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    Ignatz 

Ignatz Victor

Class: Commoner → Fighter → Archer → Sniper

Age: 17 (3/14)

Height: 164 cm (pre-timeskip) -> 168 cm (post-timeskip) note 

Voiced by: Shougo Yano (Japanese), Christian La Monte (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feth_ignace.png
Post-Timeskip (Three Houses)
Post-Timeskip (Three Hopes)

"Well, I've thought for a while that it might be nice to paint the scenery here. The contours of that tree, set against the stark shapes of the faraway peaks... Of course, I only paint after I've finished my chores. I'd never put my art before my responsibilities!"

The second son of a merchant family in the Leicester Alliance. Since his brother is inheriting the family business, he entered the Officers' Academy aiming to be a knight with the support of his parents, but it seems there might be something else he'd rather do deep down inside. He is a kind boy, who loves the beauty of nature and arts.

His personal ability, Watchful Eye, increases his hit rate.


  • Adaptational Job Change: In Three Houses, he defied his father's wishes of becoming a knight and instead became a painter who travels across Fódlan. In Three Hopes, due to never getting any encouragement about following his dream from his peers before the war breaks out, he ends up doing what his father wants and is working as a knight in service to House Gloucester. If one compares the expressions he gives in his character portraits, then he looks happier being a painter than a knight.
  • Always Accurate Attack: Ignatz is more than guaranteed to be the most reliably accurate unit in the game with his high dexterity and his Watchful Eye personal skill, which is equivalent to the Hit Rate +20 skill.
  • Apologizes a Lot: Ignatz is always quick to apologize for anything in conversation. Leonie pointed out once that he said sorry about a dozen times in their one conversation alone.
    Leonie: You know you've said you're sorry about a dozen times since you got here, right?
  • Art Attacker: His unique ability "Dreamer's Paintbrush" in Three Hopes allows him to splatter paint of random colors on the ground with his attacks when enemies are sent flying. The paint deals elemental damage based on its color, with cyan dealing ice damage, orange dealing fire damage, and blue dealing lightning damage.
  • Badass Adorable: Ignatz is a shy, nerdy, and sweet painter, and also a very proficient archer.
  • Badass Normal: He doesn't have a Crest, but he's no less competent of a fighter for it.
  • Big Guy, Little Guy: The Little to Raphael's Big.
  • Be Yourself: He really doesn't want to be a knight, but rather wants to pursue the arts. Several characters who learn about his secret passion, like Byleth and Mercedes, encourage him to follow it, though Ignatz is reluctant and uncertain. In his solo ending and most of his paired endings with other characters, he convinces his family to allow him to follow his dream and becomes a travelling painter.
  • Best Friends-in-Law: If he achieves an A-Rank with Raphael, in their paired ending, he ends up married to Raphael's sister, Maya.
  • Big, Thin, Short Trio: Forms this with Raphael and Lorenz, serving as the Short member.
  • Blind Without Them: As revealed in his supports with Petra in Three Houses and Hilda in Three Hopes, he can't see without his glasses.
  • Blow You Away: He can learn Cutting Gale after reaching a C-rank in Reason.
  • Bond One-Liner
    "I-I did it! I did!" (pre-timeskip)
    "Oh, it worked out." (pre-timeskip)
    "I get things done!" (pre-timeskip)
    "No mercy." (post-timeskip)
    "I wasn't about to let you go." (post-timeskip)
  • Boring, but Practical: His personal skill, Watchful Eye, grants a flat +20 to his hit rate. While it's not as fancy as other character's personal skills, it is also always on, and it can also be stacked with the normal Hit +20 skill, which combined with his high dexterity, will make his attacks almost impossible to miss the intended target. This also turns Ignatz from being overshadowed by other units on lower difficulties to being highly useful on Maddening when it comes to landing hits on enemies, especially in the early-game.
  • Born Lucky: He ties with Shamir for the highest Luck cap and growth of all playable units (76 and 55%, respectively).
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Gender-inverted example. He's the gentle boy to Marianne's brooding girl.
  • Camera Abuse: His Warrior Special in Three Hopes splatters the screen with paint.
  • Childhood Friends: Has been friends with Raphael and Maya ever since the three were little.
  • Cultured Badass: Lorenz encourages him to be one in their C support, waxing lyrical about how wonderful is a knight who paints.
  • Dissonant Serenity: If he's recruited on the Crimson Flower route, after Claude is defeated or killed, he seems disturbingly cheerful when he mentions watching the fall of the Leicester Alliance.
  • Extreme Doormat: Downplayed, but Ignatz notes his timid nature means that he tends to go along with what other people want and rarely puts his own opinions forward.
  • Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Ignatz reveals in his support with Byleth that his father isn't keen on his passion for the arts, wanting him to be a knight and bring in noble connections for the family's benefit instead. Ignatz feels that indulging in his passion is a betrayal of his parents' investment in him, and thus he tends to sneak off and paint in secret. If Byleth achieves an S-support with him, however, he reveals that his father encouraged him to follow what his heart truly desires, and so he decides to truly become a painter.
  • Fragile Speedster: Ignatz has high growths in Dexterity and Speed and a high avoid rate, but mediocre Strength and defenses. With his stats, he fits speedier, fragile classes like Assassin and Sniper.
  • Friendly Sniper: Ignatz is one of the most courteous, friendly characters in the cast, he's predisposed toward bows, and outside of the Verdant Wind route if he's not recruited, his post-timeskip class is Sniper.
  • Geek Physiques: He loves looking at art and to paint and has a very slim body that is more geared towards the more quick-moving archer classes.
  • Good Is Not Soft: Every time you can talk to him post-timeskip he's just as friendly and kind as he was before the timeskip, though he sounds noticeably more confident in himself. On the battlefield, however, he is much more ruthless and his newfound confidence makes him more certain and accepting about killing his opponents. Just look at his Bond One-Liners and compare the ones from before the timeskip and after it.
  • Heroic Self-Deprecation: In his support with Mercedes, Ignatz confides in her about his uncertainty over his future, claiming that he's not cut out to be a knight as his father wishes, and ends up insulting his own competence. Mercedes reassures him gently:
    Ignatz: I don't think I can handle it. Can you imagine a knight as pathetic as me?
    Mercedes: I don't think you're pathetic at all.
  • Hidden Depths: Just by looking at him, you probably did not expect Ignatz to have strengths in Authority.
  • His Own Worst Enemy: In the Pre-timeskip section of the game it becomes clear that Ignatz is not happy with his situation but it is also clear that he is more interested in feeling sorry for himself than actually taking steps to better said circumstance. Many of his supports have his classmates offering ways in which he could still become an artist, only for him to shoot these ideas down and later bemoan his lot in life. Post-timeskip subverts this however, as he comes to realize that he was being immature and just dwelling on self-pity to avoid the hardship of the path he wanted to take, and he resolves to confront them head on.
  • An Ice Person: He learns ice magic if his Reason is leveled up.
