First Officer/Lore

—Anniversary Tales Collection Booklet

Minor:

* Joaquin Baden
* Sam Bourbon

**Jose Baden**, also known as the **First Officer**, is one of the **43** playable Survivors added to Identity V.

This page is a compilation of lore and story content for this character.

## Backstory

### Character Introduction

First officer Jose Baden, together with the captain's father, escorted the British king's maritime empire. However, one day he was delayed in Liverpool for some reason, and did not go to sea with his father. The ship carrying the antiques for the King of England did not return on time. Jose received news that an antique umbrella from China was on the cargo list of the missing ship, and it was now in a place called Oletus Manor. This former sea knight decides to step into this cursed land himself, to find his father, or at least... to take back what belongs to him.

### Chinese Character Introduction

First Officer Jose Baden was once well known to everyone. Together with his captain father, he protected the King of England's maritime empire. They were rich, brave, strong and very punctual, whether they were protecting British ships or transporting the King's treasures. , the Baden family is never late. It is said that this is because Baden received a pocket watch blessed by Poseidon. The tides and waves will obey him and will not delay his voyage. Therefore, they were highly regarded by the King of England, and as outsiders, they were rewarded by the King of England.
However, one day, Baden, who was delayed in Liverpool due to work, did not go to sea with his father. At sunset, he waited for his father at the port, but the ship serving the King of England did not return on time. In fact, the ship and the crew on it were , and never appeared at sea again. The King of England was furious, thinking that the Baden family had stolen her treasure, and deprived Jose Baden of all his family's wealth and title. Jose Baden fell into despair.
Soon after, Jose received news that on the cargo list of the missing ship, there was an antique umbrella from China, and now it appeared in a place called Oletus Manor.
The former sea knight decided to personally step into this cursed land to find his father's whereabouts, or at least...take back what belongs to him.

### Original Chinese Character Introduction

First Officer Jose Baden was once well known to everyone. Together with his captain father, he protected the British King's maritime empire. They were rich, brave, strong and very punctual, whether they were protecting British ships or transporting the British King's treasures, the Baden family is never late. It is said that this is because Baden received a pocket watch blessed by Poseidon. The tides and waves will obey him and will not delay his voyage. Therefore, they were highly regarded by the British King. As outsiders, they were rewarded by the British King and even awarded the honor of the title of Royal Navy.
However, one day, Baden, who was delayed in Liverpool due to work, did not go to sea with his father. He waited for his father at the port at sunset, but the ship that transported antiques to the King of England did not return on time. In fact, it, along with the ship on it, The crew never appeared at sea again. The King of England was furious and believed that the Baden family had stolen her treasure. The Baden family was deprived of their wealth and title, and Jose Baden was in despair.
Soon after, Jose received news that on the cargo list of the missing ship, there was an antique umbrella from China, and now it appeared in a place called Oletus Manor. The former sea knight decided to personally step into this cursed land to find the whereabouts of his father, or at least...take back what belongs to him..

### Character Release

Characteristics:

* Outspoken, straightforward, go-getter
* Quick-tempered
* Loves to tease people with sarcasm
* Decisive

Once upon a time, there wasn’t a single man that didn’t know Jose Baden, the First Officer. His father, the captain, and him were protectors and escorts for the British crown’s maritime empire. They were wealthy, heroic, gallant, and very punctual. Whether shielding English ships, or transporting royal treasures, the Baden family were never late. Rumor has it that this was because Baden had obtained a pocket watch blessed by the God of the Sea. The tide and great waves alike would heed his call, never delaying his ships. Thus, they enjoyed the Queen’s favor in no small measure, receiving titles despite being foreigners.

But one day, Baden, who had been delayed by matters in Liverpool, did not set out to sea with his father. At sunset he awaited his father at the port, but the ship that so loyally served the crown did not return on time. In fact, the ship, as well as all its crew, never reappeared upon the sea. The Queen was enraged. Believing that the Badens had stolen her treasure, she stripped Jose Baden of his family’s riches and title. Jose Baden had fallen.

Not long after, Jose received some information. On the list of goods upon that missing ship was a certain antique Chinese umbrella, and now it had appeared in a place called Oletus Manor.

Once a knight of the sea, he decided to set foot on this cursed land himself; to find his father, or at the very least…… to take back what is rightfully his.

### Official Chinese News Backstory

Being a First Officer, Jose Baden’s relationship with his father, the captain, was always one of tacit understanding. With the captain’s rich seafaring experience and the mysterious power of the First Officer’s pocket watch, their merchant ship was undefeatable. Even the Queen trusted them to work for her.

One day, due to some business, Baden was unable to set sail. When the agreed return date arrived, the merchant ship was gone without a trace, and all its crew and treasures vanished into thin air, never to be seen again. The Queen, trembling with rage, stripped the Badens of their wealth and titles. In just one night, the First Officer lauded as a knight upon the sea had fallen; he was now nothing more than a widely detested, down-and-out thief.

