#npc: bahamut

[wrathoftiamat]

JUPITER TRANSCRIPTS – SESSION ONE

PRE PERFORMANCE

Caprice corners Jupiter backstage before the big performance.

CAPRICE: I need you to put on an act tonight. JUPITER: You need me to put on an act every night. CAPRICE: A better act tonight. JUPITER: Typically when you want a performer to put on a better act you ask them earlier than 20 minutes before the show when they're still sewing their fucking costume. CAPRICE, glaring: That's too bad; you have to get it together. JUPITER: I'll get it together then.

Caprice leaves, Jupiter flips him off as he goes, which Foxglove sees.

FOXGLOVE: Put them down. JUPITER: They're already down, I have to finish sewing. FOXGLOVE: They're putting you after the displacer beast act. JUPITER: Fine. [BEAT] Why is this such a big fucking deal? FOXGLOVE: Word has it we're meeting some of Caprice's happy group, someone that's important.

She gives Jupiter an awkward shoulder pat and leaves.

POST PERFORMANCE

After the show and Jupiter's excellent performance, Caprice returns to him enraged.

CAPRICE: You UPSTAGED my acts. JUPITER: Okay, do you remember when you came in here asking me to be better than normal? CAPRICE: Better than normal does not mean making me look bad. JUPITER: How did I make you look bad when your special guest was delighted to see me? CAPRICE: They remember you. JUPITER: It's a carnival. You can't erase everyone's memories with overpriced candy.

Caprice's temper continues to flare until Foxglove cuts in.

FOXGLOVE: Are you going to get mad at him for doing too good of a job? CAPRICE: We'll talk about this later.

OUTSIDE CONVO

Jupiter is attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation of a group of mostly fey after the carnival. The Faerie Dragon notices him.

DASHA: Oh you're the… you. JUPITER: The acrobatist, yes. My apologies, I was just passing by. I didn't mean to stop. DASHA: Not at all, it's good to have an inquisitive mind. Come closer.

Jupiter steps closer.

DASHA: Where did someone like you learn tricks like that? JUPITER: Years of practice. DASHA: Surely not from your ringmaster who is a clown. JUPITER: No, he has other talents. I learned from others in the trade and I was also just a naturally bendy child. DASHA, enthralled: Really, you're not formally trained? JUPITER: No, I do my own routines and sew my own costumes. DASHA: That's fascinating, I commend you for picking up that kind of still. JUPITER: I have been at this for a very long time. DASHA: You can call me Dasha. JUPITER, BOWING: Enivyre. DASHA: Interesting. Enivyre. you have done so much with your name and you have entertained me so greatly for the night. Can I have your name? It wouldn't be for nothing. JUPITER: If I gave you my name, what would I use? DASHA: You'd figure something out. JUPITER: May I ask what you would do with it? DASHA: I haven't decided yet, I just like it. JUPITER: Why not. I'm not doing much with it, you can have it. DASHA: Thank you. In return, for also just a beautiful night, you're going to meet someone very soon. Somebody, well, she's going to change your life. Hold on just a little bit longer and take some time picking a new name. JUPITER: How will I know that I've found this person? DASHA: Oh she will hit you like a bolt of lightning. [BEAT]. Also, just in the future, just for reference, someone by the name of Silvergleam will be very important to you one day. JUPITER: But that's not the woman I'm going to meet. DASHA: Oh no, this is someone else. JUPITER: Okay, I will do my best to remember all of this. DASHA: Your best is very good. JUPITER: A lot of practice.

Dasha passes Jupiter a small parcel.

JUPITER: Oh, we're not allowed to accept tips. DASHA, with a wink: Oh, it's fine, I'm just leaving that on the ground. BAHAMUT: I gave that to you. JUPITER: Do you want this back? BAHAMUT: It's not mine anymore, you can have this.

When Jupiter looks up, the fey are gone.

JUPITER: Do they do this a lot to you? BAHAMUT: They do this quite a bit. JUPITER: Forgive me for speaking so casually to an honored guest– BAHAMUT: Oh, I'm not from the feywild. JUPITER: You should tell those guys off sometime for leaving you next to me and my pile of garbage. BAHAMUT: That's just how they are. JUPITER: Great. Do you know Silvergleam? BAHAMUT: I have no idea. JUPITER: Well, it was nice to meet you and I hope you enjoyed the show. BAHAMUT: I had a lovely time, I hope you have a good night.

Bahamut awkwardly walks into the woods to avoid betraying his station.

MEETING WITH RIAN

Jupiter is meeting with his boss, Rian Nightshade. She has instructed him to find Jenna Silvergleam.

