Rider

Biodata

Appearance

• Build: An enormous, burly man, repeatedly described as a red-haired giant 12 18.
• Battle attire: Wears a red cloak while driving his chariot 18.
• Modern clothing: Also wears jeans and a T-shirt. His decision to adopt contemporary clothing is attributed to seeing Saber in her suit 160.

Personality

Rider is boisterous, direct, and eager to recruit impressive people. He openly announces his identity despite Weber’s objections, reasoning that former companions might hear his name and rally to him. He likewise invites rival Servants into his expeditionary army rather than treating them solely as enemies 12 17 31.

His apparent carelessness conceals considerable judgment. Kiritsugu notices that Rider’s gaze passes over likely sniper positions, while Saber finds his willingness to cooperate difficult to distinguish from a test of her character. Rider can put aside his pride to propose a practical joint attack, although that same pride prevents him from abandoning his publicly declared hunt for Caster 12 18.

Rider believes a king should lead through ambition, personal example, and the ability to inspire followers—not through solitary self-sacrifice. His criticism of Saber is severe: he refuses to recognize her conception of kingship and calls it a curse she has imposed upon herself. His army’s enduring loyalty embodies the alternative he presents 41 44 57.

His teasing can be intrusive, particularly toward Weber and Jizi, but his concern for his companions is genuine. After drawing enough magical energy from Weber to damage his body, Rider insists that Weber receive restorative aid before himself 31 40 64.

Abilities & Skills

Army of the King

An EX-rank anti-army Noble Phantasm that manifests Rider’s Reality Marble and continuously summons independent Servants: the companions who fought beside him in life 25 44.

• Heroic Spirit army: His soldiers retain their identities, courage, and absolute loyalty, allowing highly coordinated formations and rapid execution of orders 25.
• Battlefield control: Uses layered infantry resistance, massed spear throws, ranged cover, and shield formations to constrain powerful opponents 25 55.
• Broad coverage: Its army blankets the battlefield, making it difficult for Saber to eliminate the force with a single straight-line Excalibur attack 114.
• Home-ground advantage: Rider maintains the desert battlefield against Archer because it represents land his army conquered and places greater environmental strain on his opponent 58.
• Limits: Ordinary attacks from the army cannot penetrate Eva-01’s A.T. Field. Prolonged combat also exhausts Rider; after his duel with Archer, deploying the Reality Marble again would cost him his life 25 64.

Gordius Wheel

Rider’s flying, lightning-wreathed chariot, drawn by divine oxen. It combines transportation, battlefield mobility, and direct assault 18 55.

• Aerial movement: Can escape ground encirclement, survey forests, and carry allies into position for an attack 18.
• Agility: Its multidirectional movement evades loosely deployed Chains of Heaven and outmaneuvers Vimana through abrupt turns and changes in altitude 55 58.
• Charging attacks: At full power, it closes distance quickly enough to force Archer to interrupt Ea’s preparation 55.
• Difficult to track: Its speed repeatedly defeats attempts to follow Rider with ground surveillance or familiars 25 108.
• Limits: Archer eventually shoots it down during their duel, leaving its divine bulls alive but incapacitated 59.

Zeus’s Divine Thunder

Divine lightning used in conjunction with Rider’s chariot 25 58.

• Shatters Eva-01’s A.T. Field and seriously wounds the creature 25.
• Repeatedly damages Archer during aerial attacks; his conductive golden armor worsens the effect 57.
• Punishes Vimana whenever its slower turning leaves it exposed 58.

Command and Combat Judgment

Rider combines military planning with personal close combat rather than relying solely on his army 18 55.

• Threat assessment: Quickly identifies likely concealed firing positions and recognizes Ea from information supplied by Jizi 12 55.
• Combined-arms tactics: Alternates infantry pressure, ranged attacks, and chariot strikes to deny Archer time to use his strongest weapon 55 57.
• Swordsmanship and strength: Defends his passengers against Caster’s tentacles, tears one apart by brute force, and calmly blocks Jizi’s angry scythe attacks 18 32.
• Protective improvisation: Throws Weber toward Vimana’s flank before his capture, preserving the opportunity for a Command Seal-assisted counterattack 59.

Divinity and Magical Energy

• High Divinity: Makes the Chains of Heaven especially effective against him; once firmly bound, he cannot free himself unaided 59.
• Personal reserves: Fights Archer using his own magical energy before drawing heavily upon Weber 64.
• Recovery through his Master: Jizi channels energy through her mask into Weber, who then supplies Rider. This restores enough strength for another battle, though not a full recovery 64.

Equipment & Mounts

• Short sword — Used for close combat and defending the chariot. Despite its quality, it is not a Noble Phantasm; Archer’s Chains of Heaven crush it during their duel 18 32 59.
• Gae Dearg — Acquired in exchange for an arm bearing a Command Seal. Rider uses the spear to pierce Archer’s golden armor and deliver the decisive wound 59.
• Bucephalus — His legendary steed, summoned with the Army of the King. Like Rider’s human companions, the horse has become a Heroic Spirit 44.

