Altair (Assasin's Creed)

Altair Ibn La-Ahad, commonly Altaïr (الطائر in Arabic), is the main character and protagonist of the fictional Assassin's Creed universe, created by Ubisoft Montreal, and is a player character in the third-person stealth video games Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles. Outside of video games, there were plans for Pocket Books to novelize Assassin’s Creed into a book trilogy, written by Steven Barnes and featuring Altaïr. There has also been speculation of a movie based on the game. Philip Shahbaz is responsible for Altaïr's voice in the game. The character's figure is modeled after David Fumero.

Character design

The name Altaïr is an Arabic word, which means "the flyer." In recent interviews, the game's producer, Jade Raymond has stated that while in mid-air, Altaïr's shadow is intended to resemble that of an eagle.[3] This effect is as a result of the design of his attire, which includes a point at the front of the hood (to resemble a beak) and cuts through the back of the outfit (to resemble tail feathers). The second part of his name, Ibn La-Ahad means 'son of no-one', reflecting his mysterious origins.

Attributes

Weapons

Altaïr is intended to be a master assassin, capable of extraordinary acrobatic feats, and a member of the Hashashein sect. In the game, Altaïr travels between the game's four cities (Jerusalem, Masyaf, Damascus, and Acre) and kills his victims with a variety of weapons. Altaïr's most used weapon is a concealed dagger similar to that of a Katar used for close-range assassinations. It is mounted on the inside of his left hand gauntlet, and when deployed, extends between his middle and little fingers through the space left by his amputated ring finger. This amputation was part of the initiation for becoming an assassin of the Hashshashin sect.

Altaïr also uses a combination of throwing knives, a sword, a small dagger, and his fists. The throwing knives are very useful when taking down archers as you approach an assassination target. The sword is slower than the dagger but when attacking is much more powerful. The dagger is fast and light and can be used in tandem with the knives.

Personality

Developers have stated in interviews that Altaïr is not religious but rather "spiritual" and is the son of a Christian mother and Muslim father.

Outward appearance

Altaïr is said within Assassin's Creed to 25 years of age. It is also stated that he is approximately six feet tall and weights 170 pounds. Altaïr is also missing his left ring finger, explained in Assassin's Creed to have come as a result of an initiation ceremony towards his entrance into professional assassinations.