“A man who unexplainedly appeared and is monitoring the conflict between Zexen and Grassland. He's a shady guy. He had some kind of behind-the-scenes role during the Dunan Unification War. It's possible he's hiding something about himself, but I don't know what or why.” — Kidd, Plucky Boy Detective
“I think you make fooling around your business.” — Chris Lightfellow, Always Right
First Impressions
— Nash is tall, slim, and quite blond, with a lazy smile and expressive hands. He cultivates asymmetry, parting his hair on the side and raising his eyebrows one at a time. He acts like someone once told him he was charming. (Very debatable.)
— Nash suffers from the video game disease of only having one outfit, which is lace-up boots, khaki pants, and a fitted jacket with a chain shirt worn underneath, and a green scarf that must get really hot. Harmonian fashion resembles European fashion of the 19th century, with sober colors and way too much piping. He always wears gloves.
— Nash is not from a world that even remotely resembles our own, but his accent is described as northerly. His tone is generally sarcastic.
Character History
In the beginning
Nash was born a First Class Harmonian citizen, and the scion of a powerful noble house. He enjoyed both the general perks of being rich and the crushing burdens of political expectation. Nash's father took a strict view with his only son's education, tutoring him in tactics, strategery, and eventually shipping him off to Assassin Academy in a fit of JRPG logic. Nash's cultural and military education culminated with the Harmonian Temple Guard, an elite fancy-dress branch of the military reserved for rich people. There he learned how to wear jaunty berets and master his family swords.
This life of exciting hats came crashing down when Nash's younger sister Julie got engaged to her tutor, who turned out to be a murderous radical, Zaj, sent by the Howling Voice Guild. Before the wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Latkje died of a mysterious disease, read, which Nash correctly suspected was actually untraceable poison. He eventually confronted his sister's evil fiancé all angry beserker-like. After killing Zaj, Nash fled the capital, with his house in scandal and name in disgrace, but possessing all kinds of superfluous training. He got to the border and joined the Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force, an irregular special ops unit of mercenaries, misfits, and people who don't ask questions.
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Years passed, and Nash's HSFDF service gradually developed from a death wish to a career path. He even got a cute pet bird!! Notable exploits during this era include: meeting the Mistress of All Vampires and getting harassed by her evil ex, a teleportation/sneezing adventure across time and space, a stealth cameo in Suikoden II, making out with his hot aunt, and that time he told everyone he was an ultra-famous strategist and briefly got a job commanding an army. Anyway, while romping about in foreign countries, Nash discovered Zaj was only mostly dead, and he had to make a big angsty return to the home he'd run away from. Zaj was waiting for him in Crystal Valley, and this time Nash killed him so dead he couldn't come back even in a comic book.
Nash learned that Latkje family was murdered not only because Zaj really hated blondes, but also because their political faction had grown too strong and threatened to upset the delicate balance of power. Nash, with the help of his BFF Aunt Lena, made some sort of shady backroom deal with Bishop Sasarai, partly out of awe for Sasarai's hat, but mostly for the safety of his sister Julie. That's probably why, fifteen years later, Nash is still working for the government that was totally cool with his parents' murder.
Fifteen Years Later
When an evil Harmonian Bishop conspires to collect the powers of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Heart Lightning and summon Captain Planet in order to commit ritual suicide and blow up a good chunk of the continent, Nash uses this opportunity to follow a good looking lady knight around.
At first, the Zexen-Grassland conflict seems be a simple territorial dispute along a border of traditional cultural tensions, something friendly neighborhood superpower Harmonia hopes to exploit. But Bishop Sasarai, a.k.a. Tickle Me Machiavelli, suspects some darker force is pulling the strings. Sasarai personally commissions Nash "Clovis", super-skilled Harmonian spy, to investigate infiltrate the Grasslands and the Zexen Confederacy. To this end, Nash hires himself out as a guide to Chris Lightfellow, the Captain of the Zexen Knights, who chasing a legend for her own reasons.
Nash's intel eventually proves crucial to the success of the Fire Bringer, a temporary Grassland/Zexen/Harmonian alliance wrought in the face an impending Final Boss fight. He also proves something of a mentor to Chris along the way. When the Zexen mission ends, Nash disappears, presumably to slip back to the Crystal Valley, where he is rumored to live with his sister and a “distant female relative.”
Miscellany
What is up with his wife?
Nash frequently claims to be married in Suikoden III, which means that he either got hitched sometime during a 15 year timeskip, or he's just a liar. Overwhelming evidence points to Nash's wife being Sierra Mikain, which is how I interpret it. I usually try to keep it vague, though, because that's how canon handles it.
The Gaidens
I don't read Japanese, but have played through the fan translations provided by the Suikogaiden Translation Project. For RP, I tend to take all split-path options as canon, but I can work out actual specifics if it's relevant to CR. Just ask.
Skills.
— Nash is a high-fantasy secret agent who specializes in demolition, distraction, and bad one-liners.
— His in-game skill scores portray him as a flexible, fast, and accurate fighter. He isn't the most physically durable, though he can compensate somewhat with heavier armor and ranged weaponry. As a light weapon user, he attacks more often rather than concentrating his damage into one big attack. His luck score is the worst in the game.
— Suikoden magic works by equipping Runes that allow characters to cast out of spell slots determined by their magic stat. Nash is an average magic user with a slight affinity for Wind.
— Nash is also a somewhat notorious swordsman, though he doesn't usually equip longer blades. He also has a wide variety of out-of-combat uses and skills, including sneaking, lying, bird training, and making people want to slap him.
— Maybe Holy Dash does something in DWRP, because it sure does fuckall in Suikoden III.
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latkje, art by 志水 アキ/Aki Shimizu from the official Suikoden III manga. ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
vigils. Fonts used include Spectral and Great Primer. Images from the Suikoden III manga and the Harmonia Macrocosmica of Andreas Cellarius. 
Chief's hat 
Custom Chainmail
Chain Attack Ring
Boots
