Fixing Fates story issues (spoilers)

[Alazen]

Last few questions:

1. Does your rewrite still have a power besides the two kingdoms working against them (as in Touma)?

2. Should Mikoto be portrayed as a more shady ruler?

3. What have you done to revamp Ganz and Macbeth?

4. Does your rewrite still have monsters?

[Time the Crestfallen]

Last few questions:

1. Does your rewrite still have a power besides the two kingdoms working against them (as in Touma)?

2. Should Mikoto be portrayed as a more shady ruler?

3. What have you done to revamp Ganz and Macbeth?

4. Does your rewrite still have monsters?

1. Yes, nothing is beyond fixing. But while Anankos' plan still involves destroy all the kingdoms of the world, his desired end result is more along the lines of uniting humanity under his rule rather than pointless destruction.

2. Yes, but I'm also having her survive the events of chapter 5. Seriously, introducing her in one chapter and then killing her off the very next strikes me as very wasteful.

3. Generally Speaking, their both more affable and friendly than their canon portrayal. Specifically:

-Iago is simply trying to provide for his family, and his job as a tactician is a very well paying one. However, his job involves him doing lots of morally questionable things. The reason he doesn't try and minimise this is because his father was killed for going against the kings orders while his older brother was punished for insubordination through whipping, but because that squad was in a tropical area at the time, he died from painfully from a very nasty infection shortly after, so saying that he's rather hesitant to disobey orders would be a massive understatement. But he clearly regrets his action, being constantly tormented by PTSD-ridden nightmares and not really looking after his health. In terms of fleshing him out, he's also a die-hard fan of the performing arts and poetry and loves wine (him and Camilla having argued at length over whether white or red wine is better).

Ganz meanwhile, had a traumatic past along the lines of Zero and Belka and is willing to do anything it takes to get ahead and avoid having to live that lifestyle. He to is guilt-ridden by the shady actions he has done in the service of slime!Garon, but is much more scared of his past lifestyle, so he copes with it better than Iago. Also, he's very much a father to his men, doing everything he can to look out for them, donates most of the money he earns to an orphanage in the city and is a very friendly, but sometimes boisterous and overly intense person.

4. Yep, but more effort is put into explaining their origins.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Phillius

[Alazen]

Last two questions that I forgot to include:

1. Does Kamui join any factions besides the two kingdoms?

2. Have you come up with deaths for any of Kamui's relatives?

Edited September 19, 2015 by Alazen

[Time the Crestfallen]

Last two questions that I forgot to include:

1. Does Kamui join any factions besides the two kingdoms?

2. Have you come up with deaths for any of Kamui's relatives?

1. Well he does get an adventure to himself in an Astral Realm were he joins a small community in a post-apocalyptic setting, so...kinda(?)

2. No, but Kamui himself dies. Does that count?

[NekoKnight]

Last few questions:

1. Does your rewrite still have a power besides the two kingdoms working against them (as in Touma)?

2. Should Mikoto be portrayed as a more shady ruler?

3. What have you done to revamp Ganz and Macbeth?

4. Does your rewrite still have monsters?

Last two questions that I forgot to include:

1. Does Kamui join any factions besides the two kingdoms?

2. Have you come up with deaths for any of Kamui's relatives?

1. Naw, not as of yet.

2. I don't think Mikoto needs to be shady. That role can be given to other Hoshidans who might try to stage a coup or something.

3. Ganz is going to be mostly the same but have some new motivations. Rather than him attacking Kamui and Gunter at the Infinite Chasm, it will be his brother. After allowing the Hoshidans to capture Kamui in order to save his own hide, Garon executes Ganz' brother for cowardice and from that point on, Macbeth holds that threat over Ganz as well, if he doesn't serve Garon faithfully. Macbeth will also be mostly untouched but will be pushing the Hoshido-Nohr conflict to increase his own land-holdings.

4. No monsters (like the Faceless) but there might be a few instances of possessed enemies.

5. Kamui will treat with neutral parties within the western and eastern halves of the continent but none with more influence than Hoshido and Nohr.

5. Yes, and for some of his friends as well. Hopefully, the deaths will be significant events developing Kamui's personality and not "Oh, that happened" forced drama.

[Taka-kun]

Last few questions:

1. Does your rewrite still have a power besides the two kingdoms working against them (as in Touma)?

2. Should Mikoto be portrayed as a more shady ruler?

3. What have you done to revamp Ganz and Macbeth?

4. Does your rewrite still have monsters?

1. Not sure yet. I still want to include Touma because they are there but they will be more subtle, like the Loptyrs in FE4.

2. No she is my beloved mother.

3. Ganz is still a criminal who got into the ranks of the Nohrian military. Macbeth is a power corrupt man and played a large part in Nohr's decay. I am not planning on making them sympathetic.

4. Yes. I want this to be a characterization for Kamui. Basically, Kamui is really powerful but is hindered by his own morals to kill other men. With monsters, he can go loose.

Last two questions that I forgot to include:

1. Does Kamui join any factions besides the two kingdoms?

2. Have you come up with deaths for any of Kamui's relatives?

1. No. Alternatively, Kamui may stage a rebellion and make his own faction but there will be no joining Touma.

2. Those that die ingame, I try to keep. Just this one death in Conquest is too weird and have to be reworked someway. But Marx and Ryouma are definitely going and preliminary plans have Kamui die as well in a hundred days of pain.

[Time the Crestfallen]

Okay guys, I've finished doing world-building for the countries on the Western half of the continent. I'll do another for the Eastern Half and then one for those that don't really fit into either (Touma, Noltradia and the Tribes). Again, if you guys could tell me what's good, what's bad and what has potential but could be improved on, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[spoiler=Nohr]

-Nohr has a Social Darwinist attitude towards the social hierarchy, as promotions and prestigious positions aren’t automatically given to those who belong to nobility, but those who are most qualified for the position. Because of this, handing out a promotion takes a very long time as all candidates are tested for every factor of their job (for example, the candidates for a promotion to Great Knight are tested for their weapon skills, leadership skills, horse-riding skills, teaching skills so they can educate students ETC and then chosen based on who’s the best on average). However, while it is very hard to climb the ladder’ so to speak, it is very easy to lose one’s rank as a single mistake is enough for the higher ups to lose faith. As a result of this attitude towards competence over, it is very common to find ‘lowborns’ in positions of power and nobles stuck in dead-end jobs

-As an extension of the above point, it is actually possible for a noble family to lose their social status if they screw up one too many times, although this is a much rarer case than commoners being allowed positions of power. In theory, it would also be possible for the Nohrian Royal Family to lose their status, but because they are given the best education, training and equipment (including holy weapons) as well as possessing the powers of the Ancient Dragons (albeit a very watered-down version as their ratio of dragon/human blood tilts toward the latter) and such decisions are based on the competence of those involved, the chances of such an event occurring is basically nonexistent.

-Also, because of this approach to who is in charge of what, the different Generals and Nobles are almost incapable of working together in times of peace or without significant duress from the King because they’re always plotting against each other, hoping that they can cause one of them to lose their position and incorporate their power base into their own. Also, because one way to lose power is if the King simply doesn’t like you, many of them are Yes-Men to King Garon and won’t oppose anything he does for fear of losing everything they worked so hard to achieve.

