Rance/Characters/Free Cities Alliance

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


In the midst of the GI Era, a small trading group who didn't want to be tied to one of the three major powers decided to create their own city-state. It later inspires other groups of merchants to do so. Eventually, all of these small cities merged to form the Free Cities Alliance, made entirely of independent groups and large enough to be considered a major power. They are also in several trade agreements with the Kingdom of Leazas, the most prosperous nation of the Continent.

Each of the mayors belonging to the alliance has control over their own city and are free to rule it as they please, encouraging innovation and exchange between the other cities. Consequently, it is currently the most technologically advanced nation in the Continent, and it also shares a border with the small and exotic country of Nippon, using the Tenma Bridge and the city of Portugal to export their various products.

The Free Cities Alliance doesn't have a government proper, but the merchant Copandon Dott is often considered its de facto leader, because of the large power and influence of her "Copa Empire".


Major Cities and Companies

Copa Empire

Copandon Dott

A would-be merchant who travels the world with the objective of finding and marrying the luckiest man alive. At first, she believed it to be Bird Lithfie, but quickly abandoned him after learning of his horrendous "Bad Luck". Instead, she set her sights on Rance, the man with "Great Luck". After learning he would never settle down with only one woman, she planned to amass enough GOLD in the hopes of buying him, with the objective of a hundred sextillion GOLD. In the process, she ended up becoming the wealthiest person alive, and built her own company, the Copa Empire, which happens to be the most powerful and influential entity of the Free Cities Alliance.

Tropes exhibited by Copandon include:
  • Born Unlucky: Quite literally. She actually was born with the fortune of bad luck, and literally rewrote so that she'd have good fortune instead.
  • Christmas Cake: As revealed in Rance Quest, she's actually deeply insecure about her age, and thinks Rance won't have sex with her because of his open lack of interest in women above the age of 29. Rance sleeps with her anyway, saying that her age doesn't matter as long as she's got a nice body.
  • Fiction 500: She is insanely wealthy.
  • Gold Digger: She's aiming to get with a man with a "Great Fortune" purely so that she can attach herself to him and ensure she as much good fortune as possible.
  • Hidden Depths: Despite otherwise being a shrewd bussinesswoman, it's revealed in Rance Quest that Copandon's got a lot of insecurities about everything from her age to body.
  • Older Than They Look: Would you believe she's 30 by Rance Quest? Taken a step further in Rance X: Part 2, where she looks exactly the same despite being in her late 40s.

Shacho Amazusa

Head of the Amazusa Construction Company. Outwardly friendly, he is in fact ruthless and cutthroat in his business dealings.

Tropes exhibited by Shacho include:

Yutin Fulz

A slave specially trained for Copandon. She acts as her mistress's assistant.

Tropes exhibited by Yutin include:
  • Hermaphrodite: She was altered so that she would appeal to anyone.
  • Jack-of-All-Trades: To ensure she could fulfill any need, she highly educated and trained in a variety of tasks and skills.
  • Sex Slave: She was meant to fulfill this purpose if any of her owners demand it.

Sayori Unga

Former owner of M-Land, which was purchased by Copandon in order to create the Copa Empire.

Tropes exhibited by Sayori include:
  • Ambiguously Human: Not her, but her late husband. A picture of him she's holding in Rance 03 appears to be a picture of a chicken.
  • Awful Wedded Life: In Kichikuou Rance, she doesn't want to be married in the least out of respect for her late husband. However, should Rance recruit Gengorou Shinoda in his army, she's forced to marry him, and is clearly unhappy with it.
  • Wrench Wench: She has a Level 1 Engineering skill, which she put to good use constructing M-Land.


CITY

Keith Gold & Haini Gold

The president of the Keith Guild where Rance works. After the death of the Female Warrior, the mentor of Rance, one of her longtime friends, Keith, took him under his wing and gave him a new home. Despite saying otherwise, Rance has a certain respect for him thanks to his tutorage. He also has a tendency to get Rance involved in dangerous missions, knowing full well his personality, strength and weaknesses.

In Rance III/03, a secretary by the name of Haini works for him, and he marries her by the time of Rance Quest.

Tropes exhibited by Keith include:
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: He has a pretty good idea of how to handle Rance and keep him pointed where he can do some good.
  • Happily Married: In Rance Quest, it's revealed that he has married his secretary Haini, and he's very excited about starting a family.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He'd have to be to deal with Rance. He's also the closest thing Rance has to a father figure, willing to overlook Rance's personality in favor of his talents.
  • Unfazed Everyman: When Satella meets him to ask Lark's whereabouts in the beginning of the third game, he isn't afraid in the slightest and even keeps control of the conversation despite her being a Fiend.

Lark Pikespeak

A member of the Keith Guild on the same rescue mission of Rance in the beginning of Rance III/03, associated with Noah Hakobune. Their adventure met a tragic end after meeting the Fiend Satella, then searching the Holy Relics of Leazas to unlock access to Chaos. After getting defeated and left abandoned by Rance with grievous wounds, he left adventuring to better himself.

Tropes exhibited by Lark include:
  • Bishonen: He is quite good looking, hence Rance hating him at first sight.
  • The Cameo: Is mentioned by Miracle in Rance IX as part of the Twelve Knights.
  • Sacrificial Lamb: Non-lethal example. Despite appearing as a competent adventurer on his own, he and Noah got wrecked by Satella and her Apostles, showing to Rance and the audience the danger of the Fiends.

Noah Hakobune (née Sailing)

Another Keith Guild adventurer, partnered with Lark. Following her defeat and torture at the hands of Satella in Rance 03, she retired from adventurer work and got married. She's a recruitable party member in Rance Quest.

