Stefan

Stefan Artwork of Stefan from Radiant Dawn. A masterful swordsman who resides in a village of the Branded hidden somewhere in the Grann Desert. He fought for Crimea in the Mad King's War and tutored Ike in the blade.

Gender Male Race Branded (Lion) Family Soan (Ancestor) Nationality Begnion Starting class Swordmaster (Path of Radiance) Trueblade (Radiant Dawn) Appearance(s) Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn

“	Have I violated the goddess's laws? Have my parents? No. Whatever happened was done by some forgotten ancestor. My parents are beorc, as were their parents before them. I do not know who is responsible for what I am. But now, after many generations, their sin has appeared in me. I bear no guilt, but the badge of impurity is mine to wear.	”	— Stefan

Stefan (Japanese: ソーンバルケ Soanevalcke) is a swordsman from the Grann Desert. He is Branded, even though his parents were beorc. Stefan dislikes both the laguz and the beorc because they both despise Branded. He becomes close with Mordecai.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Role

Stefan plays no major role in the story, and in fact, can easily never be found, unless Lethe or Mordecai steps into a very specific region in Chapter 15: The Feral Frontier. Doing so causes him to appear from seemingly nowhere and be recruited by the Greil Mercenaries. If recruited, he tutors Ike in the art of swordplay, which can allow Ike to use the Aether skill later on.

Stefan travels with the mercenaries from then on, and helps them win the Mad King's War. His only other purpose is to espouse the nature of the Branded to either Soren or to Mordecai. After the war is over, he returns to the Grann Desert, where he does not appear again until late in the events of Radiant Dawn.

Starting stats and growth rates

Swordmaster Level 8 Attribute Build 13

Recruitment: Chapter 15, have Lethe or Mordecai step on one specific space on the map before any other unit does Stats Growth Rates Max HP 38 Speed 25 Strength 19 Luck 5 Magic 8 Defense 12+3 Skill 27 Resistance 9 Movement 7 Weight 13 Max HP 70% Speed 55% Strength 50% Luck 25% Magic 20% Defense 35% Skill 40% Resistance 30% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Skills Vague Katti Astra Weapon Levels S -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Analysis

This character analysis section may not be accurate to every player's experience.

Stefan is a prepromoted swordmaster that is extremely overleveled for his join time. He has a very awkward and annoying recruitment requirement. Most players will often need to kill some laguz near his area to get Lethe or Mordecai up there, sacrificing some bonus experience. If anyone else goes to his tile, he will only give the Vague Katti and not join.

He has some of the best offensive stats in the game, having good strength and amazing skill and speed; his offensive growths are solid and he will reliably cap all three stats in the long run. His offense is further amplified with innate Astra and extra crit bonus, though this is mostly overkill for his join time. Though his defense and resistance bases are low for his level, they are enough for his join time, and his avoid is extremely high anyways. He also joins with the Vague Katti, though it is unlikely that any other sword-using units can use the Vague Katti for a while.

However, he has an extremely low luck base and growth, leaving him prone to being crit'd lategame (though very uncommon due to his high avoid). His defensive growths are also weaker, and his bulk will not keep up through lategame. Most significantly, he has no mount so he has low mobility and no canto, and he is swordlocked so he lacks 2-range combat, which hurts his excellent offense. Furthermore, in the Japanese version of the game, he has no crit bonus, hurting his offense especially lategame. He is extremely overleveled for his join time, so his experience gain will be very low for several chapters relative to other units. If Stefan is used, it is recommended to not neglect other lower-level units (especially if they aren't promoted yet).

He joins with Astra already learned, a trait unique to him as he is the only playable beorc already equipped with a mastery skill. As innate Astra is one of the reasons to use him over Mia and Zihark, it is recommended to keep it; this leaves space for only 5-capacity skills like Miracle. However, if the player wants to remove Astra for whatever reason, any other offensive skill works with him due to his excellent skill and avoid.