-Very little of the land officially considered part of Nohr is actually the country itself, but a part of the ‘Nohrian Empire’. Basically, Bolverk (the Third King of Nohr) was forced to accept that Nohr’s environment was nowhere near capable of supporting a sizeable population and started conquering nearby countries in order to sustain Nohr. These countries were renamed after famous Nohrian figures, had their artifacts and treasured relics taken to the Library of Alexandria in Nohr’s Capitol City and all their renewable and non-renewable resources (food, timber, metals ETC) being used to sustain Nohr’s needs instead of their own. This cycle of conquest carried on for many years until almost the entire Western half of the continent was part of the Nohrian Empire (very few countries/cities remain free and the originally conquered countries don’t even remember their original names or a time when they weren’t a part of the empire). Because of this, the country of Nohr is actually rather well of while the Empire as a whole isn’t doing very well.

-However, despite Hoshido’s insistence that life under Nohrian rule is worse than death, there are actually a series of pros and cons to living as a part of the Empire, albeit mostly consisting of two sides of the same coin:

*You could wind up with a ruler who actually cares about running the country well and due to Nohr’s ‘competence over nobility’ attitude could very well be better at running the country than his predecessor or a jackass who will abuse you and cares more about squeezing the most resources out of your country than such trivial things as ‘worker safety’.

*Life under Nohrian rule is more orderly and they are better at enforcing laws than the local authorities, but they don’t enforce your laws, they enforce their laws and the punishments are insanely disproportional (crucifix is a mainstay, to keep in line with the Roman Empire parallel I’m trying to set up).

*You don’t have to worry about bandits and other such threats because the Nohrian military is much better equipped and trained than the local militia and are more experienced with fighting bandits, but they’re just as good at taking out resistance groups that might object to joining the Empire for whatever reason.

*Bread and Circuses for all! Nohr has a rich and elaborate culture of music, poetry, theatre and other such things for you to enjoy when they’re trying to distract you from their abuses. However, you can say goodbye to your own culture as your religion is abolished, your national treasures and relics are taken to the Library of Alexandria to be catalogued and put on display or sold to rich merchants and noblemen and even your country’s name will be taken away, with mentioning it within ear shot of a Nohrian official or soldier carrying the death penalty.

*Social Darwinism ensures that if you’re smart enough, strong enough and all-around capable enough, than you can win a position of power and prestige with enough effort and are able to freely enjoy the finer things in life, you might even become nobility if you’re lucky enough. However, climbing the ranks is incredibly challenging and while the life of wealth and taste in Nohr is wonderfully luxurious, there is an equally shitty underclass filled with all sorts of unpleasant smugglers, murderers, assassins and other such things that you’ll get kicked down to if you screw up so much as once.

*The Nohrian Army, while incredibly numerous, powerful and well-equipped, is nowhere near as menacing a prospect for Hoshido once you realised that the vast majority of their troops is split up between attacking their country, defending their capitol and their conquered provinces in addition to making sure said provinces don’t rebel, so they can never bring their full power to bear.

*In addition to this, Hoshido controls almost all the fortresses lining the Infinite Chasm due to their fast and lightly-armoured troops being more suited to combat their than the clunky and heavily-armoured Nohrian troops (Incidentally, the most frequent causes of death for Nohrian troops near the Infinite Chasm are ‘fell off a cliff’ and ‘fell through a bridge’).

-Culture wise, they combine the literature, poetry and theatre of the likes of Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe, the artwork of the Greeks and Romans, the Wine of the French…to make a long story short, the culture of Nohr is a conglomeration of all the best and worst aspects of the European Countries/Cultures, both past and present. I’d mention some negative aspects, but nothing comes to mind right now except for the whole conquering thing and the deadly decadent court, which I’ve already mentioned.

-Main Military Units: Knights, Cavaliers, Fighters and Dark Mages

[spoiler=Muse]

Muse is one of the few remaining neutral countries in the world, adamantly refusing to chose a side despite both Nohr and Hoshido trying to bribe or pressure them into joining them in the past (they’re the Switzerland of the Fates’ World). The reasons that Nohr hasn’t conquered them yet (despite being on their shit list for quite a while) are basically the same reasons that invading real-life Switzerland is a terrible idea:

*Firstly, literally everyone who lives in Muse has gone through at least some form of military training and all the trained warriors who move their swearing a pledge to defend Muse in times of need, even if it’s their original country who are invading. In addition to this, every citizens who complete military training keep their weapons and armour so that Muse’s full military might can be mobilised in a short amount of time and because of their thriving tourism industry and monstrously massive performance revenue, their army is the best equipped army on the continent.

*Secondly, there is no strategical advantage to be gained by conquering Muse. The country is too far away from Hoshido’s borders to stage a successful surprise attack (the logistics involved, mostly feeding them for the months required to travel isn’t something they want to invest in when they already have Port Dia), Muse has very poor soil for growing food, with most of it coming from that very green looking island slightly offshore as well as trading with Hoshido and invading a beacon of neutrality and peace would bring down a massive political shitstorm upon their heads that would drive potential allies towards Hoshido.

*Lastly, basically every bridge, mountain pass and highway is set up so that they can be collapsed in the event of an invasion, which would bog down the invading Nohrian forces for far longer than many Generals are willing to have them away for, especially considering that those very same troops could be used to fight Hoshido instead.

-Because of its neutrality and the fact that neither Nohr or Hoshido will invade, it is seen as an ideal vacation spot for both sides. In fact, Muse beats the Southern Islands for the most ideal vacation and retirement location (because of affordability and good performances). On top of this, many Nohrians and Hoshidans who don’t want to fight anymore move to Muse to avoid war. However, there are separate districts for each country in order to minimise the chance of hate crimes, while the shared district has a strict ‘zero tolerance’ policy (commit a hate crime, you get deported). Surprisingly, this is actually working and the people living in the shared district have been able to overcome the racial tension between them, making muse a beacon of peace and inspiring hope for a peaceful future.

-Also they have a lot of theatre and singing/dance performances, though I think that goes without saying. The revenue from these performances and other tourism industries is Muse’s main source of income but, again, that probably goes without saying.

Main Military Units: Mercenaries, Knights, Singers and Spellcasters

[spoiler=Makaras]

-Makaras was once the place to go for vacations for the Nohrian Empire, featuring songs, dances, theatres, casinos, even Red-Light Districts for people who are into such things. However, Muse eventually managed to become more popular due to having on average higher quality musical and theatre performances, a unique culture, better living conditions and the lack of a Nohrian occupation force.

-Luckily, Makaras was still the source of the best casinos and Red Light Districts on the continent, so it was still able to make enough money to remain prosperous. Unluckily, such businesses became a lightning rod for all sorts of illegal activities (slave trade, drug trade, banditry, weapon smuggling, ETC), making Makaras the ‘Hive of Scum and Villainy’ of the Fates world.

