Your wish is my command.
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Rider
True Name: Hannibal Barca
Epithet: "The Thunderbolt of Carthage"
Source: Historical
Region: Carthage (3rd-2nd Century B.C)
Hidden Attribute: Human
Alignment: Lawful Good
Likes: Board Games, Theatrics
Dislikes: Corruption, Rome
Talents: Architecture, Economics
Natural Enemy: Scipio Africanus
Parameters:
STR: (C) END: (D) AGI: (C) MGI: (D) LCK: (B) NP: (A)
Character
Despite his seemingly frail appearance, Hannibal is full of explosive energy and childish wonder. Constantly wandering around in search of exciting things in the modern age, it's difficult to imagine him as a ruthless general of ancient times. In particular he has a love/hate relationship with Civilisation type video games as while he loves the idea of practising war games without bloodshed, he constantly gets frustrated with the limitations of gameplay not allowing him to apply his more unorthodox ideas and strategies.
Whilst he would love to settle situations through negotiation rather than violence - once he has perceived a threat to himself or his Master he suddenly undergoes a mental shift into a cold and calculating individual. Even in the midst of immediate danger, Hannibal's mind runs as fast as a supercomputer, weighing the gains versus the losses of each action and playing out countless simulations of each choice in order to find the optimal solution. When deep in thought, he can often be heard whispering something to the effect of "what would you do to counter this, Scipio?" It seems that even after two thousand years Hannibal still considers himself in the shadow of his arch-rival. Despite being known as a genius, Hannibal is genuinely curious as to his Master's input on battle as - aside from wanting to be praised - he fears any potential bias or blind spot that being a man of the distant past could cause.
Though he is a trained soldier, Hannibal knows that he is a strategist first and thus is inferior compared to the combat prowess of the other Servants. Therefore he always keeps his trusty Falcata sword concealed within his cloak for a surprise attack and in battle relies on hit 'n run tactics and using the environment to his advantage, all for the sake of slowly manoeuvring his opponent into making a critical mistake so they he can end them with one of his Noble Phantasms. Hannibal is also not above targeting the enemy Masters as he mercilessly believes that if you willingly take part in War then you are not an innocent bystander. He similarly warns his own Master that while he'll do his upmost to fight for them, they must be vigilant and are expected to pull their own weight where possible.
Hannibal's Wish in exchange for his Summoning? To be in a Holy Grail War to face off against his idol - Alexander the Great. However given that they are both Rider Class Servants, that may well be an impossibility. Nevertheless, if he can have an exhilarating time fighting in a Grail War anyways then he'll consider himself satisfied.
Skills
Class Skills
Magic Resistance - (D)
Grants protection against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. As a normal human being, Hannibal has little in the way of sturdy magical resistance with his current Rank being a mix of being in the Rider Class and being from the Age of Gods. At this Rank, it will cancel all Single-Action spells but nothing more complex. It is Magic Resistance of the same degree of an amulet that rejects magical energy.
Riding - (A)
A Class Skill of Rider and Saber class Servants, denoting the ability to ride mounts and vehicles. Rider-class Servants will typically possess a high rank. It is said that dragon type mounts are an exception, requiring a different ability other than Riding. As a trained soldier of Carthage, Hannibal possesses immense experience of mounted warfare from horses to the mighty war elephants. As a result, all vehicles and all creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as mounts - even vehicles that did not exist in the time period one was alive in, for they are no exception.
Personal Skills
Disengage - (B)
The ability to withdraw from the battlefield in the midst of combat or reset the battle conditions. After his financial reforms to root out the corruption the Oligarchs had over Carthage failed, Hannibal fled into exile before his statesmen could hand him over to Rome. He travelled across Europe, taking shelter in many lesser kingdoms but always had to escape again after Roman forces relentlessly chased him until the very end. As a result, this Skill has the bonus effect of returning battle conditions to what they were at the beginning of the match (1st turn) and restores the condition of this Skill to the initial value.