After that, Baden heard tell of a priceless antique Chinese umbrella, one of the treasures on the ship, turning up at Oletus Manor. People said that Manor was filled with evil and terror, but how could the magnificent First Officer Jose Baden be scared of a simple legend? He gave the pocket watch at his breast a squeeze, and felt in that moment filled with power. Perhaps the chance to find his family’s wealth and honor lay right in the Manor!

### Character Trailer

Identity V - First Officer Animation (ENG sub)First Officer Backstory trailer
*It felt like Sunset came late that day.*

*I waited, but my father's ship and its cargo did not return.*

*The Queen was furious.*

*She thought father had stolen her antique treasures,*

*and ordered the Baden family be stripped of wealth and title.*

*The once reputable maritime Baden family had fallen.*

*Until I heard a rumor:*

*An antique Chinese umbrella from the vanished ship*

*had turned up at a place called Oletus Manor.*

*I must set foot upon this cursed land,*

*find my father, and retrieve our honor.*

## Deduction Quests

*All completed Objectives reward the player with +335 Logic points for the Logic Path. After the character's deductions are completed, their Worn Clothes will be available.*

## Letters

This section contains the letters the player receives after completing Jose's Birthday Event on September 24th each year. Each is removed from the player's mailbox in a week, but can still be accessed from the deduction quest menu.

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

## First Officer Letters

### A sailing log (2020)

September 24, Cloudy

As Viscount Baden didn't make it to boarding, I'll be taking his place on this journey to take Parthenope's voyage log.

The destination of this voyage isn't a port on the previous trade route, but a set of coordinates at the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. As we're headed into uncharted territory, in addition to the daily necessities for the voyage, the ship is loaded with powerful guns and cannons instead of other cargo to play it safe. I hope we won't have to use them.

Long live the King

...

A line of distorted handwriting: The cannons couldn't kill them...

## Lore Connections

### Mentioned NPC's

* Joaquin Baden
* Sam Bourbon

### The Last Page of the Diary (2021)

Our dear young master made a new discovery today.

The beacon which will lead us to victory lies within each of the invitation we received—the codewords belonging to each of us.

As for my codeword, it is... "Boat."

This discovery reminds me of a small detail from the past, one I have ignored for quite some time—the peculiar fashion in which the first letter of that codeword is written.

It differs somewhat from that handwritten note appeared in the lobby some days ago... Perhaps I should be more cautious of this "coincidence"?

Regardless of the sender's motives, I cannot worry myself over things outside my control. It serves me no purpose for the time being.

However, this is not the first time I have seen this handwriting. It appeared as a signature on my father's ledger of goods once before.

That signature belonged to a person by the name of "Bourbon"...

## Lore Connections

### Mentioned Playable Characters

* Perfumer
* Painter
* Wu Chang
* Cowboy

### A Page from Jose Baden's Experiment File (2022)

Serial No. 5-0-3

[Test Indicators]

1. Illusion

2. Cognitive Battle

3. Self-judgement

[Inclination]

The "savior" of self-salvation

[Test Results]

1. Overall Evaluation:

When a deviation in his self-perception threatens survival, for defensive purposes, the subject would offer a set of solutions to balance his perception and convince himself to believe in it, no matter the truth.

2. Methodology

Subject 5-0-3 studied hypnosis in the past. This gave him a short-lived head start at the beginning of the experiment. He subjectively divided the subjects of the entire of experiment into camps and found the strongest allies for the time being. However, Subject 5-0-3 was unaware of this. Subject 5-?-1 and Subject 5-0-2 took advantage of this and fooled Subject 5-0-3.

The unexpected sacrifice of Subject 5-?-4 led to a crack in Subject 5-0-3's wavering sense of good and evil. Subject 5-?-1 and Subject 5-0-2 took the chance to name Subject 5-0-3 as the sole culprit, which triggered Subject 5-0-3's most painful breakdown memories. He descended into self-judgement, which almost caused a self breakdown and led to his early exit.

3. Analysis Summary:

As a "gift" from a friend who passed away, I treasured the opportunity to use Subject 5-0-3 in the experiment. Therefore, when the executioner who monitored the subjects came to the conclusion that his mental state was deteriorating, I was prepared to put an end to the experiment on him for the time being.

However, whoever conducted deep hypnosis on him obviously buried a spiritual anchor for him. This acted as a mental defense for him when he could no longer threaten the other subjects and became totally vulnerable. As a result, he finally went through all the experimental processes prepared for him, completed self-hypnosis again with the energy of 5-0-3-U, and was exempted from self-judgement.

