Introduction

"When civilization sunk beneath the seven seas, deep forests spread across the five remaining islands.

Only the chosen ones escaped the waters in their castle stronghold.

Eventually, the waves overtook even the last five islands...

And the castle was all that remained.

After the passing of ages, the people of the floating castle chose to descend upon their mother soil.

These are the chronicles of the land of High Lagaard."

Summary
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight is a first-person dungeon crawler RPG released by Atlus on November 27th, 2014 in Japan, August 4th, 2015 in the US, and February 12th, 2016 in Europe. The Etrian Odyssey series was initially conceived by Kazuya Niinou, who drew very heavy inspiration from CRPGs of his youth, most notably Wizardry. The series revolves around picking your own party of silent protagonists (most of the time), drawing your own maps of the tile-based labyrinths, and potentially being pasted by low-level random encounters.

Notice how I said "most of the time" regarding creating your own party? Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold, and its predecessor Etrian Odyssey Untold, are remakes of the original Etrian Odyssey and Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, with the main addition being a Story mode. In Story mode, you are given a pre-determined party composition, along with an expanded storyline and character dialog amongst the party members that aren't the main character. While EOU's Story Mode had mostly boring party members and a story that handwaved a lot of the morally-gray stuff from the original game's storyline, EO2U's is much improved, with more memorable party members and a story that doesn't completely butcher the original.

However, we won't be playing Story mode. This LP will be a Classic mode run, where you pick and choose party members, their classes, and portraits, mostly because I don't like having my party composition restricted. However, Dr. Fetus is showing off Story mode in a mini-LP, which can be found below the main updates.

Spoiler policy
Basically, don't spoil anything. Most EO games and the Classic modes have pretty sparse storylines, but please don't spoil what little there is.

Because we won't be playing Story mode, feel free to discuss it up to where the LP is, but much like the normal rules, don't go beyond it.

A note about music
EO2U technically has two soundtracks: it has the original PC-88 synthesizer version originally composed by Yuzo Koshiro, and an arranged soundtrack specifically for the Untold version by Yuzo Koshiro and Takeshi Yanagawa. For the sake of simplicty, I will only be linking the arranged version of the soundtrack in the thread (although I'll add PC-88 links too if enough people want it).

My friends Heavy, Efe, Ben, and Sapph, who helped me choose character submissions.
alcharagia, who came up with the thread title.
Crosspeice, who provided a massive list of the unlock requirements for every shop item in EO2U.
Hobgoblin2099, whose Ducal Restaurant FAQ has saved me a lot of time looking up food-related stuff.

Icon Reference

Denotes a monster skill that can be turned into a Grimoire.
Equipment icons (gold equipment/consumable icons indicate items that consume materials on purchase):
- Accesssories
- Axes
- Monster drops (gold represents conditional drop), as well as certain types of consumables
- Bows
- Claws
- Clothes
- Collars
- Gloves
- Guns
- Helmets
- Heavy armor
- Katanas
- Light armor
- Certain types of consumables
- Shields
- Shoes
- Spears
- Staves
- Swords
- Whips
Class icons (used on Grimoires):
- Landsknecht
- Survivalist
- Protector
- Dark Hunter
- Medic
- Alchemist
- Troubadour
- Ronin
- Hexer
- Gunner
- War Magus
- Beast
- Sovereign
- Highlander
- Fafnir

Guild Lumen's Roster

Landsknecht: Logicblade's Zack

Zack is a battle maniac first and foremost, always looking for a fresh new experience and a fresh new challenger to fight. He tends to be soft spoken outside of battle, but doesn't really have a sense of his own limits, so he needs someone to reel him in when he goes too deep. Basically, don't ask him to hold the Ariadne Thread. He worries about his other guildmates, but understands that he can't tackle the Labyrinth without their help. His favorite food is coffee.

Survivalist: Crosspeice's Nadia

Nadia hasn't had the best of luck with a bow and arrow; it's hard to, with only one eye. She doesn't like to talk about how she lost it, but it's made her more determined to practice and improve...though she does think everything is slightly to the left of where it actually is. That shouldn't matter for monsters the size of a house, though.

Protector: C-Start's Phoebe

A relaxed and carefree Protector who likes to take things slow and doesn't mind the scenic route. She acts nonchalantly toward everything and it takes a lot to get any sort of heightened emotional response from her. Some monster just clawed straight through her torso? Aw, whoops. That's alright, we can patch that up, no biggie. Faced with a horrible Eldritch monstrosity? Eh, just another fight. Let's roll, team.