Father of Strategy - (A)
A Skill given to one who made great advances in the art of military strategy - Hannibal's transcendent genius in the heat of battle led to several original techniques and strategies that the Roman Empire scrambled to copy and military academies all over the world continue to study his exploits. By merely grasping and analysing the situation, Hannibal can perceive the optimal solution (the silver thread) leading to victory so long as there is even a chance of success. In addition to this, Bonus Modifiers are provided during use of one's own Anti-Army Noble Phantasm or when dealing against an enemy Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
Protection of Melqart - (A)
The blessings given by the tutelary deity Melqart, in exchange for a lifetime of prayer and sacrifices. Before his conquest of Rome, Hannibal made a pilgrimage to Gades to offer tribute to Melqart and that night he saw a vision of the deity saying he had been sent by the supreme god Jupiter to guide the young general to victory. During battle, Hannibal gains spiritual fortitude so that his body feels like that of a young man again and an automatic Plus to all Checks undergone by Hannibal and his allies is given.
Noble Phantasm
Surus The War ElephantThe Rolling Thunder That Shakes The Earth
[Type: Anti-Army], [Rank: B], [Maximum Range: 1 Metres], [Maximum Number of Targets: 1-500]
Even before they saw his army approaching, the people of Rome shivered in fear as they heard what sounded like the rumbling of thunder coming. In reality it was the constant stomping of the Carthaginian War Elephants with Hannibal leading the pack on his personal steed - Surus.
Now incarnated as a Servant, Hannibal's beloved partner returns to his side once more to do battle together. Decked out with luxurious red cloths and shields and equipped with a Howdah for Hannibal to ride upon it is an intimidating sight to behold as it flattens everything in its path. Even without the shields, Surus' skin is so tough that a regular blade would just bounce off and his tusks are so strong that they can bore through even concrete easily. When it comes time to use the finishing blow - "Continental Hammer", Surus charges at the enemy to skewer them with his tusks before tossing them into the air and launching himself as well. Surus then uses the full force of gravity to stomp the enemy all the way back down to the ground and bury them deep within the earth.
However, though Surus is both fast and strong he is not without flaws. Whilst he can gain tremendous speed he cannot turn on a dime and so agile Servants like Lancer will easily be able to dodge Surus' charge and try to strike Hannibal. Likewise since neither elephant nor rider possess any method of ranged attack then powerful Archers and Casters will similarly pose a huge threat.
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Road of HerculesThe Labors of Hannibal
[Type: Anti-Unit], [Rank: A], [Maximum Range: Self], [Maximum Number of Targets: 1-10]
The final trump card in Hannibal's possession. Throughout his time as general, Hannibal encouraged the belief that he was the second coming of Hercules. He started his legendary march to Italy by praying at the Hercules Shrine at Gades and during the journey he took the same arduous route as Hercules was said to have in his Tenth Labor and furthermore he continuously tried to mimic feats the hero was said to have done such as blasting away a boulder that was blocking his path. This perception stuck in the minds of the people of Carthage and they minted coins featuring Hannibal as Hercules.
Now in the Holy Grail War when his back is against the wall, Hannibal channels all of his magical energy into a ghostly aura surrounding his body which takes the shape of the legendary hero Hercules. Whilst in this form Hannibal's Parameters are forcefully augmented to those of the real Hercules had he been summoned. Thus Hannibal suddenly becomes a force to be reckoned with and truly lives up to his epithet of the "Thunderbolt" as his sword strikes turn lightning quick and pack tremendous power. Unfortunately this Noble Phantasm is a double-edged sword as Hannibal is unable spare any energy to call forth Surus and even with a Servant body he cannot handle the strain for more than 3 minutes every day and if he hits the time limit he will collapse mid-battle potentially leaving himself and his Master defenceless. It is also not immune to anti-Magic attacks such as Gáe Dearg and Rule Breaker.