-The Nohrian Occupation Force tried desperately to pull the growing Black Market out by the roots, but was met with costly and embarrassing failures each time. The Nohrian Official in charge of the occupation was demoted for his failures and replaced with a captured and very powerful Mob Boss (name pending). Said Mob Boss had a curse placed on him that would enable any Dark Mage nearby to say a code word and kill him instantly, promising that they would remove the curse if he successfully destroyed the Black Market.

-However, he was able to convince his captors that it would be much easier to the illegal businesses and trades for Nohr’s benefit. The higher-ups reluctantly agreed and, with the backing of the Nohrian military, the Mob Boss’ organisation quickly became the dominant force in the Makaras Underground.

-The trade between them is mutually beneficial; the Mob Boss receives military-grade weapons and supplies, while Nohr receives experimental stimulants and medicines and access to a variety of assassins and mercenary groups that they can send on missions where plausible deniability would be a great thing for them to have. However, the Kingdom of Nohr treats the allegiance as a necessary evil, with most officials not involved choosing to pretend it doesn’t exist.

-The Mob Boss recently took over an abandoned fortress within the country of Nohr itself and is using it as a storehouse for various ‘illegal items’. Additionally, many bandits flock to this fortress for protection and have been made part of the staff their. Some Nohrian Generals believe that the Mob Boss is raising an army and that they should lay siege to the fortress before he can attack, but the majority don’t want to jeopardise the relationship and comfort themselves with the knowledge that they are still cursed (or so they think. In reality, he bribed one of the sorcerers into removing it).

Main Military Units: Outlaws, Mercenaries, Dark Mages and Fighters

[spoiler=Chevalier]

-Despite seemingly being a barren wasteland, the Principle of Chevalier features several cattle species that have adapted to their desert environment as well as the city itself being built near several large oases, which provides all they need for water. Most of their vegetative food came from trade with Hoshido (naturally), but after signing a treaty with Nohr (more on that latter), they get their fruits and vegetables from Nohrian provinces.

-In terms of economy, most of their money comes from trading Wyverns to other nations hoping to gain powerful aerial units or for an exotic pet and from essentially being a PMC the size of their country (they lease their own military troops out to other countries because their Wyverns are the most powerful and ferocious in the world, with the soldiers riding them being proportionately skilled as well).

-During the war between Nohr and Hoshido, business was booming for them. Not only were their troops being hired for both sides for very generous sums of money, but several lesser nations and towns were seeking their services in order to take care of bandits hoping to make a profit in such troubled times. Unfortunately, despite their perfection of hit-and-run, the casualties quickly started piling up, especially considering that both Nohr and Hoshido treated them as rather expendable for not actually being a part of their army.

-Ever since the first war ended, the Principle of Chevalier has been suffering from a lack of working-age men and women, as many soldiers worked civilian jobs between military assignments, and the high number of casualties had left most of their population as either too young or too old to work.

-Fearing the inevitable invasion from Nohr, the ruler of Chevalier tried several times to make deals with Hoshido were a number of soldiers would be moved to Chevalier until the newest generation finished growing up, but were turned down several times because Sumeragi and his father were afraid that landing any significant number of soldiers on the Western half of the continent would be seen as a declaration of war, and they didn’t want to threaten the already strained armistice. Sumeragi also turned them down because he and Garon were working to mend the poor relations between the two nations, and sending troops to Chevalier would throw away all the progress they’d made.

-However, when Garon was bribed/coerced by Anankos into betraying Sumeragi in return for the resurrection of Shenmei and his slain children, he made an offer to the ruler of Chevalier; in return for allowing a small occupation force into his city and for providing the services of their troops exclusively to Nohr, he would allow them to retain their independence and compensate for any loss of trade they’d endure by cutting ties with Hoshido.

-While they did allow Garon to sneak assassins into their city, which ended with Sumeragi’s death and Kamui’s kidnapping, they managed to discreetly sneak Mikoto and the other royal children out of the city and back to their home country. By doing this, they were able to fulfill their agreement with Garon while shifting the blame exclusively to Nohr and retain their ability to trade with Hoshido (albeit secretly).

-Sadly for them, when slime!Garon replaced the real Garon, their independence became independence in name only. The Ruler was killed and replaced by a mage with similar powers to Zoura and started changing the laws of Chevalier to be more similar to those of the rest of the Nohrian Empire, but worded them in such a way that only those familiar with Nohrian law were able to make the connection. Additionally, all of the most powerful wyverns were exported to Nohr to be used as either mounts for troops or as broodmares so that they could breed their own wyverns, with the eventual outcome being that they wouldn’t need to maintain the pretense of an allegiance and could conquer them properly.

-To add insult to injury, the most powerful of the wyverns taken were killed and reanimated with Dark Magic (Revenant Knights are a completely new development and are a knew weapon for the war against Hoshido. By the way Camilla was originally a wyvern rider, having been given a smuggled one taken from Makaras, and became a Revenant Knight when her Wyvern was reanimated). Since Wyverns are sacred animals in Chevalier, this pisses them off to know end. This, combined with the discovery that the leader was an imposter, is what kicks off the rebellion.

Main Military Units: Wyvern Riders, Cavaliers, Rod Knights and Ninjas

Edited September 20, 2015 by Phillius

[Alazen]

Okay guys, I've finished doing world-building for the countries on the Western half of the continent. I'll do another for the Eastern Half and then one for those that don't really fit into either (Touma, Noltradia and the Tribes). Again, if you guys could tell me what's good, what's bad and what has potential but could be improved on, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[spoiler=Nohr]

-Nohr has a Social Darwinist attitude towards the social hierarchy, as promotions and prestigious positions arent automatically given to those who belong to nobility, but those who are most qualified for the position. Because of this, handing out a promotion takes a very long time as all candidates are tested for every factor of their job (for example, the candidates for a promotion to Great Knight are tested for their weapon skills, leadership skills, horse-riding skills, teaching skills so they can educate students ETC and then chosen based on whos the best on average). However, while it is very hard to climb the ladder so to speak, it is very easy to lose ones rank as a single mistake is enough for the higher ups to lose faith. As a result of this attitude towards competence over, it is very common to find lowborns in positions of power and nobles stuck in dead-end jobs

-As an extension of the above point, it is actually possible for a noble family to lose their social status if they screw up one too many times, although this is a much rarer case than commoners being allowed positions of power. In theory, it would also be possible for the Nohrian Royal Family to lose their status, but because they are given the best education, training and equipment (including holy weapons) as well as possessing the powers of the Ancient Dragons (albeit a very watered-down version as their ratio of dragon/human blood tilts toward the latter) and such decisions are based on the competence of those involved, the chances of such an event occurring is basically nonexistent.

-Also, because of this approach to who is in charge of what, the different Generals and Nobles are almost incapable of working together in times of peace or without significant duress from the King because theyre always plotting against each other, hoping that they can cause one of them to lose their position and incorporate their power base into their own. Also, because one way to lose power is if the King simply doesnt like you, many of them are Yes-Men to King Garon and wont oppose anything he does for fear of losing everything they worked so hard to achieve.

