Ranulf

Standard Special - Human Form
 Side Special - Human Form
 Up Special - Human Form
 Down Special - Human Form
 Final Smash - Human Form
 Standard Special - Cat Form
 Side Special - Cat Form
 Up Special - Cat Form
 Down Special - Cat Form
 Final Smash - Cat Form
 Extra Skill
 Franchise
 Game of Origin
 Release Date of Origin
 Other Appearances
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## **Character Info**

In *Path of Radiance* and *Radiant Dawn*, Ranulf is Ike's childhood friend and one of his closest confidantes. He is close to King Caineghis and one of the Beast Laguz's most trusted vassals, often sent on diplomatic missions on behalf of the Cats, Tigers, and Lions. Oh my! Ranulf is a high-ranking Gallean commander, leading the beasts' charge alongside Caineghis and Skrimir to defeat the likes of Ashnard and Ashera. Ranulf is known for his dichotomic personality, being both carefree and cunning. On one hand, his carefree nature bonds him to Ike early on; on the other, his cunning leads to him being the first to realize who the Black Knight really is.

## **General Information**

### **Entrance**

#### **Human Form:**

Ranulf walks onto the stage with one hand in his pocket, the other one flipping the Laguz Gem and catching it before returning it to his pocket.

#### **Cat Form:**

Ranulf leaps onto the stage, as cats do, and meows, as cats do.

### **Kirby Hat**

Kirby grows a pair of blue cat ears out for himself, alongside Ranulf's hair and hat. Cute!

### **Taunts**

#### **Human Form:**

**Up Taunt:** Ranulf lifts his arms up into the air, stretches, and yawns.

**Down Taunt:** Ranulf kneels down, resting one arm on his knee as he looks forward, saying, "Let's just take it nice and easy."

**Side Taunt:** Ranulf turns around to take a look at his tail, saying, "A tail is a good thing to have!"

#### **Cat Form:**

**Up Taunt:** Ranulf purrs and scratches at his ear, grooming himself.

**Down Taunt:** Ranulf perches his back upwards, screeching at his foes.

**Side Taunt:** Ranulf perks his head and notices his tail, chasing it around in a circle.

### **Victory Poses**

#### **Human Form:**

1. Ranulf gives the camera a "thumbs up" and a wink as it zooms in on him, saying, "Just give your pal Ranulf a call when you need him, OK?"
2. Ranulf begins to stretch, then follows it up with three consecutive backflips while saying, "Didn't expect THAT, did ya?"
3. Ranulf performs a strongman pose like Popeye, saying with a smile, "Gotta get myself riled up!"

* Versus Marth, Ranulf might say, "Whoa! Better luck next time, Hero King."
* Versus Ike, Ranulf might say, "Sorry Ike, but a win's a win!"
* Versus Lucina, Ranulf might say, "I didn't expect two Marths when I signed up for *Smash*!"
* Versus Kiran, Ranulf might say, "Were you the one who brought us here, Kiran?"

#### **Cat Form:**

1. Ranulf runs then leaps forward, scratching towards the camera with a visible scratch mark effect.
2. Ranulf falls yards from the sky, landing squarely on his feet before nonchalantly walking off.
3. One of Ranulf's bird laguz friends—Tibarn, Naesala, or Reyson—grabs onto his shoulders and they fly off into the distance.

## **Moveset - Human Form**

### **Standard Special**

**Card Sweep:** Ranulf charges a card, and how long he charges it effects its intensity. The Spectre Card releases a red wave of light and travels three Kirbys forward. Reaper releases a purple wave of light and travels four Kirbys forward. Daemon Cards release a light blue wave and travel five Kirbys. Unlike its less potent brethren, the Daemon Card can also effectively cut through shields with just one or two hits. Given the nature of the projectiles' composition, the energy summoned by these cards will continue to travel once hitting opponents, making it good for potential combos. The trade-off is not hitting particularly hard, even when fully charged; they aren't kill moves, but have other benefits like keep-away and shield-breaking tactics.

### **Side Special**

**Torch:** Ranulf throws a standard-fare *Fire Emblem* torch forward in a lobbing arc. It catches the area it lands on aflame and slowly spreads, like a lesser molotov. The fire works as you would expect it to, grabbing ahold of fighters and sticking with them unless they work it off. The torch itself can deal some decent damage upon impact, as well. It also clears up smoke, such as that produced from a Smoke Ball, or fog like on the Fog of War stage.

### **Up Special**

**Catapult:** One of the larger laguz characters—such as Mordecai, Giffca, Caineghis, Skrimir, Tibarn, or Dheginsea—appear besie Ranulf and take him by the shoulders, letting out a hearty guffaw before throwing him up into the air! The move can be angled and charged, sort-of like a Yoshi Egg, allowing players to select the general landing point as well as its intensity. If an opponent attempts to stop the larger laguz from throwing Ranulf, they will set Ranulf back down and counter with a strong punch or kick forward, dishing out 1.2x the damage that Ranulf's foe would have with a successful hit. There's no stopping them from taking Ranulf on once he's in mid-air, though, but he is able to cancel out of his flight as needed.

### **Down Special**

**Shine Barrier:** Ranulf grabs onto a Shine Barrier tablet, becoming surrounded by the magic up to a couple Kirbys above his head. So long as the Shine Barrier is active, the lights will gently spin around Ranulf, protecting him from projectiles. He is able to dish out attacks as usual, but projectiles will be deflected and foes will tend to have a heck of a time jumping over the barrier to get a good melee hit in. After several seconds, the Shine Barrier dissipates and Ranulf cannot use it again for up to 15 seconds.