Bond Lines
Level One1st Night
You, the Master of Hannibal realise you are standing in a seaport of an unknown town, though glancing around it looks like a place from antiquity and the signs appear to be written in Spanish - you quickly realise that this is a dream of sorts. "Father, father!" You turn towards the source of the voice and are teleported inside the town's fort into a small room where a 9 year old boy is standing in the doorway as an older man turns to him. "Oh, Hannibal. You should be at home in Carthage, how did you follow me all the way to Peñíscola?" "But Father, even you can't take on all of Rome alone, so let me help you." Hearing this, Hamilcar took his young son to the sacrificial chamber, held him up over the fire and asked if he would swear to never be a friend of Rome. Despite his fear of the flames, Hannibal steadied himself and said "I swear so soon as age will permit...I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome!" The world fades into darkness and the dream ends...
2nd Day
The morning afterwards you ask Hannibal about what you saw. "Hmm...sounds like you saw a glimpse into my memories whilst you slept like a log. What? You think it strange that a mere child would want to lay waste to another nation? Hah! I suppose to you who was born in modern times must think of me as some kind of savage. Well we weren't blessed with your technology nor your synthetic foods. When it came to resources to keep your people alive it was either "take" or be "taken from" and Rome was convinced they were the biggest dogs around so I figured I'd teach them a little lesson. This wasn't the first time Carthage had gone to war with Rome anyways and my father was a commander during our defeat last time so it was only natural I as his son restore the family's honour by claiming victory. 'Course I lost the rematch as well, but not before sinking my fangs into Rome - even after they'd won, whenever calamity struck the people would screech in terror 'Hannibal ante portas!' as if I were some kind of demon who had cursed them with misfortune." Waving off any further comments, Hannibal gets up and departs the room.
Level Two2nd Night
Once again you find yourself in a strange dream. The fact that the air is cold and it's hard to breath makes you look around to find your bearings and you slowly realise that what initially looked like a frozen wasteland was actually some kind of mountain range. Suddenly you hear a thunderous rumbling sound and turn to see an incredible sight - a giant army complete with cavalrymen on horses and elephants climbing up and down the mountain range as they try to cross it. However the slopes were steeper than they appeared and several soldiers with their animals would periodically fall to their deaths. In response the general at the front yells out "Fight on brave soldiers... man dies but glory lives forever! Fight on men, death is better than defeat! Fight on, and prove that we follow in the footsteps of gods!" The leader is younger and has both of his eyes but you can still clearly recognize him as Hannibal as they slowly march out of sight and you wake up.
3rd Day
"Ah yes, my journey across the Alps on my way to conquer Rome." Hannibal says as he relaxes in his chair. "I hear that historians still to this day debate how I exactly managed it, ha ha. But it was actually my older brother Hasdrubal who planned out the journey since he was the leading General at the time. But sadly Rome caught wind of it and had him assassinated...leaving the task to me. Anyways since the Carthaginian navy was decimated I tried to go on foot by recreating the Road of Hercules, you know from his Tenth Labor? Oh, you don't? Well it doesn't matter either way, point is I pulled it off in the end and I became a legend myself. Of course I lost half my army just getting to Italy but that was always an expected outcome and so I had more soldiers hired from overseas ahead of time to join up with us as we arrived at our destination. But enough of that~" With that Hannibal gets up and gestures for you to follow him out into battle again.
Level Three3rd Night
As sleep fills the mind, you feel water lapping at your feet. Looking around you find yourself this time standing at the edge of a lake, peering closer you can see through the muddy waters are pike and carp swimming around agitatedly. "Have you found him yet!?" Turning to the source of the voice, you raise your hand to shield your eyes from the setting sun as you see countless African soldiers digging around waist deep in the marshy waters as they search for something. Amongst them you can see Hannibal himself barking orders as always but even he has rolled up his sleeves and is searching too. "But sir, we've been looking since this morning and we're all tired, can't we call it a day already?" Hannibal looks at the soldier and snaps back "How would you like it if your soul was left to wander the earth for an eternity because your body wasn't given a proper burial!?" However despite their renewed vigour they could not find the body and were forced to give up after night had come. With that darkness fills your vision and you return from dreaming.
