Rance/Characters/The Legendary Five

During the JL Era, the most dreadful ever known by humanity, all of the nations were destroyed. Most of the population took shelter in remote villages and didn't dare to go outside, because of the numerous monsters on lookout for human victims. Many adventurers tried to defeat the current Archfiend Jill, but every one of them failed to do so. Even the Hero was unable to hurt her due to the Human Farms she created.

Around the 5th century of the JL Era, a group of five legendary adventurers came together and embarked on a long journey in the hopes to find a way to break the dreaded Invincibility Field of Jill and her Fiends. Their members were:


 * British the Hero, the man who swore to save humanity and the leader of the group.
 * Chaos the Thief, who joined him to avenge the death of his lover, killed before his eyes by a Fiend.
 * Nikkou the Samurai, whose village and family were destroyed by a Fiend.
 * Ho-Raga the Mage, in search of knowledge regarding the Archfiend along with her army, and also because he was in love with British.
 * Café Artful the Priest, who was secretly in love with British.

Those five heroes ultimately managed to find a clue in one of the most difficult dungeons ever made by the gods, the Ancient Ruins. After numerous battles, they gathered several McGuffins and stumbled upon a prototype god. They managed to defeat it, unlocking a passage to the Land of the Gods, but British was severely wounded in battle, asking to his companions to go on without him. Upon reaching the Land, the four adventurers met the Sublime God Planner, the one responsible for building the setting of the series. After witnessing their battle, the Planner promised to grant any wish they want.

Chaos and Nikkou asked Planner to obtain the power to break the Invincibility Field, Ho-Raga wanted the ultimate knowledge, and Café Artful, suffering self-esteem issues, secretly asked for the ultimate beauty. However, the God twisted their wishes with a cruel sense of humor: every one of them gained immortality even though they didn't ask for it, and were sent into different locations. Chaos and Nikkou were changed into Fiend-killing swords but unable to move, Ho-Raga gained full knowledge of the entire setting, making him completely disgusted with the fate of the Continent, and Café was changed into the most beautiful woman of the world, causing every man in the Continent to have intense lust for her, spending the rest of her life pursued by unwanted admirers. As for British, he recovered from his wounds but was ambushed by a old enemy some time after the disappearance of his companions, who proceeded to use the Curse of Concrete to trap him in stone, also making him immortal in the process.

All of them are still alive by the LP Era, and are met by several characters of the game. British can be found in a dungeon near the Leazas Castle, Chaos is currently wielded by Rance, Nikkou is wielded by Kentarou Ogawa, Ho-Rage acts as a reclusive seer, and Café created an independant band of mercenaries and prostitutes under the name of Caravan Lady, not wanting to be involved in human conflicts ever again.

Tropes applying to the Legendary Five as a whole

 * Blessed with Suck: All of them gained immortality along with their desired wish, but it ended up being Awesome, but Impractical for all of them.
 * Five-Man Band: As expected of a classic adventuring party.
 * Living Legend: Played with. Due to their immortality, all of them are still alive in the LP Era, but few people remember them for their deeds.
 * Never Found the Body: After their last adventure in the Ancient Ruins, they were never seen again and were believed to be dead, until their reappearance in the GI Era. In a more literal sense, this is what happened to Chaos and Nikkou.
 * True Companions: Despite their differences, all of them harbored a strong sense of friendship and never broke apart until their meeting with Planner.
 * Really 700 Years Old: Since they were all born in the midst of the JL Era, they are at least 1500 years old.
 * Walking the Earth: To find a way to help humanity, they walked through the entire Continent.
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: Courtesy of the Sublime God Planner.
 * World's Strongest Man: They were regarded as the strongest adventuring party of their time.

British
The leader of the party. Once a brilliant and inspirational leader, his life being trapped in a concrete wall has reduced him to a pathetic, crying wreck.