RIAN: She uses her real name because she's very hard to find. She should be around Greenrest and if she's not, you have full permission to wring her tiny little neck. She has information she's promised me. Information about "those guys." JUPITER: Oh, that's happening now? Are you sure I can't put in my time off for now. [BEAT]. Alright, I'll do your grunt work then. RIAN: Thanks! I appreciate it! JUPITER: You better give me an extra week of pto. I'm saving up for property. I'm going to become a property owner in Waterdeep of all places. RIAN: Why. JUPITER: Because you keep complaining that my cabin in the woods is too hard to find when you need me for things. If you pay me enough, I'll find an apartment in Waterdeep. I'll just use it as a storage unit. RIAN: Then it won't be a house then, will it. JUPITER: I'll be there sometimes. RIAN: Go to Greenrest. JUPITER: I guess. RIAN: Stop complaining about your job I've graciously hired you into. JUPITER: No, it's my legal right as an employee. RIAN: Next you'll be talking about a union or something.

[clockspur]

Whisper, Summoning Expert of Quadratum

[impossible-rat-babies]

the deceased gobbue in eastern thanalan my beloved ;--; like:

"Local legend claims the Lonely Giant is everything from the ghost of a Sil'dihn sultan, to the prototype for a new model of Garlean machina. Ul'dahn scholars, however, simply believe him a Coerthan goobbue who lost his bearings during the chaos of the Calamity, and after a long journey through the Black Shroud, died of exhaustion upon reaching Thanalan."

[ophierian-vp]

[manueltorresart]

During the Kraghammer adventure we finally met the "lovely" Kima of Vord, that halflong paladin. Another NPC from @critical_role voiced by @matthewmercervo and @stephaniebeatriz in the animated series. #criticalrole #criticalroleart #criticalrolefanart #critters #voxmachina #voxmachinaart #voxmachinafanart #thelegendofvoxmachina #kima #kimaofvord #ladykima #paladin #halfling #bahamut #paladinofbahamut #dnd #dnd5e #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #npc #animation #primevideo #fanart #art #artistoninstagram #digitalart #digitaldrawing #wacom #clipstudiopaint #manueltorres https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpk8Ay5KV8i/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[moonlightpaladin]

Did the Coils yesterday with my friends @g-r-i-m-a and @grimmjowjaegerjaquez :) Took a lot of pictures of Baha Blast. I mean Bahamut

[thenerdyplaybook]

As the team returns to Kilaed, a home they once had to leave due to a Devil attack, they encounter the Devil Cetia, Queen of Death. Check out our new D&D episode live tonight (Wednesday, July 17) at 6:30 CDT Twitch.tv/thenerdyplaybook You can also watch us live at YouTube and Kick

[utilitycaster]

Wizard Breakdown Tracker: Echoes of the Solstice

You know it, you love it, it may return on an as-needed basis for Campaign 3 now that Allura has entered the narrative and we know the fate of Caleb, but no promises: it's the Wizard Breakdown Tracker! As a reminder, I now include PCs because I make the rules; wizard NPCs are included on the very scientific basis of "do I have something I think is kind of funny or meaningful to say" so as always, if I left someone off, it was on purpose specifically to annoy you.

Astrid Becke: well her boss is missing, Caleb has expressed concerns in private to Beau about all of the Assembly, apparently the king is bedridden and has been for some time, and I suspect news of unsealed things being unsealed gets to her quickly; even if she isn't aware of the events in Blumenthal yet, she's about to be. Also, it's the apogee solstice. 8/10; ever the opportunist, it is a good time for her to try to become head of the Assembly, but also shit's gone real sideways.

Eadwulf Grieve: lost his title of hottest mage (men's division) to one Fjord Stone during the last Nicodranas County Fair and has been sulking ever since but more importantly the temple of the Raven Queen is doing Not Great Bob as of like an hour ago so a rare Eadwulf stress moment. 7/10.

Planerider Ryn: just lost her arm...but is unaware of it, so that's probably helping. technically cannot be calculated because she is a rock but spiritually like an 8/10 and that's only because she is remarkably unflappable; she just witnessed the Malleus Key and that should drive anyone up to a 10.

Allura Vysoren: has absolutely sensed a disturbance in the force weave and I'm sure Kima's feeling some bad vibes from Bahamut right now, but rather like Ryn she actually has some degree of sangfroid, a concept unheard of in the entire continent of Wildemount. 6/10.

Yussa Errenis: have you ever dealt with like, an ER Nurse, and unless something is actually exploding or someone is actually bleeding out they're like "yeah it be like that sometimes"? After you've been sucked into the Cognouza Hivemind while trying to do your silly little arcane investigations nothing short of the Calamity will ruffle you. He's an elf; he knows this solstice is wonky but also he knows this is Someone Else's Problem. Also Jester's left him alone for a whole 24 hours? Incredible. 2/10 and that's really just because he's still a little cranky about the disappearance of his blast scepter. As always: never change, king.

