Le'garde

Le'garde is a major story character and potential party member in Fear & Hunger. He is the captain of the Knights of the Midnight Sun, who was imposed in the dungeon of Fear and Hunger after a war between his mercenary band and the Kingdom of Rondon.

After the events of the first game, Le'garde would reappear in Fear & Hunger 2: Termina, under the moniker of Kaiser.

Lore
"The prophesied one... Already while still alive, there were many tales written and sung about his tale. We don't know where the prophecy got started but needless to say that it's all fallacy. But the man himself... Is a curious kind. There is definitely something different about him and whatever his part might be in the greater scheme of things, the very least he started something larger..." - The New Gods about Le'garde. Le'garde was the leader of a mercenary army called the Knights of the Midnight Sun, with D'arce Cataliss as one of his subordinates. He was relatively successful and was seen as a prophetic leader, who would unite all the people under one kingdom. He invaded Oldegård to get the Cube of the depths, and sometime after that, was captured and imprisoned in the dungeon.

The amnesia that Le'garde claims to have is merely a facade he uses to trick the player into accompanying him into Ma'habre and helping him ascend to Godhood.

Nosramus explains after Le'garde's death that his imprisonment was orchestrated as part of a grand plot to ascend to a better type of godhood. Each of the new gods has a different type of soul that encompasses their powers and beliefs: Chambara's tormented soul, Valteil's enlightened soul, Nilvan's endless soul, and Francois' dominating soul.

Le'garde attempted to encompass all of these aspects: torment through the torture of the dungeon, enlightenment through the cube, endlessness through meeting Nilvan in his dreams, and domination through his campaign. This puts him in a unique position to become greater than all of the new gods. Nosramus describes this as "not necessarily the right path, but...an interesting event to unfold...".

Attributes
Le'garde starts with plate mail (Defense +40) and a short sword (+10 Attack). He knows the move Leg Sweep, an attack that costs 20 Mind and requires a light sword, and attacks the legs of every enemy.

He is not a viable choice for a Marriage; if the player chooses to show love to him at the altars, he will refuse.

Recruitment
Le'garde can be found in the level 7 catacombs in the rightmost area, behind iron bars. Le'garde is the reason that the player's character is visiting the dungeon, and the main characters and the Girl, if present at the scene where he is found, will comment on his condition or speak to him, depending on whether or not he's alive at the time. The conditions that determine whether Le'garde is alive or dead are time-based. Reaching him within 30 minutes of starting a run will result in him being found alive, while taking longer will result in him already being dead.

The best strategy to reach Le'garde on time is to make the protagonist learn the Dash skill, allowing the player to move in and around the levels with ease, as well as run past enemies.

There are 3 ways to reach the level-7 catacombs:
 * 1) The Cave Dweller Village: Going to the left or front entrance from the start, then descending down to Level 3-Prisons and lowering the elevator to Level 2-Blood Pit. Going left is faster because you can use the switch on your way to Level 2-Blood Pit. The switch for this is connected to a room by a small door. This will take one down to the Level 4-Caverns. From there, proceed to the Level 5-Mines and there is an option to either go left and use an explosive vile on a rubble pile (which opens up a shortcut between the entrance of the mines and the southern entrance of the Level 7-Catacombs). This is the fastest and safest way to reach Le'garde. Or go right and continue on to the Cave Dweller Village. Within the village center will be a wooden platform with a hole leading deeper into the mines. Jumping down this hole will lead one to the Wolf Orgy area, from which you can proceed north and eventually reach the southern entrance of the Level 7-Catacombs. This method is not recommended however, as it is likely to take longer than the allotted time to find Le'garde alive unless one is highly practised. It should be noted though, that it is possible to also get the Cube of the Depths simultaneously while taking this route, but doing so will take even more time that Le'garde does not have.


 * 1) The Thicket: After picking up the Mock-up Book in the Level 1-Entrance library area, proceed through the courtyard and into the Level 1-Inner Hall. From there, locate the inner hall's library, and against the back wall will be a hidden exit blocked by a bookcase. Interact with said bookcase to place the mockup-book inside, and the way forward will open to Level 1-Backyard. In the eastern corner there will be a pile of rubble, which can be cleared with an explosive vile, giving access to the Hidden Backyard and the Level 2-Thicket. Proceeding through the thicket (by avoiding the Mumblers, finding hidden doorways by interacting with it's walls, and falling down two holes which appear in the Level 2 area and Level 5 areas) will eventually lead one to fall into the Level 7-Catacombs via a hole in the roof. From there it is as simple as proceeding down and right until one reaches the first iron door (which is unlocked), behind which will be Le'garde.

He will claim to have amnesia if he is alive, although he can remember his name, and will ask to join the party. He will remain in this space until recruited if the player does not recruit him then. D'arce will stay with him until both of them are recruited if she is in the party when the player does not recruit him.
 * 1) The Prisons: Within the Level 3-Prisons area is a locked bird-cage like section with stairs leading down into the Level-7 Catacombs. Proceeding through this door will require the Player to either A: Crit it with a hit (possibly 800+ damage from a Crude Sword or Miasma), or B: Break it down by assembling several characters. Once the door is opened, proceed down the spiral staircase until it eventually ends at the Northern entrance to Level 7-The Catacombs. From there, proceed down and then right all the way until the end of the level, where the unlocked iron door leading to Le'garde's cell is. Iron Shakespear's key no longer opens this door, nor does Lockpicking work on it. It can only be opened with brute force or from the inside, so this strategy is probably the least doable.

Upon recruitment, he will leave some hints at the city's existence, such as stopping in the hall with the door to say he's sensing something, and refusing to leave with the player's party if trying to get the escape ending, giving the player a choice to either part ways or to stay a little more and continue playing.

Trivia

 * The inspiration for this character seems to be from Griffith, a main protagonist and main antagonist later in the manga series, Berserk, by Kentaro Miura.
 * In the game files, Le'garde has some unused animations for committing suicide, using the bow, carrying the Demon kid, being tortured by Trortur, having sex with the Bunnymasks and being raped by the Guard. These are animations that usually only apply to the selectable protagonists. This is due to the fact that Le'garde was a selectable character in the earliest beta versions of Fear & Hunger.
 * You cannot sacrifice Le'garde. Attempting to do so will make Le'garde comment on how you came all the way to rescue him just to be sacrificed at a ritual circle, and that his purpose is higher than that. Nothing will happen after that, though.