Tropes exhibited by Noah include:
  • Break the Cutie: Hoo boy. Meeting a Fiend by sheer coincidence and subsequently getting tortured eventually made her quit the job of adventurer altogether.
  • Covert Pervert: Near the end of Rance X, she meets Satella again after being recruited into the Fiend Extermination Squad. When it looked like she was going to reprimand Satella, she instead asked to lend her Isis for another ride. Upon learning of his death, Rance immediately jumps at the opportunity to have sex with her, only for her to mumble that it was "not as big as before".
  • Gender Blender Name: Noah, at least with that spelling, is generally considered a man's name.
  • Rape as Drama: Poor Noah suffers one in Rance III/03' after meeting Satella, who prompted her Apostle Isis to rape her in order to get information from Lark. Which makes her very ashamed when it's revealed in Rance X she actually enjoys rough sex.
  • White Mage: A Level 1 Skill in Divine Magic makes her a good healer, but she doesn't have any offensive magic.

Atago McCart

Owner of a bar famous across the Continent, with thriving business... until Rance started frequenting the place and scaring off all her customers by the time of Rance Quest.

Tropes exhibited by Atago include:
  • The Bartender: A female example, and she is extremely good at her job.
  • Broken Bird: Before Rance met her, she was a happy, cheerful young woman. After Rance met her, she's jaded and cynical.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Being one of the regular victims of Rance, she regularly trades barbs at him to his expense.
  • Sex Sells: Rance eventually decides to force her to work in her underwear. This actually manages to get the business thriving again, though Atago isn't happy about it.

Louis Quitowack

Another adventurer working at the Keith Guild. He has a thuggish, shady appearance, but is actually a lot more meek and friendly than he appears. He first appears as a mercenary working for Pluepet in Kichikuou Rance, then made his first canonical appearance in Rance 01 and 03 as a member of the Keith Guild.

Tropes exhibited by Louis include:
  • Adaptational Heroism: In Kichikuou Rance, he was behaving like your typical mercenary: not very amiable and crass. In Rance 01, he got considerably nicer, probably due to his new affiliation with the Keith Guild.
  • Butt Monkey: He constantly takes on jobs that are too much for him to handle, and thus comes off as hugely incompetent. Keith thinks he could do a lot better if he would just accept his limits and take on jobs closer to his skill level.
  • Face of a Thug: He has crazy facial expressions and dresses like a punk, but he's really pretty personable.
  • Gambling Addict: Often tries gambling as a way to earn money after a failed job. He's terrible at it though.

Frostvine

A witch who had been living on the floating continent Ylapu; she moves into CITY following its collapse. She is the creator of Athena 2.0.

Tropes exhibited by Frostvine include:
  • Absent-Minded Professor: She doesn't have a lot of common sense and gets easily distracted. She can hardly take care of herself without Tama around.
  • Creating Life: She's one of the few humans who managed to successfully create artificial life, namely the homonculus Athena, complete with a Level Cap, Skills, and even sentience.
  • Gone Horribly Right: Her first attempt at an artificial lifeform, Athena 1.0, was too human, grew independent of her control, and ran off with a ham bambara.
  • Mad Scientist: She comes off as this, with her obsession with creating Artificial Humans. Still, there's no denying that her creations are impressive fears of biological engineering.

Tama

A woman with feline characteristics that works as Frostvine's servant.

Tropes exhibited by Tama include:
  • Ambiguously Human: Her cat features suggest she isn't human... but at the same time she doesn't act much like a monster either.
  • Catgirl: No ears or tail, but she does have cat-like eyes, fangs, and cat-like mannerisms. She bears little resemblence to the cat girl Gal Monsters, though it's possible she's a Rare Gal Monster.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: She takes care of Frostvine's chores and runs the shop for her.
  • Meaningful Name: Tama is usually a name given to cats in Japan.
  • Mismatched Eyes: Yellow and blue.
  • Servile Snarker: She frequently makes biting remarks at Frostvine's expense.

The Four Witches of Custom

The main antagonist group of Rance II/02. They were the four former disciples of the mage Ragisis Cryhausen, and were given the Phiel Rings to enhance their power. However, the rings they were wearing had the side effect of altering their personality to do evil, and Ragisis himself was the first casualty. The only way to remove the rings requires one to lose their virginity, and as you can expect, all four of them were saved by Rance. It is later revealed they were manipulated by Ragisis from the start: his Phiel Rings were a means for him to absorb their power for himself. However, due to having absorbed too much magic, Ragisis suddenly dies mid-fight against Rance, freeing the Four Witches once and for all.

Shizuka Masou

A powerful mage and the leader of the 4 Witches of Custom. Shizuka starts as the apparent Big Bad of Rance II/02 until it is revealed she is under the Phiel Ring's influence. Following these events, she develops an intense dislike of Rance and continues to appear in other games alongside her friend Maria Custard. She is the target of her half-sister Nagi su Ragarl's one-sided revenge.

Tropes exhibited by Shizuka include:

Maria Custard

The first Witch Rance encounters in Rance II/02, mastering water. However, it is revealed that she isn't fit for Magic Arts, but armaments and mechanisms. She's always seen with her trademark weapon, the Tulip series, which is akin to a rocket launcher, very powerful and easy to use for her. She's also the best friend of Shizuka and often travels with her when she's searching for new material to create new inventions. Out of the Four Witches, she's the only one with a relation of mutual love with Rance.

Tropes exhibited by Maria include:
  • Gadgeteer Genius: She has the honor of being the only one with a Lv2 Mechanics Skill, allowing her to create many inventions and weapons that would change the world as the people know it.
  • Hair Decorations: From Rance IV onwards, she always wears her signature red ribbon in the back of her hair.
  • Hidden Depths: Although science is her forte, she actually has quite a bit of magic potential. The Phil Ring she wore in the second game drew out this potential, but when she lost her virginity, her magic power went with it.
  • I Am Not Pretty: Clearly suffers from self-image issues, as she frequently expresses concerns about her weight, and her internal monologue often implies she thinks she isn't good enough for Rance.
  • Meganekko: And the most prominent of the series.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: Is considered a Balance Breaker because she knows how to build a working nuclear reactor. Thankfully downplayed however, as she doesn't intend to actually build one, and so the church has chosen to let her live.
  • What Does She See in Him?: Her crush on Rance is obvious to everyone around her, but what they can't wrap their heads around, especially Shizuka, is why she has feelings for a brute like Rance.
  • Wrench Wench: Despite being called a witch and technically being a mage, she generally spends her time in a mechanics lab and is most often seen in engineering gear. She has invented bazookas, artillery cannons, a fully mobile tank, and even an airship. She even builds a spaceship in one ending of Kichikuou Rance.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Blue, matching her elemental affinity with water.