-Very little of the land officially considered part of Nohr is actually the country itself, but a part of the Nohrian Empire. Basically, Bolverk (the Third King of Nohr) was forced to accept that Nohrs environment was nowhere near capable of supporting a sizeable population and started conquering nearby countries in order to sustain Nohr. These countries were renamed after famous Nohrian figures, had their artifacts and treasured relics taken to the Library of Alexandria in Nohrs Capitol City and all their renewable and non-renewable resources (food, timber, metals ETC) being used to sustain Nohrs needs instead of their own. This cycle of conquest carried on for many years until almost the entire Western half of the continent was part of the Nohrian Empire (very few countries/cities remain free and the originally conquered countries dont even remember their original names or a time when they werent a part of the empire). Because of this, the country of Nohr is actually rather well of while the Empire as a whole isnt doing very well.

-However, despite Hoshidos insistence that life under Nohrian rule is worse than death, there are actually a series of pros and cons to living as a part of the Empire, albeit mostly consisting of two sides of the same coin:

*You could wind up with a ruler who actually cares about running the country well and due to Nohrs competence over nobility attitude could very well be better at running the country than his predecessor or a jackass who will abuse you and cares more about squeezing the most resources out of your country than such trivial things as worker safety.

*Life under Nohrian rule is more orderly and they are better at enforcing laws than the local authorities, but they dont enforce your laws, they enforce their laws and the punishments are insanely disproportional (crucifix is a mainstay, to keep in line with the Roman Empire parallel Im trying to set up).

*You dont have to worry about bandits and other such threats because the Nohrian military is much better equipped and trained than the local militia and are more experienced with fighting bandits, but theyre just as good at taking out resistance groups that might object to joining the Empire for whatever reason.

*Bread and Circuses for all! Nohr has a rich and elaborate culture of music, poetry, theatre and other such things for you to enjoy when theyre trying to distract you from their abuses. However, you can say goodbye to your own culture as your religion is abolished, your national treasures and relics are taken to the Library of Alexandria to be catalogued and put on display or sold to rich merchants and noblemen and even your countrys name will be taken away, with mentioning it within ear shot of a Nohrian official or soldier carrying the death penalty.

*Social Darwinism ensures that if youre smart enough, strong enough and all-around capable enough, than you can win a position of power and prestige with enough effort and are able to freely enjoy the finer things in life, you might even become nobility if youre lucky enough. However, climbing the ranks is incredibly challenging and while the life of wealth and taste in Nohr is wonderfully luxurious, there is an equally shitty underclass filled with all sorts of unpleasant smugglers, murderers, assassins and other such things that youll get kicked down to if you screw up so much as once.

*The Nohrian Army, while incredibly numerous, powerful and well-equipped, is nowhere near as menacing a prospect for Hoshido once you realised that the vast majority of their troops is split up between attacking their country, defending their capitol and their conquered provinces in addition to making sure said provinces dont rebel, so they can never bring their full power to bear.

*In addition to this, Hoshido controls almost all the fortresses lining the Infinite Chasm due to their fast and lightly-armoured troops being more suited to combat their than the clunky and heavily-armoured Nohrian troops (Incidentally, the most frequent causes of death for Nohrian troops near the Infinite Chasm are fell off a cliff and fell through a bridge).

-Culture wise, they combine the literature, poetry and theatre of the likes of Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe, the artwork of the Greeks and Romans, the Wine of the Frenchto make a long story short, the culture of Nohr is a conglomeration of all the best and worst aspects of the European Countries/Cultures, both past and present. Id mention some negative aspects, but nothing comes to mind right now except for the whole conquering thing and the deadly decadent court, which Ive already mentioned.

-Main Military Units: Knights, Cavaliers, Fighters and Dark Mages

[spoiler=Muse]

Muse is one of the few remaining neutral countries in the world, adamantly refusing to chose a side despite both Nohr and Hoshido trying to bribe or pressure them into joining them in the past (theyre the Switzerland of the Fates World). The reasons that Nohr hasnt conquered them yet (despite being on their shit list for quite a while) are basically the same reasons that invading real-life Switzerland is a terrible idea:

*Firstly, literally everyone who lives in Muse has gone through at least some form of military training and all the trained warriors who move their swearing a pledge to defend Muse in times of need, even if its their original country who are invading. In addition to this, every citizens who complete military training keep their weapons and armour so that Muses full military might can be mobilised in a short amount of time and because of their thriving tourism industry and monstrously massive performance revenue, their army is the best equipped army on the continent.

*Secondly, there is no strategical advantage to be gained by conquering Muse. The country is too far away from Hoshidos borders to stage a successful surprise attack (the logistics involved, mostly feeding them for the months required to travel isnt something they want to invest in when they already have Port Dia), Muse has very poor soil for growing food, with most of it coming from that very green looking island slightly offshore as well as trading with Hoshido and invading a beacon of neutrality and peace would bring down a massive political shitstorm upon their heads that would drive potential allies towards Hoshido.

*Lastly, basically every bridge, mountain pass and highway is set up so that they can be collapsed in the event of an invasion, which would bog down the invading Nohrian forces for far longer than many Generals are willing to have them away for, especially considering that those very same troops could be used to fight Hoshido instead.

-Because of its neutrality and the fact that neither Nohr or Hoshido will invade, it is seen as an ideal vacation spot for both sides. In fact, Muse beats the Southern Islands for the most ideal vacation and retirement location (because of affordability and good performances). On top of this, many Nohrians and Hoshidans who dont want to fight anymore move to Muse to avoid war. However, there are separate districts for each country in order to minimise the chance of hate crimes, while the shared district has a strict zero tolerance policy (commit a hate crime, you get deported). Surprisingly, this is actually working and the people living in the shared district have been able to overcome the racial tension between them, making muse a beacon of peace and inspiring hope for a peaceful future.

-Also they have a lot of theatre and singing/dance performances, though I think that goes without saying. The revenue from these performances and other tourism industries is Muses main source of income but, again, that probably goes without saying.

Main Military Units: Mercenaries, Knights, Singers and Spellcasters

[spoiler=Makaras]

-Makaras was once the place to go for vacations for the Nohrian Empire, featuring songs, dances, theatres, casinos, even Red-Light Districts for people who are into such things. However, Muse eventually managed to become more popular due to having on average higher quality musical and theatre performances, a unique culture, better living conditions and the lack of a Nohrian occupation force.

-Luckily, Makaras was still the source of the best casinos and Red Light Districts on the continent, so it was still able to make enough money to remain prosperous. Unluckily, such businesses became a lightning rod for all sorts of illegal activities (slave trade, drug trade, banditry, weapon smuggling, ETC), making Makaras the Hive of Scum and Villainy of the Fates world.

-The Nohrian Occupation Force tried desperately to pull the growing Black Market out by the roots, but was met with costly and embarrassing failures each time. The Nohrian Official in charge of the occupation was demoted for his failures and replaced with a captured and very powerful Mob Boss (name pending). Said Mob Boss had a curse placed on him that would enable any Dark Mage nearby to say a code word and kill him instantly, promising that they would remove the curse if he successfully destroyed the Black Market.