 * Dented Iron: Subverted. While staying trapped a thousand year in concrete has obviously put a dent to his fighting abilities, he is still Level 50 and would still be one of the strongest around if freed.
 * Fate Worse Than Death: In a sense, he got it worse than his other companions since he was the only one who didn't got a wish from Planner, with his final fate being trapped in concrete for the rest of his life.
 * The Hero: Was considered one in his youth, despite not being the designed Hero of the Planner Scenario.
 * He's Back: By the time of Rance X: Part 2, he was freed from his curse and is among the strongest humans who help the El Party training to fight against Archfiend Rance.
 * How the Mighty Have Fallen: While this applies somewhat to the entire party, British is easily the worst. What was once the greatest hero on The Continent has been reduced a pathetic shell of a man who does nothing but constantly beg for someone to free him.
 * Odd Friendship: With Julia Lindum from Leazas, who regularly visits and feeds him.
 * Sealed Good in a Can: He still harbors trememdous power from his old days, but since he's trapped in a wall he's unable to use it at all.
 * Shout-Out: His name is likely a reference to Lord British of the Ultima series, also known to be nigh-impossible to kill under normal circumstances.

Chaos
Amongst the heroes, Chaos was the odd duck of the group. The death of his wife motivated him to join British out of personal revenge, but he slowly built a trusting relationship with the rest of the group. He was also known to be very perverted and very talkative, something that drove off many of his previous owners as a sword. In the current LP Era, he's now wielded by Rance since Rance VI, and considers him as his soulmate due to their similar personalites.


 * Birds of a Feather: Surprisngly well with Rance, as they have similar personalities.
 * Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: Treats Café surprisingly well, to the point he wouldn't lay a finger on her despite being in her "Lady" form.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Despite being dubbed the "Darksword Chaos", he's still one of the two Anti-Fiend swords and his bad reputation only comes from his perverted antics and talkative mouth.
 * Dirty Old Man: Even as a sword, he's still thirsting for beautiful women, the priestess Sel being the most notorious victim.
 * Enemy Mine: In the past, he allowed himself to be wielded by Representative Fiend Gai, despite his hatred of Fiends, simply because they had a common enemy: Jill.
 * Eyes of Gold: Played with, he's a morally dubious character at best, but is one of the best assets for humanity against the Monster Army.
 * The Gadfly: The main reason he was thrown away by his previous wielders.
 * There Is Another: Xavier certainly didn't expect another Anti-Fiend sword to be around.
 * Living Weapon: Following the meeting with Planner, he's now a talking black sword.
 * Mortality Ensues: when Chaos is wielded in battle, any Fiends and Archfiends around will lose their Invincibility Field and become vulnerable to regular attacks. This is in contrast to the Hero's Sword Escude, which has the power to pierce the Field, but cannot allow other weapons to harm a Fiend.
 * Tailor-Made Prison: He was the seal used to trap an immortal Jill in another dimension by Gai.
 * Was Once a Man: Was originally human before getting turned into a magical talking sword.

Nikkou
The Action Girl of the group. Nikkou was known as a very beautiful Nipponese samurai, making her a Dude Magnet. She was motivated to join British after the death of her entire family, similar to Chaos, and both ended up as Fiend-killing swords. Unlike Chaos however, she's less talkative and is more accommodating than him and is easier to wield as a katana. In the current LP Era, she's now wielded by Ogawa Kentarou, in his quest to protect Miki.


