01. Servants

Servants (always with a capital S), are the highest order of familiars. They are copies of Heroic Spirits summoned into lesser vessels called the Servant, falling under one of the seven classes. They are, under normal circumstances, impossible to call. However, the Holy Grail of the World allows for them to be called under the lesser seven classes. These classes are; Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Assassin, Caster, and Berserker. To summarize these classes,

Saber: Servants of the sword, known for their prowess in life with a blade. Class skills are Magic Resistance and Riding.

Lancer: Servants of the spear, known for their prowess in life with a lance. Class skill is Magic Resistance.

Archer: Servants of the bow. Class skills are Magic Resistance and Independent Action.

Rider: Servants who specialized in mounted combat or possessed a special mount of their own. Class skills are Magic Resistance and Riding.

Assassin: Servants known in life for their ability to silently murder their targets. Class skill is Presence Concealment.

Caster: Servants who specialize in magic. While they could in theory summon a Servant of their own, this is forbidden in the rules of the Grail War. Class skills are Territory Creation and Item Construction.

Berserker: Servants who fell into madness in life. Interestingly, anyone can be summoned into Berserker, there are just very few who can use it effectively. Class skill is Mad Enhancement.

Heroic Spirits are usually figures from mythology and history. From mythical figures like Gilgamesh (at least his Epic self) and King Arthur to historical like Alexander the Great and Thomas Edison. Those who have been said to have a great impact on the world can be considered eligible for a Heroic Spirit. These figures can be summoned as Servants, using their talents and legends to battle for the Master.

The strength of a Servant is determined by many factors, but chiefly age, fame, and quality of the Master. A Servant like Heracles, who is both very old, and very famous, is on paper an exceptionally powerful Servant. Inversely, Mata Hari, being relatively obscure on top of being very recent (dating back to World War I), is on paper a very weak Servant. However, just because someone appears to be weak, doesn't necessarily mean that they are. For example, modern weaponry just straight up cannot hurt a Servant except under special circumstances. Not only that, but the quality of the Master affects the Servant as well.

To wit, Artoria Pendragon's parameters under Shirou Emiya, a very poor Master.

Strength: B
Endurance: C
Agility: C
Mana: B
Luck: B

Artoria Pendragon's parameters under Kiritsugu Emiya, a better Master, but rather average as far as they go.

Strength: B
Endurance: A
Agility: A
Mana: A
Luck: D

Artoria Pendragon's parameters under Rin Tohsaka, by all accounts a prodigous and exceptional Master.

Strength: A
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: A
Luck: A+

A Servant's greatest weakness is their true name. A true name is just that, their true name, thus allowing one to gain knowledge of their life and weaknesses. Suppose you stumble across a Servant and you find his name is "Achilles." Pretty obvious what you'll be targeting now. Normally when a Servant is summoned, most people, including the Master, refer to them by their class, because you never know who's listening. For example, most people refer to Artoria Pendragon as "Saber." This is because a Servant's true name allows other Masters to research them, and thus uncover their strengths and allow a strategy to be devised.

When summoning a Servant, it's best to have a catalyst. Something connected to the Hero in life that allows you to draw them specifically. For example, King Arthur's Avalon sheath. If you do not have one, the Grail picks a Servant based on compatability.

There are a few OOC Rules relating specifically to playing a Servant.

1) They must fall within one of the seven classes.
2) Servants can be killed without consent.
3) Unless your Servant has Independent Action, they must have their Master accompany them into any thread they join or make unless given a specific order in a previous thread.
4) Their parameters can be changed at the time of their summoning for reasons such as quality of Master or quality of summoning (how well it was performed), or on the switch of a Master.
5) It is normally impossible to summon a full god. The most that can be achieved is summoning a more human aspect, such as a god during a time they were rendered mortal.

This is but the surface of Servants, and more will be explained.