  • Implausible Deniability: While the dialogue remains the same for both of Shez's genders, in his A support with female Shez in Three Hopes, should she ask Ignatz if he has a crush on her, Ignatz will hastily reply with a Big "NO!", though given his portrait shows him both blushing and smiling, there must be some truth to it, he's just too shy to admit it.
  • Insecure Love Interest: In his S-Support with Female Byleth, he offers her a ring and asks her to be his partner in life because he doesn't want to regret not doing so, fully expecting to be turned down. He's naturally overjoyed when she accepts.
  • Ironic Name: He is one of the more intelligent and cultured of the Students. Ignatz is a German name that is often used as a stereotype to give to their equivalent of Hillbillies, the same manner Cletus or Billy-Bob would be in America.
  • It's All My Fault: He blames himself for the deaths of Raphael's parents, even if Raphael himself doesn't hold it against him at all.
  • Knight in Shining Armor:
    • Averted in Three Houses, where it is all his father's plan for Ignatz to become a knight so he can support the family. But Ignatz doesn't feel super comfortable with it and would rather follow his art dreams, which he gets to by the end of the game.
    • Played straight in Three Hopes, where some time after Garreg Mach is closed down, Lorenz approached Ignatz and offered him a knight status in House Gloucester, which also gives him a position in the Leicester army when the war breaks out. But while Ignatz may talk highly about it, it's noticeable that deep down, he's doing it because his father wanted him to and not because he himself likes it.
  • Lantern Jaw of Justice: Inverted, when he is appointed as a knight in Three Hopes, he has a shorter chin than what he has after the timeskip in Three Houses.
  • Mage Marksman: A skilled archer, with a budding talent in Reason. If built right he can easily cast spells and fire bows, though he will still be a bit Weak, but Skilled.
  • Magic Knight: Ignatz has a boon in swords and a budding talent in Reason. He is one of the few characters who can do well in the Mortal Savant class.
  • Muscle Angst: When taken to expeditions in Three Hopes, he reveals that he wishes he could be muscular.
  • Nice Guy: Ignatz is a pleasant, affable, and polite guy.
  • Nerd Glasses: He's the son of merchants and a budding artist. He also wears rounded glasses that give him this look.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He's almost always a pleasant young man, so it's particularly notable when Lysithea's condescension pushes him to his wits' end and he actually loses his temper with her in their Three Houses B-support.
  • Older Than They Look: His slight build, soft and slightly high-pitched voice, soft facial features, and short height belie that he's actually 17 at the start of the game. Less so after the timeskip, where his voice deepens, although he's still short and thin.
  • Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:
    "Ready anytime!" (Pre-timeskip)
    "Steady, now." (Post-timeskip)
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner:
    "Let me paint you a picture!"
    "I can do this!"
    "I'll show you!"
    "I'm so sorry!" (Pre-timeskip)
    "I'll defeat you!" (Post-timeskip)
  • Sacrificial Lion: If not recruited, on the Crimson Flower route, he's encountered in the first fight, and is positioned in such a way you really have to go around to avoid him. It’s very easy to kill him as a result, demonstrating that, yes, defeating your former students will kill them for real.
  • Secret A.I. Moves: As an enemy unit, he can know Seal Speed, a skill normally only obtainable by Hilda and Ferdinand; and Bow Avoid +20, a skill no playable character can ever learn.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The shy, artistic sensitive guy to Raphael's tough, protective manly man.
  • The Short Guy with Glasses: Ignatz is the shortest male character after the timeskip, wears glasses, and has an interest in art.
  • Shorter Means Smarter: His authority boon suggests he's good with tactics and/or numbers, and he has a vested interest in art. He's also one of the smallest male characters.
  • Shrinking Violet: Downplayed. In his support with Mercedes, Ignatz admits that he feels like he doesn't fit in with other people and gets anxious and jumpy when he has to interact with them. In tea time, he remarks that he wishes he wasn't so shy all the time.
  • Smart People Wear Glasses: He wears a somewhat small rounded pair, and has a vested interest in culture, art, and enjoys frequenting the library. If taken to tea time, however, Ignatz himself refutes the notion that his make him look more intelligent:
    Ignatz: Some people look smarter if they're wearing glasses. Not me though.
  • Status Infliction Attack: Ignatz gains Seal Strength, which lowers enemy's strength by 6, as a budding talent in Reason and can learn the Break Shot combat art for bows, which lowers enemy's defense by 5. Combined with Seal Strength, he can completely debilitate an single enemy for other to clean up, especially in Maddening.
  • Stepford Smiler: In Three Hopes, he tries to sound enthusiastic and happy about being a Knight in Shining Armor, but characters like Shez and Claude can see through his words and notice that he isn't that happy about it.
  • Stunned Silence: In his support with Flayn, he's flabbergasted by her regal bearing and compares her appearance to the great Saint Cethleann, staring open-mouthed at her for several seconds.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Ignatz starts off a bit awkward and anxious during Part 1 of the story, but in Part 2 he becomes more confident and noticeably more ruthless in battle.
    Part 1: I-I did it! I did!
    Part 2: I wasn't about to let you go.
  • Tranquil Fury:
    • If he fights Raphael on the Crimson Flower route, he refuses to forgive his former friend, while barely raising his voice.
    • He is quietly furious with the boss in his and Raphael's shared paralogue:
      Alliance General: What do you think you're doing? Don't get in the way of our duty!
      Ignatz: Your "duty"? You're letting monsters wreak havoc on innocent people!
  • Twice Shy: His relationship with Marianne. They have consistently sweet chemistry throughout their supports but, if they are paired, don't become official until years after the end of the war, due in part to both being so shy.
  • Utility Party Member: His lower offensive stats make his ability as a combat unit shaky, but his early access to Rally Speed and Break Shot give him excellent supportive capabilities, especially on Maddening, and he also possesses a very robust combination of Rally Strength, Dexterity, and Speed to buff up your other units.
  • Vocal Dissonance: After the timeskip, Ignatz's voice is noticeably deeper. He's still only 168 cm tall and lightly-built.
  • Vocal Evolution: His Japanese voice before the timeskip in Three Hopes sounds deeper and considerably less wimpier.
  • Walking the Earth: If he achieves A-Rank with Leonie, in their ending, they'll act on their promise to travel the world together.
  • Weak, but Skilled:
    • He sports high growths in Dexterity and Speed, but his Strength is rather middling. His personal skill also boosts his Hit Rate by a flat 20, letting him land attacks more easily.
    • He's one of the few non-lord characters to have a boon in authority, allowing him to more easily access the stronger battalions to increase his damage output.
  • We Used to Be Friends: He's good friends with Raphael at the beginning of the game, but it's possible for them to end up on opposite sides of a war should you recruit Raphael to the Empire.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: If he's not recruited on the Crimson Flower route but Raphael is, Ignatz lays it out in no uncertain terms that he's not pleased:
    Ignatz: Stop deluding yourself. You joined the Empire. Didn't you consider the consequences?