Dark Hunter: Supremezero's Freyja

Despite her class, Freyja's not a sadist at all. Normally, Dark Hunters are sadists, who learn the trade through, er, "ancient teachings," but Freyja just kind of stumbled into it. She's a natural with a whip, and as such became a Dark Hunter. Freyja is actually a shy, polite person. She just happens to be extremely good at tying people up with a whip.

Medic: Endorph's Realga

An adventurer-based economy naturally creates a demand for doctors and healers - that's why a fresh out of medical school girl like Realga was running a clinic literally the moment she walked out the door.

Incidentally, medical school in High Lagaard is mostly a list of where deer can gore you.

Unfortunately, demand creates bloat, and a little clinic literally stuck in a long-forgotten corner of the city wasn't likely to drum up business, especially not from adventurers in search of convenience. So came Realga's next financial move:

She'd heal on the front lines! What could be more convenient than that? Besides, it clearly didn't take a PhD to be an adventurer. Frankly, she isn't sure most of them know how to count. And the treasure! As a party member, she'd get a cut, right?

That's Realga - a healer more interested in bilking adventurers than helping, and who mostly chose the career for financial reasons. Beneath her cute exterior lies a greedy, self-interested girl. But she isn't heartless! She'll do everything she can to keep her companions alive.

There'll just be a big bill at the end, yeah? Nobody ever gives the healer the respect they deserve, so it's only fair.

Alchemist: alcharagia's Luca "Stardust" Mathers

A legendary rags-to-riches celebrity whose masterful skill with a fog machine is at #8 on her list of desirable traits on her resume. Born into poverty, Luca distinguished herself from the rest of the homeless urchins by MacGyvering together a pyrotechnical display of massive proportions for a surprise during a royal parade of her country's origin. Naturally, giant explosions 'n shit everywhere threw the crowd into a serious panic, but once the disruption was properly investigated, the local authorities, especially the king, were so impressed that a single child could put together something to put the royal parade to shame (and be so smug about it, too!) that at the age of 11 she was put to work as the primary stage director for the king's personal theater venue. Funnily enough, when your theater business starts booming turns out you stop being a homeless urchin pretty quickly!

Having quickly become more famous than even her own king, by a few years later entertainers all over the entire world were chomping at the bit for the opportunity to work with the legendary Stardust. Her inspiring tale of the rise to superstardom was a hit with the disaffected youth of the modern era as well, and soon the people in front of a production were being ignored for the tiny wunderkind making the sparks fly and the snowflakes fall.

Being that fame is little more than a curiosity to such an individual as the legendary Stardust, Luca decided to use her newfound wealth to take an impromptu vacation for a work study on more practical applications of making lightning bolts shoot out of her palm than THUNDERSTUCKing that shithead Robbie in the junk back in the slums. The world awaits further news with bated breath.

An eccentric celebrity to the end, Luca is a shining beacon of ignoring social norms (for instance, she is a special effects expert and not a wizard, which made the Alchemists' University of Etria grind their teeth so hard you don't even know.) She's known to walk off in the middle of conversations because she spotted something else interesting in the distance... like spiders. Spiders are fuckin' cool you don't even know. They don't take kindly to fire, though. (She learned that one firsthand.) She's also developed the ability to sleep basically anywhere based on her frequently messy-but-functional workspaces; "Stardust actually sleeps in a bed!" was a big hit headline once. Still, it's not as though she doesn't try. She doesn't dislike people or anything- actually, she thinks it's neat to hang out with people in large groups- it's just sometimes other people say words longer than they need to, you dig? No need for flowery prose when a "Cool." will suffice.

Like that giant tree.

It's neat.

Troubador: jimmydalad's Milly

A travelling con artist, Milly always looks out for herself and will jump at any opportunity that she sees as lucrative for her. While her singing skills can be described as questionable at best, her ability to dance is unquestionable, while her wit allows her to get herself out of sticky situations. Unfortunately for her, her greed tends to land her in those sticky situations in the first place, and she isn't above dragging people she knows along with her. After hearing about the possibility of treasures in the labyrinth, she decided to join the guild, giving her token support while using the others as meat shields to get as deep as she possibly can.

Ronin: Kemix's Asriel

A Ronin from another country, he has traveled what he could of the world, and as such has many (mostly nonsense, probably brain damage-induced) stories from the places he has traveled. No matter what he does, no matter where he goes, he always seems to wind up with more scars, more wounds that don't heal. Upon finding Lagaard and joining with the newest forming guild, he decided that he would help explore the Labyrinth as the last thing he would do in his life before settling down. Though his origins are unknown, he has many stories, mostly nonsense, from his many years of combat...that he, for whatever reason, has not practiced in years, and as such requires "refreshers" in the most basic of Ronin techniques.

