History Characters / EldenRingRadahn

* {{Irony}}:
** Radahn learned gravity magic from an Alabaster Lord, a Star spawn, in his youth. He goes on to use these powers to [[spoiler:fight the starspawn creatures in the Starscourge Conflict and stop the stars' movement via a gravity well, block falling stars and light from distant stars, which would prevent more starspawn creatures from entering the Lands Between]]. In fact, as Sellen explains, glinstone sorcery itself is powered by "the vitality of the stars", and gravity magic is a subset of glinstone sorcery (as noted in the descriptions of every gravity sorcery).
** Radahn longed to live up to the legacy of Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, over that of his own father Radagon. Since Godfrey is most famous for being a conqueror who took his title by strength alone, it was likely for this reason that Radahn attacked Leyndell. Who defeated his army and stopped him from achieving his goal? None other than Morgott, Godfrey's actual son. To add further to the irony, Radahn showed up in full battle regalia deliberately modeled off of Godfrey's motif, while Morgott repulsed him while wearing nought but his usual tattered cloak after [[KingIncognito having abandoned his royal title to take to the battlefield]] - basically it was Godfrey vs [[spoiler:Hoarah Loux.]]

* AssistCharacter: Ever wondered why Radahn was able to zip around the battlefield so fast? This horse is why.

* LostInTranslation: In the Japanese script Radahn's title is not "general," but "shogun" (将軍). While "general" is a valid way to translate it, and it presumably went through translation because it'd be weird for a warlord in a MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting to have an obviously Japanese title, the implications of the two words are somewhat different. While "general" is a generic title for a military commander, "shogun" recalls a very specific historical rank in feudal Japan for ''de facto'' military dictators of the country, and is never used for modern military ranks. The title is a shortening of Sei-i Taishōgun, literally "Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians",[[note]]Encyclopedia Britannica [[https://www.britannica.com/topic/shogun translates shogun as]] "barbarian-quelling generalissimo."[[/note]] having originally come into use in the context of the wars against the Emishi people. The fact that no one else in the game gets the title "shogun" while others ''are'' called by different titles that could also be translated as "general" is also lost in translation. This might contextualize seemingly inexplicable details about Radahn like why he was in charge of Caelid specifically, why his soldiers were not actually native to the land he ruled (as noted in the description of the Redmane Knight Armour),[[note]]"Alas, dear home, I shan't see you again! For our duty is to remain here, a bulwark against the blight."[[/note]] why said land was sparsely populated even before it got rotted,[[note]]Characters like Sellen, Gideon, and Millicent always refer to it as "the Caelid Wilds" in the past tense. "wilds" literally meaning [[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/wild "an area that is far from where people usually live"]] or [[https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wild "an uncultivated, uninhabited, or desolate region."]][[/note]] and why there are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0aDpI8w22M giant skeletons and abandoned giant thrones]] scattered around it.[[note]]In earlier builds of the game, one of Radahn's titles was "slayer of giants", further explaining it.[[/note]]

* AnimalLover: Radahn's backstory is defined by his [[PetTheDog immense love for his horse]]. Furthermore, the (now removed, but still easily fittable) description of the Longtail Cat Talisman states he also had a pet cat that was beloved by him, indicating he loves pets in general.

* BabyOfTheBunch: Again, it is unclear where the age gap is with Radagon's and Rennala's children as it is left ambigious. But several hints may point to Radahhn being the youngest. For one, of the three siblings, Radahn was the most steadfast loyal to the Golden Order and had a almost naive admiration of Godfrey. This suggests strongly that he was raised more in Leyndell rather than Caria, which would have been possible before the shattering, as this was when the influence of the Golden Order reached its height. His brother and sister, Rykard and Ranni, was far more suspicious of the Golden Order which would have only been possible if they were born right after the political marriage; where they spent most of their childhood in Caria and saw the aftereffects of their father's war on their own home. Likewise, another hint is that Caria itself is strongly matrilinial and it would benefit for a daughter to be born first. Ranni is the next in line to the Carian royal throne, putting her in status of crown princess. Lastly, if Ranni and Rykard was indeed born right after the political marriage and Radahn much later on, the age gap would have been quite big between the oldest (Ranni) and the youngest (Radahn), potentially limiting any close sibling relationship of the two which is shown when Ranni helped Rykard once but outright dismissed Radahn as a hindrance.