From the results of the experiment, it is still unclear whether drug or mind control is more dominant in cognitive manipulation. Perhaps I should wait more patiently for the "gift" from my even more generous friend.

## Lore Connections

### Mentioned Playable Characters

* Perfumer
* Painter
* Wu Chang

### A Soaked Page from a Diary (2023)

I woke up with another splitting headache this morning. However, the discomfort was alleviated once I located the umbrella in the greenhouse.

It is no longer a hallucination under the influence of drugs and alcohol. After countless failures and crushed dreams, it truly lies before me for the very first time. The swaying pocket watch is finally back where it started.

"You can take everything you find there."

At least this time, the voice in my head isn't just full of lies.

During breakfast, I planned to say farewell to my temporary "crew," even that "understanding" lady and "amiable" young master. After all, as those who protect a common secret, we will probably never meet again.

But they left before dawn. Perhaps they made the right decision. The unexpected storm that arrived after breakfast delayed my departure.

But unlike the storms of the past that were always accompanied by misfortune, this time, I finally saw the semaphore of home after the heavy rain.

### Rewards

Every letter comes with 30 Fragments, and depending on how many years the player has participated and completed the Birthday Event would determine which letter they receive and the extra reward.

* If this is the first time the player has completed the event, they would get a portrait and the 2020 letter.
* If this is the second time the player has completed the event, they would get a portrait frame and the 2021 letter.
* If this is the third time the player has completed the event, they would get a dynamic graffiti and the 2022 letter.
* If this is the fourth time the player has completed the event, they would get an emote and the 2023 letter.

2020 Portrait2021 Portrait Frame2022 Dynamic Graffiti2023 Emote
## Character Resources

The additional in-game and external documents for this character include:

* Character Relations
* Quotes & Media
* Diaries
* Event Appearances
* Mentions

The Character Relations menu shows how certain characters are connected and how they feel about each other. It also contains other personal information on characters that cannot be found anywhere else. It can be found in the Notebook, under the "Clues" tab. Although the First Officer's Character Relations menu has not yet been released, we know a few of the characters that would be on it, which have been included below.

### Birthday Questions

*Only the questions and answers relating to his backstory were included here. The other questions not listed relate to gameplay.*

* 2022 Birthday questions:
	+ Question 4: *"Why did the First Officer miss his voyage?"* Answer: *"He was drunk"*
	+ Question 5: *"What's the name of the ship the First Officer once served?"* Answer: *"Parthenope"*
* 2023 Birthday questions:
	+ Question 4: *"Why did Jose start drinking?"* Answer: *"Nightmares"*
	+ Question 5: *"How long did the Baden fleet take to escape their watery grave?"* Answer: *"2 months"*

### Quotations

* Deduction Star 2020 quotes:
	+ *"I'm the best assistant."*
	+ *"Have you seen the honor once given to the Baden family?"*
	+ *"That's too shabby."*
* Deduction Star 2021 quotes:
	+ *"Here's a sincere motto - make each goodbye count."*
	+ *"My destiny has long been merged with the sea. Perhaps the ocean is the best home for my family."*
	+ *"The Baden family is never late, that used to be my pride."*
* Valentine's Day 2023 Cards quotes:
	+ *"I received your card, but I'm sad to say that I'm on a long voyage. I can always see flickering lights on the shore where the ship is docked. I really wish we could enjoy this beautiful scenery together amid the waves and night breeze."*
	+ *"A pink card? Does it hold some sort of special significance? I dreamed of a gorgeous sea and sunset yesterday. You and I were standing on the deck of the Baden family ship while admiring the sparkling waves. Now that I think of it, perhaps it was some kind of omen."*
* 5th Anniversary Congratulatory Video quote:
	+ *"Jewelry, accessories, weapons...... I brought the treasure from across the sea. Of course it's for you guys. These are a gift for Oletus's 5th birthday."*

### Japanese Twitter Replies

Please press "Expand" to see in-character replies from the official Japanese Twitter.

Jose Baden's diaries have not yet been released.

* See a transcript of his (incomplete) Diaries here for events that occurred during the Manor game.

Star Seeker

**First Officer** has been mentioned in the following documents for other characters:

### Letters

* Perfumer's Letters (2022 & 2023)
* Enchantress' Letter (2023)

## Canon Manor Game

We can gather who was in a canon Manor Game together by information in Letters and Diaries, and very occasionally from character quotes during events. First Officer was in the fifth Manor Game:

Edits to this table can be made here.

## Compiled Overview

The following section contains an overview based on canon information.Please note that some information may be missing as it may not have been provided from official sources. See the given references for further information.
### Background

The Badens were a famous noble family that served the royal family at sea, and were well-known for being extremely competent at sea, whether successfully protecting naval vessels or transporting valuable cargo. They seemed to have an uncanny way of navigating the sea that allowed them to always be punctual, due to their special pocket watch "blessed by the God of the Sea." This allowed them to obtain a great amount of favor from the Royal family.