    Marianne 

Marianne von Edmund

Class: Noble → Monk → Priest → Bishop

Age: 17 (11/23)

Crest: "The Beast" Maurice (Minor)

Height: 163 cm

Voiced by: Sawako Hata (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feth_marianne.png
Post-Timeskip (Three Houses)
Post-Timeskip (Three Hopes)
Click here to see Marianne in Fire Emblem Heroes

"Goddess, I ask of you... please protect us..."

The foster daughter of the margravial House of Edmund, which hails from a remote territory in the Alliance. Since she doesn't interact with others much, there are many who haven't even heard her voice before. At the same time, she loves birds and animals, opening her heart to them and talking to them. She is deeply religious, and prays to the Goddess every day.

Her personal ability, Animal Friend, restores her health if she starts the turn next to a mounted or flying ally. She has a Minor Crest of unknown origin called "The Beast," which is said to promise contempt for those who bear it. It has a chance to raise her Might when using weapons.


  • Abusive Parents: Downplayed. Margrave Edmund isn't the best father to Marianne from what he is described as being like, but Marianne's descriptions of him don't make him outright abusive but instead more focused on securing political power first and foremost, leaving him to not be as supportive as a parental figure. Marianne doesn't seem to view him as a terrible person and does take his lessons to heart, but she does prefer being at the monastery over being home, and disapproves of him opportunistically taking the strongest side during conflicts. Several of her endings say they develop a healthier relationship after the war, suggesting that Margrave Edmund does eventually become a better father figure after seeing how much Marianne has opened up since they first met.
  • Ancestral Weapon: Completing her Paralogue will allow her to obtain Blutgang, the Hero's Relic of Maurice, the 11th Elite and the Wandering Beast, that was recovered from his remains after his death in battle.
  • Anti-Magic: Learns Silence considerably earlier than most. This allows her to suppress enemy mages so that your party can get into position to take them out.
  • Apologises a Lot: Almost all of her supports has her apologizing over something. Even one of her critical quotes has her saying "I'm sorry."
  • Assist Character: She is able to summon Dorte to attack the enemy in Three Hopes.
  • Awesome, but Impractical: Downplayed. Marianne's stat growths make her a much better magic-user than front-line fighter, so her Crest having a chance to raise the might of physical weapons when attacking isn't particularly beneficial to her... unless she’s equipped with Levin Sword or Blutgang, the Hero Relic from her Paralogue, which scale off the Magic stat rather than Strength. When these swords are combined with her learning Silence early on and her high magic defense, it makes her a fantastic Mage Killer. Given that the Golden Deer house have few options for good Pegasus Knight candidates, she has plenty of room to shine in that regard.
  • Better with Non-Human Company: Type 1. She has good affinity with animals, but when it comes to humans, she tends to avoid them to the point many people haven't heard her voice before, in fear of hurting them in one way or another.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Shy, healing-focused Marianne is the one who supports Leonie's open desire to kill Jeralt's murderers, defends Rhea's decision to execute the Western Church members, and just like Claude, Marianne can also be quite intimidating during the few moments she gets genuinely angry.
  • Birds of a Feather:
    • With Dimitri. They immediately bond over their similarly traumatic backstories and struggles to heal and move on, and find they understand each other so well that they don't need to explain themselves to the other. For bonus points, they even wear the same dark blue color in their class outfits, with Dimitri wearing black as his secondary color and Marianne wearing white. Marianne is the only student from another house who can marry Dimitri.
    • With Bernadetta in Three Hopes. She gets along with Bernadetta better than any other character in the game due to similar interests and personality traits. Marianne is also the student who convinces Bernadetta to join the Leicester Alliance in Golden Wildfire.
  • Blessed with Suck:
    • She hates that she is a noble due to all the trouble it brought her growing up, alongside how she never got to have what she saw as a normal life. Not only that, but the expectations being nobility has makes it where she has to work to meet the standards of those around her, which makes her even more unhappy. In her C+ support with Ferdinand, she has a near breakdown at his confusion over her dislike of it, yelling that she never wanted it but was forced to be a noble anyway.
    • Her Crest is said to bring contempt to its bearer, a belief she carries from her biological father who has the same Crest as her. Eventually this belief is subverted in her A-support with Hanneman, where she begins to accept her Crest and asks him to train her in order to harness its power.
  • Blow You Away: She learns Cutting Gale as one of her skills.
  • Breakout Character: Like her fellow class mate Lysithea, Marianne's backstory, personality, and gameplay usage quickly made her one of the most popular characters in the series, and among the most popular Three Houses characters period. In her first Choose Your Legends appearance for Fire Emblem Heroes, she scored in the eight most popular female characters, and then proceeded to jump all the way to number one the following year, beating out characters who initially were above her the year before.
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Gender-inverted example. She's the brooding girl to Ignatz's gentle boy.
  • Character Development:
    • Over the course of the story and through her supports, she began to learn on how to be more accepting of herself and gain more self-confidence. Her timeskip appearance reflects this, becoming well-rested and more expressive than usual, and her lines in particular become more expressive.
    • In her A-support with Byleth, she manages to abandon her depression and self destructive thoughts thanks to her friends being accepting of her. Clearing her Paralogue ends up with her gaining confidence as well, since it clears up the burden behind her Crest.
    • Her S-support with Byleth shows how far she has come, as she is hailed as a hero in her hometown, and her adoptive father acknowledges her more as a daughter. Moreover, she offers the ring first, something she admitted that even she was surprised at, since she had spent her time avoiding people.
  • Character Tics: Usually clasps her hands together and keep her head down when she speaks, to emphasize her withdrawn nature.
  • Clueless Dude Magnet: Marianne's good looks cause Lorenz, Ashe, and Ignatz to all take notice of her in their Supports, but Marianne's abysmal self-esteem means that she fails to notice.
  • Combat Medic:
    • Her talents and stats make her best suited to be one, since her good offensive attack for Magic means the Bishop or Holy Knight class suits her well. She learns several good healing spells such as Physic, and can hit very hard with her offensive spells as well. Of the healer characters in the game (Linhardt, Flayn, and Mercedes), she's the only one with more than just Nosferatu, in this case being Aura, and with her decent spell list for Reason magic, she has several different avenues to hit hard in battle, while also having good healing support as well.
    • She starts with Heal and learns more through training her Faith, and she learns the Soulblade and Frozen Lance Combat Arts, both of which scale off her Magic in addition to increased Might based on her Resistancenote  or Dexteritynote . This makes her more offensive-oriented compared to the other classes’ healers.
  • Cool Sword: Her Crest allows her to wield the Relic weapon Blutgang, a sword that scales off Magic.
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: Downplayed, but in Marianne’s support chain with Hilda, Hilda realizes that despite Marianne's proper and composed appearance she’s actually very clumsy. Especially in their A-rank support where Marianne is laughing at Hilda’s impression of her and accidentally spills hot tea on herself not just once, but twice.
  • Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: Not creepy, per se, but they do make her look rather exhausted. Though in her C-support with Ashe - which takes place at night - those combined with her downward tilt kinda scares him, enough that he asks her to lift her head a little. She loses them post-timeskip, signifying her better mental health.
  • Dark and Troubled Past:
    • Implied. Her current self-loathing and withdrawn disposition, combined with her dislike of Crests and having a mystery Crest, hints on her being heavily persecuted over her Crest during her past. Her biological father (who’s the source of her Crest) was the one who told her to keep her distance from others in order to shield them from harm. Her supports imply that her parents abandoned her after her Crest awakened, and it was only because of the people who took her in after that she was found by Margrave Edmund.
    • It's revealed during her Paralogue that a Crest scholar has been watching and accusing her of transforming into a Demonic Beast and killing people due to her Crest since her parents disappeared, which means she has been stalked and blamed for years, and upon clearing her Paralogue, said accusations are for something that wasn’t even her fault. It's no wonder why she's depressed.
  • D-Cup Distress: She ends up convinced to wear a bikini and go to the beach with Hilda when appearing in Heroes' Summer Vibrance art. Despite this, she is noticeably uncomfortable having her large breasts on display, recoiling at "how immodest" she looks in it. She might imply that she deliberately dresses to hide her curves under normal circumstances.