Prism Grimpoppy: by my calculations she's discovering that she's actually fucking incredible in combat right now. 0/10, she's doing GREAT.

Pumat Sol and sure, fuck it, Oremid Hass: I suspect the Zadash Wizard Contingent is dealing with some wild unsealed shit from the time of the Julous Dominion and they can't get in touch with anyone in the capital, but it's probably manageable. 4/10. On edge but not too bad.

Ludinus Da'leth: oh did your little plan to unleash the god-eater go a touch sideways? were you unprepared for the possibility of fucking all of magic? did you think it was going to be easy? did level 9 "Fuck Up Airship" and level 8 "Shield Against Werewolf" fail to save your bitch ass? As we've seen, he'll scramble and recover, unfortunately, but it's a well-deserved 9/10 right now. I love to see a plan fall apart.

Trent Ikithon: OH this motherfucker has LOST IT in prison. Like...he was able to put together a pretty elaborate situation, to be clear, but also he's gone bugfuck nuts and does not really improve. I think he's already broken down from the start having clearly been planning this exact scenario from the moment of his imprisonment honestly given that he appears to be going off of the frissons he picked up from Caleb and Essek shortly before he was captured, but regardless: he definitely ends it at a 10/10. Stuck in an egg for eternity, if he's even still a separate entity from Omentis. A well-deserved fate if ever there was one. Get fucked lol.

Veth Brenatto: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha 10/10 you know she watched Luc leap through the teleportation circle as it closed and has been shrieking loud enough to be heard at the Chateau.

Luc Brenatto: the arrogance and naivete of youth insulate him initially, but Aggy's demise probably spikes it to a solid 6 minimum and it's definitely 9 during the battle. It goes back down pretty quickly though; see Caleb's entry.

Caleb Widogast: he keeps it together pretty well, honestly! Still I have to imagine he's kind of at a 7 or so this entire time with occasional spikes to 9 (NEIN) throughout, and I wouldn't fault him for finishing up the Blumenthal Brunch and then quietly locking himself in a soundproof tower room to scream, cry, and throw up for a while. Indeed, I would encourage it; Caleb should go have a good cry and hug a magic cat for a couple hours until he feels better, and then come back down to find that everyone except the clerics but DEFINITELY including Luc has implemented Spontaneous Apogee Solstice Oktoberfest to celebrate the demise of Trent, the engagement of Fjord and Jester, and the general experience of being alive, and is varying degrees of extremely wasted. This will of course bring him back up to like 7 as he realizes he has to return a hungover teenager to Veth and then goes down to a 4 or so when he realizes the clerics can fix that and Veth will probably be so glad that Luc is alive she'll ignore the rest of it.

Essek Thelyss: Our international drow of mystery looms large in the narrative, but does not make an appearance, which makes this premise extremely funny. I assume he's feeling kind of rough given that the Dynasty wizards are well-attuned to leylines and I would imagine he picks up that Sending isn't working and was broadly aware Caleb was going into danger, so he's certainly stressed, but Trent doesn't actually seem to know Where in Exandria is Essek Thelyss and is merely threatening blackmail. Honestly while we're at it, we don't know where Essek is because I wouldn't put it past Mr. Geometer Owner to have been at a solstice nexus and to have possibly experienced his own Solstice Shunting. In fact I assume Essek is blissfully unaware of these specific goings on re: Trent and is just experiencing The Anxiety for all of the previous reasons. (1d6+3)/10.

Known Gem Wizard Hotsauce Lutefisk: Hmmm. Things becoming unsealed, you say? The uninvited guest list (The Real Gelidon, Isharnai) for The TusktoothStone-Lavorre wedding may have gained an extra entry.

[magician-hero]

the tidesinger and bahamut

my kyogre gijinka npc for my server and a fish...

[plounce]

made this chart because i think the role/class assignments are such fun pieces of characterization for story NPCs! information pulled from here.

footnotes under the cut:

many NPCs have fancy titles instead of job names - for example, ysayle is referred to as "oracle of ice", and pre-edw alphinaud is an "academician". the jobs i marked them as are pulled from the icons of their classes + the movesets they use.

i didn't include the nameless fill-in NPCs like "temple chirurgeon" or "scion lancer". i am aware that the ARR duty support npcs have dialogue and mini-arcs, but that isn't relevant to my interest in making this chart. and sorry to j'moldva and any fans she has, but she also does not meet the threshold of character significance to be included in the chart.