Mill Yorks

The second and youngest of the Witches. Despite appearing as an adult in Rance II/02, she was actually a 9-year old kid at the time, much to the dismay of Rance, who has tried to forget about the incident. Along with her sister Milli, she runs a pharmacy in Custom and tries to flirt with Rance every time they meet, considering him as her "first one", though Rance repeatedly refuses. She has the quite unique Lv1 Summoning Skill, allowing her to summon powerful Eidolons to fight, in greater numbers depending on her current Level.

Tropes exhibited by Mill include:
  • Dirty Kid: A rare female exemple, thanks to what Rance did to her.
  • Got Volunteered: In Kichikuou Rance, she considered her teaching of Summoning to Asuka a burden, but over time she grows attached to her and misses her after the end of her training.
  • Magikarp Power: She starts out pathetically weak in Kichikuou Rance, having only 2 HP, laughable stats, and a double-digit troop count that can only be increased by leveling up, but it's hard to level her up when being targeted even once is usually a death sentence for her. Bring Merim with her to the Fountain of Growth, however, and she'll change back to her adult form from Rance II, adding an additional 2 HP and over 200 troops, making it much easier for her to hold her own in battle and increase her troop count further.
  • Sex Equals Love: Believes Rance to be her only love following their meeting in Rance II/02, but he prefers not to mention it at all.
  • Shout Out: The Japanese term for her Eidolons is 幻獣, or "phantom beasts", which is also what summoned monsters in the Final Fantasy series are called in Japan.
  • Summon Magic: Her signature Eidolons. While she has a Lv1 Magic Skill, she prefers to use them.
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Dreams of having sex with Rance following their incident in Rance II/02, making him quite afraid of her.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Purple.

Elenoa Ran

The third Witch encountered in Rance II/02, and the most affected by the Phiel Rings. Under its influence, she was highly sadistic and took pleasure in torturing and capturing girls to power up Shizuka Masou in order to further her goals. Upon being freed by Rance, she's revealed to be very mature and responsible, unlike her altered personality. Since then, she has worked very hard for the city of Custom to make up for her sins under the ring's influence, eventually becoming Custom's mayor in Rance Quest. In combat, she possesses the Lv1 Sword Combat and Magic Skill, making her a Spell-blader.

Tropes exhibited by Eleanor include:
  • An Arm and a Leg: Type 3. Under the control of the Ring, she cuts off Bird's arm in a swordfight.
  • Driven to Suicide: Subverted. She considered it in Rance Quest following the reconstruction of Custom due to her actions in Rance II/02, and the ever-growing Mill becoming independant from her. Rance of all people talked her down by giving her a new purpose in life: hating him and protecting the other girls in his stead.
    • Played straight in Kichikuou Rance: if Rance calls her in the harem multiple times, she will end her life to escape being toyed by him.
  • Fiery Redhead: Inverted, she is the most collected of the Four Witches.
  • Hypnotic Eyes: She has the ability to trap someone's mind in an illusion by eye contact.
  • My Greatest Failure: The events of Rance II/02 are this to her. She spent the following years to help Custom as much as she can to atone for her misdeeds.
  • Nice Girl: The kindest of the Four Witches, and the most regretful of her actions after being freed from the Ring's influence.
  • Standard Status Effects: She can put her enemies to sleep in Rance X.
  • Spell Blade: One of the very few humans capable of mastering both Magic Arts and swordplay.


Custom

Ragisis Cryhausen

The teacher of the Four Witches of Custom. Once an former pupil of the legendary mage Mysteria Tou, he went on to become a great mage himself. He started a special school in Custom where he took in orphaned young girls with an aptitude for magic, with the Four Witches being his most recent pupils.

Tropes exhibited by Ragishss include:
  • Big Bad: The primary villain of Rance II/02, though he doesn't take any direct action until the very end of the game.
  • Demonic Possession: His ghost possesses Cith after Rance starts freeing the Witches from the Phiel Rings. At the end of the game, he has sex with Rance in Cith's body to get Rance to let his guard down, and steals the Phiel Rings afterward.
  • Immortality Seeker: His ultimate goal was to become immortal and all-powerful, through the use of the Phiel Rings.
  • Posthumous Character: He is murdered by the Four Witches shortly before the events of Rance 02. His ghost remains in the city and provides aid to Rance. He then reincarnates himself at the end by absorbing the power of the Phiel Rings.
  • Superpower Meltdown: How he meets his end: he's too powerful for Rance to defeat, but Rance manages to push him far enough that he uses more magic than his body can handle, and he vaporizes himself.

Milli Yorks

The older sister of Mill Yorks, and a good friend of the Witches. She first appears in Rance II/02, trying to rescue her sister. She's also a huge sexual predator, even rivaling Rance in term of perversity, along with having the skills and being bisexual to boot, earning her the nickname of "Archfiend of Sex".

Tropes exhibited by Milli include:
  • Anything That Moves: Manages to surpass even Rance since she has both men and women in her harem.
  • Bi the Way: She's openly bisexual and equally happy with male and female partners.
  • Big Sister Instinct: Can very well put her own life in danger to protect her sister from harm.
  • Bus Crash: After being absent from the series since Rance III/03, it's revealed she died of her illness before Rance Quest.
  • Cool Big Sis: To Mill.
  • Death by Adaptation: She can be cured of her illness by the Holy Gal Monster Wenlina in Kichikuou Rance, but dies in the canon proper.
  • Peek-a-Bangs: Serve to emphasize her attractive and mature looks.
  • The Red Baron: The Archfiend of Sex.
  • Sex God: And it shows by her Lv1 Skill in Sexual Technique, along with being one of the few able to dominate Rance in bed. It's even suggested that her libido is greater than Rance's: the first time they have sex, Rance passes out from exhaustion after 12 consecutive sessions and is astonished that Milli still wants to continue.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Purple, like her sister Mill.