One night, the son of the captain Jose Baden, missed a voyage on the ship as he was unable to be woken up after drinking a lot of alcohol on land. He waited at the dock for his father, however, the ship never returned. As it had been carrying precious cargo belonging to the royal family, it was assumed his father had deserted the navy with the treasure and the entire family had their title stripped from them and were disgraced.

In order to regain his family's honor, Jose began searching for the missing ship and its "stolen" cargo. Some time later, he found a clue that an antique Chinese umbrella that had been part of the missing treasure had been found at the Oletus Manor, and he went to the manor to see if this was true.

### Events at the Manor

For their manor game, it seems each participant went by a "codename" and the First Officer went by the codename "Boat." Jose recognized the handwriting of the letters as belonging to someone named Bourbon.

### Alternate Theories and Conclusions

The below article or section(s) contains speculation, analysis, or theories which may include unconfirmed information.When adding content, use references to link or explain **legitimate/official** supportive evidence for specific theories, otherwise it may be removed.
* It seems likely that the antique umbrella that was part of the cargo from his missing father's ship is the same umbrella Wu Chang uses.
* From the deductions, it seems Jose was their main Navigator for the ship, as the deductions state that he often "made corrections" to their routes, and his father says that Jose just needs "to get us out of every sandbank and reef."
	+ Additionally, Jose would frequently have panic attacks and was unable to sleep unless he had drunk a lot of alcohol. This may have caused him to become an alcoholic, and so miss the important voyage his father went missing on. This is confirmed to be true in his 2022 Birthday questions.

## References

1. ↑ Official Japanese Reference Book
2. ↑ Original translation from Character Release
3. ↑ In his 2020 and 2021 birthday profile, his likes were listed as treasure, mechanics, and mysticism but all subsequent material lists only luxury goods.
4. ↑ Backstory from the official Identity V website - https://idv.163.com/character/index.html
5. ↑ Backstory from the official Chinese website - https://id5.163.com/nrzx/role.html
6. ↑ At some point, his Character Introduction on the Identity V Official Chinese Website was reworded.
7. ↑ Official Character Introduction - https://m.weibo.cn/status/4392184595557337
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 English translation by Pascal - [1]
9. ↑ Original Chinese backstory source - http://id5.163.com/news/official/20190725/26476\_824820.html
10. ↑ Original Global Character trailer for Jose Baden - https://www.facebook.com/578338269176549/videos/1319948958182929
11. ↑ This could refer to Barmaid, Demi Bourbon or Sam Bourbon. However, considering Demi's game takes place after Jose's and she came to the manor searching for her brother, this is most likely Sam.
12. ↑ Parthenope is a Siren in Greek mythology.
13. ↑ Translation by @IdentityV\_\_Sub.
14. ↑ Translations by @fc\_idv.
15. ↑ See Deductions #8 and #9 for the quotes about Jose's navigation.
16. ↑ See Deduction #6 "Snooze" which states that he "can only fall asleep after imbibing copious amounts of alcohol"

### Manor Game Table References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wu Chang's 2022 Letter confirms the location as Lakeside Village
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 See Enchantress's 2022 Letter
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 In Painter's 2023 Letter, it is stated that Edgar willing let himself be sacrificed by Patricia and mentions his "swan song."
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 In First Officer's 2023 Letter seemingly implies that Edgar, Vera, and Jose finished their Manor Game. But as Edgar is implied to be dead from his 2023 Letter so those were likely Jose's delusions.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 In Wu Chang's 2022 Letter, it appears First Officer was affected by the umbrella in some way, however it is currently unknown what happened as a result.
6. ↑ It should be noted Wu Chang's serial number is referring to their umbrella.
7. ↑ Based on the current information given by Wu Chang's 2022 Letter, it is known that the Manor were using the power of Wu Chang's umbrella to affect on First Officer in some way, rather than using them as a hunter in the Game.
8. ↑ Enchantress's 2023 Birthday Questions state that Cowboy was the only one spared by Enchantress but it is unknown what she spared him from but it is possible that Kevin was spared from the death of poison he had drank to protect her.
9. ↑ Cowboy's 2022 and 2023 Letters heavily imply that Kevin had already escaped the Manor before the Manor Game began.
10. ↑ Perfumer's 2022 Letter uses 5-0-5 while other letters use 5-?-5.

### Deduction Quest Changes

1. ↑ Previously: *Basic Objective: Rescue Teammates and protect them until they escape 1 time.* / *Advanced Objective 1: Rescue Teammates and protect them until they escape 2 times.* / *Advanced Objective 2: Rescue Teammates and protect them until they escape 2 times.*