  • Death Glare: Despite her otherwise meek nature, Sylvain's attempt to woo her earns him one from her during their C-support. This is more notable with her post-timeskip look than pre-look due to different length with her bangs.
  • Death Seeker: It is revealed in her supports with Byleth that due to her Crest and experiences related to it, her piety to the Goddess and heavy praying she does every day is for her own death.
  • Deadly Distant Finale: A Together in Death version if paired with Dimitri, who passes earlier than her. Her diary entries reveal that she would never trade their time and happiness for anything.
  • Disc-One Nuke: The infamous Frozen Lance rush strategy due to the ability to do magic damage and scaling off of her insane dexterity stat. Her low defensive gains usually means doing this will turn her into a Glass Cannon but allows her to obliterate most early-game enemies.
  • Et Tu, Brute?: In Three Hopes, the poor girl is absolutely devastated if Claude betrays Edelgard at Ailell in Scarlet Blaze, putting Marianne at odds against her best friend Hilda.
    Marianne: Why, Hilda?! We were allies... friends!
  • Exhausted Eye Bags: She has noticeable bags underneath her eyes as a result of being The Insomniac. They're gone post-timeskip, indicating her improved mental health.
  • The Eeyore: Due to her low self-esteem and her tendency of self-loathing, she comes across as this. Justified as she's pretty much depressed, and her downcast behavior is lampshaded in some of her supports, particularly in Lysithea's. If she's recruited post-timeskip, she starts to grow away from this behavior, which is shown in her lines getting more optimistic and determined. She’s even shown laughing in some of her A supports, particularly with Dimitri, Hilda, and Raphael.
  • Friend to All Living Things: She interacts with animals better than with other people. She has proficiencies in riding and flying, and her personal skill "Animal Friend" heals her for a portion of her HP when she's adjacent to a cavalry, pegasus knight, or wyvern-riding ally.
    • In her conversation with Shez they dial it back from outright saying she's vegetarian to implying it with an equal implication of simply not enjoying meat in general. That said, while she dislikes several meat dishes, she also likes Pheasant Roast with Berry Sauce, and a few fish dishes. Truth in Television, as people who are vegetarian/vegan by preference will sometimes eat meat if someone else is cooking for them (if only to not make a scene), among them several Food Critics who have to eat meat as part of the job.
  • Happily Married: Her paired ending with Dimitri mentions that she would never trade the happiness she shared with him for anything else.
  • Heroic Self-Deprecation:
    • One of her dislikes is herself, and most of her pre-timeskip quotes have her belittling herself and having low self-esteem and confidence in general. If you take her to tea, any topic that is about herself tends to cause a failure.
    • She has a habit of hating and blaming herself for any slights (or even just perceived slights), much to Lysithea's chagrin and concern in their supports.
      Lysithea: You seem convinced you're some sort of cursed being, destined to bring doom and gloom to anyone you encounter!
    • Downplayed after the timeskip, assuming she is recruited. While she still has some moments where she doubts herself, her lines aren’t as self-deprecating as before, which reflects her more positive outlook in the future.
  • Hidden Buxom: The game's internal data reveals that Marianne is actually very buxom despite remaining the same size after the timeskip. She surpasses every other female's bust size save for 5 of them - and that's including Leonie and Shamir. Despite this, her outfits before and after the timeskip show no cleavage whatsoever, and interestingly her character model looks less curvier when standing beside her less well- endowed classmates. Only her full post-timeskip portrait (which isn’t able to be seen in-game), and the Priest class outfit makes it clear how stacked she is. Made clear when she appears in Heroes' "Summer Vibrance" banner as a duo with Hilda. Marianne wears an ornate bikini with a sarong and silk scarf draped over her shoulders, but her bikini top's cleavage shows that she has ample assets - most tellingly is that standing next to Hilda in her own bikini, it's hard to tell who has the larger breasts between the two.
  • His Own Worst Enemy: A recurring theme in just about all of Marianne's supports. Several characters attempt to either help or talk to her, but her own insecurities and fear of her Crest or flaws causes her to sabotage herself without meaning to. Usually by the A rank she finally snaps out of it and improves thanks to her friends trying to help her, but before that it's clear that her biggest issue is not really her Crest, but rather her own fears stopping her from moving forward.
  • I Hate Past Me: She is shocked and horrified on how arrogant and foolish her younger self was; even in spite of her nonexistent ego. She was ashamed to act as if death meant nothing to her, never caring whether she lived or died. After seeing many people die around her, she begins to realize how precious life truly was.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: If recruited to the Black Eagles and on the Crimson Flower route, she mentions this as her reason for following Edelgard. She wants to be able to live her life without her Crest being a burden to her, and feels Edelgard's vision is worth fighting for.
  • I Regret Nothing: If she dies in either Three Houses or Three Hopes, she'll say this as she dies, knowing she's going to the Goddess.
  • An Ice Person: Half of her Reason spell list consists of Ice-aligned spells, namely Blizzard and Fimbulvetr. This is translated in Heroes, where Marianne's exclusive weapon is her own version of Fimbulvetr. Three Hopes has "Snowslip" as her unique ability, where after reaching a combo count of 300 hits, she randomly blasts the area around her with blasts of ice that freeze enemies.
  • Insistent Terminology: Marianne always, without fail, refers to Margrave Edmund specifically as her adoptive father. Justified in that she was old enough to remember her birth parents, and while she doesn't exactly have the best memories of them, she still seems to miss them.
  • The Insomniac: One of her lecture quotes has her citing being unable to sleep because she always feel someone’s watching over her. Her Pre-Timeskip sprite, as well as her sprite in Three Hopes, also have noticeable dark circles under her eyes. Besides the Crest scholar constantly harassing her, the certain someone watching over her is implied to be Maurice, the progenitor of her Crest and the source of her fears about potentially turning into a beast.
  • Irony: She is one of the most religious characters and yet she can end being recruited to the Black Eagles house and subsequently side with Edelgard after she declares war on the Church of Seiros.
  • It's All My Fault: During her C Support with Lysithea, she has a breakdown and blames herself for a completely unrelated accident. Lysithea later confronts Marianne about this in their B Support where the former decides she will try doing a better job in critiquing and helping the latter out.
  • Kubrick Stare: She accidentally gives one to Ashe in their C Support, with Ashe telling her that he finds it creepy.
  • The Lady's Favour: In Three Hopes, if Shez gives Marianne the Merc Whistle, Marianne gives Shez a white handkerchief embroidered with her family's coat of arms. Unlike most examples of the trope, this also serves the helpful gameplay purpose of letting Shez borrow Marianne's Snowslip innate ability.
  • Letting Her Hair Down: She lets her hair down in her new design in Three Hopes, and it is adorable.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Giving her proficiency skills with swords and passing sword-related classes such as Swordmaster makes her one of your fastest units who can potentially hit hard to enemy units. This is disregarding boosting her stats with items, since she'll be quick enough to fight enemy units on her own.
  • Mage Killer: Has high magic defense, can equip swords that do physical damage but scale off magic attack, and most importantly early access to Silence. This is important to know given the Golden Deer are limited in terms of access to good Pegasus Knight candidates, letting Marianne serve as the dedicated mage counter when facing them.
  • Magic Knight: Of the Faith-focused mage units, her proficiencies and stats push her into being one of these, and she works well with them because of her good healing and offensive spell list, and her ability to use swords and lances easily. In particular, the Holy Knight class works well with her stats the most due to her budding talent for Lances alongside her Faith and Riding proficiencies. She also works well if made a Dancer due to her support utility as a healer, her proficiency in swords (which goes well with Sword Avoid +20 that the Dancer class brings), and her decent Charm growth. Fittingly, she receives a Dancer variant in Cipher and Heroes. She can also learn the combat arts Soulblade and Frozen Lance, which scale off her Resistance and Dexterity stats, allowing her to be a semi-physical unit without suffering from tools to use them.
  • Mighty Glacier: Or Stone Wall when given proficiency skills related to Armor and Fortress Knight, Marianne will pretty much tank anything short of a boss as an armor unit, and will hit hard (without stat-boosting items). A downside is that it'll sacrifice her ability to use magic spells, but it can be compensated with magical weapons, such as the Bolt Axe and Levin Sword. The upside of Armor classes is that she can tank or No-Sell enemies in her infamous Paralogue chapter, meaning the class is very helpful if you chose it for her.