 * Action Girl: On par with the likes of Kenshin Uesugi in her youth.
 * Deus Sex Machina: For some reason, she needs to have sex with her owners in order to be wielded by them.
 * Dude Magnet: Was one in her former life, causing an inferiority complex to Café and cementing her wish to Planner. Ho-Raga also notes that she would be his type is she was a man.
 * Enemy Mine: She's wielded by the Fiend Kentarou and protects the Archfiend Miki from harm, as their tragic circumstances caused her to help them find a cure to their condition and go home instead of trying to kill them.
 * Living Weapon: Following the meeting with Planner, she's now a talking katana.
 * Mortality Ensues: When Nikkou is wielded in battle, any Fiends and Archfiends around will lose their Invincibility Field and become vulnerable to regular attacks. This is in contrast to the Hero's Sword Escude, which has the power to pierce the Field, but cannot allow other weapons to harm a Fiend.
 * Shipper on Deck: For Miki and Kentarou.
 * Was Once a Man: Was originally a human before she got turned into a talking katana.
 * Wrecked Weapon: Ends up getting wrecked by Satella in Rance X: Part 2, during the first time the El Party travels towards Archfiend Rance's castle. She does get repaired afterwards.
 * Wrecked Weapon: Ends up getting wrecked by Satella in Rance X: Part 2, during the first time the El Party travels towards Archfiend Rance's castle. She does get repaired afterwards.

Ho-Raga
The Smart Guy of the group, who joined British to discover the secrets of the world, and also out of love for him. Upon meeting Planner, he was instead told of the entire knowledge of the world, including the gods' plan. This left him utterly disgusted with the fate of humanity and the whole Continent, since he already knows everything, rendering his initial goal moot. Nowadays, he's still living in his tower, but accepts requests of all people for world knowledge, as long as they are Bishōnen men.


 * Default to Good: Despite being mostly neutral to human affairs, there were two instances in the series' history when he helped humanity without any compensation: in the GI Era, he helped Gross Leazas creating an additional seal around Chaos, who was already sealing Jill at the time, and in Kichikuou Rance he gives info on how to open the gate of the Gods' land to help humanity survive their extermination.
 * The Hermit: He lives a life of seclusion out in his tower, away from other people. He will occasionally grant knowledge to visitors... if they are handsome young men. As we can see in Kichikuou Rance, Rance and Kentarou both qualify.
 * The Omniscient: At least in matters concerning the Continent. This has not lead him to having a happy life.
 * Straight Gay: Has no stereotypical gay mannerisms, but is definitely interested in guys.
 * Victory Is Boring: His great passion in life was seeking new knowledge. Upon being granted all knowledge of the world, he's fallen into boredom and ennui since there at nothing left to learn.

Café Artful
The Chick and healer of the group, who initially intended to help humanity fight against the Archfiend and was in love with British. However, she was the unfortunate victim of bullying by many because of her shortness, and was compared to Nikkou for her beauty, causing her to develop an inferiority complex. As such, when the party met Planner, she secretly asked for the ultimate beauty, effectively making her the most beautiful woman of the world. Her life then became an unending hell, as her beauty was so great that it attracted many men lusting for her. After several decades being used as a political tool, she disappeared from human society to form a band of mercenaries and prostitutes travelling around the world, and took the name of "Caravan Lady".


 * Healing Hands: Considered one of the greatest healers in history. It was said that if she couldn't heal someone, that person was fated to die.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Despite his perversion, Chaos never makes moves on her and treats her with genuine friendship. Since he's one of the only people alive who can understand her experiences, she has a close bond with him after reuniting in Rance Quest.
 * Hopeless Suitor: To British, who was one of the main reasons she joined his group. However, her lack of self-confidence caused to wish for ultimate beauty.
 * Informed Attractiveness: Her "Lady" form, which is supposed to be a woman of incomparable beauty, just looks rather normally beautiful. Of course, asking an artist to actually draw "the ultimate beauty" isn't something that can generally be done.
 * So Beautiful It's a Curse: Her extreme beauty brought nothing but despair and misfortune: men couldn't help but become overcome with lust at the sight of her, and women would frequently hate her out of jealousy. She was objectified by everyone and passed around as a Lust Object for a while before she formed the Caravan.
 * Subordinate Excuse: Originally joined the party due to having a crush on British, though that apparently didn't go anywhere.
 * World's Most Beautiful Woman: What she wished to become, and she became so beautiful that no other woman could ever hope to compare. This pretty thoroughly ruined her life.