[[/folder]]

* MeaningfulName: Radahn's horse is named Leonard, meaning "Brave Lion", one of many indications to Radahn's admiration of the lion-motifed Godfrey.

* RasputinianDeath: Even after centuries of enduring untreated injuries from his battle with Malenia and her Cleanrot Knights, the Scarlet Rot ravaging his body and mind, wandering a desert with nothing but corpses for sustenance, and repeated attempts from warriors across the land, it still took the Tarnished working with a small army of some of the greatest fighters still alive to finally kill Radhan.

[[folder: Radahn's Horse]]

** On top of the Blackflame Monks, both he and his brother Rykard have some undisclosed relation to the Fire Monks. Fire Monk Flame Chariots (confirmed as such by the Note: Flame Chariots item) operated by their members can be found patrolling alongside his troops in Caelid, as well as at Mount Gelmir and in the Fire Monks' own camps. The Fire Monks are dutybound to suppress the flame of the giants and there are giant corpses all around Radahn's territory of Caelid, so that might have something to do with it.[[note]]Cut dialogue from Enia also has her saying that Radahn is a "slayer of giants."[[/note]] The Visage Shield, bearing the face of a Fire Giant for the stated purpose of teaching its bearers to fear their power, is also found in Caelid.

* OminousLatinChanting: The Festival grounds are noticeably dead quiet besides a choir of his soldiers chanting a slow somber song in Radahn's honor, and sure enough, they provide the highlight of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpCgnNbFGKc Radahn's boss theme]]; In his first phase they provide a baritone marching song accompanied by heavy brass and drums as if to give their leader the same honors he went into battle with when he was sane. Radahn's [[DynamicEntry shattering of the earth]] ''is even worked into the music'', marking a noticeable shift in tempo into a more somber choir that provide Radahn with a ''funeral march''.

* MoralityPet: Even deranged from the Scarlet Rot, Radahn never attacks his horse.

[[folder: The Horse]]

Radahn's horse, best known as 'Leonard' due to datamining.

* AllThereInTheManual: Leonard's name is never actually revealed in-game. Rather, it's in the game files which call him that; more specifically, him and Radahn are a single NPC called "[=RadarnAndLeonard=]".

* CoolHorse:
** [[AllThereInTheManual Leonard]] seems underwhelming compared to his rider, being comparatively tiny and looking quite sickly. But Leonard more than pulls his weight, and actually grants Radahn a huge advantage. While Radahn has to lighten himself with gravity magic so Leonard can comfortably bear him, gravity has no effect on mass, which means Leonard is ''still'' providing the impetus to accelerate dozens of tons (his own mass + Radahn's + [[WalkingArmory his multitude of weapons and "arrows"]]) of flesh and metal at [[LightningBruiser very high speeds]]. Constantly, without as much as a whinny of complaint. Radahn doesn't seem capable of doing this himself outside of certain specialized techniques, due to his [[TopHeavyGuy stumpy legs]]. This is doubly the case in the [[HandicappedBadass present, where his feet have rotted off]]; without Leonard he's reduced to (relatively) slowly dragging himself along the ground, but Leonard turns Radahn into a high-speed magic-throwing blender and with his Gravity magic they make for a [[FasterThanTheyLook concerningly agile dynamic duo]].
** Note also that Leonard is ''gigantic'', some ten feet at the shoulder. He just ''looks'' small compared to the 27-foot Radahn. He's also [[MadeOfIron incredibly durable]], given how many times he's able to shrug off Radahn stomping on him hard enough to bury him entirely in the sand.
** During some of his GravityMaster attacks where [[PetTheDog Radahn isn't burying his horse in the sand for it's own safety]], Leonard will ''triumphantly neigh'' and stand on two legs behind his back, showing outright enthusiasm with being Radahn's faithful steed. Due to [[AllThereInTheManual Radahn and Leonard being part of a single ingame model]], Leonard will actually spawn in underground beneath the Tarnished to provide him with a [[XMarksTheSpot target for his jawdropping meteoric]] DynamicEntry, but the fact that Leonard is right there to catapult Radahn into more glorious MountedCombat also sort of speaks for itself, as despite all the mechanical nicknacks, the player wouldn't even have the time to process Leonard's positioning during the entire maneuver.