-However, he was able to convince his captors that it would be much easier to the illegal businesses and trades for Nohrs benefit. The higher-ups reluctantly agreed and, with the backing of the Nohrian military, the Mob Boss organisation quickly became the dominant force in the Makaras Underground.

-The trade between them is mutually beneficial; the Mob Boss receives military-grade weapons and supplies, while Nohr receives experimental stimulants and medicines and access to a variety of assassins and mercenary groups that they can send on missions where plausible deniability would be a great thing for them to have. However, the Kingdom of Nohr treats the allegiance as a necessary evil, with most officials not involved choosing to pretend it doesnt exist.

-The Mob Boss recently took over an abandoned fortress within the country of Nohr itself and is using it as a storehouse for various illegal items. Additionally, many bandits flock to this fortress for protection and have been made part of the staff their. Some Nohrian Generals believe that the Mob Boss is raising an army and that they should lay siege to the fortress before he can attack, but the majority dont want to jeopardise the relationship and comfort themselves with the knowledge that they are still cursed (or so they think. In reality, he bribed one of the sorcerers into removing it).

Main Military Units: Outlaws, Mercenaries, Dark Mages and Fighters

[spoiler=Chevalier]

-Despite seemingly being a barren wasteland, the Principle of Chevalier features several cattle species that have adapted to their desert environment as well as the city itself being built near several large oases, which provides all they need for water. Most of their vegetative food came from trade with Hoshido (naturally), but after signing a treaty with Nohr (more on that latter), they get their fruits and vegetables from Nohrian provinces.

-In terms of economy, most of their money comes from trading Wyverns to other nations hoping to gain powerful aerial units or for an exotic pet and from essentially being a PMC the size of their country (they lease their own military troops out to other countries because their Wyverns are the most powerful and ferocious in the world, with the soldiers riding them being proportionately skilled as well).

-During the war between Nohr and Hoshido, business was booming for them. Not only were their troops being hired for both sides for very generous sums of money, but several lesser nations and towns were seeking their services in order to take care of bandits hoping to make a profit in such troubled times. Unfortunately, despite their perfection of hit-and-run, the casualties quickly started piling up, especially considering that both Nohr and Hoshido treated them as rather expendable for not actually being a part of their army.

-Ever since the first war ended, the Principle of Chevalier has been suffering from a lack of working-age men and women, as many soldiers worked civilian jobs between military assignments, and the high number of casualties had left most of their population as either too young or too old to work.

-Fearing the inevitable invasion from Nohr, the ruler of Chevalier tried several times to make deals with Hoshido were a number of soldiers would be moved to Chevalier until the newest generation finished growing up, but were turned down several times because Sumeragi and his father were afraid that landing any significant number of soldiers on the Western half of the continent would be seen as a declaration of war, and they didnt want to threaten the already strained armistice. Sumeragi also turned them down because he and Garon were working to mend the poor relations between the two nations, and sending troops to Chevalier would throw away all the progress theyd made.

-However, when Garon was bribed/coerced by Anankos into betraying Sumeragi in return for the resurrection of Shenmei and his slain children, he made an offer to the ruler of Chevalier; in return for allowing a small occupation force into his city and for providing the services of their troops exclusively to Nohr, he would allow them to retain their independence and compensate for any loss of trade theyd endure by cutting ties with Hoshido.

-While they did allow Garon to sneak assassins into their city, which ended with Sumeragis death and Kamuis kidnapping, they managed to discreetly sneak Mikoto and the other royal children out of the city and back to their home country. By doing this, they were able to fulfill their agreement with Garon while shifting the blame exclusively to Nohr and retain their ability to trade with Hoshido (albeit secretly).

-Sadly for them, when slime!Garon replaced the real Garon, their independence became independence in name only. The Ruler was killed and replaced by a mage with similar powers to Zoura and started changing the laws of Chevalier to be more similar to those of the rest of the Nohrian Empire, but worded them in such a way that only those familiar with Nohrian law were able to make the connection. Additionally, all of the most powerful wyverns were exported to Nohr to be used as either mounts for troops or as broodmares so that they could breed their own wyverns, with the eventual outcome being that they wouldnt need to maintain the pretense of an allegiance and could conquer them properly.

-To add insult to injury, the most powerful of the wyverns taken were killed and reanimated with Dark Magic (Revenant Knights are a completely new development and are a knew weapon for the war against Hoshido. By the way Camilla was originally a wyvern rider, having been given a smuggled one taken from Makaras, and became a Revenant Knight when her Wyvern was reanimated). Since Wyverns are sacred animals in Chevalier, this pisses them off to know end. This, combined with the discovery that the leader was an imposter, is what kicks off the rebellion.

Main Military Units: Wyvern Riders, Cavaliers, Rod Knights and Ninjas

Looks mostly interesting. I said "mostly" due to the presence of Fake Garon.

Hopefully your Hoshido worldbuilding will be designed with Japan's long history of warfare (both internal and external ) in mind. It hasn't been especially internally peaceful for most of its recorded history.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Alazen

[Taka-kun]

Okay guys, I've finished doing world-building for the countries on the Western half of the continent. I'll do another for the Eastern Half and then one for those that don't really fit into either (Touma, Noltradia and the Tribes). Again, if you guys could tell me what's good, what's bad and what has potential but could be improved on, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[spoiler=Nohr]

-Nohr has a Social Darwinist attitude towards the social hierarchy, as promotions and prestigious positions aren’t automatically given to those who belong to nobility, but those who are most qualified for the position. Because of this, handing out a promotion takes a very long time as all candidates are tested for every factor of their job (for example, the candidates for a promotion to Great Knight are tested for their weapon skills, leadership skills, horse-riding skills, teaching skills so they can educate students ETC and then chosen based on who’s the best on average). However, while it is very hard to climb the ladder’ so to speak, it is very easy to lose one’s rank as a single mistake is enough for the higher ups to lose faith. As a result of this attitude towards competence over, it is very common to find ‘lowborns’ in positions of power and nobles stuck in dead-end jobs

-As an extension of the above point, it is actually possible for a noble family to lose their social status if they screw up one too many times, although this is a much rarer case than commoners being allowed positions of power. In theory, it would also be possible for the Nohrian Royal Family to lose their status, but because they are given the best education, training and equipment (including holy weapons) as well as possessing the powers of the Ancient Dragons (albeit a very watered-down version as their ratio of dragon/human blood tilts toward the latter) and such decisions are based on the competence of those involved, the chances of such an event occurring is basically nonexistent.

-Also, because of this approach to who is in charge of what, the different Generals and Nobles are almost incapable of working together in times of peace or without significant duress from the King because they’re always plotting against each other, hoping that they can cause one of them to lose their position and incorporate their power base into their own. Also, because one way to lose power is if the King simply doesn’t like you, many of them are Yes-Men to King Garon and won’t oppose anything he does for fear of losing everything they worked so hard to achieve.