thancred, urianger, and alphinaud can only dps in specific duty support instances: thancred in the antitower (if he tanks, this is the only time he can GLD - without a shield equipped! uh oh), alphinaud during hvw & stb, and urianger in the mothercrystal (if the player heals, alphinaud is your other healer). y'shtola will only heal in the burn and edw patch dungeons (funny, since her introductory epithet is "cultured conjurer"). all of these can only be used in duty support and not in trust, so they are on the cusps of their overlaps, not properly in them, as i feel this more accurately reflects their actual roles.

alphinaud functions as a scholar with his special massive carby. urianger also pulls out an even bigger carby to somehow be a summoner ("lithomancer") who can use bahamut and phoenix, but not the other three egis! due to his involvement in the bahamut coils raids?

there are no pure healers, outside of the fill-in NPCs!

DPS is a girl job, tanking is a boy job, and healer is equality. ysayle and venat are the only women who can tank, and both use a sword & shield, which makes me want to eat drywall, also i'm also kissing them both on the mouth.

apparently samurais can tank (🔄Third Eye🔄) and apparently gladiators are DPS.

g'raha is notable outside of being an all-rounder in that all of his jobs are, well, jobs. the majority of characters use class icons, while he gets to be full-fledged versions of all of these things. something something soul crystals / the crystal tower / the exarch / etc etc. frankly i'm a little fuzzy on soul crystal lore. i just think this is an interesting distinction.

if you're interested in this kind of stuff, @trustinsighters is a great resource for character dialogue, actions, and many more interesting details in the characters' programming in duty support and trust dungeons! they have great infographics and videos, including localization differences. one of my favorite accounts. their twitter has charts for every trust dungeon from shb onwards, and high-res versions are available on their kofi!

now look at my wol's adorable starlight RDM fit. isn't she so cute. she's my angel. i think about her lore and i weep. her heart is so Good. tomte peregrin on maduin ♥

that is all.

[ainyan]

FFXIV Write - Day 2: Horizon

Thancred leaned against the forward railing of The Seventh Dawn, his body lightly pressed against Kal’istae’s back. She, too, clung to the railing, her feet planted on the bottom rail while she held on to the top. The ship’s rail, built to provide safety for Elezen and Roegadyn sailors, was almost too high for the Hyuran Captain to lean on comfortably, much less the fulm-shorter Au Ra. So he held her in place, keeping her steady so she could gaze out towards the west and the lowering sun.

For safety, of course.

If Kal’istae took any exception to his precaution, she did not show it; her face was lifted into the breeze created by their slow passage westward, midnight strands flitting about her face and horns as she inhaled deeply of the salty sea air. “What did you want to show me?” she asked curiously as she scanned the horizon but saw nothing but the wavering surface of the sea and the reddening disk sinking below it.

“Patience,” he murmured, trying to ignore the way the hints of lavender and starflower that scented the breeze made his pulse quicken. 

Her laugh was soft and low and mingled with the crash of the water against the bow of the ship. “Have you not figured out yet, Captain Waters, that patience is not my strong suit?” But she did not push the matter further, content to gaze out over the water and enjoy the warmth of him against her spine.

It was a start.

“Watch,” he whispered against her horn as the last of the sun sank below the horizon. Against her back, he tensed, and she could feel his arms tighten about her, fingers gripping the railing in anticipation. In response, she clung to the damp wood and stared intently at that single point of red before it winked out.

One heartbeat.

Two.

A dull flash of emerald green erupted from the point where the sun had disappeared, briefly illuminating the sky. In the center of that burst of light stood the outline of a great ship, hulking and monstrous and lit from within by that same ghostly foxfire. Kal’istae gasped and jerked backwards into Thancred’s chest, and his arm slid around her waist, holding her close as they watched the spectacle.

It hung in the air for a handful of heartbeats, then the green faded, stealing with it the silhouette of the ship, and all that was left behind was the deepening twilight, the first of the stars, and the afterimage burning in their eyes.

“Was that the Agrius?” she asked, her voice soft and reverent.

“Aye,” Thancred murmured, not loosening his hold on her; instead, he filled his lungs with the scents of her lavender and starflowers and told himself it was only to settle a stomach made raw by the sight of that accursed ship. “Which ship it is depends on where you are, but here in the straits between Limsa and Ul’dah, it’s usually one of those lost during the Battle of Bahamut. Though this is the first time I’ve seen the Agrius.”

She was silent for a long moment. Then, “Thank you,” she said softly. “Whatever ship it was notwithstanding, that was an amazing thing to witness.”

He was silent for an equally long moment. “You’re welcome.” Suddenly self-conscious, he stepped back, reaching out to help her down before shoving his hands into the pockets of his loose breeches. “I should go make sure we’re still on course,” he said suddenly.