* TheAllegedSteed: His horse was evidently scrawny even before being at ground zero of Caelid’s Scarlet Rot outbreak. Now it looks like a horse if horses could prune up from dehydration the same way a raisin can.
* AllThereInTheManual: Leonard's name is never actually revealed in-game. Rather, it's in the game files which call him that; more specifically, him and Radahn are a single NPC called "[=RadarnAndLeonard=]".

* CoolHorse:
** [[AllThereInTheManual Leonard]] seems underwhelming compared to his rider, being comparatively tiny and looking quite sickly. But Leonard more than pulls his weight, and actually grants Radahn a huge advantage. While Radahn has to lighten himself with gravity magic so Leonard can comfortably bear him, gravity has no effect on mass, which means Leonard is ''still'' providing the impetus to accelerate dozens of tons (his own mass + Radahn's + [[WalkingArmory his multitude of weapons and "arrows"]]) of flesh and metal at [[LightningBruiser very high speeds]]. Constantly, without as much as a whinny of complaint. Radahn doesn't seem capable of doing this himself outside of certain specialized techniques, due to his [[TopHeavyGuy stumpy legs]]. This is doubly the case in the [[HandicappedBadass present, where his feet have rotted off]]; without Leonard he's reduced to (relatively) slowly dragging himself along the ground, but Leonard turns Radahn into a high-speed magic-throwing blender and with his Gravity magic they make for a [[FasterThanTheyLook concerningly agile dynamic duo]].
** Note also that Leonard is ''gigantic'', some ten feet at the shoulder. He just ''looks'' small compared to the 27-foot Radahn. He's also [[MadeOfIron incredibly durable]], given how many times he's able to shrug off Radahn stomping on him hard enough to bury him entirely in the sand.
** During some of his GravityMaster attacks where [[PetTheDog Radahn isn't burying his horse in the sand for it's own safety]], Leonard will ''triumphantly neigh'' and stand on two legs behind his back, showing outright enthusiasm with being Radahn's faithful steed. Due to [[AllThereInTheManual Radahn and Leonard being part of a single ingame model]], Leonard will actually spawn in underground beneath the Tarnished to provide him with a [[XMarksTheSpot target for his jawdropping meteoric]] DynamicEntry, but the fact that Leonard is right there to catapult Radahn into more glorious MountedCombat also sort of speaks for itself, as despite all the mechanical nicknacks, the player wouldn't even have the time to process Leonard's positioning during the entire maneuver.

* SecretAIMoves: Twofold- He can use both Cragblade and Starcaller's Cry skills with his Starscourge Greatswords, which is impossible for the Tarnished to perform since the Starscourge Greatswords they obtain from his Rememberance only has the Starcaller's Cry skill, and he can also cast Collapsing Stars without the need of a Glintstone Staff.

[[Characters/EldenRingMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingTheTarnished The Tarnished]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMarika Marika]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingRoundtableHold Roundtable Hold]] | [[Characters/EldenRingSecondaryCharacters Secondary Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingRenownedAshes Renowned Ashes]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingOuterGods Outer Gods]] | [[Characters/EldenRingDemigods Demigods]] ([[Characters/EldenRingGodfrey Godfrey]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMorgott Morgott]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMohg Mohg]] | '''Radahn''' | [[Characters/EldenRingRanniTheWitch Ranni the Witch]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMalenia Malenia]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]] ([[Characters/EldenRingDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/EldenRingLiurniaOfTheLakes Liurnia of the Lakes]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRecurringEnemiesAndBosses Recurring Enemies and Bosses]] | [[Characters/EldenRingTarnishedInvadersAndTargets Tarnished Invaders and Targets]]) -]]]]]

