Ruff

Ruff
Dragon Quest VII
Sprite(s)
Japanese name	ガボ
Romaji	Gabo
Old localization	Gabo
Title	Wolf Boy
Class	Adjustable
Race	White Wolf, later Human
Age	Early teens
Family	Woodcutter (Adoptive Father)
Voice actor	Mutsumi Tamura (Heroes II, Japanese) Harry Marcus (Heroes II, English)

A boy raised in the wild, full of innocence and warmth. Despite his youth, he has incredible survival instincts, and can run circles around the fiercest of monsters. Little is known about his background. --Description from the Dragon Quest VII PSX instructional manual.

Ruff is a playable character in Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past. He is a White Wolf that was turned into a human.

Appearance and personality

Ruff is a small, young boy with long unkempt black hair. He appears to be missing one of his front teeth. He is bare-chested, but wears a blue cloth that is fixed like a cape, sackcloth shorts held together by a rope, and a sackcloth bandana on top of his shaggy mane. In the 3DS remake, Ruff is accompanied by his adoptive wolf mother, whom he rides on the back of. Her appearance sometimes changes along with Ruff's when his Vocation changes.

When the player gains Ruff as a party member in the beginning, he is unable to communicate because he was originally a white wolf. However, due to a spell by Hackrobat, he is able to speak. Maribel says that he is "quite the talker".

Ruff carries over traits from being a White Wolf, including agility and enhanced senses. He is a fast runner on two feet. He can also bite an enemy and paralyze them, however this was only shown after the battle against Hackrobat and not since.

He is constantly looking to eat. Should the Hero talk with him, Ruff almost always asks for food. He also loves competition and fighting. He looks for any chance to prove himself.

Ruff doesn't understand complicated human behavior such as courtship and tact. During the quest in Greenthumb Gardens, Ruff speaks of his confusion concerning Carraway and Lavender. At Alltrades Abbey, Ruff asks Eustace why legs are so short. He appears to have a precocious crush on Jacqueline, as he becomes dismayed when the party returns to the present to find that an old man has taken her place at Alltrades Abbey in the present.

In the 3DS remake, if the player decides to look in a mirror while Ruff is the first character in the party line-up, he will admire his nose, state that he licks his face clean every morning, find some leftover breakfast around the corner of his mouth, express confusion at seeing his own reflection, have fun watching his movements in the mirror, comment on how short his tongue is as a human compared to when he was a wolf, and say that mirrors don't taste nice to lick.

Appearances

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

Ruff is a white wolf, a race of wolves that have long protected the town of L'Arca. His mother was the sole survivor of a battle with Hackrobat, but she died shortly after giving birth to him, leaving Ruff as the last of his kind. Ruff was adopted and raised by a common grey wolf.

Shortly before the events of the game, a farmer from L'Arca found Ruff injured outside of town, and brought Ruff to his barn to rest and recover; there, Ruff was chained to a wall for both the farmer's protection and the safety of Ruff. It was then that Hackrobat returned. To spite the village, he cast a spell that turned all of the residents of L'Arca into animals and vice versa, transforming Ruff into a human. In his new form, the collar and chain were too tight and started choking him.

The Hero, Kiefer, and Maribel reach L'arca after Hackrobat's spell. Inside a shack, they find Ruff chained to a wall by his neck. The Hero and his party is unable to free him. After getting the woodcutter from the present, he frees Ruff and he runs out of the town.

As the party begin to fight Hackrobat, Ruff arrives and bites the monster. The party, along with the Woodcutter, engage the monster in combat. The party defeats Hackrobat and Ruff bites him again. With this bite, Hackrobat is paralyzed. He realizes that Ruff is actually a white wolf who was caught in the spell that he cast in L'Arca. As a parting gift, Hackrobat casts his final spell on him. This spell curses him to remain in human form forever. The party reseals Hackrobat in the coffin again, undoing the spell in L'Arca.

After the battle is finished, the party thanks the boy, who identifies himself as Ruff. They are surprised that he is able to speak but he can only communicate in simple sentences like "Ruff go" and growling. With his ability to understand animal speech, the Woodcutter explains to the party the story of the lone white wolf who survived the first battle with the Hackrobat, who turned out to be Ruff's mother who died from her injuries after giving birth to him. His wolf companion found the newborn Ruff, adopting him and deciding to raise the boy as if he were her own son.

The party returns to L'Arca to see the spell undone. They visit the farmer who took care of Ruff to find to his disbelief that the wolf had disappeared. Leaving the shack, they see Ruff and his wolf companion outside the building. The Woodcutter understands that he wanted to thank the man for his kindness. It is in this moment that the Woodcutter decides to adopt Ruff.

The party, along with the wolf, the Woodcutter, and Ruff return to the portal and step through it, finding themselves back in the Shrine of Mysteries. The Woodcutter tries to bring Ruff with him but he refuses, saying that the seal on Hackrobat could have only been broken on the outside and that whomever broke the seal was very powerful. Therefore, he wanted to defeat the evil that broke the seal in the Grotta del Sigilo. The woodcutter acknowledges this request and allows Ruff to go with the party.