Stefan has a heaven affinity which gives pure accuracy; this isn't a useful affinity for him because he uses swords and his skill base and growth are excellent. Soren's dark affinity gives some attack and avoid, benefiting both units. He is Stefan's best option, primarily because Stefan and Soren don't have many other options. Stefan's only other option is Mordecai, who has a useful water affinity but it does not complement Stefan's heaven affinity, and Mordecai has several other better support options.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Role

Stefan does not appear until late into Part IV. In Chapter 3, he can be recruited, once again, by having a specific character stand in a specific spot in the desert; this time, it is Micaiah who must do this, though Lethe and Mordecai can also do it if the file was started with a data transfer. From there, he once again aids the heroes in their quest.

Regardless of whether or not Stefan is recruited, he appears before Micaiah and Yune outside the Begnion capitol, Sienne. There, Yune questions what he is, revealing himself once again to be Branded, along with certain other characters that Yune recognizes as such. When Stefan reveals that the Branded are considered crimes against the Goddess, Yune responds that she is aware of no such curse; the revelation that centuries of persecution were based on a lie briefly sends Stefan into a shock-triggered laughing fit.

After the world is freed from Ashera's judgement, Stefan returns to the Grann Desert once more. There, it is said that his fellow Branded eventually built a respectable nation, free at last from persecution.

Starting stats and growth rates

Trueblade Level 8 Affinity Constitution 13

Recruitment: Part IV, Chapter 3, have Micaiah move onto a specific space on the map If the file was started via a data transfer from Path of Radiance, Lethe or Mordecai may also step onto that space Stats Growth Rates Max HP 53 Speed 36 Strength 27 Luck 20 Magic 7 Defense 21+3 Skill 37 Resistance 16 Movement 7 Weight 13 Max HP 55% Speed 60% Strength 50% Luck 15% Magic 20% Defense 40% Skill 60% Resistance 50% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Skills Vague Katti Critical +20 Shove Astra Weapon Levels SS -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Biorhythm Best Good Normal Bad Worst

Note: The above stats are Stefan's default stats. If a Radiant Dawn game was started via a data transfer from Path of Radiance and Stefan managed to reach level 20 in his highest possible class in the Path of Radiance save file, any stat Stefan capped in Path of Radiance will result in a boost to his base in the stat in question in Radiant Dawn. The boost is a +5 for max HP, and +2 for strength, magic, skill, speed, luck, defense or resistance. See Data transfer § Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for more information.

Availability

Part I												Part II					Part III															Part IV
P	1	2	3	4	5	6		7	8	9	E	P	1	2	3	E	P	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	E	P	1	2	3	4	5	Endgame
						1	2																															1	2	3	4	5
																																			F			S	S	S	S	S
Legend R: Required for deployment A: Available for deployment E: Appears as an enemy unit N: Appears as an NPC unit P: Appears as an partner unit S: Available if selected into the relevant army F: Joins after preparations U: Cannot be deployed, but inventory can be managed

See Availability chart/Radiant Dawn for more details on availability.

Analysis

This character analysis section may not be accurate to every player's experience.

Stefan joins as a 3rd tier trueblade in chapter 4-3. He has excellent offensive base stats for his join time, having good strength and amazing skill and speed, a high innate crit boost, and is equipped with the most powerful sword in the game, the Vague Katti. His base durability is high enough to take a few hits, but not enough to be extensively exposed.

However, his use is primarily limited to endgame. Recruiting him in 4-3 requires bringing Micaiah over to his specific tile (alternatively, a transferred Mordecai or Lethe). Thanks to Micaiah's terrible durability and lower movement (albeit decent by desert standards), she will likely not be able to recruit him until late in the chapter when the majority of enemy units are already dead on the rout chapter. His mobility upon join time is extremely limited by the desert, and though his Vague Katti is an excellent weapon, it is a 1-range weapon, so he cannot counter the many remaining 2-range units on his join map.

If Stefan is to be used for endgame, the player should make sure to conserve enough BEXP to cap him out, and try to feed him some kills on his join chapter if possible. His offensive growths are excellent, and he should reliably cap strength, skill, and speed before level 20. He, on average, can also cap health, defense, and resistance, though due to his class's lower durability caps, he is prone to dying to stronger enemy units.

