Rance/Characters/Devils

In the beginning of history, the Creator God Rudrathaum created the Three Sublime Gods to give him unending drama. Unbeknownst to him, a fourth God was created from the leftovers, who eventually gain self-awareness and was born as Rathaum. Upon his creation, he quickly went into hiding, in a place of his own creation called the Devil Realm, along with creating his wife, Tero Ettienno. With her, he fathered the Three Devil Princes, tasked with creating other Devils and managing their hierarchy. Ultimately, after some time helping with the growing of his kin, he gave them a single, absolute order: having Devils gather Souls from mortals in the Continent, by any means possible. Afterwards, the Devil King Rathaum entered into a deep slumber and went inside his castle, only to awaken the day his children would gather enough Souls to supplant Rudrathaum.

Since then, Devils went up and collected many souls, often coming up with various schemes to steal them from the Gods Hierarchy, putting them in an interesting position: by stealing Souls, they also weaken the Creator God himself, since he's entirely made of Souls, and thus having the potential to free mortals from him. One notable event happened in the NC Era, during the worldwide conquest of the Nipponese warrior Fujiwara Ishimaru, known as a legend for being the first Human to ever conquer the Continent. By allying with the Devil Geppei, he largely contributed to the Soul collection until the Gods Hierarchy, afraid of the whole situation, ordered the Archfiend Nighcisa to stop his conquest, resulting in Fujiwara being killed in action. The remnants of the allied Devils became the Tenshi Sect, taking refuge in Nippon following Geppei's death, and still exist in the current LP Era.

In General

 * Deal with the Devil: Their main method for collecting Souls, by making pacts with humans, although the details can vary depending on the Devil.
 * Grey and Gray Morality: Even though the Devils are opposing the God's Hierarchy by stealing Souls, the actual means of collecting are entirely left to the lesser Devils with no precise instructions. As such, Feliss is one of the softer Devils by granting three wishes to her contractors, while the more pragmatic Xacalite caused Parsley Rig Zeth to sacrifice herself in order to save Zeth from destruction.
 * Hufflepuff House: Downplayed. Despite being a potential rival to the Gods in terms of manpower, only a few Devils are seen in the Rance series. Their last major action was back into the NC Era, when the Devil Geppei allied with Fujiwara Ishimaru to collect massive amounts of Souls, which actually scared the Gods. And then in Rance X: Part 2, the Archfiend System gets entirely destroyed thanks to the machinations of the Devil Neplacus.

Devil King Rathaum
The only Rank Zero Devil in existence. Rathaum was formed of leftover materials from when Rudrathaum created the Three Sublime Gods that gained intelligence and awareness on its own. He now seeks to usurp Rudrathaum as the supreme god of the Continent, but currently possesses less power than the Eternal Eight, much less the Sublime Gods.


 * Ambition Is Evil: Played with. It's noted that ambition is his defining trait: he wants to be the supreme being, with everyone subordinate to him. On the other hand, he's also said to be a fair ruler who respects those beneath him, so the narrative shies away from calling him "evil", per se.
 * Eldritch Abomination: Surprisingly, his appearance is nothing like one would expect of a "devil". His body is soft, white, and pudgy, with mostly smooth curves rather than hard angles.
 * Monster Progenitor: The original Devils were all created from his own body.
 * Orcus on His Throne: For the past few thousand years he's been asleep, hibernating until such time as devils have gathered enough souls for him to overthrow Rudrathaum. All evidence points to this being a very far-off event, if it ever happens at all.
 * Order vs. Chaos: He's a big believer in order. The devils are an even more rigidly stratified society than the gods, with higher ranking devils having absolute dominion over lower ranking ones.
 * Your Soul Is Mine: His goal is to redirect souls from Rudrathaum's cycle of reincarnation and gather them to himself. The narrative points out this doesn't hurt the souls in question, as they have no awareness or intelligence when just a soul.

Tero Ettienno
The wife of Rathaum and queen of the devils. She has no official "rank" as a devil, but is generally considered as being near the top of their society.