4th Day
"Oh what now!?" Hannibal protests, but you don't let up and continue to press him. As he scratches his head he contemplates "A body in a lake? Must be him - Gaius Flaminius." Startled at the name, you ask why Hannibal put so much effort into looking for the body of a despised Roman. "Heh, don't look at me like that, Rome is Rome but people are still people it's as simple as that. It was the Battle of Lake Trasimene which was my first major obstacle upon reaching Italy and Gaius Flaminius was the Consul that stood in my path. As far as tactics go, it was a simple turning movement followed by a swift ambush to crush the enemy. But amid the heat of battle the Celtic mercenaries I had hired had mobbed Flaminius to death and ingloriously dumped his body into the lake." Hannibal sighed before continuing "Regardless of who he was, he was still a person and deserved a proper burial so his immortal soul could be put to rest. It saddens me that I couldn't even do that for him." Hannibal falls silent and you leave the matter at that.
Level Four4th Night
This time the strange dreams take you to some kind of academic hall, filled with desks and scrolls for learning. You sense a strange atmosphere and see in the centre of the room are two men - one a blonde haired blue eyed man of seeming importance who you don't recognise, the other obviously being Hannibal complete with a missing eye now and gray streaks in his hair make him look closer to his Servant incarnation. Though the men are smiling, you feel electricity in the air around them as if they might try to kill each other any second. "Hail, Hannibal of Carthage" The blonde man says, "I expected you to be licking your wounds back in your homeland, do you honestly believe any good will come of teaching this backwater country to wage war when its enemy is Rome itself?" In response Hannibal merely laughs, "Some things never change Scipio. If King Prusias asks only for my genius in return for food and shelter then surely I can't refuse another chance at striking at Rome." An awkward silence fills the air before Scipio changes the subject, "Tell me Hannibal. When it comes to the generals of the past and present who would you rank -" "Alexander of Macedonia. There is no question." Hannibal cut off Scipio before he could even finish but the latter merely nodded in assent and let him continue. "After that I'd put...Pyrrhus of Epirus second, because boldness is the first requirement of a general and you wouldn't find it in greater quantities than those two Kings." This time Scipio raised an eyebrow at the answer and interjected "O-okay I don't necessarily agree, but who would you yield third place to?" and Hannibal gave a mischievous smile "of course that would be myself; for when I was a young man I conquered Hispania and crossed the Alps with an army, the first after Hercules." In response Scipio grimaced at the level of conceit and so squared his shoulders and said "Well then, where would you place yourself, Hannibal...If you had not been defeated by me?" The air around the men instantly turned cold and silence filled the room. "...In that case, I would have surpassed Alexander and ushered in a new dawn of humanity without Rome." Another pause as the two men simply stared into each others eyes but unexpected they simply laughed and walked out of the room discussing the possibility of drinking together sometime as the world fades to black.
5th Day
"Publius Cornelius Scipio." Hannibal said without prompting this time. "Better known as 'Scipio Africanus' after defeating me at the Battle of Zama. There's no doubt in my mind that he was the only worthy adversary of my era. It does sting my pride somewhat to have a Roman given the title of my homeland of Africa, but I cannot deny his achievements. Sadly his glory was short lived, both he and I tried to root out corruption in our respective countries but the swamp that is politics was unbeatable and we were both made into pariahs. That particular meeting between us took place in the Gymnasium of the Selucid Kingdom. What...'were we doing sports'? No it was a diplomatic meeting in a house of learning, stupid Master. Anyways, though my fight against Rome never ended, I was sadly denied a chance at a rematch with Scipio. I suspect if he could see me now, he'd be laughing at this old fool trying vainly to recapture the glory days of his youth. Say, humour an old man will you? Why are you risking your life in this Holy Grail War...what is it you Wish for?"