  • Meaningful Name: Her crest weapon, Blutgang, comes from the German words Blut (blood) and Gang (walk/stride). When joined together, it can be translated to "blood flow."
  • The Millstone: In gameplay, she's very useful thanks to her healing magic and her proficiency with lances and cavalry once she's trained enough, but Marianne tends to believe all she does is slow others down and get in the way and occasionally this attitude proves something of a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Hilda's attempts at manipulating her into doing her chores for her just result in Marianne making an even bigger mess for Hilda to clean up.
  • Nice Girl: She's actually sociable and polite, in spite of how she tends to think about herself, not to mention she's open about befriending and appreciating animals. This part of her character starts to become more prominent after the time skip, helped by the fact that Marianne becomes more assertive and confident, allowing her to express her actual thoughts and feelings, which are nothing short of being a supportive and compassionate lady.
  • No Social Skills: She's not good at making conversations and would often remark she doesn’t know what to say to others.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: Her supports with Dimitri deal with her struggling with how relatable Dimitri is to her as people who were hurt badly by the past in ways that make moving forward hard for them. At the end of their B support, Marianne even admits to being happy that someone is able to understand how she feels. In their A support, Dimitri and her both discuss how living is hard when they've suffered greatly, but Dimitri is able to help her move on and learn to want to live.
  • Parental Abandonment: On her B-support with Byleth, she mentions her biological parents vanished before she was adopted. Her other supports imply that they abandoned her because she awakened her Crest.
  • Powerful, but Inaccurate: Most of her offensive spells have high damage output and a good chance of getting a critical hit, though they are often quite inaccurate.
  • Platonic Life-Partners: If paired with Raphael they simply remain close friends. In their paired ending Raphael opens up an inn that attracts all sorts of birds and calls it "The Winged Inn & Tavern". After Marianne's first visit he invites her to stay at the inn due to seeing her gift in talking to birds. She accepts and helps his inn flourish.
  • Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:
    "Who, me?" (Pre-timeskip)
    "I'll do my best" (Post-timeskip)
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner:
    "I'm sorry!"
    "My blood compels me!"
    "Stay back!" (Pre-timeskip)
    "Keep away from me!" (Pre-timeskip)
    "I have to do this!" (Post-timeskip)
    "I won't run away!" (Post-timeskip)
  • Principles Zealot: Downplayed on the Crimson Flower route. She remains faithful to the worship of the Goddess, but expresses disgust for how far the church has fallen over the five years since Edelgard's war began with them. Basically, she still believes in the faith, but finds the actual church to be corrupt and is willing to stand against them for it.
  • The Quiet One: Due to not having a big urge to interact with her peers, she is incredibly quiet, to the point few people have ever heard her voice before.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Has this dynamic with Hilda, as the more reserved and quiet Blue Oni. It’s even reflected in her hair color, which is light blue in contrast to Hilda’s pink.
  • Rei Ayanami Expy: Blue-haired, asocial, very quiet, and reserved.
  • Reluctant Fanservice Girl: She exclaims "How immodest" in response to her own appearance in a bikini in Heroes, making it clear she is aware of the emphasis it puts on her breasts and curves and how much attention she might get for them. Hilda ends up having to reassure her to shake off the concern.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: If she falls in battle in Classic Mode during the first half of the game, the epilogue says that she takes Dorte and leaves.
  • Secret A.I. Moves: As an enemy unit during the Chapter 7 mock battle, she knows Unsealable Magic, a skill no playable character can ever learn.
  • Secret Art: Outside of New Game Plus, she is the only unit that can use Beast Fang, Blutgang's combat art. It deals 10 extra damage, increases critical by 30, and deals effective damage against cavalry and dragon enemies.
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A minor example, but her Crest promises contempt for those who bear it. Believing this, along with her upbringing, led her to have low self-esteem and be standoffish, shying away from others. This in turns brings her a lot of the misery she expected.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Underneath her disheveled and tired appearance she is quite beautiful, something that Lorenz, Ignatz, and Ashe all notice in their supports with her. This becomes much more obvious post-timeskip.
  • Shock and Awe: She learns Thoron upon reaching C in Reason.
  • Shrinking Violet: She's rather meek and shy. She can't speak loud, and not very good at imposing herself. This particularly stands out when paired with Hilda, and in Three Hopes, her B support with Bernadetta actually involves the two of them trying to overcome this shared trait while trying to converse with one another. She starts growing out of it as a part of her Character Development.
  • Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Comes with being a Rei Ayanami Expy. Bonus points for her closest friend being a cheerful, upbeat pink-haired girl.
  • Sole Survivor: Marianne cannot die unless she falls after the timeskip. Pre-timeskip, should she fall in battle, her epilogue states she left the monastery, and with her being the only playable character not fought post-timeskip in any route, this means the only way she can die is if she dies in battle as a recruited unit. This is not the case in Three Hopes, however, as she can be encountered and killed as an enemy outside of the Golden Wildfire route if she isn't recruited.
  • Squishy Wizard: Her starting stats give her high Magic and Resistance, but her physical skills and bulk are not very good by comparison. Her hidden talent in Lances means that she fits best into the Holy Knight class, since she can make use of her Riding and Faith magic proficiency to compensate for her lower physical stats.
  • Tarot Motifs: The Crest of the Beast represents The Devil arcana, which signifies someone being constrained by negative forces. This is reflected by how Marianne is being bound by the belief that her crest brings her misery, including the disappearance of her parents. After the timeskip, especially once her paralogue is completed, this would represent the reversed meaning of the card - breaking free from the burden that held her back in the past.
  • Token Religious Teammate: She's described as being very religious, and prays every day. Of the Golden Deer, she's the most devoted to the church of Seiros and often can be found in the church, to the point where she is possible the most devoted student in the game. Fittingly, one of her proficiencies is in Faith magic. It's revealed later her faith was largely due to the belief she was a blight on the world and she hoped praying that the Goddess would end her life was the only way she thought she could escape it. She remains faithful in all the routes, but she develops a much healthier reason after the timeskip, even on the Crimson Flower route.
  • Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Be it through Supports, the timeskip, or completing her Paralogue, Marianne steadily becomes more optimistic and expressive. Her getting to smile and laugh more often is as satisfying as it is adorable.
  • Took a Level in Idealism: Marianne starts off as a miserable cynic with abysmal self-esteem, feeling like a doormat to everyone, even praying that the Goddess would do something to get rid of her pain. Though with Supports and the timeskip, she's since managed to get her act together thanks to the efforts of Byleth and many of the other students. In her support with Byleth after the timeskip, Marianne even calls her past self out for her behavior. Her Paralogue is Marianne going through this trope as she confronts and defeats Maurice, which allows her to finally gain further appreciation for herself and to not allow her life to be dictated by her Crest.
  • Twice Shy: Her relationship with Ignatz, should they be paired. They have consistently sweet chemistry throughout their supports, but due to Ignatz being too shy to confess and Marianne generally being a Clueless Dude Magnet, they don't become official for years after the war ends.
  • Unkempt Beauty: Despite her rather haggard and disheveled appearance pre-timeskip, it's noted by no less than three of her classmates that she's quite lovely despite that. It becomes more apparent post-timeskip when she starts taking care of her appearance.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: If not recruited, she makes no post-timeskip appearance in any route besides Verdant Wind. Her support with Byleth, if recruited, reveals she was asked by her adoptive father to join Byleth's army to achieve political influence, suggesting she likely remained neutral by her adoptive father's request.
  • When She Smiles: The few times she smiles pre-timeskip are quite adorable. Her support with Sylvain has him encourage her to bring out her best smile, though the initial result is terrifyi- er, terrific. Claude is delighted when he finally gets to see Marianne smile in their A Support.
  • Yes-Man: Pre-timeskip she tends to act like this with Hilda, agreeing with anything Hilda prompts her to say to end the conversation faster.

