Douglas

Douglas
; Artwork of Douglas from The Binding Blade The Great General of Etruria. A respected veteran.
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Age	50s
Family	Larum (adoptive daughter)
Nationality	Etrurian
Title(s)	Great General of Etruria
Starting class	General
Appearance(s)	The Binding Blade

“	My prince, if my death can serve Etruria, then I give it freely.	”	— Douglas to Elffin

Douglas (Japanese: ダグラス Douglas) is a playable general in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. He is the Great General of Etruria, and is highly loyal to his king. Douglas is also the adoptive father of Larum.

Biography

Douglas is Great General of Etruria, making him the leader of the Three Generals. He is also the adoptive father of Larum, as he took her in and raised her as his own after Larum was living in poverty on the streets as a child.^[2] When Cecilia first joined the military, Douglas was one of the people to support her as a female officer.^[3]

A bit over a year prior to the Disturbance of Bern, Etruria's crown prince Myrddin was struck by a poisoned arrow in an assassination attempt. Since Douglas was the first to notice the attempt on Myrddin's life, he declared Myrddin dead and even held a funeral with a look-alike corpse.^[4] Then, he hired the pirate Geese for passage to the Western Isles,^[5] finally entrusting the ill prince to Larum. Larum successfully made it to the Western Isles with Myrddin, and the two went into hiding among the Isles' resistance forces.^[4] However, because Myrddin was dead in the eyes of the public, King Mordred fell into grief. Despite being closest to the king, Douglas and the other two generals were kept away from King Mordred by High Chancellor Roartz, taking advantage of King Mordred's weakness to solidify his grasp on the kingdom.^[6]

This escalated into a full coup d'état spearheaded by Roartz and Arcardo, the governor of the Western Isles. Together with their backing from Bern, the revolutionaries took King Mordred hostage. Using the king's life, Douglas was blackmailed into complying with the revolutionaries, though he opposed their schemes on a personal level. He remained firm for King Mordred's life, even as Mage General Cecilia fled to the Missur Peninsula with a loyalist group and joined the Lycian Army.^[7]

Eventually, the Lycian Army made it to Etruria's capital Aquileia to free it from the revolutionaries and Bern's occupation. Roartz and Arcardo fled the city, yet King Mordred remained the captive of Bern's forces. Therefore, Douglas remained in the city and fought against the Lycian Army, now including both his daughter Larum and Myrddin. Only when the Lycian Army defeated Bern's Wyvern General Narcian did Douglas lay down his weapon, as King Mordred's life no longer hung in the balance.

Douglas joined the Lycian Army and helped them take back the Tower of the Saint, the resting place of Saint Elimine and her legendary weapon Aureola, granting the Lycian Army permission to make use of the weapon on behalf of the king and Elimine Church.

After the war, Douglas attempted to retire from the military, though this was delayed by many requests for him to continue leading the army, which he relented to.^[8] Eventually, he stepped down from the position of Great General and was succeeded by Knight General Perceval.^[9]

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

Role

Douglas appears as an enemy in Chapter 16. Though Elffin, Larum, Cecilia and Klein can all talk to Douglas, he cannot be recruited during the chapter. Instead, he automatically joins only at the beginning of Chapter 16x if he was not killed in Chapter 16, which is required to unlock Chapter 16x.

Starting stats and growth rates

General

Level	8
Affinity

Recruitment: Chapter 16x, automatically from turn 1

Stats Growth Rates

Max HP	46	Luck	11
Strength	19	Defense	20
Skill	13	Resistance	5
Speed	8	Constitution	17
Movement	5	Aid	16

Max HP	60%	Luck	20%
Strength	30%	Defense	30%
Skill	30%	Resistance	5%
Speed	30%

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Inventory

Silver Axe

Silver Lance

Weapon Levels
	--		A		A		--
	--		--		--		--

Analysis

This character analysis section may not be accurate to every player's experience.

Douglas is a General available starting in Chapter 16x if he was not killed in Chapter 16. His recruitment condition is annoying, because he actively seeks out and attacks the player units in that chapter - therefore, the easiest way to recruit him is to use a Sleep staff on him. He has very lopsided base stats - his defense, strength and HP are very good, and his luck and skill mediocre, but his resistance and speed are terrible. He also has excellent base weapon ranks - an A-rank in axes and an A-rank in lances, letting him use most axes and lances in the game with no investment. With 46 HP and 20 base defense, physical attacks can barely scratch him, and even effective weapons like the Armorslayer struggle to deal meaningful damage to him. Much like other promoted units in The Binding Blade, his growth rates are low across the board, so his stats will not improve very much even if he is deployed in every chapter after he joins.

In Douglas's joining chapter, this combination of stats is to his detriment. The chapter is filled with magic users who target Douglas's low resistance when attacking him, and since his speed is also terrible, he gets doubled. Status staff users can easily disable him or Berserk him, since he is the last unit on the deployment order, no matter what the player does. As such, the player is essentially forced to use Barrier staves on him, or just leave him behind, away from enemies.

