Richter Abend

Richter Abend (リヒター・アーベント) is a character introduced in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World and serves the role as the main antagonist. During the game his partner is Aqua, the Centurion of Water.

Despite being the third playable character in the game, he only joins the party very briefly at the beginning of the story and during three special side-quests involving himself and Emil Castagnier.

Personality
At the beginning of the game, Richter is shown to be a cold and cynical person, criticizing Emil for not being able to stand up for himself. When Emil goes to thank him for scaring off some bullies, Richter reveals his hatred for cowards, but also gives a mantra of inspiration to Emil: "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality". While Richter is tutoring Emil, he also admits that he is very short toward people, but that it does not mean he has something against them. He also remarks that he has no intention of changing his methods of doing things.

Fighting Style
Richter fights using both of his hands, wielding a sword in one and an axe in the other. Most of his artes are elemental and share their names with the four seasons or other planetary cycles. As a half-elf, he possesses to ability to use magic. Many of the spells in his arsenal are of the Water element, possibly to represent his connection with the Centurion of Water, Aqua.

Most likely due to his background as a researcher, Richter managed to develop a way to counter Emil's Ain Soph Aur and backfire the blow with even greater power.

Early Life
Even before the events of the original Tales of Symphonia, Richter lived in Tethe'alla as a researcher at the Sybak University, where he and his friend Aster were researching Ratatosk. Together they were in charge of looking into Ratatosk's mana; however, due to a previous betrayal by Mithos' group, the spirit's trust had disappeared. Ratatosk grew angry and killed Aster in rage, and a vengeful Richter cut down Ratatosk and reduced him to his core form, which was taken away by Tenebrae before Ritcher could finish him off. Since then, Richter has held resentment towards Ratatosk and founded the Vanguard to search for the Centurions' cores.

Meeting Emil
He first meets Emil at the beginning of the game while searching to find the Ratatosk Core when he notices that Emil is being picked on by bullies. He took Emil with him because he reminded Richter of his past when he was bullied around for being a half-elf. Richter acts as the tutorial in this game, as he teaches Emil the basics of fighting. After traveling to cave next to the former Tower of Mana with Emil, he finds Marta and tries to kill her for the Ratatosk's core implanted on her head; this is where Emil considers Richter to be his new enemy. Richter is also a member of the Vanguard and has been said to be the founder of the Vanguard combat group along with Brute.

The End
Richter travels to the Ginnungagap to settle things with Ratatosk. When Emil and co. confront him, he uses the powers of the Sacred Stone to transform the mana in his body into flames, granting him extra power. He then attacks the party, but loses. As the demons try to force their way out of the door, Richter tells the party to use the Sacred Stone. Since mana is toxic to demons, it could be used to seal the door for a while. Lloyd then realizes he actually wanted to turn himself into a human sacrifice to seal the Ginnungagap. Richter adds that as an added bonus, Aster would come back to life as well. Richter also bought Emil's facade of being possessed by Ratatosk again after the door was sealed, saving Marta and Lloyd when Emil attacked them. Richter does nothing but watch for the rest of the ending, and is notably surprised to hear Aster's words being said to Emil from Marta.

Normal Ending - Since Richter forced open the door, the old seal ceased to function. He then decides to go ahead with his original plan to use himself as a seal. Ratatosk agrees to help, saying that he will change the law of nature so that the world's mana can be used to guard the door. After the ritual is prepared, Richter remarks how his fate is fitting for his crimes. Ratatosk says that once the world is separated from its dependancy on mana, Richter will be released.

Perfect Ending - The ending plays the same as the normal ending up to the point that Richter then asks Ratatosk to allow Emil to live his full life as a human, saying that 'Emil' has already suffered enough, trying to atone for a crime 'Ratatosk' committed. His wish is backed up by the words of Tenebrae and Aqua, along with the surprising sound of Verius' voice.

Allies
Aqua - Aqua and Richter were partners throughout most of the game. Though Aqua was in love with the half-elf Richter, it is unsure if Richter ever returned her feelings. In the end, he did nothing to prevent Aqua from reverting to core form after her defeat and did not seem phased that she sacrificed herself in order to buy him more time when Emil confronts him in the Ginnungagap.

Alice and Decus - Members of the Vanguard that remained loyal to Richter when Brute was defeated. It is not really sure if Richter appreciated their help or just saw them as tools to help him reach his goal.

Friends
Aster - Richter's best friend while a half-elf scientist. Though different by race, they showed how humans and half-elves can work together for a better future. However, Ratatosk's actions provoked Richter into slaying him when he attacked and killed Aster in a single strike. That fueled Richter's goals of bringing Aster back until Emil was able to set him straight.

Enemies
Emil Castagnier - The two met in Luin as Emil was being bullied by two other boys. Richter stood up for Emil and helped teach him how to show courage. Later, he also becomes Emil's mentor for how to battle. Though he is constantly hunting Marta throughout the game, Emil cannot forget Richter's kindness and attack him without hesitation. However, Richter would easily attack Emil due to his ties with Ratatosk. In the end, Emil learns about what his exact ties to Ratatosk are and the "visions" of Richter attacking him are really Ratatosk's memories. They face off in the Ginnungagap, completely ignoring the events of their previous encounters, and Emil wins. He is able to help Richter see the error of his acts and finally, Richter befriends Emil and Ratatosk in the end.

Marta Lualdi - A former member of the Vanguard, it is not sure how Marta and Richter got along together while both in the Vanguard. But when Marta left, Richter began hunting her down for Ratatosk's core on her forehead. Due to this, Marta has a hard time siding with Emil about Richter's kindness. But she was willing to help Emil show Richter what he was doing was wrong and helps Emil defeat him.

Lloyd Irving - It is clear that from the start, Richter and Lloyd were bitter enemies, but it is unsure how their relationship is after Richter reveals his true intentions of being a human sacrifice to revive Aster, as this goes against Lloyd's ideals with no sacrifices.

Tales of Vesperia
Richter makes a cameo appearance on the PlayStation 3 port of Tales of Vesperia, as costume for Judith to wear by equipping the Fukushuu no Half-Elf title after being purchased as downloadable content from the PlayStation Network.

Tales of VS.
Richter appears in Tales of VS. as a playable character, though to unlock him, the player needs to trigger extra events involving him in both Lloyd and Colette's, and Cless and Kratos' stories. He is one of the smartest in the tournament and very knowledgeable on matters such as battles and the world. However, beneath his intellectual demeanor is his strong desire for revenge; he joined the Yggdrasill Battle in pursuit of his enemy. He allies himself to no particular nation.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3
Richter first meets the Protagonist during a main story event, together with Caius Qualls and Emil Castagnier, as an enemy who they must fight at the last area of the Sacred Mountain of Absol. Once he is defeated, they are interrupted by Celsius, who reveals what she knows of what is happening to the world, Luminasia. Upon completion of the scenario, both Richter and Celsius make their way to the Van Eltia and become members of the Ad Libitum guild, enabling both of them to be chosen as optional party members.

In one skit, Marta Lualdi found his spare glasses on the ground and tried them on despite Emil Castagnier's protests. She ended up acting the way Richter did to Emil whenever he over-apologized, completely capturing his personality.

Trivia

 * Richter Abend means "judge evening" in German.
 * When Richter allies with Emil as a party member, it is only when Emil does not have Marta or any other human party members with him.
 * Richter has never once cooked before, and his first attempt results in Emil passing out after tasting it.
 * A possible reference to Richter is made during a skit in Tales of Vesperia; when Yuri is unable to decide whether swords or axes is the better of the two, Judith remarks that he "should just use one in each hand instead".