Streibough

(ストレイボウ, Sutoreibō?, lit. Straybow)

AKA Straybow

“I've yielded much to you, but not this day. Gods grant me strength- grant me glory deserved!
”

—Streibough

**Streibough** is a major character and party member from the Middle Ages chapter, The Lord of Dark. He is a powerful wizard of Lucrece and Oersted's closest companion.

## Profile

### Appearance

Streibough has long wavy blue-gray hair, which typically covers one of his eyes. He wears blue robes along with a red cape with golden trimmings, along with. He is depicted as carrying a "Rod of Khodar" magical staff with a blue gem on top.

### Personality

Outwardly, Streibough is a polite and affable sorcerer, confident in himself and his abilities, yet fully devoted to his friendship with Oersted. On the inside, Streibough is quite different: a jealous, selfish, and wicked man who is willing to do truly evil things just to succeed. Broken by Oersted's constant victories and celebrations while he received little renown, Streibough finds himself only able to be content when Oersted's happiness is removed from the face of the Earth.

## History

### The Middle Ages: The Lord of Dark

Streibough is first seen as a finalist in a combat tournament for the right to marry Princess Alethea. After slaying his first opponent, Watt of Nabe, Streibough loses in the final round to Oersted, which he appears to accept gracefully. Later, after Alethea is abducted by the Lord of Dark, Streibough catches up with Oersted as he leaves Lucrece Castle to rescue her. He invites himself along Oersted's quest, declaring that nothing can stand against the two of them.

After travelling across the land and gathering allies, the party manages to reach the final chamber of the Archon's Roost and vanquish the Lord of Dark. However, the Lord is exposed to be a fake, and Alethea is nowhere to be found. As Streibough desperately searches the chamber for her, a quake suddenly strikes the room. Streibough is unable to escape with the others in time, and is seemingly caught in the trap.

Unbeknownst to everyone, however, Streibough had magicked the quake himself. During his search, he stumbled across a hidden passage within the chamber. In that moment, his repressed bitterness and envy overcame him, and he deigned to rescue Alethea, whom he loved, by himself. Having removed Oersted from the scene, it is inferred that Streibough took this passage to Virtue's Reward, where he both rescued Alethea, and inherited the powers of the Lord of Dark.

Not satisfied with his gains, Streibough sought to bring ruin to those he believed had wrong him. Using his strengthened magic, Streibough manipulates Oersted into killing the King of Lucrece by disguising him as the Lord of Dark. By doing this, the knight's people turn on him and presume him to be the Lord of Dark, earning him the fear of everyone.

His victory is thwarted, however, when a determined Oersted returns to the Archon's Roost, intent on recovering Alethea. Streibough sends a legion of demons to delay him, but Oersted manages to reach Virtue's Reward. Streibough reveals himself to Oersted, condemning his former friend for his perceived glory hounding and greed. He challenges Oersted to a final fight to prove himself the better man, but even with his newfound power, he is killed by Oersted, in death still refusing to acknowledge the truth.

Though Streibough's evil could not overcome Oersted in the end, it was Streibough's betrayal and manipulation that provided the largest impetus for Oersted's descent into Odio, and by extension, set the entire game's events in motion.

### Final Chapter: The Dominion of Hate

Streibough's spirit can be found in the Trial of Heart in the final chapter. He questions if he is to blame for Oersted's descent into villainy.

## Gameplay

### Strategy

Streibough fills a role as the black mage of the team, as most of his moves are offensive magical abilities. Most of his techniques have a long range and an area of effect. He also has attacks that can create field tiles and inflict status effects. His main downsides is that, like most mage characters, he is particularly vulnerable to physical attacks and most of his attacks take a long time to charge.

### Stats

* **HP:** 100 (+22-28 per level)
* **Physical Attack:** 5 (+0-1 per level)
* **Physical Defense:** 7 (+1-2 per level)
* **Special Attack:** 40 (+2-4 per level)
* **Special Defense:** 28 (+2-4 per level)
* **Speed:** 20 (+1 per level)
* **Accuracy:** 11 (+1 per level)
* **Evasion:** 10 (+1 per level)
* **Status Immunities:** None
* **Damage Resistances:** Demonic
* **HP:** 100 (+22-32 per level)
* **Power:** 5 (+0-1 per level)
* **Speed:** 20 (+1 per level)
* **Vitality:** 7 (+1-2 per level)
* **IQ:** 40 (+2-4 per level)
* **Immunities:** None
* **Evades:** Evil

## Battles

“You will repay my loyalty- in death!
”

—Streibough, to Oersted

Streibough is fought two times in the course of the Middle Ages chapter, both times solely against Oersted. The first fight is the chapter's very second, for the final round of the king's tournament. As Streibough's stats are identical to those at level 1, along with him only having his weak starting techniques, the battle can be easily won.

The second battle with Streibough serves as the chapter's final boss. For the battle, Streibough gains access to his most powerful magics, regardless of if he had been level up previously, along with a multitude of additional damage resistances. His newfound elemental tile absorption allows him to recover HP from his many elemental-affinitive attacks.

A simple way to beat him is to repeatedly attack from a distance with Heavenly Strike. It is recommended to gather a healthy supply of Balmgrass beforehand in the case of too much damage taken.

## Other Appearances

* In Holy Dungeon, Streibough appears as a playable character alongside Oersted, Hasshe, Uranus and Alethea.
* In Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call, Streibough appears in the background in the DLC Megalomania Battle Music stage.
* In Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, Streibough appears as a playable character as part of the Japan-exclusive *Octo A Live* crossover event, along with Oersted. The collaboration includes two special side stories, one where the pair must work together to rescue Alethea in Orsterra, and one where Streibough, having become the Lord of Dark, acts as the antagonist.

## Gallery

Chibi StreiboughStreibough and Oersted at the king's tournament (SFC)Streibough stands over Oersted (SFC)Streibough, ready to kill (SFC)Streibough as he appears in the Holy Dungeon mobile gameFinal Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call - Oersted and Streibough square off in the backgroundPromo art depicting The Lord of Dark for the remakeLINE sticker for remakeLINE sticker for remakeArtwork counting down 2 days to the release of remake, by Shizuka MorimotoArtwork for Octopath Traveler: Champions of the ContinentArtwork for Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, as Odio-SArtwork celebrating the release of the PlayStation/Steam versions
## Trivia

* Streibough is the only final boss of a chapter that isn’t an incarnation of Odio.
* Streibough's Japanese voice actor, Shizuma Hodoshima, previously portrayed Streibough in the 2006 stage theatre *The Advent of the Demon King LIVE SIDE / EVIL SIDE* **魔王降臨 Live SIDE ＆ Evil SIDE**, which the story is based from the Middle Ages chapter.
	+ This version of Streibough is known as **Caesar Streibough** (シーザ・ストレイボウ Shīza Sutoreibō?).