"Sorry, my hand slipped."
— Alfyn, after defeating the Blotted Viper.
Alfyn Greengrass is one of eight playable characters in Octopath Traveler. He is a talented but inexperienced apothecary who is well-known within his home village of Clearbrook, but an unknown outside of it. After saving his friend's younger sister from the poison of a Blotted Viper, he goes on a journey to heal the sick and suffering, as well as to become more experienced in his profession so that he can help even more lives.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Alfyn has disheveled blonde hair, with the hairs of the crown up, and a small ponytail on the back of his head. He has a beige and brown shirt with a green jacket and brown leather vest. He has beige pants and dark brown boots. He carries a brown bag of medicine, has brown eyes, and a friendly smile always adorns his face.
Personality[]
Alfyn is a kind and genuine young man who is always willing to help those in need, expecting nothing in return. He has a strong sense of duty with his profession, believing that every life is worth saving, no matter their social class or status. Alfyn cares about his friends and fellow townsfolk and wants to help them in any way possible. This is shown when he shows reluctance starting an adventure to help cure the ill all over the realm and help the needy as he is worried of what will happen if he were to leave the village of Clearbrook.
It is revealed by his childhood friend and fellow apothecary, Zeph, that he had been quite the troublemaker in his younger years. However, this changed when he was struck with an illness and was healed by a strange man who did not ask for anything in return for his service and only did it because he saw a person in need. Alfyn soon adopts this policy once he got better and pursued the profession of being an apothecary.
Alfyn has a healthy relationship with his fellow travelers, always trying to cheer them up, being the high-spirited individual that he is. While his ideals occasionally clash with Therion's, he is nevertheless respectful and will always try to lighten the mood. His traveling companions will often comment and praise his altruistic nature, as well as his skills as a healer.
However, after the criminal Miguel takes advantage of Alfyn's kind personality for his own benefit, betraying his trust after promising to reform and then wounding and nearly killing an innocent child he had captured and was holding for ransom because he was annoyed by his crying, Alfyn enters a personal crisis of faith in his duty as an apothecary. He starts to question his own beliefs that every life is worth saving and wonders if the cynical Ogen is right that wounded criminals should be left to die, especially when Ogen tells him that he went through a similar experience in his younger years when he treated a wounded criminal who then went on to murder his wife, Melyssa. However, Alfyn eventually finds a letter written to him by Zeph, whose words of encouragement strengthen his resolve that he's a human apothecary, not a god, and therefore has no right to decide who lives and who dies, so he should treat whomever he can in spite of the risks.
History[]
"Your name is Alfyn, and you are an apothecary. You treat the wounded and sick in a small village amid the babbling brooks of the Riverlands. Stricken ill as a child, you were saved by a traveler who asked for nothing in return, inspiring you to follow in his footsteps. Though hesitant to leave the only home you've known, your best friend convinces you to follow your dream, wherever it may lead you..."
— Alfyn's description when selecting him.
Alfyn was known as a runt by his friend, Zeph, with the two of them being close since their childhood years. When he was younger, Alfyn fell ill from a plague called the Great Pestilence. Zeph's father, who was renowned for his medicine, had been at a loss as to how to cure the disease. He, along with what could be assumed the rest of the sick in Clearbrook, only got better with the help of a traveler. After being saved by the stranger, Alfyn had asked why he would heal a dirt-poor person such as himself, but the man simply disregarded this and said that he helped because he was in need and asked for nothing in return. This sparked his interest in becoming an apothecary and has then studied in order to become like the man who had saved him.
After the death of Zeph's father, Alfyn had suggested to him to study apothecary with him so that the both of them can help the people they care about, which paid off. The townsfolk started to depend on the both of them more after completing their practices, Alfyn especially with how he insistently gives out discounts and with his effective cures. A year before Alfyn's story begins, his mother passed away.
Chapter 1[]
Alfyn pays a visit to his mother's grave before returning to work. He and Zeph soon find out that Zeph's little sister, Nina, was bitten by a Blotted Viper while trying to pick waterblooms for Zeph with her friend Lily. Alfyn tracks down the snake and slays it for its venom, bringing the venom to Zeph to make an anti-venom to cure Nina. He reflects on this experience and decides to travel the world as he has always wanted, following in the footsteps of the man who saved him in his youth by bringing his services to wherever he is needed.