-Very little of the land officially considered part of Nohr is actually the country itself, but a part of the ‘Nohrian Empire’. Basically, Bolverk (the Third King of Nohr) was forced to accept that Nohr’s environment was nowhere near capable of supporting a sizeable population and started conquering nearby countries in order to sustain Nohr. These countries were renamed after famous Nohrian figures, had their artifacts and treasured relics taken to the Library of Alexandria in Nohr’s Capitol City and all their renewable and non-renewable resources (food, timber, metals ETC) being used to sustain Nohr’s needs instead of their own. This cycle of conquest carried on for many years until almost the entire Western half of the continent was part of the Nohrian Empire (very few countries/cities remain free and the originally conquered countries don’t even remember their original names or a time when they weren’t a part of the empire). Because of this, the country of Nohr is actually rather well of while the Empire as a whole isn’t doing very well.

-However, despite Hoshido’s insistence that life under Nohrian rule is worse than death, there are actually a series of pros and cons to living as a part of the Empire, albeit mostly consisting of two sides of the same coin:

*You could wind up with a ruler who actually cares about running the country well and due to Nohr’s ‘competence over nobility’ attitude could very well be better at running the country than his predecessor or a jackass who will abuse you and cares more about squeezing the most resources out of your country than such trivial things as ‘worker safety’.

*Life under Nohrian rule is more orderly and they are better at enforcing laws than the local authorities, but they don’t enforce your laws, they enforce their laws and the punishments are insanely disproportional (crucifix is a mainstay, to keep in line with the Roman Empire parallel I’m trying to set up).

*You don’t have to worry about bandits and other such threats because the Nohrian military is much better equipped and trained than the local militia and are more experienced with fighting bandits, but they’re just as good at taking out resistance groups that might object to joining the Empire for whatever reason.

*Bread and Circuses for all! Nohr has a rich and elaborate culture of music, poetry, theatre and other such things for you to enjoy when they’re trying to distract you from their abuses. However, you can say goodbye to your own culture as your religion is abolished, your national treasures and relics are taken to the Library of Alexandria to be catalogued and put on display or sold to rich merchants and noblemen and even your country’s name will be taken away, with mentioning it within ear shot of a Nohrian official or soldier carrying the death penalty.

*Social Darwinism ensures that if you’re smart enough, strong enough and all-around capable enough, than you can win a position of power and prestige with enough effort and are able to freely enjoy the finer things in life, you might even become nobility if you’re lucky enough. However, climbing the ranks is incredibly challenging and while the life of wealth and taste in Nohr is wonderfully luxurious, there is an equally shitty underclass filled with all sorts of unpleasant smugglers, murderers, assassins and other such things that you’ll get kicked down to if you screw up so much as once.

*The Nohrian Army, while incredibly numerous, powerful and well-equipped, is nowhere near as menacing a prospect for Hoshido once you realised that the vast majority of their troops is split up between attacking their country, defending their capitol and their conquered provinces in addition to making sure said provinces don’t rebel, so they can never bring their full power to bear.

*In addition to this, Hoshido controls almost all the fortresses lining the Infinite Chasm due to their fast and lightly-armoured troops being more suited to combat their than the clunky and heavily-armoured Nohrian troops (Incidentally, the most frequent causes of death for Nohrian troops near the Infinite Chasm are ‘fell off a cliff’ and ‘fell through a bridge’).

-Culture wise, they combine the literature, poetry and theatre of the likes of Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe, the artwork of the Greeks and Romans, the Wine of the French…to make a long story short, the culture of Nohr is a conglomeration of all the best and worst aspects of the European Countries/Cultures, both past and present. I’d mention some negative aspects, but nothing comes to mind right now except for the whole conquering thing and the deadly decadent court, which I’ve already mentioned.

-Main Military Units: Knights, Cavaliers, Fighters and Dark Mages

[spoiler=Muse]

Muse is one of the few remaining neutral countries in the world, adamantly refusing to chose a side despite both Nohr and Hoshido trying to bribe or pressure them into joining them in the past (they’re the Switzerland of the Fates’ World). The reasons that Nohr hasn’t conquered them yet (despite being on their shit list for quite a while) are basically the same reasons that invading real-life Switzerland is a terrible idea:

*Firstly, literally everyone who lives in Muse has gone through at least some form of military training and all the trained warriors who move their swearing a pledge to defend Muse in times of need, even if it’s their original country who are invading. In addition to this, every citizens who complete military training keep their weapons and armour so that Muse’s full military might can be mobilised in a short amount of time and because of their thriving tourism industry and monstrously massive performance revenue, their army is the best equipped army on the continent.

*Secondly, there is no strategical advantage to be gained by conquering Muse. The country is too far away from Hoshido’s borders to stage a successful surprise attack (the logistics involved, mostly feeding them for the months required to travel isn’t something they want to invest in when they already have Port Dia), Muse has very poor soil for growing food, with most of it coming from that very green looking island slightly offshore as well as trading with Hoshido and invading a beacon of neutrality and peace would bring down a massive political shitstorm upon their heads that would drive potential allies towards Hoshido.

*Lastly, basically every bridge, mountain pass and highway is set up so that they can be collapsed in the event of an invasion, which would bog down the invading Nohrian forces for far longer than many Generals are willing to have them away for, especially considering that those very same troops could be used to fight Hoshido instead.

-Because of its neutrality and the fact that neither Nohr or Hoshido will invade, it is seen as an ideal vacation spot for both sides. In fact, Muse beats the Southern Islands for the most ideal vacation and retirement location (because of affordability and good performances). On top of this, many Nohrians and Hoshidans who don’t want to fight anymore move to Muse to avoid war. However, there are separate districts for each country in order to minimise the chance of hate crimes, while the shared district has a strict ‘zero tolerance’ policy (commit a hate crime, you get deported). Surprisingly, this is actually working and the people living in the shared district have been able to overcome the racial tension between them, making muse a beacon of peace and inspiring hope for a peaceful future.

-Also they have a lot of theatre and singing/dance performances, though I think that goes without saying. The revenue from these performances and other tourism industries is Muse’s main source of income but, again, that probably goes without saying.

Main Military Units: Mercenaries, Knights, Singers and Spellcasters

[spoiler=Makaras]

-Makaras was once the place to go for vacations for the Nohrian Empire, featuring songs, dances, theatres, casinos, even Red-Light Districts for people who are into such things. However, Muse eventually managed to become more popular due to having on average higher quality musical and theatre performances, a unique culture, better living conditions and the lack of a Nohrian occupation force.

-Luckily, Makaras was still the source of the best casinos and Red Light Districts on the continent, so it was still able to make enough money to remain prosperous. Unluckily, such businesses became a lightning rod for all sorts of illegal activities (slave trade, drug trade, banditry, weapon smuggling, ETC), making Makaras the ‘Hive of Scum and Villainy’ of the Fates world.

-The Nohrian Occupation Force tried desperately to pull the growing Black Market out by the roots, but was met with costly and embarrassing failures each time. The Nohrian Official in charge of the occupation was demoted for his failures and replaced with a captured and very powerful Mob Boss (name pending). Said Mob Boss had a curse placed on him that would enable any Dark Mage nearby to say a code word and kill him instantly, promising that they would remove the curse if he successfully destroyed the Black Market.

