm. The final scabbard, which Michael loses access to when he isn't summoned as Grand Saber, contains a Noble Phantasm that, were it ever released, would trigger a total World Line Collapse, potentially causing a chain reaction that destroys multiple parallel timelines. The final seal is Michael's promise to destroy Earth and Hell and cast them into the Abyss at the End of Time. - A~EX
Samael's Belt: Right Hand of God - Anti-Divine/Anti-Demonic - A golden belt given to Michael by God when Samael fell from heaven. It shows his authority as the highest being besides God, and grants him immunity to both Holy and Demonic weapons and attacks. - A
?: Chains of Heaven - Anti-Divine - A chain wielded by Michael during his battle with Samael in Shehaquim, with which he used to bind him and cast him into Hell, where Samael became Lucifer. It is unknown how, but it apparently fell from Heaven some time after the Garden of Eden was returned to Heaven, allowing a well-known Babylonian King to acquire it and use it. - Unknown Rank
Author's Notes:
Saint Michael the Archangel, the Saber of HAX.
If you ever wanted to make just the most overpowered Servant you could think of, you can understand where I came from when I made this guy. I was raised Catholic, so Saint Michael is the closest thing to a "mythological badass" I was allowed to appreciate growing up (actually Saint George, too). He was originally a Ruler that would invade the war alongside an Avenger-class Lilith and a Beast-class of some kind, but I scrapped those when more details about the Beasts actually started coming out. I changed him to Saber and nerfed him a fair bit since he was too cool to really let go. He became a Gilgamesh-like enemy in that regard.
He was a blank slate personality-wise for a lot of the development process since I was unsure of how I was supposed to address Christian mythology from within the Fate franchise, specifically when it came to Angels. I eventually decided to just do my own thing, and made him very disconnected with humanity, even though he protected them - as an excuse for why he didn't just outright murder his own Master for his obvious sinfullness. He ended up being a very good Final Boss for Theseus and that whole plotline, but it was purely coincidental, at least at first. I added in the "Stranger" bits since I thought his arrival in Chapter 18 would've been too sudden without proper build-up, and they allowed me to really try and accentuate his purpose of "trying to understand humanity while still carrying out your true purpose". I have an idea for a side story about where he got that mindset, but we'll see if it sees the light of day.
Do I need to talk about how powerful he is? You read the sheet (probably). He's unashamedly OP, plain and simple. End of story.
Okay, not quite end of story. Like I said earlier, he actually got nerfed a bit since I realized that he was too powerful for the heroes to realistically overcome. His belt granted him actual Authority, which would allow for minor reality warping, Zevul's final form was unlocked even when he wasn't a Grand Saber, and he had a fourth NP called Keys to the Abyss, which allowed him to open a portal to hell that would swallow up enemies in a similar vein to Gate of Skye, killing them instantly but with a lot more hellfire. Needless to say, I think it was necessary to nerf him.
Now, end of story.
Personal Info:
Name: Adolf Hitler
Also Known As: The Fuhrer of the Third Reich, Master of Caster
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Place of Origin: European History
Likes: Perfection, Art
Dislikes: Imperfection, Religion
Talents: Shouting, Strategy
Natural Enemy: Saint Michael the Archangel
Class: Caster
Other Potential Classes: Lancer, Rider, Berserker
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Parameters:
Str: E
End: E
Agi: E
Luck: A++
Mana: A
NP: -
Class Skills:
Territory Creation - B - Creation of a "Workshop" becomes possible.
Item Construction - E+++ - Hitler can instantaneously call to his hands any form of weapon used in World War II. It calls to mind a form of Projection Magecraft, but is much more instantaneous and is something more like a reflex.
Personal Skills:
Charisma - A+ - When Hitler died, many of his subordinates reported that without his charismatic presence, it was as if a spell had been lifted from them. This skill is a result of being able to sell so many supposedly rational people on the concept of genocide.
Blitzkrieg - Military Tactics - EX - A special form of Military Tactics, derived from his Military ability also known as "Blitzkrieg". It grants bonuses to ally Parameters (mostly Agility and Strength), but can enhance all Parameters at a high enough Rank. At EX rank, it grants a double Rank-Up to Strength, Endurance, and Agility. These bonuses cannot last longer than 30 minutes, so the effect drops off after that.
Eye for Art - B - If a servant is depicted in art, there is a good chance that Hitler will be able to discover their True Name.
Witchcraft - C - It became generally accepted for National Socialists to dip into the occult in order to obtain higher power. For Hitler, his power is somewhat average.
Mental Pollution - D - His mind is indeed twisted, but it is not at a very high rank. His evil is a result of a "misconception in logic somewhere" as opposed to "being born with a heart of evil". As a result, this skill is hidden behind his natural Charisma quite easily.
Noble Phantasms:
Holocaust: Burning Offering - Anti-Army - A Noble Phantasm that is the epitome of his "burning offering" of the Jewish race. The word Holocaust itself was only a term used to identify sacrifices to God, and in his own way, his actions during WW2 were just that, only his own ideologies took the place of "God". Rather than this being a replication of the events themselves, it is a replication of the ideology behind the statement "those slaughtered were sacrifices". In a Holy Grail War, any Heroic Spirits or Masters with unclaimed Command Seals who die are converted to Mana and a portion is transferred to Hitler (with the majority being sent to the Grail itself). He can effectively take approximately 50% of the Mana usually reserved for the Holy Grail. - A
Author's Notes:
Adolf Hitler, the Caster of What a Tweest.
In every Author's life, they will have to ask themselves the age-old question: "Should I put Nazis in my story?" I found my answer. "Why the hell not?" He was originally the Caster-class servant of this war, with his Master being Darnic Prestone, but then the thingie led to the thingie and he ended up being the Master of the Caster of this war. I think it's for the best since he's a pretty weak Caster, all things considered, so he's a much more viable threat when he's the Master of another Servant. I also had to ask myself if it was worth keeping his identity a secret, and decided it was simply because I thought no one would expect me to actually use Adolf Hitler as a servant. It's Adolf Hitler.
The second question I had to ask myself after answering the one above was "How accurately do you want to portray one of the most monstrous human beings in history?" I still have yet to answer that. Sure, the stereotyped Hitler would've been fun to do, but I think it's more interesting if I wrote him as a Nietzsche fanboy (I haven't actually read a lot of Nietzsche, either). I figured the less time I spend agonizing over writing Hitler, the less time I'd have to spend trying to explain myself as to why I decided to put Hitler in my story.
What does it say about me when I have the Zoroastrian Antichrist, an aspect of Death itself, and motherfucking Hitler in my story, but Diarmuid's bastard child is still the main villain?