Gazel and Cith Gode

Gazel is the mayor of Custom, and Cith his young daughter. He's sickly and bedridden during the events of Rance 02, and was later succeeded by Elenoa as the next mayor.

Tropes exhibited by both include:
  • Demonic Possession: Cith winds up possessed by Rasghiss in order for him to hide from the freed witches.
  • The Ingenue: Cith is very naive and innocent, completely failing to pick up any of the subtext in Rance's comments.
  • Mr. Exposition: Gazel's only purpose is to provide history on the town of Custom.

Suzuki and Elena LR

Suzuki is the Hanny owner of a bar in Custom, and Elena is his waitress. Elena also offers erotic services to make customers, but they're priced fairly steeply.

Tropes exhibited by both include:
  • Unproblematic Prostitution: No one seems to have a problem with her side job. She's also one of the few women who willingly engages in such practices.

Tomato Purée

Owner of a general store in Custom. Owns a baby mimic as a pet.

Tropes exhibited by Tomato include:
  • Androcles' Lion: If Rance reunites the mimic's parent with Tomato's pet, it's actually grateful to her for caring for its baby.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: She was depicted on the cover of Rance I but never actually appeared in that game.

Nay Oolong

An adventurer who showed up in Custom to solve the Witch incident but got badly wounded by Maria's magic statues.

Tropes exhibited by Nay include:
  • Establishing Character Moment: She serves as a retroactive one for Bird. He was her boyfriend and adventuring companion, but when she was injured he just left her behind.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Her experiences in Custom lead her to give up the adventuring life and settle down in the city.

Sylphide

Another of Bird's and Nay's adventuring party. He is encountered near death deep within the dungeon.

Tropes exhibited by Sylphide include:
  • Vampiric Draining: While trying to invade Shizuka's mansion, he encountered a succubus named Ralga, who seduced him and drained him dry.
  • Younger Than They Look: He's only 33 but appears to be elderly. This seems to have been a result of his draining by Ralga.

Rosé Card

A priestess who runs a church in Custom, but is actually wholly uninterested in religion in favor of having sex with devils.

Tropes exhibited by Rosé include:
  • Healing Hands: Despite having betrayed her religion, she can still use healing magic very well.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: It's from her that Rance learns how to enslave a Devil and gets Feliss as his servant, which has huge consequences for the rest of the game series. All that from two or three scenes in two games.
  • Nun-Too-Holy: She wears very revealing clothes and is addicted to sex with devils.

Lathelian, Eilem Thray and Thelify Gourah

A group of girls captured by Shizuka and subjected to torture as part of her plans.

Tropes exhibited by all three include:
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: They are tortured, both normally and sexually, as part of Shizuka's scheme in Rance 02.
  • Damsel in Distress: All three of them are in the midst of torture when found, and have to be rescued over the course of the game.

Machiko and Kyouko Yoshikawa

A pair of twin sisters who run Custom's info shop. Machiko believes in technology and simulations, while Kyouko believes in fortune-telling and mysticism.

Tropes exhibited by both include:
  • Information Broker: This is their job, and while they have very different ways of gathering information, they cooperate to play their trade.
  • Machine Monotone: Machiko speaks like this, referencing her love of computers and technology.
  • Polar Opposite Twins: They have different approaches to life, different clothes, and entirely different belief systems. Kyouko even works part-time on adventuring while Machiko seems to never leave the shop.
  • Smitten Teenage Girl: Kyouko developed a crush on Bird and seemed to get together with him for a while after the events of Rance 02, before he dumped her for yet another woman.


Ice

Rachett and Wrench Luncheon

A father and daughter who own a weapons shop in Ice. Rance sold them the holy weapons he got from Lia in Rance 02.

Tropes exhibited by both include:


  • Kick the Son of a Bitch: Rance kills Ratchett for incredibly petty reasons, but given the implications of what he did to his daughter, no one is shedding tears for him. Wrench even comes off as grateful that Rance killed her father.
  • Parental Incest: It's heavily implied, though not directly stated, that Ratchett abused Wrench.
  • Split Personality: Wrench suffers from one, where one personality is timid and shy, while the other is aggressive and dominant. She seems to swap between them daily.

Corin Coccolin

Owner of an items shop in Ice. She's obsessed with hannies.

Tropes exhibited by Corin include:
  • Collector of the Strange: Hanny-related items abound in her shop. All of her clothes and accessories even have hannies in them.
  • The Xenophile: Loves hannies to the point that she's a worshipper at the Hanny Temple, one of a very small number of human adherents.

Rola Indus

The kidnapped woman Rance has to save in the beginning of Rance III/03'. In reality, she wasn't kidnapped at all, but rather eloped with Wuu, the Lis who has supposedly taken her. After his defeat and Rola subsequently "saved" by Rance, she harbors a huge hatred for him, which actually causes him some problems later in the game.

Tropes exhibited by Rola include:
  • Distressed Damsel: Subverted. She wasn't kidnapped in the first place.
  • Interspecies Romance: With Wuu, a Lis, who actually turns human out of a desire to be with her, with some (unintentional) push from Rance.
  • They Do: In Rance 03's epilogue, she and Wuu get married.

Kana Seihaju Oosaka

A young woman Rance meets near the Rekka Mines. Her fiance is a worker in the mines, but she's also seeing Milli Yorks on the side.

Tropes exhibited by Kana include:
  • Bi the Way: Pretty casual about dating a woman and a man at the same time.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Melons of all kinds. She's always seen carrying melons or eating melons.
  • Your Cheating Heart: She's engaged to a miner, but seeing Milli Yorks. She also seems more serious about the latter than her fiance.

Silbarrel Silbarella

A former worker of Happiness Pharmaceutical, and infamous for being the ugliest woman of the Continent, and the worst nightmare of Rance. Her ugliness eventually got the attention of Crook Mofus, who deemed her a Balance Breaker and sealed her, out of fear of her genes spreading and causing havoc in the world.