    Lorenz 

Lorenz Hellman Gloucester

Class: Noble → Soldier → Cavalier → Paladin

Age: 18 (6/13)

Crest: Gloucester (Minor)

Height: 188 cm

Voiced by: Hiroshi Watanabe (Japanese), Ben Diskin (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feth_lorentz_portrait.png
Post-Timeskip (Three Houses)
Post-Timeskip (Three Hopes)
"We've much to discuss. But first, let us dispense with the riffraff. It is a noble's duty after all."

The eldest son of the comital House of Gloucester. Despite his snobby demeanor, he is quite serious and fully understanding of his responsibilities as a noble. It seems he has been approaching girls at the monastery, to little success.

His personal ability, Distinguished House, increases his damage dealt if he has a battalion deployed. He bears the Minor Crest of Gloucester, which has a chance to raise his Might while using magic.


  • Ancestral Weapon: A staff as opposed to a weapon, as House Gloucester's Heroes' Relic is the Thyrsus Staff, which is obtainable upon completion of his Paralogue.
  • Awesome, but Impractical: The Axe of Ukonvasara is associated with his Crest, but he generally isn't its best wielder, since he lacks proficiency with axes. Since it's a sacred weapon, there are no drawbacks for anyone else using it, so it's typically better off on someone else.
  • Babies Ever After: In his paired ending with Byleth, no matter which route is picked, he becomes a father.
  • Big, Thin, Short Trio: Forms this with Raphael and Ignatz, serving as the Thin member.
  • Birds of a Feather: With Ferdinand. The two are very similar in personality and temperament, both even sharing similar beliefs in how it's a noble's duty to uplift the commoners. And in both cases, it's rooted to their respective issues in how their fathers went about governing their lands. They can even grant one another a "Bond Boost" in combat.
  • Blunt "Yes": When Mercedes asks him if his duty as a nobleman is more important than his own feelings, he says, "Naturally."
  • Boring, but Practical: His kit in a nutshell. He doesn't have crazy combat arts like Swift Strikes or insane spells like Luna or Bolting, but he is a well-rounded, decently durable Magic Knight who can survive on the front lines and hit pretty hard with his spells.
  • Break the Haughty: Lorenz does not take it kindly when his father defects from the Alliance to the Empire in Three Hopes, due to the formerly independent House Gloucester now being under Imperial control, unable to fight for the Alliance. When his father and Count Ordelia turns out to have tricked the Empire by faking the fealty, retaking the Great Bridge of Myrddin and trapping the Imperial army sent into Leicester between Gloucester and Riegan forces, Lorenz becomes bewildered. He then gets broken again after he hears that Lysithea knew about the plan but not him, and wonders if this means his father doesn't see him as a worthy heir. Luckily, that's false.
  • Butt-Monkey: Pre-timeskip after choosing the Golden Deer house, the other Golden Deer students often mock him when he opens his mouth and speaks of his opinion and even some of the nicest characters like Mercedes tend to be very snarky towards him. This all but vanishes post-timeskip.
  • The Cameo: With Claude and Hilda in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, watching battles that come to the Bridge on the Garreg Mach Monastery DLC stage.
  • Casanova Wannabe: He's been hitting on the ladies at the monastery, but has come up short so far. Sylvain mocks him for it in their C-support, only for Lorenz to throw shade right back when Sylvain's attempt at flirting goes awry.
  • Character Death: He will always be one of the commanders defending the Great Bridge of Myrddin on the Azure Moon and Silver Snow paths, meaning that if he was not recruited before the timeskip, he can't be spared and thus is forced to be killed off in order to progress. He's notably the only recruitable Golden Deer to have this mechanic.
  • Character Development: Over the course of the Verdant Wind route, he moves beyond his narrow viewpoint and learns to cooperate with and trust Claude. He also begins to be more independent and stop focusing solely on what is best for his family, instead he starts also considering his own wants and desires.
  • Commonality Connection: In his support with Ferdinand, the two bond over their similar feelings of responsibility and accountability as noblemen, as well as their love for tea.
  • Curtains Match the Windows: His eyes and hair are the same purplish-blue shade.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: On Silver Snow and Azure Moon, when he is defeated at Myrddin, if he was already in your army before the timeskip, the player has the option to spare him; this results in him rejoining the player's forces after the battle.
  • Disappointed in You:
    • On the Crimson Flower route, he's somewhat bitter to hear about Claude retreating if he was spared, suggesting that he perhaps overestimated the person in question.
    • In his early supports with Lysithea, he's rather disapproving of the fact that the heir of House Ordelia refuses to do anything that would further her House's standing. Though once she lets him know the real reason for her lack of engagement he's absolutely horrified at how insensitive he's been.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: In his ending with Marianne, the pair's innovations when it comes to dairy farming lead him to eventually be known as the father of (Gloucester's) cattle. He's not all too pleased by the title.
  • Everyone Can See It: In his paired ending with Leonie, it is said that while their marriage came as a shock to the general public, those who knew the pair personally could tell that Lorenz and Leonie's marriage was inevitable, having witnessed the strength of the bond they shared first hand during the war.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Will leave the party and join the Empire during the timeskip if he was previously recruited on Silver Snow and Azure Moon. He can be re-recruited or killed when you encounter him later.
  • Feuding Families: The Riegan and Gloucester family are not on good terms and it's constantly demonstrated in his support with Claude. In the Death Toll paralogue, it is implied that the Gloucester family was involved with the death of Claude's uncle Godfrey. On the Azure Moon route, should you spare and recruit him, his father buries the hatchet with the Riegan family.
  • Foil:
    • To Claude. While Lorenz behaves like a traditional Fódlan noble, Claude completely disregards these rules, which often results in arguments between the two of them. Lorenz comes across as stuck up and snobbish whereas Claude seems friendly and approachable, though they are both different from how they seem on the surface. Lorenz is upfront about his goals and motivations while Claude is very secretive.
    • To Sylvain. Sylvain holds the girls he flirts around with contempt despite his charming persona, while Lorenz is actively looking for a wife that would be a good match for him, despite being obnoxious about it. Sylvain largely detests his status and responsibilities as a noble and heir of his house, while Lorenz embraces his own.
  • Forgotten First Meeting: He and Annette met each other at the Fhirdiad School of Sorcery, but he doesn't remember it because he believed Annette was a lost child and not one of the students and told her to run back to her parents. When Annette brings this up in their support in Three Hopes, Lorenz immediately apologizes.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes:
    • He's one of the least popular members of the Golden Deer at first, in large part because his harping on about his status as a noble and the responsibilities that come with it doesn't endear him to the commoners that make up a good part of the house, or even his fellow nobles. He also garners many complaints from female classmates due to pestering them with repeated dinner invitations. Even people outside of his class don't really like him, the one exception being Ferdinand because they both are similar.
    • Not helping Lorenz is the fact that the Officer's Academy as a whole is supposed to pride itself as an institution where Nobles and Commoners alike are supposed to be treated as equals. And yet Lorenz is the only named noble student who plays up the stereotypical classist mentality one would expect from noble. Even other nobles who are otherwise abrasive like Hubert and Felix don't hold these type of views.
  • Hidden Depths:
    • Despite being a Casanova Wannabe who sees little problem with his behavior before the timeskip, Lorenz has very exacting specifications for the type of woman he's seeking out, given the influence his family holds. He believes mutual trust, respect, and support is integral to a marriage; while he prioritizes seeking out those of noble status, he wants someone who would be an equal, not an accessory. Before the timeskip, he also believes that his duty should come first and foremost, and that, when hypothetically asked if he were to fall in love with a commoner, he would have to force himself to leave her for the sake of his family.
    • He wholeheartedly praises Ignatz for his artistic talents to the point of offering him a job in his household on the spot. And his advice to Ignatz about whether to be a knight or an artist is incredibly straightforward for a man who usually couches things in terms of the complex politics of the Alliance: "be a knight who paints".
    • In his supports with both Mercedes and Leonie, he helps them when they've injured their foot, noting it is his duty to help commoners (and in the case of Mercedes, doubly so because he accidentally ran into her). In the case of Leonie, he treats her foot himself, where it's revealed he carries around first aid supplies on the off-chance he runs into someone who needs help.
    • There's his hobby of writing poetry, a clearly very personal thing, considering that it's the one thing he isn't hammily proud of. In fact, he nearly freaks out when people find his notebook (or he thinks they know about it, like in Claude's A-support).
    • Much like Ferdinand, many of Lorenz's endings sees him bringing about sweeping changes in his territory to improve the lives of commoners.
    • In the month leading up to Lonato's rebellion, Lorenz is incensed that Lonato would endanger his people by using them as his army. He later expresses in his supports with Catherine that the duty of a noble is to act wisely and with discretion, and claims that nobles would need to be held accountable if their people revolted. In general, while he can be rather elitist about it, Lorenz is rather serious about the duties a leader has towards their people.
