Nabarl

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An archetype in the Fire Emblem series, a Nabarl character is a character who is initially unpromoted, and introduced as a recruitable enemy near the beginning of the game. Such characters tend to have a threatening introduction. They tend to be dangerous enemies and may be difficult to recruit. Some of them, especially Aira, are worth the effort of recruiting. Usually Myrmidons which later promote into Swordmasters, but not always. They usually outclass the Jeigan, Kain, and Abel characters of the same game. They have good stat growths, but focus on speed and skill, but have low defense growth. They have moderate HP growth and usually have 30% strength growth. Some Nabarls are minor characters, and a few are major characters. Nabarls are usually not of royal heritage. They usually have no blood relations with other playable characters.

This archetype name refers to a character of Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi (The Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light), named Nabarl, who embodies the core principles of Nabarlhood. With the exception of Joshua (due to the in-game tutorial), Nabarls (especially Aira and Shiva) are usually killed off as enemies by new players of the Fire Emblem series. They become praised by those who played through the game at least twice, and then eventually despised by some players due to their unfavourable stat distribution (especially goes for Guy, but Aira is usually not despised), but they are by no means bad characters. Some people instead become overly obsessive about them (especially Aira). They may ultimately become the favorite character for some fans of the game.

The Oguma archetype is the strength-based counterpart of the Nabarl archetype.

List of Nabarls

Nabarl: From Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi and Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo, Nabarl is the character who exemplifies the traits of a Nabarl. He is introduced in Chapter 3 of Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi and Book 1 Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo (Super Famicom version of the former). In that chapter he pursues Julian and Rena until he is recruited. He is also playable in Book 2 of the latter game. He is a minor character in Book 1 of Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo and a major character in Book 2. He is the only Nabarl who is not a Swordmaster, and he is a Mercenary - this is because the Swordmaster class was not introduced yet in those games. He added the aforementioned appearance principle of Nabarlhood in the Super Famicom version. He is recruited by Sheeda of Talis.
Aira: From Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, Aira is the Princess of Isaac and a descendant of Odo. She is the first female of the Nabarl archetype and the first Nabarl to be a Myrmidon and then promote to a Swordmaster. She is also the first Nabarl to be recruited by a Lord character and the first Nabarl to be of royal heritage. She is recruited by Sigurd after he conquers Genoa Castle. She has the potential to be the strongest of all Nabarls, due to higher strength caps given to Swordmasters in her game. She is also the most difficult Nabarl to recruit, and that recruiting is most rewarding of any Nabarl. That reward is more pronounced in Celice's generation as she passes her skills on to her two children, Lakche and Skasaha. There is controversy over whether Ayra should be considered a Nabarl, due to having different swords and a unique skill called Ryuuseiken (Meteor Sword). Nabarls are usually equipped with Kill Swords/Killing Edges, but these weapons do not exist in Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu. Instead, Aira is initially equipped with an Iron Blade, and she later gets the Yuusha Sword (or Brave/Hero Sword) from either Holyn or Lex. She is a great suitor for just about any playable male character in Sigurd's tale besides Sigurd and Cuan. Holyn and Lex are arguably her best suitors. Some pair her with Dew, but some other players go for esoteric Aira pairings such as pairing her with Noish or Levin. She is almost always killed as an enemy by players who are new to Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (even if they recruited a Nabarl character in a non-Jugdral Fire Emblem game, due to the difficulty of recruiting her), but she is very highly favoured by those who played through the game more than twice, except for those who detest all the hype surrounding her. She is most likely to be overly obsessed with by Fire Emblem fans, usually those who killed her off as an enemy during the first two playthroughs, and she is the originator of Nabarl obsession. Those who get obsessed with Ayra often get obsessed with other Nabarls, most notably Guy. For more information about Aira, see Ayra (Fire Emblem).
Shiva: From Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, Shiva is the first Nabarl not to be recruitable at first appearance. He is also the first non-effeminate one. In the Chapter 2 Gaiden, Shiva appears to threaten Leaf's party but will not move from his starting location, which is the fort near the castle where Rifis is guarding, for several turns, allowing the player time to capture Rifis and seize the thieves' base before one of Leaf's units kills him. The music track changes to warn the player that Shiva has started moving. Like Aira, he is almost always killed by Fire Emblem newbies at first appearance even if they recruited a Nabarl in a non-Jugdral Fire Emblem game. He is recruited by Saphy in Chapter 7, standing there along with other Myrmidons.
Rutger: From Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi, Rutger is half Bernian and half Sacaen. He is introduced in Chapter 4 of the game. He is the first Nabarl to have light hair. He is recruited by Clarine, a Troubadour, who is recruited by Roy earlier in the chapter.
Fir: From Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi, Fir is the daughter of Bartre, who fights in both Elibe games, and Karla, who is dead in Fuuin no Tsurugi and who appears late in Hector's route of Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. She is the first female Nabarl not to be recruited at first appearance. She first appears in a conversation with Noah in the arena in Chapter 7. After the conversation, she leaves the scene, but Noah remains in the battle scene waiting for Roy to recruit him. In Chapter 9, Fir is latered recruited by Noah, whom she can support.
Guy: From Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, Guy is of the Sacaen tribe known as Kutolah. He is introduced in Chapter 13 of the game. He is recruited by Matthew, a Thief, and eventually joins Eliwood's crew by Matthew's word. He is the lowest-level Myrmidon to be recruited, only at a meager level 3 when found, but he is still deadly with a Killing Edge, which he comes with. Goofy at heart, Guy can get maximum Skill and Speed early on, and as a Swordmaster, he is not one to be trifled with.
Joshua: From Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Joshua is the second Nabarl to be of royal heritage. He is the heir to the throne of Jehanna. He is recruited by Natasha, whom he can have a support with. Being the first Nabarl to wield a holy weapon, he later receives Jehanna's Sacred Twins, the Water Sword Audhulma and the Wind Blade Excalibur, from his mother (Ismaire) before she dies. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones has an in-game tutorial message that points to the player that Joshua is recruitable, in order to protect him against killing by Fire Emblem newbies. Until the end of the game, Joshua was fond of games of chance. During the character endings, he is dubbed "The Tempest King", and his skills as leader grows great. As a result of his reign, Jehanna flourishes as it never was during Ismaire's reign. He has the chance to marry Natasha, the cleric who recruits him.
Marisa: From Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Marisa is from Jehanna. She is recruited by Gerik in Eirika's route and by Ewan in Ephraim's route. She first appears in a village in Ephraim's route. Marisa is quiet and aloof, and she does not get along well with many others in Eirika's/Ephraim's group, but she is a very fast and accurate myrmidon. She is a renowned swordfighter known as the "Crimson Flash".
Zihark: From Fire Emblem: Souen no Kiseki, Zihark is the first Nabarl to initiate a recruitment conversation himself.