Hexer: BlackPersona's Sophie

Rumor speaks of a cult that successfully summoned a dark god into this world, an evil being that hungers for everything. Too great a monster to control, the cult sealed it in the most appropriate vessel in hopes to control it. And, yet, even then, the vessel was barely controllable. Soon, the entirety of the cult was lost, and only the vessel remained: one Hexer girl, that uses her dark god's power that hungers for more...and more...and more...

Yeah, that's what she claims, anyways. She's just really hungry and tries to eat anything she can get her hands on. That includes the monsters in the Labyrinth. All her curses are, literally, her running up and biting them. It somehow works, so there might be merit to her story... Who knows?

Gunner: Dr. Fetus's Jackie

A sharp-eyed, gun-slinging girl who's good at making her shots. Tactical and one to think things through, not a lot escapes Jackie's eyes, and she's very resourceful. Unfortunately, those are all the positive traits she has going for her. After hearing tales of another Labyrinth being conquered, she wanted to join in on the fun. Unfortunately, she didn't bother to do any research, and is completely unprepared for its dangers. She tends to talk big and pretends to know what she's talking about, even if other people can see through all the hot air she spouts. She secretly hopes her guild mates will do a good job protecting her.

War Magus: Scrap Dragon's Colette

Having recently gone from a witch's apprentice to a full fledged witch herself, Colette would be perfectly happy to practice her craft in solitude. Though, like all witches, she needs ingredients for her spells, and the ingredients she needs don't exactly grow on trees (well, maybe on the trees inside the Labyrinth). To this end, she's reluctantly joined up with a fledgling guild, offering her services as a healer in exchange for a cut of whatever rare materials are collected inside the Labyrinth.

Beast: TKMobile's Ursa

A pretty chill, mysterious woman of few words who just sort of wandered into town one day, and was polite enough that most people don't notice SHE'S A GIANT BEAR. Minds her manners pretty well, doesn't steal pic-a-nic baskets and tips her waiters. Appreciative of this open minded society, she decided to serve the community by signing up with the adventurer's guild, though the guy at the desk ran away when she came in for some reason, so she signed her name on an entry form and it got unknowingly processed.

Sovereign: AweStriker's Rheine

A stern, commanding noble from far away. Some time ago, her family was on the brink of disgrace after a series of disastrous love and financial affairs her parents were responsible for, and it was her insight, presence, and action that turned it all around, making them even more successful and influential than they were previously. Not satisfied with that, she embarks for High Lagaard to test her abilities. If she expects something to happen, it gets done, no questions asked - even if she has to step in, as much as she'd prefer not to dirty her hands.

Highlander: BlazeEmblem's Tyler

Tyler grew up hearing all sorts of legends about heroes who saved the day, won the princess's heart, and other things that sounded cool to an impressionable kid. However, every story he heard had the hero wielding some sort of sword instead of another type of weapon. Being raised as a Highlander, Tyler was trained to use a spear, so he was a bit annoyed that he never heard any stories about spear users. Thus, Tyler set out to become a new Legendary Hero and show the world just how cool a spear-wielder could be.

His first step is to head to the Labyrinth, as he heard that the people in High Lagaard needed help exploring it--a fitting start for a hero.

Fafnir: Ranger

Referred to as a figure of legend, revered by many for his valorous adventures, feared by the dastardly and the wicked, Ranger (real name: Tim) is...well, not what you'd expect. Neither modest nor boastful, neither cowardly nor courageous, Ranger's adventures are best described by first-hand witnesses as "accidental". Tales of his heroics often follow a pattern: he appears seemingly out of nowhere, saves the day without so much as acknowledging who he's fighting or saving, and disappears without a trace. Truthfully, it is not because he prefers to work this way. Rather, his distant demeanor is due to him being lost in his own thoughts and distractions almost all of the time. He is usually so preoccupied on some other thought that it is often difficult to get him to respond to you. Good luck trying to talk to him.

It is said that under extreme circumstances, Ranger will have his moments of clarity and raw emotion. It is also said that these circumstances are enough to awaken an awful power within him. Whether or not this rumor is true, Ranger is still a force to be reckoned with--even if he's unaware of it himself.

(The initial idea for Ranger was posted by alcharagia in the EO Megathread, and then my friend oB2Ko Mario and I expanded on the idea.)

Fanart