 * Cute Monster Girl: She looks like a teenaged human girl, with silver hair and several sets of wings (some feathered, some insect-like). Rathaum created her as the ultimate image of what he considered beautiful.
 * Happiness in Slavery: She was created merely as a means for Rathaum to satisfy his sexual urges, and as such, designed to not be unhappy with such a fate. Over time, though, Rathaum came to love her for real and freed her of any obligations to himself. The writers have compared her relationship with Rathaum to that of Rance and Sill.
 * 100% Adoration Rating: She is said to be universally beloved by all devils.
 * Undying Loyalty: She has this toward her husband. How much of this was "programmed" into her by Rathaum is unclear, but it's said that she would never betray him in any circumstance.

Prokione
Firstborn son of Rathaum and Tero, the first Rank 1 devil. His ideals are closest to those of his father, valuing hierarchy, obedience, and efficiency. He's the architect of the royal family's palace and is in charge of the Devil Realm's administration. Considered between a 2nd class and 1st class god in terms of power.


 * Berserk Button: Drawing attention to his tumor, which is considered ugly even by devil standards.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: He's normally a very calm, patient man, but when he does get angry, his wrath is apparently horrifying.

Bolero Patan
Second born son of Rathaum and Tero. A laid-back, relaxed Rank 1 devil despite his bestial appearance, very popular among the common devils.


 * Boisterous Bruiser: He's strong, powerful, and loud, but also big-hearted, jovial, and generous.
 * Rich Idiot with No Day Job: Mostly spends his time drinking and partying rather than doing any actual work.

Regaccio
Third son of Rathaum and Tero. A serious and honorable Rank 1 devil who runs the Treasury and works as a blacksmith in his spare time.


 * Berserk Button: Breaking a promise or going back on a deal. He has been known to kill people on the spot for having done such things.
 * Pet the Dog: He's one of the few devils to treat Dark Rance well despite his heritage, saying that he believes the boy has a bright future. Dark Rance's sword Gram was a gift from him.
 * Ultimate Blacksmith: Many legendary magical swords are in fact his handiwork, though few are aware of their origins.

Feliss
A devil with a unfortunate history with Rance. She first appears in Rance II/02, after being accidentally summoned by him. After their first encounter, she met him back in Rance III/03, but this time she was tricked into revealing her true name to him, biding him forever to him. Since then, she became his plaything, being called at any random time until Rance Quest, where she lives in Rance Castle to hide from her fellow devils (as well as angels). She also had a child with him, nicknamed "Dark Rance", something considered taboo amongst devils. Since then, she was demoted several times in rank and retentlessly pursued until her arrival at Rance Castle.


 * Crutch Character: In Rance 03, Rance IV, and Rance 5D, where she can be summoned as a powerful party member.
 * Deliberately Distressed Damsel; In a sense. By living in Rance Castle, she acts a motivator for Dark Rance in order to continue his training, powering Gram and even when she is safe from her pursuers.
 * Deal with the Devil: Her schtick in Rance 02: she will grant a human three wishes in exchange for their soul. Rance tricks her by making his third wish "I wish that you will never take my soul."
 * Does Not Like Men: Following her experiences with Rance and her punishment from the devils, she developed androphobia (the fear of men), to the point she would panic if one tries to approach her. Rance eventually understands the gravity of her situation in Rance Quest and allows her to hide in his castle. Notably, he has refrained from having sex with her at all since then (though he does demand that she "get over it" as soon as possible).
 * Heroic BSoD: Her punishment for having a human's child was... extreme. She's never quite the same afterward, losing her sharp tongue and forceful personality, instead just sitting passively, staring out the window or knitting clothes for Dark Rance. And this is after receiving a tiny portion of the punishment that was meant for her, before she was rescued by Rance.
 * Humiliation Conga: The first few games are not kind to her. First Rance tricks her into granting him wishes but weasels out of giving her his soul, which gets her demoted. Then she is forced to become his slave for the next few games, while he forces her to either have sex with him or do humiliating things (or both) for his amusement. Then she gets a Child by Rape with him, which gets her demoted to the lowest rank, making her a criminal among her fellow Devils for having a human child.
 * I Know Your True Name: A Devil is forced to obey any command given by someone who knows their true name. Rance learns hers in Rance 03 and uses her like a slave.
 * Sinister Scythe: Her weapon of choice is a large green and black scythe.