Nabarl Characteristics

Early Appearance

Like Jeigans, Nabarls are known to be introduced early in the Fire Emblem game, but not in the first chapter. The original Nabarl character is introduced in Chapter 3 of Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi. Aira is introduced at the beginning of Chapter 1 right after the Prologue of Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu. Shiva is introduced in Chapter 2 Gaiden of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, but he is not recruited until Chapter 7 of the game. Joshua is introduced in Chapter 5 of Fire Emblem: Seima no Kouseki.

Nabarls who do not adhere to this principle:
- Guy - Guy is introduced in Chapter 14 of Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, because of Lyn's tale, which he does not appear in. Though considering how Eliwood's tale is the main story, this isn't too far off from the original Nabarl.
- Zihark - Zihark is introduced in Chapter 12 of Fire Emblem: Souen no Kiseki (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance in the US).

Threatening Introduction

Nabarls are known to be introduced as dangerous but recruitable enemies. All Nabarls adhere to this principle. This is not attributed only to Nabarls. Holyn and Raven are two Ogumas with this attribute, for instance. Holyn's introduction is original, while Raven's introduction somewhat mirrors that of Aira. Aira is initially hostile toward Sigurd and his army, since she is from Isaac and most of Sigurd's army including himself is from Grandbell. Raven is initially hostile toward Hector and Eliwood and Lyndis, since Hector is from Ostia and befriends Eliwood, Lyndis, and others. The difference is that Isaac is at war with Grandbell, while Raven has a grudge against Ostia by his own choice.

