HIGH-RES PLZ.

First and foremost, I would like to thank all those who commented on the WIP pic ^^ I totally didn’t deserve it considering how long I’ve been missing...

Anyway, this is the completed version of my entry for Le Kun’s contest. This OC’s name is Noroimusha (呪武者), meaning “cursed warrior”. I never had the intention of writing so much for this because I won’t be developing this character anyway, but it seems that the contest weighs descriptions just as heavily as artistic value. So please forgive the length...

Inspired by: Youjinbou (Yojimbo) from FFX. They’re similar in the sense that they both have a strong Japanese flavor. Noroimusha isn’t meant to belong to a specific series; he’s just one of those additional/optional summons you can live without, or a recurring summon like Shiva, Ifrit, Bahamut and Odin. But for sure, he cannot belong to FFX or FFXII, because Aeons are part of the plot itself, and Espers are directly linked to the horoscope (they make a complete set on their own).

BACKSTORY (IF he were to have one...) :

He was a daimyo who died without honour, whose name was erased by history and forgotten by man. As such, his soul is earthbound by bitterness, hate and vengeance. In order to bring retribution on those who dishonoured him, he sold his soul to the demons, who thereafter took possession of his body and reanimated it (hence that huge oni mask attached to his severed arm, and the swirly symbol on his helmet, which resembles those ghostly things you see floating around spirits in anime =P). He went on to wreak havoc among the nearby populace and continued to do so for many decades, before he was finally defeated at the hands of <insert random characters here>. His body was later hidden and sealed in a dungeon (notice that all the talismans have the Kanji “Fuu” on them, which means “seal”). To prevent anyone from getting close, the dungeon is guarded by various obstacles and puzzles (classic RPG cliché lawlz). Since then, the legend of “Noroimusha” has been passed down for many generations...

... UNTIL YE OLDE PARTY MEMBERS ARRIVED!

STRATEGY (GameFAQs style, yeah!):

[DISCLAIMER: All info below- people, places, everything- are purely made up. They are not based on an existing FF-verse.]

Face it: you don’t get Noroimusha free and easy. You should’ve gotten that clear from the previous paragraph =D But of course, it’s always the party members that get to perform all the major breakthroughs in the story. To put it in simpler terms: HELL YEAH! It’s time to drag that filthy body outta the cave, kick his ass, and make him kiss your ass.

At the village/town near his location, you will hear rumours of his whereabouts and clues on how to get through the dungeon thingy (which are mostly unnecessary because they insult your intelligence). They give you words of warning and praise your bravery. They are blissfully unaware of your awesomeness and think you’re nuts for trying to face Noroimusha. But there are some who think you aren’t and beg you to erase him once and for all, because he was the bane of their ancestors and they want you to get back at him on their behalf and whatnot. Their merchants and traders sell cheap, so be very sure to exploit them as much as possible before heading out because shortly after you’re gonna lose that chance (read on to find out why).

After clearing the obstacles and puzzles, you step into a suspiciously large room 8D And you will witness a scene that closely resembles the picture above. BOSS FIGHT!!!

This guy’s undead. You know the rules. Healing magic can hurt a lot. But here’s the deal: unlike most bosses, casting Phoenix Down or some other resurrection magic will kill him instantly. This is surely the easy way, but killing him would eliminate the possibility of summoning him in the future =P If you still insist on doing it, the villagers/townsfolk would love you and shower you with gifts, and you can continue exploiting the merchants to strike good deals. But you wouldn’t want to give up a badass summon for items, would you? xD So let’s do this the hard way!

Noroimusha can be frustrating, but not to the extreme. A fair number of good hits would bring him down soon enough. These are some of his moves (I can’t think of many...):

• Forward Spear Thrust: Damages one party member with that spear shown in the pic. He spams this pretty often. Quite harmless if you’re at a very high level; deals decent damage otherwise. The weapon is a Juumonji-yari, meaning cross-spear, a type of weapon used during the Sengoku Period in Japan. It appears ridiculously small here because it’s embedded in the ground, but the blade’s actually pretty long.
• Summon Minions: Brings a handful of his army units back from the grave. Their purpose is to annoy you. They’re as harmless as random encounters, deal minor damage, and can be finished off within a few normal hits. But once they’re killed, Noroimusha can summon more. What a jerk.
• Zenmetsuken: His Ougi (ultimate attack), inspired by Youjinbou’s “Zanmatou” and Odin’s “Zantetsuken”. They might sound similar, but have entirely different meanings: Zantetsuken/ 斬鉄剣- Iron-cleaving sword. Zanmatou/斬魔刀- Demon-cutting sword. Zenmetsuken/全滅剣- Sword of Total Annihilation (the internet doesn’t show all these; I deciphered the meanings and typed out the jap myself =P). A mini-cutscene ensues, but none too flashy. To be precise, it’s just a Battou-jutsu (sword-drawing technique). Noroimusha draws his sword (yep, the one stuck on his torso), which is enchanted with demonic powers, and does a horizontal slash across all party members, effectively reducing their HP to 1. Now quit whining and heal up. I initially meant it to be INSTA-KILL unless you have a special ability, but I dropped the idea. He very rarely utilizes this move, so it can be prevented if you settle the fight quickly.

Congratulations! You defeated Noroimusha! Wasn’t too hard, was it? *slapped* He finally acknowledges your kickass-ness, and demands a name... lolwut? That’s right, he lacks a name. Noroimusha was merely a nickname told in stories, and he doesn’t even know that. Dumbass. But YOU get to name him, which is so cool. Choose wisely. Be creative.

By the code of Bushidou, he will henceforth serve you for eternity.

Once you exit the dungeon, the villagers/townsfolk hate you, because you decided to make Noroimusha your slave rather than dispose of him. Bah! Their vengeance is none of your business anyway. Who gives a damn? Unfortunately, you can no longer exploit their wonderful merchants, 'cause they hate you too >_> You get shit in return for removing their arch-nemesis, but that’s about it. All is well. It’s time to resume your ass-kicking journey and KICK MOAR ASS!

I apologize deeply once again for the insane length. My imagination is going out of hand. Critique is always welcome =)

Medium: Mechanical pencil (lineart), 2B & HB pencil (shading), edited and cleaned with PS
Reference: none