Part I: INTRODUCTION can be read here.
NOTE: The following is based on the events of Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] only.
SPOILERS ABOUND. IF YOU INTEND TO WATCH THE SERIES, AND HAVE NOT WATCHED THE LATEST EPISODE. DO NOT CONTINUE OR RISK SPOILING YOURSELF.
Likewise, insofar as the anime has revealed, I will not be spoiling any further than the anime.
BACKGROUND
The Holy Grail was actually a magical device created with the cooperation of three then-prominent magical families - the Einzberns, the Tohsakas and the Makiri (now called Matou) - in an attempt to reach the pinnacle of magic, called the Root.
However, the experiment was a failure but resulted in a device that contained an immense amount of magical energy, sufficient to grant any wish. Thus, it became known as a omnipotent wish-making device, and every sixty years, seven mages known as Masters vie for the Holy Grail, each using Heroic Spirits, Servants summoned from the Holy Grail.
MASTERS AND COMMAND SEALS
The Holy Grail selects seven magi to be Masters and allows them to summon one of the seven classes of Servants (see below). Each Master will receive three command seals/spells on their hand, which are basically highly condensed form of magical energy. Command Seals can be used to force complete obedience of a Servant. Although generally a Servant usually follows his/her Master's orders, Servants have their individual personality and may not follow all orders without question. Command Seals may also be used with the Servant's cooperation to achieve feats ordinarily not possible such as teleporting a Servant to a distant location, or to travel large distances in mere seconds. Command Seals are limited to three uses, and upon using them all, the Master will not longer have control of the Servant and are no longer Masters. Hence, Command Seals are advised to be used sparingly, and only when completely necessary,
Emiya Shirou: Emiya Shirou is the original Master of Saber, until Caster severed his bond with Saber and took Saber as her own Servant. Emiya is known to be highly idealistic, and self-sacrificial in his attempt to become a 'hero of justice'. Emiya is known to be a very weak magus, and his only abilities shown so far is strengthening and projection magic.
Tohsaka Rin: The original Master of Archer, until he betrayed her to join Caster. Despite having not completed her magus training, Tohsaka Rin is a extremely powerful magus in her own right. She specialises in her family's unique brand of Magic, crystal magic, whereby crystals storing magical energy is activated. She is also highly proficient in Martial Arts, and uses magic to augment her physical abilities whenever she needs to use it.
Matou Shinji: The Master of Rider until she was defeated by Caster. He now controls another Servant, Gilgamesh. Shinji is not a magus as his family's magic bloodline has died out.
Ilya von Einzbern: The Master of Berserker. Ilya is not a human, but a homunculus created for the main purpose of winning the Holy Grail War. She is the greatest homunculus created by the Einzbern, and is an extremely powerful magus, owning to the lion's share of her body being occupied by magic circuits.
Souichirou Kuzuki: Kuzuki is not a real Master chosen by the Holy Grail, but acts as Caster's Master after she killed her own Master with her Noble Phantasm. Despite being an ordinary human, he is incredibly skilled in Martial Arts, with abilities on par with a Servant.
Caster: Caster is the Master of Assassin.
SERVANTS
Servants are of seven classes, each with their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Saber: One of the three Knight Classes. Considered to be the strongest class of the servants, with high parameters in every attribute. They are usually melee attackers excelling in close combat. Sabers possesses a extremely potent Magic Resistance and a reasonably high-rank Riding skill, which enables the Servant to ride any vehicle.
Saber's true identity is Arturia or King Arthur. Her legend can be read here.
Archer: One of the three Knight Classes. They excel in ranged combat with the use of projectile weapons (not necessarily a bow). Archers have relatively high Magic Resistance as well as a high-ranking Independent Action ability, which enables Archers to act independently without active mana supply from their Master for a period of time. Usually possesses extremely powerful Noble Phantasms (see below).
Archer's true identity is Emiya Shirou, embodying his true ideal in the future
Lancer: One of the three Knight Classes, As the name suggests, Lancer is a master of long-range melee weapons such as spears or lances. Lancer possesses high parameters in most attributes, especially agility, and is only second to Saber. Lancer also possesses high Magic Resistance.
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Rider's true identity is Cu Chulainn. His legend can be read here.
Berserker: Possesses the ability Mad Enhancement, which greatly increases the Servant's parameters in all attributes. Usually focuses on melee attacks, using only brute force and overwhelming power, being incapable of rational thought. Other abilities of the Servant may be lost in favour of its ability,
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Berserker's true identity is Heracles. His legend can be read here.
Rider: One of the weaker classes in terms of pure attribute, but usually have powerful Noble Phantasms. Rider possesses Magic Resistance ability and the highest possible rank in Riding, allowing them to utilise the full potential of their mounts.
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Rider's true identity is Medusa. Her legend can be read here.
Assassin: Probably the weakest class in combat, with the exception being Sasaki Koujirou, being summoned by another Servant. Specialises in covert and stealth operations, which makes it suitable for killing Masters. Possesses the Presence Concealment ability, allowing it to remain undetected unless seen in a clear line of sight,
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Assassin true identity is a fictional (not usually possible, and of course in game context) legendary swordsman named Sasaki Kojirou. As he is not a 'true' heroic spirit, he does not have a legend. Basically, he spent his entire life learning to kill a sparrow until he mastered a skill comparable to a 'true' Noble Phantasm (see below).
Caster: Specialises in magecraft and high-level sorceries. Thought to be the weakest of all seven classes due to many classes having Magic Resistance. They possess the ability Territory Creation, which allows them to create areas beneficial to them and Item Construction, allowing them to craft powerful magic items or tools.
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Caster's true identity is Medea, Princess of Colchis. Her legend can be read here.