Dark Rance
The first child of Rance. His mother is the devil Feliss who became bound to Rance as a slave, yet humans and devils are unable to conceive a child together. However, when Rance had sex with Feliss in the Genbu Castle where time flows erratically, it somehow caused his conception. For more information on him during the finale of Rance X, see here, be wary of spoilers!


 * Assist Character: For Maria's buff in Rance X.
 * Evolving Weapon: His weapon Gram evolves according to the amount of suffering and sadness the user has. Dark Rance has more then enough thanks to the suffering his beloved mother Feliss goes through and managed to evolve Gram from a short dagger to a BFS.
 * Master Swordsman: He has a Sword Combat Lv2 skill just like his father and just like him he didn't have anyone to teach him and had to learn how to fight by himself.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Dark Rance is a nickname created by Sill, because if a person knows the real name of a devil, they will be bound to them as a slave just like what happened to his mother Feliss with his father Rance. The only part known of his real name is "Feb-".
 * Patchwork Kids: At first he looked just like his father, but with devil characteristics (horns, pointy ears and slit cat eyes), but as a teen he gained a few green stripes in his hair which have a similar color to his mother's hair.
 * The Power of Hate: The fuel for the sword Gram.
 * Perpetual Frowner: He doesn't smile that much as a result of all the hardships he goes through.
 * Strong Family Resemblance: Out of all Rance's children, he is the one that resembles him the most in appearance. The only differences are his Devil horns, slit cat eyes, and pointy ears.
 * Younger Than He Looks: As a devil he grows up very fast. His body is already 14 years old when he's actually 4 years old.

Xacalite
A Rank 3 devil who has long associated with the Magic Kingdom of Zeth, being credited as their savior on three occasions in the past.


 * Fake Ultimate Hero: Though lauded as a savior of Zeth, in fact the nation survived its hardships in spite of him, rather than because of him. No one is aware of the fact that he has always just made things worse.
 * Godzilla Threshold: Summoning him is seen as this by Zeth's leaders. Each time it's happened, Zeth was facing a monumental crisis.
 * Jackass Genie: He always twists the wording of bargains made with him so that he gets a new soul to torment while expending a minimum of effort.
 * Your Soul Is Mine: A unique case among devils, as he's figured out how to bind souls to himself personally rather than to Rathaum as devils are supposed to. As such, he's gone rogue from the Devil Realm and pursues his own interests.

Geppei
A powerful devil who served as advisor to Fujiwara Ishimaru, one-time emperor of Nippon, and who started the religion of Tenshiism, making him one of the most successful devils in history. He is also responsible for the first sealing of the Fiend Xavier, though he died as a result of that battle.


 * Ancestral Weapon: His scythe is passed down from one leader of Tenshiism to the next, currently held by Seigan.
 * The Archmage: He invented Yin-Yang magic, still used by spiritual warriors in Nippon in modern times.
 * Not So Different: To ALICE. Though he has done great things for the people of Nippon, his religion does not save one's soul but rather "pollutes" it so that Rathaum can claim it after death. His methods are duplicitous and his motives purely selfish, just like hers.
 * Posthumous Character: He's been dead for around 2,000 years by the time of the Rance games.

Neplacus
A Rank 1 devil and the nemesis of Dark Rance. He is the one who sentenced Feliss to forced reproduction as punishment for Dark Rance's birth.


 * Accidental Hero: It definitely wasn't his intention, but his actions in Rance X: Part 2 set up the opportunity to destroy the Archfiend forever.
 * Curb-Stomp Battle: He's eventually killed in a single blow by Rance, who was able to get out of Great Beast Quelplan by surrendering the Blood Memories to Quelplan, saying he didn't need it. He didn't even plan on killing Neplacus but he just ended up being in the way.
 * Cypher Language: His speech is always rendered in a bizarre cryptogram that requires decoding to figure out what he's actually saying.
 * Deal with the Devil: He was able to tempt Quelplan, a 1st class goddess into becoming a human.
 * Made of Temptation: Tempts Quelplan to become a human by using his medicine.
 * Recurring Boss: In Rance X:Part 2, he has repeated battles against the El Party.