Ramza Beoulve

Ramza Beouvle is the main protagonist from the game Final Fantasy Tactics. He is a member of the Beoulve family, which is well respected due to the actions of his father Balbanes Beoulve, a Heavenly Knight of the Fifty-Year War. He has one sister, named Alma, whom he loves dearly and is very close to. He has two half-brothers as well, General Zalbag of the Hokuten, and Duke Dycedarg who serves directly under Prince Larg.

Ramza's Special Squire Job Class
Ramza's base job class is a Squire. Unlike other Squires, Ramza has the abilty to equip most of the weapons and armor used by Knights. This enables Ramza to have the HP of a Knight, but the mobility and class abilities of a Squire. He also has additional moves not possessed by other Squires, such as the abilities Scream and Ultima. Ultima, however, must be learned Blue Mage style (he must be hit by Ultima while in the Squire class and survive the hit in order to learn it), and to make thing more complicated, he cannot learn Ultima before the start of Chapter 4 because his special squire job class actually gains new abilities as he progresses further through the game. Three different sprites are used for Ramza throughout the game; when his sprite changes, he has gained access to new squire abilities. Acquiring Ultima is usually accomplished during the two battles immediately preceding Zalera, in which Ramza must face two Ultima Demons disguised as humans: Celia and Lede. Ramza is also effective as a monk due to his high Brave level.

Ramza and Delita
At the beginning of Final Fantasy Tactics, Ramza is concerned only with upholding the name of the Beoulve family, however as the story progresses, he learns that a name means nothing if injustice must be used to uphold it. Although Ramza's heroic actions will never be known to the public in Ivalice, the point of his character is to show the true reasons behind virtue. People who do "good" by manipulation of others aren't really doing any "good" at all, and Final Fantasy Tactics tries to express this through its characters. For example, true "good", expressed through justice, is shown by Ramza; false "good", expressed through manipulation with good intentions, are expressed by Delita. Likewise, true heroic actions are rarely recognized or commended, but are necessary regardless of the lack of rewards (or in some cases, the persecution associated with misunderstood heroes) received by the hero himself.

Fighting the Death Corps
Ramza desires to be a great hero and uphold the honorable name of his family, therefore he is enrolled at the Royal Academy located in Gariland Magic City. His best friend Delita, a commoner, is also enrolled into the Academy at the request of Balbanes. While still a squire, Ramza becomes caught up in a struggle with the Death Corps, a group of former knights who were abandoned at the conclusion of the Fifty-Year War. First, Ramza saves Algus Sadalfas, a servant of Marquis Elmdor from a Death Corps attack. At Algus' request, Ramza defies his brother's orders in an attempt to rescue Elmdor from the Death Corps. This succeeds, and while Dycedarg is furious, Prince Larg commends Ramza. Ramza is then assigned to attack a band of Death Corps led by Miluda Folles. During the battle, Ramza comes to realize the reasons behind the Death Corps' actions. This as well as the response of the Hokuten Knights, leads both Ramza and Delita to doubt the morality of their country's actions. Ramza spares Miluda's life, creating a rift between him and Algus.

The Incident at Fort Zeakden
Ramza and Delita then return to Igros Castle only to learn that Delita's sister, Teta, has been kidnapped by the Death Corps. A frontal assault on the Death Corps positions is planned, but Delita wants to sneak around behind them and rescue Teta. Algus' contempt for people of lower classes leads to a quarrel between Delita and Algus, which Ramza breaks up by kicking Algus out of his unit. Ramza and Delita then launch their attempt to rescue Teta, but kill Miluda in the process, thereby invoking the rage of her brother Wiegraf, the leader of the Death Corps. This culminates in a struggle at Fort Zeakden, in which Delita's sister is killed by the very people that were supposed to rescue her. Ramza realizes that the treatment of commoners by the Hokuten and the Beoulves is unacceptable, and joins Delita in his retaliatory attack on Algus, who was leading the Hokuten force attacking Fort Zeakden. The fort then explodes, and Ramza flees, deserting the Hokuten and his family.

The Kidnapping of Ovelia
Ramza then adopts the last name "Ruglia" (to avoid association with the Beoulves), and joins a group of mercenaries led by the Dark Knight Gaff Gafgarion. This group is eventually hired by Agrias Oaks to guard Princess Ovelia, which is seen in the opening scene of the game. The princess is then kidnapped by Delita, sent by the Shrine Knights to keep Ovelia away from both Larg and Goltana. Ramza, Agrias, and Gafgarion chase after Delita and catch him at Zirekile Falls. However, Gafgarion betrays Ramza and Agrias, as he had been hired to get rid of Ovelia. Ramza, who refuses to tolerate injustice, fights against Gafgarion for the sake of the princess, and Delita, who wants Ovelia alive, also fights Gafgarion. They successfully rescue Ovelia. Delita then leaves Ovelia in Ramza's care for the time being.

