Character Name: Professor Hershel Layton
Title:
Kingdom: Nintendo
Visual Description:
Written Description: Slightly over average height, Professor Layton is not the sort that most people usually look at twice. His short brown hair and black eyes make for a rather ordinary, friendly appearance, heightened with his taupe coat over a long-sleeve orange shirt, taupe pants, and dark green slip-ons. His most distinguishing feature is his trademark black top hat with a red band.
Personality: Layton tends to be a decent, quiet sort who likes his tea, his puzzles, his archaeological research, and his books. His natural curiosity doesn't usually lend to any trouble since he's respectful of other people's boundaries. It's his gallant nature that tends to lead to adventure. In all his dealings, Layton strives to be a chivalrous "true gentleman", seeking to treat others with respect, assist anyone he can no matter what their problem is, and not allow evil, corruption, and lies to prosper through inaction. The truth shall be revealed and if necessary, Layton will be the means to reveal it. If ever someone calls upon him for help solving a problem or Layton deduces that something is not right about a situation, he tackles the problem like a bloodhound on a scent, considering the problem placed before him as a new puzzle that he won't stop seeking a solution for until its solved. For as he always says "a true gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved." In those instances, Layton becomes more focused, analyzing from information he gathers what the most likely solutions are then narrowing down possibilities from further data till he has the right one.
He uses similar, more rapid-fire calculations during fights and other instances of crisis. Within those instances, he is willing to be more pragmatic, but to a point. He is at heart a pacifist. If he's placed in a position where he needs to fight to achieve his goals or to stay alive/protect others, he will do so. He is perfectly willing to maim or knock out his enemies and utilize any underhanded tricks he can get away with, but not to directly kill, particularly if he knows the foe is sentient. If he could see no other way, he probably would then constantly reexamine if there was another way then try harder next time to not have to kill.
Part of his gallant nature means that he is especially respectful to ladies; tipping his hat, trying to protect them from danger, etc. He's not misogynist. The fact that he especially seeks to help ladies and protect them from being near danger doesn't mean he views women as lower than himself. On the contrary, he views them as deserving the utmost respect, leaning more to seeing men as the rightful servants of women if anything. If he sees that the lady in question knows what she is doing in a dangerous situation, he's perfectly willing to relax the protective protocols to allow her to do what she can. Otherwise, he's going to prioritize the protection of the women and children that have absolutely no idea what to do in a dangerous situation or have not proven themselves to do so.
Game: Professor Layton Series
Current Story: After Luke left for the United States, Layton quietly lived as Flora's guardian and as a professor at Gressenheller University with the brief adventure of solving Luke's mystery that he wrote about. While at Luke's for the summer, Layton received a mysterious letter asking for him to come alone to a certain location and begging for his help. Thinking it might have been Descole, Layton snuck away to the stated location and solved the puzzle. In a flash of light, Layton found himself teleported to the Arcade.
Stat.
Level One
(P)Damage 1
(P)Defense 2
(M)(E)Damage 1
(M)(E)Defense 2
Dexterity 4
0%
XP ////////// (0/10)
Squad: Alpha
General Abilities
Slot One: Improvisational Inventing
-Given materials and some time, Layton can create machines to solve given problems. Past examples have included hang gliders made out of things from living rooms, a coin machine gun made out of a slot machine, and a hopping helicopter-ish flying machine made out of a boat, a ceiling fan, a bucket, some oars, and a chainsaw. (You can decide how to handle this. I could either PM you different options of what Layton could make from materials that I know are around, I could offer different options as part of the post, or I could have Layton simply try to make something and have him fail if you judge what he attempts to make as too ridiculous.)
Special Abilities
Slot One:
Items
Slot One:
Slot Two:
Slot Three:
Strengths
- Observant: Layton has keen eyes and ears for his surroundings and other people. He's learned long ago how simply being aware of what's going on around him can reveal information, provide him tools to solve problems, and warn of possible/incoming danger.
- Highly Deductive: While Layton does not have a Sherlockian level in deductive reasoning, he does come closer than most. He can take hints from what he observes, apply previous knowledge he has, and use them to deduce answers and his deductions tend to be accurate if he has accurate information to work from. This is mostly used and honed with puzzles and not on random strangers, so he's not at the "tell a person's profession at a glance" level. He was able to, for instance, deduce that a boy had been lying about his wallet being stolen by a young lady to cover up stealing money from his mother to buy shoes since the boy had surprisingly new shoes, the boy was suspiciously nervous even though he was the one accusing the young lady of stealing his wallet, how vehemently the young lady protested her innocence even though the wallet had been found on her, and how the wallet was a type generally preferred by women.
- Improvisational: While Layton is quite capable of patiently planning and preparing for future occurrences, he really shines when he is forced to quickly assess the situation, come up with a plan, and enact it using the objects that are around and his current environment. As the situation changes, Layton will adapt as necessary to make sure his objectives are met and use anything he can to his advantage for the best solution to the presented problem possible. An example of this is demonstrated with his Improvisational Inventing. Other examples include how he can grab objects around him, such as a pipe, and improvise them as weapons using techniques he already knows.
- Some Melee Combat Expertise: Aside from fencing, Layton knows a few things about the use of staves as seen in
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy during his battle with Descole and in
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney when fighting off the Shades pursuing Maya Fey.
Weaknesses
- Puzzle-Obsessed: Puzzles are everywhere for Layton and he considers it his duty to solve any he comes across. If he comes across one that's not part of his main goals and he can't solve right away, he'll only begrudgingly leave it to solve later after a few tries. Any free time afterwards is going to be spent trying to solve that puzzle. Things will often remind him of puzzles, which he will present to anyone he's talking to.
- Pacifistic: While violence is still an option for him, violence is something to use as a last resort if ever. Also, killing anyone directly is abhorrent. He can understand people around him having fewer hang-ups at the thought of killing someone than him and intellectually can recognize that it can sometimes be the only option and recognizes mentally that he may have to do so at some point. He still shies away from the thought of it.
- Little Concern over Self: While not suicidal, Layton will tend to put himself at risk in order to save others if that's the best chance he has for the others' survival. Also, he has been noted before to sometimes require reminders to take care of himself if he gets to engrossed in what he's doing.