Difficulty of Recruiting

Nabarls are known to be difficult to recruit and be dangerous enemies. Some of them start moving when a playable character gets close to them. Aira is the most difficult Nabarl to recruit. Guy, Aira, and Joshua start moving when a playable character gets near either of them, except that Aira declares that she has started to attack Sigurd's army before she starts moving. Aira starts moving if a member of Sigurd's army gets in the range of either of the axefighters guarding Genoa Castle. Joshua only moves when a playable character steps into his movement range. A tutorial tells the player that Joshua is recruitable.

Nabarls who do not adhere to this principle:
- Guy - Matthew, the character who recruits Guy, has a larger movement range, but Matthew can easily get killed by Guy. Since Matthew can reach and recruit Guy from outside Guy's movement range, though, this should not be a problem except for careless players.
- Zihark - If Rethe or Mordecai, the two characters which can recruit Zihark, are placed within his movement range, he will go up to them and initiate the recruitment conversation himself.

Reward of Recruiting

Nabarls are known to be worth the effort of recruiting. Aira is known to be most worth the effort of recruiting. Sometimes.

Nabarls who do not adhere to this principle:
- Guy - Guy is overall a very substandard character compared to many other characters in Rekka.

Swordmasters

Nabarls are known for promoting to the Swordmaster Class.

Nabarls who do not adhere to this principle:
- Nabarl - Nabarl promotes to a Hero. This is mainly due to the fact that there was no Swordmaster class in Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi or Monshou no Nazo.
- Joshua - Due to the branched promotion system in Seima no Kouseki, Joshua arguably does not adhere to this rule, as the game also gives the player the option of promoting him into an assassin. He is, however, still able to promote into a swordmaster, should the player choose to do so.
- Marisa - Same reason as Joshua.

Equipment

Nabarls are known to start off equipped with Kill Swords. Kill Swords give bonus chance for critical attacks.

Nabarls who do not adhere to this principle
- Aira: She is initially equipped with an Iron Blade, and she may later receive a Brave Sword from either Holyn or Lex. Her skill Ryuuseiken (Meteor Sword) more than compensates for her lack of a Kill Sword, which does not exist in the game she is in anyway.

Strength Growth Range: 30% to 45%

Nabarls are known to focus stat growth on speed and skill stats. They have a strength growth within the range of 30% to 45%. This is also attributed to the Abel archetype. Aira, Rutger, and Guy have a strength growth rate of 30%. Joshua has a strength growth rate of 35%. Shiva and Zihark have a strength growth rate of 45%, which is phenomenal for the Swordmaster class.

Nabarls who do not adhere to this principle:

Nabarl: Nabarl has 50% strength growth. Incidentally, this is higher than Oguma's.

No Royal Heritage

Nabarls are usually not of royal heritage. They usually have no blood relations with other playable characters. The original Nabarl character and Shiva are of unknown roots. Rutger is half Sacaen and half Bernian. Guy is a member of the Kutolah tribe and has no blood relations with Rath's family.

Nabarls who do not adhere to this principle:
- Aira: She is the first Nabarl to have royal heritage. She is the Princess of Isaac, and the daughter of King Mananan and paternal aunt of Shanan the Prince of Isaac. She is a descendant of Odo. Her Oguma counterpart Holyn is her distant cousin, and he is also a descendant of Odo.
- Joshua: He is the second Nabarl to have royal heritage. He is the Prince of Jehanna and son of Queen Ismaire.

Physical Appearance

Nabarls are known to have great physical appearance. They usually look youthful. They are usually either effeminate men or beautiful, feminine women. They usually have long, dark hair (such as brown and jet black). Nabarl has dark brown hair. His hair is long in Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo. Aira and Fir have long, jet black hair.

Nabarls who do not completely adhere to this principle:
- Aira: Aira isn't exactly a 'feminine' woman. She never talks to other women in the game. In Isaac, women are treated differently than in other countries in Jugdral, and they learn the art of Isaacian swordfighting beside men.

Shiva: He has short black hair, thus is not effeminate.
Rutger: He has light brown hair.
Guy: He has green hair.
Joshua: He has red hair.
Marisa: She has magenta hair.
Zihark: He has grey hair.