The party goes to the Grotta del Sigillo in the present and returns to the place where the monster was previously sealed. They hear a voice telling them to "run away or face the consequences". Instead, they opened up the coffin once more. Hackrobat is revealed to be in a human form now. He figures that it is punishment for what he did before. He recognizes the party and wants to make up what he did to Ruff in the past. He tries using magic to return Ruff to his wolf form, but he fails. Instead, he makes him more human and gives Ruff the power to speak the human language. Ruff is ecstatic that he is finally able to communicate with the party. Hackrobat also gives the party a Blue Fragment to the party. The party leaves the Grotta del Sigillo to continue on their adventure.

Base Stats

Attribute	Starting Stats	Maximum Stats
Level	1	99
HP	47	780
MP	0	650
Strength	20	350
Agility	35	350
Resilience	10	190
Wisdom	3	210
Style	3	80
Initial gear

Skills

Ruff learns the following abilities naturally.

Level	Skill/Spell	MP Required	Target	Info	Oomph
2	Aooo!	0	One Group	If successful, prevents enemies from acting for one turn.	No
4	Chomp	0	One Enemy	Deals 80%~150% damage to one enemy in the PSX version, and no damage modification in the remake.	N/A
6	Roar Deal	0	One Enemy	If successful, both Ruff and target are reduced to ~20% HP. Identical to Body Slam.	No
8	Sic'em	0	One Group	Damages one group of enemies. Successive hits do less damage, similar to Roundhouse Kick.	N/A
13	Call of the Wild	2	Random Enemies	Summons wolves to attack enemies. Damage is (Level x 1.5) +/- 10% over four random targets, with a fixed accuracy of 75% . In the 3DS remake, damage is calculated as (Level+5) +/- 10%.	N/A

Equipment

Dragon Quest VII (All)
Weapon	Modifier(s)
Steel broadsword	Attack-16
Chain sickle	Attack-13
Iron lance	Attack-11
Divine dagger	Attack-7
Copper sword	Attack-5
Bronze knife	Attack-4
Bamboo spear	Attack-2
Cypress stick	Attack-1
Poison needle	Attack+1
Poison needle plus	Attack+1
Bone stake	Attack+6
Oaken club	Attack+8
Stone fangs	Attack+12
Boomerang	Attack+15
Stone axe	Attack+19
Iron claws	Attack+21
Edged boomerang	Attack+26
Slime stick	Attack+28
Steel fangs	Attack+35
Iron axe	Attack+38
Knuckledusters	Attack+40
Fire claws	Attack+53
Icicle dirk	Attack+62
Flametang boomerang	Attack+65
Ferocious fangs	Attack+73
Dragon claws	Attack+85
Cobra claws	Attack+90
Beast claws	Attack+95
Flail of destruction	Attack+125
Orichalcum fangs	Attack+135

Dragon Quest VII (All)
Helmet	Modifier(s)
Canny cap	Wisdom+30
Leather hat	Defense+3
Pointy hat	Defense+5
Shellmet	Defense+8
Mad cap	Defense+8
Iron pot	Defense+9
Fur hood	Defense+11
Turban	Defense+12
Raving mad cap	Defense+13
Pirate's hat	Defense+19
Hermes' hat	Defense+24
Duplic hat	Defense+25
Pillager's helmet	Defense+25
Slime crown	Defense+31
Happy hat	Defense+37
Seacow sallet	Defense+40
Haywire helm	Defense+42
Sun crown	Defense+52
Metal king helm	Defense+60
Mask of Implacability	Defense+255

Dragon Quest VII (All)
Armor	Modifier(s)
Rags	Defense+3
Plain clothes	Defense+4
Boxer shorts	Defense+5
Wayfarer's clothes	Defense+7
Leather kilt	Defense+12
Silk robe	Defense+13
Fur cape	Defense+18
Slime gooniform	Defense+20
Cloak of evasion	Defense+28
Garish garb	Defense+28
Magic vestment	Defense+30
Tortoise shell	Defense+33
Windcheater	Defense+33
Cirrus surplice	Defense+38
Glombolero	Defense+40
Glitzy glombolero	Defense+50
Heavy armour	Defense+50
Flowing dress	Defense+65
Slime armour	Defense+67
Dark robe	Defense+78
Pallium regale	Defense+90

Dragon Quest VII (All)
Shields	Modifier(s)
Pot lid	Defense+2
Kitty shield	Defense+9
Slime shield	Defense+17
Magic shield	Defense+18
Encyclopedia Titanica	Defense+20
Ice shield	Defense+24
Premium pot lid	Defense+35
Power shield	Defense+40
Ogre shield	Defense+45
Max power shield	Defense+48
Silver shield	Defense+50
Shimmering shield	Defense+65
Metal king shield	Defense+70

