Sylvan

Sylvan is a silver-furred wolf who is a companion to Claudia on her travels in the game Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song.

Appearances

 * Claudia's Scenario: Starting character
 * Other scenario: Not recruitable

Battle Utility
Sylvan is classified similarly to the nameless mercenaries that can be recruited. She can't change her equipment (other than accessories) or wield other weapons, but starts off a bit stronger than most human mercenaries. She relies on barehanded attacks to deal damage and learns the unique Jugular ability (her only sparked art) if she levels up long enough.

Keeping Sylvan in the party does present an interesting situation. Both she and Brau cost nothing to maintain as allies since they cannot equip anything and like any party member in SaGa games, they can gain considerable power if trained properly. Since Sylvan's wolf attacks are classified similarly to martial arts for humans, she can change into a job such as Ascetic or Martial Artist to cut down on the cost of BP per round. The player can also opt to make her a spellcaster and let Sylvan provide magic backup once she has gained some points in INT and COM.

The only downside to keeping Sylvan is that her inability to equip anything other than amulets and rings will result in her having a dismal defense level for the entirety of the game. This can result in her being knocked out more easily in later parts of the story when the enemies grow in strength considerably, preventing her from providing much help to Claudia and the others.

Background and Story
Coming from the forest of Mazewood along with Claudia and Brau, Sylvan is a majestic silver wolf.

The witch Eule, who has cared for Claudia since she was a baby, instructs Sylvan to go with Claudia and protect her when she goes out into the world. The wolf obeys, and stays by Claudia's side until Eule's death. By this time, Claudia no longer needs protection, and Sylvan leaves the party forever. Claudia notes in the cutscene that Sylvan has watched over since she was a baby and that the wolf has aged a good deal by this point.

It is interesting to note that if the player never actually goes to the forest when Eule is calling for her, then it is possible to keep Sylvan in the party for the remainder of the game.