She gazed up at him. “Where are we going?”

His gaze trailed past her, towards the ocean beyond. “Ultimately, Limsa Lominsa. I hope to pick up the trail of the Garleans there. But first? I’ve a stop to make.”

“Where?” she repeated.

His single eye remained cast out to sea. “I’ve business to see to in Horizon.”

FFXIV Write 2024 (Daily Prompt List)

Day 2 - Horizon

OC: Kal'istae Miurani

NPC: Thancred Waters

AU: The Scions of the Seventh Sea

[missiodei]

[FFXIV] YCH CHIBI COMMISSIONS

Hello I'm offering YCH chibis for FFXIV characters. These start at $45 USD for lined flat colors, and $60 USD for lined rendered chibis.

Note:

You MAY ALSO order these for ocs and characters not related to FFXIV. You will still need to specify which posing you would like, and provide references of your character and their weapon(s).

Please click below to learn more.

ALL PAYMENTS ARE IN USD.

If interested or if you have questions please contact me via Tumblr dms, my email @ missiodeicomms@gmail.com or discord if you have me added. You may also put in a request via Vgen, which will help me to get verified there.

Payment will be processed via Vgen if you place an order there. For all else, Paypal will be used.

Includes

A chibi of your character and their weapon of choice, lined and with flat colors. (Starting at $45.)

OR

A chibi of your character and their weapon of choice, lined and rendered. (Starting at $60.)

Details

You will receive the full-sized .png with a transparent background.

Slight modifications/alterations to the base pose may occur if the weapon would obscure too much of the body or face.

BLM includes the thunderball shown in the sample image free of charge.

Add-ons

More complex designs may incur additional fees.

Additional effects (flames, sparks, flowers etc.) will incur additional fees.

Vanilla Carbuncle/Egi/Fairy summons for SMN/SCH are an additional $5.

Bahamut/Phoenix summons, as well as modded summons (ie. Nald'Thal, Hades, etc.) will be counted as a second character and charged/calculated as such (ie. Bahamut/Phoenix will be $45 or $60. Hades/Nald'Thal summons will be the base of $45 or $60, plus extra for how complex they are.)

Vanilla MCH Automaton Queen will be treated and charged as an additional character.

Vanilla RPR avatar is an additional $5. Any modded avatars, depending on how complex, may incur additional fees or be charged as an additional character.

Fray or any modded Living Shadow will be charged and treated as an additional character for DRK.

I could mix and match poses (ie draw a caster with the drg/sam pose), though this may incur additional fees if it requires me to redraw much of the base.

Important

All transactions/Communication are via PayPal/Tumblr DMs/Email/Vgen.

I will draw all FFXIV races.

I will draw NPCs.

I will draw modded characters.

I don't mind topless characters including those with breasts, but I will not draw genitals. The vanilla look for the Emperor's New Breeches is what I will draw for bottoms if you want them near-nude.

I will not draw sexual content.

Please view my ToS here.

[ramyeonguksu]

For the NPC ask game: Alphinaud!

Wrote a little ficlet from Alphinaud's POV for Post-ARR/Heavensward! Read under cut!

Note: Rifra will be referred to as Seren (her alias from ARR-SHB) for this fic.

The freezing cold of Coerthas wasn't something Alphinaud was accustomed to, and having to essentially be forced to trek through the ilms of snow made the little elezen shiver in his boots. It was all bleak; everything that he had strived for with the Crystal Braves was taken away from him, a mutiny against him planned right under his nose. He was humbled, to say the least, and for once he because acutely aware of his childish naivete that came with his young age. Which each step he thought of the Scions that placed their trust in him, that was starting to become a new family for him, left behind at the mercy of his own army and the Brass Blades.

At least the Warrior of Light Seren and Tataru were with him, and Lord Haurchefant's bottomless generosity was able to grant them refuge in the reclusive nation of Ishgard, yet what was he supposed to do at this point? Even if he wanted to clear their names at Ul'dah. what could he even do to achieve that? Being the top of the Studium students wasn't going to cut it anymore, and he no longer had his twin sister Alisaie with him.

Just where was she anyway? She had helped them, sending Brennan the peddler with a chocobo carriage to take them away from Ul'dah, but where was Alphinaud's other half when he needed her the most?

The elezen tripped as his mind wandered, landing face first into the stone floor. Hearing him fall, Seren immediately rushed to his side.

"Are you alright there?" The viera asked, helping him sit up and dust off the snow. It was a wonder how she was able to withstand the cold, dressed somewhat lighter than what one would expect in a frigid climate, but someone like her who grew up in the freezing mountain ranges would have no problem with the temperature.

