Dolph (Japanese:トムスTomth) is a knight of theHoly Kingdom of Archanea. He was one of the retinue of knights who assisted in PrincessNyna's doomed escape attempt fromPalace at the onset of theWar of Shadows, and was captured and imprisoned for the rest of the war, until Nyna returned withMarth's forces to reclaim Palace. After the war, he departed the Archanean army, displeased withHardin's ascension to the throne; in theWar of Heroes, he offered his assistance to Marth in reclaimingAltea.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light

Role

Dolph was imprisoned withBoah,Midia,Macellan andTomas, in a cell in Palace under the occupation ofVolzhin and the forces ofDolhr. DuringMarth's assault on the palace and its Dolhr occupation, Dolph and the other prisoners were freed and joined Marth's army.

Starting stats and growth rates

Knight Level 4 Movement 5 Experience 0

Recruitment:Chapter 12, automatically from turn 1 StatsGrowth Rates Max HP 20 Speed 5 Strength 8 Luck 3 Skill 6 Defense 12 W. Level 7 Resistance 0 Max HP 70% Speed 30% Strength 30% Luck 10% Skill 40% Defense 20% W. Level 70% Resistance 0% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory -- Weapons Sword ✓ Lance ✓ Axe ✗ Bow ✗ Tome ✗ Staff ✗ Ballista ✗ Stone ✗

Analysis

Dolph joins almost halfway through the game inChapter 12, and despite above average growths, he offers very little to justify deploying him after the chapters. During his intro chapter, Dolph, likeMacellan acts as a guard wall to protectMidia andBoah from enemy archers in the prison.

Dolph has aspeed of 5 with a growth of 30%, meaning he will likely get doubled by most sword using enemy units until he has a couple levels. He has astrength of 8 with a growth of 30%, and considering he can't double most units he will struggle to deal significant damage until he levels. Hisweapon level of 7 accentuates this problem, as he is unable to use powerful weapons like theSilver Sword andLevin Sword, at best he can use some solid lances like theSilver Lance andJavelin, but he still has a fairly mediocre weapon selection that compounds with his other flaws. His high weapon level growth of 70% will help him reach a good mastery, but his other flaws make it hard to justify training him to reach that point.

Hisdefense is decent at 12, but it can still be surpassed by many mounted units, and it has a fairly weak growth of 20%. Dolph's biggest weakness, shared with the otherKnights, is that he only has amovement of 5, which causes him to get left behind by the units that can cross more distance, and his inability toClass Change. Dolph's stats and overall growths surpassDraug,Roger andMacellan. However, compared to the other armored character,Lorenz, Dolph's only advantage are his early join-time and his ability to use Lances. A leveled Lorenz will easily surpass a leveled Dolph in every category.

Whilst Dolph's growths are above average and above the other armored knights, they aren't strong enough to be worth favoring him over a stronger unit that can promote. Dolph may be the best armored knight in the game if leveled, but Armored Knight isn't a recommended class line to begin with, with the Paladin andWyvern Knight lines being better in almost every way. Dolph can be used as a replacement unit if you have lost enough of your units, like him or want to use an Armored Knight, but otherwise he is not recommended to use.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

Book 1

Role

As inShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Dolph was imprisoned withBoah,Midia,Macellan andTomas, in a cell in Palace under the occupation ofVolzhin and the forces ofDolhr. DuringMarth's assault on the palace and its Dolhr occupation, Dolph and the other prisoners were freed and joined Marth's army.

Starting stats and growth rates

Armored Knight Level 4 Movement 5 Experience 0

Recruitment:Chapter 10, automatically from turn 1 StatsGrowth Rates Max HP 21 Luck 3 Strength 8 W. Level 7 Skill 6 Defense 13 Speed 5 Resistance 0 Max HP 70% Luck 10% Strength 30% W. Level 70% Skill 40% Defense 20% Speed 30% Resistance 3% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Weapons Items -- -- Weapons Sword ✗ Lance ✓ Axe ✗ Bow ✗ Tome ✗ Staff ✗

Promotion stat gains

InMystery of the Emblem, promotion gains for HP and weapon level consist of giving the character as many points as necessary—thex value shown in the table—to reach the promoted class's base value. If the character's value for one of those two stats is higher than their promoted class's base value, they will not receive any bonus in that stat.

Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga

Role

When the army of Dolhr came to lay siege to Palace at the onset of the War of Shadows, Dolph was part of the band of knights convened by Boah to lead Princess Nyna to safety. The group was instead cornered by Dolhr's forces and was forced to try and fight its way out. In the end, they were defeated and captured upon the arrival ofCamus, and were imprisoned in the palace, where they remained for three years until Marth arrived with Nyna.

