- "Children are incredible, aren't they? They're like another self… They live on in the world their parents leave behind." —Claude
Claude is the founder of the Blacksnakes and the biological father of Throné Anguis. He is the main antagonist and final boss of Throné's story, and a key member of the Moonshade Order.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Claude has long, silvery-white hair and dresses in a brown coat and boots, as well as black trousers. The upper half of his shirt is unzipped, exposing his muscular chest. His battle sprite shows him carrying two chains with bladed edges, which he uses as his primary weapon.
Personality[]
Claude is a civil, but egotistical and lecherous sociopath who wants to establish a great legacy before his death. To this end, he has impregnated a large number of women for the sake of grooming an heir strong enough to kill him and take his place as Vide's vessel. Though he claims to delight in his children, at heart he is a sadist who takes pleasure in forcing his own children to kill each other to determine who is worthy. It is also implied that he has no qualms about committing rape for the sake of achieving his goal. He has no empathy, and feels no remorse for any of his depraved deeds. Additionally, he appears to be rather lazy, as he would prefer to remain hidden in the shadows and use his subordinates to enforce his will than take matters into his own hands—something he only does after Throné kills Mother and Father.
Story[]
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(I don't think this is where I should be going at the moment...) The following section contains potential story spoilers! |
Not much is known about Claude's background aside from him being the grandson of the archmage D'arqest. Before he was even born, his grandfather injected him with a portion of Vide's blood, granting him immortality. He created the Blacksnakes, the majority of which was comprised of his own children from various wives (one of them being Throné's mother, Marietta). This was done with the intention of finding a suitable new vessel for Vide by weeding out the unworthy and choosing the strongest of them to become his successor.
At some point, Claude met Trousseau and Castti while they were visiting Lostseed on a relief mission. He provided the catalyst for Trousseau's turn to darkness by giving him the Book of Night. Claude also met Ori shortly after, seemingly eyeing her as another potential carrier for his seed before giving her the Darkblood Staff to pass on to Arcanette.
One day, after receiving a new child from a woman from Winterbloom, he was confronted by Marietta's daughter Throné, who sought her freedom from the Blacksnakes. After revealing her parentage and that of all of the Blacksnakes, an enraged Throné engaged him in battle. Despite attempting to dissuade her with illusions of her former comrades and family, he was mortally wounded by her hand. Before dying, he allowed Throné to take the key for her collar from his pocket.Claude begins the battle with two actions per turn.
At certain points during the battle, Claude will temporarily retreat and summon phantom versions of the major characters in Throné's story to fight for him. Once the phantom is defeated, he will return to battle. His current shields, health, and stat augmentations prior to retreating will be retained.
Claude can also separately lock primary job skills, the attack action, and items, rendering them unusable until he is broken.
At roughly 75% of his maximum health, Claude will summon Phantom Snake (Man), a shade of Pirro, and temporarily retreat from battle. He will return to battle once the shade is defeated.
At roughly 50% of his maximum health, Claude will summon Phantom Snake (Mother) and Phantom Snake (Father), shades of Mother and Father, and temporarily retreat from battle. He will return to battle once both shades are defeated.
At roughly 25% of his maximum health, Claude will summon Fake Snake (Parent) and Fake Snake (Child), weak fac similes of Marietta and Throné, to fight by his side.
At 50% of his maximum health, Claude will engage in a scripted conversation with Throné
Abilities[]
- Chained Pride // Primary job skills have been sealed.: Locks all primary job skills for all travelers. Secondary job skills may still be used. Effect is removed upon break.
- Chained Wealth // Items have been sealed.: Locks all item usage for all travelers. This also disables Castti's Concoct talent. Effect is removed upon break.
- Chained Willpower // The Attack command has been sealed.: Locks the Attack action command for all travelers. Effect is removed upon break.
- The chain broke!: Occurs when Claude is broken while a Chained effect is active. Removes the Chained effect.
- Phantom Snake:
- Pierce your dagger into his heart once more...: Used at roughly 75% of Claude's maximum health. Summons Phantom Snake (Man) into battle. Claude temporarily retreats from battle and returns once Phantom Snake (Man) is defeated.
- I bet you're dying to see your "parents," Throné...: Used at roughly 50% of Claude's maximum health. Summons Phantom Snake (Mother) and Phantom Snake (Father) into battle. Claude temporarily retreats from battle and returns once both Phantom Snakes are defeated.
- Fake Snake: Used at roughly 25% of Claude's maximum health. Summons Fake Snake (Parent) and Fake Snake (Child) to his aid.
- Claude pats the fake snake on the head...:
- Attack: Physical attack, single target. [Power 100]
- Snake's Collar:
- Endurance Test: Physical attack, targets entire party. Hits 3 times. [Power 70]
- Prune Garden: Strong physical attack, instantly incapacitates target.
- Chains of Love: Strong physical attack, single target. [Power 130]
- Nip the Bud: Effect, targets entire party. All travelers' BP reduced by 1.
- A twisted smile stretches across Claude's face...: Claude enters boost mode for one turn. Uses A Father's Gift if not broken before his next action.
