—Radd’s death quote in Shadow Dragon
Radd is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Book 1 of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. He is the second mercenary from the harbor town, Port Warren, who joins the Archanean League along with his partner Caesar. After fighting off the Grustian soldiers that surround the town of Warren in Chapter 8, Radd continues to offer his service to Marth until the War of Shadows is brought to an end.
Afterward, his ending states that he fell in love with an unnamed woman during the war and renounced his swordsmanship to focus on winning over her heart, who appears to be Caesar's missing sister. Although it is unclear whether he succeeded or not, Radd does not appear again for the second half of Mystery of the Emblem though (like other characters absent from book 2) he does appear in the remake.
In Game
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Recruitment
- Chapter 8: Automatically from the start.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mercenary | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Wlv | Mov |
| 1 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Sword | Iron Sword | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90% | 50% | 40% | 70% | 40% | 50% | 10% | 0% |
Promotion
| Item Required | Promoted Class |
|---|
| Hero Crest |  Hero
|
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Recruitment
- Chapter 7: Automatically from the start.
Base Stats
- Note: Radd only appears in Book 1.
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mercenary | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Wlv | Mov |
| 1 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Sword |  Iron Sword | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90% | 50% | 40% | 70% | 40% | 50% | 20% | 3% |
Promotion Gains
| Item Required | Promoted Class | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hero Crest
|
 Hero
| ||||||
| 1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | Varies | +0 |
Support Bonus
Note: He has no supports.
Overall
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Radd is filler at best in both the NES Shadow Dragon and Book 1. His stats are low for his join time, and his niche as an on-foot swordsman is one in high competition due to Marth, Ogma, Navarre, and his own partner in Caesar, along with the many other sword-wielding units in the army. Radd's very low Strength ensures he needs heavier weapons to deal significant damage, though he is at least fast enough for this to not be much of an issue. Radd's main selling point is his unusually high growths, which means that, if a player is in need of units, he is none too difficult to train, and his base stats are quite workable. While he does not tend to surpass Ogma or Navarre, he can catch up to them without much trouble, making him a decent replacement unit.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Recruitment
- Chapter 8: Automatically from the start.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Myrmidon | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 1 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
 Sword - D |  Iron Sword | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 40% | 0% | 35% | 45% | 40% | 20% | 0% |
Reclassing Options
Support Bonus
Supports
Supported by
Overall
|
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Radd is, tragically, one of the weakest units in Shadow Dragon. Joining as a swordsman at a point where only a single remaining chapter has any axe presence, Radd sweetens the deal further with some of the worst base stats in the game. Most notoriously, his personal bases in both Speed and Skill are negative, making him unusually slow for a character intended to fill a speedster niche. His sword rank of D is also unimpressive, as it means he is unable to initially wield anything beyond steel. Attempting to reclass him often drops his Speed to the point where he can be doubled. In all, Radd's primary niche in his sword rank is one in low demand, and even among the generally mediocre roster of swordsmen, he is far inferior to the alternatives.
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Recruitment :
- Chapter 6x: Automatically join at the end of the chapter if he is still alive.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Myrmidon | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 5 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Sword - C |  Steel Sword | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 50% | 0% | 45% | 65% | 50% | 20% | 5% |
When you finish Hard, Maniac, or Lunatic Mode, a new reclassing option will be unlockable.
Support Relationships
Supports
Supported by
Overall
|
|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
In New Mystery, Radd continues his streak of mediocrity. Though swords have seen significant improvements since Shadow Dragon, Radd's competition is now harsher than ever due to the tweaks in reclassing and huge cast. Though Radd's stats are better than ever, they remain rather poor for his join time; even the deliberately undertuned Samuel is on par with him, and characters like Ogma and Navarre completely obsolete him. Radd's sword rank of C can be duplicated by any character capable of reclassing to Swordmaster, which the player is likely to have at least a few of, making it largely irrelevant and leaving only his unimpressive initial statline. Radd is unlikely to see use unless the player's army has been significantly depleted.
Epilogue
Mystery of the Emblem
Caesar’s partner Radd
"It was rumored that he fell in love during the war and later discarded his sword."
Shadow Dragon
Lady-Killer
"Radd fell in love during the war, and gave up his sword to win the woman’s heart. Whether he succeeded, we shall never know."
New Mystery of the Emblem
Lady-Killer
"Radd found a lover after the war, but his whereabouts after that are unrecorded."
Choose Your Legends Placement History
| Round | Placement | Character Version | Votes |
|---|
| CYL1 | 477 |  |
252 | ||
| 686 |  |
69 | |||
| CYL2 | 593 ↓116 |
|
138 ↓114 | ||
| 736 ↓50 |
|
45 ↓24 | |||
| CYL3 saw the transition to different counting mechanisms involving versions of characters and ties, so change measured between CYL2 and CYL3 shouldn't be taken at face value. | |||||
| CYL3 | 392 ↑201 (From highest) |
|
357 ↑174 (From combined) | ||
| CYL4 | 391 ↑1 |
|
245 ↓112 | ||
| CYL5 | 345 ↑46 |
|
174 ↓71 | ||
| CYL6 | 340 | |
195 |
Gallery