-However, he was able to convince his captors that it would be much easier to the illegal businesses and trades for Nohr’s benefit. The higher-ups reluctantly agreed and, with the backing of the Nohrian military, the Mob Boss’ organisation quickly became the dominant force in the Makaras Underground.

-The trade between them is mutually beneficial; the Mob Boss receives military-grade weapons and supplies, while Nohr receives experimental stimulants and medicines and access to a variety of assassins and mercenary groups that they can send on missions where plausible deniability would be a great thing for them to have. However, the Kingdom of Nohr treats the allegiance as a necessary evil, with most officials not involved choosing to pretend it doesn’t exist.

-The Mob Boss recently took over an abandoned fortress within the country of Nohr itself and is using it as a storehouse for various ‘illegal items’. Additionally, many bandits flock to this fortress for protection and have been made part of the staff their. Some Nohrian Generals believe that the Mob Boss is raising an army and that they should lay siege to the fortress before he can attack, but the majority don’t want to jeopardise the relationship and comfort themselves with the knowledge that they are still cursed (or so they think. In reality, he bribed one of the sorcerers into removing it).

Main Military Units: Outlaws, Mercenaries, Dark Mages and Fighters

[spoiler=Chevalier]

-Despite seemingly being a barren wasteland, the Principle of Chevalier features several cattle species that have adapted to their desert environment as well as the city itself being built near several large oases, which provides all they need for water. Most of their vegetative food came from trade with Hoshido (naturally), but after signing a treaty with Nohr (more on that latter), they get their fruits and vegetables from Nohrian provinces.

-In terms of economy, most of their money comes from trading Wyverns to other nations hoping to gain powerful aerial units or for an exotic pet and from essentially being a PMC the size of their country (they lease their own military troops out to other countries because their Wyverns are the most powerful and ferocious in the world, with the soldiers riding them being proportionately skilled as well).

-During the war between Nohr and Hoshido, business was booming for them. Not only were their troops being hired for both sides for very generous sums of money, but several lesser nations and towns were seeking their services in order to take care of bandits hoping to make a profit in such troubled times. Unfortunately, despite their perfection of hit-and-run, the casualties quickly started piling up, especially considering that both Nohr and Hoshido treated them as rather expendable for not actually being a part of their army.

-Ever since the first war ended, the Principle of Chevalier has been suffering from a lack of working-age men and women, as many soldiers worked civilian jobs between military assignments, and the high number of casualties had left most of their population as either too young or too old to work.

-Fearing the inevitable invasion from Nohr, the ruler of Chevalier tried several times to make deals with Hoshido were a number of soldiers would be moved to Chevalier until the newest generation finished growing up, but were turned down several times because Sumeragi and his father were afraid that landing any significant number of soldiers on the Western half of the continent would be seen as a declaration of war, and they didn’t want to threaten the already strained armistice. Sumeragi also turned them down because he and Garon were working to mend the poor relations between the two nations, and sending troops to Chevalier would throw away all the progress they’d made.

-However, when Garon was bribed/coerced by Anankos into betraying Sumeragi in return for the resurrection of Shenmei and his slain children, he made an offer to the ruler of Chevalier; in return for allowing a small occupation force into his city and for providing the services of their troops exclusively to Nohr, he would allow them to retain their independence and compensate for any loss of trade they’d endure by cutting ties with Hoshido.

-While they did allow Garon to sneak assassins into their city, which ended with Sumeragi’s death and Kamui’s kidnapping, they managed to discreetly sneak Mikoto and the other royal children out of the city and back to their home country. By doing this, they were able to fulfill their agreement with Garon while shifting the blame exclusively to Nohr and retain their ability to trade with Hoshido (albeit secretly).

-Sadly for them, when slime!Garon replaced the real Garon, their independence became independence in name only. The Ruler was killed and replaced by a mage with similar powers to Zoura and started changing the laws of Chevalier to be more similar to those of the rest of the Nohrian Empire, but worded them in such a way that only those familiar with Nohrian law were able to make the connection. Additionally, all of the most powerful wyverns were exported to Nohr to be used as either mounts for troops or as broodmares so that they could breed their own wyverns, with the eventual outcome being that they wouldn’t need to maintain the pretense of an allegiance and could conquer them properly.

-To add insult to injury, the most powerful of the wyverns taken were killed and reanimated with Dark Magic (Revenant Knights are a completely new development and are a knew weapon for the war against Hoshido. By the way Camilla was originally a wyvern rider, having been given a smuggled one taken from Makaras, and became a Revenant Knight when her Wyvern was reanimated). Since Wyverns are sacred animals in Chevalier, this pisses them off to know end. This, combined with the discovery that the leader was an imposter, is what kicks off the rebellion.

Main Military Units: Wyvern Riders, Cavaliers, Rod Knights and Ninjas

Did you design Chevalier after Thracia? Definitely feels so with the mercenary theme, though if I recall correctly, the Chevaliers refer themselves as knights (at least Crimson does). I don't think wyverns should be exclusive to Chevalier only though, just that the inhabitants there has the best breeding grouns and technique to raise strong wyverns.

I am also little sceptical about the Nohrian army being numerous, since it's said in the game that there are terrible crops in Nohr, which should lend to a small population (at least smaller than Hoshido) and the army being small as well. They can make it up with being quite elite (at least the royal army) and the fact that they use horses. In my mind, the Nohrian army is overall better, just that they lack good command and logistics. Soldier lives would be more precious (they can't really have a military doctrine like Russia).

[Time the Crestfallen]

Did you design Chevalier after Thracia? Definitely feels so with the mercenary theme, though if I recall correctly, the Chevaliers refer themselves as knights (at least Crimson does). I don't think wyverns should be exclusive to Chevalier only though, just that the inhabitants there has the best breeding grouns and technique to raise strong wyverns.

I am also little sceptical about the Nohrian army being numerous, since it's said in the game that there are terrible crops in Nohr, which should lend to a small population (at least smaller than Hoshido) and the army being small as well. They can make it up with being quite elite (at least the royal army) and the fact that they use horses. In my mind, the Nohrian army is overall better, just that they lack good command and logistics. Soldier lives would be more precious (they can't really have a military doctrine like Russia).

Yeah, I was trying to emulate Thracia. Also, I might've gone a little overboard with Chevalier's wyvern theme. I'll tone it down.

As for Nohr, they do have bad crops, so they conquer other nations and take their resources to sustain themselves. In the paragraph about the Nohrian Empire, I said "Because of this, the country of Nohr is actually rather well of while the Empire as a whole isn’t doing very well." If you still think that it won't work, I'll redo it, but I still like the idea.

[JupiterKnight]

I like it. I do think part of why Nohr shouldn't conquer Muse is that Garon especially enjoys the arts there, probably being just different enough from the stuff in Nohr that he finds it interesting. Slime Garon likely goes there as well to keep up appearances of being the real Garon.

[CyborgZeta]

If I were to attempt my own fanfic of Fates, I'm thinking that I'd write Azura out of the story.

It would make a rewrite of Invisible Kingdom difficult however, as she dumps a lot of exposition there, as well as providing the connection to it.