Tropes exhibited by Silbarrel include:
  • Arch Enemy: Played for laughs in regards to her relation with Rance.
  • Gonk: While ugly characters are commonplace in the Continent, she happens to be the most famous exemple In-Universe.
  • Lethal Joke Character: As a playable character in Rance X, she can cause any enemy group to flee on sight.


Happiness Pharmaceutical

Doharas Happiness

President of the Happiness Pharmaceutical Company, which produces the Seirogan healing potion used by virtually every adventurer on the Continent.

Tropes exhibited by Doharas include:
  • Honest Corporate Executive: He's a perfectly pleasant man who looks out for his employees. When he hears that a captured Gal Monster is being used for materials for a new drug, he's horrified that his employees would do such a thing.
  • The Professor: He's a former scientist himself, having invented the Seirogan.
  • Weak but Skilled: Having a Level Cap of 1, he instead focused his efforts on researching medecine, eventually creating the Seirogan, used by virtually every adventurer of the world.

Joseph

Head researcher for Happiness Pharmaceutical Lab 1. A child genius with something of an attitude problem.

Tropes exhibited by Joseph include:
  • Bus Crash: Rance Quest revealed that he's been deemed a Balance Breaker and was sealed by the AL Church.
  • For Science!: He cares nothing about his work except getting glory for himself, and is willing to cross ethical boundaries to do it. This trait is toned down after Rance 4.2, where he's learned to stay within ethical boundaries.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: Underneath it all, he's revealed to be deeply insecure and feels immense pressure to live up to his reputation as a great genius.
  • Insufferable Genius: Constantly brags about how smart he is and puts everyone else down as "inferior". He also developed a new miracle drug and is so good at his job that the Church declared him a Balance Breaker.
  • Teen Genius: Only 13 years old and a better chemist than anyone else in the company.

Rose

Head of Happiness Pharmaceutical Lab 2. A hard-working woman with little spare time.

Tropes exhibited by Rose include:
  • Hot Scientist: Definitely doesn't take long for Rance to set his sights on her.
  • I Am Not Pretty: For some reason, she very strongly denies being pretty. It's not clear why she thinks this, and it throws her way off when Rance starts hitting on her.
  • Workaholic: She apparently stays late at night in the lab and is constantly working on something.

Angel Army

Not to be confused with an actual army of angels (that would fall under the gods), the Angel Army is a human terrorist group fighting for the rights of Gal Monsters. They're the main antagonists of Rance 4.1 and Rance 4.2.

Archibald

Leader of the Angel Army. He doesn't actually care about Monster rights as he claims, but instead has a fetish for Gal Monsters and wants to build himself a harem. In reality, he is Genri the monk's older brother Houri, who fled Nippon to avoid monkhood.

Tropes exhibited by this Archibald include:

Arnie Rolento

Commander of the Angel Army's Bear Squad, the main muscle of the group.

Tropes exhibited by Arnie include:
  • Beware the Cute Ones: She's small, cute, and friendly... and she's one of only people in the franchise that has actually killed Rance (before being resurrected by Wenlina).
  • Cute Bruiser: She's small and cute, but she knows how to use those knives. There's a reason she's in charge of Angel Army's main fighting force.
  • Femme Fatale: It's not her first choice, but she's not above using her looks to seduce men if she has to, and then kill them when their guard's down. She manages to take Rance off-guard twice like this, even succeeding in killing him the second time!
  • Hero-Killer: Repeat: she actually manages to canonically kill Rance! Even if it doesn't stick.
  • Knife Nut: Her main weapon is a long knife, and she has more knives hidden on her person.
  • The Mole: She poses as another adventurer helping Happiness Pharmaceuticals while secretly sabotaging the adventurers' efforts.
  • Trap Master: She places various traps in the dungeon and in the Angel Army's base to kill intruders. Rance only survives some of them by pure luck.
  • Villainous BSoD: When she sees Wenlina resurrect Rance after killing him, she goes near-catatonic at the thought that a Holy Gal Monster would work against the Angel Army, especially when it's someone like Rance.

Partie Burr

Commander of the Angel Army's Rabbit Squad, their scouting and infiltration division.

Tropes exhibited by Partie include:
  • Combat Pragmatist: When she launches an attack, it's in the form of a night raid, killing everyone in their sleep. She also takes a hostage when backed into a corner.
  • Defiled Forever: She actually uses the idea to her advantage when Rance decides to sexually torture her for information. After Rance takes her virginity, she declares that as she's already defiled she doesn't care what else he does to her, and so he has nothing more to threaten her with. Rance proves her wrong, though even he is a bit disturbed by the lengths he has to go to to get her to talk.
  • Whip It Good: Her main weapon is a pair of whips, which she's pretty skilled with. Noted to be one of the only people with a Whip Combat skill.

Summon-chan

A Rare Gal Monster working for the Angel Army. Has a unique ability to summon hordes of other monsters.

Tropes exhibited by Summon-chan include:
  • Fantastic Racism: She hates humans, like most monsters, but she makes an exception for the Angel Army, since they're helping Gal Monsters.
  • Single-Specimen Species: That's what makes her a "Rare" Gal Monster. She's a unique Gal Monster and the only one of her kind in the world.
  • Squishy Wizard: She relies entirely on her summons to fight. Rance defeats her by simply sneaking up behind her. Once she's within grabbing distance, it's over.
  • Summon Magic: She can effortlessly summon endless waves of monsters, and is the source of the attacks on Happiness Pharmaceuticals.


Minor Cities

Red

Sel Curchgolf

The priestess and representative of the AL Church for the city of Red, Sel is a pious woman of faith, loved by many children and very popular in the town. She first appears in Rance III/03 in the midst of the 7th Helman-Leazas War, after Red was liberated by the Leazas Liberation Army led by Rance. She temporarily joins him afterwards, and often unsuccessfully tries to change him into a better person. After the liberation of Leazas, she stayed in Red as the guardian of the sword Chaos following his unsealing, up until Rance VI where Rance retrieves Chaos from her during the Fall of Zeth.