The Lucavi Plot
By the suggestion of Agrias, Ramza then decides to go visit Cardinal Draclau in Lionel. On the way, they rescue Mustadio, who was being hunted by a group of mercenaries Bart Company who want the Taurus "Holy Stone" he has in his possession. They reach Lionel, and Draclau tells them more about the "Holy Stones" and the "Zodiac Braves" are first mentioned. Leaving Ovelia and Agrias at Lionel, Ramza accompanies Mustadio to his home, where they discovers that Bart Trading Company is actually working for the Cardinal himself. Realizing that Agrias and Ovelia are in danger, they make their way back toward Lionel by an alternate route. They successfully rescue Agrias after she escapes, but they are tricked into thinking that Ovelia is to be executed, only to find that it was a trap set by Gafgarion. This allows enough time for Ovelia to be taken from Lionel. However, Ramza does learn the truth about the "Holy Stones": they are connected to the Lucavi demons, one of which, Queklain, possesses Draclau.

Ramza defeats Queklain, and later ventures to the Imperial Capital at Lesalia to warn Zalbag to stop the war. On the way to Lesalia, Ramza rescues Olan, the stepson of Cidolfas Orlandu. At Lesalia, Ramza is confronted by Zalmo, a Heresy Examiner for the Glabados Church, and branded as a "heretic". With the help of his sister Alma, Ramza thwarts Zalmo's attempt to detain him.

Alma's Capture
Ramza and Alma then travel back to the Orbonne Monastery, as Alma remembers that the Virgo Stone is there. This results in a complete disaster: not only do the Temple Knights reach the stone first, but they capture Alma, and Wiegraf, now a Temple Knight, becomes possessed by the Lucavi demon Velius. Desperate not to let Alma suffer the same fate as Teta, Ramza sets out for Riovanes Castle after learning that she is being held there. En route, he helps Rafa Galthana, a Heaven Knight in the service of Duke Barinten of Riovanes, escape from his service. Ramza then launches his attack on Riovanes Castle. Although he manages to destroy Velius and drive away a now possessed Marquis Elmdor, his efforts to save Alma prove unsuccessful, as the girl ends up in the hands of Vormav, who is really Hashmalum, the second-in-command of the Lucavi.

Further Trouble
Ramza then attempts to warn Cidolfas Orlandu of what the Lucavi are up to. In the process, he gains a new enemy, Vormav's daughter Meliadoul, and helps Delita get rid of Zalmo once and for all. He reaches the Bethla Garrison right after mosfungus poison has been dispersed amongst the Hokuten. Fortunately, he is able to open the Bethla sluice, which prevents a large-scale battle from happening. He is subsequently able to recruit Orlandu to his cause, and then sets out for Limberry Castle, the stronghold of Marquis Elmdor, in the belief that Alma is there. This proves false, and Ramza only finds a battle with Zalera, the Lucavi that possessed Elmdor. Meliadoul defects to his cause, helping him to defeat Zalera, and she reveals that Dycedarg has also received a Holy Stone. Ramza races home just in time to discover Zalbag and Dycedarg fighting. Zalbag has just learned that Dycedarg killed their father. At first, Zalbag is able to defeat Dycedarg, but when Dycedarg transforms into Adramelk, he overwhelms Zalbag and then attacks Ramza. Adramelk poses a serious threat, but Ramza emerges victorious.

The Battle with Altima
Ramza next journeys to the St. Murond Temple, where he runs into Vormav. Vormav escapes by forcing Ramza to fight an undead Zalbag, but Ramza is able to learn from the dying High Priest Marge Funeral, that Vormav is taking Alma to the Orbonne Monastery where there is a portal to Murond Death City, where he plans to Altima using Alma's body as a vessel. Ramza battles his way past Vormav's minions, intercepting him at Graveyard of Airships just before he can perform the ceremony. He transforms into Hashmalum and a battle ensues with Ramza victorious. However, Hashmalum sacrifices himself in order to revive Altima, and his attempt is successful. Even though Altima does ressurect, Alma is able to somehow resist it, and she reappears in her original body. It is revealed in the last battle that Ramza is a descendant of the man who defeated the Bloody Angel in the past and sealed the Lucavi. Ramza defeats two forms of the Bloody Angel, and the airship explodes, leaving the fate of Ramza and his friends in question.

Although widely believed to have died in the battle with Altima, Ramza was last seen alive by Olan Durai. He, along with his sister Alma, fled Ivalice to start a life free from the pursuit of the church. Although Alma was "buried", the church refused to hold a ceremony for Ramza as he was branded as a "heretic." The official records in history fail to even mention Ramza's name; his identity and the truth behind the Lion War were discovered when Alazam found Olan's writings, which the church had tried so hard to keep from the people.