### **Final Smash**

**Beast Regalia:** Ranulf paves his hair back with a smirk before pointing forward, shouting, "Let's show them Gallea's might!" Suddenly, a cat, tiger, or lion will charge several paces forward, dragging any foes hit by them into a cinematic. Standing beside Skrimir, Ranulf slips his hands into his pant pockets and smirks, saying, "Let's give 'em all we got." Both turn into their laguz forms and dash forward across the Gallean frontier, followed by an army of beast laguz including Lethe, Lyre, Mordecai, Giffca, and Caineghis. You might see Nailah and Volug, too, if you're lucky! The laguz summarily trample their foes, and we're brought out of the cutscene to heavy damage and knockback. Opponents who have over 100% damage when caught up in this move will be auto-KO'd upon the cutscene's end.

### **Extra Skill**

**Transform:** Ranulf grabs onto his Laguz Gem and exclaims, "Let's do this!" as he is enveloped in the gold light and turned into his cat form.

## **Moveset - Cat Form**

### **Standard Special**

**Cat Claws:** Ranulf dishes out a powerful swipe of his claws! Uncharged, he will spin in a circle stationarily, swiping forward and dishing out some decent damage but not much else. When used on the ground when charged, Ranulf will dash forward about three Kirbys in length; up to four if the move is charged. It peaks at a half-charge, like half of Ike's Quick Draw, and dishes out slightly more damage if it makes an impact. If used in mid-air, Ranulf will travel downwards like Cat Mario's downward claw swipe in SM3DW by default, but it can also be angled upwards. If an opponent is within a couple Kirbys' distance from Ranulf while this attack is being used, Ranulf's eye will glimmer as he hones-in on them instead, effectively making the move more like a cat-powered version of Sonic's Homing Attack. When used uncharged, Ranulf's claws will be able to deflect some projectiles when used just right.

### **Side Special**

**Cat Fang:** Ranulf leaps forward in an upwards half-arc before jumping back down. Unlike his Cat Claws, Cat Fang dishes out a considerable bite once it connects with an enemy, the camera zooming in on them if it's a critical hit and leaving them potentially dazed for a few moments. There is some start-up lag making it easier to telegraph, but otherwise Ranulf can dash forward, bite a foe, and then immediately chain that into another bite in another direction, making it like a Pikachu Quick Attack that is easier to use from the ground and more potent upon contact.

### **Up Special**

**Cat Wings:** A bird laguz grabs Ranulf by his shoulders and careens him up in the air in a circle. The intensity at which they fly and how far they fly depends on the bird: a heron like Reyson will fly more quickly and eloquently than a bruiser like Tibarn, who will carry green wind turbulence with him on his way up. From least intense to most intense, Ranulf's flight partners can be: Reyson, Naesala, or Tibarn. The birds are covered with super armor, so good luck taking down Ranulf on his way up. Although, he can cancel out of his flight at any time.

### **Down Special**

**Ward Beasts:** Ranulf lets out a guttural feline growl, surrounding himself in a visible field of air. If the field touches a projectile, melee attack, or opponent, it will absorb their blow and strike them back with barely any damage dealt to them, but a stat boost dealt to Ranulf. The increase to his overall strength, defense, and speed and how long it lasts depends on the severity of the strike dealt to him in the period that he is screeching. If Captain Falcon's Falcon Punch is caught up in the scream, for instance, his stat boost will be considerable. He will be bathed in a light blue light throughout the duration of the boost.

### **Final Smash**

**Beast Storm:** The camera zooms in on Ranulf as he lets a gnawing screech loose. Suddenly, beast laguz begin to pour into the stage from either side, storming in from several platforms as they leap, bite, and scratch their way through their foes. Fighters are welcome to try and avoid as much of the onslaught as they can, though Ranulf is also free to chase them down and toss them back into the action. The severity with which a singular hit will damage them depends on the type of laguz who tramples them; cats will deal less damage than wolves, tigers, or lions, but might dish out more hits in quicker succession, so there's pluses and minuses to each beast. It's easy to get caught up, grounded by a larger beast, and trampled multiple times before finding safety again. The move is less of a surefire hit than Beast Regalia, as far as KO potential is concerned, but is a damage sponge nonetheless.

### **Extra Skill**

**Transform:** Ranulf kicks the Laguz Gem that he's slipped away on his person like a hacky-sack. He makes a flip up and, during this time, becomes enveloped in a gold transformation magic that turns him into his human form.

## **Alternate Costumes**

1. **Default**
2. **Lethe** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Lethe. In his human form, he wears green and beige clothes with orange hair. In his cat form, he becomes orange with darker orange stripes.
3. **Lyre** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Lyre. In his human form, he wears red and white clothes with orange hair. In his cat form, he becomes red with white stripes.
4. **Mordecai** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Mordecai. In his human form, he wears turquoise and black clothes with black hair. In his cat form, he becomes a dull blue with light, nearly white, stripes.
5. **Giffca** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Giffca. In his human form, he wears black and red clothes with black hair. In his cat form, he becomes black with red stripes.
6. **Skrimir** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Skrimir. In his human form, he wears white and black clothes with red hair. In his cat form, he becomes red with burgundy stripes.
7. **Caineghis** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Caineghis. In his human form, he wears blue and gold clothes with red hair. In his cat form, he becomes reddish-and-golden-hued.
8. **Nailah** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Nailah. In his human form, he wears purple and black with silver hair. In his cat form, he becomes silver.
9. **Volug** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Volug. In his human form, he goes shirtless while his pants become red, white, and green. In his cat form, he becomes dark gray.
10. **Ike** - Ranulf bears an aesthetic similar to Ike. In his human form, he wears blue and red with a green hat and blue hair. In his cat form, he becomes a mix of these colors, too.

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## **Associated Content**

Click Here to watch the episode of the Super Cast Bros podcast where Jonno created this moveset!