Tropes exhibited by Sel include:
  • Healing Hands: Wielding divine magic means she's fairly skilled at healing.
  • Naughty Nuns: Not by her choice (and her habit is realistically modest), but Rance and Chaos both fetishize her and keep trying to get her into lewd situations.
  • Saintly Church: She genuinely believes in the benevolence of her religion's message and tries to live up to it, despite it being a cover-up for the Gods.
  • Technical Virgin: Despite Rance's personality, she actually never had any coitus with him: her numerous threats and lectures ended up dissuading him from doing too much with her, as he values her great healing abilities.

Wayos Benville

A shopkeeper in Red. Cousin of Cessna of Zeth, and like her cousin has chronic narcolepsy.

Tropes exhibited by Wayos include:
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: Dresses in such a style, though colored bright pink rather than black.
  • Sleepyhead: She's actually a fairly talented mage, and she badly miscast a sleeping spell when young, giving both herself and her cousin Cessna narcolepsy.


 Portugal

Pluepet

A merchant born in Portugal, who can frequently be seen travelling the world selling his wares.

Tropes exhibited by Pluepet include:
  • Loan Shark: He is known to give loans, and there are severe consequences for being unable to pay them back. Several such people wound up as his slaves, to be sold as products.
  • Intrepid Merchant: He can show up in some truly odd places at times, such as deep within dungeons or even in Genbu Castle.
  • Only in It for the Money: Pluepet can do many amoral things as much as helping people, as long as he gets a good profit out of it.
  • Riddle for the Ages: In Sengoku Rance, he refuses to accept standard currency and exclusively trades for Oni bones. Why has never been explained.
  • Unexplained Recovery: Rance can choose to kill him in Kichikuou Rance to free Rebecca Copri, but he later reappears without much damage, still selling services and mercenaries to him.

Kisara Copri

A young female adventurer Rance encountered in Rance 4.1, as Bird's partner. She turns out to have a mountain of debt she's trying to pay off.

Tropes exhibited by Kisara include:
  • Broken Pedestal: Exploited by Rance. She originally thought Bird was a nice guy who would help her out, unlike everyone else she'd met. Rance tricks her into thinking that Bird is a brutish thug, causing her to abandon him.
  • Improbable Weapon User: She uses a deck of playing cards as a focus for magic spells, hitting her targets with various kinds of elemental damage.
  • Made a Slave: She returns in Rance Quest, having been made into a slave of Pluepet for failing to pay off her debt. Rance can purchase her in order to free her from Pluepet's control.
  • Mind Control: Rather than the standard obedience magic, she and her sister are fitted with more permanent mind control devices as slaves. Taking the device off removes its effects.
  • Work Off the Debt: Her parents saddled her with a debt of 4,000,000 Gold, which she became an adventurer to pay off. Unfortunately, she fails and is enslaved as a result.

Rebecca Copri

Sister of Kisara Copri. Enslaved due to her family's massive debt, Kisara hopes to free her by paying it off.

Tropes exhibited by Rebecca include:
  • Living MacGuffin: Due to being under mind control, her only purpose is for her rescue to be the motive for Kisara's adventuring.
  • Made a Slave: Pluepet took her as partial payment for the Copri family's debts, charging Kisara with paying off the remainder.
  • Sex Slave: This is how Pluepet uses her, renting her out to anyone willing to pay.

Cecil Carna

A mercenary who often receives jobs through Pluepet.

Tropes exhibited by Cecil include:
  • Badass Cape: Part of her standard adventurer outfit.
  • Consummate Professional: She completely rejects anything that doesn't have to do with her work, and as a result has no friends. Neither does she want any.
  • I Am Not Pretty: She is beautiful, but refuses to acknowledge it, saying that she is "a fighter, not a woman".
  • Perpetual Frowner: Is not seen smiling once.


L'Zile

Deucalion Hakobune

New mayor of L'Zile following its liberation from Helman. The husband of Noah.

Tropes exhibited by this Deucalion include:
  • Unexpected Successor: It was generally thought that Mekill would succeed her father as mayor, but Deucalion made the case that she was too young and too broken to effectively govern.

Kasumi K. Kasumi

Maria Custard's assistant and student. A talented engineer in her own right.

Tropes exhibited by Kasumi include:
  • Alliterative Name: All three of her names are "Kasumi" written in different ways: her first name is written in katakana, her middle name in romaji, and her last name in kanji.
  • Ascended Extra: She appeared as early as Rance 03 in background shots, but became a recruitable commander in Sengoku Rance and was playable in Rance X.
  • Wrench Wench: Frequently seen working with Maria on her Tulip series.

Mekill Depa L'Zile

Daughter of L'Zile's former mayor. She is forced into servitude when L'Zile is captured by Helman in Rance 03.

Tropes exhibited by Mekill include:
  • Broken Bird: She's completely devoid of hope or will when Rance finds her, soullessly obeying the Helman invaders to ensure her family's safety.
  • Meido: Forced to work as a maid for the Helman occupiers.
  • Sex Slave: In addition to maid duties, the Helman soldiers use her for physical pleasure when they please.


The O

Arios Theoman

See his entry in Other Humans.

Tenmabachi Alice

A popular idol singer from The O.

Tropes exhibited by Alice include:
  • Idol Singer: One of the most popular from the Free Cities, and even has a big following in Leazas. Rance is known to be a fan of hers.
  • Name's the Same: She has the same name as the AL Church's goddess, though the two do not appear to be related in any way. Her character design is also near identical to Alicesoft's mascot, also named Alice.
  • Sex Slave: Subverted in Rance 03. She is offered as such to Thoma Lipton when he conquers The O, but he refuses outright.

Nina Nirvana

The Childhood Friend of Arios Theoman and his true and only love amongst all of his love interests. His sudden decision of Walking the Earth as the Hero slowly depressed her over the years of absence, until his return in their village, having given up his status of Hero to be with her. However, tragic events in Rance X struck the young couple: Nina dies after their hometown is destroyed by the Monster Army in the 2nd Fiend War, forcing Arios to be the Hero again, with some push from the Heroic Guide Cola.