Chapter 2[]
Alfyn eventually makes his way to Goldshore. He notices an ill child, but is rudely turned down by the child's mother, as the boy is already being seen to by another apothecary. After introducing himself and speaking to the other apothecary, Alfyn remains in town, but eventually notices Marlene praying. Marlene reveals that her child's illness is getting worse and that Vanessa has ended treatment due to Marlene's inability to pay for it. Alfyn offers to treat Flynn and goes off to find the necessary ingredients.
In a nearby cave, Alfyn encounters Vanessa again and realizes her true goal: she is intentionally inducing sicknesses and charging increasingly higher fees for her services so she can turn a profit, and any patient that cannot pay is left to die. Outraged and disgusted, Alfyn fights Vanessa, defeating her and forcing her to ingest slumberthorn when she attempts to escape, knocking her out until she can be arrested. Alfyn returns to Goldshore to give the medicine before leaving to continue his journey.
Chapter 3[]
Alfyn travels to Saintsbridge, where he soon encounters a wounded man named Miguel. He goes to heal him, but is advised not to by another apothecary named Ogen. Alfyn is upset that another apothecary would callously ignore a person in need, but pays no heed to his words and goes to heal Miguel. Some time later, after some time at the local tavern, he returns to Miguel, but notices Miguel is out of bed. He then sees a commotion in town and, to his shock, it is Miguel kidnapping a child. Feeling immense guilt at enabling this, he chases after Miguel.
He encounters Miguel in a forest, who callously admits that he stabbed the child out of irritation at his crying. After a fight, Alfyn kills Miguel and rescues the wounded child. This experience, however, leaves Alfyn shaken and he begins doubting his reasons for being an apothecary. As he departs town, he encounters Ogen, who explains why he told Alfyn to be more picky about who he heals.
Chapter 4[]
Alfyn decides to go to Orewell with his doubts continuing to bother him. He attempts to help some ill townsfolk and Ogen eventually arrives to treat others. Alfyn offers to help, but Ogen refuses. Alfyn then goes to a tavern to mull over his doubts. Ogen comes in, having deduced that Alfyn's doubts are distracting him from crafting medicine properly. As Ogen and Alfyn drink, Alfyn notices Ogen does not appear to be physically healthy himself. However, Ogen dismisses this concern and leaves.
Alfyn, having been informed that Ogen is hiding a sickness, later encounters Ogen as he finishes up his work. Ogen initially denies Alfyn's claim that he is sick, but is immediately debilitated by the illness. Alfyn inspects him and is horrified at the symptoms. He takes Ogen to the inn, where Ogen tells Alfyn the remainder of his past and why he never treats himself. Alfyn takes the story in and leaves to walk around town. His doubts resurface, but he still wishes to help Ogen. As Alfyn looks through his bag, he notices a letter from Zeph, encouraging him to stick to his values. This letter eliminates Alfyn's doubts and creates a surge of determination within him. He promises to heal Ogen despite the man's wishes to die.
However, Alfyn also acknowledges to himself that he does not know what is afflicting Ogen or how to cure it. He thinks upon Ogen's symptoms and realizes that Ogen's illness is the same one that he suffered when he was a child. From this, Alfyn is able to recall how the cure was made and heads to the Forest of Rubeh to get the ingredients. Using the medicine he created, he cures Ogen. Alfyn explains to Ogen his past and why he became an apothecary. This causes Ogen to remember how the same apothecary who cured Alfyn also treated Ogen. Alfyn is dismayed to learn the apothecary who saved him has likely passed away and creates a grave to honor him. Alfyn leaves town to continue healing others.
Relationships[]
Zeph[]
A fellow apothecary and friend since childhood, Alfyn grew up together with Zeph and Nina in the small town of Clearbrook and have been quite close ever since. When Alfyn wonders whether or not it is right to venture out on a journey to see the world and help its people, just like the person who saved him when he was a child, Zeph encourages him to go, saying that he will take care of the village in his absence. Their bond is so strong that they even agree to switch satchels as a reminder that, no matter how far they are from each other, they'll always be there at each other's side.
In his traveler banters, Zeph is a recurring topic from time to time, showing how his dear friend is never far from mind.