* ElementalMotifs: Fire. He's a HotBlooded bloodthirsty warlord who screams and flails in battle, his army universally uses fire weapons and spells as their elemental damage of choice,[[note]]and did so even prior to the rot's presence in Caelid, as their ghost versions do so as well.[[/note]] he lights himself on fire for his MeteorMove, his Great Rune (indicated by Mohg's to be influenced by their shardbearers) is described and shown as burning, the narrator in the (ambiguously canon) 2019 reveal trailer narrates how the sky is "burning" over a shot of him screaming at it, he's fought underneath a red sky amidst piles of skeletons,[[note]]which also predates the rot's presence in Caelid, as it's still red at the start of his and Malenia's duel.[[/note]] his fiefdom is an arid desert with his boss arena being the driest part of it (pure sand dunes), and his hair is bright red (of a deeper shade than his half-sisters' and father), explicitly described as "flaming" in his helmet's description, and [[AnimeHair inexplicably stands up,]]

** Radahn learned gravity magic from an Alabaster Lord, a Star spawn, in his youth. He go on to use these powers to [[spoiler:fight the starspawn creatures in the Starscourge Conflict and stop the stars' movement via a gravity well, blocking falling stars and light from distant stars, which would prevent more starspawn creatures from entering the Lands Between]]. In fact, as Sellen explains, glinstone sorcery itself is powered by "the vitality of the stars", and gravity magic is a subset of glinstone sorcery (as noted in the descriptions of every gravity sorcery).

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/radahn.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Radahn during the Shattering]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:...time has not been kind to him. (Click here to see Radahn in current events)]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ffg6crh.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

[[Characters/EldenRingMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingTheTarnished The Tarnished]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMarika Marika]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingRoundtableHold Roundtable Hold]] | [[Characters/EldenRingSecondaryCharacters Secondary Characters]] ([[Characters/EldenRingRenownedAshes Renowned Ashes]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingOuterGods Outer Gods]] | [[Characters/EldenRingDemigods Demigods]] ([[Characters/EldenRingGodfrey Godfrey]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMorgott Morgott]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMohg Mohg]] | '''Radahn''' | [[Characters/EldenRingRanniTheWitch Ranni the Witch]] | [[Characters/EldenRingMalenia Malenia]]) | [[Characters/EldenRingEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]] ([[Characters/EldenRingDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/EldenRingLiurniaOfTheLakes Liurnia of the Lakes]] | [[Characters/EldenRingRecurringEnemiesAndBosses Recurring Enemies and Bosses]]) -]]]]]

* WorldsStrongestMan: One of the contenders for the title in this setting, with Ranni referring to him and Malenia as "the mightiest to remain" in the story trailer. Radahn dueled Malenia, another candidate for this trope, to an inconclusive draw when she was holding back the Rot [[note]]The Aeonia Swamp Memorial states: "The Battle of Aeonia. Radahn and Malenia locked in a stalemate. Then, the Scarlet Rot blooms".[[/note]][[note]]Going by the very brief bit of the fight we get in the story trailer, the fight started with a straight clash of blades and ended with Malenia having lost her prosthetic arm and being impaled by the shoulder on the handle-end of her blade from [[DeathOrGloryAttack driving it into Radahn using her own body]], and with Radahn on all fours and reeling for a full fifteen seconds as he gives Malenia an intense AsideGlance before she "bloomed". The final blows they hit each other with were respectively Radahn chopping off Malenia's prosthetic arm and Malenia sinking nearly her entire nine-foot sword into Radahn's chest, [[NoSell which didn't seem to have affected him at all in the present, especially compared to the Rot]][[/note]]. Even when the Rot came out, it still didn't manage to ''kill'' him. Even after the Rot crippled him over time, Radahn remains a threat who can potentially require multiple heroes working together to put down. Jerren and Blaidd, at least, both label him as "the mightiest demigod" in his prime. However he's shown losing to Morgott in the introductory cutscene, and is stated to have feared Maliketh just like the other demigods. While these three and possibly others can match him in a fight through skill, equipment, and/or circumstances, Radahn definitely has the greatest displays of raw ''power'' among his fellow warriors, from the huge blasts and boulders he's able to fling around with his magic to how every single one of his blows carries the mass of an 8-ton sword swung by a 10+ ton giant and was [[spoiler:using magic on literal meteors he's been holding back for years on end]].