Starting stats and growth rates

Armored Knight Level 1 Movement 5 Experience 0

Recruitment:Episode I, automatically from the start StatsGrowth Rates Max HP 21 Luck 3 Strength 8 W. Level 7 Skill 6 Defense 13 Speed 5 Resistance 0 Max HP 70% Luck 10% Strength 30% W. Level 70% Skill 40% Defense 20% Speed 30% Resistance 3% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Weapons Items Steel Lance Javelin -- Weapons Sword ✗ Lance ✓ Axe ✗ Bow ✗ Tome ✗ Staff ✗

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Role

As inShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, Dolph was imprisoned withBoah,Midia,Macellan andTomas, in a cell in Palace under the occupation ofVolzhin and the forces ofDolhr. DuringMarth's assault on the palace and its Dolhr occupation, Dolph and the other prisoners were freed and joined Marth's army.

Starting stats and growth rates

Knight Level 4 Movement 5

Recruitment:Chapter 12, automatically from turn 1 StatsGrowth Rates Max HP 22 Speed 5 Strength 8 Luck 3 Magic 0 Defense 13 Skill 6 Resistance 0 Max HP 70% Speed 30% Strength 30% Luck 10% Magic 0% Defense 45% Skill 40% Resistance 0% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory -- Weapon Levels -- C -- -- -- --

Growth rates when reclassed

Promotion stat gains

Dark MageFighterHunterKnightMercenaryPirate

Class	HP	Str	Mag	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Weapon level
Sorcerer	+2	+2	+1	+1	+1	+0	+0	+3	+0	+30 WEXP E

Class	HP	Str	Mag	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Weapon level
Warrior	+6	+2	+0	+1	+1	+0	+2	+1	+1	+30 WEXP E

Class	HP	Str	Mag	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Weapon level
Horseman	+2	+0	+1	+2	+2	+0	+3	+3	+3	E +30 WEXP

Class	HP	Str	Mag	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Weapon level
General	+10	+2	+1	+1	+4	+0	+4	+3	+1	+30 WEXP E

Class	HP	Str	Mag	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Weapon level
Hero	+6	+2	+1	+2	+2	+0	+2	+3	+1	+30 WEXP E

Class	HP	Str	Mag	Skill	Spd	Lck	Def	Res	Mov	Weapon level
Berserker	+6	+2	+0	+1	+1	+0	+2	+0	+1	+30 WEXP

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Analysis

Dolph joins in Chapter 12 ofShadow Dragon as a level 4Knight. His base stats are poor outside of defense, and he will get doubled by all enemies in higher difficulties. His base C rank in lances allows him to use theRidersbane and theDragonpike, so he can dealeffective damage to enemy cavalry and dragons. Dolph's growths are actually quite good and he has easily the best defense growth among all the default armored units, in addition to possessing good speed growth. Dolph's only weak point in growth is his luck stat.

Dolph is six levels away from promotion, but he struggles to reach and defeat enemies at that point as a Knight, and thus struggles to gain experience he sorely needs. His growth rates, as mentioned before, are quite good and they can be improved throughreclassing, but doing so will prevent him from using his high lance level of C.

The key problem Dolph faces is that most other units at that point outclass him; many other units can use effective lances when Dolph joins, and they will likely be at a higher level, have better stats, and possibly be promoted.

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

Role

WhenMarth's liberation army arrived at Altea during theWar of Heroes, Dolph arrived shortly after they did, offering his assistance and services to Marth's forces; Macellan followed shortly thereafter.

Starting stats and growth rates

Main StoryExtra chapters

General Level 5 Movement 6

Recruitment:Chapter 15, automatically from the start StatsGrowth Rates Max HP 38 Speed 11 Strength 15 Luck 5 Magic 1 Defense 18 Skill 12 Resistance 5 Max HP 90% Speed 20% Strength 60% Luck 40% Magic 0% Defense 55% Skill 60% Resistance 0% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Silver Lance Javelin Vulnerary Weapon Levels -- B -- D -- --

Knight Level 3 Movement 5

Recruitment:New Archanea Saga Episode I, automatically from the start StatsGrowth Rates Max HP 21 Speed 5 Strength 8 Luck 3 Magic 0 Defense 13 Skill 6 Resistance 0 Max HP 90% Speed 20% Strength 60% Luck 40% Magic 0% Defense 55% Skill 60% Resistance 0% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Steel Lance Javelin Weapon Levels -- D -- -- -- --

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Growth rates when reclassed

Original set

Second set

These classes are only available after beating Hard Mode.

Analysis

Dolph's base stats are very unimpressive considering his late joining time. He joins as aGeneral, allowing him access to bows and lances. His lance rank is actually very good at B, allowing him to use good effective weapons like theDragonpike and theRidersbane. However, his bow rank is only D, which prevents him from using good bows. He is also unlikely to level up his bow rank much throughout the rest of the game, making his 2-range utility low. This automatically makes Dolph worse thanMacellan, who joins around the same time, also as a General, but with B rank in both bows and lances, which gives him access to theSilver Bow,Killer Bow andBrave Bow. Dolph has no such benefits.

Reclassing Dolph to another class makes his defenses extremely poor, because his base Defense is low and most of his bulk comes from the General class he joins as. As such, he usually retains the most usefulness if he is kept as a General. Dolph is a usable unit, but his unimpressive base stats and lower bow rank really hurt his power in the higher difficulties.

