Fate Noble Phantasms

Noble fantasies

Preview

Noble Phantasms are the weapons and/or abilities possessed by a Heroic Spirit. They are sacred artifacts that embody the hero's existence. Noble Phantasms can range from weapons like swords and spears to support items like shields, abstract objects, or magical abilities. They are used by Servants during the Holy Grail War to give them a combat advantage over other Servants. However, because each Noble Phantasm is closely tied to the legend of a Heroic Spirit in the story, their use reveals a Servant's true identity. This, along with the fact that many Noble Phantasms require a considerable amount of mana to use, means they must be used with caution and strategy.

Features

Noble Phantasms serve as symbols of the Heroic Spirits' existence and represent their legends. They are created by the Great Grail and the summoning of Servants using accumulated mana. Most Heroic Spirits possess only one Noble Phantasm. However, some possess multiple, including Gilgamesh, who is said to possess all the Noble Phantasms in his Gate of Babylon; Achilles, who possesses five; and Astolfo, Atalanta, and Jack the Ripper, who each possess four.

Most Noble Phantasms take the form of a sword, spear, javelin, or some other type of weapon used by the Heroic Spirit during their life. However, they can take any form, tangible or abstract. Some may be based on anecdotes about the Heroic Spirit, such as Jack the Ripper's From Hell, while others may even be gigantic fortresses like Semiramis's Hanging Gardens of Babylon, though this is very rare.

Since they are each tied to a different Heroic Spirit, Noble Phantasms generally cannot be used by other Heroic Spirits. However, under certain circumstances, a Heroic Spirit can grant the use of their Noble Phantasm to someone else, such as in the case of Achilles giving Astolfo his Noble Phantasm Akhilleus Kosmos during the Great Holy Grail War.

For a Noble Phantasm to be activated, its true name must be spoken. Noble Phantasms that serve as weapons will function normally until their power is activated. However, some Noble Phantasms are capable of displaying passive abilities even without being activated. Additionally, some Noble Phantasms can be used by Masters. One such example is Saber's Noble Phantasm Avalon, which can be sealed within its Master and grant them regenerative abilities, something that happens to Shirou Emiya in Fate/Stay Night .

None Classifications

Noble Phantasms are categorized based on their effectiveness against different enemies and their specialization. There is a wide range of classifications for Noble Phantasms, and a single Noble Phantasm can have multiple classifications depending on its abilities. Some Noble Phantasms target the mind and deal psychic damage (Anti-Mind), while others can deal large-scale damage, ranging from a city (Anti-City) to a country (Anti-Country) or even entire planets (Anti-Planet). Still others are used for defensive purposes (Barrier) or to negate the effects of magic (Anti-Thaumaturgy). Below are several notable classes of Noble Phantasms.

Anti-Unity
This type of Noble Phantasm specializes in dealing damage to a single opponent. While less powerful than other types of Noble Phantasms, it can be used continuously, unlike other types that can only be used once. Examples of this classification of Noble Phantasms include Gae Bolg (Cú Chulainn), Armor of Fafnir (Siegfried), Logistille Breaker (Astolfo), Clarent (Mordred), and Kanshou and Bakuya (EMIYA).

Anti-army
This type of Noble Phantasm specializes in dealing damage to many enemies over a wide area. While more powerful than anti-unit Noble Phantasms, they cost a lot of mana to use and can usually only be used once. Examples of this classification of Noble Phantasms include Clarent Blood Arthur (Mordred), Sikera Ušum (Semiramis), Prelati's Spellbook (Gilles de Rais), Phoebus Catastrophe (Atalanta), and La Black Luna (Astolfo).

Anti-Fortress
This type of Noble Phantasm specializes in dealing significant damage to fortified structures. It is much more powerful than other types of Noble Phantasms, such as the Anti-Unit. Examples of this classification of Noble Phantasms include Excalibur (Altria Pendragon), Ochd Deug Odin (Cú Chulainn), Piedra Del Sol (Quetzalcoatl), Ramesseum Tentyris (Ozymandias), and System Keraunos (Nikola Tesla).

Barrier
This type of Noble Phantasm specializes in creating Bounded Fields that act as barriers. However, this classification does not include Noble Phantasms used for attack, only those used defensively. Examples of this Noble Phantasm classification include Akhilleus Kosmos (Achilles), Avalon (Altria Pendragon), Eternal Luminosity (Joan of Arc), Crystal Palace (Marie Antoinette), and Apneic Beauty (Julian Ainsworth).