Relationships

• Weber Velvet — Master and constant companion. Rider challenges his timidity, protects him in battle, and encourages him to develop independent judgment. Their cooperation ultimately defeats Archer 18 59 120.
• Jizi — Initially a provocateur and intelligence-gathering opponent, later an ally. Rider repeatedly proposes making her his queen; she helps arrange his alliance and restores his strength before the final battle 25 31 32 40 64.
• Saber / Artoria — Temporary battlefield partner and ideological opponent. He respects her strength but rejects her self-sacrificing kingship; they later fight together against the corrupted Archer 18 44 65.
• Archer / Gilgamesh — Rival king and principal opponent. Rider seeks to conquer his treasury and recruit his strength, but is deeply disappointed when the resurrected Archer relies on the Grail’s black mud 24 57 65.
• Lancer / Diarmuid — Fellow Servant who initially rejects Rider’s recruitment. Lancer later helps protect Rider’s chariot during the final charge against Archer 12 65.
• Kariya Matou and Lancelot — Allies through Jizi’s mutual-offense-and-defense agreement; their goals do not conflict with Rider obtaining the purified Grail 40.
• Mackenzie couple — Hosts who provide Rider and Weber with accommodation in a private home. Weber later chooses to leave rather than expose them to Kiritsugu’s pursuit 40 108 120.
• Roxana and Stateira — Wives from his lifetime, whom Rider mentions while boasting of his familiarity with beautiful women 31.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Public Challenge and the Hunt for Caster

Rider openly reveals his identity and challenges concealed Heroic Spirits to show themselves. Weber considers this a disastrous loss of secrecy, while Rider treats it as an opportunity to attract worthy followers 12 30.

Against Caster’s Sea Demons, he first fights alongside Saber without coordinated tactics. He then proposes an aerial search and a joint strike: Gordius Wheel will clear a path while Saber prepares the killing blow. The plan succeeds in exposing Caster, but Kiritsugu summons Saber away with a Command Seal immediately before her sword lands. Rider attempts to finish the attack himself, only for Caster to escape underground 17 18.

Eva-01 and Jizi’s Investigation

At the kings’ banquet, Rider explains that he wants the Grail to give him a physical body rather than simply conquer the world on his behalf. Jizi secretly interrupts the gathering by summoning Eva-01, using the encounter to investigate his strength 24 25.

Rider’s army slows the creature but cannot penetrate its A.T. Field. He breaks the barrier with Zeus’s lightning and gravely wounds it. Jizi then directs Eva-01 toward the spectators; Saber ultimately destroys it with Excalibur 25 26.

Alliance and the Kingship Debate

After learning about the corrupted Grail, Sakura’s circumstances, and Jizi’s objectives, Rider agrees to an alliance with Jizi and Kariya’s group. The arrangement allows Jizi to pursue purification while preserving Rider’s chance to claim the cleansed Grail 40.

During the subsequent debate over kingship, Rider argues that ambition and glory—not martyrdom—allow a ruler to guide a nation. When Assassins interrupt the banquet and spill his wine, he manifests the Army of the King and annihilates them. He then rejects Saber’s ideal of a solitary king and departs with Weber, leaving her shaken 41 44.

Duel with Gilgamesh

Rider meets Archer prepared with intelligence about Ea. Rather than allow its activation, he combines chariot charges with army pressure, forcing Archer to defend against several threats at once. The battle becomes a costly exchange in which Rider sacrifices soldiers to create opportunities for lightning strikes 53 55 57.

Their final aerial clash leaves Gordius Wheel overturned, Rider gravely wounded and chained, and his sword destroyed. Weber, whom Rider has thrown toward Vimana’s flank, uses one Command Seal to summon Rider behind Archer and another to order an attack. Rider produces Gae Dearg and pierces Archer’s armor. Archer uses his remaining strength to bring Vimana down safely before vanishing 58 59.

Return Against the Corrupted Archer

The duel leaves Rider close to disappearing. Jizi restores him by transferring magical energy through Weber, allowing him to return against Archer after the latter emerges empowered by the Grail’s black mud 64.

Rider interrupts Ea again and condemns Archer’s dependence on the corruption. With Saber and Lancer protecting Gordius Wheel, he leads the charge that enables Lancelot’s disguised approach and Jizi’s final attack 65.

Physical Incarnation and Later Role

The author’s afterword confirms that Rider obtains the Holy Grail and wishes for a physical body. Saber relinquishes her competing wish after abandoning her desire to change the past 67 75.

Before the next Holy Grail War, Iskandar accompanies Lord El-Melloi to Kariya’s home, where they discuss their roles as Mage’s Association overseers 66.

Additional Route Appearances

Notable Quotes

“If I feared battle because my opponent was powerful, the title of King of Conquerors would weep!” 53

“A king must lead the way before his people!” 57

“A king must lead a nation. If you walk too fast yourself, how can anyone else keep up?” 59

Trivia

• The narration repeatedly calls Weber Rider’s “Queen Consort.” Rider also dresses him as Helen during the group’s performance of a scene from the Iliad 12 40.
• Rider is also the class name of Medusa, a separate female Servant appearing later in the novel. She is Sakura Matou’s true Servant, is captured by Rin’s group, and agrees to do anything to keep Assassin from exposing Sakura’s identity 147 148 153.