"I'm…" Alphinaud muttered, hesitation in his voice. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Make sure you don't get too distracted, Alphinaud!" Tataru warned him as she slowly approached him, fighting against the strong winds. "I'm already having a hard time getting through here, can't afford to have you struggle as well!"

Alphinaud didn't respond, the feeling of incompetence that was growing in him increasing exponentially.

Seren immediately took notice and crouched in front of him with her back towards him. "Climb on."

The boy refused. "N-no, I can keep going."

"You're exhausted, Alphinaud," Seren curtly responded. "A lot has happened today, and you need to rest. I'll carry you until we make it to a shelter in Ishgard."

Her head turned to face him, a reassuring smile on her lips. "Besides, I'm used to carrying my little sister home all the time."

Alphinaud pursed his lips together, his heart twisting as what remained of his ego fought to refuse her offer. However, today was not the time to try and preserve such, and he allowed himself to climb on her back before continuing across the Steps of Faith.

As he rested against her back, the boy reflected upon his experiences from the past several moons. Riding the same boat to Limsa Lominsa as Seren before getting to know her, separating from Alisaie over differences before finding her once more at the Coils of Bahamut, joining the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, forming the Crystal Braves… A lot, too much, had truly happened for a sixteen-summers-old child.

Alphinaud laid his head against Seren's shoulder, basking in her warmth as the cold winds blew against the three of them. When was the last time was he carried like this by anyone? His father Fourchenault began to drown in his work, and he was now too heavy for his mother Ameliance to hold him on her back like this. Without him realizing, Seren had practically become an older-sibling figure that he never had, a long-lost family member that he was supposed to have known all his life. Someone he could turn to for advice. Someone he could lean on for support...

Finding comfort in her presence, warmth against the freezing winds that threatened to stop them, Alphinaud drifted off to sleep.

[superthatguy62]

The Differences and Influence of  the Final Fantasy 1 manga

While Final Fantasy is certainly no stranger to adaptations and alternate media, it’s mostly towards the later entries such as VII or XV depending on how you feel about such media, this may not be a bad thing.

When it comes to the first three entries, their adaptations are the most mysterious: Final Fantasy III got an absolutely insane manga, Final Fantasy II got a somewhat insane novelization and Final Fantasy I has an obscure manga. As these came out long ago in Japan and were rarely, if ever, re-released, knowledge on these media remains scarce.

However, TrafalgarScans on MangaDex has translated the entirety of the Final Fantasy I manga, allowing english readers to experience it for the first time.

And, while a straightforward retelling of the original game, there are a few interesting elements in it. Elements that may seem somewhat familiar if you’ve Dissidia or Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin.

Before we begin, I’m going to be doing something different from my previous discussions: Rather than doing a summary/play-by-play of the manga, I’m mostly going to be talking about things I noticed, whether they be different... or indirectly indicative of where Square would take FF1 in the future. As that implies, I will be discussing spoilers for Dissidia and Strangers of Paradise.

For context: The manga was written Kaimejii Yuu and was released in 1989: 2 years after the first game landed on Famicom, one year before it arrived on NES and the same year as the MSX port. So rejoice Space Station!Flying Fortress fans.

Let’s start with one of the obvious ones: 

The Party

The original Final Fantasy centers around four Warriors of Light who mysteriously appear, each with a crystal fragment.

In the manga, we are introduced to the members of the party bit by bit: First, there is Puffy who seems to be a traveling Warrior.

Puffy later meets Flitz/Fritz, a Monk who was kicked out of his monastery for his vices.

A Monk and a Warrior. Seems standard so far. But then there are the other 2 members.

Matoya, a witch who is skilled with black magic.

And the fourth party member... who isn’t introduced until quite a ways in. While Sarah and Bikke both join the party, the true forth member turns out to be none other than

Bahamut, the king of dragons.

Naturally, this is a pretty big deviation: Matoya and Bahamut are NPCs in the game after, but here, they’re main characters. Matoya would go on to be a prominent character in FF1, even being playable in spinoffs for what it’s worth. However, I don’t think there are many FF1 interpretations that put the NPCs in the WoL roles.

They’re not the only ones different, however

The Villains

The Final Fantasy manga follows a somewhat condensed version of the game. It’s actually kinda close to how Memory of Heroes did it, with the focus largely on Garland and the Four Fiends, concluding with a bout against Chaos.

Garland generally keeps his overall role, including his infatuation with Sarah (which makes me wonder what was the first media to touch on that aspect of him) but also has some significant differences: He doesn’t wear armor, he doesn’t seem to die before vanishing and the manga more blatantly sets up the plot twist by showing Garland entering the Dark Crystal. Only Flitz notices though, so he’s the first to realize that Garland’s behind everything once the Warriors learn about the whole she-bang from the Lufenians.