    • His C support with Marianne in Three Hopes has him notice her disgruntled state. When she gives him an unclear answer about whether she would rather not be part of the army he immediately offers to arrange it with her father to get her out of it. When she refuses the offer he gives her a sudden speech on how all of Fodlan is changing and they both should feel free to change with it. Both the offer and the attempt to cheer her up show a great deal of understanding even while he still focuses on noble ideals.
    • While he doesn’t manage to outright cure Lysithea from her fated death, their support conversations and paired ending imply that he at the very least manages to minimise the effect that her condition has on her lifespan by making sure that she has access to proper medical treatment and follows a healthy lifestyle. Notably, his paired ending with her is one of the few endings where she doesn’t die shortly after the events of the story.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: If the players recruited him and did his paralouge while playing Blue Lions or Black Eagles and going to the Silver Snow route, it is possible to defeat, or even kill Lorenz with his family's own relic since he leaves Byleth's army at the start of part 2 in those routes.
  • I Hate Past Me: In his A-support of Byleth, Lorenz admits that he feels ashamed for his past behaviors, now striving for a much more grander ideal of noble. In general, Lorenz matures greatly from how he was before the timeskip.
  • Innocently Insensitive:
    • In his and Lysithea's C support, he asks Lysithea to put her talents to use for the future of House Ordelia and the Alliance as a whole. As he walks away, Lysithea sullenly says that because of her reduced lifespan, she doesn't have much of a future. When Lysithea tells her about her condition in their B+ support, he's horrified at himself for his insensitivity and apologizes.
    • In his eyes, he's actually doing lowborn girls a favor by refusing to court them: he's sparing them from inevitable heartbreak, due to the fact that he'll never be able to marry them. Unfortunately for him, this line of thinking makes him come across as an elitist jerk to his commoner love interests, and most utterly tear into him for this in their early supports.
  • Jack of All Stats: Of a sort. Lorenz has mostly average growths (40%) across the board, with only three (Luck, Defense, and Charm) dipping below and one (HP) going above 50. As such, he is generally flexible, as class growth modifiers can make him fit well into nearly any role, and he has no major weaknesses in any offensive or defensive stat. However, he may also become a Master of None, as his growths can be unstable enough to lag behind classmates with more focused growths.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's rather abrasive on the surface, possessing some rather classist views and a tendency to berate those who he feels aren't adhering to their "role." Despite that, even before his Character Development on the Verdant Wind route, he's quick to offer aid to others regardless of whether they're noble or commoners. He is also critical of nobles who cause a disservice to their people, given he has a very high standard for how the nobility should act: he sees Lonato as a fool for endangering innocents in his rebellion, and believes that nobles have a duty to protect the commonfolk and should be held accountable if they fail to do so, especially if it leads to a revolt. Notably, he's a lot more of a Nice Guy during his later supports, where he's shed a lot of his classist views and behaves in a much more mature and gentlemanly manner.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Several character blast him for his classist beliefs, most notably Dorothea, but while he is classist, he makes it clear it isn't because he dislikes commoners, but because he feels he has to marry someone of near equal status to his own. As a noble of the Alliance, he has to maintain strong ties to keep his families history going, and that just marrying someone for love, while noble, offers little to his family in terms of political power. He also points out that a commoner would find it incredibly difficult to fit in with noble society without the proper training and temperament. He does eventually turn this view point around after the timeskip, but the game still does indicate he had a point to these reasons.
  • The Lancer: He is this to Claude. Lorenz is the one among Claude's allies who criticizes and questions him and his schemes the most, stemming from his distrust in him.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Played for Laughs. If the Black Eagles or Blue Lions was chosen, during Chapter 1's mock battle, Lorenz will book it out of formation, to the annoyance of Claude. He doesn't learn his lesson, and pulls the same stunt during the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, again to Claude's chagrin.
    • Similarly in the "Eagles, Lions, and Deer" paralogue in Three Hopes, he completes the first wave. He only appears after the player defeats Ashe or Ferdinand (his equivalent in the above battle on the Golden Deer route), meaning he runs headlong into an opponent known to have overpowered his classmates.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: In Three Hopes, Lorenz was deliberately left uninformed about Claude's scheme involving House Gloucester to turn over to the Empire and then turn back in order to trap Imperial forces between Gloucester lands and Riegan lands, and on his father's wishes, no less. This is because Erwin wanted Lorenz to be uninvolved in case the plan failed and House Gloucester became a vessel to the Empire.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He becomes one of these after the time skip.
  • Mage Killer: In his default classes, he is a physical fighter, but his stellar resistance makes him ideal for ridding the enemy of mages and healers.
  • Magic Knight: If made into a Mage (made easier due to his strength in Reason), due to his impressive spell list and Three Houses's weapon system, he can be rather versatile in dealing with threats by using either melee or magic as the situation demands. This is supported by all his strengths naturally guiding him towards Dark Knight, which uses Lances and Reason Magic. Additionally, he gains access to Frozen Lance early, letting him use his magic stat to deal damage with his lance.
  • Magic Staff: His Crest allows him to utilize the Relic weapon Thyrsus, which increases the range of attack magic by 2 spaces.
  • Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With his refinement, flamboyant fashion sense, and interest in tea and intellectual pursuits, he is the feminine boy to Leonie's brash, practical, masculine girl.
  • Master of None: His growths are mediocre around the board, with the exception of HP; it's easy for him to end up without any exceptional stats and lag behind other, more specialized units.
  • Mighty Glacier: His default class line is Cavalier, which gives him better defensive growths (and a nice boost to his Strength) at the expense of his Speed, bringing it down to an unstable 30%.
  • Muscles Are Meaningless: Despite his very slim build and reluctance towards training, Lorenz has a surprisingly high strength growth of 40% and cap of 58. And he doesn't get this strength from his crest because it is more geared towards magic than physical combat.
  • Nay-Theist: Lorenz is a rather nuanced take on this; during free talk if Byleth admits to Lorenz that they are actually not a believer in the Church, Lorenz will agree and admit that his daily prayer at the altar is more about him keeping up appearances as a noble rather than devoutness on his part. Despite this, should he be recruited in the Crimson Flower route he will admit that he is rather disgusted at the amount of nobles who seemed absolutely giddy at turning against the Church now that it looked like the Empire would be coming out of the war victorious.
  • No-Sell: His "Rondo of Roses" ability in Three Hopes can block any attack from an enemy and stagger them if his ability gauge is at least half full, at the cost of consuming it.
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: His uniform jacket has a long tails in the back, akin to a fancy suit, and he pins a rose to the front.
  • Noodle People: One of the tallest students, and has a rather thin physique. Raphael thinks he's thin because he doesn't eat very much.
  • Nothing Personal: One of his quotes upon getting a kill post-timeskip is a dignified "Our quarrel wasn't personal." It's not a callous utterance, but rather a sombre acknowledgement of war's reality.
  • One Degree of Separation: His A-support with Leonie reveals that his father is the reason that she and Jeralt met, as Count Gloucester had hired Jeralt's Mercenaries to deal with poachers and bandits that were threatening her village.
  • Pet the Dog: His entire support chain with Ignatz, which he spends offering to make him a knight entirely because of Ignatz's many personal qualities (in spite of Ignatz's less than stellar combat skills) and gives him the simple advice of being "a knight who also paints" because he believes strongly in Ignatz's talents. Given his Upper-Class Twit nature before the time skip, his genuine respect of Ignatz's talents is rather telling.
  • Playing with Fire: He learns several Fire spells in Reason like Fire, Ragnarok, and Agnea's Arrow.
  • Plot Armor: In Three Hopes, if Lorenz's HP reaches zero, he will retreat from the battle instead of die because of his important role in the Golden Deer route. He is also the only unit with plot armor who can still be recruited in the other routes, only that he doesn't have any protection in any of those, which unfortunately means that he's the only plot armor unit that can still die in gameplay.
  • Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:
    "I stand ready." (Pre-timeskip)
    "Shall we?" (Post-timeskip)
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner:
    "Don't you know who I am?"
    "An offensive sight!"
    "Out of my way!" (Pre-timeskip)
    "Enough of this nonsense!" (Pre-timeskip)
    "Begone with you!" (Post-timeskip)
    "In a hurry to die, are you?!" (Post-timeskip)
  • Prince Charming Wannabe: While Lorenz believes he is Prince Charming, many of the ladies he interacts with believes otherwise. Byleth attempting to tell him to stop only makes it more apparent.