- A Father's Gift: Strong physical attack. Inflicts
Unconsciousness for 2 turns. [Power 110]
- A Father's Gift: Strong physical attack. Inflicts
Minions[]
Phantom Snakes[]
Phantom Snake (Man) is a shade of Pirro and as such shares his weaknesses and abilities. Unlike Pirro, it may use many of its abilities from the start.
Phantom Snake (Man) will begin the battle with three actions per turn.
Abilities[]
- Attack: Physical attack, single target. [Power 100]
- Slice: Physical attack, single target. [Power 105]
- Double Edge: Physical attack, single target. Hits twice. [Power 80]
- Dark Needle: Elemental damage, . Single target. Reduces SP by 25% of maximum SP. [Power 115]
- Pierce Through: Instantly incapacitates a single target. May be avoided with skills that evade physical attacks, such as Sidestep.
- Triple Edge: Physical attack, single target. Hits 3 times. [Power 75]
- Stunning Strike: Physical attack, targets entire party. [Power 110]
- Octuple Edge: Physical attack, targets random allies. Hits 8 times. [Power 65]
Phantom Snake (Mother) is a shade of Mother and as such shares her weaknesses and abilities. Unlike Mother, it's physical attacks are imbued with the ability to inflict 
Terror from the very beginning of its appearance, and it only has access to a limited number of her abilities.
Abilities[]
All attacks have a chance to inflict Terror for 3-4 turns.
- Attack: Physical attack, single target. [Power 100]
- Double Lashing: Physical attack, targets entire party. Hits once. [Power 85]
- Pliant Whip: Physical attack, targets entire party. [Power 100]
- Bind: Inflicts Unconsciousness on a single target for 2-3 turns.
Phantom Snake (Father) is a shade of Father and as such shares his weaknesses and abilities. Unlike Father, The stench of death hangs in the air... from the very beginning of its appearance, allowing the Phantom to use Killing Blow immediately.
Abilities[]
- Attack: Physical attack, single target. [Power 100]
- Vengeful Strike: Physical attack, single target. Hits twice. [Power 85]
- Gouge Wound: Strong physical attack, single target. [Power 115]
- Lacerate Arm: Physical attack, targets entire party. Inflicts Decreased Physical Attack for 3 turns. [Power 90]
- Sever Leg: Physical attack, targets entire party. Inflicts Decreased Speed for 3 turns. [Power 90]
- Rend Throat: Physical attack, targets entire party. [Power 100]
- Killing Blow: Used whenever a traveler is under 50% of their maximum health. Immediately incapacitates the traveler.
Fake Snakes[]
- Attack: Physical attack, single target. [Power 100]
- Sharp Gaze: Debuff. Decreased Evasion for 3 turns.
- Venomous Fang: Physical attack. Inflicts Poison for 3 turns.
- Steal SP: Effect, single target. Hits twice. Reduces target's SP by 30% of their maximum SP each hit.
- HP Thief: Physical attack, single target. Heals Fake Snake (Parent) by amount of damage dealt. [Power 100]
- Veil of Darkness:
- Attack: Physical attack, single target. [Power 100]
- Surprise Attack: Strong physical attack, single target. [Power 120]
- Lower Defenses: Debuff. Applies Decreased Physical Defense for 5 turns.
- Triple Edge: Physical attack. Hits three times. [Power 75]
- Heckle: Debuff. Applies Decreased Physical Attack for 1 turn.
- Ambush: Instantly incapacitates a single target. High chance of missing.
Quotes[]
- "What a good child." —Using Nip the Bud
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
"Claude" is derived from the Latin word "claudus," which means "lame." This name may reflect Claude's crippled conscience and his inability to recognize the depravity of his ways.
Trivia[]
- Claude's boss fight is unique as it is the only one in the main character's stories that plays out as a "boss rematch gauntlet," summoning phantom versions of all of Throné's previous bosses (save Bergomi).
- Claude's character appears to have drawn inspiration from Simeon from the original Octopath Traveler, as both are silvery-haired immortal princes who serve as twist villains and the final bosses for their respective female protagonists. Both also summon versions of the protagonists' family and friends in battle.
- Both Mother and the gondola Guide at the Deserted Highroad tell a story about a prince and a princess from foreign kingdoms whose love resulted in war between their countries. According to the tale, the pair ran away, taking only a few loyal retainers with them, as the princess was already with child. Together the two and their retainers founded a new home in the depths of the valley, which they named Lostseed. Although it is not directly stated, the circumstances heavily imply that Claude is the prince from the story.
- When Throné visits the cemetery in New Delsta: Backstreets to discover Claude's message, Ochette detects an awful scent (likely belonging to him). She declares, "I've never smelt anything this dark and twisted before."
- Claude appears to view Lostseed as a form of paradise, as Ori describes him strolling through the "rotting mausoleum" of a town while "smiling and breathing deep as if taking in the air of a tranquil mountain meadow."
- Claude is the only character in the series revealed to have raped countless women, in keeping with the writers' goal to make Throné's story the darkest of all.