There’s also his name, but we’ll get to that.

The Warriors are promptly attacked by the Four Chaos/Fiends. There’s the Lich, who is looking positively Mobius!Chaos today.

Then we have Marilith, who looks about how you’d expect.

Then we have Kraken... Who is...

And last but not least, we have Tiamat, who has both a monster form and a humanlike form.

And then there’s Chaos, whose design is vaguely reminiscent of how Garland’s armor would evolve from Dissidia onwards mixed with traits from his Chaos form.

Oh yeah, Garland. Did you know that’s not his full name in this adaptation? Yup, long before “Jack Garland” would use the last name Garland, this Garland had the full name of “Red Garland”.

And here’s where we start to get into the influence that this manga may or may not have had on Square-Enix’s future interpretations of Final Fantasy 1.

The Backstory

In the games, the Warriors of Lights’ backstory is left unexplained. This plays into the role-play/”create a party” aspect of the game: It’s up to the player, if they so chose, to fill in the blanks about who their characters are and where they came from.

Memory of Heroes, being a close adaptation of the games, leaves its characters’ backstories ambiguous outside of tying a further connection to Garland as his time shenanigans “unchained” the Warriors of Light and wiped their memories, explaining why they can remember nothing and why nobody recognizes them.

Dissidia Final Fantasy, while not directly touching upon the events of FF1 itself, gives a backstory to its Warrior of Light: He’s a perfect manikin created by Cid of the Lufaine and placed within the cycles of conflict. Over time, he grows into more of an actual person and continuously comes to blows with Garland, who already knows him from the cycle back home. In the end, WoL ends up in the FF1 world and sets off on his journey, determined to not only save the world from Chaos but to free Garland from the endless cycle he unwittingly trapped himself in.

The manga, however, gives a more detailed backstory.

Early in Chapter 2, Puffy explains that she is not actually from that world; In another dimension, she worked at an inn and was just an ordinary girl. However, on her way to visit her friend Matoya, she winds up slipping through a dimensional barrier. When she wakes up, she’s surrounded by the circle of sages who explain the situation to her and send her off to fight Chaos, despite her attempts to argue otherwise. Puffy later meets up with a different version of Matoya, and soon after the manga begins.

This is largely forgotten about until climax, where it becomes much more important:

As one of Lufenia’s Knights of Gaia/Sky Warriors, one of the bats in the Chaos Shrine explains a bit further: It’s not just Puffy, all four of the Warriors apparently hail from other dimensions. The Knights figured that the best way to stop Chaos was to get four people from parallel worlds that Chaos did not exist in, resulting in heroes with fresh perspectives from worlds in which the crystals were not compromised. Thus they set up barriers that would link the five worlds together and the four Warriors of Light seen in the manga wound up being the four that were chosen (the manga mostly focuses on Puffy, but the implication is that Flitz, Bahamut and that version of Matoya all hail from similar parallel worlds). After Chaos is defeated, the four end up being sent back to their own worlds with no memory of their adventure. Puffy in particular goes back to being an innkeeper and serves drinks to various patrons... including Garland who, although rejected by Sarah yet again, has not turned into Chaos and is an overall decent guy.

What makes the dimensional stuff even more surprising is the meta aspect: Either great minds think alike, the parallel world stuff was in the Japanese FF1 or Square Enix took inspiration from this very manga.

Dissidia Final Fantasy is a big fat crossover featuring the protagonists from the first couple games. While the first game was somewhat ambiguous, Dissidia 012 (the prequel) would establish that the game took place on World B: A destroyed parallel counterpart to World A, which is the world of Final Fantasy 1. The reports in 012 would also establish that Onrac stumbled upon a dimensional gate which would be how they acquired the ore that allowed them to produce manikins. 

Stranger of Paradise takes the parallels even further. The concept of Lufenians drawing in people from parallel worlds to function as Warriors of Light was embodied in the Stranger Project. However, it turns out that the manga beat them to the punch with Knights of Gaia’s dimensional barriers. Of course, the KoG were benevolent compared to the SoP Lufenians who were malevolent. The concept of summoning warriors from other worlds would naturally be used there too, although in 012′s case, it’s due to Shinryu’s influence creating gateways.

And speaking of...

The Lufenians

The Lufenians are a simple, standard “Ancient Civilization with advanced tech (TM)” that was common in fantasy stories and would become a recurring trend in Final Fantasy, one that still remains even to this day. As far as plot significance go, they remain primarily in the background: They’re one of the civilizations the WoLs encounter their space station is the Semi-final dungeon and their champions were turned into bats that infodump a number of aspects about the overarching plot. 