Tropes exhibited by Nina include:
  • Alliterative Name: Nina Nirvana.
  • Black Comedy: Her sole skill as a playable character consists of her dying in order to enable the Super Mode of Arios, reflecting her own fate in Rance X.
  • Disposable Woman: She is killed almost immediately after being introduced in Rance X in order to push Arios into becoming the Hero again. Her status as such is lampshaded for Black Comedy by her character card, which possesses only one skill; "Roll Over and Die", which gives her a very high chance of getting knocked down and rendered unusable for the remainder of a fight whenever the party is hit by an enemy attack, and is required to happen in order for the Arios card to be able to transform into its Hero form.


Rockearth

Gracq Alcapone

The founder of the DX Association, a large mafia group which headquarters are located in Rockearth. He first appears in Kichikuou Rance, and will negociate with Rance should he invades the city. Depending on the player's choices, the group is allowed to exist in exchange for money and various services, or is destroyed by Rance.

Tropes exhibited by Gracq include:
  • Asexuality: Despite the large amount of trafficking of sex slaves he does, it's noted that he personally has no interest in sex.
  • The Don: Head of the largest crime organization on the Continent. He's even named after Al Capone.
  • Faux Affably Evil: He puts on a kindly face to everyone he meets, belying his true nature as a heartless slave trader.

Katyusha Bosch

A cunning woman who uses her looks and body to get money and influence off unsuspecting men. In Kichikuou Rance, she and her friend Saulnia Benz manipulated Gracq Alcapone and stole most of his money to flee in Helman, where they currently stay as Rolex Gadras lovers.In Rance X, she actually took over the DX Association and also acts as the mayor of Rockearth this time, allowing her to manipulate Rance with women during the 2nd Fiend War.

Tropes exhibited by Katyusha include:


Aoi

A sex slave belonging to the DX Association, and can be given to Rance as a gift. With the right conditions, she can be freed of her conditioning and slavery after several months in an asylum.

Tropes exhibited by Aoi include:
  • Can't Have Sex, Ever: If she is successfully rehabilitated, Maris warns that any kind of sexual activity could lead to a relapse, so she should remain chaste the rest of her life.
  • Pet the Dog: Her mind has been so broken by her life of slavery that Rance of all people is moved to help her, despite this making it less likely she'd have sex with him.
  • Sex Slave: Said to have been one of the DX Association's finest "products".


Hanna

Gengorou Shinoda

A soccer enthusiast living in Hanna. Is surprisingly also a brilliant strategist who once held off a Nipponese invasion outnumbered 100-to-1.

Tropes exhibited by Gengorou include:
  • Hopeless Suitor: He's deeply in love with Sayori Unga, former owner of M-Land and a widow. However, Sayori is still faithful to her deceased husband, and firmly turns down his courting. To his credit, he accepts this and doesn't pursue her further, but her rejection sends him into a depression.
  • Neutral No Longer: In Rance X, he finally is convinced to give his aid against the monster invasion when he realizes that Sayori Unga could easily be killed in the crossfire.
  • The Strategist: Considered to be greatest strategist alive during the Rance games, but he continually rebuffs any and all attempts to recruit him.


Wargod City (formerly the Floating Island of Ylapu)

Alexander

A powerful young martial artist encountered by Rance on several occasions, who would go on to play a major role in the Toushin Toushi series.

Tropes exhibited by Alexander include:
  • Badass in Distress: During Toushin Toushi, he is captured by YORA and being drained of his strength, requiring Custom and Yumiko to rescue him.
  • Walking the Earth: This is what he's up to in the Rance series, wandering and seeking great challenges to hone his skills.

YORA

A frail man born on Ylapu before it crashed to the ground and became Wargod City. He grew up to become its mayor and created the Toushin Toushi tournament that forms the central premise of the Toushin Toushi games.

Tropes exhibited by YORA include:
  • Big Bad: He's the central antagonist of the first Toushin Toushi game.
  • Vampiric Draining: He reverse-engineered enough Holy Magic Sect technology to learn how to drain the vitality and strength out of other people.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: He was well-respected as mayor of Wargod City, as many attribute the city's growth and prosperity to his leadership following the fall of Ylapu.

Freoncoise

The owner of a diner on Ylapu. Rance uses her place as his base during Rance IV.

Tropes exhibited by Freoncoise include:
  • Frying Pan of Doom: Her weapon of choice, which makes sense considering she runs a diner.
  • I Was Quite a Looker: She claims to have been as beautiful as Sill when she was younger.
  • Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: She's the strongest fighter on Ylapu... at Level 10. Rance is able to surpass her after only a day or two of training.

Yocchan and Reagan

Yocchan is a young girl who runs a shop on Ylapu. She's always accompanied by a bizarre creature named Reagan.

Tropes exhibited by both include:
  • Only Shop in Town: Ylapu's low population means that hers is the only general store there is.
  • No Hero Discount: As usual, she won't discount anything for Rance despite him fighting to stop Upsilon. She can be convinced to lower her prices by Rance befriending her and doing her favors.
  • The Unintelligible: Reagan only makes strange noises that can't be called speech, but Yocchan seems to understand him.

Kiseda Espira

Leader of the Youth Brigade, a volunteer organization dedicated to keeping the peace on Ylapu. A total weakling.

Tropes exhibited by Kiseda include:
  • Butt Monkey: Rance describes him in extremely unflattering terms. While that's par for the course for Rance, the narration seems to agree in this case, describing Kiseda as the weakest and most pathetic a human could possibly be without just keeling over and dying.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: Offhandedly mentioned to have died when Ylapu fell to the ground.
  • Info Dump: All he really contributes is a history lesson on Ylapu and the Dallas expedition. Oh, and Rance can bully him for money.

Cynthia and Alicia

A pair of priestess sisters who run the local church on Ylapu. They worship a strange, fruit-shaped god named Younashi.

Tropes exhibited by both include:
  • Damsel in Distress: Alicia is kidnapped by Bitch before the game begins to be used as Wargod Upsilon's power source. She spends the majority of the game stuck in a crystal ball, unconscious. Cynthia is taken immediately after Alicia is rescued.
  • Polar Opposite Twins: Their personalities are completely different: where Cynthia is chaste, puritanical, and devoted, Alicia is promiscuous, irreverent, and adventurous.


