Rikku
Context
Final Fantasy is a loose series of role-playing video games. It is hugely successful and has come to embody the main Japanese school of CRPG design. This profile is about the tenth opus, Final Fantasy X, which used much more modern technology than its predecessors.
If you don’t know about the setting, please read our primer about Final Fantasy X.
Rikku is a thief with some interesting and useful skills/powers besides the usual robbery stuff. Thus, she could be interesting in any campaign. Besides that why not add an epic fantasy type thief to writeups.org ?
This only covers Rikku up until the end of FFX. The character seen in FFX2 is completely different and would need a separate profile.
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Background
- Real Name: Rikku.
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: Cid (father), Yuna (cousin), Brother (older brother), unnamed mother (deceased).
- Group Affiliation: Al Bhed, Yuna;s Guardians.
- Base Of Operations: Mobile.
- Height: 5’3″ Weight: 110 lbs.
- Eyes: Blue-green with spiral paterns(!) Hair: Blondish
Powers and Abilities
Rikku is an Al Bhed. These are people who are considered heretics in their world because they use forbidden machines.
She is highly proficient with machinery of all sorts in a world that is generally ignorant of its use. Rikku typically works as with a group of treasure hunters who scour the ocean for lost technology.
She is highly effective in the water and has also acquired several skills useful in her treasure hunting profession (namely thief skills).
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History
15 years old in Final Fantasy X, Rikku is the daughter of Cid, the younger sister of Brother, and a cousin of Yuna. However, her mother never appears in the game. She was killed by a rampaging machina some time after Rikku’s birth.
Rikku wanted more siblings, which was made impossible by her mother’s death. Thus, she plans to have lots of children when she marries so that her children will never have to feel alone.
Rikku also suffered from severe astraphobia . This is a result of her brother accidentally hitting her with a thunder spell when they were younger. He was trying to target a fiend that was attacking her. This fear became apparent in her apprehension about traveling onto the Thunder Plains. She remained stricken with panic-induced agitation during the journey across those lands.
Adventure calls
Rikku first appears in Final Fantasy X as an aid to Tidus shortly after he first arrives in the vicinity of Spira’s mainland. Their meeting takes place at an ancient Yevon temple known as “Baaj Temple.” After helping Tidus defeat a fiend, she prevents her brother and their Al Bhed comrades – who thought he too was a fiend – from killing him.
Later, Yuna and her guardians cross the Moonflow along the path of Yuna’s pilgrimage. Rikku is part of an Al Bhed team who tries to abduct Yuna in a machina, so as to prevent her from completing her pilgrimage – which would cost Yuna her life. But they are stopped by Tidus and Wakka.
Tidus finds Rikku when she regains consciousness after washing ashore. He recognizes her and learns of her role in the kidnapping attempt, but does not disclose the latter fact. After explaining herself to Yuna and Lulu, and gaining Auron’s approval, Rikku became the last member to join Yuna’s entourage of guardians.
Wakka – who was deeply prejudiced toward the Al Bhed at that time – was clueless that Rikku was an Al Bhed. This lasted until her brother tried to abduct Yuna once again, this time near Macalania Temple.
Wakka is angry about this. But other party members, such as Lulu and Kimahri, offer support for Rikku if Tidus rides with them on the snowmobiles.
Video
A difficult-to-trigger dialogue scene between Rikku and Tidus in the HD remaster of the game.
Description
Rikku has two outfits in FFX. When she makes her first appearance she is wearing a yellow and brown form-fitting body suit which covers most of her body except for the lower part of her face. Goggles cover her eyes. The suit seams to be armored in certain places as well and has a lot of complex buckles and the like.
Later she sheds this. She wears an orange tank top, very short green shorts with black and yellow boots. She also wears gloves and several bracelets as well as well as a leather strap for keeping her weapon (a spiked glove) on her left leg.
On the back of her tank top at the shoulders there are two large streamers hanging from it that nearly touch the floor. Her hair style is bound up into a frizzy teased top with several barrets to hold it in place. This sort of hairstyle is very fashionable in Japan as of this writing. She still wears the goggles around her neck.
Archetype
Rikku’s appearance and manner are one of the three images of an ideal woman in Japan. Rikku is cute, outgoing, and fairly positive. This is the type of girl that most Japanese people (both male and female) desire to have as a sort of “little sister” either in the literal or figurative sense.
It is thought that someone cute with her attitude will attract others and that people will generally view this girl and the company that she keeps in a positive light. Thus she’s the “little sister” that everyone wants.
Personality
Her personality is perky and optimistic, although her positive nature hides her being concerned and worried. As an Al Bhed, she has suffered discrimination from the Yevonite majority. Despite this, she managed to keep a positive outlook and wanted to save Yuna from vainly giving her life with the Final Summoning.
