| “ | All you need is the will to live! As long as your heart beats, you ought to strive to live! | „ |
| ~ Astolfo to Sieg |
Summary
Rider of Black ("黒"のライダー, "Kuro" no Raidā) is the Rider-class Servant of the Black Faction of the Great Holy Grail War, summoned by Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia. His true name is Astolfo (アストルフォ, Asutorufo), one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, and the son of an English king. Of the Twelve Paladins, Astolfo was said to be the most handsome, on top of being eternally optimistic and lacking anything resembling common sense or reasoning. He has created many legends, collecting many treasures from across the world in his adventures and ultimately even reaching the Moon on the back of his trusty Hippogriff.
Powers and Stats
Tier: At least 7-B, 7-A with Hippogriff
Name: Rider of Black, Astolfo
Origin: Fate/Apocrypha
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Classification: Rider-class Servant
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Expert Spearman, Flight with the Hippogriff, Sound Manipulation with La Black Luna (Causes an explosion of sound that deafens opponents and reduces those it kills to dust), Magic Negation with Casseur de Logistille (Can break all magecraft close to High-Thaumaturgy, save for Reality Marbles), can force physical and spiritual beings to "fall" with the Trap of Argalia, can phase through reality and the Reverse Side of the World to disappear from sight and phase through attacks, can "ride" any vehicle or mount with supernatural skill, Statistics Amplification (Can temporarily increase his own strength), Breaking the Fourth Wall (Scribbled all over and commented on his own status page), Soul Manipulation (All Servants can consume souls to replenish their magical energy), Intangibility and Invisibility in spirit form, Immunity to conventional weapons, Resistance to Magic (Including effects such as Petrification, Spatial Manipulation, and Mind Manipulation), Regeneration (Mid-Low; all Servants possess regenerative capabilities)
Attack Potency: At least City level (Comparable to other Servants, could parry a few blows from a casual Mordred and briefly hold back Siegfried), Mountain level with Hippogriff (Its charge deals damage comparable to that of an A-rank attack).
Speed: Massively Hypersonic (Can keep up with other Servants), possibly higher with Hippogriff (He flew to the Moon in an unspecified timeframe).
Lifting Strength: Unknown
Striking Strength: At least City Class
Durability: At least City level, Mountain level with Hippogriff
Stamina: High. Other Servants can fight for nearly an entire day without stopping.
Range: Extended melee range, Hundreds of Meters with La Black Luna
Standard Equipment: His sword, and his Noble Phantasms, the Trap of Argalia, La Black Luna, and Casseur de Logistille.
Intelligence: Astolfo is impulsive, clumsy, absent-minded, and extremely optimistic, lacking anything resembling common sense or restraint. He constantly chatters about anything that comes to mind, including the weaknesses and True Names of himself and his allies, and often forgets important objectives and information, such as the names of his Noble Phantasms. Despite this, as a Servant and one of the famed Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, he is extremely skilled in combat, surpassing the ability of any living human when it comes to mounted combat.
Weaknesses: Astolfo lacks restraint and common sense and thus constantly blabbers about things, giving away important information such as his strengths and weaknesses without thinking much of it. He sometimes even forgets the names of his own Noble Phantasms. The phasing ability of his Hippogriff has a high mana cost and taxes his stamina. Amplifying his strength with Monstrous Strength damages his body.
Notable Attacks / Techniques:
Noble Phantasms
La Black Luna: Magic Flute That Calls Panic: A great hunting horn that was given to Astolfo by the witch Logistilla. When not being actively used, it is kept at a small size and hung on his hip, but when he activates it, it grows to its full size and encircles his body. With its activation, it emits an extremely loud magical sound similar to the roar of a dragon, the cry of a giant bird, and the neighing of a divine horse, slamming into any enemies nearby as an explosive wave of sound.
Those who are killed by the attack will be instantly reduced to dust, which is quickly blown away by the explosion of force. While it can instantly destroy large amounts of weaker enemies, its destructive power is not that great when used against Servants. However, its true power is in blowing out the hearing of opponents. While most Servants would only be slightly disadvantaged by the loss of their hearing, if it used at the opportune moment, it can turn a battle around.