Personality

Dolph's personality receives almost no exploration inFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and its remakes and sequels. However, his death quotes imply he is strongly loyal to PrincessNyna.Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem gives slightly more insight into his character; he has a strong enough sense of justice to desertHardin when he becomes a tyrant, and he enjoys eating.

Supports

Mystery of the Emblem

Dolph Knight Supports: None. [[{{{supportg1}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusg1}}} [[{{{supportg2}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusg2}}} [[{{{supportg3}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonusg3}}} Supported by: None. [[{{{supporto1}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonuso1}}} [[{{{supporto2}}}]] Bishop Bonus: {{{bonuso2}}}

Shadow Dragon

Dolph Knight Mutual supports: Macellan Knight C: 5 B: 10 A: 35 Tomas Archer C: 5 B: 10 A: 35 Midia Paladin C: 5 B: 10 A: 35 [[{{{supportm4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm4}}} B: {{{bm4}}} A: {{{am4}}} [[{{{supportm5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm5}}} B: {{{bm5}}} A: {{{am5}}} Supported by:* Boah Bishop C: 5 B: 10 A: 35 [[{{{supporto2}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co2}}} B: {{{bo2}}} A: {{{ao2}}} [[{{{supporto3}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co3}}} B: {{{bo3}}} A: {{{ao3}}} [[{{{supporto4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co4}}} B: {{{bo4}}} A: {{{ao4}}} [[{{{supporto5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co5}}} B: {{{bo5}}} A: {{{ao5}}}

New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow

Dolph General Mutual supports: Macellan General C: 3 B: 6 A: -- Tomas Sniper C: 3 B: 6 A: -- Midia Paladin C: 2 B: 4 A: -- [[{{{supportm4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm4}}} B: {{{bm4}}} A: {{{am4}}} [[{{{supportm5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{cm5}}} B: {{{bm5}}} A: {{{am5}}} Supported by:* Kris Mercenary C: 3 B: 6 A: -- [[{{{supporto2}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co2}}} B: {{{bo2}}} A: {{{ao2}}} [[{{{supporto3}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co3}}} B: {{{bo3}}} A: {{{ao3}}} [[{{{supporto4}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co4}}} B: {{{bo4}}} A: {{{ao4}}} [[{{{supporto5}}}]] Bishop C: {{{co5}}} B: {{{bo5}}} A: {{{ao5}}}

Base conversations

Main article:Dolph/Conversations

Endings

Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light

Dolph
Throws himself into efforts to rebuild villages destroyed during the fighting.

Mystery of the Emblem

Book 1

Dolph, Spitting Image
Dolph had a short career as a general before leaving the army. Some said the move was a tacit rejection of the king-to-be.

Shadow Dragon

Spitting Image - Dolph
Dolph had a short career as a general before leaving the army. Some said the move was a tacit rejection ofthe king-to-be.

New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow

Dolph, Spitting Image
Dolph politely declined requests to return to the Archanean army. He continued to help with the reconstruction on the Archanean border.

Quotes

Death quotes

Everyone's Conditions quotes

Other appearances

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Flavor text

Choose Your Legends placement history

Round	Placement	Character	Votes

CYL 1 (2017)	681	Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon	72
	761	Dolph Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem	37

CYL 2 (2018)	741	Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon	42 (−30)
	793	Dolph Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem	22 (−15)

CYL 3 (2019)

610 (+2)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

74 (+9)

CYL 4 (2020)

707 (+23)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

46 (−28)

CYL 5 (2021)

722 (+15)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

37 (−9)

CYL 6 (2022)

713 (−11)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

42 (+5)

CYL 7 (2023)

761 (+48)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

20 (−22)

CYL 8 (2024)

759 (−2)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

26 (+6)

CYL 9 (2025)

762 (+3)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

24 (−2)

CYL 10 (2026)

817 (+55)

Dolph Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light /Shadow Dragon Mystery of the Emblem /New Mystery of the Emblem

11 (−13)

Total results		This character has 12 entries across all Choose Your Legends polls.	453

Trivia

• Dolph shares his Japanese name withThomas fromTearRing Saga: Yutona Heroes War Chronicles.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

Sprite Gallery
Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light Knight Sword Lance Javelin
Mystery of the Emblem Armored Knight General Lance Lance
Archanea Saga Armored Knight
Shadow Dragon KnightMercenaryFighterHunterPirateDark Mage Knight General Lance Lance Bow Mercenary Hero Sword Sword Axe Fighter Warrior Axe Axe Bow Hunter Horseman Bow Bow Sword Pirate Berserker Axe Axe Dark Mage Sorcerer Tome Tome {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}}
New Mystery of the Emblem PaladinDracoknightSniperSwordmasterSageBishopKnightHeroWarriorHorsemanBerserkerSorcerer Paladin Sword Lance Dracoknight Lance Axe Sniper Bow Swordmaster Sword Sage Tome,Staff Bishop Tome,Staff Knight General Lance Lance Bow Hero Sword Axe Warrior Axe Bow Horseman Bow Sword Berserker Axe Sorcerer Tome {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}}

Official artwork

• 
  Artwork of Dolph fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
• 
  Artwork of Dolph from theTrading Card Game.

References

This article is part ofProject Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in theFire Emblem series.