Vanessa[]
The two were originally on good terms upon first encountering each other in the port town of Goldshore and seemed to share the philosophy of helping those in need regardless of circumstances. However, once Alfyn catches on to her scheme of taking advantage of the people's ignorance in the arts of medicine for her own profit, Alfyn becomes utterly disgusted with her for using her trade as a means for making money and vows to stop her evil scam. After their battle, Alfyn hopes that Vanessa will think about her actions once she gets out of prison for what she's done.
Miguel[]
A well-known criminal in the town of Saintsbridge who the townspeople advise Alfyn to stay away from. Another apothecary in town, Ogen, refuses to heal him because of his unsavory character. However, Alfyn cannot ignore him when he sees that Miguel has a festering wound and heals him, choosing to stick to his philosophy that every life is worth saving. However, once the opportunity arises, Miguel escapes and kidnaps a child for ransom. He goes as far as to stab the child, to give him something "to really cry about." Alfyn blames himself for the child's suffering, seeing it as a result of his actions. Miguel's betrayal causes Alfyn to doubt himself and his philosophy until he reaffirms his resolve in chapter 4.
Ogen[]
A talented apothecary who Alfyn meets in Saintsbridge. During their first meeting, Alfyn disliked him for refusing to treat Miguel. Ogen simply states that he chooses who he heals, an ideal that goes greatly against Alfyn’s own morals. During their second meeting at the tavern in Saintsbridge, he starts to respect Ogen for his talent in brewing medicine and his vast knowledge on diseases, going so far as wanting to be better than him just to be able to save more lives. For a while, they were simply acquaintances and would headbutt each other when it came to their own beliefs. However, when Ogen sees the similarity between Alfyn and his previous savior, he treats Alfyn a bit more kindly.
Battle[]
Being an Apothecary, Alfyn offers fantastic support to the party with a potent single-target heal, a revive skill, and a status ailment remover, while also offering good offense with a powerful weapon ability and a poison-inflicting spell. He initially can only equip axes, limiting his versatility in searching for weapon based weaknesses, but has access to an Ice-elemental spell.
Alfyn's unique talent is Concoct, offering him outstanding versatility. Mixing two ingredients to produce an effect, he can heal HP, restore SP and BP, revive, cleanse, and buff himself and his allies, as well as deal elemental damage and afflict debuffs on enemies. Concoct is divided clearly into defensive, offensive, single-target, and multi-target effects, and upon being mixed the first time, the effects will remain visible to the player. However, it cannot be boosted.
- To maximize Alfyn's support potential, Cleric offers more healing skills and increases his elemental defense, further adding to the strength of healing spells. It's good to note that Alfyn's base elemental defense is rather high, which means that his native healing spell First Aid is already rather potent. Added to Cleric's own substantial elemental defense and with magic-oriented equipment, he can be a top-notch healer for the team. Moreover, Cleric gives Alfyn access to Reflective Veil and the divine skill Aelfric's Auspices.
- Giving him Warrior improves his maximum health and defense, both important factors for the Apothecary's Last Stand, whose power is dependent on current HP and enables the targeting of two more weapon weaknesses. This combination allows Alfyn to hold his own as a solid defensive unit, bolstering the Warrior's high health and physical defense with the Apothecary's reliable sustain.
- Both Scholar and Hunter balance Alfyn's offensive and defensive options by providing a myriad attacks to his native Apothecary class, but both repeat a weakness that he can already exploit (ice and axes).
- Merchant capitalizes on Alfyn's already versatile nature. It adds two more weapon types and an extra element for him to exploit weaknesses with, but more importantly, it offers the Hired Help and Donate BP abilities, with which he can further aid party members and attack enemies.
- If Alfyn is made into a Warmaster, he becomes the only character able to target all twelve weakness types on his own, using the Warmaster's six weapons to target all six physical weaknesses, while using his Concoct ability to target all six elemental weaknesses.
He's especially useful when another traveler is a Starseer, whose Divine Skill can do massive damage when all party BP is full. Alfyn can also support the party by helping break enemies with 3-hit elemental Concoct skills. Finally, Alfyn can use his native Divine Skill, Dohter's Charity, on himself or another character in conjunction with Refreshing Jam for an instant party restore.
Recommended support skills for Alfyn include: Saving Grace, SP Saver, Summon Strength (early-game), Surpassing Power, The Show Goes On, Resist Ailments, Heightened Healing, Patience, Divine Aura, Stronger Strikes, Fortitude, and Physical Prowess.