Level Five
5th Night
For the final time you find yourself in an unknown location. The rising sun slowly illuminates the area revealing a moderately sized living quarters. The sound of scribbling in the background causes you to turn to the desk and see a familiar face hunched over it. It is Hannibal now exactly as he looks as a Servant, face scrunched in concentration and reed pen in hand flying across the parchment. "Finally done!" he exclaims as he put the pen down and relaxed into his chair "hah, and just in time for breakfast it seems" as he squints outside the window at the sunrise. Suddenly there is a lot of noise outside and a regal looking man bursts into the room out of breath "Ah...L-Lord Han...nibal" he gasps in between breaths. But Hannibal is unperturbed "Good morning your highness. It's nice to see you care about your health but perhaps a diet is prefferable to running around until you collapse?" However Hannibal's face darkened as he looked out the window to see a battalion of Roman soldiers had completely surrounded the castle. "It's the Empire!" King Prusias said having regained his composure "I don't know how, but they found out I had been giving you shelter and now Titus Quinctius Flamininus has arrived to demand your surrender." Hearing this Hannibal slowly turning back to face him and said nothing, instead he silently stared at the king with such an intensity to cause him to start sweating under pressure. "You don't know 'how' you say? Yet you arrived moments ahead of them despite having no means of transportation. Very strange." Hannibal turned back to his desk and took out a vial of strange liquid. King Prusias became very nervous at his friend's behaviour. "What are you planning to do?" but Hannibal merely laughed in response "that old dog Flamininus will chase me until the ends of the earth. A shame since I had just finished the plans for Artaxata's new capital - a wonder of architectural achievement if I do say so myself. But no matter, let us relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death." With that Hannibal opens up the vial and downs the contents in one go. He stumbles backwards and collapses onto the bed as the world turns dark and you wake up once more.
6th Day
"What? No twenty questions this time around?" Hannibal asks sarcastically but with subtle twinkle in his eye. You decide it would be tactless to discuss a man's death right in front of him. "Your silence is deafening, It must be my final days, right?" You nod and he continues "you can probably guess what political intrigue went on - King Prusias of Bithynia got too big for his boots and tried to pick a fight with King Eumenes II of Pergamon. I naturally lent my aid and won several naval battles against Eumenes, the last one in particular had a nasty trap involving venomous snakes haha. Anyways, Eumenes turned to Rome for help and the Empire put their boot against Prusias' neck and he immediately squealed my location to them in return for his own life being spared. However I made a promise to my father that I would fight Rome for as long as I lived so I chose to deny them the pleasure of capturing and executing me." Hannibal falls silent for a considerable time, but eventually turns back to you. "I suppose, if I did have one regret in life it would be having to leave behind my pregnant wife Imilce. Because of my exile I was unable to spend any real time with my family...but enough about me. I've got a war to win for my Master don't you know haha." With that he slaps you on the back and motions to follow him out for the climax of the Holy Grail War.
Relationships
Alexander/Iskandar - "Hah! Who would have thought the King of Conquerors would be such a buffoon. I wouldn't have it any other way!"
Boudica - "Ah, you have my condolences. Any enemy of Rome is an ally of mine."
Ereshkigal - "Hmm...wait a minute, aren't you Melqart's wife!?"
Heracles - "What a shame. It turns out we don't look anything alike after all. I pity the artists who had to depict me as you in my homeland."
Roman Servants - "We will never come to accept one another. We shall always be in conflict!"
Zeus - "L-Lord Jupiter is that you?"
Creator's NotesCan't believe no one seems to have done a Hannibal sheet yet, this is a disgrace that needs immediate rectifying.
Yes, I'm aware that the title of "thunderbolt" really belonged to Hamilcar rather than his son Hannibal, but it just sounded so cool that I couldn't resist.
The Faceclaim is obviously Hannibal himself from the Drifters manga/anime. I did briefly consider using someone else...but in the end I went with him as I liked the whole "eccentric old master" trope - I could definitely see him stuck with a younger Master quite like the Waver/Alexander situation.
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Feel free to look at my Servant sheets 
Originally Posted by Kabalisto Koga