Outside of his joining chapter, Douglas does not impress. While he can tank physical attacks well thanks to his high defense and HP, most enemies will double him. He does hit hard, but since his skill is only average and the accuracy of his weapon types is low, he will often miss. He also has a terrible 5 movement, which dooms him to fall behind the rest of the army. The Binding Blade is a game full of large maps - maps on which Douglas will never be able to keep up. While he could be rescue-dropped to mitigate this issue, Douglas has a massive 17 constitution, which prevents every single mounted unit in the game, except for Sin, from rescuing him.

Lategame chapters are also full of magic-using enemies, and just like in his joining chapter, Douglas does terribly against them. In fact, on Hard Mode, he is likely to get one-rounded by them, because his speed and resistance are both terrible - a deadly combination (for him) in the lategame. He can use a Pure Water or receive a Barrier boost to fix the issue, but then he must still reach the enemies to fight them (which he struggles with), and he will not double them. And he will still have hit issues due to the low accuracy of his weapons and his mediocre skills.

However, despite his flaws, there is one area in which Douglas performs well, specifically, the Sacae route. His 20 base defense is so high that Nomads flat out can't hurt him. Nomad Troopers fare little better, barely managing to deal single digit damage to him even on Hard. While he is unlikely to kill them on retaliation due to the low accuracy of Javelins and Hand Axes, he is quite valuable for his ability to block chokepoints or be sent in as a "Nomad Magnet" to distract a large group of enemies with a Vulnerary or two. He can also safely bait out the few Swordmasters when they show up (the only one he can't tank is the Silver Sword Swordmaster in Ch20B and only if the Swordmaster rolls max-STR and double-crits), who otherwise pose significant threats to other units by potentially double-critting.

Douglas can build supports to mitigate his hit issues. Elffin is arguably his best support partner, because they share a similar movement type, and Elffin's dancing ability can help Douglas reach enemies. Their support together is also relatively fast. Douglas's support with Perceval is also relatively fast, but Perceval is a far more mobile unit than Douglas, so building up a support between them and keeping them in support range limits Perceval's potential. Both supports give Douglas hit, totaling at +7.5 hit at A-rank, but he has no supports that give him full hit - something he would need the most.

Overall, while Douglas has strong points in defense, strength and HP, and does not require investment, he has too many weaknesses to be considered a good unit. His movement is low, he is difficult to rescue, his speed and resistance are terrible, and his skill is only mediocre. He faces frequent accuracy issues and cannot fight magic users without a Pure Water or Barrier boost. While he can still perform decently against physical enemies, he is usually not the optimal deployment choice by any means.

Personality

Douglas is first and foremost defined by his loyalty to King Mordred. Rather than loyalty and honor to the kingdom of Etruria, he treasures the lives of the royal family more than the country and his own life itself. The downfall of Etruria is something Douglas is willing to accept if it guarantees the king's life.^[10] Furthermore, since Douglas has served King Mordred for decades, he claims to be the one who knows Mordred best.^[11]

This is an extension of the honor he stakes on being the Great General of Etruria, even if he is meant to serve the people, and not simply guard the king. He feels some guilt for involving innocents, namely his daughter Larum^[12] and the pirate Geese.^[13] Even if Douglas is willing to take risks for Mordred and Myrddin, he still wishes to apologize to those affected. Generally, Douglas is hard-headed and stubborn, rarely willing to budge from the course of action he has decided upon, and is known for his unbending will. For something lower stakes than the fate of a nation, this also extends to repaying any debts in full.^[14] Though he refuses to disobey his principles, Douglas may still hold other values internally and pursue them in ways that do not go against his position. For example, though he refuses to promise Igrene that he would never attack Arcadia, as the possibility he would be ordered to do so exists, he instead lobbies for the people of Nabata to be seen as heroes in the war, meaning no attack against them would ever even be considered.^[15]

During his time in the service of the revolutionaries, Douglas only has one regret; that he cannot be certain whether Prince Myrddin lives. When he does confirm the prince's safety, Douglas is ready to give his life and die in peace.^[16]

Part of this willingness to die may come from Douglas' belief that it is time for the new generation to take over from the old. Douglas feels his age, considering himself old and worthless as he is no longer in his physical prime.^[17] He places much trust in the likes of Perceval as his favored successor, as well as Cecilia, Klein, and, of course, Myrddin as future king of Etruria. He wishes for the new generation to grow without the old bogging them down, trusting that Mordred will also abdicate without hesitation when the time comes for Myrddin to claim the throne.^[11]

Aside from the royal family, Douglas dearly treasures his daughter, Larum. His greatest wish is for her to live happily, and he takes great pride in her.^[18] This relationship is mutual, as Larum also dearly loves her father, and states that she has only been happy since he adopted her. His affection for Larum is one of the few things that can move Douglas to tears.^[19] Additionally, Douglas is the only person known to actually enjoy Larum's horrible cooking.^[20]