Casseur de Logistille: Destruction Declaration: A thick leather book given to Astolfo by the witch Logistilla, containing records on methods to break essentially any magecraft. It thus grants Astolfo the passive ability to negate magecraft of even A-rank, amplifying his lacking Magic Resistance of D to A, and effectively making him immune to modern magi. He originally forgets its name, instead calling it Luna Break Manual: Magical All-purpose Tome of Tactics until he remembers its True Name when he realizes the Moon is not in the sky. For Astolfo, who found his reason on the moon, only regains it when the moon is not visible, as it means that his reasoning can no longer be there. With the release of its True Name, Astolfo gains the ability to break all magecraft close to High-Thaumaturgy, with the exception of Reality Marbles.
Trap of Argalia: Down with a Touch!: A shining golden lance that originally belonged to the knight Argalia, but was "borrowed" by Astolfo. Argalia used it in tournaments to unseat every knight he touched with its golden tip, including Astolfo, but left it behind after being defeated by a knight who refused to surrender. Astolfo noticed that he dropped it, and casually, silently "borrowed" it for his own use. It lacks much killing ability on its own, but its own unique powers are quite useful. When it strikes a Servant, it cuts the supply of magical energy to the affected part, and it always strikes the "legs" of their spiritual body, thus returning everything below their knee into spirit form and causing them to collapse. However, it can be quickly recovered from, especially if one uses a Luck check.
Astolfo's Hippogriff in Fate/Grand Order
Hippogriff: Otherworldly Phantom Horse: Astolfo's favored mount, which he secured from the evil magus Atlante. While he has ridden on many mounts, such as his horse, Rabicano, and even a Griffin, his Hippogriff is the most famous. In Orlando Furioso, he even flew to the Moon with his Hippogriff to save Roland. On top of being quite fast, its charge has the power of an A-rank attack, but its true application is in the nature of its impossible existence. By exploiting this, it can phase between reality and the Reverse Side of the World, allowing Astolfo to disappear from sight and phase through attacks. However, the cost of this is extremely high, and Astolfo can thus only use it in short bursts. In addition, as a Servant's Noble Phantasm, the Hippogriff can not truly reach the Reverse Side of the World.
Class Skills
Magic Resistance: An innate ability that grants protection against magical effects. Unlike the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. Normally, Astolfo only possesses D-rank Magic Resistance, which is only capable of canceling simple Single-Action spells. However, his Noble Phantasm, Casseur de Logistille, increases his Magic Resistance to A-rank, allowing him to negate even A-rank magecraft from the Age of Gods, and effectively making him untouchable to magi of the modern era.
Riding: The ability to ride mounts. Astolfo's A+ rank in this skill allows him to ride essentially anything with complete control, from modern vehicles to regular horses to the Phantasmal Species, such as his Hippogriff, an impossible existence.
Personal Skills
Evaporation of Sanity: A skill that represents the deterioration of one's reasoning. Astolfo, whose reasoning is not with him but instead on the Moon, cannot keep any secrets at all. He constantly, carelessly chatters about anything that comes to mind, including the strengths and weaknesses of himself and allies, on top of their True Names. He forgets important details, such as even the True Names of his Noble Phantasms. However, it is not completely negative, for it acts as a makeshift Instinct that allows him to feel out the optimal choices to make during combat.
Independent Action: The ability to remain independent and exist in the world without the magical energy supplied by a Master, allowing the Servant to act autonomously and the Master to save their own magical energy for spells. Astolfo's B-rank allows him to stay in the world for a maximum of two days without a Master, but this is the ideal value achieved through the maximum conservation of mana and by avoiding combat, and especially the use of Noble Phantasms.
Monstrous Strength: An ability possessed by monsters, beasts, and Astolfo, allowing him to temporarily boost his strength beyond the norm. However, Astolfo cannot use it for long due to his C- rank, and for every exchange of blows that occurs while it is active, he takes extra damage.
Gallery
Others
Notable Victories:
Esdeath (Akame ga Kill!) Esdeath's Profile (Note: Ice Storm Commander-in-Chief for Esdeath was restricted)
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches: