~ Class - Rider (Berserker also possible) ~
~ True Identity - Emperor Caligula ~
~ Gender - Male (though can be altered with
Neos Helios if assuming the role of a goddess) ~
~ Alignment - Chaotic Neutral (on a good day) ~
~
Appearance (don't know how to incorporate the eyepatch though) ~
~
Theme ~
Parameters
Strength (D)
*****
Endurance (E)
*****
Agility (C)
*****
Magic (C)
*****
Luck (E)
*****
(Note that, while quite unimpressive for a Heroic Spirit, these are merely his default stats. With his Noble Phantasm
Neos Helios they can be increased dramatically, with many different combinations possible depending on what role he takes)
Class Skills
Magic Resistance (Rank D)
Ability to cancel out the effects of magic, on the level of an amulet that rejects magical energy. Of course this Ranking only refers to his default state...
Riding (Rank B > A+)
Talent for Riding mounts and vehicles. Under normal circumstances Caligula gains the knowledge to effortlessly ride any earthly mount or vehicle, yet with use of his Noble Phantasm
Neos Helios this Rank can be raised even higher to the point where the likes of
Divine and
Demonic Beasts are within his grasp.
Personal Abilities
Charisma (Rank A > E)
A rare skill; the talent to lead an army and inspire a nation, having the effect of increasing the abilities of allies in group battles.
Caligula can be considered an... unorthodox example of this. Upon first being summoned his Rank is befitting of those who've attained the highest imaginable level of popularity, yet as the Grail War goes on this slowly yet surely (or perhaps not slowly at all) descends to the absolute lowest, where though he may efficiently lead his followers he will not work wonders for their morale, to put it lightly.
Divinity (Rank A--)
The measure of divine blood inside a demigod. A very distant descendant of the goddess Venus, via his ancestor Aeneas, and a slighty-less-yet-still-fairly-distant descendant of either Mars or Heracles, via Romulus. However, unlike previous Roman Emperors Caligula received deification while still mortal, as opposed to merely after death.
Can be boosted to new extremes through the use of, again, his Noble Phantasm
Neos Helios.
Innocent Monster (Rank C)
The name of the monster who had his past and way of being distorted through te image spawned from his behaviour in life. Incidentally this Skill cannot be unequiped.
Though there is enough evidence of Caligula's madness, it should be noted that his reign is considered to be poorly documented with definite bias against him, so it's quite likely we haven't been getting the full story on him.
Mental Pollution (Rank E > A)
Capacity to block out Mental Interference due to possessing a distorted mentality, yet at the same time it becomes nigh impossible to form an understanding with others unless they possess an equivalent Rank.
As a mirror to his
Charisma Rank, this gradually increases the longer the Grail War goes on.
Noble Phantasms
~ Baiae - Every Chance of an Emperor (Rank C, Anti-Personnel) ~
Tiberius' soothsayer Thrasyllus of Mendes once prophesised that Caligula had no more chance of becoming an Emperor than of riding a horse across the bay of Baiae.
In response to this, after he did become emperor Caligula ordered the construction of a 'floating bridge' made possible through numerous ships together in a line, over which he did cross the bay riding his favourite horse Incitatus, wearing Alexander the Great's breastplate no less.
A crystalisation of this legendary stunt (and perhaps also the reversal of Caligula's own popularity), whenever mounted upon his ever-ready steed Incitatus Caligula receives the attribute 'Anti-Expectation', allowing him to intentionally defy any expectations of him his enemy may hold, in turn allowing him to pull off nigh impossible feats while riding.
Incitatus' own un-horselike qualities such as speech and religious knowledge may possibly be a side-effect of this Noble Phantasm.
However this Phantasm may sometimes be more of a curse than a blessing for Caligula, for example if he faces an enemy with not lower but
higher expectations of him (unlikely due to his sickly frame and delusional personality, but still) this NP can instead end up restricting his abilities and even afflicting him with misfortune.
This means that
Baiae can only effectively be used against each enemy once, unless they're
that arrogant and assume that last time was but a fluke.
The only way not to trigger this Phantasm at all, for good or ill, is to simply face Caligula without holding any expectations.
~ Speculum Dianae - The Lunar Seconda Nave (Rank B, Anti-Fortress) ~
At the otherwise restricted holy ground of Lake Nemi Caligula ordered the building of two massive ships, both of which have been ranked as some of the larget built in the ancient world.
This Noble Phnatasm is the smaller of the two ships, designed as a temple to Diana or Isis, or possibly a synchronisation of both, though nowadays Caligula tends to look at it as a temple to his sister Drusilla.
The ship Speculum Dianae has the power to absorb faith and belief, or more accurately drain them away, sucking up any prayers or devotion it comes across and taking them into itself.
This can lead to any ability dependent on prayer or a connection with the gods being disabled and stolen away if used in its presence, can induce loss of hope and lack of willpower in anyone religious yet not mentally resistant enough, and after prolonged can even cause the destruction of any holy site, starting it by causing the heads of any religious figures to fall off (this being a direct nod to Caligula's own attacks against temples).
'Speculum Dianae' (reportedly translating to Diana's mirror), comes from the name given to the enchanting reflection of the Moon that may be glanced in Summer upon the waters of Lake Nemi, or Nemorensis Lacus as the Romans knew it. If you go by Tarot symbolism, the Moon itself may be a fitting allegory of Caligula's own madness.
~ Neos Helios - The Solar Prima Nave (Rank A, Support) ~
This was the larger of the two ships built at Lake Nemi, a massive floating palace of the highest luxury and grandest envisioning, probably the most extravagant yet outlandish of Caligula's constructions.
As a vessel it is a good deal sturdier than the Seconda Nave yet also far less agile, however its true function is not of a battleship but rather a temple, to none other than Caligula's own Divinity itself. The title 'Neos Helios' stems from Caligula's personal name as a God meaning the New Sun.
Within this floating palace he is able to take the 'faith' accumulated by his previous Noble Phantasm and transfer it into his own self, allowing him to imitate the likeness and powers of any God (or Goddess) who had any belief in them drained away by Speculum Dianae, with Incitatus in turn being granted the capabilities of any priest assigned to that diety.
Alternatively Caligula can draw upon all the accumulated belief at once and pile it into himself as God, if things are looking desperate or he just wants to be done with his foe.
Neos Helios is the closest he can get to realising a world where everything his madness led him to believe is absolutely true. This last Noble Phantasm is akin to a Reality Marble in that while it grants access to powers far above human, even Heroic Spirit level, Caligula can only use these miraculous powers inside this ship, with no effect or result of these powers able to be carried to the outside. Therefore in order to vanquish his foes they must first be lured into this ship, which may be accomplished easier given the destruction
Speculum Dianae can cause.
Analysis
Though his Noble Phantasms are capable of major results if used well, without them Caligula ranks as a comparatively poor Servant, and with or without them he remains an extremely difficult to control one for any Master unfortunate enough to be saddled (pun possibly intended) with him.
Summoned along with him due to their close ties, Incitatus too can be viewed as a Heroic Spirit of sorts much like Bucephalus, with a Rank in Independent Action of around D, letting him assist Caligula mounted or unomunted (if that's the right word).
Incitatus' personality seems to be much more level-headed than that of Caligula's, though inevitably he finds himself drawn into whatever craziness Caligula may be plotting.
While Caligula may speak of countless (and often contradictory) desires he has for the Grail, such as abolishing all other religions so that only he is worshipped or being allowed to survive his assassination in history and continue his reign where he left it, deep down his one true wish for the Holy Grail would be simply to be loved again, like the adoration he received when he first ascended the Imperial Throne, the one moment in his adult life he remembers the fondest.
Originally Posted by NailsInYourFeet
The description of a female shield-bearing Servant who betrayed their own Master makes me think of Brynhildr more than anyone (had an entire mountain of shields surrounding her after all). Just my thoughts.