Stefan has no base skills equipped. Due to his excellent skill and speed, just about any offensive skill works well for him. In particular, Wrath and Resolve help quite a bit as his durability is mediocre enough to activate them easily without dying quickly.

Stefan has a heaven affinity which gives a massive accuracy boost. As his use is primarily limited to endgame, he should be paired with any offensive unit that don't have any supports that really needs the accuracy boost. In particular, the last chapter has units that have extremely high avoid, making his heaven affinity valuable for endgame.

Personality

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Supports

Main article: Stefan/Supports (Path of Radiance)

Path of Radiance

Stefan Swordmaster Soren Mage C: 4 B: 9 A: 12 Mordecai Beast Tribe (Tiger) C: 2 B: 4 A: 11 [[{{{support3}}}]] Paladin C: {{{c3}}} B: {{{b3}}} A: {{{a3}}} [[{{{support4}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gcn {{{affin4}}}affin.png|link={{{affin4}}} (affinity)]] C: {{{c4}}} B: {{{b4}}} A: {{{a4}}} [[{{{support5}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gcn {{{affin5}}}affin.png|link={{{affin5}}} (affinity)]] C: {{{c5}}} B: {{{b5}}} A: {{{a5}}} [[{{{support6}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gcn {{{affin6}}}affin.png|link={{{affin6}}} (affinity)]] C: {{{c6}}} B: {{{b6}}} A: {{{a6}}} [[{{{support7}}}]] [[]] [[File:Is gcn {{{affin7}}}affin.png|link={{{affin7}}} (affinity)]] C: {{{c7}}} B: {{{b7}}} A: {{{a7}}}

See Support § Path of Radiance for more details on supports.

Radiant Dawn

Bond supports

Stefan Trueblade Default bonds: None. [[{{{supportd1}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusd1}}} [[{{{supportd2}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusd2}}} [[{{{supportd3}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusd3}}} [[{{{supportd4}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusd4}}} Extra bonds:* Soren Wind Sage Bonus: 5 Mordecai Tiger Bonus: 5 [[{{{supporte3}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonuse3}}} [[{{{supporte4}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonuse4}}} [[{{{supporte5}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonuse5}}}

See Support § Radiant Dawn for more details on supports.

Endings

Radiant Dawn

Stefan, Lion-Blooded
Stefan gathered like-minded individuals to form a tiny, independent settlement which later became a great country.

Quotes

Battle quotes

“	A favourable opportunity, huh.	”	— An unused quote intended to be Stefan's retreat quote in Path of Radiance.

“	Homasa: It seems you're quite a fencer. Shall I teach you something? Stefan: Sheathe your blade. If that's all the skill you possess, you're not ready to challenge me. Homasa: What? Have at you!	”	— Stefan, when fighting Homasa in Chapter 19 of Path of Radiance.

“	Numida: Wh-who are you?! Stefan: I am the desert, and I brook no intrusion. Make peace with your goddess.	”	— Stefan, when fighting Numida in Part IV, Chapter 3 of Radiant Dawn.

Death quotes

“	My sword has been beaten... Impressive. It is moments like this that make life worth living. I'm leaving for now. But, truly, I hope to see you again.	”	— Stefan, in Path of Radiance.

“	Unbelievable! You shattered my sword...	”	— Stefan, in Radiant Dawn.

Other appearances

Fire Emblem Cipher

Stefan is featured on two cards in Fire Emblem Cipher.