Due to the flexibilty of subjobs, any character can fill any role with the right equipment and skills. With proper planning, any of the travelers can perform decently on any subjob.
Apothecary Skills[]
| Skill Name | SP Cost | Damage Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Aid | 4 | Restore HP to a single ally. | |
| Icicle | 7 | 
|
Deal ice damage to a single foe. |
| Rehabilitate | 10 | Cure a single ally of all status ailments, and render them immune to further ailments for 2 turns. | |
| Amputation | 8 | 
|
Unleash an axe attack on a single foe. |
| Empoison | 6 | Poison a single foe for 2 turns. | |
| Vivify | 16 | Revive a single incapacitated ally. | |
| Last Stand | 16 |
|
Attack all foes with an axe, dealing damage inversely proportional to your current HP. |
| Dohter's Charity | 30 | [Divine Skill] For 3 turns, items used by a single chosen ally will affect all. |
Support Skills[]
| No. of Skills Unlocked | Total JP | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 130 | Inspiration | With each successful standard attack, gain SP equal to 1% of the damage you deal. |
| 5 | 630 | Hale and Hearty | Increases maximum HP by 500. |
| 6 | 1,630 | Resist Ailments | Improves resistance to poison, sleep, confusion, blindness, silence, terror, and unconsciousness. |
| 7 | 4,630 | Heightened Healing | Gain an additional 30% HP or SP when being healed or restored. |
Subjobs:[]
Below are the sprites and appearance changes for Alfyn with each basic Subjob:
Each time a subjob is selected, the appearance of the character will also change. The first sprite is the appearance with no Subjob equipped.
Quotes[]
- "See you when I get back, Ma." —When selected from the main screen
- "And so I have a date with this viper, you see? We just met, and still you wanna come and help me out? Shucks, friend! I owe you one! They're good folks in this village, down to last. And Zeph's always stuck by my side...so damned if I won't stick by his! So, let's go! We're heading for the Caves of Rhiyo, just east of the village! We better hurry, for Nina's sake..." —Joined the Party
- "Anytime you need help, just give ol' Alfyn a holler!" —Tavern Dialogue
- "Let's get down to work!" —Max Boost
- "Alrighty!" —Max Boost
- "Dohter, lend us your aid!" —Using Dohter's Charity
- "Aw, shucks..." —Defeated
- "Sorry, guys..." —Defeated
- "Shucks, seems that people here'd rather not talk to me." —When attempting to Inquire with damaged reputation
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
Alfyn could be from the Middle English alfyn, alfin, awfyn, and other variants closely resembling it (ultimately from the Arabic الفِيل al-fīl, meaning 'the elephant'), which historically was the English name of a medieval chess piece, the alfil, and later also referred to the alfil's successor in modern chess, the bishop. Alternately, his name might be related to the heraldic alphyn, which is a hybrid creature of uncertain etymology. One proposal is that it is ultimately sourced from the mythical Irish onchú, meaning "water-dog."
His surname Greengrass is denoted to one who lived in a hamlet so named like it. Literally, the name would come from 'green grass', relating to a field of sorts when linking it to topography, however, this can also mean another thing entirely. It is mostly believed that this name was related to an area that was recently cultivated with 'new' grassland as green could also mean ripe or fresh when relating it to plants or fruit.
Trivia[]
- Early concept designs had suggested that Alfyn was supposed to have a stubble, but in the art used in first introducing him, it was scrapped.
- One developer interview states that Alfyn was intially designed with straight hair, but the developers decided that unruly hair would fit his character better.[1]
- During his travel banter in Ophilia's second chapter, Alfyn promises to pick Ophilia a flower known as white skullcap. He does so with the thought, "(Gosh, she's a cute little lady...)."
- Alfyn is the youngest male traveler, being 21 years old.
- He is the third youngest out of all eight travelers, being older than both Tressa and Ophilia.
- Alfyn likes to head out to go drinking, even inviting Therion to the local tavern in their banters. In a tavern banter, he, along with the rest of the male travelers, have a drinking contest. Alfyn and Olberic end up tied, but the former acknowledges just how much of a "bottomless barrel" the latter is, as he barely seemed drunk by the end of their contest.
- In a banter with Tressa, Alfyn reveals that he takes great care of Zeph's satchel — cleaning it up as much as possible and stitching the bag whenever it starts to fray. Tressa suggests that Zeph's satchel is Alfyn's most precious treasure. For his part, Alfyn explains that when he wears the satchel, he can hear Zeph whispering encouragement to him.