Douglas loathes traitors to Etruria,^[21] and there is some indication that Douglas holds meriocratic views; though he often chided Cecilia for her apparent weakness when she first joined the army, he grew to respect her dedication and skill, defending her against other recruits who discriminated against her because she is a woman in a military position.^[3]

Supports

Main article: Douglas/Supports

Douglas General	Elffin Bard	Initial: 30 Per turn:+2	Igrene Sniper	Initial: 1 Per turn:+1	Cecilia Valkyrie	Initial: 30 Per turn:+2	[[{{{support7}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gba {{{affin7}}}affin.png\|link={{{affin7}}} (affinity)]]	Initial: {{{initialpoints7}}} Per turn:+	[[{{{support9}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gba {{{affin9}}}affin.png\|link={{{affin9}}} (affinity)]]	Initial: {{{initialpoints9}}} Per turn:+
Geese Pirate	Initial: 1 Per turn:+1	Perceval Paladin	Initial: 30 Per turn:+2	Larum Dancer	Initial: 30 Per turn:+3	[[{{{support8}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gba {{{affin8}}}affin.png\|link={{{affin8}}} (affinity)]]	Initial: {{{initialpoints8}}} Per turn:+	[[{{{support10}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gba {{{affin10}}}affin.png\|link={{{affin10}}} (affinity)]]	Initial: {{{initialpoints10}}} Per turn:+

See Support § GBA games for more details on supports.

Endings

Douglas, Great General
Short: Retired and lived peacefully.

Long: Try as he might to retire from the military, Douglas received unending requests from Etruria to come back. Unable to refuse, he returned to the palace to lead the Etrurian Army once more.

Quotes

Battle quotes

“	Indeed it may appear that way. But I fight true. I fight with my heart and I have confidence in our cause.	”	— Against Roartz.

“	This won't be easy.	”	— Douglas in the final chapter

Death quote

“	Ngh! I... I miscalculated...	”	— Douglas

Other appearances

Fire Emblem Characters: The Binding Blade & The Blazing Blade

Douglas's artwork from The Binding Blade is featured in a file in the Fire Emblem Characters book, alongside details regarding himself and his role in the game's story. He is the 48th character listed in this book. Douglas scored 57th place in the online The Binding Blade popularity poll whose results were included in the book.

Fire Emblem Character File 048: Douglas
	Gender: Male	Estimated Age: 50s	Title: Lion-hearted General	Origin: Etruria
Status: Great General of Etruria	Weapon: Lance, Axe
The Great General who defends the Etrurian royal family. The head of the Three Generals of Etruria, and Larum's adoptive father. He helped out Prince Myrddin who was thought to be assassinated. Though he noticed the corruption in the Etrurian aristocracy, he reluctantly continued to help them for the sake of King Mordred who had been taken hostage. He entrusts the future to Prince Myrddin, and resolved to fight with the Lycian Army. Douglas fought Roy as an enemy, but when the Etrurial capital Aquileia was liberated from the coup forces, he openly became Roy's ally. As the Great General, Douglas strives to meet national interest, as well as keeping his fatherly demeanor with Larum. When you see Douglas enjoying Larum's tasty-looking meals, the phrase "love goes beyond taste" comes to mind. Though, the taste of Larum's cooking was never too incredible to begin with... it is nothing Douglas cannot handle.
Profile translation by Kantopia

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Douglas's official artwork from The Binding Blade can be viewed in Path of Radiance's extras menu if a copy of The Binding Blade is connected to a Japanese copy of Path of Radiance. This illustration, along with all other The Binding Blade-related artwork, is inaccessible in the international versions of the game, owing to the fact that The Binding Blade was not released in those regions.

Fire Emblem Cipher

Douglas is featured on one card in Fire Emblem Cipher.

Fire Emblem Cipher data for Douglas
	The Great General, Douglas
	"No matter what happens, I will stay by the king's side."
Attack: 60	Support: 10	Range: 1	Deploy Cost: 4
Class: General	Tier: Advanced	Class Change Cost: 3
"Lion-Hearted General": [Always] If the card supporting this unit has a Deployment Cost of 3 or more, this unit gains +10 attack. "Armor Expertise": [Always] While this unit is being attacked, it gains +20 attack unless the attacker is a unit.
Card #B09-069HN • Artist: Ippei Soeda
Some card information translation provided by Serenes Forest. For more detailed strategic information on these cards, see their TCG wiki article on Douglas .

Flavor text

Game	Text (English)	Text (Japanese)
The Binding Blade	The Great General of Etruria. A respected veteran.*	エトルリア王国『三軍将』の一人　『大軍将』

Choose Your Legends placement history

Round	Placement	Character	Votes

CYL 1
(2017)

562