[Time the Crestfallen]

In terms of fixing Hoshido, what are you guys doing? What I'm angling for (to make a long story short) is a country that is filled with mostly good people, but the bad people usually hold quite a bit of power and Hoshidan society/culture has a lot of institutionalised discrimination between classes and different nationalities, but I'm wondering if any of you guys have ideas?

[Taka-kun]

Yeah, I was trying to emulate Thracia. Also, I might've gone a little overboard with Chevalier's wyvern theme. I'll tone it down.

As for Nohr, they do have bad crops, so they conquer other nations and take their resources to sustain themselves. In the paragraph about the Nohrian Empire, I said "Because of this, the country of Nohr is actually rather well of while the Empire as a whole isn’t doing very well." If you still think that it won't work, I'll redo it, but I still like the idea.

Very well, going by this Empire stylistic setting, I still argue that th Nohrian army isn't that big. The core army is probably great and all, but then they will have to auxuliaries from their conquered nations, which are more than likely resentful and starved, making them poor soldiers. It feels to me you have a Late Roman Empire vibe here, since I think Nohrian conquest has stopped at this point (before their planned on Hoshido), which would just make the land go in decline.

As for Hoshido, I don't making them being pretentious asses for the sake of their peace. Going by end of Meiji Japan, Hoshido should be so far deep in their comfortable lives of peace that they are xenophobic and live a rigid lifestyle. And this extends to the common people as well. They are all for Hoshidan people and culture and tradition and all, but be outside that range and they can be pretty hostile.

[Alazen]

I should point out that the compilation of historical research from the 1980s onwards on Japan's sakoku regulations show that they weren't put into action out of sheer xenophobia. There was also how the Tokugawa Shogunate was working to extend its grasp of control across Japan (what with how firearms were kept out of the hands of many commoners), and to establish a Japan-centered order for international relations.

As such, I would say you could draw attention to Hoshidan government's attempts to extend and maintain its grasp of control. Among other scenarios.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Alazen

[OakTree]

Very well, going by this Empire stylistic setting, I still argue that th Nohrian army isn't that big. The core army is probably great and all, but then they will have to auxuliaries from their conquered nations, which are more than likely resentful and starved, making them poor soldiers. It feels to me you have a Late Roman Empire vibe here, since I think Nohrian conquest has stopped at this point (before their planned on Hoshido), which would just make the land go in decline.

As for Hoshido, I don't making them being pretentious asses for the sake of their peace. Going by end of Meiji Japan, Hoshido should be so far deep in their comfortable lives of peace that they are xenophobic and live a rigid lifestyle. And this extends to the common people as well. They are all for Hoshidan people and culture and tradition and all, but be outside that range and they can be pretty hostile.

Making the Hoshidans outright xenophobic sounds like a lazy solution to try to make them more grey, to me at least, it would make far more sense to make them extremelly nationalistic, have them be a country that only helps other countries if that will somehow benefit them, and since Nohr is a land with bad crops, lack of resources and few inhabitable terrain, there would be absolutely no reason from a logical standpoint to help them. Edited September 21, 2015 by OakTree

[Alazen]

The obvious way to muddy Hoshido is to make it more like pre-Meiji Japan.

[OakTree]

The obvious way to muddy Hoshido is to make it more like pre-Meiji Japan.

Im not too versed on Japanese history pre-Tokugawa, what exactly were the differences?

[Alazen]

Did you mean ''pre-Meiji''? The Tokugawa Shogunate was taken down in the Meiji Revolution.

[OakTree]

Did you mean ''pre-Meiji''? The Tokugawa Shogunate was taken down in the Meiji Revolution.

Oh, i got them confused. Sorry.

[Alazen]

Anyway, the differences between pre-Meiji Revolution Japan and post-Meiji Revolution Japan are so noticeable that I doubt I can do them justice in post. And mind you, there were differences in pre-Meiji centuries such as the Sengoku Era.

I suggest you focus on one subject for one era at a time.

[OakTree]

Anyway, the differences between pre-Meiji Revolution Japan and post-Meiji Revolution Japan are so noticeable that I doubt I can do them justice in post. And mind you, there were differences in pre-Meiji centuries such as the Sengoku Era.

I suggest you focus on one subject for one era at a time.

Thank you. I will do some research into it later.

[Time the Crestfallen]

Very well, going by this Empire stylistic setting, I still argue that th Nohrian army isn't that big. The core army is probably great and all, but then they will have to auxuliaries from their conquered nations, which are more than likely resentful and starved, making them poor soldiers. It feels to me you have a Late Roman Empire vibe here, since I think Nohrian conquest has stopped at this point (before their planned on Hoshido), which would just make the land go in decline.

Maybe, but Valm in Awakening had a similar conquest-and-glory attitude and, while I don't remember the exact number, I'm pretty sure they had somewhere around one million troops.

Anyway, the reasoning behind Nohr having a large army is because of the 'glory-seeking attitude' they're supposed to have; people want to climb the social heirarchy, earning renown in the military is the easiest way to do this, so eveyone and their grandmother's dog enlists

Again, excuse my poor examples, but WW1 Australia had a population of 4.9 million, but the number of people who enlisted was 420,000 (38.7% of the male population between 18-44 and around 8% of the total population). Now imagine if instead of 38.7 percent, it was around 50ish%, women were allowed to enlist as well and people who weren't soldiers constantly had propaganda shoved down their throats.

With this in mind, I propose a compromise; how about they're as numerous as I state they are, but they're not all active at the same time. Only the elite, best trained soldiers are always on duty while most of the normal troops are swapped out at regular intervals and have civilian jobs when they're not on duty. Going back to the Valm example, say that Nohr has a grand total of one million troops, but only 200,000-400,000 are active at any given point so that when a group of soldiers are tired and sick of fighting, they can be sent back home and replaced with fresh soldiers. By doing this, their army is always ready to fight while the opponent if tired out by fighting a seemingly never-ending supply of enemy soldiers.

[NekoKnight]

Im not too versed on Japanese history pre-Tokugawa, what exactly were the differences?

Did you mean ''pre-Meiji''? The Tokugawa Shogunate was taken down in the Meiji Revolution.

(For OakTree) The Meiji period (1868-1912) is when (under international pressure and following a revolution) Japan opened up its borders to other countries and began a rapid period of industrialization and adoption of foreign institutions and culture. Immediately before that, in the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868), Japan was a significantly different culture. Japan had over two and a half centuries of relative peace but it accomplished this with strict authoritarian rule. Many foreign things were banned (and with only a few exceptions, foreigners were killed if they entered the country), Christianity and peasant rebellions were brutally suppressed and Japan had a caste system. Japan was a largely agrarian society in the past and the laws allowing only people in the samurai caste to hold swords made it so Japan could only muster a portion of its fighting men (compared to a conscript army).

As Alazen said, if you had Hoshido mimic Tokugawa Japan, they would have plenty of negative traits to highlight.

[Alazen]

Hoshido doesn't have to be modeled after Tokugawa Japan alone. If you're going with Nohr as an expanding empire in the West then you could make Hoshido if not all the East akin to Sengoku Japan. You can frame it as the green yet infighting Hoshido against the rugged yet uniform Nohr.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Alazen