- Alfyn confides to Ophilia during his Chapter 2 banter that his behind gets "mighty itchy any time someone starts singing my praises."
- Alfyn has a few unique mechanical or story-based aspects:
- He is the only character who begins with materials, specifically: Soothing Seed ×4, Soothing Dust ×4, Purifying Seed ×1, Noxroot ×4, Addlewort ×4, and Essence of Plum ×4.
- He is the only character whose main antagonist of their story (in Alfyn's case, Miguel) is not the final boss of their story. The final boss of Alfyn's story, the Ogre Eagle, attacks Alfyn out of natural instinct to hunt and has no malicious intent, unlike Miguel.
- He is the only character whose story includes cutscenes that take place at night.
- He is the only character to have a story chapter whose introduction text appears over a silent black screen (in this case, his Chapter 3).
- He is the only character whose child form is briefly controllable by the player (in his Chapter 4).
- He is the only character whose Chapter 4 never uses the theme "Pure Evil," as the Ogre Eagle is a beast rather than a villain.
- According to Gertas, another resident of Clearbrook, Alfyn is fond of fish and shares them with others when he goes fishing, but has a tendency to keep the bigger ones for himself.
- During story banter with Primrose, Alfyn acts noticeably distracted by the prospect of a brothel, musing upon "all those beautiful women and mugs of mead."
- As revealed at the beginning of his Chapter 2, Alfyn loves coastal towns, although he notes that the briny air doesn't suit his tastes nearly as much as the beach and the swimming.
- In his second chapter, Alfyn claims that he's clumsy and always trips over his own two feet. His also mentions that he loves to play with the kids in Clearbrook.
- In his Chapter 2 banter, Primrose declares to Alfyn, "You'll be a wonderful father some day. I'm sure of that."
- Ogen describes Alfyn's tonics as "unrefined... but adequate. Made with talent and confidence."
- In his Chapter 3, Cyrus mentions that he often finds Alfyn "overly hot-headed and temperamental."
- In Tressa's Chapter 4 banter, Alfyn admits that he usually charges his patients "whatever feels right at the time," suggesting that he has no fixed stream of income.
- Alfyn's Chapter 4 banter with Tressa contains a typo: "What's that supposed mean?" (omitting the "to").
- During Alfyn's Chapter 1 flashback cutscene in which he is healed by Graham Crossford, Zeph and a gray-haired woman stand silently in the same room. This woman may be Alfyn's mother, who appears nowhere else in the game.
- When drawing Alfyn, concept artist Naoki Ikushima recalled the days of his own adolescence, envisioning the sort of youth who would come home from school club activities with the setting sun at his back.[2]
- Alfyn's outfit was designed around the concept that apothecaries belonged to a guild, and those individuals approved by the guild would receive a vest and an apothecary satchel.[3]
- Naoki Ikushima imagined Alfyn with his hair billowing like grass in his wind, bound tightly in the back as a young lad might do, giving Alfyn a manliess of his own. Additionally, Ikushima conceived of the following details: [4]
- Alfyn keeps a pouch full of wild grass, and is depicted holding a stalk of French parsley, an herb used in medieval times to purify the liver and kidneys.
- He puts medicine made with strong ingredients in a blue vial, making it easy to pick out at a glance.
- His handaxe is used less for battle and more as a tool in his daily life and travels.
- Alfyn's more ordinary appearance challenged the developers with translating it with a slant befitting a main character. Since his apothecary bag and jacket took up so much space on his sprite, Shizuka Morimoto found it difficult to allot the parts needed to portray him as the "green" character of the eight protagonists. At first glance, Alfyn might come across as the type of fellow that someone might see anywhere, but the developers believed that his passionate heart would garner attention as the story progressed. Morimoto kept Alfyn's good-humored, gung-ho attitude in mind when creating his sprite poses.[5]
- Alfyn's promotional countdown art includes a dog, an artist's effort to balance out the number of cats in Octopath Traveler. Incidentally, this dog is the source of the apothecary's name.[6]
References[]
- ↑ Octopath Traveler devs on character origins, visual style, initial HD Rumble plans, much more. (Date Posted: Nov. 3, 2018.)
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 24.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 25.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 24.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 29.
- ↑ The Art of Octopath Traveler 2016-2020, page 143.