Gilgamesh: The Eight Servant that appeared in the fifth Holy Grail War that wasn't supposed to exist. Gilgamesh possesses the Gate of Babylon Noble Phantasm, with his treasury containing all the original Noble Phantasms in weapon form. Hence, he is able to use whatever Noble Phantasms the opponent is weak against. Gilgamesh's true and most powerful Noble Phantasm is Ea, the ultimate Noble Phantasm, which even Shirou cannot analyse.
NOBLE PHANTASMS
The ultimate weapon of the Servants, and their trump card. Noble Phantasms personify the Heroic Spirits, and the use of them will allow anyone who sees it to know the Servant's true name, and hence their weaknesses. Noble Phantasms comes in different forms and can be physical weapons, abstract concepts or other unique abilities. Noble Phantasms are extremely powerful and are used mostly as a last resort, or as a means to end a battle. Since the use of a Noble Phantasm requires a lot of mana and reveals the Servant's weaknesses, Noble Phantasms are usually used sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. Every Servant may have more than one Noble Phantasm.
Saber: Saber's has a Noble Phantasm called Invisible Air, which allows Saber to conceal her weapon as well as release it to form a defensive barrier. She can also deploy it to temporarily increase her speed or even improve the functionality of vehicles.
Saber's true Noble Phantasm is Excalibur, the name of her Holy Sword. It is an anti-fortress noble phantasm capable of destroying the Holy Grail in one strike. Excalibur is considered to be among the greatest of Noble Phantasms due to its sheer power and relatively short casting time.
Saber also has a lost Noble Phantasm called Avalon, the sheath of Excalibur. It has the ability to transport the user into Avalon, a world completely removed from the real world, a place that even the True Magics cannot reach. It is without a doubt Saber's greatest Noble Phantasm, although she can only use it with Shirou's projection.
Archer: Archer's Noble Phantasm is revealed to be Unlimited Blade Works in episode 19. Unlimited Blade Works is a reality marble which contains an immeasurable number of swords that Archer has reproduced due to his ability to instantly recognise the structure and copy any weapon whose original he has seen, along with all the combat ability and strength associated with it. He is also able to project multiple swords as projectiles and fire them at the enemy, making it a perfect counter to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.
Lancer: Lancer's Noble Phantasm is Gae Bolg, a red spear. Gae Bolg can theoretically never miss and will always strike its target's heart as it has the power to reverse cause-and-effect - the spear has already pierced the target's heart even before the spear is thrust. However, Servants with good instincts such as Saber has been able to avoid it through sheer luck. It can also be thrown as an anti-army Noble Phantasm.
Berserker: Berserker's Noble Phantasm is Twelve Labors of Heracles. He will instantly return back to life if he dies unless he is killed twelve times. Heracles is unable to use his true Noble Phantasm, Nine Lives because of his skill Madness Enhancement, which increases his stats but causes Madness.
Rider: Rider perished too early before her Noble Phantasm was shown.
Assassin: Assassin does not actually possess a Noble Phantasm as he is a Servant summoned by a another Servant, but he possesses a skill that is comparable to a Noble Phantasm - Tsubame Gaeshi. With Assassins long blade, he executes three simultaneous strikes that is impossible to avoid or defend against, albeit with special techniques.
Caster: Caster's Noble Phantasm is Rule Breaker, a jagged dagger capable of severing any and all rules, bonds and connections. Her Noble Phantasm is what allows her to sever her bond with her previous Master, summon her own servant, and steal other Master's Servants.
...And that's it.
By now you should know a lot more of the characters in this show, and hopefully you have also gleaned a lot of useful information from this post. Please post any questions you have in the comments. Next time, we shall move more in-depth and I shall explain certain story events as well as some frequently asked questions. Till next time!
Archer: Archer's Noble Phantasm is revealed to be Unlimited Blade Works in episode 19. Unlimited Blade Works is a reality marble which contains an immeasurable number of swords that Archer has reproduced due to his ability to instantly recognise the structure and copy any weapon whose original he has seen, along with all the combat ability and strength associated with it. He is also able to project multiple swords as projectiles and fire them at the enemy, making it a perfect counter to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.
Lancer: Lancer's Noble Phantasm is Gae Bolg, a red spear. Gae Bolg can theoretically never miss and will always strike its target's heart as it has the power to reverse cause-and-effect - the spear has already pierced the target's heart even before the spear is thrust. However, Servants with good instincts such as Saber has been able to avoid it through sheer luck. It can also be thrown as an anti-army Noble Phantasm.
Berserker: Berserker's Noble Phantasm is Twelve Labors of Heracles. He will instantly return back to life if he dies unless he is killed twelve times. Heracles is unable to use his true Noble Phantasm, Nine Lives because of his skill Madness Enhancement, which increases his stats but causes Madness.
Rider: Rider perished too early before her Noble Phantasm was shown.
Assassin: Assassin does not actually possess a Noble Phantasm as he is a Servant summoned by a another Servant, but he possesses a skill that is comparable to a Noble Phantasm - Tsubame Gaeshi. With Assassins long blade, he executes three simultaneous strikes that is impossible to avoid or defend against, albeit with special techniques.
Caster: Caster's Noble Phantasm is Rule Breaker, a jagged dagger capable of severing any and all rules, bonds and connections. Her Noble Phantasm is what allows her to sever her bond with her previous Master, summon her own servant, and steal other Master's Servants.
...And that's it.
By now you should know a lot more of the characters in this show, and hopefully you have also gleaned a lot of useful information from this post. Please post any questions you have in the comments. Next time, we shall move more in-depth and I shall explain certain story events as well as some frequently asked questions. Till next time!
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