Then there’s Cid. In the original Final Fantasy, while the airship is said to be a Lufenian creation I think, I need to fact that that, there’s no mention of any particular Lufenian who created it. Later versions would name the Lufenian “Cid”, in keeping with series tradition of naming the prominent airship engineer “Cid”. Memory of Heroes gave a Cid a more prominent role, leaving behind video projections to show what happened to the Flying Fortress, entrusting the warp cube to the robots and burying the airship that the Warriors of Light find and use to travel in the later half of the story.

However, Cid’s actions are actually somewhat familiar.

In the manga, a Lufenian (not Cid, though with the benefit of hindsight and how SE would’ve handled it, he may as well be) features prominently in the intro, leaves one of the robots to gather the warp cubes in preparation for the day the Warriors of Light arrive and leaves behind a video projection, with the man himself being long dead by then. Not!Cid’s exposition is different though, tying into how the energies from the four shrines can be seen converging on the Chaos Shrine from the Space Station as well as discussing the Knights of Gaia for a bit.

There’s also the dark crystal. In Final Fantasy, Garland is seen in front of a dark crystal in the Chaos Shrine. When the Warriors travel back to the past, they play the lute in front of the shrine, transforming the crystal into a portal. Stranger of Paradise would explain the crystal as being a “Dimensional Crystal Matrix”, sent to them by their unnamed collaborator.

Again, however, this is not the first time this has happened.

Turns out, the Dark Crystal in the manga is a “Time-Space Transfer Device”. The Knights of Gaia had used the device to set up the barriers to summon warriors from other worlds. However, Chaos took control of the device soon afterwards and used it to set up the time loop that would bring him to power. Coincidence or not, the manga Lufenians’ usage of the device would be echoed in the aforementioned two different aspects (the Dimensional Crystal Matrix and the Stranger Project). SoP would also echo the element of Garland taking control of the device for his own uses.  

Conclusion

In the Stranger of Paradise Confidential Files -Secret Chapters- (An official complete guide - Thanks ChrysalisThoughts for the clarification! ), one of the questions posed to the developers is why Jack’s station is known as “Station 19″. While the final game has its own independent time loop, apparently it was named after SoP being the 19th time Final Fantasy 1 was ported/remade at the time, with the idea of different strangers being dispatched from different stations for each of the remakes.

While that plan ultimately didn’t fully pan out, the implication of Final Fantasy 1 having parallel worlds or a connection to other worlds in general is one that has echoed throughout the franchise.

- The Final Fantasy manga utilizing the concept of parallel worlds for its protagonists.

- The Souls of Chaos dungeons featuring prominent bosses from the other 5 Nintendo-era Final fantasy games.

- Dissidia introducing “World B” with 012 establishing it of being a parallel world to the world of the original Final Fantasy

- Memory of Heroes implying that the Warriors of Light of its three adaptations (and perhaps beyond) either inherit the will/souls of the previous ones or are the previous ones reincarnated in another world.

- And Stranger of Paradise’s original intentional of having parallel worlds, along with its hinted connection to World B

It’s looking more and more like a DC multiverse, especially if you flub things to suggest that each interpretation is its own parallel world.

But, in a way, it’s oddly fitting. Final Fantasy is a game that has you make your own party. The game gives no detail as to their character or backstory. You’re encouraged to fill in the blanks yourself, hence why fanfics and such can vary wildly with how everyone ca reinterpret the story. In a way, it’s fitting that SE themselves get in on it. And it’s interesting how, almost every time, multi-dimensional shenanigans manage to get involved.

I dunno.

I just think it’s neat.

[legendl0re]

So I ’m going to be playing in a CoS game and I always try to have my Characters be tied to the main stories and plots of campaign if possible, to make it easier for the DM to nudge the party in proper directions. A couple of ideas I had based on the natural osmosis and memes that have gone around in Strahd are as follows;

For context; I’ve run Curse of Strahd for a group before but I’ve never played in it, and my DM likes to change modules around in ways that are very different from my own. So I am aware of some of the module’s plots and not others (due to the players never touching on them). But here are some of my current ideas for a PC:

SPOILERS BELOW;

• A Hexblood related to the Old Bonegrinder plot

• A shifter or dhampir beast barbarian related to the werewolf plot or to the vampires of Ravenloft themselves

• A fighter or blood hunter training under Van Richten

• A Vistani divination wizard

• turning maybe one of the NPCs into a PC like Izek, Ismark, Ireena etc.

• A Dragonborn Paladin to Bahamut for Argynvost

If you guys have any other ideas to throw my way please I’d love to hear them. I want to tie my PC to the module as easily as possible to make less work on my DM’s part.