Kingdom of Parancho

Poron Chao

The current King of Parancho. He originally appeared as the protagonist of his own spin-off game, Kaeru nyo Panyon, as one of the two princes of Parancho. Unlike his charismatic and famous brother Pitten, he was quite timid, lived a sheltered life and didn't leave the castle once, mostly praticing magic alone. However, at the time of the game, he was forced to participate in a duel against his brother, due to his father hesitating to choose a successor. He went to the West to find a "precious thing" and get back to his kingdom, but ended up trapped by a mysterious wizard in the Monster Forest (near the Maginot Line of Zeth), and was turned into a rabbit-like creature named Panyon. Shortly after, he saves 7 female adventurers from danger, who soon became his escort to go back to Parancho.

After several days travelling back to the Free Cities, he eventually comes back to his kingdom, only to learn his brother usurped the throne. Following a fierce battle against his brother and the royal guard, he learns that his entire adventure was a Secret Test of Character intended to made him grow as the future King of Parancho, as his brother always viewed him as the rightful heir. Afterwards, he goes on another adventure with his seven companions, as part of his training. He was not seen again until Rance X, though he was mentioned several times in Rance IX as an acquaintance of Patton Misnarge.

Tropes exhibited by Poron include:
  • Always Someone Better: Pitten recognizes that he is more able to handle the politics and business that a King must handle.
  • And the Adventure Continues: The True Ending of Kaeru nyo Panyon shows him travelling once more with his companions, as part of his training as a future King.
  • Armor-Piercing Attack: In Rance X, his second ability allows him to dispel Locked Buffs (which are usually damage reduction buffs)
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: Courtesy of having a LV2 Skill Level in Unarmed Combat, making him quite strong with his fists.
  • Cast from Hit Points: In his Panyon form, he needs to sacrifice his own life points to heal his allies.
  • Celibate Hero: Notable for being one of the rare Alicesoft protagonists to not be sexually active.
  • Clueless Chick Magnet: Everyone in his escort end up falling for him, yet he only thinks of them as his trusted comrades.
  • The Cutie: Even moreso in his Panyon form, which resembles a rabbit.
  • The Good King: Thanks to his LV1 Skill Level in Government, which makes him pretty good at politics.
  • Inadequate Inheritor: Views himself as this. The plot of Kaeru nyo Panyon revolves around Pitten and Peperon gambit to make him grow out of this trope.
  • The Load: He was one as a Panyon, unable to defend himself, but he still has his Divine Magic skills.
  • Non-Action Guy: Is effectively stuck as one during the events of Kaeru nyo Panyon, where he needs to be protected by his female escort.
  • Teen Genius: Ends up being the king of a entire kingdom, expert martial artist whose strength rivals with the likes of Patton Misnarge, and able to use Divine Magic to heal and empowers his allies, at 18.
  • Took a Level in Badass: As of Rance X, he effectively became one of the most powerful humans of the setting, on top of being the King of Parancho.
  • Training from Hell: How he honed his skills in martial arts? By wrestling with Hugants, monsters known for their huge strength and body, on a daily basis.

Pitten Chao

The older brother of Poron, and was actually the next King in line. However, he largely favors his brother as the rightful heir despite being a little immature, and create a false scenario where he usurps the throne, with their father and old friend Nikopelli to help Poron to gain more confidence in himself. He also appears in Rance IX, as a friend of Patton Misnarge met during his travels.

Tropes exhibited by Pitten include:
  • Anti-Magic: His golden armor allows him to shrug off magic attacks.
  • Bishōnen: He's quite handsome with some androgynous traits.
  • Secret Test of Character: The entire adventure of Poron is revealed to be one, as part of his brother's plan to make him the future King.

Nikopelli

The oldest mage of Parancho, and a good friend of the royal family. Though strong and wise, he's quite fond of pranking others due to the everlasting peace of the Kingdom. Along with Peperon and Pitten, he also puts Poron through a serial of trials of his doing, notably by making him drink a potion which transforms him into a Panyon, crippling his fighting skills in the process. He gleefully accepts Poron as his new King at the end of Kaeru nyo Panyon, along with the rest of the royal family.

Tropes exhibited by Nikopelli include:
  • Cool Old Guy: Has served the Parancho Kingdom for years, and acts as a mentor figure for the royal family.
  • Mook Maker: One of his powers allows him to create Doodle Beasts as much as he wants.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: No one in Poron's party actually found his identity despite it being obvious to the players. He even lampshades it, believing they could have unmasked him on the spot.
  • Trickster Mentor: As part of the plan, he made Poron drink a potion which turned him into a Panyon, forcing him to recruit allies for his quest.



Other Citizens

Jima Bakasko

Former princess of the small but peaceful country of Arekino. She was cursed by a witch to become a human-killing monster and destroyed her country.

Tropes exhibited by Jima include:
  • The Atoner: After she's freed of her curse, she dedicates her life to rebuilding Arekino.
  • Baleful Polymorph: She was transformed into a mindless beast by a witch and ruthlessly attacked anyone who came near her. Rance manages to defeat her and undo her curse in Rance Quest.

Mary Ann

A young girl from the small city of Goa. Born into poverty, she lost her mother at a very young age and suffered abuse from an alcoholic father, which made her estranged from her family and eventually self-reliant by taking jobs in the city. She appears in Rance X, in the midst of the 2nd Fiend War.

An older version of her can be found in Kichikuou Rance, where she appears as an old lady and lover of the Fiend Lei.

Tropes exhibited by Mary include:
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: At the very end of Rance X: Part 2, she and Lei eventually wind up living together happily.
  • Go Through Me: She repeatedly stands up to Rance and prevents him from killing a wounded Lei.
  • Morality Pet: It's largely due to her insistence on being his friend that Lei underwent a Heel–Face Turn and became a better person.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: Her face is notable for avoiding the Generic Cuteness of most of the female cast, and is acnowledged as plain In-Universe.


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