Rikku also has something of a sibling-like friendship with Tidus, supported by their similar personalities and their deep devotion to Yuna. She actively encouraged the relationship between Tidus and Yuna, despite occasionally having flirted with Tidus.
If the player talks with her in Guadosalam, she will suggest that people their age get married because of how dangerous Spira is, implying that she and Tidus could get married. Tidus can choose to tell her that he would rather have her than Yuna. She is surprised, but says “maybe someday” in Al Bhed.
Quotes
Rikku: “I wish I had some younger brothers and sisters, though…”
Tidus: “So ask your parents. ”
Rikku: “Mom died… A machina went on a rampage…”
Rikku: “When I get married, I’m gonna have lots of kids ! That way they’ll all have brothers and sisters !”
DC Universe History
Given her diverse skills and background she could really be encountered in all sorts of roles and campaigns. I’d like to say more, but unfortunately I’m drawing a blank here at the moment.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Rikku
| Dex: 10 | Str: 02 | Bod: 03 | Motivation: Thrill of Adventure |
| Int: 06 | Wil: 05 | Min: 05 | Occupation: Guardian/Al Bhed Agent |
| Inf: 06 | Aur: 06 | Spi: 06 | Resources {or Wealth}: 010 |
| Init: 017 | HP: 100 |
Powers:
Adrenaline Surge: 12, Damage Transference: 14, Fabricate: 00, Mimic: 15, Projectile Weapons: 06, Shouting: 10, Water Freedom: 08
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Adrenaline Surge may only be used to power Fabricate.
- Damage Transference is catastrophically marginal (-3), has catastrophic burnout (-3), and is instantaneous (+2), and Rikku does not suffer risk of injury (+2).
- Fabricate requires Rikku to make a Wealth check equal to the amount of APs she uses for each use (-2).
- Mimic can only used to mimic the Power/Ability/Skill of a teammates action for the previous turn. Thus if Yuna used Magic Blast: 10 on the turn before Rikku’s then Rikku can Mimic that and only that for her next turn (-3).
- Mimicked abilities are only available to her for 1 turn on the next turn she can choose to Mimic the same way or take a different action (-2).
- Mimic is also Minor Marginal (-1).
- Projectile Weapons require an object of opportunity (in this case only coins will do) (-2) and for Rikku to make an immediate Wealth check equal to the APs she uses for the attack every time she uses this power (she is throwing money -1).
- Shouting works with all being whether they are sentient or not. Use of shouting actually allows Rikku to enter negotiations with enemies. Monsters and other nonsentient beings may substitute their physical attributes in place of their mystical stats. In order to bribe a monster to let them go the monster rolls Dex/Str against Rikku’s Inf/Spi.
The amount of RAPs that the monster receives is equal to the resources check that Rikku must make in order to bribe them to leave her alone. Rikku can also negotiate trade with them as well.
To do this Rikku rolls Inf/Spi again the monster’s Dex/Bod and the monster rolls Dex/Str against Rikku’s Inf/Spi. Compared results add plus or minus to the value of the object desired. Monsters should only be allowed to trade objects that they would reasonably have.
Skills:
Gadgetry: 12, Occultist (create object): 12, Occultist (knowledge): 03, Thief (concealment, pick pocket, stealth)*: 10, Vehicles (water, power armor): 05, Weaponry (melee, missile): 08
Connections:
Yuna and her guardians (High, powerful), Al Bhed (High), Cid and his gang (High).
Advantages:
Languages (Al Bhed), Popularity, Rich Friend (Cid), Shtick (mug – allows Rikku to melee attack and perform a pick pocket move on an opponent in the same round without any penalties).
Drawbacks:
SIA toward Protecting Yuna, SIF of Lightning.
Genre:
Mock Real (epic fantasy).
Rituals:
Luck
Effect: Enchantment: 02, Power Reserve: 01.
Necessary Components: None.
Casting Time: 0APs.
Bonuses & Limitations: Adds +1 to a randomly selected Attribute/Power/Skill to Rikku and any 2 teammates within 0APs of her.
Equipment:
- God Hand [BODY 12, EV 05, Adrenaline Surge: 12, Probability Control: 08, Bonuses & Limitations: Adrenaline Surge Follows the same rules as her own power ; PC is only usable to help her find more treasure (-3)].
- Shaman Targe [BODY 12, Damage Transference: 01, Enhanced Initiative: automatically linked to the user’s Dex, Force Field: automatically linked to the user’s Bod, Power Reserve: 05. Bonuses & Limitations: DT can only be used and is instantaneous and automatic whenever Rikku is hit by any attack regardless of whether or not he takes damage it will DT ; FF can be attacked through ; PR only adds to her Thief skill].
Source of Character: Final Fantasy X.
Helper(s): Wikipedia.