Dragon Quest VII (All)
Accessories	Modifier(s)
Slime earrings	Attack+1
Strength ring	Attack+7
Mighty armlet	Attack+15
Fire Amulet	Attack+25
Bow tie	Defense+2
Gold bracer	Defense+5
Life ring	Defense+5
Lucky pendant	Defense+5
Prayer ring	Defense+5
Trailblazing bandana	Defense+5
Earth Amulet	Defense+10
Kamikazee bracer	Defense+10
Kerplunk bracer	Defense+10
Ruby of protection	Defense+10
Water Amulet	Defense+10
Gospel ring	Defense+50
Agility ring	Agility+15
Snappy slippers	Agility+25
Mercury's bandana	Agility+30
Air Amulet	Agility+50
Windbreaker	Agility+50
Meteorite bracer	Agilityx2
Wrecked specs
Soldier's medal
Mermaid moon
Lifesaving medal
Eye of Rubiss
Extra elevating shoes
Elevating shoes
Champion's belt
Bunny tail

Strategy

When Ruff joins the party after the events at L'Arca, he starts at level 1. Therefore, it is advisable to keep him in the back until he gains levels. After level 2, he learns Aooo! which will allow him to participate in battle. As he gains levels, he can move to third position until he is on the same levels as the rest of the party.

Ruff is naturally fast. Attacks miss him more often than the rest of the party. When he reaches the same levels as the party, he will usually attack first. He will also gain strength in bounds so that when he reaches certain levels, he is doing significant damage. When he learns Sic 'Em and Call of the Wild, he will become more adept in defeating enemies.

Ruff can equip light armor and furs and his selection of shields and helmets is limited. He is the only one who can wield claws and fangs. Much like a martial artist, Ruff's attack will actually goes down if he equips certain weapons such as swords. He is also capable of equipping Boomerangs.

As Ruff is the only party member besides the Hero to stay in the party throughout the duration of the game, he is best made to learn vocations that increase his strength, like Warrior and Martial Artist. It would also be a good idea for him to become a Priest, as both the Hero and Maribel learn healing magic naturally. If the player wishes to learn advance vocations, Ruff and the Hero are the best bet.

Dragon Quest Tact

Ruff appears as a S-rank member of the Hero family as part of the limited Dragon Quest VII event, appearing on his own banner alongside Pandora's Box.

Ruff (ガボ Gabo)

Stats

Family		Rank		Role
Hero				Attack
Max Level		HP	MP	Move
120		867	367	4
Attack	Defense	Agility	Wisdom	Weight
516	347	471	197	60

Basic Skills

First		Second		Third
Rolling Wind Claw		White Wolf Thrust		Lupine Gust Ruff Rider

Awakening Skills

First	Second	Third
White Wolf Legend / Stats Up	Woosh Res +25 / Stats Up	Lupine Gust Potency +5% Ruff Rider Potency +5% / Stats Up
Fourth	Fifth
Zam Res +25 / Stats Up	Lupine Gust Potency +5% Ruff Rider Potency +5% / Stats Up

Leader Perks

First

Raises Woosh-type physical potency of allies, including himself, by 20% in a 5x5 square around him.

Basic Perks

First	Second	Third
Animal Instincts: Raises Woosh-type physical potency by 10% and critical hit rate by 5%.	AGL +20 ATK +15	Lupine Gust Potency +2% Ruff Rider Potency +2%

Perk Details

First

White Wolf Legend: Raises ATK and AGL for 3 turns at the start of battle.

Frizz Resistance *	Sizz Resistance *	Crack Resistance *	Woosh Resistance *
Normal	Normal	Very Weak	Half Res
Bang Resistance *	Zap Resistance *	Zam Resistance *	Snooze Resistance
Very Weak	Normal	Half Res	Super Weak
Poison Resistance	Physical Lock Resistance	Spell Lock Resistance	Martial Lock Resistance
Normal	Normal	Normal	Normal
Breath Lock Resistance	Hobble Resistance *	Stun Resistance *	Dazzle Resistance
Normal	Half Res	Immune	Half Res
Curse Resistance	Paralysis Resistance	Confusion Resistance	Charm Resistance
Super Weak	Normal	Normal	Normal

Trivia

• In the 3DS Version, when Ruff is learning the way of the Shepherd, his mother will also dress up and appear as a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Gallery

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  Ruff and the Hero activating a pedestal in the Shrine of Mysteries

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  Ruff standing before the Hero along with the other Warriors of Eden

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  Fighting in the Coral Cave

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  Ruff demonstrating how to become an Armamentalist

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  Ruff's adoptive mother

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  From Manga series DQ VII: Warriors of Eden.

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  Dragon Quest Heroes II.

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  Ruff breathing fire.

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  Ruff with Healix.

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  Ruff wielding the Great sabreclaws.

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  Rivals card art