Fire Emblem Cipher data for Stefan
Normal R+ {{{alt2image1}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}}	Lion-Blooded, Stefan
		"Attacking my kin in the desert is the same as attacking me. I will not let them leave this place alive." "I am the desert, and I brook no intrusion. Make peace with your goddess."
		Attack: 70	Support: 10	Range: 1	Deploy Cost: 5
		Class: Trueblade		Tier: Advanced	Class Change Cost: 3
		Vague Katti: [Always] If a total of 4 or more cards are stacked with your lord, this unit's attacks cannot be evaded by non-lord enemies. Fated Astra: [Trigger] Each time you growth your lord, untap this unit.
	Card #B12-025R(+) • Artist: пNekoR
	Myrmidon from a Hidden Village, Stefan
		"And I...am Stefan! I live here in this desolate wasteland, playing at being a hermit."
		Attack: 40	Support: 10	Range: 1	Deploy Cost: 1
		Class: Myrmidon		Tier: Base	Class Change Cost: --
		Hero's Descendant: [Trigger] [Once per turn] When you growth your lord, until the end of the turn, this unit gains +20 attack. Attack Emblem: [Support] Until the end of this battle, your attacking unit gains +20 attack.
	Card #B12-026N • Artist: пNekoR
Some card information translation provided by Serenes Forest. For more detailed strategic information on these cards, see their TCG wiki article on Stefan .

Flavor text

Game	Text (English)	Text (Japanese)
Radiant Dawn	A masterful swordsman who resides in a village of the Branded hidden somewhere in the Grann Desert. He fought for Crimea in the Mad King's War and tutored Ike in the blade.	ベグニオンのグラーヌ砂漠にある "印付き" たちの隠れ里に暮らす 剣の達人。 ３年前の戦いではクリミア側に ついて戦っていた。

Choose Your Legends placement history

Round	Placement	Character	Votes

CYL 1 (2017)	302	Stefan Radiant Dawn	675
	336	Stefan Path of Radiance	550

CYL 2 (2018)	339 (+37)	Stefan Radiant Dawn	580 (−95)
	412 (+76)	Stefan Path of Radiance	423 (−127)

CYL 3 (2019)

194 (−37)

Stefan Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn

1,317 (+313)

CYL 4 (2020)

186 (−14)

Stefan Path of Radiance Radiant Dawn

871 (−446)

CYL 5 (2021)

124 (−62)

Stefan Radiant Dawn Path of Radiance

765 (−106)

CYL 6 (2022)

109 (−15)

Stefan Radiant Dawn Path of Radiance

914 (+149)

CYL 7 (2023)

106 (−3)

Stefan Radiant Dawn Path of Radiance

650 (−264)

CYL 8 (2024)

78 (−28)

Stefan Radiant Dawn Path of Radiance

913 (+263)

Total results		This character has 10 entries across all Choose Your Legends polls.	7,658

Trivia

• Stefan was originally designed with blue hair, though his hair was changed to green to differentiate him from characters like Lucia and Geoffrey.
• According to Tellius Recollection, Stefan was designed with an apparent age of 29 in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.
• In Path of Radiance, Stefan claims that members of different laguz tribes cannot interbreed in his A support with Mordecai. However, if Leanne and Naesala have an A support at the end of Radiant Dawn, their ending mentions them having two children.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	Stefan	Form of Stephen, meaning "crown, wreath", more precisely "that which surrounds".
Japanese	ソーンバルケ	Officially romanized as Soanevalcke in Path of Radiance and as Soanvalcke on the now-defunct Fire Emblem Museum website. Contains the name of Soan, his ancestor.
Spanish	Stefan	--
French	Stefan	--
German	Stefan	--
Italian	Stefan	--
Portuguese	Stefan	Used in the Choose Your Legends polls for Fire Emblem Heroes.
Traditional Chinese	索恩巴魯克	Soanvalcke; used in the Choose Your Legends polls for Heroes.

Gallery

Official artwork

• 

  Artwork of Stefan from Path of Radiance.

• 

  Artwork of Stefan from Radiant Dawn.

Portraits

• 

  Portrait of Stefan in Path of Radiance.

• 

  Portrait of Stefan in Radiant Dawn.

Concept artwork

• 

  Concept art of Stefan with blue hair from Path of Radiance.

Screenshots

• 

  Stefan wielding a Vague Katti in Path of Radiance.

• 

  Stefan wielding a Venin Edge in Path of Radiance.

• 

  Stefan as a Trueblade in Radiant Dawn.

References

This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series.