  • The Quisling: During the Silver Snow and Azure Moon routes, Lorenz joins the faction of the fractured Alliance that supports the Empire, feeling that they cannot be stopped and siding against them is foolish, despite the fact that Claude is currently helping the Resistance/Kingdom. He joins Empire forces during one battle against your army and, unless Byleth chooses to spare him, dies for it. Justified, as his father is the leader of that faction, and his territory is right on the Empire's border, so it would bear the brunt of any invasion and warfare around the border.
  • Rain of Arrows: He can learn Sagittae upon reaching C in Reason.
  • Recurring Element: One of the greatest ironies in Fire Emblem archetypes: On Silver Snow/Azure Moon, Lorenz fulfills the archetype founded by his namesake in Grust. After the Time Skip, he has matured enough to be less pompous and more honorable, but finds himself fighting against his old teacher. If you have recruited him before the Time Skip, you can avoid killing Lorenz and bring him back to your team.
  • Religious Bruiser: Subverted. He can be found at times praying in the monastery, and will even question Byleth about their faith during the games first month. If Byleth admits to not really being faithful, he admits he isn't very religious either, but feels he must at least appear to be since it would be considered improper as a noble to not appear like he values the Church of Seiros. This translates gameplay wise into him having a proficiency in Reason, but having nothing to bolster or hamper his Faith skills. However, if recruited on the Crimson Flower route, in Part 2, he is disturbed at how quickly many of his fellow nobles join the cause in taking down Rhea, when before they had revered her. This makes him wonder if the other nobles' piety was just for show.
  • The Rival: He's effectively Claude's, or at least he tries to be. Lorenz starts out hating Claude's laid-back attitude that he thinks is unbecoming of Riegan's heir, while Claude views Lorenz as a bit of a stuck-up twat. By the Time Skip, they might as well be best friends, even if they do still snark at each other a lot.
  • Secret A.I. Moves: As an enemy unit during Chapter 7's mock battle, he knows Seal Strength, which only Ignatz can learn; and Swordbreaker+. note  He also knows Black Magic Avoid +20, which only Sylvain can legitimately learn.
  • Something about a Rose: He's fond of wearing one pinned to his overcoat, likely to look more sophisticated. Post timeskip, he has one embossed on his armor in the same spot. Unsurprisingly, one of his favorite gifts is roses. His ending with Byleth shows that his son continues the tradition into the next generation. In Three Hopes, he incorporates rose petals as flair into his attacks, especially with his unique ability "Rondo of Roses", summoning a tornado of rose petals to suck enemies in.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: If he marries Byleth, they go on to have a son who's his splitting image. Three Hopes shows that Lorenz himself strongly takes after his father as well.
  • Tarot Motifs: The crest of Gloucester represents The Hermit arcana. Reversed, it stands for acts of foolishness, rashness, and getting stuck in one's own world, all traits that perfectly describe Lorenz pre-timeskip. However, Lorenz also has many traits of the upright Hermit (especially post-timeskip), such as self-reflection and inner strength. The upright Hermit also stands for the appearance of a Mentor Archetype, whom Lorenz's father inadvertently brought upon Leonie in the form of Jeralt, and Lorenz himself finds one in Byleth in the Golden Deer route.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Lorenz has a hard time working with Claude as his leader due to his suspision of him, his more care-free attitude compared to what Lorenz expects from a noble, and the fact that he took the position of leader of the Alliance away from Lorenz.
  • Token Evil Teammate: In a sense. He's the only member of the Golden Deer to side with the Empire by default off the Verdant Wind route, even if he was recruited pre-timeskip. He notably doesn't do so out of any belief in the Empire's cause but rather to protect his territory and people from the neighboring Empire's wrath and to obey his father. On the Crimson Flower route, he has relatively few reservations about joining the Empire.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: While Lorenz was never a bad guy pre-timeskip, he was rather pretentious, stuck-up, and couldn't take no for an answer when it came to women, causing some tension between him and his classmates and making him rather annoying to deal with. Post-timeskip, these traits have lessened almost to non-existence, allowing his more noble traits to shine through easier.
  • Upper-Class Equestrian: Lorenz is especially proud of his noble heritage and enjoys horseback riding, traits he shares with Ferdinand of the Black Eagles. His default class path if not recruited is Cavalier -> Paladin.
  • Upper-Class Twit:
    • Especially prior to the timeskip. He's hostile to Claude because Claude doesn't act like what Lorenz sees a noble should, he's prone to rubbing his status in people's faces. He offended by the idea of doing physical labor like oiling weapons, seeing such things as beneath a noble like him. He believes that marrying someone who isn't a noble would be beneath him and his family, and is incapable of believing women might not be into his advances when they come from someone such as him. Mercedes notes that he's unable to look commoner girls in the eyes, and to a great degree tends to act as if they didn't exist, unless his honor dictates otherwise (like when he accidentally injures her, his honor demanding he treats the injury himself).
    • Downplayed significantly after the timeskip, as he's eased up. His supports and group task conversations with Leonie have him display greater tolerance for physical labor, admitting the importance of sharing burdens between friends. His A-support conversation with Byleth also has him note he's ashamed of his past behavior and admits he was wrong to have dismissed commoners out of hand or invite women to dinner purely to evaluate them. While he still believes in the importance of being an ideal noble, he is willing to admit that isn't the be-all-end-all he thought it was and that he has much more to learn before he can reach his ideal.
  • Uptown Girl: Defied. Lorenz makes it clear in several Supports that he believes that it is his obligation to improve his family's station by marrying another noble, so a commoner girl is off-limits. Even when Mercedes asks him point-blank if he would still say that if he fell in love with a commoner, he replies in the affirmative and states the future of his house has to come before even his own personal happiness. However, his endings with commoner girls show that he moves past this mindset.
  • Useless Useful Spell:
    • As an enemy unit in Chapter 7, he knows Black Magic Avoid +20. A pity he's a Cavalier, which does not use magic, making it a waste of the skill slot.
    • His crest requires him to be a magic-wielding class to make any use of. In his default class line of the Paladin, he might as well have no crest at all. note 
  • Villain: Exit, Stage Left: While not villainous, unlike other recruitable characters in Three Hopes, when Lorenz is defeated in chapter 6 of Scarlet Blaze and the player hasn't chosen to persuade him, he will flee from the battlefield.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds:
    • Becomes one with Claude post-timeskip, particularly once they reach A-support with each other. For as much as Claude likes to tease Lorenz's snobbish demeanor and Lorenz expresses doubt about Claude's elaborate schemes, the two admit their respect for one another. Claude relies on Lorenz to succeed his rule should Claude perish, and Lorenz is determined to keep Claude alive. Their ending has the newly crowned Almyran king Claude establish a new era of friendship with the Leicester Alliance, now led by Lorenz. It's heavily implied this was all orchestrated by them.
    • He's one with Leonie, especially during the beginning of their support chain. Despite both readily seeing each other as friends, he tends to bristle at her pushing him into physical labor and she initially sees him as a pompous noble. As their chain progresses, both develop a mutual respect and understanding of each other, all but dropping the vitriolic part and seeing the value in supporting one another. It's rather telling that their paired ending acknowledges their marriage was "inevitable due to the strength of the bond they had forged in the war".
  • Warrior Poet: His supports with Manuela reveal that he secretly writes poetry, and he is rather horrified that she learns this, dropping any noble behavior and instead just snatches it out of her hand and runs off embarrassed.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Many of Lorenz' mentions and interactions with his father hints that he wants to live up to certain standards of nobility set by his father, including finding a wife who is of noble status and being responsible for the protection of the commonfolk. He also worries that even the smallest mistakes he makes will make his father end Lorenz's heritage, such as if him fearing that he will be disowned when he loses the White Heron Cup. In Three Hopes, when Lorenz hears that his father wanted him to be Locked Out of the Loop about Claude's plan in the first chapters of Golden Wildfire, it gets Lorenz to think that his father doesn't view him as a worthy successor. This turns out to be false, and a while later, Erwin passes the title of Count Gloucester over to Lorenz.
  • What Does She See in Him?: The general public are absolutely baffled when he announces his marriage to Leonie in their ending.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: If not recruited, he makes no appearance, nor is he mentioned on the Crimson Flower route post-timeskip. This can be explained as the Gloucester house is known to be supportive of the Empire, so it is likely that he's fighting with the Empire, as in Azure Moon and Silver Snow.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: What his support with Marianne boils down to: he initially encourages her to improve herself since he sees her as having great potential, but eventually comes to realize that it's unnecessary, since she's beautiful and amazing just the way she is.
  • Young and in Charge: In Three Hopes, Lorenz' father passes the title of Count Gloucester over to his son because he believes Lorenz should be able to work better with Claude than he ever will.
  • Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: If he's paired with Leonie on a group task and they get an Excellent result, Leonie will praise Lorenz' contributions; Lorenz is mortified by this.

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